#Whovian Watching Star Trek

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 095 - A fun day at the Zoo

Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 0 Episode 1 - The Cage

One final stop between Enterprise and discovery is the pilot of the Original Series which set a decade before the rest of of the original series. A few of you have already explained to me why, but I still think it's at least a little bit weird. But anyway, this is my first foray into 60's Trek, lets see how I get on.

We're not given much introduction to our new crew before this version of Enterprise encounters a distress signal from a ship that had to make a crash landing on an uninhabited planet. The signal however was sent a long time ago, so with no indication of survivors, the Captain, presumably the Captain Pike from the Spock Short Trek, decides to ignore it.

Also: Finally an explanation for what a Class M planet is! That phrase was used a few times in Enterprise, and now I'm happy that I know what it means beyond just something vaguely Earth-like.

Apparently, our Captain is considering resigning and has becoming jaded with the responsibility of captaining, which is an incredibly different outlook from Archer. Also the fact that the ship's Doctor doubles as a mixologist is hilarious to me, I hope he gets to stick around. As Captain Pike and the doctor finish having a heart to heart though, the Bridge crew find signs of survivors, so Enterprise enters Warp 7 (Seven!!!), and heads to Talos the rescue them.

A team of six is transported down to the planet for the rescue. The planet itself is a classic desert planet. bit of sand, some rocks, but this thing that stood out to me is it's done in a studio. I was expecting something equivalent to the Doctor Who Welsh Gravel Quarry method of creating an alien planet. That said, for 60's TV pilot, it looks great.

We find the survivors of the crashed ship, but appearntly the crew is being watched. Again, I'm impressed by the quality of the alien make up here. Perhaps 60's Who's shoestring budgets set my expectations of what 60's TV Sci Fi was visually capable of, but they look really good. They even look better than some Enterprise's less interesting designs. They've even got some kind of pulsing effect on heads, which looked amazing.

I really like they way Vina acts just acts really distant, like a scientist interacting with an object of study, but then starts going off about a secret, is unsettling is a really good way, although I kinda wish it was left to build a while longer. She leads Pike away, and then survivors just vanish and the Big Brained aliens kidnap the captain.

Pike then wakes up in a glass enclosure, like a Zoo, and is apprently due to be experimented on. From that concept, I thought the episode was going to be an exploration of humanity's relationship with animals, and there is some element of that, but the main focus is on Pike's character. The Aliens start projecting illusions of different scenarios into his mind, starting with the memories of his most recent mission.

It's really interesting to see Pike's thought process play out. He knows this is an illusion and until much later is under the impression that Vina is an illusion, but still fights the illusion to protect her, and I loved how he took apart what's happening as fight is happening. Probing why an illusion would be frightened.

I really like the Talosians as a concept for a species. A species that has all this power, but just uses it to sit around to get entertainment in false realities. And I love the way Pike is just quick to figure out their exact powers and limits. It's also just heartbreaking to see how broken on to the situation that Vina is. It was here that I also kind noticed a bit commentary on viewers relationship with TV through the Talosians, which is a great theme to explore, but kind of a bold choice for your TV Shows Pilot Episode.

Enterprise tries to transports down a small rescue party into the alien zoo, but the Talosians block everyone except the women, to give Pike a choice. Spock makes the decision to leave, but the Talosians seem to also shut down Enterprise's power, then start taking all information from Enterprise's database.

I absolutely loved this episode. It had a few 60's-isms, but I was expecting those. It's conclusion just being kind of "Wow Humans don't like being slaves" felt a bit rushed, it didn't seem like they really cared about that until the end, but I still enjoyed myself here. Pike was really the only cast member here who left any sort of impression on me, but I liked him for the most part.

Anyways, I start Discovery tomorrow, which different century, different crew and different ship. It'll my first delve into Star Trek's really recent stuff, minus the short treks yesterday, and I'm excited.

[im-not-a-l0ser]

Beanies, Chapter 17

Hey.... so it's been a while.

Richie might’ve cleaned more in the last 7 hours than he had the entire time he lived there. 

Many reasons for that. The anxiety from having Max in their fucking house, not wanting anyone to get sick, wanting to make sure everything Max might even sort of need for baking was clean, the anxiety from having Max in their fucking house.

Lots of reasons. 

Max was planning to arrive around 9 am, which Richie thought it might’ve been too early, but Max made the case that the cake would need time to cool before being frosted. Which was fair. Richie didn’t want to risk anything. Anyway, Trevor wouldn’t stop teasing him about it.

“So, instead of just baking it yourself— which, you’ve done before— you invited Max over so you can watch him bake a cake,” Trevor said. “Do you realise how weird that is?”

“Max offered, Trevor. It wasn’t my idea.”

“Oh, of course he did,” Trevor said, in a tone that Richie didn't really understand. He still sighed.

“Can’t you just leave this alone?”

“Richie, every single day since I met Rudy, you teased me for liking him— and this was before I told you I liked him!  So, yeah, I’m gonna tease you about it, whether you like him or not. Just like you did.” 

“That’s different,” Richie said, “You hadn’t told me that you liked Rudolph, but you didn’t have to! I’m not an idiot, Trevor! First of all, he’s totally your type. Strong, but not that bulky, overcompensating at first but that mellows out after a while, and I know there are exceptions, but you like blue eyes a lot. Not to mention your habit of dressing more provocatively when you know you’re going to be around someone you like.”

“I don’t have a type.”

“Dude,” Richie deadpanned. “I can’t even deal with this right now,” He said instead of elaborating, shaking his head. 

Trevor sighed.

“I’ll tone it down,” He relinquished. “For today, at least. It’s just really difficult. You’re not the kind of person to invite someone over, especially on such short notice.”

“Well, I’m kind of desperate, Trevor.”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed,” Trevor teased. “Sorry, it was right there.” Richie sighed. “I’m gonna get us some doughnuts. Want one?”

“Two please,” Richie said. “Shoot, what about Max?”

“I’ll get him some too, don’t worry,” Trevor dismissed, waving his hand absently. 

“I wasn’t worried,” Richie said, “I think that anxious is probably a better word for it. I know we’re not in our school here, but it’s not as if our house looks normal.” Richie motioned to the dozens of action figures, amiibos, funko pops and bobble heads framing their tv stand.

“Yeah, but Max knows you're a mega-nerd; it’s not like he’ll be surprised.”

“Yeah, Max knows I’m a nerd, but he prboably wouldn’t expect our parents to be bigger nerds than we are,” Richie argued, “Especially since we’re all nerds in different ways. I’m a weeb, you’re a thespian, dad’s a Trekkie and Whovian, mom’s a fantasy nerd.” 

“I don’t think Max can tell the difference between Assasin’s Creed characters and Hamilton characters.”

“That’s a poor example if you’re trying to say Max wouldn’t be able to tell how nerdy we are.” 

“Okay, fair,” Trevor said, “He couldn’t tell a Project Diva character from a Star Trek character,” He ammended. Richie snorted.

“I hate… that you’re probably right.” Richie shook his head solemnly. “He’ll learn in time.” Trevor giggled alongside him. 

“Is that a threat?”

“Only if you make it one.”

The twins shared more laughter until there was a knock at the door. 

“That’s Max,” Richie said, his joy immeaditely crashing into fear and panic. 

“Well, if you’re about to ask me how you look, the answer is: like a mess.” Richie rolled his eyes before freezing.

“Shit,” he said, “I have to get changed,” He said urgently. 

“Dude, I was kidding, why…” Trevor shut up once Richie pulled his shirt closer to his torso. “Ah. Gotcha. Yeah, go get changed; I’ll get the door.” 

“Thank you,” Richie called, rushing to the stairs.

“You got it,” Trevor said, basically to an empty room, as he walked to get the door. 

As Richie had said, Max was standing there, looking just as awkward as Richie just had. 

“Hey, Max. Welcome to our humble abode,” He said flatly.

“Where’s Richie?” Trevor bit back his snort.

“Oh, y’know, he was still in his pyjamas when you got here, so he ran to get changed,” Trevor excuse, leading Max into the house. “Because what he sleeps in is just so different than what he wears outside.” He shut the door. “Y’know, actually. What the fuck am I talking about, he doesn’t really sleep in clothes. Y’know that whole ‘overactive sweat-gland thing.’ Makes it really inconvenient to wear more than underwear.”

Trevor didn’t distinctly notice that Max flushed, but he’d definitely laugh at it in retrospect later.

