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fortheloveoflatinum · 1 year

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Spoiler-Free Review of Star Trek: Picard - Season 3 (from what I've seen so far)

First of all, this is a spoiler-free review of Star Trek: Picard because I have no spoilers to give you! I haven't watched a single episode, but I do watch three to four of the 'Star Trek: Picard: Spoilers for Such and Such an Episode' videos that come up in my recommended feed every Thursday. So I haven't seen a whole lot of it, but let me tell you - I've seen enough.

There will be slight spoilers for earlier seasons of Picard; this could not be avoided.

Second of all, allow me to apologize in advance if you've liked ST: Picard from the start. Or at all. This is probably not the post for you. You've been warned. Now on to the review.

⭐️⭐️/5 (Two stars out of five)

Why? Let me tell you why.

I wanted so badly to like Star Trek: Picard. From day one, I mean, not just now that it's nearly finished and people are still in bed avoiding spoilers for the episode that aired today, which happens to be the penultimate episode if I'm correct, which I might not be because I haven't been following along that closely.

I wanted to like it so badly it hurt. It was one of the only Treks I hadn't watched, being new. And I loved TNG. BTW: there *will* indeed be TNG spoilers but you should be fine so long as you've paid the cable bill sometime in the last 30 years.

TNG was, as most of us agree, utterly amazing!

And that final episode. Where Picard goes to his officers, who are in the midst of a poker game - and they all look vaguely uncomfortable for a moment - and he asks to join them. They relax. Someone, probably Riker, pulls up a chair from him. And Picard looks around the table and he says, "I should have done this a long time ago."

And I was perfectly content to imagine them sailing off into the light of others days. I didn't want a sequel. Especially a sequel where Picard has learned nothing from that seminal moment in his existence. I now read the scene completely different.

The Jean-Luc of ST: Picard never went back to play poker with his crew. Or maybe he did, for a while, but slowly, he lost touch with his bridge crew. They were reassigned. First Worf, then others. And then he lost Data, too. He became bitter and angry and he doesn't even realize until Season 3 that he isn't alone. That he was never alone.

The Jean-Luc Picard I knew and loved from TNG learned that lesson in "All Good Things..." but the Jean-Luc Picard I've seen on my screen recently took three bloody seasons to even come to a modicum of his senses.

Now, there are several redeeming graces in this season. The character dynamics, for one, are very well-plotted and well-played. There's a lot of tension here, and it actually works, unlike in earlier seasons.

And no one can deny that we have a cast of stellar actors who in all likelihood deserved a better show to act out.

Ah, and the nostalgia~! I wasn't ready to watch my heroes grow up and grow old, but well, here we are.

But. And this is a big but. We were promised two things by Star Trek: Picard, by virtue of the very name. We were promised a Trek. And Trek is dark, at times. Trek can be grungy. Trek can grapple with the horrors of conquest and colonialism and cosmic villains. But it's not hopeless, and it doesn't rob the characters of their agency. There's always something that can be done. Some way to pick oneself up and power through. Hopeless is the antithesis of Trek. And a lack of hope is exactly what I see Star Trek: Picard. The entire world - no, the entire galaxy - has lost hope.

We were also promised 'Picard,' but the character we get is unrecognizable as such. He was a realist who used to live in a world of eternal optimism. Now, he's a pessimist who lives in a galaxy where people are afraid of the unknown, immortal cosmic entities can die, and 'the final frontier' has once more become that of the human mind, which is ultimately limited.

Star Trek: Picard boldly went where very few people wanted to see it travel. And it went not with a bang, but with a whimper.

#star trek picard #picard #picard season 3 #st picard #star trek picard spoilers #star trek spoilers #just in case

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stargazer-sims · 3 years

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28 - Faith

Davian is inside the house on a bright summer afternoon, and he's surprisingly not restless. Typically, he'd be itching to get out and do something, even on a Monday. He'd want to go to the beach or the park, or maybe he and Félix would be playing tennis, a sport Davian is terrible at but which Félix loves. Instead, he's spending this Monday afternoon on the sofa, playing games on his Switch, tired from a weekend that had somehow managed to be both eventful and... not eventful.

Félix hadn't fared particularly well after having the implantation procedure on Saturday morning. He went to bed almost immediately when they arrived home and slept until nearly dinnertime. When Davian had gone up to check on him and tell him dinner was ready, he found him tossing around fitfully in his sleep and burning with fever.

Davian isn't ashamed to admit he'd panicked at this development, and phoned his mother for advice. Charmian St-Jean, perhaps the world's most unflappable woman, informed him that the first thing to do was to settle down, as he'd be no good to Félix or anyone else in such a state. Then, she gave him a list of instructions, which she finished off with, "Keep checking his temperature every couple of hours. If it's still that high in the morning, don't even bother calling that strange little clinic. Just take him directly to the hospital."

That thought had utterly terrified Davian, but he tried his best to stay calm. Unable to convince Félix to eat even a few bites of food, he made him a smoothie with fruit and yogurt, and then had to hold the cup for him while he drank it with a straw. Coaxing him into a lukewarm bath was even harder than getting him to eat or drink, and it broke Davian's heart to see him sitting in the tub, shivering and tearful, pleading with Davian to stop torturing him and just help him back to bed.

Davian got into bed with him after they were done in the bath, and it seemed all Félix could do was cling weakly to him and cry as if nothing would ever be right again. Davian didn't know how to comfort him, other than to hold him and tell him that he'd be better soon and everything would be fine.

"Why did I let myself do this?" he'd sobbed against Davian's chest. "I hate being sick!"

Saturday night had been a very long night.

By Sunday morning, they were both exhausted, but Félix's temperature was down and he was in better spirits. He still had a slight fever and was still complaining that his belly was sore and that he was generally achy all over, but he willingly ate the oatmeal with blueberries and maple syrup that Davian fixed for him, and asked for some coffee and some orange juice to go with it. He'd spent most of the day in bed, only making a brief foray to the roof for some sunbathing in the afternoon.

He's been about the same since Sunday morning. Although Davian is still concerned, he remembers Dr. Zira saying the flu-like symptoms could last for up to five days. He hopes Félix is fully recovered by mid-week, but he's not going to let himself stress over it too much until then.

He's battling virtual monsters when he hears a noise at the foot of the stairs. At first, he ignores it because he thinks it's probably just Mrs. Picard doing something downstairs in the flower shop. Sometimes, she likes to open both the door that connects the stairway to the interior of the shop and the one that opens from the stairway into the backyard, to let fresh air in. Or maybe it's her new employee, who hasn't quite figured out that there's also a stock door at the back of the shop, and they don't have to drag supplies through the stairway that leads to Félix and Davian's flat.

It's only when he thinks he hears footsteps ascending that he starts to pay attention. Now, he knows it's not Mrs. Picard. It's not as if she doesn't come up here, but she'd let them know in advance if she was coming. She wouldn't simply show up unannounced.

Whoever it is, they're practically stomping up the steps.

A moment later, their visitor is revealed as Sophie. She looks both worried and pissed off, and it's a dreadful combination.

She glances around quickly, and her gaze locks onto Davian. "What are you doing here?"

Davian puts his game controller on the end table. "Excuse me? I live here."

"I wasn't expecting you."

"You weren't expecting me? In my own house?" Davian says, incredulous. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I should be asking what the hell you're doing here."

"I'm here to check on my brother," Sophie says. "I've been texting him repeatedly for the past two hours, but he wasn't replying, so I thought I'd better come over, just in case he was alone and needed something."

"You thought he was alone?"

"Where is he?"

"He's upstairs in our bedroom," Davian says. "He's sleeping. And there's his phone." He waves in the direction of the TV stand, where Félix's bright orange phone is lying next to the remote. "I didn't hear any alerts, so it's probably on silent."

"Is Félix okay?"

"He hasn't been feeling well since Saturday night, but if you were actually texting with him at all this weekend, you'd already know that." he gets up from the sofa so he doesn't have to crane his neck to make eye contact with her. "What are you really doing here?"

"I told you," Sophie says. "I came to check on Félix."

"To see if he was alone or not?"

"Yes."

"You didn't have to come in for that," says Davian. If you drove past the shop, you would've seen the truck out front."

"Your truck being here doesn't necessarily mean you're here."

"Seriously, what is your problem with me?" Davian folds his arms across his body and glares. "Saturday morning, you were acting like you didn't trust me to look after Félix, and now you're barging in here, assuming he's alone, like I'd just leave him when he's sick."

"Can you blame me for being concerned?" Sophie says. "If you did leave him, it's not as if it'd be a surprise."

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like,” says Sophie. “You’re not great at staying in one place for too long, are you? And we all know you’ve walked out on Félix before.”

“You make it sound like I’d just abandon him,” Davian says. “I’ve never walked out on him. He always knows where I am, and we keep in touch, and if he needed me while I was away, I’d come home.”

“I’ve got news for you, Davian. He always needs you,” Sophie says. “You don’t know what he’s like when you’re not here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Every time you leave, it’s like there’s another crack, and the next one might be the one that shatters him. Do you want that on your conscience?”

“What do you expect me to do? Never travel for work again? Just go back to delivering pizza full-time and let Félix support me with his pay cheque? But then you’d probably bitch about me not doing my fair share, wouldn’t you?” He spreads his hands in a gesture of exasperation. “There’s literally no way to win, is there?”

“It’s not about winning.”

“Then what is it about?”

Sophie regards him for a long moment. “Félix loves you, and you’re hurting him.”

Davian fights with all his will to keep his anger under control. He can feel it boiling just beneath the surface, wanting to explode outward in a fierce burst. The only thing that prevents him from losing it completely is the thought of Félix, asleep upstairs.

He doesn't deny that he has hurt Félix in the past. Félix had said as much himself on Saturday morning. But, he's hurt Davian as well, and Davian would be surprised if he couldn't or wouldn't acknowledge it. Neither has ever done anything to harm the other deliberately, though. Neither wants the other to suffer. It's just the way relationships are; sometimes people make bad choices and end up hurting their partner without meaning to.

Davian has promised to do better. He intends to, because despite what everyone around him apparently thinks, he does love Félix. He wants to protect him, wants him to feel safe and happy, and if that means some sacrifices on Davian's part, then so be it. He knows it'll be difficult, and he expects he's still going to mess things up, but he has to try his best, at least.

And what was the first thing Félix had said he needed to do to make things better? Communicate how you're feeling. He supposes there's no time like the present to attempt this approach, rather than giving in to his usual methods of dealing with situations he doesn't like or finds overwhelming.

He takes a deep breath and holds it for a few seconds, forcing his mind to focus, to respond rather than to react. He exhales slowly.

"Sophie," he says. "Mine and Félix's relationship is none of your damn business, and I don't appreciate you trying to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. It's insulting."

"Someone needs to tell you," says Sophie. "Because obviously you have no clue."

"You don't think Félix is capable of telling me? That doesn't say much about what you think of him either, you know."

"Even if he did tell you, would you listen? As far as I can see, you think everything is all about you. It's whatever works to your advantage and whatever suits your lifestyle. You do a good job of acting like you care, but when things start getting inconvenient, you disappear and leave the rest of us to deal with the mess you made."

"Get out," is all Davian says. It's all he can manage without losing control and raising his voice.

"I won't,' Sophie says. "Not until I see my brother."

