Written by Thelonia
Well, I'm upset.
Wynonna Earp S3E1 😈 TV Recap
Written by Thelonia
It's been a while (well, four months and two weeks, but who's counting) since things wrapped up with the Earp gang defeating the Wives of the Demon Clootie who was also resurrected as the Demon Bulshar, as well as Wynonna giving birth and helicoptering the baby away to safety (it was a hell of a day). And while things may have remained at a stand still in terms of emotional venting about all of that, things in Purgatory are still as hectic as ever.
In the Season starter, "Blood Red and Going Down," a lot of plots are set in motion that all promise a strange and likely bloody mess in the coming season, as well as delivering first looks at new and updated facial hair.
No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 70
No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.
In the 70th episode of No Improvement, we read and discuss Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie, with special guest Emily Skrutskie! We talk to her about where the idea for the book came from, what characters in it she'd like to explore more in the future, and what she'll be writing next.
by Emily Skrutskie, with special guest Check out the podcast episode for free below, and subscribe on iTunes for free automatic updates, if you are so inclined! You can also listen to our previously recorded podcast on Emily Skrutskie's other books, The Abyss Surrounds Us (with author interview) and The Edge of the Abyss
, here and here, respectively.
In two weeks, we will be watching and talking about The Darkest Minds—the movie based on the book The Darkest Minds—which will be in theaters on August 3, 2018.
Subscribe on iTunes!
Baby Teeth 👼 Book Review
Written by Thelonia
Hanna hates her Mommy and loves her Daddy. Suzette just wants her daughter to be normal. Alex thinks his wife is over-exaggerating. After all, his 'squirrely girl' would never do the things Suzette says she does...or would she?
The Banker's Wife 👥 Book Review
Written by Thelonia
Plane crashes and twisting French roads collide in this financial thriller that pits two women against a Swiss Bank due to circumstances outside of their control. A page-turner through and through, check out The Banker's Wife if you want a quick fun read for the summer!
No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 69
No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.
In the 69th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the final episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("The Word"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!
Next week, we will be reading and talking about Hullmetal Girls
by Emily Skrutskie.
by Emily Skrutskie.Subscribe on iTunes!
All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 43
All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!
In the 43rd episode of All in Good Storytime, we watch episodes 7, 6, and 9-13 of Revolutionary Girl Utena
(the order in which the episodes were intended). In these episodes, the questionably incestuous relationship between Nanami and Touga is revisited, Nanami exposes herself as a kitty murderer, Juri's tragic queer past is revealed, Touga pretends he is the prince who saved Utena following her parents death, Utena is defeated by Touga and temporarily loses Anthy, and we finally meet the real prince.
(the order in which the episodes were intended). In these episodes, the questionably incestuous relationship between Nanami and Touga is revisited, Nanami exposes herself as a kitty murderer, Juri's tragic queer past is revealed, Touga pretends he is the prince who saved Utena following her parents death, Utena is defeated by Touga and temporarily loses Anthy, and we finally meet the real prince.
We discuss the dynamics of Nanami and Touga's relationship and how the undercurrents of vaguely incestual feelings that Nanami harbors for Touga are made very overt when the lines are blurred between what it means to be a boyfriend and brother in episode six. We draw similarities between Touga and Nanami's relationship and Micki's own complicated relationship with his sister.
While never forgetting how unquestionably evil Nanami is for being a cat killer, we also acknowledge that her cruel and manipulative brother has fostered a disturbingly toxic and codependent relationship. We address how the sole instance where Anthy is demonstrated to have autonomous thoughts occurs during Utena's second duel with Touga. We hypothesize that the myriad of exotic animals featured in Utena, from the kangaroo to the elephants, are somehow due to Anthy. Finally, we predict that Anthy will either be revealed to be an alien or that the mysterious prince is her brother. And that they are both aliens.
In two weeks, we will be watching episodes 14-19 of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
.Subscribe on iTunes!
No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 68
No Improvement is a sort-of-funny talk show that explores the vast, untapped potential of TV shows, books, films, and more. Quill & Slate blog runners Thelonia and Tia review—and then reimagine—the stories you know and love until you can barely recognize them anymore. Hopefully in a good way. And if not, well, we hope you are still entertained.
