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Comments for the week ending December 15, 2013

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As a side note, I really don't appreciate being told I'm a "simpleton" for disagreeing with you about a TV show. That's really rude, Harlan.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Wow, that's a... lot of words. I can tell we're not going to come to any sort of accord, so I don't think it's worth arguing (especially with the room about to wipe). I will say that I'm not really familiar with Classic Who, so that might be part of why I disagree with you, but then I know a lot of old-school fans who feel the same way as I do, so that can't be all of it. Let's just agree to disagree and move on.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

The accusations of Moffat being sexist bother me. Just because, in my least generous mood, I sincerely believe them to be a fat crock of shit. In my more generous mood, I'm willing to agree with a caveat.

I think my first problem, and you'll forgive me if I go a little blunt (like I haven't been already), but anyone who thought Modern Who was ever, at any point, was even vaguely progressive is genuinely a simpleton. In the context of "BAWWW MOFFAT IS A SEXIST," nobody really ever points out that Russel T. Davies's first three years were pretty firmly set on destroying what was, prior to his run, a traditionally platonic dynamic between Doctor and companion. Most famously Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor, of course. But when Russel T. Davies comes onto the scene, companions more or less exist to fall in love with and angst over the Doctor being unable to love them. It sets the show back DECADES, despite the series being a product of the 60's.

I'll admit to not getting why the show was such a global phenomenon when I was introduced to it via "The Shakespeare Code." A fine episode in its own right and a fun adventure, but nothing in Russel T. Davies's run (even when including the always STELLAR Doctor-lite episodes, "Love and Monsters" being the first one to make me think I could maybe fall in love with Doctor Who) really screams GLOBAL PHENOMENON. It screams "DECENT WAY TO PASS AN HOUR." It screams Agents of SHIELD.

And part of the obnoxiousness of RTD Who really comes from that air of faux-progressiveness when, at every angle, ultimately every single character adopts the archetypal properties that used to only matter to the aliens. Like most sci fi television, Doctor Who was always subtly racist in the abstract by portraying its alien races as hiveminds rather than entities that can spawn individuals. It's not REAL racism and it's all for the sake of keeping the allegorical nature of the monsters intact, but it's still an oversimplification that Davies embraces to the actual human characters. Rose and Martha are so archetypally similar that THEY'RE LITERALLY THE SAME CHARACTERS. Don't give me any shpiel about their familial differences because, come on, "hopelessly in love with the Doctor and can't have him so she turns into a vaguely badass action woman who exists on the periphery of the mythology" is both of their arcs. They are literally the same character. The fact that Donna existed at all is pretty astounding. Add in Jack Harkness, Davies's lifelong dream of including an LGBT character into his favorite show, who's literally a walking bisexual stereotype who's only accepted as a progressive icon because of John Barrowman's Super Saiyan swagger, and there's very little you could do to make Doctor Who look WORSE as a collection of broad archetypes defined entirely by gender or sexuality.

Oh yeah, there was that one episode that brought back Sarah Jane, reintroduced her into the context of the modern continuity and essentially introduced her for the first time to a bunch of new fans and it was in the context of her being the "ex-girlfriend", which betrays her original dynamic with the Doc.

But no, it's totally Moffat who's the big sexist one. It really is a blessing that Sarah Jane managed to net a spin off and that the day to day writing chores went to Phil Ford. He and his stable of writers managed to craft a Sarah Jane with more depth than her modern Who contemporaries, which simply would not have happened since Davies's run had defined Sarah Jane ENTIRELY as "ex-girlfriend."

Really, I never understood Russel T. Davies Who until I watched the Fox movie from the 90's, featuring the Eighth. Because the Tenth Doctor and the Eighth Doctor are literally, like Rose and Martha, the EXACT SAME CHARACTER. Bland, romantic, America-friendly "Generic Doctor." Eighth gets a pass because he was the original and was thus a new direction. Ten doesn't get as big of an excuse. But the parallels fascinate me so, please, let me tell you how.

For all her filling a pretty stereotypical role for a now generic romantic lead Doctor, Grace Holloway is a fully realized character. A medical professional with genuine clout in the context of her peers. Who is swept away by this man in a magic box not because of what she's missing as much as what she could gain. Who she could gain, rather. A romance that, though pretty by the numbers, is perfectly acceptable by the standards of 90's genre fiction and never really tries to take away any notion of Eight and Grace being equals. Though the stuff of Hollywood meet cutes, I FEEL like Eight and Grace are a real pair of human beings. Not a COUPLE, at least not yet, but as two people with an attraction who could go further. They're charming.

Rose, despite coming right after Grace, really does feel like Grace-lite. Rather than an adult professional fit with her place in the world, Rose is an early 20's something who's unemployed and has no real sense of the world, skills or qualities of her own. On one level, she's immediately identifiable to the face of modern Who fandom (read: Tumblr girls). On another level, she's more or less designed specifically for the Doctor to define her. It's really a shame Eccleston didn't last longer than he did, because Nine really is an interesting character in his own right who somehow isn't totally dragged down by the presence of Rose Tyler. But by the time Ten cements, not even David Tennant's stellar performances can hide the fact that Rose isn't even anything. She's such a blatant, bland audience surrogate for a romantic novel that it's a wonder her name isn't Bella Swan.

Which is the thing, really. Davies by his own admission writes people as broad archetypes, with even his unmade gay drama Cucumber described as making gay men archetypal "when of course, they aren't like that in real life." He very blatantly does not consider the people he writes to be full people, but archetypes. His characters are by their very nature very underwritten...which really makes RTD's Who a very big actor's show. David Tennant? Billie Piper? They sell SO much despite their wafer thing characters, with David Tennant somehow bringing life to a low rent Eighth Doctor (who already felt like he was sanitized for American audiences, saying something about the Tenth Doctor, an supposedly ICONIC BRITISH character) and Piper giving surprising gravitas to a character who only exists to be the same aimless 20 something that'd most likely watch the TV show to begin with. But that's all they are. Broad archetypes that happened to be given INCREDIBLY talented actors to bring them life. Defined entirely by their genders or sexuality (or in the case of Martha, ALSO her race) with the only real depth coming from actors willing to commit to the fullness of their ability to boring, one note backstories.

And though I'm sure it's a coincidence, it now strikes me as odd that Donna Noble WASN'T portrayed as a love interest. Sure, that was a great chance of pace and Donna is easily the best character during Davies's tenure. But it's weird that the companion that ISN'T the love interest/romantic deuteragonist also happens to be the one major companion who isn't a thin, 20-something girl?

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Also remember that time when they had a one-off companion who was an awesome jewel thief but it never occurred to them to do something like that after Rose left and instead they were like "hey guys let's do Rose again"?

My point in all this isn't so much to bash Davies (because I really like Davies's Who!) as much as it's just to illustrate the fact that people who claim Moffat is a sexist, by default of context, seem to imply that Doctor Who had somewhere to go DOWN in terms of portraying women. It totally didn't. Except at one time it DID have a place to go down from, and the one who brought it down was totally Russel T. Davies.

All that being said, I haven't actually gotten into Moffat yet. And Moffat's Who is super cool.

