I thought most of the first season was pretty awful (except the first storyline). I actually felt bad for Rutger Hauer that he was in such an embarrassing storyline (it didn't help that he had obviously showed up to the set drunk). And if I never again in my life see Barry Bostwick in a WAY-too-revealing kilt, I can die a happy man (and I bet he thought the gold lamé costume in Megaforce would be the worst wardrobe of his career).
I thought the second season was the best by far. "Brigadoom" was actually remarkably dramatic for such a simple idea--easily my favorite episode of the whole run. And "791" and "White Trash" were hilarious.
The third season was just a slog to watch. Like the early second season of Battlestar Galactica, it was like the writers just suddenly decided to spend an entire season seeing how much abuse they could poor on both the characters and the audience. I was glad so glad when they left it behind. Much as I loved Nigel Bennett in Forever Knight, by the end of that season I just wanted his character dead.
The fourth season was pure satire, and it did have a few funny moments (VERY few), but for the most part it was an abysmal mess--an exercise in how NOT to be funny. About the only good thing I can say about it was that Patricia Zentilli was kind of cute.
You know, we slashdotters, as natural problem-solvers, should get together and work on a program to do that. It's a pretty pie-in-the-sky idea, though. Hey, that gives me an idea. We should call it "Pie-in-the-Sky."
No, sounds too hokey. Need something more computer-sounding. How about "Skynet"?
Usually these sort of "and then they came to earth..." plotlines are cost-cutting measures (so they can shoot in "regular" locations instead of on elaborate sets). They also often represent "jump the shark" moments for a series. When they did this on Lexx, the show (which had already begun to go way downhill in the previous season) went from bad to ABYSMAL.
I'm sure a lot of people are going to respond to this comment with "But ISP's are private entities, not the government postal service." But the harsh fact is that most people have little more choice in their ISP's than they do in their postal service. Most people are like me. I have a grand total of two options if I want a broadband internet connection: AT&T's DSL service and Comcast's cable service. So basically, I can't anymore just "take my business elsewhere" (if I got banned for alleged piracy) than I could with the postal service. Getting banned from these two private entities would effectively cut me off from the internet permanently, with no recourse. That's pretty serious business in an age where your very livelihood can depend on the internet (particularly if you're a techie like me).
Aside from the fallout pun, why is this being modded funny? Informative, yes. But someone losing their job in this economy (and I gathered he was laid off, not fired) is not particularly humorous to me.
I feel the same way about my identical twins. I've already told them "Boys, if one of you dies, I'm killing the other one too." It would just be too creepy to keep the other one around.
I'm writing an original story about a slashdotter who posts a wise-ass challenge on a message forum, never realizing that the guy he's challenging is slowly sneaking up behind him with a baseball bat. I call it "HERE'S Something You Haven't Seen Before, Buddy!" Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are producing.
Of course, it's probably best known for its visual style and cyberpunk setting. But, for me, the movie's underlying question of "What truly makes someone a human?" is the most interesting part. The Roy Batty character seems at first to be just the traditional bad guy. But, by the end, you come to realize that his ultimate goal is simply to assert his own humanity. He and his group are just trying to claim the things that humans take for granted (a long life, freedom, etc.) because they feel that they deserve them. That's a pretty powerful character arc.
The first time my AT&T account gives me shit when I go to pirate bay, I'm going over to Time Warner. And when Time Warner gives me shit, then I will sit around all day and remember the good old days when the internet was open and free and we had a large number of different ISP's to choose from (before the dial-up's were replaced by one DSL company and one cable company).
The great thing about a follow-up to Memento is that it would be equally effective as either a prequel or sequel. It wouldn't really matter either way.
I think it's being a bit nitpicky to say that Memento wasn't original, considering that the short story it was based on was unpublished and written by the screenplay's co-writer (and brother of the director). That's sort of like Billy Bob Thornton being forced into the "Best Adapted Screenplay" category for Sling Blade instead of "Best Original Screenplay," even though the stage production and short that Sling Blade was "adapted" from were just early incarnations of the story created entirely by Thornton himself.
Actually, I would MUCH rather them make "Legally Blonde 5: In Her 30's, Tits Starting to Drag Now" than "Blade Runner 2." Why? Because a sequel can actually tarnish an original, that's why. It's easy to forget the genuine creepiness of a movie like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" when it's buried under a ton of awful sequels--turning the once-intimidating Freddy Krueger into little more than a glorified stand-up comedian. It's easy to forget that "Friday the 13th" was actually a pretty clever twist on "Halloween" (spoiler alert: it's a slasher movie where the legendary killer turns out not to have been the villain), because it gets lost in the morass of paint-by-numbers sequels.
In the case of a movie like "Legally Blonde," who gives a shit if it gets a crappy sequel? You can't tarnish a turd. But in the case of a classic, why sully it with a terrible sequel? Do you really want to see a "Highlander 2" turn your beloved immortals into mere aliens?
Who exactly is he going to press charges with? The departments that oversee these laws rarely take any action (like he said, he tried to file a complaint, only for them to tell him they weren't going to do anything about it). So what is he going to do, dial 911 and tell the cops?
How about you devote all the energy, time, and effort that you would have put into doing yet another ill-advised sequel or remake into writing something ORIGINAL? Who knows, you may actually produce the next Memento, Reservoir Dogs, or Slumdog Millionaire. At the very least, you'll be able to sleep at night. Do you really want to die being best known as the "asshole who wrote that god-awful sequel to Blade Runner"?
And, on a related note, if you're a filmmaker and have ever thought to yourself "Hey, I bet a remake of 'It's a Wonderful Life' starring Ice Cube and some sassy kids would be great!" please, dear God, stay out of Hollywood.
