2,881

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Fuller implying that nothing we know is right:

http://www.superherohype.com/news/37699 … rek-rumors

2,882

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Haha no reason to debate BvS anymore. tongue

2,883

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, my big fear with Snyder is how he comes off when he's criticized.  When people complained about the deaths in Metropolis, he threw in a dozen references to how few died in Metropolis (outside estimates said it'd be a quarter million - in BvS it's "dozens" in the newspaper clip) and how every part of Metropolis and Gotham were evacuated or empty or abandoned even when a lot of that didn't make any sense.

If he takes the same approach to humor, he's going to sarcastically throw in a bunch of fart jokes to make it "funny" and then get mad when people don't like that.

I'm happy with each movie having their own feel.  Flash needs to be bright and colorful and funny.  Green Lantern needs to be epic and fun and crazy.  Aquaman needs to be the most unique superhero film we've ever seen.

The problem is that Snyder's "tone" is grim and dark and lifeless.  Whether he's actually depressed or just never smiles because of Batman, we have an entire movie with a lifeless/depressed/angry Superman.  BvS might be a well-made movie, but it's just not any fun.  And I'm worried Snyder doesn't know how to do it.

2,884

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Big Justice League information dump today.  I don't know if any of this is actually spoilers but here ya go.

- It's just one movie.
- It's moved up to November 17, 2017.  Star Wars Episode VIII comes out a month later
- Willem Defoe is playing an Aquaman character named Vulko
- Steppenwolf is confirmed as the primary villain
- They're promising the tone will be "lighter" and "more fun" - but it's still Zach Snyder so we'll see about that.  Much of the comedy will come from the Flash so at least they understand that smile

2,885

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Informant wrote:

So, about last night's Arrow episode, I have a question.

The character that Madison McLaughlin plays has been spoken of as this big deal by the producers. There was this whole mystery surrounding her and the producers said that no show had ever done anything like this before.

Having seen her on the show, I have no idea what they were talking about. What was so unheard of? I'm confused.

Apparently she's coming back to play a character named Artemis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigress_( … ng_Justice

2,886

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Flash is the first one back in the Fall.  Then Arrow.  Then Supergirl.  Then each Flash and Arrow get a second episode before Legends premieres.

So hypothetically, they could do a "Dark Arrowverse" episode for Flash and Arrow, let Supergirl have an episode in her own universe, and wrap up the Flashpoint stuff in episode 2 of Flash before Legends even premieres.  It'd be pretty cool to have an episode of Arrow that exists in a dark timeline before getting back to business with the second episode, although I wonder if they'd be able to explain that away to people who don't watch Flash.

It'd be a way of having their cake without necessarily affecting all four of their shows.  Just speculating.

They could also hypothetically fix everything in episode one and not affect any other show.  Either way, I think it'd be a mistake for there to be no ripples on Arrow if things aren't resolved in the Flash premiere.  Why even bother with having a shared universe if something this big doesn't affect the other show(s)?

2,887

(3,508 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I don't buy the doomsday scenario for the Republicans.  I think the big people are waiting on the FBI indictment stuff.  I think they're holding out hope that she gets defeated by them because I think they'd be more okay with a Sanders or Biden presidency.

Once Hillary clears the FBI hurdle, the Republicans will bend over backwards to support Trump.  They hate her.  H. A. T. E.  And once she's out there enough, the cavalry will show up.  Maybe they'll donate to the RNC as a way to save face, but they're not going to just sit back and let Hillary Clinton waltz into the White House.

And even if they do, I don't buy that Trump will make down-ballot candidates win.  The big Republican donors will donate money to someone.  If they're not donating to Trump, then it'll mean more money to Senatorial candidates in swing states.  If they're willing to let the presidency go away, then they'll make sure they get as many Senate votes as possible.

2,888

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

He seemed like a good dude, and he was a rising star at one point (he did a bunch of big projects in a row at a pretty young age).  He sorta slowed down a bit, but he brought a lot to the Chekov role.  RIP.

2,889

(267 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I watch nothing live, but the order in which they air does determine the order in which I watch things.

2,890

(267 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah, I see it both ways.  How long has Supernatural been on Wednesdays?  It was paired with Smallville back in the day, wasn't it?  I can't even remember anymore.

I think their superhero strategy is the most interesting, but we'll see how Supernatural does on Thursdays.  It's got to be nearing an end, right?  Do Jensen and Jared want to do this show forever?

2,891

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

The CW has decided to run each of their four superhero shows on their own night, pairing none of the shows with each other.

Monday - Supergirl
Tuesday - Flash
Wednesday - Arrow
Thursday - Legends of Tomorrow

I'm sure they'll use this to make an entire week of programming for sweeps, either with a multi-part crossover or some sort of "theme" for each episode.  I think it's a bit interesting that they aren't pairing the shows with anything, but I guess they're hoping that those shows will help newer programming (like Frequency) find an audience.  And they're using their weakest show (LoT) pair with one of their bigger shows (Supernatural).

2,892

(267 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Not sure if this was announced or not, but Supernatural will actually move from Wednesday (where it was paired with Arrow) to Thursday (where it will be paired with Legends of Tomorrow).

It's a bit of a weird move.  I think Supernatural and Arrow worked together somehow.

