A new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises came out recently, and that means someone did a thing with it! In this case, another go-round matching scenes with Batman: The Animated Series. I’ll tell you guys something: While I am excited about The Dark Knight Rises and like Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, I’m the one third of the staff at The Mary Sue who is not a die-hard Batfan. So, I was surprised to see that Bane has a side job as a luchador. But this animated trailer is a pretty great edit, and I’d totally watch this movie, too. Especially if it had a luchador in it.

To read less infuriating things about Bane, here is Susana’s essay at Geekosystem about him. More comic book passion, less Mexican wrestling.

(via DC Women Kicking Ass)

Previously in Batman

• Nice Try, Marion Cotillard, We Don’t Believe What You Just Said About Your Dark Knight Rises Character
• No, Really: This Is a Funny Batman Musical Parody [Video]
• It’s Not a Car: Batman Identifies Things by Process of Elimination

Undomiele of Deviantart, we are duly impressed. You can see a video of how she did this at When Geeks Wed.

• Here’s way more about The Animaniacs than you ever needed to know. (Mentalfloss)
• The Frisky’s Sara Barron explains why her grandmother’s vibrator gives her hope.

And speaking of the young at heart, we’d be okay if this was a real thing. (Buzzfeed)

• New York Magazine talks to six female show runners about television.
• Scarlett Johansson and Alyssa Rosenberg on the sexualization of women superheroes. (Think Progress)

Rejoice! The world has a new tallest Lego tower. (Wired)

• The 10 Nerdiest Easter Eggs in My Little Pony (Topless Robot)
• John Scalzi (who’s done pretty awesome things before), has delivered a nice video-game-metaphor contribution to the never ending battle to properly explain the concept of privilege when used in discussions of racial and gender inequality. (Boing Boing)

Donkey Who. Yup. (Global Geek News)

• Guys! Forget Battleship. Hysteria opens this weekend in select theaters, with more to come later. Here’s the trailer. (The Hairpin)

First, we have great news concerning Mindy Kaling‘s pilot that she filmed for Fox — it was picked up for series, and that series also has a title: The Mindy Project! (Exclamation point ours.) The announcement came during this week’s TV upfronts, and the newly-minted sitcom showrunner kept a diary at Vulture for the duration. Her journey began in Boston at her childhood home and ends in New York, but not before a layover in the Land of Tears of Joy.

You always wonder where people are when they get amazing news, and the answer is usually pretty mundane. But in Kaling’s case, it was only slightly mundane, if you consider air travel to be pedestrian in nature. While getting ready to board her flight from Boston to New York at Logan Airport, Kaling got the call she’d been waiting for. Her entry from May 9:

7:15 p.m.
At Logan Aiport, and as my flight is boarding, [Fox's] Kevin Reilly calls. It is good news. I immediately burst into tears. The people at the terminal counter think my boyfriend has just broken up with me over the phone, but I don’t care. I love Kevin so much.

7:20 p.m.
Call my Dad. I start crying again. The airline people at the gate now think I am going through something super awful. The plane really needs me to board now.

So, yeah — a life-changing moment, brought to you by Crying In Public!

You’re probably wondering what Kaling did while waiting for the news, and if you’re thinking, “I’ll bet she saw The Avengers, because it opened just days before all this happened,” then you are correct: Here is her entry from May 8:

11:12 a.m.
Rainn Wilson texts me: “I have news about your pilot!” I text back immediately, “What?!” But it was just a mean joke to get my attention. I hate that guy.

4:15 p.m.
Saw a matinee of Avengers. Perfect distraction. Now don’t care if I have a show on TV or even the outcome of the 2012 election. Just want to watch Chris Evans–as–Captain America punch a punching bag, frustrated by what America has become in the 60 years he was frozen.

9 p.m.
Still thinking about Chris Evans.

There is nothing in this world that can make us blame her. At all.

We’re incredibly happy for Kaling and even more excited about The Mindy Project, though now it means that Kelly Kapoor will be giving her two weeks notice from The Office on NBC. No news yet on how that will come to pass, but we may not even know until the fall season begins. So, we’re going to watch The Avengers to distract ourselves all summer until we find out Kelly’s fate. Who’s with us?

Congratulations, Mindy!

(Vulture via Crushable)

Previously in Mindy Kaling

• Mindy Kaling Is Shooting a Pilot For Fox, Will Leave The Office If It’s Picked Up
• Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Is Getting an Office Spinoff
• The Office‘s Mindy Kaling to Produce and Voice Character In a New NBC Animated Series

To what do we owe this unexpected bounty of Carrie Fisher and Stormtrooper goofery? To this August’s Star Wars Celebration, a yearly Florida based convention, and Lucasfilm, who released these photos in anticipation of the event. And there’s plenty more Leia were that came from, so venture downwards, brave reader.

See more pics at Nerd Approved.

The Hollywood Reporter was given exclusive shots of Community‘s season finale — and they are in the style of 16-bit video games! The show’s third season ends tomorrow night with three episodes, with one last foray into glorious geekery. My only question is if this has something to do with the dreamatorium, or have Troy and Abed just officially lost their minds completely.

The plot centers around Pierce (Chevy Chase), who runs into some problems with his inheritance from his father’s fortune. His father’s lackey, played by Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito (the one whose face got ‘sploded), is the threat in this situation — and the group turn to the world of video games to defeat him and help Pierce reclaim what is rightfully (or not rightfully) his. Here is another look from THR:

No word on exactly how everyone finds themselves inside of a video game, but this isn’t the first time Community has switched genres for the sake of story; earlier this season, they went anime in a table tennis battle between Jeff (Joel McHale) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown). They’ve covered tons of elements in geekdom throughout the show’s run because it is the best show on television.

And fortunately, it’s coming back. Just on Friday nights, for some weird reason. But it’s coming back, and we can at least be happy about that.

The season finale episodes of Community will air on NBC at 8:00 PM (EST), followed by the 30 Rock finale at 8:30, then will switch back to Community from 9:00 to 10:00.

