Over on 'Watches' the review for 'The Boy in the Iceberg' should go up soon.
Spoilers (and our new game!) below.
Everyone has their favorites. The character that is so awesome that s/he blows all of the other characters out of the water and you want everyone in the entire world to know how pants-wettingly awesome s/he is. Usually these favorites are chosen via personal preference and what we're personally drawn to in individuals. But what's the fun with that!? Let's JUDGE them!
So how are we going to figure out which is the best character through an empirical method? Via a point system, of course! We're going to be giving our characters points based on their actions with +1 point given to characters that exhibit behavior that is 'good' or amusing. -1 point detracted from characters that do things that are stupid, or break character too much. +2 points will be given to characters that do things so mind blowingly awesome that we want to reach through the screen and give them a high five with -2 points detracted when a character does something so stupid that you want to reach into the screen and slap them around a bit and yell.
Now, how are we going to apply this to the show? Well, I'm going to be watching the series episode by episode along with Mark and grading the characters as we go along and keeping a running tally of points. To make sure minor characters can still get a shot at the top, once season 1 is over, I'll divide the number of points accumulated by the number of episodes the character was in for a final score. This will determine our season winner! At the end of the season, the slate will be wiped clean and a new tally will be started. At the end, each season winner will compete to see who wins and becomes the BEST CHARACTER IN AVATAR.
So where do you guys come in? Well, first of all you're going to keep me honest (because if I have my way, Iroh is winning every season and the champion title), but also I need everyone's input to make sure I'm not missing anything. Did I overlook a moment of awesome that needs to be counted? Did I not award enough points for something? Did I detract a point for something too minor? Did I not detract enough?
If you think I made a mistake or just want to talk about the various point allotments, feel free to tell me what I did wrong!
Got the gist of it? Then let's begin!
Cast for 'Boy in the Iceberg' in order of appearance from white title screen in:
Sokka
-1 for sexism
EDIT: +1 for fulfilling our physical comedy needs via pain!
Katara
+1 for angrily destroying an iceberg through the power of sibling rivalry
+1 for trying to save the creepy glowing kid frozen in ice without knowing who he is
+1 for figuring out how long Aang was in the ice AKA being smarter then everyone else
EDIT: +1 for standing up to your brother for girls everywhere!
EDIT: +1 for making us wish penguin sledding was real. :(
Aang
+1 for mastering the powers of suspended animation
EDIT: +1 for making us wish penguin sledding was real :(
Zuko
Iroh
+1 for sass
Appa
+1 for snot attack
Gran-Gran
EDITED TOTALS!
Katara is really kicking butt now with an early 5 point lead!
Aang has taken second with 2 points!
Sokka has taken his physical comedy skills and canceled out his negative score for a zero!
Iroh and Appa are tied for third with 1 point each!
Zuko and Gran-Gran trail behind with zero points!
So what did I miss? Do some people need more points? Less? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
Also, just because I'm taking notes on this show anyway, let's get some idea of how often characters do stuff!
Aang does something that brings him only trouble - 1
Aang feels guilty - 1
Aang has an obvious crush moment - 1
Aang goes into Avatar state - 1
Aang shows off - 1
Iroh mentions tea -1
Iroh plays Pai Sho -1
Katara acts motherly - 1
Sokka gets the short end of the stick - 2
Weird hybrid animal seen - 2
Zuko looses his temper -2
Zuko mentions honor - 1
As a last note, I'm going to be out in the field until about 5:30 PM EST today so if this idea is terrible and you hate me for it, I won't know until then. Also, I may be later depending on if I have to go to the ER after this lab again like last week. My frost bite is just healing and now I go back out into nature! At least it's warmer and more of the snow is gone though.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Logging you in...
Comments by IntenseDebate
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shyfully 97p · 736 weeks ago
Anyway, I was struck by how young all the characters looked/sounded/acted in this episode. No idea what is in store for them :)
psycicflower 114p · 736 weeks ago
shyfully 97p · 736 weeks ago
I regret nothing.
echinodermata 118p · 736 weeks ago
I was thinking another +1 for Katara giving a feminist smackdown (because she's a child, and it's to her older brother. That takes some skills.)
"Iroh
+1 for sass"
Lol, I guess we know he's always going to at least one point, then.
Also, I was just thinking we need a Zuko says "honor" count.
EDIT: Ooh, maybe Sokka can get a point for the "this is Katara, my flying sister" line. (I just don't want him to be in the negatives already.)
echinodermata 118p · 736 weeks ago
mkjcaylor 87p · 736 weeks ago
Re: Avatar. Watched it last week, so I don't know if I remember enough. And I'm still fuzzy on people's names.
doesntsparkle 93p · 736 weeks ago
When I first watched the show, I didn't pay attention to who the voice actors were, but now it's kinda hard for me to separate them in my brain. I can't help thinking of Katara as . . . her? and I want to call her egg.
ETA:
Ang also deserves a point for penguin sledding.
__Jen__ 99p · 736 weeks ago
shyfully 97p · 736 weeks ago
So Aang is probably going to be the unknowing hero. Well…ok, there is a detail that does turn this trope on its head a bit. Aang knows he’s an Airbender, so it’s not like he is completely ignorant of his powers, as most Chosen Ones are. Still, I think I’m pretty ok with that, as I don’t imagine the story is going to hinge entirely on Aang learning he is the Avatar.