In the 68th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the 12th episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("Postpartum"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!
Next week, we will be watching and talking about the final episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.
Subscribe on iTunes!
The Staircase 🤬 Series Review
Written by Thelonia
The Staircase is considered the granddaddy of all true crime documentaries. The original 2004 documentary (8 episodes long) centered around the murder of Kathleen Peterson and her husband Michael's defense strategy during his 2004 trial for her murder (on the title Staircase). The series came back for 2 episodes in 2012 to cover Michael's efforts at getting a retrial (minimal spoilers), and was recently picked up by Netflix, who also produced 3 new episodes (filmed in 2018) which brought the entire series of 13 episodes to Netflix, where it could be consumed in one go by a whole new market who perhaps missed the original series.
Really, if you like true crime documentaries, or know anything about this case, you will probably just wind up yelling at the tv screen for approximately 90% of The Staircase's run-time.
Three Identical Strangers 👨👨👨 Film Review
Written by Thelonia
When Bobby Shafran went off to college in 1980, the last thing he was expecting was to find a long lost twin, Eddy Galland. And yet, that's exactly what happened. The story, of two adopted twins reunited after 19 years apart quickly became a huge national story, and that's when David Kellman realized that there was more to the story - Bobby and Eddy weren't twins, they were triplets, and David was the third.
What starts off as a heartwarming tale of brothers learning about each other and forming strong bonds quickly takes a darker turn that just builds on itself as more and more comes out of the woodwork about the triplets' similarities, differences, and just why they were separated in the first place.
All in Good Storytime 📚 Episode 42
All in Good Storytime is an interactive, bookish, book club podcast hosted by Alanna, Katya, and Tia. To join the club, make sure you're following us on Twitter to get updates on what book we're reading and to what chapter we are reading through (or what anime we're watching and what episode we are watching through), and listen to the podcast here or on iTunes (see link below) to join in on the discussion. And don't forget to read along!
In the 42nd episode of All in Good Storytime, we watch the first 5 episodes and episode 8 of Revolutionary Girl Utena (the order in which the episodes were intended). In these episodes, we meet Utena, the beautiful tomboy who really wants to be a prince, Anthy, the innocent and abused rose bride, and the secretive student council. Utena is drawn into their orbit when she challenges one of the student council members to a duel for disrespecting her friend and inadvertently becomes the reigning champion.
(the order in which the episodes were intended). In these episodes, we meet Utena, the beautiful tomboy who really wants to be a prince, Anthy, the innocent and abused rose bride, and the secretive student council. Utena is drawn into their orbit when she challenges one of the student council members to a duel for disrespecting her friend and inadvertently becomes the reigning champion.
We discuss how gender is addressed in this series, primarily through Utena's character. She wants to be a prince and often acts "masculine", but she is steadfast that she is a girl, making obvious the distinction between masculinity and actually identifying as male. We continue analyzing the characters by examining Anthy, the so-called rose bride. While she is given some interesting character quirks, like her collection of animals, she is a mystery and rarely shares her thoughts. We discuss Miki, his quest for perfection, and his odd relationship with his sister. We compile a list of our most hated characters, with Touga and Kyouichi topping it off. Finally, we share our theory that Anthy may actually be the very prince that visited Utena when she was a child and our belief that Anthy may not even be a human but is actually a magical being.
In two weeks, we will be watching episodes 7, 6, and 9-13 (the order in which the episodes were intended) of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
In two weeks, we will be watching episodes 7, 6, and 9-13 (the order in which the episodes were intended) of Revolutionary Girl Utena
.
Subscribe on iTunes!
No Improvement Podcast 👯 Episode 67
In the 67th episode of No Improvement, we watch and discuss the 11th episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale ("Holly"), season 2. Listen to us discuss season 1 or the All in Good Storytime podcast discuss the book at these links!
Next week, we will be watching and talking about the penultimate episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.
Next week, we will be watching and talking about the penultimate episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, season 2.