#tv serial villain actor

[rimurutempest]

I watched all of modern Doctor Who and these were my favorite episodes.

If you told me back in 2015 that I'd watch the entirety of modern Doctor Who, I'd probably think you're a liar. But, a cute girl wanted to watch Doctor Who with me, and how do you tell a cute girl “No?” Being that of the Superwholock trinity, Doctor Who the least upsetting of the three, I figured “Why not?” I mean, it's enjoyed by thousands and thousands of people, surely it has merit for existing, right?

And, it does! There are many great episodes that I really enjoyed (not to mention a lot of schlock I hated). I even enjoy some of the old serials and that 1996 movie is pretty fun (so very 90s). I can't claim to have seen all of Doctor Who, there is a lot of old stuff I'm probably never going to know even exists, not to mention all the spin offs and audio dramas, there's no way I can get through it all. But, I have seen the modern run, starting with Christopher Eccleston all the way to Ncuti Gatwa in Empire of Death.

Annnnd, anyone that knows me knows I love to rank and review episodic tv shows. So, with that said, here are my 15 favorite episodes of modern Doctor Who:

15 - Dalek (S01, E06)

It is probably unsurprising to any Doctor Who fan to see this episode on the list. The Eccleston era was my introduction to Doctor Who (as I'm sure it was for a lot of people) and this episode was my introduction to the famous villain, the Daleks. It's really a wild way to be introduced to the Daleks when you think about it, the Doctor and his companion Rose end up in an underground museum of alien artifacts out in Nevada and find the man that runs it has a Dalek in captivity. Upon learning of the Dalek's existence, the Doctor goes on a campaign to kill it with extreme prejudice until Rose yells at him about how he's being this horrendous person – which makes the doctor have a “Maybe I'm the baddie” moment and it resolves peacefully. Genuinely is really a good episode about moving on and realizing that we all have good and evil in us. A true standout of the early modern run of the show.

14 - The Impossible Planet & The Satan's Pit (S02, E08&E09)

There's a spectrum when it comes to Doctor Who, there are episodes that are gorgeous and smart and well thought out, then there are episodes that are just absolutely ridiculous. If Dalek explores the prejudice that can be enacted by those we see as “good,” then this duo of episodes is “what if the Christian devil was real and he was in space.” This is such an unbelievable hit of stupid bullshit, but it's delivered so very well. The first episode is loaded with mystery and adventure and unknown horror, while the second episode introduces the goofy concept in whole but still somehow grounds it enough that it still feels like a real plot with real stakes. It's the acting. The actors really sell this one to you. Space Satan is not what I expected when getting into this show but hey, it works and I like it.

13 - Blink (S03, E10)

I'm going to be honest with you, I feel like the internet really hypes up the Weeping Angels to a point that when you finally encounter them you're like, “Oh that's all?” Every episode of Doctor Who with the Weeping Angels feels underwhelming, silly, dumb, boring, with one exception: the original. I will not try to convince you that Blink lives up to the hype that the fandom has built for it, but if you can watch it without the Superwholock kind of bullshit in your head, what you'll find is actually a pretty good story. One of the best of the show. If the angels existed for this one episode and nothing else, they may have stood as the best antagonist of the show, but they got overused. I'm not going to explain the episode, I'll end up overhyping it more, just watch it.

12 - A Town Called Mercy (S07, E03)

I never see anyone really talk about this episode and it makes me wonder if maybe I'm alone in thinking it's great, which if so, oh well. I like westerns. The long and short of this is the Doctor and his companions, Amy and Rory, arrive in the old west to find a town with electricity too early and an alien cyborg gunslinger hanging outside of town hunting the town physician who turns out to be an alien that committed some horrific space crimes. The episode feels like a fun, loving homage to the western genre while once again exploring those aforementioned qualities of good people can be bad and vice versa. It's a fantastic little romp for the cast and these are the kinds of episodes that made the show fun to watch.

11 - Midnight (S04, E10)

Does this count as a bottle episode? The one thing I have to give the cast of Doctor Who is that when they decide it's time to really act, they act very, very well. This episode is completely carried by the acting of David Tennant and his supporting cast. In this episode, the Doctor's companion Donna sits one out while the Doctor takes a shuttle bus to go see a waterfall, until some unknown alien starts taking over people's bodies. This is a very, very well done episode that shows that you don't need elaborate set dressing or endless action to make good television, you just need good actors.

10 - The Devil's Chord (S14, E02)

I realize this might be controversial to say, but Ncuti Gatwa is my favorite actor to portray the Doctor. He's a fantastic actor and the energy he brings the role is so different and wonderful. When it comes to media, people typically don't like to hear you praise the modern bits over the older stuff, but this most recent run of Doctor Who with Gatwa is consistently more interesting and enjoyable than any other season of Doctor Who (that's probably Davies doing).

That all said, The Devil's Chord is a wild episode. I previously said that Doctor Who has a spectrum, from really great story telling to really goofy. If Midnight is the great story telling, then The Devil's Chord is the goofy. In this episode the Doctor and Ruby must face off against Maestro, the God of Music, who wishes to take all music from the world. The energy of this episode is wild, with Ncuti Gatwa's take on the Doctor going up against the insanely wild trickster character Maestro, who is portrayed by the trans actor Jinkx Monsoon. If you've fallen off of late Doctor Who, or you are completely new to it, please give this new season a watch (and don't let the Beatles jump scare at the beginning stop you, I swear there's no Beatles music!).

09 - The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances (S01, E09&E10)

If you're starting your Doctor Who watch at the beginning of the modern series, this will probably be the first episode that strikes a real chord with you (well, other than Dalek that is). This was the show's first real attempt at telling a horror story, one that is sort of zombie adjacent. This bizarre World War Two story with a child in a gas mask morphing people's bodies and existences into more versions of himself is one of the more original stories in the entire Doctor Who series, no one but Eccleston and Billie Piper could have sold this so well. Not to mention the introduction of Jack Harkness! (We'll uh...we'll ignore the actors conduct for this...)

08 - Planet of the Ood (S04, E03)

This is not the first time we meet the Ood, they were in the aforementioned Impossible Planet episodes, however this is when the Doctor finally does what he should have from the very start. The Ood are essentially a slave race, and in Planet of the Ood, they finally start to act out and revolt. The Doctor, as unpolitical as he has always been according to some people, decides “Yeah! Slaves are wrong!” and starts working with Ood Sigma (who becomes a recurring character kind of) in freeing the Ood. This episode also has one of the sickest, most awesome, kinda horrific effects in all of Doctor Who. Above all else, this episode is just very beautifully shot and well made. One of the highlights of the entire series.

07 - The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)

Exploring the Doctor's mind during the Time War is such a cool concept. It's a thing the Doctor keeps referring to as this horrific, life changing thing for him, and getting even a glimpse into it is guaranteed an amazing time. Featuring both David Tennant and Matt Smith, while bringing on John Hurt of all people because Eccleston wouldn't reprise his role, the acting talent in this special is incredible and genuinely so wonderful to watch. At the end of the day, it's a really, really good Doctor Who romp and deserves any praise it gets.

06 - The Waters of Mars (2009 Autumn Special)

Pic from the BBC. Theirs looks better than anything I could get.

Hey look! It's the Hugo award winning special! And I only put it at number six!

Everything about this special is so fucking cool. The set designs, the costumes, the fucking monster itself, everything in this is so cool. You know how people always joke about horror needing to be wet? Well this is wet horror. David Tennant puts in so much effort here, struggling with what he wants to and what he has to do, the Doctor is really pushed to some stressful limits here that has such a fantastic end to it. Even if you disagree with where I placed it on this list, there is no doubt that The Waters of Mars is among the best stories Doctor Who has ever put out.

