TrueGentleman
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Posts
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"On every world, wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact mid-point, everybody stops and turns and hugs. As if to say, 'Well done. Well done, everyone! We're halfway out of the dark.' Back on Earth we call this Christmas. Or the Winter Solstice. "Doctor Who, "A Christmas Carol"
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Quote:Here's hoping that Paragon will listen to the community about releasing restricted sales on themed costumes because at the moment, they're sticking to the original plan of cycling limited availability ones.Originally Posted by SilentSpy
Is there any chance that the Halloween costume bundle that was released in the Paragon Market this October will ever make its way back into the market? Hopefully before next Halloween?
Paragon Studios' marketing department should instead consider offering the so-called holiday-themed items at a reduced price during the event and then keep them available at full price for the rest of the year.
In the real world, holiday items are offered to coincide with the event, produced in the carefully estimated amounts to meet demand, and then greatly reduced afterward to clear whatever remaining stock in time for the next holiday. None of that matters with virtual goods since production and inventory aren't concerns at all and marketing/advertising is only a nominal cost.
Instead of coming up with new sales tactics (*cough*SuperPacks*cough*), Paragon should first sort out the best ways to sell its regular items, e.g. year-round. -
I'll certainly see it since it's one of my most favorite spy novels, although Gary Oldman, an actor I normally like, is gratingly cast against type. The least he could have done is pull a DeNiro-esque weight gain for the role instead of wearing a modest fat suit. As it is, I'm worried he'll overdo the sepulchral side of Alec Guinness's performance and neglect the fussy, comic side of Smiley's character.
If we're playing Want, Settle, Get for casting Smiley, I would have chosen Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, and Bernard Cribbins. Oh well. -
Quote:Now that you mention it...Originally Posted by Lazarillo
Wasn't that similarly conveniently timed with the release of a certain Distinguished Competitor, though?
And the timing is a month after a particular occasion in both cases. -
Quote:Well, we did have the Seven Years of Super Rewards Vanguard Loyalty pack for subscriptions maintained for approximately the same time early this year as the upcoming 2012 Salute to Statesman Loyalty Program. It seems like a comparatively sensible marketing tactic to hold revenue steady for the first quarter.Originally Posted by Lazarillo
The Loyalty Program, on the other hand...
EDIT: The old-school Loyalty program for month-to-month subscriptions has been superseded by the Paragon Market. Why pay for a subscription now only to receive the Reward Tokens later when they're delivered immediately with purchased Paragon Points? -
Quote:I mean, it's important for Doctor Who, the programme, for the Doctor, the character, to bid goodbye to his companions, one way or another.Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
It's important for Doctor Who to bid goodbye to his companions, one way or another.
The series has to keep the Doctor moving along, whether traveling, fleeing, or wandering lost. That can't hold if the Doctor is allowed to pop in and visit his favorite companions like a beloved uncle. Russell Davies was willing to buck that convention once in "School Reunion" when Sarah Jane Smith came back, but he then went overboard, as usual, having the Doctor reunite with classic companions and new ones on and off until we had to endure that dreadfully mawkish montage for David Tennant's drawn-out regeneration scene.
It's a bit disconcerting that Moffat didn't think "The Wedding of River Song" was a strong enough note on which to end the Ponds' story, but it sounds as though he's planning to set the bar higher, not move back the goalposts, so to speak. -
Quote:I agree, but I suspect Moffat wants to provide real closure since companions never stayed away for long in the Russell Davis era. It's important for Doctor Who to bid goodbye to his companions, one way or another.Originally Posted by Lazarillo
Honestly, though, I feel like the spot where series 6 ended...they really don't need to be back in series 7 anyway. It was a good closing point for them.
As the first Doctor said to his granddaughter, "One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan." It's all the more touching since everyone watching the programme knew he was never going to come back but that he needed to say farewell.
Let's hope Rory and Amy don't get the Adric treatment. -
In a recent radio interview, Karen Gillan sounds like she's taking the right approach:
"I know the time is going to come when Rory and Amy have to leave. Its inevitable and that will make me really, really sad. But thats the nature of the show and whats so good about it. What keeps it exciting is the fact that its reinvented all the time with new people. I think thats a really great part of the show, so I will welcome the new companion with open arms."
