What studies?

And I don't have any studies, but I do have the personal anecdote of being someone who was approached by people with both hostile and civil intentions as a Christian, and I didn't respond favorably AT ALL to the assholes, whereas I'm no longer a Christian, and the factually-centered debates I had with nice atheist folks contributed a lot. It doesn't seem too inductively ridiculous to assume that most people won't respond to assholes and SOME, perhaps not a lot, will respond to evidence.

Metalocalypse lacks creative character dialogue and development. It turned into a show where the brutality pushed the show along, which is just boring. I don't like weird/awkward, as you put it, just for the sake of it.

I read a very interesting article about exactly this about a week ago. I'll dig it up for you.

If anyone else here reads naked capitalism, I'm pretty sure it was linked from one of the daily link posts.



Different strokes. Like I said, some are open to reason, others are not, but may be able to be led to other ways of thinking by different means. I'm not talking about on the spot conversions, but planting that little niggling seed of concern that maybe there really is something laughable about what they believe. My personal anecdote which compliments my view is that I have seen such people who choose to believe irrational things led to a more reasonable way of thinking by having been made fun of and through a bit of introspection coming to see that the people laughing at them had a point. There's all different kinds of people so there's absolutely no sense in shutting down any particular tactic (short of, say, violence) because you feel it wouldn't work on you personally.

I don't know what to think about Metalocalypse. When it first came out I thought it was a neat little comical stab at the metal community but now it has become so popular I group people constantly repeating Metalocalypse lines with people who thought shouting "Git r Dun" was funny back around 2005; it just isn't endearing at all. Plus it just intensifies the metalhead stereotype(s) anyway, which doesn't do us any good.

Bleh, Metalpocalypse can't hurt us. No more than Squidbillies can hurt country folk. It's just a silly show based on a subset of the population that has some quirks that can be exagerated for comic effect.

My main beef with the show these days is that the animation is lazy, the overall design is unappealing, and that the jokes are weak. That applies to a lot of Adult Swim programming.

I think the best single joke I've seen in the show was the idea that the best birthday present for the bass player was an opportunity to destroy historical pieces of american cultural heritage.

The metal music on the show is incredibly weak as well. For a band which is supposedly very brutal death metal, their sound is incredibly light and tinny. The incredibly muted production doesn't help, nor do the barely gravelly vocals. It seems like the sound was intentionally toned down for wider appeal, which obviously cannot jibe with our sensibilities as metalheads who both like metal but also appreciate it as an artform with ethos and credibility. I believe the creators of the show are aware of how "extreme" and "brutal" death metal should sound, so the other possiblity is that it is a commentary on the nature of popular music and/or the effect of popularization of music for wider appeal (coupled with the bandmember's unswerving belief in their own crediblity) but I think that interpretation is probably fanciful.

I agree about the lack of endearment, as well. None of the characters seem to have any good qualities, merely less negative/banal ones. It is very much on the Beavis and Butthead axis of self-absorbed retards in functionally retarded dystopian world. Your milage always varies with these things...

I see it differently. I see it as a show that pokes fun at both people's perception of the metal world, and the metal world's perception of people. I think that the music is good enough because it's supposed to be funny. I think that both Metalocalypse and Beavis and Butthead are hilarious and should be respected for at least doing things differently. Metalocalypse is pretty much the first metal entertainment that keeps the heavier stuff in mind. Before that, the media assumed metalheads liked AC/DC, Metallica, Megadeth, and Aerosmith. They never call attention to Exodus, Death, Burzum, and so on like Metalocalypse does.

On a comedy level, you either find it funny or you don't, so I can't convince anybody the worth of it as comedic, although I find it hilarious "let's see, what rhymes with murder... sheburder... smurder... squirter... Squir - ter... mur... ter... maybe".