I think the allegations of sexism bother me because people act like it WOULDN'T be in the Doctor's character to say things like that, especially Eleven's. Because I don't know if anyone ever pays attention to this, but the Eleventh Doctor is, very blatantly, a terrible person. There is no ambiguity about this, you cannot debate this. He does a lot of good things, obviously, but he is the Scowling White Dude Who Falls From Grace of Doctor Who. He is a TERRIBLE person.

Like in "A Good Man Goes to War", where after he realized he potentially ruined Amy's life forever, immediately finds one of the people on that space station and tries to get her to go see the universe with him so he can avoid Amy and Rory. "Day of the Moon", where he rallies all of humanity to genocide the Silence despite his deal being peace or something. Or in "Let's Kill Hitler" where he has to tell the TARDIS to personify itself as "somebody I actually like!" after it tries to look like him.

This dude HATES himself, is exhausted after 900+ years bouncing around the cosmos with an impossible amount of associates who are all, as Clara so eloquently puts it, "ghosts", and yet his big trait is being unable to stop chasing fairy tales. Amy's the Girl Who Didn't Make Any Sense (alternatively, the Girl Who Waited), River Song's a name of poetry and wistful properties, and Clara is his Impossible Girl. They have titles. They're figures of whimsy. They're LARGER than life, supposedly, by himself. But unlike Davies, where a woman begins her life aimless and worthless and slowly learns via the Doctor that she is great and BECOMES like the Doctor, the women in Eleven's life are all painfully average. He elevates them because HE needs them, because he needs to somehow validate his 900 years that have amounted to so, so little in terms of his own personal progression and he NEEDS to force a family unit. None of the Moffat companions NEED the Doctor. Even River Song, whose existence is entirely defined by the Doctor in the most literal sense of the term, ultimately passes on and is kept alive because HE needs her. Amy, whose arc is about how harsh reality is in the face of her less than reliable imaginary friend, has a happy ending by THE DOCTOR LEAVING. Clara only truly resolves, at least under season 7's run, when the Doctor realizes he has to stop making her out to be more than she really is. To treat her like a human being on her own merits.

I don't get the sense of depth from the Davies companions (who are, again, underwritten, broad archetypes who exist to be enriched by the Doctor) I do from Moffat's. Eleven's relationship with River rings truer to me than Ten's with Rose, with the latter being TWU WUB for a girl who is a blank slate for the audience and the former actually feeling like the sort of relationship someone would have in 900+ years. Neglecting storybook romance and being more overtly sexual, yet kind of casual without betraying that strong bond. Amy and Clara both have COMPLETELY DIFFERENT arcs about the beauty of mundanity that, in contrast to Rose and Martha, BUILD on each other rather than just hollowly repeat each other.

But at the same time, Eleven's viciously co-dependent. If Moffat really IS a sexist and Eleven is supposed to be his mouth piece about women, then Moffat must be really blatantly honest about his own emotional failings. Eleven's depressed, co-dependent, even arguably bipolar. A hypocrite. Tired. He's only capable of seeing his own personal value vis a vis other people. He regularly tries to elevate people into something amazing just to give himself a sense of purpose. The women in his life largely exist to be pestered or inconvenienced by his existence. He makes light of their existence WHILE valuing them, as emphasized by Clara ("We're all just ghosts to you.") He spells out how terrible he is for people to Amy during "The God Complex."

But that's why I love Eleven. He has the elitism inherent in the First Doctor, easily the best incarnation of the character, but without the confidence that comes with it. He hates himself yet still holds himself higher than everyone else. That's fascinating. It's, at times, painfully real. He's allowed to be more than one thing, and in particular a thing that gave his family a happy ending when he stayed as far away as possible. He's at many times very pathetic, even as he's saving the day. He's NOT a very good person but, true to the character's origins, the Doctor never really was. This is just the incarnation that makes a point for him to feel bad about it.

So if Moffat IS a sexist, he's not a very good one. Between companions who have personality traits beyond broad, blank slates meant to be enhanced by adventures with the Doctor and with a sexist mouthpiece who is depressed, co-dependent, and repeatedly showed to be emotionally incapable of handling various levels of negativity, the criticism lobbied toward Moffat seems unwarranted only because...well, he doesn't seem to write his surrogate all the positively either. Maybe he agrees with you about how terrible he is?

(That being said, as a post-script, the River Song crack you posted is perfectly in character. This is a guy who's spent his entire existence being smarter than everyone else and largely picking women to journey along with him. He's going to develop some sort of light prejudice at worst and, at best, probably doesn't see what's wrong with making a joke at their expense after nearly a millennium and conflates their ignorance with their gender, despite EVERYONE being ignorant in relation to the Doctor, for a laugh. Tasteless? Maybe. Not out of character for really ANY incarnation.)

Harlan Phoenix
"Isn't it super weird how the black guy is cast as a loving father?"-Jim Steranko on uncomfortable media trends

That said, Moffat wrote a lot of good episodes during the Davies era. It's just when he has full control, he takes it in directions that really bother me (shades of George Lucas, perhaps).
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Amy: I don't understand, one minute she's trying to kill you, and the next she wants to marry you?
The Doctor: She's brainwashed, it probably makes sense to her. Plus, she's a woman. Oh, shut up!

There are a lot of lines like that. Moffat puts in all sorts of sexist stuff and plays it off as just jokes, and it's pretty off-putting to a lot of people. There are other problems, but that's one of the biggest.

Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

I'll admit to never really getting the Moffat criticism. Some I can see (dragging arcs out too long, apparently?), but I care less about any show's grand overplot and tend to always prefer things on an episodic basis, so I've never really cared about how long it took for grand answers. How can I be bored or annoyed? There's dinosaurs!

ON A SPACESHIP.

Harlan Phoenix
"Isn't it super weird how the black guy is cast as a loving father?"-Jim Steranko on uncomfortable media trends

Jurgan> It does. One of the reasons I don't like it as much as other people do.
Supermorff

I will give Sherlock a try sometime, but... well, I have a real problem with a lot of what Steven Moffat has done with Doctor Who, and I gather Sherlock has many of the same issues. If and when I do try it, I have to work hard to keep an open mind.
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Watched "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug" this afternoon.

[SPOILER] Pretty good, though I got the feeling at times that it was trying all the harder to be an epic so as not to seem like an anticlimax after "The Lord of the Rings" - the chief drawback from doing "The Hobbit" adaptation after "The Lord of the Rings".

Smaug makes an impressive dragon - and what a cliffhanger it ends on, with him flying towards Lake-Town and Bilbo's look of horror as he watches.

I liked the little twist in having the last light of Durin's Day, which opens the keyhole of the secret door, being from the moon rather than the sun - same thing, in a sense, since moonlight is really reflected sunlight. [/SPOILER]

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

>The makers of the show are smart enough to mix things up, so that even old fans can be nicely surprised.<
Of course... I doubt the original Sherlock had a cell phone ;)

>but it's massively over hyped<
As long as this keeps the series going I have nothing to complain about. :)

Neill - [neillgargoyle(a)gmail dot com]

HARLAN> Maybe I'll give "Sleepy Hollow" a second look.
Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

I know Sleepy Hollow isn't your bag, but you have no idea how I loved the pilot never once trying to wink at the audience. Like how Mike in SHIELD is like "THIS IS MY SUPERHERO ORIGIN STORY" or how the pilot to Once Upon a Time ended on the idea of "NOW SHE CAN SAVE THE HAPPY ENDINGS." Where they have to repeatedly wink at you to remind you you're watching something that isn't real and also, aren't they super clever that they notice genre trends?