(The Hollywood Reporter via BuzzFeed)

Previously in Community

• Karen Gillan Talks About Her Love For Community‘s Doctor Who Spoof, Inspector Spacetime
• NBC Totally Brittas Its Schedule, Moves Community to Fridays With Whitney
• NBC’s Community Came Back With a Vengeance This Week

If there’s one thing that we’ve learned from the production of The Avengers, it’s that Joss Whedon is a superlatively busy guy. He’s got four movies out this year, only two of which have yet to be released, and one of them is a Shakespearean play filmed by Joss and a bunch of actor friends over a weekend at his house. And that’s just The Avengers, heyoooo -

Anyway, lets move on and not dwell on how that joke didn’t actually make any sense. The Los Angeles Times sat down with Whedon before The Avengers even opened to ask him about its themes, and the odds of him coming back for a sequel, and unfortunately for our hopes and dreams, he displayed some pretty classic artistic integrity and said he wasn’t sure yet.

You know, I’m very torn. It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.

Joss. Don’t tease us like this. We respect, and even venerate, your concerns as a creator, and the fact that you clearly don’t give a crap about feeding the Hollywood sequel machine. But come onnnnnnnnnnnnnn, you’ll have plenty of intervening time to do Wastelanders with Warren Ellis which I know you postponed in order to take The Avengers and we’re going to love the heck out of it. And in the mean time, you can keep reminding Marvel that you want at least one more female character to play around with for Avengers 2: They Have a Tower Now and Also Thanos.

Joss, we want to see your “bunch of ideas.” Please.

(via The Los Angeles Times.)

Today marks 22 years since Jim Henson passed away, and despite his exit from this earthly stage, the Muppets have endured. We posted the video above last year to mark the occasion and we’re posting it again, because 1. we love it and it’s unbelievably sweet, and 2. we like to clean out our tear ducts once in a while. It’s healthy. And after watching this video, clean tear ducts are a promise from us to you.

And any day we can talk about the Muppets is a good one, even if the circumstances are less cheerful, but still hopeful.

(via YouTube)

Previously in Muppets

• Accused Communist Kermit T. Frog Flagrantly Flaunts German Law For Personal Gain
• This Was How Jim Henson Pitched The Muppet Show to CBS [Video]
• The Muppets “Sing” Danny Boy [Video]

Yesterday, after twelve years of waiting, fans of the Diablo series of clicky, bloody, magic-y, hack and slash video games were finally able to get their fingers and eyeballs on the retail release of the latest game in the series: Diablo III. Diablo… well, it’s just one of those games. Superlatively popular, addictive and memorable to a generation of players. Our own Becky Chambers has said that while the restrictions of the previous two games on gender (each class had only one accompanying avatar, rather than giving players a choice of gender) were the some of the first times she felt pressured into a mode of gameplay because of her gender, as games the Diablo series was still a huge and treasured milestone in her hobby experience. And while at this point we can’t tell you much about the game’s plot or themes, what we can say is that 1) for the first time, choosing a class in Diablo and choosing your character’s gender aren’t the same decision, and 2) the character models for the women of those classes are really pretty great.

So great, in fact, that there’s already been a ton of cosplay for them in the four years that Diablo III has been in official development. We’d like to pay tribute to some of those cosplayers in this post. And lets face it, even if you managed to get yesterday off to play the game, now you’re probably back at work and need that sweet, sweet Diablo III fix.

The Wizard

Svetlana Quindt is a master cosplayer who loves to do cosplaying tutorials and workshops, and she’s obviously a huge fan of Blizzard games based on her past exploits at BlizzCon. Her Wizard cosplay is clearly based on this piece of concept art.

Here she is with her “cosplay partner Selina” as Diablo III‘s Barbarian.

Which brings us nicely to:

The Barbarian

There was a rumor that this was going to happen, and now it is confirmed: screenwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin will be the one adapting Walter Isaacson‘s biography of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs for the big screen. Sorkin, most famous for his work on The West Wing, has already won an Oscar for his last script about a tech giant (The Social Network), so this will be familiar territory for him. Not that Sorkin couldn’t handle unfamiliar territory … oh, wait, just remembered Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Never mind. We’ll take familiar territory.

To be fair, Studio 60 was not a badly written show, but it was a badly approached show.

Anyway, back to the Steve Jobs thing. Indeed, Sorkin is an excellent choice for such a complicated personality because Sorkin is so great at writing for complicated people. He makes people flawed, but sympathetic, genius, but insensitive. He just has a knack for dialogue and people, and it’s refreshing and consistently entertaining. But considering Sorkin’s clout, he is one of the few screenwriters worthy (if you ask me) of tackling as big of a personality as Jobs. Those sentiments were echoed in the press release issued by Sony Pictures Entertainment, who is backing the movie. From their co-chair, Amy Pascal:

“Steve Jobs’ story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time. There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

No word on a director yet, and so far, there are no rumors about one, nor is there a projected release date. But as long as we know it will be Aaron Sorkin putting the words in Jobs’ mouth, then I think we’re all gonna be okay.

Indeed, this could make everyone forget that Ashton Kutcher is currently playing Jobs in another movie, the more independent Jobs being directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Matt Whiteley (who might be nervous this morning). Sure, Kutch looks the part, and that’s all fine and good, but he’s going to be expected to say words on camera, too. We’ll hold on to our opinions until we see him actually saying those words, but I’m really excited about Sorkin’s script for the Isaacson story.

Now — who’s going to play Jobs in this movie? Is it still between Noah Wyle and George Clooney? Will actors start lining up now that Sorkin is definitely attached to write? This is gonna be fun.

(/Film via Videogum)

Previously in Steve Jobs

• This Ghostbusters Spoof by Apple Is Found Next to the Dictionary Definition of 1984 [Video]
• Will the World Accept Ashton Kutcher Playing Steve Jobs in an Indie Biopic?
• Geek Therapy: For the Friend Who Still Hasn’t Stopped Grieving For Steve Jobs [Video]

Strange History.net brings us the movie-worthy story of Cornelia Fort, an upperclass girl from Nashville, Tennessee whose father made one critical mistake when he called his three sons into his study and made them swear a solemn oath on the Bible that they would never take to flying aeroplanes.

He didn’t think it would be necessary to ask Cornelia to swear it too. And in 1940, at the age of twenty-three, Cornelia did begin flying planes, and in a matter of months was employed as a flying instructor in Honolulu, Hawaii. Which is how she found herself in one of the small handful of civilian planes that were the only American aircraft in the skies on the morning of December 7th, when Japanese aircraft and submarines began the Pearl Harbor attacks.

