#ben and folk were amazing in the pilot though :/

[pharawee]

The Hidden Moon starring Kin Thanachai and David Matthew Roberts will release its official trailer on 11 June 2024.

If the name seems familiar - it's the one were they shot a pilot trailer with entirely different actors and only THEN did the official casting for it (yes, I'm still a bit miffed about that).

The story is based on a novel by Violet Rain who also wrote I Feel You Linger in the Air so theoretically it should be absolutely amazing. 🤞

[lunaajade]

Everything You Need to Know about “Shadow and Bone” on Netflix (*UPDATED: POSSIBLE LANGUAGE OF THORNS ADAPTATION INFO)

 Since it’s recently been confirmed that we’d be getting S&B content in a few days (finally!), I thought I’d compile and summarize as much info as I could to refresh everyone’s memories! Please spread the word/share this post to those who aren’t up to date! (I’ve seen some people online who are worried about how it’s going to turn out, and I’d like to be able to hopefully reassure those people)

Now, there’s a LOT of stuff, so there’s always the chance I missed/forgot something. This post will be split up into categories based on type of info, so here we go! I went back and listened to/watched both of the big live streams (NYCC and the S&B Charity Competition), went on the Grishaverse Reddit, etc. to find as much (extra/bonus) stuff as I could. (If I missed anything/got something wrong, please feel free to leave a comment!)

Update: A lot of people have been asking where it was confirmed we were getting content soon. I found out from one of the update accounts I follow.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

General/Key Info About the Show

-This first season will be adapting both “Shadow and Bone” and what has been dubbed a “Book 0″ (most likely meaning prequel/backstory/set-up) for “Six of Crows” -In relation to the above point, the timelines are being brought together for the show. (Normally in the books, the two series are set two years apart)(We don’t know how exactly or what this means for the story, but I have a really interesting theory that I thought up in relation to this, message me if you’d like to hear it.) -Leigh acknowledges and understands that some of us have doubts and are worried about the show, but she has publicly assured us (numerous times) of how much she loves the show and cast, how well she thinks the crew/writers did in bringing the Grishaverse to life, etc. See a later point below in the Facts/Tidbits section -The first season will have 8, one-hour long episodes -Alina has been made half Shu (half Asian) for the show! Leigh stated that was decided on after she and Eric had a lengthy discussion on Alina’s character. -The main cast (as in confirmed to be in all episodes) is comprised of Jessie Mei Li (as Alina), Archie Renaux (as Mal), Ben Barnes (as the Darkling), Freddy Carter (as Kaz), Amita Suman (as Inej), and Kit Young (as Jesper) -Wylan and Nikolai are NOT in the first season. (Nikolai didn’t appear until the second book, and Leigh confirmed that at this point in the story, the Crows had not met Wylan yet.) -Other cast members include Danielle Galligan (as Nina), Calahan Skogman (as Matthias), Daisy Head (as Genya), Sujaya Dasgupta (as Zoya), Luke Pasqualino (as David), Julian Kostov (as Fedyor), Simon Sears (as Ivan), Zoe Wanamaker (as Baghra), and more! -The Darkling will also be called “General Kirigan” in the show. From what we know, The Darkling will be the “enemy” to Ravka (so in essence, General Kirigan is his alias/fake persona (what he’ll most likely be referred to for most of the show), and no one knows that he’s actually their enemy. (Meaning it’ll most likely a super big moment when they learn their general was actually the Darkling in disguise)). -The show was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary. (And additional filming took place this past fall in Vancouver) -In order, the 8 episodes are titled the following: “A Searing Burst of Light”, “We’re All Someone’s Monster”, “The Making at the Heart of the World”, “Otkazat’sya”, “Show Me Who You Are”, “The Heart is An Arrow”, “The Unsea”, & “No Mourners”.

Other (Fun) Facts/Tidbits About the Show

-Upon seeing Jessie’s audition, Leigh loved her audition/portrayal of Alina so much that she apparently stated that she wanted her to play Alina or she’d be out of the project. She was sent five auditions to watch, Jessie’s was the third, and she said she didn’t bother watching the rest of them. -Leigh stated that she and Eric Heisserer (the creator of the show) said they were on the same page from the first meeting. All other past meetings with producers and companies about possible adaptations had left her with a bad feeling, but she said they’d had the same ideas about inclusion, story, staff, etc. She said she’s loved the respect he’s shown towards the work (and, in a way, to us the fans) -Netflix apparently also has the rights to adapt “The Language of Thorns” , though we’ve gotten no info on that adaptation yet. (UPDATE: I just watched a Leigh Bardugo event from Feb 2019 (a few weeks after the show was first announced, I think): As of  that day, she said that she thought that they were going to use LoT more for "texture” (IMO that might mean worldbuilding?) in the show. And I don’t know if she was talking about LoT specifically because she was very vague, but she said that there were certain things in the show that she thinks readers will be really excited about. Again, this was over a year ago, back when they were still in pre-production and stuff, so don’t take my word for it. Besides this, I couldn’t find anything else relating to a possible LoT adaptation. Maybe they’ll have the stories from LoT appear as actual folk tales told in the show, and that’s the “adaptation”? IDK. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHnw8Ygw5c&t=1906s)) -Leigh is an exec. producer on the show! I’m no expert, so I don’t know how much say/power she had in the process, but she definitely had some. -There is a RAVKAN edition of the “Shadow and Bone” book that Leigh says makes a cameo in the show! -Jesper’s guns had custom etchings done on them by a Hungarian antique gunsmith! (And they were so good that Leigh and Eric said that it looked like it belonged in a museum--they were also described to be quite heavy!) -Eric Heisserer is the creator of the show, he is an award-winning writer, well known for “Arrival”, “Bird Box”, and more. (If I remember correctly, Leigh said that he’d reached out to her about making the show!) -A DeKappel painting (maybe the one owned by Van Eck?) was confirmed to be in the pilot episode. -Pekka Rollins and Tante Heleen have been confirmed to be in the first season, but their casting has (up to this point) not yet been revealed. -Bo Yul-Bayur is confirmed to be in the show! (Though Kuwei has not) -Leigh will have  a cameo in (I think) Episode 5! She will be wearing a Materialki kefta and will be opening a door, if I remember correctly. -A lot of the crew was also extremely passionate about the project and fans of the books -The “Lives of Saints” book that was published in October is an actual book/prop that is appearing in the show! -I’m personally fine with Mal, but Leigh says that Archie is going to change everyone’s minds with his portrayal! -The costume designer for the show is Wendy Partridge, known for her work on “Thor: The Dark World”, “Pompeii”, and more!  -The composer for the show is Joe Trapanese, known for composing for “The Greatest Showman”, “Straight Outta Compton”, “Lady and the Tramp”, and more! At the NYCC Grishaverse panel, they revealed a little bit of the score (”Grisha Theme”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxIEbsHKJA 

Fun Cast/On Set Stories/Facts

-The cast all loves each other, and are all extremely passionate about this show, which is great! (Leigh said that on her second visit to the set, she heard them singing together) -Leigh says that Ben Barnes once snuck up behind her on her first day on set and scared her by whispering “Fine, make me your villain” -Freddy’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows”, but most specifically the first line of chapter 2 (”Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason.”) -Jessie would apparently come to set on some of her days off to support the cast and crew! -Sujaya has stated that her favorite Grishaverse character is Nikolai! (#Zoyalai) -Freddy has become famous/popular with the fandom, one of the reasons being because he often comments on posts/live streams asking something along the lines of “What was it like working with Freddy Carter? xoxo” -Danielle loves Nina and her journey in “King of Scars” -According to a Tweet, Freddy and Leigh said that there had been a scene with “a very pesky gate”--Freddy said that it “wouldn’t be proper to tweet the expletives [he] used that day” and that he thinks he “scarred” Amita and Eric. -Amita’s favorite thing about Inej is her silence, and her favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows” (as of May, where we learned this during a live-stream, she said she’s read it three times and listened to the audiobook twice.) -There was a waffle truck on set on the last day of shooting! -Calahan says that if he could play any other Grishaverse character, he’d want to play Nikolai! -While she did work with the trainer to get more physically fit, Amita learned most of her knife techniques by herself! -Leigh said she cried a lot while on set! (She said there was one scene they were shooting that she has a very clear, vivid memory of writing many years back--based on the context of which she was talking about it, if I had to guess, I’d guess she’s describing the Winter Fete.) -Leigh also said that on one of her first days on set, it was funny/weird to see all the extras in First Army uniforms chilling on their phones, drinking coffee, etc. -One of Calahan’s favorite character dynamics in the books is the dynamic between Kaz and Matthias -There was a moment where Amita was fully in costume and doing amazing, graceful knife work, only to trip and fall when she’d finished. -Amita and Jessie and Sujaya were best friends on set. -Sujaya loved everything about playing Zoya. (Especially her confidence) -Leigh says one of her favorite props was Kaz’s cane, especially because of what it meant to her and the story. -If he could be any Grisha order, Calahan says he’d want to be a Corporalki -Calahan loves Matthias’s journey/arc. -Kit’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Crooked Kingdom”!

Links

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65iI1YXrbU (NYCC Grishaverse Panel) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHou5rVs6o0 (S&B Talent Show Charity Live Stream ft. the S&B Cast!--the IG video got taken down because Archie deleted his IG account and switched to a new one) -https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319 (”Shadow and Bone” on Netflix!) -https://twitter.com/shadowandbone_ (Official “Shadow and Bone” Twitter!) -https://www.instagram.com/shadowandbone/?hl=en (Official “Shadow and Bone” Instagram!) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRh-Pmbynww (Annoucement made by cast when filming wrapped! (can be found on the social media accounts, but here’s a link to YT)) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bpY8uLtyB4 (A S&B Cast Crack video by HeartPhantom--it highlights a lot of the inside jokes and memes that we’ve gotten to witness among the cast, and also just generally shows off how hilariously chaotic everyone is (this cast is the definition of chaotic good, lol))

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales: Woo-oo! Review! or From the Top

Hello all you happy people! And to those of you just joining this blog, welcome I review ducks, other animated shows and comics... and today’s review is special for me. For a number of reasons. For starters it’s a reminder how far i’ve come. See I always wanted to be a reviewer, ever since high school when a friend showed me a certain online reviewer whose now dead to me, and opened me up to a world of much better reviewers who i’m still fans of to this day, and ones who came after them , and after that and so on and so on. I so badly wanted a community to belong to I struggled to be a youtube reviewer but frankly lacked the talent or self confidence back then to try, so my attempts over the decade were a series of stops and starts. Of me starting to find my niche writing only to stop because I hated myself so much, and still struggle with that, i’d tell myself I could never do it, I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t funny enough and no one cared. I kept shutting myself down AGAIN AND AGAIN, for far too long. 

But that all changed a year ago next month: I’d long been a fan of the Ducktales Reboot. I was caustiously optimistic when it was announced. The optimism came from a deep abiding love of scrooge as a character despite not having dove into his comics that deep, I didn’t have an easy way at the time, thanks to life and times and what comics I had read, and was excited to see a fresh reboot closer to the comics with my eternal boy Donald Duck back in the main character. The caution.. came from the fact that at the time we’d gotten a string of bad to medicore reboots: Teen Titans GO, Powerpuff Girl, and Ben 10 which started pretty meh but has turned into alirght from some of the later episodes I saw. I wanted to be hyped to all hell but I had no proof this wasn’t going to be another dumbed down reboot. Then comic con came, the first teaser poster dropped, and my skepticism died.

It was perfect: a barksian art style with it’s own twists! Donald full on display! And best of all the triplets FINALLY had not only unique outfits but personalities! I’ve long went on in my reviews about how much that annoyed me and while it worked for the barks comics ever since then it’s just felt like a waste to have three characters there.. and not even the SLIGHTEST difference. 

My anticipation only grew with the full trailer, the promo posters as more and more info showed how good this series would be, how unique it’d be, and how much tw as taking what made the comics great, giving us a better distalation of that while still being very much it’s own beast. And once this episode dropped.. that faith was unfounded. Woo-oo! is without hyperbole, one of the best pilots i’ve seen, one that introduced the entire main cast perfectly, gets the series tone and mission statment out just right and in general set the stage for one of the best shows of the 2010′s (and 2020′s, even if it only lasted a year and some change). Wheras Teen Titans GO actively tried to take a dump on it’s source material, they thankfully have stopped that but it dosent’ make those early years any less grating, Ducktales was a breath of fresh air that honored the past while making i’ts own future. I tried talking about it but it was all in other failed attempts at reviewing: solo podcasts, my breif second video review career.. stuff no one rightly cared about and I just couldn’t get the hang of. 

So this is where we loop back to last year: I decided to finally try and cover it one more time, not realizing this would be my last chance as it came out anyway, and since I was doing text reviews but my output had slid in the new year, I decided to review Season 3 as it came out. If it bottomed out I could always stop.... and I just never did. I kept going, eventually finding new fans, a patreon (The other one’s an old friend of mine), and not only got paid doing what I love.. but found some peace.  I reviewed other shows as they came out, covered things i’d wanted to cover for years like life and times, scott pilgrim and x-men,. I covered other shows as they came out, found people willing to talk over my opinions and found my niche at long last. 

