21 Comments

1. 

   Bianca Horkan on August 27, 2020 at 9:30 am

   Wonder Woman 1984
   I “know” how/why we get Steve Trevor back — and I’m NOT happy that I know. Dang hidden spoilers! That said, this is the #1 movie for me that DC/WB is putting out. Diana/Wonder Woman is my favorite since Lynda Carter put on those satin tights and I watched The Superfriends on Saturday mornings. When we got the first movie from Patty Jenkins — it was so beautiful — I cried. Themyscria was so amazing. It was all I could have imagined and more.
   I love Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Diana.
   I’m all in. I can’t wait to see this movie — and yes, I would prefer to see it on the big screen.

   Black Adam:
   I don’t know much about Black Adam, but I love Dwayne Johnson’s passion about the character. The fact that he’s linked to SHAZAM! and the SHAZAM! Family. The fact that they’re linking this movie to the JSA…very intriguing. I’ll be watching this one for sure.

   The Batman
   I’ve only seen Robert Pattinson in some of the Twilight movies so I have zero idea of how he’s performed in movies since then — but I’ve heard really good things about his acting ability. I’m willing to keep my mind open for his work as The Batman/Bruce Wayne. We’ll see how this, Year Two, version of Bruce/The Bat operates and evolves. I love Jeffrey Wright — his choice to play Gordon is truly inspired; love it.

   The Flash – CW
   I wanted to be excited for this — truly — but I was not. The treatment of Iris this season was really, really horrible. Part of it was the Mirror Universe business but come on!
   I just don’t know if I have it in me to be excited for something we were supposed to see for season 6. I’ll still watch but it’s not going to be easy.

   Justice League: The Snyder Cut
   I really enjoyed the version we got but I knew that it wasn’t what Snyder wanted/envisioned.
   The fact that we are going to get more character development for everyone — especially Cyborg — is excellent. For him and Flash, and even Arthur…we (the audience, not “me”) barely know anything about them. Hopefully this new version — all four hours of it (!!!) — will help to flesh out our heroes. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll make them a bit more likable.

   Suicide Squad 2
   It just looks like it’s going to be so much fun! King Shark is going to be in a movie!!!!!!

   Ok, enough rambling — I’m out! LOL
   -Bianca

   Reply
2. 

   Aaron on August 27, 2020 at 2:55 pm

   Some blog post comments…

   “I simply cannot wait for Diana to lasso the lightning in theaters later this year.” – or next year, or the year after that depending on how things go. Ha. We might just get to see it when they release the DVD because they’re tired of not making money back on it. You know it would be awesome if they did a collector’s edition for this movie where the case is shaped like a VHS given the time period of the movie. 🙂

   “I was sad not to see Azie Tesfai on the panel.” – she should have been; I will admit I haven’t watched all of the Fandome things, and I won’t because some I don’t care about, but again I am bummed at the lack of “Supergirl” representation at this event. Yes we have David and Nicole but it’s not the same; the Women Of Color panel was perfect for Azie and this is a virtual event so it’s like why isn’t she there? Honestly the only cast member who has a good reason for not being there is Melissa but you could argue being virtual she could have recorded something and this whole event was pre recorded so yeah they could have done more on the “Supergirl” front and this is one example of how. As Leslie pointed out last episode we’re suppose to return to filming before even “Flash” and they worked up a trailer which may or may not be last season clips (I don’t know because I don’t watch the show) but still they had something and they dominated the television side of the event. I know it’s because they are still the top show ratings wise but still everyone got something for their show except “Supergirl” which feels weird especially as you have David and Nicole there and again as I said you could have had them do a 10 minute but just answering fan questions and hyping up the new season and talking about what the show means to them – you never have to mention season 5 really!

   Hopefully with them pushing the TV stuff to September we’ll get something on “Supergirl” because again this is a virtual event so you have less excuse for someone not to be there as they can literally record anywhere and any when! Yes the cast will supposedly be filming that month but they don’t film 24/7 and some of them won’t film every day and even still you know this is coming DC so get them before they get busy. It is not a hard thing to do to include a “Supergirl” piece in the September block!

   “When a powerful alien weapon falls into the wrong hands, it will take the combined might of Batwoman and Supergirl together to save the city from the Religion of Crime!” – one of the many plots that could have been done had Kate still been Batwoman. They may try to force it with Ryan but we need another season basically to make that friendship work to the level Kate’s and Kara’s was being built so I wouldn’t expect this soon unless they rush it which sadly I also wouldn’t put past them. Aside from “Stargirl” I’m nervous about the DCTV universe this season for the series I watch(ed).

   “Next Time On Maid of Steel!
   Favorite Episodes #3: “Red Faced”” – it’s time Monty!!! 🙂 You have to guest host on that podcast if you can because this is your episode. 🙂

   On to the podcast…

   No K-Vox? Forget this episode! *flip an object and walk off* ?

   There is no comic panel after that massive layoff. 🙁 I don’t know how they’re going to spin that news.

   Congratulations on your first convention Justina!!! 🙂

   “We will get something from Galaxy Con” – it’s sad we have to get the content from another convention though. Again DCTV is rolling out something for everyone except us and it’s like you can’t even toss us a teaser trailer with a lot of clips from the series but some new voice over stuff? Give us something already because it’s really feeling like you don’t care about us and I still say we are one of the best series in the superhero world and on the CW network! Yes season was hot garbage but we are more than just season five.

   The after show must always be done! 🙂

   WONDER WOMAN!!! Oh man just the audio for this gets me hyped again; Diana as portrayed by Gal and headed by Patty is perfection and rightfully has earned her place as the new face of DC films going forward. Reeves may be a gold standard and Keaton may have owned the start of the modern era but Gadot is the one to usher in a future for films and hopefully they can live up to her because while I do expect 84 to be maybe not as good as WW I still think it will be one of the best series to ever come out of DC movies, it’s just that good. 🙂 Wonder Woman with this team is the Iron Man for DC!

   As for Steve, he’s again got to be a ghost or a vision created by Faust to distract Diana because that dude is dead. I really hope they don’t rewrite WW to say someone saved him before the plane exploded and now it’s really him because that would cheapen the first film some I have to say and definitely cheapen that emotional scene by Chris Pine. I won’t say it would destroy it because Steve’s intent to die is still there but it would cheapen it.

   Great sound effect there John regarding Maxwell Lord. 🙂

   Man I want them to give Mary-Elizabeth Winstead a solo Huntress movie after the Harley movie!

   Again I don’t think 84 will top WW, but it may be good also and be close. I think a lot of it is going to depend on how they use Steve and explain him being around because again if he’s starched out of time that’s going to feel cheap and if they use him too heavily to the point Diana is babysitting him that’s going to be annoying so I think a lot is going to ride on how Steve Treavor is handled and then of course how does Cheetah work for her introduction and is Lord really a threat or just someone there so they can be the threat in part three instead. Again I’m excited but I am reserving my expectations some because I’d rather have it be WW all over again than hope for WW quality again but get something that’s not.

   Okay I have to say the boat scene in “Wonder Woman” annoys me some, mainly when it comes to Diana acting like she doesn’t know what marriage is – girl you aunt is with her second in command you know what marriage is! I can concede some that scene was definitely Diana messing with Steve just to see what he would say to things but that part just felt like she should have known better and it kind of feels like someone wanted to avoid any comments that could be made about how Diana is bisexual. Yes it’s true Diana does lean towards mean but she’s not straight; I wish they would have had a line that followed up his comment about marriage that had Diana saying “You mean a bonding ceremony?” or something that shows she knows what the idea is because she may not call the joining of two people marriage but she knows what marriage is. This may just be my nitpick but that part of the movie does annoy me. Diana even married two women recently in a comic so she knows about and supports queer people so yeah movie hook her up with Steve because we all know it’s going that way even if you know nothing about the character but don’t try and act like she’s stupid.

   “Black Adam” is Dewayne’s “Deadpool”. 🙂 It was a good and fun presentation but it doesn’t really do much to tell you what the movie will be like because it was all animated. Then again that could be a good thing and it would certainly be unique to have a comic book film have its trailers animated and you only get little pieces of possible scenes so you avoid spoilers. I doubt they’ll do that but if done right Johnson could really have an amazing promotions campaign for this film!

