#where does released 13-14 episodes while filming the rest

[jonathanbyersphd]

It would appear that the children don't know that there was a movement from the Glee fandom to have Idina Menzel play Rachel's mom and that's why it happened. Like it was not an interesting coincidence it was Ryan Murphy being HEAVILY active on Twitter (and probably Tumblr too)

[stitchandani]

So why did you guys (Doverstar and Artistissues) make Stitch and Ani? Is it going to be a Disney Channel series or something else. Seriously you guys have got to tell me everything.

Doverstar

Hi there! Thank you for your interest in this silly thing! Oh, it is 100% NOT going to be a Disney Channel series. It's not going to be a Disney anything. It's fan-made! It's art, fancanons, ideas, and snippets of fanfic. It's not a blueprint for anything official, just for fun. We don't own Lilo and Stitch's franchise or any piece of it! This is a fan spinoff. More detail under the cut!

Stitch and Ani is something I made up when I was 13 (so, a long time ago). In 2008, Disney released a Japanese anime spinoff of Lilo and Stitch: the Series called Stitch!. We hated on it for a long time for obvious reasons. Then in 2011, the anime released Season 3's 23rd episode, Lilo and the Reunion Day.

And I watched it and thought something like, "That's dumb, why did they do that, it could be better! I like the idea of Lilo having a daughter but the way they did it sucks." So I redid it with drawings and fanfics for myself because that's fun. I made up Zeke as Ani's father and the catalyst for Lilo and Stitch being separated, and I made up Kai as the mentioned-but-never-seen-in-the-anime child of David/Nani, and I redid Ani's physical appearance and gave her a personality outside of "Lilo 2.0". And then it grew from there and I decided to just remove any part of the anime from the Stitch and Ani 'canon' completely. As for Arti - I'll explain. ArtistIssues is my IRL sister (for those of you who weren't aware)! We're twins. She's by far the family expert on L&S, but we've both loved the franchise since we were little and watched the first film in theaters. Obsessed. It's been about 14 years since I first created Stitch and Ani, and for a good while it was just mine, and somewhere down the line Arti was basically like "have I told you my ideas about 621 and the cousins", and she had this whole excellent fancanon of her own that would easily tie in to my Stitch and Ani stuff. 621 was already vaguely the villain in my Stitch and Ani ideas, but I spent very little time on what he would do in the story because I like the humans best, whereas Arti's own separate story ideas were almost wholly focused on 621 and on Leroy and the rest of the Experiments. So we combined the ideas, essentially. Almost every part of what 621 is doing in this story with the cousins is Arti's handiwork, and basically everything else - the family drama, the human OCs, the way the story goes for Lilo and Stitch and Ani - that's all my handiwork. The basic story premise for Stitch and Ani is that it's a look at the future lives of the Pelekai family. Stitch and Lilo have been reunited after being apart for years (due to a misunderstanding in the past involving Ani's mysteriously-absent dad and Lilo and Stitch's behavior toward each other during her time in college), and now Lilo has a daughter and Nani has a son, and the family is trying to figure out how to go back to normal living on Kauai again with all this baggage from the past between them. Ani was a lonely kid living on Honolulu (with Lilo as a single parent) before the reunion with Stitch/Jumba/Pleakley, and Kai was an only child with David and Nani and an island full of aliens on Kauai before the reunion. Ani is excited to finally have a big family, and was raised on stories of Stitch and the other aliens so she's living the dream. Kai is not living the dream and does not like the alien half of his Ohana during the story - he's the series bully. Stitch and Lilo have some relational issues to work out and Ani ends up helping them with that during the story, while also learning where she fits in with the family. Meanwhile, the cousins on the island are disappearing from their One True Places, and 621 is behind that and the family has to figure out how that's happening and how to stop it so that everyone can be happy where they belong. The story is about redemption, selflessness, and unconditional love. The same things the original Lilo and Stitch was about 21 years ago! But the biggest theme in Stitch and Ani is actually forgiveness. (There's a separate story thread involving Zeke and what happened to him, but the story as a whole is not about Zeke and doesn't come into the main plot much. The explanation for what happened with Z is being kept secret for now, both from you guys and from Ani!) We're just doing this for fun together. Arti has much, much less time to contribute to the blog than I do because I work from home and she doesn't, and as we get older we have less time and energy to focus on fanart and fan projects, but we'll always love Lilo and Stitch, and I'll continue posting here as often as the mood takes me!

[technofantasia]

Rise of the TMNT Timeline

Alright, by piecing together some clues from the show and making some educated guesses, I’ve put together a tentative chronology for Rise!

(Note: not all episodes are included, just a couple that either have timeline evidence or are somehow plot notable. This is assuming the canonical episode order is also chronological order.)

[EDIT] Added some more information (namely Splinter’s birthday month).

1600s-ish: The Shredder was created and sealed away September 1960: Splinter was born 1966: Splinter’s mother left (Finale part 1 flashback) 1979: Splinter left for America (Finale part 1 flashback) 1980-1984: Splinter became an action film star, dated around 1984: Splinter started dating Big Mama 1987: Splinter’s “Hot Soup: the Game” was released 1989: Splinter proposed to Big Mama, was imprisoned in Battle Nexus November 2002: April was born April-August 2003: (Presumably) Raph was born April-August 2004: (Presumably) Leo and Donnie were born April-August 2005: (Presumably) Mikey was born October 2005: Splinter and the Turtles were mutated February 2014: The first Lair Games was held 2014-2016: Donnie made his first battleshell, goggles, and tech bracer Early 2018: Piebald was flushed August 2018: Mystic Mayhem (the series begins), Down with the Sickness September 2018: The Turtle Tank was created (The Fast and the Furriest), Bug Busters, Hypno part Deux October 2018: Bullhop,  Evil League of Mutants, Shelldon was first created (Smart Lair), Shadow of Evil November 2018: April’s 16th Birthday (Warren and Hypno), April meets Sunita (Operation: Normal) December 2018: Snow Day January 2019: S1 Finale February 2019: The sixth Lair Games was held (Lair Games), Repairin’ the Baron March 2019: Air Turtle April-May 2019: S2 Finale

(Reasoning below the cut!)

So. Assuming that the episodes occur in chronological order, we can reasonably assume that the course of the show proper takes around or slightly less than a year.

In Hypno Part Deux, April is going to a homecoming dance; homecoming dances happen usually around the beginning of the school year, in late September or early October. Since she is canonically 15 at the time (she says she’s 16 in Always Be Brownies, which happens after her birthday) and has a birthday that comes after homecoming, that would likely make her a high school junior! That’s not important, just a fun fact. Placing the beginning of the series around August makes sense, then, since it’d be before April started school and during flu season, giving Splinter a good reason for catching the rat flu in Down with the Sickness.

The other solid time marker we have is Snow Day, which obviously takes place during snow season in New York (which is usually December to March). It’d likely be closer to December, since I’d like to imagine that they would have gone out to have fun in the snow as soon as they could have, potentially even at first snow. Since Lair Games comes chronologically after Snow Day and confirms the year as being 2019, we can assume that most episodes that happen before Snow Day happened in 2018 while those after happened in 2019.

Another, slightly more tenuous time marker is Bullhop, where a calendar is shown that says the 21st of the month was on a Sunday; by our previous assumption, this is 2018, so a calendar shows this must have been during the month of October, which falls in line with the rest of our timeline here! Neat. The 2018-2019 NBA season went from October 6 to April 10, so, since Air Turtle presumably showed a late season game with potential for turnaround, early March seems like a fair bet. All of those episodes combined give a pretty good sense of time throughout the series, spanning from probably around August 2018 to Mid-2019. The finale could have happened any time after March and before June (when high school would end, meaning Sloppy Joe wouldn’t have had to be working Draxum’s kitchen). Because there were quite a few episodes that should have happened before the finale, though, I’ll split the difference and say the S2 finale happened in or around May.

Fun detail: by this timeline, April’s birthday is sometime between October and December/January, likely November (seeing as it comes after Bullhop but before Snow Day, and judging by the fall colors of the foliage in Operation Normal which comes directly after her birthday episode.)

As for the brothers, we can assume that they might have different birthdays judging by how in Lair Games, Mikey says that one of his favorite days is “my birthday”; if they all shared a birthday, he might have been more likely to say “our birthday”. They were mutated sometime close to October, but since they didn’t seem to see the date of their mutation as anything special in ELoM, we can assume they don’t celebrate it as their birthday. We know that at the beginning of the show, Mikey is 13, Leo and Donnie are 14, and Raph is 15; at no point during the show do any of them have a birthday, which leads me to assume that they are the same ages by the S2 finale. They COULD have had a birthday offscreen, but since birthdays are a pretty big thing for teenagers, I’d think that if one of them had a birthday it would be pretty noteworthy. I’ll just guess and say they didn’t have one. If that’s the case, then all of their birthdays would be some time between April-ish and August-ish. By the time the show starts, then, they would have already had their birthdays, confirming for us their (probably only guessed anyway but whatever) birth years as 2003, 2004, and 2005. Realistically, Splinter probably didn’t know how much older Raph was from any of the others or anything like that, but the years are still somewhat important for age calculation purposes. I could try to guess their birthday months by saying they might all have wanted a unique birthday month, but that would be complete conjecture on my part (as compared to the rest of this which is just mostly conjecture), and would honestly be more headcanon territory than an educated guess? So for the timeline I’ll just say that their birthdays are between April and August.

Now, reaching further backwards to figure out Splinter’s life timeline!

In Splinter’s memories in E-turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we see a clip of a teenage Splinter. Said “teenage splinter” looks to be on the older side of teenager, as he seems to have his own apartment and just looks older besides, so I’d place him at either 18 or 19 (leaning towards 19). Additionally, taking a look around his room, it looks like he might be using a Sony Walkman (first made in 1979), and has what looks to be a Star Wars poster on his wall (1977). Additionally, he has a TV in his room that looks to be a Toshiba Blackstripe model that was popular in the mid-to-late 70s. While I can’t tell if he does actually have a walkman or not, I’d probably place this scene as being 1978 or 1979 anyway, so let’s just say it’s 1979. If he was 19 in 1979, that would place Splinter’s birth year as 1960, which is nice and even so I’m keeping it. That would make Splinter 58-59 during the course of the show, which seems to track! He has a birthday in Mascot Melee (the turtles are buying him a new robe as a birthday present), which, according to my episode timeline, puts his birthday around early September.

The flashback of Splinter as a kid is a little bit tricky, since he looks to be about five or six judging by how he acts in the scene? But he’s also holding a Kamen Rider doll, and that show didn’t exist until 1971. I nonetheless place the scene in 1966, since this is a cartoon and hey, maybe the Kamen Rider equivalent came out a few years earlier in this world, who cares. The bottle flip challenge already apparently happened in 2014 here, why not move some other stuff around? This exercise has already had me comparing calendar days, I will not be deterred

In Many Unhappy Returns, the clapperboard for the film “Crouching Shrimp, Hidden Tiger Prawn” in Splinter’s flashback shows that it was 1984 when he first met Big Mama, meaning that he was not only Lou Jitsu by then (at just 24 years old!), but that he had been making movies for at least a few years. After all, he and Big Mama were supposedly inseparable after meeting, and in The Shadow of Evil, it’s shown that Splinter did date around a bit as a star. Assuming that rat dad isn’t the cheating type, that would have had to be before meeting Big Mama. In Fists of Furry, Splinter mentions that he hasn’t seen any of his dojos in thirty years; while he may not have meant literally thirty years on the dot, assuming he’s at least close, that would mean that he was first abducted around 1989 (age 29). At that point, he and Big Mama would have been dating for around 5 years, which seems like a reasonable amount of time for him to wait before proposing. He also would have had time to build up quite a bit of fame as a movie star; the game he had of him looks to be on a system similar to the Atari 2600 and in fact looks pretty similar to the real life game “Kung Fu Master” that came out on Atari in 1987, a year which would have been the prime of his career. Sure, that date works as well as any. After that point, we know he was imprisoned in the Battle Nexus until Baron Draxum kidnapped him in order to use his DNA to mutate the turtles 13 years before The Evil League of Mutants. That would have placed his kidnapping and their mutations at around October of 2005, judging by the monthly timeline of the show. So, Splinter would have been around 45 when he adopted the turtles, after having been imprisoned and forced to fight for ~16 straight years. Dang.

Finally, I figured that the whole deal with Shredder and Karai would have happened at some point in the 1600s as it was 18 generations ago, judging by the number of “greats” in Karai’s grandma title, and if you average out a generation to be about 20-25 years, that lands you in the range of the 15th century. That works especially because Ninja apparently first started becoming a thing in the 15th century, so the timing checks out well enough.

(and, just as an extra fun note for the timeline, the lair games was said to have been going on for 6 years as of early 2019, meaning it must have started in 2014. We see that, in 2014 (year 1 of the Lair Games), Donnie doesn’t have his goggles or battleshell and is instead wearing glasses. In 2016 (year 3), though, he looks about the same as he does in the present, meaning he must have created all his tech that he wears on him (battleshell, goggles, tech bracer) between 2014 and 2016.)

So, the above timeline is a guesstimated and shoved around compilation of all this totally meaningless investigation, typed in a form that makes some kind of chronological sense! I hope that someone finds it useful, or just fun to think about :D

[neversatisfiedwithlife]

for the mostly likely to thing, i saw these questions on a glee page awhile ago, but if you want to answer them for cazzie that’d be great :p

1. Who spends almost all their money on the other?

2. Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions?

3. Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired?

4. Who is the most affectionate?

5. Who falls asleep in the others lap and who carries them to bed?

6. Who wakes up first?

7. Who apologizes first after an argument?

8. Who is the nerd?

9. Who makes the other one laugh the most?

10. Who sleep talks?

11. Who hogs the blankets at night?

12. Who is the neat freak?

13. Who likes to surprise the other with random gifts?

14. Who buys the healthy food in the house?

15. Who has better music taste?

16. Who takes care of the spiders?

17. Who uses more nicknames

18. Who’s the little spoon?

19. Who suggests scary movies for film night?

20. Who gets jealous more often?

21. Who brings up kids first?

22. Who borrows who’s clothes more?

23. Who cries more during sad movies?

24. Who falls asleep on the other more?

25. Who says I love you more?

26. Who initiates kisses more?

27. Who initiates hugs more?

28. Who takes more pictures of the other?

29. Who leaves notes for the other one around the house?

30. Who gets drunk faster?

31. Who gets hit on more by strangers?

32. Who makes food for the house more often?

Most likely to:

(I love that you found it on a glee page! Anyways of course I want to do them!!!)

This is long so get comfortable besties😌 I didn't proof read so all mistakes are on purpose.

Spend their money on the other: Casey would spend a larger portion of her money on Izzie or just like on things they can do together. (I think Izzie would just be engrain to make her money go as fat as it can so she's more restrained or critiac about how/where she spends her money)

Which one drives the car: this one is simple, its Casey. Do we even know if Izzie drives? (Like ideally being the one who takes care of her siblings it'd help, but anyways. Yes Casey is the driver, I can see Casey love being the one behind the wheel. Also how she was with Sam I could see her as a back seat driver or like "why didn't you take this route" just asking stuff even if she tries not to. So in the end it's just easier to have her drive lol)

Which one gives the other a piggy back ride: we saw Casey lift Izzie up so I'm obligated to say Casey! (Okay so picture after a track practice Izzie is really exhausted; the work load of school and babysitting her siblings really hitting her that week. Casey offers her a piggy back ride, Izzie is skeptical at first, but Casey is so reassuring about it)

Who is the most affectionate: ooh this one is hard overall I think I'd say Izzie, Casey more initiates kissing, but Izzie just likes to be touching Casey. (While watching tv Izzie will have her hand resting on Casey's leg, or like sit close enough to where their shoulders touch, the way Izzie stretches out herself on top of Casey when they're in her bed. Izzie initiates hand holding)

Who falls asleep in the others lap: Izzie established cannot stay up for the life of her plus again we got the cazzie bridal style carrying scene!! (I think even more cuddled up to Casey she definitely can't stay awake, she'd just feel so safe and at ease. Lights out comes quickly lol)

Who wakes up first: Izzie is up first, again this is me seeing her as the caretaker of her siblings and not going on Casey's painful track running schedule. (Ik in that one episode Casey is up first, but casey was trying to avoid Izzie, anyways Izzie probably has to get her siblings up for school or just make sure they're fed and what not so I can see her generally being conditioned to wake up first.)

Who apologize first after an argument: I feel like this totally depends on the argument; who/what started it and what it's about. Generally both are good at apologizing and don't stretch out the argument (sorry if that's like a cop out and not a definitive answer)

Who is the nerd: Izzie without a doubt (i feel like she enjoys learning new things. Maybe she doesn't necessarily love studying school material all the time, but also I feel like maybe studying started as an escape or distraction from always being her siblings care taker and soon she just learned to love it. Or just loved knowledge)

Who makes the other one laugh the most: I say Casey, they both definitely make each other laugh but Casey takes it to another level. (Like when paige is at the door and Casey is like "do you think that's them here to kick us out in person". Casey uses humor to help Izzie unwind when she's too in her head about stuff.)

Who sleep talks: Casey, why do I feel like one of them actually slept tall? Am I hallucinating...what is happening. (Anyways I feel like Casey like if she had a nightmare or something she'd mumble in her sleep and like startle awake. Or of she's really stressed and overwhelmed she's in a more restless type sleeping state)

Who hogs the blankets: (I did answer this) But Casey hogs the covers, I'll add that Izzie is fine just curling up in a ball above the blankets and fall asleep. (Why did I have the thought they're doing laundry the blankets aren't dried yet but when they finally dry Casey finds Izzie sound asleep on the blanket less bed)

Who is the neat freak: I wouldn't say either of them are nec a neat freak, but I feel Izzie would want things in particular locations and Casey can just roll with it.