There's also a lot of hints for next season in the new Doctor Who's Brilliant Book annual:
Quote:Karen Gillan:
Karen says she is very happy about her role in Series 7 but adds: When I leave properly, thats it. I dont want Amy to pop up again every so often, because for me it would take away from the big, emotional goodbye. Im definite on that.
On whether Amy could be killed off: I think it could be done, if you tackled it right. Not that I wouldnt love to pop back every so often. But just in terms of how its remembered once shes gone, shes gone. So death could be an option.
Matt Smith:
On the first two episodes: Steven told me the pitch for episodes 1 and 2 and its so brilliant. I got really excited. Its got lots of things I like. There are some extraordinary times ahead.
On his 2012 and beyond: I get to go into the 50th anniversary which is really cool. Thats incredibly exciting.
Steven Moffat:
On the Doctors fame: Were going to explore that properly next series. The Doctors project is to sort of erase himself from history because theres only so many times you can stand and boast at Stonehenge.
On the heavier story arc: I dont think Doctor Who will ever be as arc-driven again.
On River: You realise youve learned nothing. She may or may not be married to the Doctor, depending on whether that was actually a marriage ceremony, or whether it counts if hes inside a giant robot replica of himself.
On his future as showrunner: Even though Im more tired than Ive ever been, I dont feel any impulse to leave. -
Quote:Well, they also refer to Michael Bay's Razzie-winning Transformers movies as "Trannies", so you can't say they don't go the extra distance to lower themselves to, or past, the level of their material.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
I can't believe they feel they have the right to call out the worst movies of the year with headlines like "Alvin and the blow-chunks".
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Quote:The difference between mere bollocks and total bollocks may appear subtle...Originally Posted by Paladiamors
This is a show about an alien time lord traveling around in a time machine disguised like a police box, and you think THAT'S total bollocks?
Put it this way, it took years in the classic series to accumulate the amount of bollocks that RTD would stuff into a single one of his grandiose two-part season finales. He'd typically throw out tons of established canon, throw in an equal amount of new bollocks, and then hit the reset button hard.
Stefan Moffat is a conservative traditionalist by comparison. After Gillan stated her intention "When I leave properly, that’s it. I don’t want Amy to pop up again every so often, because for me it would take away from the big, emotional goodbye. I’m definite on that.", he's added "The final days of the Ponds are coming. I'm not telling you when or how, but that story is going to come to a heartbreaking end." -
The Associate Press reports:
Quote:With Jerry Robinson dead recently, how many links to the Golden Age of comics do we have left?Captain America Co-creator Joe Simon Dies in NYC
By MATT MOORE, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Joe Simon, who along with Jack Kirby co-created Captain America and was one of the comic book industry's most revered writers, artists and editors, has died at age 98.
Simon's family relayed word of his death Thursday, posting a short statement on Facebook and telling The Associated Press through a spokesman that Simon died Wednesday night in New York City after a brief illness. {...}
Among Simon's creations was a partnership with Kirby, a comic book artist and illustrator. The duo worked hand-in-glove for years and from their fertile imaginations sprang a trove of characters, heroes, villains and misfits for several comic book companies in their Golden Age of the 1940s, including Timely, the forerunner of today's Marvel Comics; National Periodicals, the forerunner of DC; and Fawcett, among others.
The characters the two created included the Newsboy Legion, the Boy Commandos and scores more, such as Blue Bolt.{...}
For Timely, the duo created Captain America, debuting on the cover of "Captain America Comics" No. 1 with the champion of liberty throwing a solid right-hook at Adolf Hitler in December 1940, a year before the United States entered World War II.
"Jack and I read the newspapers and knew what was going on over in Europe. And there he was Adolf Hitler, with his ridiculous moustache, high-pitched ranting and goose-stepping followers. He was the perfect bad guy, much better than anything we could have made up, so what we needed was to create his ultimate counterpart," Simon told the AP.