   The Batman trailer makes for a good audio ride too as you listen to the podcast; I’ll probably see the movie but I have to say it’s more a middle of the pack film right now for me than a must see like WW84. Killing on specific dates seems more Calendar Man than Riddler so maybe they’re partners or Riddler uses him to distract Batman? Is Geoff coming back to discuss “Batwoman” when that happens as he’s the Bat guy for GSM? 🙂

   Was the Godspeed in the trailer the same Godspeed as in season five? If so, take him down and save Leah! Again when FLASH ends I hope they get Jessica back to be Nora. 🙂

   Same character but a different actor you say? TAKE NOTE “Batwoman”! ?

   I thought Cisco was leaving because the actor wanted to do other things?

   Stop using “World’s Finest” as a title for books that aren’t about Helena and Kara, that is their title when working together; yes I know you can have other team ups which use that name but when it comes to Kara it’s usually her and Helena so if you’re going to keep using that then give us Helena in an adventure as Huntress and Supergirl have history too because of the Huntress and Powergirl dynamic. I would again love to see Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) on “Supergirl” but I also kind of get if they never do it as Alex is pretty anti hero enough to nod to that dynamic without getting Huntress on because maybe they want to keep her to the “Arrow” spin off which again when is that coming already CW?!

   Agreed John, give us all the Gal as Diana!!! I’m also happy Steppenwolf is going to look different; I hope they also give the Amazons real clothes like Patty had for them not just leaving the bikinis. Everything said I’m still more cautious about this…I’m reserving my expectations again; hopefully they’ll have it more on than just HBOMax so people can watch it (I get having it there for the first year maybe to sell it but then go to regular TV or DVD).

   It depends on the quality of content in those four hours. 😉

   Justina is correct, they showed Courtney as Earth 2 so if she’s now Earth Prime then season one has to be pre Crisis. This would then go to some things you all have been saying about is this the same version now because this is literally a new world and only the Paragons remember what happened but we know “Stargirl” kept their writing team so they’ll probably act as if Crisis never happened. Ha. Let’s be real – Crisis is a mess with plot holes when you break it down and they’ll never be able to explain it in a way that makes full sense; Crisis was just so Oliver could go out as some big hero for the universe to say thanks to Stephen for helping to get this all started, it makes no sense in anyone’s story except maybe Barry’s because he was all gung-ho to die and I highly suspect they’ll just never mention it again because of the plot holes it brings up. Ha.

   Again I’m wondering if Flash’s artificial speed bubble will be how they bring in “Stargirl” if they remember she is on Earth 2 in season one; they may not remember and as Justina says she just wakes up and things are different but if they do I can see Barry again being what changes things.

   I hope you enjoy the pie Justina; I know it’s not the easiest to make with the instructions I left but hopefully you get where it’s going as you cook. We may be miscommunicating on pudding but I still think it’s different from what you’re thinking possible. Also I have a new recipe to post (not sure if it will up before season start or just during a Thanksgiving era hiatus episode but as a teaser it’s a no bake eclair); fair warning this is not a new after show feature where during Thanksgiving I post food bits, I don’t cook enough to do that. 🙂

   Awe man there was no blooper/extra at the end of this episode; you can give us two for “Red Faced” then. 🙂

   Reply
3. 

   Montefescu on August 27, 2020 at 11:13 pm

   My Fandome stuff was put up in the Livewire aftershow. I am too depressed to repeat it here. “Red Faced” can be found also in the Livewire aftershow.

   Aaron, it is late, I am watching the Galcon sludge for the Supergirl stuff.

   I don’t know if I can even set up for “Red Faced” (Jon PM me?) My work does not allow for much on-line aside from what I can contribute here.

   Monty

   Reply
4. 

   Aaron on August 28, 2020 at 5:53 am

   I’m glad you contribute these posts Monty! 🙂

   Reply
5. 

   Montefescu on August 28, 2020 at 11:26 pm

   This has already been seen?

   SUPERGIRL Cast Panel – Wizard World Virtual Experiences 2020

   https://youtu.be/wzf8eZ6LmhY

   The panel features Mehcad Brooks?

   Sam Witwer *(Agent Liberty / Ben Lockwood) Ugh. I have written enough about how much I detested portrayal.

   Jesse Rath. Ugh.

   Erica Durance. (Season 6; appearances? She is in Vancouver at the moment.)

   Nicole Maines. Out of Austin, Texas. Where I am as I watch this panel.

   Helen Slater is working post-grad on a Mythology degree? Great for her!

   That was your panel on 25, July 2020.

   Uhm. Let us see how it works?

   Actually some good commentary about the SJW mission of the show. I am not too impressed with some of the actors as to their PR skills. Sam Witwer is atrocious in that regard.

   ===================================

   The moderator is terrible. Not a very good setup and follow up manager for a discussion panel.

   Nicole Maines acquits herself well.

   Lots of praise, from the entire cast and panel, for Melissa Benoist as the tone setter and lead actor of the troupe. Good for her.

   Dreamer vs. Supergirl. Who wins? Comic book nerd question.

   ==============================================

   Now technicals…

   Stunts… Oh, boy: during a stunt fight sequence in Season 4; Sam Witwer and Mehcad Brooks made a stunt pass that seriously injured Mister Brooks’ eye. Apparently a Hollywood grapple move where Agent Liberty tries to throttle Jimmy Olsen from behind was not choereographed properly and part of Agent Liberty’s costume during that grapple came undone and caused the injury which Mister Brooks, as of that airing states has not healed.

   Stunt co-ordinator and costumer are both accountable for those safety bolos. Ultimately the showrunners have a “Batwoman type incident” for which to legally answer.

   Direct quote: Mehcad Brooks; “We had a lot of injuries on that show…”

   Who the HELLO is managing safety and technicals on set?

   ===================================

   Helen Slater on acting mechanics; Chyler and Helen (Probably Live Wire) “a child not being valued”. Friendsgiving scene. Good discussion.

   ===================================

   Erica Durance is a waste of time. She brings nothing of substance to the panel as she talks about “parenting” on Supergirl.

   ===================================

   Actor / writer feedback loop. Sam Witwer blows it.

   ===================================

   These actors are not technically adept in conference call protocols.

   ===================================

   Mehcad Brooks on playing Jimmy Olsen. Finding the character. Not that I ever think Mehcad ever found his inner Jimmy, but he articulates his search well.

   ===================================

   Brainiac 5

   Jesse Rath actually homeworks his role. He is committed to the history of the character. Good for him. Too bad, actually, he cannot act “his six different parts”, is it not?

   Blue or green?

   Jesse prefers Green because he dislikes the light headgear required for the blue look.

   ===================================

   Crossovers…

   Nicole Maines loves the Flash crossover.

   Jesse and Mehcad liked the Crisis of Infinite Worlds crossover, the Derek Simon trash episode I positively hated.

   Erica Durance blipped about her scenes with Tom Welling in the Sterling Gates written episode. To be honest I do not remember her at all in those scenes with Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch and Tom Welling. I tend to blank out the BAD stuff after a while.

   ===========================================

   Stealing props.

   Helen Slater has a Supergirl 1984 leotard story that i found funny. Ever wonder how Wonder Woman 1984 got its title?

   Jesse Rath stole a prop out of the Fortress of Certiitude set. I don’t know that i would announce in public and show evidence of pilfering to the show-runners and the audience but that is me, “legal Monty” always checking six for bolos in the rear view mirror. Yup. Actually Jesse Rath brings a lot of heartwarming to the panel. He might be unemployed after this stunt; but good for him!

   ===================================

   Sam Witwer’s best acting on Supergirl? Guess what scenes those were? Hint: Braindead Jesse was involved.

   ===================================

   Season 6 hints?

   What is “the essence of the Legion of Duper Heroes story” supposed to mean? Is Braindead going to make it? Will Sam Witwer take over the part? Is Dreamer going to fall asleep in the middle of the thrilling intro to episode 601? Why is Mehcad Brooks on the panel again?

   Tentative return to shooting schedule is September 28 as of that panel, but it has changed again?

   Looks like Helen Slater is slated (PUN!) for at least two episodes. Sam Witwer is in Vancouver, so… UGH on him.

   =============================================

   Technicals… COVID

   The Vancouver situation is a bit of a whiffle ball, BUT IN ATLANTA…

   Helen Slater dropped a bomb. Here it is…

   The showrunners for Black Lightning and Stargirl have the resources of the former Fort McPherson at their disposal to do pre-show set delousing and cast and crew medical screenings. I did not know that. Mehcad Brooks claims that he has shot scenes in Atlanta at that location but he did not clarify for whose shows or what episodes.

   Tyler Perry Studios.

   https://tylerperrystudios.com/

   ===================================

   Podding

   Actors, crews, and directors and creatives will be podded like fish for production and COVID containment reasons. Interesting that Jesse Rath has these details and so does Mehcad Brooks. Even Helen Slater seems well briefed on how bit is supposed to work.