From StrangeHistory:

Cornelia spotted a silver airplane surfing in from sea straight towards her. She, at first, registered irritation and then her instincts fired.  She took the controls from her trainee and climbed as fast as the throttle would allow her. She was only just in time. The Japanese plane – its imperial insignia clearly visible – swept under her and rattled the civilian craft. If anyone doubts that she was in terrible danger consider this: as she landed another instructor and trainee were torn apart on a Japanese strafing run.

She and her student survived, after getting a birds-eye view of smoke and bombers over Pearl Harbor, and being strafed by enemy fire as they ran from her Interstate Cadet monoplane to cover. Such an experience made Fort a small celebrity, starring in a short promotional movie for war bonds. When Commander Nancy Love was asked to recruit 29 experienced female pilots in an effort to bolster a military now scouring the country for civilian pilots who could ferry existing and newly manufactured military planes across America to bases where they could be used… Fort was the second woman accepted into the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron.

Though the WAFS was only deployed within the borders of the US, that doesn’t mean the job was completely without risk. Fort was killed in 1943 when another plane struck the wing of BT-13 she was ferrying in midair, ten miles from Merkel, Texas. Her grave is marked with the words “Killed in the Service of her Country.” She was the first woman in history to die in active service in a branch of the US Armed Forces.

(via StrangeHistory and Wikipedia.)

Everyone has heard about the pervy things that Disney animators have slipped into their movies, like the word “sex” in The Lion King, or the erection in The Little Mermaid. But little inside “jokes” like this go way back to the earliest days of Disney when Walt Disney was producing Mickey Mouse shorts. One such joke got one short, “The Shindig,” banned in America in 1930 because an allegedly naked Clarabelle Cow was reading Elinor Glyn‘s Three Weeks, an erotic novel from 1907. Oh, those saucy Disney animators!

While Mickey started out as a mischievous scamp, he eventually evolved into a morally-sound good guy (and then they created Donald Duck, because Mickey wasn’t a jerk anymore, and they needed a foil). Once that transition was made, Mickey was far from scandalous — but that didn’t stop his animated co-stars, including Clarabelle Cow.

The scene in question is short, but it was enough to get censors all riled up and ban the cartoon from American theaters. Clarabelle is reading the book, Three Weeks, right before a date with Horace Horsecollar. When Horace arrives, Clarabelle is seen getting dressed, implying that we just watched a naked cow reading an erotic novel.

Now, Ohio theaters didn’t like that we could see Clarabelle’s udders. Because in 1930, even the animals that provided us dairy products could elicit dirty, dirty thoughts in humans, and that was immoral. But the major problem was with Three Weeks, and here is why: It is the story of Paul Verdayne, who meets a mysterious older woman known only as “The Lady,” then has sex with her on a tiger skin rug. Glyn was responsible for the phrase “It,” as in “It Girl,” as in Clara Bow, who starred in the 1927 film adaptation of Three Weeks. But the thing about “It” is that “It” refers to “sex appeal,” and as we know, America (and Canada, who banned the book) was not exactly open-minded about such things.

Eddie Deezen writes at Neatorama that Glyn was a pioneer in “women’s mass market erotic fiction,” which was great for her — and bad for Disney.

Here is “The Shindig,” in all of its pervy glory:

(via Neatorama)

Now that Marvel has earned all of the world’s money with The Avengers — having already passed the billion-dollar mark — ABC is going to try to hop on this gravy train and continue to develop a TV series for the character with director Guillermo Del Toro. This is not an entirely bad idea, considering The Incredible Hulk enjoyed a four-season run on CBS from 1978 to 1982. So, we know this can work on TV. But after The Avengers, do we really want to see someone besides Mark Ruffalo play Bruce Banner and his rowdy green counterpart? And even if we did, can they even top the latest big-screen version of the Hulk?

It seems like had the Hulk flopped (again) in The Avengers, it would have made for a good opportunity to snatch up the character and try again, see how he did on the small screen. But the resounding opinion since The Avengers came out is that the Hulk — Ruffalo’s Hulk — really stole the show. What kind of pressure is this putting on ABC, let alone the next guy to slip into the tear-away pants?

I’ll admit to getting a bit gushy about Ruffalo’s turn as Bruce Banner/the Hulk. Heck, I’d even say I’m automatically biased against anyone else who takes that part. So, I’ll try to leave my opinion at the door if and when this TV series finally comes to pass. It will be really hard, but it’s best to keep an open mind. Plus, Guillermo Del Toro is an interesting dude, and the idea of him being involved with a Hulk TV series is certainly intriguing.

This project has been floating around since 2010, but never really got off the ground. Now that Hulk is officially a smash (you know you saw that coming — sorry, it was unavoidable), you can’t blame ABC for wanting a piece of the Marvel action. (It is, after all, owned by Disney, as is Marvel.) Though if that’s what they wanted, then maybe they should have reconsidered passing on AKA Jessica Jones, unless it was an unmitigated disaster. But ABC’s Entertainment President Paul Lee (no relation to Stan Lee) says that while the Hulk might not join the ABC lineup until 2013, that isn’t the only Marvel franchise they’re looking at:

“We’re immensely proud to be a company with The Avengers. We’re going to continue to develop aggressively. We’ve got some in development, but none that I can talk about at this point.”

TV audiences have already welcomed the Hulk into their homes, and the show continues to be a favorite among fans. Maybe a new series with a name like Del Toro’s attached will give us a Hulk as good as the one we saw in a big-budget summer blockbuster — or maybe it’ll just constantly be held up to those super-standards.

As far as those big-screen standards go, Ruffalo has signed on for six movies, and it’s strange to think that none of those six movies is a reboot or sequel for just the Hulk. So, there’s that. And that’s what one might call a Hulking lot of Hulk. (Which might be okay.)

(via The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Rant)

Previously in The Hulk

• Avengers Makes $1 Billion, Two New Marvel Films In the Works
• Dear Everyone Who Was Mad When Mark Ruffalo Was Cast As the Hulk: Thanks! Love, Mark Ruffao
• Amanda Reviews The Avengers

I barely know how to deal with this video. Jane Espenson, prolific writer for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Gilmore Girls, and ABC‘s Once Upon a Time (plus her web series Husbands), recently appeared on a new interview series, Cocktails With Stan, that features Jenna Busch and the Generalissino Stan Lee as hosts. I implore you to spend the next few minutes watching Espenson and Lee discuss good villains, mutual admiration for each other, how Lee believes that had Marvel hired Espenson as a writer, they would have become “a bigger company faster,” and a tiny bit of Joss Whedon.

