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2024-01-16 13:29:57

Great post! I do hope that "Slidecage" Jim Hall does post his thoughts here. I suggest him to on Twitter. I'd love to hear about that last conversation. Even though Tracy often came off as a bit of a Debbie Downer and complainer on Awake Nation, in may ways he was a great optimist. Personally, I didn't give his reboot much chance, not with today's media landscape and overall what a turd NBCU has become. Exchanged many emails with the late Gil Bavel on the "Sliders convention," which I also had equally big doubts about from the get-go. Yet Tracy was still pushing those plans right up until the end. Was it wishful thinking? I don't know. I wasn't watching these broadcasts beyond the few with Cleavant and Bob, but you can tell in the summer, after a bout of the flu, that Tracy did not appear well. It's all very unfortunate, as I too wonder what he might have done over the last 20 years had he not been chronically ill? I had reservations about whether he was well enough to write/run a show again.

2024-01-14 16:09:25

QuinnSlidr wrote:

More interviews for me to listen to this weekend. Thanks for the great updates, Grizzlor!
Although I will probably end up fast forwarding through all the UFO stuff. I'm not exactly what you would call open to the conspiracy mumbo jumbo...

Neither am I, but if you ever grew up with someone or an older relative who was great at telling "ghost stories?" That's Tracy. Beyond that, I'm always fascinated by late 20th century pop, and in this case, occult sub-culture. I don't believe any of it myself, but these people were very serious about all this, aka Budd Hopkins. The discussions over what video US Air Force releases of UFP's I find zero interest in. there's no art in that. You go from what used to be myths and legends a la Sasquatch to digital mehhh. No thanks. Plus it's Tracy and old friends recounting stories about what they were doing decades ago.

2024-01-14 00:39:19

ireactions wrote:

Morbidly, my suspicion ever since this thread started is that Tracy Torme pitched an original-cast-revival over a recast-reboot because he felt that he would be the only one vying for an original-cast-revival and he wanted to pitch it before he died.
.....
For Tracy Torme, compromise was an ugly word. His loyalty was to the original characters as played by the original cast, and not to his bank balance. I respect that.

It's certainly possible, although I think we have to temper the "original cast is back" chatter, because who knows how invested the show would have been with them. They were definitely adding characters in some form, and there was the rumor that it would be Quinn sliding with his kids and Remmy. Wade was dead and Arturo dead or lost.

Tracy went silent for a long, long, long time on most everything including Sliders. He explained in one of the podcasts that he'd been having health issues for almost 20 years. However, he never forgot about Sliders or the FANS. He repeated over and over, he was amazed going back to the 90s with the fans. He was so pissed and embarrassed when the show went off the rails, and couldn't believe the fans kept loyal. That's why, IMO, he wanted to continue the original story (from some point) and keep continuity. It was for the fans.

pilight wrote:

The sad truth is that Tracy Torme's death probably improves the chances of a Sliders reboot. It almost certainly ends whatever vain hope might have existed for a continuation with the original cast.

I would agree with this statement, but unfortunately, I don't know if the chances improved THAT much. He said on the Awake Nation that he, Epstein, and the former Fox producer gal took a meeting with NBCU. There was one person who was a Sliders fan, and the rest had never heard of it. And you wonder why the pitch went nowhere?

The other issue would have been Tracy's fiercely held beliefs that Sliders would not be "woke," and though I doubt that would have even been a problem. What might have been would be if he wrote anything that put a satirical spin on whatever, because there would be some interest group or party pooper up in arms about it. There's great fear in TV land against doing anything controversial, nor even poking fun. I could easily see some NBC executives throwing a fit. But I've said that for the last two years, I cannot comprehend how modern Hollywood would have the balls to do an honest Sliders these days? I mean, could they even get away with Prince of Wails, where the British royal family is goofed on? Tracy actually joked on the podcast that Bob Weiss would never get away with the guy in the wheel chair flipping out of the upper deck of the stadium in Naked Gun!

2024-01-14 00:23:05

No problem, I was able to take photos of the pages and use an online JPG to TXT website that did 95% of the work. I will NOT be transcribing the remainder of that book, there's not much of substance in there, trust me.

I found The Awake Nation streams. However, it seems like there's more episodes archived on Rumble under The David Zublick Channel, so I'm going to use those links. Obviously, this program is pretty "out there" and covers every conspiracy theory known to man, woman, and coyote. I will put the time at which Tracy joins, ha ha! I know some of you weren't on the same page as Tracy or certainly the two hosts, politically, so I rewatched all of these to give a brief synopsis and probably make it evident which ones to avoid. The vast majority feature Tracy recounting his career and many obscure occultist stories that he was fond of. He was a great storyteller and makes it very worthwhile.

If you excise the political rants, these appearances really managed to touch on every aspect of Tracy's life and career, and could serve as a biography on the man. Why should anyone care? Well, if you are a fan of Sliders, I think it's important to know where he drew motivation for so much of his writing on there. He was learned and passionate on many subjects, but also had a big heart. For me personally, Tracy gave a few interviews and chat room appearances from time to time, then over 20 years ago he just kind of vanished. His appearance on the DVD's extras was one of the few he did for seemingly decades. He gave an interview to Matt at Earthprime, but we mostly never heard from him. Not until his appearances with Cardinal Sin and then these.

2023.02.01 (0:42:00-1:30:00) The Story Behind Sliders, reboot pitch update, and David Peckinpah anecdotes.
2023.02.15 (1:40:00-2:30:00) Chinese balloons, Tracy's battle against political correction, Hollywood Wokeness, subverting FOX execs, Sliders stories that couldn't be told, on the cusp of UFO revelation, Fire in the Sky chatter
2023.02.22 (1:31:00-2:31:00) Tracy with "Alien Abductee" Travis Walton
2023.03.01 (1:43:00-2:32:00) Tracy recounts his early involvement on I Am Legend. Followed by films featuring pandemics and related conspiracies. Crop circles. Zodiac killer.
2023.03.08 (1:29:00-2:29:00) Aliens/The X-Files link? Bob Dylan. More Zodiac (Robert Graysmith). Alien disinformation.
2023.03.15 (1:33:00-2:28:00) Roswell with researcher/author Don Schmitt.
2023.04.05 (1:32:30-2:33:00) Dog rescue stories from Tracy and his friend.
2023.04.12 (1:33:30-2:31:00) Societal issues affecting the airline industry.
2023.04.19 (1:33:00-2:35:00) Tracy's unreleased "Doomsday" animated series with Howard Stern. Comedian Rick Overton on navigating political correctness.
2023.04.26 (1:29:00-2:28:00) Eat bugs not meat? Political rant time.
2023.05.10 (1:31:00-1:36:00) Budd Hopkins hypnosis sessions, and the abduction phenomenon.
2023.05.17 (1:25:00-2:31:00) Tracy and Peter Robbins in a sophisticated UFO abduction discussion.
2023.05.24 (1:30:00-2:25:00) Cleavant Derricks appears to talk Sliders!
2023.05.31 (1:38:30-2:32:00) California is BAD rant. Brad Linaweaver mentioned.
2023.06.07 (1:32:00-2:31:00) Round table on the "latest" UFO news.
2023.06.21 (1:33:00-2:28:00) Hunter Biden and UFOs.
2023.07.19 (1:32:00-2:33:00) Robert K. Weiss appears!
2023.08.02 (1:32:00-2:30:00) Talks about UFOlogists Allen Hynek and Lou Elizondo
2023.08.09 (1:35:00-2:30:00) mostly politics
2023.08.16 (1:31:00-2:31:00) UFO talk with Thom Reed.
2023.08.23 (1:37:00-2:38:00) Tracy and brother James remininisce musically.
2023.09.06 (1:40:00-2:30:00) UFOlogist Don Ecker joins.

2024-01-11 23:54:25

ireactions wrote:

I didn't realize until the podcasts that Torme was a fan of THE PRISONER, a show that was really fantastic for the first run of 13 or so episodes and then collapsed upon itself in its final four. Amusingly, if you read the script for SLIDERS' "Please Press One", you can tell that it was meant to be a lengthy tribute to THE PRISONER, but it doesn't really come through onscreen, and I only hope that Torme never, ever, ever saw it.

He'd mentioned Patrick McGoohan when discussing Sliders back in the 90s, it's in the Linaweaver book/interviews. I believe it impacted his writing on TNG as well, he was really as obsessed with The Prisoner as much as many of us were for Sliders. He certainly treasured the brief phone conversations he was able to have with his idol Mr. McGoohan prior to his death. Invasion he cited as an homage to The Prisoner, and you can definitely see why. I can assure you, Tracy never saw Please Press One! Supposedly he had some kind of tepid script review in his contract as "executive consultant," but he always maintained that he refused to participate in production whatsoever once Peckinpah was kept on as showrunner. I know in the old IRQ chats when he'd drop in (quite randomly), and elsewhere, he was emphatic about this, and often reacted quizzically if a concept from Seasons 4/5 were brought up, because I truly think he had no idea. There was stuff that went down in Season 3 which he was aware of and greatly embarrassed by. I don't know if that was just based on scripts he saw, or if others saw the episodes and cued him in, to his horror.

That being said, I would always point out that a lot of what Tracy wrote on Sliders links back to his love of dark comedy and cultural/political satire. He was a writer on SNL in the early 1980s, as well. Honestly, one of my favorite things about Sliders was the music. Granted Cleavant was a great musician and singer, but Sliders as only it could was unique in that you'd have multiple characters performing specifically written songs. Not a full musical episode or anything like that, just very random. Was there any goofier song than Cry Like A Man?! He also wrote satirical country songs for his father Mel to sing in Greatfellas, and Mel was no country crooner, again Tracy saying I'm going to do the most unexpected thing here. As he stated in the Linaweaver book, as well, he KILLS off his old man in the middle of the episode! Then went to great lengths to hide the fact he would return at the end unharmed, to keep the cast and crew out of the loop.

2024-01-11 18:29:35

Hey, can we move the "Future of Sliders" chatter to the other thread? Just to make it easier for people to find stuff in here. [Moderator Message: Request granted, posts were relocated here: https://sliders.tv/bboard/viewtopic.php … 225#p15225 ]

*These are the Cardinal S ones I could find, where in the stream Tracy shows up is random, a few he was audio only.
**Awake Nation's site went down or something today, so I couldn't search there yet.

