[Off-Topic] Community Chat Thread

[DirkGently]

I was referencing just the 13th doctors run on the show in general.

My point is that series 11 was extremely bad, worse than series 12, while being pre-Covid. So I don't see any reason to think Covid is responsible for the low quality of the show under Chibnall.

[toctheyounger]

Airplane! meanwhile, leans much more heavily on wordplay and puns. Neither option is better but adds to my opinion that these movies aren't really comparable outside of both being relatively old comedies.

Yeah someone said they were both Mel Brooks films a little while back in the thread, and they're not. Brooks is a very particular type of comedian, and you're right, his comedy is in the absurd. Airplane is a barrage of quips and witty dialogue, and it's easy enough to see how that's not for everyone. The film reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield's material. The guy is funny, sure, but I'm not sure I'm fully into the bit where you just keep going, quip after quip. It doesn't feel like natural dialogue to me, and that's where I'm most comfortable with comedy.

[Rumpy5897]

I have yet to figure out why people enjoy The Big Bang Theory, Friends, or The Office

I've seen all three and disliked two, but Friends clicks with me. I don't watch it for the laughs, I watch it for the emotional comfort. It's just a bunch of folks forming a surrogate family in the city and going through the various challenges of their lives together. The world as such is stressful and lonely enough as is, and I have an ambitious outlet in music already. It's soothing to have this sort of stuff seep from the screen and tell you it's going to be okay without descending into overt sappiness.

[Hermes_]

I've seen all three and disliked two, but Friends clicks with me. I don't watch it for the laughs, I watch it for the emotional comfort. It's just a bunch of folks forming a surrogate family in the city and going through the various challenges of their lives together. The world as such is stressful and lonely enough as is, and I have an ambitious outlet in music already. It's soothing to have this sort of stuff seep from the screen and tell you it's going to be okay without descending into overt sappiness.

I can totally see Phoebe making an anti-popular item tiktok

[DirkGently]

@benjameenbear Ok, I finished Blue Eye Samurai.

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I liked it a lot, but I did feel a little less enthusiastic about the ending. Her arc from episode 6-8 felt a little lackluster to me...her swordfather is like "you gotta calm down a bit with the psychotic revenge" and then she does a little ceremony thing and then goes and keeps doing what she wanted to do anyway xD

Episode 6 in general I was quite meh on. Why would you have all these absurd, elaborate, only-in-the-movies booby traps instead of just...some soldiers? Episode 5 was a really cool way to have an episode that's basically one long fight that worked, but having another one immediately afterwards that wasn't nearly as creative was kind of a letdown. And where the previous episode made her at least sometimes believably human - maybe even weaker than necessary - episode 6 got a bit silly with quite a few scenes.

The last episode was good but didn't surprise me. The one thing that kinda stuck out as being weird, though, was Abijah's big speech to the shogun, which kinda boils down to "we're going to force you to be multicultural! Muahaha!" Kinda felt like the show knew Abijah was the bad guy, but then couldn't really figure out WHY he was the bad guy (in terms of political goals - obviously it spends plenty of time showing how he's a villain in terms of personality). The big climax of his villain speech is:

"We'll flood your land with our people, our music, our shame, bread, and milk until you think an ugly face like mine more beautiful than your own."

What is this trying to say? Hasn't a huge point of the show so far been that everyone, Mizu included, thinks she's a hideous monster because she's half-european - with the show framing that racism as being wrong? But now the villain is saying "we're going to make you accept white people!" and it's being framed as evil?

They stuck in "our shame" and "more beautiful" to I guess make it sound more villainous, but I'm pretty sure there's plenty of shame in every culture, and I'm not sure why immigrants would become "more" beautiful...instead of just accepted? From a modern perspective, of course, he could be referencing things like East Asian blepharoplasty, though afaik that's pretty rare in Japan. Maybe there's some other European-associated beauty standards that are applied in Japan?

