#i am once again asking for a drama or movie reunion between these 2 again

[whyamistillwatchingtheseshows]

Part 2 of Last Minute

Part 1

“That’s probably enough ice cream, sweetie.” Kai reached for the scooper before Charlie decided to put the entire container in the bowl. She gave him a sad face. “There’s plenty in the bowl. In fact, there’s plenty for us to share. Now, let’s go back to Toy Story.”

She nodded with a small yawn. It was nearing 10pm so Kai didn’t blame her. Kai took his seat next to Third. Charlie had wanted their bean bag chair so she crisscrossed ‘applesauced’ into it and hit the play button on the remote herself. When the movie was back on Charlie had forgotten about the ice cream.

“She must really like this movie.” Kai leaned in to whisper to Third. He motioned at the ice cream with the spoon. Third nodded and Kai fed him some. They shared the bowl and Charlie never asked for a single bite. About fifteen more minutes in Kai wondered if she’d fallen asleep. He leaned over the sofa to take a peek at her. Indeed, she had.

“Should we take her to the guest room?” Third asked.

Kai shrugged. “We could finish the movie and just sleep here. I’m in a cuddly mood anyway.”

“You always are.” Third rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you like it?”

“You know, I wished for it for so long, but even years down the road I never would’ve pegged you for being so clingy.”

Kai mocked him, “I never would’ve pegged you for being so clingy…”

Third just glared at him. Kai wouldn’t win even if he tried. He learned this early on the relationship. It turns out that Third might be the most savage of the gang.Kai found Charlie’s blanket in her bag and covered her up.

“If she’s comfortable let her stay there. We can find space on the sofa.”

“No, I was thinking I’d sleep in my theatre chair.” Kai raised an eyebrow.

“For real? Come on,” he begged in a soft tone. “Just cuddle me on the couch. I’m the doof who agreed to babysit when you’re just getting back.”

“Yeah, you are.” Third smirked. “But it was fun. She’s really smart. You can tell where she gets some of her antics, though. She’s so much like Two.”

“She is, but that’s a good thing, right?” Kai tugged Third by the hand to get him out of the theatre chair and onto the sofa. “Come on!” He didn’t know the secret, but Third had this ability to make himself seem heavier than he is. Like he just shifts his body into deadweight mode and no one could budge him. Third jerked his hand away and crossed them over his body.

“Not happening.” Kai huffed a little loudly. He looked to Charlie who stirred but didn’t wake up.

“Third, please, after all these years I have to beg?”

“Duh. You always have to beg.”

Kai dropped to his knees, put his hands together like he was praying. “Third, please, please, cuddle with me on the sofa tonight?”

“It’s not that easy anymore.”

“What so you don’t want to cuddle with me anymore? Have we hit a stale part of our marriage already?”

“Don’t be so fucking dramatic.”

“Coming from a drama queen himself.”

“Now, it’s going to be angry cuddling. Damn it!”

“Just get your pretty little ass over here!” Kai demanded in a hushed tone, but the message was received. Third stood up and joined him on the sofa. There was already a blanket across the back, because they did often curl up on it to watch movies.

++

“Can I have more rice porridge please?”

“Do you think you can eat it?” Third asked Charlie. “You’ve had a big bowl already.”

“Daddy Aun says that breakfast is the most important meal. I need to be full.”

“He’d say that,” Kai muttered under his breath. Third reach around Charlie to pinch his arm. “What?”

“Stop it.” Third warned him. Minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

“Finally!” Kai jumped from the kitchen bar stool and raced to the door. He was anxious because by the grace of god it was his and Third’s turn to have some alone time. Third was gone for a week so one more day should be nothing, but having Third in his sights made waiting more agonizing. Charlie is adorable but Kai knew he and Third would need to have another long talk before kids were in the picture. He opened the door and Charlie ran right passed him into Aun’s arms. Two hugged her into his husband and it was happy little reunion. Third appeared at the doorway with her bag.

“Thank you, guys,” Two said. “We missed her a lot, though.”

“So much so that we kind of had no idea what to do when we were home.”

“I have some ideas that I want to do with Third,” Kai blurted out. Third pinched him again. “Fine, I will stop.”

“What’s pissing him off?” Two asked.

“Nothing,” Third explained. “Just get home. She’s had breakfast already, though, she was saying that she wasn’t full.”

“Then we can get some donuts?” Aun asked her, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. She giggled. Two smiled. Precious moments like this mean more to him than he could explain. Not that he regrets what happens when they do have complete alone time, but having Charlie back with them felt like the puzzle was whole again. They thanked Kai and Third again then left. Third closed the door behind them.

“Oh…Kai…” he called out. Kai appeared from the kitchen. Third smiled at him and then raced forward. He jumped into his arms. Kai caught him.

“You little shit,” he said breathlessly.

“Are you going to kiss me with that dirty mouth?”

“Yes, yes, I am.” Kai’s arms tightened around Third’s waist, Third tightened his around his neck and then Kai locked their lips together. Third lowered himself down to the floor and spun them around. Lips still connected, he walked Kai towards the sofa. Once at the arm, he pulled away from Kai’s lips. Every time, even to this day he always chased back.Third pushed Kai over the arm and jumped on him. Kai’s hands rested on Third’s thighs as they looked at each other.

“Don’t make me beg,” Kai whined.

“I’ll give you a pass this time.” Third said and locked their lips together again. He felt Kai smile into the kiss. Then he pulled back making Kai frustrated. “Don’t ever think for one second that any part of our marriage is getting stale.” Without waiting for an answer, Third pressed their lips together once more. Kai caught his tongue and threaded his fingers through his hair.

“I won’t, I promise.” Kai said between kisses. Third didn’t respond. Today, he planned to lose himself in Kai.

#theory of love #khai x third #twoan #two x an #my writing

[keithxhappiness]

Voltron Season 7 In-Depth Review *SPOILERS INCLUDED*

I can't believe Pidge and Lotor made out in the Green Lion.

JK. But seriously, spoilers ahead, stay away if you haven't watched the season yet! Then, come back, and read my thoughts on it :)

1. Let's start by discussing the beautiful Keith. With his beautiful scar, and his beautiful "flippity" hair. I watched the first two episodes separately from the rest of the season, and I am so happy to see how far he's come. Certainly, season 6 was much more Keith-centric, and it seems that he's more or less completed his maturation then. This season was a chance to display his leadership skills and the product of that maturation. Although, of course, he did have lapses in his patience, where he lost control of his temper, in that space-madness episode, but what can you do? Space madness gets everyone, even Shiro probably. Anyhow, I almost shed a tear when he told his mom he loved her, and I am so so so glad that their relationship was designed to be one filled with optimism and hope, in place of resentment, guilt or regret -- which was another direction the writers could have gone. And it brings a smile to my face knowing that he was reunited with her again at the end of the season, and that their promises to each other were fulfilled. So, overall, I'm just happy that he's happy. I really only ship Keith with happiness and this season that ship became canon :) Also, can we start calling Keith "The One With the Flippity Hair"? What does flippity even mean? :') I love it.

