#⋆☆ ( relationship / john lamarr )

[ineffablecaptain]

I was wondering out of the ships on The Orville, which is the most popular on here, so here’s a poll with some of them on. If yours is not on here click other and tell me which one, I’m intrigued.

[felassan]

Dragon Age: Absolution plot details, character info and cast announced:

----------

"'Welcome to Miriam's Story...'

"When a heist against the most powerful man in Tevinter goes south, an elven mercenary named Miriam (Kimberly Brooks) is forced into a desperate fight for survival," an official synopsis for Absolution reads. "Now, to save herself and her friends, Miriam will have to confront the tragic past she's spent a lifetime trying to escape."

​Dragon Age: Absolution​​​​​​ Season 1 consists of six episodes, each running at 30 minutes. Mairghread Scott (Guardians of the Galaxy, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines) serves as showrunner on the animated series, which comes from Red Dog Culture House and BioWare. Scott also writes the series with Mae Catt and Tim Sheridan, with Ki Yong Bae serving as director. A full list of the show's key characters can be found below:

Kimberly Brooks as MIRIAM - A pragmatic elven mercenary who escaped enslavement in Tevinter, Miriam is closed-off to many who know her. But her heroic nature shines through when she's forced to confront the nation that destroyed her life, and the man at the heart of her misery.

Matthew Mercer as FAIRBANKS - A veteran freedom fighter, Fairbanks leads our heroes with a warm-hearted sense of adventure, a pair of daggers, and a dashing smile to boot.

Ashly Burch as QWYDION - A bubbly Qunari mage with a penchant for explosions, Qwydion is an open-hearted, easily-distracted blabbermouth who can level a building or cure a hangover, depending on the situation.

Sumalee Montano as HIRA - An idealistic mage, Hira hopes to rekindle her relationship with Miriam while advancing her relentless crusade against Tevinter. But a terrible secret will put both at risk.

Phil LaMarr as ROLAND - Despite his effortless demeanor, the charming Roland possesses unmatched grit. When disaster looms and all seems lost, Roland is as sure as the blade he wields.

Keston John as LACKLON - A dwarven Lord of Fortune, Lacklon is a gruff fighter, a born brawler, a complete glory hound, and just enough of a coward to make sure he stays alive.

Josh Keaton as REZAREN - Born to privilege and plagued by tragedy, Rezaren sees himself as a good man in a wicked world. Intelligent and charismatic, Rezaren is determined to build a better future for everyone in Tevinter, no matter the cost.

Zehra Fazal as TASSIA - Dutiful and hardworking, Tassia turns a blind eye to everything that doesn’t meet her moral standards. But even she won't be able to ignore the sins of Tevinter (or Rezaren) forever…"

[source]

[chacusha]

The Orville thoughts

Okay, basically, most of my reaction to watching the first few minutes of this show is "How is this legal?!" Like, people weren't kidding when they said this show is more Star Trek than modern Star Trek...

(I haven't seen this many Star Trek alumni in one place since Disney's Gargoyles! :V Seriously, my face when I saw Penny Johnson Jerald!)

More thoughts:

This show really GETS the value of opening episodes with senior officers engaging in some wacky off-duty bullshit before getting called to the bridge.

This show also GETS the value of showing events happening in bright, clear lighting. Even if this makes the cheesiness of the costumes, locations, and special effects more apparent, it also makes for clearer action too, so very much worth it overall IMO.

It is so bro-y, though. So, so bro-y. I think I might have died during the "astrology sucks" episode.

Also, I feel like Kelly Grayson's character is like the embodiment of the Cool Girl archetype (bro version)? Effortlessly pretty, always willing to get drunk and party (never in an ugly or unappealing sort of way, though), always on Ed's (quite bro-y) level when it comes to humor and hobbies and interests (you know, except for that One Time She Betrayed Him).

Also, there is so much weird "women are emotional and men are logical" and other gender essentialism going on in this show that I'm not even going to go near that... Other than to note that a lot of the issues around the depiction of Moclan culture and the relationship between the Federation Union and Moclus in the show suffers from an ultimately patriarchal sort of approach to feminism.

I might be a bit feral for Claire and Isaac's relationship, though. A lot of the elements of The Orville seem to be a direct reference to Star Trek (especially TNG). As part of that, Isaac is clearly a Data expy (except with a robot superiority complex and therefore very much NOT The Nicest Boy, unlike how Data is), but I appreciate the differences here -- that they weren't afraid to give the Data expy character a romantic plotline (quite similar to the Data episode "In Theory," which ultimately shied away from having Data successfully be in a romantic relationship). I appreciate this plotline as the path not taken there!

Overall, I think this show is surprsingly good at doing sincere emotional moments (which is unexpected given Seth Macfarlane's oeuvre), but terrible at doing politics/philosophical debates/legal drama. (Like, some of the arguments made during these sci-fi issue debates are often so bad/shallow/missing the point, it's a bit cringeworthy.) Which is quite ironic given above-mentioned weird gender essentialism going on in the writing of the show!

That said, even though I would say the politics of The Orville is only OK (I would describe it as trying to live up to Star Trek but distinctly "Reddit atheist" in its aesthetic and political leanings), at least The Orville TRIES to do philosophical debate plotlines (i.e. episodes where the whole conflict/source of tension is an ethical puzzle and one that isn't a painfully easy "obviously good position vs. obviously evil position" ethical "debate" such as "is genocide good? please discuss" or "which is better: doing science or waging war? discuss"), which is something that modern Trek seems to have kind of given up on. And often the politics here, even if not particularly great, still have a distinctly progressive lean, which is better than shows like Picard, for example.

Sometimes it's hard for me to tell what in this show is meant to be a sudden change in creative vision, hastily executed, and what is meant to be a purposeful reference to TNG's (own hastily-executed) writing. For example, the black officer at the conn who suddenly gets promoted to chief of engineering? The show deciding they needed to switch directions with this character and give him more to do, or is John LaMarr a big reference to Geordi La Forge? The female security officer getting suddenly put on a bus -- a reference to what happened to Tasha Yar, or an indication of behind-the-scenes conflict? (Whatever the intention is, the writing here, while hasty, is still overall better done than those bumpy early parts of TNG.)

Another good thing about this show is that it has a good, very likable/charming mauve shirt cast, which it treats pretty well. Which, again, is more than what can be said about a lot of modern Trek, which either has very flat and boring mauve shirts, or kills them off for cheap drama (or, frequently, both, which is hilarious -- like, sure, maybe this mauve shirt dying would have some emotional weight on this show if they literally had a personality or were given anything interesting to do before this episode, but they weren't, so... 🤷).

I was looking at reviews this show got, and apparently it was quite poorly reviewed in the first season, but got better reception in later seasons. I guess this makes sense as the first season was kind of stuck in that weird area between irony-filled parody, fawning homage, and just trying earnestly to bring more Star Trek-type entertainment into the world. People seemed to think it found its footing by jettisoning some of the edgier and irreverent parody aspects in favor of straightforward earnesty, but I also kind of wonder if what happened was more like as Star Trek shows started getting worse around it (Discovery declining in quality; Picard just... being Picard....; Strange New Worlds being distinctively, like, just OK; Lower Decks being fine while avoiding serious/philosophical plotlines; Prodigy also being fine but for kids), having something that didn't shy away from the aesthetics, sci-fi worldbuilding + cosmopolitics, and self-contained plots of TNG felt refreshing? Like The Orville seemed to find its niche largely by just keeping going with what it was doing, while nuTrek failed to fill or offer anything in that highly-coveted niche aside from the perfectly passable but somewhat bland SNW.

So yeah, overall, this show falls quite short of meeting the bar of "more 90s Star Trek for you to watch," but it benefits from sincerely trying to be that, including not being afraid to do entirely new worldbuilding and political-balance-of-power within its own new universe. Or trying to create plots that tackle social issues not handled before by 90s Star Trek shows. In that sense, it keeps quite well with the original spirit of Star Trek even if it doesn't quite get there. There are some updates here as well due to being made several decades later, like more casual depictions of LGBT relationships, more variety in the alien designs, and more smoothness to the writing in general (like more coherent episode plots and character arcs). Overall, I felt the show very worth watching although quite "pointy" in quality (i.e. does some things really, really great, while doing others very poorly) and just very refreshing in the current nuTrek environment. (But with Discovery regaining its footing, maybe that will change!)

[silver-cleo]

Fanficton for The Orville (tv show)

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/M

Fandom:

The Orville (TV)

Relationship:

Kelly Grayson/Ed Mercer

Characters:

Kelly Grayson (The Orville)

Ed Mercer (The Orville)

Gordon Malloy (The Orville)

John LaMarr (The Orville)

Claire Finn (The Orville)

Isaac (The Orville)

Bortus (The Orville)

Alara Kitan

Original Child Character(s)

Darulio (The Orville)

Additional Tags:

Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Established Relationship

Married Characters

Hurt/Comfort

Fluff

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Fix-It of Sorts

Language: English

Stats:

Published: 2022-07-23

Updated: 2024-03-03

Words: 9,382

Chapters: 4/?

Comments: 4

Kudos: 38

Bookmarks: 5

Hits: 888

Summary:

Ed and Kelly never got divorced, why? Because Ed listened to Kelly and noticed she wasn’t her usual self in the days before he found her in bed with Darulio. It turns out that Retepsian pheromones have a negative reaction for humans. Something that doctors have only just discovered when Kelly Grayson-Mercer is admitted with odd symptoms. Important: Read the beginning notes of each chapter for any potential content warnings, this fic covers aspects of: death, hospitalisation, poisoning

[demifiendrsa]

Dragon Age: Absolution | Official Trailer | Netflix

Dragon Age: Absolution will stream on Netflix on December 9, 2022.

Poster

Cast

Kimberly Brooks as Miriam. A pragmatic elven mercenary who escaped enslavement in Tevinter, Miriam is closed-off to many who know her. But her heroic nature shines through when she’s forced to confront the nation that destroyed her life, and the man at the heart of her misery.

Matthew Mercer as Fairbanks. A veteran freedom fighter, Fairbanks leads our heroes with a warm-hearted sense of adventure, a pair of daggers, and a dashing smile to boot.

Ashly Burch as Qwydion. A bubbly Qunari mage with a penchant for explosions, Qwydion is an open-hearted, easily-distracted blabbermouth who can level a building or cure a hangover, depending on the situation.

Sumalee Montano as Hira. An idealistic mage, Hira hopes to rekindle her relationship with Miriam while advancing her relentless crusade against Tevinter. But a terrible secret will put both at risk.  

Phil LaMarr as Roland. Despite his effortless demeanor, the charming Roland possesses unmatched grit. When disaster looms and all seems lost, Roland is as sure as the blade he wields.

Keston John as Lacklon. A dwarven Lord of Fortune, Lacklon is a gruff fighter, a born brawler, a complete glory hound, and just enough of a coward to make sure he stays alive.

Josh Keaton as Rezaren. Born to privilege and plagued by tragedy, Rezaren sees himself as a good man in a wicked world. Intelligent and charismatic, Rezaren is determined to build a better future for everyone in Tevinter, no matter the cost.

Zehra Fazal as Tassia. Dutiful and hardworking, Tassia turns a blind eye to everything that doesn’t meet her moral standards. But even she won’t be able to ignore the sins of Tevinter (or Rezaren) forever.