   ===================================

   Technicals and crafts / actors.

   Remoting / teleacting / self-crafting (dressing and makeup). The actors who have stage experience; Slater, Durance and to some extent Brooks, will have an edge over Maines, Rath and Wetwir who had craft people craft work on them. It is a containment protocol environment.

   As Ms. Durance says; “Yeah, I get to work with a real actor, today!”

   Translation? We are going to see a lot less action set pieces, way fewer group shots, and a lot more two person talky scenes. This is going to look VERY SOAP OPERA 1960s / 1970s style as TV production values go.

   ======================================

   Best moment of the panel?

   Jesse Rath called the moderator at the panel participant exuents, “Lex Luthor”. It fits that nerf-muppet baldy with his pretentious goatee to a “Q”. Good on you, Jesse!

   ======================================

   Helen Slater gives the sign-off with the “John Lewis” parable.

   Monty

   ===================================

   Reply
6. 

   Montefescu on August 28, 2020 at 11:31 pm

   1:34 / 48:10

   #FandomSpotlite #Supergirl #Superman and Lois
   SUPERGIRL Superman & James Panel – Wizard World Cleveland 2020

   https://youtu.be/wSCrA5JFow0

   And I think we know where Mehcad Brooks will wind up.

   Monty

   Reply
7. 

   Montefescu on August 29, 2020 at 12:10 am

   This has already been seen?

   SUPERGIRL Cast Panel – Wizard World Virtual Experiences 2020

   https://youtu.be/wzf8eZ6LmhY

   Short version.

   Monty

   Reply
8. 

   Montefescu on August 29, 2020 at 12:27 am

   Okay, Mehcad Brooks, did “Fall From Grace” a Netflix project at Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta. Refer to the Wizard Con Supergirl Panel for the background on this item.

   Monty

   Reply
9. 

   Montefescu on August 31, 2020 at 2:07 pm

   Supergirl (TV Series):”Red Faced” (2015)

   Full Cast & Crew

   Directed by Jesse Warn

   Writing Credits
   Otto Binder … (based on characters created by) and
   Al Plastino … (based on characters created by)

   Greg Berlanti … (developed by) &
   Ali Adler … (developed by) &
   Andrew Kreisberg … (developed by)

   Michael Grassi … (written by) &
   Rachel Shukert … (written by)

   Caitlin Parrish … (executive story editor)

   Derek Simon … (staff writer) (uncredited)

   Cast (in credits order)
   Melissa Benoist … Kara Danvers / Supergirl
   Mehcad Brooks … James Olsen
   Chyler Leigh … Alex Danvers
   Jeremy Jordan … Winn Schott
   David Harewood … Hank Henshaw
   Calista Flockhart … Cat Grant
   Peter Facinelli … Maxwell Lord
   Jenna Dewan … Lucy Lane (as Jenna Dewan Tatum)
   Glenn Morshower … General Sam Lane
   Iddo Goldberg … Red Tornado / T. O. Morrow
   Luke Macfarlane … Agent Donovan
   Joan Juliet Buck … Katherine Grant
   Briana Venskus … Agent Vasquez
   Joe Bucaro III … Convertible Driver
   Thom Williams … Suburu Driver

   Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
   Nancy Barcellona … Catco Employee (uncredited)
   Laura Kranz Galvan … Scared Pedestrian (uncredited)
   Maria Elena Heredia … Catco Employee (uncredited)
   Punnavith Koy … Street Pedestrian (uncredited)

   Review: Henry Jeeran edited this episode. OUTSTANDING work he did: the intercuts of the fight between Kara and Red Tornado and the fight between Alex and T.O. Morrow at the climax was a superb exercise in visual storytelling and parallelism; the finest I’ve ever seen. Jesse Warn directed it. Good directing he did: if paced at fast warp speed because he had a lot of distance in this episode and themes and story to cover in a mere 43 minutes.

   Michael Grassi and Rachel Shukert turned in a literate “Star Trek, The Old Seris like” script, that use connected vignette scenes that relies on audience feedback loops to fill in almost 60% of the story background they imply in their highly condensed shorthand. They are LITERATE!

   The stunt-work and practicals are incredible. The FX overall, while generally TV quality (including CGI), are just good enough to add to the story-telling instead of detract from it. Even the goofy-looking suit that Iddo Goldberg wore, when he played the android, was excellent in design in that it allowed Iddo to play his humanity inside that puppet costume.

   Themes:

   1. Anger management; not anger suppression. THIS is the episode when I knew that David Harewood was the Martian Manhunter and Big Daddy Martian. He mentors Kara right off the incident with the two idiots in the Lexus and Subaru playing bumper cars and about to crash into the school bus. If one has read the classic Manhunter, his anger comes from his perceived moral “cowardice” and failure to protect his family during the Martian civil war. It is self-loathing in his case. But we will learn that in this series sense as far as this episode, it is loss of home, family, identity, isolation and the “Stranger in a Strange Land” syndrome (Robert Heinlein) that he recognizes and shares with Kara. This is the audience feedback loop I mentioned earlier.
   2. Anger management as manipulation. Whether it is Sam Lane or Cat Grant’s mother, there are archetypes of people, who cruise blissfully through life as button-pushers; people who seem to read other people and know exactly what to say and do to render their targets impotent with rage or befuddled with anger; because they, the befuddled, know that if they give way that they will do something they regret. The button pushers are most happy when they can take up residence rent free in other people’s minds.
   3. HOWEVER… Sam Lane, for all that he is a self-righteous, smug person, this episode, sets aside his own anger at Jimmy and the button-pushing manipulation long enough to deliver a candid DEVASTATING and accurate character read on one Mister James Olsen to aforesaid character as characterized in DC comics and in this series up to and through season three. James Olsen is a human remora hanging around the sharks, sucking his sustenance off his friends and loves. Kind of bitter to write it that way, but Grassi and Shukert are faithful to the source material.
   4. Anger at self-failure; for no good reason. Pick a loser. Alex is moping because she thinks she has failed Kara. Kara is moping because she thinks she has failed at making a normal life for herself. Jimmy is moping because he realizes that Same Lane told him the truth. BDM is moping because he thinks he has flunked the hero test. Cat is moping because she thinks she has flunked the parent approval test. The self-assured button pushers, Sam Lane and Katherine Grant and to a lesser extent, Lucy Lane, do not have the self-loathing problem, because they are happily oblivious to the self-correction, self-analysis, look yourself in the mirror after you have just screwed up normalcy that the rest of us, characters in the story and in real life, have to do.
   5. Anger as monomaniacal psychosis. T.O. Morrow and his sock puppet exhibit this theme. Invest in a love too deeply and then see it criticized or threatened and then one can see anger is the bridge between the two emotional states. Sane human beings know when to let go and thus ease the pain and suffering they inflict on themselves and others when they experience this anger. How is it going, Doc? Got a bad case of Frankenstein and Monster; there? Notice it is Maxwell Lord, that cold calculating fish, who tells the other sharks, “Here is your problem, kill it.”
   6. Anger in the mirror. Refer to 4.. Cat drinks herself stupid at the bar, and she mentors Kara about this self-analysis part of being human. You know it is normal for us, gerbils, to be depressed and to be angry? We try to delude ourselves that we “should” be happy and at peace 100% of the time, but look at us. The big unanswered question at the heart of human anger is “WHY?” Not “To be or not to be?” as Shakespeare would have us believe. Kara punches the question out on a Toyota as James wimps out on the punching bag, as they both “look in the mirror and ask themselves… “WHY?”

   Why are we miserable?
   Why did we screw up?
   Why did this awful thing happen?
   Why are we jealous?”
   Why do we hurt?
   Why did we hurt the one(s) we love?
   Why did we lose our tempers?
   Why does nothing make any sense?

   Or an infinite number of variations, but “WHY?” is the heart of human anger.

   That is NORMAL.

   Supergirl sees her parents and her planet blow up in her mind’s eye as a visual metaphor and she has to do something with that pain and that anger. She sends it into Red Tornado and MURDERS another life for the first time of which she is consciously aware and responsible. This is after Alex tells her Red Tornado is SENTIENT. It is alive and aware for T.O. Morrow uploaded himself as Alex killed him in self defense.

