tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post4402590452049271203..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: Last Week in Pop Culture #5Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-12977647576992475292013-11-05T20:04:51.759-06:002013-11-05T20:04:51.759-06:00I've stayed current with Wonderland purely bec...<br>I've stayed current with <i>Wonderland</i> purely because I was tired, having computer trouble, and sitting in front of the TV at the right time for a couple of weeks in a row. At the risk of sounding like a total lump, it almost would've been harder <i>not</i> to watch it. November's going to be so full of TV and other work and family that I doubt I'll keep up with it, though, and might not even bother catching up later.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-75719904174133613232013-11-04T13:09:02.370-06:002013-11-04T13:09:02.370-06:00@Blam: Then all of that is wrapped up in how Skye ...@Blam: <i>Then all of that is wrapped up in how Skye is borderline insufferable at times but also the most compelling character on the show apart from Coulson and, let's face it, hot.</i><br /><br />Heh, yeah. That's pretty much the problem with the character in a nutshell. <br /><br /><i>at the same time there are scores of practically incidental characters in the Avengers/SHIELD orbit of the Marvel Universe presumably not off-limits due to other studio deals that could be used to throw the comics fans a bone. </i><br /><br />Exactly. I feel like, when in doubt, throw the fans a bone. <br /><br /><i>at the same time there are scores of practically incidental characters in the Avengers/SHIELD orbit of the Marvel Universe presumably not off-limits due to other studio deals that could be used to throw the comics fans a bone. </i><br /><br />Agreed. <br /><br /><i> While a plot point in the latest episode concerning Will's backstory was rather neat (one of this franchise's all-too-rarely cool mash-ups), I just despair of this amounting to anything.</i><br /><br />Honestly, if this wasn't being billed as a limited series (and, unlike the similarly-billed <i>Under the Dome</i>, the ratings weren't bad enough to assure this won't get extended) I don't know that I'd even stick with it past the pilot. Even then, I haven't exactly been burning to watch it, given the fact that I haven't watched past the pilot yet. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-72664593272761614482013-10-31T23:46:52.653-05:002013-10-31T23:46:52.653-05:00Once Upon a Time in Wonderland : Down the Rabbit H...<br><b><i> Once Upon a Time in Wonderland </i>: Down the Rabbit Hole </b><br /><br /><i>// the best thing this show has going for it is Sophie Lowe as Alice //</i><br /><br />Alice and Will are great. Everything else with the possible exception of the Red Queen is terrible. I love the Alice books dearly, and I love clever adaptations, but this is pretty much a mess. The CGI is beyond distractingly laughable to not-so-laughably distracting. While a plot point in the latest episode concerning Will's backstory was rather neat (one of this franchise's all-too-rarely cool mash-ups), I just despair of this amounting to anything.<br /><br />Will popping from present-day Storybrooke to Wonderland to Alice's presumably real-world 19th-century England is just crazy-making, raising more of those foundational questions the parent show totally skirts past.<br /><br />Like Jason said, <i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> and <i>Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There</i> are often mixed up in adaptations, including relatively direct ones like Disney's classic animated <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, with the Queen of Hearts (first book) and Red Queen (second book) conflated. I <i>think</i> the shows have stuck to Cora being the Queen of Hearts and <i>Wonderland</i>'s character being the Red Queen, but that being said this Red Queen is after Will, the Knave of Hearts; <i>that</i> being said, there's no reason the Queen or Queens can't be deposed or succeeded, even if time seems to pass in the magical realms completely out of step with the real world and only when the writers want it to. <br /> <br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-8452031574489437942013-10-31T23:44:14.187-05:002013-10-31T23:44:14.187-05:00Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: Girl in the Flower ...