The Decade of Fear and Anger

Having established in today's earlier post that today is indeed the end of a decade, it might be tempting to tied a bow around this otherwise random selection of 10 years and give it meaning. 

Sadly, I think I can.

It was the decade of fear and anger. 

Maybe it was the previous decade's fault?

The first ten years of this century began with something to really be afraid of with the terrorist attacks on 9/11.  That same set of ten years ended with a recession that nearly destroyed a global economy because of the greed and excesses of a small percentage of players who already had most of the money and wanted more of it; we had every reason to be angry at them has millions of people lost their jobs and their savings as a tidal wave of foreclosures ripped people from their homes. 

As this decade began, things began to get better. It wasn't magical and it wasn't fast but we were moving forward, trying to make life better. 

But not everyone felt that. A lot of people felt left behind by the economic recovery and the tides of history. These people held on to their fear, their anger. It was a potent force for any one who was dumb enough to weaponize it.

Donald Trump was just that dumb enough. 

I say "dumb" because utilizing fear and anger as a power source for a political movement is not sustainable except to stoke people to greater levels of fear and anger.  The leader of such a movement cannot offer anything more than to remind you to be afraid and angry at the "others" who are trying to undermine your way of life. 

Fearmongering and hatemongering is a recipe for holding on to power but it does precious little to actually get anything done.  The people who rage in the darkness against what they fear and what they hate are, ironically, not going to benefit from a power structure fueled by that fear and hate.  

As we began the decade, clawing our way out of the rubble of shattered sense of security and the dark abyss of the Great Recession, there was a sense of moving towards the future, however slow and shakily that progress felt. As we end this decade, it feels like we're moving backwards.  

There are too many powerful institutions of the media and of government who derive power from keeping a large segment of the population angry and afraid. It may be too much to hope that will change. 

But as tomorrow begins, as a new decade takes its first halting steps into the light, maybe we can move past fear and anger.  

Decade Schmecade

Today is Tuesday, December 31st, 2019. 

Today marks the end of yet another year.

It also marks the end of a decade.

That last statement is in some quarters one fraught with confusion and controversy. 

Which is stupid. There is no confusion. There is nothing controversial about it. 

Today marks the end of a decade. 

OK, here's the thing. People tend to start counting things starting with 1. So by that logic, this decade began  with 2011 and will end with the 10th year after that, 2020.

Except the progression of time does not start with "one". It starts with zero.  

Think about the clock. Both hands are point up and it's 12:00. When does 12:01 get here? Sixty seconds latter. The hour does not start with 12:01, it starts with 12:00. 

The day you're born, you're not one year old. When that first extremity reaches out from your mother's womb and hits the open air for the first time, you're starting from zero.  

I could go further into this but I'm not because I'm right and if you think differently, then you're wrong.

Happy New Year and starting tomorrow, here's hoping for a Happy New Decade! 

The Doctor Who Discombobulation

As we inch closer through time (taking the slow path) to 8 PM New Year’s Day for the season premier of Doctor Who, BBC America has been helping us with this march through time with a Doctor Who takeover airing since Christmas Eve. 

 

Here in the Fortress of Ineptitude, we own all of the Doctor Who series to date and can watch them without edits and commercials but dang if we don’t find ourselves glued to the living room sofa glomming on to whatever Doctor Who episode BBC America has put in front of us while putting up with a variety of  spots wherein Mayhem tries to make life a mess unless you have All State insurance, a broad spectrum of drugs to treat a wide range of diseases all with moderate to severe symptoms and whatever that damn PSA is with very sad dogs.

 

But over the last few days, I have wondered about the logic of BBC America’s scheduling of Doctor Who episodes.  For example, when BBCA ran Series 1, they left out Dalek and The Long Game.  Both episodes are strong outings for Series 1 and both establish plot points in the two part finale of Series 1.  

 

When Series 3 came ‘round, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock and Utopia were missing.  The latter was especially egregious as Utopia is instrumental to The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Time Lords. Why would BBCA leave off part one of the 3 part finale for Series 3?   

 

Over the last decade since BBC America has become of the official home for Doctor Who in the good ol’ US of A, BBCA has not always been a good caretaker of Doctor Who, editing whole chunks out of episodes, running episodes out of order and not providing at least some semi-regular spot on BBCA’s regular schedule.  Except for then there are new episodes or some special event programming (like the current takeover), Doctor Who is relegated to occasional random episodes in the overnight schedule. 

 

I’m glad Doctor Who has a home on American television.  I just wish that home took better care of Doctor Who.