Sleepy Hollow doesn't bother with that. It's something you either buy into or don't and doesn't bother trying to meet someone halfway with pointless, bullcrap meta jokes or concepts.

I miss when genre shows could be earnestly silly, so Sleepy Hollow is a welcome breath of fresh air. It's a nice little b-movie with heart. I like Agents of SHIELD fine but MAN, the fact that we still need to be ironic about superheroes is the dumbest crap.

Harlan Phoenix
"Isn't it super weird how the black guy is cast as a loving father?"-Jim Steranko on uncomfortable media trends

HARLAN> I haven't read his review of the first two episodes, I didn't start reading until the third (when I was made aware he was writing reviews), and if he said that, then well, fuck him. Although, I did think the character (as with everything else on the show) was written poorly... but that's definitely not an acting issue. Except for Gregg and Ming-Na Wen, Richards is probably the best actor on the show (at least before I stopped watching).

<<Agents of SHIELD reviews, especially negative, are a dime a dozen.>>

Negative reviews for "The Last Airbender", "Gigli", "Grown Ups 2" and the final episode of "Dexter" are also a dime a dozen... and for good reason. Likewise good reviews for "Chinatown", "Argo", "Gravity" and the entire run of "Breaking Bad" are a dime a dozen. Some productions earn their overwhelming positive or negative responses.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

GregXB>"Have you seen Jim Steranko's column at the Hollywood Reporter? He wrote the SHIELD comic book in the 70's, and pretty much defined the organization as we have come to know it today, and he despises the show. He has reviewed every episode, and utterly annihilates it week after week. It's a great read."

My favorite part is when he calls casting J. August Richards a P.C. move on the basis of his skin color, despite earlier implying familiarity with Whedon's work yet still doesn't make the connection that maybe Richards was cast because of Mike Peterson's similarities to Charles Gunn in terms of personality and values. Instead he values the character based entirely on his skin color.

I'm not going to say he's a racist, but I am going to think it for the sake of being obtuse.

That turned me away. Agents of SHIELD reviews, especially negative, are a dime a dozen. If I'm gonna read a review about a show, I'd rather not do it if shallowly racist statements are gonna come out of literally nowhere. The fact he used to work on SHIELD doesn't really entice me either because creators not being fond of derivative products of their things is ALSO a dime a dozen.

But at least others are less racist about it. So they have that going for them.

TMNT And Michael Bay> Given I didn't get the complaints about the conceptual changes to TMNT vis a vis the Bay camp when they happened, I still don't get the hub bub over Bay being involved with TMNT. I read that leaked script. It's no masterpiece, but if anyone's gonna tell me it DIDN'T feel like a TMNT story I think that would be a fun debate to have.

If there's ANY brand that fits the Bay bro-college beer keg handling on characters and concepts in Bay's movies, it's TMNT. That's a pretty natural transition. Not the ONLY way to interpret those characters, but hardly unnatural.

Harlan Phoenix
The enemy is clever. We're smaller but whatever. When we put it together, I'll form the head.

Neill> You don't need to worry about being spoiled by reading the original stories. The makers of the show are smart enough to mix things up, so that even old fans can be nicely surprised.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of Sherlock. It's good and I'll watch it, but it's massively over hyped.

Supermorff

>It's all the more fun if you've read the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle (though you don't have to in order to enjoy it)<
My fear is that reading the original stories spoils me the whole plot of the ongoing series. I'm a fan of the japanese series Meitantei Conan (guess why he calls himself Conan) and even that series spoiled me things about Sherlock Holmes. Even worse: It spoiled the ending. But if the Sherlock series eventually comes to an end I am still going to read those stories.

Greg B.> No I wasn't... I was talking about it in general, maybe with a glimpse to Power Rangers. In fact I haven't watched a single episode of Agents of SHIELD and I don't plan to.

Neill - [neillgargoyle(a)gmail dot com]

I'm also a big fan of Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman make that series. Perhaps my favorite moment in the series is this brief part where Sherlock is lying on his couch, shouting "BORED!" while shooting a smile face he painted on his wall.
Matthew
I have nothing more to say...So why am I still talking?

Count me as another fan of "Sherlock", which has done an ingenious job of translating Sherlock Holmes from Victorian times to the present. It's all the more fun if you've read the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle (though you don't have to in order to enjoy it) because of the periodic references throughout. (One of my favorites was a bit about the number of hits on John Watson's blog being always 1, 895. It's based on a statement by Vincent Starrett that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson lived in "a romantic country of the mind where it is always 1895".)

Then there's a scene in the adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" where Sherlock's client is begging him to investigate the demon dog that killed his father out in Devon, and Sherlock is uninterested until the man describes the footprints he found at the scene as "made by a gigantic hound". An actual quote from the original story, and a famous one, but with the twist that here Sherlock is curious as to why the man said "hound" and not "dog", and decides to take the case after all. (Followed by another in-joke reference to the original where it looks at first as if Sherlock will stay in London and let John Watson handle the case - as in the original story - but then changes his mind and comes along.)

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

NEILL> Sherlock is a great show, I can't wait to see what comes next.

In your first paragraph, I assume you're talking about "Agents of SHIELD". Now, I am no expert, but I don't think premiering with twelve million viewers and then dropping down to barely above two million is good news, ratings wise.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

Why would a tv network care about the reception if the ratings and the money is good?
They would be mad cancelling a show that is successful.

Actually I think the whole ratings system is broken and I strongly hope that the internet somehow comes up with a better solution. I believe a lot of cancelled shows are financially viable (well maybe they are already) if the audience had the chance to directly support them. In my opinion the views on Youtube are a lot closer to reality...

BTW: Does anyone here watch the British Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman? I like that show a lot and I can't wait until season 3 starts. They're only doing three episodes per season, but they're 90 minutes and as long as they're good: Quality over quantity. I never read a Sherlock Holmes story (even though I'm heavily interested), but a lot of people who did say the show is really good.

Neill - [neillgargoyle(a)gmail dot com]

<<I can't wait for Agents of SHIELD to be cancelled>>

I don't like being that guy who roots for a show's cancellation, not saying I've never done it but I don't like it; that said, I will not be unhappy when this show is axed (and Chloe Bennett should never be allowed to perform ever again). I see good, well produced shows get prematurely axed all the time (hell, look at where we are!), but I really hate it when the crap keeps getting renewed, remade, and rewarded over and over again. It's what made Michael Bay a millionaire many times over, it's what got Power Rangers renewed constantly while our beloved "Gargoyles" was axed. In this environment, I think it's a miracle that "Breaking Bad" got to finish its run, and that "Game of Thrones" is a resounding success. But "Agents of SHIELD" is everything that is wrong with broadcast network TV... and considering that AoS started out with twelve million viewers and plummeted to barely above two million, maybe the average viewer's standards are rising... not bloody likely, but one can hope.

