#eff them and their netflix

[imnoonejustapiramide]

I just finished Dark (netflix)- don't touch me ! (especially coz I'm literally in pain coz of having my damned period, like eff being a woman, I don't even want any spawns 😡) 🥲

I'm so glad I took my time to watch it, coz-

Those who know, know.

It's been 3 hours since, and I still haven't really, not that I will, but well- I don't think I'll get over it.

Like verdammt!!!!

But anyways, should I watch 1899 (which I believe is directed by the same directors?)? I know effing Netflix cancelled it (coz they're tasteless bishes who couldn't let it get the time it deserved to let them cook-), but yeah- who am I kidding I am definitely going to watch it, why I haven't already is coz my mum has watched it before me (without me) and I've held a grudge all this time about it I think? Idk it's not really in the sense of a grudge grudge, but yeah I just haven't watched it (yet).

Oh and one more thing about Dark- I kind of want to write a fic (might be a one-shot but who knows) for that fandom man, specifically about a certain hawttt priest, like should I~ 🤭😏😜

(^ I actually made a moodboard for the future fic if anyone's interested: here )

[skitskatdacat63]

pls complain as much as you want about the eff won movie, i agree with all your tags and i'm sure you have more to say 👀

Hello here I am, ready to complain!!! I did in fact have more to say so thank you for asking

*Sorry Grace if you read this and I accidentally stole any of your talking points lol

ALSO DISCLAIMER: If you disagree with me, please do not fucking bug me about, I do not care, let me be a massive bitter hater in peace, thanks

I. Disinterest 

First of all, who asked for this? To me the appeal of F1 is how exclusive and confined it is. There are only 10 teams and 20 drivers you have to learn about which makes it very easy to become super invested. If you want to step outside that, you can learn more about the lower formulas or past seasons(there’s many of them!!!!) So why would I, someone extremely invested in the people and narrative already taking place, even remotely care about some made up drivers? Especially since they’re not JUST made up drivers, they’re made up drivers in the background of REAL drivers. I am highly invested in the results of current F1, so why would I want to watch a movie where those results and drivers are in the background. I’d rather just watch DTS, which is a crazy statement within itself.

I’ve actually thought a lot about how one could mesh real and fake within a sport like F1. Cause I daydream about my OCs in F1 haha, but then start thinking too hard about the logistics of it all. I came to the conclusion that putting fake F1 drivers into the real story is just not a great idea. Because you’re disrupting the actual results and inserting yourself into them, and also as I said, putting real life people in the background out of self interest. It just complicates things so much to add outside elements to such an insulated sport. If this movie had made up a completely fake grid, I’d honestly be all for it and probably would be pretty interested. Like, wow, give me a whole franchise of this!!! Give me a movie about every fake team!!! Get me invested!! But at the end of the day, I’m always going to care about the real life drivers more

In other racing movies, that are biopics, there is a focus of maybe one or two drivers. And those other drivers that were in the grid at the same time become background characters. BUT it’s in service of a real life story with real life people many may already be emotionally invested in. They’re not just turning the rest of the drivers into background characters in order to prop up their own fake F1 drivers, but rather just putting the focus on a story that deserves to be told. There’s so many stories that deserve to be told in F1, literal decades of stories. Why are they putting so much money and effort in service of a story that no one knows or cares about. 

Also I can already tell this movie is gonna be like…60% action, 40% plot. Again, if I wanted any of those things, I’d watch actual F1. It feels like a male power fantasy for men who wish they could try driving F1 cars.

II. Invasive 

I really dislike how involved it is with F1. You know, F1, something that is people’s legitimate job? It’s already a very flashy sport with so much publicity around it, why do you have to unnecessarily  add to that? Their cars being on the actual grid, the fake drivers being in the media pen. I just find the whole idea of them inserting themselves into modern F1 to be so weird. 

All those clips of Brad Pitt alongside the actual drivers genuinely make my skin crawl, it’s soooooooo fucking weird. Like that one clip of him standing alongside them for the anthem. Imagine you work your whole life and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into getting into F1, and then this rich asshole is allowed to roleplay next to you. There’s already enough pressure with the netflix cameras around all the time. And now they’re forced to be in a movie as well. Maybe I’m self centered but I’d be so annoyed if they were making a film about my sport and then I find out I’m only there to be a background character in a story about made up drivers. It just makes me cringe so much to imagine him pretending to be an F1 driver next to the actual drivers, like is that not embarrassing???

The social medias….very strange. Like the stuff with them using Paul Aron as their rookie. Even if they did get his permission, which I’m still not sure about, it’s so weird to me. Like oh the main characters are made up but you’re still willing to use other drivers in the pursuit of your own story. I’m sorry but is that not weird to anyone else???? I dislike how much this movie blurs the line between fiction and reality, involving real life drivers whenever it’s convenient. Looking at their socmed makes me cringe so much. I’m sure a bunch of self insert writers or novel writers would do the same but they’d get bullied. Yet a bunch of grown ass men are allowed to literally roleplay on twt/insta and it’s suddenly fine and normal? Lmao their most recent post is the FP1 results from Hungary. Is it not so fucking weird for them to make up placements, and thus just ignore the actual drivers who got those positions? Imagine you’re Lando and you got P6 and you go on instagram and suddenly discover that you did not in fact get P6, but rather Sonny Hayes did! Wow that 60 yr old sure is a good driver. 

And let us not forget to mention them making memorial posts for Senna and Jules Bianchi. That actually made me feel sickened, especially the Jules one. Imagine using a real life tragedy for publicity on your roleplay twitter. Is that fucking creepy???? Like why of all things would you choose THAT to play along with. They’re a made up team that is in no way associated with either drivers, so why are they talking about them? What is the point. 

Okay but that clip of Fernando staring at Brad Pitt, I’m fucking dying. I wish he could give his actual thoughts on it. Like what is it like to see a guy older than you, pretending to be an F1 driver, while you are there, doing your actual job. I like to think he had a dementia moment and was like, “hey wait when did that guy join the grid? I thought I was the oldest!?”

III. Dramatising

There already is a pretty big issue in this community where the drivers are treated like characters, and not real people. There’s so many people out there who just watch DTS and treat F1 like a soap opera. People who only know about F1 in the context of made up drama, and now there's gonna be a movie about made up drama. This movie further blurs the lines between fiction and reality. Again, they’re literally turning the F1 drivers into background characters of a movie. Like, wow you’re not real people anymore, your lives exist in the back of this story now. Imagine how confusing this would be as a new fan.

I know they’re all a bunch of rich privileged guys but, at the end of the day, this is still their job, not just fodder for drama. I want the sanctity of F1 to be respected okay. It's such a cool sport to me and I love all the real stuff about it, and I don't like the way media treats it and changes it.

IV. Old Man Self Insert

I basically covered this in my other categories but I just want to complain more. I really really despise that this movie just feels like some old guy really wanted to drive F1 cars and had to come up with a reason to justify it. I feel like someone who is a serious F1 fan would want to honor the actual history and context  of the sport more, y’know? Not just make a blatant self insert film, inserting himself in the literal daily life of the actual drivers. It annoys me bcs this is a sport where people start getting called old when they hit 30, not that I agree with that but I’m just saying, it’s a very ageist sport where youth seems to be valued over most other things. My resident GOAT old man, who is 18 years younger than Pitt, constantly has people saying how he should retire to give younger drivers more of a chance. So why the hell in a sport with this environment are we getting a movie about a 60 YEAR OLD driver. It’s just so clearly a self motivated passion project, and Domenicalli and others want to milk F1 for all the money it's worth. Okay so a made up team is allowed to be 11th and yet you keep shunning actual teams that could join and bring in more publicity/money? Okay, okay…

V. Misc

I’m ngl it feels like a made up team would have an easier job getting into F1 if they really wanted to, because of the publicity. And yet Andretti cannot. Imagine a docu film about a brand new team joining F1 for the first time ever and the trials and tribulations it takes to be a new team in such a historical, bloodthirsty sport. But nah let’s put all that money and effort into a make believe story. 

But yeah they’re not really doing anything inventive anyways. Wow an old man driver who they’re probably gonna pretend is not completely age inaccurate for this sport. And the supposed dynamic of it. Isn’t it supposed to be Brad Pitt’s chara coming back to mentor a rookie prodigy?? When are teammate relationships ever that nice?????? The only similar relationship I can think of is Seb and Micheal but they were on diff teams, and RBR was a lot better than Merc atp. I feel like the only time you see mentor-like relationships is either when the two are on diff teams, the car is an absolute backmarker, or the mentor absolutely outclasses the rookie. 

