#i also loved the first episode of this season. a great episode for wilson enjoyers

[lovelenivy]

you know what hate crimes md enjoyers, idk if this has been done before but i wanna start like a little tag game: i wanna know your favorite seasons in order, what you think is the best episode each season, your personal favorite ep from each season, any honorable mentions if you have them, and your least favorite/worst episode in your opinion. i'd also like to have you sort the main characters/fellows from favorite to least favorite, plus tell me your favorite ship (and optionally, a ship you enjoy and think is underrated)! feel free to toss in any explanations for why you chose what you did. (: kinda long, but oh well – feel like it'll be fun.

i'll go first (so you can see the format) – listing seasons from the best imo, to the worst, and the episodes.

Seasons:

1. Season 3

Best episode: one day, one room (?)

Favorite episode: merry little christmas

Honorable mention(s): cane and able, words and deeds, family, needle in a haystack

Least favorite episode: que sera sera (?)

it was hard to pick the best bc i'm biased towards merry little christmas, but i don't know if it would be the best of the season exactly. as for que sera sera, nothing really wrong with it but honestly i had a hard time picking a least favorite too. great season – to me it's like the classic house season.

2. Season 5

Best: birthmarks

Favorite: under my skin

Honorable mention(s): the softer side, last resort, both sides now, painless

Least favorite: big baby (?)

i literally just barely remember big baby compared to the rest, i think, no matter how many times i see it. amazing season though, honestly so up there with s3 for me that it became a tough choice.

3. Season 6

Best: help me

Favorite: wilson

HM(s): the down low, broken (part 1 & 2), baggage, lockdown

Least favorite: epic fail, remorse (?)

help me is such an amazing episode, it always makes me cry. epic fail is extremely annoying tho and idk why, like after i watched it more than once or twice i started having a hard time rewatching it. and honestly every time i watch remorse i get pissed off on thirteen's behalf and it's just not a fun feeling. not a bad episode though. i know a lot of people don't like s6 but i love it.

4. Season 2

Best: euphoria (part 1 & 2)

Favorite: no reason

HM(s): skin deep, distractions, hunting, clueless

Least favorite: sleeping dogs lie

i recently rewatched euphoria and it's so fucking good i legitimately cried. sleeping dogs lie isn't a bad episode, it just is frustrating to watch for many reasons. another classic house season.

5. Season 4

Best: house's head/wilson's heart

Favorite: house's head/wilson's heart, 97 seconds

HM(s): mirror mirror, you don't want to know, frozen, living the dream

Least favorite: the right stuff

nothing really wrong with the least favorite – it was honestly a tough choice. also i couldn't pick a favorite, it was so tough. i honestly really like this season despite how short and different it is.

6. Season 1

Best: detox

Favorite: detox

HM(s): three stories, histories, control, mob rules

Least favorite: heavy, everybody lies (pilot)

the pilot being orange just makes me laugh the whole time so it's hard to watch, and chase's insane fatphobia in heavy is just disturbing, which is the only reason it's a least favorite. for the best i was torn between three stories and detox, but i think detox is better. s1 is ranked so low bc of general weirdness.

7. Season 8

Best: the c-word, everybody dies

Favorite: the c-word

HM(s): dead & buried, twenty vicodin, nobody's fault, post mortem

Least favorite: we need the eggs

we need the eggs isn't bad, the case is just ??? weird and kinda sad tbh idk. i haven't rewatched the c-word yet but i remember it fondly, so i couldn't really choose a best episode. is picking the finale kinda dumb? maybe, idk. i like a lot of episodes from season 8 surprisingly, like most of them, but it's so different from the previous seasons with cuddy absent and the late addition of two new main characters that it can't be any higher for me.

8. Season 7

Best: after hours

Favorite: after hours, out of the chute

HM(s): unwritten, bombshells, the dig, moving on, fall from grace

Least Favorite: two stories

god i really can't stand rewatching two stories. idk what it is but the fucking kids that house gets stuck with in the principal's office are so annoying ??? probably my least fave episode in all of house. but despite how s7 is at the bottom, it did have some great episodes. just wasn't my favorite season at all, especially as someone who isn't really into huddy.

Characters:

from favorite to least favorite of the main characters –

1. House (of course)

2. Wilson

3. Thirteen

4. Cuddy

5. Chase

6. Foreman

7. Kutner

8. Cameron

9. Amber

10. Taub

11. Park

12. Adams

13. Masters

favorite ship: hilson (house / wilson)

underrated ship: thirteen / cameron, or chase / foreman

Tags:

anybody that wants to participate! i know it's kind of long so no sweat if you don't want to do it. i'm also indecisive so i had trouble picking episodes lmao

#house md #hate crimes md #hilson #gregory house #james wilson #lisa cuddy #remy hadley #eric foreman #robert chase #allison cameron #house #tag game #house md tag game

[unqualified-critic]

I’d like to start off this review with the reminder that these people put their heart and soul into their work. They work countless hours, while I sit on my ass and type on a blog. I have no film experience, or writing skill, yet plenty of opinions.

I was initially very excited for the series, I love Loki as a character and Tom Hiddleston always does a fantastic job playing him (I actually wish they had him write the character instead of giving him minimal input) However, I wish I didn't watch past episode 3. The directing and writing felt sloppy at best. Loki felt extremely out of character. The development he goes through feels overnight. Remember this is the same Loki that ripped out a guys eye and the next day is in the TVA.

We see Loki go through great change in Dark World and Ragnarok (I get it we can’t all be Taika Waititi) despite the limited scenes featuring him. I’m the movies we see his transition from evil, but he is still the god of mischief, first and foremost. Those movies were maybe 5 hours together, yet better translated the characters depth, than the entire show about him. If it really was about Loki... the series felt as if Loki is back seat to a long monologue filled with plot holes.

There is a severe lack of action. At one point it is addressed that magic cannot be used in the TVA; but Loki is still witty, a good fighter, and has super human strength. We see none of that here and he is reduced to a powerless shell of himself. The few over the top “super hero” effects used, were produced beautifully by the cgi and film crew. The TVA set was well produced and fun with the retro “DMV” feel. The simple costume design with neutral colors and progressively darker lighting, could've paired nicely in contrast against Loki’s character. He’s typically sarcastic, quick on his feet, egotistical, and energetically self absorbed. This series he didn’t even feel broken or exhausted, just bland. Hey, you should always have artistic vision and change material. But characters can only be changed so far, and so quickly without any sustainable reason. It felt almost like a fan-fiction written from the writers ideas, and not the source material.

One of my biggest issues and final straws was the relationship. The relationship felt very forced and wrong. Slyvie and Loki are essentially twins, due to the same parentage. A love interest is not necessary in every series, and it took away from this one severely. I found myself dreading the finale due to the obvious upcoming kiss. The director, Kate Herron, addressed that it was to represent self love...however if you have to explain why it's not incest, it's probably incest. I understand some people don't mind because Slyvie doesn't feel like a Loki (Maybe it's the fact that she looks like and is named after Enchantress rather than lady Loki...not very creative guys) But it made me very uncomfortable. The director is a LGBT woman herself, yet I feel she was locked in a very male gaze, heteronormative, direction. A woman can co-star without being a love interest. An example of this done well is Loki’s friendly relationship with Verity in the comic Agent of Asgard. They met and became friends in only a matter of comics, with better tangibility of relations. In the comics we also see as a version of Lady Loki, and expression of gender-fluidity; without feeling forced or “woke.” On that note, if Loki is established as gender fluid in the MCU, why is there only one female variant of him. The other variants even express surprise of there being a female variant.

Slyvie lacks depth and felt “gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss.” Sophia Di Martino plays Slyvie well and I have no qualms with the castings. I was very excited for a female character with more story than Black Widow, but it was never given. It’s been confirmed that Sylvie isn’t Enchantress, however for the sake of character design, continuity, and incest...I hope she is and that they’re just keeping it a secret.

With a second season coming, I’m glad a new director will be taking the reins. As bad as I feel saying it. Disney has the budget to do better, and not use a “well let’s see what they make” strategy.

I’m not sure how a series can feel so rushed and so empty at the same time. As if it was drawn out to waste time and tell us nothing.

I also found the secondary characters like Owen Wilson’s Mobius and Wunmi Mosaku who plays hunter b-15 likable but underused. Something that left a bad taste in my mouth was how all the characters played by POC were bad guys or killed off. For those unaware this is a trope often exercised by “progressive” creators, usually attempting to include black or Hispanic characters but promptly killing them off or reducing them to a villain. This all just contributes to an absolutely messy series.

No, I didn’t think they’d reverse Loki’s death, give us gender shifting Loki, or Lady Loki as she is from the comics. However the lack of coherent writing (not that I’m one to talk,) contrast of Loki’s character, and rushed emptiness, was a major disappointment. If you love this character, don’t go past episode 2. Feel free to let me know your thoughts both critically and enjoyability at face value.

TLDR: good acting, casting, special effects. Poor character development, weird incest relationship, empty “progressiveness” and lack of action.

Wouldn’t watch past episode 2 if I could go back in time

#loki #loki laufeyson #loki show #loki tv #loki series #loki odinson #slyvie #slyvie laufeydottir #lady loki #mcu #marvel

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: New World Order (1x01)

Watching this show is going to be strange for me because I genuinely ship Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson with one Steve Rogers... so basically I just want to watch them sitting around being sad about him being dead the whole time. But I'm open to the possibilities, here, I really am...

Cons:

Positioning the bad guys here as... well, as communists who want a world without borders, and then making them into terrorists... let's just say I'm side-eying this pretty hard. You have that twist at the end, where the United States brings forth a new symbolic hero, a new Captain America, and my brain immediately started spinning forward as to where this is going to go. See, we've got anarchist baddies who want to destroy all the flags on one side, then we've got this pretender to the throne on the other side. But the issue won't be that there's something inherently flawed with the whole concept of a militarized heroic folk legend for Americans to idealize... it'll be about how it's the wrong man carrying the shield. At some point, in a moment of triumph, Sam will take the mantle on for himself, and then we can safely and comfortably cheer as our hero takes down the big bad commies who don't love 'Murica enough. I want to be wrong. I want them to mix things up, to challenge things, but all I can see is that the ultimate heroic conclusion is going to be "government control of Captain America is Bad, but Captain America himself, and what he stands for, specifically America, is good."

While I know this episode needed to set up a lot of puzzle pieces, I did think there were moments of somewhat clumsy exposition with both Bucky and Sam's story-lines. We've got Sam who's worried about his sister and her kids losing the family home and boat, and going to get a loan. There were some good moments in here, but it was a bit paint-by-numbers, and some of the dialogue fell into that "as you know..." trap where characters were having a conversation, then needed to stop and tell us it's a conversation they've already had a million times before. They're having the talk for our benefit as the audience only. That's a tough needle to thread, and they didn't quite thread it. The same thing happens during Bucky's therapy appointment. First off, the whole waking up out of a dream thing, cut to a therapist talking about nightmares... another cliché. And then we have the therapist walking him through the three steps, and restating them for the benefit of the audience, even though in the ordinary course they wouldn't lay it all out like that again, since Bucky would already know. It's a small thing, I'm nitpicking, but there were some rough aspects to the start of the show.

Pros:

First off, let's just acknowledge that the show looks great. That whole opening action scene with Sam rescuing the guy, flying around, helicopters blowing up, the base jumping tech... damn. It felt like I could be watching an action sequence on the big screen, in any standard MCU movie. Maybe not the climactic fight, but one of the shorter, introductory ones for sure. And that's what this was, wasn't it? A strong, exciting, high-energy start to the show.

I really love Sam Wilson, y'all. There's something so incredibly powerful about watching a show like this with a black man in the leading role. He's such a good person, he's charming and funny and bad-ass but compassionate. He's a little cocky but nowhere approaching an asshole about his power and fame. He's stubborn but that just shows that he really cares. The movies don't have a ton of screen-time with Sam, if we're being honest, but I already really liked him, and here I'm seeing the chance to flesh out the details and let Anthony Mackie do his thing on the silver screen. It's all really working for me so far.

I like the side characters we're folding in here - his sister seems like an interesting character with a lot to offer, and I love that Sam has these nephews in his life to care for, something to anchor him to the world in a way that Bucky, who I'll talk about in a second, kind of doesn't. It provides a nice contrast between them. I also really liked Torres, the man who helps teach Sam about the Flag Smashers (ugh, that name) and seems like a solid dude who wants to make a positive difference in the world. I hope we see more of him too.

