Show Farts

Brief subjective rants.

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“He’s a tourist. He vacations in people’s lives, takes pictures, puts them in his scrapbook and moves on. All he’s interested in are stories.”

Say what you want about Ron, he always delivers the best worst truths.

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"There's still some beauty left in this world."

No matter what the context, rocket launches always, always move me. This was the one thing about the show that I genuinely enjoyed. The rest was pretty good, it wasn't like 12 hours of my life wasted, but I do have some thoughts.

(It's been an unspeakably long hiaitus from this here. Countless shows have passed uncommented, but today I'm dropping some, as promised. This will not be brief.)

Charming tech billionaire characters are becoming this boring stereotype infused with press-favoured characteristics, and they hardly do anything unexpected anymore. Since the show was going to copy the Elon Musk template, they could have at least shown more of the character's' brilliance and toned down the insufferable sentimentality and (unconvincing) "air of mystery". The Musk-inspired role simply fails to convey that particular earnestness and single-mindedness that defines Elon as an innovator. And as a leader of a billion-dollar company responsible for so many mishaps not once did Tanz address his people to offer some sort of explanation or morale boost.

The rest of the cast were good, but not particularly outstanding. Most of them seem to lack the sound judgment required to deal with the catastrophe and hand, and end up more like plot drivers than actual characters. Maybe except Liam.

I have some respect for Alex Kurtzman for breathing new life into Star Trek, even though it was just a rehash of Kirk/Spock era and not really anything new. Which is also what happened here, just another melodramatic end-of-the-world asteroid scenario. The Mars bit would have balanced out the dismal ethos, but it was extremely (and disappointingly) understated.

Salvation was engaging and understandable for the most part, each episode certainly left me wanting to find out more.

But I would have wanted to see more problem-solving sequences, more asteroid facts, more science and genius and surprises. And definitely more Mars. I would have liked to emerge from the show knowing something unexpected and new.

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"You're stronger than he is, but you've got to put him in his place.”

"Everyone has a flaw, and this is Conway's. He aches for the spotlight. He feels almost invisible without it."

"I've always loathed the necessity of sleep. Like death it puts even the most powerful men on their backs."

Still a favourite, despite all the hoopla.

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“Have you ever noticed how everyone around here speaks in wild hyperbole? Everything’s the best. Like, ‘He’s the best professor ever,’ or, ‘This is the best patty melt on the planet,’ as if they’ve sampled every possible variety of professor and patty melt, which is, as we know, logistically impossible.”

This sums up all my feelings for social media and everything everyone’s doing in it.

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“Don't you need a Visa to go to China?” “Yes. I can call my uncle in Beijing. He's very... corrupt.”

This should be named “Silly-con Valley” and Jian-Yang should lead. In all the times and seasons I’ve watched this, never have I been so moved by this pigheaded little Chinese character that’s now slowly becoming my favourite. Never change, Jian-Yang.

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“In my class we pulled all the Plutos off our solar system models and then stomped them into the ground.”

Sometimes this is exactly what I feel like doing to things. I would have loved to be in – or teach! – this class.

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“Finn, the duck found a secret tunnel!”

Almost choked at this one. It has happened, LSP’s loose-cannoning has won me over. And the writing has upped too, so many references I couldn’t keep count. Like seriously, this entire series arc is just mathematical.

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“When there’s a movie I really want to see, I make a special point to see it alone.”

In light of the recent desecration of the source material, I have endeavoured to watch all over again what has come to be my favourite animé, from the movie to the series to the OVAs, and even read the manga. The references to Godard and those beloved film noirs, the touching tragic AI sacrifice, the rending backstory of the girl with purple hair... I will never waste time on whitewashed Hollywood balderdash, especially when I know that it will never ever compare. So I guess I am fine with enshrining this, all by my lonesome, in my own little world, its status pristine and its ability to break my heart unsullied.

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“I know you’re real because I have a ton of bad memories with you.”

Morty got a bit sappy for a moment, but it managed to blend in perfectly well with the ridiculously hi-octane pacing of the entire series. I really do not wonder how Dan Harmon does it, but everything he touches turns to gold. Even humorous crap like alien parasites infecting your brain with cloyingly peasant memories. Perfect golden humorous crap.

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“Where are my testicles, Summer?”

And other unforgettable moments. The whole fiasco is worth rewatching, every minute of every episode of all seasons so far. Which is exactly what transpired.

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“Stop in the name of PITA!”

PETA with an I, as in People are less Important than Animals. This whole shitshow is hilarious, and binge-rewatching all three seasons on Easter weekend was definitely in the spirit of the thing.

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“I can’t hate him. He’s so transparent in what he does, I actually kind of respect him.”

One thing I have to say: I like Gosling so much better here. This is way better than singing. He really should not be singing. As to the main point, even if my first job was literally documenting this as it happened, I still don’t get it. I’ve come to accept that I never will.

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“There must be more than this provincial life!”

To my delight, this one stayed true to the source material. There are additional padding to the story, that is to be expected, and the twirling came to be too much at one point. But overall, it was bittersweet and strange and nostalgic. Her expression in the library is priceless. Dinner was a spectacular performance. But Gaston, oh he was just superfluously superb. I have a blanket rule on live action movies, but this one, I loved every minute of the whole damn thing.

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“His majesty is one of the cuckoos that do not live in clocks.”

I’d quite forgotten why this was in queue. I think I meant to watch something different, the one hailed as the first film in 3D. Oh well.

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“If you had come earlier, you wouldn’t have scared me.”

So he says to the one with the scythe. As a rule, silent films are creepy. Kidding, I love ‘em. The bizarre scene of a girl being chased by a flashlight, as well as the one with all the doors, added a touch of hysterical quaintness, which was nice, and added to the overall antediluvian charm.

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“What is it? The cure for all suffering. The answer to all problems. The key, my darling, to heaven. Or to hell. Or to nothingness.”

Poe is better read than seen, to be sure.

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“A girl just fell from the sky, boss!”

Things falling from the sky seems like a recurring Miyazaki theme. This one’s a Ghibli classic I can’t believe I missed.