Conventional wisdom has long held that we've been living in a Robert Anton Wilson novel, but I'm ready to make the determination that we've switched to a Grant Morrison comic book, please adjust your bearings and humours accordingly.
I'd guess probably both Bob and Colin Wilson, when confronted with the Great Beast's legend becoming fact, printed the legend. I'm a big fan of Crowley tall tales, and don't doubt there's a way to place him in Devon in 1855 :)))
(Though to be fair I'm still fussing about trying to fit Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into the timeline as the mastermind behind this Crowley and Houdini team up I did with Toby Philpott.)
For market research purposes! I'm representative of a demographic that has never watched Doctor Who, but would absolutely watch All Star Doctor Who by Grant Morrison, especially if there was a lead in comic.
An interesting transatlantic difference has occurred to me! Over here our more aggro boys gravitate to American Football, which also absorbs the more tribalist fan culture, leaving our youth soccer teams populated with mostly polite honor roll students, and the stadiums filled with liberal arts college graduates, relatively speaking at least!
Hours of endless fun as the Trust computer program Apex has shut down at the hospital due to heat and all of us have nothing to do but watch the elderly come in to the foyer dropping like flies from heat exhaustion! Now there’s an idea!! perhaps I’ll create a game where a stretcher has to catch falling olbies…
The problem with Doctor Who is the obsession with continuity. The shows always falls apart when it starts rifling through the backstory.
The Time War was the genius of the first RTD era as it created a rug that everything could be swept under without invalidating anything. Sadly writers couldn't resist looking under it. Some stories should never be told...
My concern with someone like JMS picking it up is they’ll go hard on the HG Wells/Victoriana aspect (like the TV Movie did) instead of going for something more like Bowie in *The Man Who Fell To Earth*. Capaldi managed to successfully fuse the two aspects which is why he’s ended up as my favorite Doctor.
Onto Bond…
In terms of Bond themes. *Wild Boys* by Duran Duran. Bond filtered through widescreen Burroughs. Good enough that they got the gig on *A View To A Kill*.
IMHO any Bond reboot needs to be done as a serious period piece set in the 50s/60s. It doesn’t stand out from the rest of the spy crowd when ported to the present day.
On the lost Bond themes I completely blanked on 'This Must Be The Place I've Waited Years To Leave' by Pet Shop Boys. Originally written for one of the Timothy Dalton movies (The Living Daylights I think). Excellent Johnny Marr guitar accentuates the Bond vibe.
First off, I'm busting a gut at the manosphere riffs. However, what takes me out of it is that the piece is too damned sexy and operating in the root chakras.
I think the secret to understanding this whole movement is that they aren't landing women or sex because they don't WANT women or sex. I'm not landing on the tired diagnosis that they're all queer but there is a thing they keep saying about how "liking women is gay".
I personally think there's on the one hand what I call closet asexuality and on the other that there's things they want MORE THAN carnal bliss or even domestic labor. Much of that is male approbation and I kind of see the kids as a bunch of reincarnations of the Hero of the Beach bully.
What happened as I reckon is that nerds and geeks took over the world and cinema and technology, tried to create a post-cringe world and these lads are motivated to bring cringing back. Their dads didn't go out for a pack of smokes and leave but they did go into a mancave to get lost in World of Warcraft and go into debt collecting sofubi and so the sons feel an absence of father and an absence of masculine love from their fathers. Not suggesting the fathers themselves lacked masculinity (or maybe they do? I identify with the Dads here) but the masculinity was all astral projected into fictoverses and transhumanist tech programs and so the sons are looking for the male mentorship that Dad didn't give.
These kids hate Funko Pops and epic bacon, find names like Elenor to be young and Jessica to be old, and their relative disinterest in a lot of science fiction and superheroes is to my estimation a bigger box office drag on He-Man and Marvel and Star Trek and Doctor Who than any objective quality dip.
Not saying the quality hasn't dipped but it didn't matter as much when it dipped before and much of the flailing as I see it right now is that improvements in quality trajectory aren't helping!
I absolutely adore any and all -maxxing puns. I think Gen Alpha has fantastic slang.
I'd love to see it Bob Haney-ed up with "Crisismaxxing on Incelospheres".
OBSESSION is the first thing in awhile that really struck a chord with young men and women. And to see it beat the honesty quite serviceable improvement on the 80s FLASH GORDON movie in MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE tells me they're looking for RELEVANCE and we're in one of THOSE cycles.
As for Doctor Who? I want you to get the gig on the writing end.
As a watcher, I frankly feel that there is a significant problem with the show structurally. See, of course, continuity doesn't matter. But RELATIONSHIPS do.
And the problem as I see it is that the relationship with the TARDIS has been neglected and abused since late Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi and became strained under Whitaker and Gatwa.
The Jo Martin Fugitive Doctor has an identical TARDIS and is implied to be pre-Hartnell but we actually saw Hartnell steal the TARDIS pre-Police Box assisted by Clara Oswald. 14 casually cloned the TARDIS with a cartoon mallet. Gatwa's Doctor discovered that the TARDIS had been a traitor since Tom Baker, which jives oddly with Gaiman's Magical Pixie Dream TARDIS. And what of the Doctor's memories buried in the TARDIS? Are those safe?
I don't think that's continuity nitpicking. You wouldn't need to have seen any of that to recognize that the co-lead of the show is being approached sloppily. It's one thing to not explore the TARDIS' motives or even to sideline her for Bessie as Pertwee did. But they HAVE explored the TARDIS' motives and they've been a touch incoherent and a bit sloppy with it. When the show was firing on all cylinders, you saw people cosplay AS the TARDIS and project on being it as much as The Doctor or any companion. I think the TARDIS needs some character work and if it isn't too much of a detour some explanation of the weirdness with it since Whitaker. The important thing is establishing a tone going forward but having Jo Martin drop by and establishing some sense of how she has her TARDIS would be instructive!
