#and frasier makes three

[trek-tracks]

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

[smallblueandloud]

yes i could tell that was going to cause a fight. i can even tell you why it did. no i didn't tell you beforehand. i've tried that and it didn't work.

[yee-haw-wizard]

I have a nasty cold but I have to go to my new job today

[cipheramnesia]

One funny piece of media criticism floating around Tumblr dot hellsite dot com is talking about making movies that are just fun, The Mummy with Brendan Frasier being a premiere example. Generally the way it goes is, "they don't have to be good, just fun." Thing is, making a fun movie like The Mummy is a lot of work. Exciting adventure stories don't just happen by accident, and part of the immense skill of such movies is making it all look easy.

I'm sometimes taken off guard by a movie that's better than expected - usually because they seem low budget and the summary sounds boring. Sometimes it's because it looks like another boring and cliche action movie. Plenty of those exist too, it's not like thousands of creators are falling ass backwards into brilliant filmmaking, Venom is an outlier. But it's really common to experience the surprise of audiences about some kind of big dumb action movie, and I think that's because so many action movies are big and dumb, few people understand that good action movies are smart.

You know what's good about the Mummy? Why it's good? Because it's a movie that knows every genre cliche the audience is waiting for, and chooses its moments to break those cliches with great care for maximum impact. It's good because it's direction knows how to build up great tension with the plot, through foreshadowing, through audience awareness, through genre standards. And the release is beautifully controlled. The "wrong side of the river" line is funny under any circumstances but it drops as a capstone on a very intense escape scene which makes it KILL, every time. When John Hannah's character turns out to be, against all the pre-loaded genre expectations and foreshadowing, actually a generally honest stand up guy, it's so much fun! Not by accident though. It's on purpose. It's a big dumb action movie but it's a big dumb action movie made by people who are very very good at making big dumb action movies.

That's really the thing of it all. There's now a hundred MCU movies that just turned The Mummy into a formula, they've carved out all the one liners and twists and turns mechanically, but they're not big dumb movies, because they're not allowed to be made with the kind of adoration of the genre that you get in smaller films, films that aren't locked into a three year product rollout plan. But you can still get big exciting movies if you look around for em. They didn't go away, they just got pushed out to the edge.

But I gotta beg again - take the time to recognize that when those movies that seem made without a thought or a care somehow manage to hit with you, give you a great big grin and a sense of excitement, remember that's not an accident or luck, someone probably plotted that out and made it fun on purpose, with care.

[lizardsfromspace]

Nothing shows off better how TV used to work than The Single Guy

In this Wikipedia grid, yellow represents one of the top ten shows on TV, and green is the #1 show of the year. You may recognize Friends, Seinfeld, and ER. You probably don't recognize any show between them, but they're all yellow

After Friends, NBC mostly gave up on making a block of their best sitcoms like they had in the 80s. NBC also had shows like Frasier and Newsradio, but they weren't on the same night. Instead they filled the time in between Friends & Seinfeld and Seinfeld & ER with...a bunch of clones of Friends, since they wanted to make Another Friends. Most of these shows had more viewers than any TV show today, and most of these shows were series no one liked that got cancelled after two or three seasons

The Single Guy is canon to Friends by the way. It's in the Friends Universe. Because Ross appears on a episode. Imagine getting a chance to crossover with Friends and choosing to feature Ross. But it was their first try at a knock-off of Friends and Seinfeld, and nearly thirty million people saw every episode. But everyone knew none of those thirty million people liked it, so they retooled it between seasons (...to make it *more* like Friends by adding a bunch of friends he talked to in a coffeeshop), and then they moved it to its own night and uh

The viewers did not follow.

But the shift from blocks to exclusively on-demand viewing changed TV in a fundamental way, bc now you have to seek everything out. You can't just be exposed to something new. The whole strategy of building shows up by putting them in between other shows, under the belief people would just keep the TV on between two shows they like, is gone. It seems silly, but most of those shows weren't like The Single Guy. Friends started off in between Mad About You & Seinfeld, and then Seinfeld & ER. A lot of popular shows started there, but also that slot was often given to a show that had Emmys and critical praise but that weren't huge hits. Under the programming block model shows could just exist until they found an audience Cheers was one of the lowest rated shows on TV its first season, and didn't become a top ten hit until its fourth season; Seinfeld didn't become one until season five. Remember fourth and fifth seasons?

