#Spotlight: Metroplex

[wifeguycyclonus]

favorite genre of metrotitans: when they just fucking pancake a guy

[kryptonitecore]

Reread: Spotlight: Metroplex

A cool concept - an Autobot base keeps a lot of its goals secret from those who work there and only the command staff really have a good idea of their true purpose. However, when much of command are killed in a sudden attack by Sixshot, a team of lower-ranking crew-members are the only survivors. I’m not sure that concept is really pushed to its full potential, but it still has merit.

Otherwise, I don’t have a lot to say - this is sort of a fun issue, in no small part because it’s not too heavily tied into the overarching narrative, and I think it’s the last work by Furman for a while. I’m looking forward to getting more variety, as Furman’s writing has a lot of limitations - I understand that some portions of the fandom are very fond of him and almost repackage his limited range as a strength, but I’m hoping for variety and some of the more complex or character-driven things that come later. How a series like the Spotlights, whose primary goal should be character exploration managed to put characterisation on the back-burner as much as it did is a wonder to me. 

Regarding this specific issue, however, I am a little bit sad to know this is the end for Sixshot in IDW1 (I think?). He’s indicated to still be alive, but it’s a shame to see one of the more significant Decepticon characters of the early continuity just disappear off into the ether. I choose to imagine he was a bit embarrassed by the situation with Starscream and the Reapers, then got possessed, then was stomped on by a titan, and then simply decided that he’d had enough and that he should retire somewhere nice and find a new hobby. The Terrorcons are busy elsewhere, but maybe they could visit, who knows?

[revelboo]

I forgot, have you ever written Sunstorm? Might be a cool one to try! Reader finds him in a nuclear power plant (gotta get that yummy enriched uranium) (that’s a joke but it would be funny)

I keep thinking about it now. You always give me the hardest characters, first Metroplex, now this irradiated, raving lunatic. 🤣 I’m just going to BS a way for reader to survive him instead of insta-death from radiation poisoning. 18+ 🌶️

Love Me Dead

Sunstorm x Reader

• What was that? Slowing down in the road, you turn your spotlight onto the fence lining the road. Or the lack of. Something had taken out a huge swath of it. A drunk driver running off the road? Pulling over, you park and walk through the ruined chain link fence, playing your flashlight over the damage. Why did it have to be here? Aiming higher, you think you can see one of the cooling towers through the trees. Know the place was decommissioned and that the lingering radiation is negligible, but you still don’t like it.

• Swinging the flashlight beam to play over the trees, you catch a glimpse of yellow deeper in. A pulse of fitful light. “You okay?” Calling out, your voice is swallowed by the night. Too hurt to answer? Moving closer, your breath hitches as you keep moving toward that faint glow. Watching it pulse and dance. You have no idea what it is, but it’s the loveliest thing you’ve ever seen. Swearing softly as you get close enough to realize it’s not a wrecked car you’re seeing, though your brain can’t make sense of it either. A mangled mess. Skin crawling as your light reveals a giant face.

• Drifting in and out of restless recharge, he’s not sure what’s real and what’s only in his processor. Only that he can’t fail now. This is only a new trial, a test to ensure his worthiness as the hand of Primus. Betrayed and only barely escaping his allies and not without damage. All because they can’t believe his truth. Think he’s insane. Is something there approaching him? Or just another phantom?

• Mangled glass and metal and that dancing light. Hearing that hum deep in your bones as you reach out. The rational part of your brain jangling alarm bells, warning you that anything that pretty is probably dangerous. To stop. That you don’t even know what it is. It’s like you’re possessed, body moving on its own. And that dancing will o’ the wisp arcs to meet your fingertips and you go rigid realizing you just made a horrible mistake.

• Jolting to awareness as that shock of connection slams through him, he hisses through his denta. Feels his spark snaring and tangling with you, that euphoric high making him shudder on a groan. Trying to understand what you are as he wraps himself more firmly around your fragile light. Thoughts and emotions not his own spilling into him, a life he’d never lived his to experience. A gift given to him, a reward for not losing faith, for not faltering in his belief. And then your panic and fear slices into him so visceral it hurts as he delves deeper into you. Claiming what was offered freely.

• Can’t break that connection as something spills like poison into you. Feeling seen and judged as he engulfs you until you’re drowning in him. Feeling that madness become a tide threatening to pull you under. Feeling him. Sunstorm. A name to go with that face floating through your mind, those thoughts that aren’t yours. And you can’t escape, as he digs in deeper, refusing to let you go. Whispering that you made an offering. Giving him something you hadn’t meant to. Hadn’t realized you could give as you grieve that loss and he wraps tighter around you, his thoughts whispering in yours, brushing against you in shivers of chaos and conviction that this is right. Meant to be.

Next

[bugdotpng]

Issue 02 of Bug's [WORD THAT BEGINS WITH B] Newsletter because we stay silly! transcript under the cut

Bug's Brilliant Newsletter

A bi-weekly newsletter detailing a local bug’s riveting highlights. Released every other Monday whenever, interesting activities permitting.

Vol. 01 • Issue 02 -------- June 25, 2025

Local Bug Opens Up About Writing Hardships

“I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea,” lamented Anonymous Bug, a 30-year-old resident of the DFW metroplex. “I don’t lead an exciting life. Why on earth I thought I could come up with more than two moderately interesting things to talk about in this newsletter is beyond me.” As an introverted artist and work-from-home UX developer, Bug feels as if they rarely leave the house. “I have to schedule time to go outside. Like I have to actually make myself go work from a coffee shop so I remember how to interact with people.” Bug is admittedly being a bit hard on themself. They do leave the house, often for nature walks or to have dinner with friends, but it’s easy for them to spiral. It’s their favorite thing to do in the afternoon. “I have nothing interesting to talk about! I can only say I take walks and eat snacks in so many interesting ways before it starts getting trite.” It is still unclear why Bug was so riled up about this.

