On the run up to Christmas, we are going to highlight a few things you might want to consider for presents. Here is the Griffin PowerJolt SE Car Charger.
PowerJolt SE sports a powerful 12 watt charging circuit so your iOS devices can power up quickly and safely.
A durable captive coiled cable, with Apple’s Lightning connector, easily reaches to 36 inches (a generous 91 cm). Plugs are shaped with a slight flare to make them easy to grip, yet still able to fit in even the most restrictive of ruggedized cases, including Griffin’s own Survivor cases.
Features
12 watt auto charger safely powers iOS devices equipped with Lightning connector
Coiled cable stretches to 36″ (91 cm)
For automotive accessory outlets: 12 – 16 V DC
Power provided to device: 12 W (5 V @ 2.4 A)
Enhanced strain relief for longer cable life
Engineered for max rate charging of your iPad, iPhone, or iPod
If you travel by car and you have any Apple device such as an iPhone, iPod or iPad then you will most likely need some power. You could take a battery pack with you to charge up the device or you could get yourself the Griffin PowerJolt SE Car Charger. It plugs into your cars cigarette lighter (are they still called that) and then connects to your device. Charging is quick and easy and you shouldn’t be without power again.
And at around £15 this makes it a fairly inexpensive, but very useful Christmas present for someone, or even yourself.
Turtle Beach have released the Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing Pilot Gaming Headset and here is our review:
This is how Turtle Beach describe the Headset:
The Turtle Beach Star Wars X-Wing Pilot headset features a unique design inspired by the Starfighter Pilots of the Rebel Alliance. Engage in battle with full-range audio delivered through 40mm Neodymium speakers, and call for reinforcements using the high-sensitivity boom mic which provides crystal-clear chat. The lightweight design provides hours of comfort, and the 3.5mm jack connection is compatible with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac mobile/tablet and portable gaming devices. May the Force be with you!
Specifications
Star Wars Design : The X-Wing Pilot headset design is inspired by the signature orange jumpsuits worn by the Starfighter Pilots of the Rebel Alliance.
Full-Range Audio : Hear Star Wars the way it’s meant to be heard through the X-Wing Pilot’s high-performance 40mm Neodymium speakers that deliver sizzling highs and thundering lows.
Convenient Controls : The X-Wing Pilot’s in-line controls place Mic Mute and Volume conveniently at your fingertips.
Be Heard Loud & Clear : Team-up with friends and chat in online multiplayer games with the X-Wing Pilot’s adjustable, high-sensitivity boom mic, which can quickly and easily be removed when listening to music and watching movies.
Lightweight & Comfortable : The X-Wing Pilot features Turtle Beach’s latest lightweight and comfortable design, ready to provide hours of comfort during those long, marathon gaming sessions.
Versatile : Fans can use the Star Wars X-Wing Pilot headset for playing games like Star Wars Battlefront, and also use it to enjoy their favourite movies, music and more.
What’s in the box?
The box contains the headset, mic boom, manuals and Turtle Beach sticker:
Final Thoughts
Turtle Beach has released two Star Wars Battlefront gaming headsets to celebrate the release of the game and the build up to the release of Episode VII: The Force Awakens film. With every fan of Star Wars already hyped up for both, the visual styling of this headset is bound to bring smiles to any gamer who has dreamed of being a Rebel Pilot.
Like its sister , The Sandtrooper headset, it captures the look and feel of Star Wars brilliantly using the bright colours of an X-Wing Pilots uniform of orange and white and the ear cups have the X-Wing Squadron logo on the outside with more markings on the main band adding to the visual impact.
I found the headset to be very comfortable to wear for extended periods of game time with little heat build up, thanks to the lightweight design. The main and keeps a nice firm position of the headset without feeling too tight.