[historyhermann]

“Craig of the Creek”: An Exciting Adventure for All Ages

Craig of the Creek follows Craig and his two friends, Kelsey and JP, who explore the creek near the fictional suburban town of Herkelton, Maryland. They face family conflict, snobs, witches, and other challenges along the way.

Reprinted from The Geekiary, my History Hermann WordPress blog o Feb. 9, 2023, and Wayback Machine. This was the forty-seventh article I wrote for The Geekiary. This post was originally published on July 21, 2022.

Craig of the Creek is an animated slice-of-life adventure-comedy series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin, who previously worked on Steven Universe. With the pilot debuting in December 2017, the series has run for four seasons and over 140 episodes. The season 4 finale aired on July 15, 2022.

As a warning, this recommendation discusses some spoilers for the first four seasons of Craig of the Creek.

Kelsey (left), Craig (middle), and JP (right)

Craig of the Creek centers around the adventures of a 10-year-old Black kid named Craig Williams (Philip Solomon) and his two friends, Kelsey Pokoly (Noël Wells) and John Paul "J.P." Mercer (Michael Croner). All three are the show's protagonists. Kelsey's animal companion, Mortimor, also has an important role.

As the opening theme states, the series is focused on mysteries, danger, and friends who are "always by your side". The theme asks who will be around to not "let you down" when you go on a "wild ride". It claims that Craig, the eponymous protagonist, will "save the day".

Other characters are introduced as the series moves forward. This includes Craig's family, such as his father, Duane (Terry Crews), mother Nicole (Kimberly Hébert Gregory), his 16-year-old brother, Bernard (Phil LaMarr), and younger sister, Jessica (Lucia Cunningham). Also appearing is his grandfather Earl (Phil Morris) and his grandmother Jojo (Saundra McClain).

There are many more characters that Craig, Kelsey, JP, and Mortimor come across in their adventures through the Creek. Since the series is aimed at children and families, it, predictably, has affirming messages. The family-oriented Common Sense Media described the series as filled with "creativity, joy, adventure, individuality, and self-discovery".

Unsurprisingly, that focus has garnered Craig of the Creek various award nominations since its premiere in March 2018. This has included an Annie Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and a GLAAD Media Award. In 2018, the entire series won the "Common Sense Seal, an award given by Common Sense Media for the "diversity of its characters and inclusion of minorities", meaning that the organization recommends the series for "children aged six and above."

This diversity is reinforced by the show's writing staff. In August 2021, Jeff Trammell, head writer for the series, stated that the series has a writing room full of people with "different backgrounds and different experiences". He said the room is open in such a way that "it never feels like you're the one representative", especially for people of color.

The series has garnered a broad fanbase since its debut, with hundreds of thousands of people watching each episode. This is reflected in the 120 fan fiction works on Archive of Our Own, 43 fan fiction offerings on FanFiction.Net, and over 15,000 followers of the crew's Twitter account.

Bernard and his girlfriend, Alexis

Although the series is for all ages, it also focuses on adult issues, like breakups and pressures on young adults. At the same time, there is a focus on safety, family clashes, and interracial relationships. This includes the romance between Bernard and his girlfriend, Alexis (Karen Fukuhara).

The untamed wilderness, i.e. "Creek", in this critically acclaimed series is a place where rules of the outside world don't apply and where children rule over all. However, there are some older kids. Three teenagers who play card games in a cave are known as the "Elders" (Mark, Barry, and David). While the show's creators voice two of these characters, Zachary Steel voices David.

There are many subgroups in the Creek. This includes the Junior Forest Scouts, the Horse Girls, the 10 Speeds, the Tea Timers, the Witches of the Creek, the Ninja Kids, the Sewer Kids, and the Alliance of Science. There's also Cardboard City and the Creek's main market, the Trading Tree. Some kids don't easily fit into any of the aforementioned groups.

However, these groups are occasionally united together by Craig. He organized the Council of the Creek, based on what his grandmother Jojo does as a local politician. He, and his friends, meet at the Stump, which they have turned into a hideaway.

Unlike other series, the Creek kids are a diverse group. The series has been praised for "broadening the ethnic-racial representations in children’s media" along with Molly of Denali on PBS, Dora the Explorer on Nickelodeon, and Elena of Avalor on Disney. The latter ended in August 2020 when Disney canned the series after three seasons.

Diverse characters in Craig of the Creek include Cannonball (Trammell), a member of the Ten Speeds, a group of kids who love riding mountain bikes. Then there's Carter Brown (Zeno Robinson), a kid obsessed with building cardboard contraptions. My favorites include Wren (Ashleigh Crystal Hairston), a nerdy girl who conducts wild experiments, and Kitherine "Kit" (Davis) who runs the Trading Tree.

This racial diversity is no accident. Black storyboarders and writers make sure the show "strikes the right cords". Characters like Craig's father were composites of Trammell and Tiffany Ford's fathers. Lamar Abrams created Craig's grandmother.

Levin and Burnett said that they wanted to have a "positive impact" with a show that is fun for kids and reflects diversity from the actual world. They argued that the show combines the experiences of the show's crew.

The show taps into, as some critics described it, the "adventurous side of Cartoon Network’s viewers". Plots are a combination of the character's real-life experiences and their vivid imaginations.

13 characters in the series stated as LGBTQ in Insider's LGBTQ characters and cartoons database

LGBTQ+ representation shines through in Craig of the Creek. The Insider database of LGBTQ cartoon characters lists 13 characters for the series. Some of these characters only appear occasionally. Others are more prominent.

This representation is genuine. For instance, Angel José, a 10-year-old that runs the Creek Daycare, is non-binary, agender, and uses they/them pronouns. For much of the series, non-binary storyboarder and writer Angel Lorenzana voices them.

In the show's fourth season, Ben J. Pierce, a non-binary actor, voices Angel. Laura Mercer, the older sister of JP, is a lesbian and in a relationship with another girl, Kat. Fortune Feimster, a lesbian comedian, voices her.

There are other lesbian characters in the series. Tabitha and Courtney masquerade as "witches of the creek". In the episode "The Haunted Dollhouse" they kiss. In others, they hold hands or hang out together.

Craig of the Creek also has implied queer characters. This includes Jasmine Williams (Tawny Newsome), daughter of Darnell and Kim, and Craig's cousin. In the episode "Cousin of the Creek", she tells her cousin that she is texting her girlfriend.

It is implied that Pullstring and Merkid are non-binary. Some reviewers compared the number of non-binary characters in the series to Steven Universe, where every Gem is non-binary.

In the episode "Silver Fist Returns", Ben (Cole Escola), the "Secret Kid", keeper of Creek kids' secrets, reveals his crush on George (M. Michael Croner), a member of the Tea Timers. George reciprocates Ben's romantic feelings. Ben is also gender non-conforming.

Kelsey is a queer series protagonist. In the episode "Fire and Ice", she confesses her love for Isabella "Stacks" Alvarado (Montse Hernandez), a Latine bibliophile who hangs out in the library. While it was implied that both had feelings before that episode, they become a couple in the episode after Stacks admits her feelings for Kelsey during a secret book club.

Kelsey seems to have a crush on Vanessa "Wildernessa" (Izabella Alvarez), a girl who roams across the Creek on a huge Tibetan Mastiff named Cheesesticks. However, Vanessa does not have the same feelings toward Kelsey. Instead, she has a crush on Craig.

Queer show writers such as Kate Leth and voice actors like Stephanie Allynne (voiced Marie) buttress this representation. The Creek is a place you can be free to be yourself, as a recent Cartoon Network tweet stated. Lorenzana's art accompanied the message.

Craig challenges King Xavier in the series Season 3 finale

Craig of the Creek goes further, with a clash between good and evil. King Xavier (Charles DeWayne) rules the other side of the Creek, known as Herkleston Mills, with an iron fist. He inherited the title from his older sister Cheyenne (Najja Porter). Previously, Kenneth (Lamar Abrams) ruled over Herkleston Mills as the first king, after a highway overpass divided the Creek.

Xavier's right-hand woman is Maya (Sydney Mikayla). She helps preserve Xavier's hierarchy. Others assist the King as well. This includes a fast-runner, Keun Sup /"The Blur" (SungWon Cho), Jackie / "The Arm" who is deaf and uses ASL, and Aggie / "The Squashinator" (Zahra Fazal).

Some are disaffected by Xavier's rule. This includes Raj (Parvesh Cheena) and Shawn (Croner) who are the Honeysuckle Rangers. Both are from a nearby neighborhood and have feelings for each other. Cheena is also a gay actor.

Raj and Cheena become allies of Craig. The Green Poncho, otherwise known as Omar (Robinson), becomes Craig's ally. He tries to protect Craig's side of the Creek from Xavier, and his domination, by standing guard at the overpass.

This all changes after Xavier takes photographs of Craig's map. He plots to take over Craig's side of the Creek. The final five episodes of Craig of the Creek's third season are a showdown between the King, his lackeys, and other Creek Kids.

At first, Xavier engineers a crisis to take control of Craig's side of the Creek. He takes over the Trading Tree, bans games, destroys skate ramps, and tempts kids to support him with candy.

It seems he has won, at first. He even screws with the magical girl-esque Sparkle Cadet (Kamali Minter). He even manipulates a situation that forces Craig to leave the Creek and return home. But, this is short-lived.

A high-stakes winner-take-all game of Capture the Flag begins. At the last second, Craig is victorious. Xavier loses his power. Craig declares that the Creek belongs to everyone. He says there is no need for a King and states that there is a whole other side of the Creek to explore.

This clash reminds me of the final four episodes of Steven Universe, which concluded that series. Considering that Steven Universe writers created the series and easter eggs to that show are present throughout Craig of the Creek, this may not be a coincidence.

The show's fourth season picks up where the third season left off. Craig, and his friends deal with the aftermath of Xavier's defeat. It somewhat echoes Steven Universe Future, where Steven dealt with the consequences of his victory over the Diamond Authority.

Omar, formerly the Green Poncho, becomes one of the stump kids. Craig tries to find his place in the Creek. Those from the "other side" of the Creek have more opportunities available to them as they are not hemmed in by Xavier.

These changes accompany continued diverse stories and characters. This includes a focus on the Filipino family of Sewer Queen, Latine mythologies told by Stacks in the library or Raj's Indian family.

In one episode, a Black woman, Maya, reconnects with Craig. She gives him advice, telling him that he should be himself, and not agree with what anyone else believes. In another, Craig bonds again with Sparkle Cadet.

Craig and animesque magical girl, Sparkle Cadet, in episode "The Sparkle Solution"

Craig of the Creek continues to have institutional support from Cartoon Network executives. The series has been renewed for a fifth season and an original movie. In February 2021, Jessica's Big World, a preschool spinoff series for Cartoonito, began production. While it is not known when the spinoff will premiere, the fifth season of Craig of the Creek will begin in 2023.

This means that this show will continue. This is a positive. It will be a boon for cultural diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, and inclusion in animation. It joins other series such as the Proud Family revival series, Amphibia, and The Owl House, all with similar themes.

While the music of the series is nice, as are rap beats by MC Deltron (Teren Delvon Jones). I stayed with the series thanks to its voice actors, animation, and story, more than anything else. The often fourth-wall breaks also made the series enjoyable.

