Attack of the Show Episode 1

Original Air Date: March 28, 2005

'John Dykstra, Giant NES Gamepad, Reel Big Fish'

THIS JUST IN
“There Was a Little Toolshed:” Will those words—heard when playing “Stairway to Heaven” backwards—really turn you into a tool of Satan? Only Robert Plant knows. But now you can listen to evil, backwards rock lyrics for yourself at Jeff Milner’s site.

You Mean It’s Not the Next iPod Yet? Apparently, paying $100 over the price of a standard PlayStation 2 for a Sony PSP was NOT the big thing to do over the weekend, as Kevin P. discovered.

JOHN DYKSTRA'S SPECIAL FX
Pioneering special effects creator John Dykstra—the man who made X-Wings swoop very believably through space—had this to say about his storied film projects: “Caddyshack was much cooler than Star Wars.”
Although his comment was a tad tongue in cheek, Dykstra has his singular opinions on the world of special effects, and we’ll have ‘em online tomorrow in a web-exclusive interview.

In the meantime, you can see demonstrations of his work on Spider-Man 2 at Sony’s Imageworks.com.

JUMBO-SIZED FUN
Yep, we took apart your standard, everyday NES controller and spawned a giant, mutant NES controller that works. It’s 8’ long x 3’ wide x 9” tall and cost about $400 to put together. It’s not a very difficult project to undertake. Of course, it certainly helps to have an art staff make it look like a NES controller.

KEVIN P.’S FIRST 50: STAR WARS LEGOS
When it comes to playing Star Wars scenarios as a LEGO figure, what’s not to like? Kevin P. thoroughly liked the Star Wars LEGOS video game, and he’s not even a Star Wars fan:
“Like peanut butter on hamburgers, Star Wars and LEGOS are two great tastes that go great together. From the moment the game loads up you know you're headed straight towards a four-alarm geek-gasm. I don't know what else there is to say. It's Star Wars, it's LEGOS, it's definitely a ‘buy it.’”

THE FEED
Bad Vibrations: A judge orders Sony to stop selling PS2s and pay $90 million for infringing on the force-feedback patent of Immersion Corp. Don't worry, gamers; the appeal is already filed.
P2P Defender: The Grokster vs. MGM suit is being funded by flamboyant gazillionaire Mark Cuban.

Infect a Mac, Win a Prize: Well, you could have, but the Mac virus-writing contest has been revoked.

Quick, Let’s Start a Theme Park! Scientists locate T-Rex soft tissue from fossilized remains.