tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379405602024-03-19T10:07:07.676-03:00Siskoid's Blog of GeekeryIs there any geek trash I won't touch? Not sure. Comics, cult movies, toys, RPGS, CCGs, gaming, SF, blogs and other obscura? Yeah, I'm in deep.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger10445125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-39617680547103401612024-03-19T06:00:00.041-03:002024-03-19T10:06:36.283-03:00oHOTmu or NOT Ep.99: Shanna the She-Devil to S.H.I.E.L.D.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj211ng24HRKAwk5IHReWu-HDBG2DMV39HeGb0L7d_rQazM2GkPEWGqQJ0Y9_gpH-sXX83hJvIJtduw83XNkpzoi0wRxaj1Q6-2m9WiSxOLeURvk3LJRLgE_uM9nJG7fiMBjI7q9knq-FqSlBmHyAUArE0_5YT-brvDM9UgP2Jz5Eqr8-ruyoL5/s500/ohotmu99.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj211ng24HRKAwk5IHReWu-HDBG2DMV39HeGb0L7d_rQazM2GkPEWGqQJ0Y9_gpH-sXX83hJvIJtduw83XNkpzoi0wRxaj1Q6-2m9WiSxOLeURvk3LJRLgE_uM9nJG7fiMBjI7q9knq-FqSlBmHyAUArE0_5YT-brvDM9UgP2Jz5Eqr8-ruyoL5/s16000/ohotmu99.jpg" title="Self-improvement" /></a></div>A jungle girl. A relative of the Cosmic Cube. Bruce Banner's cousin. Feathered aliens. A super spy organization. Which are Hot? Which are Not? Find out, as the Hot Squad continues its coverage of OHOTMU's 11th issue and reveals how datable its characters are.<br /><br />Featuring permanent panelists Isabel, Nathalie, Josée, Shotgun, and Amelie.<br /><br /><b>Listen to Episode 99 </b>(the usual mature language warnings apply) by clicking <b><a href="http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/ohotmu99" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>!<br /><br />Or you can right-click “download”, choose <b><a href="http://fwpodcasts.com/ma/ohotmu/OHOTMUorNOT99.mp3" target="_blank">“Save Target/Link As”, and select a location on your computer to save the file (41 MB)</a></b>.<br /><br />Or subscribe to oHOTmu OR NOT? on <b><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/ohotmu-or-not/id1080153726" target="_blank">Apple</a></b> or <b><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3R78KqUAA8B8EuyJOu0lLO" target="_blank">Spotify</a></b>!<br /><br />You can follow along! Here are the characters we cover in this episode.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcC20OjG9PNqTBqLujHANWHbzmKPGLs8uJowmPLLbjx470oUy5jVIq-BM6mF7HTfaciJWo5EljKxgUdHhQ5JTWnyuEosXovoaTrNzuOsjNOiPi28RaRtqDXEV8vdeGU0tmw7684AHpTvitp4jpn5l6meR9CN5aIAFDUbJv_a9cSVXa8MxhSQ4n/s749/ohotmu-shanna1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcC20OjG9PNqTBqLujHANWHbzmKPGLs8uJowmPLLbjx470oUy5jVIq-BM6mF7HTfaciJWo5EljKxgUdHhQ5JTWnyuEosXovoaTrNzuOsjNOiPi28RaRtqDXEV8vdeGU0tmw7684AHpTvitp4jpn5l6meR9CN5aIAFDUbJv_a9cSVXa8MxhSQ4n/s16000/ohotmu-shanna1.jpg" title="Welcome to the jungle" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8hvKWaXbnNLFUwbWfYvuDN17IFIPJTVIIE_uD44hXSJk4tSsP-VHlE-fHXgCQsrJXuHxC8Dc0CuVHL3VlWNFfPV4SamVex5ACHnj9ggZxejiEsKrOwmDKxwqzMq3TTtlPPILfNmqKd_qior8gOHkASfcAVZpY7dgjaxktqjX4XmBZNaFZMu0/s749/ohotmu-shanna2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8hvKWaXbnNLFUwbWfYvuDN17IFIPJTVIIE_uD44hXSJk4tSsP-VHlE-fHXgCQsrJXuHxC8Dc0CuVHL3VlWNFfPV4SamVex5ACHnj9ggZxejiEsKrOwmDKxwqzMq3TTtlPPILfNmqKd_qior8gOHkASfcAVZpY7dgjaxktqjX4XmBZNaFZMu0/s16000/ohotmu-shanna2.jpg" title="Poach at your own peril" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65Ixm21PNoGTsOzHuV7OLS_ejF3sEfzUOFLBEbR69602j1VsQhUOWTW7y4IFD75IXt6Fg7OpXdJERQYmU6LvUNrHlqfSUMYcFzzwevrVZORvCxBs8Ihub_OOFNujtzNBOZoqfdvalD78okvhJVNCbCVf8FzfYlxr1IgHmwNNiTjoZWTULNAiR/s749/ohotmu-shaper1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65Ixm21PNoGTsOzHuV7OLS_ejF3sEfzUOFLBEbR69602j1VsQhUOWTW7y4IFD75IXt6Fg7OpXdJERQYmU6LvUNrHlqfSUMYcFzzwevrVZORvCxBs8Ihub_OOFNujtzNBOZoqfdvalD78okvhJVNCbCVf8FzfYlxr1IgHmwNNiTjoZWTULNAiR/s16000/ohotmu-shaper1.jpg" title="Whotta square" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDJsaVBDk2R8xNkTnG3Uwf_PNjk-_HLPON4KVvMgRwrB66cHXU2tPoOrO_SiRs1jicEZlHc25-KEPi4j8Z0mTOPW_tEm0D0AhLs4dbvsP7fsSumP4sv5Wju7KrUbLnd-Mi-s-wtWEHytQBK_RFILKr_hgoHeX1jn4kp2Dn_1GIwOgiYtq_WCb/s749/ohotmu-shaper2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDJsaVBDk2R8xNkTnG3Uwf_PNjk-_HLPON4KVvMgRwrB66cHXU2tPoOrO_SiRs1jicEZlHc25-KEPi4j8Z0mTOPW_tEm0D0AhLs4dbvsP7fsSumP4sv5Wju7KrUbLnd-Mi-s-wtWEHytQBK_RFILKr_hgoHeX1jn4kp2Dn_1GIwOgiYtq_WCb/s16000/ohotmu-shaper2.jpg" title="I mean, cube" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAHkGjJYk06GhJ3uvtj9EgXUp46vmxO8PADRgnMfcQh9d1TZVaa6psQCst-fMvQa6Kk9qSgOb2YHgx7NbilbSApEhQIXV3Dity4Pp2-nPtYwUtdM3asKLX9rJnPWJLcDwooUhvNxr5WO8xggBRS2PerWkjwJhZQIp7V_FZQhOmCaBMTcqLJhq/s749/ohotmu-shehulk1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAHkGjJYk06GhJ3uvtj9EgXUp46vmxO8PADRgnMfcQh9d1TZVaa6psQCst-fMvQa6Kk9qSgOb2YHgx7NbilbSApEhQIXV3Dity4Pp2-nPtYwUtdM3asKLX9rJnPWJLcDwooUhvNxr5WO8xggBRS2PerWkjwJhZQIp7V_FZQhOmCaBMTcqLJhq/s16000/ohotmu-shehulk1.jpg" title="It's all been leading up to this" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlv0oiWNUlXs-pmiLBqVKq55pnHSjMOy5bgYtjiR4vhD4-doC3S5b7Alrh626bqHPF0n9xYGPZ7H0GwHdMLCtPAlX8yCQpWBDoRNhYwtEiHffQ3cFPwZn4NW6XXwsujFzcg5O1aG5MSinFLyulXYiQF5d7uvnVDG_fAeYvHnACnWjat_qsC4U/s749/ohotmu-shehulk2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlv0oiWNUlXs-pmiLBqVKq55pnHSjMOy5bgYtjiR4vhD4-doC3S5b7Alrh626bqHPF0n9xYGPZ7H0GwHdMLCtPAlX8yCQpWBDoRNhYwtEiHffQ3cFPwZn4NW6XXwsujFzcg5O1aG5MSinFLyulXYiQF5d7uvnVDG_fAeYvHnACnWjat_qsC4U/s16000/ohotmu-shehulk2.jpg" title="We can stop the show now" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN25wk9rK3eT7saQkLtjeOLqDYTLObJrjPpzxD0xYnW5-4FSKH2B1b8smVaJN9r8xjXB0UjVTSt2NpMKI-jPdzBD8nfW8MF5CA5x3MYcABNPouRocUdF_Xe7wv6noueU4kyl7EeSYFEoQJCMxEiKofvNb3Eqo9yVBbO7fnXUYwxPXSUJWgJKkU/s749/ohotmu-shiar1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN25wk9rK3eT7saQkLtjeOLqDYTLObJrjPpzxD0xYnW5-4FSKH2B1b8smVaJN9r8xjXB0UjVTSt2NpMKI-jPdzBD8nfW8MF5CA5x3MYcABNPouRocUdF_Xe7wv6noueU4kyl7EeSYFEoQJCMxEiKofvNb3Eqo9yVBbO7fnXUYwxPXSUJWgJKkU/s16000/ohotmu-shiar1.jpg" title="Oh no, the show continues!" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4JkNdNl1yrjBo8v2NpFdYfn3Hl8FJ5z6NEDf97fEH15KY8V_ZlqHhynmQG_u02ycZ3ez7AiLRvBHAc7jA_ZTz-XJXxlPkMgbAD7xO-SylJ-Lc3E-u3Hex3GVUAv5mDV7stkrHm-R_YIl_G5LEFzPltWgu5kc1CD_hPJVExZTlR26UJPpqu4M/s749/ohotmu-shiar2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4JkNdNl1yrjBo8v2NpFdYfn3Hl8FJ5z6NEDf97fEH15KY8V_ZlqHhynmQG_u02ycZ3ez7AiLRvBHAc7jA_ZTz-XJXxlPkMgbAD7xO-SylJ-Lc3E-u3Hex3GVUAv5mDV7stkrHm-R_YIl_G5LEFzPltWgu5kc1CD_hPJVExZTlR26UJPpqu4M/s16000/ohotmu-shiar2.jpg" title="I need my pain!" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9d9JN760EpCoRmGqtgVbL0BjBKhu-67tthX8kRkc4qLqJhQCV028TwDSAuDbTFNkSAhAVHbYPtdY4ZIzqMEYhsDfI_p4V1nlrXNd8f_YLCqIkmp70bEG9l22CkxHwKPA0hW91opvUf1YfB-yTpcxKVH7iov1lvyOeSb9w8_mM-m83JxxxmiE/s749/ohotmu-shield1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9d9JN760EpCoRmGqtgVbL0BjBKhu-67tthX8kRkc4qLqJhQCV028TwDSAuDbTFNkSAhAVHbYPtdY4ZIzqMEYhsDfI_p4V1nlrXNd8f_YLCqIkmp70bEG9l22CkxHwKPA0hW91opvUf1YfB-yTpcxKVH7iov1lvyOeSb9w8_mM-m83JxxxmiE/s16000/ohotmu-shield1.jpg" title="Acronym vs Acronym" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVimnhyPjR8INIjew9mXRajDJL_2zqqTFEjUvE3lrdDmFw5JpFE7_Z_2nn3hzEmmtivP_16X377ZCw8erCHpTtByCXdp48_-frRjkrG-dXf8N6S5gnORMipEuLIjs3gfW63ssZaBIJqNb2gRppmDn4Y0eQf_m85gl7dg3xVqsBXTB69WYE2Zeh/s749/ohotmu-shield2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVimnhyPjR8INIjew9mXRajDJL_2zqqTFEjUvE3lrdDmFw5JpFE7_Z_2nn3hzEmmtivP_16X377ZCw8erCHpTtByCXdp48_-frRjkrG-dXf8N6S5gnORMipEuLIjs3gfW63ssZaBIJqNb2gRppmDn4Y0eQf_m85gl7dg3xVqsBXTB69WYE2Zeh/s16000/ohotmu-shield2.jpg" title="Spy vs. Spy" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQUgjg_48tXmfPZRgvVsXdtWhwWagnARoVmibkCLVjaM2w4LJ5mFS0HfW2qEztsr6xtWZniHDBNbAzJrklUKLVHYjnduYpPMZJI7POGDaFbCVj88CV9Kwu2nnee6jiqkLX5YN_As5GQKAm1pBV6t7FxEeArkCpNeDvs_wEXd6cunQWm6f7Ufk/s749/ohotmu-shield3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQUgjg_48tXmfPZRgvVsXdtWhwWagnARoVmibkCLVjaM2w4LJ5mFS0HfW2qEztsr6xtWZniHDBNbAzJrklUKLVHYjnduYpPMZJI7POGDaFbCVj88CV9Kwu2nnee6jiqkLX5YN_As5GQKAm1pBV6t7FxEeArkCpNeDvs_wEXd6cunQWm6f7Ufk/s16000/ohotmu-shield3.jpg" title="Faces vs. Faceless" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXLYPTS87dxh9WQ843_f5xXWnoebo4zYugX9DnWbQUNab31Y9hsdvnbH9DV5f1o_oF-CBSj9fJowd32ezqNf-Hl89PHGHZa2BdnCG1q6RglVLbvYrgwMqaQ35tLweTim0IaWaTkKQ7HBZjKOFUSTd2Kk5AwBwoxJIGwUGDh4pRYgTmiim7y_p/s749/ohotmu-shield4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXLYPTS87dxh9WQ843_f5xXWnoebo4zYugX9DnWbQUNab31Y9hsdvnbH9DV5f1o_oF-CBSj9fJowd32ezqNf-Hl89PHGHZa2BdnCG1q6RglVLbvYrgwMqaQ35tLweTim0IaWaTkKQ7HBZjKOFUSTd2Kk5AwBwoxJIGwUGDh4pRYgTmiim7y_p/s16000/ohotmu-shield4.jpg" title="But what to wear?" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxklgnpIRGwipjiH05bMCJLh8Suoe4NArWOHNkdTqMT1EfL84BCCE94HqFsRdiBzmVM55m7JDBRqMZpTUOVZB_i4E26k54mAVXpDeSXjKwvy_QiWlfpbcO2wiFVML5lGd-sGzf2tHwX-rgJd49SlfrLXmguBmTqFTY5ONF0bSGZakRmXldQfi/s749/ohotmu-shield5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxklgnpIRGwipjiH05bMCJLh8Suoe4NArWOHNkdTqMT1EfL84BCCE94HqFsRdiBzmVM55m7JDBRqMZpTUOVZB_i4E26k54mAVXpDeSXjKwvy_QiWlfpbcO2wiFVML5lGd-sGzf2tHwX-rgJd49SlfrLXmguBmTqFTY5ONF0bSGZakRmXldQfi/s16000/ohotmu-shield5.jpg" title="And where to go?" /></a></div><b>Credits:</b><br />"Can You Dig It?" (Theme for oHOTmu or NOT?) by Brian Tyler.<br /><br />Bonus clips from: "Sheena" by John Guillermin, starring Tanya Roberts; "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran; "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law", starring Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Gonzaga and Mark Ruffalo; "Forget You" by Camilla and the Chickens (in The Muppets); and "Iron Man" by Jon Favreau, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Clark Gregg.<br /><br />Thanks for leaving a comment!Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-80377975729073600292024-03-18T06:00:00.013-03:002024-03-18T06:00:00.355-03:00RPG Tools: Tabletop Audio<p>Let's try this again... <i>The modern GameMaster is always looking for online tools to help make their campaign more immersive. After all, many of us have been relegated to playing online - the pandemic pushed it, but so did adulting, now parents can take a short break to put their kids to bed, etc. in the middle of a session, no problem - and GMs have to create the immediacy of the in-person experience somehow. A lot of online tools are subscription-based, and that interests me less. Over the course of a few articles, I want to look at a few, neat, online tools that can make a difference in keeping the players engaged, the equivalent of the props and hand-outs you might have crafted and passed around in the old days.</i><br /><br />This week: <b><a href="https://tabletopaudio.com/" target="_blank">Tabletop Audio</a></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHE4svTv6V6kImpQu5EMYJIUTRPzGIsNL2sn9Jq3otFE6hZBaPPjqNgJmwQYTzx6tsCMP9cFKCQDNQHpHI4PuIzudKAKwxwqHfYkDS_6gmkT2jd93yKWIoKD8f3BFKokWAjAqTHG2-Q4qWzNeTA0X5M-yoc0EsNNHfuIQ33vCeFpjzqcMnNUm/s600/tabletopaudio1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHE4svTv6V6kImpQu5EMYJIUTRPzGIsNL2sn9Jq3otFE6hZBaPPjqNgJmwQYTzx6tsCMP9cFKCQDNQHpHI4PuIzudKAKwxwqHfYkDS_6gmkT2jd93yKWIoKD8f3BFKokWAjAqTHG2-Q4qWzNeTA0X5M-yoc0EsNNHfuIQ33vCeFpjzqcMnNUm/s16000/tabletopaudio1.jpg" title="I'm listening" /></a></div>Do you use music at the table? I do. I like to build soundtracks, with theme songs and everything. But music and sound effects can also be used to create an atmosphere. Is the scene creepy, pastoral, or exciting? A thrumming soundscape can add intention to a scene and give the players a vibe that's otherwise difficult to replicate with simple description, especially when the outside world intrudes with its usual distractions. A sudden switch between jungle sounds and weird airy crystals as one enters a strange ruin can make players stand at attention, while the big bombastic booms of action music, when they somehow land exactly on a great dice roll makes the scene more memorable and fun.<br /><br />But where are you going to get those atmospheres? Tabletop Audio has you covered. Over 400 10-minute, loopable, searchable beds that you can listen to on the site with a handy built-in player and then download for free, without limits. Each track is clearly marked as to whether it contains ambience (sound effects, like a rowdy tavern), music (with a difference made for minimal music), or both. The tracks skew toward Fantasy, naturally, but Sci-fi, Historical, Modern and Horror are all covered. Nature and Music are other labels you can search through, but write anything in the search bar and see if it comes up with some hits.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9lAva7xis6bobeCKiyAz76hPIUzmUNdPb4Rk6alXYfsza8Q3WzawzHRJEOooqCiPBQOpxKSYUyYpOTk_e3Mpw4Qu9LWVoWU69k9tmPTMeCoaSIblynooe4OWgqfH0yU9PzQM3_u8SkfcmoQwpAwKLOuB26EuOaJGhAt0yN2BY-HM3ohGj0jp/s600/tabletopaudio2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9lAva7xis6bobeCKiyAz76hPIUzmUNdPb4Rk6alXYfsza8Q3WzawzHRJEOooqCiPBQOpxKSYUyYpOTk_e3Mpw4Qu9LWVoWU69k9tmPTMeCoaSIblynooe4OWgqfH0yU9PzQM3_u8SkfcmoQwpAwKLOuB26EuOaJGhAt0yN2BY-HM3ohGj0jp/s16000/tabletopaudio2.jpg" title="We're not ALL D&D nerds" /></a></div>Just looking through the tracks (each accompanied by a pleasing image) might give you an idea for a scene - The Drowned Tower, Whispering Caverns, Rise of the Golem... very evocative - and guess what, the scene comes with ready-made music. No one says you can't start with the soundtrack. If it's good enough for Quentin Tarantino...<br /><br />You might already be doing this kind of thing with YouTube or Spotify, possibly recording the music/sounds using software so that your session doesn't get interrupted by ads. Getting a long enough loop is tedious, believe me. There are still environments I can't find music for since I play a multi-genre game that can't be entirely covered by clicking spider dens and cyberpunk speakeasies. But your first stop really should be Tabletop Audio. Big loops, ready made for adventure, at the click of a button.<br /><br />The site has a new feature called SoundPad that allows you to customize your soundscapes, but I've yet to fiddle with it much. So we'll talk about it next week!<p></p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-12317946545931960292024-03-17T06:00:00.031-03:002024-03-17T06:00:00.244-03:00This Week in Geek (10-16/03/24)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeurKGViCJZUO6E6uFIADoRO9NcVduzA3sWBF3fTli2lUGpMbIRik8COZf4QH2nm_hiY4n6gmpf3eIuvUQu9GE3YddfisbbVKn8Rz1OUxixtf2YJgWBJhkCOgm-jFqZ75lt-b8crMkZuWS1RLI9nCRJ23IFkloSZDej3Og3OfyMH5FnekPrhD/s600/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeurKGViCJZUO6E6uFIADoRO9NcVduzA3sWBF3fTli2lUGpMbIRik8COZf4QH2nm_hiY4n6gmpf3eIuvUQu9GE3YddfisbbVKn8Rz1OUxixtf2YJgWBJhkCOgm-jFqZ75lt-b8crMkZuWS1RLI9nCRJ23IFkloSZDej3Og3OfyMH5FnekPrhD/s16000/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" title="This week's themes: Hemingway's "The Killers", party people, I like your voice, cats" /></a></div><b>"Accomplishments"</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GMK0MRwawr_MSWzfGGsUSJtwCvym24lI-3fhS0akYexDwXyTmaMqzkjeVhCJZ_pqPJu1tCWnGs-KxB8bN_OniZ_rTX3Ae2J302oDF2eUIX6ADNHzyc1PLqWs5JRd7J2gWk1ZkorGhwt3Cs2lj-g3uUksJiqH6pgbvsxIT2hOI3Kz48xXgoVa/s249/1-extraordinary2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GMK0MRwawr_MSWzfGGsUSJtwCvym24lI-3fhS0akYexDwXyTmaMqzkjeVhCJZ_pqPJu1tCWnGs-KxB8bN_OniZ_rTX3Ae2J302oDF2eUIX6ADNHzyc1PLqWs5JRd7J2gWk1ZkorGhwt3Cs2lj-g3uUksJiqH6pgbvsxIT2hOI3Kz48xXgoVa/w161-h200/1-extraordinary2.jpg" title="Extra! Extra!" width="161" /></a></div>At home: I loved the first season of Extraordinary and wondered where the characters would go after their main subplots had been played in Season 1. Who are Kash and Carrie (oh my God, I just got that!) when they're not a couple about to break up? What's next for Jizzlord when his old family tracks him down? I wasn't too sure about the former, but like where it ended. The latter provides a major villain for the season, taking fun shots at influencer culture in the process. But of course, this was always principally Jen's story, the manic pixie nightmare girl who is one of the few people on Earth not to have developed a super-power yet. I quite like her journey, which involves a very funny mind palace and brings is several times into very touching territory. A series so absurd and blue shouldn't make me feel so many feels! It's not right! Or so right. And the soundtrack continues to be a solid highlight, so excuse me while I check my usual places for a listing of the music and get down to listening to (mostly) trash chick rock again.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3Jjl2LRtC-pBWp9sinGt2Ss6Qw91ZvhwV-ui8vW6tbzZj39U0VxGCUElJGKnR2R0bfuqMzhBbCJDt5jmwr4t3ac4-dMQDjgE-_EyLRp_i37m994CS6_SMBKd_BHrHBMBGqSipG8Jv2zTUZNsCrNwu2xPMJQ6OBPhECYwTd_esiSyuMELEMzT/s308/2-killers46.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3Jjl2LRtC-pBWp9sinGt2Ss6Qw91ZvhwV-ui8vW6tbzZj39U0VxGCUElJGKnR2R0bfuqMzhBbCJDt5jmwr4t3ac4-dMQDjgE-_EyLRp_i37m994CS6_SMBKd_BHrHBMBGqSipG8Jv2zTUZNsCrNwu2xPMJQ6OBPhECYwTd_esiSyuMELEMzT/w130-h200/2-killers46.jpg" title="Take 1" width="130" /></a></div>If you've read Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers", it may be hard to fathom how this short story could be turned into a feature film. It's just not long enough. 1946's Clifford Siodmak adaptation therefore chooses to EXPLAIN how the "Swede" got himself into the kind of trouble that would bring a couple of hit men to the tiny town where he's been living the simple life of a gas station attendant for years. And while it's strong Noir (well scripted, well shot, with a strong debut performance by Burt Lancaster as the doomed man), it's also chock full of Noir CLICHÉS. You have the boxer turned criminal, the femme fatale, the insurance investigator, the convoluted scheme... Something of a greatest hits album, which I didn't feel respected Hemingway's written dissection of masculinity - that a man might just face the music because it's the "manly" thing to do. I'm not making a judgment on Hemingway's masculine ideal, only that it doesn't really figure in The Killers' "solution". But those first couple scenes, straight outta the story, are really good, with real menace coming off the title characters... who sadly then disappear from the narrative for most of its length. Proposes a good mystery, but leaves me a little ambivalent about its conclusions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDjOoOjjNG9reaYsCIclDgCsePCONquRaZgw-1EOM6Eg8EGRegCZ1DWYs2-5_URsqZKer5m2Iq189N88HqNMb-Wdubkb5Iw-xUaTF38VYbz4_imKD8IDtS55Xi-4JcpNHBIGG2rcf0cRsBo2YDMs5xQc2Ql8pYOI_-ehQmhBfuSJyhRCHxrEE/s294/3-killers56.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDjOoOjjNG9reaYsCIclDgCsePCONquRaZgw-1EOM6Eg8EGRegCZ1DWYs2-5_URsqZKer5m2Iq189N88HqNMb-Wdubkb5Iw-xUaTF38VYbz4_imKD8IDtS55Xi-4JcpNHBIGG2rcf0cRsBo2YDMs5xQc2Ql8pYOI_-ehQmhBfuSJyhRCHxrEE/w136-h200/3-killers56.jpg" title="Take 2" width="136" /></a></div>I'm not sure really use 1956's The Killers to study Andrei Tarkovsky's emerging style since 1) it's a student film and 2) two other students are credited as director (how communist!), but as a lean, strict adaptation of Hemingway's story, it strikes me as a valuable comparison to the longer American versions. What we get here is the short story, nothing more, nothing less, and therefore a more elliptical work that leaves you wondering/imagining what happened and what WILL happen. It's well done, especially the pacing and suspense, even if it is a little strange to watch Soviets do a seminal American tale. Were there rules about what American material could be cleared for such adaptations? Is it because it's a gangland story that makes the U.S. seem unsafe and depraved that The Killers was fine for a university-financed short film? Probably. The lack of resources, yet fidelity to the source material, does provoke a bit of black face, so audience be warned.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqleoLpv-AXCE75Qg-RU1shfU1v9OEDn0eHPTmk_dL1BqJTugMX3jX7XqUVh8hypVp42vnYYPTNwviVEOIU_JLwRmojQzu01fc_NVvXSu1qhxP044He0uPV5-TMdImph0YTHFOMTlXIzazpiABsmj9zq_KGVZ7a5yC41DFuRh1SxH6UA7yTepG/s301/4-killers64.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqleoLpv-AXCE75Qg-RU1shfU1v9OEDn0eHPTmk_dL1BqJTugMX3jX7XqUVh8hypVp42vnYYPTNwviVEOIU_JLwRmojQzu01fc_NVvXSu1qhxP044He0uPV5-TMdImph0YTHFOMTlXIzazpiABsmj9zq_KGVZ7a5yC41DFuRh1SxH6UA7yTepG/w133-h200/4-killers64.jpg" title="Take 3" width="133" /></a></div>Don Siegel's 1964 version of The Killers really leaves Hemingway behind to craft a remix of the 1946 film (script courtesy of Star Trek's Gene Coon). The scene in the diner is completely gone, and so the killers (Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager, who make great bullies) walk into their victim's place of employment and shoot him. Done. The man (John Cassavetes) stands there and takes it, though if the other characters didn't mention it constantly, I don't know that it would necessarily read that way. The twist on the original film's inventions is the removal, distortion or streamlining of 1946's Noir clichés, doing away with the insurance investigator, for example, and instead making the title characters do the work. Marvin's becomes obsessed with the moment and as things come to light, wouldn't mind retiring on the missing heist money. All the names are changed and though it's got a similar structure as the 1946 Killers, the plot points are different, and Siegel pushes it more into the action category, the Noir towards the lurid. Not sure I buy Angie Dickinson as a Femme Fatale - she seems genuinely loving - but the ambiguity is what makes it interesting. The heavies: Ronald Reagan (his last film) and Mr. Roper, a weird combo that took me out of the movie whenever they were on screen. Both Henry Mancini and John Williams supplied music, but he look is 60s TV, with the old desert back roads and studio lots (I guess we moved off of Florida faster than it seemed). I was entertained, and they certainly didn't make the same movie Siodmak had, but they also didn't make Hemingway's story either! Given the film's DNA, I was expecting better.