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silentfcknhill · 3 years

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FAVORITE SHOWS IN POSTERS

Well, we’re back for another installment of this tagged meme, this time for TV shows! I also stole this from/was indirectly tagged by @jcmorrigan. My taste in shows also differs a bit from my taste in movies, as I tend to like a lot of comedy shows with not as many horror ones. I’m not into shows as much as movies overall, but there are some that I am very passionate about so I picked twenty again. So, here we go for part 2, in order:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra (2005-2014)

I'm including these as one show since they take place in the same universe and tell a continuation of the same overall plot. Altogether this is probably the best piece of media to ever exist, including movies. It has so many great characters and villains especially and some of the most epic sequences, charming humor and heartwarming moments ever. I've never met a person who didn't like these shows, even people who normally don't like cartoons. My dad, who is biased against animation? He loved it. My mother? She loved it, watched it with her multiple times. My grandmother? Loved it. My ex-boyfriend? Loved it. My best friend? Loved it. I dare anyone not to, and I'm so glad it's making a resurgence since it's on Netflix for a new generation to enjoy.

2. Black Butler (2008-2014)

I never was big into anime growing up and only really started watching anime when I was like 16 and above, but this is one of the exceptions because holy shit is it ever dark and epic. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it for kids, it's more of a teens and young adults kind of anime and that's probably why it's so good, because it isn't afraid to explore dark and mature topics and do it with all of the intensity and gravitas required to do said topics justice. It has lots of great characters, and the story of demons who make deals with children who have a dark side is fun to watch play out.

3. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

My dad was a huge fan of this show so I watched it growing up since I was a toddler and it became a classic for me. I've watched thw hole show through at least 8 times, and I'll never stop because it never gets old or boring. It's also my only comfort show when I'm having a panic attack because of one time a few years ago when I was having a drug-induced psychosis episode and watching it calmed me down, so now it's like the opposite of a trigger and whenever I'm having an episode or something I watch it to bring me back to reality. For that reason it's more than a show to me, it's a medical treatment and I'm forever grateful to it.

4. The Good Place (2016-2020)

The big four shows made my Michael Schur all made it on this post (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office and Parks And Recreation), either in the main list of the honorable mentions, but this is my personal favorite of the four. It's so funny, quirky, relatable and basically tailor-made to suit my interests. Not only is it an entertaining and wholesome show, but I think watching it helped me come to terms with a lot of things like mortality, ethics, philosophy, religion and my relationships with other people. It gets alot of different viewpoints across and if you're a very analytical and philosophical person like me you'll probably enjoy seeing it all play out. Not to mention, every single character is 'favorite character' material. It's rare you find a show with no filler characters in the main cast, but I genuinely can't choose who is best.

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-?)

Another of Michael Schur's shows, this one is just barely under The Good Place and to be honest it was tough to pick my favorite between the two because they're both equally funny. I know it's kind of controversial right now because of the whole law enforcement thing, but I actually think they do a good job of handling social issues in the show and remaining respectful of real-life systemic problems. As for the characters, this is another one of those shows where every single character is gold and I think that tends to be a trend among Schur's shows in general. He produces damn good comedy, and damn good characters. I can't wait to see what they bring next.

6. Rick And Morty (2013-?)

This is unfortunately one of those cases of 'great show, horrible fandom' and for that reason I don't get involved in the fandom even though I love the show. It's a shame because it really is a great show, so funny and, again, such good characters. I think it's a lot more accessible than the fandom likes to claim, so I'm hoping more people will give it a chance and not get put off by the intellectual elitism of the fandom because it does have some of the most entertaining and batshit crazy episodes ever, poking fun of some of the staples of science fiction in media while also poking fun of itself the whole time. Unlike the fandom, the show doesn't take itself seriously and that's enjoyable nowadays.

7. Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

While this show is a comedy, it is also a lot of other things and it's probably made me ugly-cry just as many times as it's made me laugh. Well, maybe not as often, but those few scenes (if you've watched the show then you know the ones I'm talking about) made me hysterically sob hard enough to be worth like fifty minor sads. But I didn't even mind because the show is just that good, and it makes you /feel/ something in a real way. Probably because of just how real it gets in terms of telling stories that happen all the time in the real world, sometimes with inevitably tragic endings. But these things do happen every day, and it's important to shine a light on that. It's not just representation for LGBTQ+ but also for POC, the neurodiverse, the poor, and many more. Give it a watch to broaden your perspective!

8. Big Mouth (2017-?)

This is probably the grossest show I've ever seen but by god is it ever funny. Maybe it's because I have an immature sense of humor or something, but I love this show. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea and I don't recommend you watch this show with anyone else around because it will get awkward. I think part of its appeal to me is that everyone I talk to who likes it considers it so relatable to their lives growing up but for someone like me who grew up on the autism and asexual spectrum and who was physically an early-bloomer by years, nothing about this show is relatable to me in any way so it makes it all the more crazy and bizarre watching how the people around me must have experienced things. Did y'all really have these experiences with puberty in middle school???

9. Dexter (2006-2013)

I recently heard that this show is coming back for a reboot soon and I'm so excited because this is my absolute favorite drama/thriller show, as evidenced by the fact that it's the highest one on the list so far that isn't a comedy. I love the idea of having a protagonist who is sort of a villain (or at least morally dubious), and the idea of a serial killer who only kills bad people is particularly satisfying for some reason. Maybe because he's the vigilante we all deserve and want in this unjust and evil world of modern times? Idk but the very premise of this show set it up for big things and aside from the ending I think it delivered consistently.

10. Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

This show took us on some journeys, and you can't deny that. Sure, maybe it didn't always finish what it started and didn't always end in the most satisfying way, but part of its charm is that you didn't care because the experience was just so much fun. They took characters and stories that have been told to death and somehow managed to put a unique and unexpected twist on them, and that alone is admirable. Good twists, good villains, and pretty much every cliffhanger known to man will keep you hooked on binge-watching every episode.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-?)

A bit different than the other entries on my list in that it's not fiction but a reality competition show, but I couldn't leave Drag Race out because it's just so fucking iconic and perfect. Even when you disagree with the judges or can't stand a certain contestant you'll still be having a good time. It's got the personalities you love to love, the ones you love to hate, and the comedy that's completely meme-able. I mean just how much has this show contributed to pop culture and the internet? More than most of us, henny. I've watched every single season, even the international ones and all of the spinoffs. This show will probably be on for another thirty years when Ru is throwing shade from a hospital bed and I'll still be watching.

12. House (2004-2012)

Some people hate on this show, and I don't get it. I love House. Yes, he's an ass. That's the point. He's supposed to be unlikeable, and that's why I like him. Maybe because I always love the rude, sarcastic, misanthropic jerkass-genius characters for some reason. And I also love procedural shows, so it's a win-win. I also work in the healthcare field so it appeals to me for that reason too, because obviously the whole premise is outlandish which is what makes it funny. Of course it's not realistic for a hospital, so just enjoy the absurdity and don't get too hung up on the details of medical accuracy and professional ethics and you'll be fine.

13. The Office (2005-2013)

The third of Michael Schur's show and the last one that made the main list (sorry Parks And Rec, I love you too but there was just so many good shows to choose from and I saw you last so the nostalgia isn't as strong!) I don't think I need to hype this show up any, it's already a classic and you can't even turn around online without getting hit in the face by a dozen Office memes. You'll have to pry this show and it's relatable characters (especially Michael Scott) from my cold, dead hands.

14. All Hail King Julien/The Penguins Of Madagascar (2008-2017)

Like Avatar/Korra, I also consider this as one show for the sake of this list because it also takes place in the same universe (Madagascar, specifically) and I just couldn't choose one over the other because they're both so perfect. They're funny and I love all the characters (it cut out the weaker links of the Madagascar film series and just focuses on expanding the standout side-characters like King Julien and the penguins). It also delved into some lore, particularly the first show, and even though I didn't also agree with the directions it took (you may have seen me get salty about the ending because I cared too much), I can't deny how much I love it.

15. Bones (2005-2017)

One of the other scarce non-comedy shows on this list, it still has it's funny moments. It's also, like House, another procedural show that involves some medical stuff, but this time on a more scientific and forensic level which is even more interesting. It's nice to see a lead female with Asperger's, too. There's a lot of cop/law enforcement shows where they try to solve crimes, but this one is the best, and I'm saying that as a fan of CSI as well. Don't fight me on this, I'm right. Oh yes, it's corny, it's campy, it's cheesy, but I love every minute of it. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach though.

16. The Simpsons (1989-?)

We all grew up with this show, don't lie. It's been around longer than most people on tumblr have even been alive. Should it have ended seasons ago? Hell yes. But that doesn't take away what the first like 20 or so seasons gave us (there's a lot of argument about when the show jumped the shark, for me it wasn't until much later than the popular consensus). The characters are amazing, but the secret to the show's longevity is that they always return to status quo and there's comfort and nostalgia in that. Bart will still be in 4th grade when you're out there pushing 90. This show is persistent. This show is eternal. This show will outlive us all.

17. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)

Sorely underrated. This show is hilarious, gruesome and campy as hell and I love it. I don't think you necessarily have to watch the Evil Dead movies beforehand in order to get the plot of the show, although it would probably help. In my opinion this show ended way too soon and I'm hoping someday we'll get a comeback because Ash is the reluctant, self-absorbed hero we all need and it's 2020 so at this point there really might actually be a demon-zombie apocalypse and who's gonna save us then if not for the impulsive womanizer with a chainsaw for a hand?

18. Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)

Another show I grew up with, I don't think it gets as much credit as it deserves. It has some damn funny episodes and great characters, and it did a lot of the popular sitcom tropes before they were 'cool'. Some other great sitcoms, The Middle in particular, took a lot of influence from this show and it helped pave the way for the future of sitcoms at a time when they were about to make a comeback. If you want a good show about the real experiences of growing up, this is a much more accurate representation of the highs and lows of being an awkward tween from a dysfunctional home.

19. A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Unlike most people I actually liked the movie version from the early 2000's, and I read the books growing up so I was excited when I saw there was a live action television adaptation of it on Netflix because I felt like they cancelled the movie franchise too soon. I was interested to see how new actors would handle the roles, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I liked either portrayal of the characters better or worse, they both added their own twist to it and this show is a great and loyal adaptation to the books, probably because the author was so heavily involved. He knew just when to stick to the books and when to improve upon what he had done with the benefit of hindsight. This show is basically the books, but remastered.

20. Winx Club (2004-?)

Sort of an odd one out on this list, but I really love this show even as an adult and it may surprise you to learn it is still going on and the most recent season came out last year. They take big breaks sometimes in between seasons, but it's still going strong and in multiple countries. The only thing I don't like about watching this show is all the different and inconsistent dubs since the original show is Italian and each dub only goes for a couple seasons so by the time you get used to one set of voices/names for the characters oyu have to abruptly switch to another, but it's still worth it for the beautiful animation and cool characters (especially the villains!)

Honorable Mentions:

13 Reasons Why, America's Next Top Model, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Black Mirror, Care Bears, Chernobyl, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Criminal, CSI, Duck Dodgers, Goosebumps, Kenny Vs. Spenny, Kim Possible, Kingdom Hospital, Lazytown, Lost, Making A Murderer, Mayday, Mindhunter, Modern Family, Monster High, Obsession: Dark Desires, Parks And Recreation, Prison Break, Project Runway, Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, Salem, Schitt's Creek, SCTV, Spongebob Squarepants, The Emperor's New School, The Good Doctor, The Haunting Of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Middle, The Pretender, The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Through The Wormhole, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unsolved Mysteries, Yugioh

Tagging: @bullet-farmer and anyone else who wants to!

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fortysevenswrites · 3 years

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Kathryn’s Trash TV

All right @myletternevercame. Let's Below Deck Med Season 5 this shit.

I figured it would be easier to just tag you in a post instead of sending you all of this in a message, because like...this is a lot.

The people:

Sandy Yawn—the captain, female, lesbian, sometimes is kinda a micromanager. I want to like her, but sometimes she can be annoying.

Hannah Ferrier—longtime chief stew on the Med show(aka the head of the interior, usually a staff of 3). Relationship with Sandy has always been kind of iffy. Was actually surprised to see her come back after season 4 because Hannah was SO over Sandy and Sandy didn’t like the fact that Hannah isn’t good at making pretty table-scapes. I love her, but she really never should have come back after last season and should have ended on a high note.

Malia White—the bosun. Came back after being a deckhand on season 2. A bosun is like…the person in charge of the exterior. I want to like her because she’s the most competent bosun BDM has ever had, but she’s a shitty human being.

The show made a big deal about marketing the fact that the 3 most senior people on the show (Sandy, Hannah, Malia) are all women for the first time ever. Technically there is also a first officer and a couple other crew members but they’re not part of the primary cast.

Hinrigo “Kiko” Lorran—the chef. Adorable, from Brazil, and not a great yacht chef. Gets fired mid-charter, the world was very sad about it.

Tom Checketts—the chef who replaced Kiko. Also Malia’s boyfriend. Is AN ASSHOLE. Like seriously, fuck this guy. I don’t care how good a chef he is, he’s trash.

Christine “Bugsy” Drake—second stew who is promoted to chief stew after Hannah leaves the boat (more on that in a bit). I actually do love her. Hannah does not like her because they didn’t get along well back during season 2. Bugsy’s sister is one of Malia’s best friends, so they’re close. Bugsy actually didn’t come back until episode 4, because the original second stew, a crazy Italian lady named Lara, up and quit because she didn’t follow any of Hannah’s directions and when Hannah confronted her about it, she flipped out. Bugsy is great at tables capes and that is basically the number 1 reason why Sandy loves her so much.

Aesha Scott—actually one of Hannah’s BFFs from season 4. Ridiculous New Zealander. Has no filter. Replaces Bugsy as second stew when Bugsy gets promoted after Hannah leaves. Shows up for 7 episodes but it feels like…less than that. She has less of a fun time this season because she gets homesick.

Jessica More—third stew. Annoying. Not good at her job (which is literally primarily to do laundry and clean the bedrooms). Was surprised that she didn’t get promoted to second stew after Hannah left. Starts hooking up with Robert, one of the deckhands, early on in the season. Their relationship goes from hookup to I love you lets travel the world together WAY TOO FAST. Is annoying. I don’t like her.

Robert Westergaard—Deckhand, is bad at his job because he spends so much time thinking about the drama going on between him and Jessica. Has an opportunity to get another certification for sailing after the season but instead decides to follow Jessica to Bali where their relationship implodes.

Alex Radcliffe—one of the other deckhands. Is basically madly in love with Bugsy. Not bad at his job, and also not annoying. Really, really, really, really in love with Bugsy, but they only made out a couple times when she was drunk.

Peter Hunziker—total tool. Got fired by the production company behind BDM after he shared some really inappropriate and super duper racist content about black women on social media during the BLM protests last June, so the show was recut to minimize his appearances and disappeared his storyline.

You could potentially make a drinking game out of trying to find Peter in the background of the show after Episode 3.

Okay, now time for THE SHIT(TM)

(which, by the way, happens in the 36-or-so hours between two charters, and over the span of like…the second half of one episode and the first half of the next)

So. After Bugsy comes on as second stew, Hannah and Bugsy agree to remain professional even though they don’t like each other and will never be friends, and IT’S ACTUALLY FINE. Except for the one time that Hannah didn’t provision enough lemons for drinks and Bugsy had to borrow them from Kiko. Apparently it was a thing…

Hannah and Malia are rooming together, and it’s all fine.

Then, Kiko starts to struggle because he’s not a yacht chef and there’s ALWAYS drama in the kitchen (same with this season of Sailing, the chef, Natasha, is a BITCH—and not in the good way like how I am a bitch. The annoying, shitty kind), and during this, the show has been putting together this storyline of how Malia’s boyfriend Tom, who is coming to visit—JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A YACHT CHEF.

Foreshadowing much???