That model really couldn't survive streaming, or even the DVR age, and also NBC deciding to fill every free slot with shitty Friends clones didn't help. But this is a part of why streaming services are terrible at producing sitcoms & new series in general, and why Abbott Elementary is airing as its network's only sitcom & sandwiched at the half hour between reality shows

[externalmemorycomic]

Image description: A black and white illustration, designed to look like a book cover. On a decorative ribbon, the title at the top reads “External Memory”. A scroll work border of leaves and flowers divides the illustration into three rounded panels. The largest panel is in the center and shows a caravan surrounded by greenery, puddles and potted plants. The two smaller panels beneath it show a cartoon cat and mouse respectively, facing each other. At the bottom is another decorative ribbon with the text “a diary comic by My Murphy”. After the cover follows an 8 page comic. The style is cartoonish and the colours are soft pastels. Page one: An orange cat waves and says “Hello! I’m My.” The cat holds up a white mouse and says “This is Mouse, my girlfriend.” Caption: My name is actually My, but Mouse is a nickname for comic and privacy purposes. Caption: When I started this project, me and Mouse lived on a little island off the Swedish coast. The panel shows a stylised, tiny island with a lighthouse, spruce and birch trees, leaning houses and a little dock with a row boat tied to it. The cat and mouse are standing on the cliffs and a swan floats on the water in the foreground. Page two: Caption: Now we’ve moved to Ireland where we live in a caravan in the middle of nowhere. A small caravan, surrounded by greenery, overgrown trees, rocks, puddles and potted plants. The caravan has two windows and the cat and the mouse are looking out of one window each. Caption: We lived on the island to be close to my family. A ribbon with writing on it separates and labels four characters: “mom”, an ermine, “dad”, a wolverine, “brother”, a marmot and “step mom”, a squirrel. The ribbon has been torn in between “mom” and “dad”. Caption: and we moved to Ireland to be close to Mouse’s family. Three characters are shown, each with their own ribbon label. “mother-in-law”, a deer, “sister-in-law”, a jack russell terrier and “brother-in-law”, a hedgehog. Page three: Caption: Me and the mouse are currently in our thirties. The cat lounges on an antique fainting couch and the mouse sleeps on a cushion on the floor. On the floor is an open bag of “let’s” crisps and a laptop. Caption: We’re both pretty decrepit in various ways, so for this comic I draw couches and beds as often as I draw people. Caption: Disability isn’t especially interesting to me, but if a fish made an autobiographical comic… A fish under water paints a four panel comic with a brush held in its mouth. The panels the fish has painted show bubbles, waves and splashing water. Caption: …it’d probably be partly about water, whether the fish cared about water or not. Page four: Caption: My memory has always been pretty crappy. If a friend asks me: “do you remember when...” The question is shown asked by a red robin Caption: I usually have to answer: “no, I don’t.” The panel shows the cat giving this answer while looking away and blushing. Caption: There are many things in my life I’d like to remember. Mom the ermine watches as the cat opens a Christmas gift in front of a Christmas tree. The cat is much smaller than usual, its tail is bushy with excitement and it holds up a big book, “Mort”, with a skull on the cover. Caption: This comic is my EXTERNAL MEMORY so I can capture some of those moments… The cat admires a butterfly hovering above its outstretched paw Caption: …great or small. Page five: Caption: I try to make one strip per day, give or take. Pages with dates written on them blow off of a daily wall calendar by a strong breeze. As they turn over, comic pages are revealed to be drawn on the back. One comic shows the mouse with long fangs, biting the face of the cat and then hissing behind a bat wing. One comic is a pastiche of Tim Buckley’s “Loss” comic and one features a portrait of Frasier Crane and the Seattle skyline. Caption: and on the days when nothing interesting happens A close up shows the cat’s paw drawing a comic panel. In this panel a smaller, rounder version of the cat runs happily in the sunshine carrying a backpack. Caption: I reach back and draw something from my past. Caption: If you read this comic and wonder: A coyote looks at the comic on its phone, strokes its chin suspiciously and asks “did that really happen?” Caption: the answer is always yes. Caption: If you read this comic and wonder: A monkey reads the comic in zine form and think “did they really say that?” Caption: the answer is usually yes. Page six: Caption: When a specific phrase is the point of the strip, it’s recorded verbatim. The mouse says “you’re marching to the beat of the potato drum.” Caption: is a direct quote. Caption: When the point is something else, I sometimes take small liberties to make the memory fit well inside four panels. The cat sits at its drawing table, holding a pair of scissors in one hand and a paper with two comic panels in the other. Caption: Usually that means I make myself or the mouse play the part of the straight man because it will improve a joke. The cat and the mouse, dressed as clowns, stand in a circus tent. The cat pulls the clown nose from the mouse’s face and holds up a pie, ready to strike. Caption: In reality, neither of us is much of a straight man, but all art demands some sacrifices. Caption: In every way that matters, this comic always tells the truth. The cat looks up at a large, glowing, winged sphinx statue version of itself. The statue and framing is a reference to the all knowing Southern Oracle from the film adaptation of “The Neverending Story”. Caption: I am doing this to aid my memory after all, so it wouldn’t be very helpful to make my life seem more funny, interesting or relatable than it really is. The cat draws a comic while watching paint dry on the wall. Caption: That would be a pretty cruel joke to play on my future, more confused self. The cat scratches its head at a drawing of themselves as the winner of a beauty contest, wearing a sash and crown, waving to the crowd and holding flowers. Caption: She’ll probably have enough to contend with… The cat looks suspiciously at its own reflection in the mirror, not recognising it. The drawing is a pastiche of a panel from the webcomic “Gunshow” by KC Green. Caption: Maybe some of my comics will be funny or interesting or relatable to you anyway. That would make me very happy. The cat smiles and presses its paws to its face in joy, seeing that a bear and a horse are reading the comic together and laughing. Cartoon hearts float over the cat. Caption: Some of the comics probably won’t do much for anybody but me, but that’s okay too. The cat presses a page of the comic to its chest, looking contented and protective. In the last panel, the cat and the mouse are floating on air with a blue sky and white clouds behind them. The cat is smiling and twirling around, holding a paint brush out like a wand. From the brush flows paint that swirls around the two figures and making shapes of green leaves and orange and yellow flowers. On two looping blue ribbons appear the last captions: This is a record of my silly little life. Good or bad, I’m glad I get to share it. End ID.

