Goosebumps the movie, Blake's 7, One Punch Man

[thistlechaser]

It feels like a wasted weekend. Other than some light shopping on Saturday, I didn't do much other than watch stuff. Work is rough right now, and I just needed some downtime to rest my brain.

I started out trying One Punch Man (an anime series). I've heard nothing but good things about it from people, but it just didn't work at all for me. I didn't even make it through one single ep. I didn't hate it, but the humor fell totally flat for me, and I'm just not interested in anime much anymore.

An author I know loves Blake's 7, and I've been meaning to give that a try, so I loaded it up next. It's a British sci-fi show from the late 70s through early 80s. It wasn't bad, there was nothing wrong with it, but after four and a half eps it hadn't hooked me at all, so I gave up on it. The best part about the show was discovering how heavily the author's work referenced the show -- everything from the governments being named the same thing (The Administration), to the name of groups (like the police), and, after seeing Blake's 7, I believe even the writer's main characters are based on characters from the show.

Lastly, with very low expectations, I checked out Goosebumps (the movie). I was seriously surprised at how much I enjoyed it! It alternated between cute and sweet. (And I bet I would have liked it even more if I had read any of the books.)

Jack Black played R.L Stine, and I actually... liked him in the role. I've never liked Black in anything, he tends to set my teeth on edge, so I'm really surprised that he worked for me here.

Goosebumps may have been aimed at "tweens" (hate that word), but it worked very well for adult me as well.

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

LOL so random, my coworker watched 'Goosebumps' this weekend too and was telling me about it. Pretty much said the same thing as you!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Good to know it's not just me!

In addition to a sweet story, it had a nice message about books and writing stories, too. All in all, it really was a nice, positive movie.

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Big "Blake's 7" fan myself. And as soon as I read the author you like is a huge fan of it, I knew exactly who you meant. Manna Francis, right?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep, you're right! I've been meaning to check the show out forever, based only on how much she likes it.

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

I've figured that one character is Avon (probably Torreth, but I'm not putting money on that), and Carnac is *definitely* Cornell, who appeared in one whole episode of B7. I'm not entirely sure if Warwick is Blake or Tarrant (who shows up in later series'), as I don't know what Manna's original 'ships in B7 were. :) And I think Sara is Jenna.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I got very Warwick pings off Blake, yeah. There was a blond guy in the first ep, but I don't think we caught his name, that made me strongly think of Torreth, too. He had an odd, almost scary, intensity about him.

It amused me that even the black uniforms likely came from the show!

Now I want to go back to the series just so I can spot more Admin elements!

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

I went and read her Tumblr and she said that Warrick looks like Avon which now I can't unsee, so my mental images of W and T are totally confused!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh huh, that's not how I pictured Warrick at all. I mean heck, she described W as having "too much nose" which seems to fit Blake.

Oh well! It's good to know anyway.

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Same here, and you're right, Blake really does have too much nose! Her reply to the question is here.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I really should be more active on tumblr, I'd love to see more info like that.

" (Someday I ought to put together a ‘if you really want to know what inspired the Administration, watch these episodes’ playlist.)"

And that for sure!

I guess my head cannon is just going to be wrong, I can't picture W as Paul Darrow at all.

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Agreed--my headcanon will always be Toreth as Avon, especially as in seasons 3 and 4 Avon wore a lot (and I mean A LOT) of black leather, often with studs. Apparently, the wardrobe department got his costumes from sex shops in London, and one shop was so pleased they gifted Paul Darrow who played Avon with a leather g-string (thong) to complete one outfit. He did in fact wear this, and when asked why, he said, "Well, it was nice and warm."

To me, Warrick will always be a mash-up of Blake and Tarrant. I can't imagine him any other way!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I wonder if "the wardrobe department got his costumes from sex shops in London" is the reason we got the sex shop visits in the stories?

I think I have to go back to watching it, maybe this weekend. Maybe if I give it another chance, it'll hook me and I can watch the whole thing.

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

The further on you go, you'll meet the regular villains, Servalan and Travis. They're great fun and Servalan is particularly good value.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

There's a movie on Netflix about working in Antarctica! I watched it yesterday because I love that blog you've linked to a couple of times. It's called Antarctica: A Year on the Ice.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oooh thanks! I'll check it it. I love that blog so much, even though I want to shake the person who posts the pictures since it seems she doesn't want to be there...

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Blimey. I can remember Blake's 7. It must seem very dated now, but it was very popular back in the day.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Very dated (their computers and weapons were amusing!), but it still really worked as a show. The dated-ness didn't really take away from it.

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Just mentioning it is a nostalgia trip to my childhood!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I think I have guessed the author of whom you speak!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

If you want confirmation, check up a few comments. :)

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check out goosebumps...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy it as well. :)

[kelen.livejournal.com]

Sorry you didn't like One Punch Man! ..But I don't blame you at all for not liking anime. That was like the only one I enjoyed in many years, and I found I hated the specials for the show. Was so disappointed. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It's okay, thanks for recommending it anyway. Wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you had!