I think that people should accept the following about Metalocalypse and by extension, every comedy - it has it's audience, and just because you may not like it does not mean that there's anything wrong with the people who do...

and what you said about Beavis and Butthead being about self-absorbed retards in a functionally retarded dystopian world... welcome to SATIRE. Beavis and Butthead's characters are satirical, as the show pokes fun at the kinds of people who act like that. It's not making fun of metalheads as much as idiots. Curb Your Enthusiasm is about rich a-holes who make everybody's lives miserable. It's centered around Larry David, but the point of the show is that everybody is a little like Larry David. They get pissed off over stupid things and need to lighten up. Similarly, Metalocalypse is saying that every metalhead is a little bit like the characters in the show. Now don't take that to mean the wrong thing. Metalocalypse is also telling you to lighten up. So if you don't find it funny, so be it, but don't be offended by it and don't be annoyed with it. Just say it's not for you and move on. And if you have people like me praising it, don't get annoyed with that either because opinions are opinions and don't need to have any more impact than that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go troll a Slipknot fan...

Thanks for the information about satire. I was unaware that the show was satirical in nature. I know I didn't say that the setting was inherently bad, but thanks for correcting me about that too. Also, thanks for the heads up about how offended I apparently came off. Even though I didn't say anything to make you think I was offended by the show, I'll make sure to be careful never to look like I do.

You're the best, man!

The sarcasm is strong in this one.

Yeah i see what you're getting at here. While i don't strongly despise the show or anything, it's hardly one of my favourite shows, or even anywhere near favourite animated shows.

I watched the first couple seasons, but the show has very limited replay value. While it does have some funny moments - the premise is a bit flawed from the ground up - the humour is a bit banal and tactless - even if the show is largely satirical - it hardly does satire with the skill of South Park, or The Simpsons. It's like a far less funny version of Aquateen in a way. It is poking fun at the metal community a little bit, but isn't supposed to be taken seriously either way. Having said that, the show is okay, just far from high art, really. It'll never be as good as South Park, or even American Dad, but it's still mildly watchable, with a few funny scenes here and there.

Whats the opinion on Tim & Eric? Great show in my opinion. It drains the fuck out of you but its funny. If you want a mental challenge watch all of the fifth season (season cinco). One of the most difficult things I've had to do.

They have some funny sketches. Pumpers and Cops on Recumbent Bikes had me in stitches. Their humor tends to veer between nerdy, physical and whatever you call that modern style of really awkward acting, so it's pretty up in the air... I give them the much sought after J_S thumbs up.

My problems with The Walking Dead so far:
1) Nothing ever fucking happens. They take longer to get shit done than Dragon Ball Z. Everyone just stands around waiting to die.
2) ALL THU WIMMINFOLK DUZ DISHEZ N COOKIN, LEAVE THE FIGHTIN TO US MEN, YEAH
3) the one black guy is a complete throwaway character named T-Dawg, and the asian kid is a smart computer whiz recon guy.
4)

This show has so much potential, but it's falling so far short of expectation. It's probably going to continue for at least another two seasons because ZOMBIES BRO (and to be fair, the zombie effects are pretty fantastic), but I hope the writers learn to write.

Let's be fair, the show never had potential. Zombies are played out.

Just started watching Archer. Hilarious show. Not quite as funny as Louie, but damn. There's like two funny things that happen per minute at least.

Good point. To be honest,

But yeah, don't you hate it when potentially good drama gets completely ruined by plot holes and that wouldn't be possible without dumb characters that just keep holding on to the idiot ball? Ugh.

Spoilers for the last episode:
For one thing, Lori's speech to Shane was completely out of character. It was just mind-boggling. She tells Rick she's scared of Shane, he's dangerous, the baby's "yours no matter what", etc etc. And didn't Shane almost-rape her at some point? She has every reason to loathe and distrust him, and her character reflected that for the last several episodes.

I really want to like that show. But they're making it so difficult... I wish they wiped out all the cast and started the new season afresh with people who aren't retards.

Yeah, agreed on The Walking Dead. I have rose-colored glasses when it comes to that show, but this time it was a bit too much even for me.


Archer is brilliant.

Walking Dead:

Adventure Time season 4 starts on April 2, 7:30 EST.