(Also, while I'm sure Rhodey was just a brief appearance in this first episode, it was so good to see him too! I'll miss him in the MCU, if he doesn't keep popping up.)

The last thing I'll mention on Sam's side of the story is that bank loan scene. It was such a punch in the gut to see Sam denied the loan, and one of the reasons being "you don't have any income for the past five years." Well... Sam didn't exist. He got Thanos snapped. This feels so realistic to me, that the system would not pivot to adapt to the new situation, but instead leave more and more people out in the cold. Then you have the bank employee trying to get selfies with the Falcon, all excited to meet an Avenger, all while denying him and his family the money they needed to make ends meet. It was such a devastating scene, and you could see so much hope draining out of Sam's eyes. I'm anxious to see where this goes.

And then you've got Bucky Barnes... let me just say, that despite the fact that he's a super assassin, whenever I see Bucky on the screen I just want to wrap him in a blanket and protect him from all harm. When I saw how Sebastian Stan was debuting on the show, in a flashback to his Winter Solider evil days, I literally said out loud, "oh no, poor Bucky" as if I wasn't watching him murder a bunch of people in cold blood. I have such an intense desire for him to be okay, so seeing him not being okay, but trying in these small ways to atone for his past actions, makes me so proud of him already.

Despite my undying belief that Bucky Barnes is deeply in love with Steve Rogers and that nobody will ever take Steve's place in his heart... I thought the date scene was actually very cute. The flowers, the board game, just chilling in the restaurant... I don't know. I hope that woman is in the show moving forward. I want Bucky to be happy. I want him to make new friends, forge connections in the world. I also really liked the stuff with Yuri, and when the reveal happened about Bucky having killed his son, it was a severe punch to the gut. Maybe I was supposed to have guessed it before the show told me, but I didn't, and when I realized why Bucky had befriended this old grumpy man... oh god. It's all too tragic.

On the one hand, it makes me a little nervous that there are only six episodes in this season, and in the first one we didn't even see Sam and Bucky interact. On the other hand, it's a pretty smart move to keep us waiting, at least a little, for the duo to emerge and develop a rapport. I can't wait for the fun banter, as I think Sam and Bucky are both funny, snarky people albeit with different attitudes and ways of expressing said snark. And I also can't wait for some more serious content between them, as they ruminate on all they've lost in the wars they've fought, on how hard it is to be suddenly missing five years of your life... and on Steve Rogers, a great friend (*ahem* boyfriend *ahem*) that they've both recently lost.

They're also holding back on Sam taking up the mantle of Captain America. I wonder if that will be a point of contention between Bucky and Sam. Bucky was there, Bucky gave his blessing, honestly, when Steve handed over the shield, and it was the only thing about Steve's ending in Endgame that didn't make me insanely furious. I want this to be a point of conflict with them, I want them to argue about the best way to honor Steve. So much juicy material here! And I'm intrigued by this "new Captain America" concept, even though I'm wary about where they're taking it, in terms of theme... we shall have to see!

All in all, this was very standard Marvel fare. I like the characters, the action is creative and enjoyable to watch, there are some emotional gut-punches and some funny lines here and there. Nothing mind-blowing, nothing so innovative and fresh and new, but just more of the same... a same that I've come to really love over the past decade or so.

8/10

#review #falcon and the winter soldier #falcon and the winter soldier review #fatws #fatws review #the falcon and the winter soldier

[renaramblesaboutcomics]

Wednesday Roundup 29.11.18

Another week another grab bag of comics in what might be one of the highest rated weeks of the Roundup since I started over a year ago! But how does everyone hold up? How do they all compare? I’m asking for dramatizing’s sake but genuinely there’s nothing in this week that isn’t immensely enjoyable if they even remotely pique your interests. GREAT week for comics, everyone. GG.

Tesladyne’s Atomic Robo, Image’s Black Magick, DC’s Super Sons, IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II, IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light

Tesladyne’s Atomic Robo and the Spectre of Tomorrow #2 Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener, Anthony Clark, Jeff Powell

There is a certain amount of dry wit and scientific community knowledge that is instrumental to getting the full experience out of the clever writing and deceptively simplistic design of Atomic Robo, and for the past few months I’ve been making a solid attempt to evaluate these comics and Robo himself based on the entertainment received without much of that. And, in all honesty, the more I’ve looked into this the more I wonder if that’s the wrong approach for “unbiased” evaluation to begin with. 

For example, I’ve been very firm on my description of Usagi Yojimbo as being one of those great comics that only gets more and more enriching as you grow a personal interest in history, Japanese culture, and mythologizing -- it’s far enough removed from our actual realities and accessible enough that I recommend it to people who don’t have those interests, but I find that those interests add so much more to the experience. The simple designs, the consistency, the way the narrative is built in episodic spurts more than long form narrative -- those are all reasons I can in good faith recommend these comics to people outside of niche interests, but those niche interests add so much to any reading that it’s difficult to really express why anyone would want to read without so much as acknowledging it. 

That all said, this particular issue continues that same level of quality and intrigue, but also rewards the emotional investment you may have in the characters involved. PersonallyI relate a lot more to Robo’s sense of self-exile and reclusive depression which only causes more and more problems to pile up far more than I’d have ever thought I would, and I don’t think I’d be alone in that. There’s also the long time readers’ reward in seeing consequences to that stollen crystal from Doctor Dinosaur’s island ages ago. All great stuff which is only more greatly emphasized by the creative use of familiar real world scientific organizations and entities wrapped up in this bizarre and surreal reality of Atomic Robo.

Image’s Black Magick (2015-present) #9 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott

Sometimes the real value of storytelling lies less in identifying the complete package and more in being able to identify the way it weaves multiple elements and even genres at once to provide a new kind of satisfying narrative. And it’s in that way that I think Black Magick has so quickly become not only one of my favorite Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott comics, but one of my favorite recent publications in general. 

Black Magick follows a noir-style crime drama in structure, but its embrace of the supernatural and, especially, in witching stories provide the sort of edge that makes the tiredness of the former genre feel fresh even in the heavily saturated market for procedurals we have currently, while the latter feels completely reborn from that small but influential boom we felt in the 90s. I have never been closer to re-marathoning The Craft, Practical Magic and Charmed outside of the Halloween season. But each new issue of Black Magick brings me that step closer.

This issue also happens to follow the very specific to this week trend of leaning heavily on emotional stakes to really pull itself and its characters above even the thickest of genre settings however, and Black Magick specifically manages that while maintaining an incredibly tight hold on Rowan’s perspective. Which is fascinating because on reread you really realize how much the POV shifts away from Rowan and onto the other characters and their subplots but in reflection it all feels like it’s only in service to Rowan’s main story more than anything else. 

Nicola Scott continues to prove she is perhaps the most gifted and, really, the most prolific of comic book artists in the modern era and I maintain that seeing the true extent of her talents is best assessed by reading this comic and just allowing yourself to be blown away by it all.

This issue also gets major props for introducing a familiar. Good, comic. Perhaps not as action filled or breathtaking as the last issue which was a nail biter from start to finish, but most certainly deserving of those 4/5 stars. 

DC’s Super Sons (2017-present) Annual #1 Peter J. Tomasi, Paul Pelletier, Cam Smith, HI-FI

If you’re one of those people -- and let me absolutely clear that it is more than understandable to be one of these people -- who find super pets and the absolute general ridiculousness of a storyline that involves super animals in any capacity with a timeline that makes no sense and the only real dialogue that matters being literal growls barks and yips, this is not an issue worth your $4.99, you’ll hate it and be annoyed with people like me screaming from the rooftops that you should buy it and read it and love it. And that is completely and utterly fine and reasonable.

I am not fine or reasonable, however, and this is literally the most rewarding $4.99 I’ve spent on a comic in ages. Because no joke there were several times while I was liveblogging this issue both on my main blog and to my friends in PMs that I was literally in tears crying with laughter because

because

Holy shit guys.

In recent years a continued criticism I have carried for superhero comics is that there is a huge tone problem, in that there is a genre’s worth of tones and atmospheres that could be played off of to give at least each individual book if not each individual issue its own feeling and its own intrigue that would set it apart from the rest of the line that given week. DC, especially, has contributed greatly to this tone problem because as I’ve said many times, there was about five years there where even the color palettes for their comics had no variation between them. And it was maddening. 

So to have something goofy, to have something different, and to have it be fun, enjoyable, full of twists and turns, and not so damn determined to take itself beyond seriously, it makes this comic throwback feel like a breath of fresh air in the most necessary of ways. 

And I should be clear, I don’t mean that this comic is for everyone, or that Super Sons as a comic in general doesn’t manage to strike that cord a lot since it really is one of the most enjoyable comics DC has put out in years, but this really felt like a treat, an additional, ridiculous, hilarious story set so far apart from what’s come before. It’s greatly enjoyable. Genuinely deserve of my coveted 5/5 stars. 

IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II (2017) #5 (of 5) Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz, Dan Shoening, Charles Paul Wilson III, Luis Antonio Delgado

We finally come to an end of this second giant mashup of Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, truly the sort of framework and pairing that is as old as time, and I get to reward everyone’s patience with me reviewing these for a month an a half straight with some final thoughts of sorts. 

I compliment both of these writers quite a bit for their respective contributions and the absolute mastery they both have shown for the voices of their respective franchises, but as this week is pretty well summed up with Rena Waxes Philosophically And Is Old, I think both of our times are better spent here by pointing out something a bit different that really came together with this issue. And that’s that for how pitch perfect these writers are for capturing the long expected voices of these beloved characters, the real remarkable compliment I can give them is how they have uniquely captured and redefined these voices to really make them their own.

Despite how much my childhood might have desired these team ups (and believe me, it so did) the fact is that these interactions and these relationships are utterly a modern invention, and what could easily fail outside of the concept states instead flourishes with us here specifically because they are sticking to their guns and not always angling for the obvious route with these interactions. That’s what makes all of this so fascinating and so rewarding as a fan.

In comparison to the predecessor, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II does not have as tight of a storyline with a steady but consistent pacing and understanding of where it’s going. But I think because that set up was taking care of in the original these five issues allowed for more experimentation and more concentration on character development and fun scenarios. So if you’re far more invested in character interactions and in comics taking full advantage of the outrageous and unique tone of its medium, there’s probably all the more for you to enjoy with this compared to the first. But at the same time, it would be lying to say that the main driving plot and stakes, with Darius Dun’s ghost and the Fast Forward Evil Turtles-lite trying to harvest souls in a complicated and underused concept didn’t come off as overall a bit weaker than the original.

All that said, ultimately this comic is a joy for fans and it seems to be aimed quite specifically at that audience either way. And in that case I have to give it my highest regards.

IDW’s Transformers: Lost Light (2016-present) #11 James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, Joana Lafuente

Ever since the last arc of James Robert’s parent series, More Than Meets the eye, there’s been a few gaps in the concept of what happened on the Lost Light during and after the mutiny, whether or not the crew saw the Rod Squad’s las message, and especially curious to people like me who can’t help themselves but love our affable and entirely flawed co-Captain Rodimus, what was his final request for his burial and what not since we saw the rest of the crew’s.

And in the second part of this “Mutineer Trilogy” that we have for Lost Light, we are at long last getting our answers to many of those questions. And for a reveal that was a year coming, the Lost Light manages to pack all the twists, turns, and punches that we could hope to expect! 

It’s fascinating to see Getaway’s sense of grandeur when it comes to himself, his plans, and really the whole driving force with the mutiny, but I really find that where Roberts’ writing and where we as readers get the most out of is the interesting and very layered sense that Roberts has for the lore of the Transformers. It feels like every subtle piece of dialogue, whether it concerns lore and mythology of the universe or not, is really weaved throughout with a submersion in this fictional culture. And that, especially, is really revealing here. It’s a very rewarding way to handle lore and I greatly appreciate it. 