Medli 141p · 736 weeks ago
THREE
AND ONE OF THEM SPOILED AN UPCOMING VA FOR ME
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH
shyfully 97p · 736 weeks ago
One of the commentors:
I'm watching this with Mark for the first time, so I don't really have a sense of perspective with this yet, but it disappointed me that the villain has a facial birthmark/scar to symbolize that he's really bad. Like the mark turned him eeeeevil. Hopefully there's more to it than that, but I hate it when a character turns to villainy after an injury or disability, it just seems lazy.
Could not be less prepared y/y
swimmingtrunks 92p · 736 weeks ago
Kaybee42 91p · 736 weeks ago
I'm currently reading a book by an American, about an American girl- at the moment she is in England (specifically London) and she just saw a fox for the first time ever...she seems really surprised and says something like how it was just like the ones from children's books. Is it normal for people in America to never see a fox?!? I live in a village and they are always wandering around at night, and stayed at my grandparent's house in London quite frequently when I was little there were always ones around there too... Is that normal to have never seen one?
(SORRY for the ridiculous off topic-ness, ELSOS, feel free to delete this if you don't want me to use your blog for such selfish purposes!)
__Jen__ 99p · 736 weeks ago
Medli 141p · 736 weeks ago
2 - holy shit I would not have recognized them, they are awesome, want moar plz
3 - episode 12 made me cry at Aang's backstory, I am a sap :( :( :(
4 - Iroh, YOU ARE MADE OF WIN I LOVE YOU FOREVER
5 - I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS SHOW <3 <3 <3
echinodermata 118p · 736 weeks ago
---
Let's go over some of the spoiler policy on this blog, because there were a lot of comments that were either spoilery and deleted, or were edging into uncomfortable territory yesterday. Mark said this yesterday: "I have an intense and absurdly strict “No Spoiler” rule in effect for the comments." That is 100% accurate. Mark's spoiler policy is probably the one thing that's hardest to adjust to coming from other places/blogs on the internet.
If you're relatively new to commenting on this blog and are not a long-time lurker, please read this. Please.
Things that are spoilers (but are not limited to these points), even if it may not feel like it to you:
- gifs/pics/quotes from upcoming episodes. Even if it doesn't really give anything away about plot. It's still from an upcoming episode.
- Answering any of Mark's questions when they will be answered for him on the show. Even when the answer isn't particularly important. If you're unsure, just don't answer any of Mark's questions. Most of them are rhetorical anyway. It's also kind of annoying to know whether something's going to get answered sometime, or whether it never get resolved.
- Expectation spoilers such as 'I think season x is the best/worst' or 'tomorrow's ep is so good.' Yes, it's your opinion, but it still sets up an expectation when Mark and others prefer to go in with no expectations at all. So it's still spoilery.
- Any mention of any detail or aspect of the world that comes up in a later episode. No matter how trivial.
- Hinting at things to come without outright saying it. Stop it. It just irritates the commenters that know what you're trying to reveal.
- Spoilers for other media Mark hasn't seen. Check out the suggestions page for both Reads and Watches, and don't include spoilers from any shows/books/comics Mark has stated he will cover in the future.
And general things if you do (hopefully) accidentally include a spoiler: people aren't going to hate you for it so long as you don't make a habit of it, and it wasn't a huge spoiler. We may seem harsh at the time, but it's only because a lot of us are sick of the spoilers and having to police comments by reporting them and hoping people weren't spoiled. Also, for your own good, PLEASE SAVE YOUR COMMENTS SOMEWHERE BEFORE POSTING THEM - when a comment gets deleted, it's nice if you have a copy so you can edit out the offense and repost the other thoughts you had. Please don't argue with the mods with whether something was spoilery. Go ahead and ask what was spoilery about it if you don't know, but accept that the mods are following the spoiler policy. I've never seen a comment that was deleted by a mod when it wasn't warranted.
Finally, if you want to talk about upcoming episodes, or you have a thought you want to include but don't know if it's spoilery and want advice whether it is, you can always leave a comment on the forums (linked on the blog) or on ELSOS' spoiler blog.
EDIT: I'll also add this point:
Mentioning when there's going to be a multi-part episode (e.g. a two-parter). It's more suspenseful when someone watching for the first time doesn't know when to expect cliffhangers, for example.
echinodermata 118p · 736 weeks ago
echinodermata 118p · 736 weeks ago
First, a vid about Moffat talking about the Master. Not spoilery, so I'll put the transcript, as written on the tumblr page I saw it from:
Benedict Cumberbatch as The Master?
Steven Moffat: “Don’t you think my life is confusing enough? And listen, if John Simm could hear you, you would not live another hour. He came up to me after the press [junket] for the End of Time where he’d been saying ‘I think now that David has left as The Doctor, I would have to leave as The Master’ but then he pulled me aside and said ‘I didn’t mean that! And look at me, I’m fit! I’m OK!’ So Benedict has to wait in line probably. But how confusing would it be? All four cheekbones at once! I tell you, I stood between [Matt Smith and Benedict] in a photograph once. It’s a really good way to look extra ugly.”
Source for the vid, as well as where I got it from, here.
And a tumblr post I was pretty damn amused by. SPOILERS for that one guest-writer for S6 of Doctor Who that people are talking about a lot.
Hipsterness awaits.