TV Series

[DeadPoolX]

Really? Maybe I am too close to D&D. Because I see the opposite. Children who are fighting what appears to be an evil being. Guided by a kind figure, who helps them. Each episode has a moral lesson, pretty much.

The only "evil" I could see them decry is that they're using "magic" which is the work of the devil.

You need to remember that these over-zealous religious types also attacked the original DOOM, claiming it was "satanic." If they had taken a moment to actually play the game (or even look at it more closely) they'd have seen that you are in fact killing demons and other creatures from Hell.

If anything, you'd have thought they would've promoted a game like that, but somewhere in their twisted minds, if anything demonic exists at all, it's evil, regardless of the context and circumstances involved.

[Tawmis]

You need to remember that these over-zealous religious types also attacked the original DOOM, claiming it was "satanic." If they had taken a moment to actually play the game (or even look at it more closely) they'd have seen that you are in fact killing demons and other creatures from Hell.
If anything, you'd have thought they would've promoted a game like that, but somewhere in their twisted minds, if anything demonic exists at all, it's evil, regardless of the context and circumstances involved.

Oh, I remember clearly - between playing D&D and listening to heavy metal in the 80's - I was the center of the "80's Satanic Scare."

DooM would probably fall under because of the violence and gore, which they probably focused on.

[DeadPoolX]

You need to remember that these over-zealous religious types also attacked the original DOOM, claiming it was "satanic." If they had taken a moment to actually play the game (or even look at it more closely) they'd have seen that you are in fact killing demons and other creatures from Hell.
If anything, you'd have thought they would've promoted a game like that, but somewhere in their twisted minds, if anything demonic exists at all, it's evil, regardless of the context and circumstances involved.

Oh, I remember clearly - between playing D&D and listening to heavy metal in the 80's - I was the center of the "80's Satanic Scare."

DooM would probably fall under because of the violence and gore, which they probably focused on.

The irony here is that religion (all religions) have a very violent and bloody past, even the mythology written about them and somehow these people completely miss that, or perhaps purposefully ignore it.

[Tawmis]

The irony here is that religion (all religions) have a very violent and bloody past, even the mythology written about them and somehow these people completely miss that, or perhaps purposefully ignore it.

Indeed. Every religion has, as you said, a bloody past. That's how most of them survived, by "encouraging" others to embrace it, or die for denying it.

[notbobsmith]

To be fair, we did notice a minor anachronism in the first season. The Don Draper-esque character I mentioned before used the term "app" to refer to programs a few times. I know that wasn't completely unheard of, but it was rare, and most of the time people said "program" or "application." Using the term "app" exclusively is a more modern convention, probably stemming from the wide-spread use of smartphones.

Anyway... if you have Netflix, I'd give Halt and Catch Fire a try.

Actually, I have heard the term "killer app" around that time. I'm more familiar with it from the '90s (like The 7th Guest being the killer app for CD-ROM drives), but I believe it went back to the '80s.

[DeadPoolX]

To be fair, we did notice a minor anachronism in the first season. The Don Draper-esque character I mentioned before used the term "app" to refer to programs a few times. I know that wasn't completely unheard of, but it was rare, and most of the time people said "program" or "application." Using the term "app" exclusively is a more modern convention, probably stemming from the wide-spread use of smartphones.

Anyway... if you have Netflix, I'd give Halt and Catch Fire a try.

Actually, I have heard the term "killer app" around that time. I'm more familiar with it from the '90s (like The 7th Guest being the killer app for CD-ROM drives), but I believe it went back to the '80s.

Well, Maia and I both agree that we never heard anyone say "app" in the 80s. The terms used were always "application" or more commonly, "program."

So while it's possible that someone, somewhere, may have used the term "app," it wasn't the norm by any stretch of the imagination.

[MusicallyInspired]

I didn't start hearing app until smartphones were a thing. "There's an app for that" and all. I'm sure it must have been used like that at some point earlier on, but yeah definitely not the norm.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. If you fall asleep while using your smartphone, does that mean there's a nap for that?

[DeadPoolX]

This is kind of cool. In Season 2, Episode 9 of Halt and Catch Fire, two of the show's main characters are at a shooting range talking about the future of their online gaming network. During the conversation, one of them mentions contacting Sierra On-Line about their games.

This is probably the one and only time I've ever heard Sierra On-Line mentioned by name in a TV show. The people behind HCF really did their homework, and it's a nice change from the usual "who cares?" attitude towards tech and gaming taken by most television shows and movies.

Anyway... the video clip is below. The part about Sierra is 55 seconds in, but it makes more sense if you watch the entire clip (although make sure to turn down your volume about ten seconds before the clip ends as there's some obnoxiously loud music that's part of the whole "sneak peek" thing that appears and blows out your eardrums).