One that does make me apprehensive with the turns Lost Light has taken most recently, however, is that moral grayness sometimes feels really blurred with a light take or even somewhat forgiving light given to what are undeniably and outright stated as fascist and genocidal elements of the Transformers’ past, especially Megatron. Having this issue completely dedicated to Getaway’s perspective while tackling these themes doesn’t really help because he is most egregiously one of the most villainous and traitorous characters the series has tackled, but while it feels like he’s only using the aghast feelings of the crew toward Megatron, ultimately he’s the only one who gives a speech against Megatron’s past of genocide and fascism while also taking over in the most truly reprehensible and fascist ways possible himself. This is further blurred by having some very topical buzz words like “fake news” uttered by Getaway in a... lbr pretty nonsensical way in-universe, but then have him going around imprisoning or hideously killing all of the crew which doesn’t agree with him.

I’m basically waiting for Roberts to fully address all of this in the story but right now it feels very much like “both sides are extreme and bad” mentality that, given Roberts’ politics and statements irl, I don’t think is what he ultimately wants this story to be coming away as, but I’m nervous and would like for things to tread lightly considering the current environment. 

ALL of my apprehensions and concerns out of the way, this is still a fascinating and ultimately fantastic comic that I really truly enjoy and would love to see more of because if Roberts’ Transformers is guilty of anything it’s definitely guilty of raising my expectations and setting that bar so high because of how good and how complicated and interesting all of it ca be in the right hands.

Hey there! We finish up another pretty fun, if not quick, week in comics with lots of stories and characters, and another pretty great time from yours truly. And if you enjoy these write-ups or anything else I do whether it be the Roundups, my Rambles, my personal creative projects, or you’re interested in my upcoming podcast, you can help contribute through donations to my Ko-Fi, Patreon, or PayPal. For as little as $1 per project, you make all of this possible.

You could also support me by going to my main blog, @renaroo, where I’ll soon be listing prices and more for art and writing commissions.

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#Rena Roundups #Wednesday Spoilers #SPOILERS #Atomic Robo and the Spectre of Tomorrow #Black Magick #Super Sons (2017 ) #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters II #Transformers: Lost Light (2016 )

[thehumanarkle]

[NOTE: I had to make some changes to this post after I realized I screwed up and there were 9 episodes in the first half of the season. I goofed on account of only the first 8 being visible on the CBS Discovery page. All points made refer only to the first 8. To minimize the amount of editing I’d need to do, I’ll keep my thoughts on Episode 9 to myself for now.]

Okay, I have watched the first eight episodes of Star Trek Discovery, and I have some thoughts.

1: The pilot isn’t very good, but compared to other Trek pilots, it could’ve been worse. Overall, I’d place it about equal with “Caretaker,” but better than “Encounter At Farpoint” and “Broken Bow.” “The Emissary” and whichever one you count for TOS (”The Man Trap” for air date order, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” for production order) top the list. My biggest problem is that if the intent was to convey that Burnham’s bad choices in these two episodes (I count both as the pilot since they dropped the same day) was partly the result of her concussion and partly her years of suppressed human emotions bubbling up at the worst possible time, that should’ve been made clearer. I mean, if that was the intent. If so, I actually like the idea. Not the execution though.

Also, the title was wrong. I know some people have griped about the story Burnham tells where the title, “The Vulcan Hello,” comes from, but that itself actually does make sense. But to phrase it the way they did makes it sound, albeit unintentionally, that the Vulcans shoot first with everyone else, not just the Klingons.

2: I have mixed feelings about Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd. Part of that has to do with the actor being somewhat problematic, but I’m not going to get into that. The other part is, while his performance was certainly enjoyable to watch, as a lifelong Trekkie I’m a bit uncomfortable with the idea of Harry friggin’ Mudd being kinda scary. I mean, even scarier than Capt. Lorca, who I am pretty sure is on the verge of a total breakdown thanks to his untreated PTSD. That said, his (Mudd’s) second episode is, so far anyway, my favorite of the season. Definitely one of the better uses of the Moebius Loop I’ve seen (though not as good as Stargate SG-1′s “Window of Opportunity”, but what can ya do?)

3: The new look of the Klingons sucks and I hate it.

4: I didn’t like it at first, but the design of the title ship has grown on me.

5: In Lt. Stamets, Anthony Rapp has somehow managed to give us a chracter that, IMO anyway, is somehow both more annoying AND more likable than his Rent character.

6: Feminist critiques of this show about WOC not named Michael getting killed off left and right? Valid. Here’s hoping they cut that shit out in Season 2.

7: I really wish the Fanboys would stop bitching about the spore drive. Yes, we know they don’t use it in TOS and beyond. But that doesn’t make it a plot hole; there’s still a whole half season to go, and I bet by the end of it we’ll get a reason why the drive was discontinued. I don’t know if it’ll be a good reason. I certainly hope it is. But it will be a reason. So calm the fuck down.

8: For those people ready to write the show off completely based on the 8 episodes we’ve had so far, let’s just take a look at where the other 5 live-action Trek shows at this point in their first seasons.

TOS: This almost isn’t fair considering it was this show’s iconic status that allowed the others to exist in the first place, but allowing for both the production technologies and social norms of the time, we’ve got 7 good episodes, and 1 episode that can’t really be judged fairly because a lot of the series rules weren’t in place yet; hell, they hadn’t even locked down Kirk’s middle name. Sulu was in a blue shirt. We had no McCoy, Scotty, or Uhura. Obviously, I’m talking about “Where No Man Has Gone Before” here. So, we’ll call that a success rate of 7/8. TNG: As a kid, I loved all of these, but with the benefit of hindsight, there are no good episodes here. The Ferengi were introduced, but it was Deep Space Nine that saved that Trek species from ending up just a regrettable footnote. “Where No One Has Gone Before” (not to be confused with the TOS pilot) has some pretty visuals going for it, but that’s pretty much it. 0/8. DS9: The only episode from DS9′s first 8 I would call bad is the Q episode, but even that is saved from garbage by virtue of Sisko punching Q in the face.  The Pilot’s the only good one of the bunch though, with the rest just being okay. So, we’ll go with 7/8, but with an asterisk. VOY: 2 mediocre episodes, plus 1 episode that introduced an interesting villain that the show sadly completely failed to utilize properly (the Vidiians). Neelix suffers a fair amount in that episode though so I’ll round up to Good. The rest were just plain bad though. 3/8. ENT: One of the first episodes gave us Jeffrey Combs as Shran. Granted, the episode itself wasn’t that great, but later on they were able to do more with Shran, and eventually give us a greater glimpse at Andorian culture, so I’ll be generous and give that one a good score. The rest of the episodes were just varying degrees of bad (with “Unexpected” crossing over into full-on offensive). 1/8. And that’s me being generous mind you. So how does DSC stack up, at least in my opinion? Well, apart from “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars,” there hasn’t been an episode I’ve truly disliked, and even then I didn’t hate them. I was more disappointed than anything else. So, when you add up the episodes that were okay with those that I liked (so far only 3), you get a First 8 Episodes score of 4/8.

So, sorting by rank you get (remember, this ONLY applies to the first 8 episodes of the first season, not the series overall); TOS: 7/8 DS9: 7/8 DSC: 4/8 VOY: 3/8 ENT: 1/8 TNG: 0/8

9: Oh, I forgot to mention this; he can have his douchey moments, but overall, I like Saru. Though I imagine him being played by Doug Jones has a fair amount to do with it.

10: This scene didn’t bother me at all.

If they were going to do the F-bomb, at least it was in the context of an exclamation of excitement, and not something sexual or insulting.

In Conclusion: It’s not a great show. But it’s not the dumpster fire much of the Internet would have you believe it is. I think it can be a good show though and hopefully, CBS will take at least some of the feedback they’re getting from critics and fans into account. Not all though, because honestly some of the criticisms are bullshit.

All that said, CBS All Acces is terrible and this show should be on NetFlix seeing as NetFlix subscribers already helped pay for the series to begin with and it is flat out gross that people who already paid for this show once (by way of their NetFlix subscriptions) can’t actually view it (in the U.S. anyway) without paying again. THAT criticism of the show is not bullshit. It is one I 100% agree with.

#star trek discovery #Thoughts #how long before some assholes decides i'm not a real trekkie because of this post?

[orhelponefaintingrobin]

Star Trek: Discovery - “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”: Review

I know I said the same thing about “Lethe”, but “Magic to Make the Sanest Man go Mad” is the most traditional Star Trek episode of Star Trek: Discovery yet. An episode that is almost completely stand-alone, as far as the main plot is concerned, revolving around a crazy sci-fi concept, while using it to push the personalities of the characters involved. It has a relatively neat and tidy ending, which is actually quite light and fun. I’ve enjoyed Star Trek: Discovery consistently since it started, but at the point we’re at now, it’s clear that the show has only just found its footing in a very strong way.

“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” saw Harcourt Fenton Mudd, last seen on a Klingon prison ship in “Choose Your Pain”, placing the USS Discovery in a time loop in order to take control and sell it to the Klingons. Regardless of what you think of the previous episodes of the show, you can’t say this isn’t an idea that you’d easily see in older Trek.

The episode didn’t bring any huge twists to the characters, but it did reinforce a lot of the development we’ve already seen. After their interactions last week, we do see Michael and Lieutenant Tyler at least considering the idea of a relationship. I’ve seen a lot of people who think that it feels forced, and while it probably could have done with a little more set-up, possibly leaving some of the development until the second half of the season, I’ve seen far worse culprits in the past (As far as Star Trek is concerned, Seven and Chakotay springs to mind). That said, I don’t have too much reason yet to get invested in the relationship either. I’ll see where it goes. Still, it’s playing into the continued plotline of Michael accepting her emotions, so I’ll at least appreciate from that point of view, if it is a little uninspired right now.

We also got some proper reinforcement of Stamets’ personality shift, which I’m still hesitant about. I mean, I’m enjoying the way he’s acting right now, but such a big shift does make me nervous about where it’s going to go next… Either way, he did have some excellent scenes in this episode, especially with the story of how he met Dr Culber. Although Stamets is easily one of my favourite characters in the show, he hasn’t got much background, past us knowing he’s a scientist, so, now he’s gotten a little gentler, it was nice to see him open up about his past, especially with a nice story like that. And, again, I’m just praying that they don’t screw with Stamets’ relationship, both because of the obvious issues and simply because I just love seeing the two of them interact on-screen.

I don’t think anyone was expecting Mudd to be back so soon, but I think he was actually much more interesting to watch then he was in “Choose Your Pain.” Rainn Wilson did great in both episodes, but being put in the foreground of the episode did well for his character. As a classic TOS character, it’s clear that Mudd is more suited to a standalone episode like this, where he can cause trouble and where he has that extra bit of independence. I’m not sure whether or not we’ll see him again, given his eventual fate should lead itself quite safely into TOS, but I do like the idea of Mudd as a recurring villain, almost like Q in TNG. Although, I would like to see Q in the future as well…

Honestly, this episode is a weird one to review, especially in the way I’ve been trying to structure these reviews, and especially without spoiling it. It managed to be fun, while keeping the plot exciting, the tone refreshing, and the characters enjoyable to watch. It was SO Star Trek, moreso than any other episode of Discovery so far. I think it helps that we’ve got all our main characters established now, but the show has really found itself the last couple of weeks.

“Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” was proof that Star Trek: Discovery has really worked out what it wants to be. It hasn’t been too dark, or gritty. It’s definitely less cheesy than The Next Generation, but it definitely isn’t a dark, Michael Bay-style reimagining. It’s its own show, in so many ways. And, with only two weeks left before the first half of the season is over, I can only see it getting better from here.

Spoilers under the cut, as usual.

“tonight, I will face one of my greatest challenges so far. Tonight we are having... a party."

Michael Burnham is me.

 Apparently this is the first episode since Encounter at Farpoint to not have a cold open, just jumping into the credits after the ‘previously’ bit. It’s a weird choice, but I guess it’s not important.

 I was going to do this as a separate post, but I do want to talk about Lieutenant Ash Tyler. Or, as is becoming increasingly likely, Voq. Now, there is a lot of evidence. Whatever you think, you can’t say that Voq’s seemingly non-existent actor isn’t suspicious, and it was even more suspicious the way that Shazad Latif pushed away questions about it. Secondly, the timing is a little convenient. The last time we see Voq he’s being sent to the house of Mo’Kai, who we are told are spies, with L’Rell. Then, in the next episode, L’Rell turns up again, with Lt. Tyler as a prisoner. It all just matches up weirdly, and Tyler’s combat ability does also bring some suspicion. As Burnham said, taking out six Klingons in hand-to-hand combat is unlikely…

The issue I’ve been having is that there are some annoying holes in the theory, mainly that, although Lorca is pretty open to anyone on his ship, he does his research, and if Tyler was Voq, surely that would mean that Lieutenant Ash Tyler doesn’t exist, and therefore wouldn’t be on any Starfleet databases. But I realized that the solution to this hole is simple, and not only makes it possible as a twist, but that also doesn’t force the writers to remove Tyler from the show. Lieutenant Ash Tyler exists. But he isn’t on the Discovery. He’s still captured by the Klingons. And Voq, needing a way to get revenge on, well, just about everyone, agreed to have his appearance modified in order to get on board the Discovery, so he was made to look exactly like the real Ash Tyler.