But at any rate, from his perspective, that seems like a huge reach. The country currently thinks he and Mizu are literally soulless monsters (at least as portrayed in the show - couldn't find a good source to confirm this historically - but whatever, in the world we're presented with, they're considered monsters, so that's what matters for discussing the show). White people are, in this particular context, an oppressed minority. What kind of insane slippery-slope argument is the show making? We can't stop treating white people as soulless monsters, then we'd have to start seeing them as prettier than us, and throw all our racist culture away!

Granted, the show was in a bit of a bind - if Abijah was overthrowing an elected government, the Shogun would have a moral high ground, but the Shogun is a dictator so it's kind of a lateral move. There are certainly some arguments you could make about how he specifically plans to use his power that might be bad for the peasants, but for some reason that's not really highlighted in his big villain speech. It's just threatening to a make an extremely racist society more multicultural...how terrible?

So yeah, we'll see how future seasons go. Still great, but I think it misses the top 3 Netflix shows for me.

[benjameenbear]

@DirkGently Those are fair assessments. I think one of the things that I really enjoyed was seeing the Japanese culture portrayed through the show. I love learning about other peoples and places and seeing some of the historical portrayals was pretty enjoyable.

I'll sum up some of my thoughts about the show here:

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Yeah, I agree the ending was a let-down relative to the overall pacing and depth of the show. I would have been very satisfied with Abijah just rolling in for a good 'ol fashioned coup and to seize power, but I guess the writers needed to make some sort of cultural statement about racism? To be fair, Abijah was basically living in exile because of that reverse-racism, so I guess having a culturally-based revenge motive kinda makes sense (made the coup at the end a bit weird for me, for the reasons you mentioned).

I think one of the primary reasons I REALLY enjoyed the show was the consistency for the revenge theme and the rationale behind all of her motives. The episode with her husband and mother and the betrayal she experiences from both of these trusted figures was well done IMO. I think the convo with her swordfather made her rethink her choices and her lifestyle... and she still chose violence. I thought it added a bit of depth to her choice but also kinda narrows the storytelling they can build around her. She's already shown she's 100% committed to the revenge quest, so you already have a glimpse of which choices she'll make in any episode.

Yet, that consistency means we can also explore how deeply she's willing to go for that revenge, which is interesting to me. I'm reminded of Kill Bill Vol. 2 where Uma Therman (however you spell her last name) kinda loses her revenge edge after she discovers she has a child. That was a bit disappointing to me, because so often a revenge arc DOESN'T end happily ever after. And I think this show is going to go all-in on that (or at least I hope so) so we can see the tragic downfall of a really badass character who sacrifices everything for the rage and injustice she continually cultivates.

[DirkGently]

@benjameenbear definitely agree about the portrayal of Edo Japan. Loved the setting.

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I do like that it hasn't shied away from the revenge plot - it would be easy for her to soften. But I did feel like, despite her burning the whole city at the end (lol oops), the last episode didn't make her as dark as I wanted. Felt kinda halfway committed I guess. The last of us 2 would be the most extreme opposite example (though that dragged on way too long and dark imo).

As far as abijah, yeah it always annoys me when the villain has a justified motive, but the show seems to criticize the motive because of the character voicing it (see my Kerblam! rant). Especially annoying since he seemed to have plenty of more mercenary motivations to criticise. His whole purpose to being there was to make money, after all. So why make him rant about how he's going to undo the racism, if you want him to look evil?

Incidentally, I hate the phrase "reverse racism". Racism against white people is still just racism. Just because it doesn't have institutional power doesn't change the nature of the thing. Though obviously in the case of BES's Edo Japan, it has plenty of institutional power.

[benjameenbear]

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Fair point about the phrase "reverse racism". I'll try and eliminate that out of my thinking since it's a fair point and implies a position of privilege.

Yeah, the end of the episode could have and should have been more dark IMO. They showed her unyielding commitment to the revenge trope... and she finally had her first revenge target in hand. Yet what does she do? She lets him live and guide her to England... without any dismemberment of physical impairment to completely hinder his ability to harm her (from what we've seen). The buildup to the final episode was epic but then Abijah dangles a lead for the other revenge targets. She then suddenly pauses her bloodthirsty? Felt a bit of dissonance with that based off her buildup and absolutely ruthless dealing of all other enemies in the show. Call me cruel, but I 10/10 think Abijah is going to be a thorn in her side because of her oversight.

