#everybody loves lucy

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Just caught up with Dracula Daily and it just tears me apart how desperately everyone loves Lucy, and how desperately everyone wants to save her, and how fully she loves everyone in thanks. From Mina running through half the town to rescue her from her sleep-walking, to Arthur giving all the blood he can and then some for her sake, to Dr Seward and Van Helsing giving blood themselves and keeping watch through the night, to her maids begging to keep watch over her, to her mother’s solicitude for her health, to the tenderness of her words in her diary. It’s all a labour of love and desperation, and it is devastating that the Count manages to snatch her away despite it all.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[girl4music]

The Xenites may collectively hate ‘Married With Fishsticks’ and indeed the entirety of Season 5.

But at least we got this from it:

Because that’s what the story of it was about.

It was never about Gabrielle and Joxer.

Why was that Gabrielle’s fantasy?

It wasn’t. It was her nightmare. But you can still learn something from your nightmares. Something positive.

It was all about Gabrielle’s struggles with being maternal after that whole trauma with evil Hope.

It was so she could learn to be a better parent to Eve.

[wosobronze]

GUYS

[lewkwoodnco]

LOCKWOOD & CO. Ep 6 - You Never Asked

[snakpple]

ikkkkkkk michael doesn't fuck with adam

[2hoothoots]

Revisiting P2 since the docu epilogue dropped and your AMV (<3) popped up as a sign for me to ask something that hopefully you haven't already spoken about years ago: What did you think of the in-game psych explanation for Maligula, that she's the primitive savage part of the mind? P2 is a weird mix of sketchy Freud/Jung concepts that Tim likes meshed with modern psych, and Maligula's deal seems like something they probably wrote a lot of different versions of but never quite solved elegantly

yeah, i think you totally hit the nail on the head - it's always felt like one of the parts of the story that they couldn't quite give enough polish to before they had to finalize it and move on with development. like - i went to go get my artbook to see if it had any insight into the writing process, and did you know that Nona and Maligula being the same person was apparently added way later in development? that's wild! i didn't know that until literally right now! i may or may not have skipped straight to my favourite characters when my artbook arrived and then put it on my shelf without reading the whole thing

ANYWAY, retrospectively i think it being a twist that was added later actually makes a lot of sense in the context of everything you mentioned. the Maligula problem, to me, is the fact that they're trying to juggle a bunch of different things that she has to be in the story. there's Maligula, the ruthless big bad, and Nona, the beloved grandma, and if you suddenly have to also make them both the same person... well, it ends up being kind of a thorny writing problem to make that work, haha.

here's some art i made so this isn't just a wall of text, rest of the answer under the cut

i think one thing they could have done when they needed to rehabilitate a mass-murderer into a lovable old lady was pull back on either end of the spectrum. make your villain softer and more sympathetic, or give grandma a mean streak like she's one bad day away from a tragedy at the crochet club. and to give the story credit, i'm really glad they didn't. Nona is relentlessly sweet and endearing - and that's great! she needs to be in order to make the audience care about her, otherwise the emotional beats are never going to land. likewise, Maligula is a great villain, she's vicious and ruthless and at the culmination of her arc we see she simply does not give a shit about murdering hundreds of people. i love that for her, honestly, you go girl

but then, like - how do you connect the dots? how do you frame grandma having a violently murderous streak in a way that doesn't make the ending of "but she's over it now" feel kinda weird and hollow? and how do you do that while also being sympathetic to the game's themes around mental health? Maligula's informed by the traumatic things that happened to Lucrecia during the war, but she can't just be a manifestation of trauma, because the moral of the story being that trauma makes you a mass-murderer (until you beat up your trauma and shove it in a giant pit) would feel... really tonally dissonant!

so i think you're totally right that the sprinkling of pop-psych concepts we get ends up feeling a little bit like an awkward band-aid. Maligula's story is about how the horrors of war can shape you into a terrible person, who does terrible things - ...but there's also, like, special circumstances, so it doesn't feel weird that she goes back to being Raz's sweet grandma afterwards. special psychic circumstances! she's not just any war criminal, she's the fight or flight response gone out of control!

