#the finns really do have a siren charm so powerful

[ratatatastic]

"Before we get to Bob, I just got one Mikkola stat for ya. So Niko Mikkola—we always talk about Matthew Tkachuk being an Edmonton hater and an Oilers Killer—maybe it's Mikks being the ultimate hater though? Because Mikkola has 3 goals in 8 career games against the Oilers in the regular season. He's got 8 goals in 264 regular season games against everybody else. Something about the Oilers, Mikksy gets up for the games against Edmonton. And stick tap to him, maybe my Dawg of the Game, he was a big dawg in that game. Reinhart probably the most impactful player but Mikks was the dawg, a just absolutely dawg that whole game but—" "I used my veto power because they give us the Three Stars of the Game, I saw it was selected by Sportsnet, Canadian outlet. There were two Oilers, one Panther on the Three Stars. Whoever the third star was—" "It was McDavid, he had three assists but I'm putting Mikksy, one goal, one assist." "I bumped him off and I put Niko Mikkola as the Third Star. I left the top two as they were—" "Reinhart." "—put Reinhart number one." "That's fine. I agree." "I used my veto power and change it to that. On the radio broadcast anyway!" "Which is the real Three Stars that matter!"

Territory Talk | 12.17.24 (x)

the mikks hivemind works in wondrous ways folks!

congrats to niko "oilers killer" mikkola for having 10 career goals so far and 4 of them being against the oilers he hates that fucking team

[fionnwhitehead]

Rising star Fionn Whitehead on filming Dunkirk, rejecting fame

"I don't feel the need to please people," Fionn Whitehead decides. It's a traditionally English, wet summer's afternoon and Fionn is in an east London photo-studio, where the actor is weighing up his increasing success. "I don't need to go out there to try and get people to like me. I have friends who don't even like me," he says, half jokingly. The 20-year-old actor has spent the day having his photo taken. Rain is beating down fiercely on the glass roof and his voice is barely audible above the din, but he's nothing but charming and polite, persevering through a volley of interview questions, and demands from the team to look beautiful in a million different ways. Such hardships are nothing compared to the gruelling regime he underwent while filming Christopher Nolan's critically and commercially acclaimed new war movie, Dunkirk. Shot on location in northern France, Fionn spent five excruciating months running up and down the beaches of Dunkirk carrying heavy stretchers laden with bodies, and being plunged into freezing cold waters, weighed down by a full length woollen trench coat, army boots and a gun on his back. There was smoke everywhere, screams, blaring sirens, giant warships, Spitfires overhead and people actually shooting at him. "It was so draining having to go through all of that," he recalls. "But, of course, it wasn't even remotely close to what the soldiers themselves must have experienced." Set during the Second World War, Dunkirk, tells the harrowing tale of 400,000 Allied troops being evacuated from the French port as the German army advanced upon them. It's a brutal story of survival and heroism against the odds, as hundreds of small civilian boats famously came to the rescue the stranded servicemen. Cast alongside British heavyweights Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, and Mark Rylance, and Hollywood newcomer -- but no stranger to the limelight -- Harry Styles, Fionn plays the role of Tommy, a young soldier fighting to get home. "He's the eyes and ears of the audience," Fionn explains. "You see the world through him as he takes you on this journey." Despite the obvious differences in situation, it's a role Fionn easily identified with on a basic human level; that of a young man thrown into a bewildering situation, fighting to navigate his way through it. "The whole thing felt very real. You didn't have to act, you were just responding to what was happening around you," he recalls. "Dunkirk is such a strange place, it was so weird being on the beach and knowing how many people were slaughtered there. There were still bullet holes in the wall of the church. I'm not religious but it's crazy to think of someone shooting at a church." Forever haunted by the events of 1940, Dunkirk is one of those eerie places where time stands still. "The whole town is still reeling from what happened," Fionn reflects. "Being there was very emotional, you had to make jokes and shake it off at the end of the day otherwise you'd get dragged down in sorrow. Anyone who complained, cast or crew, got shut down immediately with an 'at least you weren't there.'" Born in south west London, Fionn is the youngest of four siblings. He had a happy childhood, growing up in a house that was filled with music. His father, a jazz musician, would slide down the stairs scat singing, and improvising melodies on the spot. There's also a slight sadness about him; an incredibly private person, Fionn's air of mystery only makes you want to understand him better. That he is named after the mythical Irish hunter Fionn mac Cumhaill (it's pronounced Finn MacCool) -- who as a teenager gained all the world's wisdom by mistakenly ingesting some of the salmon of knowledge, is no coincidence. Fionn too appears wise beyond his years, yet full of boyish charm, it makes for quite a captivating combination, on-screen and off. Fionn got into acting at school, and joined the National Youth Theatre at 15. "It sounds quite weird and perverse, but I like the idea of manipulating people's emotions, making them feel things they wouldn't normally feel," he says of why he was first attracted to acting. "With some characters you can draw on emotions you've felt in the past, experiences that are personal to you, but there are other characters where you can't truly become them, that's when you need to do the research and start taking into account why they do what they do, how they think, how they feel." When preparing for his role in the three-part British drama Him, it was a case of combining experience with exploration. Fionn plays a troubled young teen, navigating the turbulent waters of boyhood, who suddenly discovers he has telekinetic powers. "That feeling of isolation people have growing up," he muses, "it can be really lonely. But it's also quite a taboo subject. You get told that it's meant to be the best time of your life but it can be really shit. You have all these intense feelings but you can't talk about them. There's a stigma about being a man and not being able to reach out and talk to people. I've been quite lucky as my family is very open. We talk about everything." Released this summer, Dunkirk is already making headlines. Of course, having co-star Harry Styles being, well, Harry Styles, helps, but as the lead all eyes will be firmly on Fionn. Is superstardom something he's ready for? "I have no interest in it," he says immediately. "I find that whole world quite weird and creepy. It's so important to keep a sense of normality. I have a close group of friends and a supportive family. They always keep me grounded and never let me get big-headed. I also don't have Instagram as it feeds that whole machine. If you want to do that side of it, that's absolutely fine, it doesn't mean you're a bad actor. I just don't like the idea of people knowing me on a personal level."