Who likes to surprise the other with random gifts: Izzie, though she doesn't spend large portions of her money she likes finding small things,knickknacks or like stuffed animals or just like a sweet, that will make Casey happy. (Having younger siblings that she actively has to care for has taught her that it doesn't matter the size of the gift or if it's sparkly)

Who buys the healthy food: Casey clearly didn't approve of Elsa's green stuff sticking out of the back so definitely Izzie. (Izzie enjoys her fare share of snacks but she knows the day has to be balanced with more than "empty" calories. She is patient though in finding the healthy stuff that Casey actually likes.)

Who has better music taste: I'd say Casey in that she would have a more diverse music taste, she'd expose herself to more genres and like eras of music (Izzie feels like a whatever is on the radio or popular on the music charts-this is not slander just vibes I get lol)

Who takes care of the spider: definitely Izzie (I can see her being the person who catches and releases it while Casey is just telling her to "squish it, squish it!")

Who uses more nicknames: probably Izzie, I feel like she uses a more diverse collections of nicknames for Casey. Just like whatever fits the moment. (Casey would just use Izz, dude and a choice pet name)

Who's the little spoon: IZZIE!!! Miss curl up into a ball and fall asleep, she'd definitely pull Casey's arms to wrap around herself.

Who suggest scary movies for film night: I think Izzie is the one to coax them into actually watching a movie, but Casey is actually the one who enjoys them more or is just less put off by them? (Casey totally teases her, never goes too far, about it before the movie.)

Who gets jealous more often: I feel like this belongs to Izzie, like she has more self doubt and insecurities about how much she deserves Casey.

Who brings up kids first: Izzie does, maybe they're studying and making useless conversations, they're on the topic of her siblings. (Maybe you'd thing dealing with kids all her life and an unsupportive mom would put her off; but I think it doesn't. I feel like Casey just genuinely never stopped to really think about kids. Or maybe she thinks she wouldn't be good with kids. Like yes shes amazing with Sam, but to her that's not the same. Izzie reassures her she'd make a great parent, if she wanted to be.)

Who borrows who's clothes more: I could see Izzie borrowing a shirt or hoodie to lounge in, but I dont see it regularly. (Also Casey I noticed wears like oversized shirts often so I dont think the fit of Izzie's clothes would satisfy her.)

Who cries more during sad movies: Casey does. It is something she will deny with her entire being, but it's her.

Who falls asleep on the other more: I'll choose a specific situation for this, not a general thing: when they're talking on the phone late at night I actually think Casey would be the one who ends up falling asleep. (Ik this probably meant literally but this is where my brain went)

Who says I love you more: I feel like Casey. (I feel like for Casey the environment she was raised in it just is easier for her to say it, or it comes more naturally. Izzie uses actions to show her love because sometimes the words I love you coming from her own mouth feel foreign).

Who initiates kisses more: Casey, I think she both initiates kisses and "steals" kisses more.

Who initiates hugs more: if I say Casey with no explanation you have to accept it!

Who takes more pictures of the other: Izzie takes more pictures of Casey (I can see Casey as the person who just loves to pull stupid(affectionate) poses that make Izzie laugh. Also idk I feel like Izzie would be less inclined to have her picture taken and Casey would respect that. They would definitely take pictures together inspite of that though because Izzie wants to capture every moment with her girl.)

Who leaves notes for the other around the house: this plays into the nicknames thing, I think Izzie would leave the most cute/ridiculous notes with like the most cute/ridiculous nicknames for Casey. (Ik Casey made the tarot deck but I can just visualize Izzie doing this lol, sue me.)

Who gets drunk faster: Casey. I see Izzie as the one who has more parties in her past, and ofc she drank so she has more tolerance. Especially being at clayton longer with the track gang and Nate 🤢 (Izzie having to take a drunk Casey home early because she can barely stand on her feet securely, this is when Izzie gets to drive 😌)

Who gets hit on more by strangers: I think Izzie, she gets hit on more by disrespectful men and Casey shuts that down right quick.

Who makes food for the house more often: Izzie, I think she totally loves cooking. She loves trying out new recipes and has a bunch of cookbooks.

[thesomberfest]

Star Wars: Timestamps and Thoughts; The Empire Strikes Back

Salutations to all. Welcome back to my blog thing? Anyways today is the one and only The Empire Strikes Back which I think may be the most iconic Star Wars movie. But, don’t quote me on that. I’m only saying that as someone who has heard about Star Wars movies from the outside and honestly out of all the movies The Empire Strikes Back is the one movie I’ve always heard about; name-wise. I don’t think I know any spoilers about this movie, so we’ll see. I’m new to this and I don’t know what I’m doing so please have mercy and help a sister out, thanks. I have some idea based on what the movie is about based on the name but I’ll just take what Disney Plus tells me. I honestly have nothing to say. Should I start writing predictions before writing the timestamps and writing my reaction if I’m right or wrong based on the last movie I watched. Does that make sense? I can’t think of any other way to word it differently but if it makes sense then okay, let’s continue. This isn’t a prediction but um is this the movie where Luke finds about his parentage? Or is it a bit too early? Am I too early? Oh well. While adding timestamps I thought it would be a cool idea to add a “Favorite Scene” section under my “Final Thoughts” sections, I hope y’all like it.

03/9 Edit: Y’all sorry this is late but tomorrow is my birthday and I decided to not do my schoolwork and instead watch Star Wars and write. Before y’all get any ideas: yes. I am in fact still a minor. thanks. 04/3 edit: I AM SORRY THIS IS LATE I HAVE NO EXCUSE

Movie: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Release Date: 1980

Summary(?): So obviously the Empire is going to strike back right? And Luke has to find Yoda to learn the ways of the Force? No? Oh and a final show down with Vader? Am I wrong again?

Warning: spoilers (yea no duh bibi) and mild language on my part

Timestamps

00:00:06- 20th Century Fox is here, hello.

00:00:22- the words on the screen have made an appearance

00:01:41- the iconic words have left, bye-bye

00:04:28- Han Solo

00:04:43- It’s Chewie

00:05:04- Ya’ll it’s my queen Leia. She’s looking badder than ever

00:05:22- so the guy we first saw was in fact Luke, whoops.

00:05:40- Han is leaving? What about Leia? Am I missing something?

00:06:00- Okay so I’m convinced that something happened between Han and Leia, right? She looks pissed, he also looks pissed. Uhhh...

00:06:03- Oh shoot, she called out his name and went after him.

00:06:27- the way Leia feels about him? Sexual tension?

00:06:34- does Han want Leia to admit she has feelings for him? Does she have feelings for him?

00:06:42- “Afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a good-bye kiss?”- woah there Han

00:06:47- yeah, something did happen. I’m calling it

00:06:53- YES 3PO and R2

00:07:12- Oh shoot, Han doesn’t want to talk to Leia no more

00:07:19- ain’t nobody know where Luke is

00:08:06- aw Han said Luke is his friend. Character development

00:08:36- um is that Luke being hanged upside down?

00:08:47- uh oh, it’s the abominable snowman, let’s uh call him Yeti for short

00:09:00- Lukie-boy that might be a bad idea 

00:09:34- he’s using the Force to get the lightsaber, nice

00:09:40- oh no, the Yeti noticed

00:09:48- he got the Lightsaber yayy

00:09:50- did he just cut off Yeti’s arm???

00:10:00- run forest run

00:10:40- aw R2 :( I want to give them a hug

00:11:58- Leia looks really nervous. Uh-oh

00:12:53- I’m sorry but Chewie wailing/crying a few minutes earlier makes me sad.

00:13:42- omg Yoda? Han found Luke I repeat he found Luke

00:15:16- I wondered where they filmed or if this was effects or something.

00:16:01- are they going to be found? oh I hope so

00:16:13- yay! Found at last!

00:16:35- i’m sorry. is that a man baby???

00:16:48- oh wait was that man baby Luke? Oh god i kinda feel bad now

00:17:02- aww Luke and Han. Their friendship gives me life (junior)

00:17:05- my queen!!!!

00:17:15- ok but seriously what happened between Han and Leia? I know something happened.

00:17:25- I know Han did not just call my boy Chewie a FUZZBALL, please

00:17:31- alone? South passage? was that when Han claimed he was leaving? Her TRUE FEELINGS

00:17:50- why does Luke look sad? Is it... is it because HE HAS FEELINGS FOR HER???

00:17:58- (lets out a female lead in horror movie scream) OH MY GOD. I KNEW A KISS WAS TO HAPPEN BUT SO SOON? AND ON THE MOUTH WITH A PEANUT GALLERY LEIA HAS SOME BALLS. SO IT WAS NOT A PECK LIKE I’D ASSUMED HUH OMG tho I feel bad for Luke ‘cause (i think) she only did it to spite Han also if my math is correct IT WAS FOUR SECONDS LONG. But like is this the only kiss between the two or is there more cause ummm...... AREN’T THEY RELATED? SIBLINGS? TWINS I THINK? *Sweet Home Alabama now playing*

00:18:13- why why does he look so smug? also Han about to kill Luke a man

00:19:14- idk what’s happening

00:19:18- pew pew

00:19:44- THE IMPERIAL MARCH omgg yess... I live for the movies music

00:20:32- oh no, the music ended

00:20:38- wait nvm it’s continuing we stand

00:20:40- breathing problems much?

00:20:52- It’s Darth Vader

00:21:47- wait, didn’t he (Luke) almost die? shouldn’t he like oh I don’t know RESTING?!

00:22:47- have i mentioned that I live for the Imperial March? ‘cause I love it

00:23:39- OH

00:23:51- he really dying in the background huh

00:23:57- so he’s like dead, right?

00:24:02- what’s happening? Are they gonna go against Vader?

00:24:12- what the hell is a stardestroyer?

00:24:44- i’ve been told the dark side has cookies so uh peace out. If you would like to reach me please send me a letter via mail. thanks.

00:25:39- once again shouldn’t Luke be resting???

00:25:53- aww I want those binoculars. Is that what they’re called? Idk but I want one

00:26:05- what the hell are Imperial Walkers?

00:26:27- oh. are those Imperial Walkers? Those robot-looking dogs? omg I thought they were talking about Stormtroopers.

00:26:30- laser beam robot doggies did not hesitate

00:26:40- aw look at Luke being leadership material

00:27:09- wow these walkers are slow huh as to be expected

00:27:50- OH NO DAK bruhh nooo

00:28:09- are those robot dogs really gonna win?

00:28:21- LANDING? You mean Vader isn’t even fighting down there? Is he going to join? Or just find Luke and kidnap him and spill the beans? Or is that just my active imagination running too far?

00:28:39- the music...*beautiful*

00:28:58- tying the feet and tripping the doggies seems to be the moves huh

00:29:15- ooh and face first into the snow. how embarrassing...

00:29:20- I just know someone is losing their job or life like that one dude from before

00:30:18- i like the explosions

00:30:52- while one of the those little planes fall i’m sitting here thinking: most book/movie/tv shows that have the whole two sides thing (good vs bad) there always seems to be a traitor which makes me wonder if the good guys have a traitor? possible plot? idk, we’ll see won’t we?

00:31:18- the way these little doggies walk keep reminding me of some eerie Tim Burton movie and idk whyyy

00:33:04- two robot doggies down one more to go

00:33:25- man I just know someone from the Dark Force is gonna be dead fired

00:34:08- are those stormtroopers? They run funny

00:34:12- Darth Vader!

00:34:45- wait i’m dumb. did Vader invade the building/camp they were hiding at?

00:35:18- what does Vader want exactly? Princess Leia? Luke? the so-called “rebel plans”? What am I missing?

00:35:42- they really said: “peace out”

00:36:30- not regrouping? and what the hell is the Dagobah system?

00:37:30- did two ships just crash?

00:39:10- the music really makes this asteroid field detour awesome

00:40:25- did they--did they just go in a asteroid? Orr..?

00:41:18- and just what the hell is Luke thinking? he putting my baby R2 in distress?

00:42:04- where in the HELL are they?

00:42:21- did my baby R2 just fall in the water? Can he even swim? Is it safe? Is he going to die? Idc how cute Luke is, I will hurt him if 2D dies!

00:42:33- what. how is R2 okay? I thought--

00:42:53- Is that R2 whistling?

00:42:57- oh god, is that Nessie? oh no--

00:43:10- OH MY GOODNESS DID NESSIE JUST EAT MY BABY R2 WHAT THE FUC--

00:43:41- R2 MY BABY WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU

00:44:01- YEA LUKE it was a bad idea going there! You put my sweet summer child R2 in danger! He almost got eaten as dinner!

00:44:18- ughhh the music is just AMAZINGGGG

00:44:38- whose brain is that? Is that what’s left of Mr. Anakin Skywalker? ooh now that I think about: what does Darth Vader look behind the helmet? I feel dumb for never thinking about that

00:45:34- hey you leave my man 3PO alone Solo

00:45:46- oh did Leia just fall into Han’s arms? ooh

00:45:56- “Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited” Leia woke up and choose violence 

00:46:56- oh OH Luke is looking for Yoda?

00:47:22- omg it’s YODA

00:47:48- man idk but lighting does wonders for Lukie-babe

00:48:26- is Yoda mocking Luke? ‘Cause I’m here for it

00:48:57- why is Luke lowkey being a pushover?

00:49:09- I KNOW Yoda isn’t hitting my baby R2 with a STICK the disrespect I-

00:49:56- at this point Yoda is just pulling on their legs for kicks and giggles huh

00:51:02- oh? alone? Leia and Han? my oh my

00:51:30- oh so now they hand-holding?

00:51:50- OMG when did they get so close to one another? I’m nervous

00:52:00- KISSING KISSING KISSING I REPEAT LEIA AND HAN ARE KISSING OH MY

00:52:04- ofc it’s 3PO to be the one to interrupt the kiss

00:52:14- oop-- Leia just left the crime scene. She’s going to pretend it never happened isn’t she?

00:53:04- wait. Vader isn’t emperor? Someone else is omg. I’m so dumb eye-

00:53:07- ew his side profile is not so good

00:53:10- the front is even uglier 

00:53:23- “young rebel”? my bby boy Luke?

00:53:25- “offspring of Anakin Skywalker”? wait a damn minute. Isn’t Vader oh idk ANAKIN SKYWALKER? Does that “emperor” guy not know? Or have I been lied to? WHAT AM I MISSING?

00:53:57- does this mean Anakin is considered to be a different person from Vader? I’m confused, someone explain please!

00:54:00- “could be turned”? say like Kylo? *dun dun dun* orr am I thinking too far?

00:54:16- “master”? you mean to tell me that Vader isn’t even the one pulling the strings? how embarrassing...

00:54:34- WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE R2 IN THE COLD RAIN?!

00:56:07- Luke my beauty dumbass just realized that Yoda was with the whole time

00:59:19- What is it?

00:59:29- Mynocks

00:59:35- oh hell no. I’m out

01:01:39- satan works hard but man does Luke work harder

01:01:57- “skinny boys are still the best oh i love when they slam and sweat.”-- Jack Off Jill, Lollirot (jolly good song) this one sentence describes it all :)

01:04:19- idk what’s happening but man does he look good. How long until y’all get tired of me simping over Luke?

01:04:40- wait WAIT THE FINAL SHOWDOWN IS IN THE FOREST? I THOUGHT-- I WAS TOLD--HOLD UP

01:05:01- but like, why it feel fake? Is this a dream? 

01:05:09- OH--[luke just decapitated Vader I-]

01:05:20- wait. it couldn’t have been that easy. This feels wrong-

01:05:29- omg. it’s luke! Wait what does this mean?

01:05:50- when i enter a room I would like the Imperial March to play, thanks.

01:06:26- uh, is that Boba Fett? If not I’m so sorry I’m new.

01:06:52- y’all I have a cofession to make: I have a fear of driving and my mother is forcing me to. How does this relate to the movie? Well, Han is steering the ship(?) so...

01:09:16- titanic part two?

01:10:31- my poor baby luke

01:11:37- luke please don’t give up :(

01:12:32- my man yoda showing up luke huh

01:13:35- uh oh. just like the first guy, he dead too. they’re just dropping like flies huh

01:16:05- and another kiss. a small peck, luke.

01:16:34- so is that Boba Fett or not? someone tell me please.

01:16:38- someone please run my baby R2 a bath

01:16:44-y’all the only time I can do a handstand is when I’m underwater (fun fact: i don’t like the pool)

01:16:51-[R2 is being levitated rn] if he falls and BREAKS into tiny pieces i’m quitting star wars

01:17:28- R2 good, he good “... I saw a city in the clouds.” you mean heaven?

01:17:37- “friends you have there” THEY’RE ALL GOING TO DIE WAIT--

01:19:50- they’ve [leia, han, chewie, 3PO] landed they’re safe, for now (i think)

01:20:25- [chewie replying “gahh!” to han] tell me why I laughed. I actually laughed like Chewie made a joke oh my...

01:20:34- uh oh [some dude just called han a slime(y)]

01:20:49- [they’re hugging now?] oh, wait. so they good now? or is this a joke?

01:22:01- i like the interior design of the building

01:22:49- [3PO gets blown up I think] what the hell just happened? 

01:25:13- he’s not coming back is he? [luke left to save han and leia]

01:26:13- finally. someone save 3PO or what’s left of him also I like leia’s new hairstyle it’s pretty

01:26:44- was 3PO decapitated? dismembered?!

01:26:55- good for chewie to fight for the parts of 3PO hopefully it’s all of his parts

01:27:35- my man 3PO in a box freaking dismembered and Lando out here flirting? 