2,893

(3,508 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I mean unless Hillary gets indicted (and there's been so little movement on that front that I wonder if that's dead) I don't really know what surprises there could be.

Now considering the high impeachability of these two candidates, I think the VP selections will be interesting.  If I'm Paul Ryan, I'm getting my guy in there and calling for impeachment at the first chance (so February, I assume).  It'd be the strongest bi-partisanship ever, and Ryan would get who he wants in the Oval Office.

It might be interesting if Hillary goes with Elizabeth Warren.  So if the first woman ever elected is forced to resign quickly into her first term, at least women would get an immediate second chance.

2,894

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Considering what TF said about Canadian actors, I'm surprised they hired an American.  But he does look like Superman to me in the pics I've seen.  And even a little like Henry Cavill.

2,895

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Once it became Trump and Hillary, the whole process became no fun.  They're both so awful.  I don't have any more words for it.

2,896

(5 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yes, I broke out (NSR)

So I'm currently on a sabbatical from work, and I've wanted to do some writing with the time I have.  And while I have a ton of ideas, I'm just not currently capable of getting word to page.  I've started project after project, and it doesn't matter.  I get a few pages in, and then I get burned out.

And while this is frustrating, I have a semi-solution.  Years ago, I wrote two full-length novels.  One is a dumb murder mystery, and one is still my favorite-all-time idea of mine about a boy with supernatural powers.  So I was thinking of going back and editing that book and maybe self-publishing it. 

Herein lies the rub:

- I write very stream of consciousness, and these things aren't edited.  I'm happy to get back in and edit one/both of them - it's been long enough that it'd be like I was editing someone else's work.  But is this something I should still pay to get done? 

- I'm not looking to make any money on this, not looking to become a full-time writer.  If these things happen, that's awesome.  But I spent a lot of time on these back in the day, and it'd be cool if someone somewhere decided to read it and thought it was cool.    Is self-publishing it worth it even with these meager aspirations? 

- I think Informant is the only one one on here who's self-published, but if you've done it, what are the pros and cons of doing it that way?  What advice would you have if I decided to go that route?

Basically, in general, what are any thoughts you have at all about publishing a book? smile

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That's pretty cool - you make a convincing Superman and a convincing Star-Lord.  I've never cosplayed, but I respect the people who do it when I go to conventions.  I know it's a ton of work, and it's really cool when people get so many details right.

2,898

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah, not to mention the fact that Martian Manhunter could stay on board with a different actor.

I just wonder how they're going to deal with the mass cast exodus.  Are they going to kill the characters off, or are all of them going to move away?  Wouldn't it be easier to just move Kara and keep everyone else in National City?

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, I just would like to see Smallville incorporated into the Arrowverse.  They could've easily added it into the montage of the other Earths (which made the original Flash TV show canon), but they didn't.  Since Tom-as-Superman probably won't show up on Arrow or Flash, I want him to appear on Supergirl.  It'd be weird, but it'd clinch the CW-DC universe as all being connected - including the great granddaddy of them all.

2,900

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Informant wrote:

Superman is apparently going to make a full appearance on Supergirl, in the first two episodes of season 2. People are already calling for Tom Welling, but I think that is the wrong role for him.

See, I disagree.  I'd love for them to connect the Arrowverse to Smallville, and this would be the way to do it.  Yeah, Kara looks different but there were already two Karas on Smallville and maybe this Kara was a "fraternal duplicate"

If they are going to move Kara to Earth 1, this would be the only time they'd get to use Superman.  So why not use it as a chance to tie it in to the reason all of them have jobs?  Because if Tom Welling and Smallville weren't successful, there's no Arrow.  And no Flash.  And no Supergirl.  Probably.

2,901

(50 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, I mean the problem is that there wasn't really any conflict in the movie so they just tacked on Doom in (literally) the last 20 minutes.  The first 20 minutes is just Reed and Ben.  Then they introduce Franklin and Sue.  Then Johnny.  Then they build it, go to the planet, and come back.  There's no villain in the first half of the movie except just "progress" I guess.  The planet is sorta evil and the main guy is sorta bureaucratic, but that's it. 

Then the second half really is a different movie.  Bureaucratic guy becomes "take over the world" evil, Reed runs off, Ben gets mad that he was abandoned, Johnny embraces his powers, and Sue is just helping or whatever.  Then Reed comes, fixes the machine in ten minutes, they get Doom back, he tries to destroy the world, and they team up to beat him.

So there's no villain until Doom shows up the last 10 minutes.  Doom wasn't really a bad guy before he transformed.  He never endangers the other guys (except maybe convincing them to go in the first place).  Bureaucracy guy just wants to move the project along - and even when he's using Ben (and then Johnny) as weapons, both seem pretty okay with it.  Doom is just tacked on so there's someone for them to fight.