So that’s why the long speech folks: After almost a year of reviewing i’m properly covering the start of something that made me happier than I had been in a long time and gave me hope during one of the worst periods of ALL our lives. Something i’ve wanted to cover since I finally got started last year, and something truly amazing. So i’d be honored if you’d join me under the cut as I talk about the genesis of one of the best series Disney has ever put out. 

Behind the Scenes Stuff:  Most details I could find were sparse. it took going back to the first month the show came out and looking at a LOT of unrelated questions to finally find out Frank and Matt outright pitched the show. This dosen’t suprise me as both are huge ducktales fans with Matt having drawn his own duck comics as a kid and Frank taking it an extra mile having sang the theme song in his first grade talent show, worked it into his vows and got his first daughter’s first word to be “Woo-oo”. It’s very clear this show as a labor of love for them something they dreamed of Disney made possible. 

Otherwise I don’t have much on the genisis of the show: It was in the earliest ideas going to be a revivial but Frank and Matt both decided against it , deciding it’d be unfair to expect kids from 30 years after the original to know the source material, and instead just starting it over outright, which was the right call especailly with Alan Young’s passing. 

Design wise I found quite a bit of concept art thanks to one website, and it’s incredibly intresting. This is why i’ve really gotten into art books: I like seeing this early stuff what characters used to be, figuring out or outright hearing from the creators mouths why they changed it that sort of thing. 

Starting off we have some early designs for Donald, with him wearing the sailor suit as a kid but his Quackshot outfit as an adult, something I honestly wish they’d kept but get why they changed it: The iconic sailor suit both helps contrast him with della and fits his reluctance to adventure in season 1 more. I still wish that they worked the Quackshot outfit in somewhere, but they worked in so damn much, it’s hard to complain> Though I probably will make a list of “things I wished they’d worked” in at some point and i’d be lying inf I siad my mind wasn’t currently turning the gears to figure out how to work this into a fanfic. Oohhh maybe as Dewey’s outfit as an adult but blue, obviously. 

Next we have Donald settled more into his final apperance as well as the boy’s first outfits.  As you can tell from both of these the show originally went more with the classic art style before getting the one we’re familiar with now, one I love by the way and was made to combine a classic cartoon style with the visual of the comics. Donald originally had his classic outfit before they transitioned to the more barks style one, a good call.  

The interesting bit though is obviously the boys original outfits which i’m honestly bummed didn’t make it for Huey and Louie, not so much Dewey minus the visor. I do get the changes though: The hoodie Dewey had fit WAY beter on Louie, and the lumberjack shirt didn’t quite fit the nerdier huey. Still look nice. Dewey’s is okay, but only the visor is something I really gregret them removing same with louie’s fedora. It would’ve been neat ot keep the hat thing, but have each hat be unique. Likely they simplified things to make animation easier and simply removed the hats for some reason, but it’s nice ot see these more detailed original drafts and it is VERY interesting to find that differentiating the triplets was something planned from the earliest concept art. Though given Matt and Frank said in interviews they wanted a more natural family feel, it’s not a huge surprise. 

Scrooge like everyone BUT the boys thus far, naturally also had his original outfit at first, but like he ended up doing in the series rotated a bit, if not as much in the final product. We also see a protoype for his final design, the old coat but with a jacket over it in the last image. I also notice Donald seemed a lot more like his old comics self in the concept art with quackshot!donald. 

Like everyone else, Webby and Launchapd were originally their 87 deisgns, though Launchpad’s slightly diffrent jacket and green scarf were changed from the start. Webby is the closest to her 87 design, and as shown in the previous Lena concept art from my “Spies Like Us and Dime after Dime” double feature, she still had her new personality. More on that in a bit. 

Finally we have Flintheart, whose design is a bit diffrent from 87: He was a chub from day one it appears, though they’d exagerate it, and his beard was a bit longer at first like his other incarnations. 

Beakly is largely unchanged form 87, only given a coat, which would gradually be mofidied, much liekt he boys into her current outfit. 

As you can tell Beakly, Webby and Launchpad were all there from day one as they wanted them from the original ducktales just updated. 

Production wise they wanted to go handrawn, chose the style they did to have something close to the comics that felt classicly aniamteda t the same time, I feel they succeeded and wanted a show that felt like the original. I do think this show has it’s own feel but it does feel ducktales. I badly hope for an artbook at some point though as this show probably hada  LOT more intresting concept art. Seriously Disney I will PAY YOU to look at your neat art. Please. 

So they created a fully formed world and put the characters in it, wanting it to feel like the world had existed before and had throughly been explored and letting our young heroes be the watson to Donald and Scrooge’s holmes. 

Finally Della was indeed part of the initial pitch and a core idea from day one as every family has secrets and Della felt like one that had been lurking around the fringes of the story for 80 years. The rest of the production stuff i’ll weave in as we go but first one last stop, the STELLAR voice cast, none of whom outsideo f Tony i’ve talked about before sooooo...

The All Star Cast

The casting was outstanding here, with Matt admitting the cast brought a LOT to the characters, especially Ben Schwartz whose taken on Dewey was so unique and intresting they actually rewrote some of his dialouge for the pilot to fit this version better. This is far and away one of the best casts in western animation, most coming from comedy backgrounds and one or two coming from a voice acting background, but all bringing their absolute best. And since our main 8 are all in the pilot let’s run them down along with Keith Ferguson shall we?

Playing everyone’s faviorite billionare scotsman  and one of the very few to ever do so, we have David Fucking Tennant. David was their “First and only choice” and for good reason: David is a talented actor with a MASSIVE amount of stage, tv and audio drama credits. His biggest and best known role is playing the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who, which while not my faviorite (That’d be matt smith, as he’s both the one I came in on and hte one who got me hooked) he’s still  VERY close second and damn talented and I need to watch more of his tenure. Outside of that just to condense it to his ongoing roles on stuff and bigger roles: Filmwise he’s had starring roles in the Fright Night remake, You, Me and Him, Fish Without Bicycles and Bad Samartains, and is set to do a voice for the upcoming Loud House Movie, which excites me to no end. 

TV wise where most of his roles have been he got his first big starring role on the Telly with the BBC Mini series Taking Over the Asylum in the late 90′s. He’d go on to make a career out of doing mini’s for a while, also taking part in He Knew He Was Right, The Quatermass Experiment Remake, Casanova, Secret Smile.. and Blackpool. I saved Blackpool for last before we move into the Who era as if you’ve never heard of it.. it’s REALY fucking weird. It’s a jukebox musical about a man who wants to make Blackpool, a real city, into the new vegas and Tennat plays a cop investigating a case around the guy and also trying to get with his wife because they used to date and because our lead is philandering jackass. That’s already kinda nuts.. but then you get to the fact the songs are sung OVER the original songs instead of making a new version of them. It’s surreal to be sure but if you can find it it’s worth it for the handful of good numbers and how weird it looks and you can find clips of the songs on youtube if your intrested. Here’s a starter. 

Your also welcome. He’d go on to play Detective Alec Hardy in Broadchurch to critical aclaim as well as be a part of it’s short lived american remake, would play the Fugitoid in tmnt 2007, Kilgrave in Jessica Jones, one of his few post who roles i’ve seen or heard besides Scrooge and easily some of his best work he NAILS that purple bastard perfectly, would make his own show Staged about a fictional version of himself putting on a Stage play that’s still ongoing, and is currently , along with Ducktales as it wraps up, the voice of Lord Commander on Final Space, with the character returning this season judging by the trailers to fan delight and terror. He’s a VERY talented actor and voice actor and I do hope he goes on to do more and more voice work in years to come as, with his background in radio, he was born for it. 

He was also born for this roll, playing Scrooge perfectly and easily matching Alan Young in quality, not a small feat and i’ts VERY obvious why he was their one and only choice. 

Next up is another legend, Tony Anselmo who we’ve talked about before when I covered legend of the Three Cablleros: He’s been Donald’s voice since shortly before Ducktales, hasn’t done much else but given he’s THE voice for the character and this show let him show off one hell of a range with teh voice, he dosen’t really need other credits. The man is a treasure and I fear loosing him one day and fear for whoever replaces him as they have a LOT to live up to. 

Getting into the triplets, we’re going by age so starting off we have Huey, voiced by Danny Pudi. Like most of this cast aside from Toks Ogladyve and Beck Bennet (Who I probably HAD seen on SNL but didn’t really know or look out for him on there till after Ducktales), I not only knew Danny but was a huge fan of his going in. This is due to his breakout role on the glorious sitcom Community, which sadly only had a handful of i’ts cast show up on this show. I mean you got Lin Manuel Miranda I’m sure Donald Glover would’ve said yes too. He grew up with Ducktales. Regardless his role as meta guy Abed was easily the best of the cast on that show, with Glover as troy a very close second and the two working at their best as a duo. Outside of that he’s had a few roles being a regular on Powerless, which I forgot existed and currently on Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, and shockingly hasn’t done a ton of voice work. And given his performance as huey was one of the best parts of this show he REALLY, REALLY SHOULD. Please Danny. He’s also a loving husband, father and surprisingly a marathon runner. Never would’ve guessed.

Next up is SNL Alumn of 9 years, Bobby Monynihan. Bobby is naturally best known for that, my faviorite role of his being Ass Dan. That’s right bitch you know he’s going to live fore..

ASS DAN 1981-2021

He’ll be back. Outside of SNL he’s done a bunch of minor roles. He’s currently on the tragically mediocre sitcom Mr. Mayor, and voiced Panda on We Bare Bears. Hopefully he keeps up the good work as he deserves better than he’s gotten and Ducktales proves it. 

Finally for the triplets we have a rising star in voice acting, Ben Schrwartz. At the time Ducktales launched, I was a fan of his from his roll on parks and Rec as Jen Ralphio, aka older scummier Dewey. 

Outside of his historic recurring role here he played a main role on House of Lies, a show I need to go back to, and has done other live action rolls but has REALLY hit his stride in voice acting. He started with voicing Randy Cunningham in Randy Cunningham 9th grade ninja and since then has hit the ground running: He was Rutabega on Bojack, Josh on Bob’s Burgers, and went on to complete the trifecta of blue nostalgic characters after voicing dewey by voicing Leo in Rise of the TMNT (and having one of the most unique and intresting versions of the character to play) and reprised the roll for the upcoming film. And of course he hit it HUGE by playing Sonic in the suprsingly fantastic Sonic the Hedgehog movie, and will do so again for the sequel and might even take up the roll for the games now Roger Craig Smith has retired. We shall see. Point is this guy’s at the top of his game and Dewey is part of that. Like with his brothers I can’t picture anyone else playing him. 

Rounding out the kids is Webby, played by the wonderous Kate Micucci. Kate is a lovely talented woman who mostly showed up in smaller parts, was part of the musical duo garfunkel and oates which even got their own tv show, and is currently a fairly prolific voice actor with this being her best known roll. I also had a bit of a crush on her once can you tell? Regardless besides absolutely nailing it as Webby she’s voiced Julie Kane in the crimnally short and even more crimnally not on Disney+ Motorcity, “Irma” in the 2012 TMNT cartoon, and the fact that “Irma” is in quotes should tell you how big a waste I felt it was having her NOT actually be Irma, despite Kate’s massive talent, the fact that Irma hadn’t been in anything since the 87 cartoon, and the fact that for added “Fuck you audience points” her krang form was voiced by Gilbert Godfried, who I love but whose casting feels like they wanted to make the twist as grating as possible. Good job there. 

Anyways her second biggest voice gig was as Sadie on Steven Universe, which took WAY too long to show off her absolutely tremendous singing voice. She started voicing Velma Dinkley in the mid-2010′s and has since, voiced Milo’s sister Sarah on Milo Murphy’s Law, Dr. Fox on Unikitty, and most recently voiced a sentient present on close enough who did this. 

So yeah quite the career and like Ben she probably has a long and storied career in Voice Acting ahead. 

Next up is Beck Bennet as everyone’s friend Launchpad where he excels. He’s best known as a castmember on SNL outside of this, and shockingly hasn’t done a ton of voice work. The only other time i’ve caught him is in the same season of Close Enough as Luc, aka dude-bro satan. But like eveyrone else here who hasn’t done a lot of voice work so far or has been more selective I defintely hope he keeps going with it as he’s amazing. He and Ben will be co-starring on MODOK in May so i’m excited for that. 

Last up for the main cast is Beakly, voiced by  Toks Olagundoye, who I hadn’t heard of before this show and hasn’t done a lot outside of the two season sitcom the neighbors, the aliens one not the really terrible looking one, and a stint on Castle, but like everyone here deserves much more and if Beakly is any indication, really should stick with voice acting. 

Last up is Keith Ferguson as only he could as FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD, whose a staple in the voice acting community ever since 2000, and has had a TON of roles some of which I was unaware with him. Given Frank worked with him on Wonder Over Yonder, where he voiced Lord Hater to perfection, the two clearly have a close working relationship. He also has a close working relationship with Wonder creator Craig McCracken and has worked on all of his post-powerpuff girls show, voicing Bloo as his first major role, something I never would’ve guessed, and currently voicing Papa G on Kid Cosmic. 

Outside of Craig and Frank, he played both Karate Kid and Nemisis Kid on Legion of Super Heroes (Which really needs to come to HBO Max), Deputy Durland on Gravity Falls,  and Thunderbolt Ross on Avengers Earth’s Mighteist Heroes. He’s damn good and deserves the world for Glomgold alone and i’m glad Craig rung him up again as so far through my watch of Kid Cosmic he’s great. 

