Trisha’s Take: The “Big Bang” problem
The beginning of this blog post and this review has been very difficult for me to write, so I’m just going to come out and say it:
I think that Wil Wheaton is wrong about “The Big Bang Theory,” aka TBBT.
As people who admire Wil Wheaton’s work know, he’s had several very fun guest appearances on the show as “Evil Wil Wheaton,” the alternate universe version of himself who for several years was main character Sheldon’s nemesis, helped further along the initial break-up between Penny and Leonard, used his fame to line-jump during a midnight screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark that had 21 extra seconds of footage, and then finally get off the “shit-list” by giving to Sheldon a mint-in-box Wesley Crusher action figure, and that’s just the first iteration of the guest character’s story arc.
When he threw open the comments on a blog entry about the show to people who had questions about his first guest appearance, the following exchange took place:
Q: I think TBBT has really made geek chic in some respects, which I’m all for! Do you think the show’s had an impact making geeks more mainstream and funny?
Wheaton: I think it’s part of the general uncloseting of geeks, if that makes sense.
It’s no secret that I originally thought BBT was making fun of us, and I couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t until late in the first season that I gave it a real chance and ended up seeing that it was laughing *with* us and not *at* us. I love that the show embraces its geekiness, refuses to dumb down its humor, and manages to find a balance between mainstream and nerd humor. That’s a lot harder than it seems, and is sort of like playing Comedy Operation. If you touch the sides, the audience’s red nose lights up and instead of laughing, there’s a loud buzzing noise. It isn’t pretty.
Based on those words alone, I put “The Big Bang Theory” on my list of shows that were kind to geeks and science; however, some opinion pieces I saw earlier this year had me questioning his words. Read the rest of this post »
In: Opinion/Editorial, Opinions/Editorials, Science · Tagged with: geeks vs. the world, opinions, stereotypical geeks, The Big Bang Theory
Trailer Watch: Ender’s Game
For every dollar I spend going to see Ender’s Game, I vow to spend twice as much in a donation to a gay rights group. Won’t you join me?
In: Trailers, Uncategorized · Tagged with: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Ender's Game, Hailee Stanfield, Harrison Ford, Trailer Watch
Trisha’s Take: When feminism and male webcomics artists collide
When it comes to reading webcomics, I have a set list of nine “dailies” I read and a few that I read which update less frequently. And while I’ve definitely settled on these few, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t read other webcomics or aren’t familiar with their work. Also, my love of comics and comics strips isn’t exactly a casual one; hell, my high school Extended Essay was about the role of women in comic books from the 1940s to the 1990s.
So when I saw a friend’s Facebook update decrying how Sinfest has become a den of “ludicrous feminist mediocrity,” I had to check out today’s strip:
Click to embiggen! (c) Tatusya Ishida
In: Comics, Opinions/Editorials · Tagged with: editorials, feminism, opinions, Penny Arcade, Sinfest, Webcomics
This is how a celebrity should interact with his/her fans
[There] is one meeting [with fans at the recent Megacon] that stands out, that moved me so much, I’ve been struggling to find the right words to recount it. On Saturday, a young woman walked up to my table with her husband and her two children. She handed me a typed letter and told me that she knew she wouldn’t be able to get through what she wanted to say to me, and would I please read it.
I unfolded it, and read her story. When she was a young girl, she had a serious complication due to her Lupus, and her doctors told her that she would never walk again. She had a photo of me, though, that she took with her to physical therapy every day, and the therapists would hold it up for her and encourage her to walk toward it—toward me—while she recovered. She made a promise to herself, she said, that she would walk again some day, and if I was ever in her town, she would walk up to meet me. At the end of her letter, she thanked me for being there, so she could walk to meet me.
I looked up at her through tears, and she looked back at me through her own. I stood up, walked around my table, and put about fifteen feet between us. I held my arms open, and asked her to walk over to me. She began to cry, and slowly, confidently closed the distance between us. I embraced her, and we stood there for a minute, surrounded by thousands of people who had no idea what was going on, and cried together.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said, quietly, “and I am so honored.”
