Pixel Scroll 9/24/17 The Hodor Into Summer

(1) DEDICATION. Since the movie Hidden Figures came out a lot of people know this name: “NASA Langley’s Katherine Johnson Computational Research Facility Officially Opens”.

When she heard that NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, would name its newest building after her, Katherine Johnson responded the only way she could – with surprise.

“You want my honest answer? I think they’re crazy,” the 99-year-old Johnson, of “Hidden Figures” fame, said with a laugh.

The Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, or CRF, was dedicated Sept. 22 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by family and friends of Johnson and her fellow “human computers,” students from Black Girls Code and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, and special guests from across Virginia.

“You have been a trailblazer,” Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said during the ceremony. “When I think of Virginia and the history of what we’ve gone through … you’re at the top of that list.”

 

(2) SAYING YOU CARE. Monica Valentinelli delivers an important reminder for us to value the people who create things we love.

Hey, if you could do ONE THING for me this weekend, reach out to an author, artist, editor, game designer/dev, etc. and send them fan mail. (Excluding me.) There’s another uptick of harassers and trolls attacking some great people out there, and the ONLY thing that counteracts that is love. That love can come from anywhere: self, friends, family, etc. But, telling someone their work matters to you? It means an incredible amount. Right now, creatives need you. The news is terrifying. Many uncertainties politically, financially, etc. Help motivate artists. Show you care. Please, don’t wait to reach out when someone’s in crisis or needs help. What you say now is fuel for the darker times. And, you never know. Not everyone can speak up and say how they’re doing. Telling someone something good can be fuel to help them finish that next thing that you’ll love and treasure. Peace out.

(3) WRITERS WHO WON’T READ. Jason Sanford makes two points in “The Submissions Men Don’t See”. The first is:

Lots of screaming in the SF/F genre lately about “data” suggesting far more women are being published in genre magazines than men. The problem with that analysis, though, was it only looked at a small group of magazines. Add in all the other professional SF magazines out there and the numbers change, making the controversy choke on a big mouthful of nothing pie.

Don’t believe me? Check out this excellent examination of gender submission and publication statistics in the SF/F short fiction field, which Susan E. Connolly published in Clarkesworld in 2014. Her examination spanned multiple articles and is incredibly detailed with a strong data set. Her conclusion? “Authors who are women are less well represented in terms of submissions and publications than authors who are men.”

Then he documents a second point, that men are more likely than women to disregard a magazine’s submission guidelines.

(4) THE DIGITAL ART OF SELF-DEFENSE. Alex Acks tells you “How to win an argument on the internet (without losing your mind)” in five steps. The first is:

  1. Assume until proven otherwise that the other person is arguing in bad faith.

…This is the foundation you need to start on. This isn’t a call to be rude or insulting out of hand – unless this addresses your ultimate goal, more on that later – but you need approach from word one with the understanding that the other person is not actually interested in having a debate, discussion, or argument. They’re interested in pissing you off. Sure, be open to the possibility that they’re the rare sort of unicorn that does want to understand, but don’t set yourself up for disappointment.

And what this frees you to do is take a step back from what’s in front of you and address it as a performance rather than an honest communication.

(5) ARRESTED PROGRESS. Professor Gerry Canavan’s “No, Speed Limit: John Scalzi’s “The Collapsing Empire” in the LA Review of Books uses a gravity assist from Donald A. Wollheim’s outline of Golden Age SF to launch readers into his analysis, which includes this outline of Scalzi’s varied approaches to faster-than-light travel.

John Scalzi’s The Collapsing Empire — whose title alone seems like an appallingly on-the-nose allegory for the state of the United States at this moment — is one of the most important revisionist hyperspace narratives to come along in some time. Scalzi, a master of science fictional parody and pastiche, has played with this problem before, unsettling the easy assumptions about hyperspace that characterized Golden Age science fiction. In Old Man’s War, his riff on Heinlein, hyperspace is indeed easy but carries with it a weird psychological cost: ships don’t actually move faster than light, they simply leap out of their original universe into a parallel one (which, the scientists assure everyone, is probably completely identical, more or less). In his Redshirts, a revisionist Star Trek, ships move at the speed of Narrative rather than according to any rational principle of physics; in his somber and understated The God Engines, the violation of physical principles we call hyperspace is made possible by flogging and torturing gods that our heroes have captured and enslaved.