“I’m gonna head out to get breakfast.” Trevor plucked his keys from the hooks hanging by the door. “You crazy kids have fun. I don’t want to come back to you giving him a swirly and him begging for his life.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“I’m joking, Max,” Trevor sighed, “Although, I don’t want to come back to see that, I don’t think you will, so it’s nothing to worry about, is it?”

“No sir.” Trevor actually laughed this time.

“Jeez,” Trevor said, “When’s the last time you’ve been in someone’s house?”

“I go to Jason’s a lot,” Max said, “But he’s got like a million siblings and I only go over when I don’t have the energy to feed myself. So like, once a week.”

“Do you call his dad sir? We’re gonna ignore the fact that I’m not Richie’s dad, I’m his twin brother, but y’know, same principle.”

“Uhh,” Max hesitated, “Jason’s dad isn’t really…” he motioned abstractly, “Around. He’s alive and shit, but his mom’s in charge, and she gets child support and alimony. But I’m pretty sure even Jason calls him ‘Jonathan.’ So no, I don’t call him sir.”

“Why are you calling me sir?” Trevor asked, “A guy might think you’re coming onto him.”

“Oh, god no,” Max said, a bit too fast. “I think it was just a reflex.”

Many implications sat beneath that simple statement, and Trevor didn’t feel like getting into it right now. His hunger was growing, and quite frankly, he didn’t feel like dealing with Max and Richie’s “not-flirting” when he finally came downstairs.

“Right,” was all he said. “I’m getting you doughnuts. Any aversions?”

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“Any. Aversions?” Trevor repeated slower.

“I really don’t like the ones with white frosting.” Trevor nodded, opening the door.

“Got it. Be back in a bit,” He called before shutting the door. 

Max, not knowing what was okay or not, just stood there, waiting for Richie to come back downstairs.

“Sorry about that,” Richie said, out of breath, not-quite-running down the stairs. 

“You okay?” Max asked. “I didn’t think you were that out of shape, dude.”

“Shut up,” Richie said with no real hat behind it, “Changing is a process feel me.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be if you just wore a t-shirt like most people,” Max joked before realising that Richie pretty much was just wearing a t-shirt, or rather wasn’t wearing the normal 4-ish layers.

A black and orange jersey-looking thing— which for some reason had a collar on it— matching shorts, and a plain black jacket. He was wearing socks, which Max didn’t quite understand, since they had a carpet and it was his own house.

“Are you sure those aren’t pyjamas?” Max ammended.

“It’s a uniform,” Richie said, “I thought you’d notice a sport uniform thing,” He joked, looking down at the jersey.

“It has a collar on it.”

“It’s a volleyball uniform.” He quickly corrected himself. “Okay, I guess not all volleyball uniforms have collars. But all the Haikyuu ones do. I think. Actually, I don’t think Shiratorizawa does. There’s probably another but I don’t remember. Kamomedai probably.”

“I’m sure that made sense to you,” Max muttered, turning toward what looked like the doorway to a kitchen. “This way?” 

“Yep,” Richie said. He began pointing to cabinets and drawers. “There’s baking essentials, bowls and trays, mixing and serving utensils, and I put out the eggs and butter, because it said they needed to be room temperature, but the raspberries are still in the fridge. I printed out the recipe, but I can set up my laptop if you want—”

“You need to slow down.” Max held up his hand. “I woke up like twenty minutes ago. Why don’t you just stay in here and help me get everything set up?” 

“Sure.”

Richie got the bowls and trays required for the recipe, while Max followed his direction of where the base ingredients were. 

“Okay, uh…” Richie ran his hand down the ingredient list, glancing around to check that it was on the counter. “Okay, yeah, that’s everything I think. Do you think you can take it from here, or do I still need to babysit you?” Richie teased.

“I can take care of it,” Max said, “You haven’t eaten yet.”

“Have you?”

“That’s not the point.” Richie rolled his eyes.

“Trevor will be here soon, we can just leave this stuff out, eat and then return.”

“Fine,” Max sighed, as if he were annoyed by it, but he had a smile on his face.

Richie lead him to their couch where they sat somewhat awkwardly. Richie was staring down at his legs, trying to subtly adjust his shirt to make his waist look less slim. Max, on the other hand, was running his eyes over the decor of the room. 

“Wow,” He said.

“Good wow or bad wow this time?” Richie asked, somehow both joking and very much anxious and serious. 

“Medium,” Max said. “I don’t understand what half this shit is,” He said, motioning to the entire room. Richie laughed nervously.

“Well, that is sort of the point,” He said. “We all like having our own thing, and we think it’s funny that the rest don’t understand what we’re talking about.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Well, my dad really likes Doctor Who, and even though we’ve seen it all, we don’t understand it as well as he does,” Richie tried. “I-It’s like how I talked about the volleyball teams earlier, except I don’t feel bad when it’s my family.”

“You feel bad when it’s me?” 

“Eh,” Richie said, and their laughter melted the tension quickly as it usually did. Richie yawned, covering his mouth as it opened so wide one might fear it’d get stuck. 

“How much sleep did you get last night?” 

“I didn’t…” Richie said with a bit of delirious laughter. 

“I said how much sleep did you get last night?” Max repeated. Richie snorted into giggles.

“No, not ‘I did not hear you,’ I was answering your question. I didn’t sleep last night.” 

“Dude,” Max decanted. “The fuck.”

“I stayed up really late filming and editing, and then I realised I should probably clean so you have a good workspace, and then once I was done cleaning it was morning and my brain won’t let me sleep when the sun is rising.”

“So you could sleep now?”

“Hypothetically, but I’m not going to.”

Before Max could argue, the door opened up. 

“Okay, Richie, I got your usual, but Max, pick the ones you want and I’ll take the other two, I can’t decide anyway,” He said, walking over to them. He sighed, glaring at Richie. “Did you put our folding table away?”

“Yeah, it’s…” Richie pointed to the folded tray table, which was usually filled with stuff in the middle of the living room. 

“Hold this,” Trevor sighed, shoving the box into Richie’s arms. 

Trevor set up the table, and they put the box of doughnuts down. 

“I can actually eat mine later,” Max said, standing up. Richie yanked him back down from the bottom of his shirt.

“No, you’re eating.”

“I can—”

“If you don’t eat, I won’t eat,” Richie said, glaring decisively. 

“Fine,” He grumbled, crossing his arms like a child. 

After eating, Max got to work on baking. Richie could see the kitchen from where he was sitting, so he didn’t worry too much about joining him in the kitchen. That’d prove to be a mistake. 

In Richie’s opinion, at least.

“Okay, cake’s in the…” Max shut his mouth as soon as he saw Richie curled up on the chair. “Fucking good,” He muttered, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it. 

He could hear Trevor coming down the stairs, and soon he could see him too. Holding what looked like a big long pillow. 

“Oh, is that one of those Japanese body pillows?” Max asked, his voice soft, not wanting to wake Richie. “He mentioned them. Does he… sleep better with them?” Trevor snorted. 

“Well, I’m sure he does, but that’s not what I’m using this for,” He said, walking over to Richie. 

Max watched, curious. Trevor stood next to the chair for a moment before lifting the pillow with both hands.

“You. Need to. Get. Changed. Be. Fore. You. Sleep!” He said, spitting each syllable as the pillow collided with Richie’s body. 

“Mgh,” Richie grumbled. “Hey,” He said, “Don’t use Rei and Asuka as a weapon,” He said, taking the pillow and holding it close to him. 

“Richie, if you’re gonna go to sleep, you need to get changed. You know that, you asked me to do this shit.”

“This is different,” Richie said, “I fell asleep by accident.” 

“That’s not different, that’s exactly when you asked me to wake you up,” Trevor said. “Go to your room and go to bed.”

“I don’t want to sleep right now,” Richie said. He glanced at Max. 

“You can sleep,” Max said, “It’s fine.”

“See, your b- friend is okay with it,” Trevor said, remembering his words from that morning. “Go to bed.” Richie shook his head.

“No, there’s a few hours between when Max leaves and when I have to get to Ruth’s; I can sleep then.” 

“You sure?” Trevor asked. Richie nodded decidedly. “Okay, well, if you don’t wanna conk out on the couch, maybe you should put on Haikyuu or something.” He waved his hand ambiguously. “One of those shows that gives you more energy than they rationally should.”