I had been hoping for a few things from RTD based on the cards on the table. First, I'd wanted an aged up David Tennant 14B to regenerate into the Timeless Child post-Donna Noble and be placed by Gatwa, closing that dead end story with a loop. I'd considered the location being at a bridge between universes as a chance to introduce an alternate Gallifrey, which lets you finally have your cake and eat it too with the Doctor as Last of the Time Lords and still have Romana or whoever turn up. It helps the Doctor to have an institution to rebel against, something Capaldi mined well.
But more than that, I'd had a desire to see the Doctor's nondiagetic numbering return to importance by revealing that the numbers we have for The Doctor was the TARDIS keeping count. So the pre-Hartnell Doctors happened but we'd have some sense we WERE seeing something biographically significant in the form of this TARDIS' collection of Doctors.
As for landing the gig, I think BBC is probably looking for a level of show business business acumen, not just a writer. You're a former managing editor of Rolling Stone and Kristan is a savvy business person but I suspect they're looking for a whole production company that can make the catering trucks run on time and manage the bean counting in wardrobe and props.
To that end, I have a strong hunch it may be J. Michael Straczynski who lands the deal. He's run Babylon 5 at a franchise level and business level and been a story editor for the Ghostbusters cartoon. He's shown interest and moved to the UK, in part I think to show he's serious.
I'd look at partnering with him or the funny and clever Howard Overman (Misfits, Future Man, War of the Worlds), either of whom I think would be receptive collaborators.
If they're looking for U.S. production experience with a streaming partner, you might also consider Jeph Loeb. Former head of Marvel TV, co-developer of the Buffy Animated pitch, producer on LOST and Smallville and Heroes. Full of name dropping anecdotes of having worked with Michael J. Fox and Schwarzenegger. Potentially a Mark Frost to your David Lynch.
I haven't heard anything from him in years but always enjoyed spitballing with him and I think he's both a credible businessman and respects your pedigree. I can shoot him an e-mail if you don't have it.
It might go well for a BBC looking at rebuilding the American audience to have a UK native like you and a veteran American producer who goes to Gene Simmons' parties as co-leads! Poaching an ex-Disney VP might lend them a sense of vindication at that boondoggle.
Pegg/Frost should get The Tender, they should produce it as a co-production with Amazon Studios (like Fleabag) with first-run rights on BBC 1 Saturday night, they should do 6-8 episodes per year MAXIMUM (with an option to do a Christmas Special), all two-parters, WITH a Cliffhanger, they should use the same, lo-fi production aesthetic as Truthseekers and as much of the same crew as possible, it should begin in Media Res with a new Doctor and a new Companion, explain the Billie Piper stuff as and when (or, not at all after the fashion of Red Dwarf, post-Season 8 -- let The Fandom do The Heavy Lifting for a change)
My Personal Pick? Thomas Brodie-Sangster should be The Doctor.
Vibing with your post, dude. Regarding the non-diegetic numbering, I’m pretty sure Moffat canonized that with Clara saying “You’re the Eleventh Doctor” at the climactic end to Series 7. She and Petronella Osgood really spoke for us.
Moffat confirmed my own belief in The Novelisation for Day of The Doctor that he gives himself nicknames rather than using Numbering. The Eleventh Doctor is "Footface", apparently. He also added an additional scene where, having saved Gallifrey, they all meet up for a Tea-Party under The Panopticon that none of them will remember.
It's only as late as Mawdryn Undead in 1983 that The Doctor *explictly* confirms how many times he had already regenerated (four times) and how many more he had left (eight), and it is only as late as Time and The Rani that The Seventh Doctor explicitly states that he IS The Seventh Doctor, so it's not *quite* as embedded in the bedrock of Continuity as most people imagine it is --
The TV Movie adds the additional detail that a regenerating Time Lord (for reasons of disguise, presumably) can actually regenerate into another SPECIES which actually DOES explain why he's Half-Human (because he needs to be able to close The Eye of Harmony) whereas he WASN'T before, and The Master knows NOTHING about this, and all of the business with Chang Lee and The Fob-watch lays the groundwork for The Chameleon Arch, later on -- we might even go so far as to speculate that perhaps Chang Lee is being positively influenced and whispered to by The Watch in the same way Tim was in Human Nature/Family of Blood, where he actually got to Be The Doctor for a couple of days because The Watch chose him as his protector.
After [The Warrior], is the Ninth Doctor called Perfect-10? I imagine Perfect-10 would be bodies eleven and twelve.
Also, Bones and Burnt-Face Man are for the two actors playing the Thirteenth Master? I take it that the Dotty Professor is the Derek Jacobi incarnation? What are your names for the returned Beever's Master and Macqueen's Master?
(I'm only going by Televised versions for the time being)
Bones is The Master in The Deadly Assassin -- in the final scene he is seen regenerating; by the time of The Keeper of Traken, something ELSE has happened to him.
Interesting question : Is it The Master who summons Romana back to Gallifrey because he needs to get rid of her in the same way he needed to get rid of SJS in The Hand of Fear?
And does he somehow arrange for The TARDIS to take a spatial course back to Gallifrey that intersects with a CVE so that The Doctor will fall into E-Space be forced to survive (and escape), learn enough about Entropy that he is forced to go to Logopolis and TAKE The Master WITH him?
Because The Master is only able to sneak onto Logopolis by materialising inside The Doctor's TARDIS and Trojan Horsing his way in -- they presumably have early-warning sensor nets in deep space comparable to Gallifrey's induction barriers. And he is only able to hijack The Keepership of Traken because The TARDIS re-enters N-Space in Traken's Solar System and Adric then reports that they are GOING there, whereas previously, they were SUPPOSED to be going to Gallifrey.
"I am NOT Bruce -- it TOOK Me a minute, with The Walking and The Talking; but I am NOT Bruce.... I am merely -- *inside* His Body...."
