#I love anne’s ‘just a little bit’ comment about the kids being competitive

[princessanneftw]

The Prince and Princess of Wales talk about how competitive they are and whether their children at the same on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast.

[jlf23tumble]

This one’s for @homosociallyyours and @silverfoxlouis, the former because she’s not going to listen and the latter because they’re listening as we speak! I saw a post earlier that low-key annoyed me because it either misrepresented today’s Stern interview or it skipped right over the fascinating bits, so here are the parts I enjoyed (I won’t waste my time on the shit I hated, lol):

Shrooms and the song-writing process are related to Harry’s anxiety about fucking shit up and needing to get out of his own head; related: coming from a band, if there's something you don't like, you can tell yourself that it wasn’t your choice.

The Rob Stringer talk made me SIDE EYE w/r/t the delay, like, okay, you’re a label boss who’s gonna drop a ton of money, but you’re cool with telling the artist to just relax and take all the time they need, you’ll just pick up the thread when hs2 is completely finished, lolz (I have my own theories about allllll of that, but okay!).

I love Stevie and her coven of nocturnal witches, too, but tell me more about how she hated Harry’s choice of first single (in my heart, she wanted “Golden”) and the song that she thought should have been on the album but isn’t, god, she’s such a yoda, and this entire bit was so much bigger than the coven.

I live in Harry’s soft, breathy “thank you” whenever Howard praises SOTT.

I feel like all the White Eskimo talk is a fic waiting to happen, the whole battle of the bands and them winning studio time and how Harry talks to maybe one of them and there’s a guy who IS STILL IN WHITE ESKIMO I GUESS???? WHAT?

Howard Stern hatesssssssssssss Simon Cowell, so his attempts to get Harry to talk shit were both wonderful and expertly dodged, lmao. 

My only positive comment about the discussion around Harry “putting on some timber” during his bakery (cashier at a baker) years was how much it echoed Louis’s comment about “having extra timber” during one of his recent BTS specials.

Were the guys in One Direction REALLY saying that Matt Cardle was “so fucking good” back in the day? This junior statesman!

Ralph pointed this out when we were talking about the interview, but a lot of the time, Howard just makes statements (as per usual), and Harry says, “Right,” which is a great response because it isn’t really an answer, yet it’s still participatory.

Howard is obsessed with coronavirus, so it was hella interesting to hear Harry’s thoughts about it affecting his tour, when his tour is still so far away (yet another tour is so much closer and in the direct line of fire).

Howard (like me) was pleased that Harry’s band is a mix of women and men and not just dudes (I should take a drink every time Bowie is mentioned, like around Harry’s clothes, how Harry is starting his tour in Philadelphia, the entirety of that convo making me want to see Harry’s face as much as all the xarries want to).

One of the things I hated seeing earlier today was this notion that Howard “forced” Harry to talk about the robbery because he absolutely did not, Harry went into CRAZY levels of detail about it when Howard asked, “When did this happen to you?” (and the way Harry talked about it wasn’t full of trauma or sadness, it bordered on humorous in spots but still serious; it clearly shook him up, but he wasn’t about to let it change his life of feeling free to walk around at night). 

I wanted to hear a lot more about all the musicians hanging out in the ‘70s and being competitive in terms of who was writing the best songs about a particular party vs. the competitiveness of banging out the best single today. Harry’s focus was that if you say you like a song, people think you should collaborate…if two musicians hang out, they're dating or recording (like with Adele, and case in point, Howard immediately asked if they were working on something).

I also loved the bit about acting and how nervous Harry used to be about EVERYTHING because he’s waiting three hours to do three minutes, and he focuses so much on his voice or hands shaking, but this last SNL really helped (in my heart, his “little tweaks” were on the Sara Lee sketch).

I live in the guffaw from Harry whenever Howard unexpectedly hit his funny bone (like Harry saying Anne gave him some money to buy clothes when he first moved to London, and Howard saying it was good return on investment for her, what with the house Harry eventually bought her, etc.).

I absolutely LOVED the entire bit about Ben Winston’s attic (and Ralph’s related takes on it), the fine line of the plausibility yet the doubling down; the word “cocaine” coming out of Harry’s mouth; the parts about dating and keeping your relationship normal/secret, etc., GOLD, ALL OF IT. 

Harry, like Phoenix Mendoza, writes every day, which is part of why he wasn’t really into giving up his phone to muggers because that’s his writing zone of choice for lyrics and poems (the whole robbery clapback here: “for the purposes of not getting mugged again, no, they’re on a different device”).

MITCH SPEAKS!! He was into his Nick Drake phase when Harry met him, but apparently everyone is into the open D (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) chord, so he was a shoe-in. Also, Harry met Adam in 2010??? I’d like more information.

We move back into 1D territory with Zayn’s departure, which is still shittily handled but somewhat more maturedly discussed, and yet another attempt to get Harry to talk shit about Simon, which is getting us closer to what we want/need (Harry’s very real answer to Simon being pissed that Harry didn’t consult him about going solo: “I’m in a band since I was 16, there were five of us, we had a lot of managers, lots of people at the label, and all of these decisions affect your life in a massive way, every decision I made was a group call. I didn't know who I was as an adult,” and a lot of that is paraphrased in spite of the quote marks, but just know that I am screaming LIAM).

There’s a lot of weird downspeak to Sarah and Ny (Adam and Mitch were talked at earlier), but everyone’s very much into Sarah, and rightfully so. I loved the slip up where Howard is trying to figure out if there’s anything romantic going on between Harry and the female band members, and someone says, “Mitch!” so you can hear Howard process Harry and Mitch for a hot sec, cracking the Hitch dream, before we get clarification and Harry gleefully taking us into the story of their love. (Me as the speech Howard gives Sarah and Mitch about how dangerous it is to be in a band together and to have a relationship because if you fuck it up, it’ll be terrible.)

SLEDGEHAMMER NICE.

We get a bit into the “Adore You” video because Howard’s an animal softie, and he loves it (it’s downplayed, but Howard also mentions how fans have put a lot of “thoughts” into the fish), but then we get into talk about how this song is about the girl Harry’s banging (HIS SNICKER HERE) and how the common denominator in all of Harry’s failed relationships is him, huh. All of this relationship talk here makes me want to DIE with how much I love it.

Everyone focuses on the gross talk from Howard about Harry having a lady therapist (this is a long-standing Howard trope), but some good shit disappears between those cracks, like how Harry decided to go into therapy, how he’s keeping his LA therapist instead of having two in different countries, etc., and it’s actually Robin who asks Harry about seeming weak or vulnerable in front of a female therapist, but clearly, he’s not bothered.

I’m so interested in how the shrooms tongue-biting incident cured a speech impediment I wasn’t fully aware of but that is still so impossibly endearing.

Harry himself picks out his opening acts, which we already knew but is always nice to hear confirmed. 

The drug convo in text from earlier today makes it sound like he doesn’t smoke cigs, but to me, it seems like he doesn’t like to smoke weed (an edible king, relatable).

Harry says, “you’ve said it all,” which just makes me think he’s a long-time (or recent) Stern listener, because that’s what Howard says when he’s done/interview’s over.

We think it’s all done but the shouting, and then Robin gets into Harry’s clothing, which is where it gets dicey. Howard (of course) mentions that Bowie wore a skirt and how he himself did full drag on TV (“legs shaved and everything, you should see how gorgeous I am as a woman”), but Harry keeps it very much in the realm of what he wears is what he wears because it’s fun for him, he’s not wearing a school uniform or trying to look cool for his friends, he’s a lot more comfortable with himself: “At shows, I tell people to be who they want to be, I plan on telling my kids that, so I don’t want to be a hypocrite, I’m not wearing it for shock value.” 

Howard says people will assume he’s gay or bi (like Bowie, YEAH, SIGH), but Harry says it’s not performative. This whole bit is fascinating on so many levels, he touches (without saying) on the entire queer-baiting issue, and it’s cringe-y, with Howard saying “I’m not criticizing, wear what you want, I’m a big mess, etc.”

