#I was not expecting my quantum leap rant to be so long | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

goodoneguys · 2 years ago

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Now that mid ‘80s to early aughts television is coming back in style (ie. Fuller House, That 90s Show, Quantum Leap, How I Met Your Father, Frasier, iCarly, and Night Court) there are a few things I want to talk about.

One:

The new Night Court airs in a week and I couldn’t be more excited. There are only a couple things I want for the show; I want Abby (Harry’s daughter for those who didn’t know), to wear glasses (sometimes) like Harry, know at least some basic card tricks/slight of hand, either absolutely love or absolutely despise Mel Tormé (there shall be no in between) and last but not least, she has the big gavel. Gonna be honest, if at least one of those things happens, I’ll be satisfied, I wouldn’t even care if they didn’t tell us who the mother is. We know it’s not Christine.

Two:

I have a lot of issues with the new Quantum Leap, even though it’s hard for me to be mad at the show because it’s created by the same person (Bellisario). While I don’t mind the show being modernized for a modern audience, I could care less about the people who actually work at Project Quantum Leap, other than Sam and the observer (Al). The original series followed the “[x] of the week” format, meaning that each week would be a new thing to fight/problem to solve, with last week’s episode rarely ever mentioned, unless it is significant to the plot or there is a overarching plot (ie. X-Files). Half of each episode is taken up by this overarching season plot. I want to see the leap, not the people behind it. The new series tries to be a new show and season six at the same time and it’s giving me whiplash going back and forth between the two. I understand how a overarching plot would be necessary to explain why there is a new leaper. But I don’t care that there is a new leaper. This makes the show difficult to watch on both ends. As a returning fan, I want to see a man in new situations not knowing what to do with the help of a zany guide. As a new viewer, all of this non-leaping content is confusing/annoying to me because non of this was in the original. And as a new viewer, I do not want to have to watch five seasons of something else to understand what is going on. It would have been much better off if it wasn’t a revival. The original series premiere was a two hour pilot, TWO HOURS. I wanted two hours with the revival. Instead, I got exposition galore with hardly any leap action. When they went on their mid season break I assumed that there were talks of cancellation. Unless they can redeem themselves and finish the overarching plot by the end of season one, I do not care if it gets cancelled. I don’t think NBC had high hopes for it in the first place since the original series jumped from Sunday, to Friday, to Wednesday, and back to Friday during the first four seasons, with the fifth and final season airing at the coveted Tuesday night slot at 8 p.m. and the revival airs on Monday. One last thing, I absolutely HATE how Ben and I-can’t-be-bothered-to-remember-her-name are engaged. To quote Gordon Ramsay, fucking disgusting. If you wanted to have a romantic relationship between the leaper and the observer, have them fall in love over the course of the leaps. That would have been a better overarching plot than whatever they got going on with Al’s daughter. Or just make them best fucking friends that are inseparable, like Sam and Al. Oh, and one more last thing, WHERE IS SAMANTHA JO FULLER??? She wouldn’t have just quit, so where is she? Also the new set design is ugly.

Three:

Speaking of a two hour pilot. Night Court is getting a one hour pilot. ONE HOUR, THE HALF HOUR SITCOM IS GETTING A HOUR PILOT WHILE THE HOUR DRAMEDY GOT A SAD LITTLE HOUR PLOT THAT SOMEHOW TOLD US EVERYTHING AND NOTHING AT THE SAME TIME. Why the new Quantum Leap didn’t have a two hour pilot to get all of the exposition out of the way is a question I’ll never be able to answer. Quantum Leap and Night Court are airing in the same network season, as well as their originals. They even aired on the same nights sometimes. Tuesday and the same night as well. I’m really close to spreadsheet territory, so I’ll be brief. NBC has higher expectations for Night Court than Quantum Leap, which you can see just by their scheduling. I don’t think having Quantum Leap air before America’s Got Talent is helping ratings much.

Four:

I was gonna have a “in conclusion here” but I don’t know what else I can say, other than reboot era is upon us and I’m here for it. Both Night Court (NBC) and That 90s Show (Netflix) air next week and you should definitely watch them, and please do let me know your thoughts on both.

I know more about Night Court than That 70s Show, but if somehow all of the advertisements have missed you, I’ll sum them up for you and where the new series starts off.

Night Court

At the start of the show, main character, Harold T. “Harry” Stone is appointed municipal court judge. He is described as an “oddball judge” as being one to pull pranks and preform magic tricks in and out of the courtroom. The series follows him and his ever changing cast of court members, with Bull Shannon and Dan Fielding being the only other two characters who stayed for the entire run of the show. Dan Fielding grew up a farm boy and became a womanizer and would do anything to make a quick buck. The new series follows Abby Stone, the daughter of Harry, following her father’s footsteps and becoming a municipal court judge. Dan Fielding is back in the courtroom as well, but this time instead of a district attorney, he is a public defender. It is unclear if he is still a womanizer or if he has settled down at all.

