#raptor rewatches doctor who

[bluenotemagpie]

i have covid (round 2 bby) so i'm rewatching rise of the cybermen/age of steel again. (i say rewatching, i'm mostly skipping the lumic parts bc ehhhhh you know who i'm here for.) anyway i keep forgetting that these episodes featured the evil businessman's top henchman going "hmm i don't like the noise of all these people being brutally murdered and screaming to their deaths. let's cover it up with the lion sleeps tonight." it hits me like a truck every time

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Johnny Cage vs. Captain Falcon

Two punching stars do battle for the title of most famous man of punches.

The Community DEATH BATTLE from DBC 120/121 comes back to see the real deal.

Johnny Cage′s Preview.

Mortal Kombat. A deadly tournament where only the best of the best can hope to survive. From four-armed gladiators seeking konquest, to ninjas seeking vengance, there’s nothing that can surprise you.

Even if one of the fighters is an actor.

Johnny Cage was an actor and a stuntman. Known for his many over the top action films, like Ninja Mime, Citizen Cage, Time Smashers, and one of Boomstick’s personal favorites, Tommy Scissorfists.

But, as with many actors, Johnny’s fame was fleeting. His time in the spotlight was becoming a detriment because he was accused of being a fraud.

So, what better way to prove them wrong than to enter a tournament to the death?

Luckily, Johnny wouldn’t have to do it with a stunt double or anything. He’s mastered all sorts of martial arts, from karate to Bruce Lee’s self-made style of Jeet Kune Do.

These skills would be a good thing, because Rayden was in big trouble. Shao Khan was one win away from taking over the Earth… Because I guess he doesn’t know how much it sucks.

Anyways, Johnny didn’t have to rely on his martial arts alone to win fights. As it turns out, he’s actually descended from an ancient Mediterranean war cult that bred warriors to fight among the gods.

With these powers, Johnny has access to a variety of powers that lets him do all sorts of crazy stuff. He can shoot out balls of green energy to hit opponents from afar, the Shadow Kick can knock them that distance, or he can do a Guile impression with the Eclipse Kick (Speaking of Street Fighter, Wen Vega?).

But since Johnny is still a mortal human being, he needs a move that can get him out of trouble. And he came up with one alright. It’s the Nutcracker, the Berry Buster, the Infertilizer, the Beanbag Barrage, the "Not that kind of blow" Blow, and Boomstick’s personal favorite, the "Help, Doctor! I think they're in my ribcage!" Special! It’s even a fatality!

Of course, Boomstick give it a shot…

(Looks like Wiz learned his lesson from the preview)

Anyways, Johnny‘s got a list of feats to pull from as well.

From being able to chop through diamond, to dodging point-blank automatic gunfire, Johnny isn’t a slouch in the strength or speed department. He’s taken on deadly foes multiple times, and has even defeated the fallen Elder God Shinnok thanks to his powers.

Now, Shinnok can reasonably scale to Rayden. Rayden on his own was able to destroy a large temple.

Now, Buddhist temples tended to shy away from stone, so by using wood and concrete as a base, the estimated destruction comes out to about…

A little over 250 tons of TNT!

But Johnny is far from invincible. He’s been beaten before, and his power does have it’s limits.

But despite his arrogance, Johnny has proven that he’s a capable fighter and a powerful protector. And after having a family, Johnny has shown that he has matured to truly earn the title of Earthrealm’s protector

Incidentally, Shokan do have yamsacks.

Captain Falcon′s Preview.

In the year 2560,the Earth has gone crazy. Aliens are everywhere, space travel is a norm, and the newest sport is all the rage. F-Zero! A deadly sport where racers use anti-gravity technology to race along the tracks of insane courses. One wrong turn can lead to death.

However, the champion of this sport is a mysterious man known as Captain Falcon.

Little is known about Blue Falcon pilot. However, what is known is that he is a respected bounty hunter, one who protects the universe from the forces of evil like the vile Black Shadow.

But in order to take on Black Shadow, Falcon needs a powerful arsenal to get the job done.

From his mighty Raptor Boost, to the Falcon Dive, this is no ordinary racer. Falcon can imbue his pyrokinetic power into a variety of powerful moves.

But the most famous, and powerful is his, say it with me, FALCON PUNCH!

How he does this, is really up to anyone’s guess. However, it’s reasonable to say that the secret lies within the Captain’s Blue Falcon machine.

As it turns out, it’s powered by a thing called a Reactor Might, a fragment of power that was created by the Big Bang. As for why it’s in a racing machine, that’s anyone’s guess.

The Reactor Might can also let Falcon do some other crazy techniques with his power as well. Like the Boost Fire. And thanks to some weird mystic power that the Reactor Might uses, the Captain can call upon it at any time. No matter where he is, Falcon is never without his ride.

Reactor Mights are powerful. One of them destroyed a space station, an explosion that yielded over 6 megatons of TNT!

Of course, Falcon has to go out with a bang. In his final fight with Black Shadow. While it may look like he exploded part of a galaxy, Falcon had destroyed a prior device known as a Dark Matter Reactor. Which has the power to rewind the Big Bang using the six Reactor Mights- It’s a long story.

However, defeating Black Shadow is impressive. Since Shadow has tanked attacks from other powerful beings without even flinching.

He’s defeated multiple robots at once, torn apart a metal cage, seen a sniper miles away, and tanked bazookas.

And while Falcon accomplished his mission, it took more than one man to do so. And we’re not talking about that typical “Power of friendship” thing either. As it turns out, the name of “Captain Falcon” is a legacy title, similar to The Flash, or the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Each new Falcon is hand-picked by the previous one, so long as they can prove that they surpass them. Since Ryu Suzaku is the current one, anything the other Falcons can do, he can also pull off.

Falcon may fall, but the legacy will live on. And he will save people one raceway at a time.

One more time people.

FALCON PUNCH!

The Battle Itself.

Kervin, Luis, Kiid, Zack are using Jerky’s spritework for this animation. Johnny Cage will be voiced by Kieran Flitton and Captain Falcon will be voiced by Kestin Howard. Brandon Yates composes Falcon Uncaged (Soundtrack unavailable as of this review). Chris Kokkinos lead on audio.