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9oKVDFG9IVFan_V2xF7SyFHuSYeyFEVCk4L5qcdE1kv2jmY00OffxcGJHOSwEGAD1GNcsQLs24kO3kM3fsJccGa56dPgy8XbpysXngDK5cjWBGBjbRm95_qDOgaFflTOMeFy3qq972JH5stg_gSlAD_g0bj6D3SUTn7Q7IGCMy3DDhgWz12M/s284/5-2ldk.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9oKVDFG9IVFan_V2xF7SyFHuSYeyFEVCk4L5qcdE1kv2jmY00OffxcGJHOSwEGAD1GNcsQLs24kO3kM3fsJccGa56dPgy8XbpysXngDK5cjWBGBjbRm95_qDOgaFflTOMeFy3qq972JH5stg_gSlAD_g0bj6D3SUTn7Q7IGCMy3DDhgWz12M/w141-h200/5-2ldk.jpg" title="The Odd Couple was never like this" width="141" /></a></div>A contest between two directors, 2LDK (it's Japanese apartment nomenclature, 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, see?) had to be shot in 8 days with only two actors. These are two roommates with very different attitudes, both actresses up for the same part. At first, you can hear all their thoughts, bouncing between lines that are exposed as passive-aggressive, but the tension between them soon moves across a line that marks a point of no return (is that a mixed metaphor? regardless). Violence in the Japanese splatter style ensues, and you're never quite sure if you're in a metaphorical battle, a metatextual audition for "Yakuza Wives", or some form of reality. It's probably all three, but the ending does make a choice for you, and makes me pine for a couple of alternate, more clever endings that crossed my mind. Nevertheless, for a quicky made with little means, Yukihiko Tsutsumi's entry for this "film duel" is fun and has a lot of grit.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbPoW8TkVkANM4ZRnqY8plSKxmNzmeL_sh0Q5yhd9hc_xYe84QIiZH8nnSjoBdxuyvC8GJlwiyPew52_gvNAJVFw8kyVI0W4eq7KVPsc6lY0x_w5VvXy7Xs8cJNgJLGGX074eN9O0r_OWEC_cbtA62ifO5VWhoP-w3pQeh9O8ZDoausFkfWUG/s297/6-special.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbPoW8TkVkANM4ZRnqY8plSKxmNzmeL_sh0Q5yhd9hc_xYe84QIiZH8nnSjoBdxuyvC8GJlwiyPew52_gvNAJVFw8kyVI0W4eq7KVPsc6lY0x_w5VvXy7Xs8cJNgJLGGX074eN9O0r_OWEC_cbtA62ifO5VWhoP-w3pQeh9O8ZDoausFkfWUG/w135-h200/6-special.jpg" title="Comic book store action" width="135" /></a></div>I would call Special a blackety-black comedy, but it's really a drama, albeit an absurd one. And absurdity can often fuel the perception of something as a comedy. Michael Rapaport is a meter maid with crushing self-doubt who, on a whim, joins a pharmacological study, then starts exhibiting super powers and becomes a vigilante. The movie wastes no time showing us that this is a grand delusion based on the comic books he likes to read, but still treats the superheroics as "real", with Big Pharma villains coming after him convincingly and real-world consequences to the violence. I'm not sure there's actual commentary on anti-depressants, though some might think so. It almost seems more like Mazes & Monsters with comics instead of D&D, though I'm pretty sure the production isn't trying to create a comic panic. Rather, Special is an exploration of what kind of psychosis might provoke superheroics in the real world, and has its protagonist (Les, ironically enough) work through his mental health issues and achieve catharsis and change. Do we need to be "special" to feel valuable? Rapaport gives a poignant performance in service of the answer.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCD6QSFGNS2MemRXerIocuCkwAu9quEBkSrnMV0A6JbMgOhc_iaB7hKyBf700wSC9wL1Wali5T_EoWO0jlg3G0-kTURIUyeWXQOd_iZ-X77Qzvsm2FW1gZAOfv9Kg6lW0ZLh-zq8IsY1UhQT2rXiqjCDxkvwUNCOGNsUEd77Sw8ZsTTPVI1spU/s285/7-wheeloffortuneandfantasy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCD6QSFGNS2MemRXerIocuCkwAu9quEBkSrnMV0A6JbMgOhc_iaB7hKyBf700wSC9wL1Wali5T_EoWO0jlg3G0-kTURIUyeWXQOd_iZ-X77Qzvsm2FW1gZAOfv9Kg6lW0ZLh-zq8IsY1UhQT2rXiqjCDxkvwUNCOGNsUEd77Sw8ZsTTPVI1spU/w140-h200/7-wheeloffortuneandfantasy.jpg" title="Spin the wheel, if you dare" width="140" /></a></div>Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy presents three thematically-linked stories, and it's those links, along with the title, that give his mundane slice-of-life tales a sense that great forces - psychological and cosmic - are at work in our lives, forces that take us into the territory of poetics. In each story, two things: A web of coincidence creates a chance encounter that one character describes as Dramatic Meeting. And characters will go in with one intention and end up doing something else with greater conviction. If the film is about regret, it's largely about overcoming that regret and moving on. Where there is ambiguity, it's the sort of every-day ambiguity that comes from not knowing another person (or even oneself) fully, and ultimately it's in the service of finding some grace in the world, and therefore, some poignancy for the audience. Each story is better than the last, and though each is small, private, and essentially just a conversation or series of conversations, each feels momentous in its own way. Unadorned cinema at its best.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2o6nfLIDxgWhbZfMjMbb2ig3y_5OMyk6zxRqpLw-0yz5uXNFy1AtrWkuGttpSAHdES62TYsOiN0J_nTOUuP69qowwoblgDxj4GuHwsu0SfuNcW3swUWbUeYvbjqi6oQlObwt7u1A6uXAPinKHlZootIDB3iQeIm4cD4eIkUJSsfukuPAF7GU/s286/8-microhabitat.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2o6nfLIDxgWhbZfMjMbb2ig3y_5OMyk6zxRqpLw-0yz5uXNFy1AtrWkuGttpSAHdES62TYsOiN0J_nTOUuP69qowwoblgDxj4GuHwsu0SfuNcW3swUWbUeYvbjqi6oQlObwt7u1A6uXAPinKHlZootIDB3iQeIm4cD4eIkUJSsfukuPAF7GU/w140-h200/8-microhabitat.jpg" title="Couch surfing: The Motion Picture" width="140" /></a></div>Mi-so is a young woman living in poverty in Microhabitat, so decides to cut a big ticket item out of her budget. Not the whiskey and cigarettes that are her only pleasures. No, instead she foregoes paying rent. And thus begins a controversial picaresque, as she visits various old friends and asks to crash there for a night or more. And while the circumstances of each address, whether tragic or comic, aren't ideal and force her to move on, she does tend to bring a sort of healing to each friend. Whether they appreciate it enough or not really depends. Personally, I'm a little like Mi-so. I've depended on the generosity of friends, but in turn, often offered sanctuary to friends even if they couldn't pay their proper share of the rent. So if she wants a place to crash, I don't see a problem. I live a little far from Seoul though. Microhabitat is poignant study of a true free spirit, limited neither by judgmentalism nor ambition, and how people tend to see others as a burden rather than look at them for what they can contribute. Very affecting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtbVoO-pd5bPE9I3Ea0XHf-8FgZiOgpxSZAgowHDblTfiNj3KlxC4Xltyiqa3JnEUZ5LI7IVpWqfeM4LbdoKPtXmFYug_N5ufOm92QQ3a37mKCPkPLEgtJPdhh5p725SzI89Uo5GUnBnr4_3fX5uxreHLwCNXTcApE-7TiZ_a66_aj-IDzcCe/s294/9-24hourpartypeople.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtbVoO-pd5bPE9I3Ea0XHf-8FgZiOgpxSZAgowHDblTfiNj3KlxC4Xltyiqa3JnEUZ5LI7IVpWqfeM4LbdoKPtXmFYug_N5ufOm92QQ3a37mKCPkPLEgtJPdhh5p725SzI89Uo5GUnBnr4_3fX5uxreHLwCNXTcApE-7TiZ_a66_aj-IDzcCe/w136-h200/9-24hourpartypeople.jpg" title="Factory specs" width="136" /></a></div>Michael Winterbottom's first film collaboration with Steve Coogan was 24 Hour Party People, a rambunctious portrait of Manchester's music scene from the mid-70s to the early 90s, told through the perspective of Factor Records founder Tony Wilson. He (like many of the musicians who lived it) has a bit part in the movie, which combines fact and folklore to tell its story, and is upfront about "printing the myth" rather than the verifiable truth. If he actually made postmodern comments in life like he does in the film, then its postmodern vibe is well warranted. And because Wilson was a television presenter, Coogan keeps breaking the fourth wall to frame the story AS a television presentation, so I'm inclined to think the postmodernism was factual. Coogan also mixes in his trademark ad libs, but they don't take over the movie like they do in The Trip series (also with Winterbottom). The style definitely enlivens what could have been a montage of moments. Lots of young-looking faces that were about to become big deals in the flick too - Sean Harris, John Simm, Christopher Eccleston, an unrecognizable Andy Sirkis, and blinbk-and-you'll-miss-him Simon Pegg... Fun stuff.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIgfC3T1vo0tqizWM6m35S_dpx1y_laYMIebudnBfmagCpQHc_kEf9hjY2xFNGAsREHjBeh5MocOK5CVB8jGbSV23-O46NE9hrKOZhLtJ677cYX7BOH5OoE4IoR2SSMBr_ElzXhc1CwPKFfa39M9Jyc_5wLEJNU5Nw4jt8YGd9uvow6fpokWf/s305/10-changeling.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIgfC3T1vo0tqizWM6m35S_dpx1y_laYMIebudnBfmagCpQHc_kEf9hjY2xFNGAsREHjBeh5MocOK5CVB8jGbSV23-O46NE9hrKOZhLtJ677cYX7BOH5OoE4IoR2SSMBr_ElzXhc1CwPKFfa39M9Jyc_5wLEJNU5Nw4jt8YGd9uvow6fpokWf/w131-h200/10-changeling.jpg" title="Just move out!" width="131" /></a></div>And now, this week's Companion Film. Jackie Lane (Dodo) never stared in any films during her short acting career, so I'm going to replace her with Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom), one of Hartnell's pseudo-companions... The Changeling starts with George C. Scott on a snowy road with his wife (yay, Jean Marsh!) and daughter, and then a terrible road accident and he loses both (nooo, Jean Marsh!). He moves West into a haunted house and things proceed from there, with the young ghost reminding him of his daughter and forcing his investigation into a very cold case that has ramifications at the highest levels. Well-made and well-paced, The Changeling has some interesting "haunted" bits and seance tricks I'd never seen before, but is it frightening? Not particularly as it feels more like a supernatural detective story, though full points to Trish Van Devere for selling how terrified SHE is. Ultimately likeable, but it doesn't exactly fulfill the title's promise. The title has nothing to do with the changeling folklore (which makes you expect the little girl to make a comeback), except metaphorically. The other promise it fails to make good on is the "and Jean Marsh" credit. It's the smallest role on the film! Still, if you want your sci-fi alumni, you do get a little more of John Colicos (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica) and Barry Morse (Space 1999)!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQjE9k1i2FiPw7iULpyZFbBCYUD8qzJbniDx8BozlKiNxVsDlttPkyuRuP7Ip9LaAsB1IiWGiqnZ_SKmUE8yMwKN7HSNyj_q__K7PuzOLDKOTxhtcXV3Wzcua4vlB0WYZE4pBTzRd64_f1kU13mPQmERvsZL8B82MXaG1dPg2P2-5j7B0-0eJ/s256/11-CoC7th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQjE9k1i2FiPw7iULpyZFbBCYUD8qzJbniDx8BozlKiNxVsDlttPkyuRuP7Ip9LaAsB1IiWGiqnZ_SKmUE8yMwKN7HSNyj_q__K7PuzOLDKOTxhtcXV3Wzcua4vlB0WYZE4pBTzRd64_f1kU13mPQmERvsZL8B82MXaG1dPg2P2-5j7B0-0eJ/w156-h200/11-CoC7th.jpg" title="Coming home warms the CoCkles" width="156" /></a></div>RPGs: The monthly Call of Cthulhu game started a new plot, but not before our kindly Keeper allowed month to go by so our characters could do their own thing. Mine wrote a bestseller about the previous case, and yeah, this is going to be the story of some amazing dice rolls. Phelps' colleagues didn't fare so well - one of them fell even more into the booze, the other now has the inexplicable aspect of a 13-year-old girl, down from 16, down from 60 - but this was going to be Phelps' story to shine in. Now, my character doesn't believe in the supernatural and is in deep denial about the events of the previous scenario (when he falls, it'll be from a great, self-constructed height). And the denial continued after he received a letter that his cousin had been found dead in Arkham, Massachusetts, weeks after passing in her old mansion. Phelps had received a letter from her just two days before, however, so while he couldn't lend credence to the tales of body swaps and witchcraft Odessa had written to him about, the idea that she was dead seemed suspect indeed. So off he goes to attend a funeral and see to her affairs (crushing debt and the estate willed to some cult). Rain. The Hound of the Baskervilles. A drunk stranger in the house (who we should trust because he's a replacement PC in case someone loses theirs... man, good thing I'm not GMing because that would be my way to hide a major betrayal). An emotional roller coaster as Phelps decides his cousin isn't dead, and then that she must. Phelps is such a boisterous man that here I got to play him on the down turn, dour and sarcastic. Let's just say lawyers should proofread their letters before sending them. It was also a way to distract focus from him and let the other players have a go (it was clearly HIS story, but he didn't want to engage with it). As we prepare to turn in, strange clues are found, which will be the focus of Session 2's recap. And those kingly rolls? Phelps got his friends away safe from that giant, rabid dog (with the help of his cat Lucifer, naturally, ever the lucky charm). Intimidating the stranger was where I rolled a 1 (on 100), and in my head canon, he was so scared he became a would-be PC. Phelps dodged other bullets, generally rolling crits. Oh he's going to fall from a great height indeed.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-42647323669166456592024-03-16T06:00:00.020-03:002024-03-16T06:00:00.250-03:00Who's Firebug?<p><b>Who's This?</b> A pyromaniac.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF8_WBjWBGzET_V6Khx9LKelO-6XjVA_De31e07pw3vsswh9qEqf2ya4p8iuvkUNYREbHYT_LvDo-hDPwdQgZpAKWeFUASScq4rhb2TH7BkGHk3Zn_iSpf3Q-in2SX1MFJphb92Q5B4Ca8GaXG0Txcv8bPcs7SADTvViKDKqpJhqz2jANks0z/s500/who-firebug0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAF8_WBjWBGzET_V6Khx9LKelO-6XjVA_De31e07pw3vsswh9qEqf2ya4p8iuvkUNYREbHYT_LvDo-hDPwdQgZpAKWeFUASScq4rhb2TH7BkGHk3Zn_iSpf3Q-in2SX1MFJphb92Q5B4Ca8GaXG0Txcv8bPcs7SADTvViKDKqpJhqz2jANks0z/s16000/who-firebug0.jpg" title="The entry refuses to accept his death" /></a></div><b>The facts:</b> The Joe Rigger version of Firebug debuted in Batman #318 (December 1979) and was created by Len Wein and Irv Novick. Bit of a one-shot because his costume explodes at the end and he's believed dead. He nevertheless gets a half-page in Who's Who, maybe because Firefly didn't deserve much more and they needed a filler. Because it's really 10 years before he shows up alive in Hero Hotline (of all places, see below), then not until 1995 until he tangles with Batman again, in a storyline where Firefly becomes an arsenist himself and steals the mantle. Rigger would still appear in 2003's Gotham Central series to help catch a new Firebug. A new Joe Rigger Firebug appears in the New52 era to fight Batgirl and then Batman, scoring three more issues.<br /><b>How you could have heard of him:</b> Despite not leaving much of a mark on comics continuity, a Burtonized Firebug does appear in 1989's Batman: The Video Game as a boss, and in 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight game. If you think he was in the Batman Animated Series, think again. That's FireFLY using his shtick.<br /><b>Example story: </b>Hero Hotline #5 (August 1989) by Bob Rozakis, Stephen DeStefano and Kurt Schaffenberger<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60ZeRikabw6FXUMa1nsV5aGHmJlKqfSzX1W6rGpHMNUaWJBFqo3fzZtcX4nCy1puk3VxYcmyWbdKaFqs-KjoXb36A0rUNryhiTyxUZDLZ0yqmLi1ThhuQznSKUQPIGnh7SwjwI7vkyskRZlOepa4W1KIZtQ2j3KeeEdZQ8h_nOxLWemY7jyFB/s690/who-firebug1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60ZeRikabw6FXUMa1nsV5aGHmJlKqfSzX1W6rGpHMNUaWJBFqo3fzZtcX4nCy1puk3VxYcmyWbdKaFqs-KjoXb36A0rUNryhiTyxUZDLZ0yqmLi1ThhuQznSKUQPIGnh7SwjwI7vkyskRZlOepa4W1KIZtQ2j3KeeEdZQ8h_nOxLWemY7jyFB/s16000/who-firebug1.jpg" title="Oh lo!!!" /></a></div>The Hero Hotline call center is under attack by Firebug, hired by... well, the series keeps it secret so I won't say, but it's someone who's better known today than he was then, ALSO getting only half a Who's Who page (and that's the only clue you'll get from me). Suzy Q has time to call the team before her body gets melted at the end of Rigger's napalm nozzles.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iR3sbAKQurwIZ_RfV8lHMTYzSGamWNb01FAHeL9i8R_Q3-7KO5d3qWrewddOH_PVZTXKOmaDs53IScBKNmjKufghkfMTrq3oC6zRBqhJNCL8CWwl-C9mDbVfHHvsjRELZ74XBs_j3rRhWUChxH39eBZNOZBXR2gyFxCZkPucgeTZiuzkzrb2/s600/who-firebug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iR3sbAKQurwIZ_RfV8lHMTYzSGamWNb01FAHeL9i8R_Q3-7KO5d3qWrewddOH_PVZTXKOmaDs53IScBKNmjKufghkfMTrq3oC6zRBqhJNCL8CWwl-C9mDbVfHHvsjRELZ74XBs_j3rRhWUChxH39eBZNOZBXR2gyFxCZkPucgeTZiuzkzrb2/s16000/who-firebug2.jpg" title="He has the Demon's hands" /></a></div>He's looking for the Coordinator (another known character who's a secret in the series - this one got a full page though), but of course, he's just a voice on a speaker, like Charlie of the famous Angels.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KX9ugYltVkahDtxqo0j529Ua6yLEJe7EpMHiuQzb5O2E9v50G1Ct5QRuO-FsPM0l2cC6eswfmM2KNvgWMQ1dSVWHZ9_BR2cNVTa8ABy1qH8glWcXgtGBZuS11QxudgVs754pgvXd_YJTfehT5K1Mq4jOiiqqhEPVRwaCsDf2_Qoe97_uPsw-/s508/who-firebug3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KX9ugYltVkahDtxqo0j529Ua6yLEJe7EpMHiuQzb5O2E9v50G1Ct5QRuO-FsPM0l2cC6eswfmM2KNvgWMQ1dSVWHZ9_BR2cNVTa8ABy1qH8glWcXgtGBZuS11QxudgVs754pgvXd_YJTfehT5K1Mq4jOiiqqhEPVRwaCsDf2_Qoe97_uPsw-/s16000/who-firebug3.jpg" title="Hey! Not our hotline!" /></a></div>That's Voice-Over by the doors arguing with himself through super-ventriloquism (hey, it's one of Superman's powers, that makes it legit, right?!) and is curious enough to head over there where the rest of the group pounces!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvKdEHDPPisAyoWG4b2XtXD5QbhCuziEECxzcbbkITKVWd6BAvefpsbuCgIkGXh5KsiMEN0Ykr0b165CTWtZIfq8DM6SKRrzeDjlmmE-8tKmrkrBQPlVWNiSHQQxVFBVwIIlYJP3SrwoMW5dJ4SiBoown-GpFYtwdsH2vArtFQryUEdTftXMP/s600/who-firebug4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlvKdEHDPPisAyoWG4b2XtXD5QbhCuziEECxzcbbkITKVWd6BAvefpsbuCgIkGXh5KsiMEN0Ykr0b165CTWtZIfq8DM6SKRrzeDjlmmE-8tKmrkrBQPlVWNiSHQQxVFBVwIIlYJP3SrwoMW5dJ4SiBoown-GpFYtwdsH2vArtFQryUEdTftXMP/s16000/who-firebug4.jpg" title="Zeep to the rescue (of precious gas)!" /></a></div>Oh the indignity of being trounced by a bunch of Z-listers! Okay, Diamondette is super-strong and can rip your costume apart, but Zeep the Living Sponge (my favorite Z-lister of all time) soaking your juice out and Gingold-powered Stretch smothering you into surrender, that's gotta sting.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h7wdGwvSPhFyQ1W-asqW-WC1DDhzPqi29-fC2H6P6tvlYisJuK4zMX6gHWCOyutybPYmDMIMo-fDAgjaPbni9hZ39pGpzUnLdCqxdj3HLxpkGRTHF99xoE27Kq3ExAJG93bq8ezKMNHASR2F58qwc9BpOt88pOCh02xf1LsVK2q16XMbytK5/s503/who-firebug5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h7wdGwvSPhFyQ1W-asqW-WC1DDhzPqi29-fC2H6P6tvlYisJuK4zMX6gHWCOyutybPYmDMIMo-fDAgjaPbni9hZ39pGpzUnLdCqxdj3HLxpkGRTHF99xoE27Kq3ExAJG93bq8ezKMNHASR2F58qwc9BpOt88pOCh02xf1LsVK2q16XMbytK5/s16000/who-firebug5.jpg" title="Stop touching me, in there!" /></a></div>In the end, he's burned his costume right off, and all he got for his trouble is 1) Zeep is a fire hazard (especially around a smoker like Diamondette) and 2) Suzy Q got her face melted, but her body and brain are fine. They'll both be fine by the next/final issue.<br /><br />What's sad is that Firebug's arsonist shtick was good, and his costume looked cool, but the writers of his day preferred a character with a longer history and a similar name to set all the fires in Gotham City. I'll have more to say on the subject next week, as we tackle the other half of that Who's Who page.<br /><br /><b>Who's Next? </b>A lighting technician.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-82491970387569993212024-03-16T05:55:00.012-03:002024-03-16T08:40:37.261-03:00Action Film Face-Off: Extreme Job vs. My Lucky Stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-1ose3RoZFjlHDQ_XAMg6BCZtxneJoY8TEMslQf_NCFsrwQUSVTw4uepPDJRDD0UiKArh91gK1QkSUrbRbeq_XALthIxwqqWD85HsRja3qK8ReyNyWJoVwFc-y8ZQmsyG-tZH4_mRXph5L2TWhnxYSinj4OrJswKYBZkYq_jMi8beVOAY5z9/s600/actionfilmfaceoff2024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-1ose3RoZFjlHDQ_XAMg6BCZtxneJoY8TEMslQf_NCFsrwQUSVTw4uepPDJRDD0UiKArh91gK1QkSUrbRbeq_XALthIxwqqWD85HsRja3qK8ReyNyWJoVwFc-y8ZQmsyG-tZH4_mRXph5L2TWhnxYSinj4OrJswKYBZkYq_jMi8beVOAY5z9/s16000/actionfilmfaceoff2024.jpg" title="Did we, in fact, get lucky?" /></a></div><p>Marchal Arts Madness is back and the Alberich Boys over at Action-Film Face-Off invited me once again to suggest Asian action films from the years the randomizer selected for them. With 2019, I had to go with a recent favorite, the Korean police comedy Extreme Job! And while Police Story was right there for 1985, I had wanted to do a "blind fire" pick for a while, so I chose the Hong Kong police comedy My Lucky Stars. Two films enter the arena, only one film leaves!<br /><br />You can find it at the Longbox Crusade under <b><a href="http://www.longboxcrusade.com/2024/03/action-film-face-off-episode-67-extreme.html" target="_blank">Action Film Face-Off - Episode 67: Extreme Job (2019) vs. My Lucky Stars </a></b><br /><br />FIGHT! I mean... LISTEN! </p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-19228192727568244162024-03-15T06:00:00.012-03:002024-03-15T06:00:00.135-03:00What a Card: The Issue Is Patriotism<p><i>Being a look back at cards from the Star Trek CCG, and what I thought of them back when they were fresh and new... in EPISODE order. Last Q-Continuum card from Encounter at Farpoint...</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthr6czt3Z7XxXms11pxYWFGt08d7ba8VjM0Gd4PhhhCArZAPtpTGb3_8Xd9ABffvKAfS3R6Oce0nOSROhic4ev0HY9wWXWUD7-AohjG1nFKZXtpVS4_hEJNwaLCnv5elg-F52aw8YrnIzcJJZ6M2DGfCt_fXa1MX8SF4EIVW92z_i2RpdmDRy/s699/15-ccg-theissueispatriotism.