If it was me, I'd leave the first part of the movie almost exactly the same.  I'd have Doom refuse to come back but start working on his own gateway with the Latverian government.  Reed and co finish the gateway first, go to the planet, and they get their powers by some accident.  A year passes.  Reed doesn't run off because that plot doesn't go anywhere.  The government uses Ben on some missions, but Franklin's been able to keep Johnny on the sidelines while Reed and Sue work on the gateway.  Meanwhile, Doom finds out that Reed got it to work when he sees what's happened to Ben.  So Latverian soldiers attack the facility, and the Four are able to fight off soldiers using their powers (an action piece where they work individually because it's super powers vs. normal soldiers).  In the chaos, Doom sneaks in and steals a vital piece to the gateway and gets away.  Back in Latveria, he completes his machine and goes along with a couple soldiers to Planet Zero.  Something bad happens, Doom gets left behind, one soldier dies, and the last soldier comes back horribly mutated (I don't know any other FF villains but Doom and Galactus so let's just say it's either one of their villains with a new origin or it's a new villain entirely).  The mutant starts wrecking the lab and Latveria asks for the Four's help.  So they go, struggle at first, and the defeat him as a team.  End credits scene shows Doom on Planet Zero, using his powers to create a gateway on his side.

More action, no cramming Doom into the finale, an extra action piece.  Not changing a ton.  Could've worked.

I do wonder how Trank figured on ending the film.  Because, again, there's no villain in the part of the story he seems to be affiliated with.

2,902

(50 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Okay, is it weird that I didn't hate the Fantastic Four movie?  It was bad, but I didn't think it was terrible.  It was also pretty short, making it easier to stomach.  I think Trank is right, and it could've been pretty good if they'd just done a few things different.

What's funny is that I watched the movie in two parts because I got distracted and had to stop in the middle.  I stopped exactly at the time jump in the movie.  So I got to watch the first half before they get their powers and then the second half (which was just about 40 minutes).  And, yeah, the stuff with Doom is pretty dumb, but I think it'd be pretty simple to make a pretty good movie out of it.

It was short on action, so I would've included more of the army scenes that they alluded to (and showed clips of).  If they have to team up at the end, maybe individual action sequences to show them using their powers (instead of just testing them - maybe a foreign army tries to kidnap the Four or something).  And since this was "Fantastic Four Begins" - I would've had the government be the bad guys and save Doom for a sequel.  He seemed completely shoehorned.  Plus, I've seen 3 movies, read a few articles on him, and you guys have tried to explain, and I still have no idea what Doom's powers are supposed to be.

To me, movies are all about expectations.  I was expecting the worst superhero movie ever, and it wasn't.  So I sorta liked it.

(I know I just lost all credibility I had left smile )

2,903

(45 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Has there been any indication on what Vaughn was going to do differently with Days of Future Past?

And, yeah, I think there's always some vagueness and confusion to any villain's plot.  But I just never really understood what Apocalypse's motivations were.  In the opening scene, he's ruling peacefully over Egypt.  He definitely saw normal humans as expendable and inferior, but I never got the idea that he was as hardcore about mutant superiority as Magneto was in the first three films.  If he wanted to exterminate the Egyptians, he could've.  And while they certainly feared him, he still had devout followers thousands of years later so they must've also loved him a bit.

I just found his character vague.  Which I thought was odd in a movie that was 150 minutes long.

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(45 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

ireactions wrote:

Apocalypse's motives seemed pretty clear to me? He wanted the strongest of mutants to be the dominant species (which is in contrast to Magneto simply wanting mutants to kill their exterminators) and destroying the world would leave only the most powerful. Those who weren't equipped to survive weren't of any interest to Apocalypse anyway. A bit like Amara on SUPERNATURAL being appalled by these human rodents ruling existence instead of gods like herself.

I mean I get it but it doesn't make sense to me under scrutiny.  The plan in X2 to kill all the humans makes sense. The plot in the original movie to turn all the powerful humans into mutants to shape the world makes sense.

My point is that causing a bunch of earthquakes and buildings to collapse doesn't ensure that the strongest of mutants survives.  It ensures that the people (humans and mutants) with the best ability to survive earthquakes and buildings collapsing survive.

For example.  Let's say that the heroes were one step behind the entire time.  Charles doesn't find Moira so she doesn't get in the fray.  Mystique misses out on the fight between Angel and Nightcrawler so he never gets the info on Magneto.  Quicksilver (and no other mutant) happens to see the news about Magneto.  Presumably, nothing about Apocalypse's plan would change.  He'd gather his horsemen, and he'd have Magneto destroy the world like he destroyed Auschwitz.

With no info on Eric, Charles wouldn't have any reason to find him on Cerebro.  So Apocalypse wouldn't have learned of Charles' existence and so the mansion wouldn't have been destroyed.  The school would've gone on like normal.

(Funny thing.  In the final battle, it's shown to be daytime in Egypt, New York City, and Australia.)

Xavier's school would presumably have the highest concentration of mutants, but I think most of them would've been killed right alongside any humans.  Jean might've been able to stop some of the debris with her telekinesis, but she might not have.  Same with Scott and his energy blast.  Debris could easily kill Jubilee.  Nightcrawler could teleport, but he could also easily teleport to a place with more debris (or, hypothetically, teleport himself *into* debris). 

And, of course, Charles himself is both powerless to stop debris and less mobile than most people.  If the building collapsed on him, he's dead.  And that would've happened before Apocalypse even knew he existed (which ended up being his primary plan).

