#2 hours before the series 3 premiere back in 2014

[ao3commentoftheday]

This blog has enough followers now that if I reblog someone, there is potential that it could end up ruining their notes for days. I'm curious:

[yeonchi]

Sea Princesses Australian Airdates

Last year, for the "15th anniversary" of Sea Princesses (according to Amazon), I did a post about the premiere dates of the series and stated that the actual anniversary was on 8 September and not 31 May. Although I didn't bother to pinpoint the actual airdates back then, I just felt like doing it a few days ago, so I spent about 3 hours downloading the advance guides from TV Tonight and pinpointing what dates each episode were first broadcast on Channel Seven and ABC. The list is hosted in my cloud drive folder and I'm going to break my research down in this post.

Seven Network

Season 1: 8 September 2007 - 14 June 2008

First block (Episodes 1-24): 8 September - 27 October 2007

Christmas block (Episodes 25-36): 24 December 2007 - 1 January 2008 (but could extend to 13 January)

Second block (Episodes 29-36 repeat, Episodes 37-52 first run): 29 March - 14 June 2008

Season 2: 12 September 2009 - 11 December 2010

First block (Episodes 1-24): 12 September - 5 December 2009

New Year block (episodes 25-28): 2 January 2010

Second block (episodes 29-52): 14 August 2010 - 11 December 2010

ABC

Season 1: 12 August - 22 October 2009 (ABC1)

Season 2: 9 December 2013 - 19 February 2014 (ABC3) (breaks on 24/25 December 2013 and 14 February 2014)

Commentary - Seven Network

As I've stated before, each episode is produced individually before Seven paired them for broadcast in a half hour block with ads, so there would normally be two episodes in one airing. Throughout September 2007 and then again in December 2009 and January 2010, two blocks would air back-to-back so you got four episodes in an hour. Episodes were usually broadcast on Saturdays at either 10:30 AM or 11:00 AM, though episodes in the Christmas block would air from 9:00 AM.

The episodes of each season are split up into two (main) blocks of 24 episodes airing over 12 blocks. Given what I said about the series (the first season, anyway) still being in production when it first aired, this is understandable. Even so, this only accounts for 48 episodes, leaving four more episodes to make 52. As such, Seven aired the remaining middle episodes during the Christmas/New Year period after having the first run from September onwards.

Because some of the advance guides from 2007 and 2008 were unavailable due to them being hosted on MediaFire rather than on the TV Tonight site itself, I'm unable to confirm things like what was broadcast in November and December 2007 or when episodes 33 to 36 of Season 1 first aired. Since the first few airings in April 2008 were repeats and there was no indication of any further airings from 13 January until then, my estimate is that they aired on New Year's Eve 2007 and New Year's Day 2008, though as I said, they could have aired at any point up to 13 January.

Season 2's airings were easier to glean through. The first block had a two-week break for horseracing events, but when we get to the second block, things get a bit strange. The schedule I found for 21 August 2010, which should have been the original airing for episodes 31 and 32 of Season 2, didn't have anything in it. This was because that day was the day of the 2010 Australian Federal Election, though what was aired instead was unknown because the TV networks usually don't begin airing election coverage until after 6 PM when the polls have closed and the counting is in progress. Those episodes would instead be aired on 20 November 2010 as there was nothing in the entry for that day to note that it was a rerun. Luckily there wasn't anything in those two episodes that contradicted anything in previous episodes (plot-wise).

There was another break in the second block on 25 September 2010 for coverage of the AFL Grand Final, then there was a break in the first half of November for horseracing and V8 Supercars coverage. Following this, there was another break on 4 December 2010 because Seven wanted to broadcast some Disney cartoons before going to V8 Supercars coverage, but the final episodes of Season 2's second block were broadcast on 11 December 2010.

The series would continue airing reruns on Seven throughout 2011 and 2012 (with the last airing being on 29 December) before it was replayed on its digital multichannel, 7TWO, for some weeks at 7:00 AM. The last known airing on 7TWO, and the Seven Network as a whole, was on 17 January 2014.

Commentary - ABC

In contract to the Seven Network, the ABC broadcast episodes individually and without ad breaks due to them being a public broadcaster. The first season was broadcast at 7:00 AM on weekdays during the ABC Kids block, but the second broadcast was broadcast on ABC3 at 3:55 PM as all the kids programming had been moved out of ABC1 by 2011.

With this, I have to concede that the IMDb dates (and thus the original dates on the Sea Princesses Wiki before I changed them to the Amazon dates) were correct, but they were still incorrect because they weren't the actual first run dates of the series in Australia, only on the ABC. For the second season however, they were a little bit inaccurate.

IMDb has the first two episodes of Season 2 airing on 5 and 6 December 2013 before continuously airing until 14 February 2014, but the TV Tonight advance guides have airings and breaks on the listed dates above. With this, Beauty and The Last One are seemingly left out of the first airing. Whether those episodes would air again later I don't know and I don't care to know, but if the ABC aired episodes on Christmas Eve 2013 and Valentine's Day 2014, then they could have fit in the two episodes while also maintaining the block they had.

The last episode that Sea Princesses would broadcast was The Secret Admirer on 18 September 2016, the day before ABC3 rebranded itself to ABC Me. There were no further airings thereafter.

I've stated before that all programs are apparently subject to licence restrictions that specify how many times a program can be broadcast during a set period before new rights need to be acquired. From the above, we can see that Sea Princesses lasted for seven years on both the Seven Network and the ABC with an overlap in between, but even if the thought of recording the episodes never came to me at the time, it's good that we got ten years out of the series before eventually being preserved online, compared to Brazil and/or Latin America who only managed to get five years out of it.

I might put the extrapolated airdates on the wiki someday alongside the Amazon airdates, but I've got better things to do for the time being.

[kari-a-la-tari]

The (Unneccessary) Lore of the WG Spanish Dubs

Aka me being like this meme for an entire post

OKAY so a couple of weeks ago I had just learned that there existed a Spanish version of Wordgirl called “La Chica Supersabia” which is honestly super cool cause who doesn’t wanna hear their show in a different language?

But alas, this ended up taking me into a much deeper rabbit hole than I was expecting and it’s honestly pretty interesting so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert by any means nor do I intend to come off as one, this is simply an elaborate essay of what I’ve found through my informal research. I will also be translating anything in Spanish to the best of my extent, so I apologize if I mess up a bit with the wording since it’s not my native language.

So then *places a baseball cap with glued lightbulb on my head* let’s get started shall we?

Okay so first things first, there are a couple of select episodes of La Chica Supersabia (I’ll use LCS from here on) available on the internet. The most reliable source that I’ve found is on an old Facebook account here where a fan would upload LCS episodes based on when they aired. However, the only episodes available are a select few from season one.

Now this got my mind thinking “Hey, what if there’s more episodes?” So naturally, I started scoundering on Google (like the rat I am) to see if there was indeed more. And according to this one site there are only two seasons of LCS that were dubbed.

Translation: In Latin America, the first season premiered on Discovery Kids August 3, 2009, while the second season premiered on the same channel January 11, 2010, being the only two seasons issued. (Source)

However, later on I discovered that there was some mislead in that info because someone else found a Spanish episode that was from season 3, which doesn’t make sense because why would there be another season available when it clearly says that they technically shouldn’t exist? (Btw I tried finding it myself cause I did see that episode before but for some reason now I can’t find it dhdvvdbdvd 😭)

At first I thought maybe this is just some info added from a fan. After all, that statement was posted on a Spanish Wikipedia page so it is possible. So I began looking for other articles that talked about the Spanish dubs, but they all said the same thing. Well, until I came up with this site that said two very intriguing things:

Translation: The series actually had 3 seasons and is dubbed in Caracas, Venezuela. On May 2012 the series stopped running on daytime hours and was removed from the programming one year later, on June 17, 2012. It is unknowns if it will be aired by another channel or come back to the Discovery Kids programming, besides only the two first seasons were dubbed in Spanish. (Source)

I was a little bit confused here with the wording because it still didn’t confirm my original questions; if anything it left me with more. But then I read the next section below which got me completely off track.

Translation: The series received negative critics and complains on behalf of parents of families in Latin America that claimed that it wasn’t appropriate for the objective public of Discovery Kids. Without doubt in the U.S. the series had been well received and even won an Emmy award for Jack D. Ferraiola, writer and coproductor of the series together with the creator of the same show, Dorothea Gillim, who declared the following in respective to the series: (Source)

Now this one took me by a whirlwind: WTH why was this version hated by people in Latin America while it’s adored by everyone in the U.S.?? And I watched some episodes of LCS and while the dubbing is pretty funny (lol) there wasn’t anything inappropriate about it. For the most part they stuck on script with the original episode they had to dub.

So I dove even deeper...

And o h m y g o d there is an answer to this.

Translation: The program premiered in Latin America on August 2009 on the Discover Kids channel, aiming at pre schoolers. Although the channel gave a lot of promotion for the show during the final months of 2009 and the majority of 2010, at the end of the year they decided to change the programming to nighttime hours because the show received a lot of critics from parents saying that the show was too “violent” and that it encouraged kids to lie to their parents (due to the obvious fact that Becky had to give an excuse everytime she had to leave to turn into WordGirl and save the day), and they complained constantly on the message boards now deleted of the channel. The program was eliminated completely on June 2012, without doubt, PBS maintained the Spanish dubs so that they would use for SAP (Second Audio Program) in the U.S. in a different studio (Dubbing House in Mexico and later Lorry Post in Miami, FL), but the program no longer returned to Discovery Kids until August 2014. (Source)

And DUDE no y’all this was just a complete hilarious yet ridiculous slap to the face. I mean..what the, why was that the reasoning as to why it was hated so much? Just cause of some literal PG kid friendly cartoon violence? And what do parents mean when they say it teaches them to lie to their parents?? I mean with all due respect, who was Discovery Kids target audience they had in mind vs. what it actually was? Because if there actual audience was very very young kids, they okay sure I can understand the need to point fingers at them in that sense. But if it was for slightly older kids (8-10 years old), then I think that parents can probably show kids at that age the reasoning behind why Becky lied in the show (not to mention that most kids at that age can understand what’s going on for the most part).

“Now is this actually true?” some of you may ask, which is understandable since this is coming from a wiki page. Well, I think it’s about time I put another disclaimer: sadly for the most part, the majority of these sources that I’ve attached have broken links when it comes to their references. And the ones that aren’t broken don’t mention anything about the topics that have been discussed here. But there are some smaller sources I’ve found here (look at the last three comments) and here that do indeed confirm that the show was canceled due to the force of parents.

However, the current grey area I’m in still is on the Spanish dubbing listing. See, I originally thought that there were three different dubbings according to this one post below (M&M Studios, Dubbing House and Lorry Post). I even thought I cracked it since according to this chart below the rest of the seasons were under the Dubbing House studios! However, it turns out that one of the studios Lorry Post doesn’t actually exist. Like nothing related to dubbing came up at all when I searched it up.

Translation: Dubbing Studio 1 - M&M Studios (Seasons 1-2). Dubbing Studio 2 - Dubbing House (Seasons 3-8). Dubbing Studio 3 - Lorry Post (Season 8 - final episodes). (Source)

And then that’s when I took a harder look at this website and realized that it’s part of a Spanish Wiki page called “Propuestas de Fans de Doblaje” (Fan Proposals for Dubs). *insert facepalm emoji* And just...I honestly feel so dumb that I didn’t notice that detail when I did my initial research cause that would’ve saved me a lot of time 😤. Anywho so that explains the Lorry Post mystery, but then lies the other question: do the other dubs exist?

Well, this is where I draw the line. See, on that same wikipage, it mentions that LCS had completely different voice actors for each of the dubbings. The first dub (M&M) is from Venezuela and after looking at the VA’s, they can be traced back to LCS. But after looking at the VA’s for the second dub (Dubbing House) in Mexico, there is nothing related to them and LCS or WG. Not even on movie databases.

“Now are you gonna give up on this idea?” you may ask. And the answer is......

No.

Why? Well, it’s mainly because there is a compellingly set of evidence that proves that the first two dubs do actually exist, which is...

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THIS VIDEO, which shows that there were not one, but two variations of the LCS Spanish theme song. The first one is the Spanish version, and the second one that plays is the Venezuela version. And if you can remember, there were 2 dubbings of LCS; one located in Mexico (Dubbing House) and another In Venezuela (M&M Studios)!

Anywhosole, that is where I conclude this elaborate essay of mine. There are still a couple of loose strings here and there that I wanna check out myself but I’ve already tired myself out with this essay. I hoped you liked seeing me lose my mind speculate on the LCS episodes! This was honestly pretty fun ngl, maybe I’ll try doing this again in the future if something else interesting pops up! If you have anything you wanna add or maybe point out something that I may have forgotten, please by all means bring it up!

[aion-rsa]

Hulu New Releases: June 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Hulu’s list of new releases for June 2021 is highlighted by a host of useful library titles and one fascinating original film.

The original film in question is the one that lends its delightful photo of Pierce Brosnan delivering a baby to this post. False Positive stars and was written by Ilana Glazer (Broad City). It sounds like a really fun, creepy time with a synopsis that reads: “After months of trying and failing to get pregnant, Lucy (Glazer) and Adrian (Justin Theroux) finally find their dream fertility doctor in the illustrious Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). But after becoming pregnant with a healthy baby girl, Lucy begins to notice something sinister through Hindle’s gleaming charm, and she sets out to uncover the unsettling truth about him, and her own “birth story.” Cool!

Hulu’s other original offerings aren’t too inspiring this month. Only Love, Victor season 2 on June 11 moves the needle much. If you count “FX on Hulu” as Hulu then June 17 sees the arrival of Dave season 2. Dave was one of TV’s best surprises last year and it’s nice to have it back.

After those two, it’s just a bunch of library titles. Thankfully, those library titles are fairly intriguing. Arachnophobia, The Dark Knight, Kick-Ass, and Slumdog Millionaire all premiere on June 1. Willy’s Wonderland, featuring Nic Cage’s battle against animatronic puppets, arrives on June 13.

Here is everything else coming to Hulu this month.

Hulu New Releases – June 2021

June 1 CHANGING THE GAME: Documentary Premiere (Hulu Original) American Ninja Warrior: Season 13 Premiere (NBC) Housebroken: Series Premiere (FOX) Small Fortune: Complete Season 1 (NBC) 50/50 (2011) A Most Wanted Man (2014) A Perfect Day (2006) A Prayer For The Dying (1987) The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Across The Universe (2007) Alive (1993) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008) Anacondas: Trail Of Blood (2009) Arachnophobia (1990) Batman Begins (2005) The Big Chill (1983) The Birdcage (1997) Black And White (2000) The Blair Witch Project (1999) The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows (2000) Bloody Sunday (2002) Blue Streak (1999) The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009) Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star (2011) Charlotte’s Web (1973) The Company You Keep (2013) Conviction (2010) Convicts (1991) Convoy (1978) The Cookout (2004) The Dark Knight (2008) Desperate Measures (1998) Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) Dragonfly (2002) Driven (2001) El Dorado (1967) Face/Off (1997) The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) The Full Monty (1997) Fun in Acapulco (1963) Gamer (2009) Get Smart (2008) Hanging Up (2000) Hud (1963) The Hustler (1961) Jennifer 8 (1992) Jennifer’s Body (2009) Just Wright (2009) Kick-Ass (2010) Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2000) Last Chance Harvey (2008) The Last House on the Left (2009) Little Women (1994) The Long Goodbye (1973) The Love Letter (1999) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Once Upon A Crime… (1992) Ordinary People (1980) Places In The Heart (1984) Primary Colors (1998) Revolutionary Road (2008) Richie Rich (1994) Rules of Engagement (2000) Sabrina (1995) Savage State (2021) Saving Silverman (2001) Scorpio (1973) Silence (2016) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) The Soloist (2009) Some Girls (1988) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Soul Survivors (2001) Still Waiting (2009) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Switchback (1997) The Time Machine (2002) To Die For (1995) The Upside (2017) Vanity Fair (2004) Waiting… (2005) Walking Tall (1973) Wayne’s World 2 (1993) Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) Wilde (1998) Wings Of Courage (1995) Witless Protection (2008) Young Adult (2011)   June 2 America’s Got Talent: Season 16 Premiere (NBC)   June 3 MasterChef: Season 11 Premiere (FOX) A Glitch in the Matrix (2020) Night of the Kings (2021)   June 4 The New York Times Presents: New Episode (FX on Hulu) Beat Shazam: Season 4 Premiere (FOX)   June 5 Emergency Call: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) Rams (2021)   June 7       Celebrity Family Feud: Season 7 Premiere (ABC) The Chase: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) To Tell the Truth: Season 7 Premiere (ABC)   June 8       The Bachelorette: Season 17 Premiere (ABC) Legion Of Brothers (2017)   June 9       The Croods: A New Age (2020)   June 10     Trolls: TrollsTopia: Complete Season 3 (Hulu Original) Card Sharks: Season 3 Premiere (ABC) Trust (2021) Two of Us (2019)   June 11      Love, Victor: Season 2 Premiere (Hulu Original) Real Housewives of Potomac: Complete Season 5 (Bravo) Come True (2021)   June 13       Dragonheart (1996) Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000) Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’S Curse (2014) Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (2017) Not Fade Away (2012) Willy’s Wonderland (2021)   June 14  Rūrangi: Complete Season 1 (The Yellow Affair)