05 - The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon (S06, E01&E02)

This is one that's probably going to get some pushback. I am an X-Files fan, it's my favorite show, love it when it's great and I love it when it's trashy. This two part season opening is the most X-files like the show ever gets, and I am so into it. The opening mystery of the episode sets up a really cool overarching concept for the season (don't ask if it's resolved well, please don't ask that) while introducing us to one of the coolest enemies Doctor Who ever made (please don't ask if they stay that way, please don't ask that). Everything about this is so fun and interesting and I hope others come out of it feeling the same way.

04 - Voyage of the Damned (2007 Christmas Special)

Pic from IMDB.

DOCTOR WHO TITANIC IS VERY GOOD!! Sorry for yelling. For a long while this sat as my absolute favorite episode of Doctor Who. Journeying alone on a rare occasion, the Doctor finds himself spending Christmas aboard the space Titanic (I am not kidding, they named it the Titanic!) and as the name of the ship would imply, tragedy strikes. This story is really wonderful, we get to see the Doctor try his hardest to save people and show love and kindness to so many people, not to mention having a group of characters instead of one companion to explore. I especially love the Van Hoff couple, who are two fat and poor people who won tickets to come aboard what is a wealthy cruise. Everyone around them is rather classist and fatphobic to them, but of all they characters in the special, they exhibit real happiness and love and their devotion to one another is genuinely so wonderful.

As I said, this one stood as my favorite episode for a long time. And, you don't really need to see any previous episodes to watch it, so please go watch it. It's a fun time.

03 - The Giggle (60th Anniversary Special)

I don't know what the wider fandom's thoughts on the 60th Anniversary Specials are, so I don't know if this is a controversial take or not. But, The Giggle highlights everything that is great about Doctor Who. It tips its scales back into the goofy part of the spectrum, but that goofiness is ultimately what makes this such a fun and interesting special. When thinking of actors like Neil Patrick Harris, who are so big and popular and well known celebrities, you forget that the popularity came from the fact they're good at their craft, and if The Giggle did anything for me, it was reminding me that yes, Neil Patrick Harris is an outstanding actor. And, getting put with a returning David Tennant and Catherine Tate really just solidified this special as some of the best acting the series has to offer.

The scene where the Toymaker forces the Doctor and Donna to watch a puppet show about the fates of the Doctor's companions is one of the best meta commentaries the show ever did about itself. The introduction of Ncuti Gatwa is pulled off in a fantastic way. And, the ending is so heartwarming that it makes makes me happy they brought Tennant's Doctor and Donna back.

02 - Heaven Sent (S09, E11)

I previously said that Ncuti Gatwa stands as my favorite Doctor. But, before the Gatwa episodes were out, my favorite was Peter Capaldi. Though Capaldi was given some of the worst scripts of the series (Jodie Whittaker probably got the worst of the worst), he brought such a different interpretation to the Doctor. David Tennant and Matt Smith's Doctors, despite their differences, were largely the same characters. Capaldi's had more of that Eccleston-esque attitude and charm, while bringing this gravitas that makes the silly moments feel real emotionally.

Which brings me to Heaven Sent, which might be the pinnacle of acting in the series. When people think of the best Doctor Who episodes, they probably expect big action and lots of adventure, but to me, the most interesting parts of Doctor Who are when we explore the Doctor as a character. What makes him tick, what makes him who he is, why is he here doing this – exploration of the Doctor and his motives is spectacular, especially when done right. Heaven Sent follows the Capaldi Doctor, after the death of his companion, imprisoned in a castle where he must reveal all his secrets. The torture and sorrow that Capaldi is able to show on his face is both horrifying and spectacular, really showing that he is an outstanding actor. There is no other piece of television like Heaven Sent.

01 - Vincent and the Doctor (S05, E10)

I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. I'm sure everyone has seen the gifs go around of the Doctor taking Vincent van Gogh to the future to see how his work is revered and loved and how moving that scene is. What I don't think most people know is how after that scene, after Vincent has been put back in his own time, the museum doesn't change. There are no new paintings. Amy, the Doctor's companion, then must learn that love and praise alone do not cure mental illness.

This episode has a haze of melancholy. The Doctor may change history plenty of times, but he doesn't often change real events. So, from the very beginning, you know van Gogh's fate, and you know it won't be changed. I actually liked this episode' portrayal of mental illness, it really is something that affects our lives, and makes it hard (if not impossible) to fit into society. How people with mental illness are often outcast, harassed, and treated like subhumans. But, this episode also shows happiness, hope, and love. And, that people do love you, no matter what you may think.

And, I think that makes it the best episode of modern Doctor Who.

Tumblr has decided that adding my full episode rankings would make this post too long. So, I will be adding them in a second reblog (check notes if you want to see!)

[anastaaaaaaasia]

I really hate HBO

I am writing this and understand perfectly well that this post can cause a lot of discontent and hate, but I feel that I can no longer remain silent.

It's about HBO and the character of Aegon, and more specifically about the incident with Dyana.

Many of the green team and even Tom Glynn-Carney himself are hated and called rape apologists. *Deep breath*

Honestly, I will never understand this, especially when real people are bullied for fictional characters. But today I would like to talk about HBO.

I absolutely love the character of Aegon, I love the books on which the series was based, but HBO is hitting another rock bottom with their masterpieces.

All the scenes with Dyana look terribly awkward, because the serial Aegon is so pitiful that sometimes you think that he himself is being straponed by all the servants in turn. As my mother says, you can only hug him and cry. Diana as a character is a simple cardboard figurine for HBO's convenience.

All modern values, agendas and education on these topics are, of course, good, but not when they cover their asses with it for their own convenience. Unfortunately, in the modern world, where the topic of violence is very acute, it also turns out to be a very profitable topic. Profitable for increasing coverage, convenient for creating a clichéd image of a villain. I wouldn't even be surprised if HBO released Dyana T-shirts later.

But the most deplorable thing is that a large corporation does not remember about rape, when they could have donated to a fund to help victims and talked about it at events. Just perform an educational function!

Sorry, but HBO essentially monetized violence.

Chapter 2. Fans and double standards.

I can understand why the TV series Aegon is hated. Yes, he’s no good! Despite the fact that he still remains my favorite character. The first scene with the adult Aegon, right where Alicent scolds him for Dyana. This act is essentially presented to us as the main one, as the main feature of Aegon. How else should those who were not familiar with the books before react?

But I have another question, many of the fans of the House of the Dragon watched Game of Thrones, where there is much more violence. Why then were only new characters included in the distribution?

We had Ramsay raping Sansa on her wedding night. We believed this because we saw the sadistic tendencies and understood that Sansa was not a Mary Sue who would be able to escape from Ramsay at the last moment.

We had JAIME raping Cersei over the corpse of their own son. but his character had been revealed before from the best sides, so many did not even understand what happened.

I will never get tired of saying that the writers and producers, frankly, did a terrible job. We were supposed to have a series where the fight is between two types of shit, all of them gray. But we ended up with characters without motivation, with unnecessary clichés and, frankly speaking, boring in many places.

We got a real feud between the fans. This is good for business, but bad for humanity. It turns out that many actors receive hate.

Yes, I’m on the green team, but first of all, I’m on the team of those who condemn the shitty work of screenwriters and producers.

[the-chosen-none]

I have no real interest in mods aside from somewhat following the Frontier mess, but when I found out that the fairly popular old New Vegas Bounties mods included incredibly blatant references to Judge Holden and Glanton from Blood Meridian, plus a character named "Javier Sugar" who speaks several lines lifted straight from No Country for Old Men, I wanted to find out how many references to other things pop up throughout the three mods. Turns out, a LOT.

