#FALL 2017 TV SEASON

[ordinaryschmuck]

I love that The Ghost and Molly McGee's forced cancellation isn't just frustrating to fans of the show but to people in the animation industry as well. They're just as sick as we are about how much studios disrespect animation. They keep looking for the next Spongebob, Simspons, or goodness forbid Family Guy, but instead having faith in the creators and their content, they just...wait. They wait to make a profit and do the bare minimum to market their shows and make them available.

Let's look at Gravity Falls for example. I remember that when Gravity Falls was still airing, you would be able to find out a new episode was coming out based on coming across a commercial by random chance or by the people working the show promoting it online. Add that with the fact that it was on a different channel that required you paying MORE for your cable to get it. It WAS available through Disney Channel, a channel more available at a cheaper price, but the entire of Season Two got moved to the more expensive Disney XD, where Disney shows go to die, because...REASONS. With no warning or announcement. I think I found out about Gravity Falls moving to Disney XD because the trailer played during a commercial break. And that's just the START the show's problems. Mixed in with poor marketing, the show would have a crazy inconsistent schedule, where we'd have four episodes a week, a few months of NOTHING, a few more episodes a week, nothing for a few months, a random episode playing between that nothingness with next to no promotion, and all of that happening to the rest of the show until it finally died a slow death with its series finale where four episodes got stretched out for six months. That...is NOT okay. And it doesn't stop with Gravity Falls.

Steven Universe, OK KO, Ducktales 2017, Amphibia, The Owl House, and now Ghost and Molly McGee are all shows that had similar and sometimes WORSE treatments as Gravity Falls did, where the networks gave next to NO marketing, the creators had to promote their own shows themselves, and the airing schedules were so inconsistent with wildly long hiatuses that only the most dedicated fans were willing to keep watching. General audiences (mainly kids) weren't willing to keep up with shows that had ongoing stories if the episodes stories kept being too spaced apart and never had reruns as frequent as other shows like Teen Titans Go or Big City Greens (Or whatever's constantly on network TV nowadays. I don't know. I mostly watch shit on streaming).

The people of the animation industry is catching onto all of these tricks, and they're getting sick of it. They're getting sick of inconsistent schedules. They're getting sick of trying to bend over backwards in every possible way to make the show they wanted. By either making serialized content as episodic as possible so the network could air it more or by condensing their stories as much as they can, already expecting that forced cancellation to happen sooner than later. And in some cases, they don't even get the luxury of being told their show is ending. Did you know that Inside Job and Paranormal Park both had seasons that were already in development before Netflix pulled the plug shortly after releasing new episodes of their shows? Did you know that The Ghost and Molly McGee was already working on a Season Three before Disney shut that down so they had to force out a series finale that would still be good despite the cancellation? Because it's true. It's ALWAYS true. Creators want to make MORE, but the studios won't let them because they didn't profit off of it. Except they WOULD HAVE if they treated it better.

I want kids to grow up with characters that stick around through their childhood, just like I did with mine. I want kids to have their own Ed, Edd n Eddy, Codename: Kids Next Door, Phineas and Ferb, or Kim Possible. I want kids to watch shows that last more than two-three seasons, stick around for years, and leave an impact as if they have all the time in the world because to them, it feels like they do. I want kids to have a show that ends on a high note because the creators wanted it and not because the networks demanded it. But the unfortunate thing is that it doesn't seem possible nowadays. Because if a mostly episodic show like The Ghost and Molly McGee fails, despite being charming and inoffensive and something most kids will love, the what hope IS left.

[irisbleufic]

Of all the bullshit I never expected to be back on with the same intensity of October through December of 2000, Beetlejuice was not it. But I finally got to see the musical yesterday, and the part of me that has adored all 94 episodes of the animated series from the moment I started watching them on ABC Saturday mornings in 1989 just fucking flared—this fond, awful tightness in my chest. It’s the first TV show I ever imprinted on; it’s been with me since childhood. Surreal.

About 4 years into watching the cartoon, I finally saw the live-action movie that the cartoon was based on. I hated it, because it was so malevolent and empty compared to the incredible world-building characters in the animated series. Serious shout-outs to Stephen Ouimette and Alyson Court for all that stunning, hilarious, and often moving voicework.

Now, okay, I need to go back to 2000 again to make this all make sense. I’d watched the show from 1989 until whenever the 4th season ended. It wasn’t until I was in my first semester of college, newly transplanted to New England, that I found a couple folks within my program who had loved the show growing up, too. I ordered all of the episodes on VHS. It was difficult to track them all down in 2000, and it was expensive. But I pulled it off, and we had Friday night watch parties for weeks over the month of October. But that is not where this ends.

I was in the process of winding down the writing I’d been doing on Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow for the entirety of my senior year of high school. Suddenly, I’m in college and watching this fucking cartoon and thinking, there is so much heart in this. How the fuck is there so much heart. I haven’t seen two characters this wholesome codependent in, well, ever. I went looking for forums and mailing lists devoted to the cartoon. I found a mailing list. There were a handful of artists drawing amazing fancomics on there, and they were like, what do you do? Oh. I write. And they were like: do you understand how desperately some of us have wanted fic, but just can’t find it?

That is the wrong thing to say to me when I’m on a downward spiral of realizing I’m not going to escape a fandom without getting myself into a project so long that it’s all I’ll be doing for fucking months on end. If you’re one of the people who knew me back then, you know what I did for those four months in the fall/winter of 2000. I wrote a novel. Sure, I came close to failing a couple of classes, but it was the first time I understood exactly what I was capable of building as a fanwriter. Maybe even as a real writer.

“Time Will Tell” was hosted on a friend’s Angelfire site for a handful of years. People found it via LiveJournal, too, because I linked it there. I put it on AO3 somewhere circa 2012 and took it down again in 2017 because I didn’t feel there was enough interest in it, and also, my 19-year-old editorial foibles and typos were aspects I wanted to amend in it.

The musical took more inspiration from the cartoon than the film. I’m stunned and grateful for that. I found the “Time Will Tell” file buried pretty deep in my Gmail folders. I’ve been reading it since the drive home last night. I just can’t believe there’s now enough of a fandom for me to consider finally polishing it and getting it back online. It’s one of my two oldest surviving pieces of writing.

Anyway, sorry for the Gotham fic delays that I’d been trying to get a handle on. Now that the semester’s over, I feel that getting this thing I wrote twenty-three years ago back to the light of day is the best use of my time for a couple weeks.

If you’re one of the people who read “Time Will Tell” back in the day, thank you. I don’t know how many people out there still remember it beyond maybe ten or so friends I’m still in contact with all these years later. I’m sorry it disappeared for a while.

[raider5]

As a Loki stan since Thor (2011), can I just say how happy, vindicated, rewarding and proud I feel looking at the love and respect Loki is getting at the moment.

Like Loki stans went through hell during the period from Thor: Ragnarok (2017) to Avengers: Infinity War (2018) where we had to see Loki's character and storyline be reduced significantly and without proper explanation and execution.

So much were we upset by Loki's dwindling storyline that we made up numerous theories on how he would return in Avengers: Endgame and have a hand in helping defeat Thanos. Alas, that wasn't the case.

As we sat waiting for a glimmer of hope for Loki, we got Season 1 of the Loki TV series and things started looking up for our fandom again. The ramifications of the Season 1 finale made Loki more interconnected than ever to the multiverse and now with Season 2, wow Loki is the saviour of the Multiverse, the being that is quite literally keeping the Multiverse from falling apart. To see such an incredible character slowly find himself and his place in this vast storyline makes me emotional and proud to have always believed in him from the beginning🥹

And Tom Hiddleston, there are no words to describe your understanding, portrayal, affection and guardianship of Loki. You have truly breathed a comic character to life like never before. Thank you for always making sure Loki is well looked after🙏

As the TVA says "For All Time, Always", I want to say the below to LOKI :

"For Loki, Always 💚"

[lastweeksshirttonight]

LEE'S FAQ!

Over the past nearly-two years, I've noticed that I get some questions about John's work asked repeatedly. That doesn't bother me - half of his prominent work is somewhat lost media, Tumblr's search is super fucked, and I always want to help anyone falling down the JO rabbit hole - but I realized that one central pinned post would be helpful! I'll keep this up to date as much as possible.

