Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXIII (November 2021)

Free Guy, 02 November 2021, Blu-ray via Redbox
I wonder what it would have been like to watch this movie without knowing its central conceit: That is, Ryan Reynolds plays an NPC in an FPS named Free City and, one day, he becomes aware.

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXVII

I have been reading so many Star Wars and Stargate books, guys. I am living in all timelines at once.


Stargate SG-1: Survival of the Fittest, Sabine C Bauer
"Daniel Jackson. What are you doing?" Teal'c used the exquisitely cautious tones of someone dealing with a raving lunatic.

Stargate SG-1: Alliances, Karen Miller
Daniel radiated concern the way Chernobyl radiated...all right, radiation. You could toast marshmallows on the warmth of his regard.

Stargate SG-1: Roswell, Sonny Whitelaw & Jennifer Fallon
"Ten blocks," Daniel whispered in her ear, which was both informative and a rather pleasant sensation. She should make Daniel whisper vital information into her ear more often.

Star Wars: A New Dawn, John Jackson Miller
"But seeing and doing nothing isn't the worst thing," Hera had said. "The worst thing is to see and not care."

Fandoms I Have Loved, Part 6: Avatar the Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender is decidedly a kids’ show (it never leaves a snot joke untold), but it’s also a pretty stunning portrayal of generational trauma. The show starts in the 100th year of a war. One hundred years. Then we have a world that seems fully Asian (REPRESENT), some gorgeous fight choreography, and a main cast of tiny worldbreakers. ATLA is a song unto my soul.

Logliney Stuff:
For every generation there is an Avatar, master all four elements. Aang, an Air Nomad and the current Avatar, is barely, barely on the edge of puberty, when he gets caught in a storm and cryo-preserved (think Captain America) for one hundred years. When Katara and Sokka, two teens from the Southern Water Tribe, happen to wake Aang up, shit has gone down. The Fire Nation has spent the past hundred years attacking, conquering, and colonizing as much of the rest of the world as it could, and there was no Avatar to slow them down. Now it’s time for Aang to grow up, master his powers, and save the world.

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXIII

Exhalation: Stories, Ted Chiang
All my desires and ruminations are no more and no less than eddy currents generated by the gradual exhalation of our universe.

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown
I stare at her blankly, my warm coffee reminding me that I am not in the sunken place.

Darth Vader Volume 2: Shadows and Secrets, Kieron Gillen et al
THANOTH: What actually brought you to Anthan 13?
VADER: I pursued a rebel cell there. I dealt with them.
THANOTH: It wasn't reported.
VADER: I do not consider eliminating a few rebels a matter that requires comment.

Fall TV Preview: Weekends

Weekends are funny beasts, because there's not really programming, unless you're an SNL watcher (and I'm not). I usually use weekends to catch up on shows that premiered during the week, and that's typically a good number. So what'll I'll put before you now, instead, are the shows that don't quite fit anywhere else.

Thanks, Amazon Instant Video!

• Doctor Who, currently midseason
  We're amidst the new season now, and I'm liking Clara more now than ever. I'm not going to quibble and compare Capaldi's Doctor with Smith's or Tennant's or Eccleston's, because I've found I like the Doctor in any incarnation, because there's always that bone-deep weariness and wary joy beneath every performance. The Doctor is the Doctor, always. (Though, do I just call him Twelve? I hate all this mucking about with hidden Doctors and extra lives and all that.) My current cable package (which came free with my apartment) doesn't include BBC America, so I'm paying for it via Amazon. It's worth it to keep up with conversation and, well, I like putting my money where my heart is.
  
  
• The Legend of Korra, premiering 10/03
  
  
  In a move I find absolutely BONKERS, the fourth season is set to premiere online less than a month after the third season ended. And let's be clear, the third season was astoundingly good, after some excellent but sometimes rocky times in the first two seasons. And every time I have watched the trailer for the fourth season, I have broken into goosebumps.
  
  
  
  In terms of streaming, I will note that The Legend of Korra is only being posted online--not shown on TV proper--and Nickeolodeon has decent streaming. I opt to pay for episodes on Amazon because I prefer to have HD quality for this show, but it's easily found otherwise.
  
  
• Transparent, ten episodes available
  I haven't watched this yet at all, but I've heard nothing but good press. Not only does it employ some stellar actors to bring the story of a family with MTF transgender father, but the crew behind-the-scenes has also been incredibly inclusive. It speaks well for the entire project, I think.
  
  
• Teen Wolf, four seasons available
  I've never watched the show, but I know how fandommy it is. I will start watching quite soon.

Thanks, Netflix!

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, seven seasons available
  Aside from Enterprise and three movies, I've never watched any Trek. I don't remember why I started with DS9, but it is SPECTACULAR. I'm midway through the fourth season and hooked.
  
  
• Lost Girl, four seasons available
  This show is a romp. It's faeries and monsters and one tiny loud human, and it's sexy and goofy and occasionally sad. The third season ended with some mythology-upending, and I'm looking forward to binging on the fourth.
  
  
• Fringe, five seasons available
  I'm midway through the second season now, and this show hits all my X-Files-trained buttons. Creepy and gross most of the time, with a stoic and competent woman right at the center. <3
  
  
• Continuum, three seasons available
  I've only watched a couple of episodes of this time-traveling (think Terminator-esque) show, and I've heard it only gets better over time. Hooray!
  
  
• Lost, six seasons available
  In real time, I only made it to mid-second season before I drifted away. I have great affection for the show, even though I know it will enrage me by the end.

Cartoon Hangover (YouTube Channel)

• Bee and Puppycat (11/06)
  I have watched the sublime ten-and-a-half minutes of this show countless times. I gave to the Kickstarter campaign. I AM SO EXCITED. In fact, let's all watch it together:
  
  

CW Seed

• Play It Again, Dick, first episode available
  So meta. So, so meta. The actors from Veronica Mars play "themselves," as "Ryan Hansen" tries to convince everybody to pitch in on a spin-off all about, well.

I'm sure there are other shows I'll pick up and I'll drift away from others, but this is what I've got on the horizon.

This has been a fun week! I need to remember to blog more often. (If anybody has special requests, I'd love to hear them.)