 

Doctor Who: Double the Doctor

Hi there! 

One thing for sure, around these parts here in the Fortress of Ineptitude, there is a lot of excitement for the new season of Doctor Who which premiers in just a couple of days. 

New TV episodes are not the only new Doctor Who on the way. Debuting on January 8th is a new installment of the Doctor Who comic book published by Titan. This issue presents a crossover of Doctors. The current Doctor and her fam are in 1969 and encounter the 10th Doctor and Martha Jones while they were stuck there during the events of "Blink" from way back in Doctor Who Series 3. 

Below are some pages as the Doctor gives her friends some marching orders and her perspective on sex and gender.

It's "quite simple, really." 

Can it really be, the woman they know is the same person as this guy they're following? Graham seems to accept it readily enough. "Dramatic coat...   the running bit. Definitely the same person."  

You may recall from the episode "Blink" when Martha complained she had to get a job in a shop. 

Well, here she is at that job and in that shop. 

And we see the Doctor engaged in some surprising introspection.  

The Doctor has a bad habit of being oblivious to the feelings of their companions.  Seeing the Doctor actually be made aware of that is somewhat enlightening.  

One of the criticisms of the Series 11 of Doctor Who was the disconnect from actually feeling like Doctor Who. Seeing the 13th Doctor actually interact with her history as the Doctor, even if only in comic book form, might help alleviate that. 

I hope we get something of that in the TV series itself. We don't need an actual multi-Doctor story but an encounter with someone from the Doctor's past (Jack Harkness, maybe?) would be most welcome.   

Good Christian Men, Revolt!

"Good Christian men, revolt! 
With heart and soul and....
...
And....
....
And..." 

OK, I need a word that rhymes with revolt. 

During the last week of I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, I was determined this blog would be full of Christmas spirit. Yeah, more god damn Christmas spirit than fucking Danny fucking Kaye! 

So when the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump, I gave the event a cursory mentioned and said I would address this later.

Well, it's later.

So...? 

To be honest, so what.

Yes, there should be some weight of history bearing down on this moment, only the 3rd President in US history to ever be impeached.   

But really, so what? 

While the vote was coming down in favor of impeachment, Donald Trump was at another of those inane circle jerk rally fests designed to make him feel better. Trump remarked at one point that it doesn't feel like he's been impeached.

Damn, I hate to agree with the man but fuck. 

Look, the House vote was strictly along party lines. Despite a loads of evidence to show Trump's unethical lapses against the Constitution, the Republicans refuse to see it as such. The upshot is the vote of the House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump is successfully recast by Trump and his supporters as the vote of the House Democrats to impeach Donald Trump.

The next stage is a vote by the US Senate to vote on the articles of impeachment if Donald Trump should be removed from office. And it won't matter.

The fix is in.  Both Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham have already declared their intent to vote against the articles of impeachment and both have professed an open disregard for any pretense at fairness. 

This has led Nancy Pelosi to play one more card in her deck by delaying sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until she assured Donald Trump gets a fair trial.

Well, isn't that nice of her to look out for Li'l Donnie like that after all the mean things he has said about her. 

Of course Republicans are trying to turn Pelosi's strategy against her by claiming she is too scared to forward the articles of impeachment to the Senate because the whole impeachment thing is a hoax, a fraud and there ain't nothing there. 

So Donald Trump is impeached but it feels like nothing has changed. Trump's still goes on rants at rallies and on Twitter, spewing lies, hatred and fear mongering bile while his sniveling sycophantic supporters continue to buy into whatever falsehood or conspiracy theory to continue to their cultish support of Trump in the face all the facts to the contrary.

Ain't nothing gonna happen. 

We did get one wrinkle in the narrative lately. 

An editorial in Christianity Today, a long time and widely read magazine for evangelical Christians, founded by Billy Graham, voiced support for Donald Trump to be impeached and subsequently removed from office. 

Trump immediately attacked the magazine as a forum for left leaning liberal progressives and vowed never to read it again. (He referred to the magazine as "ET" instead of "CT".)   

What are the odds that Trump was even aware there was something called Christianity Today, never mind that he actually read it? Not that good.

It should be noted that the editorial is not any kind of statement in support of the Democrats or of their political positions. The editorial also notes the benefits the evangelical community has received as a result of the Trump presidency. 

What is called into the question is Trump's own behavior and his obvious and repeated lack of moral conduct.  What good are any of the benefits the evangelical community has received as a result of the Trump presidency if the man at the top so poorly reflects on the ideals and message of the Christian faith itself?  