I recognized some of the voice actors from elsewhere. This includes Gunnar Sizemore, Kari Wahlgren, Michaela Dietz, and Deedee Magno.

However, the number of episodes (145) and seasons is a major stumbling block. It is a huge time commitment, which wears you down by the end, even if watched over a long period of time. It is not a series that is easy to binge over one weekend. So, prepare yourself.

The series felt strange to me because it mainly appeals to kids. From early on in the series, I realized that I wasn't the intended audience. A series where the characters are young adults would be more my speed than this series.

Despite these criticisms, I would still recommend Craig of the Creek due to its characters, plotlines, and themes. After watching all the episodes, I came to realize why it is such a wonderful show. The fifth season will likely continue in the same manner. Xavier may make a reappearance in the upcoming season, although it remains unknown what role he would play.

For those interested, Craig of the Creek is currently airing on Cartoon Network and streaming on HBO Max. It is also available on Amazon Prime and other platforms.

© 2022-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[katoska]

If we do get Season 4 of The Orville, I predict that Claire forbidding John from giving Isaac relationship advice will come to bite her in the ass.

We can't be sure how much Isaac has been lead by others wrt his relationship to Claire. We know he sought out advice on his own, and John told him to dress nicely and bring flowers (but not roses). Did Isaac pick his clothes, or did Dann help him? Did he pick the flowers? How much outside help does he need with "non-routine tasks"? We know it had been John idea to use the portable simulation device so Isaac and Claire could kiss, but whose idea has it been to delete the personal data? Or the Big Romantic Apology (well, "getting back the girl" was Ed's idea, but what about the details of it)? Though I'd buy that Isaac came up with the latter by himself, as he seems to have mostly come up with the ratty underwear etc by himself, too.

Just... he does still need guidance. He looks stuff up by himself - looking up human bonding is proof of that - and sometimes it works brilliantly (Bridge Rain), and sometimes it does not (ratty underwear), and so far the latter could be conveniently blamed on bad advice (even though Lamarr tried to defend himself and said he never told him to do that, exactly). Without a Guide/Scapegoat to help Isaac with new ideas, it's possible that the romance will get stale because he might just stick to a routine.

[consistentsquash]

10 HP Slash Crossovers with 10 Pairings

10 Slash Recs with 10 Crossover Pairings

During Samhain/Halloween the veil is thin. Something like that. What's on the other side of the veil? Crossovers!

Selection Criteria

Fics shorter than 30000 words

No repeat authors/pairings/crossover fandoms

AO3 collection for this list

Other lists

 Blood Sugar Sex Magik

by Delphi (2011)

Crossover canon - Hellblazer

Length - 1400 words

Pairing - John Constantine/Severus Snape

Kinky hot mess. S.ex magic. S.ex club. We don't need more reasons! Go read the hotness! I think we can agree with John that Snape's using his magic for the greater good in this one :D

 Tecum habita

by amoama (2017)

Crossover - The Chronicles of Narnia

Length - 2000 words

Pairing - Minerva McGonagall/Susan Pevensie

Really, Susan Pevensie, she tells herself, this childishness does not become an engineering undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh. She wipes her eyes, although they have not leaked, and rifles through her purse for her lipstick. She applies that small piece of armour, thinks determinedly of her heroine, the inventor Hedy Lamarr, and forces herself to re-establish her sense of self.

Any fic referencing Hedy Lamarr is amazing in my book! The Chronicles of Narnia isn't my thing in general. But this fic is an exception. It keeps the mystery and adventure vibe of Narnia which goes great with the magic of HP.

 Appetite

by Resonant (2009)

Crossover canon - Ratatouille

Length - 2700 words

Pairing - Snape/Horst

So Snape's afterlife is actually a next life. He reincarnates as Anton Ego in Ratatouille. Food critic is the perfect job for him! I really love the writing, humor and characterization in this one.

Perhaps the person who'd had it before had died, and the life of a food critic in Paris was simply too good to disappear. Or perhaps this body was to let, like a cottage in the Lake District. Perhaps the Almighty kept a variety of lives open for anyone who chanced to find himself dead and at loose ends.

This is the happy ending Snape deserves. You can't convince me otherwise :D

The food kink is surreal. I mean it works in the context of the fic. But it's still pretty surreal. It's a crackfic so good that it doesn't even feel like a crackfic anymore.

Rec note - Full disclosure that I am totally biased. Ratatouille is one of my favorite movies of all time and Resonant is one of my favorite fanfic authors of all time. So this is just something I didn't know I needed. This was one of my favorite lockdown/2020 rereads on heavy rotation especially when eating out wasn't allowed.

 Diplomatic Relations

by thingswithwings (2012)

Crossover canon - Parks and Recreation

Length - 4400 words

Pairing - Hermione/Leslie Knope

New OTP alert! This is such a brilliant pairing. I love how creative this fic gets. President Knope gets a visit from the President of the League of Magical Persons and Creatures. Amazing chemistry.

"What made you kiss first and make me promise discretion later? That doesn't seem very politically sound."

 Another Kind of Hunt

by K8BNimble (2011)

Crossover canon - Supernatural

Length - 5000 words

Pairing - Harry/Dean Winchester

Harry and Sirius are hiding from the Ministry. They meet the Winchesters. Dean shoots Harry. Of course that is really the best meetcute for an SPN crossover!

 Shades of Green

by KeeperoftheNine (2012)

Crossover canon - The Avengers

Length - 5600 words

Pairing - Snape/Loki

“I am your past, your present and your future.” The man’s voice ran like honey through the air, perfectly formed lips curving into a smirk. “Some call me Silvertongue, other’s Lie-Smith, but you, Severus Snape, may call me Loki.”

Turns out Loki is the Patron god of Slytherin House. This is a really sweet fic. It's canon compliant and Snape dies. But don't let that get in the way of reading the fic. The relationship building is organic and works great.

 quicken to the new life

by ImpishTubist (2021)

Crossover - Good Omens

Length - 7200 words

Pairing - Sirius/Remus, Aziraphale/Crowley

A great fic of Remus taking care of Harry after everything goes down. Aziraphale asks him to run the bookshop when Crowley and he has to go to raise the Antichrist. I really love the contrast between the Ineffable Husband domestic bickering and Remus trying to deal with horrible tragedies/the betrayal he thinks Sirius is responsible for. Crowley of course reminds him of Sirius.

“I’m, er, not much of a sales person,” he said.

“That’s perfect,” Ezra said, beaming. “Precisely what I’m looking for. You don’t have to sell a thing. In fact, I would prefer that you didn’t.”

“You want to hire someone...to not run your business.”

Rec note - if you want something wholesome and good this is the fic for you! It's one of my favorite crossover rereads!

 Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

by eldritcher (2021)

Crossover canon - Man Who Fell to Earth

Length - 10400 words

Pairing - Snape/Harry, Snape/Thomas Jerome Newton

Do you need to read the book/watch the movie to read the fic? - Nope. But if you like weird Seventies movies definitely check it out. David Bowie plays the alien.

Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who kidnaps Snape from the Shack after the war. Harry of course goes searching. Turns out this alien was actually visiting earth to find water for his planet which is going through a drought.

The Snarry parts are beautiful <3 Also hot. But you need to get through some intense stuff before the smut.

"Biscuits," Harry reminds him.

"Haven't you outgrown your inner Dickensian orphan?" Snape parries, and summons a tin of biscuits.

It's got a really unique and powerful take on Snape's relationship with his Dad. I feel like most fics focus more on his Mom.

The rowan bursts to life from the chest of a dead man, from the chest of a father, from the chest of a man who believed in love's sacrifice as fiercely as Lily did.

Fics from this author have a general theme around masculinity. This fic has C.astrated Snape. But unlike a lot of fics about that topic this one has a legit happy ending and a really resourceful Slytherin Snape with his canon level of courage. Honestly I felt sorry for the alien who kidnapped Snape in the first place.

I had not anticipated my deathless death would find me a kidnapped castrato in a house by the lake in the dead of winter, debating cosmic pluralism with a being not of this earth.

Rec note - If you wanted something deep/weird that's going to make you feel a ton of emotions this is a great pick! It has a lot of the unique things I have seen in this author's writing - a brilliant 1st person POV, scifi elements, sharp characterizations, sacrifice, poetic prose, magic which is weird/unexplained/scary and a zoom/blur/focus storytelling style that really works. If you want a Halloween scifi vibe crossover read with a happy ending this is it.

 Jeeves and the Secret Society

by perverse_idyll (2021)

Crossover canon - Jeeves & Wooster

Length - 12000 words

Pairing - Snape/Albus, Jeeves/Wooster

Do you need to read the books/watch the series to read the fic? - Nope. But you are going to be excited about reading the books after reading the fic.

This fic is an experience. I mean it. You don't read it! You feel it and live it. Brilliant and spot on characterizations for Jeeves and Bertie.

Glass in hand, I toasted my audience with the exuberance of a condemned man reprieved from the Agathaean gallows. Multi-coloured plaids and ascots and waistcoats galore dotted the room, whetting the sartorial appetite. Most cheering of all, the view was mercifully auntless to the horizon.

Bertie is hiding from his aunt in the safest possible location. Which is a gay bar a public house favoured by the lavender brotherhood. He meets an interesting man there.

Still, the stranger's presence stirred a pang of wariness in my breast. "Bertram," I advised self. "Own up. Admit it's not the whiff of mortician that puts you on your mettle, but the disconcerting garnish of schoolmaster."

Snape of course thinks Bertie is a nitwit! What's Snape doing there anyway? Turns out he is a Time Traveller with a message for somebody there. Message for who?

He rose from his seat – and kept rising, as he was quite a lanky old thing – before weaving toward us through the amorous scrum of twirling gents with a shoulder pat here, a tip of the homburg there, a swapping of familiar smiles and flirtatious words. He was positively twinkling by the time he washed up on our sombre shores, a bespoke-suited Venus on a clamshell of bonhomie.

The one and only Albus Dumbledore! Bespoke-suited Venus on a clamshell of bonhomie needs to be on his business cards!

I am a big fan of how this author writes the AD/SS dynamic here. It's layered and I am super impressed by how they wrote the emotional complexity in a perfect Bertie voice.

Jeeves & Wooster was so totally not my thing when I first read the books. Because of how much I love this fic I finally, finally tried them again. My Man Jeeves. I loved it this time. This fic is a seriously good sneaky sales pitch for the books honestly.

Rec note - I know what you are thinking. Omg I know this author's name. Nope, this fic is going to tenderize my heart. Don't skip the fic because of that! It's pretty different! This fic definitely has a ton of emotional complexity. But it's lighter compared to the other fics from this author. It's a great starter rec to get used to the author's brilliant writing style if you don't read darker fics in general.

Like I said before, this isn't a fic! This is an Experience!

 Five Days In Which All Was Once Lost

by This Girl Is (2011)

Crossover canon - Torchwood

Length - 20000 words

Pairing - Draco/Harry, Captain Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones

Do you need to read the books/watch the series to read the fic? - Nope. You should watch it anyway!

“We should have brought marshmallows.” Malfoy announced, entirely at random. Harry closed his eyes and took another pull of his enormous Starbucks Americano. There was not enough coffee in the world to alleviate the presence of Malfoy in the morning.