So Kiko leaves, Hannah is sad because he’s her only friend there, and Sandy asks Tom to come on the ship to replace Kiko as chef.

Then, we get the roommate drama. While it is common for couples to room together (like Paget and Cierra on Sailing Yacht), nothing is guaranteed on a yacht.

But Malia wants to be able to bone her boyfriend on the regular for the last two weeks of charter season, and she asks that Bugsy and Hannah share a room so she can fuck Tom on the reg. But Hannah doesn’t want to because she and Bugsy aren’t friends, and the two actually talk about it and Hannah AND Bugsy agree that it’s not a good idea for them to room together. It’s a very mature decision and was for the good of the ship and like…suck it Malia, and let work come first for five goddamn minutes (or two fucking weeks).

But Malia whines about how she should be able to fuck her boyfriend, and instead of being mature about it and fucking her boyfriend between charters in one of the guests bedrooms like normal couples do, she runs to her BFF Captain Sandy (who is tired of Hannah anyway, and it TOTALLY informs her decision making) and while Hannah is off the boat, she decides that what Malia wants, Malia gets, and that Hannah and Bugsy are going to have to room together. Malia justifies this by saying that couples ALWAYS room together (except that only really applies when they join together at the beginning of a season), and also…Sandy decides that the chef is actually above the chief stew in the hierarchy, which…isn’t actually a thing (because it hasn’t been in ANY OTHER SEASON. The chef is department of one that reports directly to the Captain and works WITH the chief stew, isn’t actually in charge of them or below them.

BUT, that night Malia finds Hannah’s prescribed valium and her weed pen, which may or may not have been prescribed valium and may or may not have been an illegal weed pen (I was never quite sure and didn’t really care to find out more), and takes it to Sandy, who uses it as an excuse to fire Hannah, and Hannah’s just like, first of all, I was having a panic attack because I have bad anxiety and it wasn’t actually valium that I took the episode before when she had a panic attack and took a tylonel PM or something, and also like, okay bitch bye, I’m over this and am out and I’m also getting out of yachting because real-life Hannah actually announced her pregnancy when the show started airing.

So, that was like, the good drama of season 5, because the rest of the season we have to suffer through Jessica and Rob going back and forth on whether or not they actually love each other (spoiler alert, they’ve known each other for a MONTH AND SO OF COURSE THEY DON’T) and Rob is kind of an awful person and Jessica is super needy and gets super jealous if any woman sneezes in Rob’s direction and it’s super duper annoying, but also like, the only storyline the show had toward the end of the season, other than Tom flipping a shit in the galley any time anyone asked him to, you know, do his fucking job.

Tom got into fights with literally everyone, from Sandy to Malia to yelling at Aesha when the primary guests asked for some fucking avocados.

So, yeah, that’s season 5 of BDM in a very, very, very long nutshell.

#fortysevens rambles #fortysevens watches trash tv on mondays #fuck i do love this show #here you go Emily!

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crowdvscritic · 3 years

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round up // NOVEMBER 20

Hi, I’m tired. Actually, my friend Celeste created a piece of art that puts the emphasis needed on that sentiment:

I’m very tired. November felt like it was three years and also felt like it went by in a blink and also I’m not sure where October ended and November began—how does time work like that? (I’ve yet to see Tenet, but maybe that will explain it.) But like Michael Scott, somehow I manage, and lately it’s been like this:

Late-night Etsy scrolling. Browsing beautiful, non-big-box-store artwork is very calming just before I go to bed. I’d recommend Etsy stores like Celeste’s chr paperie shop, which I know from experience is full of great Christmas gift ideas.

Taking a day off of work to do laundry. I’m not sure if it’s more #adulting that I did that or that I was excited to do that.

Eating Ghiradelli chocolate chips straight from the bag. I actually don’t recommend this as a healthy option, but this is also not a health blog.

Watching lots and lots of ‘80s movies. One day I’ll ask a therapist why this decade of films is so comforting for me despite its many flaws, but for now I’m just rolling with it.

Reading. Have you heard of this? It’s a form of entertainment but doesn’t require screens—wild!

Memes. All good Pippin “Fool of a” Took jokes are welcome here.

Leaning into the Christmas spirit by ordering that Starbucks peppermint mocha, making plans to watch everything in that TCM Christmas book I haven’t seen, and keeping the lights on my hot pink tinsel tree on all day as I work from home.

This month’s Round Up is full of stuff that made me smile and stuff that sucked me into its world—I think they’ll do the same for you, too.

November Crowd-Pleasers

Sister Act (1992)

If in four years you aren’t in an emotional state to watch election results roll in, I recommend watching Whoopi Goldberg pretend to be a nun for 100 minutes. (Though, incidentally, if you want to watch that clip edited to specifically depict how the results came in this year, you’ll need to watch Sister Act 2.) This musical-comedy is about as feel-good as it gets, meaning there’s no reason you should wait four more years to watch it. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

Nevada Memes

Speaking of election results, Nevada memes. That’s it—that’s the tweet. Vulture has a round up of some of the best.

youtube

SNL Round Up

Laugh and enjoy!

“Cinema Classics: The Birds” (4605 with John Mulaney)

“Uncle Ben” (4606 with Dave Chappelle)

RoboCop (1987)

I’m not surprised I liked RoboCop, but I am surprised at why I liked RoboCop. Not only is this a boss action blockbuster, it’s an investigation into consumerism and the commodification of the human body. It’s also a critique of institutions that treat crime like statistics instead of actions done by people that impact people. That said, it’s also movie about a guy who’s fused with a robot and melts another guy’s face off with toxic sludge, so there’s a reason I’m not listing this under the Critic section. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Double Feature – ‘80s Comedies: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) + Major League (1989)

The ‘80s-palooza is in full swing! In Vacation (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10), Chevy Chase just wants to spend time with his family on a vacation to Wally World, but wouldn’t you know it, Murphy’s Law kicks into gear as soon as the Griswold family shifts from out of Park. The brilliance of the movie is that every one of these terrible things is plausible, but the Griswolds create the biggest problems themselves. In Major League (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10), Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Wesley Snipes are Cleveland’s last hope for a winning baseball team. Like the Griswolds, mishaps and hijinks ensue in their attempt to prevent their greedy owner from moving the Indians to Miami, but the real win is this movie totally gets baseball fans. Like most ‘80s movies, not everything in this pair has aged well, but they brought some laughs when I needed them most.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens (2020)

They’re born a minute apart in the same hospital, but they don’t meet until their 30th birthday on New Year’s Day. So, yes, it’s a little bit Serendipity, and it’s a little bit sappy, but those are both marks in this book’s favor. This Time Next Year is a time-hopping rom-com with lots of almost-meet-cutes that will have you laughing, believing in romantic twists of fate, and finding hope for the new year.

Double Feature – ‘80s Angsty Teens: Teen Wolf (1985) + Uncle Buck (1989)

In the ‘80s, Hollywood finally understood the angsty teen, and this pair of comedies isn’t interested in the melodrama earlier movies like Rebel Without a Cause were depicting. (I’d recommend Rebel, but not if you want to look back on your teen years with any sense of humor.) In Teen Wolf (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 5/10), Michael J. Fox discovers he’s a werewolf.one that looks more like the kid in Jumanji than any other portrayal of a werewolf you’ve seen. It’s a plot so ‘80s and so bizarre you won’t believe this movie was greenlit.

In Uncle Buck (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), John Candy is attempting to connect with the nieces and nephew he hasn’t seen in years, including one moody high schooler. (Plus, baby Gaby Hoffman and pre-Home Alone Macauley Culkin!) This is my second pick from one of my all-time fave filmmakers, John Hughes (along with National Lampoon’s Vacation, above), and it’s one more entry that balances heart and humor in a way only he could do. You can see where I rank this movie in Hughes’s pantheon on Letterboxd.

Lord of the Rings memes

This month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, Kyla and I revisited The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy we love almost as much as we love Gilmore Girls. You can listen to our episode about the series on your fave podcast app, and you can laugh through hundreds of memes like I did for “research” on Twitter.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (2019)

Most adults are afraid of children’s temper tantrums, but can you imagine how terrified you’d be if they caught on fire in their fits of rage? That’s the premise of this novel, which begins when an aimless twentysomething becomes the nanny of a Tennessee politician’s twins who burst into flames when they get emotional. The book is filled with laugh-out-loud moments but never leaves behind the human emotion you need to make a magical realistic story.

An Officer and a Gentlemen (1982)

Speaking of aimless twentysomethings and emotion, feel free to laugh, cry, and swoon through this melodrama in the ‘80s canon. Richard Gere meanders his way into the Navy when he has nowhere else to go, and he tries to survive basic training, work through his family issues, and figure out his future as he also falls in love with Debra Winger. So, yeah, it’s a schamltzier version of Top Gun, but it’s schmaltz at its finest. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

November Critic Picks

Double Feature – ‘40s Amensia Romances: Random Harvest (1942) + The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Speaking of schmaltz at its finest, let me share a few more titles fitting that description. In Random Harvest (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Greer Garson falls in love with a veteran who can’t remember his life before he left for war. In The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Gene Tierney discovers a ghost played by a crotchety Rex Harrison in her new home. Mild spoiler: Both feature amnesiac plot developments, and while amnesia has become a cliché in the long history of romance films, Harvest is moving enough and Mr. Muir is charming enough that you won’t roll your eyes. You can see these and more romances complicated by forced forgetfulness in this Letterboxd round up.

The African Queen (1951)

It’s Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn directed by John Huston—I mean, I don’t feel like I need to explain why this is a winner. Bogart (in his Oscar-winning role) and Hepburn star in a two-hander script, dominating the screen time except for a select few scenes with supporting cast. The pair fight for survival while cruising on a small boat called The African Queen during World War I (in Africa, natch), and the two make this small story feel grand and epic. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

A young man’s (Dennis Price) mother is disowned from their wealthy family because she marries for love. After her death, he seeks vengeance by killing all of the family members ahead of him in line to be the Duke D'Ascoyne. The twist? All of his victims are played by Sir Alec Guinness! Almost every character in this black comedy is a terrible person, so you won’t be too sorry to see them go—you can just enjoy the creative “accidents” he stages and stay in suspense on whether our “hero” gets his comeuppance. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1937)

What would you do if you found out you were to be someone’s eighth wife? Well, it’s probably not what Claudette Colbert does in this screwball comedy that reminds me a bit of Love Crazy. This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended Colbert, Gary Cooper, or Ernst Lubitsch films, so it’s no surprise these stars and this director can make magic together in this hilarious battle of the wills. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

The Red Shoes (1948)

I love stories about the competition between your life and your art, and The Red Shoes makes that competition literal. Moira Shearer plays a ballerina who feels life is meaningless without dancing—then she falls in love. That’s an oversimplification of a rich character study and some of the most beautiful ballet on film, but I can’t do it justice in a short paragraph. Just watch (perhaps while you’re putting up your hot pink tinsel tree?) and soak in all the goodness. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 10/10

The Third Man (1949)

Everybody loves to talk about Citizen Kane, and with the release of Mank on Netflix, it’s newsworthy again. But don’t miss this other ‘40s team up of Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. Cotten is a writer digging for the truth of his friend’s (Welles) death in a mysterious car accident. Eyewitness accounts differ on what happened, and who was the third man at the scene only one witness remembers? 71 years later, this movie is still tense, and this actor pairing is still electric. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

The Untouchables (1987)

At the end of October, we lost Sean Connery. I looked back on his career first by writing a remembrance for ZekeFilm and then by watching The Untouchables. (In a perfect world I would’ve reversed that order, but c’est la vie.) In my last selection from the ‘80s, Connery and Kevin Costner attempt to convict Robert De Niro’s Al Capone of anything that will stick and end his reign of crime in Chicago. Directed by Brian De Palma and set to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack, this film is both an exciting action flick and an artistic achievement that we literally discussed in one of my college film classes. Connery won his Oscar, and K. Cos is giving one of the best of his career, too. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

Remember the Night (1940)

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in my favorite team up yet! Double Indemnity may be the bona fide classic in the canon, but this Christmas story—with MacMurray as a district attorney prosecuting shoplifter Stanwyck— is a charmer. I’ve added it to my list of must-watch Christmas movies—watch for some holiday cheer and rom-com feels. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

Photo credits: chr paperie. Books my own. All others IMDb.com.

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rizahawkais · 3 years

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I LOVED season 1 and 2 of the crown but found season 3 quite dull and difficult to get through. I'm enjoying season 4 (still havent finished bc I watch with my family and we're rarely all together) but I think that the earlier seasons were a lot better in my opinion

hi! i completely agree w you!

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY! I replied to this the day you sent it but my laptop crashed and I lost everything I wrote so I put off till now!

All in all, the writing for the first two seasons were WAY better. My ranking is s2 > s1 > s4 >>>>> s3. In my opinion, season three was kind of terrible.

hahaha this is so so long.

In the first two seasons each episode’s mini story for the day was actually INTERESTING. Like, I loved where one episode was about the Mountbatten name and then the next was about the Great Smog! But, there was always an overarching plot and it always added up in the end. S1, S2 and S4 all had an overarching plot that worked! S1 was balancing family and the crown. S2 was balancing prime ministers and her husband. S4 was the downfall of Margaret Thatcher and Charles/Diana. S3 LITERALLY HAD NO PLOT! It was just a bunch of stories put together. The finale for season 3 was about the end of Margaret’s marriage! And although, it is an important event in the family’s history the fact that it was the finale episode????

Anyways, Season 3 genuinely just sucks. Season 4 is REALLY good. Yet, it still doesn’t leave as much of an affect on me like the earlier seasons. AND LIKE I KNOW BECAUSE I’VE REWATCHED THE FIRST THREE SEASONS SO MANY TIMES. I’ve only seen the fourth once because I’m too busy and it’s also too early for me to rewatch it. So, maybe my opinion of season 4 will change!

Now, because I am extra 😈😈 and crazy I will talk about every single episode IN ORDER. hehehehehehe. feel free to hate me

SEASON ONE

101 Wolferton Splash - 10/10 this episodes just sets everything up! we see how happy the marriage is and how loving king george is and we also see the FORSHADOWING!! we see lilibet and phillip making their life thinking they had time when we know they don’t and it’s just :( AN AMAZING PILOT EPISODE WITH AMAZING QUOTES!

102 Hyde Park Corner - 1000/10 this episode needs no explanation. the suspense and DRAMA right before lilibet finds out about her dad ALWAYS gets me!!

103 Windsor - 10/10 I hated this episode the first time I watched it! I didn’t understand the importance of her uncle and I didn’t understand the complexity behind the episode. I was 14 when I saw this episode for the first time! So, mind you I was quite ignorant. but, david basically represents the audience in the show for those who hate the monarchy and call them out on their hypocrisy. BUT DAVID IS A TERRIBLE PERSON! FUCK DAVID! i understand hating the monarchy and for him i know it was personal but the way he talks about his family in the letters UGHUGHGUHGUHGUHGUH this man is evil! there’s also the other story in the episode about the mountbatten name which is so brilliant!

104 Act of God - 15/10 this episode was boring on first watch but I WAS FOURTEEN! this episode took a break from the monarchy and concentrated on a british national horrific event THAT WAS IMPORTANT and i liked how it connected throughout the episode and all that and the CINEMATOGRAPHY OMGGGGG! anyways, something that pisses me off about this episode is that the crown kind of has the same kind of audience as euphoria! they only care about a hot actor or iconic character or the aesthetics AND THAT MAKES ME ANGRY! bc those are the ppl who call this episode the boring fog episode and the latest episode of euphoria a waste of time! they don’t understand the importance of what their watching. an event that killed hundreds by something that could have been avoided bc of science and for euphoria an ongoing pandemic of an ugly world and its affect on ppl not wanting to go on! IM SORRY THIS TURNED INTO A RANT but this episode is important in reminding audiences that disasters can be avoided but also once they happen anything can happen THIS WAS A SAD EPISODE OKAY AND I LOVED VENETIA SCOTT!