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjthr6czt3Z7XxXms11pxYWFGt08d7ba8VjM0Gd4PhhhCArZAPtpTGb3_8Xd9ABffvKAfS3R6Oce0nOSROhic4ev0HY9wWXWUD7-AohjG1nFKZXtpVS4_hEJNwaLCnv5elg-F52aw8YrnIzcJJZ6M2DGfCt_fXa1MX8SF4EIVW92z_i2RpdmDRy/s16000/15-ccg-theissueispatriotism.jpg" title="Garde à vous!" /></a></div><b>EXPANSION:</b> Q-Continuum<br /><br /><b>PICTURE: </b>Sigh. Seems like I just came off talking about beige picture #whatever, and here's another one. This one's probably the most boring of the Encounter at Farpoint Q-shots, and the recognizable (that is, non-sf) costuming gives us nothing interesting to look at. An otherwise competent 2.4.<br /><br /><b>LORE: </b>The Q-uote is vintage Q looking down on us ants, and the title itself is interesting, but that's about<b> </b>all that can be said about this aspect of the card. A 3.2.<br /><br /><b>TREK SENSE:</b> The basic problem with this card is that, on the one hand, Q is chastising people for warring against each other, but on the other, he's forcing you to attack someone, somewhere. The effects of the card don't even respect the location where Q is encountered. So it's reversed conceptualism here. We could reverse all logic and say the card finds a REASON for Q to say those words. The fact that the card is immune to Q-Flash suggests that it's not Q's doing, but yours. Well, Q was talking about the far past, not current conflicts, though he could mean those too. Very warped logic, but I see where they were going with this. It just seems like a very backwards way of working something into the Q-Continuum. I'm generous with a 1.9, but that's because it made me think.<br /><br /><b>STOCKABILITY:</b> Sometimes, you WANT your opponent to attack you. If you play Borg for example, or even Federation, you might want a reason to counterattack (or for Feds, to play Wartime Conditions). Another reason might be to set off Defend Homeworld after luring a ship or a personnel to yours. Of course, that presupposes that you can keep the opposing ship or personnel (easier) at the right spot until the card has its effect. But The Issue Is Patriotism isn't the only card that has this kind of effect. There's also Conundrum and Saltha'na Clock, for example. Now, when you seed both of these, you know they'll be encountered if the mission is attempted. Conundrum would require that its requirements not be passed; Clock would require that the mission be solved; but those things should occur reasonably often. The problem with The Issue Is Patriotism is that you can't control the Q-Continuum side-deck like you can a dilemma combo. You don't know when it'll hit or even IF it'll hit in any particular Flash, and so is much less efficient. You might even get caught with your pants down. Its immunity to Q-Flash is small comfort considering that Amanda Rogers still does it in, but that's a small point. Might be interesting if you're trying to force a personnel battle rather than the ship battle that results from most other cards that force battle, especially where you have a Love Interest-stuck personnel. Hits 3.<br /><br /><b>TOTAL: </b>10.5 (52.5%) I'm getting tired of this side-deck, methinks.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-9565457813235018392024-03-14T06:00:00.005-03:002024-03-14T06:00:00.132-03:00One Panel #755: Hats Off to Bulletman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKVyXcuLsAzoWQoxuBFxm09WnRPEx5r473OE8iidacSoSLNaUvzYYrHMxqBNtcPOeL4Xod5fVlBb89iwcKP1NrDx0PFD9e2Ssc-DJqZ7PW4zMeb8xL5qTHxIB7DwGDtxJBDa_FIG7MUEYnp8HnboPddk-IXOC1nBvHirLTPMtUEkvIhMphyphenhyphenIe/s344/onepanel755-bulletman10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKVyXcuLsAzoWQoxuBFxm09WnRPEx5r473OE8iidacSoSLNaUvzYYrHMxqBNtcPOeL4Xod5fVlBb89iwcKP1NrDx0PFD9e2Ssc-DJqZ7PW4zMeb8xL5qTHxIB7DwGDtxJBDa_FIG7MUEYnp8HnboPddk-IXOC1nBvHirLTPMtUEkvIhMphyphenhyphenIe/s16000/onepanel755-bulletman10.jpg" title="Bullet Neck powers... activate!" /></a></div><i>From "The Crackpot" by Otto Binder and an unknown artist, Bulletman #10 (December 1942)</i><br /><br />Yes, this is how I take off my hat.<br /><br />While this is the issue Bulletman and Bulletgirl put a flight collar on a dog and turn him into Bulletdog, there aren't any great shots of him in flying action, and so you'll forgive me for not spotlighting him here. I do however promise that pic WILL come sometime this year. Bulletdogs showed up in more issues.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-84256254431065550872024-03-13T06:00:00.014-03:002024-03-13T06:00:00.139-03:00Blake's 7 #10: Breakdown<p><i>"I'm finished. Staying with you requires a degree of stupidity of which I no longer feel capable." "Now you're just being modest."</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaXROVnxLSCHex-6p7-HhQ6rRqxS3mfkXijvIgpps7TiGMYn6S79nvnj4Fzs9OEh_DfTMSNFhGcTNQ7jt_Nq1z64Ak2QHWVJ_fGtCvCTz1i5H56whbMBBzjB_olFe3kVyYVy58uYRdmAHHNToMTUf6sQGAASL9UzMJnmOK47-frswkaH2PU0a/s600/blakes10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuaXROVnxLSCHex-6p7-HhQ6rRqxS3mfkXijvIgpps7TiGMYn6S79nvnj4Fzs9OEh_DfTMSNFhGcTNQ7jt_Nq1z64Ak2QHWVJ_fGtCvCTz1i5H56whbMBBzjB_olFe3kVyYVy58uYRdmAHHNToMTUf6sQGAASL9UzMJnmOK47-frswkaH2PU0a/s16000/blakes10.jpg" title="I feel the same way" /></a></div><b>IN THIS ONE...</b> Gan's limiter implant malfunctions and the crew must find a surgeon for him ASAP.<br /><br /><b>REVIEW:</b> This script was apparently rewritten heavily and it shows. It feels like two different episodes were smashed together, resulting in a clumsy structure. In the first half, Gan's limiter goes haywire and he turns into a brutish killer, throwing crew mates around like rag dolls. Blake and the gang are lucky he has debilitating migraines that make him clutch his head in pain or they'd never get the respite required to immobilize him. As with the previous episode, a very mobile camera gets in close to the violent moments and makes fight scenes that use a martial art best described as roughhousing look more visceral and dangerous than otherwise.<br /><br />So we're off to find a neurosurgeon and the quickest path to one is through space Zen has identified as too dangerous, indeed, a suicide run. It shuts itself off and the episode becomes a really rather boring bottle show about pushing buttons, fixing panels, and shouting out coordinates. Sure, there's jeopardy, with the Liberator caught in the electromagnetic field of a "vortex", but it's still just the actors spouting technobabble until the situation is resolved. When Zen is being uncooperative, I think it may be more annoying to the audience than to the crew, I dunno... Gan escaping to cause more problems is our only break from the "astronaut action", but it doesn't bring anything new.<br /><br />So it's probably a good thing that the climax occurs with 20 minutes yet to go and we can get to the "second episode" of the mash-up. This one has Avon seriously thinking of leaving, and some brief but interesting conversations about it. It has Julian Glover as the guest-star (a surgeon who may work at a neutral station, but is actually a Federation sympathizer). And it has a much better use of the ticking clock in Gan's head. We might question why Blake lies about being a Federation crew, but it becomes clear. He and his crew are famous, and a neutral party might not want to break that neutrality by helping him. Do we necessarily blame top surgeon Kayne when he chooses to call the Feds and delay Gan's operation? It soon appears that we should. He's not doing it to protect the research center, but rather because he believes in the fascist order and is more than willing to break the Hippocratic Oath in service of it. Even at gunpoint later, after he's rumbled, he proves difficult. Nice of Vila to figure it out and protect his friend; these two have been codependent since the early episodes. If his intern Renor hadn't been there, we shudder to think. The kid starts as a sexist womanizer, but soon proves to have the medical ethics his mentor lacks. Still, no one thinks of shedding a tear for him when, at the end, the station is blown up by a stray missile that missed the Liberator. By that point, Kayne has strangled the station commander, and is staring at his own hands in mad worship. Had the episode used Kayne more, skipping over the space anomaly stuff, they could have better explored this character flaw. As is, Blake coldly threatens to destroy those hands to get him to cooperate - a fine threat against a surgeon - but in this shortened role, it seems like Kayne goes from obstructive physician to mad scientist in no time. We needed more time to establish his psychosis.<br /><br />Avon's subplot therefore outshines even Glover's performance. He's sick of the danger Blake's heroism put him in and means to defect to this neutral "bolt hole". He understands that they can't easily give sanctuary to such a prized rebel, so he's ready to trade transporter technology for his safety, but also, notably, for his friends' safe passage away from here. Once the pursuit ships have been called, you can almost see Avon calculating if he WILL be able to hide here even if the Liberator escapes or is destroyed. Or perhaps he IS motivated by loyalty to Blake's group. Either way, he feigns going back to get his stuff, and never means to return. There are a lot of things left unsaid. Back on the ship, Cally - who really has the wrong kind of telepathy for this line of work, see how she gets jumped by Gan, for example - asks Blake if he's angry. He says he isn't and that Avon can do what he likes (as he's always said), but his body language gives Cally reason. It's these ambiguities that make the characters fascinating.<br /><br />A few random notes: Love Blake's appearance on the space station. He's so good at deadpan. Gan's implant is fixed, but not removed or modified, despite this being the perfect excuse to get rid of it. I'm torn. I don't want a character to lose their difference, but I can see how this would be a plotting impediment for the writers in the future. The plot convenience of the week is that the doctors are sent back to the station with teleporter bracelets, the very thing Avon was bargaining with and ultimately withheld from them. So it's good the station gets blown up at the end, through no fault of Avon's. Finally, whoever decided the crew should have a cringy laugh at the end, like some parody of Star Trek: The Original Series, about nothing in particular, should have their own limiter implant checked. Yuck.<br /><br /><b>NOT MY FEDERATION: </b>Zen has a Prime Directive, but it's that it can't self-destruct, something Starfleet ships have no trouble doing. Having a member of the crew go on a rampage has been a Star Trek trope since The Enemy Within, but only the Cardassian Garak could say he had a malfunctioning implant. Interestingly, Station XK72, has "K7" in it, which was the name of the first Deep Space station on Star Trek (The Trouble with Tribbles).<br /><br /><b>BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: </b>Julian Glover (Kayn) was a nasty Imperial officer in The Empire Strikes Back (General Veers).<br /><br /><b>WHO?: </b>Julian Glover was first seen in Doctor Who as the heroic King Richard in the The Crusade, but the same year as this episode of Blake's 7 as the villainous Scaroth in City of Death. Ian Thompson (Farren) stuck to the first Doctor era: He was Hetra in The Web Planet and Malsan in The Chase. <br /><br /><b>REWATCHABILITY: Low Medium -</b> The guest stars and regulars almost pull this off, but the episode has massive structural issues.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-24247926903172491382024-03-12T06:00:00.025-03:002024-03-12T06:00:00.137-03:00Siskoid Cinema Battles: Anime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5elEtEImYW-lGj9SJSkG7smjtHglvtLiLEbvrc46V25MyLYmZcK7p9tQOSST205PgB2RImpRHsHO0jh6Hv8VXSII3QjqibRwMo2EPo_k9sqodCmCu6Gi89ItsjbkDPf0UkpIu0cntTIck2UhNzKau4I6z13gJzw6rOI2T-9naV6p9MdrxUrHV/s500/siskoidcinemabattles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5elEtEImYW-lGj9SJSkG7smjtHglvtLiLEbvrc46V25MyLYmZcK7p9tQOSST205PgB2RImpRHsHO0jh6Hv8VXSII3QjqibRwMo2EPo_k9sqodCmCu6Gi89ItsjbkDPf0UkpIu0cntTIck2UhNzKau4I6z13gJzw6rOI2T-9naV6p9MdrxUrHV/s16000/siskoidcinemabattles.jpg" title="FIGHT!" /></a></div><p>Siskoid Cinema Battles is your one-stop shop for movie-related bracket fights! In the inaugural episode, Siskoid sits down with two members of oHOTmu OR NOT's Hot Squad - Josée "Art-Girl" Robichaud and Isabelle "Shotgun" Godin - to debate which anime film is the best, as 32 top anime films are thrown into the arena to fight it out for the top spot! Will it be a hyper-violent finish, or hit you deep in the feels?! Our anime fans will decide!<br /><br />Listen to the episode <b><a href="http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/siskoidcinema5" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>!<br /><br />Or you can right-click “download”, choose <b><a href="http://fwpodcasts.com/ma/SiskoidCinema/siskoidcinema5.mp3" target="_blank">“Save Target/Link As”, and select a location on your computer to save the file (88 MB)</a></b>.<br /><br />Or subscribe to Siskoid Cinema on <b><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/siskoid-cinema/id1710971437" target="_blank">Apple</a></b> or <b><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2fV8j74T9J3WjZn5jMOPyO" target="_blank">Spotify</a></b>!<br /><br />The bracket so you can follow along:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KlB9Xd9tGhrnZb5o_d-ZAtOS0GBtso5qupuRqOUpINim6aHHkshYP1P1vASW_X9HgtXrChbXC7omCpWLav0pZ3J1cVzRBAyn-ophdhYI2B1ovU65Iq4JHtefI3kA3XhHbMlWVYeR0D0-MjolSYXEWewq_NLlObbnqKfPwlwZNeYvTmY0Bm2D/s912/siskoidcinemaBrackets-anime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="912" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KlB9Xd9tGhrnZb5o_d-ZAtOS0GBtso5qupuRqOUpINim6aHHkshYP1P1vASW_X9HgtXrChbXC7omCpWLav0pZ3J1cVzRBAyn-ophdhYI2B1ovU65Iq4JHtefI3kA3XhHbMlWVYeR0D0-MjolSYXEWewq_NLlObbnqKfPwlwZNeYvTmY0Bm2D/w635-h258/siskoidcinemaBrackets-anime.jpg" title="Don't @ me, bro!" width="635" /></a></div><b>Credits:</b><br />Theme: "Techno Syndrome" by The Immortals.<br /><br />Bonus clip: "Howl's Moving Castle" by Miyazaki, starring Billy Crystal.<br /><br />Thanks for leaving a comment!<p></p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-42369022277139717932024-03-11T06:00:00.016-03:002024-03-11T06:00:00.135-03:00RPG Tools: Break Your Own News<p>Continued from last week, so let's repeat the intro: <i>The modern GameMaster is always looking for online tools to help make their campaign more immersive. After all, many of us have been relegated to playing online - the pandemic pushed it, but so did adulting, now parents can take a short break to put their kids to bed, etc. in the middle of a session, no problem - and GMs have to create the immediacy of the in-person experience somehow. A lot of online tools are subscription-based, and that interests me less. Over the course of a few articles, I want to look at a few, neat, online tools that can make a difference in keeping the players engaged, the equivalent of the props and hand-outs you might have crafted and passed around in the old days.</i><br /><br />This week: <b><a href="https://breakyourownnews.com/" target="_blank">Break Your Own News!</a></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIleAB7crdNHYTw-lZb4Nlcbj4WRaF2t57DdjVfdl_tvEniLnbWkyDI9Cc9Y25kGK8acdMPQ6LcNnUTZZHNu_fNQ0lXOEopdxwM-ibNjrtA1x4RHmugcp99fYih2mfLT5HDd0exp68Crlh-cC_2yns4dvN9gGjXFBXUHiG5UIFmI34HLTVjIB/s600/breaknews1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIleAB7crdNHYTw-lZb4Nlcbj4WRaF2t57DdjVfdl_tvEniLnbWkyDI9Cc9Y25kGK8acdMPQ6LcNnUTZZHNu_fNQ0lXOEopdxwM-ibNjrtA1x4RHmugcp99fYih2mfLT5HDd0exp68Crlh-cC_2yns4dvN9gGjXFBXUHiG5UIFmI34HLTVjIB/s16000/breaknews1.jpg" title="Now THIS is news you can trust" /></a></div>There are several tools like this, including ones that look like newspaper articles - feel free to search the internet - but the principle is the same. When Player Characters have an impact on their world, and their accomplishments could be reported by the media, tools like this which were designed to help in meme design can provide a visual that is then sent to the players, archived on their Discord channel, etc. Breakyourownnews can also be shaped for mobile phones/Instagram, so think of the fun your players will have when they suddenly receive one of your news alerts.<br /><br />The purpose here, as always, is to create a memento for the players that cements their adventures in between sessions. The visual, which you can upload to the site after writing the headline and ticker tape, reminds the players of the moment. If their missions are secret, that's not necessarily an impediment. The media may not know what happened and therefore only cover it from one angle, but the players can elbow each other and say, hey, that was me.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRXr7TL67wDEMNlp5JLHcn6JLAS_v2LhVl5bLg7gwe38x5BtIk0KS1_mmDZNymh4yiphKfBiCAbce2_FIDKfcrLnq_E0WHjfBWqkDejKtmZrjXNV0WInA1q2criOlqQlHCYETHInUFiCQOEIsCnnfNn4AbgAqGgdxgw7UFw_u5Pz28fPIQ4Kr/s600/breaknews2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRXr7TL67wDEMNlp5JLHcn6JLAS_v2LhVl5bLg7gwe38x5BtIk0KS1_mmDZNymh4yiphKfBiCAbce2_FIDKfcrLnq_E0WHjfBWqkDejKtmZrjXNV0WInA1q2criOlqQlHCYETHInUFiCQOEIsCnnfNn4AbgAqGgdxgw7UFw_u5Pz28fPIQ4Kr/s16000/breaknews2.jpg" title="The aftershock" /></a></div>As you can see here, the media has no idea what just happened, except the CONSEQUENCES of what happened. Ticker tapes can not only provide more detail, but could also be used to seed rumors or information that didn't make it into the game session. If, for example, I wanted to point to the NEXT adventure in the above news, I could have focused the ticker tape on Dr. Grimm's escape, and told the players WHERE he fled to.<br /><br />Now, of course, this would be a weird device to use in a campaign where there is no traditional media. This tool in particular is for present-day adventures, or those occurring in the Near Now. You might find others that are more futuristic, but regardless, your D&D campaign won't support television. You could STILL do it, though. It then becomes less about creative an immersive artifact from the game world, and more about crafting a souvenir to share with the group. The defeat of a dragon, impossibly caught on CNN, is a lark and everyone knows it. But damn, it's cool to have that on my phone!<p></p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-18385286056244199152024-03-10T06:00:00.041-03:002024-03-10T06:00:00.134-03:00This Week in Geek (3-09/03/24)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTUkCTuF42CQBOrQmq3W6KdanmXUZYNU2ktG3HFtdXxvXVshRxGvHeLEK3jXMqIDeWhQG4nRSCqGyQW-2FF7vd_BSmu8ITW20C9N45fD-2f0MhMoyE3ZOuNHrMd0AZg_g19CUtnhl7hgHpcth0f3NDW5cJ9s8OFCUI0fofj6tk81ng0j6B6Ri/s600/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTUkCTuF42CQBOrQmq3W6KdanmXUZYNU2ktG3HFtdXxvXVshRxGvHeLEK3jXMqIDeWhQG4nRSCqGyQW-2FF7vd_BSmu8ITW20C9N45fD-2f0MhMoyE3ZOuNHrMd0AZg_g19CUtnhl7hgHpcth0f3NDW5cJ9s8OFCUI0fofj6tk81ng0j6B6Ri/s16000/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" title="This week's themes: Asia, fairgrounds, sand/water, Aquaman/Atlantis, emerging powers" /></a></div><b>"Accomplishments"</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQksNefxgzawLCbU7urWOtz6T3TzLXkgh2pZaXHOOaYbzGuSJK7cDE8UpxD35dyoI1B_To2IpIiFNb79gNs9BphV1pKExX_tZ-kGuUOaiXqI-kyg7z1akSevsl7pZpzHtzVOUJAsvSa4LNqmyzPWeMyzWnUYeFH5qtT07-me3C7B-pl3pBLXW/s295/1-dunepart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQksNefxgzawLCbU7urWOtz6T3TzLXkgh2pZaXHOOaYbzGuSJK7cDE8UpxD35dyoI1B_To2IpIiFNb79gNs9BphV1pKExX_tZ-kGuUOaiXqI-kyg7z1akSevsl7pZpzHtzVOUJAsvSa4LNqmyzPWeMyzWnUYeFH5qtT07-me3C7B-pl3pBLXW/w136-h200/1-dunepart2.jpg" title="That's wormwood. Wormwood." width="136" /></a></div>In theaters: With the conflict in Gaza boiling over in the news, Dune Part Two of course takes on a certain "current affairs" resonance, but obviously, this was going on even when the original book came out in 1965. Denis Villeneuve didn't set forth to discuss that particular piece of the Middle East's history (not at the pace such movies are made), but he DID set out to make a Dune adaptation for our time, and one grounded in Frank Herbert's actual themes. The old joke, of course, is less aware audiences thinking Dune is a Star Wars riff, but I think Villeneuve amplifies just how Herbert was making an anti-Star Wars, or rather, an anti-Hero's Journey. He was on record saying he hated Campbell's reductive opinion of story-telling, and when you compare Dune to its closest surface analog, Star Wars, which is BLATANTLY working from Campbell's formula, you'll see what I mean. It's not that Paul doesn't want to answer the hero's call - this he fulfills willingly - it's that he refuses the call to become a TYRANT. The character changes made to Chani are the overt voice of this idea, convinced that all this Messiah business is propaganda and that the concept of a Messiah is dangerous and radicalizing (providing the most humor this time around is Javier Bardem's Stilgar, but he's the zealot who brings this idea out the best). Indeed, the "Chosen One" narrative is explicitly propaganda in the book and film, an artificial construct designed to rule through religious fervor. Ultimately, Paul does have to answer the call and we're supposed to take a step back. He's no longer the hero our Campbell/Hollywood-trained minds made him out to be. The novel's purists will hate the changes made (although I think what they did with Alia was clever and made the story more immediate than spreading events over years, but am still not sure why changes were made to the final fight), but I think they're made to speak to the moment (good), or to set up a third chapter (not so good, but let's unpack that). If there is to be a Part Three, which is certain given this one's reception, it will likely have elements of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune (why else secretly cast an adult Alia?), and Part Two's changes do seem to prepare the way for elements in those books in a way the original novel didn't. It does also mean that the film ends with a lack of closure, just like Part One did. Still, these are immaculately constructed films, making some dense material understandable and even, judging from the current meme-frenzy, iconic.