01:28:30- what the hell? [its vader sitting at the head of the table] wait did Lando say a deal? as in turning in the princess? I--this is all happening so fast

01:28:41- [han and co. are now surrounded by boba fett and troopers] i bet they wished they’d stayed back in their rooms huh

01:30:31- oh so i’m assuming it was a stormtrooper who shot 3PO. what are they doing to han? omg is han being cooked alive?

01:31:33- wait I thought boba fett was a good guy? what the fvck.

01:32:05- what happened to han? mans looks traumatized 

01:32:34- oh leia...

01:34:14- i had also assumed all these years that vader was top boss and now i’m being told about some emperor guy? what 

01:35:18- i don’t understand why does boba fett want with han so bad? it can’t just be money, can it?

01:35:54- oh and another kiss and with an even bigger peanut gallery

01:38:22- what’s gonna happen to han now?

01:40:30- wait, is this where the showdown happens?

01:41:06- why is vader (his breathing) so loud?

01:41:10- OMG red vs. blue lightsaber

01:41:19- so this is it

01:42:01- oh, is lando helping them? does he feel guilty?

01:42:17- [chewie is currently choking the life out of lando] fuck yeah chewie

01:43:14- oh thank god R2 & 3PO have reunited once more

01:43:34- is it too late to save han now?

01:44:01- [back to the showdown, luke just lost his lightsaber] uh--this is why you never get too cocky too early, luke

01:44:27- [luke just flew?!] did he just fly like superman? what

01:44:31- who’s the emperor? I had assumed it was vader but i’m being told it isn’t?????

01:44:56- this showdown is a beautiful fight and those lightsabers are freaking cool 

01:46:15- it’s a beautiful dance and the Imperial March is giving me chills

01:46:32- [vader is throwing random objects at luke] aw that’s cheating. and nobody likes a cheater.

01:46:42- luke just flew out the window oh wait he good, now i think

01:47:12- hold up I just realized that they (han, chewie, leia) put 3PO in a fishnet bag (?) chewie really running around with 3PO like a backpack

01:47:49- [the citizens (?) are running] i’m getting titanic vibes and idk if i like it 

01:49:17- i hate to say it but these stormtroopers have really bad aim.

01:50:26- [vader just cut off luke’s hand] *shock* I-omg. He just did that. But, at the same time, I now understand the ERB Harry Potter v. Luke Skywalker so much more, make sense.

01:51:08- “father”? oh my...

01:51:17- “i am your father” oh my god. people this is not a drill, it happened, it happening uhh---

01:51:28- i feel so bad for luke. he looks like he’s about cry.

01:51:41- probs a bad time but luke’s kinda an ugly crier

01:52:14- [luke just fell & left vader standing] luke really said “i’d rather die”

01:54:04- wait, how does leia know where luke is? this some kind of force thing? maybe twin thing?

01:54:37- oh thank god they found luke

01:58:01- does vader care for luke? I mean probably not a lot since he DID chop off his sons own hand so idk

02:01:58- credits/the end

Final Thoughts? Wow. No yeah, I totally understand why Empire Strikes Back is a loved by all. It was amazing. I understand why it’s so talked about. This movie is beautiful; Leia/Han romance, 3PO and R2 banter, the good action. The soundtrack-THE SOUNDTRACK is SPECTACULAR and I would often fins myself rewinding scenes just to listen to the music. The visuals were so striking and appealing and it really showed during the showdown between luke and vader. 

Favorite Scene? Luke meeting Yoda and not knowing that Yoda was Yoda and every scene that included the Imperial March in the background.

If you have made it this far, thank you. I hope none of you people get tired of me fangirling over the Imperial March whilst simultaneously simping over Luke. Thank you for joining me on my adventure of watching Star Wars for the first time. If there’s any grammar mistakes I apologize. Also I got a cute R2 lego keychain from the lego store. Also if you want leave some comments I’m lowkey lonely. Thank you once again for joining me.

x bibi

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE CUCKOO CLOCK CONSPIRACY

January 13, 1951

“The Cuckoo Clock Conspiracy” (aka ”The Cuckoo Clock”) is episode #114 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on January 13, 1951.

This was the 16th episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season ending on March 31, 1951.  

Synopsis ~ Liz bought George's Christmas present, a cuckoo clock, with a rubber check, and now she needs to figure out a way to make good on it so the store owner won't repossess the clock.

Parts of this script concerning the cuckoo clock where later used in “The Kleptomaniac” (ILL S1;E27), filmed on March 7, 1952, and first aired on April 14, 1952. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) does not appear in this episode, but his character is mentioned. 

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (Mr. Haskell, the Jeweler) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). He then appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973.

GeGe Pearson (Mrs. Haskell, the Jeweler’s Wife / Miss Russell, George’s Secretary) did two other episodes of “My Favorite Husband.” She will play a New York City tourist in “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1) in 1955. She did the episode with her husband, Hal Gerard. The two actors were married in real-life. In 1956 the couple returned to CBS to appear in the same episode of “Damon Runyon Theatre.” She is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Crusader Rabbit. The couple died just a year apart in 1975 and 1976.

June Foray (Marie, the Beautician) was born June Lucille Forer in 1917 and was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Cindy Lou Who, Witch Hazel in the Bugs Bunny cartoons, Granny in the Tweety Bird cartoons, and many, many others. She provided the bark of Fred the dog on Season 6 of “I Love Lucy.” 

Ken Christy (Police Officer) later played the detective investigating the new tenants in “Oil Wells” (S3;E18) and will play the dock agent who directs Lucy to the helicopter that lowers her onto the deck of the S.S. Constitution in “Bon Voyage” (S5;E13). Christy was also featured on the TV series "Meet Corliss Archer” on CBS.

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Cooper’s, it’s morning. George is at breakfast. Liz is in the kitchen talking to Katie the Maid.” 

Liz compliments Katie with the goal of getting a loan of $14.95. She explains that she bought George a cuckoo clock for Christmas using a check with no money in the account. To prevent George from finding out, Liz wrote the check on an account at another bank - one where she hasn’t got an account - and could face jail. 

In the dining room, Liz cuddles up to George with the same compliments she used on Katie! They smooch. George realizes that Liz is buttering him up for money. Liz directly asks George for a loan of $15 but banker George reminds her that borrowing money is a slippery slope into debt. 

LIZ: “Look, Dale Carnegie, I need the money.” 

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) was the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. He was the author of the best-sellers How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948), as well as several other books.

George reminds Liz that she made a New Year’s resolution to pay him $25 if she went over budget, so in giving her the loan, she would actually owe him $40!  Liz tells him to forget the whole deal - she will find the money elsewhere. 

At the beauty salon, Liz asks beautician Marie (Gege Pearson) where to find Iris Atterbury. Iris is having a mud pack which cracks upon hearing Liz wants a loan. She was just getting ready to ask Liz for a loan, too. It seems that Rudolph and George stated the new year on an economy wave. 

LIZ: “I guess it’s in the air. Darn those Russians, anyway.” 

In 1950 and well into early 1951, the US Government committed to what was known as an ‘economy wave’ in order to save money that might be used for civil defense and bolstering European strength during the cold war with Russia. This economy wave extended to all facets of American business, including Hollywood, so it would have been a topic familiar to the writers of “My Favorite Husband” in early January 1951. 

Liz explains her dilemma to Iris, who suggests she phone the jeweler and ask him to hold the check a few days. Liz thinks it is worth a try and calls Mr. Haskell (Hans Conried), who declines to hold the check a moment longer. Liz turns on the tears. Mrs. Haskell (Gege Pearson) gets on the line - she’s unsympathetic to tears. Liz and Iris rush off to get the clock out of George’s office before it is repossessed! 

Wilbur Hatch’s play-off music is “As Time Goes By” written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became famous when it was featured in the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casablanca performed by Dooley Wilson as Sam (”Play it again, Sam.”) The song was likely chosen to tie-in with the episode’s clock theme. 

End of Part One

Announcer Bob LeMond does a live commercial, giving a recipe for a quick dessert using Jell-O.  

Part Two

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers once again, Liz is speeding to George’s office to make off with the cuckoo clock before Mr. Haskell, the jeweler, arrives to repossess it. Meanwhile, George Cooper in his office is just going out to lunch.”

George asks his secretary, Miss Russell (Gege Pearson), to wind the cuckoo clock while he is out.  After George leaves, she tries, but overwinds it. She takes it to Haskell’s to be fixed while George is out to lunch. 

Liz and Iris arrive and can’t find George, Miss Russell, or the cuckoo clock. They assume that Mr. Haskell has gotten there first and repossessed the clock!  They head towards Mr. Haskell’s Jewelry Shop.  

There they see the clock in the window!  Mr. Haskell explains that the clock in the window isn’t hers, but one just like it. He is a nervous wreck, thanks to a busy Christmas season. Liz still thinks that the window clock is hers, but Mr. Haskell insists it isn’t and won’t give it to her unless she pays for it. She and Iris leave in a huff. 

Outside they scheme to get what they think is their clock back. Liz will divert Mr. Haskell while Iris sneaks the clock out of the store. Iris is scared, but reluctantly agrees.  A whistle will be the signal that Mr. Haskell isn’t looking. 

Liz tells him she is shopping for Mr. Atterbury, who wants to buy his wife a present. Deciding on a diamond, a clueless Liz guesses that she wants 200 carats!  When Mr. Haskell whistles at the high carat-count, Iris mistakes it for the signal and tries to come in!  Liz blocks the door!  When Haskell goes to the back room for a diamond, Liz suddenly realizes she doesn’t known how to whistle, so calls to the back room asking him to repeat it for her!  Iris gets in and out just as...

MR. HASKELL (returning to the shop): “Would you like me to whistle a chorus of “Come to the Stable, Mabel”?   LIZ: “No, thanks!  Well, I’ll be running along now!  Bye!” 

Liz dashes out of the shop and hides the cuckoo clock under her coat!  

At the bank, Liz is greeted by Miss Russell, who tells her George isn’t back from lunch yet. They are shocked to discover that the cuckoo clock is back on the wall. They realize they have stolen Mr. Haskell’s new clock and must return it before he notices it is gone.   

They arrive at the Haskell’s and find a Policeman (Ken Christy) there. Liz quickly hides the clock under her coat, but it continually ‘cuckoos’ loudly in the presence of the officer!  Just as she’s about to be arrested for theft, Liz settles the matter by writing Mr. Haskell a post-dated check for January 20th - 1953! 

Lucille Ball could not have known it at the time, but one day earlier, on January 19, 1953, she gave birth to her son, Desi Jr. and on the same evening, Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky.  On January 20, 1953, headlines like the one above dominated the nation’s newspapers. 

End of Episode!

Bob LeMond does another live Jell-O commercial and reminds listeners to look for their ads in leading January magazines. 

[Oops! While announcing the episode’s credits, Bob LeMond mistakenly says “Hans Conried played by Mr. Haskell” instead of the other way around. There is background laughter by the other cast members and LeMond starts to laugh a bit while finishing his announcements.]

ANNOUNCER: “Be sure to watch for Lucille Ball as a would-be cosmetics dealer in her latest picture ‘The Fuller Brush Girl’.”

[suspiriu-m]

Examining Youth Culture

Youth Culture in television in cinema is a theme we’ve all seen before. In some way or another, we’ve all probably related or even seen ourselves in something we’ve watched. A lot of experiences we see in these coming of age style pieces most of the time have something to do with at least one of three recurring themes. Sex, drugs and alcohol. Character archetypes are also an important part of these stories too. To sum it up, we’re generally confronted with Jocks, Nerds, Goths, Popular Kids, Pot Heads etc.

A major point to take into account when looking at this type of media is the perspective the story is told from, and where it’s taking place. For example, Barry Jenkins’ 2016 film Moonlight, is completely different from 2018’s Love Simon, directed by Greg Berlanti. Moonlight tells the story of a young Black man named Chiron. Through three different time periods in his life, we see him come to terms with his identity and sexuality, all while living with his drug addicted mother in an impoverished neighborhood in Miami. Throughout the film Chiron not only faces the struggles of his sexuality within himself, but how his unaccepting peers react, his mess of a mother, and maneuvering masculinity without the guidance of his missing father. In a review written for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw says that Moonlight

“is a film about masculinity, the wounds and crises of which are the same for all sexualities, but conditioned by the background weather of race and class” ((Bradshaw Moonlight review – a visually ravishing portrait of masculinity).

Love Simon however, is a completely different ballgame. The juxtaposition between the two films is extremely noticeable, even from just from looking at their promotional images. While Moonlight is more of a serious, realistic and emotionally charged movie, Love Simon has more of a young adult, coming of age, happily ever after tone to it. In the film, the main character has to find his way through growing up, high school, coming out to his friends and family, but most importantly figuring out how Blue is. Blue is the person that Simon has formed a connection with through emailing each other. The only problem? He has absolutely no idea who Blue even is. One of the more important aspects of this film when looking to compare it to others is the fact that the main character and most of the cast are all white. Not only that, but it takes place in a much more suburban setting compared to that of Moonlight. Simon’s relationship with his parents is very strong, his friends are all super close to him and the impression is given that they would obviously support him once he comes out. Surprise, they do.

In terms of which character I related to from the selection of films and shows assigned, I don’t really feel like I can truthfully say that I felt some sort of connection with them. Being gay myself, there wasn’t a crazy amount of representation in terms of queer youth in the films. Yes in Mean Girls you had Damian but he was kind of underutilized and exaggerated. In Euphoria you have Jules who is a trans woman but that also isn’t something that I’ve experienced and won’t pretend to. Could I relate to a few aspects of her character? Of course, i’m sure anybody can. But am I able to say I identify with her? Definitely not. That’s not a bad thing though, trans stories need to be represented in the media. More importantly they don’t always have to be represented in some tragic story or situation. Even though we’ve seen more queer representation today than ever before. We still have a long way to go. Rachel Bays wrote an article for The Advance-Titan stating

“Out of 109 major studio releases in 2017 researched by GLAAD, roughly 13% had LGBTQ characters. Of these films, about 64% featured gay men, 36% featured lesbians, 14% featured bisexuals and 0% featured trans-inclusive content”(Bays The complicated history of queer representation in film: The Advance).

It’s imperative that we see more queer representation mashed with Youth Culture in our media because not every single person experiences the same thing, especially queer kids. In terms of Kids, Saved By The Bell and Mid 90’s, I don’t specifically remember any particular moments in which I personally felt any sort of strong connection.

Now, if we’re gonna speak about common themes in a lot of these stories, then here is where I can say I definitely connected with some situations more than specific characters. Sex, drugs and alcohol are topics we see come up in a lot of coming of age or youth centered stories. In Kids, the main cast is basically parading around the city smoking, drinking and fornicating multiple times throughout the entire day. In Euphoria, one of the main characters Rue suffers from drug addiction. Kat comes to terms with her sexual awakening and a lot of her storyline is focused on her coming in touch with that side of her, whether or not it was the best way to portray it. And most of the other characters are all seen smoking, drinking out having sex at some point in the series.

Growing up, especially in our teen years, we’ve all had the opportunity to partake in at least one of those activities previously mentioned. I know for a fact that I have definitely been to parties, drank alcohol, smoked weed. I’ve encountered hookups and the whole nine yards. Something that really stood out to me in Euphoria was the episode in which Jules ends up meeting with an older man in a hotel room late at night. We shall not name the character for sake of spoilers but those of you who watched know exactly who i’m talking about. That entire scene was just gut wrenching for me to watch and I know it was for many other young queer people as well. Everything about that scene was purposefully uncomfortable to watch from the cinematography, music, acting and the location.

Speaking of music, the soundtrack to a film or TV show is super important and a lot of the time helps the creators in getting their point across. Euphoria specifically used a lot of modern music but also threw in some classics as well. The singer-songwriter Labrinth played a big role in adding music to the show’s soundtrack. He even collaborated with Zendaya in making All For Us, the show’s theme and closing track. It was premiered in the last episode of the series and incorporated into the storyline with a performance by Zendaya herself. This song specifically is so important aside from the rest of the show’s music because it aids in showing Rue’s downfall at the end of the season. She goes through so much in her recovery and relapsing and her relationship with Jules that when Jules finally decides to hop on that train and leave even though Rue tells her it’s not the best idea, it absolutely crushed her. In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine, Labrinth stated “When you look back to your teenage days... it feels semi-magical but semi-crazy and semi-psychotic. I wanted to make sure the music felt like those things”(Marks How Labrinth Created the Perfect Soundtrack for HBO's 'Euphoria').

To help convey how certain songs can help in telling a story, I created a short playlist with songs that I felt matched certain plot points in the show. Without going into too much detail in an attempt to avoid spoilers, I want to give you guys a short explanation of each song about how I feel it can fit into the show. In no exact order, the first song I chose was Regulars by Allie X. The song is about trying to fit in with society and the people around you when you feel out of place all the time. Personally, I feel like this is a good representation of Rue when she comes home from rehab and has to try and blend back into society knowing that everybody knows where she was. Halsey’s Beautiful Stranger is about meeting somebody after being hurt so many times, or just being in a bad headspace and finally feeling like this person could be the one. This is a good explanation for how Rue feels about Jules when she first meets her. She’s hesitant but slowly starts to fall in love with her before Jules starts acting out. Contaminated by Banks is a piece about loving somebody but having their history or the other person's actions make you feel not so good about the relationship you have with them. This is how Rue feels after her first little fallout with Jules. They kind of have an on and off relationship throughout the season and Rue subconsciously has doubts. Simmer by Hayley Williams is a song about suppression. Suppressing your emotions, especially the bad ones like anger, fear, sadness, rage. Nate in the series suffers with a lot of mental suppression. He suppresses his feelings about his relationship with his father, his questioning sexuality, his feelings for a specific character. Although he does lose his cool multiple times throughout the show, it’s not until the end of the season that he really bursts and lets everything out. Another song from Hayley Williams with her band Paramore called Fake Happy is also on the playlist. Fake Happy, to put it simply, is exactly what the title suggests. Pretending to be okay when you’re really not. In the show Rue relapses a few times whether that be big or small, and she has to hide it from her friends and family.

