What Did You Watch? 2017-01-06 (Friday)

[Ubiquitous]

The day Congress confirmed Trump won the election, I watched:

HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS:
"Secret History of Pluto".

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA:
"The Gang Turns Black". OMG, that was funny! The topper was them
meeting Scott Bakula!

What did you watch?

--
Obama acting tough at this point is like an athlete finally trash
talking out the team bus window as it leaves the stadium parking lot.

[Obveeus]

On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
watched:

GRIMM: The season premiere picks up right where last season ended with
bodies everywhere and all our heroes split up in pairs in the smuggling
tunnels/sewer system. Eve is regressing back into Juliette and is now a
'pure soul' which makes it dangerous for her to play with dead bodies.
Monroe and Rosalee are still talking about babies instead of
survival...and while everyone else is preparing for the big battles
ahead they are trying to snuggle into bed for the night. Adalind and
Nick know that Adalind's daughter, Diana, is very
touchy/protective/scheming to get her parents back together and yet they
risk their lives playing kissy face in the next room. Renard can't even
figure out why he is doing what he is doing and yet he keeps pushing
forward with his power grab even though his entire support staff is dead
and his new girlfriend is dead and all his co workers hate him and his
baby momma hates him and he is seeing things. This is the final season
and it looks to be a campy one.

EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ tale.
We have Dorothy, from Kansas, but in this version she has the mark of a
witch on her hand. We have Toto the police dog (with Toto meaning 'dog'
in the local language. The locals are not 'munchkins', but rather some
tribe with a name that sounds like that...and yes, this is where it
becomes clear that every little thing from the original will be
reexplained in a more logical/'realistic' manner (rather than
fantastical) than the original and that also means that I will miss a
lot of the references since I am no repeat viewer/fan of the original.
We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow
because these are the burning questions, I guess. We meet the
Scarecrow, but this time his lack of a brain is amnesia. We meet the
Tin Man and my instant first reaction is: wow, they are showing a
topless teen girl on TV...seriously, was this supposed to be a plot
twist that everyone couldn't see coming a mile away? The need for
oiling become clear later. We meet the Lion, I think, but this time he
just seems 'heartless'...but no more so than that of his coworker(s)
planning to kill him. We even meet the Wizard (Vincent D'Onofrio doing
his DAREDEVIL character again here). There is some side plot about
pregnant nuns and about no magic use laws and prison being an eternal
mud pit. Along the way we get some head shots and some back stabbing
and drug hallucinations and one of our main characters bashes in an old
lady's skull repeatedly for 'fun' so we know that this version of the
story is 'dark'. The biggest plus for the premiere is that you can
clearly see that this world is complex and well represented with
fantastic visuals. The biggest down side for the premiere is that it
plods along in a rather boring manner. I will watch again because it
definitely looks like it has potential and because I have a hunch that
all the bad reviews are based upon mentally crippled by nostalgia reviewers.

SNEAKY PETE: The premiere episode of this new Amazon series staring
Giovanni Ribisi, Marin Ireland, Margo Martindale, and Bryan Cranston.
The story here is rather IMPASTORish with our lead assuming another
man's identity and trying to take over his old life. The writing is
good, the acting is good, the plot is gimmicky, but works. If I had
Amazon Prime, this is definitely a show I would watch...and it felt like
their best effort in the scripted TV arena yet.

MERLI: The fifth episode of this French series in which a manipulative
teacher presses the buttons of all the students, co-workers, and parents
around him. It remains to be seen if his lifestyle will benefit or harm
everyone around him.

What did you watch?

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 1/7/2017 6:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>
> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> watched:
>
> GRIMM:

Saved for later.

>
> EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ tale.
> We have Dorothy, from Kansas, but in this version she has the mark of a
> witch on her hand. We have Toto the police dog (with Toto meaning 'dog'
> in the local language.

That was just stupid.

I thought I read in the original press release that Dorothy was going to
be a cop and Toto was going to be her police dog. Looks like they
retooled it to make her a nurse but kept the police dog.

The locals are not 'munchkins', but rather some
> tribe with a name that sounds like that...and yes, this is where it
> becomes clear that every little thing from the original will be
> reexplained in a more logical/'realistic' manner (rather than
> fantastical) than the original and that also means that I will miss a
> lot of the references since I am no repeat viewer/fan of the original.

I *am* a repeat viewer/fan of the original and I *hated* that!

> We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow
> because these are the burning questions, I guess.

I must have tuned out and missed the explanation.

We meet the
> Scarecrow, but this time his lack of a brain is amnesia.

And no straw. :-/

We meet the
> Tin Man and my instant first reaction is: wow, they are showing a
> topless teen girl on TV...seriously, was this supposed to be a plot
> twist that everyone couldn't see coming a mile away?

Actually, not once did it ever cross my mind that was a girl. Even at
the end, I thought they swapped actors. I was waiting for Mombi to
release a protection spell which would encase him/her in tin. Either
than or the medicine was preventing the tin from covering his/her body.

The need for
> oiling become clear later. We meet the Lion, I think, but this time he
> just seems 'heartless'...but no more so than that of his coworker(s)
> planning to kill him.

