When the Mayan "Long Count" calendar ends on Friday, December 21, some people predict it could mark the end of the world as we know it. But despite the attention that December 21 is garnering, many apocalyptic believers don't actually give much thought to the hype surrounding the Mayan calendar.
In 1986, a game that would come to be known as "The Legend of Zelda" was released in Japan. It followed a boy named Link as he fought battles and solved puzzles in the land of Hyrule, as he attempted to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue the Princess Zelda from the evil Ganon.
Someone out there just leapt all comic book purchase price records in a single bound.
Thomas Corless has been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, 101 times.
From Pac-Man to "Pretty in Pink," Dungeons and Dragons to Devo, Rush to "School House Rock": If this pop culture laundry list brings back fond memories, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Ernest Cline's new novel, "Ready Player One."
Please don't hurt me, dear Geek Out! readers, but I'm really not not a sci-fi fan convention kind of person.
Back in 2008, while hope was still alive, I was canvassing for Barack Obama in Nevada -- in a suburban area that borders the Las Vegas Strip. At first glance, the neighborhood looked idyllic.
In the Ultimate Universe of Marvel Comics, Peter Parker -- the original alter ego of Spider-Man -- is dead, and his replacement is a half-African-American, half-Latino teenager named Miles Morales.
Little did Joe Cornish know that the night he was mugged would turn out to be a turning point in his career.
With more than 60 books to his name and countless speaking engagements, Dr. Deepak Chopra is widely known for his opinions on topics from spirituality to medicine.
"Women and men of the fleet: This is your president. We have come to a crossroads in our long and painful journey," Laura Roslin tells the survivors of humanity's near-destruction while a mutiny rages on.
If you're bleary-eyed and yawning after a late-night screening of "Harry Potter's" final movie installment, the lasting impressions of "Deathly Hallows Part II" are no doubt the only things keeping you awake today.
Like the moment that Harry Potter first learned he was a wizard, Raleigh Browne can vividly recall when he first heard of the adventures of the "Boy Who Lived."
Like the moment that Harry Potter first learned he was a wizard, Raleigh Browne can vividly recall when he first heard of the adventures of the "Boy Who Lived."
Actor Matthew Lewis, who spent the last 10 years portraying Neville Longbottom, the awkward, nerdy pal to the trio of students at the center of the Harry Potter films, is moving on.
As the blondest brat in the Harry Potter universe, actor Tom Felton has no qualms about portraying the theoretically unlikable Draco Malfoy. So why do so many fans devote themselves to "Team Slytherin?" Felton muses on the possibilities with CNN.
As I write this from a conference of 3500 Harry Potter fans outside of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, the energy in the air around the final film is not only excitement, but gratitude.
You may remember her as the title character from NBC's "Blossom," or recognize her as brainy Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS hit comedy "The Big Bang Theory."
You can almost hear them now. The throngs descending on San Diego Comic-Con, ready to devour as much pop culture as they can possibly muster over an extra-long weekend.
Any time there's a change in the Whoverse (the intergalactic space that occupies the storylines of British sci-fi show "Doctor Who" and its spinoffs, "The Sarah Jane Adventures" and "Torchwood"), fans of the franchise get nervous.
In January 2010, a hardcore "Transformers" fan going by "gaastra" on a message board for Shout! Factory (a DVD and CD company "for the discerning pop culture geek") asked the simple question, "What would it take to get the Takara shows a release in America?"
Candy Torres drove nonstop for 21 hours to see the launch of space shuttle Challenger in June 1983. She had seen shuttle launches before, but this trip from Princeton, New Jersey, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, was different: Sally Ride was about to become the first female U.S. astronaut to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
Getting the details out of his head and on to paper was Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore's most important priority of the day.
You know the kind of dad who registers his son for soccer almost as soon as he takes his first step?
On the Internet, anything can be the basis for a holiday -- even a number.
Ten years after last voicing Autobot leader Optimus Prime on the original "Transformers" animated series, Peter Cullen decided to go to his first fan convention, BotCon, in Rochester, New York, after some coaxing from his daughter.