Cardinal Sin appearances:

Sliders/science fiction themed
2021.07.12 - Masters of the Genre #8 Tracy Tormé
2021.09.22 - Masters of the Genre #9 Tracy Tormé & Marc Scott Zicree

UFO themed
2022.12.01 - Into The Fringe #86 Don Ecker & Tracy Tormé - UFO Updates & Best Cases
2023.02.03 - Into The Fringe #95 Tracy Tormé & Don Ecker

2024-01-11 00:10:15

You can read the transcoded Interview section from the book here, and download it!

https://moccasin-agna-57.tiiny.site

2024-01-10 13:20:30

I will. I'm also working on transcribing the Linaweaver book interviews later today. My favorite remains his alt.tv.sliders posting where he apologized for the direction of the show and the loss of aspects like dark comedy, what-ifs, character flaws, satire, and even Remmy's music).

Here's Sabrina's posting on IG...

2024-01-10 11:02:50

For posterity, if anyone wishes to read up on additional Tracy thoughts from back in the day...

His fiery gauntlet laid down against that Doorways guy!
https://hof.slidersweb.net/celebs/u0002.html

Chat's courtesy of vortex62, including the infamous DragonCon 1997 panel, and Scifi.com webchat the next day. http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/torme27jun97.htm
http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/torme28jun97.htm

And a few more with fans, after the show went off the air. Rereading these, just love the answers Tracy gave to some of these questions, like you know he couldn't have been serious!
http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/torme10jan00.htm
http://www.earth62.net/transcripts/torme15jun01.htm

I'll list his YouTube "appearances" when I get a chance tonight.

2024-01-10 09:51:55

QuinnSlidr wrote:

That was an excellent and well-written tribute, Grizzlor.
I agree with everything you wrote.
Well done.

Thanks, I initially didn't know what to write, and then it starting coming to me.

ireactions wrote:

In recent years, I was heartened to know that across decades of disappointment, Tracy Torme kept Quinn, Wade, Rembrandt and Arturo in his heart and his wish for a revival was to bring Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks and John Rhys-Davies back to their roles. A lot of shows and their creators have prioritized the brand (MACGYVER, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) over the cast, but Torme's loyalty was to those four characters as performed by those four actors. He cared about them as much as the fans did.
I hope that wherever he is, he found his way back to them, to his father, and to all of his questions regarding UFOs.

Good point about the original cast. I would hope that we haven't seen the last of "Sliders," but I would agree that Tracy was the last hope to return it featuring the original cast in some major way.

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

I can't tell if this is Jerry high fiving himself or not. Is he saying that Tracy was the smartest dude he'd ever met at the time he cast him? Or that he was the smarted dude he'd ever met *because* he cast him?
Either way, I know Jerry's sense of humor can be a bit wacky. It might be a little of both?

Look Jerry's probably had less interaction with Tracy since 1997 than any of us have. I'm not sure why he was somewhat left out of Tracy's world, but I can say that Jerry maintained a high degree of respect for him, and he was always in awe of his capacities as a writer and thinker. If you read his old interviews, he literally said that exact phrase many times, that he latched onto Tracy and John Rhys-Davies during the first season, through admiration and wanting to learn.

2024-01-10 00:45:18

Jerry O'Connell tweet

https://twitter.com/MrJerryOC/status/17 … w&s=19

Tracy Tormé was the smartest dude I had ever met, when he cast me in SLIDERS. Rest In Peace Genius.

Rob Floyd tweet

https://twitter.com/drinkwithrob/status … g&s=19

2024-01-09 23:17:44

What a truly sad, sad evening to learn of the passing of one of the most important artistic minds of my lifetime. I'm sure I'll have more to write about but the words aren't there right now. Tracy has suffered from numerous health ailments for many years now, and he was recently ill though he was still trying to make it tomorrow night for another appearance on an indie podcast show. According to his sister, he passed away on January 4th.

His brother James, a wonderful singer in his own right, posted this on Facebook.

Below was the front page of the Hollywood reporter website today. I can’t tell you how proud I am of my brother. We had a very special relationship. The kind that only a little brother and a big brother can ever have. He taught me about so many of the rights of passage in life and helped me to become a man. I’ll tell you more about him soon. But right now I am just trying to come to terms… thank you all for your sweet messages.

I made that as sort of a banner, unfortunately Tracy kept out of the public eye for many years though he and his wife Robin spent countless hours rescuing animals. He was quite "unknown" even to us Sliders fans. He was the guy who created the show, and despite having battles with FOX execs, he produced two abbreviated yet incredibly memorable seasons of the unheralded and unique show we all love. For years, all we had were his interview in Brad Linaweaver's book, and the numerous 2nd hand tidbits curated by TemporalFlux on the Dimension of Continuity. It gave us a window into the thought process, but so much was missing. He helped produce a small run of Sliders comic books, based frequently on his ideas, and released by Acclaim.

Tracy appeared at DragonCon, giving the now infamous panel session where he declared Sliders was BACK, and so was he! Fans were so hopeful, but alas, it was not meant to be. Years later, he appeared with Bob Weiss to provide treasured commentary during the two-part Pilot episode, as well as the short series making of. That commentary gave us a real knowledge of Tracy's mannerisms, but also, that he was so clever and comedic. He delivered his amazing, unproduced script, Heat of the Moment to Matt at Earthprime.com, another look at the what-if.

In more recent years, Tracy emerged from obscurity to lead a short-lived push to restart Sliders as a reboot. Once more, his enthusiasm knew no bounds, and fans became excited. Sadly, nothing would come of that. He went on to appear a number of times, despite frequent technical snafus, on The Prisoner rewatches with Gil "Cardinal Sin" Bavel, who sadly passed away recently as well. We were treated to Tracy's inspiration largely for Sliders, and he shared a number of humorous stories to boot. Thankfully, the producers of The Awake Nation latched onto Tracy, providing him better tech, and he appeared several times with them, largely to speak on his first love, the UFO phenomenon. His script for "Fire in the Sky" was brilliant, great movie. During those appearances, we got to see fun reunions with co-creator Robert K. Weiss, star Cleavant Derricks, and even his brother James Tormé. I will treasure those.

Thank you Tracy, the love affair which I've had with this wonderful concept you created has persisted for nearly three decades now.

2024-01-08 10:53:11

QuinnSlidr wrote:

~71,000,000 votes for Trump (Hitler) is not half the country. Let's stop spreading nonsense, please.
Population of the United States: 331.9 million (2021)
Half that: 165,950,000
So, 71,000,000ish (who voted Trump, a.k.a. Hitler) is around 21% of the country.
Not half.
Outlandish lies.
You seem to be taking that academic psychological assessment a bit personally, Grizzlor.
I stand by it.

Are you an INFANT? Trump had 74+ million votes, Biden 81+ million votes. 155 million people voted, a turnout of nearly 2/3 of ELIGIBLE VOTERS. Not citizens, not people who live here, VOTERS. So you cannot say X number voted for a candidate out of the # of people who lived here as if that matters. 1/3 of the voters chose not to vote for ANYONE, and therefore out of 330 million, around 230 million are eligible to vote, the rest are not. Trump got 46% of the popular vote in both elections, so SUE ME it's not exactly half, but it's close to it. And my point was that "nearly" half the country (VOTERS) are not simply to be written off as mentally ill. It's tribal, they have voted for GOP Red forever and they're not changing, even when the candidate is a scumbag like Trump. There's no mental illness to explain it.

ireactions wrote:

Another thought:
Grizzlor wrote:
Bale doesn't have anger issues, it was a one-time on set outburst that should never have been revealed. He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, a staunch family man as well.
Why is "staunch family man" some sort of shield against accusations? "Family man" has been used to describe Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and David Peckinpah as well as Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Fred Rogers, and Tom Hanks, and fits a wide spectrum from the sadistic to the noble. A family is not the unique identifier of virtue that Grizzlor seems to think it is.
And as I never seem to tire of bringing up, Grizzlor once posed for a photo with a known and later-convicted sex trafficker, so being passingly pleasant to Grizzlor is also not the mark of decency he thinks it is.

It's not a "shield" but the guy had one meltdown on a movie set, and the crew actually backed him up on that, and has been nothing but a model citizen beyond that. You're the one throwing him under the bus here, not me, and I found it unfair, and really has little to do with the subject matter. And for the umpteenth time, I "posed" with Allison knowing nothing about the later legal accusations on her, other than she was accused of being in some kind of "strange cult." But again I find it questionable that you seem content to besmirch public individuals freely here for a variety of superficial reasons (such as who they vote for), and act as the forum's King of Thought, over anyone else.

***************

Again, the point I made remains, to try to pass off Trumpism or simply voting Republican as a mental illness is both foolish, and unscientific, and a waste of time. Nor does it make a lick of difference in how the '24 election will pan out. People look past plenty of crap when it benefits themselves. I recall when NFL QB Michael Vick was suspended and later jailed for owning a dog fighting illegal business. He would later return to the league, and despite tons of fans hating his guts (rightly so), he was still cheered by fans of his team. Why? Because all they cared about was winning football games. Politics is not all that different. Again, it's tribalism. Not a mental illness. Trumpism has morphed into a cultish following, but that will never explain that he received slightly less than half of the votes cast twice. Tribalism does.

Honestly, I don't know why the two of you prefer to ignore points I try to make or even engage in normal discussion, but instead choose to attack me personally with insults and whatnot? What is the point of having a moderator, oh wait, he's the one doing it. Nice. Look, I do NOT want Trump to win, but it's increasingly possible due to the disastrous candidacy of Joe Biden. His atrocious polling cannot be simply ignored as though it's the media or right wing made up crap. 2016 was the same story. The liberals laughed at the notion, and then cried, because they chose to focus on social issues that the country didn't care about or were sick of hearing of. It's still the economy, stupid.