2. Kosmo. Yorak. Whatever you guys want to call him. The space wolf. First off, I can't get over the fact that Keith thinks the wolf will tell him his name when he's ready. Keith, the wolf can't speak English! HE CAN'T SPEAK AT ALL FOR THAT MATTER, BABE. Kosmo is a bit cliche, but it's not bad. I really did like "Yorak", as given to him by the fandom. So much that I actually started referring to him as Yorak in my head. BUT, names aside, Kosmo was A BEAST this season. I was just thinking how he didn't serve much of a purpose the previous season except to give Keith a canine companion, but this season, he was fucking awesome. He saved their lives a BUNCH of times. Not to mention, the fight with that druid would have ended much sooner had it not been for Kosmo's teleportation abilities. Seriously, his teleportation was so so useful this season. Did you see how quickly Keith and Pidge got through that cruiser? Damn. Not only does the space wolf look cool, sound adorable, but he was an amazing addition this season. Keith and Kosmo does have a nice ring to it :)

3. Matt's HAIR. IS. SO. HOT. Every time they age up a character, they become a quadrillion times hotter. Who knew 3 deca-phoebs could do so much. If Keith ages up another 3 deca-phoebs by the end of the show, the universe may just implode from the heat.

4. OK, um, what's next? HMM...how about ships. I know Voltron is not too focused on romantic sub-plots. The one romance that actually took place went up in fiery flames very quickly. Personally, I like romantic subplots, whether in books, movies, tv shows. For example, I loved all the little romances in Avatar, and even though my ship never became canon (rip Zutara), I was happy to see everyone with someone. Of course, I hate it when they take up too much story space, but I think a sprinkle of romance on top of the adventure, drama, humor, and mystery can make a story more delicious. That was a weird metaphor. Anyhow, it appears to me that the show is pushing Allura and Lance as the main couple. This season showed us sure evidence that Allura reciprocates his feelings, and that his feelings are still there. You know why? Because their cheeks were animated red. When an animated character blushes around another animated character, they're basically canon. But there is still another potential ship...and no not Romelle and Hunk (although I'm into that)...

5. Acxa. What's her deal, you guys? What exactly is her connection to Keith? Is the show making her his love interest? But, how, there's no time! I mean, it only took a season to bring Lotor and Allura together, but still. I've read theories that she is related to Keith, seeing as she is also half-Galra. This is an interesting theory, and I did believe it for a while before this season. I mean, they both have pointy chins. If they are in fact related (e.g., half-siblings), they'd have to be connected through Krolia. However, Krolia and Acxa were together in the same place with Keith and Krolia showed NO indication of recognizing Acxa, or being unsettled by her presence. If Krolia was Acxa's mother, but didn't feel it was the right time to tell Keith, there'd at least be a shot of her face looking disconcerted or unsure around Acxa right? Or, some kind of awkward Krolia-Acxa interaction. I don't know, the siblings theory just doesn't hold up anymore after this season. So, that leaves the romance theory. Personally, I'm into that too. Acxa and Keith would make a good couple, connected by their Galra heritage, which conflicts with their own desire for peace. Both having to forge their own paths, Zuko-style, and both having been the leaders of their respective group. I though their fight with the other generals was really awesome (and the banter kinda cute), and I really believe Acxa's sorry for what she did. Also, we did see her at the end of the season watching Keith and Krolia. Yeah, I think a Keith-Acxa relationship is quite likely, especially now that Keith is at the peak of his maturation as an individual (evidenced by his ability to comfort Hunk in his own time of loneliness).

6. Next topic: LOTOR. I know Lotor wasn't in this season...like at all...and that still makes me sad. Keith said he was dead, and I'm wondering if we should start believing that to be true. I had hoped he could still be redeemed in some way, or at least return as a foe for the paladdins, but it seems that he's just as a gone as Zarkon. But Lotor is a million times more interesting than Sendak as a villain. I really didn't like Sendak as the villain this season. He's so cliche...with his evil laugh, and his giant weaponized arm. It's hard to take him seriously when there seems to be no actual motivation behind his actions except that he likes to be powerful by crushing other planets. Lotor had a backstory, and good intentions, despite the nefarious means he was using to achieve them. Lotor had a goal...to see Atlea restored. His goal may have been perverted, but still, we could sympathize with him, and some of us are still on his side. I really think it was mistake to throw Lotor away in favor of Sendak. But at least, Keith sliced Sendak open at the end of the season and we won't be seeing him again. The real enemy this season I think was hinted at at the end of the episode which brings me to the next point...

7. THE ALTEAN POD. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. We knew the Altean colony had disappeared. The culprit seems pretty likely to me. Haggar. The motivation, on the other hand, eludes me. What reason would Haggar have to try to kill the paladdins? Is she mad at them for killing her son, maybe? They technically didn't kill Lotor...just left him, but as Keith said, he did choose his own path. And Honerva seems to have regained her rational mind, seems hard to believe that she has resorted to blind vengeance. No, I do hope her motivations are slightly more complex than revenge. But the ending did give us an indication of what the next season will be focused on...the Alteans...while still being a REALLY GOOD ENDING...which brings me to...

8. This ending was GREAT. For a second, I started to hyperventilate because I really thought all the paladdins had been killed off, and that the GG pilots & Veronica would be replacing them, but thankfully, the writers are NOT THAT merciless. I don't know if I could handle even one of their deaths, much less ALL OF THEM AT ONCE. OMG. I am freaking out just thinking about it! No, instead, we had beautiful reunions between all the paladdins and their families, as well as some of their former allies. Earth is safe, everyone is home, and Shiro has a new arm. Things wrapped up pretty happily this season, which I really like. It makes the wait for the final season much more bearable, and peaceful. If you believe that fictional characters continue to live on after you close a book, or turn off the screen (which I do), then I'm happy to know that they're together, and they're living in relative peace (with a little bit of unsettling mystery yet to be resolved) but no immediate threat anymore.

9. I enjoyed all the new characters this season! Veronica was a bad-ass, and I'll be really curious to see a Keith-James confrontation in the next season, I could FEEL the tension between them this season, but I'm glad they both held their tongues in order to work together.  Anyway, Voltron is back at it again with a diverse set of pilots, and there wasn't a lot of opportunity for them to shine (a problem that any show with a large cast has), they did sparkle in their own way. I'm excited to see a bit more of them. Still, I can't help but ask the question:

10. WHY ARE THERE ONLY 13 EPISODES LEFT? I understand that the show must have an end. Every good show has a solid ending, planned from the beginning. They shouldn't keep churning out episodes just because people are continuing to consume them. But I still think ending it now, in only one more season, is a mistake. There is still so much of the world that I feel needs to be explored, and that can be done more adequately with at least 3 more seasons. They can continue to age up the characters, and delve deeper into the NEW characters. 13 episodes is just NOT enough time to do that. It's not! The universe is still in shambles. Earth needs to be completely rebuilt! Of course, a graphic novel series continuation is a viable solution to this, as is being done with Avatar, but animation is just so much better. I'll be really sad to see the show end, so please, Voltron creators, take your time with its release, but at least, even if this creation is ending, those same people will continue to create new stories, and I'll be totally on-board for whatever the animators work on next. Hopefully, it's 2D animation though, cause I gotta say, I am really not into the 3D animation taking over cartoons these days. That is one technological upgrade we could do without.

Overall, awesome season, awesome characters, awesome animation and fight sequences, especially action-packed, and the one word I think I'd use to describe it: REFRESHING. The new environment, and new situations.

Also, Keith is still very hot. That is all.

PEACE OUT, FOLKS.

#vld s7 #vld s7 spoilers #voltron #voltron season 7 #voltron season 7 spoilers #flippity hair #keith kogane #vld keith #vld acxa #zutara #vld s7 review #voltron season 7 review #keith x acxa

[aomoviegeek]

Why are filmmakers and fans more concerned with plot twists over quality stories?

This is gonna be a long post, so get ready.

