Tuesday TV Touchbase: Spider-Noir and Stranger Things: Tales from '85

 

No prologue! It's Tuesday, dammit! Let's touch those TV bases!

Spider-Noir stars Nicolas Cage and is a live action series on Prime based on a Spider-Man operating in 1930's New York City. 

The character appeared in the animated Spider-Verse movies but there is a key difference for this live action series.

In Spider-Noir, the Spider is Ben Reilly, not Peter Parker. (Ben Reilly is a significant name in Spider-Man history.)  

While Prime dropped all the episodes at once, Andrea and I are taking our time watching these episodes one at a time. There's a LOT going on here and I think each episode needs to be fully experienced and not trudged through like a Bataan death march.*

*It's a World War II reference. I'm an old person. 

The series picks up where the Spider has been missing for awhile.  Private eye Ben Reilly has elected to give up the power and the responsibility of being the Spider. A woman done him wrong by getting killed and the Spider was unable to save her. 

Basically NYC is under the grip of crime boss Finn Byrne, also known as Silvermane. But someone is gunning for him, using enforcers with super powers.  Somehow Ben Reilly gets ensnared in this twisted plot with Silvermane's thugs posing a threat to Ben and his long suffering secretary Janet.

Reluctantly, to take the heat off of Janet and redirect Silvermane's fire away from Ben, our aging private eye once more dons the mantle of... The Spider.

Nicolas Cage is great in this role, building on the grim gravelly demeanor of the jaded, cynical private detective but with a sharp, acerbic wit.  Cage echoes Humphrey Bogart's detective characters from The Big Sleep and The Matlese Falcon.  

By the way, Spider-Noir comes in two flavors, in black & white or in color. Andrea and I are watching this in B&W and this is how I would recommend experiencing this series.  

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Andrea and I finished off Stranger Things: Tales from '85 a few weeks ago.  It's an animated series that takes place between season 2 and 3 of Stranger Things.  

The kids....Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max... are kids once more.  

The voices are NOT provided by anyone from the original cast.

Our 6 young adventurers are joined by a seventh, Nikki, the new kid in town. Nikki is kind of tall for her age and she has a sharp, sarcastic wit.  She's also a whiz at building things out of other things.  

She's a perfect addition to our team.  

And the team needs all the help it can get. Hawkins is under attack.  

During the school's winter break, strange plant creatures are attacking the town.  The source of the vine monsters is unknown.

Escapees from the Upside Down?

Freakish experiments from the Hawkins National Laboratory on the loose? 

Solving the mystery of what these creatures are, how they came to be and how to stop drives the narrative for the season.   

Between El's powers and Nikki's kick ass home made weapons, these crazy kids go out and kick some monster ass.   

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 has a brighter look and a lighter tone than it's parent series.  This is definitely a more family friendly look at the strange and dangerous nature of life in Hawkins.   

The producers hoped to capture the feel of a 1980's cartoon show and to that end, they succeed.  

Sometimes the dialogue is a bit after school special stilted with peans to the importance of friendship and whatnot.

And the voice acting veers less towards natural cadences and more towards Saturday morning cartoon artifice.  And whoever the hell was voicing Dustin Henderson, does he need to shout everything he says?

Despite the day-glo polish of animation designed to appeal to kids, Stranger Things: Tales from '85 does manage to channel the sinister spark of the original series. 

Some negative trolls have dismissed Stranger Things: Tales from '85 as a cynical nostalgia grab for people who don't want to let Stranger Things go.  

If you like the original show, there is enough in Stranger Things: Tales from '85 that you will recognize and hopefully like. But show has a unique voice and style that elevates this beyond being a mere retread.

And that is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.

Next week: TV shows return.

The 3rd season of My Adventures With Superman launches.

Interview With A Vampire is back as The Vampire Lestat.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.   

Monumental Stupidity Part 3: Bread and Circuses

Our THIRD example to monumental stupidity?

This goddam motherfucking ATROCITY!!!!!

Known as "The Claw"....

This is the lighting rig for the the UFC Freedom 250 fight at the White House last night.

An event that Marco Rubio actually compared to landing a man on the moon.  

An event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States and are we fucking kidding ourselves?

It's the epitome of bread and circuses.  

Except we can't afford bread.

And we're not invited to the circus.  

And in a typical Trumpian twist, celebrities who have been invited are declining to attend. 