That’s where I can see it going. Eventually, Tyler will be revealed as Voq, and, by the end of the season, they’ll have rescued the real Lieutenant Tyler, who will replace his imposter on the Discovery. Hell, we could use that to fill in some other issues. Why does it feel like they’ve rushed into Tyler’s relationship with Michael? Because he’s trying to get close to her so that he can plan his revenge for T’Kuvma’s death. How did Tyler endure seven months of Klingon torture? He didn’t (And still is enduring Klingon torture, of course).

I mean, I could be totally wrong, but I think that it would actually be possible to get the twist right, without robbing the show of the character that we’ve been shown so far. We should still have a loyal, skilled officer who is dealing with trauma. We just might not have actually met him yet.

#Star Trek Discovery Spoilers #Star trek Discovery #Star Trek

[lauraramargosian]

Good Girls series on Netflix is an unpredictable hit!

Good Girls series on Netflix is an unpredictable hit!

GOOD GIRLS — “Find Your Beach” Episode 301 — Pictured: (l-r) Retta as Ruby Hill, Christina Hendricks as Beth Boland, Mae Whitman as Annie Marks — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/NBC)

Positive Celebrity rating:

The Good Girls series is an excellent show, worth viewing multiple times not only for enjoyment but cinematic effects as well (4.5/5). In fact, Good Girls was renewed for a third season of 16 total episodes, which will premiere February 16, 2020!

Netflix seems to be killing it with their current content the genres all have some great line-ups including Good Girls, The Witcher, You, Messiah, Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Eli, Ghosts of Sugar Land, Before I Wake, etc.

In fact, we have been watching the first seasons of new films and shows on Netflix.

That being the case, one show, Good Girls, stood out to us because it brings forth a lot of positivity, emotionally draws the audience in and never fails to make us rapidly hit the “I’m still here,” button.

Yes, The Good Girls is that unique of a show.

The new series has brought forth a lot of the things people face daily with a dramatic and comedic twist.

“Three suburban mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances and decide to stop playing it safe and risk everything to take their power back.”

Isn’t it true there are good people, who make bad decisions at times in life?

90 Day fiancé: Happily Ever after is real talk.

With that in mind, you can see why their friendship is strong.

Yes, they have support for one another due to bad choices.

Regardless, from a mental perspective, it shows how important it is to have healthy friendships.

You never know what a person might be facing in silence, be a good friend and reach out.

At the beginning of the “Good Girls,” I kept thinking about “How there could be so much money in a grocery store?”

Then it all made sense…

Cinematography and transitions were amazing, the whole crew did an amazing job.

I cannot stress this enough, transition means so much in film and done right it can pull on two different emotions.

MAIN CAST OF GOOD GIRLS

Christina Hendricks as Elizabeth “Beth” Boland. Retta as Ruby Hill, Beth’s best friend, a waitress who is struggling to pay for her daughter Sara’s kidney disease. Mae Whitman as Annie Marks, Beth’s younger sister and mother of Sadie. Sadie was born when Annie was still a teenager. She works at a grocery store called Fine and Frugal. Reno Wilson as Stanley Hill, Ruby’s mall-cop-turned-actual-cop husband. Manny Montana as Christopher, also known as Rio, a high ranking criminal who has a money laundering business. He supports his business through wrapping paper, pills, cars and other creative ways. Lidya Jewett as Sara Hill, Ruby’s and Stan’s daughter who has kidney disease. Isaiah Stannard as Sadie Marks. Matthew Lillard as Dean Boland, Beth’s cheating car salesman husband. Due to his decisions, the plot took the turns it did to make a captivating show.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Jerzy Zieliński

Darren Genet

Robert Reed Altman

Tim Bellen

EDITORS

Brad Katz

Todd Gerlinger

Shoshanah Tanzer

Kenneth LaMere

Maura Corey

FAVORITE SCENE – NO SPOILERS

Man, this scene crushed, it happens and it goes to show how corrupt our government can be in order to merely “solve a case.”

“You know what I have been thinking about, how you sat at our table and said we were the same.”

Detective: “Not so much, huh?”

“Not at all, brother.”

How many people do you think are in jail or prison when they shouldn’t be?

Further, how many stories have you read about x person getting out after 50+ years after they were finally found not guilty.

FUNNY FACTS ABOUT THE GOOD GIRLS SERIES

It brought to my attention how bad it is to eat those banquet beef meals from the frozen section at the supermarket.

The Good Girls episode called “One Last Time,” was absolutely hilarious, we loved the loan guy’s personality, that was the perfect mesh into the storyline.

You can’t deny we all have that one friend who wants a damn burrito.

With that in mind, it was Chelsea Handler who said:

“If you can make someone laugh, you can make someone listen,” and they nailed it, especially in those scenes of “crime and drama,” but a dash of “comedy.”

Then the girls feeding him in the back of the car holding him until the morning hours to finish “the job,” absolutely hilarious, the script for these scenes is excellent.

To end, if you haven’t had the chance to watch the Good Girls series on Netflix, give it a go, you won’t regret it but make sure to do it on a binge day, unless of course, you can run on little to no sleep.

Currently, the Good Girls series on Netflix has two successful seasons.

Amazing production, a phenomenal cast, and crew.

We noticed the show started as a short on IMDB and soon grew it’s own empire, truly deserved, can’t wait for more episodes.

The Good Girls new series on Netflix official trailer

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[stringnarratives]

The Yarn 2.0: Return of the Yarn

It’s been a week here at String HQ!

Spring has sprung in earnest now, as have springtime thunderstorms, and gone are the slow and lazy ways of winter. A busy and exciting two months have kicked off at the blogger’s job, with lots of events to attend and lots of work to do. HQ floors have been cleaned to shine, meal boxes menus have been chosen for the next five weeks, and face wash should be arriving by mail before 8 p.m. tomorrow (okay, maybe all the lazy ways of winter haven’t gone away). 

With a little less bandwidth available for research this week, it seemed a prime time to bring an old standby back into the fold here on String Narratives: The Yarn! 

The Yarn was previously a monthly Saturday column about new releases that I was hype for, and, truly, Yarn 2.0 probably won’t be all that different. It’ll tackle what I’m reading, watching, playing and binging every now and then, with a little insight into those things that might not make it onto the blog otherwise, despite my enjoyment. This iteration will also include upcoming releases that I’m stoked to see. Part recommendation, part calendar of new releases, part active rest from the longer research-based posts (*cough, cough* last week’s post *cough, cough*). Instead of posting on Saturdays, it’ll go out on Tuesday. It might be monthly, it might be quarterly, it might be somewhere in between. For now, it will just be. 

Cool? Cool. Let’s jump in.

Currently Reading: “The Luminous Dead” by Caitlin Starling

Feeling under the weather, I read the last 75 percent of Caitlin Starling’s debut novel in bed Sunday morning and it immediately became my top contender for BOTY 2019. Caver Gyre Price descends into a complex system of tunnels that she assumes to be a typical exploration job, but quickly realizes that they’re more haunted than she could have ever imagined. “The Luminous Dead” is a tech-heavy sci-fi body-horror novel (so pretty obviously up my alley) that marries disorientation, claustrophobia and character unreliability for a super creepy thrill ride. i.e. A perfectly relaxing pre-work early morning read!

Looking forward to Reading: “The Binding” by Bridget Collins (4/9/2019)

Currently Playing: "The Occupation”

I’ve taken a little bit of a break from gaming over the past couple of weeks, unfortunately pausing in the middle of a game I really loved: “The Occupation.” Put in the shoes of a journalist in riotous 1980s Britain, the player is tasked with investigating the circumstances around a controversial government act and a terrorist attack blamed on its protesters. One of the coolest aspects of the game is that it happens real time - the player has just as much time as the character to gather information before putting interviewees to the test.

Looking forward to Playing: “Trüberbrook” (4/23/19 for Switch)

Currently Watching: “Us”

If you follow String on Twitter, you’ll likely know that Jordan Peele’s new horror film “Us” is my first repeat-theater experience in years. I walked out of the theater the first time with cramped hamstrings from the tension, and went back the weekend after just to try to connect the dots for that ending. When the Wilson family are confronted with their doubles - out for revenge after living half-lives years underground - a bloody, bay-side horrorfest ensues. It’s twisty and turny with moments of terrifying brilliance and perfectly timed comedic relief that make me stoked to see Peele’s recently released “Twilight Zone” episodes as well.

Looking forward to Watching: “High Life” (4/12/18 for select theaters)

Currently Binging: “Kim’s Convenience” Season 3

Needless to say, a lot of the narrative intake last week was a little heavy. Lightening up the mood (and potentially this post), the third season of “Kim’s Convenience” was added to Netflix US last Thursday! The Canadian sitcom focuses on the Korean Canadian Kim family and their Toronto convenience store. It’s a sweet, heartfelt family comedy with lots of episodes - a great restorative binge for a long week.

Looking forward to Binging: Game of Thrones Seasons 2 - 7 [Yes, I am incredibly behind. No, I’m not going to make it before the final season premieres. Don’t @ me.]

#the yarn #yarn #the luminous dead #the occupation #us #kims convenience #string narratives

[thisislizheather]

January Jewels

Forgive the lateness of this post! Here are the highlights from January.

Still using the Origins GinZing Eye Cream and I think it’s working, so I’ll keep at it. It doesn’t leave those red circles under my eyes (that other eye creams have done to me) when I’m using it either, which is a huge plus.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned how good this ArtNaturals shampoo & conditioner is for hair growth. I’ve been using it for a few months and it obviously takes a bit to start working, but it definitely does. I’ve also tried their Himalayan salt scrub, which is also pretty great.

Again, I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned it, but I’ve been in love with this perfect tinted moisturizer from AmorePacific for about a year now. I know that it’s too expensive, but I really try to make it last at least a year to make it worth it.

Nobody told me how good orzo is! I may have told Nathan it’s a kind of rice so that we can continue to eat it regularly?

I watched about three or four episodes of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo since every person on the planet did as well, and I think I’m good and don’t need to watch more. Although I did see this one Buzzfeed post about actually helpful insights from her whole deal.

Did you know that if you have an iPhone, you can literally shake it to undo typing? Layla just taught me that, so great.

I tried the burger at Beebe’s and it was good! Especially if you’re in the mood for something quick & tasty.

Read & loved Busy Philipp’s new book.

Sampled some of the donuts at Dough and… oh man. Too doughy! I know, don’t kill me. And there were barely any poppy seeds on a supposed “lemon poppy seed donut.” Go home!

I’ve been using Kiehl’s Buttermask For Lips for a few weeks and even though it’s pretty decent, I think the Laneige Lip Mask is a slightly better product in terms of how soft it makes your lips in the morning.

Finally ate at Emily in the West Village. Didn’t realize they took over the old Blue Ribbon location, it’s such a beautifully small spot. The food was fantastic, it’s still unclear to me what exactly a Detroit-style pizza is, but it’s lovely and weird and so good. The burger was great too, just definitely not worth $27, that’s insanity for meat on a bun, I’m sorry.

Oh! I tried this awful salmon recipe off of Half Baked Harvest, which usually has amazing recipes. I kind of like that that woman isn’t perfect now.

Had the best hot chocolate of the season so far at Boro Hotel.

My friend Dave Merheje has a stand-up special on Netflix that is crazy good and he’s the best and you have to watch it.

So I’m all caught up on This Is Us and man. It’s a lot. When William told Randall, “Take me to meet your father” and he starts talking to Jack at the tree? I haven’t cried that much at a scene since Tom Hanks lost Wilson. Good christ. I think one of the best parts about this show is that it covers all the years of a life of someone and I feel like no show has tried to do that, it’s so crazy good at times.

