Pixel Scroll 10/27 Return To Hedgehogwarts

(1) Bad science in sf I’m used to. On the other hand, this expose of Monty Python by medievalist Kathleen E. Kennedy is shocking! Her post for The Mary Sue, “Coconuts in Medieval England Weren’t as Rare as Monty Python and the Holy Grail Made You Think”, claims England was practically awash in coconuts – had he existed, King Arthur would have had no problem acquiring one.

(2) As a fan, when I see something like “15 Facts You Didn’t Know About the Original ‘Ghostbusters’”, I start jonesing to tell the headline writer that the original Ghost Busters was the working title of a Bowery Boys movie. But carry on….

Imagine Eddie Murphy and his fellow paranormal firefighters battling a motorcycle-riding skeleton and a giant lizard monster from their gas-station base in a futuristic New Jersey. Who you gonna call? Ghost Smashers!

By the time it became an instant classic upon its release in 1984, Ghostbusters had morphed through radically different iterations, featuring bonkers plot points and unrecognizable creatures. Those mind-blowing details are chronicled by Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History, author Daniel Wallace’s revelatory, self-explanatory new book due out this week, just in time for Halloween.

(3) I stopped to watch Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters music video while researching the previous item. That 1980s video did some nice things with neon lights. But it can’t hold a candle *coff* to the Halloween Light Show set to his vocals in this YouTube video — four singing pumpkin faces, tombstones, hand carved pumpkins, strobes, floods, two Matrix boards and thousands of lights.

(4) At this hour it may be hard to find anyone who hasn’t already read John Scalzi’s Whatever post titled “Here’s the Egregious, Mealy-Mouthed Clump of Bullshit That is the 2015 World Fantasy Convention Harassment Policy”.

I am not a lawyer, but I expect that ReedPOP, the company that runs [New York Comic Con] (among many other conventions around the US) has maybe a few lawyers on its staff. If NYCC is utterly and absolutely unafraid to promulgate a harassment policy even though there is a legal statute defining what harassment means in the state of New York, I expect it might have been possible for World Fantasy to have done likewise, if they chose to do so.

And I recommend reading Jesi Pershing’s comment on the post. (I’m unable to link to specific comments on Whatever, despite both it and File 770 running on WordPress….)

(5) Trae Dorn’s story at Nerd & Tie, “World Fantasy Convention writes the worst harasssment policy ever” doesn’t live up to the hyperbole of the headline, but it reflects the prevailing mood of the internet.

(6) Jim C. Hines weighed in with “Trying to Fix WFC’s Harassment Policy Problem”.

Can this actually be fixed?

Well, no. Not completely. You’ve pissed off a lot of people, and you’ve got nine days before the start of the convention. You can’t fix it. But you can work to make it better. Here are my suggestions, for what they’re worth.

A compelling observation was quoted from Natalie Luhrs’ post —

Keep in mind that, as Natalie Luhrs pointed out, “three of the last five World Fantasy Conventions had harassment incidents that were publicized: 20102011, and 2013.” This doesn’t include incidents that weren’t publicized.

However, it should be noted that other recent WFC’s have had genuine anti-harassment policies – the 2015 committee is an aberration in that respect.

(7) The headline for Arthur Chu’s post captures just what I think was really controlling SXSW’s decision to have these panels at all – “This Is Not a Game: How SXSW Turned GamerGate Abuse Into a Spectator Sport”. Chu also is very informative about the history about the anti-harassment panel proposal.

  1. Any “both sides” narrative is nonsense. Whatever harassment and abuse there was cannot have been at all symmetrical.

SXSW acknowledges this when they tell Randi Harper in an email they’ve “received numerous threats of violence regarding this panel (Level Up)” and a “civil and respectful environment seems unlikely.” You can see with your own eyes the degree of incivility and disrespect likely to occur at her panel by looking at the comment thread GamerGate left on PanelPicker. This started up in August and has only had time to fester since then.