“Wha— It’s perfectly rational! You listen to Guns and Ships before dance rehearsal; how is that less weird than me getting excited about volleyball?”

“Guns and Ships is high-speed. There’s a whole Haikyuu episode where shorty and creepy have to study english so they can go to an away game.” 

“Guns and Ships is about asking France for help with the revolution!” 

“At 138 bpm!”

“Why do you know that!”

“Are you guys always like this?” Max asked. “I couldn’t imagine having siblings; I think we’d kill each other.”

“I believe that,” Trevor said. 

“We’re not always like this, we’re just often like this.” Trevor knocked Richie in the back of the head. “It’s a little worse these days,” He admitted.

“Why?”

“Trevor’s nervous about Rudy,” Richie said, craning his neck to look at his brother. 

“Why? Gonna ask him out or something?” 

“No,” Trevor said, a bit defensively. “We have to pick him up from the airport in two weeks.”

“And by we, he means he’s forcing me to drive him.”

“Why can’t his family pick him up?” Trevor sighed, presumably having answered this questions, potentially many times, before.

“I’ve talked to his foster family already, they’re busy the day of the flight. Leslie has a meeting, Sarah won’t even be in the state, and Daliah is four. Rudy could just wait at the airport for two hours for Leslie to get off work, but since I can drive, I offered."

“And then promptly panicked at the prospect of being alone in a car with him for two hours. So instead he decided, ‘yeah. Let’s bring my twin brother.' That’ll decrease the sexual tension,” Richie said. He turned to his brother. “Speaking of such. If you two so much as kiss in my car, you will be walking home.” 

“Rudy and I don’t kiss,” Trevor said. Richie raised a brow. “Often.”

“There ya go.” 

“You kiss even though you’re not dating?” Max asked.

“We’ve kissed like twice ever. And don’t athlete’s slap each others asses?” Trevor deflected. 

“Touchy,” Max said. Trevor and Richie exchanged looks.

“Do you mean touche?” 

“Shut the fuck up.” Trevor didn’t laugh, but Richie’s smile grew. 

“Did you make sure to put the filling in the fridge?”

“Yeah, of course, I’m not an idiot,” Max said, sitting back. 

“I am paying you, by the way,” Richie said, “Before you argue, I was given money to pay for the birthday cake. I used some of it for the ingredients, and the rest of it is going to be used to pay for your labour, okay?” 

“Okay,” Max said. “Fine.” He shrugged. 

“So, how much time you gots to kill?” Trevor asked. “I’m basically asking what show I should put on right now.”

“Oh, well, it takes about a half hour to bake, but then it has to cool. It takes like… ten minutes to make frosting, but cake takes like an hour minimum to cool.”

“Does it really?” Trevor asked, eyes widening. 

“Yeah, I was surprised too,” Richie said, nodding. “Why do you think he came so early? Do not. I swear, it’s like living with Ruth sometimes.” 

“Oh, c’mon. Peter has Ted, Ruth has herself, you have me!”

“I shouldn’t need to live with someone with a dumb, inappropriate sense of humour!” 

“C’mon, Richie, you walked right into that,” Max said, snickering. Richie groaned, throwing his head into his hands.

“I have to deal with this all day!” He groaned. He looked up, resting his chin on his hands. “Ted’s coming to Ruth’s party too.” Trevor chuckled and pat Richie’s back.

“Good luck with that dude.” He joined Max on the couch and Richie curled back into his pillow. “How’s Milo sound?” He asked, flicking the TV on. 

“Oh, yeah, that sounds good.” 

So they put on Milo Murphy’s Law.

Throughout the first episodes, a few things happen. Trevor steps away to take a phone call, Richie gets a blanket he’d put away earlier under the assumption that Max would think it was weird they kept blankets in the living room, Trevor deliberately sits down where Richie was sitting so that Richie has to sit on the couch, Max made a comment on Richie’s body pillow (“I thought you were gay” “Max, I promise you, this is literally the most safe for work version of them that I could find.”), Richie dozed off against Max and Trevor let him for an episode before waking him up. That was the main one. 

“I’m gonna have that song stuck my head all day now, thanks for that,” Max said, grunting as he got up. “But I have cake to work on, so.”

Max hummed 'Chop, Chop, Chop,' as he walked into the kitchen, the twins’ eyes following him. 

“Do you think he says that when he goes to work out?” Trevor asked, definitely loud enough for Max to hear. And if Richie hadn’t been sure of that already, the loud ass laugh Max let out confirmed it. 

“No, but I’m gonna start!” He called. 

“I’d be more annoyed if that weren’t so funny,” Richie sighed. Trevor smiled deviously. 

“And it’s funny because it’s true.”

“I’m gonna go see if Max needs any help!” Richie said, stomping into the kitchen. 

“I don’t really,” Max said, adding some sort of powder to their stand mixer.

“Then I’ll wash dishes.”

“Already did it,” Max said over his shoulder. 

“Right, well, damn me for trying to feel useful,” Richie said. Max sighed.

“Could you keep an eye on this while it mixes?” Max asked, switching the mixer on. “Stop it when it’s all combined. You know how to stop it, right?”

“Yes,” Richie said, joining Max’s side. 

Max left once he got his eye on the mixture and began preparing the cake for frosting. 

“So did you want me to write anything on here?” Max asked, “Because I’ll need to mix some vanilla frosting too, if you do.”

“Yeah,” Richie said, “But I could do it.” 

“No, I got it,” Max said, returning to Richie’s side, where the ingredients for the frosting was still sitting on the stove. 

“I’m using the stand mixer already,” Richie said.

“I know, but I can mix it by hand.”

“Nope, no,” Richie said, pushing the container of confectioners sugar away from Max. “You’re gonna get yourself hurt. Writing goes on after, you can mix it later and use the actual mixer for it.”

“Fine,” Max groaned. He stopped the mixer, which Max had distracted Richie from. 

Speaking of, Max must’ve noticed too, with how he froze. Richie was pseudo-boxed in against the counter with Max’s arm there. They both stood there for a moment. 

It was different from how Richie was usually kabedonned by Max— usually it had a very negative connotation. This was more neutral, being an accident and all, but… it felt different. 

“Uh,” Max said, sounding shaky. “I need to get the bowl.”

“Oh, sorry,” Richie squeaked, stepping aside. 

Max continued as if nothing happened. At least, that’s what Richie saw. In reality, his eyes were wide, mouth pressed into a thin line, almost not breathing at all. It took every ounce of his being not to do something just then.

Maybe Trevor was right, maybe he did like Richie like that. And Max already knew that. But his mind still rattled: no, he didn’t like Richie that way, it was just the circumstance. He’d had that feeling with Richie pressed in his box before, back before they were even friends. When the words stopped, the tension thickened and Max felt that instinct to lean in. 

It was just worse now that Richie probably wouldn’t vomit because of it. At least, Max hoped he wouldn’t. 

Richie returned to the living room. 

“Didn’t need help?” Trevor teased.

“I need to go lay down, I think I’m imagining things.”

“Make sure to change first,” Trevor said as Richie walked up the stairs. Richie waved his hand dismissively. 

A half-hour or so later, Max returned from the kitchen. 

“Where’s Richie?”

“Bed.”

“Oh,” Max said. 

“But you should stay!” Trevor rushed to add. “Richie has to pay you still! And, uh… y’know, you’re already here. And why would you leave when you could stay? And he’ll probably be down in a bit—”

“I want-” Max stopped himself. “I, yeah. I want to wait until he comes back down.”

“Did something happen in there?” 

“I think I might’ve almost kissed him a little bit?” 

“How almost?”

“Tension,” Max said. “But that could’ve just been on my side, obviously. I was probably just imagining it. And if I wasn’t, it was just a heat of the moment thing, I’m not… I don’t.” Trevor groaned.

“Why is it such a difficult task for you to admit you like my brother?” Trevor asked. 

“Because I don’t want to,” Max said, “I don’t want him to feel obligated to do anything for or with me. I don’t want him to think he has to do anything just because, because of how we are at school.”

“How you are at school,” Trevor corrected.

“How I act at school,” Max amended begrudgingly. “I don’t him to feel forced. I care about that stupid fucking nerd. And I hurt him enough already.”

“Does that mean you’re gonna stop pushing him around at school?” Trevor demanded. Max sighed.

“No,” He said. “It doesn’t. But he knows I don’t mean that shit. He has to know how much he means to me.”