“Lychee” Added to Bug’s List of Favorite Flavors

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” quoted Anonymous Bug when asked about their current lychee obsession. “I don’t know why it took me thirty years to try lychee but I’m glad I did.” Bug first tried the lychee flavor when they were at their local Daiso with a friend a few months ago. “We have this game where I let her pick out a new drink and snack for me to try every time we go.” Knowing Bug’s affinity for ramune sodas, she picked up a lychee-flavored ramune soda for them to try. “I could smell it the second I opened it. My whole car smelled like the florally-sweet soda. I knew I was either going to love it or hate it, no in-between.” Much to Bug’s delight, it was a hit, and lychee had been on their mind ever since. But even though they constantly thought about lychee, the opportunity to obtain it easily was never presented to them. Days went by and no lychee-flavored snacks graced Bug’s fridge. “I was miserable. My want clawed at me from the inside and consumed my every thought.” Thankfully, they were able to visit Daiso again with their friend this past weekend. “I picked up two lychee ramunes, and my friend found a lychee jelly pouch for me to try.” Bug deeply enjoyed their lychee jelly pouch, despite commenting about the texture every 15 seconds. They have since consumed both of their lychee ramune sodas and are upset they no longer have lychee snacks in their apartment.

Area Bug Completes Errand in Timely Manner

Yesterday, Anonymous Bug, 30, completed an errand they were not looking forward to. “I felt like I was on top of the world,” mused Bug. “Nothing’s quite as invigorating as checking off a task. Especially when it’s something I’ve been dreading.” When asked if they had any tips for readers who were also struggling with completing tasks, they shook their head solemnly. “I have no idea why I do what I do or why I do or don’t want to do things. I think there’s a gnome in my brain that guards the Productivity Box and it only unlocks it and dumps it out whenever it feels like. I’m not privy to this information.” Bug thought a bit harder. “I think it’s because this errand presented me with the opportunity to get a little treat while I was out. Little treats are the backbone of my sanity if you couldn’t tell.”

Featured Photo Spotlight

[ image description: a low-res, low-quality black and white image of small pond surrounded by trees ]

“I’m a simple bug. I freak out when I see an unexpected body of water.” taken by Anonymous Bug on their phone during a nature walk with a friend.

[tiesthatbind-tf]

When you have time, can you explain Omar’s relationship with Zeke? Was it similar to him and Sedgewick? Also, will you add Zeta/Zeke’s age, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality to the QnA?

-CRACKS KNUCKLES-

Omar actually doesn’t have much of a relationship with Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Parrish beyond surface level! Definitely nowhere to the extent of his relationship with Sedgewick, more so that they operate in two different continents. Zeke operates primarily in the US, while Omar and Sedgewick are/were in the UK.

They’re very vaguely acquainted since Zeke has seen him a few times in Sharifuddin’s (Shockwave’s) presence. Zeke personally dislikes Sedgewick and but secretly supported BOTH Sedgwick and the rebellion in their early clashes. This is mainly because he planed to utilized the chaos to boost his ratings in the US as a political candidate who who was ‘kinder’ than Sedgewick and could promise order without the iron fist Sentinel utilized to terrorize most of the UK into obedience. He positions himself as centrist and plays himself up as the most logical choice.

That said, of course, Zeke doesn’t like it when the spotlight is shone on his own misdeeds and he’s quite cavalier about letting Omar know that while he thinks Omar is a genuinely good man, this is simply business at the end of this day, HIS business and Autobot nor Decepticon will have anything to do with the machinations in his domain.

Zeke is more open to speaking with Omar than he is Morgan, mainly since he sees Morgan as legitimate dangerous, and like many misconstrues Omar’s kindness for weakness (he learns that this is not the case down the line).

Zeke is more intertwined with Isaac/Sari Sumdac and Metroplex narratively than he is Omar in TTB.

Zeke is 42 at the start of the war (2 years older than Megs/OP). He’s white, from Fort Nexus in Dallas—a US Army military installation named after one of the Primes. He’s a military brat, and his father was a lieutenant involved in the Antillan War (this is where his obsession with the titan Antilla/Unicron starts from). His mother taught at the school which was run at the fort. He was raised a Southern Baptist, but isn’t really a staunch adherent to it in adulthood except for parts of it that work for him in a political and PR sense. He’s straight as an arrow.

[drabbletron]

I Love Trailbreaker/Trailcutter Rant:

|| I was very pissed while writing this and I was debating on whether or not to post this at all, but I shared it with my friends in our discord and I just need people to know how great he is. ||

Rant below the cut:

Y’all, can I rant for a sec about a deeply underutilized character?

Trailbreaker is legit such a great dude and he tries so hard to be useful and show that he admires his crew. I mean, I’ve been reading his spotlight over and over just so I can get a good read on his personality for this fic I’ve been chipping away at, and it just makes me so sad that he gets overlooked by his crew (save for Whirl, Hoist, and maybe Riptide).

I know that he is very well known for his forcefields, but he has other talents too!!

Dude can do great impressions (as told by Hoist and shown when he just pretends to be a ‘con over the walkie-talkie thing), he is very smart and can think ahead when given the chance, like when he raids Brainstorm’s lab to get a little handheld remote that controls the gravity of the room where Metroplex’s thumb is located and uses it to convince Lockdown and his crew into leaving of their own accord with the power of a fucking bluff, which means he is very convincing when he needs to be. He legit took the time to go and see how many ‘cons were on the Lost Light just to figure out how to plan his next move.