June 15       Accused: Guilty or Innocent?: Complete Season 1 (A&E) Alone: Complete Season 7 (A&E) Alone: The Beast: Complete Season 1 America Our Defining Hours: Complete Season 1 (A&E) The Celebrity Dating Game: Complete Season 1 (ABC) Dance Moms: Complete Season 8 (A&E) Duck Dynasty: Complete Season 3 (A&E) Forged in Fire: Complete Season 7 (A&E) Hoarders: Complete Season 11 (A&E) Married at First Sight: Complete Season 11 (A&E) Mountain Men: Complete Season 6 (A&E) Swamp People: Complete Season 11 (A&E) The UnXplained with William Shatner: Complete Season 1B (A&E) Born to Play (2020) Gone Girl (2014) Her Deadly Sugar Daddy Her Name Is Chef (2020) Michael Smerconish: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking (2020) Nasrin (2020) The Obituary of Tunde Johnson (2020) The Outside Story (2021) Secret Life of a Celebrity Surrogate (2020) (Lifetime)   June 17       DAVE: Season 2 Premiere (FX on Hulu)  Phobias (2021)   June 18       Holey Moley 3D in 2D: Season 3 Premiere (ABC) The Hustler: Season 2 Premiere (ABC) When Nature Calls: Series Premiere (ABC)   June 20 The Guilt Trip (2012)   June 21 Cutthroat Kitchen: Complete Seasons 2 & 3 (Food Network) Worst Cooks In America: Complete Season 4 (Food Network) Backyard Builds: Complete Seasons 1 – 4 (Corus) Big Bucket Food List: Complete Season 1 – 2 (Corus) Family Home Overhaul: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Farmhouse Facelift: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Home to Win: Complete Seasons 1 – 3 (Corus) Home to Win for the Holidays: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Jr. Chef Showdown: Complete Seasons 1 – 2 (Corus) Save My Reno: Complete Seasons 1 – 4 (Corus) Hot Market: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Wall of Chefs: Complete Season 1 (Corus) Hostiles (2017)   June 22 Monster Trucks (2017)   June 23 College Bowl: Series Premiere (NBC) Motherland: Fort Salem: Season 2 Premiere (Freeform)   June 24 An American Haunting (2006)   June 25 FALSE POSITIVE (2021) (Hulu Original) Making It: Season 3 Premiere (NBC)   June 26 The Choe Show: Series Premiere (FX)   June 27 Safer at Home (2021)   June 29 Bratz : The Movie (2007) Harvie & The Magic Museum (2021)   June 30 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) Jack Reacher (2012) The Sweet Life (2016)

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Leaving Hulu – June 2021

June 4  Intrigo: Dear Agnes (2019)   June 5 The Appearance (2018)   June 11 Intrigo: Samaria (2019) LA 92 (2020)   June 17 Identity (2003)   June 30 28 Days Later (2003) 50 First Dates (2004) A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) A Night at the Roxbury (1998) A Prayer For The Dying (1987) A Simple Plan (1998) A Storks Journey (2017) The Birdcage (1997) Blue Streak (1999) Brooklyn’s Finest (2010) Bug (2007) Bulworth (1998) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) Changeling (2008) Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’ (1983) Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009) Convicts (1991) Convoy (1978) The Core (2003) The Devil’s Double (2011) Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009) Die Hard (1988) Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) Face/Off (1997) The Foot Fist Way (2008) Frankie & Alice (2014) The Full Monty (1997) Garden State (2004) Get Smart (2008) Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) Guess Who (2005) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) I Am Legend (2007) Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) Junior (1994) Knowing (2009) Little Women (1994) Live Free Or Die Hard (2007) The Long Goodbye (1973) The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) Monster’s Ball (2001) Mystery Science Theatre (1996) Napoleon Dynamite (2004) New in Town (2009) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) The Ninth Gate (1999) Once Upon A Crime… (1992) Pandorum (2009) Paycheck (2003) The Polar Express (2004) The Preacher’s Wife (1996) The Princess Bride (1987) Ramona and Beezus (2009) Revolutionary Road (2008) Rio (2011) Salt (2010) The Sandlot (1993) Saving Silverman (2001) Scary Movie 4 (2006) Scorpio (1973) Sex And The City (2008) Sex And The City 2 (2010) Shirley Valentine (1989) Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) Some Girls (1988) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Soul Plane (2004) The Sum of All Fears (2002) Thirst (2009) Vantage Point (2008) Vertical Limit (2000) Walking Tall (1973) War (2007) The Wedding Planner (2001) Where the Heart Is (2000)

The post Hulu New Releases: June 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[unproduciblesmackdown]

hmm here’s me talking about su sort of lmao like i said i’m not here to be particularly scentamentle?? just say funney stories....and some opinions.....it’s really been a hot minute and i haven’t been making Long text posts about things so i can throw one out there even if it’s got no thesis statement

also like i said i just so happened to like, actually watch the first ep on actual tv when it actually premiered....all i super remember knowing about it beforehand was like “oh rebecca sugar getting her own series right on” and i was gonna check it out on that alone and then also i remember before it debuted there was an article about it in the wapo in the sort of “local”-ish section b/c it was like. hey this is based in uh yknow the dmv....delmarva area.....this whole Region.....and i (from nova and in nova at that time, and flipping thru the print wapo every day) was like haha. neat. also god damn it was 2013, hell of a year. i can tell you little about it b/c it was so crappy i just like did not bother much with things like “distinct memories” lmfao. great to have like, a weekly thing towards the end of that hot mess (november??? or smthing??) back when....god........it aired weekly.........anyways yeah i was pleasantly surprised from the start i don’t Get when people are like “can’t watch this in order :/ the first few eps don’t sell it well” like okay speak for yourself god dman....more on that later i’m sure lmfao. hot takes

my brother started watching it too just cuz he’s game for shit that way and i was keeping up with it. like i remember i thought cheeseburger backpack was extra fun and i think i showed him a rerun and i remember he thought it was funny lol the Raft Gag......and when i was watching tiger millionaire i kept For Real Laughing and he came over like what is going on.....and i think he was signed on from there........again pretty fun for it to be this weekly thing. also maybe i’m not here to be Sentamental but i was also like “oh no that Spoke to my feelings unexpected :(” during tiger millionaire when amethyst was all “you can’t let anyone make you feel like garbage” and “i only feel how i wanna feel” like guess who was in the early stages of “my self esteem is so crappy it’s starting to circle around into [trying to increase self esteem]”.........like i said hell of a time. though then that’d be 2014 by then i think?? still a hell of a time

started to get “i think i will draw the same character one million times” about it at some point in 2014 too lmfao......every instance of [me drawing the same shit one million times], which is the only way i ever draw anything, then like, benefits whatever i draw later cuz like. sure get some practice out of it. and even though like, it wasn’t quite as huge an Internet Thing as it was gonna get once i started to draw shit, it was already like, classic-me Kinda Niche to be like “hey gang who is going ham about the bored dumbass teens”....not so niche that there weren’t other people going “yeah i am” at any given time tho. and then we put our hands in the middle and go Yeah!! and jump up hsm style. it was also a great time for something Fun and (easier than marble hornets lol) to draw b/c. it simply was a good time for it.....struggling to draw shit back then even more than is like, usual. oh and also i forget but i had sort of Withdrawn from the mh fanbase b/c it got this whole influx of randos after fjsfdking the Video Game we all know the one and i was like. i am gonna.....sidle over here. nobody Likes to be in a fandom actually lmfao. and i mean even while su was getting to be A Whole Thing i was like. bro i am over here in the Donuts section and it is a little quieter and i use the tag sometimes but i’m all set, thanks. still the least Niche niche i’ve been in probably lmfao....see: the fact that probably still way most of my followers are here from su times even tho idk who’s even active still

also had a high time making some great Long Text Posts. i kind of always fail 2 grasp that even as much as my drawings that stuff leads to me actually getting to interact with people, b/c like, those text posts have me actually saying Words in them, which helps lmfao..........i think it’s like, these posts are probably Not That Fun for most people, but then for the people who Are like “oh sweet this is something that i actually want,” that’s obviously a helpful way to find a kindred spirit lmao.....like hey cool you already know i can’t shut up and am opinionated and obviously a lil much? fantastic let’s do this. plus idk it’s fun to Not Shut Up Actually. like, not the biggest deal. ppl can just Scroll Past. or not

speaking of “getting practice Not Shutting Up and Drawing Shit”.......hilarious when in late 2018 i find myself like. oh so you’re telling me this excellent character who is a self-sabotaging struggling-to-know-how-to-cope-with-shit-and-connect-with-others insecure af Teen is not appreciated / ignored / deemed Awful (and then ignored) by the majority of the fanbase?????? hahaha you don’t say....but No Problem. let me just talk about how this person has Complexity actually and is a lot more sympathetic than not and i hate all of you omg like do we have to do all of this ourselves lmfao........guess so, Fine

what am i talking about funny stories who is this funny to lmfao. okay no but okayyy what an experience when the island adventure preview came out and for like the next 4 days i did not experience depression lmao........i Jumped on the opportunity b/c it was like, early fall i wanna say??? i think sept?? 2014 and i was kinda mulling over going to gmx (which was this convention the Marble Hornets gang kept getting invited to & i’d been 2 twice b4 but missed the previous yr coz it was 2013 and i was way not thriving) and yeah jumped on the “depression / (as much) anxiety who???” superpower to Ask if it was cool if i went to a friend’s wedding in georgia for a weekend. there was no friend’s wedding in georgia. and then i went to gmx AND. ironically (not really im sure. idk what irony means and idc) gmx weekend ended up being the same weekend island adventure actually aired and when i left that morning (gmx being in nashville) my lil bro (getting up for school) was like GO GO and i actually made it in time to catch it in the hotel room but. they didn’t have the channel despite it being listed on the channel guide. i about flipped lmfao but i did see it later that weekend and flipped again. gmx was an a-okay time as well lmao that was the last time i made it

they may have never sold a licensed Lars S1 Green/Purple Snake Tee but look when i have this green racerback with a neat snake print & this necklace of purple quartz crystals and also when i was at gmx i bought this necklace with one (non purple, non actual crystals but plastic shaped like it / glossed) pendant In The Spirit Of It All and it gets compliments. anyways the point is. indirectly representing

speaking of crystals = lars i’d just like to reiterate that i’m always right. like sure i was like “look i don’t know how lars could have Crystal Magic in him but something is up with the fact he’s = pink magic flowers with crystals inside them Means Something.” i think it’s reasonable to Not have predicted he dies and gets revived w/ crystal magic that’s in him now. but that’s still a Win for realizing somethings up....tfw as early as like s2 times i’d be like “well the donuts gotta get involved in the center of adventure at Some point and also i Know it is important that steven is just lars’s rly annoying little brother and y/n do you think lars would die to protect him i think he would...” like. i didn’t wanna be That right :/

tfw me and my brother were watching rose’s scabbard while my mom was napping it out in the armchair and like silently Sharing A Look at the whole “she was beautiful” thing like. lol harold

i still don’t know how much of a Thing(tm) magfest is but as far as i can figure it it’s No Comic Con (like, thank god :| ) but still kind of a thing. anyways i learned of it cuz i saw there was gonna be a couple su panel thingies & i looked it up & we were less than an hour away and so it was like midnight but i ask my brother like hey wanna swing by this thing on this one friday. and he was like Sure. so i made it happen and he was 17 so we had to drag our dad to the bank to Notarize a form that he was allowed to be there accompanied by me. it was a big place and it also took us a while to find Registration or whatever and when we tried getting sandwiches later it cost like $7 each go figure. anyways but we were just there for the one Event & there was a room like filled with arcade games and a bunch of other consoles (also Retro though. like old computers n stuff) and they had Galaga, thank fucking god. we 2 playered that shit and wandered around and also 2 playered a game called toobin, which was funny. real gamers know. 

when we were in the (pretty long) Line to get into the Panel, i actually like. spotted a then-mutual who i (was pretty sure i) recognized from her occasional selfie lol and who i guess had travelled all the way from the west coast for the weekend. when we were actually Seated she happened to be a couple rows back and both of us on the end of the aisle and i asked my brother if he could read her nametag (to verify lol) and i bopped over to have the cringe and fail exchange of “hey do you have a Tumblr” and then i was like “haha i’m milo i’m ummmwine” and she got up to hug me and then i had to scamper back to my seat cuz shit was starting lol

like my life was not changed by this event but we had fun and. the Hilarious story is that it was also partially a Q&A and i had a Q and my brother encouraged me by again whispering “go go” as soon as the first syllable was spoken implying Line up For Questions.....i was in like, the last idk, haaalf dozen or so ppl who made it to the mic? and look i knew i was gonna be asking a niche question that like 3 other people of the hundreds in the room would care about but So What. deal with it gang, let’s have some Variety. but i was still nervous. and when i’m nervous, i a) Have A Script and b) get even chattier. and right after the person Right In Front Of Me got their answer, i guess it was noticed that it was getting down to the wire so they were like “haha okay lightning round :)” and i was like NO.......GOD..........lmfao like too late im sorry i Can’t make it lightning round. i was muy anxious.....just that, again, hundreds of people there, i have the floor, nobody’s gonna Like my quastion......and they didn’t know the answer (which i figured was v possible lol) so i was like oh no sklfjd hope this entire room doesn’t hate me. i mean of course i didn’t care if they did too much but, Nerves....also im valid, but were the like half dozen people who asked prior to me about shit that would CLEARLY be too spoilery to answer valid????? no lmfao. cmon. that’s what’s Really cringe

well here we ffw a bit b/c Mid To Late 2015 is certainly a time for me and it doesn’t really make for an interesting story so just to tldr it lmao like, got some beautiful moral support from someone as i was makin a Lifestyle Change lol and continued to get beautiful moral support from that same person and i continue to benefit from it....You know who you are!!!! tyvvm....and it occurred to me that the reason i am where i physically am is via someone i met thru su-posting.......which is true of the You Know who you are person too, which is why i brought it up lmao

uhh god not as many Stories after that lol.....def got to engage in “i’m ___ i’m gonna [draw the same character i always draw] so i won’t be so ___” during interesting times lol. love that for me

tbh the uh. Wanted arc was truly one of the best Serial Arcs, just dramatic & solid af and also it’s lars time and for a second i go “god well at least maybe now ppl will acknowledge lars is a gr8 character” and then a second later i go “Oh No they’ll only say he’s a good character *Now*” and that’s exactly what happened lmfao but well we still got as much lars fanart as we ever got outside that couple weeks aftermath... l o l . . . i had to wait One Zillion Years for my little brother to catch up to this b/c. he was watching via hulu i think where like, a full season would come out a good while after the finale. seriously i think it took him almost 2 years. im like dammit lmfao this is What Matters dfslk....fond memories when hulu was free / no login req’d / shit would be available like the day after airing

uhhhHHH crazy how this show muscled through the weird scheduling change where it was like “no weekly eps Only Erratic Hiatuses”......ppl were so foolishly Into the first “5 eps in a row” release and i was like “no i don’t like this” and then a year later i was like “you see. You See.” rip

i think we can even ffw to sutm at that point lol....im like im in this for lars okay lmfao kinda Shrugggg @ things by this point lol like finale shminale. where’s he at. and i really wasn’t paying a world of attention to like, prior-to-release lore n announcements so i was just plunged into this chaos of like sorry???? excuse me?? of all the people in the world sarah stiles?????? lfsdj like noooo don’t show me these tweets lmfao......truly it’s fine i’m being Hilarious but it’s also very real that like, when i see things like “showtime(tm)” or “SHO” or “billions content” i’m just doused with Dread b/c i hate this series lmao i swear to christ. but it’s really Fine lmfao like. i was kinda “eh :/” to “yea this is alright” about the rest of it but spinel was The Highlight lmfao and having $50 to go ham on her animation was great but really the voice acting Made It.....like the entire takeaways was uh the other friends sequence and fuckin uhh this part. fuck it up ms. stiles........hit it out of the park..........cain was the first funny bitch and spinel was the second. that thought just came to me and i will not elaborate. call that a revelation. oh and also it was a relief cuz i was like “i s2g if this Antagonist is like, aquamarine-style annoying af....i will die” but No. spinel is annoying af in another way which is her rights and i don’t want to die about it lmfao. she’s good.......i don’t even resent the “how come whenever some rando shows up ready to literally kill everyone for no good reason, all of you are ready to be like ‘wow an icon’ and we can’t have 10% of that energy for the teen who’s kinda bitchy b/c he’s annoyed by life and crap???” thing b/c i mean, she had her whole Arc all at once and also is good enough for it i think. the nadir was when the one rando shows up for like One episode like “i Don’t want to kill everyone :3 syke >:)” and for some reason people were like “omg iconic. call them on their ‘don’t kill everyone’ bullshit” like lol i hate you guys

well i like lars’s [last outfit we see him in] and i feel like it only backs up the bi agenda. another epic gamer moment had been when it became a Popular Hc that lars is trans b/c he is lmao. and everyone was all “why is everyone sayign this why would you want him to be trans he sucks” like get good grandma!!!!!!!! it’s too late. well that’s the end of my post. me in 2014 being like “wow way to have something to keep up with b/c now i have to outlive it to get all the dnads content i guess” and here i am. but it’s almost April 2020 so. haha 

hmm what’s a less ominous ending. oh shit another thing that was funny is i was like So about these Skull Plugs featured in this semi-official drawing of lars once and then horror club came out (fun b/c i like horror) and had the skull plugs for Real & they were glow in the dark. that was a big day for me even seeing the promos lmfao. except then i guess it was foreshadowing, so again i end this with Death. don’t we all

wait no lsfdjs What tf was matthew moy talking about “i like your hair.” dude dropping an i-guess cut line on us lmfao. alright alright im done

[caatws]

how to understand tv ratings (so you’ll be prepared for cancellation/renewal announcements)

as most of you know, i had an internship last semester where one of my duties for the company was tracking and analyzing tv ratings. while i’m no expert on this yet, i worked with way more knowledgeable ppl than me on this and learned a couple things about ratings that i definitely didn’t know before, so i thought i’d share some of it now that b99 is back on and we def don’t want a repeat of last year’s debacle.