You sure that was the lion? The lion isn't heartless, that's the
tinman. The lion is supposed to be cowardly. I was actually wondering
where he was at. When Tip's friend howled at the end I thought along
with Tip being turned into tin, Mombi would turn him into a lion. I saw
a preview at the end for upcoming episodes and there was clearly someone
who had a lion's head but but I couldn't tell if it was a new character
or someone we already met.

We even meet the Wizard (Vincent D'Onofrio doing
> his DAREDEVIL character again here).

Yes, he was! And that was one of the few things I liked.

There is some side plot about
> pregnant nuns and about no magic use laws and prison being an eternal
> mud pit. Along the way we get some head shots and some back stabbing
> and drug hallucinations and one of our main characters bashes in an old
> lady's skull repeatedly for 'fun' so we know that this version of the
> story is 'dark'. The biggest plus for the premiere is that you can
> clearly see that this world is complex and well represented with
> fantastic visuals. The biggest down side for the premiere is that it
> plods along in a rather boring manner.

snip.

It sure does. But I'm a sucker for Oz so I'll stick with it. I wasn't
paying much attention to the first 15 or so minutes so I'm rewatching it
now. I am noticing a few detailed I missed last night like a scarecrow
beneath a rainbow back at Kansas and the town is called "Lucas."


>
> What did you watch?


Listening (netflix rental) - Horrible low budget movie about a pair of
college friends who invent a machine that can let one person listen to
the thoughts of another. The CIA takes an interest in the machine since
it can also potentially put thoughts into someone's head. For no good
reason they made the CIA guy a mustache twirling villain and when it
came to the college buddies one was unlikable and the other downright
hateable. Who would anyone think people would want to watch these
characters interact for an entire movie. This was just barely watchable.


The Blacklist "Lipet's Seafood Company" - I already forgot most of what
happened.


Wishful Drinking (HBO) - Carrie Fisher one woman show about the ups and
downs of her life. This was really good and funny. One of the
highlights was when she pulled down a giant board and went over her
extended family tree.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

Replying to myself, I just realized that is *not* the Tinman.

Major spoilers for anyone not already familiar with the original stories...

Gung jnf Bmzn. Va gur bevtvany fgbel Zbzov ghearq Bmzn vagb n obl naq
pnyyrq ure Gvc. How could I have missed that!!!! :-/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cevaprff_Bmzn

[anim8rfsk]

In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> watched:
>
>

> EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ tale.
> We have Dorothy, from Kansas, but in this version she has the mark of a
> witch on her hand. We have Toto the police dog (with Toto meaning 'dog'
> in the local language. The locals are not 'munchkins', but rather some
> tribe with a name that sounds like that...and yes, this is where it
> becomes clear that every little thing from the original will be
> reexplained in a more logical/'realistic' manner (rather than
> fantastical) than the original and that also means that I will miss a
> lot of the references since I am no repeat viewer/fan of the original.
> We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow
> because these are the burning questions, I guess. We meet the
> Scarecrow, but this time his lack of a brain is amnesia. We meet the
> Tin Man and my instant first reaction is: wow, they are showing a
> topless teen girl on TV...

http://cimg.tvgcdn.net/i/r/2017/01/01/21e22122-0a94-451d-a51e-d5b130ed5b7
5/resize/900x600/28beb812f53915bde1f61924fd3dfb18/1712-news-emerald-city.
jpg

I can't pick out who anyone is supposed to be but Toto ...

seriously, was this supposed to be a plot
> twist that everyone couldn't see coming a mile away? The need for
> oiling become clear later. We meet the Lion, I think, but this time he
> just seems 'heartless'...but no more so than that of his coworker(s)
> planning to kill him. We even meet the Wizard (Vincent D'Onofrio doing
> his DAREDEVIL character again here). There is some side plot about
> pregnant nuns

Everybody hates them

and about no magic use laws and prison being an eternal
> mud pit. Along the way we get some head shots and some back stabbing
> and drug hallucinations and one of our main characters bashes in an old
> lady's skull repeatedly for 'fun' so we know that this version of the
> story is 'dark'. The biggest plus for the premiere is that you can
> clearly see that this world is complex and well represented with
> fantastic visuals. The biggest down side for the premiere is that it
> plods along in a rather boring manner. I will watch again because it
> definitely looks like it has potential and because I have a hunch that
> all the bad reviews are based upon mentally crippled by nostalgia reviewers.
>

> MERLI: The fifth episode of this French series in which a manipulative
> teacher presses the buttons of all the students, co-workers, and parents
> around him. It remains to be seen if his lifestyle will benefit or harm
> everyone around him.

He's French. His very existence harms everyone around him.

> What did you watch?

--
Join your old RAT friends at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688985234647266/

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-01-07 16:37:41 +0000, Arthur Lipscomb said:

> The Blacklist "Lipet's Seafood Company" - I already forgot most of what
> happened.

That's because the episode was totally forgetable... :\


--
"His compassion killed him." - Dr. Sabine Lommers, in
"A Kingdom Divided Against Itself" (ep. #9), "Containment" (06-21-2016)

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-01-07 14:07:41 +0000, Obveeus said:

> What did you watch?