That 70s Show

The series starts off in Wisconsin in the 70s. It shows the lives of teens trying to make their way in the ever changing world. The main character is Eric Forman, a nerdy teen who is in love with the girl next door, Donna Pinciotti. Eric and Donna date for most of he show but break up towards the end. Eric is absent for most of the eighth and final season because he went off to teach in Africa. He comes back at the end and he and Donna rekindle their relationship. We’re now in 1990s Wisconsin and the daughter of Eric and Donna, Leia, is spending the summer at her grandparents. The new series will follow her and her friends attempts to make it through love and life.

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nightcrawlerzincorporated · 2 years ago

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i have some more bc now i’m curious about your mysterious least favorite and also i’m enjoying your analyses :)

the gang turns black, charlie has cancer (for the mac/carmen plot line), a lot of charlie gets crippled, the gang gives back, sweet dee’s dating a r person (love the rock band storyline tho), thundergun express

it’s hard for me to say i dislike episodes entirely bc there are always parts i like but yeah as a whole i would say these are in my bottom 20

The Gang Turns Black: disagree. I was shocked to learn this one was so hated honestly. I love musical episodes, and I think all their singing is perfectly fine (I don’t know why people say they sound bad??) and the songs are mostly funny and catchy. And I know people think the Quantum Leap thing is stupid but I like it. I like the idea that the gang are so racist it would take a literal magical scenario for them to learn how to be better. I like that the final message of the episode is the reality of systemic racism and police brutality, but I get that’s heavy for a sunny episode and some people find it tactless and I understand completely if anyone feels that way.

Charlie Has Cancer: agree. Honestly I’ve seen this episode so few times specifically because of that plot line. But because I’ve seen it so few times I barely remember it and so don’t have a big rant prepared. But my biggest take away is—it’s one thing to show the characters being transphobic, because they’re horrible people that’s just what the show is, but when the camera is transphobic that’s just the writers thinking the idea of a trans woman having a penis is funny and expecting the audience to find it funny too. Awful. Honestly maybe this one is my least favorite I’ve just seen it so few times and so long ago it’s hard to even remember for me. I don’t even remember the Charlie plot at all or what Dee was doing if anything.

Charlie Gets Crippled: I think agree depending on what you mean by “a lot of”. The stuff about being in a wheelchair getting them free strippers is stupid and based on the false idea that life is somehow easier for disabled people because of pity (wrong and bad). And pretending to be disabled to get attention does make sense for the characters to think of and again it’d be one thing for the characters to be proven wrong but the episode plays it like they’re right and being disabled does get you adoration which uh. If you’ve ever actually been in public with an assistance device you know how wrong that is. But I like the Dennis and Dee stuff and of course our dear friend Mr Tibbs (RIP). I love the opening where Dennis runs Charlie over in his haste to flee from his shitty dad. I love that Frank is introduced as being “manically depressed” for most of his life—it’s a good way to set up the way he acts throughout the rest of the show. But yeah a lot of bad with the good. I don’t watch it often.

The Gang Gives Back: disagree! I love this episode! The gang are so horrible I think there’s a lot of humor in pairing them up with kids (also why I love Frank Reynolds’ Little Beauties). I love Mac and Dee competing to be head coach and I love the horrible dangerous things they tell the kids to do. I love that Frank “trying to bond” with Dennis turns out to be a ruse for Frank’s gambling, something Dennis doesn’t at all seem surprised by, which says so much about Dennis and Dee’s childhood without even directly mentioning it. I even think Charlie using AA to flirt with The Waitress while she’s only interested in Dennis is funny. And it’s hilarious that Frank chastises Dennis for sleeping with The Waitress when he knew Charlie likes her when Frank did literally the exact same thing lol. Just a very funny one for me I think all the character dynamic are really good and the kids are funny.

Sweet Dee’s Dating a: Agree! You found my least favorite episode! Congratulations! I hate it so much even the band parts and Dennis’ slutty little outfit don’t save it for me, which trust me is saying a lot about how bad the rest of the episode is. It’s just. Ugh. Similar issue as the others where it’s one thing for the characters to be ableist, but the narrative itself is ableist too. And it’s not even funny like. Even the band parts aren’t funny beyond their outfits to me. Yeah the scene of Dennis helping Charlie when he’s upset is cute but even that doesn’t save it for me. It’s hard for me to even think about this episode without my blood pressure rising. It’s both boring and offensive! Worst combo. I’ve watched this one as few times as I’ve watch Charlie has Cancer but this one sticks in my mind more in a bad way which is why I say it’s worse for me but who knows maybe if I rewatched both I’d feel differently. But I don’t want to lol.

Thundergun Express: disagree. This one’s another really funny one to me. The whole “we’ll come back for youuuuu” running gag is great to me every time, I love Frank’s awful boat tour where he just rambles about his chaotic life, I love that they’re all so excited for the dong, I love Mac stealing a motorcycle, failing to drive it, and abandoning it in the middle of the street, I love the sewer (yeah, that’s shit in my hair) and I think Frank calling in a bomb threat because he’s so upset he didn’t make it is a fantastic ending. Dennis’ plot is pretty weak but that’s my only criticism, the rest makes me laugh and there’s a lot of great quotable lines from this one.