"I told you, he's sleeping."

"I want to see Félix." She enunciates each word, as if she thinks Davian is incapable of hearing or understanding her. "I'm not leaving until I know he's okay."

"Sophie, he's fine. Do you think I'd lie to you about that?"

“How would I know what you’d lie to me about? If you're not above lying to your own husband, I don't imagine you'd have any problem lying to me."

"That's it!" Davian is unable to contain himself any longer. "That's enough! I might be a lot of things, but I'm not a liar and I don't break my promises. You've got no right to come in here and talk to me like that, especially when I literally spent the last three days inside this flat, looking after my husband. If you were so worried about him not being okay and me supposedly lying to you about it, you could've showed up before now, you know. But I guess you were too busy working on your tan and making out with your man on the beach."

"Leave Katie out of this! It has nothing to do with her," Sophie says. "And she's not a man."

"Then she needs to hide that package better," Davian says. It's unnecessarily mean, but at this point, he doesn't care. Being angry about Sophie's intrusion was one thing, but now he's hurt and offended, and he can’t quite hold back the urge to fight pain by causing pain.

"You—" Sophie begins

Davian holds up a hand. "No. I don't even want you talking to me right now. I want you to listen, 'cause I'm not done," he says. "I know you don't like me. Most people don't give a shit about me, but I can live with that, and you know why? It's because of Félix. He's the only person in my life outside my family who ever accepted me for who I am, and he's the only one who actually believes I can be better. To him, I'm not just some poor, stupid college dropout from the wrong side of the canal. If you think I'd repay that by lying to him and deliberately hurting him, then go ahead. Hate me all you want, but I want you to know that while you and the rest of the world are busy hating me, I'll be loving your brother like he's the only good person left on Earth."

By the time Davian finishes this speech, he's shaking all over and he's clenching his hands so tightly that his nails are cutting into his palms a little.

Sophie watches him impassively, and then she says. "Davian, you are so full of shit."

"Get out!" This time he shouts it at her, with as much power as his lungs can generate. "Get the hell out of our house right now!"

For one awful second, it looks as if she's going to defy him, like she's going to turn and head up the stairs to the bedroom. They engage in a staring contest that feels like it lasts an eternity, but which is actually far less than a minute.

Sophie blinks first.

"Fine," she says. "But, I'll be back."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," he says.

"You can't stop me from visiting my own brother."

He's about to say something when he hears Félix calling to him from upstairs. His voice sounds pitiful and a little scared. "Davian? What's going on down there?"

"It's your sister," Davian calls back, "She's just leaving."

A moment later, Félix appears on the stairs. He's holding onto the wall for support, and makes his way down slowly.

"Félix!" Sophie says. "You look awful. Are you all right?"

He walks past her and straight into Davian's outstretched arms. Davian draws him close, and Félix rests his head on Davian's shoulder. "Why were you shouting? Is everything okay?"

"No, everything's not okay," Davian tells him. "Sophie came over here because she thought you were by yourself. She thought I left you alone."

He looks up just enough so he can see her. "Sophie?"

"You didn't reply to any of my texts," she says.

"Because my phone was down here, and it was off," he tells her.

"I tried to explain that," says Davian.

"Why were you shouting?"

"It's between me and Davian," Sophie says. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Actually, I think it is," Davian says. "Sophie, what was it you were saying about lying to Félix a minute ago? You might want to try a page from your own book now, don't you think?"

Sophie stares daggers at him. "Maybe I do hate you," she says.

"Sophie!" Félix exclaims. "What's going on?"

"What's going on," says Davian, "is that your sister doesn't trust me. She thinks I don't care about you and that I lie to you and that I'm only with you because it's convenient."

"That's not true," Félix says, sounding hurt. "Sophie, how could you think that?"

"A couple of weeks ago, you were worried about him leaving you," Sophie says. "How can you not think that?"

"So, nobody's allowed to have insecurities now?" Davian says. "Anyway, like I already said, you don't know anything about our relationship, and what goes on between us is none of your business. We weren't in a great place a couple weeks ago, but now we are. That's all you need to know."

"Sophie, you don't... you don't really hate Davian, do you?" Félix asks.

Sophie makes a frustrated huffing noise. "No, but I hate what he's doing to you. How long are you going to let this go on?"

"Let what go on?"

"He's taking care of you now, but how long will it be before he disappears again?"

"He's not going to," says Félix. "He promised. No more vanishing. Even if we're not always in the same place, from now on he's always going to tell me before he goes anywhere."

"And I'm still going to bring you flowers before I go," Davian says.

"Yes," says Félix.

"And that'll make it okay? Flowers?" Sophie says.

"It's not about being apart," Félix says. "Of course I don't like that, but it's our reality, isn't it? The problem was never about being apart. It was about not warning me that we were going to be apart, and not communicating enough when we’re not together. And yes, the flowers do make it better."

"We'll see if he sticks to what he says.”

"He will," Félix says. "We're working on our communication, aren't we? That'll improve other things, too. We’re going to make this work.”

Sophie looks annoyed. "This all sounds too familiar to me, like we’ve heard those empty words before.”

"Look," says Davian. "We're doing what we gotta do for us, not for anybody else, and that includes you. Feel free to believe whatever the hell you want. Your idea of the truth doesn't change what the actual truth is."

"Right," Sophie says. "Obviously, nothing I say matters to you, but if you hurt my brother one more time—"

"Sophie," Félix interjects. "I'm really tired and I'm not feeling well. I don't want to hear any more of this. I think the best thing for you to do now is to leave. I can call you tonight, okay?"

She looks like she might protest, but she acquiesces with, "Okay, fine. If you want me to leave, I will. You don't have to call me tonight. Just let me know when you're feeling better. We can go someplace and talk like civilized adults."

"You can't say—" Davian starts.

"Dav, don't," Félix says softly. "Please."

Davian sighs. He rests his cheek against the top of Félix's head and whispers, "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Félix says, as they watch Sophie march down the stairs. "I should be apologizing to you. She's my sister."

"You have no control over her."

"No, but I still feel bad about this."

"You shouldn't," Davian says. "I could see this coming, and in a way it's my own fault. Neither of you are wrong about me being absolute shit at communicating. I know I have to work on that. But, I swear I've never lied to you, and I never want to hurt you."

"I know," Félix says. "We're going to work on everything we need to work on. You promised we'd have an amazing family, and I know we will. I believe in you. In us."

Davian doesn't remember the last time he actually cried, but right this second, he feels like he might be close. He has no idea what the future might look like, and the uncertainty terrifies him, but there is one thing he does know. Whatever he needs to do to make himself into someone who's more than just a waste of space and oxygen, he'll do it. He doesn't know exactly what or how, but he knows he has to figure it out. For Félix.

Félix believes in him. He looks at him and sees more than anyone else ever has. In return for that extraordinary faith, Davian is determined that he'll do anything, even if it's overwhelming and scary and difficult. He has to, because the last thing he wants is to let down the only person in the universe who sees him as valuable and worthwhile.

#ts4 #sims 4 #eagames #Willow Creek #Davian St-Jean #Sophie Blanchet #Félix Blanchet #aucieletoile #stargazersims

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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When I started TNG, the biggest curiosity I had was why Dr. Pulaski was so hated. I heard plenty about why, but at the same time I wanted to see for myself and be able to draw my own conclusions. Well now that I’ve finished S2, I think that I can safely state my opinion and the reasons why she had such a bad reception.

My general opinion is… Pulaski’s fine, but she got an bad start. She’s a very competent doctor who is devoted to her duty. She’s a bit of a smartass, but otherwise a friendly enough person. She’s a VERY much based off a certain CMO form a certain other Star Trek show that came out before this one, but we’ll get to that later. Pulaski honestly had a lot working against her and she just wasn’t able to get over them despite her actress Diana Muldaur (who played Miranda Jones in TOS) doing an excelent acting job. It ultimately ended with Pulaski being dropped all together and Crusher returning in Season 3.

While I understand the hate against Pulaski and can’t say that it’s unwarranted to an extent, I think that a lot of it that I saw was overblown. Now if people disliked the character, that’s fine. Everyone has different tastes and reasons for what they like and dislike and should be free to have and express those thoughts. But a lot of the issues with her that I had were taken care of very early on and she became much better by the end of her tenure. So why do I believe that Pulaski ultimately failed? Well I’ve come up with three explanations based off my own observations from watching the show and what I got from fandom consensus. Now this is all my opinion based on those observations and is not objective fact whatsoever, so take this with a grain of salt. So I believe the reasons that Pulaski failed are:

#1. She Is Essentially a Female Dr. McCoy… Sort Of: Pulaski was clearly heavily based on Dr. McCoy from TOS. She’s an middle-aged, somewhat world-weary doctor. She’s stubborn, grumpy, and doesn’t put up with anyone’s crap. She’s witty and always ready with a biting comment. She has the dedication to her job. She has the bantery relationship with the Science Officer, which we’ll go into that here soon. She is a doctor before she is an officer and that will always be her top priority, even at great risk to herself. She has a zero tolerance towards authority and isn’t afraid to talk back to anyone no matter how much they outrank her. She even outright has a hatred of teleporters that McCoy had. The parallels are all there. It may be why I’m a bit more lenient on her since McCoy is very much my favorite character in TOS and so far all of ST. But I think it is very much the root of the problem.

While Pulaski has several of McCoy’s traits, I think the writers really only understood McCoy on a surface level. They forget to include his compassion, his empathy, his humanism, his loyalty to the captain even when he opposes his actions, all of the things that make McCoy… well, McCoy. I don’t even know if the pacifism is there. Also McCoy had over 70 episodes of TOS and at that point five films (Undiscovered Country hadn’t been made yet). Pulaski had about 20 episodes and her relevance depended on the episode. McCoy had that as well, but he also had more material so we had FAR more time to get to know him. Pulaski didn’t get to have the time to gain that depth or care from the audience. Like… can I imagine Pulaski hypoing someone so that she can be tortured in their stead and it have the same impact that The Empath did? Can I see her counseling and assuring Picard if he’s having doubts like McCoy did for Kirk in The Ultimate Computer (okay tbf that would be Troi’s job but still)? Could I imagine any of the main cast being crushed about Pulaski dying of a terminal illness and choosing to stay on essentially a doomed spaceship with someone she just met and feel as gutted as I did in For the World is Hollow…? Honestly… given time maybe but in the end no. Now could I imagine McCoy risking getting an aging illness to possibly cure a child and others of it ala Unnatural Selection? Yes, albiet I think he’d be smart enough to bring protective equipment with him to be safe. Could I imagine McCoy telling someone like Data they’d be wrong to sit by a woman giving birth because he wasn’t human ala The Child? Hell no. Maybe he would if he was worried it would cause potential distress the one giving birth, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be because they’re an android. But I could imagine that someone who just saw McCoy as ‘grumpy doctor with a bad bedside manner who says witty lines and argues with the logical Vulcan character’ would get that interpretation. Thus why I think that Pulaski may have ended up how she did.