Could he have used something crazy from within Brainstorm’s lab to just eliminate the threat thus making so the ‘cons wouldn’t be a problem later? Yes. But he knew that brute force may not have been as effective since they could always call for backup or maybe even overpower him should the chance have came about. They had numbers, but he had the smarts and enough charisma points to convince other people who kill and plunder for a living that he was this big, badass mech that could extinguish them with a single thought and the power of his forcefield. He knew they didn’t know him all that well and he took that and ran with it all the way to the bank. Dude, was such a fucking chad for that!!!

Then we can look at how he treats his crew! He is so super supportive of them and he tells them that they’re super awesome. He calls Brainstorm and Chromedome the “genius twins” (a little bit of an awkward compliment, but he means well), and he sees the bright side of them when he talks about the fact that he is among the “best and brightest”. He is so freaking loving as a character and he needs to be told that, as most people need.

It’s such a shame that he doesn’t stand up for himself when he should have. It was a good thing that Whirl was there and called Rodimus out on his bullshit (naturally and rightfully so), because had he not done that, Trailbreaker might not have had the building blocks to formulate the plan that had saved the Lost Light in the first place. He does appreciate what Whirl was trying to do and took that advice to spark because even after all the bullshit he changed his name to “Trailcutter”! He kept that shit because he knew that Whirl was right!! It may have even given him some of the confidence he needed to push himself out of his comfort zone.

I am so mad that Rodimus just wrote him off for the use of his forcefields in the beginning and tries to place merit on the others just because “forcefields are just what (Trailbreaker) does.” Fuck you, Rodimus, you man-child ass hater!!

I hope that Trailbreaker gave him the earful at the end just like he said he would because Rodimus did him so damn dirty. And Trailbreaker should’ve had an arc where we explore what he’s like when he’s not been drinking so much after his FIM chip get permanently turned on. He deserved at least that, JRO, you self-inserting mother fucker!!

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #636 - "Guilt"

Originally posted on February 13th, 2012

Story, Art - Jim Lafferty

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005

wada sez: Contrary to the credit given, the dialogue here is actually lifted entirely wholesale from Simon Furman’s debut on the Marvel Comics series with issue #56. Lafferty has redrawn it using IDW designs, but appears not to have known about Goldbug’s IDW appearance in Spotlight: Metroplex. Clean colors below.

[allwiredwrong]

no way is that Harrington Caldwell.. they’re a 28-year-old SYNTH notoriously known for being resentful  &  anxious but there are some people who have seen them being hardworking  &  charismatic.  if you ask me, they remind me a lot of always hitting your mark, reclaiming your passions, and therapy sessions but that could just be because they’re considered the Former Child Star around town. just keep an eye on them  &  see if their true colors shine through..   

Name: Harrington Conroe Caldwell

Nickname(s): Harry

Age: 28 / August 1

FC: Alex Fitzalan

Height: 5'10

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: bi

Occupation: Actor

District:  tbd

Relationship Status: Single (Chem testing)

hardworking ⟩ charismatic

resentful ⟩ anxious

—-

Parents built him with the sole purpose of getting him into 'the business'

They aimed to use him to move out of their lower middle class home and life, and that they did.

By the time he was 3, Harrington already had a resume in the double digits, and at 7 had been nominated for several supporting actor awards for a film, even winning one. Becoming one of the youngest performers ever to do so.

At 9 he was cast in a series, one that would run for several years and see him and his fellow younger cast members growing up on screen. During this time Harrington continued to book roles in movies and guest spots on other series so long as they didn't interfere with the shooting of the series per his contract.

Once he came into his teen years Harrington hit teen heart throb status. Being featured in publications aimed at pre-teens and teens, as well as constantly having content/posts made about them on online social media platforms.

During most of this, starting around the time he was 6, Harrington had become the breadwinner of the family. His parents using the money he earned to originally just pay the bills, but eventually moving on to pay for nearly everything. This included the new car his dad wanted, even though the one he had worked perfectly fine, and vacations that his parents took together without him.

They spent and spent while working their son to the bone, and often lying about when money was being set aside for him. Often saying more than they were and on some occasions not actually setting aside any at all.

At 17 Harrington finally filed to be emancipated from his parents. This resulting in a court case that, like much of his life already, had been heavily publicized and followed on social media.

Harrington quit acting a year later.

He spent the next couple of years laying low and out of the spotlight. Attending university (it was during this time he moved to the DFW/metroplex area) and working 'regular' jobs and for the first time in nearly all his life feeling like he could actually breathe.

It was also during this time that he started attending therapy. Focusing mainly on healing from his childhood, especially everything involving his parents, as well as his relationship with acting.

Over the past couple of years he's been rediscovering his passion and love for performing. Mainly sticking to theatre/stage and often local productions, but has recently started doing more professional work once again. Both on stage and on screen.

[autobot-ratchet]

Dark Cybertron Volume 1

Dark Cybertron Volume 1

I was gonna do this arc issue by issue but about three issues in, I realized I was reading a volume that just had all of the Dark Cybertron arc in it without having to jump between MTMTE and RID so lmAO that's fine it's honestly better this way but that does mean I'm gonna do this by volume, so basically half of this arc in one volume, the other half in the next

