Lord_Nightblade
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Posts
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Joined
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The new American version of Top Gear premiered about a week ago, has anyone else seen it? I just finished watching the first episode on the History Channel's website. It seems like a rocky start to me, like they haven't quite figured out how to make the show uniquely American yet. It does show promise, but it's just...lacking something.
Most of the show was pretty mediocre, it didn't really get good until the last segment where the hosts tested three Lamborghinis. That was when you could finally see the chemistry between Ferrara, Foust, and Wood that supposedly landed them the jobs. It was also when they loosened up and stopped being so serious.
The "Big Star, Small Car" segment was, by far, the weakest part of the show. Ferrara doesn't seem to know how to conduct an interview, but maybe he'll grow into it as he gets more experience. Part of the problem was the star they'd picked for the first episode. Buzz Aldrin has done some incredible things, but once you get past his part in the Apollo program, there's not much to talk about. At least, not unless you're willing to go into his personal life and his problems with depression and alcoholism or get his reaction to the moon landing hoax conspiracy theories, which Ferrara didn't do. Instead there were some softball questions about how fast Aldrin was going when he went up in space and what kinds of cars he owned. Maybe Ferrara had too much respect for Aldrin and didn't want to say anything that would piss him off or maybe there was a good chunk of stuff that got left on the editing room floor, but this segment was really lacking.
I think the two biggest problems American Top Gear will have are the time constraints and the issue of commercial sponsorship. This episode clocked in at just over 44 minutes, and that's hardly surprising considering the way American television is formatted. The original Top Gear is closer to a full hour, and they can get in a lot of good stuff in the extra fifteen minutes that USTG loses (though, ironically, UKTG also suffers the loss of fifteen minutes when it's brought over to BBC America). As for the commercial sponsorship issue, I think it's going to be a big hindrance for the hosts. Their reviews of the cars weren't as critical as the Brits', and I think there's going to be more political correctness to avoid pissing off the sponsors. We've already seen that American car companies don't like how critical Top Gear is of them (notably when Hammond had to buy the Challenger SRT8 for the muscle car special because Chrysler wouldn't lend him one). UKTG can get away with it because they're not funded by commercials, but USTG doesn't have that luxury. -
I still think the third person driving test would've gone a lot better if the camera had a better angle of the front of the truck.
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Quote:Exactly like they did when they announced that audiences wanted to see CG over hand-drawn animation. Disney's execs seem to fail to understand that good writing > animation style.Originally Posted by Nethergoat
So Disney laid an egg last time out and figures making a big deal out of this will generate some buzz for their current picture while simultaneously setting the stage for a "triumphant return" to the Princess Genre at some future date.
Zzzzzzz. -
They should wait until the generations that originally saw Buffy on TV are at least so old and senile that they can't remember the show.
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Quote:Don't worry. As long as Japan keeps making anime, there will be more than enough Rule 34 fodder.Originally Posted by BafflingBeerMan
Yeah, but without new Princesses, Rule 34 will be like the Zombie Apocalypse. The Rule will just keep on feeding and feeding and eventually, everything will be 34ed without anything new to feast upon.
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And they'll be giving out the traditional Kwanzaa gift!
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Quote:Ah, but does Courtney have a cunning plan?Originally Posted by Lothic
Can't see the comparison to Blackadder? It couldn't be more clear to me.
It's probably closest to the first season of Blackadder. There you had the two Princes, the one was the good looking/smart/brave/well-liked one and then you had Blackadder, who was the one the King and others thought was a silly, self-important loafer. This seems more or less the same relationship we see between Fabious and Thadeous in this movie. Then of course you see Thadeous have his "dogsbody" servant Courtney who seems like a perfect analog to Blackadder's Baldrick.
Basically what little we could see in this trailer it seems like the character of Thadeous is just a "re-imagined" version of Blackadder. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.
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Quote:This. Don't let the fact that they're in the 21st Century put you off, the series is worth watching. With Holmes, it's not so much about the setting as the characters, and the characters are spot on.Originally Posted by Cass_
Yes, it's awesome.
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Quote:You got glass in my eye!Originally Posted by LiquidX
We do, however, look at him to kick polluters in the nuts.
