I don’t know bout y’all, but I LOVE Friday nights. TV is awesome right now – even though some of you (ahem, marlo and JOe) are hatin’ on Dollhouse already. Yipee!
EssBee: Dollhouse had none of the awesome I associate with Whedon. The writing was just plain *terrible*. Right from the opening go, Whedonesque is just Whedonesque–the chars, the dialogue, the storylines, the mythos and details in delicious layers and flourishes….but this was just utter crap.There was not one *sentence* I would believe came from Joss.
Now, that happened on Buffy when one of his under-hacks wrote a suck script, especially a certain Nameless Evil in seasons 6 and 7. Angel’s underlings actually had talent, dammit, and were never under nothing.
I’m sure you could argue that Firefly had a premiere of suck, but thing was it WASN’T the opening ep. The opening ep is frickin brilliant; Fox just aired it last. But even that aired opener, which was the weakest ep of the whole series, I did not sit through, bored, and think ‘Who the hell wrote this? Misfiring robot monkeys?’
Dollhouse reeked just nasty of written by the money. You know, the people who should never speak. I was reminded of the network drove bodies flying train wreck that was season 2 of Dark Angel….
Good morning. I can’t believe I have nothing scheduled for today. I think I’ll clean the house and make it presentable for people who might be visiting it tomorrow.
Jack – I don’ t know how long badass karaoke will be part of our routine. It seems to be losing its luster for some of us.
I saw last night’s episode of Doll House and it was *much* better than the previous. It had many Whedon’s hallmarks. I wonder if that’s really how he had planned on starting the series before Fox got involved and mucked things up.
So there are a series of Philadelphia Cream Cheese commercials played up here, where there is an angel and her “man-servant”, Albert. (couldn’t find any on u-tube, though for reference).
If any of you are familiar with this series of commercials, I have a question… While I can see the angel’s idea of heaven including a “man-servant”, what does it say about Albert if his idea of heaven is being a man-servant?
While my husband and I have seen very few of the nominated movies, we still have a little contest. We’ll print out the ballot and each make our choices of winners. The one who chooses the most correct winners, gets a massage by the loser. More times than not, I seem to win :)
CP: The Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun (inspired by the talk of an all-Palooza-characters Duel of the Fates that came up after the Watchmania discussion)
That was a truly great time – - thanks everyone for a smoother-than-anticipated Skype discussion. It’s sometimes impossible to get through a 2-person conversation without constant interruptions – - – - how did we manage so few collisions?
I certainly wasn’t surprised at how much I enjoyed it, though. You guys rock, I knew it would be a fun time, and a lively discussion. We got about 100 minutes(!) of good material.
Thanks everyone for your time and your excellent commentary.
And big thanks again to Dan & Cj for their awesome contributions AND for hosting and recording and engineering the whole thing.
WNDR, you didn’t miss a Duel, but Amy came up with a great idea for a future DotF tournament theme – - – all Palooza characters.
A MARKED improvement. Hard to believe how consistent FOX can be with the treatment of Joss’ shows.
I wouldn’t yet want to stack this Ep up against other Whedon shows but EP2 was clearly as good or better then most Network shows. Nice intricate plot weaving and a reemergence of the Whedon “snappy repartee’” dialog.
Sadly, after that 1st episode … the only people still watching are probably just the Whedon faithful. He had us at “Hello”.
It’s the “new” audience that he has to capture.
Speaking of BSG -
For those Katee “Starbuck” Sackhoff fans … she had a major role in the last ep of “Nip/Tuck”. She plays a Doctor who likes to live life dangerously … and that includes her rather aggressive sex life.
I’ll just let your mind wander with that one.
Just a quick word to say thanks to all of you. It was a lot of fun and really, Dan did all the technical stuff. I just sat there. :) So he should get the tech credit and Jack, thank you for letting us be a part of it.
I think everyone’s contributions to the conversation were what made it great so, you know, I’m feeling pretty lucky to have been a part of it. So, thank you, Deadpan.
Just got an email from my sister. She said that (don’t know where she read this) FOX had made Joss re-shoot the premiere because they thought the original was too dark.
I seem to be the Speed Racer film’s lone supporter. . .
It was an excellent kids’ movie — lots of Spongebob-level humor, amazing visuals, and exciting action sequences, plus some intelligent and deep moments for the adults.
I really hope the Wachowskis and studios can shrug off the bad reviews and make some sequels.
I’ve been talking to a friend about Watchmen. He also thinks that a younger generation won’t quite understand the fatalism prevalent during the Cold War. It reminded me of something: I was glad back then knowing that I lived near likely target. It would be a quick end.