Galvatron sucks but he was so right to defend Cyclonus from Jhiaxus. No words, just a “shut your fuck” arm gesture, hell yeah

also I just realized this is a little glimpse of the ship Tailgate said he was gonna be a part of just before he fell underground, nice

god. I don't want to do a reread of MTMTE's sister series (or at least not a complete reread, I might reread certain bits) but like. Remember Rattrap lmfAO I remember so much fucking buildup like “ooh he's being so sneaky he's gonna betray Starscream, he's gonna betray him so hard just you wait” and then that guy straight up disappeared without ever actually doing anything at all. And I don't mean that he disappeared within the story like for plot reasons, I mean that Barber just stopped including him in his writing and I'm gonna be real I deadass didn't notice for a long time lmFAO

oh that's right, I vaguely remember this orc dude, Garnak, he was a friend of Roddy's

fdjasksl Swerve just immediately embarrassing Rodimus in front of Optimus

aww you hug that bot, Garnak, god knows he needs a good hug after all the shit that's gone down

interesting that Perceptor brings up that the Lost Light isn't technically an Autobot ship, it's a neutral ship

“Mostly I thought about Megatron.” I bet you did, gayass

oh fuck I knew Cyclonus had been trapped in the dead universe before but I didn't realize he spent six million years in there. Wasn't that as long as Tailgate spent trapped underground??? no wonder they were drawn to each other, they are each the only fuckin person who could possibly understand what the other has been through

ooh, so Roddy's told everyone the truth about the Overlord project at this point, he's got the numbers carved into his hand

I also forgot that the dead universe is where we meet Nightbeat. The fuck is he doing here lmfAO he's just in here chilling I guess

I'm not gonna lie my eyes glaze over so hard whenever anything RID related is on my screen lmAO I tune in just enough to get the plot relevant bits and then just... schoop... rats trap........ metal hawking............ omg Ultra Magnus!!! hi ❤️❤️❤️ like rip to everyone who was really invested in all the non-MTMTE goings on but god. Could not be me lmfAO and I tried! I did read all of the transformers comics in the first IDW run at one point! And my final verdict is that MTMTE/Lost Light is the cream of the crop and there were like. A handful of other comics that were worth a shit lmAO some mini series, some spotlight issues

hell yeah, love the crew deciding to do their own thing to go find Metroplex. “We can't do our own thing anymore,” yes you can, actually lmAO you can do whatever you want forever. Also I find it interesting that it's Ratchet who's trying so hard to argue that their hands are tied. Maybe moments like this were what put the idea in his head to go find Drift later

awww this is the first instance of simpatico!!! Percy and Brainstorm really are cute together

the fuckin Rod Pod........

oh fuckin right there was a whole thing about Nightbeat getting shot in the head, god I really did not retain shit about all the other transformers comics I read lmfAO whatever it's fine

Nightbeat really does just lay out Cyclonus's whole entire life in front of everyone, damn

fgdhsjk Galvatron just casually rips Megatron in half god damn

Getaway getting caught up in just how ridiculous this fuckin series is, simultaneously loving and hating it

aww Skids has Swerve's number, there are so many little moments of bonding or just like casual indicators of closeness sprinkled throughout this series, I've been noticing it with Brainstorm and Perceptor too, they have a lot of small moments of banter that are really good. Like people portray Perceptor as no-nonsense in the fandom but he does get just a little silly with it when it comes to Brainstorm, it's very cute

rip Rod Pod

rip Hardhead also, he was kind of a bitch, good riddance

[gacmediadaily]

Does it feel like Texas is suddenly taking over the national entertainment industry?

Megaproducer Taylor Sheridan – Wind River, Hell or High Water, and now the blockbuster Yellowstone– raised in Fort Worth, is making Western culture popular again and filling rodeo arenas with city folks. 

A new force in streaming and cable

Another Texas-based player may be an even more disruptive force in the U.S. entertainment industry.��

Great American Media (GAM) is suddenly an overnight contender in the U.S. streaming and cable television space, winning regular coverage in industry flagships like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and it has the entertainment industry sitting up and taking notice for its success attracting audiences to faith and family content.

“We’re on our way to being America’s most uplifting and inspiring network,” says CEO Bill Abbott, who founded Great American Media in 2021.

Abbott follows a familiar playbook – his own — perfected over 35 years in family entertainment.

Abbott’s resume includes senior leadership roles at Fox Kids, Fox Family Channel, and ABC Family, plus more than 20 years as the architect of the Hallmark television brands. Now he has launched another TV brand in the burgeoning Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, a big community with small-town sensibilities and a dedicated and talented populace, he says.

As the engineer of the next big thing, Abbott pulled on both experience and his friends, instantly creating a crew of iconic TV stars, including Mario Lopez, Danica McKellar, Cameron Mathison, Alexa and Carlos PenaVega, and, of course, Candace Cameron Bure.

These stars are making an appearance at iconic venues across the nation for spotlight events and movie production. Carlos and Alexa PenaVega spent the day at AT&T Stadium in Dallas – right down the road from the headquarters of Great America Media – filming their upcoming holiday premiere movie. Not only is the AT&T Stadium recognizable by many, but this production further solidifies Abbott’s dedication to creating uplifting, quality content.

Today, his startup boasts over 70 million viewers and subscribers to its cable television channels and streaming service, a remarkable feat in any environment. The last three years have been some of the most tumultuous in television and entertainment history, with a record decline in cable subscribers and increasing competition among streaming services. Yet Great American Media is on the rise.

The success is a testament to early mornings, continual conference calls, coast-to-coast travel, and non-stop team building. Every Friday, Abbott hosts a company-wide review of the market and a company performance where he answers employees’ questions nationwide. One staffer describes it as a master class in cable and streaming television.

Great American Media’s Fort Worth headquarters includes production and administrative offices, while its sales and executive offices are in New York. Its member services center, a call center supporting a committed fan base, is in Phoenix.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my jobs is to read viewer emails,” says Abbott, who regularly corresponds with a group of over 25,000 loyal Great American Media Insiders. “Our viewers know what they want and it’s our job to give them a great uplifting experience free of the stress and contentiousness of their already overly complex world.”