Sound quality is great for what is a mid range gaming headset, with the volume control on the cable allows quick access to lower or raise game volume and with a switch to mute the mic. Wearing it whilst enjoying Battlefront really brought the games audio to life with blaster fire and explosions bursting all around. It was impressive to use with the ‘Fighter Squadron’ game mode to hear the foils raise on my X-Wing to that iconic whine of a Tie Fighters engine. Every game I tested wearing the headset sounded great on both PS4 and Xbox One Consoles.
The mic boom is crisp and clear with friends commentating on that fact during party chat, team talk and even when used during various Twitch streaming sessions. It is flexible enough to be positioned how you like and can be easily removed if to use for just listening to music or other media types with the headset.
The Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing Pilot Gaming Headset is available for £34.99 and is superb value for money as a midrange headset that performs equally well on multiple platforms. Any Star Wars fan will love the visuals and decals but its performance is worthy of the purchase. Trust your feelings, the Force is strong with this one!
One of the great aspects to being a Doctor Who fan, is being able to look back through over 50 years of the shows history and discover new experiences. This particular one comes the 1995 straight to video spin-off story ‘Downtime’ which actually serves as a sequel of sorts to earlier episodes ‘ The Abominable Snowmen’ and ‘The Web of Fear’ and features the iconic characters Sarah Jane Smith played by Elisabeth Sladen, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart played by Nicholas Courtney. Directed by veteran Doctor Who director Christopher Barry, what makes this particular story so special is that it is an unofficial Doctor Who tale, which the BBC did not permit to use the character of The Doctor and was not even allowed to mention him during the story!
Downtime at its core is a Brigadier story but bridges other episodes and characters well known to Doctor Who. Former companion Victoria Water field, played by Deborah Wattling, is lured back to the Detsen Monastery in Tibet which was first visited in ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ in the hopes of finding her late father. But instead discovers The Great Intelligence still possessing the mind of Professor Travis last seen in ‘The Web of Fear’, who promises to give ‘The Light of Truth’ if Victoria helps to work with it to release him.
Fifteen years later and the story shows that Victoria has been very busy, setting up the New World Institution, a puniversity with the promise of spiritual guidance to the students. In reality the institution is the means by which The Great Intelligence plans to take over the world by infecting the world’s computer systems like a virus and controlling the minds of mankind. An artifact is needed to unlock its true power and believes it is in the hands of The Brigadier, now retired from U.N.I.T. and the institute hires Sarah Jane Smith to investigate and locate both The Brigadier and the artifact.
This DVD release really is a great look at what could be considered ‘Classic Who’ even without The Doctor starring in the story. To see such iconic characters all feature in their own story is rather exciting as a long term fan of the show and to see so many episode storylines all tied together so elegantly is a great example of why the show has survived for over 50 years. Taking the Doctor out of the spotlight allows for a different kind of Doctor Who story to be told but it still retains all the attributes of not only what makes a great Doctor Who story but of the very different style of classic and modern Who.
Comparing the current high budget special effects and slick production of Doctor Who to twenty years ago serves to show just how far the show has come. From start to finish of Downtime I had a big smile on my face watching the performances of Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney who both sadly passed away in 2011. It is rather charming to see how they both captured the screen when on camera, especially when in scenes with some rather cliché ham acting from the rest of the cast at times.
Of course after twenty years it does all look rather dated and at just over an hour long, manages to fit a staggering amount of storytelling in. The storyline of using the internet to take over the minds of people has been used since as the first adventure together of Matt Smith’s Doctor and Clara Oswald with once again The Great Intelligence in ‘The Bells of St Johns’ in 2013. You may also see the possible inspiration for Captain Jack’s military coat with the styling for the character Harrods. Downtime really is a look back at a very different era of Doctor Who but is a really fun and interesting watch.
The highlight of this DVD really is the bonus disc with behind the scenes features ‘Behind the Lens’ and a look at the post-production of Downtime. In what felt like a early precursor to ‘Doctor Who Confidential’, getting to see the actors as they prepared for scenes and to see the Director Christopher Barry at work was a real treat to watch. To see how filming was affected by snow conditions and how location shooting was done was interesting to see from a very different age of TV even though only twenty years ago. I had a real fanboy moment to disvover that a trusty Amiga was used to produce the onscreen computer visuals used in scenes. It would be great to compare it to a recent behind the scenes look at how Doctor Who is filmed today.