And highly agreed about the other motivations for Abijah. They show him as a depraved, hedonistic monster driven a lot by his greed... and barely touch on those motivations. I mean, maybe they did but it didn't appear to be his proclaimed focus at the end.

Either way, the show captivated me enough to keep me on board for Season 2. I have my doubts though, since they're literally sailing away from one of the most compelling aspects of the show for me...

[DirkGently]

@benjameenbear

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yeah I do have concerns for season 2 (assuming Netflix doesn't unceremoniously cancel them like every other good show since Bojack). I wasn't too impressed either at Abijah hinting at all these deep secrets about her birth and that her mother was a ruse or whatever. She's way more compelling when she's a discarded afterthought, not the target of a grand conspiracy.

Still down for the ride, though

[Dunadain]

Anybody watched Hazbin Hotel? I binge watched it in a couple days while baby was sleeping.

Story is just okay but damn does it feel good to watch some some 2d animation that is unapologetically a musical. Remember when we used to get those?

Alastor is a total edgelord but I don't care, I loved every second that he was on screen.

Angel Dust was, surprisingly, the most compelling charachter imo. Did not expect that from the sex-crazed pornstar.

Maybe I'll check out Helluva Boss, though I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about that show.

[TheGildedGoose]

Anybody watched Hazbin Hotel? I binge watched it in a couple days while baby was sleeping.

Story is just okay but damn does it feel good to watch some some 2d animation that is unapologetically a musical. Remember when we used to get those?

Alastor is a total edgelord but I don't care, I loved every second that he was on screen.

Angel Dust was, surprisingly, the most compelling charachter imo. Did not expect that from the sex-crazed pornstar.

Maybe I'll check out Helluva Boss, though I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about that show.

I saw the pilot on YouTube ages ago and it was... fine. It's got big Invader Zim vibes which to me is a massive red flag because I found that show cringey. I've been meaning to watch it though so I guess it's now officially on the list.

[Dunadain]

I saw the pilot on YouTube ages ago and it was... fine. It's got big Invader Zim vibes which to me is a massive red flag because I found that show cringey. I've been meaning to watch it though so I guess it's now officially on the list.

I feel like I should temper expectations, it's not a masterpiece, I liked it because the animation and character designs are great. If you don't really care for the style, or even are indifferent to it, then I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

It's fine, good enough to not distract from the style, but not much more than that.

Also was a bit disorienting as a Catholic. Uses a lot of terms that already have a very different meaning to me. I had a similar issue with Blasphemous, but as long as you're willing to view them as isolated pieces of fiction you'll figure out the rules of the universe eventually.


Edit: also I'd take the "pilot" with a grain of salt, it was released four years ago and apparently is technically canon but isn't listed with the rest of the series and has different voice actors. I didn't even know it existed until after I finished the show.

[5colorsrainbow]

Anybody watched Hazbin Hotel?

I seen it, I thought it was fine and fun, I'm always a sucker for a fun adaptions of abrahamic mythology and while I didn't come out loving the songs I felt they either advanced characters arcs or plot beats vs being a spectacle/just giving someone a song. Characters where fun too (Angel is my favorite, not often we see this side of how SA victims can react to abuse) and I liked that the animation is going for a style when a lot of adult animation ends up looking very family guy like. Not a new favorite but I liked it enough I'm willing to watch future seasons.

EDIT: I found my copy of Wicked (The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) and with the musical movie on the way I kind wanna re-read the book since its such a different story from the musical adaption, see how it reads now I'm older and with a 2024 mind set.

[DirkGently]

@Dunadain ohhh, that makes more sense. I watched the pilot and died of cringe. But then much later I watched episode 1 and it seemed fine.