   I only wish we had seen a similar visual metaphor for Alex, as Kara experiences, as she commits her own first murder. T.O. Morrow warned her, that she would have to kill him to stop him, remember? So, all we can do is infer from Chyler Leigh’s acting, that in addition to the anger she, she, as the Alex character, is supposed to feel at T.O. Morrow for trying to kill her, and her sister, she may have thought about who murdered her own father and why. And maybe there is a connection?

   By the way, what happened to Kara when she purged her anger and her pain? She became human and vulnerable. She cut her finger after she dropped a glass, especially after Cat Grant told her to be careful. How is that for a character growth coda?  Yikes. Good writing to the very finish.

   You can see now why I think this is the finest Supergirl episode ever made?

   50/50/50 out of 5/5/5 for acting, writing and directing……

   Whew… Blue in the face Monty, here, Let me know what you think.

   Adios; for now.

   Reply
10. 

    Montefescu on August 31, 2020 at 10:51 pm

    Aaron on August 27, 2020 at 2:55 pm
    “Some blog post comments…”

    Some blog post comments of my own.

    “ “I simply cannot wait for Diana to lasso the lightning in theaters later this year.” – or next year, or the year after that depending on how things go. Ha. We might just get to see it when they release the DVD because they’re tired of not making money back on it. You know it would be awesome if they did a collector’s edition for this movie where the case is shaped like a VHS given the time period of the movie. :)”

    It would be ironic.

    “ “I was sad not to see Azie Tesfai on the panel.” – she should have been; I will admit I haven’t watched all of the Fandome things, and I won’t because some I don’t care about, but again I am bummed at the lack of “Supergirl” representation at this event. Yes we have David and Nicole but it’s not the same; the Women Of Color panel was perfect for Azie and this is a virtual event so it’s like why isn’t she there? Honestly the only cast member who has a good reason for not being there is Melissa but you could argue being virtual she could have recorded something and this whole event was pre recorded so yeah they could have done more on the “Supergirl” front and this is one example of how. As Leslie pointed out last episode we’re supposed to return to filming before even “Flash” and they worked up a trailer which may or may not be last season clips (I don’t know because I don’t watch the show) but still they had something and they dominated the television side of the event. I know it’s because they are still the top show ratings wise but still everyone got something for their show except “Supergirl” which feels weird especially as you have David and Nicole there and again as I said you could have had them do a 10 minute but just answering fan questions and hyping up the new season and talking about what the show means to them – you never have to mention season 5 really!”

    As I watched the panels, I came to the conclusion that the whole Fandome event was packaged to highlight DC successes and to target specific consumer groups AT & T wanted to reach with their HBO + subscription service when it finally stands up next year. Now to be sure, the demographics of the population who are technologically forward using are young urban service and sales professionals and clericals. Insofar as DC intellectual properties are available to stream on this service?

    Wonder Woman
    Batman
    Suicide Squad
    Batman Superman (The Snyder Cut)
    Shazam
    Aquaman
    Black Adam
    Flash

    That’s it. Of those projects, the ones which do not stink on ice or have public relations disaster histories attached from the past or existing at present are…

    Wonder Woman, Shazam and Black Adam

    I will comment on each

    —————————————————————————————-

    Wonder Woman might have Patty Jenkins upset over corporate meddling in her script.

    https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/08/23/rumor-patty-jenkins-done-with-dc-and-wonder-woman-will-not-return-for-third-movie/

    The source; Midnight’s Edge has a 50% track record. Until I see definite information in the trades, this rumor is quite willow of the wisps.

    —————————————————————————————–

    Shazam is a mostly kids film and is supposed to open a wedge into the residual sales of toys and games to be sold as after movie tie-ins. There is some serious money possible, but what does Shazam have that can compete with a talking space raccoon plush toy? The pet Rock of Eternity?

    ——————————————————————————————

    Black Adam is so fresh in project concept that only the parts of Atom Smasher and Black Adam have been cast. There is no controversy.

    Dwayne the Rock Johnson has name recognition, but aside from people like me, who has heard of the Justice Society of America. (Now one sees why Stargirl is important and related to this movie property?)

    BTW, this JSA has the iteration of Powergirl as a core member, but I have not seen any castimng news for this part.

    ——————————————————————————————–

    What about the others?

    Batman… The smell of rip-off from Matt Reeves is strong with this project.

    Suicide Squad… This is where DC hopes lie and where AT and T have a huge gamble of their own. But there is a problem…

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7713068/

    The previous outing by Ms. Margot Robbie has not been too productive. Can James Gunn reign in She-Go’s ego and stay true to Ostrander? Shrug, I think the guy who brought you the talking raccoon plush toy can sell you Polka Dot Man action figures.

    Batman Superman (The Snyder Cut) is another AT and T gamble. The “Snyder Cut” could be a packaged mini-series to tent-pole the intro to the HBO+ service. It will be streamed in 4 one hour episode blocks. Get people to try HBO+ by arousing curiosity in it and only showing it there. I happen to be one of those people who will not bother watching it there, because I know it will not appeal to my ascetic of what quality film and kinematic storytelling should be; but then I am not the target market it is designed to hook. (More on the market strategy in a moment.)

    Aquaman. Really what could be wrong with Jason Momoa? Nothing is wrong with him. He’s perfect as far as the film creatives and the corporates are concerned. They love his Aquaman. Lots of tie-ins and good sales can come off of him as a character and actor. They can smell the money off the plush pet octopi and Black Manta action figures. How about Amber Heard? Whoops. Mera is a problem. I happen to like Amber Heard’s performance; but she brings baggage to the role. If Margot Robbie is She-Go with the ego, then Amber Heard brings a Texas temper to the proceedings.

    Flash… Ezra Miller really is the problem here. Seriously, his presence in the news on this project, ranging from scripts disputes to personality conflicts with the film creatives has been “unhelpful”.

    =========================================================================

    I understand why the film-centric emphasis on FanDome Day 1. ATT said push those projects and the DC Fandome organizers saluted the ATT and complied, ostensibly to support the Corporate program.

    But what about DC comics and the CW Arrowverse on day 1?

    =========================================================================

    Briefly, DC Comics is still in the midst of corporate restructure as a Warner’s subsidiary and an adjunct, a MINOR adjunct to that part and portion of the ATT corporate conglomerate. What they actually, as value, bring is Intellectual Property in the form of characters and copyrighted story in their “bibles”. Insofar as DC will survive to publish and produce new content, is based on what their reduced staff of editors and creatives can generate as NEW Intellectual Property aimed at a distinct market share demo that ATT/.Warner may have a hard time attracting into viewership and subscribers.

    Can you SMELL what the Rock is cooking? Disney/Marvel has Black Panther. DC has … Black Adam on the movie side… maybe.

    And STATIC SHOCK on the TV side. Definitely…

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247729/

    Already spent costs and in the can, ready to replay.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(DC_Comics)

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

    There is a demographic who loved Static and Dwayne McDuffie as a kid. I am one of them.

    Now one knows why the Milestone marker was laid down in Fandome and why it is important to DC and to Warner to sell it to ATT corporate.

    On the TV side, for the CW entries, the strongest case for Intellectual Property case going right now is The Flash. Hence the effort by Warner/DC on the movie side to hitch Grant Gustin (success) to Ezra Miller (problem) and hope the TV Flash rubs off on that movie individual. Success by association is the only reason the CW Flash was included in the movie centric day 1 presentation.

    ========================================================================

    The women of color panel was interesting for what demo was targeted and what Intellectual Properties were pushed. Teenagers, young girls, and the marginalized community was where that panel was aimed.

    In conjunction with the Milestone panel, Black Adam, and Jim Lee’s constant sales pitch between panels about diversity, inclusiveness and access to new audience (read sales and subscription service share in corporate speak), did you notice the Black Lightning, Flash, Teen Titans participants? Heavy dosages and exposure. The diversity successes were pushed HARD. Noticeably absent was Supergirl to a large extent. That was a conscious cold blooded marketing strategy decision. In Fandome, DC was not just trying to sell its product line of Intellectual Properties to the audience, but it was trying to sell itself to Warners and to ATT. “Look at what we can sell to the audience, and we can do it better than Marvel can, since we have better and more diverse characters to grab those slices of the demo.”

    Supergirl, despite Azie Tasfei, Dave Harewood, and Chyler Leigh; it was assumed, cannot sell that market share on its vision and its approach of social messaging as opposed to adventure.

    I do not happen to believe it has to be so, but the impression (GALCON panels) and the BAD WRITING sure leaves that sour impression.

    End of part 1.

    Reply
11. 