The post production feature is short but a great look at how visual effects were created before CGI was a natural part of the show. Despite it being an unofficial story and the restriction imposed by the BBC, was curious to see that it was still the BBC Effects team that worked on production as well as the final cut being made broadcast ready at the BBC.
Overall this is a great watch for any generation of Doctor Who fan. The nostalgia of seeing huge grey PC set ups and everyone using Walkmans was a nice throwback to the 90s and the bonus disc with the making of features rounds it off nicely. Of course as a Doctor Who fan, getting to see both Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney in their iconic roles together on screen is a real joy. Seeing how different characters were brought together for this story shows how well Christopher Barry knew the Doctor Who universe. It continues into modern Who as the character of the Brigadier’s daughter Kate has returned to the current run of Doctor Who.
It certainly has a place in any Doctor Who collection and a superb look at a very different era. Downtime is available from Amazon UK for £9.99
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. has announced tomorrow’s release of Rock Band4’s completely free December Feature Update will include an all new gameplay challenge for Expert players, called Brutal Mode.
Brutal Mode – which will be available to Expert players in its own area off the Main Menu – will put even the most hardcore players’ skills to the test. Available in solo or multiplayer, Brutal Mode modifies the note track to react to how well you are playing. The better you play, the harder it gets. Players who master this mode are rewarded with a new Star threshold beyond Gold: the Crimson Star!
Today Harmonix also announces the addition of three intense metal tracks to the Rock Band Music Store for Xbox One and PlayStation 4! Releasing tomorrow, 8th December, in conjunction with the December Feature Update, these songs will surely challenge even the best players.
Between the Buried and Me mark their Rock Band return with “The Coma Machine,” the 7+ minute long track from the band’s 2015 chart-topping concept album, Coma Ecliptic. Opeth’s epic “Heir Apparent” comes from the Swedish metal masters’ 2008 album, Watershed, and clocks in at almost 9 minutes long. Rounding out the pack is 2015’s “Nevermore” from the Dante’s Inferno-inspired album, Underworld, by Symphony X.
Each track can be purchased individually for £1.59 / $1.99/ €1.99
Codemasters & Koch Media today announced that the full version of the acclaimed DiRT Rally has launched on Steam and will be skidding onto PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC(DVD) on 5th April 2016.
Following a highly successful Steam Early Access programme and unprecedented community demand, Codemasters is bringing DiRT Rally’s enticing blend of authentic, uncompromising realism and edge-of-control thrills to console players in April.
“The launch on Steam early access has been a resounding success. We want to thank the community for their valuable feedback and support which has guided our development for the past eight months, resulting in a 92% positive user score. We are now ready to launch the final version of the game on PC.” said Frank Sagnier, CEO Codemasters “Following this success on PC and a vocal demand from consumers, we are delighted to announce that Dirt Rally will be available on consoles on 5th April 2016. ”
Today’s Steam launch brings with it the Winter Wonderland update, which delivers a new rally set in the snow and ice of the Varmland region of Sweden to the game. These snow-filled stages are known for their snow banks and Codemasters has pioneered new soft edge tech that simulates the density of snow. As a result, players can now lean on the snow banks when pushing for those stage records. The Winter Wonderland update is free to all DiRT Rally Early Access players.
The update also brings two new cars to the game, the Hyundai Rally and the Volkswagen Polo Rally. These cars are the most recent additions to the pinnacle of the sport and they are the perfect way to round off this Early Access programme.
The publisher astragon Entertainment and developer Still Alive Studios has announced that their new game Bus Simulator 16 will be leaving its virtual depot on 20th January 2016 for players across the world to embark.
