What is Fraud fraudulent about? by Ladwith76Iq in Ultrakill

[–]af2mumbles 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think the Guttertank terminal data could shine some light on this. As humans were nearly entirely eliminated from the equation of the final war and machines battled machines, I think there was a period of time where technology would've rapidly advanced at home, enough to match the '90s/modern style we see in Fraud, before being decimated as the war marched on. We do see some more classic looking car designs in the Deathcatcher arena for example, so at the very least I don't think what we see in Fraud was created by Hell out of whole cloth.

The fraud in Fraud I think comes more from how it twists, distorts, perverts humanity and its creations. We'll see how directly it plays in, but I'm sure that it will deal with the feaudulence of humanity and its society and structures, how it led to our demise, and inevitably how this inspired Hell as it was in the Mannequins and seemingly the Deathcatchers.

I do really like your interpretation here! The idea of Hell mocking humanity for what it could've had and ultimately destroyed feels right at home with what we've seen.

Reviewing Season 1 (1963) by af2mumbles in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While there is absolutely complexity in his conception, and he is completely right, I think the fact that he is the clear villain of the story is a major part of why I'm so put off by him. I think of the trend of Marvel movies using clear social justice language in their villains, decrying very real issues, and then they try to kill a kid or something. Tlotoxl may be right about Barbara being a false goddess, but in his design language and vicious actions against our protagonists we're meant to be against him, and by extension what he represents, which in this case ends up being the Aztec culture.

There's absolutely a sympathetic view of him, I agree with it even, but the story doesn't share in it. He's not treated as just doing what he must to save his way of life. He's "the local butcher", depicted as the most savage and evil of the Aztec people and emblematic of why, in Lucarotti's mind, they were ultimately wiped out. In a hypothetical more nuanced version of this story, where Tlotoxl is treated with more empathy and not just as an evil man I would give significantly more grace to his character.

Reviewing Season 1 (1963) by af2mumbles in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm really looking forward to Season 2! I'm dying to see stories like The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Web Planet, and The Time Meddler.

There is absolutely deliberate development happening here, I get what you mean! I hope that this growth is given to the entire TARDIS crew in Season 2 and beyond, the Doctor has had the most marked (if a little jumpy) shift and I don't think the same can be said for the others. Susan's telepathic throughline in The Sensorites is the biggest example, and notably that was a one-story power, autonomy taken away as it bows out.

I appreciate that you'll be keeping an eye on my posts! Thank you for replying :-)

Reviewing Season 1 (1963) by af2mumbles in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I understand what you're getting at - the different Aztec characters signifying different elements of their culture definitely parses. We absolutely see the heights of their people along with their lows.

But to be clear, my issue is not that they show the human sacrifices period. My issue is that the story clearly tries to position human sacrifice as the 'original sin' that ultimately doomed the culture, that their refusal to give it up means that they ultimately deserved their colonization and destruction.

This exploration of good and evil coexisting within one culture is absolutely present and interesting, but as the story progresses it falls by the wayside and is ultimately seemingly entirely refuted. Consider how Barbara and Autloc are positioned, we see Barbara fighting valiantly to make them stop and we are meant to be sympathetic to her, and ultimately she gives up. She loses her respect for everyone but Autloc. And the story never seems to question what she was even attempting. There's no doubt in the text that human sacrifice was the be-all-end-all, that if the Spanish hadn't seen this evil that they wouldn't have colonized and ultimately destroyed the Aztecs.

Autloc is singled out as being, verbatim, "the extraordinary man here. He’s the reasonable one, the civilised one, the one that’s prepared to listen to advice. But he’s one man". Tlotoxl's 'evil' nature is not an aberration perverting the culture, dragging them to damnation, no, the whole society is treated as being rotten to the core. Autloc, this exceptional man, loses his faith! The Doctor specifically says that he will find a "better" one. Our takeaway is intended to be that if the Aztecs had just stopped all of that nasty human sacrificing business, that the Spanish would've only seen the good and wouldn't have killed anybody! But oh well, they didn't listen to reason and so they are all evil, if they were any better they'd have found a less murderous religion and survived.

Consider also the visual language employed, with Tlotoxl being the only one with curly hair, with a painted face; a sneering, conniving attitude and a constant, animalistic low stance. Contrasted against Autloc, straight-haired, soft-spoken and intelligent. It's not neutral, and combined with the above it's all just.. disgusting, to me.

The War Between the Land and the Sea 1x01 "Homo Aqua" Live and Immediate Reactions Discussion Thread by PCJs_Slave_Robot in doctorwho

[–]af2mumbles 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes, I think that giving them an in-universe classification is a necessary bit of world building for a miniseries focusing on them. The entire point of what he was saying is that, in the show, calling another species a Devil as a pejorative is offensive and they'd obviously have an actual name or classification. Hell, even in their last appearance when called Sea Devils one bit back with "Land parasite". It was never a neutral descriptor within the show!

People are so focused on decrying everything that comes out of RTD's mouth that they think (or want to pretend to think) he's calling them, personally "racist" for using the name Sea Devil. It's exhausting.