Anyway, they pivot out of that with Howard moving beyond into asking Harry who he wants to badmouth: “Simon?” Harry: “This has been great!” and this entire bit about how Howard wants to know if Harry considers Simon a friend, and Harry saying he doesn’t talk to him gives me life. There’s a lot of gross talk about who Harry has his eye on for his next girlfriend, but I will tell you that I never in my life expected to hear the words SUSAN BOYLE thrown into this convo. 

The interview closes out with Harry getting progressively more silent about the women he should date, saying that he doesn’t talk in interviews about his love life, he talks in music (oh?????), so Taylor Swift comes up, and Harry says it’s flattering to think you’re in a Taylor song because she’s such a great songwriter, which, true, I guess?

Harry hasn’t used a dating app (duh), but Howard thinks he should create one, and…scene. 

[morinokunikara]

Double Date Night

Read on AO3

Fandom: Persona 5

Ships: Shiann, Ryushima

Summary: Shiho, Ann, Yuuki, and Ryuji have a double date planned-but what do they do when Shiho’s still-recovering body has other plans for her?

Notes:  Okay there’s a lot of reasons I wrote this fic, but it can basically be boiled down to wanting some gay shit, and wanting people to appreciated Shiho and Yuuki and their potential for friendship more (though the latter ended up…not showing as much as I would have liked). Canon sucks, I’m the writer now, and I will not be stopped.

I have the fic posted here, but please give it a look on AO3 as well, and maybe leave kudos and/or comments! It’d mean a lot to me.

Months had passed since Shiho’s release from the hospital, and things were going rather well. Her biggest problems were she still had to go to physical therapy weekly, and couldn’t walk on her own most days. At the very least, she needed a cane, which didn’t bother her too much. The cane was cool, Ann helped her paint it, and she got compliments on it all the time. On worse days she needed crutches, a little less enjoyable but still tolerable. Then there were wheelchair days. Shiho hated wheelchair days. Lots of places were very inaccessible, and she always got looks, or people trying to help when she didn’t need it. If she had to use the wheelchair, she would rather not go out at all.  But overall, she made amazing progress in her recovery. Not just physically, but mentally.

She was never able to return to playing volleyball at her new school, even if she could have physically, but she found joy in watching her former teammates play and almost never missed a Shujin game. She always made sure to be the loudest, most excited fan she could be. She made more friends, and would hang out with those friends when she could. Yuuki became her closest friend. Neither of them really talked when they played together, but they found out they had so much in common from both being trans to having similar struggles in life, and their friendship just stuck. He even helped her with asking Ann out, in return for her helping him ask Ryuji out. The four of them actually had a double date planned, a fairly common occurrence for them. The plan for this one was a movie, shopping, and dinner. However, it seemed that Shiho’s body had other plans.

She woke up nearly paralyzed by pain, so much just pulling herself out of bed made her feel like she just ran 100 laps. Why today of all days? She sat back in bed and pulled out her phone to text Ann.

Shiho: Hey…I don’t think I’m going to be able to go out today.

Ann: Everything okay?

Shiho: Not really. I can barely move. I’d have to use the chair. I really don’t want to have to get around in it. Sorry. You three can still go without me.

Ann: I’ll let the guys know. I hope you feel better soon. <3

Shiho: <3

Ann sighed as she looked at the texts again. She hated having to see Shiho hurt so much. They were all looking so forward to today, too… Sure, Ann could just go with the Yuuki and Ryuji but that defeated the whole purpose of the day… She couldn’t just let their day be cut short like that. She had a plan. It wasn’t guaranteed to work, but it was worth a shot. She made a group chat for her and the guys and sent a text.

Ann: Shiho’s not doing well today. She cancelled our plans.

Ryuji: Damn. Pain again I’m guessing?

Ann: Yeah…

Yuuki: It feels wrong to go without her…should we just reschedule?

Ann: No, I have a plan. Meet me in the underground mall. Bring something fun to do.

Ryuji: Gotcha.

Yuuki: See you soon!

The three met up in the underground mall a little over an hour later, Yuuki with some puzzle books and board games, Ryuji with some video games and DVDs, and Ann with makeup, magazines, and flowers she just bought.

“So I guess the plan is we surprise Shiho with all of this?” Yuuki asked.

“Yep! I can’t say for sure if she’ll like it or not, but I want to try. I’d hate just leaving her out…” Ann’s voice faded a bit, but picked up as she smiled. “So we’re gonna bring the double date to her!”

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji cheered. “Let’s get going!” He started to run off, then stopped a few feet away. “Wait uh…where’s she live again?”

Ann sighed and shook her head. “You’re hopeless… Why did you run off if you don’t know? I’ll lead you guys there.”

There was a short train ride to the Suzui residence, during which the three excitedly talked about what they brought and their plans, and shared their hopes that Shiho would enjoy their day together. Before too long, they were in front of the house. Ann rang the doorbell, and an older woman, Shiho’s mother, answered the door. She smiled as soon as she saw the three.

“Oh, are you three here to see Shiho? She’ll be so happy…she’s in her room right now.” She welcomed the three in, they took off their shoes, and went over to Shiho’s room quietly.

Ann knocked gently on the door, and Shiho called back. “It’s open…” Her voice sounded rather gloomy and strained. It hurt all three of her guests to hear it. Still, they all three kept smiles on their faces as Ann opened the door.

“Surprise!” Ann said cheerfully. “Hope you don’t mind that we showed up.”

Shiho’s whole face lit up slowly when she saw the three. Her pained, grim expression turned into a wide smile, and small tears of joy formed in her eyes. “You three…I told Ann you could go on without me…”

“Well sure,” Ryuji said. “But it wouldn’t be much of a double date if half of one of the couples was gone, would it?”

“We all made sure to bring something to do.” Yuuki showed off the books and games he brought. “We want to make sure your day in is a fun one.“

"Thanks, guys…” Shiho sniffled.

Ann went over to the bed. “I got you these too,” She said as she placed the flowers on the end table and sat on the edge of the bed. “So what do you want to do? We have magazines, makeup, video games, movies, some puzzle books, board games…take your pick!”

Shiho thought for a second. “Oh! Let’s all do each other’s makeup!” She said excitedly.

“Ehhh, I think I’ll pass on that one,” Ryuji said. “That cutesy shit is more Yuuki’s thing.” He patted his boyfriend’s head, and got his hand swatted away in return.

“He’s terrible at makeup,” Yuuki added on. “He tried to do mine once and it was awful.”

“I didn’t even know what half that shit was!”

“It’s really not as hard as you’re acting like it is.”

“It is too! I don’t get how you keep up with all those brushes and colors and stuff…”

Shiho laughed softly at the little playful argument. “You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah!” Ann agreed. “You can judge our looks instead.”

“Fine…” Ryuji grumbled softly. “But I’m warning you, I don’t know what’s good or bad…”

“Yuuki, can I do yours?” Shiho asked.

“And I wanna do yours, Shiho!” Ann said excitedly.

“I can do Ann’s then.” Yuuki said. “I actually have a look that’ll be perfect for you.”

The three took turns doing each other’s makeup, each person’s unique style showing up in the look of the person that did their makeup. Yuuki ended up with a simple, more natural look, Shiho with a very trendy girly look with lots of pink, and Ann with a more showy dramatic look.  

“Alright, Ryuji. Who did best?” Ann asked with a confident grin. She was certain that she’d win.

Ryuji looked closely at the three, spending his time really studying each look and thinking long and hard about his decision. “Uh…they all look the same to me.” He finally said in defeat.

Ann and Yuuki both sighed. “They couldn’t be more different from each other!” Ann exclaimed.

Yuuki took a deep breath. “Ryuji…I say this with all the love I have in my heart…you are completely hopeless.”