The Watchmania was awesome, though it reminded me how inadequate I am at unscripted discussion. You people are all great at it though. It was a great time as much as I was able to participate…
Reading Watchmen reminded me of why the final episode of the first season Heroes peed me off…really wanted Sylar to be snuffed out and not come back in S2.
All the old Sci-Fi books, games, and films made the post-apocalypes look like a hoot. I’d rather have survived nuclear armageddon to patrol the highways with a band of my fellow mutants, fighting for food and gasoline.
I’m suddenly reminded of a game I used to play on an old boyfriend’s C64 called Roadwar 2000. I was obsessed with this game and played it for hours and hours. Then one day he came and took his computer back. The apocalypse was just never the same after that. All I had was a WYSE Terminal with 1200bps dial-up.
I can recall being in NYC during the 80s and some group had taken it upon themselves to spray paint the outline “shadow” of people on streets and sidewalks.
It wasn’t dead body “chalk outlines” … it was like the shadows that were left behind in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were all sizes and you could often tell gender.
They weren’t “clever” or “cool” or anything that you’d now attribute to guerilla street art … given the time, they were just haunting.
People tried to pretend they weren’t there, no one talked about them but at intersections where the light would have pedestrians stopped, you could see people silently staring at these things … and for the most part no one would stand on one.
The worse one for me was what was obviously a women holding the hand of a child.
It all sounds over dramatic now. I can assure you that at the time … it was not.
Ah reminds of a comic strip from 2000AD, may have been a Future Shock, where a big fight over what looks like a tin of food in a post apocalyptic landscape. After winning the fight, the hero finds it’s a tin of engine oil..
Joe: I remember something like that. I think there was a big event like that in most cities to mark the 40th anniversary of dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
San Antonio was home to three Air Force bases and one Army post. I had no worries about living beyond the first strike. I remember knowing (though I’m sure it was a bogus guess) how many warheads were targeted at me while I was growing up. I remember being grateful in the 90′s that my own kids would not grow up with that hanging over them.
Please explain to me why I can be diagnosed with distinctively low testosterone levels and the only treatment costs about as much as my lyrica… and yet I have a very strong desire to kill somebody.
I – I Melt With You
J – Jack and Diane
J – Jailhouse Rock
If only I was clairvoyant I would have known Cj was about to post.
K – Karma Chameleon
L – La Bamba
M – Milk and Alcohol
N – Nice Work If You Can Get it
O – Orinoco Flow
CW: QI S6E9
P – Pac-Man Fever
Q – Queen of Hearts (one of my most requested karaoke tunes believe it or not)
R – Rapture
S – Stevie Nicks
:)
I should have done “Rooms on Fire” for R since it’s my favorite Stevie Nicks song.
S for Stand Back?
I like the Dave Edmunds version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPY-lkmfY6U
T – Tainted Love
That’s pretty great, Van! I’m not nearly as manly.
U – Under Pressure
V – Visions Of Johanna
I don’t know bout y’all, but I LOVE Friday nights. TV is awesome right now – even though some of you (ahem, marlo and JOe) are hatin’ on Dollhouse already. Yipee!
On my way home.
EssBee: Dollhouse had none of the awesome I associate with Whedon. The writing was just plain *terrible*. Right from the opening go, Whedonesque is just Whedonesque–the chars, the dialogue, the storylines, the mythos and details in delicious layers and flourishes….but this was just utter crap.There was not one *sentence* I would believe came from Joss.
Now, that happened on Buffy when one of his under-hacks wrote a suck script, especially a certain Nameless Evil in seasons 6 and 7. Angel’s underlings actually had talent, dammit, and were never under nothing.
I’m sure you could argue that Firefly had a premiere of suck, but thing was it WASN’T the opening ep. The opening ep is frickin brilliant; Fox just aired it last. But even that aired opener, which was the weakest ep of the whole series, I did not sit through, bored, and think ‘Who the hell wrote this? Misfiring robot monkeys?’
Dollhouse reeked just nasty of written by the money. You know, the people who should never speak. I was reminded of the network drove bodies flying train wreck that was season 2 of Dark Angel….
Can’t say I cared much for the first ep of Doll House either. I’m willing to give it a shot, but I was decidedly underwhelmed.
I actually bought the album with “Pacman Fever” on vinyl. LOL
Be careful with those Krokus comments CJ. Mr. JOe isn’t a fan of those midnight maniacs.
I liked Doll House okay. Although the Misses and I found it a bit contrived. I’ll give it a shot to see if it improves.
I dug the premier of Dollhouse. Tonight I’m watching BSG live, and Dollhouse on the DVR when we get back into town Sunday.