(6) GIVE MY REGARDS TO HOGWARTS. Today on CBS Sunday Morning, “The magic of Harry Potter returns, on stage”. Video at the link.

Mark Phillips talks with Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne about the sensation of the London stage, coming soon to Broadway: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” a story of the now-grown wizard and the burden passed down to his family.

And a counterpart article here — “Harry Potter brings his magic to the stage”.

Seven books, eight movies and about a billion dollars to the good later for its creator, J.K. Rowling, that was supposed to be the end of it.

“I genuinely, I didn’t want Harry to go onstage,” Rowling said. “I felt that I was done.”

So what happened? “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” happened … a theatrical collaboration with director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne.

It’s been the theater event of the year in London. It won a record nine Olivier Awards (Britain’s version of the Tonys). And it’s about to go to Broadway. Tickets for the New York production, which opens next year, go on sale next month.

(7) MARKETING. So is this a local store’s attempt to emulate Amazon’s “People Who Bought This” feature?

(8) TODAY IN HISTORY

  • September 24, 1957 — The Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field.
  • September 24, 1964 The Munsters premiered on television.
  • September 24, 1995 Space: Above and Beyond debuted on TV this day.
  • September 24, 1996 — Stephen King releases two new novels at once. The first, Desperation, was released under King’s name, while the second, The Regulators, was published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman.
  • September 24, 2001 — An obscure something titled It Came From Outer Space II premiered theatrically (in Russia).

(9) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY

  • Born September 24, 1936 — Jim Henson (TV producer, creator of Muppets)

(10) RICK AND MORTY. Rachel Withers reports at BrowBeat, “Rick and Morty Creator Dan Harmon “Loathes” the Show’s Sexist Viewers”.

Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon has blasted his show’s sexist fans in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, calling their behavior “disgusting.”

It seems a number of the animated comedy’s biggest fans are fragile of masculinity: Incensed by the show’s recent decision to employ a gender-balanced writing team, these trolls have taken it upon themselves to harass, threaten, and dox its female writers for daring to encroach upon their white-male-nerd territory.

Harmon is livid that they think they are acting on his show’s behalf. “These knobs, that want to protect the content they think they own—and somehow combine that with their need to be proud of something they have, which is often only their race or gender.” Harmon, who is white and male himself, says he finds the fans offensive, members of “a testosterone-based subculture patting themselves on the back.”

Rick and Morty’s sexist following is no secret. Vox critic Todd VanDerWerff tweeted that these toxic fans are part of why he doesn’t write about the show more often, even though he loves it.

(11) YODA HELPS FOUND THE UN.  I ran this item in yesterday’s scroll, before someone kindly sent me a copy of the photo.

A Saudi artist says he created this montage as an homage to King Faisal and a beloved “Star Wars” character. The setting is the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945. The artist’s work somehow ended up in a high school social studies textbook.

(12) PAPERBACKS. Here’s something else I touched on inferentially that Atlas Obscura devoted a whole article to this week: “How Books Designed for Soldiers’ Pockets Changed Publishing Forever”.

In early June 1944, tens of thousands of American troops prepared to storm the beaches of Normandy, France. As they lined up to board the invasion barges, each was issued something less practical than a weapon, but equally precious: a slim, postcard sized, softcover book.

These were Armed Services Editions, or ASEs – paperbacks specifically designed to fit in a solder’s pockets and travel with them wherever they went. Between 1943 and 1947, the United States military sent 123 million copies of over 1,000 titles to troops serving overseas. These books improved soldiers’ lives, offering them entertainment and comfort during long deployments. By the time the war ended, they’d also transformed the publishing industry, turning the cheap, lowly paperback into an all-American symbol of democracy and practicality.

(13) UNREAL ESTATE. A home inspired by the cottage from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is on sale in Washington.

The four-bedroom and five-bathroom home in Olalla, Wash., featuring a design ripped directly from the 1937 animated film is listed on Top Ten Real Estate Deals for $775,000.

