auspicacious (Posts about video)

The Long Trek through Frasier

Andrew Todd — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 09:00:00 GMT

Last year, I wrote down some notes on Star Trek after completing the half-decade experience -- sorry, five-year mission -- of watching all of it; a couple of months ago, I finally finished another television show that has been part of my personal zeitgeist for as long as I can remember: Frasier. Writing these short notes is pure enjoyment for me; it's easy to write about critically-acclaimed work, and by doing so I can engage actively with it, just as millions of others have.

Every Star Trek Series

Andrew Todd — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 06:00:00 GMT

After more than five years, I've finally finished watching every Star Trek film, television show, and... whatever we call Internet-native series like Star Trek: Discovery. At their best, they've been a companion, conscience, and inspiration: at their worst, they're just bad. In the interest of justifying all that time spent, I thought I should write down some of my impressions.

Doctor Who's Regeneration

Andrew Todd — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 08:00:00 GMT

One of the joys of traveling is experiencing new things, things that you can't get in your home country.

I'm speaking, of course, of the vagaries of global television licensing. I've fallen behind on Doctor Who the last few years -- the show seemed to be losing momentum and it was increasingly difficult and expensive to keep up. It's not available through the subscription streaming services in the United States, so I would've had to pay by the episode or pick up the Blu-rays.

When I arrived in New Zealand, I was very happy to find that Netflix could suddenly provide me with every season of the revived series up to Peter Capaldi's finale, and that TVNZ, the local public broadcaster, let me stream the latest season, Jodie Whittaker's first, for free.

Red Dwarf

Andrew Todd — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:38:20 GMT

Red Dwarf occupies that most unusual of genres: the science-fiction sitcom.

Quick Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC, 1981)

Andrew Todd — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:31:05 GMT

Douglas Adams may have been gone now for nearly ten years, but he left behind a legacy that just keeps on giving. Last year, it was Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing..., a more upbeat coda to the Hitchhiker's Guide series that was sanctioned by the Adams estate. This year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Netflix Instant was streaming the 1981 BBC TV miniseries.

At Gainax, Every Story Has an Inverse (Part 1: Mahoromatic and He is My Master)

Andrew Todd — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:38:28 GMT

It's hard to overstate Gainax's influence on the Japanese animation industry. Contrarily, though, Gainax's works are often highly derivative (in the best sense of the word), taking tropes, ideas, and animation methods pioneered by others and combining them in new ways to create staggeringly original works. Evangelion isn't just a giant robot anime; neither is FLCL or Gurren Lagann, for that matter. And Mahoromatic turns the magical-girlfriend genre on its head.

But there's something else going on at Gainax, intentional or not. Many of their most notable works -- those with the strongest thematic impetus -- have been succeeded later by another series that seems its thematic inverse. There's two sides to every story; sometimes, Gainax has animated both of them. This article series will examine some of their classic stories in light of this idea.

He is My Master, Definitively Reviewed in Four Images

Andrew Todd — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:21:01 GMT

Since Sentai Filmworks (née ADV Films) recently released a bargain DVD edition these four images should be enough for you to determine whether you'll like He is My Master or not. When Gainax and Shaft attempt to adapt a manga, you get this...