“He might know better if you tell him how you feel.”

“Richie will never know how I feel, got that?” Max’s tone shifted. A monster again. Trevor’s heart sank and throat squeezed with fear. “Even if you tell him, he won’t fuckin believe you, so you can’t even try.” He took a breath. “Richie’s fucking perfect, if he finds out he likes me, he’d go out with me to make me feel better. I’m not gonna force him to do that. I don’t want to force him to do anything.”

That’s when it hit him. 

“Oh…”

Max was the one with April. The girl who Mimi reminded him of. The girl who pushed him.

“Okay,” He conceded. 

“Okay?” Max asked.

“Okay,” Trevor nodded. 

“Okay,” Max breathed. 

“I’ll go get Richie and tell him you’re about done.” 

Max sat antsy as Trevor did so, and centred on Richie as he walked down the stairs. He was totally screwed, wasn’t he? 

“Hey!” Max said, standing up as Richie neared the end of the stairs. “I was wondering if you wanted to make the white frosting. For, uh, for the text.” Richie smiled, and honestly, he looked so sleepy.

“Sure,” He said.

Max tried his best to keep his distance while Richie was making the frosting, afraid of getting too close. 

“Okay, done!” Richie exclaimed, turning the mixer off. 

“Cool,” Max said, stepping back when Richie walked closer. “I, uh, already set up the bag and stuff, if you wanna scoop it in. I think this is kind of a two-person job anyway, since it’s a pain in the ass to do alone.” 

“Okay,” Richie said happily, dislodging the bowl from the mixer. 

The situation required them being close together, and Max couldn’t help but savour the warm emanating from Richie. He must’ve been tucked under his blankets back in his room. 

“Okay, that’s all of it.” 

“Hm? Right!” Max said, laughing nervously.

Max finished the cake at Richie’s instructions, and it was placed carefully into a box for transportation. 

“Thanks for making the cake for me, Max,” Richie said, buzzing with excitement as they moved into the living room. 

“Of course, dude,” Max said. “It’s the least I could do for being a complete assface to you for literal years,” He said, honestly cringing at his own words. 

“Well, I’m still paying you,” Richie said, “This was labour, and you’re getting paid for it.” 

“Fine,” Max groaned.

“This is delicious,” Ruth commented after moaning obscenely for a distressingly long period of time. 

“We’re going to ignore that sound she just made,” Pete said, for what should’ve been the first time ever, and most definitely wouldn’t be the last. “But she’s right, this is amazing. Where’d it come from?”

“Oh, I got a friend to make it,” Richie said, avoiding eye contact. He knew it was gonna be a lot of shock and confusion, he didn’t feel like facing that. 

“You have other friends?” Pete asked, definitely not believing him.

“Only one,” Richie said. “He came over this morning and baked the cake for you, and if you make any more comments about my friend, I’m taking the leftovers and never bringing you baked goods ever again.” 

Ruth and Pete exchanged looks, almost like they were debating on risk. 

“Looking forward to theatre camp this year?” Pete asked.

“Yeah, I’m excited, all packed and everything.”

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

The Prime Directive IS important though. You can't have the Federation without it. Playing God with primitive cultures can only end badly.

Yeah, that's the conventional reasoning that every iteration of Star Trek seems to use, but it doesn't work for me. Never has. Whenever characters defend The Prime Directive, (especially in The Orville, 3X10) All I can think to myself is - that's an awful lot of words to say "I won't help those in need." Like, they can dress it up in poetry all they want, but at the end of the day, that's what they're saying, and I can't get on board with it.

Yes, things can go wrong when you help people. They can make the wrong choices with the opportunities you've given them. But that's just life, and that's on them. It's not always going to happen, and it's not a justification to stop helping people. It's honestly so odd that this is The Federation's policy, because...it's pretty much the same logic people use when they refuse to give money to the homeless because "they might spend it on drugs." Like, not to get political, but Star Trek (and The Orville) are generally pretty liberal and the Prime Directive is...not. They claim they can't provide aid to more primitive cultures, but refusing to do so for no other reason than a baseless prediction of how it might go wrong is just...selfish.

They make a point of showing us the "consequences" of interfering in various episodes, but it never changes my mind. Episode 1X12 of The Orville deals with this by having a religion form around the First Officer after she uses advanced tech to heal an injured child. But this was a stone age civilization and a religion was bound to form anyway - the descendants of these people even tell the crew that if it hadn't been the First Officer, it would have been somebody else. People are gonna do what they do. You can't control them. You can only control you own decisions and whether or not you choose to help those in need. And how dare The Federation claim moral superiority over everyone when it's strictest law is this selfish?

Maybe this is because I'm a Whovian. Maybe it's because I watched Doctor Who first. Because for those of you out there who are in both fandoms, you ever notice how The Doctor's values are in direct conflict with those of The Federation? I think back to Eleven telling Clara with his whole chest, "We don't walk away. And yes, it's a fundamental part of the character, the Time Lord who ran away from Gallifrey and defies their policy of "non-interference" at every turn.

(Actually, this is unrelated, but I've always wondered why Star Trek and Star Wars have such a fandom rivalry. Because apart form being the same genre and having similar names, the stories have nothing in common. Star Trek and Doctor Who, on the other hand, have very similar formulas with conflicting values. )

[wheelybard]

It's funny when you watch Star Trek as a Whovian. You pick up similarities between the different alien races.

The trill and the Q can both be Time Lord analogs, and we all know the Borg are the Cybermen, but the Sontarans and Klingons are definitely on different spectrums of the warrior race front.

[hitchell-mope]

Some modern au headcanons

Mike played Ted and Karen against each other one Christmas and got two iPhones. Purely so he could give one of them to Jane.

Jane loves the spy kids and shrek franchises. Most for Antonio Banderas.

Dustin roped Steve and Max into watching supernatural with him. Dustin watches it for the lore. Steve watched it for the car and the ladies. Max watches it for Jared Padalecki. None of them like the roadkill in the trench coat though

Lucas in the only on in the party who can cook competently if he has to. Max can work a water tap. Dustin can shake down a vending machine. Mike can make waffles. Jane can eat the waffles. Will can burn toast

Will’s most watched film on Netflix and Disneyplus is the Peanuts movie. He sees Charlie Brown as a kindred spirit.

Jim’s a fan of classics. Colombo. MacGyver. Hawaii 5-0. Not the remakes though. Just the originals. He’s also a big fan of the law and order franchise

Joyce is a big fan of old sitcoms like the golden girls and Mary Tyler Moore.

Nancys favourite Disney film is sleeping beauty. And yes. Her and Jonathan have gone as Aurora and Phillip for Halloween. Twice.

Robin and Steve play wingman for each other when they go out and meet girls.

Max is trying to teach Lucas skate boarding. In return. He’s trying to teach her how to cook. Neither endeavour has been very successful. Yet

Will and Jonathan shared a room after Jim and Jane moved in before Jonathan moved in with Nancy. Now Will shares with Max.

It’s an open secret that Karen and Ted are far from just the social drinkers they claim to be.

Erica’s role models growing up were DW Read and Angelica Pickles. But are any of you really surprised?

Max’s dark secret is she has a bureau full of minions merchandise

The Hargrove’s doesn’t exist. Max is a Hopper just like Jane.

It’s an unspoken agreement between Nancy, Mike and Lucas that if both Ted and Karen die before Mike’s 18th then the Sinclair’s can adopt Mike if they so choose.

Dustin in the only one with tumblr. He’s got a enough blocked tags to fill Notre Dame up to Emanuel.

Steve’s a driving instructor. Dustin’s his only successful student.

Joyce and Jim are married with their four kids. Jonathan, Will, Jane and Max.

Mike makes it no secret that his favourite out of Nancy’s peer group is Jonathan. Jane’s is Argyle. Will’s is Robin. Dustin’s is Steve. Lucas and Max’s is Nancy.

Dustin and Will the only two who actively enjoy the muppets. Mike like the Simpsons. Jane likes Futurama. Lucas likes Friends. And Max likes new girl

Lucas is a whovian (the Clara era specifically). Max only watches Star Wars for Finn. Jane got Mike interested in Star Trek. Dustin and Will are Harry Potter fans. They’re both hinny and romione shippers so there’s very little arguments.

The Byers have a dog. The Henderson’s have several cats. The Wheelers have a hamster. The Sinclair’s have a horse.

Jane and Mike are speed dial number one on each other’s phone’s.