The fucking “who cares about safety” line, who authorized that????? Thinking about how I almost got ripped to shreds on here for talking about how refueling was interesting, and yet a blockbuster is allowed to disregard safety??? And weren’t they saying in that trailer that they have to make the car for battle? Is their strat being terrorists??

VI. Javier Bardem

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH WHY DOES ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS HAVE TO BE IN THIS SHIT FUCKING MOVIE GOD DAMN YOU JAVIER YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! 

It is very painful to me that he’s gonna be in this movie, and that his doppelganger who you may know as Fernando Alonso will also guest star. Like I don’t want to give this film money nor do I want to watch it. But the fact that there’s the possibility of seeing Fernando Alonso beloved on the big screen…it’s so tempting.

It’s just irritating cause his chara in the trailer DOES seem like smth I’d actually be interested in. Like I think he’s gonna be a dubious team owner or TP and man….that’s so perfect. But not in the context of the full movie lmao. So who will be the brave soul and make the Javier Bardem and Fernando Alonso cut for me? Maybe I will ask my brother to write down the timestamps for me. 

I digress. There’s probably some things I forgot to complain about but this is what I came up with <3 I hate you Brad Pitt and I hate you Domenicalli and I hate you MBS, etc etc. Lmao you know what this feels like? When you're in a fandom for a fandom for a franchise like the MCU or SW, and nrw shows/movies come out and you feel like they're bastardizing the whole franchise. This is what this movie is to me.

[jasmine-tea-latte]

JTL's long but not as long as it could've been review of Netflix's ATLA

So.

I’ve finished watching the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and I have a lot of thoughts. Because despite some of the more questionable changes, I overall enjoyed this as an adaptation.

I wish I could say that I was surprised by the criticisms I'm seen so far, but unfortunately, I’m not. As much as I adore the OG series for being one of the greatest animated shows (or television shows, period), it’s been placed on a pedestal over the years and any adaptation of it will always be held to an impossibly high standard. And for better or for worse, a lot of fans have their nostalgia glasses on when it comes to the show, so any deviation from the source material is going to receive some form of backlash. I say this as someone who clearly still loves the show 19 years later, otherwise I wouldn't be here writing about it, ya know?

Anyways, if I had to give it a grade compared to the OG series, I’d give it a B- or a C+. If I’m grading it as its own thing, I’d bump that up to a B+ or A-. There are some elements (pun not intended) that definitely should have been kept in, and some changes that I thought were done well.

TL;DR – I had fun watching it even during the parts that made me cry, and the parts that made me say “… well that was a decision.” I’d love to see the last two books be adapted as well, if for no other reason than to meet Toph Mothereffing Bei Fong and see all of Team Avatar together.

(Also because I’d LOVE to see The Ember Island Players, especially if they managed to work in a few fun cameos. Can't you picture Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Play!Toph and thee Dante Basco as Play!Zuko, hamming it up for all it’s worth? Shut up and take my money!)

(And of course, the Last Agni Kai for obvious reasons)

So I’d recommend at least checking it out if you’re interested. I’d also like to recommend that if you do, watch it from a pragmatic standpoint that it’s a condensed adaptation, not a shot-for-shot remake.

Some things that I liked, and some that I didn’t are below the cut:  

(SPOILERS, obvs)

Aang – I really liked this version of him, and though his actor’s still young, I thought he embodied the upbeat, playful side well. I also liked that they removed his one-sided crush on Katara, and – don’t shoot me for this – if they went with Kat@ang later based on how they did their characters in this first season, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed if it’s built on actual friendship and not an unrequited crush. (Still Team Zutara for life, but I don’t think that I’d *hate* it if the show went in this direction.)

Katara – I thought her actress did great when it came to portraying the nurturing, sensitive side. What I didn’t like was them removing nearly all of her feminine rage. Let her be angry! Let her lose her temper and be hot-headed! This post sums it up nicely. That being said, I do think she did well enough with the direction she was given. Here’s hoping we’ll see our girl eff some stuff up if we get Seasons 2 and 3.

Sokka – Fantastic and sarcastic. I really liked his actor’s interpretation of him, and it definitely felt more in line with the character we all fell in love with during the OG show.

Zuko – out of the main cast, I think his performance was the best. He had to step into a major role, taking over from a beloved performance that is still hailed as one of the greatest redemption arcs in modern media with a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders, and I think that his actor knocked it out of the park. It’s different from Dante Basco’s interpretation, obviously. But as I watched each episode, I kept thinking, “there’s our grumpy fire boy.” The scene where he’s throwing the temper tantrum over losing his journal, while Iroh’s standing back and watching? I thought to myself, “this boy is the worst, he’s perfect.” Plus the flashbacks to his life before scarring were done well, and even though I knew what was coming re: the Agni Kai against his father and subsequent banishment, I still got emotional.

Also, regarding the Agni Kai – on one hand, I feel like his absolute refusal to fight back was such an integral part of that scene and understanding who he is as a character. That being said, I didn’t *hate* that in this version he was pushed into defending himself, albeit by holding back. That one shot where he hesitates to attack Ozai, only for his father to use that same move against him moments later… oof.

My ONLY complaint with this version of Zuko is that he didn't say "honor" once.

Other thoughts I had:

🟣 I really liked that we got to see more of the Air Nomads and life at the Southern Air Temple prior to Sozin’s attack. I also liked the explanation the show gave of having all the Air Nomads gathered together for a festival celebrating the comet, which makes more sense if they’re all (allegedly) under one roof.

Additionally, witnessing the genocide itself… I was crying. Especially during the final showdown between Gyatso and Sozin, and the realization that we were witnessing Roku’s (former) best friend slaughter one of his other closest friends.

But why wouldn't they send the children out on the flying bison to escape instead of having them all cornered?!

🟣 I really enjoyed getting to see interactions between Ozai and Iroh, which was one of the biggest missed opportunities in the OG show.

🟣 MY GIRL JUNE. That is all.

The part where she flirts with Iroh was also a nice flip on what happened in the OG show, with his covert pervert crush and all. Plus Zuko’s face when she calls his “dad” cute? Peak Zuzu. Also, poor Iroh hahaha.

🟣 Suki! I really liked the Kyoshi Island episode, plus her awkward flirting with Sokka by kicking his ass.

🟣 I really wish the whole subplot of Kya’s necklace hadn’t been cut, tbh. The flashbacks involving her were good, and as devastating as it was actually seeing her death, it does hammer home the point what a horrifying experience that was (side-eyeing you, everyone making the jokes about Katara always bringing up her dead mother.)

🟣 THE SCARF SCENE. Nice try, Netflix, but I know better than to get my hopes up again from 5 seconds of slow-mo. Did I still screech when it happened, though? Ofc I did!

🟣 The twist with the 41st Division was bittersweet and I may have (okay, definitely) cried.

🟣 Combining Jet’s subplots with the Mechanist’s and putting them in Omashu wasn’t too bad. I do wish the message of “not everyone in the FN is evil” from Jet’s episode had made it into this version, tbh.

🟣 Overall, I liked Jet + the Freedom Fighters. Also, props to his actor for capturing the pretty boy / f*ckboi attitude well.

🟣 Loved Chong and the hippies, of course (SECRET, SECRET, SECRET TUNNEL, YEAH!) and I don’t mind that they were included this early.

🟣 I loved the change to the Cave of Two Lovers and having Oma and Shu be lesbians.

🟣 I feel like if the show’s renewed for a second season and we come back to Omashu, there’s a chance they could revisit the COTL with Katara and Aang this time around.

🟣 The random lady smacking Zuzu with a broom – “how dare you hit that child?!” – was hilarious, and Dallas Liu’s facial expressions of “wtf” and “fml” were a thing of beauty (starts at 1:40 in the video below)

🟣 CABBAGE MAN! I just love that they got the original voice actor, hamming it up and screaming at the sky.

🟣 I LOVED the Blue Spirit episode, and all of the flashbacks, plus the voiceover about masks and seeing past!Zuko contrasted to present!Zuko, as presented in this gifset? RIP my heart.

🟣 The flashback to Lu Ten’s funeral and showing Zuko being the only person to join his uncle, sharing a sweet memory of his cousin while Leaves from the Vine plays? Beautiful. Ditto to the flashbacks of Iroh standing up for his nephew prior to the Agni Kai and the scenes of them getting ready to set sail to search for the Avatar. “I don’t need a babysitter.” “How about a friend?” how about excuse you I did not ask for these emotions how dare you.

🟣 I actually liked the inclusion of Ozai and Azula + Mai and Ty Lee. I also loved the opening of Ep. 3, showing how she was able to infiltrate the team of rebels. RIP to Kevin Tran (in advanced placement), though.

