Maycation

 

Well, you know what that means.

Blog break time.

I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You will be taking the rest of May off.

It's a Maycation! 

I'll be back on Sunday, June 1st with Doctor Who Is NEW!

Until then, remember to be good to one another.

Tuesday TV Touchbase: Wheels of Jeopardy

For this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase, the theme is game shows.

Wheel of Fortune

It seems odd to think that just a year ago, we were contemplating after 40 years the concept of Wheel of Fortune NOT being hosted by Pat Sajak.  

Over the past season, I've gotten use to the new "kid" Ryan Seacrest (he turned 50 this year).  Yeah, one might describe Seacrest as a "tool", the generic epitome of Professional TV Host Person.  

But Seacrest did what Sony hired him to do which was avoid the drama that ensnared Jeopardy in the wake of Alex Trebek's passing.  

And Ryan Seacrest does evoke a sense of genuine enthusiasm for the role of host of Wheel of Fortune and he has a solid rapport with Vanna White. I still think Ryan holds open the prize card too long when a contestant loses the bonus round but otherwise, I think Ryan is doing a good job with the gig and I've gotten use to the moderately proportioned lug. 

It would be weird if Pat Sajak came back.

Which brings us to....

Celebrity Wheel of Fortune 

Pat Sajak came back for one more season of the Celebrity edition.  Without the 40 year weight of history of the daily syndicated show, Sajak seems looser with a carefree "this really isn't my job" spirit. 

The show still suffers from questionable definitions of what exactly is a "celebrity" but that's just me getting old and ranting angrily at the TV "Who are you people?" 

And also bitching that these "celebrities" don't seem to have seen the show, demonstrating a distressing lack of awareness of the show's mechanics.  

And the show's format can make an episode seem like a slog.  3 celebrities play a half hour of the game with a winner going on to the bonus round. Then... they do it again for another half hour. An hour of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune is SO LONG!

Jeopardy 

Ken Jennings is the face of Jeopardy and I'm perfectly fine with that. I've always thought the show had the right answer for the post Alex Trebek successor with Ken on day one. Then Mike Richards turned the hosting gig until a circus sideshow which added the complication of Mayim Bialik to the mix (who did a good job and deserved better than she got from this experience) but ultimately, fans wanted Ken Jennings there and so far, he's done a commendable job. 

His contributions to Jeopardy were recently acknowledged with being named to the Jeopardy Hall of Fame.  

My main quibble with the show has to do with the overly complicated nature of some of the clues. Sometimes they are so unnecessarily convoluted, it isn't clear what the hell we're looking for.  

There is also the matter of getting anyone to build any kind of run on the show. A few players have managed to crack a 4 or 5 game streak but some players who appear to be quite knowledgeable or really fast on the buzzer with potential for a good long run get knocked out quickly and badly.  

Jeopardy Masters

Running in primetime featuring the best of the best of Jeopardy contestants, this current season has been less fun than usual for Andrea and I.  Mostly because we can't stand Yogesh Raut. The dude is super smart and super fast on the buzzer but he just rub us the wrong way with his smug attitude and some off screen negative comments about the show.  

We're hoping Victoria Groce or Matt Amodio will hold him off and win this thing.  

My secret crush Adriana Harmeyer is back but she's not in the running to win this thing.  

Apparently the ratings for Jeopardy Masters have taken a hit compared to last year. I think part of the reason for that may be owed to Jeopardy fatigue with the Masters series following immediately after the end of...

Celebrity Jeopardy  

See my complaint re: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune: who are these guys?  

I had heard of winner W. Kamau Bell before but he is not what you might call a household name.  Still, he was worthy competitor who was able to have some fun while still taking the game seriously. 

Pop Culture Jeopardy

OH MY GOD!! MORE JEOPARDY?

The Amazon Prime series wrapped a few weeks ago but Andrea and I are still playing catch up with five episodes to go.  There was some buzz about Colin Jost being up for Ken Jennings' job on the regular show but I do not see that happening. 

Colin is a good fit for PCJ but he is the anti-Ken, perfectly willing to skewer the contestants in a way you could not get away with on the regular show.  

WHEW! 

I think that is ENOUGH of Wheel and Jeopardy for one post.

Coming up on future of Touchbase posts:

The return of the Librarians!

And the 4th season of Hacks! 

That is that for this week's Touchbase.