I get that he wants to destroy the world and rebuild a better one.  And he seemed less "mutant rah rah" as Magento is in the original trilogy so maybe he's cool with killing some mutants in exchange for some wily humans who could survive Magneto's attack.  But it just seemed odd to me because, from the looks of it, humans and mutants had a similar chance of surviving (unless you're a mutant who can take extra punishment like Colossus).

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(45 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I watched this movie today.  I thought it was fun.  There wasn't any point where I was bored, and it entertained me enough to ignore some of the goofier elements.

The continuity errors I've just chosen to ignore.  It doesn't fit, and it won't fit.  Characters exist in multiple timelines for no reason.  The time travel doesn't help or hurt the process in my opinion because things have already been ripped to shreds.  There are two Trasks, two Angels, two Emma Frosts, two Hank McCoys.  Some of it could possibly be the result of time travel, but a lot of it can't. 

The most bizarre thing about the series is the power that Jennifer Lawrence has had over it.  The series hit the jackpot with Lawrence a) being a pretty great actress and b) being a superstar.  But the problem with that is that she ended up being such a superstar that they had to make her the focus of the whole universe.  In DOFP, she's the key to the whole sentinel project.  In this one, she's basically a messiah figure for the mutants.  It's a wonder she wasn't chosen to be one of the horsemen.

The other bizarre thing is how little understanding I had for Apocalypse, his motives, or his power set.  It's almost a little bit like Scarlet Witch.  I could probably write a paragraph about what I think his powers are, but it's just a guess.  Apocalypse seemed really powerful, and the movie said he was really powerful.  But he never seemed to really put anyone in any danger.  He seemed powerful enough to hold people off, but it was Magneto who was really destroying the world. 

And his plan seemed a little confusing.  If the plan is steal Charles' power and control everyone, why would he want/need Magneto to destroy everything?  If the plan was to destroy everything in some sort of "only the strong survive" scenario, I don't see how some mutants would have any more ability to survive than normal humans.  Charles, for example, is crazy powerful, but Stryker would be much more likely to escape the chaos caused by Magneto. 

I was also surprised that we saw Wolverine as much as we did.  And I was also surprised that the Mystique twist at the end of DOFP didn't go anywhere.  I mean Singer made both films.  Did he just forget?

But it seems like the movies are going in a cool direction.  They have a big enough / young enough cast that they really just need McAvoy to keep coming back.  If they can get Gambit off the ground, then maybe he can be the new Wolverine to appear in most movies. 

But, yeah, I'd maybe like to see another voice get to do this.  I don't know if Singer is burned out, but Matthew Vaughn did a great job with First Class.  Having him do another one or letting someone young give it a shot could be cool.

2,906

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah, especially after Deadpool did so well.  And especially after knowing that kids *could not* see this movie.  It'd be suicide for the MCU to ever do an R-rated film (or, heck, even a mainstream X-Men movie), but if kids basically can't see the movie anyway, go all out.

The only question would be length - would audiences be okay with a 3-hour superhero movie?  Maybe not, but the Nolan Batman movies and Civil War were both pretty long. I know this is a hypocritical argument from me since I started my review with "it's way too long" but if it makes the movie better, it makes the movie better smile

2,907

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I liked a lot of the stuff that was in there.  Looked like there's a more human Clark, more characterization for Bruce, more motivation for Lex. 

I've said before that there could've been some minor tweaks to take the movie from "good" to "great" - if the movie has more of that, then that's all the better.  But it'd make me mad that they didn't just include the "Ultimate Cut" in theaters.  By the time the movie is released on DVD, the damage might be done with general audiences.

2,908

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Man, what if the Ultimate Edition is great, and it fills in all the holes from the original movie.  Will it matter to the masses? 

Because I honestly think the Daredevil Directors Cut makes that movie so much better, and it hasn't really improved the reputation of that movie.  Has any director's cut actually improved the reputation of any movie?

2,909

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Informant wrote:

That is interesting. What I always found funny was that in emergency situations, everything could be done by voice command. The helm, weapons, environmental systems and all of it could be controlled by voice when they needed to. So most of the crew is just for show.

Well there's a few episodes where the various ships go down to skeleton crews, and they can still function.  There's the episode where the Doctor is the only one on the ship, right?  And still manages to win a battle, right?

In the episode where Voyager turned out to be duplicates, the crew was just Harry and Seven, right? 

You gotta think a great deal of the crew would have to be maintenance and cleaning, right?  Those ships are always running at top efficiency and look brand new every day.

2,910

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I think it'd be a mistake.  Going back a couple years would only work in our timeline - not theirs smile  Even if Laurel was back alive, the current writers would still be more interested in developing Felicity.

The fact that they aired Flash before Arrow and then didn't reference it on Arrow makes me think the changes won't be wide-spread.

2,911

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Ha, I'd actually be one of the few ones who'd love a direct connection between Trek and Terminator.

It's funny - in Trek, there's almost a complete absence of artificial intelligence, isn't there?  The computer doesn't seem capable of independent thought so she's basically just Siri.  There's Data, of course, but he's a novelty....in the whole galaxy.  The Doctor is sentient, but he seems like advanced technology.  There's the sentient robots that Voyager comes across.  I remember a TNG where a woman invented some sort of robot that gained sentience.

But that's it, right?