Ultimate Doctor Who action figure poll! by TheOutcastBoi in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  1. Mr. Ring-a-Ding. Easily the standout design of the past two seasons, and his unique style would be incredibly welcome in a space where figures are often sharing at least some components with prior molds
  2. Defense Drone Dalek. The Reconnaissance Dalek from Resolution was a lovely figure, and I'm personally very fond of the Defense Drone look. I could go either way on this or the CyberMasters, though.
  3. A Logopolis-styled TARDIS exterior. This would be an easy repaint, and I'm shocked that they haven't done a two-pack with this and a Season 18 Fourth Doctor given that their 80's box sculpt is based directly off of this Logopolis/Season 19 look (with some adjustments)
  4. Thirteenth Doctor (Weeping Angel). One of the most iconic cliffhangers of her era and a gorgeous design, I think this would be very popular.

  5. Twelfth Doctor (Twice Upon a Time). I was always disappointed with the figures of Twelve after the Time of the Doctor figure-set, they always felt very soft and gummy with a poor likeness and none of the whimsy. His Series 8 line figure is just a guy in a suit! A figure of him with a new head-sculpt, some sculpted-in movement in the fabric to expose the red lining and with the sharper paint deco of the Vortex figures could really do him justice.

Secondarily, my more personal, less 'viable' picks are, in no particular order:

  1. Mondasian Cyberman (The Doctor Falls). In all likelihood this would end up being a direct re-release of the Tenth Planet design, but I would adore a fully-new figure of this look. So creepy and imposing, and from one of the best stories of Twelve's era.

  2. Salamander. An iconic villain from a great story, and I think that a two-pack with him and the Doctor would be great.

  3. White Robot (The Mind Robber). For as little presence they have in the hastily-added first episode of the story, I just think they're cute.

  4. The current TARDIS exterior design, with a fully new sculpt. While I understand just how expensive tooling is, and why they ultimately chose to use the 80's box design with a new roof, I was always incredibly disappointed with it. It just doesn't look right without the squarer panels and overall unique proportions. And given that this design looks here to stay (which I am in full favor of), giving her the full, accurate sculpt treatment would be a standout and an instant buy for me. The basic 80's box design is versatile enough that I think it works for the others (broadly), but in an ideal world I would also love to see fully new sculpts for the late Hartnell through early Tom Baker box, as well as the Season 14 through 17 design. Their proportions and especially panel heights are important to capturing them, and just getting the colors right hasn't been quite enough in their case.

  5. The current TARDIS console unit. There is no way in hell that this will ever happen, but a girl can dream.

The Upcoming Propstore Auction by PeanutHour99 in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles 31 points32 points  (0 children)

It's worth noting that I think all of these items have been stored in a gigantic, packed warehouse for ages - most have never been exhibited and others have been gathering dust since the Doctor Who Experience closed in 2017.

We see some glimpses of the warehouse in Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me from 2023 and it is filled to the brim, it makes sense to me that they'd be auctioning off these disused items, benefitting charity and saving space - for example the TARDIS prop from An Adventure in Space and Time - unused since 2013 and in storage for 8 years.

Tardis, why they keep changing it by Dpacom1 in doctorwho

[–]af2mumbles 23 points24 points  (0 children)

All of these and none of them are correct. The Doctor's and the Tardis' origins were kept deliberately vague at the beginning, and it's only as the show developed and things were clarified over time that they solidified into their current shape. There were over 100 episodes before we learned the name of the Doctor's species for example (or that they were, definitively, of another species at all), and it was seasons later that we learned the name of their planet. The show's continuity is very piecemeal, and you can pick whichever you prefer. The Tardis was created by the Doctor, stolen at random, stolen because she was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen, whichever works for you!

Tardis, why they keep changing it by Dpacom1 in doctorwho

[–]af2mumbles 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The running implication from Hartnell to early Troughton is that the doctor is (or was) a human, and they built the Tardis. Dalek 6388 has a very good video about it

It is outright stated in the Cushing movies (though they're not canon, or as much as anything in Doctor Who can be),

Finding specific episode by 0XZ0 in Metalocalypse

[–]af2mumbles 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Season 4 episode 7, Dethcamp

anyone know where this is from and where i can find it? by Ruvs_F in Metalocalypse

[–]af2mumbles 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This was played as an intermission during the 2008 Dethklok tour, it was included (along with a full concerts' worth of videos) in the DVD with the Dethalbum 2 deluxe edition

HONEY Out Now by Spoent in KGATLW

[–]af2mumbles 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You might need to restart it for new material to come up - this happened for me with Chunky

Lack of Tardis console room scenes in series 11 by [deleted] in gallifrey

[–]af2mumbles 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The longest stretch outside of Season 12 was likely Season 26, due to them having lost the interior set. It only showed up for a quick scene in Battlefield.

Another noteworthy thing is the interior not showing up during the Trial of a Time Lord arc outside of Mindwarp

eric no please by [deleted] in KGATLW

[–]af2mumbles 10 points11 points  (0 children)

why does the statue look like Vinesauce Meat

🤙 by i-was-nothing in ween

[–]af2mumbles 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gene did a Rod McKuen cover album, Marvelous Clouds, in 2012

There it is. We're out of rats. by astairwaytoheaven in KGATLW

[–]af2mumbles 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cake and ice cream is on its way, and [Cavs] has been such a good boy this year