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-kzmwuJahrYTQmVtKQT1YxWhoydMOKmNHWgo_Hp3broVTgRepiN9WCEibFCstt9dCpGfo7KAJW2SPmrabFesyP9lshSythqUn8YYz7YXEWEqBmWXjqvaaCkSpK3_s9QX6FLrJspE6LC1q1jmw4Wd2vbk_XxvjPY3Qbm0IYTCpAQd-XHetJ2n/s298/2-aquamankingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN-kzmwuJahrYTQmVtKQT1YxWhoydMOKmNHWgo_Hp3broVTgRepiN9WCEibFCstt9dCpGfo7KAJW2SPmrabFesyP9lshSythqUn8YYz7YXEWEqBmWXjqvaaCkSpK3_s9QX6FLrJspE6LC1q1jmw4Wd2vbk_XxvjPY3Qbm0IYTCpAQd-XHetJ2n/w134-h200/2-aquamankingdom.jpg" title="He got Lokied" width="134" /></a></div>At home: The DCEU's Aquaman was already a lot like the MCU's Thor, so it makes it even more obvious than otherwise that they're doing The Dark World with The Lost Kingdom. Like that turned out so well. An evil ice kingdom, Arthur having to break his evil brother out of jail and team up with him, we've been here before. At times, the Aquaman sequel feels like a parody - the opening Aquadad montage, the cartoony non-human undersea characters, that super-cringy last shot before the credits - but it does have some fun with Topo and Orm not being used to operating on land (and there's a LOT of land in this, did anyone check if Arthur was out of the water for more than an hour?). Ocean Master, in fact, comes off better than Aquaman himself, and not just because Patrick Wilson is the better actor. He's just getting better action beats too. Dolph Lundgren is the opposite, a real drain whenever he's on screen. But the weak script asks the audience to take a lot of things as given, with logic and physics at times swimming right out the window. The dialog is extremely poor, veering into nonsense (if you have a crustacean using "spineless" as an insult, you're just not thinking things through). Tons of lazy exposition at various points, cheesy sentiment, and a real lack of wit. The comedy falls flat 90% of the time (Aquaman drinking piss? ha). There are some pretty pictures, sure, but when so much of a movie is CG, there's gonna be rough spots too, and the CG puppets that replace actors in action scenes really call attention to themselves. And so, with this, the DCEU finally dies, drowned in a bathtub. Been a long time coming.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSpqUlcZDf7EKX3Qw7JW2Uetyh8sfWPCg_xyDbtE_-ouFVHbVi2mzzRjMF_dzu1Wc7lvPhxs3TPK1UAomYMl-Okkhl8-vqLS-JptgVR2eHqXkV4CXAJx1Ra0Ze05o3g85-5PW0pY5St2yg4pPVqv6t88e4Yc2tZTg8zFMymeJ6WtWklyYbfBn/s282/3-aquamanmercyreef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSpqUlcZDf7EKX3Qw7JW2Uetyh8sfWPCg_xyDbtE_-ouFVHbVi2mzzRjMF_dzu1Wc7lvPhxs3TPK1UAomYMl-Okkhl8-vqLS-JptgVR2eHqXkV4CXAJx1Ra0Ze05o3g85-5PW0pY5St2yg4pPVqv6t88e4Yc2tZTg8zFMymeJ6WtWklyYbfBn/w142-h200/3-aquamanmercyreef.jpg" title="Not a softcore romance novel cover" width="142" /></a></div>The 2006 Aquaman TV pilot, often referred to as "Mercy Reef", features the FIRST surfer dude Aquaman in what can only be called a combination of Smallville and Baywatch. It's got its charms. They convincingly have a man swimming with sharks, and the superhero action (fast swimming mostly) isn't any better or worse than shows of its day. Had it gone to series, it would have had a couple of capable stars on board - Diamond Lou Phillips as Arthur's--pardon, "A.C.'s"-- human dad and Ving Rhames as his Atlantean mentor. Adrianne Palicki can count another notch on her geek cred punch card playing an evil mermaid assassin. There's an intriguing mystery concerning the Bermuda Triangle, even if the "Man in Black" in charge is a walking, talking trope. The weak spot is, well, Aquaman himself. Justin Hartley isn't a strong actor, even if you accept his rebel without a cause version of the Sea King. Like Smallville before it and Arrow after it, this would have been a series about BECOMING the hero of comics lore, so allowances have to be made for that. But questions remain as to whether Hartley could have carried the show on his swimmer's shoulders.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW2fc21PttnFHtZYQb25bsTkLvAvqwUhZTX6RJt_X4WQBhYWsDSTF7cDxit-q1gYOCT32YG9V1JRysL-vzJiyH6TaVy2Rc2nBgFORs1mua2ugyi3_Diq7edtHh8fKzkG3apqfILuRO0n9LI6EnB7t3kKVm_yP1GEsqwd43N6Oy4qoS2Ks6a-E/s297/4-atlantislostempire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW2fc21PttnFHtZYQb25bsTkLvAvqwUhZTX6RJt_X4WQBhYWsDSTF7cDxit-q1gYOCT32YG9V1JRysL-vzJiyH6TaVy2Rc2nBgFORs1mua2ugyi3_Diq7edtHh8fKzkG3apqfILuRO0n9LI6EnB7t3kKVm_yP1GEsqwd43N6Oy4qoS2Ks6a-E/w135-h200/4-atlantislostempire.jpg" title="Feat. Marvel's Mole Man" width="135" /></a></div>Part of Disney's unsuccessful early 2000s 2D animated output, Atlantis: The Lost Empire thus stands as an underrated adventure that blends Mike Mignola designs with a Moebius and Miyazaki aesthetics (the plot makes me think the makers definitely saw the latter's Castle in the Sky) in a steampunk-adjacent story that takes no prisoner, and indeed, may have the highest death toll of any Disney animated feature. It's a lot more adult than most (smokers, violence, a freaking femme fatale, and the looming shadow of the first World War. And while the adventure elements are strong, as a rag-tag group of explorers go down into hidden caverns under the Earth's surface to find the elusive lost world, it's really very funny too. Florence Stanley's iconic as the old bat who runs coms, Don Novello brings his "Father Guido Sarducci" voice to the explosives expert, and Phil Morris is surprisingly amusing as the Adonis-like doctor. James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Jim Varney, John Mahoney, Claudia Christian... It's a great cast at the center of which is a great voice performance by Michael J. Fox. Some of the sharp turns at the end could have been foregrounded more, but most of the twists are shocking and well-earned, so it's a damn shame this didn't find its audience at the time. But that just means it's meant to be rediscovered.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQwepaIrXaR_Kugkf_20oZerMbC0IN1iuhzaGtTYVNWiFI5nsxzeOJpwsoNA5_8ZgHeQ_cWtmMw8Q44rt2CepAea_mPVotSYXPdTjlNMw4G7vvZyQZr3kKRXHpJnEcMZNXpzPY6pHd9uwvVoZiWNNBrCwtk1fwmDKNkbF_pXwmKht2rWMHXJE/s280/5-raidersofatlantis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQwepaIrXaR_Kugkf_20oZerMbC0IN1iuhzaGtTYVNWiFI5nsxzeOJpwsoNA5_8ZgHeQ_cWtmMw8Q44rt2CepAea_mPVotSYXPdTjlNMw4G7vvZyQZr3kKRXHpJnEcMZNXpzPY6pHd9uwvVoZiWNNBrCwtk1fwmDKNkbF_pXwmKht2rWMHXJE/w143-h200/5-raidersofatlantis.jpg" title="They keep shouting "Mike! Mike" and if I never hear that name again... which is sad because a lot of people call me that" width="143" /></a></div>Remedial in every way, Raiders of Atlantis isn't even streaming correctly - wrong aspect ratio and dumb AI-assisted subtitles - but I do have to give it points for having the temerity of producing this bonkers a plot. 11 years in 1983's future - for no real reason - Atlantis resurfaces and attacks rural Florida (actually, the Philippines), but how this premise quickly turns into a Mad Max rip-off, I'm not sure I'll ever truly fathom. From there, it's just wall-to-wall mayhem, guns and explosions with the occasional gory kill shot, sometimes using rubber heads that are too fake to be on screen that long. Lots and lots and lots of action to the point where you become deadened to it, so good thing Christopher Connelly and his partner are, I'm not sure what, some kind of mercenaries or something. The acting is poor, with bad dubs replacing certain voices, but I'm not sure the dialog can be said convincingly even by an Oscar winner - it's complete nonsense. Perhaps lines like "We're going around in circles." "What's wrong with circles?" could have pushed Raiders to cult status, but it's so badly MADE that I can't quite give it the "so bad it's good" label, especially since there's so little respite from gunfire. Just too dumb and loud.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2qQYUDPQmCGt0pE41x_DPYBAhMLJTJthExNt57JpldBs2x2n9u9fBEZk37d25s-73DSUfecBLPjft_w8UxkcjhyphenhyphenDDWsX_dYITF3JFTE58nsSB9op0MLGgoDfIcaLaSjVXXYvJriarxFJnwbkG_3WtBUbOnFePN92k85iZdId_LHzwE8jJW1j/s309/6-myluckystars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2qQYUDPQmCGt0pE41x_DPYBAhMLJTJthExNt57JpldBs2x2n9u9fBEZk37d25s-73DSUfecBLPjft_w8UxkcjhyphenhyphenDDWsX_dYITF3JFTE58nsSB9op0MLGgoDfIcaLaSjVXXYvJriarxFJnwbkG_3WtBUbOnFePN92k85iZdId_LHzwE8jJW1j/w129-h200/6-myluckystars.jpg" title="How did they make the bed so smooth?" width="129" /></a></div>Because My Lucky Stars is one of four Jackie Chan movies to come out in 1985 (including Police Story), you can well understand why he only shows up for the action scenes and is otherwise missing from the picture. But if he's in a scene, then you know it will be good. If he's not... ehh. Technically the second "Lucky Stars" film (a series of seven movies only connected by their cast, not their characters or plots), this one has director-actor Sammo Hung assemble his old gang from the orphanage to help Jackie save his partner who's a prisoner of a Tokyo crime gang. The comedy is broad, as you can expect from Chinese films of the era, but there are a lot of performers I like in there including Richard Ng, Eric Tsang, Yuen Biao and Bolo Yeung in a cameo role. However, the humor is also cringy as hell, with extended sexual harassment scenes after the boys meet Sibelle Hu's lady cop. The middle of the film sags as a result. But in terms of action, the so-called "Little Fortunes" really deliver. There's a Five Venoms joke I dearly love and the action beats, especially in the final confrontation, have a lot of ingenuity. This was a massive success in 80s Hong Kong, but in my 2020s living room, it hasn't aged so well.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwE9caFRyZ4jxGUDstWTtph4ke5iSYlKHCUdg9ckbX-V_dhXTM_d0qfbYgmHpgaTCPKu1jKPhLEPIlgpL5KhY_Y_qyFFxzkQnIUN8Y6G9cMqaUy0xmeVwO8EHuSsA9QFkjjcpXRjtkPuf6y0N9RE6_2nbXfFjVnJCRd_SPAyGG2aC-Z86RHuCZ/s303/7-lobstercop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwE9caFRyZ4jxGUDstWTtph4ke5iSYlKHCUdg9ckbX-V_dhXTM_d0qfbYgmHpgaTCPKu1jKPhLEPIlgpL5KhY_Y_qyFFxzkQnIUN8Y6G9cMqaUy0xmeVwO8EHuSsA9QFkjjcpXRjtkPuf6y0N9RE6_2nbXfFjVnJCRd_SPAyGG2aC-Z86RHuCZ/w132-h200/7-lobstercop.jpg" title="I'm gonna pass on the shrimp, thanks" width="132" /></a></div>In 2018, the Korean-Chinese story co-development project produced two films with the same premise - screw-up narcotics officers buy a restaurant as a cover to crack a case and have more success in the food biz than police work - which in Korea gave us the box office smash Extreme Job, and in China gave us Lobster Cop, which is weaker in every way. It feels like the Korean production saw this as a prestige film and filled it with name actors, gave them fully developed characters, and strong action beats. In comparison, Lobster Cop is like the abridged exploitation version. Its characters are shallower, its villains (almost all gay-coded for some probably ugly reason) don't have the clever plan despite it being suggested in the animated opening credits, and its comedy is broader and duller. Never mind the obnoxious soundtrack. It can't stand the comparison, but even if I hadn't seen Extreme Job, I would still object to a lot of this. I mean, they don't even make lobster, those are prawns. Pretty forgettable.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtz_AaMUMNvtTsnuwbGgjrixwPI72l-PtftBy9MQRXyTNDZ_4f1gZy9mAV6BtYD6oU7XNojDexEYE9eqEcgGCzGL3hx086QMDjgGokxND22QIRbCrgIfsQfgjzO-8wtSgiGWARfg05LgU_H3XmPV41tqGGG8IP_vGUbuk1aiZHd5K3RBo0pIG5/s280/8-mummythemepark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtz_AaMUMNvtTsnuwbGgjrixwPI72l-PtftBy9MQRXyTNDZ_4f1gZy9mAV6BtYD6oU7XNojDexEYE9eqEcgGCzGL3hx086QMDjgGokxND22QIRbCrgIfsQfgjzO-8wtSgiGWARfg05LgU_H3XmPV41tqGGG8IP_vGUbuk1aiZHd5K3RBo0pIG5/w143-h200/8-mummythemepark.jpg" title="That's one clean mummy" width="143" /></a></div>Cross The Mummy with Jurassic Park and West World and you get The Mummy Theme Park, which looks so homemade, it's a good thing it doesn't take itself seriously. As a spoof, it almost works, but eventually, its low resources bring it down. Despite starring American actors, they're all covered by bad dubs (cheap Italian cinema, amirite?). The protagonists are unlikable. The adolescent script gives us a lot of gratuitous nudity and the mummy is horny AF. The action is incredibly weak and the film is laden with bad models and even worse green screen. The editing is abrupt and amateurish. The music, annoying. If the movie has some redeeming value it's in its gonzo premise. A venal sheik unearths an Egyptian tomb and turns it into a theme park, complete with the actual mummies given life with science! (The movie doesn't seem to know mummies no longer have brains, that's the level this is playing at.) Of course, things go wrong, and the climax has some weird effects, but while I do like how slimy the gore is, a lot of those gore effects don't actually pay off. I've loved impossibly cheap horror comedies before, but it's a tightrope act to keep the audience invested. The Mummy Theme Park falls off the wire, unfortunately, but watch it with friends and it'll at least break its fall in a net. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNjmHS7V354QPa_mhbu-Krl__IvBj6CyS6e3tKeptmi1wA-7bLS9ByQtOr6rvywFwFUAGSMmDhY2S15Sd8nJ4ytabbj-4g2Pq3cV_1hXW84YaHdR_Lx6uBXCOzmGq_xgtjnBpF2zevixUe15sK8qMK2QnxDzXCI-IxvjVWp50mPX4OdMiVyqP/s290/9-fatamorgana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNjmHS7V354QPa_mhbu-Krl__IvBj6CyS6e3tKeptmi1wA-7bLS9ByQtOr6rvywFwFUAGSMmDhY2S15Sd8nJ4ytabbj-4g2Pq3cV_1hXW84YaHdR_Lx6uBXCOzmGq_xgtjnBpF2zevixUe15sK8qMK2QnxDzXCI-IxvjVWp50mPX4OdMiVyqP/w138-h200/9-fatamorgana.jpg" title="I don't know who was tripping balls designing that poster, but..." width="138" /></a></div>Fata Morgana is the term for those heat mirages that make the landscape go blurry. It's also a Werner Herzog documentary (although, I often feel "non-fiction" would be a better label for his docs) that retells a Mayan creation myth, in German, using Saharan landscapes. The odd juxtapositions, an attempt to shoot a mirage of sorts, that of human history according to myth (Creation - Paradise - The Golden Age), Edens lost to eternity. The result is nature/archaeological photography, but including modern effluvia, objects despoiling the desert playing the roles of relics. It's the ancient world, but we're from the 100th Century. Herzog progressively includes more human beings - absent in Creation, then able to speak, and finally, performing - but it's in the absence of things that the film is most interesting. Not even so much the lack of people as the lack of CONTEXT. You're often asking, what happened here? And he gives you the time to reflect on the images and what they mean. Herzog sometimes takes breaks from the narrated tableaux for interviews with zoologists, and these moments are at odds with the rest (no matter how much I like watching a monitor lizard do its thing). Just Herzog being Herzog and getting distracted by stuff that suddenly interests him, I suppose. Bonus points for the Leonard Cohen tracks.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsdWCJLDoZD0BaFLFTgZqYVY4bq4Sv7jSaS3PdOhVru8GKBnxWxUpgn_g8DYxJIkJQqQjWccKB4s2c6mXQM6FZxUg0d_c_Dn0dn8kam-OCZtMpzIuagMDiq9nX-ScW_krzkCGzr0nyEEG1TJZR0Z7TlRs5p5tbjhh8fwMT_y8SzJCFequdxIC/s300/10-robbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsdWCJLDoZD0BaFLFTgZqYVY4bq4Sv7jSaS3PdOhVru8GKBnxWxUpgn_g8DYxJIkJQqQjWccKB4s2c6mXQM6FZxUg0d_c_Dn0dn8kam-OCZtMpzIuagMDiq9nX-ScW_krzkCGzr0nyEEG1TJZR0Z7TlRs5p5tbjhh8fwMT_y8SzJCFequdxIC/w133-h200/10-robbie.jpg" title="Don't play on the tracks, kids... OR ELSE" width="133" /></a></div>And now, this week's Companion Film. It had to be a short, I'm afraid, due to slim pickings... Robbie, British Transport Films' 13-minute second attempt at a PSA about not playing on the train tracks is apparently less gruesome than the original (I guess I gotta track down The Finishing Line now, or maybe not), but even when it cuts away at crucial moments, it's to let your imagination do the work instead, which might be as bad. Doctor Who's Peter Purves acts as presenter (so he's more appropriately called Blue Peter's Peter Purves) about a boy who loves trains, but gets hit by one after his friends call him a sissy or something. It's maudlin as all get out, and I hate that they covered the kids' dialog with Purves' storybook narration, and yet didn't do it to the mom and the "coppers. I mean, here in Canada, we had our own train crossing PSAs, but there wasn't THIS MUCH fearmongering. Then again, I did play on the tracks a lot, so British Transport may have a point. Might be worth it for the "I can't believe they just did/said that!" moments.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7beG0VkBU30LjmbVriUHDdbSe7zTdIQGiJqRf_cusdM5-VbprSirp1pXh6D8OtrCXKtmGmF81S9uLOrzcIjx-xxcx0V1KmhGiJWCpRJwwiGMnmw9PXlsYvF54AuV3nppPGaurAgyiLJfPk9aVpFwyv74YCfihuaX6CLJymfi3K9V1HJrEsG4k/s296/11-interiorchinatown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7beG0VkBU30LjmbVriUHDdbSe7zTdIQGiJqRf_cusdM5-VbprSirp1pXh6D8OtrCXKtmGmF81S9uLOrzcIjx-xxcx0V1KmhGiJWCpRJwwiGMnmw9PXlsYvF54AuV3nppPGaurAgyiLJfPk9aVpFwyv74YCfihuaX6CLJymfi3K9V1HJrEsG4k/w135-h200/11-interiorchinatown.jpg" title="With a cast of millions" width="135" /></a></div>Books: Charles Yu explores Asian-American identity in Interior Chinatown, a novel that uses the script-writing format to cleverly confuse the roles given to Asian actors in American film and TV with racial dynamics in the real world, and the possible impact those dynamics can have on one's identity. Tending to the more universal then, do you consider yourself the protagonist of your own story? Or are you just a special guest star in someone else's? Or even... an extra? And does your personal privilege (if you're white, male, straight, etc.), or lack thereof, dictate how you perceive your role? It's absurdist comedy and a fun satirical take on mainstream TV (using a reductive cop show called Black and White to frame the main character's story, ambition and disappointments), but it's also a personal story for Yu (is this why it's written in the 2nd person, a pun on "you"?) who brings his family issues into the narrative as he did in the previous How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. Yu takes no prisoners and even attacks his own point of view in open court by the end. A very clever postmodern piece.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA67rq1Zu4JoYrPr9WM5g-4Ho7pYN3ml1Eg51ACCgkjUoti4my6BFJgG_wgDWSiSmYzZgQ67gw7bZjdQGayapBQTI-u0IeRsjzVOWY3poh6aNFfon4lGNNGK-8FZyksdVtgJtTTdljkH7f_etLQC7jVdzAY53iFGaWetNsDRc0R_tvtMtBE9IM/s319/12-defekt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA67rq1Zu4JoYrPr9WM5g-4Ho7pYN3ml1Eg51ACCgkjUoti4my6BFJgG_wgDWSiSmYzZgQ67gw7bZjdQGayapBQTI-u0IeRsjzVOWY3poh6aNFfon4lGNNGK-8FZyksdVtgJtTTdljkH7f_etLQC7jVdzAY53iFGaWetNsDRc0R_tvtMtBE9IM/w125-h200/12-defekt.jpg" title="I've been swallowed up by a couch before" width="125" /></a></div>In Nino Cipri's first novella about an IKEA-type story that is the locus on all dimensions, Finna, we heard about Derek, an employee who SHOULD have been on the adventure, but failed to show up for his shift. Defekt is his story. You might assume that the disliked Derek would be the bad employee, contrasting with Finna's heroes, but no, come to think of it, they were very bad employees. So Derek is the model employee, the one who shows deep set company loyalty. His point of view reminded me of Convenience Store Woman's, but this is the "LitenVerse", so the reasons for it are naturally weirder. After Derek misses his first day of work, and all the interdimensional chaos, he's assigned to a team of specialists who track down furniture that's become alive in the wake of such events. Like I said. Oh and the entire team is made up of variant Dereks. In the underlayer, Cipri is also telling a strong story about identity, the dangers of tying it to your job, and how one person's defective is another's uniqueness to be embraced.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1RhQhBoGTkDWBerwg41Z5MPyasC_ainbXmqY0txFyIaUeszEtlS_IIk7y2yq_rlKV93xn3i2xNPjmd4GI5JKddgt6Fs-iDbMS22Dph4UWs75ywgA8V1IPg45-27ATdBTS8MzAlIKPtWiWCIKRFHSu8EX4MCCGuyfY3Y5h2bSPAwERGezeBuB/s308/13-byrneff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1RhQhBoGTkDWBerwg41Z5MPyasC_ainbXmqY0txFyIaUeszEtlS_IIk7y2yq_rlKV93xn3i2xNPjmd4GI5JKddgt6Fs-iDbMS22Dph4UWs75ywgA8V1IPg45-27ATdBTS8MzAlIKPtWiWCIKRFHSu8EX4MCCGuyfY3Y5h2bSPAwERGezeBuB/w130-h200/13-byrneff2.jpg" title="Superman audtion tape" width="130" /></a></div>Collecting issues #241-250, Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2 sees the writer-artist find his groove around issue 246, with a Doctor Doom two-parter that restores him to Latveria's throne and introduces Kristoff, his to-be-adopted son. After this (inclusively), the action is ramped up significantly, and Byrne seems to have more fun with the big, giant concepts. My impression is that he tried and failed to play with the toys as they were before this point (despite some strong adventures collected in the previous volume). A deposed Dr. Doom needed to be fixed, but what really drains the early issues in Vol.2 is the inherited character of Frankie Raye, a possible member after he gives her powers, but as part of a longer game to create his own Silver Surfer. She is irritating as all get out. The Thing reverting to a mud monster goes nowhere, as if he had to walk back this change when readers responded badly to it (he just never found a way to draw this version of Ben in an engaging way - just looks like an old man who lost his dentures. The "Outer Limits" style one-and-dones are middling. Where Byrne is more confidant is when involving powerful antagonists like Doom, Galactus and Gladiator. I started collecting the FF in the middle of his run, and the Visionaries collection is only now starting to show the promise of the issues that made me a fan.