There’s no upside down and no Brenner. But Jane still has telekinesis. Except without the nosebleed’s.

Robin’s a big musical fan. But the only way she got Steve to watch them with her is by telling him about what the women look like.

Nancy found herself uncomfortably attracted to Skimbleshanks when she watched Cats 2019

Jane convinced Mike to watch once upon a time. Mike likes Emma. Jane likes Killian. They both hate Regina. And they both think Henry should’ve had more magic than he did.

Jonathan and Nancy are only living together. But Mike still calls Jonathan his brother in law. Half because it makes Ted go puce. Half because he’s already planning their wedding. He’s even gotten Holly in on it.

And last but not least. Lonnie’s dead. Car crash. No-one misses him. Joyce only went to the funeral out of respect for his mother. Jim proposed at the wake.

[whats-those]

@newbie-whovian

Thanks for tagging me :-)

Last Song - Kiss Them For Me by Siouxsie & The Banshees

Favorite Color - Turquoise/peacock blue

Currently Watching - Gotham, Pennyworth, The X-Files, The Batman (2004)

Last movie - Trick R’ Treat, which is extremely dumb but very fun. I also watched Batman: The Long Halloween around the same time which was pretty good

Sweet, spicy, or savory - All. I just love food despite being about the pickest person on the planet

Relationship - Single forever babey!! Acearo pride. I’ve got my platonic soulmate and that’s all I need

Current obsession - Batman, which was probably obvious by now. But specifically the Joker because he’s my absolute favorite, and more specifically John Doe from the Telltale games (tied for my favorite Joker with BTAS)

Last thing googled - The menu for a Chinese restaurant. Before that I googled the IMDB for Todd Stashwick because he was in Gotham and I recognized him from something else, which turned out to be Star Trek: Picard (a show which went down the gutter after the first season sadly)

Selfie - Nah. Here’s a rendition of me drawn with my finger in the notes app (I promise I’m an artist)

I’m not tagging anyone because I have never interacted with anyone on this app, but if you wanna do this, go for it.

[mildlysardonicthoughtdump]

You know what I miss....

I really miss conversations consisting of equal parts pop culture quotes/references & sardonic mockery.

When I say 'pop culture quotes' I'm not referring to the almost universal but, for the most part, short lived quotes from the likes of The Fast Show, Harry Enfield, Peter Kay, Catherine Tate & whatever Sacha Baron Cohen's latest 'just short enough of offensive to broadcast' character of the month was... whose shows seemed to be simply 'catchphrase generators' meant to give the general public something to shout at each other ad infinitum for a few weeks until they were, inevitably, replaced by the next 'mildly-humorous-at-the time-but-quickly-becoming-annoying' one, two (or if the writers put the coke down long enough...) three word phrase to bounce around the workplace & keep the 'artist' in question relevant enough to beg another season.

No!

I'm talking about the quotes & references from tv shows, books & movies that have become so beloved & iconic, no matter how small the fandom may be, that in certain cases a single word can communicate your love of a particular property to any other fan that happens to be in the vicinity. Say "Shiny" in a packed room with the right inflection & watch the heads of every Browncoat there swivel in your direction. Say "Geronimo" or "Allons y" & you've just let every Whovian in attendance have a brief glimpse into your preference of Doctor.

What I'm talking about are book series from the likes of Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett. Tv shows such as Scrubs, Firefly, Doctor Who, Animaniacs, Star Trek, Red Dwarf, Freakazoid & Tiny Toon Adventures. Renowned films ranging across genres from The Lost Boys & The Crow to Blazing Saddles & Ghostbusters. The Back to the Future Trilogy, Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Con Air, Rocky Horror, Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, Every Monty Python movie... all the way to the more cult end of the spectrum such as Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse to barely known flicks like Airheads & Ski School.

Despite the different mediums & genres, the main thing that all of these have in common (as well as many others not mentioned) is that they're all so damn quotable. Incidentally, another commonality is that the majority were created & aired in the 1970's, 80's & 90's. Whether it was due to my age at the time I initially watched them or because the writing & performances were just better back then I don't know... but, with the possible exception of Game of Thrones & certain movies from the MCU,... there just don't seem to be as many movie/tv lines that embed themselves in the mind these days. (As I type this there's actually a Writer's strike going on... unlike the previous one back in the 90's(?)... I wonder if these guys actually deserve the raise tbh)

Take something with a fairly wide fanbase like, say, Red Dwarf. Any casual watcher who enjoyed it at the time will happily call you a Smeg Head if you happen to mention the show in passing... those of us whose fandom is a little more 'rabid' could tell you what Kryten says the apple is when Lister is teaching him to lie (in the episode 'Camille')... *answer at the end of the post for anyone interested... not that anyone but me will ever read this drivel.

The point is that even the most casual of fans can throw out quotes to the above at the drop of a hat...

To get back to my original point (it had to happen eventually)... the conversations I miss having were with friends who were far more than casual fans. These were friends with whom I could throw out an obscure line from an episode of Freakazoid & they'd instantly come back with the response... completely screen accurate... with the perfect timing & inflections. Someone could be getting increasingly frustrated about a printer spitting out endless blank sheets of paper & another friend would comment that "Mr Flibble's very cross"... instantly, the mood of the entire room would lift as we all giggled our collective tits off & the quotes bounced back & forth like tennis balls. I miss standing at the lift with my old next door neighbour (an absolute authority on all things WB animation) & waiting until one of us inevitably cracked & had to say "Elelator go down the hole" which would be instinctively followed by the other uttering "I push the button... my turn, not your turn, my turn... I push the button"!

There's a certain type of person that loves their fandoms (obsesses?) enough that these lines so easily drip into their subconscious & become an integral part of their lexicon, especially when surrounded by the like minded.

I used to spend a lot of time with these people. It was comfortable. Conversation was light & easy because we 'belonged'. Unfortunately, life happens... people drift, circumstances change, new situations create changes in social circles... we end up with different groups &, often, struggle to find that 'belonging' again. Not because these new groups aren't nice, kind, sociable & welcoming people... but simply because they're not 'our' people. We can always find common ground if we try hard enough but it's often not enough common ground to sustain any meaningful communication & certainly not the 'light, easy & comfortable' communication that makes you feel that you are part of the 'tribe'... warm, welcomed & wanted... we, inevitably, end up on the outskirts of these groups, unable to get past much more than a greeting & a minute or 2 of small talk before moving on. We find ourselves, over time, with fewer & fewer invitations to social gatherings &, possibly worse, we find ourselves not wanting to go anyway.

These days we have the wonderful dumpster fire that is the internet. We can find all of our fandoms & shared interests with a tap. We find 'our people' are everywhere... in all the remote corners of the world. The friends we've drifted from are right there on social media. But.... it's just not the same as being there, in the room, making casual, off-the-cuff, random references to a common love, in the complete & total knowledge that the person next to you just 'gets it'... & you... & I miss that!

The sardonic mockery that made up the remainder of these conversations is another story entirely... maybe one day.

*the apple in question was described as "The Bolivian Navy on maneuvers in the South Pacific"

[biblioflyer]

Is Discovery still a "serious" show?

I've been rolling something around in my head. I think there's been a gradual but noticeable tonal shift in Discovery. Season three was probably the pivot point, but from 4 onwards I just didn't get the impression that Discovery was aiming for the same gravitas as Picard or the Expanse. Whereas seasons one and two very much felt like they were trying to ride the coattails of The Expanse or Ron Moore's Galactica in terms of trying to make the universe read like a Very Serious Setting full of Serious People. I think it pulled it off about as well as Stargate Universe did (which is to say, not very well) and has pivoted to something that tonally reminds me a bit of Star Trek: The Original Series. Sometimes full of gravitas but also leaning into classic TOS tropes like the captain leading from the front no matter how silly and fearlessly embracing weirdness in a manner that sometimes feels a bit Doctor Who.

I'm not a person who reads a lot of backstage interviews because I prefer to interpret what's going on through my own lens and I tend to view needing to have a show explained to me by its cast and crew to be a cardinal sin. If I'm baffled, then I'm not above assuming its me, but at the same time, I like to think that I'm canny enough to follow a plot as long as there aren't too many moving pieces. I'm willing to put my phone down for 43 minutes and pay attention to what's going on. That's all to say, if this was well established years ago as confirmed by the showrunners and cast, I didn't see that interview or Tweet. I don't generally watch The Ready Room either because I'd prefer not to have other interpretations of what's going on intruding on taking in the narrative.