Over the past couple of days, I watched:

Jason Bourne - On the planeride home from my New Year's vacay, I
watched a couple of movies, and got to this one first. I'm not even
sure if I saw the third film in the franchise, "The Bourne Ultimatum"
(I'm pretty sure I haven't...), but luckily it seems like it's not
necessary to watch this film.
Anyway, this one is mercifully plot-light, and is basically non-stop
action! Bourne goes up against the current EVOL!!1! head of the CIA
(Tommy Lee Jones), while the CIA's newest lackey (Alicia Vikander,
somewhat convincingly faking an American accent here) may or may not be
working to help Bourne.
I especially liked this flick for the virtual non-stop action
sequences, and for BIG HEAD's!!1! (Julia Styles) part in this one. :)

Bad Moms - I got to this second. I actually enjoyed this a fair bit.
It's not the funniest comedy you've ever seen, but it's definitely
amusing, and even pretty perceptive. (Kathryn Hahn is the funniest part
here...) I recommend.

The Blacklist (OnDemand) - Covered by Arthur. This episode was a
"Navabi epie" (with Aram as the main 'B' storyline), and so totally
sucked as a result.

Chicago Med (OnDemand) - Nothing remarkable here, either - this was
pretty much a standard episode of this.

Grimm - Covered by Obv. I thought this was a good "thriller" episode
that kept the plot moving swiftly. It'll be interesting to see how they
wrap this series up...

Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did.
For any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of
Oz" novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North! and 2)
making all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1! Bottom line: These
guys are obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's
actually undercutting what they're trying to do.
Still, I'll probably watch this next week, esp. if it airs opposite
"Hawaii Five-ZERO". (However, I'll have no qualms about flushing this
when "Reign" returns!!)

Recorded for later: The All New! NEW!! MacGyver. (I forgot to record
"Blue Bloods", and will just get it off OnDemand later...)

[Connor]

We stopped watching Sleepy Hollow after Abby died but we saw the last few mins last night before the news and the new witness might be interesting.. Also we didn't know how DC got its name so that was intersting.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <o4ralf$tkt$1...@dont-email.me>,

Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:

> On 2017-01-07 14:07:41 +0000, Obveeus said:
>
> > What did you watch?
>
> Over the past couple of days, I watched:
>
>

> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did.
> For any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of
> Oz" novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North! and 2)

Is that because she's black?

> making all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1! Bottom line: These

same question ...

> guys are obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's

and again. :D

> actually undercutting what they're trying to do.
> Still, I'll probably watch this next week, esp. if it airs opposite
> "Hawaii Five-ZERO". (However, I'll have no qualms about flushing this
> when "Reign" returns!!)

It's on OnDEMAND. I may give it a peek.

[Obveeus]

On 1/7/2017 11:37 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
> On 1/7/2017 6:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>
>> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
>> watched:
>>
>> GRIMM:
> Saved for later.
>>
>> EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ tale.
>> We have Dorothy, from Kansas, but in this version she has the mark of a
>> witch on her hand. We have Toto the police dog (with Toto meaning 'dog'
>> in the local language.
>
> That was just stupid.
>
> I thought I read in the original press release that Dorothy was going to
> be a cop and Toto was going to be her police dog. Looks like they
> retooled it to make her a nurse but kept the police dog.

More likely, someone saw a photo of her in a police jacket and just
assumed a backstory for her.

>
> The locals are not 'munchkins', but rather some
>> tribe with a name that sounds like that...and yes, this is where it
>> becomes clear that every little thing from the original will be
>> reexplained in a more logical/'realistic' manner (rather than
>> fantastical) than the original and that also means that I will miss a
>> lot of the references since I am no repeat viewer/fan of the original.
>
> I *am* a repeat viewer/fan of the original and I *hated* that!

People stuck on the original will not be happy that this story is
changing stuff...even though it made everything less cartoonish and more
coherent.

>> We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow
>> because these are the burning questions, I guess.
>
> I must have tuned out and missed the explanation.

Opium pollen. getting trod along the road.

> We meet the
>> Scarecrow, but this time his lack of a brain is amnesia.
>
> And no straw. :-/

He had some bits of straw on him at the start...it looked like he had
been tarred and strawed since they didn't have any feathers available.

>> We meet the
>> Tin Man and my instant first reaction is: wow, they are showing a
>> topless teen girl on TV...seriously, was this supposed to be a plot
>> twist that everyone couldn't see coming a mile away?
>
> Actually, not once did it ever cross my mind that was a girl.

Seriously? That face was not male at all.

> Even at
> the end, I thought they swapped actors. I was waiting for Mombi to
> release a protection spell which would encase him/her in tin. Either
> than or the medicine was preventing the tin from covering his/her body.

Too literal as this show seems to be trying to avoid the cartoonish
stuff. If I had to guess, I'd guess that the old witch was 'oiling' the
Tin man to help keep the identity hidden...likely a replacement Cardinal
Witch for the South or something with great importance.

> The need for
>> oiling become clear later. We meet the Lion, I think, but this time he
>> just seems 'heartless'...but no more so than that of his coworker(s)
>> planning to kill him.
>
> You sure that was the lion?

Just a guess...which was later close to confirmed when he killed the
assassin and blamed it on lions.

> The lion isn't heartless, that's the
> tinman. The lion is supposed to be cowardly.