By contrast, I don’t think anyone “anti-GamerGate” I’ve spoken to other than my fellow panelists was even aware a GamerGate panel was in the cards until it was announced last week. Feel free to search my own history on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, etc. to see if you can find any mention of it.

(8) Chris Kluwe went straight for the jugular.

What you did, what you’re doing, is providing the blueprint for harassers and hatemongers as to how they win. From this point forward, any fringe group of spiteful lunatics can point to this moment and say, “We will silence the voices of anyone we dislike at SXSW, any view we disagree with, because we know the mewling slugs in charge have not the backbone to stop us. All we need to do is confront them with our vileness, and they will fold.”

And the worst part?

YOU are solely the ones responsible for this.

YOU decided that it was appropriate to give a group of harassers a platform to continue their wretched campaign of ignorance. No one forced you to bypass the application process, to slide this selection of charlatans and liars along back alley channels into the conference. (And by the way, it is beyond ironic that a group ostensibly about ‘ethics in journalism’ required such an unethical route.)

YOU chose to ignore the warnings of the women targeted, to dismiss their voices as unworthy of respect or consideration, and then had the gall to act shocked that a ‘movement’ known for its corrosive toxicity slimed its oh-so-predictable foulness in your direction after you invited them in.

(9) Today In History:

October 27, 1938 – Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre of the Air broadcasts its adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. Joe Bloch comments —

People have debated for decades just why the country was so willing to be fooled by the broadcast, and the question of whether or not Welles had an inkling of what would happen was never answered. It is certain that he denied it at a later Congressional hearing, but in subsequent interviews he answered the question rather coyly, implying that he might have known what could happen.

(10) Stop snickering about aliens, d’ye hear me? Astrophysics profession Adam Frank, co-founder of the 13.7 blog, says “Maybe It’s Time To Stop Snickering About Aliens”.

Boyajian and her co-authors considered a wide range of possibilities to explain the strange dips in the light coming from KIC 8462852. Nothing they dreamed up provided a really, really good explanation. And in the absence of that really, really good explanation, at least a few others have been thinking: “Aliens!” As Ross reports, Jason Wright of Penn State is already working on a paper suggesting we might be seeing a signature of extraterrestrial construction, a “swarm of mega-structures,” on a planetary system scale.

Now, at this point, I could start telling you about Dyson spheres and Kardashev Type II civilizations that engage in solar-system-spanning building projects (or even Vogon Constructor Fleets).

But I won’t.

That’s because the point today is not what KIC 8462852, in particular, might be telling us. The odds are high that a natural explanation will be found for the star’s flickering that has nothing to do with aliens.

Why take that stance? Well, aliens are always the last hypothesis you should consider. Occam’s razor tells scientists to always go for the simplest explanation for a new phenomenon. But even as we keep Mr. Occam’s razor in mind, there is something fundamentally new happening right now that all of us, including scientists, must begin considering.

Kepler and the many exoplanet-hunting missions coming next (JWST, PLATO, etc.) represent an entirely new way of watching the sky.

Telescope time has always been expensive — and there’s a lot of sky. In the past, astronomers didn’t have the technical capacity to continuously watch zillions of stars for long periods of time. The suns we astronomers did come back to again and again tended to be remarkable in one way or another (they flared or blew up periodically). But the exoplanet revolution means we’re developing capacities to stare deep into the light produced by hundreds of thousands of boring, ordinary stars. And these are exactly the kind of stars where life might form on orbiting planets.

(11) Tom Knighton says it’s only a “Supergirl Kinda-Review” but he covers a lot of ground as he fills in readers about last night’s series debut.

First, the casting was interesting, and I mean that in a good way.  Kara (aka Supergirl for those who don’t know) is, like her cousin, raised by human parents.  Her parents were played by…*drum roll please* Dean Caine of Lois and Clark and Helen Slater, the original live-action Supergirl.  Honestly, it make my inner geek giddy right there.

(12) All the other old-timers showed up in the latest Star Wars trailer. Where was Mark Hamill? The director has an answer — “J.J. Abrams addresses Luke’s absence from Star Wars trailers”

When asked what’s going with Luke’s lack of appearance in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers, director J.J. Abrams stated it’s part of the plan.