I’m at badass karaoke right now. Gotta love free wifi.
W – Welcome to the Terrordome
Badass Karaoke has become a Friday night staple.
Morning Pan, after today I’m on a weeks holiday, even thought it will seem to pass in the blink of an eye..looking forward to it.
Couldn’t find any songs beginning x or z:
Y – Year of the Cat
X – Xanadu
Xandu…doh!
Z – Zorba
Morning, Deadpan!
We’re off this weekend to visit mom & dad and to celebrate dad’s bday (59 this year). Enjoy the skype call Sunday!
CG: Fallout 3
(and also God of War 2)
Are you dressing up for GOW2?
Good morning. I can’t believe I have nothing scheduled for today. I think I’ll clean the house and make it presentable for people who might be visiting it tomorrow.
Jack – I don’ t know how long badass karaoke will be part of our routine. It seems to be losing its luster for some of us.
Save the world with nipples.
http://www.tagtele.com/v/11924
There you go CJ.
That’s the way I like my “Low Brow” … set up firm and high.
Re: Doll House
I look forward to seeing last night’s Ep because Whedon doesn’t do “crap” and I just know that it won’t be. I choose to believe Ep1 was the result of FOX getting hold of his beautiful soufflé and throwing it in a blender with some cheese and left over bits from other generic shows to make some sort of “one size fit’s none” casserole.
So I just know the rest of the season will be great!
This is what I choose to believe.
I saw last night’s episode of Doll House and it was *much* better than the previous. It had many Whedon’s hallmarks. I wonder if that’s really how he had planned on starting the series before Fox got involved and mucked things up.
Saw these guys tonight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JnzxNFxgVc&feature=related
Not my usual scene, but still enjoyable to listen too.
That guy can really play, Van. Good stuff.
Just finished watching Ep 2 of Dollhouse via Hulu. I thought I set up a season pass on the DVR, but apparently had just set the 1st episode.
Anyway, definitely an improvement over the premiere – and the signs that the imprints are casting permanent shadows on Echo’s memory are promising.
Now something more trivial…a parrot that swears in a Scottish accent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhvUJIwbV0
Even subtitled.
Amateur short film based on Half Life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UPMEmCqZo
Morning Pan!
Beautiful sunny Sunday Morning. I have a cat on my lap, making sure I use the computer properly.
Will be doing some shopping once the stores open.
CP: Elvis Costello – The Comedians
Holy crap – so much to do.
And the Watchmania call starts soon! I hope you’re going to be there.
T minus 2 hours until the Watchmania call!!! I’m so excited. (I’m still producing new Questors until the time comes, though.)
I’ll be there!
I just did the skype test call again to make sure things are good on my end. At least as far as the bot is concerned, I pass.
Soon?
21.50 here.
We have about an hour and 1/2 until take-off.
No recording will start at this end until my mother-in-law picks up the little people and takes them away for a while.
I’m also excited about Oscar night! Anyone else partaking in that?
So there are a series of Philadelphia Cream Cheese commercials played up here, where there is an angel and her “man-servant”, Albert. (couldn’t find any on u-tube, though for reference).
If any of you are familiar with this series of commercials, I have a question… While I can see the angel’s idea of heaven including a “man-servant”, what does it say about Albert if his idea of heaven is being a man-servant?
Just wondering.
In answer to CJ:
While my husband and I have seen very few of the nominated movies, we still have a little contest. We’ll print out the ballot and each make our choices of winners. The one who chooses the most correct winners, gets a massage by the loser. More times than not, I seem to win :)
Rhettro is here – we’re off!
While i still haven’t been able to find any commercials with Albert the manservant, I did find this, which I thought was a little odd.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090122145928AAtKnFO
You are a Pratchett fan TEB and you need to ask that about an Albert?
You know, Van. I never even made the connection until now. Still, one has to wonder…
So Van, knowing how late it is there, are we going to get the occasional snoring sound during the discussion? :D
I’ve had three pints of diet coke..I should be able to manage to stay awake..
However any tinkling of water noises I will leave to your imagination.
So I’m waiting for everything to go green on my contacts list.
I’m good to go.
CP: Touched — VAST
“Red three, standing by”
Waiting for Dan’s call…
Fingers crossed that the lag demon is in hiding.
Ditto, are you on my Skype contact list? If not, why not?
TEB. I see you. I can make a test call if you’d like.
We are setting up equipment and should be ready to roll soon.
woot
Standing by and ready!
Currently drinking: Lion stout.
The best Sri Lankan beer I’ve ever had.
