#nigel is like The character to throw in a scene if you want to show you know your stuff

[adobe-outdesign]

Nigel: The Muppets' Most Interesting Uninteresting Character

(This was supposed to be a fun little post about an obscure Muppet character but now I fell down a hole doing too much research and sunk cost fallacy won't let me live it down unless I include all of the useless information I've learned so enjoy knowing more about this character than you ever have or ever will want to know)

Nigel was created to be the host of the Muppet Show's Sex and Violence pilot instead of Kermit (who only appears in the pilot for like 30 seconds)

He was originally puppeteered by Jim Henson himself, giving him a vaguely Kermit-esq voice initially

Nigel Voice Count: 1

Nigel is a yellow... something. You’d assume he’s just a stylized human Muppet but in S4E18 Sam refers to him as a “thing”

He actually looks near-identical to a Fraggle minus the tail. I don’t know what to do with this information

Nigel was diagnosed with terminal Boring Personality disease due to the following attributes:

He’s very meek. Unlike Kermit, who will freak out and tell people they suck to their faces, Nigel raises his voice one (1) time and mostly relies on Sam the Eagle and Crazy Harry to deal with the assorted chaos

His face is flexible like Kermit’s, but he has permanently partially-lidded eyes that leave him looking exhausted in every scene he’s in

He’s generally unenthusiastic and seems like he wants to go home constantly

Jim Henson: The Works describes him as "lacking in spunk and charisma," which is hilariously cruel yet 100% accurate

What’s surprising at this point is that instead of scrapping him, he instead took on the role of orchestra conductor on the show proper, where he proceeds to do almost nothing for five seasons

The Muppets Character Encyclopedia actually provides a canon reason for this: Nigel lost the job of host due to his “shy manner”, and Kermit, feeling bad for replacing him, gave him his new job

He can technically be seen in basically every episode during the theme song, but aside from that, he often pops up in the chorus during songs

Which is funny when you consider he should be in the pit Doing His Job during those sequences

A quick list of his more important (if you can even call them that) appearances:

S1E2: He has Zoot play a song called “Sax and Violence” b/c pilot references

It’s actually implied the Mayhem falls under his jurisdiction as he threatens to fire Zoot, but this never comes up again

S1E24: Playing the part of a library patron noisily chewing gum (despite not having teeth. idk you figure it out). This one’s only notable because he’s wearing the same outfit from the pilot

S3E16: Nigel’s eyelids are not connected to the rest of his body and he’s facing backwards through the entire backstage segment so you’re uncomfortably aware of this

S1E23 has Floyd complaining that the theme song is cringe(TM), at which point it’s casually revealed that Nigel wrote it?? how is this character so important and unimportant at the exact same time

If you’ve seen this episode and aren’t deaf you might have noticed he has a completely different voice here. This is because John Lovelady has taken over as his puppeteer, presumably because Jim was busy Running The Entire Show

Nigel Voice Count: 2

Nigel has a talent for whistling, which is shown off in S2E18 during a performance with Floyd (this is the only time he comes on stage to perform that isn’t with a crowd)

He shows this off again in S4E18 to participate in the age-old sport of Annoying Sam the Eagle backstage

As of the 2011 movie Walter takes over as the show’s resident whistler because Nigel isn’t allowed to have character traits

He briefly shows up during the credits of The Muppet Movie (now puppeteered by Dave Goelz). Because of this, in the UK version of the end credits, he has another completely different voice

Nigel Voice Count: 3

After a brief background appearance in The Jim Henson Hour (S1E12), Nigel proceeded to completely disappear for 20 years

I’m guessing the reason was that his puppet was becoming unusable. The foam used for the muppets disintegrates over time, and his puppet was ~15 years old at this point

Things were particularly bleak for him in the 90s because Muppets Tonight came out with a new unrelated TV director character named... Nigel. Because Jim had passed away at this point and I think everyone working on the show literally Forgot they already had a character named that

Not that it would be that big of a problem, seeing as the chances of yellow Nigel returning were bleak. who was gonna spend time and money rebuilding an incredibly minor background character like him

TRICK QUESTION because he was rebuilt for The Muppets (2011), which is pretty amazing when you consider that he does Nothing during this movie

The new puppet looks pretty similar to the old one. I think the face is a bit rounder/more structured but I could also be losing my mind

(Side note: shoutout to whoever decided to give him a scarf in this scene. that’s such an unnecessary detail)

What’s great is that now that the puppet’s been rebuilt he’s shown up in a lot of stuff because they have no reason not to include him. Some of the more notable examples include:

The music video for OK Go’s cover of the theme song (which I certainly hope he would show up in I mean. it’s his song)

In the live shows (The Muppets Take the Bowl and The Muppets Take the O2) there’s a parade of overlooked characters, which includes Nigel. I just find it funny that:

A) The writers fully acknowledge that he’s King of the Background Characters

B) The in-universe implication that Kermit was like “no one knows who you are, wanna be in a parade celebrating that fact” and Nigel was like “okay”

His most recent appearance was in Muppets Haunted Mansion, where he’s dead (don’t worry about it). More importantly, he gets an entire shot to himself conducting some skulls, which I think is the first time the camera’s been focused solely on him in literally 40 years. Good job, buddy!

Here’s some other misc appearances that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

He appears alongside Jim and a few other Muppets in a 1977 commercial for American Express (once again wearing his pilot outfit), which is particularly strange considering he’s the only character there that used to be puppeteered by Jim

In 2010 he got a somewhat important role in the first issue of Muppet Sherlock Holmes, playing the part of a butler suspected of poisoning the head of the house

He gets one whole page in The Muppets Character Encyclopedia from 2014 (right next to other Nigel). In addition to the aforementioned info bridging the gap between the pilot and the show proper, it also states that he’s susceptible to hypnosis and he trained at the Tommy Newsom Academy for Music and Charisma

In terms of future projects: there is both a Jim Henson biopic and documentary coming in the future (side note: why???), so it’s possible he might be discussed briefly in one of those

I have no thesis statement or reason for writing this, but I guess I’ll close out by saying that I find it fascinating that a failed main character from a pilot episode is still appearing in recent Muppet productions but solely as a background character. I hope that in 2073 I can put on some Muppet media and Nigel will still be there still doing absolutely nothing

thanks for coming to my TED talk

[graphx]

Sorryyyyyy I’ve been listening to the TPN S2 OST

I’m not even that much of a sound design enthusiast in general but I’m reading the goldy pond arc and I’m in absolute MOURNING just thinking about what we could have had (DO YOU KNOW HOW BADLY I WANTED TO SEE AN 11 YEAR OLD PUNCH HER FUTURE FATHER FIGURE IN THE BALLS???!?!????!)

Muijika’s theme fits her so perfectly I’m thinking about the other characters having their own

Would Yuugo’s be discordant at the beginning? Would that part play during his mental breakdown and fade out when he passes out? Would it get more orchestral and similar to Emma’s as it goes on? Would it be victorious and notable before you ever see the camera pan up to a smoking rooftop after he breaks leuvis’ds mask? Would it synchronize with Ray because he’s on the rooftop with him??

 Would his theme reference tea parties? Would it get more hopeful by the time it gets back to the bunker?? Symbolising that he accepts his new family??? WOULD IT BE IN TUNE WITH NAT’S COOL KING BALLAD?? WOULD IT PLAY WHEN EMMA WAKES UP FROM HER COMA??

Would it be complementary Lucas’s??Would they harmonize when they finally see each other again???

Would Oliver’s theme be similar to Emma’s to symbolize being leaders of their respective groups? Would it mirror Ray’s when he asks to be left behind???

Would the techno themes be more present whenever minerva is mentioned to foreshadow their technology being more advanced than anything they have had before (like in the testing rooms?)

WOULD THE MUSIC THAT PLAYS WHEN GOLDY POND IS PREPARING MIRROR THE TRAINING MUSIC THAT PLAYED FOR THE GRACE FIELD KIDS???

When Emma throws the axe at Luce would you be able to hear it slice through the air? The billow of Leuvis’s ridiculously dramatic cape? Could you hear the children breathing heavily as they run away? Would you only be able to hear jake, monica and theo’s running because violet and emma are used to hiding their footsteps????

Would Emma and Ray’s footsteps in the forest get softer and softer the more they learn and watch from yuugo?? WOULD THEIR FEET NOT CLICK ON THE CONCRETE??

Would Nous talk in an overlap with Nouma’s voice after he eats her? Would Nous’s scream of outrage be good enough voice acting to rival emma’s iconic scream from the first episode?? Would it sound so viscerally human for a moment you feel bad for them??

Would you hear rustles in the trees despite nous and noma aren’t moving to foreshadow paula and violet getting into sniping position??

Would the snap of the wires they set up for traps sound different when they spring them depending on how dangerous they are?

WOULD THE MUSIC THAT PLAYS WHEN THE MONSTERS ARE COMING BE LIKE SIRENS OR A DISTORTED/EERIE CHEERFUL VIBE??

Would the guns nigel specifically engineered have a different sound compared to regular bullets? Would Emma’s flash bullet have a shrill sound that freezes everything as the bullet hits leuvis in slow motion?

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE ROTATING CAMERA ANGLES I WANTED TO SEE!!! UTILIZING THE POV SHOTS FROM THE FIRST SEASON ONLY THIS TIME ITS THE DEMONS BEING WATCHED!!?!??!

Would the scene when Emma gets stabbed and goes into an underwater dream state have more muffled music (maybe a mix of her own theme, Norman’s and Isabella’s lullaby) that gets louder and clearer the more she regains conciousness?

These are all incredibly specific and unrealistic expectations but I think I deserve to be a little delusional when it comes to this show

I’d love to hear any sounds you also would have loved to hear in tpn Season 2 (done right)!!!!

[vickysaurus]

If you’ve finished watching Prehistoric Planet, caught the dino bug, and want to watch more, well, I’ve got recommendations for some fantastic older Mesozoic documentaries and shows! I’m only gonna list my faves, but if you have good ones to add, feel free to do so!

Walking With Dinosaurs (1999)

The classic, the one I grew up with. A six episode miniseries that spans the entire Mesozoic, from the Triassic to the Cretaceous. Each episode focuses on a specific location and usually has one specific animal that’s more or less the main character, while also showing off others as they are encountered. The science and effects are 23 years old by now, so don’t expect much fluff or great CGI, but they used what they had very well. It helps a lot that the close-up shots are done using incredibly charming animatronics rather than CGI. The gorgeous music and Kenneth Branagh’s narration add a ton more personality to everything. You will cry about an Ornithocheirus at the end of his journey. There were three special bonus episodes released over the next few years that have Nigel Marven (more on him later) time travelling to see the dinosaurs in person. There are also two sequel series: Walking With Beasts and Walking With Monsters. WWM explores the Paleozoic but went through it too fast and suffers from some ‘Awesomebro-yness’ in my opinion but there’s not much else to turn to if you wanna see the Paleozoic unfortunately. WWB explores the Cenozoic and is every bit as good as WWD. When I had my recovery day after my third covid vaccine I put on all three in chronological order and just marathoned them and the various little aches didn’t bother me all day as I watched the history of the Earth from the Cambrian to the Quaternary.

Prehistoric Park (2006)

Time-travelling Nigel Marven returns from the Walking With Dinosaurs specials to bring back extinct animals to the present. As you might guess, it’s a bit more on the fictional side, but all the animals are really well done and scientific, as are the ecosystems they travel back to. The modern day parts are much more about actually properly running a zoo, including things like enrichment, proper animal care, and cranky zookeepers with a heart of gold becoming Ornithomimus parents than Jurassic Park type scenarios. Nigel doesn’t just get dinosaurs; he goes to the Cenozoic several times and even takes a trip to the Carboniferous for its giant arthropods. Recent enough that feathers are starting to appear on some dinosaurs, particularly the adorable Microraptors. Nigel is an absolute menace and I don’t know who gave him access to a time portal but i’m glad they did. The recent game Prehistoric Kingdom was strongly inspired by this one, to the point of having Nigel voice the tutorials and trailers. Features a friendly herd of Titanosaurs with a disregard for fences causing more havoc than any carnivores ever could.

When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001)

America’s answer to Walking With Dinosaurs. A single two-hour long documentary spanning the whole of Mesozoic America and really focussing on how the dinosaurs developed between its segments. The only time I ever remember seeing the Early Jurassic depicted, and the only one on this list to treat the end-Permian and end-Triassic extinctions and how important they were for dinosaur evolution. Though it does blame asteroids for them. Very good stuff, aside from a scene where Velociraptors continue eating their prey even as a forest fire sets them on fire. It’s very America-centric, but that’s no weakness. John Goodman makes for a surprisingly good narrator and throws in a sneaky Flintstones joke or two.

Dinosaur Revolution (2011)

This is a bit of an odd one, and it might or might not be your jam, but it certainly is mine. It is essentially a mashup between a dinosaur documentary and dinosaur Looney Tunes. Very silly slapstick segments focussing on specific dinosaurs with somewhat anthropomorphic behaviours get intercut with scientists explaining the latest of 2011 paleontology. The animation is a bit naff but the designs are really good and there’s a lot of feathers. It highlights behavioural traits like intelligence and parental care a lot. Two of its episodes cover pretty much the whole Mesozoic in no particular order, two episodes do Walking With Dinosaurs style covering of a single animal’s story in a single ecosystem. Shunosaurus eats mushrooms and has a bad trip. Lots of mammals go flying after getting thrown about. In a true Blackadder Goes Forth type pivot, the final episode of this very silly slapsticky show has the most haunting and tragic depiction of the K-Pg extinction I’ve ever seen.

[amuseoffyre]

Shame as a weapon

I got to thinking the other night about the way that shame is weaponised through OFMD. It comes from all directions, from characters who believe they are doing it for the right reasons like Ed’s mother and Jim’s Nana to the people who use it like a blade to control or maintain the status quo as they perceive it should be like pretty much every male antagonist.

The definition of shame is “a painful emotion caused by the belief that one is, or is perceived by others to be, inferior or unworthy of affection or respect because of one's actions, thoughts, circumstances, or experiences”.

From the word go, it becomes evident that shame and being shamed plays a large part in the story.

Our first culprit chronologically is Nigel Badminton: you were so soft and weak. He belittles Stede’s behaviour, his mannerisms, his interests. It’s very telling that after his death, Stede’s own self-doubt and fears about himself manifest in the shape of the man who had belittled and diminished him since childhood.

Then we have dear old Dad Bonnet, not gleefully malicious like Nigel but far colder and crueller. As far as I can recall, there was not a single positive exchange between father and son. Once again, Stede was shamed for failing to meet the expectation and demands that society placed on him.

There are so many other moments: Ed’s mother (“we just aren’t those kind of people”), the people on the party ship with both Stede and Ed at various points, Nana (“you only killed one of them?”) Calico Jack ("I didn’t know I had an audience with the fuckin’ pope”), Stede ("surely she should give up the dishonest title”)

The one I find most interesting, though, is Izzy Hands. He attempts to take control of a situation with Lucius in episode 5. The “oooh daddy” scene was meant to mock and humiliate Lucius, but the trouble is that he’s trying to belittle someone who sees nothing embarrassing about who he is.

