Monday, July 31, 2017

Gorilla My Dreams: A Look Back At Strange(r) Adventures

Hello, Monday!   

Time to climb out of bed and ride back into town to start another week at work. Meanwhile, I have nothing ready for the ol' blog thing today. So apropos of nothing, here are some graphics I posted way back in the summer of 2013.  It was part of a series of posts I called Strange(r) Adventures, modified covers of DC's classic science fiction comic, Strange Adventures. 

Well, it was this or write about Donald Trump and I really don't feel like writing about that fucker* today. 

So instead....

GORILLAS! 













So...

That was a thing. 

Starting tomorrow, a new post on a first time viewing of an animation cult classic. Plus we check in with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Also Broadchurch. And other things. 

And a special Doctor Who post event for this weekend. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

*I do apologize for my language in referring to Donald Trump as a "fucker".  I meant to call Trump a "fucking fuckhead fucker from fuckstania". I regret the error.  

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Doctor Who: Yesterday Is Today Once More


Last Sunday saw the last San Diego Comic-con Doctor Who panel with Steven Moffat as showrunner and Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.  I almost expected a quick pop in from Jodie Whittaker but this was a moment in the sun for the outgoing crew as it well should be. Peter and Steven displayed the depth of their affection for Doctor Who and they will both be sorely missed.


We still have one more adventure with the 12th Doctor with the 2017 Christmas and we were treated with a brand new trailer for the special.


The trailer opens with Wiliam Hartnell in black and white as the First Doctor which fades into David Bradley as the First Doctor, seamlessly finishing off the line of dialogue began by Hartnell. It’s a bit that shows how good Bradley should be at evoking the original Doctor. 





We also have a guest character portrayed by Mark Gatiss, looking very much like a young Brigadier General Letheridge-Stewart. We’ve been advised that Mark’s character is a soldier from World War I. Still, could it be the Brig’s father or grandfather?  


We see a bit with the First Doctor with a modern regeneration glow around his hand while standing with a blonde woman who looks like Polly, the Doctor’s companion back in the 1st regeneration.  


Peter Capaldi’s hair continues to reach new heights. If Peter wasn’t leaving the show and the hair kept exponentially growing, the Doctor would not be able to enter the TARDIS without bowing first. 

Here is a link to the Christmas special trailer



And look: Pearl Mackie’s back! Yay! The Doctor needs to know Bill is all right.  At the Panel, Pearl did sayshe ws only back for the special and not returning for Series 11. Which is a shame. I like Bill and I think she would continue to be good with Jodie Whitaker. 


Speaking of Jodie, Steven Moffat did speak out about the backlash against her casting as a female Doctor. Steven says there is NO backlash. OK, that may be a bit naïve to say there has been NO backlash but to Steven’s point, most fans are on board with the Doctor being a woman and with Jodie Whittaker being that woman. Any negativity towards this change is being overblown by a media desperate for some headlines. 

If you are having problems with the Doctor as a woman, there is help available.



Also at the San Diego Comic-Con was a classic Doctor Who panel to promote the BritBox streaming service with classic shows from ITV and the BBC. Former Doctor Peter Davison stumpled into the moinefiueld of the next doctor being female nd his own preference fpr the Doctor to remain male. Also in attendance, 6th Doctor Colin Baker described Davison’s perspective as “rubbish”. Well, that was awkard. To be fair, Davison was describing a preference born of years accepting the Doctor as male. And he spoke well of Jodie’s casting.  All in all, not a particularly damning episode but Peter Davison still got chased off Twitter for his trouble. Are Dzvion’s views outdated? Yes. Could he have expressed those views better? Probably. But ultimately, the man is entitled to his opinion. 


And…

Oh, the 12th Doctor may have one problem with his future self.



That is that for today.


Until next time remember to be good to one another. 



Saturday, July 29, 2017

The Return of the Maverick

OK, another day, another politics post. I promise I will move with tomorrow’s post to something truly important (in other words, Doctor Who.) 