So with our cast in place, our past in place and you all likely ready to get on with it already let’s dive into the episode:

THE EPISODE: Part one Woo-Ooo!

We begin with a shot of a seagull flying overseagulls, a nice way to establish how this world works and how it bends expectations. They’d have to wait till season 3 to get a duck next to ducks but given that gag is one of the best of the series, it was worth it. 

Inside a house boat we meet Donald, Huey and Louie and get a sense of their personalities: Donald is panicked trying to get to a job interview and insists the boys wear life vests, showing his overprotectiveness and responsibility exclusive to this version. Louie stresses that Donald wear a suit instead of his normal clothes to properly impress the interviewer, showing his skill at people reading and manipulation, and Huey is making a nice, if messy, breakfast with a heartwarming message showing his heart and dedication. After finding out said Babysitter was sent to the wrong address, the boys TRY to hustle him out to stay alone.. only for Dewey to blow the scheme by starting the boat too early, letting Donald know he’s been had. Huey’s attempt to lie about it is of course the classic “Who’s Dewey?” Dewey’s caught wiring the boat and Donald throws them in the car, with Donald livid and the boys upset as their chafing at his constant overprotectiveness. 

Both sides aren’t wrong. tThe boys DID do something reckless, putting an old woman in the desert and risking their home just to go on a joyride. What they did was wrong.. but the boys AREN’T wrong for getting annoyed that he won’t let them DO anything and overly hovering over them when they CAN handle themselves as we’ll see. WE now know why: he lost their mother and his sister to her and scrooge’s recklesness. While he got therapy for his anger it’s clear he never properly got help about Della, and thus overcompensates by trying to keep what he has left of her alive. He means well.. but to them it comes off as him being manically overprotective with no good reason. They get into trouble because it’s the only way to DO anything away from him. He’s trying so hard not to loose them he almost has by the time hte series starts, and it’s telling that when they get context in Last Crash, they appricate him more from then on. They do love him, but their frustration is understandable even if what their doing is pretty damn stupid. But their also 10 and Donald’s the grown adult in therapy who should’ve dealt with this or tried to at least by now.

So with no other options Donald sets a course for McDuck manor which excites the boys who have heard of Scrooge McDuck and his exploits, each rattling off something they heard him do that fits their personality (Dewey picks him fighting a stone monster, Huey picks him uncovering a hoax and Louie picks his swimming in money. ) As Donald tries to get them to simmer down, they wonder what he’s up to

He’s up toooo.. depression. He’s in a room with his board, watching them with utter hate and sadness as they talk about cutting the invention and aviation departments. This scene plays ENTIRELY differently after the final two episodes of the season. Before it still plays well as Scrooge clearly resenting being stuck in a boring board meeting, having lost everything that made him him and just having lost his passion for life. Now? It plays as a man utterly disdainful of the men who made him give up on his daughter. While as far as he knows they did it to save his employees from his company collapsing, we know better now... and seriously where IS the rest of the board they just vanished after the Season 3 premiere.

I don’t mind only one being fleshed out, unlike the triplets we only NEED the one I mind that they just never explained it and still haven’t. Hopefully the finale will. 

But back on the plot, it now plays as Scooge just full of hatred for them, knowing they had to do what they did, even if they weren’t emebzlling but still hating them and himself. He’s likely not even paying attention anymore because he just dosen’t CARE: he has all the money int he world.. and it couldn’t bring him his daughter back. As he sadly puts the coins he was fiddling with back and says see you tommorow he can’t even close the vault without a struggle. As we’ll see later the strength never left, it’s not like he stopped execrising.. but he has nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to care about. He could adventure agian so far.. but without Della or Donald, as we’d learn two seasons later the reason he enjoyed it again... what’s the point? He has nothing left except his money. 

This is also a nice parallel to the final Chapter of LIfe and Times. I always felt the first half of woo-ooo was a spiritual adaptation of chapter 12 of that: Scrooge meets the boys for the first time and with their help, and Donalds in the story< Webby and Launchpad here, he regains his passion and more importantly his family after driving them away> The how is very different: he did in life and times due to sinking to his lowest point morally, then cruelly dismissing his family when they tried to welcome him home and bury the hatchet despite what he’d done. Here.. he made a HORRIBLE mistake, one that wasn’t entirely on him but still cost him everything and spent the decade instead of stewing or making more money trying desperately to undo it. The end result is the same, a dried out husk of a man with nothing left to loose and no will to gain anything.

This husk has launchpad though whose introduced as his driver and while good with subs and planes.. isn’t great on the road. After that though Donald pulls up hoping to drop the kids off before Scrooge arrives. Naturally this being a cartoon and Donald having tempted fate with that Scrooge shows up telling him to jettison that Jallopy at once. And finding out who it is, apart from asking how Donald is and Donald doing the same, dosen’t sway him. The boys however freak out after finding out Scrooge is Donald’s and there uncle, with my faivriote bit of that being Dewey exiting the car via a window and rolling across the roof back in. Amazing bit of animation. Wish I had a gif of that. 

Donald makes the situation plane and angry and asks “Can you do that without LOOSING THEM”. And scrooge is so painfully disarmed by his reminder of his past mistakes and the fact his surrogate son still resents him, that he agrees before realizing “Shit I have to watch children now don’t I” as Donald drives off. As you probably guessed, this is another scene that plays differently in hindsight, if not by much: It still plays as two men too stubborn and bitter to reconcile.. but now we know the why behind both their rages it feels even sadder. They both lost the person they cared about most but as it sadly happens in real life both have dug in their heels to reconcile, both feeling their right when neither completely is. While Donald was right to be upset at scrooge and della for what happened, and is mostly taking it out on scrooge because he’s the one left... he’s held onto his anger for 10 years instead of going to help when he’s unemployed, living in a dilapidated houseboat and trying ot raise three children alone and could’ve used what help scrooge would give. Scrooge is right to be upset that Donald is just selectively ignoring everything he’s done to save Della, but is too stubborn and prideful to apologize for what he DID do wrong and feels that’s enough to make up for it when , while it is enough that donald should forgive him, still dosen’t mean he dosen’t have a lot to apologize for. Both are just too angry and too much alike, as much as it woudln’t seem so, to settle with each other and see too much of what they lost. 

So the kids follow Scrooge.. who forgets to open the door, and Beakly lets them in. It’s a nice subtle bit. After some silence, Bentina TRIES to get her old friend and now employer to talk to them, but he naturally refuses and they do the talking, asking tons of questions.. and Dewey ends the conversation by accidently pressing the “imply he USED to be something rather than is something right now “ button

So Scrooge throws them in the twins old room, and Beakly gives them some marbles. You will give them b ack they will be counted. But another subtle touch I missed the first time is there... her sad look. She clearly doesn’t want to do this, but she has to play this carefully or else he might get mad and fire her on the spur of the moment. He’d obviously hire her back, where else is he going to get an ex spy who will both clean for him AND be his bodyguard and security. It’s a very small pool. Mostly because Beakly probably killed most of the other people who’d of fit that description during her spy days. 

Scrooge meanwhile is still rattled by Dewey’s statment, wondering if he really is a “used to be” instead of a “never left”. The fire is starting to spark again.. he just needs more kindling. And more kin. 

Meanwhile Louie and Huey marvel at Dewey’s “Brilliant’ breakout plan: hit the door knob with the sack of marbles til lit breaks. To be fair, they’ve known dewey as long as they’ve been alive and even by season 3 after he’s taken several levels in badass and cunning.. he still crashed a plane because his brother well-meaningly called him basic, and thought being nearly sacrificed the most times was an accomplishment. This is the best he could do and you all know it. It also works, so they can’t fault him for that... though he’s quickly kidnapped as are they. They wake up after the commerical break in a room with pure darkness, hung from the celing with a mystery person asking who they are and who they work for before Louie calls out for “uncle scrooge”... so she claps the lights back on and..

Well close. But it is Webby, who cuts them down, fangirls over meeting the nephews and asks who the evil triplet is. They all point to Louie who shrugs it off. I mean it was funny enough the first time but at this point I know he’s running several fradulent charites, almost all scamming his uncle. He’s earned that title. Webby puts them on the big board and then when asked they find out she’s Webby, her granny Beakly is housekeeper.  She then asks the big questons “Are we friends now?” “If we say yes will you let us live?” “Ha good one new best friend”

She then explains she dosen’t get to leave or anything even eat a hamburger. The boys are moved by this and Louie asks what she does for fun. She leads them to the vents and while Huey and Louie are a bit relcutant, Dewey naturally goes first pointing out it’s better than the marble room. They agree and are on their way. 

Okay unpinning that pin, the crew conciously updated Webby and Beakly as neither really had a lot of purpose in the original. It was also to conciously add more actiony females to the main family lineup, as both creators, both being fathers, preferred someone their daughters could look up to and would enjoy watching. Not someone perfect but someone intresting instead of someone who often got Kidnapped and whose main charactrisitcs were “Sweet and GIRL STEROTYPE” So cleverly they KEPT her being girly, having a skirt, liking ponies. .but also gave her all the training and skill of one Cassandra Cain, a sheltered background and an adorable personality that kept the sweetness but added her probably having killed a man at some point. It worked as Webby is one of the best parts of the show. 

Likewise Beakly was upgraded from fuddy duddy housekeeper, to badass former secret agent whose also a housekeeper, and bodyguard and confidant to scrooge. Demonstrated by her talk with him as he tries to put on his diving suit and go after the jewel of atlantis, having spotted the signs to go after it in the paper.. and wanting to prove a child wrong. Beakly points out the flaws in this, and tries to get him to connect to his family. Having lost hers, it’s easy to see why.. though the how’s a mystery.. for now i’m guess. We’ll see in the finale. But she’s Scrooge’s concisence and the one who can easiest reign him in, to the point two episodes directly have our heroes have to NOT call her or else the plot was end, but have that worked into the plot so it works. She’s the calm in his storm and hte one person he needs more than anyone else even if he dosen’t always realize it. He calls family “nothing but trouble” just as Dewey passes overhead. 

So naturally as Webby shows off Scrooge’s old treasures in a mysterious room, while the other Siblings are rightfully impressed, Dewey dismisses it as “fake” because he’s being a little shit, and they agree after seeing Donald, not knowing his reputation. The cutaway to him struggling with a stapler does not help> it’s only when Webby accidnetly uneleashes Captain Peghook, a vengeful ghost after scrooge, who gets his hand on a ghostly sword do they realize this time the monsters are real. Huey also accidently wakes up Manny, the headless manhorse! 

Things somehow get WORSE as Scrooge finds them.. but is in no state to argue and as our heroes duck and Huey tries to divise a plan.. Scrooge get’s his spark back once agian.. it’s starting to become an ember now... and he charges in despite Dewey’s cries of “No come back your old!”. It then gets VERY badass Scrooge: Oi! Beastie! What's it gonna take to shuffle you off to the afterlife? Captain Peg-Hook: The head of Scrooge McDuck! Scrooge: [cracks his neck, flips his cane around to wield like a sword] Would you settle for his hat?

Now that is how you show how badass Scrooge is in a few lines and gestures. HE proceeds to take both out, as they’ve now teamed up, easily, tricking peghook into cutting off the head of a statue of him in the area, throwinng it at him and finsihing the ghosts buisnesss (”I should’ve been more specifiiiicccccc”) and then giving Manny the head, earning him a loyal employee for life. So our days saved, the kids have faith.. and Scrooge is still pissed. He also reveals this isn’t a treasure room but the garage in what’s easily the best gag of the first half, possibly the whole special but one iconic moment is very close in that one. Webby concedes what about the stack of old magazines or the hose or.. okay he’s probably right. He berates them only for the kids to fire back, pointing out he threw them in a room, they just wanted to spend time with him... but it’s only Dewey throwing his words back in his face that pisses him off. Scrooge bellows at them to get out, clearly having internalized everything with donald into rage and trying to justify pushing eveyrone away instead of working at it... but this dosen’t have time to actually work, nor would Beakly actually throw three children out on the curb, as he hits a mystic gong.. the third time it’s been hit. And after realizing it’s already been hit twice Scrooge is faced with Pixu, the gold hutning dragon! And guess who has a giant bin of it wanting to snack on? Scrooge naturally climbs on the thing and the kids naturally want to follow, with Webby getting her first development by proudly announcing “I’m going to eat a hamburger” then explains the metaphor. They just need a pilto.. and as Launchpad has been saying but I forgot to add in “I’m a pilot”

So we get a GORGEOUS bit of Scrooge riding the dragon over the city, getting banged up as he does before finally being thrown off.. only for the kids to catch him with the planes help and try and come up with a plan. Scrooge overcomes his anger at them not staying put, especailly since Webby brings up the right weakness: as a wise man once said...