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHHxgKvtNeC4NBXEuksIiMOX-wKRyu0ONPdG0NGgGHzC_vrqSz1bmkGKGnmGsAheA4-D2lGuyltO7xhnic1Easd9P_0feKfxtGQi6Voqs3SWH5e8ywOgEaIn_IFxyB-Xm9l7jVHhizhiGbXx5kcoa-e8zJwddqc6DztH9WMoF7nI6DNMdokZF/s258/14-torg-pp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHHxgKvtNeC4NBXEuksIiMOX-wKRyu0ONPdG0NGgGHzC_vrqSz1bmkGKGnmGsAheA4-D2lGuyltO7xhnic1Easd9P_0feKfxtGQi6Voqs3SWH5e8ywOgEaIn_IFxyB-Xm9l7jVHhizhiGbXx5kcoa-e8zJwddqc6DztH9WMoF7nI6DNMdokZF/w155-h200/14-torg-pp.jpg" title="You'll love how we do business" width="155" /></a></div>RPGs: We've had a couple of action-plotty sessions of Torg Eternity lately, so it was time to give the players a bit of social. Last time, they discovered their official videographer was a Pan-Pacifican villain and now they're being chewed out by their boss because deepfakes have surfaced showing them involved in war crimes. So they're sent to a millionaire resort on China's Hainan Island, near the commercial campus where the fakes seem to have originated to clean up their mess (find proof that the images were manipulated and hopefully do so without drawing attention to themselves). This was inspired by an adventure called Deepfake in the Pan-Pacifica Delphi Missions book, but that scenario doesn't make the hotel resort setting and suggested NPCs to the investigation, so I had to build much of that from scratch, giving these a story reason to exist, either as complications or as helpful informants (but who was which?). The players had a great time play-acting as a douchebag tech bro and his entourage, I think, and solved the case without drawing a gun, even with Kanawa forces bearing down on them at the end. It's all because of a Betrayal cosm card, actually. These HAVE to be played when drawn, and so I kept an eye on who that player interacted with - who were HIS allies that could prove duplicitous. While I desperately wanted to make the old widow who took a shine to him some kind of deadly assassin, it couldn't work with the timeline, so it had to be the SHIFT agent assigned as their majordomo. And because they spot him colluding with the bad guys just before their exfil, they know not to run to the jetty where he was supposed to have left a boat, instead run back to the resort through the jungle and steal one for themselves... avoiding the police chase, the scripted Kanawa ambush and the big fire fight at the end! (It was time for bed anyway, so that worked out well for all concerned.)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9P0YDbcJhvJvodWU6O1S9Yz1k63xeNiEE0MD1togDKJvKPpUiJ4nF3BJYNTjg_v_eJyRs4Pfy0_aPPP-zRehefXqqBkTTgbIPk2jkTGQW9erapHeUYPAJyKC9NioUjaLGqjohGa305x4hM5PLC5PEFbE7bhweDs5n42FCpA9PKeY3UZheG89/s600/15-breaking-news26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9P0YDbcJhvJvodWU6O1S9Yz1k63xeNiEE0MD1togDKJvKPpUiJ4nF3BJYNTjg_v_eJyRs4Pfy0_aPPP-zRehefXqqBkTTgbIPk2jkTGQW9erapHeUYPAJyKC9NioUjaLGqjohGa305x4hM5PLC5PEFbE7bhweDs5n42FCpA9PKeY3UZheG89/s16000/15-breaking-news26.jpg" title="Say it ain't so! It ain't so." /></a></div>Best bits: The Super-Wrestler saves a drowning dog by jumping into a pool from an upper level (while the douchebro - I mean, the Realm Runner - films it on his phone (keeping his cover). The Realm Runner zealot had not taken well to the chewing out and gave the bawss (Sebastian is in fact his uncle) a rant about how the missions seemed to have nothing to do with ousting invaders, so he had to be put in his place about not seeing the big picture. On the mission, it's the Monster Hunter who was most disgruntled. The others were partying and maintaining their cover while he was doing all the grunt work. The dudebro might have gotten useful information, but he was stuck with a gold digger while the Wrestler was keeping the other tech bro busy, never getting the signals that dudebro wanted their positions reversed. Hey, Wrestler just thought Runner needed a bit of female attention, having been raised in a bunker and all. It mostly played as a comedy, honestly, my favorite bits to play being the gold digger's frustration every time she sidled up to someone to find out they either weren't rich or not interested, and the token on the board simply called "Korean Guy" who was based on the K-pop singer Rain (called Storm, it's Torg, after all) frustrated that no one ever recognized him. The Monster Hunter managed to get a key card over a bunch of drinks, making infiltration much easier, and then once inside, the Realm Runner rolled high enough to also place a virus in the enemy's systems that corrupted their whole system.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdXqhHr9GJt1uZDY-BHVer7L9LPkOl7Tg6nUhCAZAfzXbVoPdeZJ_kaI1UcqwgdPq3DQinAixcRpMafSx8goc0pCCbjvKedgoTwdMu5_lc4v6zuQ8wrMn-YJEiq1Nei6tWYUsm4IcLn7rHpvq4K3dGoBzVN_h3G5ZZdVEHMkgTE0sNatZJ6kl/s200/16-legomarvel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdXqhHr9GJt1uZDY-BHVer7L9LPkOl7Tg6nUhCAZAfzXbVoPdeZJ_kaI1UcqwgdPq3DQinAixcRpMafSx8goc0pCCbjvKedgoTwdMu5_lc4v6zuQ8wrMn-YJEiq1Nei6tWYUsm4IcLn7rHpvq4K3dGoBzVN_h3G5ZZdVEHMkgTE0sNatZJ6kl/w200-h200/16-legomarvel1.jpg" title="Why does Rocket Raccoon have an Australian accent?" width="200" /></a></div>Gaming: According to my notes, it was 10 years ago that I almost finished Lego Marvel Super Heroes, but had to quit due to bugs that prevented some tasks from being completed. This time, I'm tapping out at 99.3% and 8 gold bricks to go because they're all races, and I freaking hate Lego races. The controls are way too twitchy for them to be anything but frustrating, and I don't play games to RAISE my stress level. Air races races, and to a certain point, acrobatic ones feel absolutely impossible, though I'm sure with trial and error, I could eventually win them with the Silver Surfer (for road races, Ghost Rider's bike is easily the best). There's also a remote control car race that uses the OPPOSITE controls from every other race, baffling. But to give this old game a bit of a review: Like other Lego games, it's usually fun and amusing, with plenty of inside jokes for both comic and movie fans. In addition to the storyline levels, collecting bricks unlocks mini-missions in places like Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum and Marvel's offices. There's fighting, but you immediately respawn anyway, so they're more about creating obstacles to your puzzle solving. Aside from those dang races, I enjoy the game play, and love unlocking new mini-figs (Squirrel Girl shooting little squirrels is very fun, but you also get purse-fighting Aunt May and a Stan Lee that can Hulk out). I do hate the background music that plays in the city - it haunts my nightmares and I've taken to putting the TV on mute during free roam. 99.3% isn't bad; let's try again in 2034.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-66534915506434546152024-03-09T06:00:00.028-04:002024-03-09T06:00:00.142-04:00Who's Firebrand II?<p><b>Who's This?</b> A blazing All-Star.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6dh7cyRiWVFnpgM3bDCHA7baa0tXhbztn314LyJdlS6bdDRBVsbKatMxNR01oDXQjaUNdlSNrQQxJoXZMymGqG4w2RDxf0LLg-sbZztgMd4LoZTn6ntJPkrCCdFLWL8tdjTic6WF27hrUX4dLWJuTRx7qN3WAsVNdoSr1xDNrez4zHbdrtP0/s770/who-firebrand2-0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6dh7cyRiWVFnpgM3bDCHA7baa0tXhbztn314LyJdlS6bdDRBVsbKatMxNR01oDXQjaUNdlSNrQQxJoXZMymGqG4w2RDxf0LLg-sbZztgMd4LoZTn6ntJPkrCCdFLWL8tdjTic6WF27hrUX4dLWJuTRx7qN3WAsVNdoSr1xDNrez4zHbdrtP0/s16000/who-firebrand2-0.jpg" title="She wore it better" /></a></div><b>The facts: </b>In the Golden Age, Quality Comics had a hero called Firebrand (which we discussed <b><a href="https://siskoid.blogspot.com/2013/03/whos-golden-age-firebrand.html">HERE</a></b>) - just a short-lived punch 'em up crime fighter strip. When Roy Thomas started All-Star Squadron, he felt his pool of characters lacked diversity and actual super-powers. He didn't mind creating new characters, but even better if they had some connection to the past. So he injures Rod "Firebrand" Reilly off at Pearl Harbor (he'll die later in Freedom Fighters, or earlier by our reckoning) and introduces his sister, vulcanologist Danette Reilly, in the ASS insert in JLA #193. In All-Star Squadron #5 (January 1982), she is hit with Wotan's mystic blast and falls into a vat of lava, coming out of it with almost too much origin story AND fire-based powers. She becomes one of the main All-Stars, featured throughout the life of the title, as well as about a dozen issues of Young All-Stars. This was actually compromise. Thomas wanted to use Quality Comics' Wildfire as a prominent member, but editorial didn't want there to confusion with the Legion's Wildfire (despite ASS having a Flash, a Superman, a Batman, a Green Lantern, etc.). Danette (named after Roy Thomas' wife) would have few appearances in later chronology, becoming Atom Smasher's adopted grandmother after taking in Cyclotron's daughter and later marrying the Shining Knight (say what?!) and getting killed by the Dragon King on an adventure with him.<br /><b>How you could have heard of her:</b> Other characters have taken on Firebrand's name, most recently Janet Fals during the Dark Multiverse storyline. But she's no Danette. She's no Danette, no. An android called Red Inferno has appeared in Young Justice and is obviously modelled on Firebrand, not just her look, but her Golden Age career and death at the Dragon King's hands.<br /><b>Example story: </b>All-Star Squadron #55 (March 1986), "Crisis at Canaveral!" by Roy Thomas, Arvell Jones and Vince Colletta<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PQ-DJ_KIcMjyjlqFq3CfRVp-RAr5V7lcYD-Co-gFmxUMjBAwl5CwJkhs4Cbb6CSevjCs8VCMSgauU3fdUdPiGtp1E9PnibgqCx6q2iyU4IGU2CPELYX0HoF7atMDVibbUYp_q2sPuw0VlMiaHX8Cds-w-eObF4-mf3n1NPj8YHmRjqGL_CUi/s679/who-firebrand2-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PQ-DJ_KIcMjyjlqFq3CfRVp-RAr5V7lcYD-Co-gFmxUMjBAwl5CwJkhs4Cbb6CSevjCs8VCMSgauU3fdUdPiGtp1E9PnibgqCx6q2iyU4IGU2CPELYX0HoF7atMDVibbUYp_q2sPuw0VlMiaHX8Cds-w-eObF4-mf3n1NPj8YHmRjqGL_CUi/s16000/who-firebrand2-1.jpg" title="All-Star Batallion! All-Star Legion? All-Star Tribe?!" /></a></div>A weird pick, perhaps, but Firebrand was really just a "team player" in the book, an "energy blaster" in a team that didn't have a lot of those (since the Golden Age was mostly fist-fighting crime busters). Possibly, because she wasn't an ACTUAL Golden Age character, Roy Thomas didn't focus very much on her. But this Crisis issue has her as the only starring All-Star, leading a group of DC's historical characters on a mission to defend Cape Kennedy 1985 under attack by Native Americans from various eras. The language is woefully out of date and therefore racist (Danette IS from the 1940s), but at least Firebrand knows to give them the benefit of the doubt.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwzav3-QGkZjfx2lqJjR5Ex9ags6DycHG_Ysg5uHv-kqIvqdIm3G7pQ_6JtHZlrvaR7bBeAMJYCnzmzA4loST7cYFQU49mKNdYyl8VQTljPzCnQM9WauLmSHZvGeZRAmQFslQ3-IsdM-MWpBf1hdhI0Ws_dgRX7gZqj4Yyo9yxMpGMj47DN-b/s500/who-firebrand2-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwzav3-QGkZjfx2lqJjR5Ex9ags6DycHG_Ysg5uHv-kqIvqdIm3G7pQ_6JtHZlrvaR7bBeAMJYCnzmzA4loST7cYFQU49mKNdYyl8VQTljPzCnQM9WauLmSHZvGeZRAmQFslQ3-IsdM-MWpBf1hdhI0Ws_dgRX7gZqj4Yyo9yxMpGMj47DN-b/s16000/who-firebrand2-2.jpg" title="We've evolved!" /></a></div>She has the moral fibre of a Golden Age heroine, but also the firepower of a Bronze Age heroine:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1eFonvQI1Hgo1ZQXlnsiZbdjEX1I0vobHpbiuAa69PN3dhW1Hu5BWv7ceSTIoOD6j5JnHXCF35l4HYUV7LSeC4uDXCQi8TvOcWD8V-no4MQqQKfHSQm-I715qE258W0C-wbbTXpGwbaCG_1lVM-KS-DuDtsJY4xwdNPr-K7ZL9hwKB3enIEz/s500/who-firebrand2-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1eFonvQI1Hgo1ZQXlnsiZbdjEX1I0vobHpbiuAa69PN3dhW1Hu5BWv7ceSTIoOD6j5JnHXCF35l4HYUV7LSeC4uDXCQi8TvOcWD8V-no4MQqQKfHSQm-I715qE258W0C-wbbTXpGwbaCG_1lVM-KS-DuDtsJY4xwdNPr-K7ZL9hwKB3enIEz/s16000/who-firebrand2-3.jpg" title="But the pony!" /></a></div>But you might say, too much firepower for the opposition here. Well, what if we throw Super-Chief into the mix?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vsqfzBvilaMq4hGPamkPvcMYqPKx3f-cElKZ1uvc29jxA7EERpHFPyRD5fa0GEZkHEQBAr9fwCbCQiwB00EH3q3TNRAvtI6-0UTWl0o99L-_ZsdmuJaOlVMYJMf8QgP8HrAtyrRSyDARlAcriGMz38bLFMthyS2t_HWDh_AkGvCOluA-rZ8o/s500/who-firebrand2-4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vsqfzBvilaMq4hGPamkPvcMYqPKx3f-cElKZ1uvc29jxA7EERpHFPyRD5fa0GEZkHEQBAr9fwCbCQiwB00EH3q3TNRAvtI6-0UTWl0o99L-_ZsdmuJaOlVMYJMf8QgP8HrAtyrRSyDARlAcriGMz38bLFMthyS2t_HWDh_AkGvCOluA-rZ8o/s16000/who-firebrand2-4.jpg" title="You don't grab Firebrand without your shirt on" /></a></div>The opposing side in fact has a few DC heroes too - Strong Bow and Arak among them - so we KNOW they're not necessarily in the wrong, just displaced in time and confused. Can Firebrand bring about a peace? Not until she takes Super Chief out.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSkh5ulhyjDml4W71rEuzqxL1aXg3P3mLwqecWGdBx4XNu5dGuEo4kwSatqWx8dv6-fwU7PP0LSHFrISRNngx24Qm7AqHx4pfuy6K4SsP9S0ZEG8E7Uu8I81FfLtYoHkMRsw02wtvmOR898RvHkovURhSdMYlim_HoxZ7vA6Kz0-xS1CjPwzL/s500/who-firebrand2-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSkh5ulhyjDml4W71rEuzqxL1aXg3P3mLwqecWGdBx4XNu5dGuEo4kwSatqWx8dv6-fwU7PP0LSHFrISRNngx24Qm7AqHx4pfuy6K4SsP9S0ZEG8E7Uu8I81FfLtYoHkMRsw02wtvmOR898RvHkovURhSdMYlim_HoxZ7vA6Kz0-xS1CjPwzL/s16000/who-firebrand2-5.jpg" title="See? If it were only hidden under your shirt" /></a></div>But she saves his life as he falls, so he stops another brave from killing her in return. He surmises that maybe they're ALL here at Harbinger's request. And yep, the real enemy are the mercenaries that seemed to be U.S. soldiers doing their duty, but were actually in the employ of the Ultra-Humanite. His plan? To launch a death ray into space using the space shuttle. His hostage? NASA's own Terri Rothstein, Nuklon's mother and Firebrand's godchild. Cyclotron (Terri's dad) is also time-displaced and does some of the heavy lifting at this point, but after he saves Terri and is returned to the moment of his death, Danette gets to eulogize him.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhm8F6XpymwCFNw0vJoGulb23h4BI_aMHsi-cO89yduMOq3cdHQadSYheTPmrGmdrZrwXEavZfHi78xG1hcis9aU49pui-KYHIVxh7ZN97tGM7dS6qofL72-J4ECd7DvZpYBX_2ZeQLfd2gDskrtUwXatp4CRX1HQURvMMHHn4aNv61bp3_o9/s500/who-firebrand2-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhm8F6XpymwCFNw0vJoGulb23h4BI_aMHsi-cO89yduMOq3cdHQadSYheTPmrGmdrZrwXEavZfHi78xG1hcis9aU49pui-KYHIVxh7ZN97tGM7dS6qofL72-J4ECd7DvZpYBX_2ZeQLfd2gDskrtUwXatp4CRX1HQURvMMHHn4aNv61bp3_o9/s16000/who-firebrand2-6.jpg" title="Next issue: Everybody dies" /></a></div>At least she gets to save the day by absorbing all the heat from the shuttle's rocket launch. The Ultra-Humanite will have to be defeated by other heroes in other comics, but it was nice to see Danette in a starring role even if she obviously has to share the page with a lot of others.<br /><br />Boy, Roy Thomas really wanted to make DC's Who's Who a necessarily purchase, didn't he?<br /><br /><b>Who's Next? </b>A pyromaniac.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-73274168309024578782024-03-08T06:00:00.015-04:002024-03-08T06:00:00.128-04:00What a Card: The Higher... the Q-er<p><i>Being a look back at cards from the Star Trek CCG, and what I thought of them back when they were fresh and new... in EPISODE order. Back to some Q-Continuum cards..</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZTjW_YVgXlfBmK2qxEU5i2IStqp_j0BiePmS6_GYKBT0ZZ-_Axekan99c11ZN5yrJTfGeCgl9raWQxECyIg-4_EK1ycEdW9CwEEys8nEfSbkt431FGAJdwRlbvyX4IHMg26a2RcSn0ywjzxJRz3XOTw3yt190ibO3qcSq7I57U9ruItKB0W2/s699/14-ccg-thehighertheqer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZTjW_YVgXlfBmK2qxEU5i2IStqp_j0BiePmS6_GYKBT0ZZ-_Axekan99c11ZN5yrJTfGeCgl9raWQxECyIg-4_EK1ycEdW9CwEEys8nEfSbkt431FGAJdwRlbvyX4IHMg26a2RcSn0ywjzxJRz3XOTw3yt190ibO3qcSq7I57U9ruItKB0W2/s16000/14-ccg-thehighertheqer.jpg" title="Big snif" /></a></div><b>EXPANSION: </b>Q-Continuum<br /><br /><b>PICTURE: </b>Another beige offering from that scene in "Encounter at Farpoint", it at least has a couple of things going for it. First, it's quite bizarre. Second, all the elements, from the costume to the background, are somewhat blocky. That cohesiveness of composition should be worth at least a 3.4.<br /><br /><b>LORE: </b>First, let's talk about the title. I appreciate the pun based on that other card, The Higher... The Fewer, but its relationship to "getting high" (on drugs) is more than a little disturbing to me. (What can I say, some people don't like the naked Trois, others Mirror Kirk's salute, me, it's "comical" references to drugs.) The Q-uote makes that relationship plain, putting the pic into context, certainly, but helping Trek Sense very little. I'd have to say this is more unfunny than it is funny, so just a 2.5.<br /><br /><b>TREK SENSE: </b>Aside from a play on words, there's very little relationship with the pic and lore to the concept delineated here. While the basic concept of Q deciding to stick around longer (more Q-cards to the Flash) is sensible enough, I don't see it having any basis in the presence of Civilians or not. Conceptually, the "military" is the Command icon personnel that dictate how many Q-cards to add to the Flash (they decide who gets drugged). Civilians are not in the military, so they become the requirement to avoid the penalty. But let's face it: that whole scheme has nothing to do with anything happening in realty (even Q's warped sense of it) or with the effect, not unless the Civilian in question is Guinan (which may be what they were thinking. Or Vash?). It was probably rather inspired as much by the title as by the concept. At least the Q variable is a cute touch. A dull 1.2.<br /><br /><b>STOCKABILITY: </b>CIVILIANs being the least useful classification (aside from ANIMAL, of course), this card has a fair chance of hitting. The prize isn't bad either: more Q-cards to a Flash. For smaller Away Teams and crews, this addition may be worth it since you want the group to be hit by every different Q-card you stocked in your Continuum each time it is hit. The number of additional cards encountered is tied to the rather common Command icon, so no worries there. Usually, you'll get at least one extra Q-card (of course in that case, it's just replacing The Higher). Focused side-decks have fewer different Q-cards so The Higher may be less useful there, but think of it this way: if you have fewer different cards, you might be forced to discard a number of them as duplicates. The extra cards might get you to that more important Q-dilemma that sits just under the last card encountered. Let me go with 3.5, which is high seeing as it has no direct effect on the Away Team or crew.<br /><b><br />TOTAL: </b>10.6 (53%) A score as drab as its color palette.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-73024081862302681002024-03-07T06:00:00.005-04:002024-03-07T06:00:00.139-04:00One Panel #754: Ma Hunkle - Exposed!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyh_NMuCttbRMqiTpbVfdOyaxuemuI9zL121ERqYzC14z0MAjxxAdce_ryUGWwXvbzoUzS5GizalK37TX3cfLkmjbCyPs55n2A-G-6kElqcdeskyF5Vv7ZreEd8JfKznYOCnLX8pWzIme-qvAqUcDgNjYeh2gB_Kf2OCUGh_U3soPWuxEYhJ8/s600/onepanel754-allamerican46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyh_NMuCttbRMqiTpbVfdOyaxuemuI9zL121ERqYzC14z0MAjxxAdce_ryUGWwXvbzoUzS5GizalK37TX3cfLkmjbCyPs55n2A-G-6kElqcdeskyF5Vv7ZreEd8JfKznYOCnLX8pWzIme-qvAqUcDgNjYeh2gB_Kf2OCUGh_U3soPWuxEYhJ8/s16000/onepanel754-allamerican46.jpg" title="The only possible explanation" /></a></div><i>From Scribbly and the Red Tornado: "On the Trail of the Red Tornado's Identity" by Sheldon Mayer, All-American Comics #46 (January 1943)</i><br /><br />Scribbly fills in his silhouettes of the Red Tornado and her Cyclone Kids and comes upon an answer that's so incredible, it has to be true. Of course, she's got it handled. When he rushes over to confirm his suspicions, she making puppets fly by the window while in full view as her matronly self.<br /><br />She was getting ready for all those secret identity plots in the Silver Age. Sadly, she needn't have bothered...Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-6783938315297647342024-03-06T06:00:00.014-04:002024-03-06T06:00:00.140-04:00Blaker's 7 #9: Project Avalon <p><i>"In my position one never approves anything until it is an undisputed success."</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmFL3QosOPfBZ3xIFWVj1X51uvSmbst1LZZVGgZXzOxhqZIS7afAg78gQFVTacL1uHDNxvt424N_LsviA_-0IGdGsXIRpo29oyCm-Czmyhpi3TmRuDHEwBy6GmiLTzEXBku5C5LvJ9Yka08EYhruKTbhPs1hRp2ak0QvNlnSZFiXRmK-1vdKw/s600/blakes9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmFL3QosOPfBZ3xIFWVj1X51uvSmbst1LZZVGgZXzOxhqZIS7afAg78gQFVTacL1uHDNxvt424N_LsviA_-0IGdGsXIRpo29oyCm-Czmyhpi3TmRuDHEwBy6GmiLTzEXBku5C5LvJ9Yka08EYhruKTbhPs1hRp2ak0QvNlnSZFiXRmK-1vdKw/s16000/blakes9.jpg" title="A little bashfulness, please" /></a></div><b>IN THIS ONE... </b>Blake retrieves a rebel leader on an ice planet and almost falls into Travis' deadly trap.