I know I have a lot of international followers, and if you have any knowledge of where to stream or find some of these items, please let me know and I'll update this post.

WHERE CAN I FIND...?

Anything really, I've just started going down this rabbit hole:

The John Oliver Masterlist is an incredible resource - while it hasn't been updated since about 2017 and has some broken links (especially in the LWT sections), it has functional links to every JO clip from The Daily Show, all the main segments of LWT through 2017, radio shows, and lots of other material. This was made by @johnoliverphotos and @ilovejohnoliver, and I'm eternally grateful for it.

The Department:

YouTuber Ben Jennings has the entire series on his channel.

Player FM has the series uploaded here as well.

The Bugle:

The Bugle Archive has all Times Online era episodes available to download. PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE EPISODES DIRECTLY; DO NOT STREAM FROM THIS SITE.

The Bugle is starting to upload Times Online era episodes to their official channels, which can be found here. They're up to ep 75 as of June 2024.

All post-Times Online episodes (starting with episode 179) are available on The Bugle's official channels.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

Have you perused the John Oliver Masterlist above? This is the best way to find direct links to JO clips from The Daily Show on the Comedy Central website, because this shit is still not streaming anywhere else. Use a VPN if you're outside the US to view.

There are a small handful of TDS episodes available for purchase on Amazon Prime if you're in the US. I have no idea if any of them feature JO in any meaningful way - I will update this section once I review that.

Otherwise, you're gonna have to sail the high seas to watch this. I'm sorry that this is the state of the US' most important comedy show of the 2000s. Maybe Paramount will drop it on us when Stewart comes back to host TDS, who knows.

Community:

In the US, this can be streamed on Peacock. Individual episodes can be purchased on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.

Worldwide, I believe Community is now on Hulu.

Every season of Community is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show:

In the US, the whole show is on Paramount Plus and can be purchased through Amazon and Apple.

The godawful Comedy Central website has limited episodes for viewing. You'll need a US cable subscription to watch more than the first episode of every season, because of course you do.

Back catalog episodes of Last Week Tonight:

You can buy back catalog episodes on YouTube and Amazon in the US.

The first and second seasons of LWT have been uploaded fully on their YouTube in the US, with plans to upload future seasons during breaks in the show's current episodes!

In certain areas outside of the US, LWT is now being uploaded in full on their YouTube channel as well.

HBO Max no longer has back catalog episodes because capitalism is fucking ridiculous, I pay monthly for this service entirely for this show and I can't even watch old news from 5 years ago

The Horne Section:

The whole series is on Taskmaster Supermax+, which should work everywhere except the UK.

In the UK, you can stream this through Channel 4.

Taskmaster:

I've been trying to will this into existence for multiple seasons, no one can stop me

BLOG-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

How did you get into John Oliver?

I answered this in too much detail in two posts, here and here.

Where is your icon from?

UPDATED: It was made by the lovely @stalebagels for me. She is wonderful <3

Is this blog a bit?/Do you really find this man attractive?

No, this is not an ironic bit, I really like John Oliver and find him genuinely hot. (Tbf, I get this question way more in person than online.)

[alittlehurtwithyourcomfort]

kdrama whump recs: found family/team as family edition

Found family/team as family is my favorite trope, and when it’s combined with whump it’s even better! So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite whumpy kdramas featuring these tropes! (This list is not a ranking!)

1. The Uncanny Counter (2021)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: So Mun is an orphaned high-school student who suddenly gains supernatural powers. Soon after, the local noodle-shop employees recruit him into their team of “Counters”, where he begins to learn of the evil spirits roaming around town. 

Notes: This was actually my first-ever kdrama! It’s a great blend of action, drama, and comedy. It also has one of the most unique “magic” systems I’ve seen, with the “Counters” each connected to a spirit in the afterlife. It’s also extremely whumpy, with a lot of comfort and care given to the characters. Definitely recommend.

 Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

Here is a whumplist for Season 2!

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2. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Dan Hwal has lived for the past 600 years as a Bulgasal—a mythical creature that feeds off human blood and is cursed with immortality. Eventually, he connects with his reincarnated family, along with a formerly immortal woman. 

Notes: This show is pretty complex and can get confusing at times. It’s also heartbreaking, but the characters make up for it! There’s a TON of whump for both characters shown in the GIF above. 

Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

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3. Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Han Kang-bae is a young man with the ability to make people confess their deepest troubles with a single touch, but this power isn’t always a gift to him. One night, he meets the mysterious owner of a pop-up bar, a woman who must settle the grudges of 100,000 souls in order to gain a peaceful place in the afterlife. 

Notes: This show isn’t the most whumpy on this list by any means, but it still has a good amount! What stood out to me were the relationships between the main trio of characters and how close they become with each other over the course of the show. No spoilers here, but this drama does involve reincarnation... 

Here is a whumplist by @whumperfect

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4. While You Were Sleeping (2017)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: Three young adults discover that they all have the same ability: seeing the future in their dreams. As a trio, they work together to attempt to change these (sometimes terrible) visions and save each other from harm. 

Notes: Though this show is more focused on the romance between Jae-chan and Hong-joo, there are some great moments of found family feels between the main trio, sometimes including Jae-chan’s little brother and a different character who somewhat acts as a father figure. Pretty whumpy show that I absolutely adored watching! (Plus, the cast is STELLAR! I mean, Suzy, Jong-suk, and Jae-in together in a drama? It’s so good.)

Here is a whumplist by @whumpalot

Here is a whumplist by @thewhumpyrabbit

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5. Tomorrow (2022)

Age Rating: TV-MA

Synopsis: Choi Jun-woong is a young man struggling to find a job, but when he falls into a coma after an unfortunate accident, he’s offered a place on the Risk Management Team as a temporary grim reaper. Together, they help save people from s*icide.

Notes: Possibly my most favorite kdrama ever! It has more emotional whump than physical for the most part, but it’s so amazingly done. The main trio (plus another character, later in the show) have such great platonic chemistry, and even though they have conflicts, you can tell they all truly care for each other even after a short amount of time. (Rowoon’s acting talents are really highlighted in this show, as well as the other main leads!)

Here is a whumplist I made! 

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6. The Devil Judge (2021)

Age Rating: TV-14

Synopsis: This series is set in a dystopian version of South Korea, where the people live in chaos and corruption runs rampant. Trials are held through a courtroom live show aired on television, led by "The Devil Judge”.

Notes: This show is very dark, but has an interesting dynamic between the characters that evolves and grows over the course of the show. The characters are complex and imperfect, and though their conflicts are intense, it just makes the domestic moments so much better because of it. It has some good whump for the two main characters, and of course, Jin-young is an added bonus.

Here is a whumplist by @whumpslist​

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7. He is Psychometric (2019)

Age Rating: TV-14 

Synopsis: Lee Ahn is a young man with the ability to read the memories of any object or person he touches. He begins to train his powers in order to help solve crimes and get justice for the death of his parents. 

Notes: One of my favorite kdramas ever and a must-watch for anyone in the kdrama whump community. Fair warning, this show will absolutely shatter your heart, but it has such a great storyline with many twists and turns. This is a complex found family, and though the show does have a romance, it’s a really good one. Also, there’s SO MUCH WHUMP! Like in every single episode. It’s truly amazing. Jin-young never fails to amaze me with his acting. 

Here is a whumplist by @love-me-a-lotta-whump

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Alright, that’s the end of the list (at least for now)! If you have any recommendations for more whumpy found family/team as family kdramas, please comment them or send me them! <3

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Conor MacNeill as young Edward (Ned) Gowan

Bill Paterson as old Edward (Ned) Gowan. Ned was a lawyer from Edinburgh who knew the law, inside and out and acted as a legal advisor to Clan MacKenzie.

Conor MacNeill is an Irish actor from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, who has experience on both the big and small screen, as well as the stage. He is an actor, producer, and writer, and is known for his roles in An Crisís (2010) Whole Lotta Sole (2012) a Comedy/Crime with Brendan Fraser and Privates (2013) and in the BBC and HBO drama, Industry, as Kenny Kilblane.

He made his London stage debut starring alongside Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe in The Cripple of Inishmaan. He was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2017 for Best Short Film.