So they need some.. like say the Medusa Gauntlet Scrooge had in the garage.. that Louie naturally stole. Huey and Webby eyeroll him but they have what they need.. and Huey brought the hose and quickly comes up with a plan, tying scrooge in, and swinging him to Pixu. The kids hold on tight, Dewey calls his family awesome and our heroes win the day as Scrooge turns the dragon to stone, slips and falls.. and then GRACEFULLY dives into hte bin, showing off his diving skills and his badassery. The day is saved, the gauntlet and the dragon go in the bin for safe keeping and Scrooge calls the kids trouble.. and chuckles fondly. “Curse me kilts how i’ve missed trouble”

He’s impressed: Huey’s quick thinking, Louie’s pickpocketing, Dewey’s drive, and Webby’s magical knowledge all saved them. For once. .he’s happy again. And for the second time in life it took his family to remind him why he does this and show him the true fun of adventure: Getting to share it with those he love. And he finally has people to love again. He has family back, kids who look up to him and want to learn from him again, a REASON to adventure. Money and treasure and eveyrthig couldn’t bring della back.. but he at least sees now that whiel they certianly couldn’t.. they can bring him closely with what he has left. She’s gone, for now.. but she left behind three great kids who could use a mentor and Beakly brought him a fourth. And he just found out he has a pilot. The ember.. is now a raging flame. Scrooge is back. Because i’ts not the money or the glory.. it’s the thrill of it, the discovery.. and the family that makes adventuring worth while and he’s learned that lesson again. So he calls Beakly to clear his schedule.. forgetting she you know PUT A FUCKING PIN INTHE WALL the last time he asked her to play scretary and the onlyr eason she dind’t drive over the choke him to death, is that she’s probably happy he’s back on track.

Back at the interview Donald is stapled to the wall and gets the job.. not as an accountant mind but his employer needs a sailor.. and his employer is FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Oh boy. 

Part 2: Escape To/From Atlantis First the last bit of background I saved: Originally, Fenton and Gyro were supposed to show up here, starting a gag of Fenton showing up but not being named until “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!”, setting up the sub. But the crew decided this took too much away from the focus on the duck family. The not naming him gag was also dropped, and I have two reasons why: Their given reason, which is it’d take up too much time and a logistical reason: While they gave a heartfelt pitch to Lin-Manuel Miranda, as frank wanted a strong Latino superhero to combat the lack of them on film, Frank and Matt probably thought they woudln’t get such a huge name or at least prepared for it.. and were delightfully suprised when Lin happily and tearfully agreed. So they likely scrapped it so they could properly promote the biggest name in their voice cast. Honestly it was for the best and they still go to do the idea with Drake in “The Duck Knight Returns!”, where it worked much better than it probably would have with Fenton. 

We open with the Glomgold Industries Employee Training Video! Encourging IP Theft, making things cheaper and general scumbaggery, and claming your the world’s most beloved scottish billionare. IN short the perfect introduction to everyone’s favorite insane, fake-scottish, scheming, egotistical , short sighted billionaire. As i’ve made transparent before, I fucking love the reboot version of Glomgold and he’s easily one of my favorite parts of the reboot. They clearly needded to find a new place for Glomgold in the grand scheme of things as the show was more about globetrotting adventure and family and less about getting contracts or bets about whose bigger money and more about family. While they DID do a classic bet storyline with season 2, it’s clear the old glomgold was just a bit too stiff to properly fit into this new zanier and deeper universe. 

So they instead remolded him as a half insane, knockoff scrooge, someone who PURPOSFULLY modeled himself after the guy to try and one up him, and instead of being a fairly low pitched schemer, was a bombastic idiot whose schemes were half baked, whose name was on everything he made, and whose only thing bigger than scrooge was his glorious ego. In short he was perfect for this series and perfect to show up way more often as a bumbling thorn in Scrooge’s side.. but one who COULD be effective in the right circumstances, as to not make him completely pointless. Keith was likewise the only person I could see in the roll now as with Hater he had a history of playing bombastic, egosticial morons, and made Glomgold into the enjoyable ball of ego, bombs, sharks and shouting we know and love. Some people didn’t take to this version after a while... I’m not one of those. I loved him here, I love him now, and he’s every bit as good in season 3 as he was at the start. He’s also wearing a kilt mcduck A KILT. A bit that’st STILL funny four years and 70 some episodes later. 

So we meet Gabby McStabberson and the Smashnikovs as they and Donald file in, though Donald is busy wrapping up a call with Scrooge, who assures them he has a low key day planned.. while in the sub getting ready to go to atlantis. And nearly drowning when Dewey tells Launchpad to dive while he and Scrooge are still up top. Cue credits. 

So on the sub we get our setup for the two main plots for the episode: While the main thrust of everything is Scrooge taking them to Atlantis, each leads to a diffrent plot. Louie talks to Donald and lies entirely about their day, worrying Webby.. who then reveals she just didn’t tell Beakly she took off or where she was going and encourages her to call and lie. To save time, i’m going to cover this subplot now minus the conclusion as it’s pretty simple and this review is already a day behind. Louie wants her to lie so she dosen’t worry, which is oddly sweet.. still a bit greasy, but it’s clear he means well and it shows in his own way the boy cares about Donald: Sure he’ll lie to the guy, and set up a fradulent charity to scam him.. but he also knows not to worry his dad-uncle and kows Donald is better off thinking their safe than knowing the truth. Granted it also prevents consequences for Louie.. but he’s not playing here here. He gets nothing out of Beakly not knowing the truth or helping some girl he just met, he’s just being NICE in his own twisty way. It’s a nice show of his depths: While louie will lie, cheat and steal Eddie Gurrero style, he does have a caring side underneath hit. He can read people well and while he primarily uses it to manipulate people, we’ll see time and time again that he can use it for good too and to help those he cares about. He’s nothing but supportive the whole plot, and even when he says “you can’t back that up” it’s more worrying about her and having a bit of crack than actually being a dick. 

So Webby tries lying, but is about as good as Huey is at it, saying “I’m at a friends house nothing, then makes up a clearly fake name, then says their only talking in swedish for a grandpa. Launchpad DOES help, but only by accident and snake venom. We’ll get to that. As I said this wasn’t the most complex plot. 

The main plot is our focus episode for dewey. In theory each of the kids was supposed to have one in the first five episodes: Dewey here, Webby in Daytrip of Doom, Louie in Great Dime Chase and Huey in Impossible Summit of Mt. Nevverest!. Given the last one was horribly delayed, he instead got Terror of the Terra Firmians, which in hindsight wasn’t the best spotlight episode for him. But it’s a good system; Introduce them all in the first half of the pilot then slowly focus on each one.  So now Idoloizing Scrooge, Dewey is desperate to be his sidekick and be seen as an equal and is in deep denial as scrooge instead has them all buckle up for a 17 hour ride and when Dewey questions the route, which skips the direct path.. but is clearly marked with monsters, Scrooge just snaps at him and shuts him down and disapoints the boy who only wants to prove himself to Scrooge. 

Naturally though, telling someone with that kind of need for attention and validation to wait goes poorly as he redirects the map while Launchapd is distracted.. and we find out WHY the trip is 17 hours as the direct route nearly gets them killed by mer-ducks, krakens and some sort of storm elemental. Dewey is bummed it didn’t work and annoyed to realize he’s just lumping them all together like Huey pointed out earlier. Huey is also delightful here, having brought travel bingo and sea shanties, clearly used to trips with his other uncle. And adorably taking after him. 

But Dewey’s deversion has done more than make him even MORE determined to prove himself to Scrooge whose just trying to NOT loose the son of the daughter he lost...

The Merducks have taken up residence in the bathroom, so they have to make a pitstop. Scrooge, CLEARLY forgetting how to take a trip with children, wasn’t prepared for this but they find a frieghter and make a stop. Naturally it’s GLOMGOLD’S freighter, where his sub took off from, and he and his minons including Donald find Scrooge using the bathroom.. and the boys to Donald’s rage. Unfortunately saying ‘I’ll kill him” to a raging sociopath who takes that as a sign to kill ALL of them, isn’t a smart move. 

So while Donald tries to plan to keep his family alive, said family arrives in Atlantis with a great bit of Scrooge trying to give a big speech only for them to see it first and ooh and ah. They touch down in the city.. which is flip turned upside down. Scrooge notes hti is odd but is able to read the hieroglypchs even upside downa nd notes there’s tones of deadly traps and that they shoudl stay back and..

Huey: Dewey ran in as soon as you said traps. 

So while Scrooge tries to prevent dewey loosing his head, Donald prevents launchpad loosing his and makes up an excuse about “if their dead now we can’t tourture them later” to cover his ass. Glomgold is impressed.  Dewey is Dewcipointed that the traps are upside down, though he does trigger some snakes that get launchpad. He’s fine just delirious. And possibly slowly dying but the fact he’s lived this long is a miracle. Maybe that’s why he’s missing for most of season 3 part 2, the snake venom caught up to him and drake and fenton need to find the cure. Anyways the rest of the party stays behind while Scrooge chases after Dewey, who naturally runs ahead AGAIN. 

Donald ducks out to use the bathroom, as Dewey tries the old dance through the laser grid routine.. but forgets the part where your supposed to actually avoid it, leaving it to an unseen Donald to stop the fire traps from barbqueing his boy. IT’s a really awesome sequence that shows off Donald’s still got it even if he dosen’t want it.  Scrooge naturally works smarter not harder and simply ziplines above like a badass and berates Dewey when he tells him he took “The easy way”

“Why would you want to take the hard way?” The argument that’s been brewing all episode bubbles up and once again both sides have a point: Scrooge rightfully points out Dewey’s being reckless, has no experince and needs to listen to Scrooge and learn something. Dewey claps back that Scrooge isn’t TEACHING them, just teling them to get behind him while he does things instead of trying to actively mentor them. He outright told them he was going to teach them so while Dewey’s been a wee bit overbearing, he’s right in being disappointed that Scrooge instead just wants them to be safe. I see it as his subconscious acting up: He wants and needs the kids along and is right ot keep them safe.. but is too scared to properly mentor them after what happened to Della and is just trying not to loose anybody. His methods have been right, to keep them safe.. he’s just been so determined to save them, he can’t properly TEACH them so he won’t have to forever or explain WHY. And given the First Adventure shows that while protective he did eventually let Della and Donald pull their weight.. but here he lost so much between adventures.. he just can’e bear loosing them. Dewey also rightfully points out he just lumps them together which in any other version wouldn’t be an issue, until the reboot I had no idea which one was which here? They have distinct outfits and personalities and you had 17 hours to actually get to know them. Probably less given the shortcut but still, several hours at a minimum. It’s things like this that make the series work: while there’s plenty of internal conflicts, at their best their nuanced ones, where if one character is clearly in the wrong they have a reason, and if both are right both are also a bit wrong, versus the original where it’d be scrooge or the boys grabbing the asshole ball at times (Not always mind you but when they did it was insufferable. 

However they don’t have time to argue as the bridge goes out and Glomgold finds donald.. and another way around as a result and gets to the treasure first. Scrooge notices they have donald but once again Dewey charges in 

“Unhand my uncle” “No” “Okay wasn’t prepared for that”

Naturally both sides are a bit livid, Donald for dragging his boys into danger after being part of the reason his sister is on the moon right now, and Scrooge for working with one of his greatest eneimies.. though Scrooge has less ground to stand on because as Donald points out “I can’t keep track of ALL of your sworn enemies” I mean he has lived like .. 200 years. That’s a long enemies list and Glomgold, while the most persistent, isn’t exactly the most dangerous they probably encountered. Given the guy’s an artist with Bombs and Sharks that does say a lot about how badass Scrooge is.. and how incompitent glomgold usually is. He’s just having an on day today I guess. 

Glomgold naturally holds Donald hostage, takes what is suppsidley the jewel and leaves them to drown to death, hitting a wall to let it start leaking. HIs minons run into the rest of the heroes and a fight breaks out while naturally Donald, after even more naturally getting his ass stuck in a hole, literally, rails out at Scrooge for doing this telling him “I knew I couldn’t trust you and” “This is the spear of selene all over again”

Scrooge’s only response is “I was not responsible for the Spear of Selene!”

Dude you still paid for the rocket. While Della shoulders most of the blame, SHE choose to take an untested rocket, SHE choose not to come back during the turbulence YOU still built it and hid it from donald and didn’t make sure she couldn’t just take off in it. Your both to blame. And as I mentioned earlier to the least extent but still an extent, so was Donald telling his grown, adult sister whose as stubborn as she is what she could and couldn’t do. He had the right idea and was the only person trying to be an adult here in this situation.. but he still took the wrong approach with stopping her. Still he got far more ground to stand on than Scrooge, who also took his nephews out. Dewey stops both by pointing out that while yes Scrooge took them on an adventure he’s been doing NTOHING but keeping him safe and most of it was his fault which disarms donald a bit. Though Dewey is quickly distracted.. but for once by an obersvation: the gem glowing above thaem that glowed when they entered... and since the city got flipped turned upside down.. THAT’S the real jewel. Dewey asks Donald ot let it flood so they can get it and begs his uncle to trust him despite his doubts which he does. They get it and everyone’s okay and even more when they reunite with the others they find they’ve handily beaten them. To me this is where donalds walls go down a bit: he realizes he’s been smothering the kids, and that while he may hate his uncle for good reason... he’s not going to make the same mistake with them and while he lied.. Don probably realized if Scrooge had been honest Donald would never have let them go. He can trust him.. and he can trust his kids will be alright without him. 

So Glomgold naturally leaves his minions to die, but our heroes manage to make it to the sub, and Gabby asks if they can bum a ride. Not wanting to do any murders they agree. On the surface Glomgold is showing off his jewel, only for Scrooge to upstage him second’s later with the real jewel, and point out his is “nice but defintly cursed”... and right on cue Glomgold gets dragged off with an octopus and let’s off his first “Curse you mcduck!”. Scrooge offers clean water and power thorugh it, for a price because of course he does, and has offically made his grand comeback. 

