Seeker explains how television entertainment can shape our political opinions

Today is National Autonomous Vehicle Day, but I'm not celebrating it.  Instead ABC's cancellation of "Roseanne" has prompted me to look at another technology, television — in particular, how television shapes our political opinions.  Seeker explains in TV Shows Are Changing Your Political Opinions Without You Knowing It.

We all know the news can be biased, but what about entertainment TV? Can mindless, seemingly-apolitical shows actually change our opinions?

The answer appears to be yes, as the description quoted a press release on EurekAlert: People who watch entertainment TV are more likely to vote for populist politicians.

People exposed to entertainment television are more likely to vote for populist politicians according to a new study co-authored by an economist at Queen Mary University of London.The researchers investigated the political impact of entertainment television in Italy over the last 30 years during the phased introduction of Silvio Berlusconi's commercial TV network Mediaset.

The press release struck an even more relevant note in its conclusion.

Dr. [Andrea] Tesei said: "Our results suggest that entertainment content can influence political attitudes, creating a fertile ground for the spread of populist messages. It's the first major study to investigate the political effect of exposure among voters to a diet of 'light' entertainment. The results are timely as the United States adjusts to the Presidency of Donald Trump."

Hence the image I used to illustrate this entry — Trump isn't the only person to learn a lot watching television.  All of us do, whether we're aware of it or not.

That's it for May.  Stay tuned for the first post of June coming up at or just after Midnight.

The Primetime Emmy Awards for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

I plan on posting another retrospective tomorrow, which will be about the most read entries about the Primetime Emmy Awards.  Stay tuned.

So I concluded Political reform for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News and so I shall begin today.  Here are the most read entries about the Primetime Emmy Awards during the seventh year of this blog.


The most read on the topic is 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' leads variety talk shows at the Primetime Emmy Awards from September 5, 2017.  It earned 4357 raw page views by March 20, 2018, enough to place it 14th overall and 12th among entries actually posted during the blogging year.  The entry also ranked first among September 2017's posts with 4090 default and 4129 raw page views at the end of the month.  It had 63 default views before being shared at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page at 10 P.M. EDT.  It earned 407 default page views in the first two hours and 2710 default page views in the first 24 hours after being shared.  It ended the month with 4089 default and 4132 raw page views, placing it 7th on the all-time top ten list, knocking Tyrion Lannister ties Sanders and beats Clinton and Trump out of the top ten. It then passed Rusty-Patched Bumblebee finally placed on the Endangered Species List, 2016 could be a good year for minor party candidates, and finally Federal judge orders Michigan recount to begin today.  The tax bill and the U.S. economy in 2018 and beyond knocked it out of the top ten.  Sic transit gloria mundi.


'The Handmaid's Tale' sweeps last night of Emmys to win five awards from September 18, 2017 also entered the top ten.  It shared it at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page at 10 P.M. on October 1, 2017.  It had 447 raw page views before being shared.  It earned ~1500 page views in the first two hours and 3017 page views in the first 24 hours after being shared.  It had 3452 total default page views and was within 40 page views of passing "Rusty-Patched Bumblebee finally placed on the Endangered Species List" from Mar 22, 2017 at 3491 default and 3829 raw page views at 10 P.M. EDT on October 2, 2017.  It passed the former number ten at ~11:30 P.M. EDT on October 2, 2017.  It then reached ninth on October 4, 2017, passing "2016 could be a good year for minor party candidates"."  That performance also made it the second most read entry during October 2017 with 3225 default page views during the month, although it maxed out at 3658 default page views on October 17, 2017.  It ended the blogging year with 3767 raw page views, enough for 18th place overall and 16th among entries posted between March 21, 2017 and March 20, 2018.  Fall back as 'Last Week Tonight' asks 'how is this still a thing?' knocked this entry out of the top ten.  Sic transit gloria mundi.

In case anyone noticed, I used the image above in What if the entertainment professionals voted on the television acting nominations at the Saturn Awards?  Don't be surprised.  I'm an environmentalist; I recycle.