(also, i’ll be tracking and analyzing b99′s ratings over on @b99bythenumbers this season, so if you’re at all interested in any of this stuff pls check it out! that blog is still under construction and stuff but as this season gets the ball rolling, that blog will come to life heheh)

ok, so i’m gonna break this up into sections to keep it as organized/straightforward as possible, so we gonna cover:

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work? (aka what do numbers like 1.2/5 mean)

b99′s ratings & viewership

nbc’s ratings & viewership

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99) (esp if you can’t access american cable)

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work?

so nielsen media research is a company that’s been measuring data for entertainment for just over 70 years now. tho they got a start in radio, they’re arguably most known in the modern day for their measurement of american television programming, as the data they gather from these measurements (the infamous “nielsen ratings”) strongly influence broadcast networks (abc, nbc, cbs, fox, & the cw) and channels in their decisions to renew or cancel certain programs.

the way nielsen measures this data is through selecting various households with tv’s across the u.s. to monitor what they watch, who’s watching, how often they watch, etc. so it’s not something everyone in the u.s. gets to do, like they might just randomly hit you up and ask if they can use your data. if you say yes, they have to install a bunch of stuff to monitor all tv’s in your household. (if you find this at all kinda interesting, i’d recommend reading this interview with a nielsen family bc it’s kinda wild)

so, now onto the numbers. i’ll use b99′s initial ratings for 6x01 last night as an example

the rating is the 1.2/5 number. the first number, 1.2, means that 1.2% of the 119.6 million households nielsen estimates to have television watched b99 (1.2% of households, not individual people). the second number, 5, is referred to as the “share”, and means that 5% of households watching tv at that time watched b99.

these numbers are “live + same day”, meaning they only include households that actually watched b99 live as it was on tv last night and people who watched it from their DVR the day it was aired live. (for example, i got home after the ep started last night but had set it to record, so i watched my recording as the ep was ending so if i was in a nielsen family, me watching b99 on my DVR the same night it aired would still count for their measurement of an L+SD rating.)

additionally, tho nielsen records a lot of data about different demographics and people of what age are watching what shows, the standard demographic used for these ratings is people aged 18-49, all genders.

the 3.56 is the total viewership in millions (aka the actual individual viewers).

my source for ratings: tv by the numbers (specifically above, their initial thursday 1/10 ratings)

b99′s ratings & viewership

back on fox, b99 had a pretty solid run for the first two or three seasons, until the ratings started taking a pretty steep nosedive in recent years that (unfortunately) kinda predicted and ultimately led to their cancellation. it’s important to look back on their past ratings as a show, because stability & improvement are major factors at play when networks are deciding to renew or cancel shows.

season 1 (2013-2014) ratings

b99 had a rly solid series premiere, tho it pretty quickly couldn’t retain its rating, as the difference between 1x01 and 1x02′s ratings is pretty major. it got its big 6.89 rating (!!!) in february 2014 bc it aired after the super bowl. this season ended with way less viewers than it started out with, which isn’t Great.

season 2 (2014-2015) ratings

overall, pretty similar numbers to s1, especially in the total season average. it had a few ratings above 2.0 which is Good, but those numbers didn’t hold steady. again, the season ended with way less viewers than it began.

season 3 (2015-2016) ratings

b99 dipped under 1.0 for a large portion of this season. that’s Big Yikes. cancellation becomes Very Real Possibility.

season 4 (2016-2017) ratings

this season’s average was less than 1.0.....cancellation is Very, Very Real Possibility.

season 5 (2017-2018) ratings

nothing above 1.0 for an entire season....this show is Doomed, and i honestly can’t blame fox for canceling it from a numbers and business standpoint, considering this was just a continuation of the trend established in s4 with the consistently lower ratings. it’s....kind of totally rational that fox did what they did, especially when you see how b99 compared (in ratings) to other fox shows in the 2017-2018 season:

as you can see fox just kinda took like the bottom half of its shows by rating and cancelled all of them...anything averaging under a 1.0 on fox just isn’t safe!!!

comparing to other shows (esp other sitcoms) on its network is another big factor in renewing/cancelling. tho there aren’t any other sitcoms suuuper similar to b99 on fox, enough comedies did better that b99 got the axe. which means we should probably look at

nbc’s ratings & viewership

and here’s their 2017-2018 season (in which they had the most viewers out of all the broadcast networks for the first time since like 2001 actually!!):

already, b99 is off to a good start, its 1.2 initial rating pretty high for nbc, but what’ll rly matter is if they can hold this rating for the rest of season 6. like i said, stability and improvement are everything in tv world! if b99 can continue like this for the rest of this season, i think we’ll be in pretty good shape.

and, honestly, nbc rly is a good network fit for b99, with its history of popular and acclaimed sitcoms (seinfeld, friends, will & grace, etc.) and its long-running and popular crime procedurals (aka any law & order series ever), and b99 is basically a combination of the two.

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99)

while ratings are of the utmost importance to networks and channels, it’s not the sole deciding factor.

another thing networks and channels look at, as we live in the digital age, is BUZZ. this basically is industry-speak for how much people are talking about and movies! the most visible example of this is getting a show trending on social media when it airs.

a good example of a show like this is the good place. tgp hasn’t gotten stellar ratings this season, but has already been renewed...because a lot of people talk about it on social media! it’s usually trending on twitter when a new episode airs, and its objectively high quality writing has won over a lot of industry folks’ hearts, so it gets a lot of buzz in hollywood as well (hint hint similar to how the “guardians of the nine-nine” contributed to the fight to save b99 last year).

so, here are some tips on how to maximize b99′s ratings & overall potential for renewal:

WATCH. IT. LIVE. or DVR it and watch it ASAP, as final ratings come out within 24 hours after new episodes air. obvi this only applies to amercans with access to cable/tv but clearly these are the people not showing up for b99 since the ratings were so low while the fandom was so big and loud

forgot to record it but still live in the u.s.? watch it on your cable provider’s “on demand” services (if they offer it), hulu, or nbc.com as soon as the new episode comes out the next day!!! while these numbers won’t be reflected in the actual ratings, it’ll still tell the network you care.

are you a young adult who attends college away from home aka your family’s cable? look into your family’s cable provider’s online services! my family’s cable allows me to access our DVR away from home and even watch some things on demand, which has been a lifesaver while i’ve been away at college the past couple years. if you can access your DVR remotely through your cable provider’s website, use it to record b99 and watch it ASAP!

TWEET ABOUT IT. tumblr is cool and valid and all, but let’s be real - everyone’s looking at twitter, because most industry professionals don’t know how the fuck to use tumblr. twitter is straightforward and straight to the point; they want to see it trending there. so pls tweet using #brooklyn99 when the episode is on live!!! you have 3 major chances to do this: 9 pm est (u.s. east coast), 9 pm mountain time (2 hours after east coast), and 9 pm pst (3 hours after east coast) every thursday night.

talk about it in real life! get friends to watch it! again, may not contribute to the actual ratings, but it’s still nice to get more and more people into the show to watch it in other ways and talk about it with other people they know.

i know a lot of these methods are mostly applicable to people in the u.s. and/or americans with cable, but it’s rly important that those of us who fall into those categories do our parts!! fellow americans, let’s yeet this wheat!!!! all b99 fans from all over the world, i believe in all of us!!!!!!

[howveryheather]

good time (the 2010s + me)

10 years of Heather... YESSSSSSS.

I mulled over various drafts of what you’re going to read today.  

There was a draft where I summed up everything, literally everything, that happened to me over the last 10 years. The more I read that draft, the more it felt increasingly like a diary entry that did not warrant publishing of any kind. 

I had a draft where I was only going to recap the good things that happened to me. That read like I had the world’s worst blinders on. 

I weebled, I wobbled, I tried to organize my thoughts using bullet points. None of it worked and all of it sounded like noise, even though I was technically going in order of the last 10 years. So, I’m just going to keep it simple and focus on the basics.

I went on two pivotal journeys in the last 10 years. The first is the start of my writing career and the second was repaying my student loans. Note that the latter half of that sentence is written in past tense. In 2019, after nine years in debt, I paid off all my loans in full! 

I want to talk about the loan journey first because it had an expiration date, even though I did used to think I was gonna die with those loans. Rather than sound like a broken record rehashing the story of how I paid everything off again, I want to share two aspects of paying off student debt that nobody talks about online. 

The first one is that once it happens, after your debt is paid in full, you’re not rich. You have a little more money every month, but you can’t go out and change your lifestyle radically. If anything, you have to remain in place a little bit longer and remain on a budget. There’s certainly irony in debt repayment. The debt is gone, but you are not exactly free yet. You have to recoup the losses. 

The other aspect of student loans is how quickly you forget about it once it’s paid off. And I mean all of it — the emotions and experience associated with loan statements and making monthly payments. I spent years lying in bed unable to sleep at night stressed out about my loans. I never think about it now. 

Paying off my debt alone was really difficult, but deep down I think I always knew that this was going to be my journey. My debt was not going to disappear, no matter how much I wished for a genie’s lamp or hoped a dead relative would throw me some bones in a will or I could magically find a spouse to marry who would assume the payments for me. I made a lot of lifestyle sacrifices to get out of debt. I prepared a few years in advance because I knew that what was ahead was going to be miserable. I remained disciplined, I treated my life with a Spartan mentality, and I crawled my way out under the 10-year deadline to freedom. Sometimes that’s what freedom looks like. It’s not a climb or a sprint to a finish line. It’s a crawl.

Onward to writing!

I was still in college at the start of 2010. Back then, I was an extremely green writer with few clips under my belt outside of an internship at the Ventura County Star and a column in The Echo (CLU’s newspaper). As a post graduate, every writing experience I have had has been a combination of good luck, timing, location, and the willingness to push myself and work hard.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to write in the entertainment space. I always loved reading the pop culture section of the USA Today and soaked up my subscriptions to Entertainment Weekly and Premiere Magazine like a sponge. I was determined to break into entertainment however I could, and I got in on the ground floor of BettyConfidential and HelloGiggles as a contributing writer in 2011.

The early 2010s was a short-lived timeline before most of the major media moguls began buying these sites out. I remember this time as one — and everyone who started during this time will say the exact same thing, trust me — where everyone really was each other’s friend in the media space. Content felt fresh. It was new. It was also really kind. There was a lot of room to share your story and experience and receive incredible, positive feedback from readers. 

BettyConfidential... What a wonderful group! Was there anything better than waking up at 5 AM the morning after the Golden Globes to email over my best-dressed picks? (Sometimes emailed over the night before, I must admit.) I wrote my heart out in that LA Correspondent gig, covering fashion and celebrity news. It gave me so many opportunities to lead the kind of life most people who move to California never get the chance to have. I had the good fortune to go to red carpet events and awards ceremonies and gifting suites and sit in on movie sets and chat with celebrities (often in more candid spaces than is the norm) that I would never have had otherwise. Betty gave me a much-needed glimpse behind the camera of celebrity and the etiquette for how to be a reporter in this space. My experience at HelloGiggles differed from Betty in that it was much more social media driven. That was definitely the site where you earned your following and found your people in the Twitter space. 

Collectively between Betty and HG, my favorite memories were...

1) The first time I went to New York City to cover Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. I went to as many shows as I possibly could in Lincoln Center, took photos with my iPhone, stayed up writing and writing with my photos at the hotel afterwards, and did it all over again the next day for 3-4 days. I also packed very poorly for February 2012 weather. A trench coat and flats in 20 degree weather with snow... but I still looked good!

2) I went to an event celebrating L’Oreal’s 40th anniversary of their “Because I’m Worth It” tagline (an early foreshadowing of my future in writing in advertising). I wrote a nice article about the event, shared the story, and went about my merry way into the rest of my workload. A few weeks later, I received a gift in the mail from their team: a huge gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue! There has never been a Cinderella moment in my life quite like the way I spent this gift card. I went to the Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills and bought a beautiful designer day dress that I wore everywhere (and still have in my closet).

3) The first time I went to, and covered, the Pillsbury Bake-Off for HelloGiggles. (Look at all that foreshadowing!) The Pillsbury Bake-Off is such a delightful experience and not just because there’s a life-size Pillsbury Doughboy walking around either. The events are held in hotels with convention-sized rooms where one can fit 100 ovens. 100 finalists all bake at the same time and compete for a chance to win a million dollars with their recipe. Bake it like you mean it! I even had dinner one table away from Martha Stewart at the Orlando Bake-Off.

I tried not to decline any opportunities. I made everything work, as much as I could. As far as regrets go, the only event I turned down was an opportunity to go backstage and cover the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The logistics and timing were really off. There was absolutely no way I could have flown to New York in time for it... but I will always wonder what if!

In a post-Betty and HG world, which is where I was in 2014 when both gigs wrapped, I began pivoting toward a new vertical: advertising. My discussions with Advertising Week began in late 2014 and I started writing for the website in 2015. Initially, this was a situation where I filled in the gaps with whatever content I was asked to write. A lot of it had pop culture tie-ins with Mad Men. (Shout out to my brain for already being a fan of the series and intricately understanding the ins and outs of its characters that tied in with advertising’s heyday!) 

The first major series of articles I worked on were sponsored by Adobe, so there was an increased expectation to go above and beyond in the manner I wrote, the amount of research conducted in each article, and understanding the audience. I was ready to meet the challenge and was met with high praise for this hard work. During this time, I also briefly worked in transcription for Flaunt Magazine. I transcribed interviews for one of their writers, which made me feel as though I came a little full circle yet again to entertainment.

In March 2015, I received the opportunity to go to Chicago to the Museum of Broadcast Communications. It was for an event called “A Salute to Advertising’s Greatest Icons” which honored 10 of the greatest brand mascots in advertising. My favorite character, the Pillsbury Doughboy, was one of the honorees. Even more exciting, the creator of the Doughboy Rudy Perz would be in attendance. I immediately asked AW if I could cover the event and they agreed. However, a great tragedy occurred days before the event. Rudy passed away. I was completely crushed. As a lifelong Doughboy fan, I realized I would never get the chance to tell him how much of an impact that character had in my life.

In the 24 hours I spent in Chicago, I got to tour the museum space, meet and spend time in the studio of JoBe Cerny (the voice behind the Doughboy’s giggle!), and attend the event and its dinner. Each menu course was inspired by the 10 brand mascots. It was so much fun! I promptly wrote up the article and gave it to my bosses. 

This article sparked the beginning of how I have carved a name out for myself in advertising. Brand mascots. We started discussing how to create content about characters, which I jumped at the chance to write. Before long, I had written so many character-based articles that the content spilled over the website. It required its own platform, PopIcon, which officially launched in 2016.

The greatest joy of my writing career so far has undoubtedly been PopIcon. There is so much to cover that I have gone through stages in writing. The initial stages of introducing the character to the world, the stage of updating everyone on the character’s current events (these critters are more active than you think!), and the historical narrative behind the mascot. There is only so much information a PR person can provide you before you can’t work with a one-sheet condensed timeline anymore. You have to get out there and behave like a journalist, finding creatives to talk to and share their stories. My favorite thing is when someone tells me that they have nothing to say. Then, they launch into a narrative of what life behind the scenes was like animating Lefty from Hamburger Helper or recruiting a voiceover actor for an ad campaign. That’s a lot to say! There is no absolutely story that is too small. Every bit of it is history and it has a place to be shared.

I struggle to pick my favorite PopIcon piece. At any given point, every article I have written has been my favorite. They are all jewels in a crown to me, which is a unique way to view your writing. Really, it’s how I hope every writer views their body of work as it grows and progresses.

However, if you must read anything... try these pieces on for size!

Leo Burnett’s Oral History, As Told By 8 Former Creatives (Part One & Two)

Putting The “Kool” Back In Kool-Aid

How Seth Werner Turned A Cluster Of Grapes Into The California Raisins

Monsters! A Brief History Of The Monster Cereals Icons

Ken Stewart, Creator Of The Coca-Cola Polar Bears, Reflects On Their 25th Anniversary

AW has been responsible for sending me back to New York City. In 2017, I went to New York to attend my first #AWNewYork event. My articles ran in their print publication, I hosted a panel, and I appeared on NASDAQ’s Closing Bell ceremonies live on CNBC and HLN. In 2018, I did the same rounds plus an Icons Gala which I worked on at the same time I was paying off my student loans. The Icons Gala was a massive success and I am so proud of it because it was really tough work. And in 2019, I came back for another #AWNewYork event and celebrated with all my mascot buddies once again. 

Outside of PopIcon, I have my hand stuck in a series of freelance honey pots. I always like to keep the wheel rotating, as a means of avoiding stagnation and growing my work. It never ceases to amaze me where the wheel naturally rotates next. I wrote for Brit + Co when I lived in Orange County in 2016. I had a few pieces run on The Drum. I wrote for Ed2010 for two years, which felt like a return to my roots because Ed was the reason I got in with BettyConfidential. I still write with Business Insider, Coin, and Fairygodboss, all outlets I’ve been with for a few years now (minus Coin which started in 2019). Weirdly enough, I was fact checked in an obituary this year in The New York Times.

“Dabble in something new” was my fortune I received from a fortune cookie in the spring of 2019. Good timing. What could I do next that felt new? Where could I start to grow?

I have had my eye on weddings for awhile now, in more ways than one. You can’t help but notice when everyone you know is getting married. You really can’t help it when you’ve been a bridesmaid three times. When I think of the last frontiers of verticals where pure joy exists, it all goes back to basic life rituals. Marriage is one seeped in love, history, and etiquette. I started writing with the aptly-named wedding app Joy a few months ago. Finally, I was able to break into modern wedding editorial.

That has been the last ten years of my writing career, in a nutshell. Upon writing this out, I realized just how lucky and fortunate I am that everything looks so neatly tied together. The gaps have been few and far in between. Regardless of what was going on in my personal life or when things were difficult, doors kept opening for me. And I did everything I could to walk in when it happened.

Doesn’t it look like the land of Oz over here sometimes? It has been 10 years. If you juggled this much writing on top of a full-time job, nonstop for a decade while aging from a twentysomething into your thirties, you would probably run into some issues keeping your self-sustained sausage factory running. It’s not a realistic story if the heroine isn’t facing growing pains.

I am not a perfect writer. I’m never going to act like the Heather cup of tea is for everyone to drink up because it’s not. 

I have had countless nights where I have been up late writing, researching, or editing drafts. My interviews with creatives sometimes last for a few hours. I have procrastinated my workload until the last possible minute, leaving me frantically pinned against a wall pushing all the puzzle pieces around until they fit in the eleventh, in the twelfth, hour. 

I’ve had my brain switch completely off into a “duhhhhhhhh” setting. In this setting, I shut myself in and watch reruns of TV shows I have already seen before. I have to mentally peace out from the world. This is because operating at eleven every single day takes a lot out of you. 

I have been rejected by a few outlets. Totally happens. I have also been told I am overqualified on more than one occasion. 

In 2019, I finally seized the opportunity to buy my domain, which was not previously available, and create a space for my work. 

I’ve learned a lot about one other person in the last decade: myself.

I know exactly who I am. I’ve hit reset on my life multiple times over the last 10 years, switching jobs, cities, and freelance work. I can reinvent some of me, but I can never leave myself behind. Nor would I ever want to do that. I love myself. She is still a work in progress, but it is progress I will do anything for, even if it means crawling alone for years on end. I do it for her.

Everything is up to timing. In time, everything will be as it is supposed to. That time will be the right time. 

If you are ever unsure of what to do next, look to the past for guidance. Everything I loved as a child is coming full circle into my life as an adult. 