Have you seen Jim Steranko's column at the Hollywood Reporter? He wrote the SHIELD comic book in the 70's, and pretty much defined the organization as we have come to know it today, and he despises the show. He has reviewed every episode, and utterly annihilates it week after week. It's a great read.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

No I don't like Michael Bay and I wish he wasn't involved in both films, I was hoping Transformers was going to be rebooted with a new director but I haven't heard much on the new Transformers film because i've been focusing more on TMNT and X-Men films so I haven't decided if I should go see it yet.

TMNT is another story because I've been a fan of it since I started watching 80s cartoon, I liked the 03 cartoon (only up to season 4) as it was more based on Mirage, I love the current cartoon now and currently reading IDW comics, so I wouldn't boycot this film. I know Bay is only producing it and Jonathan Liebesman is the director but I don't no much about him as i've never seen his other films but TMNT has huge fanbase and if the film ends up being terrible then Bays and Liebesmans heads could end on pikes.

VickyUK - [Vickysunseeker at aol dot com]

I can't wait for Agents of SHIELD to be cancelled, just so that I don't feel bad about not watching it despite enjoying the movies. It did get better after a bad start, but it's still not good.

Sleepy Hollow is good cheesy fun.

Harlan> Battlestar Galactica developed and refined its theology and backstory over the course of the series. By the end, it'll probably be closer to what you see in Caprica. It's up to you whether you choose to stick with it, but I wonder what you'd have thought if you'd seen Galactica first. I totally agree that Baltar's scenes took me out of the story. I quite like the concept of the character, but found him largely unwatchable, especially in the first season.

VickyUK> I have to agree with GregX. If people want Michael Bay to stop making movies (such awful, awful movies...), then they need to stop going to see his stuff just because it's an adaptation of something they happen to like. A friend of mine, a huge Transformers fan, goes to see every new Transformers movie when it comes out, sometimes more than once, and then complains about every one of them. The fact is it's his own fault (and the fault of those like him) that Bay is still in charge. Stop putting money in that man's hands.

Of course, if you think Michael Bay is a genius and should adapt more of our beloved children's series into terrible big budget popcorn flicks, go right ahead.

Supermorff

JURGAN> TIME Magazine named Walter White the Most Influential Fictional Character of 2013:

http://www.inquisitr.com/1058933/breaking-bad-anti-hero-walter-white-named-time-magazines-influential-fictional-character-of-2013/

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

<<90s X-Men>>

Seriously???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfmqSOr2-NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Bc7QQeLAY

As for my answer, it depends on voice director. Obviously Jamie Thomason is a genius. So is Andrea Romano. Just about anything they do has a great cast turn in great performances.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

As for other shows, after powering through BB I decided to start watching AMC's other big hit, Mad Men. It's a pretty good show with engaging characters, and has the same sort of feel of watching a central character slowly be broken down.

I am a big Doctor Who fan, but I do not like a lot of what Steven Moffat did with the show. For instance, The Day of the Doctor contradicts a lot of what had been previously established about the Time War. There are a lot of shallow characters and plot arcs with big promise that don't lead anywhere. I am very excited to see Peter Capaldi, though.

I started watching Adventure Time recently. I kind of gave up on it after about ten episodes, but then I watched some of Doug Walker's (the person who plays Nostalgia Critic) Vlogs on it, and the person with him said the show actually builds to a much deeper, more emotional story over time. I've finished the first season, and I'm starting to see the appeal. I love Marceline.

I watch The Newsroom with my dad. We both love Aaron Sorkin, so it's pretty good. Still, I get really tired of unrequited love subplots, because they're always really obvious and drawn out too long.

Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

Shifting away from live action I'd like to ask, what animated show do you think had the best voice casting? I personally think Greg's shows have some of the best voice work I've seen, but some other great shows include Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Futurama, and 90s X-Men
Matthew
I have nothing more to say...So why am I still talking?

Breaking Bad is definitely a tragedy in the best sense of the word. It didn't always go the way I wanted it to, but that's good, as I wouldn't want it to be completely predictable. In hindsight, there are very few if any things that didn't work. And the ending was absolutely perfect. [SPOILER] The key to tragedy is that the actions can't be random. There might be some chance, but ultimately the tragic hero creates his own downfall from his weaknesses, and should have an epiphany where he realizes that. What clenched it was the line "I did it for me." Walt finally admitted that everything that happened was his own responsibility and stopped trying to make excuses. His own ego and desire for control drove him to his crimes, and he finally accepted the consequences bravely. Seeing him fall, rise, fall again, and finally do what little he could to make amends was an absolutely perfect story. And, as Sir Anthony Hopkins said, it was also some of the best acting in screen history. [/SPOILER]
Jurgan - [jurgan6 at yahoo dot com]

I tried "Sleepy Hollow", but I just couldn't do it. It's much better than "Agents of SHIELD", though.

"Breaking Bad" is, probably, and I've been thinking about this for the last two months, the closest thing we have to modern Shakespeare. It is the perfect tragedy, it has all of the elements and the execution along with it. Not to mention the third to last episode, "Ozymandias", just might be the best single hour of television ever.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

Most of the things I watch on television these days are on the local PBS stations, including a few British imports (such as "Downton Abbey" - like Bishansky, I've been enjoying it for its historical elements); the chief exception's been "Sleepy Hollow" on FOX, a bizarre treatment of the story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman (here, Ichabod's an agent for George Washington who survived into modern times thanks to a spell cast upon him by his wife, who's a witch, and the Headless Horseman is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), which includes some fun scenes about Ichabod's bewilderment about the modern world from the vantage point of an 18th century Englishman-turned-supporter of the American Revolution (and who sometimes sets history straight; one episode, involving Paul Revere's ride, has him correctly point out that: a) Paul Revere was one of several dispatch riders spreading the word to the colonists and b) he wasn't shouting "The British are coming!" - back then, the colonists still thought of themselves as Englishmen standing up for traditional English rights, so they were talking about the approach of "the regulars" - i.e., the Redcoats - and instead of shouting the news, he told it to the colonists he was warning in a low voice, which wouldn't be as likely to be overheard by spies). The most recent episode featured an appearance from a golem, by the way.

I've also been watching "Doctor Who" on DVD recently, and have been enjoying it. (I'm looking forward to receiving "The Day of the Doctor" when it arrives by mail; I pre-ordered it from BBC America.)

I've heard of "Wizards vs. Aliens", but haven't seen it yet. (I've only seen one episode - well, a two-parter - of "The Sarah Jane Adventures", an extra on the DVD of "The Green Death" that I watched a couple of weeks ago. It had Sarah Jane Smith and her friends team up with Jo Grant - the Doctor's companion in the first episodes of "Doctor Who" I ever saw - to investigate a rumor, false of course, that the Doctor was dead, and featured a species of alien undertakers and funeral arrangers who, appropriately, look like vultures.)

Just bought the final trade paperback in the "Young Justice" comic book series co-written by Greg Weisman. [SPOILER] Looks like the viewers who thought from the Season Two map of Bialya that it had been engaging in territorial expansion were right. Has a neat cameo from Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen. [/SPOILER]

Todd Jensen
Hufflepuffs are really good finders

TV
Downton Abbey - Enjoy watching this, the latest series just finished. I will be watching the Christmas Day special
Call the Midwife - Enjoy watching this, can't wait to watch the new series early next year but will also have a special on Christmas Day.
Doctor Who - Don't watch it as much, but I will watch the Christmas Day special and the new series next year.
Other British show's I watch when they are on - Law and Order UK, Casualty/Holby City, Eastenders, Mrs Brown's Boys and Citizen Khan.

