Ben Schouten
@bengschout.bsky.social
I make these moving pictures sometimes (he/him)
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Ben Schouten
@bengschout.bsky.social
· Dec 14
A ★★★★ review of Merrily We Roll Along (2025)
Pro shoots are funny things. As an archive they are often indispensable for the culture, Theater is at once an eternal medium---with new productions of old classics constantly put on across the world-...
letterboxd.com
Some meandering words on one of Stephen Sondheim's many masterpieces
letterboxd.com/bengschout/f...
letterboxd.com/bengschout/f...
Reposted by Ben Schouten
Please, anything helps, even just $1. I'm past the end of my rope and am giving up. I'm tired. I hurt. I'm sick. I've been trying to get all my animals sanctuary placements but I'm running out of options. I don't want to live like this anymore.
Ok, I still need $275 to cover medical, plus $158 to cover electrical, and now $200 for food because my SNAP didn't post. So $883 needed ASAP as two of these are past due and one feeds me. PayPal.me/starbroken
January 17, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Please, anything helps, even just $1. I'm past the end of my rope and am giving up. I'm tired. I hurt. I'm sick. I've been trying to get all my animals sanctuary placements but I'm running out of options. I don't want to live like this anymore.
I mean look at the Netflix Marvel shows, those have like 3-5 episodes a season that are absolutely worthless, and nothing as good as Best of Both Worlds
January 17, 2026 at 3:51 AM
I mean look at the Netflix Marvel shows, those have like 3-5 episodes a season that are absolutely worthless, and nothing as good as Best of Both Worlds
I think most streaming shows have similar amounts of inessential sludge, people just look past it because there's more of a "plot"
January 17, 2026 at 3:50 AM
I think most streaming shows have similar amounts of inessential sludge, people just look past it because there's more of a "plot"
Actually it would probably come out ahead of most of them, but that's more because of industry wide trends
January 17, 2026 at 3:49 AM
Actually it would probably come out ahead of most of them, but that's more because of industry wide trends
Yeah and sometimes the episode they bought to fill the count was Measure of a Man. Obviously there's a lot of crap but I genuinely think if you look at something like TNG and put it up proportionally against a more serialized streaming show, they would come up equal
January 17, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Yeah and sometimes the episode they bought to fill the count was Measure of a Man. Obviously there's a lot of crap but I genuinely think if you look at something like TNG and put it up proportionally against a more serialized streaming show, they would come up equal
And honestly I think describing any episode of a show made in the 20th century as "filler" is really just incorrect. Nobody was conceiving of things that way that wasn't adapting a manga or something
January 17, 2026 at 3:27 AM
And honestly I think describing any episode of a show made in the 20th century as "filler" is really just incorrect. Nobody was conceiving of things that way that wasn't adapting a manga or something
Air is a pretty good intro to a show that I still have a lot of trepidations about. It does feel very bizarrely unlike Stargate and I'm not sure how they're gonna wring episodic stories out of this but many shows have had worse foundations
January 17, 2026 at 2:55 AM
Air is a pretty good intro to a show that I still have a lot of trepidations about. It does feel very bizarrely unlike Stargate and I'm not sure how they're gonna wring episodic stories out of this but many shows have had worse foundations
Netflix is particularly egregious because they will just throw all the shit at the wall and hope to find the next stranger things. Say what you will about Apple TV, they at least give their shows a chance
January 17, 2026 at 2:55 AM
Netflix is particularly egregious because they will just throw all the shit at the wall and hope to find the next stranger things. Say what you will about Apple TV, they at least give their shows a chance
I would much rather have bland filler than bland plot episodes which is like 90% of what modern streaming shows are
January 17, 2026 at 2:54 AM
I would much rather have bland filler than bland plot episodes which is like 90% of what modern streaming shows are
I think I would be much more likely to check out Strange New Worlds if they had roughly twice as many episodes a season, especially because they really obviously want to bring back Concept Episodes
January 17, 2026 at 2:53 AM
I think I would be much more likely to check out Strange New Worlds if they had roughly twice as many episodes a season, especially because they really obviously want to bring back Concept Episodes
There isn't room because the streaming services have made endless churn a part of their business model. Shows like The Pitt still make huge waves and that's being produced with the old model!