Hope there aren’t any apple trees on the grounds….

(14) PETER RABBIT. Discover the rabbit behind the legend.

(15) WEEDING THE GARDEN. When you put it on TV, is it doxxing or a public service? — “‘Troll Hunter’ exposes Sweden’s anonymous Internet haters”.

Enter “Troll Hunter.”

The Swedish reality TV show, hosted by journalist Robert Aschberg, tracks down the country’s most vicious anonymous commenters and confronts them about their hate speech face to face. America Tonight visited the Troll Hunter at his home in the Stockholm archipelago and spoke with him about taking down the most repugnant citizens of the Web. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. Be advised: Some foul language is used.

How did this idea come to you?

Robert Aschberg: It just struck me one day. But the strange thing is that nobody had the idea many years ago. I did some research and saw that this was an issue in the United States 10, 15 years ago, and then suddenly there was no discussion.

What are you looking for? Who are the people? What do they do?

We mainly look for people who are anonymous. What they do is everything from death threats to just harassment of all kinds — giving people hell. And many of these people who are victims, they don’t even know who it is.

Tell me about some of the trolls that you’ve unmasked.

It’s everything from people who should be locked up in psychiatric wards to people who give the illusion of being very, very normal. We’ve confronted old ladies, for example, who have been harassing other women for, I don’t know, some strange personal reason.

If we are now living in a society where, because of social media, you can be removed from the person you target, you can see them as completely devoid of humanity and feeling, how do you reinstill civility?

I’m an optimist. It’s fairly new in human history, the social media, the Net, everything. It’s one of the biggest inventions since the wheel, with an enormous impact that we haven’t even seen. A lot is going to happen. I think that people, when you get used to it, people will start to act differently. But you have to discuss it. You have to punish some of the criminals and so forth, but people will get used to it. In the Stone Age, people [from] different tribes met, they started warring, but then sooner or later, they made peace, and that gave them prosperity.

(16) SECOND JUMANJI 2 TRAILER. For two decades it went untouched. But the game always finds a way.

(17) BRANDING. Here’s another product no user can do without…. As a commenter says, “Your high ground is out of date and needs updating. Every. Single. Day.”

[Thanks to Alan Baumler, Andrew Porter, JJ, Cat Eldridge, Bonnie McDaniel, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

52 thoughts on “Pixel Scroll 9/24/17 The Hodor Into Summer

  1. [chrome stalk]

    [ still having problems with the website using Safari on the iPad. It happened after I upgraded to iOS 11 so that’s a possible cause.]

  2. @14: that’s certainly … modern … ; I wonder if it will be as dumb as it looks.

    @16: ditto.

    @15: how much personal information goes into the TV show? Do they simply confront the person, or provide enough info to do the stunts typical of right-wing doxxing (e.g., fake calls of hostage situations)?

  3. Elseweb, people who have seen “ST: Discovery” are Not Impressed Enough to want to pay for streaming it.

  4. (15) and @Chip Hitchcock: I haven’t been following the show myself (hardly ever watch tv) but from what I can judge, they put very little personal information into the show. Swedish law, custom, and press ethics regarding personal information is strong in an international perspective, and Aschberg is a long-time investigative journalist.

    That said, given the way they work, they pretty much have to give some of the online trail they followed (eg show examples of comments or posts they made), making it easier for other people to connect the dots themselves or at least find the person’s online persona. So it’s by no means perfect, and the show has been criticised for that.

    (There is also the issue that some of the things they’ve been investigating should rather be handled by the police.)

  5. (4) Is there a quick and easy way to not have to deal with the animated GIFs? The article sounds interesting, but those GIFs are as annoying to me as a female un-peach-colored person winning a Hugo is to a regressive Mormon with a gun fetish and a penchant for quarter-assed prose.

    Oh, uh, also, apparently… 1st 5th!

  6. (4) If this advice had been headlined with “how to engage with Internet trolls”, I’d have a lot less issue with it. Once we start to think that every single person acts in bad faith, we’ve lost.