“These are good questions to be asking. I can’t wait for you to find out the answer,” he said. The fact Luke is being kept away from the promotional materials is “no accident,” he continued.

It actually goes a bit deeper than that. There was a leaked image of Luke Skywalker wearing what seemed to be standard Jedi robes that made the rounds, but Disney went to work pulling as many copies of the image from the internet as possible, including Twitter embeds.

(13) Gail Z. Martin suggests “Five Reasons Why Authors Do Blog Tours (And Maybe You Should, Too)” at Magical Words.

What’s a blog tour and why should you consider doing one?

A blog tour provides the opportunity for an author to be featured in guest posts on a number of other blogs, thus gaining visibility to the readers on all those sites. Likewise, an author who has a blog can do a tour on his/her own site by featuring a number of other authors on the site in a given period of time.

Two crucial elements separate a ‘blog tour’ from merely being a guest for the day on someone else’s blog. First, a blog tour generally involves guesting on multiple blogs or hosting multiple guests on your blog. And secondly, the activity occurs within a pre-defined (and advance-promoted) time period—perhaps a week or a month. In fact, blog tours work best when the bloggers and the guests promote the upcoming post—much like when a celebrity promotes being interviewed on TV. The author gets visibility, and perhaps new readers. The blogger gets traffic and well as visibility—and perhaps some of those visitors will come back time and again.

(14) Harlan Ellison is among the contributors to Jewish Noir: Contemporary Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds, to be published November 1.

The stories explore such issues as the Holocaust and its long-term effects on subsequent generations, anti-Semitism in the mid- and late-20th-century United States, and the dark side of the Diaspora (e.g., the decline of revolutionary fervor, the passing of generations, the Golden Ghetto, etc.).

(15) And rather like Harlan Ellison, Wil Wheaton thinks the writer should get paid. His post “you can’t pay your rent with the ‘unique platform and reach our site provides’” tells why he told HuffPo to take a hike.

(16) Here’s somebody you don’t see at fan-run conventions every day… but he’ll be at Gallifrey One in 2016:

Sir John Hurt, who brought the ‘missing link’ in the Doctor’s past — the War Doctor, from the 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” — to life, will be headlining the 2016 Gallifrey One convention, in an appearance sponsored by Showmasters Events.

(17) Remember that how that old statue of Lenin in a Ukraine town was rededicated to Darth Vader the other day? Well, sounds like old Darth is up to no good – just check out this story: “Chewbacca Arrested During Ukraine Elections”

The Wookiee is handcuffed and detained after supporting Darth Vader’s bid to be elected as Mayor of Odessa.

Yes, my friends, there’s trouble in unpronounceable city!

[Thanks to Steven H Silver, Martin Morse Wooster, Francis Hamit, JJ, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

278 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 10/27 Return To Hedgehogwarts

  1. @Cally
    You have laid in ample supplies of facecloths, I hope.
    The last thing I’ll want to hear in round two is that they are on back order.

  2. Best scene from Atlantis:

    Col Caldwell: Colonel
    Col Ellis : Colonel
    Col Caldwell: Colonel
    Col Carter: Colonels
    Col Ellis: Colonel
    Col Sheppard: Colonels
    McKay: Seriously?!

  3. Rimward Region – Round One
    1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)
    2. Angel (8)
    3. Due South (12), ‘cos it had Diefenbaker.
    4. Survivors (13). That was hard. Won’t be too upset if it goes the other way, though; when it comes to TV, I’m more of an affectionado (Hampus’s term, if I remember rightly) than an obsessive.
    5. Red Dwarf (3)
    6. Addams Family (6)
    7. Abstain
    8. Doctor Who [New] (2)

  4. I believe I shall brackets.

    1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)

    I am probably riding this one as far as it gets. For Joyce and Giles and everything else.