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.   

Peter David

The WRONG people keep dying!!! 

So many people of questionable character and intent doing more harm than good are still sucking air while good decent people die.

Among those good and decent people: Peter David.

Peter David was a writer whose work I enjoyed immensely.  His writing was notable for it's humor and humanity but man could he ratchet up tragedy and drama.  He wrote novels, TV scripts and some of the best comics. 

His 12 year run on the Hulk established a lot of characteristics and plot points that have been used in the MCU.

There's nothing I can say that Mark Evanier or Mike Sterling couldn't put better so click those links for their posts.  

I'm gonna focus on a series he did for DC, Supergirl.

But it's not the Supergirl you think. 

Background: in the post Crisis revamp of Superman by John Byrne, certain "extraneous" elements were stripped from the Superman mythos. Such as other survivors of Krypton. 

Kara Zore-El of Krypton, the Supergirl who valiantly sacrificed her life in Crisis On Infinite Earths#7 was retconned out of existence. 

But "Supergirl" is still IP that DC does not want to lose so we get this: a new Supergirl who is a man-made lifeform made of synthetic protoplasm created by the heroic Lex Luthor of a "pocket continuum".  Just to complicate things,she looks like Lana Lang.  

This new Supergirl can fly and possesses super-strength (like Superman) but she also has psychokinesis, shapeshifting, and invisibility.

This is the Supergirl Peter David was tasked to write a solo series about.  

So he takes this complicated concept and adds complications.

While saving a young woman named Linda Danvers who had been stabbed in a cult sacrifice to a demon, Supergirl's protoplasmic form merges with Linda to form an entirely new person.  

A new person who may be part angel?! 

OK, way too much going on here but I'll be damned Peter David makes it work, crafting a storyline about how two lost souls have a chance at redemption and a new life. 

There series last 62 issues which is the longest run ever for a Supergirl solo title and I was there for everyone one of them.

Until she got reconned out of existence when then DC publisher Dan Didio decided it was time to get back to basics with a Supergirl who was Kara Zor-El of Krypton.  

Peter David's Supergirl may not count in continuity or canon but it mattered to me and I was more than happy to remember Peter David's work on this, one my favorite series.

Rest in peace, Peter! 

Words of Wisdom From a Frog

When I graduated from college, the commencement speaker was...

...

I have no frickin' idea.

In fact, I think if you asked me that afternoon who gave the commencement address at my graduation ceremony, I would not have been able to tell you.

I reckon such a lapse in memory will not be an issue for the 2025 graduating class of the University of Maryland.

Their commencement speaker was Kermit the Frog.

Adorned in in what the Muppet himself described as “a very tiny cap and gown,” he delivered words of encouragement and inspiration, along with a forecast with a “100% chance of frog.”

“I am honored to share some words of wisdom about three things that are close to my heart: finding your people, taking the leap, and making connections."

Speaking of connections, Kermit's connection to the University of Maryland is Muppet creator Jim Henson was a student there back in the day.

There is a statue on campus of Jim talking to Kermit.

As Kermit said in his speech, "Jim literally had a hand in everything I did."   

“If I know a thing, it’s important to
stay connected to your loved ones,
stay connected to your friends
and most of all, stay connected to your dreams."

I'm sad to say I've not done those things which is why I know the frog speaks the truth.  

I am a bad example.

Listen to the frog!

Doctor Who Is NEW!: Wish World

So here's how I imagine things went for Russell T Davies after last week's "Interstellar Song Contest".  

RTD:  The big thing on everyone's mind is going to be that mind blowing cameo from....

Dugga do! Dugga do! Dugga dugga dugga do!

RTD:  The unexpected cameo by the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan.  Yes, it's...

Dugga do! Dugga do! Dugga dugga dugga do!

RTD:  (That is so annoying!) Yes, it's the great Carol Ann Ford herself back as the original Doctor Who companion! Fans have been...

La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! 

RTD:  (SHUT THAT DAMN THING OFF!) Ahem! Fans have been begging for Susan to return for years. And the other big reveal....

La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! 

RTD:  (This cannot be happening!) The big reveal that Mrs. Flood is... the Rani! 

Dugga do! Dugga do! Dugga dugga dugga do!

RTD:  THAT and her bi-generation into the great Archie Punjabi is ALL that Whovians....