It's bizarre.  And what's crazy is that nothing is automated.  When something is dangerous on the ship, someone physically has to go into the room to fix it (see Wrath of Khan).  I mean, right now we have bomb disposal robots and drones to do work too dangerous for people.  In Trek, there's nothing.  And even if humans were afraid of AI for some reason, all of the other species had the same fear of AI.  It probably makes sense for the Klingons, but no one has it.

Maybe it's an evolution thing.  Species that develop AI get wiped out by it.  Species that don't survive.

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(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, if we're talking TNG-VOY, the "communicators" also function as transporter locks.  So while it's separating "communication" from our "cell phones" - it actually serves another purpose in the Trek universe.  And it makes sense to have the communicator/transport lock be on your universe/on your body to make sure it works.  It could be subdermal, I guess, but I don't think that technology is necessarily archaic.

The big difference would be however information is displayed, and everything would be smaller and more compact.

If they wanted to go with an explanation, I like the idea that technology stagnated after WWIII.  They're also seemingly behind us in terms of AI technology (The Computer is basically just a better version of Siri, and we'll be better than that in the next decade).  So maybe AI was responsible for WWIII, and we vowed never to go down that road again.  And maybe, due to the fact that everyone had their faces in their cell phones 24/7, we decided to make technology less streamlined.

It sorta works, I guess.

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(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I think they could do subtle updates to the tech without being too disloyal to the original shows.  A PADD was just a less-fancy tablet.  Make it a little better, and it works.  Less buttons and more touchscreens.  The new movies did a lot of this stuff (Kirk and Scotty have a conversation on a "cell phone" across the galaxy).

I think that's sorta the way I'd do it.  Keep the look and feel of the old tech but update it slightly to make it more relatable.

2,914

(267 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well if that was the end of a 3-year arc, it wasn't that bad.  I thought they handled the God thing pretty well, he's out of the picture again, and it was wrapped up pretty nicely.

I was actually hoping to have an ending sorta like the ending of Arrow this season.  Where there wasn't a real cliffhanger or anything - just two weary hunters not knowing what's next.  The two cliffhangers were pretty interesting - I don't know what bringing back Mary accomplishes (and why couldn't John also come back), but assuming Sam isn't actually dead, hunters hunting the Winchesters could be a pretty cool storyline.

What did you guys think?

2,915

(930 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah, I think its an interesting development, although I know virtually nothing about Captain America comics.

It's strange that people freak out if they do something crazy, and they freak out when things are boring.  Captain America won't stay evil, and no one that ever dies will stay dead.

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I thought it was okay.  It was a little poetic that the season started with Oliver and Felicity having abandoned Oliver's quest, and it ends with everyone else abandoning it.  I think it makes some sense, and it's cool that Oliver is going to be able to fight his fight in the light.  It's probably going to be a little difficult to be the Green Arrow when he's mayor, though.  This'll be the first time he's actually had a job since like season 2, right?

I was a little surprised at how it ended.  I was sorta thinking they might have an epilogue where everything resets and is darker because of what Barry did.  For people who watch Flash, they'd know.  For people who only watch Arrow, it'd be an interesting twist to be explained next year.

If they aren't going to have ripples through the rest of the Arrowverse, I think the Flash twist is sorta pointless, right?

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

TemporalFlux wrote:

If I remember correctly, it was stated in season one that Barry still became Flash in the original timeline where his mother lived; Thawne just manipulated things to make the Star Labs accident happen sooner.

Yeah, the fact that the Arrowverse is *already* an alternate timeline makes things so much more confusing.  You guys know I love shared universes, and the idea that they could disrupt four shows with this one movie is pretty enticing to me, but I just don't feel like they'll have to freedom to really do an Arrowverse event like that.  Have a darker version of Oliver - have drastically different characters across all the shows.  Make Barry's decision really resonate.

The problem is that they've already made Barry a much darker character this season, and I don't know if this was the right way to go.  I didn't love the Zoom storyline because it was too much like the Thawne storyline.  And I think the Flash needs to be more fun than it was this season.  And I think burdening Barry again is just a bad idea.

I think it would've been better if he'd somehow ended up in the Flashpoint universe at the end of season two (maybe beating Zoom sent him there).  And then he could spend a couple episodes in a darker universe where he'd see the consequences of embracing his darkness and saving his mother.  And, honestly, maybe that's what Earth 2 should've been this season.

The main problem is that they had that great episode where Barry entered the Speed Force and accepted that his mother loved him.  Then his dad died.  Then he undid everything by saving his mother.  It was a ton of mixed signals that did away with some good development.  Now Barry is literally back and square one.

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I was reading that this could be the way they bring Tom Cavanaugh back to play the "original" Harrison Wells.  If Barry defeated Thawne, there's a chance that Thawne could've chosen to take over for someone else.  Maybe Martin Stein? 

They could hypothetically bring Teddy Sears to play a good guy version of Hunter Zolomon who became Flash instead of Barry (if saving his mom makes him no longer be the Flash). 

Honestly, I'd hate if big portions of the universe got reset.

2,919

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Informant wrote:

Wait. I have a question.

How did the Caitlin hologram speak? It was the one limitation that made it obvious to people that the Flash hologram was not the real Flash. So, did they ever explain how that problem was solved?