Now mind you I do think it IS a double standard to excuse McCoy’s dickish momemts and flaws, but demonize Pulaski for her’s. It’s like saying a man can be that way because it’s just expected of them and they can be forgiven, but a woman doing so or being assertice is wrong and they are horrible and unforgivable for having these traits or having flaws even if they correct them. That being said I do think that it’s more than that and it all comes down to the fact that TOS and TNG are two different shows with different character dynamics and ways of doing things. TOS mainly followed a Triumvirate (for the most part but that’s a different post entirely), TNG is much more of an ensemble. Pulaski didn’t have a Kirk nor a Spock to bounce off of or either let her traits shine or be kept in check like McCoy did nor did she really develop any unique relations for herself aside from maybe with Troi. We hear about her empathy and humanitarianism, but we don’t really see it on-screen like we did with McCoy. She has his surface level traits, not the deeper ones that the Triumvirate dynamic along his doctor position allowed him to showcase. In other words, Pulaski was put in a series that wasn’t designed for her while McCoy was exactly where he needed to be in order to thrive. It really speaks to how much the TNG writers didn’t really seem to get McCoy or why and how his character worked, which is strange since they got him right when he showed up in the series premiere. But maybe that was due to DeForest Kelley and him absolutely knowing the character he’d played for so long. But yeah they tried to replicate McCoy, and it just didn’t work with TNG’s already established character dynamics nor did they fully get the character that they were trying to recreate. If I want McCoy, I’ll go watch TOS or AOS. I didn’t need Pulaski for that.

#2. Data and Misconstrued Character Dynamics; This is in relation to the first reason and REALLY shows how much the writers didn’t think the dynamics through. We all know how much Spock and McCoy bantered. How they are opposite ends of the spectrum and how their perspective points helped Kirk in making his decisions. Well clealry they wanted to re-create that with Pulaski and Data. Makes sense, Pulaski represents the humanism and Data the logical. But there’s one big, BIG problem with that: Data is NOT Spock. A lot fo people have pointed this out, but here’s the thing about Spock. Despite whatever he may have said, Spock DID have emotions. He kept them suppressed due to the issues in his upbringing and that wasn’t necessarily healthy, but he did have them. And despite speaking in a calm manner, he was also an utter sass bucket, could be rude, and had no issue putting down humanity if he had a point to make. He and McCoy were very much equal in their bantering and yes maybe McCoy could go too far with his insults, but there was always an equal balance and Spock was also perfectly capable of starting/escalating their spats. There were also plenty of moments to show that in spite of it, they were still friends and cared a great deal about each other with probably the best examples of this being The Immunity Syndrome, Bread and Circuses, The Empath, and plenty of moments in others like Miri and For the World is Hollow… Those who have been following me know how much I love the Spock/McCoy dynamic and I could go all day, but the point is it’s a complex relationship that may seem like disdain on the outside, but is so much more when you examine it up close.

Data however? Data is intelligent and the Science Officer with a calm demeanor, but that’s about where the similarity between him and Spock ends. Data is an android. I do not believe that he is emotionless, he just has a different wiring that causes him to feel things differently. He’s never shown disdain towards humanity at least from what I’ve observed thus far. If anything, he actively seeks to understand it and emotions more. He actively has hobbies like Sherlock Holmes. He tries things like sneezing and growing a beard in an effort to understand more. Data is more or less a child with a child-like understanding of things and he doesn’t really understand social cues or things like humor, but he DOES have emotions and feelings. There’s too much on-screen evidence to say otherwise. He just has his own way of processing it. This is what makes Pulaski look so bad. When she calls Data a machine, says he can’t understand, and even purposefully mispronounces his name, she comes across as an outright bully. She is essentially bullying a neurodivergent child. Do I need to explain why that’s awful? Data, while by no means a doormat, isn’t the type to sass back or make any biting comments back like Spock would. There is no balance. There is no equal footing. There are not enough positive interactions outside the banter to show that there is something deeper there at the end of the day like Spock and McCoy did. Heck you can even compare how Pulaski and McCoy talk to Data via McCoy’s guest appearance in Encounter at Farpoint. He DOES make a quip about Vulcans when talking to Data and when Data points out he’s an android not a Vulcan, McCoy mumbles “Just as bad.” But immediately after he gives Data genuine heartfelt advice on treating the Enterprise with care. It’s clear that ultimately it’s McCoy being his usual grumpy self who’d be acting the same way towards anyone else and is otherwise perfectly civil and encouraging to Data. We’ve known him long enough to know this. Pulaski didn’t have that luxury, coming off as condescending towards Data at best and considering that she’s a doctor, it looks especially bad.

Now to be fair this only lasts for about four episodes. Pulaski does start catching herself by her second episode, and stops completely after Unnatural Selection when Data helps her and stays with her after she gets the aging virus. After that she’s MUCH moe civil to him, even defending his choice going against the Prime Directive in Pen Pals and was at his retirement party in The Measure of a Man. But clearly the damage had been done. Data is a very beloved character and by Oulaski’s intro had already been established and well-liked character. Data was treated equally and was valued as far more than just an android among the rest of the crew, Crusher included, so Pulaski coming in a season later and acting that way also didn’t help. The writers did not think through why Spock and McCoy worked and how to try figure out a unique dynamic for Pulaski and Data. Instead they just tried to copy TOS, and it utterly failed. It ruined Pulaski’s chances before she could even really start running. But I do believe that she could have rebounded and as I said, she DID get past it. She did relapse some at the end of the season in Peak Performance to the point I wanna say that maybe it chronologically happened earlier in the season, but even then she felt realized her screw up and apologized. It’s still an improvement from early on. But things just weren’t meant to be, which leads is to…

#3. She Only Lasted One Season/She Replaced Dr. Crusher: I believe that the biggest thing that worked against Pulaski is simple: she was cut after Season 2. Pulaski was created when Gates MacFadden left the show. I’ve seen conflicting reasons as to why, but regardless she left and a CMO was needed. IDK how popular Crusher was, but I had really enjoyed her. She was essentially the mom of the ship which added something different from TOS (wel McCoy was also the mom lets be real XD), had a son onboard which also added something new, was very much capable and devoted to her job, and was a badass when she got to use a phaser. Her being written out sucked, but that’s not necessarily a reason to hate Pulaski. But as I highlighted above, she just didn’t work. They tried to make McCoy, but without the dynamics and depth that let McCoy flourish. TNG is not TOS. Whenever TNG tried replicating TOS like with The Naked Now? It blew up in their faces. The key to a spinoff or reboot is to keep certain themes and tone alive, but to not just replicate what came before. TNG flourished when it began to find it’s own footing, and ultimately lasted four seasons longer than it’s predecessor due to it.

I genuinely believe that Pulaski COULD have developed into her own character and could have found her place the same way that McCoy did. But alas that didn’t happen. People wanted Crusher back, so they managed to get MacFadden to return and thus Crusher was put back in her rightful place. Because of it, Pulaski was just forgotten about. She didn’t get the chance to form her own character. She didn’t the chance to develop further and leave her early days behind. Why? Because she simply wasn’t given the opprotunity to do so. I can’t say it was the wrong choice, but it’s an utter shame because I do believe that Pulaski was on her way to improving. But it was too late. Her bad start with Data, her character not working in the TNG dynamic, and her replacing an already perfectly likeable character who did fit the dynamics all amounted to the character’s abrupt end. And because she didn’t get the chance to develop further and find her own path, her bad reputation has stuck to this very day.

In the end, the whole thing just feels like a waste. Pulaski had potential, but it just didn’t work in the end. I can’t say that I hate her. If anything, I feel bad for her. The writers failed her at the end of the day and by the time they tried correcting their errors, the audience had already made their judgement. It may have been for the best to just drop her and bring Crusher back, but I also hate seeing character potential just so utterly wasted. I hope that if any side material used Pulaski, they were able to find a much better direction for her. I can’t say that I love Pulaski. In a more TOS-like setting maybe she’d have worked better. But in the end I think that Pulaski was a decent character who just had too much working against her and they caused her to crash and burn. Just an unfortunate case all in all.

(Image Source)

#this is all mainly opinion so feel free to ig kre

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annakie · 3 years

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TV/Movie Log 2021

Something I always tell myself I’m gonna keep, and I usually do not do.

Already covered games I played.

TBH, some of this may be late-2020 too. This is not a complete list obviously, just what comes to mind about what I watched this year.

The things I watched the most are easy:

MST3k - I subscribe to the Twitch channel. I have it playing in the background like... so much. Including literally right now as I type this. Sometimes I switch to the Rifftrax channel. But I like MST3k more. It’s comfort food. The only thing I hate is the commercials for the MST3k Twitch Channel!!!!! that they play almost every break. Well, one of the new one is for the current tour, which I already have tickets to (but don’t know if I’m going to go to, thanks Covid.) Catch me diving for the mute button on my keyboard at the end of every break til it’s over.

Also I rewatched both Jonah seasons this year. I love literally all of MST3k and can’t wait for S14.

Star Trek - I started a rewatch in 2020, I finished... mostly finished... sometime this year. I uh, haven’t made it through TOS, and tbh I should just pick a list of “20 best TOS episodes” and watch those + the movies. Also haven’t rewatched the Kelvin movies. I will! But yeah otherwise I made it through TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT rewatches, while keeping up with all the current ST shows. Need to rewatch Picard before S2 starts airing, really looking forward to SNW. And Lower Decks S2 was FANTASTIC.

Survivor - I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I watched the seasons they had on Netflix when I finished my ST:ENT rewatch earlier this year and then... I don’t know what happened. I went back and watched every. single. Survivor. season. Mostly while at work instead of keeping the MST3k channel up. I’d seen seasons 1 - 6 & 8 when they aired, but otherwise hadn’t really thought about Survivor much in 15 years until... now.

Hilariously, though, I just completely burned out while the new season was airing and I was still in the middle of watching Season 40, which was the all-winner season I was really looking forward to. I know who wins, and I’m cool with their win, but I got really bummed out that all my faves got knocked out early and dumbly. I’ll try and push through here soon just so I can say I’ve watched them all, though.

Critical Role - Kept up with it, 3 - 4 hours a week. Of course there was that huge break between seasons. I haven’t watched the last episode or two of EXU though. I should.

New Stuff (in absolutely no order)

For All Mankind - Read Sepinwall’s 20 best shows of 2021 and I’m going to work my way through most of them. Started with #1. Surprised at how much I loved it, can’t wait for season 2.

Wandavision/Loki/F&WS/What If?/Hawkeye etc. - Yeah some of those were 2020, I don’t remember. I kept up or caught up with all of them, they were all varying degrees of good. I’m not super into the MCU but keep up enough.

Rutherford Falls - I try to watch whatever Michael Shur produces and this series didn’t disappoint. Michael Greyeyes was a particular surprise in this, really loved his character, but it was a funny, good show that had some great Native American representation well and tackled some difficult issues. Crossing fingers for season 2.

Resident Alien - Came for a Robert Duncan McNeil produced/directed show about an alien with Alan Tudyk, stayed for a really funny show with compelling mysteries and also great NA representation. So excited for S2 starting soon. (As a note, I haven’t yet watched Reservation Dogs but it’s on The List.)

Doctor Who: The Flux - Honestly early on this season felt like the embodiment of the MST3k Concepts song, but it... mostly... came together in the end. Will miss Jodie while she’s gone, but I have mixed feelings about the Chinball era overall. (TBH I really liked it until the Timeless Child stuff, and am not a fan of that whole storyline. Hoping they are able to pull up after this.)