UFC owner Dana White exfended invites to various celebrities who are fans of ultimate fightin' like Adam Sandler and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who have said, nah, they got better things to do.

Members of the military are invited but they have to pay their own way and meet specified height/weight catergories of looking pretty. Hegseth rules no uggos or fattys.

Those seats are being snapped up like something that are NOT hotcakes.  

Geez! They may have to invite Don Jr and Eric to help fill the seats.

Li'l Donnie Trump turned 80 years old yesterday, inexplicably eluding death's icy grip.  Despite what Trump or his syncophants or UFC owner Dana White might tell ya, this was to celebrate Nero's birthday while Rome burns.  

I will be honest: I'm writing the bulk of this post the day before this abominable event. 

I have no intention of watching it.

Come Monday when this posts, I reckon there will be enough accounts to tell you (and I'm just guessing here) that it was a spectacle of garish excess in a pathetic display of obsequious fealty to der Führer.

A contest of sweaty men in mortal combat to the throbbing base beat of rock music and the seizure inducing glare of strobe lights may seem like a tasteless display on the grounds of what is ostensibly supposed to be the people's house.

Tasteless is the dark pit where Donald Trump thrives. 

I will update this post link to stories that will provide details of this misbeggoten event, stories that I expect will document our country's race to the bottom of a pit of embarrassment.  

...

Unless I don't because I forgot to do that.

You and I have put up with a LOT today on this blog.

I'm outta here! See ya Tuesday.

Monumental Stupidity Part 2: A Moment of Reflection

More about the matter I posted about yesterday that Donald Trump said there would be a deal to end his war with Iran yesterday.

Another guess I made about it was this: 

There will be an agreement to agree there should be an agreement and a vague promise to possibly do something about that.

So there was an annoucement there was a deal.  

Li'l Donnie was sketchy on any deet.

But insists the deal is complete.

Hey, that rhymes!  

EXCEPT:  apparently there is nothing about Iran's access to a nuclear weapon which was Li'l Donnie's most frequent go-to as to why he started his war in the first place.

Iran's nuclear capability still needs to be negotiated.

So "a vague promise to possibly do something about that"? Yeah, we can go with that one too.

Also whatever this supposed deal is actually all about, it is not a done deal until it is signed which will be on Friday. 

So there's still time for Pete Hegseth's itchy trigger finger to shoot at stuff.

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My fellow Americans, I feel your pain! 

• Gas prices are too high! 
• Food prices are too high!!
• Your gummies are weak and you're not high enough!!!

Life is HARD but don't worry!

Donald J. Trump is on the case! 

The answer to all your problems is...

Repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool! 

There!

Don't you feel better? 

I mean, who cares about a little inflation anyway?

OK, that's a whole other mess of bother that I don't have time to get into right now.

Besides...

I for one am PROUD to pay more for my hamburger now that our nation's captitol has a nice clean (BLUE!) reflecting pool. 

Which I would love to go see in person but, you know, gas prices.

Painting the pool became an obsession for der Führer because the frequently algae filled pool looked bad ahead of America's 250th birthday.

Trump blamed the algae problem on Obama and Biden and decided to fix it with a paint job.

Some background: the reflecting pool was built in 1922 and has quite frankly been a pain in the ass to upkeep since.... 1922.

The pool is, as the name says, a reflecting pool, not a swimming pool.  The water is shallow and prone to algae growth. 

Also the damn thing leaks.

But it does look pretty.  So the U.S. government keeps plugging the leaks and cleaning out the algae.  

Trump who thinks he's so goddam clever figures the solution is to coat the bottom of the pool with a dark blue sealant ("American flag blue" he calls it).  

SIDE NOTE: One day, Trump called the Lincoln Memorial the Lincoln Monument.  Some time later in a social media post of her visiting the reflecting pool, Karoline Leavitt called the Lincoln Memorial the Lincoln Monument. Because that's what Trump said it is.  

He hires out (without any competive bidding) some dude he says is really good at swimming pools (it's not a swimming pool) to do the job for $3 million. And the pool will look perfect and we'll never have to fix it again. 

According to a statement from the White House, "President Donald J. Trump is an expert builder who has fixed the Reflecting Pool for good, unlike the failed and extremely costly attempt by Obama and Biden."

Trump's $3 million fix cost $14 million.

It still leaks. And...

One week after the pool was refilled, the algae is back.

Which the White House blamed on Joe Biden?