We get back to Webby’s subplot, as she’s confronted by Beakly.. who naturally being a former spy easily figured it out immieditely but is only upset her grandaughter lied to her. And even at that she dosen’t raise her voice or anything about the matter, knowing it’d only make her feel worse and getting that her grandaughter needs to see the world and that much like donald, she walled her up to prevent loosing what little she had left. And since being with Scrooge is safe as with her, she can go with him anytime just tell her first kay? They hug. Awwww. 

Donald likewise apologizes, admitting that whatever has passed, he misjudged his uncle here and while not forgiving him yet, is at least willing to let him back into his life and into the boys.. on holidays and stuff at least. But fate forces his hand.. or rather his 10 year old nephew-son having left the engine on and neither having turned it off, meaning his boat goes boom and is in no liveable condition. But Scrooge has the space in his heart and mansion for them.

So as we close the kids help move the artifacts all around the house instead of just the garage while Launchapd drops the boat. While clearing out Dewey notices the painting from earlier.. and finds part of it was flipped over...

“Mom?!” 

Now keep in mind, while nowadays Della’s inclusion in the show is one of the most famous and treasured parts of the show.. back then this was a fucking shock. Disney never really cared about the boys mother and outside of one comics story never really went into what happened. So the fact she was not only an actual important part of the plot but we’d find out was a HUGE wham moment and left my jaw dropped after seeing the episode. Like I would with the finales I had read no spoilers and had no idea this was coming but damn was it a huge and welcome suprise and how far they’d take it and how much they’d flesh her out was an even bigger one. Easily one of the best big reveals i’ve ever seen. The only better one I can think of from this series itself... is the end of season 2. But that’s for another time. 

Final Thoughts on Woo-Ooo!:

This two parter/hour long special.. is still one of the episodes best and easily one of the best pilots. It does slow down a bit in pacing in the second half, but otherwise is just an immaculate , beautiful pilot movie that introduces and fleshes out all 8 main characters, maybe Launchpad the least but enough to still work, gives us some big mysteries to work out, and even throws in Glomgold’s first apperance. It sets the tone, reverent and adventuerous but also with it’s own weird and wacky sense of humor and world building, and universe perfectly. I .. don’t have much else to say really it’s just THAT good and really worth checking out. If you somehow haven’t seen it go watch it and if you haven’t seen it in a while might be worth a rewatch before the finale. The absolutely perfect start to an amazing ride. 

Next on the Della Arc: Dewey and Webby try to figure out where Della is while Louie learns a valuable life lesson and  pisses off a killer robot along the way.

Next on the Blog: Amphibia Season 2 is back! 

Until then if you liked this review follow for more and if you could please support me on patreon. Even a buck a month helps and juicy stretch goals give you na incentive to contirbute. We’re 5 bucks away from 20 dollars a month which means a review of super ducktales and a Darkwing Duck review EVERY. MONTH. So contribute now! Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure. 

[littleststarfighter]

The Last Jedi thoughts spoilers ahead

Had one hell of a wonderful time seeing the last Jedi with Jeu. A lot like grey Jedi there was things I loved and thing's I was disappointed with, and all the feelings between. But going to stick to what I liked rather than negatives, because I'm tired of negatives lately. So here's some thoughts, very rambling one's as I forgot half of my impressions. I think I talked most of them with Jeu and forgot. Probably talking bollocks but here’s my initial thoughts.

Hux lives!!!! so bloody happy. Hux was certainly different, wasn't sure I'd enjoy the change in giving him a more humorous take. But felt it added some personality or warmth to him. He's still the smarmy, ruthless, bitchy shit I loved. But the film really showed he has faults, he really has no experience in leadership or hell doesn't realise when someone is messing with him. He's pretty obtuse in that regard. Hux relies on his subordinates too much in the film to tell him what's happening. The older Dreadnought commander worked out Poe was taking out the canon's, while Hux mocked the single ship daring to attack the Dreadnought. Showing how little battle experience he has unlike other older commanders. He's a little lost boy brought into a life of war by his father who hated him, to think he's bigger than he really is. One manipulated by his elders and one who is clever, ruthless, ambitious and has plans, but underneath he seems to concentrate on what's in front of him rather than think ahead, like saying to ignore Holdos ship after pettily blowing up the other failing craft. Big mistake. He doesn't understand the desperation of cornered enemies. He's Snokes perfect foil to pit against Kylo in his wanting to be recognised for his authority, in turn to make him never question Snokes authority, despite how terribly Snoke treated him. Now Kylo. I loved that Kylo showed his intelligence here in manipulating the master manipulator Snoke. He played everyone, Rey most of all. He's all lies. Still one angry child which he showed when Luke faces him. Hux of all people had to tell him he was going to far with his anger. He's a mess in the film lashing out at anyone who hurts him. Tormented still by Han and now Luke. That 'see you later kid' from Luke must have thrown Kylo. It's such a Han line. Rey rejecting him and him not understanding why brought up the mother of anger issues. The last scene of him holding Han’s dice as they fade killed me. He's so lost. Looking forward to Ren being in charge and how that shapes the first order and Hux. Mostly because of the scenes of Kylo issuing orders and Hux repeating them. Kylos look of exasperation was a classic. Makes you think about their dynamic to come because Hux isn't loyal by far,  and those two will be at odds, and throats. I know a lot of folks saw their relationship as abusive in the film. But I feel it was brought about due to both being utterly exhausted and running on fumes, nary a pause after starkiller and emotions all over from relentlessly pursuing the resistance and Snoke being a prize arsehole to both. Hux willing to shoot an unconscious Kylo and Kylo choking Hux into calling him supreme leader. They both weren't at their best. I’m not defending what Kylo did, but it seems the only way Kylo knew to best Hux in that moment and make him surrender to his will. He still has to watch out for Huxs gun from now on. (still a bit angry at the throwing Hux around scene though. Have to try and get my thoughts on that settled.) Not that the choking seemed to stop Hux issuing order's after Kylo. Hux still has faith his troopers and commanders will listen to him. And Kylo wants to succeed in his grab for power so keeps Hux around, showing him who's boss in the only way Kylo knows from both their treatment at Snokes hand. Both he and Hux will have to learn to get along or the FO will fall. Perhaps with Snoke no longer leading their rivalry they can both learn to be leaders together. But not sure they will, they're both emotional messes letting feelings of superiority and anger rule them, just Kylo is more obvious. And their story parallels Poe who had to learn fast from Leia and Holdo what it means to be a leader. But I look forward to what fandom will do with their new dynamic. My Kylux heart wants them to start to see that together they bring out the best in one another, but at each other throats they will fail. I think we can create great things with them still. Poe I loved what they did with him. I loved his journey from cocky reckless pilot to becoming leader material. He’s been fighting all his life and wants to win by any means, it takes Leia and Holdo to show him the means don't justify the end.  I loved his relationship with Leia, the caring and respect. Even when he was being a idiot hothead. Poe probably reminds her of Han. Leia was wonderful. I tried not to cry but I failed when her and Luke we're finally reunited. And holly fuck she finally used the force. Her friendship with Holdo I loved. Also being an older women I loved seeing older ladies being in charge, getting to be brave (Holdo’s fateful choice saving everyone ) A lot of Star wars women are great fully formed characters you can look up to, not just young Rey and Rose, but older Leia and Holdo. But ahhhh man Luke you wonderful angst ball. He's made mistakes, big ones, but unlike Kylo he finally faced the things hurting him and found forgiveness from Leia and within himself. That he was the one to triggered everything with Ben’s turn was a surprise. I’m not sure how they set him up, to let himself give into dark and doubt when he did the opposite to turn Vader, was something I agree with. Loved his humour poking through the angst in teasing Rey with the reed, before he got serious again. Rey I love too. She spent so long looking for her family. Always looking to find herself in them, but finding she came from nobodies. I liked that because it shows Rey is powerful on her own. She's no legacy like Kylo (maybe, it could change by the next film.). Despite all her longing and hardship of the past she see's so much good in people. I hope by the end she finds the family she needs. She very much has it with the resistance and Leia. Plus finally Finn finds her and the hug was sweet. Finn's journey was something he needed. To stop running and be fearful, find something to follow he believes in. He's true rebel scum now 😜 I just wish his arch had kept him with the rebels, he could have faced this fears without that unnecessary storyline. Rose could show how it is for them while they fight to survive. I wish the battles had been better. The bombing run was amazing, very reminiscent of old ww2 planes and pilots. They even had ball turret's. But the other ship fights weren't quite as exciting. I loved the Rebellion and was gutted they lost so much. But It's like despite everything seeming so lost like Poe say's their belief in good and family and one another will light the flame of rebellion. I am left wondering in killing off most of the resistance how they will gather more? Stormtrooper uprising next???? With Finn instigating it. Ahh I have so many thoughts. There were negatives, Phasma facing Finn sadly wasn't so good, Snoke went out like a punk ass, but I choose to stick to the positives here.

Also so many ideas to draw and a slow computer are frustrating. I'll be posting some old art I did while away to make up for slowness with new. I'm determined to do a few before Christmas strikes. So fingers crossed. Sorry for the ramble. Been away a looong time and have so much I want to talk about. Off to go watch the film again and will probably change my mind on a lot of what I typed X_X

[aion-rsa]

Resident Alien Showrunner Unpacks the Finale’s Big Reveals

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The first season of Syfy’s comedy-drama series Resident Alien is like the plot of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial — if, before returning home, E.T. was a surly, not incredibly lovable being, who wanted to kill all humans, and tormented Elliott. So maybe not like E.T. But in tonight’s finale, the alien posing as human Harry Vanderspeigle does finally head back to his world.

However, Harry’s departure from the planet and Patience, Colorado, ends up not being as simple as the Reese’s-loving alien’s. Instead, Harry (Alan Tudyk) ultimately abandons his mission to wipe out humanity in the interest of saving his friend Asta (Sara Tomko). He also attracts even more attention from the extra-government agents led by Linda Hamilton’s General Wright, discovers young Max (Judah Prehn) has stowed away on his ship, and he left all that pizza back on Earth.

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Resident Alien: Inside That Hair-Raising Cameo

By Aaron Sagers

Even though alien Harry manages to get rid of the pesky corpse of the real Harry — right before his farewell to Patience pizza montage set to “Our Town” by Iris DeMent — we’re not yet done with that story. In the finale’s pre-credits shocker, it’s revealed in flashback the human Dr. Vanderspeigle is who really killed Dr. Sam, which set the series events in motion. (The scene of Mayor Ben and Kate kicking agent ass to the tune of Dr. Hook’s “Spending the Night Together” is also pretty shocking, but satisfying.)

Season 2 of Resident Alien has been confirmed, but when it returns, our Harry is going to have to deal with the Not Men In Black, the past of the real Harry, the fact that Sheriff Mike and Deputy Liv (Corey Reynolds, and Elizabeth Bowen) are closing in, and the fallout of failing his mission to destroy mankind — which might lead to some ticked-off family back home (not to mention the other aliens of his race on earth, such as the octopus voiced by Nathan Fillion).

Thankfully, show creator and executive producer Chris Sheridan joined Den of Geek to unpack what the finale means, and how it sets the stage for the next season of Resident Alien.

Den of Geek: Before we get into the finale, last week Harry encountered the Alien Hunter, played by Terry O’Quinn, who is a high caliber guest star. Were you laying the groundwork to do more with him next season?

Chris Sheridan: We would be lucky to have Terry O’Quinn come back. There’s more to be done with that character. There’s a reason we started the episode the way we did [with a flashback to New York City in 1991, when his unborn child is abducted]. What we’d like to do is create a little bit of backstory that sort of lingers there until we find a time that we could go back to it. At this point, what we’ve set up is the only person he knows of that might be able to answer the questions that he has is Harry Vanderspeigle. I’d like a scenario in which he comes back if we can make that happen.

Where are you in the process of plotting the second season?

I’m just starting now. I have a bunch of ideas in my head that naturally popped up while plotting the first season. But I just finished post-production of the first season a couple of weeks ago. So I haven’t had a chance to really dig into it, but I’m going to start very soon trying to figure out what that second season is.

The reveal that the real Harry killed Sam Hodges was a big surprise. Was that plotted from the beginning?

That was the plan from day one. When I pitched the show, I pitched that concept and Alan was the only actor that knew it before reading the tenth script. At the beginning of the pilot, when Harry’s in the living room, and the door opens up with what we find out now was the alien coming in, he grabs the poker and he says, “Who’s in here?” I told him the real story: The real Harry Vanderspeigle just killed Sam Hodges, and thinks the person or something that came in the house is related to that. Is it the people who got him to do it, or were involved in that somehow, and he thinks they’re there to sort of take you out now as well?

Does this all connect to why the real Harry left New York City?

It’s all tied into what Harry was involved in. The way I structured the first two seasons in a general sense was the first season would be about who killed Sam Hodges, and the search for that, and then the second season would be about why. I want to explore, in the second season, the town story. Why did he do it? What was going on in the town? What was going on behind the scenes that we didn’t see, that we didn’t know about.

You also set up a larger world here with Linda Hamilton, and these not-quite Men In Black. Are you expanding the scope of the show for the second season?

I would say no. These shows are sort of living organic creatures, and you have to feed them in the way they want to be fed. If things aren’t working, you pivot and go towards something that works. The balance of the show is working pretty well right now, so I don’t want to put aside the balance, and go away from the town stories to go more into the government. The balance is working pretty well, so I’m going to try to keep the balance the way it is.