Here’s a little introduction to External Memory! It was fun to make a proper neat and full colour comic - it’s been a while ^^

(If you like this project, please reblog this post! You can also subscribe to my patreon where I post one comic every day ^^)

[variousqueerthings]

omg dude (gn) you got into due south? I've followed you for a long time bc mash, I love it when people I know from other fandoms get into my most beloved stuff <3 check out @ds30below btw if you're interested, it's an anniversary fest I run with a lof of fun stuff etc etc! and have funnnnn it's such a great show!

helloooooooo

yes, a bunch of mutuals have been going wild over it for a hot sec and it was Time!

I'm on episode 3 (not counting the pilot) and I have a lot of initial Thoughts to bring over from the discord onto this illustrious site, so i will use this ask as An Excuse:

Frasier is really introduced as an Archetype of masculinity, which is almost immediately subverted by his being completely without machismo -- his machismo is so in the negative that he goes around and becomes this Ideal of masculinity instead

the fact that his ethos is kindness, but it's not necessarily guileless. it is selfless in that he's not necessarily expecting to get returns on it all the time, but it's also -- to him -- often truly the most effective means to an end: if you're kind to others, people will often become kinder. this can be useful in the shortterm (if you give this kid a nice sandwich and don't threaten him with jail time and help him out a bit, he'll try to help with a case...) and in the longterm (this kid will stay in school and have a better future ahead of him, hopefully)

(i will get to ray btw, need to just get all the frasier thoughts out first)

frasier really embodies autistic swag. he takes things incredibly literally, he follows scripts (in this case, The Mountie Script, and also within that some kinda Code Of Gallantry), he's an incredible people-reader of the "autistic savant" type arguably (except there's more to him so the savant trope doesn't quite hold, which is good), his relationship with his dog Diefenbaker, the fact that although he is nigh-effortlessly kind of charming (because he's clark kent vibes!!! he's charming in a way as if he stepped out of a novel set 100 years ago in which kissing women's hands was the norm) he doesn't really make close friendships easily, because there's an Otherness to him that keeps him at a distance to others (except ray. WE WILL GET TO RAY STAY TUNED)

speaking of Distance, a lot of the aroaceness i've read into him so far (and we're literally only three episodes in!!!) really does feel like his autism is triggered by come-ons in the "this is not in my script!" kind of way. his charm is tripped up by the obvious step of "charming man is charming, I will shoot my shot," it's happened several times and every time he tries to extricate himself in the most awkward way possible. can't go on a date, you see. i have.. a dog. and no phone. um. ok. bye.

lot of thoughts on his hero-worship of his absent father and how much of his script comes from wanting to make his father proud

frasier also tastes things a lot of the time and ray thinks it's gross and i think that's something too. the doctor (doctor who) autism coded

OKAY TIME FOR RAY

he reminds me. of gonzo. he has the same transmasc swag. as gonzo. his shirts. his ties. that fuckn. OVERSIZED SO OVERSIZED MASSIVE STUPID JACKET. he's transmasc swag/fail coded in the same way as gonzo. he is gonzo

ray spends so much time in the beginning admonishing frasier for his consistent kindness to others, and the thing is. The Thing Is. he met frasier and (barring the immediate impression) decided to nearly immediately invite him to a massive family dinner. then he saved him from a bomb and got himself hospitalised. then he followed him to canada to help him. and that's only in the pilot! ray is so kind to frasier constantly. he's such an abrasive man to pretty much everyone except to frasier from day one

when frasier asked him to get a special pass for his wolf and at the end of the episode he did, and frasier was like: "i only asked you once and you got it 🥺" "of course i did, you asked me for it 😍"

just. nigh. constantly. kind. to. him. currently frasier's in hospital because he got stabbed and we had ray running to see him, forcing his way into his room, comforting him, sir you make fun of the way all the girls fall at his feet (and how frasier never notices) I think you are one of the girls!