Lee never seriously questions this, OR asks "Where is Bruce, then?", which is all the more alarming when you consider that he's clearly inside Bruce's DEAD Body, which is falling apart in precisely the same way Tremas' didn't for ages. Incidentally, the relative incompetence and pantomime villain buffoonery of The Tremas Master (Uncle Abanazer is Jafar, the villain in the panto version of Aladdin for all you US readers over there -- Aladdin is The Widow's Son but he's also The Son of A Tailor [Planet of The Apes Reference]; The Evil Sorcerer mascarades as Aladdin's Father's Long Lost Brother to seduce Aladdin's weak mother to gain access to the lamp, since The Master of The Lamp (or The Ring) is whoever picks it up, and he hides The Ring in his fine clothing and forgets he even has it; The Power of The Genie of The Ring is inferior to that of The Genie of The Lamp, but is sufficent to facilitate miraculous escapes, both from The Cave of Wonders and from China when he gets banished there -- in panto, "Son of a Tailor" translates to "They operate a family-run Chinese Laundry", which afford's much opportunity for bucket-of-soapy water-related hijinks on stage.
But anyway -- the reason The Tremas Master was so inept is because Tremas quite clearly wasn't truly dead; he was in there, mucking up all of his schemes from the inside.
He disregards bodies with the same callous disregard he treats Women and His TARDISes -- Typical Malignant Narcissist, his lies get more and more careless and sloppy as he approaches his desired goal and he stops caring about keeping his useful idiots on-side and just assumes their continued allegiance and loyalty. Helped along with a *little* Hypnosis.
Because of YOU, Doctor.... And I shall be RID of You....
Life's Champion : "ALL Your Lives"?!? Didn't You Tell Lee I'd STOLEN all Your Lives?!?! Lee, He's LYING! He's USED all his lives, ow he wants MINE! Like I Told You, This is MY TARDIS, This MY Body.
I-am-not-Bruce : Don't believe him -- Open The Eye.
Gonna use my style, gonna use my senses, gonna use my fingers, gonna use mah mah mah imagination...
(I quite like the Suede version, but its not better, only just as good).
OMG... you used the "Nazi word"... I've sweated over that this week.
Have we 1984'd that out of the dictionary for all time or only in the Betty Ford clinic for linguistics addicts?
Do we keep our memorabilia collections in the basement or "re-educate" the poor bastards by force?
How do you explain what you mean to people that are determined (thanks to paṭiccasamuppāda or dependent arising) to misunderstand you?
You can't.
I can't.
Nobody can.
Might as well use our fingers while we still have them and before we're suddenly in a Steven Hawkins chair explaining the mysteries of reality via the medium of cheek twitches... wouldn't wish it on an enemy if I had any.
Anyway... where was "I"... on the evening of Saturday 27th of June at the time of waiting for the clock to strike an auspicious 0'clock?
Waiting for Vincent quite frankly.
Thanks for the reference to David Hockney, who as well all know spent so much of his life engaged in homosexual activity that apparently that defined him. Very Van Gough more than Picasso, but each to their own.
Thanks for the update on the cats and don't you ever forget that the only reason I'm a paid subscriber is that mah munny pays for cat food, otherwise I couldn't justify it as a mere indulgence in entertainment in a world where a gram of X can be found cheaper.
THanks for the media run-down, but I only really care about comics being recognized as the ultimate form of expression in the optimal format for understanding expression.
Football?
That must be why "vomit" was in the tile.
Well written as it was it reminded me of being taken by a family friend to a local football game when I was a kid and not understanding a single moment of the experience... frankly I still prefer not to.
>"Curse you, football! Curse you and your false promises!"
Not even the half of the bewilderment that arises in relation to "the beautiful game" for me... most of it is the religions and allegiances and the complications they can bring to life for the kinds of people who follow things like religions or allegiances.
I'm ugly and boring as fuck, but I'm happy.
I'd never support a team what would have me as a supporter.
For lost Bond themes, I have to go with the entire soundtrack to the best of the Unofficial Bond films, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. It's an absolutely barmy film about a group of friends (and the diamond thief they kidnap) accidentally washing ashore onto a Bond movie villain island and the soundtrack has a charmingly surfer vibe to it. The theme songs to the currently ongoing dream spy series Kamen Rider Zeztz are also a delight in this regard. Also Miki Matsubara's Safari Eyes is great, even if the sci-spy film it opens is absolute dog shit. (The opening titles and some of the visual choices might be the film's sole redeeming feature.)
I might have to read The Unseen Internet for research purposes.
Never thought of Ebirah as a Bond film. I mostly got Kamen Rider/Super Sentai vibes out of the bad guys in it (Ishinomori was probably influenced by Bond in the first place with his nebulous evil cults/army villains). I think it's really obvious that Toho originally intended for Ebirah to be a King Kong film instead of Godzilla, as its the only movie where Godzilla shows any interest in the female lead.
Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster is the Showa Godzilla film with the most Bond vibes to me; especially given the political assassination subplot and that the Princess actress would go on to be one of the stars of You Only Live Twice. Probably my favourite Showa Godzilla after the original 1954 film. The Monster Summit scene where Godzilla and Rodan are chucking boulders at each other like dodgeballs is peak Cinema.
That's probably fair. At the same time, evil island run by a megalomaniacal bastard out to take over the world with the aid of absurd science, fits well within both the tokusatsu likely drawn upon and the Bond films of the era. (Which would be between Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.)
we said we weren’t really sure what their plans with this whole Keposhka/Draag regime thing was— if you do go to London be warned that a massive amount of fans are already upset at the stage setup. Unfortunately Auschwitz has been waaaay too closely referenced now- all anyone can ask is “What were they thinking??”
docs link for a compilation of related imagery (no tour lore spoilers)
When you said a couple of weeks ago that its worth putting in the intellectual study in preparation to explore new mental states and perspectives, you were on the money. I'd thought before the experience that was part of the drill, preloading for when 'you' get a bit hazy and there are other ideas and possibilities to move in. It was funny what was in there. Dane pulling on the nails in Christ's feet was pretty prominent. As was a video of RAW, towards the end of his life, quoting Ezra Pound- "Nothing matters but the quality of the affection" I latter found out the that the full quote is "Nothing matters but the quality/of the affection-/in the end-that has carved the trace/in the mind/dove sta memoria", which seems pretty Buddhist to me.