Maddy and Cassie are both the pretty popular girls of this show, leading me to choose Rina Sawayama’s XS as a representation of them. The title XS, otherwise interpreted as “excess” is literally about money, appearance and materialistic items. All of which Cassie and Maddy display throughout the show. The popular cheerleaders with the nice clothes and toned bodies, the pretty makeup and done up hair. It’s a perfect representation of their characters in my opinion. Even though they do have storylines going deeper into their minds, this is what they portray on the surface level.

Hallucinogenics by Matt Masson is a song about going somewhere else most likely due to drugs, and feeling like a different person. Although the song is a bit lighthearted in terms of sound, I think it fits with the scene with Jules and Rue taking drugs together and tripping in her room together. Rue was wary about doing it especially after the fact that she just got clean, and she already has this war in her mind going on but she does it anyways because she likes Jules. Attack of Panic by Aly & Aj heavily focuses on anxiety, which is something Rue deals with multiple times throughout the show. Especially the episode when she’s in school and pretty much has a mental breakdown and runs to the bathroom and hides. Even though the character Kat isn’t the primary focus of the show, her storyline has a bit of line shined upon it multiple times. For her storyline i chose Doja Cat’s Cyber Sex. Kat becomes a cam girl at one point in her sexual awakening and kind of goes full throttle into it. The song talks about having sexual relations with somebody over the internet and that’s exactly what Kat does, except she sees it more as a way to make an income.

Last but not least, I of course had to choose Labrinth and Zendaya’s song made for the show All for Us. The song represents Rue’s feelings of not wanting to let her family down, knowing the struggles and pain they have gone through and not wanting to upset or disappoint them again. Everything she’s done to get clean and sober up has been because of them. She loves her family so dearly but in the end she just broke down again, all because of Jules and the mess that she got herself involved with pertaining to many of the other characters she meets throughout the show. I hope you guys enjoy the playlist and take a good listen to the lyrics and themes in each song! They might not be perfect, but to me they have a lot of commonalities with themes and specific moments and themes from the show!

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/playlist-for-euphoria/pl.u-AGAaiylr2l

[namelessarcher]

Hey, I’m kinda new to imagines and such as a while and loving your blog, only one that I can find that is active. Just wanted to say I appreciate your work and what you do, really helps me our when I’m in a fucked up place mentally. I’m also new to the Fate series, my only experience being FGO, where do you think I should start when I want to continue pursuing my interest in this series? It has so many installments, and is just really complicated....

Hello!! Sorry for a late response, I had to think this over for a while to answer the second part of the message properly haha. 

Thank you so much for following this blog and I’m glad that it brings joy into your life! (:

First, the Fate/Stay Night series.

As for entering the new Fate series, there’s… just so much going on. Fate/Stay Night was originally a visual novel, meaning that there were different routes. To generalize it, there are 3 main routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel. 

So, if you want to follow the routes in the general order of watching through Fate route, then UBW route, and then Heaven’s Feel, then you’d want to watch the following:

Fate/Zero (2011)

Fate/Stay Night (2006)

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014)

Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel 3 part movie: 2017, 2019, 2020)

Fate/Zero is the prequel to Fate/Stay Night, and it kind of gives you some (but not all) the background info that would help you connect why certain characters behave/interact with others the way they do. The rest are rather straight forward about which route they are, and I’ll refrain from diving too deep into what they’re about since I don’t want to spoil anything unintentionally.

As far as I know, all of these should still be on Netflix. But if they’re not, I’m sure you can find it somewhere else.

Now for the spin-off’s. 

Fate/Kaleid Linear Prisma Illya

4 seasons, released 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

S1 - 11 episodes, S2 - 11 eps, S3 - 10 eps, S4 - 12 eps

This anime is centered around Illya and friends. Essentially it involves the idea of the 7 main classes and then using their attributes to turn into magical girls, or enhancing said magical girl abilities. It’s both comedic and also a bit dark at some points, and is a completely different universe compared to Fate/Stay Night. The characters will be familiar to you after you go through the Fate/Stay Night series though!

Fate/Apocrypha 

Released 2017, 1 season, 25 episodes

This anime takes the original Holy Grail War and then multiplies it by 2 and turns it into a team event where you fight to the death (again). This one is in no way attached to the F/SN verse, but some characters may feel familiar to you since that’s just how the Fate series works.

Fate/EXTRA Last Encore 

Released 2018, 1 season, 13 episodes

The animated series that’s supposed to let you experience the PSP game that came out years ago under the name of Fate/EXTRA. I actually did not watch this, but according to my friends, it doesn’t follow the game plot completely, but is still a good watch if you want to know where some other characters and Servants appeared from. Unfortunately, since I never watched it, I can’t summarize this for you ):

El-Melloi’s Case Files - Rail Zeppelin Grace Note

Released 2019, 1 season, 14 episodes

Follows a certain magus from the Fate/Zero verse and his way of coping with the life that follows. It revolves around mostly him, but also his assistant who will look vaguely familiar to you. It’s a good watch, and it also brings in a lot of other characters that are familiar (after watching all the other stuff above).

This animated series specifically adapts one chapter of the El Melloi’s Case File, as the original platform for this content was a light novel that was then adapted into a manga.

Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family

Released 2018, 13 episodes

A really light-hearted series that revolves around the main protagonist of the Fate/Stay Night series and his interaction with others. It’s a really funny, warm, and light-hearted animation. Nothing similar to its predecessors in any way shape or form.

All this series will give you is cute interactions between characters that you thought wouldn’t exist - and make you hungry.

Carnival Phantasm

Released 2004, 16 episodes.

I originally wasn’t going to add this one to the list since it kind of has characters outside of Fate verse, but since it does still have Fate I shall add this in. 

This animation is basically a collection of funny, absurd, and comedic situations that the Fate verse characters and other Type Moon characters go through. It’s light-hearted, funny, and will honestly make you lose some brain cells while watching it, but I do really recommend watching it simply for the amusement.

If you don’t watch it though, at least watch the racing episode. Please- I beg of you

And last but not least, animations and movies made for the Fate/Grand Order portion of the franchise

Fate/Grand Order - First Order

Released 2016 as a film.

The adaptation of the game’s prologue. It’s a great way to see the characters that we know and love be animated from the mobage that we play

Fate/Grand Order - The Absolute Demonic Battlefront Babylonia - Initium Iter

Released 2019, 21 episodes

This is currently ongoing and is the anime adaptation of F/GO’s 7th Singularity - Babylon. If you played the game, you know what I’m talking about and I won’t have to divulge too much info. If you don’t play the game, I hope you give this anime a shot because it’s honestly pretty well animated and the pacing isn’t all that bad. Although I may be biased since this was indeed my favorite singularity out of all the singularities in F/GO.

Fate/Grand Order - The Sacred Round Table Realm Camelot - Wandering; Agateram + Fate/Grand Order - The Sacred Round Table Realm Camelot - Paladin; Agateram

To be released in 2020, a film

This is going to be based on the 6th singularity, Camelot. Another plot heavy spoiler that I will not go into detail with, but we’re expected to get this some time next year in 2020. The singularity is going to be split into 2 movies though, so we can look forward to that (:

[adazhang-221257]

Week 9

Watch episodes 1 and 2 of the series ‘The Genius of Photography’:

Episodes 1 FIXING THE SHADOWS questions

1. What year was photography ‘invented’?

1839

2. Who were the key people (one English, one French)?

French： Louis Daguerre

English： Henry Fox Talbot

3. What is the main difference between the two systems?

Daguerre fixed the image to a smooth, mirror-like metal plate. He made disposable(one-off) images. When viewing Daguerre's work, the light was reflected through the image. The light ranges from bright white, which is definitely reflected, to deep black. The biggest drawback is the inability to replicate the original photo. Daguerre is trying to open up a huge market, most personally.

Talbot presented the image on paper, and the way to get the image was from up-side-down to normal look after exposure. Talbot wanted to satisfy people their own desires

4. What do they suggest was the unintended consequence of photography?

The photographs were no longer random, because of how they are cropped, they became intentional.

Photographs revealed the details of the world and told us what should be focused on.

The consequence of the born of photography symbolized the coming new era. It changed the world and the way people understood the world. We entered the world of information and images.

5. What is Edward Muybridge famous for doing?

Motion study

The anatomy and the frozen moment which was interested Muybridge once when he was doing an experiment on the horses.

6. What was the first method of popular sharing of photographs?

The introduction of the card. It was small and easy to be posted.

7. What method did photographers first use in order to claim photography as art?

They instinctively turned to oil paintings for inspiration and confidence. Photographers followed the painters' path to create their work.

8. What company did George Eastman start?

The Eastman Kodak Company.

9. What did he invent (three things)?

The film

Kodak camera

Brownie camera 

10. What year was the $1 Brownie camera released?

1900

11. How old was Jacque Henry Lartigue when he was making his family photo albums?

19

12. What were photographic artists doing when snapshots become popular?

They were making differences with vernacular photography.

They tried to make photography as a branch of fine arts, they were doing imitations of drawing and paint makings. The pictorialists were looking at the past, they retreated in terms of the art style and contents. There were no cars or machines or poor people in pictorial pictures.

13. What did Edward Steichen take up during WWII?

Started aerial photograph, precision and sharpness are the main purposes, rather than arty vagaries.

Episodes 2 DOCUMENT FOR ARTISTS questions:

1. What was Karl Blossfeldt’s book from 1925?

Art Forms in Nature

2. What form of recording was he using?

Use the encyclopedic form to record the world typologies. On the shiny commercial paper.

3. Who was the first person to do this?

Anna Atkins

4. What are some of the things Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed?

Blast furnace

Water towers

Some bizarre creatures of industry

5. What did August Sander try to create a typology of in Germany in the 1920s?

Human typology

"The Face of the Times" in 1929

What Sander wanted to speak behind his photos are the chaotic conditions of Germany in the 1920s. 

6. What does Alexander Rodchenko believe about photography?

The camera is the tool of the new man and artist.

He used the camera to serve political reality and serve the people.

7. What did he try to change?

Changed the Belly Button Photography, tried to tell people about a different way of photographing the world. He was photographing the new society.

8. What magazine did he start?

USSR en construction

9. What technique did he use in the magazine?

Photomontage

10. What was Eugene Atget doing in Paris?

Documented the city ancient core from back street to shop front.

In the 1920s, he created the unique typology of the old Paris.

Towards the end of his life, he started to capture the undocumentary possibilities of photography. His photos then became to document the different range of reality.

11. What was Man Ray interested in exploring?

Ray was into the area of unreal. He interested in dreams, desires and the mediums unconscious mind.

12. What process did he discover?

Solarization

13. What is the famous photo Man Ray took of a Marcel Duchamp work?

The Large Glass

14. What famous exhibition happened in Stuttgart in 1929?

Film and Photo Show.

15. How did Stalin ‘remove his enemies from history’?

Using black ink on the faces.

16. Who brought Eugene Atget’s negatives to the USA?

Berenice Abbott

17. What organisation did Walker Evans work for in the 1930s before he was sacked in 1937?

The Farm Security Agency.

18. What did he photograph when working for them? 

To portray the government positively.

The wife of a sharecropper in 1936

19. What did Bill Brandt photograph during WWII?

A new type of social disorderAir-raid shelters and Londoners

=========================================================================

Planning for the second series

Intention

My general intention for this series still focuses on the idea of showing both the tradition and modernity within the food, examining how food can speak about different cultures. 

The tradition of drinking tea is one of the popular cultures of China over the centuries. In terms of showing the traditional side of my work, I think tea itself is already a good medium to speak about its own culture. Tea has a sense of tranquillity, and it indicates the length of history. In order to show the modernity, I decide to use some modern books and flowers as decorations in the backdrops and supported with modern colours of lighting and composition. For me, books are also the representation of the sense of serenity, so I think tea and books will be a great combination. 

Reading while having a cup of tea has already started a long time ago in history, until now, in today's society, people also like to brew a pot of tea and read a few pages of a book in their quiet and leisure time. I think this series of photos can reflect people’s modern lifestyle, like what they would do to relax, as well as portraying the peacefulness of that moment.

Planning and preparation

Research on techniques

1. Christina Leopold

I like the texture and beauty of the food in the foreground. Rather than using the plain backdrops, it is a good idea to include some other relevant objects to construct the photo.

The spoon works as a leading line in this picture. Leopold uses a spoon to lead our eyes to view from the front of the focal point to the rest of the objects.

The colour of the food on the plate corresponds to the colour of the waffle on the background, building up the connection and communication in between.

2. Nikolay Osmachiko 

The dark yellow-toned lighting helps a lot with creating the traditional atmosphere. The lighting comes from the top and leaves the shadows formed on the wooden table. The use of lighting lightens up the foreground and makes the teacups look clearly. It also puts the background into darkness and creates this profound depth for viewers.

The act of pouring the tea adds interesting elements and meanings to the photo as well as generating a sense of tradition. 

3. Suzy Hazelwood

The combination of books and tea creates a sense of serenity and leisure. I think having this combination in the photos is a great choice. 

My thought for the second series is to include some books to build up the atmosphere and meaning of the photos, I think it is a good idea to look at how other commercial photographers have done with the books in their photos. I think having the book opened would generate the feeling that someone is reading it.

Contact sheets

I found that lighting and composition are a bit hard to control due to the limited tools and space, so in the first few shots I was trying to get the good lighting and the right direction of where it should come from. 

I especially like IMG 0175 as the depth of field is created and the patterns on the cup are clearly shown.

In this contact sheet, I have taken most of the photos from the top angle. I think this angle is successful as it highlights the composition and geometric patterns formed by the props. Also, by including the hand within the pictures allows the photos to be more eye-catching.

I was also testing the lighting and background in this contact sheet. I thought it would be good to use some wooden materials to be the backdrop, however, that didn't turn out as I expected. And I also don't think that natural lighting can be helpful neither.

Reflection

While I was doing the second series, I was also thinking about the final presentation of my work. At the moment, I was thinking about making a web layout to promote food culture. So the style of this series would be generally similar to the previous one, such as using the same lighting, composition, colour and so on. For now, I decided to name this series "Culture - Tea".

Continuing with a similar style, this series was also taken against a pure black background. Normally, when photographing the idea of drinking tea or reading a book, the common thought is to include furniture in the backdrops to generate warm feelings. However, I would like to go against the common thoughts and portray them in my own style. I think it magnifies the content of the subject and the beauty of food. Although it may look plain as there is not much information shown, it produces another mysterious atmosphere that makes people wonder. The simplicity allows the audience to feel a more tranquil atmosphere and pay more attention to the relationship drawn between those subjects. 

Geometric shapes appear naturally in black backgrounds. They are made of the vague outline of the flowers, the arrangement of the book and the plate. Taking from the top angle creates an opportunity to portray these geometric lines more directly. The uses of colours and lighting are similar to the previous series. 

Books play a big role in portraying this group of photos, they not only make the picture hierarchical and structured but more importantly, they elevate the meaning of the pictures. From my perspective, tea and books have a lot in common. They can both demonstrate the idea of tradition and modernity as they both contain a long history.

Portraying the movement is the primary goal that I am aiming to achieve in this group of photos, as well as trying to show the combination of stillness and movement. So I photographed the interaction between the hand and the object to find that sense of motion. In my planning, I have thought about photographing the idea of pouring water, however, due to the limited space, I have not found a way to carry it out. So I photographed the steam of the tea instead, which I think also turned out quite well.

I'm not sure if the size of the cup is okay in this photo as it might seem to be a bit big. I chose this one because I like the depth of field and the patterns on the cup, helping the audience see and feel the sense of tradition clearly. The flowers in both the foreground and back are also making connections with the patterns on the cups.

My favourite part is the steam, and it looks more stand-out against a black background. I think it's a good way to show the movement and it makes the picture look more vivid, rather than just a still life. While I was adjusting the photo, I didn't make the steam too obvious as I still wanted the teacup to be the main focal point.

I think this one is a good example of showing the benefits of shooting from the top angle. It highlights the composition of objects, and the geometric lines formed on the background. The angle enhances the coordination of the image, allowing the audience to see the radiated pattern on the plate.

This is a typical picture of the hand interacting with the food. The hand reaches in from the left corner, forming a diagonal line that connects with the edge of the book. The book is placed open on the table with the tea on the top, showing the movement of reading the book. The overall picture shows a sense of tranquillity and leisure, and the gesture of hands enhances the meaning of the photo.

Feedback for moving on

Taking photos of the abstract forms of tea or books. I think I can take some close-ups to show the details of each small part. I'm not sure if I'm going to abstract the item in the next shot, at the moment I prefer a simple close-up shot, but I'm going to try it and see what it looks like.

Rather than looking for something new to take pictures of, I would like to use what I have got already in these two series and develop them. I will mainly focus on showing the details of each element by doing close-ups. I think these new photos can also be used to build up each series.

[reconhq]

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to make a (very LGBTA positive) webseries of her own?.

oh boy! I sure do. I’ve actually been on a couple other projects other than Recon, all after the first season was written & mostly after the first season was shot, and ya girl has learned a lot because of and since season 1!

i am so sorry but this is going to be SO long. i am kinda obsessed with web series & digital content and it’s my actual professional career now so just… get ready. sorry 😅 i’ll add a TLDR at the end.