MY MAN GOT HIM FLOWERS WHILE HE WAS IN HOSPITAL JUST BECAUSE??????? SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (he also makes him take aspirin, he's giving real caretaker in this episode)

so far we know less about ray than about frasier, but im glad the show has him be mouthy, sarcastic, pessimistic, but he's not cruel or callous -- arguably he wants frasier in his life in order to challenge him on his cynical worldview, he's nourished and inspired by frasier's approach towards the world as much as everyone else

misc: I really like that the world being presented isn't necessarily kind, but the main characters (ray learning to be softer via frasier) are kind as a response. it's got some Coolness Factor Shorthand stuff going on ofc, but it is fundamentally a story about facing a relatively realistic world with kindness in order to make it better

I'm sad eric schweig was only in the pilot but the main thrust of the show does take place in chicago i guuuuuuuesss. his role in that pilot was great though, a lot of interesting stuff about taking away frasier's rose-coloured lens of the world, and especially canada, but he also gets what's his at the end, so he's not just there to "offer advice" (although there is a bit of that trope for sure, especially as he doesn't seem to have a name). great character, if I write fic where they go to canada he's definitely gonna be in there!

me and @gjdraws were talking about how ray clearly likes spoiling frasier -- he's the one with the money, he gets him the wolf licence, brings him flowers in hospital, carries aspirin for him.... I'm just saying we were robbed of a "ray takes frasier shopping and there's a montage" bit, considering how frasier only has two fuckn outfits in the first few episodes. who took him shopping??? there's no way he went on his own steam. that was ray all the way! private runway show

[marzipanandminutiae]

you know, the Horrible Histories "Victorian names were WEIRD!!!!" skit leaves out some important info on some of the names (assisted by Ancestry.com searches):

Lettice Berger: "Lettice" was an anglicization of the Roman name "Leticia." Berger is just a normal German surname. Yes, they had the word "lettuce," and I'm sure the similarities occurred to them. But nobody named their child "lettuce" like the vegetable.

O.K. Johnson: Probably just the kid's initials. "O.K." as a slang term was invented in 1830s Boston, but without any evidence of when little O.K. lived (they don't cite any sourced for these names, how convenient), it's impossible to tell whether it would have crossed the pond by the time he was born.

Never [they pronounce the surname Rookrook]: I found a LOT of Nevers in the UK with Indian surnames. So uh. There's that. And a lot of census records online seem to have notes written by the census-taker mislabeled as names- "never opens door" was one I noticed. Just saying. I also found multiple "NEVA Rook" census entries- which probably would have been pronounced "NEE-vah" but sounds like "Never" with a British accent if you tilt your head and squint.

Toilet: Surprisingly common modern misreading of "Violet" on 19th-century censuses with bad handwriting.

Baboon: Found one census where it's a misreading of "Barbara;" others were non-Anglo names like Baban, Babyon, Babboni, etc.

Susan Semolina-Thrower: That's just two unfortuate surnames, I'm guessing? I can't find their sources, again, but I do find a lot of records of "Semolina" as a surname in the UK during the 19th century. The poor parents had no control over that, did they?

Happy: ...yeah, it's a virtue name. And? How is that weirder than Faith, Hope, Grace, Patience, Prudence, etc?

Evil: Another census misreading- usually "Evie."

Minty Badger: "Minty" is short for Araminta/Aminta/Arminta. Still sounds like a Discworld character, but nothing would sound normal with "Badger" as a surname. Araminta Badger at least makes more sense to modern ears, though.

Freezer Breezer: Breezer was a real surname, and parents can be cruel. I don't doubt that- my dad went to school with an "Emily Memily." that being said...I did find a "Fred R. Breezer" born in 1873 in England; see above re: census misreadings. Just throwing that out there. I found it as a corruption/misspelling of "Fraser/Frasier" too.

Scary Looker: I actually found this one. It was a misreading of "Jeany" on a census- the girl's name was Jane Looker, born 1841 in Lancashire to John and Elizabeth Looker. Nice research there, team.

Farting Clack: Fasting Clack or Clark, born 1863 in London. Another lovely misreading from the census. True "Fasting Clark" is not NOT a weird name, but it's a lot less horrible than "Farting Clack" and it makes sense under the Hyper-Christian Parents category.

Princess Cheese was real, not a nickname, and not a misreading or misspelling. Princess May Cheese was born in 1896 in West Bromwich. She married one John T. Brookes in 1914- possibly eager to no longer be a Cheese?

Multiple people really have been christened Bovril, most notably one Bovril Simpson, married in West Ham in 1911.

Incredibly, Raspberry/Rasberry/Roseberry is a real given name, and Lemon a real surname. Most people named Raspberry seem to have been men.

So that's only three of their Wacky Victorian Names that are actually 100% real. Nice job, there, team. I love Ghosts, but get your collective act together!