🟣 I loved that Katara rallied the women waterbenders and they were able to help during the Siege of the North. I also liked her reaction when she's talking with Yugoda in the healing huts and realizes why she's been sent there. It gave us a glimpse of the fiestier / headstrong Katara we all know and love, and if the show gets renewed I hope we'll get to see more.

🟣 I really enjoyed them giving Aang and Zuko a few minutes to talk / form a connection after he was unmasked as the Blue Spirit. That was nicely done.

and finally...

Nothing else to add, just chef's kiss.

(gif source)

Anyways! I might make a more extensive list of my personal pros and cons, but for now, I’d still recommend giving it a shot.

[perezhilton]

Eff them hard! Brian Laundrie's parents belong in prison! They...

[seospicybin]

hi baby, allow me as an interviewer who has come to ask you questions in honour of your newly published chapter of taste which is going soooo good 🫨 if you don’t wanna answer some questions, do skip them !!

1) what’s your favourite way to cure writer’s block?

2) how do you come up with titles? do they come up with meanings or just vibes, like you go along with it?

3) are there any parts of your writing process that you wish people knew more about?

4) how do you get into the mindset of your characters?

5) what’s the inspiration behind on tour?

6) are there any easter eggs or hidden details in your work that us readers have not yet found?

7) what’s one sentence (or an feedback itself) from a feedback that has stuck to you till to this date?

8) what character do you think you’d get along the best in real life?

9) is there any ritual or process you work in while starting a new fic?

10) how do you choose the names of certain characters? do they have hidden meanings to it? for example, in the crowd series you name the children byeol and haneul.

11) if your characters had social media, what would they post about?

12) do you ever imagine alternate endings to such fics? what happens to those scenes that does not get into the final cut?

13) do you think your writing reflects your personality, or is it a space to explore sides of yourself you don’t usually show?

14) how do you balance humor and seriousness in your writing?

and last but not least,

15) how do you motivate yourself during times when you just feel a wave of anxiety or disgust when you stare at your writing? like when the words get all jumbled up and you suddenly forget what makes sense and what doesn’t?

Oh, Yubin the interviewer? Okay, I'll try my best to answer each question as Eff the fic writer 🥰

1. Way to cure writer's block is by completely detach myself from writing/reading fics altogether and start doing a new hobby until I miss writing again or an interesting idea strikes.

2. Most of them have meanings, especially the series ones. For example, since Seungmin is a photographer, I titled it Viewfinder bcs it's a part of camera you use to see what's being photographed and in the story, y/n metaphorically pointed the camera to Seungmin and not realizing that she has Minho in her viewfinder.

3. Building a complete plot and outlining it. It could take me days/weeks/months and even years to figure out. Until I am sure that the plot flows seamlessly from the beginning to the end, that's when I'll start writing. Pluto takes me a year because I keep changing the plot so many times!

4. I create a playlist or I based my character on one song and keep replaying it over and over as I'm writing.

5. Mostly because I am fascinated by the 70s era and rock music and the girlies like Bianca Jagger, Pattie Boyd, Jean Shrimpton and the groupies culture and I always wanted to have a rockstar boyfriend 😂 and oh also bcs Almost Famous is my favorite movie. I recommend it!

6. I think no one caught up to it yet but Felix from I Dare You is the same Felix from The Crowd universe. In Too Crowded, Felix mentioned about meeting someone for dinner which implies that he has a gf and yep, that's you.

7. There's this one feedback that I received saying that my writing contains a lot of emotions and I loved that because I indeed cried and laughed with these characters so it feels rewarding when I successfully convey those emotions in my writings.

8. Character that I'd get along really well irl uhm... Kim from Innings and Lou from On Tour, I think we'd make a powerful clique.

9. Idk if it's called ritual but I have to play something. Not necessarily music, sometimes I'll just play something on Netflix and just let it play in the background as I'm writing.

10. Sometimes they have meaning like in On Tour, I named the side characters from rockstar names. As for The Crowd, I named their first child Byeol because S-class was just came out during that time 😂 and for their second child I named it Haneul bcs it means sky bcs they hope that even though he's the younger sibling to Byeol, Haneul will embrace his sister Byeol because she's a star in his sky.

11. Thinking of Fuckboy Next Door Chris who regularly posts thirst trap pics and working out videos on his insta.

12. For Pluto, I originally planned it to end with Hyunjin welcoming y/n to hell but I'll save that for later. Maybe. Idk. 🙈

13. I always said that I put a piece of myself in every writing that I posted and it's the most honest part of myself that I rarely show to anyone else.

14. It depends on the kind of scene you want to portray in the story and the characters as well. I don't really have the formula but it's important to put a little wit here and there.

15. Oh, my gosh there are so many instances where I felt that way cause I have this bad habit of comparing myself to someone and I'd go by my day asking "why do they like their fics and not mine" "why can't I write like them" "no one seems to be interested in my fics" whenever that happens, I'll tell myself to step back and just stop writing. I'll retrace my steps to find the reason why I'm writing in the first place and see if it's still worth doing. I also think that if writing is your true love, you'll eventually find way back to it.

Hope that answer your curiosity, my sweet Yubin! Thank you for these delicious questions, I'd like some more 😂😋

[omegansamurai]

You know what would be hilarious?

If Netflix just saw how toxic these Kataangers are (bullying Dante and maybe Dallas for liking Zutara) and thought "Oh my gosh, these people need help," and would definitely make Zutara canon in the live-action just to spite them.

Imagine the all diapers that will be soiled. XD

Kataangers:

Netflix not giving an eff:

(Sorry, not sorry.)

[what-gs-watching]

“Saving people, hunting things…the family business.”

Alright. We’re gonna do it. We’re gonna talk about Supernatural. We can’t talk about ALL of Supernatural, that would be ridiculous, but it deserves a comfort show spotlight. 

I’m going to admit it: I resisted for a long time. My husband used to stream a shit ton of tv, he needed something to fall asleep to, so in the past I’ve groggily slept through random episodes. And I didn’t really care about it. 

I remember when it came out, I loved Jared from Gilmore Girls naturally but I never got into it. Honestly, I was really annoyed there was a character named Dean that wasn’t Jared, I’m a fickle bitch. 

So it was whatever. But again, I lost all sense of everything during the pandemic and started binging. I went through all of the X-Files (even the newer seasons, I did it all, it was a thing). I went insane  watching Fringe. I was devastated when I lost Peter Bishop, aka perfect New England boyfriend. And then Netflix really started flinging Supernatural at me. Like, really hard.

Last December, I was already spiraling with my job a bit, I can see that now. I was tired. And I needed something else to get lost in. TV was literally the only thing I had energy for.  And there were 15 fucking seasons. That’s too many seasons. So I begrudgingly gave in, and I started it.

Y’all know what it’s all about: two brothers, Sam and Dean, are hunters (of monsters) because their mother was murdered by a demon when Sam was just a baby, and their father, John, couldn’t let it go. So he packed the boys up for life on the road, hunting the thing that had ruined his family, thrusting his kids onto a path they did not choose. 

And I’m gonna be honest, I fought the whole way. I really did. I kept asking my husband what the eff was up with Sam and Dean. Just…why? I kept shouting at the screen that the two of them needed boundaries. But I also kept watching. I like a good Monster of the Week. And I’m a weirdo for overarching storylines. I like the lore, I do. Secret nerd, me.

And like I said, there’s no real way to talk about ALL of Supernatural, but that’s okay because  it’s really about the little things for me. 

_

The brotherness of it all Does Sam and Dean’s absolute and unwavering dedication to each other drive me nuts a little bit? Yes. They make so many stupid decisions to save each other - Sam with the demon blood, Dean selling his soul to save Sam, Dean with the mark, Sam jumping into the cage with Lucifer. There are literally probably hundreds of examples. It’s exasperating.

Dean thinks his entire existence is meant to protect Sam, I get it, he was conditioned that way, and Dean is basically the only thing Sam has left in the world, so it’s mostly mutual (except for that whole purgatory situation, he really didn’t try at ALL to find him? C’mon) but it’s also heartbreaking. John fucked up their lives, that dude was driven by the singular thought of avenging his wife, when he had a six month old and a four year old to take care of? Like, she’s dead my dude, but you have these two little fragile things you’re supposed to take care of and protect and foster, and this is the route you take? Fuck, man. I can’t imagine going through that.

