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I have a kind of unusual relationship to the subject matter here -- I have in fact made industrial theater ("Code Review, Forwards and Back", "Python Grab Bag: A Set of Short Plays", and -- as organizer -- The Art of Python). And I already liked and knew about some small amount of corporate song, like the KPMG anthem, the Lucent video for "Bell Labs Innovation", and so on. So I came into this as someone who wanted a dive into the industrial… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 4:17 AM on July 10, 2019

A cute, sweet romcom with lots of San Francisco and Asian-American touches. (For those who don't know: Reeves is also partially of Asian-American descent!) I saw this in the one theater in NYC that's playing it and enjoyed gasping, crying, and laughing along with the rest of the audience.

I laughed aloud at the Paula Deen joke.

Oh this is interesting: Saito (who plays Marcus's dad) first appeared onscreen in an adaptation of Farewell to Manzanar.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 12:58 PM on June 4, 2019

A sweet, moving confection. I laughed so hard. I think it's in conversation with "Election" and "Legally Blonde" and --at least visually -- maybe "Brick". The "suddenly we are dolls" hallucination reminded me of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" but better.

Everything with Amy in particular was just so GREAT. Her question about her role as a farmer. The pool dive, as y'all have mentioned. And I just DOUBLED OVER LAUGHING… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:36 AM on June 2, 2019

I'm also going to be at the May 15th show! Thinking about dressing up!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:16 AM on April 24, 2019

I appreciated this thread on Twitter, about how Get Out and Us are both about double consciousness, and this note on facial disfigurement.

I am not used to watching horror,* so I'm not as skilled in reading it as a genre. I'm much more used to scifi and, somewhat less, to fantasy. Currently I'm trying to read Us the same way I would reflect on a nightmare -- what scenes/realizations caused visceral reactions,… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:42 AM on March 25, 2019

behaving like the Tethered people play-acting at being the free people living their free lives in the carnival above us, play-acting as if we’re giving a dance recital before an audience when instead we’re just throwing ourselves against the walls of our underground holding pen

Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon, this is such a good point; thank you for it. I am grateful for your exegesis of the valence that sequence carries.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2019

I cried with happiness at the reprise song between Audra & Rebecca!

I'm glad Valencia finally realized SHE can propose!

I laughed aloud with delight at the way everyone in the room - even the mobster - was immediately repulsed by Jesse's anti-Semitism! And at the "Math Of Love Quadrangles" reprise! And the "Dare to Defy" reference to the CW branding!

And when the "Slow… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:29 AM on March 23, 2019

DirtyOldTown, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! You might be amused by this review by my partner: ".... the hugeness of Dangal magnifies the working parts of a sports movie so that they're impossible to miss, much like the way Plato's republic is designed to make obvious the virtues that go into an individual human being...."
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:11 AM on March 10, 2019

Halloween Jack, you made me laugh aloud. DevilsAdvocate, you did too.

chaiminda: yeah! Classic example: Family from TNG. The stakes are high emotionally but it's not all about saving the planet/ship/galaxy/etc.

My spouse and I spent substantial time chatting this weekend about how we would have improved the reveal on this episode, given that the writers evidently didn't want to go the… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:26 AM on February 25, 2019

I do really like the characterization of Saru making TERRIBLE RECKLESS DECISIONS because he's so used to relying on his fear as a core component of his judgment, and now it's just gone, and he hasn't actually worked to replace it with anything. And I like how he is just heedless and driven to TELL HIS PEOPLE THE INFURIATING TRUTH and AWAKEN THEM TO RAGE, without any forethought about how to do this in a useful way. I don't love how his colleagues are "yes, and"-ing his impulses instead… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:31 AM on February 25, 2019

"You'll be able to wear a cape and nobody will be able to say anything about it, because rich people can do whatever they want!"

YES! (Which led the spouse & me to talk about whether Orion society has this attitude toward capes. My take: Mudd, like the Ferengi, is a means for Trek to bring in folks whose greed and envy are relatable for modern-day viewers, and the Ferengi have -- since at least… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:28 AM on February 5, 2019

The closed captions say "jippers". I do love the phrase and it's stuck in my head every time I think of it. :-)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:12 PM on February 24, 2019

cjelli said: Alternative-and-unlikely-to-be-true theory: the Ba'ul aren't eating the Kelpiens, they are the Kelpians who have gone through the same de-ganglia-ification that Saru just did; they aren't being transported away to be eaten, they're being inducted into Ba'ul society.