2024-01-07 21:03:33

ireactions wrote:

Another thought on Kelsey Grammer and Frasier:
First, if we look at Grammer's autobiography: father shot and murdered when Grammer was 13, sister raped and stabbed and murdered when he was 20 (and he had to identify the body), half brothers killed by sharks when he was 25, drug and alcohol addiction, drunk driving, a car crash -- I think we can be kind and say that this person is mentally ill and very sad.
I don't feel Frasier is severely diminished by his actor being mentally ill and supporting alt-right fascism. (Hey, at what point does it stop being "alt"?) When we look at, say, Joss Whedon: his misogyny undermined BUFFY as a feminist creation. When we look at Allison Mack, her sex trafficking cult of brainwashing, slavery and branding undermined her character of Chloe Sullivan, an information-empowered superhero.
However, Frasier is not a paragon or a wholely heroic figure or a role model like Buffy or Chloe. Frasier is an extremely flawed human being: his ego is out of control, he's controlling and insecure, he's a psychiatrist and mental health practitioner who faked a suicide attempt for attention and then became genuinely suicidal and ended up on the evening news, he's a pretentious snob.
He's also brilliant, caring, empathetic, skillful, an information sponge, a voracious learner, a self-sacrificing person of love and decency -- but he is forever caught between his impeccable morality and his overinflated self-importance. Frasier is a buffoon and the audience is encourage to learn from his mistakes rather than emulate his behaviour.
Frasier is not meant to represent a particular pinnacle of human identity or achievement. For me, the character is not tarnished by the disgrace of his actor. Frasier Crane is defined not by his virtues but by his flaws and his perseverance in struggling with his flaws. The degree to which Grammer has surrendered to his failings only highlights how Dr. Frasier Crane is forever battling his own.
Christian Bale having some serious anger management issues did not undermine the role of Batman because Batman has some problems with anger too.

Bale doesn't have anger issues, it was a one-time on set outburst that should never have been revealed. He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, a staunch family man as well.

As for Kelsey, idk if you can find it, but he did an episode of Raw Nerve with Shatner and he goes through his past traumas and it's really revealing and quite emotional. Grammer too, super nice guy if you ever run into him, and while he is terrible at marriage, I don't know if I'd bury him for being a Republican. Not sure how much of a diehard Trumper he is either?

Beyond that, HALF the country voted for Trump, there aren't that many mentally ill people. They mostly don't like him, but they want nothing to do with Democrats. It's just a tribal society now.

2024-01-05 10:13:52

"can't have an 80 year old sitting in jail," I'm sure Charles Manson would have agreed!

2024-01-05 10:12:27

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … bbean.html

OMG, horrible, horrible tragedy for Christian Oliver, who was the guest star during S4's Net Worth! I also knew him from one season of Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

An American actor died tragically alongside his two daughters, ages 10 and 12, as their plane nose dived and crashed into the waters off of a small Caribbean island.
Christian Klepser, 51, who went by the stage name Christian Oliver, was confirmed to have been killed in the accident, along side his children, Madita and Annik. The plane's pilot, Robert Sachs, was also killed.
During his career, Klepser appeared in major movies such as Speed Racer and Valkyrie and recently had a part in the latest installment of the Indiana Jones franchise.

2024-01-04 10:08:56

Is there a singular form of "Jedi" in English? Could mean a single Jedi. HA HA HA. Seriously though, I suspect maybe Rey will now follow the journey Luke was intending to do, but failed at.

2024-01-04 08:39:46

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/shar … 235859572/

While the right naturally have assailed the director's comments about "making men feel uncomfortable" and expecting an overly "woke" Rey film, I have other concerns. Such as, what experience or vision does this woman have in directing a film of this scale, in this genre? Will she eschew the CGI for a character piece? This might be a complete disaster, or a Logan-esque hit.

2024-01-04 00:32:34

As I said, Biden team had better make the narrative about Trump's violent uprising, and threats of a future repeat.

2024-01-03 00:26:13

QuinnSlidr wrote:

Grizzlor wrote:
The Epstein list, just an eye roll from me. What does being on it prove? You did business with him? You used his FREE jet? Attended his parties with other rich guys? The only powerful person accused of wrongdoing is Prince Andrew, who will never be prosecuted, thanks to "diplomatic immunity."
This is wrong. Trump has been involved in a lawsuit in which he raped a 13 year old girl with Epstein overseeing it.
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/ … ped-230770
"In the most recent suit, Trump’s accuser asserted that while she was exploring a modeling career in 1994, she attended a series of parties at the Manhattan home of prominent investor Jeffrey Epstein. She alleges that during those parties the real estate mogul tied her to a bed and raped her. She also claimed Epstein raped her during that series of gatherings"
Sadly, this person has been intimidated by Trump. Eventually, this will see justice.

I won't hold my breath. Trump's morality is irrelevant to MAGA. In fact, I was watching a segment last night, and the reporter asked a MAGAteer in Iowa what would stop them from supporting Trump. Deadpanned, the woman goes, "he'd have to do something exceedingly bad, like murder someone or die!" These people are beyond help.

pilight wrote:

Epstein had no legitimate business. He embezzled a small fortune from Les Wexner then expanded it through various types of financial fraud.

He was planning to extort many of his "clients." He figured they'd protect him, although Maxwell testified that "Epstein never believed he did anything wrong." He flew important people around the world, not always to his island, and bugged the plane on them.

2024-01-03 00:14:50

Reminds me of the old Batman cartoons from the 70s. They used to switch a lot of voice actors in and out, nobody knew. In fact, my friend was Larry Storch's manager and nobody knew whether Larry had actually played the Joker! It remained a mystery.

2024-01-02 16:50:22

Trump is not going to pay any of those fines. We know him, he'll drag that out forever. If his business license is revoked, that's another story. May need to turn the company over to Baron! Wish I could revel in all of that, but this maniac keeps right on punching. This won't stop him. He'll just become further unhinged and desperate and dangerous.

Haley won't be offered. Trump 2024 is not going to compromise on anything. He will choose a sycophant like Kari Lake. Has to be someone who will spew the same bile lies as him. His attitude now is Biden is so bad, all Trump needs is MAGA to be revved up and he'll win.

The Epstein list, just an eye roll from me. What does being on it prove? You did business with him? You used his FREE jet? Attended his parties with other rich guys? The only powerful person accused of wrongdoing is Prince Andrew, who will never be prosecuted, thanks to "diplomatic immunity."

2024-01-01 13:36:32

If I told you how old my PC at home was, your head would explode! Granted it's been given a couple upgrades, but I only use it for web browsing, Photoshop, some Android desktop/app emulation, etc. I bought it originally as more of a gaming PC but I stopped using it for games many years ago. Honestly, I could afford a new one, I just hate having to reorganize my files! Even my NetGear storage server is fairly old in the tooth.

2023-12-31 19:23:35

Haley was Governor of South Carolina. She did succeed in removing the Confederate flag from state property. She's surely had to answer this question 500 times, and yet sounded like an idiot. Regardless, her answer is about as relevant in this election as John Schneider, zilch. Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee.

2023-12-31 16:01:17

I first remember Lake from the series Surface, which I watched a little bit only. But to show you how your memory fizzles and fades, when I first recalled it, I swore it had to do with devil doppelgangers from a parallel universe. In reality, it DID have a lot to do with a body of water, but not that. What I was recalling was the movie The Lake (2018) starring Yasmine Bleeth! FWIW, both aired on NBC.

2023-12-29 21:54:21

Again, I think this ballot stuff is just plain stupid, and only helps Trump/invigorates the MAGA. No one has proven (in court) he actively participated in an insurrection. That's not what Jack Smith is charging him with anyway, since proving that would be a mountain to climb. Smith's case deals with what Trump was doing between election eve and January 6th, mainly in late December, when he and his staff tried to steal the election.

In other news, there was a kerfuffle involving Nikki Haley in Iowa, where at a town hall session, she "forgot to mention" the leading cause for the Civil War being a little thing called SLAVERY. She knows that was the cause, and of course said it in interviews the next day or whatever. Chris Christie chimed in with the real reason, that she's afraid to tell the truth. That is what decades of Fox News lies gets a political movement. They are completely living in another shall we say, multiverse. I still say she is the LEAST worst of the GOP candidates, but wow what a complete moron.

2023-12-29 19:58:51

Well you now have me searching for news, and I have some of the lousy type.

First, the co-host of Awakenings, Penny Shepard tweeted a month back that per Tracy: "he’s been under the weather." So obviously that's not fun to hear. She did reply and said that Tracy is "doing better; he will be back Jan 10."

https://twitter.com/shepardout/status/1 … 8314158460

Also in that search, I was stunned to read that the host of "The Prisoner" rewatch podcast which featured Tracy, Gil Bavel aka Cardinal Sin, passed away on September 14. Sounded like he passed in his home at 55. I think he had a number of health issues, but wow, very shocking. He was an interesting guy, seemed to be knee deep in every fandom, and had a decent following on the interwebs. In my brief interactions, I thought he was very generous, and had that old school kind of public access vibe. We had a bunch of emails about the supposed Sliders convention, for one. He went me some DVD's for participating in several Tracy chats. Granted they were UK region and I couldn't watch, but a nice gesture nonetheless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8FePLLAi9s

2023-12-29 16:34:37

Schneider, kind of like Jon Voight, very conflicting because they are so belligerent in their politics, and yet people who know and work with them have nothing but praise. Even stranger for John, because he and his now late wife would spend so much time doing live streaming about a variety of things which were very genuine, and then he'd call Nancy Pelosi a whore or something to that effect. The video on that article, is very touching, as he talks about the loss of his wife. Wish he'd stay out of politics but celebrities just love attention.

2023-12-29 16:30:31

Don't ask me why, but I've started watching Young Indiana Jones again on Disney Plus, and those are at best upscaled, and don't look to bad. That being said, I believe that LucasFilm may have done some cleanup on those when they were reassembled as "movie volumes" in the late 90s. I mean, can you imagine if they had Sliders cast members 10-15 years later shoot new footage to include on DVDs? That's practically what they did for that series, when 11-12 year old Corey Carrier was brought back to film new segments when he was 17 and not supposed to have aged.

2023-12-26 18:52:54

I actually always liked Home Alone 3, as well, granted the kid was a lot younger than Macauley in the first one. Physical comedy is very rare these days. The Hangover movies excelled in that, it still sells, but few wish to make any. Comedies in general, they don't take risks, due to potential "backlash." You couldn't get away with Home Alone as a "new franchise" now, but back then, it was considering perfectly silly fun to imagine such loving yet absentminded parents.