105 Smoke and Mirrors - 100/10 THE CORONATION EPISODE! Phillip tries to bring it to the common public and all the fighting between them just makes the coronation even more impactful when we watch it!

106 Gelignite - 8/10 I DESPISED MARGARET IN THE FIRST SEASON i saw her as a spoiled brat who wanted to marry her dad’s assistant! AND ALSO HOW DID SHE NOT REALIZE THERE WAS DEFINITE GROOMING INVOLVED! this episode is generally very good but margaret just pisses me off a lot! however, her not being able to marry peter boresend shouldn’t have been because of his divorcee status but bc he simply was a predator in anyone’s clear eyes IM SORRY IF YOU DISAGREE BUT SHE MET HIM SO YOUNG NO WAY THERE WAS NO GROOMING good episode but pissed off at margaret’s lack of critical thinking besides but I WANT HIMMMMM LIKE I WANT EVERYTHING

107 Scientia Potentia Est - 11/10 hated this when i first watched it! but now one of my favorites! lilibet feels dumb and needs a tutor! prime minister and wannabe prime minister have health problems and keep it from her! lilibet finds out by accident and they all get yelled at! I LOVE WHEN SHE YELLS AT MEN!

108 Pride & Joy - 10/10 this episode is just adds on to the overarching plot of the season: balancing the crown and family. margaret says disrespectful things to ppl who don’t deserve it in place of lilibet while she’s on the commonwealth tour fighting with her husband! then lilibet scorns margaret and we see an ugly papa loved me more argument! absolutely brilliant!

109 Assassins - 1000/10 hated it the first time but now I LOVE THIS EPISODE! it’s the painting and porchey episode and churchill leaving episode. It’s so so so good! i honestly have no words to describe the brilliance of this episode besides the acting done by almost the entire main cast CLAIRE WOW! MATT WOW! STEPHEN (THE PAINTER) WOW! JOHN WOW! HARRIET WOW! when we see the painting getting burned coincided w the downing st dinner GETS ME EVERYTIME I LOVE IT SO SO MUCH!

110 Gloriana - 100/10 the climactic fight between the crown and family! which will lilibet choose?? and the foreshadowing to suez MWAH!

SEASON TWO

201 Misadventure - 100/10 LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS EPISODE the cutesy lilibet and phillip until it all goes down WOW! and the suez stuff i love it all

202 A Company of Men - 100/10 this is where i think mike’s wife starts snooping or it’s the next episode BUT THIS IS WHERE SOMETHING BEGINS FOR SURE first of all it foreshadows the episode later in the season about philip’s childhood AND MATT’S ACTING!! it’s too good for words!

203 Lisbon - 100/10 i like it when they fight lol that’s the only way i know how to describe why i love it LILIBET WAS EXCITED TO SEE HIM AND SO WAS HE but then mike ruined it by being a disgraceful and dishonest man RUINING EVERYTHING

204 Beryl - 10/10 i start to like margaret bc i feel bad for her! she’s suffering she’s sad that her lil predator boyfriend is no longer w her but look who it is MATTHEW GOODE! he not suspicious at all but the writers are like here take 20 minutes of perfect chemistry between the actors!

205 Marionettes - 100/10 I LOVE THIS EPISODE basically someone who loves the monarchy insults the monarchy and lilibet actually goes to listen to them! w resistance of course but she still took everything he said to fix the monarchy !

206 Vergangenheit - 1000/10 one of my favorites! i didn’t know about david’s nazi past so when i watched this episode for the first time i was completely baffled! another episode where she yells at a man!!!! i’m always annoyed in this episode tho by all the talk from the priest about forgiveness bc im like why would u want to forgive david for being a nazi?? but i think it was intentional by the writers to show the importance of understanding forgiveness and the grounds for it! THIS EPISODE IS JUST PERFECT IM ANNOYED BC I DON’T WANT TO FORGIVE HIM

207 Matrimonium - 9/10 this episode is amazing BEFORE you’ve seen season three bc you root for margaret and tony! but, also throughout the episode there’s all that tony and family and his gf and bf stuff that you think is going to lead somewhere but doesn’t??? like what was the point of introducing his mother and his relationships if it was going nowhere and not even mentioned in season 3??? LIKE WHAT WAS THE POINT WHAT WAS THE REASON? but, also there’s lilibet and phillip fluff in this episode I LOVE

208 Dear Mrs. Kennedy - 10/10 this episode is fun as an american bc i think jackie kennedy and jfk are so idolized here in america it was so interesting to see this other pov! BUT I ALSO REALLY LOVED LILIBET DANCING W NKRUMAH! I THOUGHT IT WAS SO CUTE AND THE MARTIN CHARTERIS STUFF LEADING UP TO IT WAS SO FUNNY!

209 Paterfamilias - 100000/10 no words. IT WAS SO SMART TO PARALLEL PHILIP AND CHARLES this has a lower rating than the previous episode which makes no sense but only goes to prove the idolization of jackie and jfk

210 Mystery Man - 100/10 EVERYTHING FROM THE FIRST EPISODE IS ADDRESSED IN THIS EPISODE THE SEASON COMES FULL CIRCLE JUST LIKE SEASON ONE DID AND SEASON THREE DID NOT DO THAT AND SEASON FOUR DID IT TOO BUT NO WHERE AS GREATLY

every single episode of seasons two has a 9+ rating from me!

SEASON THREE (worst season)

301 Olding - 5/10 weak starter but good for introducing olivia as lilibet and harold wilson and departing churchill BUT THAT’S IT! like the whole spy thing just went bleh LIKE IT HAD POTENTIAL but it needed early seasons writing not third season writing techniques TOBIAS DID A GREAT JOB THO IN THIS EPISODE HE WAS A GREAT RECAST FOR PHILIP

302 Margaretology - 6/10 okay. just okay. margaret kind of bratty but you actually feel bad for her then she gets bratty again and then you feel bad for her again and the scenarios in the episode just didn’t feel real like the whole lyndon b johnson was so jealous of jfk that he was rude to the queen so they sent margaret JUST DIDN’T MAKE SENSE like i know this show is fictional but the fiction tends to be believable until i research the episode afterwards BUT FOR THIS it just didn’t make sense

303 Aberfan - 1000/10 ONE OF THE GOOD EPISODES OF THE SEASON! those first fifteenish minutes??? TEARS! i never knew about aberfan until this episode and seeing this episode made me cry!

304 Bubbikins - 10000/10 THIS EPISODE IS TECHNICALLY NOT AS GOOD AS THE ABERFAN EPISODE BUT THIS IS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE we meet anne and alice in this episode AND I LOVE BOTH OF THEM (erinsdoherty is my current url!) this episode is so sad and sweet at the same time and loving bc i’m a sucker for philip’s back story!

305 Coup - 8/10 this had potential I FEEL LIKE IF THEY WROTE THIS EPISODE DIFFERENTLY LIKE HOW THEY WROTE ONE OF THE SUEZ EPISODE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER the fact that it all went to nothing and nothing basically happened WHAT WAS THE POINT

306 Tywysog Cymru - 1000/10 this episode made me like charles! what a horrendous statement! but, like i thought his relationship w his tutor was so heartwarming and he actually seemed to care and all that and it just all in all MADE ME HAPPY like this episode isn’t sad it’s a happy episode until the last scene w lilibet BUT YEA they gave us this one good episode until we hate him which i appreciate makes the story telling better

307 Moondust - -100/10 hate this episode LIKE GENUINELY HATE IT HATE HATE HATE and tbh im generally very very nice w my opinions ANYWAYS I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS EPISODE BUT IT WAS SO STUPID LIKE THE ASTRONAUTS BEING ASSHOLES WAS STUPID PHILIP BEING AN ASSHOLE TO THE PRIESTS WAS STUPID LIKE PHILIP IS AN ASSHOLE BUT IT’S BEHIND PEOPLE’S BACKS AND THEN THEY KILLED ALICE OFF SCREEN I HATE THIS EPISODE

308 Dangling Man - -1000/10 HATE THIS ONE TOO this episode convinced me that the writers for the first two seasons to this season has changed all of a sudden we forget that david was basically a nazi and the charles we met two episodes ago sees him as exactly like this uncle who he swore he would be nothing like to the people of wales??? LIKE WHO WROTE THIS THEY WERE DOING CRACK WHILE WRITING THIS EPISODE and i felt NOTHING during the lilibet and david goodbye WHACK EPISODE TERRIBLE JUST BAD TERRIBLE

309 Imbroglio - 5/10 episode started off good but then just went a lil too crazy by making it seem like a whole secret spy mission going behind lilibet’s back

310 Cri de Cour - 4/10 bad just bad HBC GOOD ACTRESS AMAZING ACTRESS given bad material like NONE OF THIS FEELS CONNECTED THIS STORY IS ALL RANDOM AND WE HAD A WHOLE EPISODE ABOUT MARGARET AND TONY AND WE DON’T EVEN MENTION ANY OF THE CRAZY STUFF FROM THE LAST SEASON BUT WE CONCENTRATE ON MARGARET BEING A SUGAR MAMA MAKES SENSE YALL

once again i hate season three

SEASON FOUR

401 Gold Stick- 8/10 written weirdly but had GOOD SCENES such as meeting thatcher and diana! BUT THE SCENE STEALER WAS OBVIOUSLY MOUNTBATTEN’S DEATH AND PHILIP TELLING CHARLES THAT HE BECAME DICKIE’S SON INSTEAD OF HIM SAD STUFF so like the death was sad and dramatic and I FELT BAD but like i shouldn’t bc im south asian and mountbatten did bad stuff to us BUT IT DOESN’T CHANGE THE RIPPLE WE FELT

402 The Balmoral Test - 9/10 funny episode but needed early seasons’ writing

403 Fairytale - 9/10 good episode but needed early seasons’ writing BUT ALSO THAT SCENE BETWEEN CAMILA AND DIANA MWAH CHEF’S KISS THEY BOTH DESERVE ALL THE AWARDS but needed early seasons’ writing

404 Favourites - 7/10 this episode is good but frustrating bc u finally realize how terrible of a mother lilibet is BUT THE ANDREW STUFF WAS GOOD I AM GLAD THEY PUT THAT IN! i liked seeing thatcher’s non-existent relationship w her daughter NEEDED EARLY SEASONS’ WRITING

405 Fagan - 10/10 GOOD EPISODE I LIKE HOW WE WERE EMERSED IN FAGAN’S LIFE AND I LOVE THE ACTOR FOR FAGAN TOO AND I LIKE HOW IT WAS CONNECTED TO THATCHER AND FUELED THE OVERARCHING PLOT OF THE STORY!

406 Terra Nullius - 100/10 GOOD EPISODE CLOSEST TO EARLY SEASONS WRITING THAT’S WHAT MADE IT GOOD seeing them not get along and then get along and then not get along again through a series of montages made the episode brilliant!

407 The Hereditary Principle - 6/10 this episode. how do i explain? the material for this episode was absolutely perfect for the writers of the early seasons! POOR EXECUTION

408 48:1 - 100/10 i like the political episodes more than the family episodes SO THIS EPISODE IS SO BRILLIANT BC OF THE BACK AND FORTH AND I GOT TO SEE CLAIRE!!

409 Avalanche - 7/10 early season writers would have shown the arguing before the avalanche and diana’s reaction JUST SAYING

410 War - 9/10 THIS EPISODE HAD THE YELLING AT EACH OTHER SCENE THAT WAS SO GOOD BUT ANYWAYS THE PROBLEM W THIS EPISODE WAS THAT IT DRAGGED I FEEL LIKE THIS EPISODE AND THE ONE BEFORE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE EPISODE TOGETHER

ALAS, what i would like to say is that i feel that season 4 shouldn’t have been so diana centric! it was diana from the beginning of the season to the end! not, that i don’t love the whole diana story but it was dragged and i think she should have been introduced around the third/fourth episode of this season the same way tony was in season two! camilla should have arrived at the beginning of season 4 so that the intensity between camilla, charles and diana was more believable! if we season three wasn’t so spread out they could have had more brilliant episode.

OK HAHA I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS VERY LONG RANT ABOUT THE CROWN PLZ FORGIVE ME! AND IF U READ ALL THIS WOW! IDK WHAT TO SAY I THINK I TALK TOO MUCH HONESTLY :( anyways thank you for talking to me :)

#the crown #queen elizabeth #prince philip #princess margaret #princess anne #princess diana #prince charles #margaret thatcher #asks #i talk too much

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aurimeanswind · 6 years

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Back to Business—Sunday Chats 8-19-18

Okay. So Sunday Chats. How do I do this again? Oh yeah. Writing and whatnot.

Let’s get Started.

The Business Update

So as I’m sure you can tell, if you tuned into Irrational Passions Podcast two nights ago, follow IP on Twitter, or just see the silly shit I do on social media, I’ve been really busy. Sunday Chats has taken that hit, and as I don’t write everyday anymore nor am I writing every Sunday, it’s likely there is no reality I can do these on a weekly basis like I used to. Still, I’d like to work in at least once a month, which is what I have been doing. I know that’s not the pace I was setting back in the heyday of writing everyday, but I’d say I’m generally less stressed and the writing I produce is generally better than it was towards the end of me writing every day. Meaning maybe I made the right choice by decided to put a nice end cap to that journey? Maybe not.

I’ve been far more in a managing role since then, and the thing I do the most now is the thing I love to do the most, host and guest host on podcasts! My podcast output has been up about 300% the last couple months I feel, and that makes me super happy. It’s what I love to do. And with a ton of new shows coming to IP, I’m happy to be a part of them.

So let’s get the update out there. Here are some things we are doing/launching with Irrational Passions that I’m excited about, and I think you should be too!

Irrational Passions Podcast is now on Spotify! So is Input: A Video Games News Show, so if you’re a podcast listener on Spotify, I’ve got great news for you! Get Acquainted should be up there soon too!

Input has officially changed its format to focus on one news story per episode on a more intimate basis. There is still room for more traditionally formatted episodes, but episodes may be coming out faster and more frequently per week, with more focus on single stories and topics. I’m really excited about this change. Give it a listen!

Irrational Passions Presents is a new audio feed coming to podcast services around the globe, that will be home to Article Reads, one off interviews, and maybe other cool little stuff. I’m excited for the possibility it brings, and am stoked to have that out there!

Irrational Passions Video Game Book Club is a new monthly show coming TOMORROW. It launches Monday August 20th with the first part of Batman Arkham Asylum. Each game we will be splitting into three checkpoints, and discussing with varying groups of Irrational Passions members. Scott White has been spearheading and editing this show, and he has done a phenomenal job with it. Shoutout to Scott!

Podcast Ultimate, our Super Smash Bros Ultimate Podcast hosted by Mike Burgess, CONTINUES next week, with episode two all about the recent Smash Direct. We talked for about two and a half hours and it was a blast. Give that a listen on YouTube, which is still currently the only space it is and will be available. Working on possible other options in the near future.

PAX West 2018 is coming up, and much like PAX East 2018, we are coming in FULL FORCE.

I’ll be there, alongside Scott White, Logan Wilkinson and Mike Burgess.

We’ll be rooming with the fine folks from OKBeast.com, and we’ll be doing a crossover podcast with them LIVE on Twitch and YouTube on Friday, August 31st, at 9pm Pacific Daylight Time.

I’ll also be representing Irrational Passions at the Kinda Funny Interwebsite Peer Schneider Cup Tournament or whatever its called in the Hydra Theatre on Saturday September 1st at 7pm PDT. Come see me! Support me! Or just say hi! I am absolutely going to lose, but I’m going to try my best!

So a lot of this is the culmination of things we’ve been working on for a while. The Book Club especially we’ve been working on since February. Everyone is hard at work and CRUSHING it, in addition to the reviews, podcasts, and opinion pieces we will continue to put out. Jurge called this the “IP Direct” on Twitter because this is our Nintendo-direct level of announcements. We’ve been working hard and will continue to do so going forward, and while that may mean we can’t sit and chat EVERY Sunday, I still plan on making time for all of you once a month at least.

