What are you watching right now?

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

Criminal Minds: "Amplification"

[ClarkKent_DC]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

"In California a very handsome six-year-old boy on his way home from school one day trudged to the top of a steep cliff. An ardent comic book reader, he had translated his reading into practice and made for himself a flying cape or magic cloak. Taking a brisk run he jumped off the cliff to fly as his comic-book heroes did. Seriously injured, he told his mother, 'Mama, I almost did fly!' A few days later he died from the injuries he had received."

--Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent

Of course, Frederic Wertham cites a case -- without corroborating detail, I notice -- but who can trust his research?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Yes... "Posted without comment," as they say. I'll bet, though, that one of the reasons this particular story persists is because of the notoriety of the source. 

[Richard Willis]

I guess Wertham thought that it was a shame because the boy was so handsome.

[JD DeLuzio]

Richard Willis said:

I guess Wertham thought that it was a shame because the boy was so handsome.

His attitude towards Batman and Robin does make more sense if you imagine a certain degree of projection at work.

In any case, we've started watching Paper Girls. Two episodes in, and it's a pretty good adaptation of the comic, with a solid cast. They look a little old for 12, but at least they're clearly teens. The weirder and darker elements, so far, have been  moderated a bit.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Right now, I am watching The Weakest Link, and one of the contestants is Dan Parent, writer/artist for Archie Comics!

[Captain Comics]

Coming up in August:

• Prey (Aug. 5)
• The Sandman (Aug. 5)
• I Am Groot (Aug. 10)
• Resident Alien (Aug. 10)
• Locke & Key (Aug. 10)
• Tales of The Walking Dead (Aug. 14)
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Aug. 17)
• House of the Dragon (Aug. 21)
• Archer (Aug. 24)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks (Aug. 25)
• Samaritan (Aug. 26)
• 3000 Years of Yearning (Aug. 31)
• Andor (Aug. 31)
• Stargirl (Aug. 31)

Plus Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power on Sept. 2.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

OUR GANG: After watching the final set of Our Gang shorts (1938-1944), we dent back to volume three of the Classicflix restorations (1932-1933) and from there to volume two (1930-1931). Very few of these were every shown in my local market (and probably weren't even part of the syndication package I would guess), but from 1929 through 1935 or so, there were generally two "tiers" of kids, an older set and a younger set. As the older ones aged out of the series, they were replaced by a younger set, and the previous younger tier became the new older tier. This trend extends back to the beginning of the series in the silent era. In fact, two of the earliest "rascals" were brought back to play the school teacher and the truant officer. That's another thing about the Classicflix restorations: they are meticulously annotated. First and last episodes are noted, plus how many each actor was in overall. By 1935 or so, the cast remained pretty much static through the end of the series in 1944. Today I am supposed to receive v1 from Amazon. 

[JD DeLuzio]

We watched the first season of Undone, the rotoscoped psychological drama/comedy/ time-travel series starring Rosa Salazar as the troubled protagonist and Bob Odenkirk, who is difficult right now to differentiate from Saul Goodman, even though he's playing a different character. Worth seeing. I was actually surprised to learn they released a second season, which we will see. I liked how the original series ended, and they cannot go forward without undoing a brilliant ambiguity.

<i>Sandman</i> soon.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

TALES OF THE WALKING DEAD: Here's a show I would have missed had not my DVR recorded "The Talking Dead" last week. I think I'm the only one left on the board still watching this franchise, so no thread of its own. It's an anthology series, each episode being a self-contained "done-in-one" featuring different characters. Last night's premiere episode featured Terry crews as "Joe" and Olivia Munn as "Evie," two survivors who find each other about a year into the zombie apocalypse. Tracy had more problems with the plot than I did, but the beauty of this format is that ever week is a new start. I have long though of the TWD franchise as a sort of "anthology" anyway, so this series just makes it official. Now we'll be able to see what's happening elsewhere in the TWD universe to other characters. Someday I'm hoping for a comprehensive list which puts the episodes of all the series into chronological order. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

OUR GANG: After watching the first three sets (comprising the years 1929-1933) in reverse order, we have started moving forward with the fourth set (1933-1935). 1930-1937 are said to be the prime years, and so far that assessment has proven to be true. (It certainly wasn't 1938-1944.) I would advise against using the internet to search "Where Are They Now?" You'll find the answers you are looking for, but they won't make you happy. Most of them died young (even the original Petey the dog was poisoned), and the stories of those who died very young (16, 20, 21) are heartbreaking.

Last week I posted about racism in early Our Gang shorts, but I took it down after 24 hours. Stereotypes exist, but no ill will was intended (as in Birth of a Nation). African Americans had few opportunities in the film industry in the late '20s and early '30s, and Hal Roach's Our Gang shorts provided a rare opportunity for Blacks to work besides their white co-stars as equals. These steps in the right direction, small as they may be, should not be overlooked due to the stereotypes they appear alongside. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: We had been putting this one off until we could watch all of season two one episode per day but our timing was off. We're presently caught up, with the final episode set to air this coming Tuesday. It's a really good show, but the beginning of season two is not a great jumping on point; it's really more of a continuation of season one. We will probably re-watch seasons one and two as a lead-in for season three. 

SHE-HULK: We've tried to watch this two or three times now, but can't get connected to Disney+. We're paying for the channel but can't connect. Tracy says the problem is on Disney's end. Is anyone else having this problem?

THE ORVILLE: Unable to connect to Disney, we began watching the third season of The Orville last night on Hulu.

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

The Bear - While I never worked in a restaurant, I used to do a lot of business with them. Here you have a highly acclaimed chef coming back to run his family's restaurant after the suicide of his brother. The store is deeply in debt, and he is trying to whip the kitchen staff into shape to run a successful place. I really liked it, but I did have one major problem that bothered me near the end of the season. Me being me, I did recognize the main character from an episode of Law & Order when he was still a teen.

<spoiler alert!> It is a minor one, but there is no way a couple of chefs who are out of work, are paying $35/lb or more for Chilean sea bass.

Old Man - This is about an ex-CIA agent who resurfaced after 30 or so years in hiding. He had screwed over a warlord in Afghanistan, and now that warlord has gathered enough power to get his revenge. What I really enjoyed about this was seeing Jeff Bridges show range he hasn't in awhile. You know outside of the grumpy old dude (which he does very well). The interplay between he and John Lithgow are great. Seeing Joel Grey again. I even thought the actors they used to portray the younger versions of some of these characters was some of the best I've ever seen. Another good one.