Brian Smith
@onemorebrian.bsky.social
Newspaper editor; fan of Peanuts and Pac-Man; pessimistic optimist ("The glass SHOULD be half full, but somebody probably drank it already").
One of the great triumphs of the Abnett-Lanning run on "Legion of Super-Heroes" was turning Monstress from an ill-conceived cross between the Hulk and Miss Piggy, into an orange-skinned behemoth who was fun and warm and fiercely devoted to her friends. It made her ultimate fate REALLY hurt.
November 11, 2025 at 2:23 AM
One of the great triumphs of the Abnett-Lanning run on "Legion of Super-Heroes" was turning Monstress from an ill-conceived cross between the Hulk and Miss Piggy, into an orange-skinned behemoth who was fun and warm and fiercely devoted to her friends. It made her ultimate fate REALLY hurt.
There's a long-gone circa-2003 comment on The AV Club that correctly predicted "Frida" would win the Oscar for Best Makeup -- something like, "Anyone who can turn Salma Hayek into a woman who I don't immediately want to carry to bed and make sweet sweet love with is some kind of mad genius."
November 9, 2025 at 9:29 AM
There's a long-gone circa-2003 comment on The AV Club that correctly predicted "Frida" would win the Oscar for Best Makeup -- something like, "Anyone who can turn Salma Hayek into a woman who I don't immediately want to carry to bed and make sweet sweet love with is some kind of mad genius."
The original plan for DVD movies was to price them like VHS tapes ($75 to $100 or more) and offer them to rental stores first, but Blockbuster rejected DVDs outright. Then...well:
The last days of Blockbuster.
In 1998, at the dawn of the age of the DVD, Blockbuster made a decision that would change the future of Hollywood. Warren Lieberfarb, who then headed...
slate.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:53 AM
The original plan for DVD movies was to price them like VHS tapes ($75 to $100 or more) and offer them to rental stores first, but Blockbuster rejected DVDs outright. Then...well:
Tagging @krisstraub.com with one of my favorite Chainsawsuit strips. The titles are gone now, but I'm pretty sure the one now at chainsawsuit.krisstraub.com/20161205.shtml was called "Poetry in Promotion":
November 9, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Tagging @krisstraub.com with one of my favorite Chainsawsuit strips. The titles are gone now, but I'm pretty sure the one now at chainsawsuit.krisstraub.com/20161205.shtml was called "Poetry in Promotion":
I'm drawing a blank and going straight to "TV shows with two women: A bombshell and a 'plain Jane' who's possibly the most beautiful woman you've ever seen" (Dawn Wells on "Gilligan's Island," Heather Young on "Land of the Giants," Jan Smithers on "WKRP," Markie Post on "The Fall Guy"...)
November 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I'm drawing a blank and going straight to "TV shows with two women: A bombshell and a 'plain Jane' who's possibly the most beautiful woman you've ever seen" (Dawn Wells on "Gilligan's Island," Heather Young on "Land of the Giants," Jan Smithers on "WKRP," Markie Post on "The Fall Guy"...)
I guess I only know the three: Iambic, Doric and Corinthian.
November 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
I guess I only know the three: Iambic, Doric and Corinthian.
FINALLY an excuse to share this with somebody:
Man & His Music - Saturday Night Live
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live
www.youtube.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:45 AM
FINALLY an excuse to share this with somebody:
Sure, if you get on his good side. But don’t cross him!
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Sure, if you get on his good side. But don’t cross him!
I love that the theme song is audacious enough to be, “Here’s the premise, here’s the premise, here’s the premise, here’s the premise (now it’s reversed) here at Galaxy Hiiiiiiiiiigh.”
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I love that the theme song is audacious enough to be, “Here’s the premise, here’s the premise, here’s the premise, here’s the premise (now it’s reversed) here at Galaxy Hiiiiiiiiiigh.”
I completely missed it and "Defenders of the Earth" as a kid because they ran on a UHF station that was too far away from my town to be picked up. (That station jumped at the chance to be central Arkansas' Fox affiliate in 1986, so I missed the first few years of those shows for the same reason.)
November 4, 2025 at 6:53 AM
I completely missed it and "Defenders of the Earth" as a kid because they ran on a UHF station that was too far away from my town to be picked up. (That station jumped at the chance to be central Arkansas' Fox affiliate in 1986, so I missed the first few years of those shows for the same reason.)
I do miss getting to make up my own backstory. For years, I figured Luke was born on Dagobah, because he thought there was "something familiar" about it. Turns out, it was a familiar feeling because he was being watched by Yoda? Because Yoda's been watching him for a long time?
eww
eww
November 4, 2025 at 2:41 AM
I do miss getting to make up my own backstory. For years, I figured Luke was born on Dagobah, because he thought there was "something familiar" about it. Turns out, it was a familiar feeling because he was being watched by Yoda? Because Yoda's been watching him for a long time?
eww
eww
COUNTERPOINT: If I had a time machine, I would absolutely travel to August 1969 to see the production highlighted in this news item about Jonathan Harris visiting NASA in Houston:
November 3, 2025 at 2:55 AM
COUNTERPOINT: If I had a time machine, I would absolutely travel to August 1969 to see the production highlighted in this news item about Jonathan Harris visiting NASA in Houston:
I agree, though I make an exception for "House of Svengoolie"'s Nostalgiaferatoo, whose deliberately unconvincing plastic ears are part of his charm.