<br><b><i> Marvel's Agents of SHIELD</i>: Girl in the Flower Dress </b><br /><br /><i>// I was a little surprised they dealt with the whole "Skye's a double agent (?)" plot so quickly. //</i><br /><br />Me too. I was also kind-of confused, because it seemed a little anticlimactic. There's been some obfuscation all along, I think, whether intentional on the part of the show or not, about whether Rising Tide is more-or-less just Skye or a larger (perhaps vastly larger) network and if the latter then how big a deal she is within it. So I honestly don't know whether, assuming she is really out of that game, Rising Tide is now effectively kaput or will continue to be a concern, and if the latter then how much she might have to fear retaliation. Plus all of this was wrapped up in how colossally stupid it was of Skye to go to her boyfriend's apartment. Then all of <i>that</i> is wrapped up in how Skye is borderline insufferable at times but also the most compelling character on the show apart from Coulson and, let's face it, hot. <br /><br />That fact that Scorch wasn't an established character bugged me too. I get why they wouldn't want to, uh, burn off an established property by getting rid of it/him within one episode, but at the same time there are <i>scores</i> of practically incidental characters in the Avengers/SHIELD orbit of the Marvel Universe presumably not off-limits due to other studio deals that could be used to throw the comics fans a bone. <br /><br />One thing I really liked about this episode is that is tended to suggest that superpowered people were indeed scattered all over and perhaps becoming more common for whatever reasons, a point that the show seems to vacillate on. Even the simple mention of Captain America was appreciated. I tend to feel that the series and the movies are much better off narratively (also, just plain <i>more fun</i>) if powers are established as a fact of life, if rarely seen out in the open and still used judiciously by the producers. <br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-87923886641317814152013-10-28T14:55:38.051-05:002013-10-28T14:55:38.051-05:00@Matt: I agree with you that it's "good b...@Matt: <i>I agree with you that it's "good but not great", but it's definitely moved up several notches from the pilot.</i><br /><br />And the most comforting part is that there's still room to grow. It's not like its plateaued for anything, so there's no reason to think it couldn't flirt with greatness on a regular basis at some point. And in the meantime, it's at least still enjoyable to watch. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-48417857206257063922013-10-28T14:05:44.349-05:002013-10-28T14:05:44.349-05:00Having fallen behind on Agents of SHIELD, I watche...Having fallen behind on <i>Agents of SHIELD</i>, I watched the past three epsiodes over two nights last week. Doing it that way, the improvement is even more apparent. I agree with you that it's "good but not great", but it's definitely moved up several notches from the pilot. I'm enjoying it.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-28686333874123120032013-10-28T09:03:16.068-05:002013-10-28T09:03:16.068-05:00@Jason: The Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are ...@Jason: <i>The Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are occasionally conflated, however, perhaps most notably in Tim Burton's movie from a few years ago</i><br /><br />Ah, I was mixing them up (or rather together). Most likely because the last iteration of the Alice stories I encountered prior to this show was (unfortunately) the Burton film. Thanks for clearing that up. <br /><br />@Mike: <i>Gil Kane did some covers for Tomb of Dracula, but every single issue of the regular series was penciled by Gene Colan.</i><br /><br />I knew that, I swear. I often mix those two up in my head, given their similar sounding names and the fact that of all the "classic" Marvel artists, they're the two with whom work I am the most unfamiliar. <br /><br />Anyways, thanks for pointing that out. I updated the post. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6021211896446509222013-10-27T16:03:28.040-05:002013-10-27T16:03:28.040-05:00Gil Kane did some covers for Tomb of Dracula, but ...Gil Kane did some covers for Tomb of Dracula, but every single issue of the regular series was penciled by Gene Colan.<br /><br />ToD was an amazing comic. I oughta pull my Essentials off the bookshelf & dig in...<br /><br />- Mike LoughlinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-16062239424804767842013-10-26T13:41:05.906-05:002013-10-26T13:41:05.906-05:00"ot sure what to make of the Red Queen yet (a..."ot sure what to make of the Red Queen yet (and shouldn't she be Cora, who we learned was the "off with their heads!" queen in Wonderland on OUAT last season? Or am I getting my Alice characters mixed up?),"<br /><br />I have never seen any of these TV shows being talked about. But I can go back to the literary roots.<br /><br />The Queen of Hearts is the character from ALICE IN WONDERLAND who shouts "off with their heads!"<br /><br />The Red Queen and the White Queen are different characters, who appear in ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS.<br /><br />The Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts are occasionally conflated, however, perhaps most notably in Tim Burton's movie from a few years ago, which had Helena Bonham Carter calling herself the Red Queen, but doing all the stuff attributed to the Queen of Hearts. (Especially shouting "Off with their heads!")<br /><br />(You'll eventually see even my hero Chris Claremont make the same mistake, if you plan to X-amine the original "Excalibur" series from the late 80s ...)Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.com