The case made in the Christianity Today editorial is that for whatever good the evangelical community might be receiving from a Trump presidency, bad conduct is still bad conduct. As it was said in the editorial, "It's time to call a spade a spade." 

The Christianity Today editorial has revealed a schism in the evangelical Christian community. There are those who share the ET CT  viewpoint that Trump's behavior is antithetical to Christian faith. And then there are those like Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, who insist on maintaining their loyalty and fealty to Donald Trump. 

The fact there is a Christian schism of any kind in regards to Donald Trump does not bode well for the Christian faith. 

As long as alleged Christian Franklin Graham chooses to side with Trump over the values of his faith, well, you know the answer to that, don't you?  

Ain't nothing gonna happen. 


Well, not to Trump. To Christianity? Maybe a lot. 

Superman#18: The Secret Revealed

The big story for Superman # 18 is Superman's decision to no longer hide his secret identity as Clark Kent.  

So how does that go? 

Whatever one might think about this decision, it is a story that is remarkably well told.

Whatever Brian Michael Bendis brings to the table as a writer, restraint is not usually a trait one associated with his style. 

But the page where Clark tells Perry is presented totally in pictures with the emotional power of the moment presented without so much as a single word balloon from Brian. 

The scene where Superman goes to tell Jimmy Olsen plays a bitter differently.  

I like that Jimmy decides this a good moment to wind Superman up a bit.  It is a funny moment to underscore that Jimmy is indeed Superman's pal and perhaps a needed relief of the tension Clark is feeling in taking these steps to reveal his identity. 

"All I see is Superman with glasses on!" I love that bit.

But all this is some kind of diversion. Superman is really not going to tell the whole world that he and Clark Kent are actually one and the same.

He's not really going to do that. 

OK, he really did that. 

Meanwhile, this news is not going over well over at the Legion of Doom. 

It's enough to make Lex drop his super powered "Apex Predator" persona and go back to grim and brooding Lex Luthor, scientist businessman Superman hater. 

If this seems a bit familiar, a few years ago, in the waning days of the New 52, Superman and Clark Kent were outed to the world at large.

It wasn't handled all that well. And it all got undone with the advent of DC's Rebirth initiative.  

One one hand, there is a part of me that sees the loss of Clark Kent as a secret identity as a bad thing. When I was a kid, I was drawn to Superman comics not just for the super powered heroics but also for the bits where Clark has to hide who he really is. As a young boy who felt isolated from others my age, I found the idea of hiding in plain sight with others not knowing the truth an appealing concept.  

On the other hand, I have to say when it comes to Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent, why bother? It seems to me there are months on end when Superman never dons a pair of glasses. Clark Kent has admittedly become less relevant to the Superman mythos. I would say that is a bad thing but the reality is that it is true. 

Now as I understand it, the plan according to Brian Michael Bendis is that Clark Kent is not going away. Superman is not giving up on being Clark Kent. He's just giving up on Clark Kent being a secret identity.  

It will be interesting to see how that's going to work.  

It's Hanukkah Time!

Hi there! Since I spent several posts focusing on Christmas, today we will celebrate Hanukkah here at I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, a small dreidel of a blog in a glowing menorah of an internet. 

For 2019, Hanukkah began on sunset on Sunday, December 22nd and will send this Monday, December 30th.   

Let's start off with a song, my favorite song about Hanukkah. And no, it's NOT that irritating overplayed thing by Adam Sandler. This tune was written and composed by the great Tom Leher. Below is a performance by Mr. Leher himself.  

I'm Spending Hanukkah In Santa Monica! I really gets in your head, doesn't it?  

Next up from DC's 2009 Holiday Special is a Hanukkah themed story starring Superman himself.

The creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were both Jewish.  

I think it's time for another musical celebration of Hanukkah! 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you....

THE GAY MEN'S CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES!!!!!

It really is in your head now, isn't it? 

It's time for another comic book story, this one featuring a little know DC character called Ragman.  

And that's my Hanukkah post. Sometimes Hanukkah is simply looked upon as Jewish Christmas and it is so much more than that. But like Christmas, Hanukkah also represents the ideal of light triumphing over darkness as well as the peace, love and joy of families and friends coming together.  Which is an ideal we can all get behind. 

So Happy Hanukkah! 

And a special shout out to those who celebrate....

"Hanukkah! In Santa Monica! Wearing sandals lighting candles by the sea!"  

It really gets in your head! 