Follow over the jump for the posts about the Primetime Emmy Awards that never made the all time top ten, but were still in the top 40 for the year.

Political reform for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

I told my readers when I would continue this series at the end of 'The Walking Dead' vs. 'American Horror Story: Cult' plus Saturn Awards for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News when I wrote "As for the retrospectives, I plan on posting one about political reform on the 29th.  Stay tuned."  It's the 29th, so it's time for me to follow through.


The most read entry in this retrospective is John Oliver on primaries and caucuses for Groundhog Day from February 2, 2018.  This entry was the thirteenth most read entry during the seventh year of the blog, the eleventh most read actually posted during the blogging year with 4308 raw page views.  It was also the fourth most read entry of February 2018 with 4252 default and 4292 raw page views.  This post had 64 page views before being shared at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page.  It earned 1820 page views in the first two hours and 3694 in the first 24 hours after being shared.

While this entry fits the theme of political reform, including gerrymandering reform, and set the order of this post in the sequence, I really should have included it in Holidays for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Arbor Day as Groundhog Day is one of the holidays I celebrate on this blog.  Oops.  At least I could find another theme for it.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the top entries on the theme.

CBS News and the U.S. Army Field Band wish all a somber Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  Expect something serious for the first time since U.S. leaving Iran nuclear agreement pushes U.S. oil price above $70 plus driving update for May 2018: Pearl.  I have had enough of entertainment for now!

So I concluded of 'Solo' earns Pyrrhic victory over 'Deadpool 2' at the box office and so I shall proceed.

CBS News puts its viewers and my readers in the proper frame of mind by explaining Why you shouldn't say "Happy Memorial Day."

To some people, Memorial Day simply means the start of summer and an enjoyable three-day weekend. However, many veterans feel the true meaning of the holiday has been lost. Here's why many vets think you shouldn't say "Happy Memorial Day."

Continuing with the serious tone, the strings of The United States Army Field Band AKA the Six-String Soldiers play Battle Hymn of the Republic for Memorial Day.

For those that made the ultimate sacrifice. As a tribute to the fallen for Memorial Day, Six-String Soldiers perform Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Steve Martin once joked that it was impossible to play a sad song on a banjo.  This video almost proves him wrong.

It is possible to play a sad song on a bugle.  Watch and listen to MLive's Memorial Day ceremony at Great Lakes National Cemetery to hear it.

The 13th annual Memorial Day ceremony took place on Sunday, May 27, 2018 at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly Township. U.S. Army Major General Clark W. LeMasters served as the event's keynote speaker.

Have a somber Memorial Day, everyone.

'Solo' earns Pyrrhic victory over 'Deadpool 2' at the box office

At the conclusion of Beyond the Trailer on speculative fiction nominees at the MTV Movie and TV Awards, I told my readers to "stay tuned for the box office for 'Deadpool 2' and 'Solo.'  Star Wars!"  Wochit Entertainment sets up the rivalry in Will Deadpool 2 Beat 'Solo' At The Box Office?

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on May 25. It's expected to earn $150 million in it's opening weekend, Friday to Monday. However, it faces some stiff competition at the box. Solo's toughest competition is Deadpool 2. Deadpool heads into the weekend having earned $150 million over seven days. Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool, is convinced that Deadpool 2 will crush Solo. --Disney I apologize in advance, but I’m telling the truth: Deadpool is going to kick your *bleep*.---

That won't happen this weekend, as "Solo" is number one at the box office.  However, when one compares opening weekends, the return of The Merc with the Mouth beats the Han Solo origin story handily.  The Hollywood Reporter figured out as much on Friday in Box Office: 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Struggling to Hit $110M in U.S., Crashes Overseas.

Disney and Lucasfilms' 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' is struggling in its debut at the Memorial Day box office, where it could come in well behind expectations with $105 million-$110 million for the four-day holiday weekend unless traffic picks up in earnest on Saturday. The projected three-day weekend tally is $80 million-$90 million.

As Forbes reports, the actual tally for Friday through today (Sunday) is $83.3 million and the projected total for the holiday weekend will be $101 million.  Yikes!  That's a lot lower than any of the projections.

