(1) Watch out for bi-Klingual train conductors!
A Trek-referencing TV commercial is nominated for a national award in Austria reports Nina Horvath at Europa SF.
What is it all about? Two men dressed up as Klingons go by underground railway (yes, it is the underground railway, although it goes above-ground in this scene) in Vienna, when they find out that a ticket controller is around. As they haven´t bought a ticket, they decide to confuse the ticket controller (by the way a pretty blonde woman) with Klingon language. But she also replies to them in Klingon and seems to know enough about Klingon culture, to call them “dishonourable worms”. What follows is an advertisement for the “Volkshochschule Wien”, a school where adults can take several courses, e.g. on languages. (Probably also Klingon …?)
Public voting for the winner continues until November 3 here (German language website).
(2) Richard C. White, in “World Building 101: The Village” at Black Gate, vents about cliché adventurers who return to the local village to spend their newfound treasure.
If you’re like me, that scene sounds awfully familiar. It’s appeared too often in bad fantasy stories, bad fantasy movies, and WAY too many role playing games. “But Rich,” you say, “the party has to have somewhere to spend their treasure. Otherwise, there’s no point in giving it out?”
And my response is, “You’re absolutely right, but for the wrong reasons.” Let me explain what I mean. (Good, otherwise this would be a darn short blog entry – Editor).
The biggest problem is, that scene above should be taking place in a large town or at least a small city. A medieval (or pseudo-medieval) village is not going to have jewelers or places to sell magic items (if you’re doing that kind of fantasy). The tavern is not going to have a bevy of barmaids and taverns do not traditionally sell food — that’s what the inn was for (if there even was an inn). And why in heaven’s name would you have a village that close to a dungeon populated by evil creatures anyway? Most sensible villagers would have packed up and moved to safer places years ago (if they hadn’t all been killed in their sleep by the monsters). No, this village in the scenario above seems to have only one purpose — to provide adventurers with a place to stay while they’re off looting the local dungeon de jure. Not only is that not realistic — it’s boring.
(3) A New Yorker profile of Guillermo del Toro from 2011 begins with a LASFS connection —
[Forrest J] Ackerman founded a cult magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and, more lucratively, became an agent for horror and science-fiction writers. He crammed an eighteen-room house in Los Feliz with genre memorabilia, including a vampire cape worn by Bela Lugosi and a model of the pteranodon that tried to abscond with Fay Wray in “King Kong.” Ackerman eventually sold off his collection to pay medical bills, and in 2008 he died. He had no children.
But he had an heir. In 1971, Guillermo del Toro, the film director, was a seven-year-old misfit in Guadalajara, Mexico. He liked to troll the city sewers and dissolve slugs with salt. One day, in the magazine aisle of a supermarket, he came upon a copy of Famous Monsters of Filmland. He bought it, and was so determined to decode Ackerman’s pun-strewed prose—the letters section was called Fang Mail—that he quickly became bilingual.
Del Toro was a playfully morbid child. One of his first toys, which he still owns, was a plush werewolf that he sewed together with the help of a great-aunt. In a tape recording made when he was five, he can be heard requesting a Christmas present of a mandrake root, for the purpose of black magic…
(4) The Martian remains in first place at box office, however, several other genre movies failed on their opening weekend.
Four new films, including Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Vin Diesel’s The Last Witch Hunter, crowded into theaters this weekend and were swiftly pulverized and left for dead.
And John King Tarpinian says he saw only seven people in the audience at a showing of Bill Murray vehicle Rock The Kasbah.
(5) On Reddit — Author Becky Chambers will be joining us in SF Book Club to discuss The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet on October 28!
Details are yet to be fully worked out, but will look something like the rest: she’ll come in the morning to post a thread where we can ask questions, then come back in the afternoon/evening to answer the posted questions and interact with folks for a while.
(6) David K.M. Klaus questions the taste of using a formation of stormtroopers on the Great Wall of China to promote the next Star Wars film.
The Guardian: See video of 500 stormtroopers lining up the Great Wall of China in a #StarWars promotional campaign. https://t.co/gMWbHga8tS
— Champ (@originalchamp) October 22, 2015
Yeah, this is cute — except that it looks just like the mass exercise and marching China used to have and North Korea still does — and “Imperial Stormtroopers”, had they existed, would have been used to rout the students and destroy the statues of the Goddess of Democracy in Tianamen Square in 1989.