Which is not to say that the government story is over.

I always saw the show as trying to thread two storylines through the whole thing. One is the town’s storyline which is. If the alien never arrived, this town story would play out and would be interesting to watch. And then I have the alien story, which is Harry’s journey. What I always want to have in the show is the alien story playing at the same time that the town’s story is playing, and how those two intermingle, and Harry’s journey towards learning what it’s like to be human. I definitely want to move forward with the government story. And I would love to have Linda Hamilton back. She is amazing, but I think the balance right now is working pretty well.

We know Nathan Fillion’s Octopus alien is on earth. And the folks back home on Harry’s planet are probably going to find out he failed in his mission. Harry spoke a couple times about karma in this episode, so might more of his people, or even other aliens, enter the scene?

Your instincts are very good. It’s a natural way to go, isn’t it? Whether it’s season 2 or not, I can’t tell you mainly because I don’t know yet. If it’s going to be in the show, there’s a perfect time for that to happen. I can’t honestly tell you I know it’s the perfect time for that as yet … But look, I’m with you. In writing the show, and running it, and I’m part of it as a fan as well, I want the coolest thing to happen. And that is a move that would make sense, you’d think.

Can you tease how the dynamics between characters might change as more people learn about Harry, and the story evolves?

There’s a new relationship that’s going to happen between Dan and Harry because now Dan knows who he is. So there’s someone else that Harry can talk to. The advantage of having a couple more people know is I can get away from the voiceover a little bit, and go into more conversations that Harry has with people about humanity.

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Which means Harry, despite his choice not to kill all humans, has not fully embraced his humanity?

When Harry feels completely human and understands what it’s like to be human, I think the show’s over. What’s fun about the show is Harry being uncomfortable with [humanity], Harry not knowing what it’s like to be human, Harry acting like a 10 year-old, and being confused about it, and Harry still having contempt for humans. One thing I have to be careful about is making sure that Harry’s journey towards full self-reflection and awareness of his own humanity doesn’t go too fast. He’s one foot in, one foot out. He’s not a 100 percent sure he’s not going to kill everybody. Where we left it at the end of Episode 10 is, he still wants to kill everyone. He just knows he can’t because then he’d have to kill Asta too. She’s the one person he doesn’t want to kill.

The post Resident Alien Showrunner Unpacks the Finale’s Big Reveals appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[shewhodoesnotexist]

My thoughts after seeing The Last Jedi, with spoilers.

All right, first point… I can’t freaking believe this. I can’t believe they made Reylo Force Bond canon. This movie unfolds like a Reylo fanfic, I am not even joking.

…To be clear: this is not a complaint.

Other than that:

They’re talking through the radio without the radio. Like in The Avengers.

Even Snoke thinks the helmet is stupid. Take that, Kylo.

Finn’s awakening. He awakens from a coma, bangs his head on the equipment, falls off the bed, wanders around with all that stuff leaking. I get they were busy, but doesn’t anyone monitor the hospital?!

I liked Poe’s storyline, it was an interesting deconstruction of that hotheaded pilot who jumps recklessly into action, endangering everyone. I feel it was a Reality Ensues kind of situation, where something we’re automatically rooting for turns out not to be so beneficial after all, and I appreciate his character growth (as well as Leia’s approach to his insubordination).

It was lovely how Rose went from hero-worshipping Finn to arresting him for desertion. She means business (and he looked so ashamed...)

However, their entire subplot felt pretty much pointless and forced. If anything, it works as a part of Poe’s “we think we know best, but end up making things worse” arc, but it was unnecessarily dragged out. I understand the need for people other than Rey to have a subplot, but I feel even supporting Poe on-ship would make more sense.

Having said that, I can’t decide whether two Resistance members being put in jail for parking their ship on a beach was plain ridiculous or the realest moment of the film.

Leia surviving in and rescuing herself from vacuum, however, was just dumb. Don’t push it, folks.

The interactions between Rey and Luke were genuinely entertaining. Luke’s general snarkiness was great, but the “reach out” scene takes the cake. “Reach out.” *Rey reaches out with her hand* *Luke’s face: what an idiot* And then he tickled her with the grass. It was hilarious.

Also: “I’ve seen your daily routine. You’re not busy.”

I’m not sure pointing out all those animals was truly necessary.

The Force Bond! It. Was. Awesome! I think they handled it very well, you could see exactly when it happened and the shots showed so clearly they were together even though they were in different places, and I’m not over the fact that it was there at all, it’s straight-out-of-fanfic stuff and it makes me so happy. The rain scene was striking. The scene with Rey and Kylo sitting together, when they touch hands through the bond (and he removes his glove to touch her hand!), is perhaps my favourite scene of the movie.

Luke wanting to kill Ben in his sleep… the most striking being his words about how the last he saw was a boy frightened and failed by his master. Heartbreaking. Rey confronting him about it: amazing.

Yoda’s appearance struck me as gratuitous. He looked a bit too material for a Force ghost, too.

It was cute, sure, but was there any real point to the Dark Counterpart of BB8?

Rey surrendering to the First Order was too reminiscent of The Return of the Jedi. The difference being that Snoke wanted Kylo to kill Rey, not Rey to kill Kylo and become his new apprentice, but still. Not to mention killing Snoke so early was somewhat anticlimactic, after he was hyped as such a uniquely strong and ancient Force user. Where’s the backstory? The explanation? (Don’t say in future additional materials.)

Even so, I appreciate Kylo fooling telepathy by applying exact words.

The battle was cool, but the part when Rey threw her lightsaber and Kylo ignited it into the face of the guard was needlessly silly (everyone laughed at this point).

I have to say… I actually appreciate that the differences between Rey and Kylo were acknowledged, that he was allowed to be his own person, in a way, with a somewhat consistent ideology that doesn’t disappear just because he is moved to betray Snoke for Rey (one interpretation being, just because he kills the one who groomed him doesn’t mean the results go away, recovery is not so simple nor immediate). He obviously cares about her a lot, but he doesn’t blindly discard everything and switch to The Good Guys – and so Rey is forced to make this difficult decision to leave him. I do want them to reunite and see eye to eye eventually, but I’d prefer it to be through more character growth, not so out of the blue. And the differences make their mutual understanding and compassion that much more interesting.

The lightsaber tug-of-war was impressive.

(I guess we’re no longer pretending there are any other “Knights of Ren”? I mean there was mention of Luke’s pupils who went with Ben, but if they were important, they’d have shown up by now, right?)

Rey’s parents being no-one of note. I like it, there’s no need for everyone to be of an important bloodline. Everyone can be Force-sensitive (especially since Jedi were not supposed to have families, come on).

Phasma was still wasted! And I wouldn’t mind at all if there hadn’t been such a hype about her. And again, I don’t care about tie-in novels and such. Show me. If you sell the Bad Guy Trio, deliver.

Not to mention the contrived coincidence stopping Finn and Rose’s execution. But hey, that’s how it works in movies.

Kylo asserting his leadership to Hux was entertaining. Poor luck the first endeavour under his command goes the way it does. (“Do you think you got him?”) Your issues are showing, Ben.

Since when can Finn pilot ships?

Finn’s almost-sacrifice was such an emotionally charged scene. For a moment I thought he’d actually die, and I’m glad he didn’t (apart from anything else, if his mad charge would have indeed ended up solving the situation, the message would be wasted). Rose was a ray of sunshine here.

The white-red battleground was visually astounding.

I was told the porgs were divisive, but I’m more-or-less neutral on them. I liked the crystal foxes, though, they were pretty.

So Rey and Poe are finally formally acquainted! About time, too.

What even WAS that last scene between Rey and Kylo, he looks like he’s proposing, down on his knees before her… and the dice. Oh, my heart.

My Mum said it was leaning towards a love comedy, and I’m inclined to agree ;)

The music was great, as usual.

[captainignatiuspigheart]

Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do anything, including remembering the time before the heat haze. Still – we shall prevail! It was a quietish couple of weeks in any case, though did have a couple of cool things in it. Not least that I’ve been able to live outside in my gazebo office, and keep a close eye on our ridiculous cats and their shade seeking antics. We were all sad when the thunder and hailstorms drove us inside… Taking keen note of the foul weather I finally picked up some serious LEGO storage towers and did some reorganising. They don’t take up less space, which is unfortunate, but I can access key bricks sets much more easily!

Big fella in a hedge

Little lady in her rooftop fort

Last week turned out to be a mini podcast week, so I’ve spent more time talking than usual (taking up precious drinking time, alas). More We Are What We Overcoming, which has become a cornerstone of my fortnightly routine, and really does help me think about how I feel and how I’m behaving in this quarantini time. That’s not the same as actually changing my behaviour, but being aware that I’m doing little but drinking and sighing at the sun is a start… My other half and I were also interviewed for the Knot Ready podcast: a look at marriage from a modern, feminist perspective, since we’re nearly twenty-two years into a non-marriage we have some insight into why folks may not get married, or at least, possibly, why we haven’t. It was a lot of fun to chat about how we got together (half a lifetime ago!) and other stuff. I’ll definitely remember to share when our episode is out, but you should subscribe to the podcast anyway because Lucy is pretty ace and it’s a genuinely interesting subject.

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I am KNOT READY 💍😘 . I am ready to tie the knot! I am lucky enough to have found an amazing person who makes my life better and who I want to commit to fully 💕 . So when I say I'm freaked out by marriage – it's not a commitment thing! . I'm freaked out that this institution, this human invention, controlled by religion and the state and shaped through time by patriarchal narratives, has become synonymous with romantic love, and not just culturally but for me personally! Something has got it into my head that our relationship is incomplete without marriage, despite suspecting on an intellectual level that nothing much will change afterwards. . Why am I spending a silly amount of money on one day? Why did it make me sad to not be engaged to my person? Why is marriage so important to me? . Freaky questions! For some answers, turn to Knot Ready 💍😘 Episode one comes out this Friday! Link in bio to subscribe or learn more 💖

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We’ve also seen a few more genuine humans in the meatspace, a thing which makes me feel ever so odd. I suspect that I have been at home for too long… But we had a lovely slow wander around the University Park lake and a bit of the radically altered campus up the back of the Portland Building. Lots of baby birds, and our friends’ new baby of their own.

Building: LEGO Hidden Side’s Newbury Haunted High School #70425

OK, so I built this ages ago, but it’s really pretty. Thing is, in its standard configuration it sprawls a little wide, and is distressingly not quite a modular building. So I fixed it! My goal was for it to fit in with the other modular buildings, but of course it’s four studs wider than a baseplate, so something had to go. In my first attempt I tried to compact the bay windows but made a horrible mess, so dismantled the whole thing and rebuilt it using the instructions and deviating where necessary. Where necessary was a bit of a pain – to keep the play functions I needed to keep the bay windows and the full width of the clock tower. My only viable option was removing the four silver unicorn spires with their supporting arches, and that hasn’t really hurt the build much. I’m not super-happy that the decorative ground floor arches are now somewhat obscured, but I’m chuffed with the overall result. That it gave me a chance to go nuts on a swirly tiling pattern in coral pink was a massive bonus. I’ve kept all the play features, but lost some of the details inside. I may remove all the worn detailing too and just have a lovely school in between the detective’s office and the bank. As was noted in the Brickgeekz Facebook group, its colours do rather resemble the now-exceedingly rare Town Hall which I could never quite afford. Win!

Four studs too wide…

It fits!

Beautiful flooring

Play features intact

Watching: Space Force

This is certainly quite fun. A show about Trump’s cretinous “space force” which supposedly satirises the idea, but instead gets caught up doing a sort-of sincere NASA knock-off to get Americans back on the Moon. It doesn’t seem to be sure what it’s taking the mickey out of, leaving the comedy unfocused and swaying madly in each episode. The characters are pretty stock fodder: uptight air force general played by Steve Carell, who looks rather lost, desperate to make it funny by crashing in and out of character while relying heavily on clearing his throat to cover all forms of emotion; very smart scientist guy who isn’t that great with people in the remarkable form of John Malkovich, who shows off his comedy chops nicely (largely by staying in character); total arsehole PR guy Ben Schwartz, who is utterly hateable (in a good way) but of course redeems himself, sort of; space force pilot/astronaut Tawny Newsome, desperate to get on the moon and be somebody; the air force general’s neglected daughter who just wants to have some fun / get any attention at all from her dad. The supporting cast do a great job too, but the tone constantly swinging from idiots messing up the mission to “hurray USA” sentiment leaves them all out in the cold. It’s just odd. I did enjoy the show, and it certainly has some splendid moments, mostly as they get towards the moon landing itself, but I’m not going to be racing back for season two. The Chinese are the main rivals in this new space race, and it’s a bit… broad… for 2020.

Doing: We Are What We Overcome

The next of our “lockdown specials”, lovingly recorded by Zoom and broadcast live in Facebook. Didn’t quite work last week, for no clear reason, so we popped it up on Tuesday instead. We talked about the thorny subject of change, which we seem to have to deal with all the damned time! It’s an interesting issue, covering not just what change is and how it feels, but how we learn (or don’t learn) to deal with it. All terribly pertinent and that. We came back yesterday Monday 19th to discuss how we feel about the easing of lockdown (or whatever the fuck this shower of wank called a Tory government are doing): check that one our here: Facebook Live.