2023-12-26 13:03:54

TLJ was decent enough, I didn't have a big issue with it. Though old Leia turning into Superwoman was farcical. I certainly wouldn't rate it above any of the OT, good grief no way. They should have just allowed Johnson to direct the last one, but J.J. was brought back in. In typical Abrams fashion he had a great premise but couldn't get it to the finish line.

I personally like most fans, lament the extinguishing of Luke, Han, and ultimately Leia. They were never given a grand reunion on screen, and a LOT of older fans are angry at how they turned them into old hasbeens, most especially Luke, into a caricature of Yoda. Looking back, I also lament that George Lucas was basically lied to, and J.J. Abrams tossed whatever concepts he'd supplied for the evolution of the characters into the trash.

Now we've had Dave Filoni on this drunken journey to re-establish the Lucas-verse, if you will, over the franchise. They've canceled more projects than Amtrak.

2023-12-26 10:57:18

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

Grizzlor wrote:
Yes, well the point is to WIN the war at the conclusion of whatever heroic story you're telling. Star Wars now is just wedging stories all over the place, in a war that was already "won."
Is it won? The Empire technically has superiority at the end of 2/3 of the trilogies (and the third isn't even all that definitive). At the end of the prequels, obviously the Empire wins. At the end of the original trilogy, the Empire appears to have lost, but all their victories are wiped away within 30 years. To the point where, at the end of episode 8, the Rebellion/New Republic/Resistance is entirely on one ship. It's implied during the sequel trilogy (and the Filoni stuff) that the Empire was still infecting the New Republic and biding its time.
And the Empire is able to essentially convert into the First Order and take over every bit of what the Empire held (I think, it's really unclear on how much they control). By the end of episode 9, the heroes have reformed some sort of new rebel alliance and they defeat Palpatine, but I can't even remember if they do anything about the actual First Order. I assume they still have tons of territory and ships and might actually have competent leadership from whoever is next in line.
That's what souring about all Star Wars with me. In three trilogies, they have a couple of wins (episodes 4, 6, and 9), but for the most part, the theme seems to be "keep fighting but the bad guys will always come back bigger and stronger"

I think it's clear to the viewer that the Empire has lost and the Rebellion victorious at the conclusion of Return of the Jedi. That's the conclusion of George Lucas's "Skywalker" timeline/narrative. What's come after then, as we all know, is more war, because that's literally the premise of the franchise. It was never conceived as an ongoing anthology or continuation like Star Trek of a variety of adventures and stories. The sequel trilogy was a colossal windfall for Disney, but a progressively disliked by fans. I figured it would be, when Mark Hamill basically crapped on Abrams and Johnson for writing trash. The movies are well made and outstanding "first watches," but they don't captivate like the originals, and the Rise of Skywalker is an utter disaster.

2023-12-26 10:52:55

QuinnSlidr wrote:

pilight wrote:
A substantial chunk of the Democratic base wants something done about the border. Greg Abbott calling the bluff of the "sanctuary" cities that are thousands of miles from the border with his busing has done a lot to turn the tide on the issue.
As for Giuliani, sure he'll still owe them their judgement but under bankruptcy he'll always be able to claim he doesn't have the money and won't face any further penalty for non-payment.
Actually, no we don't. The entire border BS is just that - BS. Another BS lie the rethuglicans tell you to make you think they know what they're talking about. They feed on republican racism and bigotry to get votes for their cause.
Democrats, we simply ignore it because we know they're all lies.

Lies? The City of New York is hemorrhaging budget due to massive unplanned (and unwanted) costs of housing and feeding migrants, providing healthcare, and sending their children to schools. That's coming from the mayor, a Democrat. It's urban voters who are increasingly turned off by all this. Again, I get NYC news programs, which are NOT conservative run, and people are pissed. I would have agreed that the crisis was overblown by Republicans for many years, and of course Trump, acerbated the problem. Biden has been in office for three years, he owns it now, you can't blame Trump forever. The perception has been he's made it worse, and the busing (illegal?) from Texas to northern cities was a stroke of genius by those Governors. It dropped the massive issues they've had with migrants on the doorstep of cities reeling from the pandemic, who do not have the resources to deal with them.

2023-12-26 10:40:51

I saw the first The Santa Clause and liked it, but had no interest in further endeavors which I presumed were just the same premise recycled.

Speaking of X-Mas movies, I opted for a back to back the other night of the classic Chris Columbus Home Alone movies. The first one being an all-time blockbuster, the first movie I saw multiple times in the theater. I can recall people just about rolling in the aisles at the physical comedy a la Three Stooges. There is little I could even nitpick about that film even three decades later. Well except one thing...I could never comprehend how the primary McAllister family had FOUR teenage children who appeared to be the same age? Were they quadruplets? HA HA HA. I suppose they could have been "Irish" quadruplets, but each actor was around 13 during filming, making it difficult to differentiate their ages.

That aside, I saw that Rotten Tomatoes only has this classic as 66% which is absurd! Then we had Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which remains one of the most well known "New York" films if you will. I think I was a freshman in high school when this was released, but it was still very funny. The Tiger Talkboy may well have been the biggest immediate "hit" from the film, as I got one, and making comedic skits and such on there was a lot of fun. The movie itself, I think hasn't held up quite as well as the original. Granted the story was largely the same, but the physical comedy became far too nonsensical, highlighted by Daniel Stern's electrocution scene and turning into a skeleton. The homeless "pigeon lady" was fairly ridiculous, and a strange turn for recent Oscar winner Brenda Fricker. I was actually surprised watching now, three decades later, at the number of problems I could spot with it.

2023-12-26 09:06:11

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/21/240 … -elon-musk

Well, another Elon Musk backed company is dead.

2023-12-22 10:55:38

pilight wrote:

A substantial chunk of the Democratic base wants something done about the border. Greg Abbott calling the bluff of the "sanctuary" cities that are thousands of miles from the border with his busing has done a lot to turn the tide on the issue.
As for Giuliani, sure he'll still owe them their judgement but under bankruptcy he'll always be able to claim he doesn't have the money and won't face any further penalty for non-payment.

Giuliani won't pay a dime, like Alex Jones or OJ Simpson. Yes, Abbott had a stroke of genius tinged with cruelty, but it has worked. Mayor Adams of New York has started cutting major services because the city is tapped out by housing migrants, who complain about the free hotels and food they've been given. It's absolutely begun pissing the working class off, and when you see the videos from El Paso, again it's a major disaster for Biden.

Ukraine wise, he's begun to try to take seized Russian assets but that will take forever, because the money is held in banks, many not on US soil.

2023-12-22 10:51:16

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

I get that it has to be about a war, but if the wars are endless and repetitive, then no action done by anyone has any impact. It makes winning any particular battle (or even war) meaningless if the cycle just repeats a few years later.

Yes, well the point is to WIN the war at the conclusion of whatever heroic story you're telling. Star Wars now is just wedging stories all over the place, in a war that was already "won." In any event, that is all really secondary to the awful production of these series. The stories could be about jilted lovers or Christmas, doesn't explain why they are so badly devised.

BTW, has anyone seen Netflix's Rebel Moon (Zack Snyder's purported Star Wars pitch)? I watched Part One last night, I thought it was okay for what it was. Not the normal over the top, in your face, Snyder stuff.

2023-12-21 09:10:37

The Supreme Court would be in a difficult spot on CO ruling. Do they stick up for their precious "state's rights" by upholding the ruling, or do they interfere? Personally, I don't see how you can "judge" if someone was an insurrection participant, without due process.

Will they fast track Smith's challenge to Trump's challenge to whether he can stand trial for Jan 6th?

Will Biden actually cut a deal on immigration, in order to fund Ukraine's war? To me these are the key issues to be decided I presume next month. The current news on the border is not good for the White House. Video of thousands of migrants standing around in the wilderness like they're waiting to get into a Taylor Swift show, very bad.

As an aside, there is no more disgusting predicament as the battle, largely in the South for the rights of women to their own medical decisions. The Texas case in particular. It has many Democrats demanding the party shift to abortion as their lead campaign rhetoric.

Polls, what do the polls say? They remain terrible for the President/VP. One sliver of "good" news is that a large percentage of folks who are down on them, and really want NEITHER party's front runners, are unlikely to vote. I've see more and more mention of that, without surprise. As with any other election, it's all about turnout. Can you turnout enough people sympathetic to your side?

2023-12-21 09:00:40

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

Tracy hasn't appeared at his regular weekly appearance on the awake nation show for some time now (idk -- six weeks, two months?). I have concerns. It's not like he "departed" the show. Obviously, he has had some health issues over the years.

He seems to make "friends" with these crackpot internet folks, and then grows bored and dumps them. Cardinal Sin I'm sure was wondering where he went off to as well. Tracy is technologically backwards as well.

2023-12-21 08:58:35

Well WAR is in the title! My continued beef has been the ineptitude of the film making process. They don't allow them to just make the stuff, it's sanitized and controlled, ironically, like the Empire, by Disney overseers.

2023-12-11 11:28:47

QuinnSlidr wrote:

As is typical with most right wing propaganda, all the BS propaganda and lies above ignores several things:
1. Trumpers are less than 23% of the total electorate (not half of all voters as they like to claim),
2. The polling said exactly the same thing in 2020 (landslide victory for Trump),
3. Trump has to win over all independents as well as non-Trumper republicans (very unlikely).
4. The bottom 3 generations control all voting prowess in 2024 as the youngest and most progressive, liberal generation turns voting age. Locking out republicans and any hope of victory.
5. Polls don't win elections. Voters do.
But sure, you go screaming from the rooftops how Trump will win in 2024.
Nobody's buying your crap. It ain't over until the votes are counted - all mail-in and absentee votes too, by the way.

Trumper! I am the most anti-Trump member of this forum, and I believe ireactions would even vouch for that. I am a REALIST, and you are either enjoying the magic mushrooms, or so diverged from reality it's time for a wake up call. Do you think I WANT Trump to win???? Are you mad? I'm freaking out, because he mostly likely WILL win. Lies? Ignore the polls to your demise, I sure as hell did in 2016. Will never make that mistake again.