American Shows - Not many shows from America I watch but I've been told I should watch The Walking Dead and True Blood

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (on Nick)- Probably one of the best Cartoons i've seen for a long time. There have been some really good episodes best one so far was Season 1 episode The Gauntlet. Season 2 has been good so far.
The Simpsons - Not as good as it used to be but I still watch it
Family Guy - Same as above
Blue Bloods - Just started watching this and think it's good so far.
The Big Bang Theory - Few people at work always have it on when they are on their break, so I end up watching it myself. I think it's funny.

VickyUK - [Vickysunseeker at aol dot com]

<<In response to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think it's biggest problem is it's unwillingness (or inability) to tap into its source material. My theory is that the people working on it don't to use characters from the comics in case the movies want to use them. Currently you could change the title of the show to "Generic Secret Agent Squad" and it wouldn't change much at all. Not to mention most of the leads aren't very at all. But I digress.>>

It's not even that. I knew that going in. I would be fine with the set-up, if the characters were worth anything. Skye just might be the worst character to debut on television in years, the sooner she is killed off, the better it will be for the show. I am still stunned that Chloe Bennett landed this, the lead role, in the most hyped network TV premiere in years, when she has the acting ability of a failed Chinese pop star (no, seriously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNUvqIsYo7k ).

Ward is so wooden, you'd think he was the robot instead of Coulson. And I don't know which one is Fitz and which one is Simmons, and I don't care.

AoS is everything that is wrong with scripted broadcast television.

This is a few months old, but it's all about how and why the writing on cable is better than the broadcast networks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r3afgBkU6E

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

In response to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think it's biggest problem is it's unwillingness (or inability) to tap into its source material. My theory is that the people working on it don't to use characters from the comics in case the movies want to use them. Currently you could change the title of the show to "Generic Secret Agent Squad" and it wouldn't change much at all. Not to mention most of the leads aren't very at all. But I digress.


As for the rest of TV, there's not a whole lot going on for me, Futurama got cancelled...again. DC Nation isn't worth watching so there's little reason to watch Cartoon Network. Both Burn Notice and Breaking Bad have finished their run (which is a rarity for television these days). I will admit to watching Arrow, but that's rapidly venturing into Smallville territory and I don't want that.

Matthew
I have nothing more to say...So why am I still talking?

As for TV:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA- I...don't like it? It's alright. It's a bit disappointing coming off of Caprica, the Galactica spin off I watched on a complete lark and fell totally in love with. Caprica was a really involving show with heavy theological themes and creative ways it played with them, perhaps making it the only series to combine Mormon esoterica with light sprinklings of de Sadean indulgences (and as someone who is dorky about BOTH of those things, -oh my god you guys-.) I had my quibbles, as I didn't quite get a grasp on what the difference between the monotheistic terrorists and the polytheistic citizens' specific theological tenets actually WERE, and it seemed like every Adamas personality was "Coming from Tauron/Being Tauron", but even the latter element lead to some powerful stuff. And Zoe Greystone may be one of my favorite TV characters ever, if not Tamara as well.

And Galactica is...okay? I'm told it's the sort of Dudes in Spaceships (a genre I'm usually not keen on, for whatever reason. Can't place why.) I'd like, what with it having similar religious themes to Caprica and further drawing from the original Galactica creator's Mormonism. But...I guess it's not there yet? I love Starbuck and I love the Cylon angel who tempts and controls Baltar...

...yet I really hate Baltar. Like a lot. He seems so transparent in a show based around deception. He really throws me out of the entire story. There's nobody anyone on this ship can't know he's up to shit. I've yet to finish season one, so I may come around, but...ehhh.

I miss Caprica. Baltar's religious discussions with his Cylon ghost hooker ring so hollow to me. Caprica was loose with its theology too, but it had the benefit of Zoe Graystone's broad Mormonistic journey to give an emotional center and actual progression of those loose ideas. With Battlestar, it just seems like Baltar brings them up but otherwise they don't seem connected to the rest of the cast yet, so it feels oddly divorced. At least Starbuck is cool.

WIZARDS VS ALIENS- A cute children's show from Britain meant to be a production replacement for the Sarah Jane Adventures (a show I also adore and miss, my favorite part of the Whoniverse and one of my favorite shows period). The first season was fun, but admittedly didn't quite break out enough to feel distinct from the show everyone knows it's meant to "replace."

Luckily, season two broke out of that and finally felt like its own series with some surprising gut punches in a seasonal arc largely about coping with loss. Though filled to the brim with little asides and narrative cheats that reaaaally bend the show's rules, the character work is usually such that I don't mind it. It'll never be Sarah Jane Adventures but now that's finally okay. Given that season two ended with [SPOILER] Tom ascending briefly to godhood and bringing his deceased son back to life and converting the love of his life into a human at the cost of reigniting the blood feud between his family and the Nekross aliens, but still drastically changing the emotional status quo of said feud [/SPOILER], the show doesn't seem afraid of taking its stories into radical new directions. I hope they get the third season head writer Phil Ford is prepping for. They earned it.

The show is still a tad flawed, though. The whole conceit of its premise (the conflict between science and magic) doesn't work quite as strongly as it should...but it's a show for eight year olds, so obviously I can't expect something TOO deep about these conflicting fact/faith juxtapositions. It serves just enough, but it occasionally leaves me nonplussed. Also, despite the show finding its own unique mood and timber in season two, Benny, our resident science geek, still unfortunately feels like a poor man's Luke Smith, right down to a revelation in the finale that echoed future plans for Luke. Still, a weaker Luke Smith is still an entertaining character. Here's hoping he can go beyond that, though.

YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL- YGO isn't the most sophisticated franchise, but this show has been my consistent favorite for a while now. Perhaps one of the few times Yu-Gi-Oh!'s been able to stand on its writing on its own merits rather than "Well, it's good for a card game tie-in", while it's not perfect...it's one of the more unique reboots I've seen in a while. A soft thematic reboot that faithfully revives the iconography of the original series but slaves it to a different overplot, resulting in a pleasant blend of nostalgia and progression. Vector may be one of my favorite animated villains in a long time, feeling like Zapp Brannigan if he were an alien from Hell who played Magic the Gathering. And Yuma Tsukumo, humble in his origins as a talentless scrub and growing in personality and confidence to the point where he CURES HEAVEN FROM ITS TOTALITARIAN CYNICISM, may just be one of my favorite protagonists in animation.

It's pretty great. A dumb show written very smartly and with a lot of heart. Just how I like it.

Those're my three major wheelhouses now, I think. The recently concluded (I think?) High School USA was a nice revisit of Dino Stamatopoulos, Sleepy Hollow is good b-movie fun, and I LOVE Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I don't really dislike Agents of SHIELD either, despite my utter boredom with them MCU. I didn't really expect anything going in EXCEPT a hokey procedural and got...exactly what I expected. It's an okay way to kill an hour every couple of weeks. The Dollhouse reference one episode made was cute too, but that's my favorite Whedon show so I'm biased.