But I feel compelled to write something about politics with a rare perspective: one of hope, not cynicism.  

I’ve got to talk about John McCain.  

A Republican Senator from Arizona, McCain had a reputation as a maverick. I say “had” because ever since McCain secured the Republican nomination for President back in 2008, that rep has taken a few beatings. McCain had a penchant for doing what he thought was right, not what was in keeping with party ideology. To get through the primaries in 2008, McCain began sublimating himself more and more towards party orthodoxy. It was a sublimation that sadly did not end when McCain returned to the Senate after losing the 2008 Presidential election.  McCain sadly followed the hard-line party right wing ideology more than doing the right thing. 

Until this week, when McCain the Maverick appeared to return. 

Recently, McCain had been absent from the Senate after receiving a diagnosis of brain cancer. But he returned to take up the GOP’s latest efforts at Obamacare repeal.  There were three crucial votes. 

One was a procedural vote to open debate on the Senate floor. McCain voted with his party on that vote. This allowed two different versions of repeal to come up for a vote. 

There was some outrage about this. How could McCain, fighting brain cancer and receiving the best health care funded by taxpayers vote for something that would set the stage for health care to be taken away from millions of Americans?

Well, hold on a second there, pilgrim. 

The GOP lost both repeal votes with McCain being a decisive “no” vote.  

It should be noted that McCain has been openly critical of Obamacare’s shortcomings but when it came down to what the Senate was up to, McCain was not down with that. The Senate was being asked to vote for bills that most Republicans opposed just to keep repeal effort alive, partisan bills rushed through with no hearings and with little or no understanding on what they entailed. 

Instead, McCain had this crazy idea. “Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act? To report a bill out of committee with contributions from both sides. Then bring it to the floor for amendment and debate, and see if we can pass something that will be imperfect, full of compromises, and not very pleasing to implacable partisans on either side, but that might provide workable solutions to problems Americans are struggling with today. What have we to lose by trying to work together to find those solutions?”

What’s that? An open, honest bi-partisan process to benefit the American people and not a particular political agenda? That’s crazy talk, John McCain! Crazy talk! 

With the first vote, he gave Senate GOP leadership chances to improve the bills before them. Failing that, McCain one and again voted not along party lines but following his conscience.

For a brief and wonderful moment, McCain the Maverick was back.

For a brief and wonderful moment, there was hope for the great American experiment in democracy.
-------------------------------------------------------------

For all the praise being given to McCain, let's not overlook the courageous conviction of Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), whose steadfast refusal to give in to capitulation to a party line that little to do with improving the lives of their constituents and all about scoring a political victory for Trump and against Obama's legacy. What Collins and Murkowski did was no small thing and they deserve respect for voting their conscience.  

__________________________________

OK, tomorrow: I promise. No politics. Just Doctor Who stuff. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.   

Friday, July 28, 2017

"They Don’t Comply."

As I have noted in this blog on several occasions, Donald Trump's driving doctrine as President is to take whatever Barack Obama did or wanted and run hard in the opposite direction. And nowhere is that doctrine more dangerous than when it comes to Iran. 

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Trump’s Enemies.


Today’s topic: Trump’s enemies.



One of those enemies continues to be Hillary Clinton. Yes he defeated her in the November 2016 Presidential election but apparently, victory is not enough for Li’l Donnie. One frequent tactic Trump employs against the investigation of Russian influence in US elections and possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign is to plaintively whine, “Hey, what about Hillary?”  Trump seems to think (or has been told to think by Fox News, Breitbart and Info Wars) there is a dirty trail of collusion between Russia and the Clinton campaign. 

As is the case with such mindless prattering from Li’L Donnie, there is no evidence of any such cooperation between Clinton & Russia. And given the animosity Putin had towards Clinton, no motive either. But that's standard procedure for Trump to take what he’s accused of doing and direct it right back against his opponents. And Trump, even while sitting in the Oval Office, still sees the woman he defeated in order to sit in that office as his opponent.