[Guardman]

Anybody watched Hazbin Hotel? I binge watched it in a couple days while baby was sleeping.

Story is just okay but damn does it feel good to watch some some 2d animation that is unapologetically a musical. Remember when we used to get those?

Alastor is a total edgelord but I don't care, I loved every second that he was on screen.

Angel Dust was, surprisingly, the most compelling charachter imo. Did not expect that from the sex-crazed pornstar.

Maybe I'll check out Helluva Boss, though I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about that show.

I saw the pilot on YouTube ages ago and it was... fine. It's got big Invader Zim vibes which to me is a massive red flag because I found that show cringey. I've been meaning to watch it though so I guess it's now officially on the list.

The series does have a lot of Invader Zim qualities and that is probably very intentional. In fact one of the main characters, Moxxie, and one of the antagonists, Crimson, in the sister series, Helluva Boss, are voiced by Richard Horvitz who voiced Zim. And just because I love it, Helluva Boss has the most accurate overbearing coffee order of all time.



If you enjoyed Hazbin Hotel, you will probably enjoy Helluva Boss.

As for Hazbin Hotel, the series was a lot of fun. The songs, for the most part, were catchy and enjoyable to listen to, and as someone else mentioned, actually advanced the plot. Really enjoyed Alastor (who was out there chewing every scene he was in). Also enjoyed Husk, who I am half convinced is what happened to Dr. Facilier after The Princess and the Frog. Another thing that tickled me as a fan of animation (even though it is more sound related) is all the different filters they used on the voices (specifically Alastor's radio filter and Vox's speaker feedback filter) which added a lot to the general ambiance despite being something minor that they could easily have screwed up and made distracting.

[Hermes_]

Anybody watched Hazbin Hotel?

EDIT: I found my copy of Wicked (The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) and with the musical movie on the way I kind wanna re-read the book since its such a different story from the musical adaption, see how it reads now I'm older and with a 2024 mind set.

I don't know how i'm going to handle going to see Wicked without my mom who would have loved to see it. It was on on the list of musicals we'd love to see if we ever had the money.

[Dunadain]

Just finished a great interview. I think the position is good, to my understanding they don't have very many candidates, and I feel like I hit the interview out of the park, so here's hoping.

[5colorsrainbow]

I don't know how i'm going to handle going to see Wicked without my mom who would have loved to see it. It was on on the list of musicals we'd love to see if we ever had the money.

I'm sorry that is rough -hug-. Maybe you can go see it with a family member and/or a friend of hers and after you can talk about what you think she might have felt about the movie after. The musical is very decent, defintly something fun to take the family too. Its for some reason gonna be a two part movie but I think they know Ariana fans alone will be a good enough crowd.

[materpillar]

@DirkGently @benjameenbear

Blue Eye Spoilers

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Weeee Blue Eye Spoilers! I found this show to be extremely ok. There was a few high points and amongst a marsh of just a lot of kinda predictable blandness. Part of this is because I went in with very high expectations because I'd only heard great things about it and it just didn't live up to what I was expecting at all. There weren't any major flaws with anything else I just have an avalanche of nitpicks.

Characters - I felt like the characters and their personalities were carrying a lot of the show on their backs. Watching Mizu interact with people was always interesting and usually the best part of every episode.
Art - Not a fan of the animation. It hits an uncanny valley for me. It feels like it needs to be more realistic or more artistic. It lands as slightly too uncanny to be beautiful personally. I've definitely seen worse animations but I also watched Arcane. This is no Arcane. Side note: have you watched Arcane Dirk?
Plot - It was serviceable. Nothing really blew my socks off. Orphan wants to kill dude and que episodic adventure where almost nothing really surprising happens in any episode.

Nitpicks that really really bothered me:
Ringo has no hands. A massive amount of his storyline is devoted to him trying to overcome his handicap. Despite what we're told he never has any issues because of his lack of hands ever. Those chopsticks might as well be cyborg implants. The man has no hands like Daredevil is blind.