In Bus Simulator 16, players must take on a variety of tasks in order to be successful, not only from a driving perspective but also a logistical one. These range from making sure their bus remains on schedule and observes traffic rules, that the safety of their passengers is maintained, all the way up to adjusting and co-ordinating bus schedules, the efficient organization of personnel and the overall management of their very own public transport company.
The integrated reputation system within the game will also track how successful the player is at the game, taking in to account if the aspiring bus entrepreneur is punctual, manages to master their vehicles’ controls, observes traffic rules and makes the right decision in numerous everyday situations. These include passengers hurrying late to bus stops, jammed and blocked doors or construction sites and traffic jams that would be better avoided. Players will also be selling tickets and should always be responsive to the different needs of their customers.
Bus Simulator 16 will offer almost unlimited hours of interesting and challenging gameplay.
Bus Simulator 16 will be available on 20th January, 2016 for PC and Mac OS either in retail or on digital download platforms for €24.99/£18.99 GBP.
Mojang and Nintendo have announced Minecraft will be coming to the Nintendo Wii U on 17th December.
Minecraft: Wii U Edition will feature multiple add-on content packs, such as both Battle & Beasts Skin Packs, Natural Texture Pack, City Texture Pack, Fantasy Texture Pack, and Festive Mash-Up Pack. Both companies are also working on collaborating new content for Nintendo fans to enjoy in the future.
The game will support off-TV play, which will allow players to enjoy Minecraft on their GamePad controller. Considering how hooked younger players can get to Minecraft, this was a very smart decision so others can use the TV while the game is being played.
In addition to the included packs, a total of sixteen add-on packs will also be available for purchase within the Nintendo eShop. The additional packs are:
Festive Skin Pack
The Simpsons Skin Pack
Doctor Who Skins Volume 1
Doctor Who Skins Volume 2
Star Wars Classic Skin Pack
Star Wars Rebels Skin Pack
Star Wars Prequel Skin Pack
Mass Effect Mash-up Pack
Skyrim Mash-up Pack
Plastic Texture Pack
Candy Texture Pack
Cartoon Texture Pack
Steampunk Texture Pack
Pattern Texture Pack
Greek Mythology Mash-up Pack
Halloween 2015 Mash-up Pack
Minecraft: Wii U Edition will be available on the Nintendo Wii U on 17th December for $29.99 no UK pricing just yet.
The folks at Level 5 are returning to PlayStation and brought a special surprise to PlayStation Experience. It’s the follow-up to 2012’s Ni No Kuni. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, which looks to continue the story of the original.
“What a great day! Taking our fans on such a charming adventure is always something special… Level-5 and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment have decided to work together again and take everyone on a magical journey to a unique universe! You can quote us on this: Ni no Kuni II: REVENANT KINGDOM is going to be truly irreplaceable in everyone’s mind!” Hervé Hoerdt, VP of Marketing and Digital at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe.
During the keynote at The PlayStation Experience this past weekend, Activision and Bungie unveiled a fun, all-new limited time event coming to everyone who owns Destiny: The Taken King called Sparrow Racing League.
Beginning 8th December 2015, players around the world will be able push their driving skill to the limit in one of the most requested new modes for Destiny. Featuring a six-person death race through enemy territory where players put their sparrow skills to the ultimate test against five other Guardians and the tracks themselves, Sparrow Racing will challenge players in ways they have yet to experience in the world of Destiny. The event will last for three weeks, ending on 29th December 2015. Also revealed was a limited time exclusive quest and set of gear PlayStation fans will have access to when Sparrow Racing launches tomorrow.
Play the beginning. The HITMAN Beta is set twenty years in the past at a top-secret ICA recruitment and training facility. This extremely unique mission revolves around how Agent 47 was recruited into the ICA and shows the first time that 47 meets his long-time handler, Diana Burnwood.
The HITMAN Beta is available on 12th February for PlayStation 4 and PC a week later on 19th February. Pre-order the game to guarantee access.