A big part of that, as some folks may have seen, is I’ll be soliciting questions for Sunday Chats on Saturdays now. So it’s the same deal outside of that, look for my tweet that has the hashtag #SundayChats in it, just look for it on Saturdays now. It gives me time to get things done and organized a bit easier and faster, and cuts less into my day off now, which will hopefully streamline the process.

That all being said, I’m going to skip game talk this time and go right into...

Questions!

Let’s get to it.

Whoa boy a lot to unpack here. I’ll go one at a time now.

Selfie Saturday has officially become Selfie Sundays. Sorry for the lack of warning all, but selfies aren’t going away anytime soon.

Am I concerned? No. Not after this last direct. You’ll hear me talk about it on this next Podcast Ultimate but for me the new Smash Bros would not be “ultimate” if there wasn’t a story mode in it. And there appears to be one, going off this recent teaser in the direct. I know it’s dumb, but as someone who predominantly plays Smash by himself, it’s honestly super important to me to have that. I think that’ll be new and I think that’ll be really exciting too!

I think as a game they will likely hope to update and support for a while to come, coming out two years into the Switch’s life and I think the Switch will be around for a while to come, that they are just teeing this up to have tons of stuff either in expansions and DLC later, and have as much in the base as it can. Smash fans I think want all the stuff from the previous games, and I think there are plenty of quality of life things that make this new as well. Like, the Wii U game was so good, but missed those QoL improvements that really stopped it from being great. Plus, it was on a platform that no one had. Now everyone has a Switch, and anyone can stop and say “let’s play Smash” and have folk break out the Switch to play Smash at any event or whatever. That’s a big deal. It’s kind of what they wanted the 3DS game to be, but even that version of the game was neutered compared to it’s same-release Wii U counterpart. Now it’s the best of both worlds, it’s a loving culmination of Smash itself and everything that’s made Smash great up until this point, and I’m crazy stoked for it.

So the Filip stuff is tricky. I haven’t really talked about it too much publicly, but the more comes out about it the more upset I get. To be perfectly honest? Yeah. I’m really pissed about it. But me getting angry helps literally no one. I took English and Journalism class super seriously, going through what little college I did. And I’m sure someone like Greg Miller would say the same being someone who went through actual journalistic training, for more than me, plagiarism is super fucked. And Filip built a career on it.

It makes me lose faith in the system of getting hired at a place like IGN. It helps reinforce those things you hear about folk that are hired out that they are just picking from a very specific pool that meet a specific vision for that place. And that hurts me. Because I would like to think and hope the quality of my work and my worth ETHIC above all and anything else, having done all I have done on a weekly basis for almost a decade would be enough. But clearly it isn’t.

But I’d rather not harp on too much about it. I do believe in good karma, and what goes around comes around, and so I will continue to push my positivity out into the world, and hope it does something good for me.

No, I cannot ride a bike. I know it’s crazy, and I know Jacob Bryant has trouble believing it.

The day I decided was the last day I’d try and learn how to ride a bike was the summer when I was maybe six or seven. At the house I grew up in there was this hill near the opening of our drive way. I took the training wheels of my Bike and went to the top of the hill. I said “this is the day. Make or break,” and I got my legs up on the Bike. I was either going to ride down that hill and keep riding, or fail and fall over and give up on riding a Bike for the rest of my life.

I pulled my legs up and....

Well, I immediately fell to the right and scraped up my knee and leg. I didn't even make it down the hill a little bit. I started quietly crying to myself, because I was like, six, took my Bike, put it in the garage, and went inside to play video games.

That was the last time I ever rode a bike.

Listen, so many folks have been coming to me saying how Video Game Book Club took inspiration from their show or whatever JON. One, it wasn’t even my idea. I did have the idea to split each game into three checkpoints.

But my MAIN INSPIRATION for the show was actually Rebel FM’s book club. The only one I heard them do was Dead Space 2, a phenomenal game. I know a lot of video game book clubs exist though, and for example Mike’s big inspiration for his ideas in the club was the GameInformer Book Club. Basically, no one is original.

I have a ton of stuff on Audible that I need to finish listening to. I do not read at all, because I’m awful, so I just listen to books. A couple I really adored and finished earlier this year were the King Killer Chronicles books. The first two in the trilogy are out, and hopefully the third will come out sometime ever in my life. They’re by Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fear. Super good. Amazing world building and a huge focus on currency, which I really liked.

I really want to finish Ready Player One, I got about two thirds into it and really liked it. I also grabbed Altered Carbon, the Dark Tower 1, and You’re Never Weird on the Internet, Felicia Day’s autobiography. Those are the ones on my shelf right now.

I’ve been following some of the Tweets. I love it. I’m also going through them again with the Three Best Friends Podcast folks in a Limited Run series they’re doing, featuring: me! All about Kingdom Hearts. The first two episodes should be out now, and they’re crazy fun.

Of those three, I think Birth By Sleep is the clear winner, and it’s really because it is the only “complete game” out of the three. What I mean is there isn’t kind of, revisiting or rehashing in it. 358/2 and Chain of Memories both rely so heavily on the Kingdom Hearts 1 worlds, especially Chain of Memories, while introducing their own stories that are both very good I think, Chain of Memories being the far, far, far better one for me personally, but the repetition in both still hurts it so much.

Birth By Sleep has the issue of revisiting its OWN bullshit like seven times in that game as you play through all three stories, and that sucks, but at least it isn’t something you’ve seen in a Kingdom Hearts game before. While I think the systems in BBS are rough around the edges, later to be better realized in a KH3D or even Kingdom Hearts 3 itself, the character work in that game makes it special. Terra/Ven/Aqua is a story you are AS invested in, if not more so, than the original Sora/Riku/Kairi story. And so it is this very intimate story for fans of the series I think.

That and playing it is just the best. Especially on PS4 where I recently played it. It just feels better with twin stick controls. It’s crazy grind-y if you’re trying to do everything, sure, but all the games are in their own way in that regard.

It’s funny how mechanically KH3D is the best of the handheld attempts at side stories, but it muddles the story the most. It’s a double edged sword, where they kept going until they got it right, and in a way they did irreparable damage to the story along the way because of it.

I really don’t know. I know it’s dumb and little but I’d really love to hit 1000 subscribers on YouTube. Super inspired by the work the OKBeast folks have done with their channel, and basically Mike Burgess has single-handedly turned our YouTube output up a notch. But not just him, he has got Jurge doing video reviews too, and with Scott White’s video talents finally being shown in Book Club, they’re got me inspired to get more work up there again too. It helps especially knowing it’s not just me.

But the big long team goal is outside fo 2018, which is to go to E3 as a team in 2019. That’s the big goal.

Downloading it to my Xbox One now. Hit me up. We’ll play.

That’s the end. That’s it. That’s all she wrote. And by she I mean me, in this case. I’m excited about the future of IP, I’m excited about the stuff we are doing, that I am doing, and while it’s a ton of work and a lot of stress, it’s the stuff I live for. It’s very rewarding hugely in part to the team that is doing it and how we are working together. Stick with us, and I promise we won’t let you down. Please god hopefully, at least.

Do me a favor until then.

keep it real.

#video games #gaming #kingdom hearts #questions #Alex o'neill #sunday chats #sundaychats

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ts-akhmim · 4 years

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Episode 1 | Part.2 “GET YOUR BOTTLES OUT YOUR BONGS YOUR CRACK” - Adam

GET YOUR BOTTLES OUT YOUR BONGS YOUR CRACK WHATEVER YOU WANNA CELEBRATE WITH GORLS BECAUSE WE DID IT!!! I've offically conquered my biggest fear of playing in any of these games for the third time in a row, i will NOT be the first boot! I also am keeping my own lil personal record of never having to go to the first tribal council of the season which is wig, although idk lmao i kinda wanted to go to tribal just because im gonna be honest, i want to PLAY the game. Right now everyone is still kinda in that annoying honeymoon woohoo go team phase, which granted I do want us to keep up for the numbers, but ... im bored. im trying my best to keep up and be in the social circle but i swear actually talking to other people is probably one of the hardest things for me, especially the whole call culture thing like oh gorl i dont even like talking to my grandma on the phone, like im all for group calls but when people message me wanting to do 1 on 1 calls? uh.... my commitment issues jumped out. I hope that doesnt hinder me in the game because im really trying my best with what ive got to make friends and hope people just dont hate me and wanna vote me out, but i still feel like im not doing enough. Maybe im just being hard on myself, ive been having good convos with AJ, Augusto, and Amir, kinda Austin too, but then i feel bad I haven't connected as much with Connor or Kendall, but i do enjoy them on the tribe. My strategy now is gonna be to just work on my social game since we wont have to go to tribal, maybe tone down my dying urge to just wanna strategize, especially because my first time i played i spent too much time talking game and not enough getting to know the people and it ultimately cost me in the end. But i'm also concerned no one is talking game with me really but amir and aj so like.... i literally STILL have no idea how half these people feel about each other from a game perspective, which is okay i guess ,ill be patient, keep my fake smile on and haha hehe'ing with everyone, but just know i have my knife in my boot and im READY to whip it out whenever. But not tonight, we did good, so now i can focus my energy back on this DAMN TOMB. see yall at 2:29 am on the dot!

YAY. I get to enjoy my first day off EVER in tumblr survivor. im so so happy even though i definitely overdid it in this comp and got too much attention on me but... whew. just gotta wriggle my way back under the radar now

So, I’m actually not surprised that we lost. I had a gut feeling that we were going to lose just based off of everyone’s activity and performance in the challenge. First tribal always sucks because no one wants to be the first person voted out. Luckily, I don’t think it’ll be me just because I think I have solid connections with everyone. Devon and I had another call where he told me I was his number one ally in the game. Isaac also told me that he and Trace want to both work with me. And I’m also in the DADS-R-US alliance with Autumn/Duncan/Devon. I have connections with almost everyone on the tribe, so I hope that after this tribal we don’t lose another challenge cause then that’s where things are going to be tricky. For this vote, I think it would be best for Bodhi to leave. He gave the worst score for the challenge, not to mention I really haven’t communicated with him much. From conversations that I’ve had with Devon, Isaac, and Trace, they also seem like they are on board with Bodhi. Now the next part is just to convince Autumn and Duncan to vote out Bodhi too. If it’s unanimous, it’ll show that our tribe is more united going forward. I think that’s the easy vote going forward, mainly because I think I have solid connections with everyone else on the tribe so I would hate to ruin those connections going into a swap. I have the DADS-R-US Alliance with Autumn, Devon, & Duncan. I like all of them so I’m glad it’s a thing. I feel like I vibe with all of them and it really solidifies that there’s a majority within the tribe. I do feel bad that Isaac and Trace aren’t in it, just because they’re definitely down to earth people. I can see Trace being a threat long term, so I mainly feel bad that Isaac isn’t included. I like the DADS Alliance, the only concern I might have is that Autumn/Duncan seem to be close so that’s something I need to look out for. Devon says I’m his number 1, but I kind of get the vibe that he might betray me around mid-merge just because it seems like he’s trying to play a big UTR game. So that’s something else I want to think about in the back of my mind. Overall, I feel like everything else is self-explanatory. I feel like after the first night, people just kind of got quieter and quieter. I’m hoping that everyone will be on board with voting out Bodhi and that I don’t end up being #blindsided at the first tribal. Cause that would be awful.

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Night number 3, ive done my research, studied up on my questions, i basically AM an egyptian now, only for me to get my ass back on the path to the tomb for the 3rd time, only to get all the questions right and see the pedestal is EMPTY. Meaning there's a few scenarios that couldve happened. Clearly I was too slow, and my honest hunch is someone found this damn thing night one, no one has said anything to me, and i feel like ive had decent conversations with the people i semi trust? My first instinct says it could be amir because me and him were both going non STOP on looking for that idol night 1 and then he never mentioned it to me again, which granted i didnt say shit to him when i found it so touche on that one, hopefully he has it and just doesnt want to tell anyone which i wouldnt mind, or aj could have it which i really would hope he doesnt and is lying to me about it because clearly that would be bad because itd make me think he wants to use it against me, but i dont think aj has it. Everyone else is a wildcard, I wouldnt be surprised a bit if connor or kendall have it, there's a reason to me why everyone could have it so im not gonna let it drive me crazy, clearly im just not in the know about it with whoever has got it and thats JUST fine and dandy.... I know how to play this game with or without idols in my possession, whoever has it might have a bit of a head start on me, but trust and believe it's only day 3 the shenanigans have just begun dahling. Now that just means I have to REALLY be on my A game, it'll be a bit of a tricky challenge navigating around the idol, especially in a tribe of 7, but much like everything else in my life, im gonna suck it up and make it work, so whoever you are that's got it, you better beware of me! Because now I know you got it! And if I got a lead that's all I need to cause some chaos, in fact I think im gonna go do that now, I wanna talk to everyone who might not have found the way to the tomb yet and let them know someone got it already, create some paranoia and maybe make sure the target isn't on my back but we'll see, like i said when i get bored i get creative

okay so i'm already really anxious KJLASDF. i really am mad at myself for getting the highest score in the challenge, that was so stupid. next challenge i somehow have to wriggle my way backwards, because being a winner with the highest score? what was i thinking that was suchhhh clownery ugh. well. i need to tone it down 100%

Deep down, I almost prefer losing the first competition for two reasons: 1. You can weed out the weakest member of your tribe (almost like cutting the fat off the meat) 2. You are able to test tribe loyalty from the start. If you win a bunch of comps and go into a swap with numbers, that's great, but you will always be itching to actually play the game. Those without tested loyalty will have a hard time adjusting against those that have been forced to play already. In terms of the vote, it sounds like everyone wants to take it easy and vote out Bodhi. That is fine, but I'm not thrilled about it. I feel like Isaac would have made a better first boot considering his messages are somewhat dry and he has more connections across the current cast. However, it doesn't make sense to cause a rift right now. Pending an idol play, this should be a remotely easy round for the tribe. -Slithers-

cast assessment: the brawn tribe is losers. who the fuck wins a challenge lol. fucking losers.

but i like ali and im excited to play with jordan pines. the beauty tribe is FULL of former allies of mine. Augusto, Connor, Amir, AJ, and whoever else? they're all people i've worked with (maybe aside from aj i dont remember tbh). So far I'd say im alligned with everyone on my tribe to an extent. Isaac and I have a night one alliance, but I think I have to cut him this round... Fuck. I love Autumn and Duncan, and I like Devon and Scott. Trace I'm indifferent to, and I'd be happy to see him go, but idgaf if he stays. Right now im trying to find the idol with isaac, while im not telling isaac that he's gone if he doesn't find it and play it. Ideal scenario: isaac finds the idol and we idol out trace 6-1 ( i want to protect myself from being seen as helping isaac).

Bodhi is driving me insane. First he blows the challenge and now he's like gone on a mad dash to get into the Tomb, which is probably boobie trapped to hell btw. I'm just kinda over him being here like he pulls me aside Day One and tells me he wants to work with me and then I hear from Trace that not only is Bodhi writing my name down but thinks everyone else is going along with it. I hope Bodhi doesn't have the idol; but in the event he does I'm thinking about throwing a vote on someone else to make it a 5-1-1 as a contingency. Bodhi if you read this I'm sorry buddy that you might be a 2 time first boot but I can't help you and I don't think I really want to. I'm just praying I survive this round.