which - i dunno, i think that line in particular always stood out to me, because that's not really what the fight or flight (or freeze or fawn) response is, right? it's a temporary boost of adrenaline to the system to rev you up for getting out of a dangerous situation. an overactive fight or flight response is called chronic stress and anxiety. i know the games are pop-psych and not actual science, but it always stood out to me as a little awkward.

if it were me in the writer's seat - with the benefit of all the time in the world to workshop it, and no looming deadlines, and the hindsight of having a full completed game in front of me to think about - i might have tried to frame it around connection. i think you could swing the lens to instead focus on how violence, stress, trauma etc., make it harder to understand and empathise with the people around you. the tragedy of Lucrecia's story is that she came home to try and help her countrymen, the people she cared so dearly about. but the more time passed, the less she cared, the less she was able to see them as people. after Marona's death, the Maligula that remains is one who's unable to even care about killing her own sister. the alternative is too raw, too painful - instead, she sheds her last vestiges of remorse, and throws herself into the easy relief of violence. (we see this again, when Nona "awakens" as Maligula - when confronted with the baggage of her past, she chooses to wash it all away with force, unable and unwilling to care about the people she used to call friends.)

and i think shifting the focus like that ties it in thematically, too. a big theme (of both games, but especially the sequel) is how important connection is, how being able to understand and reach out to and rely on other people is a lifeline during hard times. PN2 touches on how there aren't really "good people" and "bad people" - everyone has the capacity to do wonderful or terrible things, and i think Raz's line to Maligula about how "everybody's got something like you" works. Lucrecia was never a monster, no matter how everyone tried to pretend she was. she was just a person, the same as everyone else - and just like everyone else, she could be pushed to extremes under the right circumstances. it just feels kind of odd when the implicit context is "everybody's got a mass-murderer hidden in the primal recesses of their brain", hahaha.

but like, again, that's the privilege of hindsight, right? i've definitely also been on the other side of the creative process, stuck with something i suddenly need to make work in a story and having to come up with a solution that feels like a band-aid. sometimes you just gotta call it good enough, and move on. and i think the game is overall much stronger for having Nona and Maligula be the same person - it plays into the wider themes, it sets up some great emotional beats, and i think it's overall well-executed, even if there are one or two hiccups in the writing.

anyway, great ask! thank you for the invitation to ramble, this is something that stuck out to me on my first playthrough of the game and it was fun to sit down and get my thoughts in order

[paranormaljones]

There's something that I think we don't talk about enough and it's that book!Lucy canonically cannot stop looking at Lockwood and describing how he looks literally every other paragraph.

[leslieseveride]

opened tiktok to a fan edit of eric and roselyn and had to laugh at the top comment that read, "i'm just so glad for once that the fans don't ignore the wife and try to push two fictional characters to date in real life" because idk what fandom this person is talking about because there is always that one ☝️ egghead out there commenting on chenford edits like, "i ship them in real life too! 😍" and everytime i see one of these comments it makes me want to throw my laptop against the wall because after 6 years you'd think people would learn that eric and melissa kissing on screen is literally just a part of their jobs as actors.

they're only acting as if they are in love, they will never actually be in love. thanks for coming to my tedtalk.

[which-hospital]

making a ‘crossover’ (time travel?) edit of my favourite love triangles of my own interpretation/imagination

couple thoughts:

1.) funny that both fit the format ‘character I relate to (teddy and duffy) and best friend (sah and susie) and girlfriend (paige and mary)’ but only IN MY HEAD - I see duffy/mary as at very least a situationship but I guess that is not at all canonically true

2.) I keep forgetting that teddy and sah being into each other isn’t canon because of the way they act in barriers

3.) mary I love your lesbian swag

4.) susie I’d do a murder for you

[catastrophicgay]

dream state and nonbeliever are lucy dacus’s most devastating songs but yall aren’t ready for that conversation

[neeterloveschenford]

Definitely in my top 5 favorite episodes for this season. Very action packed and I am very intrigued by the new villain. And how bout our battle couple y’all!! Watching them fight together was so freaking HOT! Also, too many parallels to Jackson the last two episodes. I’m gonna need my boo Aaron to be a-ok please and thank you.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

5x2 | 5x12

[girl4music]

*When I see people watching Xena for the first time*

ME: “Did you fall in love with Gabrielle yet?”