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8)

    God knows this show had problems, from a most spectacular racial misstep even by the low standards of Mutant Enemy to, ahem, Connor. But it had Season 5, and two seasons worth of wonderful development of Cordelia Chase (read Jennifer Crusie’s classic essay) before whatever happened with Charisma Carpenter’s contract happened and that all went to poop. And even the execrable Season 4 had Awakening, possibly the greatest episode of the entire series.

    But personally, I kinda wanna slay the dragon.

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Twin Peaks (5)

    This show became literally unwatchable in its second season. Oh but the first season. This is the only television show that ever scared me.

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Sapphire and Steel (4)

    And of course, I mean the even-numbered episodes…

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Addams Family (6)

    In a walk. Or whatever Morticia did on whatever was under that long skirt.

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New] (2)

    For me, the consistent run of quality ended after the Christmas special beginning Series 6, but even after that some fine acting work by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Peter Capaldi. And some fine writing before that. It made me care about Doctor Who, which never happened before.

    And I remind everyone that the name of the Doctor’s secret dad, Wilfred Mott, is an anagram for “TIME LORD FTW.”

  5. 1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer – going to be hard to beat. I’m into s5 on a rewatch and I’m amazed how well it stands up. Admittedly there are some parts where I just watch my daughter’s face instead of the TV. Her utter bemusement as Superstar ran the opening credits with lotsa Jonathan was hilarious.

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8) – some good, some bad, but it averages to always watchable.

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Not enough of an opinion, despite watching both.

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Survivors – ouch

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Red Dwarf – so maybe the early seasons are a bit ropey, but the middle 3 seasons or so are comedy gold.

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Tomorrow People [late 70s]

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Never seen Atlantis, and while there’s nothing wrong with having no bloody plan you shouldn’t spend seasons pretending you do.

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New]

  6. Rimward Region – Round One

    1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Greatest American Hero (9)

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Twin Peaks (5)

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Abstain

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Abstain

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Abstain

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Abstain

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New] (2)

  7. Rimward Region – Round One

    1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8)

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Twin Peaks (5)

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Survivors (13)

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Red Dwarf (3)

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Addams Family (6)

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Lost (7)

    8. TRAVELERS
    Carnivale (15)

  8. FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS

    Rimward Region – Round One

    1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)
    Warehouse 13 (16)

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8)
    Greatest American Hero (9)

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Twin Peaks (5)
    Due South (12)

    Argh, this is difficult.

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Sapphire and Steel (4)
    Survivors (13)

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Red Dwarf (3)
    Being Human (14)

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Addams Family (6)
    Tomorrow People [late 70s] (11)

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Lost (7)
    Stargate Atlantis (10)

    Pass. I dislike both.

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New] (2)
    Carnivale (15)

  9. 1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8)

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Due South (12)

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Abstain

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Red Dwarf (3)

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Addams Family (6)

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Abstain

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New] (2)

  10. Sapphire and Steel is the weirdest, oddest, come at you from spooky right angles-ist show I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to those of you who haven’t seen it. It is (or at least it was) on Netflix.

    Plus David McCallum, Joanna Lumley and David Collings.

  11. Rimward Region – Round One

    1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    2. Abstain

    3. Abstain

    4. Abstain

    5. Red Dwarf

    6. Addams Family

    7. Lost

    8. Doctor Who [New]

  12. 3. Twin Peaks
    4. Survivors
    Might not advance but I hope being on the list has people look it up. My review of The Walking Dead is “Survivors with zombies”
    6. Addams Family
    More family fun viewing
    7. Lost
    Had me from the start but really got me with the time traveling to met the red head
    8. Doctor Who (new)
    I didn’t watch til my gf had me watch Blink. Then more time traveling with a red head

  13. ULTRAGOTHA on October 30, 2015 at 5:49 pm said:
    Sapphire and Steel is the weirdest, oddest, come at you from spooky right angles-ist show I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to those of you who haven’t seen it. It is (or at least it was) on Netflix.

    Plus David McCallum, Joanna Lumley and David Collings.

    Also all on YouTube.