(p.s. this is just advice from me, Emma, and not the rest of the Recon team who may have different/additional advice, maybe someone will add on after the holidays) 

write your bible before anything! depending on if you’re co-creating or just co-producing/writing, this should be done before you bring on additional folks. if you’re co-creating, this is obviously a collaborative process. when i created recon, i did it on my own. i pitched the original idea to some dear friends (one of whom makes a cameo as a security guard in ep 20!) and got their opinions, adapted from their advice, and once i had a solid format, main character, and general plot, i started on the bible. it took probably a month of fucking around before i felt ready to write a bible. 

the basic components of a bible are a log line, short season overview, character breakdowns for your characters (mine are ~paragraph or two for main characters, with shorter ones for less central characters), a summary of the show’s main themes, genre and tones, and the format of the show (if you’re mapping out multiple seasons, it may be relevant to do this for each season as well as the overall show), as well as the most important part of your bible– the episode breakdowns. i’ll touch on those in a minute. 

i do all my original brainstorming on paper, because i am adhd as fuck and it’s easier for me. your bible isn’t the place to brainstorm. separate them out. not saying you have to write on paper, but have a separate doc for brainstorming so the formatting for your bible can be easy to follow. 

if you’re co-producing or having someone else produce your work, it makes sense to have your co-producer or producer right there with you as you work on your bible to give feedback. does this mean they’re writing it? no. is it useful as hell? yes. 

my partner-in-creative-crime justice and i tend to share bibles and brainstorm docs with each other when we’re working together on a project. depending on which roles we’re playing on each project (e.g., i’m producing his podcast COSMIC under our company name but not co-creating or writing, so i mostly gave notes on his bible. we’re also working on a series called Inked, and we’re more like co-creators there, so we both write in the doc.)

your bible is the holy doc of your show; it’s what you show to any writers, producers, designers, any creative working on your show so that everyone is on the same page. it is your main reference and guiding light through the whole season; make it clear, organized, and as easy to read as possible. i personally use google docs for my bibles, and use the hell out of the outline function. highly recommend, but everyone has their own system.

break your ENTIRE story before before you write a single script, before you write your pilot, before anything. it’s part of your bible.

if you’re not super familiar with tv/screenwriting, breaking a story means figuring out the beats. the breakdown of reason s1 started as messy af writing on whiteboards, and turned into this:

this is absolutely not what your first outlines or final drafts will look like. we changed…. a ton while writing our scripts. you can see even in this sequence– episode 8 and 9 got blurred, and we barely touched on ava’s past because there wasn’t room. regardless, this doc & breakdown served as the basis for all our writers and kept us all on roughly the same page. when we disagreed, we could go back to this and sort it out from there! 

find your people. two roles were crucial to me when we made recon: a mentor, and collaborators. having good people behind me was so so important; i could have never done this on my own.

i got…….. so lucky with my mentor, bernie su. he not only gave me incredible advice, read scripts, and reviewed cuts, he purchased the damn show, accounting for 75% of our funding. i feel like it’s important for me to acknowledge the luck and privilege i have here: the show would not happened without him, and i only got that chance because i live in LA, went to USC, and applied for the right job at the right time. HOWEVER, aside from the funding that made recon possible, bernie’s expertise seriously helped. after principle photography, we were left feeling lackluster, and bernie gave me advice that led me to make changes that transformed the show. having someone with experience– whether in tv, film, web series, any sort of writing– is invaluable. 

while i created recon on my own, i did not develop or make it on my own. the episode breakdowns? half me, half other people (mainly justice lol). the look of the show? EP/DP christa, production designer amanda, graphic designer hal, and justice as costuming lead. i did not write season 1 on my own. i recruited friends from USC and even one from high school to write episodes i didn’t think i could do justice (no pun intended). 

once you’ve found your people, trust them. there will obviously be cases where you disagree enough with someone’s creative opinions that you shouldn’t, but except in extreme cases, trust your people. try to only chose people you trust in the first place. letting go was so so so hard, but many of the best parts of recon happened because i got over myself and trusted my cast and crew. episode 16, player vs player, was justice’s baby, and i almost didn’t let him roll with the animations because i was too nervous. holy fuck, i’m so glad i trusted him. same with reflections (ep 15), written by my now-fiancé, which no one else could have written. hal was a bit unsure going in, but the episode is phenomenal. my production designer’s choices were amazing, and i had little to do with them other than being like “yes that is so cool let’s do it”

seriously. trust your people. watching bernie on artificial & emma approved trust us, his crew of mostly 20-somethings, with creative decisions taught me a huge lesson. i was 19 when he hired me, 19 when he bought the show, and he actually fucking trusted me and the rest of his team to do things. my initial reaction was what the fuck, but it worked. it also let him focus on the big picture while giving us the space we needed to feel creatively and emotionally fulfilled. trust your people.

this also applies to your actors. we had a google drive specifically for our actors to throw up ideas/backstory for their characters, and we’d read through it and give feedback and contributions. it led to better performances and characters with more depth. we also met with actors where we could to discuss their ideas for directions for their characters– video game nerd taylor came from convos with joré. 

katiemichal and kat were just like, the same people as their characters, so there was less of this, but there is definitely value in casting the irl versions of your characters as them.

edit your episodes individually, then read through the WHOLE SEASON at once to edit. repeat that until you read it and it’s cohesive. 

keep track of your timeline and your canon, even canon that’s not explicit in the show. there’s so much recon lore that we kept to ourselves that informs several decisions in the first season. 

unless your character’s race/ethnicity (even gender) is a key part of their character or the show, cast with an open net. ava was originally a white girl name jody. ana, the actress who played her, originally auditioned for riley, and we changed the character’s entire backstory for her, which added an amazing dimension to the show we get to see in reflections (and an upcoming podcast shh). lesson fucking learned on my part– almost too late. don’t be like me.

ren, on the other hand, we were 100% sure was non-binary, and although we opened auditions to all genders, we specified from the start it was a non-binary character and we’d give priority to queer/nb actors. it was the right choice.

PRODUCTION DESIGN IS FUCKING IMPORTANT. cinematography is great, and we obviously focused on it a lot w the style of our show, but PD tells so much of your story without saying a word or taking up a second of airtime.

sound is the single most important thing on set. you can make an ugly shot work, ugly sound will bring people immediately out of the show and possibly abandon it. we fucked up scheduling for Punching Bag, and had to delay its release (it was originally episode 13, not 14), hire a sound editor, and put a goddamn disclaimer on it because we didn’t have time to get good sound because of our own mistakes. arguably my biggest regret of the season, because the script and acting for that episode is so good, and we low-key ruined it. GET GOOD SOUND. 

only exception to this is probably coverage and continuity; although those can be fudged a lil more. get a script supervisor or have your AD do it so you don’t miss anything crucial. always get your masters first. 

schedule more than you think you should. like, down to the 15-minute block. it won’t work, but it will work worse if you don’t. do your best to stay on schedule (hint: AD/producer on set)

trust your gut. this is your baby, and your choices should service the story you want to tell. let that be your north star, and while you should let your story evolve with time and the contributions of your cast and crew,  

TL;DR: write your bible & break your season first. find a team you trust, and trust them with their choices (both cast & crew). if you can, find a mentor/someone with experience to give advice. edit your show both as individual episodes and as a whole season, multiple times. continuity is crucial, backstory is crucial, coverage is crucial, scheduling is crucial. GET GOOD SOUND. and always keep sight of the story you want to tell.

i am so sorry. this is a fucking essay. 

[cxhnow]

R&B duo (and real-life sisters) Chloe and Halle Bailey have unparalleled talent and an unbreakable bond. With a “sexy, darker” new sound and exciting solo projects on the way, the multihyphenates are all grown up and ready for their second act — both together and on their own. "You. Look. Stunning!" Halle Bailey watches as her older sister Chloe poses in a faux-leather Nanushka trench coat against a vibrant background of red and pink, Kelis's album Tasty blaring through the studio. Halle's eyes dart between the shots popping up on the monitor and the real-life vision that is 21-year-old Chloe, who smirks at her sister's instructions to "slay" and "work" as they echo in the cavernous studio. Chloe returns the favor when it's 19-year-old Halle's moment in front of the lens; being photographed separately is a rare occurrence for the pair. Chloe cheers Halle on as the latter poses in a houndstooth Area dress, nipped at the waist with a patent leather belt, and matching knee-high boots: "That's gorgeous! You're beautiful." When Chloe and Halle arrive at Milk Studios in Hollywood for our cover shoot on Oct. 29, the energy is celebratory; they are fresh from the set of the Freeform series Grown-ish. Chloe and Halle graduated from recurring roles on the Black-ish spinoff to series regulars for season two, playing college students and track star twins Jazz and Sky Forster. They — along with cast members Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Francia Raisa, and Luka Sabbat — just wrapped filming on the third season, which premieres Jan. 16. The next installment of the show promises an unplanned pregnancy, an acting debut from Kylie Jenner's former BFF Jordyn Woods, and a much-appreciated homage to Beyoncé's 2018 Homecoming performance. It's also a busy time for Chloe x Halle's music: in 2019 they dropped two singles, "Who Knew" and "Thinkin Bout Me," and are putting the finishing touches on their highly anticipated second studio album, Ungodly Hour, which drops this year. They are buzzing while talking about their new, more mature sound. "It's more grown; it's sexy, it's darker," Halle tells me. She and her sister showed up in laid-back looks before undergoing superhero-style transformations in a curtained-off section of the studio, where they snacked on chips and guacamole and drank green juice while trying on dozens of potential designer outfits. They are sweet and petite, and during a break from the photo shoot, they sit side by side on a velvet ottoman across from me. Both are wearing curve-hugging dresses by Dion Lee and have traded their matching Alevì Milano heels for slippers and slides. Chloe and Halle are defining themselves individually even more than before, and their style is part of that. Throughout the day, Halle will rock playfully sexy ensembles (my personal favorite is a Carrie Bradshaw-esque Maison Margiela button-down shirt cinched with a Zana Bayne belt). Chloe's outfits are equally grown-up and sexy, but with an edgy sophistication — she will channel Olivia Pope, smizing in a camel-colored Fendi trench coat and graphic Sophia Webster heels. Their looks will always complement each other but still reflect the woman wearing them. Their eyes are wide, their mocha skin glistening, braids cascading down their backs. The mood feels highly melanated and highly favored. Chloe and Halle's connection goes beyond the typical sibling bond — they are collaborators, costars, and best friends. It's what makes the stakes of this next stage of their career, as they explore a more adult sound and divergent career opportunities of their own, so high. To see them posing together is like watching a delicately choreographed dance. It's as if they each instinctively know which way the other is about to lean her arm or turn her head and will shift congruously. Between shots, Chloe and Halle smooth each other's braids, bump shoulders to the bass of "Milkshake," or talk in hushed tones. Chloe is the textbook older sister and ultimate hype girl ("The angel that's always in my ear," Halle tells me). "We'll always squeeze each other's hands or look in each other's eyes and crack a joke," Chloe says, admitting that they both sometimes feel anxious while posing on the red carpet or for photo shoots like this one. I recognize their subtle movements, exchanged glances, and seemingly secret language; it reminds me of the way that my sister and I — and sisters everywhere, really — exist in our own universe. Chloe and Halle spent their childhood in Atlanta before moving to LA, where they reside today with their parents Courtney and Doug and their 14-year-old brother, Branson ("We're the Three Musketeers," Chloe says). In 2011, they launched their YouTube channel with an impressive cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had." Wearing matching red tank tops and bouncy braided bobs, they showed off melodies reminiscent of vocalists well beyond their years (Chloe was 13, Halle just 11). They would go on to cover hits from John Legend, Alicia Keys, Lorde, and Rihanna. In 2015, their rendition of Beyoncé's "Pretty Hurts" got the attention of Bey herself, and she signed the duo to her Parkwood Entertainment management company. And, as they tell me, being the protégés of a megastar like Beyoncé is a masterclass in ambition. "She's a boss and she takes care of her own," Chloe says. "She's independent and knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to articulate that." They employ their mentor's take-charge attitude by trusting their instincts when making tough career choices. "That's what we truly admire about Beyoncé . . . she's allowed us to grow in our own right, and as much as she is vocal, she lets us fly on our own." Up until now, Chloe x Halle's sound has been bright, ethereal R&B soul; they released their debut EP Sugar Symphony in 2016, followed by a critically praised mixtape, The Two of Us. Their 2018 album The Kids Are Alright — with jazz-inflected trap-pop songs like "Happy Without Me," "Everywhere," and the Grown-ish theme song "Grown" — showcased their angelic harmonies, earning them Grammy nominations for best new artist and best urban contemporary album. They solidified their place in history with a chill-inducing performance of "America the Beautiful" at the 2019 Super Bowl. But with age comes experience and, yes, growth. The new Chloe x Halle era will reflect their sisterhood and the kind of women they aspire to be: powerful, strong, and effortlessly sexy. "We're not little kids anymore," Chloe tells me. Their sound has evolved from light and airy soul-pop into "edgier, grittier" R&B, like something you'd want to hear during an episode of Euphoria. They teased new music during an "electric, intense, and fun" performance at The Forum in LA late last year. "We played two new songs; 'Do It' — that's one of our favorites — and 'Rest of Your Life,'" Halle tells me during a phone conversation after the shoot. She describes both tracks as being high energy with party vibes. While Ungodly Hour will be a clear departure, the sisters seem to be more musically aligned than ever. Chloe and Halle say there's no formula to their music-making process. "We feel like that takes away any creativity," Chloe explains. They went delightfully old school for brainstorming sessions, filling two or three poster boards with magazine cutouts representing what the new project should feel like. Before creating music, they keep things breezy by having "tea time and girl chat" and narrowing down the themes they want to write about. "I'll make a beat and Halle will hear some really sick melodies and go on the mic and record them," Chloe says. "I'll lay some melodies down and splice [them] together, and then we do lyrics, but we never force it." Halle nods. "It's much like throwing paint on a wall and seeing what happens, and that's the beauty of it." When I ask how they landed on the album title Ungodly Hour, Halle tells me that it came from a single studio session with English electro artists Disclosure. "They are two brothers, and they're literally like mirrors of us," Halle says of duo Howard and Guy Lawrence, who they worked with on the up-tempo title track. "[Ungodly hour] was a phrase for that riff. We kind of spoke it into existence, you could say," Chloe continues. She reveals that one of their early mood boards included the phrase "The Trouble With Angels" (possibly a nod to the 1966 religious comedy starring Hayley Mills?), and notes how exciting it's been to tie those themes together. I spent hours holed up in my childhood bedroom plastering editorial images on any available surface, so it's nice to hear that some methods will never go out of style. But let's not get it twisted: Chloe and Halle aren't two girls making cute collages — they're artists with a precise vision and the talent to execute it. Their technique is free-flowing, but there's a keen attention to detail that influences those working with them. Singer-songwriter Victoria Monét, who helped pen chart-toppers for Fifth Harmony and Ariana Grande, collaborated with Chloe and Halle on Ungodly Hour. She confirmed my theory that they are Black girl magic personified. "I really admire their spirit," Monét said over email. "They feel amazing to be around, and their voices represent that." "They're so hands-on with everything, from melodies to lyrics and production," Nija Charles said over email. The 22-year-old songwriting phenom produced hits for Cardi B and Summer Walker and worked on the sisters' sensual kiss-off "Forgive Me." "Watching them work always makes me go back home and want to perfect my craft." Hands-on is certainly one way to describe the sisters, who play a role in writing, arranging, producing, and playing instruments on nearly all of their own music. What does it mean to two young, gifted, and Black businesswomen to have so much creative control of their work? "Since we were young, our parents instilled in us the power to do things on our own, and not rely on people if [we're] just as capable," Halle says. This encouragement is what motivated them to learn instruments and produce their own music as preteens. Although extraordinary on their own, Chloe and Halle are quick to praise those who have inspired them along the way. I can tell they harbor a deep sense of sisterhood within their own circle, a tight-knit group of family and close friends with the occasional superstar thrown in. It's galvanizing for them to see other young stars doing equally amazing things. "I stan over Zendaya. I love her, and Normani," Chloe says, beaming. "There are so many amazing women right now, and I'm just happy to be a part of this generation with them." Halle agrees, shouting out Grown-ish castmates Yara Shahidi, Francia Raisa, and Emily Arlook as women who uplift them when they're low. The feeling is mutual for 19-year-old Shahidi, who told me being part of Chloe and Halle's atmosphere is "truly a gift." "We share successes, challenges, frustrations, everything!" Shahidi said in an email. "I define sisterhood as an eternal bond with your best friend," Halle tells me. "I'm so fortunate that I get to do this with my sister every day." She looks up to Chloe more than anyone else; after all, as an older sibling, there's a responsibility (and sometimes pressure) to protect, guide, and set a good example. But Chloe is just as heart-eyed about Halle and lights up when talking about her. "Forget all the business stuff and the music and acting; this is my best friend," she says. "Whenever we're apart for 15 minutes, we're like, 'I miss you!' We're texting each other, FaceTiming. I love this one." I make a mental note to respond to unread texts from my sister. "You'll need each other one day" is something I heard a lot growing up, especially when being reprimanded for terrorizing my younger sister. And it occurs to me that Halle and Chloe might need each other even more this year. In 2020, they are each embarking on big solo projects: Chloe in the supernatural thriller The Georgetown Project, her first major movie role as an adult, and Halle as Ariel in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. For Chloe, a self-professed scaredy cat, working on the "sophisticated horror film" with the likes of Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Samantha Mathis, and David Hyde Pierce has been a real game changer. "When I got the script, I fell in love with it. I was like, 'I have to do this,'" Chloe tells me. The movie follows a troubled actor (Crowe) who unravels while filming a thriller, and Chloe plays an actress cast alongside him in the project. She learned a lot about herself during the production process, but more importantly, she conquered her fear of scary movies. "I know how it works behind the scenes, so now when a scary movie trailer comes on, I don't close my eyes." When the topic turns to The Little Mermaid, Halle's enthusiasm is palpable. "It's so overwhelming, and beautiful, and breathtaking. I'm like, 'Wow, am I really doing this?'" she tells me. When I ask what she hopes to bring to such an iconic character, Halle takes a beat. "Freshness," she says. "Just being authentically me. It's amazing that the directors have been so forward in asking me to show my true self . . . that's been a really fun growing experience." Halle also tells me that she's most looking forward to the music ("Of course!"), and reveals that the movie will feature classics like "Part of Your World" and new songs written by composer Alan Menken, who scored the 1989 animated film. "I've been a fan of The Little Mermaid since I was 5, so those new songs are very exciting to me, as well as the old," Halle says. "That's probably like, ding, ding, ding! My number one." Halle's history-making casting news was announced in July 2019 and marked a major win for diversified representation, but drew criticism from those who don't think a Black woman should play a fictional sea creature. The defense came swiftly: Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall and Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel, showed support, as did Beyhive members worldwide. After spending a day in her presence, I can corroborate that Halle — with her doe eyes, dulcet-tone voice, and winsome charm — was born to play the role. I ask how she approaches the downsides that can come with celebrity. "It's beautiful that people are tuning in to our lives and that they love what we're doing, and I just think of them as friends," she says, unfazed. Chloe's older-sister senses are tingling. She sits up a little straighter. "You know when certain apps crash?" I do; a Twitter blackout is secretly one of my favorite things. "Who are you without these things, without your followers? You realize that you can't rely on outside validation for who you are as a human being. If I think I'm amazing, then I'm amazing." The sisters have flourished in the industry as Chloe x Halle the duo, two halves of a preternaturally talented whole. They appear at events together, maintain joint social media accounts, and don’t have separate Wikipedia pages (though that’s certainly going to change). They’re a dream team, navigating fame by leaning on each other. Working separately allows them to stretch as individuals, but as their careers evolve, it’s inevitable that their relationship will, too. Chloe seems genuinely joyful watching Halle grow into her own. “I see it happening right before my eyes and it makes me really happy,” she says. But those feelings of pride haven't come without a bit of loneliness, too — especially as Chloe films her first solo project. "In the beginning I was really, really sad," she tells me. There have been plenty of tears and, according to Chloe, plenty of text messages, too. "[Halle] texts all the time; daytime, all the time," Chloe laughs. "To have someone who's always in your corner encouraging you, and making you feel better when you're down . . . it's just such a good feeling. I'm just happy to have her as my partner in crime in life." Naturally, it’s also been “a little scary” for Halle, who admits that she’s been clinging to her sister over the years. Just as Chloe is the consummate firstborn, Halle fits snugly into her role as little sis, always looking to her “safety blanket.” She tells me that visiting Chloe on the set of The Georgetown Project gave her a new perspective. "I was just so proud of her, because you always want to see your beautiful sister succeed," Halle says. "We always do those monumental things together, so when I was able to be on the outside and look in, it was really cool." Ultimately Halle realized that — like gluing magazine cutouts to poster boards — some things don’t have to change: “Regardless of if I'm branching out, she's always going to be there. That bond and our sisterhood will never go away.” Though some things may be mapped out — production schedules, release dates, fishtail fittings — so much more lies ahead for Chloe and Halle. I ask where they see each other in five years. Halle springs up; she sees Chloe with every award in the book. “She’s going to flourish. What do you call it? EGOTs?” Chloe’s five-year vision includes even more plastered photos, but this time they’re of Halle, and they’re on giant billboards across the world. “I’ll be hearing her voice [singing] while walking down the street like, ‘Who is that? Oh yeah, that's my sister. I know her. You don't,’” she says. The three of us laugh, but their predictions aren’t out of the realm of possibility. Their Grown-ish costars agree: actor Trevor Jackson tells me he hopes to see them collecting armfuls of trophies and “truly dominating the world.” Shahidi insists Chloe and Halle’s hard work knows no bounds and remembers them simultaneously filming season one of Grown-ish and mixing their debut album, The Kids Are Alright. “The sky is not even the limit,” she cosigned. Chloe and Halle have more to shoot before the sun sets in smoky LA. It's been a long day, but their energy is still straight-up sparkly. We wrap up our conversation, exchanging thank yous before they disappear to the wardrobe area. They'll model more effortlessly sexy pieces from Nina Ricci and Fendi, cheerleading each other during lighting changes and eye shadow touch-ups, before the day gives way to night. As the sky changes, so does the vibe. Chloe is jetting off to North Carolina to film tomorrow morning without her sister, and they seem to be soaking up this moment in time. Things are coming to a close both on set and in their lives, chapters ending and new ones beginning. But no matter what comes next — together or separately, making music or making moves — Chloe and Halle will keep throwing paint at the wall and seeing what beautiful things come out of it. There's no magic formula. It's just what we sisters do. ★

