• What Did You Watch? 2026-01-17 (Saturday)

    From Ubiquitous@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 04:30:41 2026
    I watched:

    Ben Shapiro just ENDED Gavin Newsom's career.
    California Governor Gavin Newsom just had conservative
    media star Ben Shapiro on his podcast... and it did not
    go well. I break it down in this episode of the Brad vs
    Everyone podcast.
    https://youtu.be/4Ga_LqV5wXw?si=_4SqVAca8VFZ7B5P

    The SECRET Origin Of Lex Luthor's Name!
    Lex Luthor has long been the arch nemesis of The Man Of Steel,
    Superman. However he wasn't always called Lex. We explore the
    changing history of Luthor and his origins through the golden
    age of comics and beyond. It's a trip down DC Comics memory
    lane here on Casually Comics!
    https://youtu.be/PasAkc_Tk7o?si=2jz8AeyufKGQAGni

    Why They Nuked The Franchise - Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) https://youtu.be/L71INglNj_8?si=ZZRGlL_Wml8PDSxv

    Why They Revived The Franchise - Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) https://youtu.be/FLdPUQNpkE4?si=cIDrM5aOJ6-6SVN3

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "The Brotherhood of Night". Zevon is the leader of the Brotherhood of
    Night, a tribe of werewolves that can add anyone to their ranks by
    touching them and is also targeting the evil wizard Infernus hoping to
    make the pack completely invincible.

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "Challenge of the Wizards". Thundarr, Princess Ariel, and Ookla are
    caught up in a battle between the wizards Sholow and contestants Basim, Skorpos and Chom who seek the Helmet of Power. Thundarr ends up having
    to side with the wizard Sholow when he threatens a group of villagers.

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "Valley of the Man-Apes". Simius and his fellow Man Apes assemble
    salvaged parts of a movie studio's giant robotic gorilla in a plot to terrorize the local villagers.

    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:
    "Stalker from the Stars". A spaceship containing an alien vampire lands
    on Earth. The alien captures Princess Ariel and all the villagers in
    the ruins of Lakeside Amusement Park hidden under the snow and ice of
    the Rockies as a source of its food.

    What did you watch?

    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 10:16:50 2026
    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net
    deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    What did you watch?

    I watched the pilot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. My expectations
    were so low that I ended up enjoying it. Holly Hunter is great as
    Captain Nahla Ake. She's the best new captain in some time.

    This show has too many characters. There's a whole roster of students on
    top of an entire bridge crew, and most characters' names are given only
    once, and the upshot is that I have no idea who most of them are. That's
    not unusual for a new show with a large cast, and I'll probably sort
    them out if I keep watching.

    The Federation appears to have fallen off from its glory days. Poverty
    was solved in the TNG/DS9 era, but now it's back, and a pitiful single
    mother is reduced to piracy just to feed her child. IMO, more single
    mothers should become pirates. The world would be more fun.

    There's an implausible amount of representation. Why does the captain
    have a speech impediment? Surely that's easily fixable in the far
    future. Similarly, there are multiple obese people, despite Ozempic
    already existing now. Maybe we've just decided we like diversity *that*
    much. Somebody created an overweight hologram, after all.

    The pilot seeds so many arcs that it felt chaotic. I'll try another
    episode or two to see if they can focus and I can learn everyone's
    names.

    I also watched more Bob's Burger's reruns. That was a really good show
    in its heyday. I'm now exiting that period, but it still has laughs.

    What did everyone else watch?

    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ian J. Ball@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 10:21:30 2026
    On 1/18/26 7:16 AM, The True Melissa wrote:

    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    Oh, wow, this is on Tubi?! I can see wasting some free-time on this over
    the next few weeks! I hope Tubi has it for more than just a month or something...



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ian J. Ball@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 10:43:51 2026
    On 1/18/26 7:16 AM, The True Melissa wrote:

    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    What did you watch?

    I watched the pilot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. My expectations
    were so low that I ended up enjoying it. Holly Hunter is great as
    Captain Nahla Ake. She's the best new captain in some time.
    [snip]

    What did everyone else watch?

    A very disappointing football playoff game, and another playoff game
    which the Broncos won, but in which they lost their starting QB at the
    end which probably ends their Super Bowl hopes.