<br /><br /><b>REVIEW:</b> Yes, the return of Servalan! Her scenes are always so well-written, full of wit and stinging satire! Despite her dissatisfaction with Travis' track record to date, she must really believe that he's going to succeed this time to travel all that way and see it personally. But there is a cruel streak in her that might want to see him fail. From the moment she walks in with her giant furs to when she leaves with Travis on the ground groveling to no one in particular, she always makes a statement. And yeah, he's going to fail again (of course), and you almost believe you won't see him again. She relieves him of duty pending an inquiry. The despair is real. The promise to destroy Blake, a dubious one to keep.<br /><br />The bad guys' plot is pretty devious, however. They massacre the rebels on Hoth (or wherever), but leave their beacon on to lure Blake into their trap. They WANT him to breach the compound and rescue Avalon - another famous resistance leader - but they've replaced her with a life-like robot who will unleash a terrible virus that strips the flesh off your bones in a minute. Then they can have the Liberator and be rid of this thorn in their side once and for all. A lot of people die, but not the ones they want dead. The ploy, revealed bit by bit does explain the drawn-out and ineffectual firefight in the halls, but it doesn't make it any more exciting. There's just too much of it, and while, fine, the guards are armed with nerfed guns (I bet they don't know it), but that doesn't excuse Jenna missing so many shots. And since I'm on the villains here, are the mutoids all female? Or does Travis just prefer the company of women, even cybernetic ones? His head henchwoman isn't the one from Duel, so no unspoken relationship here.<br /><br />It's not all about the villains' smarts and wit. Avon and Vila get some great lines too, and Blake is his unflappable self when confronting the baddies at the end to exchange one Avalon for another. He figures out this was too easy (except for having to wait for the Liberator to be back in orbit, but that's more of an Avon problem), and though he first falls for a red herring (Chevner is set up by the camera work to be the traitor, but you can't fool the audience on this one), he and his crew manage to bring down the super-strong android in a fierce, claustrophobic fight. Using the virus against Travis and especially Servalan gets him what he wants. He's such a cold bastard, he breaks a guard's neck at one point. That situation is probably the weakest in terms of strategy, trusting that guard to play along... They should just have stolen his uniform. I mean, why does only Avalon have to strip to her bare essentials? Truth is, the ladies don't do so well. Jenna can't hit the broad side of a barn. Cally gets knocked out by the robot (I do find it amusing that she possibly can't stand Vila, much like Avon, though her best chemistry is with Jenna - I'm not saying it's Sapphic, but I'm not saying it isn't). And while Avalon proves her mettle in the examination scene, decidedly unimpressed with Travis, they still have her naked on a table with a couple of Fifth Element straps for cover. And then she becomes a mere pawn in the Federation's scheme. With all the mutoid warriors and her being some kind of equal to Blake, it almost felt a bit feminist there, but not for long.<br /><br />Quick word on special effects: The wintry planet is well-realized on the available budget, and I like the tingling virus ball. The open head of the robot, done as an optical, doesn't really work, but it's a cool idea. I'm happy to give it points for ambition and effort.<br /><br /><b>NOT MY FEDERATION:</b> The Feds now have life-like androids; no word on whether their brains are positronic.<br /><br /><b>BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE: </b>The firefight in the corridors is allegedly based on the beginning of Star Wars, in theaters then. They wish.<br /><br /><b>WHO?:</b> I missed it last episode, but now it's hit me - the mutoids' plastic coiffe is based on the mold used for the female Eldrad's hat/head in The Hand of Fear. The cave scenes were filmed in Wookey Hole, the same location used for the Doctor Who serial Revenge of the Cybermen, which was also directed by Michael E. Briant. David Bailie (Chevner) was Dask in The Robots of Death, the serial we coming back to over and over, but also notably played the Celestial Toymaker in Big Finish's Doctor Who audios. John Baker, the scientist, appeared as Adelphi in Colony in Space, Ralph in The Visitation, and a mediator in Planet of the Spiders. John Rolfe, who plays the traitor Terloc, was a Captain in The War Machines, Sam Becket (no relation) in The Moonbase, and Ralph Fell in The Green Death.<br /><br /><b>REWATCHABILITY: Medium - </b>Some of the action beats are overlong or just don't work, but even a middling episode has a lot of great dialogue and character moments.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-15919786524985429642024-03-05T06:00:00.025-04:002024-03-05T06:00:00.367-04:00Panel by Panel: Cold Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvYicn_7CohXxQiHSN8XIjWqKuxX3C6Omz45YpKmicUXrhIvUMy4h9lGgzkUmMsq_oTdYKgU7RzeUhw-yflOwU_chzi0S2ISl82ltmIKhXrfy5P5FczCYTRQoLOPicug3Xg4RAfdmclC-e15erm7oRDIirxVVeQ_PxxRwvCUG4YIolq8eFBk5/s500/panel25-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvYicn_7CohXxQiHSN8XIjWqKuxX3C6Omz45YpKmicUXrhIvUMy4h9lGgzkUmMsq_oTdYKgU7RzeUhw-yflOwU_chzi0S2ISl82ltmIKhXrfy5P5FczCYTRQoLOPicug3Xg4RAfdmclC-e15erm7oRDIirxVVeQ_PxxRwvCUG4YIolq8eFBk5/s16000/panel25-1.jpg" title="Doggo hungry!" /></a></div><p>On this episode of Panel by Panel! Siskoid and special guest Ian Fletcher take a look at a tiny panel from Hergé's Tintin in Tibet and somehow manage to make it the longest Panel by Panel episode to date! Totally random, but both hosts are just massive Tintin fans, it couldn't be helped!<br /><br /><b>Listen to Panel by Panel: Cold Chicken <a href="http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/panel25" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</b><br /><br />Or you can right-click “download”, choose <b><a href="http://fwpodcasts.com/ma/FWP/panel25.mp3" target="_blank">“Save Target/Link As”, and select a location on your computer to save the file (27 MB)</a></b>.<br /><br />Or subscribe to Panel by Panel on <b><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/panel-by-panel/id1580551162" target="_blank">Apple</a></b> or <b><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7zNQNUV6HwHCd5NUKzxvyu" target="_blank">Spotify</a></b>!<br /><br />Here's the panel, by Hergé, followed by the full sequence and then page context:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yDUXrwv97UQ1wSkZ-TWivvmFneQFcPq0q91uS9lGEd2S5iE_j8GzwfsD84WFiFY-pIBzoA-awv9JyYwyFGfdwVq3tvv47ncbodDw-eykpjeq-FzR7bMVsLHbkcs9xurhQ3Jqi9SKkT6KEHJzfBSoPG8a3K7S_0LHzqgNB8ti1mHbSmu83Ft-/s500/panel25-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yDUXrwv97UQ1wSkZ-TWivvmFneQFcPq0q91uS9lGEd2S5iE_j8GzwfsD84WFiFY-pIBzoA-awv9JyYwyFGfdwVq3tvv47ncbodDw-eykpjeq-FzR7bMVsLHbkcs9xurhQ3Jqi9SKkT6KEHJzfBSoPG8a3K7S_0LHzqgNB8ti1mHbSmu83Ft-/s16000/panel25-2.jpg" title="Existential GRRR" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YSNeJkDuPZ1yzGsP6U_nfd6pq-JXt992wp9VgIYNtmhtYi38VrngctgPIyOvc_rGU3gw4F8MsTyCDHrI4BWQXaXZgbW8hhWpHjxS_5nHQXqP7vZClOnV8pz-qQTfnc0NJ7jj6an7NP1OyW4fdXhi1k0WCMd7n5oKLtHzxdDNs0GCOc1YkJNc/s500/panel25-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YSNeJkDuPZ1yzGsP6U_nfd6pq-JXt992wp9VgIYNtmhtYi38VrngctgPIyOvc_rGU3gw4F8MsTyCDHrI4BWQXaXZgbW8hhWpHjxS_5nHQXqP7vZClOnV8pz-qQTfnc0NJ7jj6an7NP1OyW4fdXhi1k0WCMd7n5oKLtHzxdDNs0GCOc1YkJNc/s16000/panel25-3.jpg" title="A bit tough" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZw1zJOTbCev8xkXgUJoLU70MfFF3hPdJ8BkYyd_e9vdBl_kBF4qSTAZnbtoHZ3DD5U26cbK14RD7kpE0vhgfQBcU-ENm6p8A5rrhRHO1vx6a0HzkqU7MneSyR8sEwFpuyE6Ogvggyp5nrUQPK0gX4BSsj4NzcfZzGUQ1tvGrnbpQCP-c_3FO/s705/panel25-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZw1zJOTbCev8xkXgUJoLU70MfFF3hPdJ8BkYyd_e9vdBl_kBF4qSTAZnbtoHZ3DD5U26cbK14RD7kpE0vhgfQBcU-ENm6p8A5rrhRHO1vx6a0HzkqU7MneSyR8sEwFpuyE6Ogvggyp5nrUQPK0gX4BSsj4NzcfZzGUQ1tvGrnbpQCP-c_3FO/s16000/panel25-4.jpg" title="In English, for all you podcast fans out there" /></a></div><b>Credits:</b><br />Theme: "Hallelujah" by Les Sherpas (weirdly appropriate!).<br /><br />Leave us a comment, we'll read it between the panels!<p></p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-67197744602598390702024-03-04T06:00:00.019-04:002024-03-09T10:42:53.636-04:00RPG Tools: MyMaps<p>The modern GameMaster is always looking for online tools to help make their campaign more immersive. After all, many of us have been relegated to playing online - the pandemic pushed it, but so did adulting, now parents can take a short break to put their kids to bed, etc. in the middle of a session, no problem - and GMs have to create the immediacy of the in-person experience somehow. A lot of online tools are subscription-based, and that interests me less. Over the course of a few articles, I want to look at a few, neat, online tools that can make a difference in keeping the players engaged, the equivalent of the props and hand-outs you might have crafted and passed around in the old days.<br /><br />Up first, <b><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/" target="_blank">Google's MyMaps</a></b>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPHWcJ0-TXGlDMFBd4NB0UhV1gE41udJD6lKZiL_47HFb6ygjj12pWCbCnakm_3Yxqvr3hjgzzbvtJIL1TedqaqZtGyJZlmojgdxlA_61lRBLgyih6_BeZyODMuTeXofLqgq2X7PVFj1KJh1CZSYmEZd0vlETShAZcLFL6mZxot2lXZucmG_8/s600/mymaps1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPHWcJ0-TXGlDMFBd4NB0UhV1gE41udJD6lKZiL_47HFb6ygjj12pWCbCnakm_3Yxqvr3hjgzzbvtJIL1TedqaqZtGyJZlmojgdxlA_61lRBLgyih6_BeZyODMuTeXofLqgq2X7PVFj1KJh1CZSYmEZd0vlETShAZcLFL6mZxot2lXZucmG_8/s16000/mymaps1.jpg" title="Day... after dayyy" /></a></div>Now, this isn't the map builder you're looking for if you're creating a fantasy world or alien planet. I've yet to find one of those that's free to use (help me out if you have and we'll talk about it here). Rather, it's your own copy of GoogleMaps to use for contemporary Earth campaigns. as you'll see here, I use it for my Torg Eternity campaign, which is why there are "zones" that show where each invading Cosm has put up boundaries.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLhOwHyAXWLLiO7OOmbQ-6w9TvVtPHHtzOvrImxgoejMi9Zq7uCirjIKBqt8cVidXMP5CHTC94cGlvZPeaAjDHpMJ-QSKjAWzMKQ7MyIxWMUNgmBCTwrTuIsiRKsoTjNd0vs8Xjlcl6yNhFpE1SCDQpv3OEKUWrDnQwHiM1peXCbYP5NaFoe6/s600/mymaps2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLhOwHyAXWLLiO7OOmbQ-6w9TvVtPHHtzOvrImxgoejMi9Zq7uCirjIKBqt8cVidXMP5CHTC94cGlvZPeaAjDHpMJ-QSKjAWzMKQ7MyIxWMUNgmBCTwrTuIsiRKsoTjNd0vs8Xjlcl6yNhFpE1SCDQpv3OEKUWrDnQwHiM1peXCbYP5NaFoe6/s16000/mymaps2.jpg" title="Blast!" /></a></div>As you can see when we zoom in on Europe, drawing straight lines (which will curve with the planet) is easy. Amorphous shapes are more difficult (each curve is a point you need to add), but still possible. You can also create a path (there's one from St-Petersburg to Tver, then to Minsk) to show an adventure that was mostly travel, and give your "zones" names, colors, opacity... For Torg, it means that realities can be pure, dominant or mixed, and the tool allows for all this. By creating amorphous zones, you can even create elements that don't exist on the map, say if you wanted to plonk Atlantis somewhere, or in my case, Al Amarja from Over the Edge:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx-qitUnDyEoziIWvFSjAkzNEdhXU93e382ec-amFBDjN423f-kqVPEyjE0UUDSyILk0EjewbIEAliwl2SQwFLuM14UltODJLxCXB__aWSJDLLpHiSO1nxIf4udeQT6MNrm6EviRn978Q4-ckDxNWFocnjLo4MByNB3JF-nnrDE7dRnACp-3J/s773/mymaps3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx-qitUnDyEoziIWvFSjAkzNEdhXU93e382ec-amFBDjN423f-kqVPEyjE0UUDSyILk0EjewbIEAliwl2SQwFLuM14UltODJLxCXB__aWSJDLLpHiSO1nxIf4udeQT6MNrm6EviRn978Q4-ckDxNWFocnjLo4MByNB3JF-nnrDE7dRnACp-3J/s16000/mymaps3.jpg" title="The crossover nobody asked for" /></a></div>As you can see, it's still a far cry from creating new "geography". But when I click on the object (indeed any created zone or point), I can add one or several images, and so I've included the actual map from the game. And that sort of brings us to what use a non-Torg GM might have for MyMaps: Tracking the party's adventures. Points on a map can easily be added (and even found just like on GoogleMaps, by search addresses) and then given an icon. I you look up at the map of Europe, you'll see I have little Towers of Babel (Maelstrom Bridges through which the invading forces entered our world), Stars (hard points where Earth reality remains), Temples (friendly bases for the PCs' organization), but also, Snowflakes (these look like the game's Delphi Council logo) which represent ADVENTURES. Here's what happens when you click on an adventure:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5xGOg9CVG8yEq2iKYw-9n5qhqiuabpWhscnF9uxCoEP9K7W_80eeXiRPb86rxApNsXz1mmmdm8Vzw7PHNnwNEp09bIxEXsZwapuzUwtyxfllC3uAuhh10odcHA_tYBtMf4lfQvjhnbXVYjxHZeRkQufQrLTVYNUTv0XTI5GvezUsdYS-wmC-/s606/mymaps4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5xGOg9CVG8yEq2iKYw-9n5qhqiuabpWhscnF9uxCoEP9K7W_80eeXiRPb86rxApNsXz1mmmdm8Vzw7PHNnwNEp09bIxEXsZwapuzUwtyxfllC3uAuhh10odcHA_tYBtMf4lfQvjhnbXVYjxHZeRkQufQrLTVYNUTv0XTI5GvezUsdYS-wmC-/s16000/mymaps4.jpg" title="Hint of what the next article will be about" /></a></div>Players who have access to the map can go down memory lane and see one of more pictures relevant to the adventure and there's room for text. In French here, but it's basically Episode X: What happened and on what day of the campaign. Important events that happen outside the PCs' purview are also marked with a point, and you could also create points for rumors or adventure hooks, letting the players in an X-Files game, for example, choose what to go investigate based on that. "Oh, there's been a cryptid sighting in Lakewood, New Jersey! Let's check it out!" Your rumor icon becomes an adventure icon on the next pass.<br /><br />As you saw up top, I've got a bunch of maps and they're just the same game world on different days. It's a way to track what the invasion looked like on Day 90 compared to today (currently Day 173) - there's a certain frisson when players notice one Cosm or other has made great strides. You can totally just evolve the same map over and over, especially if you don't draw territory. However, it may be useful to have YOUR map, with extra layers of stuff THEY don't need to know about. After you update, you copy the map, which will create a clone of it under the name you choose, go in an delete the secret layers, then share THAT with the players.<br /><br />Oh and by the way, you don't need to use the style I have. You'd like it sepia toned for your Victorian explorers game? You want to see more of a satellite, real-color view? Something dark and techy? MyMaps has options:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUz-Fii8RPdiJjSGnUP4I60kgkIAEH_ulR4HUnbul16JKKOHe8xYMdkGhK3H79EKAj8dApB0tprO_uznTnRxBzs0Movu0HXyKqmbulEgsvo8UHpj23ZaY5qkByoN6A-xJrN2NUcOWI3C1hJYOvbayIWIoJk3WuQUvQEQWE3b6m8HVtwtH1yMT/s568/mymaps5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUz-Fii8RPdiJjSGnUP4I60kgkIAEH_ulR4HUnbul16JKKOHe8xYMdkGhK3H79EKAj8dApB0tprO_uznTnRxBzs0Movu0HXyKqmbulEgsvo8UHpj23ZaY5qkByoN6A-xJrN2NUcOWI3C1hJYOvbayIWIoJk3WuQUvQEQWE3b6m8HVtwtH1yMT/s16000/mymaps5.jpg" title="There is a limit to how many object types per layer, so it's all been divided" /></a></div>It's at the bottom of the layers sidebar. For me, this is almost necessary to keep track of the invasions, but I think I'd use it for any campaign that takes place in the modern world or the near-now. A place where players can check on their progress, remember the good times, and plan for the future.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-57639673085556430432024-03-04T05:55:00.006-04:002024-03-04T07:42:57.201-04:00Straight Outta Gallifrey: Forty-Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVI0KM33u9XMfM0maN8ryUk0_YFUhMU6DpGjS2T_MhTGl-2HRBB4Ls9WiahhCQo9TH7lqB01lVNy-PxTfvh9_cKxJHVyz-7wa38cBr4-df5knUJUGi3mVWlr5L_Yq44SoBYeGfs1zUCei4qxrwa0i8y2S7IXWAhclPwuqL0bhzRSxcEmOk1Ng/s600/sog-45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVI0KM33u9XMfM0maN8ryUk0_YFUhMU6DpGjS2T_MhTGl-2HRBB4Ls9WiahhCQo9TH7lqB01lVNy-PxTfvh9_cKxJHVyz-7wa38cBr4-df5knUJUGi3mVWlr5L_Yq44SoBYeGfs1zUCei4qxrwa0i8y2S7IXWAhclPwuqL0bhzRSxcEmOk1Ng/s16000/sog-45.jpg" title="It doesn't always have to be a round number" /></a></div>A.J. and Siskoid continue their exploration of Big Finish's Doctor Who audios that feature other Time Lords with Forty-Five, a Seventh Doctor anthology starring Sylvester McCoy, that includes the story "False Gods", notable for showing a Time Lord other than the Doctor confronting the legal ramifications of breaking the Laws of Time.<br /><br />That's all at Straight Outta Gallifrey, under <b><a href="https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/straightouttagallifrey" target="_blank">#228 Straight Outta Gallifrey: Forty Five by @bigfinish </a></b><br /><br />Thanks for listening!Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-84606687510430009482024-03-03T06:00:00.031-04:002024-03-03T06:00:00.143-04:00This Week in Geek (25/02-02/03/24)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoylTVQig7-4TpNMFvRbx12qVBy316KbwxuXeKwyx_P5dv9Yp26desD90Dgacy2nkyt7kU4g5_c77gD9S11fY8AhBMPirW3tCaUwhYIoo6l8atF9JMmr1e1ZkPyaYbcHJv-gKNeTvg_cKDWudYGS-M4c__Hkl08YemTmvd5ubtO_-3U-O4bvb/s600/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoylTVQig7-4TpNMFvRbx12qVBy316KbwxuXeKwyx_P5dv9Yp26desD90Dgacy2nkyt7kU4g5_c77gD9S11fY8AhBMPirW3tCaUwhYIoo6l8atF9JMmr1e1ZkPyaYbcHJv-gKNeTvg_cKDWudYGS-M4c__Hkl08YemTmvd5ubtO_-3U-O4bvb/s16000/0-thisweekingeek.jpg" title="This week's themes: Mads Mikkelsen (will get his revenge), you killed my evil loved one, interrupting sex, snow, dogs, royals" /></a></div><b>"Accomplishments"</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4gx675174HWuETqo43gfeubHxeSC9dibhV-thc-vOVU-0RBm8tvcbKvFkNW4PA0mjXp-lmKB6rLSm0p-hwpBfRG94ZvQN0UzkEepGpA3YkAE_fd1EUjjprCMkR4IZy_Z3pQ_MwSNmfh8rHfxLNqv9GAJiv6mAQ7sKKzmEoB6sVpI3xGl8iAL/s298/1-driveawaydolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4gx675174HWuETqo43gfeubHxeSC9dibhV-thc-vOVU-0RBm8tvcbKvFkNW4PA0mjXp-lmKB6rLSm0p-hwpBfRG94ZvQN0UzkEepGpA3YkAE_fd1EUjjprCMkR4IZy_Z3pQ_MwSNmfh8rHfxLNqv9GAJiv6mAQ7sKKzmEoB6sVpI3xGl8iAL/w134-h200/1-driveawaydolls.jpg" title="The REAL title is in the film, don't worry" width="134" /></a></div>In theaters: The internet is dead wrong about Drive-Away Dolls. It's a great time at the movies! Maybe people don't want to forgive the Coen brothers for parting ways, but the lesbian crime caper feels of a piece with their brotherly oeuvre. It has fun characters even in bit parts (JUSTICE FOR CURLY!), some of which are filled by big name performers for extra memorability, and is probably the most raucously funny Coen film since Burn After Reading. I giggled often and sincerely. Two girls take a road trip to Tallahassee in a drive-away car belonging to some criminal types who are none too happy not to have their "best guys" on it. Irresponsibility ensues, and then a fiasco of ridiculous proportions. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan are great as the lead odd couple, and their friendship is actually rather sweet as they navigate the problems caused by, well, their own character flaws, as well as the illicit cargo they eventually discover they're carrying. Tonally, it's crossing the Coen caper film with a sex comedy (very sex positive). Good music, a fine use of the 1999 time period without calling attention to it, and plenty of crazy twists. This is the kind of movie you don't want spoiled. Thoroughly entertaining.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgun8uHgSCUw36ERw-CjbynCUv4kcP_yARNqVMdZzW8MpbefqwVz1SuutuuMc2IyVPk2Y0gsOqvxDVpGFhyShZNpl28csSsU908KdJAb5fVzAR3InJ-739no8gfhRPw8SjTKJ0r3glz94Rg9XXW8-GcDpEWHQ5VtByNGF_Yzpb3KCBfa2qVpDb/s298/2-ridersofjustice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgun8uHgSCUw36ERw-CjbynCUv4kcP_yARNqVMdZzW8MpbefqwVz1SuutuuMc2IyVPk2Y0gsOqvxDVpGFhyShZNpl28csSsU908KdJAb5fVzAR3InJ-739no8gfhRPw8SjTKJ0r3glz94Rg9XXW8-GcDpEWHQ5VtByNGF_Yzpb3KCBfa2qVpDb/w134-h200/2-ridersofjustice.jpg" title="Statistics don't lie" width="134" /></a></div>At home: A film about unintended consequences, Riders of Justice starts with a little girl wanting a blue bike and causes the death of Mads Mikklesen's wife in a train wreck. He's a stoic old soldier now left to raise a teenage daughter he doesn't really know, but when a bunch of broken statisticians and computer security nerds shows up at his door with their research into the incident pointing to foul play by a biker gang, they make cathartic plans to take revenge on the criminals. They also become a kind of kooky family from which a lot of comedy is derived. The invisible lines between cause and effect continually haunt what in lesser hands would be a straight revenge picture. Strong philosophical underpinnings aside, the acting is very strong across the whole cast and the action quite tense. It's an exploration of coping mechanisms, with each character bringing a different outlook based on who they are. But it's also a Christmas story of sorts and comes off as rather touching as well. The father-daughter stuff - a "consequence" of the marriage - is well-developed in a way these kinds of films rarely manage.