The Week In Geek: Top Ten Pop Culture Events I’m Most Excited About For 2012
While everyone else is waxing nostalgic over 2011, Here at The Week In Geek I’m gonna jump the gun and look ahead at the things I’m most excited about in pop culture for the upcoming year. Now this is my personal list, so before you leave comments flaming me over not including product X, Y or Z….remember, this is MY list not yours. Go make your own about shit you’re excited about. Now let’s get started…..
#10: The Return of My Super Gay Reality Shows
You can keep your Kardashians and your Teen Moms America; In January 2012 I have both Project Runway: All Stars (Go Team Mondo!) and season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race to look forward to. Add to that the return of classic BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous in all new episodes next moth, and January is easily the gayest month of television of all time. Well, at least for me. I’m gonna start making the mimosas right now.
#9.The Book of Mormon Comes to Los Angeles
I’ve been wanting to see Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s musical send up of the LDS church The Book of Mormon since it was first announced, but a trip to New York is a bit pricey for one show….or even three for that matter. But come 2012, The Book of Mormon is hitting the Pantages theater in Los Angeles from September 5th to November 25th in a special limited run, and I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on a pair of tickets.
#8. Avengers VS. X-Men
Yeah, I know everyone and their uncle says they are over the big comic book crossovers that the Big Two comic publishers put out every year come summer time, but you know what? I’m totally down for this one. Avengers Vs. X-Men will be will debut in March and run through September. A newly repowered/redeemed Scarlet Witch after years of editorial abuse? The Return of Phoenix to the X-Men mythos? The simple fun of super heroes beating up other super heroes? Sign me up.
#7. AIR’s Soundtrack to Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon)
One of my favorite musicians of all time, the French electronic duo AIR, were given the great honor by the French film preservation society last year of recording a new soundtrack to Georges Méliès classic Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon), the iconic movie from the turn of the last century (recently celebrated in the film Hugo.) The score is only 14 minutes in length to match the running time of the movie, but then that project grew into a full on new album inspired by Méliès, set to debut in February. The last time AIR recorded a soundtrack to a film was for Sofia Coppola’s film The Virgin Suicides, and that was when they were a relatively new group. I can only imagine what they could come up with now.
#6. Anne Rice’s The Wolf Gift
In 2003, my all time favorite author Anne Rice stopped writing about vampires and witches and ghosts, and devoted her writing exclusively to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, producing several Christian themed books. Some were about the life of Jeebus himself, and some were about Angels, but all with an obviously Christian bent. While I respected Mrs. Rice’s decision, let’s just say I checked out of reading any of those. But after a very public falling out with Christianity last year (on Facebook, no less) Anne Rice returns to supernatural fiction with her first werewolf novel The Wolf Gift. Welcome back to the dark side Anne…I’ve been keeping it warm for ya. Jesus who?
#5. The Return of Madonna
Her Madgesty hasn’t released an album since 2008’s Hard Candy, and also hasn’t been on the road since 2009. In the meantime, a certain Lady GaGa has usurped her place in the pop culture lexicon. Well, 2012 is the year Madge officially strikes back, first by playing to the biggest (and most heterosexual) audience of her career when she plays the Super Bowl half time show, and then by releasing her new single/album/world tour/new fragrance. Time to remind all those bitches who is the true Queen. Oh, she also has a movie coming out in 2012, her directorial debut W.E, but even I know better than to care about that one.
#4. Grant Morrisson’s Multiversity
This has been talked about for years now it seems, ever since the end of DC’s 52 mini series but it seems certain that this is finally hitting comic book store shelves in 2012. Writer Grant Morrisson’s upcoming eight part mini series from DC is set to fully explore DC’s new Multiverse, giving us glimpses into the various worlds in detail. The best part of this is that rumored to spin off from this mini is a series of ongoing regular books set on various Earths, like an Earth-2 Justice Society book, and even an “Earth 90’s” JLA book with Wally West as the Flash, etc. When Grant Morrisson’s imagination runs wild, good things usually come of it….ok, except for maybe Final Crisis. Nobody’s perfect.
#3. The Long Awaited Return of Mad Men
When it returns in early 2012, Mad Men will have been off the air for a whopping 18 months. It’s gotta be the longest wait between seasons for a television series ever. So many questions have plagued us loyal fans all these long months, like how long will Don Draper’s new trophy wife/sex-cretary last? Will Sterling/Cooper/Draper/Pryce survive the upcoming Summer of Love? Will Betty Draper finally die? *sigh* Here’s hoping. Mad Men Season four will debut on AMC in March.
#2: The Second Batch of DC’s New 52
Some were great, some were terrible, but one thing is certain: DC’s “New 52” reboot had everyone talking. Wave 2 is set to debut in 2012 (probably set to replace books like Voodoo and Men of War that no one is reading) and I’m curious as Hell as to what they’ll be. Some are rumored to be set on various parallel Earths, and some are rumored to be more horror oriented. My fanboy curiosity is at level ten right now. I can’t wait to see what DC has in store to top 2011.
#1: Movies, Movies Movies
Will 2012 be the apex of the geek friendly cinema revolution that began in 2000/2001 with the launch of the Marvel movies and Lord of the Rings? In 2012 we’ve got The Hobbit, Alien prequel Prometheus, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and new Quentin Tarantino flick, Pixar’s Brave, and the Joss Whedon written Cabin in the Woods. Oh, and The Dark Knight Rises. And that’s just the biggest ones I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe if the world does end next year, it’ll go out on a high cinematic note. Well, at least for us geeks.