Great American Media’s portfolio of brands now includes Great American Family, Great American Pure Flix, Great American Faith & Living, Great American Adventures, and Pure Flix TV.

As the company’s flagship cable TV network, Great American Family, features quality original movies and classic series that are inspiring and emotionally connecting. The business strategy is to align the content and convert cable viewers to streaming subscribers, a riddle many in Hollywood are attempting to solve.

Great American Pure Flix is GAM’s leading subscription on-demand streaming service and the most successful faith-based content provider of its size. A recent Financial Times story described GAM as the Netflix of faith-based content, to which Abbott responds, “Not bad company to be in after only three years.”

Great American Faith & Living features mostly unscripted lifestyle programming that celebrates family-friendly traditions every day and every season.

Great American Media is also home to a FAST (free ad-supporting streaming TV) channel with Great American Adventures, which offers both scripted and unscripted content, including cooking and do-it-yourself programs, and Great American Community, a free direct-to-consumer streaming app featuring short-form original series hosted by well-known lifestyle experts and TV stars. There is also a Pure Flix FAST channel.

“We are creating an oasis in a cultural desert,” says Candace Cameron Bure, star of many Great American Media original programs, including hit My Christmas Hero. She joined Abbott at the film’s screening on Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington.

Abbott agrees, saying, “I think that the culture overall needs what we’re offering. And there is just so little content out there that serves family and faith and yet is done in a quality way. It is a very big part of what our mission is and what we do, and the demand is huge.”

Not His First Rodeo

Abbott founded Great American Media in June 2021 with backing from Dallas-based investors, including Dallas businessman Doug Deason. Abbott credits Deason with the company’s steady focus on strategy.

“After running companies that possess varying levels of leadership and judgment exercised at the board and ownership level, I know first-hand that these qualities can make or break a business, and Great American Media’s success starts with Doug in his role as Chairman of the Board,” says Abbott.

Deason, who most recently demonstrated political acumen by leading an initiative to get Texans to set aside $1 billion to expand Texas state parks and co-chaired the expansion of Dallas’ Centennial Parks.

“Without Doug’s unwavering support, vision, and courage, Great American Media would lack the ability to stand firmly behind the values conveyed in our faith and family content,” says Abbott, “and in fact, it’s quite likely the business would never have gotten off the ground.”

Deason credits Abbott, who he points out is unique among broadcasting executives, who more typically are finance types or lawyers and rarely schooled in stories, let alone moral tales. Abbott is an English and Literature graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, a foundation he puts to good use by reading every script and participating in creative development with his producers and stars.

GAM’s CEO is deeply respected in the industry and serves on the boards of the Parents Television & Media Council and the International Radio & Television Society Foundation. He was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Previously, Abbott served for two decades as a senior executive and then CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, the parent company of Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, Hallmark Drama, and Hallmark Movies Now. 

“We had tremendous success with creating a destination that was family-friendly and themed around the holidays,” explains Abbott. He is credited with creating the Christmas television genre, expanding the network’s romantic comedies, and launching its mysteries channel.

After 20 years, Abbott left Hallmark and looked to Texas to build a new network: Great American Family.

“We’re proud to say we celebrate faith, family, and country,” explains Abbott, “and we have an investor group where we all believe in the mission of family-friendly and faith-based content.”

Equipped with funding and a vision, Abbott acquired Fort Worth’s independently owned equestrian and western channel Ride TV and a music video channel called Great American Country from Discovery. This gave his fledgling dream two traditional cable television linear channels. As the company sorted through its inherited programs and shows, Great American Media was quickly rebranded.

“Now we had something to work with, and we went to work,” he explained.

The entertainment world suddenly noticed when the new GAM network acquired Michael Landon Jr.’s When Calls the Heart spin-off, When Hope Calls,” and began hiring the most well-known talent in the genre to appear in its own slate of made-for-TV movies. 

GAM also quickly established Great American Christmas premieres and seasonal rotation around Christmas, including 12 original movies in its first year. Now, they’re producing more than 20 original Christmas movies per year.

Dream Streaming

While building a traditional cable offering, Abbott heard from Sony Pictures Entertainment, one of the world’s largest entertainment conglomerates. They owned Pure Flix, a niche faith-based streaming video-on-demand service with a loyal fan base.

“Pure Flix had been sort of under the radar,” explained Abbott. Sony had only recently acquired the streaming service and began looking for a means of growing it. Sony executives saw the synergies between Abbott’s startup, the Great American Family channel, and their streamer and proposed a merger.

The merger enhanced both platforms’ content library and created synergies between cable and streaming services, meeting customer expectations for a fulfilling, uplifting, and inspiring entertainment experience. Since the merger, SVOD subscriptions have increased, and the customer experience has been enhanced through several platform upgrades, making the streaming service intuitive and user-friendly.

“Our brands and diversified content distribution capabilities have helped us reach substantially larger and broader audiences on each platform, creating a family- and faith-friendly streaming service unlike any other,” he added. “Our business strategy is becoming more and more clear to the industry.”

And they’re noticing. Great American Media ncluded 2023 as the fastest-growing channel on cable television, and its ad sales were up 25 percent. Under Abbott’s watchful eye, the economy balances with creative excellence, allowing the GAM channels to increasingly share the same programming vision, creating the brand synergies critical to growth. 

Great American Media’s programming and development team steers all original scripts from concept through production with an eye toward brand integrity. Abbott and the leadership team ensure every frame it controls is on brand as promised.

Great American Media has made headlines for the stars it has drawn in its first few years, including Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKellar, Trevor Donovan, Jill Wagner, Jen Lilley, Cameron Mathison, and Jen Lilley.