I think the greatest thing I can do, now and in the next decade, is to continually work at making the younger version of me happy with her adult self. If the 10-year-old version of you could see you now, what would she think? Would she be proud of the person you grew up to become? Certainly I think the younger version of me is probably a little upset I don’t read as many books as I did in my Scholastic book club days (I’m working on it!). But, I do think she would be pleased with the woman I am in 2019. The things I have already accomplished and feathers in my hat. My personality and work ethic. The dreams ahead of me and the goals I still have left to achieve. 

While I have no idea where I will go in the next 10 years, I am excited to see everything that comes my way in 2020 and beyond. I will keep writing. I will keep working. And I will continue to keep not telling anyone what I’m doing until it happens. I have found life is a lot more fun when you whip out a good, unconventional “surprise!” on everyone that nobody saw coming.

Keep your pen at the ready. It’s gonna be a good time.

[specialbusiness-blog1]

Kaun Banega Crorepati ( KBC)

KBC Full Farm ( Kaun Banega Crorepati)

Season 7: 2013

The rehearsals for the show began on twenty-six Gregorian calendar month 2013. Registration started from 8:30 PM on twenty-seven might 2013.

The seventh season (called KBC 7) was additionally hosted by Bachchan entitled "Seekhna Bandh Toh Jeetna Bandh" (English: If Learning stops, winning stops or simply: Learn to Win) was used because of the tagline for the season. the whole prize was exaggerated to ₹7 large integer, and therefore the variety of queries exaggerated from thirteen to fifteen. The season was commenced on six Sep 2013.

The season had a couple of changes, as well as a replacement lifeline referred to as Power Paplu. This lifeline allowed the contestant to recycle a lifeline that was antecedently used on another question. (It couldn't be a lifeline that was used on the present question. for instance, a contestant couldn't use "Ask the Audience"/"Audience Poll" double on an equivalent question.) Double Dip and raise The knowledgeable were out of print and in function 50:50 and Flip The Question (also called "Switch" or "Switch The Question") was revived. The Phone-a-Friend was extended to forty-five seconds. The prize for jackpot question was exaggerated to ₹ seven large integers. The Kaun Banega Crorepati 2013 set was a 360-degree transmission stage. the ultimate four queries were a district of Sapta Koti Sandook (English: The Seven large integer Jackpot) that permit contestants to win from ₹1 large integer, ₹3 Crore, ₹5 large integer and at last ₹7 large integer. The system of quickest Finger 1st was additionally altered. rather than enjoying one question, the winner of the leader board fashioned at the tip of 3 queries, sits on the recent Seat. (i.e. the player World Health Organization answered the foremost queries properly within the shortest quantity of time).

Season 8: 2014

The highest winning prize of this season was additionally ₹7 large integer. The registrations of KBC eight were commenced on twenty-two Gregorian calendar month a pair of014 and therefore the shooting started on 2 August 2014.[14] The shooting of the complete show was command in Surat. This was the primary time that KBC Jio was shot outside the city.[15] The format underwent minor changes for the season, with the number of queries reduced to fourteen, the Double Dip replacement the 50:50, additionally because the Flip being replaced by the Triguni (Three Wise Men) lifeline. The Phone-a-Friend was shortened right down to thirty seconds and therefore the original quickest Finger 1st system (as used for seasons one to 6) was reinstated.

The grand premiere episode of the series premiered on seventeen August 2014 (Sunday) at 8:30 PM IST for three hours. The season ventilated from on Monday through weekday evenings. at the start running for one.5 hours, the program reduced to associate hour. The season complete on six Gregorian calendar month 2014, and ventilated its 2 grand finale episodes on nine Gregorian calendar month and on sixteen Gregorian calendar month 2014. The tagline for the season was "Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi, Dil Bhi Jeete Jate Hain" (English: Not solely cash here, hearts also are won). 3 special guests appeared within the grand premiere episode: tv comedian, Kapil Sharma from colors TV's tv series Comedy Nights with Kapil, Dayanand Shetty and Hindu deity Shrivastava from Sony TV's tv series law enforcement agency, and at last Hindustani hero, Maharana Pratap a.k.a. Faisal ibn Abdel Aziz al-Saud Khan from Sony TV's tv series Asian country Hindu deity Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap gave a stellar dance performance.[16] Among others, the Shillong Chamber Choir diode by Neil Nongkynrih performed a piece of evergreen songs of screenland followed by a flag-waving song at the gap ceremony of KBC Lottery Winner.

KBC came to air with Bachchan resuming hosting duties because it premiered on twenty-eight August 2017 airing on Sony TV. The tagline of this season was "Jawaab dene Hindu deity Waqt aa Gaya hai" (English: The time has returned to answer). The show ventilated from Monday to Friday at 9:00 pm. The season introduced a sixteen question format, wherever the primary ten queries area unit regular (45 seconds for the primary 5 queries and sixty seconds for the subsequent 5 questions). The 50:50 lifeline replaced Double Dip and therefore the 3 Wise Men lifeline was replaced by the and One (from us version). Phone-a-Friend (now sponsored by Jio) introduced video calls. just in case the contestant reaches the sixteenth question (Jio Jackpot Question), then the contestant cannot use the remaining lifelines. The last episode of the show was ventilated on seven Gregorian calendar month 2017. Reportedly, with 19.8 million registrations, the show stood at the highest of TRP ratings for the Indian tv trade.

Season 9: 2017

Season 10: 2018

The show started registration on six Gregorian calendar month 2018 and began airing on Sony TV from three Sep 2018. The tagline for the tenth season is Kab Tak Roko (English: however long can you stop).[18] during this explicit season, the Phone-a-friend lifeline was replaced with the raise The knowledgeable lifeline.

Season 11

The channel has confirmed the registration for the eleventh approaching season and therefore the show is anticipated to begin airing from the middle of August or the beginning of Sep.[19]

Gameplay

Qualification

Similar to the first airing in nice GB, members of the general public completed a qualification quiz that opened at the beginning of every season at numerous times within the year (also called "registration period"). Would-be contestants would be sent a premium-rate SMS to a delegated variety and answer an issue by responding. Contestants would complete a series of interviews before being willy-nilly elect from a pool of alternative hopeful contestants and showing on the stage in quickest Finger 1st. so as to be eligible, contestants should be residents and voters of Republic of India and a minimum of eighteen years old-time.

Fastest Finger 1st

The selected contestants' area unit then dropped at the studio to play quickest Finger 1st wherever they're going to be asked to rearrange four answers into the selected order within the shortest quantity of your time. In Season seven, contestants would play 3 queries and therefore the one World Health Organization answered the foremost properly within the shortest quantity of your time can get elected to play the most game.

Main gameplay

After decisive the winner of quickest Finger 1st, they'd join the host within the "Hot Seat" to begin responsive a series of multiple-choice queries on their thanks to winning the highest money prize as printed within the table below. on the means, the contestant is unengaged to go away from the sport with their winnings however if they got an issue wrong, they'd go away with nothing unless they properly answered a milestone question (highlighted in yellow) that may guarantee some winnings.

To help them on the means, very like its counterparts, the contestant had a collection of lifelines obtainable for them to use. that lifelines were obtainable were obsessed with the format being employed.

Audience Poll (Ask The Audience): The studio audience would dial into a keyboard what they believed was the proper answer to the question. The results of the poll area unit shown to the contestant.

50:50: the pc would take away 2 wrong answers from the sport departure the contestant one right and one wrong answer.

Phone-A-Friend: The contestant might decision a pre-selected friend or loved one of their selecting to help them in responsive the question. Once connected, the raiding party and therefore the contestant had thirty seconds (45 in Season 7) to speak it out among themselves. In 2017, this became a video decision rather than a voice decision. For season ten, this lifeline was removed in favor of reinstating raise the knowledgeable.

KBC Winner List

Flip The Question (Switch The Question/Switch): the present question would be thrown out and replaced with a replacement question. Any lifelines gone on the first question remained gone. it had been introduced within the 2d season, removed when the third season and reinstated for the seventh season. throughout seasons a pair of and three it might solely be used when the fifth question, whereas it had been obtainable from the start in season seven.

Double Dip: As featured on the U.S. "Super Millionaire", this granted the contestant 2 possibilities to answer the question. However, invoking this lifeline removed the power to steer far from the question. The contestant should answer doubly with no more usage of lifelines. (They might use alternative lifelines before invoking Double Dip however not throughout the resolution of the lifeline.) within the event of a clocked game, the timer would stop for the primary guess solely. After that, if the primary guess was wrong, the timer resumed count down. If the contestant didn't build their second guess before the closing date or if it had been wrong, the contestant would go away from the sport with the lower threshold quantity, if any.

Expert recommendation (Ask the knowledgeable): In season four, the "Expert Advice" lifeline was additional to the pool of lifelines obtainable. The producers would invite sure cognition knowledgeable to come back to the studio to help the contestant. This lifeline was restored for season ten in 2018.

Power Paplu: Introduced within the seventh season, this lifeline allowed the contestant to recycle a lifeline that was antecedently used on another question. It couldn't be a lifeline that was used on the present question.

Trigun (त्रिगुणी, 3 Wise Men): just like its U.S. counterpart, the producers would invite sure cognition specialists or celebrities to come back to the studio to help the contestant. once invoked, the "Three Wise Men" were granted thirty seconds to debate the question and therefore the alternatives among themselves to come back up with an accord answer to relay back to the contestant World Health Organization was typically in reach of the language. Once the time expired, the "Three Wise Men" were taught to prevent discussing the question and play resumed as traditional.

Jodidaar (जोडीदार, lit. Partner): just like the United States' and One lifeline, additionally to having three Phone-a-Friends, the contestant also can bring a delegated loved one or friend in to help them in responsive the question. (This person is selected by the contestant before the show.)

Additionally, beginning in Season four, the contestant would need to answer these queries among an explicit quantity of your time. Contestants were assigned thirty seconds to reply up to and as well as the primary threshold question (in 2017, this was exaggerated to forty-five seconds). the subsequent question up to and as well as future threshold contestants were assigned sixty seconds to convey their "final answer". For the ultimate set of queries (the question following the second threshold), queries were un-timed. employing a lifeline paused the timer quickly till it resolved. If the contestant used Flip The Question, the timer would restart from the bottom price of the question.

The total variety of queries obtainable within the game modified. because the variety of queries modified, thus did the whole prize obtainable. In 2017, KBC Winner introduced a jackpot question. For the Jackpot Question, the contestants weren't allowed to use any of the remaining lifelines.

In the fifth and sixth season, the contestants had to pick out a threshold or "Padao" themselves. They were allowed to decide on anybody question on the tree and designate that as a threshold quantity. which means that if they cross the edge, they were secured that quantity of money winnings. obtaining an issue wrong before the Padao is reached would lead to zero winnings.

[paralleljulieverse]

It is common knowledge that Star! –– the spectacular 1968 Julie Andrews musical currently celebrating its 50th anniversary –– underwent substantial editing in the wake of its ill-fated US release. Dismayed by the film’s poor box-office and panicked by the rapid downturn in the domestic movie market, Fox executives ordered a series of increasingly drastic cuts to Star!, culminating in the film’s ignominious withdrawal from distribution in June 1969 and subsequent re-release four months later in a radically shortened, re-titled version as Those Were The Happy Times (formerly known as Star!) (Edwards 1993; Holston: 220-21). This sorry tale of post-release hatcheting is part of the historical legend of Star! and also part of its unjust reputation as “the H-bomb of musicals” (Kanfer: 78). 

What is possibly less well-known is that Star! underwent select trimming before its release, as well. At the end of the film’s post-production in April 1968, director Robert Wise had assembled a working rough cut that was shown to studio personnel and test-screened with two preview audiences in Cleveland and Denver in early-May. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Of the 814 preview cards received, 633 rated the film “excellent”, 146 “good” and only 3 marked it “bad” (Edwards). Nevertheless, Wise and editor, William Reynolds, went back to make a number of further adjustments to the film ahead of its global premiere in London in July 1968. Much of this late-stage editing work was relatively minor –– pruning a shot here and there in order to tighten pacing –– but several short narrative scenes were also cut in their entirety. 

None of this material was particularly significant and, given that the final roadshow release of Star! ended up with a marathon running time of 176 minutes –– enough to “test the patience of even those of us enamored with Andrews, musicals, and showbiz dramas” (Betancourt, 2014) –– the cuts were possibly all-to-the-good. Still, it is not difficult to see what these excised scenes were designed to achieve and, in some respects, their loss exacerbated problematic aspects of the film’s narrative complexion. 

What follows is a brief catalogue of the major scenes dropped from Star! They are presented in order of where they originally occurred in narrative sequence. For the most part, details are taken from the final shooting version of the screenplay by William Fairchild, dated 25 January 1967, and augmented where possible with archival material. 

A further sense of where and how these “lost scenes” functioned narratively is provided by the paperback novelization of Star! by Bob Thomas (1968). As discussed in a previous post, novelizations were a popular feature of film culture in the 1960s and 70s. Because they had to be written well in advance of a film’s release, novelizations were typically adapted from shooting scripts and rough cuts and, as with Bob Thomas’s adaptation of Star!, they frequently include narrative material that didn’t always make the final cut.

                               ______________________________

Lost Scene 1: Gertie and the Singing Doughboys

Screenplay Scenes 35-36, 38 (filmed 19 September 1967, Stage 22, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This short sequence occurred immediately after Gertie makes her stagedoor flight from the disastrous Daffodil Girls music-hall performance in Swansea (“In My Garden of Joy”). In it, Gertie is shown hitching a ride with a military supplies lorry back to London in search of better opportunities. An establishing external shot (35) shows the lorry rumbling down a country road past a “London 34 miles” signpost, followed by an internal shot (36) of the driver’s cabin with Gertie sandwiched between two young soldiers in uniform, all singing a lively chorus of “Oh, It’s a Lovely War” (Fairchild: 25; Thomas: 26).  In earlier versions of the screenplay, this short sequence was preceded by a number of additional scenes (33-34) showing Gertie working odd jobs and sleeping in a train station but these were dropped prior to production and never filmed. A further shot (38) that was filmed but subsequently cut during postproduction occurred in the ensuing scene where Gertie arrives in London and sneaks her way into the Lumley Court Theatre in the hope of auditioning for André Charlot. As she stops in the theatre alleyway, Gertie looks up at the poster advertising the new Charlot revue and whispers to herself “quietly but with complete confidence, ’…With Gertrude Lawrence!’” (Fairchild: 28). 

While minor, this cut material clearly worked to underscore Gertie’s driving ambition and her determination to do whatever it takes to realise her dreams of stardom.

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 2: Gertie and Billie Carleton

Screenplay Scene 53 (filmed 29 April 1967, Stage 14, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This scene followed Gertie’s triumphant ‘understudy’ performance of “Burlington Bertie”. After the narrational newsreel footage detailing Armistice Day celebrations and the return of star Billie Carleton to the theatre, Billie is seen backstage surrounded by well-wishers from the troupe. Gertie appears from one of the dressing rooms and comes up to greet Billie with ‘star’ and ‘understudy’ indulging in affectionately bitchy repartee. Played with camp theatricality and lashings of “dahhhlings” and air kisses, the scene highlighted Gertie’s growing sense of hauteur and theatrical confidence, while emphasising her thwarted ambitions. It thus helped preface the later confrontation scene (55) between Gertie and first husband, Jack Roper where he complains, “ever since you’ve been put back in the chorus, it’s been nothing but belly-aching!” (Fairchild: 52). 

Interestingly, this sequence between Gertie and Billie was the only sustained dialogue scene to feature Lynley Laurence, the actress who plays Billie Carleton in Star!. With its excision, Laurence’s role was reduced to a handful of mostly non-speaking scenes, though she would still receive a special featured screen credit in the final film. 

As another interesting aside, the dialogue for the cut scene has Billie Carleton joke that Gertie likely wishes “I’d broken my neck”. The real-life Carleton did in fact die not long after the events depicted here. Following a gala ball at the Albert Hall to celebrate Armistice on 27 November 1918, Carleton returned to her suite at the Savoy Hotel where she was found dead the next day from a cocaine overdose. It was a huge scandal at the time that subsequently formed the basis for Noël Coward’s first hit play, The Vortex (1924) about drug abuse and sexual impropriety in English high society (Hoare: 37-39).

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 3: Gertie and Sir Anthony Go Boating

Screenplay Scene 61 (filmed 29 June, Regent’s Park, London; and 23-24 August 1967, Stage 21, and 8 September, Stage 22, 20th Century-Fox Studios) This was the first of several cut scenes detailing Gertie’s blossoming romance with Sir Anthony ‘Tony’ Spencer (Michael Craig) and, with it, her rise in social status. Immediately following their first dinner date where Gertie alternately titillates and shocks the assembled society guests with ribald theatre stories, Gertie and Tony go on a ‘date’ to the boating lake at Regent’s Park (Fairchild: 60-61). As the pair sit in the rowboat, Tony explains the history of the Park in florid detail as Gertie looks glum and distracted. “Words!”, she says dejectedly, “I look at things and all I can say is –– they’re nice!…You’ve got to teach me more words”, thus highlighting her recognition of the need for increased social sophistication. After a further exchange, Gertie moves in to give Tony a kiss when the rocking of the boat throws her into his arms.

The allusion in this scene to linguistic training sets up a marked Pygamalion / My Fair Lady dynamic with Tony cast as a Professor Higgins-type figure –– albeit, more “patient and kind and wonderful” –– who helps mentor Gertie in the ways of aristocratic high society. There is even a pointed reference in the dialogue to Gertie’s background as a Cockney. Traces of this dynamic remain in the final film, notably in the scene where Gertie arrives at Cesare’s in her new gown and, responding to a compliment about the dress, starts to say “It is rather nice…” when she catches Tony’s eye and quickly corrects herself, “…er…divine, isn’t it?” (Fairchild: 64). 