"Cap is one of the great comic book icons, and as dangerous as the world is today more than it was in the 1940s we need him around more than ever to act as our moral compass," Simon said.
Ed Brubaker, whose recent runs writing Captain America for Marvel have been heaped with critical acclaim, called Simon a "pioneer in comics, a mover-and-shaker and probably far ahead of his time."
He said in an email that he even revamped a Simon-created character for his first assignment at DC.
"I personally owe my career in a few ways to Joe Simon my first DC gig was a revamp of his 'Prez,' the teenage president, and I've spent almost eight years writing Captain America for Marvel," Brubaker said. "It's a sad day."
Farewell and thanks, Mr. Simon. -
Quote:Well, not the Doctor per se, but the redirected regeneration clone of him that was combined from his severed hand (from The Christmas Invasion) and Donna's presence (as a time traveller) into a Time Lord-human hybrid.Originally Posted by Paladiamors
Personally I think she was just ticked off that Rose ended up with the Doctor.
Oh, that's right, Russell Davies had engaged his Total Bollocks Overdrive when writing about Rose's return. -
Quote:Here's the crux of the problem determining this project's potential appeal: Many of the movies on your earlier post's list are, not to put to fine a point on it, bad. They're not even so-bad-they're-good bad, just bad.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
Does this sound like a project that other people would be interested in reading?
With that in mind, what are your reasons for your watching them, and what are the potential enticements in your writing about them?
Also, to re-emphasize mousedroid's post above, there are enough independent comic book movie adaptations to broaden your scope and add some variety. A few such movies as Heavy Metal, Crumb, American Splendor, Persepolis, or Ghost World would round out your project far better than, say, the multiple Punisher flops.
Good luck! -
Quote:Weak is a nice way of describing this year at the movies. Even though there are a lot of good ones with excellent performances among these nominees, it's rather obvious that their release dates tend to be clustered around the current 'award season', as though entrenching after a retreat from the dreck earlier this year.Originally Posted by MentalMaden
For those who care about this stuff (yes I know how some of you feel about awards season), I think it was a pretty weak year at the theater and the real magic was on the small screen.
(As for TV, the real magic is specifically on cable, not broadcast.)
Oh well, at least the Razzies are going to have a surfeit of nominees this year. -
Watching all those unseen movies of the 1980-1995 vintage sounds like only the kind of wacky activity one would do after losing a bet (which, incidentally, was a staple of mediocre comedies from that era). Sorting by some kind of quality consensus would make this project less Herculean, so here's the same list sorted in descending order by the aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, a site that's rather more lenient but otherwise more comprehensive than its rivals.
Obviously, these scores do not factor in pop cultural touchstones, nostalgia, genre representation, cult status, Ah-nuld, sarcasm, individual idiosyncracy, so-bad-it's-goodness, or the sheer abitrariness inherent in assigning numerical scores to written reviews.
98% Airplane! (1980)
* Represents an audience score in the absence of a critical one.
98% Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
98% Risky Business (1983)
98% Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
97% Back to the Future (1985)
97% Goodfellas (1990)
97% Schindler's List (1993)
97% WarGames (1983)
96% Big (1988)
96% The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
96% Victor Victoria (1982)
95% A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
95% Night Shift (1982)
95% The Secret of NIMH (1982)
95% This is Spinal Tap (1984)
95% Time Bandits (1981)
94% 48 Hrs. (1982)
94% The Fugitive (1993)
93% Fright Night (1985)
92% Aladdin (1992)
92% Beauty and the Beast (1991)
91% Breakfast Club (1985)
91% Edward Scissorhands (1990)
91% Stand by Me (1986)
91% The Breakfast Club (1985)
91% The Fly (1986)
91% True Romance (1993)
90% Raising Arizona (1987)
89% Lik Wong (Riki-Oh - The Story of Ricky) (1991)
89% Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
89% The Lion King (1994)
89% Trading Places (1983)
88% American Werewolf in London (1981)
88% Back to School (1986)
88% Sixteen Candles (1984)
88% Stripes (1981)
88% They Live! (1988)
87% Poltergeist (1982)
87% Private Benjamin (1980)
86% Absence of Malice (1981)
86% Dead Poets Society (1989)
86% Heat (1995)
86% Platoon (1986)
86% Romancing the Stone (1984)
86% The Neverending Story (1984)
85% Dead Alive (1992)
85% Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
85% Night of the Comet (1984)
85% Seven (Se7en) (1995)
84% A Few Good Men (1992)
84% Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
82% Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
82% Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
82% Ghost (1990)
82% The City of Lost Children (1995)
81% Beetlejuice (1988)
81% Pretty in Pink (1986)
81% Sneakers (1992)
81% The Untouchables (1987)
80% Casino (1995)
80% Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
80% The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
79% Excalibur (1981)
78% Project X (1987)
77% Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
76% The Firm (1993)
76% The Lost Boys (1987)
75% Caddyshack (1980)
75% The Mask (1994)
74% Purple Rain (1984)
74% The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
74% The Last Starfighter (1984)
71% Back to the Future III (1990)
71% Forrest Gump (1994)
71% Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)
71% Stir Crazy (1980)
71% The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
70% Clue (1985)
69% Naked Lunch (1991)
65% Christine (1983)
65% Clash of the Titans (1981)
65% Coming to America (1988)
65% Funny Farm (1988)
65% Pink Floyd the Wall (1982)
64% Back to the Future II (1989)
64% Stephen King's It (1990)
63% Goonies (1985)
63% Hellraiser (1987)
63% Ladyhawke (1985)
63% Toxic Avenger (1984)
62% The Howling (1981)
60% Friday the 13th (1980)
60% One Crazy Summer (1985)
60% The Rocketeer (1991)
59% Cujo (1983)
59% Enemy Mine (1985)
58% The Last Unicorn (1982)
58% Weird Science (1985)
57% A Goofy Movie (1995)
57% Lifeforce (1985)
56% Red Heat (1988) (not Dead Heat)
55% Blind Fury (1989)
55% Short Circuit (1986)
55% The Quick and the Dead (1995)
54% Spaceballs (1987)
53% Red Dawn (1984)
50% Bachelor Party (1984)
50% Legend (1985)
50% Pet Sematary (1989)
48% Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
47% Johnny Dangerously (1984)
47% Jumanji (1995)
47% Lawnmower Man (1992)
46% Willow (1988)
44% Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
42% Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
41% Firestarter (1984)
41% Xanadu (1980)
40% Rawhead Rex (1986)
40% The Great Outdoors (1988)
39% A View to a Kill (1985)
39% Tango and Cash (1989)
38% Maniac Cop (1988)
38% Short Circuit 2 (1988)
36% Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze (1991)
35% Krull (1983)
34% Mortal Kombat (1995)
33% Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
32% Porky's (1982)
31% Hackers (1995)
29% Hook (1991)
27% Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time (1993)
20% Caveman (1981)
20% Suburban Commando (1991)
20% Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
19% Red Sonja (1985)
17% Brain Dead (1990)
16% Howard the Duck (1986)
14% Sidekicks (1992)
13% Cobra (1986)
9% Nothing but Trouble (1991)
7% Drop Dead Fred (1991)
*84% The Last Dragon (1985)
*45% D.C. Cab (1983)
*45% Doctor Detroit (1983)
*40% It Came from Hollywood (1982)
*38% Dollman (1991)
*36% Robot Jox (1990)
*31% Demonic Toys (1992)
*29% Robot Jox 2: Robot Wars (1993)
*28% Dollman vs Demonic Toys (1993)
**n/a Kung Fu From Beyond the Grave (1982)
** No critical or audience score
For those obsessed with numbers, forumites' recommendations of unseen movies average 67% critically. That's far better than coin-flipping, but not exactly a top 100 list. -
Goodbye and good luck, Avatea. Thank you for all your work as part of the community team.
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Stuart Gordon's cult adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft Reanimator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dagon (2001) make a nice change from the usual psycho-slashers and killer toys drive-in fare.