Was it the speaking or the fact that he couldn't touch anything?  Barry doesn't usually speak when he's doing stuff, does he?  For the normal people on the street?

2,920

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah, I guess Barry could've technically splintered away from Earth-1 when he changed time.  He could end up in, say, Earth-5 (Arrowverse, Earth-2, Jay's Earth-3, and Kara's world).

I did read there there's a lot of secrecy about Arrow's finale.  Is there a chance it ends with Barry changing time and everything getting reset?  Would CW do that when there are clearly people who don't watch all shows?

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

The question I keep having is "how much would Berlanti be willing to let this affect his whole universe?"  Because, you're right - Kara is protected, and I don't know if Legends would be affected (although they might be the ones who have to deal with the repercussions now that I think about it).  But I imagine they're going to want to have a scene in the Flash premiere next year where you get some version of Dark Oliver as part of some sort of Flashpoint parallel (Oliver being the replacement for Batman). 

But if this is going to go beyond the premiere, would they be willing to do an episode or two of a distorted future across all the shows of the Arrowverse.  Could we get a more brutal Oliver for a couple of episodes, explained away by what Barry did (somehow)?  Could fixing the timeline be a plotline on Legends?  Would this somehow be how Kara gets integrated into the Arrowverse?

It's a bold move.  But I hope they've thought it through better than they've thought through other plots this year.

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Informant wrote:

It would be interesting if it changed the whole Arrowverse. I don't know that they would actually do that though... would Laurel be alive? I imagine that this would have limited ripples for people up to the point where they met Barry, but you never know.

It'd be limited but there could be tons of ripples.  For example, there are people that Henry Allen could've saved that wouldn't have been saved in the original Arrowverse timeline.  In fact, would Barry even be the Flash?  If he never had to prove his father was innocent, he might not have gone into forensic science, and he wouldn't have been in the lab that night.  Joe and Iris would be different people, and their relationship with Barry would be different.

If Barry isn't the Flash, Team Arrow could be different.  Barry saved everyone from Ra's last season, for example.

Logistically, there should be huge changes.  We'll see what they actually choose to go with.

2,923

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Wow....well that happened.

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Did Barry just destroy the Arrowverse as we know it?  Does whatever happen on the Arrow tomorrow night matter if it's going to, essentially, be re-written?  It's an interesting move - definitely going to set up some "Flashpoint" stuff.  But Flashpoint affected everyone - will this affect Arrow/Legends/Supergirl?

The Jay twist was cool but not all that unexpected.  It'll also be interesting if we get anymore Harrison Wells - he's definitely one of the better characters on the show.  I'm also a little surprised we didn't get any "speed" stuff out of Wally or Jessie.

2,924

(930 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, I have two questions before I comment.  First, did RDJ ever really apologize for his behavior?  I know he's spoken candidly about it, but I also know he's dodged questions about it too.  Secondly, has Gibson apologized?

I think if RDJ apologized and Gibson apologized, then they should be allowed to walk the same road back to Hollywood.  I know their "crimes" were different, and because of that, their apologies would need to be different.

I have to think that Gibson's blacklist has to do with the fact that he was highly antisemitic, and Hollywood is, statistically, more Jewish than most of the country (whether or not the highly popular "Jews run Hollywood" is true).

But I do think people should get a second chance if they truly ask for it.  I don't think people should get a second chance just because, though.

2,925

(330 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

He was referring to me thinking you're a good writer, in reference to me liking some Max Landis views smile

2,926

(3,508 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well, I just don't know if there are enough people who are going to go out and vote *against* someone.  I don't know if you can rally up support *against* a candidate.  No one loves Hillary.  And I'm not sure the people who love Trump are going to flock to vote for him.  People might hate Hillary and/or Trump, but I don't think that means people will go out and vote for the other guy so they won't win.

I think most people assume Hillary will crush Trump.  So if you're a Trump hater, why would you bother going out and voting for someone you don't really like.  Other people will do that for you.  Your vote doesn't really matter, you don't really support the person you'd vote for, and other people will beat him for you.  I think that's the mentality you'll see out of most Democrats.

It's like sports.  I might hate some team like the Philadelphia Eagles.  I might want them to lose every game they play.  I might tell myself that the world would be a horrible place if the Eagles ever won the Super Bowl.  But if the Eagles are playing, say, the Jaguars (a team I don't care about at all), I'm not going to pay to watch.  Or even watch for free.  Because, at the end of the day, I don't care if the Jaguars win.  I'll just check my phone later that night to see if the Eagles lost.

That's how I think this election will go.  Few people will hate Trump enough to vote for Hillary and vice versa.

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I mean I guess it was an Easter Egg.

My problem with it was....how did Rip exactly plan on being a Time Master?  How can he "protect" the timeline without the Oculus?  Isn't that the reason why the Time Masters stopped in the first place?  I wasn't clear if all of them died or not, but it's implied that they either all died or just quit because the Oculus was destroyed.

But that makes sense - without the Oculus, they can't detect changes in time, right?  Something would change and they'd have no idea.  I know Star Trek's Temporal Division does something similar (and based on the ending, they might not even be doing that), but I just had no idea how they were going to do that.

