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In that sense, I feel as though The Expanse is trying to copy the formula. But, for some reason, they're failing to make me really care about the characters. It's not something which I can describe in words, there's just some kind of magic potion which the writers of BSG and Firefly knew the recipe for, and the writers of The Expanse are trying to guess at.
I really liked The Expanse, but I'd read the book series first and perhaps that's why. It's a very good adaptation, but maybe you need the extra depth and context that comes from reading them first to appreciate it?
You missed MY biggest complaint with the re-make of BSG: Starbuck was cast as a woman!
First, snowmobiles have weird-looking crankshafts. That's not relevant here, but it's a fact which I just became aware of, and I feel the need to share that knowledge.
Perhaps the fact that I was not really much of a fan of the original BSG series biases my judgement in this regard, however I really had no problem with Katee Sackhoff being cast as Starbuck.
Yes, the cigar thing seemed... forced with her. But the writers quickly figured that out, and wrote it out of the story in a way which really amplified the hardship of scarcity being faced by the fleet as a whole. Something which the original series never addressed, incidentally.
(What, don't all airliners on Earth also get loaded with an infinite supply of toilet paper for the Paris to JFK route?)
Same as how they made Boxy quietly disappear after one very bad cameo.
Making that character female, in my opinion, made it possible for the whole "daddy issues and harsh, overbearing mother" storyline to exist. For reasons which I can't quite articulate, that would have felt awkward with a male character.
It also made possible the whole "sees Adama as a father figure, even though I'm directly responsible for the death of his son, who I was banging" angle.
In other words, they were able to give a whole lot of depth to that character, which Dirk Benedict never got the opportunity to explore.
Speaking of Apollo, try and convince me that Tom Zarek was not one of the best, most complex, most morally ambiguous villains ever written.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
Last edited by Joe Perez; 05-10-2024 at 08:48 PM.
Reason: added toilet-paper joke
I really liked The Expanse, but I'd read the book series first and perhaps that's why. It's a very good adaptation, but maybe you need the extra depth and context that comes from reading them first to appreciate it?
I was not aware that The Expanse began as a book series. That may, in fact, explain a lot.
So, here's an interesting thing which I don't get to say every day.
I just received a notice from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (how cool of a name is that?) that we're about to get nailed by a severe geomagnetic storm over the weekend, and to expect stuff like satellites to potentially go apeshit.
******* climate change, it's even affecting the goddamn SUN now.
One thing that is still fairly unique about B5 is that JMS structured it as a novel, where he had a plan for every season of it from the start. There were only ever going to be 5 seasons, after that the story was done.
This is something which I find tremendously gratifying, and which I have a huge amount of respect for: When a showrunner has the courage and the dignity to deliberately bring the series to an end.
Think about some of the most highly-acclaimed TV series of the past few decades. Oz. The Sopranos. Six Feet Under. Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul. And, yes, Battlestar Galactica.
What's one thing they all had in common? They all ended. And they all ended spectacularly, with zero ambiguity about the fact that the story was FINISHED.
Now, think of some of the most tragically disappointing series. Firefly and Deadwood spring to mind immediately. Both were phenomenally well-written and brilliantly cast. And both were deprived the dignity of a proper ending.
Ironically, and this only just now occurred to me as I was writing that last sentence, Firefly and Deadwood also shared the somewhat unique experience of being resurrected long afterward in the form of a feature-length movie which ATTEMPTED to give them the closure which they deserved, but ultimately wound up being a disappointment.
Now, think of some of the most tragically disappointing series. Firefly and Deadwood spring to mind immediately. Both were phenomenally well-written and brilliantly cast. And both were deprived the dignity of a proper ending.
A few other that I was disappointed in: The X-Files, Alias, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and all for the same reason: they never had a plan for what to do next season. They plot out one season with a cliffhanger ending and no real plan for what to do next. They'd figure that out when/if they got renewed. You can get away with doing this once or twice, but ultimately the contradictions and inconsistencies pile up and it just gets stupid.
A few other that I was disappointed in: The X-Files, Alias, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and all for the same reason: they never had a plan for what to do next season. They plot out one season with a cliffhanger ending and no real plan for what to do next. They'd figure that out when/if they got renewed. You can get away with doing this once or twice, but ultimately the contradictions and inconsistencies pile up and it just gets stupid.
It's interesting that you mention the X-files.
27 years ago, I was a college student, living in an apartment with two other pretty hardcore nerds. We collectively had purchased (and refurbished) an old rear-projection TV, as all three of us had a pretty serious hard-on for The X-Files. Never missed an episode.
It was during the season finale of 1997 (I think) that the local FOX affiliate suffered a transmitter failure which took them off the air, during like the last 10 minutes of the show.
Today, I'm an mid-level exec at a (very small) TV network. So I'm familiar with the sort of legal and contractual concerns which surround the airing of first-run-syndication programming.
As a tender youth, I did not have that understanding.
And yet WOGX actually got permission to re-air it. I found out years later from a friend who worked there that they had the actual B master tape shipped from network ops down to Gainesville, FL. They took out a full page ad in the local newspaper announcing the re-air, and re-broadcast the episode in its entirety the following week.
Why network didn't make a dub of it I can only assume was due to them being insanely paranoid about the distribution clauses of the contract. X-files was a big deal, financially, back then.
Today, as "the boss," I still carry that memory with me. It influences every major design decision which I make.