He played the Garda, and Detective Ruairi Slater in The Tourist season 2 alongside Jamie Dornan (2024) Conor MacNeill wrote a script with Jamie Dornan it's set in NI'.

The Tourist is the four-time MacNeill and Dornan have worked together – they were both in The Fall, Belfast and Siege of Jadotville together, and became good friends outside of work, even writing a script together during lockdown (more of which later)

Belfast. The film is set in the 1960s. Belfast captures the spirit and atmosphere of the city during a period of significant social and political change.

Conor MacNeill (McLaury) fictional character and Colin Morgan in Kenneth Branagh's “Belfast” film (2021) 🎬

Industry (2020)‧ Drama Young finance graduates venture out into the cut-throat competitive world to get a job during the recession times that followed as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.

Conor MacNeill - Industry’s Kenny belongs in the pantheon of bad fictional bosses.

The Siege of Jadotville (2016) It is a true story. Irish soldiers on a UN peacekeeping mission in Africa, are besieged by overwhelming enemy forces, as UN peacekeepers defend their outpost.

The Siege of Jadotville depicts the incredible true story of the siege of 150 UN Irish troops led by Commandant Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan) in the Congo in 1961. Quinlan and his men held out against a force of 3,000 local troops led by French and Belgian mercenaries working for mining companies.

In honour of their courageous actions in Congo at the Siege of Jadotville a specially commissioned medal “An Bonn Jadotville” was awarded to all men of “A” Company, 35th Infantry Battalion and the families of deceased members, to give them full and due recognition. If you haven't seen this film yet, I recommend watching it.

The Fall (TV Series 2013–2016) - Conor MacNeill as Mark Bailey - MacNeill joined the cast of The Fall in 2016 for its third season, in which he featured in the final few episodes.

The Fall is a crime drama television series filmed and set in Northern Ireland. The series, starring Gillian Anderson as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, is created and written by Allan Cubitt and features Jamie Dornan as serial killer Paul Spector. 

#ConorMacNeill #BillPaterson #NedGowan #RuairiSlater #TheTourist #JamieDornan #season2 #TheFall #Belfast #SiegeofJadotville

[ok-sims]

Good Omens 2 and playing with expectations

so I watched good omens for the first time in like 2020, had a blast but didnt really think about it again until s2 came out.

and now i realize that one of the things that caused me this obssession brain rot this time around is just how the whole season, but specially the ending, completely subverted my expectations, yet everything that happened is extremely coherent with season 1.

crowley has been asking aziraphale to run away with him for quite some time now. and aziraphale has been "choosing" heaven over him.

smaller things are very coherent too. crowley and taking part in nebula/planet/starmaking. aziraphale and forgiveness. crowley being "unforgivable". alpha centauri.

how can such a coherent finale surprise and smite me so much?

I guess part of it is the queerbait that many fandoms have been subjected to, historically (I was very much into sherlock back in 2014-2017, so you can see where I am coming from...)

but another part is how the final fifteen have a very different tone to the rest of the series. of course, there are some heavy moments in both seasons (the Golgotha being the main one), but those were taken from the biblical lore and not directed to aziraphale and crowley. while there is some drama between them in s1, it is never really serious .crowley was devastated when he thought aziraphale was dead, but we (the audience) knew he was fine. soon, they reunited and faced the end of the world together. there was the fight over holy water in the flashbacks, but we see then make up in the very next scene. so our expectations were set to having crowley and aziraphale have their conflits to be: silly and/or quickly resolved.

I guess that, along the fact that their feelings now have an undeniable romantic nuance confirmed to them, was my fall down the rabbit hole.

I did not expect the series to acknowledge so clearly, very much on screen, the romantic connection between them. before that, this was really heavy subtext, but the leap to text is still pretty uncommom in similar works. even more rare is having the characters kiss, because it leaves no room for subtext anymore. it changes the dinamic between the characters, as well as the perspective of the audience. tv often runs from this sort of change, because it is a risk, but I'm very glad the show took that risk and went with it without looking back.

the risk of changing the tone (even if just for the final fifteen) is also often avoided. "is this show not a comedy?" "isnt everything fine at the end?" so we were left with our expectations completly subverted in both aspects. and yet it all makes sense with everything good omens has showed us before. we were blindsided by the expectations that were firmly constructed for us, the audience, but the ending played out in consonance with the narrative built all through seasons 1 and 2. aziraphale creates situations just to have an excuse to see crowley. crowley is always coming to aziraphale's rescue, no matter what trouble this may give him in hell. btw, crowley could not care less for hell or heaven. "we can go off together, angel". "listen to yourself".

s1 and s2 are so very much in line. I'm glad good omens had the courage to take the leap and subvert everything we were expecting: be it subtext to remain subtext, or a comedy to have its conflit being easily resolved in time for the credits to roll in. and it did it all while making perfect sense for the narrative, with no last minute ill-planned plot twists. it's no wonder we haven't been normal about it since july: when was the last time you watched something like this?

[wallpaper-inside-my-heart]

💙Smoshblr December Asks Day 18💛

So I'm super into curating my closet and picking my day to day outfits according to the aesthetic vibe I'm currently feeling! (a bit pretentious? idk, it just genuinely helps me feel better, especially on days where I struggle to get out of bed) And there are so many pieces of clothing I absolutely love! Since it's holiday season I decided to go with some of the stuff I don't wear super regularly, but love whenever I get the chance to do so!

Also this post is gonna a bit long, so I'm gonna put my detailed answers below the cut 😅

but as a quick note on stuff that I usually wear... my top three fave clothing items are: Flannels, Skirts & Turtlenecks. (In warm seasons turtlenecks get switch with linen shirts) And also special shout-out to fandom inspired t-shirts & hoodies, that literally make up a good third of my closet❤️

Top 3 fave clothing items

Like I said before, I love!! Leather jackets! And I two of them are inspired by fandoms I am/was in! (First being a red leather one, that I don't have a pic of rn -> Emma from Once upon a time ❤️; and the second being the yellow one on the left, which I bought bc of my love for the Dirk Gently 💛 tv show!

2. The floral dress 🌺in the middle is literally my fave summer/warm spring dress bc it is a) super pretty and b) genuinely super comfortable to wear!

3. When I'm not wearing a dress or skirt (my beloveds <3) to a big family dinner or smth semi-serious like that; I love wearing a nice blouse 💚 + 🖤black jeans combo; And this is one of my fave blouses! (even tho it crinkles way too easily!!)

Special shoutouts to my yellow raincoat! (literally inspired by IT 2017, with Georgie's paper boat, a red balloon etc on it) Def my most worn item of clothing in the fall! And also to my turtlenecks (so soft and I don't even need to wear a scarf inside, to be more comfortable!) and my skirts! (most of them are rather old and handmade by my grandma and I treasure them very dearly!)

Moving on to my top 3 accessories:

Flower Crowns 🌺 -> are they a bit cringe and smth that should be considered a relic of the early tumblr days? Maybe, I don't care tho! I love them, and I even handmade a couple of the ones I wear regularly! (like the one in the picture below)

That sword necklace! ⚔️ It has two dragons wrapping around the blade and a rose-gold tone that goes super well with my glasses (and it's a sword!!! like I just love wearing lowkey fantasy themed stuff that I got from diff renfairs!)

