tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post5788200689412388252..comments2024-03-22T04:20:11.870-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: Last Week in Pop Culture #3Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-17449695818722049872013-10-28T13:21:12.772-05:002013-10-28T13:21:12.772-05:00@Blam: The dichotomy of her being the same age as ...@Blam: <i>The dichotomy of her being the same age as her folks is interesting but I wouldn't mind more focus on the nature/nurture hybrid that should make her so useful in realms of magic.</i><br /><br />Agreed. <br /><br /><i>I could've sworn that the kid playing Peter Pan was Bran's fellow Warg in that brother-and-sister pair on Game of Thrones, by the way, but he ain't.</i><br /><br />That's okay. I always get the kid who plays Jojen on GoT mixed up with the kid who played the boy who was the inspiration for Peter Pan to Johnny Depp's J.M. Barrie in <i>Finding Neverland</i> (when JoJen is actually played by the guy who was the kid in <i>Love Actually</i>). <br /><br /><i>less because it was a retread actually than because it really basically rewarded her for being so entitled and it upheld high-school popularity as something even the outcasts should in fact aspire towards.</i><br /><br />Well said. Just all kinds of things wrong with that plot. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-23706934964253787312013-10-18T18:17:58.414-05:002013-10-18T18:17:58.414-05:00Quarter bins rock — especially at conventions, whe...<br>Quarter bins rock — especially at conventions, where dealers are getting rid of stuff on the last day just so they don't have to go to the trouble and/or expense of getting it home.<br /><br /><i><b>Agents of SHIELD</b></i> continues, in my opinion, to be neither as bad (or mediocre, anyway) nor as good (or more properly, as worthy of a pass just because it's a fricking TV show about SHIELD in the same continuity as a series of pretty awesome big-budget Marvel Universe movies) as most of my friends, online especially, insist. Why it's so divisive instead of simply being accepted as both cool and occasionally disappointing, I don't know. I'll say more about it in a newer post where conversation is more likely if I ever get caught up.<br /><br /><i><b>Glee</b></i> really confused me with that prom-queen Tina plot, less because it was a retread actually than because it really basically rewarded her for being so entitled and it upheld high-school popularity as something even the outcasts should in fact aspire towards. I'm well aware that the show traffics in mixed messages frequently, but this was a real head-scratcher. <br /><br />As far as Sue's comment, which isn't the first self-aware if not outright meta remark of its kind, I loved it for a brief shining moment before the disappointment set in over how it will not actually inform the writing of the show. <i>How I Met Your Mother</i> did a video for San Diego in which the actors playing Future Ted's kids, Lyndsy Fonseca and whoever, have aged in real time, which is the joke that everyone has made and everyone can make <i>except for the producers of the show itself</i> because it just completely bursts the bubble. <br /><br />Demi Lovato really surprised me on "Here Comes the Sun" with Naya Rivera and her acting chops too. I know intellectually that she's been in the business for years, but that doesn't necessarily reflect talent so much as it does luck, a cute face, and work ethic as you go along.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-28350982297258517932013-10-18T18:15:19.754-05:002013-10-18T18:15:19.754-05:00I caught the "Treehouse of Horror" openi...<br>I caught the <b>"Treehouse of Horror"</b> opening online just 'cause it seemed like it'd be fun — and I'm a GDT fan, if less so after the mess that was <i>Pacific Rim</i> on top of some of the more questionable aspects of the Hellboy films. Of course it was pretty dang cool. I keep meaning to watch it again, maybe after finding one of the keys to all the bits online.<br /><br /><i><b>Once Upon a Time</b></i> is working way better for me in Neverland than it did during Emma & Snow's time in the Enchanted Forest last season, although that could be because here there's no split focus.<br /><br /><i>// since believing in junk is pretty much his whole character //</i><br /><br />Yeah, I liked that for just the reason you say. Although it only reminds me that they don't do enough with whatever Emma's own ill-defined magic is, something to do with truth, which could be really fascinating given that it seems to be aligned with the very qualities that make her skeptical and so capable professionally if not personally back in the mundane world. The dichotomy of her being the same age as her folks is interesting but I wouldn't mind more focus on the nature/nurture hybrid that should make her so useful in realms of magic.