(They did once have a skit insisting that Victorians called trousers "the southern necessity" when that's actually a phrase from the writings of famously terrible 19th-century author Amanda McKittrick Ros, whose work her contemporaries loved poking fun at. So I shouldn't be surprised)

[jamesey1992]

https://soundcloud.com/frasier-crane-1992/weigh-in-and-teasing

Here is my first ever audio! Feedback appreciated but note that I'm new to this so please be kind!

Short audio of a feeder who's fattened up his piggy and she's hit her goal and then some! Contains teasing. Let me know if you'd like to hear more!

Script is below if you'd like to follow along:

Good morning sweetie! How did you sleep? Good! Well, do you know what time it is? That’s right, it’s weigh in time! You’ve really been packing it away lately and it shows! I can’t wait to see the big number so let’s get you weighed in and measured up! Come on, let’s go to the bathroom, the scales ready for you.

Huh? Oh, sure, I’ll help you up. Here, take my hands. One.. two… three… go! Oof, I swear it gets harder and harder to hoist you out of bed these days. Come on, let’s go.

Ok, here we are. Wow, look at you piggy. Your pyjamas look skin tight, I can see the outline of your belly button through your shirt! And a tiny bit of tummy poking out below too! Wait, didn’t I buy you a new set of pyjamas the other week? Why aren’t you wearing those? Wait, that is the new set! Jesus, you’ve outgrown your clothes that quickly!?! Ok, now I HAVE to see the number.

Come on, strip down. Fucking hell, look at you. There’s so much bouncing, rippling and jiggling from the slightest of movements. I think your belly is swaying now, I never thought you’d get so big to do that. Man, I should’ve brought a camera and watch the footage back in slow motion! It’s almost hypnotic!

What’s wrong? Are you out of breath? Fuck, you’re wheezing! It’s understandable, I mean you’ve all the way the bathroom and removed an item of clothing! That would make anybody tired! Here, sit down and catch your breath. I’ll undress you.

Alright, you ready to get weighed and measured? You’ll need to stand for a few minutes you know, have you regained your energy? Ok, hoist that fat ass on the scale piggy. What’s up? Ooh, I forgot you can’t see your feet anymore! Don’t worry, I’ll look for you. Oh wow. Guess the number piggy. Higher… nope even higher… higher. Give up? Well, it seems you’ve passed your goal and then some! You’re 363lbs!

Well done piggy! All those shakes and feasts and lack of movement has really paid off, huh? Ok, now for the measurements. I know you can’t stand for long so let’s just do the belly for now. Let me just wrap the tape around you. And get in between these rolls here. I can barely wrap my arms around you sweetie! Oh dear, it appears you’ve gotten so plump that you’ve outgrown the measuring tape! Fuck, that’s next level fatness. Ok, so that’s 60 inches plus say 1.. 2.. and say 3! I’ll order a new tape and I think a new scale too since this one only goes to 400lbs and you seem to be expanding faster than the universe itself!

I’m so proud of you piggy! I had a feeling you’d hit your goal today so I have a surprise for you! Can you guess what it is? Yeah, that’s right a triple chocolate cake…. How did you know? Wait, you did you look in the fridge?

For fuck’s sake, piggy! You’ve eaten half the cake? When did this happen? I bought this last night and hid it in the salad drawer! Fucking hell, no food in a 2 miles radius is safe from your greedy fatass. Out of curiosity, which of your midnight feasts did you find the cake? Oh, the third one? Yes, I hear your feasts piggy, the floor creaks so much when you waddle around my flat plus you’re always wheezing. But I don’t mind, it’s cute. Don’t worry about the cake, finish the rest now and I’ll get started on breakfast. As long as it’s in your 63-inch gut that’s all that matters. Though, next time I should probably get two cakes to celebrate. What do you think, piggy?

[blush-and-books]

oh also! you’re a film major right?.. what did you think about the direction on the show?? and what do you think abotu the fact so much of donna and harvey is Hidden from the audience like we never see what the can opener thing is and when they spend the night in s3 we never actually see them kiss like he leans in and the door closes in front of the camera

HAHA!! yes i am a film major with an actual degree now lol. but let's all take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

i don't have any grand thoughts on how the show is directed, because it's always felt pretty basic to me lol!! the shots are very simple, the composition never goes too crazy (but sometimes i will say they do kinda eat some shots however overall it's incredibly one-toned), and tbh that's very typical of a show like Suits bc it's somewhere in between "network procedural" and "adventurous legal drama."

the fact that so much of donna and harvey is hidden from us is likely a combination of deliberate action, and whatever the fuck is going on in that writers room. The can opener thing reminds me a little of the character Maris Crane from Frasier - if you're unfamiliar, she's the wife of one of the main characters but she's never EVER shown on screen and we never hear her voice, she's just talked about in increasingly alarming descriptions (multiple facelifts, fragile and little body, etc). All of this is to say that the can opener thing suddenly becomes a bit where the writers are probably like "it would be funny if we reference it and build on it but we never have to decide what it actually is, so that we can escalate it as much as we want." first it's the can opener, then there's thumbtacks involved, and then there's supposedly a record amount (two dozen? three dozen?).