They claim the gunk on the water is residual algae backed up in the pipes from when Biden was President.  

There's also this:  The water is SHALLOW and prone to algae GROWTH you snivelling syncophantic motherfuckers!!

No matter what color the $14 million paint job on the damn thing in front of the Lincoln Monument. (Fuck! Now I'm doing it!) 

---------------------------------------------

OK, that's two (TWO, damn it!) Trump themed posts in one damn day.  Enough is enough.

Well... no! 

There's MORE monumental stupidty to address.  

I'm back in two hours with another post. 

Monumental Stupidity Part 1: What's In A Name

On the matter I posted about yesterday that Donald Trump said there would be a deal to end his war with Iran yesterday.

I made several guesses about this alleged deal. 

One of those guesses was this: 

There will be an agreement that will put Iran in a more powerful position that it had before Trump started his war but hey, it's an agreement, Trump made it so Trump will say it's great and anyone who says different is committing treason and the United States won!  

So there was an annoucement there was a deal.  Li'l Donnie was sketchy on the deets but here's what is understood so far:  

The deal likely returns the region to a status that existed before the war, but with thousands of people dead and Iran wielding a new source of negotiating pressure with its ability to influence shipping in the strait. 

So the "agreement that will put Iran in a more powerful position that it had before Trump started his war"? Yeah,that one.

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Donald Trump is gone! 

So long, suckah

Well, his name is gone, removed Saturday morning from the Kennedy Center.   

Scaffolding in place to begin the process of removing
Donald Trump's name
as a crowd gathers to celebrate.

A crowd gathered at the Kennedy Center at 3:00 AM to cheer the removal of der Führer's name from the bulding.  Thousands more were watching on a livestream.

The actual deadline to remove Trump's name was 11:59 PM Friday but a delay was approved  due to inclement weather.

Workers hung up a curtain over the front of the building to spare Trump the humiliation of seeing his ego being violated.  

Those gathered at the Kennedy Center gave an eager, enthusiastic Times Square on New Year's Eve countdown ahead of that curtain being dropped, revealing the restored front of the Kennedy Center freed from it's Trumpian defilement.   

All this occurred after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that Trump just can't slap his name on shit.   

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so.  Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

The ruling made it clear that Trump's name had to come off of EVERYTHING: the building, the programs, the stationary, the website.  

Trump responded to the ruling with magnaminous goodwill and respect and I'm just fucking with you.

Li'l Donnie whined about it like the goddam motherfucking fragile bitch he is.

“Can you imagine? A Barack Hussein Obama Judge named Christopher Cooper has stopped a magnificent structural and aesthetic rebuilding of The Trump Kennedy Center where Millions of Dollars of material, marble, furniture, steel, air conditioning, heating, and so much else was ordered, or soon to be ordered, with the end result being a structure that would no longer be in a potential state of collapse, rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested, to one that would be the Finest anywhere in the World.”

Would it surprise you to hear there is no independent verifiable assessement of the Kennedy Center being "in a potential state of collapse, rusted, rotted, and rat and bug infested"? 

IF the Kennedy Center was truly in such a state, it seems fixing it would be a priority regardless of whose name is on it.

It's as if the important thing to Donald Trump was not the center or it's legacy but slapping his name on something in a vain attempt at burnishing a legacy we all know history will not be kind to.

That's not the only vanity project that has caught Li'l Donnie's attention and I'll have a post about that going live in 2 hours.  

Star Trekking: Star Trek - The Original Series - Season One - Part One

 

Welcome back to Star Trekking, my regular blog berth for my Star Trek fandom.

After several weeks exploring Star Trek: The Next Generation, I decided it was time to go back 60 years to the source of all our treks, the original series itself, Star Trek.

There were some weird glitches in early first season Star Trek.

• The Enterprise is an Earth ship, not a Federation vessel.
• Those phasers look a lot like photon torpedoes.  
• Spock was Vulcanian, not Vulcan.

Still trying to figure things out and work out the bugs, Star Trek season 1 nonetheless produced some memorable episodes.   

"The Naked Time" sees the Enterprise gripped by a contagion that removes the crew's inhibitions.  We get the first dramatic look at Spock's dichotomy of Vulcan logic and human emotion as the contagion erodes his self control.  

There is a heartbreaking interaction between Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel.   

CHAPEL: Mister Spock, (takes his hand) the men from Vulcan treat their women strangely. At least, people say that, but you're part human too. I know you don't, you couldn't, hurt me, would you? I'm in love with you, Mister Spock. You, the human Mister Spock, the Vulcan Mister Spock.

