After an arduous workout, I watched:

Nothing.

What did you watch?


--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

Fringe Season 4 disc extras. The typical BTS stuff. One particular
point about The Observers. There was no initial Grand Plan for them
when September was introduced. Michael Cerveris portrayal of September
was what inspired the producers to expand upon the Observers.
Basically, as is typical of Abrams, they made it up as they went along.
With Fringe he just had the perfect excuse for resetting everything when
ever he felt like because it was just another universe, different
timeline! *handwave* "These are not the characters you are looking for."


Fringe S5E01 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'
IMDb sez: "In 2036 the Observers have begun terraforming the earth.
Walter has a plan to defeat them but his capture by the Observers may be problematic. Peter searches for Olivia who is encased in amber to
reunite his family"

The glyphs for this episode spell out: DOUBT
During the opening credits, there are always words that describe goals
of fringe science, and what the season is going to cover. They might be far-fetched in our world and difficult to achieve. In seasons 1-4, these
were words like quantum entanglement, philosopher's stone, time paradox,
worm holes, teleportation, suspended animation, artificial intelligence, transcendence, cytogenetics, and hive mind. In series 5, the words
represent the new improbable: Community, individuality, joy, education, imagination, private thought, due process, free will, ownership, and
freedom. Words in the opening sequence that formerly represented dreams
of a mad scientist or avid sci-fi fans now represent humanity's lost ideals.
In this episode, Walter calls his lab assistant Astrid by the wrong name ("Afro"). This is a part of a running joke on the show where Walter
repeatedly calls Astrid by the wrong name.
Henrietta is the daughter of Olivia and Peter. Perhaps, like the son of Alternate Olivia and Peter, Henry, she is named after Henry Arliss
Higgins, who helped both Olivias. She also goes by "Etta" and her
cousin, the daughter of Olivia's sister Rachel, is named Ella. Etta
James and Ella Fitzgerald are both American jazz singers.
At around 15 minutes into the episode, an Observer says the phrase, "Resistance is futile". This is a nod to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
TNG introduced the villains The Borg and that is their catchphrase.


What Did You Watch?


--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.


--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

Fringe Season 4 disc extras.ÿ The typical BTS stuff.ÿ One particular
point about The Observers.ÿ There was no initial Grand Plan for them
when September was introduced.ÿ Michael Cerveris portrayal of September
was what inspired the producers to expand upon the Observers. Basically,
as is typical of Abrams, they made it up as they went along. With Fringe
he just had the perfect excuse for resetting everything when ever he
felt like because it was just another universe, different timeline! *handwave*ÿ "These are not the characters you are looking for."

Sounds like they are admitting they did a retcon to me. ;-)

Fringe S5E01 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'
IMDb sez: "In 2036 the Observers have begun terraforming the earth.

Is it the main Earth or one of the alternate Earth's? How does the cast
make the time jump?

Walter has a plan to defeat them but his capture by the Observers may be problematic. Peter searches for Olivia who is encased in amber to
reunite his family"

The glyphs for this episode spell out: DOUBT
During the opening credits, there are always words that describe goals
of fringe science, and what the season is going to cover. They might be far-fetched in our world and difficult to achieve. In seasons 1-4, these were words like quantum entanglement, philosopher's stone, time paradox, worm holes, teleportation, suspended animation, artificial intelligence, transcendence, cytogenetics, and hive mind. In series 5, the words
represent the new improbable: Community, individuality, joy, education, imagination, private thought, due process, free will, ownership, and freedom. Words in the opening sequence that formerly represented dreams
of a mad scientist or avid sci-fi fans now represent humanity's lost
ideals.
In this episode, Walter calls his lab assistant Astrid by the wrong name ("Afro"). This is a part of a running joke on the show where Walter repeatedly calls Astrid by the wrong name.
Henrietta is the daughter of Olivia and Peter. Perhaps, like the son of Alternate Olivia and Peter, Henry, she is named after Henry Arliss
Higgins, who helped both Olivias. She also goes by "Etta" and her
cousin, the daughter of Olivia's sister Rachel, is named Ella. Etta
James and Ella Fitzgerald are both American jazz singers.
At around 15 minutes into the episode, an Observer says the phrase, "Resistance is futile". This is a nod to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
TNG introduced the villains The Borg and that is their catchphrase.