I agree that there is no resolution for that. The leader of the
guardsman didn't seem cowardly at all, but he did have the big mane and
the tie in with the lion back story.

> I was actually wondering
> where he was at. When Tip's friend howled at the end I thought along
> with Tip being turned into tin, Mombi would turn him into a lion. I saw
> a preview at the end for upcoming episodes and there was clearly someone
> who had a lion's head but but I couldn't tell if it was a new character
> or someone we already met.

One of the things about this 2 hour premiere si that it felt much more
like a cable/streaming show: unconcerned with doing all the reveal right
away so as to capture the audience.

> We even meet the Wizard (Vincent D'Onofrio doing
>> his DAREDEVIL character again here).
>
> Yes, he was! And that was one of the few things I liked.

Have you seen THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. He is the best part of that
film...and similar in character.

> There is some side plot about
>> pregnant nuns and about no magic use laws and prison being an eternal
>> mud pit. Along the way we get some head shots and some back stabbing
>> and drug hallucinations and one of our main characters bashes in an old
>> lady's skull repeatedly for 'fun' so we know that this version of the
>> story is 'dark'. The biggest plus for the premiere is that you can
>> clearly see that this world is complex and well represented with
>> fantastic visuals. The biggest down side for the premiere is that it
>> plods along in a rather boring manner.
> snip.
>
> It sure does. But I'm a sucker for Oz so I'll stick with it. I wasn't
> paying much attention to the first 15 or so minutes so I'm rewatching it
> now. I am noticing a few detailed I missed last night like a scarecrow
> beneath a rainbow back at Kansas and the town is called "Lucas."

Yes. She told him that she named him after her home town.

> Wishful Drinking (HBO) - Carrie Fisher one woman show about the ups and
> downs of her life. This was really good and funny. One of the
> highlights was when she pulled down a giant board and went over her
> extended family tree.

Sounds interesting...added to queue.

[Obveeus]

On 1/7/2017 11:52 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
> On 1/7/2017 8:37 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
>> On 1/7/2017 6:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>>

>>> EMERALD CITY:

>> Actually, not once did it ever cross my mind that was a girl. Even at
>> the end, I thought they swapped actors. I was waiting for Mombi to
>> release a protection spell which would encase him/her in tin. Either
>> than or the medicine was preventing the tin from covering his/her body.
>>
> Replying to myself, I just realized that is *not* the Tinman.
>
> Major spoilers for anyone not already familiar with the original stories...
>
> Gung jnf Bmzn. Va gur bevtvany fgbel Zbzov ghearq Bmzn vagb n obl naq
> pnyyrq ure Gvc. How could I have missed that!!!! :-/

Ah...ok...but that means nothing to me as I am not detail familiar with
the original.

[Obveeus]

On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:


> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
> any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
> novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!

Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.

> and 2) making
> all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1!

There is no indication that any of the witches are EVOL at this point.
One witch put other magic practicers into a mud pit, but that doesn't
make her evil. Glinda and the drug addict were both conniving, for
sure, but they didn't reveal their plan so how can you determine that
they are all evil?

> Bottom line: These guys are
> obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's actually
> undercutting what they're trying to do.

I agree that they were going out of their way to make it dark. I don't
think it got in the way. What got in the way was the slow pace, trying
to give viewers time to adapt to the asthetic, but not giving them
anything to really be hooked by.

[Obveeus]

I hope you are going to peek at EMERALD CITY and not that werewolf show.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

I've never read the books but I'm aware this is a major character who
pops up in the books and adaptations. Even though it's now obvious who
it is, the only reason I'm not saying her real name is because they
didn't in the episode other than "Tip" which is also what she was called
in the books. But the fact they actually included her and her
relationship with Mombi and the gender swap which also from the books
does raise my impression of the series a few notches.

If you've never seen it I *highly* recommend checking out "Return to Oz."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mzz6QfvfGo

[David Johnston]

On 1/7/2017 7:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>
> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> watched:
>
> GRIMM: The season premiere picks up right where last season ended with
> bodies everywhere and all our heroes split up in pairs in the smuggling
> tunnels/sewer system. Eve is regressing back into Juliette and is now a
> 'pure soul' which makes it dangerous for her to play with dead bodies.

Also once again Hollywood forgets that arms have bones and are actually
hard to amputate. That wesen would have had to have been made out of
butter for that scene to work.

[David Johnston]

On 1/7/2017 9:37 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

>
> We meet the
>> Tin Man and my instant first reaction is: wow, they are showing a
>> topless teen girl on TV...seriously, was this supposed to be a plot
>> twist that everyone couldn't see coming a mile away?
>
> Actually, not once did it ever cross my mind that was a girl. Even at
> the end, I thought they swapped actors. I was waiting for Mombi to
> release a protection spell which would encase him/her in tin. Either
> than or the medicine was preventing the tin from covering his/her body.

That wouldn't be the Tin Man. It would be Ozma.

[Dimensional Traveler]

You knew it was a heartless task when you took the job, Tinman.

--
Running the rec.arts.TV Channels Watched Survey.
Winter 2016 survey began Dec 01 and will end Feb 28

[Ian J. Ball]

On Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 11:55:59 AM UTC-8, Obveeus wrote:

> On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>
> > Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
> > any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
> > novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> > issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> > and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!
>
> Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
> as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
> or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.