So this is a round about way to say, am I reading this correctly? That Discovery has consciously pivoted to a more "Whovian" tone in many ways after flirting with The Expanse's razor edged gravitas. Or are other people still reading Discovery as a "serious" show? I should also say that I mean none of this in a sneering way. I think Discovery is actually better for taking itself less seriously because as a production it was never good at Very Serious Drama.

[xblubotx]

Okay I need to add more to this. I love the look of this dorm so much. It is truly something I’d love to live in. I’d be a whovian wearing my scarf on the cold days, reading books on con disasters, and fandom drama. I can watch Doctor Who while taking breaks, or go outside and trap people in my scarf trap, swing them around and launch them into the fucking stratosphere. Also I’d drink cappuccino in my no no clothes.

I would study a for a major in fandom history, from Star Trek, to Furry, to 2010’s fandom culture. Writing essays on Tumblr’s weird fascination on MLM ships, how Dashcon destroyed everyone’s hopes and dreams, and the why David Tennant is always lurking behind every post.

Would this all be absolutely useless information? Oh most definitely. Would I do this if it were a world where I was a better writer? Oh yes! It’s all dumb, but that’s why I love it. So watch out people on campus.

I know people are gonna call me cringe for saying this but if Tumblr University were real I’d totally go without question. I’d wear the no lounge clothes and my dorm would look like this masterpiece.

[rapha-reads]

Time to watch the Classics...

Classic Who

Doctor Who - series 1 episode 1 - An Unearthly Child

What... Okay. Here we go.

THE INTRO THEME is amazing! It's so different, and magical, whimsical!

Tardis my love - everytime I see her I'm besotted.

Coal hill school! Okay, okay, I knew the importance of Coal Hill School because I've done a lot of googling over the years about everything Doctor Who, but still, actually seeing the school at its very beginning is awesome.

Omg hello welcome to the 60s - 60s, 60s everywhere, hair, clothes, speech patterns and vocabulary, man/woman imbalance, and obviously visual effects, story rhythm and montage. Though, I'm wondering. How come the OG Star Trek from the same era is in color and sort of, more rhythmic, more... I don't want to use modern because it sounds like I'm criticizing Classic Who and saying modern ways of doing tv shows are better, which I'm not. It's not about the quality of one thing over the other, just the feel of it. Two scifi shows, one British, one American, from the very early 1960s, and it's two very distinct feels and made. It's absolutely fascinating.

Susan Foreman!!!! I've heard so much about her, I'm glad to finally meet her.

"I suppose she could be a foreigner" - ha ha ha ha ha, oh, you have no idea! Also, that line is interesting. It's after all at the heart of it all. The Doctor is a foreigner wherever they go, but also so deeply entrenched in the very fabric of the universe that's it's hard to dislodge them.

Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't comment on Classic Who, especially as early as the very first episode of the very first season of the very first Doctor, with my understanding and reading of New Who. After all, as we'll see as soon as this episode, at the moment the entire universe intradiegetic of Doctor Who is very much not installed.

I'll try to keep my 21st century comments out as much as I can while going through all 26 seasons, but I can't promise that I won't go on tangents from time to time.

"It's alive"? Wtf, Ian? I mean, yes, the Tardis is sentient and she's a lovely badass, but how is that your FIRST thought when you put your hand on a wooden door and feel it vibrate? Why alive and not, Idk, "motorized", "working", hell, even weird?

DOCTOOOOOOOR. Why, hello, First. Let's get to meet you. I'm very curious.

So the Doctor was a troll and a sassy haughty puff and huff expert from the beginning. Amazing. This explains so much.

Holy shit, that OG Tardis. Wow. She's cute.

Susan says she made up the name... But then it's a classic Time Lord ship... Oooh, inconsistencies from the beginning. I like it. Want to shove it into every-person-who's-hating-on-Thirteenth-right-now's face. Yeah, yeah, moving on. We're in 1963 now, not 2021.

"I tolerate this century but I don't like it" - huh. Okay. I mean. You do you, Doctor. Just fyi, you gonna be stuck in that century a lot of time. Better start to like it.

Oh, WOW, the First Doctor is a prick. That's. Wow. Tangent again, I knew there's a reason why being abrupt and prattish is one of the Doctor's trait throughout regenerations, but damn, First is savage as hell. Wow, I'm impressed Barbara or Ian haven't punched him yet. (Donna wouldn't have hesitated)

Holy shit. The sound of the Tardis leaving is the same. Don't leave the brakes on! I love this sound.

Where are we going now. So the first travel with companions is an accident because the Doctor and his granddaughter were fighting. Ha. I want to say "classic Doctor" but that would be a bit on the nose.

Jesus that's a lot of transition scenes. And weird faces. What is even going on with the special effects. Listen, I know the BBC back then didn't give a lot of funds to Doctor Who. I know we're even lucky to still have these episodes, what's with the fire and all. But come on. Those special effects are hilarious.

This is so much fun, I can't wait to see it all! Only 744 episodes left (I think - do Betaseries/Google count the episodes that have disappeared in that list?).

| next

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 106 - Deep Cover within a Deep Cover

Star Trek: Discovery - Season 1 Episode 11 - The Wolf Inside

We open this episode with a monologue from Michael about her time so far in the Empire universe, and how the constant need to watch her back is effecting her. Additionally, we find out that this universe's Saru is a slave, which is sad to see, but for this universe's standards should have been expected. Also the use of a transporter as a method of execution is absolutely brutal to see.

Michael has managed to obtain the information on the Defiant, however cracking the firewall from the Shenzhou is difficult, and sending it to Discovery would be noticed.

Unfortunately back on Discovery, our crew has discovered the death of Colbert, and their immediate assumption is that in his current state, Paul did it. Sylvia has an idea to cure Paul's condition however, and takes him down to the engineering lab. Her theory is that the Spore Network is simply using all of Paul's physical resources to keep the portal between the universes open, and that a fresh dose of spores might wake him up, and she puts this hypothesis to the test.

On the Shenzhou, Michael has been given the location of the leader of the Klingon rebellion, someone called "The Firewolf" and is ordered to kill him.

In a private conversation with Lorca, Michael reveals that she is really hopeful that this rebellion could lead to a Federation like entity if it wins. It's even made up of the same mix of species as the Federation founders, just substituting Klingons for Humans. She is reluctant to go through with her orders. Her plan is to beam into the Firewolf's camp with Ash to negotiate. The pair are captured immediately after appearing, and are taken to the firewolf.

Apparently Sarek is among the firewolf's camp, and they refer to him as "The Prophet". Sarek performs a mindmeld with Michael, and sees the memories from the Federation Universe, and he clears any doubt about Michael's intentions. Michael, looking for advice on how to help with the war in the Federation universe starts asking the Firewolf questions, however a lot of the Firewolf's answers start to trigger Ash's sleeper programming, and a sword fight ensues. Sarek manages to break it up however, and continues to vouch for Michael.

Meanwhile on Discovery, Sylvia's experiment is having a positive effect on Paul, and moving the stress on his brain to some of his other organs, however it then goes wrong, and medical staff have to step in to stabilise him, but he goes braindead, albiet only temporarily. Once Tilly is alone with him, we get to see Paul's perspective inside the spore network, and we're teased with him encountering his empire universe counterpart.

Back on Shenzhou, Ash finally confesses as much as he can about his current state to Michael, and he starts to remember his true past. Apparently, he is a Klingong that was molded into a human and given false memories to infiltrate discovery. More specifically, he is the Federation Universe's counterpart to the Firewolf. He attacks Michael to avenge T'Kuvma, but the Shenzhou crew apprehend him, and Michael orders to have him Transporter Executed. As he sufficates in Space though, Discovery transport him aboard, and turns out this was partially a ruse to get the Data on the Defiant to Discovery. We're then hit with a final blow of another ship appearing to destroy the Rebels themselves, and we're hit with another surprise that apparently the Emperor is Georgiou, something which I really wasn't expecting.

I'm liking this whole corruption arc for Michael, and I thought the Ash twist was fun. It was nice seeing more of this universe, but I wish we could have spent a bit more time fleshing out the Rebels. Good episode, but I think the previous one was a bit better. Still excited to see where this goes now that the Emperor is directly involved though.