Tell me you’ve seen the Futurama episode Jurassic Bark about Fry’s dog. I wept.

I’ve been hearing about Xi’an Famous Foods forever, so I made it over there and ate the spicy lamb cumin noodles, which was huge and really good, definitely enough for two people. It was super spicy and the lamb was incredible.

Finally tried Smith & Cult nail polishes and they last a pretty decent amount of time. In love with the colours Stockholm Syndrome & Doe My Dear.

Also in love with Cara Cara oranges. Find them. Eat them. Love them.

There’s this wicked new pizza place in my neighborhood, Massa’s, which definitely has a hint of what is so good about Patsy’s in the city.

Obviously I watched both Fyre Festival documentaries because none of us are individuals in this age and while the Hulu one was good for showing the terrible-ness of the financial specifics, and the Netflix one was good for showing the bigger picture of what a scumbag he is and the specifics of people who were screwed over - BOTH really were the same fucking movie. Dick guy. Dick advertising company. Dicks all ‘round.

I’ve been watching this 100 Baby Sims Challenge (a new one comes out each week roughly) and they’re so addictive to watch. I don’t even feel the urge to play, it’s weirdly enjoyable just to watch.

Watched the Ted Bundy tapes and after seeing the whole “series” on Netflix, I’m officially on board with the death penalty. I used to be against it more or less, but definitely on board with it now. Another thing? I can’t watch these types of series anymore. Not because they’re too horrific to think about or because they’re such awful crimes (they are, both of those things), but it’s infuriating to watch these pieces that treat these vile human beings with such dignity, who are thoughtfully studied and analyzed while each victim simply has a name, a photo and how she was brutally murdered… and that’s it. It’s demoralizing to everyone who suffered as a result of those crimes and disgusting that these despicable men are treated as celebrities with any kind of rights. It’s sick.

Tried Cadbury’s Royal Dark Chocolate and I swear it doesn’t even taste like dark chocolate, it’s so good. It’s like what all other dark chocolate WISHES it tasted like.

Went to Tavern On The Green in Central Park for the first time! This place will forever remind me of Ghostbusters, it’s amazing that it’s even still around. The service was great, the light inside the place is so bright and lovely, the food was fairly average, but I am glad I went.

Finally ate at The Dutch (somewhere I’ve wanted to try for years) and it was perfect. Look, I have a soft spot for steak tartare and their wagyu one was phenomenal. Even the jalapeño cornbread with whipped butter that comes before the food was amazing. Although bad cornbread is hard to find. The kale Caesar wasn’t anything to write home about, but that’s okay. The service was stellar and the hostess even said, “Goodbye Ms. Heather!” on my way out, which I loved. I will definitely be back here.

I made two new recipes from Chrissy Teigen’s second cookbook: the salted maple granola and the cheesy spicy breakfast hash. Both were crazy good! Some notes: ignore the microwave instruction on the hash. And lessen the granola ingredient amounts unless you want to be eating this granola for a year (it also tastes amazing unbaked).

I returned to Augustine inside The Beekman for Restaurant Week for lunch and even though it was day 1 of having the flu, the food (that I ended up taking home) was delicious. A decent steak tartare and a roast chicken that would put all others to shame.

I was in Starbucks on my laptop recently and since I forgot my headphones, I had to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack that they had on for at least an hour. Aaaaannnndddd I feel like you know where I’m going with this. Hamilton sounds like it fucking suuuuhuuuucks. I promise I’m not just hating for the sake of hating something successful. It actually sucked hard. I can’t imagine sitting through the actual performance, good god the patience you’d have to have.

Read The War of Art upon Nathan’s insistence.

So excited for the Big Mouth Valentine’s special next week.

#Big Mouth #Big Mouth Valentine's Special #this is liz heather #Liz Heather #Netflix #Ted Bundy tapes #Hulu #Fyre Festival #Augustine #Beekman Hotel #steak tartare #wagyu steak tartare #best of NYC #orzo #Half Baked Harvest #The War of Art #Busy Philipps #Hamilton #Starbucks #Restaurant Week NYC #NYC #Chrissy Teigen #Cravings 2 #maple salted granola #cheesy breakfast hash #The Dutch #Cadbury #Cadbury Royal Dark Chocolate #dark chocolate #100 Babies Challenge The Sims

[zmediaoutlet]

So, Tumblr is always toxically depressing after a Supernatural episode and probably the thing to do would be to just log off and go work out or something, and in fact I think that will be the plan for the rest of the morning. But I’ve been thinking a lot about two things, having seen all the dramatic rending of clothing and vicious anger and whatnot, so I might as well get it down somewhere.

1. The function of secondary characters.

So, you’re writing a text. The first thing to do is decide what the text is about and the character(s) you’re going to use to explore that about. In an ensemble television show, you often have a ‘main’-ish character or two, but they share the load of the about with their co-stars. Game of Thrones is actually a great example of an ensemble cast--there are big ‘mains’ with Cersei, Jamie, Arya, Sansa, etc., but no one character bears the full burden of the storyline; the story is told through all of their combined mini-stories. A slightly different ensemble-style show would be House, where House himself is obviously the main character, but Wilson, Cuddy, Foreman, etc., get their own storylines to spread the load slightly from House. Most of the show will be about him, of course, but there are times when the side-characters hold an equal share of the storytelling load.

Then we have Supernatural. This is absolutely not an ensemble-style show. There are two main characters, Sam and Dean, and everyone else is reduced to secondary status. (There is an argument to be made for Castiel and Crowley, given the extra-textual contractual status of Misha and Mark, but functionally the show remains entirely about Sam and Dean.) ((Or did, but that’s something to return to later.)) There are no real storylines external to Sam and Dean; they carry the entire weight of the show, because it is about the two of them, their relationship, and how they grow as people.

So. What function do secondary characters serve, in that context? They can’t meaningfully bear storylines or real weight, because they’re necessarily extremely secondary in importance to the actual mains. When we’re writing, we create secondary characters not to be interesting characters in themselves (though if they are interesting, that’s a nice bonus), but to serve as support for the story of the mains. What does this mean? Secondary characters can be a goad to action for the mains (villains often serve this function); they can act as guide or support (Bobby, Jody); they can provide an emotional spur (Mary, John), or teach a lesson (Garth), or give them an opportunity to be heroes (Claire). They can also just be friends (Eileen), but that’s part of it, too--the importance of the friendship doesn’t rest in the secondary character, it rests in how the main’s feelings and character are expressed with that friendship.

When a secondary character gets a spotlight shone on them, it is never for the sake of that character; it is because what the secondary character is going through has meaning for the main. When Claire has her little Randy storyline, it functions within the larger story because it provides contrast to Sam and Dean’s childhood with John (the CGBG story), it gives Castiel something to do (as a quasi-main), and it provides the situation where Dean slaughters the room full of men with little provocation (hooking into the larger MoC storyline). It’s not about Claire, though it’s easy to see how someone would say it was. More pressingly, when Eileen is brought in as a character in s11, she provides a parallel to Sam and Dean, as someone whose family was killed and who is now seeking her revenge. When she’s brought back in s12, what function does she serve? We know the BMoL are trying to control hunters. Functionally, the character is brought back for a minor setpiece involving the BMoL; this reminds the audience who she is and sets up the plot of that episode. We see her being friendly with Sam and Dean (=mains feel kindly toward this secondary, so there is an emotional tie-in the actual about of the story). When she kills a member of the BMoL accidentally, Sam and Dean protect her (=goad to action for mains & precursor to future conflict with larger plot arc). When she is then murdered in 12.21, we know exactly why that happened: the foreshadowing is complete, the mains feel sad, they are goaded to action to engage with the larger plot arc by now figuring out what the BMoL are up to. It isn’t just killing for shock value. It is functional. Which brings me to:

2. ‘Fandom’ is an extremely small set of the audience.

What does that have to do with anything? Well, this. So--if we go by TV by the Numbers, SPN Season 12 has carried between 1.38 million and 2.15 million viewers per episode. (The 2.15 is an outlier; the average is closer to about 1.7 per.) The population of those viewers who are actively engaged is lower than that, necessarily--most viewers will be relatively casual viewers. They like it, but not necessarily more than the other shows they watch. Of the people who do engage enough to be part of ‘fandom,’ there are subsets on Facebook, on reddit, on Tumblr. These are a small section. Of that section, the group that ships characters is even smaller.

This show is not on HBO or FX, which have a more artistic sensibility behind their decisions. It’s on the CW, and therefore is written to maintain a solid viewer base who will watch the commercials that the CW sells during SPN’s timeslot. With the changing nature of television viewership, they’re also hoping that people will be engaged enough to buy individual episodes on Amazon (this is what I do), watch on the official CW site (again--pageviews = advertisements), or watch through an officially licensed provider (Hulu, Netflix), so that the network will gain a percentage of the revenue. (This means, by the way, that if you pirate the show you really don’t have a leg to stand on as far as complaining about it.) The show is written to be broadly appealing to as many people as they can cram into these revenue-generating views as possible, and the casual viewer is a major part of that.

The point I’m circling around is that--the things that ‘fandom’ cares about are not the things that the casual viewer cares about, and therefore aren’t the things that the creators care about. Fandom randomly seizes on characters to love, often because of the opportunity to ship (since we know that ship-fic is miles more popular than gen-fic; just look at the hitcount differences on AO3). Fandom obsesses over those characters. They invent backstories and personalities for those characters. They decide, based on very little information, how the mains could relate to them, how they fit into the larger universe, etc. They elevate these secondary characters nearly to main status. Then--because of the functional reality of how secondary characters operate, particularly on this show where nearly everyone dies--one of those secondary characters dies. The fandom explodes. Screaming, rending of flesh. Threats to the writers. Demands that they be fired. Insistence that there was no point to the death, that the character deserved better, because the fandom cared about them so deeply. Forgetting, again, that Character X was never important or alive beyond the function that they served in the story. Forgetting, too, that for the casual viewer it’s an ‘oh, dang’ moment, and then the casual viewer just watches to see what happens next. ‘Aw, Sam sure is sad about that one girl dying. I guess they’re going to go after the British dudes now, huh.’ End emotional engagement--and also, therefore, end the creators’ engagement with the secondary character, because they’ve served their purpose.

I don’t know where this leads. Clearly some people deeply enjoy their anger, and I can’t say that they shouldn’t feel angry. I am also generally disappointed by season 12, so I understand those reactions (more than the ‘how dare!’ reactions after character death). Since the show is about Sam and Dean, it’s troubling that the larger season seems to have so little to do with them. Right now the show’s stuck in an awkward space between what it always has been--the Sam & Dean Love Show, per Kripke--and... like, half of an ensemble show, where the secondary characters remain unimportant and yet we’ve got to trudge along with their storylines anyway. I know the extra-textual reasons behind this (and here’s hoping J2 get vasectomies so the show doesn’t continue to be boring and not-itself), but it’s still disappointing that the executives in charge couldn’t write something more artistically pleasing, given the strictures tying their hands. Casual fans probably haven’t noticed much, though, and so there’s little incentive to change.

There are certainly problems that the show has. Killing secondary characters is so far down the list that it seems inconsequential, and the furor generated over it masks the much more important flaws that could be discussed. The ‘fuck Bucklemming’ meme, while it’s clearly enjoyable for a lot of people, is just that--a meme, repeated ad nauseum, providing a handy semi-masturbatory thing to focus on while more nuanced discussion withers away, left by the wayside.

#writing #fandom wank #this is really long but i don't feel like putting it under a cut #the wank is just so goddamn tedious #eh #time to work out

[narrativeninja]

The Necessary Feminization of Heroes

The rise of superheroes is a phenomenon worth studying in its own right. The birth of heroes like Superman and Batman came at a time of great unrest in history. World war II was looming, and the threat of atomic annihilation was on everyone’s mind.

It’s no coincidence that the more recent popularity of superhero films began at a time of great economic unrest. We revived the old heroes, longing for a previous stability that had been lost.

The initial hype for the films was exciting, but most of that excitement seems to have fizzled off. Some blame the mediocrity of the films, but perhaps it’s because of a limited concept of what a hero can be.

They all seem to be cardboard cutouts of the same concept: a punchy do-gooder. Sometimes writers try to throw in some angst or romance to make it more interesting, but it doesn’t help much. There’s little character development, because we already know what the “hero” is supposed to be.