    Aaron on September 1, 2020 at 8:36 am

    Lane’s speech to James is just an example of why I debate him as the romance OTP for Kara; I needed to feel more clear over the season if James loved Kara for herself or just because she’s Supergirl and and I never really got that given the fact he came in knowing who she was so it’s hard to separate was he in love with Supergirl and Kara is a bonus or does he really like Kara even if she had no powers. Even if he said yes he loved Kara without powers would he have backed that up with action because it’s very easy to say something but hard to sometimes put our actions behind it. Being Guardian in season two did not help his case with me either because again it felt like he was in it for the power and popularity so I tend to think he was more in love with Supergirl at times than Kara Danvers which is why John it’s hard for me to say he is the best romance option for Kara.

    The Helgrumite is Alex’s first kill; I know they’ve tried to take it back and you could argue alien DNA but she killed that guy.

    As you said Monty, Alex was always going to have to kill Morrow, but that said I do think she was surprised at the when it happened; based off the look on her face when the shot went off I feel she didn’t mean to shoot him then, I think she actually was going to try and talk him down again or knock him out and try to remove the helmet but the gun discharged during the struggle and he died. Alex would have killed him if it meant saving Kara because she understands as she tells Kara in the season war isn’t fair and sometimes people have to die because no every bad guy stops just because you ask them to. Again though on rewatch I don’t think she meant to kill him when she did; she was going to stop him 100% and if that meant killing okay, but the shock on her face post firing makes me feel she didn’t mean for it to happen in that moment.

    Spoiler alert for my review Monty, I enjoyed “Red Faced” but I don’t love the episode; it’s more of an honorable mention than on the favorites list to me. I think it’s because I didn’t enjoy Sam Lane’s attitude or Cat’s mom’s, kudos to both actors because they clearly played their parts well to make me feel that way, but they just more annoyed me than being engaging bad guys for the heroes like Max who when he comes to condemn an action he does so with weight not just make the person simply angry. Lane’s best moment was when he told off James as you said because it felt true to him in that he does think being around Superman somehow makes him special or will make people see him the same way. James is one of those who doesn’t realize there’s other ways to be a hero. This episode was about feeling and I just didn’t feel as much as I have about others with this so even if I did put it on a favorites list it would be near the bottom.

    It’s in season one so by default it’s a great episode and on rewatch after seeing season five especially it’s like a shining beacon of joy, but I still feel best putting it as an honorable mention on my list rather than favorite.

    Reply
12. 

    Montefescu on September 1, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    More Aaron… Part 2

    “Hopefully with them pushing the TV stuff to September we’ll get something on “Supergirl” because again this is a virtual event so you have less excuse for someone not to be there as they can literally record anywhere and any when! Yes the cast will supposedly be filming that month but they don’t film 24/7 and some of them won’t film every day and even still you know this is coming DC so get them before they get busy. It is not a hard thing to do to include a “Supergirl” piece in the September block!”

    See Part 1. Short version is that ATT/WB for Fandome Day 1 have a marketing strategy aimed at combinations of “normies” and social identity group consumers co-contingent on shared interests in the DC intellectual properties being showcased. There is an agenda to make DC a creditable (literally) cash flow asset to the corporate overall strategy to create profitable product and incidentally to support HBO+ as a streaming service.

    ““When a powerful alien weapon falls into the wrong hands, it will take the combined might of Batwoman and Supergirl together to save the city from the Religion of Crime!” – one of the many plots that could have been done had Kate still been Batwoman. They may try to force it with Ryan but we need another season basically to make that friendship work to the level Kate’s and Kara’s was being built so I wouldn’t expect this soon unless they rush it which sadly I also wouldn’t put past them. Aside from “Stargirl” I’m nervous about the DCTV universe this season for the series I watch(ed).”

    I was not fond of that storyline. Not as well wtitten as it could have been.

    ” “Next Time On Maid of Steel!
    Favorite Episodes #3: “Red Faced”” – it’s time Monty!!! 🙂 You have to guest host on that podcast if you can because this is your episode. :)”

    See previous comment. I am constrained by time and work. I can do what I can.

    “On to the podcast…

    No K-Vox? Forget this episode! *flip an object and walk off* ?”

    I am reminded of Teen Titans CGI Krypto.

    “There is no comic panel after that massive layoff. 🙁 I don’t know how they’re going to spin that news.”

    They, ATT, will stay silent and expect the survivors to do the same. As for my “opinion”, it had to come when DC was satellited to Warner and Warner merged with ATT. Duplication of services (DC streaming) was going to be snuffed. Titles not producing salable Intellectual Property Content (IPC) were going to be wiped, and editors and staff who were not onboard with the changes or managing content that showed immediate results or who failed to show a future path that was clearly aligned with new corporate objectives were fated to be released. The names of the released have been commented upon, elsewhere. I will say this much; some of the released were good editors and managers caught in mid-course adjustment. Others, and it is OBVIOUS to me, who they were from their questionable public comments, their known performance metrics and utter incompetence as editors or managers; had to go for DC to survive in any form whatsoever. Dan Didio was not in that incompetent who has to go for the good of the company category by the way. He was caught in the middle of a mid-course correction.

    “Congratulations on your first convention” Justina!!! :)”

    I have been to several walkabouts. Staring into the face of an artist who draws an on the spot pen and ink commission for you will never be replaced by an artist commenting on another’s work through a monmitor.

    ” “We will get something from Galaxy Con” – it’s sad we have to get the content from another convention though. Again DCTV is rolling out something for everyone except us and it’s like you can’t even toss us a teaser trailer with a lot of clips from the series but some new voice over stuff? Give us something already because it’s really feeling like you don’t care about us and I still say we are one of the best series in the superhero world and on the CW network! Yes season was hot garbage but we are more than just season five.”

    I pulled some July content. See above for the links.

    “The after show must always be done! :)”

    The last one almost killed me.

    “WONDER WOMAN!!! Oh man just the audio for this gets me hyped again; Diana as portrayed by Gal and headed by Patty is perfection and rightfully has earned her place as the new face of DC films going forward. Reeves may be a gold standard and Keaton may have owned the start of the modern era but Gadot is the one to usher in a future for films and hopefully they can live up to her because while I do expect 84 to be maybe not as good as WW I still think it will be one of the best series to ever come out of DC movies, it’s just that good. 🙂 Wonder Woman with this team is the Iron Man for DC!”

    Just as long as it is not Cavill retreaded and this new Bat-gerbil.

    “As for Steve, he’s again got to be a ghost or a vision created by Faust to distract Diana because that dude is dead. I really hope they don’t rewrite WW to say someone saved him before the plane exploded and now it’s really him because that would cheapen the first film some I have to say and definitely cheapen that emotional scene by Chris Pine. I won’t say it would destroy it because Steve’s intent to die is still there but it would cheapen it.”

    Or Max Lord. Neck Snaps R’ Us. I am almost ready to buy into a variant on the Black Mercy plot being ripped off here for WW.

    “Great sound effect there John regarding Maxwell Lord. :)”

    Uh…

    “Man I want them to give Mary-Elizabeth Winstead a solo Huntress movie after the Harley movie!”

    I want to FORGET that Harley movie.

    “Again I don’t think 84 will top WW, but it may be good also and be close. I think a lot of it is going to depend on how they use Steve and explain him being around because again if he’s starched out of time that’s going to feel cheap and if they use him too heavily to the point Diana is babysitting him that’s going to be annoying so I think a lot is going to ride on how Steve Treavor is handled and then of course how does Cheetah work for her introduction and is Lord really a threat or just someone there so they can be the threat in part three instead. Again I’m excited but I am reserving my expectations some because I’d rather have it be WW all over again than hope for WW quality again but get something that’s not.”

    I kept thinking of 84 Lumber, when I read that segmant.

    “Okay I have to say the boat scene in “Wonder Woman” annoys me some, mainly when it comes to Diana acting like she doesn’t know what marriage is – girl you aunt is with her second in command you know what marriage is! I can concede some that scene was definitely Diana messing with Steve just to see what he would say to things but that part just felt like she should have known better and it kind of feels like someone wanted to avoid any comments that could be made about how Diana is bisexual. Yes it’s true Diana does lean towards mean but she’s not straight; I wish they would have had a line that followed up his comment about marriage that had Diana saying “You mean a bonding ceremony?” or something that shows she knows what the idea is because she may not call the joining of two people marriage but she knows what marriage is. This may just be my nitpick but that part of the movie does annoy me. Diana even married two women recently in a comic so she knows about and supports queer people so yeah movie hook her up with Steve because we all know it’s going that way even if you know nothing about the character but don’t try and act like she’s stupid.”

