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

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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 $.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ironically, I too was lured in by the similarities to Quantum Leap, originally.  Additionally, ha ha, I also wasn't able to "deep dive" the show until The Sci-Fi Channel began playing reruns in 1998, and recorded them on like a dozen VHS tapes!  There were no DVR's or DVD's back then.

MODERATOR WARNING: This post contains misrepresentations of mRNA vaccines and false claims regarding electrostatic masks. The next time this poster makes false claims regarding public health and safety, they will be banned for a week. The next incident will lead to a one month ban. An incident after that will lead to a permanent ban.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize this forum about a television show was in reality a graduate level discussion board at Johns Hopkins.  But I'll play along because you are putting words in my mouth.

1. I know how flu vaccines work, they are developed based on data from each hemisphere, because it's winter in one, and summer in the other.  The vaccine companies then use this data to HEDGE repeat HEDGE on which flu strains they expect to be most prevalent.  I've gotten plenty of flu shots, and I know that sometimes they guess wrong and you aren't very protected.  Oh well, it is what it is. 

MODERATOR NOTE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This poster is dismissing the value of flu shots as formulated by guesswork. Flu shots are formulated based on extensive surveillance and forecasting data across 114 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System. It is not completely accurate forecasting, but it is not random guesswork. Due to numerous strains of influenza, the annual flu shot cannot offer complete protection, and strains not within the annual shot may arise. Statistically, a flu shot still reduces the risk of illness among the overall population by 40 to 60 percent and is worthwhile protection.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm

2. I never said anything about flu vaccines previoiusly, and those are NOT mRNA vaccines anyway.  Now, when it comes to COVID vaccines, after the first vaccines were passed by FDA, subsequent iterations are tested only in a lab, that's called a PRECLINICAL trial.  They are NOT tested on humans.  Furthermore, they are tested on the "currently circulating" virus, and as we have seen with COVID, it mutates quickly, like any coronovirus does, and so the vaccine being administered are, ironically, like flu vaccines, just targeting what the researchers decide is their best guess.  Again, this is fine, and anyone who wishes to take it is fine by me.  In terms of efficacy of those vaccines, the only clinical trials were conducted on people and released back in December 2020, as I said before.  At the time, the vaccines had tremendous performance against the pre-Delta/Omicron COVID strands.  Once it mutated to those, the vaccines at the time had large drops in effectiveness, so out came the "boosters."  Which by the way, is not my term, that is the term the media and even pharma uses on Covid vaccines!  What you are currently being sold, by pharmaceuticals, is NOT clinically tested, and neither you nor I can actually claim efficacy  because there has not been actual human research.  Lab research IMO is not sufficient, because most things that work in a petri dish do not work in human trial.  Any researcher would admit to this. 

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid … comparison

MODERATOR FACT CHECK: This poster has falsely characterized new mRNA vaccines as not responsive to current versions of COVID-19. This is false.

New mRNA vaccines are reformulated to target the lineage of recent COVID-19 variants, a lineage from which currently circulating variants of COVID-19 would have emerged. The original mRNA vaccine mechanism of spike protein generation for immune system response against the original COVID-19 virus has proven effective over the course of mass distribution beginning in 2021.

The reformulated vaccines, while not a perfect match to currently circulating variants, have sufficient efficiency from lineage targeting to recognize the new variants and create an immune system response.

While the immune response is imperfect, it is sufficient to ward off severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/what- … inter-2023

This poster's protest that the specific reformulated vaccine has not received full human trials is unreasonable for a vaccine that must be reformulated every 6 - 12 months and can practically receive only abbreviated clinical trials. The underlying mRNA vaccine technology has been tested since 2013, the underlying COVID-19 vaccine technology has been further reviewed during the urgent roll-out of 2021 and continues to this day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRNA_vaccine

3. You technically agreed with what I said about masks.  If you're not wearing an N95, you are likely unprotected.
Secondly, you completely passed right over what I said about the other mitigating factors in regards to disease prevention and spread.  People who are healthy, mask, vaccine, or not, have been proven to have an extremely lower level of risk from infectious disease.  It's simple biology.  Those who are not, probably should consider things like vaccines and/or masks.  I could just as easily argue that COVID's "decrease" is due to "herd immunity," and the wearing of masks is now unnecessary.  Given that mandates have stopped pretty much everywhere, I'd not be wrong, no?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10446908/