Creating your own family Which leads me to Bobby. Crotchety, kind, beleaguered Bobby. Those boys needed an actual father figure and this weirdo stepped up so perfectly. He encouraged them and tried to guide them with a gentle hand - he knew those idjits would fuck it all up but he went along with them as much as he could, playing that parent game of trying to let them make their own choices as long as it wouldn’t destroy them. The episode where he’s fighting his reaper, trying to get away, and his last memory is an innocuous movie night with Sam and Dean? Tragic and sweet. I’m still mad my boy Bobby was done dirty, dying during one of the worst seasons (Leviathans, am I right?) but I appreciate their grief over losing him was real.

On the topic, I also have to say that I love the people Sam and Dean end up pulling into their orbit. Charlie was a fucking delight, and her bond with Dean was so pure; she was the little sister he never had and you can tell he let her in right away. When she says “I love you” and he just says “I know” it’s as far as Dean can go and it’s just good. I don’t think I could have forgiven Sam for getting her killed in a stupid plan he purposely kept from Dean. She agreed to help because she wanted to save her brother and she got murdered for it. Good deeds don’t go unpunished, gang.

Also, Jodie and Donna. In a show that doesn’t really seem to care about women at all, you get two badasses that can hold their own and won’t take any shit, and Sam and Dean acknowledge how strong they are. Out of all of the random spinoffs they tried over the years, theirs is the one I would have preferred to get lost in. 

And, I’m gonna say it, Jack. I was ready to hate that little antichrist but he charmed the hell out of me. Mostly because of the ‘three men and a baby’ vibe, Dean and Sam and Castiel trying to rear that sweet summer child away from destroying absolutely everything and eventually, really really succeeding. I might be in the minority, but it was really satisfying. Jack is my babe, I’ll shout that shit from the rooftops.

Castiel Castiel is a whole thing, I know. And I love it. He gets his own category. 

Sweet, complicated Castiel. I have a special place in my heart for Cas. And it’s not entirely because of the whole Destiel situation. That crazy angel had a big ol’ character arch and I truly appreciate it. Hated him in the beginning, and then that whole “assbutt” moment happened and he turned away from heaven and the great plan and toward humanity. And then a lot more drama, trying to rule in heaven and the leviathans, ending up as a human for a bit, his whole thing with Metraton, etc. 

But Cas is important because Dean is long-suffering, always the one to lose and make the hard (sometimes stupid) choices and he’s so resigned to his fate but Castiel is the buoy in all that. He’s the only one fully committed to Dean. The episode where Dean forgets who he is and he stands in front of a mirror repeating ‘Sam is your brother, Cas is your best friend’ - of all the things Dean is and needs to remember, that’s important. Castiel raised him from perdition, searing him with the mark of his grip. They’re bonded.

I really love that Castiel gets to be his own thing a part from the boys,  he grows so fucking much, but he’s also always Dean’s anchor. No matter how you feel about Destiel and the implications, the fact that Cas comes to understand humanity enough to say that just telling someone you love them without that being returned can be the best moment of your life, can be true happiness, is really something. Sometimes that is enough. Getting out of your own way can be enough.

I clearly have a thing for angels that can be a little bit of a bastard. I will ALWAYS root for Castiel.

Baby I’m not sure why I’m so charmed by the dedication to Baby, but I love it. It appeals to a very specific aesthetic in me. Of course that’s the kind of car they roll around in, perfectly old and beautiful, all sharp black lines and power and time. It’s Dean’s dedication to the family business and one of their only constants. He teaches Sam how to care for her, and he rebuilds her over and over. He even manages to pick her out in the first place, eventually. It’s sweet that Baby is home. She’s the heart, gang. Solid, strong, broken over and over again but always persisting.

The universe One of the best pieces of Supernatural is the universe it creates for itself. How adamant they’d been in the beginning that yeah of course demons exist, but God definitely doesn’t, but the random other gods found in lore throughout history do. It's so easy to change a universe that draws a line in the sand, and it just keeps getting bigger and more complex and silly and reckless. 

I love the little touches. The fact that there’s a Supernatural book series, with an underground fan base enough to host a con (though I don’t want to get into the Chuck of it all, I’m still absolutely irate over all of that). Sam and Dean being so utterly embarrassed by them is hilarious, but it’s a way for them to get the recognition they deserve, even if it’s through fiction. People love those books, their story, and even if they never get thanked in real life, there are people out there believing in them. 

I mean, the all girls’ school musical? Absolute perfection. That episode was meant to be a love letter to the entire thing, and it’s so perfect. Sam wonders why it isn’t “Samstiel”, and Dean is upset to learn about BM scenes, aka boy melodrama. The song girl-Cas sings, I’ll just wait here then… and their stripped down version of the boys’ unofficial anthem. It makes my tween heart sing, it satisfies my cravings for all things meta (jesus I’m basic). It’s just warmth and love and appreciation.

Frenemies AKA, unlikely and this-is-a-stupid-fucking-idea allies. All good shows need this. Crowley was never a true favorite of mine, but I appreciate that he saw how valuable keeping a tenuous relationship with the Winchesters could be. And I will still always and forever laugh at the fact that Dean was in his phone as ‘Not Moose’. One of my absolute favorite gags. Those two are perfectly Moose and Squirrel. His affection for the two of them proving that demons can be a little bit human, too. But that doesn’t get him off the hook for convincing Dean to take on the mark, even though I secretly enjoy their bromance once he does become a demon. Sometimes you need to have that friend you secretly kind of hate a little because they’re a dick,  but they’re useful.

(Side rant: the Crowley/Crowley situation between Supernatural and Good Omens is making my brain bleed, I can’t make myself say it differently enough in my mind for there to be a good enough distinction because y’all, one is an obvious smash and one is an obvious pass. I’m just sayin’. It’s making it difficult to yell at the tv…)

Also. Rowena also falls into this category. Again, another strong woman in a room full of idiot men, holding her own. I’ve been that woman a lot of times, surrounded by boys who just can’t get their shit together and you stand and you watch and you help or hurt when you can, because at the end of the day. you need to be out for yourself. I respect the fuck out of her for looking out for herself. She was world weary because she had to be, she lived through hundreds of years of oppression and she was gonna get what was hers, but by the end, she came around to those boys. She’s the friend you keep at a distance because you’re never sure what the fuck they’re gonna do, but you can appreciate her seeming unpredictability because sometimes she uses it to help you, or thrust some unfortunate truth at you that you need to hear.

_

The point is:  all of these little random things amount to something absurd and funny and gruesome and welcoming and silly and strange. And I could probably write ten different posts like this, pulling out more things that make Supernatural what it is, and that’s what makes it so all-encompassing. 

So. I spent four months watching this show. Every day, some ridiculous Sam and Dean adventure. What were they gonna get up to? I never knew, but it was reassuring  to know they’d always get out of it. It was my main comfort, and four months is a really long time.  

When I got to the end of it, I was mired in yet another ridiculous work emergency and everything about me was fried. I was raw, fraying ends. So when I watched the finale, I sobbed. Like, really sobbed. Trying to take breaths I couldn’t quite make deep enough, while Dean was driving Baby and they were playing ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’. The episode ended and I kept crying. I went and found my husband and just cried at his face. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever watched the end of it or not and I tried pathetically to explain why I was crying so hard. I cried for everything that I was. It broke a dam I’d been holding in.  And I felt stupid for it, who gives that much of a fuck about a show about hunting monsters?

But  it wasn’t necessarily about the show, I mean it was a little bit, but it was also about me and whatever the fuck I was going through. And that’s what content is for. I’d wrapped myself in a Sam-and-Dean blanket for months to try and blunt a bunch of things, but they brought those things up to the surface anyway. 

Feeling the real emotion of things through fake things. Is it healthy? Probably not, but it’s an art form, it’s a coping mechanism. I was crying about software and work melodrama and life frustration (can I still claim to be having a quarter life crisis if I’m in my 30s?), but also about Dean dying on the job in the way he’d always assumed he would, about Sam’s kid having the same tattoo, about Bobby being there at the end, about Sam being there at the end. It’s just easier that way.

All that to say, I can’t recommend the Sam-and-Dean blanket enough. It’s cozy and it’s sprawling and ridiculous and complete. I put it down for a month before yet another stupid thing happened to rattle me (so many things this year), and I knew right away where I needed to go. Back to the blanket. Which means I’m in the middle of my second watch. And I’m pretty sure, that at any point in time in the future, I’ll be in the middle of some rotation of it, even if I go off for months at a time. It’ll always be in the queue, because I know when I need it, there’ll always be an adventure I'm sure Sam and Dean will get out of.

[adamsmasher]

My ADHD meds just kicked in so you're all getting a doctoral dissertation about why I love @dropoutdottv so much. I know I post about them a lot but dropout is by far my favorite streaming service out there.

For starters, I can't seem to find it now but I remember seeing a post or a tweet or something where this person was saying they had been working for dropout.tv and Netflix at the same time and though they were doing more work for Netflix, dropout was actually paying them significantly *more* than Netflix for less work, and it was also a much better set to work on.