In February, Great American Media announced it signed Emmy Award–winning host and actor Mario Lopez to a multi-picture, multi-year deal to star in content across the company’s vast media portfolio. Lopez will be a major part of Great American Christmas 2024. His first film in the partnership will include a holiday film starring alongside his wife and Broadway star Courtney Lopez. Lopez will continue hosting NBC’s Access Hollywood and Access Daily.

Abbott cites the dedicated Fort Worth team and the talent across Texas as a critical aspect of GAM’s success, noting that programmers and production crews work around the clock and maintain a high commitment to the brand and its viewers.

As conglomerates continue to obliterate brands, Abbott is on a mission to maintain his company’s commitment to bringing high-quality family content with a faith focus to a new heyday. 

“We are not replicating the past; we are creating a new bright future, diverse in genre and format, but all wrapped in high-quality family programming that features romantic comedies, Christmas, drama, faith-inspired lifestyles, and even drama series,” says Abbott. Mysteries are now a cornerstone of the broad programming, with Great American Mysteries’ inaugural launch, The Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Winemaker, starring Cameron Bure, premiering on July 25.

 “We’re about faith, family, and country,” said Abbott, “and those values can be reflected in uplifting and inspiring ways across all genres, including mysteries.”

[kudosmyhero]

Transformers Spotlight: Orion Pax: Omega's Conundrum

Read Date: March 21, 2022 Cover Date: December 2012 ● Writer: James Roberts ● Penciler: Steve Kurth ● Inker: Juan Castro ● Colorist: Jesus Aburtov ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: John Barber ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● it's nice to see him before he was Optimus Prime, before he got so serious ● ha! I love Rung's brochures to help autobots with change: "Coping with Change: From Repaints to Redesign" and "Old Spark, New Body: After the Transplant." I wonder if they have to keep a similar size… ope, Zeta just answered my question by mentioning that Pax is bigger in the upgrade ● "Nightbeat" is an excellent name ● the Decepticons are holding Ratchet prisoner somewhere ● oo, I wonder who their Decepticon prisoner is that they're swapping for Ratchet. Starscream? that's my guess. ● so Omega's Conundrum is the autobot equivalent of Schrodinger's Cat… ish? ● not Starscream ● yeah Pax, I wouldn’t takr transformation advice from a pair who burned out their cogs so bad that they no longer have alt modes ● ah, Chekhov’s Instantaneous Conversion…

● that ended rather abruptly ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Four million years ago and ten thousand miles above Cybertron's surface, Orion Pax is bound to a shuttle on a crash-course with Iacon, with no doubt in his mind that he should have gone with Plan B…

Some time earlier, at Autobot headquarters, Wheeljack, Kaput, and Rung oversee the mechanical, medical, and psychological aspects of Orion Pax's hasty refit into a new, tougher body in preparation for a dangerous mission he is about to embark on. Although a little disappointed to have lost his "lucky faceplate", Pax is happy with the new form, and eager to carry out the duty assigned to him by Zeta Prime: escorting a Decepticon prisoner to a rendezvous point within the treacherous Rust Spot, there to exchange him for the captured Ratchet. Pax is joined on his mission by hostage negotiator Nightbeat, who provides a detailed briefing of the dangers of the Rust Spot, and the venerable Alpha Trion, leading expert in Cybertronian topography. As they prepare to leave, Nightbeat quickly loses patience with the elderly Transformer's pearls of wisdom, as he muses on the foundling Autobot faction's adoption of a longstanding cultural emblem called the "First Face" as their insignia, and applies the old logical paradox called "Omega's Conundrum" to the locked trailer containing the prisoner for transport: how can they be sure there's anything in there if they don't open it?

113 kliks into their journey through the Rust Spot, Pax inquires how Alpha Trion knows so much about it, and the old sage reveals that he explored it, and the rest of the planet, with the fabled Metroplex in ages past. The trio are attacked mid-sentence by local monstrosities known as Slicers, but the gung-ho Pax charges into action and they soon have the creatures in retreat (though Pax takes one of their blades to the face and blames the lack of his faceplate for the injury). The trailer is sprung open in the fight, but the prisoner doesn't get far… or rather, prisoners. The captives turn out to be a pair of spark-bonded Decepticon twins named Rack and Ruin who were responsible for a bombing at the G'th Semane spaceport. Puzzled at Megatron's willingness to turn over an important figure like Ratchet in exchange for these two grunts, Pax talks with the pair, who prove even more harmless than expected when they reveal they can't even transform, having pushed their transformation cogs too far practising the high-speed process of "instantaneous conversion". Pax talks about the Decepticon philosophy with them, and they admit to fear that Megatron will kill them. Moments later, a trio of Seekers led by Thundercracker arrive to escort Prime's team to the location for the exchange.

Presently, the group arrives at the Decepticons' bolthole, where Bludgeon welcomes them. With the unarmed Autobots surrounded, the Decepticons seize Alpha Trion: capturing him has been their true objective all along, so that he may lead them to Metroplex, whose dimension-transcending abilities will be used to create a space bridge. Allowed to go free by Bludgeon on Megatron's order, Orion poses Omega's Conundrum to the skeletal Decepticon with a wry twist: sometimes, a box can be both empty and full, as he demonstrates by triggering the release of a cache of concealed weaponry from within his trailer. A firefight erupts, during which Rack and Ruin offer to lead the Autobots to safety; Pax covers their escape, but is captured himself and promptly tied to a shuttle by Bludgeon with intent to be fired at the nearest population centre by Bludgeon for no reason other than sheer theatricality. Thundercracker is angry at the killing of civilians, but Bludgeon brushes off his concerns, patiently listens to Pax's stalling tactics as the Autobot foresees a future for him as a figure of failure, then shoots him into the sky. "Fortunately", Pax deduces that the shuttle is going to crash clear of any cities… until it collides with another passing craft and is deflected onto a trajectory that points it straight at Iacon. Remembering Rack and Ruin's advice, Pax shuts down his transformation cog safeties and tries instantaneous conversion, snapping his bonds with the speed of his transformation. Pax takes control of the shuttle and crash-lands it clear of the city, his new body taking the experience in stride, leaving him battered but still intact. It's a good body, Pax thinks, as he sits among the wreckage—it's just missing one thing. Scooping up a piece of metal from the debris, he silently fixes it over his face in emulation of his old faceplate.

