Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

we wouldn't get things like this then



*looks at video game library* Most of my games have some sort of violence involved with them, but the detail to realism varies significantly with each title. From the gory realism of Last of Us to the plastic cartoonish dismemberment of LEGO minifgs in Marvel LEGO.

 

The horror of a small Italian plumber jumping on top of my pet turtle would haunt me til the early days of high school.

 

It's a gift.

 

Buffy is pretty much the polar opposite of Twilight. That's like saying Die Hard should be blamed for Bad Boys II.

Though for the record, Buffy's first season is pretty bad.

All right.

Approaching the halfway point of the season (I waited so long to start the fifth because I wanted to wait for the sixth to be put on Netflix). While I know that the fourth is popularly considered the best Mad Men season, I actually think the fifth has been my favorite, though that may very well be due to the fact that I'm watching it right now. One thing is for sure; it's certainly the most "stylish" season. Almost every episode so far would have qualified as a highly unusual episode early in the show's run, from Don's murdering fever dream, to Lane giving Pete a well deserved beating (anyone who wasn't rooting for Lane in that scene is a grimy little pimp), to the Rolling Stones concert, and the three-part structure of the phenomenal "Far Away Places" (and that's not even touching the LSD scene), the latest episode I've seen. I love it, myself. Perhaps it's meant to represent the rapidly changing cultural currents the characters of the show are going through, or perhaps it simply means the writers are looking to experiment with the shows form. While Mad Men has always been comfortable taking things at its own deliberate pace, and been great for it, it is nice to see some variations. If nothing else, it certainly leads to very memorable episodes.

Right off the bat, I think my single favorite storyline of the season, and one of my favorites of the series, is Ken Cosgrove's writing. It helps, of course, that I like Ken a lot, and therefore want him to succeed in a way that I don't particularly care if someone like Pete does (in fact, if I had my way he probably wouldn't succeed at all), but the plot itself really resonated with me. The dismissive way in which Roger tells him to stop "wasting his time" (made worse by Roger himself being a failed writer), that he should focus 100% of his mind, body and soul to his job, to what "matters"; anyone who's ever had any artistic aspirations has probably been there. And then there's the very felt, very well captured awkwardness in trying to explain a science fiction (or anything falling under the "speculative fiction" umbrella) to someone without much knowledge of the genre, something that would have been amplified 100 times 50 years ago.

This storyline is a great representation of what's so great about Mad Men. The plot itself is only a small part of an episode, arguably not even the B-plot. Were it handled any less adeptly, it would have come across as almost an after thought. But Mad Men isn't like other shows, obsessed with making every moment tie into the larger, "main" plot. It's a show about people, their individual problems and desires. Ken's is thematically relevant, of course- like so many of the other characters, he feels trapped, seems to feel himself grow older by the minute as he settles into his corner and wants to do something to remind himself that his best years aren't already behind him- but the show's confident enough to simply throw it out there, to give depth to a character that mostly resides in the background.
I am curious, though, if Ken is supposed to be a good writer or not. Most of the people in the office who read his work don't seem too taken with it (Peggy certainly didn't seem thrilled with the "story about the girl who lays eggs), but of course they're hardly the target audience. The excerpt we heard from him didn't sound so bad. I imagine he's a writer with interesting ideas, but he isn't allowed the time to develop them.

Other characters: as interesting as it's been to watch Peggy climb the ranks throughout the series, I really like that in this season, she seems to have firmly settled into a role. Though the glass ceiling is still there- her attempt to bludgeon the unsatisfied client into accepting her idea was extremely Don-like, and indeed probably would have worked if Don had tried it- she does feel like an indispensable part of the office. Or rather, "one of the guys". She's had some great moments this season. Her giddy joy at finding out that Lane beat up Pete in particular was priceless. And with the random theater hand job, along with the joint she took because it was there (which reminded me of the time Don did the exact same thing all the way back in season one), I can't help but think she's becoming more and more like Don. If that's so, then she should enjoy this moment on the top while it lasts, because it only goes downhill from there.