3. This funky lil backpack 💛that I got for myself this year! I love collecting and putting pins on everything and this has really become my fave bag to carry around everywhere

[fredheads]

it's spring and that means stand by me season begins! (3/4 seasons are stand by me season ⚾️☀️🍂)

[steveharrington]

have you ever like. ranked the general ST cast on how well you think they'd do in a reality competition show (either being in competition with other ST characters or as the sole competitor from that group). bc like the only show i watch in that kind of category is drag race but the whole, like, realm of it fascinates me immensely and it's melting with my ST hyperfocus in my brain (also not 2 be biased but i feel like steve could win any reality competition show like even drag race or at Least be mr fan favorite. i know it in my heart actually)

anon ..... you have no idea the gift youve given me by asking this question. this is all i have ever wanted to post about for the past several months. lets get into it here is the official How Well They Would Do On Reality TV Ranking (with additional commentary abt which shows they would excel at and who they are similar to)

steve <3 listen this is NOT just me being biased i genuinely think steve has the perfect skill sets for several reality competition series. most of these games require a combination of social prowess and athleticism, both of which steve has! i think he would slay mtv's the challenge like (crediting em here) his feeder show would've been a love island/party down south/are you the one type series where he was just pretty and flirty and got drunk all the time but then he comes onto the challenge and just Crushes it because he's got the balance of good natured and bitchy that people enjoy and find entertaining + he's got endurance for DAYS and he would think of strategies for challenges that no one else would typically see a la jordan wiseley winning a tug of war just by pretending to almost fall and then letting go of the rope. i also think steve would be good at shows like big brother and the amazing race, and he'd be a fan favorite because he'd give good DRs <3

lucas! for a lot of the same reasons as steve, and i also think lucas would be one of those players who's very loyal to their alliance and absolutely refuses to back-stab which could cost him a win for a few seasons until having one glory lap where he just crushes it competition-wise and his past record of being a good teammate helps him avoid eliminations. sorry im like only thinking abt this in terms of the challenge. i also think lucas would be really good at the amazing race! i think on both shows whenever he gets to do a stunt like sky dive or bungee jump or whatever hes always like :D because hes just happy to be there. he'd be on the level of leroy garrett or sarah rice

nancy and im shocking myself a bit by putting her this high up but think about it. nancy would do what needs to be done. she would betray her alliances to get herself ahead in the game, but she'd be careful and do it sparingly only when the time is Exactly right. i think she'd be the real leader of an alliance, but she also knows that being a leader = having a target on your back, so she lets someone else on the team be like the Speaker while she does the strategizing. and then when the time is right, she's ruthless about throwing someone in. big brother would be nancy's game to win, and she'd be like a less unhinged vanessa russo or a slightly more unhinged nicole franzel

argyle would do very well i think just solely based on his social game. people would keep him around specifically because he's funny and brings enjoyment to the filming schedule kinda like my baby kyle christie from the challenge. i think argyle's best shot would be big brother for sure, and even if he didn't win (i dont really foresee him being the best at comps, esp season memory bc his ass would not study) he would be america's favorite player for sure

max would be good at the challenge because i think max would be good At Challenges, however i do fear that she would struggle with the political game. this kinda eliminates her from big brother, where you Have to be fake, but on the challenge she could've thrived during the 2013-2017 seasons like dirty thirty, vendettas, etc where you were allowed to openly hate people and pray on their downfall. not that max would have beef with everyone, bc i do think she'd be generally well liked, but there's always some evil male on every season that she would simply Hate and potentially destroy her own game in the pursuit of getting him out. but even then, she might count that as a win <3 she'd go down in the hall of fame of famous reality tv girlies who hate their male partners like amanda garcia and ashley mitchell

robin.....alright listen. robin would get paranoid on big brother and she would be considered a layup on the challenge (sob) because she's not very coordinated and she'd get frazzled under timed pressure. BUT hear me out if robin had a partner who encouraged her and motivated her, i think she could really start to slay. she would be very clever when it comes to subtle game moves, i think, like she would be good at picking who to put in a tribunal with her based on the social standings of the game. i think she could have a really good season under the right circumstances and shock everyone like big t on the challenge double agents. and she'd be good at one or two very random very specific challenges that require some super obscure skill

dustin would do alright for himself on big brother because he would nail a lot of the puzzle/memory comps and play that lovable nerd role. howeverrrr i think dustin would be a bit...naive :( i think he wouldn’t foresee his alliance members betraying him and he would take it Very hard and play with his emotions most of the time. he would probably get backdoored on big brother despite having a really good comp win record just from being a genius like michael bruner or ian terry

now we're getting into ppl who i don't think would slay unfortunately.......el :( she is too trusting im so sorry like everyone would LOVE her but she would volunteer to go up as a pawn in big brother and her alliance would be like “okay better her than me!” and she’d get eliminated :( but she would give such good DRs and get a huge fan fav edit

will.....idk man will would not want to be on reality tv idk how he'd find himself in this situation to be honest.....he'd be well-liked but he'd be a floater 110% because he doesn't really care about the urgency of starting a good political game early on. his main goal would just be to fly under the radar, and that only works for so long

mike would be a huge bitch to people and they would target his ass so quickly im SORRY but its true. like at least mike would try, and i think he'd pull off one great tv moment by doing something unprecedented and unhinged like targeting the biggest player week 1, but his timing would be off and it would backfire so immensely. also he would get medically dq'd from the challenge im so sorry. he'd do a pole wrestle or balls in against someone bigger and just disintegrate

eddie would be too weird and off-putting. sorry. eddie would roll up at the big brother house and be like Im Here To Send A Message That Reality TV Is Vapid And Our Culture Is Crumbling From A Lack Of Real Art and people would be like boooooooooo and vote him in. he'd also refuse to work with physical threats because he'd be like tch meathead jock idiots >:( and then they'd fold him in half during a hall brawl IM SORRY ITS THE TRUTH

jonathan would not go on a reality show. he would be like cody nickson in the sense that he'd hate being there, he'd hate everyone in the house, and he would refuse to be animated and exagerrated in the DR like production would tell him to. i do think this could make him a sleeper hit among viewers because people kinda like when someone is visibly Over the game and doesn't hide that, but yeah he would not make it far. he would probably quit.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Angela Bassett earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a devoted mother in the sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” So I couldn’t help but wonder while watching “Dune: Part Two” whether Rebecca Ferguson could follow a similar trajectory to awards glory.

The two roles are similar in that both women play mothers whose life partners are killed and whose children carry great power. Of course, beyond that there are significant differences. Bassett’s Queen Ramonda is thrust into leadership reluctantly after the deaths of her husband and son. Ferguson’s Lady Jessica, on the contrary, actively seeks power for herself and her child Paul (Timothee Chalamet), preying on people’s faith and fear in order to fulfill a prophecy.

But both actresses give standout performances among their films’ ensemble casts. Bassett lends emotional depth and raises the stakes of what might have been a conventional superhero sequel. Ferguson deepens her film’s narrative in a different way. We recognize her love for her son and unborn daughter, but there are subtle shades of Lady Macbeth underneath; her pure love for her family is twisted by a thirst for power. It’s through her unsettling performance that the film comments on the dangers of religious fanaticism and begins to suggest that Paul’s rise might not be as heroic as we’re first led to believe.

Clarisse Loughrey (The Independent) writes of the performances that “Chalamet and Ferguson take all that was regal and dignified about their performances, and apply to them a poisoned tip.” Brian Truitt (USA Today) adds that “Ferguson’s Lady Jessica rises to become a gripping ‘Dune’ persona, who goes from being extremely dry in the first film to an intriguingly determined figure.” Brian Tallerico (RogerEbert.com) argues that her “slippery performance” adds “flavors here that weren’t in the first outing.”

Ferguson’s career has been building for more than a decade now. She earned a Golden Globe nom for her breakthrough performance in the 2013 TV limited series “The White Queen.” A couple of years later she got a Critics Choice bid for Best Actress in an Action Movie for “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (2015). She also received a smattering of awards attention for her role in the “Shining” sequel “Doctor Sleep” (2019) and made additional appearances in awards contenders like “Florence Foster Jenkins” (2016), “The Girl on the Train” (2016) and “The Greatest Showman” (2017), but she has yet to be nominated by a major industry peer group like SAG, Emmy, BAFTA or Oscar.

The question, of course, is whether Ferguson can survive the gauntlet of the rest of the 2024-2025 awards season, which to be honest hasn’t even really begun yet and won’t get into high gear until this summer and fall’s festivals. Still, we’ve seen early releases survive the long haul of an Oscars campaign like “Black Panther,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Past Lives.” And the Oscar success of the first “Dune” film (six wins out of 10 nominations) indicates that awards voters will surely have this sequel on their radars. Will Ferguson also garner attention for her chilling performance?

[cinemaocd]

Jenny's ongoing list of films watched 2024

February

January list, here.

Inland Empire (2006)*** It took three attempts to get through this long, confusing film. Like Mulholland Drive or the Season Three of Twin Peaks, Lynch films improve on repeat viewings even if meaning remains elusive. That is part of the joy-- sometimes you just vibe with it.