Let’s look at Star Wars. Personally, I really enjoyed The Force Awakens and Rogue One. I thought they were some great, fun movies with a lot of action, humor, drama, etc. in them. I thought the actors & actresses were great. The musical score was amazing. Rogue One also did a fantastic job at tying the prequels and originals together, bringing in Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Bail Organa, Grand Moff Tarkin, Mon Mothma and, although he was a Clone Wars character, Saw Gerrera. 

I thought both stories were well done and even though it seemed odd regarding the Skywalker/Solo family (Luke running away, Han & Leia separating and Kylo Ren turning to the dark side & idolizing his grandfather Darth Vader), I thought there was potential to expand upon it in Episode VIII and IX and give a realistic-enough explanation as to how these characters ended up where they were as well as find a way to include Rey in there, potentially as the secret daughter of either Luke or Han & Leia.

However, I am not a fan of The Last Jedi. I didn’t like it. And before you go off and say “Well that’s only because your favorite fan theories didn’t come true” or whatever bulls--t is said to TLJ haters, no, that’s not the case. There’s a lot of different reasons to dislike the film. All these different plot twists and surprises, most of which are completely unnecessary and they even destroy the characters we love from the original trilogy and The Force Awakens.

For example, they had Luke Skywalker - a Jedi Master who was the only one to believe there was still good in his Sith Lord father despite everything that’s happened in the original trilogy - try to murder his nephew because he could sense darkness in him but he wasn’t even fully dark yet. Luke could have tried to save him somehow. Maybe kill Snoke instead? After all, he was the one seducing Kylo to the dark side. Maybe bring Han & Leia over to spend more time with Kylo (since it’s been said Kylo feel neglected by his parents)? Maybe try to get in contact with Anakin’s Force Ghost so he can talk with Kylo (after all, Kylo idolizes his grandfather)? 

But what they did was absolutely stupid and an absolute disgrace to Luke’s character. Not to mention what a horrible plot twist it was. Why are filmmakers and fans so much more interested in plot twists and surprises than good, quality stories? Why? Why? WHY?!!!

Star Wars fans are usually like “Well I don’t want Rey to be a Skywalker because it’s so boring and predictable! I want her to be related to this character because it’d be so surprising!”, “I don’t want Snoke to be revealed as some other character because it’d be so dumb! He should be his own character!”, etc. But why are these fans - and the filmmakers as well (e.g. Rian Johnson) - so interested in plot twists and big surprises? Why can’t we focus on good stories?

If you ask me, had Rey been revealed as a Skywalker or a Solo instead, I think that would have made a terrific story and a great way to push forward the story of the sequel trilogy. It would mean she is the granddaughter of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. She now knows why she is so powerful. She was destined to learn the ways of the Force. Not only that, but if she was Rey Skywalker (daughter of Luke), it would create an interesting, emotional, heartwarming story-arc for Luke & Rey as father and daughter would reunite. The same would also apply for Rey Solo, the daughter of Han & Leia. Rey’s grief over Han’s death would increase, knowing he was in fact her father, and we also would have gotten to see a heartwarming mother/daughter reunion between her and Leia.

It would also create an interesting story-arc for Kylo Ren as Rey would be his cousin or sister and as a matter of fact, her being left on Jakku may somehow be connected to how he turned to the dark side. Maybe he felt guilty for what happened to her (thinking she was dead) and blamed Luke, Leia, Han and himself. Snoke used this pain within Kylo to manipulate him and turn him to the dark side. And when watching The Force Awakens, it definitely seems that Kylo has a familial connection with Rey. He Force-chokes a First Order officer when he brings up how a girl helped Finn and BB-8 escape Jakku (”What girl?!”), he took his helmet off for both Rey & Han and he noticed how strong she is with the Force, as strong as he is if not stronger. In The Force Awakens novelization, when Rey picked up the Skywalker lightsaber from the snow, Kylo looked at her and said “It is you”, so it seems he had come to the realization that this girl in front of him was in fact his long-lost cousin or sister. He even offers to teach her the ways of the Force during their duel. He wants the other grandchild of Darth Vader by his side to rule the galaxy. Just like how Vader wanted Luke (and later on, Leia in ROTJ) by his side to rule the galaxy.

And there was also potential to create a story-arc for Snoke that would connect him to the Skywalkers somehow. My personal favorite theory is (or rather was) that he is Darth Plagueis and the creator/”father” of Anakin. There’s already some pre-sequel trilogy information about him in that scene in Revenge of the Sith where Palpatine and Anakin are talking about him. It’s said that he was able to use the Force to create life and it’s even hinted that Anakin’s miraculous birth could have been caused by Plagueis. Maybe Plagueis used the Force and impregnated Anakin’s mother in an attempt to create the Chosen One himself. Then when the time came, the Chosen One would be found and Plagueis could seduce him to the dark side, making him a very powerful and very worthy Sith apprentice. It’s possible he may have even wanted to treat Anakin as his own son since he technically did create him.

But of course Palpatine had different plans and decided to seduce Anakin himself. So he killed Plagueis. Or did he? Perhaps Plagueis successfully faked his death and watched over Anakin/Vader, watching the rise and fall of the Empire and then once Anakin redeemed himself to save Luke and died, Plagueis saw it as an opportunity to come out of hiding and recreate the Empire as the First Order. If Plagueis wanted to treat Anakin as his son as much as he wanted him as his apprentice, then it makes sense: Plagueis/Snoke did it all for Vader. He did it for his creation/“son”. The Imperial officers, Stormtroopers, etc. He even seduced Vader’s grandson to the dark side and made him his apprentice. He created the First Order in Vader’s memory to finish what he started and rule the galaxy.

Then it would have all came full circle: Anakin Skywalker’s family (Luke, Rey, Kylo & Leia) had to face off against his creator/”father” and finally bring balance to the Force. You might not agree, but I think that would have made a terrific story. A great way to tie together the originals, prequels and sequels and a great way to end the Skywalker Saga so that Disney and Lucasfilm can make new stories about new characters. Three trilogies about the Skywalker family. A beginning, a middle and an end. Then it’s over. Time for new characters and new adventures in the galaxy to explore.

But unfortunately, that never happened. Instead, we got what The Last Jedi gave us. A bunch of unnecessary plot twists and surprises (some of which ruin the characters of both the original and new trilogies), the Skywalker bloodline is pretty much dead; the only survivor of the bloodline being Kylo Ren who turned to the dark side for pretty much no reason other than disliking everyone in his family besides his grandfather. Oh, and because Luke suddenly decided to kill him even though he didn’t do anything wrong yet and there were in fact ways to save him.

The characters were ruined, the Skywalker legacy has been destroyed, Snoke died without us finding out his backstory, Rey’s parents are nobodies (and we don’t even get a good enough explanation about them; it wasn’t something like “Your parents were students of Luke’s Jedi academy. The First Order attacked them and they left you on Jakku to keep you safe. They were going to come back for you, but they were killed in the fight before they could”. Instead, it was “Your parents were junk dealers who sold you for drinking money.”) And the new characters didn’t even stay there too long. DJ turned out to be a traitor and we’ll probably never see him again. Admiral Holdo (who was completely unlike-able during the entire film) sacrificed herself, so we’ll most likely never see her again. And Rose, well... if you’re gonna get rid of 2 of the 3 new characters, you might as well get rid of the other one.

