Tag: TV

Heya Somethings!

If you haven’t followed along the last few months, we’ve talked a lot about the MCU’s TV outing WandaVision – and for good reason.. whether you dug it or not, it was a fresh take on a story that really felt beyond the scope of what DizMarv would try and pull off.  The concept of the show isn’t precisely a straight from comics series, but it does take some points from the comic and the on-again off-again low bubble story of the Scarlet Witch’s tragedies. The on-again / off-again aspect is very much because comic writers sometimes pick up a character where they want them to be and another character sees where they should be differently, so you end up with disparate versions of the same character… but since it’s comics, it’s usually begrudgingly accepted.

That said – Wanda is, quite literally, my least favorite Avenger… and it is mostly because her power set is so vaguely ‘chaos magic/hex powers/mutant ability/reality warping/etc’ that she has become the go-to on how to get into a bad situation or out of one.  So why don’t we take a look at the reason the Scarlet Witch has the power to disassemble how much great stuff the MCU has done…

First – let’s take a look at Wanda in the early years of Avengers…

Using her mutant ‘Hex Power’ she basically had telekinesis that only worked half the time. If the villain was too strong, too not-human enough, too aware, too magic, or too advanced.. there was a lot of this sort of ‘OH IF ONLY…’  But from this issue above (Avengers #99, 1972) to this panel from (West Coast Avengers, #56, 1989) she has fallen in love with Vision, he’s been taken apart by the government and replaced with an emotional white husk of his former self (sound familiar) and has been corrupted by an evil something er another…

And just like that – Wanda’s powerset has grown exponentially and is never reined in again. It just continues to morph and grow and get bigger and dumber and more unwieldly.  All the while she ends up being the go-to damsel in countless stories.  Wanda’s been brainwiped. Wanda’s in a coma. Wanda’s been kidnapped. Brainwiped again. She gets over the Vision. She’s not over the Vision. She has moved on to become a better person. She can’t handle the Avengers. Just non-stop using her as a foil and a victim and a catalyst when honestly, all she really needs is some good head meds and a shrink.

Then….. in the 2000’s – literal hundreds of comics later.. she becomes enraged about her kids and takes down the Avengers.  She’s locked up and the Marvel heroes are legitimately contemplating killing her.  Yes, there’s a lot of handwringing and ‘we can’t do that’ talk, but the fact is – the idea pops up and is considered… so when Xavier and her comic dad, Magneto, show up at her cell.  She does this:

She creates an entire reality where mutants never existed and her dad is the king and everyone is happy. (House of M) — When we break out of that alternate world, no more mutants are being born… like she literally altered the DNA of the world. All the while she continues to disappear for a while, come back and be forgiven, or atone, or have her powers changed yet again — the cycle continues on. When there is an unstoppable unbeatable villain?  Who do writers call on… whatever version of Wanda is useful for them.  No reason to explain it – just call it ‘Untapped Remarkable Powers’ and it’ll do just fine.  When Wanda can’t do it.. just have someone photocopy Wanda’s powers so DOUBLE WANDA can do it. (Avengers v. X-Men #12, below)

I’m thrilled that Wandavision was so good. I just hope that the movie writers don’t fall into the same pit that the comic writers have for years – that by not defining the Scarlet Witch, you leave her available as a crutch to lean on whenever you didn’t have a better ending in mind.

It’s Lord of the Flies in space.. or at least that’s the way it starts.

By the end we have factions fighting factions, a semi-omniscient judge deciding the fate of humanity, the weakest excuse to ever make an ending “appear” happy… but is it?

We’re talking about Space Romance In Space – The 100! Find out if  the CW knocks it out of this world or grounds it down like a frakkin toaster… on THE END: THE 100 

Ok here we all go.. and go.. and go.. and go.. and go.. and imagine 95 more of those…

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We are back, and this episode was recorded live before an internet audience over on Twitch.

Do you dig murder?  I mean… not like that… but do you find yourself mindlessly addicted to documentaries about the horrible things that horrible people do to people?

Yeah, look, we all do. That said, there is a new one on Netflix, but the results aren’t precisely what you think they are. The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel takes a police procedural documentary and turns it on its ear with the focus moving from the important facts of the case and sliding on over to an entirely different topic.  

Is it good? Is it worth it? We have opinions…. oh boy, do we. And once you are done, be certain to check out Hatton’s article on Vocal.Media

Okaaaay here we go!

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A group of people, connected.. somehow.. for some reason. 

They can see what the others see, they can take control when it’s time to, and when one feels pain… they all feel pain.

Part Wachowski FeverDream, part JM Straczynski longform storytelling – gone before it told its story its own way…. we’re talking about Sense 8. What did the boys think about the movie-length finale that was only done to sate the rabid fanbase? Find out on an episode that spans 3 continents.. on The End: Sense 8

Ok here we all go!

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Have you listened to our recent episode about Cobra Kai & Evil? Well, if you haven’t – take a minute – go listen now… I’ll wait.

