Because my Sunday night is going to be shot (and also because no GH on
Friday), I decided to move up my schedule, so I watched "The Rings of
Power" yesterday:

soaps: DOOL - As expected, Chad and NuStephanie are already playing
kissy-face! and I think Alex Kirakis spied them. Insane Allie convinces
Chanel to do the "threesome", and they invite Alex over at the end to
tell him. There was something about the new ambulance-chasing lawyer
lady, Sloan, wanting something from Paulina Price, but I missed the
details. Johnny and Ava return to the DiMera mansion, and EJ furnishs
"proof" that Ava's marriage license (to Jake) was faked, and Johnny is
wondering if it's true; Ava didn't get a chance to really respone yet.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
#1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
reinforncements.
We finally get back to Adar at the end who renames the area Mordor.
(I really dislike the idea that someone other than Sauron named the
area...)
Durin IV is forced to go up against his father to help Elrond find
the mithril, which they do. But Durin's father removes him as heir
apparent for Durin's defiance, and kicks Elrond out of Khazad-Dum.
Once again, by far the weakest parts of the show involve the
(proto-)hobbits and "The Stranger", whom the hobbits send packing, but
then are later attacked (by what I can only assume are the mystical
"brides of Sauron", or something...). [roll] I pretty much despise this
part of the show, and wish they'd just drop the hobbits entirely - it's
by far the weakest and least interesting part of the show.
What I'm really starting to notice is that for a show produced for
zillions of dollars, the show really shorts on extras - only the scenes
with the Numenorians (and orcs!) sport a lot of extras. As a result,
the Elven and Dwarven "worlds" seem barely lived in, only populated by
the few main characters.

Secrets at the Inn (LMN) - Meh... Woman's twin sister dies at the
spooky inn she was renovating, forcing our heroine(tm) (Tamara Almeida)
to go to the inn to handle matters, and take over guardianship of her
rebellious niece (Zoe Belkin, another almost 30-year old playing a
"teenager"!). Of course, the twin sister died under mysterious
circumstances, and there are secrets! and schemes! And the inn may be
haunted!!... Meh.
The villain was pretty much who I figured it was at the beginning.

So, what did you watch?

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

On 10/8/2022 8:12 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> Because my Sunday night is going to be shot (and also because no GH on
> Friday), I decided to move up my schedule, so I watched "The Rings of
> Power" yesterday:
>
> soaps: DOOL - As expected, Chad and NuStephanie are already playing
> kissy-face! and I think Alex Kirakis spied them. Insane Allie convinces
> Chanel to do the "threesome", and they invite Alex over at the end to
> tell him. There was something about the new ambulance-chasing lawyer
> lady, Sloan, wanting something from Paulina Price, but I missed the
> details.

She's going to blackmail Paulina. Details next week, but from the promo
it's something Chanel did in high school.

> Johnny and Ava return to the DiMera mansion, and EJ furnishs
> "proof" that Ava's marriage license (to Jake) was faked, and Johnny is
> wondering if it's true; Ava didn't get a chance to really respone yet.
>

On Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 11:12:32 AM UTC-4, Ian J. Ball wrote:
....
>
> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
> reinforncements.
> We finally get back to Adar at the end who renames the area Mordor.
> (I really dislike the idea that someone other than Sauron named the
> area...)
> Durin IV is forced to go up against his father to help Elrond find
> the mithril, which they do. But Durin's father removes him as heir
> apparent for Durin's defiance, and kicks Elrond out of Khazad-Dum.
> Once again, by far the weakest parts of the show involve the
> (proto-)hobbits and "The Stranger", whom the hobbits send packing, but
> then are later attacked (by what I can only assume are the mystical
> "brides of Sauron", or something...). [roll] I pretty much despise this
> part of the show, and wish they'd just drop the hobbits entirely - it's
> by far the weakest and least interesting part of the show.
> What I'm really starting to notice is that for a show produced for
> zillions of dollars, the show really shorts on extras - only the scenes
> with the Numenorians (and orcs!) sport a lot of extras. As a result,
> the Elven and Dwarven "worlds" seem barely lived in, only populated by
> the few main characters.

they aren't Hobbits until they merge with the Stoors but other than introducing
the Stranger who may be Sauron, Gandalf or Sauraman, this is just a token
part because Hobbits are really the core of LOTR.