He tries to shame Lucius again later in the episode, leaning in close and threatening “to spill all your beans” and implying Lucius’s promiscuity is worthy of shame. The glorious moment when Lucius kicks the proverbial legs out from under him by being completely unashamed and then turns it back on Izzy by bringing up his own embarrassing incident? Masterful. Showing simply and easily that “I see your little game. I see the weapons you’re trying to marshall against me. And babe, I can use them too and I can do it better”.

The contrast between this interaction and the “whatever this is that you’ve become” scene with Ed is so compelling. Ed’s vulnerability has been building and building. Between his layers of trauma from his childhood, his social class issues and how he tried to break cleanly from his old life to the way Stede abandoned him, he’s floundering, trying to work out who he is and who he wants to be. Izzy throws an emotional tripwire across his path.

Lucius armed himself to strike back at Izzy, gathering information and turning Izzy’s own tricks against him. Ed isn’t in any state to do that. Izzy’s just randomly slapping emotional buttons, aiming to get a response, and as he did with Lucius in the “oooh daddy” scene, it’s a very homophobic approach: while he was mocking Lucius’s flamboyance, here he’s scoffing at Ed’s softness and lack of masculinity and aggression by focusing on his clothing and ‘pining’.

It’s very telling that the thing that really shatters Ed’s fraying composure isn’t the mockery. It’s the mention of “your boyfriend”. Izzy doesn’t care about that part. He just sees the shaming has worked because “there he is”. There’s the violent angry man he follows.

We know Izzy has done tirades like this before. He’s done them to Ed’s face before and Ed just gave him a bemused look. But this time is different because all the chinks are open in Ed’s armour and for once, Izzy’s shaming slips in, cutting where it normally would just slide off, slicing across all the many layers or grief and trauma and misery. It’s a hard thing to lay yourself bare and now, here is the man who is meant to be your loyal friend threatening you after salting all your wounds.

Ed is already reeling from being abandoned by someone who he loved and who he believed might love him. Now it’s coming at him from another angle, from someone else he considered a loyal ally, who is reminding him of that first abandonment while also adding their own violent intent on top. Once again, he’s been shown and told he’s not enough as he is.

And when the moment is followed by the crew asking Ed for another song, even if people joke and laugh with him, how long before they joke and laugh at him? It’s happened before, after all. “Nobody laughs at me”, he said. Better to maintain the mask and the status quo where no one can see what’s underneath.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Bonus Marathon - Tales of Rapunzel #2: Opposites Attract

Introduction

The second of the Tales of Rapunzel novelization series, and the fourth book adaptation in the marathon, covers the episodes Cassandra Vs Eugene and In Like Flynn.

Content

This is very similar to the last Tales of Rapunzel book we covered. The writing is simple and to the point, keeping things at a second to third grade school level. However, the stories therein are a more straight forward retelling than the previously edited down entry.

There aren’t any deleted scenes or omitted subplots this time around. Everything is here that was in the episodes themselves. What is streamlined is the dialogue. Many of the jokes get dropped and sight gags are removed.

In Cassandra Vs Eugene for instance, the joke about Frederic throwing the poor tailor into the stockade is dropped, while we get to see more of what Rapunzel was up to during Cass and Eugene’s confinement. However the important stuff, like Cass and Eugene’s heart to heart in the cell are still there.

Of course the main problem of the story (Rapunzel thinking locking her friends in a dungeon, despite herself being trapped in a tower for 18 years of her life, is a good thing) is still there, and there’s no way to get around it. But I do appreciate the author describing Rapunzel as a ‘storybook villain’ when she’s detailing her evil and dumb plan to her friends.

As for In Like Flynn, Nigel is dropped and all his dialogue is given to the Captain instead... which makes sense as Nigel had little to do in the actual episode. Unfortunately though, every thing that makes Trevor, well Trevor, is gone, and it’s a far less entertaining read because all that flavor dialogue and delivery is removed.

It also still doesn’t make any damn sense for Eugene to be the one to apologize but, once again, I appreciate the attempt to give him a reason for doing so. That reason being that he’s far too empathetic for his own good sometimes.

Presentation

As always, the highlight of the any Tales of Rapunzel book is the illustrations within. The book advertises that these were made by the show’s storyboard team, and they are the main reason to get this book.

Would I Recommend It

If you are wanting the entire Tales of Rapunzel series, or just really want to collect the art work therein, then sure. However, as an adaptation this is pretty pointless.

The episodes selected here do nothing to further the main arc of the series, nor do they serve as a introduction for any one particular character, unlike the previous book. Neither do they add anything to original episodes they are adapting. You’d be far better off just watching the actual episodes if possible.

Furthermore, if you only care about owning novelizations of the actual story arc of season one, then this is easily skippable.

Up Next

Another Tangled comic collection. This time, Hair-Raising Adventures!

Also, due to my work seclude changing next week, the rest of the Salt Streams will be hosted on Friday nights at 9:30 PM EST. We only got three more weeks to go if you still want to join in.

https://discord.gg/qJ3bjuCf

[ryttu3k]

I want to have them all on Tumblr, so. Here are my reaction posts, in order, for Resolution of the Daleks and season 12, part 1!

Resolution of the Daleks

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Resolution! Spoilers, obviously!

Okay, negative first, just to get it out of the way. Doctor Who, I really appreciate that you consistently have queer minor characters and queer couples. Just super casual and all, as it should be. Now can you please stop killing off half of said couples? Angstrom's wife, Frankie, now this young guy? It's really not cool.

Don't think the voiceover worked. I feel the prologue would have worked better with just visuals.

Again, Yaz didn't have much to do. The Doctor got a ton of action, Ryan and Graham both had significant interactions with Aaron, Yaz was... just kind of there. I'm hoping that when the show comes back in a year, now that Ryan has largely dealt with his issues, Yaz will get more attention?

UNIT was killed by Brexit?! Fuckin' rude!

Okay, on to the positive!

The Dalek was, frankly, fucking scary. Despite knowing that the Doctor would beat it, obviously, it caused huge swathes of damage and racked up a... rather high body count. Like it felt like a proper threat. Also, its ability to stop the TARDIS tracking it and stuff. Lin's terror felt extremely genuine and it was just nice and horrific overall, like - if it wasn't for the Doctor, it would feel like a genuine threat to the entire Earth.

(Also, it shut down the wifi. On New Years Day. What a monster!)

Oh man that Dalek laughter. Creepy as fuck. The Doctor dragging it in via hologram to dare it to laugh in her face? Fucking iconic.

"I've learned to think like a Dalek." Oof.

Doctor vs Dalek. Not just the physical aspect, but the mental part - the Doctor recognising the seriousness of it, but also having that element of cockiness ("Oh, mate") because, frankly, she's dealt with bigger threats. She's right when she points out that the biggest problem will be if regular humans try to engage it!

Elements of Dark!Doctor when she asks the team - almost desperately - if she gave it enough chances, if she was nice enough. Because the Doctor can get fucking scary around Daleks and she knows it. She's nice. She's friendly. But she's also the Doctor, and the Doctor has done some really damn questionable things to stop the Daleks, and she knows that. Fantastically done and I still desperately want some proper Dark!Doctor.

Really liked the parallels between the Doctor using scrap to make her sonic screwdriver, vs the Dalek using scrap to make its armour. The Doctor makes a tool, the Dalek makes items of war. Of course, well, the Doctor is probably more dangerous just with a swiss army sonic than a Dalek blaster...

I love how the whole, "Dads are complicated... so I've heard" bit could refer to either the loom thing or the Doctor having actual parents or the Doctor being a shitty dad themself XD

Graham was so excited to show off the TARDIS! Like he's just going, "How cool is this?!"

There were some legitimately funny moments! Graham's chair, "I suppose... we'll have to have a... conversation?", "Junkyard chic"... UNIT was killed by Brexit like that's so awful but. But in a kind of funny way.

Okay, now the unsure. Ryan, Graham, and Aaron. Ryan and Graham have sorted out their issues - but Aaron is still such a big overshadowing part of it that it's a bit of a shock when he comes back in. As someone with a similarly shit biological father, I was completely empathising with Ryan in the coffee shop conversation. And I do understand why they wanted reconciliation, so they showed Aaron as acknowledging his bullshit and Ryan ultimately choosing to forgive and save him.

But it's just... not that easy. It's not all going to be perfect just because they stopped a Dalek together. Aaron's neglect hurt Ryan really badly, and it just felt... too easy? Like it helped that Aaron was genuinely contrite, and that he had that good stepfather talk with Graham, but just... yeah, not sure how I feel about it, honestly.

The Doctor's first words to him being, "You weren't at Grace's funeral. Ryan waited for you, you let him down" were so, so good. Like the Doctor is just going "fuck you I'm his father now". Like tbh I think she was 100% prepared to yeet him off the TARDIS and be done with it. Like damn don't emotionally hurt one of her crew.

Some wonderfully savage lines, though. The Doctor's, "You're almost making up for your parenting deficit!"; Aaron and Ryan's, "Is that how you talk to your dad?" "I don't know, he's not been around"; Graham's fucking smirk when Ryan pointedly calls him 'Gramps'.

I did see a suggestion that would have made it much better - instead of the Dalek capturing Aaron, it captures Ryan. First, it ups the threat in the mind of the Doctor and Team TARDIS - this isn't some dickhead, this is one of them. And instead, it's Aaron who reaches out to Ryan, Aaron who risks his life, Aaron who has to come through for Ryan, instead of the other way around. Also would have tied in beautifully with, "Family isn't about DNA, or a name. It's about what you do, and you haven't done enough."

Also, 'srs tech skillz'. With a Z. Doctor why.

In conclusion, I am going to fight Nigel Farage for killing UNIT.

-

Spyfall part 1

Current response to Doctor Who: making a near-literal SDKFJHGSDASDKFH sound, grabbing a cushion, nearly throWING THE CUSHION.

More intelligent commentary when my brain comes back online.

-

Okay. Am calm. Am good! We're good.

MAJOR SPOILERS for Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 1!

So yeah I actually literally screamed (kind of... scream-laugh-holy-shit-yes). Like, even before Dhawan finished speaking the, "Or should I say spy... Master?" line because of the way he had said 'spymaster' in full in the line before and there's nothing that grabs my brain like that one word in that one context. It wasn't quite as mindblowing as the Utopia reveal, since, let's face it, it's only been a season since we last saw that magnificant arsehole, but still.

(Actually, since I didn't watch Twelve's run, the last time I saw them was exactly a decade ago in The End of Time, broadcast New Years Day 2010. And I still fucking cry over, "Get out of the way." So. That may have been why I literally screamed lmao)

I mean. It's the Master. I can't not. They're my favourite jerk. This is probably slightly concerning.

Anyway. Comments!

The good

Episode was just flat-out exciting. It reminded me both of the Three and Ten eras, a bit? Fun gadgets, fancy suits, and what ends up being a giant game! Did start wondering when they were talking about spies and codes and stuff. It's basically a puzzle that's been set up for the Doctor to solve. Plus, the way she was pretty much enlisted into it! Thirteen and Dhawan!Master might end up having a more Pertwee-Delgado-esque dynamic, maybe? I would be down for that!

(My introductory episode to the Master was The Mind of Evil. Let's just put it that way XD)

"I'm her best enemy." <3

I mean, in retrospect, isolated house full of high-tech stuff and a wall full of books about the Doctor... oh honey. Long, looong game of playing Spies and Conspiracies just for, apparently, the sheer funsies of it. Oh, honey. They're such a disaster and I love them.

The reveal scene, Jodie's acting. The way she just... freezes and hunches in on herself. She's been hiding her past more than other Doctors have in the past, and suddenly, here is her past!! Right here!! Laughing and joking and right there in front of her! And she's just like, "Ohhh shit, I was not ready to have this conversation again..."

Yasmin and Ryan's dynamic. I do like that they split up the usual combos of Thirteen-Yasmin and Graham-Ryan for once, because I do like seeing the way they play off each other! It makes them feel more cohesive as a group. I liked Ryan trying to comfort Yasmin after her experience.

Post-reveal, I'm now wondering if the weird zappy forest thing is the Master's TARDIS? Something to do with changing and processing DNA into something else? Something based around neurons, with the electric travelling system? Am also wondering what happened to Yasmin while in there, since she seemed to be processed in some way, and I'm wondering if she had part of her DNA rewritten as well - or maybe if she's been replaced entirely, like she's currently piloting an alien version of her own body while her actual self is still in there. They did already do that with Flesh!Amy, though.

Once this arc is over, I think Thirteen is definitely going to have to sit down and tell the Fam who the hell she actually is. Graham is having some serious questions, and the Master was definitely egging that on, pre-reveal.

How much do I love that even in a tux, the Doctor still has the culottes and boots? A lot, that is how much. Also, how much do I love the Doctor in a suit and on a motorbike? A lot, that is how much.

"I've had an upgrade." <3

Thirteen playing Snap. It's okay, Thirteen, you still win my heart <3

"Worst! Uber! Ever!!"

"Kisses!" Yes, we know ;) They've been texting! Someone write me a WhatsApp chat fic with plenty of subtext and double meaning, I require it. Also, memes. You know it's true. The Master isn't a Time Lord, they're a Meme Lord.

"Everything you think you know is a lie." Season hook? :o

The hmm

Main concern is how they're handling the Master's characterisation? Last we saw, they were so ready to jump the Doctor ship. Now it's back to games. Kind of wondering if that means the Master is just at the point of being resigned that they and the Doctor just don't work and so is going back to games because at least it makes them happy, but I'm happy to wait until next week to see how things play out!

Did see a suggestion that this is the Master from one of the alternate universes (or at least that seems to be the general consensus on why there were multiple maps), so not actually necessarily the same version as Missy. Alternatively, this could actually be a pre-Missy version! Maybe between Simm!Master and Missy, since we never actually see that regeneration?

Actually, if this is the one immediately before Missy and this two-parter ends with the Master regenerating and we actually do get Thirteen and Missy together on screen I may cry.

(Like I'm aro-ace and agender but I'm still so gay for both of them. There is no word other for this emotion other than 'I'm gay'.)

I kind of wish someone had double-checked the name of the company because VOR running the world is. Is. "Right now, VOR is more powerful than most nations." Just. *pinches bridge of nose* Like okay you know how we say 'oh yeah just google it' 'yeah I googled it' are they really gonna say 'yeah I just VO

'I'm going to V

I can't say it. I can't.

Apparently the Australia scenes were filmed in South Africa. Kind of assumed it wasn't really Australia as soon as I saw actually greenery in the background h e h.

Highkey wish I could have seen Missy and Thirteen together. Dhawan!Master is very fun so far but. Missy and Thirteen. See comment above about the Master's characterisation!

...ABC are you really going to keep to Thursday night broadcasts even after the UK switches their Sunday nights / our Monday mornings? Well that's a good way to guarantee I'll be watching them online first! I was happy to wait twelve hours or so so I could watch it with Mum, but like hell I'm going to wait three and a half days!

In conclusion, am dead, send help, is it Monday morning yet?

-

Spyfall part 2

Thoughts on Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 2!

GALLIFREY LOOOOORE.

Oh man I'm hyped. We got a teeny teaser to the Timeless Child way back last decade but now we may actually get to see what the fuck is going on. And hell, if nothing else, at least the discovery is being teased to be so devastating it did undo Missy's characterisation. If this incarnation of the Master is after her, at least. Still not necessarily anything to suggest that. The Master will likely be recurring over this season, so we'll find out more, at least!

