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Pop Culture

7 Bitter Fandom Rivalries From Across Pop Culture

By Alison Herman on

It’s no secret that science fiction fans can get a little overexcited about their franchise of choice, but things got heated last Thursday when the local Star Wars club of Norwich, England and a delegation from the Norwich Sci Fi Club, a group of Doctor Who devotees, got into a physical altercation at the Norwich Sci-Fi and Film Convention, hosted by the Star Wars club at the University of East Anglia. Apparently, the two groups had a longstanding feud that came to blows when the Sci Fi Club decided to show up on the Star Wars group’s turf to get a signature from Gram Cole, an actor from the time-travel series that currently stars Matt Smith. Though fandom disputes don’t usually escalate to blows, this is hardly the first time otherwise peacefully geeky communities have run afoul of each other. Here are some of the most prominent fandom rivalries throughout history, from superheroes to science fiction. … Read More

Art

Amazing Dad’s Adorable Sharpie Drawings on His Kids’ Sandwich Bags

By Judy Berman on

There’s nothing exciting about a brown-bag school lunch — unless, of course, your dad happens to be David Laferriere. The graphic designer has been decorating his kids’ sandwich bags with Sharpie drawings since 2008, photographing each adorable creation and posting over 1,100 of them on his Flickr page. Popular subjects include monsters, Halloween, and non-sandwich foods, but Laferriere has also incorporated Doctor Who‘s TARDIS and even the works of Picasso into his repertoire. Click through for a selection of his drawings, discovered via Colossal, and — seriously — see the whole collection here. … Read More

Television

11 Classic ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes for Fans of the Reboot

By Tom Hawking on

Doctor Who is back this week, and we’re in a celebratory mood. Still, for all that we like the new series and are generally glad that Doctor Who still exists in 2013, we must confess to being much bigger fans of the original than the 21st-century reboot. With this in mind, we got our biggest Doctor Who fan — namely music editor Tom Hawking — to sit down with Doctor Who FAQ author Dave Thompson and pick out a selection of episodes from the classic show that latter-day fans should check out. Of course, this is only a very cursory examination of 25 years of goodness, and there were plenty of other favorites that we had to leave off, so let us know your picks. … Read More

Music

The 50 Best Albums You’ve Never Heard

By Tom Hawking on

For all that the internet provides an endless wealth of music, it’s easy to get stuck in the same listening habits after a while. Sometimes it takes someone to come along with a bunch of new tunes to shake you out of such ruts, so we’ve been amusing ourselves this week at Flavorpill central by delving into our record collections and sharing some of our favorite obscure, under-appreciated albums. From the very old to the very new, cerebral hip hop and exuberant African rhythms to experimental drone and overlooked indie bands, there’s something here for… Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we voted for Time’s Person of the Year. We crushed on Ryan Gosling in his new glasses. We remembered Tony Stark’s super sassy nicknames for his Avengers pals. We learned nine ways to make sure the restaurants we eat in are clean. We watched a… Read More

Television

Watch ‘Doctor Who: The Great Detective’ Christmas Special Prequel

By Emily Temple on

Christmas just started looking a little bit jollier. Yesterday, the BBC aired this short “minisode,” Doctor Who: The Great Detective, a prequel to the show’s Christmas special, as part of their Children in Need television fundraiser. In it, we get a glimpse of the good Doctor’s mental state and a little back-talk from Jenna-Louise Coleman, slated to be his newest companion in the upcoming episodes. While we don’t know what we think about the idea of a Christmas special prequel, it’s for a good cause, and the episode is looking very promising to us. Click through to watch the minisode, and let us know if you’re psyched for the Christmas special in the comments. … Read More

Television

The 10 Greatest Historical Literary Cameos on Time-Traveling TV Shows

By Matthew Bower on

Time travel inevitably gets a sizable mention during an old-fashioned game of “Name That TV Trope.” There’s seemingly an endless supply — everything from screwed-up timelines that incorporate fictional elements to the unsettling discovery that you’re your own grandfather (see Futurama). But, bibliophiles that we are, one of our favorite silly pseudo-historical plot devices is when a famous dead author is revived in fictionalized form. Take a look at some of the most memorable time-traveling literary cameos from our favorite TV shows below. Can you think of more? … Read More

Television

10 Unforgettable Zombie Apocalypses in TV History

By Michelle Rafferty on

From surprisingly awesome horror sequels and terrifying artwork to scary movie personality tests, we hope we’ve adequately provided you with a diverse range of activities for this Halloween. And with the day finally upon us, we’re rounding things out with a tried (and sometimes true) classic: the zombie apocalypse. Below we’ve collected some of TV’s greatest spins on the genre, a diverse list of sometimes scary, and often funny (reflexively speaking), episodes which could also double as some entertainment for this evening, or any day really, because zombies, they’re year-round now! Have a favorite TV zombie? Do share! … Read More

Pop Culture

The Most Incredible Costumes from New York Comic Con

By Doug Levy on

Halloween may still be a few weeks away, but if you were anywhere in the vicinity of New York’s Javits Convention Center this weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking it came early. With the annual return of the New York Comic Con, midtown Manhattan’s west side was swamped with comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy fans — over 100,000 of them over the course of the event’s four-day run. Among those multitudes was a significant contingent proudly decked out in costume, representing characters from just about every genre, medium, and realm imaginable. The best of the best earned themselves a place in our exclusive NYCC 2012 photo gallery. And hey, Halloween really is still a few weeks way, so if you’re looking for inspiration, look no… Read More

Television

Watch the 'Doctor Who' Ending You Didn't Get to See

By Caroline Stanley on

If, like most Doctor Who fans, you were too busy wiping away the tears at the end of “The Angels Take Manhattan” to think to ask what happened to Rory’s father, thanks to a post over on Nerdist, we can all get a little bit of closure. Click through to watch a narrated storyboard of a wonderful, unaired scene just released by the BBC, which was written by Chris Chibnall and features narration by Arthur Darvill (Rory). It makes such a lovely postscript to the Ponds’ story, that we’re curious to know why it was never shot. Also: we’re crying all over again! … Read More