[tialovestelevision]

This Year's Girl

Yay, good Angel stories! And now, yay Faith! Getting her back will be nice both because she’s one of the best characters in the franchise and because it will give us a break from Adam, the most bland villain since Coach Who Turns His Swimmers Into Fish Demons Guy. 1. Buffy is making a bed. I think it’s her room at home. Yeah pretty sure. And there’s Faith. They’re talking about the smell of the sheets. Buffy: “I wish I could stay, but…” Faith: “Little sis coming. I know. So much to do before she gets here.” Faith is bleeding on the bed, because Buffy stabbed her with the sketchy mall knife and didn’t notice. “Are you ever gonna take this thing out?” 2. Faith is in her hospital bed. The hospital looks… kind of awful. 3. “Guest starring Kristine Sutherland.” Haven’t seen that in a while. Haven’t missed it. Xander is trying to fix the lightning gun. Willow suggests just pressing some buttons; Giles vetoes it. They’re all in Xander’s basement again. “Will, you haven’t seen this Adam thing. He’s the Terminator without the bashful charm.” 4. They haven’t heard from Riley, but the Initiative has told Buffy he’s fine, which indicates that she’s not on the run from them any more. Which sort of makes me wonder why they’re in Xander’s basement instead of Giles’s house. Xander got shocked by the blaster, while Giles and Willow reassure Buffy that the Initiative wouldn’t be hurting Riley. Buffy thinks they might have put him back on the drugs, though, which is something that would make sense for them to do - gives them a leash and him power. 5. Riley’s looking a ton better. He’s out of bed, but there’s a guard at his door. Forrest just relieved the guard. “The shish kebob that walks like a man.” Forrest thinks they should deal with Adam without involving Buffy. 6. Faith is blinking her eyes. No, REM. 7. Faith dream: She’s having a picnic with the Mayor. She’s worried it’s going to rain. He found a snake and released it. He was getting cheesecake, but Buffy stabbed him to death. “I told you I had things to do.” Now Buffy is chasing Faith with the sketchy mall knife. 8. Buffy, Willow, and Xander are patrolling. Buffy has a leopardprint coat. They found a demon who’s been flayed. 9. Willow thinks Adam killed the demon to study it. Buffy is planning to defeat Adam, and to rescue Riley. First Riley. She wants to launch a frontal assault after Willow magically hacks the Initiative, but Riley is at the basement. Buffy is surprised-delighted. Xander asked Riley if the Initiative put a chip in his brain. That’s a good question, but Buffy derailed it. 10. Back to Faith’s dreams. Buffy is chasing her at a leisurely pace through a graveyard with the knife. Faith is running but can’t get away. She fell in a grave. There’s thunder starting. Buffy jumped into the grave as it starts to rain. There’s a stabby noise and grunting, Faith climbs out of the grave. And now she’s awake. 11. She’s weakened, in the hospital, IVs hooked up. Removing her equipment. That should be summoning a nurse. This hospital is terrible. Dark and dingy. Someone just came in with a bear and a hoodie. Faith needs to get to Sunnydale High School graduation, but the school isn’t there any more. It’s Friday, February 25. She knows the Mayor is dead, and now has the girl’s hoodie as she leaves the hospital. 12. Buffy and Riley are having a conversation about his time in the infirmary. Riley is a little somewhere else. Riley has no orders, and what he does is follow orders. “I’m a soldier. Take that away, what’s left?” “A good man.” Buffy is looking for brainwashing chips and kissing Riley while sitting in his lap. “You’ve been strong long enough, Riley Finn. I’m gonna help you.” 13. The doctor, the nurse, and the police are in Faith’s room, talking about the lack of security. No kidding - when she pulled her equipment, it would have read her flatlining, and no alarms went off and nobody noticed. Never mind containing a murderer; this hospital is terrible at hospitaling! Hospital security has found the woman Faith took the hoodie from. The nurse just called someone to tell them to “send the team.” 14. There’s Faith at the high school ruins, staring at them. She’s very sad, and now walking lost through Sunnydale. Looking a little stronger, though. Moving better.Terrified, though. Alone. 15. Now she’s at Giles’s place. Giles, Willow, Riley, and Buffy are discussing Adam, who needs to recharge because he’s working off an autonomous power source. Riley fixed the blaster. Giles and Buffy think Riley should go to the Initiative to do the double agent thing. Xander is disapproving of another of Buffy’s boyfriends. 16. Buffy just got a phone call. She has a face. She now knows Faith is awake and free. Xander: “I’d say this qualifies for a Worst Timing Ever award.” 17. Buffy has basically put the Adam search on hold because of Faith’s return, and has now explained who Faith is to Riley. Buffy hasn’t found Faith yet, and edited out Angely bits of her conversation with Riley about Faith. And there’s Faith. 