Firstly, I'm not relying on one or two polls, it's EVERY poll, and Biden gets trounced by Republicans. Yes, it's closer with Trump, but is still ahead in two-way, including in several battleground states. And Biden's approval rating, which should never be overlooked, is terrible. I truly am sick to my stomach. All they had to do was get this stubborn President to step aside, let other candidates step up. They would cruise over Trump, who remains hated passionately.

Secondly, I wouldn't trust the "younger generation" as far as I could throw it. They are not as "liberal" as you suggest for one, they are disconnected, self-adsorbed, and addicted to social media. Their opinion on Biden is atrocious, fostered by this psychotic WOKE agenda that even I thought was just a fad or innocuous but could not be more wrong. This garbage has eaten away at the progressive cause, and turned into a cesspool. One that actually takes Trump side (out of cowardice) against Ukraine and for dictator. One that takes the side of violent criminals, drug addicts, and thieves over 95% of us who know how to behave, and overlooks rioters and looters whenever they can. They promote "equity" instead of equality, and "diversity" over merit. They've pushed this out of control agenda, to the point where parents are furious and actually voted in GOP as a result. Either by sexualizing GRAMMAR school education in suburbs, and overloading urban schools with migrants. They've driven more away from Democrats than for.

And maybe worst of all, they view everything as oppressor/oppressed, a tenet of Communism, that has a generation so deluded by this immoral group think that they have taken the sides of terrorist murders/rapists over a democratic society. And poll after poll has the "young" showing terribly for Biden, and actually better for Trump, in critical battleground states. They have no knowledge of history, and are brainwashed by apps which are infiltrated by Russian and Chinese algorithms. Beyond that, while Biden continues to forgive student loans, his numbers are worse off. Why? Again, it's picking and choosing, and plenty of young folk who didn't go to college are pissed off by that.

You're free to call that "right wing propaganda," I call that a call for civility and voters preferring prosperity and order over chaos and anxiety. Biden has been level headed and an ADULT on this stuff, and gets little credit for it thanks to an out of control Woke social media that has destroyed his entire agenda. One last thing on the youth, I would remind you that the younger voter in Michigan or Arizona or Pennsylvania are NOT in lock step with those in California or New York. They trend more middle of the road, and they are trending AWAY from Biden.

Lastly, actually no, the polls did not call for a Trump landslide. By this point in 2019, Joe Biden was polling AHEAD of Trump, and had been on a consistent basis for most of that year. Thanks to Rep. James Clyburn, Biden was given a lifeline in a state's primary dominated by older, more rational voters, and thankfully knocked Bernie out of the lead, because he was going to lose to Trump without a doubt. Suburban voters would NOT have supported a socialist.

I will be the first to gladly celebrate being wrong on this matter, but I think I've had several more revolutions around the Sun, and have seen quite a lot of politics. So rather than cast me aside as right wing, maybe you should stop, and actually THINK or seek out who's saying these things. The youth vote failed to show up frequently. The bigger concern is losing the WORKING CLASS vote, followed by the suburban mom vote. You have several major Democratic Party loyalists sounding the alarm. They know elections, they know when a candidate is toast. Impeachment is a political tool, it's not a legal one. Mark my words, if Trump escapes conviction, he will win.

******************************************

SQ21, yes, on the surface, Biden has had a mountain of accomplishments, ones that any incumbent should be able to easily tout and do a victory lap with. You say he hasn't "campaigned yet" but WILL he? Seriously? Can he? These are legit concerns that a lot of Democratic analysts have. Biden campaign whined about David Axelrod, Obama's main man, for begging him to step down. Ax was right, I fear. The man is 81 years old, and looks 91, I'm afraid to say. Voters are seeing this, and are just simply dumbfounded how he's supposed to be capable of another term? Perception is an incredibly strong thing. The right track/wrong track numbers are horrendously bad for Biden.

Jack Kennedy famously appeared vibrant in the 1960 debate, while Nixon looked downtrodden, and that perception propelled JFK (Chicago shenanigans aside). In truth, Kennedy WAS more vibrant, with this astounding vision for the future of all humanity, not just Americans. That image combined with his words and later actions, transformed Kennedy into a mythic figure around the world, even before the right wing shot him up in Dallas. Trump has a monstrous image, in which he literally says he'll be DICTATOR on day one, and exact untold revenge on the institutions of government not seen since Julius Caesar.

2023-12-10 16:25:32

I disagree. The fans are let down by "fan service," which the franchise has been drowning in thanks to Disney. When you do not allow filmmakers to produce art which THEY want to see, you will let everyone down, each time. It's a continued strangling of creativity, and it is not the fault of the fans nor the Star Wars mythos either. It's the owners of the content. Seriously, what was the last creatively praised Disney product released theatrically? They don't care, just the $.

2023-12-10 16:20:08

QuinnSlidr wrote:

You're basically saying and repeating Trump's own words when he attacked impeachment: Impeachment is a joke.
Impeachment is not a joke.
Trump was impeached twice by the House - in a landmark testimony of our justice system in action.
And he deserved every single minute of it.
Dismissing impeachment as a joke just continues to cheapen its effects the more often it's repeated. And I don't think Trumps' behavior leading up to impeachment should be considered a joke at all.
But, Biden's impeachment is the one that's the joke. Especially when republicans are behind it and they have zero proof at all and have no clue what it's for yet either. I think they're making it up as they go along.

Impeachment is 100% a joke. It's been used for unwarranted political theater by Republicans. Or when I agree, warranted against Trump, Republicans refused to remove him from office, again, making it a joke. Impeachment has no teeth, and never will. The requirement to convict is to a point where no party will ever vote to convict a member of their own party. Trump has every reason to laugh about it, because the GOP are selfish cowards and he knows it. The fact that Trump could still remain in a position of dominance in a major party, and remains ahead of the opposing one, proves it.

https://abcnews4.com/news/local/haley-l … -wciv-2023

For the first time, Trump is ahead of Biden in the WSJ poll, by 4 points, with Biden approval 37/61, absolutely horrendous numbers. Nikki Haley, unsurprisingly, would beat Joe senseless, 51-37, which I think everyone knows at this point would be the case. Biden is done, cruising to a guaranteed defeat. Honestly, I think Trump would still prevail if he were still in a jail cell 11 months from now. I really do believe most Americans view Biden as senile. Economic conditions are continually improving, his approval goes down.

2023-12-08 13:53:44

One of the gimmicks used in Indy films is that often Indy gets pummeled by a giant villain, and resorts to trickery or maybe an obtuse weapon to get an edge, and then forces the villain to their in some Looney Tunes fashion. Mr. Kleen Nazi got shredded by the propeller, shooting the swordsman in Cairo in Raiders, having the giant Thugee strangled and crushed by the rock grinder in ToD, and he barely directly won any of his fights in TLC, while having the ants take the Russian tough guy away in KOTCS.

Didn't think Beckinsale was convincing ehhh? I gawked regardless! I think Selene tended to shoot most of the bad guys anyway.

2023-12-08 13:51:38

Impeachment is a joke, nobody even knows what it's for, I know I don't! Hunter nobody cares about, for or against. Trump's criminal trials only matter, as I said the other day, because if he's found guilty of felonies, and one were to give credence to polling, public support would flip pretty much on a dime. The vast majority of undecided vote would be against Trump, and he'd likely be sunk. The Georgia case, despite Fannie Willis getting one guilty plea after the other, sounds as though will not actually have Trump in a courtroom until after the election. We all know the Florida based documents case is tried by Trump fan Judge Cannon, who may give a wink wink, and allow the case to fester and be delayed as well.

That really puts it all on Jack Smith in the DC case, which I feel is the most pertinent anyway, since it accuses Trump (alone without co-conspirators on trial) of attempting a coup d'etat while sanctioning an insurrection. In fact, Colorado is currently seeing that case wind through its courts, and would likely wind up in front of the Supreme Court. Why? It banned those who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding any civil, military, or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate. A CO district state judge already ruled that Trump did just that, which would be grounds under state law to BAR him from their ballot. Measures are being considered in other states should Trump find his way to the general ballot.

I hold firm that there is a strong possibility, as I said, that the % of people who supported Biden (or in reality voted against Trump) hasn't actually shifted. His actions in January 2021 will be a central point of the 2024 campaign blitz against him, make no mistake. DNC, liberal PACs, and Never Trump groups are all readying a massive campaign that will I think hit voters with a replay of the MAGA criminals, all overlaid with Trump voiceovers. If that doesn't all work, it will be time to open the Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge....

2023-12-08 08:52:38

Hunter was indicted on tax fraud as well, 9 counts. Plus Ukraine aid seems unlikely to be passed, a huge win for Dictator Putin, and of course, Trump.

2023-12-08 08:51:19

I would rate Ahsoka as a C+ to a B-, although that grade may change over time (assuming) future seasons better guide where the story is going. Didn't work out for The Mandalorian, where an A first season meant little when the show later went off the rails. I LOVED this cast, despite not being that enamored with Rosario, who I felt was far too cerebral and lacked the bravado of the animated version. Natasha Liu Bordizzo, I'm in love with. Even the guy playing Ezra, looked and felt the part, which I thought would be the toughest. The production design and CGI artwork were extraordinary, award-worthy.

Sadly, that's about where my praise ends. The story, on its whole, is very compelling. The problem is, as has become standard with Disney+ Star Wars, is that the story is stretched out like pizza dough, and the interludes are incredibly boring and pointless. The action was great, but intermixed with so many pauses and drawn out silence, you have to ask WTH?!?! These are not bad directors, someone is making them do this, and it's putrid. The dialogue is beyond wretched, I wish there were an option to turn it off but keep the great musical score only!!! Filoni tried to push themes from his animated shows, in particular, Rebels, which was my favorite. It fell flat HARD. Even I was often thoroughly confused what was being referenced, visually, and watched that show intently.

PS: It was reported that due to the strike, LucasFilm is only releasing TWO series in 2024, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. Obviously I am so furious, because Andor will be delayed until 2025, and it's the only show they've done which is top notch. I guess hopes will be pinned on Jude Law, who until now, has been one of my favorite actors. Truly hope, like the miserable Obi-Wan, we aren't given another stellar performance by an English actor trapped in the Garbage Level of the Death Star.