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrmZOciC6zX5ygSgG0G6uMfgaW4oTH0DWwfgJXZa6Ui-OqSEaDuL-fiB_RWAkMj5I4hl-8859RcZKl_SOPF9fj8oODegDpSxEqYfQwGfV2uLeikADYSm02kgRXhJTS_z1I3xLAG9okJFBIRA0HURzFMfTw6X-QI1nEOGbhXM_9Dy_fZJUg_x6/s300/3-salvation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrmZOciC6zX5ygSgG0G6uMfgaW4oTH0DWwfgJXZa6Ui-OqSEaDuL-fiB_RWAkMj5I4hl-8859RcZKl_SOPF9fj8oODegDpSxEqYfQwGfV2uLeikADYSm02kgRXhJTS_z1I3xLAG9okJFBIRA0HURzFMfTw6X-QI1nEOGbhXM_9Dy_fZJUg_x6/w133-h200/3-salvation.jpg" title="There's not saving anyone here" width="133" /></a></div>The Salvation is a western revenge story - nothing new - from the point of view of a Danish immigrant - a little new - Mads Mikkelsen who loses his family as soon as they come over to a dead end part of the West to join him. There are a lot of clichés, like the outlaw bullies who think they can do anything they like, the cowardly mayor who does what he's told, and so forth, but some intriguing original elements too. Eva Green is an ambiguous figure as the scarred and mute "Princess" on the villains' side, for example. The burned-out town HQ. The modern idea that the bad guys' land grab has to do with oil. Otherwise, this is really about watching a stoic Mads deal with the lawless monsters who took everything away from him, with extreme prejudice. And I'm there for it. He's in a number of revenge picture - which I rather want to call PUNISHMENT pictures because the killing is usually righteous - but they tend to be more interesting and thoughtful than Liam Neeson's similar flicks.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3RXH1ezmoMus_c2bqA0xasbBDGIcSQpWMcx9nYs45OJUix_CT8EsoZlaBC8RdzKcgHCN4OKgsFBdSCPizYmSMbJywFc6Q4nD5dGmnYKebmqqvblEYao2CIAJ1YY4hxB_5yjx_vuoYX3w5g6ZoyjUfHzm5m-461FOhL-oATt-a-5YYJpRjBy8/s275/4-ageofuprising.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG3RXH1ezmoMus_c2bqA0xasbBDGIcSQpWMcx9nYs45OJUix_CT8EsoZlaBC8RdzKcgHCN4OKgsFBdSCPizYmSMbJywFc6Q4nD5dGmnYKebmqqvblEYao2CIAJ1YY4hxB_5yjx_vuoYX3w5g6ZoyjUfHzm5m-461FOhL-oATt-a-5YYJpRjBy8/w145-h200/4-ageofuprising.jpg" title="You can take away my horses..." width="145" /></a></div>A French redress of a German story, Michael Kohlhass might be a recognizable name in central Europe - he's a folk hero that's halfway between Robin Hood and Braveheart - but not here, so of course they saddled it with an overwrought title: Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas. Yeah, that's not gonna turn it into a hit, guys. One thing I've learned looking at Mads Mikkelsen's career is that the last character you want to be in his films is his wife. He plays a horse trader who gets cheated by the new baron, refuses to back down, and that costs him his wife. It's a great little story of injustice, with Mads as usual extremely watchable. Unfortunately, the peasant revolt Kohlhass leads is the boring part. The action beats are good, but there seems to be too much going on behind the scenes and we're often following characters we don't rightly know. Is there a longer version where these people's scenes make sense? Your attention wanders just when you should feel roused. But then, this is bound to be a downer, unless the aristocracy was taken down in the 16th Century and our history books are wrong. Special mention of Denis Lavant as a priest who really embodies how religion was keeping the citizenry under control then (as perhaps, now).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVszEg1XNBExCh1zhPMZ2EKneIi9yzJzZoB-R039YkTjEVCTTD8qP0oTH4IEuzniLBwM7CwskoE3TM3uLe_-uBxqaP2YDUqNLSweobGWp9xyz9cuuyjKbEB3AJ0CVSTq0_HJNg8rDbFm00wLw3LeBgRLj7_HZ3N3P5QD1SWAF0CtEj1tThbUG1/s297/5-polar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVszEg1XNBExCh1zhPMZ2EKneIi9yzJzZoB-R039YkTjEVCTTD8qP0oTH4IEuzniLBwM7CwskoE3TM3uLe_-uBxqaP2YDUqNLSweobGWp9xyz9cuuyjKbEB3AJ0CVSTq0_HJNg8rDbFm00wLw3LeBgRLj7_HZ3N3P5QD1SWAF0CtEj1tThbUG1/w135-h200/5-polar.jpg" title="Still don't understand the title" width="135" /></a></div>Based on the webcomic, Polar's obnoxious direction and hyper-HD look doesn't capture what was visually interesting in the source material - the black and white and orange color palette, the lack of dialog - and too often looks like a music video. Not surprisingly, director Jonas Åkerlund's main credits are music videos, music docs and filmed pop shows. This story of an assassin trying to survive to retirement (the "company" doesn't like it when you get your pension) fails whenever it tries to be oh-so-edgy with its gratuitous nudity, extended sex scenes and splatter violence. Åkerlund's idea of a "comic book movie" is right out of the early 90s, hair and costume design are especially garish. Somehow, Mads Mikkelsen makes it work when HE'S on screen, though the gulf between his reality and Matt Lucas' cartoon villain (he's just AWFUL in this) might just swallow the film whole. The only thing Mads can't save is the comedy scene with the school children. But when he's on screen, it generally works and the action scenes are good. Lots to annoy otherwise, include the sequel bait ending.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xM3Cy9nl1vWyR3fckHQ6Ql03-u5w2jOMaGctjLRPHZqOQoPJ3wxy6FM-Udr-WEC3oTTZauhd90kvN9tpftnh4kcMVyuE73nGY1eTMWwWICDc0l9O9mvyoI5VTqad4mP9PIAO4hNbGxRIJvDHHuPjnTe3JBeW0bW1y7aBsc-M3e88OFgV4apz/s295/6-arctic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xM3Cy9nl1vWyR3fckHQ6Ql03-u5w2jOMaGctjLRPHZqOQoPJ3wxy6FM-Udr-WEC3oTTZauhd90kvN9tpftnh4kcMVyuE73nGY1eTMWwWICDc0l9O9mvyoI5VTqad4mP9PIAO4hNbGxRIJvDHHuPjnTe3JBeW0bW1y7aBsc-M3e88OFgV4apz/w136-h200/6-arctic.jpg" title="That cooler is not bear proof" width="136" /></a></div>In Arctic, Mads Mikkelsen is surviving alone at the North Pole after a plane crash in what seems like the end of a survival movie. But rescue proves problematic so off he goes to try and reach "civilization". Pure procedural, without the benefit of flashbacks or any character building that's not about the crisis at hand. No narration and very little dialog/monologue. It's just him, bleak white wilderness, and the problems of survival. Does Mikkelsen even need to act? He's there, in the arctic wastes (well, Iceland), he's suffering and miserable. But he's not strictly alone and he's hopefully not in the same danger, so the moments of despair have to be acted, and they're strong moments. The movie does cheat on some points - no goggles to prevent snow blindness, for example, so we can see Mads' face - but generally, it's about one man's resourcefulness and determination to survive the many harsh challenges of the environment. The closest comparison I can make is Robert Redford in All Is Lost.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjTckhQ4hfvADFW4WP38ryG4Z2TvdSIo3-jFZui9XlqSl3Z24RO4MPZfa39OP3s5RSR2F4goTYPftr4eSQ2RwRUKLohqlrTgQJ90xHfDq31hhrlGAtTweo9JZOlGhRp835EoTB86cpVlvarDR07SZPOqHrelaukwimmenemsVTIrrQSrqh4SE/s300/7-menchicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjTckhQ4hfvADFW4WP38ryG4Z2TvdSIo3-jFZui9XlqSl3Z24RO4MPZfa39OP3s5RSR2F4goTYPftr4eSQ2RwRUKLohqlrTgQJ90xHfDq31hhrlGAtTweo9JZOlGhRp835EoTB86cpVlvarDR07SZPOqHrelaukwimmenemsVTIrrQSrqh4SE/w133-h200/7-menchicken.jpg" title="Beat Poor Things to some things" width="133" /></a></div>Habitual Mads Mikkelsen collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen creates something very weird with Men & Chicken, the tale of two brothers who discover they have a biological father they knew nothing about, a geneticist apparently living on a small island with, as it turns out, more of their bulbous-nosed brothers. In Riders of Justice (5 years later), Jensen would give Mads a bunch of comic neurotics to deal with. In this one, Mads IS one of the comic neurotics. With what I've just detailed about the story, you might guess as the big twist, but trust me, it's even more insane than that. Black comedy with some bizarre revelations. It's well made, with memorable if grotesque characters, and you can't really be sure where it's going. But the grotesque part of it could well put some audiences off. Is there a character here one can really latch onto? The one sensible brother (David Dencik), perhaps, but he's not necessarily the nicest man either. Let that go and enjoy the surprises as they come. Or do you just want to see movies where everything is familiar formula?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbdxpiPwI5toeXG3YDjzSVZp3byhyteJgk2pvAi1hSvYNmGzmPhl5ZsrWc4HbyBhdBKSQULRWTOnL4DLUzKQ3UKtGcCT7_eGzE6KphVbaaQzXRhu8_WGBNa_hXF4t4yoGABrrdP4sLpjfxXu3sCotUj3VVWmE7y6WOtxv6s7j46sL1kyO96Vk/s314/8-royalaffair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbdxpiPwI5toeXG3YDjzSVZp3byhyteJgk2pvAi1hSvYNmGzmPhl5ZsrWc4HbyBhdBKSQULRWTOnL4DLUzKQ3UKtGcCT7_eGzE6KphVbaaQzXRhu8_WGBNa_hXF4t4yoGABrrdP4sLpjfxXu3sCotUj3VVWmE7y6WOtxv6s7j46sL1kyO96Vk/w127-h200/8-royalaffair.jpg" title="And here you thought being Queen was fun" width="127" /></a></div>An enlightened foreign queen, a childish ineffectual king, attempts at moving a country forward from the Middle Ages stymied by religious hypocrites, and plenty of infidelity. Though it's never been acknowledged, I wouldn't be surprised if the events of A Royal Affair (if not this film's interpretation of them itself) were as much the basis of the Elle Fanning series The Great as the lives of Russia's Catherine, Peter, etc. The "kept queen" story recurs a lot in history, so similarities might just be a coincidence. This page from Danish history is played straight, of course, with tragedy in the offing on a personal and national scale. Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen are pretty pair, but I was more invested in the politics than the romance. King Christian VII is easy to manipulate and we see how two sides - our heroic reformers and the duplicitous status quo - run the country their way, no matter his wishes. Well made, well acted, but I'd probably be more invested if I were Danish.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRoDwvKK0pYDxfuJt_j1HdVSp3h8qootOT-XtYCXU3Wan1-PdZDoKKEYJ4bgbiwTU2zPG6u1W57GKumdpQZMPN9mbbgK9nzYD2zqxdWwNXBxFuvLhJyZn_2s6kJxeONt18TbeCjIsDTSrFSupxzr4fdxGA8N57rYHH8KnJZEgnAkA5nu9zuL7/s262/9-royalscandal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRoDwvKK0pYDxfuJt_j1HdVSp3h8qootOT-XtYCXU3Wan1-PdZDoKKEYJ4bgbiwTU2zPG6u1W57GKumdpQZMPN9mbbgK9nzYD2zqxdWwNXBxFuvLhJyZn_2s6kJxeONt18TbeCjIsDTSrFSupxzr4fdxGA8N57rYHH8KnJZEgnAkA5nu9zuL7/w153-h200/9-royalscandal.jpg" title="It seems Kings are always the worst" width="153" /></a></div>And the week's Companion Film, this one starring Maureen O'Brien (Vicki) in a small role... A Royal Scandal's narration sounds like it was pulled from some arch epistolary novel of the day, but no, it's a modern confection (which gives it a weird docu-drama style). A lot of the dialog is however pulled from historical sources, so there is an epistolary basis for it. In the 18th Century, the Prince of Wales (and eventual George IV) married a princess who would be loved by the people, while he preferred his mistresses. The "scandal" is hers though, as she was put on trial for infidelity so that she would never be crowned queen. A true story that finds echoes in the Prince Charles/Lady Di drama of the mid-90s - this came out not long before her death - so we can see why this was of interest at the time. The past is painted unromantically, but amusingly. You can tell people stink under their perfumes. Great comic acting from a host of recognizable faces, not least of them Richard E. Grant and Susan Lynch as the battling royals.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenjif9X5paTM7ToPVRZCJ8dVkkuSyumVH6fwUdsaRWeKYaFAD4nkr3_kYbEoPBYA0vH7WpEd3RdwlRcbptmlYZlvrJ6Y9-FkK5-79PSa_c4GJCCYyGbGUbFreX6MDLiTcSYIvWMvaFpm-avgP22VVxedFLbfhoshW5xO-hvILcrosN06WNciJ/s308/10-byrneff1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenjif9X5paTM7ToPVRZCJ8dVkkuSyumVH6fwUdsaRWeKYaFAD4nkr3_kYbEoPBYA0vH7WpEd3RdwlRcbptmlYZlvrJ6Y9-FkK5-79PSa_c4GJCCYyGbGUbFreX6MDLiTcSYIvWMvaFpm-avgP22VVxedFLbfhoshW5xO-hvILcrosN06WNciJ/w130-h200/10-byrneff1.jpg" title="Very puritanical considering the suggested nudity and sex stuff to come" width="130" /></a></div>Books: Collecting issues #232-240, Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 1 shows just how much Byrne owed to the original Jack Kirby-Stan Lee run. He was, in many ways, reinterpreting it for a new audience, and turning the book into a hit again. The hit of MY generation, actually. But I started on it late (She-Hulk was on the team), so this is new to me. Well, almost new. Byrne was repeating memes, yes - the classic beats are almost synchronized issue to issue, as I'm finding reading the original run concurrently with this one - but he was also making big moves (like moving the Inhumans to the Moon) that then became FF/Marvel history I took for granted by the time I came to American comics. I don't think the storytelling is as sharp as it would become - there's an over-reliance on narration and exposition that sticks with Byrne through the 80s, but here you sometimes feel like it's replacing missing pages. In this batch of issues, you get Ego the Living Planet, the Puppet Master, Frankie Raye as a possible fifth member, Aunt Petunia, a H.E.R.B.I.E. of sorts (Reed invents the Furby, I'm not kidding), a new look for the Thing (I hate it), and, of course, Doctor Doom. But like the OF run and like Ryan North's current series, Byrne is really playing in the realm of the Twilight Zone/Outer Limits, making me think that playing the FF as standard superheroes is a mistake lesser runs have made.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-90748195913632848672024-03-02T06:00:00.027-04:002024-03-02T06:00:00.138-04:00Who's the Fiddler?<p><b>Who's This?</b> A malicious musician.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrNSIOxdEsHPoYHwddrMeHtlVnUfTbT84CflitW4-WqYS2j8FJRSePW0oKPhyGSg9qesADCtya9XzgC4bke0seRNvGhGMNXMXQb2dGutOHvVey4-eDX9yLhk2yRFA9eEPZh27yq2GjAwW0Av9fSwJbrnhT9Xl6KUTaqmyW_O6WkQHCmV82QyU/s771/who-fiddler0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrNSIOxdEsHPoYHwddrMeHtlVnUfTbT84CflitW4-WqYS2j8FJRSePW0oKPhyGSg9qesADCtya9XzgC4bke0seRNvGhGMNXMXQb2dGutOHvVey4-eDX9yLhk2yRFA9eEPZh27yq2GjAwW0Av9fSwJbrnhT9Xl6KUTaqmyW_O6WkQHCmV82QyU/s16000/who-fiddler0.jpg" title="Considering the art of his day, he really got the quality treatment" /></a></div><b>The facts:</b> Created to fight Jay Garrick in All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948) the Fiddler was created by Robert Kanigher and Lee Elias. He only had one more appearance in the Golden Age (see below) because superheroes were on their way out by that time, but he would appear as one of the villains in the seminal Flash #123 which established the existence of Earth-2. He joins the Injustice Society, which allows him to appear in the Bronze Age All-Star Comics and Infinity Inc. He continues to appear here and there after Crisis until he's killed by Deadshot in Villains United (2005). Blackest Night makes him one of the Black Lanterns, confirming that death as "permanent". It hasn't prevented him from appearing since DC Rebirth, of course, though his part in the Legion of Zoom at least has Thawne plucking him from the past.<br /><b>How you could have heard of him: </b>Various incarnations of the Fiddler, including some female ones, have appeared on the Flash and Stargirl TV shows.<br /><b>Example story: </b>Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September 1948), "The Flash Concerto" by Robert Kanigher, Irwin Hasen and Bernie Sachs<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w2hXSvV7suRUPaUWSOYT9_tDxCyqgLYxG5Pf3gjScRTa-ekDBvgB_MIE0xLqxP7jr7rsSqVEkmcNGBmAPbPDBbZn3mdrp_WLedBhr3NDoqt_k7Ee4jriReyc-Ypa4p3LtPm_Q-NonovcpZaw6-QD-uHYWdjeEDQxvldBfiMyoVOJ56m_2SdD/s622/who-fiddler1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w2hXSvV7suRUPaUWSOYT9_tDxCyqgLYxG5Pf3gjScRTa-ekDBvgB_MIE0xLqxP7jr7rsSqVEkmcNGBmAPbPDBbZn3mdrp_WLedBhr3NDoqt_k7Ee4jriReyc-Ypa4p3LtPm_Q-NonovcpZaw6-QD-uHYWdjeEDQxvldBfiMyoVOJ56m_2SdD/s16000/who-fiddler1.jpg" title="The show must go on" /></a></div>Socialite Joan Williams - the Flash's future wife - has lured a famous retired concert violinist to play at her charity event. Once rich donors sit down to hear him play, however, it turns out he's pretty terrible. He even gets heckled, at which point he takes his mask off and reveals he's an insulted Fiddler. He plays one of HIS trademark tunes and everyone crumples in their seats. Everyone except Jay Garrick, who is soon on stage to prevent the villain from stealing the night's donations.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu4HGLVEZkTKJHTZSUEdA-kMeG7JfazKt1wR3RCpEo-h1LiT1KSrfo0iohv_FHAFe4DO8s4WCMeq-_G2oxfvnxDN67jUsRLyZatTw4FtiwmnraGufWGPFWfI_mpWk3S6bSJyrt9r52vk0GXekuIdG1x8mqtdfQOgLCUSmxir1nWmD4M3iXdYu/s500/who-fiddler2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu4HGLVEZkTKJHTZSUEdA-kMeG7JfazKt1wR3RCpEo-h1LiT1KSrfo0iohv_FHAFe4DO8s4WCMeq-_G2oxfvnxDN67jUsRLyZatTw4FtiwmnraGufWGPFWfI_mpWk3S6bSJyrt9r52vk0GXekuIdG1x8mqtdfQOgLCUSmxir1nWmD4M3iXdYu/s16000/who-fiddler2.jpg" title="If you don't like the music, please leave the concert hall" /></a></div>Like all great posers, he blames the instrument for why he played badly. It's a great weapon, but maybe isn't tuned for concerns. He's the FIDDLER, not the VIOLINIST, if such a distinction is useful. The music makes two big busts (statues, not society ladies) crash on top of him, and the Fiddler is off with the loot. But Jay has an idea of how to trap the Fiddler using his own vanity.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcG6d8VqmQgxfsDcbrULFdKWDz5btXL_1iF5wlGgStLyjmiNMaF1cECbjgKwP_0DcCvkbHsKWpHK7pYRu-A__BVSjD74lGAuv80VTEY1nI1nz3rQ3BjLH8h40SmUmtlDo9Teq5voV11cgu0lsw_c3uJxFT4QbKysS0Xr__c8dagZljmLE32ki/s500/who-fiddler3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcG6d8VqmQgxfsDcbrULFdKWDz5btXL_1iF5wlGgStLyjmiNMaF1cECbjgKwP_0DcCvkbHsKWpHK7pYRu-A__BVSjD74lGAuv80VTEY1nI1nz3rQ3BjLH8h40SmUmtlDo9Teq5voV11cgu0lsw_c3uJxFT4QbKysS0Xr__c8dagZljmLE32ki/s16000/who-fiddler3.jpg" title="Wuxtry! Wuxtry!" /></a></div>The old Craig's List trick! And it works because the Fiddler was sure to check to obits page the next day. This is Supervillain 101 we don't always think about. Now, the most important thing you have to know about the Fiddler is that he drives car shaped like a violin.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-7eIq6gU5lnkQ0Q9ICsjrg3wDNz6G-1QsiyQ8Q2WUM1wmW8PTC3smKjZmqNgH7tH9UG51XWqnG9TVdtz7tlN4vlo2i_qrhoD0cpPvgGb5fgOIX7zS40YSCS9UIgFAv4ISbP6hAKAFI5qSdupirXnn0qELwDnYkfZL8AUIwivDpobDFi2AZDn/s500/who-fiddler4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-7eIq6gU5lnkQ0Q9ICsjrg3wDNz6G-1QsiyQ8Q2WUM1wmW8PTC3smKjZmqNgH7tH9UG51XWqnG9TVdtz7tlN4vlo2i_qrhoD0cpPvgGb5fgOIX7zS40YSCS9UIgFAv4ISbP6hAKAFI5qSdupirXnn0qELwDnYkfZL8AUIwivDpobDFi2AZDn/s16000/who-fiddler4.jpg" title="Fetid" /></a></div>It's really hard to park, which is probably why he cracked and turn to crime. That and being a frustrated artist. That one comes up a lot. Another important thing to note is that he can use his fiddle like a bow.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11S0TyMoT65jaHa2SMbKTYtFcvK5uj0WaX6cBHbFYM4nxrVjWiQ0pL6ZuubIyV5lmblL4zPyV7JrjHfxgcAFdPmHmqeZXxteN1dWyuDzQ3RhnPvGaesRvbjxno7ZKqNp01othICstGulzLYUXKMxsV-kVqz6KOCVuXJmznI-s5Vf9v3vyqC2l/s500/who-fiddler5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11S0TyMoT65jaHa2SMbKTYtFcvK5uj0WaX6cBHbFYM4nxrVjWiQ0pL6ZuubIyV5lmblL4zPyV7JrjHfxgcAFdPmHmqeZXxteN1dWyuDzQ3RhnPvGaesRvbjxno7ZKqNp01othICstGulzLYUXKMxsV-kVqz6KOCVuXJmznI-s5Vf9v3vyqC2l/s16000/who-fiddler5.jpg" title="I understand why it's never properly tuned now" /></a></div>But late-era Jay Garrick is already pulling vibration tricks like he's Barry Allen, so no go. Until Fiddler shoots an explosive arrow (did he raid Oliver Queen's quiver?) and Jay is out for the count. This time, there IS a Flash obituary in the paper. There's also an article about a lost concerto being found and stored at the Keystone Museum, a concerto experts say is unplayable. "Challenge accepted!" says the Fiddler, foolish to think the Flash won't plant MORE stories in the paper.<br /><br />Now, remember how I made a big deal of the Fiddle Car? Let me present the FIDDLE-SUB!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWwUTPfDNo7Uolq_RGMnmQLDZm8_wEUV1fnyXZKWCdBPvQZ6LdRegWkhDC3gzenmpNEsRuPhciEURelUXfJ77tDSPcHH2STRkR8Oxc3IizQGQystoLNez8Nuxbk1f4rf74zv_YukJGjv0NeviInyML3IDQY8gokYB5Mnkp7LSCqDzJUprzN-y/s600/who-fiddler6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWwUTPfDNo7Uolq_RGMnmQLDZm8_wEUV1fnyXZKWCdBPvQZ6LdRegWkhDC3gzenmpNEsRuPhciEURelUXfJ77tDSPcHH2STRkR8Oxc3IizQGQystoLNez8Nuxbk1f4rf74zv_YukJGjv0NeviInyML3IDQY8gokYB5Mnkp7LSCqDzJUprzN-y/s16000/who-fiddler6.jpg" title="Sub sonics" /></a></div>Is it too early for me to declare the Fiddler might be the greatest supervillain of the Golden Age? Maybe. Because the armored truck contains not the prized (and fictional) concerto, but the Flash himself. The Fiddler lobs his fiddle at him in surrender--NOT!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPvP0a3aVjgAx3WlTcAgeHMTs1QO7JYWw7ZNmHVKFjGP_wOVR3ygCsrlrDu2IwrhGKYUHfgv1oixUsV1qWh-q2JOrEoSo4WSP50ZWsxAL8eGR8wl8mRijP_zrWZGJNZVgaZ3aboP_leO0phyphenhyphenpCeMq1YpbaTOMAPyefAOYuv5_rGHjDQ4W0zIl/s500/who-fiddler7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPvP0a3aVjgAx3WlTcAgeHMTs1QO7JYWw7ZNmHVKFjGP_wOVR3ygCsrlrDu2IwrhGKYUHfgv1oixUsV1qWh-q2JOrEoSo4WSP50ZWsxAL8eGR8wl8mRijP_zrWZGJNZVgaZ3aboP_leO0phyphenhyphenpCeMq1YpbaTOMAPyefAOYuv5_rGHjDQ4W0zIl/s16000/who-fiddler7.jpg" title="The jig is up!" /></a></div>The fiddle is explosive, and this time, the Fiddler puts the Flash in a torpedo and shoots him out into the bottom of the Mississippi. And he's back on track to win that Greatest award! Of course the Flash uses "physics" to redirect the torpedo up and sinks the sub. He'll have plenty of time to fiddle with his next plan... IN JAIL! (It's a Fox TV programming joke, but Jay really does say stuff like that a lot in this story.)<br /><br />Love a good themed villain, and the Fiddler is a strong early example that isn't attached to Batman. But where does he get those wonderful toys?<br /><br /><b>Who's Next? </b>A blazing All-Star.