    Also, UCLA got shellacked in college hoops by Ohio State. >:/

    I also watched:

    soaps - Y&R - Fri's ep. Nick (is an ass!) cuts the deal with Jack that
    Victor wouldn't/couldn't and so ends up with NuMatt Clark (oldTodd
    Manning!!) which NuNoah (oldTripp Dalton Johnson!) discovers. Meanwhile,
    the Abbotts confirm that the evil AI program is currently dismantling
    Newman Enterprises.
    GH - Thur's ep. Again, no EVOL(!) Willow in this epie (and no Alexis either). NuJack Brennan is confronted by the WSA Director dude (Brennan doesn't seem to know the dude is a double-agent). Jason and Britt go out
    on a date, and run smack dab into a disapproving Carly (with Josslyn) -
    Jason lets Britt win an axe-throwing context. Emma (dressed like a
    tramp! due to a "hot apartment") and Gio "do it".

    I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco (Lifetime) - This really didn't tell me anything
    I wasn't expecting, though this was the first film in this saga from
    "Mary Jo's POV", so I guess that makes it a little novel. I thought
    Chloe Lanier (as Mary Jo) and Maddy Hillis (as the EVOL! would-be
    murderous tart Any Fisher) did well here. I guess the one thing I didn't
    know is that Mary Jo eventually became addicted to the pain-killers she
    was taking to recover from the shooting and had to go into rehab. This
    film did do a pretty good job at getting even with Joey Buttafuoco and (somewhat ambivalently) portraying Maddy Hillis as a slutty, evil lil'
    teen bitch!



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From danny burstein@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 18:53:59 2026
    In <10kj9l8$3ld4f$2@dont-email.me> "Ian J. Ball" <ijball@mac.invalid> writes:

    [snip]

    I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco (Lifetime) - This really didn't tell me anything
    I wasn't expecting, though this was the first film in this saga from
    "Mary Jo's POV", so I guess that makes it a little novel. I thought
    Chloe Lanier (as Mary Jo) and Maddy Hillis (as the EVOL! would-be
    murderous tart Any Fisher) did well here. I guess the one thing I didn't >know is that Mary Jo eventually became addicted to the pain-killers she
    was taking to recover from the shooting and had to go into rehab. This
    film did do a pretty good job at getting even with Joey Buttafuoco and >(somewhat ambivalently) portraying Maddy Hillis as a slutty, evil lil'
    teen bitch!

    Did the show at least hint at the (alleged) connections
    and friendships between Joey and the local cops?
    Thanks

    --
    _____________________________________________________
    Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
    dannyb@panix.com
    [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 19:11:54 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 1:30:41 AM PST, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

    What did you watch?

    I watched the first episode of STARFLEET ACADEMY out of morbid curiosity. It wasn't *as* bad as I've been reading but it sure ain't good, either. A Jem'Hadar as Number One? And why in the actual frak does Holly Hunter think it's a good acting choice as captain of a starship to curl up in the captain's chair like she's in her pajamas and about to watch Netflix? And she didn't
    just do it once, but she does it throughout the *entire* episode. All she needed was a blanket and a bucket of popcorn to really complete the look.

    Then I watched THE RUNNING MAN on the Paramounts. A much more faithful adaptation of Stephen King's novella than that Schwarzenegger abomination from the 90s. All except the ending, which diverges significantly. Probably because even 25 years later, it's still too soon to fly a plane into a skyscraper as a major plot point. But overall, it was a solid movie and I'm puzzled why it wasn't more of theatrical success.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 19:20:09 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 7:16:50 AM PST, "The True Melissa" <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    What did you watch?

    I watched the pilot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. My expectations
    were so low that I ended up enjoying it. Holly Hunter is great as
    Captain Nahla Ake. She's the best new captain in some time.

    Disagree. If I was serving on that ship, I'd have serious questions about my captain's mental state if I walked onto the bridge and saw her slouching all overt the captain's chair or sitting with her legs curled up under her as if she's about to take a nap.

    This show has too many characters. There's a whole roster of students on
    top of an entire bridge crew, and most characters' names are given only once, and the upshot is that I have no idea who most of them are. That's
    not unusual for a new show with a large cast, and I'll probably sort
    them out if I keep watching.