The battle starts with Johnny getting footage of the F-Zero track, where they’re getting clips of a movie about Captain Falcon whom which, Johnny will be playing.

Which comes off as a bad thing when you remember that only those that surpass Falcon can be Falcon. So, as far as fight stories go, this one is actually pretty good.

So after a flurry of punches and blows, Johnny takes up the challenge.

The Falcon charges Johnny, but Johnny uses his reflexes to not only dodge, but to also hit Falcon back.

Of course, Falcon recovers and counter attacks.

And he combos (kombos?) Johnny into a Falcon Dive

Johnny, not one to give up so easily, gets back up.

Falcon goes in for a FALCON PUNCH but Johnny…

So, while Captain Falcon recovers from a “Doctor, help! I think they’re in my ribs” special, Johnny takes some time to quip.

Falcon quips back. But the two end up on a F-Zero machine and continue the fight there.

Falcon then opts to use his famous Falcon Knee Of Justice to knock Johnny into the boost pads.

Johnny uses the pads to get back at Falcon. So Falcon then grabs his ride and starts attacking Johnny.

Finishing Blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Ninja Mime needs a new star now.

Verdict + Explanation.

So, Johnny had the better martial arts, and he could even match mach speeds. But Falcon has dealt with tricky opponents before, and his other stats beat out Johnny’s.

Remember that final punch Falcon dealt?- Well, Falcon was able to create energy from the impact. Accounting for the conditions of space, this would mean that Falcon’s best energy output would be over 150 billionn joules of energy.

For reference, that’s like dropping twelve elephants onto Black Shadow, but is also thousands of times greater than Johnny’s best feat.

Now, Johnny might have defeated Shinnok, but that’s not exactly on the same level as Falcon.

Now you might be thinking “Wait, shouldn’t Johnny’s green glow help him out?”- Well, yes and no. Johnny’s powers are, well, powerful, but they’re kinda limited. While it’s a great power to have in the realm of Mortal Kombat, where deities are basically everywhere, it’s kinda restricted to Elder Gods. Even allowing for it to extend to other gods wouldn’t really help, since 1: Falcon isn’t a god, and 2: Johnny has been killed by non-deities before

So, Johnny can tank blows from god-beings, but that’s mainly because his powers let him do so. A bullet to the head or heart will still kill him unless it’s a god bullet.

The winner is Captain Falcon.

Overall impression.

Overall, this battle is really fun to both watch and look into. It takes two characters that are well known for the hype they generate and brings them in to see how well they stack up.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting Johnny to match Falcon’s speed stats at all. It was pretty surprising. Plus, seeing Falcon in action after mainly being associated with Smash Bros is a real treat, I hope that the F-Zero fans got some enjoyment out  of the episode… Bummer that the DEATH BATTLE Curse couldn’t kick in for Falcon, but them’s the breaks.

Great fight, interesting research, and awesome music.

8.7/10. Will watch again.

Next Time…

Oh, an excuse to rewatch Avatar that doesn’t involve my constantly pushing the idea of Zuko vs. Dinobot (The Beast Wars guy (It’s two warriors known for their redemption arcs. Let me have this))

And a reason to at least take a look int FMA.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Elemental Masters.

[blue-mint-winter]

BSG 4x14 Blood on the Scales rewatch

And finally in season 4 the curse of bad 14th episode was broken. This episode was good.

Gaeta finds out the hard way about Zarek’s true nature and that’s when he becomes to doubt their little revolution. Because for him it’s important how they do it.

I think Gaeta’s problem is that he is still an idealist at the core. Zarek is a pragmatist, ends justify the means sort of man. For Gaeta, the ends were truth and justice and that can’t happen when Zarek unlawfully murders Quorum and says that winners write history.

That’s why Gaeta puts Adama before a court martial for giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Romo is brought on to handle the defense but he doesn’t do much. With Zarek as the judge, this trial is a sham. It’s more like Gaeta wants Adama to admit he’s wrong, but it’s not going to happen. Adama refuses to cooperate in any capacity so he’s brought before the firing squad.

Lee and Kara bust the prisoners out, but Sam gets shot in the neck in the corridor. Kara asks Romo who was passing by to help her bring Sam to the doctor. Romo doesn’t want to and for a momentI thought he’d really leave them, but he turns back. So there is some human decency in this one crooked lawyer :)

Zarek frakking lying to Adama that Tigh was killed in escape attempt.

I like that we see people not complying with mutiny, using their common sense, like Quorum still recognizing Roslin as the President, Hot Dog refusing to shoot Roslin’s Raptor, 10 ships not preparing to jump when Gaeta wanted to move the Fleet and leave the baseship behind. And Kelly letting Tyrol escape and then changing sides.

Idk, but I really like Kelly’s portrayal in this episode. He gets redeemed from lawyer killing imo. He lets Tyrol go because they were friends and he completely abandons the mutiny when Admiral is going to be executed. Kelly just can’t take part in this and so he helps Lee’s group save Adama.

It’s interesting that Gaius on the baseship had a dream about Adama’s execution, like a premonition. And then he gets a moment of self-reflection, he feels responsible for his flock and he’s ashamed he ran again. And these realizations come because a long-haired Six reminds him of his fan club.

Roslin on the baseship is great. She comes aboard and she immediately starts bossing the Cylons around :) She keeps trying to communicate with the Fleet, she convinces Cylons to stay because Adama will triumph and they should show him their true allegiance, not run like Tory wanted. Her emotions are out in the open and I think that’s what makes Cylons respond. I liked that Leoben helped her with communications, this is the first time she interacted with him since airlocking him in S1 after he lied to her that Adama was a Cylon. Looks like Leoben atoned for that lie in this episode by helping Roslin.

That badass moment when Zarek tells her about Adama’s execution and Roslin snaps and threatens the mutineers with her every weapon, every bullet etc. EPIC, epic.

Mutineers want to jump away, but Tyrol breaks the FTL. They can’t escape from Roslin’s wrath. All in all, Tyrol seems like a better man after Earth. His relationship with Adama has really improved from that time he yelled at Admiral in the bar and got demoted.