Today “Tank Man” blocks the path of an AT-AT walker.
Thanks, Disney! Unfrozen, conventionally-buried-at-Forest-Lawn Unca Walt is a veritable whirligig in his grave right now.
(7) John Hertz responds to the notice in the October 23 Scroll about the passing of Harriett Klausner:
Of more immediate interest to us, Klausner was a pillar of Barry Hunter’s reviewzine Baryon, which came in the mail (Ned Brooks R.I.P.) for years. She read and wrote fluently and much, and wherever I formed an opinion of my own, well; she had few companions, perhaps no equals. I don’t believe I’ve seen a later issue than B 129 in 2014, but that if accurate is hardly conclusive in Fanzineland.
(8) I received this link to “The 40 Most Awesome Supergirl Covers” at Comic Book Resources with the admonition “For Historical Reference ONLY.” I’d say the covers are pretty tame – it’s CBR’s own Supergirl header that tends toward the cliché.
(9) Tufts University political scientist Daniel W. Drezner looked at the Star Wars trailers and concluded that the rebels were “guilty of poor post-war planning” in “’Star Wars, Episode VII’: The Rebel Alliance’s catastrophic success”.
The evidence is right there in this trailer and the previous two. The desert planet of Jakku does not seem to have benefited all that much from the three-decades-old Rebel victory. Daisy Ridley’s character, Rey, appears to be a scavenger, and the planet is just littered with Imperial wreckage. If that hasn’t been cleaned up after 30 years, it’s a good sign that the Rebel Alliance has failed at statebuilding.
He also wonders why they didn’t revive the Senate or let the people know that Darth Vader switched sides minutes before he died.
(10) Time to move to Canada? Netflix will stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens there in 2016.
Fortuitously for Netflix Canada subs, the company’s deal with Disney started with 2015 releases after the previous agreements for the pay-TV window with Corus Entertainment and Bell Canada expired. A Netflix rep confirmed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is slated to come to the service in the country; under the terms of the deal, that will occur approximately eight months after the movie leaves theaters.
(11) Political scientists should also be looking at the world’s newest nation – it’s in a remote corner of Utah.
There is a four-acre piece of land in northwestern Box Elder County that very few people know about. Even fewer people recognize it as what it’s meant to be — its own country.
A decade ago, Zaq Landsberg, a man from New York, bought the land online with a unique goal in mind.
“The conceptual goal is I want it to become a real country,” Landsberg said. “I mean, that goal is not going to happen. It’s impossible, but going through the motions, (I’m) trying to make that happen.”
The area is known to Landsberg as the Republic of Zaqistan, and he is its president….
Zaqistan has its own flag, a border patrol gate, a supply bunker, a robot sentry that guards the land and even official passports.
“Zaqistan works the best, I think, when it’s wedged up against the real world, and when the passports circulate,” Landsberg said.
The passports look and feel real. You can even get them stamped when entering and exiting his land.
(12) What, wait, what? William Shatner was The Chairman on the original Iron Chef USA?
(This attempt to import the popular Japanese series preceded the later, successful Iron Chef America.)
There’s a short clip from an episode on YouTube. Chairman Shatner mugs for the camera starting at about :10.
(13) Ann Leckie fans have reported a great disturbance in the force!
https://twitter.com/kiplet/status/658425768263815169
https://twitter.com/ann_leckie/status/658425935880847360
https://twitter.com/ann_leckie/status/658422319312859136
https://twitter.com/ann_leckie/status/658423864343465985
(14) While we’re in the midst of this Ann Leckie festival, take a listen to Comedrinkwithme’s musical rendition of “It All Goes Around”.
[Thanks to Martin Morse Wooster, Gregory Benford, Will R., Jim Henley, John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
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FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Chuck (16)
Duh
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Night Gallery (8)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
The bots were my kid’s siblings.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
Wonderfalls (3)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Dresden Files (14)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
Pushing Daisies (11)
Nope
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
1. The Prisoner (1)
3. X-Files (5)
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
8. Firefly (2)
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Pushing Daisies (11)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Wait, that was relatively easy. (Am now worried)
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Not an instant’s thought wasted on this one.
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
Night Gallery has a fair amount going for it, but pop-culture-classic MST3K wins it for me in the end.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Keep sending me these easy ones, won’t you?