I’m going to throw the idea of a Whedon-Espenson-Marvel movie out there and hope it somehow materializes. What do I have to do? Clap my hands? Spin around three times? Light a candle? I’ll do everything humanly possible to see this in my lifetime.

(via World of Heroes on YouTube)

A Game of Thrones/Adventure Time mash-up featuring Jon Snow and Ghost as Finn and Jake? Someone make Daisy Edwards‘ creation happen for real. (via Ashley Hay) 

• The Frisky has a video of President Obama’s appearance on The View. He spoke about gay marriage and also, 50 Shades Of Grey.
• I’d seen a photo of a young boy on the shoulders of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki on the set of The Avengers. I just assumed it was a crew member’s son but now we learn the true, heartwarming story thanks to G33kWatch!

Some neat Wonder Woman briefs via Geeks Are Sexy.

• You know Converse has been selling some DC Comics shoes, well now they’ve come up with an even better idea – let you customize your own! Comics Alliance got to test them out. I’m still waiting for these in my size.
• Archaia Entertainment has gotten their comic Feeding Ground picked up for a feature film. MTV writes, “The Crow and American Psycho producer Edward R. Pressman has nabbed the rights to the graphic novel, Comic Book Resources reports. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who will be making his feature film debut with this project, will direct the flick. Nikita and Heroes scribe Carlos Coto has already penned a script based on the Swifty Lang, Michael Lapinski and Chris Mangun comic of the same name.” (via MTV)

No, this isn’t that TARDIS cat house we showed you last year. It’s another one. Keep ‘em coming Whovians! (via Nerd Approved)

• Could it be? Is it for real? Can the duo of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie be back together?? According to Fry (via Digital Spy), the duo will both be voicing the animated film The Canterville Ghost. Voice actors aren’t always in the same room when they record but we hope they manage to rearrange their schedules in this case so they can.
• As a person with several tattoos (and a few wordy ones at that) I found this article on literary tattoos on HelloGiggles.com to be really interesting. And tempting.

This is a Watchmen toaster. God help us all. (via The Beat)

Nothing makes us happier than writing about good things happening to people we like! Ellen DeGeneres — comedian, actress, TV host, all-around lovely person — will be this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She will join the ranks of other honorees including Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Steve Martin, and Lily Tomlin and will be awarded the prize this October at the Kennedy Center. It’s so nice to see that people actually give awards to people for making us laugh for a variety of reasons, and it couldn’t have been bestowed upon a more joyfully silly person. Congratulations, Ellen DeGeneres!

While DeGeneres has been making her funny-living as an Emmy-winning daytime TV host in recent years, she was a pretty successful standup comedian for over a decade, beginning her career in the early ’80s before going on to win the award for Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic at the American Comedy Awards in 1991. She moved on to sitcoms, and in 1997, she famously came out in character and on the cover of Time magazine. And then they canceled her show after one more season. Well, at least we can say we’ve made some progress; after all, we have a sitting President of the United States who supports marriage equality now.

But we forget that while Ellen DeGeneres broke some serious ground in LGBT tolerance (I said “some,” I know there’s a long way to go), she has always been extremely funny. And without being mean, crude, or mocking, even when she called out the One Million — er, Few Thousand? — Moms after they demanded a boycott of JC Penney when DeGeneres was chosen as the company’s new spokesperson. (I can’t wait to see them freak out about this! They’ll protest anything if the gays are involved!)

Basically, a large portion of the country would like to have Ellen DeGeneres as a personal friend. She’d be your funniest friend. She’d mildly make fun of you, turn it around on herself, and then everyone would laugh. But don’t think for a second that she’s above being less than humble. In a written statement, she said:

“It’s such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder… why didn’t I get this sooner?”

Actually, that’s a rather valid question. Because I’d give her all the awards. For being wonderful.

Once again: Congratulations, Ellen!

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

Previously in Ellen DeGeneres

• We Would Like to Purchase the Version of 50 Shades of Grey That Ellen DeGeneres Read, Please [Video]
• Ellen DeGeneres Plays 7 Minutes in Heaven With a Fella? [Video]
• Ellen DeGeneres Smacks Down Homophobic Organization in the Friendliest, Nicest Way Possible [Video]

This is a wonderful mash-up relevant to my interests! Harpuahound from the online community Engraver’s Cafe, created a unique science and science fiction-minded ring on request. Hit the jump to check out the side views! 

Harpuahound writes, “They wanted insignias mixed in with the design. Tardis (Phone booth from Dr. Who) is center motif. With a space shuttle on one side and Star Trek symbol on the other.”

I should think the recipient would be very happy with this. I know I would!

(via When Geeks Wed)

Previously in Geek Rings

• Indiana Jones Inspired Engagement Ring
• The TARDIS Ring
• Transformers Engagement Ring

In a shocking development in the world of “entertaining while being a female human,” television shows that are run and written by women can be just as raunchy as show that are run and written by men behind the scenes! This totally surprising (and when I say “totally surprising,” I mean “totally unsurprising”) discovery kind of flies in the face of the whole “boys’ club” environment we keep hearing about, even though female writers in late night are still pretty scarce. But don’t you worry your pretty heads about your primetime shows. Those ladies might be peeing in jars and everything!

Actually, what I’m going to say about this is not that women are raunchier than men are, but more like we are raunchier than men expect us to be. Anyone who believes that female writers, let alone female comedy writers, are any less disgusting than their male counterparts is just adorable. You precious thing, thinking that all we write about flowers and cooking and decorating and dating and babies! No, in fact, we are The Worst. So much so that I have grossed out my grossest guy friends, and I’m not going to lie — I love when that happens.

The Grindstone has a great summary of several female showrunners, including New Girl showrunner Liz Meriwether, pictured above with the show’s star Zooey Deschanel. And a very important point is made by Emily Kapnek, showrunner of Suburgatory: it’s not about who can be grosser — it’s about leaving no person in that writers’ room self-conscious or afraid to speak their mind, whatever might be on their minds:

“You want to create an environment where people feel like they can say anything. It needs to have a safety: You can let your mind go to a really weird, scary, not acceptable place in that room, and then carve a story out of that weird, dark hole in your mind.”