But to be "scientific," here is the NIH study of other studies on the subject of mask efficacy, in terms of wearing, types, and the mandates.  They found that most of the studies were problematic, because they were observational rather than experimental.  Now I HATED reading these kinds of materials in grad school, but the Results section you will find that the studies were flawed and the results were all across the board.  So before you "moderate" me for saying the science is not settled on these things, perhaps you can admit the science is NOT settled?  Which was my point.  Do masks work?  Obviously YES they work to some degree, I'm not an idiot.  The science however, is simply not conclusively proven, because there are again, a multitude of environmental factors.  It's called everyday life, and while anyone is free to wear a mask, I am also free to continue to doubt that choice.  Same as those who shout about the undeniable health benefits of being a vegan, which again, not conclusive that fully eliminating meat products is the way to go.

MODERATOR FACT CHECK: This poster claims that only N95 masks offer protection. This is false.

Masks with electrostatic filtering and a good seal are effective in filtering viral particles from inhalation. Electrostatic filtration is a technology that has existed since 1907 and is used in surgical masks, KN95 masks, N95 masks and KF94 masks. Electrostatic filtration is not limited to N95 masks.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr … espirators

This poster cites "mitigating factors". These factors have no bearing on the proven filtration efficacy of well-sealed electrostatic masks in blocking particles, droplets and aerosols from being inhaled by a mask wearer.

4. We come to Mr. Wheaton, and you know what, yes, you are absolutely correct, I was LAZY, and didn't research his multitude of claims.  I have in fact heard them all, because I heard him on Rosenbaum's podcast recount them all.  Again, it was laziness.  However, I would never discount child abuse and its lasting effects intentionally.  I do apologize if that's how it came across, and that is the ONLY thing I'm apologizing for writing here.

In conclusion, you can "moderate" all you like, but in my opinion, pointing to an article which itself is merely a collection of best recommendations, as if that is scientific law, is acceptable?  How is my questioning the lack of high level scientific consensus "misinformation?"  When as I showed, the scientists themselves can't agree on most any of this.  I really DON'T feel like discussing viruses and masks here regardless, but I also defend the first amendment, there is no more important human right. 

He was once a "hero" during the AIDS era.  Since that point, he's been a bureaucrat, which is fine.  He was in a no-win situation given the President was a complete moron.  He DID preface most of what he advised as simply that, best-guesses.  He tried to be optimistic.

Where Fauci was dead wrong was in directed massive funds to gain of function research, which was going on in Wuhan because you couldn't get that kind of madness passed a regulator in the USA or most of Europe.  Was that the origin of COVID?  Very possibly.  He and even Trump tried to dispel that notion, when in reality there should have been immediate and loud criticism of China.  They couldn't do that, because their hands were "dirty."  Let me say this, I don't know when, but there will come a reckoning to which the "work" of Fauci's NIH gain of function research is placed right alongside garbage like MK Ultra.  No one will ever be brought to justice over that, of course, that's the American way. 

IMO, he failed in his role as chief bureaucrat of NIH.  His ethical compass was compromised, at some point.  He has been dismissive of actual medical criticism over the years, alleged by scores of reputable and unbiased researchers in his own field.  You can call that conspiratorial if you like, but it's based on well-known public information.  He's no hero.  Not a fan of being labeled a propagandist when again, the science is not settled.  Being anti-vaxx would be these people who scream about autism or that microchips are being implanted.  Those have zero basis in fact.

Sony are making Spidey-Verse movies because they have little choice.  Their agreement with Marvel from over two decades ago now is not expansive, but you also have the issue that Tom Holland is not going to do Venom movies.  Why would he?  He's done far better for himself as part of the MCU at Disney.  The first Venom was well-received, but the sequel was not, and I shudder to imagine how bad the third one will be. 

Majors' issues are part of it, but his character/portrayal is just not very good.  Frankly, he was somewhat charming as the whimsical "He Who Shall..." guy in Loki S1, but stunk up the joint in S2 and his Ant-Man 3 role was poorly received.  Makes sense to cut and run, but MCU seems entirely listless and dead inside.