I have not been the best in explaining myself in these confessionals huh… but let’s do a recap for y’all <3

Day 1 went by super fast but the good thing about my social game is that I do make a good first impression on people and I think that ultimately helped me get my footing so far? Within the first hour or so of talking to Kendall, she suggested we become an alliance. At first I was taken aback like MA’AM you don’t know me like that… but I of course said yes because why deny an alliance yknow? I do like Kendall though, so it was nice that she quickly decided she wanted to join forces in the game. Connor and I reconnected from our time in Socotra and we were dropping hints of protecting one another in this game, which was nice. Amir and I clicked INSTANTLY like it was insane how well we meshed together yknow? I would consider him my #1 ally so far and I know for a fact the feeling is reciprocated but I do wanna keep an eye out for him because he’s gonna be incredibly dangerous in this game. Adam and I also clicked super quickly due to our love of skinny legendt herself Mariah Carey and we are basically the same person. Austin and I did talk for a bit over our love of similar stuff which was cute. I had the hardest time clicking with AJ. Overall, I had 2 solidified partnerships, 1 unknown partnership, and then a good vibe with mostly everyone else. Day 2 was big to say the least! Amir had let me know that he was the closest to me and Adam during the beginning of the day. He later mentioned Kendall once the alliance was made. So for me, Amir’s connections are me > Kendall > Adam > Connor > Austin/AJ. Adam had told me that I was one of his faves to talk to so yay for that. Austin had also told me that I and Kendall were his faves to talk to. So… here I am thinking that I am doing THAT in the game ngl and then Connor asks me “lowkey like we’re gonna work together right” which I already assumed but said ofc. He then told me Kendall wanted to make an alliance with us two, herself, and Amir. I am totally for this as my 3 close personal alliances basically combine into one alliance which is nice. That being said, the others were trying to think of a fake 5th member to add and it’s a little early to quickly add one person to it. We need more time to feel people out and whatnot, but it did seem interesting that Amir suggested Adam and Kendall suggested Austin given what both had told me way earlier in the day. I would prefer Adam personally as I do feel like currently, Kendall is the most connected and strongest socially in the game just based on my observations. I’d love to think I am a close second but I could be delusional, I tend to be. But yeah, I’m finally in a majority alliance which is cute. And that’s what you missed on Glee <3

When I tell you that I am SHOOK that I didn’t lose this challenge like… I was expecting to lose ngl so yay for that! Especially since I was one of the top scorers on this challenge… I just hope that excuses my flopping on whatever flash game we get gbhvcnxm but yeah, the thot tribe lost and Bodhi… did so bad like SIR. It is very safe to say he could leave and that makes me sad because I wanted to reunite with him and do some potential damage. I do hope he made an alliance pretty early because Bodhi is honestly a very nice person so yeah. This tribe got told they won the challenge and disappeared like all I hear is crickets nnnn which kinda sucks but oh well. The shitty thing about me as a player is that I sometimes need a lot of reassurance so I just want these people to hit me up first and see what’s up. We shall see what transpires luv xx

The biggest headache of the season (aside from me) is the idol system like I may only have half a brain cell but I’m exerting all its power on trying to find this thing. The clue said to look around and I’ve looked all over the blog and NOTHING like… I do not know what else I could do and it’s driving me absolutely mad luv xx (‘: not that advantages do me any good ever but I just wanna figure it out ;-;

i’m me finding the link to the tomb right after submitting that confessional is a MOOD. k so i put the link in and sent it to the hosts, they told me that “Unfortunately, you have not entered the Tomb” and after that, the picture I saw had disappeared. So now I’m thrown in for a loop (is that even the correct term? ghfdjsk) because I think that the link/pic is only there at certain times and the first person to find it gains access? It is my theory and i’m sticking to it ofc but now what do I do with this information? I think I will sit on it until I gain access to the Tomb for the first time and then we shall see what happens.

God, I cannot believe we literally got our asses HANDED to us by the other tribes. I actually put a good amount of effort into this challenge so it was a bummer to see that not everybody could hold their weight. But actions have consequences so I guess it makes sense why we're here at tribal council. I really do like all of my tribe mates! There is not a single person on this tribe that I don't want to work with, which makes this whole thing very complicated. Right out of the gate, people were talking about voting Bodhi because of his HORRIBLE performance in the challenge. He came to me right away, calling himself an idiot and hoping I would pity him? I don't tbh, he fucked up and there is no fixing it. I am just kinda pissed because like I understand the concept of procrastination, but we literally had two days to do it and he submitted what, 5 things? Like get a fucking grip idk. So I want him out. It's not a fixable problem for him. I trust Isaac quite a bit. He is def my closest ally at this point. I also really like Scott, even though he fucking ruined me in Maluku. Duncan would be my 3rd. I proposed to them to create a group, and we did. I am hoping that this 4 will help me survive at least a few more pre-swap tribals, but I also feel relatively close to Autumn and Devon too, so really it could swing any way that we want to if Isaac and I are in trouble. Bodhi claims that 6 people are voting for Isaac. I could be that oblivious, but I think that Bodhi is going to get blindsided tonight, which is awkward because how could he not see it coming? Idk, the kid has got some blind ambition lmao. Let us just hope that Isaac and I survive tonight's tribal and then can really this misfit tribe to win a goddamn challenge.

So after my last confessional, the DADS alliance got on call and lowkey there was actual contemplation on whether or not we should vote out Isaac instead of Bodhi? This video below describes me in that moment

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So I'm trying to subtlety tell the DADs that I think Bodhi should go over Trace and Autumns the only one that agrees with me on this. Duncan and Devon are like "no we should keep him and get rid of Isaac" and I really didn't want to do that but at the same time didn't want to seem like a dictator. So I told them I'd vote out Isaac if they felt comfortable with that. We couldn't really agree so we decide to sleep on it and reconvene tomorrow.

Tomorrow comes around and Devon tells me he still wants Isaac out over Bodhi. I'm like "bruh seriously?" so I try to tell him my reasons for wanting Bodhi out but also tell him if he/the group want to do Isaac then I'm down for that. So we wait for Autumn and Duncan and when I get on the call they're telling me they're leaning towards Bodhi which has me happy cause it was what I wanted to do to begin with and I didn't need to make my arguments. We love having great minds that think alike. The big takeaway from this is that Devon is definitely lowkey shady since he was all about Isaac leaving before the call and then suddenly had a change of heart. Anyways, I reach out to Trace and I'm like "oh we're good with Bodhi right? and he purposes an alliance of the two of us, Isaac, and Duncan. Which has me thinking, this could work. I can have Trace and Isaac think they're in the majority alliance to ensure none of them play an idol if we lose. OR, maybe I could use them to get Devon out? So I tell Duncan that Trace wants to have an alliance with us and Isaac and he's all for it. We like being the Kim Spradlin of the season. But then things get shady because Trace tells Duncan and Isaac that I MYSELF purposed the alliance which is not the case. So now I'm on edge with Trace because he wants to build me up as the threat. So if we do lose, I also wouldn't mind voting out Trace and explaining to Isaac that Trace was spreading lies about me which I didn't feel comfortable with so that the alliance of Duncan/Isaac/I could vote out Devon should we continue a losing streak? The only thing I do know is that Bodhi is leaving tonight. Bodhi, if you're reading this I'm sorry for voting you out. You're a cool dude, and I feel bad for not talking to you much until you left. Also I'm sorry for not talking to you about the vote at all today, I feel bad lying plus I was lowkey busy with school work that I procrastinated and finals prep. The only thing I need to do now is figure out how the hell i get into the tomb?

okay so i'm not actually going to tribal but gotta make it all about me and do a round wrap-up? i'm already feeling like this might be my last game i forgot the stress of games. the main thing in this game is that i really like jake? he is SO much fun and i manifested from preseason that i would like him and it happened (i haven't told him i figured out he was cast preseason that feels like it would be too creepy), but i'm just happy i manifested him as a really fun ally and it came true!! i really like him and jordan. also my tribe is scaring me i feel like they want me out and me having an idol does not help with my neurotic panic nnn. for guessing who is gonna go home, i really hope autumn and isaac are safe, duncan too!! i kinda assume it'll be bodhi or devon just because they didn't do too hot in the challenge but we will see for sure

youtube

https://youtu.be/LPplZtIK9KM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7EpyCcQVcM&feature=youtu.be

#BackWithVengeance

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lorna-and-nicky-complex-love · 7 years

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Nicky and Lorna Season 5

Hello everyone, its Sunday, and I felt that after 2 days, now might be a good time to discuss Lorna and Nicky’s story in Season 5. This is going to be a long analysis, so settle in :)

So in the first episode, Riot FOMO, we see Nicky holding Lorna’s hand running through the halls of Litchfield. (I love that they were holding hands). They decide to stay away from the major action, and decide to take control over the pharmacy. Lorna, worrying about Nicky’s new found sobriety, is not too keen on the idea, and suggests, going to electrical, and even jokes that she will let Nicky tie her up. Nicky thanks Lorna for her concern, but says that she will be fine, and she’s not going to take any drugs. After drugging Leanne and Angie with sleeping pills, they gain control over the pharmacy, for the remainder of the riot. During this time, Nicky and Lorna resume their flirtatious friendship, but Lorna firmly states that they will not be more than friends which Nicky respects.

In the third episode, Nicky and Lorna are playing Doctor, and Nurse. Lorna listens to the patient’s symptoms, and Nicky tells her which pills to give them. During this, a grieving Soso visits them in the medical cage, wanting to take pills to numb her grief over losing Poussey(the most perfect, kindhearted soul). However, Nicky being the honest, empathetic person that she is, tells Brook that she cannot cheat grief, and that using drugs as a way to cope with her pain will only lead to drug dependency. Then in a beautiful love letter like fashion, while explaining to Brook why she shouldn’t take drugs, Nicky says, “you’ll get sent down to Max for doing some stupid Junkie shit, and find yourself sucking off a CO in a closet for one last hit, and maybe you’ll realize that you were just hopelessly in love with an incredible, insane, beautiful woman who will never love you back, and its just not worth it (I DIED). Now a person can have several opinions on why Nicky decided to indirectly yet publicly say in front of Soso, and a line of people, as well as Lorna, that she loved her. 1. Nicky was tired of waiting for Lorna’s response, and this was done out of restlessness. 2. Nicky knew that Lorna already knew, and wasn’t saying anything she didn’t already know. 3. Nicky wanted Lorna to know that she was more than comfortable telling everyone that she loved her. Now I personally believe that it was all of these reasons combined. I think that Nicky knows that Lorna knows, and that she has spent all of this time avoiding it because she is confused on her own feelings (Even though Lorna already said that she has feelings for Nicky in season 4). Nicky perceives this confusion as Lorna not loving her, but we all know that is not the case.

After this indirect admission, Lorna and Nicky continue to control the Pharmacy without discussing what Nicky said. In episode 6, Nicky who was playing a therapist in the medical cage, is seen talking to weeping lady, and eventually Morello. Lorna then begs Nicky to have sex, and at first, Nicky is skeptical, and asks Lorna if she is serious about this, and if she’s thought about her husband. Lorna reassures her that she is sure, and they have sex in the pharmacy. About an hour later, Nicky and Lorna are in the cafeteria, and Nicky assumes that Lorna is going to tell her she regrets sleeping with her, and we can see that Nicky is visibly heartbroken by the thought that Lorna regretted being with her. When Lorna informs her that she only slept with her because she was pregnant, and that she did not mean to lead Nicky on, Nicky who at this point started crying, finally says “I love you so much Lorna”,(she had tears in her eyes, and her voice cracked, and she started stuttering, showing how emotional she was) but says that Lorna can’t keep leading her on(by sleeping with her) {even though Lorna knows that Nicky is in love with her}, and saying she regretted it thereby breaking her heart, and assuming that Nicky will just forgive her for hurting her every time. Nicky points out that she (Nicky), was stupid for allowing herself to hope and believe that maybe Lorna would want more than friendship (She admits that she does this out of slight desperation because she loves her), and says that she is done with her, and that Lorna should seek help for her mental illness.

Over the next few episodes, we see Lorna spin out, denying mentally ill inmates their medication, and refusing to take a pregnancy test. This shows that without Nicky, Lorna’s sanity actually begins to wain. Nicky in an effort to mend her broken heart, undergoes a makeover, and sleeps with “new girl” in Poussey’s memorial, and we see that Lorna was visibly upset, and jealous, implying that she is not comfortable with Nicky sleeping with anyone else. After Nicky is kidnapped by Piscatella, and rescued by Freida, Gina, Yoga, Norma, and Anita, she returns to the medical cage. While she was gone Lorna, who was called crazy by Spanish inmates, a white supremacist, and Black Cindy, had finally decided to take a pregnancy test, 12 to be exact, and........... they were all positive.

When Nicky returns to the Pharmacy, Lorna noticing her friend’s disarray, asks her what happened, however, Nicky says that she does not want to talk about it, and that she just wants to sit with Lorna to feel better, showing that simply being in Lorna’s presence, calms her. Lorna asks if Nicky is still mad at her, to which Nicky replies that she is not. Lorna believing that she has become so crazy she is seeing things asks Nicky to look at the 12 pregnancy tests that she had taken, and Nicky confirms that Lorna is crazy, but she is also really pregnant.

Nicky then offers her crying friend, warmth, and acceptance by saying that she is happy for her, and that she will help her through her pregnancy, and that they would make it work with or without Vinnie.

Nicky in a selfless act, showing the magnitude of her love for Lorna calls Vinnie, and tells him that Lorna is pregnant, and that he needs to be there for her and the baby. She tells him that Lorna is cray cray, and that she will probably hack his phone, and key a female coworker’s car but she will only do it because she loves him, and that he needs to reassure her that he loves her. Because that is all Lorna has ever wanted her whole life, someone to assure her she is worthy of love. Then Nicky states that if he does that then Lorna will be good to him, and take care of him, and overlook all of the deeply fucked up things in him(Which is basically Nicky explaining why she fell in love with Lorna in the first place). She then tearfully tells Vinnie that some people would do anything to be loved by Lorna like that (She kills me every time, her face, her voice, the tears in her eyes, its like holy shit, Lorna is the love of Nicky’s life). This was the most heartbreakingly beautiful thing that Nicky has ever done, she put Lorna’s needs (her worry for her unborn child), ahead of her heart, and in a way let Lorna go, so that she could have the life she always said she wanted. She tells Vinnie exactly how to cope with Lorna when she gets crazy, and why she will be crazy sometimes. Like Peyton Sawyer told Lucas Scott, the most perfect act of love is sacrifice. Putting your love for someone aside so that you can be a good friend to them. “I love you Lucas, but if what you need is for me to let go then I am going to do because I want you to be happy, I want that more than anything.”(But as we know, in the end, Lucas went back to Peyton, just saying Lorna will probably go back to Nicky).

In the last episode, when the violent riot police begin entering the prison, and Nicky goes to Lorna telling her they need to get her out of there to keep her safe. She reassures Lorna that her baby will be safe, and great because she is. Even though every time Lorna mentions her pregnancy, Nicky gets this sad, pain filled look on her face, showing that even though she says she will be there for her, the fact that Lorna is having a baby with someone else actually breaks her heart. Lorna afraid to let Nicky go, asks her to stay with her, for just 5 more minutes. Nicky then kisses her forehead, and holds her tight (I almost cried). When Taystee, Cindy, and Nicky realize that the guards are getting closer, she suggests hiding out in the abandoned pool. Lorna wanting to go with Nicky says they should leave now but she is quickly rebuffed. Nicky fearing for Lorna’s safety tells her its too dangerous, and that she should surrender with her hands up, telling the guards that she’s pregnant, so that they will not throw her on the ground. Lorna then hugs Nicky and begins crying, not wanting to let go. Nicky then sends her off, and looks heartbroken and worried. After hearing Lorna being arrested by the guards, Nicky continues to look sad, and when Alex, and Piper ask about Lorna and whether she is safe, Nicky hesitates, and says she believes so(she has that pained look, like sending her off, and not keeping Lorna with her is crushing).