Grand Design - A British show about people who build their own houses, hosted by a nice British bloke named Kevin. It became my comfort/cool-down for sleep show after I ran out of The Repair Shop episodes to watch. I have scraped as much content of this show as possible, and I need more.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath - I’ve been pretty well-versed about Scientology for a long time, but really enjoyed (in a horrified way) Leah Remini’s series. It got pretty repetitive in the 3rd season, but I think it’s done a lot of good to get the word out about what Scientology is all about.

The Witcher S2 - Liked it a lot more than S1. I know people are mad it went way off the track of the books, but I didn’t play the games or read the books and hey, I like it for what it is.

Mythic Quest - Knew I’d love it when I got around to watching it, and I was right. Fantastic show, nails the nerd/game dev/MMO vibe so well with great characters and a lot of depth.

Kevin Can Fuck Himself - This show mostly worked and I really enjoyed it, but I also think it’s good that it’s ending after 2 seasons. Looking forward to season 2 and hoping for a good wrapup.

What We Do in the Shadows - Another show I knew I’d love but just never got around to before this. I was dumb to hold off on it so long. Just an amazing show that I love so much now. Mad at me for denying myself this show, but also glad I didn’t have to wait through that S2 cliffhanger. But now I’m waiting through that S3 cliffhanger. :(

Only Murders in the Building - What an absolute delight this show was. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, but it was great the whole way through and nailed the landing. Anxiously awaiting S2.

Ted Lasso - YES YES WE ALL LOVE TED LASSO. Me included.

Brooklyn 99 - I miss you already. :( Great final season, though.

Handmaid’s Tale S4 - Still watching this. Don’t regret it. Still hard to watch, still kinda misery porn, but I liked most of S4 and am interested in what happens in S5.

Leverage: Redemption - Still kind of can’t believe this is a thing, but it IS and I LOVED IT. Bring on S2, pls Aldis, be in it at least as much as last season.

The Stand - Started in 2020, ended in 2021. I had really high hopes for this adaptation of one of my favorite books. And in the end... my reaction was mixed, leaning more towards positive, but also my feelings were better than most people I guess. I liked a lot of the story updates, but jumping around in the timeline hurt the story way more than helped, AND they sidelined important characters -- including my favorite characters (Tom and Nick) and that hurt. Vegas was... not correct at all, either. And hoo boy Trashcan Man was very wrong. But I also liked Fran more here than in either previous adaptation and the guy they had playing Harold was amazing.

Sweet Tooth - An interesting story, I’m still curious about what’s going to happen in S2. Not my favorite thing of the year, not my least favorite either.

Upload - Greg Daniels’ show about people living digitally after death (sort of like a series long San Junipero.) It was okay, glad they’re getting a S2.

A Smaller List of Other Stuff I Watched:

Nailed It - It’s SO FUNNY even if it’s basically the same every episode.

The Circle - I really hate that I love this show.

Whose Line is it Anyway? - Another comfort show I only sorta keep up with.

Currently Watching

Taskmaster - My current comfort show. I’m only on my first season if it (and it’s like season 7) But it’s SO funny and I’m loving it. Just tons of laugh out loud moments every episode.

The Expanse - I have tried at least twice before to get into The Expanse. It is absolutely a show I SHOULD love. I am now mid-season 1 and enjoying it more than my previous attempts.

Star Trek: Discovery/Prodigy - Enjoying them both! I mean, Prodigy is a kid’s show but I am loving Janeway Hologram and am holding on tight for whenever Chakotay shows up. It’s very good for what it is! And Discovery is chugging along, about as good as it ever was.

Station Eleven - Rec’d by Sepinwall, definitely one of the best things I’ve watched this year, but it is a difficult show to watch, especially right now.

Book of Boba Fett - Love The Mandalorian, loved the first ep of BoBF

Rewatches

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This show is so good, so much better than you think it’d be. I originally got into it after season one, I think? Loved watching it live, loved the rewatch more. Also, I like New Greg just as much as Old Greg, FIGHT ME. Also I love the ending. (Also Rebecca should be with Greg or Nathaniel, I’m equal on both, or NO ONE is great, too. Not Josh, love him as a character, not for Rebecca.)

The Mole - I loved this show when it was on, and rewatched all 4 US seasons this year. It was still really fun, especially since I had literally forgotten the Winner and Mole from each season, except the newest. I could remember the final 3 or 4 people, but it was nice getting to guess all over again. I wish they’d bring this show back.

Leverage - To prepare for Leverage: Redemption I rewatched Leverage! It’d been quite a few years since I’d done a Leverage rewatch, even though it’s one of my constant lowkey fandoms. So worth it. I mean, there are bits of it that haven’t aged well, especially around technology, but it 95% HAS. And Parker/Hardison/Eliot OT3 now and forever.

Gave Up On

The Boys - I didn’t enjoy S1 a lot but finished it. Got several episodes into S2 and decided it just wasn’t for me. Not saying it’s bad, a lot of people loved it, but... yeah, not for me.

I tried a few other reality shows as well, but they were pretty much too vapid for me to stick with. Probably watched the pilots for like half a dozen shows and was like “I’ll get back to this” and did not, or just decided they weren’t for me to start with.

Movies

Army of the Dead - the dumb Zombie movie with Dave Bautista. Of course I mostly watched it for Tig, and was not disappointed with Tig.

Snake Eyes - I went to the movies twice this year. This was the first time, with a small group of friends. Back in the summer... when we thought everything was gonna be OK. I miss June. The movie was dumb and fun and just fine for a summer flick you don’t have to think about. But I LOVED GI Joe as a kid it was maybe my first “fandom” that I was into independently, not because it was something my parents loved like Star Trek/Star Wars. So I got a kick out of it.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - The other time I went to the movies. It was a mostly empty showing with a friend. I enjoyed the movie again, as a “turn your brain off and JUST ENJOY IT DAMNIT” watch, as it should be for Venom movies.

Psych 3: This is Gus - I love that we’re still getting new Psych, I hope they get all 6 movies they planned for. Heard a few things that make it sound like movie 4 should be getting greenlit. This is Gus is maybe my favorite so far.

Spider Man: No Way Home - I did watch it. And all the previous Spider-Man + Tom Holland movies before it. Worth it. One of the best entries in the MCU.

Gunpowder Milkshake - It was fun! Not a great movie, but a very fun, stylish movie with lots of kickass ladies.

A Castle for Christmas - I watched a dumb Christmas movie this year purely because it had Cary Elwes in it, Brooke Shields was a nice bonus. I don’t regret it.

Jupiter Ascending - I finally watched this crazy movie. I now get what everyone was talking about. Also don’t regret it.

The Last Blockbuster - Because Blockbuster was such a part of my childhood / young adulthood. Still, I like having everything at my fingertips better.

OK I’m tired of writing this list. I’m gonna go play some video games now. :)

#personal post tag thingy #media log #2021

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deadcactuswalking · 4 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 30/01/2021 (Wellerman, Fredo, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA)

I’ve never been more thankful for a song being this big – “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo spends a third week at #1, blocking “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI at #2. Thank God. Anyway, we’ve got 10 new arrivals so let’s cut the chit-chat and start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

Of course, after this brief rundown we always do. Thankfully, the site actually updated last week, so I can go through this as routinely as possible. For drop-outs, it’s a lot of recent new arrivals falling out either off the debut or a few weeks after – most of them being pretty crap – but we do have some notable drop-outs, like “Forever Young” by Becky Hill, “Plugged In Freestyle” by A92 and Fumez the Engineer, “pov” by Ariana Grande, “Love is a Compass” by Griff, “Tick Tock” by Clean Bandit and Mabel featuring 24kGoldn, “Lasting Lover” by Sigala and James Arthur, and finally, “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Now to move onto the chart proper, we do have some movement to discuss. Firstly, we have some fallers, those being “Dynamite” by BTS at #32, “positions” by Ariana Grande at #39, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #41, “All I Want” by Olivia Rodrigo at #43 off of the return, “SO DONE” by The Kid LAROI at #46, “Best Friend” by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat at #47, “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus at #48, “What You Know Bout Love” by the late Pop Smoke at #51, “Wellerman” by the Longest Johns practically being replaced at #52 (We’ll discuss this more later), “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio at #53, “Notorious” by Bugzy Malone and Chip at #55, “Looking for Me” by Paul Woodford, Diplo and Kareen Lomax at #60, “Bad Boy” by the late Juice WRLD and Young Thug unfortunately purging to #62, “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion at #67, “Pinging (6 Figures)” by Central Cee crashing off of the debut to #72 and “Diamonds” by Sam Smith at #74, joining our two returning entries – which are just older songs getting another brief pick-up at the bottom of the charts. Those are “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong and “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper at #75 and #73 respectively, by the way. Oh, and we also have “Martin & Gina” by Polo G at #65, but I honestly can’t see that song going anywhere – and I really like it. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have any gains, however, as finally, we can see some rising hits trying to fill in the cracks, like both of Rudimental’s debuts from last week: “Be the One” with MORGAN, TIKE and Digga D is up to #58, whilst the incredibly worse single “Regardless” with RAYE is cracking into the top 40 at #40. Sigh, well, we do have some more promising gains, like... “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals at #38? “Friday” by Riton, Nightcrawlers and Musafa & Hypeman at #37 off of the debut? Okay, 2021 might end up being pretty rough, huh? Thankfully, we have a plentiful amount of new arrivals to waive any of my fears, so let’s just start with those.

NEW ARRIVALS

#70 – “Overpriced” – M Huncho

Produced by Quincy Tellem

Oh, come on! Okay, so this is M Huncho, UK trao’s answer to the late MF DOOM, except without any of the lyrical complexity, storytelling abilities, genuine wit, charming sampling and production techniques, brilliant discography... he’s pretty much just a guy whose main gimmick is the mask, and it’s on this single cover too, seemingly in a museum. This song in particular is just one of these melodic trap cuts with wavy acoustic guitars blended with synths beyond recognition, topped off with odd bass mastering and a checked-out performance from M Huncho, who spends way too much time on his verses going “doo-doo-doo-doo-doo”, before the beat switches for a verse that fades out after like 20 seconds. What’s the point of any of this, honestly? It’s not awful – the bass does kind of knock – but I really don’t understand why this is here, or why M Huncho is a big name. It’s not even as good as AJ Tracey’s trap bangers and it’s not even as funny as D-Block Europe, which I’m surprised by, considering that he had his own stupid hit with “Pee Pee” around this time last year, and that song was actually good. Also, M Huncho, what do you think your fans get from you dissing them? If you’re going to brag about your “house by the lake” and then rap about how some unnamed individual “still lives at their mum’s in a council estate”, consider that a lot of your audience will still live with their parents in council housing or be surrounded by people who do. Someone who really came from poverty should know that this is classist and disrespectful to your own demographic. Yeah, this is worthless. Why’s this guy still charting? At least Young Adz knows how to write a hook.