    The Federation appears to have fallen off from its glory days. Poverty
    was solved in the TNG/DS9 era, but now it's back, and a pitiful single mother is reduced to piracy just to feed her child. IMO, more single
    mothers should become pirates. The world would be more fun.

    There's an implausible amount of representation. Why does the captain
    have a speech impediment? Surely that's easily fixable in the far
    future. Similarly, there are multiple obese people, despite Ozempic
    already existing now.

    Well, to be fair, it's becoming evident that Ozempic has the unfortunate side effect of blindness in a not insignificant amount of people. I think in the next ten years, we're going to hear a lot of Ozempic horror stories emerge.

    Maybe we've just decided we like diversity *that*
    much. Somebody created an overweight hologram, after all.

    The hologram thing was nothing but a huge eyeroll. The entire concept of the character is ridiculous and then the actress they cast leaves you saying WTF? It's like they're under the mistaken impression that the Lieutenant Tilly character from DISCOVERY was awesome and they're trying to recreate that catastrophe.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 19:26:54 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 10:43:51 AM PST, ""Ian J. Ball"" <ijball@mac.invalid>
    wrote:

    I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco (Lifetime) - This really didn't tell me anything
    I wasn't expecting, though this was the first film in this saga from
    "Mary Jo's POV", so I guess that makes it a little novel. I thought
    Chloe Lanier (as Mary Jo) and Maddy Hillis (as the EVOL! would-be
    murderous tart Any Fisher) did well here. I guess the one thing I didn't know is that Mary Jo eventually became addicted to the pain-killers she
    was taking to recover from the shooting and had to go into rehab.

    I would think with an injury like that, you'd probably need pain-killers for the rest of your life, so why would being addicted to them be a problem? And
    if you go to rehab to get off them, are you just supposed to live with intense chronic pain forever with no relief?

    This has always been my question with regard to sex addiction, too. Assuming for the sake of argument that sex addiction is an actual thing and not just an excuse to be a total wanton slut, the typical cure for any kind of addiction therapy is to never indulge in what you're addicted to ever again. Whether
    it's booze, pills, heroin, gambling, etc., you're never supposed to do it again. E.g., even taking one drink after 10 years of sobriety is considered verboten.

    So how does that work with sex? Does the rehab program actually expect you to be celibate for the rest of your life and never have sex again?



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 19:41:33 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 11:11:54 AM PST, "BTR1701" <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

    On Jan 18, 2026 at 1:30:41 AM PST, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

    What did you watch?

    I watched the first episode of STARFLEET ACADEMY out of morbid curiosity. It wasn't *as* bad as I've been reading but it sure ain't good, either. A Jem'Hadar as Number One?

    I forgot to mention, not only is a Jem'Hadar serving as a Starfleet officer, but it's apparently female.

    DS9 established that the Jem'Hadar are sexless. They appear masculine because of their genetically-enhanced warrior physique (and, let's face it, the male actors who play them) but they have no sex. So why does this one appear female and even have boobs? There would be no biological function for breasts on a Jem'Hadar. The species doesn't reproduce sexually, so there would be no need
    to nurse the young, nor would they function as a visual sexual attractant for mates, like they do with humans.

    Add this in to Arthur's comments about how they've apparently completely retconned Betazoids and I don't know how much longer I can stick with this
    even to snark at it. They made a big show of honoring Trek history with their wall of heroes listing pretty much every character in the TREK canon, but then completely ignore that history or actively change it whenever it gets in the way of the plot du jour.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 15:38:46 2026
    Verily, in article <10kjc5u$3mflb$4@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:

    I would think with an injury like that, you'd probably need pain-killers for the rest of your life, so why would being addicted to them be a problem? And if you go to rehab to get off them, are you just supposed to live with intense
    chronic pain forever with no relief?

    This was what Gregory House always said. "I don't have a drug problem; I
    have a pain problem." I don't remember what he did for the pain when he finally did kick the drugs.


    This has always been my question with regard to sex addiction, too. Assuming for the sake of argument that sex addiction is an actual thing and not just an
    excuse to be a total wanton slut, the typical cure for any kind of addiction therapy is to never indulge in what you're addicted to ever again. Whether it's booze, pills, heroin, gambling, etc., you're never supposed to do it again. E.g., even taking one drink after 10 years of sobriety is considered verboten.