    Oddly, I was not bothered by that boat scene. I just rolled with the comedy. I tend to not overthink the small stuff, when i focus on McGuffins like Steve’s watch and the mortal concept of time to which Diana was shown to be oblivious. That would be a trace i would follow through the movie.

    “Black Adam” is Dewayne’s “Deadpool”. 🙂 It was a good and fun presentation but it doesn’t really do much to tell you what the movie will be like because it was all animated. Then again that could be a good thing and it would certainly be unique to have a comic book film have its trailers animated and you only get little pieces of possible scenes so you avoid spoilers. I doubt they’ll do that but if done right Johnson could really have an amazing promotions campaign for this film!”

    I want Powergirl and I want Kara Zor L to kick his donkey.

    “The Batman trailer makes for a good audio ride too as you listen to the podcast; I’ll probably see the movie but I have to say it’s more a middle of the pack film right now for me than a must see like WW84. Killing on specific dates seems more Calendar Man than Riddler so maybe they’re partners or Riddler uses him to distract Batman? Is Geoff coming back to discuss “Batwoman” when that happens as he’s the Bat guy for GSM? :)”

    Shrug. Short version on this iteration of Bat-gerbil? No sale American. I got the Fox-Gotham rip-off hot and heavy, and that is intellectual property rip-off to me. Besides I don’t like the people, creatives and actors involved.

    “Was the Godspeed in the trailer the same Godspeed as in season five? If so, take him down and save Leah! Again when FLASH ends I hope they get Jessica back to be Nora. :)”

    Not going to happen. Nora is erased.

    “Same character but a different actor you say? TAKE NOTE “Batwoman”! ?”

    See my previous comments about showrunner competency.

    “I thought Cisco was leaving because the actor wanted to do other things?”

    Paycheck.

    “Stop using “World’s Finest” as a title for books that aren’t about Helena and Kara, that is their title when working together; yes I know you can have other team ups which use that name but when it comes to Kara it’s usually her and Helena so if you’re going to keep using that then give us Helena in an adventure as Huntress and Supergirl have history too because of the Huntress and Powergirl dynamic. I would again love to see Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) on “Supergirl” but I also kind of get if they never do it as Alex is pretty anti hero enough to nod to that dynamic without getting Huntress on because maybe they want to keep her to the “Arrow” spin off which again when is that coming already CW?!”

    Ever wonder who Alex is actually modelled after? I kept dropping hints that they’ve been trying to put her into a Bat-gerbil suit.

    “Agreed John, give us all the Gal as Diana!!! I’m also happy Steppenwolf is going to look different; I hope they also give the Amazons real clothes like Patty had for them not just leaving the bikinis. Everything said I’m still more cautious about this…I’m reserving my expectations again; hopefully they’ll have it more on than just HBOMax so people can watch it (I get having it there for the first year maybe to sell it but then go to regular TV or DVD).”

    See my previous comment about Snyder. Short version. His vision is unacceptable, his movie making is gimmicky and not story based and he is Peter Principled above his competencies as a film-maker.

    “It depends on the quality of content in those four hours. ?”

    0=0.

    “Justina is correct, they showed Courtney as Earth 2 so if she’s now Earth Prime then season one has to be pre Crisis. This would then go to some things you all have been saying about is this the same version now because this is literally a new world and only the Paragons remember what happened but we know “Stargirl” kept their writing team so they’ll probably act as if Crisis never happened. Ha. Let’s be real – Crisis is a mess with plot holes when you break it down and they’ll never be able to explain it in a way that makes full sense; Crisis was just so Oliver could go out as some big hero for the universe to say thanks to Stephen for helping to get this all started, it makes no sense in anyone’s story except maybe Barry’s because he was all gung-ho to die and I highly suspect they’ll just never mention it again because of the plot holes it brings up. Ha.”

    Crisis of Infinite Stupidity was Derek Simoned.

    “Again I’m wondering if Flash’s artificial speed bubble will be how they bring in “Stargirl” if they remember she is on Earth 2 in season one; they may not remember and as Justina says she just wakes up and things are different but if they do I can see Barry again being what changes things.”

    Reset Button. way to screw up the timeline, Barry!

    “I hope you enjoy the pie Justina; I know it’s not the easiest to make with the instructions I left but hopefully you get where it’s going as you cook. We may be miscommunicating on pudding but I still think it’s different from what you’re thinking possible. Also I have a new recipe to post (not sure if it will up before season start or just during a Thanksgiving era hiatus episode but as a teaser it’s a no bake eclair); fair warning this is not a new after show feature where during Thanksgiving I post food bits, I don’t cook enough to do that. :)”

    https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/banana-rum-cream-pie-237682

    Might as well get hammered if Season 6 Supergirl turns into a Coconut/Rum “special”.

    “Awe man there was no blooper/extra at the end of this episode; you can give us two for “Red Faced” then. :)”

    https://youtu.be/vRaO_fnGtj4

    Monty

    Reply
13. 

    Montefescu on September 2, 2020 at 8:24 am

    Aaron on September 1, 2020 at 8:36 am

    “Lane’s speech to James is just an example of why I debate him as the romance OTP for Kara; I needed to feel more clear over the season if James loved Kara for herself or just because she’s Supergirl and and I never really got that given the fact he came in knowing who she was so it’s hard to separate was he in love with Supergirl and Kara is a bonus or does he really like Kara even if she had no powers. Even if he said yes he loved Kara without powers would he have backed that up with action because it’s very easy to say something but hard to sometimes put our actions behind it. Being Guardian in season two did not help his case with me either because again it felt like he was in it for the power and popularity so I tend to think he was more in love with Supergirl at times than Kara Danvers which is why John it’s hard for me to say he is the best romance option for Kara.”

    James, call him “Jimmy” Olsen is strangely written, especially in Season One. If one accepts that Sam Lane is bingo six on the analysis as regards “Jimmy” then one gets into the disturbing idea that Jimmy’s girl-friend, Lucy Lane, only happens because Jimmy figures if Clark is after Lois, then he will emulate Clark by grabbing onto the younger sister, Lucy. That is “squick” to me and it is something I immediately picked out as a possible WONK interpretation for Jimmy and Lucy. A bit of story that would blowback hard on Jimmy if Lucy thought for one moment that she was second-helpings and/or that Jimmy was 2 timing her for Kara. Dial Lucy in as Superwoman, in a possible future, and it is burned down to ash time for “Jimmy”.

    See where a GOOD writer can go with this stuff? And I am not that good of a writer.

    “The Helgrumite is Alex’s first kill; I know they’ve tried to take it back and you could argue alien DNA but she killed that guy.”

    I am claiming he is a roach. Impossible to kill as seen.

    “As you said Monty, Alex was always going to have to kill Morrow, but that said I do think she was surprised at the when it happened; based off the look on her face when the shot went off I feel she didn’t mean to shoot him then, I think she actually was going to try and talk him down again or knock him out and try to remove the helmet but the gun discharged during the struggle and he died. Alex would have killed him if it meant saving Kara because she understands as she tells Kara in the season war isn’t fair and sometimes people have to die because no(t) every bad guy stops just because you ask them to. Again though on rewatch I don’t think she meant to kill him when she did; she was going to stop him 100% and if that meant killing okay, but the shock on her face post firing makes me feel she didn’t mean for it to happen in that moment.”

    People, who kill out of necessity, or by accident, should have the look of shock and ‘revulsion’. Many of us in comments about Chyler Leigh’s acting have remarked on how she is a “natural” in her method to read a situation and simulate the simulacrum reaction that closely mirrors real experience, where others like David Harewood have to use learned technique to base approximate the feeling or at least facial expression.

    “Spoiler alert for my review Monty, I enjoyed “Red Faced” but I don’t love the episode; it’s more of an honorable mention than on the favorites list to me. I think it’s because I didn’t enjoy Sam Lane’s attitude or Cat’s mom’s, kudos to both actors because they clearly played their parts well to make me feel that way, but they just more annoyed me than being engaging bad guys for the heroes like Max who when he comes to condemn an action he does so with weight not just make the person simply angry. Lane’s best moment was when he told off James as you said because it felt true to him in that he does think being around Superman somehow makes him special or will make people see him the same way. James is one of those who doesn’t realize there’s other ways to be a hero. This episode was about feeling and I just didn’t feel as much as I have about others with this so even if I did put it on a favorites list it would be near the bottom.”