This is my hypothesis. (Just as Saru was dying, I hit pause and said basically, "I reeeeeally want it to turn out that he's not dying, he's just going to a next stage of… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:58 AM on February 17, 2019

My spouse has a headcanon explanation:

...an explanation for why characters in science fiction set in the future make lots of references to 20th century and pre-20th century works, but almost no references to post-20th century works. Such works aren't part of the cultural canon because they are only available in archaic DRMed formats made by long-bankrupt companies. (This is just the "digital dark age" idea, but I recently realized that the digital dark age… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 2:25 AM on February 21, 2019

I liked many things about this ep, but argh, that Burnham voiceover at the end was unnecessary and didn't do much for me.

My spouse pointed out that if you were an ordinary crewmember, and you heard your captain come on the loudspeaker and start by saying: "Starfleet .... is a promise." you might reasonably think, oh crap. I was hoping today could be an ordinary day, and now we're all gonna die.

I agree with mwhybark… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:50 AM on February 17, 2019

mwhybark, my husband is indeed pretty great! He wrote an as-yet-unpublished military scifi novel so he's thought a lot about, for instance, what actual crewmembers would think of pompous speeches by their commanding officers. (Also, whenever a Starfleet captain starts a Big Speech, he or I will usually insert: "Once, on Earth, I saw a gazelle giving birth" which is a reference to an absurd first line of a Jonathan Archer speech during Enterprise.)… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:27 AM on February 17, 2019

I so deeply appreciate that Nathaniel and Josh both immediately went to oh no this needs to stop, right now, but kindly as soon as they realized that Rebecca was putting the moves on them. (The nonverbal work for both of those actors, for me, really spoke volumes.) And of COURSE they stop it, because decency demands it, and in this show, as in life, only a slimeball takes advantage of someone when they're so clearly not okay.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:45 AM on February 5, 2019

This is the kind of story that leads my spouse & me to start talking about Dr. Phlox's ethical choice in the ENT episode Dear Doctor. ;-)

(also: I cannot help but, every few minutes of Doug Jones being onscreen, joke about how "wow this is a really long campaign video" or make some similar jape based on the premise that this is the same Doug Jones as the Senator from Alabama.)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:20 AM on February 5, 2019

Great to see Aldis Hodge's range, creepy to see the ship alone a thousand years in Discovery's future! And the "What's a Tuesday?" punchline was fun.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:16 AM on February 5, 2019

I loved this Short Trek! I've seen it twice now. It's so sweet and I love seeing Tilly's offbeat ways of solving problems -- self-deprecating ("hormonal space rabbit"), surprising the intruder by snarling, getting into a "well DID you .... when you were nine???" one-up contest, etc. And these two youngish women agreeing wryly that it's dumb to get hung up on dumb stuff and let it hold you back. :)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:13 AM on February 5, 2019

I had a great time with this episode's romcom parody -- lunasol, that is AMAZING and thank you!

I wonder whether any of the work-montage dialogue was improvised, e.g., "and then he said, 'I just don't want to be your dog anymore'."
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:11 AM on January 30, 2019

Abigail Nussbaum recommends the film: "an absolutely gorgeous movie, a feast for the eyes where every frame and action sequence seems to have been carefully planned, and where every assumption we make about how animation should look is exploded with terrific results."

I noticed Bendis and Ditko showing up in the phone address books of our characters' cellphones!