Dugga do! Dugga do! Dugga dugga dugga do!

RTD:  ...will be....

La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! 

RTD:  ...obsessed with.

La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! 

RTD:  I give up!  

Dugga do! Dugga do! Dugga dugga dugga do!

Welcome to Doctor Who Is NEW! where I post about the latest new episode of Doctor Who.

This week the Doctor finally gets Belinda back to Earth on May 24, 2025.

Sort of...

The world has changed.

Completely, fundamentally and not in a good way. 

It's as if someone made a wish, a really bad wish.

Welcome to...

Wish World

by Russell T Davies 

ALERT: There will be spoilers, honey! 

Pre-credits sequence is set in Bavaria in 1865 where the Rani arrives at a farm house and demonstrates she is quite the evil person of evilly evil evilness by stealing a newborn baby, turning the mother into flowers, the baby's six brothers into ducks and the father into an owl.

The baby is the 7th son of a 7th son which means the infant is a source of incredible power which the Rani intends to use for evilly evil evilness.

It's the Rani. It's what she does.

Run the credits and...

The Doctor John Smith awakens in bed on a bright sunny morning next to his wife Belinda. The two love birds give each other a quick kiss as their daughter bounds into to the room. 

(Hey, it's Poppy from "Space Babies".)   

Look, there's Conrad (yes, than son of a bitch from "Lucky Day") on the telly advising that the weather is perfect and beautiful in London and everywhere in the world, really! 

It's gonna be a great day as John Smith dresses in a dapper suit to go to work while Belinda stays home to fulfill her destiny of daughter, wife and mother by cooking and cleaning!!

We're in JD Vance's wet dream. Ewww! 

Happy happy joy joy! 

Happy happy joy joy! 

Happy happy happy happy....

...joy, joy, joy.....

Well, you get the idea. 

All is perfect in a perfect world. 

But there is a knock at the door.

It's Ruby Sunday. 

Who seems to see that John Smith is the Doctor.

Belinda gets on the phone to report there's a doubter at their door. 

What kind of dystopian Mad Men crossed with Handmaid's Tale  hellscape are we in? 

In her bone palace in the sky, the Rani will explain.

I mean, she will literally explain her plot to us. 

If I have an issue with "Wish World", it is the massive info dump that Archie Punjabi's Rani has to give while dancing in high heels.  

OK, the dancing thing is kind of cool but the Doctor has no agency in breaking the spell of this world.  The Rani has to spell it out for him.  

As the world cracks apart from under the Rani's bone palace, the first of the Time Lords Omega is returning! 

Russell's gone back down deep in the well of the classic series to bring back another formiable threat.  Omega appeared in The Three Doctors (1st, 2nd and 3rd Doctors) and again in Arc of Infinity  (against the 5th Doctor).  

We get a blink and you'll miss it cameo from Susan again.

And an unexpected return from a guest star from last season!

RED ALERT SPOILER WARNING!!!

Rogue is back!

Just for a little bit and it really makes no sense but who cares?  Rogue has a mere moment to break through the fog in John Smith's brain to get him to see the truth about the world around him. (And to tell the Doctor he loves him! Awwww.) 

(They did not get Jonathan Groff back to shoot this one thing. It seems when he was on set the year before to shoot "Rogue", RTD had Groff stand in front of a green screen to record this bit of dialogue for use a whole year later!)  

"Wish World" is a bit of a muddled mess with whatever the hell the Rani is up to and her plans involving Omega but props to the show for it's alternate world building.  Converting UNIT HQ from a state of the art sci-fi set to a 1950's themed insurance company is an incredible feat of set design.

There's a big mess for RTD and company to wrap up.

Next week: "The Reality War"

Here is a clip from 1973's "The Three Doctors" where we first meet Omega.

And because I must hate you all....

And this...

Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post: Mission: Impossible

Yesterday, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning hit theaters, ostensibly bringing this long running series to an epic conclusion maybe? 

Nah, who's gonna walk away from all that money? Apparently future installments are being planned.  

For today's edition of Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post, let's go back nearly 30 years and the beginning of this cinematic franchise.

Starring Tom Cruise and directed by Brian DePalma, from 1996, this is Mission: Impossible.  

Some background on Mission: Impossible.  The movie is a follow up to the 1966 television series of the same name and its 1988 sequel series.   