We wiped the tears away, and I sat back down to sign a photo for her. I looked at her young children. “Your mom is remarkable,” I said, “and I know you don’t get it, because she’s, like your mom? But you have to trust me: she is.”
The kids nodded, and I could tell that they were a little freaked out by the emotion of the thing, even if they didn’t understand it. They looked at their father, who said, “Mommy’s okay. Mommy’s okay.” That made me tear up again. Mommy was okay, and she is a remarkable woman who defied the odds and her doctors, and walked up to meet me. I’m still overwhelmed when I think about what that means, and how I was part of it.
In: Around the Intertubes
A reflection on “Weeds.”
After watching the last season of “Weeds,” I felt it necessary to draft this letter to its creator, Jenji Kohan:
Dear Jenji,
Here’s the thing. We started out friends…good friends. I had a thing for your show. Your creation (that of a suburban mom who takes up selling pot to support her family after her husband drops dead) was engaging and hilarious. To this day, season 2 (the “grow house arc”) is one of the funniest seasons of live action TV I’ve seen. I couldn’t wait to buy it on DVD. I told my friends about “Weeds,” several of whom each killed an entire season in 2 days. You were on FIRE for a while. Then something happened. I don’t know what it was.
Maybe it was when Kevin Nealon’s character had his sweet illegal alien girlfriend deported. Maybe it was when Silas started having relationships that ended abruptly, for no reason other than the season was ending. Maybe it was when Shane went from a lovably insane adolescent bad-ass to a cold-blooded killer with sociopathic tendencies. Maybe it was when Nancy kept making the same mistakes over and over again. Maybe it was when you replaced Gary Calamar, the music supervisor with incredible taste, with your husband. Maybe it was when you decided to stop working with black people. Maybe it was when you changed the paradigm of the show. And then did it again the following season. And every season afterwards until the end.
Now, I know what you’re saying. I still watched every episode even after it jumped the shark. Well, so did everyone I knew who became a fan in those early seasons. We all acknowledged it went downhill, but we kept tuning in. Nobody could explain why. It’s like we were watching on credit, hoping it would improve. It’s one of the oddest phenomena of fandom I’ve encountered to this day. You created a legion of apologists second only to fans of Star Wars and Ben Affleck (well, that one paid off).
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I found the answer a few months ago: I decided I wasn’t going to watch season 8. Too many other shows had my attention, but you announced season 8 was going to end the show. Well, the completist in me re-set the DVR. I invested so much time in “Weeds,” I couldn’t stop knowing the end was in sight. After struggling through a final season that was as wildly uneven as the last few, I reached a finale, which undeniably…came from the heart.
Despite what came before, it found the right note to go out on. While I was bummed about the absence of some characters, I was grateful for the cameos we got. And I’ll give you this: Silas, Andy, hell even Stevie got the endings they deserved (As for Shane, well…see above). You’ve given some once-beloved characters a decent curtain call, and for this, I forgive you. Just don’t think you can add me as a Facebook friend. We’re done here.
Lowell
“Weeds: The 8th and Final Season” is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray.
In: Uncategorized
Biggest thing in the universe theoretically can’t exist
Looking at the Sloan Sky Survey, astronomers found something both exciting and perplexing.
A cluster of quasars stretching four billion light years across.
Exciting because it breaks the record for largest thing in the universe. Perplexing because, according to cosmological theory, it shouldn’t exist.
In: Around the Intertubes, Science · Tagged with: astronomy, National Geographic, quasars, Science
The Raid: Redemption sequel, Berandal to start up two hours after first film
If you somehow haven’t seen Gareth Evans’ excellent The Raid: Redemption yet, go rent it. With minimal dialogue, ridiculous fight sequences and an astoundingly bleak look, it’s one of the best action movies of the last year. And, according to MTV, Evans isn’t done yet.