Another enemy is Barack Obama. Yep, the guy Trump replaced as President is seen by Trump as an enemy. Li’l Donnie’s driving motivation seems to be to undo whatever Obama did or wanted to do. On Wednesday, Trump summarily ordered that the US military would not accept openly trans gender persons in the military, reversing a policy that was put into effect under Obama. The Pentagon was still reviewing the ramification of the Obama era policy of accepting trans gender persons with a deadline of 12/31/2017 for a final assessment. There was no indication of any significant downside to this more open policy allowing trans gendered persons to serve in the military. The best guess for Trump’s sudden ruling was to throw a bone to the hard right conservatives who disliked this policy. But mostly, it happened under Obama and if Obama wanted it, Trump does not. So far, the anti-Obama strategy is Trump’s most consistent doctrine.  



Another enemy is the Republican Party. In Li’l Donnie’s simplistic understanding, Obamacare is evil and it needs to be replaced by something better. So why is it so damn hard to do that? Simple, right? Kill Obamacare, replace with something better. Call it a day and go play some golf at Mar-A-Lago. Trump complains about Democrats not helping with this which is like complaining the condemned man didn’t bring bullets to his own firing squad. So Trump has to rely on Republicans only. And even if you can get them all to agree Obamacare is evil, it’s the “replace with something better” part that sends this off the rails. To provide health care legislation that would be better than Obamacare (lower premiums, more people covered) would require a greater amount of government spending and influence. And guess who is typically against more spending and more government? Yep, the Republican Party. So Trump gets all petulant when after 6 months, Obamacare is not repealed and not replaced by something better, Trump blames the Republicans for not being able to do the obvious: Kill Obamacare, replace with something better.



One more enemy is the White House. As Trump blunders and blusters about, saying stupid things and making unsubstantiated claims, Li’l Donnie is frustrated that the White House staff doesn’t defend him better. It’s never Trump’s fault; he’s surrounded by an incompetent White House staff that isn’t doing enough to protect him. 


And lately, at the top of Trump’s List O’ Enemies is his own Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. Sessions as a US Senator from Alabama was the first sitting US Senator to endorse Trump for President during the campaign.  Session’s name was at the top of the list for appointment to the Trump Administration and was named Attorney General at the US Department of Justice (DOJ). 

However, Sessions had to recuse himself from the DOJ’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 US election process; this was due to Sessions’ participation in the Trump campaign and his meetings with Russia officials during the campaign. Sessions said those meetings had nothing to do with the Trump campaign but were related to his duties as a US Senator but Sessions thought it best to avoid even a semblance of any conflict of interest. There was bi-partisan agreement that this was the right thing to do.


Trump didn’t understand. Li’l Donnie said that if he had known Sessions would recuse himself, Trump would’ve never offered Jeff the AG job in the first place.  (And don’t stress yourself trying to make of that; it doesn’t make sense.)  And Trump’s dissatisfaction with Sessions conduct in recusing himself from the Russian investigation has been made known in a very public and negative way.


Li’l Donnie also took issue in a Tweet with Sessions going so easy on Hillary Clinton.


Reminder: Trump beat Clinton. She lost. He won! He’s in the White house while she wanders in the woods behind her house talking to squirrels. HE BEAT HER! SHE LOST! He WON! And she is still an enemy. 


By the way, the Trump Tweet about Sessions going easy on Hillary Clinton (who is not under investigation or has been charged with a crime) came after Sean Hannity on Fox News complained about the constant barrage of negative attention on Trump and his team regards to Russia while Sessions isn’t doing anything about Hillary Clinton.


Trump is also apparently enemies with the President. If Hillary Clinton is up to no good with the Russians, the President could direct his Attorney General to look into it. Why doesn’t he?



Sigh. 



And that is a look at some of Trump’s enemies.


Including, it seems, himself.


Oh.. and the state of Alaska.


Alaska?


Sigh. Here we go. 


against Alaska for Murkowski vote

Alaska's two Republican senators reportedly received ominous phone calls from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke regarding current Obamacare repeal efforts.
So Trump's enemies include:

Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
The Republican Party
The White House
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
The President
And....
The state of Alaska.