[queenofspoons]

On a related note I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my parents bad mouthing something I like without knowing I was even a fan of it and it just made me feel very embarrassed and ashamed.

remember when you were a kid and whenever your parents came into the room while you were doing something for pleasure like looking at something on the computer or watching tv and you’d immediately close the thing like you’d just been caught watching porn when you were actually doing nothing wrong this post was made by strict parents with no boundaries gang

[onetragicalnerd709]

Note: I updated this on 06/06/23 because Dax's muzzle was too chunky. It's much better now!

Well…first post… let’s see, why not delve right into my Trek obsession…because that has all I have been seeing and liking since I downloaded this app. Nothing but SPACE and Spirk 🤦🏼‍♀️

This has been a re- obsession as of late. I hate to admit it but I haven’t seen any Star Trek series all the way through…except maybe Picard and Voyager since it’s my favourite…but I have seen a handful of episodes from each. I have corrected this error by starting from the beginning with TOS. I have a plethora of TOS SPIRK goodies to come soon because I. AM. WORSHIPPING. MY. SPACE. HUSBANDS! While also simping over Spock for myself. Zachary Quinto is also included. In my fantasy he bats for my team as well OK?!

Trek is a big part of my life. My mother named me after Voyager’s Seven of Nine. (Seven you may ask?! I wish…but no, she decided Annika was better for a normal human girl) I have been to museums to see props and have even seen some of the cast up close at conventions but unfortunately I wasn’t deeply involved then… (2018- 2019) The last two years have brought on exciting changes. Trek is back in the spotlight and my mind. (It won’t friggin leave! Even when I sleep!)

But… like all nerds with access to the internet I soon found out about DS9…watched like half an episode about Kira Nerys, researched her and some other characters like Jadzia Dax and fell deeply in love. I decided to feature them in this piece here and I can’t wait to seep further away from my apparent straightness when I reach DS9. I am now fantasizing my life as a Bajoran babe alongside these leading ladies.

Description: Hanging with my fantasy moms, the 2 out of many fandom moms. My wrinkled nose fantasy has come to life! Jadzia is rocking her trill spots and The little trill plush I added as a last minute addition has seemed to peak her interest. I immediately knew I had to include one when I found out they exist IRL. Found them on Etsy. Ugly but cute tbh..however I have spent too much on Trek merch recently. *no regrets*

I think I called this piece Bajoran Babes and a Worm 🪱

…but…wait

You noticed yet? Is your eyesight ok if you haven’t? Themz don’t be humans! Themz be equines!

Yep..I mainly draw MLP characters including crossover sketches so fair warning…Ponies will be a common occurrence with this profile.

You’ll be seeing my Oc frequently from now on. The purple dragon character. Her name is Sploched Canvas / Sploot for short. You may know me already from the official MLP amino as BooptheSploot too! So Hello again my timemuffins! If y’all are from there as well. She is quite dear to me. Her cutie mark has a Tardis and paint marks so if you haven’t guessed already, Whovian blood runs thick with this one and time travel is something I wish to do desperately!

(⚠️Important note) Before I log off and stop rambling your ears off. Be aware like many others on tumblr, I am strictly prohibiting the theft, tracing and or recolouring of my art or characters. If you wish to draw my characters, any of them please…just be thoughtful and ask before hand. I don’t bite. It’s just I’ve dealt with theft before and I have no tolerance for it.

Lastly I guess I should say, Hello Tumblr, hello this whole new world…*cue Aladdin music* I have arrived…please don’t let me regret it!

Enjoy! 🖖

[rachelbethhines]

Vintage Shows to Watch While You Wait for the Next Episode of WandaVision - The 60s

So the 60s is the era that Wandavision pulls most heavily from for it’s inspiration. So much so that one could make the argument that each of the first three episodes are all set in the 1960s. Episode one pulls from the early 60s with multiple Dick Van Dyke refences, episode two is very Bewitched inspired, and episode three is aesthetically very similar to The Brady Bunch which started in ‘69. As such it was hard to narrow down the list for this decade and I had to get creative in some ways. 

1. The Andy Griffith Show (1960 - 1968)

The Andy Griffith Show gets kind of a bad rap now a days for being, supposedly, a conservative’s wet dream. People claiming it as such have apparently never actually seen the series. Oh yes, it’s very much set in white rural 60s America and will occasionally present the obliviously outdated joke, but the story of a widowed sheriff being the only sane man in a small town full of lovable lunatics, who prefers to solve his and others problems with negotiation and hair brained schemes as opposed to violence has far more in common with modern day Steven Universe than whatever genocidal fantasy fake rednecks have in their heads.  

As the gif above shows Andy Griffith was very subtlety progressive for its time. Andy was a stanch pacifist, pro-gun control, treated drug addicts and prisoners with respect, and all the women he would date had careers, ect. and so on. It’s not a satire making any sort of grand political statements but the series had a moral center that was far more left than many realize. 

But if it’s not a satire, then what type of comedy is it? 

The Andy Griffith Show excels in what I like to call, ‘awkward comedy’. See everyone in Mayberry is far too nice to just come out and tell a character they’re making an ass of themselves, so therefore whoever is the idiot punching bag of the episode’s focus must slowly unravel as everyone looks on in helpless pity until said character realizes the folly of their ways and the townsfolk come together to make them feel happy and accepted once more. Wandavision takes this polite idyllic awkwardness and plays it up for horror instead of laughs.  

2. The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966)

The creators of Wandavision actually met with Dick Van Dyke himself to pick his brain and learn how sitcoms were made back then. Paul Bentley also took inspiration from Van Dyke in his performance of the sitcom version of Vision, while Olsen stated Mary Tylor Moore had a heavy influence on her character of Wanda. But more than just being a point of homage, The Dick Van Dyke Show was hugely influential in modernizing the family sitcom and breaking a lot of the unspoken traditions and ‘rules’ of the 50s television era. It’s also just really, really funny.  

3.The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962 - 1965) 

Bit of a cheat here. Alfred Hitchcock Presents actually started in 1955 as a half hour anthology show, but in ‘62 the show got a revamp and was extended into a full hour tv series. I knew I wanted The Twilight Zone to be covered in my episode one recap, but ‘The Master of Suspense’ couldn’t be forgotten. While The Twilight Zone reveled in the surreal and supernatural, Alfred Hitchcock pioneered the thriller genre and made real life seem dangerous, horrifying, and other worldly.   

4. Doctor Who (1963 - present day) vs Star Trek (1966 - present day) 

Just like how westerns dominated the air waves during the 50s, science fiction was the center of the cultural zeitgeist of the 60s. From Lost in Space to My Favorite Martian, space aliens and robots were everywhere. So naturally I had to name drop the two sci-fi juggernauts that still air to this today. If you thought that the rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek was bad then you’ve never seen a chat full of Whovians and Trekkies duking it out over who is the better monster, the Borg or the Cyberman. But which one has the more influence over Wandavision?

Well Star Trek owes it’s existence to sitcoms. As with The Twilight Zone before it, Star Trek was produced by Desilu Productions and it’s co-founder and CEO, Lucille Ball, was the series biggest supporter behind the scenes, lobbying for it when it faced early cancelation. As with all things sitcomy, everything ties back to I Love Lucy in the end. However despite that little backstory, it would seem that the series has very little to do with Wandavision itself beyond being quintessentially American. 

I would argue that Wandavision owes much to Doctor Who though. Arguably more so than any show mentioned in this retrospective. Time travel, alternate realities, trouble in quite suburbia, brainwashing, people coming back from the dead, ect... just about every trope you can find in Wandavision has also appeared in Doctor Who at some point. As a series that can go anywhere and do anything, Doctor Who was a pioneer of marrying genres in new and interesting ways. 

5. Bewitched (1964 - 1972) and I Dream of Jeannie (1965 - 1970)

It’s hard to pick one series over another because they’re essentially the same show. A mortal man falls in love with a magical girl who upends their lives with magic filled hijinks as they try their best not to have their secret discovered by the rest of the world. And both have their fingerprints all over the DNA of Wandavision. 

There’s only two core differences; Samantha and Jeannie have completely different personalities, with Sam being confident and knowledgeable and Jeannie being naïve and oblivious, along with their relationships with their respective men, Sam and Darrin being married and in love at the start of the series and Jeannie chasing after Tony in the beginning in a will they/won’t they affair, finally only getting together in the last season. 