Like you I enjoyed 'I hear a new world'. Joe Meek was fun, and there were plenty of memorial moments, not least of which was Charming Peter disposing of his friend Button Danity. Jeez, Alan really went there!
I'm currently reading 'The Silver Book' by Olivia Laing. Set in Italy during the filming of Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò, it is a slight book, but the writing is beautiful and it has a lovely hazy feel. I'm enjoying every page. Can't recommend it highly enough, (well, at least so far. I'm currently about halfway through).
Thanks for the Sugar recommendation. I enjoyed the first season. Carol Farrell really brings the big sad to the role in such an appealing way. I 'm going to have a slight break and then will followup with season 2.
Grant - I'm leaving it pretty late, but I wanted to get the last riff of school out of my head before I posted, sometimes hanging out with teenagers makes one always talk as if they are talking to a teenager or are a teenager themselves.
The writing is very nearing the end of the book. Had another great coincidence two days ago -- my self-insert character just used a thunderbolt, as I finished typing the line lightning struck across the sky and the heavens opened. I used the moment to put back into the book.
Anyway, finally on the last stretch before publishing!
I hope this isn't to personal a question, when you wrote yuor hypersigils, what changed for you the most -- or what surprised you? Obviously, you made a lot of money but, was there any moments that stood out for you, making you sit back and say 'fuck...now I'm really doing it!'?
Also, another question (because I've just started this week, trying): does promotion and advertising and all that shit ever becomes fun? Or is it all just a ball ache of a kind of shitty mmo?
I quite enjoyed the Chadmaxxing bit (did I include enough x's there? Chadmaxxxxxing? How much is enough? Probably as many as you can fit in a twitter post). I especially enjoyed the Hooting part- spent many an evening the last few nights thinking about how to get my lips into the shape of an owl's beak. I've almost got it down. I appreciated the seeming comparison to mummification and this desperate attempt prevalent in popular culture of everyone trying to achieve a perfection that only exists in their minds. Good stuff.
I will say after suggesting Skinamarink- I had a dear friend who hated it, and she was annoyed at me for suggesting it. But man- I really do feel lucky for having watched it alone, in an entirely empty theater, with all of the audio crackling and empty black spaces on the screen where maybe something was about to emerge... But I fault no one for hating it as a film. And yeah, it's bleak as hell. It's unique and if you can slow down and meet it on its own level it is a disturbing experience.
Perpetually late to the party, I finally watched One Battle After Another, which was mentioned here some time ago, If i recall correctly. Really great- especially Benecio Del Toro as the Sensei. Sean Penn screaming " I am a Christmas Adventurer!" springs to mind days later and makes me chuckle.
I said goodbye to one of the little ones here this week- trying to process it into something productive. She was a cat I've had for years, named Nubbin. She always liked being outside more than in the house, and years ago I built her a little wooden house to go out on the patio so she could feel safe. After she passed I cleaned it up and I want to do something with it, turn it into a little garden or bird feeder. She was semi-feral, back in 2022 when I took her in it was because she was at risk of losing her eyesight. Gave her eyedrops for ages- eventually a lysine supplement helped her eye infections more than anything. She was FIV positive so that might be why. We made her safe as long as we could. Glad to hear about the little five week old kitten!
Instead of proper Dr Who why not DC's hyper obscure Jasper Pepperdyne who could be a renegade linear man, or Marvels' Justin Gamble who is at war with the TVA . Actually surely Iris Wildthyme and her red double decker bus Tardis could benefit from your singular voice. It'd be like when Alan did Supreme better than the real deal.
A comics rec: Gigs by Mark Mosedale and Si Smith. Really good work engaging with what’s to be done should the bastards win and everyone’s living in a utopia that only benefits the richest of scumfucks. That we are fucked. Really got me out of a funk of uselessness induced despair.
Haha! I told you all fog exists… and they called me mad.
I'm still trying to figure out if fog is one giant ghost or a whole crowd of tiny ghosts
Well, is it just A Mist, or does it have Arms & Legs...?
WE GOT ONE!
CHUDhood’s end. Brainsmorrshing! as read by freaking Matt Berry.
Also, fog is good food. Good nootchies.
GMaxxxing through the Endless Summer!
Conventional wisdom has long held that we've been living in a Robert Anton Wilson novel, but I'm ready to make the determination that we've switched to a Grant Morrison comic book, please adjust your bearings and humours accordingly.
I'd guess probably both Bob and Colin Wilson, when confronted with the Great Beast's legend becoming fact, printed the legend. I'm a big fan of Crowley tall tales, and don't doubt there's a way to place him in Devon in 1855 :)))
(Though to be fair I'm still fussing about trying to fit Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into the timeline as the mastermind behind this Crowley and Houdini team up I did with Toby Philpott.)
For market research purposes! I'm representative of a demographic that has never watched Doctor Who, but would absolutely watch All Star Doctor Who by Grant Morrison, especially if there was a lead in comic.
An interesting transatlantic difference has occurred to me! Over here our more aggro boys gravitate to American Football, which also absorbs the more tribalist fan culture, leaving our youth soccer teams populated with mostly polite honor roll students, and the stadiums filled with liberal arts college graduates, relatively speaking at least!
Suffice to say I'm very much enjoying the World Cup, but of course the real game of global concern and consequence is right here! https://www.talesofilluminatus.com/CTHULHUS_WAKE/
I bloody loved this, the game I mean.