God, the Master is so fucked up. Like. He's seen something apparently so massively traumatic that he had to destroy his own planet and legitimately does look broken by it? Unless he was acting, but I did not get that impression from the message at the end. And the only way he can think of to get the Doctor's attention is to start his old tricks? Not sure if it's better or worse for him to be pre-Missy tbh.

It's just... such an interesting dynamic. Also I really want to read into the whole... scene where the Master asks the Doctor to kneel and call him 'Master' in front of everyone - then, when she does (defiantly! Stubbornly!), he... kneels to be at the same level as her. Like, "I'm going to play these BDSM-esque power games with you but when it comes down to it, I still consider us equal."

Anyway the Master is def a service top.

This comment from Tumblr user upslapmeal:

"'why would it stop? I mean how else would I get your attention’ what did I say about the Master being like a cat knocking things off shelves"

I mean. Yeah.

"Contact." Old school.

The Companions! They get a capital C because they were rad as hell. I love them all deciding that what they do next is: carry on to save the world. Like they're all heroic af without the Doctor and it's so good.

"Don't make me do a soft-shoe shuffle!"

And questioning at the end, oooh man. There are some Implications there, yeah. They've found out some surface information, yes, but no real hint at the deeper trauma. And given what this coming season is hinting at, I strongly suspect we will indeed be getting that deeper trauma and maybe even Dark!Doctor. Gallifrey does tend to bring it out of them...

The whole on-the-run thing seemed to definitely be a callback to Sound of Drums. Uh, what's that going to do long-term? Send out a worldwide message saying, "Sorry, our bad, they're fine"? I mean, last time that happened... okay, Jack was already with Torchwood and so is used to Not Really Existing, but Martha definitely couldn't go back to fuckin' medical school. She ended up at UNIT and then went independent. They did not return to their normal lives.

Barton: needs a goddamn punch. He killed his mother what the fuck. On the plus side, at least he seems to have thoroughly destroyed his career? Be interesting to see if he reappears later, you don't go from the most powerful person on the planet to massive pariah overnight without Repercussions.

On to our guest characters! I hate to brag but I guessed who Ada was as soon as I heard her first name and saw her outfit. I mean the computers theme was already there, who else would she be? :D And I admittedly didn't know who Noor Inayat Khan was except in passing, but still. Little upset about the erased memories (Donna ;_; ), but I can see why the Doctor did it and like... this way, I'm glad they were able to avoid the implications of, "Ada only developed computing because she had already seen the future." Like people said that with Rosa Parks even though the Doctor said explicitly to only ensure there were enough seats filled and the act itself was all Rosa, so they may have wanted to play it safe.

I... really want to comment on how Ada definitely was crushing on the Doctor (and really, who wouldn't?), but she was a real person so I shall avoid those implications. (But really though!)

Doctor how many times have you been in someone's liver. This is some Magic School Bus Inside The Human Body bullshit and I love it.

Doctor's recording: "First of all, you're not gonna die! Second of all, don't talk back to the screens, obviously I'm a recording and I can't hear ya. Third, don't panic. Especially you, Graham."

Graham, panicking: "I'M NOT PANICKING!"

Doctor's recording: "Yes, you were! And I did just say, don't talk back to the screens!"

Graham: "????!?!!"

I want an entire series of the Master having a really infuriating seventy-seven years on Earth. Please.

Comments on continuity issues regarding that, "It's worse than Jodrell Bank!" "Did I ever apologise for that?" "No." "Good." exchange XD;; Like people are going, "Continuity error!! It was the Pharos Project, not Jodrell Bank!!" and like. Pharos was a project. Jodrell Bank is an observatory. You can do projects at observatories. Also, you can refer to projects by location, too. Am I referring to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Project or Tidbinbilla Station? Both! They refer to the same thing! In the Whoniverse, they likely did the Pharos Project at Jodrell Bank, and just had some lighthearted bantz about that time where the Master killed the Doctor, no biggie.

So, onwards to... an apparently unrelated episode for next week! Also, the Kassavin? Still there. Like. The Master only gave suggestions. They still have all those agents everywhere! They're still ready to act! And yeah, now they have the Master in their hands, so... I wonder if they'll make the Timeless Child a long, ongoing arc, and have the much more immediate threat of the Kassavin as the season finale?

-

Orphan 55

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Orphan 55!

...whew.

First thought: anvilicious, but some anvils need to be dropped, because, uh, have you seen the world lately.

It feels like quite a brittle episode? Even beyond the immediate tension of 'there are large angry creatures trying to kill everyone', there's just this sense of... like, tension. There's the tension between Benni and Vilma, which at first is kind of a sweet tension then becomes a life-threatening and sad tension. There's the tension between Roger Parslow Silas and his dad, with Silas not being taken seriously (although I do think him running out while they're in life-threatening danger is a bit much). The obvious and major tension between Bella and Kane that drives the whole episode, yes.

And there's also the tension amongst Team TARDIS! The episode starts with the Doctor still in Some Kinda Way about last week, and I felt a bit of tension between Yaz and Ryan? She seemed rather unimpressed by Bella, at any rate. I do like how organic the relationship between Ryan and Graham feels, at least. "It ain't the aliens that are gonna kill me, it’s worrying about you!"

Set and costume building, I felt, was kind of... eh? I liked how Tranquility itself looked, but the tunnels looked Very Generic, and some of the looks I felt didn't really work. Silas and his dad's green hair just looked very obviously fake, and I saw a description of Hyph3n-with-a-three looking like a cross between a Jellicle Cat and John Candy in Spaceballs (which... yeah, honestly). And I'm not sure about the Dregs, although I did initially have the thought that whatever the original inhabitants of the planet were, they must have been humanoid was amusingly accurate...

"I just pulled this out of a friend of mine! >:("

"Oh! ...We do not make any judgments on our guests and fully support any way you choose to enjoy yourself here at Tranquility Spa! ^_^;;"

"... ... ...It wasn't recreational! o.O"

God you could feel Hyph3n-with-a-three's embarrassment...

"If I had crayons and half a can of Spam, I could build you from scratch!" Excuse me I am at least Tofurky.

Also a logical issue on the whole journey to find Benni, because frankly, it just wasn't... sensible. Okay, bring a kid. Father of the year right there. Okay, bring an old woman. Granted, she could have insisted because it was her man-friend they were looking for, but surely she would have known she would slow them down? Her 'heroic sacrifice' felt very wasted, because dammit, she could have survived if she had stayed in the Dome where it was at least a bit safer!

"At least three eighths of a plan, right here! ...Two eights. I'll be honest, all I've got is the letter 'P'..."

So the Doctor is almost at the point of passing out from oxygen loss but hang on, let her first indulge her curiosity...

The sheer existence of orphan planets is very depressing. The sheer fact that there's at least fifty-five is very depressing.

There's an interesting comment about how straight after discussion of the reveal, the first shot of the preview is the Statue of Liberty. Very Planet of the Apes! (No apes next time, just Tesla vs Edison!) Also feeling a strong connection to Midnight (stunning resort on dangerous planet with a very personal enemy), and I saw a comment about Thirteen unintentionally The-End-Of-The-World-ing the Fam (and making a connection between 'very angry trees' and the Forests of Cheem). Bit of Ravolox. Bit of... fuck what was it... Curse of Fenric.

Although, we know that the Earth will eventually be consumed by the sun, and it was done in a way that was like... it was its time. This was not its time, was a colossal fuck-up on a planetary scale (and the Doctor continues to be 'eat the rich'), but it's also only one potential future. Which is good, because that got dark. Even more than The End of the World, even more than Utopia, even more than fuckin' Frontios, because this is the near-future. The shots we saw of the destruction were modern day! That was the Dome of the Rock you saw getting bombed!

"Be smarter than what made you." PAGING THE GOVERNMENT...

Going to put it on a solid... maybe 7/10? Some really good elements in there, but also some clunkers, and unfortunately not a patch on the same writer's It Takes You Away, which was one of the strongest of the last season.

-

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror!

Opinion before episode: man, Tesla's cool. Opinion after episode: man, Tesla is fuckin' cool! :D That was a well-done personality-based historical, absolutely - I think it's my second-favourite personality-based historical only to Rosa (there are other pseudo-historical based ones set in the past that I love, but they're not personality-based; the Human Nature duology is a good example).

But yeah, Tesla just came across as a really, really cool character. Genius and he knew it, yes, and the real Tesla did have some questionable views (sexism, mostly), but otherwise the archetypal Idealistic Genius who wants to change the world for the better. Contrast with Edison, who was... a businessman. With, like, a really punchable face. Still pretty intelligent, but... very, very punchable. I've read about the Tesla-Edison feud before and always sided with Tesla, and let's face it, so did the writer XD

Good mix of character combinations - with a lot of characters, it's easy for someone to get sidelined, but this managed to handle Thirteen and the Fam, and Tesla, Dorothy, and Edison, pretty well. There were some neat combinations, like Ryan and Dorothy bonding over the sense of adventure, and Graham and Edison's confrontation; I also really loved the whole conversation between Thirteen and Tesla on the joy of just... creating. There's actually a very nice overlap between arts and sciences.

Antagonists - not bad? I feel a lot of people were expecting the Racnoss, and there was such a similarity that I would have liked at least a throwaway line about how the Skithra were related or something. Ooh man she definitely brought out Dark!Doctor, though. Teleporting the queen back to the ship, specifically so she can be fried? I mean, she might have survived it. Might. And just that fantastic little change of expression when the queen asks the Doctor if she's ever seen a dead planet before! Whittaker pulled that one off.

There's a very interesting compare and contrast between the Skithra and Edison, I found. Thirteen has her speech about how once the Skithra are gone, they won't be remembered. Caput. Forgotten. They left nothing behind. Compare and contrast to Edison, who was openly accused of using other people's work, but who's able to learn from his mistakes, end on an even(ish) setting with Tesla, and who does get remembered. Which kind of stings, honestly, if you look at Tesla's actual history.

Like. Apparently that, "The man just didn't understand the American sense of humour," line was an actual historical line, according to Tesla's own records. The absolute main reason for the difference in fame and recognition is that Tesla was a genius who didn't know how to market. Edison was a marketer who could invent a bit. So in conclusion Edison is a dick and Tesla needs more respect, the end.

Favourite lines and scenes:

Tesla: "Is - is this your own design?" Thirteen: "I made it! Mainly out of spoons! :D" Tesla: "You're an inventor! :D" Thirteen: "I have my moments." Tesla: "I knew it! So you... so, you can understand how it feels, you know, when you have an idea, and - and to make it real. I don't think there's any greater thrill!" Thirteen: "I couldn't agree more." Tesla: "You... you spoke of aliens. People here laugh at the very idea." Thirteen: "But not you." Tesla: "Well, apparently I'm not like other people. It can be difficult, you know, to feel no one else sees the world the way you do. It's like you're, uh..." Thirteen: "...out of place."

Graham: "Yeah, still. I bet you'd jump at the chance to have him back working for you, wouldn't ya?" Edison: "Yeah?" Graham: "Yeah!" Edison: "How d'you figure that?" Graham: "'Cause I had a supervisor like you at my old depot. And men like you don't pay a bloke that much attention unless you think there's a payout comin'."

Thirteen: "I wouldn't go killing me and Yaz. 'Cause Yaz... can tell you what this is." Yaz: "It's a camera!" Thirteen: "Bingo!" *FLASH!*

Edison: "I couldn't figure it out either." Tesla: "The internal dimensions transcend the external." Thirteen: *GRIN* Edison: ._.

Thirteen: "You do realise, it's killing Edison that they want you and not him? ;D"

Graham: "Don't worry. This ain't our first rodeo!" Ryan: "We've never been to a rodeo." Graham: "...you're not helping, Ryan..."

Thirteen: "And what are you queen of, exactly? A stolen ship and second-hand guns? A queen of shreds and patches. You're not a ruler, you're a parasite." Queen: "And what are you? So clever, stealing onto my ship, taking what I claim as mine. But where has it got you? No weapons. No armour. No escape. Just the desperate hope you might change my mind." Thirteen: "No, we are way past that. I gave you your chance." Queen: "A chance to be like you?" Thirteen: "A chance to evolve. But you were too stupid to take it. When you die, there'll be nothing left behind - just a trail of blood and other people's brilliance. No one will even know you existed."

(Side note: I love that this speech was actually in front of the companions. They're starting to see that things are Not Okay.)

Thirteen: "Don't give up." Yaz: "Whatever anyone says." Tesla: "Well, let them talk. The present is theirs. I work for the future... and the future is mine."

Favourite incorrect lines:

Thirteen and Tesla, firing at the ship: "VIBE CHECK!"

-

Fugitive of the Judoon

I'M GONNA... NEED A HOT MOMENT TO PROCESS THAT...

-

WELL I. UH. OKAY.

lmao I'm serious I don't even know where to begin.

Uh, some very disorganised comments on Doctor Who - Fugitive of the Judoon!

I squealed when I heard Jack's voice then saw him in the flesh. I gasped audibly when 'Ruth' broke the glass. I yelped when we saw the buried TARDIS. I MAY HAVE SCREAMED A LITTLE WHEN 'RUTH' INTRODUCED HERSELF.

(Also can we talk about her outfit. That was on point.)

I'm getting a very... very early vibe? She didn't know what the sonic screwdriver was, and that was introduced with Troughton. Since we saw the Hartnell-Troughton regeneration, she must be pre-Hartnell? Maybe a Doctor whose memories were rewritten to the point that they thought the Hartnell incarnation was the earliest? Not to mention that was a pretty old-school-looking TARDIS!

Alternatively, maybe between Troughton and Pertwee? Either option has some inconsistency - if she's post Troughton, she should have known what the sonic was, although it admittedly did look very different. Plus, her TARDIS is already its police box shape, which was implied to have set in the junkyard. Also, we never actually do see the regeneration between Two and Three, and it could explain why Gallifrey was after her - she escaped after her trial after The War Games!

Definitely early, though.

Alternatively alternatively, Thirteen actually does say 'time is swirling around me'. Maybe an alternate timeline. Something to tie back to the Timeless Child?

"I've lived for thousands of years, so long I've lost count. I've had so many faces. How long have you known me? You don't know me. Not even a little bit."

That wasn't just aimed at the companions. I feel that was aimed at the Doctor themself.

(Related: the response from the fam was flat-out beautiful. Doesn't matter who she was or who she'll be. They know her now, and they love her.)

Just. Wow. Wow.

Really cool note from Twitter - disguised name was Ruth Clayton. Ruth = 'friend, companion'. Clayton = 'of the Earth'. She literally named herself 'friend of the Earth'.

"You're probably a bit confused right now."

I mean. Yeah. Confused and intrigued and what.

"Don't do points! I do points! Points are my thing!"

Jack. Jack. Smooching Graham, hitting on all the companions, getting into Shenanigans! The Lone Cyberman - I wonder if that's a totally different crisis that isn't even related to the current Gallifrey-Timeless Child one? The more important part is Jack's presence - the presence of another time traveller with a... unique relationship with the universe. The actual warning could be a red herring, but Jack showing up anywhere in the first place is a sign that something is happening with time?

Orphan 55 had a timeline that may or may not have been the 'real' one. Being only a potential future kind of doesn't work with what we know of established DW continuity, so I'm liking the 'alternate timeline' theory, maybe?

Ryan: "I liked him. Kind of cheesy."

Yaz: "But good cheesy."

Thirteen, smiling: "That's Jack."