the choice to never show us their real first kiss in the other time is definitely absolutely deliberate. at this point in the series, i don't think it was locked in for donna and harvey to be endgame, so there was a lot of room to toy with the audience. they build us up with their flirting and talking about hooking up but they're going to deny us the satisfaction and leave us wondering - where does this really go? and do we really want to see them kiss for the first time in a flashback?? that's a big moment even if it's a past event, so they wouldn't want to just dump it on us in a way that's less meaningful than how it could happen in the present timeline.

id love to hear more things you think were hidden from the viewers!!!

small other bit of cinematic analysis: something that has started to irk me in my rewatchings of various episodes and getting stills for the edits i've been making is the series lack of solid two-shots between donna and harvey. so many of their interactions are just filmed in a shot-reverse-shot (back and forth between shots of each character over the shoulder of the other character as one of them speaks) and there is like SO MUCH INTIMACY that can be made just by putting them in a frame TOGETHER. and it's not that they never do this, there's some great examples, but I've found there's scenes between them that just could have benefitted from having both of them in the frame and not just cutting back and forth. if you'd like more explanation on this i will get stills from other series as well and demonstrate but it's a very little nitpicky thing honestly

thank you for this ask!!! send more when the mood strikes 🥰🥰🥰

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

Star Wars Shows I want to Whisper in Dave Filoni's ear

So, @onvermel and I were video-chatting to compare notes on The Acolyte (short version, we both liked it), but as the conversation ranged wide over all things Star Wars, we ended up having some rather specific ideas of what we'd like (or like to have had) in a Star Wars show.

Firstly:

Jar Jar Binks After the Prequels

We both agreed that it's probably still a little while before Lucasfilm/Disney is brave enough to dip its toes back in the Jar Jar waters after George Lucas himself backed off royally in Episodes II and III, but we think the time has come. We want a show that follows him after Revenge of the Sith. It could go three ways, and I want to see all three:

The Rise and Fall of the House of Binks: i.e., the dramatic tragedy. After the death of his friend and mentor, Padmé Amidala, Representative Binks is again asked to step in as Acting Senator for Naboo--this time by the Emperor himself. Jar Jar is honoured and humbled to follow in Padmé's steps and takes pride in continuing her legacy. Over the course of the show (at least two seasons), Jar Jar comes to realise what Padmé's legacy really was, and he comes to realise with horror that: a.) he betrayed it with his vote in Attack of the Clones, b.) that his pride in Naboo as the homeworld of the Emperor is profoundly misplaced, and c.) that something is seriously wrong. And once he realises all this and tries to do something about it, the Emperor gets wind of it and sends his fearsome enforcer, Darth Vader, and in his last moments, Jar Jar has a terrifying realisation--this is another man he knows.

Binks: a comedy about Acting Senator-turned-permanent senator Jar Jar Binks. As I put it to Onvermel, a few sad deaths of friends aside, this is the show where Jar Jar is the only person still living in the Republic after the end of the prequels: hesa very good friend of the chancellor, appointed permanent senator by Queen Jamilla in the hopes of leveraging that favour, and Palpatine finds him a useful cog and... the show is just Jar Jar bumbling about in a Frasier-esque existence oblivious to what he's enabling or what has happened. There's some social commentary in this: through Jar Jar's eyes, we see the galaxy as Palpatine wanted people to see it--and as many people (not the rebels or the downtrodden) actually did. It's mostly just laughs until the final episode: Palpatine has died at Endor, the New Republic has taken Coruscant, and Senator Binks as a close collaborator of Palpatine for thirty years is put on trial (after Mas Amedda and right before Sate Pestage) for war crimes. He's taken away guilty at the end--"but meesa knows nothing about the Sith! Meesa knows nothing!" in a Seinfeld-esque downer of an ending.

Meesa Bombad: a full blown, Chuck Lorre-style, sitcom (or maybe Cheers, if Jar Jar takes a Sam-esque role a former minor celebrity opening a bar) complete with laugh-track and three-camera set. Jar Jar doesn't have to be a senator in this one. I'd be happy with one episode as a holiday special proof-of-concept--but I'd also take Three Broke Gungans with five years of 22-episode seasons. Sebulba makes frequent guest appearances as Jar Jar's nemesis.

The other "show" we wanted is less of a show and more of a missed opportunity for The Clone Wars that we'd like to see revisited:

Dexter Jettster's Diner

How did we get 7 seasons of The Clone Wars without seeing Obi-wan's buddy and his diner? Why was there never a scene where Obi-wan went there to relax? It could still happen--so let's manifest that. But imagine what could have been in Season 7:

Ahsoka, just gone from the Jedi order, is trying to make her way in Coruscant's underworld, and finds herself in a diner late at night, eating comfort food. The proprietor, a friendly older Besilisk, lends her a sympathetic ear as she tells him a redacted version of her story: she used to have a home, she used to have family, but she was lied about and betrayed, and no one believed her--they all believed her accuser and no one listened to her. Dexter tells her at the end, when he's trying to give her some comfort:

"Well, it's like I always say, lying only works if you believe it. What your friend told your family might have been true... from a certain point of view."

