Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

[icon_uk]

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than scans_daily. But please, no doomscrolling, for your own sake.

This week we lost the original Miss Teschmacher, Valerie Perrine (Who was, as an actress, so much more than that role, but what a role she made it), at the age of 82. When your acting debut is in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" and you get good reviews,

Also, Nicholas Brendon, Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, died. This is a complicated one; I genuinely liked Xander as a funny, flawed, messed up, and committed character (I always liked the description: "You'd trust Xander with your life, but maybe not your new car"), even though I know the fanbase has reviewed the character in a mostly negative light. I have friends who met Brendon at conventions and spoke highly of him. But I also have to acknowledge his troubled life following that series which harmed others too. So I think I will echo Charisma Carpenter's elegant tribute that "I will miss the version of the man I once knew"

Variety has reported that Star Fleet Academy will not go beyond it's two, already filmed, seasons, which seems a shame, given that if the same logic had been applied to even TNG, we'd likely have no franchise at all now. (They've been screened early seasons over here, and BOY are there a lot of rough episodes in those. Some great performances, and there's a gem or two of an episode yes, but mostly a serious slog). Though admittedly, if I had to pick between seeing Prodigy get a third season or SFA, I'd be team Protostar all the way.

The live action version of "Moana" got a trailer, though all it does is add another of my list of "What is gained by making this movie (as opposed to something new), beyond cash?"

Comments

[iamrman]

 

This week’s comics ramblings:

The Spectre. The Spectre comes to the conclusion that humanity sucks and prepares to burn it all down. I mean, he's not wrong.

Spider-Man: The Clone Saga. Marvel clearly wants us to think Judas Traveller is cool and mysterious, but I just find him insufferable. He is testing Spider-Man for... reasons? Whatever became of him being a part of Orchis any way?

Spider-Woman. One of Mark Gruenwald's earliest writing jobs at Marvel and it is a vast improvment on Marv Wolfman’s work (I always thought his writing was pretty mid.) Gruenwald introduces some pretty neat villains as well. It’s a pity he didn’t a longer crack at it as Michael Fleischer soon takes over and the less said about that, the better.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes. Cosmic Boy goes full chest-out. That is all. Also, the Legion is still mind-wiping Superboy? I’m sure that won’t come back to bite them on their butts. (Spoilers: It did.)

Superman and the Justice League. Superman takes charge of the post-Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League amd decrees that there be no more fun. Your mileage may vary regarding how “fun” the Giffen/DeMatteis League was.

[metadronos]

The Spectre comes to the conclusion that humanity sucks and prepares to burn it all down.

So he's forgotten that God/The Source/The Voice/etc. is directly his boss and that It can, indeed has in the past, depower him at will? Yet another reminder of why I see the Spectre, with few exceptions, as too much of a moron to handle his job.

[numeronone]

Happily, the "Live Action" remake of Robin Hood by Disney is apparently "dead" according to the director. Which I think is for the best.

[icon_uk]

But... but... the FURRIE market!!

That could have been a gold mine!!

[numeronone]

I know you're mostly joshing, but I think if that was considered (which I doubt), Disney are probably aware from even the most cursory research that the furry community trends largely towards being some flavour of Queer.

And given that it came out lately that Pixar specifically instructed the creators of Elio to downplay any small amount of gay content so that parents didn't have to talk about it with their children...it seems they're deciding to play it safe and kowtow to the current POTUS' insane dictatorial demands.

[zachbeacon]

Neighbors across the hall moved out a couple weeks back and apartment management found mice. We we all told on Friday that we'd be inspected on Monday. So I spent the weekend cleaning instead of doing all the other things that have been piling up.

Well, at least they didn't find any in my apartment.

I should really move. Had an issue* with a mounted light for over a month before they finally fixed it.

*(I could have re-created the Batman Beyond opening in my kitchen)

[wizardru]

ST:TNG was a rough start by any comparison and would NEVER have survived the current media environment. It was released in Syndication - different markets showed it at different times and different nights (though usually Saturday nights in my experience) and usually on smaller affiliates. There was also far, FAR less television to choose from then - original scripted series number probably little more than a hundred. First-Run syndication was still a thing, then - particulalry budget sitcoms - but ST:TNG was a ratings giant in that category, doing so well that it was renewed within a month for another season.

But it was due in large part to viewers being DESPERATE for a solid SF show of any kind - particularly the sort of smart SF that Star Trek trucked in. We were continually disappointed in the show in the first year, but we still watched it - because it was the best thing going and it showed signs it could be great. Season two was better, even if it had different flaws than the first season - it started finding what worked and how to deliver it's premise. Season three was great - culminating in the epic 'Best of Both Worlds, part 1'...what a long summer to wait through to get THAT conclusion, I'll tell ya.

I waver between 'at least this got made for two seasons' versus 'why can't they just let a show breathe and grow'. Sometimes a great show needs to find it's audience - a show like Hill Street Blues or Cheers was a flop out of the gate, but became cultural icons after a year or so. That simply can't happen now.