This scene on the lake involved considerable strategic planning during filming. At the end of a one week period of location shooting in the south of France in June 1967, the production crew proceeded to London for the next stage of filming. Julie, however, flew back to Hollywood, ostensibly to start rehearsals for the big musical numbers, though there is some suggestion she needed to avoid entering the UK for tax purposes (Craig: 151; Land: 296). As a result, location shots on the lake at Regent’s Park had to be filmed using a double to stand in for Julie who sat in the boat with actor Michael Craig. London’s notoriously capricious weather added to the woes with the crew having to wait hours on the day of shooting till 5:00pm when “the sun burst forth long enough to permit the photographing of a brilliant scene”. All the while, “property master, Dennis Parrish, had to toss bread to ducks…to keep them within camera range ready when the time came” (Land: 334-35; also Heffernan: 30). This location footage was then intercut with later process shots of Julie and Michael Craig filmed in front of a blue-screen at Fox studios. Production accounts detail that studio filming for the scene occupied two full days on August 23 and 24 on Stage 21 (Edwards). Despite the work and effort, the dialogue component of the sequence was cut in its entirety and all that remained in the final release print is a few brief insert shots of Gertie and Tony in the rowboat.

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 4: Gertie Gets a Make-Over

Screenplay Scene 63 (filmed 11-13 and 18 September 1967, Stage 16, 20th Century-Fox Studios) Continuing the Pygmalion theme from the previous cut scene, this sequence detailed Gertie’s ongoing social metamorphosis as Tony takes her to the salon of couturier, Julian Brooke-Taylor (Fairchild: 63-64). Of all the cut scenes, this one was possibly the longest with an estimated running time of several minutes.

Here Gertie is introduced to the grand world of haute couture and the even grander character of Julian Brooke-Taylor. Described in the screenplay as “[t]hin, fortyish…not a homosexual, but rather asexual, always appearing elegantly weary but in fact full of creative energy” (Fairchild: 63), Brooke-Taylor was played by Scottish-born character actor, Monty (Monte) Landis. Today, Landis is best remembered for his cavalcade of cameo villains in the cult TV series The Monkees (1968) but he had a long career as a comic actor in theatre and film in both the UK and the US. Prior to Star!, Landis had a string of minor but memorable character cameos in films such as The Mouse That Roared (1959), Charade (1963) and Double Trouble (1967), as well as several popular TV series of the era including The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), Get Smart (1967) and Batman (1967). The latter series was filmed at 20th Century Fox studios at more or less the same time as Star! which is possibly how Landis secured his brief role in the film. 

As detailed in the Fairchild screenplay (63-64) and Thomas novelization (50-51), the lengthy sequence starts with a mid-shot of Brooke-Taylor sitting on a Louis Quinze settee, “an expression of well-bred resignation on his face” (Fairchild: 63). As he spouts a humorously imperious monologue about being “the best couturier in London..many would say the whole of Europe”, the film cuts to a long shot of Gertie and Tony combing through hundreds of glamorous gowns in the gilt and marble salon, “dresses are everywhere –– in a large open wardrobe, draped on chairs and settees” (Fairchild: 63). Gertie picks up dress after dress, “considering it and then, as Tony shakes his head, rejecting it and adding it to the growing discard pile beside Julian” (ibid). All the while, Brooke-Taylor continues his waspish spiel:

“So who am I to complain, my dear Tony, when you invade my salon two hours after it is officially closed in order not to buy but merely to borrow. Please, please, do not for a moment imagine that you are imposing –– just feel completely free to treat me as you would any small, overworked dressmaker around the corner who runs up clever little numbers in her spare time after high tea…” (Fairchild: 63-64).

Finally, Tony finds the perfect dress –– the brilliant black and ruby beaded décolleté gown that Gertie wears to Cesare’s in the next scene. As he holds it up to Gertie, Brooke-Taylor stops mid-breath, “[h]is face lightens, [t]he artist in him beams whole-hearted approval and admiration,” “Ah!,” he purrs, “Yes!” (Fairchild: 64; Thomas: 51).

Other than highlighting Gertie’s continued social transformation, this scene also served to establish the context for Gertie’s subsequent employment as a salon model for Brooke-Taylor in the later fashion show sequence. Its omission from the final print of the film doesn’t cause a major logical inconsistency but it does weaken some of the backstory. From the way it is written, and given Landis’s theatrical comic style, one imagines that the scene would likely have had a ‘comic relief’ tenor not unlike that of the later fashion show where Cathleen Cordell provides such wonderfully humorous flourish as the affected salon vendeuse.  

It’s unclear why the Brooke-Taylor sequence was dropped in its entirety. Production accounts show that more than two full days were spent shooting material for it from 11-13 September 1967 on Stage 16 at Fox Studios, with the fashion show filmed immediately after on the same set from 13-14 September (Edwards). Further retakes were ordered for 18 September which possibly suggests that Wise was unhappy with aspects of the scene as originally filmed/played. Maybe he remained unhappy, maybe the sequence felt out of keeping with surrounding material, or maybe Wise just wanted to reduce an already overlong first half? Either way, the visit to Julian Brooke-Taylor was consigned to the cutting room floor.

Monte Landis, the actor playing Brooke-Taylor, had a bit of an unfortunate run in 1967. At about the same time he filmed his dropped cameo for Star!, Landis also appeared as part of the original line-up for the TV pilot of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, but when the series was subsequently picked up by NBC for what would prove to be a six season run, Landis was let go and replaced by another British comedian (Erickson:108). There was some compensation for the actor when he secured his semi-recurring role as the resident villain in the second season of The Monkees (1968), which as suggested earlier remains his most famous work to this day. As detailed in his iMDB profile, Landis continued to secure intermittent TV work throughout the 70s with cameos in shows such as Hawaii Five-O (1971), Columbo (1971) and Police Woman (1973), as well as the odd big screen film like Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Young Frankenstein (1974). As late as the 80s and early 90s, Landis could still be seen popping up in the occasional episode of The Golden Girls (1987) or comedy film like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Heart Condition (1990).

In between these screen assignments, Landis seems to have done a good deal of live theatre. In an interesting “six degrees” moment, just a few months prior to his work on Star!, Landis appeared in a revival of Lady in the Dark at the Pasadena Playhouse –––– opposite Marni Nixon in the Gertrude Lawrence role, what’s more –– where he reportedly stopped the show with the comic “Tchaikovsky” number  (“Monty Landis Draws”: 35). Landis also found something of a second career as a spiritualist in the 1970s hosting a weekly programme on a Southern California radio station devoted to the occult (Martin: S8). This interest in all things spiritual must have continued as the last press mention we’ve been able to find about Landis reports that, in 2007, he had retired to Palm Springs where he was teaching Kabbalah (Salkin: E1). 

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 5: Gertie at St James Palace

Screenplay Scene 69 (filmed 29 May 1967, Lotos Club, New York City; and 1 July 1967, Westminster School, London ) This brief scene was the third of the excised episodes depicting Gertie’s social metamorphosis courtesy of Sir Anthony Spencer. Immediately following the newsreel insert profiling Gertie’s embrace of “the fads and the fashions of crazy postwar England of the early 20′s” –– doing the Charleston, hot air ballooning, awarding the prize at an auto car race –– and her ascent to royal social circles, this scene showed Gertie and Tony arriving at St James Palace. Resplendent in a fur-trimmed gold brocade cape, Gertie enters the Palace on the arm of Sir Tony looking every inch the princess when, falling back into mock Cockney, she whispers: “D’you think his Royal Highness would mind if I loosened me stays? They’re killing me” (Fairchild: 71).

The scene was clearly designed to highlight Gertie’s triumph in her new “role” as “the glittering darling of society” while remaining true to her irreverent working-class spirit. This theme –– along with the whole Pygmalion-esque subtext –– is explicit in Bob Thomas’s novelization:

“Under Tony’s tutelage, the girl from Clapham was becoming a lady. The metamorphosis was not always easy. Sometimes in the middle of a formal dinner Gertie uttered a cockneyism that sent the table into a roar of laughter. But she always laughed with the other guests –– Gertie never pretended to be anything she wasn’t. And she always listened carefully to Tony’s coaching afterward. He would point out where she said the wrong thing or used the wrong fork. As in the theatre, she learned her cues quickly and never repeated an error” (Thomas: 56).

Like the earlier rowboat scene, this one required a strategic blend of location and studio shooting. The bulk of the interior was filmed with Julie and Michael Craig on 29 May 1967 at the Lotos Club in New York City. Craig was still appearing on Broadway at the time in Pinter’s The Homecoming and this shoot was his very first piece of work for Star!. Additional footage of Gertie and Tony arriving at St James was filmed a few weeks later on 1 July at the Westminster School in London with Craig and a double to stand in for Julie (Edwards).

                              ______________________________

Lost Scene 6: Cavalry to the Rescue

Screenplay Scene 86-88 (filmed 3 July 1967, Guards’ Parade, Whitehall, London) This bridging sequence occurred when Sir Anthony Spencer arrives to visit Gertie with his surprise proposal of marriage. Following a series of establishing shots of Tony riding with the Guards on ceremonial parade  –– shots which remain in the final release print of the film –– the original sequence continued to show Tony arriving at Gertie’s London mews house. He dismounts from his horse and passes the bridle to his personal equerry, Corporal of Horse Cooper (Max Faulkner). As he walks towards the rear of the house, still in full regalia “his accoutrements clanking”, Tony passes Gertie’s maid Mary (Barbara Ogilvie) who is carrying a tray of tea and sugar to the guardsmen. The camera stays on Mary as she goes to the guardsmen and chats amicably with Cooper, telling him to feed sugar to the horses “[t]hen you can have your tea” (Fairchild: 82).

Other than the opportunity to further showcase the colourful pomp of the Royal Life Guards –– which, as detailed in an earlier post, had been strategically selected by Wise for the visual impact of their uniforms –– this scene also helped underscore the established intimacy of Gertie and Tony’s relationship. That Gertie’s maid should greet Sir Tony and his Corporal by name and come out prepared with a tray of tea for the brigade indicates that this not-so clandestine morning visit to Gertie via her back door was a routine arrangement for the two lovers.

The actor who appears as Corporal Cooper, Max Faulkner had a long career as a character player and stuntman in British film and TV, possibly best remembered for his work on the cult TV show, Doctor Who. The cutting of the sequence meant that Faulkner lost what little dialogue he had in the film, though he can still be seen riding alongside Michael Craig in the opening shot and reacting to Tony’s sneeze. He can also be seen later in the film in reprise footage of the Life Guards on parade, immediately prior to Gertie and Tony’s visit to the Lord Chamberlain. In this scene, which was filmed on location at the same time as the earlier sequence, Faulkner’s character is front and centre on screen bellowing a series of commands to the mounted Guardsmen. In the original screenplay this establishing shot is followed by an additional brief dialogue scene where Gertie passes the Guards on her way into the Lord Chamberlain’s office and greets Cooper by name (Scene 118). “Good morning Miss Lawrence. Nice to see you back,” the corporal says (Fairchild: 123). When Noel shoots Gertie a questioning look, she explains, “Well, I have been to St James Palace before.”  “For heaven’s sake,” gasps Noel, “don’t mention that!” (Fairchild: 123). 

While Max Faulkner at least made it into the final release print of Star!, Barbara Ogilvie in the part of Mary was less fortunate. With the excision of the dialogue portion of Sir Tony’s arrival at Gertie’s house, her role disappeared completely. A native Londoner, Ogilvie carved out a solid career playing character parts on UK TV, including a regular stint in the mid-70s on the long-running soap opera, Emmerdale. Possibly due to production logistics or possibly to help denote the passage of time, Gertie is given a different maid later in the film, Dorothy who is played by Matilda Canan.

                              ______________________________

As stated at the outset, it is not difficult to understand why these various scenes were cut from Star! Their excision reduced an already over-long running time and arguably helped tighten pacing. Nevertheless, one can equally appreciate the intent behind these scenes and their role in furthering character and plot. 

One of the most common criticisms made of Star! is that its episodic revue format works against optimal narrative development and, with it, audience identification. Squeezed into brief segments between the film’s mammoth musical performances, Gertie’s life is rendered via a series of epigrammatic highlights with a surfeit of information and dazzle, but not a lot of emotional depth. As Richard Schickel (1968) writes in a characteristic example of this critical complaint:

“William Fairchild’s Star! script, ranging over a [long] period of Gertrude Lawrence’s career, deals in types rather than people, romances rather than loves. It is always at a documentary distance from its subject and her world. Maybe she was unknowable, in the full biographical sense, but we must have the illusion of knowledge, a sense of motives more subtle and complex than we receive” (10).

Moreover, the fact that Star! is a theatrical revue style musical where the numbers are staged as semi-realist replications of Gertie’s theatrical performances, and not as organic expressions of character and narrative as is the case in an integrated ‘book’ musical, means that whatever sense we get of Gertie and her story can only really come from the bridging moments in-between. As director Robert Wise reflected in later years:

“People often ask me why [Star!] didn’t work…It’s hard to find answers. Maybe [audiences] just weren’t prepared to like Julie in the kind of character Gertie Lawrence was. Maybe we spent too much time on musical numbers and didn’t spend enough time digging into her character, getting the kind of contact of the audience with what made her tick. With The Sound of Music, we certainly made contact with the audience in terms of the relationship between Maria and the children and the Captain. The audience knew where everybody was coming from basically” (Leeman, 195).

It’s doubtful that the excised material profiled here would have made much of an appreciable difference in this regard. Like applying a band-aid to a gaping wound, the film’s narrative deficiencies required more substantial revisions than the inclusion of a couple of minor book scenes. Still, these scenes do at least gesture towards expanded character development and suggest several lines that might have been profitably mined in a more carefully structured narrative treatment. 

Finally, it is not known if any of this edited material from Star! still exists. If it does, the chance of it seeing light of day is sadly remote. Cut footage from the Fox-Wise-Andrews megahit, The Sound of Music has never surfaced, suggesting a studio history of either outright junking or public embargo. Moreover, if the material were available, it would surely have been included as part of the comprehensively packaged laserdisc release that accompanied the film’s 25th anniversary in 1993. Still, hope springs eternal and maybe the ‘lost scenes of Star!’ will finally appear as part of that deluxe 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray release that we know just has to be round the corner!

Sources:

Betancourt, Manuel. “Robert Wise Centenary: Star! (1968).” The Film Experience. <http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2014/9/9/robert-wise-centenary-star-1968.html>. 2014.

Craig, Michael. The Smallest Giant: An Actor’s Life. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2005.

Edwards, T.J. “The Saga of ‘Star!’”. Star! Special Edition LaserDisc. Beverley Hills, CA: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1993.

Erickson, Hal. ‘From Beautiful Downtown Burbank’: A Critical History of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co, 2000.

Fairchild, William. Star! Screenplay. Final version. 25 January, 1967.

Heffernan, Harold. “Squeaky Sound Stage Troubles ‘Star’.” Philadelphia Daily News. 18 August 1967: 30.

Hoare, Philip. Oscar Wilde’s Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1997.

Holston, Kim R. Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showing, 1911-1973. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co, 2013.

Kanfer, Stefan. “Cinema: Quarter Chance.” Time. 96: 4. 27 July 1970: 78.

Land, Kevin. “Recreating Four Decades of Modern History for Star!”. American Cinematographer. 50: 3, March 1969: 294-266, 332-336.

Leeman, Sergio. Robert Wise on His Films: From Editing Room to Director’s Chair. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 1995.

Martin, Bob. “TeleVues: They Have the Spirit, It Says.” Independent Press-Telegram. 5 August 1973: S8.

“Monty Landis Draws Many Laughs in ‘Lady’”. Independent Star News. 15 January 1967: 35.

Salkin, Judith. “Building One’s Character.” The Desert Sun. 18 November 2007: E1.

Schickel, Richard. “Two Stars: One Glowing One Dim.” Life. 65: 19. 8 November 1968: 19.

Thomas, Bob. Star! New York: Bantam, 1968.

Images: 

“70 mm cinema film strip” by Zigmej, CC BY-SA 3.0 [Adapted].

STAR!, 1968 [Laserdisc], R. Wise, Fox Video, 1993.

St Hilaire, Al. Photographic Contact Sheets for STAR! [Unpublished], 1967.

Twentieth Century Fox, STAR! Press Kit and Publicity Materials, 1968.

Special thanks to Hanne.

Copyright © Brett Farmer 2018

[goindanswingin]

Les Amis Webshows - Reviews!

So! There’s been a whole two new Amis webshows premiering this January! However, I’ve noticed not that many people are actually talking about them! New content, and we’re not yelling??

So, I’ve decided to give short reviews on their debut pilot episodes, as well as the first episodes of some other Les Amis webshows (I probably missed so many, feel free to add more if you know of them!) in order to maybe spread the word about some cool creators online as well as give y’all a lil more content to consume that isn’t just grim BBC Les Mis discourse atm

(I’ve reviewed them in the order they premiered)

1. Stories From Les Amies

This is a vlog story of the les amis with all the genders purposefully changed! Now this one has an awful lot of content to make up its plot, having premiered in 2013 and wrapped up with an HOUR LENGTH FILM at the end of 2014, so there’s a hell of a lot to digest here! The Enjolras behind this is actually also the author of TextingEnjolras/EnjolrasRising so the plot does bear some resemblance to that also! (Another piece of content I’d highly recommend if you’ve not read yet).

But, to keep it fair, I’m going to stick with just the pilot episode! It’s set up like a big group skype call with our amis introducing themselves, where we are first introduced to their personalities, mostly led by Enjolras although Combeferre acts a beautifully sarcastic arbiter. The video quality isn’t excellent, but surprisingly, the audio quality is pretty great (for every character except Marius), with almost no background noise or fuzz.

Enjolras: All of us make up a society that we call the Friends of the ABC

Enjolras: *awkwardly nods and grins*

Enjolras: Which is actually a pun, because... ABC pronounced together sounds like the word abaissés, which means “lowly” or “abased...

Enjolras: So... it’s... it’s a pun.

I know I’m only reviewing pilot episodes to keep it fair, but I will say yes, the quality of the series absolutely does improve over time, and I would highly recommend giving it a go if you’ve never seen it before! You can find the whole series here.

2. Official Les Amis Vlog

Premiering at almost exactly the same time as number 2 on this list, the Les Amis Vlog is similar in terms of quality but different in style. This is as it says - a vlog channel, with divided playlists for each character in the Amis. Every character uploaded vlogs between 2013 and 2015 introducing themselves, answering questions, and making content on certain themes. 

This one took me by surprise - I was very much underwhelmed by the camera quality and lack of plot, but once I started watching, I realised why the Les Amis vlog doesn’t have plot - it’s because instead of making up political issues and action, they actually discuss real politics - in the pilot episode, Enjolras actually talks about a real news article from Reuters and then goes on into an impassioned rant on public surveillance  - it’s kind of amazing.

