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2·2 days ago
4·2 days agoGiven that they regularly eat the fuzz off of deer antlers* after they are shed, I am open to any odd dietary choices from porcupines.
*this odd porcupine factoid was of great amusement to one of our kids when they were of kindergarten age and liked to play the “guess what animal I am game.”
It’s a stretch at this point, but that’s part of the fun of spitballing based on what we have so far…
The article notes that Billy Randa found, in the cave, what appeared to be a migratory route through the oceans.
That’s what set him off on his archival research hunt when he left Keiko and Lee in the fishing village. However, since he abandoned that search and returned to get them, it’s not clear whether Billy ever followed through on pursuing that lead.
Changes in ocean temperatures and currents due to climate change are well known and would be something to impact Titan X aka Le Gran Dios de la Mar aka Co-cai and her offspring.
While it’s speculation at this point, having Co-cai be a threat, despite being a positive influence for fishing communities in the past, would be entirely consistent with the franchise’s previous themes around humanity’s impact on the Earth.
The other thing is that many had expected this season to feature Mothra due to it being her 65th anniversary. EP Tony Tunnell has said she won’t be appearing though, and the timing wouldn’t really work with Mothra’s later movie appearance in this continuity. So, perhaps Co-cai may be fulfilling a ecological protector narrative arc originally planned for Mothra.
4·3 days agoGlad the Fansets SFA combadges are coming out right away with both pins and magnets.
I still have vivid memories of trawling through the vendors at a 2019 local Comic Con, with our youngest and 45 k other attendees, looking for a Disco S2 combadge with magnet that didn’t actually exist.
There was really only one piece of merch that youngest wanted and naturally it was not to be found.
2·3 days agoYup — it’s not just about enormous monsters fighting.
That said, characters, emotions and anything that isn’t action scenes is often underrepresented in American takes on the franchise.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters from Legendary Television on AppleTV is intended to be an entryway to the franchise. You can start with season one without any previous knowledge.
Likewise, the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One from Toho, a 70th anniversary return to the original 1954 scenario, is another great entry point.
3·3 days agoFilion made unfortunate statements defending Joss Wheadon and arguing that he should be “uncanceled.’’
https://insidethemagic.net/2022/06/nathan-fillion-joss-whedon-controversy-ct1/
There are widespread reports of toxicity between Fillion and his Castle costar Stana Kari’s.
In 2019, a cast member of The Rookie quit citing sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
I’ll be curious to know if episode 3 hits better for you.
It seems that there was a decision to respond to the ‘more action, more monsters’ complaints about season one from the movie franchise fans.
In a conversation that I saw elsewhere, there were points made regarding some fairly cringey elements in the original seasons that would not be well received by progressive audiences now. However, reworking these would invite backlash.
It’s a fine thing to thread around and it’s not obvious that the creators or Fillion are up for it. Fillion in particular has managed to alienate a lot of fans in the past decade.
This looks to be a nonstarter, especially after Hulu cancelled the Buffy reboot. Disney seems to be reigning in and focusing now that it has full control of Hulu.
If the IP was owned by WB or Paramount/CBS, it might have a chance, but this appears to be more of a case of Fillion and the some of the original creators trying to make a case to use the IP than any interest from Disney.
Actually, yes.
It has very high viewership globally. It was top ranked on Apple in the US and Asia, and much of Europe, although relatively less in CANZUK countries where the Togo Godzilla franchise is less well known.
However, as always, there are personal preferences.
It has the AppleTV resources so, the vfx and Titan action scenes are always excellent.
As a live-action television show, it leans more to mystery/skullduggery and character drama compared to a cinematic feature. Also, the first season is designed as an entry point for audiences and demographics with no previous experience with the franchise so it’s a slow build.
If you enjoyed Kong: Skull Island, you will likely enjoy this show.
All this means is that if all you want to see is kaiju fighting, this may not be for you.
And for me.
One always thinks there will be time. Regrettably, we have to learn the lesson through experience, some of us more than once.
I am going to admit right now that one of the reasons the I’m endeavouring to create a space here to discuss Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (M:LOM) and the Monsterverse, is because the show on AppleTV is getting a lot of coded and outright brigading from some of the same sort of fans in the US specifically.
Legendary Pictures and Television creators have done their best to bring to American, English language Godzilla productions the kind of emotional narratives that were always present in Japanese Godzilla productions no matter the restrictions of an action-focused cinematic feature. (I confess my own fan history with the franchise is with the older Japanese production eras and continuities.)
With 10 episode seasons, M:LOM has plenty of time for complex multigenerational character narratives and is delivering, filling in the gaps in bigger cinematic events. With women in major roles in front and behind the camera, LGBTQ and other representation, it’s intentionally working to draw in a broader demographic with a new entry point. It’s also succeeding in its ranking on AppleTV to the point a spinoff will start production this June.
Yet, it’s got a steady stream of posts along the lines of “I don’t really like those characters, do you?” and “Why are those young people making stupid choices?”
M:LOM’s clear themes of “hurt people hurt people” and consequences for actions are challenging but important, much as the Psychology Today piece says.
Taking on these themes and showing flawed three dimensional characters struggling through them in the context of multigenerational trauma makes for great genre television — providing the “they’re making my franchise woke” voices don’t swamp the show.
This is cool. It’s very small amounts.
The key issue is that they are making antimatter at CERN but the magnetic fields at CERN impede studying/analysing it.
Checking in with a nearby physicist, the amount is so small that even in the worse case it would be unlikely to set off a radiation detector.
In return for this sagesse, I was subjected to several witticisms on the detectable rate of decay in the bananas we have awaiting to be turned into banana bread.
Starfleet Academy appears to be having a Streisand Effect moment in broader media.
Who would have thought that brigading review sites with 1/10 comments and copypasta derision might finally reach the point that even Psychology Today would stop to write a ‘Wait! What?!!’ piece.
1·5 days agoApppreciated.
And we appreciate the new subscribers who’ve been able to find us through this and other discovery-focused communities.
Really glad you’re enjoying the community whether lurking or engaging in the discussion.
I understand the feeling of not having many to talk to about the Godzilla franchise. I feel like an outlier as a fan of the Showa films. That’s the main reason I asked the admins to consider having a community here.
Our (late adolescent) kids were easy to get into Star Trek, and now each have their own other fandoms that they follow while still liking specific Star Trek shows, but I haven’t been able to get them into the Monsterverse at all.
My parter finally offered to watch season one of M:LOM with me recently and is actually enjoying it. Which of course makes me all the more enthusiastic to get others to give it a try.
2·5 days agoGlad this is still pinned here.
I might finally have the time to get into this game (although our youngest is convinced I’ll never make it through the tutorial).
Thanks for joining the discussion here.
I agree. A lot of really great moments.
I wasn’t ready for that final scene with Bill and young Hiroshi, followed by his finding the letter.
I’m not sure though whether Bill will go to Skull Island and abandon Hiroshi out of despair at the betrayal or because he realizes that both the people, that loved him enough to give up their potential relationship, were lost to Axis Mundi. Perhaps, he couldn’t give up their mission knowing that.
There were a couple of unexpected parallels from episode three of the first season — which also had the word ‘secrets’ in the title.
I’ve just rewatched 1 x 03 with my partner this evening and was surprised to note:
- in both episodes May tells off a 3rd generation Randa for assuming they know what she wants and needs: first season Kentaro who tells her to go back to her life when, she believes he’s destroyed it; second season Cafe tells her everyone would be better off without her, but May says that doesn’t include her.