Hours of endless fun as the Trust computer program Apex has shut down at the hospital due to heat and all of us have nothing to do but watch the elderly come in to the foyer dropping like flies from heat exhaustion! Now there’s an idea!! perhaps I’ll create a game where a stretcher has to catch falling olbies…
Oh I'm so glad! I'd imagine when performing triage lulling Cthulhu back to sleep has to rank pretty highly amongst the most urgent priorities :)))
And you for sure could pretty easily take the code from the games and swap out the images and text and make variants of all sorts!
The problem with Doctor Who is the obsession with continuity. The shows always falls apart when it starts rifling through the backstory.
The Time War was the genius of the first RTD era as it created a rug that everything could be swept under without invalidating anything. Sadly writers couldn't resist looking under it. Some stories should never be told...
My concern with someone like JMS picking it up is they’ll go hard on the HG Wells/Victoriana aspect (like the TV Movie did) instead of going for something more like Bowie in *The Man Who Fell To Earth*. Capaldi managed to successfully fuse the two aspects which is why he’s ended up as my favorite Doctor.
Onto Bond…
In terms of Bond themes. *Wild Boys* by Duran Duran. Bond filtered through widescreen Burroughs. Good enough that they got the gig on *A View To A Kill*.
IMHO any Bond reboot needs to be done as a serious period piece set in the 50s/60s. It doesn’t stand out from the rest of the spy crowd when ported to the present day.
Barbarella was viewed by me long after I'd experienced Duran Duran, but Simon and the boys nailed the whole vibe with;
"... dance... into the fire..."
On the lost Bond themes I completely blanked on 'This Must Be The Place I've Waited Years To Leave' by Pet Shop Boys. Originally written for one of the Timothy Dalton movies (The Living Daylights I think). Excellent Johnny Marr guitar accentuates the Bond vibe.
First off, I'm busting a gut at the manosphere riffs. However, what takes me out of it is that the piece is too damned sexy and operating in the root chakras.
I think the secret to understanding this whole movement is that they aren't landing women or sex because they don't WANT women or sex. I'm not landing on the tired diagnosis that they're all queer but there is a thing they keep saying about how "liking women is gay".
I personally think there's on the one hand what I call closet asexuality and on the other that there's things they want MORE THAN carnal bliss or even domestic labor. Much of that is male approbation and I kind of see the kids as a bunch of reincarnations of the Hero of the Beach bully.
What happened as I reckon is that nerds and geeks took over the world and cinema and technology, tried to create a post-cringe world and these lads are motivated to bring cringing back. Their dads didn't go out for a pack of smokes and leave but they did go into a mancave to get lost in World of Warcraft and go into debt collecting sofubi and so the sons feel an absence of father and an absence of masculine love from their fathers. Not suggesting the fathers themselves lacked masculinity (or maybe they do? I identify with the Dads here) but the masculinity was all astral projected into fictoverses and transhumanist tech programs and so the sons are looking for the male mentorship that Dad didn't give.
These kids hate Funko Pops and epic bacon, find names like Elenor to be young and Jessica to be old, and their relative disinterest in a lot of science fiction and superheroes is to my estimation a bigger box office drag on He-Man and Marvel and Star Trek and Doctor Who than any objective quality dip.
Not saying the quality hasn't dipped but it didn't matter as much when it dipped before and much of the flailing as I see it right now is that improvements in quality trajectory aren't helping!
I absolutely adore any and all -maxxing puns. I think Gen Alpha has fantastic slang.
I'd love to see it Bob Haney-ed up with "Crisismaxxing on Incelospheres".
OBSESSION is the first thing in awhile that really struck a chord with young men and women. And to see it beat the honesty quite serviceable improvement on the 80s FLASH GORDON movie in MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE tells me they're looking for RELEVANCE and we're in one of THOSE cycles.
As for Doctor Who? I want you to get the gig on the writing end.
As a watcher, I frankly feel that there is a significant problem with the show structurally. See, of course, continuity doesn't matter. But RELATIONSHIPS do.
And the problem as I see it is that the relationship with the TARDIS has been neglected and abused since late Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi and became strained under Whitaker and Gatwa.
The Jo Martin Fugitive Doctor has an identical TARDIS and is implied to be pre-Hartnell but we actually saw Hartnell steal the TARDIS pre-Police Box assisted by Clara Oswald. 14 casually cloned the TARDIS with a cartoon mallet. Gatwa's Doctor discovered that the TARDIS had been a traitor since Tom Baker, which jives oddly with Gaiman's Magical Pixie Dream TARDIS. And what of the Doctor's memories buried in the TARDIS? Are those safe?
I don't think that's continuity nitpicking. You wouldn't need to have seen any of that to recognize that the co-lead of the show is being approached sloppily. It's one thing to not explore the TARDIS' motives or even to sideline her for Bessie as Pertwee did. But they HAVE explored the TARDIS' motives and they've been a touch incoherent and a bit sloppy with it. When the show was firing on all cylinders, you saw people cosplay AS the TARDIS and project on being it as much as The Doctor or any companion. I think the TARDIS needs some character work and if it isn't too much of a detour some explanation of the weirdness with it since Whitaker. The important thing is establishing a tone going forward but having Jo Martin drop by and establishing some sense of how she has her TARDIS would be instructive!
I had been hoping for a few things from RTD based on the cards on the table. First, I'd wanted an aged up David Tennant 14B to regenerate into the Timeless Child post-Donna Noble and be placed by Gatwa, closing that dead end story with a loop. I'd considered the location being at a bridge between universes as a chance to introduce an alternate Gallifrey, which lets you finally have your cake and eat it too with the Doctor as Last of the Time Lords and still have Romana or whoever turn up. It helps the Doctor to have an institution to rebel against, something Capaldi mined well.
But more than that, I'd had a desire to see the Doctor's nondiagetic numbering return to importance by revealing that the numbers we have for The Doctor was the TARDIS keeping count. So the pre-Hartnell Doctors happened but we'd have some sense we WERE seeing something biographically significant in the form of this TARDIS' collection of Doctors.