She’s an adorable little nuisance in Season 1.

Xena’s just like “Gods what’s this girl done now?”

She’s stolen our hearts Xena. That’s what’s she’s done.

You can relate right? You know you can’t stop smiling.

[tortured-poets11]

W e l c o m e <3

You can call me Dove:) I go by she/her pronouns, and I’m super open to meet new friends🫶🏻

I’m a huge fan of old media (shows, movies, books, everything) so that’s basically what I’ll be posting (though there might be a few other things as well haha)

Main Interests: Michael J. Fox, Back To The Future Trilogy, Family Ties, The Facts Of Life, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Steel Magnolias(movie), Billy Joel, Carpenters, Madison Cunningham, Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac, Switchfoot.

currently watching: Family Ties (season two) - The Facts Of Life (season five) - Gilmore Girls (season one)

Hobbies: reading, music(both preforming and listening lmao) collecting vinyls (I wanna start collecting cassettes and CDs too) writing, art(not as much as I used to but I wanna get back into it!!)

i also am an immersive daydreamer and sometimes post about my daydreams/paras !!

aaaandddd idk what else to put here lmaooo

have a nice day <3

[angelinkstain]

Television and Censorship: When is expression stifled?

In the United Kingdom television has always been considered an educational medium, providing documentaries, along with educational/informative television shows during primetime. Television in the United States, however, has been considerably different, gaining their biggest primetime entertainment elements from action and violence. Due to the difference in entertainment value received by both broadcasters, American television shows may sometimes be heavily edited to reduce the amount of violence or sensitive subjects. The editing, while effectively removing all taboo subjects, can sometimes also remove key developmental points, or messages placed by writers. This, in turn, stifles the writer’s creative expression, removing any important message that may lay waiting in between the lines. Although creators do not have much control over how their content is displayed, one question still waits to be answered: How does the censorship of language in television affect the creator’s creative expression?

The first amendment of the constitution prohibits the abridgement of free speech, including forms of media that are common today. In television, creative expression may sometimes be stifled by network executives in attempts to retain familial values or preserve the familiarity of television. The censorship of language on television, whether it involves foul language, sensitive topics, or explicit body language (in the United States and the UK) varies greatly, depending on the era the show was produced in. Shows that may have been recorded earlier in Television history are edited with weaker standards due to the more family content being presented. British and American television maintained the same standards since its distribution, yet American television has deviated greatly, becoming more explicit while European television remained close to their conservative roots.

Since its inception and mass production, television in the United States has been censored in multiple factors, ensuring that viewers have a family friendly experience. In 1952, although Lucille was pregnant for an entire season, the word “pregnant” was never spoken. Instead, “Vanilla” terms, like “with child” “expecting” and “having a baby” were used. CBS hesitated at the idea of Lucille – who slept “in a twin bed next to her husband onscreen,” – referring to herself as pregnant on the show. Although terms used were not hard to decipher, CBS still felt the need to refer to her pregnancy in all other terms besides “pregnant.” The term was not even allowed to be used in the episode tile, referring to her pregnancy using the French word “Enciente”. This push on television’s barriers was only met with more and more frenzy. Following television’s first onscreen, live action pregnancy was Elvis’ infamous 1956 performance on the Ed Sullivan show, which saw Elvis’ first hip thrusts across 60 million television screens; This was the first time that body language like Elvis’ provocative moves had been shown. Elvis’ moves did not receive any opposition at the time, but his second live performance was met in Nashville and St. Louis with burning effigies, leading to media outlets creating stronger censors over body and spoken language. Elvis performs again on the Ed Sullivan show for a third and final time, but this time he was only shown from the waist up.[1] As television kept pushing the limits, censorship only grew, beginning with the decision to not speak the word “pregnant” once on I Love Lucy (on moral grounds that the audience would be disturbed), and within 5 years evolving to only showing performers from the waist up on television as to avoid protests from certain states. This would dissolve over time, as media would become more desensitized to what they would broadcast. Television shows would begin showing riskier content as time went on, effectively minimizing the severity of past censorship issues, and ushering in a more progressive television viewing experience.