Their job is to be the lone ranger that punches the bad guys to save the victims. That’s all. Their work consists of punching and shooting. Nothing else.

The individuals they save play no role and have little identity besides being a helpless victim to be saved.

The plot becomes predictable because we know that no matter what, the hero is going to find a way to punch/shoot the bad guy. The villain will do nothing except get punched, the victim will do nothing but be saved.

That’s not always a bad thing. Sometime formulaic stories are enjoyable, like in detective dramas. I’m also not on an anti violence tirade. I’m just saying that interesting characters should have more, and a “hero” should have a wider definition.

One of the contributing factors of this homogeneity is the fact that most of our heroes bear masculine traits*, regardless of the individual character’s gender (more on that later). It’s possible, however, to have a hero that bears feminine traits, and it completely changes they way they relate to their world.

*When I mention the masculine and feminine, I don’t want to refer to stereotypes or some kind of idea that all men are/should be X or all women are/should be Y, nor am I talking about about gender identity. I’m speaking in the archetypal, conceptual sense, referring to a set of traits that have been traditionally labeled masculine or feminine. This is not indicative of individual, unique humans. This is purely conceptual.

The Masculine

The masculine hero is something nearly as old human civilization itself. One of the first heroic tales, The Epic of Gilgamesh, dates back to 6000 B.C. and describes a hero with the typical masculine traits that we still see today.

The typical masculine hero is:

- Individualistic (I can do it on my own, I don’t need others.)

- Brash, foolhardy, lots of dumb risks

- Brave in the face of danger

- Relies entirely on brute strength and audacity to make his way in the world

The usual endgame of the typical hero is a good deal of destruction (as long as we smashed the bad guy too, we’re good). They smash their way out of trouble and solve all their problem by punching, shooting, or blowing something up, usually through very stupid decisions.

There is an ongoing theme in a lot of superhero stories that being a hero is incredibly isolating and solidly detrimental to the individual’s relationships, though it’s not always clear why that is necessary. The hero tends to view him/herself as qualitatively separate from “victims” and does not delve much into their lives. They are merely there to be rescued.

Heroes (while in hero mode) seem to have little concept of how to interact with other people, and often switch into a hyper aggressive mode that can even turn heroes against each other.

Why is it that heroes are inescapably linked to aggression, to the point where studios are handing us films in which the heroes are fighting each other for seemingly no good reason?

Additionally, there’s no place for this kind of hero during peacetime. What do they have to offer when things are going well?

The long term outcome of this kind of heroism is not very effective. How is one man dressing up as a bat and beating on criminals going to change anything?

What if we had a hero that did not rely on rash, foolish decisions and brute strength? What if we had a hero who did not just rescue victims but empowered them to save themselves?

Suggestion: What if we had a feminine superhero?

The Feminine Hero.

The feminine hero is a nurturer. They conquer and defeat through cunning, planning and cultivation rather than brute strength.

Traits of a feminine hero: - Does not isolate themselves. Their relationships with others are a key part of their work - Saves through nurturing and empowering - Relies on tact, intelligence and cunning rather than brute strength and rash decisions - Unafraid to use violence or do hard things when necessary - Continues to develop their community outside of crisis situations

My model for this concept is Carol from The Walking Dead. She’s managed to save the group and defeat the bad guys several times over, but never in the traditionally masculine way. She embodies the archetypal traits of a nurturing mother, while still managing to be a total badass.*

Case Study: The Walking Dead Season 6, episode 2: “JSS”

In beginning of this episode, the community is at peace. Carol can contribute and build up a community outside of a major crisis, but when a crisis comes, she knows what to do.

Murderous people invade the community while Carol is in the midst of baking a casserole and watching a baby. Instead of taking on a simple motherly role and protecting the baby from the invaders, she hands the more than capable teenage brother a semi automatic and leaves to go be a hero. The following is where the real distinction lies.

A masculine hero (like Rick, the show’s male lead) would have whipped out a big gun and stormed the bad guys, killing them all and rescuing the poor victims cowering in their homes. Carol does not do this. 

She refrains from drawing attention to herself, kills without remorse when she needs to,

and disguises herself so she can move freely without gunning her way through the village.

She has a plan, a goal, and is carrying it out with tact and precision: Give everyone their own guns.

Her goal is not to obtain the macguffin or blow up the key location, but to empower others. She reaches the armory, fills a tote with guns and hands them out to all the no-longer-cowering “victims”.

The invasion is ended very quickly by empowering those under threat to save themselves. It’s a primarily “motherly” action, to nurture and strengthen others to the point where they don’t need you anymore. 

There is minimal damage to the community because there was no big firefight or show of brute force. Victims are no longer faceless and helpless, creating an entirely new dynamic between the “hero” and the “victims”.

This is my proposal for a feminine hero.

*My favorite part about Carol is that she isn’t a 22 year old stripper ninja. Her main purpose isn’t to appeal to men. She saves everyone’s life as best she can, and doesn’t have to be a sex object to do it.

How does this affect gender?

It’s important to note that the masculine hero is not limited to men. Women fill this role easily, but not always with the best results. The problem with most female heroes is that they are not allowed to be anything more than the typical brash, violent and sexy cliche (I like to call it the “bossy stripper ninja”). They are not given distinct personalities, or complex motivations. They are merely “punchy”.

Who needs a deep, rich inner life when she has guns?

There are some notable exceptions. Buffy, for one, was allowed to be human, complex, AND punchy.

Most that have come after her have not been given the same generosity. The problem is, after the writer decides that a woman is “punchy”, they give up. They give her nothing else. We are hard pressed to describe this character apart from her appearance and her weapons.

Conversely, there are a number of examples of men that are masculine in character but feminine in role. That is, the individual possesses masculine traits in their personality, but they interact with the world through feminine traits (cultivation, patience, planning, etc).

The problem is, most of these examples seem to be villains. We can make a man function in a feminine way, but somehow it usually makes him a bad guy. I’m having trouble coming up with a single example of a male hero that functions through feminine traits.

Villains seem to be the only ones with tact and precision, who cultivate a world into their own vision and develop others rather than just knocking them down. They have henchmen, converts, and their own little community. Unlike heroes, they don’t stop working when there’s nothing to smash.

Examples:

Loki has a good amount of feminine heroic traits, as do most villains whose goal involves something other than blowing up the world. He is cunning, patient, and has emotional depth.

The fact that he experiences emotion doesn’t diminish his strength or power in any way.

2. Another good example is Wilson Fisk (of Marvel’s Daredevil). He’s a large man who can easily be nothing but evil and punchy, and instead possesses a rich and complex inner life and a fantastic sense of aesthetic.

Although he has his physical rages and is incredibly physically strong, he succeeds through intelligence, subterfuge and subtlety and cares deeply for those around him (beyond the typical best friend and love interest).

He’s a very masculine character, but feminine in his villainy.

3. Frank Underwood is crafty, patient and ruthless. He is a terrifying villain, because of his ability to manipulate others, stay one step ahead of everyone, and think his way out of trouble.

Writers seems to be doing a very pretty good job in developing interesting (and feminine) villains, but haven’t given us much variety in heroes. How many of us have questioned ourselves for being far more interested in the villains? It’s because they are genuinely more interesting!

Wouldn’t it be more interesting or effective if superheroes actually got to know those they were protecting? What if Bruce Wayne befriended those who were at risk of becoming villains? What if he educated each citizen of Gotham concerning every supervillain’s weakness?

This doesn’t even take into account other important issues surrounding heroic stories, like moral ambiguity, the objectification of women, and the lack of depth in heroic characters regardless of Masculine or Feminine traits. I’m just saying we could use some variety in character traits. As Carol shows, it doesn’t make for a less interesting story. The conflict is still there. It just gets a whole lot more nuanced. We’ll always need smashy punchy stories, but can we please develop a little variety?

#fandom #feminism #marvel #dc comics #superheroes #the walking dead #carol peletier #when you make a man feminine he automatically turns into a villain #its science #my meta

[ploppythespaceship]

Discovery Season 3 Review

Spoiler free version: I enjoyed this season much more than the first two. It feels like it’s being written by entirely different people, who want to work with the Star Trek universe rather than against it. It’s definitely not perfect, and it has some pretty glaring flaws, but overall the setting and characters are strong enough to carry it through. I’m pleasantly surprised and... almost a little angry, because the first two seasons could have been more like this and just weren’t.

Spoilers under cut.

What I Liked

There are no terrible out of character Klingons this season. Literally, that’s my favorite part. I am sick and tired of terrible out of character Klingons.

The premise of this season is really strong. A 23rd century starship being pulled in the 32nd century, aiding a Federation that’s been utterly devastated by a mysterious apocalyptic event. It works incredibly well and brings up a lot of interesting themes. Honestly, I wish this had just been the premise of the show from the beginning.

The universe has been carried forward in a lot of interesting ways, like the shrinkage of the Federation and Vulcan and Romulus having achieved reunification. There are also some good tie-ins with Picard that don’t feel too forced. The first two seasons felt like the continuity was at odds with the previous shows, but this season feels like it fits into the universe. I might not enjoy every decision they’ve made, but at least it all makes sense.

This season also has a much better balance between episodic and serialized storytelling. The episodes flow together and follow one continuous plot, but still have their own self-contained stories to be enjoyable on their own. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the non-stop everything of the first two seasons.

Book is a wonderful new character. He’s not like any empaths we’ve seen on Trek before. Plus David Ajala is fantastic and there’s something so immediately likeable about him. (He and Michael also have more chemistry within five minutes than Michael and Ash had in two whole seasons.)

Saru getting to be captain is well-deserved and long overdue. He’s a great character, and it’s nice to see the first non-human series regular captain on the show. He wasn’t really the the best captain at times, letting his personal motivations get in the way of things, but it was a fascinating development for both him and the show that made logical sense. And it was nice to see it.

Tilly is the best she’s ever been. Her being made first officer works surprisingly well, despite her inexperience, and it offers her character so much growth. I love how kind she is, and how her emotions are treated as strengths. And I adored her being acting captain for the most intense parts of the finale. Getting her to that position was a bit contrived, considering she was outranked by basically all of the bridge crew, but I can’t even mind it that much. It just works.

I found Stamets to be pretty insufferable in seasons 1 and 2, since he fit into a category of snarky genius asshole that I’ve never particularly enjoyed. However, in this season he’s fully transitioned to awkward engineering dad and he’s infinitely better as a character for me now. I don’t think he’ll ever be a favorite, but I have a new appreciation for him that I just couldn’t muster before.

Culber finally develops a personality this season! In past seasons he felt like a cardboard cutout, but now he feels like his own character. He has a sass and determination to help others that may not necessarily want his help, often reminding me of McCoy.

Some of the bridge crew have been getting more focus this season, particularly Detmer, and it’s nice to see these characters finally be more fleshed out after essentially being extras for two seasons.

Adira is wonderful. A genius non-binary 16 year old who unexpectedly becomes a Trill host to preserve their boyfriend’s memory in some way. Beautiful story, beautiful character. And I’m very grateful that Adira isn’t non-binary because of Trill nonsense, they were just already non-binary, because non-binary people exist and don’t need sci-fi nonsense to “justify” it.

There’s a lot of really delicious character tension, and most of it works. Characters act selfishly at times, but it’s understandable. Motivations are at odds with one another and it creates very genuine conflict where you somehow root for all of them at once. It feels earned and plays out naturally without feeling forced or overdone, unlike previous seasons which had conflict tossed in for arbitrary reasons. Moments that stand out are Saru and Michael’s conflict when she goes against his orders, and Paul getting furious with Michael for not letting him go back to save Hugh and Adira.

The scene where Discovery finds Federation headquarters and geeks out over the ships and the technology... I’m still thinking about it weeks later. There was such joy and wonder to that moment. And all the little touches and homages that didn’t take it too far over the top, like Voyager J and the USS Nog.

Admiral Vance is also a surprisingly compelling character. Oded Fehr is just fantastic in the role. And you can feel that he’s very different from the admirals of previous shows, because the Federation he oversees is so different. It’s refreshing to have a recurring admiral that isn’t an insufferable ass.

What I Didn’t Like

I still hate the spore drive. It should say how wildly out of place in the timeline it was that even 900+ years in the future, this technology vastly outclasses anything else the Federation has. It’s handled slightly better in that it’s treated like a valuable asset that must be protected and used sparingly, which makes it a bit less of a magical plot device, but it’s still overpowered and awkward.