And that last scene with the little boy playing with a broom and looking at the stars. WTF?! What is the point of that scene? Is that little boy going to be in Rian Johnson’s new trilogy? Is he supposed to represent the younger Star Wars fans who use toys, brooms, etc. and pretend they’re lightsabers? Is he supposed to represent that whole message people are passing along saying “Anyone can use the Force, anyone can become a Jedi or a Sith” (even though half of the people in the galaxy are actually NOT Force-sensitive and therefore they cannot become Jedis or Siths if they wanted to).

And besides that, if you really want a Force-sensitive hero who isn’t a Skywalker, there’s always Finn. Yes, it’s been hinted in The Force Awakens that Finn is in fact Force-sensitive and if he & Rey got together, they would not only make such an amazing couple but also a very powerful couple. Plus, if Rey was a Skywalker or a Solo, Finn could have married Rey and adopted one of the two surnames. Finn & Rey Skywalker or Finn & Rey Solo. So there you have it.

All these stupid plot twists and everything, all this unnecessary filler, etc. I’m sorry, I just really needed to get it all out of the way. They had a lot of potential with this movie and this whole trilogy. But they threw it all away. The Last Jedi was not worth the two years of fans arguing with each other over Rey’s parentage, Snoke’s identity, etc. It really wasn’t. It’s the worst Star Wars movie ever in my opinion. And it’s also sad that people don’t even care about good, quality stories anymore. They don’t wanna go into the movies and watch a heartwarming parent/child reunion or a well-written explanation as to why a specific character is on a specific side of the fight. They just want plot twists, surprises, etc. To them, it doesn’t matter if it changes the entire story for the worse. As long as their jaw drops, that’s all that matters to them.

#tlj negativity #star wars #the last jedi #tlj criticism #plot twists #surprises #quality #good story #Rey Skywalker #rey solo #finnrey #finn x rey #darth plagueis #supreme leader snoke #kylo ren #Han Solo #Princess Leia #Luke Skywalker #Anakin Skywalker #darth vader #Skywalker family #skywalker saga #family reunion #family drama #force-sensitive finn #romance #The Force Awakens #episode IX #sequel trilogy

[pjstafford]

The X-Files Season 11 - my thoughts

TalithaXFilesRevival‏ @XFilesRevival

The X-Files’ biggest liability at this point is simple: creator Chris Carter - thoughts on this take anyone?

##############################

I couldn’t respond to such a huge question in a simple tweet.  I am going to offer not criticism, but advice and encouragement.  I believe that anyone who criticizes Chris Carter for Season 10 in the type of vehement voice which some people have are a little like people criticizing God because they think they could have designed the human race and Earth a little better.  If you love the X-Files you have three primary people to thank- Chris Carter, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.  So I will always love these three people because  I love the show.  

I happened to like season 10 for the most part.  I loved, like most people, the Darin Morgan written episode above all others, but Morgan’s episodes are precious, partially, because of their uniqueness.  A season of them would harm the tone of the X-files.  In the other episodes, there were some things I would have done differently and some decisions I puzzle over, but that is not unique to season 10.  In a discussion with a friend the other night we agreed  that part of the reason we are still discussing the X-files 90′s episodes today is because of the questions left unanswered and the strange twists the plot lines took.  The things left unsaid or presumed to have happened off screen frustrates some fans, but provides a dimension to the show which is part of its appeal.  X-files fans tend to be intellectual, creative thinkers.  We are a little like Mulder.  We want to know the truth but we don’t want it handed to us.  The journey and search for the truth has its own value. 

Are there other shows that after more than a decade off the air returned not for a “reunion” but with the intent to produce high quality story telling in a continuation of the story but with the passage of time as a reality?  I guess the Gilmore girls recently did that.  It will be interesting to see how Twin Peaks does it.  It is possible that the X-files was not the first, but, if so, I don’t remember the other attempts.  There were some unique challengers.  I have just read a thread today from a group of people  (ok, young ones) who saw season 10 before any other season and loved the show.  I found that interesting.  Season 10 had to set the stage for people who had never seen the show, had to catch people up to what had changed and had to deal with some passing of time issues such as - guess what, the world didn’t end in 2012.  This feat seems challenging enough for me to cut Carter some slack for a slow start to season ten  I actually don’t think there was that big of a rewrite to mythology.  There was always the question of whether aliens were abducting humans or government was staging the abductions, always the vaccination issues, always experiments to try and create a human/ alien hybrid and always the fact that anything we thought we knew might turn out in the next season to have been planted in an attempt to deceive and deflect from the truth.  We don’t know yet how it ends or what the truth is.  That’s kind of the point.  

So what is my advice- as if Carter needed it? 

1.  Unless you are sure of a season 12 and all parties have signed off do not end with the type of cliff hanger you did for season 10.  If you think you might want to visit X-files again down the road in a movie or such, still do an open ended ending, but don’t leave the main characters stuck on a bridge.   While the ending of the original series wasn’t my favorite episode, I liked the fact that there were questions unanswered but we knew Mulder and Scully were together and on the run.  It was enough of a conclusion.

2.  If you are concluding the series once and for all without any thoughts of future movies or other seasons, then God bless you.  We need the greatest ending ever written.  The ending I think we need most fans will not like.  I think Mulder must die.  It is the only ending that makes sense, but he dies with his hands on the proof to all his answers, or he dies in order to assure that the cigarette man is dead as well - finally, once and for all or he dies so his son can live.  I can’t see Mulder without the X-files as happy and fulfilled and domesticated.  I see him as a old man confused about his purpose in life, depressed and sad;driving the people he loves a little crazy .  Mulder is a hero and hero’s sometimes die.  Please only kill him off, though, if you are sure there is not a possibility to ever do another X-file in the future.  He’s risen from the dead once already.

3.  Scully has to believe in Mulder.  They don’t have to live happily ever after, but before they were romantic partners, Scully believed in Mulder’s conviction even when she did not believe in what he believed in.  He kept her strong.  The fact that Scully diagnosed Mulder with depression and asks him if he is taking his meds is the hardest part of season 10.   Please don’t continue down a path where Scully does not believe in Mulder unless you are somewhere heading for a conclusion at the end where she realizes she is wrong.  I don’t need MSR, but I need - we all need in this day and age - the partnership between these two to be trusting and respectful above all.  

4.  The most important mythology arc includes the story of William.  It is not because of the family element as much as because he is an X-file in the same way Scully and Mulder are.  The arc where Scully is abducted, her ova are taken from her, she has cancer, cannot conceive, Emily, and the miracle of William could have ended there, but the last seasons added William’s special powers.  What happens to the prophecy about either the father or the son must die?  I get that the X-files is not a family drama,  but William is just not a normal child born to a normal couple - or is he?  We do need to know.

5.  Finally, mythology episodes are really hard to write solo.  Its like the band was reassembled, but they each played their solo music instead of working together. Let’s consider the original mythology episodes.   Chris Carter wrote Duane Barry  ( a great episode) but not ascension.  Duchovny helped with the story for Anasazi,Talitha Cumi,and Sixth Extinction II plus William.  Spotnitz was involved in most of the other mythology episodes.  Of course, Chris Carter does not need to step back or let other take the lead.  That is crazy talking.  He does need help to write the type of episodes that makes the X-files the great show we love.  Morgan and Wong episodes were great in season ten.  They should continue to be involved.  If Spotnitz and Gilligan are not available, can Duchovny help with the mythology episodes?   I admittedly say this with a bias as he is one of my favorite writers, but he just seems to love and know the show so well.  In a ten episode season could he help with the mythology episodes and maybe write a stand alone?  I say that not knowing if he wants to, but for me, it would make the most sense.  It would especially make sense if season 11 is the end of the X-files.  Please note I am not in any way suggesting Carter take a back seat or, to continue the band analogy, that his microphone is turned low.  I don’t think fans would enjoy the end product  if Carter  is not fully engaged and involved as the lead creator, but allowing some assistance from the other band members might help.   