Death of Stalin (2017)**** One of my favorite films of the last two decades. A harried farce with the bloody-mindedness of Macbeth. Like the Scottish Play, we know how its going to come out, but the fun is in watching the articulate villain, played with delicious malice by Simon Russell Beale being outdone by a team of bumbling, petty bureaucrats and one very bad ass soldier. The Boyfriend (1970)*** Ken Russell's surreal tribute to the burlesque musical genre makes the most of its setting in the 1920s by putting his star Twiggy in iconic psychadelic reiterations of the flapper dress. If you opine the fact that drop waist dresses come back into style every 15 years or so, then this movie is as much to blame as anything. Poor Things (2023)*** Emma Stone gives a wild and convincing physical performance as Bella, a baby's brain in the body of her dead mother and Mark Ruffalo as typical 19th Century Rake Getting His Comeupance iscasting I didn't know I needed. I loved the yearning Godwin (Willem Defoe in truly amazing Frankenstein's monster makeup) and though I haven't read the book, I was drawn into the grotesque, ai generated world of the film. The aesthetics of this movie are as engrossing as the story and characters. Adventures of a Dentist (1965)** The Soviet version of the live action Disney comedies of the 70s, where a humble person is given magical power. Here a dentist is given extraordinary, almost magical abilities to perform dentistry without pain. He becomes a celebrity and his fall from grace involves him giving in to the decadent trappings of being a popular dentist. The humor has a darker edge than Disney though I wouldn't go so far as to call it a black comedy. Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973)** This Spike Milligan film plays like a double episode of Dad's Army, not least because of the presence of Arthur Lowe who plays practically the same character here as he does on the tv show. That is not the end of the world however and this is easy to like farce with Milligan's ascerbic, anti-authoritarian bent that is grittier than anything on the sitcom. The Master (2012)** I had high hopes for this, one of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's final films and his last collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson is loosely based on the origin story of Scientology. Joaquin Phoenix plays a shell shocked veteran who drifts into the path of the cult leader played by Hoffman. Amy Adams gives a chilling performance as his much younger, controlling wife who is the real power behind the cult. I think I would have an easier time with this film if Anderson hadn't gone around giving interviews saying that Scientology and it's founder L. Ron Hubbard had "helped a lot of people." Of course, this is PTA and Phoenix's character isn't helped at all and he makes the cult worse by being a violent enforcer for the leader's enemies. The levels of whitewashing involved in making a deeply misogynistic cult into a secret matriarchy is just...ugh. However, the homoerotic tension between Hoffman and Phoenix makes the film worth looking out. Murder of Quality (1991)** Made for TV adaptation of John Le Carre's second novel. Denholm Elliott plays Smiley as more doddering and anti-social than Alec Guinness' iconic version of the character. This early Smiley story is more a traditional English village murder mystery, ala Miss Marple, with Glenda Jackson playing Ailsa, Smiley's war buddy that runs a women's magazine. Christian Bale plays one of the students at an elite prep school that forms the economic backbone of the town. Le Carre is merciless in his portrayal of the toxic, petty characters, the wealthy and wannabe wealthy swamp dwellers who run rings around the local constabulary until Smilley steps in and withstands their slings and arrows long enough to solve the case.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)*** Sometimes you sit down to watch a movie with such low expectations that you are pleasantly surprised that it doesn't totally suck. The excitement of things not being as bad as you feared can blot out some of a movie's excesses. At the end of the day this is Billy Wilder, physically incapable of creating a boring movie throwing the whole bag of tricks at this faux biography of Holmes starring Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely. There's farce and physical comedy, verbal gymnastics and exotic locations. Holmes' possible homosexuality is tastefully hinted at and attempts to create a sensationalist account of his drug use, amount to little before the mystery gets rolling. One of the big delights is Christopher Lee as Mycroft whose scenes with Robert Stephens are bitchy queen pissing contests. Genevieve Page does a turn as a would be damsel in distress who turns out to be a worthy opponent to Holmes similar to Irene Adler.

Irma La Duce (1963)*** For some reason between this and Poor Things I ended up watching two movies about Parisian brothels this month. Billy Wilder based this pastiche of 1950s travelogue adventure films like To Catch a Thief and Charade on a French stage play. A strange attempt to weld the success of the Apartment with Some Like it Hot, reconfiguring a Marilyn Monroe vehicle as a reunion of Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Like the Apartment, Irma LaDuce is tinged with melancholy while avoiding a lot of the cliches about sex work that wind up dating so many films on this topic. The main complaint I have about Irma LaDuce s that it's about 45 minutes too long, a common complaint about many films of this period. (Damn Lawrence of Arabia and all who sail in her).

Witness for the Prosecution (1982)*** A made for tv adaptation of the classic courtroom drama, which credits Billy Wilder's screenplay of his film version. Ralph Richardson and Deborah Kerr star in this remake and honestly their chemistry is just off the charts and we're left to wonder how they never managed to make a film together before. Wendy Hiller, Diana Rigg and Beau Bridges round out the amazing cast. Lacks the tension and edge of Wilder's film but I'm having too much fun with Ralph to care.

The Major and the Minor (1942)**: Billy Wilder's first film as writer and director has some of the hallmarks of his later, greater works: farce, trains, mistaken identity, and queer themes in the form of a lesbian coded sister of Ginger Roger's romantic rival. That all the fuss is about fairly bland Ray Milland is easy enough to overlook as Wilder makes the film about toying with Rogers image as sophisticated, sexy, dancer. Typical Wilder inside jokes about the film industry abound, such as a craze for Veronica Lake hairdos among the tween set and swipes at Hollywood actors like Charles Boyer Rogers' childish masquerade to avoid paying full adult fare is preceded by a series of calamities where she's pursued and objectified by a lot of nasty older men. Hoping to escape their advances as well as the ignominity of turnstyle jumping, she maintains the charade through a long weekend with a lot of handsy tween boys until Milland's fiancee is discredited as a controlling social climber. There is a bizarre side track into her home town where Rogers also impersonates her mother before revealing her grown adult self to Milland. No one ever accused Billy Wilder of being restrained I guess.

The Children's Hour (1961)**** This classic of queer cinema was necessarily a scorched earth tragedy at the time of its release. William Wyler's dreamy, restless camera drags you into the warm, cozy life of this female partnership between Shirley Maclaine and Audrey Hepburn that seemingly has the potential to be a romantic partnership. When nasty gossips and spoiled children start a rumor that they are a couple, the scandal destroys their business and standing in the community. Terrorized by the homophobic townspeople, they are eventually "cleared" of the crime of being gay for each other, just when Maclaine's character comes to the brutal realization that she really is in love with Audrey Hepburn's character. It's hard to watch her grief and shame as she admits that the bullies have discovered a truth about her that she didn't know herself. A fact so many queer people can find relatable. The film is based on a play by Lilian Hellman which used the topic of homosexuality to expose the cruelty of female narcissists who bully their way into power. There is much in common with Hellman's The Little Foxes in that way, but the film, perhaps owing to Wyler's inherent romanticism has more of a Romeo and Juliet quality than the play. One feels that Audrey Hepburn has perhaps realized the truth in the lie, just a few moments too late.

Sweet Charity (1969)*** Directed by Bob Fosse, starring Shirley MacLaine and Sammy Davis Jr and Chita Rivera this classic musical combines the best of Fossee's signature choreography, sixties pop show tunes and the psychadelic aesthetics of the late 60s. This and the Boyfriend have a lot in common, though I think the music in Sweet Charity is more solid and the contemporary setting makes it a tad edgier. MacLaine plays yet another flavor of sex worker, a dancehall hostess and paid companion who seeks to be elevated out of her life into respectability through marriage. The fiancee here is uptight and lacking in appeal and when he finally just flakes out in the final reel it's no great loss to the film.

Thief (1981)** Atypical heist film starring James Caan and Jim Belushi, directed by Miama Vice creator Michael Mann. You can see the beginnings of that iconic 80s TV show, in this movie which favors long scenes of action being edited to music with sparse dialog. Caan squares off against Tom Signorelli a local mob boss who dares to threaten Caan's wife played by Tuesday Weld.

[dougielombax]

Okay.

Here we go again.

(This is a small redux due to editing issues)

Parallels.

Or

Seeing Patterns in Things that Aren’t There

Part 30.

(First Parallels post of 2024!)