On 10/8/2022 8:12 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> Because my Sunday night is going to be shot (and also because no GH on
> Friday), I decided to move up my schedule, so I watched "The Rings of
> Power" yesterday:
>
> soaps: DOOL - As expected, Chad and NuStephanie are already playing
> kissy-face! and I think Alex Kirakis spied them. Insane Allie convinces
> Chanel to do the "threesome", and they invite Alex over at the end to
> tell him. There was something about the new ambulance-chasing lawyer
> lady, Sloan, wanting something from Paulina Price, but I missed the
> details. Johnny and Ava return to the DiMera mansion, and EJ furnishs
> "proof" that Ava's marriage license (to Jake) was faked, and Johnny is
> wondering if it's true; Ava didn't get a chance to really respone yet.
>
> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep. #1.7,
> the penultimate ep. of season #1).

I watched this too.

>   Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's son,
> Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And Queen
> Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
> reinforncements.
>   We finally get back to Adar at the end who renames the area Mordor.
> (I really dislike the idea that someone other than Sauron named the
> area...)

Are we sure he's not Sauron? Then again, I'm also waiting for a reveal
that the giant that fell out of the sky is Gandolf.

>   Durin IV is forced to go up against his father to help Elrond find
> the mithril, which they do. But Durin's father removes him as heir
> apparent for Durin's defiance, and kicks Elrond out of Khazad-Dum.
>   Once again, by far the weakest parts of the show involve the
> (proto-)hobbits and "The Stranger", whom the hobbits send packing, but
> then are later attacked (by what I can only assume are the mystical
> "brides of Sauron", or something...).

Who were they and where did they come from?!?

[roll] I pretty much despise this
> part of the show, and wish they'd just drop the hobbits entirely - it's
> by far the weakest and least interesting part of the show.
>   What I'm really starting to notice is that for a show produced for
> zillions of dollars, the show really shorts on extras - only the scenes
> with the Numenorians (and orcs!) sport a lot of extras. As a result, the
> Elven and Dwarven "worlds" seem barely lived in, only populated by the
> few main characters.
>
> Secrets at the Inn (LMN) - Meh... Woman's twin sister dies at the spooky
> inn she was renovating, forcing our heroine(tm) (Tamara Almeida) to go
> to the inn to handle matters, and take over guardianship of her
> rebellious niece (Zoe Belkin, another almost 30-year old playing a
> "teenager"!). Of course, the twin sister died under mysterious
> circumstances, and there are secrets! and schemes! And the inn may be
> haunted!!... Meh.
>   The villain was pretty much who I figured it was at the beginning.
>
>
> So, what did you watch?
>
>

This will be a two-day catch up. I watched:

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+) "Ribbit and Rip It" - After being
teased, the superhero we've all been waiting for finally makes their
appearance on She-Hulk. And of course, I'm referring to "Leap-Frog."
And this being Leap-Frog, of course there's the obligatory hallway fight
scene. Overall, this was a great episode and worth the wait.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+) "A Mathematically Perfect
Redemption" This was a really funny one that featured a character I'm
not sure if we've ever seen before or was retconned in just for this
episode. Anyway, the episode focuses on an obnoxious Exocomp (the tiny
floating machines from a TNG episode) that betrays the crew and winds up
stranded on a primitive planet. "If everything here flies, then why
call it a sky snake? Wouldn't it just be a snake? You know, my
universal translator can't make your language smart." This was one of
the best episodes they've ever done.

Welcome to Wrexham (FX) - FX did a marathon including airing 4 new
episode back to back. I watched all 4. They were good. I can't really
say what happens on the show due to spoilers. But I did get a kick out
of the ongoing self-deprecating humor from Rob McElhenney as he talks
about Ryan Reynolds being a huge star and overshadowing him. At first I
thought they were burning off episodes due to low ratings, but according
to Wiki the show is a hit so I guess they were giving people a chance to
catch up.

