Aaaaaaaaaahh! This may be the best thing since sliced bread: screencaps from the 1995 BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice (with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth) with quotes from Parks and Recreation. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, etc., etc., Pride and Recreation:
My favorites include these two above (one, two).
Some things are just too silly not to share!
Author Patrick Rothfuss is known for the charity Worldbuilders and his Kingkiller Chronicle – a trilogy of The Name of the Wind (published 2007), The Wise Man’s Fear (2011), and a thus far unnamed, unpublished final installment.
Rothfuss just shared some great news: The Chronicle was signed by Lionsgate for a “big narratively intertwined multi-platform development deal” (in Rothfuss’s words). The plan is to produce a tv-series with a connecting movie and a video game – how awesome is that?
But it doesn’t end there. Says Rothfuss:
“You see, I never expected a studio would treat me like a human being. But through this whole process, Lionsgate has treated me with amazing respect. I’ve made what to me seem like reasonable requests, and they responded to them… reasonably. And I’m not just talking about pretty words here, they’re making contractual agreements granting me control of things. They haven’t just been reasonable, they’ve been kind, and understanding. […]
“Lionsgate is making its own press release today and there will be stories in all manner of Hollywood news outlets pretty soon. It’s not a coincidence that my blog is launching up on the very same day as their big announcement. In the same hour, even. Lionsgate coordinated with me so I could share this news on my blog at the same time they’re launching their story.
“This was important to me because if you read my blog or follow me on social media… well… you’re a part of the reason my books are a big deal. A lot of you have been a part of my team for years, and I wanted the chance to tell you about this piece of news myself rather than have you hear it on the street.
The fact that Lionsgate was willing to go to some lengths to let me launch this blog simultaneously with their press release is another good sign, in my opinion. It shows they respect me, and it shows they respect you guys, too.”
Sounds good to me! Scratch that – it sounds great. Empathy and respect make valuable capital for businesses, too. I’ll surely be keeping an eye on this project. And the best of luck to Rothfuss in the development process!
The wisest thing I ever heard said about the Muppets (and just how often do you get to use that phrase, anyway?) came from a college classmate. This was back in the heyday of Muppet movies based on classic literature: you know, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Wizard of Oz, and the like. One evening over zucchini and pasta in the dining hall a bunch of us were complaining about how the contemporary Muppet oeuvre was so disappointing to those of us who had grown up watching the original Muppet Show on tv.
“I don’t want to see Muppets be actors,” someone said. “I want to see Muppets be Muppets.”
Well, there’s a new Muppet show on tv this fall. I haven’t seen any episodes, but here’s the trailer for the show.
The Muppets – Official Trailer via ABC Television Network
I know a lot can happen between the proof-of-concept pitch for a show and when it actually goes on the air, but to me this looks like Muppets being actors. It’s Muppet The Office. Muppet 30 Rock. That’s not what I’m interested in watching.
Now, to be fair, the old Muppet Show was far from perfect. We’ve been rewatching some of it via Netflix lately; a lot of the material was already dated at the time and it hasn’t aged well. On the other hand there are things that transcend time and shine as brightly now as they did forty years ago. Mahna Mahna, for instance, is one perfectly formed comic gem.
Mahna Mahna via Constantine Trayanov
I’ve been giving this some thought recently and I think I’ve identified three essential elements of fundamental Muppetosity.
1. Muppets push the limits of what you can do with puppetry
Take a look at the Swedish chef making donuts and consider the technical artistry that went into designing and performing even such a simple sketch.
Swedish Chef – Donuts via SUBSCRIBE! (Y)
2. Muppets have emotional reality
Check out this Hugga Wugga sketch and watch how even a fuzzy purple alien can experience pride, anger, confusion, exasperation, smugness, surprise, fury, and shock.
Hugga Wugga via GreenGimmick
3. Muppets live on the verge of chaos without ever quite succumbing
Watch the madness unfold in the background as the estimable Dr. Honeydew continues to calmly explain his latest inventions.
Muppet Labs – Fireproof Paper via dorcm1973
The Muppets just aren’t what they used to be, but don’t despair. There are other places to find the three keys of Muppetociousness. Here are some of the true heirs to the Muppet mantle:
Community
Ostensibly a sit-com about community college students, Community flirts with chaos and pushes the boundaries of what a sit-com can do while staying grounded in the emotional reality of the characters. Here’s how a friendly game of paintball goes down at Greendale Community College.
A Fistfull of Painballs via thanatos101b
Aardman
The claymation studio that brought us Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit knows how to make wonderful comedy out of such ordinary things as a dog who’s at the end of his rope trying to deal with mischievous little bunnies.
Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit via Aardman Animations
Pixar
I don’t think all of Pixar’s work quite measures up to the best of the Muppets, but sometimes they can really deliver the goods. Here’s one to take you all the way back.
Luxo Jr. via Lukas blalbla
What do the rest of you think? Think the Muppets have still got it, or is there someone else who’s doing what the Muppets used to do?
In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.
Aah, I can’t believe I missed this: the official Doctor Who season 9 trailer has been out for two months!
Official Doctor Who Season 9 Trailer by BBC America
First jumble of thoughts: Production values look amazing! I don’t like this angry Doctor. What’s with Capaldi’s hair? Is that a dalek city? That’s definitely Missy. Electric guitar? Whoa – the Doctor wearing wedding bands – did I miss something? Yay, Maisie Williams!
Apart from that, I wish Moffat would either write only or produce only. When he tries to do both, the quality suffers. The episodes Moffat wrote for the seasons produced by Julie Gardner and Russel T. Davies were brilliant. Since then, he’s been mediocre at best.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
I seem to be in a Star Trek frame of mind. Having just finished (re)watching all of TNG, I guess that’s to be expected. Here’s a new spin on “Pump Up the Volume” by MARRS á la every Star Trek franchise:
Star Trek Pump up the Volume MARRS by Vernon Wilmer Video. Found via Tor.com.
I’ve certainly been bobbing my head and tapping my foot to this!
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
According to the fount of all human knowledge, the Wikipedia, the world’s first android phone was the HTC Dream, released on October 22, 2008.
I beg to differ. Undoubtedly, the first android phone appeared exactly 15 years prior, on October 23, 1993 in a tv broadcast:
The screencap above is from Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 7, episode 6: “Phantasms” where the android Data has to adjust to suddenly being capable of experiencing nightmares.
P.S. Yes, the joke is really, really, REALLY dumb. Sleep deprived brain is sleep deprived. 🙂
P.P.S. Incidentally, The HTC Dream would make a great name for a spaceship, don’t you think? If I ever got to name one, it would be an iteration of the northern lights – aurora borealis, nordlys (Danish), goleuadau gogleddol (Welsh – wow, looks so fun), or something in that vein. You?
Some things are just too silly not to share!
Upon seeing Hayley Atwell declare her desire to be Doctor Who in this tweet…
https://twitter.com/HayleyAtwell/status/632269411424927744
…Carolyn Cox at The Mary Sue suggested that Atwell’s Doctor be paired with a companion played by The Rock (who apparently is hankering to work with Atwell).
Oh, yes! Where can I throw my money at to make this happen?!
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
A series of mashups of Monty Python’s Holy Grail and Game of Thrones by Robin Edds and Jamie Jones saw the light at BuzzFeed:
Even more at the source!
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
We’re all familiar with gatekeeping: when members of a fandom (or geekishness in general) try to exclude others for not being true fans or real geeks because they haven’t seen/read/played every obscure iteration of the franchise or don’t know every minute detail of the lore. “Oh, you haven’t seen the Holiday Special?” they sniff. “Well, you’re not really a Star Wars fan, then.” “You don’t know how many buttons were on the second Doctor’s costume? Begone, fake Whovian!”
If you’re fortunate enough to have never witnessed or experienced gatekeeping, here’s a few discussions (picked more or less at random) to give you an idea of what it is and why it sucks:
No One Can Deny You Entry to Geekdom, But Some Can Make It Really Hard to Get Through the Door First by Michi Trota on Geek Melange
The Psychology of the Fake Geek Girl: Why We’re Threatened by Falsified Fandom by Dr. Andrea Letamendi on The Mary Sue
A Creator’s Note to “Gatekeepers” by John Scalzi on Whatever
You see what I mean? Gatekeeping is wrong, hurtful, and no fun. And while it’s true that it can be done by anybody to anybody (I’m a straight man and I’ve had my fandom cred challenged by queer women half my age), it is a weapon frequently deployed by the privileged against the un-privileged, in whatever terms those categories may be defined.
Gatekeeping needs to stop. It’s time we all acknowledge that none of us has seen everything and none of us knows everything, even about the things we love the most. No one is any less of a geek or a fan because of the things they don’t know. All it means is there are still things for us to watch and read and play and find out about, and that’s awesome. Seriously, I feel so sorry for anyone who has nothing new left to learn or experience.
And so, I propose a new pastime: gatesmashing! Instead of obsessing over the things we have seen and read and played, let’s proclaim the things we haven’t. Tell us what you’ve never experienced, and tell us proudly. Not a comprehensive list, of course, but the first few things that come to mind.
I’ll go first.
I have never seen:
I have never read anything by:
I have never played:
And the fact that I haven’t doesn’t make me any less of a geek than anyone who has.
Here there be opinions!
Co-Geeking 