What Did You Watch?

I watched:



Law & Order: Organized Crime - "He Was a Stabler" - (Peacock) - Season 5 finale. The rest of the cast mysteriously return for the final episode
of the season which has Stabler hunting down the season's Big Bad.


Murderbot (AppleTV+) - "Command Feed" - Mensah has to repair a damaged Murderbot, while in turn Murderbot helps Mensah cope with PTSD by
showing her episodes of his favorite Soap. Meanwhile back at base
Leebeebee (yes, that's the character's actual name) is up to no good.
Will Murderbot get back in time to save the day?


Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU. Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a
thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi). In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character. Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world. This one is generally pretty good.


--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

I watched:

Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.ÿ Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).ÿ In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character.

Yep.

Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world.ÿ This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.



--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/25 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

Had to go into the office to do work stuff in the afternoon, so not much:

soaps: DOOL - They didn't even call this ep. "Part 4" despite it largely
being a continuation of the John funeral stuff. All the old timers (from
the 80s?) gather in the bar/cafe to toast John (so more flashback
footage) in the funeral reception (I guess no one else gets to make the
cut for the reception!). Meanwhile, OriginalJennifer talks things over
with Julie, which gave them an excuse to show more old flashback
footage, this time of Jennifer and Jack. [roll]
GH - Wed's ep. I also went to the barber yesterday, and annoyingly
they had Thur's GH on, so I've been spoiled about the episode after this
one. In this epie from Wed., they finally write Lucky (and his gay son?)
out, likely for good. Nina confronts Drew about his traumatizing of
small children, but fails to get Drew to admit fault. [roll] Jordan
challenges Curtis about his scheme concerning the hooker, warning him it
could blow up in his face. Kai tries to warn Trina that some bad s**t is
going down concerning her parents, but Trina basically says that they
should stay out it (likely the wrong call!).

Secret Life of the Surgeon's Wife (recorded off LMN recently) - This was better than I was expecting (esp. considering its small cast - it's
pretty much a 4-person piece!). Anyway, it was better than expected in
that I wasn't really sure where it was going, and the ending surprised
me some.
Gina Vitori plays the wife to a dentist played by Justin Berti -
now, this is never a good sign as Berti pretty much always plays either
a slimeball or a psycho!!... Anyway, she also runs a charity foundation
with him.
Soon enough, she suspects the dentist husband is having an affair.
Their besties are another couple (Gabe Pranter and Chelsea Rose Cook
(from LMN's earlier "Bad Nanny"!). You only get one guess as to who
Berti's character is having an affair with!
Once Vitori confirms the affair, she throws in with the husband from
the other couple, and they get a PI to get proof of the affair, so that
both can "win" their divorces (due to adultery), and Vitori can get full control of the charity foundation, which seems to be all she cares about!
Wackiness ensues as this whole thing spins way, way! WAY!! out of
control!
Anyway, this gets a mild thumbs up from me for keeping me guessing
as to how this might all turn out. IOW, at least it wasn't totally predictable.


What did you watch?



--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/2025 10:23 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

I watched:


Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.ÿ Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a
thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).ÿ In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character.

Yep.

Anyway, when he's not goofing around making YouTube videos and
otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must stop Dr. Sivana (Mark
Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven Deadly Sins upon the
world.ÿ This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.

I only saw the sequel the one time when it first came out. I think at
the time I generally thought it was OK. As I make my way through the
DCEU movies I'm about to catch up to the movies that I haven't watched
since they were in the theater. I have several that fall into that
category.