Graham just standing there going, "He kissed me tho? ...Wasn't bad, actually."

"Is she safe?" Jack, honestly, is she ever safe?

"When she needs me... I'll be there." Oh yeah, he's so coming back later this season.

Also, Judoon, chameleon arch, the Master, Jack - getting big season 29 vibes here and that's a big thumbs up for me because that's my favourite season. We just need Martha to make an appearance now!

...hehe honestly, between Jodie's entire existence, and now, in the span of five episodes, introducing Dhawan!Master, Gat, and now Jo Martin as the first black female Doctor, and reintroducing Jack, one of the most overtly and openly queer characters on the series, the 'Doctor Who is too PC!' bunch are going to be so mad XD

"A platoon of Judoon... near the moon." / "Look at you, your platoon of Judoon near the... that lagoon..."

Man. The close-up in the very first shot of the watch. Nice tie-in.

"The Doctor never uses weapons!" "I know! Shut up! >.>"

Where do the Kasaavin come into play? Is this something they've done by integrating themselves throughout time and space? Maybe they're fraying the fabric?

My mind is blown. I can't wait for the rest of this season :D

-

[Part 2 - Praxeus to The Timeless Children]

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Of all the things to get a live-action adaptation, who the hell would have ever expected Dora the Explorer? And adding onto that: who the heck could have expected it to be good? Well, let’s back up a bit to see how we got here, cuz I think there’s a few things that can explain such a seemingly baffling statement such as “The Dora movie is pretty good, actually.”

First up is the original show. Dora the Explorer is one of the most weirdly hated shows of all time.

Like, the show is clearly and blatantly made for little kids to teach them observational skills and even a little Spanish; it’s got some cute characters and is corny but inoffensive, so it really just baffles me why everyone and their mother hated it. The point I’m getting at here is that the show wasn’t awful and its simple Point A to Point B adventure plots are ripe for expansion, so this idea was not doomed from the get-go.

Then there’s Nickelodeon itself. Lately they’ve really been pulling themselves out of the dark ages as of late. They’ve been working with Netflix to bring back old shows, they’ve redeemed the SpongeBob franchise, they took Butch Hartman behind the shed and put him down… the last few years of the decade made up for the first few for sure. So why not, while you’re at the top of your game, do something crazy like making an Indiana Jones-lite affectionate self-parody of a reviled cartoon for toddlers?

The worst thing I can say about this movie is that they underuse some of the best elements of the film, namely Swiper and Boots’ voice. Swiper is here played by Benicio Del Toro of all people, and he’s fantastic every time he’s onscreen… but Swiper only has a couple of scenes, and he’s only a major player in one of them, and about half of his limited dialogue is variations on his catchphrase (“Awww man!”). This is despite the fact he is inexplicably aligned with the criminals chasing after Dora which, while admittedly hilarious due to Swiper’s existence or status as a fox is never really commented on as being abnormal, could have easily been expanded on or even used as an excuse to make Swiper the big bad as opposed to just an elite mook.

Boots is an issue to a lesser extent, because he is a major player in the film despite not talking or wearing his boots (which is lampshades early on). The issue is that he does have a voice, that voice being none other than Danny Trejo, but Trejo only plays him in a single scene where he gives Dora a much-needed pep talk. The issue isn’t that this is bad, unfitting, or even a total waste - it’s one of the best and funniest scenes in the film and is very effective as a surprise. I’m just salty that Trejo only got to do this one paragraph of dialogue. Give me more Danny Trejo, dammit!

That’s really where the big issues end. Sure, there’s some other nitpicks, like there being a few too many moments of lowbrow toilet humor and the reveal of who the villain is being incredibly obvious because it is literally the same twist from the recent Hey Arnold! movie, but this is a movie with a younger audience in mind so it’s pretty forgivable to an extent. Most of the rest of the film is remarkably competent, with decent characters, plot, and humor. It’s all relatively simple and fun, but what really elevated this film is one performance: Isabela Merced as Dora.

Merced plays Dora as an over-eager, overenthusiastic young girl who is smart as a whip and rarely has a frown on her face. As a real wild child who grew up around nature, some of the film is dedicated to that sort of fish-out-of-water element inherent when you throw a character like this into a place where they don’t understand, and the fact that she is thrown into high school, a place where so many people feel like they don’t fit in and are alienated, makes it infinitely more relatable. Merced is just overall a blast, making Dora the most engaging wildlife enthusiast in Nickelodeon’s roster since our lord and savior Nigel Thornberry; in fact, her Dora has a lot more in common with Nigel than the original Dora while still recognizably being Dora, which frankly is the best possible way things could go.

This is a remarkably competent and fun adventure film for the whole family… sort of. It feels more like a slightly edgier take on Dora aimed at the people who grew up with her while also being accessible to younger audiences. It’s simple, fun, and mostly entertaining, so if you like Indiana Jones-esque jungle adventures this is a pretty good choice. I honestly think this is good enough to deserve a sequel… though I mostly just want more Dora, Boots, and Swiper.

[nmbh1-moved]

okay, so this is something i’ve been wanting to get into for a while. i’ve put a whole lotta thought into this so it’s gonna be long. be prepared.

in operation interviews, nigel left his friends to join the  g : K N D. an expanded, higher-up division of the organization he was original apart of. not only did he leave his friends, the people who were literally the most important people in his life, but he left his family, his home, and his entire planet and was told he would NEVER be able to come back. at first he thought he could, but the second that it was mentioned he couldn’t he was just… dumbfounded. he would never WANT to leave them, but in these circumstances; just retrieving father’s pipe, finding out the splinter cell wasn’t real, being told he was the best operative on the planet, chad and infinity recently gone missing, finding out his DAD was numbuh 0, lizzie breaking up with him. so MUCH had happened him, and since we ALL know nigel is completely devoted to the  K N D, well, ALMOST completely devoted, this was just something he WOULDN’T or well… COULDN’T say no to.

an opportunity to save kids around the whole galaxy— no. the whole UNIVERSE. nigel has even said before that saving kids is what he was put on this planet to do. —and obviously only being approximately three years away from teeangerdom he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. he couldn’t just throw his childhood away on earth. he was destined for something much greater and here was the proof. he HAD to go. he had to make a difference. and the galactic kids next door KNEW that.

they’ve been monitoring nigel. for who knows HOW long. as long as season one, that’s for sure. i’m going to be talking about lizzie soon, she’s going to play a big part in this meta and nigel’s surveillance but i first want to get through a few others things.

the  g : K N D  knows a LOT about nigel. they’ve been watching him. literally his every move, as well as testing him. i can’t help but feel like they chose him from the beginning. after the incident with the DCFDTL he shows GREAT promise and determination. he was someone who just WOULDN’T give up. and let’s be real, when abby hacked into the computers to change his scores, you think SOMEONE would’ve noticed. perhaps the kids who GRADED it? someone would’ve spoke up and said “hey, that’s not right that kid never passed the final exam! he can’t be an operative!” except they DIDN’T. and honestly i think someone DID notice.

the  g : K N D. —likely around this time was when they first took notice. they knew he did great in the CND, so they decided he’d be a good… specimen if you will. for, lack of a better term. either that or they just thought he might be a troublemaker. which, admittedly, he’s BOTH.

around this time gabe and infinity had already rooted their way deep into the organization, they made trusts, friends, and had already been examining other operatives to find a worthy candidate to be the earth representative for the  g : K N D. —and THIS is where we get to lizzie.

i imagine lizzie would’ve been a bit NEWER. she was going to join the earth  K N D  to help gabe and infinity on their mission, but there was a sudden change in plans once nigel was noticed. they sent lizzie to keep an eye on him, since right now he was one of the only operatives that the  g : K N D  was interested in. the one other one being— you guessed it, chad motherfucking dickson, aka the legendary 274. the best there is. or… was.

the  g : K N D  pulled a LOT of strings. and i mean A LOT. especially once nigel was promoted to the leader of sector v. can we just take a moment to think about this? i mean. sector v is a TROUBLEMAKING sector half the time. SURE, they get work done, but recklessly. no matter HOW careful nigel tries to be, SOMETHING goes wrong half the time. YES, they do tend to pull through fine and be badass on some occasions, but they do have a good amount of FAILED missions. such as ALL the DCFDTL cake missions. and HOW do you think they keep ending up with those? the  g : K N D. it’s likely some sort of test. though i’ve yet to figure out what for since they ALWAYS failed.

also, can i mention that 74.239 of all people, managed to get the cake no problem? the thing sector v has worked for YEARS to get and some nerdy kid just somehow manages to get it without a sweat? —i mean, the  g : K N D  is pretty damn powerful if you look at it in that perspective.

ALSO: chester’s happy helmet. the machine chester made for children to be trapped in a dream world of the controller’s design to keep them content and out of adult’s hair. and item confiscated by the  K N D, but taken by the  g : K N D  to run tests on nigel and who knows how many other operatives. i know we only saw op WHITEHOUSE, but who KNOWS how many more times they’ve done something similar. and i bet in EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. nigel stays true to the  K N D.

they’re conditioning him. putting messages into his subconscious through his dreams with the limited tech they have on earth. the  K N D  is the most important thing. never betray them, no matter how old you are. always stay true. it’s not like nigel didn’t already have that mindset, but they no doubt reinforced it.

now to nigel’s ties to people. he was never close to his parents, sure he loved them, his dad more than his mom but hey— he spends more time with him. though, them being adults it wasn’t hard to break ties there. the second he was away from them it wasn’t like he was THINKING about them. he’s always out of the house, on missions, in his treehouse, or just out playing. so that wasn’t a big concern and while he may miss them it didn’t impact him greatly.

the  K N D. rachel did that for the  g : K N D. while unknown if she was working for them or not, ( though it would make sense considering she’s out down as a FUGITIVE and not just some “danger” or scheduled for “planetary decom” i can only imagine that something’s up with her ) she DID put all those thoughts of the splinter cell into his head. she told him there was no one he could trust in the  K N D, anyone could be in the splinter cell and they might even be trying to RECRUIT him. she broke his trust with literally everyone, and almost even his own team. we all know nigel has major paranoia so with that additional information he didn’t know WHO he could trust, and while he would always stay loyal to his organization, the  K N D  on EARTH is just harder for him to trust. even now.

then there’s LIZZIE. many have theorized that the treehouse was hacked by the  g : K N D, and i’m also going with that. the breakup was staged. lizzie’s job was done and she had to break off the ties she made with nigel to prepare him for his future. therefore, she had to break up with him. which TORE NIGEL APART INSIDE. i can not tell you HOW MUCH that scene breaks me because EACH TIME i can just SEE how much pain nigel is experiencing. he’s the type to bottle his true emotions inside, and mask them with something else. he downgrades himself because he doesn’t feel as if him and his feelings are important. others are. he’s just there to help them. and he wasn’t able to help lizzie. he was hardly there for her and the words that she said hit DEEP. deep enough to make him CRY. he was desperate to get her back and you could hear it in his voice, and when she just kept moving he… he was just BROKEN inside. but he held his chin up, and decided he had to move on. and it was hard. very hard. he’s STILL not over it, but he sure as hell pretends to be. when his friends bring it up you can just hear the bitterness in his voice. he tries to hold in his feelings yet some leak out. his tie to her is broken and it’s just made him… depressed. less attached to earth. which is just what the  g : K N D  wanted.

and now his friends. there was NO WAY they could break those ties before he joined. he cried when he had to leave them, but they were confident he’d stay true to the  K N D  rather than his friends, which… they were right. he did. he left a small piece of himself behind with them, but in the end he LEFT. it hurt him. it hurt him A LOT. more than lizzie. more than ANYTHING that had ever hurt before but he knew he had to. and it really distanced him from a lot of people. he was in a weak mental state of bottling up emotions and not enough social connection. he was in a strange new world and he was the only person of his species. it was strange, new, and all of this on top of that just made it hard for him to function there.

now; he went on space missions, got close with his new sector though never got on a real level of friendship with them. at least, not yet. remember chester’s happy helmet? mental manipulation? nigel is functioning poorly due to everything he’s been through, and what’s the BEST way to distract him from it? the way that only cold, unfeeling, aliens who don’t have a full grasp on the human mind, emotions, body, or really anything about them because they’ve probably never interacted with them much before? Y E A H.

nigel, after all he’s gone through in the past and now in the present. while possible, it IS unlikely he’d WILLINGLY go through with the events that happened at the  g : K N D  trial. more and more as i analyze his character and get a deeper understanding of him i know this for sure. he’d NEVER harm his friends. the ties to his friends hadn’t been broken yet. yes, he’d be getting rid of an adult infested planet, which WOULD be a good thing in his eyes if his FRIENDS weren’t on it. especially with chad there yelling at him not to do it, i know he hesitated yet… i can’t believe it was FULLY his will to go through with it.

they’re not completely controlling his mind. only influencing it. pushing him towards the direction they want him to go in. using his dreams and now his everyday life through his glasses. it’s only RECENTLY that he’s begun actually making his OWN decisions in favor of the  g : K N D  over his friends.

now that his friends are fighting him, he’s confused. unsure on what to do. he’s doing a GOOD thing, as the  g : K N D  have influenced him to believe, so WHY are they upset? he feels betrayed and therefore now finds it fine to fight them. his ties were truly broken, but this time it wasn’t even the  g : K N D. it was him.

he could’ve turned back anytime, he could’ve betrayed the  g : K N D  and joined his friends, said he was wrong the second they started going against the organization. but he DIDN’T. and that was HIS choice. not the  g : K N D, even though the did play some part in it all and all it was nigel’s own stubbornness that caused it. he broke his own ties and the  g : K N D  has begun influencing him less and less because by now they’ve already conditioned him enough. they know he’s on their side.

nigel’s even said before in his guide to being a leader; “confidence is everything, if you’re unsure of something it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing. even if you’re wrong, you STICK with that decision. it’s better to be passionately wrong than admit it.”. so even if he WAS told he was wrong, it would take a BIT more to get him back on the good side.

i like to believe he can go back to the  K N D  and with his friends, but as long as he keeps that mindset and the  g : K N D  can keep influencing him… it’s pretty unlikely.

[samprestonbigbadabruce]

NXT Takeover: New Orleans - Thoughts and Review...

Sunday 8th April has been a very difficult day, due to my having to avoid any and all spoilers for this show. Normally, I’ll either watch the event live, or watch it at a later date knowing the results. But for a show like this, one that could legitimately be one of the best of the year, I wanted to immerse myself fully into the show, not knowing any results at all. Oh, NXT, you have made me your bitch with ease.

Of course, we have Mauro Ranallo (the one and only legend), Nigel McGuinness (who has really grown into the role fantastically), and Percy Watson (who has demonstrated some good commentary when given the chance), who are probably the strongest 3 man team on the commentary booth. My predictions are at this link.

Ladder Match for the inaugural NXT North American Championship.

EC3 (Ethan Carter III) vs Killian Dain vs Adam Cole vs Velveteen Dream vs Lars Sullivan vs Ricochet

The audience already knows who Ricochet is, his name resonating around the arena, and he gets the first major pop with a tremendous Shooting Star Press to the outside on Dain and Lars. Ricochet is so crisp and beautiful to watch in the ring, he’s instantly fascinating. One of the sub-plots of the match was the build-up to Lars and Dain facing each other, bumping into each other a few times, before an awesome tope onto Lars early on. Watching Lars throw a ladder onto his five opponents was a great moment, he’s starting to convince me he may be more than just a big hoss. He took a great powerbomb from Ricochet, Dream and EC3 off the ladder.