  7. Today’s the last day of the Strange Horizons fund drive. As of yesterday, they were close but still short of their base goal, covering expenses to keep running.

    (It’s a little difficult to tell the exact current status, because you can support via Patreon, Paypal, and Indiegogo, and they combine the various support methods — in some arcane manner not known to my humble mortal self.)

    Strange Horizons is near and dear to my heart, both for its fiction and its non-fiction. (Here’s a small sampling of SH stories we’ve discussed on SSS&S. It’s quite a variety 🙂 ) I hate to see even a hint of teetering; heck, I’d love to see them hit some stretch goals, like an Arabic SFF issue, or an issue focusing on the U.S. Southeast! But, first thing first: no teetering, please!

    Full descriptions and links are all at the SH 2017 Fund Drive page. Indigogo campaign is here; and Patreon is here. All the best!

  8. @P J, @Iphinome , re: ST:Discovery —

    For once, for once, being outside of the U.S. is convenient content-wise; I’ll be getting Discovery straight to my Netflix with no further cost. (It’s not there yet. Should be soon, though, IIRC within 24 hours.)

    I’m not holding my breath on this, but I also imagine I’ll stick with it a goodly number of episodes before I decide whether to continue.

    (Also the very first reaction tweet I saw was an enthusiastic one, so that’s a nice thing? 😀 )

  9. (2) SAYING YOU CARE.

    Haha, I had just sent a tweet to the singer Ash Morgan (of The Voice UK fame) when I read this. His audition was magical. Let me think who more I should tweet today.

    (15) WEEDING THE GARDEN.

    The show was kind of interesting when it was aired two years ago. Most people were deeply ashamed of their behaviour when it became public. Those were the people where “name ’em and shame ’em” worked. But some were truly scary, showing absolutely total lack of remorse. They were true sociopaths.

  10. (4) THE DIGITAL ART OF SELF-DEFENSE.

    “Most of us are kind people who want to believe the best in others. Deep in our souls, we want to believe that the person on the other end of the keyboard is just ignorant and wanting to be enlightened, or one argument away from understanding your position even if they still disagree, or at the least willing to listen.”

    This attitude has more or less destroyed the debating climate in forums I moderate. People are looking for faults to attack instead of listening, as they assume that others act in bad faith. If they find an opening in something that can be interpreted in a bad way. They will. And then the shouting has started. Assuming other people act in bad faith is to yourself be one of the creators of a truly toxic climate.

    Wikipedia has guidelines specifying the exact opposite, that you should assume that others act in good faith. This together with specific rules of a good tone and behaviour has made it a lot less nasty place than it could have been.

    That means that they still have a problem with “devils advocates” and those that are working hard to waste others time, but it could have been much, much worse.

    I think the rules are very good for a certain type of discussions and forums (twitter as an example). But lead to very bad results in others.

  11. (15) WEEDING THE GARDEN.

    One more interesting fact on this. When one group managed to get a hold of all accounts and data regarding discussions on the comment sections of newspapers, they found out that in the whole of Sweden, it was a total of 200 persons (using multiple accounts) behind the absolute majority of all racist and harassing comments. That was enough to create a truly toxic climate.

    That would be around 6000 persons in the whole of US. More people aren’t needed.

  12. 4) I think there’s some sound advice here, especially the bit about online argument being performative. No one is going to change a dedicated troll’s mind, but they might successfully convince an audience that the troll is a troll.

    (I agree with kathodus about those GIFs, though.)

    12) Someone – I forget who – said that the huge advantage of Penguin paperbacks was that they could be slipped into a soldier’s pocket without even the most demanding sergeant-major complaining that it spoiled the lines of their battle dress. (Though, of course, the WWII British battle dress was so notoriously ill-shaped that some squaddies could have got away with the Bible or the Encyclopaedia Britannica.)

  13. 15) The digital distributed form of “astroturfing”, making it seem that there was a wide groundswell for something when, really, the commenters are not as many as believed.

    4) In Alex’s defense, the title How to ‘win’ an argument on the internet itself gives a bit of the game away. It IS meant to be a guide to argument, not dealing with trolls. The quotation around the word “win” suggests to me that Alex is well aware that this is not a guide to healthy engagement or it is meant to be one.