As for landing the gig, I think BBC is probably looking for a level of show business business acumen, not just a writer. You're a former managing editor of Rolling Stone and Kristan is a savvy business person but I suspect they're looking for a whole production company that can make the catering trucks run on time and manage the bean counting in wardrobe and props.
To that end, I have a strong hunch it may be J. Michael Straczynski who lands the deal. He's run Babylon 5 at a franchise level and business level and been a story editor for the Ghostbusters cartoon. He's shown interest and moved to the UK, in part I think to show he's serious.
I'd look at partnering with him or the funny and clever Howard Overman (Misfits, Future Man, War of the Worlds), either of whom I think would be receptive collaborators.
If they're looking for U.S. production experience with a streaming partner, you might also consider Jeph Loeb. Former head of Marvel TV, co-developer of the Buffy Animated pitch, producer on LOST and Smallville and Heroes. Full of name dropping anecdotes of having worked with Michael J. Fox and Schwarzenegger. Potentially a Mark Frost to your David Lynch.
I haven't heard anything from him in years but always enjoyed spitballing with him and I think he's both a credible businessman and respects your pedigree. I can shoot him an e-mail if you don't have it.
It might go well for a BBC looking at rebuilding the American audience to have a UK native like you and a veteran American producer who goes to Gene Simmons' parties as co-leads! Poaching an ex-Disney VP might lend them a sense of vindication at that boondoggle.
Here's what should Happen --
Pegg/Frost should get The Tender, they should produce it as a co-production with Amazon Studios (like Fleabag) with first-run rights on BBC 1 Saturday night, they should do 6-8 episodes per year MAXIMUM (with an option to do a Christmas Special), all two-parters, WITH a Cliffhanger, they should use the same, lo-fi production aesthetic as Truthseekers and as much of the same crew as possible, it should begin in Media Res with a new Doctor and a new Companion, explain the Billie Piper stuff as and when (or, not at all after the fashion of Red Dwarf, post-Season 8 -- let The Fandom do The Heavy Lifting for a change)
My Personal Pick? Thomas Brodie-Sangster should be The Doctor.
Make The Show -- make Amazon Pay for it.
Put all The Blu-Rays on Special Discount Sale.
Everyone will buy that.
Vibing with your post, dude. Regarding the non-diegetic numbering, I’m pretty sure Moffat canonized that with Clara saying “You’re the Eleventh Doctor” at the climactic end to Series 7. She and Petronella Osgood really spoke for us.
Moffat confirmed my own belief in The Novelisation for Day of The Doctor that he gives himself nicknames rather than using Numbering. The Eleventh Doctor is "Footface", apparently. He also added an additional scene where, having saved Gallifrey, they all meet up for a Tea-Party under The Panopticon that none of them will remember.
It's only as late as Mawdryn Undead in 1983 that The Doctor *explictly* confirms how many times he had already regenerated (four times) and how many more he had left (eight), and it is only as late as Time and The Rani that The Seventh Doctor explicitly states that he IS The Seventh Doctor, so it's not *quite* as embedded in the bedrock of Continuity as most people imagine it is --
The TV Movie adds the additional detail that a regenerating Time Lord (for reasons of disguise, presumably) can actually regenerate into another SPECIES which actually DOES explain why he's Half-Human (because he needs to be able to close The Eye of Harmony) whereas he WASN'T before, and The Master knows NOTHING about this, and all of the business with Chang Lee and The Fob-watch lays the groundwork for The Chameleon Arch, later on -- we might even go so far as to speculate that perhaps Chang Lee is being positively influenced and whispered to by The Watch in the same way Tim was in Human Nature/Family of Blood, where he actually got to Be The Doctor for a couple of days because The Watch chose him as his protector.
My Own System Goes :
Old Grandfather
The Tramp
The Established Dandy
Tom
The Chorister (He's a Choirboy)
Mister Six/Mister Black
Time's Champion
Life's Champion
[The Warrior]
Perfect-10
Perfect-10 (The Life so Nice, I Lived it Twice!)
The Chin
Dr. Disco
The Woman
Perfect-10 (Third Time's a Charm!)
Ta-Da!
For The Master, We Have :
The Spanish Ambassador
Bones
Burnt-Face Man
Uncle Abanazza
I-am-not-Bruce
The Dotty Professor
Burning Man
Miss Demeaner and
ANGRY Eyes!
https://youtu.be/mFNxrU8uw50?si=Iy6NegXJnErag32f
Hello Fr_Theta_Sigma-Sirius_Septemus,
After [The Warrior], is the Ninth Doctor called Perfect-10? I imagine Perfect-10 would be bodies eleven and twelve.
Also, Bones and Burnt-Face Man are for the two actors playing the Thirteenth Master? I take it that the Dotty Professor is the Derek Jacobi incarnation? What are your names for the returned Beever's Master and Macqueen's Master?
Cheers!
I missed one : The Designated Survivor.
That's The Ninth Doctor, and it turned out to be True --
The Price is the he survives and doesn't remember saving Gallifrey.
He thinks he burned both mighty races and that he is COMPLETELY alone in The Universe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxAg6oM5BAo
(I'm only going by Televised versions for the time being)
Bones is The Master in The Deadly Assassin -- in the final scene he is seen regenerating; by the time of The Keeper of Traken, something ELSE has happened to him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIIEyyJpbrQ
Interesting question : Is it The Master who summons Romana back to Gallifrey because he needs to get rid of her in the same way he needed to get rid of SJS in The Hand of Fear?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8mZaBf84zo
And does he somehow arrange for The TARDIS to take a spatial course back to Gallifrey that intersects with a CVE so that The Doctor will fall into E-Space be forced to survive (and escape), learn enough about Entropy that he is forced to go to Logopolis and TAKE The Master WITH him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiuGNmBXz5g
Because The Master is only able to sneak onto Logopolis by materialising inside The Doctor's TARDIS and Trojan Horsing his way in -- they presumably have early-warning sensor nets in deep space comparable to Gallifrey's induction barriers. And he is only able to hijack The Keepership of Traken because The TARDIS re-enters N-Space in Traken's Solar System and Adric then reports that they are GOING there, whereas previously, they were SUPPOSED to be going to Gallifrey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Br1WrcqJI
"I am NOT Bruce -- it TOOK Me a minute, with The Walking and The Talking; but I am NOT Bruce.... I am merely -- *inside* His Body...."