And speaking as someone who has written comedy in the past (and hopefully, the future), I can tell you that the best ideas come from strange places. Sometimes the journey is disgusting and ugly and mean — but that’s just how you get there sometimes. The best lines, stories, or jokes might not even be dirty in the end, but the bits and pieces that led to it could have been utterly depraved. And that’s the kind of place that Kapnek is talking about. And if you don’t like it, then writer Daley Haggar (The Big Bang Theory, South Park) will give you an honest answer:

“If you’re not comfortable with sexual humor or with crudeness or with all sorts of people being really honest about certain emotions, then yeah, this job is not for you.”

Yes, sometimes writers — women and men — can make ill-advised jokes that might hurt someone’s feelings and offend people. And sometimes, when that kind of joke is made, it’s easier to get it out there and then see where to take it so it doesn’t offend or hurt someone’s (i.e., the audience) feelings.

What’s refreshing about this article is not that women are officially just as raunchy as men. It’s that more men are finding themselves able to work with women as peers and not as “others.” All writers can get in the same room, bounce ideas off each other, and not worry about being offended or offensive, just be a team and work together, and make the funniest, cleverest darn show that they can.

And if you’re offended easily, I suggest writing greeting cards instead. And if you’re a guy who has a problem working with women, then you are the one with the problem.

(via The Grindstone)

Previously in Women in Comedy

• A Mother’s Day Song For the Laid-Back Mother-Daughter Bonding Session [Video]
• Tina Fey Sits Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis [Video]
• Saturday Night Live Adds a New (Female) Cast Member! Say Hello to Kate McKinnon!

If Facebook’s has a reputation for not exactly being discrete with its users information, it’s got nobody to blame but itself. Automatic opt-in privacy changes that are difficult to edit and its CEO’s public stance that everybody should just wise up, step into the 21st century, and make all their data public and online do not exactly inspire confidence. And as Facebook prepares to go public in a somewhat different way, that is, with its initial public offering just a few days from now, it’s no wonder people are focusing on its sometimes contentious relationship with its userbase.

The Associated Press and CNBC got together to administer a poll to more than one thousand American Facebook users (who make up the largest national majority of the userbase) and Americans, and found that 59% of the users polled had little or no trust in Facebook to keep their information private.

But as any cable service provider will tell you, in a market without much competition whether or not your user base actually enjoys the way you provide your service has a limited effect on whether or not they will deal with you. The problem for Facebook, if there turns out to be one, is that it’s a free service. Its revenue, $1.06 billion in the first quarter alone, was made primarily from clicks on the advertisements that Facebook generates for the pages of its users. However, as the AP-CNBC poll found, the vast majority of Facebook users never click ads.

It should come as no surprise that if a company has an image problem with privacy, nobody wants to buy services through it either, another finding of the poll. And you can’t blame The Social Network for it: 70% of those polled said they’d never even seen it. Facebook is projected to be valued between $93 and $104 billion when it goes to public trading later this week.

(via Market Day.)

You remember when the NBC show Community spoofed the BBC’s Doctor Who with their show within a show called Inspector Spacetime? First it got popular enough to have a web series (not affiliated with NBC) made. Then the hopeful creators of that webs series got sued by NBC. But, as Community lives on (for the time being), so does Inspector Spacetime and it turns out one Doctor Who star is a big fan. The BBC recently chatted with Karen Gillan just before she filmed her last episode of the long-running sci-fi show, and the actress described how she came to find out about Inspector Spacetime and even hinted at wanting them to hire her. The BBC thinks it’s a delightful idea and is trying to start a campaign with the hashtag #AmyMeetsAbed. Now watch Gillan being completely adorable in this video.

(via Doctor Who tumblr)

Can you see the vulva in this picture? Well, it’s there, and it’s ancient! A recent discovery was made of 37,000-year-old wall art — possibly the first-ever wall art — at Abri Castanet in southern France. And upon closer inspection, it seems like these primitive humans had a great appreciation for female sex organs, so much so that they drew it all over the walls of caves. And it was the first thing they ever wanted to draw on the walls of caves! (Plus some animals and things, but most notably, vulvas.) So, what are we to make of this? Were primitive humans pervs? A lot less inhibited than people are today? Celebrating the female form? Or just simply practicing still-life?

Before the discovery in Abri Castanet, researchers believed they’d found the first known wall art in the nearby Chauvet Cave. The proximity of the sites suggests that the artists themselves came from the same group of primitive humans, the Aurignacian culture, which existed for about another 10,000 years after the Abri Castanet art was said to have been made. These are also believed to be one of the first groups of modern humans to leave Africa for the Eurasian continent.

So, what’s with the lady parts? Art historians will tell you that many ancient cultures were not shy about the female form and depicting it in various forms of art, including the famous Venus statues, which symbolized fertility and were likely used as “good luck” charms or talismans in hopes of easier childbearing. They featured exaggerated female sexual organs and breasts, as if to say “Look, we’re really serious about making babies to further the human race, so check out the massive mons pubis on this statue we made. And these large breasts, perfect for feeding the baby you’ll give us. For real, this is a grand example of a female, and we hope you appreciate it!” Though the wall art is obviously cruder and less detailed — and less recognizable — than a statue in the shape of a woman, all the pictures found on the walls suggest things that were simply part of the Aurignacian way of life, including the ladyfolk.

The Aurignacians do have their own famous Venus statue, though, the Venus of Hohle Fels, which was a blatant reproduction of the female form featuring not just a pronounced vulva, but some very prominent labia majora. This was found in a cave in southwestern Germany, and may have even been worn as a pendant:

“All place an emphasis on sexual attributes and lack emphasis on the legs, arms, face and head, made all the more noticeable in this case (the Venus of Hohle Fels) because a carefully carved, polished ring — suggesting that the figurine was once suspended as a pendant — exists in place of a head,” [Nicholas] Conard [paleoanthropologist at the University of Tubingen] said.

Vulvas on the wall, vulvas and labia majora on pendants … the Aurignacian people were very into their lady parts. Not that much has changed, really.

Photo by Raphaelle Bourrillon

(via MSNBC)

You’ll be able to see Idris Elba very soon in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, but the British actor recently dropped some hints on Marvel Studios’ Thor 2. Namely that he’ll be back to take up Heimdall’s mantle in the film. But as much as we love Elba, what we’d like to know is, will there be more Sif? 

The Luther actor told Collider he is definitely back for Thor 2. Although he hasn’t read a script yet, he’s seen an outline. “My schedule is really packed, but I’m going to do Thor after I play [Nelson] Mandela,” he said, mentioning the upcoming film Long Walk To Freedom. Empire Online also mentions, “The other films on Elba’s packed slate this year are Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and kidnap thriller No Good Deed.”