Malfoy and Potter are Aurors. Who get along with each other exactly like back at school. Add in mysteries/adventures/Captain Jack Harkness this is sexy, funny and totally chaotic like Torchwood canon.

I am not adding more fic details because a big part of the plot is based on suspense. It's got magic, scifi, snark and chaos on top of a great plot. The perfect fic to finish the list!

[jimothystu]

Isaac - “It appears that we are dating.”

Fandom: The Orville Pairing: Isaac x female reader Requested by an anon: About Isaac, something about them acting like in a relationship without realizing it and it's someone in the crew that points it out to Isaac and he confronts her?

| Masterlists | Request Information | Ko-Fi Account |

You touched Isaac’s arm as you laughed.

He tilted his head. “I did not intend for my comment to amuse you.”

You smiled and shook your head. “I know. That’s what makes it funny.”

“Fascinating,” he said. “I am pleased I can make you laugh.”

“After the long day I had, I really needed a good laugh,” you said with a soft smile. “So, thanks.”

“You are welcome.”

You stood up from your seat in the mess-hall. “I should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

He nodded and stood with you. “Affirmative. Shall I join you for breakfast in the morning?”

“That’d be great. Does 0700 sound good?” you asked.

“That is an acceptable time,” he said. “Should I walk you to your quarters?”

“That’s all right, but thanks.” You shot him a smile and walked out of the mess-hall, turning in the doorway to give him a wave.

When you were out of ear shot, John and Gordon went over to Isaac.

“Dude,” Gordon said, “are you and Y/N a thing?”

“A thing?” Isaac asked. “What do you mean?”

“He means an item,” John said, then added, “you know, like a couple?”

Isaac looked at the two of them with his head tilted slightly. “Are you asking if Y/N and I are dating?”

“Yes, obviously,” Gordon said impatiently. “Are you?”

“We are just friends,” the Kaylon replied. “What gave you the impression that she and I are romantically involved?”

John smirked. “Come on, seriously? It’s so obvious. You’re always spending time together, she laughs at all your jokes—as lame as they might be—and you’re both constantly looking for excuses to be near each other.”

“Plus, you two make googly eyes at each other from across the room all the time,” Gordon added.

“My eyes are neither real nor googly,” Isaac said.

The two men laughed.

“He means you both stare at one another a lot,” John clarified.

“I see.” Isaac processed the information. “Perhaps she and I are dating. Is it not customary for one party to inform the other of their changing relationship?”

“Sometimes relationships just happen,” Gordon replied. “If the two people are friends first it can be an easy shift. Besides, these aren’t exactly normal circumstances.”

Isaac nodded. “I will consult Y/N on the matter.”

John patted Isaac shoulder. “Go get her.”

“Y/N just left for her quarters, why would I get her and bring her back here?” Isaac asked.

“Never mind,” John said with a sigh. “Just go talk to her.”

Isaac nodded and made his way to your quarters. Once there, he rang the doorbell and awaited your response.

“Come in!” you called out.

He opened the door, stepped inside, and looked around for you. “Y/N?”

“Isaac?” you asked, appearing out of your bedroom. You had a hairbrush in your hand and you were dressed in your pyjamas. “What’re you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“Lieutenants LaMarr and Malloy talked to me,” he said. “And it appears that we are dating.”

Your eyes widened and an amused smile broke out on your face. “What?”

“They informed me that you and I act as though we are in a romantic relationship,” he told you. “Their logic was sound.”

“Their logic?” you asked. “Since when is Gordon logical?”

Isaac stared at you. “I merely meant that their explanations made logical sense.”

“I know what you meant, I was making a joke,” you said.

“I see.”

“So, they really think that we’re dating?” you asked after a few moments of silence.

“Affirmative.”

You rubbed at the back of your neck. “Who else thinks that?”

“I do not know,” Isaac replied. “They did not say.”

You sighed softly. “And uh… how do you feel about them thinking that?”

“I do not feel anything,” he said, though you knew that wasn’t true. Deep down, he felt emotions. Just differently than you did.

You put your hairbrush down on your coffee table and approached him. “Does the idea of being in a romantic relationship with me interest you?”

He thought about that, then said, “Humanoid relationships are fascinating to me. Though for some reason I find the idea of experimenting with a romantic relationship with you to be… especially intriguing.”

You smiled. “I feel the same way.”

“Then am I correct to assume that Lieutenants LaMarr and Malloy are correct?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you replied. “Maybe let’s just see where things go from here.”

Isaac nodded. “That sounds like the logical course of action.”

You smiled. “I really need to get some sleep, but let’s talk about this more over breakfast tomorrow, okay?”

“That will be acceptable.”

You kissed his cheek softly, the metal of his face cold against your lips. “Goodnight Isaac.”

[laufire]

Legends of Tomorrow 5x09

Do these writers know. DO THEY REALIZE THEY HAVE THE MOST AMAZING SET UP IN THEIR ENTIRE RUN FOR AN OTP WITH CONSTANTINE AND ZARI? DO THEY? They probably don’t, given that they’ve historically have one and a half hits amidst all their misses, but. Gosh. I can be the only one that sees it right?? They have to know what they’re doing, on some level? Making them KISS, like THAT, while acting the hell out of one of the most famous romances in history? (Also, Constantine totally checked her out at the beginning of the episode, and she was more embarresed about him thinking she and Nate had something than she was about anyone else, just sayin’!) And THEN introducing the incredible angst minefield of Constantine being indirectly responsible for Behrad’s death*, and Zari holding him accountable and DEMANDING that they go on a quest to undo it?? THEY HAVE TO KNOW RIGHT?? All of that paired with the altered timeline, their past friendship, etc. Gosh. I’m already planning to write a long series that’ll include, among others, this ship. But if s5 doesn’t do this properly I’ll have to take matters into my own hands. I’ll have to. It can even be part of the series, even if it makes it longer than I should commit to, IDGAF XD

*yes, I know how given my other current show, this might get constructed as hypocritical on my part xDDD. I have good arguments about the differences, but most of all, I just don’t care LMAO

Part of the reason I think I’ve fallen for Constantine/Zari this hard is that Zari is more and more my number one fave each episode I watch and… Constantine is the one moving the plot, making things happen. It’s not a coincidence that the plots and villains of this last two seasons were impulsed by him. Those events in s4 were what caused Zari’s timeline to shift. And now those threads are coming together in a way that’s organic and fitting and EXCITING. And I want my fave girl at the center of the excitement, and close to the character that’s become the spark of the narrative.

Even without taking my NEW SHINY OTP into account, I’d actually love it if they deviated from Nate/Zari in this new timeline; I didn’t mind them in s4, but… it’d actually be interesting that the show said, well, they’re different people. Because they are, plain and simple. And a show about time travel and alterations should tackle that (I mean, I, for one, don’t really ship Constantine with Zari 1.0; if I rewatched s4 in my current state I might start to, but the !!!!!!!!! feelings started NOW, with this Zari, with this Zari’s personality). Besides, like Behrad accurately pointed out, Nate does love doomed love stories, and part of his fixation (on Amaya back then, on Zari 2.0 now), is about that.

I’m a MESS about Behrad, by the way. It was even worse because it got paired with Zari 1.0′s appearance, and her happiness at finding out he and their parents were alive, and asking Zari 2.0 to bring Behrad to visit her, him and Zari getting gr8 sibling moments (d’aw at him reassuring her that she’s his favourite Zari. And LOL at her “I knew this would lead to drugs”)… A MESS, I’m telling you. I TRULY hope it can be outdone and not Laurel 2.0 (yeah, still bitter about that), because I’ve come to like him a lot, and because I want Zari to have him in her life (and for Zari 1.0 to see him!! I will cry like a baby if it happens. It has to happen. I have too many expectations for this season, I’m afraid lol. I’m definitely going to have to add it to my re-write series). BTW: Sara/Zari feels alert to, when Sara was the last to stay with Zari after Behrad’s death *sniffs*

The Zari + Zari scenes were AMAZING, regardless. The hug! Zari 1.0 soothing Zari’s 2.0 insecurities! Joking about her ego! Also, we can all assume that Amaya is at that Totem town too, right? So we get to have our cake and eat it too, with Zari 2.0 and Constantine and Zari 1.0 and Amaya, yes? Yes.

Even amids all this I had mini Constantine/Sara feels too, LMAO, when Sara said, “John always finds away.” It’s not only a good shippy line for them (I also LOVE that she calls him John, btw. Love it), but an AMAZING line about Constantince, the character, related to the point about making things happen LOL (he even got to save his boyfriend in s4, which I don’t think it’s a coincidence, given how other “rules” are established and enforced/not enforced in the ‘verse. Though I did love that Desmond told Constantine to go fork himself lol).

I have lots of feels for Charlie and her relationship with her sisters, too (btw, I don’t remember now if Astra’s “friend” was confirmed to be one of them in the last episode or not, because I simply took it as a fact that she was xDD). When she turned into a little girl, my poor heart :(. And I loved how Sara’s words ~inspired her (the Charlie/Sara feels were strong too).

I’m judging THE HELL out of Sara for having Dean from Supernatural as her hall pass. Really, girl? xD. Smh. YOU CAN PICK FROM LITERALLY ALL PLACES AT ALL TIMES. Martin had Hedy freaking Lamarr! C'mon gurl. I spent the whole episode stressed out about the actors possibly having a cameo, thank the universe it didn’t happen LOL. Anyway. I just hope the whole “Sara mysteriously survives a Fate” brings something interesting to her storyline, for a change.

Seeing Mick’s daughter wearing Captain Cold’s costume for Halloween as a child was the only good part of that entire subplot. Ava and Mick together (I might like him better in s3 so far but his story in s5 is zzzzzzz)? It would’ve only been worse if Gary was there lmao. Also, the whole “the word clone is like a slur” joke got old real quick and I wish it stopped.

[picklejaropener-a]

character sheet

BASICS.

full name.  Alara Kitan pronunciation.   ah-LAR-ah kit-AHN nickname.   n/a gender.  female height.  5′4″ age.   early 20s zodiac.   *shrug* spoken languages.  Xelayan, English

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.   brown eye colour.   brown skin tone.   pale body type.   petite accent.   american-ish dominant hand.   right posture.  very good, because of the lower gravity than what she’s used to she naturally stands up straight and doesn’t slouch tattoos.   none most noticeable feature.  ridges on her forehead, nose, and ears

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.   Xelaya hometown.  Xelaya manner of birth.   unremarkable first words.   “daddy” siblings.  Solana Kitan (sister) parents.   Ildis & Drenala Kitan parental involvement.   raised by both parents alongside her sister, she clashes with her parents but does love them

ADULT LIFE.

occupation.   Security Chief, Planetary Union current residence.   USS Orville close friends. Kelly Grayson, Ed Mercer, Claire Finn, Gordon Malloy, John LaMarr, Bortus, Isaac relationship status.   single financial status.   n/a - no money in the future! driver’s license.  no cause she’s from space criminal record.  none

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. bisexual romantic orientation. biromantic preferred emotional role.   submissive  |  dominant  |  switch |  unknown preferred sexual role.   submissive  |  dominant |  switch  |  sex repulsed libido.  average turn ons.   pass turn off’s.   pass love language.   quality time relationship tendencies.  inconsistent, she starts and stops relationships a lot in her quest to find the perfect person

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.  ...I will return to this when I have one hobbies to pass the time.   boxing mental illnesses.   n/a physical illness.   n/a left or right brained.  mix fears. not being good enough, failure self confidence level.   low but growing every day vulnerabilities.   see ‘fears’ above

tagged by.   no one tagging.   everyone!