So, Adama takes back the ship and arrests Zarek and Gaeta. Zarek wanted to fight to the bitter end, but Gaeta was smarter and ordered to stand down. He realized that resistance would be futile and only result in more unnecessary deaths.

People in CIC were looking prety relieved when Adama came back and retook command :)

I love, love that Gaius and Gaeta have that last conversation. It’s cathartic, it’s beautiful. Gaeta talks about his childhood dreams and in a roundabout way brings up his admiration for Gaius, the scientist. And Gaius, telling him “I know who you are” is so important. Gaeta has his acknowledgement, his remembrance. In these last moments, they are friends, maybe better than before because there’s no more lies or illusions between them. They both know each other through, both the good and the bad. Gaius is probably the only one who sees Gaeta for who he really is. And he’s there with him to the end, at the execution.

Gaeta’s stump was hurting him all this time but before he’s shot it stops. I like this detail so much. Maybe the phantom pain represented his guilty conscience bothering him and in that last moment, he was free from it. Everything became clear, the upside down world was finally put right.

I really regret we didn’t get to see Hoshi saying goodbye to Gaeta :(((

So the mutiny failed, Quorum’s dead and Galactica lost many crewmembers. But they have to go on.

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France episode 8 reaction

everybody’s favorite gross-out scene, made even grosser

Clip 1 - Emma going for blood

I didn’t think that anything could live up to Woodkid’s “Run Boy Run”, which is one of my favorite songs even before it was on Skam, but surprisingly they managed to pick one of my other favorite songs, “Hard Times” by Seinabo Sey. I have both of these songs on a writing playlist titled “revenge.” And I actually like the sequence of her walking over there and yelling for him outside his door.

I do like Yann. I’ve been critical of him but I don’t actually loathe him as a character or anything. I’m just really have not rooting for him and Emma to get back together in the same way that I had feelings for Eva and Jonas, like that relationship had plenty of problems but part of me still wanted those wacky kids to work it out. I really don’t feel Emma and Yann are good together, like I think being with Emma makes Yann less tolerable for me and a lot of his beef with her feels less like disappointment or betrayal, but a growing problem with who she is as a person, who her friends are and what she’s interested in, and that’s a way bigger red flag. It’s a big surprise because I had a good feeling from them at the start.

Clip 2 - Daphne “back” with Ingrid

The girl squad dynamic is certainly one of this remake’s strengths and I enjoyed this conversation. Imane’s comments about Obama are a good point and an interesting perspective. Actually I think it fits with the message of Druck’s opening monologue pretty well.

I am here for Alex’s version of the Hunger Games.

Daphne is so deeply awkward. Even more awkward than Vilde, because Vilde managed to put on this cheerful smile and say some positive (wistful) things about the girl squad’s bus, and when Pepsi Max walked in she managed to keep it together a bit more and come up with “I’ll go get my jacket” which is not a terrible excuse in the moment, but Daphne got so flustered and like WHOOPS GOTTA BLAST.

Clip 3 - Boy fight

I like Yann so much more when he’s not with Emma. Like it feels like he shows his not-so-great qualities in this relationship, which is not actually her fault, but it makes me want them to be apart.

Even compared to Jonas, Jonas suggested that Eva contact Isak and when she’s like oh yeah,  forgot, he just has a little confused look. But when Yann tells Emma to contact Lucas and she’s like, oh yeah, I didn’t have time, he questions it and pushes her to do it. Now I get it, he’s looking out for his friend in a hard time and “I forgot” (mistake) =/= “I didn’t have time” (excuse), but it’s just a subtle difference in their relationship dynamic.

Raptor Alex is even more a dick than P-Chris, man. Alex actually seems like he’s entertained by the situation while P-Chris seemed over it and well, awkwaaaaaaard.

This fight feels so forced, lol. Charles just stepping in and getting hailed as a hero … bruh, whatevs.

Literally my favorite thing William ever did on this show was slowly descend the stairs without any hurry or change in his expression and casually intervene in the fight. Charles seemed more on top of it.

Yann for fuck’s sake, Emma did not actually make Alex be a dick to you and she didn’t make you shove him. That’s your own fault. I get it, he’s still mad that she kissed Alex and this is just a reminder, but also, chill. Again: I really am not rooting for Emma and Yann to be together at all.

Eva seemed like she was trying to calm Jonas down and he stomped off, but with Emma apologizing and Yann glaring and walking off it straight up seems like Yann is blaming her for what just happened.

Clip 4 - Camille invites Emma

This scene doesn’t quite have that tone of “girls gotta support girls” but there is at least the message that girls should start paying attention to stuff other than boys who cause drama.

Yeah that food looks nasty, I wouldn’t touch it either, Camille.

Clip 5 - Girl squad love fest

I am all about that Eva/Noora in OG Skam but I think I kinda ship Emma/Ingrid here. And I’d be kinda down for a French Ingrid season, unlikely as that is. Loved her sitting with the squad.

Also good: Alex telling Manon how sexy she is in a random (made-up?) language. As well as hoping girls will “fight” over her at the party. Missed opportunity to see some of that in action!

Oh thank god they moved the Lucas confrontation to a bedroom. Can you imagine how awkward it would be in that open kitchen area within earshot of everybody?

I loved how Emma is like Lucas 😊😊 I have to tell you something! Making it seem pleasant.

Man, okay. I don’t want to rag on these actors, but my initial reaction to this scene was like “if Lucas’ big secret were that he has a bunch of bodies buried somewhere, I would believe it.” 

I just don’t get much ambiguity, vulnerability, or subtlety from him? I know they can’t all be Tarjeis but he was so damn good in this scene, even better on a rewatch, when you knew what was really going down, you could feel all the conflicted emotions underneath. Lucas just feels super blank. I think some of it is his eyes? They don’t feel very expressive.

His body language and facial expressions are so weirrrrd and stiff. I know Isak/Lucas is supposed to be fake fake fake prior to S3 but this doesn’t feel like there’s anything below that surface, and I need something to go on to have some sort of attachment to him, especially when he’s done something very shitty and hurtful. Like the way he segues between these mood shifts/ personalities is robotic.