Follow over the jump for analyses of "Solo" becoming a box office disappointment.

Beyond the Trailer on speculative fiction nominees at the MTV Movie and TV Awards

I finished Home entertainment at the Saturn Awards with a segue.

I'm not finished with awards shows.  Tomorrow, I'm planning on posting my thoughts about the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominees.  Stay tuned.

I changed my mind.  Instead, I'm sharing Grace Randolph from Beyond the Trailer giving her opinions about the MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018 Nominations.

MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018 today! Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph's reaction and breakdown of the nominations plus predictions for which nominees will be the winners! Black Panther, Stranger Things Season 2, Wonder Woman, Avengers Infinity War, It Chapter 1, The Last Jedi and more lead the nominations! And be sure to make your own predictions before you see the full show and opening in 2018 with host Tiffany Haddish.

That's what Grace Randolph thinks.  It doesn't matter what I think, as voting is now closed.  Darn.

I'll report on the winners no later than when the Teen Choice Awards nominees are announced in July.  In the meantime, stay tuned for the box office for "Deadpool 2" and "Solo."  Star Wars!

Home entertainment at the Saturn Awards

"Tomorrow will be the last entry about the Saturn Awards, as I will examine home entertainment.  After that, I get to vote."  That's what I wrote yesterday and both parts of it are true.  Without any further ado, here are the nominees in the five home entertainment categories from File 770.

Best DVD/BD Release:

2:22 (Magnolia)
Colossal (Universal)
Cult of Chucky (Universal)
Dave Made a Maze (Gravitas Ventures)
The Devil’s Whisper (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
The Man from Earth: Holocene (MVD Visual)

In Celebrate National Science Fiction Day with 'The Last Jedi' atop the 2017 box office, I wrote "As for 'Colossal,' that's a better movie than the numbers suggest."  In appreciation of its quality and in gratitude for it's being nominated, I'm voting for it.

Best DVD/BD Classic Film Release:

Caltiki The Immortal Monster (Arrow)
Deluge (Kino Lorber)
Lifeboat (Kino Lorber)
The Mephisto Waltz (Kino Lorber)
The Old Dark House (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Tobor the Great (Kino Classics)

The only Oscar nominee here is "Lifeboat," so I'm voting for it.  Besides, Alfred Hitchcock directed it.  That written, I would not be surprised at any of these winning, especially "The Old Dark House," a horror movie starring Boris Karloff.  It's rated just as highly on IMDB as "Lifeboat."

Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release:

Lost Horizon (80th Anniversary) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
The Lost World Deluxe Edition (Flicker Alley)
Night of the Living Dead (Criterion Collection)
Re-Animator Special Edition (Arrow)
Speed Racer Collector’s Edition (Funimation)
Suspiria 40th Anniversary Edition (Synapse)

"Lost Horizon" is an Oscar winner and a classic, so it has my vote.  However, that's not enough to get it to win.  I would not be surprised if "Night of the Living Dead" wins, especially since George Romero died last October, which might people miss him and his work more.  The other possibilities include "Re-Animator" and "Suspiria," both of which were previously nominated at the Saturn Awards when they were released.

Best DVD/BD Collection Release:

OSS 117 Five Film Collection (Kino Classics)
Abbott and Costello Rarities (Thunderbean)
The Adventures of Captain Marvel (Kino Classics)
Christopher Nolan 4K Collection (Warner)
Dracula Complete Legacy Collection (Universal)
Fritz Lang: The Silent Films (Kino Lorber)
The Mummy Complete Legacy Collection (Universal)

The only one I'd buy would be the Christopher Nolan 4K Collection as it has my favorite Nolan films, so I'm voting for it.  However, I would not be surprised if the Dracula, Mummy, or Abbott and Costello collections win.

Now for a category I covered in 'Twin Peaks' vs. 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards and again in 'Game of Thrones' vs. 'Outlander' (again), 'American Gods,' and 'The Librarians' at the Saturn Awards.