Aw, who am I kidding? It’s the *only* Sri Lankan beer I’ve had. It’s still damn good, nonetheless.
T-minus 5 minutes.
Hatch closed.
Cryo disengaged.
No, you don’t need to call me ditto. I just wasn’t sure with pseudonyms. I think I know who you are ;)
I hear ya, TEB.
Too early for drinking here. i usually wait until after supper.
My family is Italian. It’s never too early to drink.
/engage panic mode
lmao
…waiting…
Go for main ignition sequence…
I’ll resist making a Thunderbirds reference.
I know it may be sacrilege, but I could never get into Thunderbirds.
That was cool, thx to everybody, 01.16 in the morning, time to sleep.
Good night, Van! :-)
CP: The Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun (inspired by the talk of an all-Palooza-characters Duel of the Fates that came up after the Watchmania discussion)
That was soo much fun guys! Thanks!!!
It sure was.
Night, Pan!
Damn it – I missed a DotF!!! Damn it Damn it Damnit!
Oh well. Other production happened…its all good.
Definitely a great gathering. Thanks to Dan and CJ for pulling it altogether.
It was cool to talk to you guys live. How much longer did y’all go after I dropped out? I’m sure I could have literally gone for hours on this one.
Sorry to have missed the call! Darn.
EssBee, you were mentioned multiple times and I think that totally counts as you being there!
Thank you all for being so great about everything. It worked out well from our end! :)
That was a truly great time – - thanks everyone for a smoother-than-anticipated Skype discussion. It’s sometimes impossible to get through a 2-person conversation without constant interruptions – - – - how did we manage so few collisions?
I certainly wasn’t surprised at how much I enjoyed it, though. You guys rock, I knew it would be a fun time, and a lively discussion. We got about 100 minutes(!) of good material.
Thanks everyone for your time and your excellent commentary.
And big thanks again to Dan & Cj for their awesome contributions AND for hosting and recording and engineering the whole thing.
WNDR, you didn’t miss a Duel, but Amy came up with a great idea for a future DotF tournament theme – - – all Palooza characters.
Dan & CJ rock.
That is all.
A good time for all? Excellent. =)
It is now time for me to go get coated in clear grease and black ink. If I’m unlucky, I’ll get red ink too. Blah.
Grease ? Um ….
Just watched Ep#2 Dollhouse
A MARKED improvement. Hard to believe how consistent FOX can be with the treatment of Joss’ shows.
I wouldn’t yet want to stack this Ep up against other Whedon shows but EP2 was clearly as good or better then most Network shows. Nice intricate plot weaving and a reemergence of the Whedon “snappy repartee’” dialog.
Sadly, after that 1st episode … the only people still watching are probably just the Whedon faithful. He had us at “Hello”.
It’s the “new” audience that he has to capture.
The guest spot from the BSG lawyer Romo Lampkin was a nice touch this week on Dollhouse.
As for the Oscars – Wall-E didn’t get nominated for best picture, so the whole show is pretty much a farce in my book.
ha – “Farce Book”.
The Social Media network for phonies.
Speaking of BSG -
For those Katee “Starbuck” Sackhoff fans … she had a major role in the last ep of “Nip/Tuck”. She plays a Doctor who likes to live life dangerously … and that includes her rather aggressive sex life.
I’ll just let your mind wander with that one.
Oh, it may be a reoccurring role as well.
Morning Pan!
Thanks CJ and Dan for being excellent hosts!
On a side note, I lost our Oscar Pool so tonight my hubby gets a full body rub. Damn, I was looking forward to getting one myself.
Morning, Pan.
I agree with everyone else. I had a great time last night, and much thanks to Dan and Cj for lending their hosting expertise and their studio.
They were really pushing the Watchmen GN at Borders today as part of the buildup for the movie.
DC isn’t dumb. Though a lot of what they’ve done in recent years has sucked, they do realize that the movie would sell a lot of comics.
It’s starting to snow again :(
Spring can’t get here soon enough.
Just a quick word to say thanks to all of you. It was a lot of fun and really, Dan did all the technical stuff. I just sat there. :) So he should get the tech credit and Jack, thank you for letting us be a part of it.
I think everyone’s contributions to the conversation were what made it great so, you know, I’m feeling pretty lucky to have been a part of it. So, thank you, Deadpan.
I love how I’m *still* learning stuff about the story.
Gonna be offline most of the day. *sigh*
You guys carry on without me. . .
RE: DollHouse
Just got an email from my sister. She said that (don’t know where she read this) FOX had made Joss re-shoot the premiere because they thought the original was too dark.
Stupid FOX.