#65 – “New Love” – Silk City and Ellie Goulding

Produced by Silk City and Picard Brothers

Okay, so we do have some energy on the chart – or at least half of the credited acts have. Silk City is a duo of producers, those being Diplo, a true weirdo in mainstream EDM who’s honestly kind of fascinating and oftentimes a fluke genius (especially in its work in Major Lazer and Jack U with Skrillex), and Mark Ronson, one of the greatest producers of the 21st century so far, probably most known for “Uptown Funk!”. These guys did have a hit together with Dua Lipa in 2018 in the form of “Electricity”, but it’s been a while and I’m interested to see how they work with the complete non-presence that is Ellie Goulding. It’s with some level of disappointment that I say that she’s not a non-presence here, as this is otherwise a pretty neat house tune with some excellent 90s keys and a deep-house groove I think is pretty fun. The strings in the pre-chorus are great and build-up to a fantastic chorus... or at least the instrumental is fantastic, because Goulding is a waste here, mixed way too high and honestly just faltering her vocals here. She sounds awkward through multi-tracking and even worse without it, as she clearly goes for a rough swagger that cannot work with her light, almost fairy-like voice she’s relied on much of her career. The intricacies of this production are really admirable, but Goulding was clearly an afterthought. With a real diva on vocals, or honestly just a sample of a soul or diva house track, this could be excellent. As it is, I’m bored. Next.

#63 – “Typhoons” – Royal Blood

Produced by Royal Blood

Oh, okay. Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Royal Blood are an English garage rock duo that rock pretty hard, and don’t go for anything else beyond that, which to me is a breath of fresh air, and, yeah, this is good. Is it as good as their debut? Of course not, their biggest hit “Figure it Out” is still incredible, and this one goes for a more synthesized 70s feel, even accentuated by disco keys in the pre-chorus. The riffs are still here though, as that main guitar line is pretty awesome. I see this as a mix of garage rock revival bands from the 2000s like the White Stripes, as well as some stoner-adjacent bands like Queens of the Stone Age, with a more classic hard-rock groove and Mike Kerr’s signature yelp, and it works for what it is, so I’m excited for that upcoming single. Nothing’s particularly impressive here, but I’ll definitely go for this over the rest of what we have charting, so I’m not complaining. This is good, you should check these guys out, even if they tend to be a bit derivative. That tense bridge with the looming background vocals and intensifying riff is genuinely epic, by the way, even if there isn’t much more of a pay-off behind just... the chorus again, which ends up rendering as flat as a result. Regardless, it’s a good break from the norm – which for a chart week like this, I’m especially glad is here.

#61 – “Your Love (9PM)” – ATB, Topic and A75

Produced by ATB, Topic and Rudi Dittmann

German DJ ATB was showing his girlfriend his new recording studio when he got carried away with a single guitar sound and made a song out of it, “9PM (Till I Come)”, named after the time the track was finished. Later on, he took the track and added some whispered vocals from Spanish model Yolanda Riviera. This happened in 1999, by the way, when this song was released to great success in Europe, leading to a hilariously dated album cover but still a UK #1. The song is honestly kind of bad, relying on a pretty typical house groove, ugly MIDI guitars and that seductive vocal loop. Regardless, since 90s nostalgia has come way too fast, Topic has remixed the track with A75, a collaboration we’ve seen before on “Breaking Me” from last year, which sucked. To be fair, the original song is pretty empty, so I’m interested to hear A75 add some vocals... and he just sounds pained over a deep-house rip of the original. The ugly MIDI melody stays, just now it’s drowned out and even more synthesized – this is the guitar sound you liked so much? I hope she left you. Let’s move on.

#59 – “My Head & My Heart” – Ava Max

Produced by Jonas Blue, Earwulf and Cirkut

Speaking of being bored, here’s pop singer Ava Max, with a new lead single from the deluxe edition of her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell. This one’s produced by Jonas Blue, which, alongside a redundant “Jonas Blue remix”, is probably why it’s charting. What’s sad is it’s not really very good, as the vocals are over-processed over fake hand-claps and clipping mixes that make those plastic synths sound even worse. Admittedly, I like the rubbery future bass-esque bass line here, but that’s really as far as my appreciation for this goes, as the writing is non-existent, and Ava Max is barely here. It’s honestly really similar to “New Love”, except this one’s not even as interesting as that track, going for an exhaustingly tired house-pop style that while she is a natural fit for, it does make the 2000s synth-pop she started with sound inspired in comparison. Oh, and the “Jonas Blue remix” is practically a glorified bass-boost that makes this sound even uglier, so, yeah, skip this.

#42 – “Apricots” – Bicep

Produced by Bicep

Bicep is a Northern Irish electronic duo from Belfast, and this is an instrumental from their most recent album, Isles, which clearly must have stood out enough for it to debut at #42. I can understand why too, as that sample from Hugh Tracey’s African music recordings, particularly the vocal sample used, is really infectious and interesting. I don’t think everything surrounding it is enough to really make it less annoying, as it running through nearly the entirety of a four-minute track makes this sample lose its lustre too quickly. It runs its course far before the song has the chance to build up into a house track, with that sample crushing everything that isn’t the percussion in the mix anyway. The keys are really cool, and I can’t fault the strings and ambiance that keeps the song building up for as long as it does. It also takes a sample from a Bulgarian folk choir, which they paralleled to the Celtic folk they grew up hearing, and honestly, this is just a cool blending of global music rather than an actually good song, ending with me respecting this more than actually enjoying it. The synths by the end sound fantastic as does the Bulgarian chanting, but it doesn’t really have a great climax or drop to make the build-up worth it, defaulting to a generic house groove by the end that fades out before it can have any real impact. So, yeah, this isn’t bad, but feels like a waste of some really great ideas. I guess I can say that “Northern Irish remix of an English ethnomusicologist’s recordings of African music that also samples a Bulgarian folk tune” isn’t quite as much of a developed idea as “Kazakh remix of an American rapper of Guyanese descent’s trap song in a Brazilian house style released on a Russian record label”.

#35 – “Lo Vas A Olvidar” – Billie Eilish and ROSALÍA

Produced by FINNEAS

It’s not often that songs in non-English languages chart in the UK. Whilst in the US, Latin music is such a force that it’ll launch hits for many Spanish-speaking artists, this isn’t the case in decidedly smaller Britain, where a still multicultural society tends to produce art that is always in English. To be fair, we don’t have a place like Puerto Rico, and the few songs I’ve talked about this year that have been in a different language... well, basically the one song I can remember off the top of my head, was in a Nigerian Creole language. So, why’s a Spanish song by Spanish artist ROSALÍA charting so high? Well, it’s also a Billie Eilish song, and it’s also from the HBO teen drama Euphoria. Yeah, a teen drama makes a lot of sense for Eilish to soundtrack. This has been teased since 2019, and is actually ROSALÍA’s first song to chart here in the UK, so is it any good? Well, yeah, actually, it is. Both Eilish and ROSALÍA have excellent whispery tones that complement FINNEAS’ muted, ambient production perfectly, and their harmonisation sounds great, with both singing in Spanish here for the most part. That chorus is pretty janky, though, and I don’t really see the point in the Auto-Tuned interludes, even if they both sound great playing off of each other with a lot of tuning in the outro. This is pretty minimal and dare I say awkward, kind of eerie, so I don’t see it sticking around, but as a longing break-up track, they both sell it well. Next.

#28 – “Skin” – Sabrina Carpenter

Produced by Ryan McMahon

Joshua Bassett’s response flopped immensely, meaning that now it’s Sabrina Carpenter’s time to shine, because if it’s anything she gets out of this Disney love triangle, it’s a hit song, and people clearly want to hear more from the women than they do from Josh. Telling. Now I’m not one to follow Disney teen drama because this is all a marketing gimmick. I mean, the songs dropped every Friday so anyone who can’t see through this is either blind or... a child, and considering the audience, that second one is more likely, which is fine. Popular music is, ultimately, in the hands of teenagers and record executives, and all of these break-up response diss track... things, tend to feed into both hands, whilst also giving these talented young actors a bigger break. This is Carpenter’s first charting hit in the UK, after all. The song is decidedly worse than “drivers license” though, and by a lot, as the mixing here isn’t even competent, as Carpenter’s voice clips through these ugly pianos, worsened by how her voice does not sound great here at all, as she struggles through that terrible chorus. She may say that this isn’t a response to Rodrigo, but given the lyrics and how quickly this rushed release was put out, are we really supposed to believe that? The percussion here is gross as well, drowned in bad reverb that makes this just sound grey and dull. The strings building up to a climax are barely there, and when they are, they sound like they’re elevating a really garbage performance from Carpenter, who can barely keep up. This is supposed to be a ballad yet it sounds so stiff and controlled, meaning that Carpenter trying to let loose on the vocals makes this awkward and painful. I’m sorry, but this is really bad, and I hope it doesn’t stick around. Thankfully, I don’t see that happening.

#20 – “Back to Basics” – Fredo

Produced by Dave

Lil Chocolate Frog’s got a new record out this week that I’ve yet to hear, and this is the lead single, produced by his long-time friend and collaborator, Dave – who’s awesome. I’ve typically been less kind to his mate Fredo but honestly, his ever so slightly off-kilter style has grown on me too, and this song is a pretty good introduction to that. It’s one verse over rattling trap hi-hats and a really eerie vocal sample, and Fredo flows casually and smoothly over the beat, in his typical careless, just barely there style, which works well over a pretty subtle beat like this. Fredo’s lyrics are pretty interesting here too, as amidst flexing and gun-play, he has some pretty funny lines, although far from Dave’s wordplay, rather relying on fun one-liners where he says he’s “kind of Christian”, doing revision on drug trafficking, will run for mayor, and because of how much of the gang violence is sadly amongst ethnic minorities, he himself is racially profiling his “opps”. One line near the end of the track actually made me laugh, when he says he counts up twenties while eating porridge. It’s not funny on paper, sure, but the delivery is gold. He shows more character here than he has since “Funky Friday”, also with Dave, so I’m pretty excited to hear this record, which Dave actually executively produced. It’s also got the late Pop Smoke on a track with Young Adz, so at least I’ll let out more of those laughs. This lead single is pretty good though, and I can see it going top 10 next week with the album boost.

#3 – “Wellerman – Sea Shanty” (220 KID x Billen Ted Remix) – Nathan Evans

Produced by Saltwaves, Billen Ted and 220 KID

Last week, the sea shanty “Wellerman” charted as a cover by the Longest Johns. It’s a fine acapella cover, and this version, by Nathan Evans, was originally similarly acapella, except for the tap of a table as percussion to keep time. This version got even more viral on British TikTok, and if I recall correctly, he quit his job to be signed by Polydor, which is pretty scummy on Polydor’s part. I mean, you know this guy won’t have any more hits. Regardless, this version debuted at #3 thanks to a remix by DJs 220 KID and Billen Ted, three English producers. According to their Spotify duo, Billen Ted used to be a death metal band of all things but then transitioned into writing for dance-pop tunes, and have worked with 220 KID, even if this is technically only their second single. This remix is actually pretty cool to be honest, as it takes the original track and adds some needed energy, mostly through this generic 90s house beat and some admittedly really nice pianos. It’s nothing special, and I would usually criticise something this generic, but the song’s not even two minutes and it’s a pretty inoffensive remix that genuinely adds to the original song through that brilliant flip of the original hook melody in the drop, so I can’t complain. This won’t last, but I’m not mad that it’s here.