I identified some of them myself, but eventually when I realized how much time it would take for me to watch a whole playthrough or try it out myself, I decided to look up the rest on TV Tropes and put them all together in a list.

The aforementioned Judge Holden knock-off is also said to be seven-feet tall and is a child predator (though only technically implied to be in Holden's case)

The character literally named Glanton runs a group who goes around killing "tribals"

There's a character named Cormac, as in Cormac McCarthy

During the scene with "Javier Sugar", in addition to all the NCFOM quotes there's also a random quote from the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales thrown in there... to spice things up? IDK, the quote is something like "Dyin' ain't no way of livin', boy"

A character called "Harmonica" references one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time in the West

The ghoul Doc Friday references the historical figure Doc Holiday, and his revolver the Huckleberry references the famous quote from his depiction in the movie Tombstone, "I could be your huckleberry"

Marko's outfit seems to reference the character Loco from the movie The Great Silence.

The Frosthill segment of III is also lifted from The Great Silence, what with its Utah setting during the winter, the main character getting shot through the hand, and bounty hunters pretty much kill the whole town.

Aaron Flagg the cult leader seems to be inspired by Randall Flagg the Stephen King villain

The sniper Charlie Halfcocked references the U.S. Marine sniper during Vietnam, Carlos Hathcock, the previous record holder for the most kills

Tom Quigley references the movie Quigley Down Under, the titular character being played by Tom Sellick.

Enclave members Quantrill and Onoda, who keep fighting despite the Enclave's repeated defeats, are named after Confederate guerilla William Quantrill and WWII Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda, who did the same for their sides (okay, I thought that reference was pretty good)

Eileen the Fiend = serial killer Aileen Wuornos

Tony Idaho = Tony Montana from Scarface

Tommy the former Omerta enforcer who killed a made man references Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas

Alex and his gang in Freeside reference Alex DeLarge and his droogs from A Clockwork Orange

Freddie the ghoul = Freddy Krueger

Jack, former muscle for Heck Gunderson, references the villain Jack Wilson from Shane, his revolver is called "Shane's Bane"

Albert Quisling = Vidkun Quisling

Mario Barksdale = character from The Wire

Prometheus is named after the subtitle for Frankenstein: "The modern Prometheus", his Deathclaws are Mary and Shelley

Pancho Cortina = Pancho Villa

"Squirrelly" Bill Blasius references outlaw "Curly" Bill Brocius

Angel Lee is a combination of Angel Eyes from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, and the actor Lee Van Cleef

Godwin, who mails out bombs, probably references Unabomber

Joe Frost = Edward Snowden

Guys fighting over treasure named Clint and Tuco

Fiend chem lab has characters Walter and Pinkman, references Breaking Bad

John Ramsey's body is put on display with a quote referencing the movie Unforgiven, "This is what happens to assassins/rangers around here".

Those are the ones that I either caught myself or saw other people list, if there's more, go ahead and add on.

Some of the historical references are kinda funny, though others are either tasteless (Aileen Wuornos) or eye-roll worthy (Carlos Hathcock = Charlie Halfcocked, GEDDIT IT'S A GUN JOKE), and the majority of the pop culture references are so blatant and so numerous that it gets annoying.

If I made my own mod or anything else, of course I too would love to stick in a bunch of references to the things I love, though I would try to be less obvious about them, put different spins on them, you know? You can't really judge mods to the same standard as the source, and I would be more forgiving if the rest of the mods didn't look like such an edgy slog.

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 19

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “Everyone has thought about killing someone, one way or another.”

Number 19 is…Will Graham, from Hannibal.

Before I get into the sort of nitty-gritty things with this character, I need to clarify something: I’m referring here SPECIFICALLY to the version from the TV series “Hannibal," played by Hugh Dancy. This, of course, is not the only version. Will Graham, of course, started off in the book “Red Dragon” by Thomas Harris…but I have read none of Harris’ novels, so I can’t really comment on his literary origins. In films, there have been two versions of Will, both taken from screen adaptations of the same book. The first was “Manhunter,” which starred William Petersen (a.k.a. Gil Grissom from CSI, who appeared earlier in the countdown). The second was “Red Dragon,” a sequel to the much-lauded “Silence of the Lambs,” which had Edward Norton as the character.

I have nothing against Norton or Petersen as actors, and neither of their portrayals of Will Graham are really all that bad. However, in both cases, they feel a bit too similar to other characters I’ve seen in other movies. They’re not invalid approaches, but they don’t feel like they stand out a lot when compared to various other detective figures, at least in my opinion. Dancy’s Graham is a whole different story. Not only does Dancy benefit from the series being able to do more than either film could accomplish, on account of being longer, but I feel it does a great job expanding on concepts present in those earlier versions (and, I presume, in the book), and creates a much more unique and fascinating character overall.

In “Hannibal,” Will starts off as a forensics instructor at the FBI academy. He has abandoned field work due to depression and stress, both of which are caused by his signature ability as a detective: Graham has what is termed as “pure empathy,” which allows him to almost literally see a crime through a killer’s eyes. He’s able to not only put the pieces together, as any great detective does, but he can actually FEEL the way the killer felt during the course of any crime. He can understand their motives and their emotional standpoints in a way nobody else seemingly can. While this ability does allow Will an advantage in solving cases, it’s just as much a curse as a blessing: some crimes you can understand on a basic, sympathetic level, sure, but Will has the strange ability to empathize with even the most depraved and disgusting human beings. Somewhere deep down, he feels he’s just as rotten as any murderer, and so his skills are also something he struggles to contain.

In the show, Graham befriends the titular character and villain protagonist of the series, Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen). Lecter is a twisted psychiatrist who is secretly a criminal mastermind, as well as a serial killer: a cannibalistic psychopath who enjoys turning his victims into gourmet meals. Lecter forms a strange bond with Graham, and tries to push him into embracing his dark side and becoming a villain himself. The series focuses on the unusual ups and downs of the pair’s warped and highly peculiar relationship, as they alternate from hating each other as much as any person can hate anyone, to having ties so close to each other it borders on the romantic. This is somewhat like our previous pick, L from Death Note; Graham has the advantage of getting to stay through the entire story.

I love seeing the journey Will goes on in the show, and I feel this version tapped into something different that earlier screen versions didn’t quite recognize. The relationship between the two main characters is what really makes this show work, beyond anything else. Ultimately, the main reason Will from “Hannibal” doesn’t rank higher is also the same as our previous pick: he’s the main detective, and a major part of the story, but he’s not actually the protagonist. The rest of our options to come are.

Tomorrow, the countdown reaches the halfway point, with Number 18!

CLUE: "You don't have to trust me, as long as you can persuade me to trust you."

[titleleaf]

Can you talk a bit about your introduction to the Hannibal Lecter tetralogy? Did you see any of the movies first or did you read the books and then watch the films? What drew you to the series initially?

Absolutely!