Doomsday Clock#12

Doomsday Clock#12 came out last week and I was there at Acme Comics (the best comic book shop in the world) to buy it.  

Over the last couple of years, there's been a lot of tap dancing around Doomsday Clock in terms of the quality of the series, it's impact on the DC Universe and it's very reason for existing. 

As a sequel to the legendary Watchmen series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Doomsday Clock would seem to be regarded by some fans as tantamount to sacrilegious. a defiling of a sacred text or something. 

Yes, Watchmen is a great work in comics. It deserves all the lauding praise this seminal work as received over the decades. It is very much a complete work with a beginning, middle and end. It does not need a sequel.

It is, however, not a sacred work. 

If someone thinks there are more stories that can be drawn from Watchmen's well, then fine. If these stories are good, then readers have gained something. If these stories are not good, Watchmen still stands unsullied by such efforts.  

Damon Lindelof's HBO series shows something new and good can come out of the Watchmen world. 

In the case of Doomsday Clock, writer Geoff Johns I think has made a good case of his take in the Watchmen universe. The story Johns tells is as much a story about the enduring and endearing power of what we know as the DC Universe as it is a sequel to Watchmen.

Watchmen posited a world fraught with realpolitik problems along with super heroes. How would one affect the other? What Alan Moore presented was a world that was dark and conflicted. 

What would happen if that darkness and conflict affected the DC Universe the same way?  

Well, it would be different and the reason for that difference is Superman. 

Dr. Manhattan is bemused by Superman and his affect on the Earth of this particular universe. Using his reality bending powers, Manhattan travels through time, making changes subtly here and there in history. For example, a simple move of a certain magic lantern by mere inches results in Alan Scott dying, not becoming Green Lantern and ending an inspiration for the Justice Society of America.  

Other changes make this world darker. Superman still comes into being and serves as a beacon of hope. Manhattan keeps changing things, resulting in a version of the DC Universe we readers came to know as the New 52. It's a colder place, devoid of relationships that have made the heroes of the DC Universe a more effective force.  

Whatever Manhattan does to change this world, Superman still prevails. This universe is a metaverse that bends and molds itself to whatever changes affect the legend and history of Superman.  

Which is a problem for Dr. Manhattan. He's seen the future. Superman confronts him and then all his darkness. Dr. Manhattan cannot see beyond that moment. He reasons there are two alternatives: 

Superman kills him.

Or Dr. Manhattan destroys everything. 

In Doomsday Clock#12, the long foreseen confrontation arrives. And Superman gives Dr. Manhattan a third alternative. 

For all his powers, the main strength of Superman is his ability to inspire us to a better nature, to a better path. And this is what Superman does for Dr. Manhattan. 

After the confrontation that isn't, the DC Universe begins to open and expand as Superman remembers the Justice Society of America from the past and the Legion of Super Heroes of the future.  

Then Johns describes future events in the DC Universe where the universe may be rebooted again but Superman is always there, at the center of it. 

And Superman's Earth is not the only one changed. 

As we saw at the start of the Doomsday Clock series, the world of Watchmen was not in good shape as Ozymandias' scheme to trick the world into uniting to face an alleged alien threat has been exposed. The world is spiraling towards destruction. 

Inspired by Superman, Dr. Manhattan returns to help save the day. Doomsday Clock#12 ends on that world in a bright and hopeful future with a young man with super powers named Clark.  

Is Doomsday Clock a worthy successor to Watchmen? That may be open to debate. But I will say as it's own thing, 
Doomsday Clock is a very well put together series.  Geoff Johns is clearly inspired to elevate his game as a writer, seeking to emulate the complex plotting that Alan Moore employed in Watchmen. 

And the artwork of Gary Franks paired with colorist Brad Anderson is simply a wonder to look at it. While freed from the panel grid constructions of Dave Gibbons work on Watchman, Franks is follows patterns of layout and design to tell a rich and complex story. 

This series features appearances by almost every hero and villain in the  DC Universe and Franks draws all of them with precision and style.  

The downside for Doomsday Clock is how long it has taken to get here. As impactful as the ending might be to the DC Universe going forward, that impact is dulled a bit by the two years it took to get here.  I'm concern that many fans gave up waiting for this to come out and won't be as moved by what Geoff and Gary deliver here. 

Which is a shame because ultimately, Doomsday Clock is a very good comic book. 

Watchmen good? Your mileage may vary.

Doomsday Clock is Doomsday Clock good. 

______________________________________

Coming up tomorrow: 

It's Hanukkah Time!

