IntenseDebate - Friv

4 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Unseen Aca... · 0 replies · +9 points

I'm willing to say that the fact that most complex high-speed drawing in Discworld is done by tiny imps rather than slower mechanical processes means that you don't need to be *quite* as detailed telling them what needs to be drawn via code, and thus that the systems can be a bit more internet than telegraph.

4 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Unseen Aca... · 0 replies · +16 points

It's been said in a couple of the Discworld books that trolls never actually stop growing; they just get bigger and bigger, and gradually slow down, and eventually sit and stop moving altogether. Some mountains are supposedly trolls.

So it's certainly possible for most of the active trolls in the books to only be slightly larger than humans, but for the range to be large enough to cover that picture.

4 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Doctor W... · 0 replies · +2 points

Ubarfgyl, zbfg bs gur pbzcnavbaf va ahJub pbhyq unir yrsg, vs Qnivrf qvqa'g ybir gentrql naq Zbssng qvqa'g guvax gur Qbpgbe jnf whfg gur nofbyhgr orfg.
Qbaan'f wbhearl jvgu gur Qbpgbe jnf nobhg yrneavat gb or pbasvqrag naq svaqvat n cynpr - vg pbhyq unir raqrq jvgu ure npghnyyl, lbh xabj, svaqvat gung cynpr. Nzl naq Ebel znqr n qrpvfvba gb yrnir gur Gneqvf, ohg Zbssng pbhyqa'g unir gung fgvpx naq chyyrq gurz onpx va evtug orsber jevgvat gurz bhg sberire. Vg pbhyq unir raqrq gurer, jvgu gur vzcyvpngvba gung gur Qbpgbe jbhyq ybbx va ba gurve yvirf ba Rnegu, ohg gurl jrer zbivat ba, gbb. Ebfr pbhyq cebonoyl unir unq n zber abezny qrcnegher, gbb, ohg jvgu gur ebznapr natyr vg znqr frafr gb unir vg or n ovg zber svez. Ovyy pbhyq unir fghpx nebhaq, yrnearq, naq gura sbhaq fbzrguvat ryfr fur jnagrq gb fgvpx nebhaq sbe. Jnvgvat gb frr ubj gur arj perj yrnirf, ohg vg'f n arj fubjehaare, fb gur ehyrf znl or qvssrerag.

Pynen'f jubyr fgbel jnf nobhg orvat haurnyguvyl bofrffrq jvgu gur Qbpgbe, fb lrnu, fur arrqrq n jrveq rkvg, naq Evire'f fgbel jnf ure qvssrerag puebabybtl hygvzngryl raqvat jvgu ure pbzchgresvpngvba, fb qvggb.

4 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Doctor W... · 0 replies · +12 points

I really wanted this episode to work, and I'm glad that it worked for Mark. It didn't work for me at all.

The first problem was how contrived it all was. That lab, as noted above, has comically bad security, just on every possible front. If I sat down to design a lab that would definitely cause a deadly biological attack, I don't think I could have done a better job. This makes the situation feel less like reality and more like a farce.

The second problem, which has also been noted above, is that there is no effective difference between Bill's capitulation and the general's. In both cases, they act out of a mixture of fear and love for the people around them, coupled with a belief that someone is going to find a way to fix the disaster afterwards. But the general gets vaporized and Bill pulls it off, because *crickets*.

The third problem is that I absolutely can't take the Monks' voices seriously.

The replay of Bill's Terrible First Date was pretty amazing, though. Poor Bill.

4 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Doctor W... · 5 replies · +4 points

(Spoilers for all of Season 10) Zbssng unf n ernyyl onq unovg bs nffhzvat gung ab pbzcnavba jbhyq whfg yrnir gur Qbpgbe jvyyvatyl. Fbzrguvat unf gb unccra gung jvyy yrnir gurz hanoyr gb geniry jvgu uvz sberire. Fb bs pbhefr, vs ur'f yrnivat gur frevrf naq unf orra (cerfhznoyl) tvira gur punetr bs pyrnevat gur obneq sbe gur arkg fubjehaare, ur arrqf gb unir onq guvatf unccra gb rirelbar be ryfr gurl'q whfg erwbva gur Qbpgbe naq nyy qbar.