“I’d just like to get to know him a bit more,” said Elba. “Who is Heimdall? He guards the gate. Okay. Is there anything else? I don’t know what is in the script because I haven’t read it yet. But, the audience has responded to Asgard and wants to know more about who lives there and what it’s about. I’m sure, if they do that, Heimdall will be featured more.”

Elba told MTV News he recently went in for a costume fitting and is really excited about getting started. He also talked with them about where the film will delve deeper.

“What’s more involved is who the Asgardians are. I think we’ll see a sense of that,” he told them. “It’s a huge film, Thor 2, but I also think it’s micro in a way that you start to look at people, who they are a little bit more.”

Sif and the Warriors Three were one of the best parts of Thor. I was disappointed we didn’t get more of them but if what Elba says is true, we could learn a lot about those daring Asgardians. (By the way, if you liked Sif you should check out writer Kelly Sue Deconnick’s Sif one-shot from Marvel.)

Prometheus hits theaters June 1, Thor 2, November 15, 2013.

(via Empire, MTV)

When Tao Porchon-Lynch was a younger woman, she won contests for her shapely legs. Now, at age 93, she’s been using those legs — and arms, and back, and abs — to bend herself into yoga poses that make people decades younger than her gasp in admiration. Her yoga journey began 45 years ago, later in life than most people who pursue it, but after finding herself loving the poses and the culture, she suck with it and share it with others. Her dedication has now earned her the title of the world’s oldest yoga teacher by Guinness World Records.

Porchon-Lynch told Guinness that since childhood, she always had a “zest for physical activity” and was first exposed to yoga at age eight. As she grew up, she pursued a career in show business and worked as a cabaret dancer, an actress (she appeared onscreen with none other than Elizabeth Taylor in The Last Time I Saw Paris), and a model, traveling the world. During her early career, she was honored with an award for having “The Best Legs in Europe.” She stuck with yoga the whole time and became a teacher at about 48 years old (if my math is correct). In 1982, she founded the Westchester Institute of Yoga, which she still runs with no sign of stopping.

Back in November, we introduced you to Bernice Bates, who was, at that time, the world’s oldest yoga teacher at age 91. A teacher for over 50 years in Florida, she was actually supportive of anyone who could take the title from her:

“Anyone that can beat the record is fine,” Bates told HuffPost Weird News. “I’m sure there’s a 100-year-old guy in India who can probably beat me.”

Turns out there was another senior yogi right up the east coast! Namaste!

(Huffington Post via The Frisky)

Previously in Yoga

• The World’s Oldest Yoga Teacher Is This 91-Year-Old Great-Grandmother (Says Guinness)
• Zombie, Pirate, and Alien Yoga — Because You’ve Always Wondered, Just Admit It
• Things We Saw Today: Princess Leia Doing Yoga

R2, we asked you to shut down all the trash compactors on the detention level.

General Grievous was actually the most popular vendor in Hollywood Studios, until it was discovered that all of his lightsabers were illicitly acquired.

Yoda’s passion for topiary arrangements was eventually revealed to come out of an unprofessional level of OCD.

And every thing was going great with the young Queen Amidala until she had to be treated for heatstroke due to improper workplace attire.

More of Disney’s ads for its Star Wars Weekends are at /Film.

As many gamers will be able to tell you, today marks the release of Diablo III, the long awaited next installment of Blizzard’s Diablo series. We’ve talked about the game before, and fully understand the hold it has over gamers of a certain age. It wouldn’t be launch day without server overcrowding and the discovery of some easily avoidable but still game breaking bugs, but, odds are, if you’re into the game and you’re reading this, you’d love to be playing right now and the only reason you’re not is probably because you have some sort of real life responsibility… Isn’t being a grown up fun?

In the meantime, enjoy this animated short produced by Blizzard with Titmouse Studios, the people behind Metalocalypse, Guitar Hero‘s cinematics, the opening titles of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the ping pong anime sequence on Community.

Here’s the short version of what happens in this video: 1.) Woman draws dragon. 2.) Dragon comes to life. 3.) You cry tears of joy. Personally, I just love it when something so simple, with no words, can pull out so much emotion from me. Here’s the longer version – The animation, titled Crayon Dragon, was a second-year art project by California Institute of the Arts student Toniko Pantoja. Of course his work wouldn’t be complete without the magical music composed by Denny Schneidemesser, violin by Taryn J. Harbridge, low and tin whistle by Kristin Naigus and sound design by Glenn Harfagre. Pantoja achieved the entire effect by using, “Flash for the character animation, and the coloring for the character animation. Photoshop was used to speed paint the backgrounds, and After Effects to put everything together. Final Cut Pro was used for the final outcome for the video.” You can check out more on Pantoja’s blog.

Sit back (perhaps grab a tissue) and enjoy!

(via io9)

No, but seriously: we watch Sherlock, too. (Doctor Who on Tumblr)

• Colleen Atwood talks about the costumes she’s designed for Snow White and the Huntsman. (The Frisky)
• The rebooted Tomb Raider has been bumped to 2013. (Wired)

This is Alice Eve on the set of Star Trek 2, and no, we still don’t know who she’s playing. My money is on “someone who Kirk attempts to bang/or flirt with.” (Blastr)

• IndieWire has a very interesting look at the way that different reviewers saw Black Widow’s role in The Avengers. (Surprise! It breaks down along gender lines.)
• The Gloss wants to know: Mal Reynolds, or Han Solo? We feel that you are well equipped to answer.

Some hero is selling this homemade version of Katniss’ girl on fire costume on Etsy. (Fasionably Geek)

• A sobering look about how the television system in America is simply not ready to go to any kind of a la cart viewing experience right now. (Think Progress)

The Avengers in the style of Maurice Sendak. No, there’s just something in our eyes. (AgarthanGuide on Deviant Art)

• Everything you ever needed to know about the sea change in the marketing, design, and distribution of vibrators today. (The Atlantic)

The business card of Tom Wilson, which is basically a FAQ so that he can politely have a good time in public and interact with fans of his performance as Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future movies in a meaningful way. (The Daily What)

Here’s a funny story for your late afternoon enjoyment: Zookeepers in Pakistan regularly purchase alcohol for the zoo’s elephants for when the animals get a little keyed up during mating season. Or so they claimed. For twenty years. If that isn’t funny enough for you to begin with, try this one: Someone thought it was strange that elephants were basically being “prescribed” booze, so they asked a veterinarian, “Hey, can elephants drink booze?” And the vet said, “No, elephants cannot drink booze. God, I hope they haven’t been drinking booze.” Don’t worry! The elephants never drank any of the booze. It was for the zookeepers, who bogarted all that elephant-relegated booze for all those years.