Best DVD/BD Television Series Release:

"American Gods" (Season 1) (Lionsgate)
"Grimm: The Complete Collection" (Universal)
"The Rockford Files: The Complete Series" (Mill Creek)
"Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series" (Paramount)
"The Vampire Diaries" (The Complete Series) (Warner)
"Westworld: Season One: The Maze" (Warner)

This is a good field, even with "The Rockford Files" as the odd nominee out, although it does qualify as an Action/Thriller television series with high entertainment and nostalgia value.  As for the favorite, I'm not sure.  I suspect it will be "Twin Peaks," but I'm voting for "Westworld."

For the last time, I'm sharing the updated version of the pitch I make for my readers to become members: "Click here to apply for an affiliate membership.  At $25, one can vote for the best films and television shows.  At $40, one can vote for all categories.  I've already paid my $40.  I hope my readers do, too."

There, I'm done!  This series has been fun, but I'm glad it's over.  However, I'm not finished with awards shows.  Tomorrow, I'm planning on posting my thoughts about the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominees.  Stay tuned.

Previous entries about the 2018 Saturn Awards:

• My Saturn Award television submissions for 2017-2018
• How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess
• 'The Last Jedi' and 'Star Wars Rebels' at the Saturn Awards for Star Wars Day
• Drink to 'Coco' at the Saturn Awards for Cinco De Mayo
• 'Black Panther' vs. 'Wonder Woman' at the Saturn Awards for a late Free Comic Book Day
• 'The Shape of Water' vs. 'Beauty and the Beast' at the Saturn Awards
• 'Get Out' vs. 'It' at the Saturn Awards
• Action, Thriller, Independent, and International Films at the Saturn Awards
• What if the entertainment professionals voted on the television acting nominations at the Saturn Awards?
• 'The Walking Dead' vs. 'American Horror Story: Cult' plus Saturn Awards for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News
• 'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things' and 'Black Mirror' at the Saturn Awards
• 'Twin Peaks' vs. 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards
• 'Game of Thrones' vs. 'Outlander' (again), 'American Gods,' and 'The Librarians' at the Saturn Awards
• 'Riverdale' vs. 'Better Call Saul' at the Saturn Awards
• 'Supergirl' vs. 'The Flash' (again) and 'The Punisher' vs. 'The Defenders' at the Saturn Awards
• 'The Orville' vs. 'The X-Files' and 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards

'The Orville' vs. 'The X-Files' and 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards

Yesterday, I exclaimed "I finally get to write about the nominees for Best Science Fiction Television Show!"  Yay!

The most nominated science fiction show on regular television is "The Orville," which has earned nominations for Best Science Fiction Television Show, Best Actor on a Television Series for Seth MacFarlane, and Best Actress on a Television Series for Adrianne Palicki.  Its most-nominated competition consists of "The X-Files" and "Doctor Who" with two nominations each.  "The X-Files" earned its second nomination for Gillian Anderson, who is competing for Best Actress on a Television Series, while, as I noted in 'Twin Peaks' vs. 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards, the BBC show also has a nomination for Best Presentation on Television for the "Twice Upon a Time" Christmas Special.

Here are all the nominees in the science fiction television category from File 770.

Best Science Fiction Television Series:

The 100 (The CW)
Colony (USA)
Doctor Who (BBC America)
The Expanse (SyFy)
The Orville (Fox Television)
Salvation (CBS)
The X-Files (Fox Television)

For my choice, I'm recycling it from How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess.

As for my vote, it will probably go to "Colony" unless...enough "Doctor Who" fans convince me otherwise.  The latter is the one show in this category that earned a Hugo nomination.  Come on, convince me in the comments.

No "Doctor Who" fans did, so I'm voting for "Colony."  That doesn't mean it will will.  The trophy could go to just about any of the nominees, especially "The Orville" or "The X-Files," although I think "The Expanse" is better than either.

Follow over the jump for the other categories in which "The Orville," "The X-Files," and "Doctor Who" were nominated.

