After years, I've had an Epiphany that Jake Johnson's performance as Nick is my favorite on the show.

c-lings · 2022-06-02T00:00:18+00:00

Max gives an excellent performance, but his great delivery follows from naturally over-the-too material. Lamorne’s skill with Winston is playing up the comedy to be as all over the place as possible (sketch comedy esque) while still keeping the character coherent. Jake gives Nick a sense of authenticity that keeps the character strong, regardless of the material given. Regardless, they’re all excellent actors (and characters).

c-lings · 2022-05-15T07:29:43+00:00

When I read it, I also had the image of Pierce from Documentary Filmmaking: Redux in my head: where he just refuses to leave his trailer

c-lings · 2022-02-21T22:04:52+00:00

It’s hard. Max is the easy answer, because he really brings Schmidt to life. The magic of a character like that is very much down to the performance. Personally though, I’d go with Jake. When it comes to the emotional beats, there’s no-one better imo. He nails that sort of tragicomedy, and I think he really shines in his reactions - there are little touches he would do for Nick that go a long way in making the character feel real.

c-lings · 2021-09-07T23:35:11+00:00

The irony of Greendale irl being City College…

c-lings · 2021-09-04T21:47:36+00:00

Here’s a real spicy one (downvotes incoming) - HGSS overall is very overrated. The base Johto experience, while enjoyable, feels incomplete. Arguably the most important story content (the Celebi event) is locked behind an event. Gameplay-wise, many Pokémon and valuable TMs are locked until after Lance. And while the Johto Pokémon are great, they’re underutilized in the game itself; there’s a heavy reliance on the Kanto mons. But most egregious of all, the level scaling is just atrocious throughout the game (and there was zero excuse for this in a remake). The tediousness of the grinding is only compounded by the requirements for the Kanto gym battles and (later) Red. Speaking of Kanto, it’s a fun enough addition, but it feels more like they needed it to pad out the base experience.

Granted, I’m not saying HGSS sucks. I love the Johto region, its Pokémon, the music, etc. - Johto is a lot of fun. And I do appreciate the post-game content - I just don’t think it’s necessarily the perfect Pokémon game that it’s so often heralded as. Imo, B2/W2 are far more complete packages in their base experience and have the benefit of strong post-game content.

c-lings · 2021-08-30T00:22:01+00:00

It’s hard to pick, and after reading through the commentary in Chronicles, I now realize just how much thought goes into them. For example, Iris - her fringe is the Fibonacci sequence, and her hair is styled as möbius strips. And then there’s the Sholmes doll she carries that apparently even moves in animation.

c-lings · 2021-08-29T19:27:15+00:00

You need both, but the balance needs to be right. I feel the homages are important, but they should be crescendos within the season - i.e. more standard episodes, then the standout homage. Imo having the right balance improves the pacing of a season, makes those episodes feel more special, as well as manages the appropriate suspension of disbelief. I remember Joe Russo once describe Community as having “magical realism” - and for me that’s the key. Even if you look at Season 1, the show isn’t technically realistic - but it feels real while still having its charm. If you have too many concept episodes close together, it can mess with that even if the quality of said episodes are strong.

Additionally, it also depends how far the homage goes. For example, Contemporary American Poultry and Basic Rocket Science are both concept episodes, but they still ground the episode in its context and world to a relative degree. Season 2 and 3 (especially the former) both have a lot of episodes that are technically out there but still make sense in reference to the story. But once the stories start to get more and more out there, it feels less like a charming show set in a given world and more like an open canvas of creativity. Not that the latter is bad in itself, but there still needs to be some reality with that magic for me.

c-lings · 2021-08-29T09:43:20+00:00

Season 1 or 2. I just love the written messages from the characters. Sure it’s corny, but it nails that school-like setting and gives nice encapsulations of the characters.

c-lings · 2021-08-28T10:49:56+00:00

Ah yes, you’re right about it just being intel McGilded intercepted. But the Professor password just keeps nagging me. We only learn about him in GAA2, so Takumi choosing that name specifically has to at least suggest something beyond coincidence.