Now, onto their content.

Their flagship show (if I'm using that term correctly?) @dimension20official is imho the best d&d actual play show out there, especially if you're new to the actual play genre like I was. It's hard to rank the EIGHTEEN SEASONS of d20, but some banger seasons include Fantasy High, Tiny Heist (the first actual play show I ever watched!), A Crown of Candy, and A Court of Fey and Flowers (@quiddie we are DESPERATE for season 2). Oh, and we can't forget the newest season which is imho the most newcomer-friendly season, Dungeons and Drag Queens! I've linked all the trailers but they also have the first episode of each season available on YouTube for free.

What got me hooked enough to pay for the dropout subscription though is their unhinged off-the-rails program "Breaking News" where they don't know what's on the teleprompter until they read it, and anyone who breaks character or laughs loses points. If you haven't watched True Facts About This Gangly Asshole Grant Anthony O'Brien then stop what you're doing and go watch it now. Then, once you've recovered from that episode, go to dropout.tv (the website, not the app) and get your $5 a month subscription so you can see the sequel. That's right, there's more!

And of course you've probably seen clips from game changer like Brennan Lee Mulligan's (in)famous "I Cannot Win!" rant

but episodes of Game Changer have spun off into three spectacular programs: Make Some Noise, the improv challenge show so good they spun it off unchanged and hosted by the man who started it all, Sam Reich; Dirty Laundry, the never-have-I-ever game show hosted by the unparalleled Lily Du (with Grant Anthony O'Brien at the bar); and Play It By Ear (itself a spin-off of "Off-Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast") hosted by the most beautiful smile in Hollywood, Mano Agapion.

And don't worry, I didn't forget about Umm, Actually. Currently on it's EIGHTH season (!), this nerdy trivia show hosted by Mike Trapp (who I'm pretty sure came out of the womb with the voice of a game show host) is I believe Dropout's longest-running original show! Like Breaking News, you can find a pretty extensive backlog of episodes on YouTube for free, but $5 a month is absolutely worth it for all this.

So with 7 currently-airing shows under their belt and a backlog of old College Humor programming including "Paranoia" (it's like secret werewolf except instead of trying to pretend you're not a werewolf you gotta pretend like you're not stoned out of your fucking gourd) and "Where in the Eff Is Sarah Cincinnati" (a delightful Carmen San Diego parody), you will have PLENTY to watch while AMPTP keeps denying their hardest working employees a living thriving wage and decent good working conditions.

*deep breath in* okay, dissertation over. Tldr: subscribe to @dropoutdottv immediately, you won't regret a moment.

Full thread from Sam on the SAG strike and Dropout!

[ID: A thread from Sam on twitter, as follows: "A thread about the strike and Dropout production: 👇✊. I stand in complete and utter solidarity with our striking performers. I myself am SAG-AFTRA, as are others on our executive team, having come from the world of working actors. I am nothing but sympathetic to their cause and outraged by the mafia-like behavior of the major streamers and AMPTP. It is harder than ever to make a living in this industry, and that goes even for the lucky few of us who get to work on meaningful projects.

In the meanwhile… 🤑 Uber-rich CEOs and shareholders are cashing in like never before 💸 Major streamers are gambling millions on dubious projects and business models 🍾 Hollywood is hiding profits and playing the victim while drinking champagne aboard their superyachts

Dropout production is right now on hold. Because we aren't associated with the AMPTP, it's possible we may be able to reach an interim agreement with SAG that allows us to continue to produce content during the strike.

But we'll only do that, obviously, if we get the blessing of the union and the buy-in of our performers. If not, we have enough content in the can to last us a little past the end of the year.

I pride myself in that Dropout has always paid above SAG minimums. As the years go on and the company is healthier, we will strive to do even better, and then even better still. Without the talent of our performers, we are zilch. Zero. Nothing."

Attached is an instagram post from an actor reading: "The Netflix show in question is shorter than a traditional half hour. But @ collegehumor and @ dropouttv paid me MORE than that for one of their scripted series. Dropout was a brand new online platform at the time and they still managed to pay their actors more than NETFLIX for scripted short form content."

Thread continues: "Public companies don't do this for the very simple reason that they feel more indebted to their executives and shareholders than they do their workforce. It's why corporations are so often exploitative. Our industry, because our jobs are so desirable, is especially vulnerable to exploitation. Hollywood takes advantage of that by making us feel generally commoditized, cheap, and replaceable …which is ironic given just how personal our work so often is. That's why unions - and the power of collective bargaining - is so important: because public companies often won't pay their workforce any more than they're forced to.

As for me, I intend to honor my union's position that I not promote SAG productions as a performer -- even if they are produced by me. That means that I won't personally be promoting any of our shows for the time being.

Attached is a screenshot of Sam on Discord responding to the question "given the strike… what picket line chant will you be rockin'?" with "i'm a talent / CEO! me says me has got to go!"

Thread continues: "This year, instead of running a FYC campaign for Game Changer, we donated $10k to the Entertainment Community Fund in solidarity with the WGA. Today, in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA, I'm personally matching that donation with another $10,000. If you have any disposable income, I encourage you to donate as well: https://entertainmentcommunity.org. And as soon as I test negative for COVID, I'll see you on the picket line. ✊"]

[strawberrybyers]

analyzing more of the duffers deadline interview because why not:

-the duffers said they don’t answer the reason as to why the upside down is stuck on the day of will’s disappearance because it’s going to be an important part of season 5 and we’ll get more answers to other unanswered questions

-the duffers said horror movies where there’s a man in a mask inspired them for this season. they wanted it to be a real horror movie for s4 and how vecna is a psychological villain who is always one step ahead (maybe that’s why things feel confusing because we’re supposed to be confused? and that’s why it seems like every character lost something at the end. could be writing it to be a psychological mind game on the characters and audience IDK)

-they say in season 5 they’re going to expand more on the program dr brenner was working on with the kids and how it evolved (so maybe this will circle back to why they introduced kali in s2?)

-they say for 7 years they’ve been working on the idea of henry/one/vecna. also they’re confident in their ending and that they have some big twists coming up that they didn’t want to include in s4. they also don’t want to end on any cliffhangers. they want to have all the characters and story feel complete. also they mentioned s5 is basically part 2 to s4 (idk am i restoring faith into the duffers again? possibly. what they’re saying explains to me why vol 2 felt different, confusing, and incomplete. it was supposed to. i bet after s5 we’ll see vol 2 in a different light and that s5 will end feeling complete and satisfactory.)

-the interviewer said they don’t like when a plot point is thrown in at the last minute that doesn’t fit and the duffers agreed. (once again we’ve all been saying vol 2 feels like it doesn’t fit into stranger things and what does it reveal? BUT maybe it’s supposed to be like this and season 5 will be the biggest missing puzzle piece because why would they agree with the interviewer on this sentiment if they were writing something that doesn’t connect to other plot points? and any other details we’ve noticed in the previous seasons that we’ve be wanting answers on i’m assuming will be revealed in s5 👀)

-they said they’re not going to worry about trying to please everyone with the ending and when they told netflix the ending some of the people were crying (my god wtf is about to happen like emotional because it’s so good or because we’re about to have our hearts ripped out our chest??)

-they said not to believe what they say because things could change (yeah thanks we kind of figured that out on our own 😂) also s5 might not be as long as s4 because all the characters will be together this time, but that could change (i personally think they need to make sure that they don’t make it shorter only because s4 was long. if they’re holding true to their word that they don’t want to leave anything incomplete then make it whatever length it needs to be because they do have quite a bit of questions to answer and this is the final round to do that. it’s much better to have a long finale season than one that feels incomplete to keep it short. i’m thinking back to GOT and they rushed it. the pacing suddenly changed significantly in the final 2 seasons, especially in s8, so pls duffers don’t eff this up 😭)

link to interview: https://deadline.com/2022/07/stranger-things-matt-duffer-ross-duffer-dish-season-four-deaths-destruction-season-five-battles-ahead-1235058041/

[grigori77]

2021 in TV - My Top 10 Shows

10.  THE WHEEL OF TIME

I’ll admit it, I’ve never read Robert Jordan’s fantasy novel series, but I’ve heard it’s supposed to be one of the true greats of the genre, so while I’ve always put off wading into the books I figured this might be a good way for me to try it out.  I’ve heard conflicting opinions on it since its release and I’m now aware of some of the myriad differences it has to the books, but I’m happy to just go off my own impressions of the show … and I like it. From a pure storytelling point-of-view it’s far from perfect, but there’s plenty to enjoy here, and the world-building here is pretty exquisite, showrunner Rafe Judkins (Chuck, Agents of SHIELD) helping to craft a robust beast of a grown-up fantasy epic that’s a strong candidate to pick up where Game of Thrones unceremoniously left off a few years ago.  Certainly Amazon Prime have a winner on their hands that looks set to run for years once they’ve ironed out all the flaws that prevent this from being something truly great (although there were, reportedly, a lot of problems that had to be circumvented throughout production and post to get it out in the first place, chief among them being a certain pandemic), while the characters are, by and large, a compellingly well-drawn bunch I’d like to spent more time following in the future, especially Rosamunde Pike and Daniel Henney as Aes Sedai sorcerer Moiraine and her badass bodyguard Lan.  Ultimately this is a solid first season that lays some very solid groundwork for the series to come, and holds great promise for the future.