Now that you’re caught up – since that episode, I’ve binged down Evil and figured it seems only right to discuss it. (And I challenge my podcasting partner to do the same with a certain karate oriented program)

The only information I had walking in was what Rob had told me – the show was about a man of faith trying to debunk exorcisms with a tech and a shrink on his side. The premise felt like the type of show I would dig, add in that there are lengthy background mysteries going on the whole way through and a villain in Ben Linus—- I mean Michael Emerson, it was an easy sell.

So, with all that, was it worth the time and effort – and the answer is a yes, but not without qualifications.

Both Mike Colter, playing David Acosta and Katja Herbers, playing Kristen Bouchard are three-dimensional characters who spend the season fighting demons (internal, external, and imagined) and come across as three-dimensional layered and conflicted people. To round out their trio is Ben Shakir, as performed by former Daily Show alum Aasif Mandvi, the skeptic tech expert who is enjoyable to watch, even though out of the three, his character feels the most stereotypical.

One of the main factors the show wants you to question throughout is ‘what is real and what is supernatural’ – is this person possessed or do they have an identity disorder? Is that person pulling secrets from the aether or is someone being stalked? That, it does well. Even weird creepy things from the first half of the show get more concrete answers later. To the point where it lulls you into a false sense of security when you see something that you are certain must be supernatural.

The only problem the show suffers from is one that a lot of shows do – and that is the ‘nothing is normal’ issue. It’s a minor gripe, but its one that never ceases to be notable. A perfect example is an episode near the end of the season where David is invited to a woman’s house because she is having a crisis of faith. It also just so happens that she has a man chained up in her basement for offenses he may or may not have committed. Why was David called? Why would she invite David over? Can’t David just go to someone’s house and tell them about his Lord and Savior and provide them a bounty of pamphlets and associated literatures?

A lot of that is simply the buffalo of television – nary a minute can be spent not developing a plot lest they lose our attentions which is reasonable. It wouldn’t be an interesting episode if he just so happened to visit a an old friend, they talked about their favorite episode of Friends and there was no possible demon infestation… but when the weird shit is the only thing you see, it makes it feel like these characters just stumble place to place and every portion of their life is an interconnected plot of intrigue.

I will give it this though – the last ten minutes of its first season makes you re-evaluate what you’ve just watched. Not in a ‘Fight Club’ way, but in a ‘Oh, this is a story about Sam Gamgee’ sort of way. It makes you look at one particular character’s journey in a new light… and also makes you wonder what Baphomet charges for in-patient office visits. (When you watch the show, that will make you laugh..)

So was Rob right? Is Evil a show for me? The answer is yes. I’m not riveted, but I’m enjoying it. It’s a show that teeters on the edge of too much. The villain is too smart and gets what he wants too easily. The ramifications of actions are brushed aside when they’re not necessary… but it is telling an interesting story, and that’s all that really matters.

Every week, the Somethings will be giving you a little something extra, so please check back every week for reviews, lists, cool finds, and more!

Why review two things when there are two of us, am I right? You see, there is a lot of television going on right now. If we were allowed to go places with water coolers, I don’t know how any work would get done with all the chatter about what we saw last night…

With that in mind, the Somethings were live on Twitch and reviewed not just one show, but two. One is about a team fighting evil at every turn, and the other is Evil! So hang with Hatton and Rob as we breakdown two shows that have gotten us through at least a little of our lockdown.

And don’t forget to jump on the Core Worlds Kickstarter, going on right now!

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Why… are they called.. podcasts.

I don’t see any pod? I don’t see any fish? What are they casting? And why are they doing it in a pod?

Seinfeld, one of the top rated sitcoms of all time. The finale was one of the top comedy finales in viewership. Does the show’s legacy hold up? Does its finale hold to its legacy? The Somethings have a lot to say about Jerry and friends – but is it really a podcast about anything at all?

Ok, no soup for you!

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Oh, we heard you like yourself some Baby Yoda – well that’s why we are Grogu: 2 Furious coming at you with microphones loaded with Beskar and ready to take down a bunch of cylons… it’s the show that we all binged before Christmas – Mandalorian Season 2!

So settle in and relive some of your favorite moments in a show that has taken the world by storm and even made a Star Wars Sourpuss like Hatton giggle at the adorable machinations of a very hungry muppet.

Ok, and the way we go! (..get it?)

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Remember back when the must-see event of any Christmas season was Doctor Who and Sherlock? We do, and we sometimes think back to those halcyon days of the early 2010s and remember fondly sitting around the hearth with our kin and arguing blitheringly about whether or not they were good.

That’s precisely what we do here, from Episode 59 where we hung out with Meredith Placko and Emma Fyffe and talked about the 2016 BBC specials.

So settle in, get your nog, and join us for some YuleTide Nitpicking, in the way only the Somethings could make charming…

Ok, here we Ho! Ho! Ho!

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It’s December, which means the Somethings are taking the month to recharge, rebuild, and record. We’ll be back in 2021 with even more ‘Something!’

So this month, gather round and listen to the boys sound a lot younger talking about stuff from when they were even younger – a time before we even had a theme song!

It’s a Throwback to Episode 6 – Saturday Morning Cartoons…

Ok, here we go!

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