The sequel, Berandal (thug), picks up a mere two hours after the first film and will apparently incorporate some car chases.
“It’s not going to be set within one building this time. Everything that was terrifying about the boss in that building in the first movie is small fry compared to the criminal organization we meet in the second film. We take it out into the streets, go much wider and much bigger in terms of the scope.”
Rama (Iko Uwais) just can’t catch a break.
Seriously, it can’t be stressed enough how exciting this news is unless you’ve sat through The Raid. It is adrenaline. Watch it, and then check out the embedded interview with Evans over at MTV.
In: Eyes and Ears, Movies, News · Tagged with: Berandal, Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, The Raid: Redemption
Lincoln’s Video of the Day: An Unexpected Parody
If you’re familiar at all with The Hillywood Show, you know that Hilly and Hannah Hindi, the pair of clever sisters behind it, make musical parodies skewering pop culture icons, always with surprisingly high production values.
Well, even The Hobbit wasn’t safe from them. By combining it with one of the most obnoxious earworms of recent memory, they created something hilarious that reads like a deleted scene from a MTV version of the film.
I give you The Hobbit: An Unexpected Parody.
In: Around the Intertubes, Movies, Music · Tagged with: Lil' Jon, LMFAO, Shots, The Hillywood Show, The Hobbit, Video of the Day
Trailer Watch: Lincoln Returns Edition
So I was gone for a bit. Moving. Starting an internship at a music magazine. Stressing about moving and starting an internship at a music magazine. But now I’m back, and I’ll be trying to post as often as possible. Let’s get things started easy, with a grab bag of trailers that came out recently. Some you may have seen, others are newer.
Let’s get this reunion started.
First, have you seen the Evil Dead trailer yet? I mean, come on! Taking the trappings of the original and making it into what looks like one of the most brutal and terrifying horror flicks in a long time, this is one to look forward to.
Warning: Super graphic.
In the much anticipated remake of the 1981 cult-hit horror film, five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.
Directed by Fede Alvarez, and produced by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi….why is this not on your “Must See” list already? Evil Dead hits theaters on April 12, 2013.
In: Movies, News, Trailers · Tagged with: Amanda Seyfreid, Bill Nighy, Bruce Campbell, Bryan Singer, Christoph Waltz, Colin Farrell, Epic, Evil Dead, Ewan McGregor, Fede Alvarez, Jack the Giant Slayer, Josh Hutcherson, Melissa McCarthy, Nicholas Hoult, Paul Feig, Sam Raimi, Sandra Bullock, The Heat, Trailers
Graphically Speaking: A few questions with R.L. Stine
Can you believe “Goosebumps” started 20 years ago? R.L. Stine’s seminal children’s book series is now older than the target age of its readers. Recently, I had the chance to ask Stine 2 questions. It was tough deciding what to ask him, once I realized it would be a nightmare to ship ALL of my “Goosebumps” books to him to sign (found ‘em in my parents’ basement last month, completely mold-free. Isn’t that a sign?). It was a thrill to interview the man who drove me to Barnes & Noble on a semi-monthly basis as a kid. And I’m not talking about my dad.
How did the idea to do sequels to “Goosebumps” come about?
Sequels to Goosebumps? Do you mean “The Haunting Hour?” “The Haunting Hour” is based on two short story collections of mine – “The Haunting Hour” and “The Nightmare Hour.” Or do you mean sequels among the “Goosebumps” books? I write a lot of sequels because kids love them. They love for the story to continue.
You’ve previously mentioned “Goosebumps” shied away from issues like divorce, drugs, and serious issues. Was there ever an issue you wanted to address in your books, but couldn’t? Did you save it for another series?
I’ve never had issues I wanted to discuss in my books. My only goal is to entertain kids and motivate them to read. That’s the only thing I ever wanted to achieve.
Catch R.L. Stine’s TV show “The Nightmare Hour,” currently airing in its 3rd season on The Hub.
In: Uncategorized