The Impossible Missions Force (IMF) is a clandestine group of spies run by a mysterious unidentified agency with little to no oversight or accountability. But IMF agents also have no backup or support. If they are captured, the government will disavow any knowledge of them or their activities.  The IMF is headed up by Jim Phelps (for all but the first season) who receives the team's missions ("if you choose to accept it") via tape recordings that self destruct once the message is delivered.  

In the TV series, Phelps was played by Peter Graves. For the film, the character is portrayed by Jon Voight. (More on that later.)  

In the movie, Jim Phelps still heads up the IMF and we find them on a mission in Prague to stop rogue agent Alexander Golitsyn from stealing CIA secrets.

Things go very badly. 

The secrets get swiped, Golistyn vanishes and every single person on the mission is killed.

Except one person: Ethan Hunt, Phelps' point man in the field. 

Hunt learns there was a 2nd IMF team present during the mission to uncover a mole in the IMF who is working with an arms dealer known as "Max" who is part of something called "Job314".    

And Ethan is now being pinned as the traitor in the ranks.

Ethan Hunt is on the run now, targeted by his own government and foreign agents. 

Ethan Hunt recruits a rag tag team of disavowed IMF agents to help break the conspiracy that has put him in the crosshairs of every intelligence agency in the world.  Ethan engages in subterfuge, employing disguises (just as on the TV series, the movie IMF has the most realistic rubber masks ever) and daring stunts.  There are cons and double crosses, nobody is who they appear to be as Ethan digs down to the truth.

It seems that the mole, the traitor within IMF is...

SPOILERS! 

Jim Phelps. 

Really? The lead guy from the TV show? The hero of the TV series? 

Nah! That can't be.

But it is. 

Jim Phelps is the rat fink that got Ethan's team killed. 

And this development pissed off Peter Graves.

Graves was still alive in 1996 and was not at all happy that his role as Jim Phelps had been recast AND made to be the bad guy. 

I watched enough of the original Mission: Impossible TV series to know that Jim Phelps was a straight arrow kind of guy and the idea of him going rogue just seems so unfathomable.  

Well, I guess Jim Phelps is the past and Ethan Hunt was now the future of the IMF. 

Speaking of moving forward, the classic Mission: Impossible TV theme by  Lalo Shifrin was remade by U2's Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen.   

Mission: Impossible is filled with action packed stunts and intense dramatic scenes of danger. Like the classic bit where Ethan Hunt is lowered into a secure computer lab and has to absolutely keep his arms and legs outstretched to prevent even the slightest contact with the floor. 

This bit has been homaged and parodied dozens of times since then.

Mission: Impossible is a fairly solid spy thriller with lots of twists and turns in the plot with everybody double crossing everybody else.

But compared to the escalating threats the IMF take on in future movies and ever more spectacular stunts that Ethan Hunt does (and that's actually Tom Cruise doing that shit), the original little movie from 1995 seems archaic, almost quaint, sedate even. 

Mission: Impossible works on it's own but barely scratches the surface of all the outrageous things to follow. 

_________________________________

Tomorrow: Doctor Who Is NEW!

Time for a visit to..."Wish World"!  

Your Friday Video Link: Cruising In Duluth

 

Welcome to another edition of Your Friday Video Link.

One of my favorite go to live video feeds on You Tube is the canal in Duluth MN.

Mostly I am content to watch the gently lapping water in the canal as a wind blows in off the lake.

But that peaceful silence is interrupted as ships arrive to visit the harbor.  

The canal channels ships from the vast Lake Superior into the Duluth harbor.  

Mostly these the ships that sail into the Duluth Canal are massive freighters, bearing tons of cargo, mostly raw materials like iron ore.

But there are also cruise ships that can be found upon the waters of the Great Lakes.

As seen in this video clip of the Viking Octantis  arriving at the Duluth Canal.  

But it's this next video that really impresses me.

The Duluth canal is lost in a deep fog.

Watch as the Viking Octantis takes form from the fog itself, willing itself into reality and substance.  

C'mon! That's wicked awesome! 

Back tomorrow with Dave-El's Weekend Movie Post.  

Comic Books From May 1975

Back in November, and February, I did posts about comic books I had purchased 50 years earlier. 

Let's drop back down that nostalgic well as I look back at some of the comics I bought in May 1975.

Five decades ago? That is so hard for me to fathom.  