[therealflyingoctopi]

August 8th – September 30th, 2017 I’ve made a decent amount of deep life posts already, but this one, the sort of heart of it all, I’ve been wanting to write for a while. Especially in the past few months. And no, it wasn’t all procrastination. I’ve actually been busy. (But I mean, there was a fair bit of procrastination too.) (Quick note, I started writing this on August 8th, 2017. I got busy and procrastinated again but I’ve finally finished it so here you go.) I can’t think of any way to make this all make sense at any starting point, so let’s just rewind and do this the best we can. Basic life story first: The first 5 years of my life were great. I was born to and raised by God-loving parents who always wanted the best for my siblings and I. (And they still do.) I don’t remember most everyday life from back then, as it was all over a decade ago, but I do remember a few very prominent things: 5 little kids playing at home with 2 happy parents, being told to shush it in adult church, but having a blast in Sunday School, and having a number of close friends I played with pretty much all the time. But then things changed. When I was 5 years old, my family moved to a different city. This is where I currently live. We’re still only about 3 hours from our old town, but it’s not like we can just go there and back every day. And a 5 year old kid isn’t about to start writing letters to his friends. Because of this, these friendships started to fade. We’d still see each other sometimes, and on occasion still do, but the fact of the matter is, it’s not the same. (That sounds especially dramatic, considering I was only 5.) For the next 8 years it was pretty much just my siblings and I at home. Mom and Dad were always there too, but there’s a difference between kids and adults. My 4 siblings were my friend group. My parents were my parents. One might ask, “Why didn’t you just go out and make friends?” A valid question. That’s a normal thing kids do, right? That’s how you find the people who will always stick by you from the time you’re 10 to your final days. Right? Well not to bash on my parents ways of... well, parenting, (I feel they’ve had enough on this subject and my views have changed as I’ve grown older) but for the most part, we weren’t really allowed to just go and do that. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents to death and I know they did and still do what they believe is the best for their kids, but when you’re younger, you don’t see that as well. You see it as “Why are they keeping us locked away from the world? Why won’t they let us have just one friend?” No, we were not kept in a cellar and let out one full moon a year to experience the outside world. We were allowed to go biking around the neighbourhood, we were allowed to respond to someone on the street if they talked to us (unless they were quite obviously someone you don’t want to be stuck in a back alley with). But if a kid we met at the park ever invited us over to their house, that’s when things got “sheltering”. Now, at 17 years old, I totally understand why my parents did what they did, but back then I felt like I was being cheated my freedom. My right to connect with anybody. If someone invited us over to their house, my parents’ response went something like this: “We’d have to talk to their parents first and get to know them a bit. We don’t want you going to a stranger’s house that could be potentially dangerous or a bad influence.” Again, I hated every bit of that when I was younger, but now, I honestly thank my parents for it. If they didn’t watch over my siblings and I like that, who knows what could’ve happened? Anything. Down the list from the teeniest and almost unnoticeable things to being caught in the middle of a drunken screaming parental fist fight. Even though I knew that what my parents were doing was right, it didn’t really make it any easier. If anything, it made it harder. Especially as I got older. When I joined my first soccer team, when I started my first job, or even when I went to that one family reunion on my Mom’s side. Most of the people I met were nice people. Average folks, just not the type of people you’d want to hang around all the time. And even if they were really nice kids, I’d always felt that I didn’t have the right to keep the connection. (Maybe not exactly that, but that’s the best I can explain it.) I’ve never felt that I could keep a friendship alive from just meeting someone one day. Or if there was a nice kid on my soccer team, I’ve never felt that I’m, for lack of better words, “worthy” of their friendship. I’ve always felt like everyone I meet is inherently better than me and worth more than my time. I was never one of the “cool kids”. Everyone was always greater in my eyes. And especially as I got older and these people started talking about their weekend parties, all the drugs they did, and all the people they’d slept with. From me, nothing against them. I always thought, “If that’s how you want to live your life, go for it. It’s just not for me.” All this combined (along with the big fact that I never went to public school, where a lot of people make friends), I think it really helped mold me into who I am today. I don’t have any kind of mental illness or even huge anxiety issues, I’m just more of a shy person. I don’t really know how to just go out there and make friends. And I think I have a good enough excuse for that. I haven’t had all that much experience. My parents didn’t shelter me from the world. In fact, they exposed me to a lot of it that most parents would hide their kids from. However, as a kid, it still felt like sheltering. This started to change when I was 13. After a couple bad years in a row of homeschooling with Mom, my parents decided it was time to look at putting my siblings and I in an actual school. This turned out to still be homeschooling, but a level up from what we were doing. We went from a computer program and Mom as the overseer to a website with real teachers and classmates across the country. Real people that you could actually talk to, even if it was just online. A step up. This was the start of me and my siblings actually having friends since we moved in 2005. None of us lived in the same city, but we could see each other at school conventions and the odd meetup once or twice a year. (Ok so there’s actually one friend we’ve had for a few years who lives in our city and used to be in our church so shout out to you Lizard. You’ve been around when literally no one else has. And I’m sorry it took me longer than the rest to actually become your friend. But I’m glad I finally did.) So now we had friends. A step up, but still. We all got to see each other once or twice a year. 3 times if we were lucky. And unfortunately skype chats and e-mails simply aren’t the same as face to face. So everyday life was still pretty mundane when it came to the social side of things. It’s been pretty steadily mundane for the past few years. Up until recently. At the beginning of this summer, I received an e-mail from the directors of the camp that hosts our annual day camp convention with our school (the one constant time we get to see friends from school). It’s 2 days a year so I’d been there 8 days total. I’d been told about the full on summer camps they do every year, but was never really interested. Mostly because no one I knew would be there. The long and short of the e-mail was them asking if I wanted to be a cabin leader at their camp this summer. It was hard to take seriously. They wanted me - shy little me - to go and lead kids for a summer? Lead kids? Sure I’ve helped out in Sunday School for a few years now, but that’s far different than leading a whole cabin full of kids day and night for a number of weeks. I told my mom I’d think about it, but what I really thought was “LOL forget it. The only thing I’m going to do there is be insanely insecure in front of a bunch of people my age that I don’t know and are obviously way better than me at everything, as I’ve always assumed everyone is, and then just break down because I can’t lead anything, let alone a bunch of hyper kids.” But after it tossed and turned in my mind for a while I thought “Whatever let’s do it. What’s there to lose? If everything goes wrong I never have to go there again. It’ll just be the scariest time of my life.” And wow was I wrong. I mean yeah, it was quite scary at first, but everything is and this turned out to be one of the best choices I’ve ever made. I arrived at the staff training week all nervous and shaky, ready for anything to go wrong at any minute, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. Everyone there was so welcoming and accepting. Meeting people was scary, but every one of them was friendly and I felt calm enough as time passed. I won’t go into detail on all the things that went on during camp, but here’s the key stuff. I was there for a total of 5 weeks. The first day I was there I made a small number of friends already. (Much to my surprise. They caught me off guard when they offered to let me sit with them that night.) I made a lot of connections during my time there. I have kept most of those through social medias and there are multiple meetups and retreats and other opportunities to keep those connections alive in person. Much more than the twice a year school meetups. This is starting to lose direction and get messy. The basis: I have friends now. Not that I didn’t before, but closer friends. People I’ve spent weeks at a time with, instead of hours. For the first time in over a decade, I have closer friends with a much deeper connection. It’s so new but I love it. (This bit’s going to add to the cheesiness so much…) For the first time since my 5 year old friends I feel like I’m worthy of these peoples’ friendships. It feels like a mutual thing, not me looking up to someone not expecting acknowledgement back. (I swear my life is not a high school sob story drama movie, it’s just how I seem to write.) I don’t know what else to add, but the bottom line is that I’m extremely happy and feel alive again with real people in my life and more of a purpose to connect with these people. During the staff training week at camp everyone had a turn (that you had to take) to give a sort of testimony. These often included life stories. When it came my turn, I had everything prepared. It was all laid out in my head. What I was going to say, when each part was, how it all fit together. However, when I went up to tell my story, I couldn’t. The moment I saw the dozens of people filling the room I blanked. I forgot pretty much all of what I just told you and gave a very brief and bland testimony. This writing was my first shot at trying to get it all out. Everything I wanted to say that left my head then. But I feel a lot more confident now around those people so I think it’ll go a lot better next year. But for now, this will have to do. It’s incredibly messy, I’m sure I forgot a couple things, probably got a bunch of stuff mixed up, and definitely rambled on too much. But I’ll have to deal with it for now. Until next year. It does feel good to get most of it out though. Even if no one reads it, I’ve written it all out for myself. That’s really the only reason I wrote it for now. For me. Until I tell everyone else properly. (In case it wasn’t clear in this post, it’s not. It’s not clear. This whole post. As with pretty much every “life story-time” kind of thing I write, I knew everything I wanted to say, but I had no clue how to line it all up and fit everything in with it all making sense and not completely falling to pieces.) Alright I’m rambling again. It’s 12:16 AM. I’m not happy with this writing because it’s such a mess but oh well. Good morning I’m going to sleep now.