Even the way he asks Emma not to tell Yann is creepier! It’s less like he’s worried or vulnerable and more just like ominous, though some of that is the lighting. I don’t think it’s intentional, it’s just the acting, sorry. I can see that he’s trying? It’s just not coming across well.

Was some dude taking pictures of Daphne after she collapsed? How helpful.

The way all the girls carried Daphne together was lovely.

This scene had a lot to live up to and for the most part it did a good job. The girls were sweet and had some good reactions. Though I think some of the irony/humor was lost from the fact that the song choice was pretty damn serious. The contrast of Vilde vomiting to this angelic Christian song is a funny part of a serious scene, here Daphne vomiting here and the girls laughing did feel more out of place, tonally.

Also the vomit effects were so gross. Grooooosssssss.

Imane’s facial expressions after Daphne barfed in her lap were great, though.

How much do I love that shot of Imane curling up around Daphne? How muuuuuuch ❤️❤️

The ending overhead shot of all five girls was great.

Clip 6 - morning after

It’s really odd that this scene was placed at the end of the episode instead of leaving it on the girls in bed? Especially since it’s not a Friday clip. IDK what the logic or reasoning was except juggling time limits for each episode.

We didn’t get Eva’s iconic line about blackouts but there was a nice line from Imane about God having better things to do than erase drunk people’s memories. And Manon cuts more to the chase and is more directly comforting and huggy than Noora, who brought up Vilde’s pregnancy in an awkward, roundabout way and lightly tried to play it off as just a trip to the school doctor. Manon has more of a nurturing personality.

Yo, not to take away from this touching moment and all, but am I the only one who’s concerned about the proximity of those pastries to a stick that’s been peed on? My priorities.

General Comments:

I don’t know how I feel about some of these text messages where the girls recap whatever just happened in the last clip. It happened in the original sometimes but IDK, I prefer to read random conversations about silly stuff, or stuff we can’t get in the clips.

Emma being like “Charles was great” about the fight in the chat … girl … Daphne is still in the chat. And Daphne was massively hurt by that asshole like a week or two ago. Him stepping into a fight isn’t a call to glorify his ass.

I’ve been kinda ehhh on a lot of the social media, mostly from overkill, but my favorite IG post so far is Yann and Lucas reenacting the bike scene from ET to the theme music.

The music felt a bit downplayed in this episode and used most in scenes where it was relevant, so good job.

The girl squad group dynamic is definitely one of the strongest parts of the show.

[lolcat76]

WWSRD, Sharon Raydor, and a fangirl’s thoughts.

I just finished #WWSRD and I have a lot of thoughts, so bear with me. Or ignore me. Either is fine.

First, I totally understand Mary’s frustration with the fans’ reactions across the board, and now I feel bad for making her feel bad, because I know just how lucky we are to have someone who is so invested in her art and her fans to care about what we think. I am so grateful for WWSRD to give me a chance to breathe, understand the process of creating this character every week, and see the show from the perspective of the actor who lived the character, which is such a gift for someone like me who craves that insight into character development.

I also understand Mary’s protectiveness of the show and cast and crew, and I feel even worse that our outpouring of grief and rage diminishes what they’ve accomplished over the last 13 years. The two are not related, especially in terms of cast and crew. Everyone from the directors to the actors to the tape loggers and PAs have done a wonderful job with this show. Take a bow and please accept my gratitude for a job very well done.

As you all know, I write a lot of fanfic, but I also do graphic design and corporate communications for my day job, and in those instances, when the point I’m trying to get across falls flat or someone just doesn’t like my design, my first thought is, “Well, you’re an idiot.” (And usually my second and third thoughts as well.) (Mary is a lot more diplomatic than I am.) It’s never easy to hear that someone’s reaction to something you put your heart and soul into is that it sucks and they hate it. It doesn’t, however, mean that the work isn’t valid. It’s just not necessarily being read the way it’s written, and that’s a fact of life every creator of content has to accept.

There’s a big difference between creating content and consuming content. Once a piece is created, the creator has to relinquish control over how it’s consumed, because no two members of the audience internalize art or fiction or television in the same way. That’s the whole reason we have fandom wars on this godforsaken site. Not only that, but what is satisfying for a writer or an actor is very often vastly different than what is satisfying for the audience. I can and do support Mary’s playing Sharon’s end, acknowledging it as a valid creative plot point, and loving the choices that she made – and I’m also very grateful that this podcast helps me understand those choices – and still, I’m just so heartbroken about Sharon’s death. The first is because I have enormous respect for the actor and the writers and the creative process and, the second is because I’m a fan of the actor and the writers and creative process, and sometimes those two things just don’t mesh well together, because the audience isn’t in the same place in the creative process. We didn’t have several months to process this. We had a few weeks, and I’m not speaking for anyone else, but those few weeks were pretty sucky for me.

I think anyone who cares about their job – whether it be in the entertainment industry, or accounting, or making fancy lattes – wants to do it well and wants to be challenged, and for an actor, there’s no bigger challenge than trying to portray something as difficult and emotional as a death and do it justice. The disconnect here I think is that while Mary did a beautiful job with Sharon’s last two episodes, the fans were not ready for her story to end. I’m sure the general audience watched it and thought, “Oh, that’s sad,” and went about their business, but for those of us who are probably way too emotionally attached to the character, it’s hard to separate the craft and care that went into shooting those scenes from the gut-wrenching reaction we had to watching them. My anger at what happened to Sharon has pretty much zero to do with the cast and crew, who have been phenomenal, and everything to do with my own life. That’s on me, and it’s not a reflection of the work in general, but that’s the point of art – it does touch people, and you just can’t control HOW it’s going to touch them. To quote one of my favorite inappropriate songs from the ’90s, sometimes it’s a bad touch, and that’s where I am right now.