Oh God, give me strength. 




Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Miller Time?

Occasionally at the San Diego Comic-Con, some comic book news sneaks out among the sneak peeks at the latest genre TV shows and movies and games. Over from the fine folks at DC, we learned there's going to be a new series called Superman: Year One. 

So we're going down this road again. About 10 years ago, writer Mark Waid and artist Leinil Francis Yu produced Superman Birthright, a epic project that examined Clark Kent's transformation into Superman.  




A few years later, Geoff Johns & Gary Frank undid Birthright with Superman: Secret Origin, yet another epic project examining Clark Kent's transformation into Superman. 




Then the New 52 came along and immediately consigned Secret Origin to the dustbin of retconned history as Grant Morrison & Rags Morales crafted yet one more epic project that examined Clark Kent's transformation into Superman.   

Now with the latest Rebirth retcon of the New 52 retcon, it appears it might be time once more for a new epic project that explores Clark Kent's transformation into Superman.  And this time, the task of writing this latest epic tale of Clark Kent's transformation into Superman falls to Frank Miller.

Yes. That Frank Miller.  

Frank is no stranger to the Man of Steel, bringing him into the narrative fold of The Dark Knight Returns.   




The Dark Knight Returns is and remains a seminal work of creative genius as is other work produced by Frank Miller at the time on Dardevil and Wolverine for Marvel. 

But Miller's output since those heady days has been less than consistent. Miller's best known project of the last 10 years is the one he didn't finish: All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder. A series lavishly illustrated by Jim Lee that gave us mind-bending scenes like these.  








From the mind bendingly weird and frustratingly never finished All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder.  

And there was the recent Dark Knight III: The Master Race, plagued by numerous delays, dragged across the finish line by Brian Azzarello & Andy Kubert. Miller's involvement in that series varied depending on who you talked to in the last 5 minutes.  

So now Frank Miller is committing to a 12 issue run of a Superman project?God knows what we'll get or when we'll get it. Or IF we'll get it. Or if we WANT To get it.  

Yes, part of Frank's good rep is staked on a Year One story for Batman. But that was back when Frank knew how to write and how to deliver.  And it was just four issues.  




Now Frank thinks he can produce 12 issues of Superman. And even if he can and he doesn't screw it up, will we want to see it? The artist for this project is John Romita Jr.  



John Romita Jr was a long time artistic icon over at Marvel but his work at DC, especially on Superman has been inordinately stiff and sketchy.  

The one thing that might interest me in a Miller/Romita Jr Superman Year One story if that year was 1938, if the story of Superman's 1st year was an Elseworlds type adventure of a social justice warrior Superman unleashed on Depression era America, just like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster did way back in the beginning. I could imagine such a story playing to Frank's strengths and John's art would be evocative of that era.  

What we don't need is yet another retcon of Superman's beginnings and if that's what we're getting, I don't think Miller & Romita Jr are the ones to bring it to us.  
__________________________________

Hey, kids. So far I've managed to avoid politics since Saturday but too many stupid things are going on for me to ignore the topic. Sorry! 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Valerian & The City Of a Thousand Planets




I tried to make a case for Dunkirk, the World War II film from Christopher Nolan that was tracking really well on Rotten Tomatoes. But I lost Andrea’s interest when I said “World War II”. I pointed out it was about the British in WWII but unable to pin down anyone in the cast from Doctor Who or Broadchurch, that battle was lost. 

I couldn’t explain Valerian any better to her but she understood it was a science fiction thing and Randie was rather psyched to see it. I noted that Valerian was only tracking less than half of Dunkirk’s score on Rotten Tomatoes AND we were really pushing it to make a convenient show time for Valerian while there were more available showtimes for Dunkirk.  

However, as I frequently am in the Fortress of Ineptitude, I was outnumbered and our destination was the City Of a Thousand Planets. 

Although to be fair, I was rather curious about this movie myself. 