  14. (4) THE DIGITAL ART OF SELF-DEFENSE

    @Paul:

    The quotation around the word “win” suggests to me that Alex is well aware that this is not a guide to healthy engagement or it is meant to be one.

    Agreed. I think all of Acks’s other points are very excellent when it comes to internet debating. I recommend them highly.
    This particular one ruffles my feathers as-written, but I’m kind of reading it as, “Listen, arguments where you’re actually engaging with each other and trying to have an actual conversation? This article is not about those.

    I can also see why one would generalize, because so few internet arguments are wanted, and yet so often we want to argue. I’ve gotten my own reminder recently that somebody posting an opinion (or a phrasing!) I disagree with, is not an invitation for me to discuss the matter and express my Extremely Respectful Opinion at great length. And I know how bad most people are talking to strangers in a way that’s an actual conversation; if you must have a rule of thumb, “Assume this conversation will be a trashfire” seems like a pretty reasonable one.

    All that being said, “Assume the other side is always arguing in bad faith,” i.e. is being mean and dishonest, is really not how I’d put it.

    I’d go with something like “Assume that the other person is coming from an alternate reality, doesn’t know or acknowledge a lot of things you consider fundamental, and doesn’t realize they’re being really insulting.” Also, assume that they consider you to be constantly insulting them, and it usually takes time, clarity, and effort to push past all that and actually engage.

    Whether you actually wish to converse with somebody under such circumstances is a different question, to which the answer is usually “ummm, no,” for the sake of your own sanity. But it’s still a different thing from “bad faith.”

  15. Troll Hunter–there was a US version of that. I never saw the show, but I read a review brutal enough to remember.

    Trek related: I’ve long suspected that I would prefer The Orville to Discovery–now that I’ve seen some of both, that opinion hasn’t changed.

  16. @Darren Garrison:

    Trek related: I’ve long suspected that I would prefer The Orville to Discovery–now that I’ve seen some of both, that opinion hasn’t changed.

    Based on how much I’m enjoying The Orville, I anticipate making the same evaluation once I see Discovery (it’s DVRed).

    /Trekstalk

  17. I think that part of Acks’ piece — which is much more about trolling, as I read it, than anything else — is aimed at the wave of trolls who use faux-good faith as a shield.

    The Trollhunter show is fascinating. A friend and I had an idea for a show where we did something similar – found people being jerks and then talked to them in a non-confrontative way that still (somehow) pointed out the jerkishness to them and asked them to talk about why they did, what they were feeling, etc. We gave up the idea due to lack of time and also not wanting to get punched in the face a lot but I still think it would be a fascinating show that might shed some interesting light on how people think.

  18. Dylan Marron (the voice of Carlos on Welcome to Night Vale) started a new podcast called Conversations with People Who Hate Me, where he basically reaches out to people who say awful things to him. (n.b. I haven’t listened to it yet — just heard some of the previews, etc.)

    http://www.dylanmarron.com/podcast/

    As far as Discovery, I was a CBS All Access subscriber for about 12 hours yesterday — just long enough to watch both halves of the pilot. And it was … slightly weird. I enjoyed it, but the whole thing was basically an extended version of one of those pre-credit cold opening sequences that introduces one or two of the main characters, but not in the context of the regular show — you don’t meet the crew of the Discovery — heck, you don’t even see the Discovery — in the first two episodes. I wonder if they would’ve been better-served by making the first three episodes available, just to give people a better sense of what the ongoing show was going to be like.

    It was very pretty. The Klingons looked nothing like any Klingons we’ve ever seen anywhere before. And while I did enjoy it, I didn’t enjoy it enough to add yet another $6-$10 monthly subscription fee to my current stack.

  19. (15) Also, do note that Trolljägarna only ran for two seasons here, caused quite a bit of discussion about their method of open confrontation, and doesn’t seem to have had any long-term impact on Swedish trolls as far as I can tell.

    I’m not saying it won’t work, but the article does paint a decidedly rosy picture.