Enjolras: I mean, you wanna hide your face for whatever reason? Well, congratulations! You’re now a potential t*rror*st for having stood in the way of the observational machine!

Obviously this one is much more about the characters than it is any sort of plot like we’ll see in some of our later series, but... these characters are by far some of the most convincing Les Amis I’ve seen! Particularly Enjolars - wow. So if that sounds like your kinda thing, check it out here!

3. Vines de l'ABC

A multimedia webseries that ran from 2016-2018, but mostly confined to Vines, this one in essence is similar to the Les Amis Vlog in that it is more character driven than plot driven - the different characters were all cast and then separately uploaded Vines (and occasionally YouTube videos) as well as answering questions to the main blog.

The first “episode” is, as common for these webseries, a video of our Enjolras introducing Les Amis and his character, then being interrupted by a phone call. The quality is webcam quality, the sound pretty fuzzy, but I do think Dorian here makes a great Enjolras... more on that shortly! Overall, the quality of this first episode isn’t super relevant to the rest of the series though, because as is obvious by the name, it’s mostly comprised of amusing little vines.

*Tik Tok by Ke$ha plays*

Enjolras: Hello? Did you change my ring tone again? ...Again? Well, I mean, I'm trying to do the video... No, I mean, I'm actually in the middle of doing the video right now, you're on camera... No, no I don't know how to edit it out... I mean, does he have a concussion, or..? *sighs* ...How did I know he had a concussion.

Obviously vine is dead, but everything is available here - if this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely go check it out! There is TONS of content for your consumption here.

4. Barricade Boys

Next up is a comedy/parody show from NyxRising, an already established group of YouTube cosplayers who’ve made lots of similar shows previously. This means, for a start, that the production quality here is some of the best you’ll see - great audio and video quality, basic but good set design, great costumes.

Now, let’s make it clear: if you’re looking for a brick accurate show, this is not the one for you. It’s a pretty ludicrous parody, with an unbelievably arsehole Enjolras with no notion of personal space, a Grantaire with weird sideburns and a crush so obvious it’s hilarious, a Marius so dumb he thinks he’s joining a “lonely hearts club” and a Courfeyrac so OOC that I don’t even know where to begin. 

But god damn, did this make me laugh out loud a good few times.

Enjolras: You do you, Grantaire. Nobody else will.

This one has a couple episodes out already, and I’d highly recommend if you want some laughs! You can find it here.

5. The Downtrodden

Aaaand... onto our January debuts! I’m super excited to give a review of the pilot episode of Shadow of the Tor’s “The Downtrodden”! 

One thing that stuck out to me immediately is that this might be the most diverse cast yet - we have multiple POC, and also a trans Enjolras - in both cases, there’s no self-congratulatory back-patting, but it’s made very clear and very casual, and it’s wonderful. Another point worth mentioning is that our Enjolras is the same Enjolras seen in Vines de l’ABC - and as I mentioned, I think Dorian is great at the role.

The Downtrodden seems to be going for an enjoyable line between plotty and humorous, and so far I’m super excited to see where they take it. The audio and video quality is outstanding, though the cafe background noises could do with being toned down just a tiny bit (as there are occasionally character lines in the background that are a little drowned out), but overall it’s by far the most professional looking alongside Barricade Boys (which had to contend with far less characters!). One comment I will make, though nitpicky, is that unlike Barricade Boys, which moves extremely swiftly through its jokes, The Downtrodden is edited just a pace too slow in one or two scenes, meaning the comic timing falls a little off and the jokes don’t quite get the reaction they really deserve.

Grantaire: You get free coffee refills here if you’re part of a student group. I gotta make that loan last.

Cosette: Do you consider yourself a politically motivated person?

R: I barely even consider myself a person.

C: Oh. Are you alright?

R: Is anyone?

Surprisingly, one of my favourite characters in the pilot episode was Marius! I often find he’s overplayed to death, but in this he appears a little dim but genuinely charming, and he got some of the best laughs out of me. I’d be interested to know how well all the jokes landed with someone who isn’t a Brit, however, since I’m super sold on all these characters being British uni students (student poverty aesthetic and Oxfam shopping bags, goddamn!), and also love Courfeyrac for the same reason - he seems like your typical friendly but laddish uni type, which works perfectly for his character. Also, I own that mug he has.

One of the strongest points, and a very common issue I have with Les Amis webshows (and the 2012 movie NOT GONNA LIE), is losing track of who is supposed to be who - I had no such problem with The Downtrodden - everyone is introduced naturally, gets at LEAST a line or two, and is beautifully acted - go check out the pilot here!

6. The Les Amis Webshow

The last one on our list - the Les Amis Webshow premiered on the last day of January!

First impressions of this webshow are: the most enticing hook yet straight from the beginning, and some of the worst sound quality.

After the introduction - structured as Marius speaking to us from the future - the pilot episode actually centers around a random film student coming up to Marius and asking if they can film him. Is this Cosette? Will we ever find out? Who knows, but for some reason Marius just takes it in his stride and lets this person follow him around, in what I can’t decide is a very weird move, or a very Marius move.

Jehan: Are you wearing your lanyard?

Marius: Yeah. Why? That’s what it’s for.

Jehan: (laughing) You simple little freshman!

Marius: *long pause*

Also Marius: We’re gonna get along great!

The editing is actually fun and a few shots seem to be going for something quite adventurous - I just wish the audio quality were better.

I like Enjolras so far - he seems very confident in himself and a little bit of a rich boy, and I’m really interested to see what they do with Marius, since this is the only webshow so far where Marius has been front and center instead of Enjolras - in that snippet at the start, he seems very anxious and weary - it’s very Empty Chairs at Empty Tables! Overall, this has the most “plot-y” vibe to its initial episode so far, and reminds me a lot of Stories from Les Amies, honestly. I’m very excited to see what they do with it, and am also euphoric at a REGULAR UPLOAD SCHEDULE unlike the other two which are currently running - Barricade Boys and The Downtrodden. Keep up with it every Thursday here!

Thank you so much to @starberry-cupcake for helping me compile this list!

highlight reel: @/SFLA who the fuck makes a feature length movie oh my god, the sheer levels of gay in BB, Marius’ super poshboy accent in TD (sorry if thats just how u speak Ethan), and best of all the German flag taking centre stage in tLAW - the european cynic in me is desperate to know why its there and hopes that you didn’t just mix up French and German flags lmao

[dichenlachmandaily]

Future Shock

In Altered Carbon, Dichen Lachman harnesses her passion to brave a dystopian world.

Dichen Lachman sits behind the front desk in the Palm Springs Art Museum lobby, her eyes loosely shut as a makeup artist dusts gold pigment across her lids. She’s wearing Ugg boots; her hair is tousled. Despite the 6 a.m. call time, she declines a coffee and instead reaches for an old-fashioned doughnut hole. Lachman (whose first name is pronounced Dee-chen) is poised but low-key, nowhere near the fiery intimidator she portrays in her latest project, the Netflix original series Altered Carbon.

The museum is closed today, quiet save for crew chatter and the clang of gown-draped hangers on the stylist’s rolling rack; art hulks off the walls in the shadows of unlit corridors. Following months of stunt work, emotionally taxing scenes, and 16-hour days on set, the stillness is welcome. Lachman spent the summer in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Altered Carbon filmed its first season. Between network events and promotional appearances from São Paulo to Seoul, she’s savoring the post-production time off at home, just being Mom. Mathilda turns 3 in May, and her favorite things are scribbling, Sia music videos, and the family dog, Whisky. Deep love for family is an attribute the 36-year-old actress shares with her character, Rei. Perhaps the only trait they share, she says — that, and a fondness for action.

When it comes to that devotion, Lachman refers to a full-body, teeth-gritting sensation, a compulsion to hug tightly, to fuse, to be together forever. Rei takes the sentiment to an extreme, but Lachman relates. “That whole idea that I’ll just eat it,” she says, in her soft Australian drawl, which she dropped for the role. “Like I say to my daughter sometimes, ‘I just want to eat you up, I love you so much.’ ”

When we catch up by phone after the museum shoot, a few weeks before Altered Carbon’s premiere, she delves deeper into the idea of eating one’s feelings and shares a story about her four-legged childhood friend, a Jack Russell terrier named Singhi.

“When I was leaving Adelaide to pursue acting in Sydney, I found two of her little furs on my jacket,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to throw them away because I felt like that was throwing my dog away. I didn’t want to keep them because I thought I would lose them. So I swallowed the two little dog furs. I imagined they’d be absorbed into my body and we’d kind of be a part of each other.”

“When I was leaving Adelaide to pursue acting in Sydney, I found two of her little furs on my jacket. I didn’t want to throw them away because I felt like that was throwing my dog away.” Dichen Lachman

Lachman had shrugged off the role of Reileen Kawahara when she didn’t hear back from casting for four months. It was an uneventful lead-up. She received sides, sans any contextual clues to the plot, and submitted a self-taped video audition.

Then she got the call.

“What is this?” She’d actually forgotten. “There’s no callback? Do they want to see me again?”

“No,” Lachman’s agent told her. “They just want you to do the role.”

“I subsequently found out Laeta was a fan of Dollhouse [2009–2010] and The 100 [2014], so she was familiar with my work,” the actress says. “This is the biggest show I’ve ever been a part of … I just feel lucky to have been a part of it and humbled watching everyone’s work on the show.” The 10-episode, multimillion-dollar series, which became available for streaming Feb. 2, is one of Netflix’s highest-budgeted undertakings yet.

An adaptation of the 2002 cyberpunk novel by Richard Morgan, the first in his Takeshi Kovacs trilogy, Altered Carbon stars Joel Kinnaman as Kovacs (pronounced Ko-vach), a body-swapping soldier summoned to solve a murder in the year 2384. Human consciousness has been digitized and can be “sleeved” into new bodies, establishing a world in which the rich live forever and reprobates evanesce in the dark, debauched underbelly of society.

“It’s woven in such an intricate fashion, you can’t really say the show is just one thing,” Lachman explains. “It’s a love story. It’s a murder mystery. It’s action packed. There are all of these philosophical ideas, too. You walk away thinking, If I could live forever, would I even want to?”

Lachman portrays Kovacs’ sister, first appearing in episode one as a figment from his past; she gets her big reveal midway through the season. (At the risk of leaking a spoiler, let’s just say Lachman’s grand entrance is badass, evidential of the months pre-production she spent training in Japanese combat.)

Along with Kinnaman, the cast includes James Purefoy as a “re-sleeved” murder victim in search of his own killer; Martha Higareda as a well-meaning cop intent on closing the case; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist, a futuristic Robin Hood hell-bent on quelling elitism; Will Yun Lee as Kovacs’ “birth sleeve”; Ato Essandoh as Kovacs’ gun-slinging ally; and Chris Conner as the personified consciousness of a hotel where Kovacs resides. These characters are complicated and not always who they appear to be. The plot is layered with flashbacks, visions, and alternate virtual-reality dimensions. Timelines seem to intertwine, leading the viewer through a supremely satisfying plot twist to a finale that may very well render all of us worthless until the second season finally airs. According to Kalogridis, “the biggest success is that the whole thing actually makes sense

“We lived with my uncle 
and my aunts, my grandfather, and my cousins in a tiny 
little apartment. So I had a really …” she pauses, 
“colorful childhood, almost 
of another era.”

Lachman was born in 1982 in Nepal. At that time, more than 90 percent of the country’s population of 15.7 million worked in agriculture, fielding rice, sugarcane, and oilseeds. Fewer than one in 10 owned a telephone. There was no FM radio. No television stations. Terrain continues to hinder development, but modern-day residents can tune in to Altered Carbon — Netflix extended its streaming services around the globe in 2016.

“I was there until I was about 7,” Lachman recalls. “I think we had Superman, Supergirl, and Police Academy, but no real TV to speak of.” Those VHS tapes were her immersion into science fiction. “We shared electricity with India at the time, so three or maybe four nights out of the week we didn’t even have electricity; mostly it was candlelight. We lived with my uncle and my aunts, my grandfather, and my cousins in a tiny little apartment. So I had a really …” she pauses, “colorful childhood, almost of another era.”

Lachman’s father, a Sydney native, was trekking through the Annapurna region of the Himalayas when he met his would-be wife, originally from Tibet, who was working at her family’s restaurant, a backpacker/tourist destination. “He told a friend, ‘I’m gonna marry that woman,’ ” Lachman recounts of her parents’ meeting. He did. The family moved to Australia when Dichen reached school age. “I remember taking my cousin to school [in Nepal]; it was in a hut, and they were still writing on slate with chalk. My father thought I’d have more opportunities if we were in Australia, so we moved to Adelaide.”

She was 23, living on her own in Sydney and dabbling in low-budget films — not long after the dog-fur incident — when she landed the role of Katya Kinski on Australia’s long-running soap opera Neighbours, a veritable breeding ground for Aussie exports. (Margot Robbie, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, and Russell Crowe are all alums.) A leading role in Joss Whedon’s sci-fi series Dollhouse brought Lachman to California in 2008.

Here, she met husband Maximilian Osinski, who is also an actor in the sci-fi/superhero sphere. Both have appeared in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, albeit in different seasons, and worked together on TNT’s end-of-days drama The Last Ship. Most recently Lachman portrayed alien ringmaster Roulette in Supergirl’s second season. Then Netflix came calling.

“It’s so refreshing because all of the women are such intricate, complex characters,” Lachman says. “They get to be beautiful and fierce, and they hit back. I think this is largely due to Laeta really wanting to show us off like that, to give us more than just a one-note character.”

As Kalogridis puts it, fierce women are the backbone of the show; they promote an underlying message of “owning your body and owning your power.”

Kalogridis has a stellar team, from set decorators and fight choreographers to visual effects artists and cinematographers, whose credits read like a best-of sci-fi list: Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War, War for the Planet of the Apes, Wonder Woman, The Martian. “This was definitely a labor of love for a lot of people,” she shares. “It’s not a movie, but it’s not necessarily what you associate with TV. It’s sort of occupying an interesting in-between space.”

“We were world-building,” adds costume designer Ann Foley, who joined the Altered Carbon team after four years with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., during which time she dressed Lachman. “That was one of the things that really drew me to this project — helping Laeta build and develop this world. One of the challenges when you’re doing anything futuristic is trying to keep it grounded and relatable so people don’t get distracted by the costumes. You don’t want to pull anybody out of the story.”

Foley orchestrates a visual crescendo through the season in ensembles that define each character and provide covert signals to the viewer. Lachman’s commanding wardrobe evolves alongside Rei’s tumultuous story arc; androgynous Samurai- and Sōhei-inspired combat gear metamorphoses into regal, sinewy shapes. Threading together her range of looks is one choice color. “You see so much green in the world where Reileen and Kovacs grew up,” says Foley, referring to scenes filmed in Vancouver’s verdant forest near Widgeon Falls. “You’ll see there will always be an element of that color in her costume, because that helps to inform who the character is.”

In Episode nine, Rei sits with Kovacs and tries to express the intrinsic bond she has always felt with him — a full-body, teeth-gritting sensation, a compulsion to hug tightly, to fuse, to be together forever. Despite hundreds of years of separation, in this world where one’s consciousness can live forever, occupying different bodies, Reileen has never stopped loving her brother. They are family, and family comes first.

“Remember what Mom used to say?” Reileen asks Kovacs as they sit at a small table in a seedy Moroccan-style hookah lounge. She chooses each word slowly and carefully. “ ‘I love you so much, I could eat you up.’ When you were arrested, they put me in an orphanage. All I had left of you was one of your old shirts … They ripped that shirt out of my hands — I can still feel it tearing, the threads still in my fingers. I knew they were going to take those too. So I swallowed them. Just to have something, anything, left of you.”

That passion is the characteristic Kalogridis saw in Lachman and the reason she sought her out for the role. “She brings a real depth and age to a character,” Kalogridis says. “I absolutely believe her version of a woman in her late teens/early 20s and a woman who is 255, 260 … Dichen’s just a very old and interesting soul. She is the warrior goddess.” Lachman has ventured a long way from Kathmandu, from Adelaide, and from Sydney, but as with all of us, the sum of her past experiences defines the person she is today.

“There’s a moment,” Lachman says, “where [my character] discovers Takeshi in the yukuza warehouse, and they just start killing everyone around them. She looks at him and smiles. There was all this action happening around us, and I had to try to cover my laughter because I kept thinking, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Who am I?! I’m originally from a Third World country, then a sleepy little town in Australia, and I’m running around like Rambo on this set with hundreds of stunt guys and people shooting guns at each other …

“This is what I dreamed about.”

[ssinkpress]

FROM: July 12, 2021.

SADIE SINK ON FEAR STREET, STRANGER THINGS, AND HITTING HER STRIDE

IN NETFLIX'S SLASHER TRILOGY, SHE PLAYS A CAMP OUTCAST BATTLING BOTH THE SNOTTY POPULAR CROWD AND SINISTER SUPERNATURAL FORCES

MTV NEWS STAFF 07/12/2021

By Annie Zaleski

When Sadie Sink connects with MTV News on a recent Monday, it's mere hours before the in-person premiere for Netflix's Fear Street trilogy. Later that night, the actress — who's perhaps best known for portraying Max on Stranger Things — would be spotted in Los Angeles State Historic Park wearing a black bandeau top, wide black pants, and hefty boots. On the phone, however, the Texas native reveals that this very morning, she realized this screening was exactly two years to the day after the premiere for Season 3 of Stranger Things.

Much has changed for Sink during this time. She turned 18 (and is now 19), graduated high school, and made some important decisions about post-grad life. But one of the most transformative things she did was film Fear Street Part Two: 1978, the second part of a horror-slasher film trilogy loosely based on R.L. Stine’s books. The film is released Friday (July 9) via Netflix, while the first movie, Fear Street Part One: 1994 was out on July 2. (The third and concluding installment in the series, Fear Street Part Three: 1666, is due July 16.)

Where Fear Street Part One: 1994 followed a group of teens growing up in a cursed small town, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 takes place in 1978, at a rural summer camp for teenagers with pure evil lurking beneath its wholesome exterior. Sink plays Ziggy Berman, a camp outcast who finds herself battling not just the snotty popular crowd, but sinister supernatural forces that have plagued residents of nearby towns for centuries.

