I agree, there didn't seem to be a way out of the situation that would definitely prevent a recurrence other than what Bates did. Which doesn't mean he isn't still totally sketch, of course.

Agreed. Tom was one of my least favorite characters until Sybil's death, when he became one of my favorites. And not because I felt sorry for him, but because he changed how he behaved.

Bates is a violent creep, as you have pointed out, but I think I give him a pass for this murder. It was a way to solve a recurring problem (he didn't know about Mary's request, and if Green was smarter than Bates he'd have deduced why he was sacked and potentially taken revenge anyway). Bates seems to have gotten…

I'd actually be much more comfortable with that one, it's less creepy and stalkery.

It's the kind of conversation that would make a darkly funny skit, perhaps, about lame fanboys wanking to celebrity deaths because it makes them feel closer to their idols. Dreadful article. It's not that I don't get sad when celebrities I like die, but I don't make a list of them and publish it on the internet. …

This strikes me as the kind of conversation you have in private, and feel bad about, but don't write up for a website. Hypocritical of me, perhaps, but that's how I feel.

I hate how Enterprise shits on Vulcans. I don't think they'd have been able to get away with it if Tim Russ had had more to do on Voyager (that didn't involve getting fused with Ethan Phillips and suchlike shenanigans).

I didn't know that, but it makes sense. For some reason when I see Max Grodenchik out of makeup I can totally imagine him as an athlete.

I've always wondered what became of that ball. Did it ever come up at one of those Trek prop auctions? Did the actors really sign their characters' names?

That's a stupid question.

It is too much, but I'd say it also usually means going too far with a sexual/relationshippy situation just for the sake of seeing a character in that kind of setting, rather than because it follows naturally from the story. The mud fighting is maybe just too on-the-nose in that regard. But it was also a good scene,…

Hell, I couldn't remember Ivy's name for the longest time.

Religion is really low-hanging fruit for the Pythons, though. I know the global culture took the bait when "Brian" came out, but that says more about the time period than the movie. There's just so little here to justify the outraged reaction it got. I think in retrospect a lot of the Flying Circus material is…

Speaking of this generation of cheesy puppet space creatures, ever seen Captain Eo, the Michael Jackson/Anjelica Huston/George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola Disneyland 3D adventure? YouTube it!

The spaceship thing is great, and for me its singularness shows why "Brian" just isn't Pythonian enough. It contains far too few cutaways, segues, and whimsy, staying instead pretty linear and pretty much on the surface of its story. "Brian" has the worldplay and the pepperpots of classic Python, but has the pacing…

"But the monologue is such a distracting, self-conscious bit of writing that it doesn’t effectively convey her fears. De Boer isn’t a terrible actress, but she can’t make this work; instead of earning our sympathies, the speech draws so much attention to its own artifice that it becomes difficult to take seriously,…

This would make a very good double-feature with Fellini's "8 1/2," as they cover much the same ground. This is my favorite P.S. Hoffman role.

I had a similar reaction when I saw it for the first time as an adult. I think there's too much silliness and too many meta moments. But I do like the art, the inclusion of the Unicorn Tapestries, the general vibe of odd, unexplained mysticism, and I actually dig the America song.

But it gets the art totally right (contra a recent Slate piece, I think NZ is a great Middle Earth in Jackson's LOTR, but it looks overexposed in The Hobbit, and they seem to spend more time in-studio anyway), the voice acting is spot-on, and it's arguably more faithful to the book because it includes the songs that…

When I read Tolkien, I hear Gandalf in John Huston's voice.