Lee never seriously questions this, OR asks "Where is Bruce, then?", which is all the more alarming when you consider that he's clearly inside Bruce's DEAD Body, which is falling apart in precisely the same way Tremas' didn't for ages. Incidentally, the relative incompetence and pantomime villain buffoonery of The Tremas Master (Uncle Abanazer is Jafar, the villain in the panto version of Aladdin for all you US readers over there -- Aladdin is The Widow's Son but he's also The Son of A Tailor [Planet of The Apes Reference]; The Evil Sorcerer mascarades as Aladdin's Father's Long Lost Brother to seduce Aladdin's weak mother to gain access to the lamp, since The Master of The Lamp (or The Ring) is whoever picks it up, and he hides The Ring in his fine clothing and forgets he even has it; The Power of The Genie of The Ring is inferior to that of The Genie of The Lamp, but is sufficent to facilitate miraculous escapes, both from The Cave of Wonders and from China when he gets banished there -- in panto, "Son of a Tailor" translates to "They operate a family-run Chinese Laundry", which afford's much opportunity for bucket-of-soapy water-related hijinks on stage.
But anyway -- the reason The Tremas Master was so inept is because Tremas quite clearly wasn't truly dead; he was in there, mucking up all of his schemes from the inside.
He disregards bodies with the same callous disregard he treats Women and His TARDISes -- Typical Malignant Narcissist, his lies get more and more careless and sloppy as he approaches his desired goal and he stops caring about keeping his useful idiots on-side and just assumes their continued allegiance and loyalty. Helped along with a *little* Hypnosis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFNxrU8uw50
I-am-not-Bruce : I have Wasted ALL My Lives --
Because of YOU, Doctor.... And I shall be RID of You....
Life's Champion : "ALL Your Lives"?!? Didn't You Tell Lee I'd STOLEN all Your Lives?!?! Lee, He's LYING! He's USED all his lives, ow he wants MINE! Like I Told You, This is MY TARDIS, This MY Body.
I-am-not-Bruce : Don't believe him -- Open The Eye.
Life's Champion : He SAID it HIMSELF, Lee!
He's WASTED His Lives, ALL of them.
I-am-not-Bruce : (Loses patience) OPEN The EYE!
LEE: NO! You LIED to Me!
https://youtu.be/TIBL0WFdPO8?si=jrhg268UZZ561NuH
And You can Call Me "Thete".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=391w1I9tHrE
sounds like you could write for it too! :)
On another note, the only problem with Doctor Who is nobody realizes who the who is.
How is the weather on Gallifrey today?
>"What if the individual was the crock?"
Someone has to say it and Grant said it best and first.
First in an intelligible and straightforward way.
I'm living "My Grantest Adventure" and I ain't even flexed yet.
Gonna use my style, gonna use my senses, gonna use my fingers, gonna use mah mah mah imagination...
(I quite like the Suede version, but its not better, only just as good).
OMG... you used the "Nazi word"... I've sweated over that this week.
Have we 1984'd that out of the dictionary for all time or only in the Betty Ford clinic for linguistics addicts?
Do we keep our memorabilia collections in the basement or "re-educate" the poor bastards by force?
How do you explain what you mean to people that are determined (thanks to paṭiccasamuppāda or dependent arising) to misunderstand you?
You can't.
I can't.
Nobody can.
Might as well use our fingers while we still have them and before we're suddenly in a Steven Hawkins chair explaining the mysteries of reality via the medium of cheek twitches... wouldn't wish it on an enemy if I had any.
Anyway... where was "I"... on the evening of Saturday 27th of June at the time of waiting for the clock to strike an auspicious 0'clock?
Waiting for Vincent quite frankly.
Thanks for the reference to David Hockney, who as well all know spent so much of his life engaged in homosexual activity that apparently that defined him. Very Van Gough more than Picasso, but each to their own.
Thanks for the update on the cats and don't you ever forget that the only reason I'm a paid subscriber is that mah munny pays for cat food, otherwise I couldn't justify it as a mere indulgence in entertainment in a world where a gram of X can be found cheaper.
THanks for the media run-down, but I only really care about comics being recognized as the ultimate form of expression in the optimal format for understanding expression.
Football?
That must be why "vomit" was in the tile.
Well written as it was it reminded me of being taken by a family friend to a local football game when I was a kid and not understanding a single moment of the experience... frankly I still prefer not to.
>"Curse you, football! Curse you and your false promises!"
Not even the half of the bewilderment that arises in relation to "the beautiful game" for me... most of it is the religions and allegiances and the complications they can bring to life for the kinds of people who follow things like religions or allegiances.
I'm ugly and boring as fuck, but I'm happy.
I'd never support a team what would have me as a supporter.
For lost Bond themes, I have to go with the entire soundtrack to the best of the Unofficial Bond films, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. It's an absolutely barmy film about a group of friends (and the diamond thief they kidnap) accidentally washing ashore onto a Bond movie villain island and the soundtrack has a charmingly surfer vibe to it. The theme songs to the currently ongoing dream spy series Kamen Rider Zeztz are also a delight in this regard. Also Miki Matsubara's Safari Eyes is great, even if the sci-spy film it opens is absolute dog shit. (The opening titles and some of the visual choices might be the film's sole redeeming feature.)
I might have to read The Unseen Internet for research purposes.
