Geek Watch: You're fired - or should that be terminated?

In this second, slightly delayed weekly web-trawl we have a bit of a geeky focus with gadgets and sci-fi nudging music from centre stage - watch out for a more music-centric post tomorrow though..

So, Gordon Brown's political career and Susan Boyle's sanity are both hanging by a ragged thread, The most interesting, but still utterly unreal reality show The Apprentice is about to give way to the appalling Big Brother (and Sir Alan is now the saviour of the Labour Party or something), and swine flu has increased six fold in one week in Scotland prompting widespread panic and looting in the streets (or perhaps just mild concern everytime someone in the room sneezes).

Terminated

Speaking of fears of impending armageddon, Terminator Salvation has had terrible reviews pretty much across the board - it's even worse than the misogynistic, misanthropic and just plain shite third film according to some - so will not be seeing in the cinema - maybe on DVD.

It's a pity that the TV show, The Sarah Connor Chronicles got cancelled as although it did suffer from slow pacing and far too many filler episodes in its second season, it was taking the franchise in some interesting new directions and the characterisation was superb. TSCC's creator talks of the experience of his baby being cancelled on his blog and gives a bitter insight into working in US TV.

Fired-flied

US sci-fi shows are of course constantly under threat of cancellation, and though I like to think I'm a few notches above the sad obsessive sci-fi geek stereotype, I do have a soft spot for the genre. After becoming (ahem) quite a fan of the lovely Summer Glau through TSCC I recently ordered the one and only season of Firefly, (in which she also appears as a minor character) through Lovefilm, and it was absolutely great, much better than I'd thought - I can see why the 'Western in Space' concept would have put a lot of viewers off at first glance, but this was one very well written, well acted surprisingly dark and adult at times, and frequently laugh-out loud show and both Mel and I were genuinely sad when it prematurely ended. Ok maybe we are sad geeks...

iPhoned-in

On the tech blogs this week the iPhone rumour machine continues to generate priceless free coverage for Apple who are expected to announce new iPhone hardware on Monday as well as releasing the much anticipated iPhone 3.0 software to the general population (it's so far only been available to developers in various beta forms). Apple are no doubt hoping to decrease the impact of the much-praised but unproven Palm Pre. Here's a very scientific bit of guesswork from The Guardian to add to the acres of webspace taken up with this topic.

Are you a geek or do you consider them the equivalent of witches in medieval times and therefore should be driven from their homes and burned at the stake? Should these topics be left to the tech blogs and strange scifi forums where no pretty girls or well-adjusted boys dare to tread? Let me know in the comments..