Shiho laughed, a bit more than her previous laugh. “Okay, lay off him you two…let’s just call it a tie, okay? I think we all look amazing.”

“You’re way too nice to him, Shiho.” Ann said. “He’ll never learn if we lay off…but fine, if you insist.”

“How about instead, we let him pick what we do next!” Shiho smiled at Ryuji. “You brought some games right? How about we play something?”

“Hell yeah! I brought my full collection cause i wasn’t sure what you liked…” Ryuji brought a stack of games over to Shiho. “Go ahead, pick your favorite!”

Shiho looked at the games thoughtfully, and ultimately picked a co-op RPG they could play together with minimal competition. The four enjoyed their game together, to the point where Shiho’s mother had to come in and ask them to quiet down. They spent hours on the game, eventually coming to a stop when they realized how long it had been. “Wow…I usually don’t play that much,” Ann said with a soft laugh.

“Me either, I just got so caught up in working with everyone, I lost track of the time,” Shiho admitted.

“So…What’s next?” Yuuki asked. Before anyone could suggest their next activity, Shiho’s mother peeked in the room.

“Are you kids hungry? I’m making beef stew tonight!”

“Beef stew?!” Ryuji perked up excitedly. “I could go for some beef!”

“Where are your manners?!” Ann scolded. “Thank you, Mrs. Suzui. Food would be lovely. Do you need any help?”

Shiho’s mom shook her head. “No, no, I wouldn’t want to pull any of you away. I may need help bringing the food here, however. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

While dinner cooked, the four looked at some of Ann’s magazines. For all his griping about makeup, Ryuji was actually quite invested in the fashion (or maybe just the models) and was eager to point out some of his favorite looks, or outfits he thought would look good on others (mostly Yuuki, of course). Once Shiho’s mom called that dinner was ready, Ann went to the kitchen to help her carry the bowls into Shiho’s room. The four all sat and chatted about school, sports, and their other friends while they ate. Once they finished, Ann brought the bowls back to the kitchen, and the four spent some time playing some of the card games that Yuuki and brought.

“And a perfect match~!” Ann cheered, showing off her cards. “I win again!” She sung.

“Man, this is getting boring,” Ryuji whined. “How do you keep winning? You have to be cheating.”

“Or I’m just luckier than you,” Ann said, sticking her tongue out.

“I’m just not getting any matches!” Ryuji griped as he threw down his cards.

“Uh…Ryuji…sweetheart…” Yuuki looked over the cards on the ground. “You have 3 matches here.”

The others looked and sure enough, there were 3 matches scattered across Ryuji’s cards. “Wha…I…Damnit! It’s hard to tell when they’re all scattered like that!” Ryuji’s voice grew even more frustrated than it was over losing.

“You know if you sort them as you get them, that wouldn’t be a problem,” Shiho said. “That’s what I do.”

Ryuji looked at her in shock, completely dumbfounded by the fact that he hadn’t ever thought of that before. “That’s freakin’ genius!”

The four of them spent the rest of the night playing card games and board games, at some point also playing some movies and anime in the background. Before long, it was late into the night.

“We should probably get going,” Yuuki said, slowly rising to his feet. “Wouldn’t want to miss the train home.”

Ann got up and stretched. “I was actually going to stay the night if that’s okay with Shiho.”

“I can’t,” Ryuji said. “Gotta help my mom with chores tomorrow.”

“And I promised my sister we could play some games tonight,” Yuuki added on.

“Well, you two head back then. We don’t need you boys anyways,” Ann teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryuji grumbled before turning to Shiho. “Hope today helped you a bit.”

“Of course it did,” Shiho replied with a bright smile. She opened her arms for a hug. “Come over here.” Ryuji and Yuuki both accepted hugs before heading out and going home.

Once the boys were gone, Ann and Shiho spent the night cuddled up together talking for hours until they got tired.

“Hey Ann?” Shiho said softly as the two began to drift off. “Thanks for this.”

“Hey, it was the guys too,” Ann pointed out.  “I can’t take all the credit.”

“But it was your idea, wasn’t it?”

“I mean yeah…but still, we all did our part because we wanted to see you happy.”

“I know you do…”

“I was kind of worried you might be mad to be honest. Like maybe we were being too intrusive or something.”

“Not at all! I’m…” Shiho found herself a bit choked up, but tried to fight back the tears. “I’m glad you all care so much. I felt so useless today but…you all made it a lot better.”

Ann smiled and kissed Shiho’s forehead. “I’m glad. That’s all I want to do for you, ever.”

“I love you so much, Ann. I don’t think I could ever thank you enough.”

“I love you too. Now let’s get some sleep, okay?”

The two fell asleep peacefully in each other’s arms, both so, so thankful for each other and all their friends

[calzona-ga]

EVA BINDER TALKS ‘GREY’S ANATOMY’| The Daily Shuffle

Happy #GreysAnatomy day! We caught up with Eva Binder, aka Sofia Sloan Torres, to get the inside scoop on all things Grey’s! The talented actress dished on her 2018, the best advice she’s gotten on set and so much more! Read the exclusive interview below and don’t forget to tune into a brand new episode of Grey’s Anatomy TONIGHT on ABC!

Tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to! How has 2018 treated you so far? Well 2018 has been treating me AWESOME!! My first job of 2018 was returning to “Grey’s Anatomy” My character Sofia Sloan Torres came back to live with her mommy Arizona in Seattle!!! YAY!!!! I also got to perform with a band singing and playing the piano!! I sang “tightrope” from The Greatest Showman! I usually only play Classical music on the piano so this was so fun and different for me! I also am starting the Main Ballet for my dance studio’s recital this summer.

Let’s talk about ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ – what has the whole experience been like for you getting to play Sofia? Getting to play Sofia is been a dream job for me! The experience has been so cool because I have gotten to work with such talented actors, directors, and crew members. I also love to ride the golf cart on the lot and getting to see all the behind the scenes stuff has been super cool too!

What are some of your favorite on set moments that you can share with us? One my favorite on set moments at moments at “Greys “ was my very first episode . I had fallen down and cut my head on a rock , so they put makeup up on my head to look like I really cut it!! That was really cool! I loved it so much I kept it on for school. My friends freaked out!!! They thought I really hurt myself. Another moment was when Mama Callie was hugging and squeezing me too tight. “ I don’t know why but I really like that scene with Callie,Meredith, and Maggie. All of my other favorite moments are in the episodes that I can’t tell you about yet

Having worked closely with a lot of older actors, have any of them given you any advice? Some advice from older actors that I will never forget and kind of live by is “ Always do your best and never get upset about not getting a part that I may want because If it’s meant to be your job you will get it. They also say not always the best actor gets the job so never take it personally. So I don’t. That’s way I am not competitive at auditions. I just have fun and do my best.

When you’re not busy working on set, what are you usually up to? When I am not on set I am just a regular kid. I go to a regular school, make slime(I LOVE SLIME), dance ALOT like at the dance studio and ALL OVER MY HOUSE. On tables and sofas….makes my mommy crazy. I also love Universal and Disneyland so much!!!! We go there a lot! I like to work hard and I like to play hard. It’s only fair right? Oh and writing..I like to write scripts on my iPad on ann APP called “Episode” So cool. I want to shoot a short that I write! Oh and COOKING, and piano!! I love some many things I am always very busy!

When it comes to career goals, what’s something you’re hoping to accomplish? My career goals are…. Well I would love to movies and be a regular on TV show ..Drama..I like drama. but I would want to sing, dance, act, and play the piano in it!! I guess like Glee but a real Drama.

How did you get your start in acting? My first job was a tiny little walk buy scene with my own dog Kata in an Indie Feature that my mom’s friend was making.! It was so fun to shoot even though it rained that day and that was it I was hooked. Then I got a commercial agent and a few years later a manager and theatrical agent. So I guess you could say my mommy got me started. Thx Mom.

