#Utterly repellant. It's years since I first watched this series but even now I expect the worst of Perry whenever I see him in something

[ectoentity]

Warped Mirror

Decided to write something based vaguely on the “Spork AU” idea. Instead of Episode 1 Danny meeting Episode 50+ Danny, though, I was curious about a Danny who never became Phantom meeting one who had. This first part is just establishing Human!Danny’s world.

I’ll post it to AO3 when I have the rest of it finished.

---

Three kids stood before a giant machine in the shape of a door. It should have been humming along and glowing green, with a great hole to another world in the middle. Instead, it was cold and silent. 

“They spent years working on it,” Danny explained, “and then nothing. Mom and Dad have been moping in their room all day.”

Tucker looked around at the portal and the hodgepodge of computer parts attached to it. “It’s probably a loose wire somewhere. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”

“In the meantime, this would make for an awesome picture,” Sam said with a smile. She held up her polaroid camera. 

“Oh no, you’re not getting me anywhere near that,” Tucker immediately walked away from the portal.

“Come on! When they get this thing working we’ll never be allowed near it. Besides, it’s not like it’s going to do anything right now.”

“Then why don’t you get over there and let one of us take the picture?” Tucker asked.

“Because neither of you know anything about lighting or framing a shot. Please?” When she saw that Tucker was not going to budge, she looked over at Danny with wide, pleading eyes. 

He looked anxiously at the portal. So far none of his parents’ inventions had really worked, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t dangerous. Still, Sam was right. It was pretty cool, and getting a picture with the thing could be a good way to keep a memory.

“Yeah, okay, let me put on a jumpsuit in case there’s a live wire or something.”

Ten minutes later he was suited up in the white-and-black safety jumpsuit his parents had made for him. It wasn’t really a hazardous materials outfit - there was no full hood or respirator, or even goggles. It was made of something that was supposed to repel ectoplasm and certain chemicals that his parents used and was insulated against minor shocks, so it would have to do. 

“Oh, no no. I’m not taking your picture while you’re wearing that,” Sam announced. Danny was about to argue, but she reached over and pulled the sticker of his dad’s face off of the suit. “Now you’re good.”

Danny laughed. “Good thinking, Sam. Wouldn’t want to be immortalized in your photos with that on me.” He walked up to the portal. It was a massive piece of machinery, nearly six feet in diameter and deep enough to fit a car. He paused at the entrance. It was hard to imagine it as anything other than a creepy machine in the basement. If it had worked, it would have opened into a whole other world. 

Tucker, meanwhile, was watching while anxiously tapping a foot. He had expected Danny to give in to Sam’s pleas. He was so predictable and utterly clueless. One of these days they would both realize that they were both desperately crushing on each other and they’d-

There was something plugged into the wall. Tucker wasn’t sure what it was, but he had a bad feeling about it. 

“Hold up!” he shouted. Tucker went over and unplugged the cord from the wall outlet, and checked around for more outlets just in case. When he didn’t find anything else, he called back, “Okay, I think it’s alright now.”

“Good thinking, Tuck,” Danny’s voice echoed in the portal. “Hey, Sam, is this good?”

Sam set up her shot. “Looks great! Just hold there a second.” She counted down before the flash went off. The camera whirred and produced a polaroid. “Lemme take a couple more,” she said before swiftly doing so from slightly different angles. “That should be good!”

Danny started to walk out of the portal. Something caught his foot. He tripped and fell backwards, flailing his arms wildly in hopes that he would catch something. His right hand hit the side of the portal. It stabilized him for a second, but then the wall clicked. Danny stared down at his hand, a chill lancing up his spine. He hadn’t hit the wall. His hand was resting on a button marked “ON.”

“Oh my god,” he blurted.

“Danny? Are you okay?” Sam called. He could hear them both scrambling toward the portal. 

“I’m good! I just tripped!” Danny got out of the portal as fast as he could. “My parents put the on/off buttons on the inside! If Tucker hadn’t unplugged it…” All three teens stared at the portal. Danny could have died, just for tripping over a stupid wire.

Finally Tucker gulped and broke the silence. “Want to see if your parents can get it to work now?”