Because I never, EVER, want to be in the same position as the chief engineer back at that little Fox affiliate in northern Florida was in '97. I have no idea what the failure actually was, but I do know exactly how they felt when dealing with it.
I finished the last episode of Season 1 of For All Mankind tonight.
The first episode began with a spectacular gut-punch.
The last episode, the last five minutes of it in particular, were the emotional equivalent of spending that same amount of time in the ring with Mike Tyson.
A great place to visit when it's raining in central park*:
Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry celebrates hip-hop's cultural influence through stunning jewelry worn by some of its iconic stars.
Highlights include Slick Rick’s gem-encrusted crown, the Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary gold ‘Jesus piece,’ the diamond-studded Roc-A-Fella medallion for the record label co-founded by Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj’s sparkling ‘Barbie’ pendant, and pieces from Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, FERG, and Tyler, the Creator, among others.
Beginning this Saturday, we will be closing two halls dedicated to Indigenous cultures of North America, the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains Halls, to visitors and staff. Both Halls display artifacts that, under the new NAGPRA regulations, could require consent to exhibit. The number of cultural objects on display in these Halls is significant, and because these exhibits are also severely outdated, we have decided that rather than just covering or removing specific items, we will close the Halls. In addition to closing these two Halls, we will be covering three cases just outside of the Hall of Eastern Woodlands and two cases in the Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples, which display Native Hawaiian items. In addition, two cases in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall also will be covered.
One immediate effect of these closures will be the suspension of school field trips to Eastern Woodlands, which for years has hosted local students as part of their social studies curriculum. We remain committed to supporting teaching and learning about Indigenous peoples.
While the actions we are taking this week may seem sudden, they reflect a growing urgency among all museums to change their relationships to, and representation of, Indigenous cultures. The Halls we are closing are vestiges of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives, and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples. Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.
*assuming you prepay** for tickets of course
**minimum admission charge has gone up to $0.01. You used to be able to smile & nod and walk past the guy collecting 'tickets' to the confusion of those tourists who just waited in line to pay the suggested donation. I'm sure if it was $0 someone would write a bot to reserve all the tickets every day forever.
Well yeah, where else would have an exhibition of Hip-Hop jewelry?
I was on streetview looking at the various entrances to determine my best course of entry when i saw way up above the main entrance a huge engraving about T.R. A few streetview images prior shows a nice statue out front that's now gone. Teddy conquering life with his native and african buddies is racist, so glad my kids wont be forced to experience it.
Well yeah, where else would have an exhibition of Hip-Hop jewelry?
I was on streetview looking at the various entrances to determine my best course of entry when i saw way up above the main entrance a huge engraving about T.R. A few streetview images prior shows a nice statue out front that's now gone. Teddy conquering life with his native and african buddies is racist, so glad my kids wont be forced to experience it.
Goddamn...
It wasn't until this conversation that I became aware of the fact that the AMNH is a private organization, not funded by the gubment. As are MoMA, The Guggenheim, etc.
I don't know why I always assumed that these were state-funded entities. But I did.
So, I suppose that they can exercise whatever editorial judgement they like in terms of revisionism and pandering to the woke. But it still hurts to see.
To your earlier point, it was always kind of fun to just breeze right past the line of folks waiting to pay at the entrance. Fun fact: when I lived in Hoboken, I was about two blocks away from Carlo's, which by then had turned into a friggin' tourist attraction due to the popularity of the TV show. They had the same policy- flash a local ID to the bouncer and just breeze right in. They had phenomenal lobster tails there. (The pastry, not the crustacean.)
I used to love spending whole days at that place. (The museum, not the bakery.)
And also the churches. Loved just walking around inside the big, old churches during weekdays when they were nearly empty and quiet.
Actually, that reminds me of one specific church I stumbled upon in East Harlem, which was the exact opposite of quiet. I took a video:
Just got back from my annual CT scan. It's part of the ongoing data for the FDA clinical trial that repaired my aneurism. This was my 15th scan, I think, but I've really lost count.
While I was in the machine, I noticed some settings on the display that weren't on the machine before (older model, I guess) which stated 120KV and 65mA. I'm no electrical guy, but I know the 408V lines we have coming into the building are nothing to mess with. 120KV just blows my mind.
Edit: I just looked it up, and KV is not kilovolts, but a motor speed rating. How disappointing.
How interesting, I was unaware of that unit of measure. But sure enough, a wealth of information on it is available.
Example:
“Kv” refers to the constant velocity of a motor (not to be confused with “kV,” the abbreviation for kilovolt). It is measured by the number of revolutions per minute (rpm) that a motor turns when 1V (one volt) is applied with no load attached to that motor. The Kv rating of a brushless motor is the ratio of the motor’s unloaded rpm to the peak voltage on the wires connected to the coils.
Knowing the Kv rating of a motor will help you determine how fast that motor will rotate when a given voltage is applied to it. For example, a 980Kv motor powered by an 11.1V battery would spin at 10,878 rpm (980 x 11.1) with no load. A change in voltage will change the rpm and will require changing the propeller to avoid overloading the motor. Kv allows you to get a handle on the torque that can be expected from a particular motor. Torque is determined by the number of winds on the armature and the strength of the magnets. A low Kv motor has more winds of thinner wire—it will carry more volts at fewer amps, produce higher torque, and swing a bigger prop. A high Kv motor has fewer winds of thicker wire that carry more amps at fewer volts and spin a smaller prop at high revolutions.
05-09-2024, 06:22 PM
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