(https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Omega%27s_Conundrum)

Fan Art: Rack 'n' Ruin by WheelJack-S70

[kryptonitecore]

Re-Read: Spotlight: Thundercracker

After three books from Ramondelli, I get to see colours again! Jokes aside, I though the art is alright and the narration is nice and fluent. The plot follows on from Autocracy, but takes a big jump forwards to a period of the war where space exploration and hunting for resources have become far more vital  - and Metroplex is one of those ‘resources’. Bludgeon has been sent out with a team mostly composed of fliers, but only one seeker - Thundercracker.

He proceeds to get disrespected in the workplace by Blitzwing, of all people. This was an interesting moment, though, in that it showed how potentially unstable the Decepticon hierarchy is, plus Blitzwing’s comments are interesting: ‘At least act like you’re a seeker, Thundercracker’. The intense hang-up around being a seeker is notable as it’s shown to not just be a Blitzwing thing, it extends to TC himself, too. He almost exclusively defines himself as a seeker, referring not only to being a flier and a Decepticon or a specific body type, but to a social role. I like the way the label is used, because it really adds to the sense of Thundercracker’s feelings of emptiness, but hopefully later books will help fill in the extra details about Seekers and what is expected of them.

This books leaves me with a couple of questions, but for the most part I thought it worked to give TC a sense of isolation and figurative claustrophobia, stuck in this small group with rigid expectations and a role he’s not really willing to fulfil. The Autobots and Decepticons squabbling over killing organics is a storyline that… is not exactly unusual in these spotlights and is not that exciting, but I quite liked this take on it and the issue was effective for exploring Thundercracker's character, which is what really counts!

[risingxsparks]

Five kliks felt like an eternity. But Windblade wouldn't cheat– she wouldn't start looking for him until her inner timer hit the five kliks mark.

Neo-Iacon wasn't that different from Metroplex City. Another city that needed some love and a lot of repairs, full of mechs that just wanted to live their lives. There had been a titan here, once, but they were long gone— Windblade's mind wandered to the night sky ahead of her, taking in the sight of the stars, wondering where the titan might have gone off to once their mission here was fulfilled.

Five kliks.

Windblade turned on her axis and was left facing the clouds, which she flew towards at full speed up until she reached them. Not wanting to disturb their playground that was already intent on escaping them and didn't need her adding more wind to the equation. Her engines hummed softly as she searched, optics narrowed as she tried to rush her vision into once again adjusting to the quite obstructed view.

Predictably, the first thing Windblade did was look for him in the dense clusters. Finding nothing. Inside her helm, she went through the list of things that she had to do once she returned to Metroplex City. Not because she would rather be thinking about work, but because it kept her systems from picking up on his own. The downside of being a Cityspeaker, at least when you were trying NOT to cheat at a game of hide and seek, was the ability to sense nearby processors. But her bucket list of chores was working to keep anything else from taking the spotlight.

She wasn't keeping track of time. She should have been. But Windblade was simply too focused on the fun of it all to remember that there was a challenge to this whole game— one SHE had set. Then again, it had mostly been an excuse to convince Starscream.

Windblade stumbled upon the curled up mech nearly by accident, spotting him a few feet below her as she was moving from one thick cluster to the next.

As soundlessly as she could, she descended towards him. Once she was close enough, Windblade reached out, slim fingers coming into contact with the top of his helm, caressing down to his forehead as she vented out a mirthful chuckle.

"Found you~" she practically purred.

" I'm sure you do. I'm just re-stating the point. " Windblade had a delay on her starting when diving into the clouds, so Starscream wasn't sure if she saw where he waited. Minor details really; who was keeping the score?

Chasing the fluffy formation, he felt the wash of cold pinch him at the bolts, seeding around the heads and crystalizing. The Seeker slowed his engines from their screech until they were no more a low hum along with the dimming of his golden biolights. It was easier to transition back to root-form, absent of his glamorous glow.

The moon casts a curtain of pale light over the very top surface of his hiding spot, showering down visibility through the night time darkness. It allowed the major chunks to completely shadow over into tight wads of coverage, huddled together with strings of cirrus clouds webbing out from it.

Starscream thought it would be obvious to cluster into the middle— in the most dense part of it all. He spans out his viewspace towards the edges where other equally thick clusters scattered throughout the sky. All of them felt too obvious.

He was over-thinking such a mindless game.

Sputtering his jets, he hovered along in a comfortable middle between all self-identified prominent parts, to smaller, tightly wound cumulus clouds. He nestled in helm first, then gathered the rest of himself up into a small ball; knees to front-plate, chin tucked in, wings flanking forward to box in his sides.

The position felt so infantile that his memory receded back towards his fledgling vorns: a fading chorus of other fliers giggling with him, the soft cradling warmth of midday sunlight on his still-soft plating. He remembers running around in the greenery towards an old alloy Willow, ducking away at the trunk, pretending to hide away from his friends. But, he never truly wanted to be hidden. His wings always poked from the width, twitching at the tips, practically begging for them to find him. For him to pretend to be upset, stomp it off that they were cheating, only to repeat this again.

