TV Series On The Television

[Thad]

Warwick Davis talks Disney+ Willow series: “It’s something which I never thought I would see happen”

“I’m hoping that we establish Willow as a very accomplished sorcerer now,” he says. “I hope he’s been practicing and we get to see him do some real magic, which would be fabulous. And also I’m hoping that we can reunite with Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley as well!”

Delayed sequels to iconic films and TV shows from previous decades have been all the rage in recent years, and Davis puts that down to the comfort that can be found in nostalgia. And he says that the most important thing when it comes to revisiting classics like this is staying true to the spirit of the original, something which he’s confident will be the case on Willow. “I think you’ve got to acknowledge the spirit, and, especially with something like Willow, the humour,” he says. “Because you forget that the movie had a lot of humour in it so it’s important that the series has that humour and doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

So, not based on the books, then.

[Thad]

Also:

Bart has established that he is reading from a play he is writing.

Why does it say "replied Aunt Helga"?

[Thad]

I started watching the first episode of Marvel 616. I haven't gotten too far into it yet, but the thing that made the biggest impression in the first 10 minutes or so? The opening titles. There's a montage of images, mostly comic book stills, but there are also two photos: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. In that order. Kirby is first.

Okay, show, you know what? You have my attention.

[Destynova]

Been watching Weeds and yesh! During seasons 1-3, Nancy is fairly watchable and kind of like Walter White, she does illegal shit for her family but later seasons have her priorities be,

Get laid
Drink coffee
Sell weed
Manipulate her kids via emotional blackmail, bullying and stealing their money/food
Be smug
Whine when something bad happens to her.

Doesn't help that the whole series picks up and drops characters and plot threads inside of the same episode and Nancy's plot armor is greater than Walter's.

[Thad]

Now that I've seen the rest of the Resident Alien pilot, my view is largely unchanged from when I'd only seen the first 10 minutes. I still think it's a big mistake changing the comic's immigrant story to a story about a hostile alien invader. But accepting that that is the direction they've chosen to take the show in, I think it's a good show, even if its themes aren't the comic's themes and its Harry Vanderspeigle isn't the comic's Harry Vanderspeigle.

And y'know, there are places where it's pretty clear why they chose to change Harry's character so much. Alan Tudyk acting like a deranged weirdo for 44 minutes is a lot more fun to watch than Alan Tudyk acting like a regular guy. Resident Alien the comic isn't funny; Resident Alien the TV series is.

Anyhow, I dug it. I think I'd have liked it better if I hadn't read the comic, but I like it as its own thing, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

[Thad]

I liked the first episode of Superman & Lois. I've always liked Hoechlin's Superman, and I think they've built a decent family drama around him. It's not really like any of the other Arrowverse shows; Black Lightning would be the most similar, but Superman & Lois is, of course, a lot whiter, as well as choosing a more rural setting (in the first episode, they move from Metropolis to Smallville, so Superman can fight the real villains, reverse mortgage lenders).

The supporting cast is solid. Elizabeth Tulloch seems like a good Lois so far; she doesn't get much to do in the pilot but she's strong, a good foil for Clark, and I like how the season arc is set up as a mystery for a reporter to solve rather than a superhero. The idea of setting the two of them up with a couple of teenage sons who couldn't be more different from one another but who, when the chips are down, have each other's backs is good fodder for drama.

I'll stick around for more episodes, see how it goes.

[Thad]

Also: you know, there's this persistent idea that Superman is boring. And yet, more than 80 years on, here's a Superman story that's never been done before: Superman and Lois are raising two teenage sons, and move back to Smallville to find a small town facing decline and depression from changing economic realities and predatory lenders.

That's a good hook! Superman's seen a lot of changes over the years, some that have made for good and interesting stories (marriage, fatherhood, revealing his identity to the world), some which have just been sales gimmicks (dying, turning into an electric blue thing), and some of which have been fundamental changes to his character for the worse (fascist in Dark Knight Returns, mopey and whiny and indecisive on Smallville, all of the above plus murdery in Man of Steel).

There's this idea that Superman is hokey and old-fashioned and needs to be changed into something else to make him cool or relatable. Hoechlin's Superman, though, first on Supergirl and now on his own spinoff, takes the tack that Superman is hokey and old-fashioned and leans the fuck into it. He's kind of dorky and kind of sappy and that's what makes him so goddamn lovable. This is a Superman who, in the first five minutes of the pilot, responds to a child complimenting his costume with "Thanks! My mom made it for me." (And it's the goddamn '40s Fleischer costume!)

All this to say: Superman's not boring. His powers don't make him boring. His earnestness and decency don't make him boring. The only thing that makes Superman boring is people who are boring. 80 years on and people are still finding fresh takes on Superman -- without turning him into a neck-snapping whinybutt.

Joe Kelly, perhaps, said it best: what's so funny about truth, justice, and the American way?

[Mongrel]

Joe Kelly, perhaps, said it best: what's so funny about truth, justice, and the American way?

a magician named The Hat whose magical abilities are centered upon his fedora

oh my god

[Thad]

I love everything about that but I think the part I love the most is that he's making fun of Warren Ellis in exactly the way Warren Ellis has made a career of making fun of everybody else.

[Friday]

Yeah, Superman is at his best when his idealism is questioned but ultimately triumphant. And I agree, Superman isn't boring. He might be harder to write than other heroes because of his powerset, but that doesn't make him boring. It just makes him harder to write.

This is why the Darkseid vs Superman clash is always so compelling (if overused); because Darkseid represents both a legitimate physical and an ideological threat to Clark.

[Thad]

There have been a lot of really amazing Superman vs. Darkseid stories over the years, but my biggest problem with that matchup is that it sidelines Orion. Orion is Darkseid's nemesis. They're the father and son who are destined to face each other.

And y'know, Superman and Jimmy Olsen have been part of the New Gods saga from the beginning; they've got their place there. But they're a side story. Superman vs. Darkseid is like that episode of Rebels where Ahsoka fights Darth Vader: it's great, it's a fantastic conflict, but it's not the main event, it's not the climactic confrontation between father and son.

The big difference, of course, is that Superman's a household name and, while Darkseid is somewhat well-known since he's been appearing on TV since Superfriends in the '80s, Orion is something of a deep cut.

Though maybe that'll change once the New Gods movie comes out. It's not that long ago that Iron Man was an obscure reference.

[Thad]

Shit, I forgot to even mention that Superman & Lois gets Superman so right that it even remembers the most important detail of all. In the first ten minutes, he's dealing with a reactor that's about to melt down, so he flies out to the bay, uses his ice breath to freeze a big block of ice, and drops it in the cooling tower.

That's right. This is a show that lets us know, right upfront, that Superman hates fish.

[Mongrel]

[Mongrel]

[Friday]

I mean, clearly they're right about the Sorceress and her sentient vibrator, but I fail to see how Mando is a commie.

[Thad]

They fired Gina Carano. Do I have to draw you a diagram?

[KingRoyal]

Hey, her character (quickly googles) Cara Dune is vitally important to Star Wars lore. She's very important at whatever she does, presumably carry dunes.

[Mongrel]

presumably carry dunes.

How coarse.

[Mongrel]

I mean, clearly they're right about the Sorceress and her sentient vibrator.

Vision: "We're really in a tight space now!"
Wanda: "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"
*laugh track*

[Friday]

They fired Gina Carano. Do I have to draw you a diagram?

oh right i actually forgot that this is a real thing that real people really think