Amnerys wrote:
I actually recall watching part of the first episode that aired, but at the time I just didn't get it. Later I heard that they aired in the wrong order and that killed a lot of interest in the show. Bad FOX. Bad.
OK, I can get behind blaming FOX! 
If you didn't make it to the end of that 'first' episode, I can see why you weren't hooked. The hook in that episode was the final scene! And starting a story in the middle is usually a bad idea! Bad FOX indeed!
Amnerys wrote:
Now I'm due for catching up on another geeky thing. I'm open to suggestions. 
If you're looking for geeky books, might I suggest:
George R.R. Martin's "The Song of Ice and Fire" series. The first book is A Game of Thrones.
- This is hands down the best currently ongoing Fantasy series IMHO. It reads like historical fiction at first ... knights and swords, noble houses striving against each other, political infighting and machinations at the royal court, etc. But there's a hint (just a hint at first) of magic, and something dark stirring in the background ...
- But be warned:
- It's a long series with a long way to go. There will be at least 3 more LARGE books in the series, and Martin has been taking longer, and longer, and LONGER between each book (time measured in years, not months). If you don't mind waiting on pins and needles for the next decade like the rest of us poor suckers ... ah, I meant fans ... then I'd still recommend it.
- The fourth book and most recent book in the series is no where near as strong as the first three. Up until the 4th, I believe each book was better than the last! But the manuscript for the 4th book had grown so huge that Martin's publisher forced him to split it in half. I think the narrative flow clearly suffered from that split.
- The series is more than a little dark.
Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files". The first book is Stormfront.
- Harry Dresden is the only openly practicing Wizard in modern day Chicago. He's in the Yellow Pages under "Wizard". The books are sort of a cross between horror, fantasy, and detective novels. And the mix works quite well! It doesn't have the depth, complexity and scope of Martin's work, but still a fun read. It's more like popcorn to Martin's steak. And like popcorn, you won't be able to stop until it's 'done'. At least I wasn't able to stop until I finished the current book, Changes. Jim's a geek and it kinda shows in his work. Well, so's Martin really (RPGer, Comic fan, etc.), but 'in' geek references really wouldn't work in Martin's fantasy setting they way they work in Butcher's. The Harry Dresden character is sort of a geek too (magic geek, not tech or other 'normal' variety of geek
) who's full of wisecracks and sarcasm, and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. It's really fast, fun reading. - This is an ongoing series too, but Butcher has been cranking them out annually on a consistent basis. 10 books so far, with 10 more 'case files' planned, and then an 'apocalyptic trilogy' to cap it all off. So it will be more than a decade before this series is done too.
- This series also has some dark aspects.
- The SciFi channel turned the books into a short lived TV series. I heard they weren't anywhere near as good as the books. I did start to watch the first episode, but couldn't get past how hopelessly wrong the casting of the characters was.