'Supergirl' vs. 'The Flash' (again) and 'The Punisher' vs. 'The Defenders' at the Saturn Awards

To conclude 'Riverdale' vs. 'Better Call Saul' at the Saturn Awards, I asked "'Supergirl' vs. 'The Flash' (again), anyone?"  No one answered, but of course the answer is yes.

Both "Supergirl" and "The Flash" have three nominations, two of them in categories where they are in direct competition, Best Superhero Television Series and Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series, where Odette Annable from "Supergirl" is contending with last year's winner Candice Patton from "The Flash."  In addition, last year's winner for Best Actress in a Television Series, Melissa Benoist, is the third nomination for "Supergirl" while Hartley Sawyer earned the third nomination for "The Flash" as Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television.


Normally, that's where I'd move on to the acting nominations, except that there is a new category, Best New Media Superhero Series.  There, the top two nominees are "Marvel's The Punisher" and "Marvel's The Defenders."  Both have two nominations.  In addition to Best New Media Superhero Series, Jon Bernthal earned the second nomination for "Marvel's The Punisher" as Best Actor in a Television Series and Krysten Ritter garnered the other nomination for "Marvel's The Defenders" as Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

Here are all the nominees in both superhero categories from File 770.

Best Superhero Television Series:

Arrow (The CW)
Black Lightning (The CW)
The Flash (The CW)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW)
Gotham (Fox)
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)
Supergirl (The CW)

I'm voting for "Gotham," but I don't expect it to win.  As I implied in the subject line, this contest is between "Supergirl" and "The Flash," one I expect "Supergirl" to win.  Hey, it's an election, not a race.

Best New Media Superhero Series:

Future Man (Hulu)
Marvel’s The Defenders (Netflix)
Marvel’s Iron Fist (Netflix)
Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu)
Marvel’s The Punisher (Netflix)
The Tick (Amazon)

I'm voting for "The Tick."  Again, I don't expect it to win.  I'm pretty sure that "The Punisher" will slaughter its competition.  It's what the character does.

Follow over the jump for the other categories in which "Supergirl," "The Flash," "Marvel’s The Punisher," and "Marvel’s The Defenders" were nominated.

'Riverdale' vs. 'Better Call Saul' at the Saturn Awards

I asked "'Riverdale' vs. 'Better Call Saul,' anyone?" when I wrote that I would blog about the Action and Thriller television nominations in 'Game of Thrones' vs. 'Outlander' (again), 'American Gods,' and 'The Librarians' at the Saturn Awards.  It's time for the answer, which is yes.

"Riverdale" is tied with "Game of Thrones" at four nominations, Best Action/Thriller Television Series and three nominations for Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series, K.J. Apa, Lili Reinhart, and Cole Sprouse.  Its main rival for the genre category title is "Better Call Saul" with two other nominations for a total of three, Michael McKean for Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series and Rhea Seehorn for Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series.  Two other shows nominated for Best Action/Thriller Television Series have two nominations, "Fargo" with its second nomination recognizing Mary Elizabeth Winstead for Best Actress on a Television Series and "The Alienist" with its second nomination for Dakota Fanning as Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series.

Here are all the nominees in the category from File 770.

Best Action/Thriller Television Series:

The Alienist (TNT)
Animal Kingdom (TNT)
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Fargo (FX)
Into the Badlands (AMC)
Mr. Mercedes (Audience Network)
Riverdale (The CW)

I begin by recycling my comment on this category from How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess.

I'm voting for "The Alienist."  When the final episode ended, my wife and I applauded.  I can't tell you the last time we did that for a TV show.

That written, I don't expect my choice to win.  Instead, I think "Riverdale" will repeat.

Follow over the jump for the other categories in which "Riverdale," "Better Call Saul," "Fargo," and "The Alienist" were nominated.

'Game of Thrones' vs. 'Outlander' (again), 'American Gods,' and 'The Librarians' at the Saturn Awards

I wrote what today's post would be about at the conclusion of 'Twin Peaks' vs. 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards.

Tomorrow's post will be about fantasy.  "Game of Thrones" vs. "Outlander" again, anyone?

