io9: subway

Mutant Bugs Attack Moscow's Subway System

Lauren Davis — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 PDT

If you're nervous about riding the subway, you may want to steer clear of Alex Andreev's Moscow Underground art series, which fills the Russian subway with giant mutant cockroaches, malevolent metro conductors, and other bits of urban horror.

Andreev combines (illegally taken) photos of the Moscow Underground with other images to create portraits of gloomy horror. Some of the photos suggest the subway system (one of the oldest and deepest in the world) is a hotbed for arcane mystical activity, others seem built on urban legends of gigantic insects making their homes in the tunnels, and still others are straightforward science fiction, with the daily commute supervised by watchful robotic overlords.

The Horror of Subway [English Russia via Environmental Graffiti]

Chuck Sells Out To Survive

Graeme McMillan — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:30:00 PDT

So now we know that NBC's Chuck will get a third season of thrills, spills and... worryingly obvious product placement? Expect to see even more shout-outs to Subway than you would've expected, apparently.

Variety snuck in the lowdown on what it took to keep Chuck going, into a report about NBC's upcoming 2009-2010 slate:

As part of the "Chuck" renewal, [NBC] also sealed a major marketing deal with Subway (which was at the heart of a massive "Save Chuck" campaign). Under the pact, Subway will be integrated in the show — one character will work for the sandwich chain — and other advertising tie-ins will be launched.

Morgan's totally going to end up in Subway, isn't he? So much for that dream of being a benihana chef.

What'll be interesting to see is how the show can incorporate Subway without insulting it; working in a BuyMore was always easy to portray as a dead-end job because it's not a real store, but can the series do the same to the real-life chain helping keep it alive?

NBC cuts fall season in two [Variety]

Save Chuck So That Zachary Levi Never Has To Work At Subway Again

Graeme McMillan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:30:13 PDT

As far as pleas to save TV shows go, stars working behind the counter at Subway has to count as one of the less obvious ones. But that's exactly what Chuck's Zachary Levi did recently.

Trying to drum up support for a third season of NBC's Chuck, Levi and fellow star Adam Baldwin ended up treating 400 British convention goers to lunch at a local Subway this weekend. UK blog End of Show was there to eat... I mean, report:

[F]an Wendy Farrington had the unique idea of getting fans to follow the money and show the sandwich franchise Subway that the show they were sponsoring had an audience. She presented the idea to Zachary Levi who plays the titular character Chuck Bartowski at Starfury conventions T1 event in Birmingham, UK. Levi and Adam Baldwin (Casey) then asked the hundreds of con attendees to follow them on en masse to the local Subway.

Levi, who described the show as "On the good side of the bubble", even got behind the counter and helped out the besieged staff of the outlet in the Birmingham NEC exhibition centre, staying until the very last fan was served.

On the one hand, that's very generous of Levi and Baldwin. On the other, they'd really better hope that the show gets picked up for another season if they're going to keep pulling stunts like that in future; $5 footlongs may seem like a bargain at first, but not when you're buying 400 of them at a time.

Chuck's season finale airs on NBC tonight at 8pm.

Chuck stars lead 400 fans to Subway to save show [End of Show]

New Wave Highlander Gets Groovy with "Big Bill" in the Paris Subway

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:52:41 PDT

If you know Christopher Lambert for his fine work as a cross-temporal white ninja in Highlander — and who doesn't? — then you'll be thrilled to see him in his "new wave" incarnation. Luc "Fifth Element" Besson did a movie back in the 1980s called Subway, about futuristic hipsters living in (yes) the Paris subway. Basically it's a bunch of cute people in weird clothes talking in French and not having sword fights. Though this clip is hilariously dubbed into English, the hilarity is already in full effect as "Fred" (new wave Highlander) meets subway denizens "Big Bill" and rollerskating dude. Basically the entire point of this scene is to watch a man break handcuffs with his bare fists. Which is pretty much of the same awesomeness level as Highlander's perfect new wave puff of bleached blond. [Subway via IMDB]

Train-Sized Drill Eats Through Earth and Concrete

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:40:18 PST

Last month in Leipzig, Germany, the world's most enormous drill bit emerged from this wall. It was boring a subway tunnel. Want to see the drill up close?

Here's a close-up of the massive drill head. This is one of those moments when it is perfectly appropriate to exclaim: "DUDE!" You may also slap your head, or the head of the person next to you. Photos by Sebastian Willnow/AFP/Getty Images.

Your Subway Car Wants Kill You

Kevin Kelly — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:40:47 PST

What do you get when you combine a sentient, artificially intelligent subway train (starring Emma Clarke, the voice of the London Underground and Keanu Reeves) with Speed and Titanic? It turns out you get "Sentient Subway," a hilarious Hollywood movie pitch that needs a bit of work on its title. However, having heard this whole pitch, I'm going to go out on a limb and say... it ain't half bad. We'd take a ride on it. In fact, we're all for sentient every mode of transportation: bicycles, cars, roller skates, scooters. Just not buses. Those things are filthy.