After releasing the live action features, “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” and “Halo: Nightfall”, Animatsu Entertainment and Platform Entertainment are ready for the next chapter of the epic Halo saga: Today, “Halo: The Fall of Reach” will reveal the beginning of the well-known science fiction universe on DVD and Blu-ray.
Based on the Halo novel of American writer Eric Nylund, the 65-minute feature tells the dramatic tale of the origin and intrigue behind the SPARTAN program that propelled characters like the Master Chief and Dr. Catherine Halsey into the pantheon of Halo lore. The story reveals the events that brought Master Chief and Blue Team together, including their Spartan training and their daring mission to strike back at the Covenant during the first days of the deadly alien invasion.
The animation is produced and directed by SEQUENCE, the award-winning Vancouver-based animation studio responsible for the “Terminals” featured in Halo 4 and Halo 2: Anniversary, and this marks their most ambitious and high-fidelity Halo animation yet. With more than 65 million copies sold, Halo is an award-winning collection of properties that have transcended video games and grown into a global entertainment phenomenon. “Halo: The Fall of Reach” is out on DVD with an RRP of £12.99 and on Blu-ray with an RRP of £15.99 today.
“We’re very excited to be bringing the latest instalment from the Halo universe to the UK” said Andrew Hewson, Marketing Manager at Animatsu Entertainment. “Fans have played the games, read the books, enjoyed the live action releases and now have the chance to immerse themselves in this amazing animated feature, where we discover the origins of Halo’s most iconic character, the Master Chief!”
To celebrate the release of Fear the Walking Dead The Complete First Season on DVD and Blu-ray, we’re giving away three copies on Blu-ray!
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD is the brand new record-breaking companion series to the TV franchaise that became a global phenomenon. Living in the same universe as The Walking Dead, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD is the gritty drama that explores the onset origin of the undead apocalypse through the lens of a fractured family. Don’t miss the brand new deadly series as FEAR THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON comes to Blu-ray and DVD on 7th December 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD features an incredible cast including; Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, The Blind Side) as high school guidance counsellor, Madison Clark; Cliff Curtis (Live Free or Die Hard, Last Knights) as English teacher and Madison’s boyfriend, Travis Manawa; Frank Dillane (In The Heart Of The Sea, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) as 19-year-old drug addict and son of Madison, Nick Clark;Alycia Debnam-Carey (Into The Storm, The Devil’s Hand) as top student and daughter of Madison, Alicia Clark; Lorenzo James Henrie (Star Trek, Warrior Road) as rebellious teenager and son of Travis, Christopher Manawa; Elizabeth Rodriguez (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Vampire Diaries) as single mother, Liza Ortiz; Ruben Blades (The Counselor, Safe House) as El Salvador refugee and barber shop owner, Daniel Salazar; Patricia Reyes Spindola (Bleak Street, Bad Habbits) as Daniel’s wife, Griselda Salazar; and Mercedes Mason (NCIS: Los Angeles, The Finder) as their daughter Ofelia Salazar.
Set in a city where people come to bury their pasts, a mysterious outbreak threatens to disrupt what little stability high school guidance counsellor Madison Clark (Dickens) and English teacher Travis Manawa (Curtis) have managed to assemble. The everyday pressure of blending two families while dealing with resentful children takes a back seat when society begins to break down, and as the necessary survival of the fittest takes hold, they must either reinvent themselves or embrace their darker histories.
How to enter to win
We have three copies of Fear the Walking Dead The Complete First Season on Blu-ray to give away.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is enter below:
To celebrate the release of action-packed MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—ROGUE NATION, out now on Digital HD and released on Blu-ray and DVD from 7th December, we’re giving one lucky winner the chance to bring home a Blu-ray!
Loaded with “killer action and tight suspense” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—ROGUE NATION was directed and written for the screen by Christopher McQuarrie. Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames return to their iconic roles and the movie also stars
Alec Baldwin and newcomer Rebecca Ferguson in a “star-turning role” (Brian Viner, Daily Mail) as a mysterious double agent.