6. The Munsters (1964 - 1966) vs The Adams Family (1964 - 1966)

Fans of these two shows are forever sadden that there never was a crossover between them. Because they’d fit perfectly together. Both shows are about a surreal and macabre family living in American suburbia and disrupting the lives of their neighbors with their otherworldly hijinks. Sound familiar?     

The main difference between the two shows is the way the characters viewed their placement in the world they inhabit. 

The Munsters were always oblivious to the fact that didn’t fit in. They just automatically assumed everyone had the same personal tastes as them. Whenever they encountered anyone who behaved strangely around them they would write that person off as being the odd one rather than questioning themselves. As such the main cast was structured like a stereotypical sitcom family who just happened to be classic movie monsters. 

The Addams were well aware that they were abnormal and they loved it! They lived life with in their own little world and didn’t care what anyone thought of them. As such the characters were far more colorful and quirky as individuals but there was little in the way of refences to other horror franchises beyond just a general love of the twisted and strange. 

7. Green Acres (1965 - 1971) and the Rual-verse (1962 - 1971)

So the MCU is not the first franchise to bring viewers an interconnected universe to the small screen. Far from it, as sitcoms had been doing this for decades, starting with the ‘rualverse’. Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres were all produced by the same company and were treated as spinoffs of each other, complete with crossovers and shared characters and sets. 

Of the three, the last show, Green Acres, has the most in common with Wandavision. A well to do businessman and his lovely socialite wife settle down in small town America on a farm in order to get away from the stresses of city life, only to find new stresses in the country. Eva Gabor, herself a natural Hungarian, plays the character of Lisa as Hungarian making her one of the few non-native born Americans on tv screens during the cold war. Despite her posh nature and original protests to the move, Lisa assimilates to the rural life far easier than her husband, Oliver. Who, as the main comedic thread, can’t comprehend his new quirky neighbors’ odd and often illogical behavior.  

8. Hogan’s Heroes (1965 - 1971) and Get Smart (1965 - 1969)

So as comic fans have been quick to point out, it’s looking like both A.I.M. (Hydra) and Sword (Shield) will be players in the story of Wandavision. To commemorate that here’s two shows to represent those opposing sides. Although in truth, neither series has anything else in common with each other but I need to condense things down someway. 

In Hydra’s corner we got Hogan’s Heroes. A show all about taking down Nazis from within. 

I love, love, love, ‘robin hood’ comedies where a group of con artists try week after to week to pull one over the establishment. The Phil Silvers Show, Mchale's Navy, and Top Cat, just to name a few examples are all childhood favorites of mine. However while those shows had a lot of morally ambiguous characters, Hogan’s Heroes has very clear cut good guys and bad guys, cause the bad guys are Nazis and the show relentless makes fun of the third reich as should we all. In fact I was watching Hogan’s Heroes while waiting for the GA run off election results. Fortunately my home state decided to kick out our own brand of Nazis this year. 

For Shield, we got the ultimate spy spoof, Get Smart. Starring, Inspector Gadget himself, Don Adams, as the bumbling Maxwell Smart. Get Smart, is a hilarious send up of Cold War espionage but the real selling point of the show, imho, is Max and his co-worker 99′s relationship. You can cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife all while laughing your ass off. 

9. Batman (1966 - 1968)

First was Superman and then came Batman. Yet while Superman was a serious action show, Batman was a straight up comedy. Showcasing that superheroes could indeed be funny. 

Also shout out for Batman being the only show on this list to have an actual crossover with it’s competitor, The Green Hornet. 

10. Julia (1968 - 1971)

Since episode two features the first appearances of Herb and Monica, let’s highlight the first black led sitcom since the cancelation of Amos ‘n Andy over a decade earlier. The show focuses on single mother and military nurse, Julia, as she tries to live her life without her recently decease husband, who was killed in Vietnam, as she tries to raise their six year old son on her own.  

The series is cute. It’s more of a throw back to earlier family sitcoms where there’s no fantasy and life lessons are the name of the game. It’s the fact that the main character is a single black woman is what made the show so subversive and important at the time. 

Runner Ups

There’s much good stuff in the 60s, so here’s some others that didn’t make the cut but I would recommend anyways. 

Car 54, Where Are You? (1961 - 1963)

I call this the Brooklynn 99 of the 1960s. Bumbling but well meaning Officer Toody longs to do good in the world and help anyone in need, but often screws things up with his ill thought out schemes. He often drags his best friend and partner, the competent but anxiety riddled, Muldoon into his escapades. 

Mr. Ed (1961 - 1966)

The grandfather of the sarcastic talking pet trope. 

The Jetsons (1962 - 1963 and 1985 - 1987)

Hanna-Barbera often took popular sitcoms and just repackaged them as cartoons with a fantasy theme to them. The Jetsons has no singular show that it rips-off but is rather more a grab bag of sitcom tropes that feature, robots, computers, and flying cars. 

The Outer Limits (1963 - 1965) 

The Outer Limits was The Twilight Zone’s biggest competitor in terms of being a sic-fi/horror anthology series. 

Gillian’s Island (1964 - 1967) 

The only comparison to WandaVision I could think of was that this is a sitcom about people being trapped in one place. But by that point I was running out of room on the list. Still it’s one of the funniest shows on here. 

So yeah, this took longer than expected cause there’s a lot, here. Hopefully the 70s will be easier. Which I’ll post on Friday. 

[rosie-love98]

Should I Include “The Animated Series”?:

Man, I hate writer’s block. I’m trying to write a series of fics about “Star Trek: TOS”. At first, I was going to ignore “The Animated Series”, but I don’t know...I hadn’t watched any full episodes (save for a few clips) and I already have so much going on. 

For context, these 10 stories would have the Third Doctor Who being assigned to help Kirk and the Enterprise before “Spearhead From Space”. As they’re supposed to take place from 2269-2270,  there would be enough time for these adventures:

-Going to a planet ruled by The Doctor’s estranged wife (and exiled Whovian), The Matchmaker, and learning about their deceased daughter.

-Revisiting Rigel VII and Argelius II.

-Meeting Mudd and Cyrano Jones again.

-Meeting characters from “Adam Adamant” and “UFO”.

-And having Kirk, Scotty, Spock, McCoy and The Doctor be in the “Dune” universe after the broken TARDIS malfunctioned. 

-The Doctor meeting Gary Seven who may or may not be his son with The Matchmaker.

It’s also worthy to point out that Scotty and Uhura would marry (thanks to the Matchmaker living up to her title) and staying married due to falling in love with each other during their struggle to contact the Enterprise (to us, they’d only be gone for two weeks, yet it would equate to two years in the planet they were on.) This union would produce their daughter, Penda, who’d be born on the ship as the Five-Year Mission would come to an end. 

With “The Animated Series” ending in 2270, I’m gonna have to jumble the timeline in order for everything to actually fit...Do I extend Uhura and Scotty’s stay with the Matchmaker? Do I just write off “Animated Series” season 2 episodes being set in January and February? do I even consider “The Animated Series” at all?

@currvycurly @@faeymouse @iseefire16 @alltingfinns@ezrisdax @karma--17 @vulcanity

[shipskicksandgiggles]

Now that I know you're a Whovian, I'm curious to know what other SciFi franchises you like. Please give me your opinion of the following:

Star Trek

Star Wars

Stargate

Warehouse 13

Eureka

Dune

This is all judgment-free, I promise. 😊

akhdhdbs okay I swear I’ve talked about dw on this acc long before this I’ve been a whovian for like 6 years, and it’s my favorite sci-fi media but I have seen a couple of those so

Star Wars: I have strong feelings. been a big fan since I was eight. the original trilogy is my favorite, Han Solo C3PO and prequels Obi Wan are tied for my favorite characters, the Empire Strikes Back is my favorite movie of the Skywalker saga, Rogue One is my favorite solo movie, and the Mandalorian is my favorite show. once I finish a few other shows I’m probably going to watch the animated series, but it hasn’t been high on my list of priorities

Star Trek: started to watch the show from the 60s, and I will say it does better than most shows from the 60s do as far as representation goes, but it’s still of it’s time. it’s good, but I also forgot I was watching it because it was the same week I found the last three seasons of criminal minds and I needed to watch that right then immediately. the science in Star Trek is better though so I will get back to it eventually

Stargate: I’ve heard good things? tentatively on my list

Eureka: never heard of it. lmk if it’s good tho

Dune: I literally just found out about this last week idk what to think. will do research later