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
I thought rather longer and harder about this than you might think, since Wonderfalls was a reasonably smart and original piece of TV, while I thought a lot of TNG, especially at the start, was a big disappointment. (Any of the episodes where Patrick Stewart appears to have had some sort of governor fitted to him, so that he can’t act better than Jonathan Frakes, for instance.) But, in the end, residual Trekkie loyalty carries the day….
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Sorry. Dresden Files was a pretty decent short-lived adaptation of the books, and I enjoyed it… Doctor Who shaped my childhood. I’m voting for the Doctor.
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
Not massively bothered about either of these… slightly less bothered about Pushing Daisies.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
Another one that’s harder than you’d think – I actually enjoyed Beauty and the Beast more than I did Stargate (which was another one with a dreadful start, in my opinion). But Stargate matured and improved as it went on, so it gets my vote. But grudgingly, mind, grudgingly.
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Maybe this is heresy, but I think Firefly was over-rated. Oh, it’s good, I’ll grant you that. But its fans trumpet it as the best thing ever, and when I saw it, it just didn’t live up to the expectations. So, I’m voting for the one that made me laugh more.
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
I don’t know Chuck, but I’m still voting for The Prisoner. Last night I watched Dangerman be deliberately misled by his boss; and only part way through season two.
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Abstain as I’m not familiar with either
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
All my childhood and adolescence and a lot of adulthood too.
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Don’t know one and “meh” about the other
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
Fun with just enough ideas
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Firefly could have been great, but 3rd rock was.
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
pass (nope, seen neither of these)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
tie, therefore abstain
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Huh, I just had a post with no hyperlinks disappear completely into the aether, possibly due to one or more controversial trigger words. 😐
In this round, both more where I’ve seen both, and a couple where I feel strongly enough about one to vote anyway.
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Because THE LIGHTHOUSE ITSELF IS THE ROCKET! HA!
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
Is it the not-too-distant future yet?
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Yes, it fell apart. But still wins this one, at least, for that shining period before it did.
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Third Rock was sometimes pretty funny. Firefly … didn’t do much for me, although I liked the movie (yes, I’m the one lunatic who liked the movie but not the TV show.)
Bracketry:
1. The Prisoner
3. X-Files
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
6. Pushing Daisies
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Firefly
The Prisioner needs no explanation.
X-Files was soo good, and so terrible, and so infuriating, and…
ST:NG lives at the heart of my nerdiness.
I didn’t dislike the Dresden Files enough for anti-voting. I’m not a Whovian. I’ve tried, and I believe all you people who say smart things about it. I wish I could get into it, so I could understand the fascinating convos.
Can I vote twice for Pushing Daisies? Pretty please with sugar on top and a cherry? On a sundae? On a stick?
Those last two really got me. I wouldn’t vote for either of (7) as best ever, but I have much fondness for both. And (8), aaaarrrghh. Pass the cloths, and scoot the couch closer, please.
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Abstain
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Abstain
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Abstain
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Wonderfalls (3)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Wonderfalls (3)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Abstain — didn’t care for either
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
1. The Prisoner (1)
2. Night Gallery (8)
3. Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. Eureka (6)
7. Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
abstain
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Dresden Files (14)
Err… where’s the order form for those forehead clothes?
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
Pushing Daisies (11)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY – The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR – Abstain
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD – Abstain
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS – Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR – Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER – Abstain
7. HIDDEN WORLDS – Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT – Third Rock from the Sun (15)
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Chuck (16)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
Wonderfalls (3)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Dresden Files (14)
No doubt about those. Thought about X-files; liked it, but not quite enough to vote for it against something I’ve not seen.
Well, I’m sad I missed the first round, as I’m certain my votes would have made all the difference. :-/
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Nothing beats classic weird.
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
The one, the only(ish), the joy of my life for so many years.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Wanted to like ABC (tracked it down at great expense at one point) and I just…didn’t. Meanwhile, I had X-Files vanity plates on my car at one point. So…
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
The 800 pound gorilla.
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Tom Baker was my first Doctor.
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Write-in: Twin Peaks
I don’t know if I missed it in the first round, but it fits the category and I really love it.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
B&B never hooked me, whereas I own pretty much all the Stargate. They really expanded on the movie in interesting and clever ways.