More Photos

[goldstarnation]

FEBRUARY 2020 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of March 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: January schedule posts are due by the end of February 7 KST.

Overall Company

The company building spent a month free of Christmas decorations before the building was adorned in tasteful pinks and reds to celebrate Valentine’s Day — not that the idols are allowed to celebrate the holiday in the halls of the company building, of course. Most of the company artists are holding tours or fan meetings or traveling overseas this month, so the decorations might as well be more for the illusion of effort than any real attempt to raise company morale. There isn’t much to be said for news and events from the higher-ups this month again, though.

Important dates:

N/A

Gold Star Soloist 1

By the first half of the month, the tracklist for her mini-album is officially locked in and she’ll finish up recording what she needs to by the end of the month. “Love Poem” has been chosen to be released in March before her album comes out in May. It won’t get a music video, but Gold Star knows she doesn’t need one to be met with success. She’ll need to shoot the photo book for her album this month, as some of the images will serve as teasers for “Love Poem”.

Important dates:

February 20: Love Poem teaser image photo and photobook shoot.

Gold Star Soloist 2

Her Korean tour begins at the very end of the month (see January schedule for special stages). This means long hours in the dance practice studio and, as the concert nears, at the venue. Tickets have already gone on sale, but on the first of the month, she’ll go into a photo shoot for concept photos for the tour that will be used in further advertising and announcements regarding the tour.

Important dates:

February 1: National tour concept photo shoot.

February 29: I AM : RE-BORN tour concert at Incheon Culture & Arts Center in Incheon, South Korea.

Gold Star Soloist 3

Gold Star has set a comeback date for him in April. As had grown increasingly likely in discussions with the company, the single, “Love Die Young” will be entirely English to prelude his upcoming all-English album. It’ll be the first song he officially records off of his album, but it’s been chosen for what Gold Star hopes to be crossover appeal in Western markets while still, hopefully, staying within a marketable sound for the South Korean market so that he doesn’t isolate his domestic fans completely.

Important dates:

N/A

Silhouette

Silhouette takes off for their four date Japan tour mid-month and they’ll be in Japan for around a week, from the evening of the 15th to the morning of the 22nd. Before they leave, they’ll be given the demo guide of their next Japanese single “Bad Girl For You”, which they’ll need to be ready to record once they’re back in Seoul in the final week of the month. The MV won’t be shot until next month, but the members will go in to make sure their outfits for the music video are flattering at the end of the month.

Important dates:

February 16: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Namba Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

February 17: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Nagoya in Nagoya, Japan. 

February 19: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan. 

February 21: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan. 

February 28: Japanese single MV outfit fittings.

Aria

As they gear up for a fan meeting next month, Aria will need to attend fittings as well as shoots for the poster and some VCRs that will be used during the fan meeting itself. It hasn’t been long since fans have seen them, but it won’t make their audience any less expectant for a good show, so at the end of the month, they’ll begin having days of rehearsal in earnest to prepare for the dates next month.

Important dates:

February 5: Fan meeting poster photo shoot.

February 15: Fan meeting stage out fittings (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

February 20: Fan meeting VCRs 1 & 2 shoot.

Origin

On the eleventh, the members will be on set all day to shoot a CF for Indonesian e-commerce brand Tokopedia and three days later, they’ll be on set to shoot a CF for Formula E racing. Following that, Gold Star has granted the members a two week vacation, something that serves as an incredibly rare opportunity for them to travel and rest (granted, with manager supervision) if they’d like, or focus on their individual activities. Their vacation comes to an end so that they can attend another awards show at the end of the month. Gold Star have let them skip some of the minor awards shows, but they need Origin in the good graces of news outlets like the hosts of this one, so they aren’t done with awards shows yet.

Important dates:

February 11: Tokopedia CF filming.

February 14: Formula E CF filming.

February 15-28: Vacation period.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, Alien, 7ROPHY, Fuse).

Impulse

After their extended Seollal break, the Impulse members are back in action for the Oceania leg of their tour. There are only two dates, so they’ll only be in Australia from the 12th to the 17th before returning to Seoul. Next month, the members get the opportunity to hold a seven-show fan fest in Bangkok where each show will highlight one member who gets to give a solo song or dance cover of their choice for that performance, so the members are expected to be practicing their chosen solo covers this month ahead of that.

Important dates:

February 13: Keep Spinning World Tour concert at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

February 16: Keep Spinning World Tour concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Fuse

As recently designated Swiss tourism ambassadors, the members are off to Switzerland for ten days where they’ll film a series of promotional videos around the country called “Walk, Ride, Fly With Fuse”. They are working, but they’ll get some time in between to explore for themselves too in hopes the trip will leave enough of an impression on the members for some free promotion later on. They’ll have some time to recuperate from the trip once they get back before another awards show at the end of the month.

Important dates:

February 8-February 17: Trip to Switzerland and promotional video shoot.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, Alien, 7ROPHY, Origin).

Element

Element finishes off their North America tour mid-month with a short trip to the US and even get to spend Valentine’s Day with their fans in Atlanta (extra fan service toward fans for the holiday is expected). Once they return to Seoul in the second half of the month, it’s time for them to record their comeback single. A mini-documentary will be filmed for their YouTube channel that shows the lead up to their comeback to show fans the process behind preparing for comeback ( — if there’s the slightest chance it shows Element working hard enough that fans will be less annoyed with Element’s recent rate of one comeback per year, that would be a bonus).

Important dates:

February 13: 4lement in North America Tour concert at Patio Theater in Chicago, IL, USA.

February 14: 4lement in North America Tour concert at Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, GA, USA.

Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale’s first world tour continues! That means their video diary reality series does as well with a few new episodes in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. During their time in between, they’re continuing to prepare for their comeback with fittings and learning the choreography. They have a shoot for next month’s issue of Marie Claire Korea as well. Next month will be busy with overseas travel and preparations for their comeback and Coachella performance, so management recommends they get all the rest they can between this month’s schedules to prepare.

Important dates:

February 1: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Asia-World Arena in Hong Kong.

February 6: Marie Claire Korea March Issue photo shoot.

February 8: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.

February 17: Comeback MV and stage outfit fittings.

February 21: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

February 29: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Malawati Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

[dimensionsunited]

JULY 2019 DIMENSIONS ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of July 31 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

Each artist under the company will hold their own fan sign this month for Dimensions’ summer photo book to help raise company profits. Overall, this is a mixed bag of a month for the company, but they’re going strong and netizens aren’t debating the company’s right to be considered in the top three as much lately.

Important dates:

Various dates: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan signs.

Dimensions Soloist 1

Her North American tour finished successfully by the second week of the month and then she returns to South Korea to do her photo book fan sign. Upon her return, she’ll also begin testing out potential tracks for her next comeback which Dimensions wants to get in before the end of the year. The plan is currently for her next comeback to be another album so b-sides will be in consideration too. She’ll also be making an appearance on a special soloists-only episode of Weekly Idol with two of Gold Star’s soloists.

July 1: Warning Tour concert at Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, Canada.

July 3: Warning Tour concert at The Palace Theatre in Calgary, Canada.

July 5: Warning Tour concert at The Town Hall in New York, NY, USA. 

July 6: Warning Tour concert at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Canada

July 8: Warning Tour concert at Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C., USA. 

July 11: Warning Tour concert at Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City, Mexico.

July 16: Weekly Idol Soloist Special filming (also appearing: Gold Star Soloist 2, Gold Star Soloist 3, special appearance by BC Soloist 1, to air July 24)

July 28: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

Dimensions Soloist 2

Dimensions has internally confirmed his first solo concert for this fall, so he begins early meetings for that where they’ll discuss the eventual set list and concert concept. Dimensions plans to go with something more intimate and low key to match his down to earth image. The entire process of his first solo concert coming to life will be documented in videos to be uploaded online eventually for the fans. As additional content for the videos, this month, he’s encouraged to film himself talking to his company seniors about what to do to prepare for a first concert.

Important dates:

July 20: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

Gal.actic

It’s comeback month! That means final preparations for the first half of the month before they comeback and then it’s on to promotions. The title track is still classically Gal.actic sexy, but doesn’t have the gimmicky sexuality of their last couple of title tracks in a grab for more general public attention to make up for the male fans they lost with the “Be Ambitious” controversy. The song not charting as well digitally and only selling slightly better physically than their last comeback proves Dimensions’ strategy either worked or didn’t depending on how you look at it. They will get a blaze of attention when they’re picked as the first (and only) idols to do a new segment on Show Champion based on reading mean comments that receives a lot of backlash toward Dimensions and Show Champion and a lot of pity for the girls. It might not have been the way to get back Gal.actic into good favor Dimensions wanted, but it’s one way.

Important dates:

July 3: Someone Like U MV filming.

July 7: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

July 17: Release of “Someone Like U” & Naturalness mini album showcase, promotions continue until August 17. 

July 24: Show Champion Malicious Comments Box filming.

Alien

The members finish recording for their next album this month, and that includes recording the English version of Play it Cool which will be released in September following their comeback. They’ll also learn the comeback choreography this month and shoot the photo jacket for the album. Save for their photo book fan sign, most of their schedule is behind the scenes this month before they go into full steam with promotions and touring the rest of the year.

Important dates:

July 14: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

MARS

MARS is the first of three Dimensions’ comebacks this month and the focus for this comeback is more fandom-based than general public-based. As Alien and Unity branch out into the American market, MARS is Dimensions’ boy group that stays firmly situated in the Korean and Japanese markets, so the fan focus is directed at domestic fans with a number of fan signs and a Weekly Idol appearance. On top of that, the members will film a fan service series of one on one interviews where they speak informally dressed in vaguely school uniform reminiscent clothes as a fan reward for reaching a certain number of MV views. Members are also encouraged to be active on social media and do (supervised) live streams throughout the promotion period,

Important dates:

July 1: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

July 3: Release of “Callin’” & Callin’ single album showcase, promotions continue until August 3.

July 6: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

July 9: Weekly Idol filming (to air July 17).

July 14: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

July 15: MARS Talks Informally to Supernova fanservice interview filming.

July 16: After School Club appearance.

July 20: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

7ROPHY

More opportunities are coming 7ROPHY’s way. Not only are they performing at KCON NY, but they’ve also been chosen as the new faces of global Sephora x Memebox K-beauty brand Kaja. After learning the choreography for title track “Senorita” and b-side “Blow Your Mind” early in the month, the members will take off on a trip to San Francisco to film a short online reality show sponsored by Kaja Beauty and M2. While they’re there, they’ll try on Kaja makeup, explore the city, cook in the apartment they’re staying in, and make a member-filmed music video for the b-side “Blow Your Mind” on their new mini-album. After that, they’ll return to Seoul to film their title track MV and do final preparations for their comeback next month.

Important dates:

July 6: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: CHARM, Knight, & Decipher).

July 13: To Pepe reality show and Blow Your Mind MV filming in San Francisco, CA, USA.

July 14: To Pepe reality show and Blow Your Mind MV filming in San Francisco, CA, USA.

July 15: To Pepe reality show and Blow Your Mind MV filming in San Francisco, CA, USA.

July 18: Senorita MV filming.

Unity

The North American tour wraps up this month with more miscellaneous radio and online promotional activities. Their biggest non-tour schedule during their time in North America is an experience on The Late Late Show with James Corden where they’ll once again perform their comeback track and play a game of Flinch. After their final concert in Vancouver, they’ll hop on a late night flight back to Seoul. As soon as they arrive in Seoul, they’ll be taken to a late night shooting for their comeback music video which will go through the morning of the next day. There’s a big time crunch to get everything done in time for the day of the comeback on the 26th, so their week and a half back in Seoul before comeback with be nothing but work. Because of the time crunch, the release date of their Japanese album has been delayed a few weeks to September, but they’re still doing final studio recordings and album jacket shootings for it this month.

Important dates:

July 2: Unity 1st North America Tour concert at Rosemont Theater in Chicago, IL, USA. 

July 4: Unity 1st North America Tour concert at City National Civic in San Jose, CA, USA. 

July 7: Unity 1st North America Tour concert at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, CA, USA. 

July 9: Appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

July 12: Unity 1st North America Tour concert at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada. 

July 14: Unity 1st North America Tour concert at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada.

July 15: Superhuman MV filming.

July 20: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

July 26: Release of “Superhuman” & We Are Superhuman album showcase, promotions continue until August 26.