First episode leaked. Since I never admit to having done anything illegal, I can't tell you that it was as melancholy as expected.

Well, in the comic,

This season has been pretty bad, I mean the first couple episodes were alright but I felt a big turn around after Triggerfinger. I was taken back by the excellent editing on 18 Miles Out, not since the first season had an episode been that fast paced. I liked how it started at the end and left a portion of time behind, it was a welcome change from the past episodes on the farm that seemed to drag on and on. 18 Miles Out and the latest have been brilliant episodes.

I watched my first episode of Two and a Half Men today and it was atrocious. Not quite as bad as The Big Bang Theory but pretty fucking horrid.

I don't get why two and half men is so popular. The episodes are all the same and the characters are very one dimensional. You got the kid who is just dumb, charlie is a sleezeball who just has sex with a lot of women without attachment, and the other brother is a nerd with low self-esteem and then they both hate their mother who is a self-centered slut.

That's all there is to it.

you forget the fact that they have one-liners!

The South Park season premiere was hilarious. The satire was actually somewhat subtle. Matt and Tret have still got it.

Just started watching the famous documentary series Cosmos for the first time. Very absorbing stuff, since I've been away from this sort of material for a long time, and also lots of fun with the dawn-of-the-80s special effects (fairly impressive, all things considered).

Which has got me wondering: what are some of the best documentary series everyone here has ever seen? It's not hard to find documentaries on most subjects, but finding good, definitive ones is another matter. What are the first series that come to mind when you think of exemplary nonfiction? Any subject goes, the only criterion is quality.

Are you watching the original or the touched up versions that came out recently?

Cosmos was the best I've seen, actually. Inside Job was excellent, but I'm sure you've heard of/seen/come to your own political/etc conclusions about its content. Whence I was younger, a mini series called 99 moons and counting (or something to that effect) blew my mind because it talked about the amazing features of many of the moons of the solar system and had (for the time) amazing TV CG. Looking back, it was pretty scanty on info...

Hmm, really not sure if it's any kind of restored version, though I don't think it is... It's labeled "1980" on Netflix, which is where I'm watching it on instant view. So ....I don't know. It doesn't look overtly retouched or anything, a lot of the special FX still look period.

Started watching Star Wars: The Clone wars (The 2008- one) and to my suprise it actually is pretty decent. Of course I shutter when Jar Jar comes in or when the droids are given too much dialogue but overall it's pretty enjoyable.

Also season 2 of Game of Thrones in a couple weeks. Yessssss!

I can't get over how ugly the CG, or the fact that the girl's dialogue sounds like it was written by Nickelodian live action show writers. Also the general design and story telling philosophy and action set pieces are obviously derived from the prequals as opposed to the originals, so there's really nothing going into it that would make one want to give it a chance... Plus, an annoying main character and main villains? Seems like that'd be a pretty significant, perpetual drag on the show, not a minor thing to be shrugged off.

Which of the anthology series was your favourite, assuming you ever watched them? The outer limits, The Twilight Zone, or Tales From the Crypt? I was always partial to The Outer Limits. There were some genius plots in that original run.

The chick can be annoying but she grows up over the series and she's much more tolerable later. Also it helps that diffrent episodes focus on diffrent characters so she's not always in the spotlight.

Started watching The Office. It's now one of my favourite shows.

The original Office or Office US?

I feel like this is a trick question. But the US version, it has a lot of great characters. Never checked out the British version.

Hehe, actually, I never checked out the british version either. I don't know why actually.... Maybe I should check it out. Can anybody with more knowledge tell me the key differences between the two? I just can't imagine it to be better then the US version though. I mean, the US version has Dwight. Dwight > everthing.

Truth has been spoken. Dwight is awesome.

Dwight's lame and the whole US version is inferior. No argument or I will cast your stapler in jelly.

I was waiting for someone to say this.

Asking if someone likes the UK or US version of The Office is always a trap. It's not something you should be asking people, it just puts them on the spot and ruins relationships.