I was really really into Demme's Silence Of The Lambs as a preteen in the era where you could just turn on the TV and the same 20 movies would be playing on cable —it’s interesting to look back on those really naive viewings where I wasn’t really aware of the world enough to grasp the film’s themes around misogyny (or the turbo-problematic elements, never mind the literal edited-for-TV censorship) and also not really astute enough to grasp why Hannibal Lecter was supposed to be a frightening presence. Hopkins’ Hannibal is having so much fun in that movie and when you can’t really detect the layers of irony and cruelty at play it’s a really different film. (The big thing in hindsight that's strange is that I perceived the museum bug guys as much more threatening figures — and they certainly do represent an ambivalent part of Clarice’s experience moving through the world as a woman, including being flirted with when you're trying to investigate an active serial killer but Foster plays Clarice's responses to them very differently to me now. I also just took it as a given that Clarice and Ardelia were girlfriends, not in a “I ship it” way but where I didn’t understand how it would be intended otherwise. I do ship it now as an adult, ofc #clardeliahive.) Something about Hannibal's combination of prickly sparring and weird courtliness was a blast for me even at that young (and dumb) age. I watched the film Hannibal later, probably on one of the zillion illicit movie streaming sites that used to exist and only let you watch 45 minutes of video a day, pretty miffed at the actor change but enjoying the weird villain/heroine loyalty kink soooo much… cannot remember, for the life of me, when I picked up the film adaptation of Red Dragon but there's a nonzero chance it was because of a gifset of that stabbing scene back in, ugh, oh god, 2012? Still an absolutely delightful dynamic, ponytail and all. I'm meh on it as an adaptation of the novel RD now (the novel's grim ambivalent ending makes people so uncomfortable that it seems to be nerfed in every adaptation) but it really blew my little mind.

I was dubious of the NBC series when it was announced (as a big Clarice boi), then watched s1 and enjoyed it, then got as far in s2 as Beverly getting sliced up and bailed. I didn’t finish the series until some time last year, but I'm glad I came back when I did, having boned up on the books in the meantime. Some of my frustrations remain (short version, I do think the show’s writing has a sexism problem, and I'm never as enamored with Hannibal as the writing seems to be) but it’s still so compelling to me and it’s one of those things I can turn over and examine from a million angles. Also it is stacked with hotties from start to finish, and it introduced me to the finest wettest Will Graham. Brain chemistry-changing shit.

Books-wise, I think I read Hannibal Rising first, which is probably not the way people should engage with those books — I still think that book and its film adaptation have a lot of fun stuff going on with them, it’s just not necessarily… necessary. The rest of the books only came along for me after my most recent revival of interest in the NBC series. (Which… came about after I went completely off my shit about Primal Fear and joking with a buddy about Aaron Stampler's summer internship in Italy got me rewatching the 2002 Red Dragon film for the first time since college.) I think I was scared away by the way people talked about the book Hannibal, but it ended up being my second favorite of all four, it’s gonzo and turns up the Grand Guignol nastiness to 11 but it’s also terribly fun.

I was a latecomer to Manhunter also for similar reasons — people loved to call that movie cheesy or act like it was some strange early effort superceded by the obviously superior adaptation of a different book — but simply as cinema I think it’s the finest of all the film adaptations, and Demme's SOTL owes it a massive debt. Mann gives Dolarhyde a tragedy and a dignity that no adaptation is willing to give to Jame Gumb and I’m sore about that but also. Tom Noonan’s double-l Dollarhyde being the only blond Francis on film is so funny, and I love Will Graham's tiny purple shorts. I miss the things it cuts/changes, especially with the friction within Molly’s marriage and the location specificity of the book, but it also has such a wonderful encapsulation of what’s at the core of both Will and Clarice to me — you can’t save all of them, but you still have to try to save as many as you can. Brian Cox's Hannibal is his own beast, and really compelling.

The CBS Clarice procedural is such a fun idea but it gets so tangled up in rights issues and the CBS procedural-ness of it all that it really impedes things. Some of what it adds is brilliant imo (I love the character of Julia, a married trans lesbian in the 1990s corporate world who makes tough choices and brings a fun element of the novels’ boring RL forensics to the fore as well as exploring the in-universe consequences that Clarice's explosively well-televised confrontation with Gumb has for innocent people who have nothing else in common with a skin-stealing serial killer than being queer and societally despised) but other choices it makes are totally inexplicable. (Several questionable choices made wrt Catherine Martin, and also what the fuck are they doing with PAUL KRENDLER… it felt like a Mindhunter rehash, very much pejorative.) Other elements suffer from the absences dictated by the rights issues involved — not just no Hannibal Lecter but no Jack Crawford, no mention of Will Graham as the maimed and miserable failure-state for what Clarice is risking, no nothin'. I miss Jack! Also they just cannot commit to it being a full on 1990s period piece, which is a crying shame. If it were on another network, or made by a different team, it could have been really great, but it’s ultimately a frustrating watch for totally different reasons than NBC Hannibal is a frustrating watch.

I also listened to the musical parody of Silence Of The Lambs a lot in college and it's still major earworm material ten years later. I'm just trying to mind my own business and blammo, it's If I Could Smell Her Cunt on mental loop.

[katherine-mcnamara]

Since I’m blocked so can’t reply like my friends have. I’m still going to say this and you know what. Fucking bite me. 

Just because you, a person, don’t like something, and don’t think something is important. Doesn’t mean EVERY SINGLE OTHER PERSON also hates it. You are not the ruler or governor of shit and the amount of people who have been crying out for YEARS, for people to literally respect cultures, sexuality, race, disability. 

Celebs who have come out have talked about how much it means to them and how they want to impact people and inspire people. Actors of colour have spoken for YEARS, but especially recently, how their culture means a lot to them, how they want more representation. Disabled actors have been screaming the same.

Every time I post a pack of a diverse fc and i don’t know their stuff I get the sweetest messages from muns asking me to include the info so they’re played right.

Fuck you for attacking one of the biggest disability advocates on this hellsite and calling them racist and ableist for wanting more recognition, recognition a lot of people have begged for for years. Just because you don’t like it.

And you know what. Get your abhorrent serial killer oc with schizoaffective disorder and a whole host of other gross portrayals of mental illness including aspd out of here. Not to mention the mentions of things being because of the devil. 

Stop playing serial killers jfc. But if you can’t,  stop fucking demonizing schizoaffective disorder, aspd, and schizophrenia in general. The media does that to us enough thank you very fucking much. Literally how fucking dare you make anyone have to see that with their own two eyes just because you want to attack someone. 

If anyone comes near me with the it’s just fiction I will lose my shit. Just fiction my ass. There’s a reason people like me are used as monsters and villains in tv shows and movies. There’s a reason everyone has a kneejerk reaction to people with aspd, did, or schizophrenia. And don’t pretend it’s not there. 

I am really quiet about schizophrenia because you know what. The reaction to me being open about autism was horrific. 4 people knew. FOUR. Because I didn’t trust people to not be abhorrent about it and this post isn’t eloquent but you know what. I’m so tired of people acting like oooh big scary disorder. We’re NOT demons, We’re not EVIL.  How fucking dare any of you supporting this even think you can say anything.

[please-attend-carefully]

Terror of the Autons, Book Review

Terror of the Autons (Novelisation) by Terrance Dicks, 1975

Terror of the Autons is the novelisation of the 1971 Serial with the same name. It is the introduction to The Doctor’s new companion, Jo Grant, and also rival Time Lord, The Master. 

This book builds on the already strong premise of the Television serial, expanding it in a way that is both faithful and interesting. Conversations are extended, characters given more depth to motivations and actions in ways that would slow down the snappy pace of a 25 minute episode. Scenes are connected together, and re-written to allow for a flowing narrative on the page, rather than cutting back and forth between multiple scenes like you would see in the visual medium of Television.  The written form allows expanded scenes where characters challenge one another, and don’t just have to accept the orders given to them for the sake of pacing. Characters are able to act in ways that may have been restricted by the physical capabilities of the actors on screen. My favourite example of this is the Master’s introduction. 