But I'd actually make the argument the show's writing genuinely improved once Joss Whedon left. The pilot, though fun enough, was full of painfully on the nose lines about the superhero genre that vanished the immediate episode after. Mike Peterson declaring this his "superhero origin story" was the most groan inducing thing in that show and I'm CONFIDENT that was a Joss Whedon line because, again, the rest of the episodes don't HAVE those. For all Joss Whedon played Avengers genuinely and, surprisingly, didn't overly meta-farce the already allegorical Cabin in the Woods, he seemed pretty willing to shatter disbelief with on the nose, farcey meta lines that don't make any sense in that episode. It felt like a TV Troper writing his first fanfic about superheroes.

So regardless of where you'd stand on the show as a whole, I can't help but wonder if it's better off WITHOUT Joss Whedon.

Harlan Phoenix
The enemy is clever. We're smaller but whatever. When we put it together, I'll form the head.

"American Horror Story" series

Pros
Each season is a self-contained story
Pretty much every mystery is resolved
Jessica Lange - fantastic actress
Actors/Actresses are reused as different characters in each season and they play very different characters each time which speaks highly of their range
Some of the characters are very strange; some you might end up really liking them after hating them or you may end up hating them after really liking them

Cons
Some of the characters are very strange; some you might end up really liking them after hating them or you may end up hating them after really liking them
Season 1's second episode almost lost me as a viewer, but thankfully it was just a bad egg, the rest of the season was great
Season 2 was good, but not as good as Season 1, I felt it picked up later on in the series especially with one character's performance (and you'll know who I mean if you watch it)
Season 3 has been a real struggle to get through thus far and I have two unwatched episodes on my DVR. I'm not digging the whole witches/voodoo storylines

Anthony Tini

Anyone have an opinion on "American Horror Story", "True Blood", or "The Blacklist"? I have friends that watch these shows and they want me to start watching them too.
Rebel - [rebelfornea at gmail dot com]

Over the last couple years I've gotten into the habit of not watching TV shows as they are airing, and instead waiting until they are over (or at least, the current season is over) and binge-watching them on Netflix or renting the DVD or something.

I know that's not how TV shows are meant to be watched but I don't care.

I binge-watched "Breaking Bad." Oh. My. God. Every couple of episodes you think "Wow, things just can't get any worse." But somehow they do. I like shows that run the main characters through a metaphorical meat-grinder and this is one of them. "Shameless" is similar to "Breaking Bad" in this respect although it's not nearly as smart of a show. I'm looking forward to the "Breaking Bad" spin-off focusing on Saul Goodman. He's soooo smarmy but he's thoroughly entertaining.

I binge-watched "The Walking Dead" up until the end of season 4 (or was it 3?). The current season is airing now and I'll watch all of that once it has all aired. It's great. I liked seeing the kind of man Rick was at the beginning of the show compared to the kind of man he became after everything he had to deal with. Same for all the characters I guess. Carl started out an innocent 12 year old; now he's pretty heartless. I enjoyed seeing Andrea go from being fairly useless to actually being able to hold her own, although she still didn't have the best judgement. Glenn went from being not particularly intimidating to being a real tough cookie. Hated Dale. Loved Hershel. Loved the Governor. My favorite character is Daryl. One complaint about "The Walking Dead" is that zombies showing up out of nowhere is only frightening the first few times. The show seems to know this however, because the biggest challenges for the main cast come from human opponents.

I binge-watched season 1 of "Orange is the New Black." This one's great too IMO. Piper, the main protagonist, is actually not one of my favorite characters. There are quite a few characters that I like more than her, but I don't dislike her--it's just that there are a lot of characters that are more interesting than she is. Piper serves as kind of a unobjectionable "trojan horse" that gets us into the prison and we can see how things work there from her perspective, which is also OUR perspective, because the average person doesn't know what prison is like. Fortunately, although the show's major arc is about Piper, the whole thing isn't about her. Each character has her own episode that shows flashbacks from her life before prison and shows how she ended up there, juxtaposed with the character dealing with a current conflict that she's facing while living in the prison. My favorite characters are Alex, Pensatucky, Nicky, Red, Miss Claudette, Mendez, Taystee, Figueroa. Don't much care for Healy, Larry, Daya, Crazy Eyes, or John. The overall arc of the first season can probably be best summed up as "Piper deals with all kinds of struggles (many which are her own damn fault) while she's getting accustomed to life in prison." There's a subplot throughout the first season of a romance between Daya and John which I found boring. Overall a very good first season and I'm looking forward to the next one.

For a long time I was watching "Once Upon a Time" but I gave up on it because the 3 or 4 episodes of season 3 that I watched were boring and stupid. The whole show is actually pretty stupid but it still had redeeming qualities in season 1 and 2 and I cared about the characters. Now it's just not fun anymore.

I'm up to season 4 or 5 of "The Big Bang Theory." There's not much to say about it, other than it genuinely makes me laugh, which most sitcoms don't. Sheldon and Penny pretty much carried the whole show for the first few seasons (in terms of humor, at least). In fact I used to begrudge Raj, Howard, and Leonard for how much screentime they got because I just wanted to laugh at Sheldon and/or Penny again. But as the show progressed it has done a better job of making everybody funny. Amy and Bernadette were fun additions to the cast.

Rebel - [rebelfornea at gmail dot com]

<<2 more films I want to see next year and yes Michael Bay is involved in both films.>>

That's like being told that wandering into a nuclear testing area will give you cancer and wanting to wander in anyway.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Yeah want to see it
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Love X-Men, I can't wait to go see it.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Saw the trailer the other day, will go to see it
300: Rise of An Empire - Not interested
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - No, haven't watched the other films or read the books.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Don't no what this is about, will have to look it up.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again - No, haven't seen the other films yet
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Might go see it
Dumb and Dumber To - Nope not Interested.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Want to go see it.
James Bond 24 - No, I'll probably see it when it comes on tv.
Jurassic World - Nope
Terminator 5 - Nope
Batman vs. Superman - Doubt it, Not big fan of DC.
Ant-Man - Don't no what this is about, will have to look it up.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 - Same reason as the 1st one.
Mission: Impossible V - Not interested.

2 more films I want to see next year and yes Michael Bay is involved in both films.

Transformers 4: The Age of Extinction - Will go see it even though I haven't heard much about it.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Love TMNT, but with all the rumours (1 being that the turtles are aliens), Shredder is played by a white actor and the Foot are soldiers and not Ninja's, I am a bit sceptical about it but I will go see it.

VickyUK - [Vickysunseeker at aol dot com]

Okay, let's talk TV. Who is watching what?

With all this talk over the MCU (which I do enjoy), I still think "Agents of SHIELD" might be the most abysmal show I have seen in a very long time. The writing is substandard (nepotism at its worst as Joss Whedon's less talented brother seems to be running it); the acting is laughable... everybody looks like they were focus-grouped to Hell and back. It's just boring. I dropped it weeks ago but still kept up with the critical reviews and nothing out there suggests it's gotten any better. Considering it went from twelve-million viewers and dropped down to maybe two million, I like to think sanity will win out and this show will end up on the chopping block. But what should I have expected from a TV series executive produced by Jeph Loeb?