In the book, Glinda was the Witch of the South (I believe the Witch of the North doesn't show up until later books). The 1939 movie got this annoyingly wrong, as did the TV show.

[Dimensional Traveler]

Which is not opium. Its not even an ingredient that goes into making
opium. Its the sap from the Poppy plant that is the base for opium and
opiods. (Poppy _seeds_ in baked goods have been known to produce false
positive results in urine tests but even those aren't hallucinogenic.)

[David Barnett]

In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obv...@aol.com
says...

>
> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> watched:

> What did you watch?

Replying to Obveeus, as Ubi accidentally got into the bozo
bin.
On Fri Jan 6 I watched:

OUTLANDER:Wentworth Prison/To Ransom a Man's Soul
The final 2 episodes of Season 1 aired as a single episode
"Compilation".

I did not enjoy the torture scenes.
Where is the entertainment viewing a man's hand being
repeatedly hit by a mallet & homosexual rape?

OTOH the season ended more or less happily, and could have
been the end of the show. The Channel is not airing Season
2, which is apparently set in Paris, France. It may air it
later as it did with Prisoners of War.
If it doesn't, I don't care.
Getting shows by other means is a hassle now, with all the
malware around.

Claire Beauchamp Randall does not go "Back to the Future"
at any stage, tho she had the chance to do so, but
preferred to stay in the past.

CRICKET: Aus v Pakistan, Test 3 Day 4
We are winning.
The cricket is taking up most of my time.

--
David Barnett

[Ian J. Ball]

Good point - holding the arm up like that was a serious dumb idea. It
would have been better to hold it down on the floor and THEN chop away.

[Ian J. Ball]

On 2017-01-07 19:39:46 +0000, anim8rfsk said:

> In article <o4ralf$tkt$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 2017-01-07 14:07:41 +0000, Obveeus said:
>>
>>> What did you watch?
>>
>> Over the past couple of days, I watched:
>>
>>
>> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did.
>> For any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of
>> Oz" novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
>> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
>> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North! and 2)
>
> Is that because she's black?

No - Glinda is Joely Richardson.

>> making all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1! Bottom line: These
>
> same question ...

No.

>> guys are obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's
>
> and again. :D

Mean!

>> actually undercutting what they're trying to do.
>> Still, I'll probably watch this next week, esp. if it airs opposite
>> "Hawaii Five-ZERO". (However, I'll have no qualms about flushing this
>> when "Reign" returns!!)
>
> It's on OnDEMAND. I may give it a peek.

I'm pretty sure you'll hate it, esp. if you're a fan of either the
original book or the 1939 film.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

> EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ tale.
> We have Dorothy, from Kansas, but in this version she has the mark of a
> witch on her hand. We have Toto the police dog (with Toto meaning 'dog'
> in the local language. The locals are not 'munchkins', but rather some
> tribe with a name that sounds like that...and yes, this is where it
> becomes clear that every little thing from the original will be
> reexplained in a more logical/'realistic' manner (rather than
> fantastical) than the original and that also means that I will miss a
> lot of the references since I am no repeat viewer/fan of the original.
> We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow

I missed it. What was it?

[anim8rfsk]

In article <o4rksj$3po$1...@dont-email.me>,

Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:

> On 2017-01-07 19:39:46 +0000, anim8rfsk said:
>
> > In article <o4ralf$tkt$1...@dont-email.me>,
> > Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid> wrote:
> >
> >> On 2017-01-07 14:07:41 +0000, Obveeus said:
> >>
> >>> What did you watch?
> >>
> >> Over the past couple of days, I watched:
> >>
> >>
> >> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did.
> >> For any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of
> >> Oz" novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> >> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> >> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North! and 2)
> >
> > Is that because she's black?
>
> No - Glinda is Joely Richardson.

That explains why she looks like Vanessa Redgrave

>
> >> making all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1! Bottom line: These
> >
> > same question ...
>
> No.
>
> >> guys are obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's
> >
> > and again. :D
>
> Mean!

The image is so dark I had to pump the brightness on the Plasma, which I
almost never do.

> >> actually undercutting what they're trying to do.
> >> Still, I'll probably watch this next week, esp. if it airs opposite
> >> "Hawaii Five-ZERO". (However, I'll have no qualms about flushing this
> >> when "Reign" returns!!)
> >
> > It's on OnDEMAND. I may give it a peek.
>
> I'm pretty sure you'll hate it, esp. if you're a fan of either the
> original book or the 1939 film.

I'm pretty thoroughly underwhelmed, yes. This stupid onDemand 'no pause
rew ff' doesn't help. Nor does the inaccurate CC.

There's one actress who looks remarkably like Fairuza Balk. Right now
she's having spasms after dancing with Glinda.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <MPG.32dbff3...@news.eternal-september.org>,

David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obv...@aol.com
> says...
> >
> > On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> > watched:
> > What did you watch?
>
> Replying to Obveeus, as Ubi accidentally got into the bozo
> bin.
> On Fri Jan 6 I watched:
>
> OUTLANDER:Wentworth Prison/To Ransom a Man's Soul
> The final 2 episodes of Season 1 aired as a single episode
> "Compilation".
>
> I did not enjoy the torture scenes.
> Where is the entertainment viewing a man's hand being
> repeatedly hit by a mallet & homosexual rape?