9.  DEBRIS

Boy, this one is FRUSTRATING. Back when this new NBC sci-fi thriller series from former Fringe showrunner J.H. Wyman showed up I fell hard and fast in love with it, discovering a new geeky TV obsession to indulge in … and then in May the network went and cancelled it after ONE BLOODY SEASON!  It really IS frustrating, cuz this was GREAT STUFF, a dark, edgy, intriguing and beautifully mysterious offbeat series which presents a baffling premise and then takes its time unravelling the truth, a big, multi-layered onion with potential to run for several seasons without getting old (damn it).  Best of all, though, was the palpable chemistry that very quickly developed between Jonathan Tucker and Riann Steele (who looked set to break out big time from this) as the CIA and MI6 operatives brought together to investigate strange phenomena unleashed by the remains of a space station that broke up in the atmosphere under very mysterious circumstances indeed – they were a worthy successor to Mulder and Scully, and would have made further seasons a real joy to watch.  For eff’s sake, NBC …

8.  MIDNIGHT MASS

Writer-director Mike Flanagan comes close to matching the magnificent heights of his spectacular Netflix miniseries The Haunting of Hill House (and its admittedly clunky but still perfectly enjoyable follow-up, The Haunting of Bly Manor) with this thought-provoking, subversive and deeply inventive deconstruction of organised religion and small town faith.  Hamish Linklater (Legion, Fargo) dominates the series as Father Paul Hill, the new priest of the isolated New England island community of Crockett Island, who effectively seduces his new flock through a series of eerie miracles, while a few of the more rational townsfolk (including Flanagan’s wife and regular screen muse, Kate Siegel, once again an absolute delight throughout) come to realise that something is deeply wrong.  Leaving the spooks and spirits behind this time, Flanagan channels his own Catholic upbringing and later lapse into atheism as he tackles the tough themes of blind faith and choice while also weaving a slowburn spell of Lovecraftian dread that builds to a terrifying and chilling climax.  Given that his next collaboration with Netflix is set to be an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (undoubtedly with his own unique, imaginative twist), his impressive small-screen track record looks set to continue – but in the meantime I can’t recommend this enough.

7.  SWEET TOOTH

I love Jim Mickle.  As a writer-director he unleashed indie masterpieces like his debut, Mulberry Street, breakthrough Stake Land and criminally overlooked suspense thriller Cold In July on more discerning cinematic audiences, before trying his hand at small screen entertainment with the short-lived but deservedly cult, darkly comic crime caper series Hap & Leonard, so it was only a matter of time before he came out with something which TRULY struck the zeitgeist.  It’s finally here, an exceptional adaptation of Jeff Lemire’s twisted fairytale of a Vertigo comic book, following the misadventures of Gus (Pup Academy and Playing With Fire’s Christian Convey), a naïve and sheltered half-human/half-deer mutant child created by The Sick, a lethal virus that led to the collapse of society, traveling across a crumbling post-apocalyptic America in the company of Nonzo Anozie’s gruff but big-hearted reformed killer Tommy.  The tone is dark and troubling but with whimsy and fun on offer too, bolstered by Convey’s moving and endearing turn as an unrepentantly upbeat dreamer, while the world-building packs a healthy dose of wonder to lighten to mood too.  It might not be suitable for younger audiences, but it’s definitely a series tailor-made for those of us who are still a kid inside, so Netflix’ decision to renew it for a second season certainly is welcome news.

6.  WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (season 3)

Given that Taika Waititi’s original feature film was already powered by a killer central concept, turning it into a TV series for FX was something of a no-brainer, and the first two seasons were strong evidence that it had legs too, but it’s in its third season that this show goes from being already really great to something TRULY SPECIAL.  Maintaining the long-established mockumentary format, we fall even deeper in love with the stuck-in-their-ways vampire quartet eking out their self-important existence in the supernatural underworld of New York’s Staten Island, and all four are, as ever, each every bit as entertaining and reprehensibly adorable as they were at the start (none more so, of course, than Matt Berry’s lascivious career rake Laszlo), but once again the story shines brightest when focused on the group’s token human, long-suffering wannabe-vampire retainer Guillermo (the consistently brilliant Harvey Guillèn), who’s still coming to terms with the fact that he’s a distant descendant of infamous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing.  Thoroughly hilarious, effortlessly endearing and deliciously subversive throughout, this has become one of the very best sitcoms of the century to date, and it doesn’t look like it’ll run out of steam any time soon.

5.  LOKI

Marvel really put maximum effort into their plan to conquer the small screen as thoroughly as the big with their new MCU-based series for Disney+, and while What If was an inconsistent misfire with a few decent episodes, Wandavision, The Falcon & the Winter Soldier and, in particular, Hawkeye have certainly succeeded far more than they’ve failed.  Even so, none have come close to equalling the heights of this exceptional follow-up to the game-changing AU-birthing antics of Endgame, seeing a post-Avengers “variant” of Tom Hiddleston’s irrepressible Asgardian trickster god captured by the TVA (Time Variance Authority), who police the Multiverse making sure the various alternating universes’ timelines run according to plan.  Hiddleston is as lovably irascible as ever in what remains his very best role, while Owen Wilson matches him scene-for-scene as laconic TVA agent Mobius, who enlists Loki’s help in hunting down a particularly troublesome variant of himself who’s wreaking havoc on the timelines … even so, the whole series is comprehensively stolen in a single episode by Richard E Grant, who’s clearly having the time of his life bringing fan-favourite “Classic Loki” to life.  A spectacular treat of wildly-inventive imagination, a thoroughly irreverent sense of humour and solid gold universe-building, this is not only Marvel’s best TV offering of 2021, but arguably the best thing they’ve done all year PERIOD …

4.  SHADOW & BONE

Leigh Bardugo’s wildly popular Grishaverse series of edgily different high fantasy novels is brought to life in this new Netflix series, guided with consummate skill and flair by showrunner Eric Heisserer (the screenwriter of Arrival, Lights Out and Bird Box).  Set in a world where near-immortal spellcasters known as Grisha help to defend the land of Ravka from its warlike neighbours, it tells the tale of Alina Starkov (All About Eve’s Jessie Mei Li), the long-awaited “Sun Summoner” who’s been prophesied to finally dispel the deadly perpetual blight of The Shadow Fold.  Thing is, Alina wants none of it, although the Darkling (a particularly sexy, seductive turn from the perfectly cast Ben Barnes) might have something to say about that … in the end, though, the series is really dominated by Freddy Carter, Amita Suman and Kit Young as the Crows, a trio of criminally-adept ne’er-do-wells determined to exploit Alina’s newfound powers for their own nefarious ends – they’re a delightfully complex and endearingly offbeat bunch who make every scene they’re in SING.  Rich, rewarding and surprisingly original, the central premise is a corker and the series maintains a high quality of storytelling skill and world-building brilliance throughout, weaving a consistently seductive spell throughout and, ultimately, setting things up perfectly for the already promised second season.