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
The Great Martyr of SF TV vs. a sit-com with an appalling ending? Not much contest here. What the heck did 3rd Rock beat in the first round?
Well, this is easy. Please insert a God Stalk crie de couer for Slings and Arrows where appropriate.
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
Chuck (16)
Hated The Prisoner, haven’t seen Chuck, hereby Abstain.
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Night Gallery (8)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
Hated MST3K, haven’t seen Night Gallery, hereby Abstain.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
Haven’t seen either, abstain.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
Wonderfalls (3)
Haven’t seen either, abstain.
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Dresden Files (14)
I vote for the Dresden Files, all unseen, because I hate hate hate Doctor Who, especially classic Doctor Who.
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
Pushing Daisies (11)
Haven’t seen either, abstain.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
Stargate SG-1 (10)
Haven’t seen either, abstain.
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
And I adore Firefly, and the one time I tried to watch TRftS, it hurt my head and I quit half an episode in.
Slings and Arrows, dammit.
For anyone who missed it: The results of round 1 are here. Rotating by region at the moment – Jim explained it somewhere by I’m all fuzzy-brained today and I can’t remember which thread.
Meredith is correct. We are still in round 1, region 2. There were requests not to run voting on all 32 first-round matches at once so we’re launching one region per night.
Twin Peaks is in either the Rimward or Trailing regional bracket. I forget which one and am not on a computing machine now.
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
TV Bracket:
1. The Prisoner
2. Not seen either of these – Abstain
3. X-Files
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
5. Doctor Who [Classic]
6. Eureka
7. Stargate SG-1
8. Firefly
Regions are here and somewhere a little below that is the thing about doing one region at a time.
This region does not seem to be trending toward as many first-round upsets as the last one. Maybe SG-1 has a chance?
For round 2, coming this weekend, there’s a prime opportunity for someone to play tout! “The oddsmakers on Vavatch Orbital have set the BSG-Outer Limits line at +5!”
Thanks Meredith. And there’s Twin Peaks, 5th(!) seed in the Rimward region.
Not much where I watched both here. Hmm.
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
1. SPY VS SPY
The Prisoner
2. THE HORROR, THE OTHER HORROR
Night Gallery
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
The Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek:Next Generation
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who (Classic)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Abstain
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1
whimper
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Night Gallery (8)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
Chuck (16)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Pass
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
Forehead cloths! Forehead cloths! Getcher fine hand-folded forehead cloths here! Cool that fevered brow!
I like the “one region at a time” approach. I think it’s encouraging more discussion about why people like what they like, whereas the whole long list might have tended toward simple check-boxing.
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Night Gallery (8)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Wonderfalls (3)
Note: CURSE YOU DICE.
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Pushing Daisies (11)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS
Spinward Region – Round One
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (12)
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
Stargate SG-1 (10)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Third Rock from the Sun (15)
1.) The Prisoner.
As Rev. Bob said, it should be in the 6th slot. I will merely point out that it belongs in the first slot as well. The question of the presence of a comma. The last episode still makes no sense, although the comic series did a really nice job of wrapping the whole thing up. (Read it, it’s good!)
2.)
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
As Rev. Bob said, it should be in the 6th slot. I will merely point out that it belongs in the first slot as well. The question of the presence of a comma. The last episode still makes no sense, although the comic series did a really nice job of wrapping the whole thing up. (Read it, it’s good!)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
I think the seed for this one is far too low.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
I have friends who love Brisco. I just never got it.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
Was this even a contest?
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Tom Baker is my doctor.
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Eureka (6)
The last two seasons were weaker than the previous ones, but it was a great show.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Abstain. Have not watched any Beauty and the Beast and only a little of SG-1
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Blowout. Also, find the scene of Castle explaining space cowboys to his daughter on youtube. It’s great.
Steve Wright said:
I’ll go one better (or worse) and say I don’t even grant that it’s good.
I will, however, grant that it’s popular. I actually have it taking the championship in my bracket prediction. I’m pleasantly shocked to see anyone at all besides me voting for Third Rock From the Sun.
The Spinward Marches:
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
Metaplot went off the rails but even late on there were diamond standalone episodes.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
Make it so!
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
Another one who grew up with Tom Baker
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Stargate SG-1 (10)
Watched all 10 seasons, the specials and Atlantis. No brainer.
