Comments of the Week, July 7 – 13

  • Share
  • Read Later
Getty Images (2)

Happy Friday the 13th! Today, despite the date, we consider ourselves the luckiest comment-recipients on the face of the internet. How lucky are we? Let us count the ways:

We are lucky to be moving into the future, as Tracy Grounds points out re: Tim Newcomb’s analysis of the possibility of 4-D cinema:

We are getting even closer to the Holodeck from Star Trek.  :-)

We are lucky to live in a world full of love, as we are remind by Yuqi…’s comment on Melissa Locker’s review of Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, defending the timing of Ocean’s announcement that he has experienced same-sex love:

have you actually read the letter? it’s one of the most heartfelt and heartbreaking things i’ve ever seen. there was no way it was manufactured to “get a ton of press”. besides it was meant to be included in the liner notes of the album anyways, so if not before the album hit, people would have known about it by now anyways.

We are lucky to have such darn smart readers. Case in point: Daniel Linehan’s (abridged) comment on James Poniewozik’s analysis of the antihero-ness of Walter from Breaking Bad:

I think part of the problem is that a lot of antiheros borrow heavily from the Tony Soprano mold. There are a lot of middle aged white guys who are leading two separate lives, one of which is a fairly normal existence and the other involving some kind of male power fantasy…that’s used to appeal to the viewer, even though the best shows will deconstruct it as well. That basic mold, tweaked here and there, has been used over and over again, and it has some familiar story beats (hero fears that his secret may be uncovered, has to scramble to cover it up) and story problems (how to make the hero’s wife sympathetic).

I think that to make the anti-hero seem fresh again, writers need to break this mold. Hannah Horvarth strikes me as the perfect example of an anti-hero whose foibles are a constant source of story without owing anything to a Tony Soprano or a Don Draper.

We are lucky to have all sorts of technology, points out jremigio on James Poniewozik’s discussion of whether it’s a good idea to “binge-watch” television shows:

There’s so much more quality television these days, but there’s also only so many hours in a day (or week). I’d miss out on a lot of good TV if I couldn’t binge-watch at my leisure.

That said, there definitely is a difference between the periodic and binge styles of viewing. I binged on The Walking Dead earlier this year and loved it. Then I went back to read some online analysis and commentary. A lot of people felt that the show didn’t advance the plot enough in many of the season 2 episodes. I thought those people were off-base, until I realized that I probably didn’t notice because I didn’t have to wait a week with high expectations, only to be let down.

And we are lucky not to have to fear for Batman’s life, not really, as this exerpt from crocostimpy’s comment on Graeme McMillan’s piece about Batman’s chances of surviving The Dark Knight Rises points out:

As to whether Batman will die in this movie, if he does he can always come back in the next reboot.

And apparently, we are lucky to be alive, if f_galton’s comments on Lily Rothman’s interview with a herpetologist about the lizards in Spider-Man are to be believed:

As someone with an above top secret security clearance I can tell you the plot is far more real than you can even imagine, Lily Rothman.

Have a great weekend, all, and watch out for black cats. (Except for Catwoman.)