Never thought of Ebirah as a Bond film. I mostly got Kamen Rider/Super Sentai vibes out of the bad guys in it (Ishinomori was probably influenced by Bond in the first place with his nebulous evil cults/army villains). I think it's really obvious that Toho originally intended for Ebirah to be a King Kong film instead of Godzilla, as its the only movie where Godzilla shows any interest in the female lead.
Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster is the Showa Godzilla film with the most Bond vibes to me; especially given the political assassination subplot and that the Princess actress would go on to be one of the stars of You Only Live Twice. Probably my favourite Showa Godzilla after the original 1954 film. The Monster Summit scene where Godzilla and Rodan are chucking boulders at each other like dodgeballs is peak Cinema.
That's probably fair. At the same time, evil island run by a megalomaniacal bastard out to take over the world with the aid of absurd science, fits well within both the tokusatsu likely drawn upon and the Bond films of the era. (Which would be between Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.)
we said we weren’t really sure what their plans with this whole Keposhka/Draag regime thing was— if you do go to London be warned that a massive amount of fans are already upset at the stage setup. Unfortunately Auschwitz has been waaaay too closely referenced now- all anyone can ask is “What were they thinking??”
docs link for a compilation of related imagery (no tour lore spoilers)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10S3azuGd-67xoXPSNjs5s8DYrSbBuq4XPKBq0J76Nis/edit?usp=drivesdk
we’ll leave our synchronous serpent responses for you for your return. this just seemed like vital context to bring to your attention. :(
When you said a couple of weeks ago that its worth putting in the intellectual study in preparation to explore new mental states and perspectives, you were on the money. I'd thought before the experience that was part of the drill, preloading for when 'you' get a bit hazy and there are other ideas and possibilities to move in. It was funny what was in there. Dane pulling on the nails in Christ's feet was pretty prominent. As was a video of RAW, towards the end of his life, quoting Ezra Pound- "Nothing matters but the quality of the affection" I latter found out the that the full quote is "Nothing matters but the quality/of the affection-/in the end-that has carved the trace/in the mind/dove sta memoria", which seems pretty Buddhist to me.
Like you I enjoyed 'I hear a new world'. Joe Meek was fun, and there were plenty of memorial moments, not least of which was Charming Peter disposing of his friend Button Danity. Jeez, Alan really went there!
I'm currently reading 'The Silver Book' by Olivia Laing. Set in Italy during the filming of Fellini's Casanova and Pasolini's Salò, it is a slight book, but the writing is beautiful and it has a lovely hazy feel. I'm enjoying every page. Can't recommend it highly enough, (well, at least so far. I'm currently about halfway through).
Thanks for the Sugar recommendation. I enjoyed the first season. Carol Farrell really brings the big sad to the role in such an appealing way. I 'm going to have a slight break and then will followup with season 2.
Grant - I'm leaving it pretty late, but I wanted to get the last riff of school out of my head before I posted, sometimes hanging out with teenagers makes one always talk as if they are talking to a teenager or are a teenager themselves.
The writing is very nearing the end of the book. Had another great coincidence two days ago -- my self-insert character just used a thunderbolt, as I finished typing the line lightning struck across the sky and the heavens opened. I used the moment to put back into the book.
Anyway, finally on the last stretch before publishing!
I hope this isn't to personal a question, when you wrote yuor hypersigils, what changed for you the most -- or what surprised you? Obviously, you made a lot of money but, was there any moments that stood out for you, making you sit back and say 'fuck...now I'm really doing it!'?
Also, another question (because I've just started this week, trying): does promotion and advertising and all that shit ever becomes fun? Or is it all just a ball ache of a kind of shitty mmo?
Just a quick update: finished the book! Releasing it as a serial on Royal Road!
I quite enjoyed the Chadmaxxing bit (did I include enough x's there? Chadmaxxxxxing? How much is enough? Probably as many as you can fit in a twitter post). I especially enjoyed the Hooting part- spent many an evening the last few nights thinking about how to get my lips into the shape of an owl's beak. I've almost got it down. I appreciated the seeming comparison to mummification and this desperate attempt prevalent in popular culture of everyone trying to achieve a perfection that only exists in their minds. Good stuff.
I will say after suggesting Skinamarink- I had a dear friend who hated it, and she was annoyed at me for suggesting it. But man- I really do feel lucky for having watched it alone, in an entirely empty theater, with all of the audio crackling and empty black spaces on the screen where maybe something was about to emerge... But I fault no one for hating it as a film. And yeah, it's bleak as hell. It's unique and if you can slow down and meet it on its own level it is a disturbing experience.
Perpetually late to the party, I finally watched One Battle After Another, which was mentioned here some time ago, If i recall correctly. Really great- especially Benecio Del Toro as the Sensei. Sean Penn screaming " I am a Christmas Adventurer!" springs to mind days later and makes me chuckle.
I said goodbye to one of the little ones here this week- trying to process it into something productive. She was a cat I've had for years, named Nubbin. She always liked being outside more than in the house, and years ago I built her a little wooden house to go out on the patio so she could feel safe. After she passed I cleaned it up and I want to do something with it, turn it into a little garden or bird feeder. She was semi-feral, back in 2022 when I took her in it was because she was at risk of losing her eyesight. Gave her eyedrops for ages- eventually a lysine supplement helped her eye infections more than anything. She was FIV positive so that might be why. We made her safe as long as we could. Glad to hear about the little five week old kitten!
Bjork Play Dead-great theme for the Milk Tray Man
Instead of proper Dr Who why not DC's hyper obscure Jasper Pepperdyne who could be a renegade linear man, or Marvels' Justin Gamble who is at war with the TVA . Actually surely Iris Wildthyme and her red double decker bus Tardis could benefit from your singular voice. It'd be like when Alan did Supreme better than the real deal.
A comics rec: Gigs by Mark Mosedale and Si Smith. Really good work engaging with what’s to be done should the bastards win and everyone’s living in a utopia that only benefits the richest of scumfucks. That we are fucked. Really got me out of a funk of uselessness induced despair.
thank you 💚