The last time we see Lorna is when she is being loaded on to a bus with other women, and she looks through the crowd of faces to see if she sees Nicky. She doesn’t, and Lorna is now the one with a pain filled look on her face. Showing that Nicky might be trying to let Lorna go so that she can have the life she says she wants, but Lorna isn’t letting her go, she is hanging on for dear life. The last 3 episodes show us that Lorna needs Nicky in a way that she does not need Vinnie, or anyone else. Most of us need our best friend, but if I were married, I would need my wife more than my best friend, if I loved my wife more. This shows that Lorna loves Nicky more than Vinnie, and that the only way she can get through her pregnancy in prison is with her not without her. The idea of living without Nicky is terrifying for Lorna, and also shows us how much she does love Nicky (in love). Nicky may be trying to let Lorna go, but that is not what Lorna wants at all, and I don’t believe that either one of them will ever get over each other.

Since we have to wait another year for season 6, and literally every single character’s fate is left unknown, we don’t know when Lorna and Nicky will see each other again, but they will, their story isn’t over. After all, Lorna is Nicky’s Piper, and as we see from the happy ending Vauseman got, (engagement), there is a happy ending in store for nichorello.

#nicky and lorna #lorna morello #Nicky Nichols #oitnb season 5 #she loves her so much #love

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captain-aralias · 7 years

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Inspired by @bruinhilda‘s rec list of bargains, here’s one if you’re a Blake-stan and for some reason I haven’t forced you to listen to these already:

Libby Chronicles 1: It’s an old release, so much cheaper than the others. I’m considering getting the physical copy even though I have the download because that’s the sort of crazy mentality that I have. ‘Turing Test’ by Who-audio-favourite Simon Guerrier is very funny and also sad. It’s Avon-Vila. ‘Counterfit’ by Peter ‘I was actually deep in the B7 fandom trenches’ Angleheides is strangely structured, but a very good time. It’s so gay I’m surprised it was released.

Libby Chronicles 2: If you buy nothing else, you should buy this one. Again, it’s cheap, and it has another pretty good Avon-centric Guerrier story. What it also has is ‘False Positive’ by Eddie Robson, who in my view is the best BF B7 writer. This is a story about the power of legend - it’s about Blake, and has Gareth Thomas do an A+ impression of Paul Darrow.

Libby Chronicles 6: You have to buy 2 stories I dislike or hate to get one story I love, but it’s a goodun. Again from Angleheides it’s a third season Avon-Tarrant search-for-Blake story. It’s also about leadership, and about the difficult start of the A-T disdain to friendship/respect saga.

Libby Chronicles 10: No stories I love, but 3/3 really good stories. One creepy Blake-Travis, one Avon-Vila trust and friendship, one Avon-Cally do revolution. Recommended.

Libby Chronicles 11X: Only one story, so cheap. It’s Avon-Jenna, and they think everyone else is dead. Guerrier wrote it. It’s good stuff.

Then I generally find all the full-cast disappointing, but I’d buy ‘Warship’ (Angleheides) just out of curiousity and because it’s very cheap. Very fanficcy, it has a really weird ‘is this the time we hug?’ non-B/A moment, and it’s interesting like early fanfic is in that they don’t know what they’ll be doing with this series yet.

I also enjoyed ‘Battleground’ which is a full-cast that focuses on Blake and Avon having a Doctor Who-like adventure on a training-planet. It’s by Andrew Smith, who wrote Adric’s first episode and turned out to write some really stonking B7 audios.

I unironically love Paul Darrow’s autobiography - it’s hardly about B7 at all, except for a bit where he recaps the plots of every episode from the perspective of ... well, Paul Darrow. He’s a very entertaining writer, with (here) a both self-agrandising and self-depreciating view on his life. Meanwhile Lucifer (particularly Genesis) is so bad that you should consider it.

Meanwhile I will be buying...

Stuff I didn’t buy when it came out. Libby Chronicles 11... and MediaSphere. Also tempted, as I said, by box sets 1 and 2.

and then I really don’t share the same world view as producers and writers Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, so I’m going to continue not to buy Libby Chronicles 9 and 12 I think. I am more tempted by 12... 35% is a good deal.

#Blake's 7 #big Finish

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averagemagicalgirl · 6 years

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Monthly Media: May

Last month I shared my first ever Monthly Media post on my WordPress blog so I thought this month I’d share to both!

MOVIES

I really wanted to see Infinity War which meant sitting down for some well deserved MCU entertainment. Note: I was VERY behind when this month started.

Spiderman: Homecoming ~ Coming from a place of never liking Spiderman I found this movie to be enjoyable, well paced, and interesting. I wish it had included more "backstory" but I think we all know how Spiderman came to be at this point. Looking forward to more character development in the future. Peter Parker is a treasure and needs to be protected at all costs.

Black Panther ~ Straight up loved this movie. I can see why a lot of people on my various social media feeds went crazy for it. A pure joy to watch and would definitely want to watch again/own in the future.

Thor Ragnarok ~ Thor has always been my favorite Avenger from this first movie. Despite his flaws he seems to be a genuinely good person who just wants to do the best he can. I laughed through this entire movie, everything was connected and nuanced in such a way that the comedy came from organic situations, none of it seemed contrived. I watched this at my friends house at least twice more.

Civil War ~ Rewatched to try and catch up a bit for Infinity War. Not my favorite movie in the MCU but tolerable. The problem is that everyone wants to be right or wrong about Captain America or Ironman that I think they miss the main message of "Life is never black and white", and therefore make the movie somewhat enjoyable for those of us who can see and appreciate the grey spaces between issues.

Ant Man ~ I like Scott Lang. He seems like an ok dude. I am looking forward to the "Ant Man and Wasp" movie that will be coming out shortly so this seemed like a good one to watch.

Infinity War ~ I HAVE LOTS OF FEELINGS. Lots of threads, little resolution, feelings everywhere. I know that a lot of people still haven't seen the movie so I'll be brief: I would recommend seeing it in a theater if you can BUT I wouldn't see it a second time until the 4th movie was ready to come out. That being said I am now also looking forward to several movies coming out in the next few years.

The Greatest Showman ~ Watched it 3 time, memorized all the songs, will buy it in the near future and turn up the volume so I can sing along without bothering anyone. The Honest Trailers dudes at YouTube did a pretty accurate job with this one. I watched it before the movie and found myself less moved by the actual story line and more by the secondary characters themselves. That being said, still loved it.

The Hobbit ~ I actually only watched the first one and not the extended edition when I was visiting my friend. Wish we'd watched the other two or at least the other edition but I still really enjoyed the movie as I did when I first saw it come out. It was nice to go back to Middle Earth even for a brief time and it reminded me that I really should download The Hobbit to my kindle to read it again since all my books are still packed away from my move.

Psych: The Movie ~ Overall disappointed. I was expecting something little more than an hour and a half-ish long episode. I'd like to watch it after finishing the series though, I think that might change my mind. Nothing against the characters or the actors, they were just the same with a little more years on them but I think the writing wasn't as good as it could have been.

TELEVISION

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Seasons 1-3) ~ This was a rewatch for my friend and I because she'd introduced me to Kimmy and her gaggle of pals a couple years ago. After watching the first two seasons together I watched the third one on my own last year. I'm looking forward to season 4 because last season was disappointing in a lot of ways narrative wise but I thought overall it was a great setup to what has already been announced as the last season. Sustainably I feel like that was the best choice. Had things worked out a bit differently in Season 2, this last season could have been the end. Anything beyond 4 would be a mistake in any case.

New Girl (Somewhere around Season 2) ~ I've been watching New Girl on and off for a while and I lost track of where I was so I just picked up where my friend had left off. Still find it cute in a lot of ways but I'm NOT thrilled about Nick and Jessica being together. Maybe my feelings will change, they literally just got together from what I saw but I feel like she could do so much better...fingers crossed though. Nick has a lot of potential as a character and as a person so hopefully Jessica can help bring that out in him.

Galavant (Seasons 1&2) ~ 4th time through watching it. Still love it. The characters have GREAT growth through 2 seasons and it all feels equal throughout the cast, even among the minor characters. The music is a treasure that I will sing forever. Favorite character continues to be Madalena with a dash of Cook/Jester thrown in. It's a great feel good show with lots of action and romance.

History's Greatest Hoaxes (Season 1) ~ I love all sorts of weird conspiracy theory/hoaxy stuff so this was naturally right up my alley and I binged the whole season in one day. It was quite fascinating all together and they did a good job of balancing those who were defending the so-called "hoax" and those that advocated for the reality of the situation.

BOOKS

As I mentioned a few times above I went to see a friend this month for a couple of weeks, I was planning to try and get some quiet reading time with her boys as part of their "summer routine". It didn't really turn out that way so I'm still stuck on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World". I did however, get to read a lot of different children's books and have realized they're a little more sassy than when I was a child. Some of my favorites included: "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", "The Book without Pictures", "Dragons Love Tacos 1 & 2", "The Interrupting Chicken", & "Robo-Sauce"

I also read a story to my 7-year-old Nephew as part of his homeschooling curriculum called "The Toga Detectives" by Henry Winterfield. As a story book to read out loud to a child it was incredibly awkward. I often found myself shortening things so that the narrative sounded smoother than it actually was. I think part of the issue was that the books listed publish date was in 1953 and translated from the original German. That being said as a book for take-home reading in a classroom setting to then assign vocabulary words from I found it to be exceptional. There were a lot of great words to pull from in each chapter and the story really picks up after chapters 5/6. My nephew begged me to keep reading in certain points because it had gotten so exciting.

IN PROGRESS

GAMES ~ Pokemon Soul Silver (I need something but it's day specific and I keep missing it), Pokemon X, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (I LITERALLY JUST STARTED THIS YESTERDAY I AM STOKED)

TELEVISION ~ Just started watching the Netflix Lost in Space series so we'll see how that goes...

#media #movies #mcu #spoilers #maybe #television #opinion #thor ragnarok #black panther #civil war #ant man #kimmy schmidt #new girl #hobbit #children's books #infinity war #galavant #psych the movie

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medproish · 6 years

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In the end, he did the right thing… kinda. Rick Grimes finally had Negan in a one-on-one showdown during The Walking Dead’s season 8 finale. Rick explained Carl’s dying wish of the two of them putting their differences aside to share a vision for a new future, and just when it appeared Negan might possibly get on board, Rick cut his throat.

However, Rick then thought better of it and saved his arch-nemesis so he could “rot in a cell” and watch the future they built without him. It was an intense and personal finale filled with moments both big and small — including some flashbacks to a key father-son moment from the past. We spoke to star Andrew Lincoln to get his take on the big Negan battle, that blast from the past scene, what to expect moving forward, working with a new showrunner, and his big secret Fear the Walking Dead crossover scene. Read on for answers!

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, to be clear, when Rick is asking Negan to give him 10 seconds and then feeds him that line about how Carl wanted them to work together in peace to find a better way — it’s all BS at that point, right? Because at that point he’s still planning to kill him. ANDREW LINCOLN: That’s right! I told [showrunner Scott M. Gimple] “You want me to do the Scoundrel’s Play?” And he said, “I didn’t know there’s a name for it.” “Yes, there is. It’s the Scoundrel’s Play, where I use my dead child’s name in vain on order to kill my arch-nemesis. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m comfortable with it.”

Because it was a concern of mine, because I was like, “Okay, we’ve done the beat in episode 14,” but he realizes it doesn’t work. You can’t kill pain away. Almost in the act of doing it and winning victory, whatever that looks like, he realizes what will happen if he kills him. Then he becomes him. Or he reneges on his child’s dying wishes. What Negan says after is a huge pivot point where then Rick goes: “No, I am not you.” And that’s when he asks to save his life. So it all happens very, very quickly. It’s almost like there’s a moment of recognition when he sees the dying Negan that brings him out of his torture.

You know, technically Rick did on several occasions promise he was going to kill Negan, so I don’t want to call him a liar, but he kind of went back on his word, didn’t he? Yeah, but I went back on my word in episode 14 and killed them all! Apparently he’s become a liar this season! He does not hold true to his word. It’s a funny thing because I thought about the aftermath. You’ve got Maggie’s reaction, which is extraordinary and incredibly powerful. It wasn’t like a victory speech. It’s a man looking at an army of people all looking very bewildered and shocked and traumatized, looking at their leader saying ‘We’re not going to kill him” and that’s what he’s been promising them this is all about. I liked it because it was a very confused, but it was what Rick had to do to save himself, and it upset a lot of people in the process.

Does this give us a profoundly different Rick Grimes in season 9, then? I think it does. I think there is always going to be a sense of he’s lost all of the most important parts of himself, and yet he has the legacy and gift that Carl gave him that is going to fuel his ambitions for the future. He’s got a renewed purpose because of this and because of his son. So it’s absolutely a new man. This is the man who couldn’t see what Deanna saw about the future and still couldn’t see it for a long, long time even throughout all of this and the battle he was hell-bent on vengeance. And now you will meet and find a man — depending on how much time after the events that we just witnessed — that has changed, radically, in ideas and purpose.

Gene Page/AMC

How was filming the brawl scene with Jeffrey? I hear you all shot that entire sequence in one day. It was a long day. It was one of those days where I spent the morning getting kicked around by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, which is fun, to a point. And then I slit his throat without actually slitting his throat. And then turn around and be faced with a screaming widow begging for blood. And then give a declaration of peace to 500 people on a battlefield. Then, clear an oncoming super-horde of zombies. And finally, before the lights falls, because its winter and we only had 10 hours to shoot the whole day, start weeping for the death of my son.

And so that’s my day! So I was little anxious, to say the least. It was one of those days where you go, “We should have three weeks!” But we had 10 hours. And I don’t think it was my finest hour. I think I probably had to apologize to Greg Nicotero a couple of times. And probably when I get back to Atlanta I will again. I think I was a bit short-tempered because I was quite anxious. But it went pretty good in the end. I went home feeling that we got something that was truly epic and worthy losing Carl.

How did it feel shaving and putting the deputy sheriff’s uniform back on again? It was mad! It was crazy! I shaved, and then dyed my hair — because it’s been a while. [Laughs] They had to take out the uniform a little bit — because I’ve been working out so much. [Laughs] And then I got off the bus and [new showrunner Angela Kang] had tears in her eyes. And I think it was probably because I had aged, badly. But I like to think it was also because it was such a powerful moment.

And people who were there in that third season were all kind of gobsmacked, you know? I did campaign for the to use the uniform. It had an important resonance for what the kid was asking of his father — that he wanted that man back. Of course, it’s not going to be the same man. But there is a sense that restraint rather than revenge is what that man represented back then — law and order and control and safety. That is a vision that the boy had and is the gift that he gives to his father.

Gene Page/AMC

What is it like moving over from Scott Gimple to Angela Kang as the showrunner? There’s a renewed vigor and energy to everything — just by virtue of the fact that it’s somebody different at the helm. Of courses, Scott is still here, but he’s a very respectful boss. He believes in creativity and allowing people to create, so he’s standing back and letting Angela do this. And so it is very exciting. Angela has always been a writer that I really admire. I love her episodes and always have since season 2. For her to be leading the ship, there is a real sense of purpose and energy and vitality and new direction.

I can’t wait to see this next episode. It’s really interesting. It’s very different in a good way. In an exiting way. It’s more reminiscent of the pilot than any other season that we’ve embarked on, which makes me very happy. It’s a good time for it. It’s a really exciting time for it. I feel like season 1. It’s a big year and I’m excited for it.

How does it feel now to have crossed over to Fear the Walking Dead as well. We knew Lennie was going over, but there you were also. How did that come about? I called up Lennie in order to try to get him back on the show and so we’ve always had a very respectful relationship, and he asked me, “What’s it going to be like? Is it worth it? Is it going to be worth my while? What’s the attitude like? Is everybody cool? What’s the deal?” And I said “You’ll have the best time on set. It’s certainly the greatest, craziest experience on a set in my career. And I promise you’re going to have a great time.”