I forgot to mention, I also watched:

Sherlock and Daughter - The Last Dance" - Season finale. They wrapped everything up and put a bow on it. I have one question. MILD SPOILER.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

S
P
A
C
E

How and when was Watson rescued? He was missing the entire season, then suddenly he was just back. When the episode was over I went back and
watched the recap, and there was noting in the recap about them suddenly knowing where Watson was being held. I don't recall any dialogue or a
scene of him being rescued. I do recall seeing him about mid way
through, but it wasn't a rescue, he was just already there, and I
assumed it was have been a flashback and didn't give it much thought.
Then at the end of the episode Watson is still there like nothing ever happened.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

Law & Order: Organized Crime - "He Was a Stabler" - (Peacock) - Season 5 >finale. The rest of the cast mysteriously return for the final episode
of the season which has Stabler hunting down the season's Big Bad.

Are you implying he wasn't working the case the rest of the season?

He'll always be Keller to me.

Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU. Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a >thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi). In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character. Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world. This one is generally pretty good.

I dunno. I tried to rewatch this a few days ago on HBO and couldn't make
it past 45 minutes. I agree with your criticism of Billy's behavior;
what was the wizard thinking? And I agree that Chuck is playing a
different character.

The script is weak. The foster parents' saintliness is used as an excuse
not to make them seem realistic and the foster siblings don't work
either.

Also, I really really wish they hadn't padded Chuck's suit so much. Some
men can add muscle preparing for a role but cannot add bulky muscle
without taking hormones. It doesn't matter. Just let them act.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

Ian J. Ball <ijball@mac.invalid> wrote:

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.  Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a >>thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that >>transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).  In spite of >>being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character.

Yep.

Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must >>stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven >>Deadly Sins upon the world. This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.

The second movie destroys the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the opening
set piece. I really objected to that. Then it gets worse.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/2025 1:18 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

Law & Order: Organized Crime - "He Was a Stabler" - (Peacock) - Season 5
finale. The rest of the cast mysteriously return for the final episode
of the season which has Stabler hunting down the season's Big Bad.

Are you implying he wasn't working the case the rest of the season?

He was working a totally different case at the start of the season.
Then there was the evil terrorist art gang for a while, before they
moved on to Tom Payne to wrap up the season. He did spend the last
episode literally hunting down Payne to the point of showing up at
Payne's wife and kid's house and subtly intimidating them.

There was a pretty good scene where the wife, not knowing what was up,
called Payne and put him on speaker phone so he could talk to Stabler
and once Payne realized Stabler was in his house threatening his family,
he basically told his kid good luck you're never going to see me again,
and hung up.

He'll always be Keller to me.

And Schillinger was a police captain. NYPD will just hire anyone!

Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU. Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a
thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi). In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character. Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world. This one is generally pretty good.

I dunno. I tried to rewatch this a few days ago on HBO and couldn't make
it past 45 minutes. I agree with your criticism of Billy's behavior;
what was the wizard thinking? And I agree that Chuck is playing a
different character.

The script is weak. The foster parents' saintliness is used as an excuse
not to make them seem realistic and the foster siblings don't work
either.

Also, I really really wish they hadn't padded Chuck's suit so much. Some
men can add muscle preparing for a role but cannot add bulky muscle
without taking hormones. It doesn't matter. Just let them act.

Yeah, the padding was noticeably distracting.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

On 6/13/2025 1:18 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

Law & Order: Organized Crime - "He Was a Stabler" - (Peacock) - Season 5 >>>finale. The rest of the cast mysteriously return for the final episode >>>of the season which has Stabler hunting down the season's Big Bad.

Are you implying he wasn't working the case the rest of the season?

He was working a totally different case at the start of the season.
Then there was the evil terrorist art gang for a while, before they
moved on to Tom Payne to wrap up the season. He did spend the last
episode literally hunting down Payne to the point of showing up at
Payne's wife and kid's house and subtly intimidating them.

There was a pretty good scene where the wife, not knowing what was up, >called Payne and put him on speaker phone so he could talk to Stabler
and once Payne realized Stabler was in his house threatening his family,
he basically told his kid good luck you're never going to see me again,
and hung up.

thanks

He'll always be Keller to me.