By May of that year, DC adopted a banner across the top of the cover.  

The lead off Superman story in Action#450 is by Cary Bates, Curt Swan and Tex Blaisdell and features Johnny Nevada, the DC Universe version of Johnny Carson.   

Johnny Nevada gets turned into a sand monster and can only be cured  by the power of laughter. 

Elliot S! Maggin and Mike Grell kick off a new serialized adventure of Green Arrow and Black Canary.  

The story features a mysterious man named David who may have supernatural powers and is really handy with a slingshot. 

Although the average comic was down to 18 pages of story and art, DC was still determined to produce comics with multiple features.  Superman's battle with Johnny Sand Monster took up 13 pages leaving only 5 pages for GA/BC.

Detective Comics #450 features "The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap written by Maggin and illustrated by Walt Simonson.

This was not Simonson's first crack at the Caped Crusader; he drew the Batman/Manhunter crossover.  Simonson's stylized take on Batman would set the tone for Marshall Rogers who would take over Detective Comics in a year or so.

The story would be adapted in the 1980's for an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.  

The back up was Robin in action against the Parking Lot Bandit.

He was a bandit who stole parking lots.

No, he stole from people in parking lots.

A pedestrian tale but notable for some cool artwork by Al Milgrom and Terry Austin a few years before they would go on to bigger things at Marvel.   

Justice League of America #121 features the wedding of Adam Strange of Earth and Alanna of the planet Rann.  

After Alanna dies. 

And half the Justice League dies.

Then they get better and have cake. 

Hmmm! Cake....

The indicia indentifies this as Superboy #210 but this was more or less a Legion of Super Heroes book with Superboy as a fershlugginer guest star.  The lead story by Jim Shooter & Mike Grell pits the Legion against a super powered zombie soldier still fighting a war that was over centuries before.  

What really stands out in this issue is the 7 page back up also by Shooter and Grell that reinvents Legion member Karate Kid.  Primarily drawn as a standard issue generic white guy, Shooter's script ties Val Armorr firmly to Japanese culture with Grell redesigning his appearance to resemble 1970's martial arts superstar Bruce Lee.  

Karate Kid would go on to get his own solo comic book series.

A few months later, some letters appeared in the Wonder Woman letter column expressing concern of Dick Giordano's rather purient cover of a disburbingly submissive Amazon Princess.  

In case you're wondering what's the deal with Elongated Man and the camera, this was from when the Justice League was taking turns monitoring Wonder Woman to see if she was worthy of being in the League again. It was HER idea after she had a serious memory lapse but still, the optics were not good. 

Double the money, double the fun! Here are a couple of comics I plunked down 2 quarters for each.  

Superman Family #172 features the return of a classic motif from the 1960's Lois Lane title: Lois marrying some damn body and a frustrated Superman on the outside looking in.  This time, Lois is getting hitched to Lex Luthor?!

Helping with those old silver age vibes is art by Kurt Shaffenberger who was Lois's main artist back in the early 1960's.  

Reduced to appearances in Justice League of America and a back up series in The Flash, Green Lantern was bereft of this own solo comic book for DC Special#17 provides 3 classic reprints from the days when Hal Jordan had his own book.  The issue collects 3 classics written by John Broome and Gardner Fox and drawn by Gil Kane and Joe Giella.  

My memories a little fuzzy but I may have bought these 2 comics as well.

And that was what a young Dave-El was shelling out his quarters for in May 1975.  

George Wendt

Under the heading of "the wrong people keep dying", I was sad to hear that  George Wendt died at the age of 76.  

Wendt's biggest claim to fame was as Norm Peterson whose life, nay his passion was keeping his bar stool warm on Cheers and drinking beer. 

Wendt died in his sleep at home which I suppose is the best anyone can really hope for. 

Wendt is survived by his wife and 5 children. And here's a tidbit I did not know until yesterday:  George Wendt was the the uncle of actor and Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis.

Speaking of SNL, here is a clip of George Wendt as a recurring character he did, Bob Swerski of Chicago, hanging out with his fellow Super Fans as they celebrated the glories of the world's greatest coach Mike Dikta and "DA BEARS!" 

The next clip does not feature George Wendt but I included it here because damn, his name come up a lot in this bit from Animaniacs.  

 

Rest in peace, George Wendt and may your heaven be filled with beer that is always cold and there is no bar tab. 