I loved EC3 & Cole, the two snakes who will just as soon betray you as use you, getting along briefly, before EC3 stole Cole’s “bay bay” Schtick, and super kicking EVERYBODY’s face off. The next big moment was Dream’s beautiful Elbow off the ladder onto Lars, some tremendous elevation. Bringing the ladders in so quickly seemed like a better method as it allowed them to hit the ground running. Killian’s Vader Bomb with Cole on his back onto EC3 under a ladder was reminiscent of Rikishi flattening Val Venis off the top of a cage. Lars Sullivan and Killian Dain throwing Ricochet back and forth was akin to two T-Rexes fighting over a pork chop, I laughed, but Lars catching Killain was awe inspiring. And then Ricochet beat it with a moonsault off a falling ladder onto Cole & Dain, that’s Highlight Reel material. Ricochet is coming across very impressive in this match, as I expected.

Dream’s rolling Death Valley Driver on Ricochet onto a ladder was terrifying, but looked amazing, then Lars SMASHING EC3 onto Dream THROUGH a ladder, just raised the bar again, only for Dain to metaphorically go for “Hold My Beer” and put Cole & Ricochet through his own ladder! This is insanity and I love it. I love the subtlety of having the two hosses, Lars & Killain, on one ladder, then the two heels Cole & EC3 on another ladder, and then Dream opening up the third, each ladder representing a different style, culminating in Ricochet joining him. Cole took down EC3, Ricochet took down Dream, and STILL the two beasts were on the ladder. And just as Lars was near victory, Ricochet made the save, the competitors continuously nearing so close, then getting knocked off, before Adam Cole stole the title!

I love how the match allows each style to get their own moment in the sun, either Lars smashing people, Killian’s agile destructions, Ricochet & Dream’s high-flying antics and great bumping, Cole’s smarmy opportunist, or EC3’s arrogant smarts, none were underutilised. I was surprised at the choice for Cole to win, I thought EC3 would make more sense as a heel for the others to chase, but Cole has earned the title, he’ll be The Miz of NXT, elevating the second title. Cole won in character, but everybody looked tremendous. Loved this match.

Adam Cole wins the NXT North American Championship.

Ember Moon defends the NXT Women’s Championship versus Shayna Baszler

Okay, first of all, my favourite band Halestorm opened for Ember and it was awesome, such a rocking tune and great voice from Lzzy Hale. I found that a lot more interesting than Ronda Rousey being in the audience. If only Shayna wasn’t involved…I get that some people may like her, but I’ve found her generic and boring, a flat track bully. To be fair, her knee strikes were making ME feel sore, and it was something a little different, expanding her arsenal. Moon still comes across as the desperate champ struggling with the bully, including a dropkick to force Shayna into the ring steps. I have to admit, seeing Ember turn Shayna’s own elbow stamp onto Shayna was so gratifying.

Seeing Shayna trying to pop her shoulder back into place against the ring post was actually impressive, it feels like they are trying to create sympathy for Shayna, who has been a despicable bully so far. Ember’s finisher onto the outside was excellent, a great moment. Ember’s powerbomb on Shayna was even more impressive, I’ll admit, despite having no interest in this match, these two put in some great work to draw me in. And then, Shayna choked out Ember to win the title. I can’t say I’m surprised, and the match was better than I expected, but I do think it’s a mistake to give her the title so soon. I’m also curious about their decision to push Ronda as the babyface, only for her to be friends with despicable heel Shayna, lack of consistency.

Shayna Baszler wins the NXT Women’s Championship.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) defend the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Authors Of Pain (Akam and Rezar with Paul Ellering) versus Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong

The Authors Of Pain have gone on strength to strength, improving every match, whilst Strong is consistent and tough, respected by the audience, Dunne is a tough nasty bastard, and The Undisputed Era are heat magnets…this match is such a great choice. The Authors Of Pain instantly come in and destroy the opposition, powerbombing Cole straight through the announce table. O’Reilly simultaneously holding an AOP & Strong in submissions was a great image and makes it believable for him to have to wrestle alone.

O’Reilly being German Suplexed, jumping up screaming, then falling out of the ring, was my favourite moment of the night so far. Dunne and O’Reilly are two hard hitters, and seeing them smash mouth each other was great. Dunne snapping an AOP’s fingers to avoid a move is one of those little character moments that add to a match, very in character. As the match continues, I’m starting to feel that Cole may stir from injury in time to steal the win?

Strong using AOP’s strength and speed against them, including into the steel steps, and then WHAT THE FUCK?! Roderick Strong turned on Pete Dunne and helped The Undisputed Era retain? What a twist, O’Reilly’s reactions are awesome. I remember Strong supposedly being a great heel on the Indie scene, I am legitimately shocked at this development, but it definitely makes things interesting. I assume until Fish heals, Strong and O’Reilly will defend the Tag Team titles?

The Undisputed Era win the Dusty Rhodes Classic and retain the NXT Tag Team titles.

Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas defends the NXT Championship versus Aleister Black.

Almas has already been so impressive as NXT Champion, really raising his game for the title. Black is awesome all round, and comes flying out of the blocks. A tremendous moment where Almas flipped out of a sunset powerbomb off the top rope, only to miss the knees, only to lead into a backsault off the top rope and another Moonsault onto Black, great flow to the match. Almas surprisingly matched Black with some great strikes, until Black kneed his face out of place. Almas has scouted Black tremendously, catching him out every time Black goes to his arsenal. And the few times Black did on top, Zelina spiked Black twice with hurricaranas, playing the ref like a fiddle. Third time should surely lead to Zelina getting Black Massed by Black,

When Black did hit the Black Mass, Zelina saved Almas, she does such an amazing job as a heel manager, saving Almas four times already! Several close shaves, including a tremendous Hammerlock DDT from Almas to Black that I thought would end it. But this leads into the perfect finish, as Zelina tried interfering again, Almas catching her, and turning into Black Mass!

Almas may have only had a brief title reign, but it was very impressive, a 5 Star Classic and a great victory, but Black was the right choice, he’d been on track for the title since he debuted, and he offers a different style to some of the previous Champions. Black has earned this victory, but Almas can take pride in his reign, and I cannot wait to see who Black faces first…maybe a returning Drew McIntyre?

Aleister Black wins the NXT Championship.

Unsanctioned Match: Tommaso Ciampia fights Johnny Gargano A story years in the making, two former friends and brothers, now hated rivals. Johnny Gargano placed his career on the line for the NXT Championship, and lost because of Ciampia. Now, in an unsanctioned match, one where you can only win by pinfall or submission, Johnny Wrestling gets the opportunity for revenge. If he wins, he is reinstated to NXT. If he loses...he’s gone. This won’t be a five star classic, it’ll be a fight.

The atmosphere is engulfing. The punches and kicks that started the match lead into Ciampia getting more vicious, slams against the guardrail, and threatening with an unprotected floor. Johnnny Wrestling, the nice guy, throwing Ciampia into the announce team, really helped sell how consumed by anger and hatred he was. They would tease with one act of violence (suplex on the unprotected floor, suplex on the table) and then subvert it with something just as violent (suplex OFF the announce table onto the mat), sprinkling little Chekhov Guns to come into play later. Seeing the top of the announce table used to be suplexed through was something I hadn’t seen before, these little unique moments really add to the match.

There was one uncomfortable bump where it looked like Gargano landed on his neck after he was Irish-whipped into the corner, flipping upside down and landing on his head. A great touch was when Johnny got to the ropes when Gargano had a submission on him, only for the ref to tell him “No rope breaks”, i loved that! Really adds to the authenticity of the unsanctioned fight. So far, the only element I disagree with is that to me, an Unsanctioned match works better if the wrestlers are in street clothes, but I digress.

So far, the weapons being used really tie back to the history of their rivalry, the announce table from when Ciampia first betrayed Gargano, then the crutches from the crowd tying into Ciampia’s injury and multiple attacks with the crutches. The unprotected mat came back in a vicious way, Johnny going for a slingshot DDT attempt, reversed into Ciampia’s finisher attempt, only for Johnny to slither out and powerbomb Ciampia onto the floor - I admit, I let out an involuntary noise at the sound of Tommaso’s back landing on the floor.

The tired tug of war over the crutch really amplified the war these two are going through, and the cathartic strikes on Ciampia by Gargano, who refused to let go of the crutch even when thrown out, leading to a sickening crack on the head. It was only after that and a slingshot DDT, that I think the first pinfall attempt was made, twenty plus minutes into the match, a great detail for such a volatile fight. The reverses keep on happening again and again, showing how well these two know each other, Johnny even willing to pull on Tommaso’s beard.

Gargano locked in his submission hold, and the rope breaks came into play again, almost reaching ironic glory, and then the roll back into the middle of the ring, ala Benoit/Triple-H at Wrestlemania XX, seemed poised for the ending, only for Tommaso to dig at Gargano’s eyes. The desperation of Tommaso was then intensified by using his wrist rope to try and strangle his opponent.such a brilliantly layered story. A low blow, crutch to the back, then powerbomb backbreaker had me convinced it was over, but Johnny Wrestling kicked out again. I have no idea who will win at this rate.

Johnny using Tommaso’s kneepad to drag himself toward Ciampia was such an iconic image, leading into the lawn dart into the unprotected turnbuckle, then two vicious low superkicks, the second eliciting another unexpected noise from me. I know I said this would be a fight, not a five star classic, but these two are pushing close. Ciampia did another powerbomb backbreaker onto his knees for a massive near fall, and the knee brace has taken damage, these two are going all out. And now the final callback, the removal of Ciampia’s kneepad, ala the Cruiserweight Classic, only for Johnny to smash the brace into Ciampia’s knee!

A brief moment with a callback to the sit down in the ring together, lead to an amazing STF on the knee with the knee brace pulling back on Ciampia’s neck, that looked diabolically painful! And Ciampia tapped, Gargano gets reinstated, Johnny Wrestling has done it! He’s beaten Ciampia, vanquished his demon, and he’s reinstated to NXT! What a brilliant match, such layers and story telling, reversals, hard hits, big moments, character moments, emotional and unforgiving, a rollercoaster ride, but the hero has defeated the psycho.

Johnny Gargano defeats Tommas Ciampia

Yet again, NXT Takeover does an excellent job, great matches, fantastic stories, and even my personal weakest match (the NXT Women’s Championship) is exactly that, a personal indifference, but still a solid match. In fact, I probably couldn’t call any of these a weak match. What a brilliant PPV, NXT just keeps getting better and better and better.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Asylum- Part 1

Pairing: Eventual Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1,972

Warnings: Typical Supernatural violence, angst, language, minor character death, blood, you know the usual

Summary: John Winchester led you and his kids on a case and you hope to see him there. This search for him has been dead beat... Until now. 

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Please, if you want to be tagged for this series, let me know and I’ll add you! If you want to be tagged for my other fics, I’ll add you! I want to hear what you guys think about this. If you want something requested, send it in!

Feedback is always appreciated

Tags at the bottom

Some say that the worst part of not knowing something was the fear of finding out you were right. That was your fear with the letter from your mom. A lot has happened on the last hunt with Mary and your mom and the house you grew up in and you managed not to completely break down.

There was still so many questions that you didn’t know your mother knew the answer to. You were scared of finding out that you did absolutely everything you could and your mother still died. John was still missing and his kids were going crazy. They’ve had enough and decided to actively search from him instead of following his cryptic messages.

You and the brothers were held up in some motel in some state. Sam was on the phone, talking to other hunters while Dean was reading through his dad’s journal to see if he could find anything. You, on the other hand, were pacing the room, biting your lip.

“Sweetheart, if you keep doing that, you’re going to give me a headache.” Dean said without looking up from the book.

“Sorry, Dean. I have a missing dad and a letter from my dead mother. I am not doing okay right now.” You said, going back to biting your lip.

“Hey, look at me,” You stopped pacing and looked at Dean with worried eyes. “We’ll get through this. You read that letter when you’re ready and when you do, I will be right here to take care of you.”

“Thanks Dean.” You said with a small smile, taking a deep breath.

“Sammy, did you find anything?” Dean asked, shifting his attention from you to his brother.

“Nope. Caleb, Jefferson and Pastor Jim haven’t heard from him. What about the journal? You find anything in there?”

“No, same as last time I looked. Nothing I can make out.... I love the guy, but I swear, he writes like frigging Yoda.” Dean complained.

“I remember when you wrote like that. Same with you, Sam. Just be glad your handwriting got a lot better than his over the years.” You joked. You bit your lip when you saw that neither brother was in the mood for joking. You tried lifting the tension in the air but it didn’t seem to work.

“You know, maybe we should call the Feds and file a missing person’s.” Sam suggested, sighing deeply.

“We've talked about this. Dad would be pissed if we put the Feds on his tail.” Dean shook his head.

“I don't care anymore,” Sam said. Dean’s phone started ringing and he got up, going to look for it but Sam wasn’t done. “After all that happened back in Kansas, I mean... he should've been there, Dean. You said so yourself. You tried to call him and... nothing.”

“Where the hell is my cellphone?” Dean growled out, searching his things.

“You know, he could be dead for all we know.” Sam said suddenly. You gasped and looked at him with a glare.

“Sam! Don’t even say that!” You scoffed.

“He's not dead! He's – he's...” Dean tried coming up with a good explanation as to why his father was missing.

“He's what? He's hiding? He's busy?” Sam shook his head. Dean finally found his phone and opened it up, gasping at what he read. You got up and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder to read what it said.

42, -89

What the hell was that and who was it from?

“Huh. I don't believe it,” Dean said with a small smile. He looked at his brother and held up his phone. “It's, uh.... it's a text message. It's coordinates.” Dean put his phone down and walked to Sam’s laptop, powering it on and immediately searching the coordinates he got.

“You think Dad was texting you?” Sam asked. You knew Dean didn’t say it but you could tell he thought it was from his dad.

“He has sent you guys coordinates before.” You shrugged, sitting next to Dean.

“The man can barely work a toaster, Y/N.” Sam sighed.

“Sam, it's good news! It means he's okay, or alive at least.” Dean said, not looking up from the computer.

“Well, was there a number on the caller ID?” Sam wondered.

“No, it said unknown.” You answered for Dean.

“Well, where do the coordinates point?”

“Rockford, Illinois. I checked the local Rockford paper. Look at this.” Dean said, showing you the laptop.

“This cop, Walter Kelly, comes home from his shift, shoots his wife, then puts the gun in his mouth, and blows his brains out. Earlier that night, Kelly and his partner responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum.” You summarized the article.  

“Okay, I'm not following. What has this have to do with us?” Sam asked.

“Dad booked marked that same asylum in his journal. There were seven unconfirmed sightings and two deaths until, well, last week. I think this is where he wants us to go.” Dean smiled, looking at his brother.

“This is a job... Dad wants us to work a job.” Sam snorted.

“Well, maybe we'll meet up with him? Maybe he's there?” Dean said with hope.

“I don’t know that he will. If he wasn’t there for your mom, why do you think he’ll be there for you?” You said gently, not wanting to crush him. Dean nodded and sighed, putting the journal down.

“Who cares! If he wants us there, it's good enough for me!” Dean raised his voice, standing up and filling his duffel with his things.

“This doesn't strike you as weird? The texting? The coordinates?” Sam asked, watching his brother, not making a move to pack.