Valerian & The City Of a Thousand Planets is a visual spectacle with many variations of alien physiology, topography & technology. The city in the title is Alpha, an ever expanding space station that is the culmination of centuries of different human cultures uniting in the exploration of space and further cooperation between humans and alien beings.  Alpha represents cultures and societies from a thousand different worlds. It may seem that Alpha is a utopian ideal of interspecies cooperation but there is a  dark secret buried in Alpha’s core.


Years ago, a planet called Mul was caught in the crossfire of an intergalactic war. A human commander declared Mul as uninhabited which was a bit of a shock to the peaceful natives who inhabited it. Some Mul managed to survive and find their way to Alpha’s core. From there, the Mul plot their escape from exile and the return to their own world.  But the war commander is now in command of Alpha and fiercely determined to keep his secrets. 

Lacking any familiarity with the source material was not a detriment to understanding this world and what was going on. I've watched enough Star Trek to recognize the old "person in authority uses power and influence to cover up a bad thing only to make things worse" plot. (I'm looking at you, Star Trek : The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Into Darkness.)  In a world as complex as this City of a Thousand Planets, a basic easy to follow plot is not a detriment. And the movie is still quite engaging with several action sequences infused with humor. 

Where Valerian& The City Of a Thousand Planets lacks is with Valerian himself. Portrayed by Dane DeHaan, Valerian is introduced as a young, cocksure prick with abundant skills but sorely lacking in maturity and focus. For example, we're told he has a phenomenally good memory which isn't worth much if he doesn't bother to read the mission memo.

OK, we know the type. Han Solo in Star Wars, Tony Stark in Iron Man. But Harrison Ford and Robert Downey Jr made these guys likeable in spite of the douchebaggery.

Valerian by the end of the movie isn't there. He's seen things and experienced things that should make him a better person by the end of the movie. But you don't believe it. The opportunities are there in the story but Dane DeHaan 's portrayal of Valerian does not deliver.

Sergeant Laureline, Valerian's partner & love interest, fares a bit better with Cara Delevingne in the role, a sardonic adventurer who seems to have some small affection for Valerian for some reason.  

There are a trio of aliens, like duck billed armadillos, who are information brokers always looking for a score that move the plot alone with comic relief.  

There are some other standout performances from Alain Chabat as Bob the Pirate, Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp (think U2's The Edge but covered in neon) & Rihanna as Bubble, a shapeshifting entertainer. Bubble is a surprisingly sweet and interesting character whose tragic demise is one of the most moving events in the film. Kudos to Rihanna to making me care about Bubble.  

Over all, I enjoyed the world brought to lavish and spectacular life by director Luc Beeson. If you enjoyed his work on The 5th Element, you should enjoy Valerian& The City Of a Thousand Planets despite the hole in the middle that is Dane DeHaan. (Sorry, Dane.)   

OK, that's that for today. Until next time, remember to be good to one another.  

Monday, July 24, 2017

ENCORE POST: The Lost DRAGNET Episode

*Graphic courtesy of Bully, the Stuffed Li'l Bull Who Likes Comics)  






Yours truly, Dave-El of a piece I posted back on May 13, 2013 (which was a Monday), a little something I called....



The Lost DRAGNET Episode

And now, a scene from a previously lost episode of Dragnet starring Jack Webb as Joe Friday, Harry Morgan as Bill Gannon and special guest star Francis Bavier. ______________________________________________
DUM D-DUM DUM! 
DUM D-DUM DUM DUM DUM!
The story you're about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed. For example, "Los Angeles police detective Bill Gannon" is really "Las Vegas exotic dancer Barbara L'Enchante".
____________________________________________

Joe Friday (narrating): It was Thursday afternoon at the Los Angeles Police Headquarters. It had been a slow day. I was catching up on some paperwork while my partner, Bill Gannon, was on the phone, something by chiffon with sequins. It was about this time that the call came in. Bill and I were to head to a nearby neighborhood to check into a bizarre case of robbery and vandalism. 