It was 1984. Hulk Hogan had won the WWE Championship from The Iron Sheik, Rowdy Roddy Piper smashed a coconut over Jimmy Snuka's head and Captain Lou Albano's appearance in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was hitting the airwaves.
Harry Potter fans, already an excitable bunch, are in a tizzy over a mysterious new website from series creator J.K. Rowling that hints at future Harry Potter-related content.
Like Captain Ahab hunted the great white Moby Dick, Joe Maddalena is hunting ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz." The magical shoes have been missing since 2005 when they were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. There is a $250,000 reward for their return.
"X-Men: First Class" hits theaters as the fifth in a series of successful movies in the "X-Men" franchise, with at least two more "X" films on the horizon: "The Wolverine" and "Deadpool."
Fifty-two superheroes are getting a makeover, and comic book fans can't stop talking about it -- even though they've seen this sort of thing before.
When he came into our makeshift hotel suite studio in Chicago, Chris Hardwick quickly developed a mild love affair with a bowl of mixed nuts that we placed near his chair. And for a while he even considered keeping the snacks in his hand throughout the interview.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a big, serious government agency with a big, serious job: protecting public health from threats ranging from hurricanes to bird flu.
For many gamers, recent news stories about potential security breaches, lost data or lifted financial information were missing the most basic, most important point: When do I get to play again?
An airborne virus is rapidly turning people into zombies. Two-thirds of humanity has been wiped out. Scientists desperately look for a cure, even as their own brains deteriorate and the disease robs them of what we consider life.
He's made more money at the movies this year than Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, invading aliens and yes, even Justin Bieber. His name is Rango, a strange-looking lizard with the voice of Johnny Depp, and he's the current king of the box office.
"I will say, this moment is one that I will never, ever forget," said Jason Glisson, recalling a 2008 trip to La Milpa, Belize. "I was the first person inside a very, very old manmade chamber. It was an incredible feeling. Then I turned on my headlamp and saw three huge spiders."
There'll be an old familiar face on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" tonight -- at least to anyone born before 1998.
Public broadcasting is more known for stiff-as-a-robot documentaries than sci-fi movies. But the channel is shaking up its sometimes stuffy reputation by producing a cool Web-only series about the future of America.
Not so long ago, TV shows like "Firefly," "Wonderfalls," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Dollhouse" were mourned by science fiction fans as having been canceled before their time, due -- as it always is -- to low ratings.
Growing up, physicist Michio Kaku had two heroes.
It's an epic journey from Middle Earth to the app store. But Monica Singh Haley has done it.
Ask Michael John Blake how old he is, and says "I am 35, I think, maybe 36" and then tries to do a subtraction involving his birth year.
Move over, baseball. The coolest new trading cards feature a "Geek a Week."
Move over, baseball. The coolest new trading cards feature a "Geek a Week."
True Browncoats, like the fictional freedom fighters they named themselves after, don't give up easily.
Liz Lee is not your typical MTV reality show star. As friend Jake Fogelnest puts it, "While (the "Jersey Shore" cast) is out fist-pumping, Liz is in her dorm room watching Netflix."
Liz Lee is not your typical MTV reality show star. As friend Jake Fogelnest puts it, "While (the "Jersey Shore" cast) is out fist-pumping, Liz is in her dorm room watching Netflix."
When Marvel Comics Executive Editor Tom Brevoort told CNN in December that "something new" would come out of the recent death of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch, he wasn't kidding.
In all the interviews and conversations, it hadn't come up. To the sisters, it was just a job they'd held a long time ago, when they were teens with a talent for numbers.
On a sunny day in Atlanta, my colleague Suzanne Kelly and I sat down to speak with the executive producer of the popular TV series "24," Howard Gordon.
NBC's cult hit comedy, "Community," which revolves around a study group at a community college, has a collection of very odd characters, but the oddest of all has to be Abed, played by Danny Pudi.
"I mean, I hate to gloat," Weird Al Yankovic said, "but I'm extremely satisfied with my position in life and the way things have worked out for me."
If Jane Espenson were to write a personal profile for an online dating service, it might read something like this:
If you're not already celebrating at your local comic book store or glued to Oxygen's 10-hour marathon of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" re-runs, then maybe you don't know.
"Another challenge for the Green Hornet," the announcer for the 1966 television series always began.