Final Episode: "This castle has never been conquered!"
*Mizu knocks over a single candle*
*Castle literally explodes*
*Entire army burns to death in the castle*
*Entire city around the castle explodes*
A single candle destroys the impregnable castle and the entire city! Did no one ever shoot a single fire arrow into that castle ever?

On a slightly related note, I saw hulu made a Shogun TV series. I'm pretty hyped for that. I'm a big fan of the book.

Personal take: Wicked movie looks real bad.

EDIT: I found my copy of Wicked (The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) and with the musical movie on the way I kind wanna re-read the book since its such a different story from the musical adaption, see how it reads now I'm older and with a 2024 mind set.

I watched the musical first and I really wasn't a fan of the book because of how different the story is.

I don't know how i'm going to handle going to see Wicked without my mom who would have loved to see it. It was on on the list of musicals we'd love to see if we ever had the money.

Wicked is my favorite musical by a lot. I just watched it in Detroit with my wife a couple of weeks ago. I'd highly recommend it if the finances ever work out for you.

[DirkGently]

@materpillar Yep, Arcane is one of my top 3 Netflix shows. Really really impressed me.

[duducrash]

I don't know how i'm going to handle going to see Wicked without my mom who would have loved to see it. It was on on the list of musicals we'd love to see if we ever had the money.

I'm sorry that is rough -hug-. Maybe you can go see it with a family member and/or a friend of hers and after you can talk about what you think she might have felt about the movie after. The musical is very decent, defintly something fun to take the family too. Its for some reason gonna be a two part movie but I think they know Ariana fans alone will be a good enough crowd.

Are you guys familiar with the concept of "Saudades"? Sometimes it hurts, but sometimes it hurts good. Go watch and have a really nice cry thinking about her and how she shaped you :D

[Guardman]

So because of all of the Fallout stuff I realized I should probably try one of them (and also realized that I have four of them already via the free games the Epic Store is always putting out). For the people that know, which would be the best one to play:

Fallout
Fallout 2
Fallout Tactics
Fallout: New Vegas

[duducrash]

Lost my job friday, spent a total of 51 days with this company.

I was at another company, had an ok position. I was recruited for this one and after 51 days there was this mini layoff thing and I just terminated on friday alongisde some other folks. Man companies suck. If you might be in a position to end jobs soon, why would you recruit someone. I'm not desperate right now because I have some savings for this exact situation and I'm hopefull I'll find something real soon. but holy %$#% I %$#% hate the hellsystem we are in

[Dunadain]

Lost my job friday, spent a total of 51 days with this company.

I at another company, had an ok position. I was recruited for this one and after 51 days there was this mini layoff thing and I just terminated on friday alongisde some other folks. Man companies suck. If you might be in a position to end jobs soon, why would you recruit someone. I'm not desperate right now because I have some savings for this exact situation and I'm hopefull I'll find something real soon. but holy %$#% I %$#% hate the hellsystem we are in

Sorry to hear that, I've been in recruitment hell for the past month.

I told myself I'd job hunt for a month before lowering my standards, so while I'm still applying to jobs I actually want, just yesterday I started applying to dead end jobs, just to pay the bills, and have something on my resume.

It stinks but I also have a decent amount of savings put away, and my wife still has her job, so I just remind myself other people out there have it worse.

[Hermes_]

So because of all of the Fallout stuff I realized I should probably try one of them (and also realized that I have four of them already via the free games the Epic Store is always putting out). For the people that know, which would be the best one to play:

Fallout
Fallout 2
Fallout Tactics
Fallout: New Vegas

FNV would be my vote out of that list, otherwise i'd say fallout 4

Lost my job friday, spent a total of 51 days with this company.

I at another company, had an ok position. I was recruited for this one and after 51 days there was this mini layoff thing and I just terminated on friday alongisde some other folks. Man companies suck. If you might be in a position to end jobs soon, why would you recruit someone. I'm not desperate right now because I have some savings for this exact situation and I'm hopefull I'll find something real soon. but holy %$#% I %$#% hate the hellsystem we are in