Monday Linkspam

• A Marvel editor was harassed online because she dared to post a selfie of herself and several coworkers grabbing milkshakes. This led to verbal abuse, being blamed for all of Marvel’s financial woes, complaints about “fake geek girls” (hey dicks, they WORK FOR MARVEL unlike you) and, of course, the requisite sexual innuendos and rape threats. This is why we can’t have nice things.

• Speaking of Marvel, here’s why Agent Carter was cancelled. And it was a stupid reason. However, the linked story reminds us that in comics, nobody dies forever. As I said elsewhere, I don’t care if we have to use the Nullifier balanced on the Silver Surfer’s board powered by Iron Man’s arc reactor to bring her back, I want more Peggy.

• Nicholas Meyer is apparently working on a miniseries about Khan Noonien Singh. Few details seem to be available, except that it’s a prequel limited series on Ceti Alpha V between “Space Seed” and the events of Wrath of Khan. There have been a few books about this time, of course, but the movies and TV shows seem to ignore the rich complexity of the tie-in novels. I’ve always thought Imzadi by Peter David would make a hell of a movie, as would Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno or Final Frontier and Best Destiny by Diane Carey. I can tell you that Julia Ecklar’s The Kobayashi Maru does a far better job with that backstory than AbramsTrek ever could.

• Congratulations to the finalists for the World Fantasy Awards, which will be presented in November.

• Confession: In junior high, I read Sweet Valley High books. I thought that was what high school might be like. Now there’s going to be a movie. This could be quite awful, or it could be awesome: writer Kirsten Smith wrote 10 Things I Hate About You, a charming adaptation of Taming of the Shrew for ‘90s teens, and I loved it in spite of myself. We shall file this under Please Don’t Suck.

• The latest from the set of Star Trek Discovery is that they inexplicably have outlawed the word “God.” Gene Roddenberry’s atheism was apparent in his worldbuilding and as a constant theme in the early episodes, but as this piece points out, colloquial language is not the same as magically resurrecting Christianity in the 22nd century. As for “No one says God in space,” that would be a shock to Dr. McCoy, whose second-most-common phrase was, “For God’s sake, man!” (Usually directed at Spock.) P.S. I agree with The Mary Sue: the best Trek - by a nose - is Deep Space Nine, which dealt directly with religion as a recurring theme, both for good and for ill. There are good stories and important allegories to be found in this subject.

• Apparently there was a major death on Game of Thrones this week. Don’t click on the link unless you’re ready to be spoiled. (I don’t watch, so it didn’t bother me.)

• Marlee Matlin joins Quantico in its third season as a former FBI agent deafened by a bomb. Quantico has a new showrunner as well, which intrigues me into considering returning. I loved the first season, but only made it a few episodes into season two before I was bored senseless.

• RIP Jeanne Moreau, described by AP as the “femme fatale of the French New Wave” or more succinctly, “the French Bette Davis.” Moreau’s career began in the 1960s and extended into her sunset years, with more than 100 films and an honorary Oscar in 1998.

• RIP Granny - I mean, June Foray, voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Witch Hazel, Cindy Lou Who and, of course, Granny. Foray was “the first lady of voice acting” and helped create the Annie Awards and the animated-feature Oscar.

• Dammit dammit dammit, RIP Sam Shepard, one of the true greats of both stage and screen. Shepard was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright who was also a talented and nuanced actor. He brought solid gravitas to roles in serious films like Blackhawk Down, The Pelican Brief and The Right Stuff (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), fun films like Steel Magnolias, and even tripe like The Notebook, which was greatly improved by his presence. Read Variety’s obituary for an in-depth appreciation of the two sides of Shepard’s career. I’m truly heartsick by his loss, since even at 73, he could still produce art. We are all the lesser for his death.

“I hate endings. Just detest them. Beginnings are definitely the most exciting, middles are perplexing and endings are a disaster. … The temptation towards resolution, towards wrapping up the package, seems to me a terrible trap. Why not be more honest with the moment? The most authentic endings are the ones which are already revolving towards another beginning. That’s genius.” — Sam Shepard

 

Trailer Park:

• A longer trailer for IT is up, with more hints at changes from the original story, heightened creepiness and some jump scares. One more for the category of Please Don't Suck...

Anna Paquin stars in the new series Bellevue, a town with secrets - and problems. Paquin plays a detective struggling to solve a missing-child case with ties to the past. Check out the teaser here.

• Overpopulation means a one-child policy worldwide, like China’s. Only a family with seven identical daughters decides to hide, and they take turns being their one identity in public. Until someone catches on…. Noomi Rapace plays all seven in this Netflix series, What Happened to Monday.

• You knew they were remaking Flatliners, right? That movie is one of my all-time guilty pleasures, and I’m not too sure about recapturing that lightning in a bottle with fancier effects. However, the director was responsible for the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, so let’s see…

• American Horror Story is going to tackle politics in its next weird-ass season, titled Cult. I gave up on AHS a few seasons ago, and hadn’t heard much buzz about last season’s Roanoke. I haven’t decided if I will give it another go… Teaser and details (kinda) are here.

• Final trailer for Detroit is even more intense than the last two, which takes some doing. I know everyone’s about Dunkirk these days, but this is the history that I’m waiting to see on the big screen.