Kickstarter Reward: Munchkin Bricks 2

With all the global lunacy I’d quite forgotten these were on the way! The last-but-one project of Guy Himber, aka CrazyBricks. These are pretty silly accessories and things to accompany the equally silly Munchkin card/boardgame. I just thought they were really cute, god knows what I’m going to do with them. Particular favourites for me are the chibi cthulus (some may become gifts for others…) and the splendid octobricks!

Swag

Swagger

You should definitely check out his current project, which is already very well funded and heading for far-reaching stretch goals: Dino Dudes! Yep, it’s just what it sounds like. Go get em! Nicely covered here by the excellent Beyond the Brick channel:

Reading: Provenance by Ann Leckie

My first Leckie, having not yet gotten around to reading the acclaimed Ancillary Justice series, though this one is set in the same universe. It’s perfectly fine small-scope space opera, focusing on a young woman’s attempts to secure her future (by being named as heir to a senior politician – her adopted mother in a society with interesting communal creche arrangements) by breaking a thief out of prison and lording her victory over her brother. The thief has apparently nicked some precious vestiges, Leckie’s intriguing concept of highly-prized mementoes of the past, which might be anything from an actual artifact, eg a bell used in the first summoning of parliament, to a signed bus ticket on a special day. The Hwaean people are obsessed with the things, and it would be a terrible shame if they turned out to be fake… There’s lots of running around with aliens and robots and occasional murder of diplomats and so on, all risking the failure of a super-important peace accord between humans and some potentially terrifying aliens. Provenance is neatly written, though it loses something in having the plot summary on the back cover take only the first chapter or so to resolve, leaving me unsure where it was going after the exciting sounding heist was dealt with so quickly. It never quite recovered for me, which definitely confirms that I should not read the back cover of books I’m about to read. The author’s interest in diversity and multiple genders, modes of address and interesting social set ups are fun and satisfying to read about, so I suspect I’ll enjoy getting properly into the Ancillary Justice vibe; I just shouldn’t have started here.

More LEGO. SCUM: A Star Wars Story

I’ve now built the main cast of our Star Wars RPG! Clockwise from top-left: my Tusken raider with savaged translator droid strapped to my back, Jon’s Twi’lek bounty hunter, Ben’s Nautolan hacker, Diarmuid’s hapless and much abused Imperial officer, Joe’s GH7 medical droid (a real delight to assemble) his Mandalorian bodyguard (played by Charlie). It’s fun! Now I wanna build some of our missions…

Watching: Agents of SHIELD season 4

I’m sure you’re growing weary of this, but Agents of SHIELD is a goddamned delight. Best show on TV? Maybe. (Warning: many spoilers ahead.) This was the last of the seasons that I’d seen before, so was by far the most familiar. And yet, in the style of all their seasons, a MILLION things happen, overwhelming any sense I had of how long any of the events took. To give you some idea of just how wild this season is, we go from introducing Ghost Rider, in a surprisingly coherent way, to another Avengers nightmare of AI coming to life and taking over various characters with robot duplicates (in this case, Ada, built by splendid returning cast member John Hannah), followed by an incredible immersion of the main cast in a vast virtual reality “The Framework” (built by Ada, John Hannah, and Fitz) a terrifying alternate reality where Hydra has won and rules the world, busily oppressing and annihilating inhumans so that Ada can build herself a real body. Jesus Christ, it’s a lot. Add to that a new director of SHIELD, the ongoing friction between SHIELD and the inhumans vs the rest of the world, plus god knows what else that I’ve forgotten, and I’m happily mindblown. Of course, it’s also the doomed FitzSimmons romance show too, as those two get yet another absolute kicking when we see that Fitz is the chief Hydra scientist, experimenting and murdering all sorts of folk, like Simmons… How will they put themselves back together? Who the hell knows because at the end of this season most of the team is abducted and wake up in SPACE! In truth I’m already a good way into season 5 and I could not be happier.

Doing: MissImp’s virtual improv comedy drop-in

I’ll admit, I’m as behind on these as I am on everything else… First up, The Tiny Glass Person with Feña Ortalli:

Followed by the marvellous David Escobedo in Discovering Your Dynamics:

Last Week: LEGO, Knot Ready, Space Force, Provenance, MissImp, CrazyBricks, Agents of SHIELD, We Are What We Overcome… many things! I’ve gotta get back to doing this weekly… TV, books, much LEGO, some improv and podcasts. https://wp.me/pbprdx-8Gx Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do…

[jacewilliams1]

Omaha to Tel Aviv in a Cessna 210

“I don’t trust single-engine airplanes anything farther than I could throw them! But, I trust the One who leads me to do this.” Those were the first words that United Airlines Captain Jim Bone said to me as we sat down to lunch during his layover in Omaha. I immediately knew that we were “on the same page.”

I had been led to Jim by the staff at Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS) when I called them seeking a fuselage ferry fuel tank for the Cessna T-210 that I was planning to fly from Omaha to Tel Aviv back in 1981.

Jim and I talked further about ferry procedures, the probable route and the likely departure date. I was grateful then, when at the end of our lunch, he agreed to accompany me on the trip. I had about two thousand hours of over-water time by then, but all of it was with four engines at high altitude. Jim, though, had already completed several single-engine ferry flights and, therefore, had the experience and the expertise necessary to ensure that we did things right. And doing things right was exactly what I wanted!

A ferry tank means less room for luggage – or seats.

I first flew the airplane from Omaha to North Carolina to have an HF radio and a second ADF installed. Then, with the help of an Eastern Airlines captain, I found a maintenance technician in that area who could complete the ferry tank installation. That former Air Force F-105 pilot-turned-FBO manager/maintenance technician, a man committed to perfection, was exactly the right person for the job.

Jim and I knew, for example, that we would have access to every drop of fuel on board the 210 because, in addition to the standard, factory-installed engine-driven and electric auxiliary fuel pumps, the technician added a manual wobble pump that could be used, if necessary, to transfer fuel from the internal ferry tank to the wing tanks. As a matter of fact, the ferry tank and necessary fuel system modifications had been installed and completed so well that when it later came time to remove them in Tel Aviv, the impressed technician there said, “This fuel system work is all a piece of art; I hate to touch it.”

Back in North Carolina, once all of the 210’s systems and avionics had been tested and retested and every trip detail checked and rechecked, Jim and I said our goodbyes and left, FAA ferry permit in hand, for Langhorne, Pennsylvania. We stopped there to pick up the raft and other survival gear that we needed for our Atlantic crossing. Then, it was on to St. John’s, Newfoundland.

In those days (many years before GPS), Canada would not allow ferry pilots to depart Newfoundland’s airspace eastbound unless they first went through a two-day dead reckoning (DR) navigation course. But, since Jim had already completed their course, we were able to begin our crossing – direct to the Azores – the next day.

So, very early the next morning, we rechecked our weight and balance, got our Atlantic and destination weather briefing, put on our maximum fuel load, very thoroughly preflighted the airplane, and then taxied to the active runway for departure. As we did so, it was comforting to know that, even though our flight to the Azores was about eight hours long, we actually had 14 hours of fuel on board – enough to reach the Canary Islands if we missed the Azores.

And, missing the Azores – although not probable – was possible, because our “long-range navigation system” consisted of just two ADFs, a heading system and a compass. We also had forecast-but-uncertain winds, unfamiliar compass precession, and magnetic variation issues to consider as we crossed the Atlantic. I must also confess that I have never listened more intently to an engine or paid more attention to ocean waves and swells than I did on that flight. But, our turbocharged Continental TSIO-520 engine ran absolutely perfectly during the eight-hour crossing.

Not your typical trans-Atlantic airplane, but it did just fine.

And then, when we locked onto the first NDB in the Azores after about six hours of DR, even Jim, an ocean crossing veteran, was astonished. It was just like threading a needle: we were right on course. Our navigation results would not have been any more accurate with a GPS or the latest Inertial Reference Unit (although, yes, a flight with that equipment would have been much easier and considerably more comfortable).

After landing, we prepared the airplane for the next day’s flight. We then had dinner with the head of ATC in the Azores, a very interesting man whom Jim had met on a previous flight. So, both our first long leg to the Azores and our time there were especially memorable. And the legs that followed (to Lisbon, Palermo, and, finally, to Tel Aviv) went just as smoothly and were just as amazing.

We enjoyed exceptionally good weather, an operationally perfect airplane, and fascinating experiences along the way. And Jim proved to be a very professional, congenial and enjoyable flying partner. It was exciting, of course, to finally roll the 210 onto the runway at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport. It was also a bit sad, as that landing signaled the end of a very remarkable journey.

What did I take away from this ferry flight experience? First, I believe that our attention to basic-but-significant things, such as planning, preparation and precision, helped enable the success of our 6900-mile voyage. Our efforts in these areas really made a difference. And second, we owed a lot to a lot of people. I will never forget them. Not only were many very talented and dedicated individuals involved in our journey from start to finish, but we also encountered numerous kind and helpful folks on every leg of the trip. It never failed. Someone knowledgeable always showed up at each stop (local pilots, airline crews, airport personnel, etc.) to assist us in every way possible.

That reminded me, again, that the people in and around aviation are often unique and special. It also reminded me of an absolute truth: every successful flight – in any craft and for any duration – is the result of the efforts of many. Around the patch or around the world, every flight is a team accomplishment!

The post Omaha to Tel Aviv in a Cessna 210 appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2019/10/omaha-to-tel-aviv-in-a-cessna-210/

[sylphmarketing]

Bunbury Music Festival: 2019 Review

I almost always have music playing. The need for music changes with each location – the car, the studio, the living room, the gym. In an effort to keep things fresh, I am constantly looking for music I haven’t heard.  With hopes of discovering new music, I let my son choose the music when riding in the car together. Photographing and covering music festivals also helps.

You can’t see every artist perform at most festivals. If you’re not a die-hard fan who is prepared to camp at one stage for an entire day, then it is recommended to plan ahead and make a schedule of the acts you most want to see. Like most festivals, Bunbury offers help with a customizable schedule through their online app. I listen to a few songs from each performer, and prioritize which stage I want to go to next. Listening to studio recordings doesn’t reflect which stage performance is the best. Most of the profits musicians make is not from album sales. Ideally a band would be judged purely on their music, but that’s not the case. Please keep in mind my reviews below are based primarily off the first few songs I was able to witness before moving on, and a consensus of festival goers. Here’s my breakdown of all the performers I was able to capture:

Bunbury Day 1

The Orphan the Poet

Genre: Rock Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 8 Energy level: 8 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 7

They have refined their sound since I saw them 3 years ago. More pop flavor than I recall, but with the same great energy. Vocalist, David Eselgroth made it out into the audience within the first few songs.

Radattack

Genre: Rock Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 9 Energy level: 8 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 8

More grit than pop. More mature than you would expect from a group just a year or so out of high school. Each member has their own style, but it goes along with the other’s looks. This is where I’d like to see rock be in the future. I hope they stick together for a long time to see how they grow as artists together.

Taylor Janzen

Genre: Indie Folk Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 6 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

Fascinating to hear a 19-year old write and perform such heartfelt music that I wasn’t interested in until I hit my 30s.

Poppy (Moriah Rose Pereira)

Genre: Electropop Music: 6 Presence/fashion: 8 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor:  6

Consensus: “Weird, almost creepy”, but possibly the future of the pop music scene.

Witt Lowry

Genre: Hip Hop Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 4 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor:  7

Witt has a lot of energy for performing the saddest song I’ve ever seen live. Not afraid to bare his emotions on stage. Keep an eye on him.

Bayside

Genre: Pop Punk Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

They formed 19 years ago. Have a wide range of songs for the genre. I’ve heard upbeat, angsty, and sullen.

Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker)

Genre: Rap Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 8 Energy level: 9 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 8

I’ve seen him crowd surf during other artist’s performances. Seems to play well with others unless you’re Eminem.

NF (Nathan John Feuerstein)

Genre: Rap Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 6 Performance: 7 Coolness factor:7

There were a considerable amount of performers wearing hoodies during their performance this years despite the heat. NF’s looked custom-made to hide most his face and fit over his hat. With a cage that he would retreat to, and a shopping cart with black helium balloons, his performance was lo-fi, but effective.

Stone Temple Pilots

Genre: Alt Rock Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 7 Energy level: 8 Performance: 8 Coolness factor:  7

Age can be a damper for these performances. Replacing the original vocalists can be too. They have already put together a studio release together and Jeff Gutt fits in fine. He was lively on stage as if it were his band from the beginning. If you didn’t know who Scott Weiland was, you might think this was the original lineup. Note: Their latest eponymous release does not sound like the same band from the late 90s.

Fallout Boy

Genre: Pop Rock Music: 6 Presence/fashion: 4 Energy level: 4 Performance: 4 Coolness factor: 5

Consensus:  “They seemed like they were going through the motions.” I saw this band on this same stage 5 years ago. They hardly looked like the same people. With the exception on the pyrotechnics, this group offered little excitement on stage.

Bunbury Day 2

Shaed

Genre: Electropop Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 7 Overall performance: 7 Coolness factor: 7

I was immediately impressed by Chelsea Lee’s soft speaking voice change to the  low, bold, and soothing lyricist. Trampoline is a good single, but they do have more to offer. Looking for a full length from them soon.