[briangroth27]

Incredibles 2 Review

I absolutely loved Incredibles 2! It's a great time at the movies and definitely worth the 14-year wait. I was initially skeptical of it picking up seconds after the original, but I think the story threads here—particularly Jack-Jack's (Eli Fucile, Nick Bird) development and the Anti-Super laws—needed to be dealt with onscreen rather than off.  I liked that they reversed the structure of the first movie and had Helen (Holly Hunter) go off on the adventures while Bob (Craig T. Nelson) stayed at home to watch the kids. Even better, this switch was rooted in statistical facts that Elastigirl was the most effective and efficient hero between herself, Bob, and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). Since so much of her Elastigirl persona was left in the past in the original movie because she’d moved on in life while Bob hadn’t really, showing Helen truly loving her work and being great at it was a perfect moment that let us see a whole new side to her. Seeing Helen so overjoyed at getting to be a hero again—and being great at it, with no collateral casualties—was excellent! It was also nice to see that she had detective skills; a good contrast to Bob smashing his way through problems (and which have probably have helped her deduce what her kids are up to over the years!). That her heroic competence was truly valued outside her family circle and by the people who wanted to use her to push their politics Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener) was a genuine and welcome surprise; I'd love to see more female heroes respected and revered the way Elastigirl is here. Bob playing Mr. Mom was a lot of fun, even if I’m more than ready for a competent parenting duo instead of the always-effective mom and the cliché overwhelmed dad. That said, Bob’s battle with Dash's (Huck Milner) new math, Violet's (Sarah Vowell) teenage angst, and Jack-Jack's terrible toddling was extremely relatable and a great change from the superhero midlife crisis we saw in the original. I enjoyed Bob’s playful ego about being the better hero in his marriage and loved that it was balanced by genuinely caring that Helen had the space to do what she needed to do. That sort of loving/selfish balance is an extremely difficult line to walk but the writing and acting totally pull it off without making him unlikable (and it's not even hinted or implied that Helen is in any way selfish either). It was especially sweet of Bob not to tell Helen what was going on with the family not because he didn't want to come off as incompetent, but because he knew she'd stop her mission. Yes, he benefits from her completing it, but I fully believe that he also wants the better future for his kids that Helen can secure. I would've liked to see more of Dash and Violet in general, and particularly their school lives. Dash has homework trouble and Tony (Michael Bird), the boy Violet made a date with, forgets her (a cool example of superhero lives wreaking havoc on civilian ones as well as the law affecting the Parrs in an unexpected way), but the Anti-Super laws would've been stronger if we'd seen the kids’ lack of choice Bob talks about. Violet wanting to be normal and Dash being "defined as a person" by heroism does play out that choice, but we don't really get to see consequences of the laws in terms of impacts on the kids. Does having to come in second place in track rankle Dash? And if he's defined by being a hero, how does he feel about having to hide at school?  Is anyone suspicious of his speed? Does Dash have to fight to control himself when confronted by bullies that openly hate Supers? By teachers who preach that Supers are bad and should be illegal? Playing up the questionable aspects of the first movie's ending—is he cheating by using his speed, even for second place? How is not living up to his potential affecting his development?—would've built up a lot more pressure on the need to make Supers legal again. Violet hating being a Super made her a good proponent for not being legalized, though I would’ve liked more of that as well. How much of her tragic love life is really angst about not being able to be herself? Maybe she could’ve gotten involved with a student organization to keep Supers illegal, pitting her against her mom’s efforts. What if she discovered another Super kid at school and was forced to choose between outing them or letting them stay hidden? Might she find that pretending to be normal at school is simply boring or stifling her in ways she doesn’t want to admit? That said, I loved what we did get from Dash and Violet and absolutely dug Jack-Jack's awakening powers! The idea that Super babies often have multiple abilities is a very cool metaphor for kids having unlimited potential and it also made for a lot of fun, varied action scenes. His battle with a raccoon was highly entertaining and his unexpected bond with Edna Mode (Brad Bird) was a brilliant twist! Edna discovering a role as a loving aunt was as hilarious as it was heartwarming and a great way to reveal a new dimension of her character. Frozone is always a welcome addition and it was great to see more of him here, both as a "rebel" with Bob and Helen trying to get the Anti-Super law reversed, as a protective uncle to the Parr kids, and finally a hypnotized enemy. I’d like to finally meet his wife Honey (Kimberly Adair Clark) though. It's beyond time she was more than just a nagging influence taking the joy out of his superheroics (though I like that she knows her worth!). I really hope she’s also a retired Super so we can see what the two of them are like outside of their home. Or, it would’ve been easy to make her a Lois Lane-type figure, so she could cover Helen’s return to prominence and at least get a moment of bonding with her. Either of those options would be great and I’d like to see their relationship explored somewhere. I knew who Screenslaver (Bill Wise) was almost immediately, but that didn’t lessen my love for this character at all. The hypnotism was a spooky and old-fashioned angle that felt totally fresh and fit the retro-futurist world of The Incredibles perfectly! Screenslaver also managed to comment on modern concerns about social media obsession, which was a nice bit of relatability (just like Bob and Dash's struggle with new math) while remaining rooted in the films’ era, when TVs were the hip new thing everyone was obsessed with. Screenslaver was a creepy, cool villain who topped Syndrome for me. I just wish his argument—that people were getting lazy and becoming too dependent on Supers—was more explored with examples of people being "less" because of superheroes (beyond hearing about a death caused by waiting on one). Maybe Screenslaver should’ve been saved for a movie set after the law against Supers was lifted, but slightly clearer examples of his point here would’ve worked just as well. I feel like his argument would be stronger if we got to see Supers making things too easy or if more people were put in peril because they waited for Supers to fix their problems instead of the big argument against heroes being the collateral damage their fights cause. That said, I absolutely loved this villain and would definitely be down for a Screenslaver return! Underminer (John Ratzenberger) was also a cool, second-tier villain that felt like a classic comic book bad guy. He's clearly patterned off of Mole Man, but that didn't matter to me; it was kinda refreshing (and appropriately old-school, given these movies’ time period) to see a villain who just wanted to rob banks. He also provided a good way to reintroduce the family's heroic dynamic and to showcase Bob and Helen's different fighting styles while complicating their lives further, building off the end of the first movie brilliantly. I liked that it became a strike against the heroes that he was forgotten in the scramble to stop his drills and that he actually got away. The new Supers that were introduced didn't make the biggest impression, but I preferred this to more focus on a bunch of random new people who would take screentime from the Parrs. I did like Voyd (Sophia Bush) a lot; her fangirl attitude toward Elastigirl was fun and she was a nice answer to Syndrome's toxic fandom. I hope she returns in a sequel! Krushauer (Phil LaMarr) was a solid threat and got some good and funny lines in, while Screech playing up his full animalistic nature was creepy and something I hope Daredevil does with Owl Jr. These wannabe Supers did bring a variety of challenges to the final battle, so as secondary adversaries go, they worked perfectly. All the fight scenes contained very clever uses of everyone’s powers and were choreographed with an insane amount of fun and imagination! The numerous powers on display also made for battles that were never uninteresting. Even Bob's Incredibile got a nice showcase here as a display of the retro tech in this universe. I love the design of this world in general, but classic spy and superhero aesthetics like that are my favorite parts; I wish more superhero franchises would embrace stylized elements like this to carve out their own identities. Speaking of classic aesthetics, I loved that Bob, Helen, and Lucius had their own old-timey superhero theme songs! Michael Giacchino’s music was great as always, but those themes were great surprises! Brad Bird's direction was crisp and the writing emotionally resonate, bringing the heart of the first movie back at full force.  I can't wait to see what comes next from this world! I hope we don't have to wait another 14 years for Incredibles 3 (and I didn't need the apology/”trust us the wait was worth it” video that played at the beginning of this one; it only made us wait longer!), but I definitely want to see more adventures in this universe. Now that Supers are allowed again, I’d love for the next movie to introduce Dash and Violet's trouble-making cousins as wannabe supervillain bad influences. Cousins would bring aunts and uncles who have differing parenting styles from Bob and Helen, as well as Bob and Helen’s in-laws, who have their own opinions on how to “correctly” be heroes as well as parents. I'm thinking Christmas Vacation with superheroes, but whatever the next film is, I'll be in line to see it! While we wait, you should see Incredibles 2! It's among Pixar's best and definitely worth seeing on the big screen!

Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!

[lgbticonas]

LGBT+ Icon → Marlon Brando [1924-2004]

He was a tough guy with a stunningly beautiful face. He got kicked out of high school for riding a motorcycle through the hallways. He once came to the rescue of a skinny kid being taunted and beaten by schoolyard thugs, helped him up, threw his arm around him and said, “I’m your new best friend.”

Thus began an intimate relationship with fellow actor Wally Cox that would last a lifetime. After Cox died in 1973, Brando kept the ashes for safekeeping, because he wanted his own ashes to be commingled with Wally’s when the time came. Sure enough, in 2004, Brando’s family honored his request. The Associated Press reported, “The ashes of Brando’s late friend Wally Cox, who died in 1973, were also poured onto the desert landscape of Death Valley as part of the ceremony of scattering Brando’s ashes.” Brando not only kept his friend’s ashes for more than 30 years, but, when lonely, would sometimes dine with the urn, holding conversations in which he would perfectly imitate Cox’s distinctive voice.

Unlike many bisexuals (like Cary Grant), who denied their homosexual activity all their lives, Marlon Brando brazenly admitted it. In a 1976 interview, Brando said, “Homosexuality is now so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences, and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me.”

Brando was bisexual and possessed of a voracious libido. There were plenty of homosexual experiences to report – among his partners were Burt Lancaster, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Leonard Bernstein, Noël Coward, Clifford Odetts, Tyrone Power, Montgomery Clift (on a dare, they once ran naked down Wall Street together), James Dean and Rock Hudson. Striving for a balanced diet, however, his conquests also included Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Shelley Winters, Ava Gardner, Gloria Vanderbilt, Hedy Lamarr, Tallulah Bankhead, Ingrid Bergman, Edith Piaf and Doris Duke (the world’s richest woman at the time).

[citizenscreen]

When the Harvard educated, classically trained stage actor Fred Gwynne heard that Yvonne De Carlo was to be his co-star in The Munsters he balked. Al Lewis, a showbiz veteran since the days of vaudeville, had the exact same reaction. The co-stars and friends went straight to the producers to complain, “She’ll never fit in. She’s a movie star!”

She was born Margaret (Peggy) Yvonne Middleton in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 1, 1922. “I was named Margaret Yvonne. Margaret because my mother was very fond of one of the derivatives of the name. She was fascinated at the time by the movie star Baby Peggy and I suppose she wanted a Baby Peggy of her own.” Peggy Middleton would later use her middle name, Yvonne coupled with her mother’s maiden name, De Carlo in her pursuit of a professional career in the movies. As Yvonne De Carlo the young woman would become one of filmdom’s great beauties, she would appear opposite some of Hollywood’s greatest stars, date some of the most famous men in the world and become a pop culture icon.