#least favorite sunny ep opinions #the gang turns black #Charlie has cancer #Charlie gets crippled #the gang gives back #sweet Dee’s dating a #thundergun express #emodennis

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cruzrogue · 5 years ago

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Quantum Leap

#Fictober19 @fictober-event

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for fanfiction:

Prompt number: 16 “Listen. No, really listen.”

Fandom (AU if applicable): #arrow fanfiction #olicity

Rating:PG

Warnings/Tags: Future/Past Time travel (Different Earth)

Summary: Felicity leaves with the Monitor but not everything is as it seems she is being used on a quest just like her husband. Instead of entering this quest in 2019 like Oliver Queen she’s entering it in 2040. Somehow different points of entry into alternate earths are needed. Her life has become like the show: Quantum Leap.

Added prompt: Can you imagine this scenario: Goth Felicity in a coffee shop, working on her laptop, while overhearing some girls' conversation at a nearby table. LL is one of them and she is talking about how Ollie would stop cheating on her once they get married. And the other girls around the table agreeing to the crap L is trying to sell them and herself. I can see and hear Felicity's snort from here. Perhaps L needed a reality check, a wake up call from a take no shit Felicity, and perhaps whatever Felicity says would penetrate.

Notes:If you’ve seen Quantum Leap this is loosely based on it because I watched it religiously like so many other sci-fi/action shows back in the day. I’m using what I can recall.

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Quantum Leap on A03

Felicity is not to happy. When she called upon the Monitor to see her husband after twenty years it was time to keep her promise to Oliver. Not land it pivotal points in her history. She doesn’t even understand why she back to her college days. Is she supposed to keep Cooper from doing the stupidest thing ever and getting arrested? Its months till she meets him so what is the purpose of coming to this particular time frame?

She must say though that it’s kind of cool to see herself in Goth attire not like that drugged up version of herself when she hallucinated that wasn’t the best version of her at all.

“I guess if I’m stuck in the past and I’m supposed to change something or another, frickin’ if I’m going to play Sam in all this time world travels, Dr. Sam Beckett needs his Admiral Al Calavicci, so I can Quantum Leap out of this mess.” Unfortunately for her there is no The Observer to be her holographic adviser. At least she is in her own body.

She than mimics the Monitor, “Where I’m taking you there is no return.” Rolling her eyes, “No shit! We just going to Quantum Leap my ass to help balance things out.” She sighs loudly as she needs to add one more dig to all this, “I’m the frickin’ one who doesn’t wear a mask and I’m supposed to what? Diddle dandle the situation like Macgyver? Who does he think I am?” After finishing her little rant, she can almost feel like this whole scene was just witnessed and man if that is true, she just puts up her middle finger to add insult to injury. Not like the Monitor has any sense of humor but sticking it to him makes her feel somewhat better even if its fleeting because she is stuck in the past in whatever Earth number it is.

Heading to her dorm she remembers how much her roommate stunk up the room with the weirdest homeopathic aromas. Wouldn’t be so bad if the girl picked a scent and committed to it. Entering her room, she greets the roommate and heads to grab her laptop. There is this newish coffee shop a few blocks south and well-being anywhere but here sounds like a good idea.

Of course, being a mix of her old self physically and being the older wiser woman, she becomes mentally she feels a little free. All that growing pains and self-doubts are gone. She can sigh a breath of relief in that at least. She could waltz down any particular street and sing ‘I’m off to see the Wizard’ and having people look at her weirdly be like ‘yea what are you looking at? Never seen a girl sing off key before?’ Hence, she decides to do just that as she’s crossing a busy street.

“We're off to see the Wizard The wonderful Wizard of Oz

Because, because, because, Because of the wonderful things he does We're off to see the Wizard The wonderful Wizard of Oz”

What she doesn’t expect is the city may have some loons because a few people join her unexpectedly. What starts off as just being an idiotic move becomes a full-length sing-along and she’s laughing hysterically but by the time she reaches the coffee shop she back to her non-singing jolly self.

Finding a comfortable place to at least check on everything that matters to her by using the convenience of the internet. At least the programing is the same so surfing is her game as she submerges herself into all that is technology.

All is well for many hours, plenty of coffee and sugar to fill her hearts content. She even picks a salad with the right amounts of protein just because she can hear the little Oliver cherub on her shoulder telling her to eat right. It takes a voice to break her from her concentration. It’s not the voice itself that got her too glance around the cutesy coffee shop. It’s the specific laugh of denial that she’s heard from a certain woman before but just as soon as the alternate version of her made its way into her life.

She wishes she wasn’t privy to hearing they’re conversation but as Laurel starts to talk about Oliver she just can’t walk away. Those three women may now have her undivided attention. It may be a train wreck waiting to happen because sometimes TMI is a real thing. She doesn’t need to know their sex life because that would just be creepy. Not that Laurel didn’t share what she thought Oliver would love from her. It still gives her shivers thinking about those few conversations she couldn’t get out fast enough. Luckily it was a one-time Sara Lance intervention session that helped Felicity never hear another Ollie liked this or that conversation. She made sure to thank Sara very well for that sweet deed.