I will say, because it’s my blog and I can be salty if I want, that I don’t think the writing or editing clarified  Mary’s analysis of Sharon’s thought processes, and I wish it had. If it had, I don’t think we’d have had the visceral reaction that Sharon put herself directly in harm’s way. Having listened to WWSRD, I can go back and rewatch those two episodes with an entirely different mindset on Sharon’s motivations and decisions, but without hearing Mary’s thoughts, some of the things she brought up were just not clear in the writing. Too many things were open to interpretation, and there were too many moments of foreshadowing in the scripts and in the editing that just made it look like Sharon was preparing to die. And, from a completely personal standpoint, that was incredibly hard to watch. From her not wanting to be a burden to going to ask for last rites, it seemed a lot less like taking control of her story and a lot more like surrendering to her fate, and it wasn’t a fate that I would choose. Mainly because to me, I’ve always been afraid that my death would be far more of a burden to my loved ones than my life is. Andy is going to have to pack up her clothes and her office. He’s going to have to sort through her finances and make sure her children are taken care of, and ensure that Rusty has the means to make it through law school. He’s going to have to live in the condo she decorated without her, and you guys, the thought of that makes me so sad I can barely stand it. The idea that it would have been easier for her children and Andy if Sharon had just died the first time she went into cardiac arrest…Nope. Nothing about death is easy, but death that comes with no warning is the hardest thing in the world to go through for the people who love you.

Being again true to form, I’m going to bring up my beloved Laura Roslin. She was introduced to us as a character who was dying, and the concept of being the Dying Leader was 100% part of who she was. Her death was awful, and I’m still not over it, but it was also beautiful and meaningful, and those last moments in the Raptor with Adama were very much the culmination of their story. Sharon’s death was…not that. Laura died with Bill, him showing her the beautiful endpoint of everything they’d worked for over the last several years. Sharon died on a gurney, surrounded by strangers, in the ER. Laura found love in spite of her impending death; Sharon died in spite of her happy life. One has poetry and meaning, and the other is just…well, I’m going to reiterate it. It was just cruel. To me, it is the complete opposite of dying doing what you love, and that waiting room scene is probably the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever watched, with her husband and son and the friends she’s come to love over the years kept out of the room, just waiting and hoping, only to be devastated by the doctor coming out to break the news.

As I said in our Fans React podcast, Sharon’s dead. She doesn’t care. Her children and her husband, though, have to figure out how to go on without her. That’s the hardest part of this – that as much as I love Sharon and grieve the loss of this kickass character, I also love the rest of the cast, and they’re going to have to soldier on without her. Watching the last four episodes knowing that they’re going to be in that kind of pain – a pain I think all of us who have lost loved ones understand – it’s hard. It’s really hard. I don’t really want to go through that kind of pain while watching a TV show that I use to escape, because it opens up a lot of things that I don’t even want to think about. Which, frankly, is why I like the “safe spaces” of television – it gives me a little break from dealing with the daily car fires of the real world.

And, to dovetail into Mary’s point about feeling grief, I hope we’re going to be able to do that in the last four episodes, because I need to grieve not only for this character that I love so much, but also for her husband and children and friends, but I’m afraid that we won’t. At its heart, Major Crimes is a crime procedural show. I know the funeral next week is going to probably knock me flat, but I’m also afraid that it will be much like the wedding – overly hyped and then three minutes at the beginning of the episode, and then BAM right into the next plot, and the next plot being the final plot that ties the two series together and omits the two female leads is just so, so disappointing.

The next four episodes will be about Stroh and his backstory and his coming after Rusty, and I know that’s a plot point that has been something like 10 years in the making, but I can’t switch gears that quickly. Nor do I want to, because my involvement with the show over the last several years has absolutely nothing to do with the cases and everything to do with the characters. I knew the Stroh story would have to come to an explosive close, but I never thought it would happen without Brenda or Sharon, and to have neither of them figure in to it just makes me wonder…what’s the point? I know that it’s Rusty’s story, but it’s just as much Sharon’s and even more Brenda’s, and to leave them both out at this point feels like a dismissal of the last 13 years, and to shove it into two nights…so frustrating.

Obviously, TNT has done a huge disservice to Major Crimes, The Closer, and even Duff in the last few years, but ramming the last several episodes into the space of a few weeks might be the worst thing they’ve done. We still have so much left to process, and trying to cram it in over a couple of nights is just really unfair to the fans.

I know life is hard. I bet you all know life is hard as well, or we’d all be out living life and wouldn’t be here on Tumblr obsessing over TV characters. I don’t need to watch TV to be reminded that life is hard, because I have to wake up every day to the dumpster fire that is American politics. I watch TV to escape the idea that life is hard.

(Temporary word-vomiting break to say that yes, HALLMARK CHRISTMAS MOVIES ARE GOOD AND LEAD TO EVEN BETTER FANFIC PROMPTS.)

Now, going back to safe spaces. That phrase is fraught right now, because at the moment Tumblr is my safe space, and GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT THAT SAYS. To address Mary’s point about the safe space of TV recognizing the evil in the world and righting it, YES, that is one of the things about MC that I love – that these characters were so deeply flawed, and yet still so moral and ethical. Living in LA, I have to say that MC made me very sympathetic to the LAPD. Every time an old 90’s Crown Vic passes me on the 110 freeway, I think, aww, Provie and Andy still have their old shitty cars from the 90s, rather than panicking about whether or not I’m speeding on the freeway. (I’m never speeding on the freeway, because LA traffic sucks.) But, for a fan, a safe space is a totally different thing, and that’s the space where we have an hour each week to forget about all our worries. MC was that for me, and from this point on, it won’t be. And that, as much as Sharon Raydor, is the loss I’m grieving.

I wouldn’t be so torn up about it if MC had been a dark show from the start, but it wasn’t. Even the hardest episodes to watch – and there have been many – still had humor. There are so many episodes going back to The Closer that I watch again and again because in the midst of murder and chaos, the characters gave a breath of life into the stories. Even going back to the start of MC, with Rusty and Stroh, and Provenza and Sharon going head-to-head, I was so invested in how these interpersonal relationships were going to play out. I didn’t give a shit about the grocery store murderers in that first episode. I cared about how this cast of characters was going to come together, and through the first season they came together through a combination of wit, stubbornness, compassion and intelligence, and it’s those qualities that draw me to people in my own life.