And a post on Superman#18 and the secret revealed.  

The McDonalds Maladjustment

While my wife Andrea was at work on Monday, I had the day off to spend with my daughter Randie to get things done such as finish wrapping Andrea's Christmas presents.  

Andrea's presents to the two of us vastly outnumbered the presents under the tree for her. We could not let her win Christmas! 

But before we could get to the wrapping, we had errands to run. A trip to the post office, an errand at the bank and then one more shopping excursion for "stocking stuffers". 

Of all the things I have to endure at Christmas getting 

"stocking stuffers" is my least favorite thing to do. This is just not something wired into my holiday DNA. When I was a kid, we didn't do "stocking stuffers". What we got was under the tree and we were lucky there was a tree. 

It was awkward as hell for my first Christmas morning with Andrea when she mentioned that it was now time to exchange the gifts in our stockings. 

Our what in our what now? Look all I care about stockings being stuffed with are women's legs. 

Because nothing beats a great pair of Leggs! 

(This blog post is sponsored by the 1970s.) 

With Randie long grown out of the "we have to act like Santa is real" thing, she is a valuable assistant in figuring out what makes for good "stocking stuffers". 

Before we got to our errands, we needed breakfast so we stopped at McDonald's. 

In my defense for what is about to happen, Randie is, much like her a father, a creature of habit. She usually gets 1 of two things at McDonald's, either a sausage biscuit or an order of hotcakes. Which ever one she gets, she always gets an order of hash browns and a chocolate milk. 

Randie may be legally an adult but she likes chocolate milk. Don't judge her. 

Well, this time she opted for the sausage biscuit but instead of the hash browns, she decided to get an apple pie. 

Since we were eating in at the McDonald's, I opted for the breakfast platter which comes with a serving of eggs, a sausage patty, a biscuit and hash browns. I also got a large iced tea.

I am NOT addicted to iced tea! I can quit anytime I want! Don't judge me!!! 

Anyway...

A very kind young lady places the tray with our order on the counter and I think something looks askew. 

A-HA! A hash brown is missing! 

I see the hash brown that I ordered with the sausage biscuit but not the one that comes with my platter. The young lady without hesitation places a second hash brown on the tray. 

Yeah, I know, I did NOT order a hash brown with the sausage biscuit, I ordered an apple pie with Randie's biscuit which is on the tray.

I immediately go back to apologize and return with the hash brown. The worker is very nice about it and says I can keep the hash brown. But I was wrong and I don't deserve the extra hash brown. 

Then I pulled out a dollar bill to pay for the extra hash brown but the worker wouldn't take it. 

Later, as we left, I put the dollar in one of the collection boxes for the Ronald McDonald House.  

I still feel bad about it. 

_________________________

Coming up later today, COMIC BOOKS! 

It's a post on Doomsday Clock#12.

And tomorrow, Superman#18.  

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

Especially those nice folks at McDonald's.  

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Most of my sci-fi fan attention has been directed over the years to Doctor Who and to Star Trek in its various incarnations. Stars Wars? Eh, not so much.

I enjoy Star Wars on a very visceral level. It looks cool! It sounds cool! But I don't tend to worry to much about the mechanics of mythology.  It is an attitude that extends to my wife and daughter as well. We're not ignorant of Star Wars mythology. We really just don't care that much.  

So this past weekend, the fam made its way from the Fortress of Ineptitude to go see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

My review of the film? It looks cool! It sounds cool! 

But despite my efforts at willful ignorance of Star Wars minutia, I do have some concerns and they all start with Palpatine. 

Since the man's name is not even so much as mentioned in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, the inclusion pf the former Emperor and Sith Lord as the big bad in Rise of Skywalker is a bit forced. Oh, all that bad stuff the First Order was doing, Palpatine was behind the scenes making stuff happen.

Supreme Leader Snoke? It appears Palpatine grew him in a clone lab! 

One of our new crew of adventurers has a link to the dark side of the Force? It seems Palpatine has been manipulating events to get control of his grand daughter.

Yep, Rey is a Palpatine. 

One of the more controversial plot points in The Last Jedi was that Rey's parents were of no importance or consequence.  Given Rey's quick adept use of the Force, Star Wars fan expected that she had to have some connection to the some element of Star Wars mythology. Is she related to Luke Skywalker? Obiwan Kenobi? Hell, maybe even Darth Maul? Yoda, for crying out loud?  

But the idea that Rey's story began with no connection to this sprawling mythology did serve to underscore a larger point made in The Last Jedi, that anyone can be adept at using the Force. 