    Your assessment works for me. I can see where it did not meet things you wanted from it. I understand why that is so. Many people, including Achilles, who I had to browbeat into seeing the points I raised, were unhappy with what he claimed was the cliché bitchy mom/approval seeking daughter relationship. I wanted to see why Jimmy/Sam and Cat/Katherine were used as a parallelism with T.O. Morrow and his goofy puppet. I had to backfill in Kara and Jimmy into the same matrix and when I successfully for me did, it fit fist in mailed glove.

    So…

    I gave you what I thought was in it that appealed to me on story, on philosophy, on message and on overall technical execution.

    “It’s in season one so by default it’s a great episode and on rewatch after seeing season five especially it’s like a shining beacon of joy, but I still feel best putting it as an honorable mention on my list rather than favorite.”

    If you have a laundry washing machine with a glass portal, a side loader, no less; put in the laundry from the basket that your pet dog has just tipped over, rummaged through, slobbered on and then arranged in a doggy pile to suit himself to make nest for himself. Load that mess up into your washing machine, put in some heavy duty detergent to remove the doggy slobber and other leavings Fido left on your favorite shirts. Then watch the machine try to clean the cruddy laundry. That evolution (navy term for difficult boring routine task) would be more fun to watch that dirty wash being cleaned than one of those Derek Simon Season 5 “specials” which formed the trash that was the Leviathan story line…

    Monty

    Reply
14. 

    Aaron on September 2, 2020 at 8:32 am

    “The last one almost killed me.” – oh no, we can’t have that we need you! I’ll have to work on a care package to pump you back up. 🙂

    The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn is not that bad Monty. 🙂

    Overall I’m fine with the boar scene but that one bit just annoys me to no end because it makes Diana look foolish and she’s not foolish about marriages.

    Ooh what if Courtney during a crossover with “Supergirl” calls Kara Powergirl because that’s how she would know her given some of Pat’s stories? They could finally do Powergirl on “Supergirl” then! Bonus Powergirl is not Clark related so they could use it to move back towards season one which was about her not her as female him even if it’s just a line talking about the other version!

    “Reset Button. way to screw up the timeline, Barry!” – it’s his thing. 🙂

    Reply
15. 

    Aaron on September 2, 2020 at 8:54 am

    “then one gets into the disturbing idea that Jimmy’s girl-friend, Lucy Lane, only happens because Jimmy figures if Clark is after Lois, then he will emulate Clark by grabbing onto the younger sister, Lucy.” – it’s not impossible! Things get problematic when writers start tying too many people together. It’s kind of like Alex and Kelly, is it possible they would date if left on their own? Yes. But does it also feel like some make up potentially for ending Jimmy and Kara so fast after season one? Yes. James dating Lucy just to be more like Superman would suck for Lucy but sadly they haven’t explored this all enough to clearly side with James and say no it is just because he liked Lucy herself. James has shown on the series he can change his mind some just because a woman is attractive – see Lena and how he hated her with a passion before but when he saw her and saw she was hot then it’s like “Well her last name doesn’t matter that much, maybe you were right Kara”. And all of this isn’t to say that James never loved Lucy (or Kara) because he did I’m sure but the question is just did he start dating them for the right reasons, that being he liked them for them not who they were related to.

    Reply
16. 

    Montefescu on September 3, 2020 at 7:24 am

    Aaron on September 2, 2020 at 8:32 am

    “The last one almost killed me.” – oh no, we can’t have that we need you! I’ll have to work on a care package to pump you back up. :)”

    Send a coconut rum cake. I might need one.

    “The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn is not that bad Monty. :)”

    https://youtu.be/BgibI-gNT8A

    Message is fine; the fault is that the film is like a certain Ghost Busters movie I positively hated in that it was not funny or well done. This film, from an objective viewpoint, is not well made or executed as to pace, intended comedy set pieces as to how the camera is used or to stunts and practicals. Jurnee Smollett/(Black Canary) has a typical twitch in her kicks that is quite wrong and would get her seriously hurt if she really connected with those whiffle “hollywood moves” as a “practical” example. You have to watch out for that. If I can see the swish, it ain’t too good. you know who else had a problem like that? Watch a John Wayne movie. The guy cannot throw a believable punch. Now Steve McQueen? He could punch.

    https://youtu.be/x3HbbzHK5Mc

    See the things I noted?

    ——————————————————

    “Overall I’m fine with the boat scene but that one bit just annoys me to no end because it makes Diana look foolish and she’s not foolish about marriages.”

    Shrug. Overall, I was not bothered. The thing could be explained away as naivete and basic ignorance; which was part of her setup as a child growing up.

    “”Ooh what if Courtney during a crossover with “Supergirl” calls Kara Powergirl because that’s how she would know her given some of Pat’s stories? They could finally do Powergirl on “Supergirl” then! Bonus Powergirl is not Clark related so they could use it to move back towards season one which was about her not her as female him even if it’s just a line talking about the other version!”

    Work around the maypole; the setup is too jarring. It would be a two minute gag, at best.

    “Reset Button. way to screw up the timeline, Barry!” – it’s his thing. :)”

    How many times does it occur that Barry never learns?

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/18/4b/5d184b5e23f9378b70ae025c18062327.jpg

    ——————————————————————

    Aaron on September 2, 2020 at 8:54 am
    ““then one gets into the disturbing idea that Jimmy’s girl-friend, Lucy Lane, only happens because Jimmy figures if Clark is after Lois, then he will emulate Clark by grabbing onto the younger sister, Lucy.” –

    It’s not impossible! Things get problematic when writers start tying too many people together. It’s kind of like Alex and Kelly, is it possible they would date if left on their own? Yes. But does it also feel like some make up potentially for ending Jimmy and Kara so fast after season one? Yes. James dating Lucy just to be more like Superman would suck for Lucy but sadly they haven’t explored this all enough to clearly side with James and say no it is just because he liked Lucy herself. James has shown on the series he can change his mind some just because a woman is attractive – see Lena and how he hated her with a passion before but when he saw her and saw she was hot then it’s like “Well her last name doesn’t matter that much, maybe you were right Kara”. And all of this isn’t to say that James never loved Lucy (or Kara) because he did I’m sure but the question is just did he start dating them for the right reasons, that being he liked them for them not who they were related to.”

    It is called “forced coincidence”.

    ——————————————————————-

    One more comment about the Harley film.

    https://youtu.be/-NjhYeVsO0w

    Hmm. That is a HARSH patriarchy biased type review. But… a lot of what I saw in the bad writing and lousy film-making is named. Pacing, stunts, action beats, writing, camera usage, everything that screamed “amateurs” to me is named specifically.

    Basically, he comes across as “fair” in the comic book history and then in the film as a unit. YMMV and should. I do niot pretend that it is not somewhat biased. It is a slanted pointed of view, like any good review, since the critic has has a slant which he applies.

    Reply
17. 

    Montefescu on September 4, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    DC Comics @ Home. San Diego Comic Con tie in.

    https://youtu.be/_e6lyCqYI1U

    Thought one might like to see the authors of titles (Many soon to be canceled and/or unemployed according to what I am tracking.), are doing or think they are doing.

    My grandfather told me that he saw the Titanic and that from the very beginning he warned all the people that the ship would sink, but nobody listened to him.

    He was a brave man. He did not give up. He warned them again and again …. until they kicked him out of the cinema.

    This panel is funny in the same way that the Titanic jokes are funny. Kelly Sue de Connick is really hilarious as the chief engineer of the Aquaman title. The Iceberg is the villain.

    I think one might enjoy this one.

    …………………………………………..

    Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York…

    This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

    The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

    The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

    ………………………………………………..

    Jim Lee is the captain of this disaster movie of course.

    Reply
18. 

    Montefescu on September 4, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    More on the DC comics panel.

    You know the place is in a lot of trouble when the commercial artist currently on Batman/Superman (Clayton Henry is the artist.) does not know that the character who was just comic book murdered and for whom the current story is entitled and for which he has been drawing for two issues, “Who Murdered Atomic Skull?”, is named ‘Atomic Skull’.

    His segment ends with him revealing that he is about to undertake a new DC project and he asks if he can even talk about it. The thing here is that Jamie S. Rich, group editor admits he does not know what that project is, and Clayton Henry asks him, “If you don’t know, then who is steering the ship?”? Now you get why I am using the EMS Titanic joke metaphor?

    Maybe it is time for another Titanic joke?

    ======================================================

    A Priest, Doctor and Lawyer died

    A priest, doctor and lawyer died. They met Saint Peter at the gate, who would only let them into heaven if they could answer one simple question each.

    Peter asked the priest, “what was the unsinkable ship that struck an iceberg?” The priest replied, “The Titanic”. And the gates opened up.