While outwardly tough and tomboyish, Ziggy has a rich emotional interior, owing to a turbulent family life. That potential for depth appealed to Sink. "When I was looking over the script, at first glance, you can check her off as a very aggressive and intense character who's mad at the world. All of these things are true,” she says. “But what was important to me was to go and find moments that she was a little bit softer, and the moments that showed more of her vulnerabilities."

To prepare Sink for the role, Fear Street trilogy director Leigh Janiak recommended the actress watch a few slasher movies, including Friday the 13th and Scream. ("I think I got through some of them, because they're very scary," she says lightly.) And while Sink sees the parallels between Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and these classic horror films, "for the most part, I took it for what it was," she says. That's one reason Fear Street Part Two: 1978 feels so fresh: Sink wasn't beholden to clichés, but free to embrace her own spin on the horror genre.

The actress has some previous experience with supernatural stories, as she appeared in 2019's horror-thriller Eli, portraying a teenage girl with a spooky secret about her true identity. However, her acting resume tends toward theater (her first big break came in the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie) or more straightforward dramatic roles. In fact, she notes portraying Ziggy Berman also involved far more stunt work than she had done in the past, and was a much more physical role; among other things, she had to build up her stamina since so many scenes involved running.

"They require you to just really throw yourself into it and be out in the elements and really be in the moment, you leave everything out there," Sink says. "I became a lot more comfortable, you know, screaming on camera and doing things that feel so unnatural and ridiculous sometimes." Surprisingly, filming a horror film isn't all fear and anxiety, however: "There's this energy that's so fun on the horror-movie set," she adds. "And even though, sometimes, it's actually pretty tense and scary when it needs to be, for the most part, weirdly it feels a little bit more lighthearted than when you're doing something that's more dramatic."

That vibe has a lot to do with the approach of Janiak, who previously helmed and co-wrote 2014's equally suspenseful Honeymoon and who directed all three Fear Street films over one summer. "I'd wanted to work with Leigh for a while," Sink explains. "And in the lookbook that she put together, and sitting and meeting with her and hearing her talk about the films, she had a really strong and clear vision for all three of them." After the films wrapped, Sink's instincts were proven right — not just about Janiak's work ethic, but also her personality.

"She's probably the coolest person I know. On set, she was very encouraging and understanding. She made it a really fun environment. The great energy that she created on set really translated into the film. We were just having so much fun, and when watching the 1978 movie, you see that. The cast bonded so well together. It felt like a great, fun summer-camp experience."

The retro feeling (and retro music) of Fear Street Part Two: 1978 is reminiscent of Stranger Things at times. However, the actress sees distinct differences between Ziggy and her beloved Stranger Things character Max, a skateboarding and arcade game enthusiast who has also weathered family and personal challenges in a town plagued by weirdness. "Max still has this innocence about her. And I think she really enjoys being a kid and being free and everything," Sink says. "Ziggy is very misunderstood and wants to be seen as an adult because she's wise beyond her years. So the role is definitely more mature than my work than I've done on Stranger Things. It was stepping into something different."

Although the 2020 pandemic lockdown interrupted production of the latest Stranger Things season, Sink notes the cast picked up filming again without missing a beat. "It's an incredible season,” she says. “And the scale of it is just so massive this year. I think people are really going to enjoy it." It helped that Sink made the most of the break, and actually used the downtime to become closer to Max. "If anything, I just had more time to read through the scripts and connect with her even more this season. [I've been] playing the same character since I was 14, so you get to know her really well. You're able to slip in and out of character. But during the pandemic, I was missing set and missing the scripts, and, and I missed Max a lot, too."

The 2020 lockdown ended up being formative for Sink for plenty of other reasons, as well. She built on her love of writing and took up journaling during the long stretch of time at home. Turning 18 also meant she effectively is now considered an adult in the eyes of the acting industry, which removes schooling requirements and limitations on working hours. "It was a big change," she admits. "But I was so ready to get back to work that it didn't even faze me."

For the moment, Sink also decided to forgo college and focus on her career, although she "can definitely see myself going one day" in the future. "When I was younger, it was like, 'Oh, of course, I'm going to college,'" she says. "And then you actually get to that point and you're like, 'Wait, I don't know if this is the right idea. I think that would be too much for me right now.' And if I've learned anything from the pandemic, it's [to] take it one day at a time. You can't predict the future. So that's what I'm doing right now, I'm playing it by ear."

In the meantime, Sink is keeping busy: In addition to filming Stranger Things, she recently wrapped a drama called The Whale (with Darren Aronofsky and Brendan Fraser) and is also starring in the upcoming film Dear Zoe, in the role of a teenager navigating through the aftermath of her younger sister's death. "It's been a busy year so far. I kind of went straight into the fire from doing absolutely nothing for eight months, and then having a pretty stacked schedule. This summer, I'm hoping to relax and do absolutely nothing for a little bit."

Sink certainly deserves the break. "All these big changes were happening in my life, I had a lot of personal growth, I think. And I came out of the pandemic being so grateful for work and being able to be on set and being able to safely surround myself with faces that I'd missed so much."

[worldblog91]

Scp Containment Breach Ending

Scp Containment Breach Ending

Scp Containment Breach Ending Gate B

Scp Containment Breach Endings Wiki

SCP - Containment Breach is a free survival horror game based on the works of the SCP Foundation community. DOWNLOAD SCP - Containment Breach v1.3.11 (235 MB) MIRROR 1 (scpcbgame.com) MIRROR 2 (MEGA) Changelog.txt. Scp Containment Breach Free is safely and available to download for free from our website and easily install it in a few steps. Well, he did all the software work and I instinctively helped with testing, minor edits, and the dialogue for the puzzles. By free, the extreme version with a gtx sc is one of the searching shaders in the containment.

Never before has the popularity of a game has been driven so much by its community. Certainly nothing like SCP – Containment Breach, an indie open-source first person horror game inspired by the paranormal fictional deep web stories of the SCP Foundation.

SCP – Containment Breach is actually the perfect game for those who love fear in its purest of forms.

There are no complicated mechanics to learn, and no way to fight back the horrors that lurk inside the randomly generated facility you play inside. But if this isn’t enough to scare you to death, we’ve got something for you: a list of awesome mods that will make the experience even more terrifying.

You’ve been warned my friends.

15. Total Horror Breach

How do you make a horror game more horrific?

By horrifically changing its presentation!

The Total Horror Breach is a simple graphics and sound overhaul that makes Containment Breach even scarier. We get totally new character models and textures, and sound effects from the most popular horror games of 2012 and 2013. Spooky, I know.

The gameplay doesn’t change, but your nightmares surely will.

14. Realism Mod

I’m not sure I want a horror game to be realistic. I play and enjoy them exactly because they look nothing like the real world.

But if you’re not afraid of mixing fantasy and reality, you should definitely download the Realism Mod.

And yes, it’s exactly as it sounds: new character models for humans and other creatures, plus better sounds. Just avoid playing for too long at night: you risk ending up in a real SCP facility!

13. FOV Mod

If you’re playing Containment Breach on one of those modern 4K resolution monitors, the FOV mod will make the experience way more enjoyable.

This freebie adds the ability to change the game’s basic field of view value, so that you’ll be able to see more, or less, of the environment at any time during the game.

Make sure to not increase it too much if you’re playing on a small monitor, unless you somehow love experiencing motion sickness.

12. Five Nights at Freddy’s

Enough with those boring procedurally-generated rooms that all look the same.

Time to spend a night or two at Freddy’s!

This Five Nights at Freddy’s mod is pretty darn entertaining. It brings some new rooms and other visual elements inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy’s series.

The mod doesn’t include any major gameplay changes. But if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll recognize a few things right away.

11. Weeping Angel

Have you ever heard of the Weeping Angels? They’re mysterious. They’re dangerous.

And they’re roaming your facility!

The Weeping Angel mod replaces the SCP-173 character model with a Weeping Angel taken from the immensely popular British TV Show Doctor Who.

The angels, thankfully, don’t come with their unique powers. And you should be thankful they don’t: you wouldn’t have made it very far, trust me.

10. Disco Edition

I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be trapped inside a disco in SCP – Containment Breach… but hey, anything goes to spice up the game, doesn’t it?

This Disco Edition mod overhauls all of the game’s rooms, hallways, and some of the SCPs so that it feels like you’re in a disco, complete with flashing lights and appropriate sound effects that will bring forth an irresistible urge to dance.

Who would ever want to escape from this place?

9. Furry Breach

Fair warning: This mod is not to be taken seriously.

Furry Breach is a very humorous modification that introduces scribbles and all sorts of weird stuff in the game. I’m not really sure who was supposed to be mocked by all this… but I’m sure it’s great for a few laughs.

Some things are better left unsaid. So give this one a go and try it for yourself.

Scp Containment Breach Ending

8. WTF Messup Breach Remastered

Masters of Memes, the time for you to shine has finally come!

WTF Messup Breach Remastered will lock you inside a facility full of memes, corrosive rainbow enemies, and the sorts of stuff you can expect to see in the weirdest corner of the interwebz! Sorry, I suppose I already got contaminated here.

But if you’re looking for more fun and lighthearted gameplay, this is a mod worth trying.

7. More Rooms

In a procedurally generated game, having more elements to throw into the mix can only be a good thing. A very good thing.

More Rooms introduces a few new rooms to the game, including a new office hallway for the light containment zone, a new tunnel for the heavy containment zone, and so on.

This mod is worth installing if you’ve been playing the game for a long time, and have mastered all of its tricks. Time to get surprised once again!

6. 087-B Mod

SCP – Containment Breach can be a very scary experience. But man, you have seen nothing until you install the 087-B Mod.

This mod not only overhauls the facility’s appearance so that it looks much darker than usual, but it also brings a ton of subtle changes to the atmosphere. And even changes to gameplay mechanics.

It will almost feel like you are playing an official expansion. Specifically an expansion that wants you to wet your pants in fear!

5. Dark Confinement

Want to spice up the Containment Breach experience with a little bit more horror?

Stop wasting time and download the Dark Confinement mod. You’ll love it.

Like a couple of other mods in this list, the Dark Confinement mod aims to make the game scarier by introducing new textures, new looks for some of the SCPs, new voice clips, new sounds, a new intro sequence, and tons of new custom rooms for each containment zone.

For the best effect, try playing at night. See if you can make longer than an hour.

4. MLG Edition

The MLG Edition mod makes Containment Breach a much scarier experience, for sure. But not in the way you may expect.

But I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you, so I won’t tell you exactly what’s going on here… suspense is part of the fun.

All I can tell you is this: beware of the blue hedgehogs. And the smoking heads!

3. Half-Life: Resonance Cascade

Valve seems determined to not give us the third main entry in the Half-Life series we so desperately want, leaving us poor fans very little choice other than resorting to fan-made games and modifications.

The Half-Life: Resonance Cascade is a total overhaul that fans of the classic series will surely enjoy.

It tries to provide a look at the Black Mesa incident from a different perspective. The attention to detail in this mod is absolutely the highest caliber, so you’d better not skip on this one. Even if you’re not a die-hard Half-Life fan who prays daily for a new entry in the series, I’d say it’s still worth it.

If you’ve never played the Half-Life series then who knows, maybe this mod will turn you onto it.

2. Nine-Tailed Fox Mod

If you’re looking for a real gameplay overhaul, you should look no further than the Nine-Tailed Fox Mod.

This is among the best add-ons ever made for SCP – Containment Breach. Why so great?

Mostly thanks to the inclusion of a lot of new gameplay mechanics, including functional guns and a health bar. No more running away from these fearsome creatures: load your shotguns and show them who’s the real terror of the world.

1. Ultimate Edition

To properly mod SCP – Containment Breach, you can go at it in two different ways.

You either download all the mods in this list (and hope they’re compatible with one another) or you download the Ultimate Edition.

Ultimate Edition is a massive modding project that includes the most popular mods ever made for the game.

This means you get improved visuals, new content, new gameplay mechanics, and so on, all in a very tight package that’s just one click away.

Just make sure your PC is up for the task: in gaming, as in life, the weak get left behind.

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A summary of the Broadway hit.

When we first discovered a way to pull webpages from alternate timelines, this was not what we expected to find. Merry Christmas and happy New Year from the Department of Multiverse Analysis.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about the stage musical. For the book series, see Containment Breach. For the film series, see Containment Breach (film series). For other uses, see Containment Breach (disambiguation).

Containment Breach The Musical

Broadway Playbill cover

MusicSophia MacLeodLyricsCarlisle AtticusBookSal Linnen andRoger MackenzieBasis2007 novel by Kate McGearsProductions2009 Wyoming tryout2009 Broadway2011 US Tour2012 West End2014 UK Tour

Containment Breach The Musical is a musical with music by Sophia Macleod, lyrics by Carlisle Atticus, and book by Sal Linnen and Roger Mackenzie. It is based on the best-selling 2007 novel Containment Breach, the first book in the SCP Foundation series by author Kate McGears.

The musical debuted January 11, 2009, at the Oneiroi Theater in Wyoming and met with instant critical and commercial success. It premiered on Broadway at the Palace Theater on October 6, 2009.[1] The musical has since become a popular choice for productions by community theatres, school and university groups, summer camps and regional theatre companies.[2]

Synopsis

Act 1

A married couple are aroused from their sleep by the sound of a crying infant. The wife tells her husband that it's his turn to check on the baby. As the husband opens the door to their bedroom, he turns around and exclaims with alarm that they do not have a child. The husband is pulled through the doorway by an off-stage assailant. The terrified wife calls the police, and the call is intercepted by the Foundation Surveillance Network ('Something is [REDACTED]ing My Husband!').

Mobile Task Force Beta-12 arrives to find a globular red mass closing in on the wife. The team captures the creature in a metal crate, administers amnestics to the wife, and cleans up the husband's remains ('Just Another Tuesday'). They transport the creature to Site-19's North Containment Hall and lock it in a containment cell next to SCP-049 ('Secure, Contain, Protect'). Dr. Jack Bright and his assistants walk through the corridor to check that all SCPs are accounted for ('Roll Call').

Bright enters SCP-105's containment chamber and performs a routine test of her anomalous ability to see locations in photographs as they presently appear ('What a Wonderful World'). Afterward, she is told she may be granted certain privileges for her good behavior. SCP-105 requests various luxury items, including fresh flowers and a bible, but also asks that Dr. Bright call her by her real name, Iris. Bright approves all her requests except the final one, as calling her by her real name would be a breach of protocol ('List of Requests').

Burdened by his obligation to treat the innocent captives the same way he treats the monsters, Bright goes to the SCP-408 enclosure and confesses his guilty feelings to lepidopterist Dr. Zynnia Kondraki. Kondraki reassures Bright that he is doing the right thing, although her speech includes a number of subtle allusions to the clear romantic tension between them ('Bright's Lament').

Elsewhere in Site-19, the amorphous red blob (now designated SCP-844) reveals itself to have the voice and personality of a small, frightened child. SCP-049, contained in the neighboring cell, tries to explain SCP-844's situation in a sensitive and gentle way, but he is interrupted by Able (SCP-076), who provides a more frank and honest description of life in containment ('Where am I?'/'Being Anomalous Really Sucks, Okay?').

Loud sirens and bright flashing lights suddenly fill the hallway. The SCPs cheer, recognizing it as a Containment Breach alarm. They happily speculate who may have attained freedom, but are horrified when they find that it is SCP-106 ('Who's the Lucky Bastard?'/'Oh HELL No!'). SCP-106 silently performs a short dance number before leaving to wreak havoc in Site-19 ('Rage State Ragtime').

Meanwhile, Bright and Kondraki come close to sharing their first kiss while SCP-408 specimens create a romantic atmosphere around them ('Screw Professionalism'). Just as they are about to confess their feelings for one another, Site Director Yorick Cleffordson announces over Site-19's PA system that all personnel must assist in recontaining SCP-106 at any cost ('Put That Thing Back Where It Came From (Or So Help Me)'). Bright and Kondraki exchange awkward goodbyes and quickly run off to defend their Site.

Bright searches Site-19's East Storage Wing for anything that might be able to stop SCP-106, but all he finds are Safe-Class objects with bizarre-but-unhelpful abilities ('My Kingdom for a Euclid'). Finally, he grabs a handful of objects with unidentified anomalous properties and leaves, hoping for the best ('What the Hell, I'm Dead Either Way').

SCP-106 walks through Site-19's cafeteria, killing staff members right and left. Suddenly the cafeteria turns into an idyllic pastoral scene, causing SCP-106 to recoil in terror. It sends handfuls of black, highly acidic sludge into the air, causing SCP-408 specimens to scatter and fall (“[TANGO EXPUNGED]”). Just as SCP-106 spies Kondraki in the corner of the room, Bright bursts in with his arms full of undocumented SCP objects. He throws them one after another at SCP-106, but to no avail. SCP-106 slowly advances toward Bright until the two are face-to-face. SCP-106 reaches forward menacingly, but at the last moment, Bright puts a comb on SCP-106’s head, turning it into a beautiful young woman– much to its distress.

Site Director Yorickson enters the room with back-up security personnel, and SCP-106 is apprehended before it can remove the comb. Just as the trouble seems to be over, a support beam weakened by SCP-106’s sludge attacks begins to collapse. Bright sees the support about to fall on Kondraki and he pushes her out of the way, sacrificing himself in the process. He confesses his love to her with his dying breaths (“Screw Professionalism (Reprise)”). As his body goes limp, a red amulet falls out of his hand.

Act 2

Several days after the containment breach, a team of D-Class personnel is cleaning the damaged cafeteria. One of them finds the red amulet lying amongst some rubble and picks it up. His entire disposition immediately changes, and he runs out of the room in confusion. When captured and questioned, he claims to be Dr. Jack Bright. After he correctly answers questions only the real Bright would know, his interrogators are forced to believe him ('I'm a Doctor, Not a D-Class”).

Bright, in his new body, is designated as SCP-963 and placed in a holding cell until an available containment chamber can be found. Bright notes the irony of finding himself on the other side of the containment door (“Bright’s Lament (Reprise)'). He is surprised to find himself moved to an “overflow” chamber containing other humanoids. His cellmates, SCP-2800 and SCP-1846, attempt to raise his spirits (“It's Like a Really Long Vacation”).

Meanwhile, Kondraki, still believing Bright to be dead, has her butterflies create an illusion of him so she can say goodbye (“Damn Your Sexy Face”). Dr. Everett King enters the butterfly enclosure to retrieve some notes, and several butterflies escape as he comes in. Kondraki follows them to the cell where Bright is being held, and the two reunite (“I’m Confused, But Kiss Me”).