Have fun storming the castle, Jack.
Now that could be a palooza worthy idea.
I also thought “Streets of Fire” might be interesting.
Been a long time since I’ve seen that one, Ed.
CP: Fisherman’s Blues — The Waterboys
I have a serious case of the Monday blues. Dammit.
I so don’t want to work today.
Do you just want to bang on the drums all day?
Via Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy Blog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUm6XUFV8_U
And I’ve escaped!
As a side note – holy crap am I unfocused these days. I feel about as sharp as a balloon.
I feel as sharp as pudding.
Oh. Just remembered to add SpeedRacer to my Netflix queue.
Does anyone here use the Netflix friends feature? I have friends there, but not sure I find it entirely useful.
Opinions?
Rough as a badgers arse here.
I seem to be the Speed Racer film’s lone supporter. . .
It was an excellent kids’ movie — lots of Spongebob-level humor, amazing visuals, and exciting action sequences, plus some intelligent and deep moments for the adults.
I really hope the Wachowskis and studios can shrug off the bad reviews and make some sequels.
I’ve been talking to a friend about Watchmen. He also thinks that a younger generation won’t quite understand the fatalism prevalent during the Cold War. It reminded me of something: I was glad back then knowing that I lived near likely target. It would be a quick end.
CP: I wanna be your friend again — Concrete Blonde
Intolerance is alive and well it seems:
http://tinyurl.com/b659bz
Very sad, Van. Very, very sad.
CW: Being Human eps 4
CP: Saved by the dawn — Tom Cochrane
The Watchmania was awesome, though it reminded me how inadequate I am at unscripted discussion. You people are all great at it though. It was a great time as much as I was able to participate…
Cj, I use the Netflix friends feature. I enjoy lurking and knowing what people are watching.
ditto, I had the exact same feeling growing up! We used to say in middle school that we’d be the first hit because NORAD is in Colorado Springs.
Reading Watchmen reminded me of why the final episode of the first season Heroes peed me off…really wanted Sylar to be snuffed out and not come back in S2.
So now to look at some more ink blots…
In the UK we would have got even less warning (less than 4 minutes), not much time to brood.
All the old Sci-Fi books, games, and films made the post-apocalypes look like a hoot. I’d rather have survived nuclear armageddon to patrol the highways with a band of my fellow mutants, fighting for food and gasoline.
JB, I thought your (and Iris’s) Watchmania comments were excellent, as were everyone’s.
http://is.gd/kBrl
Refurbing the cherry again. Last time was 2006, and on-site, when Jeremy was down to his boxers underneath…
I’m suddenly reminded of a game I used to play on an old boyfriend’s C64 called Roadwar 2000. I was obsessed with this game and played it for hours and hours. Then one day he came and took his computer back. The apocalypse was just never the same after that. All I had was a WYSE Terminal with 1200bps dial-up.
We broke up soon after.
I can recall being in NYC during the 80s and some group had taken it upon themselves to spray paint the outline “shadow” of people on streets and sidewalks.
It wasn’t dead body “chalk outlines” … it was like the shadows that were left behind in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were all sizes and you could often tell gender.
They weren’t “clever” or “cool” or anything that you’d now attribute to guerilla street art … given the time, they were just haunting.
People tried to pretend they weren’t there, no one talked about them but at intersections where the light would have pedestrians stopped, you could see people silently staring at these things … and for the most part no one would stand on one.
The worse one for me was what was obviously a women holding the hand of a child.
It all sounds over dramatic now. I can assure you that at the time … it was not.
Ah reminds of a comic strip from 2000AD, may have been a Future Shock, where a big fight over what looks like a tin of food in a post apocalyptic landscape. After winning the fight, the hero finds it’s a tin of engine oil..
Joe: I remember something like that. I think there was a big event like that in most cities to mark the 40th anniversary of dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
CP: Kid On My Shoulder — White Rabbits
CP: Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes — Red Sparowes
And hey Vanamonde – thanks for staying up late to talk with us.
San Antonio was home to three Air Force bases and one Army post. I had no worries about living beyond the first strike. I remember knowing (though I’m sure it was a bogus guess) how many warheads were targeted at me while I was growing up. I remember being grateful in the 90′s that my own kids would not grow up with that hanging over them.
Van, that is certainly a sad story. Apparently we’ve still got a long way to go.
Please explain to me why I can be diagnosed with distinctively low testosterone levels and the only treatment costs about as much as my lyrica… and yet I have a very strong desire to kill somebody.
Well women don’t usually have high testosterone levels and can still kill.
Morning Pan, I’m hitting the tracks today, going to visit my sister.