Yvonne De Carlo was raised by a single mother who dreamed of stardom and puritanical grandparents. Her father, a handsome, charismatic con man, ran from the law when Peggy was 3 and never returned. Hoping to shape a future star in the image of her own dreams, Peggy’s mother signed her up for dancing lessons early. Peggy, however, always wanted to be a singer and was blessed with a strong voice and a lively personality, both of which would serve her well throughout her life. After several years of ballet lessons Peggy’s mother announced that they were going to Hollywood for a chance at stardom. Her formal education was erratic at best, but Peggy continued to dance uninterrupted although she shifted from ballet to other forms of dance that fit her build much better. The first trip to Hollywood proved unsuccessful, but at the age of 17 Peggy became Yvonne De Carlo dancing in Vancouver nightclubs. Already a stand-out beauty, Yvonne returned to Hollywood with her mother and at the age of 18 and won the Miss Venice Beach beauty contest, which gave her the confidence for nightclub work in Hollywood and eventually opened the door to the movies.

Paramount Pictures signed De Carlo to a contract in August 1942. While there she appeared in bit parts in about 20 movies, which included uncredited roles in several notable productions like Frank Tuttle’s This Gun for Hire and David Butler’s Road to Morocco, in which she played Dorothy Lamour’s handmaiden. Both of those were released in 1942. As great as the movie parts were, however, they weren’t getting her any real attention. What got her attention were the USO shows she was a part of, which made her a favorite pin-up of the boys in uniform and she loved singing for them.

In 1944 Paramount let Yvonne De Carlo go, but producer Walter Wanger cast her in Charles Lamont’s Salome, Where She Danced (1945), which led to a $350 a week contract with Universal. The role of Salome catapulted De Carlo to stardom making her another one of those overnight successes after years of hard work and perseverance. Still, she’d made it…

“Yvonne De Carlo, a comparative newcomer, is starred in the title role. Miss De Carlo has an agreeable mezzo-soprano singing voice, all the “looks” one girl could ask for, and, moreover, she dances with a sensuousness which must have caused the Hays office some anguish.” – Bosley Crowther, NYT, May 3, 1945.

Publicity shot for Salome, Where She Danced

Moderately billed as “the most beautiful woman in the world” by Universal for Salome, questions about her looks were sure to surface. When asked in 1945, “Who else is beautiful like you in Hollywood,” she replied, “That’s a heck of a question to ask a lady! But if you insist – Merle Oberon and Hedy Lamarr.”

Before she knew it Yvonne De Carlo was Universal’s hottest property and the studio demanded she never be seen in public as anything less than a star. That was a demand De Carlo could meet easily. She was beautiful, confident, exotic, mysterious and excelled at getting the attention of the press. In fact, no studio could have asked for a more perfect personification of “movie star.” She relished the role and enjoyed every minute of it. It’s no surprise that billionaire producer Howard Hughes pursued her as he did many famous beauties of the golden age. The two dated for a time – until Yvonne mentioned marriage. She also had a serious relationship with Robert Stack who remained an admirer of hers his entire life. Although I’d like to I can’t name all of the men Yvonne De Carlo dated here because according to what she wrote in her autobiography, Yvonne: An Autobiography she went out with many men including Burt Lancaster, Robert Taylor and Billy Wilder. And, as she noted in a TV interview following the book’s release, “There were a few truck drivers in there too.”

In 1947 Yvonne made a splash with her seductive dancing in Walter Reisch’s Song of Scheherazade and appeared in Jules Dassin‘s highly regarded noir, Brute Force starring Burt Lancaster. De Carlo followed those with numerous pictures, mostly of the sword and sand variety that required little to no acting ability. That changed in 1949, however, when she made Criss Cross directed by Robert Siodmak starring opposite Lancaster and Dan Duryea. Yvonne considered this her first dramatic role and she delivered the goods in memorable fashion matching Lancaster’s considerable energy, which is no easy feat. Unfortunately, solid reviews as the dangerous dish in Siodmak’s picture didn’t yield better parts for her. De Carlo complained to Universal in 1950, but the studio refused to put her in more dramatic pictures so she didn’t renew her contract choosing independence instead. By the way, I’ll never understand why Universal never put De Carlo in a horror picture. She would have been fantastic as a villain.

With Dan Duryea in Criss Cross

Between 1950 and 1955 Yvonne De Carlo made nearly 20 pictures and dabbled in television. Formula Westerns were a specialty for her during that span, but none made a splash with the exception of Norman Foster‘s Sombrero (1953), which inadvertently led to the biggest movie of De Carlo’s career, “I had done a picture at Metro titled Sombrero, which wasn’t much of a hit. But I had portrayed a saintly type of woman similar to what DeMille had in mind for Sephora. He saw the picture, was very impressed, and promptly said, “You’re it.” The Cecil B. DeMille movie Yvonne referred to is, of course, The Ten Commandments wherein she plays Moses’ wife Sephora opposite Charlton Heston. The Ten Commandments was released amid a frenzy of publicity in 1956. De Carlo had been a movie star for years by this point, but DeMille’s picture took her to another plane. At the premiere Yvonne said, “Thanks to Mr. DeMille, I can get in some Class A pictures.”

Charlton Heston and Yvonne De Carlo in The Ten Commandments

The following year De Carlo starred opposite none other than Clark Gable in Raoul Walsh‘s Band of Angels. Unfortunately, that movie’s reception was warm at best leaving Yvonne no choice but to return to the B adventure pictures that had been her bread and butter. By the end of the 1950s, however, fantasies were on the way out making way for more serious fare. De Carlo found her niche on a nightclub stage once again and in television as a guest on many of the popular series of the time. She made a notable picture in 1963 thanks to John Wayne who hired her for Andrew V. McLaglen’s McLintock! opposite him and Maureen O’Hara. The movie was produced by Wayne’s Batjac Productions for United Artists. De Carlo is fun to watch as the attractive widow hired by Wayne’s character, McLintock as his cook and housekeeper. I particularly enjoy the scenes in which we see Maureen and Yvonne together – two classic, saucy beauties playing rivals. Anyway, despite the movie’s solid reviews and its impressive showing at the box office, Yvonne’s movie career saw no upswing. Her next big role would be on TV as an average wife and mother who resides at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Let me backtrack a bit to set the stage for Mockingbird Lane – In 1955 Yvonne married actor and stunt man, Bob Morgan. By all accounts it was instant attraction that brought the two together. The couple had two sons and the marriage lasted until their 1974 divorce, but the troubles had started much earlier. Bob had difficulties with Yvonne’s fame in comparison to his own. Regardless, the two tried to work things out and when Bob suffered a serious accident while working a stunt on How the West Was Won in 1961, Yvonne stopped working to help with his recovery. Morgan battled for his life and eventually lost a leg as a result of that accident, which happened when he was run over by a train. The accident and recovery left the Morgans in serious debt. It was under these difficult emotional and financial circumstances that John Wayne offered Yvonne De Carlo the role in McLintock! and the reason why she accepted the role of Lily Munster.

At a Hollywood premiere with Bob Morgan

1964 began dismally for Yvonne De Carlo. For the first time in three decades she had no movie prospects and was deeply in debt. When her old studio, Universal, called with an offer for her to star in a situation comedy about a family of monsters living in the suburbs she accepted. At first Yvonne was skeptical about taking the job, but her agents and her bank account forced her to accept.

The Munsters debuted on September 24, 1964 with Yvonne De Carlo as the matriarch of a an average family working toward the American dream – who just happen to be monsters. Alongside Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, Al Lewis as Grandpa, Butch Patrick as Eddie and Pat Priest as Marilyn (she replaced Beverly Owen who played the character for the first 15 episodes of the series), Yvonne’s Lily charmed the pants off adults and children alike. The Munsters, which combined familiar, suburban sitcom comedy with memorable characters from Universal’s horror heyday, was a monster hit quelling De Carlo’s concerns about the show immediately. Not only did she enjoy working with the other cast members, she also loved the premise, the writing and the fun. It took Gwynn and Lewis no time at all to realize they’d been wrong about Yvonne De Carlo. She showed up to work with no movie star attitude whatsoever. A hard worker and a dedicated artist, Yvonne was marvelous as Lily and had comedic timing as good as anybody they’d ever worked with.

During a show retrospective, Pat Priest mentioned De Carlo’s style, how she’d use her hands to make Lily unique and her own. I didn’t realize how much that had to do with my enjoyment of the character until I heard Priest say the words. I rewatched a few episodes and sure enough Yvonne’s dance training is evident in every movement including the expressive hand gestures. Lily Munster is stylish and glamorous despite her 100-plus years and despite spending the day doing the cooking and cleaning. Or rather, uncleaning since she has to add cobwebs and dust instead of removing them. Every day when Herman gets home from work the house is in disorder and he’s welcomed with a warm embrace. Lily also manages to keep the romantic fires burning in her marriage as well as she and Herman are as much in love as the first day they met – right after he was created, I believe. When Lily strokes Herman’s cheeks and whispers, “you know, they just don’t make men like you anymore” you know she means it. But this woman is no pushover. When the occasion calls for it Lily is also the disciplinarian who keeps the peace between Herman and Grandpa who are prone to act like petulant children on occasion. As a mother she’s tops too. Donna Reed and June Cleaver have absolutely nothing on her.

All of that is believable thanks to De Carlo’s talent, which allowed for playing the instances of broad comedy and the warm moments with serious intent and gusto. From the original show opening, which features Lily at the entrance of the family home seeing every off for the day, Yvonne sets the tone and grounds the series.

The popularity of The Munsters hit the stratosphere almost immediately after its release. Universal took full advantage by producing everything from lunch boxes to puppets to models with the character’s images on them. There was The Official Munsters Magazine, an official Munsters Comic Book series and anything else you could think of. The Munsters were everywhere and the actors were sent on publicity tours all over the country. Yvonne De Carlo loved the renewed attention, “It meant security. It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It made me “hot” again, which I wasn’t for a while.” She also enjoyed walking around the Universal lot in full Lily make-up, which took a painstaking three hours a day and included a 20-plus pound wig.

It’s hard to believe The Munsters only lasted two seasons, its popularity waned as quickly as it had spiked. In order to try to revitalize interest Universal hired the same cast, with the exception of Pat Priest who was replaced by Debbie Watson, for a feature titled Munster, Go Home! in 1966. The movie, which represents the first time the Munsters appear in color, was not a box-office success and signaled the apparent end of the beloved family, but Gwynn, Lewis and De Carlo were summoned once again for a TV movie, The Munsters’ Revenge in 1981. While it was fun to revisit with the Munsters at that point, both movies failed to capture the charm of the original series.

I think The Munsters touched so many people, kids especially, because the actors played them seriously, as if they really were a regular family. In fact, the show’s comedy stemmed from the them thinking they were normal people and regular neighbors. The fact that they are monsters and the comedy that resulted from that are almost incidental. That is, as far as most of the storylines are concerned. I believe it was the ability of Gwynn and De Carlo (in particular) to find the right balance between heart and parody that makes The Munsters fresh and enjoyable today, decades and several generations after its initial broadcast.

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  Yvonne continued to work in movies and television through 1995. She never reached the same popularity as The Munsters in either medium, but she had a stage triumph in 1971 wowing audiences and critics as Carlotta Campion in Stephen Sondheim‘s Follies. Yvonne belted out Sondheim’s show-stopping number, “I’m Still Here,” which became not only her anthem, but that of numerous aging super stars through the years. The memorable number was written specifically for Yvonne De Carlo by Stephen Sondheim, which in itself speaks volumes about her singing talent.