I'm surprised at how much I like Megan. While her and Don's marriage is still probably doomed to failure, it no longer seems the disaster-in-waiting that it initially appeared. It's not hard to see what Don sees in her, as she's everything that Betty isn't: adventurous, open both emotionally and sexually, "progressive" in the sense that she's probably the best representation of a "modern woman" on the show next to Peggy, creative. Perhaps even more, though, is that she's good with the kids. That's something I would have commented on at the end of the fourth season, had I not forgotten to write impressions for those episodes; near the end, Don seems to be almost "trying out" various girlfriends, using Sally as the test. Faye, the woman who seems the best match for Don, fails that test. Megan, however, is great with her. Don wants to be a family man, and Megan, whether subconsciously or consciously, is his best choice in that regard. I'm also curious how long Don's newfound monogamy lasts. Going five whole episodes without cheating on his wife has to be some kind of Mad Men record. Fitting that the man who remade himself believes he can remake himself once again.

In the interest of wrapping up what looks to be a monster post, I'll briefly cut down all the things I could talk about with Roger's acid trip. What a brilliant scene. They walked a precarious line, there; it would have been easy to make that scene too easy to take seriously in the context of such a grounded show. It was handled perfectly, though. From Roger's fascination with everything around him to Jane's quiet entrancement, it was probably the single most fun scene in the shows run. And the divorce was handled beautifully. What could have been a drawn out, melodramatic affair was instead given real poignancy; in a night that both call "beautiful", when the two are closer together than they've been in presumably months, they're able to find enough mutual understanding to agree that their marriage isn't working. They "leave each other", with no tears, no raised voices, only an almost fond agreement. I could get used to zen Roger Sterling.

And of course, the Beach Boy's "I Just Wasn't Made for This Time" was absolutely perfect and fitting on so many levels. Pet Sounds is the perfect acid album. Or, err, so I've been told.

Oh, and a holdover comment from season 4: man, Lane's dad is terrifying.

 

The April Foolings have begun.


I've caught sixteen so far, though none near me (which happens a lot when you live in Nowheresville).

Edit: And Wookieepeida has done it again.

 

omg you guys guess what is on sale on steam RIGHT NOW for the low low price of ten (10) dollars???

The Secret World, that is what, which is only the best MMO pretty much ever!*

everyone here should buy it and come hang out with me ok





*i have only played like 2 other MMOs

 

Ha.

Also, props on today's FA. It's like they read ETE this morning.

 

I AM FILLED WITH RAGE

Incidentally, I don't own a calendar. Or a phone. Nor do I make a habit of conversing with people who might.

 

yeah I'm debating between whether it's worth $20 to get the MASSIVE edition

 

I'd say it is; it includes the first three non-free issues (DLC packs), which run like $25 or so total if you buy them all separately (through the in-game store). Each one has a whole self-contained side story that's... maybe 2-4 hours long? they're pretty generous as DLCs go. and they expand the mythology and lead directly into issue #9, which comes out... sometime later this year and continues the main storyline.

but then again that depends on how much you like the game... it's a bit of a leap of faith since there's no way to like, try it out before buying it. I definitely wish I'd bought the massive edition through steam though.

 

The Secret World has been pretty damn fun, in my estimation. I'm still waiting for the Tokyo expansion they've been promising for a while, though (I believe that's Issue #9?). The story's pretty interesting as well. If you like lots of snarkiness, I'd recommend going Illuminati.

 

Should watch it some time.

Sadly not, it is just much better written then Twilight, but still essentially the same thing.

 

Yes, both have human female/male vampire romance, but one is quite heavy on the female empowerment, and the other distinctly is not. United 93 and Executive Decision are both movies about hijacked airplanes, so they are still essentially the same thing, right?

 

One is a drama the other is an action movie. Buffy and Twilight sadly are the same genre, teen mystery drama which for me just happens to be among the lowest forms of entertainments there is. Other peoples seem to like it though, a lot given that there just keeps being a flood of such shows and movies and fine for them, I just can't stand the genre.

 

I have

 

Ken's good. Peggy didn't get the one story, but he's good.

I too love Far Away Places. Ginsberg's Martian speech is still just such an incredible moment. Roger's trip is great, and anything with lots of Roger is always good ("So, how about a completely debauched and unnecessary fact-finding boondoggle?"), but the real highlight of the episode for me is Don and Megan. I remember watching that the first time and just being blown away by how perfectly it captured that sense of an argument spiraling out of control and then just anxiety and horror, and how it took Don and Megan's relationship to this genuinely frightening place, and just how real and raw it felt, how I just kind of felt it right in my gut, "Holy ****, where is this going?" Because with Mad Men you don't know.