Conclusion

I’m actually somewhat pleased with this chart week, which I wasn’t expecting initially, as you can probably tell from my above cynicism. Regardless, we’ve got some variety here (though I don’t see much of it sticking) and I’ll give Best of the Week to Royal Blood for “Typhoons”, with a tied Honourable Mention for “Back to Basics” by Fredo, and, God damn it, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted. Shut up, it’s fun! Worst of the Week will probably go to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Skin”, with a Dishonourable Mention for the complete lack of effort that is M Huncho’s “Overpriced”, just being mildly offensive if anything. Here’s our top 10:

For next week, I mean, a girl can hope for some Weezer, but it’s more likely that we’ll be met with a Fredo album bomb and some scattered efforts from that middling Lil Durk deluxe edition. For now though, you can follow me @cactusinthebank for more ramblings and thanks for reading. I’ll see you next week.

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emiliachrstine · 4 years

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Quarantine Q&A

I was tagged by the cuties @ahsokatonas and @luucypevensie (thank you for the tags bbs!!

Are you staying home from work/school?

Yes. My work (store) closed down about a week before the whole stay in home order was issued. I’m no longer getting paid, though that could change idk. Now I’m just trying to keep myself sane while staying at home.

If you’re staying home, who’s with you?

My mama and papa and my four legged old lady baby puppo

Are you a homebody?

Uhhhh, I guess I am a little bit. I do like going out with friends and shopping and all that. I do like being at home. But the fact that now I can’t just go out and do whatever I want... I don’t like being at home all the time, haha.

What movies have you watched recently?

Oh gosh, um. The Rise of Skywalker (eugh), Rocketman, not a lot of new movies. Just rewatches and stuff.

Shows?

So I’ve been rewatching Sleepy Hollow with my dad. We both love this show so freaking much (at least the first two season are ICONIC and AMAZING). We just finished watching Hunters which UM EXCUSE ME I NEED S2 PLEASE! Star Trek Picard, okay I’m not the biggest star trek fan but even Picard was kinda boring. Narcos and Broadchurch, which I’ve already seen both of these but they’re such amazing shows I love them so much (i recommend them both)

An event that was cancelled that you were looking forward to?

Not really? I mean there was talk of me possibly getting promoted at work. But I think Covid kinda pushed that to the back burner. My birthday is in like a month but I had nothing planned. OH! My friend was supposed to visit this month but obv not happening so I was disappointed in that. I mean I was really disappointed because we were gonna go to Shake Shack in downtown st. louis which we always go to when he visits so I’m likst wtf bummmErrrr

What music are you listening to?

Literally anything and everything

What are you reading?

Fanfiction which is the only thing I’ve been reading for the past five years

What are you doing for self care?

Writing. And picking up my skin care routine again. I bought myself shampoo from that function of beauty site and it’s SO GOOD OMFG My hair is so soft and it smells amazing and my CURLSSSSS AHHHHH THEY LOOK BETTER NOW

I Tag: @peterparcour, @prophecy-grrl, @iron-parkr, @drbobbimorse, and anyone else to sees this (I can’t remember who did this so if you already did, feel free to ignore!!)

#words from emilia #tagged games

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

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Justice Society of America #7 (1993)

The fantasy: old white men are the heroes. The reality: old white men are the villains.

A Facebook memory from my friend Doom Bunny in 2012 came up today that made me cry. Not sobbing or anything! It just made me feel loved and noticed and, sure, proud of my past self. I'm not good at earnestness so please don't mock me or I'll retreat back into the safety of cynicism and sarcasm!

Doom Bunny might have taken the advice a bit too far.

One of the defining moments in my life that helped shape me into a better, more empathetic person was when I killed a massive wolf spider that had gotten into my room and was headed for my gerbil's cage. I caught it in a huge jar to take outside. The spider was so massive you could hear its fangs clink on the side of the jar. I went to go release it outside and was struck by a sudden terror that it would come back. Not the kind of terror that involves life and death decisions. More like the kind of terror that is just a rush of creepiness and discomfort at the prospect of the spider coming back and crawling on my while I slept. So, you know, not terror. But I treated the uncomfortable feeling like terror and decided I should probably kill the spider. Now, if it had been a small spider, I, like millions of people every day, would have probably crushed it without a thought and gone on with my day. But this spider was massive, probably the size of my palm. It wouldn't be a simple swat and done procedure. I tried filling the jar with some kind of cleaner in the hopes of poisoning it but that didn't work. So then I took a stick or something and began smashing it. It didn't die easily. It struggled and it put up a fight and it took multiple attempts to really smash it while in the jar. And even before I had delivered the killing blow, I knew I had made a terrible mistake. This spider didn't deserve this death. This wasn't a struggle to live. This wasn't part of nature. This spider was struggling against the pettiness of one human individual. The spider's only offense: giving me gooseflesh. But once I'd maimed the spider, I had to finish the onerous job. I cried afterward. I sobbed. I mourned this wretched beast. And maybe that's why Doom Bunny's memory made me cry. But I didn't just kill the spider that day. I killed a part of me. Luckily, it was a part of me that was useless and selfish and a thing I was well rid of. Maybe, as a rational justification to make a bleak act I participated in seem more uplifting, I can take solace in the idea that the spider, in death, was able to rise above its natural station. It was the Jesus Christ of spiders, dying so that so many more spiders could live. Who knows how many hundreds or thousands of spiders survived because of this one? And not only that, it was this sentiment (and seeing a documentary on Japanese "fishing" of dolphins) which turned me into a vegetarian. So the spider not only saved many spiders but many other (arguably higher-tier! Is that bad to suggest?!) creatures. Now, I'm not a vegetarian anymore. I was for about ten years and then got, well, a bit lazy and maybe a little less passionate. I got older and dumber. But I'm not what you'd call a meat-eater! I prefer lentils over steak (which is an easy comment to make because I can't even remember the last time I ate steak. I never really cared for it before I went veggie. The main reason I liked steak as a kid was the steak fries soaked in a little bit of steak juice (you know, blood?)). When I eat meat now, it's usually chicken or turkey. Not great, I know. I probably need to get out there and murder a turkey so I can be reminded how fucking terrible it is to kill something with your own hands. But that's part of it, you know? I'm not against eating meat. But we're going about it all wrong. It's too easy and too harmful. We should probably develop a system where people can only buy live animals and must do the killing and butchering themselves. Of course then only sadists will have the option of a delicious chorizo omelette at breakfast! The point is, yeah, I still eat meat. But I also don't rationalize my eating of it! I'm wrong in doing so. It's better for the world if humans, who have a choice in the matter being sentient and rational beings, would choose to stop. I try not to eat it much but that's just a little bit of a little thing and it doesn't make me "less wrong." I'm still just wrong. And I'm tired. And I'm old enough to hope the younger generations do better while I just get the fuck out of the way. Who are all these old people fighting change?! Why do they need to get so worked up about a world they're not going to be part of for much longer?! Let it go already! Especially old people with loads of money. I don't get how they still need to be angry about everything! You're set, you dolt! If you don't want to participate, go live in your vacation house and don't participate. But certainly don't actively try to hamper change! Christ, you're just obstinate dumb ass fools! Did I rant enough against old rich guys to distract from the fact that I had some turkey tacos for lunch? I hope so! Anyway, I guess the rant about old people hurting the world is a good enough segue back into this comic book about old people hurting the world. Not that the JSA is actively hurting the world! But their old man foes certainly are! Plus, I understand if you're old and powerful and rich and immortal, how you'd continue to fight change. But then again, if you're immortal and you've seen how you can never fight change, generation after generation, perhaps by continuing to fight against change, you're just showing how stupid you are? The JSA might not be actively hurting the world but it's still troubling that they think they need to be an active part of it. Just retire already and let the young heroes take over! Maybe, as Alan and Jay wanted at the beginning, stay accessible as mentors. But don't be dicks trying to push your old timey beliefs onto the young heroes' new and modern attitudes! Especially the ones that are sex positive and enjoy showing a lot of skin in their choice of costumes. Hooray for change!

Enough with being earnest! Let's now pretend her dad's advice was sexual in nature!

Jesse wanders into a part of the island that's off limits and after being attacked by guards trying to detain her for trespassing, she decides she now has a right to trespass. That's how law works, right? If I'm falsely accused of murder, I get to do one free murder! Ted Grant has been taken into custody by the Bahdnesian government because he interrupted a boxing match and beat the crap out of one of the fighters. Just because somebody is in a ring boxing doesn't mean anybody can enter the ring and start punching them. That's assault and I'm all for Ted Grant being arrested. Asshole thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he thinks of himself as a hero. Well, no more, old white man! There are consequences to your actions now!

The Atom doesn't think it's wrong to interfere in another country's arrest of a foreign national assaulting one of their own. No, what would be wrong is exposing the Justice Society of America's plans to infiltrate and spy on this nation.

The Atom rushes off to tell Alan and Jay about Ted being kidnapped. They heard Ted was injured and taken off for treatment which is a lie. Al tells them the truth but tries to make it sound like it was unjust. "Ted walloped some creep in the boxing ring and the guards dragged him away." Yeah. Of course they did! Ted wasn't supposed to be in the ring! IT WAS FUCKING ASSAULT! By the end, when we learn that the nation's king or manager or president, St. Germaine, is some villainous creep, all of the Justice Society's actions will be justified. But I want to point out that they have no justification for anything but observing right now! It's like that time in Star Trek: The Next Generation when one of the Captains of a Federation starship begins blowing up Cardassian science stations and supply vessels. They might have been up to no good but there was no proof! Picard does the right thing, in the end, by arresting the captain. Sure, the asshole captain was almost certainly right about the Cardassians being up to no good. But there was no proof! You can't just blow Cardassians up or disappear people from the streets of Portland simply because you suspect them of being up to no good. Fucking assholes. Jesse Quick runs into Doctor Mid-Nite who has found the Bahdnesians and a whole lot of other islanders as well. They're locked in cages underground because they're too sick or infirm to work in the tourist trap topside. So I guess the Justice Society of America has a right to start tearing this nation down. I guess. They're just lucky their instincts were so dead on or else Ted Grant's temper would have started an international incident with a happy-go-lucky nation. Doctor Mid-Nite has a plan to free the people from their cages.

It's not like she can, you know, run at super speed to do the same thing that distracting them with her tits did.

If The Flash had run into Doctor Mid-Nite, would the plan have been for Jay to strut out from the dark with his balls hanging out? Although it was a terrible and unnecessary plan, it might be one of my favorite bits because now I know Liberty Belle loved flashing her tits for justice. Johnny Thunder goes on a day trip to the place he first got his Thunderbolt genie. He discovers that after he left the island with their genie, the entire place fell apart. See, now that's appropriating a culture! Being white and selling burritos out of a burrito cart is just called having a job. The rest of the Justice Society just hangs out until they can hear from Doctor Mid-Nite. That doesn't happen until he interrupts St. Germain's speech about how great and beautiful and the best his island nation of Bahdnesia is.

Oh! The days when you could describe a terrible country treating its people in the worst ways imaginable and the first thing you would think of is Nazi Germany instead of present-day America!