Know who's one degree away from Kevin Bacon? Thanks to the new season of "Robot Chicken," it's Seth Green.
Love regenerating alien time travelers who never leave home without a sonic screwdriver?
In November 1961, few would have realized just how groundbreaking the first issue of "Fantastic Four" would become.
Long before Lara Croft raided tombs and Jake Gyllenhaal became the prince of Persia, there was "Tron."
It was 1981, and Cindy Morgan was filming what she was told would be a half-live-action, half-cartoon for Walt Disney Pictures on a completely black movie set.
It was 1981, and Cindy Morgan was filming what she was told would be a half-live-action, half-cartoon for Walt Disney Pictures on a completely black movie set.
There's Rudolph and Frosty, the Grinch and Charlie... Ralphie, George Bailey, Clark Griswold and Buddy. But do you recall the geekiest holiday specials and movies of all?
There's Rudolph and Frosty, the Grinch and Charlie... Ralphie, George Bailey, Clark Griswold and Buddy. But do you recall the geekiest holiday specials and movies of all?
The story of Katie Goldman is one that young and (ahem) older "girls" all over the country can relate to.
Katie Goldman's universe extends from her home to her first-grade classroom. She is a big sister to Annie Rose and Cleo, a piano player, a Spanish student, a wearer of glasses. She loathes the patch she has to wear for one lazy eye. She loves magic and princesses and "Star Wars," an obsession she picked up from her dad.
The world has mostly caught on to Steve Wozniak's vision of having a computer in every home. But this digital lifestyle can sometimes turn rotten, he said last week.
The Syfy Channel is known for a certain kind of escapist fun.
At a supercomputing convention that just wrapped up in New Orleans, Louisiana, the potent effects of Hurricanes in big plastic cups paled in comparison with the raw power of a tiny silicon chip.
"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is a novel -- part of the classic "Chronicles of Narnia" fantasy series by C.S. Lewis.
Felicia Day, creator and star of the cult-favorite web series "The Guild," will be a keynote speaker at the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive festival.
Paul Ivy will never forget his first time seeing "Night of the Living Dead."
You know the house. The one with sinister animatronics, the fake smoke and a perfectly timed soundtrack of spooky noises. The one that makes small children think twice about ringing the doorbell.
As Halloween brings trick-or-eating time back again, frightening foodies and gobbling ghouls will appreciate the spooky spoils of the season.
For Peaches Veatch, it started early, after watching an episode of the TV series "That's Incredible!" as a child. "They had an episode on Toys "R" Us being haunted and Sylvia Brown the psychic did a séance."
On October 26, 1985, Marty McFly took a fateful journey in a Delorean, which sent him hurtling back to 1955.
When most people think of "Weird Al" Yankovic, the phrase "devourer of worlds" usually doesn't leap to mind.
New York Comic Con has only been around since 2006, but with crowds approaching an estimated 100,000 attendees, NYCC could turn out to be a major player in the fan convention world. That is, if it can manage its growing pains.
If there's one fundamental truth about video games, it's that smash hits tend to leave a lasting impression.
In an otherworldly landscape, with controllers in hand, players must conquer the Beast in order to release a powerful demigod.
For the better part of a decade, superheroes on the big screen have been big business ("Iron Man 2" the most recent example). On TV, however, keeping audiences coming back each week for the exploits of those with superpowers has been a far trickier task. It's been a long time since "Batman," "Wonder Woman," "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Greatest American Hero" hit prime time.
For the better part of a decade, superheroes on the big screen have been big business ("Iron Man 2" the most recent example). On TV, however, keeping audiences coming back each week for the exploits of those with superpowers has been a far trickier task. It's been a long time since "Batman," "Wonder Woman," "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Greatest American Hero" hit prime time.
Want to party with a guy who looks like Johnny Depp? How about carouse with "rock stars" from the 18th century who wear heavy eyeliner, speak the King's English and keep flasks of rum on them at all times?
"Hello 'true believers,' this is Stan Lee," said the world-renowned comic book creator as he filmed a video segment for CNN.com. His booming voice and magnetic demeanor made jaws drop and eyes widen everywhere in the room.
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