And Schillinger was a police captain. NYPD will just hire anyone!

Hehehehe

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

Ian J. Ball <ijball@mac.invalid> wrote:

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

I watched:


Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.ÿ Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a
thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).ÿ In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character.

Yep.

Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world.ÿ This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.

As much as I hate to say it, Rachel Zegler is probably the best part of the SHAZAM sequel.



--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: Easynews - www.easynews.com (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On 6/13/2025 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

Fringe Season 4 disc extras.ÿ The typical BTS stuff.ÿ One particular
point about The Observers.ÿ There was no initial Grand Plan for them
when September was introduced.ÿ Michael Cerveris portrayal of
September was what inspired the producers to expand upon the
Observers. Basically, as is typical of Abrams, they made it up as they
went along. With Fringe he just had the perfect excuse for resetting
everything when ever he felt like because it was just another
universe, different timeline! *handwave*ÿ "These are not the
characters you are looking for."

Sounds like they are admitting they did a retcon to me.ÿ ;-)

My disagreement about it being a "Retcon" is that is doesn't actually contradict anything we've seen or learned about the Observers.
Admittedly largely because we learned almost nothing about them until now.

Fringe S5E01 'Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11'
IMDb sez: "In 2036 the Observers have begun terraforming the earth.

Is it the main Earth or one of the alternate Earth's?ÿ How does the cast make the time jump?

Blue universe. The end of season 4 they shut down the bridge between
the two universes so there is just the one in the show, at least for
now. As for the time jump, one word. "Amber". :D All the team
members resisted the invasion and ended up having to Amber themselves
until rescued in 2036.


--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

On Jun 13, 2025 at 5:33:50 PM PDT, "anim8rfsk" <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:

Ian J. Ball <ijball@mac.invalid> wrote:

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

What Did You Watch?

I watched:


Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.ÿ Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a >>> thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).ÿ In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even >>> try to play the same character.

Yep.

Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must >>> stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world.ÿ This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.

As much as I hate to say it, Rachel Zegler is probably the best part of the SHAZAM sequel.

Go to your room.



--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

arthur@alum.calberkeley.org wrote:

On 6/13/2025 7:10 AM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:

Fringe Season 4 disc extras.  The typical BTS stuff.  One particular
point about The Observers.  There was no initial Grand Plan for them
when September was introduced.  Michael Cerveris portrayal of September
was what inspired the producers to expand upon the Observers. Basically,
as is typical of Abrams, they made it up as they went along. With Fringe
he just had the perfect excuse for resetting everything when ever he
felt like because it was just another universe, different timeline!
*handwave*  "These are not the characters you are looking for."

Sounds like they are admitting they did a retcon to me. ;-)

That's the trpouble with Jar Jar Abram productions. They always go off the rails and jumpt the shark. At least this time, he had a vaguely
plausible reason.


--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)

anim8rfsk@cox.net wrote:

Ian J. Ball <ijball@mac.invalid> wrote:

On 6/13/25 8:09 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:

Ubiquitous wrote:

What Did You Watch?

I watched:


Shazam! (4K disc) 2019 movie set in the DCEU.ÿ Asher Angel stars as
Billy Batson, a young orphan who, after being shown to be a liar and a
thief, is gifted by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) magical powers that
transform him into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi).ÿ In spite of
being the same person, the two actors seemingly make no effort to even
try to play the same character. Anyway, when he's not goofing around
making YouTube videos and otherwise exploiting his powers, Shazam must
stop Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong AKA Sinestro) from unleashing the Seven
Deadly Sins upon the world.ÿ This one is generally pretty good.

I still have never bothered with the sequel - between them firing
Michelle Borth between movies, and the sequel getting lousy reviews, I
could never muster up the interest.

As much as I hate to say it, Rachel Zegler is probably the best part of the >SHAZAM sequel.

Don't make me Troll-O-Meter you, bro!

--
Not a joke! Don't jump!


--- MBSE BBS v1.1.1 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (3:633/280.2@fidonet)