St. Germain's plan was to create a sham utopia and then find a job as a consultant with other governments. After he was offered a job, he would blow a nuclear weapon in the volcano and destroy the place. But when the Justice Society appears, he throws his plan out the window and yells, in front of everybody at his press conference slash job interview, "I've got a bomb in the volcano and I'll blow up the entire island!" So I guess that's his reputation blown! Like the guy in The Dead Zone who uses the kid as a human shield and ruins his entire political career! Sort of. Anyway, that's a thing I just remembered that seemed somewhat like what just happened here, so it felt like a smart thing to add. During the tussle, Ted Grant knocks the detonator out of St. Germain's hands and it sets off the bomb. The volcano explodes but it doesn't destroy the island until the Justice Society can completely evacuate it. St. Germain just looks on and shouts, "My utopia!" That guy might need to get his head straight to decide what he really wants out of life. A utopia? A consulting job? Revenge on the Justice Society? In the end, Thunderbolt reveals that the only actual Bahdnesian left is Kiku, the young girl who has become Johnny Thunder's sidekick. So I guess that's the mystery solved that could have been solved two issues ago if Johnny had just thought to ask Thunderbolt one simple and direct question. Justice Society of America #7 Rating: B-. St. Germaine was yet another immortal guy who was once a Nazi. I think there's some legendary St. Germaine that's supposed to be immortal or something but I'm too hot and uncomfortable in my office to do any research about it right now. There's a similar character in Warren Ellis's Castlevania on Netflix. And, no, I don't want to discuss Warren Ellis. I don't actually want to disucss the Justice Society of America either! At least I only have three more issues to go!

#JSA #Justice Society of America #DC #DC Comics #Len Strazewski #Mike Parobeck #Mike Machlan

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aki-draws-things · 3 years

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I finally finished watching ST Picard and will return to watch Rush, just... It broke my heart, more than I would have expected it.

I knew what was coming, I knew what I was going toward with JL, I didn't expected Data. I didn't expected that one ending.

Now, whatever thing any series will throw at me (yes, I'm watching at you, rush spoiler ed ending.) I will be ready, nothing will ever be worst.

#Phanie watches Pic #And is left with a broken heart

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daleisgreat · 3 years

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Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Seven

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-Finally, after three years of watching mostly one episode a week, I have finished my re-watch of all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation (season seven trailer)! I am thrilled to present my final entry here chronicling my adventures with the crew of the Enterprise! For the final season I was able to slightly bump up my viewing habits and mostly stuck to watching two episodes a week, and thus I was able to make faster progress on this final season! Somehow, my horrendously outdated Samsung Galaxy S7 phone has managed to barely limp along this entire journey with me, and the gloriously awful pics featured throughout this article are courtesy of that wonderful device. -Season six wrapped with an enticing cliffhanger to “Descent” where Lore managed to work some sinister sorcery to recruit a squadron of Borg and hack into the code banks of Data (Brent Spiner) in order to recruit him to join his cause. Season seven had a great kickoff to resolve this new threat, and had a satisfying conclusion at putting an end to Lore once and for all. I would rank “Descent” on the higher end of TNG two-part arcs, as the Lore/Borg/Data combination proved to be an intriguing antagonist to see how they would be dealt with.

Picard is ready for combat on the left, while falling ill on the Enterprise leads to crew members tripping with some wild illusions on the right! -I was a little bummed to see a complete lack of appearances from Whoopi Goldberg in her role as Guinan in the final season. I am presuming it must have been scheduling conflicts as she has always been in high demand, especially around this time just a couple years after her Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Ghost. Whoopi would return as Guinan in two of the four Star Trek movies based on TNG cast.

-A pair of recurring characters that did return for their final episodes this season are Michelle Forbes as Ensign Lt. Ro Lauren and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. Ro is fresh off tactical training for an important undercover mission that conclusively decides her fate with Starfleet as she would never appear in another Star Trek series or film again after this. According to my research I was surprised to learn it took a last minute agreement with Forbes within a week before filming to get her to reprise her role as she was starting to distance herself from the brand after initial plans to make her a mainstay on Deep Space Nine fizzled. Wesley Crusher’s final appearance had a better payoff in “Journey’s End” where during a vision quest he finally is deemed ready by a previous guest character, The Traveler (Eric Menyuk), to join him on a mystical journey to see Wesley fulfill his supernatural potential. I had no idea they were going to payoff these vague promises The Traveler alluded to in Wesley way back in season two, so big props to the cast and crew making that happen! -Other past recurring characters returned, but only to see them casted in middling-to-disappointing episodes. This is the case for Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) in the head-scratching “Genesis” episode that has the Enterprise staff fall victim to a virus that de-evolves them into various primates. The love-or-hate mother of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Lwaxana (Majel Barrett), has a major sendoff in her final episode where we learn all about her tragic backstory.

-Speaking of mediocre episodes, season seven has a bit more than previous seasons. A two-parter sees Riker and Picard go undercover to form a fake mutiny to sniff out a Vulcan double agent, and while it is not terrible by any means, the whole arc seems bloated and the second episode feels unnecessary. “Phantasms” is as bizarre as the dreams Data (Brent Spiner) has in the episode, but Data later has a redeeming character episode in “Inheritance” where he meets his mother…..then later hits another stumble in “Thine Own Self” where his radioactive experiments causes a planet’s population to become seriously ill. I will give season seven the benefit of the doubt for the noticeable bump up in lackluster episodes because several of the bonus interviews own up to this and attribute it to the cast and crew being spread thin with the final season of TNG, the second season of Deep Space Nine and being in pre-production of the first season of Voyager and the upcoming movie with the TNG crew, Generations. -The holodeck’s sendoff in TNG, “Emergence” is a decent affair that sees the crew go aboard the Orient Express to solve the mystery of how the holodeck becomes self-aware. The episode had a few promising moments, but could have been better. While I enjoyed the quality of holodeck episodes overall in TNG, from what I understand the holodeck episodes greatly suffer going forward and falls victim to holodeck malfunctions and sexual fantasy tropes.

Worf once again has a strong set of character-focused episodes this season. You have not lived until witnessing Worf adopt a cat for an episode, and experience a birthday party time-loop. -Worf (Michael Dorn) has one of the strongest slate of character episodes this season. Seeing Worf being a curmudgeon at his birthday party was pulled off to perfection! “Homeward” is a feel-good family episode where Worf resolves his rocky relationship with his foster brother, Nikolai (Paul Sorvino). The best Worf-centered episode is saved for last where he trains Alexander (James Sloyan) in the arts of becoming a Klingon warrior with the help of a mysterious Klingon friend.

-A couple other episodes that made strong impressions on me this season are “The Pegasus” and “Lower Decks.” In the former, Terry O’ Quinn of Lost fame, appears here as a higher-up from Starfleet to track down the lost USS Pegasus, but Picard (Patrick Stewart) eventually discovers a grand cover-up that has an enticing way of finding the truth of what Quinn’s character is hiding. “Lower Decks” is entirely focused on the background Ensigns and ancillary characters like Nurse Ogawa (Patti Yasutake). The last couple years saw the streaming service, Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) launch a Star Trek: Lower Decks animated series with the very same premise, and if you are a fan of the cartoon, you owe it to yourself to track down this episode as its source material. “Interface” and “Bloodlines” are both strong episodes dealing with long forgotten family members. The former has Geordi (LeVar Burton) risking his life with prototype tech to save his mother (Madge Sinclair), and the latter deals with Picard’s surprise of finding out he had a son (Ken Olandt) from a decades-prior relationship.

-Now to the moment of truth, it is time to cover the final two-part episode, “All Good Things…” The series finale naturally focuses on Jean-Luc as he finds himself constantly time-warping between three different time periods to solve a new challenge bestowed onto him by none other than Q (John de Lancie). I loved how they brought it back full-circle with one of the time periods emanating from the same setting as the original pilot episode of TNG where Q puts the then-newly assembled Enterprise crew on trial. The cast and crew hold nothing back for the final episode with an enthralling narrative as Picard pieces together Q’s final challenge, and has an emotional final scene where after seven seasons, Picard finally joins his crew for a round of poker. -Here is the paragraph with my obligatory kudos to the countless hours spent remastering TNG in HD for the BluRay set. I am not a video-phile and cannot immaculately explain with the proper tech verbiage on how they did it. All I can say is the staff painstakingly made it look like they shot it today, and it does not have any of the old fuzzy standard definition effects that would happen when forcing an SD resolution onto an HD set. Just watch this indicative video that overlays the remastered HD transfer over the SD version to see for yourself. I will also give yearly props to the podcast, Star Trek: The Next Conversation which chronicles every individual episode of TNG and has served as the best supplementary listening material to get the most out of every episode for me. The podcast took a hiatus during the pandemic, and only recently picked up again and are only a couple episodes into season seven as of this writing, so I will pat myself on the back at catching up to them when I was nearly a season and a half behind them when I started from the beginning of TNG.

-You guys know I love covering the bonus features, and season seven of the BluRay is absolutely jacked with them with previous bonus interviews and specials, and all new HD extras. According to my notes, it all added up for just over five hours of bonus materials, and that is not including a handful of commentary tracks on selected episodes. Going over each and every piece of bonus content will kill me, so instead I will highlight the handful that I got the most out of: -----Captain’s Tribute (16 min) – Stewart gives loving testimonials to the cast and crew. A lesson he learned from a dialog with Michael Dorn and LeVar Burton was a key takeaway here. -----In Conversation: Lensing ST: TNG (42 min) - This one is a new HD extra aimed at special effects enthusiasts where a roundtable discussion with camera operators and directors of photography reunite to talk shop of the many highs and lows of on the set production. While a fair amount of trade vernacular went right over my head, they provided ample context and their enthusiasm for their craft is irresistible!

I know it is asking a lot to dive into the many hours of bonus interviews, but nearly most of it is incredibly insightful and well worth your time! -----Starfleet Moments & Memories (30 min) – Awesome feature showcasing the camaraderie and humor between takes that indicates a true sense of friendship among the cast and crew. -----Closed Set: Tour of Real Enterprise (11 min) – The Okundas give a private, narrated, tour of the Enterprise filled with fun facts like how the set for sickbay gained a reputation among cast and crew as “nap-bay.” Every person should have their own nap-bay! -----Journeys End: The Saga of TNG (45 min) – Original 1994 TV special hosted by Jonathan Frakes celebrating the end of an era. ----Sky’s the Limit: Eclipse of TNG (89 min) – Three part special with part one primarily focused on the cast and crew having a lot of projects on their plate the final year and lovingly throwing shade at Picket Fences for stealing their Emmy award! Part two interviews various directors of episodes about their process, and Seth McFarlane shares a special moment he had with a fan on how the show saved their life. The third part interviews a lot of the cast on how they felt the show wrapped, with a couple highlights being Sirtis not being fond of the Worf/Deanna courtship, and Patrick Stewart remarking when asked about future projects that he would consider them, but thought they would ultimately be unnecessary. This was obviously recorded several years before Stewart would return as Picard in the current Paramount+ series, Picard.

-Suffice it to say, the extra features do not disappoint! As I foreshadowed above, there is an apparent dip in quality this season overall compared to the high bar set from seasons three through six, but I will cut the cast and crew some slack since they were seriously overworked during the 1993-94 season. There are still many excellent episodes though as I dissected above, and a terrific series finale that puts the best damn bow they possibly could on the TV series. Thank you so much for joining me on this ride over the past three years and bearing with me on my never-ending entries covering the series. If you missed out on previous entries, click here to see all my previous season recaps of The Next Generation, or click here to continue my journey with TNG crew with my reviews of all the Star Trek motion pictures.