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
Didn’t find 3rd rock funny at all, I’m going to stop there because obviously other people here really like it. Firefly on the other hand I really liked, though I watched it after the Big Damned Movie.
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
As a Smithee Awards person, I have to give it to the Grand Masters of the B Movie experience. We are but humble followers in their footsteps, lurching like Torgo.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
This was the start of my actual typing-up fanfic writing life. The scullyfic listserv was a great community.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
I did not watch The Dresden Files, I confess, and my Classic Who knowledge is limited to what I caught late night on Iowa Public Television, back in my imaginary adolescence. (What? If as Camestros says, Iowa does not exist, neither did my late childhood and adolescence there, making them imaginary. I am okay with that.) I was very surprised later in life that most Doctor Who episodes don’t actually involve Daleks, so yeah, my exposure was limited. But any show that could birth such a fandom gets my first round vote…
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Abstain on ignorance.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Abstain. I haven’t watched either, actually… Firefly got pushed at me much too hard and I usually avoid sitcoms.
@Heather Rose Jones: I also think one-region-at-a-time is working really well. Initially I was going to go for two at a time, out of fear people would feel like things were dragging, but this seems like a good pace. Unless someone objects, I’ll stick with 8 matches per set through the Sweet 16. So for second round we’ll go
ROUND 2 DAY 1
Coreward 4 matches
Spinward 4 matches
ROUND 2 DAY 2
Rimward 4 matches
Trailing 4 Matches
SWEET 16 (DAY 3)
Coreward 2 matches
Spinward 2 matches
Rimward 2 matches
Trailing 2 Matches
Then a day apiece for the Elite 8, Final 4, Championship/consolation/Whatshouldawon stages.
That leaves us done done done middle of next week. Barring one possible complication starting with the Sweet 16.
@Jason:
Man, you are hard on your fellow Filers! 😉
I like Firefly, but I admit I’m not in the obsessive fan camp. It had issues (the race aspect, the treatment of Inara), and other Whedon suggests those flaws would have only been made worse had it lingered. It might have been nice if it had another season back when, but I’m not one of those who still thinks that, or another movie, would be fab.
of course, I’m not very good at the obsessive fan routine – says the woman with the TARDIS teapot, the fuzzy 4-foot TARDIS scratching post / mini-fridge holder in the living room, and a Tom Baker scarf in the winter gear box. (ok, the latter two are technically my husband’s, but a: I married him, and b: I’m the mad tea fanatic) But in truth, I tend to look askance at people who make one show (or author, or band) their *whole* focus, to the exclusion of so much other excellence.
MST3K’s seed might be my fault – I marked it as maybe needing a ruling due to the unusual format.
Not that not even being on the list (or eligible) stopped people from nominating Futurama.
Score so far: 6 points (of 8 possible)
Number of Sweet Sixteen TV shows lost already: 1
Spinward Region – Round One
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (9)
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
As much as I like Brisco, I am going with the body of work here — and X-Files had some good high points.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6 — I didn’t watch any of either pairing.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8 — see 6
1. The Prisoner
One of my all time favs, I will always vote for it.
2. MST3K
3. Adventures Of Brisco County, Jr.
4. ST:TNG
8. Firefly
One of my all time favs, I will always uh-oh….
1. SPY VS. SPY
The Prisoner (1)
2. THE HORROR, THE (OTHER) HORROR
Night Gallery (8)
OKAY, THIS WAS JUST MEAN.
3. SH;T GETS WEIRD
X-Files (5)
DAMMIT YOU GUYS.
4. PRIME DIRECTIVE OR PRIMO DIRECTIONS
Star Trek: The Next Generation (4)
5. *SOMEBODY* THINKS IT’S THE WRONG ACTOR
Doctor Who [Classic] (3)
6. LAW AND CONSIDERABLE DISORDER
Pushing Daisies (11)
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
7. HIDDEN WORLDS
Beauty and the Beast [Original] (7)
8. ONE THEME SONG WAS NOT A HIT
Firefly (2)
1. The Prisoner – I quite liked Chuck, but be seeing you.
3. X-Files – okay, so it leaps the shark quite a lot, but this was a real break-out hit. How many genre shows even dare to contemplate graduating to a movie?
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
5. Doctor Who [Classic] – I will now age myself: McCoy.
7. Beauty and the Beast – quite a tight choice, but B&tB has a weird charm.
8. Firefly – shiny