    So how does that work with sex? Does the rehab program actually expect you to be celibate for the rest of your life and never have sex again?

    With food addiction, recovery is usually modeled as sticking to a food
    plan. With sex addiction, it's usually modeled as having sex only with
    one's spouse or other official partner, sans kinks.

    This is what I have read in the literature of Stepper groups, at least.

    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 15:40:58 2026
    Verily, in article <10kjb9q$3mflb$2@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:
    And why in the actual frak does Holly Hunter think
    it's a good acting choice as captain of a starship to curl up in the captain's
    chair like she's in her pajamas and about to watch Netflix? And she didn't just do it once, but she does it throughout the *entire* episode. All she needed was a blanket and a bucket of popcorn to really complete the look.


    Now, see, I enjoyed that touch. I often sit curled up, so it humanized
    her to me, and it also showed me that she's either completely
    comfortable on her bridge or indifferent to whether she stays there.

    When a chair is too large, curling into it is often a comfort solution.
    A too-large chair is actually worse than a couch, strange though it
    seems.

    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 20:52:24 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 12:40:58 PM PST, "The True Melissa" <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <10kjb9q$3mflb$2@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:

    And why in the actual frak does Holly Hunter think
    it's a good acting choice as captain of a starship to curl up in the
    captain's
    chair like she's in her pajamas and about to watch Netflix? And she didn't >> just do it once, but she does it throughout the *entire* episode. All she >> needed was a blanket and a bucket of popcorn to really complete the look. >>
    Now, see, I enjoyed that touch. I often sit curled up, so it humanized
    her to me, and it also showed me that she's either completely
    comfortable on her bridge or indifferent to whether she stays there.

    It's not about *her* feelings, it's about the command presence she projects
    and a captain who behaved like that on the bridge would not have the
    confidence of her crew.

    When a chair is too large, curling into it is often a comfort solution.
    A too-large chair is actually worse than a couch, strange though it
    seems.




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 16:04:38 2026
    Verily, in article <10kjbp9$3mflb$3@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:
    Well, to be fair, it's becoming evident that Ozempic has the unfortunate side effect of blindness in a not insignificant amount of people. I think in the next ten years, we're going to hear a lot of Ozempic horror stories emerge.

    Whoa, really? I hadn't heard that. I'll poke around.

    Maybe we've just decided we like diversity *that*
    much. Somebody created an overweight hologram, after all.

    The hologram thing was nothing but a huge eyeroll. The entire concept of the character is ridiculous and then the actress they cast leaves you saying WTF? It's like they're under the mistaken impression that the Lieutenant Tilly character from DISCOVERY was awesome and they're trying to recreate that catastrophe.

    They prefer "photonics." I'm hoping it's satire. I'm pretty sure it
    isn't, and I'm afraid they're going to make lame parallels to LLMs.

    I still may watch a few more. I think it has potential despite a few
    obvious flaws, and I do like the Captain/Chancellor so far.

    It doesn't feel much like Trek, and yet the Trek label is probably the
    biggest factor in my having watched it. That's exactly why they keep
    tying new shows to old ones: it works.


    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 16:24:02 2026
    On Sun, 18 Jan 2026 19:11:54 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
    wrote:

    On Jan 18, 2026 at 1:30:41 AM PST, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

    What did you watch?

    I watched the first episode of STARFLEET ACADEMY out of morbid curiosity. It >wasn't *as* bad as I've been reading but it sure ain't good, either. A >Jem'Hadar as Number One? And why in the actual frak does Holly Hunter think >it's a good acting choice as captain of a starship to curl up in the captain's >chair like she's in her pajamas and about to watch Netflix? And she didn't >just do it once, but she does it throughout the *entire* episode. All she >needed was a blanket and a bucket of popcorn to really complete the look.

    I had the same thought. While Starfleet may not be the military they
    have many of the same attributes with uniforms and expected
    appearances which would almost certainly follow for the Captain. So
    her curling up on the captain's chair to read her book made no sense
    to me as that sets the completely wrong standard for her people.