But Rise contradicts the message of the previous film to tell us that Rey is the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine.  

If some part of Palpatine's legacy or legend had been part of the previous two films, perhaps this revelation that Palpatine is still alive and Rey is his living descendant would have carried more power. Instead it doesn't seem to matter to Rey.  Ultimately, Palpatine is just another bad guy who must be stoppped to save the lives of millions throughout the galaxy.  Rey is not going to shirk that mission no matter who the pasty faced mummy in a cloak says he is.  

The return of Emperor Palpatine also serve to undermine a key point from Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader's turn againt the Emperor to save Luke Skywalker's life is a powerful moment. Killing Emperor Palpatine is the ultimate break to separate Darth Vader from Anakin Skywalker and find the redemption that Luke felt was possible all along for his father. Emperor Palpatine not being dead kind of diminishes the power of that moment.  

Is there redemption for our Dark Vader wannabe, Kylo Ren? I've had little patience for this impatient, petulant pretender to his grandfather's helmet but Adam Driver this time out makes Kylo less annoying for me somehow.  Kylo Ren's final epic battle with Rey changes things dramatically. Thanks to a fatal long distance Force intervention from Leia Organa, Rey is able to defeat Kylo, fatally wounding him. But then she uses the Force in a way she utilized earlier in the film to heal his wounds. Between Leia and Rey, Kylo Ren is finally gone and Ben Solo remains. 

Rey in her final confrontation with Emperor Palpatine accesses the highest level of power of the Force to defeat him but the effort leaves her lifeless. Ben Solo arrives to repay Rey's efforts, using the Force to restore her to life.  

Then Rey kisses Ben.

Yes, the Rey-Lo shippers will be all ecstatic over that one but I will counter that was NOT a Rey-Lo moment. It was a Rey-Ben moment. 

Then because Rey's injuries were more severe or Ben's just not as adept at using the Force to give life or the shock of actually being kissed by a girl probably for the first time ever, Ben Solo dies and his body fades away.  

Speaking of Leia Organa, Carrie Fisher's final performance on film is carried out by the use of previously unused footage shot for The Force Awakens with some judicious CGI editing. Fisher's untimely death sadly leaves a hole in the middle of Rise of Skywalker where a more forceful and direct role for Leia Organa would've done so much for this narrative. As such, Leia's final sacrifice to save her son relies on a body double and a voice over from a supporting character telling us what she is about to do. The patch job works as well as it can but still, it reminds us how much we miss Carrie Fisher.  

Poe Dameron gets better treatment this time out. He can still be reckless; his use of "light speed skipping" catches the Millennium Falcon on fire. But the bone headed thinking that severely undermined his character in The Last Jedi is not present here. 

Finn seems to have a mystery where he seems to just "know" stuff; the insinuation is that he might be Force sensitive.  

If you liked Rose in The Last Jedi, bad news but she gets jack to do in this film. Which feels like a victory for the anti-Rose trolls that came out in force in the wake of The Last Jedi.

And more bad news? No appearance by this guy.

Nope. No baby Yoda.  

Good news? Our buddy and pal (if only!) Lin Manuel Miranda has a blink or you'll miss it cameo as a Resistance fighter.

There are a lot of fun moments in The Rise of Skywalker with some genuine laughs. The bit where the burning Falcon has landed and everyone has escalating descriptions of just how much on fire it is is particularly funny moment. 

There was some fun to be had at my daughter's expense. A lot of the action revolves around a planet called Exegol which every time any character pronounced it, it sounded like "testicle". So any time any one referenced the planet Exegol, I would translate it for Randie.

"I have the coordinates for the planet Exegol!" 
"Psst! They have the coordinates for testicle." 

"The ship has landed on Exegol!"
"Psst! They've landed on testicle."

"I've got to get back to Exegol!" 
"Psst! They've go to get back..."
"Psst! Shut up, dad!" 

Yes, a good time was had by all. 

And in the end, the movie does indeed end. The bad guys are defeated. Some people have died but many more get to live. And Rey, that lonely lost scavenger we met on a desert planet at the start of The Force Awakens has learned a lot and has made peace with her legacy, her place in the galaxy and her future. 

This trilogy is over and so ends this story of Star Wars. But in Rey, the saga of Skywalker will live on.  

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

UPDATED 12/31/2019

You've got to watch this "pitch meeting" video. You know the joke I made earlier about how "Exegol" sounded like "testicle". They do the same joke at the between 5:15 and 5:30.