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Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap 2017-18 TV Season Recap 2018-19 TV Season Recap 2019-20 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Baseball: A Ken Burns series Angry Videogame Nerd Home Video Collections Cobra Kai – Seasons 1-2 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 | Season 2 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld - Final Season Star Trek: Next Generation – Seasons 1-7 Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television The Vietnam War: A Ken Burns series X-Men – The Animated Series: Volumes 4-5

#star trek #Star Trek TNG #picard #data #Patrick Stewart #Brent Spiner #jonathan frakes #gates mcfadden #Marina Sirtis #levar burton #Michael Dorn #Wil Wheaton #whoopi goldberg #dwight schultz

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amutheology · 4 years

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MA Thesis Presentations on Microsoft Teams

This Spring was unlike any other for our Ave Maria University’s Graduate Theology Programs, but our brilliant young men and women pressed on. Our graduating M.A. students finished strong, and they presented their M.A. Theses online via Microsoft Teams.

Only short abstracts are available here, but soon the complete theses will be available here. Feel free to also look at some of the theses and dissertations we have from the last few years, also available online.

Benedict Coughlin

Title: Exemplar Causality and the Holy Spirit as Gift

Abstract: This Thesis examines the parallels between exemplar causality and the idea of gift as laid out by St. Thomas Aquinas. It looks to drawing idea of gift into the light by showing just how central it is for a proper understanding of the economy of salvation. It takes the works of Fr. Dominic Legge, Fr. Gilles Emery, and Ms. Rebecca Loop as guides to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas in these matters. It suggests that the Holy Spirit as gift stands to the new creation in a unique role of exemplar causality so that when ever there is exemplar causality, the Holy Spirit is uniquely there.

James Dillon

Title: The Psychological Theory and Mortification Therapy of Drs. Anna A. Terruwe and Conrad W. Baars: Some Disputations and the Proposal of a Difficulty

Abstract: Anna A. Terruwe and Conrad W. Baars developed an original therapy for obsessive-compulsive patients, drawing on the insights of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas to help understand the true nature of psychological disorder and psychological health. Their theory of “repression” redefined the Freudian concept in terms of Thomistic psychology, rejecting false ideas in the former. They defined repression as a pathological act wherein one passion acts immediately against another passion on account of a misjudgment of the cogitative power, and obsessive-compulsive repression (OCR) is the resulting habitual disorder that obtains. Terruwe and Baars claimed that OCR patients are clinically shown to be completely unfree regarding the passion which they have repressed. Therefore, patients with sexual repression were said to be “completely unfree” in sexual matters. To release this repression, Terruwe and Baars designed “Mortification Therapy,” which tells patients that they must mortify their repressing passion and allow themselves to experience passively their repressed sexual desires, permitting whatever solitary venereal acts followed from such passivity. Terruwe and Baars held that patients were not culpable for such acts and must tolerate them during therapy in order to come to health. This thesis does three things: it overviews the relevant teachings of Terruwe and Baars; it examines the relevant public disputations of that teaching; and it argues that, in light of modern clinical findings regarding the ability of OCR-S patients to form imperfect habits contrary to their compulsions, therefore there is a difficulty as to Terruwe and Baars’s premise that obsessive-compulsive patients are clinically found incapable of forming such habits, and finally, that this means there is a difficulty with the premise that OCR-S patients are completely unfree in sexual matters, and thus also a difficulty for the moral liceity of MT that demands address.

Mary Dufresne

Title: Our Bodies Are Not Our Own--A Theology of Food and the Body

Abstract: If the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit requires proper stewardship, how does this apply to the body’s consumption of food? The Christian’s body is truly the temple of the Holy Spirit, His possession, as revealed in Sacred Scripture; therefore, one must tend to the body with reverence, which implies a proper morality to eating, as food gives it vitality. The following thesis is made up of two major parts: first that of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in man, and second, the moral implications of food and proper stewardship of the body. The goal of this thesis to direct Christians on proper stewardship of the body, with a particular emphasis on those that struggle with eating disorders. The foundation of the thesis rests on St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:17-20) as well as St. John Paul II’s argument on the innate goodness of the body in his work, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. The thesis takes up the issues of shame as illustrated in the rupture between humanity and its relation to food which is followed by discussing the possible solutions and restoration of that rupture. Lastly, this thesis covers the objections that might be found in the practices of asceticism in lives of saints.

Alexandria Fountain

Title: A Moral Analysis of Vital Organ Donation in light of the Debate over the Validity of the ‘Whole Brain Death’ Criterion

Abstract: After the 1968 Harvard Ad Hoc Committee decided to equate an irreversible coma (now known as whole brain death) with death, the new criterion was largely accepted in the medical field as well as the sphere of Catholic bioethics. However, scientific evidence on the nature of brain death that was released after the Committee's determination, most notably by the neurologist D. Alan Shewmon, has challenged the validity of the criterion. This has led to much debate inside (and outside) Catholic circles as to the status of brain death individuals, and following this, the implications of this for the morality of vital organ donation. In this paper, I weigh the scientific evidence involved as well as consider the Church's teaching on the nature of death and the requirements for ethical vital organ donation to take place. In doing so, I argue that the evidence has convincingly shown that the whole brain death criterion is incompatible with Thomistic hylomorphism and the Church's definition of death, and that therefore, in light of the Church's teaching on the morality of vital organ donation, vital organs may not be licitly removed from brain dead donors.

Mary Rachael Gieger

Title: In Remembrance of Me: An Examination of Memory's Tripartite Role in the Christian Life

Abstract: Plato claimed that the “average person is a ‘forgetful soul’.”While his observation at his own time was probably accurate, it is sufficient to say that today we live in a forgetful society at large. The antithesis to this forgetfulness lies precisely in the memory--not merely as recollection, but as a spiritual habitus. In the language of Ratzinger, man’s nature is marked with the wound of Beauty that causes him to continually seek; humanity alone is beset with the longing to be united to God body, mind, and soul. No matter how far man wanders, or how much he forgets, this wound is still hiding in his memory. The recollection of this beauty, truth, and goodness is not the end of the memory, but our unity with He Who is Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. In light of this, this thesis treats memory in three sections: memory of God, memory of the self (or being or origin), a subset of which will be memory of the natural law; and finally, memory of Heaven, which is examined through the experience of nostalgia. The question will be answered as to how exactly the memory serves as the dwelling place of God, the means by which the natural law is written on the hearts of man by means of the imago, and the source of the nostalgia man experiences for Heaven. It will be concluded that the memory is an integral source of the Christian life, and a necessary means for victory against a society that has forgotten the meaning of man’s journey here on earth, or have forgotten that it is a journey at all. The role of the Christian will be concluded to be remembrance, especially the Christian theologian--and from their own remembrance will spring the call to remind.

William Marcinkus

Title: Grace and Free Will: Interpreting the Council of Trent's Decree on Justification

Abstract: Dr. Steven Long of Ave Maria University argues that, according to the fourth canon of the Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification, any and every will “moved and awakened by God” cooperates by assenting to prevenient grace. Indeed, he argues that man’s cooperation is the very effect of prevenient grace. In this essay, I argue that Dr. Long’s proposed interpretation is ruled out by the text, history, and tradition of the decree. A rejection of that interpretation, moreover, entails a rejection of the doctrine on grace and free will held by Dr. Long, which is otherwise known by the name “physical premotion.”

Mary Parker

Title: Loving Until the End:How Practicing the Virtue of Solidarity Can Challenge Physician-Assisted Death

Abstract: In contemporary American society, it is becoming an increasingly popular position that a patient should be able to choose physician-assisted death for several reasons, including patient self-determination and unbearable suffering. Proponents of physician-assisted death believe it is compatible with the nature and practice of medicine. I argue that physician-assisted death is not compatible with the mission of Catholic healthcare. The practice of the virtue of solidarity in Catholic healthcare can help challenge pro-physician assisted death arguments and help influence Catholic healthcare policies. I examine the virtue solidarity in magisterial documents and the works of John Paul II and illustrate how it should be practiced by situating solidarity within the framework of Thomistic virtue ethics.

Michael Picard

Title: Sacramental Character and Active Participation: A Thomistic understanding of Sacrosanctum Concilium’s call for “active participation” in the liturgy

Abstract: The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, brought fulfillment to the 20th century Liturgical Movement’s call for more “active participation” by the lay faithful in the sacred liturgy. The document did this by reforming the sacred liturgy. The basis of the reforms of the sacred liturgy in Sacrosanctum Concilium was that all the baptized faithful of the Church have a right to participate by the nature of the liturgy and by the nature of their baptism. The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, says that the foundation of the laity’s role in the liturgy comes from the sacramental character of baptism. St. Thomas Aquinas developed the doctrine of the sacramental character in his Summa Theologiae and it is his writings that are quoted by Lumen Gentium. In this essay I set out to show how St. Thomas Aquinas’s teachings on sacramental character can be a helpful resource to properly understanding Sacrosanctum Concilium’s call for “active participation” in the sacred liturgy.

Mary Richert

Title: Humble and Obedient unto the Point of Death: An Examination of the Humility and Obedience of Jesus Christ According to Saint Thomas Aquinas

Abstract: “And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Simply, this thesis is on the humility and obedience of Jesus Christ according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. First, according to St. Thomas Aquinas and the Monastic Tradition, humility and obedience are examined as infused moral virtues. Second, this thesis shows how the human person of Jesus Christ perfectly possesses the virtues of humility and obedience according to His human nature and by way of His knowledge that He has of His Father. Third, this thesis shows how Christ was humble and obedient in his life on earth, through his prayer, his interactions with the poor, his teachings, and most especially, in His Passion. Finally, this thesis concludes with a commentary on St. Paul’s Christ Hymn in Philippians chapter 2, so as to further understand the meaning of Christ’s humility and obedience in relation to his death, the relation between these two virtues in Christ, and what fruits Christ bore from his death on the Cross.

Dr. Ladislav Sallai

Title: The Ethical System of Immanuel Kant in Comparison With the Catholic Moral System Set Forth in Veritatis Splendor

Abstract: Moral Theology holds a dominant place amongst the theological sciences with its central preoccupation with the moral conduct of man regarding questions of good and evil. Since man is called to supernatural destiny by God, it is morally necessary that such a destiny of man is revealed by God, because man is incapable to know with certainty his true end. The great investment in moral theology by the Catholic Church is due to her being an instrument in sanctification and ultimately salvation, an instrument willed by Christ and born out of His side at the Cross. Such a heavy investment of the Church in moral theology cannot be relegated and the fundamental Catholic moral principles must be elicited in order to shun from moral confusion mounting in the contemporary Western world due to a widespread moral crisis. There are four aims of this thesis, first, the principal aim is to systematically expose and present the original and most influential Kantian ethical system as a foundation for subsequent ethical theories. Secondly, to recall and reflect on the principles of morality based on the Scriptures and put forth by the Church’s teaching in Veritatis Splendor, as well as to accomplish a systematic presentation of the Catholic moral system. Thirdly, to systematically compare and contrast the Kantian ethical system and the Catholic morals system and draw the appropriate conclusions regarding these ethical and moral system. Finally, to offer a support for the systematic comparison of these systems by Catholic moral philosophers and ethicists, like Jacques Maritain and Alasdair MacIntyre.

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