January 17, 2026 at 2:52 AM
There isn't room because the streaming services have made endless churn a part of their business model. Shows like The Pitt still make huge waves and that's being produced with the old model!
I mean I think the other thing is that the shape of TV has changed a lot, Clone Wars has network sprawl that simply does not exist on Disney+
January 16, 2026 at 9:11 PM
I mean I think the other thing is that the shape of TV has changed a lot, Clone Wars has network sprawl that simply does not exist on Disney+
And more pertinently, Clone Wars was set in a time when a lot of those impulses felt more natural and was "fixing" films a lot of people were underwhelmed by at the time. You can justify Kit Fisto in a Clone Wars episode pretty easily, a lot harder to do that with The Mandolorian
January 16, 2026 at 7:36 PM
And more pertinently, Clone Wars was set in a time when a lot of those impulses felt more natural and was "fixing" films a lot of people were underwhelmed by at the time. You can justify Kit Fisto in a Clone Wars episode pretty easily, a lot harder to do that with The Mandolorian
I do like that Scott and Eli are buds right off the bat, nerd-jock alliance at Stargate running strong
January 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I do like that Scott and Eli are buds right off the bat, nerd-jock alliance at Stargate running strong
Bill Lee cameo really got me
January 16, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Bill Lee cameo really got me
Reposted by Ben Schouten
hi! i would like to reup my request for ANY AND ALL PEOPLE FIGHTING DATA CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is jael@heatmap.news
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is jael@heatmap.news
January 9, 2026 at 5:33 PM
hi! i would like to reup my request for ANY AND ALL PEOPLE FIGHTING DATA CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is jael@heatmap.news
i am now covering data center conflicts for @heatmap.news
my email is jael@heatmap.news
I like how they managed to sneak in a destroyed planet, just really doubling down on the BSG similarities
January 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM
I like how they managed to sneak in a destroyed planet, just really doubling down on the BSG similarities
The base getting attacked in the middle of dinner is a nicely disquieting scene, it's so rare in these kinds of shows to only hear one side of a radio conversation
January 16, 2026 at 5:34 PM
The base getting attacked in the middle of dinner is a nicely disquieting scene, it's so rare in these kinds of shows to only hear one side of a radio conversation
The whole setup with solving a massive scientific quandry with a video game is so 2010s, feel like there should have been like half a dozen nickelodeon shows with that premise
January 16, 2026 at 5:32 PM
The whole setup with solving a massive scientific quandry with a video game is so 2010s, feel like there should have been like half a dozen nickelodeon shows with that premise
Lou Diamond Philips in the "we need a bodycount and we'll get someone slightly overqualified so it's a big deal when they go" role
January 16, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Lou Diamond Philips in the "we need a bodycount and we'll get someone slightly overqualified so it's a big deal when they go" role
I love how the waterspout effect looks so chopped in every context except the SG-1 gate
January 16, 2026 at 5:18 PM
I love how the waterspout effect looks so chopped in every context except the SG-1 gate
Richard Dean Anderson
a cat is standing in front of a door next to a litter box .
Alt: cat jumping up and down in excitement
media.tenor.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Richard Dean Anderson
Realizing they got Robert Carlyle to play khia Baltar
January 16, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Realizing they got Robert Carlyle to play khia Baltar
The intro is actually pretty effective, I love recasting a gate evac as something chaotic and sort of horrifying
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
The intro is actually pretty effective, I love recasting a gate evac as something chaotic and sort of horrifying
The BSG envy is craaaaaaaaaazy
January 16, 2026 at 5:07 PM
The BSG envy is craaaaaaaaaazy