^^It's a start. 
The Middleman
- Thread starter FredH
- Start date
Opinions after last night's (06/30) episode? We got a kick out of the various timezones displayed at the beginning of each scene transition. I think they even had one in a different language at one point. Also laughed out loud during Dubby's interrogation of the wrestler in Spanish with English subtitles.... then when they spoke in English, the subtitles switched to Spanish. 
This week's episode, a Grillo-Marxuach piece involving masked Mexican wrestlers, was kinda fun, but it overdid a few of its gags -- showing incongruous time zones on the place-and-date captions, having characters repeat the same wordy phrases over and over, things that are best when they're more judiciously doled out. I'm still not highly impressed with the cast, who just aren't as good with this fast-paced banter as this kind of fast-paced banter demands. But it was cool to see Natalie Morales don a skimpy waitress outfit and do a scene in Spanish (although her accent was less convincing than one might expect).
Which is a very, very old joke.
Which is a very, very old joke.
I thought it was alright, it was again, an adaptation of one of the stories from the comic. Good, better than the week before, but still didn't quite pop for me like the pilot.
Yeah, using the second (rising) tone of Mandarin pronunciation -- that was a nice touch. (One would transliterate it as "Ping2," or píng.) Although I suppose it might've been Ping3, with a falling then rising tone. Interestingly, "píng" (Ping2) is actually the word for "level" that's used in the names of the first two tones, yinpíng and yángpíng. So maybe it's sort of a self-referential joke.
Although if he's Chinese, it's odd that he's called Sensei instead of Sifu. But then, he's played by a Filipino actor and wears a lucha libre mask, so whaddaya gonna do?
maybe he wears a kilt at formal events
On the first Sunday of every month, the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS), puts on a shindig known as TRIPE (Temporal Retrieval of Information Programming and Entertainment), where we set up the clubhouse as a theatre and watch videos all-day.
Yesterday, after watching the 2-part finale of Doctor Who, one of our esteemed colleagues introduced us to The Middleman via the Pilot...
We were laughing constantly, and we all shouted, "More! More!" when it was done, and so ended up watching all three aired episodes.
Yesterday, after watching the 2-part finale of Doctor Who, one of our esteemed colleagues introduced us to The Middleman via the Pilot...
We were laughing constantly, and we all shouted, "More! More!" when it was done, and so ended up watching all three aired episodes.
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Well, this week's was kinda lame, but did you notice all the Back to the Future references?
The second episode had all kinds of Dune references, since Matt Keeslar played Feyd Rautha in the SciFi mini-series.
Also, every episode has one prominent Wilhelm Scream.
The second episode had all kinds of Dune references, since Matt Keeslar played Feyd Rautha in the SciFi mini-series.
Also, every episode has one prominent Wilhelm Scream.
Really? I missed the Dune references in episode 2. What refs were there? (I caught the BTTF nods here, not to mention Vasquez Rocks and the Klaatu-esque flying saucer interior and ramp design.)
I thought this weeks was better...but for a while I wondered if this one was out of order...there was something about Wendy being shown around the Headquarters that made it feel like it should have been the second episode. If it hadn't been the reference to the MiddleJet...
The pacing was better, the snarkiness was stronger. I'm still having fun.
The pacing was better, the snarkiness was stronger. I'm still having fun.
Well, the Heir went to Frank Herbert Middle School, and at one point The Middleman introduces himself and Wendy as "Detectives Kynes and Rabban", and there was some'n in there about "the designer Shadam of the House of Corrino", and an address was given as "1965 Caladan Lane".
Oh, and be sure to check out The MiddleBlog!
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I'm with Chris in thinking that this week's episode wasn't as strong as earlier efforts. I say this because out fo the four of my family who watched it last night, we didn't laugh out loud as much as we had previously. To be sure , there were still some excellent jokes and the like. When we noticed the Vasquez Rocks set being used again, we tried to recount how many times it'd been used so far. So we are definitely enjoying the series.
Incidentally, we did pick up on the "Back to the Future" reference. It came when the Middleman introduced himself to the police as "Dr. Emmet Brown", though I forget what name he gave Wendy in that scene.
Ironically, when I watched the recording of this week's "House" rerun, it starred Thomas Wilson.
Incidentally, we did pick up on the "Back to the Future" reference. It came when the Middleman introduced himself to the police as "Dr. Emmet Brown", though I forget what name he gave Wendy in that scene.
Ironically, when I watched the recording of this week's "House" rerun, it starred Thomas Wilson.
Oh, there was more than just that! The location that Wendy beat out of the training robot was Twin Pines Mall, and I believe MM tossed Hill Valley into that intro to the cops.
Also, the call letters of the TV station were KBTTF.
But I'm often finding myself glancing down at the ABC Family logo in the corner with concern when I see things like decapitated bodies and the accompanying heads being mounted on a wall.
I think it's hilarious when they augment the bleepage with black boxes over the mouths, but some of the physical violence is a bit much for this venue, and I'm an action junkie!
I think it's hilarious when they augment the bleepage with black boxes over the mouths, but some of the physical violence is a bit much for this venue, and I'm an action junkie!
Well, the Heir went to Frank Herbert Middle School, and at one point The Middleman introduces himself and Wendy as "Detectives Kynes and Rabban", and there was some'n in there about "the designer Shadam of the House of Corrino", and an address was given as "1965 Caladan Lane".
Frank Herbert Middle School is the only one of those I would've recognized.
Natalie Morales in the Ursula Andress Dr. No bikini? I am so there!
Well, truth be told, that was the only one I caught when we were watching the eps at LASFS last Sunday.
I was kinda distracted, trying to figure out where I'd seen Matt Keeslar before.
Nobody else recognized him, and the LASFS doesn't have an Internet connection, so I couldn't look him up until I got home.
By that time, I'd forgotten about the one Dune reference I actually did notice!
Monday I went on the IMDb Boards and found a thread about it, then started smackin' myself.
But one thing I did notice right away, after seeing the name Jeremiah Chechik in the credits, was Lacey's yellow teddy bear suit as being from that terrible Avengers movie!
yellow teddy discovers the jonas brothers! [Jun. 28th, 2008|09:50 am]
Had to go down a few pages into the blog to find out I was right...
a tale of a teddy [May. 1st, 2008|06:21 am]
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Yeah--it is sorta weird that this show is on ABC Family in certain ways, but I can't imagine another network picking it up.
And I also love the black boxes...bleeping and black boxes are so much funnier than the actual curse sometimes.
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