There's still great TV out there, thankfully.

I think "Game of Thrones" is magnificent. A wonderful cast (I effing love Peter Dinklage), terrific writing; and maybe they biggest pair of balls on television. Yeah, they're adapting a fantastic series of books, which is where those ballsy twists and come from, but that doesn't make it any less fantastic. It's a smart show which will punch you in the gut multiple times.

"Downton Abbey" is another terrific series, with a very large cast that has a lot of chemistry, and some smart and witty writing. I particularly enjoy seeing how the characters are affected by world events taking place at the time. It opens right after the sinking of the Titanic, where family is tragically lost, and the second season covers the first world war.

It may have just ended, but I cannot stress how great "Breaking Bad" is. Josh Keaton said to me on Facebook that he thinks it's the greatest TV show ever made and while I don't want to make a proclamation that all-encompassing, I find it really difficult to think of a TV series that is better. The writing is very smart, and Bryan Cranston is a revelation in the role of Walter White; the entire cast is perfect. The A.V. Club says it ended the anti-hero genre by bringing back good and evil; and as somebody who watched most TV shows in that genre, once again, I can't disagree. Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray, or look for it on Netflix.

Okay, who else is watching TV

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

As Greg mentioned I'm definitely looking forward to Wes Anderson's next film. I wish they would put "Life Aquatic" on Blu-ray as it's one of his few films that isn't yet and it happens to be one of my favorites next to "The Darjeeling Limited". The next two years look pretty good for movies and I'm definitely looking forward to a lot of them on the list I posted, but not necessarily all of them. :)
Anthony Tini

Harlan Phoenix> I don't really understand your argument. I never got the impression it was building to a grand finale. There are tiers and tentpoles. And, yes, there are hooks for future movies (and, yes, these hooks are sometimes obnoxious), but if you took them out the movies generally stand by themselves. If you don't expect an over-plot that they don't intend to provide, you're less likely to be disappointed. (The only post-credits scene I've actually liked in an MCU movie is the one in Iron Man 3, specifically because it doesn't provide a hook for future movies, but still builds on the shared universe.)

Also, I don't see why you think that The Avengers changed absolutely nothing. Everything in the MCU since The Avengers has been affected by the events of The Avengers.

Of course, if you don't like the movies themselves, then that's fine. Some of them are definitely not good movies. But being based in a shared universe is not what makes them bad.

I'll still see them all. And maybe The Hobbit and X-Men: Days of Future Past. I'm unlikely to see any of the other films listed at the cinema.

Supermorff

The Marvel Cinematic Universe bores me to tears. I disliked shared universes enough in the comics and when it dawned on me via Avengers that it's a completely arbitrary connection where even its first big finale's only real arc is "We're just doing stuff so the next one can exist." It may be a better written series by a long shot, but it's not exactly much less vapid than, say, the Star Wars prequels. At least those films are connected with purpose and an arc. Tony Stark, the big anchor of the whole thing, didn't really escalate his arc as much as have the same arc all over again.

Pretty sure the only character who got a really fresh feeling was Steve Rogers (maybe Hulk)? But Captain America is totally cheating because he's just circumstantially the most interesting one.

He was my favorite, though. But man, if any movie was EVER a proof of concept about how shallow and vapid the whole concept of the MCU is.

But that's the risk with superhero adaptations, I guess. The genre itself wades is fairly shallow waters when it regards itself as a collective entity. The only thing separating Avengers the film and your average yearly event is that Avengers is less pretentious and doesn't insist upon itself that it's going to CHANGE EVERYTHING. But then it does the opposite and changes NOTHING, just making the heroes bros so they can be in another movie together. But it's the same basic thing.

For all the flak DC movies get, Batman's films seemed to get why DC heroes work. General icons you can filter into a specific prism. Superman may be terrible and Watchmen may be a good movie (if the most terrible and least faithful possible adaptation of that story imaginable), but that Batman formula at least shows "Well, okay, SOMEONE gets why DC characters can be cool." And I haven't even cared enough to see Dark Knight Rises, so I don't think I'm too biased in that assessment.

I...don't feel that way about the MCU? It's not even so much that I want high art with my superhero films because, believe me, oh GOD no, but it's just...so vapid. The shared universe makes me believe there's some end game, but Phase 1's decided over plot is..."a sequence of things that happened." Maybe I'd be more willing to buy into the fun of the movies if it wasn't so transparently just trying to shallowly get me to see EVERY movie with the promise some grand finale.

So Avengers, despite being the model (along with Speed Racer) for how comic/cartoon/that general thing adaptations should go in terms of tone and character, really sold me off the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. It was such a nothing ending to a series DESIGNED to escalate. I already love a bunch of light, fun character stuff. It always feels so awkward when my friends are super excited for the new Marvel movies and I can't just be assed to care.

Guardians of the Galaxy looks dope and bonkers, though, and James Gunn is my poop coach. I'm totally down. If the MCU did one thing cool for me as an audience member, it let THAT combination happen. I just don't give a single poop how it's supposed to fit into this grander "story."

So summer is a really boring movie time for me, is what I'm saying.

Harlan Phoenix
The enemy is clever. We're smaller but whatever. When we put it together, I'll form the head.

Definitely looking forward to Hobbit, Hunger Games, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe stuff (less so X-Men and Spider-Man, but I'll probably go see them at some point).

I barely even managed a shrug when I heard about the new Star Wars trilogy, and nothing much has changed since. I'll watch it, and I certainly hope it'll impress me, but I'm not building up any expectations one way or the other. I'm far more excited for SW: Rebels.

I'm also really psyched for How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Michael Fassbender as Macbeth certainly sounds interesting. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for that. (Unfortunately sounds like the sort of movie my local theater won't bother picking up, of course.)

Ross
"The future is in the past! Onwards, Aoshima!"

*I am

I dunno what's wrong with me; I've been making typos lately every time I type anything. *sigh*

Rebel - [rebelfornea at gmail dot com]

I thoroughly enjoyed Hunger Games and Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I'm excited about the next installments and in fact those are probably the upcoming movies I'm most excited about.

Godzilla - I haven't watched the teaser for this but I'll probably watch this. I haven't enjoyed any of the other Godzilla movies, but I really really like the *idea* of Godzilla and surely somebody is gonna get it right someday? I hope?
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - I liked the first Captain America movie and I liked Avengers so I'll give this a shot.
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Ehhh...I liked the first 3 X-Men movies and Wolverine: Origins. But X-Men: First Class could have been better and The Wolverine SUCKED. 4/6 isn't so bad though, so I'll give this a chance too.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Haven't seen the first Amazing Spider-Man. If I happen to see the first one between now and when the new one comes out I might go see the new one...but I'm not going out of my way to see the first one. I still don't get why they rebooted Spider-Man so quickly after the Toby Macguire movies.
300: Rise of An Empire - Haven't seen the first one. I might watch this one if I see the first one in the meantime. But again, I'm not gonna go out of my way to see the first one so it's unlikely.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - STOKED!!!
Guardians of the Galaxy - I'm definitely interested in this. It sounds intriguing.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again - Yeah I'll definitely watch this.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Maybe? I honestly don't remember whether I liked the first Sin City movie or not.
Dumb and Dumber To - Nope.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - I'll need to re-watch the 1st Avengers movie, but yes, I'm definitely interested in this.
James Bond 24 - Nah. I'm sure the James Bond movies are awesome but I never got into them.
Jurassic World - Doubt it. I really loved the first Jurassic Park movie but none of them since then have impressed me much.
Terminator 5 - I've never been into the Terminator franchise. If I was going to watch this I'd have to binge watch the previous 4 since I haven't seen any of them.
Batman vs. Superman - The title is baffling. Why would Superman and Batman be against each other? They are allies. I guess I'll go see it if my friends go, but I'm not going to go out of my way to watch this.
Ant-Man - I don't know anything about Ant-Man. If the trailer hooks me I'll give it a chance though.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 - ABSOLUTELY
Mission: Impossible V - Nope. Not into this franchise either.
Star Wars: Episode VII - Yet another franchise I never got interested in.