Somewhere within the dull, scored dredge of his chassis, he felt the smattering embers of gaiety rising within. ' No, this won't do ' he thinks, yet he remains, caught up in the jollity of this activity and indulging in Windblade, tucked away in the wisps of condensation.

He waited in silence. Radio cut off from their commline, lights dimmed and nearly offline.

[bugdotpng]

inspired by this delightful post, i thought i'd make a little jokey newsletter. perhaps i'll keep this up. perhaps i won't. but i had fun writing this regardless lol. transcript under the cut!

Bug's Bitchin Newsletter

A bi-weekly newsletter detailing a local bug’s riveting highlights. Released every other Monday, interesting activities permitting.

Vol. 01 • Issue 01 -------- June 9, 2025

Bug Let Loose on Nature Trail, Doesn’t Get Lost

In a shocking turn of events on Saturday, Anonymous Bug, 30, took to a local nature trail to let off some steam and somehow managed to not get lost. “I’m as shocked as everyone else,” stated Bug. “I think the only reason I didn’t get lost was because my best friend was with me, and even then, I have a remarkable, unearned confidence that often leads me and others down the wrong path. That’s not a metaphor. I’m being literal.” In previous nature trail endeavors, Bug found themself disoriented and unable to find their way back, turning what they intended to be a mile-long hike into nearly four miles. They didn’t even take water with them. “I’m not smart,” admitted Bug. Now that they know the the correct path to take, Bug is looking forward to future nature hikes where they can take pictures of local flora without fear of getting lost and dying from heat stroke.

Local Bug Rediscovers Concept of Eggs, Makes Some For The Week

Anonymous Bug, a 30-year-old resident of a satellite city outside of the DFW metroplex, had their world rocked when their mother reminded them of the existence of eggs. “I’ve always loved eggs,” said Bug, “So much, in fact, that my personality centered around eggs for quite a while. I don’t know how I forgot about them.” While placing their grocery order for curbside pickup Sunday morning, Bug came across a grocery item called “Hill Country Fare Grade A Large White Eggs, 12 ct” and remembered their conversation with their mother. They promptly added it to their cart. “I love eggs because you can make them so many different ways. They’re a great breakfast food.” And that’s exactly what Bug intended to use them for. Once they picked up their grocery order, they went home and made medium-boiled eggs on their stove. “I cooked all twelve at once, and I definitely could have eaten them all in one sitting, but that wasn’t why I did that. I made them so I can have them for breakfast throughout the week! Has anybody heard of this?”

New Hobby Added to Local Bug’s Roster

After coming across an amusing and endearing post on the failing microblogging platform tumblr.com, Anonymous Bug, 30, decided to try something new and write a personal newsletter. “Sorry, this one’s a little meta,” Bug apologized. Sometimes, the local ADHD hobby-collector feels the urge the write, but is generally uninspired. “I have plenty of writing projects I’ve started and have yet to finish. I have to wait until a near-manic wave of energy hits me, then I stay up writing until 3am. Otherwise, I stare at the same paragraph for hours. What better source of inspiration than talking about myself?” The yapping-prone microblogger is often plagued by a compulsion to declare every mundane thought that passes through their thick skull. “I’ve been on tumblr since I was 16, but I was publicly sharing my internal thoughts well before then. It’s called having no impulse control.” Bug remarked that a bi-weekly faux newsletter was a good way to compile and display their mundane thoughts, while also finding ways to appreciate the simple, day-to-day happenings. “I can be a bit of a curmudgeon, so it’s a nice change of pace to spend time appreciating the mundane.”

Featured Photo Spotlight

[ image description: a low-res, low-quality black and white image of a mushroom ]

“yippee i found a Mushed Room :^)” taken by Anonymous Bug on their Canon EOS 6d during their nature walk

[ccleaningdallastx]

Corporate Building Services - Kitchen Deep Cleaning in Dallas TX

Emerging Trends in Commercial Cleaning and Disinfection Services for Senior Care Facilities

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the senior adult community has been particularly severe, emphasizing the crucial importance of commercial cleaning and disinfection services for senior living facilities. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex.

The United States currently houses an estimated population of 56.4 million senior adults, with projections soaring to 74.6 million by the year 2030 as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age. This demographic shift has led to the rapid expansion of senior-focused communities, ranging from independent living to assisted living and full-spectrum communities offering a comprehensive range of care options, all within a single facility. The onset of the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has thrust the cleaning and disinfection of these facilities into the spotlight, given the vulnerability of this population.

One innovative tool in the arsenal of janitorial cleaning and disinfection services is the adoption of electrostatic sprayers. These devices have gained popularity for their ability to efficiently dispense disinfectants. An electrostatic spray imparts an electrical charge to the disinfectant, allowing it to wrap around and evenly coat various surfaces. As the chemical exits the sprayer, it becomes positively charged, enabling droplets to be drawn toward negatively charged surfaces, effectively covering visible areas as well as the undersides and backsides. Surfaces that are already coated will repel the spray, making this method highly efficient and cost-effective.

A cutting-edge trend in the commercial sanitation and decontamination services market is the use of long-lasting coatings designed to continuously combat bacteria, mold, and viruses. These coatings are applied using electrostatic sprayers. Unlike short-term solutions, these surface coatings can deactivate viruses and bacteria within two hours of application and continue to provide protection for up to seven days or potentially even longer.

Corporate Building Services, a leader in the field, stands at the forefront of knowledge and experience in commercial disinfection and cleaning services, especially during these challenging times. Serving the markets of Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we work closely with our clients to uphold the highest standards of quality cleaning, ensuring the safety and well-being of residents in senior care facilities.

[liaswritesrobots]

Sixshot is just one of the most beautiful bots I've ever seen