SPOCK: Nurse, you should...

CHAPEL: Christine, please. I see things, how honest you are. I know how you feel. You hide it, but you do have feeling. Oh, how we must hurt you, torture you.

SPOCK: I'm in control of my emotions.

CHAPEL: The others believe that. I don't. I love you. I don't know why, but I love you. I do love you just as you are. Oh, I love you.

SPOCK: I'm sorry. I am sorry...

CHAPEL: Christine.

SPOCK: Christine.

Some fans who have been critical of the Spock/Chapel relationship in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds should look to this scene to show why that pairing in SNW is not so far out of line. This is not just Chapel professing her love for Spock but it's Spock struggling to fight his own desire to respond to that feeling. 

This is a prime example of how much Leonard Nimoy could bring to his role as Spock beyond what was written in the script.  (And credit where it's due, Majel Barret was pretty damn good as well as Chapel.)   

Spock also makes a funny in this episode.  

Sulu responds to the contagion by stripping shirtless and pracing with around the ship with a fencing sword. (This is where George Takei figured out he was gay.) When he makes it to the bridge, Spock quickly dispatches of Sulu with a Vulcan nerve pinch,  Then he tells security...

SPOCK: Take D'Artagnon here to Sickbay.

Star Trek: The Next Generation follows up on this story when a similar contagion hits the Enterprise 1701-D in their first season episode "The Naked Now".  The Star Trek entry is superior to the TNG sequel.   

"The Corbomite Maneuver" features the Enterprise going up against an alien adversary who have superior technology and an attitude to match.  Baylok is implacable and unforgiving, totally uninterested in negotiation. 

The Enterprise has trespassed into restricted space. The ship and it's crew are condemned to die. And that is that. 

When I saw this episode as a young child, this dude freaked me out.

Gotta admit he kind of still does.

This episode epitomizes how Star Trek does not solve problems with power and brute force. What wins the day is intelligence and cleverness.

And even compassion.

A lot of people like to cast Captain James Kirk as a swaggering action hero who fought his way out of trouble. And yeah, Kirk did seem to get into a lot fights with his shirt getting ripped.

But more often than not, Kirk was thoughtful and inquisitive, more explorer than conqueror. 

At the end of the episode with Baylok and his ship drifting, dead in space, Kirk does not blow them out of the heavens for jerking his crew around for the whole episode.

His first thought is to beam over and see if anyone needs help.

He beams over with two crew members and finds out Baylok is...this guy! 

It's Clint Howard, Ron Howard's little brother. Clint would make other appearances in Trek shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.   

Yikes! This post has gone on longer than I intended.

OK, for today, I'll cover one more episode.   

"Balance of Terror" pits Kirk and the Enterprise against the Romulans.   

The episode begins with Kirk officiating a wedding.

KIRK: Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all shipmasters have had one happy privilege. That of uniting two people in the bonds of matrimony. 

Now if that sounds familiar, Capt. Picard will utter those same words officiating the wedding of Miles and Keiko O'Brien in "Data's Day".

But the happy occassion is interrupted by a red alert! 

After decades of silence, the Romulans have crossed the Neutral Zone and are destroying Earth* Outposts with a nigh unstoppable weapon.

*As we said at the start, the show was referring to stuff as Earth things and not Federation things.

What follows is a tense game of cat 'n' mouse as the Enterprise pursues the Romulan ship.  

Kirk's options ain't good.

A direct confrontation with the ship and it's massively powerful weaopon would likely be a suicide mission.

To not confront the ship would allow the Romulans to return home and report they encountered no resistence, prompting a full scale invasion.

Ultimately Kirk does decide to engage but with restraint and stealth, looking for the smallest opportunity, the slightest weakness.

We get a peek inside the Romulan ship where we find it's commander as thoughtful and deliberative as Kirk. 

We also find out that Romulans look Vulcan or Vulcanian or whatever.  Even Spock did not know that.  After their previous war, Earth and Romulans negotiated their peace treaty over subspace radio without ever seeing each other.    

Mark Lenard (who will go on to play Sarek, Spock's dad in various Star Trek episodes and movies) is in fine form here as a commander who knows full well the cost of failure but also worried about the price of success. If he defeats this enemy, the Romulans will go to war.