[niamsuggitt]

The Ides Of July 2017

Hey guys! It’s time once again for The Ides Of, but this is a shorter column than usual. What can I say, it’s summer, there’s less TV on and I’ve been outside at least once. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some damn good stuff in here,  but there’s notably less.

Part of me feels like I should compensate with a longer, ramblier introduction, but nah, let’s get on with it.

(Is ‘ramblier’ even a word? I don’t think it is. More rambly? No, that’s not right either.)

—

Movies

I began the month by watching John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski 2017), which picks up pretty much right where the first film left off, and doesn’t let go for the entire running time. It’s another hugely enjoyable action movie with some fantastic set pieces and a brilliant, central performance from Keanu Reeves. I would probably say it was a step down from Chapter 1, if only because it hits a lot of the same beats and doesn’t come out of nowhere as being surprisingly awesome. I think what makes these films work is the very slow, deliberate world-building that goes on around the rather basic revenge plotlines. John Wick’s world of assassins has a definite fantasy twist to it, and every new rule, every new artefact we see, such as ‘markers’ only asks more questions, and I think that feeling of only just scratching the surface of a mystery is very powerful. It’s why I think the fervour of my fandom for a new world is always at it’s highest right at the start. When every page is a new discovery. In John Wick,  both chapters, every scene is a new discovery. It’s why I’m both excited and nervous about the upcoming John Wick comics (even if they are by the excellent Greg Pak) and the possibility of a TV show. I want things to remain murky here. I mentioned Keanu earlier, but the rest of the cast is also great, with standouts being Ian McShane (of fucking course), Peter Serafinowicz and a very cool Matrix reunion with Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.  These John Wick movies are just a lot of fun, very cool action, strong (albeit, as I said, simple) stories and just that hint of something higher.

I then watched La La Land (Damien Chazelle 2016), finally getting around to one of this year’s big Oscar contenders after months and months of hearing and reading some rather heated debate. Now that we’re a bit removed from all that, I have to say that La La Land is a thoroughly enjoyable movie that deserves a lot of the praise it received and, in my view, not as much criticism. The opening musical sequence is just a delight, a blast of classic Hollywood movie magic in that most prosaic of places… a traffic jam. That sense of old-school big musical carries throughout, and whilst at times I feel like the balance between that and the more modern, plotty scenes is a bit off, it works more than it doesn’t.  All of the musical numbers are excellent, sticking in my head after the film, and I enjoyed how they fit into the story of Seb and Mia, both of whom are interesting, flawed characters with strong performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. At first I was surprised that Stone won an Oscar here, because it’s not the kind of role that normally wins the big awards, but in a way, that makes it even better. She just sells the whole conceit here so well. One thing I found interesting is that the movie uses the classic Hollywood musical romance style to tell the story of a relationship that doesn’t end up working out. The two main characters aren’t able to live their professional dreams together. They have to sacrifice their being together to be successful in their own fields of acting and Jazz music (speak of the Jazz thing, that whole ‘La La Land white mansplains Jazz’ thing was way overblown, yes, Seb does do that a bit, but 2, 3 scenes later, John Legend’s character disagrees with him, and is shown to be correct!). I am conflicted about that final scene, where they idealise their romance and we see how it ‘could’ have gone. I can’t quite parse the meaning just yet. But overall, La La Land is great, effortlessly charming, with a directorial style and panache that hasn’t been discussed enough I don’t think. I think I definitely need to see ‘Moonlight’ now, just to see how they stack up. La La Land is good for sure, but I can see why others didn’t like it and don’t see it as ‘worthy’. Hopefully we can forget about that now and just appreciate what an experience it is.

And finally, I went to the cinema to see Spider-Man: Homecoming (Jon Watts 2017) and it should be no surprise at this point that I loved it. Not only do I like basically every MCU film, Spider-Man is my overall favourite superhero, so having him get his own story in that universe is just what dreams are made of for this particular dork, particularly after the relative let-down of the Amazing Spider-Man movies. I would probably say that Homecoming isn’t as good as an overall film as the first 2 Raimis (particularly Spider-Man 2), but that MCU connection gives it that extra edge. Think about it, when people talk about what makes Spider-Man so special, it’s pretty much always in comparison to other superheroes. Compared to Captain America and Thor his life’s a mess. A young kid can’t identify with Batman, but they can with Spidey. Superman’s costume shows his face, but Spider-Man’s hides his, so it could be anyone under there! Spider-Man’s charm is that he’s not like other heroes, so, as good as Raimi was, given that Spider-Man is the only hero in those films, that charm is missing. Lest we forget, the very first issue of Amazing Spider-Man sees Spider try, and fail, to join the Fantastic Four. This film follows a similar path, although swap out the FF for the Avengers. Post-Civil War, Peter Parker is desperate to join the Avengers and be like Iron Man. But throughout the course of the film, he, and the audience, realise that isn’t where Spider-Man is supposed to go. He has his own corner of the Marvel Universe. A friendly neighbourhood if you will! Basically everything in this movie works. I’ll start first by saying that Tom Holland is pretty much perfect. He showed that already in Civil War, but man, he doesn’t drop the ball here. He is funny, endearing, clever and heroic. Basically, he is Spider-Man. The cameos from Robert Downey Jnr’s Tony Stark are just enough, and the way other Avengers make their presence known is just hilarious. I thought Michael Keaton was brilliant as The Vulture, making the character understandable but also very menacing. But of course, with Spider-Man, it’s not just about the superhero action, but also about the personal drama, and I think Homecoming does the best of any adaptation at nailing Peter Parker’s home-life. The scenes between Peter and (the still disarmingly hot) Aunt May are great, hinting at the tragedy that binds them, but not dragged down by them. All of the high school stuff and characters are fantastic, feeling like the best combination of the classic Lee/Ditko days and the more modern, Ultimate Spider-Man. I mean, Ned is basically just Miles Morales’ best friend Ganke (speaking of Miles, loved the reference to him with Donald Glover’s character) and the new spins given to Liz, Flash Thompson, Betty Brant and MJ are great.   I really loved Zendaya’s performance as ‘Michelle’ here, she’s a different kind of love interest, in that she barely is one at all! She came out of nowhere to be perhaps the funniest character in the film. And man, is it funny, that’s another thing Homecoming delivers where other films perhaps didn’t, the humour. The MCU is always comedic, but this is taken to another level. Can you tell I really liked this movie? I watched it after a tough week personally, and it really turned things around. Spider-Man has always taught me a lot about how to live my life, and it’s great that he continues to do so. I hope Tom Holland is inspiring a new generation of kids.