“Ollie, eventually will find himself and he’ll take his father’s company by the horns. When he does, he’ll have me proudly supporting him. No one supports him like I do.”

“Laurel, aren’t you two on a break now?”

“These breaks are just to rejuvenate our longing. He’ll miss me and I always get what I want. There is this gorgeous pair of earrings I hinted to him that would look so nice with the necklace he gave me last time.”

“He loves to shower you with gifts.”

“Well I did mention to him that showing such gifts is important to show relevance in a relationship status within his peers.”

“Smart, this way he knows no other men will try to steal you away. He’d be crushed.”

“It would only serve him right. Though Ollie would settle down after marriage. It would only take the right woman.”

“Of course.”

Laurel lightly chuckles as she features her hand to her chest in a whimsical manner, “I am the only woman for him. No one knows him as well as I do. He knows his discretions are easily forgiven.”

“A tit-for-tat?”

“If he knows what’s good for him. I’d be the devoting wife, the part I was born to play.”

“But he has cheated on you regularly.”

“Ollie will surely stop cheating once we are married.”

“Well you two would make a lovely pair.”

“Thank you. You are so right. The boy is mine and I don’t even have to try. Though I am planning that once we are both back in Starling, I’ll slip some lame story about some of our friendly couples having moved in together.”

“Smart! Right?”

That gets Felicity to snort. She does it so loud that she gets their attention. Oh no she went from casual observer to now a participate and she doesn’t know what to feel. Maybe they’ll ignore her and continue with the most asinine conversation. Is this the Laurel she never met? Because she is not the wannabe strong girl she tried to project. She really is coming off a petty gold-digging princess.

When the three go back and act like nothing happened it not until the next doozy that has Felicity snort and try to hold her laughter. It’s a if she understands now why she is here. She still mumbles to herself, “This is not something I want to do.”

At least her Goth appearance has them concerned in a way that says she’s is battle ready. She enters their conversation and asks, “What on this green covered earth makes you think a man who cheats on you holds you in any esteem?”

They’re answers so bland and vanilla that Felicity takes some pity on these three fools.

“You are seriously okay with being a second fiddle to your own story?”

Yet again answers so bland Felicity just shakes her head.

“And when he finally tires of you and sends you away with whatever prenup you’ve signed how will that fill your longest nights? Because where I am standing you happily giving up the best years of your life for a guy who has his secretary without a mere thought about it buy you the personal gifts while you need to call her to set up an appointment to schedule time with him.”

‘It wouldn’t be like that. Ollie is sweet and just the kind that needs those friendly pushes. His mother told me that herself.”

Felicity lets out a dark laugh, “She’s okay with you being a doormat?” and Felicity takes a hard look at the other two woman who are egging her on. Her attention now solely on Laurel, “Listen. No, really listen.”

“It is the way of the world. You just don’t see it because your…” She waves her hand around Felicity’s Gothic look. “Unexperienced!”

“Is that so? Let me advise you that appearances can change. We also see what we want to. If you see yourself as a sell-by-date nearing expiration and just sell yourself short. You’ll deserve the short-comings because living with ourselves is a lifetime guarantee. The mirror yields for no one.”

“Ah!” Laurel just looks at this girl who budded into her conversation. Some of what she says scares her. She’s heard a similar version from her dad. Her friends are urging her to forget what this dark-dyed hair bimbo is saying. Laurel is the lucky one, she has a guy who’ll will figure his shit and go back with her because she’s been faithful to his lifestyle.

“It’s your call. You can respect yourself or be that obedient doormat to his parents and eventually husband. If he respected you. You wouldn’t need these pep talks by girls who really don’t give two quacks about you.” Felicity has said her peace if Laurel wants to continue on her scheduled way so be it. In the end it’s her choice.

Felicity says her regards and goes back to her spot to pack up its time to see if her roomie has left to her boyfriend’s place for the night. As she starts to head back home Laurel calls out to her. Oh, she forgot she introduced herself by first name only. They talk a bit more but the other girls who were some bad cheerleaders were still in the coffeeshop. Laurel seems to head some advice but to Felicity it is just too early and her words could be forgotten in a heartbeat.

Entering her place, she sees a newspaper left on the cover of her bed she just going to move it to her workstation when she sees the words dance upon the page. It is dated a future year but falling on the same day.

Judge Dinah Laurel Lance-and a last name she has never seen welcomes second daughter.

Felicity places her hand on her mouth in surprise, no… she didn’t help! Did she? Then she continues reading and she can’t believe those few minutes actually helped. Laurel’s first-born daughter is named Felicity, the newspaper saying it was after a girl she met years ago that got her to reevaluate her life choices. WoW!

Just like Sam Beckett she’s whisked away but not by falling asleep and waking up in a new reality. She is somehow guided to her new life. One step closer to Oliver.

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Can you believe 15 more prompts to go... The month is flying by!