Any special message to Grey’s viewers? My special message to the Grey’s viewers would be….Always follow your dreams and never give up until they come true, and Thank you for watching and being my fans. I love all the nice comments you give me and I love you all too.

Fun Facts: 1. I love to rescue animals rescue animals off the street and help them find their way back home!! I am a CRAZY ANIMAL LOVER. Someday I will open up my own animal rescue !!!! 2. My favorite shows are cooking shows and I LOVE to COOK! 3. I always stay on the positive side. 4. I listen to the “Nutcracker” all year long!!

[allinmycorner]

Welcome to Season 30! 

Dancing With the Stars is back! Tyra is once again our host and she’s the only one. Derek is still on the judging panel along with Carrie Ann and Bruno but Len is also back after being stuck in England due to COVID. We also have an audience again as well, though everyone is masked and socially distant. The stars are still also socially distanced but are now sitting at tables next to the dancefloor rather than positioned around the empty studio. It’s feeling more and more normal. 

All the pros dancing this season are returning ones, especially Witney and Lindsay who are back after giving birth to their children last year. It’s nice to have them back and to keep some of the dancers we came to love last season like Britt, Pasha and Daniella. 

There’s already some controversy regarding the cast, though isn’t there always some controversy? This year, it’s been mostly split between JoJo and Olivia Jade. For JoJo, it wasn’t so much the fact that she was to be part of the first same sex pairing (though I’m sure there were corners who did disapprove of this) but rather that she got got her start on Dance Moms. She is known as a dancer and people think this gives her an unfair advantage. But we learned throughout the premiere that many contestants have a dance background as well - for example, Amanda Kloots was a Broadway performer and can dance. So I think with this group, JoJo is on a more even playing field and doesn’t have a huge advantage over the cast. 

And Olivia Jade is still experiencing backlash from the college scandal, which was addressed, as well as some of her comments on YouTube which people saw in a new light after the scandal. She is seeking redemption and to me, I still don’t know if she’s fully accepted and admitted how much privilege she has. But I think this could work in her favor if she is able to show humility and works hard. 

With that out of the way, let’s check out how our stars did during the first show! 

JoJo and Jenna: JoJo and Jenna are making history as the first same sex couple, something that's been advocated for for years. I remember Carson tried to be paired with a male pro in his season and was rejected. It's long past time for the producers to come around. Jenna and JoJo are even matched and work well with each other. Their quickstep was a lot of fun and a great way to close out the show, even if Jenna had a slip. JoJo, though, held her and they recovered quickly. I do think this competition may be JoJo's to lose!

Amanda and Alan: Amanda is so sweet. Her tango was pretty good for week 1. She needs to work a little more on technique but she's got the talent, so that's a good foundation. Alan will definitely be able to help her improve as the weeks go on and I know she is going to make Nick proud wherever he is now. 

Suni and Sasha: Suni was so excited to be paired with Sasha! He's no doubt a familiar figure to her given his partnership with Simone Biles, her teammate. And she's right - he does have a good touch with gymnasts. Her jive was another great start. The judges were right that she needs to be more fluid and not look down so much but I think she'll get there. 

Mel C and Gleb: Mel C looks amazing! She really set the bar for this season with a strong cha-cha that hit all the right notes without looking too nervous. I think she'll only get better as the weeks go on and may give the other women a run for their money.

Kenya and Brandon: I love Brandon. And I think with Kenya, he'll be around for a good number of weeks. She had a good start with the foxtrot. Kenya was graceful and handled it well. Like everyone else, she has things to work on but once she does, she'll be competition for the others.

Melora and Artem: The reigning champ is back and ready to go for trophy #2 with Melora. She also had a good start with the tango and is comfortable on the dance floor. While she may not be as skilled as some of the others are out of the gate, I do think she could catch up. Artem will definitely be a good teacher for her and knows how to choreography to his partners' strengths, so she's in good hands.

Christine and Pasha: I'll be honest, I have no clue who she is. But she seems pretty likeable and committed to the show. And I like Pasha so I'm rooting for him. They also had a good tango. I think she'll be around for a bit longer but I don't think she'll make it past the midpoint but I wouldn't mind being wrong!

Olivia and Val: Olivia had a salsa right out of the gate, which is a bit harder than some of the more basic dances we've seen tonight - cha-cha, foxtrot, jive - but she managed it. I'm not sure if the producers gave it to her to prove she is dedicated and willing to put in the work or they just throw darts at a board to pick dance styles. But she is partnered with Val, who is a good teacher and choreographer, so I think he will be able to continue to help her improve. As long as she's serious about doing the work, I think she'll be fine. She might be a dark horse but right now, I don't imagine her hitting the finals.

Looks like the women absolutely dominated the first night of competition. But many of the men gave them a run for their money. Check out my thoughts on them:

Brian and Sharna: Brian and Sharna are dating and they seem to have a pretty sweet relationship. Both seem to also be taking this seriously - Sharna is not going easy on her boyfriend and he's not expecting her to do so. Brian had a good start in his dance and his relationship with Sharna certainly helps with their chemistry. I'm eager to see them do a rumba together honestly. But I am also a little worried - didn't Julianne partner up with her then-boyfriend and it didn't really go well for them? Or maybe it went south well after DWTS and their partnership had nothing to do with it. No matter, I am rooting for Brian and Sharna.

Cody and Cheryl: I don't do Peloton so I have no clue who Cody is. But he seems to be a ball of positive energy so I think it's take him far. And he's paired with Cheryl, which is another plus. His tango was a good start. I'm not sure I'm ready to call him an early leader. I'll see what happens next week.

Matt and Lindsay: Our obligatory Bachelor Nation appearance is here! Matt certainly has big shoes to fill since the last two winners are also part of Bachelor Nation. He is paired with Lindsay and they seem to have a good partnership. He's holding his own so far with the others but it remains to be seen if he can keep up or if he falls behind. And if Bachelor Nation can save him if he can't break away from the pack.

The Miz and Witney: The Miz is all for this. And he did better than I thought. He could probably be a bit more graceful and fluid but Witney can whip him into shape. He's going to have to really pay attention to her if he wants to break away from the pack but for now, he's doing fine.

Jimmie and Emma: I like Jimmie and I love Emma so I'm supportive of this couple. He's another promising contestant but he's going to have to put in the work soon. The earlier you pull away from the pack, the better. But I think he can do it and he and Brian might be able to start giving the women some competition.

Iman and Daniella: There's certainly a height different but they can overcome that. Daniella probably can get some tips from Witney. I believe she's been paired with some tall contestants in the past. And she needs to be careful. I knew Len was going to ding her for the choreography as there was very little in hold. She probably thought she could get away with it given the height difference but now that Len's back, he's not going to be so lenient on the choreography. I wouldn't want to see Iman go because Daniella is trying to be creative but ultimately not really addressing the height issue.

Martin and Britt: Poor Martin. He's clearly the weak link, though he is 74. But it's clear that Britt needed to coach him through the paso doble. Which is a hard dance. I'm not sure why the producers gave it to them unless they thought it would work best with his martial arts background. But it's clear he's having fun and I enjoyed his Cobra Kai/Karate Kid-inspired opening. I hope he's around a bit longer but I have a feeling he'll be the first on the chopping block.

So that was the first show of Season 30! I’ll see you all next week when we find out who is going home first! 

[hereidinathoreauwrites]

A Balanced Review of the Magic School Bus Reboot

The good, the bad, and the genuinely surprising about the Magic School Bus Rides Again.

Here we go.

First off, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a huge fan of the original. Like genuinely huge. I have all the episodes, can quote most of them, and openly promote theories that Ms. Frizzle is a Time Lord (because honestly, it’s obvious).

Second off, I have a huge gay crush on the fabulous Kate McKinnon.

But who doesn’t?

So expect these to weigh into my analysis.

Let’s start off with the good.