It's chick erotica.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <ca2e6b47-7418-4901...@googlegroups.com>,

"Ian J. Ball" <ijb...@mac.com> wrote:

> On Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 11:55:59 AM UTC-8, Obveeus wrote:
>
> > On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> >
> > > Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
> > > any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
> > > novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> > > issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> > > and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!
> >
> > Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
> > as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
> > or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.
>
> In the book, Glinda was the Witch of the South (I believe the Witch of the
> North doesn't show up until later books). The 1939 movie got this annoyingly
> wrong, as did the TV show.

At least they go the ruby slippers right.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <o4riq0$s4c$1...@dont-email.me>,

Butter? Or (wait for it) Wesen Oil?

[EGK]

On Sat, 07 Jan 2017 15:10:33 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:

>In article <o4riq0$s4c$1...@dont-email.me>,
> David Johnston <Davidjo...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> On 1/7/2017 7:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>> >
>> > On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
>> > watched:
>> >
>> > GRIMM: The season premiere picks up right where last season ended with
>> > bodies everywhere and all our heroes split up in pairs in the smuggling
>> > tunnels/sewer system. Eve is regressing back into Juliette and is now a
>> > 'pure soul' which makes it dangerous for her to play with dead bodies.
>>
>> Also once again Hollywood forgets that arms have bones and are actually
>> hard to amputate. That wesen would have had to have been made out of
>> butter for that scene to work.
>
>Butter? Or (wait for it) Wesen Oil?

Oh, man. That's the kind of joke I feel embarrassed for laughing at. haha.

[BTR1701]

In article <o4rh1g$lfu$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

> On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>
>
> > Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
> > any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
> > novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
> > issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
> > and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!
>
> Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
> as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
> or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.

Actually the Wizard said the Witch of the South was the mother, and that
she's dead, which means there won't be any more witches in Oz.

[BTR1701]

In article <anim8rfsk-CB533...@news.easynews.com>,

anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:

> There's one actress who looks remarkably like Fairuza Balk.

Bit without the horrible degenerative aging or drug use or whatever
turned Balk into a hobgoblin.

[David Barnett]

In article <anim8rfsk-D8B1D8.15091807012017
@news.easynews.com>, anim...@cox.net says...

>
> In article <MPG.32dbff3...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
>
> > In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obv...@aol.com
> > says...
> > >
> > > On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> > > watched:
> > > What did you watch?
> >
> > Replying to Obveeus, as Ubi accidentally got into the bozo
> > bin.
> > On Fri Jan 6 I watched:
> >
> > OUTLANDER:Wentworth Prison/To Ransom a Man's Soul
> > The final 2 episodes of Season 1 aired as a single episode
> > "Compilation".
> >
> > I did not enjoy the torture scenes.
> > Where is the entertainment viewing a man's hand being
> > repeatedly hit by a mallet & homosexual rape?
>
> It's chick erotica.

I don't know how chicks would enjoy it, except those who
hate men. The show is based on books by a woman author.

--
David Barnett

[shawn]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2017 12:59:47 -0800, Ian J. Ball <IJB...@mac.invalid>
wrote:

>On 2017-01-07 20:26:06 +0000, David Johnston said:
>
>> On 1/7/2017 7:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>>
>>> On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
>>> watched:
>>>
>>> GRIMM: The season premiere picks up right where last season ended with
>>> bodies everywhere and all our heroes split up in pairs in the smuggling
>>> tunnels/sewer system. Eve is regressing back into Juliette and is now a
>>> 'pure soul' which makes it dangerous for her to play with dead bodies.
>>
>> Also once again Hollywood forgets that arms have bones and are actually
>> hard to amputate. That wesen would have had to have been made out of
>> butter for that scene to work.
>
>Good point - holding the arm up like that was a serious dumb idea. It
>would have been better to hold it down on the floor and THEN chop away.

Two points..

Chopping away at an arm might be a bit too violent for this show
because while they kill people on the show it's all done very quickly
so it's kind of a clean quick kill.

The second thing is that she is Wesen so has much greater strength
than even the strongest human based on what we've seen. So cutting
through an arm would be easier for any adult Wesen than your average
human. (after all when's the last time you heard of someone being able
to rip off someone's arm?)

[anim8rfsk]

In article <i9q27c5e83f63et91...@4ax.com>,

It's my Florence Henderson tribute!

[anim8rfsk]

In article <MPG.32dc1b5...@news.eternal-september.org>,

David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> In article <anim8rfsk-D8B1D8.15091807012017
> @news.easynews.com>, anim...@cox.net says...
> >
> > In article <MPG.32dbff3...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> > David Barnett <dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> >
> > > In article <o4qskf$9ne$1...@dont-email.me>, Obv...@aol.com
> > > says...
> > > >
> > > > On the first Friday in a long time with a full slate of watchable TV I
> > > > watched:
> > > > What did you watch?
> > >
> > > Replying to Obveeus, as Ubi accidentally got into the bozo
> > > bin.
> > > On Fri Jan 6 I watched:
> > >
> > > OUTLANDER:Wentworth Prison/To Ransom a Man's Soul
> > > The final 2 episodes of Season 1 aired as a single episode
> > > "Compilation".
> > >
> > > I did not enjoy the torture scenes.
> > > Where is the entertainment viewing a man's hand being
> > > repeatedly hit by a mallet & homosexual rape?
> >
> > It's chick erotica.
>
> I don't know how chicks would enjoy it, except those who
> hate men.