Lucid

Music show promotions end early in the month, but Dimensions has extended other promotions past that to include three fan signs and a radio show guesting. What is only meant to be a run of the mill festival performance on the 21st is what turns into the group’s most notable schedule this month, though, when a downpour prior to their performance makes the stage wet and leads to dangerous performance conditions (admin note: it’s plausible a couple of members may sustain an injury due to falling, but nothing that would affect their ability to continue regular schedules next month). In the days following, a fan cam of them performing “Me Gustas Tu” in the conditions will go viral and earn them praise for their professionalism, sending their song back up the charts and bringing in a flood of love calls for the group as the month ends. 

Important dates:

July 3: Guesting on MBC FM Shimshimtapa radio show.

July 5: Fan sign in Suwon.

July 6: End of music show promotions.

July 7: Fan sign in Sinchon.

July 13: Dimensions United Summer Photo Book fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

July 14: Fan sign in Myeongdong, Seoul.

July 15: Guesting on MBC FM Starry Night.

July 20: Fan sign in Incheon.

July 21: Performance at SBS Love FM & Hyundai Eco-Driving Concert.

July 27: Performance at 2019 Ulsan K-Pop Festival in Ulsan (also performing: Aria).

[bccity]

APRIL 2019 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of April 30 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

BC has been hoping to make the most of their joint brand deal with Lotte for the recent CFs and use it to their advantage in a way the other two companies aren’t, so they’ve arranged for all of their artists to attend a private, but very large business gala for a specific marketing department of Lotte. The official story is that they’re there to represent the recent deal made, but, in truth, it’s a business exchange where BC is getting paid for the celebrity attendance to increase the profile of the event. The dress code is formal and all idols are required to attend unless they are ill/injured.

Important dates:

April 27: Lotte business gala.

BC Soloist 1 - currently unavailable

BC Soloist 2 - currently unavailable

Decipher

Admin note: Please see this post regarding previous schedules and let me know if you have any questions. Previous mentions of a tour and tour preparations should now be disregarded and reinterpreted as comeback preparations.

Decipher will finish filming for their variety show at the beginning of the month and it will finish airing online alongside their comeback. They’ll be filming the music video for their comeback the second week of the month after finishing off studio recording and concept photo shoots, which is also when their comeback will be publicly confirmed.

Important dates:

April 3: Filming of final three episodes of group variety show.

April 29: Release of “Remember That” & mini album showcase, promotions continue until May 29.

April 30: Guesting on Kiss The Radio radio show.

              ↳ Decipher R & V

No schedules for the month.

BEE

The track list, concepts, and plans for their next comeback have been decided, so BEE begins comeback work this month. They’ve been confirmed (in business plans, not to the public yet) to come back the first week of June to jump in early on the rush of summer comebacks. Only two of the EP’s planned tracks are new, with the rest being remixes of earlier releases, so the focus will be on getting those two tracks recorded perfectly this month. They’ll also be meeting with stylists this month to finalize the wardrobe for promotions and assign style concepts. They’ve also been chosen to film a milk CF this month in continuing benefit from their successful comeback.

Important dates:

April 16: Milk CF filming.

Knight

Before they’re officially allowed to move out, the members will be finishing their reality show by filming four total episodes over a week-long trip out of Korea. From April 2 to April 5, they’ll be vacationing and filming in Hong Kong and staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong in their dorm rooming arrangements. They’ll then move onto the Maldives, where they’ll be staying in resort water villas in groups of three (selected by drawing straws on camera), to end their trip from April 6 to April 9. Upon their return to Korea on the 10th, the members are officially allowed to begin moving out of the dorm if they wish. The rest of the month will be a semi-break for the group before they’ll be getting back to work on their summer comeback. The track list will be finalized at the beginning of the month and studio recording will begin at the end of the month.

Important dates:

April 2 - 9: Vacation filming for reality show.

              ↳ White Knight

The sub-unit members will be doing final preparations for their Japan encore tour next month throughout the month of April.

Lipstick

Their June comeback and concept has been finalized and given a date. It’s a single and not an album since it will be released right before they begin their overseas dates for the tour and will function more as an advertisement for that than anything, but that doesn’t mean BC’s expectations are any lower. They’ll record the song this month to have it finished, but the main focus of their schedules will be on promotional photo shoots (promo shoot concept reference, members will have both groups and individual shots) and VCR filming (VCRs would be thematically similar to the ones here, but muns don’t need to stick to the exact VCRs) for the world tour.

Important dates:

April 12: Promotional photo shoot.

April 20 through April 25: VCR filmings (various solo, group, and paired CFs—muns can use different pairings of their choice as they wish).

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules.

CHARM

The second half of promotions brings with it more music show wins to round out the group’s most successful round of music show promotions, proving wrong any concerns that they had already peaked, and convincing BC to announce additional fan signs. The higher-ups are pleased with the financial and public success of the comeback so far, all things considered. After promotions end, the focus will be on preparations (rehearsal, VCR filming, etc.) for their May fanmeeting.

Important dates:

April 2: Guesting on Cool FM radio show.

April 6: Fansign in Mapo, Seoul.

April 12: Fansign in Gangnam, Seoul.

April 14: Fansign in Mapo, Seoul.

April 18: End of music show promotions.

WISH

Most of the month, WISH will be busy in Japan with their historic dome tour and other miscellaneous Japanese promotions, such as an appearance on Music Station during their first week of the tour. They’ll be shooting their photo jacket and learning the choreography for their next comeback while in Japan. Once they’re on South Korean soil for a while again at the end of the month, they’ll be pushed hard into final recordings for their comeback next month and all studio recordings are scheduled to be wrapped by the end of April so they can film the MV early next month.

Important dates:

April 3: #DreamDay tour concert at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

April 4: #DreamDay tour concert at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

April 5: Appearance on TV Asahi Music Station.

April 12: #DreamDay tour concert at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

April 13: #DreamDay tour concert at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. 

April 20: #DreamDay tour concert at Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Japan. 

April 24: The Fact Music Awards at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon.

April 28: Performance at SBS Inkigayo Super Concert in Gwangju.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

The Best (and Worst) Films of 2017

Determining what you deem to be the “best” films of a given year – or the “worst,” for that matter – is something of a drain. First of all, what, exactly, is your criteria? Do you choose the films that made the most impact on you? The ones that months later you still remember in vivid detail? The ones that seemed the best made? Sometimes, a film you dismiss one year you eventually come to realize is actually very, very good. Other times (though more rare), a film you absolutely loathed comes around for you and you realize you made a huge mistake in your original harsh judgment. Ultimately, it has to come down to the most basic and inexcusable of fallacies: It just feels right to you, for whatever reason, and shut up, it’s my list. This obviously makes these year-end lists little more than a document of my utterly subjective whims in a given calendar year, so take any of these so-called lists, no matter how definitive they want to appear to be, with a giant salt-lick block. Withering disclaimers in place, let’s go ahead and do this.

The 20 Best Films of 2017

20. Wind River Taylor Sheridan’s directing debut – a whodunit conducted on reservation lands in frigid Wyoming, lead by a BFW hunter (Jeremy Renner) and a neophyte FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) -- does have some glaring weaknesses – he does seem preternaturally fond of the whole “female agent in over her head” dynamic, and there is certainly some White Guy in Native Lands stuff that might turn people off. But one thing he does get right is the landscape, in all its pitiless beauty, and a sense of just how thoroughly American society has largely turned its back to the plight of our country’s native peoples. It’s a murder mystery with more of a political kick than you might expect. Full Review

19. Logan Just when the superhero genre had about exhausted its bag of tricks, James Mangold’s more haunting vision of a Wolverine (played for the last time by Hugh Jackman) old, riddled with guilt and doubt, and loss of purpose felt like a revelation. The lion in winter, whose adamantium claws were still in effect – and to particularly bloody purpose, with the application of the hard ‘R’ rating – became a version of the character we hadn’t seen before, and one that proved to have much more emotional complexity. Full Review

18. The Meyerwitz Stories (New and Selected) I realize Noah Baumbach, with his archly literary sensibilities and dynamic wordplay between admittedly sad sack, often dislikable characters, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But I’ve always found his stuff riveting, and here, with a full-blown cast (including Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson, and Ben Stiller) and a bevy of characters whose intricate interactions yield emotionally rich scene work, he’s in fine fettle. Sandler, proving once again that he’s capable of far more than brainless, lazy fart comedies when pressed by a good director, is very strong, and Hoffman, playing an irascible, egocentric aging patriarch, is excellent. Full Review

17. Berlin Syndrome Another film I thought would do better than its limited-run-straight-to-video release might indicate, Cate Shortland’s cat-and-mouse thriller about an Aussie tourist in Berlin (Teresa Palmer) who has a brief affair with a German man (Max Riemelt) before he abducts her and keeps her locked in his apartment for months on end. The film is smart and riveting – featuring yeoman work from the two leads, and a pulse-tripping last act that welded me to my seat – and, in this unofficial Year of the Female, featured a strong-as-nails heroine standing up to the worst sort of male oppression, a perfect metaphor for 2017. Capsule Review

16. Free Fire Amongst an admittedly soul-searing line-up at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival, Ben Wheatley’s absurdly entertaining shoot-em-up struck me as exactly the kind of elixir I needed to pick myself up off the floor. With a sterling cast – including Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy, and Oscar-winner Brie Larson – and a can’t miss bottle-episode premise – a pair of gangs during a gun-buy gone bad are forced to square off against each other in an abandoned umbrella warehouse in ‘70s-era Boston – work to make this thing pop like a series of firecrackers. I actually expected it to be a bigger hit than its more modest returns indicate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it picks up steam after repeated viewings on cable and streaming services. Someday, it will get its due. Full Review

15. A War Quietly, Tobias Lindholm has been making tremendous films over the last decade, either working with director Tomas Vinterberg, or on his own helmed projects. This military drama stars “Game of Thrones” actor Pilou Asbek – a star in his own right in his native Denmark – as a captain of an outpost in Afghanistan forced to make a difficult, but totally understandable, decision that leads to his having to endure a court martial hearing. Asbek is absolutely masterful, and Lindholm has a way of creating difficult and complex narratives that puts his characters and his audience in a moral quandary. Full Review

14. The Salesman Every film from Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi is a cause for celebration, and this film – an interesting meditation on repressive misogyny, Iranian social politics, and Arthur Miller – is no exception. The film utilizes Farhadi’s trademark tightly wound, concentric narrative wrapped around a central core mystery. While it’s not quite at the level of some of his best work (including A Separation, and The Past) it’s nevertheless a fascinating film further probing deeply into the human condition. Capsule Review

13. Strong Island I had the pleasure of watching Yance Ford’s deeply moving doc, about the murder of his older brother and the ways his loss devastated her once-happy family, at last spring’s True/False festival. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time: “Shot in a pastiche of styles – for most of the interviews, the camera keeps a respectful distance, but for Ford’s own confessions, he shoots almost uncomfortably close, almost daring us to look away – the somber themes are greatly enhanced by the addition of inspired poetic visuals: an angled roof against the blue of the sky, snow swirling in air against a dark night, a particularly haunting overhead shot of the grease stain on the concrete outside the garage where his brother lay down to die, which untether the film from clear narrative delineation, and send it into spiraling layers of grief and acceptance. The result is uncompromising and almost impossibly raw.” Capsule Review

12. Wonder Woman Just when we were all ready to take the DCU and chuck it into Zack Snyder’s garbage disposal, along comes Diana Prince, who revitalized the entire comic book genre, and breathed new life into what had been Warner Bros. desultory foray into comic book universes (a life almost immediately put back on life support after the disastrous Justice League debacle this past fall, but I digress). Gal Gadot’s star turn as the heroine of the summer could not have come at a more precipitous time, given the political wave of female empowerment, and Patty Jenkins’ film was thrilling and ground-breaking. DC might have only given us one winning film this year, but it certainly was a doozy. Full Review

11. Graduation Cristian Mungiu’s narratives always challenge his protagonists in deeply disturbing ways, either by dint of the oppression they are under, or the moral quandaries he elicits. His latest film, about a well-connected Romanian doctor (Adrian Tetieni) who uses his influence to illicitly aid his stricken daughter (Maria Dragus) on the eve of her college entrance exams, is another master study of moral nuance and precise scene composition. A single, wordless shot of the doctor coming home with his wife (Lia Bugnar) sitting in the kitchen tells us everything we need to know about their marriage, which is fantastic filmmaking. Mungiu greatly helped spur the Romanian cinematic revival over the last two decades, this film continues to cement his considerable legacy. Capsule Review

10. The Unknown Girl Recently, the Dardennes Bros. have been quietly making some of the more ethically absorbing films of the last few years. In 2014’s Two Days, One Night, we got to see the plight of a depressed woman attempting to get her old job back by pleading with her co-workers; here, we follow an obsessive doctor, Jenny (Adèle Haenel), after a young woman is murdered after first trying to gain entry into her small clinic after hours. Jenny devotes most of her time and energy not to try and solve the crime, but only to discover the identity of the woman so she can notify her family. You get the impression the Dardennes – whose previous oeuvre contains many unflinching dramas – want to lay out the ways we need to respond to our fellow human beings in order to be truly happy with ourselves. It says something that their protagonists stand out so much for simply just doing the right thing. Capsule Review

9. Personal Shopper Kristen Stewart has become far more than a starlet; she’s a bloody force of nature. Working again with Olivier Assayas (their previous collaboration, Clouds of Sils Maria, was also very strong), the two have made a film so filled with provocative energy, it can’t stay in one place for very long. Part ghost story; part fashion treatise; part character study; part Millennial ode, it moves in so many directions, you can’t catch your breath. Rather than feel scattershot, however, it’s anchored by Stewart and her undeniable screen presence. It will be fascinating to watch the rest of her career play out as she gets older and her muse carries her in different directions. Full Review

8. My Happy Family One of the joys of going to a festival like Sundance (and having critic friends with excellent taste) is getting to catch films you likely wouldn’t have seen under normal circumstances. Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß’s Georgian drama concerns a middle-aged matriarch (Ia Shugliashvili, in a fantastic performance) who suddenly decides to move out of her busy apartment where her vast extended family live, and move into her own flat where she can hear herself think. To her husband’s consternation, no matter how tightly the thumbscrews are applied, she remains resolute, which comes to make more and more sense as the drama unfurls. Currently on Netflix, I can’t recommend this one strongly enough. Capsule Review

7. I, Tonya One of the true surprises at last year’s TIFF, Craig Gillespie’s black comedy plays out the life and times of Tonya Harding with verve, wit, and absolutely brilliant performances, none more so that Allison Janey’s scene-stealing turn as Tonya’s witheringly acerbic mother. “Through a series of recreated interviews with the participants, screenwriter Steven Rogers has a grand time, breaking 4th walls, and giving glorious, epithet-spewing life to its decidedly lowbrow characters. Admirably, it also manages to make salient points as to the nature of celebrity culture, and the simple, one-dimensional character forms that American society so adores. It’s a colorful noisemaker, with a strand of barbed wire wrapped around the handle.” Capsule Review

6. Lady Bird Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut was a spiky, scintillating reverie on teen identity, and the difficulties of holding onto those things that most matter to you even as you strive to open yourself up to totally new experiences. “At its heart, too, through all of its sweetly comic undertones -- and laugh out loud bits of extemporaneous dialogue that flows through Gerwig's script like a guzzle of warm syrup -- it's an emotionally powerful evocation of the way loving parents and their children have to forge a way to learn to live apart from one another. "I want you to be the very best version of yourself you can be," her mother tells her at one point, and Lady Bird's struggle to figure out just who that might be is thoroughly captivating.” Full Review

5. The Florida Project A kind of reimagined Little Rascals, but set at an Orlando residence motel on the dirty outskirts of the strip outside Disney World, Sean Baker’s film is filled with the vitality and spark of life, even as the lives it depicts are difficult and often suffering. As far as the children of these hard-scrabble parents are concerned, the whole area is like an unsupervised playground. Featuring fantastic performances from the children – and a wondrous turn by Willem Dafoe, as the building manager – none more so than impossibly young Brooklynn Prince, the film is smart, sassy, and, at the end, extremely moving. Full Review

4. Get Out Much digital ink has already been spilled (um, generated?) in praise of Jordan Peele’s stunning directorial debut, a brilliant comedy/horror-based dissection of racial politics in this country, but here’s just a bit more: Peele’s film is so tightly constructed and carefully put together, it works equally well on multiple levels. That a film so loaded with racial politics can also be so damn entertaining is a marvel that needs to be seen multiple times before fully appreciated. Full Review

3. Phantom Thread Not that there was any serious doubt before but Paul Thomas Anderson is so fully in control of his craft he can make a riveting, emotionally wrenching film from a fussbudget dressmaker who likes his breakfast to be eerily silent. It helps when you have the luminescent efforts of a fantastic cast – lead by Daniel Day Lewis, in his reported last ever film role – but PTA is also the man who put that cast together and got such fantastic performances out of them. It’s a love story from a particularly obtuse angle – in this way, somewhat reminiscent of PTA’s earlier Punch Drunk Love – but takes such vibrant risks along the way, it’s all you can do to keep from applauding midway through. Delicate, fussy, nuanced, and absolutely gorgeous to look at (thank you, DP PTA!), with a wondrous score from Johnny Greenwood, it’s almost shockingly good. If this is indeed Day-Lewis’ last film, he’s gone out with a hell of a swansong. Full Review 

2. Call Me By Your Name I have written more about this film, and the year’s best winner, over this year than I can ever remember doing before. Hence, I quote but one of my various musings thusly: “The film’s first couple of hours are perfectly entertaining, but is in its closing scenes that it goes from engaging to sublime, including a monologue from [Michael] Stuhlbarg, consoling his now-bereft son, that is truly one for the ages. The closing credits, set over a long, single-take of Elio’s face in front of the fire, will sear your soul.” Full Review