With his elite organization shut down by the CIA, agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team (Renner, Pegg, Rhames) race against time to stop the rise of a new global threat, The Syndicate, a dangerous network of rogue operatives turned traitors. To stop them, Ethan must join forces with an elusive, disavowed agent (Ferguson) who may or may not be on his side as he faces his most impossible mission yet.
How to enter to win
We have a copy of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation on Blu-ray to give away.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is enter below:
I spoke with the awesome Mercedes Mason about her roles in Fear the Walking Dead and NCIS:LA and why she wants to be a violin playing ballerina Bond girl.
The interview took place on Sunday 22nd November 2015.
Hi Mercedes, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I like long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners … What could I tell about myself? I have the energy of a puppy that apparently lacks parental love. I don’t know why my parents raised me the way I am, but I’m a simpleton and I enjoy acting. I’m a huge animal advocate. I can’t take anything seriously, I pre-apologize.
You started off modeling and then got into acting. Tell us a little bit about the modeling and then the acting.
So modeling, when I first moved to the States from Sweden I was 13 years old and I had a scout discover me and my parents, immigrant parents that they are, were really nervous about it, eventually they let me do it because I begged and pleaded, and it was great experience. I’m not sure if I would ever want my kids to model because it did make me grow up fast. I was traveling to Milan on my own, and Japan, and New York on my own. I was living in Chicago at the time. It definitely makes you grow up fast, but I think it really created a work ethic and made me realize that I’m capable of doing a lot of things on my own. It made me very independent for lack of a better word. I definitely appreciate all the time that I spent modeling. The great thing is I think ultimately it gave me the confidence, that when I did want to go into acting, which was my childhood dream since I can remember, I had the confidence to go in there without fear and sort of throw caution to the wind and say, look, I’m gonna try this. If it happens, amazing, if not, at least when I’m 80 I don’t look back on my life with regret. I think luckily, that ill-fated or ill-conceived confidence sort of helped me get my foot in the door. I’m really, really appreciative.
Let’s talk a little bit about “Fear the Walking Dead”. Tell us a little bit about your character.
Ofelia, again, is very much like me, daughter of immigrant parents and a little bit naïve. When we first meet her in the second episode she’s very protective of her parents. None of our characters know what’s happening in this world. Ironically, the fans actually know far more than we do. We’re in the dark about everything, we think there might be a flu epidemic or some sort of riot going on. She has no idea how dire of a circumstance she and her family are in, so initially, you can see she’s very much sort of joking around with her Dad, and taking in these new people into her Dad’s barbershop. She has no clue what’s happening. Then as the world starts falling apart, Ofelia’s really forced to face her parents and recognize that maybe they’re protecting her more and maybe she’s far more sheltered than she’s ever imagined she would be. And she’s got to get along with these strangers who are sort of forced into a family setting with her and it makes her question everything she’s known, and as things progress, something happens between her and her father and her and her mother that again, makes her question everything she knows about her parents, herself, and what a family dynamic is. So she’s, just in these few episodes, really forced to grow up and change and learn to take care of herself.
What drew you to Ofelia?
Again, I saw a lot of myself in her. When I first read the script, of course I’m a huge fan of “The Walking Dead”, so I was immediately enthralled. Once I stopped screaming and could actually focus, I read the script and again, immediately I could see that there was an underlying strength with Ofelia. Again, I remember myself, when I first came to the States, it’s scary. You don’t really know the culture, you don’t know the language, and that’s sort of the world that Ofelia’s been thrown into. She’s not new to America, but she’s knew to this new apocalyptic world, so she’s trying to finagle her way through it and that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like a fish out of water when I first came to the States.
So I really connected with her and I, in a weird sense, wanted to protect her. Almost because of my own knowledge from my own life, I wanted to sort of instill that strength in her and watch her grow. So I was immediately enthralled and started offering gifts and puppies and all sorts of things just to get the role.