The Good

Fiona

From the moment I heard Kate was onboard, I knew I was going to love this character. And she did not disappoint. Fiona is exactly what she needs to be. She is Ms. Frizzle without being...well, Lily Tomlin. She still has that zest for adventure and thrills at new discoveries.

And while there is a multitude of similarities between her and Valerie (old sayings, clever wordplay, impeccably questionable fashion sense, a flair for danger) she’s decidedly different. She’s more excitable than her sister and treats her students more like peers than children she is supervising. And while she’s never quite as all-knowing as her big sister seemed to be, she knows when to talk and when to let her students suss something out on their own.

And while her past is a bit of a mystery, just like her older sister, she seems just as accomplished and well-rounded. And just as eccentric.

I mean, she literally enters the classroom through a glass ceiling on a rope attached to nothing.

She is Kate McKinnon, who is genuinely thrilled to be here and loving every minute of it. 

Sometimes she does get to be a bit much, usually when she’s too excited about a clever pun or a new discovery. But she’s not Valerie Frizzle. She’s Fiona Frizzle. And Kate does a good job of keeping just enough of the original enigma while bringing a new character who is more approachable, vulnerable, and emotional than Valerie was. Honestly, the only emotions I remember Ms. Frizzle overtly displaying on PBS were excitement and happiness.

In PBS, the kids relied on Ms. Frizzle a lot and she seemed to improvise a lot of the destinations and lessons for the day. Here, Fiona seems to already know what they need for a given day or be flexible enough to figure out a solution as they go. And unlike Valerie, who always kept a strong cloud of mystery about her and what she knew and didn’t know, Fiona makes it very clear just what she is aware of and not aware of. During the final episode, when the bus is unable to take the pressure of the ocean and things look dire, she is clearly panicking because her kids are now in danger. But she keeps resolutely chipper, trying to reassure and excite them even as her voice breaks.

And this makes sense. The kids are older in this version. At some point, there’s no reason for her to hide her knowledge and planning from them or the true scope of the danger they’re in. It isn’t going to teach them anything new, just reinforce how much more she knows. They aren’t going to freak out like they used to, instead, they will search for a solution because they’ve been in danger before and engineered their way out. She’s no longer their guide (like Valerie was), now she’s their colleague.

There is one thing I find a little off about her and that is her tendency to make sassy comments or judgments that are funny in the moment but really distinguish her from what one typically expects from a teacher. In the very first episode, she makes a comment about how dirty the boots they are examining for invasive species are and gets very high-and-mighty about it. I wouldn’t mind so much (the boots were pretty nasty) but she does this with the kids occasionally as well (she makes it obvious that she knows Arnold stole her plant in the first episode but still puts him through a lot of guilt-tripping and even some legit trauma before he finally fesses up). And while it’s good for a laugh, it seems a little harsh for an elementary school teacher. The kids dont seem to mind though so I’ll let it go.

The Class

The same class is back, which I found surprising. But smart. It would be too much work to establish an entirely new class and then introducing a new Ms. Frizzle would feel off. It would just be a remake, not a reboot.

We have 7 of the original kids here: Arnold, Ralphie, Carlos, Tim, Wanda, Dorothy Ann, and Keesha. In this reboot, Phoebe has been replaced with Jyoti, an Indian girl who is very into engineering and technology. I was originally very upset when Phoebe was replaced (she was the one I related to most in the original series) but Jyoti has earned a special place in my heart. She has her own section below.

In this version, the class is in 5th grade, which is supposed to be one year after the events of the PBS cartoon. I’ll have more thoughts on this later but for know, just know that all the kids are now 10 instead of 9 and it actually sort of works.

The kids are all really charming. Especially Ralphie (who may have eclipsed Carlos for the most laughs). Even Arnold, who I found incredibly annoying in the PBS version, was exceedingly likable here. And this was the series where he actively disrupts his new teacher’s first lesson! In the first episode, there is a great effort to make Arnold both reprehensible but also sympathetic as he resists the change Fiona brings to his life.

While their personalities seem less distinguishable at times, they still retain their characterizations. Ralphie is the lovable jock, DA the nerd (although she has swapped out her beloved pink bookbag for a Frizz-tab), Tim is the artist, Carlos the jokester, etc. Even though they retain these personalities from PBS, all of them have changed slightly, the same way you’d expect a child to change over the course of one year. Some of their traits have been updated as well for the new era this class is getting educated in (for example, DA’s tablet and their outfit changes).

The only one I have a problem with is Wanda.

We’ll get to her in the bad.

The kids are still the focus of the show: having conflicts, solving problems, making mistakes, and getting excited about science. Fiona remains as simply their guardian and enabler of their adventures. And while Kate’s performance is attention-grabbing, she doesn’t steal the spotlight from the kids. Their VAs are all pretty good and seem to have taken their own stylistic choices when bringing back these beloved characters. They keep some core similarities but give unique performances.

Jyoti Kaur

I was so excited to learn another POC had joined the kids. I was even more excited to learn that she was a southern Indian POC [for context: I myself am not of Indian heritage but I spent a semester in southern India and I admire the culture very much and made some good friends there]. She seems to have taken on both the mantle of wide-eyed newcomer (that Phoebe used to carry) and fearless adventurer in the class (that used to be Wanda’s thing...). And she fills the important role of being the gear-head for the class in this new era of technology.

She even gets one of my favorite moments in the reboot: when she’s alone with Ms. Frizzle discussing an engineering competition and we learn that the Frizzle sisters built the bus.

It’s such a powerful moment for me because Jyoti is the new kid and Fiona is the new teacher and they use this moment to bond and expand the canon of the series.

Watching her watch the bus in action is genuinely endearing. She always seems like she’s both in awe of the magic and trying to figure out how everything works. There’s a moment in the first episode where she watches Ms. Frizzle turn Carlos and Wanda into animals and gets very disappointed when she doesn’t get a turn.

This may make it seem like I have no problems with Jyoti, but unfortunately, that’s not entirely true. She has a section in “the bad” as well.

The Adventure

The series certainly didn’t pull punches when throwing people into peril.

In this reboot, we see the kids fall down two different rivers, raft a volcano, get attacked by T-cells, jump out of a plane onto a glacier, get attacked by a plant, get stalked by sharks (twice!), lose the bus (also twice!), get lost while they’re the size of atoms, almost get torn apart by a barracuda, go flying around the Earth at maximum zoom, and get stuck at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

One thing that is different is that they don't dwell on the suspense as much as PBS did. PBS milked its commercial breaks for all they were worth, drawing out intense situations to make them feel more perilous. The reboot...doesn’t. When there is a threat, the resolution is less than 30 seconds away. There are a couple of awkward fade-outs in the middle of some episodes at tense moments but it’s not consistent and there’s not much point when there’s no ad break in the middle of a Netflix video.

This could turn into a whole critique of streaming services ruining suspense in tv writing but I’ll just make a note of it here.

The bus has also picked up some new abilities, which are utilized for these adventures. Shrinking down to the size of an atom genuinely thrilled me. I got so excited during “The Magnetic Mambo” when they just kept shrinking...and shrinking...and shrinking...!

A lot of the “new abilities” seem to include the bus’ infinite creative potential. It spits out new technology every other second, from personal vehicles to backpacks that are actually time machines, to a remote that is like a mini-bus that they only use once. I’ll discuss the bus more in the bad but it’s abilities fall solidly into the good category for me. It means new adventures and deeper dives into older adventures.

The Writing

I don’t know if the series writers are affiliated with the PBS cartoon in any way but they definitely know their stuff. The problem I have with most reboots is that they end up feeling and sounding like fanfics instead of continuations. This reboot does not. It carries just enough of the tone of the original through clever wordplay, puns, and wacky adventures while having a distinctly different look and feel.

They know where they came from but they’re not trying to return to that place.