In Follies

Yvonne De Carlo died on January 8, 2007 at the age of 84. As I looked back through her life and career for this tribute the one thing that kept coming to mind was guts. She was a gutsy lady, a fighter who, like a few other Hollywood greats who started their trek toward stardom early, had several lives worth of responsibility on her shoulders. Yet, she persevered. Yvonne De Carlo will always be remembered first and foremost as Lily Munster, which is ok in my book, but she was also a movie star and she fit both roles perfectly. As a result Yvonne left behind many memorable moments on film and on television – and millions of devoted fans.

“Particularly I loved Yvonne De Carlo – she was my favorite actress. I used to dream I was Yvonne De Carlo.” – Sophia Loren

Yvonne De Carlo, The Movie Star Munster When the Harvard educated, classically trained stage actor Fred Gwynne heard that Yvonne De Carlo was to be his co-star in 

[historyhermann]

Futurama Season 8 Part One Spoiler-Filled Review

Futurama is a mature animated sitcom with elements from the sci-fi and comedy drama genres. The original series aired from 1999 to 2003, then 2008 to 2013. Matt Groening created this series, like The Simpsons and Disenchantment. He developed it with David X. Cohen. Both were executive producers along with Ken Keeler and Claudia Katz.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the fifty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on November 9, 2023. By this article, I've surpassed how many reviews I wrote for The Geekiary (52 posts), meaning I have written more for PCM than The Geekiary!

Part One of Futurama's eighth production season (and eleventh broadcast season) is a Hulu revival. It focuses on a crew of six misfits who work for Planet Express, a package delivery company. Turanga Leela (voiced by Katey Segal) pilots the Planet Express Ship. In a continuation from the Season 7 finale, she is the girlfriend of Philip J. Fry (voiced by Billy West), a man cryogenically frozen for 1,000 years before arriving in January 2999. They are joined by a foul, impertinent, alcoholic, smoking, and egocentric robot named Bender Bending Rodriguez (voiced by John DiMaggio), or Bender for short, the staff physician and lobster-like extraterrestrial John A. Zoidberg (voiced by West), and long-term accident-prone and ditzy intern Amy Wong (voiced by Lauren Tom). Other protagonists include company founder Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (voiced by West) and company accountant/bureaucrat Hermes Conrad (voiced by Phil LaMarr).

Some characters play supporting roles. This includes Amy's partner, Kif Kroker (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), a lieutenant and assistant of Captain Zapp Brannigan on the Nimbus, a Democratic Order of Planets (DOOP) starship. Brannigan, like Fry and the Professor, is voiced by Billy West. He is a general with 25 stars, part of DOOP, and has feelings for Leela. There's also a highly intelligent animal, who often acts cute and innocent, named Lord Nibbler (voiced by Frank Welker), the rough janitor Scruffy (voiced by David Herman), and an aggressive corporate CEO named Carol "Mom" Miller (voiced by Tress MacNeille). She heads a mega-conglomerate known as MomCorp, which monopolizes robot production. She has three sons (Walt, Larry and Igner), and previous romantic relationships with the Professor and his nemesis, Dr. Ogden Wernstrom (voiced by Herman).

The first episode begins by re-introducing viewers to Futurama's characters. Bender cheers return of Leela, Fry, and their friends. The series takes place in 3023. Fry believes he has "achieved nothing" for his 23 years in the future. After taking Leela's advice, he pledges to watch every show ever made. He does this even after Bender warns him about the terrible TV content out there. There are also jokes on actual show names in blink-and-you-miss-it moments. Fry subscribes to the fourth-biggest streaming service in the world, known as Fulu, a play off Hulu.

The episode has social commentary about the binge model: Fry wears goggles which drill directly into your brain. Such devices allow a user to watch all the episodes in one continuous stretch but you must sit perfectly still in an all-encompassing metal suit. In the real world, binging a series can lead to regret, depending on whether viewers plan binging ahead of time. It can contribute to people feeling like they are "bored" unless they binge shows. In the case of this episode, Fry stays in a chair, sitting perfectly still for months without any breaks. His mind is soon overpowered by binging. He loses touch with reality.

In a plot line which echoes the goals of the recently concluded WGA strike, and ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Fry's friends convince the robot bosses of Fulu to reboot All My Circuits. They produce episodes as fast as they can, so that Fry doesn't die. To make matters worse, Fry watches the episodes at double-speed. The writers can't keep up with the fast script production. Bender declares that "any idiot can be a TV writer," beginning to write scripts himself. This episode makes clear how writers are so stressed/crunched in the current entertainment industry. The writers collapse from exhaustion during the episode.

The episode ends with the reality of the entertainment industry: executives give constructive notes, say the show isn't working, cancel it, and declare "you will always been an important part of the Fulu family." The episode undoubtedly comments on how TV shows work and ravenous corporate executives. I the past year, Ridley Jones, Inside Job, Dead End: Paranormal Park, and Human Resources were cancelled by Netflix, while The Owl House and Archer ended. For Fry, his friends attempt to shift his focus from the streaming world back to the real world. This plan is unsuccessful, as there is a huge explosion, and they believe he is dead. In reality, he had left the suit two days before, so he could catch up on reading.

Fry admits he stopped watching All My Circuits because the show quality decreased in the last couple of episodes (because Bender wrote them). In another timely moment, there is a mock presidential summit on the dangers of streaming television. Fry declares that shows should not be rebooted without quality. He states that viewers must binge responsibly, streaming no more than 10 episodes in a row. He adds that a TV show must be cancelled every few years if it cares about its audience. This episode is an effective way to begin the series. Even so, it is more dramatic than funny, with some comedic moments.

The next two episodes focus on entirely different subjects. One talks about definition of motherhood, noting that Amy is the smizmar of Kif Kroker and mother of their child even though she contributed no DNA, unlike Scruffy, Kiff, and Leela. Another is on the nose when it comes to social commentary about the cryptocurrency boom and Bitcoin. In that episode, Leela calls the latter a "pyramid scheme for rubes," after the Professor reveals that Planet Express went bankrupt because he invested in it. What follows is an episode spoofing the Gold Rush. The characters go out West, hoping to strike it rich, traveling to a town where all the electricity goes to Bitcoin mining computers, with everything else resembling the Old West.

If that isn't enough, everyone has a Wild West-flair. Roberto has a knife-shooter gun. Leela becomes a barmaid/sex worker. Fry meets a man made of borax (Borax Kid). Zoidberg becomes the town doctor. Dwight tries to team up with Roberto to rob a stagecoach (and take a USB stick). Bender kills a donkey by accident. In one of episode's, best jokes, they use Bender's "shiny metal ass" to sift through river stones. Amy complains there is very little Thalium and just "worthless gold."

The episode ends with their confrontation at the Bitcoin mine. The saloonkeeper, Delilah (voiced by MacNeille), is using robot heads to calculate numbers. She defends her action, says that all the money earned is donated to an orphanage. In the end, she gets away with it, even putting three heads of the robot mafia into "the mine." Even so, the Borax Kid is punished for copying public domain stories almost word-for-word and changing a few words himself, so he could get the glory. This story ends with a classic so-called "Mexican standoff": everyone fired guns at each other, and the characters shown from multiple angles. The episode closes with everyone walking off into the sunset together, a good ending for the main cast.

The fourth episode is one of the best in this series revival. The beginning, which centers on worms attacking Nibbler's brain, seems to be on par with usual shenanigans in other episodes. This changes when the crew are transported in a toy tank, inside of Nibbler's litter box. They come across dung beetles and magic psychedelic dust. In a clear parody of Dune, the beetles lead them through the sand to find the worms, setting off a pounder (like a thumper) to attract the sandworm. In a callback to the original series, these worms are the same ones that once made Fry smarter. This goes even further: Nibbler claims to be "the messiah." He declares that everything is interconnected and should stay as it is, undisturbed.

As a result, Leela becomes despondent. She even surrounds herself in pure uncut magical sand. It helps her see how everything is interconnected. It is revealed that smaller parasites are weakening the worms. They put aside the whole "everything is connected" mantra to stomp out the smaller parasites, saying a line must be drawn somewhere. This is akin to characters discussing eating good "meat" in a 2000 Futurama episode, entitled "The Problem with Popplers." Later, Nibbler talks to his fellow intelligent beings about how Leela's bravery and loyalty allowed his previous consciousness to be restored.

More than other episodes, this is the most inventive, even featuring a character chewing on a Bart Simpson doll. As Jean wrote in a review on this very website, Dune, based on the well-known novel by Frank Herbert, can have a twisted timeline, dense plot, and have a wide scope and scale. It is, more than anything, a sci-fi epic, centering on the desert planet of Arrakis, with the resource of spice sought after by all. Even with its sweeping visuals, make-up, and CGI, there is exposition over the top. Characters are often referenced by their full names rather than abbreviations. The film is relatively long. Some of this energy comes through in this Futurama spoof, which is a sci-fi series quite different from Dune or Release the Spyce.

The fifth episode has extreme relevance when it comes to corporate conglomerates which dominate the economic landscape. Mom is the epitome of this, with her Momazon service, a play off Amazon, which runs a "fulfillment center" on the Moon. Some people resist these efforts, saying that her warehouse is polluting the Moon. She buys everyone off with speech recognition software known as Invasa, her version of Alexa. The way that the warehouse functions echoes criticism of Amazon for avoiding taxes, toxic work culture, and mass data collection from consumers. These workplaces take the conditions of the real-life equivalent a step further. They are fully automated by non-union robot workers who endure the conditions 24 hours, 7 days a week. When Mom is challenged by Leela, saying the robots are engaged in forced labor, she says the workers enjoy the work.

Not everything is happy: Bender, after quitting Planet Express, is forced to work at the plant. He even sends a package with a warning so his friends will save him. To make matters worse, the "wonderful" artificial intelligence (A.I)., turns against Mom, going rogue, and it ends up taking over the entire universe. As such, they can order what they want from Momazon with quick deliveries, which is supported by abysmal labor conditions. There are many Futurama callbacks, like the destruction of the Apollo lander, the man with a hat declaring "The Moon Will Rise Again," and the return of Al Gore's floating head. Bender ends up back in the same apartment with Fry and Leela, and is fine being the third wheel, rather than working in a warehouse.

This episode is not unique in criticizing A.I. Take Light Hope in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, who tries to activate a planet-destroying weapon to annihilate the universe, and attempts to exploit Adora (as She-Ra) to accomplish that end, or Lunella's A.I., Skipster, in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which skips important parts of her life that she found "boring." Also consider Cyrano in Cleopatra in Space, an A.I. created by series villain Octavian who tries to control a protagonist, and a paranoid A.I. scared of ghosts, the godlike A.I. depicted in The Orbital Children, or malevolent A.I. in Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Moon Girl has a living/A.I. supercomputer named LOS-307. An A.I. named T.O.M.I. (Technical Operations Management Interface) is in Supa Team 4. A ship navigator named KRS is in My Dad the Bounty Hunter. The worst example of A.I. is in the first, and second (to a lesser extent) of idolish music series Kizuna no Allele. That series had a pro-NFT segment and almost encourages creation of anime by A.I. This Futurama episode leans toward criticism in Cleopatra in Space, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Moon Girl, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and The Orbital Children, and away from other depictions. The episode acknowledges prevalence of A.I., as Carole & Tuesday does, with a music producer named Tao using advanced A.I. to ensure performers are profitable. It hints at danger of relying on A.I., which relies upon models trained by extremely low-paid workers.