“Sam! Dad's telling us to go somewhere, we're going.” Dean said, leaving no more room for discussion. You looked at Sam who gave his brother the classic bitch face. You shrugged apologetically, getting up to pack. You knew it was best to not argue with Dean. You picked up the letter and the key, putting it in your jacket pocket and putting the jacket on. It was time to hit the road again.

“Dean, don’t hassle the man, he just lost his partner.” You said as you entered the bar that the cop was at. The cop who was at the asylum the night that Kelley went crazy.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I know what I’m doing.” Dean walked over to a man who looked really sad and sat down in front of him. You sighed softly and took a seat, smiling gently at the man.

“You're Daniel Gunderson. You're a cop, right?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Gunderson nodded.

“I'm uh, Nigel Tufnel, The Chicago Tribune. Mind if I ask you a couple of questions, about your partner?” You bit your lip and looked at the man.

“Yeah, I do. I'm just trying to have a beer here.” Gunderson sighed.

“Dean, let’s go.” You whispered so that only Dean could hear you but he wasn’t listening.

“That's okay, I swear it won't take that long. I just want to get the story in your words.” Dean pushed Gunderson to talk.

“A week ago, my partner was sitting in that chair. Now he's dead. You going to ambush me here?” The tone in the cop’s voice was angry, hurt, and sad all at the same time. This wasn’t a good idea.

“Let’s go,” You tugged on Dean’s jacket and looked at the man. “I’m so sorry for bothering you.”

“Sorry. But I need to know what happened.” Dean ignored you, still talking to the cop. You didn’t know what would happen next but then you saw Sam coming around the corner and roughly pushed Dean out of the way. You gasped loudly and covered your mouth, watching as the scene unfolded. What the hell were they doing?

“Hey buddy, why don't you leave the poor guy alone! The man's an officer! Why don’t you show a little respect!” Sam glared at his brother. Dean didn’t say anything but walk out of the bar. You groaned slightly, giving Sam a look before chasing after Dean. When you walked outside, you saw him smirking, leaning against his car.

“You mind telling me what the hell happened in there?”

“Sorry, Y/N, but we needed you to act as normal as possible and you did. Good cop, bad cop, sort of thing.” Dean explained.

“Of course you would be the bad cop.” You chuckled, leaning right next to him, shoving your hands inside your pockets.

“You know me, I don’t do chick-flick moments.”

“Yeah right,” You laughed. “We both know that’s not true.” You looked up at him but your smile faltered and you looked down.

“What is it?”

“I keep thinking about this thing,” You pulled out the car key from your pocket. “It’s a car key but which car does it belong to and why? I think I should throw it away.” You shrugged.

“Why don’t you?” He pointed to a trash can that wasn’t even 20 feet from you.

“I feel like it’s important somehow.”

“But you won’t know unless you read the letter.” Dean nodded.

“I know, Dean, I will read the letter. Maybe I will today but I’m still thinking about it.” You sighed softly, putting the key away.

“Well, what I do know is that, that key belongs to a great car.”

“How do you know?”

“Because that key is like mine.” You looked up at him and grinned.

“My car is going to be more badass than yours.” You smirked.

“Yeah, you wish, princess.” Dean chuckled. The door to the bar opened and Sam walked out.

“Shoved me kind of hard in there, buddy boy.” Dean said, getting off his car and going to the driver’s side. Of course, Sam had to ruin the moment between the two of you.

“I had to sell it, didn't I? It's method acting.” Sam said. Dean looked confused for a second but shrugged it off, opening the door to the car.

“What'd you find out from Gunderson?” Dean asked, getting inside the car. You got in the backseat, taking your usual place while Sam did the same.

“Walter Kelly was a great cop. He was head of his class and had a bright future ahead of him. He and his wife may have had fights but, like everybody, he was normal. Him and his wife were ever talking about having kids.” Sam informed.

“Alright, so either Kelly had some deep-seated crazy waiting to bust out, or something else did it to him.” Dean said.

“Right.” Sam nodded.

“What'd Gunderson tell you about the asylum?” You asked, looking at Sam.

“A lot.” Sam chuckled.

“Great, I’ve always wanted to spend my time in a haunted asylum.” You said sarcastically, Dean putting the car to drive and drove off to where he knew the Asylum was located. When you got there, you looked at the place. It had a creepy setting to it and you didn’t like it at all. But you would take creepy asylum over biblical bugs any day of the week.

You got out of the car, seeing that there was a very tall fence surrounding the place and you sighed. You knew you would have to climb it, Dean and Sam way ahead of you. You watched as they effortlessly climbed the fence, dropping down on the other side of it. You bit your lip, seeing Dean’s stomach peek out for a bit.

“Sweetheart, you coming or do you want to wait in the car?” Dean grinned, both boys looking at you.

“I’m coming.” You rolled your eyes and climbed up the fence, swinging over the top and dropping down on the ground. At least this time, you didn’t hurt your ankles. You followed Dean and Sam up the steps, and walked into the Asylum.

Part Two

Masterlist // Series Rewrite Masterlist // Buy me a Coffee?

Series Rewrite tags:

@helllonearth @amyisabellal @deanwnchstr @caseykitten6 @roxalya19 @quixoticcat @supernaturalblogging

Forever tags:

@maddieburcham1 @ginamsmith @mogaruke @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @whit85-blog @inlovewithbja @spn67-sister @kdfrqqg

Dean tags:

@akshi8278 @mega-mrs-dean-winchester @winchesterandpie

Other tags:

@jensen-jarpad @notnaturalanahi @deathtonormalcy56 @27bmm

[bones-jeffersonian]

💀💀  Thank You Bones  💀💀

Day 2 - 11 Temperance Brennan’s character growth moments

The second day of the Thank You Bones challenge focus on Temperance Brennan's character growth moments and I have to say this is a very good topic and there are numerous scenes/moments where we witnessed Brennan's growth. I’ve learn a million things and even after 9 years of seeing this show, Brennan continues to be my daily inspiration (and will continue forever). Brennan’s character helped me when I needed most and I cannot imagine where I would be right now if I didn’t find Bones. Choosing 11 moments was difficult but these are the ones that had the biggest impact in me, and decided to leave here a piece of my mind for each one.

Episode 1x08 - Court scene

This was not the first episode I ever saw of Bones, but it was one that made fall in love with this show, especially this scene. Brennan after solving a crime have the role of being an expert witness when the case goes to court, and as in all her work she is meticulous and straightforward delivering the evidence, as the way she ought to be in my opinion. Nevertheless, the jury never fully understand her and consider her cold (as most people think) and quickly sympathise with the defendant expert witness, which in this particular episode was Brennan's old teacher. And since he knows her and her methods and how she delivers the evidence, he uses it in his favour, trying to discredit Brennan's work. Of course Brennan get frustrated because she is showing all the necessary prove to condemn the murder suspects and everyone seems to discard her evidence. And then she reaches a breaking point and have that emotional and truthful testimony, which until now has shown to me the true nature of Temperance Brennan. Yes she testify without leaving behind every scientific detail of the case, pronouncing all the scientific jargon but in no way or moment she is being less truthful to the victim, she understands more than anyone what she reads from the bones, what the victim suffered, where the victim lived, which fractures the victim may have suffered. Quoting Brennan from another episode : "People lie. But bones always tell the truth". She never understood why people didn’t like her and knew people didn’t follow her thought but she showed them how much she care, how she sees the truth in the bones, and doesn’t matter if she is nicer or even likeable when standing in court. The only important thing is to make justice and show the truth.

Episode 3x12 - Last scene between Brennan and Booth

First I love this episode in so many ways, that I will comment on two issues related to today's subject. By this time, everyone already knew that Brennan was a foster kid for some years and it was an experience which profoundly left marks. And, despite how in the beginning she was reluctant to temporarily taking care of baby Andy, she was so incredibly adorable, and took care of him and give him so much love when the poor baby had lost his mother (I could never believe there are people saying that Brennan has no emotions). My point here is that even if Brennan had always thought about not having children, because in her perspective and experience the world is a cruel place to bring a child, I noted a small change of opinion or at least a consideration in the future in terms of having children (which thankfully we all witnessed). She has some bad memories from her childhood, and in that way she did everything to find a good family for Andy, to prevent him to go through the same experiences as she did in foster care. The second point is when Brennan decides to give some of her money to the town which was facing with serious financial problems. At the beginning Brennan seems unmoved related to this matter and even comments that on a financial perspective this happens a lot of times. Although I never believed she was indifferent to the problem, and I had my prove at the end when she decides to help them build the town again, and consequently help the new Andy's family survive and get him the chance to grow up in his and his mother birth town.

Episode 3x13 - Living room scene between Brennan and Booth

I added this episode in the first day tribute and I chose again for the second day because Brennan learned so much in this episode. She is divided between what is rational and what her heart wants. Though the heart is just a muscle and can't obviously think. She reunited with her father after so long and now he is facing murder charges. She wants her father not to be condemned but she also see by all evidences that he might be guilty. The scene with Booth in Brennan's house is amazing, "You're not Dr. Brennan today. You're Temperance. [...] The scientist part of you got sidelined, temporarily". I believe she understood both parts but she was nervous of choosing what her heart wanted. And then, for my delight and inspiration, she chose both. She wants her father not be convicted and she found a logic way to prove his innocence. Though in the end those proofs were not physical, but indeed a theory that she might have committed the murder herself, she used logic and reasonable data to induce that theory. And she had her most wanted result, her father was declared not guilty and he could finally share a life with his daughter. So many things Brennan has taught me, but one that remains transversal to all the others, is that no matter how cold it may seems to choose the rational option, we can always use both heart and brain for any decision in life. There is no prejudice in throwing a rational variable in the overall equation, and make it work with the heart component.

Episode 5x10 - Car scene between Brennan and Booth

This episode is set on Christmas time, and despite this is my favourite holiday, it is not the entire reason why this episode is one of my favourite. When in the beginning sounded like Santa Claus ruined Christmas by robbing a bank, soon the truth was revealed, bringing sadness with it. A simple yet honest man was chosen randomly and forced to rob a bank and ended up dying, whom funeral was schedule to Christmas morning. I cannot imagine the pain that mother endured. And thus, Brennan's reaction was my one and once more we saw that she has indeed a bigger heart than most give her credit for. She tries not to attach to the victims she investigates because it can be painful like this one, but sometimes the emotion is too big to overcome. And Brennan ultimately decides to go to the funeral of the victim, giving support to his mother, something that probably Brennan never imagined doing it. Sometimes is the little things that counts.

Episode 6x09 - Whole episode honestly but specially the car scene

There is so much to say about this episode that I am afraid on rambling indefinitely. This episode means a lot to me in so many ways, not only because I saw a beloved character going through a critic emotional state but also because I relate to the story in a way. Brennan in this episode “sees” so many similarities between the victim and herself. An important job, a big career, very focused on work, very little personal life. And she comes to the realization that maybe she will have the same fate as the victim, that no one will notice her absence. She realizes then that she may have lost the opportunity to be happy, she could've lived differently and that scene in the car shock me to death. I am not saying that Booth should've run to her and leave Hannah. This is life and sometimes the timing can ruin everything (and we all knew they are meant for each other so eventually they would get together). It was heart crushing seeing Brennan crying in the car but in my opinion this was a turning point in her life. She understood that are somethings in life she can't put on hold or even ignore. She didn't had her outcome (yet) but in the end she is in peace with herself, she is sad, but it is so much better than dead. And most important, she is not alone.

Episode 6x22 - Room scene

Despite so much happened in this episode and scene, I will be focusing on Brennan's reaction to the death of Vincent Nigel Murray. The sudden death in the platform was incredible emotional and Brennan couldn't contain the tears right there when Vincent just died right in front of her. And then she quickly focus on giving support to the people around her. She quickly tries to explain to Booth that it wasn't his fault and tries at all cost proceed with the investigation and find Broadsky. Just after the reality settles down she truly feels everything that happened that day. And what really breaks my heart was that she thought Vincent's last words were related to her work with him, that she wanted him to leave. She was so devastated by his departure and even question how can there be a god if he lets good people go away. I ask the same question multiple times honestly. My point is, that no matter how people see she is hard with her interns it's only to help them improve to be better and efficient scientists. As in episode 11x18, as Arastoo pointed out, Brennan cares so deeply for her interns and most people don't see it just because she is direct and very professional on the lab. After Vincent's death I don't think she started to love more her interns (she always did), but rather show them more her affection in the little things, because she wants them to know that she is grateful for having them.

Episode 7x07 - All episode, but specially the birth scene

Well this episode is just amazing and again there is so much to discuss. But I want to particularly focus on the birth scene, because I do believe much changed in Brennan's character. We could see during this season that Brennan feels a little afraid of having a family (and all that entailed), which is already such a difference compared to when she rationally decided to have a child on 4x25. The circumstances changed and most important Brennan grew. I often remember about the scene where Angela said to Brennan when she was pregnant, that she shouldn't just hold on the bad moments of her childhood, but to find those happy moments with her family before her parents went away. And I think when Brennan first held Christine she truly understood the concept of family and what happiness can be. Family is such an important matter in Brennan's life (and all the other characters really) and, as I already referred, she has a perspective which didn't allowed her to be excited and happy when thinking about a family. And despite her bad memories and experiences, I am really glad she had the chance to write her own history and have a family she deserves. This is in my perspective a turning point, where we have episodes like 3x12 or the interview in 1x11 when she said she would never have children, to I am pregnant again and I can continue eating cookies! This is for me one of the biggest growth of Brennan's character (and of course we were very lucky to see it).

Episode 10x02 - Sweets' funeral

This episode is full of emotions for every character. Once again, Brennan had to face the loss of a friend in such a sudden way. Despite all the differences between Brennan and Sweets they were truly friends and even lived together for a while. I chose this moment, not only because of the pain Brennan endured of the loss of a friend, but also because of the support Brennan gave Daisy. Daisy lost her love and the father of her child. And even though Daisy still was Brennan's intern, she put it on the side those titles and help her in this time of need. Brennan could see how much someone can lose, and how some things matter more than others "Loving each other, that’s what makes life worthwhile". And it wasn't only the support she gave Daisy on this time, we could see on the following episodes Brennan was always there when Daisy needed, in her personal and work life. As I said before, I never doubted Brennan cared about people, I just think she had trouble in show it, in part maybe because no one ever cared for in the same way. And we see she is much more open to it, she has no doubt in showing her care and love to her family and friends.

Episode 11x18 - Last scene focused on Brennan’s perspective

With Christine growing up, Brennan expects nothing than brilliance from her daughter. And on those terms, Brennan believes Christine will follow her mother's footsteps and become an extraordinary forensic anthropologist. She just doesn’t believe that Christine’s brilliant mind should be used for something with less purpose. I understand Brennan's point of view but seeing her adapt her ideals were so rewarding. This whole episode is perfect because it dignifies what a person want to be when grows up, and despite this is a common question for children I truly loved that they applied on adults. Isn't never too late to have new dreams and expectations for the future. And in this case, seeing Brennan changing her expectations related to Christine were simple the purest. Christine can be whatever she choses, Brennan will be there to support and love her. Hence, she wants to be the mother of the world’s greatest car sales person.