CAPTAIN PLAAAAANET! -
Quote:I'd guess that it's an old zeppelin hangar. Those things are huuuuuge.Originally Posted by ebon3
On another note, is that a blimp hanger?
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But will one of his legs get longer when he sees a pretty lady?
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Quote:No, 3-D would only cheapen it for the Oscar Committee. It will be presented in black and white rotoscope, for extra poignancy.Originally Posted by Cowman
In 3-D?
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Quote:No wait, sorry that movie would only be guaranteed a nomination, not an Oscar. For an instant Oscar it would also have to be about a Jew in Nazi Germany.Originally Posted by Cowman
INSTANT OSCAR! Put that sumb****h on BluRay and start printing money!!Quote:Originally Posted by Lord_Nightblade
Because comedies never get the Best Picture nomination. For that you have to do a movie about a person in an emotionally abusive relationship who finds freedom in Gregorian chant and then commits suicide.
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Quote:Because comedies never get the Best Picture nomination. For that you have to do a movie about a person in an emotionally abusive relationship who finds freedom in Gregorian chant and then commits suicide.Originally Posted by Cowman
This is my major gripe with "realism" these days. It's come to mean the same thing as 'cynicism' and 'depressing'. 'Poignant' is another word that seems synonymous with depressing. I'm not sure why good things all the time seem to automatically be more unrealistic than horrible things all the time, but whatever.
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Quote:I must, sadly, agree. If not for the fact that some people will see this commercial and believe Norton is good security software, this would be an awesome ad.Originally Posted by je_saist
it's a Norton commercial.
That's an automatic Epic Fail no matter that the competition was. -
Gritty and 'realistic' are nice, and they can add depth to a show/novel if they're used correctly. But that sort of thing does become tiring if it's used too often, which it currently is.
One of the reasons I love the show Psych is that it's so far from realisitc that it needs two stamps if it wants to send realistic a letter. Shawn and Gus don't take anything seriously (Shawn once did a wrap-up while in a sarcophagus, and Gus used tap dancing to help Lassiter solve a crime), even if they're in a life-threatening situation. The only time they've done serious and realistic(ish) is for the Yin-Yang Killer, and those episodes were great because they broke the usual episode mold. -
Quote:Either Mike or Jessie, yeah.Originally Posted by Veritech
yea, anyone else seeing that this season is just gonna end badly for Mike? heh, this is gonna be a fun ride.
I'm curious how long they're going to keep the series going. With the Bible cipher and that list, Michael is within striking distance of the people who burned him. Perhaps they're going to wrap things up next season? -
To the European community, happy Armistice Day.
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The mid-season break ends tomorrow night. Watch it, or Fiona will initiate foreplay on your sorry a**. Without the sex.
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Quote:Jealousy plays into it, as well. If Bieber was around when I was an adolescent, I would've hated his guts for having all those screaming fangirls fawning over his every move.Originally Posted by BafflingBeerMan
As to why? It's because stars like Cyrus and Bieber aren't made, they are foisted upon the audience and sold like products. While they may or may not have talent, their existance isn't to show that talent but to sell records, concerts, and anything with their name on it. They are basically commercialized products, and much more so than ones in the past, because it has become more obvious and crass.
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Quote:Wookieepedia agrees with you on that point. Apparently it's normally an 18 parsec run, but the Falcon has a cutting-edge navigation computer.Originally Posted by Lothic
I think Lucas "handwaved" that mistake away by explaining that the Kessel Run requires a pilot to fly through an ever-changing maze of asteroids or blackholes or some-such. The idea is that Solo is boasting that he figured out a path through those hazards that took the least total DISTANCE to travel. Presumably since he was able to make the run traveling only 12 parsecs that it was a relatively QUICK run time-wise as well.
I know it still sounds silly, but I honestly think this is how that goof was explained after the fact. -
Oh my god, that is so cool! I love art deco travel posters.
Damn, he's not selling prints of these ones! -
Is it December 17th yet?
How about now?
Now? -
Quote:Originally Posted by cowman
what if we're killed off by the sexbots.
Death by snoo-snoo.
Ok, really, the caps thing applies to emoticons too?