Hellraiser (hulu) The new 2022 entry in the franchise which adds a
couple of new twists while keeping the main heart of the premise. This
movie focuses on a drug addict (Odessa A'zion) who gets talked into
robbing a rich man (Goran Višnjić) by her boyfriend (Drew Starkey). She
winds up taking the puzzle box from him. But all is not what it seems
as Goran knows about the Cenobites and has been actively tricking people
into solving the puzzle for his own pleasure (and pain). It's an OK
movie. I liked that it had some plot elements from Hellraiser II which
the whole someone intentionally using another person to open the box. I
also liked that they reused some of the music from the original movies.
I'd rate it slightly better than middle of the road. Essentially I'd
say it's better than all the direct to video movies, which I know is a
low bar. It's very watchable, especially towards the end when
everything falls into place.

Law & Order - "Camouflage" - The NY DA becomes a Federal DA in order to
prosecute a death penalty case against a racist mass shooter. This
episode was ridiculous even by L&O standards.

Atlanta "Work Ethic!" Vanessa shows up on a studio to be a background
extra on a sitcom and brings her daughter with her. I have *no* memory
of her having a kid! I was convinced the kid was retconned into the
show for this episode, but according to Wikipedia she's always had a kid
and Earn is the father. Now I'm wondering where has this kid been the
past several season as they've been having their weekly adventures!
Anyway, the studio is owned and run by "Mr. Chocolate" (I'm pretty sure
Donald Glover under heavy prosthetics) who is an obvious riff on Tyler
Perry, but if Perry was an even more eccentric Willy Wonka type. While
filming a scene for the sitcom the daughter speaks up and interrupts
filming, but Mr. Chocolate actually likes the girl and to Vanessa's
displeasure puts her in the show. One thing leads to another, and the
girl is suddenly being turned into a star but as Vanessa tries to locate
her, she's nowhere to be found on the lot. I should add things start to
escalate quickly. Atlanta style! This was another really good episode.
This was laugh out loud throughout. "Give me back my daughter." "No."

Creepshow - "The Last Tsuburaya" - I only finished the first half of the
episode. This half involved an immoral rich guy who buys a valuable
piece of artwork and doesn't give it the respect it deserves. But this
being Creepshow, the artwork fights back.

Let the Right One In (Showtime OnDemand) - Apparently I got to see this
a couple of days early on OnDemand. This is a new horror series based
on the movie, I mean novel, of the same name. Look, I never read the
novel, but I watched the original Swedish movie and the American remake.
So I'll be comparing this to the movies. SPOILERS for the movie and
TV series follow.

SPOILER SPACE
P O
I L
E R

S
P A
C E

In the movie(s) an old man is caring for a young child who turns out to
be an adult vampire. The old man goes out and murders people to feed
the vampire. Although the vampire is perfectly capable of hunting too.
They move next door to a bullied kid and by the end of the movie the old
man is dead, the kid's bullies are slaughtered by the vampire, and the
kid is on his way to being the vampire's new familiar and future old man
caring for it.

The TV series changes several key plot points. In the series there is
still a child vampire being cared for by a man, but now the man really
is the vampire's father and the vampire is no longer an adult trapped in
a child's body. She is a child. The father is out there straight up
murdering people in order to feed his vampire child. They still move
next door to a bullied kid. But unlike the movie where the bullied
kid's parents are intentionally nonentities, in this series both parents
play key roles in the story, with the mother (Anika Noni Rose) being a
police detective investigating a string of strange murders. The strange
murders are actually why father and vampire daughter moved to that
location so he can kill more or less undetected. In another huge
departure from the movies, there are multiple vampires in this world.
So far the vampires haven't had any interactions with each other, but
the father seems to be hunting the vampire that turned his daughter in
the hopes that killing it will cure her. Over all this was a very good
pilot. It totally sucked me in and now I'm curious what's going to
happen next.

On Oct 8, 2022 at 8:12:26 AM PDT, "Ian J. Ball" <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:
> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
> reinforncements.