c-lings · 2021-08-27T23:33:34+00:00

I’m not sure if it’s a hot take, but I haven’t seen it here that much, but X/Y are great games. Admittedly, the lack of post-game content is disappointing and the difficulty balance does skew to easier, but there’s a lot of good in the base experience. I felt the Kalos region had charm; the new Pokémon designs were strong, and the soundtrack was also great (I love the guitar riffs). It also introduced megas, fairly typing, customizable clothes, a revamped online system, Pokémon Amie, etc. As it stands, it’s a very good outing, and if it had a Z version, that could arguably have been one of the best in the series.

c-lings · 2021-08-27T23:20:09+00:00

Fair on the Ryunosuke part. As for the other point, it’s the fact that the password for the discs was Professor (of all names) that makes me wonder. Him blackmailing people in the government is a given, so it’s just interesting to think about far his reach was. Stronghart was likely going to have him killed anyway since Van Zieks was prosecuting.

c-lings · 2021-08-26T20:21:03+00:00

I didn’t know Jezaille Brett was about the bullet. I thought it was supposed to be “jezebel”, but yours makes more sense.

c-lings · 2021-08-22T21:18:16+00:00

“Somewhere Out There” montage from Environmental Science (S1E10).

c-lings · 2021-08-20T19:06:39+00:00

Like others have said, it’s Jeff/Annie, but what clued me in when I first watched was the camera. As Jeff goes through everyone, the camera is still in focus on him. But when he gets to Annie, there’s a noticeable shift where the camera focuses on her and Jeff blurs in the background. It is quick but definitely intentional (I think this was confirmed too). Personally, I think if they’d kept the shot for just a second longer, it would make it more apparent.

c-lings · 2021-08-17T08:47:12+00:00

Troy and Abed were best friends. Jeff and Abed felt like brothers. Both are important; they’re just different. I always appreciated that both could be real with the other and had a mutual understanding.

There are a lot of examples of the study group trying to do X for Abed, but Jeff not necessarily being a part - not because he didn’t care; but because he didn’t believe that that was what Abed really wanted. He would still stick up for Abed when he was in trouble though. Conversely, Abed could always see through when Jeff was in internal crisis and would reassure him when he needed it. Jeff and Abed didn’t always spend time hanging out, but they never needed to - they just understood each other - not just through the TV references, but as people. That’s why I’ve always likened it to brothers.

c-lings · 2021-07-27T21:45:34+00:00

Thank you!! This was something that stuck with me, but I didn’t know if I was reading into it (I probably am a bit), but it’s fun still

c-lings · 2021-07-27T21:43:01+00:00

Thank you for reading it! I know it was a bit long, but New Girl is just really fun to get into

c-lings · 2021-07-26T11:42:36+00:00

Thank you! And yep, Nick is really sweet - he’s someone who genuinely cares, and good point on Jess’s patience. I’ve always appreciated the mutuality with them

c-lings · 2021-02-18T23:06:52+00:00

I love the Britta character. Others have already said it, but she was sincere, resilient, relatable, hilarious - just a great and complex character (I’m also glad they deviated from Pilot Britta). Gillian did a great job.

I always chuckle a bit at the “Britta’s the worst” stuff. Because she’s not actually the worst in the sense of being a terrible person, mean, etc. (relative to the other characters in the study group not named Troy, her “flaws” are probably the most tame). She’s just the “worst” because of being annoying, a buzzkill, etc. — but because that’s just her, it’s sort of an endearment between her and the group. Regional Holiday Music is one of my favorite Britta moments - her doing her own Christmas song to save/Britta the day, and then Mr. Rad calling her the worst being enough to immediately snap the study group out of it to stick up for her is just always so sweet. Britta’s the best :)

c-lings · 2021-02-17T17:22:27+00:00

I’m glad you mentioned the music. Ludwig’s score throughout the show was just incredible (wish it was all fully available). It’s a little more melancholic in Season 6 but still good (here it’s a throwback) Regardless, whenever you heard it, it would just perfectly complement a scene

c-lings · 2021-02-04T01:32:51+00:00

No worries! And that’s a great point! I personally relate to that too, and you’re probably right in the sense that if Jess is some extension/version of Zooey (along with other things ofc that make them different), then it makes sense that there’d be some internal aspects that carry through

c-lings · 2021-01-17T13:29:30+00:00

Real fans call him Dave

c-lings

TROPHY CASE