    Peter asked the doctor, “how many people died on the Titanic?” The doctor replied, “1,503”. And the gates opened up.

    “Name them!” said Saint Peter to the lawyer…

    ————————————————————-

    In the Tom Taylor segment, we discover that in his elseworlds “Dceased” surprise Zombie Apocalypse DC series comic, that Deadshot who was the star of an epic Sui9cide Squad run is not only comic book killed but will stay comic book killed for the main DC continuity at least for a while.

    That kind of sucks. Must be a Will Smith hater out there.

    Ram V discusses the end of Justice League Dark. This also sucks because we now know JLD is potentially going to be wiped out.

    ———————————————–

    Next up is Brian Michael Bendis, Mariko Tamaki, Ryan Sook, Vitae A (Swampy Thingy. I hate Swampy Thingy.) and the vastly underrated Mikal Janin.

    Legion of Super Heroes is currently a mess, and after listening to BMB and Ryan Sook, one understands why immediately. Nobody on that book has a clue as to what the LOSH IS…

    Mikal Janin is the current Wonder Woman artist.

    Mariko Tamaki is on Wondy but says little.

    Vita A. is the writer on the October Holloween Swampy Thingy special. She talks the SJW the WAY it should be talked, as teaching history and experience so the reader comes away with a new understanding and situational awareness.

    BMB has his Superman plug for his next story arc.

    https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Rogol_Zaar_(Prime_Earth)

    Based on how badly Rogol Zaar flopped, I am not too hopeful about this new villain BMB created for the Superman 75th.

    ————————————————-

    Mariko Tamaki opens up at last about her Wondy work. I actually liked her work so far which has been much better than the hack, Steve Orlando, did on the book. Her villain is not Mr. Neck Snap as has recently appeared, but rather “the Girl Next Door”. We will see this develop this September. Guess what? Paul Kaminski and Brittany Holzherr, literally the best editors in the comics business right now, have been DC given to Ms. Tamaki personally, to lead this Eisner Award winning writer by the hands on the Wonder Woman title, so she does not screw it up. I wonder why? 🙂

    Back when i wrote about how Ms. Tamaki has to get away from her young adult pov writing limitation that I saw in “Alex in Wonderland” the Supergirl episode I actually liked in the disastrous Season 5, I suggested that she would have to “grow her characters up”. That is not happening here.

    Liar Liar is an interesting discussion as to character design and presents legal questions as to who gets royalties in the post creative process. Mikal Janin is the current artist, but he worked off a Ryan Sook preliminary design model based on Miss Tamaki’s character notes. The bunny rabbit, that Emma carries is all Janin. Does that check get split three ways or five ways and does Mikal Janin’s pet bunny get a model’s fee, too?

    Ryan Sook talks “Gold Lantern” which BMB actually was inspired from the art doodle, Ryan did. Know where that royalty check is going.

    ————————————————————

    Next up on the musical chairs RMS DC Titanic show is the DC Young Readers panels section. The developer and editor is Michelle Wells if you want to know what the audience and the product is, then DC Super Hero Girls is the road-sign and competition for the same population that is the Disney target for all those snurfle-bargle Disney Princess message movies is.

    Michelle Wells honchettes this morass of Pollyanna. and she reminds of a teacher I had many years ago when I was a young hoodlum.

    Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge; writer is Grace Ellis (Lumerjanes), artist is Brittany Williams (Archie and Goldie Vance). Chipper and cheerful. Like the Goofy Gophers of WB cartoon fame, the two come across as they contra-praise each other. I HATED the Goofy Gophers.

    Brittany Willaims… Superman Nerd. Hooked on Lois and Clark. Superman the Animated Series. Nice try; NSA. I can see your eyes track as you read off your prepared notes. Darn, sometimes I wish I did not know the tricks of the trade and was totally oblivious.

    Grace Ellis… failed reporter in real life. I can believe that quite easily. She comes across like a News on your Side local TV reporter. Ugh.

    Of course a pop quiz? Education, Gerbils!

    Book recommended. Harley Quinn Breaking Glass. A great book.

    The whole panel is about as bright as a 2 watt LED lights.

    =======================================================

    Next up Young Adult Books…. Michelle Wells still the honchette. Featured product pushed… Swampy Thingy; Twin Branches.

    You know what this whole sales pitch reminds me of, historically?

    http://www.thecomicbooks.com/cca1954.html

    Once upon a time the comic book industry fell into the hands of “do-gooders” who censored and stifled the process of story telling and character and content.

    This was not just for print…

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

    ““YOU LOOK LIKE THE ATTRACTIVE YET NON-THREATENING, RICHLY DIVERSE CAST OF A CW SHOW.””

    Cat Grant character quote from Callista Flockhart’s line delivery from “World’s Finest”.

    ———————————————————–

    Back to the DC Titanic metaphor and Swampy Thingy; Twin Branches. Maggie Stiefvater is the writer (Lots of DC Raven Books and has a thing for fainting goats) and Morgan Beem is the artist. (Whiskey and Sailor Moon?). Yes, a couple of winning creatives there for you. And they are going to tackle Swampy Thingy, a character I LOATHE?

    Yeah… Maggie stares off into space right as she reads her notes board to sell her bullet points. Morgan has it on cards below her bottom camera line. I sure wish these people would practice AV presentation before they try these gigs? Michelle Wells is so good at it, you hardly notice her reading it off her wallboard.

    By the way, the book sounds ridiculous.

    Naggie Stiefvater has Addison’s Disease, an adrenal gland failure where hormone production human beings need in order for their brains to think properly (memory function, emotional equilibrium, and empathic function) declines to insufficient levels. Through no fault of her own, the body said to her; “It is time for you to go insane now.” That might explain the way and the why she wrote the book; but it sure does not explain why DC published it.

    On the Morgan front, the plants theme for her seems to go a long way toward explaining the whiskey fondness and Sailor Moon. Ayeesh ugh.

    Same dumb pop quiz format again from Michelle Wells. Did I tell you that my sixth year elementary school teacher cracked up and had to be put away? She was unstable to begin with and liked to talk to frogs at recess, but I don’t really blame her. We were rotten kids.

    ——————————————————-

    How did the Swampy Thingy book quiz go? NTG. Book recommendation? Vertigo Daytripper. I’ve read it. No happy endings, so prepare to Scotch up and watch out for fainting goats…

    Blub… blub… blub. A couple of Titanic jokes before I sign off.

    =====================================================

    The two biggest pieces of tourism in Belfast, Ireland are the Titanic and Game of Thrones. So they celebrate a horrible shipwreck that sank one of the most grand and talked about voyages in human history. And then there is the Titanic.

    The Australian billionaire who’s constructing a replica of the Titanic called, “Titanic II” claims construction has not stopped during the coronavirus scare.

    . . The TITANIC II, Huh?

    The billionaire investor is not superstitious about names, according to his son, Lucifer Morningstar.

    https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/t3oAAOSwCVReXzG9/s-l300.jpg

    Monty

    Reply
19. 

    Montefescu on September 5, 2020 at 2:31 am

    Too much coconut rum cake.

    Monty

    Reply
20. 

    Montefescu on September 5, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    https://youtu.be/_ntvcUHrIbU

    2nd day of DC Comic Con tie-in to the SDCC.

    All Bat-gerbil All The Time. Joker War. UGH!

    Want to know the Punchline? Nah, I did not think so.

    https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Punchline_(Prime_Earth)

    Monty

    Reply
21. 

    Aaron on September 6, 2020 at 9:09 am

    Monty: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/18/4b/5d184b5e23f9378b70ae025c18062327.jpg

    Ha, Barry looks like Tick! ? It’s not a bad look for him but it’s just so Tick instead of Flash. ?

    Kara is looking good in her alternate suit; the skirt looks a bit shorter with just two colors essentially but it’s not horrible. Given her stature she does have a Shazam vibe to her with the color choices and chest emblem. The switched logos actually still work for them if you think about it, Barry has a S for Speedster and Kara has a lightening bolt because you could say it’s the symbol of Zeus and he’s a god in Earth culture which some see Supergirl as; this would be an alternate Kara that leans more into Earth history since she’s here, Kara could do it she’s smart, and is probably more Powergirl in mentally but the switch actually works for them better than if someone was in green with an arrow on them or in black with a red bat on their chest.

    Thinking about it though…a black Flash costume for an alternate take and the white and yellow emblem still could be cool; it would be like his version of the Venom look for Peter Parker. Ha. ?

    Reply