So when Scott mentioned this idea to him, he’s such an extraordinary, gracious, and cool dude that he just said, “Well, there’s someone I need to ask first.” So he called me up and said, “Are you cool with this?” And I said, “ You gotta do what you gotta do. Of course I want you to stay but it’s your life and it’s a great opportunity.” And I don’t blame him. You’re the greatest leading man there is! It’s a great idea! So he said, “Will you come and send me off?” And I said “With the greatest of pleasure.” So that’s why I’m in it.

Well, it is the perfect send-off. Because the fact is you could put somebody else in there asking him to stay, but it’s not the same. These are two men that are the oldest friends and oldest relationships they have left. Because everybody else is gone. It’s the oldest friendship they have. He wants Morgan to share in this vision for the future because they’re twins. They’ve saved each other’s lives on multiple occasions, and he wants to do it again. But he chooses to run.

Related Articles: The Walking Dead‘s Rick–Negan war fate revealed Surprise! FOUR Walking Dead characters crossover to Fear Fear the Walking Dead showrunners explain those OTHER secret premiere crossovers Fear the Walking Dead‘s Lennie James breaks down the season premiere

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placetobenation · 6 years

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“The revolutionary force for over 50 years in sports entertainment” was a clever tag line used in the mid 90s before every WWF show. For most United States wrestling fans that are still alive, it is a way of life. Greater by the day is the lack of variance in the answer of what wrestling an individual grew up on. For better or worse, WWE has been the standard bearer. Throughout that rich history, performers ranging from Nature Boys to Undertakers have graced the squared circle. Foreign legends have had extended runs and some of the most iconic figures in pro wrestling history have been aces of the promotion reaching unequivocal mainstream pop culture heights in the world of wrestling.

With such a large history to play with, discovering the beauty of Bob Backlund’s charisma or the connection of Bruno Sammartino to the MSG crowd was a new development throughout this project similar to rewatching The Godfather and On the Waterfront to rediscover the genius of Marlon Brando. WWE may not have always been YOUR promotion but for the better part of 50 years, it was THE promotion in the United States and transformed the pro wrestling landscape. This project serves to praise the individuals that best helped shape the vision of Vince McMahon Sr. and Jr. Place to be Nation is proud to present to you a ranking of the Greatest WWE Wrestlers Ever.

– Chad Campbell

Note: Results of this list are based on 118 ballots received between May and December 2017. Voters were asked to submit their list of the 100 Greatest WWE Wrestlers of all time and consider only their WWWF/WWF/WWE career. Ties were broken based on 1) number of ballots a wrestler appeared on and 2) high vote.

Every wrestler who received at least one vote will be recognized in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to Place to Be Nation as we reveal all of the honorable mentions right through the cream of the crop. Read the other installments, both written and audio, of this project here.

224. Waldo Von Erich Total Points: 118 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 71.5 High Vote: 51 Low Vote: 93 High Voter: Steve Gennarelli

Key Matches & Moments: The kayfabe brother of Fritz Von Erich battled Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title in the 1960s and 1970s; Held the U.S. Tag Team Championship with Gene Kiniski

Staff Thoughts: Challenged Bruno Sammartino eight times and wrestled him 144 times, according to voter comments on the Facebook page.

From the Voters: “If you can find the May, June or October MSGs from 1975 (which aired on HBO) there are Waldo Von Erich matches on there, including two I believe vs Bruno. And if anyone has them, please link (the Putski vs Valiant match from 6/75 is out there, so the Von Erich match must be)” – Lee Wes, September 19, 2017 (link to the June match is included and also in Facebook comments)

223. Mabel Total Points: 118 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 87.9 High Vote: 54 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Danced his way into our hearts as one half of Men on a Mission; Turned heel and became the most purple King Of The Ring in company history; Battled Diesel for the WWF Title at SummerSlam 1995 and then feuded with Undertaker; Was the first human sacrifice in Royal Rumble history; Broke Lilian Garcia’s heart; Had fun squash matches in WWECW as Big Daddy V

Staff Thoughts: Mabel was as physically imposing as a giant grape could be. He was probably the worst choice for King Of The Ring in 1995 but you can’t say he didn’t give it his all out there. Also far and away the best wrestler named after intestines. His continuous re-invention was solid, however his outfit as Big Daddy V needs to be stricken from the record immediately.

From the Voters: “I have to admit, I ordered Summer Slam ’95 for one reason, to see Diesel jackknife Mabel. I was so convinced as a youngin that would be the ending of that match. It would be bigger than Hulk slamming Andre. Yeah, I never had much use for Mabel. Who would have predicted how long he would be with the company?” – Michael DeDamos, July 12, 2017

“He received a top 100 push, that’s for sure. I think his peak was probably as Big Vis, that was the most over he ever caught. But Mabel, Viscera or Big Daddy V, he never really showed me much.” – Ben Morse, June 1, 2017

222. Johnny Valiant Total Points: 120 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 71 High Vote: 54 Low Vote: 82 High Voter: Timothy Drake

Key Matches & Moments: With Jimmy Valiant won both the WWWF and WWWF International Tag Team Titles; Worked some six man matches with The Dream Team against The British Bulldogs and Captain Lou Albano; Never recovered from the “Nightmare at the Rosemont Horizon”

Staff Thoughts: A solid tag team wrestler and champion who would go on to greater success as a manager in the 1980s. Not to harp on this but his LJN figure was awesome, leading me to questions like, “Why isn’t this guy on TV more?’ and “how many times can Hulk Hogan piledrive this guy into oblivion before my third ring this year breaks.”

From the Voters: “I’ll third Johnny Valiant to push him through” – Kelly Nelson, December 2, 2017

221. Bad News Brown Total Points: 120 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 83.9 High Vote: 56 Low Vote: 93 High Voter: Taylor Keahey

Key Matches & Moments: Won the biggest trophy ever created at WrestleMania IV; Fought Hulk Hogan on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event; Some were CONVINCED he was going to win the World Title from Randy Savage when the match was announced; Successfully walked out on every Survivor Series team he was ever on; Countered a snake with a rat

Staff Thoughts: The scariest motherfucker of the 80s. Did the constant yelling and grunting hurt his persona in any way? Nope! Still terrifying. In the end Stone Cold Brown was probably about ten years ahead of his time. He was a great brawler with an attitude that would have won him fans in the… ahem… Attitude Era. Sadly was rarely given much time in matches to show what he could do. Should probably be put in the Hall of Fame for tolerating Roddy Piper’s “antics” at WrestleMania VI.

From the Voters: “He was stuck on a team with a crooked CO and a guy named Honky. It was doomed from the start” – Steve Williams, May 28, 2017

“I am a huge Bad News Brown fan till this very day I love how he never finished a tag match. Great heel who is borderline for me” – Matt Rotella, May 29, 2017

220. Scott Steiner Total Points: 123 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 80.5 High Vote: 69 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: JF Vallee

Key Matches & Moments: Two-time WWF Tag Team Champion with his brother Rick in the early 1990s, feuding with Money, Inc.; Had a really good match with the Heavenly Bodies at SummerSlam 1993; Nearly murdered various competitors with Frankenstiners and Screwdrivers; Lost titles to the Quebecers under “Province of Quebec Rules” match; Returned as his Big Poppa Pump persona in late 2002 and received a massive pop, leading to him being programmed in the main event of Royal Rumble and No Way Out 2003 against Triple H in dreadful matches; Mastur(de)baiter Steiner is, he debated the Iraq War with Harvard grad Chris Nowinski before eventually forming a tag team with Test that was managed by Stacey Kiebler

Staff Thoughts: A tale of his two stints, as the Steiner Brothers tag team had good matches with any capable tag teams they faced and the Heavenly Bodies match from SummerSlam is really good. Their match against the Headshrinkers at WrestleMania IX was also a rare highlight on that card. But… HOLLA IF YA HEAR ME… Big Poppa Pump sucked. His matches with Triple H are legendarily bad (and I think Steiner just threw another suplex after receiving oxygen.) The tag team with Test was more in-line with his “talents” at the time, but mostly forgettable.

From the Voters: “Him and Rick have some of the best squash matches ever. There’s a list of enhancement talent guys who almost died from Scott working stiff. His 2002-03 run was a tall glass of hot diarrhea. No dice for Scott on this list.” – Jason Greenhouse, June 20, 2017

219. Tony Atlas Total Points: 124 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 83.3 High Vote: 51 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with Rocky Johnson to win the WWWF Tag Team Titles from the Wild Samoans becoming the first African-American to hold the belts; Painting lovely portraits on TNT; Went crazy cheering for his partner’s son Rocky Maivia at WrestleMania 13 and yet refused to help when three men started kicking the crap out of him; Returned to manage Mark Henry and won us all over with his laugh

Staff Thoughts: Mr. USA was a staple of the WWWF mid-card and tag ranks for all of the late 70s and early 80’s. He had a fun outing in the WrestleMania 2 battle royale and many humiliating outings as Saba Simba. His laugh makes me uncomfortable.

From the Voters: “That’s TONY ATLAS!” – Roddy Piper, September 15, 1990.

“His singles glory came mostly in other territories, his tag run isn’t enough to carry him through.” – Ben Morse, June 5, 2017

218. Drew McIntyre Total Points: 125 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 83.1 High Vote: 54 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Stacey O’Loughlin

Key Matches & Moments: Defeated John Morrison for the IC Title at TLC 2009; Excellent match with Christian in mid 2010 on Smackdown; Was GREAT in the 2011 Elimination Chamber match for Edge’s World Heavyweight title; Workhorse of the illustrious 3MB stable; Upon return won the NXT title from Bobby Roode; Followed up with an excellent match with Andrade Almas at NXT Takeover War Games; In mid-2010 got his entrance down to under two and a half minutes.

Staff Thoughts: Has there ever been a guy who’s release helped more than Drew McIntyre? While always a consistent and solid performer he left the company and reinvented himself into a major player on the wrestling scene. He is a STAR on NXT and you’ve got to believe that before he got injured the plan was to move him to the main roster and possibly let him flounder on Smackdown. Great look, fantastic presence and an even stronger worker now than when he was wished the best in his future endeavors. When treated as a credible threat his potential is sky high, however now that Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater are free…

You can hear Stacey and Elliot talk more about McIntyre here

From the Voters: “I love Drew Mac. Great wrestler, who pretty much from the get-go was one of the best guys in the company. Great matches with Christian, Hardy, Finlay, Masters, the jaw-droppingly great Elimination Chamer 2011 performance, interlocking feuds with Kofi, Hardy and Teddy Long, all of which were over. Then his wife screwed up, and he never recovered. Still don’t really get how that all went down. Punishment didn’t seem to fit the crime at all. Short run of greatness + me being personally invested in him, means he has a chance.” – Adam Russell, July 9, 2017

“Honestly, he fails the J test hard. His jump up factor felt more like a thud to me.” – Ronnie Vod, May 29, 2017

217. Hornswoggle Total Points: 130 Total Ballots: 3 Average Rank: 57.7 High Vote: 35 Low Vote: 87 High Voter: Glenn Butler

Key Matches & Moments: Was used repeatedly as a weapon by a much larger, sadder Irishman; Was falsely revealed to be the illegitimate son of Vince McMahon only to be revealed as the illegitimate son of Finlay (what a month!); Was granted a voice by Santa Claus; Revealed as the anonymous Raw General Manager; Incredible WeeLC match with El Torito

Staff Thoughts: Look I’m sure plenty will hate on him for the John Cena comedy hour during the 2011 Royal Rumble, but instead let’s celebrate the fact that he was the absolute best part of the DX revival. He probably peaked when he was being used as a battering ram by Finlay but despite any deficiencies that you could list is potentially the best little person wrestler they ever had. Is it shameful he was the final cruiserweight champion? Not when Chavo Guerrero is part of that lineage.

From the Voters: “Despicable creature who represents the worst of WWE comedy.” – Adam Russell, July 9, 2017

“No, he was alright at times early on but i got burned out on him by the end of his run.” – Jay Hinchey, May 30, 2017

216. Dino Bravo Total Points: 130 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 75 High Vote: 17 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Andrew Lacelle

Key Matches & Moments: Won the WWF Tag Team Titles with Dominic DeNucci in 1978; Returned to the company in 1986 more jacked and with blond hair and joined forces with “Luscious” Johnny Valiant and the Dream Team, eventually taking Beefcake’s spot when he was turfed at WrestleMania III; Bench pressed 715, as witnessed by Jesse Ventura to take the mantle of “The World’s Strongest Man”; Had a revolving door of managers going from Valiant to Frenchy Martin to Jimmy Hart; Had feuds with Don Muraco, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ron Garvin and Ken Patera as the Canadian Strongman

Staff Thoughts: Maybe that tag run in the late 1970s produced some good matches, but his run in the late 1980s and early 1990s sure sucked. He was involved in some big angles, forming the new Dream Team. “New” teams always suck and this one was a downgrade from Brutus Beefcake. His subsequent feuds with the likes of Don Muraco were hard to watch, but I guess he had that “World’s Strongest Man” gig until Mark Henry took it over.

From the Voters: “Most people only remember Bravo as a big lumbering heel from his late 80s/early 90s run. Most fail to realize that he was a tag team champion in the late-70s, much less bulk and a much better worker.” – Sean Fluharty, July 27, 2017

“He was killed 10 minutes from my house!” – Aaron George, Far too many times to count

215. Jimmy Valiant Total Points: 131 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 68.3 High Vote: 53 Low Vote: 80 High Voter: Timothy Drake

Key Matches & Moments: Take it away Lee Wes: “Former World Tag champ, and 1996 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Showed up as a face but turned heel on Strongbow. Faced Pedro Morales for the WWWF title in Philly and other secondary cities. Headlined MSG with Johnny defending the tag belts against Bruno Sammartino & Strongbow.”

Staff Thoughts: Solid tag team performer with partner Johnny Valiant but sadly is lacking Johnny’s “stellar” managerial pedigree. Has an amazing career, only most of it is outside the WWE for the Handsome one.

From the Voters: “Can this please be the last Valiant guy I have to write an entry for?” – Aaron George, January 10, 2017

214. Johnny Gargano Total Points: 132 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 74.6 High Vote: 39 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Henry Rivers

Key Matches & Moments: Had an excellent showing in the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic; With partner Tommaso Ciampa had two of the best tag team matches in company history versus the Revival at Takeover Brooklyn 2 and Takeover Toronto

Staff Thoughts: If Johnny Gargano were a foot taller we’d be complaining that Vince McMahon was shoving him down our throats. A wonderful worker whose best feud unfortunately was cut short by that no good Tomasso Ciampa’s injury. He floundered a bit since then but is turning the corner and make no mistake, he is one of the best workers in the company today. A fantastic underdog face who has incredible potential if they have the courage to go with a smaller guy.

From the Voters: “He’s been in too much high end stuff this year and last as part of #DIY, his match in the cwc, and his singles NXT stuff that I couldn’t keep him off” – Sam Symonds, December 8, 2017

“He’s still a possibility for my final ten spots. The best true babyface the company has today. Has had himself an excellent 2017” – Brian Cullinane, December 29, 2017

213. Bobby Lashley Total Points: 142 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 80.7 High Vote: 65 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Nate Milton

Key Matches & Moments: Was competent in the WrestleMania 22 MITB ladder match; Won the WWE US Title from JBL; Much to the chagrin of Paul Heyman won the ECW Heavyweight Title in the main event of December to Dismember; Was Donald Trump’s surrogate during his feud with Vince McMahon, a feud that at the time drew the biggest WrestleMania buyrate of all time; Excelled in a match with John Cena at the 2007 Great American Bash

Staff Thoughts: Bobby Lashley seemed destined for greatness before being injured by Ken Kennedy of all people. He sat six months on the shelf before ultimately being released. Had he remained on the roster chances are we’d be speaking of multiple time WWE champion Robert Lashley. Or Bobby Lindsey. He had the size and the intensity of a champion. Was his voice a little too high? Sure. Could he have been the body double for the Michelin Man? Absolutely. If Bobby Lindsey were to come back today would he job to Roman Reigns? You betcha.