Danny shook himself out of it. “Yeah! I’ll go ask if they forgot about that.”

They all but ran out of the lab.

---

The Fenton RV sped down the street, ghost alarms blaring. In the back, Danny got his weapons together as quickly as he could with all the jostling and swerving. They’d let Dad drive; time was of the essence.

“A level six!” Jack crowed from the driver’s seat. “Maybe even a seven! How long’s it been since we saw one like that?”

“About four months,” Danny grumbled. He still vividly remembered when the town had been drawn into the Ghost Zone and besieged with an army of skeleton constructs. He was not looking forward to a repeat of that hell. The Fenton Blaster in his hands whined as he attached the power source. 

“We’ll have to be careful, Jack,” Mom cautioned as she always did. “We don’t have the Ecto-Skeleton this time.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t call in the Guys in White?” Danny asked. They might not be the best ghost hunters, but they did have a lot more firepower.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Danny! I’m sure we can take care of this before they even notice something’s happening. Besides, your mom and I are still dealing with the paperwork from the last time they showed up.”

Danny shuddered. He was extremely glad that he didn’t have to deal with that aspect of ghost hunting. 

His dad pulled up to the mall with a loud honk of the horn and squealing tires. Danny and his mom ran out, blasters held at the ready. Dad backed them up with one of the Fenton Bazookas. 

The mall was already evacuated. Some people milled around outside, anxiously talking amongst themselves. In the year and a half since the ghosts had started attacking the town, people had gotten frustratingly complacent about them. The invasion a few months back had shown most people just how dangerous they could be, but a stubborn few always were more concerned with getting good pictures than their own safety. 

“Make way!” Mom shouted. “We’re here to take care of the ghost!” The crowd at least did part for them. A few people shouted at them. Some of it was words of support. A few tried to describe what they had seen - it was green, it was wearing all white, it was terrifying. Only a few made jokes or jeered at the Fentons as they passed. That was annoying, but it was a hell of a lot better than it had been a year ago. 

The deserted mall was an eerie sight. Everyone had left in a hurry, leaving lights on and store music still echoing through empty halls. The Fentons’ footsteps seemed far too loud. The weirdest part was that everything seemed intact. When the technology ghost raided the mall he usually left trails of rubble and discarded packaging everywhere. The box ghost would leave piles of everything that he dumped out of his beloved boxes. Various other ghosts had attacked the mall in the past, and they almost always left signs of their passing. Why was this one different?

“Come out, ghost!” Dad shouted, his voice easily carrying through the empty mall. “Let’s make this quick!”

“Curious.” The voice was quiet, but had the same unnatural echo of all ghosts. Danny held up his blaster, but he couldn’t tell where the voice had come from. Beside him, his mom turned on her miniature Fenton Finder. It beeped alarmingly quickly. 

“Two o’clock!” Mom shouted as she fired. Danny was only a moment slower, trying to fire a little ahead. The blasts didn’t connect with anything. 

“I mean no harm,” the ghost said. Its voice was way too close for comfort. Danny turned to his right and shot where he thought it was, but he still missed. 

“What do you want?” Danny asked. He didn’t really care. No matter what their obsessions were, ghosts only ever wanted to spread chaos and pain. Still, sometimes he could distract them by talking back. 

The ghost appeared in front of them. It was tall, with dark, green-tinged skin and a lighter beard. Its eyes glowed a soft yellow. A white robe and hood covered most of its body, rippling in a nonexistent breeze. 

A green beam from the Fenton Bazooka blasted towards the ghost. Its torso split apart to allow the beam to go through it. Danny grimaced. It was so gross when they did that. He followed his dad’s lead and started shooting the ghost. The ghost blocked all of his and Mom’s shots with a series of small green shields. 

“This is entirely unnecessary,” the ghost huffed. It had the audacity to look bored. 

“Then why not just go back to the Ghost Zone and leave us alone?” Danny shouted, annoyed. He ran off to the side, flanking the ghost. It finally started dodging the ectoblasts. If anything, though, the ghost just looked amused. 