The tensions mount as the episode continues, both Kirk and the Romulan commander trying to out think each other, playing a chess match across the cold void of space. 

Long story made short, Kirk and his crew do manage to get the upper hand on the Romulans as their ship burns in space,  

Again, even after all these Romulans have done, Kirk offers mercy as he speaks with the Romulan commander for the first time.

KIRK: Captain. Standing by to beam your survivors aboard our ship. Prepare to abandon your vessel.

COMMANDER [on viewscreen]: No. No, that is not our way. I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend.

KIRK: What purpose will it serve to die?

COMMANDER [on viewscreen]: We are creatures of duty, Captain. I have lived my life by it. Just one more duty to perform.

(He goes to the control console, turns a switch, and the whole ship explodes)

This episode underscores what makes Star Trek strong and unique.  Yeah, it's a fight between star ships but what drives this episode, what makes it a success, is the tension that the people feel and must cope with.  Kirk and his Romulan counterpart are both prepared for war but they are both terribly congnisant of the costs and perils of war.   

War is not something you slap some action movie branding on and cheer on the deaths of your enemies. That was the lesson Star Trek imparted in 1966.

Too bad in 2026, too many people in position of authority do not understand that fundemental lesson about war.

Whew! This was a lot.

So I guess this is how it's gonna go.

Over the next few weeks, I will provide some overviews of 3 or so episodes a week as we explore the first season of Star Trek.

Thanks again to Chrissie's Transcripts Site.  

Trump's "Agreement"

I know this should be when the Star Trek post goes up.

Well, be patient, it's coming in about 3 hours.

In the meantime, it's important to remember there is a war on.

Or not?

Let's see....

Yesterday, Donald Trump said an agreement with Iran would be signed on Sunday.

Which is today.

Forgive me for not being too excited about THAT announcement.

Prior to this on at least 38 seperate occassions, der Führer has issued similar proclamations since he started his wee li'l incursion into Iran back in February.

Here are some predictions of what I think will occur:

• Nothing. Total goose egg. Nada. Zilch! Zip! 
• There will be an agreement to agree there should be an agreement and a vague promise to possibly do something about that.
• There will be an agreement that will put Iran in a more powerful position that it had before Trump started his war but hey, it's an agreement, Trump made it so Trump will say it's great and anyone who says different is committing treason and the United States won!  
• There will be an agreement that looks remarkably like the one the Obama administration negotiated but Trump tore it up as a bad deal but will now say it's a good deal because Trump made it, etc etc...we won! 
• Trump bombs the shit out of some Iranian targets because his birthday outdoor UFC cage match on the South Lawn got rained out and he's in a bad mood.  

Oh, that damn thing! The UFC fight on that's happening today to celebrate...AMERICA!  EMPEROR TRUMP!  

Yes, we are white trash! 

I need to talk about that and I don't want to. I'm tired.

You don't pay to get in here and I don't get paid to be here.

And I am...so... tired.  

Hey, Trump pal David Ellison is live streaming the event on Paramount+.  Maybe I'll sneak in a mention about that into the Tuesday TV Touchbase?

Although I do hate to sully the scared space of the Tuesday TV Touchbase with Grump Trump.

For a comprehensive overview of various Trump fuckery, check out this political cartoon that puts der Führer into space for a fresh perspective on the hell we're living in.

I would post more but I'm.... out of space! 

Get it?  Out of space?  Sounds like outer space?

Fine! I'm going back to bed! 

This week's Star Trekking will beam down in 3 hours.  

This (Non) Sporting Life: In the Knick Of Time!

It's This (Non) Sporting Life, the blog post about sports written by a guy who does not know or care about sports.

Usually.

Tonight, Andrea and I watched the NBA Finals... on purpose.

It was Game 5 of the series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

So far, so good. I know who is playing. Usually I don't know.

I also know who we're pulling for in this thing too! Usually I don't care! 

We were really pulling for the Knicks to win their first title in 53 years. 

Even our son Dean who knows and cares about sports even less than I do was rooting for this team to win! 

But  Andrea was worried the Spurs might win this one.

Nah, the Knicks had the Spurs where they wanted them.

New York got hot when it counted and went on a major run, winning the game 94-90 and winning the 2026 NBA Championship!  

The New York Knicks were awesome!

Jalen Brunson who scored 45 of those 94 points was awesome!

Sports Ball is awesome!

...

...

...

OK, my sports adjacent euphoria is wearing off now.

Good night!