From everything I've read about Roddenberry and TNG, it seems likely that, if his hands hadn't been pried from the controls, TNG wouldn't have lasted more than three seasons and we wouldn't have gotten the other series. Gene apparently had a very inflexible idea of what true Trek was and wasn't, and several writers…

I don't have my DS9 Companion with me, but I believe you're right. And, yes, the show was willing and able to shift gears quickly, [SPOILER ALERT]which is why they decided that the Vorta were not only clones, but would also back up their memories for reinstallment into a clone if they died—they did that just so that…

@Automocar:disqus : See also: Mordin Solus

At one point, "Second Skin" was going to be about O'Brien finding out that he's really a Cardassian brainwashed and disguised by the Obsidian Order as a very-deep-cover agent, but of course by that time he'd already had one kid with Keiko.

Behind-the-scenes tidbit: Kanar is actually sugar-free pancake syrup. (They had to stop using regular syrup when Casey Biggs started getting sugar rushes from repeated takes.)

It's not just a matter of relocating, though. It's compromise with the Cardassians that pisses them off. I see a shitload of this in American politics, on both sides, where any compromise with the enemy is an inexcusable betrayal.

Even with his resume, he's also responsible for Kid Notorious. And, really, his persona can't be that much of a much if it's this easy to parody (although I am a little intrigued that he's part of the inspiration for Saul Goodman).

That is, in fact, the very first name that came to mind; Evans may be somewhat better groomed than Simmons on an average day, but it's that same sort of leering oafishness masquerading as a parody of an alpha male.

@avclub-011d0b4fe6835bb3d37ef4e0ea713de6:disqus : Wikipedia: "Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own work (blog, book(s), film(s), or other means of expression), out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities of others, without overt pressure from any specific party or institution of…

Wait until you're a little older, son.

Paper for the initial heavy mopping, wipes for the detail work. Right tools for the right job.

Incidentally, if you haven't seen it, this week's Savage Love features Stephen H. King, MD, a urologist who's discussing the potential drawbacks of male chastity devices. You're welcome.

Besides what @avclub-55e3810d28d3d3b098f2405b29602eea:disqus mentions, there's also his dad abandoning his family when King was very young; living in poverty or near-poverty for much of his childhood and moving several times to wherever his mom could find a job; and, of course, his mom painfully dying of cancer just…

Here's a comment that I made in MetaFilter about the Four Ages of Stephen King['s career]. I agree that The Tommyknockers could have been much better. One of the things that puzzled me when I read the book—of course, this was well before I knew about his problems with drugs and alcohol, although with the preponderance…

@avclub-011d0b4fe6835bb3d37ef4e0ea713de6:disqus : uh, we do understand that letting your own work go out of print is in no way, shape or form "censorship", right? (And never mind that it's probably long since been scanned, OCRed and put out on the tubes.)

@avclub-9a190b2d3a7c7fae28cef4c7bf821b12:disqus : Even though I'm glad that I got my own copy of Rage when I could (in the paperback omnibus of the first four Bachman books), I completely get why King yanked it out of print; he is, after all, the person who has to live with himself if yet another spree-shooter turns…

That looks like an interesting RR that you linked to; I'll have to read it, although I'm disappointed that "Lolly-Madonna XXX" isn't what I thought it would be.

Just the overall tone of the book—where you've got people with more than enough on their plate already, and then things get really bad—didn't make it past the translation. Cujo was the first book of his (aside from a couple of the Bachman books) not to have any science-fiction or fantasy elements, and, like Misery,…

I like your first idea. There's the old joke where you talk to an actor about a very obscure movie that they were in, and it was a big favorite of yours, and they say, "Oh, you're the guy." Only, in this case, you literally are the guy.

@avclub-1dc0a8af2b0160bc4ac00e5e75482979:disqus : Breaking Bad: "What, you didn't bug your brother-in-law's home, too? Sloppy, very sloppy. You may as well leave incriminatory evidence in your bathroom as reading material. I'll have… words with him, see what he knows."