Some of the episodes are very creative and well composed. These include Ep 1: “Frizzle of the Future” (which ingeniously uses the concept of invasive species to integrate Fiona into the MSB canon), Ep 4: “The Battle for Rock Mountain” (which uses superhero culture to teach kids about the rock cycle), and Ep 10: “The Tales Glaciers Tell” (which finally teaches kids about climate change in a way that is straightforward and as “uncontroversial” as it can be).

There are some “less good” episodes but overall, none of them were terrible. They were all funny and clever and presented their lessons well.

Nods to the original

It’s never overtly obvious or direct but the references to PBS are there. But in some ways, I think that’s better than flat-out insisting that the two are back-to-back canon.

They don't slap you in the face with call-backs but if you are a fan of the original, you catch them.

Here’s a few I noticed:

The perfect joke to explain Phoebe’s absence

Mr. Rhule (the principle from the original) is referenced by name

Wanda’s mom and little brother (William) have a cameo (with Wanda’s original VA as Mrs. Li, I’m pretty sure)

Ralphie’s face when the class travels inside Carlos’ nose (because in PBS, the whole class ended up in his nose)

Arnold freaking out when they end up in Ralphie’s stomach (because that episode from PBS was legitimately traumatizing for him)

The bus being attacked by white blood cells while in the bloodstream

Weatherman! (”sheika, sheika kaboom!” was sorely missed though...)

Keesha directing (with a megaphone of course)

Ralphie building a robot (again, for seemingly no valid reason and with a questionable amount of resources)

Arnold loving rocks and geology

Ms. Frizzle asks them if they’ve ever been eaten (there were several times in PBS but not in the reboot)

JANET! (dammit)

several VAs from the original make cameos

It’s refreshing in a way, to know that these things were done with fans like me in mind.

The Bad

I may love a lot about this reboot but it is not without a few glaring problems in my mind.

Here goes:

The BUS

I’m just going to say it: the original bus was better. It had more of a personality and felt more real than this cube.

In my opinion, where this went wrong was that technology played too much of a role. Maybe this was unavoidable due to the major changes in technology in the past 20 years. But it doesn’t even look like a bus anymore. It has a freakin’ tablet screen right on the control panel...do buses have those now? What was magical about PBS’s bus was that it looked like a bus but could change and mold itself into whatever was necessary with the push of a button. Now Fiona has to scroll through a screen of apps to find the “mode” she needs.

There is less magical about the bus this time; it more just seems like an incredible feat of engineering. There is even a joke about how the Frizzle sisters built the bus. Instead of turning kids into things, most of the time now, they just have their own personal vehicles to drive around the ocean or fly through space. That’s not magical, it’s just really well-funded.

Also, apparently now the bus can sustain damage? And then magically repair that damage? I guess the T-Rex did bite through the roof on PBS...

Also, the bus doesn't actually have to drive places anymore. Instead it just kind of...teleports. There’s an episode where the kids go inside the nervous systems of two of their classmates and both times, they just kind of vanish and reappear where they need to be.

(Also, the kids are oddly comfortable with the idea of the bus entering their bodies? Like I get it, if they’ve been through an entire previous year of a Frizzle using their body for science, maybe they’re okay with a bus shooting up their nose and their class spending half the day in their bloodstream. But a lot of the human biology episodes of the original were not consensual? Is this change really a bad thing? Is this tangent getting too long?)

On the plus side, the bus is solar-powered now.

So :D

The Timeline?

They kept a lot from the original, so much so that I think the intention was to make it seem like only one summer had passed between the two series. It makes sense on paper: this way fans of the original aren’t too put off and kids watching both series back to back for the first time won't be too confused by the switch.

But the problem with this is that it’s too unbelievable.

Technology really advanced this much in a few months? Wanda changed that much over the summer (see below)? Ms. Frizzle got her PhD in two months? Well, actually if anybody could do that, it would be Valerie Frizzle...

So the intention is good and logical but all the details don't really work out. I’ve coped with it by considering this an “alternate universe”, where the kids stayed together for another year (with some changes) after a year of similar adventures to PBS but with all the advanced tech present. So instead of being from the 90′s, this class was born in the late 2000′s.

If you’re not insane (like me), it probably won’t bother you. And it does make for a pretty funny opening scene.

Race Depictions

Not really sure if I should be bringing this up but I did want to address it. Whatever animation they used for the show does make certain characters appear...whiter...than they did on PBS.

But the whole color palette is different so I’m not sure if this was an intentional artistic choice or just unlucky circumstance. I really don’t know enough about animation to comment. But white-washing of any kind falls into the bad category for me (even if unintentional).

Wanda

*sighs dramatically* And here we are at last...

Wanda was such a titan of a character in PBS. She probably had the most character development apart from Arnold throughout all 52 episodes.

So I really don't know what happened here.  

With most of the others, where they are at now makes sense given that it’s supposed to be “one year later” in their lives. But Wanda seems like she had a total personality change in just a few short months. She’s no longer adventurous and instead, she’s...really compassionate? I mean, she wasn’t outright mean in PBS but she was callous and occasionally unintentionally hurtful. Now she’s suddenly a bleeding-heart animal activist? I mean, in PBS she was definitely changing towards being more considerate and open but she still kept that adventurous edge and wild streak. Now she has mellowed out considerably. So much so in fact that she resembles Phoebe more than she does Wanda.

Who looked at the original cartoon and logically thought that she was the character who needed to be changed the most? If they were that desperate to include a character who cared for animals that much, why not make it Carlos?

They already have an episode where he adopts a pet rat. And on PBS, he was skeptical of Phoebe’s concern for the animals she tried to save but never dismissive. He even comes to care for natural ecosystems like swamps in the PBS episode “Get’s Swamped”. With this characterization, it would give this show something new and interesting: a compassionate male character. One who is defined by his gentleness and concern. Isn’t it good for boys to have a role model like that?

Also, no offense to Carlos but apart from being the jokester, he really doesn’t have that much of a character. Someone like Arnold has several defining traits: worrier, rock expert, cynical. For Carlos, I have trouble coming up with anything other than funny. This change to a passionate animal activist would have added a whole new layer to him.

So that was a real missed opportunity in my eyes.

The only change in Wanda I genuinely liked was her seemingly much closer friendship with DA compared to PBS.

I always liked how they became better friends in the final PBS episode (”Takes a Dive”) and wanted to see that expanded. Seeing that the writers kept it, it feels like a small nod to that adventure and an indication of how well they wanted to keep the series continuity intact.

Jyoti

So here she is again. And while I do love Jyoti as a character, as a writer I have some problems with her. First and foremost, she’s too good at what she does. The Mary Sue trope is strong with this one.

This kid has a literal invisibility cloak. And creates an AI. And she’s only supposed to be ten years old. While her high-tech gear certainly adds an element of intrigue to the show, I find I cant always suspend my disbelief when she does something too outlandish. Like make a functional 3-D printed model of a T-cell in under half an hour.

She doesn’t really have character flaws either. Granted, she’s only really the “main kid” in one episode (”Three-in-One”) but the most development she has is when she snaps at Ralphie and feels bad about it. She also gets mad when DA loses her locket in “DA and the Deep Blue Sea” (so much so that everyone reacts with fear, even Ms. Frizzle) but she gets over it very quickly. The only “mistake” she makes is not specifying to her AI which pot of water she wants to be boiled (resulting in the water her class is exploring turning to steam). So really the only flaw is possibly that she’s impatient?

She’s not too ambitious or too proud or too inconsiderate, all of which could fit with her character that we’ve seen so far. Instead, she’s just useful. Whenever she needs to be. My hope is that next season she has an episode where she genuinely grows and we see some character flaws.

Another thing about her that is confusing (but this may just be my lack of knowledge showing) is exactly what her Indian roots are. In the episode “The Magnetic Mambo” she insists upon dancing a “kathakali” which is a type of Hindu dance art unique to the Kerala region of India.