Elsewhere in Site-19, Able has been transferred to the cell next to Iris’. The two recount the romantic relationship they fostered as teammates in the Omega-7 Task Force as well the breakup that followed. Able begs her to see the warm, loving man behind the brutal killer (“I Would Probably Never Gut You”). However, Iris rejects the idea of ever getting back together.

Bright continues to live day-to-day life an SCP, growing increasingly dissatisfied with the way he is treated by his former co-workers. (“When You’re a Skip”). He gradually becomes sympathetic to the plight of his fellow humanoid SCPs. He only embraces the “good” SCPs at first, but he eventually warms up to the more dangerous ones as well (“We’re All Monsters, Really”).

During his weekly secret rendezvous with Kondraki, Bright tells of a massive breakout he is planning with his fellow SCPs. He instructs her to hide in a safe place so she will not be hurt during the escape, and promises to run away with her when he is free (“What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”). Kondraki agrees, but later confesses to her butterflies that she is morally conflicted (“I’m So Screwed, Guys”).

The following day, Bright springs his plan into action. With the help of various SCP allies, A massive containment breach is successfully instigated (“The Breakout Song”). Many personnel are killed in the ensuing breach, including Bright himself. However, he comes back once again when his amulet falls onto Dr. King’s recently-deceased body (“Why Do I Taste Apples?”). Bright personally releases Iris from her containment chamber, finally calling her by her proper name. Able pleads for Iris to open his containment door and release him, but she chooses not to (“It Wasn’t a Healthy Relationship At All, Really”).

Bright finds Kondraki, but she has had a change of heart and cannot bring herself to run away with him. She explains that she needs to keep her promise to the Foundation by staying behind to help recontain the SCPs that want to destroy humanity, but she still wants Bright to escape while he can (“Screw Professionalism (Reprise, Again)”). The two say a tearful goodbye and Bright departs while Kondraki stays behind to fight alongside her butterflies.

After the breach, Kondraki once again has her butterflies create an illusion of Bright with his original face. Her friend, Dr. Agatha Reach, enters the enclosure, grieving the death of Dr. King, and the two commiserate over their lost loves (“All My Boyfriends End Up Dead”). Suddenly, Bright enters the room, still in King’s body, and explains that no one knew King had died except the three of them, meaning he can essentially take over King's identity. Reach is initially disturbed, but decides she is happy her friends can be together, and says that King would have wanted things this way. Bright and Kondraki kiss, overjoyed at the second chance at living a normal life again together in Site-19 (“A Happy Ending, Sort Of”).

A group of shadowy figures monitor surveillance footage of the previous scene. As they discuss what to do, Able enters the room in a suit, revealing himself to be O5-1, head of the Overseer Council. He explains that the whole event was orchestrated by the Overseers, and that they have decided to allow Bright to live on as Dr. King. The Council meeting breaks for lunch and Able is left alone in the room. Iris suddenly enters, confused. Able explains it was all a test, and Iris tearfully runs to his arms. With the containment breach officially over, the rest of Site-19's personnel get back to work (“Secure, Contain, Protect (Reprise)”.

Scp Containment Breach Ending Gate B

Original Broadway Cast

Scp Containment Breach Endings Wiki

ActorRoleAndrew S. BearDr. Jack BrightDjango RicmannDr. Jack Bright, 2nd BodyMontala RothDr. Zynnia KondrakiChris DeMatisseDr. Everett KingKirby CavenderDr. Clefford YoricksonSilva DiezDr. Agatha ReachPeppa DenkarIrisTom StoneAbleHippolyta ArdsonSCP-106Cyril LockeSCP-844Troy DuChampSCP-049Chaz D. KevereauxSCP-2800Fritz Conwill E.SCP-1846Erica H. AnberoughMrs. HaloCane P. RavenMr. HaloVaughn PencerSCP-527

[aion-rsa]

HBO Max New Releases: March 2021

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It’s happening. It’s finally happening. What was once a particularly pervasive and aggressive Internet meme is now a reality. HBO Max’s list of new releases for March 2021 is highlighted by none other than the mythical Snyder cut.

The entity now known as Zach Snyder’s Justice League will premiere on March 18. While it was originally planned to be a four-part miniseries, this recut version of 2017’s ill-fated Justice League will in fact be a four-hour movie. But perhaps even four hours won’t be enough for fans who have been waiting years for just such an event.

Read more

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Zack Snyder’s Original Vision for Justice League Faded Long Before His Exit

By Joseph Baxter

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Justice League: How Christopher Nolan Helped Prevent Zack Snyder from Seeing the Whedon Cut

By David Crow

If the Snyder Cut is not to your speed, there are plenty of other (and shorter) options on HBO Max in March. The series Generation premieres March 11 and is another look at the youths of today a la Euphoria. This one, however, just happens to be cowritten by an actual youth. Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests is an intriguing-sounding documentary about the perils of Myers-Briggs tests and it premieres on March 4.

HBO Max closes out the month of March with another major blockbuster. Godzilla v. Kong will bow on March 31 and will hopefully deliver a fare share of monster mashing.

Here is everything else coming to HBO Max this month.

HBO Max New Releases – March 2021

TBA Prodigal Son

March 1 10 Years, 2012  A Mouse Tale, 2012  Adventureland, 2009  Assault On Precinct 13, 1976  Assault On Precinct 13, 2005  Bandits, 2001  Barefoot, 2014  Blade, 1998 The Brothers Grimm, 2005  Bowfinger, 1999  Cesar Chavez, 2014  Charlotte’s Web, 2006  CHiPs, 2017  Constantine, 2005 The Doors, 1991  Dr. Dolittle 2, 2001  Dream House, 2011  Driving Miss Daisy, 1989 Eulogy, 2004  Fierce People, 2007  Final Analysis, 1992  Final Space, Seasons 1-2 Finding Neverland, 2004  Gloria, 2014  Going In Style, 2017  Gone, 2012  Hard, Season 2 Premiere  Hellbenders, 2013  Henry Poole Is Here, 2008  House Arrest, 2012  Immigration Tango, 2011  Jungle Master, 2014  Just Before I Go, 2015  The King’s Speech, 2010 Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, 2006  Live By Night, 2016  The Lost Boys, 1987 Machine Gun Preacher, 2011  Malice, 1993  Man On A Ledge, 2012  Miss Sharon Jones!, 2015 No Se Aceptan Devoluciones (AKA Instructions Not Included), 2013  Ocean’s Eleven, 2001 Ocean’s Thirteen, 2007 Ocean’s Twelve, 2004 One More Time, 2016  Our Brand Is Crisis, 2015  Parental Guidance, 2012  Pitch Perfect, 2012  Princess Kaiulani, 2010  The Quiet Ones, 2014  The Raven, 2012  Red Dragon, 2002  Repentance, 2014  The River Wild, 1994  School Dance, 2014  Secretary, 2002 Shadows, 2021  Stand Up Guys, 2013  Super Capers, 2009  Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, 2005 The Undocumented Lawyer, 2021  Unforgettable, 2017  The Voices, 2015  Veronica Mars, 2014 Wedding Crashers, 2005 Wiener Dog Internationals, 2017 

March 3 Hunter x Hunter, (Dubbed, episodes 100-148) (Crunchyroll Collection)

March 4 Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests, Max Original Documentary Premiere

March 5 No Matarás (Aka Cross The Line), 2021  Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 (Dubbed, episodes 14-25) (Crunchyroll Collection)

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Movies

How Godzilla vs. Kong Beats Back Batman v Superman Comparisons

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March 6 12 oz. Mouse, Season 3 Lost Resort Rocky, 1975  Rocky Balboa, 2006  Rocky II, 1979  Rocky III, 1982  Rocky IV, 1985  Rocky V, 1990 

March 8 The Investigation, Limited Series Finale

March 9 Ballmastrz: 9009, Season 2 COVID Diaries NYC, Documentary Premiere 

March 10 YOLO: Crystal Fantasy

March 11 Genera+ion S1A, Max Original Premiere South ParQ Vaccination Special Tig n’ Seek, Season 1B Premiere

March 12 Isabel Nuestras Madres (Aka Our Mothers), 2021  Tigtone, Season 2

March 13 Speed, 1994  Three Busy Debras

March 14 Allen v. Farrow, Documentary Series Finale Messy Goes to Okido

March 15 Infomercials

March 16 Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, Season 5 (Dubbed) (Crunchyroll Collection)

March 17 Superman: The Animated Series

March 18 Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Max Original Film Premiere

March 19 A Tiny Audience, Season 2 Premiere 

March 20 Beverly Hills Cop, 1984  Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987  Beverly Hills Cop III, 1994 

March 22 Beartown, Limited Series Finale

March 23 Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,  

March 26 Hotel Coppelia, 2021 

March 27  Tina, Documentary Premiere 

March 30 The Last Cruise, Documentary Premiere 

March 31 Godzilla vs. Kong, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021

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Leaving HBO Max – March 2021

March 1 Shazam!, 2019 

March 12 Vacation, 2015

March 13 The Curse Of La Llorona, 2019 

March 14 Judas and the Black Messiah, 2021

March 22 Pokemon Detective Pikachu, 2019 

March 28 Tom & Jerry, 2021

March 31 Alien, 1979 (Director’s Cut)  Alien 3, 1992 (Extended Version)  Alien Resurrection, 1997 (Extended Version)  Aliens, 1986  All The Right Moves, 1983  Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, 2011  Any Given Sunday, 1999 Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero, 1998 Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, 2004  The Bush Years: Family. Duty. Power., 2019 The Chronicles Of Riddick, 2004 (Director’s Cut) ( HBO) Die Hard 2, 1990  Die Hard With A Vengeance, 1995  Die Hard, 1988  Edtv, 1999  The End: Inside The Last Days Of The Obama White House,, 2017 Grudge Match, 2013  Habana Boxing Club, 2018  Hours, 2013  The Last Emperor, 1987  Last Knights, 2015  Love & Basketball, 2000 Michael, 1996 Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993  The Night Before, 1988  P.S. I Love You, 2007 Purple Rain, 1984 Queen & Slim, 2019  Revolutionary Road, 2008  Richard Jewell, 2019  Ruby Sparks, 2012  See No Evil, 2006  Sleight, 2017 

The post HBO Max New Releases: March 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Spike TV's reality series Bar Rescue has been on the air for several years. The show, hosted by nighttime entertainment consultant Jon Taffer, features a roster of bar owners, nightclub managers, and experienced restaurateurs who offer their expertise to help floundering businesses rebound from financial ruin and to avoid bankruptcy.

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Bar Rescue premiered in 2011 and has tallied more than 200 episodes in the span of nine years. The series also inspired a spin-off show called Marriage Rescue, which debuted in June of 2019. here are the best episodes of Bar Rescue ranked according to IMDb.

Updated on February 5th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: Bar Rescue continues to be an engaging reality television show that is similar to Gordon Ramsay's various shows like To Hell and Back and Kitchen Nightmares where he goes to the most disgusting restaurants and tries to help fix them. Jon Taffer has continued to host Bar Rescue throughout its entire run as he goes into each failing bar with a crew including a mixologist and tries to help turn the bar around through mainly helping the owner with their leadership skills, their employees, their menu, and their decor. 

15 Silence Of The Ants (S5E26) 7.7/10

In Silence of the Ants, Taffer takes fellow bar consultant Tiffany Derry along with show narrator P.J. King to the shores of Long Beach, California to help clean up a serious insect takeover.

When John and the crew arrive in Long Beach, they discover a squalid barroom overrun by fruit flies and sugar ants. The title of the episode is an obvious reference to the Thomas Harris novel, The Silence of the Lambs, which was adapted as the 1991 Best Picture Winner by the late director Jonathan Demme.

14 Taken for Granted (S7E7) 7.8/10

Jon Taffer travels to try to save a bar called The Grant Bar. The biggest problem the bar has is that the owner believes that he isn't at fault for any of the bar's issues.

He always blames everyone else for the problems that arise in the bar, but obviously, Taffer isn't going to allow the bar to continue to operate this way with an owner who doesn't take responsibility.

13 Second Base Third Strike (S4 E11) 7.8/10

This episode follows Jon Taffer as he returns to a bar that the team had already rescued previously in the first episode where they attempt to re-rescue a bar called the Second Base Bar & Grill.

Taffer returns to a bar to find that the entire staff and bar is struggling mainly because the owner has become disengaged with actively running the bar and everyone is suffering because of it. It's one of the few episodes where Taffer walks out and refuses to help.

12 Phishing for Answers (S6 E15) 7.8/10

Taffer travels to save the bar Phish Heads when a couple asks him to come and try to push their son to successfully run the bar. The couple is on the verge of bankruptcy and their son is failing in running the bar and is threatening his parents' financial future if he doesn't get his act together.

Their son refuses to try and instead is lazily approaching the serious issue of their finances and his responsibility to owning the bar and doesn't have any determination or passion.

11 Mother Doesn't Know Best (S5E24) 7.8/10

In Mother Knows Best, the ninth highest-rated episode of Bar Rescue, John Taffer and his team take their advice to Sin City.

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Upon arrival in Las Vegas, Taffer and his crew meet a matronly woman who owns a severely struggling dive bar along the strip. Prone to having a good time and abdicating her professional responsibilities, Taffer makes an impassioned plea for the woman to take greater ownership of her business and conduct herself with more discipline.

10 Storming The Castle (S4E16) 7.9/10

Taffer and company get more than they bargained for when attempting to help an attitudinal bar owner in Storming the Castle, is one of the highest-rated episode of the series according to IMDB.

When Taffer arrives at a barroom called Stein Haus, modeled after an ancient castle, he meets the owner, Ivan Vuich. Taffer soon realizes Vuich has extreme temper issues and an inability to control his anger. Taffer makes suggestions on how to improve Stein Haus, but they are met with surly sneers at every turn.

9 Antisocial Media (S5E4) 7.9/10

In Antisocial Media, Taffer attempts to help out a self-defeating bar owner and his brother, a military vet in California beset with severe PTSD.

In small-town California, John discovers a pub owner who is not only known for bad service, but also for a slew of negative social media posts made in response to critical customers. The owner also takes care of his PTSD-ridden brother, who can't shake the scars of combat, pulling his attention away from his business duties.

8 Operation Puerto Rico (S6E19) 7.9/10

In the one-hour special Bar Rescue: Operation Puerto Rico, Taffer was joined by the celebrity likes of Mark Cuban, Luis Guzman, Bethenny Frankel, and NBA player J.J. Barea for a major humanitarian effort.

Taffer and his crew faced his biggest challenge yet when tasked with helping rebuild the family-owned beachfront bar called El K'Rajo in Puerto Rico. The establishment was completely annihilated by Hurricane Maria in September of 2017, leaving its owner in total ruin as a result.

7 Still Bill (S7 E4) 8.0/10

This episode of Bar Rescue follows Jon Taffer as he tries to rescue The Midway Tavern bar that has fallen into disarray in Bill Rowe's leadership.

Rowe is a passive leader who isn't sure about what he should be doing in his position and tends to let everyone do what they want instead of being a successful and clear spoken leader. Taffer tries to get him in shape and help him become a successful leader so he can run the bar at a profit and pay back his in-laws.

6 Desi, You Got Some 'Splanin' To Do (S5E20) 8.0/10

In the 20th episode of Bar Rescue's Season 5, Taffer takes fellow nightclub consultant Brad Bohannon to help an elderly bar owner recover his business after suffering from a near-fatal stroke.

When John and Brad meet the owner, they realize he's too ill to keep his business afloat, much less successful. The man turns to booze to drown his pain, dwindling his own alcohol supply and dipping into his own profits. The episode title refers to the classic I Love Lucy episode in which Ricky (Desi Arnaz) tells Lucy "you have some splainin' to do!"

5 Breaking Brandon (S7E3) 8.0/10

The only episode of the most recent season to rank among the top 10 episodes of Bar Rescue includes Breaking Brandon, a titular reference to AMC's hit series Breaking Bad.

RELATED: 5 Of The Funniest Bar Rescue Episodes & 5 Of The Worst, Ranked

In the episode, Taffer tries to offer his services to a bar owner in the throes of a psychological meltdown. After sinking his mother's life savings into a business investment, the man is left with only four days to shut down his dream bar. With time ticking and pressure mounting, the man loses his senses.

4 All Twerk And No Pay Makes Taffer Shut It Down (S5 E18) 8.3/10

In this episode, Taffer tries to save Speakeasy Bar & Grill in Louisiana. The owner of the Speakeasy Bar & Grill has an emotional breakdown when it seems that her bar is going to fail before Taffer attempts to rescue it.

The bar and the owner suffers several setbacks and it all becomes understandably overwhelming and she worries about her well-being and the bar's future.

3 Casually Tapped Out (S5E22) 8.3/10

In Casually Tapped Out, Taffer faces a unique problem he never experienced in all his time on Bar Rescue, owner fatigue.

Taffer arrives at a shuddered neighborhood bar and learns the owner, who happens to be a firefighter, is completely burned out by the business. Taffer is tasked with reopening the bar, which cannot occur until the firefighter rekindles his passion and summons the energy to press on.

2 Punch-Drunk & Trailor-Trashed (S3E33) 8.4/10

Taffer's patience is pushed to the ultimate limits in Punch-Drunk & Trailor Trashed, in which he and mixologist Russell Davis get involved with an abusive and dysfunctional family in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

When arriving in Iowa to help rescue the O'Face Bar, Taffer meets a volatile family whose argumentative antics are too much to bear. Taffer ultimately decides the family and bar are beyond repair and walks away. It's the first bar in the history of the series which Taffer refused to rescue. In 2014, the government of Council Bluffs was so outraged by the owners of the bar that they refused to renew their liquor license. The decision has since been reversed upon appeal.

1 Things That Go Pahrump In The Night (S5E23) 8.5/10

The highest-rated episode of Bar Rescue to date according to IMDb is Things That Go Pahrump in the Night. In addition to Taffer, the show features fellow consultants Tom Bonello and Chef Vic Vegas.

Taffer's task takes a medical turn when arriving in Pahrump, Nevada to find a bar owner in desperate need of salvation. Not only is the man's bar in financial ruin, but a medical condition may permanently claim his eyesight. Taffer and his team race against time to help the man before it's too late.

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