Those characteristics also made me fall hard for Sharon. Most of the women my age on TV are moms who play secondary characters (two things that I’m not and don’t aspire to be), but Sharon Raydor was, from her introduction, a badass police captain who happened to be a mom and happened to be over the age of 40 and happened to be the unapologetic boss. She was important despite (and because of) being a mother and a woman over 40, and she wasn’t willing to be dismissed because she was a mother and a woman over 40. She was important because she was a high-ranking professional, completely at ease with being a woman in a male-dominated field and not afraid to tell men who outranked her to shut up and sit down, and to quote @dillydallyy, shove a feminist foot right up someone’s ass. I’ve worked in television and commercial real estate, both traditionally male-dominated fields, and being the only woman in a room full of men…that’s my life. Every damn day. And to see a woman, not just in the same position but in a leadership role, OMG. Yes, kick them in the ass with your feminist heels and stroll out of the room in your Armani suit.

This kind of character is so rare, especially on network TV and basic cable. I wish I had some statistics handy, but the reality is, it’s rare to find a show that features women in prominent leadership roles, and when we find them, yeah…we’re going to be pissed when they’re taken away. I’m pissed. I’M SO PISSED. I have very little representation to fall back on, especially since I’m a huge cheapskate and I ditched cable TV a year and a half ago.

Speaking of representation, I’d like to go off for about ten thousand words about Sharon Raydor and even Brenda Johnson as powerful role models cast as lead tv characters, the lack of women writers and directors in the media, and what it means to women like myself over the age of (cough) 40 to see a lead character in a highly-rated tv show, but…I just can’t. I’ve been living in a state of feminist rage for a long time now, but I will say that watching Sharon die killed off a little bit of myself that felt so hopeful, especially in a storyline that was so timely in portraying what a woman has to go through to be successful and recognized – or hell, even employed – in the world today. Again, not to pile on James Duff, but killing off the lead female character at the tail end of a story arc that kills off women…it really hurts. It may not have been his intention, but it was my perception as a woman who watches the show. And killing off the lead female character before delving into the last story arc that is going to be the culmination of several years of plot points…listen, I’m with Mary. I don’t like guns. I don’t like violence. I don’t watch this show to watch Sharon Raydor shoot a dirtbag between the eyes with a bb pellet (but HOT DAMN THAT WAS AWESOME), but I also don’t want to see the strong female lead drop dead from a deus ex machina plot point before the story reaches the crucial point that has been building for several seasons. For Sharon to be gone, that means the rest of the story will be told through the male gaze, and…you know, I’m trying to be respectful and trying to be on board with that, but it’s not what I, as a woman, hoped for. I didn’t need Sharon to go in guns a-blazing, but I did need her to be a part of the final chapter of this show and of this story that she was so heavily invested in, because otherwise, how is it not yet another example of the woman dying and the men living on to tell the story? Brenda first and Sharon second were so pivotal in putting Stroh in the crosshairs, and having both of them out of the story…it’s just another cop show with men outgunning men.

And finally, I will say, for the fans who love and live and breathe these characters, watching Sharon and Andy walk off hand-in-hand is exactly the ending that we wanted, because it means that, truly, Sharon Raydor lives on. In our imaginations, in our stories, in our funny banter back and forth while we argue on social media over whether Sharon drinks tea or coffee. Long after the writers and actors and crew members move on to other jobs, the fans will still be holding on to these characters. For Sharon to die, it kills a big part of what makes fandom so special, the part that takes these people we’ve known and loved for so long and lets us as fans breathe our own bits of life into them long after the network has shut them down. Holding on to that years after the show ends isn’t disrespecting the writers or the actors; doing that means that after TNT killed the show that we love, we can still believe that Sharon and Andy are out there, somewhere, solving crimes or cuddling on the couch or choosing new ballet artwork to hang in their condo. We can write it, we can joke about it, we can picture it so clearly. Killing Sharon killed that bit of infinity in the imagination that lingers after the show ends. I can, and have, and will rewatch the episodes that we have, but from a fan’s perspective, the idea that the character is never truly gone only exists when the character isn’t truly gone. Saying goodbye to Sharon as a character is about a thousand percent harder to saying goodbye to the show, because saying goodbye to Sharon as a character IS saying goodbye to the show. I’ll watch the next four episodes, but it’s going to be with a heavier heart than I ever imagined.

[bluenotemagpie]

Dalek is still such a good episode. Nine grappling with his own capacity for destruction? Rose Tyler & her incredible compassion? “you would make a good Dalek”? “it’s changing, Doctor - what the hell are you changing into?” Iconic. Incredible. I still remember being terrified of the Dalek the first time I watched it.

(and lbr, the idea of a rich dude like Van Staten going “yeah, we found the cure to the common cold with alien tech, but why find a cure when you can sell a thousand palliatives? :)” and “don’t you dare injure my possession even if hundreds of you die” certainly..... hits differently now)

[bluenotemagpie]

The Daleks work so well in season 1. and like, part of it is that they haven’t appeared often enough to feel overused, sure. but also, they’re just so deeply tied into the Doctor’s arc this season: he’s just survived the Time War, grappling with being the only one of his people left, grappling with the horrendous things he’s done, trying to convince himself he’s a good person even when he knows - he knows - that he can and will make decisions that leave thousands of people dead, if he can justify it in the name of the greater good. The Daleks make this great foil to Nine. And like, yeah, they’re scary because they shoot lasers and kill lots of people, but that’s not the scariest thing about them. They hold up a mirror to the Doctor and show him the worst parts of himself. That even good people, smart people, brave people, can be pushed to atrocious things.

So it’s powerful when, after grappling with his self-loathing and survivor’s guilt and his own capacity for destruction, the Doctor looks at Rose and says you were fantastic. And you know what? So was I.

(because if you’ve gotta choose between coward and killer -

coward, any day.)

[bluenotemagpie]

“Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don’t forget the welfare state! :D” oh nine how I miss you

[bluenotemagpie]

Favourite moment from The Empty Child that flew over my head the first time I watched it: When Nine sits down with all of the kids having their stolen dinner, and guesses what Nancy’s been doing during the air raids. 