Both the Protagonists and Villains of the story are given more rounded characterisation, and have their own internal conflicts amongst themselves. The friction is not restricted to just good vs. evil. Jo and Yates put up a fight when they are ordered to remain on base while the Doctor and Brigadier go out to investigate Farrell’s plastic factory, which feels more natural for the two of them wanting to accompany their superiors instead of sitting around UNIT headquarters drinking hot chocolate together. In the TV serial Jo is seen flirting with a member of the science department to acquire equipment for the Doctor, which the novel brilliantly informs us that she is doing this intentionally to butter up the man on the end of the line, and is not in fact just flirty with her colleagues. For her introductory story, her internal dialogue is key to learning about her intentions and actions, rather than accepting the watered down plight of a woman in a male dominated workplace. Additions like this create a more rounded version of the characters and adds to them rather than just imitating their on screen counterparts. 

Dicks is able to show UNIT in a far more capable light, with their military operations not limited by a pre-watershed time slot and BBC budget restrictions. Their weapons are effective, and they patrol around in appropriate military Jeeps instead of the blue sedan seen on TV. Their anti-tank missiles make quick work of the plastic Autons, with the line “Firearms won’t work on them!” cut completely. The lack of budget limitations extends to the plastics factory and the Autons, with more sinister visuals of bubbling chemicals and churning production lines bringing the villain's base of operations to life. This imagery creates a greater sense of danger, and shows that the Master is producing a large scale army ready for invasion. The climax of the story even gets an overhaul, with a giant octopus crab monster being drawn through the radio tower signal, rather than just the flashing lights seen in the original broadcast (the recent blu rays have since added the monster in) Again, this helps to give UNIT more to do, bigger and more numerous threats equals more need for heavy artillery and UNIT presence. Illustrations throughout the novel help to highlight some of the creative changes, including an updated version of the Master’s killer plastic doll.

Dicks corrects slight continuity areas, and adds in details that at the time were unavailable to them. The Sontarans wouldn't be on our screens for another two years after Terror of the Autons, but with their creation, Dicks can add details of their weapons into the text of the novel, arming the Master with Sontaran Grenades. This gives a wonderful expanded identity to the Master’s arsenal, bringing together lore from the Universe around him and connecting ideas together that the TV Serial wasn’t able to at the time. 

Ending the novel, Dicks expands the Doctor's thoughts on the Master returning, giving us more than "Actually, I'm rather looking forward to it!". His sentiment in the book mimics the Master's line from The Five Doctors, "The cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about.” A line that Dick's won't write for another 7ish years. It shows how the Master and the Doctor clearly share the same thoughts about one another, despite being so different. They define their relationship in the same poetic way, and given that the same author wrote both lines, it's clearly intentional.

Terror of the Autons is a strong adaptation, and the standard I will be measuring other novelisations against. It has everything that you would look for in an adaption; character’s interactions and choices explained and expanded, imagination and visualisation unhindered by lack of budget, and additions of lore that connect it to the wider universe of Doctor Who. I couldn’t recommend this enough if you are looking for more Doctor Who content to consume.  

[darkspicyevanstan]

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[thealmightyemprex]

Superman REview:The Adventures of Superman:Clan of the Firey Cross

Superman has been adapted in multiple mediums but argubly the most important to the history of Superman is the radio series The Adventures of Superman .I'll go into why later but I hadnt listened to a full arc from this series ….So I decided to listent to what might be the most iconic and important arc,The Clan of the Firey Cross

SO I usually include the voice actors in the plot synopsis …..But I couldnt find who the guest voices were ,so no cast in the synopsis this time though I will discuss the performances of Bud Collyer(Clark Kent/Superman) and Jack Grimes(Jimmy Olsen) later

In this 1946 arc,Jimmy Olsen is leading a baseball team ,where the star player is Tommy Lee,much to the irritation of Chuick Riggs ,who complains to his uncle Matt Riggs,who turns out to be a bigot and the leader of a hate group called the Clan of the Firey Cross,and uses a fight Tommy and Chuck as an excuse to do escalating violent acts from harassment to kidnapping and attempted murder ,while Clark Kent,Jimmy Olsen and Perry White try to unmask the terroist group

SO before I go into the plot of the episode,I wanna talk about the legacy .SO much of what we associate with Superman comes from this show.Supermans pal Jimmy Olsen ,his catankerous boss PErry White,his weakness Kryptonite,and his place of employment the Daily planet come from the radio show .It is where Superman first flew and first met Batman .The film serials directly adapted arcs from this show .BOth the Flishcer Superman shorts and the Filmation New Adventures of Superman share the actors ,namely Bud Collyer as Superman,and the Geoorge Reeves TV series Adventures of Superman is seen as a bit of a spirtual sucessor .HEck the famous "Look up in the sky! Its a bird,its a plane,its Superman" comes from this.THis might be the most important Superman adaptation EVER…..And I am tempted to check out more cause this arc was reallly good

Now this arc is pretty famous,mainly due to the villains being expies of the real terrorist group the Klu Klux Klan ,which was gaining popularity in the 40's .Now the reason for choosing the KKK as villains are two fold

1.The creators wanted to fight back against critics who saw the show as mindless violence by dealing with social issues and teaching kids about the dangers of bigotry

2.They needed new villains,during the war the go to villains were Nazis ,but the war was over so they werent as topical,and monsters and mad scientists had become a bit stale ,so this real life hate group were perfect foes for Superman

See a thing about Superman that people forget is he ,as he was originally envsioned,is a figure about social justice .Hes an immigrant from the stars who battled the injustices of the world .People harp on the power stuff that I think people dont realize his appeal is he is this powerful being who helps those without power and standa against those who use power cruelly

I went into this arc not knowing what to expect but honestly it holds up for the most part .As just a dramatic story it is THRILLING and TENSE .I was gripping my chair for a lot of this ,this is a very good Superman story.I always feel the best Superman tales bring out tension by having not Superman in trouble but someone he cares about ,in this case Jimmy and Perry.ALll the characters do their part well.Tommy is a likeable kid ,Chuck brings a sense of conflict as he is torn over his fears and what he knows is the right thing to do ,Matt Riggs is a detestable villain being the representative of fantacal hatred,Perry White while being very much against the clan ,he is sort oof in denile about how dangerous they are.JAck Grimes brings a niavete to Jimmy Olsen,hes a very good Jimmy.The standout howevber is Bud Collyer who protrays Superman with a powerful baritone and Clark with a meek tenor .Now I have heard Collyers take o9n Superman in other versions,butspecifically in this radio show he is one of of my fave takes on Supes,due to how no nonesense he is

As fir the message ,77 years later the message is still strong and admirable,telling kids that both racial and religious prejudice is wrong ,comparing the Clan to the Nazi (COnsidering the overlap between the two in the modern era,eerily prophetic ).They even go into the manipulative aspect of bigotry,how those at the top profit on the blind hatred of followers which feels ...Relevent .I also loved hearing how PISSED offf Superman gets at the idea of bigotry,Superman will not take any racist nonsense

Is it perfect ...No .Sadly I feel like the Lees while likeable ar kind of there to be victims and not characters.I wouldve preferred Tommy be more of a character instead of focusing so much on Chuck.There is also ...Poko,who I had to look up to know what his deal is.Basically he is a squeaky voiced alien who is Perry's personal chef who speaks in rhyme ....I do not like Poko .Also if you listen ,theres a lot of flag waving talk,but this was post WWII ,makes sense,its just amusing how frequent it is .They also use a certain slur for a Chinese person in this ....They use it a lot ,mostly by the villains

However despite some faults this is an admirable storyabout dangers of bigotry ,while still being a thrilling tale .ITs a good listen and makes me wanna listen to more of the radio series

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa

[harleiquina]

All TV series I've ever seen.