<br /><br /><i>// I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the whole "Home Office" stuff from the end of last season being swept aside so cavalierly in the opening moments of the season. //</i><br /><br />I'm perhaps a little surer than you are. For me it was a really frustrating WTF. Like you say, Pan turning out to be the mastermind behind the magic-hating patsies was a nice little comeuppance but I really don't think it gibes.<br /><br />I could've sworn that the kid playing Peter Pan was Bran's fellow Warg in that brother-and-sister pair on <i>Game of Thrones</i>, by the way, but he ain't.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-18080919822073779872013-10-15T12:10:52.418-05:002013-10-15T12:10:52.418-05:00@Sarah: Their fort was totally awesome, but it was...@Sarah: <i>Their fort was totally awesome, but it was also stressful when they were almost crushed. Also, missing trick-or-treating is a horrible, horrible thing.</i><br /><br />Yeah, I should have mentioned this in the post, but I thought the episode did a great job of making the setup to their predicament strong, and then finding just right the balance in the stakes to keep the tension and suspense at the perfect level. <br /><br />Every time I thought of a possible way for them to get out (like Bob and Linda wondering where the kids are and then finding them) the episode found a reasonable way to address that possible "out" and still keep everyone trapped, and while the stakes were relatively low (they'd get out eventually), the prospect of missing out on Halloween was made a big enough deal that it still felt suspenseful. <br /><br />Just really strong writing, even beyond the jokes. <br /><br /><i>But we're rooting for whatsherface from Minneapolis. Represent!</i><br /><br />Yeah, I'm torn, because it's *such* a Minnesota thing to be like, "yeah, we're rooting for someone just because they come from the place we are!", but at the same time, I'm like, "hey, she comes from the place I am, I want her to do well!" Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-37257513283692648912013-10-15T11:06:46.751-05:002013-10-15T11:06:46.751-05:00Love Bob's Burgers, as usual. Their fort was t...Love Bob's Burgers, as usual. Their fort was totally awesome, but it was also stressful when they were almost crushed. Also, missing trick-or-treating is a horrible, horrible thing.<br /><br />We're right with you on Top Chef. Like, come on! But we're rooting for whatsherface from Minneapolis. Represent!<br /><br />Sarah Ahiershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02795455714801965956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-26490330236105878582013-10-14T14:45:20.770-05:002013-10-14T14:45:20.770-05:00@Dr. Bitz: I couldn't find it online so I'...@Dr. Bitz: <i> I couldn't find it online so I'll probably get it wrong but I did laugh at Bart yelling "How could this have possibly gone wrong!?"</i><br /><br />There was another line from that segment I enjoyed as well, something about how putting Bart's head on Lisa was the only way they could extend Bart's life by a year while decreasing Lisa's life by thirty. <br /><br />Definitely some good lines in that bit, just the premise as a whole that was kinda lame. <br /><br /><i>Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing enough to keep me watching but I am hoping for an increase in pace and an "upping of the ante" sometime this season.</i><br /><br />Definitely. I figure it probably has at least four or five "basic" episodes it needs to get out of the way before it can really cut loose, just cuz its a drama on a major network, and heavily crowd-sourced one at that. <br /><br />Also, kudos to typing in the dots in "SHIELD". Accurate it may be, I refuse to do so because I am lazy. <br /><br /><i>Also, I believe your Big Bang Theory quote should be attributed to Amy rather than Sheldon.</i><br /><br />Yeah, you're right. I even had it in my notes correctly, then mucked it up when I added it to the post. I'll correct it. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-56710018961189749702013-10-14T13:53:38.318-05:002013-10-14T13:53:38.318-05:00While I pretty much agree with your Simpsons analy...While I pretty much agree with your Simpsons analysis I think it's worth noting that my favorite line actually came from the middle segment. I couldn't find it online so I'll probably get it wrong but I did laugh at Bart yelling "How could this have possibly gone wrong!?"<br /><br />Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing enough to keep me watching but I am hoping for an increase in pace and an "upping of the ante" sometime this season.<br /><br />Also, I believe your Big Bang Theory quote should be attributed to Amy rather than Sheldon.Dr. Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13568570859981368717noreply@blogger.com