Episode 11x20 - Last scene between Clark and Brennan

Maybe I have already stated this a million times before but honestly is never enough. In this episode we could see that Brennan doesn't only care for Clark but have a high respect for his work. During this episode she was always truthful  to the evidence presented to her and never consider Clark to be the murdered. Not only she remained objective throughout the investigation as she cleared Clark’s name and prove his innocence. And after that Brennan even helped restore his accuracy in the scientific community, and explain to Clark that a true scientist confronts his mistakes and move forward. Besides this, Brennan even agreed on staying at a first name basis with Clark! This moment/episode once again showed the true friend and brilliant teacher Brennan is. She saw this man grew into an excellent forensic anthropologist and I believe she couldn’t be prouder.

Episode 12x02 - Brennan's birthday party

In this episode we see again the results of the long path of Brennan's character growth. First her own birthday party: I don't think in the past Brennan would care about throwing herself a birthday party. I loved how she wants it to make the party for her family and friends and not particularly for her. Again this woman is amazing. Second Brennan’s recommends Angela for the MacArthur grant: Angela and Brennan's friendship is such an important relationship in this show, it helped Brennan find someone who truly cared about her and helped her sometimes see the world in different ways. And even though in the past Brennan may seemed careless and uninterested on Angela's work, I never doubt Brennan respected and admired Angela's work. I think that is what Brennan saw in Angela when they first met (though is not in screen). She recognised an immense talent and she knew Angela could be so much more. This award is just the perfect recognition of the amazing Angela's work and how much Brennan care and admire. Third Brennan's recommendation of Daisy to NFL: again as I commented before, Brennan grew and shows more her respect and friendship to her interns, and Daisy was an example of it. No matter if in the past they had their divergences, Brennan sees Daisy as a respectful and brilliant scientist and colleague and thus recommended her for the job for the NFL, which Daisy got it. These ladies have gone through some rough paths but they respect each other work and have a beautiful friendship.

[sscsldcp]

Something Rotten Tour: Previews

This is going to be a LONG post with a lot of notes from the Something Rotten Tour! I saw it January 14th and 15th in Schenectady.

WARNING: SPOILERS. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE GOING TO SEE THE TOUR. YOU WILL ENJOY IT MORE IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE CHANGES. TRUST ME. 

If I wrote UPDATE, its something that either changed or I didn’t notice the first night but did in the next show

Welcome to the Renaissance: Instead of saying ‘and everything is new’ the minstrel said ‘whats a famous bard to do’

UPDATE: He was perfect this time!

It is so weird seeing the new ensemble, especially when two shakespeare understudies next to each other, because they look identical

2 ensemblists had to pull open the theater for the beginning since nothing is mechanic

Nick and Bea’s house is made of 2 different boards and a door, also brought on by ensemblists

MAGGIE AS BEA IS SO CUTE. Its similar to Heidi’s Bea but not exactly like her

During Right Hand Man, when she says ‘Then I’m your go to guy’ he does finger guns and when Nick said ‘You’re not a guy’ he does these half assed finger guns back

When she says ‘So don’t be a sexist pig’ she grabs Nicks collar, pulls him down to be shorter than her (she is probably 5-6 inches shorter than Rob), then puts him in a choke hold while she continues singing

Instead of flopping down on the bed, Josh kneeled down then crawled in a circle once or twice like a dog before settling down

AUTUMN. IS. GORGEOUS. Her Portia was adorable, although it sounds a bit forced

Bro Jerry was hilarious. He got so many laughs in places that didn’t get laughs before

Shylock was so funny. It is weird seeing someone who's younger (50s-60s as opposed to 78) in the role but he brought new life to it

Nostradamus is a mixture of Brad and David. Not quite as outgoing as Brad (nothing can replace Brad!), but very very funny

New shoes for A Musical!! No longer red, now sparkly purple and green!

UPDATE: the shoes changed because now they work for both A Musical and Bottom’s Gonna Be On Top, I’m assuming this was done to lighten the load of shoes needed for tour

Still weird seeing the set being brought on by the actors

I Love the Way was adorable as usual, I love Autumns singing voice, she reminds me more of Kate than anyone else

Autumn doesn’t say ‘IT’S A LETTER’ which upsets me deeply

SHAKESPEARE VALET IS NO LONGER ITS OWN CHARACTER. ITS JUST A LEATHER BOY WITH A HAT.

Will Power was the same, except the stage, again, is dragged out by the leather boys

I am loving the new leather boys though (no one can replace the broadway leather boys, but for a tour cast I love them)

New Shakespeare Jackets! This one is a sparkly silver, similar to the last one, and the act 2 jacket is all gold and very shiny. Its basically the Sciottospeare jacket revamped

Instead of the ‘thanks for helping with my wood’ line, Rob screamed at the leather boys ‘WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!’ and they were so confused

Nick screamed off to Bea ‘IM GONNA BE A FATHER’ before he was alone on stage and did the usual ‘I’m gonna be a father….!’

Portia is wearing a coat similar to the blue one in I Love the Way in pastel green for the party scene

Before she falls over, she tried to sit on the bench, but someone was sitting there, so she stumbled around to the back and fell forward on to her stomach behind the couch instead of backwards

“CHESS. No wait that cant possibly work” was changed to “HAIR. That would just be weird”

Bottoms Gonna Be On Top had a few changes

In response to “Master Bottom you’re such a wonderful writer”, instead of saying “Why thank you”, Rob said ‘I can hear ‘em now!’

Instead of Lord Clapham saying “You’re the greatest” and Shylock saying “You da man!” Shylock says “You’re the greatest” and EVERYONE- Nigel, Bea, the Ensemble, and Shylock say “You da man!”

Hard to Be The Bard was pretty much the same, just different tracks did different things (I know a majority of the tracking at this point so I can say for sure things were changed)

In We See the Light, the male puritan carry in the benches while they all walk in singing ‘no no that won’t do’

Bro Jerry has 2 less puritans following him (he has 2 instead of 4)

UPDATE: Josh dropped the hat. He almost dove for it, but the throw was nowhere near him

Nigel and Portia didn’t dance during we see the light! I think it works because its supposed to be their dream, so when they danced it kind of ruined it. Now they stand in the middle of everything holding each other and its adorable

UPDATE: Dancing is back!

After Nigel goes ‘Let it speak for my soul’ he usually sits down at his desk and starts writing while the troupe comes in and then they start rehearsing. That was not the case.

After he said it the first time, the music changed and he said ‘Let it speak for my soul’ again, AND THEN “Sure as the day, follows the night, sure as the sky turns to blue, this much I know, this much is true, above all else in whatever you do, to thine own self be true” in a new tune

Then, Nigel wants to start with “The Princes Soliloquy”

Normally when the ensemble starts saying ‘this much I know, this much is true, above all else in whatever you do, to thine own self be true’ they do a soft shoe tap number with the music while Nigel watches. NOW- the music stops and they start singing a cappella, and Nigel joins in. Personally I am not a fan of this change

Update: I miss the tapping, but the a cappella this time was REALLY GOOD

To Thine Own Self is not really as much of a song anymore. It’s become more like arguing to music with the chorus being sung. If you saw previews its similar to that. I have most of the dialogue typed out if anyone wants it. Here is a snippet where there was a MAJOR change.

Troupe+ Nigel: “Sure as the day, follows the night, sure as the sky turns to blue, this much I know, this much is true, above all else in whatever you do, to thine own self be true” -

Nick: It’s beautiful but we don’t have time for this. I know, for a fact, that Omelette will be known as perhaps the single greatest play ever written 

UPDATE:  It drastically changed from Nick appreciating what Nigel wrote to him 

Nick: *screaming* ‘WHERE’S THE OMELETTE!?!?!?!?!?!?!??’ 

The ensemble also would put on jackets before they started on broadway, however there are no longer jackets

Shylock line change: He walks in and says “Nickkk you’re not selling any tickets…. BECAUSE YOU’VE SOLD OUT!”

New eggs and Omelettes! They seem MUCH lighter and I think the eggs are collapsable

Someone dropped their omelette tonight but was able to catch it

UPDATE: Omelette was a mess today. First, a piece of bacon nearly ended up in the pit. Then one poor guy had such bad luck with his egg. First his yolk undid inside his costume and went out the bottom, leaving him with 2 feet of fabric around his feet. He tried his hardest to tap but he nearly fell over because he was getting stuck in the fabric. Then, the egg shells on their head are magnetic, and I think their are multiple magnets (there is one on the side for like a piece of ham or a mushroom once they turn into an omelette) and his egg shell got stuck on the wrong magnet which ended up covering his eyes. At that point, the poor guy gave up and tapped off into the wings.

Court scene: ‘Exit Shakespeare!’ is followed by ‘Shakespeare’s leaving’ at which point everyone in the stands runs after him

Stage door: It was INSIDE which was amazing. Night 1 I met Rob, Josh, Maggie, and Adam. There were maybe 20 people in a nice calm line that night.

Adam greeted me with ‘Hi Sweetie how are you!? Thank you so much for coming!’

Rob greeted me with a hug and saying how it was so sweet that I came

Maggie is SO SWEET. I told her how I’ve seen it *just a few* times on broadway and she was like oh my god thats amazing, thank you for coming!

The next say stage door was MAD. There were probably 60-80 people there just mobbing the stage door. Adam, Rob and Josh came out again, and this time Daniel Beeman (my second favorite in the ensemble AND Shakespeare u/s), Kyle Anderson (my favorite in the ensemble and Nigel u/s, he took over Brian Ogilvie’s track), and Scott Cote (Brother Jeremiah) came out.

Daniel, Kyle, and Scott clearly were not planning to stage door and were shocked when they opened it to the mob that was there. Daniel was super sweet and signed autographs and took pictures anyway. As did Scott, who also appreciated that I thought he was the funniest Brother Jeremiah after I’ve seen the show so many times. However, Kyle really did not want to stage door. As soon as he walked out, he stood against the door and was like ‘OH MY GOD.’ He truly is Nigel, and he will make an AMAZING Nigel and I hope he replaces Josh once Josh’s contract is up. He signed a few autographs before he ran out. I sadly didn’t get to talk to him, and even though he was standing behind me I figured I should just leave him be.

I talked to Adam for a bit and asked if he got new jackets, which he confirmed and was very impressed that I noticed.

I waited for the mob to dissipate a bit before I talked to Rob, and once it did I asked him about the line changes, mainly ‘WHERE IS THE OMELETTE’. Rob said they asked him to try that in the show that morning (I saw a matinee, so maybe at 4 or 5 hours earlier). I told  him how with that line I can finally see Nick as a bad person, like you are supposed to. He appreciated that because that is what you are supposed to be thinking there.

I really love this cast, at leas those who I have been fortunate enough to meet. They are all such sweet people.

All in all, I enjoyed the tour. It is definitely not broadway, but it is as close as it could get. A lot of the changes help to clear up confusion that may have been there, and the rest make the show better as a whole. There are some things I miss from broadway, but this isn’t broadway, its the tour, so it is a good time for a change! If the tour is going anywhere near you I would definitely recommend going!

[marap]

Blindspot 2.12 thoughts:

+ Borden Nigel, you are creepy. I was almost expecting you to just throw Parker over the railing.

+ It just occurred to me - of course Borden had to be bad. Why? He’s British. Charmed has taught me that if there’s a Brit, they are most likely a demon. If Nas wants to follow this pattern, I’d be okay with it. Then Weller and Patterson could bond over their I-slept-with-the-enemy commonality.

+ Oh, Reade. This is such a cliche storyline. Downward spiral into booze and women.

+ Zapata talking out of the side of her mouth still bugs me.

+ Kurt, you really shouldn’t have told Allie to go to Colorado. I also think it’s really lame that Ali would even consider it. I don’t buy it. It’s like the writers are trying to backtrack on their initial decision. It’s as if they thought ‘oh crap, we can’t have a baby on this show’ and had to improvise, even if doesn’t fit Ali’s character. But I digress. Let’s move on.

+ I just don’t care about Roman. I don’t dislike him, I just have zero interest. I feel like it’s really affecting my ability to fully appreciate and enjoy this season.

+ Jane being Roman’s cheerleader is getting a little old. I also find it unbelievable. I get that the team aren’t exactly being kind to her, and that she’s desperate for someone to be there for her. But how can she think Roman loves her? He hasn’t shown that in any way, if you ask me. Also, she was desperately clinging to the idea that Oscar cared for her, and look how well that turned out. I don’t know, I just feel like Jane is coming across as rather OOC and naive, simply because the writers are overdoing her pro-Roman-ness.

+ Jane is rocking the lipstick.

+ Weller, it’s nice you are finally showing some protectiveness toward Jane. But why would you remind her of the (awful) way you treated her?

+ I did like how Jane had some doubts once Roman shot Weller and Reade. She doesn’t fully trust him, and she is starting to realise that. Her answer to his question about whether she trusts him was telling. Her words said yes, her face said no. It’s like she is trying to stifle the new doubts she is having.

+ Does this team EVER have a plan that doesn’t go bad?

+ Patterson seemed to suddenly turn on Nas in that conversation. She suddenly started blaming Nas. Which was okay by me, but still, it seemed sudden.

+ Roman is handling this mission pretty darn well. Especially considering he has had his memory wiped and been living in a glass and concrete box.

+ WellNa finally reached the Well, Nah point. However, that was the lamest, least dramatic breakup ever. I mean, were they even officially together? Again, it’s like the writers just did a backtrack, as if they thought ‘Oh crap, we never said that Weller and Nas stopped sleeping together. We better fix that’. Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by this realisation that they wouldn’t be bed-buddies any longer.

+ Nas, just between you and me, Weller doesn’t have feelings for you. He just wanted a bed-buddy.

+ The Jeller is nice, but it just doesn’t sit right with me that JANE is being SO nice to Weller, when he is still being a JERK to her. Maybe not as much as before, but STILL. I wanted Weller to make amends with her, reaching out to her and sincerely apologising for his behaviour. I want him to support her and empathise with her and show that he truly regrets the way he has treated her.

+ I almost feel like it’s a little misogynistic to depict that the woman is the one totally to blame, and that she has to earn the man’s forgiveness. KURT TREATED JANE TERRIBLY AND OFFERED LITTLE TO NO SUPPORT AFTER SHE WAS PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY TORTURED FOR MONTHS, AS A RESULT OF HIS ACTIONS - UNINTENTIONAL OR NOT. AND YET JANE IS THE ONE WHO HAS TO MEND THE RELATIONSHIP? SHE’S THE ONE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND SHOW REMORSE? It is verging on hinting at a woman-stuck-in-abusive-relationship scenario. SERIOUSLY.

+ JANE IS TOUGH, BUT SHE IS DUE FOR A SERIOUS BREAKDOWN AND IT’S LAME THEY NEVER GAVE HER THAT. I thought it might be coming last week, but nope. Yes Jane is strong, but she has also been through an IMMENSE amount of trauma. And yet she just keeps chugging along, helping everyone else while no one helps her. It’s ironic, considering that this could be seen as a feminist approach, but they simultaneously depict her as being almost unworthy of her male counterpart’s forgiveness.

+ Nice end Jeller scene, but I still can’t 100% appreciate it, for reasons explained above. I feel like all they needed to do was have one or two scenes BEFORE we got to the point where Jane felt comfortable enough going over to his place again. For instance, they could have had Jane freak out last week and have Weller support and comfort her, and also apologise for all the pain he has caused her. That would have been a start.

+ Rude cliffhanger.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Quest for Varian

This is one of the better episodes of the first season and arguably of the whole series, but like most arc episodes from season one, it’s let down by the events of later seasons. 