Since 1992, caretakers of the elephants at Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo have been requesting mass quantities of alcohol as part of the animals’ food supply, costing up to Rs80,000 (about $880 US) at its highest. They would even threaten the zoo’s administration if their demands were not met. Their claim? That they needed to give elephants alcohol to “calm them down” during mating.

But since an investigation was conducted, it was discovered that not only can elephants not consume alcohol, but all this alcohol being bought was not even being given to the elephants — it was being consumed by the caretakers. Not unpredictably, those caretakers — who were responsible for a 22-year-old elephant named Saheli, who arrived as a gift from Sri Lanka and died before she was supposed to — have been suspended.

Let this be a lesson to everyone: If you’re going to order gigantic amounts of alcohol beverages for zoo animals, make sure they can actually consume it, or else it’s going to look very suspicious.

(The Express Tribune via Neatorama)

Do you ever think to yourself, “Man, you know what I’d love to make the time for one of these days? A marathon of Hayao Miyazaki movies.” Well, let this collection of minimalist posters from The Art of Animation provide you a little more motivation for such a thing. More after the jump.

Spirited Away

My Neighbor Totoro

Castle in the Sky

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Howl’s Moving Castle

Ponyo

Some posters have two versions, for which we’ll direct you back to The Art of Animation.

(via The Art of Animation)

Previously in Hayao Miyazaki

• Move Over Beyonce, You’ve Been Out-Tweeted by Hayao Miyazaki
• Next Ghibli Film Will Be “Realistic,” “Not the Sort of Work That Everyone… Can Relax and Watch”
• Two New Films Announced by the Founders of Studio Ghibli

Editors Note: Long time readers will remember that last year, because of the way the Game of Thrones fanbase is divided, we actually had two recaps: one written by someone who had read the books, and the other by someone completely new to the story, but already in love with George R. R. Martin‘s world. Well, this time around it’s a little harder to find someone who hasn’t read the books, but our very own office manager Sarah Devlin stepped up to the plate. (You might remember her from our Walking Dead recaps) There was just one problem: she didn’t have HBO yet. But this week, she does, and she joins our tradition of twin recaps from those who have and haven’t read the original source material.

I’ll be recapping the remainder of this season of Game of Thrones, which will certainly be eye-opening for me since I am totally new to the show. I haven’t seen the first season, or read the books, and last night’s episode, “A Man Without Honor,” was my first introduction to the series. It’s a steep learning curve, but I hope I’m up to the challenge.

This week’s episode certainly confirmed for me that the show is exactly as violent as I’ve always heard. Theon, who was holding Bran and Rickon hostage, went berserk once they escaped and maybe killed them. That is, he definitely killed two children, but it’s not totally clear whether or not they were the right ones. Better to kill too many kids than too little in the Game of Thrones universe, I suppose.

King Joffrey was also exactly as terrible as I’ve always heard, though he didn’t make an appearance in the episode. Sansa found out that she may be able to bear children for him after all, a fact that she tries to conceal from the Queen by flipping the bloody mattress over when she wakes up the following morning. This genius plan is foiled and Cersei finds out, but her reaction is anticlimactic, even bordering on apathetic. I guess when you have a son as terrible as Joffrey it’s difficult to find the energy to care about anyone else.

Also notable for me was the theft of Daenerys’s dragons, which was a plot point that I had managed to hear about despite not watching a single episode prior to this one. The internet tells me that this is development is not faithful to the books, and given how much source material there is to choose from, it is curious that the writers decided to make this departure. Daenerys also got a lecture this week about her unwillingness to rely on people, and her obsession with the dragons, but it didn’t seem to sink in and she appeared content to remain an island unto herself for the time being.

The character who really drew the short straw this week, in my estimation (if you don’t count the dead kids) is Jon Snow, who was traipsing through snow-covered mountains with a redhead named Ygritte as his captive, who spent most of her time making fun of Jon Snow for not having sex with her. This seemed like gratuitous dirty talk until she was able to use it to distract Jon sufficiently to escape the rope binding them together, and several exquisitely timed henchmen popped up from behind various snowdrifts, enabling her to capture him in in turn.

There was also some complicated-sounding war gamesmanship that went down at the Stark Camp, but given my unfamiliarity with the show it’s hard for me to predict what that might mean. At any rate, Rickard Karstark, Roose Bolton, and Barristan Selmy look set to play larger roles in the final episodes of the season.

Ultimately, I found the show to be a pleasant surprise (if um, a bit overwhelming and extremely confusing). It’s certainly beautiful to look at. I was surprised that, after all I’ve heard about the nudity/explicit sex/raping and pillaging that goes on in the series that there was hardly any of that in this episode, but I suppose they more than made up for it with all the violence. Also, in the coming week, before next week’s episode, I clearly need to spend some quality time with my Game of Thrones-obsessed friends so that I can figure out what on earth is going on. Wish me luck!

Editor’s Note: Last week we started down the path of the second half of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 2. This week Amy Ratcliffe continues with her delightful recaps although we have a bit of a change-up. Amy’s post will include information from the George R.R. Martin novels throughout, but in just a few minutes we’ll have another recap up from Sarah Devlin, someone who hasn’t read the books. So read on if you’d like to know where the television show strayed from the source material and see what Amy thought about last night’s episode,  A Man Without Honor. 

Season 2: Episode Seven – A Man Without Honor

Just like every week, we travel all over Westeros and beyond in last night’s Game of Thrones. The season continues to move at an insane pace, and I felt like A Man Without Honor jumped from character to character fast enough to give me whiplash!

In the North, Jon realizes his female prisoner isn’t worth the trouble. Ygritte teases him mercilessly about his lack of experience with women, about his incorrect definition of freedom, and then the Night Watch’s no sex rule. And yes, she utters the infamous “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” She’s relentless, and it’s just the sort of prodding Snow needs if you ask me. She uses her womanly wiles to the extent that Jon is oblivious to the fact she’s leading him into a trap. She places him right in the middle of a group of wildlings. I have no clue how this is going to tie in with the very important moment to come with Qhorin Halfhand.

