There have always been cute critters in the Star Wars series. The thing about R2, and Yoda, and Chewbacca, is that they're cute in a naturalistic way, partly because of performance. I mean, if you saw a still photo of R2 before ANH came out you wouldn't be thinking "that's cutesy". In fact, the fact that he IS cute is…

The Incredibles criticism has been a pet peeve of mine for a while. It's true that Bird was apparently inspired somewhat by Rand as a kid, but he's since sworn her off, and the people who associate his work with Rand's (the upcoming Tomorrowland has a few seeming parallels to Atlas Shrugged as well) are missing a…

Well, he was able to delay his next bestseller for a decade+, so the wrath of Random House is apparently not *that* big a deal. Whereas the appearance of the TV show finally got the book finished.
I have no idea whether this is the result of someone angry at him or if it's more complicated, like the promise of…

As in people who work for HBO. Yes, network executives > fantasy publishers.

He used to promise, during the long wait for AFFC/ADWD, that he was working away and the book was imminent. When it wasn't—because writer's block happens—people started freaking out, threatening him, and otherwise acting like asshole nerds. So, understandably, he no longer likes giving status updates. Which is now…

Hi, can we please stop referring to Martin's supposedly imminent death every time this topic comes up? It's creepy and tacky and can't exactly be helping his motivation. Thanks.

And yet authors do sometimes have the freedom to miss deadlines, as obviously GRRM did for many years. I suspect there's been much larger and more powerful people breathing down GRRM's neck than publishers lately, if that's what's motivating him.

I swear I was expecting Chakotay to to shoot back, "Isn't there some white people custom where you can shut the hell up?"

We talk about underwritten blockbusters but the JJ Abrams Trek films are actually several steps below that. They're not just dumb and nonsensical, they're dumb and nonsensical in ways that damage the whole franchise (i.e., long range transporters removing the need for starships).

COL FUSION IS NOT ACTUALLY COLD YOU IDIOTS

I wish he was the man who wasn't there.

See, I like that the focus isn't on the "proto-Inception" stuff. They do a couple of neat bits with it, but it's really more just the story they have to tell that fits with the larger plotline—if you're cynical it's the "give O'Brien and Bashir something to do" episode of the final 9, but of course it also puts a…

Maybe let's say SPOILERS at this point.

Racist.

"RESENT"

DS9 came at a time before TV started really playing the long game in terms of character and narrative stuff—they did serialized storylines, obviously, but there was always a sense of finishing things up and then allowing them to develop further, rather than leaving doors open for future seasons. But I think Kira…

Of course, in retrospect, you'd think a Breen nursery rhyme would go more like

I've read The Final Reflection. While it obviously went off on some tangents in its attempt to flesh out Klingon culture during the long post-TOS pre-TNG years, it's kind of intriguing how much it seems to have influenced the TNG-era writers. The whole honour-obsessed thing definitely seems like it owes to that book,…

I have a sneaking suspicion that the original plan was for the ROMULANS to switch sides and join the Dominion, which, let's face it, seems like the kind of thing the Romulans would do, and given that the Romulans are one of the four well-established powers of the Alpha Quadrant, it would have sold the "OOOOH…

I may not be religious, but I have no problem swallowing the precept that if your prayers are for power and fame and glory, God or Gods are likely to say "no".