Summary:  After another nightmare about her hair, Rapunzel receives a message from Varian saying he may have solved the mystery of the rocks and needs her help finding the bronze Graphtyc. Rapunzel and her friends journey to Old Corona, which is now overgrown by the Black Rocks. Along the way, they come across a group of masked figures who are out to stop Rapunzel from seeking the answers she wants.

These Prophetic Dreams Go Nowhere

Rapunzel has had them previously in What the Hair and she has them again during The Return of the Alchemist, but they don’t add anything outside of this one episode. 

Rapunzel learns nothing from them other than to be a vague warning of what she is ignoring. They don’t actually show they future, they reveal no hidden meaning, and they just disappear after the first season for little reason. We never find out why she was having them, why Varian was the only other person connected to them and not say, Cass, nor what was causing them. 

Dreams and prophecies can build tension, but you gotta explain where they come from, their place within the world, and how they tie back into the narrative. 

Rapunzel Only Cares About Varian When It Affects Her Personally

I want you to keep in mind that it's been nearly three months since Queen for a Day. Season one takes place over the course of six months, ending with Rapunzel’s birthday. Queen for a Day is meant to be the mid-season finale and we are already planning for her birthday in this episode. Also for further evidence, if you’ve watched the series in production order as intended, then we’ve had seven episodes between the two. 

During this entire time Rapunzel hasn’t thought of Varian outside of how letting him down has made her feel. She doesn’t actually care that he’s in trouble and is only getting involved now because she’s having nightmares and personally needs answers. 

You can’t constantly claim that Rapunzel is this kind and compassionate person when she abandons children for months on end while only thinking of herself, and then never actual apologizes for it.    

Rapunzel Knows About the Rumors and Does Nothing

Nigel is literally repeating them to her point blank and she says nothing. She doesn’t correct him nor tries to stop them from spreading, and then dares to act shocked when Varian mentions how they affected his life in the next episode.  How hypocritical can you get? 

Oh yeah, the King exists...

Frederic is a Liar

The lie about the rocks is obvious, but there’s more to it then that. He’s also lying about the rumors as well. We don’t know who started the rumors about Varian attacking Rapunzel, whether it was Nigel or Frederic, but we do know that Frederic does know the truth because he’s read Rapunzel’s diary. He’s using the rumors to his advantage in keeping Varian quiet regardless if he started them or not. This is an abuse of power. 

Frederic has Chased an Orphan Out of His Home

Varian’s letter tells us that the guards have been after him and the scroll for awhile now. That’s why he needs Rapunzel to go get it for him and why he has to go through these elaborate means to reach her. He’s not just been abandoned for months; he’s been unfairly hounded by the authorities and forced to survive on the run. 

Also keep in mind that it’s been shown that Corona has an unjust legal system that unfairly and harshly punishes poor people. The king could very well imprison, banish, or hang Varian if he catches him and it wouldn’t be out of character for Frederic to do so. 

Varian Shouldn’t Have had to Ask for Help a Second Time

Rapunzel’s defenders try to act like her helping Varian here somehow makes up for her abandoning him for months, and no. No, it doesn’t. 

First off, three months. Second off, this is her responsibility as both a princess and as an adult, and she’s ignored it until it was convenient to her; till she had something to gain from helping. Last off, Varian is a child. 

There’s no excuse for abandoning a child, ever. I don’t care for how long. Rapunzel does not have any sort of defense when it comes to her treatment of Varian; end of story. I do not care how much you personally like her as a character. Accept that your fav did a bad thing and move on. 

I Actually Like Eugene’s and Cassandra’s Relationship Here and How it’s Grown; Shame Future Seasons Never Focus On It Again

Like seriously, does Cass and Eugene even have another conversation during season two? Do we see them spending any time together outside the group? They get zero focus after this season. Also, don’t get me started on how season three screws them both over. 

Upon Figuring Out the Truth About Quirin, Rapunzel Decides to Throw a Pity Party

No, “Oh no, Varian is alone in the world!” or, “Oh crap, this is what Varian needed me for’; not even a “Oh poor Quirin.” Just a “Poor me, I feel guilty now” instead. And not even guilty for treating Varian badly, just guilty for touching the rocks, i.e. something that she can’t be held accountable for by the narrative.

Once again, do not try to pass off your main character as a kind and caring person if all you’re going to do is have her selfishly focus on her pain all the time. 

Why Would You Say that Cass? 

No seriously, why would you say that? Aren’t you supposed to be Varian’s friend? Weren’t you also there with Rapunzel when he asked for help? Did he just not warn you in his letter that he was being chased by someone for the scroll? What possible reason would you have not to trust him at this point in the narrative? Also, you’re wrong. They aren’t with Varian, so this isn’t a case of foreshadowing either. 

Cap Fights His Own Daughter Here Out of ‘Duty’ and The Show Never Calls Him Out For It

Look, I like Cap. He’s the best father, nay, best parent, in the show, hands down. And this situation is mostly Frederic’s fault. But he’s not blameless either.

In season one he constantly chooses loyalty to the crown over doing what is actually right. He chases down a defenceless teenager who has been recently orphaned and drives him from his home on the excuse of ‘orders’. He attacks his own daughter and the princess on the excuse of ‘orders.’ Even in the finale he chooses ‘orders’ over his own daughter’s happiness. 

This all could have tied into season three’s narrative, but the show is so hyper fixated on Rapunzel and her relationship with Cass, that any attempts to call out this behaviour falls flat. There’s no proper focus on his and Cass’s relationship and no real resolvement of their issues. 

This Isn’t Foreshadowing 

Look, if your only ‘hint’ for the big plot twist in season three is a split second shot in season one of a character doing a totally normal thing, that you have to send the viewers on a quest to find, then you’ve failed at writing. 

Sorry Ricky, but your ‘quest’ sucks and this story sucks. 

Cass Has No Excuse For Not Knowing What Gothel Actually Did to Raps Because Eugene Is Literally Telling Her the Whole Story In This Scene

Speaking of dumb twists, the writers pointed out this scene as a clue for the Gothel twist but it actually undermines the narrative because now Cass has no logical reason to ever think Gothel wasn’t anything but abusive. She should very well know that Rapunzel had a sucky childhood because she’s actually seen it. 

Rapunzel and the Mains Now Know About Frederic Framing Varian and Do Nothing About It

Varian sent them a letter telling them he’s being hunted down for the scroll. They get chased when they find the scroll. They’re informed by the people chasing them that Frederic sent them after the scroll. Yet, all they care about is why Frederic order this in the first place and not about the obvious abuse of power that this is. Nor about the kid that still on the run for his life. 

Conclusion 

Look it may seem I’m being harsh on Rapunzel here, but honestly the problem isn’t that she’s made a mistake, or is selfish this one time, or that she did a bad thing. No, the problem is that narrative never holds her to account. She never acknowledges that she was wrong. That is the biggest failing of the show. It takes what is, at first, a fun, complex story and turns it into a cringe fest. So much so that once good episodes now become painful to sit through. 

[daleisgreat]

WWE Network Original Special First Half 2017

I am posting this a little later than I wanted to, but I am finally here with my recap of original content for the WWE Network for the first half of 2017. I want to kick off this installment picking up where two new series that premiered last year left off and see how they have since progressed.

Holy Foley - WWE released the final five episodes of their version of The Osbournes in January of this year. The first five episodes reminded me why I detest most reality TV shows with so many painfully telegraphed family issues being pushed to the forefront. Once again, the focus is on Dewey breaking in as a WWE storyline writer and Noelle trying to make it as a wrestler, or as she likes to painfully call it in corporate WWE speak several times every episode ‘Superstar.’ Mick is also up to some hijinx in each episode in his post-wrestling career, and most are unfortunately insufferable to endure. A lot of the primary plot lines in this second batch of episodes are a chore to get through with only a sprinkling of genuine entertaining scenes like Noelle getting five star tutelage in promos from Enzo. If you are looking for a reality show fix on the WWE Network stay away from this and stick with some of the original Tough Enough seasons instead. 205 Live - When I last talked about 205 Live, it was only several episodes into its run and Neville just debuted on the 205 scene. Since then Neville has stole the show and is one of the few legit high marks of 205 Live as he has been the main draw of the show and its champion since January of this year. His three-PPV feud with Austin Aries was the promotion’s runaway best rivalry for the first half of 2017. I was bummed to see Aries ask for and was granted his release shortly after his feud with Neville wrapped up since Austin could have been a great mentor to newer talent.

The other feuds on 205 Live have been more lighthearted in nature, and since they rarely get spotlighted on PPV, they kind of drag on for two-to-three times longer than they should, for better or worse. On the last WWE Network blog I mentioned how Alexander and Noam Dar were vying for Alicia Fox’s affection, and that whole angle played out until just a couple weeks ago when Dar finally dumped Alicia after several months of the two being constantly hot and cold in their relationship. Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali had a lengthy feud over Gulak protesting Ali’s high-flying style and Gulak promoting his grounded/technical style more. Their feud finally wrapped up with a PPV quality, 2-out-of-3-falls match this past week. These are just two examples of feuds with wrestlers that probably would not have been promoted as highly on RAW and Smackdown. 205 Live is missing something keeping it from being destination programming and must-see like the Cruiserweight Classic tournament last year. Hopefully they can work in those missing pieces this year, or else I fear the writing may be on the wall for the cruiserweight division. Talking Smack - Wrestling fans reading this likely heard the news last week that WWE has cancelled the Smackdown Live post-talk show, Talking Smack as a weekly show which is horrible news. WWE did say it will stay on following Smackdown-branded PPVs however. Renee Young and Daniel Bryan have great chemistry and shined as hosts on the show. I loved seeing them interview talent who were sticking to their characters but did not have all their verbiage scripted out for them like they do on television which allowed the wrestlers to be more like an amped up version of themselves and get great practice at finding their voice for their on-screen personas. Speculation as to why WWE cancelled the show is because they had to wait an extra hour for 205 Live to finish before starting Talking Smack, and Shane McMahon not being as plugged in and engaged as a backup co-host while Daniel Bryan was away on Paternity Leave.

I loved watching Kevin Owens, The Miz, The Usos and Baron Corbin the most on Talking Smack. All four of them are great natural heels, especially Owens as he went the extra mile to mess with the hosts. A recent Talking Smack will also mark the only time that Eric Rowan was legit entertaining in his sole appearance on the program that had me cracking up at how unpredictable he was and how he was throwing Renee off her game. I will also give mad props to the Usos doing fantastic work as heels this past year, while also having some of the best segments on Talking Smack when they team up with Bryan for the most endearing improv rap sessions in pro wrestling history (just check out how affable Daniel is with his rap hat in those videos and you will know what I mean). Rest in peace, Talking Smack, at least it will still be on once a month. Legends with JBL - Speaking of cancelled WWE Network shows, JBL’s shoot-interview series got cancelled this past February after it aired its final two installments with interviews for Stan Hansen and Jimmy Hart. Of those two I would recommend the Hansen interview because he has rarely done interviews with WWE before and he has a ton of classic stories from his career that will likely be new to those hearing from this legend for the first time. Just like before, JBL does his research and asks tons of good questions and follow-ups, so make sure to binge through his entire archive if you have not before.

Bring it to the Table - This is a new show that debuted this year that WWE runs around once a month. Radio personality, Peter Rosenberg is joined by Corey Graves and JBL as they breakdown the latest main event storylines and behind-the-scenes news in a ESPN PTI/Around the Horn format of time limit debates. It makes for an interesting show, as everyone is trying to be quick on their feet with their two cents and sometimes will get called out on the following show for sometimes biting off a little more than they could chew like Corey Graves was called out for when he gave his thoughts on Shane McMahon. Nothing will beat Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith debating sports in my book, but I will give WWE credit for trying something new and I will keep tuning into this since they occasionally dive into some insider news that would surprise me they would touch on. WWE UK - WWE has premiered its UK division at the beginning of this year capitalizing on the hot UK wrestling scene from the past couple of years. They signed a lot of top UK talent and placed them in a 16-person tournament for the new WWE UK Title in Blackpool, England and had it transpire as a two-part special on the WWE Network. The atmosphere was something special as the UK fans always bring a unique dynamic to a wrestling show. Their singing and other soccer-style chants had me distracted and cringing for a good chunk of the first part of the special, but after the first round matches when most of the competition and matches amped up, the crowd also got serious and put their shenanigans to the side and got more engaged and their unique chants seemed more organic than distracting and helped made the gritty, strong UK style really pop.

Nigel McGuinness made his WWE debut announcing for the UK Championship tournament, and him and Michael Cole had a natural chemistry together, which was kind of surprising on two levels because I always thought of him as an average announcer at best before from his RoH commentary, but something must have gelled right with the two here because Cole especially stepped up his game and delivered easily his best commentary ever. Most of the matches in the tournament delivered with a unique rough, ‘smash-mouth’ style that is not that common on WWE TV, but if you were a fan of William Regal’s work then you will really love what the UK competitors bring to the ring. WWE only did the two-part special in January, and a follow up UK special in May for their UK division shows so far. From what I understand WWE is planning a weekly UK show for the Network and already has locked down dates to record their first several weeks worth of programming in the near future so be on the lookout for that premiering soon. Miscellaneous - There were four installments of WWE 24 so far this year. The one highlighting Kurt Angle stands out the most as it is nearly an hour and covers most of the key highs and lows throughout his career. They even track down former head of TNA/GFW, Dixie Carter for her thoughts on Kurt. There is also a nice piece on Finn Balor focusing on his recovery from his brutal injury last year, and two 24 specials focused on Wrestlemania 32 weekend from Dallas in 2016. I will continue to promote Ride Along and Table for Three as entertaining and low-cost programming for WWE since it only involves placing a couple cameras around a dinner table/rent-a-car while the wrestlers talk shop and reminisce about their past. WWE pumps out about one installment a month for those two shows, and my favorite ones of 2017 so far have featured Jericho and Owens in one of their last car rides before their on-screen breakup and Maryse and Miz celebrating their anniversary in their car ride. Table for 3 has had a lot of good installments this year with the newest edition featuring a Nation of Domination reunion having a lot of good stories between Mark Henry, Godfather and Ron Simmons. WWE dug up Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly and Maryse as the trio stood up for their work during the controversial ‘Diva Search’ era of the women’s division. Also make sure to watch two explosive personalities collide as Michael Hayes does his best to keep the peace between Eric Bishoff and Jim Cornette.

Thanks for sticking with me through this. For the second half of 2017 I am anticipating WWE debuting its weekly UK show, as well as the 32-person Mae Young Classic tournament starting next month. WWE gave a sneak peak introducing all the competitors last week and after how well WWE produced the cruiserweight and UK tournaments this past year I have only high expectations that the women will step up and deliver just as effectively. Huzzzah for the WWE getting me excited about tournaments again, for the longest time WWE treated them as throw-away filler, with even the last few King of the Ring tournaments lacking the pomp and circumstance that the tournaments on the WWE Network manage to pull off. Join me again in several months to see how well they pulled it off! Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor V RoH Supercard of Honor VI RoH Supercard of Honor VII RoH Supercard of Honor VIII RoH Supercard of Honor IX RoH Supercard of Honor X ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Sting: Into the Light Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28 Wrestlemania 29 Wrestlemania 30 Wrestlemania 31 Wrestlemania 32 The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016