#fictober19 #olicity #felicity smoak #oliver queen #quantum leap #arrow

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starcitizenprivateer · 7 years ago

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One Good Deed: Part One

“All right, Jess. I’m heading there now.” With a flick, Umar closed the comm channel. Break time over. Swinging his feet out of the bunk, a swarm of sandwich crumbs cascaded off his chest and onto the bed. He really should start eating at the table again. At least his bad habit of wearing his boots to bed made sense. After working for In-A-Fix Assistance for the past six years he had learned that comms for help always happen about five minutes into a nap.

Leaving the crew quarters, Umar performed a quick a visual inspection on the three BARD drones nestled into the mid-ship docking ports. Charged and not leaking? Check and check. Skipping over the empty fourth port, he gave his favorite drone, Spear, a traditional pat for luck before heading up to the bridge.

Umar adjusted his settings as he sat down in the pilot seat, transitioning the power he had routed to the shields for nap-time back to the engines. With a growl, the thrusters came back online. He keyed the coordinates Jess had sent over into his navigation, swung the Vulcan’s nose around and initiated quantum to the nearside of Cano’s asteroid belt.

Under two minutes, Umar noted as the light smears from the quantum field streaked past. Not too shabby of a response time. While you could always count on life’s ill fortune sending clients your way, providing good service was how you could convert a random refuel run into a potential repeat customer. Especially out in Cano where traffic was a bit sparse.

The ship slowed out of QT and Umar adjusted his flight path towards the beacon’s origin on the rim of the belt. After a few moments of navigating through the field, he spotted the client’s Reliant clinging near the underside of one of the asteroids. He might have missed it completely if he hadn’t had the beacon frequency. Its signature was low enough that the small craft almost blended seamlessly into the surrounding radiation. Pilot must have shut down everything to conserve energy once they ran out of fuel.

Before opening comms, he followed protocol and did a full scan of the area. No point in flying to the rescue if you fly straight into a threat and wind up needing rescuing too. With his MFD giving the all clear, he hailed the client. “Hi, there. I’m Umar Deluca from In-A-Fix. You requested a refueling?”

“That’s me. Thanks for coming out,” responded the pilot, with a kind, weathered smile.

“Of course, that’s what we’re here for. Let me get into position, and then we can have you back flying in no time.”

As Umar rolled his ship above and behind the vessel, he could clearly see that the Reliant’s hull had been badly damaged. There were scorch marks all along the rear fuselage and multiple ballistic holes perforated the wing. Umar had a pretty good guess what caused the pilot to run out of fuel.

“Not sure if you know this but your port dorsal side is pretty banged up. If you want, I could patch you up while I’m out here. Wouldn’t take long and it’d be heck of a lot safer to fly.”

“Appreciate the offer, but creds are tight. Just the fuel for now.”

“Sure. No problem. Stand by and I’ll have the drone right over.”

Umar got out of the pilot seat and went to the control station at the rear of the bridge. He scrolled through his options — Spear for rearming, Shake for repairs, and Liam for refueling. Selecting Liam, he did one last check, and seeing all green, launched the fuel-laden drone. With practiced ease, he maneuvered Liam towards the other vessel’s fuel port.

“Transfer in progress,” Umar informed the pilot.

“Listen, I hate to ask this, but there is actually one more thing you could do for me,” said the pilot, looking bashful as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Any chance you have a drink or some water you could spare? Fuel wasn’t the only thing I forgot to stock up on and I’m starting to feel pretty dehydrated.”

Umar hesitated in answering. It wasn’t the sharing that was the issue, but the time. He had hoped to be able to pick up at least two more jobs today and he knew from experience how hard it could sometimes be getting a guest to leave your ship.

“Listen, if it’s a problem, I can just wait till I can fly myself to a station or something.”

Umar felt a twinge of guilt. What was he doing out here if he wasn’t going to help people? “It’s no problem,” Umar said with as much hospitality as he could muster. “If I’m filling up your ship, might as well top you off too. Swing on over and I’ll fix you up.”

Leaving Liam to do its thing, Umar remotely opened the Vulcan’s rear hatch and went to wait by the liftlock in the crew quarters. It wasn’t too long before he heard the pressure begin to cycle. He cracked the fridge, removed two fizzy water cans, and turned just as the atmosphere in the lift equalized.

Umar was a bit taken aback when the pilot bent slightly to avoid hitting his head as he stepped out. The man was very tall, and having a helmet on only made him more imposing. Suddenly, the crew quarters felt a lot more cramped.

“Hope you like etrog flavor,” said Umar, offering the can. “Otherwise I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with tap.”

The pilot didn’t take the drink. Didn’t even take off his helmet. “The rest of your crew still up in the cockpit?”

“No, it’s just me.” Umar regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

With a smooth motion, the pilot pulled out the pistol he had hidden in his EVA pack. “Sorry about this, but I need your ship.”

Umar’s wrists were aching from struggling against the tape that bound him to the control terminal chair. It was rated for sealing hulls so it wasn’t a huge surprise that he hadn’t been able to loosen it, but he had to try.

At the front of the bridge, the pilot was navigating the Vulcan out of the asteroid field. The control terminal flashed a warning that Liam was moving out of range.

“Come on,” implored Umar. “You could have at least let me get my drone.”