Tuesday TV Touchbase: Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage and Other Stuff

 

Andrea and I caught up on the season finale of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage.  There were some serious changes to the status quo as the season wrapped. 

Mandy is back working full in television doing the weather for the local news. But Scott her producer is her former boyfriend, a fact Mandy withholds from Georgie for a long time fearing his reaction. His reaction is exactly what Mandy was afraid it would be, angry, jealous and distrustful.  

There is nothing going on between Mandy and Scott but it's hard to miss there is a spark between the two.   

And Georgie buys McAllister's Tire from his father in law.  Jim McAllister is pondering his own mortality, realizing he's older than George Cooper Sr. who died at the end of Young Sheldon. Jim likes his work and the shop he built but he does not want to die at work.  

Georgie makes a big swing for the fences play to buy Jim's auto shop before he sells to a competitor.  With help from mom Mary Cooper putting her house up for collateral and an unexpected offer of help from co-worker Ruben, Georgie seals the deal to buy McAllister Tire.  He's incurred a lot of debt and he did so without consulting Mandy.  

As we know from Big Bang Theory, Georgie will go on to become quite a successful businessman as the owner of a chain of tire stores called Dr. Tire.  We also know that he is at least twice divorced.   

The first season of Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage ends with Georgie and Mandy in a rather precarious position, realizing they have no choice but to stay together despite their lack of mutual trust. 

Pretty heavy stuff for a sitcom. 

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage is a multi cam sitcom shot mostly in front of a studio audience and I'm not entirely convinced the show benefited from that move.  Montana Jordan (Georgie) does a lot of mugging for the camera because he hasn't quite figured out how to hold for a laugh, a problem he didn't have on the single cam Young Sheldon.  

All in and all,  Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage is a competent and mostly amusing follow up to Young Sheldon but I think the show could be a bit better than that.  

OTHER STUFF

Andrea watched the season finale of Saturday Night Live with Scarlett Johansson as host.  The episode started with the always dependable James Austin Johnson with his wacky self-owning Donald Trump babbling through a stream of consciousness ramble on his visit to the Middle East before walking off the stage and taking a seat in the audience, still in full babble mode.

The entire cast joined Scarlet for a musical monologue set to Billy Joel's "The Piano Man" that was funny and epic in scope. The rest of the show was hit or miss so in other words, normal SNL.

Weekend Update gave us what may be the last end of season joke exchange for Colin Jost and Michael Che if rumors hold true that one or both are moving on next season.  

____________________________

Andrea and I finished up Secrets of the Penguins on Disney+. Blake Lively narrates this 3 part docuseries about just how the hell penguins survive in the harshests environments on Earth.

It's not just the frozen hell of Antartica but penguins refuge in mountains and even desert climes. Penguins have extremely intricate thought processes for survival as individuals and as a collective.  

It was an informative exploration as well as an emotional journey of watching penguins grow, explore and survive against predators and brutal environments.  

And Blake Lively has a nice calm sexy voice.  

________________________

I am catching up on season 4 of Hacks.  I sometimes think I want to introduce this show to Andrea. Then I run in something like the episode where Ava (a very naked Hannah Einbinder) is a three way sex scene with a married couple and I can't help but think this would be very awkward to watch with another person. 

In the aftermath of Ava blackmailing her way into the head writer job for Deborah Vance's new late night talk show, yes, Deborah is dealing with that in a calm and rational.... oh hell no, she's not. Deborah is making Ava's life a living hell at every turn.  

________________________________  

That is that for this week's Touchbase.

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.   

The Flying Palace

Well, another weekend gone.

And another week to start.

Damn!

Time to get back to work.

Let's talk a bit about Donald Trump's "free plane".  

The government of Qatar has offered up a $400 million dollar jumbo jet for use as the new Air Force One.

The interior is two whole floors of excessive opulence or Trump's go-to design motif. The plane is described as a "flying palace".   

Li'l Donnie says it would be "stupid" to say no to a free plane worth $400 million.  

Well, the U.S. Constitutions says "no" to such gifts but fuck that, Attorney General Pam Bondi has already signed off on a memo that acceptance of this gift would be perfectly legal.  

Well, I feel better about it already as we know that Trump picked Bondi for Attorney General for her keen analytical mind and her proficient understanding of the law and... Hell no!  He picked her because she's loyal to Trump, looks good on TV and she's loyal to Trump.  