But in a later episode, “Three-in-one” we meet a robot she has invented that she calls “Naniben” which (she explains) means “little sister” in Gujarati, a language spoken by only one community in Kerala (to my knowledge). So I either take this to mean that the writers got very specific with her place of origin, or that her parents come from two different states of India (one from Kerala and one from Gujarat?). But I’m sure no one else is giving it this much thought...

The Plugs for Future Episodes

While Lily Tomlin is always a blessing, I have to admit her segments weren’t always handled as well as they could have been.

This is obviously the reboot’s way of doing the producer segments from PBS. It’s a clever way to address scientific shortcomings or tell kids “dont try this at home!”. This really shouldn’t bug me. But it did. While it was nice to see Professor Frizzle having her own adventures and seeing a glimpse of what was coming, having her explicitly say things like: “stick around” or “wait and find out” felt like overkill.

And I know this is for kids but they’re going to watch anyway! You don't have to have a hook for bingeing. Bingeing these episodes is worse because then the lessons don’t stick as well! If the kids are excited by it, they are going to come back the next day or week and watch more. Don’t encourage them to rush through their education.

Episodes I question

Not sure if these count as “bad” but there were some episodes that had me scratching my head. These fall under the “less good” episodes I mentioned before.

E5: The Magnetic Mambo - When I think atoms, I definitely think dancing! There seemed to be a bit of a leap here between the conflict and the lesson (being about magnetism and how atoms align in a magnetic field). Also, I had to watch the “lesson” part of this episode twice before I understood it. Not sure if that reflects more on my education quality than the writing but...

E9: Space Mission: Selfie - I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to have learned from this one. That satellites are a thing? That objects orbiting the Earth orbit at different heights? The lesson wasn’t really clear. Maybe if I watch it again, I’ll get a better idea...also, the Frizzle family has some kind of internet empire?

E11: Ralphie Strikes a Nerve - When your team sucks at volleyball, what’s the logical thing to do? Certainly not spend an immoral amount of time and resources building a giant Pacific Rim - inspired robot! But somehow that’s the logical conclusion here? Don’t get me wrong, it works for the lesson (learning about the nervous system) but not so much for the plot?

The Surprising

The Animation

I know this is an unpopular opinion but..the animation really isn’t that bad.

Sure it’s jarring at first but the more I watched it, the less it bothered me. The movements were still fluid, the characters were still expressive. And this is 2017. Hand-drawn animation is not as popular as it once was.

And this is honestly not that bad. There were even all the little details that were accounted for. Like how Fiona’s and DA’s hair float when they’re in orbit. And when they descend into Carlos’ bloodstream, they have to illuminate the scene. As you watch it, you get bothered by the style less. And the PBS cartoon had its animation errors that were laughably bad. My favorite was in “For Lunch” when Arnold is somehow inside the bus currently going down his esophagus. Watch it again and you’ll see what I mean.

The New Theme Song

I had somehow forgotten that the fabulous Lin-Manuel Miranda had signed on to do the theme. And he did not disappoint. I rock out to this version just as hard as I did to Little Richard’s version.

The Framing

In the PBS episodes, each episode usually only focused on 1 kid, the “main kid” who had a lesson to learn that episode. Occasionally, they had episodes focused on two kids but it was usually just Wanda and Arnold or whoever was fighting.

This time around, they really make an effort to include more kids in the lessons. A lot of episodes still have a “main kid” but they are less the center of attention. It makes the show feel less formulaic, which was refreshing to see.

The Original Ms. Frizzle Leaving

As well as it worked for a send-off, Valerie Frizzle leaving doesn’t make a lot of sense when you look at the two series together. During her tenure as the teacher on PBS, we saw Ms. Frizzle grow to love her kids and start to treat them more like colleagues than a class she was supervising. She genuinely loved her job and looked like she was going to be doing it forever.

So the fact that she switched gears to become a research professor is odd to me. Don’t get me wrong, the more women with Ph.Ds on tv the better but she had always seemed so content to be just a teacher. So maybe she’s just stepping down for Fiona’s sake? Maybe I’m just reading into this far too much for a cartoon?

Still, it seemed a little on the nose to have the original Ms. Frizzle essentially “graduate” from this series now that she’s too busy pursuing her own projects to be a voice actor on a kids show. But if they had to give a reason for her to leave that wasn’t her dying, this was a great one.

Still don't get why Liz didn’t go with her through...Goldie is fine but wouldn’t it make more sense for the new teacher to have a new sidekick?

Keesha’s moms!

Okay, this is unconfirmed but I’m pretty sure these two:

Are intended to be Keesha’s parents.

If so then :D

I’m always for more LGBTQ representation in cartoons and Keesha did seem to be the logical choice. Her parents were never introduced in the original, just her grandmother. So I’d love for these two to come back and actually have a line or two next season that confirms their relationship.

The Battle for Rock Mountain Episode

I have a whole post on this here. Just go read that for why I was genuinely surprised by this concept and its execution.

The permission slips?

I’m sorry but no. This is too much, even for a joke. How does Ms. Frizzle even go about writing these things with a straight face? Maybe it was more just a ploy to get one or two funny lines out of the cast. I think that was a common critique of the original as well; that Ms. Frizzle couldn’t possibly be sending her kids home with permission slips that said things like: we’re going inside an active volcano to study island formation.

Well, apparently she did...and still does...

Well played reboot...well played...

In Conclusion

If you’re still undecided about the reboot, I hope this review helped put it in perspective a little. It has its ups and downs and, like any reboot, necessary changes and unnecessary changes.

Based on what I’ve consolidated here though, I think I would put this in the “good” reboot category. It’s certainly no “Death Note” movie but there are some things that people hate on. But the showrunners clearly know that they’ve got 20 years worth of fans watching them and they make efforts to let those people know that they know the source material (see my list of references to PBS above). I enjoyed watching it. I am probably going to watch several episodes again, even a few years from now. I am genuinely interested in what concepts they decide to show next and if they are going to develop their characters as well as PBS did.

In my opinion, you cant really hate a show like this for being a reboot. Because it’s meant only to do good for kids by teaching them about science and nature. I would show this to my kids or students alongside the original and not feel like it was jeopardizing their education at all. The original cartoon was instrumental in sparking my love of science and I can totally see this version inspiring some young student to delve deeper into topics they learn in school.

[aotoshironojersey]

Ice skating Au

Because I just watched 4CC and I need to (obviously) push real life onto anime characters: THERE IS A REASON FOR THE CUT HERE

Seishun skating club, aka Seigaku:

(main)Trainers: Ryuuzaki Sumire, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Oishi Shuichiro

Senior skaters, singles men: Fuji Shuuske(20), Kikumaru Eiji (19still)

Junior skaters, men: Katou Kachiro, Mizuno Katsuo, Echizen Ryoma (moving to Seniors this year at age 16)

Senior Skaters, Ladies: ??? What’s that

Junior skaters, Ladies: Ryuuzaki Sakuno (moving to seniors this year at age 16)

Pair skaters, Senior: Tachibana Ann&Momoshiro Takeshi, ???&Kaidoh Kaoru (he can’t find a partner to communicate well with, and Ann is taken by that dumbass...)

There is no Dance seniors in Seigaku. Some people hope the Juniors would move up this year like their singles counterparts, but they’re...welll...

Dance skaters, junior: Osakada Tomoka&Horio Satoshi (who the hell paired them up?!)

Therapist: Kawamura Takashi

Club Manager: Inui Sadaharu

More info because I suck:

0. All of the main coaches had been active skaters at one point- Sumire took part in two Olympics during her age and won one bronze; Tezuka had been a star that is considered pushing the sport to higher limits, at least until he didn’t pushed his body past its limit. He still pushes the sport, but from the sidelines now. Oishi had the most versatile career, changing to Pairs and then to dance once it turned out an injury he thought nothing of turned out to pull him back in singles career, then let his partner in Pair go to allow her more evolution with younger (and stronger) partner(it was him who proposed side-by side axel though). He haven’t got the Dance career, as he was just a training partner to his little sister while she searched for a partner with less age gap (there’s almost seven years between her and Shuuichiro).