  14. FILE 770 LIVE-ACTION TV TOURNAMENT AND BRACKETS

    Rimward Region – Round One Results

    A bunch of matches were close through the halfway point or so, and a couple were even see-saw contests. Angel vs. GAH, Twin Peaks-Due South and Lost-SGA all looked like they might go the distance at one point. But in the end, all the winners won comfortably. This was another region with only one upset. The right side of the bracket is running strongly toward chalk so far.

    1. IN EVERY GENERATION THERE IS A CHOSEN ONE. COED OR STORAGE FACILITY, DEPENDING.
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1)
    Warehouse 13 (16)

    “Seriously, Giles, I’m supposed to fight a warehouse?”
    “Yes, actu’lly.”
    “Is it a demonic warehouse? A warehouse that drinks blood? A – ”
    “Buffy – just go fight the warehouse. Please.”
    “Fine.” A few minutes later: “Done!”

    Final score:

    Buffy 50
    The Warehouse 5

    2. LEAVING INFAMOUS NAMES BEHIND
    Angel (8)
    Greatest American Hero (9)

    The Greatest American Hero had Angel locked in a close contest for about a quarter, but then lost focus, perhaps distracted by the fear that someone named “Hurley” would do something infamous and he’d have to change his name again. “Once his forehead got bumpy I was like, uh oh,” the man sometimes called GAH said in the post-game presser. Final score:

    Angel 37
    GAH 15

    Having survived Round 1, Angel moves on to face – oh shit

    3. AN EXPERT IS ANYONE FROM OUT OF TOWN
    Twin Peaks (5)
    Due South (12)

    The team from Chicago kept it close early, and then sprang what they thought was a surprise substitution on their small-town opponents. But those opponents were unimpressed. “A ghost?” sneered Sheriff Harry S. Truman. “That’s what you’ve got? Let me introduce you to my friend Bob.” Final score:

    Twin Peaks 33
    Due South 18

    4. EMPTY PLACES
    Sapphire and Steel (4)
    Survivors (13)

    The post-apocalyptic pastoralists took a 4-3 lead early, despite being a heavy underdog, and were feeling pretty good about their chances. Asked about that stretch after the game, Elemental agent Steel said, “Truth is, we had to pop back to the previous days’ matches to deal with some issues, such as the fellow who kept taking over people’s bodies and then took over an entire starship. Which was in the past of another starship from the future.”
    “And there were the Twin Peaks fans trying to start their match two days early,” added teammate Sapphire.
    “Yes. And that cop who went back to the 70s.”
    “Or didn’t. Who knows. We still have to deal with him actually.”

    Final score:

    Sapphire and Steel 21
    Survivors 11

    Sapphire and Steel face off against Twin Peaks next, in a matchup that makes all too much sense.

    5. ROOMMATE TROUBLES
    Red Dwarf (3)
    Being Human (14)

    A classic matchup: brash upstart versus veteran; science fiction versus fantasy; space versus Earth. The team from Totterdown and later Wales faced long odds indeed, but by the end of the match achieved their ultimate dream. Because being human means you sometimes get clobbered by life. Final score:

    Red Dwarf 32
    Being Human 8

    6. YESTERDAY’S PEOPLE VS. TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
    Addams Family (6)
    Tomorrow People [late 70s] (11)

    The team representing The Lab thought their opponents were a bunch of Saps who wouldn’t be up to countering their combination of mutant powers and jaunting technology. The Tomorrow People did score the match’s first point. Then, eventually, they scored the match’s 21st point. And then eventually 8 more. The rest of it was all Addams, all the time. Asked in a post-game interview how his simple family was able to overpower the so-called Homo Novis, Addams-family captain Gomez Addams explained, “Ah! We cheated! Massively and constantly!” Final score:

    Addams Family 40
    Tomorrow People 10

    The Addamses take on a tough Red Dwarf team next round.