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(3,508 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I'm still not sure as many people will jump to Hillary as you think.  Because these guys don't have party loyalty.  The difference between 2008 and 2016 is that the Rebels won in 2008.  Of course the older/establishment voters were going to get in line.  Young people don't have party loyalty, and a lot of these people are "independents."  And if they really believe in the "cause" instead of a "party line" then they'll vote 3rd party before they vote Hillary.  I really believe that.

The funny thing is that these two candidates are so historically awful that I'm not sure either party is going to be able to steal many of the other side's people.  Republicans might hate Trump, but they aren't gonna vote for Hillary.  And Democrats might hate Hillary, but they aren't voting for Trump.

At the end of the day, I bet we get historically low voter turnout because people don't want to vote for either of these guys.

2,929

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Grizzlor wrote:

3. CBS All Access I think to me sucks.  Why would I PAY for a service for one show?  Really dumb idea.

What's crazy to me is that Star Trek fans have to be pretty close to the top of fans who will ALMOST CERTAINLY pirate the show.

2,930

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Okay, I watched the LoT finale.  Pretty solid.  I liked that the beginning had them adjusting back to life, and I like that Rip sorta helped Sara from trying to go back and save Laurel.  And it was pretty cool to take advantage of the size of the team by killing Savage three different times.  And, yes, we got the hard reset and a new quest with a smaller cast.

What I think is bothersome about all three shows is the lack of acknowledgement of what's going on in the other three shows.

- In Arrow, Damien Darhk just set off a nuclear bomb in an American city, and he's going to try and launch more.
- In Flash, an army of metahumans attacked Central City, killing at least a couple police officers. 
- In Legends, the Earth was almost destroyed by Vandal Savage.

Now, I know they can't have crossovers every week, but wouldn't Team Flash be interested in helping prevent a nuclear blast?  Wouldn't Team Arrow be willing to lend a hand when there's a literal war in the streets?  And Lance tells Sara that her work with Rip is more important when there might not be a world when Darhk is done with it (or, conversely, if Rip doesn't think it's an issue, then everything works out fine in Arrow).

When the struggle is more intimate (Oliver having to take down Ra's or Barry taking down Thawne), then things can be contained.  But even then, Barry and Oliver helped each other.  But there's world-altering stuff going on, and I think that's a problem.  I've mentioned it several times that this season of all three shows are doing an odd job of using this shared universe.  Hopefully this new style of contract will help with that, especially if they expand it to a lot of the regular casts.

Because, honestly, Flash should be helping with what's going on in Star City.  I know he's got Zoom, but they had time for a nice family dinner (that, yes, got disrupted by Zoom).  I know Barry has a life, but a freakin' nuclear bomb went off.

2,931

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

ireactions wrote:

Personally, I think that DC might be better off using the individual emblem for each hero (Green Arrow's arrowhead, the Flash's lightning bolt, etc.) and just put DC COMICS next to it.

That's a cool idea.  I don't know if they still do it, but I liked how Marvel used to (maybe still does) personalize their opening logo in the movies for whoever the movie was for (so you'd see Spider-Man comics flipping before Spider-Man movies).  This could be something similar.

I don't like that logo at all.  It seems like a huge step back.  I actually liked the one they had.

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(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I'd read that (but, again, I'm so behind reading).

I do think a season on an alien ship with minimal human interaction would be really daring and interesting.  It could be a disaster, but I think it's something Fuller might give a shot with the right leeway.

2,933

(930 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah I never really worry about any of these plots any more.  I know that Agents is never going to have an impact on the bigger Marvel universe, so I'm okay with that.  I'd obviously prefer if it mattered (and, honestly, last season it did - they were able to work in an Agents of Shield plotline into Age of Ultron, even if that wasn't really stated in the movie). 

What's sad about the whole "the Russo Brothers were told they didn't have to watch AoS" is that the Inhumans actually could've made Civil War a bigger scaled movie.  Civil War was so epic in the comics because it affected everyone.  In the movie, it seemingly only affects a dozen people.  Agents of Shield retroactively makes it affect the Inhumans and the secret SHIELD, but a line about registering all the new Inhumans could've made the whole thing feel more epic.

If I were them, next season would be a smaller scale.  Now that Ward is out of the picture for good (hopefully), I'd like to see no more Hydra stuff.  Not necessarily season one - like missions of the week but something more intimate and less "end of the world."  Especially since a) they aren't going to have to work around any big Marvel movies (I doubt they'll have a crossover with Dr. Strange or Guardians 2).

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(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

I'd be interested in a Klingon ship after Undiscovered Country.  Or a Federation ship patrolling the Federation/Klingon border, where things might be in a bit of chaos.  Could be some interesting Cold War / post-WWII Berlin / post Iraq War Middle East comparisons to be made.

I do hope we get some post-DS9/VOY stuff and not all prequel stuff.

2,935

(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Informant wrote:

I think Black Siren was a metahuman. Laurel may have been too, if she happened to be in Central City during the explosion. And there may not be a Sara on Earth 2. Maybe Laurel was on the Queen's Gambit instead?

Laurel was still wearing something around her neck.  I figured that was the device.  I already deleted the episode so I can't go back and look.

