The 12th Smegtastic Red Dwarf Thread

[Christopher]

...the often unrecognizable Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy.

That one didn't bother me, because the character was a digital construct anyway. I mean, heck, the goal of the original TRON was to use conventional animation techniques to try to make live actors look like they were computer sprites made of light, in the limited way that they were able to. The fully digital Bridges in Legacy was basically the real thing that they were trying to approximate back then. Honestly, I feel the whole Grid portion of the movie should've been a CGI cartoon; that would've been truer to the goals of the original filmmakers.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

That probably would have worked better. My big problem is that, perhaps because Clu had so much screen time, so the effect was sustained over a longer period of time, there were times when he looked less like Jeff Bridges and started reminding me more of some other celebrity like Val Kilmer or Joel Edgerton, which I'm sure was not the intent. Still, a minor flaw in what was otherwise a visually dazzling movie (that completely fails to recreate even a fraction of the experience on home video).

 

[Christopher]

Still, a minor flaw in what was otherwise a visually dazzling movie (that completely fails to recreate even a fraction of the experience on home video).

I found it visually underwhelming, because it was so drab and colorless. It made the mistake of painting the whole world in the same two-tone scheme that was used strictly for the characters in the original film's otherwise quite colorful Grid. Although I did find it interesting that LED lighting has advanced to the point that they could physically equip the sets and costumes with the kind of interior lighting that had to be simulated with backlighting on an animation stand in the original film.

I could say more, but we're way off-topic now. I did write a blog post about it once, though: https://christopherlbennett.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/tron-vs-tron-legacy-also-tangled/

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

My DVD player was out of commission for a year and I finally got it replaced, so I'm finally caught up with Season XII. I'd say that it's better than Season XI but not as good as Season X. Just as I prefer the claustrophobic bottle episodes of Season I over their later Starbug adventures, I think that Season X was the best of the new batch because they had so little money.

As for Season XII...

I really enjoyed Hitler in "Cured," as well as the poker scene at the beginning.

"Siliconia" was decent if only for seeing the rest of the cast doing their best Kryten impressions.

"Time Wave" was probably the weakest episode of the season. As a satire of modern political correctness, it's pretty thin. And given how much of the show is traditionally based in insult humor, it didn't really give the regular cast much to work with. And we've already seen episodes with physical manifestations of Rimmer's inner demons in "Terrorform" and "Officer Rimmer." Still, I loved the bit where Rimmer starts to quote a Space Corps Directive and then cuts off Kryten before he can correct him.

After sitting through 2 years of the lazy Trump-bashing that passes for political satire these days, "Mechocracy" was a refreshing throwback, a timeless spoof of the process rather than the specific personalities. (Granted, there may be some more pointed jabs at specific British politicians that I didn't catch as an American, but I think the archetypes are pretty universal.)

"M-Corp" didn't completely work for me. And I thought it was weird that they would put this episode right next to "Skipper" when both episodes have major moments of Season I nostalgia. I would have spread them further apart.

"Skipper" was my favorite episode, mostly because of Mr. Rat. I knew that it was Danny John-Jules based on how well he moved in that rat suit but I was stunned to find out that he did the voice too. He sounded so different. It's just such a surreal moment that I find myself randomly laughing about it in the middle of the day. "Would you like some cheese sauce with your cheese?" "HELL YEAH!"
It's fun to have Holly back but the lighting on him was atrocious. He looked like Darth Vader with his helmet off. Rimmer looked pretty bad too in the alternate universe where he was the computer. Couldn't they have come up with a warmer, softer lighting setup? Or else shoot him at a lower resolution? Still, I always miss his deadpan delivery. "When is this? Where am I?" "It's Monday and you're in a corridor."