I notice that all the Numenorians wear their armor while sailing on their
ships. I may not be an expert, but I kinda feel like it's a mistake to wear a
full suit of armor on a boat that could be sunk by the enemy at any moment.
>
> We finally get back to Adar at the end who renames the area Mordor.
> (I really dislike the idea that someone other than Sauron named the
> area...)
> Durin IV is forced to go up against his father to help Elrond find
> the mithril, which they do. But Durin's father removes him as heir
> apparent for Durin's defiance, and kicks Elrond out of Khazad-Dum.
> Once again, by far the weakest parts of the show involve the
> (proto-)hobbits and "The Stranger", whom the hobbits send packing, but
> then are later attacked (by what I can only assume are the mystical
> "brides of Sauron", or something...). [roll] I pretty much despise this
> part of the show, and wish they'd just drop the hobbits entirely - it's
> by far the weakest and least interesting part of the show.
> What I'm really starting to notice is that for a show produced for
> zillions of dollars, the show really shorts on extras - only the scenes
> with the Numenorians (and orcs!) sport a lot of extras. As a result,
> the Elven and Dwarven "worlds" seem barely lived in, only populated by
> the few main characters.

On 2022-10-08 17:42:36 +0000, Arthur Lipscomb said:

> This will be a two-day catch up. I watched:
>
> She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+) "Ribbit and Rip It"

I ended up watching "The Imperfects" over this earlier, so I have to
probably fit this in this weekend, or maybe Monday at the latest.

--
"Who would ever do this to him!?" - HottCiara on DOOL (04-27-2020), asking
who would stab Victor Kirakis... How about ANYONE WHO'S EVER MET HIM??!!

On 10/8/2022 11:04 AM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Oct 8, 2022 at 8:12:26 AM PDT, "Ian J. Ball" <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:
>> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
>> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
>> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
>> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
>> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
>> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
>> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
>> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
>> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
>> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
>> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
>> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
>> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
>> reinforncements.
>
> I notice that all the Numenorians wear their armor while sailing on their
> ships. I may not be an expert, but I kinda feel like it's a mistake to wear a
> full suit of armor on a boat that could be sunk by the enemy at any moment.
>>

Would it matter? If they come under attack they'll need the armor to
fight. And if they lose the fight they're dead anyway. Or they
surrender and are taken prison. Being stranded in the ocean is a death
sentence with or without the armor. Of course the real reason they wear
the armor is because it looks cool.

On Oct 8, 2022 at 12:43:17 PM PDT, "Arthur Lipscomb"
<arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

> On 10/8/2022 11:04 AM, BTR1701 wrote:
>> On Oct 8, 2022 at 8:12:26 AM PDT, "Ian J. Ball" <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:
>>> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
>>> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
>>> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
>>> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
>>> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
>>> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
>>> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
>>> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
>>> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
>>> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
>>> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
>>> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
>>> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
>>> reinforncements.
>>
>> I notice that all the Numenorians wear their armor while sailing on their
>> ships. I may not be an expert, but I kinda feel like it's a mistake to wear
>> a
>> full suit of armor on a boat that could be sunk by the enemy at any moment.
>
> Would it matter? If they come under attack they'll need the armor to
> fight. And if they lose the fight they're dead anyway.

Well, the navy could win the fight but lose some individual ships and if the
fight happens close enough to shore, they could swim for land if they weren't
encased in 100 pounds of metal.

atropos@mac.com wrote:
> On Oct 8, 2022 at 8:12:26 AM PDT, "Ian J. Ball" <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:

>> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
>> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
>> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
>> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
>> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
>> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
>> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
>> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
>> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
>> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
>> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
>> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
>> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
>> reinforncements.
>
> I notice that all the Numenorians wear their armor while sailing on their
> ships. I may not be an expert, but I kinda feel like it's a mistake to wear
> a full suit of armor on a boat that could be sunk by the enemy at any
> moment.

Or simply slip and fall overboard.

--
Let's go Brandon!

arthur@alum.calberkeley.org wrote:
> On 10/8/2022 11:04 AM, BTR1701 wrote:
>> "Ian J. Ball" <IJBall@mac.invalid> wrote:

>>> The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime) - "The Eye" (ep.
>>> #1.7, the penultimate ep. of season #1).
>>> Most of this episode was the aftermath of the volcanic eruption at
>>> the end of the previous episode. A number of people die from the
>>> eruption, and the rest beat it out (west) from under the cloud from the
>>> volcano. We know Isildur is alive, but for some reason he disappears
>>> later, and his friend lets his father, Elendil, think Isildur is dead.
>>> We also get a derivative storyline with Galadriel leading Bronwyn's
>>> son, Theo, out of the area, and running across orcs along the way. And
>>> Queen Regent Miriel is rendered blind (how?!) from the eruption (is it
>>> permanent?), while Halbrand is grievously wounded. Finally, Galadriel
>>> intends to return to the elves to tell them what has happened (taking
>>> the injured Halbrand with her), while Miriel returns to Numenor to get
>>> reinforncements.
>>
>> I notice that all the Numenorians wear their armor while sailing on their
>> ships. I may not be an expert, but I kinda feel like it's a mistake to
>> wear a full suit of armor on a boat that could be sunk by the enemy at
>> any moment.
>
>Would it matter? If they come under attack they'll need the armor to fight.