I sporfled aloud at "I think it's a Banksy." and when Spider-Pig… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:49 AM on December 17, 2018

I loved the Beach Boys song switching it up TWICE in style and visuals! The barking! Heather & Nathaniel's dead-eyed percussion! The out-of-nowhere cheesecake-performing woman! The mini-parody of "Kokomo"!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 10:55 AM on November 19, 2018

"Tread softly, for you tread on your own history": Iona Datt Sharma, scifi/fantasy author (living in London, of Indian descent) on this episode, her family history, and what this story does & doesn't do.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 9:05 AM on November 18, 2018

That Peter Singer book in the opening presages so much. I'm so pleased to see the critique of that strain of utilitarianism in The Good Place!
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:07 PM on November 17, 2018

OK, this episode was better than the season premiere, despite the eye-roll side plot of Miles's tortured interest in one of his researchers. The Frank-Pat side plot* gave me more Pat (even if Pat's much less wise than I'd hoped this character would be) and a hint that Pat is queer, so I liked that. We're finally getting some scenes with good chemistry and dialogue between Phyllis and Murphy, and I thought this Avery-Murphy scene was interesting and moving. And the core story… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:27 AM on October 12, 2018

Pat Patel (seriously? That's their name?) is played by Nik Dodani, who says in an interview that this season we'll learn more about his personal life. (Podcast interview and ... LinkedIn, since -- like Hari Kondabolu -- Patel was a campaigner and activist before his showbiz career took off.)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:39 AM on October 12, 2018

I miss Jim Dial. I think we're seeing that his stiffness was a useful component in the ensemble, giving the more impulsive and passionate characters something to push against.

like Hari Kondabolu -- Patel was a campaigner

I meant that Dodani was a campaigner, whoops.

Also: A few days ago I attended a taping of episode 8 in New York City. (If you want to do the same, check the Audiences Unlimited Site 30 days prior to one of the scheduled tapings and register for free tickets.)
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 3:22 PM on October 14, 2018

I remember watching Murphy Brown with great pleasure many years ago, but when I look at the list of episodes I realize I must have stopped around 1995. And this episode really did not feel nearly as funny or moving as the ones I remember -- I basically agree with Etrigan.

Jake McDorman is fun! And seems to have good chemistry with Bergen.

I had higher hopes for the brown character I saw on the show's bus ads here in NYC --… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:19 AM on October 12, 2018

desert outpost said:

On a thematic level, Jimmy's storyline is a fabulous central portrait for BCS’s triptyched tragedy about the sanctity of trust. But given the basic elegance of Jimmy’s tragedy, I find myself wishing his storyline could've been content to be a much leaner document of hamartial consequence, as opposed to what sometimes feels like a bingo card of failure.

desert outpost, I'm enjoying your criticism even though… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:44 AM on October 10, 2018

Oh and I bawled during the little duet Chuck and Jimmy shared, laying on that bed next to each other -- I think that is the sweetest moment I've ever seen between them, the simple tender joy of singing a song together, and it hurt in the best way.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:46 AM on October 10, 2018

I just watched this, and I already didn't particularly care for Chris, and then, the MOMENT he dissed fortune cookies as not being as "wholesome" as other dishes, I was like HELL NO. I believe that was the only time in all of GBBO that I have actually cheered when someone was eliminated.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 6:19 AM on October 10, 2018

Soraya Roberts writes about Nanette in The Baffler and has some similar thoughts, less about queer and Jewish comedy heritage and more about women's heritage in standup -- I'm pondering this, not sure whether I agree.

Positioning herself as a post-comedy revolutionary crashing a male-dominated industry, Gadsby elides the long, complicated history of standup comedy.... Nanette does not defy, it inherits. It is a Trojan horse, a gesture towards challenge, which never actually delivers.

posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:48 AM on October 9, 2018

My hardest laugh within this episode was the Manifest Destiny joke.

jenfullmoon, thank you for the link!

Ol' Faithful: $18.50

Every 10 minutes your waiter will fire a blast of our world famous beefy beef chili into your mouth from a fire extinguisher. We will keeping [sic] firing until you tell us to stop!

This is brilliant.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:06 AM on October 9, 2018

Kim used a Post-It note for the counselor's name! Remember when she was stuck in the basement at HHM doing document review and she made giant grids of Post-It notes to do sales calls on her lunch break? And then they landed one of those clients but she didn't get to work on that? She's so organized, she does what a reasonable person is supposed to do to change the situation, but the change doesn't (permanently) stick! JUST LIKE A POST-IT NOTE. Kinda.

Separately: I'm… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:36 PM on August 28, 2018

My spouse recognized Neelix; I recognized a The Good Place actor (the guy playing Henry).
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:38 PM on August 28, 2018

I fully agree with iamkimiam!! (eponysterical?)