Great Good Fine OK

Genre: Synthpop Music: 2 Presence/fashion: 2 Energy level: 6 Overall performance: 3 Coolness factor: 4

Great Good Fine OK was none of these things. This was a challenge for the senses. John Sandler was wearing a black and gold homemade outfit, while the rest of the touring band was in street clothes. The lyrics may have been touching, but I couldn’t get over the sound.  This duo was delayed in starting, but continued their set as if time was not an issue. Promising two or three more songs, the fans at the nearby stage were booing while they had to wait for them to finish before the next band could start. There is a very real possibility that synthpop will be the end of rock music.

The Blue Stones

Genre: Blues Rock Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

One of those bands when you first see live, you’re amazed it’s all done with just two people. With only two members, everything has to be precise. They need to set themselves apart from some of the bigger names out there doing similar work, but they have started in the right direction. Long live the rock duo.

Flora Cash

Genre: Indie Pop Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 5 Performance: 6 Coolness factor: 7

This married couple met on Soundcloud. Now they reside in Sweden. They have some feeling in the studio, that got lost on stage.

Tropidelic

Genre: Uncategorized Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 8 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 7

Tropidelic is always a high-energy and fun performance. I was only there for 3 songs, but I’m sure more than one of them climbed off the stage to play in the audience.

Jukebox the Ghost

Genre Indie Pop Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 7 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 9

Ben Thornewill took the time to sign autographs and allow photos with him for a mob of people just behind the stage when they were finished on stage. I’ve seen their performance several times. Every time I think I know what to expect from them, they change it up. With seven studio albums, they have a large catalog of music to choose from.

Dashboard Confessional

Genre: Emo Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 7 Energy level: 6 Overall performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

Surprised to find out they’re really big in the Philippines. Most people did not recognize Chris Carrabba on stage, but they recognized his music. Their most recent release, Crooked Shadows, has a lot more synth and anthem rock qualities than their debut, The Swiss Army Romance from almost 20 years ago.

Jeremy Zucker

Genre Pop Music 8 Presence/fashion 7 Energy level 7 Overall performance 7 Coolness factor 8

He has more monthly listeners on Spotify than any of the four remaining artists on Saturday. But he appeals to a very young crowd. If this guy keeps it up, he’s going to be gigantic.

Blue October

Genre: Rock Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 7 Overall performance: 7 Coolness factor: 8

Last year Bishop Briggs was at this stage and it was overflowing with fans. This year, the same stage (different placement), and the band that had the most overflowing audience was clearly Blue October.

Awolnation

Genre: Rock Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 7

For years, there was a stigma I had to overcome to enjoy Awolnation. Admittedly it was all me. That’s all I know. I was wrong. Fortunately, I was able to get over it. They have a lot of music that I recognize and enjoy.

Sublime with Rome

Genre: Ska Punk Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 4 Energy level: 5 Performance: 5 Coolness factor: 5

The music was fine. Rome’s vocals are solid. The band was happy to be performing. They even put out new music since the line up changes and loss of Bradley Nowell. Ultimately though, they’re a bunch of old dudes too out of shape to do much on stage. I prefer their studio releases. If you want to follow a band around the country, but Phish is too hardcore for you, then this is your new old favorite band.

Greta Van Fleet

Genre: Rock Music: 9 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 7 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 8

There’s no denying that they remind people of another band from a different era. That band isn’t making new music together. Great Van Fleet is, and I’m thrilled to finally be able to witness their live performance, especially after hearing about their poor performance on SNL. The state of rock looks a lot like the state of the republic right now. If we want it to get better, we can’t be divided and hate on what’s right. Aside from Josh dressing like Abu from Aladdin (1992), they were terrific.

Bunbury Day 2

Bülow (Megan Bülow)

Genre: Pop Music: 8 Presence/fashion: N/A Energy level: 6 Performance: 6 Coolness factor: 7

The songs I’ve posted for each band reflects my favorite of their music. I had to change out Bülow’s song four times. I landed on You & Jennifer, and it’s going to be near impossible to dethrone. If Rebecca Sugar decided to tap into some forgotten pain, she would write and perform something very similar. With only 7 songs on Bülow’s full-length release, it’s hard to judge how good the music is (going to be). At this point, I can’t tell if her look is ironic or not, so I’m uncomfortable judging it. She may just be an iconoclast.

Lauren Sanderson

Genre: Hip Hop Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 5 Energy level: 7 Performance: 6 Coolness factor: 9

The greatest thing about Lauren Sanderson is that her album Don’t Panic has two versions — a regular hip hop version, and an acoustic version. This says a lot because there is a lot of cool about her. At the end of her set, she organized a meet and greet for anyone who wanted to wait in line.

The Aces

Genre: Indie Pop Music: 6 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 6 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 7

At the end of a tour, a performance can suffer burnout while every day becomes laundry day. That may have been the case the last time I saw the Aces. It was a pleasant surprise, despite some tech difficulties on stage with Katie Henderson’s guitar, to see the performance I hoped for this time.

Reignwolf

Genre: Blues Rock Music: 9 Presence/fashion: 9 Energy level: 9 Performance: 9 Coolness factor: 9

So good, you’re cursing aloud in wonder. Reignwolf provided the best performance of the weekend. The energy; the music; the performance blew my mind. Jordan and Stacey-James  become the music. Their presence was undeniable. Overlook that Jordan Cook was dressed for a Seattle February in the mid-1990s, and they were near perfect.  Below is a link to when Jordan first started out. Seven years for a full album was worth the wait. I already have plans to photograph them again because it’s better live.

Streetlight Manifesto

Genre: Ska Punk Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

Ska has been getting a lot of grief lately for being something we used to listen to in the 90s, but to be honest, it's still better than some of the new style of things. Streetlight Manifesto has a lot gong on stage and is fun to watch, albeit, difficult to capture on camera.

Clutch

Genre: Blues Rock Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 6

Consensus: “I think [Neil Fallon] used to be a reverend. He sounds like he is delivering a sermon.” Somehow, I had never heard of them before and they’ve been around since 1991 with 12 albums! The more I listen to them, the more they are growing on me.

lovelytheband

Genre: Indie Pop Music: 5 Presence/fashion: 4 Energy level: 7 Performance: 7 Coolness factor: 5

I walked around the pit giving others the opportunity to photograph this band that they were more excited to shoot, but Mitchy Collins kept giving me shots to stick around for, drawing me back to the stage. If you already like this music, you should definitely see them live.

Run the Jewels

Genre: Rap Music: 8 Presence/fashion: 7 Energy level: 9 Performance: 9 Coolness factor: 10

One of the best performances of the weekend and vocally advocated for consent norms. Killer Mike wants to want to change the world. If you haven’t seen his documentary Trigger Warning you should.

Girl Talk (Gregg Michael Gillis)

Genre: DJ Music: 6 Presence/fashion: 6 Energy level: 8 Performance: 6 Coolness factor: 7

To compensate for the typical still life that can become a DJ set, Girl Talk arranged for several festival goers to join him on stage for a dance party, which spread into the crowd within seconds. Gregg created what looked like a flattened basketball player out of the stage with the arms and legs extending from the floor. To put a DJ this late in the day was a bold, and satisfying move. It was a party.

The 1975

Genre: Pop rock Music: 7 Presence/fashion: 7 Energy level: 8 Performance: 8 Coolness factor: 9

Consensus: “OMG OMG OMG. I love them so much.” Of everyone I talked to, this was the most anticipated of the weekend. This isn’t music for me, but the crowd loved them. The performance was lively and well lit. I hear it’s a trademark of his performance, but I have a lot of photos of Matty Healy with his tongue out of his mouth that I can’t use.

Bunbury

An excellent option for me to find and enjoy more music. Some artists I had never heard of, or some I wouldn’t be crazy about from their studio release, found an opportunity to make me a fan. Most notably Bülow and Awolnation, while Reignwolf and Run the Jewels heightened my excitement for their next thing to come.

[nettvnow-blog]

Ben Mann | Figg & Dates

Director of Figg & Date and key player at Mann Bros. Media, Ben Mann has done it all. From acting, to writing to directing, Mann has done it all. Learn more about his work in Figg & Dates and see what's next for him!

netTVnow: How did you get involved with the series Figgs & Dates?

Ben Mann: My company Mann Bros. Media launched an initiative called Mann Bros. Originals to help get creative projects like web series or shorts, off the ground. The idea was to help shoot a pilot episode of a great idea on little to no budget and pitch it for a fully commissioned series. The idea came off the back of my first web series which I directed in New York called (NOT) Brothers – we made this for practically nothing and it was received so well that we wanted to do it again, although we simplified the idea so that it just focused on a short pilot or teaser. Rachel, however, came to us with more than a pilot – but they were such shootable bite sized episodes of what was a much bigger series that we had to go for it.

NTN: What was the directing process like for you?

BM: The series was so beautifully and vividly written that realizing it on screen was a treat. My crew and myself worked very closely, we’re all brothers, to ensure that we made the very most of each and every shooting day – and the biggest part of this was time management. The sets that I like to lead require a huge amount of communication from everyone and are extremely collaborative so that everyone feels a part of the product. It was a privilege to direct all of the actors involved in the series, all trained professionals who not only respect the craft but also have a huge amount of love for Rachel and this meant that they all just simply wanted to be there. 

For me as a director I don’t work with storyboards – I have a pre-planned idea in my head based on the script, the actors involved and the location information – from there I let the moment dictate the rest. Once we’re in the space with everything set I’ll lead a few informal rehearsals to see what works and what doesn’t in terms of shape and spacing, and then I’ll drop the cameras in and we’ll have a crack at it. The first few takes are always the best for both cast and crew as things are most fresh, so I’ll start with long and wide takes and then from there punch in for close-ups. And all episodes in this series were short and sweet so we were mostly able to try out lots of different ideas and do as many takes as necessary. 

NTN: How collaborative were you with Rachel Marwood?

BM: The entire process was extremely collaborative with Rachel who co-produced the series with us. She was instrumental in casting, location scouting and sourcing most of the ingredients for each shoot that it made my life so much easier in focusing more on the content for camera. Rachel and I had become good friends too since meeting in the summer of 2016 and she was one of the first people I thought of when sharing our Originals idea. Suffice to say she went away and wrote this entire series in a very short space of time.

NTN: You've mentioned working in web series before, tell me about your first experience in web series and what you learned from that project to this one.

BM: The idea is everything – if you nail that and it’s interesting enough then no shoot (no matter how small or large or complicated) will ever be dull. I collaborated closely with two New York based actor/writers, Brett Epstein & Andy Gershenzon, who had come up with a wonderful concept for a series but didn’t know how to realize it on camera. The big difference between that series and Figg & Dates was that (NOT) Brothers was mostly improvised, which was a process I loved as I came from an improvisation/acting background. What it taught me, though, was a great deal of patience and my time management skills improved substantially. With Figg & Dates we were blessed with such sharp and precise writing that the words dictated almost all of the action. This allowed us to find the shape of every scene very quickly on its feet – and from there we were able to get creative and just have fun.

NTN: What is it about the web series medium that appeals to you?

BM: For me it’s being able to tell these stories in a short amount of time, communicating an idea as directly and efficiently as possible without over doing it. The other big thing is the creative control – sometimes, and in our case, a web series can be produced on a relatively smaller scale in that wonderful do-it-yourself manner, and that means retaining a huge amount of control over the process and the content. Also, in this contemporary Netflix-binge-watching world you are working against very little patience from the viewer, so say what you need to say and do it fast.

NTN: As a director, are there any key difference in filming for web series and other mediums?

BM: Size and scale are the key things here, both web series I’ve created have allowed me to be ambitious but in a manageable and tangible way, using only the essential ingredients to tell the story and nothing more. Time will change based on medium too – generally the longer the script the longer the screen time. For us, we work on so many different projects that we don’t currently have the time to invest in larger mediums, so the web series format suits us just fine.

NTN: You've mentioned Mann Bros. Media, can you tell me about that?

BM: Mann Bros. creates all kinds of video content, from promotional videos and recording live music events to web series and documentary films. We specialize in all aspects of production from concept all the way through to delivery - we’re a one stop shop. It’s also a family run group, we’re all brothers.

NTN: That's amazing, so what would you say a typical day on set is like for you?

BM: Our sets are extremely relaxed, first and foremost we want everyone involved to feel comfortable and at ease. The key to an efficient set is being prepared and covering all your bases so that you can get the very best out of the time you have. The other important factor is communication – so long as everyone (cast and crew) knows where they should be at any given time and what they should be doing then you’ll be fine. If they don’t, then they probably shouldn’t be there.

Rachel is as efficient a producer as they come, so between her and us we were able to never put a foot wrong when it came to management and logistics. A typical day on set for me and my crew involves being the first to arrive and the last to leave. It will also involve plenty of coffee and plenty of breaks. Personally, I always get very obsessed with timings because I never want to waste anyone’s time because as an actor on set, I’ve been there, which is why I can usually be found almost always staring at my watch.

NTN: What advice do you have for aspiring directors?

BM: Directing is a wonderful process and I, in fact, only found it through acting. This served me in good stead because it helps me now to relate from both sides – I’ve found that there’s a lovely synergy that exists between the director and the actors as essentially you all want the same thing. I would say ask as many questions as you can always, even to yourself, and always trust your first instinct and see where it takes you. Not to mention listen, to both your cast and crew, as everyone is there to help make the product the very best it can be.

NTN: Any upcoming projects to share or anything else to add?

BM: Stay tuned on the Mann Bros. Originals front, we’re working right now on a very exciting mockumentary all about the amateur dramatics world, shot in the style of The Office. We’ve also just launched a new website and folks can check it out at www.mannbros.net.

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