“Oh, I shall. First, though…” The ghost flung its hand out towards Danny. He winced, anticipating the burn of ectoblasts. He took a step back and his foot sank. With a shout, he fell into the glowing green portal that had opened right behind him.

[ratemysheppard]

26) Medium

26) Title -  Medium 

- 3x4 Blood Relation 

- 2x12 Doctor's Orders

- 1x15 Penny for Your Thoughts

Year- 2005-2006

Character- Dr Charles Walker / Jack Walker

Synopsis- Alison DuBois is a psychic who works with the police to stop crimes. She starts dreaming of a man named Dr Charles Walker who it turns out was lynched in 1902 for raping and murdering 14 young girls. When a rash of similar murders start occurring, Alison traces the pattern back through the decades and comes face to face with a ghostly killer who is possessing men in order to continue his evil from beyond the grave.

Here’s a little interview with Mark Sheppard about filming Medium.

Medium- (lol) TV series, DailyMotion, good quality but a lot of ads. 1x15 here, 2x12 here, 3x4 here.

Entirety or episode?- Just these episodes, but it’s a neat mini character arc.

Overall verdict- Medium is exccellent. It’s imaginative, topical and well observed. The writing is very good and the acting is all top-notch. It is, however (at least this arc) dark AF in a way that actually surprised me, given that the tone otherwise is pretty light. It feels, particularly the first two episodes in this arc, like a family procedural drama which has sudden bursts of gore and, more disturbingly, pretty graphic paedo-fantasy which I found very unsettling. People might want to exercise caution if they are sensitive to topics of abuse and assault. The third episode of this arc, however, really impressed me. The writing is excellent, the storyline and twists are surprising and I found myself enthusiastically relaying the plot to my partner after I’d watched it. I loved the notion of it taking Charles years to insinuate himself into a suitably suggestible target’s mind. The notions that he had to ‘adapt or die’ when women started going to female doctors, and that potential host women tended to listen to his suggestions less than men were really interesting and sinister. Then they bring on the backstory and the constant twists in the third episode. Colour me impressed. The kids are really good actors in this, too. I very much enjoyed it, subject discomfort aside. The only criticism I’d make is that the ending seemed a tiny bit anticlimactic after how brilliant ep 3 was, but I like how they leave it open – we never know if Charles is really gone or not.

Screen time- Hardly anything in 1x15 but you need to watch for context. Main character in 2x12 and 3x4.

Accent- English and American

Mark’s character- This is probably the most impressed I’ve been at Mark’s acting since Crowley. He’s good in the second episode, but he is incredible in the third, where he plays not only evil spook Charles Walker, but his suffering descendent Jack Walker too. Charles is a completely repellent, evil monster, until he isn’t, entirely… the backstory, oh man. It absolutely doesn’t change how repulsive this character is, but it certainly makes things even more uncomfortable and grey. There’s a lot to think about with this character. Jack is almost even more fascinating, and the storyline that he’s spent his whole life as a functioning alcoholic in order to keep ‘the voices’ at bay is utterly heartbreaking and it’s really difficult to not think of Mr S’s personal experiences with addiction that he’s spoken about so eloquently on numerous occasions. The plot twist with Charles purposefully ensuring Jack will be in custody for 72 hours just so he’ll be cut off from alcohol so Charles can get in is just brutal (and ingenious). That’s one of things that really struck me about Charles – he’s clever. I noted down ‘why would he phone and warn Alison that Ariel’s at the party?’ but then it turns out he’s playing her again and… yeah. TBH my notes for this show are all just caps ranting of stuff like ‘GROSS’ ‘SHUDDER’ ‘UNSAVOURY’ ‘FUCK THIS IS CRUEL’ ‘OH GOD POOR JACK’. I’m reading my notes now and laughing a bit. Verbatim: “Oh my God Charles is talking to the girl!!! Twist! He planned it all along! Holy shit he’s gonna make her kill HERSELF!” I basically identified way too much with Jack and got the full force of protective outrage over him. Anyway, suffice to say I have more feelings about Charles and Jack than I can really write up here, but Mr S is stellar in this. These two identical characters are believably different people. It’s almost unsettling how he can go from dead-eyed stare to creepy, lust-drunk murder-face, to such convincing anguish that you just want to hug him. It’s weirdly distressing to see Jack (and actually, Charles) so convincingly upset and this dual performance is hypnotic. It really proves what Mark S can do when he’s given good material (FILM MAKERS, GIVE HIM MORE GOOD MATERIAL!!!) I will also add a side note to this that Charles’s costumes are all really awesome.