3.  THE WITCHER (season 2)

Netflix’ strongest effort to date at creating a new Game of Thrones delivered a blinder of a first season, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich creating a pitch-perfect adaptation of Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s wildly popular literary series which got things off to a cracking start back in 2019, and this highly anticipated second season EASILY improves on that already deeply impressive foundation. Once again, Henry Cavill exceeds expectations as the gruff and grumpy titular mutant monster-hunter, Geralt of Rivia, now revealing hitherto barely hinted-at hidden reserves of feeling and fatherhood as he takes destitute young princess Cirilla of Cintra (Freya Allan, excellent as ever) under his wing, while the show’s once again roundly stolen by the incomparable Anya Chalotra as perma-scheming mage Yennefer of Vengerberg and another thoroughly game turn from Joey Batey as lovably pathetic bard Jaskier.  Now finally able to jettison the non-linear narrative that frustrated some viewers of the first season, things are allowed to progress in a more straightforward manner this time around, the story delving deeper into the political and social intricacies of “the Continent” (including a fascinating fresh element as we finally get a proper look at the elves of this particular world), while the action continues to maintain its impressive levels of intensity in another robust selection of suitably gruesome set-pieces, while the creatures are as icky and inventive as ever.  If the series continues to maintain these standards throughout the already greenlit third season and beyond, this could come to dominate small-screen fantasy as surely as Martin’s magnum opus once did …

2.  INVINCIBLE

Legendary comic creator Robert Kirkman’s had a few big small-screen successes to date through adaptations of his work (none more-so than The Walking Dead, of course), and his rewardingly faithful adaptation of my favourite of his own works is no exception.  It was a very bold move of Amazon Prime to create an adult animation series out of one of the edgiest superhero comics out there instead of going the live action route, but it pays off beautifully here, the series bringing the characters and panels to vivid life through some stunning top-quality 2D animation.  TWD’s Steven Yeun delivers a pitch-perfect vocal turn as Mark Grayson, the half-human/half-alien son of Superman-alike Omni-Man (the mighty JK Simmonds) who learns it’s nowhere near as easy as it looks becoming a superhero as he assumes the alter-ego of Invincible when his own powers finally come in.  This is definitely not for kids – the violence is pretty extreme, but it’s all straight out of the comics so I wasn’t at all surprised by the gore, and the show as a whole really does a spectacular job of deconstructing the whole superhero genre while poking not-so-gentle fun at its various sacred cows.  The result is a thoroughly entertaining grown-up romp that rewards strong-stomached viewers with a tour-de-force, deeply nuanced thrill-ride with a gleefully dark sense of humour, fascinating, well-written characters and some very big action indeed.  Roll on the incoming second (and THIRD) season …

1.  ARCANE

Netflix’ best offering of 2021 just might be the best thing they’ve ever done – it’s certainly on a par with other true masterpiece flagship properties like Stranger Things and Altered Carbon.  It’s also quickly become one of my all-time favourite EVER animated series, boasting a truly GORGEOUS visual style and quality that I’ve rarely seen the equal of (about the closest I’ve seen to this is the similarly amazing work done by the team who brought us Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and it’s a show that owns a truly incredible 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and thoroughly deserves it.  Riot Games branch out into TV with this intriguing and essentially flawless prequel/adaptation of their popular League of Legends series, delivering an origin story for several of the video-games’ key characters as we follow the tale of affluent steampunk-fantasy city-state Piltover and its uneasy relationship with its own oppressed, unruly “undercity”, Zaun.  Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children, Army of the Dead) dominate as orphan sisters-turned-bitter enemies Vi and Powder/Jinx, two of the most compelling and intricately-written female protagonists I’ve ever come across in ANY genre, but there are plenty of similarly memorable supporting characters to be found here, particularly Katie Leung’s righteous but rebelliously feisty Piltover enforcer Caitlyn Kiramman, Lucifer’s Kevin Alejandro as troubled but idealistic young inventor Jayce Talis, and Jason Spisak, who brings us a wonderfully complex villain in articulate and ambitious Zaun crime-boss Silco, although there’s so many other great faces and names in here I could be here all day.  This is one of the most well-designed, well-appointed and, quite simply, WELL-MADE TV series I’ve come across in quite some time, visually stunning in every single frame, a genuine triumph for every single person who clearly put a hell of a lot of effort into its creation, and every single penny that Netflix put into its creation is right there on the screen. It’s already been greenlit for a second season, and I can’t begin to express how excited I am to be getting to see more, no matter how long the wait might be for it so long as they do it as right as they did here.  Nothing else I’ve seen on the small screen in 2021 has come close, and it beats a lot of other stuff I’ve seen so far this century too …

Honourable mentions:

Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix), The Great (season 2, Hulu), Foundation (Apple TV), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Locke & Key (season 2, Netflix), Pacific Rim: the Black (Netflix)

[mac-lilly]

I think I'm even more frustrated with the cancellation of JATP after attending BTTMW2 than I was before the convention! Because between Mitchell saying he'd been invited to season 2 (because everyone thought there would be a season 2, he just couldn't be in the first season because he had other work obligations during filming) and Jeremy explaining in a one-on-one that because of the different demographics JATP went toward (Netflix aimed for ages 7-12, they got 18-25), they had to do all new branding and then a new executive came in and just said 'eff it, we're scrapping this' and they did!

JATP didn't get canned because the show was bad or because no one was watching. It got canned because it skewed the wrong demographics for Netflix and then the execs got lazy when it came to rebranding.

I remember telling my dad about the demographics thing and he was like 'but 18-25 is the desired demographic, they're the ones who aren't completely loyal to a certain brand and have disposable income' to which I reminded him that doesn't matter when you're a streaming service with no commercials. So he's pissed at Netflix for us.

Hi!👋

Oh gosh! Don't remind me of the 1 on 1. It makes me miss Carolynn and Jeremy even more. I really want to hug them again (which is weird because I usually don't want to hug people). Damn, they are too nice! They need them to come back this year!

Also, I would love to know what kind of role Mitchell was supposed to get.

Yeah, I think that the reasons for JATP getting canceled are complex. The initial demographic for JATP where tweens, teens, but also young adults up to 30. But Netflix intervened, marketed it toward a younger audience, and we know the rest. And because of the poor marketing, JATP underperformed during the first weeks of its release -- Kenny confirms this in the interview.

(Makes me actually wonder how Netflix determines the age of the viewers. I use the kids-profile every now and then. Am I considered a kid when I do so?) And I don't understand why they complain about the wrong demographic. In the end, we are the ones who pay for Netflix. Moreover, we are the ones who can buy merch -- Hell, I bought customized JATP funkos and own so many JATP pins made by Hulibloom -- and can spend a little fortune on overprized cons. That's a benefit, not a flaw.

Your dad is a mood! 🤣

[ghostlydahlia]

Going off of my last post, but like I’m genuinely upset about jatp lol, I know it’s just a show and everything but it still means a lot to me

This show had so much good representation, it made me so happy to see characters that i related to and that other people could related to too

Julie and Alex are two big ones for me though. Tbh, I don’t think I’ve seen a woman lead of a show that had such a great main character. One thing that made me so happy though was that she was Puerto Rican, but she was an actual person. I can count on one hand the amount of shows I’ve seen that had a fleshed out latina character as the lead, and Julie was just so great. She had a soul and life and it was just so obvious that Madi cared about her. Julie was aloud to be upset, to grief, be angry, stand up for herself, but she was also just so happy. She cared so deeply for the people around her and she was just such a great damn character to watch. Madi did such an amazing job and she’s so so talented.

And Alex helped me feel comfortable with my sexuality. Once again, I don’t think I can name too many shows that has a lgbtq main character with an actual character, but Alex was just so great. I’m getting a little personal here but when I was watching the show for the first time, I really felt alone, sad, and somewhat angry, and I just needed to see someone who was past that. Who had a family and someone who owned who they were without shame. Alex wasn’t used for the butt of the joke or anything, he had a actually character. I saw so much of myself in him, he was sarcastic and he could be snippy when he wanted to, but he still cared so much for his friends. Seeing him made me feel better, it didn’t make me feel as scared and lonely, he just made me feel relieved.

And I related to Reggie too man, he just wanted to make people smile and I get that. He’s goofy and silly and so fun to watch and I just got him. And I was really looking forward for his story bc I related to it in a way.

And I know the show impacted so many other people in other ways just bc of the characters and actors playing them, not to mention the characters’ stories.

But it’s also the fact that all of them had more stories to tell.

Idk, I’m just so upset that netflix could not give a flying eff about this show and how it was able to reach so many people. And also how they weren’t even the ones to say it man. With one day at a time, it was a crap tweet but they freaking said it. But they couldn’t even care here, what the hell.

[m00nbuggies]

dearest leonozzymikey plantcore,

i hope this reaches you well,

ive recently excepted the ben schwartz disease(it took me 3 minutes to spell disease) and have come to the conclusion you should watch middleditch and schwartz on netflix (slash en eff) and except it too, it is only 3 hourish long episodes but its stupidly funny,

sincerely, the sincerest sunnysparks biuebranch sunnymarbles

dearest sunnysparks bluebranch sunnymarbles,

i'm glad you've sent this letter, and i thank you for your recommendation, since i too have the ben schwartz disease. i've heard of middleditch and schwartz and have watched some clips from said episodes, but have not watched the episodes in their entirety. you asking has given me an excuse to watch them. thank you.

with best wishes, your friend leonozzymikey ozzington-ozzary-ozzaroni planetcore

[ms-demeanor]

Can't tell if this is supposed to be bait or not but this is a shit reason to hand all your internet traffic to a subscription service that logs your history in the name of "privacy."