From the Voters: “Hard no. Apparently he has improved recently (better late than never I guess) but during his WWE run he was abysmal and really horrifically disappointing given his physical tools. The GAB match is Cena’s greatest carryjob.” – Stacey O’Loughlin, May 31, 2017

“I might be the high man here for Bobby Lashley. He was solid throughout his run. He has a few very big moments (Wrestlemainia 23, winning the Chamber, and him becoming Mr. Brightside on top of Umaga). He has also been a part of some very good/very fun matches as well (Vengeance Night of Champion Scramble, Money in The Bank Wrestlemainia 22, The One Night Stand 2007 3 on 1 match, and The Great American Bash 2007 match with John Cena). What I would say are the biggest detractions for Bobby Lashley is he basically was the same throughout his run, a lack memorable promos, and how his short his run was. I imagine I am probably going to rank Lashley in the lower quarter of my .” – Henry Rivers, October 2, 2017

212. Zack Ryder Total Points: 142 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 80.7 High Vote: 47 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Ash

Key Matches & Moments: Along with Curt Hawkins played lackeys to both Edge and Chavo Guerrero and won a WWE Tag Team Championship; Reinvented himself on ECW with the one-legged tights, headbands and catchprases challenging Christian for the ECW title and “retiring” Tommy Dreamer; Well-known for his Z! True Long Island Story YouTube show declaring himself Internet Champion; Defeated Dolph Ziggler for the United States championship before losing it to Jack Swagger, being killed by Kane and cuckolded by John Cena in short order; Teamed with Santino Marella as Team Co-Bro and later with Mojo Rawley as the Hype Bros; Won the Intercontinental Title in the ladder match at WrestleMania 32 in a feel good moment, but lost it to Miz the next night on Raw

Staff Thoughts: Woo-woo-woo! You know it! The epitome of a guy who got himself over and WWE either didn’t know what to do with him or actively punished him for getting over when he wasn’t supposed to because… reasons. Always knew how to connect with fans and was one of the most over faces in the company despite rarely appearing on TV. Not a ton of memorable matches but the IC title win at WrestleMania 32 was a nice moment. For almost a day, but still.

From the Voters: “Longevity. Solid worker. Few memorable moments. Got HIMSELF over in spite of the company never really giving him a shot. He makes my list.” – Jason Sherman, June 3, 2017

“He outshot his talent level, but is not a serious contender for my list.” – Michael Waldrop, June 3, 2017

211. Buddy Rose Total Points: 142 Total Ballots: 8 Average Rank: 83.3 High Vote: 71 Low Vote: 94 High Voter: Michael Schoen

Key Matches & Moments: An excellent feud with Bob Backlund that Good Ol’ Will from Texas may have mentioned once on “For Your Consideration”; Went after Tito Santana’s LEG at WrestleMania; Pioneered the Blow Away diet which swept the nation, only injuring eight people

Staff Thoughts: What a shame that Shark Tank wasn’t around when Rose was pimping that diet, he’d be a bajillionaire! The feud with Bob Backlund is probably what gets him on most people’s lists as the bulk of his excellent career was elsewhere. Rose was a wonderful heel and a tremendous bumper when he had his working boots on. Which is always. Until they were blown away.

From the Voters: “251 matches with WWF per cagematch – unfortunately most are jobbing to Paul Roma, but still – that is way more than I had first thought.” – Brad Warren, May 28, 2017

“He had more of a chance of losing weight from blow away than he does of making my list” – Matt Rotella, May 29, 2017

210. Raymond Rougeau Total Points: 153 Total Ballots: 5 Average Rank: 70.4 High Vote: 53 Low Vote: 100 High Voter: Andrew Lacelle

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with brother Jacques as the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers losing to the Dream Team at WrestleMania III; Defeated the Hart Foundation in Montreal, appearing to win the Tag Team Titles though the victory was overturned and not recognized; Turned heel, aligned with Jimmy Hart and became “All American Boys” and feuded with the Killer Bees, Hart Foundation, Bushwhackers and Rockers

Staff Thoughts: Wonderful theme song in “All American Boys” and (tiny) flag waving act. Superb mustache. Rougeaus were bland as babyfaces and perfectly serviceable as a heel team.

From the Voters: “His brother had the charisma, he just had a great mustache.”- Ben Morse, June 10, 2017

209. Bill Watts Total Points: 159 Total Ballots: 4 Average Rank: 61.3 High Vote: 39 Low Vote: 79 High Voter: Scott Herrin

Key Matches & Moments: Let’s hear from Kelly Nelson for this shall we: “He came in as a babyface in 1964 and was pretty over in the territory. He turned on Bruno during a tag match on TV, basically the prototype of the champion being betrayed by partner/friend angle that would be used for decades after. Bruno vs Watts was a huge success at the box office, one of the biggest draws in Vince Sr’s time as a promoter, and made Watts a national name. Unfortunately only very minimal footage of his time in the WWWF exists.”

Staff Thoughts: From his time in the office with WCW, I know he would NOT come off the top rope during his time in WWWF, even in the feud against Bruno Sammartino. There’s little footage available from his time in the company, but Kelly shared one match on the Facebook group.

From the Voters: “His run in WWWF was very successful. Will be in my 90-100.” – Alexis Beaudit, May 31, 2017

208. R-Truth Total Points: 163 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 77.7 High Vote: 32 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: TheBestThereNeverWillBe

Key Matches & Moments: Rapped to the ring and teamed with Road Dogg as K-Kwik and was a two-time Hardcore Champion; Teamed with John Morrison to challenge ShowMiz at WrestleMania XXVI; Won the United States Championship defeating The Miz for the vacant belt before losing it to Miz; Part of team WWE that defeated Nexxus at SummerSlam 2010; Sang a song about Little Jimmy while wearing a Confederate soldier uniform; Faced John Cena for the WWE Championship at Capitol Punishment; Teamed with The Miz as Awesome Truth; Won the WWE Championship with Kofi Kingston and lost them to Team Hell No; Brought ladder into 2016 Royal Rumble; Teamed with Goldust as Golden Truth

Staff Thoughts: He’s getting Rowdy! Also asks one of life’s eternal questions What’s Up? Known for doing goofy things like talking about Little Johnny and bringing a ladder into the Royal Rumble. The next great R-Truth match we see will be the first great R-Truth match we’ve seen. But the 2011 heel turn is fondly remembered by some.

From the Voters: “The 2011 heel turn was legendarily awesome in terms of promos, character work, and interaction with the crowd. He was THE reason to watch Raw (before the pipebomb). Sadly he didn’t put it all together that well before or since, and the wrestling aspect of it never quite lived up. Still, the summer of 2011 will always live in my heart and he’ll get a look for a sentimental placing in the upper range.” – Glenn Butler, June 2, 2017

207. Hercules Total Points: 176 Total Ballots: 14 Average Rank: 88.4 High Vote: 37 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Bret Hart

Key Matches & Moments: Lost to Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania 2; Challenged Hulk Hogan on a November 1986 Saturday Night’s Main Event; Feuded with Billy Jack (or Jerk) Haynes culminating in a match at WrestleMania III resulting in a double-countout; Faced Ultimate Warrior in a dreadful match at WrestleMania IV; Bobby Heenan sold his contract to The Million Dollar Man leading to Hercules proclaiming he was a man not a slave and winning his freedom from Virgil in a Saturday Night’s Main Event in 1988; Defeated Haku at WrestleMania V; Teamed with Paul Roma to form the super fun Power & Glory

Staff Thoughts: He’s not a slave, he’s a man. But he was simply just a passable wrestler. Most of his high-profile matches were disappointing and ended in defeat, but he was a key part of the mid-card in a hot time for the company and was part of the Heenan Family. He also has some fun house show matches where he carried some lesser workers (ahem, Billy Jerk). Power & Glory had a cool finisher in the PowerPlex.

From the Voters: “Thoroughly unspectacular. He never really stood out from the midcard. Should have been much more over as a face with the great turn on Heenan and DiBiase, but didn’t have the charisma to carry the ball and sunk like a stone.” – Ben Morse, May 29, 2017

206. Victoria Total Points: 182 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 70.5 High Vote: 49 Low Vote: 96 High Voter: Ash

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as one of the Godfather’s Hos before being powerbombed through a table by The Goodfather after he joined the RTC; Played a psychotic heel who believed Trish Stratus betrayed her when both were fitness models; Won the Women’s Championship from Trish in a hardcore match at Survivor Series 2002; Steven Richards served as her valet/manager; Lost the Women’s Championship to Trish at Wrestlemania XIX in a three-way match also involving Jazz; Faced Lita in the first women’s cage match in WWE history; Defeated Molly Holly in a hair vs. title match at WrestleMania XX, Two-time Women’s Champion

Staff Thoughts: Known for her entrance music by TaTu, her pshychotic character and Widow’s Peak finisher. Was involved in some significant women’s matches like hardcore and cage matches and shaving Molly’s head. Read Stacey’s Making the Case for more lovingly crafted details on Victoria’s career.

From the Voters: “One of my all-time favorites! Really solid in-ring performer, great character work, but unfortunately she got stuck in that “rebuilding” era of WWE women’s wrestling. She came in during the rebirth of the division, but a lot of her later time was spent in the Diva era propping up people like Christi Hemme, Torrie Wilson, & a young Michelle McCool. So unfortunately she doesn’t join Sherri, Trish, & Chyna on my list. If we were going 150-200, she’d definitely be in though!” – Nate Milton, August 27, 2017

205. Rocky Johnson Total Points: 186 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 74.4 High Vote: 51 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: Lou Spadone

Key Matches & Moments: Was one half of the first black tag team to win the Tag Team Titles with Tony Atlas, defeating the Wild Samoans; Challenged both Greg Valentine and Don Muraco for the IC title; Won numerous house show battle royals; Is the father of one of the most celebrated and famous wrestlers and entertainers of all time: The Rock; Was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Staff Thoughts: Rocky Johnson had a lot of charisma and speed in the ring and a body that set the template for what a wrestler should look like in the 80s, but he wasn’t a tremendous wrestler. Rocky will be best known as The Rock’s father, and a tag team champion, but he could also be known as someone who was just a little bit before his time. The pop he receives on March 5th, 1983 when the crowd thinks he has won the IC title from Don Muraco is one of biggest you’ll ever hear. The WWF should have tried it out.

From the Voters: “It’s not objectively fair, but I won’t be ranking him since he was an asshole to my wife at a comic con a few years back.” – Stephen Brogee, September 30, 2017

204. Bull Nakano Total Points: 186 Total Ballots: 7 Average Rank: 74.4 High Vote: 32 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Bret Hart

Key Matches & Moments: First taste of WWF action came on MSG shows in 1986; Arrived back in the WWF in 1994 to feud with Alundra Blayze on behalf of Luna Vachon; Though the two fought all across the country on house show tours, Bull was only featured on television a whopping four times during this run; Her match with Blayze at Summerslam 1994 was one of the better women’s matches of the 90s, and though she didn’t win the title, she did later at the Tokyo Big Egg Universe show in November

Staff Thoughts: Bull Nakano is legitimately one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business, but we didn’t get a ton of her in WWF. One of the best looks ever and someone who could have really boosted and carried the women’s division in the 90s. Seek out her six televised matches and then realize she has dozens and dozens more great ones over in Japan.

From the Voters: “So damn good, but literally for only a few matches.” – Jeremy Ray, May 28, 2017

“I think if she had a longer career she would definitely be in.” – Matt Rotella, May 29, 2017

203. Tama Total Points: 188 Total Ballots: 6 Average Rank: 69.7 High Vote: 54 Low Vote: 82 High Voter: Dean Coles

Key Matches & Moments: Debuted as the Tonga Kid and joined in the red hot Jimmy Snuka/Roddy Piper feud in 1984 before changing his name to Tama and teaming up with Haku as The Islanders; Gained traction when they turned heel on the Can-Am Connection and joined forces with Bobby Heenan; Had really good singles match with Rick Martel as part of the feud with Can-Ams after Tom Zenk left; Transitioned to a feud with Strike Force featuring strong matches; Kidnapped Matilda as part of feud with the British Bulldogs, leading to the suspension of the Islanders; Along with Heenan defeated the British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware at WrestleMania IV; Defeated the Killer Bees on Saturday Night’s Main Event in 1987

Staff Thoughts: Once the Islanders turned heel they were off to the races. Tom Zenk leaving derailed the Can-Am feud, which was off to a strong start. Transitioning the feud to Strike Force led to some great matches between the two teams. Rewatching the Islanders for this project was a nice revelation as they were awesome in everything, better than you may remember. Too bad their run was so short. JT and Scott recently reviewed a singles match Tama had with Martel on a MSG house show on one of the recent podcasts.

From the Voters: “His heel work as part of the Islanders was very underrated. Too bad he couldn’t handle the pressure of his first run with Snuka in 1984. He could have been a major star, IMO. Probably not on my list.” – Brian Cullinane, June 3, 2017

202. Evan Bourne Total Points: 188 Total Ballots: 9 Average Rank: 80.1 High Vote: 49 Low Vote: 99 High Voter: Jesse

Key Matches & Moments: “Air” Bourne debuted on the ECW and was well known for his shooting-star press finisher; Participated in Money in Bank matches at WrestleMania XXVI and Money in the Bank 2010; Defeated Chris Jericho at Fatal 4-Way in 2010 in a match praised on this FYC podcast; Teamed with Kofi Kingston as Air Boom where the won the WWE Tag Team titles; Took a memorable RKO counter to his shooting star press

Staff Thoughts: That sweet-ass shooting star press was a thing of beauty. Evan Bourne had really good matches across the board and filled the role of someone who could fill time with high quality TV matches. Always came across as something different and crowds loved his aerial offense and selling. Too bad injuries and wellness violations derailed him. He’s got a ton of great matches but most of them are outside the WWE.

From the Voters: “He was going to be one of the best ever… but then he got hiiiiigh.” – Steve Williams, May 29, 2017

“Kind of a test of my personal biases and rules for projects like this. I thought he was the best wrestler in the company in 2008 and I typically want to include anyone who was the best worker in the company in a given year. But I don’t think Bourne really deserves to make a top 100 for any reason other than that informal rule I have.” – Dylan Hales, July 6, 2017

201. Paul London Total Points: 188 Total Ballots: 10 Average Rank: 82.2 High Vote: 66 Low Vote: 98 High Voter: El Groino

Key Matches & Moments: Teamed with Brian Kendrick on Velocity upon his debut in 2003; Moved on to a team with Billy Kidman that won the WWE Tag Team titles before Kidman turned on London causing them to lose to super-team Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki; Feuded with Kidman including a match at No Mercy ending when Kidman gave London multiple shooting star presses; Won Cruiserweight title from Chavo Guerrrero, Jr.; Had a well regarded Velocity run in 2005, including a good feud with Akio; Teamed with returning Kendrick and won the WWE Tag Team championship from MNM; Retained title in four-way ladder match known for Joey Mercury suffering face explosion; Held the belts for 331 days before losing to juggernaut team Deuce and Domino (I see a pattern); That run stood as a record for the WWE Tag Team belts until New Day surpassed it; Drafted to Raw where he and Kendrick won the World Tag Team Championships from Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch before losing it back to the same team

Staff Thoughts: Paul London’s work in both cruiserweight singles and especially the team with Brian Kendrick were both really great. They definitely had some great matches when they were in there with capable teams, but that was rare for such a lengthy run (seriously Deuce & Domino, Dupree & Suzuki and Cade & Murdoch?) London had great stuff but certainly could’ve been a much bigger deal and looked like a much bigger star elsewhere.

From the Voters: “Remember when everyone thought he blew up Vince’s limo? They really should have ran with that but I understand why they didn’t. They really missed the boat on this guy in a period of time when they needed someone who could have great matches with anyone.” – Michael DeDamos, July 8, 2017

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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