As television grew, network executives sat in their office scared to break new ground but breaking it anyway, leading to a growth in content that they were concerned may cause viewer outrage. In 1968, Star Trek aired the first interracial kiss on television, shared between William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols. Although executives were anxious the entire time, even with the creator recommending “taping the scene twice,” Star Trek fans and the cast were receptive of the kiss, unearthing the fact that television was becoming a more accepting and diverse place, something that was not necessarily experienced in real life. The barrier kept crumbling with the release of “All in the Family” in the 1970s. Before viewers were able to realize, words like “Hell” and “Damn” quickly became commonplace on the show, something that viewers had not seen or even thought they would see broadcast. Although networks executives were once again waiting anxiously behind telephones for an influx of angry callers, they instead received praise for the show’s most problematic character. Television was becoming more and more like everyday life, focusing on sitcoms with regular families, like “All in the Family” and other shows such as “I Dream of Jeannie”, which focused on a more fantasized storyline. The introduction of family sitcoms (or Dom Coms) brought along the introduction of harsher language, exhibiting what life looks like for many Americans off-screen. This brought along the introduction of harsher language, testing the waters more often than Star Trek had previously done. Television was becoming a more realistic medium, breaking down any notions that it was a distracting haven from everything happening around them. Television was becoming a replica of what society was, weaving important lessons into television shows while at the same time

providing a hyperbolized version of what the nuclear American family had become. In 1994, David Letterman introduced Madonna on to his talk show, and was instead met with “Fuck” yelled out 14 times as she walked onstage, leading to that segment becoming the most censored talk show moment to date. Although Letterman had been worried about his show being canceled at the time, Television from then on grew only braver, introducing riskier jokes to children’s television, such as a Lizzie McGuire episode containing the joke “What does a cannibal call a phone book? A Menu!”[2] Subjects had been introduced in a blunt way to children, reducing the need to tread around most topics, and instead present them in a way that would educate them as well as entertain them.

In 2002, one main controversy surrounding language and central themes shown on television included the 90’s television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS), which originally aired in the United States then was later syndicated in other nations. Broadcasting in the United States was fairly open, and not many controversies had arisen from the show besides a brief frenzy in 2002, when writers had included some sex scenes featuring Buffy/Spike and Willow/Tara (A lesbian couple- something that was not seen as much as it is now). Although the scenes do not include any actual nudity, since it was aired on cable television, at the time the scenes caused a stir within communities the viewers were involved in. In a 2002 article released while season 6 of the show was airing, EW called for UPN to “consider slapping a TV-MA rating on Buffy the Vampire Slayer” due to the more adult content that had begun airing. UPN Executive producer Marti Noxon had explained such content as part of “the characters getting a little older and now doing things that were not as permissible when they were teens.” This was relatively untouched ground, due to previous shows such as Boy Meets World taking episodes with touchy subjects (such as loss of virginity, substance abuse, family issues, etc.) out of syndication. Although BTVS was able to run successfully in the United States without any problems, the show faced backlash as it was introduced to foreign crowds, such as the UK, where BTVS faced problems since its introduction, due to the fact that 8/9 o’clock entertainment in the UK featured “history documentaries or some other more serious programming” whereas primetime in the US may feature more action or comedy choices. BTVS was run on minority and cable channels in the UK (BBC2, Channel 4, and Sky One), which pick up imported content that may be considered too explicit for the main channels and broadcast on their networks. Because of a nine o’clock watershed (a cutoff time for television networks that allows them to play heavier content beginning at a certain time every evening) BTVS had to be heavily edited in order to adhere to ITC’s program codes. Sky One became the first channel to air BTVS, with other channels following a year later. The import of BTVS as a cult TV show in the UK proved to be one of a hassle, breaking ground due to conflicts of interest with the material usually aired on television. BTVS’ usual themes of high school boyfriends, sex, and growing up, along with the violence that ensued fighting demons made it acceptable for its US audiences, but rocked the boat with its international audience, who was uncomfortable with airing the show unless it had undergone editing before syndication.

