Being There wasn't a masturbatory self-congratulatory fantasy for Baby Boomers, that's why.

I’m sure North’s involvement will only bolster the arguments of those who refuse to watch (or love to watch) the show because they believe it to be some sort of Reagan and/or CIA apologia that’s meant to portray the Soviets as bumbling fools

The show is really into late 1960s, early 1970s young adult novels, isn't it? There was a reference last season to Virginia Hamilton's "The House of Dies Drear".

So, Pennsylvania is Midwestern? Penn State is Big Ten too. Sometimes I think people think the Midwest is everything from New Jersey to Las Vegas.

Nah, that's the Upper Midwest. (Wisconsin, Minnesota). In keeping with the Soviet theme, if you remember the 1987 miniseries "Amerika" (about a Soviet conquered America), you'll remember that the Reds split up America into client states. "Heartland" (where most the action was set) was the wheat-producing area…

It's literally one state over from the coast, and is on New York time. In no way, shape, or form is it part of the Midwest.

"It’s the new, sexy, fun piece of all-American technology, assembled smack-dab in the middle of the heartland (Norwood, Ohio)"

Attack from Mars. Great theming and just generally a good table period. Someday I'll try to track down the Pinball 2000 remake "Revenge From Mars" — I've never seen it other than in the "Tilt" documentary

You didn't even like Microserfs? Yes, his books are pretty hit or miss, but especially for those of us who are old enough to have experienced the pre dot-com early 1990s tech world, Coupland really nailed it. He was a bit insufferable back then in much the way Cory Doctorow is today in that he seemed to confuse…

Would we even be owned another? Aren't even teenagers today still technically Gen Y? Generations are a long thing — twenty years or more.

The biology joke is that it stands for "Haploid", as presumably the only chromosomes Jesus had were those inherited from Mary.

Yes. We failed in our counter Line X to obtain this wig/glasses tech.

We are thinking on the same wavelength. Also, from the movie the character of Cobb is introduced as somebody everyone knows from high school despite never being in the TV series. Maybe the real explanation is that he has been inserted into everyone's memories like Dawn was.

It's the Buffy Summers issue. I could never buy into the idea that Buffy was just a normal cheerleader before becoming aware of her slayer-hood either.

I've always been tempted to take a cheap ticket to Minneapolis just to see the mall. Not because I really like malls or anything, but it just seems like something like Vegas or Disney World that you are supposed to have experienced at least once to get references. Although I haven't heard much about Mall of America…

The thing is, is Lovecraft's "cosmic horror" really supernatural? Yes, Cthulhu and company are called "gods", and have insane human worshippers, but in the end they are just alien creatures, albeit non-Euclidian, squamous, and rugose ones.

Dan Castellaneta or Nancy Cartwright dying. Any number of actors portraying minor characters can die and the show go on, but no Homer or Bart — no series. I agree that the Simpsons has been going on too long, but you did ask.

I remember that the gas chamber/gas sponsor issue was brought up (in slightly fictionalized form) in the 1976 movie "The Front".

Subtitles are too high brow for most shows. Maybe on a cable drama. But not on a network sit-com.

Okay, the picture, granted — the flip phone I had 9 years ago didn't support pictures — but don't you just transfer the contacts from one phone to the next automatically? The only way I don't have the contact info from someone from a decade ago is if I consciously deleted it (or if they changed their number for some…