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Quote:While there's a perverse case to be made for MacGruber as an underrated writer-star project, Howard the Duck remains a touchstone of missing the point in an adaptation of a nostalgia-rich creative property - one which was lost on the producers of the movie adaptation-remakes of Bewitched, The Honeymooners, The Flintstones, The Smurfs, Fat Albert, The Dukes of Hazard, and Land of the Lost. This Stooges movie may well be the next on that list.Originally Posted by Nericus
Agreed. This movie is going to tank and tank hard. It will probably do as well as the Macgruber movie did (budget 10 million, box office 9 million), or about as well as Howard the Duck.
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Quote:I am hoping that we'll still be able to run the Statesman TF on Ouroboros, of course.Originally Posted by Venture
none of these characters were the slightest bit interesting when they were alive, so who really cares if they're going to die?
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Quote:Many thanks for the clarification, GF.Originally Posted by Ghost Falcon
For now, we only plan on releasing Rare IOs on a limited time basis (the general schedule is once a month with a one week duration).
The next sets of Rare IOs will be released in January. I've already penciled in a couple of sets, and will be releasing them onto the Beta server for testing later this month. -
Quote:Possibly. Like you, I'm making my best guess. At the very least, though, the QA team is going to have their hands full testing Super Packs when there are plenty of other areas with the Paragon Market and the game at large where their attention could already help.Originally Posted by Aura_Familia
Ehhh I don't agree that that's a fair supposition simply because there have been other RNG system in the game PIROR to the existence of the Paragon Market. I think a better guess (though we may be both wrong) that AFTER the pack is delivered one of the non-market, in-game RNG systems takes over.
It's a question of priorities, at least from this perspective. -
Quote:Hang on a tick, does this apply to just the sale prices for these items, or is Paragon Studios really removing [i]all[i] Rare IOs from the market next week?Originally Posted by Beastyle
All Rare IOs will be removed from the Market on Monday, 12/19 at 11:59:59 PM Pacific.
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Am I right in thinking that even after 9 pages following the news of a major plot development revolving around Statesman that we haven't yet heard from either Venture or Troy Hickman?
Do we have to say their names three times before they'll appear? -
Quote:Since there has to be behind-the-scenes coding in order for the Super Pack's random rolls to work properly with the player account database that's the domain of the Paragon Market, it's a fair supposition that even if there's a separate team devoted strictly to the latter, they'll have to be involved in some way. Even if Paragon Studios is rigidly compartmentalized, there's still the problem of Super Packs taking away the focus of management as The Thing That Has to Get Done.Originally Posted by Aura_Familia
Though I see your point, I don't think the UI guys are the same guys who fill the store with new items, and they most likely aren't the ones who come up with the ideas for the new items. I don't think improving or keeping the marketing scheme that is behind the superpacks or adding or subtracting items form the super packs, nor putting costume pieces on the market has anything to do with fixing it's abysmal UI.
It would have been encouraging if the Super Packs hadn't been announced until the Paragon Market was 100% working (and anyone who plays on OS X knows it's not) and the useful missing features had been implemented (such as purchasing history/pre-Freedom legqacy items). Instead, the current circumstances are discouragingly reminiscent of what happened with Architect Entertainment once it went live and encountered assorted disappointments, i.e. the devs moved on to the next thing. -
Quote:Professional courtesy isn't the issue at hand but one of customer satisfaction. While Positron posted in at one point another of these threads about the technical issues that he said impeded offering the Super Pack costumes for sale separately, players immediately found contradictions within the current system (specifically the Tier 9 costumes). Apparently that's why this position of offering Super Packs for Tier 9 Reward Tokens is being pushed.Originally Posted by Bosstone
Naturally, you think they're wrong, but could you at least afford them the professional courtesy of supposing that if they're being this difficult about the costume pieces while giving in on the other stuff that maybe they have their reasons, ones that they find pretty compelling?
Basic courtesy also requires a significant response after promising one thing and not delivering on it, one which we've yet to receive after the VIP Reward Tokens/Paragon Points didn't work as advertised.Quote:Originally Posted by Bosstone
Basic courtesy, then.
What we have here is a more or less civil discussion, even though tempers are running hot behind the keyboards.