Television

Given that it’s Summah, there’s not as much TV as there usually is, but what there is to talk about is good stuff. The only returning show for me at the moment is Preacher (AMC) which is back with one hell of a bang. This second season has the series feeling a lot more confident, both in it’s ability to stick closer to the comics now that we’ve left Annville behind, but also in how it deviates from the source material. Whilst I enjoyed Season 1, Preacher really should be a road trip story, and that element is front and centre, as Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy search across America for God. Not only are they being followed by the Saint Of Killers, but recent episodes have begun to introduce my favourite antagonists from the comics, Herr Starr and The Grail. The fact that their introduction has been somewhat surprising is a sign of how good this show can be. It is familiar, but also able to give me something new. I said this a lot last year, but whilst the story may differ, the tone of this show is pure uncut Ennis and Dillon, and that’s hard to beat. The opening sequence of the Season Premiere was just the perfect mix of comedy, gross-out and violence. It blew me away. I continue to love the central performances from Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and Joe Gilgun. I don’t think any of them are likely to get Awards consideration, but they deserve it for me. The only real negative for me so far this season has been the Eugene/Arseface storyline, where we see what he’s up to in Hell. I get what they were trying to do, but making Hitler a sympathetic character doesn’t really work. It just felt like the wrong kind of ‘offensive’ for Preacher. But the sequences showing Eugene reliving his worst memory were some of the best the show has done. Preacher is a series that’s not for everyone, but as a fan of the comics, I really enjoy it a lot, Rogen and Goldberg continue to grow and evolve the show, and it’s really very exciting.

I also watched 2 Netflix originals in their entireties. First was Five Came Back (Netflix), a 3-part documentary series about the filmmaking exploits of 5 famous Hollywood Directors during WW2; John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra and George Stevens. The series uses a lot of fascinating archival footage, and also pairs each of the 5 with a modern director; Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Lawrence Kasan and Paul Greengrass. I found this to be a fantastic, powerful documentary, which made me look at not just these individual directors differently, but also see cinema as a whole and WW2 in a new light. The first episode is a little slow, introducing us to the 5 men’s lives before the War, but the later episodes are on a whole other level, and just blew me away with the footage they shot. One thing that really brings it home is the fact that a lot of what, particularly Ford and Stevens shot, was in colour. You don’t often see WW2 in colour, but it made it feel so much more real and effective. The football of Dachau concentration camp in colour was particularly harrowing. You just don’t expect to see that in colour. It was incredibly powerful and you really see why, after his experiences, George Stevens felt he was no longer able to direct comedy films, and instead only did drama from then on. It changed him so deeply. One thing that’s particularly cool about this series is that Netflix have also put a lot of the propaganda films the Directors made on the site as well. I haven’t watched any yet, but I am intrigued. It’s certainly made me more interested in their wider careers. I’ve seen most of Ford and Capra’s big pictures, but the likes of Wyler, Huston (who I know more as an actor) and Stevens I don’t think I’ve see any films of. If anyone can show me how I can see ‘The Best Years Of Our Lives’ in the UK, let me know, it looks like a fantastic counter piece to ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’. If you have any interest in the golden age of Cinema or WW2, you have to watch this series, it is a superb examination of both.

Over the space of just about 3 weeks I watched every episode of GLOW (Netflix), which really is fantastic. Given that I like the bastard art form that is professional wrestling, I was already pre-disposed to liking this series, but it transcends that to become a top quality series in it’s own right that, actually acts as a fantastic explanation of why ‘sports entertainment’ works. If you have any friends or family that don’t quite get it, I think GLOW, rather than any 5-star match or amazing promo will help you explain. Over the course of 10 episodes GLOW introduces some truly fantastic characters, delivers some brilliantly funny moments and also provides enough depth and drama so as not to be ridiculous. The way the series plays with stereotypes is just excellent, as pretty much everyone defies your expectations. The central performances from Alison Brie, Marc Maron and Betty Gilpin are the standouts, but really, everyone is good. I was very surprised to see UK pop star Kate Nash appear as Rhonda. I had no idea she could even act, but she was hilarious in all her scenes. It was also great to see Knives Chau from Scott Pilgrim, Ellen Wong appear, and as a fan of the much maligned 3rd season of Veronica Mars and poor Piz, Chris Lowell was fun as Bash. But the main thing here is Brie, whose Ruth is just one of the great modern TV protagonists. She manages to be both sympathetic and also an awful person at times, and it was great to see her slowly get her confidence back as she develops the ‘Zoya The Destroya’ persona. Her Russian heel accent is so damn good. One thing I liked is that the show treated Wrestling seriously, and that the matches we do see were kind of good, by 80s standards. It was great to see so many cameos from real wrestlers, the likes of Johnny Mundo, Tyrus, Carlito, Joey Ryan, Alex Riley (surprisingly good? How did this happen, he was so bad!), Kazarian and Daniels and of course, Awesome Kong/Kharma, who plays the biggest role in the series. GLOW is just a fun ride from start to finish, and I think it’s probably the best paced Netflix show I’ve watched. Most of their shows, as much as I enjoy them, tend to lag in the middle, but with this? I could have easily watched 3, 4 more episodes. Perhaps it’s the 1980s setting? Both this and Stranger Things kept the pace. I can’t wait for a second season, and man, if WWE knows what they’re doing, they should try and get some of the stars of GLOW to appear at Summerslam a la Stephen Amell. I mean, Smackdown already has a sexy Russian villain and a heroic champion who literally feels the Glow. It makes almost too much sense.

Now for some quick hits!

The 2-part iZombie (The CW) was really excellent, and set the series up for a very different 4th season next year. Zombies are now public knowledge, and a significant proportion of Seattle’s population are now Zombies. This is what the series has sort of been building to all along, but I don’t know if I ever actually expected it to happen. Now that it has, I am very excited to see what it will be like. Part of me will miss the classic dynamic of eating brains and solving crimes, but I have faith that the writers can keep the sense of humour and we won’t lose what makes the show fun.

The finale of American Gods (Starz) was very strong, particularly for an amazing Ian McShane monologue, the appearance of several Jesuses (Jesi?) and another brilliantly stylish flashback sequence focusing on Bilquis, but man, 8 episodes was too short a season, I feel like Fuller and Green have only just gotten started! Part of me thinks I should re-read Gaiman’s novel before Season 2, but I also like the fact that my memory is so hazy, it means I can still be surprised, like Preacher. These 2 shows actually have quite a few similarities now that I think about it.