Highlight- “Maths is about STUPID.” – In this moment, Ariel is me. “Think about icecream, or cake… chocolate works good… Mommy, I’m hungry.” – In this moment, Bridget is me. “I have nothing but time” Shudder, shudder… did not expect him possessing Alicia. All the super repellent objectification and “Put it in her!” are hideous but effective and well-played. “Stop crying! Nothing happened!” – I guilty-laughed at that, but it effectively sums up Charles’s thought process and how psychopathic he is. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved” – and there we have it :\ Charles being dragged away to his lynching screaming “I. WILL. NOT. GO.” Creepy because he’s a baddie etc but heck, I admire his determination. The sheer twists in episode 3. Jack’s emotional wrangling with whether to confess, as he’s being pushed to do, to a crime he can’t remember committing.

Rewatch?- It’s seriously good, but it seriously skeeved me out – I’d rewatch ep 3 but probably not the first two.

(Apologies for twelvety billion screencaps)

Possibly the worst facial composite sketch I’ve ever seen.

Bowl of fingers, there.

There it is.

Stop crying! Nothing happened!

;__;

Sorry I had to.

This outfit works.

Bless you Jack. Come here and let me hug you.

Puppy Eyes Level: Extreme.

[allofbeercom]

Serial recap – season two, episode two: The Golden Chicken

Sarah Koenig interviews a Taliban spokesman and uncovers the story of Bergdahls kidnap while also showing she doesnt understand Taliban humour

It feels like a lot longer than a week since Serials first episode of its second season aired. In real life Bowe Bergdahls story has moved on substantially, with the news on Monday that Bergdahl will face a court martial (1) for his alleged desertion.

The story also made its way into the presidential race with Bergdahls attorney, Eugene Fidell, saying Donald Trump should stop his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against Bergdahl after the Republican frontrunner said he should be shot. Websites have produced primers on the case, guides and more primers, videos asking whether Bergdahl is a hero or deserter, and podcasts on what to expect at the court marshall. But were not focusing on that right now. Episode two is all about the story of his capture, as told through an interview with the Taliban, which was the carrot left dangling in front of our noses at the end of last weeks episode.

I was talking on the phone to this Taliban fighter

Sarah Koenig brings us up to date with Bergdahls court marshall, summing it up in her signature laconic manner. The armys in two minds whether to throw the book at him, she says, or say: OK, yes. He screwed up in a huge way but five years with the Taliban? Enough is enough. Its delivered with a tone that suggests hes a naughty child who has eaten his siblings birthday cake.

I was talking on the phone to this Taliban fighter, Koenig continues, as if its something you do everyday. They discuss the loss of life both sides suffered in order to retain Bergdahl or free him. The Taliban lost 15 fighters in one raid. So, was it worth it? Some people are worth more than 1,000 individuals and he was worth more than 5,000, the Taliban spokesman responds (2).

Then were presented with a contradiction of Bergdahls story: he says he was snatched by men on motorbikes. A local stringer who worked for Mark Boal says people told him that Bergdahl was often seen near a local village and that Taliban fighters had wanted to grab him for a while, ultimately capturing him by pretending to be local police while the soldier was in a Kochi tent. Bergdahl says thats not true. This exchange is a lot like season ones back-and-forth, except instead of former school friends weve got the word of one of the most famous US soldiers in the world and, well, the Taliban.

A ready-made loaf

Bergdahls appearance in a Kochi tent and capture by the nomadic people is seen as utterly miraculous by the Taliban fighter. How could this enemy of the Quran just stroll into their lives? Theres an insight into Taliban banter here as well. They claim that when Bergdahl was taken, he kicked one of the Pakistani Taliban, to which the others (who were mostly Afghan) joked: He knew you were Pakistani! Oddly, Koenig says she didnt get the joke it is hardly complex.