Falling in Reverse

1. “I have been falling for thirty minutes!” - Loki. Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

2. “Outside the bunker I encountered two beings. The demon and the monster. The monster distracted me as the demon opened the earth beneath me. I fell and fell and fell. I fell for hours. I landed in a room with a television. A TV? Or a mirror?” - Cthonaut A (modern day universe). The Monument Mythos: Season Four - Alcatraz, Always (2024)

This one was meant more as a joke but I still thought it was worth putting together anyway.

One could make comparisons between Cthonaut A’s experience and that of Virginia Arnoldson (all of her). The video even does so itself. Sort of.

Loki’s fall on its own is but a minor predicament compared to the shit that Virginia (all of her) and Cthonaut A end up going through.

Still.

Make of this what you will.

[captains0lo]

DOCTOR WHO LOVE AND MONSTERS: An endless rant about fan representation

I recently embarked on an exhaustive New Who rewatch with my partner. We had both seen the entire show up to Capaldi’s seasons (2014-2017), but had not watched everything, together. So we decided to remedy that situation upon finishing our last TV show we watched together, and get into rewatching all of New Who.

Such a rewatch entails, of course, relishing in the sheer magnificence of experiencing episodes like “Dalek” (Season 1, Episode 6) or “The Satan Pit” (Season 2, Episode 9), but also some less glorious moments of television like the ever-farting Slitheen of “Aliens of London” (Season 1, Episode 4), or the infamous and widely hated  “Love & Monsters” (Season 2, Episode 10). (You can like the Slitheen, but I find the never-ending fart jokes goddam grating after a while– its five year old humour)

I used to be a “Love & Monsters” hater myself (like most people – it’s a WEIRD episode). However, on this specific rewatch of the show I got something completely different from that particular last episode of the list. A quick search on IMBD reviews and some Reddit forums makes it quite obvious that, although its widely considered a meh-to-terrible episode, a lot of people have latched onto it as an original, quite unique and layered episode.

I so happen to be knee-deep in research for my Master’s Thesis, looking into a bunch of Henry Jenkins’ stuff and fandom, audiences and mass/popular culture and, with a reading of Convergence Culture (Jenkins, 2006) super fresh in my mind, “Love & Monsters” absolutely blew my mind this time around. So gather round, grab a snack and enjoy my unhinged ramblings at the intersection of my fandom and academic worlds. Cause if you have a thought and don’t immediately share it on the Internet, did you have the thought at all amirite?  (I really should not be writing this right now I should be working on my thesis but who cares)

Because I’m probably already massively testing your attention span, here is my main point for the rest of this post/crap essay: “Love & Monsters” tells the story of fans coming together and finding community in fandom, only for that sense of community and belonging to be destroyed and commodified as the corporate powers that be attempt to re-absorb and control fan modes of production and communities. (phew, say that 3 times fast). Now  why I think my point is somewhat original: honestly even for people who catch the not-so-subtle LINDA as geeky social inept fans  subtext, I’ve almost only seen negative takes (its mocking fans, showing them in a bad light etc…). While its definitely not all flattering, I think there is a sweetness  and positivity to this representation of a group of fans, so I  wanna make my case  for it I guess. 

Love & Monsters: a brief summary

Quick recap for anyone who has not watched the show or finds the detail of this episode a bit fuzzy.

The episode begins with Elton Pope, a man who becomes fascinated with the Doctor after an encounter with a mysterious blue box in his childhood.

Elton joins a group of people who also have encounters with the Doctor, forming the "Linda" group.

The group meets Ursula Blake, a woman who joins them after witnessing a Slitheen attack.

The group's meetings become more about their personal lives than the Doctor.

Elton falls in love with Ursula, and the group's dynamics change.

A man named Victor Kennedy joins Linda and takes control, pushing out some members and focusing on finding the Doctor.

It's revealed that Victor Kennedy is actually an alien called the Abzorbaloff, who absorbs people into his body.

The Doctor arrives too late to save most of Linda, but Elton manages to escape.

Ursula is absorbed by the Abzorbaloff, but her face remains intact in his body, allowing her consciousness to survive.

The Doctor traps the Abzorbaloff, saving Elton and the remaining members of Linda.

Elton continues his life with Ursula's face in a slab of concrete, grateful for the time they had together.

(summary provided by ChatGPT because I want to get to the good stuff, sue me, this is exactly the kind of stuff AI is good for)

I’ll also quickly add the following important contextual tid-bits about the episode. First and foremost, it was written that way (barely featuring the Doctor and Rose Tyler, focusing on people who’s lives have been indirectly touched by the Doctor and who are looking for him and generally Doing a Fandom about him) because the production schedule required simultaneous filming of a pair of episodes (because otherwise they would run out of time in the production schedule). They filmed the episode at the same time as “The Satan Pit” with a second crew, and the little screen time of The Doctor and Rose allowed them to film both episodes at the same time (and obviously feature a lot more heavily in “The Satan Pit”).

The other important thing about this episode (that I will admit actually harms my argument a little but I will tell you why I don’t care about that later) is that the main monster – the “Abzorbaloff” was designed by a kid in the context of a Doctor Who monster contest. Basically, the winner got their monster featured in a Doctor Who episode. So, RTD didn’t really come  up with the Abzorbaloff himself, but honestly I think the interpretation I’m about to make still holds (death of the author and all that stuff, I can interpret this episode how I want and so can you my friend)

Anyways, now that we’ve got all that out of the way lets get into the good stuff.

LINDA:  Fandom as community

The members of LINDA – London Investigation N’ Detective Agency – basically come together as a group initially because they all have an interest in “The Doctor”, as an elusive figure, permanently out of reach and that they don’t fully understand, but that has touched their lives quite significantly anyway. The original members of LINDA are Elton (POV character for the episode), Ursula, Mr. Skinner, Bliss and Bridget.

Other people who have discussed this episode in the past have pointed out that LINDA and its members resemble a parody of Whovians (see “thecoolkat”’s review in the links below, but also numerous ScreenRant or other such internet media articles), but I’d argue they serve quite well as a representation of a stereotypical image of fans and fandom more generally. Obviously, they are Whovians because the object of their fandom is LITERALLY The Doctor himself inside the story, but its more than that in my opinion. Let’s not forget when this episode aired (2006), fandom had yet to go fully mainstream – although the situation had markedly improved since the 90s when fans were still almost only the object of ridicule for anyone who was not themselves a fan. I’d argue that the members of LINDA quite accurately represent a few different stereotypes about fans common in the late 90s to early 2000s, but also many of fandom’s “redeeming” qualities that were starting to be acknowledged as well as internet fandom became more popular  and visible.

Our in-text fans do have some of the more socially-awkward trappings often associated with fandom by outsiders: they’re shy, unfashionable, perhaps slightly socially inept – possibly even infantilized or desexualized. (for more on fan stereotypes at the beginning of the 90s, see chapter 1 of Jenkins 1992). Its fairly obvious that, as others have pointed out, the members of LINDA are a parody, a stand-in for loser fans who have surrendered any other sense of identity to the object of their fandom. They are the hardcore Trekkies who get married in pointy Vulcan ears. Bliss, Bridget, and Ursula are single women leaning on the older side – although Ursula is the younger of the three, she’s also the most “visibly” nerdy, which “disadvantages” her romantically in other ways. Mr. Skinner is also presumably single, maybe even lonely – divorced, perpetual bachelor or a widower, I guess we’ll never know. Elton, finally, seems fairly normal by comparison, but its his obsession with the Doctor and some mysterious childhood trauma that does give him that slight “I can tell that guy is not fully right in the head” vibe.  