2023-12-07 10:06:41

To ireactions comments, I agree the Helena character was clunky. I think more time should have been spent developing her motivations, and they probably could have completely cut the Teddy character. The script was rewritten many times, though nothing like the spaghetti that KOTCS' was. I think your criticism could be leveled on every action film that gets made now. They're incoherent, contradictory, lazy, disjointed, and whatever you do, do NOT stop and try to think about the story as it's exploding! I would counter that I thought Ford was terrific during the action segments, especially at his age. Although most of the actual stunts went to those performers, especially after he got injured.

To SQ21, I'm not sure what you desired would have made that much of an impact. One of the charms of the original Indy movies was Spielberg's ability to move the film's story and action along quickly. There are moments to catch your breath, but unlike the Connery Bond films he was so enamored with, they were far better. This movie was very long, and I totally agree, the boat/diving segment featuring Banderas was terrible. It is what it is. In general, Disney were not going to allow them to make a Zack Synder-esque Indiana Jones, the point was to restore the feel and pace of Raiders, which I think Mangold did. This was a very difficult assignment for him, I think he did as well as he could.

2023-12-07 09:55:16

Trump's numbers have barely moved. Biden's have fallen off a cliff. He's tried to assuage the public's economic fears. But they stared higher gas prices, higher food, and everything else prices in the face for some time. His student loan forgiveness, added to a series of those "COVID" checks have only exacerbated inflation. He's been on a Bidenomics tour most of the year. He's surrounded by woke idiots in the White House. They've out there protesting his Israel policy, and writing anonymous letters to the media about how the President won't listen to THEM.

Meanwhile the buffoons in the House GOP, who now have a 2 vote majority after McCarthy bailed, are moving forward on impeachment. Given that the public has zero interest in that, and an utter waste of time, should buoy Joe some.

2023-12-06 13:52:03

I have no explanation for that, a month is totally ridiculous. The other possibility which the actors kind of alluded to, is that they might have been filming the episodes at normal pace, but there were gaps in between. Perhaps Seth was re-writing taking his sweet old time? I doubt they were paid a ton to begin with, outside of MacFarlane, so for their sakes maybe the show ought to stay "grounded," which I expect to happen anyway.

2023-12-06 13:18:37

I wish I had your guys' optimism. SQ21 your proposal sounds like the opening plot for Bad News Bears in Breaking Training!

Biden's numbers are historically bad, nobody's ever been re-elected like this. I'm not looking at current polls and jumping off a cliff. My belief is they will get WORSE! For awhile I figured Trump hate would keep him afloat. The campaign will be ancient Biden, which people cannot conceive doing the job any longer, and Trump, showing signs of dementia and mostly screaming about rigged elections and how he's being railroaded in court. Millions will turn off this election, for sure.

Also, we're ignoring the potential 3rd party spoilers. RFK Jr., who is popular with MAGA, maybe Joe Manchin, who knows.

One bit of good news, Kevin McCarthy is retiring.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/06/news/form … d-of-2023/

2023-12-06 11:33:47

SQ21, everything you wrote is excellent and appropriate. HOWEVER, you are asking the American public to delve into topics and connect dots and understand nuance? Oh boy, that's going to be a big ask. That goes back to perception, and Biden loses that battle every time. His communicative skills don't exist anymore, and Kamala Harris is atrocious and more negatively viewed than he is! He absolutely BLEW it choosing her over Amy Klobuchar. Hell, Buttegieg would be more formidable than her, but she "checked" a box (minority female) instead of being evaluated for potential campaign performance. This is where Biden fails. He's plenty capable of being President, despite the jerks who make fun of his age, but he is totally incapable of campaigning. It's going to be an utter train wreck.

Biden is getting destroyed in polling on pocket book issues, and that is what drives people in national campaigns. It's "the economy stupid," and it always is, especially for the sliver of independent voters. The DNC have focused on the women of the suburbs with their messaging. They still despise Donald Trump, and I do not expect them to start moving en masse to him. That being said, when you question blue collar outreach, I think Biden has made inroads in the upper Midwest, but that has not helped him in AZ or GA, where he's now behind. He can win without them if he runs the table with WI, MI, PA, I think (haven't done the math in head). The perception, as each issue has arisen, is that Biden is feeble and has handled things badly. When in fact most of these issues were directly caused by TRUMP!!! It just doesn't take much to swing from the slight Biden state wins in 2020 to losing those states. Not much at all, and young minority men do not like him. Whether they vote is another story, of course. That doesn't even get into how badly Trump's clan will attempt to literally steal the election again, given how many of the barriers in 2020 have been whittled away.

QuinnSlidr, I will accept your explanation on gain of function. Tom Cotton is worthless. I appreciate the response, my anxiety on the subject is a lot less now. Unfortunately, I am NOT the general public, they are stubborn and lazy, and not as easily swayed by proof, to make the accusations go away.

I read that Fauci will testify before Congress. Sadly he will be grilled like he were "Michael Corleone," and is it will be opportunity for grandstanding by the elected officials only. I never believed Fauci lied to Congress in the first place. He was employed as a bureaucrat and spokesman, but like the legions of other officials, he stood by and watched Trump lie to the public. I would put him in with Gen Mattis or John Kelly, men who supposedly took an oath to the Constitution, and they all were in dereliction of duty. All of them. They should have each resigned and made such a public stink of it, that the public would have turned on Trump well before November 2020. Yeah, yeah, they all said staying was more important, to keep Trump in check. Nonsense, he went haywire regardless, and their silence (well after leaving) was cowardly, not heroic. I could be too hard on Fauci, not sure, but inject bleach into your veins or UV rays or whatever that nonsense was, he rolled his eyes. The government officials of yesteryear would have stepped down and berated a corrupt superior. The number of people who refused vaccines, and were in poor health, because of King MAGA, was unfortunate for them (many died/suffered), not for the rest of us. I guess he did the best he could, still, he was a spokesman, not a decision maker, and his "resignation" would have spoke volumes about how much of a ass hat Trump was during 2020. We "lucked out" that Biden won after all.

2023-12-06 10:56:00

I think Sec 31 is just a movie to stream on P+. I'm shocked that Yeoh agreed to go forward at all, after the Oscar win. I suppose Picard could return as a movie as well, and Matalas has been pushing for a "Legacy" show, which I would love to see, but who knows? Paramount is heavily in flux. They're essentially shutting down Showtime, and there's been talk of them selling pieces.

2023-12-06 08:55:37

SIX to SEVEN weeks to SHOOT an episode?!?!?!? Is that true? Seth's vaunted Star Trek TNG episodes were given barely TWO weeks to film, often less! That's outright lunacy. Also, effects mean nothing as most are done in post via CGI. The show has limited location filming, it's 90% on the ship set. I could see it taking seven weeks from first shot to post being completed, but not filming, that is horrendous.

In fairness, like I said, Seth asked to be allowed just to write the show, and be replaced on screen, the studio refused. I do not expect to see the series return. At this point, with whatever Discovery plans to spew onto peoples' wi-fi, this seems to leave SNW as the lone "outer space" TV series?

2023-12-06 07:40:02

TemporalFlux wrote:

But the real motivation is that he has some irrational hatred for the department. He wants to destroy it and re-make it so that it’s unrecognizable and a footnote in history.
He’s been leading up to all of this for over two years. They’ve been making it so hard that people quit and then not hiring people to replace them which makes it harder and makes more people quit, etc. He’s just been scared to pull the final trigger on the killing blow until the election was over.

I actually missed this, and I'm very sorry to hear that TF. The present GOP doesn't want government that doesn't include legislating the bedroom. They want to eliminate the rest of it, because it impedes their wealthy donors from taking advantage of the law and people, and impedes their ability to cheat. My father was forced to retire from teaching when the slovenly former governor of NJ once took a blow torch to public education, and eliminated hundreds of jobs and programs.

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

(Please note that I still fully support Joe Biden and will do everything I can to get him elected. My support hasn't wavered, and I think he's done a great job).
I'm starting to get nervous about 2024.
That being said, I'm still just surprised that we're here. Biden talked in 2020 about being a one-term president and passing the baton on to someone else. The Democrats won both chambers of Congress and the White House. They had big names in Congress and in the Cabinet that they could've lifted up and popularized. They could've given Kamala Harris work to make her more popular and likeable.
They had years to build a deep bench, and what do they have to show for it? Gretchen Whitmer? Gavin Newsom?
Scary times.

In the age of social media, a poor public perception is like a dagger through the heart. Biden has THREE major precption problems, and Hunter is not one of them...

1) Economy is expanding at record speed, BUT he gets no credit for it, because the public perception is he's to blame for the increased price of a Happy Meal. I really don't know how to get around that for Biden, other than to blindly HOPE that the polls, which are awful on that subject, do not translate at the actual polls. While it's true that Democrats have won some localized elections here and there, despite that, it's been against right wingers who are out to imprison women like it's 1669. Much of the cost increases in everyday lives are actually a result of point number 2. They have come out well in the labor strikes though, that's a positive.

2) General perception of his administration being less than competent, with chaos reigning throughout the country. Granted Trump's looked as buffoonish as they came. Biden did weather the fervor over the Afghan exit, which was messy but 100% needed to happen. He's currently being beaten up by the new age Left who equate Israel/Palestine as the struggle against apartheid was in South Africa, which is preposterous. This is a result of religious fanaticism. That will pass too. One thing that may not pass is the border. Biden has been IMO a complete and utter failure on the border. It's just seething with DISORDER, and voters do not like disorder. That brings nothing but anxiety, and he has refused to do anything about it, and has openly chastised critics that there's nothing wrong with the current mess. Lastly we have the "woke Left" on the coasts who have undermined him every step of the way. The endorsement of progressively violent and destructive BLM riots, Defund the Police resulting in untenable situations in Seattle and Portland akin to Escape from NY, to the rampant "zombie drug addict" filled streets of San Francisco, all the way to the utterly brainless bail reform of New York that's led to an explosion in VISIBLE crime. The cessation of arrests for assault, shop lifting, and vandalism has led to costs for such destruction being passed onto the consumer. That plus the seemingly inability to keep mentally ill violent people off the streets. DISORDER and more disorder. Will it pass? I really don't know, because it's nonstop. Even though crime is DOWN!!! That's the crazy part, but again, you are inundated with crazy videos on social media and it's all people see. They see the madness, they share it with friends/family, goes viral.