Greg X mentioned "The Wolf of Wall Street." I want to see this one also. From the trailer it looks like it will be awesome.

Rebel - [rebelfornea at gmail dot com]

One could make the argument that any movie after the first "Terminator" really doesn't work.

As far as Jurassic Park is concerned, every sequel has been like unprotected sex with a heroin junkie: a bad idea.

Star Wars, Episode VII I will only see in the theater if someone pays for my ticket.

Harvester of Eyes - [Minstrel75 at gmail dot com]
"She says, 'you think there's some system that controls and effects. You see, I believe in nothing, and you're convinced of the hex." -The Flaming Lips ("Convinced of the Hex")

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - I like the comic story, I hope this is interesting.
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Ditto, but I don't have much faith in Fox studios. But Peter Dinklage in the same movie as Sir Ian and Michael Fassbender is cool.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - I hope it's decent.
300: Rise of An Empire - Hell no.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - No interest.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I root for its success, so that the excuse "this is too out there for the movie going public" can never be used again.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again - Hell yeah!
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Meh.
Dumb and Dumber To - You couldn't pay me to watch this.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron - I can't wait.
James Bond 24 - Maybe. Depends on my mood.
Jurassic World - Hated the first two, never bothered with the rest.
Terminator 5 - I like the first one only, no desire to see this.
Batman vs. Superman - This will be the greatest unintentional comedy since "The Room".
Ant-Man - I like Edgar Wright. We'll see.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 - See the first one.
Mission: Impossible V - I hate Tom Cruise, so no.
Star Wars: Episode VII - Out of seven Star Wars movies, only two of them (New Hope and Empire) aren't garbage. Throw in that J.J. Abrams is directing this one, and that's a sure fire way to keep me away.

Here's one I'm really looking forward to:

Macbeth, directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth.

We've also got "The Wolf of Wall Street" coming out on Christmas Day, and that's Scorsese's next movie. He hasn't made a bad movie yet.

"Inherent Vice" looks terrific. It's directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed "There Will Be Blood", and stars Jena Malone and Josh Brolin.

Wes Anderson has "The Grand Budapest Hotel" coming out next year, and his movies are always a treat.

Greg Bishansky
Here's the problem with most fanfic writers: they seem to think Dominique is a second life. It isn't. Demona spelled it plainly in "High Noon." She's a gargoyle. Dominique is just a tool to help her in her goals. She'll use the form because she changes into a human, whether she likes it or not, but Dominique is not another life for her.

I feel like the only halfway interesting superhero movie is Guardians of the Galaxy and that's because James Gunn is glorious.
Harlan Phoenix
The enemy is clever. We're smaller but whatever. When we put it together, I'll form the head.

Anthony>You might aswell include Ghostbusters III in that list.

I don't like superhero films, so Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America... All that stuff I'm not interested in. 300: I don't like these kinds of films either. The 1st Hunger Games film dissappointed me, so I don't care about the sequels. Haven't watched Sin City yet, gotta check out the first film first. Dumb and Dumber 2... just... NO... And even if it's good: Nothing to go to the movies for. Now James Bond is kinda interesting but out of the 23 already existing movies I only watched like 3 of them, I wanna watch the others first before I go to see a James Bond movie.

Now Jurassic Park and Terminator 5 are both movies I'd love to see. But noone knows what Terminator 5 is about, or if it will be a reboot/remake whatever... Terminator without Arnold Schwarzenegger does not work. Jurassic Park only if Sam Neill and Goldblum are back.

DON'T even mention Mission Impossible. I don't care if action films are not realistic but that franchise is just wrong on so many levels...

Neill - [neillgargoyle(a)gmail dot com]

Neill

How about
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
300: Rise of An Empire
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: There and Back Again
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Dumb and Dumber To
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
James Bond 24
Jurassic World
Terminator 5
Batman vs. Superman
Ant-Man
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2
Mission: Impossible V
?

Star Wars: Episode VII is on top of my anticipation list for 2015. Unfortunately, it's literally 2 FULL years (plus a week) of waiting. God, I hope it's good.

Anthony Tini

Jurassic World (aka Jurassic Park IV) will be coming in 2015 as well.
Matt - [Saint Louis, Missouri, USA]
"For science, which, as my associate Fang indicated, must move ever forward. Plus there's the money... and I do love the drama!" - Sevarius, "Louse"

The teaser trailer for the new Godzilla movie just arrived and it looks awesome...
Can't wait to see this in theatres... I mean the movie... well the teaser too, because they're showing it before the Desolation of Smaug which I'm going to watch next week.

2014 Godzilla and 2015 Star Wars Episode VII. Is it a bad sign that these are the only two movies I'm looking forward to?

Neill - [neillgargoyle(a)gmail dot com]

And away we go on with the show!
Vinnie - [tpeano29 at hotmail dot com]
Mark Twain: "Don't argue with stupid people. They'll take you down to their level and beat you with experience."

Tenth in the name of ten things that need naming.
Chip - [Sir_Griff723 at yahoo dot com]
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. ~~C.S. Lewis

Ninth in the name of being a complete square.

Heh-heh-heh.

Brainiac - [OSUBrainiac at gmail dot com]
There is balance in all things. Live in symmetry with the world around you. If you must blow things up and steal from those around you, THAT'S WHAT RPGS ARE FOR!

Eight in the name of eight stars out of ten for Rain of the Ghosts. (Review to follow after more people have had the chance to read it.)
Phil - [p1anderson at yahoo dot com]

Seventh in the name of...uh...

The seven members of the Light? Yeah, let's go with that.

Masterdramon - [kmc12009 at mymail dot pomona dot edu]
"But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no...not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider..." - The Allman Brothers Band

"Young Justice: Legacy" is currently listed at $29.99 (originally $39.99) on Amazon.com.
Anthony Tini

Sixth
ESG

Fifth - as in 5:00 when I get to go home and open my amazon.com package containing Rain of the Ghosts.
UncleDeadly

Fourth
Anthony Tini

Third, for three more full weeks of the year.
Matt - [Saint Louis, Missouri, USA]
"For science, which, as my associate Fang indicated, must move ever forward. Plus there's the money... and I do love the drama!" - Sevarius, "Louse"

Second, for the second week of December
Matthew
I have nothing more to say...So why am I still talking?

First for finishing Greg's first novel :D
Phoenician
"The suspense is terrible, I hope it lasts" -- Willy Wonka