[The point of this anecdote is the rueful tears of fans--but, more seriously, what is Star Wars without way too many callbacks? If you're going to revisit Dexter Jettster--and they should--shouldn't he be tied to Obi-wan?]

[ginger-snap-talkin-nonsense]

Something that’s always struck me is that you seem to enjoy the idea of liking sitcoms/slice of life shows, more than you’ve ever enjoyed spending the time needed to ACTUALLY watch and enjoy those types of shows themselves. I literally remember other people used to at least TRY fucking talking with you about new sitcoms all the damn time (from that Night Court reboot to The Bookie to that Frasier reboot to Craig of the Creek etc.). But you either just. . . . .couldn’t be fucked to watch literally the ONLY two types of TV shows you’ve ever had any even vaguely positive feelings about, or you just hated them too, EXACTLY like you fucking hate every single other genre of television/movies out there.

It’s like you just enjoy having something anything to point to as being the one, SINGLE ideal form of storytelling that towers above everything else in this bizarrely classist, rigidly hierarchical system of what stories are “allowed” to be the ones that “truly matter”. And for some reasons some years ago you just. . . . .chose sitcoms/slice of life shows without really fucking thinking about it, and have stuck with that out of sheer apathetic laziness more than anything else. Because you sure as HELL haven’t make three over-hour long podcasts crying with Lily and Mikaila about how a an extremely diverse, wonderfully written sitcom was one of the worst piles of garbage that somehow personally failed you. Because it’s CREATORS are the that inherently untalented and maliciously trying to screw over the poor Disney company out of their righteously earned billions made off of the hard, long work of Bob “cut the damn trans kids scenes!!!!” Iger alone.

Damn sitcom Anon the holidays are really not a good time for you, are they?

Love the use of classicism-entirely nonsensical as a critique, looks like you threw a list of Twitter talking points on tumble dry for 45 minute well done

[pt-piranha]

Okami x Frasier Crossover

Amaterasu gets close with Martin Crane and he's the only one who sees her markings. He goes with her in place of Issun. Frasier and Niles tag along because they think their father's gone insane and is too old to be traveling the monster-infested Japanese countryside with a bad hip, believing that some mangy wolf he found is a goddess. Amaterasu keeps doing this or that, and Frasier and Niles have a harder time buying into it.

In Orochi's part of the game, Frasier is the one who unsealed him, but it was by accident. Daphne is the village maiden selected to be Orochi's sacrifice. But she claims to be psychic and thinks she'll be fine. Niles is desperate and insists on going to have a word with Orochi. Or at least offer Maris as a substitute sacrifice. The three Cranes end up in Orochi's lair, trying pathetically to disguise themselves as youkai before Ammy saves everyone. Frasier and Niles are finally convinced. Roz walks in, ready for a date with Orochi, only to find he's been killed. She hooks up with a nearby imp to avoid going out with Noel.

The Crane family decides to keep going with Amaterasu. They get to the big city and Frasier and Niles are disappointed that the plague is keeping them from rubbing elbows with the high society types. Frasier gets shrunken down with Ammy at one point and antics ensue with him trying to get Niles and Martin's attention without getting squished. Niles keeps shaming Rao for dressing so provocatively. He feels vindicated when it turns out she's Ninetails and Frasier yells at him that he's missing the point.

After Ninetails is killed, they go to the snow area and when they go back in time, Frasier tries to scope out what his ancestors were like, so he can feel smug about his roots. There's a series of misunderstandings where he finds a classy local lord and assumes that's his ancestor before realizing his ancestor was some farmer or something. Martin gets along swimmingly with the farmer. In the village of the wolf people, Frasier makes a remark about leaving their father here with all the dogs he could ever want. When they encounter Lechku and Nechku, there's a joke about Frasier and Niles arguing over what time it is and using one of the owls as a reference.

Only Martin's allowed to go with Ammy on the ark. When she needs help though, Frasier and Niles finally put their psychiatric ability to use and rouse the people into supporting Amaterasu. Ammy, Waka and Martin head off into the sky, while Frasier and Niles return to their village.

In the credits animation, "Reset" is replaced with the tossed salad and scrambled eggs song.

"What is a wolf to do?" I don't know why I wrote this.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Christine and Bebe: The Altos' Lament

Audra McDonald vs. Christine Baranski Bebe Neuwirth vs. Bernadette Peters

In continuing to prove everyone is connected to everyone, Bebe and Christine have long-standing ties that bind in both the stage and screen communities. In addition to Bebe's guest appearances on The Good Fight, led by Christine Baranski (more on that later):

Another Frasier guest stars who squared off against Kelsey Grammar, Christine as Dr. Nora Fairchild appeared as a one-off character with her own KALC radio show. It goes about as well as you'd expect. And of course, two-time Emmy winner Bebe Neuwirth was and is the inimitable Dr. Lilith Sternin (my beloved). They do not cross paths, but I, for one, think they would have gotten on like a house on fire.