[Tawmis]

This is kind of cool. In Season 2, Episode 9 of Halt and Catch Fire, two of the show's main characters are at a shooting range talking about the future of their online gaming network. During the conversation, one of them mentions contacting Sierra On-Line about their games.

This is probably the one and only time I've ever heard Sierra On-Line mentioned by name in a TV show. The people behind HCF really did their homework, and it's a nice change from the usual "who cares?" attitude towards tech and gaming taken by most television shows and movies.

Anyway... the video clip is below. The part about Sierra is 55 seconds in, but it makes more sense if you watch the entire clip (although make sure to turn down your volume about ten seconds before the clip ends as there's some obnoxiously loud music that's part of the whole "sneak peek" thing that appears and blows out your eardrums).

Interesting. Are they talking about our Sierra Online? Because she mentions putting out some feelers to Sierra Online? Which... doesn't exist anymore. Unless the show takes place in the 80s/90s?

[DeadPoolX]

Interesting. Are they talking about our Sierra Online? Because she mentions putting out some feelers to Sierra Online? Which... doesn't exist anymore. Unless the show takes place in the 80s/90s?

Yeah. When I originally wrote about HCF on here, I mentioned that the show takes place from 1983 to 1995 or so. This was in the second season, it's probably about 1986 when they're discussing this.

[Jules]

I just finished Avatar The Last Airbender and it was just SO GOOD! The writing, the character arcs, the filler episodes, the acting, everything! And it's soo funny! There were times I had to pause it to finish laughing because I didn't want to miss the next thing they said!

[DeadPoolX]

Maia and I recently finished three VERY different series on Netflix: The Queen's Gambit, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Blood of Zeus.

THoBM was okay. Despite being advertised as such, it wasn't really a horror mini-series; instead, it was more of a love story. That's not a bad thing, but it's not what I went into the show expecting and wanting to see. Both Maia and I thought the show was acted and written well, but it wasn't until the last two episodes that the story really takes off, which is a shame because most of the series feels a bit aimless.

Maia and I really, really liked TQB. It's an extremely well-acted and well-written mini-series (enough hyphens in one sentence for you?) that's truly fascinating to watch, mostly due to the characters.

BoZ is animated, but isn't for kids in any shape or form. It's supposed to be an untold story in Greek mythology, which is how they get away with some story elements that aren't found in normal Greek mythology. Sure, that's a little cheesy to do, but at least they didn't try to reinvent a known story.

Probably the weirdest thing in BoZ was that one episode practically lifts dialogue, word-for-word, from The Empire Strikes Back. This couldn't have been done by accident. Was the writer really thinking no one would notice? It'd be incredibly hard to find someone who hasn't seen the original SW films, and even then, considering the legions of SW fans out there, it's practically impossible people wouldn't recognize the dialogue.

[Tawmis]

I just finished Avatar The Last Airbender and it was just SO GOOD! The writing, the character arcs, the filler episodes, the acting, everything! And it's soo funny! There were times I had to pause it to finish laughing because I didn't want to miss the next thing they said!

Not gonna lie; doesn't strike me as a show you would have watched. I've never seen it, myself.

Maia and I recently finished three VERY different series on Netflix: The Queen's Gambit, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Blood of Zeus.

THoBM was okay. Despite being advertised as such, it wasn't really a horror mini-series; instead, it was more of a love story. That's not a bad thing, but it's not what I went into the show expecting and wanting to see. Both Maia and I thought the show was acted and written well, but it wasn't until the last two episodes that the story really takes off, which is a shame because most of the series feels a bit aimless.

Maia and I really, really liked TQB. It's an extremely well-acted and well-written mini-series (enough hyphens in one sentence for you?) that's truly fascinating to watch, mostly due to the characters.

BoZ is animated, but isn't for kids in any shape or form. It's supposed to be an untold story in Greek mythology, which is how they get away with some story elements that aren't found in normal Greek mythology. Sure, that's a little cheesy to do, but at least they didn't try to reinvent a known story.

Probably the weirdest thing in BoZ was that one episode practically lifts dialogue, word-for-word, from The Empire Strikes Back. This couldn't have been done by accident. Was the writer really thinking no one would notice? It'd be incredibly hard to find someone who hasn't seen the original SW films, and even then, considering the legions of SW fans out there, it's practically impossible people wouldn't recognize the dialogue.

I wanna watch The Queen's Gambit, I keep hearing good things about it.

I'd assumed The Haunting of Bly Manor was more of a horror/suspense, based on the title. It had my interest, until what you said... I mean, if I went in expecting horror-suspense, and got dealt a love story, I'd be annoyed.

And I wonder if the Blood of Zeus episode - especially if it's a bad guy quoting Darth Vader, or something, is intended as a nod to Empire?

[Tawmis]

I am excited and sad - the final season of VIKINGS begins December 30th.

I've been watching BIG SKY with the wife, which we've been enjoying. Starts slow on the first episode, until everything starts happening!