3) Last one is of course his age and overall fitness. He speaks, walks, and behaves like a very elderly man. I think his critical thinking and moral center are rock solid, but people just don't appear to have faith in him for another four years. He should have stepped aside 6 months ago. I have no good thoughts on this. He will be DESTROYED in the campaign next year. I cannot even imagine an on stage debate, whether it's Trump or some other GOP. I don't know how low his approval has to get before he caves and gets out. At that point, I don't know what Democrats would do? Their primary deadline rules are not grafted for that. Huge mess.

-- The only hope is that Trump gets convicted of felonies in one or more of these trials. The Jan 6th DC trial is first. He would need to lose that. As much as the voters do not want Biden at his age, they would abhor a convicted felon far more. At least you'd think. I think most of the state polls remain within the margin of error, and Trump's % is nowhere near 50% so really it's still undecided. However, if Trump comes out of the trials victorious or somewhat even, that's big trouble. Remember, his MAGA support is that of a deity, so he has that % confirmed. If a % either shifts to him from Joe, or they don't vote at all (prob better chance of that), BAD.

If I'm the DNC, I blanket and I mean blanket TV, radio, print, social media with clips from January 6th, plus the abortion stuff. Yes, it's usually poor strategy to promote what you're against rather than what you're for. They can do some of that too, as most of Biden's economic platform is a good one. Donald Trump is massively unpopular, and that may still prove to be his undoing, but I wouldn't take that bet right now. Ugh, I think Andrew Cuomo could have muscled Biden into getting out of the way, but he got taken down by what has appeared to be highly iffy claims of being inappropriate. The problem is a normal candidate could talk their way out of lower polls, but Biden is barely communicative without suffering gaffes and digging deeper holes. He was insulated and hidden in 2020 and that won't work this time.

2023-12-06 00:49:56

Moderator Note: This poster has made an error, claiming that 'healthy' people cannot become seriously ill with flu or COVID (although the latter was qualified with uncertainty). The moderator has consulted with some medical doctors and the consensus is that 'healthy' people can become severely sick and hospitalized with flu and COVID, and updated vaccinations significantly reduce the risk.

This poster has also made an error in evaluating mask studies, claiming that variable results in risk reduction mean masks should not be considered effective. Consultation with medical doctors has provided the view: given the proven mechanics of electrostatic filtration to catch viruses, mask studies with variable results are not no results, but rather a spectrum of results due to variables (whether or not the masks were ASTM/KF94/N95 certified and worn properly of consistently.

From a medical perspective, healthy people are encouraged to be within a spectrum of safety via vaccinations and wearing certified masks with a good seal. A medically-informed perspective does not disregard a range of results as no results or ignore the underlying principles of electrostatic masks.

While the BOTH of us might have considered an unvaccinated unmasked person in March 2021 a modern day "Typhoid Mary," there are massive Constitutional questions that arise from that. Public duty or not, I think had that case gone to the US Supreme Court, especially the Notre Dame infused one now, the government loses. Trampling a person's civil rights, in lieu of the public good, boy that is a slippery slope. It's Orwellian, particularly when dissent is silenced. Really doesn't matter now, in terms of 2020-2021. The problem is we still did not know how "dangerous" that person was, as bizarre as that sounds. I can recall the two dopes in NJ (we have many) who got arrested repeatedly for opening their gym against state laws. Could the state's Dept of Health prove running the gym (while masked by the way) was X.XXX a public health menace? Of course they couldn't. Now, you have more and more parents who refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated for measles or mumps, which is beyond stupid, as those vaccines are like 99.9% effective. I would concur, when the possibility existed that the vaccine might actually stop transmission, to refuse injection would have been a problem. Wound up not mattering.

I have always trusted your evaluation of masks. Still, we both know 90+% of people were not and will not wear the respirators that would "block all those particles." Even still, the question that was never fully answered by the CDC or anyone else, did the masking truly DO much of anything? Or did the virus beat the masks as it seemed to beat the vaccine in terms of transmission? They were supposed to evaluate this for the "next contagion" but as I referenced, they didn't. In the hoopla of the pandemic, procedures weren't accurately followed and most of the data is inconclusive. That's all I was getting at with I guess it's QuinnSldr who wears a mask frequently. That him wearing it versus not wearing it, if he's a healthy individual, may actually be of slight difference. Maybe you're 60% right, and I'm 40% right, I just don't think the data came out of COVID unscathed.

If the immune system is functioning properly, you're going to ward off most illness without an issue. Same with the flu, a healthy person unvaccinated is very unlikely to be hospitalized by the flu. It's been around forever, and there's herd immunity. I personally believe there is the same for COVID, though I wouldn't declare that at this point. Like I said, even medical professionals, well meaning, don't know what they don't know. Hence the opioid crisis, where a drug company lied for decades, to regulators and doctors, about what the substance did. I don't view the vaccine scientists nefariously as Purdue pharma, but we have to accept that they have financial reasons to push these products. They might be the right reasons. In the end, part of the reason vaccination was resistant was that the Biden campaign had badgered Trump about the virus numbers, won the election, then had to own their own numbers which wound up being worse. They should have stopped counting infections, and just focused on hospitalizations and deaths. The vaccines worked wonders on those numbers. This is what happens when you politicize a pandemic response, which the stupid Democrats did. All they needed to sink Trump was to focus on how he lied, and the number dead due to his chaotic response, including fucking over "blue states" because he didn't like the Governor's which he absolutely did.

I also feel strongly the gain of function debate, nor the lab leak in Wuhan, are settled. Thanks to the Chinese dictatorship, we may never know on the viral origin. Gain of function has been paused in the past, with continued highly respected critics asking to do it again. Some argue it actually isn't worthwhile research, even if it's overall safe, and serves little value in preparing for future pandemics. They question the ethics in conducting it simply to get research money. Misappropriated research in order to basically steal public funding has been getting worse and worse.

Unfortunately, these questions get politically loaded, and that's it. Republicans wish to ban (legally they really can't) gain of function. Is their reasoning sound? Them!>!> It's political, but there are still plenty of unbiased medical researchers who support that position. Dems will probably oppose, because the other side wants it, without I think really evaluating the subject. 30-40 years ago, these questions would be debated by experts first, then a Congressional report would be rendered with their consensus. Now, forget it, it's a unworkable disaster.

2023-12-05 23:31:10

ireactions wrote:

I'm not flippant about medical information that could, if put into practice, affect someone's health and well-being. I'm not flippant in discussing child abuse and trauma. I'm not flippant about sex trafficking. No one should be.
When you are cavalier and careless in posting about masks and vaccines, you are saying that human life doesn't matter to you and that the lives of the people on this board especially don't matter to you. That's what I find more insulting than any epithet or term of scorn.
To truly discuss something is to engage in earnest fashion by offering verified facts and honest perspectives for sincere discourse with standards of factuality and reason to genuinely engage with ideas and information. And by that standard, you were done a long time ago.

I did not know you were in the health profession, again, I don't read every post, I probably miss 75% of them. I honestly thought you just followed the subject passionately out of your own interests. I tried to rebut with actual examples, which I doubt you bothered reading or discussing, including studies on the efficacy of masks against COVID-19 on the larger society. You could have read my link, and explained how I misinterpreted something. Instead, you chose to call me a liar, and declared everything I think is wrong and untrue. Which is kind of impossible, since these concepts are not cut and dry, there is room for nuance and discussion, and even if we agree on facts, that doesn't mean we have to agree on what to do next. This is what public health officials do after all. You're arguing that certain masks work and work well, I am not denying that, nor have I ever questioned your research on individual mask types, have I not? Forget whether your mask, being worn at all times, around any human being(s), is going to stop viruses. That's never been my point. You can quote the effect in a lab on the number of particles that get stopped, etc. I was asking about long term studies on their effectiveness. It's like saying the seat belt will protect you. Okay, but you can still die in a crash wearing one. Obviously there's so much data available from decades of accidents that you can say the belts would save you in a high percent of the time. With masks, as the link I shared seemed to indicate, there's no consensus. It's possible the studies just plain had too many flaws as a result of poor controls. It's very possible you would be proven 99% correct, I just want to see better consensus and IMO we don't have it.

I would never claim a vaccine does nothing for any recipient, more words in my mouth. My parents got flu and pneumonia vaccines recently. I didn't tell them what I thought of that, it's their decision. I literally said how flu vaccines are decided on. I did not say RANDOM, I said HEDGE, and you said "forecasting" which is the same damn thing. But I'm the liar. Your series of COVID-19 shots may work terrific for you. For someone else, they may still get sick. As you said, the vaccine is supposed to charge up the immune system. It's not a guarantee, it's simply a choice you make, or that I don't make. I simply would like to see continued research on the efficacy, that's all. Vaccinated versus unvaccinated with these subsequent shots. Is that happening? I legitimately want to know. The drug companies said Sudafed Cold worked, until professionals decided to study it, and found it had no observable benefit, and the product got shelved. Medical science is far, far from certainty. I would repeat the question, if I take COVID vaccine after vaccine every 6 months or whatever the gap is, will I be 20x or whatever less likely to get serious COVID symptoms? NOT lab results, actual studies with a proper pool of candidates, over the course of the vaccine's period. You say no vaccines will ever get made then, I disagree. Many have been judged safe and effective for decades. mRNA work is very new, and though I don't fear them like true anti-vaxxers, I simply want to know if they are really up to snuff over time. The research should be done to disprove the Jenny McCarthy's, not ME! I'm not the one standing in the way.

Whether it's masks or vaccines, you keep putting words in my mouth. I never said they don't all work. Some work to a far lesser degree by admission of medical experts, and there comes a point at which you can argue, your protection is so low there is really little benefit. Even Fauci has said this! Continued COVID vaccines, will they boost your immune system? I would say probably yes. To what degree, do they know? If a person is void of compromised health/immune system, will that person greatly benefit from vaccine vs. the side effects or potential lack of individual's immune response? That's the efficacy equation is it not? You can call that "cavalier," but the vaccines have had negative reactions in people particularly younger people, vs. the extremely low risk of those under 30 to acquire serious COVID symptoms. I am not questioning if vaccines DO something for you, I am only questioning to what extent, and whether you NEED them to! COVID vaccinations and masking are at an all-time low, and the disease is what? Few even test for it. I could list 3-5 other viruses people I know have gotten sick of this fall so far, not that.