@thefirsthogokage 's search for new show to binge inspired me to list all TV shows I've seen so far. Of course I might add some along the way because I won't remember everything in one sitting.

Considering that it's going to be a lot... I might as well divide them in

1940 -1970 (this post)

1980 - 2000

2010 - Now.

Let us begin.

1944 - The Black Whip (serial)

For youngsters, a serial was like a TV show that our grandparents (maybe even great-grandparents) watched on the cinema. Sometimes all episodes (around 15 min each) would be edited together and played as a movie.

It was an experimental take of the character known as Zorro (born in pulp fiction) transported to USA's Wild West where two siblings have a newspaper but the brother is also "The Black Whip" a vigilante that keeps the peace in their town... until he's killed so his sister takes over his mantle (without anyone noticing). Fun fact: George J. Lewis later played Guy Williams's Zorro's father: Don Alejandro de la Vega.

Overall entertaining. The cliffhangers are kind of over done (keep in mind maybe back then they had to wait 1 week or more to see the next episode) and the escapes are sometimes kinda ridiculous but well... it's fun anyway. I saw it on Youtube.

1957 - Zorro (Disney)

You are not argentinean if you didn't grow up watching Zorro at noon while having lunch (or run from school to catch it before it ended). It is still being broadcasted today (in 2023) believe it or not!

Follow the adventures of Diego de la Vega, a señorito (very delicated gentleman) that during the nights turns into El Zorro, a vigilante that rights injustices and saves the people of Los Angeles.

LOVE IT. Guy Williams is Zorro, no-one will ever be better than him. It's fun for the whole family (and do not be fooled by the time it was made, the female characters are well written and very progressive for the time being). Saw it on TV over and over and over again and never got tired of it.

1959 - The Three Stooges (year they began to be televised)

How could I forget about my childhood heroes?

My first contact with slapstick comedy and absurdities galore.

In this house we believe in Moe, Larry, Curly & Shemp supremacy!!

1961 - Mr. Ed.

Ever wondered how it would be to live with a talking horse? Well, now you'll know.

Fun for all family, catchy title song... you can see it probably in lots of places because it's a classic (but for me it was on a bootleg DVD pack)

1964 - The Addams Family

We all know and grew up with The Addams Family movies in the 90's but this is the original live-action (with Gorey's insight). The family canon is different: Mom is Gomez's mother, Fester is Morticia's uncle and my favourite (yet always forgotten in the new media) is Ophelia, Morticia's twin sister -who was supposed to marry Gomez in first place-.

To be fair I saw it a couple of years ago so I don't remember too much, but its all-family-fun and if you are a spooky-inclined person (such as me) you'll end up wanting to own a house like theirs (and maybe some of their creatures as well). I saw it on bootleg DVDs, shhh... don't tell anyone.

1965 - Get Smart

Another argentinean staple (not as strong as Zorro, though) was this spy-comedy born out of mocking James Bond with gadgets and all. "Smart, Maxwell Smart. Agent 86" carved himself a space in our hearts with Agent 99, the Chief, agent K-9, Jaime and the equitative incompetent villain Siegfried.

Super fun with all the weird and borderline ridiculous inventions and plots. It sort of loses its momentum in the final seasons (when Max and the 99 get married and have twins) but there are still moments of greatness. I have all the DVDs, original ones this time.

1967 - Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

In Argentina we use the expression "wooden actor/actress" a lot... but in this case it's probably right because they are all puppets (unless they do a close up of their hands, then they are human 😱).

Follow this colour-coded crew of space travellers and their adventures. I don't fully remember if it was a concept or if it actually happens in the show but maybe Captain Scarlet doesn't make it to the end of the day. Very early Aeon Flux from his part. Be like me buying a bootleg DVD collection or you can probably find it on Youtube.

1971 - The Persuaders!

Who on this Earth hates either Roger Moore or Tony Curtis? I'm ready to throw hands!

Two millonaires (with lots of monetary issues aparently) have to work together for a Judge solving different crimes (identity theft, kidnappings, robberies, etc). It is never quite explained why both of them are the right ones to do the job but no-one cares because you'll end up loving Lord Brett Sinclair (Moore) and his love-hate relationship with Danny Wilde (Curtis) plagued with sarcasm but, eventually, true friendship.

I'm a Danny Wilde kinda girl (and I would like to have like half of his jackets, they are awesome) but Moore is also lovable. Yes, most of the cases have a beautiful girl that ends up with any of them... yes, some things are a little too convenient... but it is a show to have a good time. Don't think too hard about it. I've watched it on bootleg DVD but it is also on Youtube.

1973 - El Chavo del 8 & El Chapulín Colorado (The Kid from the 8th and The Red Cricket)

Both shows were aired pretty much at the same time and starred by the same cast the first one tells the story of a orphan kid that lives in a vicinity with very colourful characters.

The second one is the Mexican Superhero by excellence.

Chespirito (a wordplay for the Spanish "Little Shakespeare" -Shakespeare chiquito-) AKA Roberto Gomez Bolaños -author and lead in both shows- even said that his superheroe was better than the ones from Marvel or DC because he didn't needed muscles... he just wanted to do good and had big heart.

1976 - Charlie's Angels

I really don't understand why is it so hard for the movies to get it right. They were private investigators, not super-spies!!

3 girls became cops but were destined to "girl jobs" like secretary, school crossing and making parking tickets... but were recruited by the misterious Charlie that knows that they are capable of more so now they work solving cases where the police can't or won't be called.

We only own the first season on bootleg DVD (my mom's and aunt's favourite with the three original angels). It's fun and it's for everybody.

1976 - The Bionic Woman

Jamie Sommers (professional tennis player and Steve Austin's finceé) has a skydiving accident resulting in her getting bionic replacements of her legs, arm and ear. Since the equipment was very expensive (not like Steve's six million dollars bionic parts) she agrees to use it to help the goverment in dangerous missions. In the meantime she'll keep on working as a teacher.

Adventures of all kinds and the most memorable ones are with the fembots (altough many people like the Sasquatch episode, who knows why 🤷🏻‍♀️). Saw it on bootleg DVD.

1976 - Wonder Woman

Really? Wonder Woman? Lynda Carter? Do I need to explain anything? Just go watch it. (I saw in on bootleg DVD, shhh! Mrs. Carter is nearby, I don't want her to get upset).

1976 - The Muppets

Do they need introduction? Guest stars in every episode, humor, music and Ms. Piggy. You just can't hate Jim Hensons' creatures.

I have the first season on bootleg DVD but saw quite a few scenes on Youtube and social media as well.

1977 - The Incredible Hulk.

Bill Bixby + Lou Ferrigno + weekly adventures + that bloody journalist that follows them everywhere (and you will recognize as the bartender in Back to the Future III) to try and caught them red handed + the saddest end to every episode seeing poor Bruce Banner with his backpack walking to another town because he can never stay on the same place for too long = this early Marvel property that gave us a sneek peek into the complicated life of a superhero.

It's good, a problem-of-the-week show, but then again... poor Bruce Banner always alone, I want to cry 😭 Saw it on TV, I don't think that all episodes were aired back then nor when my mom and aunts were little.

1978 - Mork & Mindy

An alien that looks and acts like Robin Williams ends up living with the human Mindy to learn more about us. By the end of every episode Mork gives his report about what he learned about Humanity and it's usually very uplifting.

I've watched a few episodes on TV (this was Argentina in the '90s, you were lucky if any TV channel bought 2 seasons of any show to repeat ad eternum).