While wearing heavy metal armor? It's a lot easier (and safer if you
go overboard) to be wearing something light.

--
Let's go Brandon!

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:

> Atlanta "Work Ethic!" Vanessa shows up on a studio to be a background
> extra on a sitcom and brings her daughter with her. I have *no*
> memory of her having a kid! I was convinced the kid was retconned
> into the show for this episode, but according to Wikipedia she's
> always had a kid and Earn is the father. Now I'm wondering where has
> this kid been the past several season as they've been having their
> weekly adventures!

The kid was a lot younger in the first season. If memory serves,
Vanessa's mother lives near enough by that Vanessa can park the kid with
her. In fact, I think Vanessa said as much near the beginning of the
European (mis)adventure. I also have a dim memory that Vanessa didn't
have very well-rounded story lines or a lot of screen time in the
beginning, so it's easy to say that the kid used to be with Vanessa a
lot more.

I've always gotten the impression that Earn and Van would drift apart if
it weren't for the kid.

> Anyway, the studio is owned and run by "Mr. Chocolate" (I'm pretty
> sure Donald Glover under heavy prosthetics) who is an obvious riff on
> Tyler Perry, but if Perry was an even more eccentric Willy Wonka type.

Yeah, Glover has the credit of "Kirkwood Chocolate" in the IMDb.

> While filming a scene for the sitcom the daughter speaks up and
> interrupts filming, but Mr. Chocolate actually likes the girl and to
> Vanessa's displeasure puts her in the show. One thing leads to
> another, and the girl is suddenly being turned into a star but as
> Vanessa tries to locate her, she's nowhere to be found on the lot. I
> should add things start to escalate quickly. Atlanta style! This was
> another really good episode. This was laugh out loud throughout.
> "Give me back my daughter." "No."

I guess it's Glover's commentary on show business and how the powerful
people try to swallow you up? I did enjoy it, though maybe not laughing
out loud as much. The IMDb also gives Glover's first acting credit as
when he was around 15.

-Micky

On 10/22/2022 4:40 PM, Micky DuPree wrote:
> Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:
>
>> Atlanta "Work Ethic!" Vanessa shows up on a studio to be a background
>> extra on a sitcom and brings her daughter with her. I have *no*
>> memory of her having a kid! I was convinced the kid was retconned
>> into the show for this episode, but according to Wikipedia she's
>> always had a kid and Earn is the father. Now I'm wondering where has
>> this kid been the past several season as they've been having their
>> weekly adventures!
>
> The kid was a lot younger in the first season. If memory serves,
> Vanessa's mother lives near enough by that Vanessa can park the kid with
> her. In fact, I think Vanessa said as much near the beginning of the
> European (mis)adventure. I also have a dim memory that Vanessa didn't
> have very well-rounded story lines or a lot of screen time in the
> beginning, so it's easy to say that the kid used to be with Vanessa a
> lot more.
>
> I've always gotten the impression that Earn and Van would drift apart if
> it weren't for the kid.
>

You're right. That was pretty much directly addressed in the last
episode.

It's hard to follow through lines in a show when they have 2 to 4 year
gaps between seasons.

>> Anyway, the studio is owned and run by "Mr. Chocolate" (I'm pretty
>> sure Donald Glover under heavy prosthetics) who is an obvious riff on
>> Tyler Perry, but if Perry was an even more eccentric Willy Wonka type.
>
> Yeah, Glover has the credit of "Kirkwood Chocolate" in the IMDb.
>
>> While filming a scene for the sitcom the daughter speaks up and
>> interrupts filming, but Mr. Chocolate actually likes the girl and to
>> Vanessa's displeasure puts her in the show. One thing leads to
>> another, and the girl is suddenly being turned into a star but as
>> Vanessa tries to locate her, she's nowhere to be found on the lot. I
>> should add things start to escalate quickly. Atlanta style! This was
>> another really good episode. This was laugh out loud throughout.
>> "Give me back my daughter." "No."
>
> I guess it's Glover's commentary on show business and how the powerful
> people try to swallow you up?

Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I think Glover was taking a shot at
Perry. Or at least asking the question the character on the show asked
about quality vs. quantity. Does it matter if he's churning out crap as
long as he's also doing good in the community?

I did enjoy it, though maybe not laughing
> out loud as much. The IMDb also gives Glover's first acting credit as
> when he was around 15.
>
> -Micky
>

I had no idea he's been around that long. Wiki has his first credit in
2005 followed by a acting and writing job on 30-ROck in 2006. I don't
think I ever noticed him until "Community" which I didn't really watch.
But around that time I recall hearing how he wanted to play Miles
Morales in a Spider-Man movie so I took note when he made a cameo as
Miles' uncle Spider-Man: Homecoming. That was also about when I first
started to notice his career really taking off, although he was already
famous before I noticed.

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:

> On 10/22/2022 4:40 PM, Micky DuPree wrote:

>> Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> writes:

>>> Atlanta "Work Ethic!" Vanessa shows up on a studio to be a
>>> background extra on a sitcom and brings her daughter with her. I
>>> have *no* memory of her having a kid! I was convinced the kid was
>>> retconned into the show for this episode, but according to Wikipedia
>>> she's always had a kid and Earn is the father.

It would have been kind of funny if they had "Twilight Zoned" the kid
into the story, but no.

>> I've always gotten the impression that Earn and Van would drift apart
>> if it weren't for the kid.
>
> You're right. That was pretty much directly addressed in the last
> episode.

I remember early on when Earn and Van were "living in sin" with the
baby, because he had left Princeton and was at loose ends until he
became Alfred's manager. I thought it was a shame that Earn had left
Princeton for what was then a pretty uncertain life with responsibility
but scant income, but at least the Princeton mystery was finally solved
before the end of the series, and he's doing well.

Earn and Van seem to think they're in love, but I think Earn wants his
family close to him in LA for his convenience. I think Van might go
walkabout in SoCal the way she did in Europe.

> It's hard to follow through lines in a show when they have 2 to 4 year
> gaps between seasons.

Very true.

>>> While filming a scene for the sitcom the daughter speaks up and
>>> interrupts filming, but Mr. Chocolate actually likes the girl and to
>>> Vanessa's displeasure puts her in the show. One thing leads to
>>> another, and the girl is suddenly being turned into a star but as
>>> Vanessa tries to locate her, she's nowhere to be found on the lot.
>>> I should add things start to escalate quickly. Atlanta style! This
>>> was another really good episode. This was laugh out loud throughout.
>>> "Give me back my daughter." "No."
>>
>> I guess it's Glover's commentary on show business and how the
>> powerful people try to swallow you up?
>
> Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I think Glover was taking a shot at
> Perry. Or at least asking the question the character on the show
> asked about quality vs. quantity. Does it matter if he's churning out
> crap as long as he's also doing good in the community?

I think you're right, but people don't whine and moan about quality the
same way when white producers churn out mediocre stuff. I guess when it
comes to black producers, the ones trying for quality feel like the
mediocre material gives them all a bad name.

And who knows, maybe Perry tried to rope Glover in at one point, and
there were hard feelings when Glover said no.

>> I did enjoy it, though maybe not laughing out loud as much. The IMDb
>> also gives Glover's first acting credit as when he was around 15.
>
> I had no idea he's been around that long. Wiki has his first credit
> in 2005 followed by a acting and writing job on 30-ROck in 2006. I
> don't think I ever noticed him until "Community" which I didn't really
> watch.

Me either. The IMDb mostly lists what look like non-mainstream music
videos and shorts for his early work.

> But around that time I recall hearing how he wanted to play Miles
> Morales in a Spider-Man movie so I took note when he made a cameo as
> Miles' uncle Spider-Man: Homecoming. That was also about when I first
> started to notice his career really taking off, although he was
> already famous before I noticed.

He does have a parallel career under a nom de musique. Not top of the
Billboard charts, but he has a devoted following.

-Micky