18. Now, after some verbal sparring, Buffy and Faith are fighting. Police show up and Faith retreats after knocking them out. Buffy’s chasing her across campus. Faith went over a wall and got away… she’s almost certainly hiding right in the blind spot the wall makes. 19. Willow and Tara are looking for Faith. Tara likes that Willow said “recon” and thinks Willow’s a fool monster fighter. Willow would be lucky to bruise Faith’s fist with her face, though, and knows it. Tara is very bad at violence. “She’s like this cleavagey slut bomb walking around going all, ‘Oh, check me out. I’m wicked cool. I’m five by five.’” Nobody knows what five by five means. 20. They recon ‘till nightfall then the ritual hiding begins. 21. They gave Xander the blaster. He and Giles are hunting for Faith, but found Spike. “Is this bird after you?” “In a bad way, yeah.” “Tell you what I’ll do, then. Head out, find this girl, tell her exactly where all of you are, and then watch as she kills you.” Are you ever going to remember that he’s evil? 22. Xander: “We’re dumb.” 23. There’s a helicopter arriving at the hospital, with the nurse waiting. N410JC. Just Googled that; it’s an FAA registration for a single-engine aircraft but was registered in 2014, so that’s not relevant to an episode made in 2000. Those guys look very Council. Helicopter is leaving; the guys are walking into the hospital. So now we have Buffy, Spike, the police, the hospital, and the Council all looking for Faith, who’s looking into a window at a bunch of knives that would be bad for stabbing with. 24. Cop car shows up, so instead of stealing knives she vanishes ito a crowd. 25. Demon greets Faith. “Faith, a friend sent me. I got a little remembrance from him.” She kills the demon and takes an envelope from him, which has a VHS tape. The Mayor is on it with a message for her. Gods, having him show up is a painful reminder of Season 3, when the show had a really good main villain and was producing episodes like Amends. He made the message while Faith was in her coma - the brief window between her being stabbed and him Ascending and dying. He wishes he could make the world a better place for Faith to wake up in, but her watching the video means he failed. He also sent her a box. It’s not going to bite. It’s some sort of magic item. “And here’s the good news. Just because it’s over for my Faith doesn’t mean she can’t go out with a bang.” 26. Riley wants to help fight Faith, but his injury is still bothering him. He wants Buffy to tell him why Faith gets so far under her skin. “I know Faith. She’ll come after me and she’ll come after the people that I love.” Cut to Buffy’s house, where Faith is at the door. “Hi, Joyce.” Punch. 27. Faith is going through Joyce’s makeup and has taken Joyce hostage. Buffy hasn’t been by the house in a while… can’t blamer her there. But Buffy just came through the window to attack Faith. Joyce somehow got free of her bindings and is calling the police. Faith and Buffy just rolled down the stairs. Faith thinks Riley could use a little roll in the sack. Wow, Joyce’s house is getting wrecked. Faith has a knife. 28. “Hello, Rupert. The team from the helicopter is in Giles’s house. 29. Police sirens outside Buffy’s house. Buffy and Faith still fighting in the living room. Faith got out the thing the Mayor sent her, and grabbed Buffy’s hand. They’re looking at each other in surprise, then Buffy punches Faith out. She has a weird expression on her face and just broke the artifact. Handing Faith over to the police, then says “Five by five.” Body swap time, apparently. Overall: That was very much part one of a two-parter. Faith and the Mayor here are almost painfully good, a reminder of the time the show had the best understanding of its strengths. Season 3 was, apart from a set of bad one-off episodes, incredibly well-assembled and very focused, with a villain and a dragon who were as interesting as they were threatening. Season 4 has been a meandering mess basically from the word go, and they supplanted the Initiative in the main plot with Adam just as the Initiative started to show some promise, wiping that promise away in favor of a bland cyborg guy. This, though? This was good. The Mayor’s presence is felt throughout it, Faith is both sympathetic and terrifying, and both Buffy and the script find a focus they’ve been lacking this whole season. Adam exists merely as a cloud that hangs over the events, rather than a presence, which works for him - “We’re already under this existential threat, now Faith is back too” is a great way to take this story. The way Adam is put aside for Faith, though, isn’t good for Adam’s legitimacy as a villain, and he really couldn’t afford to lose any more of that. All that said, though, whatever the implications for the rest of the season from this, I’m glad this episode is happening, because it’s been the best ride the show’s given me all season.