Silicon Valley (HBO) ended it’s 4th season with the departure of one the main characters, Ehrlich Bachman, and I have to say it was bittersweet. I will mis T.J. Miller’s scene-stealing performance, but they way he left? Just abandoned by Gavin in Tibet to do drugs? It was so damn funny. I hope the series will be as strong without him, I think it might actually help them shake things up a bit and allow the plot to progress a bit more, because whilst this series is always funny, Season 4 did feel a bit like ‘2 steps forward, 1 step back’ at times.

The last few episodes of Veep (HBO) Season 6 were a bit like that too, although probably intentionally? Especially given that the finale featured flashbacks to throughout Selina’s political career. I am wary of her running for President again, but at this point I could watch these actors do anything, they are so funny, and I think that David Mandel and his writers, whilst different from Iannucci, have a firm handle on them. Veep is just a comedic classic at this point, and if a Presidential comedy can still be funny in the age of Trump, it really is good.

Music

Two albums to talk about this month, and both a returns for recent favourites of mine. First up is How Did We Get So Dark? (Warner Bros. Records 2017), the second album from Royal Blood. With this record, the Brighton two-piece don’t exactly reinvent the wheel, once more delivering 10 blistering rock tracks in the space of about 35 minutes. But when the wheel you’ve already got is so damn good, then it doesn’t really matter does it? This is another great collection of rock songs, that hit hard and stick in your memory. Given that this is reportedly a break-up album, the subject matter of the songs is probably a little darker than the self-titled debut, but with Royal Blood, the lyrics tend not to matter as much as the feel of the song, of the bass and the drums just kicking in your face. I would say my my favourite song on here is probably ‘Hook, Line And Sinker’, but the title track is also great, and really, they’re all excellent. I suppose it would have been interesting to see what a more experimental Royal Blood album would be like, but for now, I’m fine with a bit more of their formula. If they haven’t changed after 2 or 3 more albums, then I’ll be worried.

Public Service Broadcasting’s Every Valley (PIAS Recordings 2017) does however represent a rather big evolution for the band in question, as they are now no longer sampling old films and documentaries, but actually feature some singing! This record is another concept album, with the band once again examining an area of history. One might think that Welsh Mining would be nowhere near as exciting as ‘The Race For Space’, but it turns out it is, and, in my opinion at least, makes for a better album, their best yet. Given the current surge in left-wing politics in this country, this is now a very timely album and one that has resonated with me a lot. One of my great-grandfathers was a miner, albeit not in Wales, so there’s that personal connection too. The mines allowed so many working class people to provide for their families, and that allowed subsequent generations to prosper, leading to my generation of the family being far more middle class and comfortable. When the mines and other industries were gone, I think Britain lost that social mobility, and we need to bring that back. Enough politics though, what about the music? It’s fantastic, with PSB’s familiar excellent musicianship married not only with iconic, memorable samples, but as I said, also with some original singing from some great guest-stars, such as Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura and James Dean Bradfield of The Manic Street Preachers. However I think the best song features singing from the band itself, as J. Willgoose Esq himself duets with Lisa Jen Brown on the heartbreaking ‘You + Me’. That song is just wonderful even outside of the concept. It has extra meaning because of the other songs around it, but can stand alone I think. The same can also be said for the final track, ‘Take Me Home’, which features a resounding chorus from a real Welsh men’s choir. The last few tracks here, after the strikes and after the mines have been shuttered just wreck me. I almost cried when I first heard them. This is just a wonderful album, from a brilliant band that always impress and look to do new things. They could easily be a novelty, gimmick band, but this shows they are so much more.

Books

Not to toot my own horn too much, but sometimes I can be an astute, intuitive motherfucker. Last month, when talking about Moonglow (2016) by Michael Chabon, I wrote that it reminded me a lot of Gravity’s Rainbow. Well, only a few pages later… Chabon brings up that book in the text! That brought a real smile to my face, as did the rest of this novel, as well as a fair few tears. Chabon’s depiction of his grandfather’s life comes together very well, telling a fascinating story about some very interesting people. The revelation of just what Chabon’s grandmother’s secret was blew me away, especially in the rather nonchalant way it was explained. It wasn’t some big bomb-shell (this book has enough literal ones of those!) but a slow unravelling. Like I said, it was emotional, and I can only imagine what it was like for Michael Chabon and his family to discover and for him to write about. This is a very strong book from a brilliant writer, yes, it’s a deeply personal story about his family, but I think the themes brought up are applicable to almost anyone. It certainly made me reflect on my relationships with my parents and particularly my grandparents. All 4 of them are dead now, but I certainly feel like I should speak to my Dad and Aunts and Uncles to get a better sense of where I come from.

I’m currently reading Dorian Lynskey’s 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History Of Protest Songs (2010), which is, as the title would suggest, a history of protest music throughout the 20th century. Lynskey writes about 33 songs and how they reflected and even formed social change. This is a very interesting read, and in these politically tumultuous times, one that feels very vital, even if it is 7 years old. One thing that I appreciate here is the breadth of songs Lynskey chooses to write about. Some of them are very familiar to me, like ‘Strange Fruit’ or ‘Give Peace A Chance’ and others I’ve never heard of! I’m excited to find out more, and luckily, every song in this book apart from one is on Apple Music, so I’ve been able to compile a playlist so after reading a chapter I can listen to the actual song. I’m currently just getting up to the 1970s, with the next chapter to read being ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ by Gil Scott-Heron, which is just a classic. Of course, this book is more than just a music book, and instead reflects the changes in Western, particularly American, society.  A lot of these early chapters are about Civil Rights, and then Vietnam. From reading the contents,  that’s going to evolve into Gay Rights, and feminism, and many other causes. Every chapter teaches me something new, not just about the musicians, but about the protest movements themselves. The only negative thing really is that reading this book has shone a light on the fact that our current political climate is sorely missing any good protest songs. The final chapter in this book is Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’, and that song is nearly 15 years old! I think it’s because the left is so much more cynical nowadays, when we see a song with a ‘message’, we dismiss it as preachy and smug? That’s certainly what I tend to think,  but then again, I do like a lot of the songs in this book! I suppose if he did an update Lynskey could write about ‘Oooohhhh, Jeremy Corbyn’ to the tune of Seven Nation Army? That’s about as close as we get these days.

Games

Much to my shame, I have barely had any time for video games this month. I haven’t even touched Zelda! I am a failure to the people of Hyrule. I hope they'll forgive me. I have however still been playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch) when I have a spare half an hour or so. I’ve been playing it in Hand-Held Mode this time, and it is just so awesome to be playing a hand-held Mario Kart Game with such awesome graphics. I can remember playing the shit out of Mario Kart Super Circuit on the Gameboy Advance, and this is bringing back fond memories… only it’s 100 times better and bigger. One thing that I think is going to increase my playing time going forward is that I’ve just picked up a Switch Carry Case. Now I’ll have nothing to worry about in putting it in my bag and gaming on the go. Now that I have this case, I think I’ll start using the Switch to it’s full potential and perhaps actually get on with Zelda once more.

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So that’s your lot, I hope you enjoyed it. I must admit that even though this was shorter than normal, writing this was a bit like pulling teeth!

Hopefully next month will be easier, especially because Game Of Thrones is back! Oh man, I’m excited for that.

#The Ides Of #July #2017 #Movies #John Wick: Chapter 2 #La La Land #Spider-Man: Homecoming #Television #Five Came Back #iZombie #American Gods #GLOW #Silicon Valley #Veep #Preacher #Music #Royal Blood #Public Service Broadcasting #Books #Michael Chabon #Dorian Lynskey #Games #Nintendo #Switch #Mario Kart 8 Deluxe