Other episodes are callbacks or more relevant now than they would be even five years from now. One is an X-Mas themed episode featuring efforts to stop murderous Robot Santa with a time travel machine. Another parodies the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This involves quarantines, masks worn on ears, people working remotely, and conspiracy theories on Facebag (the version of Facebook in this world). The latter is enhanced by competition between the Professor and his sworn nemesis, Wornstrom. The Professor gives people a flimsy paper card (a dig at COVID-19 paper cards) and 3D chips inside of a vaccine to track it. The episode ends when everyone gets a vaccine using voodoo practices, likely a reference to Louisiana Voodoo rather than Trinidadian Vodunu or similar syncretic religious practices in the African diaspora. The episode ends with the statement that any sufficiently advanced magic is distinguishable from science.

This Futurama episode was one of the more hilarious ones. It echoed a "missing" Cleopatra in Space episode about protagonist Cleo facing the consequences of avoiding quarantine, and the August 2011 Futurama episode "Cold Warriors." The former includes Cleo realizing, after she infects the entire campus (but is a carrier), the importance of quarantine. At the episode's end, she enters quarantine as she presumably has common cold, and declares “quarantine stinks!” The Futurama episode is different because it parodies the oft remote work and hints at delays from the virus.

The eighth episode is just as strong. Zapp is brought before a DOOP disciplinary hearing after an egregious incident with Kiff. It is declared that he is "cancelled." DOOP strips him of his title and states that he must undergo mandatory sensitivity training. The episode centers on "cancel culture," known as consequence culture. It has been covered poorly in some media and better elsewhere. In this episode, Leela becomes captain of the Nimbus. Fry and Bender join her as first officers. The sensitive training class teacher, Dr. Kind (voiced by DiMaggio), is abusive, and DOOP's worse groper.

While Zapp apologizes to those he harmed and Leela gets a medal of valor, there's a lot more going on. There are sequences which resemble Star Trek films, part of an all-around parody of Star Trek itself, including about the Prime Directive. Leela, Fry, Bender, and others come down to the planet in a bucket, making the residents of Tacila believe they are not advanced. Their society has sophisticated machinery running on pneumatic technology. This aligns with the original Futurama series where DOOP engaged in intensive mining operations and worry of Beckett Mariner in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 that Starfleet has become a fighting force involved in armed conflict. DOOP only wants a treaty with Tacila to acquire air rights.

This episode ends with Dr. Kind, almost ruining the air with a Durian. At the last second, Bender (likely) orders the Nimbus to fire upon Dr. Kind, killing him. Later, Leela gets the aforementioned medal. She is discharged for not wanting to fire on innocent civilians. Everything returns to the status quo. Leela, Fry, and Bender return to Planet Express. Zapp goes back to DOOP. He doesn't care about civilian casualties if it "gets the job done." At the episode's end, the idea of consent is emphasized. Zoidberg sucks on Leela because of the Durian smell, and she thanks him for asking first.

Futurama's penultimate episode is a mixed bag. It includes some good moments poking fun at toy commercials, but is also dark with death, dismemberment (of cars), horrors of war, and the like. There is a strange plotline about a Space Prince (voiced by LaMarr), who Leela only loves because of a spell. Even so, there are good points about absurdity of religion (to an extent) and respecting ability of women to voice their opinions (although Bender doesn't support that view).

The final episode, for now, goes further, touching on the meaning of "life." The Professor creates a simulated universe, with copies in three-bit form. He declares that the simulation's beings are "nothing more than ones and zeroes" and aren't real. After he promises to Bender that the simulation won't be terminated, he changes his mind. He even finds an alternate power source to keep the universe functioning. Bender goes into this simulated world, wanting to tell them the truth (that the Professor made the world). He decides to not do so after that world's Fry, declares that it doesn't matter.

The episode closes with Bender returning to the real world. A solution to preserving the simulated world is presented: underclocking the processor. Although these beings realize the world is simulated, they care little about it. In many ways, this episode echoes the computer programs, known as "programs" in Tron: Uprising, but those depicted here are more basic.

Moving on, a largely-circulated spreadsheet in which people anonymously described their conditions in animation studios, does not mention The ULULU Company, previously known as The Curiosity Company, an animation studio and production company, that produced this series and Disenchantment. The company previously worked on the five Futurama films. Sadly, it isn't listed on Glassdoor. So, the company's conditions cannot be determined. Hopefully, people are being treated fairly and the work environment is productive.

The same spreadsheet had eight entries for Rough Draft Studios offices in Glendale and Burbank. These reviews were overwhelmingly negative, with anonymous entries saying there was overwork, disorganization, harsh treatment, and inflexible hours. These revealed an anti-union environment with unionbusting in Burbank. The same studio previously reached an agreement with Local 839 of the Animation Guild, which covered animated TV series and features at their studio in Glendale.

It is hard to know where the series will go from here. This is only part one of the eighth season. It has ten more episodes of its Hulu run, as part of the revival. Watching this revival is nostalgic. It was one of the first animated series I ever watched. I fondly remember episodes parodying Napster and homophobes opposing same-sex marriage, and visual jokes. Some episodes coined terms such as robosexuality, meaning love/sexuality between a robot and humanoid. The strong sci-fi themes stuck with me: the series premiere had the protagonist (Fry) time travel from 1999 to 2999. More than that, there was dimensional travel, voice actors such as Dawnn Lewis and Frank Welker, commentary on worker exploitation, heartfelt moments, advertising parodies, and storylines focusing on family history, roots, and connections.

Overall, the Futurama revival is different feel than the original. Even so, it differs from Final Space, and others like Disenchantment, and Steven Universe. The series is not fundamentally different than the original show. It is improved without few changes. For instance, there are no episodes about queer identity of main cast members or anything along those lines. In this way, it is like The Proud Family revival. Hopefully, the series continues to improve as it moves forward into Season 8 Part 2, and beyond. Futurama is currently streaming on Hulu, Apple TV+, and Disney+ (in some jurisdictions).

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[tiedyetravels]

Thoughts on #TheOrville, the new Seth MacFarlane vehicle on FOX: World-building ain’t an overnight thing.

I'll be completely honest with you. I was set up not to like this new Trekian-style outing from the creator of Family Guy. But as a lifelong Trekker, I can see this experiment as something more than a fanboy's fantastic dream. Past the cold open (I should have expected an ejaculation joke from the creator, but it still seemed gratuitous), I was immediately taken in with gorgeous visuals. The lush 25th Century city scenes with gleaming buildingsand "modern" furnishings served as a pretty stern acknowledgement of a Roddenberry-esqua perfect, Starfleet-ish universe as opposed to Star Wars and its beaten up retro-vision. I found myself actually curious about how this world was going to be built. I pretty much expected the human-centric vision we get, but I was really hoping for more aliens. Because, well, aliens. Still, it wasn't hard to see where MacFarlane is going with this. The very act of setting this in a gorgeous utopian 25th Century opens up the possibility that indeed, this is a Star Trek possibility. The last we see of the prime-timeline Star Trek universe is, after all, a world where the Dominion War has ended, Kathryn Janeway's an Admiral and Picard's contemplating a Riker-less Enterprise with a Data expy - in 2379. The Union here could very well be another iteration of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets - after all, in our lifetimes we've seen the progress from eight track tapes to the smart phone. Anything's possible. Inclusion of such familiar Star Trek faces as Kassidy Yates- er, I mean, Penny Johnson Jerald and Bashir's dad, I mean, the deliciously hammy Brian George, can be jarring at times. It's almost like MacFarlane is trying a bit too hard to shout "hey, we're really Star Trek here," which would honestly be the easiest way out. This would work well if this was a real Star Trek parody. But it's not. While I completely get what MacFarlane is trying to do, he's going to have to decide early on what sort of world he's going to build. Most of the folks who are coming to this new FOX show are either longtime Trek fans or devotees to Family Guy and its successors - and neither are going to be pleased unless he gets busy creating a distinct and separate world for these new characters to interact with. What excites me is the possibility that MacFarlane's taking a third path. I don't feel like this is Family Guy in Space, and I'm hoping the Star Trek homages are just that - homages that will lure viewers in to sample the show. No, my hopes are that this craft is flying different waters, a true spiritual successor to Galaxy Quest, the beloved film that really deserved to become the start of a television program in its own - military sci-fi in its own world that doesn't take itself too seriously. The passing of Adam Rickman kiboshed any hope of a sequel - but maybe this is it. After all, so much of Lieutenant Bortus seemed a Dr. Lazarus homage. This is where I say something inane and weird that few might get. Prepare yourself. This first viewing for me was better than Broken Bow, the pilot for Enterprise, our last Star Trek series before the upcoming Discovery. I was never bored with it, never felt frustrated by any of the portrayals (cold, blue, squirty open aside) and certainly never bored with the pacing. I found myself far more interested in the ship design and the interplay between navigator John LaMarr and helmsman Gordon Malloy than I did in ENT' poorly timed and named Suliban (bless their hearts, they couldn't help September 11th and the War on Terror beginning the week of the original premiere). I'm already intrigued how The Union is organized - is it the UFP or Starfleet, or both? - and I'm curious to see if we'll get meatier missions right away or if The Orville will amble along exploring inter-personal relationships over time. That - that's the trap The Orville faces, the one Star Trek Discovery automatically gets a pass on. There is no Orville-verse beyond what we've seen so far. There's no handbook or idea set or automatic plug-in villains with their own language dictionary on the shelves ready to go for this. It's all brand spanking new. Other shows have done this these past few decades with memorable success (Firefly and Farscape come to mind) but neither of these are so suggestively a fanwank as The Orville. It's going to be imperative for MacFarlane's narrative to quickly showcase differences and define his new Orvilleverse or to acknowledge he's really just trying to take traditional Star Trek into the 25th century if the show is to succeed. This is why I wish the show had begun with an extended pilot. You can't really build a universe like this in an hour. I need more. I feel The Orville missed a grand opportunity in this information age - where a lot of this worldbuilding could have been set up online (an interactive experience website would have been incredible). I understand FOX's turdy experience with sci-fi programs and suspect the lack of courage in devoting resources to creating such an experience, but it would have salved over a lot of the raw, itching expectations that have yet to be satisfied. The crew of The Orville did leave me with one impression. They're pretty real. Back in the Voyager years Lieutenant Tom Paris was promoted as some bad boy banned from space, allowed out to ride on a ship for the sake of a single Maquis-based mission, who got shoe-horned in to piloting when enough crew was killed to justify the opportunity. I'd have loved to see a little more Gordon Malloy in his portrayal. Malloy feels like the delinquent Paris was proclaimed to be. Outside of Deep Space Nine's marvelously flawed thrown-together family, Trek has never really successfully portrayed people I would expect to meet on my daily adventures. But I've known plenty of LaMarrs and Graysons and Dr. Flinns in my life. Well, that's my rambly four in the morning impression of The Orville. Let's see where she goes.