My agent’s were like, “Just maybe do a good audition, as simple as that.” Oh, okay, good. So I don’t have to give them my first born child? Great.
Did you do much training for the role of Ofelia?
You know, like I said, I felt so connected to her that I didn’t have to do a lot of character study. I did more research into the El Salvadorean civil war. I wanted to understand what her parents had left and what they saved her from and brought her out of. I needed to understand the war and the atrocities and, and again, a lot of that sort of psychology behind what people do and change and how they change when the world is falling apart. During the civil war there, it was the worst sort of horrible things in humanity came out and then you hear these amazing stories where others were saves and helped each other out and neighbor would save neighbor. Again, I really needed to get into that world and I needed to understand where her parents came from and what their fear was to understand Ofelia’s father and her mother better.
You’ve just started working on season 2. Is there anything you can tell us, a few hints maybe?
We literally, I’m not kidding you, we have no information. There’s been no scripts provided. We don’t even know where we’re picking up. Once you’ve seen the episode, the last episode of the season, the first season, I don’t want to give any spoilers away, there’s hinting at where we’re going to go. We still, as the actors, have not been told, “Okay, this is where we’re picking up.” They’re being very, sort of, vague about it and I think that they like to keep it that way. They did the same thing for season one. We would get our scripts at the table read the day before we shot.
So we read through it in a mad dash and then try to prepare so it feels very fresh when you’re actually on set. So, again, literally, I haven’t read a single script. We leave after Thanksgiving in the States and I imagine, hopefully, they’ll give us a script at that point, but thus far I have nothing. I could make up a storyline.
Why do you think shows like “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead” are so popular?
You know, somebody else asked me that and I think it’s a really good question. I think there’s something that brings humanity together. I don’t care what nationality you are, where you’re from, there’s something to do with, almost a morbid fascination with death I think and the fact that there is a lot of sorrow and sadness in the world. Seeing that play out on TV, for some reason it’s almost cathartic I imagine. Because, again, “The Walking Dead” is popular throughout the entire world. There’s something that collectively brings people together when it comes to death and when it comes to facing death. It think it’s just a natural human fascination I imagine. Maybe we’re all just a little bit morbid. Or maybe it’s because we’re so afraid to talk about death we almost want to see it exercised in safe ways like on TV.
Let’s talk about “NCIS LA”. You’ve been on the show a few times now. When you first got the role of Talia, did you think it was going to be as a semi-regular or was it just supposed to be a one-off.
No, initially they told me I was going to do 2 and so I said, “Great.” I read the character, she’s so much fun. Then I showed up on set because Daniela Ruah, who’s a regular on that show, was off on maternity leave, so I came in to stir the pot a little bit with Deeks, Eric Christian Olsen’s character. As as Daniela came back, she and I hit it off immediately. She came back at the end of the second episode that I was shooting. We hit it off immediately and to this day were’ friends. I see her constantly, I’m absolutely in love with her, she’s fantastic. Now when I come back on set, I’m surprised they even pay me to do it. It’s so much fun, all we do is goof off, as I’m sure, if you look at my Instagram you can see that none of that is staged, that’s random people tweeting photos of us acting like 2 year olds. All we do is laugh all day. Aside from “Fear”, it’s one of my most favorite sets because all I do is hang out with my friends and goof off. I’m really, really blessed that they always bring me back and we have so much fun. I definitely owe a great debt to “NCIS LA”.
So obviously with you doing “Fear the Walking Dead” again, I guess we’re not going to see you back for awhile?
Right, right, exactly. We actually sort of discussed the absence to the fans with this recent episode that just aired. A lot of fans are saying, “Please become a regular, become a regular,” and so Eric Christian Olsen actually commented and said, “Ah, yeah, she’s on this other little show, I don’t know if you’ve heard it, “Fear the Walking Dead”.” So hopefully, fans will want to watch Ofelia, the ones who are fans of Talia will come over if they haven’t tried “Fear” yet, so who knows. At the end of the day I’m pretty confident that hopefully they’ll bring me back as well here and there. It was so much fun.