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-35358019021386641572024-03-01T06:00:00.010-04:002024-03-01T06:00:00.144-04:00What a Card: Tasha Yar<p><i>Being a look back at cards from the Star Trek CCG, and what I thought of them back when they were fresh and new... in EPISODE order. The regular crew of the Enterprise-D were pulled from all over the show's history, but Tasha's pic is from the pilot. I never got to this one in the original Rolodex, so it's going to be a new review...</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPO0hgGBYJKAvHehr07KKEbt-tIRFXv-2x9Cw4ULM7Vfh39_VRmeWPx-ikDwDY1eqOEOmCH4Cm-gFYdXUBVyynjOaOQA5GM_uxV5NIPYbY_QbagE7JuNlwS8I-qkUNjNCaBZRA81Cxa3Iy-AV9L-0KQPPXb2edA6Pg_ytaeqI-c2V5NHVfhOQ/s699/13-ccg-tashayar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPO0hgGBYJKAvHehr07KKEbt-tIRFXv-2x9Cw4ULM7Vfh39_VRmeWPx-ikDwDY1eqOEOmCH4Cm-gFYdXUBVyynjOaOQA5GM_uxV5NIPYbY_QbagE7JuNlwS8I-qkUNjNCaBZRA81Cxa3Iy-AV9L-0KQPPXb2edA6Pg_ytaeqI-c2V5NHVfhOQ/s16000/13-ccg-tashayar.jpg" title="When you first meet Q" /></a></div><b>EXPANSION:</b> Premiere<br /><br /><b>PICTURE: </b>Tasha is captured on the seldom-used battle bridge set, which is perfect for a tactical/security officer. Her stare and the movement in her hair speaks to some action, and the card is moodier than a lot of personnel taken from the brightly-lit Enterprise sets. Deserves a 4.<br /><br /><b>LORE:</b> Many important bits, including her full name, rank, post and an efficient retelling of her back story. And of COURSE, it has to mention her dalliance with Data, in words that would be reprised in the franchise later, because they're so delicious. Going to go with 3.6 here.<br /><br /><b>TREK SENSE:</b> Just two skills? Are we finally hitting a snag? She's only a lieutenant, so only a Staff icon even if she leads (Leadership) the Security aboard the Enterprise-D. She has Honor, fair enough (one of her early showcases was an episode called "Code of Honor", which the game has wisely chosen to ignore in terms of sourcing cards). Annnnd that's it? It's a tough old world for Security personnel, and there just aren't very many skills associated with them. As someone who survived on a harsh world and at a young age is now in charge of the flagship's security, I think an extra Security would have been in order. She piloted a shuttle, at the very least, in All Good Things, so Navigation might have bolstered her stats. If the card had been made later, she would most certainly have had a special skill, probably to do with ship or personnel battle. Alas... As for the attributes, the Integrity goes with the Honor, though being quick to anger might have dropped it a touch. She's smart enough, though I don't know that the show provides evidence of a 7. High Strength goes with her line of work. You can tell Decipher felt bad about the skills, because the attributes feel generous. A disappointing (but understandable as the game stood in the Premiere Set) 1.8.<br /><b><br />STOCKABILITY: </b>As the Federation got more and more personnel, Tasha became less and less useful. Tasha Yar-Alternate, from Yesterday's Enterprise, may need an AU door to get into play, but she's exactly the same PLUS a Phaser download. Why would you use the original Tasha instead? Well, Decipher answered that question by making 2-skill personnel "support personnel", and Assign Support Personnel makes her report directly to a ship, or with some discarding, downloads her directly to a ship or facility. En route reporting is good, but Tasha's skills are extremely common in the Federation, so that's not good. Strong attributes and SECURITY are perhaps better, but I'm afraid they didn't really rescue Tasha after all. Armus says she only gets a 2.<br /><br /><b>TOTAL: </b>11.4 (57%) - She didn't make it through one season, and she didn't make it to a passing grade here.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-4859483862464010782024-02-29T06:00:00.007-04:002024-02-29T07:41:48.069-04:00One Panel #753: Leap Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKxzCd5gjCeO1Qqualmhye_2600iCfCs7uxUVY0E0atHdrGha0mXJfp-9D0CmIBPr4h0uijtDz-SHhZASrZuMBAGxDYFFS3hYb6k-gOdRVs88kbsHur0ovePfyfrKcNLlXKY5m_f_RSsuZl4yLcw8F46qlqXGxU2dQwX6XUb9gDZbAndcRhce/s436/onepanel753-action56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKxzCd5gjCeO1Qqualmhye_2600iCfCs7uxUVY0E0atHdrGha0mXJfp-9D0CmIBPr4h0uijtDz-SHhZASrZuMBAGxDYFFS3hYb6k-gOdRVs88kbsHur0ovePfyfrKcNLlXKY5m_f_RSsuZl4yLcw8F46qlqXGxU2dQwX6XUb9gDZbAndcRhce/s16000/onepanel753-action56.jpg" title="What are all these saturnine planets in our vicinity?" /></a></div><i>From Superman: "Design of Doom" by Jerry Siegel, John Sikela and George Roussos, Action Comics #56 (January 1943)<br /></i><br />I'm a little bit surprised that in late 1942, Superman is still just leaping and not flying. Or he may be flying - I mean, from Metropolis to Africa isn't exactly a "tall building" - but is at least drawn like he's doing a free jump.<br /><br />Anyway, it's February 29th, allegedly Superman's birthday. That bonus day you get every 4 years. Do something you never have time for.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-74538591999633101862024-02-28T06:00:00.018-04:002024-02-28T06:00:00.139-04:00Blake's 7 #8: Duel<p><i>"Blake is sitting up in a tree, Travis is sitting up in another tree. Unless they're planning to throw nuts at one another, I don't see much of a fight developing before it gets light."</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAKXGhyphenhyphendk_uMOsDKyaigYu5WXMJrRG6SozBVYTunqm6hs6WuMin0EqL1xUYzQzm148A9NIxMGsyxdYOg6T_Dmr3kRUi3s4U_b6a9ZR-ghlioy0m18EecD90HTw6c-DwmSq598hy_xR_prRg3ugq1oL-GkdEzdEal6YdXRRctw8zHnvBobJW_l/s600/blakes8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAKXGhyphenhyphendk_uMOsDKyaigYu5WXMJrRG6SozBVYTunqm6hs6WuMin0EqL1xUYzQzm148A9NIxMGsyxdYOg6T_Dmr3kRUi3s4U_b6a9ZR-ghlioy0m18EecD90HTw6c-DwmSq598hy_xR_prRg3ugq1oL-GkdEzdEal6YdXRRctw8zHnvBobJW_l/s16000/blakes8.jpg" title="Blake writing a big charity check" /></a></div><b>IN THIS ONE...</b> Blake and Travis must fight one another at the behest of god-like aliens.<br /><br /><b>REVIEW: </b>A strange hybrid, this one. It prominently features Federation baddie Travis and shows us Mutoids and pursuit ships (as more than blips on a screen anyway), but also indulges in a derivative Star Trek plot. But what I hold against it is that it hints at ideas, but doesn't make them clear, as if the script were filled with orphaned scenes and lines. Most notably, and I'm starting at the end, what is the nature of the powerful being that puts Blake and Travis to the test? After spending the episode showing disdain for the cruel old woman (Giroc), the younger Sinofar fades away. As given, it might just be one of their powers, but Giroc doesn't vanish. It seems to suggest... something. Giroc is mean and bloodthirsty like their people were, but Sinofar is perhaps too young to be a survivor from their apocalypse. It's almost like she's the people's conscience made manifest, or their regret, their need to atone. Giroc is really alone there.<br /><br />We might also wonder if these people are, or ever were, human. Their timeline implies they were civilized before humanity went out into space. But we don't really have a date for Blake's 7. Destiny Colony (from the previous episode) was founded a century ago, BEFORE the Federation, but 100 years isn't enough to mutate into a telepathic species. Are Cally's telepathic people human? Or is this universe as full of humanish people as others in the television landscape? The green lighting at the top of the show seemed to promise actual aliens, but this mood is dropped by the end (sadly).<br /><br />The slightly nebulous test of character involves Blake and the Gorn--I mean, Travis fighting it out in the wilderness, building makeshift weapons and traps. It's to the death, but Blake wins by NOT killing when he has a chance, stating that he would have enjoyed it too much and therefore stayed his hand. Sinofar seems to think that was the lesson she wanted to teach - Blake had already learned it, Travis never would - but how this would have been taught if he HAD murdered Travis isn't clear. The crone and the younger woman (in a see-through blouse that seems post-watershed indeed) also through the potential "death of a friend" into the mix - Jenna for Blake, but some random Mutoid for Travis, not an equivalent - as... hostages to force them to fight? Can't really wrap my head around the plot. So it's a lot of portentous talking (some of it hard to understand under the distortion on coms) and not enough focus.<br /><br />The battle is well played, mind you. The forest is properly creepy. The trees are interesting to look at. The other property that's part of the show's DNA, but that doesn't have a rubric in these articles - Robin Hood - is well represented with a quarterstaff fight (though it should be Blake v Gan for it to be proper Hood). Travis' Trap looks nasty (if only their machetes weren't so blunt). I do think the music in this episode - not by Dudley Simpson on account of the director having something against him - is very noisy and I'm not always sure if it IS music, or some red alert klaxon. The Mutoid has a good role, and it's interesting that Travis does try to bond with her, but fails to. She's basically a human robot (with vampiric needs) and can't herself connect because she has no path and, in a way, no future. Check out that helmet hair too!<br /><br />There is a difference between ambiguity and vagueness and Duel falls too often on the latter side. Strong ambiguity is, for example, Avon refusing to prove he cares. Vila questions it and wonders if he missed something. Cally confirms he had. No more is said. What he missed is that Avon DOES care, but showing it would be like saying the sky is black. He's not unfeeling, he's merely logical and pragmatic. These are the kinds of conversations we saw on Star Trek between Bones and Spock, but because Avon isn't singled out as an alien, we're perhaps left more mystified. On the other side, Travis gives every impression that he knew Kiera before she was turned into a Mutoid, and that they perhaps had a romantic relationship. That's his attempts to reach out to her and subsequent almost angry dismissal play. But we're not TOLD this explicitly. Another highlight is Blake confessing that "there are six of us" with just enough hesitation to address the show's title and its casting limitations. <br /><br /><b>NOT MY FEDERATION:</b> In Star Trek, Starfleet and the Klingons were prevented from fighting by god-like aliens who forged the Organian Treaty. Blake's version looks more painful (and shorter term). As hinted at several times, the premise here mirrors that of the first season TOS episode "Arena", which had Kirk fight an alien captain with whatever was available in the wilderness, while the action was broadcast to the ship above. Like Blake, Kirk refuses to kill and the Metrons commend him on his civilized nature.<br /><br /><b>BUT MIGHT BE MY EMPIRE:</b> Like the original Stormtroopers, Mutoids are devoid of identity (clones there, cybernetic organisms who have been brainwashed here), ensuring their loyalty.<br /><br /><b>WHO?: </b>The episode's director, Douglas Camfield, worked on over a dozen Doctor Who serials, including The Time Meddler, The Web of Fear, Terror of the Zygons, and as an production assistant, the very first episode, An Unearthly Child. His falling out with composer Dudley Simpson was during the production of The Crusade. Isla Blaire (Sinofar) was Isabella Fitzwilliam in The King's Demons. Patsy Smart (Giroc) was the old bag lady in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and a character was named Patsy after her in the Jago & Litefoot audio series. Terry Nation's appellation "Mutoids" sounds a lot like Skaro's "Mutos", though their natures are completely different.<br /><br /><b>REWATCHABILITY: Medium(ish):</b> It doesn't quite connect, and has a very derivative plot to boot, but ALMOST does. I'd rather give it credit for what I read between the lines.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-33377156814659606692024-02-27T06:00:00.033-04:002024-02-27T06:00:00.132-04:00Who's Hot and Who's Not? Ep.15: Blue Beetle to Boy Commandos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzwvOQZHxQSl2DtuLBUaj6boLW7zOO2URdPBGcThlIOYY4WBdv9Ct_iWSWSVulBd6KKn2FCGeuxzrZrsEOmZ2dijA0BXohi4smpWoUt1b7jZ8q9iLhto3VQN-aRDQHcIsnRvISjsYNosRAPIr5-1u9MVHFyTsN4i0ClbpH5ckJt67E5vGyCWk/s500/whoshot3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzwvOQZHxQSl2DtuLBUaj6boLW7zOO2URdPBGcThlIOYY4WBdv9Ct_iWSWSVulBd6KKn2FCGeuxzrZrsEOmZ2dijA0BXohi4smpWoUt1b7jZ8q9iLhto3VQN-aRDQHcIsnRvISjsYNosRAPIr5-1u9MVHFyTsN4i0ClbpH5ckJt67E5vGyCWk/s16000/whoshot3.jpg" title="Top left corner this month" /></a></div><p>The Charlton Spider-Man. A demonic stuntman. An assassin that pops up now and then. A Legion Academy teacher. Child soldiers, but fun. Which are hot, which are not? The Girls of the Hot Squad begin their assessment of Who's Who #3's entries based on sheer datability.<br /><br />Featuring permanent panelists Isabel, Nathalie, Josée, Shotgun, and Amélie.<br /><br /><b>Listen to Episode 15</b> (the usual mature language warnings apply) by clicking <b><a href="http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/whoshot15" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>!<br /><br />Or you can right-click “download”, choose <b><a href="http://fwpodcasts.com/ma/ohotmu/whoshot15.mp3" target="_blank">“Save Target/Link As”, and select a location on your computer to save the file (31 MB)</a></b>.<br /><br />Or subscribe to the feed on <b><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/ohotmu-or-not/id1080153726" target="_blank">Apple</a></b> or <b><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3R78KqUAA8B8EuyJOu0lLO" target="_blank">Spotify</a></b>!<br /><br />You can follow along! Here are the characters we cover in this episode.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpshK1RGNxmda-DRdK7BZZsJfY5y9QaLt82uMMkeRNP4tlaO9Nu7BJRhoB2g5iixXu0ZP0dqfbh-r1vMuhjFjCUeq1ZV2pNAUEeRoUhM6qNc9aZf7Rqo8OFWHZ4l28CWVgecUq6Op2nAPidtnxcWGqqSKjdk4O76YqlWcJJnUVLwgF-0qFEWKC/s755/whoshot-bluebeetle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpshK1RGNxmda-DRdK7BZZsJfY5y9QaLt82uMMkeRNP4tlaO9Nu7BJRhoB2g5iixXu0ZP0dqfbh-r1vMuhjFjCUeq1ZV2pNAUEeRoUhM6qNc9aZf7Rqo8OFWHZ4l28CWVgecUq6Op2nAPidtnxcWGqqSKjdk4O76YqlWcJJnUVLwgF-0qFEWKC/s16000/whoshot-bluebeetle1.jpg" title="Your choice: No mandibles..." /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzNG4ICh2BX3mKO73cndTgmYEG32cTBQnipqG6iZIfGaiBcwehUZc_U5yT-MR6CnijU6i01cxHNITJOJ-QTse1-MJUsxlPQZxvT6thSMI916UZjEJORuuEYSLI4eOV_PoJ6Q_Ac6pW5yf43o55caH7pEYqHALGqypQDrSOKTmVwTiIQpAjk-j/s755/whoshot-bluebeetle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzNG4ICh2BX3mKO73cndTgmYEG32cTBQnipqG6iZIfGaiBcwehUZc_U5yT-MR6CnijU6i01cxHNITJOJ-QTse1-MJUsxlPQZxvT6thSMI916UZjEJORuuEYSLI4eOV_PoJ6Q_Ac6pW5yf43o55caH7pEYqHALGqypQDrSOKTmVwTiIQpAjk-j/s16000/whoshot-bluebeetle2.jpg" title="...or mandibles" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC1zEAKAgD171z9gs7FuImlkoHJUfc_A9XYhla3BiH-fnpFWl807KkA40VlzU9VhJVNDjk0Jk7ZpjvjkHQvzQUcxVndOuYsDv0bOpjDrbsJcnsIiP4vR_c5jQB7eG7EOuyGsqYSEGNGaDDvugcr0Et4HsgbXFGEh-jck1PQa3PQS42ANf3toS/s755/whoshot-bluedevil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC1zEAKAgD171z9gs7FuImlkoHJUfc_A9XYhla3BiH-fnpFWl807KkA40VlzU9VhJVNDjk0Jk7ZpjvjkHQvzQUcxVndOuYsDv0bOpjDrbsJcnsIiP4vR_c5jQB7eG7EOuyGsqYSEGNGaDDvugcr0Et4HsgbXFGEh-jck1PQa3PQS42ANf3toS/s16000/whoshot-bluedevil.jpg" title="Have you ever danced with the devil...?" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VTFeD6O9V4g_GFGBYijy0HcnNb7jOn8SCqKGbpHQos6B4WT2ynbWXcbwmww50NBi1cTodin84ME98Rd3AdFhZKM2OZoO7LkZfMpKWYnGVURg5Bs7KrbMZtiBO_a3KINPITy__IWln7GOMRxOruEUuS55L8KS6tjETKb5_XMjQOLkrCJpfSt0/s755/whoshot-bolt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VTFeD6O9V4g_GFGBYijy0HcnNb7jOn8SCqKGbpHQos6B4WT2ynbWXcbwmww50NBi1cTodin84ME98Rd3AdFhZKM2OZoO7LkZfMpKWYnGVURg5Bs7KrbMZtiBO_a3KINPITy__IWln7GOMRxOruEUuS55L8KS6tjETKb5_XMjQOLkrCJpfSt0/s16000/whoshot-bolt.jpg" title="Paris Cullins owns this episode" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWTyBDmpdVuu6qJqTnFbZAHfa4-LjXE3WlUW8Fj3UEooit4bTdHzuSXRqVWQbutgqLq_p2LlC3YWBTx5Vqh4A3BMNtBUuJXx4leMwDlO0mmwWRU4U5qStAur_9-XY7lkjcukGiPMTmmspgPy2-Ch5cRZkJHXjcEzMayNmjz7ImT9ZS-sBtlpM/s755/whoshot-bouncingboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWTyBDmpdVuu6qJqTnFbZAHfa4-LjXE3WlUW8Fj3UEooit4bTdHzuSXRqVWQbutgqLq_p2LlC3YWBTx5Vqh4A3BMNtBUuJXx4leMwDlO0mmwWRU4U5qStAur_9-XY7lkjcukGiPMTmmspgPy2-Ch5cRZkJHXjcEzMayNmjz7ImT9ZS-sBtlpM/s16000/whoshot-bouncingboy.jpg" title="Boing!" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ75ArdVDiaAzjI_3IM5P85-TAdlJrJt_KGxdzSgVHHtG0w4cDAFS-RprO_3XFT2tL68HEK0khBYxjqDyE4MSNNU0v8tGGEneE37Sjo0kelXo2sELvJQCj0nUV52E6mZ3oNWila5hSq_RTVLvvmcJC1uasNmaFXztNeMQXuTACjZEPyJQC094X/s755/whoshot-boycommandos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ75ArdVDiaAzjI_3IM5P85-TAdlJrJt_KGxdzSgVHHtG0w4cDAFS-RprO_3XFT2tL68HEK0khBYxjqDyE4MSNNU0v8tGGEneE37Sjo0kelXo2sELvJQCj0nUV52E6mZ3oNWila5hSq_RTVLvvmcJC1uasNmaFXztNeMQXuTACjZEPyJQC094X/s16000/whoshot-boycommandos.jpg" title="Kid gangs go to war" /></a></div><b>Credits:</b><br />"Can You Dig It?" (Theme for oHOTmu or NOT?) by Brian Tyler.<br /><br />Bonus clips from: "She Loves You" by the Beatles; "Unknown Stuntman" by Lee Majors; "Queer Tattoo" by Stephen Lynch; "Mo Bounce" by Iggy Azalea; and "Soldier Child" by Wilco.<br /><br />Thanks for leaving a comment!<p></p>Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-63224053347653166902024-02-26T06:00:00.020-04:002024-02-26T08:05:32.669-04:00Star Trek #1650: Buying Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mtwKyhX5xpfki3TYI5T6yinWVF-ZwCxIMCaP_57saASDpg4sn6vEOxwh9YXXHnikWZxXGvA01f8a9W3W2XmWQhmYBhk7J3I8OKAELKHiA9ubYjQg0-ZUqAO-yX6dArsQVhvj63gC3xB_w_vztCThbRkz8qurzvE8CbqHJGck4OKsDFGT-yk0/s652/st1650.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mtwKyhX5xpfki3TYI5T6yinWVF-ZwCxIMCaP_57saASDpg4sn6vEOxwh9YXXHnikWZxXGvA01f8a9W3W2XmWQhmYBhk7J3I8OKAELKHiA9ubYjQg0-ZUqAO-yX6dArsQVhvj63gC3xB_w_vztCThbRkz8qurzvE8CbqHJGck4OKsDFGT-yk0/s16000/st1650.jpg" title="Way to bury the lead" /></a></div><b>PUBLICATION:</b> Star Trek: S.C.E. #32, Pocket Books, October 2003<br /><br /><b>CREATORS: </b>Robert Greenberger<br /><br /><b>STARDATE: </b>Unknown, a little over a week since Ishtar Rising, and about 10 years earlier<br /><br /><b>PLOT:</b> Detective chroniton waves, the da Vinci investigates a hollow asteroid with ancient alien tech now being operated (badly) by Lant, a Ferengi who's using time travel to make a fortune. Gomez, Corsi and Carol are forced to go naked in order to follow him back 10 years downtime to a less civilized Ferenginar, along with Tev, acting as their "owner". When they finally catch up to him, they force him to lose everything again before it disrupts Ferengi markets and return home just as the asteroid is about to implode, and escape with only scratches to their pride.<br /><br /><b>CONTINUITY: </b>An ancient artifact with time travel capabilities makes the crew worry that it's another Guardian of Forever and name-check a couple of other time travel incidents, the Temporal Cold War, and Temporal Investigations (Tribbles and Tribble-ations). They use Voyager's antichroniton trick (Before and After) to get there, having read the data Voyager is now sending to the Alpha Quadrant (not home yet, it's only a year or so after the end of the Dominion War). They travel to Zek's Ferenginar, not Rom's (which they note). They meet Brunt (DS9) and Tev puts money on agricultural futures on Sherman's Planet (The Trouble with Tribbles).<br /><br /><b>DIVERGENCES: </b>Oddly, Tev's look on the cover has those dark mask holes for eyes, like the Tellarites from Journey to Babel. By 2003, Star Trek: Enterprise had given us a more realistic look for them.<br /><br /><b>SCREENSHOT OF THE WEEK -</b> The Naked RIGHT Now...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkH2qX7gGUPYT56-W2Gh3XC6FBgl3AlSy_IhUNKrjsGxtb5fU3yVtL_lUMYrM8aQp3k9u5h5VK3GLSnVz-zNDrZAa68OBsSiY_tHOi17QSti16w7HYfwyYz74vUWb5oP50yp3ov4dpAG_uj4e4gxt3Jg5SOVxUjI6bHc8g95bj6P5oV9igZnDx/s600/st1650b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkH2qX7gGUPYT56-W2Gh3XC6FBgl3AlSy_IhUNKrjsGxtb5fU3yVtL_lUMYrM8aQp3k9u5h5VK3GLSnVz-zNDrZAa68OBsSiY_tHOi17QSti16w7HYfwyYz74vUWb5oP50yp3ov4dpAG_uj4e4gxt3Jg5SOVxUjI6bHc8g95bj6P5oV9igZnDx/s16000/st1650b.jpg" title="DENIED!" /></a></div><b>REVIEW:</b> The episode that could never be shot! Bob Greenberger has fun with the premise, but if you get any prurient lasciviousness from his prose, it's really on you, the reader. Once they take their clothes off in resignation, there are no descriptions or anything untoward except the fact that Zek-era Ferengi leer at them (but then, they would even if clothed). It's still a physical ordeal on rainy Ferenginar, and of course, there are altercations with the more handsy types, but otherwise, it's a pretty tame version of the story. As line editor, Greenberger certainly knows where the, well, the line is. To me, all the instances of oo-mox are more disturbing anyway. Nice to see anything new for the big homeworlds, of course, and there are some fun bits at the Exchange and on the streets. Corsi's a badass, Tev's starting to warm up to the team. The way a Ferengi uses time travel is what they would obviously do with it and well handled. I do wonder about the shipboard subplot about one of the new ensigns thinking Bart is attractive and getting a lesson in how scuttlebutt works. It's cute, but doesn't really do anything in line with the themes (unless it's "buying time" i.e. page count, ha). I like that the series explores some of its lower decks characters - like it IS a small ship - but I don't know that Ensign Falcão reappears in a substantial role (they often just turn into extras). Will have to wait and see, I suppose, but I hope to see her again.Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.com0