Mirror Georgiou has very much overstayed her welcome. She’s a constant reminder of why the mirror universe only works in short bursts, and isn’t meant to be taken all that seriously. She’s so cartoonishly over-the-top evil, yet the show doesn’t seem to be aware of that... somehow everyone adores her now despite her being awful, constantly. It makes for a character with an arc that doesn’t gel with any of the rest of the season. I mentally checked out for pretty much all of the mirror universe two parter, as I was bored out of my skull watching her do... whatever she was doing. I don’t even remember. She also gets this extremely long-winded and touching goodbye where everyone reminisces about her, which takes up entirely too much time and doesn’t make any sense. The show is genuinely better off without her, and her absence was felt immediately -- in a good way.

While this season does better than past seasons at getting us to know and care about the minor bridge crew, there’s still not really enough. Nhan gets an emotional departure scene reminiscent of Airiam’s death in season 2, but much like that moment there isn’t nearly enough buildup or attachment to her character. It’s an utterly unearned moment. And several times in the finale they cut to a woman who was part of the core group getting their emotional sacrifice moment, but I still don’t know who the fuck she is.

This show probably has the strongest cast of all the Trek shows, in terms of acting ability. Unfortunately, this means that the few who aren’t holding up their end stick out like a sore thumb. Tig Notaro is easily the worst, making me dread every moment Jett is onscreen. Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz are usually tolerable, but are noticeably flat when compared to most other characters (though I do think Rapp did well with his emotional scenes in the finale). And while I liked Gray as a character, I was a bit disappointed with Ian Alexander’s performance.

The Emerald Chain was underutilized, and Osyraa quite underwhelming. I thought her writing was pretty good, especially towards the end of the season when they started to humanize her a bit more, but the actress just didn’t have the gravitas to carry it. There were also hints of interesting themes, especially where the scientist under her genuinely thought she was a force for good and had to confront that he’d been helping a monster, but the show didn’t quite seem willing to commit.

This season had a similar issue to the first season of Picard, where the setting is so interesting and has so much fantastic political potential, but the plots don’t take full advantage of it. Osyraa’s proposed alliance with the Federation could have been a fantastic talking point that lasted longer than the ten minutes they allowed it, but instead we flew past it for more shooting scenes. (I think the finale could have benefitted from being a three parter rather than just two.)

Ultimately, I wasn’t terribly satisfied with the answer to what caused the Burn. I didn’t find Su’Kal to be terribly compelling and I didn’t like how detached it was from the rest of the plot. It was also very pseudoscience-y, and while Trek has definitely had its share of that... I don’t know, something about it just didn’t work for me.

#personal #reviews #discovery spoilers

[jillmckenzie1]

Remember the Rules

If you went back in time and told the younger version of myself that a) there would be a gigantically popular TV series about the zombie apocalypse and b) that I would have tapped out on it after the third season, Younger Me would have immediately called 911 and had you arrested with extreme prejudice.

Consider that The Walking Dead began as an independent comic book. Now, it’s getting started on its 10th season, has one current and one upcoming spinoff series, and there’s talk about releasing three connected theatrical films. To paraphrase a former Vice President, The Walking Dead is a big f*cking deal.

If you love it, I give you all the credit in the world. Unfortunately, it doesn’t scratch the itch for me any longer. I’ve come to realize that, in order to achieve maximum enjoyment, I need a soupçon of humor. While The Walking Dead has oodles of gore and scads of drama, it has virtually no chuckles. I get that the series is about the apocalypse and desperation and “We are the walking dead!” and blah blah blah. I also get that humor is an essential component of the human condition and can be found in even the weightiest works of art.*

My flavor of zombies includes a degree of silliness. That blend of carnage and chuckling is why 2009’s horror-comedy Zombieland is so dear to my heart. Ten years later, we’re presented with a sequel. Is Zombieland: Double Tap necessary? Oh, no. Did I laugh a great deal and have a blast watching it? Oh, hell yes.

Ten years have passed since the events of the first film. A plucky band of survivors has not only managed to survive the rampaging hordes of cannibalistic ghouls but also created something that looks an awful lot like a family. They are:

  Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a neurotic man who has avoided getting chomped by adopting a host of rules.**

Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a cranky zombie killer who loves Twinkies, Elvis, and the creative slaughter of the undead.

Wichita (Emma Stone), a canny survivor who excels at acidic put-downs and sucks at writing notes.

Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), Wichita’s younger sister and a rebellious young woman ready to explore.

  The good news is that they have made their home in The White House. The bad news is that there’s trouble in paradise. Little Rock wants to meet people her own age and get out from under the overbearing glare of her father-figure Tallahassee. Using the Hope Diamond, Columbus proposes to Wichita. She’s terrified of both settling down and settling down with him. The really bad news is that both women take off, and Little Rock decides to ditch Wichita and strike out with Berkeley (Avan Jogia), a guitar-strumming hippie.

The really, really bad news? Zombies have evolved, and the worst of them are known as T-800s. They’re stronger, faster, and tougher. As a result, the gang must go on the road again to rescue Little Rock. Along the way, they’ll run into Madison (Zoey Deutch), a ditz who’s survived by living in the freezer of a Pinkberry, and Nevada (Rosario Dawson), a tough-as-nails woman running an Elvis-themed motel. There’s also Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch), a couple of guys who share more than a few similarities with our heroes.

In these times of political polarization and near-constant anxiety, sometimes you just want to be entertained. Let’s be clear, I’m not talking about a “turn off your brain” movie, as these tend to be actively insulting. There’s a vast world of difference between fun and stupid, and Zombieland: Double Tap manages to be consistently entertaining without actively causing brain trauma to viewers.

It gets a little weird, though, and it starts with the director. There are some actors, such as John Travolta, that are frustratingly inconsistent. The right filmmaker can guide Travolta to an Oscar nomination for Pulp Fiction. The wrong filmmaker guides him to a clinically insane performance in The Fanatic. Director Ruben Fleischer has precisely the same problem. Take a gander at his filmography and you’ll see stinkers like Gangster Squad and Venom, movies that feel anonymously made.

Yet the two Zombieland films hum along with creativity, humor, and a sweetly beating heart. Double Tap feels like another 97 minutes tacked onto the first film, and I was 100 percent okay with that. Like before, we see Columbus’ rules for survival amusingly popping onscreen, rapid-fire pacing, and a host of zombie kills that blend gore and humor.*** Fleischer directs with style and verve, and it baffles me that only a few of his films are this good.

Perhaps it’s all due to the script. Original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick return, along with new scribe Dave Callaham. You can tell these guys love their characters, love the zombie genre, and love tweaking them both in ridiculous directions. While I’ll admit the narrative is slight and there’s a very real episodic feel to the whole thing, I still loved returning to this world. They have crafted a hangout movie set during the zombie apocalypse.

The original cast hasn’t changed a bit. Stone and Eisenberg have charming chemistry together, Breslin brings a spiky realism to her role, and Harrelson is a swaggering goofball. Together, they’re a formidable comic team that utilizes precise timing to deliver big laughs. Of the new characters, Zoey Deutch makes the most of her role. She’s playing the old dumb blonde role, but Deutch is a creative and intelligent actor who excels at going one direction just when you think she’ll go another.

In yet more evidence that we live in the darkest timeline, the dominant piece of zombie pop-culture is relentlessly po-faced and grimdark. For a minute, there was talk about a Zombieland TV series. Its failure is proof that we can’t be trusted with nice things. However, if Fleischer and his cast and crew can keep delivering sequels every 10 years that have the zippy spirit of Zombieland: Double Tap, perhaps we’ll get the entertainment we need, if not the entertainment we deserve.

    *There’s a scene in Schindler’s List in which Oskar Schindler interviews a succession of women to be his secretary. It ends with one of the most perfectly timed jokes I’ve ever seen in a movie.

**A few of my favorites are #3-Beware of bathrooms, #18-Limber up, and #26-A little sunscreen never hurt anybody.

***My favorite kill takes place thousands of miles away from our main characters.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/remember-the-rules/

[literateape]

American Shithole #17 — The Beautiful Things: Taxi

By Eric Wilson

I asked a group of friends recently, “What is your go to for a feel-good television show?” The answers were as varied as you might imagine. I’d been looking for something to comfort me during a time of stress and sickness, and eventually I settled on an underappreciated effort from my childhood — dark days require comfort and sanctuary, and there is no sanctuary quite like nostalgia.

I don’t think I have ever understood nostalgia, or experienced it really, until revisiting the television series Taxi — which originally aired between 1978 and 1983. I remember watching old people get misty-eyed over black and white television programming from the ’40s and ’50s, and I would always wonder, what was it about those old shows that triggered such a powerful response?

I was pleased to discover that it’s the memories of the era — the experiences of that time that the show brings to the surface.

I only recalled two episodes from Taxi, but the memory of those two episodes triggered some interesting revelations, or at least observations after watching them again — especially the episode “Alex Jumps Out of an Airplane.”

A little background first: As I mentioned, Taxi ran from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, it was a critical success and ratings failure, created by a handful of people involved with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show; most notably James L. Brooks. It won numerous awards and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ensemble casts in television history. It was also cancelled, twice.

In retrospect, it was a magical little show that never quite could.

The wizardry begins with the credits and the theme song Angela from smooth-jazz musician, Bob James. Never before or since has there been a  more calming 70 seconds of television. Go ahead, listen to it. Watch the opening. Don’t you immediately feel at ease listening to James’ sweet melody wander, as a yellow cab crosses the Queensboro bridge?

I sure do.

I lived in the South Bronx in the ’70s, and as I made my way through the seasons, with each episode I would stay on the opening and closing credits, and I would get a rush of memories from that time. It got to where I looked forward to them, even though I was so very unhappy back then.

So it really does start with the credits and the music, where Taxi, above all other shows, shines so very brightly.

The cast however — that is the meat and potatoes of the show’s success. Let’s begin with Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma, which is consistently ranked as one of the best television characters of all time. If the show’s only outstanding performance was from Mr. DeVito, we would still remember Taxi. That’s how amazing he was.

This is evident immediately when we are introduced to Louie in the pilot, where he treats Elaine with kindness until discovering she’s a new hack — an old industry term for a taxi driver — when the real Louie comes out. In five seasons, DeVito never once disappoints.

Luckily, the talented cast runs much deeper. Judd Hirsch richly inhabits Alex Reiger, Tony Danza is actually enjoyable as the eternally punch-drunk boxer, Tony Banta, and Marilu Henner’s headstrong, single-mother raising a family character, Elaine Nardo, was a refreshing voice for women in television, versus the sea of stay-at-home mothers and wallflowers and girlfriends and girls next door of the era.

Add to that, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd as Latka Gravas and Reverend Jim “Iggy” Ignatowski — talk about two performers that can chew scenery — both of these guys are legends. I distinctly remember the episode where Reverend Jim flashes back to when he was at Harvard, and as a kid, I was blown away that the same actor could be responsible for such disparate, brilliant performances of the same character.

Also, Kaufman being allowed to explore multiple personalities in later seasons would have jumped the shark if it had been anyone else.

Sadly, Jeff Conway’s battle with addiction never allowed him to fully develop Bobby Wheeler, and the character was downsized in season 4 and written off by season 5.

Even the guest actors are some of the finest working today. Mandy Patinkin, Martin Short and Tom Hanks immediately spring to mind. And lest I forget, Carol Kane was a marvelous addition to the cast in later seasons, and she was generously rewarded for her performances.

All in all, Taxi would be nominated for 55 awards, winning 27 (23 Emmys and Golden Globes) during the show’s five-year run.

As I jumped my way through seasons, I admit I found some of the writing to be dated, perhaps predictable, even mildly offensive at times when measured by today’s standards and expectations — more often than not though, I found the writing to be exceptional, and often times brilliant.

I was particularly moved revisiting the episode where Alex faces his fears, where his soliloquy raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I write a great deal about fear, so it’s not surprising this episode stuck with me. What truly surprised me was the discovery that a story I tell about skiing and skydiving is shockingly similar to the events of the episode. So much so, that it threw me into a bit of a panic. Had I made up the skiing incident entirely? There is no way it could mirror Alex’s ski jump story so exactly.