    Then I watched THE RUNNING MAN on the Paramounts. A much more faithful >adaptation of Stephen King's novella than that Schwarzenegger abomination from >the 90s. All except the ending, which diverges significantly. Probably because >even 25 years later, it's still too soon to fly a plane into a skyscraper as a >major plot point. But overall, it was a solid movie and I'm puzzled why it >wasn't more of theatrical success.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 16:27:29 2026
    On Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:52:24 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
    wrote:

    On Jan 18, 2026 at 12:40:58 PM PST, "The True Melissa" ><thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <10kjb9q$3mflb$2@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com
    deliver unto us this message:

    And why in the actual frak does Holly Hunter think
    it's a good acting choice as captain of a starship to curl up in the
    captain's
    chair like she's in her pajamas and about to watch Netflix? And she didn't >>> just do it once, but she does it throughout the *entire* episode. All she >>> needed was a blanket and a bucket of popcorn to really complete the look. >>>
    Now, see, I enjoyed that touch. I often sit curled up, so it humanized
    her to me, and it also showed me that she's either completely
    comfortable on her bridge or indifferent to whether she stays there.

    It's not about *her* feelings, it's about the command presence she projects >and a captain who behaved like that on the bridge would not have the >confidence of her crew.

    I could see her doing that curling up if she was in her quarters or
    if she had an office off the side of the bridge. Just not on the
    bridge.

    When a chair is too large, curling into it is often a comfort solution.
    A too-large chair is actually worse than a couch, strange though it
    seems.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 16:31:47 2026
    On Sun, 18 Jan 2026 19:20:09 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
    wrote:

    On Jan 18, 2026 at 7:16:50 AM PST, "The True Melissa" ><thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net
    deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    What did you watch?

    I watched the pilot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. My expectations
    were so low that I ended up enjoying it. Holly Hunter is great as
    Captain Nahla Ake. She's the best new captain in some time.

    Disagree. If I was serving on that ship, I'd have serious questions about my >captain's mental state if I walked onto the bridge and saw her slouching all >overt the captain's chair or sitting with her legs curled up under her as if >she's about to take a nap.

    I like her as an actress. She has a great presence that is likely to
    draw in viewers. That said, the choices made don't work well in her
    role as a captain like curling up in the captain's chair.

    This show has too many characters. There's a whole roster of students on
    top of an entire bridge crew, and most characters' names are given only
    once, and the upshot is that I have no idea who most of them are. That's
    not unusual for a new show with a large cast, and I'll probably sort
    them out if I keep watching.

    The Federation appears to have fallen off from its glory days. Poverty
    was solved in the TNG/DS9 era, but now it's back, and a pitiful single
    mother is reduced to piracy just to feed her child. IMO, more single
    mothers should become pirates. The world would be more fun.

    There's an implausible amount of representation. Why does the captain
    have a speech impediment? Surely that's easily fixable in the far
    future. Similarly, there are multiple obese people, despite Ozempic
    already existing now.

    Well, to be fair, it's becoming evident that Ozempic has the unfortunate side >effect of blindness in a not insignificant amount of people. I think in the >next ten years, we're going to hear a lot of Ozempic horror stories emerge.

    Maybe we've just decided we like diversity *that*
    much. Somebody created an overweight hologram, after all.

    The hologram thing was nothing but a huge eyeroll. The entire concept of the >character is ridiculous and then the actress they cast leaves you saying WTF? >It's like they're under the mistaken impression that the Lieutenant Tilly >character from DISCOVERY was awesome and they're trying to recreate that >catastrophe.

    I don't have a problem with the idea of the character. I do have a
    problem with them sending a character that is apparently no more than
    four years old off to the academy. Even with it being a created
    personality it's clear that they are going with the idea that she's a
    very inexperienced character. Would have made more sense for her to be
    much older and experienced before being sent off to the academy.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 21:41:39 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 1:31:47 PM PST, "shawn" <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:

    On Sun, 18 Jan 2026 19:20:09 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
    wrote:

    On Jan 18, 2026 at 7:16:50 AM PST, "The True Melissa"
    <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <UBI20260117@dont-email.me>, did weberm@polaris.net >>> deliver unto us this message:

    I watched:
    THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN:

    Looks like this is on Tubi. I'll check it out, since you seem to be
    enjoying it.

    What did you watch?

    I watched the pilot of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. My expectations
    were so low that I ended up enjoying it. Holly Hunter is great as
    Captain Nahla Ake. She's the best new captain in some time.