“Look, I’d prefer not to have to gag you,” said the pilot. “I know how uncomfortable it can be.”

“Screw you. Don’t pretend like you’re some decent guy just because you have manners. Not only did you steal my ship, but you pretended to be in trouble to do it. I tried to help you and this is how you thank me?”

The pilot didn’t say anything, just kept his attention on the nav map.

“You know, every time an asshole like you pulls a stunt like this it just makes it that much harder for real folks in trouble to get the help they need. Who’s gonna stop and lend a hand if there’s a more than decent chance they’re gonna get a bullet for their troubles? So yeah, double screw you.” Just like his struggles against the tape, Umar didn’t really expect his rant to help the situation, but it definitely made him feel better.

Surprisingly though, the pilot responded. “I’m not stealing your ship. As soon as I get where I’m going, you can have it back.”

“Oh, in that case, let’s crank some tunes and enjoy the ride,” said Umar with a sneer when a sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait. What the hell was wrong with your ship?”

“They knew my regtag.”

“Who’s they?”

No response. Instead, the pilot finished plotting a course on the nav, and spooled the quantum drive. Colorful lights streaked past as the Vulcan surged forward. In the distance, Umar could see Pox, the last planet in the system, steadily growing larger. Umar had been hoping that they would head towards Carteyna where there would have been more of a chance of running into some authorities, but out here in the far reaches the chances of running into another ship were far slimmer.

“You know you could have just asked for a ride,” said Umar, breaking the temporary silence. “But that’s the problem with people like you, isn’t it? Just take what you want rather than earn it. You wanna know why I fly this rig? It’s so I can undo a little bit of the damage that people like you create. The universe is dark enough without us having to hurt each other.”

The quantum lights faded and the pilot pushed back his chair and stood. Walking past his captive, he headed down into the rear of the ship.

“Where you going?” asked Umar.

“To get the gag.”

Before Umar could respond, a shrill alarm sounded.

“What the hell is that?” the pilot demanded, leaping back up the stairs.

“ECN alert.” Umar looked down at the pop-up notification on his terminal. “Nearby ship sprung a core leak in their power plant. They’re not gonna have long.”

The pilot tapped the controls, silencing the notification. “Poor bastards. That’s a tough way to go.”

“We have to go help them.”

“I’m really starting to think you don’t understand this whole kidnapped thing.”

“If we don’t help them now, they’re going to die.”

“And that’s terrible, but it’s not my problem.”

“Of course it’s your damn problem. You heard the alert. Their power plant is overloading and if the radiation doesn’t fry them, the explosion will. You ignore it, you’re killing them. That simple.”

“And if there’s any security in the area and they show up to help, then I’m as good as dead too.”

“Do you know where we are? It’s a miracle we even heard the alert. We are it. We are their only hope in this universe. Don’t you get that?” Unbidden, tears welled up in Umar’s eyes. “Please.”

The pilot stared at his captive for a long moment.

“If you say one word about me, or try to signal them in any way, you’re going out the airlock. No second chances. Understood?”

Not daring to say anything and risk the pilot changing his mind, Umar quickly and emphatically nodded his agreement.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this.”

The pilot sat back down and adjusted the Vulcan’s course towards the beacon’s signal. As he spun the quantum drive back up, he shook his head in disbelief, “I mean, look how well stopping to help someone worked out for you.”

TO BE CONTINUED

#star citizen #squadron 42

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preserving-ferretbrain · 6 years ago

Text

Been There, Done That

by Wardog

Thursday, 19 February 2009

Wardog is also having thoughts about Dollhouse.~

“I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you wanted it like that. You and father have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life. Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald.”

Given my willingness to talk extensively about Dollhouse, I thought I’d probably better actually better watch the thing. Given that I’m in the UK, let’s not think too deeply about how I managed to do that.

So, as all the world knows by now, the Dollhouse is a top secret facility containing a bunch of hot young people (mainly female, it appears, but I did see some Ken-like men in the shower scene) who have had their memories and personalities wiped so that they can be fitted with new ones in order to carry out missions for those wealthy and powerful enough to be able to afford to hire them. The scope of these missions is limited only by the writer’s imaginations. In the pilot we had our heroine doll – Echo – playing companion to a sleazy playboy and then being refitted to negotiate with a bunch of kidnappers. Between assignments, the Dolls are childlike and obedient and sleep in weird coffin like things fitted into the floor, for no apparent reason whatsoever beyond the production of a creepy atmosphere. This being a Whedonwork, as well as the individual episode plot, the pilot is also rife with hints at longer, deeper story arcs – there’s a random FBI dude is seeking the Dollhouse, Echo is showing very slight hints of a developing sense of self, who did Echo used to be, what is going on here etc. etc.