So all my ex girlfriends then? :D

[anim8rfsk]

In article <atropos-10A771...@news.giganews.com>,

I dunno, the EMERALD CITY actress (or at least her character) was pretty
far gone.

[BTR1701]

In article <anim8rfsk-242CD...@news.easynews.com>,

anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:

> In article <atropos-10A771...@news.giganews.com>,
> BTR1701 <atr...@mac.com> wrote:
>
> > In article <anim8rfsk-CB533...@news.easynews.com>,
> > anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
> >
> > > There's one actress who looks remarkably like Fairuza Balk.
> >
> > Bit without the horrible degenerative aging or drug use or whatever
> > turned Balk into a hobgoblin.
>
> I dunno, the EMERALD CITY actress (or at least her character) was pretty
> far gone.

She cleans up pretty good.

http://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ana-ularu-at-28th-an
nual-european-film-awards-in-berlin-12-12-2015_1.jpg

I remember her as the motorcycle assassin from INFERNO.

[David Johnston]

Few wesen can do that. The animalistic wesen follow the archetype of
their fairy tale counterparts. Wolves and bears are big and bad so they
have a vast ability to commit mayhem. Foxes, not so much. There's a
reason why she hasn't been in the thick of the fighting.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <atropos-AFA838...@news.giganews.com>,

BTR1701 <atr...@mac.com> wrote:

> In article <anim8rfsk-242CD...@news.easynews.com>,
> anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > In article <atropos-10A771...@news.giganews.com>,
> > BTR1701 <atr...@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> > > In article <anim8rfsk-CB533...@news.easynews.com>,
> > > anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > > There's one actress who looks remarkably like Fairuza Balk.
> > >
> > > Bit without the horrible degenerative aging or drug use or whatever
> > > turned Balk into a hobgoblin.
> >
> > I dunno, the EMERALD CITY actress (or at least her character) was pretty
> > far gone.
>
> She cleans up pretty good.
>
> http://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ana-ularu-at-28th-an
> nual-european-film-awards-in-berlin-12-12-2015_1.jpg
>
> I remember her as the motorcycle assassin from INFERNO.

Cool, thanks. But you can see why the character made me think of Balk.
:)

Or General Rykov from Alien from L.A.
http://www.badmovies.org/movies/alienla/alienla7.jpg
or for that matter Shank from Journey to the Center of the Earth
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mst3k/images/9/9a/Alienfromla2.jpg/re
vision/latest/scale-to-width-down/275?cb=20160601084720

And while we're on the subject of Kathy Ireland classics:

https://youtu.be/FDQB3wA99y4

[EGK]

I have a much bigger problem with Renard again turning evil than I do with
them cutting off an arm. That came out of nowhere. I know a lot were
hooping he was going to be under the influence of some magic but it doesn't
appear so.

[Michael Black]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2017, Ian J. Ball wrote:

> On Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 11:55:59 AM UTC-8, Obveeus wrote:
>
>> On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>>
>>> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
>>> any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
>>> novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
>>> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
>>> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!
>>
>> Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
>> as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
>> or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.
>
> In the book, Glinda was the Witch of the South (I believe the Witch of
> the North doesn't show up until later books). The 1939 movie got this
> annoyingly wrong, as did the TV show.
>

Thanks Professor.

The cold reality is that most of us probably haven't even read one of the
books, so the Movie is our fountain of knowledge on the topic. That and
the much later sequel.

I wish I'd bought the set when Ballantine reissued them in paperback in
the seventies. But I didn't. And maybe they'd still be sitting around
waiting to be read if I had.

But the books can be had at Project Gutenberg, I assume they are all
there.

Michael

[suzeeq]

Yep, he's pretty much turned into a douche.

[Obveeus]

On 1/7/2017 3:40 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> On Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 11:55:59 AM UTC-8, Obveeus wrote:
>
>> On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>>
>>> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did. For
>>> any fans of either the original film *or* the original "Wizard of Oz"
>>> novel, there are problems. (There are also the usual Hollywood P.C.
>>> issues as well.) My biggest issues were with, 1) not following the book
>>> and making Glinda the Witch of the *South*, not the North!
>>
>> Glinda was from the North. The witch from the South is simply reported
>> as missing, but they never particularly clarified if that meant 'dead'
>> or not...just that it led to the no magic rule.
>
> In the book, Glinda was the Witch of the South (I believe the Witch of the North doesn't show up until later books). The 1939 movie got this annoyingly wrong, as did the TV show.

From this and the Tip comments/back story, it seems that this show is
working from the books, not the film. People should be happy about
that...no ability for fanboys to claim being a 'purist' for the original
if that 'original' isn't even the 'original story'.

[Obveeus]

I don't think the show ever really portrayed the pollen to be an opiod.
The guards never wigged out. The only people that wigged out were
Dorothy and Lucas...the two that idiotically stopped and ate the
perfectly laid out meal sitting alongside the road at the burned out
house. ...and then again later, Lucas wigged out again when the old
witch holding Tip hostage fed him some sort of poison.