  20. If a fan does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he scrolls a different pixel.

  21. I’ve listened to the first four episodes of Marron’s “Conversations With People Who Hate Me.” It’s interesting. I very much applaud the attempt and the sentiment, but I have mixed feelings about the execution.

    On the one hand, he’s very strong on “always remember, there’s a person on the other side of the screen.” It’s an important message, it’s the core of the show, and I deeply appreciate it.

    On the other hand, there’s a thin, thin line between “reach out to people who have said mean things about me”, and “condescend to people whom I’ve cherry-picked for having done something embarrassing.” Some of the staples of the show include Dylan reading the hate-mail out loud (which sounds ludicrous and pathetic, no surprise), and him concluding each conversation asking “Do you hate me,” when it’s perfectly obvious they don’t, and I feel like he presents this as a climactic revelatory moment.

    It’s very clearly not intended to debate issues, which is well and good. But at the same time, I feel Marron often can’t let some talking points go unaddressed, and argues them even though it’s not meant to be an argument (“A bunch of my family are cops, and they’re really brave.” “Okay, but you do know lots of cops are really bad, right?” — no, obviously he doesn’t know that, he’s just told you how hurt he is by what he sees as people trying to tarnish the reputation of his heroes, he just told you that).

    In Episode 4, there were a few questions (“What do you define yourself, politically?” and “Are you going to do anything differently now that we’ve had this conversation?”), that the guest answered, and then asked Marron what his answer to the question would be. Marron sounded audibly taken aback, and said those were really tough questions. I felt that was very telling – like as much as he was trying to reach across the aisle and keep from othering “the other side,” he still couldn’t see these conversations as a two-way street. Like the thought that he might see a more sympathetic view of the right wing — if only by hearing its own internal, self-affirming narrative — had never occurred to him. Or maybe like he hadn’t realized how manipulative these questions could be, until he had to answer them too.

    I think this is all the consequence of the very ambitious, very well-meaning goal that Marron set for himself. (I promise I don’t hate you, Dylan Marron!) Bridge-building is way harder than talk-show crossfire, or even than formal debate. But I can’t help feeling disappointed. Marron is trying to re-humanize the outraged denizens of the comment sections, but he does that by trying to shoehorn them into new demeaning narratives, in a way I’m finding sweet, and galling, by turns.

    I salute Marron for his excellent efforts, and hope Conversations With People Who Hate Me helps spark more efforts with similar goals.

  22. (13) It’s in Kitsap County, southwest of Seattle. Probably in the quarantine zone for apple maggots, so it’s not likely to have any producing apple trees. If it were east of the mountains, apple trees would be much more likely.

  23. (14) Little Peter Pixel has a scroll upon his nose.

    Curious about discovery, waiting for it on netflix.

    Edit: just read that Kit Reed has died 🙁

  24. kathodus on September 24, 2017 at 11:00 pm said:

    (4) Is there a quick and easy way to not have to deal with the animated GIFs?

    Firefox, at least, has a setting to disable GIF animation: under “about:config”, set “image.animation_mode” to “none” (or “once” if you want to allow the animation to play once without repeating).

    See here for some details.

    Other browsers may have similar features, but I wouldn’t bet on it, since this can be seen as an anti-advertising feature, which is anathema to the sorts of companies that make most browsers.

  25. Got the first two episodes of Discovery on Netflix… my personal jury is still out on it, but I am willing to watch some more and see if I’m convinced. It’s very pretty, and it’s much lighter on ****ing stupid technobabble than other shows have been. Only one thing actively made me wince – when the Klingons light up their beacon, Sarek says he’s seen a “new star”, even though it’s established he’s a thousand light years away… The beacon also broadcasts on subspace frequencies, so maybe he’s just being metaphorical and stuff….

    No explanation as yet for the new woobly-head Klingons, which bothers my Trekkie urge to impose continuity. Definitely need to see episode 3, at least, before making any final decisions. The plot did have moments of intelligence, though, at least (hingeing on fairly credible interpersonal conflicts, and a mishandling of cultural interactions with the Klingons.) It could yet turn out good, I think.