Nanu nanu!!

[doctorbrown]

BTTF Year-End Tag Game!

This year:

How many times would you guess you watched the first back to the future movie?

At least fifteen times through, easy. Probably more than that.

Did you get any sweet bttf merch? If so, what?

I sure did! I got my really neat BTTF backpack, a Hot Wheels miniature of the DeLorean, a couple prints from CC including a metal print of the DeLorean about to time travel, and probably another thing or two I can't think of off the top of my head.

How many cans of Pepsi Free did you chug this year?

Not one. I don't really drink soda. If I do, it's probably root beer or ginger ale.

What was a favourite bttf fanfic you read this year?

Oh god, one I absolutely LOVED was Time Is A Flat Circle. I really liked the darker tone of this fic, the villainous version of Doc presented here (because he would be a terrifying villain, lbr), and all the foreshadowing done in this fic as you get closer to the end that maybe you'll miss the first time and then you'll see it all come together later—wow, fantastic. Big fan of being unable to change the present/future via the past because everything's set to play out that way.

A favourite bttf fanart you saw this year? (please give us a link, not a screencap/repost!)

Ah hmmmmm. I don't go searching for fanart on here as much as I should, tbh. I did actually catch a couple of the Doctober artworks going around and a lot of those were incredible. I'll have to get back to you on this one.

Did you create any bttf fanart or fanfic? If you did, what one(s) are you proudest of?

I'm working on a doodle of Doc atm for fun, we'll see if I ever do anything with it. But fanfics, yeah, I guess you could sort of say I did! I participated in the Doctober '23 event, and actually completed all 31 days. I'm very hard on myself so I don't know if I'd give one I'm proudest of, but I definitely got much more comfortable with my writing as the days went on.

How many times were you late for school this year?

I have long since graduated haha.

Did you watch any other movies/tv shows with BTTF actors in them?

A few (I'm not a huge film person actually), and I think they were mostly Chris Lloyd's things hmmm—Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Star Trek III: Search for Spock, I Am Not A Serial Killer, Doc Brown Saves the World (it counts, I guess), Million Ways to Die in the West, there were probably others I'm sure but off the top of my head, these are the ones I remember.

Was there a memorable moment you heard a Huey Lewis song this year?

A memorable moment? Hmmmm I'm not sure. I listened to enough Huey Lewis this year but I can't think of something particularly memorable about doing so.

How many times did you fall down this year?

A couple, probably. Can't say I kept count.

Did you get to see BTTF: The Musical? What was your experience like!

I sure did! I've seen it twice now and I'd see it a third time in a heartbeat. It was an amazing experience, I went in completely blind, didn't know anything about the production, the soundtrack, nothing. When it came to Broadway, my first time seeing it was in the pre-showing (or whatever they're called); like it wasn't technically open yet but wow, I was FLOORED. I came out immediately getting the soundtrack and listening to that damn thing on repeat for weeks.

How many times did your mom retell the story of how she and your father met?

I think she's only told it to me once. Twice, perhaps, for different context. But theirs is not a happy story so it's not exactly something that gets spoken about often.

If you could describe your year in a BTTF quote, which one would it be?

My year in a BTTF quote? Uhhhhh. "Yeah, I saw it on a rerun." OR "Yeah, well uh, let's keep this brain melting stuff to ourselves, okay?"

⚡️LIGHTNING ROUND⚡️

Did you get to: go on any trains, skate on a skateboard, ride a horse, drive a DeLorean, run in the rain, go to a dance, hang up a clock (maybe on this one because I may have knocked one down, can't remember), play the guitar, pull an all-nighter, read science fiction, or drive thru Burger King this year?

Your future is whatever you make it! So what are you going to make of this coming year?

Oh fuck if I know—this may be the year I quit the job that I hate that doesn't pay me what I deserve for my qualifications and figure out what I actually enjoy doing. I'll work on my confidence re: the content I put out, namely being proud of the things I create, whatever they are.

tagged by: @cheriboms (thank you! not only for the tag, but for all the support and kind things you've said about anything I've posted) tagging: i'm not sure who to tag for this but if you see it and you like it, steal it!

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - Troughton 6th Review

The Dominators - Novelization

It’s been a few years since I’ve seen the tv story this book is adapting, but I remember enjoying it at the time. It would seem that I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons though. Without the silly 60s designs and over the top acting this story is rather dull.

I don’t mean that it’s bad, pre say, or that I was bored reading it, but it’s very Who by the numbers, isn’t? On paper it becomes very clear that this was supposed to be a Daleks (serial not monster) reboot. 

The Quarks are discount Daleks (monster not serial); lacking in both personality and menace

The Dulcians are just even more boring Thals

The story is located in a barren land destroyed by nuclear war.

The only thing new here is the Dominators, and they’re one dimensional, ineffective villains that would rather argue more amongst themselves then do, well anything really. They’re only a threat because the Dulcians are just that pathetic.

The only thing that makes this story interesting is the regulars. The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are such well defined characters that they make any scene shine... yet their true strength lies in the great actors playing them and this aspect is of course lost on the page. They’re still entertaining but not quite as much as they are on the screen.

And that’s pretty much my assessment of the novelization as a whole. It’s a passable adaptation, but the original story is better. Not because of any failure on the author’s behalf, but because the change in medium takes so much away from the story.

[byneddiedingo]

William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Berthelet, 1916).

Cast: William Gillette, Marjorie Kay, Ernest Maupain, Edward Fielding, Mario Majeroni, Grace Reals, William Postance, Stewart Robbins, Burford Hampden. Screenplay: H.S. Sheldon, based on a play by Gillette and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. No credited crew.

This early silent film makes it easy to see why William Gillette was such a success on stage as Sherlock Holmes: He has the calm centeredness that the best Sherlocks possess. I'm thinking of Basil Rathbone and Jeremy Brett here. Even though I like Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in their versions, the contemporary setting of their TV series makes them more active and volatile, not to say eccentric, than the traditional Victorian Holmeses. But Conan Doyle's character was not, I think, a good fit for silent film: We miss the detective's ingenious deductions that provide so much of the wit in Conan Doyle's tales and don't fit neatly onto title cards. The plot, cobbled together from several stories, is also both needlessly complex and tiresomely chopped up into discrete "acts." Apparently the surviving version of the film was a conversion of the American original into a French four-part serial. Gillette and Edward Fielding as Dr. Watson (here limited for the most part to the fourth segment) seem to have an awareness that less is more when it comes to film acting, but most of the company is made up of scenery-chewers, particularly Mario Majeroni and Grace Reals as the villainous Larrabees. Ernest Maupain isn't a terribly convincing Emperor of Crime as Moriarty, considering that his chief function is to bluster about bumping off Holmes, at which he is repeatedly thwarted, and his henchmen (one of whom is reportedly the later-to-be-famous character actor Edward Arnold) do a lot of ludicrous skulking and crouching. Still, it's a valuable record of Gillette's famous role and really not an unwatchable movie.

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 17

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today we focus on Number 17: Paul Toombs, from Madhouse.