256, yeah, his concern and kindness for his staff and local community has various benefits for him (loyalty, only making the enemies he means to, better profits and legitimate business growth to make the smuggling easier, friendships with law enforcement).

I wonder whether one additional way to read Gus Fring's extreme niceness to his Hermanos staff is through the lens of chivalry, machismo, and… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:19 AM on August 29, 2018

I just went back and watched a last-season Breaking Bad episode in which we see Walter White interact with various people. White needs to feel superior to everyone he interacts with but doesn't have enough discipline to keep his other desires (especially the desire to be liked or feared) from getting in the way... and he lies to himself, a lot, about what he actually wants, so that makes it pretty hard for him to ever genuinely be magnanimous. In contrast, Fring needs to… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 1:28 PM on August 30, 2018

The exposition around the Chicago counterfeiting was SO FUNNY. I had to pause to laugh.

Knowing as much as he does about copiers, Jimmy would be well-placed to run some scams where he pretended to be a copier repair dude or salesman, and proceeded to steal copies and perform identity theft.

I couldn't figure out what Nacho's father meant by removing that money from his cashbox and putting it on the table, and what Nacho meant by taking it. Could someone explain it?
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 12:51 PM on August 15, 2018

I read the outfits/makeup as Green Day but maybe that's because that's the only genre-relevant 90s band I have a clear visual memory of.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:42 AM on August 14, 2018

The character of Heather may be Indian, but the actress is not - she is multiracial but none of her heritage is South Asian, as far as I can gather.

There's a moment in this episode where Rebecca, at Greg's home, is acting faux-casual, and does a little self-conscious hair-and-face-touch that turns hilariously rushed, and I laughed so hard that it tired me out and I took a nap. What a great performer.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 8:04 PM on August 12, 2018

One of the classified ads has the name "Neff" in it which, I would bet money, is a Double Indemnity reference.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 3:17 PM on August 7, 2018

I had never heard of Mansa Musa before, and didn't know Genghis Khan's origin story. Super informative and entertaining.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:19 PM on July 28, 2018

All these stories were entertaining -- the story about Meigs particularly moved me, the Lincoln corpse heist attempt was pretty funny, and I enjoyed the McCurdy story, including JD Ryznar exclaiming that putting a nickel in Waters's mouth was a delight.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:18 PM on July 28, 2018

Allison Tolman was wonderful as Krebs, and Tess Lynch's narration was awesome.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:17 PM on July 28, 2018

I remember reading this and going WHOA once I read Pierce's commentary (afterword?) about how the September 11 attacks affected the plot of this book.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 7:14 PM on July 28, 2018

When Donna stands up and says that she doesn't want her daughters to have to do this sort of gathering to remember that they're still here -- oh it's just heartbreaking to watch that in 2018, knowing what I know now.

I deeply want Haley to grow up okay.

The bookending in this season -- Donna needing Gordon to pick her up from jail, Donna and Cameron working on undoing some data loss to recover some code -- has been so lovely.… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:56 AM on July 9, 2018

Like the Bitter Empire recap author Chelsea Spear, I cannot see this arc without seeing it through the lens of the actual history of Aaron Swartz's life and death. This hit really hard.
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 11:36 AM on July 8, 2018

So I first read Pride and Prejudice in my thirties, basically to raise money for charity.

I think I'd had a go at Austen at some point in my teens and didn't have the reading comprehension or -- more likely -- the social skills to understand what was happening, and gave up after 40-100 pages of some Austen or other.

Then, a few years ago, I was serving as an auctioneer at the Tiptree Auction at WisCon, to raise money for the… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:31 AM on February 22, 2018

lmfsilva I agree with all of your comments. (I heard my spouse literally spit-take as the newspaper headline rose into view.) And thank you for posting these to FanFare this season!

Sean Berdy was GREAT, Eris Baker was too, ALL of these narrators were awesome, and I am renewed in my enthusiasm for Section 504 compliance and other accessibility measures in the websites I work on!

It always makes me happy getting to see actors of color and actors… [more]
posted to FanFare by brainwane at 5:12 AM on February 22, 2018