    Disagree. If I was serving on that ship, I'd have serious questions about my >> captain's mental state if I walked onto the bridge and saw her slouching all >> overt the captain's chair or sitting with her legs curled up under her as if >> she's about to take a nap.

    I like her as an actress. She has a great presence that is likely to
    draw in viewers. That said, the choices made don't work well in her
    role as a captain like curling up in the captain's chair.

    This show has too many characters. There's a whole roster of students on >>> top of an entire bridge crew, and most characters' names are given only >>> once, and the upshot is that I have no idea who most of them are. That's >>> not unusual for a new show with a large cast, and I'll probably sort
    them out if I keep watching.

    The Federation appears to have fallen off from its glory days. Poverty >>> was solved in the TNG/DS9 era, but now it's back, and a pitiful single >>> mother is reduced to piracy just to feed her child. IMO, more single
    mothers should become pirates. The world would be more fun.

    There's an implausible amount of representation. Why does the captain
    have a speech impediment? Surely that's easily fixable in the far
    future. Similarly, there are multiple obese people, despite Ozempic
    already existing now.

    Well, to be fair, it's becoming evident that Ozempic has the unfortunate side
    effect of blindness in a not insignificant amount of people. I think in the >> next ten years, we're going to hear a lot of Ozempic horror stories emerge. >>
    Maybe we've just decided we like diversity *that*
    much. Somebody created an overweight hologram, after all.

    The hologram thing was nothing but a huge eyeroll. The entire concept of the >> character is ridiculous and then the actress they cast leaves you saying WTF?
    It's like they're under the mistaken impression that the Lieutenant Tilly
    character from DISCOVERY was awesome and they're trying to recreate that
    catastrophe.

    I don't have a problem with the idea of the character. I do have a
    problem with them sending a character that is apparently no more than
    four years old off to the academy. Even with it being a created
    personality it's clear that they are going with the idea that she's a
    very inexperienced character. Would have made more sense for her to be
    much older and experienced before being sent off to the academy.

    Or, given that her entire being is programmed from the start, why not just program her with all the knowledge and experience of a Starfleet officer and skip the academy altogether?

    Did Data have to attend Starfleet Academy? And if so, why? Just like the hologram, he could have been programmed with or absorbed all the knowledge
    that would be imparted by the academy in a matter of minutes.



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 16:56:29 2026
    Verily, in article <10kjh68$3p1uq$1@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:
    It's not about *her* feelings, it's about the command presence she projects and a captain who behaved like that on the bridge would not have the confidence of her crew.


    We'll see, I guess. Given her lack of experience, I can see why they
    might lack confidence.

    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 17:07:41 2026
    Verily, in article <10kjk2i$3ppkr$1@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:
    Or, given that her entire being is programmed from the start, why not just program her with all the knowledge and experience of a Starfleet officer and skip the academy altogether?


    She was programmed to feel seventeen and then age from there, according
    to her conversation with the Doctor.

    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From BTR1701@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 22:49:38 2026
    On Jan 18, 2026 at 2:07:41 PM PST, "The True Melissa" <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    Verily, in article <10kjk2i$3ppkr$1@dont-email.me>, did atropos@mac.com deliver unto us this message:

    Or, given that her entire being is programmed from the start, why not just >> program her with all the knowledge and experience of a Starfleet officer and
    skip the academy altogether?

    She was programmed to feel seventeen and then age from there, according
    to her conversation with the Doctor.

    Yes, but why?

    Why purposely create her so that she needs to take up time, resources, and a seat at the academy which could go to someone else who actually needs it when they don't have to?



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Sun Jan 18 23:29:33 2026
    BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:

    I forgot to mention, not only is a Jem'Hadar serving as a Starfleet officer, >but it's apparently female.

    bonk

    DS9 established that the Jem'Hadar are sexless. They appear masculine because >of their genetically-enhanced warrior physique (and, let's face it, the male >actors who play them) but they have no sex. So why does this one appear female >and even have boobs? There would be no biological function for breasts on a >Jem'Hadar. The species doesn't reproduce sexually, so there would be no need >to nurse the young, nor would they function as a visual sexual attractant for >mates, like they do with humans.

    They are all test-tube babies! Don't they come out as warriors ready to
    enter battle?

    . . .

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)