“Madhouse” is probably one of Vincent Price’s more underrated pictures. It’s not a film I hear a lot of people talk about, which is a shame because it really is one of Price’s more interesting cinematic endeavors. This is yet another case where Price basically plays a fictionalized version of himself. The difference, however, is that rather than being a sort of self-parody, or even a parody of his career, the film plays things more earnestly. The plot focuses on Paul Toombs, a movie star who got his name in horror movies. Most notably, he was the titular character in a series of movies that – based on their description – must have been the precursors to the SAW franchise. The series was simply (and unoriginally) called “Doctor Death,” about a deranged criminal mastermind who enjoyed torturing and killing his victims in various brutal and sadistic ways. Paul is beloved and applauded by audiences, if not the critics, for his many successes and performances…especially as Dr. Death. One night, after announcing his engagement to a beautiful young lady, however, things take a sudden turn for the horrible for poor Paul Toombs. He blacks out at a party, and when he regains consciousness, he finds that his fiancé has been murdered! Not only that, but the murder resembles a scene out of one of his Dr. Death pictures. Paul is suspected of the murder, but the case is never proven; believing he might be going mad, he checks himself into an mental hospital, and remains there for years… …But that’s not where the story ends. You see, eventually, Paul leaves the hospital and returns to the world of the movies. His old partner in filmmaking and best friend – writer Herbert Flay, played by Peter Cushing – reveals that he is working on ways to bring Dr. Death back to life. Against his better judgment, Toombs agrees to reprise his greatest role…and as soon as he does, murders and horrible accidents occur. Each time, Paul blacks out before the hideous events happen. As the film goes on, Paul finds his grip on sanity ebbing away, as he is unsure if he is the killer, or if something larger is afoot. This movie isn’t perfect. The ending is a bit…weird, to say the least, and there are some plot contrivances that cannot be overlooked. However, what makes the film work, at the end of the day, is simply its sense of self-referential style. This is basically one giant love letter to Vincent Price’s whole career, up to that point. Not only is he basically playing himself, but whenever scenes from Paul Toombs’ movies are shown, they are actually taken from stock footage from various older Vincent Price pictures. The fact that Peter Cushing – one of Price’s best friends and colleagues in real life – plays Price’s friend in this film is likely no accident. There’s a wonderful scene where Toombs is on a TV interview, and talks about why he thinks people like villains and scary movies. With the way it plays out, its hard to tell if Price is really playing Paul, or if he’s simply speaking as himself. The closeness to real life makes this one of the most sincere performances Vincent ever gave; I’m sure a lot of Paul’s frustrations – disregarding the matter of serial murders – were frustrations Vincent had in real life, as well, with the people he knew and the situations he often found himself in. The joys he felt were likely also the same. As a result, it becomes difficult to tell where the fantasy ends and reality begins, as well as vice-versa. It’s one of the grandest self-tributes the actor ever appeared in, and if you’re a Vincent Price fan even in the remotest sense, you owe it to yourself to give this one a watch. We’re about to hit the halfway point for this series. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 16!

[notallwonder]

First impressions! Criminal Minds Evolution/CM 16, episodes 1 & 2.

Spoilers below the cut!

I'll also be tagging with all the variations of CM spoilers I can think of so you can filter/avoid going forward.

Vindication! Nicole Pacent for the win(ning Tara Lewis' heart)!

It's great to see these characters again so far. I love them! In the first episode everything still feels a little wooden though, a little stiff. Second episode things start to loosen up a bit more.

Unfortunately the CM writers still have a habit of writing dialogue divorced from the way real people talk. Not all of it is bad, but you can feel the difference when the actors have enough to work with/relax into. In fairness, good dialogue is a non trivial task, but I want the pros to do better!

I'm enjoying Rossi. His anger and grief are a bit heavy handed in the writing esp in the first ep, but it suits his character and Mantegna wears it well. I appreciate the way this motivates one on one scenes with other folks. Esp with Garcia! And with Prentiss! I just love their relationship, it's nice to see again. Also I think I'm still weirdly charmed by the microwave mac and cheese dinners too. #relatable

Also appreciating:

+JJ's big guns and wardrobe's very correct decision to put AJ Cook in a sleeveless shirt. *praise lesbian jesus*

+the Tara / DOJ Pacent reveal was pretty low-key, if expositional, as was the confirmation that Tara's bi. Also Emily's teasing & support warmed the jaded-by-network-TV cockles of my heart.

+that callback to Garcia's pink sticky note! nice

+Garcia, babe, I love ya. I'm so glad we get to see more of your substance. KV is crushing it. The scene with Rossi was wonderful. I don't remember if those two have ever had such a great moment together previously.

+I think this may be one of the few times I actually believe the JJ/Will chemistry? Will's "Am I in trouble?" was hilarious.

+I died, DIED, Wheezing Laughter, at Emily's exasperated "am I the only one not getting laid?" YES MORE OF THIS PRENTISS SASS MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE, I am Greedy for it. I'm so happy they're letting her have a personality again!!!

+I laughed so much I missed all the rest of that scene, the Rossi joke, JJ looking surprised (in a teeny tiny bit mad kind of way? as opposed to laughing kind of way?) at the Tara's girlfriend comment, good thing I watched it again like 5 times

+I appreciate that the first "fuck" of the series was uttered by an otherwise innocent civilian when presented with crime scene photos in an interview

+I agree with Rossi that they should name the guy Fuckhead rather than Sicarius. A+ no notes. Luke concurs.

+y'all, we're going to have a new problem in the fandom now - sexy serial killer thirst. I guess that's not completely new, are there folks out there who love Foyet? I haven't been paying attention to the men when it comes to shipping etc. Anyway Zach Gilford is lovely as always, except in a sinister way.

+I was incorrect before to be sad about Emily Prentiss' fancy office duds. If lesbian jesus ever chooses to bless me with another appearance of Cargo Pants Prentiss I will scream for joy and prostrate myself in gratitude, but I'm just happy to see her on my screen again.

+JJ/AJ lookin' good.

My wishlist:

+bureaucratic antagonists that are like....not so cartoonishly villainous/inept/out of touch. Honestly I miss Strauss in that role, Jayne Atkinson was great. The new guy (whom Prentiss could/should snap like a twig) Bailey is a silly little noodle compared to Barnes but they both just...tired treatment of institutional conflict imo.

+I still want a little nostalgia reunion tour with some favs: Jordan Todd, Morgan (at least a mention! A text thread! A voicemail! A photograph in Emily's office! s o m e t h i n g), Roxy cameo, Grant Anderson, Kate Jackson (her last acting credit was Ambassador Prentiss, very unlikely this would happen but can you imagine!!), Hotch or Jack cameo, Blake, Grandpa Rossi, SERGIO, etc etc etc

+Someone to call Prentiss a fox to her face, she deserves to flirt

+honestly, just a little more Prentiss personal life. I don't even necessarily mean romantic life, just some time in her world where she's not fighting with budgets and silly noodles and giving boss lady exposition. In case it is not clear from my blog, I'm here for Prentiss first and foremost.

+Y'know what also would be Great? An Emily gives Luke advice or shit (or both) about Garcia scene.

+JJ & Emily exchanging meaningful, possibly amused, looks. Context hardly matters to me at this point, since Jemily has long since graduated into the realm of AU/canon divergence. I just like to look at them looking at each other, I'm a simple gal.

+Tara and Rebecca go on a date, smooch, or generally continue to be cute. It's so much fun to see Nicole Pacent again. I first encountered her in the Anyone But Me web series lo these many years ago. That was really important to me at the time it was coming out because I was also coming out around then. Go check it out.

+more hugs all around. Garcia is on the right track there.

[vedantbhoomidigital]

Anpuma's ideal son Samar will now become a villain, Sagar Parekh will be seen in this show.

Anupama: Anupama fame Sagar Parekh is known by the fans as Samar. Sagar played the role of Anu and Vanraj's younger son in the serial. Sagar had replaced Paras Kalnawat in the show. Now Sagar has got a new show. The actor will return to TV with a role which his fans will be happy to see. Now Sagar is going to work in Mera Balam Thanedar. Anupama's on-screen son Samar will be seen in this…