Talking about comic books, TV shows, movies, sports, and the numerous other pastimes that make us Gentlemen of Leisure.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Last Week In TV #11

The Simpsons: The Fool Monty
The first act, in which the media conspires to create a new panic to drive up viewership and the ensuing fervor over housecat flu, was fantastic stuff. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there, as the episode settled in to a fairly standard "Mr. Burns realizes he's a monster, etc." episode. The best bit from the final two thirds of the episode was the amnesiac Mr. Burns referring to himself as Oatmeal, a delightfully random little bit, but otherwise, the episode simply meandered from one thing to another (an extended ET parody, then a moral debate, then scenes in which the town takes their revenge on Mr. Burns) until everything was back to normal, with little to laugh at along the way.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Housekeeping

First of all, my next Last Week in TV post should be up sometime tomorrow. Due to the new Harry Potter movie, the Thanksgiving holiday, and my desperately futile attempts to keep my head above NaNo's waters last week, I didn't watch much TV and had even less time to write about it, so the post'll be delayed until tomorrow.

And then, on Wednesday, in addition to another X-aminations post, I'll be starting something that will probably quicken my descent into madness: daily content.

They're dogs...and they're playing poker!!

Starting December 1st and running until Christmas, I will countdown (in no particular order) 25 (mostly secular) things I love about Christmas and the holiday season, everything from movies to songs to TV episodes to traditions. Every day, in addition to whatever other craziness is happening on the blog, there will a Countdown to Christmas post. I hope you enjoy them.

Friday, November 26, 2010

X-amining X-Men #62

"Strangers in a Savage Land"
November 1969

In a nutshell
The X-Men hang out in the Savage Land

Editor: Stan Lee
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer 
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Plot
Angel is stunned while battling pteranodons underground, and falling, recalls shaking off the effects of Sauron's hypnotism and following the X-Men to Tierra Del Fuego, where Tanya Anderssen told him the X-Men went down a chasm to find Lyko's body. Angel falls out of the cavern into a warm valley, unconscious. He is shortly found by the frog man Amphibius and the gray-haired Creator. Meanwhile, the other X-Men encounter Ka-Zar while battling dinosaurs, confirming their suspicions that they've reached the Savage Land. Ka-Zar separates from the X-Men and sees a group of Swamp Men transporting a captive member of the Water People. Ka-Zar tries to free the prisoner but his brought low by Equilibrius, a mutated Swamp Man who causes vertigo. The X-Men come to his rescue.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

11 Things For Which Teebore Is Thankful

The bacob club chalupa, Frankenberry cereal, and Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist. 
In a perfect world, I'd be able to get all three year round.

The new Avengers cartoon, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Monday, November 22, 2010

Last Week In TV #10

Thoughts on what I watched on TV last week. 

How I Met Your Mother: Glitter


This episode underlined the fact that Lily has become far too one-note of late, as there is currently nothing more to her character than wanting a baby. I mean, Marshall wants one too, but he manages to do other things on the show besides talking about it constantly. I'm hoping that by making Lily's baby-mania the catechist for this episode's emotional moments, the writers are acknowledging that they've made this Lily's one character beat of late, and that moving forward, she'll be given more to do (or maybe I'm giving the writers too much credit).

Thursday, November 18, 2010

X-amining X-Men #61

"Monsters Also Weep"
October 1969

In a nutshell
The X-Men fight Sauron (the pterodactyl man, not the Lord of the Rings villain).

Editor: Stan Lee
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer 
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Plot
Hypnotized by Sauron, Angel believes that three monsters are attacking him.He quickly realizes they are illusions, and proceeds after Sauron. The X-Men arrive and join in the fight. As the X-Men and Sauron battle, back in Dr. Lyko's office Alex is stirred awake by a ringing phone. Sauron begins transforming back to Lykos and quickly hypnotizes Angel into flying him back to his office. There, he discovers Tanya waiting, who has disobeyed her father to be with him. The X-Men, in their civilian identities, arrive at the office to pickup Alex and enter the office just as Tanya's father arrives and angrily denounces her relationship with Lykos.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Top 5 Problems With The Wizard

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago. The Wizard was on TV. It's a movie I watched a few times in my youth and is basically a 90 minute advertisement for Nintendo....so how could I not watch the entire thing? However, after rewatching it, a few parts of the movie bothered me a little bit.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Last Week In TV #9

Thoughts on what I watched on TV last week. 

The Walking Dead: Guts  


A lot of people were down on this episode, and while it wasn't quite as good as the first, I didn't think it was that bad, either (maybe all the negative buzz beforehand lowered my expectations).

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

X-amining X-Men #60

"In the Shadow of...Sauron!"
September 1969

In a nutshell
Sauron appears for the first time

Editor: Stan Lee
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer 
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Plot
The X-Men depart the Sentinels' base with the injured Alex, leaving Judge Chalmers to wipe Trask's memories via his medallion and to free the remaining prisoners. Scott and Jean take Alex to see Dr. Lykos, an old associate of Professor X. He tells them that Alex will be fine, but he needs to look after him in private, asking them to return later in the evening. Scott and Jean return to the mansion, and join the others training in the Danger Room.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Last Week In TV #8

Thoughts on what I watched last week. Halloween was last week, and Mrs. Teebore and I saved up a bunch of Halloween episodes to watch that day, so that's why this entry is so Halloween-heavy (and also, because Fox is lame).  


The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXI


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

X-amining X-Men #59

"Do or Die, Baby!"
August 1969

In a nutshell
Cyclops uses logic to defeat the Sentinels. 

Editor: Stan Lee
Scripter: Roy Thomas
Artist: Neal Adams
Embellisher: Tom Palmer 
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Plot
Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Beast approach the Sentinel's base by air. They are shot down, but survive, and continue on to the base. Inside, Judge Chalmers explains to Larry that after his mutant power of clairvoyance manifested itself, his father created a medallion that would block his power, and, eventually fearing other mutants would discover his secret, created the Sentinels to hunt them down. The Sentinels insist on following the last order they received from Larry when he was human: kill all mutants. In the meantime, they place Larry alongside the other mutant captives. Meanwhile, the X-Men enter the base and discover a just-arrived and captured Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Toad. The X-Men switch places with the three, allowing them to surprise the Sentinels who prepare to counter Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch's and Toad's powers rather than the X-Men's.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Last Week In TV #7

The Venture Bros.: Assisted Suicide


Another Venture episode I wished was longer, as I could have spent hours watching Dr. Orpheus fight his way through Dr. Venture's psyche alongside Billy and Pete/Eros and Thanatos. And the end tag was another surprisingly Venture moment that managed to be touching without losing the show's biting edge. Rusty can be an ass, but moments like that point out how hard it must be for him NOT to be an ass all the time. I love this show for its humor and zany characters (amongst other things) but I also appreciate these small moments of character development.