I'm glad you picked up on Megan's interaction with the children being a huge factor. That moment when Sally knocked over her shake and everyone braced for a Betty freakout and . . . it didn't happen -- so perfect. I think the interesting part of season four is that Don is sort of looking for these synthesis figures. I talked about his two conflicting paradigms for women, and now that he's on his own, he's looking to finally be able to have it all. He seems to figure out with Bethany that he's falling into the rut of getting Betty Lite, someone who doesn't challenge him as an equal, just a pretty face to make the ideal facade, and he breaks it off. With Dr. Faye, he's got the woman who's smart and an equal and even works alongside him, but he can believe that she can be domestic and motherly, can fit into his life, and she doesn't really challenge his authority. Except then she starts not being his image of her, not living up to his fantasy of blissful domestic life, not being the mother to his kids, and he starts to lose interest in the relationship. Megan, though, is finally someone who seems to have it all. She's got the maternal instincts, she takes care of him already as his secretary, she fits the successful image, she's young and knows she's getting into his preestablished world and won't really challenge his authority, but she also has her own agenda to become a copywriter, to become more of that equal colleague, she's got some assertiveness and agenda to challenge him a little in that way he likes, but not too much (contrast her tryst with Don with Allison's -- the difference between Don's perception of these two secretaries is that Allison doesn't present any depth; she's just a silly young girl who goes along with her boss's overtures and her own little boss crush, while Megan comes in and she initiates; she's seductive, assertive, open about what she wants and the fact that there aren't emotional strings, she has an intellectual interest in the work and an ambition, a past as an actress -- she projects depth, sophistication), and her youth, the fact that she belongs to a new generation that's doing different things, is in touch with a different culture, is open to new things, provides its own kind of challenge and suits the Don Draper who wants to experiment, to be a little countercultural. She finally seems like the whole package, so it's not surprising that Don takes that plunge so fast, in retrospect. Of course, the question, when he jumps in so quickly, is whether the image Don has will truly match the reality, and if Don himself has actually matured or if finding the apparent missing piece is just disguising the fact that the hole is still there and he hasn't actually fixed it.

 

So I'm hearing Harley Quinn was on Arrow recently--how does that work? Does that confirm there's a Joker in this universe?

 

So she's just Random Criminal, basically? I meant "confirm" insofar as she wouldn't really exist without the Joker, but I didn't know if they'd have explained who she was at all.

 

No, you really just heard her saying(screaming) something to the effect of her being a trained psychiatrist. And I think her appearance was more a nod to her being on some iterations of the Suicide Squad in the comics more than anything. And of course, considering that Fox's Gotham show is rolling, I'll bet its the closest we get to anyone in the Batman group being on Arrow for some time.

 

So, I'm pretty sure this was the result of a bug -- as my vassal's vassal imprisoning me did not make a huge amount of sense -- but, well....

Spoiler

He ransomed me for 250 gold two months later. But, y'know, since I was playing a character with the proud and wroth traits (as well as the sobriquet "the Terrible") that was just not going to fly.

First I attempted to revoke the title of his liege -- my imbecile, straight 0s across the board niece, the Duchess of Munster (as I'd been planning on doing eventually, anyway) -- but she objected, and I plunged the realm into a civil war that split it down the middle (Ulster, Tara and Leinster vs Connacht and Munster). Once I victory was mine, I imprisoned and banished Cathal, taking all his titles and gold.

He spent all of a week in another court before I invited his wife -- my character's lover -- back to Dublin, where she delivered him into my hands.

And I then had him murdered by thugs.

It's good to be the king.

Though, twenty years later, his son had an affair with my queen. Turnabout is fair play, I guess.

 

Why didn't you just kill the son too Uli? Would have saved so much aggro.

 

Well, his mother was still alive... and my character was very fond of her.

So it was mainly for her sake.

Still, if he hadn't agreed to end the affair when I confronted him, things would have been very different. As it was, I settled for forcing him to take monastic vows and live out the rest of his days in poverty.

I think he died of pneumonia, in the end.

 

It makes me smile that this is on Netflix now. This number sold this show for me, no other DC cartoon would ever have been able to pull this off.