Friday: "C'mon, Bill. We have a case to investigate."
Bill Gannon: "Can it wait just a minute, Joe? I've almost done placing this order for a cocktail dress and fishnet tights."

Friday: "Bill, while we are still on the clock, our only duty is the citizens whose taxes pay our salary."

Gannon: "Well, Joe, when you're right, you're right."

Friday: "It's not about whether I'm right. It's about the right of Los Angeles' hard working citizens to the best police work we can offer."

Gannon: "All right, all right! I'm coming!"

Friday (narrating): "Momentarily, Gannon and I arrived at the house on a tree lined street. There we met a woman who had witnessed the theft and the vandalism."

Gannon: "So you saw the theft of your neighbor's prized pink flamingo collection?"

Witness: "Oh, yes. What a horrible thing to do! Those were very beautiful flamingos."

Friday: "I'm sure they were quite fetching. And this person also defaced your neighbor's tool shed."

Witness: "Yes, I did! And it was a most distressful thing to witness."

Friday: “Ma’am, could you describe the suspect?”

Witness: “He was tall.”

Friday: “Tall?”

Witness: “Yes, tall.”

Friday: “How tall?”

Witness: “Very tall.”

Gannon: “Could you be a little more precise, ma’am?”

Witness: “Oh, I’d say 7 feet.”

Friday: “Seven feet?”

Witness: “Yes, that sounds about right.”

Gannon: “Seven feet tall?”

Witness: “Well, he may be shorter without the horns.”

Friday: “Horns?”

Witness: “Yes, horns. On his head.”

Gannon: “On his head, Joe.”

Friday: “I heard that, Bill. Ma’am?”

Witness: “Yes?”

Friday: “Anything else you can tell us about the suspect?”

Witness: “Other than the horns?”

Friday: “Other than the horns.”

Witness: “Well, not really.”

Gannon: “Uh huh.”

Witness: “Well, now that I think about it..."

Friday: “Yes, ma'am?”

Witness: “Well, he had the red skin.”

Friday: “Red skin.”

Witness: “And...and hooved feet.”

Friday: “Hooved feet.”

Witness: “Oh, yes, and a forked tail.”

Friday: “A tail.”

Gannon: “A forked tail, Joe.”

Friday: “Got that, Bill.”

Witness: “And glowing eyes.”

Friday: “Uh huh.”

Witness: “And he smelled funny, too.”

Gannon: “How did he smell?”

Witness: “Like sulfur? Yes, brimstone.”

Gannon: “Brimstone.”

Witness: “Yes, brimstone.”

Friday: “Ma’am?”

Witness: “Yes?”

Friday: “You just described Satan.”

Witness: “Satan?”

Friday: “Yes, ma’am.”

Witness: “Why, I suppose so. Never thought about it until now.”

Gannon: "Well, that might explain the 'Satan Rules' graffiti on the took shed."

Witness: "Oh dear! I didn't realize..."

Gannon: “Joe?”

Friday: “Yeah, Bill?”

Gannon: “Think we should let the uniforms handle this?”

Friday: “1-Adam-12 patrols this neighborhood.”

Gannon: “Thank you, ma’am.”

Witness: “Anything I can do to help.”

Friday: “Yes, ma’am.”

Witness: “I do hope you catch him. And soon.”

Gannon: “Because he’s Satan?”

Witness: “Well, yes, and one other thing.”

Friday: “One other thing?”

Witness: “Yes, he wasn’t wearing any pants.”
________________________________________________

Later, Satan was arrested and charged with littering, public indecency, theft, vandalism and shoplifting. He was tried in Los Angeles Criminal Court and sentenced to 150 hours community service.

Las Vegas exotic dancer Barbara L'Enchante performs nightly at the Sands with two shows on Saturday.



_________________________________________

Hopefully, with a little bit of energy and a smidgen of time, tomorrow will see an ALL NEW post. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.   

Blog Bidness: Down Time

"Blog bidness"? Uh oh!  It's a blog post about the blog.  That's never good.   I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You wil...