Beware the Fire Bender Bending Rodgriguez Nation

This is the kind of mood I’m in tonight. After watching the latest episode of The Legend of Korra and in anticipation of tomorrow’s triumphant return to the land of Futurama, I’m having mash-up monstrosities everywhere I go.

olde fortran ale

One more week until Futurama returns. I chose to celebrate this by wearing my Planet Express t-shirt and my “Nixon: Now More Than Ever” button, which is a delightful circular joke although I wish I had had that pin in time to wear it for Watchmen in theaters. That button came from a trip to Arizona, sadly, two months after Watchmen was released. Ah well.

I happened to catch a glimpse the other day of someone’s homemade Futurama Operation game.  I love Bender. I really do. But he’s not the only character on Futurama and in some ways it frustrates me that he has become the most iconic association that show has (other than possibly the recent “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore” meme) because it undervalues so many other characters. Fry is infinitely my favorite and Zoidberg is a close second so maybe I have a soft spot all squished up in my heart for Billy West. Nonetheless, this Operation game is pretty impressively adorable. And I suppose if I were really feeling like a dork I could cosplay it up and use some lobster claws to perform ineffective, possibly life-threatening surgery on Mr. Rodriguez’s innards.

the once and modern prometheus

Watching this movie at midnight was a mistake.

Now allow me to explain why.

In no way was Prometheus a horrible, unbearable piece of junk. In no way was it so overwhelmingly disappointing that I regret seeing it. No, I simply regret staying up to watch it at 12:01 AM because the sleep-deprivation wasn’t worth it.  Nor the $11 movie ticket. The merits of Prometheus include extremely enjoyable visuals. It’s a very pretty movie and if you turned off the sound I bet it would just pass by your eyes as a series of nice art prints. Noomi Rapace does an excellent job of fulfilling the Ridley Scott Alien strong woman survivor character and she’s actually very believable in her transitions. (Though I have to admit that I grew tired of her in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I’ve never quite been sure why.) The stunning standout of the whole thing, though is, of course, Michael Fassbender as creepy android David. I don’t quite know what it is about the Alien franchise and androids but yea though  I walk through the valley of uncanny shadow… and so forth. Regardless, if I were asked what made the movie worth seeing those are the three things I’d continue to point out. (Also, I’ve never seen a single film Michael Fassbender was in where I didn’t like his performance. It should be noted I skipped over Jonah Hex.)

If asked, however, what made it not worth seeing, I’d have to tell you that the story is fairly predictable and most of the time when you think something is about to happen, it’s because it’s going to happen. There’s a moment with Charlize Theron where all I could think was “Um, duh.”  (By the by, her own robotic ice queen character was really working for her.) The film also raises questions about continuity within the Alien universe and even what you’re supposed to believe is the meaning of the ending (which of course, I won’t discuss here).

Also, don’t bother staying until the end of the credits. It’s kind of a big fuck you to the audience (and not in the awesome way that Avengers had a big fuck you to the audience) and really, you’re better off just exiting once the happy music starts up.

Your TV is Static. Mine is Plastic.

Two weeks until new Futurama starts! Official countdown begins now. I refer your attention to Facebook for the next fourteen days.

 

Also, Mad Men. Seriously, are you trying to kill me? Episode 12. Oh, man, the pain that caused.

The Other, Other Woman

There aren’t many television shows out there which I routinely ensure I watch to stay current. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a lot of shows but most of them are ones I generally don’t mind watching later on Netflix or DVD.  I don’t have cable or even broadcast television and my time is limited so Netflix generally serves the rest of my needs. What I actually watch in near real time is limited to a very small collection:

1. Community
2. 30 Rock
3. Futurama
4. Mad Men

Since Mad Men is the only show that is currently airing episodes (though it’s approaching the end of its season rapidly) that’s the one I’m here to talk about right now. I will warn you, this is full of SPOILERS. MANY, MANY SPOILERS.

This week’s episode The Other Woman, was perhaps one of the most devastating episodes in the show’s entire run. As Television Without Pity said in their recaplet, “It’s sort of the most Mad Men episode of any episode of Mad Men, or like what you would think the show would be like if you’d only ever heard people talk about it: “T**s, ass, whoring out of secretaries, cheating on wives, smoking, day-drinking, whatever. Real gross.” I, for one, don’t necessarily find prostitution in television shows to engender the same hurt that is created when I think about real prostitution but this particular episode, where someone willingly (well, in a sense, willingly) engages in prostituting herself; it hurts. It hurts so very, very much to see her again robbed of dignity and to see the way she denigrates and demeans herself to achieve something she considers more important. Joan’s decision to trade herself for a partnership at SCDP was a devastating one, especially with the rough editing that demonstrates Don’s impassioned plea coming after she had already given herself over to the hideous car executive.

It’s strange to see Don so genuinely worked up over an issue that doesn’t directly affect his family or his work but as other reviewers out there have pointed out, his mother was a prostitute, and given that knowledge, he could easily be responding to the situation in light of that knowledge. Ironically, he throws cash at Peggy Olson as if she were a whore, again failing to give her the needed credit for her work.  (Since she is constantly saving everyone’s butts and never being properly acknowledged for it.)  Meanwhile with Megan at home doing what she wants, when she wants, but not getting what she wants, it’s easy to see another Mad Men episode that centers on the woman’s changing role in society. (We’ve had a few of these before and in the past they included Betty Draper as the third lady.) Peggy’s decision to leave SCDP was liberating (she’s kind of my hero in a lot of ways) but also heartbreaking. She goes through so many moments of excitement, and we have to remember that it has been seven years since she first walked into Don Draper’s office as a twenty-year-old secretary from Brooklyn, her skirt too long, and her hair pulled back in a childish knot. She’s a grown-up, a power playing professional, a woman who is every bit Don Draper’s equal. I love the obvious symbolism as she reaches to shake Don’s hand, standing over him. The power in their relationship has shifted but Don kissing her hand rather than accepting the offered handshake seems to indicate that his love for Peggy is still present. He actually doesn’t want to lose her but his complicated feelings surrounding not only their relationship but the recent acquisition of Jaguar makes him look downright weak. (Though for a moment there, it’s almost creepy how much Don lingers to kiss Peggy’s hand.)

I suspect the most hurtful part of this entire episode is the fact that it actually has been seven years and where are the ladies now? They have advanced but they haven’t. Their roles are still defined by how men perceive them. Even when Peggy meets with Ted Chaugh, it’s obvious that he understands this fact, too. He lets her know that everybody else will ask about her marital and motherhood statuses, because they will. He does this, of course, to show that he is not the same as everybody else but his tone still establishes how commonplace this experience is for a woman in Peggy’s position. She’s got a job men would envy, so naturally, she has to sit in a difficult space. Meanwhile Megan’s audition is essentially just an excuse to stare at her T&A (as done by several very dirty looking men, who try to make it seem okay by using pet names.)

The only saving grace, I think, is Joan’s silent acknowledgement of Peggy’s awesomeness as Peggy does finally go out and get what she wants, as we get to hear “You Really Got Me” while she steps into the elevator. That, of course, just makes one wonder what’s going to happen to Peggy. You can’t have Mad Men without Peggy. She’s Don Draper’s mirror, and her presence is utterly vital to the show demonstrating the kind of person Don is. With two episodes left in the season, I don’t know whether to expect more heartwrenching hurt or if I should just be prepared for a Mad Men esque skip ahead with only minor resolutions.

Others have already proposed where Peggy might be going next. So I won’t. I’ll leave you with this link.

Where Does Peggy Olson go from here?