Juvpu vf gb fnl, V jnf nyfb naablrq. V jbhyq unir yvxrq Ovyy gb fgvpx nebhaq sbe gur arkg frnfba.

4 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Doctor W... · 2 replies · +11 points

This one felt to me like a very strong episode with a very strong conclusion from an entirely different episode.

The buildup is wonderful, the setting is wonderful, but the solution... is to make the robots forget that they were there with the humans so they think of this as their world, and then hope they're willing to share? This seems like a terrible plan, especially since wipe the core priority doesn't change the fact that the Vardi are clearly a literal-minded robotic species that thinks lethality is an acceptable way to deal with a problem. The Doctor hasn't changed that - he just removed the current problem they dealt with lethally.

I had honestly assumed that the Doctor's plan was going to be teaching the Vardi grief, so that they would understand its value and not want to remove it. And then they and the humans could start forward together, learning from each other or something. Everything in the episode seemed to be building to it. And then the ending came out of left field, and it was a solid ending aside from not really lining up with most of the episode to that point.

But hey, the setup was great, the robots were great, Bill and the Doctor are great, and there was some very effective scene-setting done, so whatever, it's still an 8/10 episode for me.

4 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Doctor W... · 2 replies · +9 points

Ah, Dr. Mysterio.

The first time I watched this one, I got so annoyed at the romance plot that it really hurt my enjoyment of the rest of the episode. On a second watch, I was much more complimentary to it.

There's a lot here to love! The bad guys are appropriately creepy (and a callback to Husbands of River Song, which is a nice touch,) the guest stars are charismatic, and the Doctor is just the right level of goofy and serious. Most of all, it is fun. Fun is good.

I still hate that the writing gives us a "nice guy pines after girl while she dates bad dudes until she realizes that she has loved him all along and gets together with him", because I think it's a bad narrative inherently, but Grant himself isn't creepy about it so I can let it slide, and Lucy getting mad at his superhero self for her perception that he's insulting Grant is pretty great.

-10 pts to UNIT for not asking questions about why one of their soldiers is suddenly sporting a full-face scar immediately after one of the people that cuts open heads and shoves itself in is found sans head-alien.

+500 pts for Mr. Huffle.

5 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Making Mon... · 0 replies · +13 points

Mr. Bent's question, "Who runs the circus?" is a callback to one of his conversations with Moist back in Chapter Six. Specifically:

"Mr. Lipwig. You are turning the bank into a... a circus!"
"Well, I'm the man with the top hat, Mr. Bent, so I suppose I'm the ringmaster!"
He said it with a laugh, to lighten the mood a little, but Bent's face was a sudden thundercloud.
"Really, Mr. Lipwig. And whoever told you the ringmaster runs the circus? You are very much mistaken, sir!"

(spoilers for the rest of the book) Bs pbhefr, gur crbcyr jub ernyyl eha gur pvephf ner gur pybjaf...

5 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Making Mon... · 0 replies · +11 points

I would argue that neither Cosmo nor Cribbens is inept in a non-dangerous way. Cosmo's already had two people killed, and we known Cribbens is a murderer, too.

In some ways, Cosmo's about the most dangerous kind of person - rich enough to usually get what he wants, cunning enough to make pretty solid plans to get what he wants, ambitious enough to have big wants, and dumb enough to destroy someone even if he'll be destroyed in the process.

5 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Making Mon... · 0 replies · +7 points

To be fair, I don't think anyone was terrified of what Bent would do if he made a mistake until it happened, because no one had considered that to be possible. But otherwise I agree with you.

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