[Obveeus]

Agreed. There was a lot of torture in the first season. It may be easy
to skim through or overlook when reading a book, but when it is onscreen
like that it is hard to bypass for the romance novel aspects.
>

[suzeeq]

The book showed no man hating that I recall, nor does the series. Black
Jack Randall was a sadistic despicable character, but Jamie is the opposite.

[Dimensional Traveler]

People that stupid deserve whatever bad trip they get. But someone was
complaining about Dorothy walking thru the pollen without a mask or
holding a cloth over their face because of the Opium Pollen.

> ...and then again later, Lucas wigged out again when the old
> witch holding Tip hostage fed him some sort of poison.

Poison will do that.

--
Running the rec.arts.TV Channels Watched Survey.
Winter 2016 survey began Dec 01 and will end Feb 28

[Obveeus]

RichA started that and he was probably channeling the belief that the
events of the first two episodes were entirely drug trip related. I'll
back up the belief that any sensible person would have taken some
precaution not to be breathing in all that pollen. Everyone should have
been coughing and sneezing, at least.

[Michael Black]

Even in the 1939 movie, they just seem to fall asleep while going through
the flowers, no real connection.

But I know I was spoiled afterwards (I actually saw it in a second run
movie theater around Christmas 1976), when either I read, or someone
mentioned, that "those flowers were poppies" and made some reference to
opium.

Maybe it was deliberate from the filmmakers, maybe it wasn't.

Michael

[shawn]

I wonder why they decided to go that route. It didn't fit in with
anything they had shown before where he made every effort to avoid
getting involved in royal politics. If I were one of the writers I
might show that Renard has somehow managed to find one of those coins
and was being influenced by it. That would at least fit in with what
we've seen before and help explain his change in sides.

[EGK]

Yeah, it would be nice if they explained why he's like that but I don't
expect it. They should have done that in the first place anyway.

The worst character course changes in TV shows are when it's done by
writer's fiat. The ploted needed Renard to go bad so he did.

[suzeeq]

They could yet pull another spell out of their bag of tricks and say he
was influenced.

[David Barnett]

In article <anim8rfsk-B47CC1.16524307012017

LOL

--
David Barnett

[EGK]

They could do that but I think it will look like what it is. The writers
doint a poor job of making it up as they go and trying to retcon things to
fit.

[Neill Massello]

suzeeq <su...@imbris.com> wrote:

> They could yet pull another spell out of their bag of tricks and say he
> was influenced.

He was hacked by the Russians.

[Obveeus]

This show has always had Nick distrusting Renard even though they have
almost always been working together towards the same end. Along the
way, though, they have had Renard act power hungry on several occasions
as he got keys, coins, political office nominations, heard about family
assassinations that created job openings, etc...

The result has always been annoying since it always seems jarring when
Renard does anything directly against Nick. ...and, like you hint at,
the 'solution' is often that Renard has been under some sort of spell or
mind control type event.

[~consul]

On 1/7/2017 2:55 PM, Obveeus wrote:
> On 1/7/2017 1:07 PM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
>> Emerald City - I liked this more than Arthur, but less than Obv did.

>> and 2) making all of the Witches, esp. Glinda, EVOL!!1!
> There is no indication that any of the witches are EVOL at this point.
> One witch put other magic practicers into a mud pit, but that doesn't
> make her evil. Glinda and the drug addict were both conniving, for
> sure, but they didn't reveal their plan so how can you determine that
> they are all evil?
>> Bottom line: These guys are
>> obviously trying too hard to make this "dark", and it's actually
>> undercutting what they're trying to do.
> I agree that they were going out of their way to make it dark. I
> don't think it got in the way. What got in the way was the slow pace,
> trying to give viewers time to adapt to the asthetic, but not giving
> them anything to really be hooked by.

I like it so far, though it is different for folks if you only read
the first book. I read the 14 that Baum wrote, and he gets pretty dark
himself. That whole bit about the mud pit for unauthorized magic users
is pretty accurate to the book. In the novels, Ozma and Dorothy are as
militant about folks who use magic. Anyone who uses it, even for their
own personal use is politly asked by Dorothy to stop using it ... or else.

The adult dynamics of Oz in the Wicked book series brings some of that
in as well.
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here,
at the end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
--till next time, consul

[~consul]

On 1/7/2017 3:43 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 1/7/2017 11:48 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>> On 1/7/2017 11:37 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
>>> On 1/7/2017 6:07 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>>> EMERALD CITY: The two hour series premiere of this WIZARD OF OZ

>>>> We even get an explanation for why the yellow brick road is yellow
>>>> because these are the burning questions, I guess.
>>> I must have tuned out and missed the explanation.
>> Opium pollen. getting trod along the road.
> Which is not opium. Its not even an ingredient that goes into making
> opium. Its the sap from the Poppy plant that is the base for opium
> and opiods. (Poppy _seeds_ in baked goods have been known to produce
> false positive results in urine tests but even those aren't
> hallucinogenic.)

I think they did reference the flowers and the pollen as coming from
Poppies.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

Very interesting! Thanks.