1. Sumire works with all skaters coming to the club, but lets Tezuka and Oishi chose and focus on skaters they think might develop under their wings, the only exception being Echizen, who she pushed to Tezuka ever since the brat moved to Juniors from Novice. 

2. This makes things look weird, because so far the only skater Tezuka accepted to train had been Fuji, earning him the name Tensai. Right now Fuji is trained by both Tezuka and Oishi. Oishi is the one who rides with him to competitions most often, though people noticed it’s Kawamura who goes with him EVERY TIME...

3.Oishi thought he had it hard when he started training Kikumaru Eiji- he had been proven otherwise. Still, the trio gets along pretty nicely,and the fact that Eiji and Fuji are relatively even all rounders, they tend to pull each other up a lot.

4. Fuji’s birthday are in the second half of the season, Eiji’s are relatively at the beginning, which means they compete for at least first half as the peers, but nobody really pays attention to that, except for Eiji. The fact that age gap between skaters and their coaches (well, most of them) is less than five years is noticed, though.

5. Oishi, being the only coach with Pairs and Dance experience, trains reps for both disciplines, though it seems it wasn’t his idea to put Osakada&Horio team together...

6. There is a suspection it’s Inui who keeps the selection of Kaidoh partners so hard, though it seems Oishi Rika might just pass it, considering how cute she is,and how most people know how Kaidoh is a secret softie (which might cause problem during twists...)

7.Eiji is considered to have the most balance between jumps power and flexibility on the field, and his spins are one of the highlights of his programs, though he prefers jumps (yeah, he’s the show off kid). The legendary video of him doing a hyperextended Biellman during the training got viral thanks to one Fuji Shuuske, and it got a ‘not so bad for a man’ comments from a lot of female skaters.

8. Fuji on the other hand is one of those flawless artists who get more Rippons and Tanos (aka hands above the head during jump) than they do the spins without travelling. Oh and people love his expressions on-ice- his another nickname is Ice Angel. Some discuss that it’s too ladylike though...until they see his quads.

9. Echizen is hoped to finish the troika of Seigaku, as Eiji and Fuji have been trading gold and silver in every competition they take part in together for some time now. The reason is, while most people admits Fuji at his fullest is unreachable, he rarely gives his all, doing just enough to get above the others, and Eiji is...well, hard to predict even on his good day-during the competition he’s more of an enigma than a human. This means, if Fuji overcalculate, he ends up with silver. He almost always gets revenge on the next competition.

10. Eiji has a tendency to flip his skates guards around his hand before handing them over to Oishi. Apparently, Oishi has learned how to read from the twirl how fired up redhead is. Inui is still working on how he does that, Tezuka has given up. Ryuuzaki just laugh when it’s brought up in conversation.

11. Talks about nepotism sometimes hit skaters, especially Sakuno. Since everybody knows how damn hard the girl is fighting for her position, Ann will personally kick your ass if you say something about Sakuno...of course, she’ll be representing all of the Seigaku feels, not only hers!

12. Speaking of An, she moved over from the training base under her brother to switch partners (Ibu & Kamio both are bitter about it af, but it was Tachibanas decision so they can’t protest). Even after she left she gets regular updates on what Fudoumine club is up to. She is actually the bonding element between Fudoumine and Seigaku, her older brother also being one of the more famous coaches. (Tachibana Kippei and Oishi often bond over their fear for their little sisters being chucked into air like that)

13. Nobody knows who the hell paired Tomoka and Horio up, especially as dance partners, since their characters (supposedly) makes them more suitable for Pairs, but Oishi don’t want to know how letting Horio throw Tomoka would end.

14. If Eiji doesn’t make at least one program during the season, either short, long or exhibition to a cheerful, fun pop/rock music, consider him sick- or a loser in the bet against Fuji. It happened before.

15. Nobody lets Oishi chose their music for themselves- he either overreacts to the importance of new duty, or chose something reeeeally weird (Fuji pulled out his sea waves exhibition somehow, but- again- it’s Fuji)

16. On the other hand, everybody constantly lets Fuji and Kawamua chose music/ color palette for their costumes. They’re known as misters Good Tastes of Seigaku.

17. The only accident that put a question mark on their judgement was one of the galas where Fuji’s costume looked surprisingly like salmon nigiri with a lot of wasabi...he still pulled it off, and apparently, it was his own suggestion.

18.Karupin is a living mascot of Ryoma, and thus he gets a ton of himalayan mascots from his fans, pretty much like Eiji gets teddy bears of all kind, and Fuji gets the weirdest stuff girls can think of. He even keeps the wasabi sushi mascot from one of his competitions.

Oishi-Kikumaru Pair:

There’s a bit of complicated situation at the beginning of both Eiji’s and Oishi Rika’s careers, the complication being why Oishi and Eiji actually met. Rika was originally a dance skater without a partner suitable for competing for her age(Oishi being only the training partner to keep the synchronization and lift skills thaining in her regime), and Eiji started skating as a pair partner to his older sister. After said sister retired due to her body not managing the pressure (a fact for which Eiji is secretly blaming himself), he is suggested to transfer to dance while his body (and stamina) develops enough to be able to freely support his partner; it’s where he meets Oishi, at that moment searching for a dance partner for his sister.

 Rika is actually interested, since she wanted to try Pair competition for some time, but knew her brother injury (a wrist) wouldn’t let him pair with her without anxiety of her safety (she’s right), so she jumps at the chance when she is paired with Eiji. After learning, and eventually winning some novice competitions that allow them to move to juniors, it’s Rika who breaks their pairing up, feeling the raising anxiety of her partner (and his growing affection for her brother, nii-sama, why do you have to steal all the good guys) and making Eiji admit to himself that he wants to show off. 

She and her brother disagree but still respect Eiji’s reason of Him “Rather skating where he can hurt only himself and not his lil sis” (Rika is getting a lot of little sister-zoned, lol). Rika paired with few others skaters until she wasn’t offered by Ryuuzaki to come to Seigaku. Thanks to her lithe frame (she never got past 160cm) and accuracy on par with her brother’s, she has a big chance of becoming Kaidoh’s partner and moving to Seniors- provided she won’t get too fired up by rumors of nepotism in Seigaku. She’s as overprotective of her older brother as he is of her.

Surprisingly, she gets along with Ryoma and (of all people) Osakada-Horio pair.

Ship theories, just because:

1.Contrary to the public belief, Ann and Momoshiro don’t date. They’re best buds, okay, but Ann prefers brunets...or...brunettes... the fact Momo doesn’t mind boys either makes it easier for them to bond.

2. Inui bases qualification of Kaidoh’s partners on how he behaves around them. Since Rika is a December baby born year after Kaidoh, he treats her like his little sister (a lot of approval from Oishi) rather than partner, but Inui still worries if this is enough to show a good performance in well, pairs. Then again, it means...

3. Pillar Pair won’t exist unless Ryoma turns eighteen, or so Tezuka says. Fuji is more than glad to help his kouhai change his coach’s mind, especially since this means he doesn’t have to worry about newcomer stealing HIS therapist...

4. Golden Pair is as fluffy as they always are, though Oishi made it obvious that he won’t let Eiji get into anything serious until he turns twenty- nobody waits for the first half of the season more than Eiji do, especially since one of the galas are planned for his birthday, and he has a great exhibition planned for it, thanks to Fujiko.

5. They are also fluffy until it gets to quad practice, where Eiji whines all the time-and Fuji sometimes join, without whining, tho-since Oishi forbid both of them from trying quad axels, despite both of them being the most consistent edge jumpers in the whole Seigaku. Currently, there is a war going on for the Lutz Fuji is training while Eiji is still on the Loop and Flip. Oishi is as stubborn as his trainees though.