The topics depicted in the show were considered too provocative at the time, and went against many of the broadcast options of the UK. Members of online BBC/BTVS message boards complained about the show’s heavy editing, their advertisement of the show as a children’s program despite its topics, which led to the large amounts of editing as opposed to certain scenes being cut, and were moved into lobbying for an 8pm slot, seen as “the ideal time for the show.” BTVS was edited the most during its late 5th and entire 6th season, with the introduction of relationships with Willow & Tara, along with Buffy & Spike. In “Smashed” (S06E09), Buffy pushes Spike up against the wall and begins to make out with him. As she rubs up against him, the shot fades and the credits begin to roll. The unedited version features “Buffy quite clearly initiating sex in a very direct way” with Spike, with viewers hearing the sound of Spike’s pants unzipping before Buffy lowers herself down. The next episode begins with Buffy and Spike awakening together the next day. Although there were no direct references to sex, Spike’s references to sex, one being with the line "You didn’t seem to take issue with that last night...or any of the other little nasties we whispered” in response to Buffy’s discontent at his nicknames for her. The line was spoken in its entirety in the United States, but was cut down for international versions, leaving only the first half and removing any innuendos. Moving beyond simple sex references, editing in BTVS has gone as far as to remove important, story building dialogue as well. In the 13th episode of the 6th season, Warren (one of the main antagonists of the season) and his friends manage to hypnotize Warren’s ex-girlfriend, turning her into a sex toy for the group to enjoy. As Katrina (Warren’s ex/victim) fades out of the hypnotization, she gives the boys an entire lecture on their attempted rape, educating them on how “the routine and invisible violation of women’s bodies and personal space by men who are only ‘having a bit of fun’ becomes suddenly available for our consideration—and it appears abhorrent.” Katrina expresses her reservations about Warren, and introduces discourse that is crucial for the show’s target audience (teenagers and young adults) to learn as they grow and enter similar situations in to what Katrina faced (on a mortal level, as opposed to magical) Katrina’s lecture is cut from the scene, and viewers are left with an angry girl questioning how her ex could be so cruel. This is not the only instance where a deeper meaning has been removed, leaving instead unanswered questions and a chopped up storyline: later on in the same episode, Buffy is speaking to Spike regarding her uneasiness since her return from the dead, which does not allow her to feel “alive.” Spike responds to her pleas, affirming that “one dead girl doesn’t tip the balance,” therefore dismissing Buffy’s feelings as irrelevant. Buffy tears into Spike, beating him while telling him “You don’t have a soul. There is nothing good or clean in you. You can’t feel anything real.” The scene ends with a final blow that knocks out Spike. The edited clip jumps from Spike’s last line to Buffy’s last punch.