Although the pilot isn’t precisely gripping, it is – I suppose - intriguing. The eerie, dystopian atmosphere is very successful and Eliza Dushku is actually surprising competent in a role demanding a high degree of versatility. She is also hot as mustard, but more on this later. Sadly, the episode-storyline itself is much less successful and, as yet, there are no characters in this show, which I cannot help think is mildly problematic. I mean, there are people in it – there is “immoral tech guy” and “melancholy, scarred Amy Acker girl” and “morally concerned black dude” and “cold, British woman who might be in charge” and “I seem to be Russian chap” – but none of them are really presented with sufficient force for them to be any more than a succession of faces. I know it’s only the pilot but I didn’t care about any of them, I wasn’t even curious. It’s a combination of lack of screentime and rather depressingly bland dialogue. I don’t know how long it will take Echo to develop sufficient self-awareness to be a person but there are real problems associated with a show without a protagonist. It feels shallow and empty, and there’s nothing really to keep you watching except perhaps intellectual curiosity about the premise.

I know, arguably, this is kind of the point. But, again, this only highlights some of the problems with Dollhouse. By reinforcing the emptiness of the fantasies offered by the Dollhouse by confronting you with an empty show … what you’ve still got there, Joss, is an empty show. And there is something fundamentally quite problematic in a text that chooses to explore themes such as exploitation and social roleplaying, by forcing its viewers into a weird state of complicity with the more exploitative aspects of the show itself. There’s plenty footage here of Eliza being wild and sexy and/or wide-eyed and helpless and/or wearing a very short skirt and/or any of the other things that you can’t help but find titillating, but without these bits the show is ponderously melancholic. There’s no snappy Whedon dialogue to enliven it. And, as I said above, at the moment there are no actual characters to utter it. So, yes, I did spend the pilot wondering when I was next going to see Eliza do something fun but this is not me being exploitative (aaaah d’you see?), this is Whedon being manipulative. If Dollhouse had more to offer me as a viewer, I’d be less interested in Eliza Dushku’s legs. Maybe.

It’s just a cheap shot, really. You can’t keep up a parade of beautiful people in revealing outfits and expect that to constitute a criticism of society’s attitude to beautiful people in revealing outfits.

It’s like Ricky Gervais using his current fame to whinge on about how hard it is being famous.

I think I’d have reacted less badly to this if Dollhouse wasn’t so self-consciously gendered all the damn time. So it feels very much like you’re watching the show with Joss Whedon sitting next to you and yelling in your ear: “Isn’t it terrible the way society treats WOMEN?” and “Do you see the way we all unconsciously exploit WOMEN” and “Look at the way the televisual standards of female beauty to which you yourself subscribe abuse WOMEN” and “Sometimes WOMEN never get over the horrible things that happen to them.”

The main story of the pilot involves Echo taking on the personality of a hard-as-nails, super-experienced kidnapping negotiator. Let’s not spend too much time dwelling on the fact she looks like Eliza Dushku (i.e. about 21 and super hot – but they put her in glasses, so that’s okay). Of course, it turns out that the reason why she’s poured all her life and energy into Getting Really Good At Something is because she was kidnapped at the age of 9 and horribly abused by her captor.

Because WOMEN, you see, are incapable of empathy and we’d never bother to lift a finger to help other WOMEN if we didn’t have direct experience of abuse ourselves.

I was really annoyed by the sex abuse plot (the real woman who suffered the abuse ended up killing herself because society does terrible things to WOMEN, or had you forgotten that?) because for a split-second I half-believed the Dollhouse setup had a whisper of moral complexity to it. I mean, having your personality erased so you can become the idle hour plaything of a pointless playboy is, y’know, unspeakably awful but genuinely being able to saving live and do things you couldn’t otherwise do is another matter. It still might not be the worth the death of yourself, but it’d be worth consideration.

But, no, the Dollhouse is evil. Because it’s a metaphor for how society treats WOMEN.

The truly tragic thing is that it’s an awesome premise for a TV serial. It’s like all the best bits of Quantum Leap and all the best bits of Alias smooshed up together. The scope is practically limitless and I think I could accept an argument that you might agree to have your personality erased if it was going to allow you kick ass and save lives on an entertaining weekly basis. I think it would even be quite empowering.

But, no, the Dollhouse is evil. Because it’s a metaphor for how society treats WOMEN.

And the show continually reinforces this by showing you attractive women in sexy outfits and then condemning you when you look at them.Themes:

TV & Movies

Whedonverse

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~Comments (

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Arthur B

at 17:15 on 2009-02-19

I think I might have guessed where Joss got the idea from.

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Rami

at 17:47 on 2009-02-19Yep, Joe 90 is acknowledged (I think even by Whedon) as one of the major influences...

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Nathalie H

at 21:53 on 2009-02-19Ooh, very interesting! I still haven't seen it and probably won't bother, so it's interesting to hear about the gender angle because I haven't read one really decent review on the internet so far. allecto did one but she's a bit mad, and everyone else is like 'oh it's Joss, he is a feminist so it's amazing.'

And considering how dicey it sounded before, it makes a lot more sense to me that he's using sexy mind-wiped prostitutes to make a really heavy-handed feminist point than that he hasn't even noticed, (because I think it would have been too stupid if he'd never thought the women would be looked on as sex objects, considering how much he supposedly knows about feminism).