The fun continues with a story about how the Taliban thought Bergdahl was drunk when he was captured, but they had to admit it was a slightly flawed accusation because: 1. theyd never seen a drunk person, and 2. they assume all westerners are drunk anyway.

Amid the jokes is Bergdahls version of events. Hes definitely sober while explaining that he knew he needed to carefully judge when to push things and when not to, because the consequences could be serious, deadly even. It doesnt matter how many kung fu movies you watch you need to be realistic when youre facing these people, he says, bringing up another film reference after the Bourne one last week.

It was a new kind of crisis

Bergdahls capture was an entirely new scenario in the Afghan/US conflict, says Koenig. But the US knew he would be moved constantly with the ultimate aim of getting to home base or in Tom and Jerry terms the hole in the wall where Tom cant go. But the Taliban knew the US would be thinking that, so first they went west to Ghazni province. Theres a handy map on the Serial website for anyone who wants to visualise this. Ghazni was the scene of a recent Taliban jailbreak, and also where Afghan forces repelled 2,000 insurgents. Bergdahl was to be handed to a group in Pakistan, and the US were looking for him and threatening to hunt anyone who didnt cooperate.

One of the most interesting parts of the series so far is the cultural differences presented and the genuine humour. When Bergdahl was refusing to eat and clearly depressed, the Taliban did a traditional dance for him in a field while they were hiding from US searches. It was meant to boost his morale but because he didnt have a clue what was going on it had the opposite effect. Bergdahl doesnt remember any dance. Theres a bit of Adam Curtiss Bitter Lake here or, to a lesser extent, the sinister undertones and gallows humour of Errol Morriss Standard Operating Procedure.

I think a lot of us would have shot him

If we would have found him I think a lot of us would have shot him, says Darryl Hanson, one of Bergdahls fellow soldiers. Another says they Haaaaaated him. Its a really interesting contrast to the bemused excitement and begrudging hospitality of the Taliban. The DUSTWUN lasted 45 days. Planes, helicopters, drones: hundreds of people snapped into action because as the US army creed goes: Leave no one behind.

They were flown into villages and made to check every house and all the women to make sure Bergdahl wasnt disguised. Wikileaks reports show the scale of the search. They were actually right outside a house where he was being kept but missed him. It sounds like a scene from Apocalypse Now. Koenig sets up the contrast between the US (big machine hurtling through Afghanistan in a slapdash way) and the Taliban (smaller, honed to be able to travel freely and quickly). We zoom out here to show how, because of the USs ultimately short-term approach to Afghanistan, the Taliban were able to regroup and seep back into areas like Ghazni (3).

It was a tough, tough meeting, says a battalion leader, who had to inform wives and relatives of soldiers who were searching for Bergdahl that it was dangerous. Morale was low in the soldiers, and fights broke out. Leaders tried to regain morale by handing out cans of beer and telling dirty jokes. But it was pointless because Bowe was in Jerrys mouse hole, AKA Pakistan: Bowe would spend the next year learning how to escape. Next time on Serial. Looks like were going to Pakistan.

Observations

Everything thats revealed on the podcast is admissible evidence during the court marshall.

Thanks for your comments from last week, Ive taken them on board.

A ready-made loaf is a brilliant expression and arguably should have been the title of the episode.

Sarah Koenig doesnt get Taliban banter.

Pop culture reference watch: last week the Bourne films. This week – kung fu flicks.

The kung fu reference cuts both ways though, and it is slightly amusing that the Taliban thought Bergdahl was a trained martial artist.

Ranking the cliffhangerness of the Next time on Serial sign-offs: this week was a 6/10 cliffhanger, last week was around 8/10.

It seems like bad jokes are a universal for soldiers in conflict.

Notes

(1) Bowe Bergdahl to face US army court martial over desertion charges

(2) Inside the Botched Rescue of Bowe Bergdahl

(3) Afghanistan war logs: Massive leak of secret files exposes truth of occupation

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/serial-recap-ae-season-two-episode-two-the-golden-chicken/