In 1997, Bebe and Christine were joined by Ann Reinking in a big brassy Broadway tribute to the legendary Lauren Bacall. Christine and her defined collarbone, began the evening with "Welcome to the Theatre" from Applause, a musical adaptation of All About Eve. Bebe, in a gown she would re-wear for her 2013 album, followed hot on her heels with "Broadway Baby."

It is a gift to have this clip of Christine, Bebe, and the late Annie Reinking in a trio for the ages. Three triple-threat actor's actors who didn't need to belt to the rafters to delight and astound. Remember the days when they let altos be altos?

(There's also the Chicago connection of Christine playing Mary Sunshine in the movie, but the movie and I have problems, so we're just going to move along.)

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

CYPA Chapter 44 Snippet

Private WhatsApp Chat Resumed: Thursday 3rd March, 2022, 09:12 Members: Em Whitehead, Lily Evans

================================

Lily Evans: <image attachment> This was for me For ME And she PISSED ALL OVER IT, EMILY She took a great big so-pale-yellow-that-it's-practically-clear, super well-hydrated piss all over my dreams because of COURSE her piss is super well-hydrated, SHE'S not the one who chugged three Cokes and ate a full-sized carvery dinner in bed last night, was she? THAT WAS ME THAT'S WHAT I DID

Em Whitehead: Ok wait a sec, I have questions. You made yourself a full carvery dinner last night?

Lily Evans: No, I had it delivered. Had a roast potato craving.

Em Whitehead: And James posted a photo of his feet…for you?

Lily Evans: No it's not about his feet, his feet just happen to be on the end of the sofa, but he's watching Frasier and he knows I'VE been watching Frasier and we've been talking about watching Frasier but now we're not speaking to each other so I feel deeply like this is his way of reaching out without actually reaching out to say hi, it's me, and I'm also watching Frasier. But then of course SHE'S there Making it all about his feet like a toe-sucking sex-crazed territory-marking maniac??? What kind of comment is that to leave on a public post anyway? Where I can see it? Where his FATHER can see it? And if she's going to be so obvious, why not just announce to the world that she wants to suck his dick and be done with it? You know what Ultimately I don't like this colour on myself.

[thinkingaboutbetterdays]

oh, what a night! ( niles crane x reader )

gif belongs to me

You were sitting with Frasier and Roz when Niles arrived at the café and he returned minutes later to find Roz telling a story about a guy she had gone out on three dates with - each ending the same.

You thanked him when he set a cup next to you. "Roz is telling us about a guy she dated." You explained as he sat between you and his brother.

"Can you narrow it down?"

You playfully nudged him with your shoulder and turned to Roz who paused in her tale to send him an irritated glance. "So you were at your apartment..." You trailed off.

"Right." She began again, "We decided to call it off, but then he kissed me and said, 'Just give me one more night'. And he pulled off his uniform, and buttons were flying everywhere. Then he grabs me, and he says, 'Baby, I'm gonna make this a night you will never forget.' When I woke up, the pillows were on the floor, and the sheets were a mess. I will always remember it."

You smiled, "Have you seen him since that night?"

Roz shook her head. "No, I haven't."

"Are you sure? There have been so many, you could have walked by him and not known it."

You looked at Niles as he casually sipped his tea, but you could see the slight smirk on his lips.

"You don't even wrinkle the sheets, do you?" Roz shot back.

Niles gaped, offended, his cup hitting the saucer with a clink as he set it down while Frasier poorly hid his amusement.

It was your turn to smirk as you took a sip of your drink, "Usually we have to patch up holes from the headboard."

Roz raised an eyebrow, mirroring your smirk as Niles looked at you in surprise at your admission.

You squinted in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "August twelfth." A grin formed on your lips. "What a night that was."

Niles raised his eyebrows at you while Roz shook her head, and Frasier muttered about 'talk of his brother's life was ruining his coffee'.

Niles smiled when you leaned into him, placing his hand on the back of your chair. "It was, wasn't it?" He spoke in your ear, but Frasier was close enough to overhear.

"Oh, get a room." The eldest Crane brother grumbled.

Niles checked his watch and you smiled, "You know, I do have extra time this afternoon due to a cancellation."

Frasier rolled his eyes when you both stood up and shook his head when you bid goodbye, heading to Niles's car. Roz watched as you walked with haste, hand in hand across the street, heading to Niles's car, the gleam in your eyes and the smile on your lips was all the proof she needed to know you weren't kidding about August twelfth - last Tuesday night.

And while she may jokingly mention guys she could hook you up with, just to rile up Niles, she was truly happy that you both had found happiness after seeing the pain he went through after his divorce and your broken engagement.