The removed portion, however violent it may have been, only leaves Buffy punching Spike, or one position of power punching out another. Those who view the edited scene are removed from Buffy’s anger, removing them as well from Buffy’s internal problem of not feeling “alive,” which is something that Spike has not had to deal with for years, and is the main storyline throughout the season. This storyline is the main basis of season 6, and so the exclusion of this scene removes building blocks to the overarching story. The removal of both the rape monologue, as well as Buffy’s exposition of her fears to Spike were due to the ITV’s program codes, preventing the discussion of certain topics in order to fit the family friendly time slot. This prevents the education of mass audiences through entertainment, a method that would be different from the BBC’s traditional educational documentaries and TV specials. Important topics that are discussed in everyday American television are taboo on international television, omitted from younger, growing audiences instead of explaining to them what is wrong from a young age. Omitting this kind of content to young viewers only shields them from another angle of a controversial topic, whether that be a lesbian couple, a woman having sexual relations with an antagonist in their life, or a girl being hypnotized by her ex-boyfriend to be used as a sex toy within his group of friends. Shielding a viewership from this kind of content only prohibits further discussion on what to do when dealing with controversial situations like theirs, and promotes the beliefs that are introduced and allowed by terrestrial broadcasting companies.

In Europe, television has followed a “watershed” rule, meaning that riskier content is saved until a later time. The watershed is typically around 9 pm (in both respective US and UK time zones), and until then air shows such Doctors (The less dramatic British counterpart to ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy), or news programs. Daily programming would also include shows such as Armchair Detectives, a show in which amateur detectives would try and solve murder mysteries.[3] Shows airing closer to the watershed tend to have wiggle room with the rules set in place, having the privilege to air dodgier content. Doctor Who, the longest running sci-fi television show, usually airs before (or on) the watershed timeslot, and therefore may sometimes get to “push the envelope” somewhat, airing episodes that feature a high death count, graphic violence and even LGBTQ kissing. Although this content would be aired close to the watershed in the UK, Doctor Who airs at all hours in the US, with BBC America even airing marathons running as early as 6 am. Everybody Loves Raymond (ELR) is another show that has faced issues with the watershed, airing episodes after the watershed, then editing them to fit pre-watershed censorship for next morning’s re-airing, which was seen as senseless by viweres of the program. Shows produced in the United States have no say in what is aired when content is broadcast overseas, even if that includes the removal of personal content. With the censorship of Doctor Who, a British television show, that airs exclusively close to the watershed, yet is broadcasted at all times throughout the day in the United States, along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Everybody Loves Raymond, editing the content of these shows infringes on the creator’s theoretical freedom of expression. BTVS and ELR are two shows that were produced in the United States the rebroadcast overseas. When they are rebroadcast, however, British television executives sometimes remove certain content, and modify the rest. This blocks the writer’s creative expression by removing content that is all too real and experienced every day.

The editing of BTVS removes important instances where women have to prove they are not inferior, ranging to removing important scenes depicting sexual harassment resolutions. ELR is tamer by nature, having a low bar due to the fact that it is a sitcom and cannot push too many boundaries, and even then has to be edited quite fairly before being broadcast in Europe, where some episodes remain unaired due to their topics. Such episodes include “Marie’s sculpture”, which was never aired in the UK due to the fact that the episode included a nude sculpture. Although censorship of material by airing it at a later time may remove some of the creative components that make up the show, it is saved for an older audience while subtly introducing them to the topics at hand. Children in the UK that view these television shows at an early hour are introduced to the show’s general entertainment aspect, but none of the deep messages placed there by the creators. As they grow, and by relation tend to stay up later, they are slowly exposed to the unfiltered content, relating what they remember from their childhood to the unabridged version presented before them. The censorship and editing of television productions when sent overseas for broadcasting nullifies any argument the creators may have when viewing their content, yet it is done to protect viewers as they grow. A creator’s expression is blocked when they are not allowed to speak certain words, such as Madonna’s outburst that ended up being the most censored segment to date. Forms of body language are also removed methods of communication, as seen with Elvis’ screen size reduced to only what is above his waist. When moved to a separate broadcasting medium with separate rules, creators have their rights stripped away even more, as shown with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the early 2000s. Even though these rights are removed from their grasp, they are removed in good faith, taming the content enough to be acceptable for a younger age and enjoyable all throughout young adulthood and into life.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/07/31/censorship/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ5hHf83m84 24:47

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6p