Li'l Donnie keeps griping about the current plane designated as Air Force One, that it's 40 years old and it's boring and looks dinky compared to other planes on the tarmac.   

Donald Trump is such a whiny bitch, ain't he? 

First of all, the "free" airplane would not be free to the American taxpayer.  To bring this "flying palace" into compliance with standards required to be Air Force One, the plane would require approximately a billion dollars worth of upgrades.  

And that would not be a long term investment of our tax dollars.  Here is how the deal works: Qatar will gift the plane to the Pentagon for use as Air Force One.  In 2029, when Trump leaves office, the plane will be transferred to the Donald Trump Presidential Library.   

This on top of the 2 planes we've paid a shit ton of money to Boeing already to replace the current planes that serve as Air Force One.  

NOTE:  There are 2 planes that serve as Air Force One. Also a plane is NOT Air Force One until the current sitting President is on board. 

So for a guy who unleashed Elon Musk to fucking decimate the government in the name of "efficiency", this acceptance of this "free plane" from Quatar seems extraordinarily inefficient. 

One more thing about this "flying palace".  The plane is 17 years old and is apparently something a boondoggle for Qatar.  It's too damn big to land at a lot of airports and Qatar has been looking for a way to unload this on some sucker for years now.

Hello, Donald J. Trump! 

Doctor Who Is NEW!: The Interstellar Song Contest

Welcome to Doctor Who Is NEW! where I post about the latest new episode of Doctor Who.

This week the Doctor and Belinda wind up in the 30th century on a spectacular space station that's hosting an event  so epic, even Belinda is all  "We're so staying!"

There may be spoilers, honey! 

It's time to get glam! 

It's time to go camp!

Time to make a scene? Yaz queen! 

It's time for....

The Interstellar Song Contest  

by Juno Dawson

Belinda has fond memories of watching the Eurovision Song Contest with her parents.

The Doctor was at Eurovision in 1974 when ABBA won!  

And Eurovision has expanded out into the stars!! How cool is that? 

And a cryogenically preserved Ryland Clark still serving as host a thousand years into the future! 

And the space station has a museum with a holographic Graham Norton as a guide? 

Are we ready to have fun yet?

Yes, there is a raucus good time to be had by 100,000 fans in attendance and 3 trillion watching across the reaches of space.

Well, we can't have nice things, can we?

The broadcast control room is raided by a gang led by someone known only as Kid, a survivor of the ravage planet of Hellios.  The natives of that world (called Hellions) are ostracized and scorned across the galaxy, accused of destroying their own world.

Their homeworld was destroyed by the Corporation that makes Poppy Honey, the official sponsor of the Interstellar Music Contest. Kid is determined to make people pay for what the Corporation did to his world.  No matter how many people have to die.

Starting with popping the top of the protective bubble around the space station and sucking 100,000 people into space.

 

The shifts on tone on this episode can be a bit traumatic. We're watching a happy day-glo campy good time and then we're watching screaming people being lifted up and into the brutal void of space to die. 

Well, not quite. 

The Doctor sonics up some tech to create a mavity* shell around the station.  The concert attendees are safe for awhile.

*Yes, Doctor Who is still doing this joke.

The Doctor gets back to station via confetti cannon after getting a psychic message from....

Wait! Is that Carole Anne Ford?! Is that granddaughter Susan?!?!

Teaming up with some attendees who did not get pulled into space, the Doctor is able to thwart Kid's nefarious schemes with the help of some hard light holograms that the Doctor then uses to beat the unholy shit out of Kid.

This is a dark, angry Doctor we have not seen in awhile and it gives Ncuti Gatwa a rare chance to play the Doctor not just relying on smiles and charm but giving in to darker, uncontrolled anger.  

The Doctor only relents from beating up Kid when he confirms Belinda is safe.

The Doctor and Belinda gets some bad news when hologram Graham Norton cheerfully informs them that Earth was destroyed on May 24, 2025 for reasons...  UNKNOWN! 

Ooh boy! 

And the other big reveal: who the hell is Mrs. Flood?

She's a Time Lord. A specific Time Lord not seen in Doctor Who since 1993.  

It's the Rani! 

And Mrs. Flood bi-generates (oh, this again?) into Archie Punjabi.  

We're back next week.... for the end of the world!