    7. ISLANDS IN THE BRACKETS
    Lost (7)
    Stargate Atlantis (10)

    This was a tough match from the beginning, but the favorite, Lost, was only down 2 at halftime. “All we need to do is stay focused and finish strong,” Coach JJ Abrams said on the way to the locker room. Sometimes these jokes write themselves. Final score:

    Stargate Atlantis 27
    Lost 17

    8. TRAVELERS
    Doctor Who [New] (2)
    Carnivale (15)

    “Seriously,” said a dubious Tenth Doctor before play started, “your entire show is about a circus? I could see a circus being the basis of a two-part episode perhaps. But a whole show?”
    “Don’t get snooty with me, Limey! We’re bringing a little something called the Apocalypse!” boasted the underdog.
    And indeed, something like an apocalypse came. Final score:

    Doctor Who (New) 42
    Carnivale 9

    The Doctor will face Stargate Atlantis, fresh off an upset victory, in Round 2 Saturday night.

  15. Jim Henley on October 30, 2015 at 7:16 pm said:
    @Meredith: Fix got in just under the wire! Thanks…

    I knew it.
    The fix was in!
    Smoking gun time!

  16. I’m just glad Tor got the fraudulent votes in for their authors Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who (New) at a reasonable hour tonight.

  17. @redheadedfemme: Thank you!

    I think I’ll take a shot at handicapping Round 2, Night 1 over here, where it won’t interfere with the voting.

    Coreward

    1. Babylon 5 (1) -25 vs. Misfits (9) – Almost all Misfits voters in Round 1 also voted for B5! And only 11 of 61 voters didn’t vote for B5 (abstained or voted for Space: A & B). So the top seed should have no problem winning by 25 or more.

    2. Star Trek: DS9 (4) -15 vs. Robin of Sherwood (12) – I could actually see an upset here, but I still make DS9 a 15-point Bayesian favorite.

    3. BSG (3) +9 vs. Outer Limits (6) – I’m predicting an upset here, with the higher seed a nine-point underdog. In addition to my patented point-splitting method, which who knows if it works, BSG inspires a lot of anger for a supposed favorite. Nobody is mad at the Outer Limits.

    4. Twilight Zone (2) -17 vs. Torchwood (10) – I don’t see this one being in doubt even before I do the fake math.

    Spinward

    1. The Prisoner (1) -30 vs. MST3K (9) – See The Prisoner scoring in the 40s and MST3K in the teens.

    2. Star Trek: TNG -4 vs. X-Files – This could go either way, but I make TNG a slight favorite.

    3. Classic Who (3) -28 vs. Eureka – Another one that’s not remotely in doubt. Best I can say for Eureka is that it should hit double digits.

    4. Firefly (2) -14 vs. Stargate SG-1 – If we had actual betting, I would jump on Stargate here. I think Firefly squeaks by or goes down. It’s got a lot of fans, but like BSG it’s got a lot of detractors too.

  18. Eventually there will be four left and I will have seen two. I hope. Thanks for the reminder to go watch episode 2 of Carnivale.

  19. LOST??? YOU VOTED LOST DOWN??? I demand a recount! We were robbed! I’m forming the “Angry Turtles!” Or “Angry Gregs!”

    In other words… WE HAVE TO GO BACK, FILE770! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!

    I WILL NOW HENCE VOTE AGAINST EVERY STARGATE-RELATED THING. EVER. EVEN IN PLACES WHERE IT IS NOT ON THE BALLOT. FOR MAYOR NEXT YEAR I AM VOTING “NOT STARGATE.”

    Ahem. Back to Round 2!

  20. Lauowolf: I understand the heat of the argument and all, but it is certainly ironic in a discussion of harassment to see something like this. If someone tells you your discussion of their sexuality has made them uncomfortable, the only possible response is to apologize and drop it. It does not matter if the person himself has alluded to it previously. It doesn’t matter if you think it made a great example of something. It’s not okay. You can make your point without making it personal.

    This is true. My apologies to you, Hampus Eckerman. I won’t bring it up again.

  21. > “Addams-family captain Gomez Addams explained, ‘Ah! We cheated! Massively and constantly!'”

    🙂

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