The Tywin and Arya talk show continues in Harrenhal. In this week’s segment, Tywin gives a meal to Arya and lets her sit at his table. He talks about wars and the importance of the family legacy. They discuss Harrenhal and history, and Tywin calls her out on lying about being a commoner. He even goes so far as to comment that Arya reminds him of his daughter.

As much as I love the information exchange and interactions between these two, I have issues with these scenes. Maybe they’re inserted to flesh out Tywin’s character, but I’m not sure this is the right way to go about it. I never got the impression that he was nice in the books and certainly not sentimental enough to treat a servant so kindly even if she reminds him of his daughter. Is it meant to be a balance to show a more decent Lannister? Whatever the purpose, he’ll be leaving Harrenhal for King’s Landing soon.

They’re preparing for war in the city. Well, Cersei and Tyrion are. They have word that Stannis has sent 200 ships, and the vessels will be arriving within five days (where’s Tyrion’s chain by the way?). I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cersei as vulnerable as she was talking with Tyrion about Joffrey. She admits she can’t control him and acknowledges that he is malicious for fun. She wonders if it is the price of her and Jaime’s sins.

We don’t see candid Cersei often, but when it happens, it’s almost always over her children. She doesn’t show her Achilles heel to many people, but Tyrion already knows about it. When Tyrion moved to comfort her, I was waiting for the figurative slap that only Cersei can deliver, but she was too distraught. I know she’s not as soft in the book, but since she does always express love for her children, it’s not a stretch for me to see her this way.

She shows her more honest side to Sansa, too. Sansa gets her first period and though Shae tries to help her hide it (not quite as dramatic as nearly burning the tower down in the book), the Hound sees the evidence. I bet he and Sansa disliked that moment almost equally.  Sansa knows this means she can bear children for Joffrey, and she’s terrified. Cersei tells her that she might not love Joffrey, but she’ll love the babies she has and those are the only people she should love. “The more people you love, the weaker you are.”

Tell that to Jorah. Everyone knows he’s in love with Dany, including Dany, and she tells him to back off and find her dragons. There may have been a few more words including a discussion about trust and how Dany isn’t giving it to anyone. When Jorah goes on his quest he runs into the mysterious lady with the mask – Quaithe – who knows not only about his feelings for Dany but also that Jorah betrayed her to Varys. When he promises never to betray her again, she tells him the one who stole the dragons is currently with Dany.

She is with the Thirteen, and Pyat Pree shows up and reveals that he has partnered with Xaro. The latter wants to be King of Qarth and so gave up the dragons to Pyat Pree. The warlock has taken them to the House of Undying, and after that announcement, he duplicates himself and kills the entire council. I’ll come back to that in a minute.

I am not thrilled with the portrayal of Dany this season in comparison to the book. I understand that she is frustrated; her khalasar has dwindled, she needs ships, and now her children have been taken. She’s floundering and panicking. Even given all that, she’s not being the Dany I know and love. She’s acting petulant and bratty rather than commanding respect. She’s taking on some of Viserys’ manners, and I don’t like it.

And what the heck is going on with Qarth? This is the storyline that has been changed the most. I can understand the House of the Undying taking the dragons to give Dany greater motivation to burn it to the ground. Pyat Pree murdering the Thirteen was completely unexpected as was Xaro’s power play to become King of Qarth. I’m guessing these events were inserted to make Qarth more spicy, and they can be forced into the bigger puzzle later. I have a crazier theory, too: maybe Dany’s already in the House of the Undying and these are her visions.

Back in Westeros, Robb is having his own lady problems. He keeps flirting with Talisa even though he is betrothed to a Frey, and his men are commenting on the fact that he’s expressing interest in a foreign woman. While he’s away on negotiations (with Talisa), Jaime almost escapes his cell and kills a guard, specifically a Karstark, in the process. He may win the prize for great lines and being deceptive for tonight’s episode.

When a distant relative of his is stuck in his holding pen with him, Jaime waxes poetic about memories of squiring and knighthood. Even though I know Jaime, I truly believed he was having a human moment. That is, until he killed his relative in order to distract the guard and attempt escape. He tells Alton, “My life has left me uniquely unfit for constraint.” Then he bashes Alton’s head in. That didn’t happen in the book, and I’m not thrilled about making Jaime more unlikeable. He needs to get to a point where we can believe he has a conscience and wants redemption and the events in this episode mean we’ll automatically distrust him in future.

After he is recaptured, he has a face off with Catelyn. This is moved up a little in comparison to the book, but I’m okay with that. The hate they hold for each other is palpable, and Catelyn delivers lines with such venom that I feel like she could take off Jaime’s head at any minute. I’m very much looking forward to more scenes with those two and Brienne in the future.

Finally, the episode started and ended with Theon. Or as I like to call him, the weaselly jerk. When he realizes Bran and Rickon are gone he leaves on horseback with his men hounds to find them (this is when the kennelmaster died in the book, but Rodrik took his place in last week’s episode). When Maester Luwin points out that he’s being heartless, Theon says it’s “better to be cruel than weak.” He’s fumbling into who he thinks he’s supposed to be and though he’s just playing a part, the process is making him evil instead of just being a bully.

He completes his turn to the Dark side by seemingly killing Bran and Rickon with fire. You and I know it isn’t really the Stark children, but it is kids. Theon murdered innocents in order to get suitable substitutes for the Starks. I don’t think there’s any turning back from that. Much of this paralleled the books, minus the lack of Meera and Jojen.

Even though I’m not pleased with Dany’s attitude, this episode did reinforce the power of the Targaryens. Arya brought up the Targaryens and their dragons in reverent tones while speaking with Tywin (they destroyed Harrenhal), and it came up when Catelyn and Jaime talked. The name is not dead in Westeros, and despite the actions of the mad king, it still can command respect. That’s nothing to sneeze at, and it makes you think that Dany’s last name will indeed get her a few places.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode as long as I don’t obsess over the book too much. It’s a wonderful  TV series, but it’s wavering a teensy bit on the adaptation. Even though it’s incredibly fast paced, I like that we’re starting to get scenes that last less than a minute. We’re getting more information that way and switching up the scene lengths makes up for the fact that you don’t really get any time to take a breath. When it comes to Game of Thrones, I’m okay with less breathing in favor of more story.

Amy Ratcliffe is a freelance writer who wants Needle and needles. And maybe some dragons. She blogs a lot at geek with curves.