Of course, the other problem then is that by setting up a sexy premise and condemning you for being taken in by it, is the question of how much this counts as reinforcement. And of course the fact that being aware of your own prejudices is a very important part of the lib movement (for example the problems of l/b women in being feminists and viewing women as sexual objects) so condemning the viewer is maybe a little too holier-than-thou when I'm sure he likes Eliza in a mini-skirt too.

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Arthur B

at 23:49 on 2009-02-19Natalie, where's allecto's

Dollhouse

review? I agree that she's a bit mad (in the same way that the Sun is a bit hot), but I find her rants weirdly compelling. But I can't find the review anywhere...

As an offering I present you her take on the

Buffy "Season 8" comics

. Gems: allecto opines that lesbians simply "don't look like" the girls depicted in one of the panels she depicts, sneaking a little homophobia into her heterophobia, and in the comments she reveals that

Buffy

almost brainwashed her into being straight.

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http://descrime.livejournal.com/

at 05:51 on 2009-02-20I was disappointed by the dialogue too. (Hello, new person. Pleased to meet you.) It was especially jarring because earlier that day, I had looked up an episode summary of a Firefly episode where people had submitted pages of funny quotes and memorable lines.

Joss is good at humor, one of the best in television at the moment, I would say. It's what allows him to take otherwise silly ideas and make them work in a way that actually lets the audience take them seriously. The Scooby Gang might have quipped their way through Sunnydale High and Vampire Master Ascensions, but they dealt with real issues teenagers faced. If Buffy had been serious, it would have been depressing as hell.

At a time when every show seems to be trying to one-up each other to be seen as the most Serious (aka depressing as traumatic things happen one after another and people make stupid decisions that serve to make them even more unhappy), I had been looking forward to Joss's brand of comedy-adventure. Dollhouse left me alternatively bored and laughing at their Hollywood spa dungeon.

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Arthur B

at 09:47 on 2009-02-20

If Buffy had been serious, it would have been depressing as hell.

And when it was serious, it was terrible. The magic-is-heroin plotline being a case in point.

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Wardog

at 12:55 on 2009-02-20I might re-watch Firefly and sob quietly to myself.

so condemning the viewer is maybe a little too holier-than-thou when I'm sure he likes Eliza in a mini-skirt too.

Nathalie! How can you say that?! Joss Whedon is a FEMINIST, he would never objectify Eliza Dushku!

I was disappointed by the dialogue too.

I'm glad it's not just me; I mean obviously it's a darker, setting etc. but everybody is so terribly bland and dull, that it's hard to remember who they are. I read a book on the linguistics of Buffy once, and it was actually fascinating to trace the complexities and cleverness of Scooby Gang slang. I know he was quite consciously creating something that would sound like "youth culture" but not date the show and there's no particularly *need* to do that for Dollhouse but ... blah.

Joss is good at humor, one of the best in television at the moment, I would say

I have feeling that are things that are funny are meant to be less worthwhile than things that aren't, hence his move ever more towards "darker" shows. Buffy Season 2 still strikes me as one of the most painful story arcs I can call to mind, albeit tinged by adolescence (eeek, I have slept with my boyfriend, and now he is a different person) - but it's done with such a light touch that you never get bogged down in woe.

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http://sistermagpie.livejournal.com/

at 17:10 on 2009-03-02I've seen a number of comments about this show (which I haven't seen) lately referring to the skimpy clothing, for instance, where people claim that the only reason it's there is because "the network" forced Joss to put that in. Which I think is kind of bizarre, and reminds me of those elaborate theories about how co-stars are having sex but "the network" or "the producers" made them sign a contract that says they're not allowed to openly be together.

It just seemed like a really interesting addition to the "Joss is a feminist therefore it is amazing" idea.

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Dan H

at 18:41 on 2009-03-02

I've seen a number of comments about this show (which I haven't seen) lately referring to the skimpy clothing, for instance, where people claim that the only reason it's there is because "the network" forced Joss to put that in.

It's something you always get with auteur-types. Everything that is brilliant about their work is a result of their genioos, anything that is less great about it is a result of other people interfering with their genioos.

To be fair, I can see that it's unfair to criticize Whedon for having to work within the limits of his medium - a TV drama about a hot young woman will get made, a TV drama about a dumpy unattractive young woman won't get made. On the other hand, one cannot be entirely absolved of responsibility for the standards of a group of which you are a part (and this, again, is my problem with the whole Man!Feminism thing).

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Arthur B

at 21:33 on 2009-03-02Also, for the love of god, it's Whedon. He's one of the few people in TV whose name next to the words "Writer", "Director" or "Producer" is, in and of itself, a massive draw. (Auteur writer/directors tend to be vastly more common in film because it's a medium which is just plain friendlier to them - witness David Lynch's failure to get the coherent half of

Mulholland Drive

accepted by ABC). Whedon is arguably more free of the networks' meddling than 99% of the other writers and directors in his medium, simply because the networks

want his name attached to the product

Which of course brings its own dangers. When

Firefly

wasn't working out for the network, they didn't try to change it: they just killed it.

#Ferretbrain #Dollhouse #Joss Whedon #Wardog

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sad-ch1ld · 7 years ago

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