I found myself questioning my own memories. Did I even skydive? Yes, Yes I did. And the skiing story from Winter Park is also real — but how much of it is accurate? I am no longer certain, but I loved the experience of remembering just the same; and I loved exploring this show again as an adult, seeing through these older eyes how it had affected me.

I was looking for a little warmth in the world; a little comfort for these tired, old bones, and with Taxi, I found what I was looking for — a brief reprieve from the madness outside.

As season five came to a close, I found that I was moved by the experience of taking this little trip back in time — and my body was thankfully finally on the mend. Taxi was a very theatrical show, from a very different era of television. I think the highest compliment I can pay Taxi, is that it’s the only show to date that I can watch without being bothered in the slightest by the laughing of the studio audience. I despise canned laughter, and I refuse to even watch a show that has a laugh track today, but with Taxi, it didn’t matter; in fact it feels right. Taxi is so theatrical, that you feel a part of that audience; those are your friends laughing along with you.

Taxi is available on CBS All Access, and Hulu — although some of the episodes are inexplicably missing. When the shithole that is today's America gets you down or your body won't let up on you, give yourself a break. Taxi is always a relaxing ride that gets you right where you want to be.

4LWjr

#TAXI

[theliterateape]

American Shithole #17 — The Beautiful Things: Taxi

By Eric Wilson

I asked a group of friends recently, “What is your go to for a feel-good television show?” The answers were as varied as you might imagine. I’d been looking for something to comfort me during a time of stress and sickness, and eventually I settled on an underappreciated effort from my childhood — dark days require comfort and sanctuary, and there is no sanctuary quite like nostalgia.

I don’t think I have ever understood nostalgia, or experienced it really, until revisiting the television series Taxi — which originally aired between 1978 and 1983. I remember watching old people get misty-eyed over black and white television programming from the ’40s and ’50s, and I would always wonder, what was it about those old shows that triggered such a powerful response?

I was pleased to discover that it’s the memories of the era — the experiences of that time that the show brings to the surface.

I only recalled two episodes from Taxi, but the memory of those two episodes triggered some interesting revelations, or at least observations after watching them again — especially the episode “Alex Jumps Out of an Airplane.”

A little background first: As I mentioned, Taxi ran from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, it was a critical success and ratings failure, created by a handful of people involved with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show; most notably James L. Brooks. It won numerous awards and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ensemble casts in television history. It was also cancelled, twice.

In retrospect, it was a magical little show that never quite could.

The wizardry begins with the credits and the theme song Angela from smooth-jazz musician, Bob James. Never before or since has there been a  more calming 70 seconds of television. Go ahead, listen to it. Watch the opening. Don’t you immediately feel at ease listening to James’ sweet melody wander, as a yellow cab crosses the Queensboro bridge?

I sure do.

I lived in the South Bronx in the ’70s, and as I made my way through the seasons, with each episode I would stay on the opening and closing credits, and I would get a rush of memories from that time. It got to where I looked forward to them, even though I was so very unhappy back then.

So it really does start with the credits and the music, where Taxi, above all other shows, shines so very brightly.

The cast however — that is the meat and potatoes of the show’s success. Let’s begin with Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma, which is consistently ranked as one of the best television characters of all time. If the show’s only outstanding performance was from Mr. DeVito, we would still remember Taxi. That’s how amazing he was.

This is evident immediately when we are introduced to Louie in the pilot, where he treats Elaine with kindness until discovering she’s a new hack — an old industry term for a taxi driver — when the real Louie comes out. In five seasons, DeVito never once disappoints.

Luckily, the talented cast runs much deeper. Judd Hirsch richly inhabits Alex Reiger, Tony Danza is actually enjoyable as the eternally punch-drunk boxer, Tony Banta, and Marilu Henner’s headstrong, single-mother raising a family character, Elaine Nardo, was a refreshing voice for women in television, versus the sea of stay-at-home mothers and wallflowers and girlfriends and girls next door of the era.

Add to that, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd as Latka Gravas and Reverend Jim “Iggy” Ignatowski — talk about two performers that can chew scenery — both of these guys are legends. I distinctly remember the episode where Reverend Jim flashes back to when he was at Harvard, and as a kid, I was blown away that the same actor could be responsible for such disparate, brilliant performances of the same character.

Also, Kaufman being allowed to explore multiple personalities in later seasons would have jumped the shark if it had been anyone else.

Sadly, Jeff Conway’s battle with addiction never allowed him to fully develop Bobby Wheeler, and the character was downsized in season 4 and written off by season 5.

Even the guest actors are some of the finest working today. Mandy Patinkin, Martin Short and Tom Hanks immediately spring to mind. And lest I forget, Carol Kane was a marvelous addition to the cast in later seasons, and she was generously rewarded for her performances.

All in all, Taxi would be nominated for 55 awards, winning 27 (23 Emmys and Golden Globes) during the show’s five-year run.

As I jumped my way through seasons, I admit I found some of the writing to be dated, perhaps predictable, even mildly offensive at times when measured by today’s standards and expectations — more often than not though, I found the writing to be exceptional, and often times brilliant.

I was particularly moved revisiting the episode where Alex faces his fears, where his soliloquy raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I write a great deal about fear, so it’s not surprising this episode stuck with me. What truly surprised me was the discovery that a story I tell about skiing and skydiving is shockingly similar to the events of the episode. So much so, that it threw me into a bit of a panic. Had I made up the skiing incident entirely? There is no way it could mirror Alex’s ski jump story so exactly.

I found myself questioning my own memories. Did I even skydive? Yes, Yes I did. And the skiing story from Winter Park is also real — but how much of it is accurate? I am no longer certain, but I loved the experience of remembering just the same; and I loved exploring this show again as an adult, seeing through these older eyes how it had affected me.

I was looking for a little warmth in the world; a little comfort for these tired, old bones, and with Taxi, I found what I was looking for — a brief reprieve from the madness outside.

As season five came to a close, I found that I was moved by the experience of taking this little trip back in time — and my body was thankfully finally on the mend. Taxi was a very theatrical show, from a very different era of television. I think the highest compliment I can pay Taxi, is that it’s the only show to date that I can watch without being bothered in the slightest by the laughing of the studio audience. I despise canned laughter, and I refuse to even watch a show that has a laugh track today, but with Taxi, it didn’t matter; in fact it feels right. Taxi is so theatrical, that you feel a part of that audience; those are your friends laughing along with you.

Taxi is available on CBS All Access, and Hulu — although some of the episodes are inexplicably missing. When the shithole that is today's America gets you down or your body won't let up on you, give yourself a break. Taxi is always a relaxing ride that gets you right where you want to be.

4LWjr

#TAXI

[thenovelescapes]

march 2017

It’s spring time in Vancouver, aka. monsoon season. It’s raining constantly, and Daylight Savings has cloaked my 6am commute to work in total darkness, but the dreary rainy-ness makes it all the more satisfying to sit on the couch for hours on end and read or marathon insane amounts of TV. I hope you’ve all had a cozy, comfortable March.

- the television -

To start off the month, I finished off Fleabag! The final episode of the season is so good and addresses many of the big questions I had while watching. It’s a short season (only six episodes!) so you have no reason not to catch up on this wonderfully odd show.

In March, my parents and I continued our Mad Men viewing with seasons three and four. My interest in the plot and the majority of the characters has dwindled considerably through these two seasons, and I find that I’m a lot less invested in what happens, particularly with the company itself. But, I’m forging through, if only because my parents love it. We also plowed through the recently released third season of Grace and Frankie in two days. My dad officially loves the concept of “binging” but hasn’t quite accepted the long waits between seasons. Immediately after we finished the Grace and Frankie season finale, he asked: “When’s the next season?” and was unimpressed when I said it would be nearly a full year. That’s high praise, coming from him.

You Me Her is a half-hour dramedy about a married couple who meet, and fall in love, with a PhD candidate slash escort (Priscilla Faia), the three of them entering into suburban thrupledom. It is funny and sweet and romantic and complicated, and 75% of it is filmed on my alma mater’s campus. Season one illustrates the beginning their romance, while season two focuses on the realities of their situation as they go public with their relationship. There are certain elements of the show that bother me, mainly the husband’s jealousy and seemingly constantly roaming eye, but Izzy (Faia) is absolutely wonderful and it’s a really cool portrayal of polyamory and how fluid sexuality can be. Check it out!

Finally, this month I started re-watching Grey’s Anatomy because apparently I hate myself. I cannot believe that I have been watching this show for over a decade - it premiered when I was in middle school and I have been watching and re-watching it ever since. I have a love-hate relationship with Grey’s. The first three seasons remain some of my favourite television of all time, but as the plots veered into truly insane territory and more and more characters were killed off in increasingly ridiculous and implausible ways, I lost interest. And then regained interest. And then lost interest again. But I have never been able to abandon it completely. At this point, I think the show might outlive us all.

I finished season two last night, and sobbed like a baby through the final three episodes, as I do everytime I watch it. I’m not sure how far I’ll get in the series this time around, but it has been fun to revisit a simpler time, when the core five (Meredith, Alex, George, Izzie, and Cristina) were all alive and in the same place. 

- the books -

I am on a reading roll. According to Goodreads, I am currently eight books ahead of schedule on the road to reading (at least) 50 books in 2017. Here’s what I read in March:

Every Last Word, Before I Fall, and The Whole Thing Together are all YA novels. The first two were fine, if dull, but the third, by Ann Brashares, was not enjoyable. There were an unwieldy number of characters, a great deal of the dialogue seemed stilted, and the central romance made me profoundly uncomfortable. 0/10 do not recommend.

In Where Am I Now? Mara Wilson tells stories about her experience as a kid on movie sets, as well as what it was like to grow up while “accidentally famous”. So Sad Today is a strange book full of intensely personal essays and sensitive admissions from Melissa Broder. She speaks frankly about her drug and alcohol addiction, her mental health, and her sex life, and although I cringed once every three words, it was a worthwhile read. ODWABDANOTWM by Scaachi Koul was my favourite of the bunch. It’s smart and funny and full of love for her family, friends, and partner. Koul is Canadian, so there are some true Canada-specific gems (Related: I wonder if I can still access my Nexopia account) and I cried all the way through the last essay and Acknowledgements. You should absolutely read this book, but also follow Scaachi on Twitter - she’s hilarious.

The Mothers, All Grown Up, and The Best Kind of People are all adult fiction and all wonderful. The Mothers deftly spans nearly a decade and explores friendship, familial bonds, and abortion with a unique and compelling narrative frame. All Grown Up is a short novel with a protagonist who, at 39, is still figuring out how to be an adult in the world. Andrea is a mess, but she’s entertaining and trying her best. I finished The Best Kind of People a few days ago and have been able to think of nothing else since. The last line nearly made me shout out loud.

- the podcasts -

Podcasts continue to be great company on my long commutes and through my long work days. In March, I discovered Making Oprah, Still Processing, Death, Sex & Money and S Town. Making Oprah is a fascinating deep-dive on Oprah Winfrey’s empire. Still Processing is a podcast on pop culture, race and current events hosted by the lovely Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham. Anna Sale hosts Death, Sex & Money and she is a superb interviewer, allowing each and every guest to open up about topics that can be uncomfortable or painful to talk about. Finally, S Town, from This American Life and Serial, was released all at once (seven episodes) on March 28th. I listened to the whole season in one afternoon. It has the elements of Serial that made the first season so memorable, but it also has a great deal more heart and focus on the people rather than what happened.

- the movies -

Every single movie I watched this month made me cry. This isn’t a surprise, exactly. I’m a crier. I cry watching television, most movies, even commercials. But I can’t say I expected to cry watching a movie that features Rebel Wilson and the woman from the 50 Shades franchise.

The Edge of Seventeen stars Hailee Steinfeld as a teenager who’s best friend begins dating the older brother she hates. It accurately captures the experience of being a teen and dealing with fraying friendships, annoying siblings, parents, dating, and mental health. Moonlight is every bit as good as you’ve heard. Don’t Think Twice focuses on an improv group (including Gillian Jacobs, Keegan Michael Key and Mike Birbiglia) as they struggle to “make it” as comics. How to Be Single is… not great. Too many love interests, too much Rebel Wilson, not enough of the main character’s sister. What If was a re-watch for me, and it remains a delightful romantic comedy. It stars Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, and Adam Driver. You should watch it.

I hope you all had a lovely start to Spring, and as always, happy reading, watching & listening! 

#wrapup #mar2017 #march wrapup