Any thoughts on possibly the character going to “NCIS” or to “NCIS New Orleans”?
I don’t know. It’s completely different producers and directors, so I haven’t actually been on those shows. I was on “NCIS” years and years ago just for a one-off, but I’ve never been on New Orleans and I don’t know. I don’t know if they ever have crossover characters like that to be honest. So it would be a surprise to me.
You mentioned that you have a lot of fun on the set of “NCIS LA” and as I can see that from your Instagram page and Daniela’s Instagram page. Any funny stories you can share?
A couple of episodes ago that I’d done, it was Eric Christian Olsen’s birthday and I got some of the other crew guys and we blew up, I think it was over a hundred balloons, shoved them into his trailer, filled the whole thing with streamers to the point where you couldn’t walk into it and we moved his car. By the time he came back into his trailer after rehearsal, he couldn’t walk into it, we were all laughing at him. Poor guy, he couldn’t get to his wardrobe. We were dying. We were literally crying, I was laughing so hard I was crying. At the end of the day, we sort of let it go, we got him a cake, and afterwards, I just got this text from him and all he wrote was, “I hate you”. Because I know he couldn’t find his car. So again, I spend all day just laughing, again, like a 12 year old, because my emotional maturity is about that much. It was amazing.
Source: Mercedes Mason’s Instagram
Then he got me back really good the next day. He moved my car and put one of those, you know like a Betty Boop sort of fuzzy pink thing on my steering wheel that I could not get off for weeks. I could not. So I’m driving around in hot LA with this furry pink and Betty Boop all inside of my car. There were … I don’t even know what to call all of these things, but sunshades, and you can just imagine my entire car was just filled with. So, touche, touche. He just upped the game. The next time it will … I will have to do something 10 times worse. I feel bad for my “Fear the Walking Dead” cast members because I think I’m on my best behavior season 1, but come season 2 …..
So other than “Fear the Walking Dead”, what else are you working on at the moment or have recently completed?
This has sort of taken up all my time. As soon as we wrapped season 1 of “Fear” I came back on “NCIS LA” and we only had a very short break in between so I’m going back after these holidays and going back on “Fear”. I literally didn’t have much time in between to do anything else.
What’s your ideal role and if you could do any role, what is it?
Oh my. Growing up, the one way my Dad and I bonded in Sweden … My dad’s very stoic, he doesn’t show emotions, it’s very hard to sort of crack him. The 2 things we watched were football, European football where you actually use your foot, and James Bond. So I became a huge, huge fan of the James Bond series and even as a little girl, one of the initial dreams that I had was to become a Bond girl. From a very young age. I sort of always held on to that dream. If I could one day become a Bond girl, I would die. I would show up on set and then immediately have a cardiac arrest and die. So it would be useless, but at least I could say my childhood dream was fulfilled.
You say you’re very busy, so when you do actually get some downtime, what is it you like doing?
Oh God, you’re going to think I’m such a nerd. I literally, all I like doing is sitting in some sort of sunny area and reading a book. All I do is read all day. I have actually during this break tried to force myself out and to learn new things because it’s the first time I had a little bit of time on my own where I knew I couldn’t travel a while lot. So I tried picking up the violin, I involved myself in ballet lessons. All the sort of things that my parents should have done when I was 5 years old I provided for myself this time around. Now I’ve got a complete fascination with ballerinas and the violin is my absolute favorite instrument, so I’m hoping if I stick with it, eventually I can sound better than eee-eee-eee-eee-eeee. Hopefully, down the road. I just have to be hired as a Bond girl who does ballet and plays the violin. That’s not too much to ask for is it?
That sounds like a typical Bond girl. Thank you very much for your time today.
Oh, thank you.
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON arrives on Blu-ray and DVD from 7th December 2015, courtesy of Entertainment One.