  26. Speaking of Tvshows: Dark Matter has not been renewed for season 3. And now the producer gave up trying to find a new home for the show. Too bad, I liked it; it certainly wasnt great, but it was nice and scratched the same itch as Star Trek.

  27. @Kaboobie: I remember that show — it was the last time I watched TV at all regularly.

    @Hampus: interesting facts, especially on the small number of hyperactive trolls making the majority of the trouble.

  28. @ Steve Wright No explanation as yet for the new woobly-head Klingons, which bothers my Trekkie urge to impose continuity.

    Well, it IS important that all members of an alien race look and act the same. That’s why the only REAL Klingons look like this.
    Not this.
    This.
    Loser.
    Winner.
    So, now that we’ve established how Klingons should look and act, let’s get back to enjoying our Planet of Hats, shall we?

  29. @Peer, I think you mean Season 4 of Dark Matter–Season 3 finished airing on Syfy earlier this summer and has made it to Netflix as of today.

  30. @David: Ah yes, season 4. Meant to say it was nor renewed after season 3. A bummer, because the season ended on a cliffhanger.

  31. @Rose Embolism: the thing is, we’ve had an explanation… sort of… for why the Klingons went from having lobsters on their heads, to looking like humans with rubbish beards and too much fake tan, and then back again. But, some time along the way, they also apparently all went bald and grew extra nostrils, and I cannot help but wonder why.

  32. @IanP: Last I heard, Killjoys has permission to finish off the story line over two more seasons. That’s great news, though I like Dark Matter just as much and am bitterly disappointed.

  33. @ Hampus and @Chip Hitchcock, that’s what we say in motorcycling, too; it’s the 1% of bad actors (outlaws and assholes) that make the rest of us look bad.

    @Steve Wright, what explanation was there for Klingon foreheads? All I can recall is Worf saying something like “We don’t talk about it” when asked after some time-traveling episode or other. (Maybe the Tribble sequel? It’s been too many years….) Which, actually, I was cool with. Rather like in Dark Crystal, “of course not. You’re a BOY.” (I think they blew the ending of Dark Crystal big time, though. Gurer fur vf, qlvat orpnhfr ure yvsr sbepr jnf qenvarq. Gurer ur vf, jvgu n ivny bs ure yvsr sbepr. Qbrf ur tvir ure onpx ure yvsr sbepr? Ab, orpnhfr GUNG JBHYQ ZNXR GBB ZHPU FRAFR. Ur eryvrf ba na haeryngrq zvenpyr gung unf ab ernfba jungfbrire gb urny ure. Cvffrf zr bss… )

  34. AFAIK killjoys has been renewed. Apparently working against Dark Matter was that it wasnt produced by Syfy, but SyFy only bought it, which limited its value. So it got cancelled, despite similiar ratings as Syfy original Killjoys and a very active fanbase.
    Grr.

    Edit: Ninjad by Markle Sparkle.

  35. Grrr indeed, I figured there’d be something in the production that might have effected the decision. Not the first time, pretty sure that sort of politics cost Farscape too.

  36. @Steve Wright, what explanation was there for Klingon foreheads?

    IIRC it was from Kirk kicking them in the backside so often that their spines were driven over their foreheads.

    Remember, Star Trek Enterprise doesn’t actually exist; it was just Riker watching a holodrama.

  37. I am a grown-up Trekkie, I can face unpleasant facts – Enterprise happened, and Meredith’s pointed us at the explanation therein.

    I’m not saying there isn’t an equally good explanation for the extra nostrils and alopecia. I’m just saying we don’t (as yet) know what it is, and I would like to.

  38. To be fair to Enterprise, while it started off, er, ropey, it was actually pretty good by the time it got cancelled. Last episode excepted.

    And, well, considering the first series or so of TNG I’m not sure I could say that Enterprise started off worse. It just didn’t get nearly as much time and space to improve as TNG did.

  39. Personally, if I had to choose which series to end based only on this season’s final episodes, I’? have chosen to end Killjoys first. Neither one is close to the end of its story, but Dark Matter was on a full blown cliffhanger and set up to bring its many plotlines together into a tighter whole. Killjoys was at a transition point, more what you’d get at the end of a book in a trilogy, with one plotline closed.

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