I don't think I should be silenced for being skeptical and simply asking these questions and asking for actual proof rather than take the drug company's word for it. I was given medication as a child, which resulted in permanent damage several years later. Again, because they did it without doing the God Damn research, and once they did, they pulled the drug!!!! All of which was based on misdiagnosis, so excuse me if I take most of what "professional medical policy officials" declare with a grain of salt. Not you, the ones in the lab coats. I would have loved to have THAT discussion, but instead I was called names and "moderated" as if I were My Pillow Guy spouted lies for the purpose of politics. That was my lament from the first response two weeks ago, and the same with masks. The public health strategy was handled unjustly in my view, and I was (as I'm sure old posts will show) in support of it at the time! People should not have been forced to take shots or wear masks, nor should the economy and education system been shut down for nearly a year. You can call that cavalier but I call that freedom. I did not come to that realization lightly. I saw a lot of people being vilified for their skepticism online, fired, had their lives ruined. Should never have happened. I was one of those with the pitchforks, too. Lot of guilt over that.

Hope I'm not in "violation" for expressing my viewpoint and continued medical/pharma skepticism in this post.

2023-12-05 20:17:39

This is not some widely read or distributed medical review. No one is reading anything here, what any of us say on this thread is not affecting public health policy. It's a tiny SCIENCE FICTION MESSAGE BOARD! You can post links, and I can post links in rebuttal, and you can once again put words in my mouth, and so and so on.

ireactions wrote:

Grizzlor, you've been informed repeatedly, by me, of Wil Wheaton's claims against his family in the STAR TREK thread on two separate occasions. You also confess to listening to Wheaton's claims in a podcast, so you were fully aware of his claims.
Yet, you claim you were ignorant of Wheaton's family issues in the same paragraph where you describe listening to them. You are lying. It's like you think I can't scroll up or re-read previous posts or previous sentences.

Here again, I said I FORGOT about what he said, because I heard it once and didn't recall. My GOD I forgot what I heard on a podcast, driving in my car, months and months ago. I listen to podcasts all the time, and yeah details fade. I suppose I should have been asking for your medical opinion on my memory recall. And SORRY but I originally meant the rest of his family, i.e. his siblings, who did not abuse him nor steal from him if I recall from the podcast. This I do recall, which was that he said because they still speak to the parents, he will not speak to them. I found that unfortunate and disagreed with that, but again, it's his life, so he's free to do what he pleases. Moreover, I never READ what you wrote on Wil in the Star Trek thread, since I was busy reading your diatribe in this thread. Again, I was lazy and not fully articulate, and before I even had the chance to clarify myself, I'm deemed a child abuser. Lovely.

ireactions wrote:

You are either a liar or you are so disordered and disoriented that you can't keep track of your own writing from sentence to sentence. Personally, I think you're a liar and you have used up any benefit of the doubt.
You are an egotistical fool who thinks it's up to you to tell people they are obligated to maintain relationships with abusive family members because you just "can't wrap" your head around cutting ties with abusers.
https://sliders.tv/bboard/viewtopic.php … 921#p14921
You are an ignorant twit who accused me of "fake news" for mentioning that Allison Mack was being investigated for sex trafficking for her cult, and your accusation was based solely on the fact that Mack posed for a photo with you. (By the way, Mack recently finished her prison sentence after pleading guilty to all charges.)
https://sliders.tv/bboard/viewtopic.php?pid=6988#p6988
You are a hapless oaf who blames FOX executives for SLIDERS' mismanagement during a discussion of its seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel.
https://sliders.tv/bboard/viewtopic.php?pid=8381#p8381
Public health is not a subject for your fumbling incompetence. Public health isn't STAR TREK or JOHN WICK or MORTAL KOMBAT or SLIDERS. If you want to engage in inane rants on popular culture, you go right ahead, but public health actually matters.
Grizzlor, if you continue to falsely claim that vaccines don't work or masks don't work and discourage people from masks or vaccination, you will be banned for a week. A second violation will see you banned for 30 days. A third violation will be your last.
Moderation, like electrostatic filtration and spike protein recognition, doesn't require your respect in order to work.

Now this section here, this is absolutely insane. Bro, you really should seek help. I don't know what is worse, that you spent what had to be substantial time to look this crap up, or worse, these thoughts/feelings continue to simmer in your mind to where you had to basically spew them out like this. Good grief. You're so good at calling up everything I've ever written, please find the posts where I insulted you with name calling and abject disrespect and pent up venom like this? Good luck. I don't take message boards THAT seriously, and my comments on film and television are meant to be flippant, considering this is a FAN BOARD.

If I showed this thread to the co-creators of the series this forum is about, they would absolutely VOMIT. To say nothing of the fact that one of them is a full-on conspiracy believer who wouldn't agree with most of what you post here, not that it matters.

PS: There won't be a third violation because I already stated I am done discussing "public health." It also has no business being in an American Politics thread either, if you're such a strict moderator, it should have been put on its own thread which I could then IGNORE. If you would like to start a public health sub-forum or a board of your own, by all means.

I don't know what to say, had no idea you were THIS pissed off. I'm not here to fight, especially considering I go to sleep and forget what I even write here, until I check the board again days or a week or so later.

2023-12-05 19:54:40

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

ireactions wrote:
I have to say "pretty much" because a third movie did enter pre-production in 2005 and reportedly, the original cast of the first were set to reprise their roles, and I think there was to be some quick explanation for resurrecting Linden Ashby's Cage. Unfortunately, the production chose New Orleans for a filming location and then Hurricane Katrina rendered New Orleans unusable for filming. That apparently shuttered pre-production, the contracts ran out, and the third film in the series was never made.
Interesting! I didn't know that either. I would've been okay with another Kombat film with the original cast (again, mostly out of nostalgia). I need to watch that retrospective because now I'm intrigued by the making of that awful movie.

I'm not sure how far that New Orleans film was developed though. Midway went out of business around that time, as well, and that affected a third film's progress as well as the console's production as well. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was terrible, maybe one of the 3-5 worst films of the decade. We went to see it and one friend took his younger brother who was so disappointed he started weeping a bit.

New Line Cinema released that movie, and they went from having a string of surprise hits like TMNT, Mortal Kombat, The Mask, Dumber and Dumber, etc, to some of the biggest disasters ever like sequels for those franchises, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. The studio "lucked" out when Peter Jackson distributed The Lord of the Rings through New Line, and took over the world.

Slider_Quinn21 wrote:

Speaking of nostalgia, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hit Disney+ and I finally saw it. I think Ford has some great scenes, and I think it was made with love. But I'm surprised that Mangold, who obviously has a reverence for this character, made a movie that is essentially devoid of any big swings. It's about as vanilla as you can get, takes almost no risks, and adds very little to the series. I'm not saying it's bad, I liked a decent amount of it quite a bit. It's just...nothing?

What risks would/should it have taken? This has been leveled on Mangold quite a bit, and most that say that just stop there. In terms of adding to the series, I think the problem there was that you'd then have to feature his wife and son quite a bit, which the producers were not in favor of, and who can blame them? Ford wanted to portray the end of the character's career, show his age, and that he was effectively a washed up super hero, his life in shambles. To me that was pretty risky, to show a broken down Indiana Jones. As a fanatic of the series, his reunion with Marion was worth the film to me, I get choked up on every watch, and I've seen it a half dozen times now. I would agree that the set pieces and the puzzle aspect to the film were lame and barely mattered. It was a difficult film I think to write in 2020-21 featuring an old man. Perhaps if they set it during WWII and just de-aged the man throughout, it could have been something more fitting?

2023-12-05 19:38:07

pilight wrote:

The president under the Articles of Confederation wasn't like the president we know today. It was more akin to the president pro tempore of the senate, someone who presides but has very limited powers.

Exactly. We were "taught" this in school, ha ha. The Articles established a relationship between the 13 new states, but there was little Federalism there. The Congress worked on international matters, for instance, but in a few years, they all decided there was a need to call the first (and hopefully last) Constitutional Convention. That was brought on largely as a result of trade and tariff disagreements. From there, came the greatest document in the history of mankind, the FIRST of its kind to establish the separation of church and state, by prohibiting a nationally sanctioned religion, and allowing all religious observation. The late great Christopher Hitchens, a hero of mine, consistently presented that as America's most valued article. A secular, federal republic, the first and largely only example of it.

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241 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-16 13:29:57

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

242 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-14 16:09:25

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

243 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-14 00:39:19

Re: Reboots: The Return of Sliders (?), Quantum Leap, and Other Properties (704 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

244 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-14 00:23:05

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

245 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-11 23:54:25

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

246 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-11 18:29:35

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

247 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-11 00:10:15

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

248 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-10 13:20:30

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

249 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-10 11:02:50

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

250 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-10 09:51:55

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

251 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-10 00:45:18

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

252 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-09 23:17:44

Re: Tracy Torme, co-creator of SLIDERS, has passed away (61 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

253 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-08 10:53:11

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254 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-07 21:03:33

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

255 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-05 10:13:52

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

256 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-05 10:12:27

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257 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-04 10:08:56

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258 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-04 08:39:46

Re: Star Wars: Movies and Shows on Disney+ and More (330 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

259 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-04 00:32:34

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

260 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-03 00:26:13

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

261 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-03 00:14:50

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262 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-02 16:50:22

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263 Reply by Grizzlor 2024-01-01 13:36:32

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264 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-31 19:23:35

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

265 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-31 16:01:17

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266 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-29 21:54:21

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

267 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-29 19:58:51

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268 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-29 16:34:37

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269 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-29 16:30:31

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270 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 18:52:54

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271 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 13:03:54

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272 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 10:57:18

Re: Star Wars: Movies and Shows on Disney+ and More (330 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

273 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 10:52:55

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

274 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 10:40:51

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275 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-26 09:06:11

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276 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-22 10:55:38

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

277 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-22 10:51:16

Re: Star Wars: Movies and Shows on Disney+ and More (330 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

278 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-21 09:10:37

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate (3,520 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)

279 Reply by Grizzlor 2023-12-21 09:00:40

Re: Reboots: The Return of Sliders (?), Quantum Leap, and Other Properties (704 replies, posted in Sliders Bboard)