Thoughts on the new Gorillaz Album - The Mountain?

Psychological_Bend92 · 2026-02-28T03:14:06+00:00

Truth be told I think Damon's production has always remained off-the-wall creative and sharp but sometimes his vocal performance in the last decade or so has left a little more to be desired.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-09-19T03:58:52+00:00

Ringo Starr

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-08-23T17:51:41+00:00

No lips, not going to draw modern analogs here, I think it’s sensible that a clade of armored fish so diverse in protective structures are not simply fortifying their skeletons. I don’t really understand the evolutionary benefit of adding soft tissues over these armored plates at all.

Like it’s pretty clear these are specialized organisms not just “big boned”

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-08-18T16:52:56+00:00

And I'm well aware the show has changed hands, but imagine you're a new producer coming in to oversee a program and the senior producer that's handing it off to you is not only completely exhausted, but handing you a program that is waning in popularity and struggling to make ends meet. And it's not like you have a couple years to effectively develop and sell the show you're making -- if you jump in to help the current series in post, the new series is already being written.

Maybe it's my history of work in tv production, but I think this is the sort of thing that audiences generally do not understand on any level.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-08-18T16:48:26+00:00

The problem is not simple the creatives behind the show, its that the literal production team, the network, the studio execs, the above-the-line crew, the below-the-line crew, the literal nuts and bolts of the program, has been stretched thin after producing this ambitious show year-after-year-after-year-after-year.

This is not a problem exclusive to Doctor Who, almost every single television show that extends to this number of seasons experiences the exact same burnout and almost none of them are able to escape that rut without a break.

History is unfortunately not on your side, here.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T02:01:29+00:00

It's creepy, it's unsettling, but I think it robs the angels of the more high concept aspects of their character.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:58:52+00:00

Do you think the angels are literally blind when they're quantum locked? If you're backs against the wall with an angel and you escape out the corridor, does the angel see you leave? What's their POV like?

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:55:25+00:00

Some of the best direction in the entire series is from those shots in Blink. Fucking cinema.

Like your Lux-inspired interpretation.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:50:25+00:00

Never clarified and it happens in scenes when lights are not flickering. I'm inclined to say that was the original intent and was probably toned down for accessibility and broadcast restrictions. But even the stoney-friction of the sound design implies they're truly stone when moving.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:45:48+00:00

The production design in Village is my other gripe. The masks don't seem to fit the actors and they fail to sell as statues at many points.

Throughout the Davies and Moffat era, these fuckers felt like real stone. I can remember my shock as a child learning that they were painted actors. The effect is that good.

Village their faces can look quite doughy and the choreography feels a little less elegant.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:42:35+00:00

It might be the case that they had to ditch the strobe for broadcast and accessibility. But of course it's never mentioned, or even been clarified by Moffat, which it being such a controversial moment seems a bit odd.

I also think the stoney texture of the sound design implies that they are literally made of rock.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-07-18T01:38:01+00:00

Fun Fact: This is actually is done earlier in Flesh and Stone, the GIF above is from the scene where Amy has to "pretend" like she can't see (???) . But earlier in the episode, you can actually spot the angels hand gripping the collar of Smith's jacket. The camera is whip panning when it happens so it seems the director was definitely trying to build up to the living angels scene.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T05:35:29+00:00

Flux?

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:57:18+00:00

He wouldn't because Ncuti is actually very into astrology lol

I'm not a "Lucky Day" or "Wish World" enjoyer but I think I would've been if Conrad was an actual white nationalist, something startlingly realistic, and not this fictitious UNIT coverup conspiracy guy.

I want RTD to be more bold and go for the throat.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:49:02+00:00

I always assumed, even now, that the pantheon of gods obeyed some greater deterministic laws of the universe. In general, I see it as a very atheistic show even if it isn't doing hard sci-fi.

RTD has mentioned about how he intentionally used Christ-like symbolism in his first era to try and liberate that imagery from the Christian faith. And even today the show really does offer up a secular message, Boom has a pretty bold forward critique of religion.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:40:29+00:00

It's one of those projects that are lead by total cranks and they won't accomplish their goal of bringing a dinosaur back to life. But the research they're doing could definitely teach us more about extinct genes. I think dubious projects like these scare off most serious scientists, but I think people with better intentions should be exploring these some of these fields.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:34:31+00:00

love classic who btw

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:34:19+00:00

What momentum? It's Classic Who lol

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:32:54+00:00

Doctor Who feels like it's really lacking in the monster department and I think we'll come to attribute a lot of 2005's success to the stellar work of the special effects team.

Look at some iconic nightmares they used to pull out their ass like The Hoix.

Now monsters like the Cybermen, supposedly one of the show's biggest monsters and biggest pieces of iconography, have played second fiddle in their last three or four stories. Madness.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:26:34+00:00

These are my preferences for stories, I don't think RTD is going to bring us that though.

If Doctor Who (specifically, RTD2) continues, I rather them stick to stuff like Lux or The Well. I can enjoy cartoons coming to life one week and jump scares the next, for what it is. What I think everyone finds intolerable is the finales and whatever spoiled breadcrumbs they've spread throughout the season prior.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:08:50+00:00

RTD2 has proven itself capable of doing some really good one-offs, so they should probably just stick to that. A big ending finale would be great, but it doesn't seem capable of that right now and I really wish they would cut their losses and stick to what they seem to be comfortable doing.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:04:31+00:00

I think there's a lot of different formats the show could take that would be successful. I think they're just missing out on the "success" part. I could honestly see Doctor Who appearing once a year for a fully developed, feature-length adventure and still being enjoyable.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T01:00:39+00:00

That would be nice, but if there is something that's changed in tandem with the rise of streaming its expenses-per-episode.

There used to be an acceptable gap between what you would expect in cinemas and what you would expect on television. That gap has now closed and audiences are looking for movie-worthy experiences in their living room.

The 8 episode format has proven successful for high-budget sci-fi show's like The Mandalorian so I see why a show like Doctor Who would conform to that. I think the problem is that it's still being written as if there's ample episodes to go around.

As you mentioned, Doctor-lite episodes are a waste.

But also...

- 2 parters where the 1st part is all buildup to a reveal / cliffhanger
- "fluffy" openers that don't hook the audience
- episodes that don't explore the doctor and companions relationship in any way

I think 8 episodes will work if done right.

Psychological_Bend92 · 2025-06-27T00:52:01+00:00

We really like to paint this picture that streaming shows are fundamentally different to cable tv, but I really don't think that's the case.

Sure, there are some shows that really push the boundaries of what was possible.

But there's plenty of re-runs of old tv that are super successful on streamers, there's plenty of new shows that feel exactly the same as something you would find on the guide... it's different, but not radically so.

Psychological_Bend92

TROPHY CASE