But if she was a metahuman, wouldn't "canary cry" as her metahuman power be crazy coincidental?  I mean, that's only her "power" on Earth-1 do to a series of events that are seemingly random (Sara being called "Yellow Bird" due to her blonde hair in the League).  Maybe Laurel was on the Queen's Gambit, ended up with the League, got the same nickname, and came back with the canary cry device.  Then ended up in Central City, got hit with the dark matter, and the device merged with her body?  It's possible.

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(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Yeah but if he's a hugely different person in BvS, shouldn't a solo movie deal almost entirely with Bruce feeling *horrible* for going down such a dark path?

I think that's one of BvS' failings.  Since Bruce was still the hero, I don't think enough time was spent on how far he'd fallen.  I would've liked some line from Alfred saying "so you're just killing people now?"  That implies that Bruce didn't used to kill and has gone so far off-mission.  In fact, we still don't know nearly enough about this Batman to make a judgment on whether or not Batman was different before.

2,937

(722 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

http://www.superherohype.com/news/37450 … ies-teaser

If the info in this article is correct, Fuller's show will be an anthology series focused on several crews?  That's an amazing idea, and it could breathe fresh life into this series.  Especially if it feels free to jump around different time periods and species.  A whole season on a Klingon ship.  Or a Romulan-Vulcan ship.  Or a new species looking to join the Federation.  They could do any time from 2063 to 2151 to 2266 to 2364 and beyond. 

Could be really, really cool.

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(1,683 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Something odd from the Flash - so Laurel is going to take down a high rise, and Barry can't go because he needs to race around the city to protect the rest of the world from the pulse.  That makes sense.  But they had time to dress up Cisco and Caitlin as Reverb and Killer Frost?  That had to have taken way longer than it would've taken for Barry to race out to take her out.

Also, it makes sense for Caitlin/Cisco to be evil metahumans on Earth 2 because they still get powers.  It makes less sense for Laurel, who doesn't have metahuman powers.  I guess Reverb could've given her the canary cry, but it makes less sense that Earth 2 Laurel would've followed the same path as Earth 1 Laurel.  Black Siren should've been Sara, right?

And since Cisco made Laurel's device, shouldn't he have been able to cancel it out?  And why didn't he remove it while Laurel was unconscious (she has it in her cell)? 

And why doesn't Caitlin have powers?

Final and - it seems like Laurel did die.  I guess it happened before Barry lost his speed?  And I guess they mourned on their own?  It's bizarre that there has been such little conversation between teams.  I know Oliver has his own stuff going on, but this is a war on American soil.  No Army.  No Argus.  No Team Arrow.  I know Barry is crazy confident, but wouldn't other forces show up regardless of what Flash wants?

I'm in a critical mood, I guess.

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(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Well I'm with you on the death thing.  It's stupid for Oliver on Arrow or Batman or Superman to have a definitive "no killing" rule because a) there's always the potential for collateral damage and b) some men just want to watch the world burn. 

What I think every superhero's rule should be "save as many lives as possible."  And that seemed to be Clark's goal in Man of Steel.  As Max Landis famously said, in the MoS scenario, Clark would realistically try and kill Zod as quickly as possible if the alternative is thousands of dead innocents.  So if killing Zod saves one person  three people / a million people, then it's worth it.

The problem is that Batman in BvS isn't killing to save - he's killing to kill - both when he's marking criminals to be killed in jail and when he's blowing up cars full of mercenaries with the Batmobile.  In that chase, Batman kills a bunch of people when he really doesn't have to.  And I think that's what most people have the problem with.

Because if Batman can just kill a random person who wasn't endangering anyone, then he shouldn't have a problem killing the Joker or Two-Face or the Riddler or anyone in the next movie.  His first play should be to kill them as quickly as possible.  Which makes for a pretty bad Batman movie.

2,940

(1,098 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

Again, I haven't read it.  Could be completely unfair to put it on Snyder, but reading the script reviews I've read (I actually have three scripts I want to read but haven't yet) just clicked for me.  Some of the things I thought were odd about the movie (mostly characterizations of Batman and Superman) suddenly made a lot of sense.  Batman was killing people and acting un-Batmanly because he'd snapped.  People trust Superman because he has spent 18 months winning them back.  These are things that absolutely make sense on retrospect but weren't set up by the movie.

Maybe it wasn't Snyder.  Maybe it was Johns or someone else at DC saying "YOU CAN'T MAKE BATMAN A BAD GUY!" but instead Batman is still a bad guy - just not the bad guy.  And the act of saving Batman by having him save Martha just comes across as a "well, you go save Martha and I'll deal with Lex" even though that doesn't really make any sense.  Superman could save Martha and deal with Lex before Batman could get either place.

And, hell, maybe it wasn't in the script.  But in that case, everyone got things wrong.  The writers were wrong, the director was wrong, and DC was wrong for letting it all happen.  Because while you see one thing, all I see is a homicidal Batman who only vaguely admits that he needs to change, and a Superman who never smiles and shouldn't have been forgiven by anyone.

I'd like to believe that there's a *great* (and I'm not kidding.  Dark Knight Trilogy - level greatness) movie just under the surface in BvS and Snyder messed it up for cool points.  Otherwise, BvS was a good movie that ended up being a bit of a mess for various reasons.