Nancy: Is there something wrong with that?

Nine: Wrong with that? It’s brilliant! Not sure if it’s Marxism in action or a West End musical.

[bluenotemagpie]

Father’s Day might actually be my favourite episode of Doctor Who now. The Doctor’s insistence on ordinary people being the most important thing in the universe - both when talking about Pete, but also talking to the bride & groom about how they met. Pete’s already selling Vitex from big ol’ jugs in his flat. And Pete is so chipper - so relentlessly optimistic, and he has so much love for his wife & his daughter despite his shortcomings - which breaks my heart when you think about the Pete of Pete’s World, who had Vitex take off and made all the money he dreamed of but stayed so unhappy. Like, just look at the difference between Father’s Day Pete (who’s overjoyed to learn that Rose is his daughter, tells her he’s proud of her, repeatedly refers to himself as her dad to convince her it’s his responsibility to take care of her mistakes) and Pete’s World Pete (who repeatedly insists that she’s not his daughter, refuses to listen to her when she tries to tell him, etc.) 

(I mean, she technically isn’t Pete’s World Pete’s daughter, but it’s the THEMATIC parallels that get to me)

[bluenotemagpie]

the christmas invasion thoughts:

- love that there’s a news banner (while harriet jones is giving her first speech about the space programme,) saying something about cottage hospitals across the country. harriet jones’s aim in the slitheen episodes was to get the prime minister to support her plan to improve cottage hospitals like the one where her mum is staying. guess it went through!

- i love that harriet jones makes coffee for people

- she also refuses to let the US president take charge of the sycorax situation bc she doesnt want him ‘turning this into a war’. like, she tries multiple times to offer peace. after ten does his whole ‘no second chances. that’s the kind of man i am’ speech, and harriet rightly points out that the doctor isn’t around all the time (so she very nearly had to decide whether to surrender to the sycorax or not,) ten’s immediate scorn for her reads as suuuper hypocritical. like, I know I’m not the first one to say this, it just jumps out at me even more every time. I do wonder if nine would’ve had the same reaction - nine, who at the game station was nearly willing to kill everyone on planet earth in order to destroy the daleks, who’s talked about the way those decisions always fall on his shoulders.

- what I also love about harriet jones is how she refuses to sweep aside the fact that she’s an elected representative whose duty is to serve her constituents. like, in world war three she cuts through the doctor’s argument with jackie by saying ‘I’m the only elected representative in this room. I was elected by the people, for the people, and on behalf of those people, I command you to fire.’ and she brings it up again when talking about the decision to fire on the sycorax ship. it’s not a decision made for personal gain, hunger for power, or plain ol’ warmongering, it’s solely because she thinks it’s the right thing to do. (whether it is or isn’t is another question, but still.)

- love the sycorax saying ‘yes, we know who you are’

- I always forget about ten’s ‘you know the best thing about this hand? ... it’s a fIGHTING HAND’ and it gets me every time. the bad texan accent! the silly grin! what a goofy war criminal

[bluenotemagpie]

we’re onto bad wolf/parting of the ways and i’m not ready to say goodbye to nine yet :’(

[bluenotemagpie]

oh my god, I forgot that Mickey’s gran ALSO died in Father’s Day while all the time-is-unravelling stuff was going on

this poor woman

how many times can one minor character die

[bluenotemagpie]

I never expect to like The Girl in the Fireplace when I start it, but Murray Gold just HAD to go off on the soundtrack like that

[blue-mint-winter]

BSG 3x11 The Eye of Jupiter and 3x12 Rapture rewatch

How fortunate that the algae planet also contained the next directions to Earth. Of course this creates another confrontation between humans and Cylons.

Tyrol gets a hunch and starts climbing the mountain and completely by accident finds the hidden Temple of Five and the Eye of Jupiter. Yeah, right. It’s his subconscious that led him there.

The star close by is on the verge of becoming supernova. It can happen anytime, as Gaeta informs us. Classic Checkov’s gun there.

Cylons come te negotiate - the delegation of Gaius, Cavil, D’Anna and Boomer comes on board. Each of them have a specific importance in this chapter of the story.

Gaius gets a cold welcome but he’s happy to see other human beings again. Just their faces when they learned he’s alive said it all. Despite his hope and fear that he’s one of the Final Five, he’s still so craving human acceptance and approval. When he yells after Roslin that she owes him her life again, he’s just so desperate. This reunion with humans is the literal opposite of that dream he had of Roslin, Adama and Tigh forgiving him everything and accepting him back.

I really like the Boomer-Athena meeting face to face for the first time. They exchanged places they had in the start. And of course Boomer tells Athena everything about Hera.

Roslin’s lie is exposed, Helo and Athena are furious. Even Adama is unhappy with her about this. I like that Roslin doesn’t try to justify herself, she just accepts the blame. She takes the responsibility. She’s opposite of Baltar who when confronted with rightful accusation is defending himself with “But I did this good thing! You owe me!” like it’s going to balance his score or something. That’s not how it works.

So, Athena needs to get Hera back from Cylons, so she has Helo kill her. Damn. What a strong moment between them.

D’Anna and Gaius decide to go to the planet no matter what and Caprica Six feels left out of their secret plans. It’s something they can’t share with her (to protect her too) and she’s so hurt by it, because she loves them and she’s losing them. But it’s their decision and she lets them go.

Meanwhile, we have the love rectangle on the planet. Kara and Lee are having an affair, sort of, but there’s one problem - Kara doesn’t want to divorce Sam because of religion and Lee doesn’t want to cheat on Dee. So they’re stuck in this unsolvable quandary (well, if Dee and/or Sam died that would have been convenient). What’s worse, both Sam and Dee know what’s going on and they’re not happy.

I think Kara and Sam get fleshed out as a couple more in this. Their dynamic is based on similarities. They’re both free-spirited, flexible, share the sense of humour. In this episode their main similarity is being passive-aggressive to their love rivals lol. Also, turns out this isn’t the first time Kara’s had a guy on the side. So, do Kara and Sam have an open marriage or is it just Sam forgiving her everything and always taking her back no matter what? Something to think about. Anyway, no wonder Kara goes back to Sam. He’s safe for her.