Install a fucking adblocker like a grownup, youtubers don't love you and aren't your friends when they sell you surfshark.

Part of the reason I don't give a shit about VPNs is because I can't tell when people are genuinely asking about secure private networks that you connect to via a firewall that you control, or if they're asking about tools that I think could reasonably be replaced by free proxy service, or if they're actually in need of serious traffic anonymization and are putting themselves at risk by using NordVPN.

I think the explosion of cheap VPN services has made people extremely incautious and I'm not interested in explaining them or learning more about them because I don't think they're a particularly good idea for most people to use (either because they aren't necessary or they aren't safe) and most of them seem pretty scammy.

If you think you've got a good reason to use a VPN, use ProtonVPN and check out their explainers. You can read more about VPNs on PrivacyGuides.org, where the header for that article kind of gets to the heart of my opinion right away:

I'm also pretty sure the only reason you think advertisers *don't* want you to have a VPN is because of the massive, years-long advertising campaign on the part of VPN providers to convince people that VPNs are good for their privacy and keeping you safe online.

They aren't! They don't!

I just feel like most of the benefits that people think they are getting from a VPN could be accomplished by, like, being selective about what public wifi you use (you should be selective about this and you should never use a wifi network that doesn't have a password for any traffic that you don't want sniffed and you should never use a public wifi network for something you want to be kept private that is associated with any of your public accounts or your real name), installing a decent adblocker and privacy plugins (firefox, ublock origin, and the EFF plugins are fine), or a proxy.

It feels like everybody suddenly decided it was normal to pay five to ten dollars a month to get access to other countries' netflix listings and that makes zero sense to me, that doesn't seem like a good enough reason to sign up for this service and most people just do not need a VPN on their phones for normal web traffic. There are use cases! Some people do genuinely need stuff kept private from their ISP! Sometimes you're going to have to access a lot of public wifi! But people treat it like it's antivirus or something, like it's something they're expected to have as a baseline privacy tool and that is 100% something that marketers lied to you about.

What about a VPN explainer?

[mallrat-trudy]

Hi remember how you forced me to watch a CW show!?? Well aware that I never watch those bc I am too sexy and too sophisticated for The CW, if anything, those shows should be watching me. Remember how you then proceeded to regularly spam me with pictures and insta updates feat. CW show actors!?? Remember how apparently I still have those 2016ish screenshots saved on my phone while simultaneously wondering each day why my phone keeps complaining about lack of storage space!??

('Why Isabel why don't you just delete them then??' EFF OFF Theresa, I'm not deleting Richard Harmon from my phone. When will his renaissance in one of the big succesful netflix shows begin??) (NOT Emily in Paris pls. Altho...)

I love how after all those years you start a sentence with "remember" and then add "2016" and expect an answer from me. My dude, yesterday I forgot what you wanted me to do in the span of one hour.

Everything I am taking away from these screenshots is a) I am still very much in love with Eliza Taylor and b) clean out your phone storage, woman!!!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

We Need To Save .ORG From Arbitrary Censorship By Halting the Private Equity Buy-Out

The .ORG top-level domain and all of the nonprofit organizations that depend on it are at risk if a private equity firm is allowed to buy control of it. EFF has joined with over 250 respected nonprofits to oppose the sale of Public Interest Registry, the (currently) nonprofit entity that operates the .ORG domain, to Ethos Capital. Internet pioneers including Esther Dyson and Tim Berners-Lee have spoken out against this secretive deal. And 12,000 Internet users and counting have added their voices to the opposition.

What’s the harm in this $1.135 billion deal? In short, it would give Ethos Capital the power to censor the speech of nonprofit organizations (NGOs) to advance commercial interests, and to extract ever-growing monopoly rents from those same nonprofits. Ethos Capital has a financial incentive to engage in censorship—and, of course, in price increases. And the contracts that .ORG operates under don’t create enough accountability or limits on Ethos’s conduct.

Take Action

 SIGN THE PETITION TO DEFEND DOT ORGS

Domain Registries Have Censorship Power

Registries like PIR manage the Internet’s top-level domains under policies set out by ICANN, the governing body for the Internet’s domain name system. Registries have the power to suspend domain names, or even transfer them to other Internet users, subject to their contracts with ICANN. When a domain name is suspended, all of the Internet resources that use that name are disrupted, including websites, email addresses, and apps. That power lets registries exert influence over speech on the Internet in much the same way that social networks, search engines, and other well-placed intermediaries can do. And that power can be sold or bartered to other powerful groups, including repressive governments and corporate interests, giving them new powers of censorship.

Using the Internet’s chokepoints for censorship already happens far too often. For example:

The registry operators Donuts and Radix, who manage several hundred top-level domains, have private agreements with the Motion Picture Association of America to suspend domains based on accusations of copyright infringement from major movie studios, with no court order or right of appeal.

The search engine Bing, along with firewall maintainers and other intermediaries, has suppressed access to websites offering truthful information about obtaining prescription medicines from online pharmacies. They acted at the request of groups with close ties to U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers who seek to keep drug prices high. The same groups have sought cooperation from domain registries and their governing body, ICANN.

The governments of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, among others, regularly submit a flood of takedown requests to intermediaries, presumably in the hope that those intermediaries won’t examine those requests closely enough to reject the unjustified and illegal requests buried within them.

Saudi Arabia has relied on intermediaries like Medium, Snapchat, and Netflix to censor journalism it deems critical of the country’s totalitarian government.

DNA, a trade association for the domain name industry, has proposed a broad program of Internet speech regulation, to be enforced with domain suspensions, also with no accountability or due process guarantees for Internet users.

As the new operator of .ORG, Ethos Capital would have the ability to engage in these and other forms of censorship. It could enforce any limitations on nonprofits’ speech, including selective enforcement of particular national laws. For intermediaries with power over speech, such conduct can be lucrative, if it wins the favor of a powerful industry like the U.S. movie studios or of the government of an authoritarian country where the intermediary wishes to do business. Since many NGOs are engaged in speech that seeks to hold governments and industry to account, those powerful interests have every incentive to buy the cooperation of a well-placed intermediary, including an Ethos-owned PIR.

Not Enough Safeguards

The sale of PIR to Ethos Capital erodes the safeguards against this form of censorship.

First, the .ORG TLD has a unique meaning. A new NGO website or project may be able to use a different top-level domain, but none carries the same message. A domain name ending in .ORG is the key signifier of non-commercial, public-minded organizations on the Internet. Even the new top-level domains .NGO and .ONG (also run by PIR), which would appear to be substitutes for .ORG, have seen little use.

Established NGOs are in even more of a bind. The .ORG top-level domain is 34 years old, and many of the world’s most important NGOs have used .ORG names for decades. For established NGOs, changing domain names is scarcely an option. Changing from .ORG to a .INFO or .US domain, for example, means disrupting email communications, losing search engine placement, and incurring massive expenses to change an organization’s basic online identity. Established NGOs are effectively a captive audience for the policies and prices set by PIR.

Second, the top-level domain for nonprofits should itself be run by a nonprofit. Today, PIR is a subsidiary of the Internet Society (ISOC), which also promotes Internet access worldwide and oversees the Internet’s basic technical standards. ISOC is a longstanding part of the community of Internet governance organizations. When ISOC created PIR in 2002, it touted its nonprofit status and position in the community as the reasons it should run .ORG. And those community ties help explain why, when PIR proposed building its own copyright enforcement system in 2016, outcry from the community caused it to back down. If PIR is operated for private profit, it will inevitably be less attentive to the Internet governance community.

Third, ICANN, the organization that sets policy for the domain name system, has been busy removing the legal guardrails that could protect nonprofit users of .ORG. Earlier this year, ICANN removed caps on registration fees for .ORG names, allowing PIR to raise prices at will on its captive customer base of nonprofits. And ICANN also gave PIR explicit permission to create new “protections for the rights of third parties”—often used as a justification and legal cover for censorship—without community input or accountability.

Without these safeguards, the sale of PIR to Ethos raises unacceptable risks of censorship and financial exploitation for nonprofits the world over. Yet Ethos and ISOC insist on completing the sale as quickly as possible, without addressing the community’s concerns. Their only response to the massive public outcry against the deal has been vague, unenforceable promises of good behavior.

The sale needs to be halted, and a process begun to guarantee the rights of nonprofit Internet users. You can help by signing the petition:

TAKE ACTION

 SIGN THE PETITION TO DEFEND DOT ORGS

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/12/we-need-save-org-arbitrary-censorship-halting-private-equity-buy-out