Speaking of traumas though, we also find out fairly early on in meeting of all the LINDA members that Bridget’s daughter is a drug addict, and disappeared from her mother’s life, which obviously leads her to worry to no end and carry some pretty deep grief. (sidenote because that is not my main point here and this is already going to easily cross into 2000+ words: theres also some pretty significant amount of stuff written about fandom as a way to deal with trauma, that people retreat into fantasy – often as a byproduct of what we would call fandom – to deal with traumatic life events) (Hinerman, 1992, full source below)

So, our gang of nerds with various levels of social aptitude and trauma find each other, this group and sense of community that they so obviously share in the part of the episode showing LINDA before Victor Kennedy’s takeover. Although pretty much all of them are introduced with some of the “negative” trappings of fandom, LINDA is absolutely represented in the episode as a positive force and community in their lives. They begin by bonding over their “fandom”, theorizing about the Doctor as a metaphor, a role, a figure (like Mr. Skinner brings up in a whiteboard  presentation), but quickly their interactions evolve into something more. They sing, dance and share deep personal concerns and difficulties with each other (it’s at one of those sessions that we find out about Bridget’s daughter, for example, and we see the group be quite supportive of her in her pain). The point is, the people of LINDA could only have found each other through fandom, but their collective involvement in that fandom brought them something more; genuine connection and friendship. LINDA pre-Kennedy takeover is something that is good for these geeky, lonely, maybe a bit socially inept people, and would have continued being good for them if it wasn’t for…

Victor Kennedy/the Abzorbaloff as the embodiment of corporate media control

So, the members of LINDA have bonded over their shared passion for The Doctor, they’ve exchanged theories and eventually broadened their social activities to karaoke and emotional support-and even some romantic stirrings  for the Mr. Skinner/Bridget  and Elon/Ursula. In doing so, they have diverted some (although I don’t think all) of their meeting times to activities other than searching for and theorizing about The Doctor. Their fandom has ceased to be the sole reason for their weekly meetings, essentially. They’ve now made the group their own thing.

Who walks in next? Victor Kenndy aka the Abzorbaloff, a tall, mustachioed, robber-baron coded  and snob-ish figure, intent on  re-focusing the members of LINDA onto the search for the Doctor, under his leadership  and to his own ends.

I think Kennedy’s physicality even before his reveal as the Abzorbaloff is super significant; the robber baron appearance – complete with fur coat, cane and hat- screams “19th century industrial factory owner,” and I do believe that’s the  whole point. He represents the modes of cultural production that, in 2006, still didn’t know what  the heck to do with fans who take mass culture and make it their own through folk processes. Active audiences that make demands of producers, feel a sense of ownership of shows and characters, organize creative communities and  Active audiences that make demands of producers, feel a sense of ownership of shows and characters, organize creative communities and create fanfiction  or fanart that basically  represents  copyright violations NEEDED to be harnessed and controlled by producers (or at least that’s how a lot of producers, writers and networks felt  in the early  2000s). So the old-timey 19th century industrialist look given to  Kennedy’s human form is a metaphor for that old media magnate  mentality, that will only put up with fans that “work” for them and respect their “rules.” And, as we see in the episode, by doing so, he robs LINDA of basically all their fun and connection; they get sat down at individual desks, with piles of work to sift through. Fandom has stopped being fun as it gets controlled. They’re having such a terrible time in fact that the Abzorbaloff can absorb like 2 of them (Bliss and Bridget) before any of the other members of LINDA suspect anything is wrong; they just assume they stopped coming because the group absolutely sucks now.

So now on the absorption part; its not enough  for the Abzorbaloff to control everything the fans do, he needs to absorb and incorporate them into him to have full control; LINDA must become part of him to be acceptable. Ok I’ll admit this is pretty far-fetched, but honestly not that much. In Convergence Culture (2006) Henry Jenkins talks  a lot about fan theories, spoilers   and fan films. The latter, specifically the Star Wars fan films made in the 90s  and 2000s, have a super interesting history that I think makes  a compelling argument for the move of  media  corporations  from  attempts to control fans to trying to ABSORB their work into the acceptable corporate brand  when looser  control just didn’t cut it (because fans  are just like that, were fundamentally ungovernable).

The  TLDR of it all is that George Lucas and Lucasfilm (this was before the Disney sale obviously) flip-flopped a lot on their stance towards fan  creation, at first praising their creativity, but quickly moving  to REALLY intense cracking-down  on fanfics  and fan movies (spoiler  alert: the  crackdowns  started  to happen when  fans started to make it gay) (or generally sexual, but  mostly  the problem seemed to be  the gay stuff).  The thing is, its really hard  to control – let alone  know about- everything consumers  do or say about a brand on the internet. So  what does Lucasfilm do? They start creating official, Lucasfilm-sanctionned fan film contests-even letting fans use some assets like music or effects-but with really specific rules (and claiming the IP  for Lucasfilm, making it not belong to fans anymore, of course). So not profanity, no altering canon, and CERTAINLY no sex (AND  CERTAINLY NO GAY LUKE SKYWALKER)  (with the Chanel boots). You get it now right? Lucasfilm = Abzorbaloff. Or like  they WISH they could absorb fans  that efficiently, make them a part  of  the brand, under complete control. That’s still kind of the ideal  utopia  of media relationships for a lot of these producers too I’m  guessing: all the fan labour and productivity, without any of the potential tensions  fan creativity can create. Corporate-controlled fan clubs that uphold canon and are basically word-of-mouth and customer loyalty machines.

Except, that’s not how communities work. Communities work like LINDA; a bunch of seeming  randos  are  brought together by shared interest, but eventually a  deeper sense  of “us-ness” develops, and we start to care for one another and have our own agendas and  agencies. (heck, everytime Tumblr staff tries to get this site’s users in line we basically laugh in their faces)

So yeah, caveat about the Abzorbaloff though: as  I said earlier, a kid created this monster for a contest, RTD  did not create it. Therefore, I don’t know if the absorption power was like thought  about as deeply as I have thought about it. Nevertheless, I think the choice  to make the Abzorbaloff’s human  “Kennedy” disguise look the way it does and interact with LINDA the way he does speaks to my conclusions. While RTD didn’t create the character, he wrote the story around it, and I think he used it to great effect to tell a story about fandom, community, and media  attempts at control.

Conclusion

Ultimately I  saw a ton of parallels to phenomena documented in scholarship I’m currently reading in Love  and Monsters and I needed to get these ideas out of my head. I’m fairly  certain  im digging a little bit too deep into certain things, but ultimately my view of this oft decried episode is that it really  actually has a lot more to offer than people give it credit for. I also think it presents  an actually much more  sympathetic view of fans than we’ve previously recognized in it. Especially, it feels WAY more respectful and like  humorous than that god awful era  of 2010s fandom where  writers and actors would routinely shit on us in panels for shipping characters or depict us in their shows as crazy  conspiracy theorists who think they own  the show but actually can never be right (Looking at you Mr. Moffatt and Sherlock season 3). Personally, I much prefer the LINDA endearing weirdos with trauma, interests, and lives, who find kinship and community in each other.

Holy crap that was long. anyways. Really deep in the DW hole rn so I'm probably gonna write something about Martha Jones soon (instead of my thesis mehehehehehe)

Links and sources

I’m going to properly cite any academic articles and books, but since this is not homework and no one is forcing me to use APA 7, the random webpages, discussion threads and other miscellaneous stuff is getting dumped into a list of links. Anyways enjoy

“Real” Bibliography (nerd)

Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual poachers: television fans & participatory culture (Ser. Studies in culture and communication). Routledge.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York University Press.

Linerman, S. (1992) “ ‘I’ll be here with you’:  Fans, Fantasy and the Figure of Elvis.” In The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (ed. Lewis, L. A.) Routledge. pp. 107-134

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (May 2023 version) [can you summarize the plot of "love & monsters" (an episode of doctor who) from beginning to end as a series of bullet points? (include spoilers)] https://chat.openai.com/c/7ef1ccab-c6ed-488c-99c8-3a94b877fe4a

Links

Reddit threads: https://www.reddit.com/r/doctorwho/comments/ex3zvm/why_love_monsters_isnt_the_worst_episode/?rdt=51957

IMDB:

Youtube:

Doctor Who Confidential on the filming of “Love & Monsters” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRGDMg4XZ1s

TheCoolKat:https://thecoolkat1995.wordpress.com/2019/05/03/doctor-who-love-and-monsters-2006/

[whenthegoldrays]

hiii elly <3

kinda bored lately and wanted to watch something so came here for recs :) could be of any kind btw like movies, tv shows (any language)

also maybe not something from your top ten kdramas post lol i've already watched most of the shows on there

also how're you doing?

hope you're doing well <33

Hey girl hey! Thank you for asking, I'm doing well! Terribly busy, but on the whole things are good. How about you?

Oooh okay this is quite a thing to ask me, I'm going to get decision paralysis dhdvdvdg but let me think of some less-common things I can recommend!

Available on Prime Video.