Same can be said about Dee, she’s so loyal Lee, she’s similarly straight-laced. She even risks her own life to rescue Kara because Lee ordered her to. For Lee, she’s just as safe to come back to, because he knows she’ll take him back.

In this rectangle, the only one who is really confused and conflicted is Lee. He’s torn between what he wants and what he should do. He can’t discard his sense of right and wrong to be with Kara, so he’s bound to go back to Dee which is safe and right but doesn’t make him truly happy.

The Eye of Jupiter ends in some very well done stand off between Cylons and humans. Cylons send ships to the planet so Adama arms the nukes to destroy the Temple and everyone there, including his own son. Cylons don’t want to risk that (except Cavil, who argues that they have time to search for Earth for thousands of years and they should just take the chance to destroy Galactica) so they vote to withdraw, but Three overrides their decision. Ships withdraw but the one with the D’Anna and Gaius goes on. Three took the risk and she won because she was right and Adama didn’t send nukes over just one ship.

I like how at the same time Lee and Sam had another stand off over someone they both want - Kara. Sam wanted to go himself to rescue her and Lee forbid it. They also had to reach a compromise without shooting each other, so Lee sent Dee to the rescue.

And then it’s fun when Sam and Lee learn to work together as a team to defend the Temple from Centurions to give Tyrol time to interpret the symbols inside. Same happens with Kara and Dee who have to work together to get their Raptor off the planet.

And then in the end both couples are back in each other’s arms, with Lee and Kara just giving each other longing looks. They’re still torn apart by their choices.

On the baseship, Athena downloaded and meets Caprica Six, who takes her to Hera. Boomer has been taking care of Hera, but the ill child recognizes her real mother and calms down in her arms. And I think this was the last straw for Boomer. She took that as that final rejection. Now she believes that Cylons and humans should just go their separate ways. There’s no point to working for peace between their races.

Athena wants to take Hera to the human doctor, but Boomer threatens to snap Hera’s neck. This is the point of no return for her character, when she turns her back on humans like they turned on her. Now she’s willing to kill an innocent child. She became a true Cylon.

Caprica Six killing Boomer to save Hera is just so poetic. The series started with Caprica snapping a baby’s neck after all, now she stops another Cylon from doing that. Also, this is a second time she killed another Cylon to help humans.

On the planet Tyrol hesitates to destroy the Temple which gives time to D’Anna to take out the detonators. And then the star goes supernova.

D’Anna’s relationship with Gaius really went all the way from “He’s a little strange man” (in Final Cut) to them going on this quest together to find the truth about the Final Five. What’s funny is that they both think they are the Chosen One, not the other. Lol. But Gaius was a friend and a guide to D’Anna, helping her realize her destiny.

Unfortunately, they have Cavil with them and he figures out they’re not there for directions to Earth, but to find out the identities of Final Five. Gaius has to shoot him, but it gives him headstart on downloading.

D’Anna has a vision in the Temple, but when she downloads back on the baseship, Cavil pulls the plug. Cylons agreed to put entire model line of Threes into deep freeze because one of them defied their consensus. They decided Threes are defected. And Cavil doesn’t want D’Anna to share the secret of Final Five. It’s ironic that Three who introduced the idea of deep freeze in Downloaded because she wanted to put Caprica Six and Boomer there, is the one who gets ice-boxed in the end.

Gaius is taken prisoner by Tyrol, and Caprica Six, who came with Athena, gets the same treatment.

Supernova gives humans idea where to go look next for Earth - a nebula that formed from another supernova that happened when the 13th tribe went to Earth. Also, Helo remembers that Kara painted a mandala that looks just like Eye of Jupiter in her own apartment on Caprica. Kara’s special destiny is brought up again.

[blue-mint-winter]

BSG 2x01 Scattered rewatch

Season 2 opener is reminiscent of 1x01 “33″ with the Fleet running from Cylon attack. Unfortunately Gaeta screwed up the coordinates, so Galactica jumped somewhere else and the only way to find the Fleet is to go back into Cylon arms to calculate the jump again. Similar to “33″ the ship is under time constraints and the stakes are high as Adama is in critical condition after being shot, but the doctor is with the Fleet.

The episode focuses on 3 characters: Tigh, Gaeta and Tyrol.

Tigh is in a pinch - the old man, his best friend, his commander, is critical. He doesn’t want the command and he frequently flashbacks to their younger days. He was a sad drunk brawling in bars after the first Cylon war. It’s Adama who got him back to the Fleet. Tigh owes his life to him.

His loyalty is tested. Tigh has to compromise. To get back to the Fleet in time and save Adama’s life, he allows something the old man would never - to connect ship computers into a network for Gaeta to quickly calculate the coordinates. The other compromise is to let Lee out of the brig so he could pilot in the battle.

Meanwhile, Ellen is already thinking ahead how Tigh’s command could be permanent. That one is always looking on the bright side...

The saga of Lee following his instincts continues. He kind of regrets siding with Roslin, he did it for principle, but he feels it wasn’t worth it. He can’t even stay by his dying father’s side :(

Gaeta. He’s one of those amazing minor characters. He’s got some little moments scattered through s1, like his admiration of Baltar, playing cards, friendship with Boomer (that funky dancing in Colonial Day lol), that little headshake in disbelief when Adama orders president’s arrest. His friendship with Dee gets spotlight in this ep, when she reassures him when he mopes in the bathroom. Gaeta messed up, but he managed to make up for it, so all’s good :)

On Kobol, once again Tyrol has to clean up after Crashdown’s lack of foresight. They run from the Raptor without taking a medkit, so Tyrol takes Cally and Tarn to retrieve it so they can treat their injured buddy. Unfortunately Tarn gets shot and dies. All of this could have been avoided if Crashdown listened to Tyrol’s suggestions in the first place and made sure they took everything before they ran. Tyrol’s much better under pressure.

Funny how Helo argues on Sharon’s behalf with Kara. Just recently he was very harsh on Sharon himself. Kara’s unforgiving attitude must bring things into perspective to him. But it doesn’t stop Sharon from escaping in Kara’s raider.