I didn't even mind the move towards quirky; I'd argue the podcast started out rather quirky already. What bugged me was the incessant fan service. It feels like they tried too hard to flesh out a world whose appeal was its vagueness.

I do have to say (and it started with Bloom for me) that Beach House's songs have flattened out for me. The sound is good, and the mood is undeniable. But I could not hum along with a single song from Depression Cherry if my life depended on it.

I love the Ratchet and Clank games for their gameplay, and for their bonkers "let's just do whatever"-style weapon set. I always found the story and cutscenes to be almost obnoxiously cartoonish. The characters are fine, but I'm not exactly clamoring to spend 90 straight minutes with them.

Grodeo.

But say a dozen years from now, when people watch these films in order, the effect won't be there. I really chafe at prequels or origin stories that lean hard on the audience's understanding of the characters and where the plot will go; it brings the cash-grabbiness of the whole affair to light in its desire not just…

Peter Jackson's Hobbit films seem to retain a childish love of cartoon violence and fart humor, infused with a really grown-up gravity and dread. Do not mix well.

Well, she wasn't from the area, but she was struggling with mental illness. Still a creepy story/video, if you ignore the facts and just let your imagination run away with you.

All the leaves are bright…

This is and has been one of my least favorite reactions to suicide, be it high-profile or personal. I understand the pain people are trying to convey when they give this "fuck you" to suicides, and that it's meant to be given with love, but how is that any way to treat someone who viewed suicide as the only way to end…

My only problem with the Riddles in the Dark scene was the weight added, especially to the ring and how important it is.

Frank Miller is like that unsupervised kid on the block who had all the toy guns and video games your parents "protected" you from. At a certain point, you do realize that the toys and video games aren't as damaging as Mom and Pop thought, but this kid is a mean little shit guns or no and I don't feel like playing…

Shin Shitty.

We all missed something that day.

So you're Rocky Dennison, eh?

For what it's worth, I like your "static electricity from Randall Flagg's blow" story better than the deus ex machina we got.

I think the nadir of Happy Meal toys came with the Matthew "wrong side of the road" Broderick Inspector Gadget film. If you didn't go get a meal every week, you'd be left with a stray, useless arm or leg. If you committed, and collected every piece, you were left with a Matthew Broderick Inspector Gadget.

As an eight year-old I thought North was off the wall in all the right ways. It had a certain cartoon logic that I was all about.

Is the third season the one where the little kid comes back as a buffed-oud, five-o-clock-shadow-adorned, robot-armed badass?

Well, they can't be the Cooperhuman Camurai Cyber-Cquad, can they?

What's great is 2-4 years of free work doesn't guarantee anything!