1. A Ghost Story Ladies and gentlemen, David Lowery’s powerful meditation on love, time, and the fallacy of human legacy was the only film this year that very nearly dropped me to my knees in anguish as I departed the theater. You can actually view it as having something of a happy ending, but even so, it strikes nerves deep in your cerebral cortex you never even knew existed before. “It’s a film of felt, quiet spaces, whose emotional intensity builds in small increments to become at times almost overwhelming. It goes places you don’t expect, and keeps you there, frozen stiff in your chair, as it comes full circle. It’s definitely not a film for everybody – if, for example, you require three full acts and complete character arcs, you might want to take a flyer – but for the people who can hang with it, it has an enormous amount to offer.” Full Review

Other Worthy Mentions:

47 Meters Down, A Gray State, Abundant Acreage Available, Atomic Blonde, Baby Driver, Bad Day for the Cut, Beach Rats, Beatriz at Dinner, Blame, Did You Wonder Who Shot the Gun?, Dunkirk, I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore, Jane, Killing Ground, mother!, Quest, The Cage Fighter, The Endless, The Force, The Square, Thumper

The 5 Worst Films of 2017

5. Mary Shelley “Unfortunately, working from a truly terrible script from Emma Jensen, Al Mansour’s film is at best inartful, and at worst, the kind of simplistic, every-scene-has-a-point! pabulum that would embarrass a high school English class. Each element of Frankenstein is foreshadowed (here, Mary learns about galvanism; here, she sees an article about sewing body parts together, et al.), as if all she needed to do to write the novel was to pluck them directly from the sources. Even the film’s strongest moments – where Al Mansour, the worlds first female Saudi director, gets to show 18th century male oppression at its most vile and condescending – get watered down under that lead weight of a script. Everyone deserved better.” Capsule Review

4. Hostiles “Cooper confuses macho bravado and grittiness for any kind of verisimilitude – there are a staggering number of plot holes, and character inconsistencies – including the continual presence of a pretty frontierswoman (Rosamund Pike), whose family was wiped out by a group of marauding Comanche – that only serve to move the meandering plot forward. Worse yet, the action sequences themselves are both incoherent, and oddly designed (one of the oddest choices is putting us outside a closed series of tents in one scene, such that the action sequence is totally lost on us). The male actors sport very real and copious facial hair, as to suggest the worthiness of the project, but any filmmaker that can take a pair of powerhouse actors like Bale and Ben Foster and reduce them to this level of low-wattage really needs to self-examine.” Capsule Review

3. The Promise “Worse than any of its stylistic decisions, however, is to take something as horrific and criminally under-represented as the Armenian genocide and saddle it with a hokey love story that is virtually lifeless on its own. Naturally, the timeliness of the film -- taking us back to another age where virulent nationalism ran rampant, and minority groups were targeted as the subjects of its wrath -- is all too sickeningly relevant in the age of Brexit and Steve Bannon's type of exclusionist populism, but even there, the film either falters on the side of its overbaked plot, or sticks its more relevant political points in blithely didactic lurchings. ("This whole country is a graveyard," one character says.)” Full Review

2. Aardvark “A turgid, draggy drama (mostly around the premise that Slate’s character has to be an almost impossibly bad therapist to do to her patient what she pulls off here), a pasty comedy, coddled around a fantastically unbelievable premise and its flailing execution, the film tries to play with our sense of reality, using Quinto’s recurring hallucinations, but it doesn’t even want to bother to play by its own rules. It’s hard for me to imagine those talented actors reading this script and signing off on it, but here we are.” Capsule Review

1. Kidnap “As a means of conveying information, Knate Lee's "script" calls for Karla to talk incessantly to herself in the car, narrating her dilemma ("So now what's the plan?" she asks herself at one point, quickly concluding that she hasn't got one) pretty much so former Oscar-winner Berry has something to do other than grit her teeth and bleed out the nose. She also has a penchant for broad exclamatory statements ("Wherever you go, I'll be right behind you, no matter what!" and so forth). The effect is like overhearing a young boy playing with his GI Joes.” Full Review

Other Dishonorable Entries:

Axolotl Overdrive, Baywatch, The Mummy

Random Notes:

Inexplicably Overrated: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Biggest Welcome Surprise(s): I, Tonya, Lady Bird, Logan

Most Bitter Disappointment(s): Downsizing, Mary Shelley, The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Film That Critics Got Wrong: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Film(s) I Totally Whiffed On: Coco, I Love You, Daddy

Best Upcoming Releases of 2018

1. The Rider 2. Lean on Pete 3. Happy End 4. Chappaquiddick

[papermoonloveslucy]

TOAST OF THE TOWN

“MGM’s 30th Anniversary Tribute” (S7;E23) ~ February 14, 1954

Directed by Robert Bleyer and John Moffitt

Ed Sullivan (Host) was a preeminent television variety show host who is best remembered for hosting his own show, at first titled “Toast of the Town” but later simply known as “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which became a staple of Sunday night viewing for millions of Americans from 1948 to 1971. As such, his name was often mentioned on “I Love Lucy” and Lucille Ball’s subsequent sitcoms. He introduced America to such entertainers as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Supremes. Sullivan entered icon status when he and his television show were worked into the plot of the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie in 1960. The musical includes the song “Hymn for a Sunday Evening” which has a chorus that repeats Sullivan’s name in a choir-like harmony. Hope made an appearance in the 1964 film version. The theatre on Broadway in New York City where Sullivan did his weekly show was named after him in 1967. He died in 1974.

Dore Schary (Himself) was born Isadore Schary in Newark, New Jersey, in 1905. After working on Broadway he went to Hollywood were he eventually became head of MGM in 1948, ousting its founder Louis B. Mayer. He would helm the studio until 1956 and was in charge during Lucy and Desi’s filming of The Long, Long Trailer and Forever, Darling. In 1955 he was supposed to play himself on “I Love Lucy,” but backed out at the last moment and he was played by Phil Ober (Vivian Vance's husband) instead.  

The MGM Stars

Lucille Ball (Herself / Tacy Collini from The Long, Long Trailer) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled after just 13 episodes.

Desi Arnaz (Himself / Nick Collini from The Long, Long Trailer) was born in Cuba in 1917 and immigrated to America as a youngster. He was a musician who married Lucille Ball in 1940 after meeting her on the set of 1939’s Too Many Girls, which he had done on stage in New York. In order to keep him ‘off the road’ Ball convinced producers to cast him as her husband in a new television project based on her radio show “My Favorite Husband.” The network was convinced. In 1951, Arnaz and Ball began playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, roles they would be identified with for the rest of their lives. The couple had two children together, Lucie and Desi Jr. In 1960, Ball and Arnaz divorced. Desi became a producer, responsible for such hits as “The Mothers-in-Law” (1967-69). He re-married in 1963. Desi Aranz died in 1986, just a few years before Ball.

Lucy and Desi enter to the tune of “The I Love Lucy Theme”.

Fred Astaire (Himself / Tom Bowen from Royal Wedding / Don Hewes from Easter Parade) was one of the most famous performers in Hollywood, known for his dancing, singing, and directing. He did four films with Lucille Ball between 1935 and 1945, three with his dance partner, Ginger Rogers. Astaire received an honorary Oscar in 1950.  He died in 1987 at age 88.

Ann Blyth (Herself / Kathie Ruder from The Student Prince) was nominated for an Oscar for her appearance in 1945's Mildred Pierce. Blyth was equally at home in musicals, a specialty of MGM.  

Cy Charisse (Herself) was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas. She was best known as a dancer in the MGM movie musicals of the 1950s. She did two films with Lucille Ball in the mid-1940s. She died in 2008 at age 86.

Van Johnson (Himself) co-starred in Too Many Girls (1940), the film that introduced Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz. He was also seen with Lucy in the films Easy to Wed (1946) and the recently released Yours, Mine and Ours in 1968. He played himself on one of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) as well as an episode of “The Lucy Show.” He starred in The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) and the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny. He died in 2008 at age 92.

Howard Keel (Himself / Adam from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers / Frank Butler from Annie Get Your Gun) was discovered by Oscar Hammerstein II during auditions for John Raitt’s replacement in Broadway’s Carousel in 1946. After that, he also went on to play Curly in Oklahoma! He is probably best remembered for his role in MGM’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), a film that was mentioned on “I Love Lucy.” On TV he played Clayton Farlow on “Dallas” (1981-91). His only acting appearance with Lucille Ball was on a 1969 episode of “Here's Lucy.” Keel died in 2004.

Gene Kelly (Himself / Don Lockwood from Singin' in the Rain) was an Oscar-winning performer who did four films with Lucille Ball between 1943 and 1967. In 1978 Lucille Ball was seen on the TV tribute special “Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena.” In 1980, Kelly turned up on “Lucy Moves To NBC.”  A Hollywood legend for his effortless dancing, Kelly died in 1996 at age 83.

Ann Miller (Herself) was a performer best known for her singing and tap dancing in movie musicals, as well as her shapely legs.  It is said that she was discovered by Lucille Ball while doing a show at a nightclub in San Francisco. She subsequently did four films with Lucille Ball, including Too Many Girls (1940), the film that introduced Lucy to Desi Arnaz. Miller died in 2004 at age 80.

Walter Pidgeon (Himself / Frederick Alderson from Executive Suite) was a Canadian-born actor who was nominated for two Oscars in 1942 and 1943. He died in 1984 at age 87.

Jane Powell (Herself / Ellen Bowen from Royal Wedding) was best known for her role as Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). After 1957, her film roles disappeared and Powell began performing on stage.  

Debbie Reynolds (Herself) was nominated for an Oscar for playing The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964. Her first big hit was playing Kathy Selden in MGM's Singin' in the Rain in 1952. She died in 2016 at age 86.

Lana Turner (Herself) was one of Hollywood's most popular actresses and also a favorite of Fred Mertz. She was best known for her femme fatale roles. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1957 for Peyton Place. Turner was seen with Lucille Ball in Du Barry Was A Lady (1943). She died in 1995 at age 74.

Esther Williams (Herself / Eve Barrett from Neptune's Daughter) was an actress best known for her aquatic roles. Lucille Ball starred with Williams in Easy to Wed (1946) and Ziegfeld Follies (1945). Williams was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in 1955.  

Also Appearing

Lionel Barrymore (Himself) was the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family of stage and screen. His most famous role was that of the nefarious banker Mr. Potter in It's A Wonderful Life (1946). Barrymore had difficulty walking later in life, which accounts for the fact that he does not enter with the other MGM stars in the opening number, and why he is discovered sitting in the screening room after the first clips segment.

Edmund Purdom (Prince Karl from The Student Prince) was an English-born actor who also appeared in MGM's Julius Caesar. Purdom holds the distinction of being the only personality to have their hand/footprints removed from the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater because industry insiders felt the honor was too soon, having only done three credited films.  He spent his later life in Italy and died there in 2009.

Johnny Green (Himself, Conductor) was a composer and MGM's General Musical Director. He conducts the orchestra for the program.  

Julia Meade (Herself, Mercury Spokeswoman) became a household name showing off dream cars of the '50s like Lincoln and Mercury bedecked in evening dresses and strings of pearls, while describing the cars with perfectly manicured hands running up and down the upholstery. She died in 2016 at age 90.

ANNIVERSARY TRIVIA

To mark their 30th anniversary, MGM also had a ten-minute orchestral overture produced for symphony orchestra comprised of themes from eleven of their great musicals. Johnny Green conducted the overture, which was filmed in Cinemascope and in color to run along with their motion pictures in cinemas. 

MGM also issued a record album consisting of excerpts from the soundtracks of many of their musicals.  

MGM also hosted a press event with a small number of their stars which turned up on newsreels nationwide. Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary shook hands in front of a large cake. 

TOAST OF THE TOWN 

After Ed Sullivan makes some welcoming remarks, the opening number introduces the celebrities, who get out of a white limousine and walk the red carpet, greeted by fans who shout their name and the cameras of the press. These celebrities included Lucy and Desi, who are the only couple introduced and the only ones only introduced by just their first names.  

Sullivan introduces MGM studio executive Dore Schary, who invites him to his private screening room. This is actually just an adjacent set on the soundstage. 

One year later, Schary was to play himself on an episode of “I Love Lucy,” but withdrew at the last moment. The role was taken by Vivian Vance's husband, Phil Ober. Some said that Schary was reluctant to do television as it was supplanting MGM's film attendance, but Schary's official reason was illness. Because Ricky Ricardo (like the Arnazes) would work for MGM, it made sense to mention Schary's name early in the Hollywood episodes. Lucy's forgetful mother, Mrs. McGillicuddy (Kathryn Card), often said “Who's Dore Schary?”  

In the screening room, Sullivan and Schary engage in some friendly banter (obviously read off teleprompters) in which Schary gets in a plug for MGM's upcoming film Julius Caesar directed by Joseph Mankewicz. Sullivan introduces a retrospect of MGM's first three decades, which includes a title card, and a film clip for the following movies:

THE BIG PARADE (1924) starring John Gilbert and Rene Adoree

BEN HUR (1925) starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman

MIN AND BILL (1930) starring Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler

DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) starring Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable

SAN FRANCISCO (1936) starring Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald

BOYS TOWN (1938) starring Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy

GRAND HOTEL (1932) starring Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) starring Groucho Marx and Margaret Dumont

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) staring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh

Sullivan adds that Gone With The Wind will be re-released in 1954. He mentions a few films that were not included in the clips: Mrs. Miniver, The Yearling, Battleground, Ivanhoe, Mogambo, Quo Vadis and Knights of the Roundtable.

Noticeable by its absence is The Wizard of Oz (1939) which (a lot like Lucille Ball herself) was only considered a classic after being seen repeatedly on television. The musical fantasy film was not aired on TV until 1956, two years after this program.  

When the tribute is over, Sullivan and Schary are joined in the screening room by Lionel Barrymore, the patriarch of the fabled Drew / Barrymore acting dynasty. Barrymore introduces a young singer named Debbie Reynolds, who, dressed in overalls in a backstage setting, performs a number called “Applause, Applause” which she sang in the 1953 MGM musical Give A Girl A Break.

Blooper Alert! After the number, when Sullivan and Schary are seen in front of the curtain, the audio cuts out and only slowly returns during their conversation.

Sullivan and Schary do a live promo for their sponsor, Mercury automobiles. Schary says that Mercury cars were prominently featured in their new film The Long, Long Trailer and screens a montage of clips from the Vincente Minnelli film. Although most of the clips are of the car (which towed the title trailer), there is one classic clip of Lucy trying to make dinner in the moving trailer and one of Desi singing – both stars doing what they did best. The film premiered four days after this program aired.

After the clips, Sullivan is standing in front of a brand new 1954 Mercury which contains Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the front seat. (The car in the film was a 1953 model.)  Sullivan reminds the audience that he gave Lucy and Desi the Emmy Award for “I Love Lucy” sponsored by Philip Morris. Desi has a couple of lines; Lucille merely laughs.  

Blooper Alert: During the Mercury spot, Sullivan is looking into the wrong camera.  

Hearing orchestral music, Sullivan approaches Dore Schary who introduces Edmund Purdom and Ann Blyth doing a live scene from their upcoming film The Student Prince, which will be released in June 1954. Because Purdom's singing voice was dubbed by Mario Lanza in the finished film, he does not sing, although Blyth performs “Deep in My Heart, Dear.”  

Back in the screening room, Sullivan and Schary promote Ann Blyth's appearance in the upcoming MGM film Rosemarie. Schary presents a promo for the new film Executive Suite, which features William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Frederic March, Walter Pidgeon, Shelley Winters, Paul Douglas, Dean Jagger, and Nina Foch.  Douglas, Winters, and Douglas would all guest star in “Lucy” sitcoms.  

Schary introduces Howard Keel from the upcoming MGM musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Stepping into a barn setting, Keel becomes Adam, his character in the film, and along with his six 'brothers' sings “Sobbin' Women.” The film opened in July 1954. In March 1956 it was mentioned on “I Love Lucy.” 

Sullivan introduces the evening's conductor Johnny Green, and Jane Powell, who sings “The Jewel Song” from the opera Faust by Charles Gounod.

Back in the screening room, Schary introduces another round of clips, this time from famous MGM musicals:

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950) starring Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn and Louis Calhern singing “There's No Business Like Show Business” by Irving Berlin

NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949) starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban singing “Baby, It's Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) starring Gene Kelly singing “Singin' in the Rain” by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed

ROYAL WEDDING (1951) starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell singing “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life” by Burton Lane and Alan J. Lerner

BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE (1952) starring Mario Lanza and Doretta Morrow singing “Because You're Mine” by Nicholas Brodzsky and Sammy Cahn

EASTER PARADE (1948) starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire singing “Easter Parade” by Irving Berlin

Back in the screening room, Ed Sullivan informs the audience that the show is coming from the brand new CBS Television City in Hollywood.  Julia Meade shows the model of Television City.  This is the same model shown by Jack Benny on “Stars in the Eye” the show that celebrated the new studio in 1952.  It also featured Lucy and Desi.  Meade turns this segment into a live commercial for Mercury.  

Dore Schary introduces Lana Turner (backed up by Nick Anderson, John Erickson, Steve Forest, Edmond Purdom) who perform “A Great Lady Has an Interview,” by Roger Edens and Kay Thompson, a song sequence originally performed by Judy Garland in Ziegfeld Follies, a 1946 film that also starred Lucille Ball.  

Surrounded by the MGM stars, Sullivan and Schary say goodnight.

On This Date in Lucy History ~ February 14

"Don Juan and the Starlets" (ILL S4;E18) ~ February 14, 1955

“Lucy Dates Dean Martin” (TLS S4;E21) ~ February 14, 1966