Slashdot Mirror
My grandpappy stayed on this mountain, and I'll be damned if I'm going to leave it! I'm staying righ#@$#@%$NO CARRIER
Would you prefer they brought back Barry Bostwick in the kilt?
I thought most of the first season was pretty awful (except the first storyline). I actually felt bad for Rutger Hauer that he was in such an embarrassing storyline (it didn't help that he had obviously showed up to the set drunk). And if I never again in my life see Barry Bostwick in a WAY-too-revealing kilt, I can die a happy man (and I bet he thought the gold lamé costume in Megaforce would be the worst wardrobe of his career).
I thought the second season was the best by far. "Brigadoom" was actually remarkably dramatic for such a simple idea--easily my favorite episode of the whole run. And "791" and "White Trash" were hilarious.
The third season was just a slog to watch. Like the early second season of Battlestar Galactica, it was like the writers just suddenly decided to spend an entire season seeing how much abuse they could poor on both the characters and the audience. I was glad so glad when they left it behind. Much as I loved Nigel Bennett in Forever Knight, by the end of that season I just wanted his character dead.
The fourth season was pure satire, and it did have a few funny moments (VERY few), but for the most part it was an abysmal mess--an exercise in how NOT to be funny. About the only good thing I can say about it was that Patricia Zentilli was kind of cute.
You know, we slashdotters, as natural problem-solvers, should get together and work on a program to do that. It's a pretty pie-in-the-sky idea, though. Hey, that gives me an idea. We should call it "Pie-in-the-Sky."
No, sounds too hokey. Need something more computer-sounding. How about "Skynet"?
Point takenb. The BBC doesn't exactly throw big piles of money at their shows to begin with.
Usually these sort of "and then they came to earth..." plotlines are cost-cutting measures (so they can shoot in "regular" locations instead of on elaborate sets). They also often represent "jump the shark" moments for a series. When they did this on Lexx, the show (which had already begun to go way downhill in the previous season) went from bad to ABYSMAL.
I'm sure a lot of people are going to respond to this comment with "But ISP's are private entities, not the government postal service." But the harsh fact is that most people have little more choice in their ISP's than they do in their postal service. Most people are like me. I have a grand total of two options if I want a broadband internet connection: AT&T's DSL service and Comcast's cable service. So basically, I can't anymore just "take my business elsewhere" (if I got banned for alleged piracy) than I could with the postal service. Getting banned from these two private entities would effectively cut me off from the internet permanently, with no recourse. That's pretty serious business in an age where your very livelihood can depend on the internet (particularly if you're a techie like me).
Aside from the fallout pun, why is this being modded funny? Informative, yes. But someone losing their job in this economy (and I gathered he was laid off, not fired) is not particularly humorous to me.
I feel the same way about my identical twins. I've already told them "Boys, if one of you dies, I'm killing the other one too." It would just be too creepy to keep the other one around.
"Jim, find a puppy that looks like this one in the picture and we'll split $155,000."
Sorry, I don't read fanfic.
I'm writing an original story about a slashdotter who posts a wise-ass challenge on a message forum, never realizing that the guy he's challenging is slowly sneaking up behind him with a baseball bat. I call it "HERE'S Something You Haven't Seen Before, Buddy!" Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are producing.
I want 5 points on the back end and it's yours.
Must...you...slasdotters....be...pittedagainsteachother?
Of course, it's probably best known for its visual style and cyberpunk setting. But, for me, the movie's underlying question of "What truly makes someone a human?" is the most interesting part. The Roy Batty character seems at first to be just the traditional bad guy. But, by the end, you come to realize that his ultimate goal is simply to assert his own humanity. He and his group are just trying to claim the things that humans take for granted (a long life, freedom, etc.) because they feel that they deserve them. That's a pretty powerful character arc.
The first time my AT&T account gives me shit when I go to pirate bay, I'm going over to Time Warner. And when Time Warner gives me shit, then I will sit around all day and remember the good old days when the internet was open and free and we had a large number of different ISP's to choose from (before the dial-up's were replaced by one DSL company and one cable company).
Wouldn't a true libertarian (lowercase "l") eschew the idea of parties?
The great thing about a follow-up to Memento is that it would be equally effective as either a prequel or sequel. It wouldn't really matter either way.
I think it's being a bit nitpicky to say that Memento wasn't original, considering that the short story it was based on was unpublished and written by the screenplay's co-writer (and brother of the director). That's sort of like Billy Bob Thornton being forced into the "Best Adapted Screenplay" category for Sling Blade instead of "Best Original Screenplay," even though the stage production and short that Sling Blade was "adapted" from were just early incarnations of the story created entirely by Thornton himself.
Bah, Tykwer just stole the idea from "Clean Slate".
In the case of a movie like "Legally Blonde," who gives a shit if it gets a crappy sequel? You can't tarnish a turd. But in the case of a classic, why sully it with a terrible sequel? Do you really want to see a "Highlander 2" turn your beloved immortals into mere aliens?
Bah, don't worry. I'm sure Keanu will do a fine job as Decker.
Who exactly is he going to press charges with? The departments that oversee these laws rarely take any action (like he said, he tried to file a complaint, only for them to tell him they weren't going to do anything about it). So what is he going to do, dial 911 and tell the cops?
Let me tell you about my mother.
How about you devote all the energy, time, and effort that you would have put into doing yet another ill-advised sequel or remake into writing something ORIGINAL? Who knows, you may actually produce the next Memento, Reservoir Dogs, or Slumdog Millionaire. At the very least, you'll be able to sleep at night. Do you really want to die being best known as the "asshole who wrote that god-awful sequel to Blade Runner"?
And, on a related note, if you're a filmmaker and have ever thought to yourself "Hey, I bet a remake of 'It's a Wonderful Life' starring Ice Cube and some sassy kids would be great!" please, dear God, stay out of Hollywood.