November 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I agree, though I make an exception for "House of Svengoolie"'s Nostalgiaferatoo, whose deliberately unconvincing plastic ears are part of his charm.
Oh, thank GOODNESS this is online:
Night Court - Book Burning
YouTube video by Night Court fan
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Oh, thank GOODNESS this is online:
And now I'm missing "Double Rush," the short-lived "Robert Pastorelli should have his own show!" series that had all the things I wanted out of a sitcom in the 1990s:
1. Regular appearances by Corinne Bohrer
2. End of list
1. Regular appearances by Corinne Bohrer
2. End of list
October 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM
And now I'm missing "Double Rush," the short-lived "Robert Pastorelli should have his own show!" series that had all the things I wanted out of a sitcom in the 1990s:
1. Regular appearances by Corinne Bohrer
2. End of list
1. Regular appearances by Corinne Bohrer
2. End of list
"Never did anything called 'Ozzymandias'"? Ozzy's not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think he'd explain his masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of anyone affecting its outcome?
He did it thirty-five minutes ago.
(but no, that would have been cool if he'd done that)
He did it thirty-five minutes ago.
(but no, that would have been cool if he'd done that)
October 30, 2025 at 6:55 AM
"Never did anything called 'Ozzymandias'"? Ozzy's not a Republic serial villain. Do you seriously think he'd explain his masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of anyone affecting its outcome?
He did it thirty-five minutes ago.
(but no, that would have been cool if he'd done that)
He did it thirty-five minutes ago.
(but no, that would have been cool if he'd done that)
I'd forgotten that "Just Tell Me What You Want" was a movie, and I briefly hoped it was literally just that.
"Here's $7; I want 'The Godfather,' along with a 1939 newsreel and the Cinemascope Tom & Jerry cartoon of your choice."
"...theater 7. Gimme 20 minutes to get you set up."
"Here's $7; I want 'The Godfather,' along with a 1939 newsreel and the Cinemascope Tom & Jerry cartoon of your choice."
"...theater 7. Gimme 20 minutes to get you set up."
October 30, 2025 at 6:17 AM
I'd forgotten that "Just Tell Me What You Want" was a movie, and I briefly hoped it was literally just that.
"Here's $7; I want 'The Godfather,' along with a 1939 newsreel and the Cinemascope Tom & Jerry cartoon of your choice."
"...theater 7. Gimme 20 minutes to get you set up."
"Here's $7; I want 'The Godfather,' along with a 1939 newsreel and the Cinemascope Tom & Jerry cartoon of your choice."
"...theater 7. Gimme 20 minutes to get you set up."
For a time after the GOP took Congress in 1994, the opening changed to the same voice saying "America: The way it ought to be." But that was probably less "Take heart, listeners: 'Mr. Newt' has the gavel!" and more "I need people feeling upbeat enough to spend money on my newsletter and ties."
October 29, 2025 at 12:47 AM
For a time after the GOP took Congress in 1994, the opening changed to the same voice saying "America: The way it ought to be." But that was probably less "Take heart, listeners: 'Mr. Newt' has the gavel!" and more "I need people feeling upbeat enough to spend money on my newsletter and ties."
I have nothing to add to this discussion except I had a friend who was SUPER into Digimon in the 2000s, and I used to aggravate him by asking, "Is there some kind of song that explains what 'Digimon' is short for, and specifies whether or not they're champions?"
October 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
I have nothing to add to this discussion except I had a friend who was SUPER into Digimon in the 2000s, and I used to aggravate him by asking, "Is there some kind of song that explains what 'Digimon' is short for, and specifies whether or not they're champions?"
Thank you -- I came here looking for exactly this!
October 27, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Thank you -- I came here looking for exactly this!
Sam Eagle had an unrequited crush on Janice in ABC's "The Muppets." I don't know if that was a thing before that show or not, but it was absolutely perfect for him.
October 27, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Sam Eagle had an unrequited crush on Janice in ABC's "The Muppets." I don't know if that was a thing before that show or not, but it was absolutely perfect for him.
Getting flashbacks to the woman I dated, once, circa 2010. I didn't MEAN to visibly recoil and upset her during dinner, but I was genuinely caught off-guard by "Obama's nuts. He'd turn us all Muslim if he could."
October 26, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Getting flashbacks to the woman I dated, once, circa 2010. I didn't MEAN to visibly recoil and upset her during dinner, but I was genuinely caught off-guard by "Obama's nuts. He'd turn us all Muslim if he could."
Guy who has only played Ultima IV, playing Dante's Inferno: Getting a lot of 'Ultima IV' vibes from this...
October 26, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Guy who has only played Ultima IV, playing Dante's Inferno: Getting a lot of 'Ultima IV' vibes from this...
Aww, no, I thought you were doing a bit and I was playing along! And then the next person would reply to me like "You're thinking of Roy Scheider. Rob Schneider was the host of Tomorrow and The Late Late Show." And then it would keep going! My apologies!
October 25, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Aww, no, I thought you were doing a bit and I was playing along! And then the next person would reply to me like "You're thinking of Roy Scheider. Rob Schneider was the host of Tomorrow and The Late Late Show." And then it would keep going! My apologies!