The Surprise (2015). Also available on Tubi. After inking their own death warrants, an eccentric millionaire and distraught woman fall in love and find voiding their contracts isn't an option. Romance! Dark humor! The k-drama truck of doom, except it's a Dutch movie! (Disclaimer: I do not recommend watching this film if one is suicidal)

From Prada to Nada (2011). A modern Mexican-American adaptation of Sense and Sensibility that surprisingly really works?? The title is woeful but the movie is pretty darn good.

The Lady Vanishes (2013). Iris Carr is traveling across Europe by train when she befriends Miss Froy, an elderly English woman. But when she wakes up from a few hours' sleep, Miss Froy has vanished. As fellow passengers claim the lady never existed, Iris fights to discover the fate of Miss Froy - and prove that she's not going mad.

Love and Friendship (2016). Adaptation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan, starring Kate Beckinsdale. The main character is the definition of gaslight gatekeep girlboss, and the supporting characters are all just. so funny.

To Tell The Truth (1961). If you just want something to distract you that doesn't take a lot of thinking, old game shows are ideal. In this one, a celebrity panel tries to guess which of three strangers is the person they claim to be.

Masterpiece/PBS Passport Shows.

All Creatures Great and Small (since 2020). Season 4 currently airing. A feel-good (but unafraid to get real and sad) show about the misadventures of a country vet practice in Yorkshire.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke (since 2020). Season 4 currently airing. In 1880s London, the daughter of a private investigator decides to take over his detective business after his untimely death. Mystery series that also has just about the BEST opening titles ever.

Available on Tubi (which is free!)

Forever Young (1992). The movie where I realized that Mel Gibson was cute, actually. In 1939, a heartbroken Army pilot volunteers for a cryogenics experiment and wakes up in 1992, where he gets a second shot at love.

The Space Between Us (2017). On his first visit to Earth, a man born and raised on Mars bonds with a street-smart young woman while unraveling the mysteries of how he came to be. To quote my mutual Chris: "wanna cry? 🥰"

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1960s). Some of the stuff hasn't aged well, but this is still one my top favorite old sitcoms. All the characters are so fun and endearing. You probably won't want to sift through all five seasons, so my top episode recommendations are "The Curious Thing About Women" (s1 e16), "The Two Faces of Rob" (s2 e2), "That's My Boy??" (s3 e1), "Big Max Calvada" (s3 e9), "October Eve" (s3 e28), "My Mother Can Beat Up My Father" (s4 e1), "4 1/2" (s4 e7), "The Impractical Joke" (s4 e16), and "Coast to Coast Big Mouth" (s5 e1).

(I got a little too excited with those episode recs, oopsie 🤭)

The Surprise, like I mentioned.

I just found out that they have some episodes of The Flintstones and Tom and Jerry on Tubi, if you want some good nostalgic laughs.

Available on Netflix.

Love At First Sight (2023). Cute romance about taking a chance on a good feeling.

The Adam Project (2022). You've probably seen it, but I will mention it anyway! Time travel. Annoying and precocious 12-year-old child. Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldaña. Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo! FIVE STARS.

Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would (2022). The best Trevor Noah special, in my opinion. The curry story??? Iconic forever and ever.

The Full-Time Wife Escapist (2018). A woman takes a job as a housekeeper, but in order to stay in it, she and her boss agree to a contract marriage. If you've ever seen the k-drama Because This Is My First Life... This is the better version of that show, imo. The ML is suchhh a sweetheart.

Indian Matchmaking (since 2020). I never watch reality TV, so I don't know how I started seeing this show, but it's SO good and super bingeable.

Omg the Jurassic Park movies are on Netflix right now

Available on Hulu.

Wild Mountain Thyme (2020). It's a love story, and it's so silly and enjoyable. The resolution is just shdhfhshshsg

The Giver (2014). Jonas learns the secrets of the past, and the utopia he's grown up in begins to look more and more dystopian. Also, Taylor Swift is there for some reason.

Flamin' Hot (2023). It wasn't until I watched this that I realized how much I need movies about Mexican success stories in my life. File this under ✨inspirational✨

If you haven't yet watched The Artful Dodger (2023), you absolutely should. Come for the romance, stay for the absolutely bonkers, insane hijinks.

I barely started watching Timeless (2016), but it looks really fun and good. It's about time travel, unsurprisingly for me 🤭

Available on Disney+

Baby's Day Out (1994). A childhood CLASSIC of mine. The cuteness is just. so much. The humor is standard slapstick, but really fun, and the mom has some of the most gorgeous 90s outfits omggg

Hidden Figures (2016). I love this movie endlesslyyy. Awesome intelligent Black women overcoming the odds, space race setting, and even a side of cute romance.

The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019). Dare I say, best dog movie I've seen?

The Call of the Wild (2020). Another dog movie, with Harrison Ford. I don't remember much of it but I remember really enjoying it.

Milo Murphy's Law (2017–2018). Have you seen this follow-up to Phineas and Ferb? If you haven't, you need to. The comedy is so gold tier and the music slaps.

Delicacies Destiny (2022). I kind of stopped watching this c-drama about 1/3 of the way through, but I totally should pick it up again, and it's worth watching even if just for all the gorgeous food scenes.

And of course, anything from my top ten k-dramas that you haven't seen yet is an automatic recommendation 😌

This got. so long. I hope you find something here that you like and thank you for asking @milkteawithrusk!! This was so fun to put together! 🫶🏼

[ozu-teapot]

Films Watched in April 2023

Fargo | Joel Coen / Ethan Coen | 1996

Le plein de super (Fill 'er Up with Super) | Alain Cavalier | 1976

Angel's Egg | Mamoru Oshii | 1985

The Anniversary | Roy Ward Baker / Alvin Rakoff | 1968

Punk Samurai Slash Down | Gakuryû Ishii | 2018

Abel (AKA Voyeur) | Alex van Warmerdam | 1986

Suicide Club | Sion Sono | 2001

Blank Generation | Ulli Lommel | 1980

Behind Her Eyes | TV | Erik Richter Strand | 2021

The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It | Joseph McGrath | 1977

The Sunday Woman | Luigi Comencini | 1975

Enys Men | Mark Jenkin | 2022

Electric Dragon 80.000 V | Gakuryû Ishii | 2001

La cicatrice intérieure (The Inner Scar) | Philippe Garrel | 1972

Ava | Léa Mysius | 2017

The Fall | TV | Allan Cubitt / Jakob Verbruggen | 2013 - 2016

Films Watched in May 2023

The Devil's Trap | Frantisek Vlácil | 1962

The Week Starts on Friday (Short) | Elmar Klos | 1962

Beauty and the Beast | Juraj Herz | 1978

Frantisek Hrubín (Short) | Tomás Skrdlant | 1964

The People Next Door | David Greene | 1970

Celia | Ann Turner | 1989

Renfield | Chris McKay | 2023

Luminous Procuress | Steven Arnold | 1971

Dragon's Return | Eduard Grecner | 1968

The Man on the Roof | Bo Widerberg | 1976

Coach to Vienna | Karel Kachyna | 1966

She Dies Tomorrow | Amy Seimetz | 2020

Justine | Stewart Mackinnon | 1976

Yakuza Graveyard | Kinji Fukasaku | 1976

The Bride Wore Black | François Truffaut | 1968

The Haunting of Julia | Richard Loncraine | 1977

The End of the F***ing World | TV | Various | 2017-2019

Yellowjackets | Season 2 | TV | Various | 2023

The Cat Creeps | Erle C. Kenton | 1946

Me, Natalie | Fred Coe | 1969

Bold = Top Ten

Some notes: I’ve been going through one of those periods where I just wasn’t feeling it maaaan with regards to films and tumblr. Other things consumed my attention (Auriel's Bow isn't going to fetch itself from the Forgotten Vale) and at times it felt a struggle to watch and post. Still...

Anyway here’s one of those fancy two month Film Logs last seen in August/September 2022 only this time there’s a Top Ten compiled from both months. A few TV things make it into the list. I’m sometimes unsure about putting TV in the *Film* Log but The End of the F***ing World is great and I was very taken with Behind Her Eyes because it actually surprised me in the direction it took, such an unusual experience nowadays, plus the two female leads were very attractive. Hey, I’m only human, like Phil Oakey.