This is a rivalry that has been going on for as long as Best Fantasy Television Series has been presented and "Outlander" has won every time so far, which is twice.  That written, "Game of Thrones" has more nominations, Best Fantasy Television Series, Best Actress on a Television Series for Lena Headey, and Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Game of Thrones and Kit Harington.  In contrast, "Outlander" is tied with two other shows in the fantasy television category, "American Gods" and "The Librarians," for three nominations apiece.

In addition to Best Fantasy Television Series, "Outlander" has nominations for Best Actor on a Television Series for Sam Heughan and Best Actress on a Television Series for Caitriona Balfe.  The other two nominations for "American Gods" are Best Actor on a Television Series for Ricky Whittle and Best DVD/BD Television Series Release, while "The Librarians" has nominations for Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Christian Kane and Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for Rachel Nichols.

Here are all the nominees in the category from File 770.

Best Fantasy Television Series:

"American Gods" (Starz)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"The Good Place" (NBC)
"Knightfall" (History Channel)
"The Librarians" (TNT)
"The Magicians" (SyFy)
"Outlander" (Starz)

Once again, I am going to be a good environmentalist and recycle my comments on the fantasy television nominees from How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess.

"American Gods," "Game of Thrones," "Outlander," and "The Good Place" earned nominations.  While I did not submit "The Magicians," I expected it to be renominated.  I also expected "Lucifer," which was the show I voted for last year, to return as well.  Nope.  It and "Beyond" were replaced with "Knightfall" and "The Librarians."  I can't get too upset, as I had been complaining about "The Librarians" being miscategorized as an Action show for two years.  Also, "Knightfall" is not a bad choice at all.  It's definitely not "The Leftovers," which I knew would be a long shot, but it looks like a good show, just not good enough for my vote in this category.  That's going to "The Good Place," which is the only television show to be nominated for both a Nebula and a Hugo.

Despite my voting for "The Good Place," I expect "Outlander" will win the category for a third year in a row.

Follow over the jump for the other categories in "Game of Thrones," "Outlander," "American Gods," and "The Librarians" were nominated.

'Twin Peaks' vs. 'Doctor Who' at the Saturn Awards

I mentioned "Twin Peaks: The Return" was the other television show with five nominations.  I'll examine it and the other nominees for Best Presentation on Television tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

So I concluded 'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things' and 'Black Mirror' at the Saturn Awards and so I shall proceed today.

"Twin Peaks: The Return" tied "Star Trek: Discovery" with five awards, the second-most of any television show at the Saturn Awards behind only "The Walking Dead."  Those nominations are for Best Presentation on Television, Best Actor on a Television Series for Kyle MacLachlan, Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for the late Miguel Ferrer, Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for David Lynch, and Best DVD/BD Television Series Release.  Of its competition for Best Presentation on Television, only "Doctor Who" has more than one nominiation; its other recognition was for Best Science Fiction Television Series.  I'll get to that category in a future entry.  For now, here are all the nominees for the Saturn Awards version of Best limited series or movie for television from File 770.

Best Presentation on Television:

"Channel Zero" (SyFy)
"Descendants 2" (Disney Channel)
"Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time" (BBC America)
"Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Return" (Netflix)
"Okja" (Netflix)
"The Sinner" (USA)
"Twin Peaks: The Return" (Showtime)

I begin my comments by being a good environmentalist and recycling what I wrote about this category from How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess.

[T]hree of my submissions here got nominated, two in this category, the Doctor Who Christmas Special: "Twice Upon a Time" and "Okja."  In addition, "Twin Peaks," which I nominated for Action/Thriller, ended up here where I thought it really belonged but didn't have confidence that the selection committee would place it properly.  In addition, I was expecting "Channel Zero" to be nominated and hoping it would be classified as a presentation as well.  Joining the four I submitted or predicted are "Descendents 2," "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return," and "The Sinner."  I'd have missed the first, but the latter two are the kinds of shows I might have submitted instead of "Genius" and "Year Million" had I been paying more attention.

Out of all of these, I think "Twin Peaks" is the favorite.  There are a lot of "Doctor Who" fans out there, but I don't know how many of them have paid for memberships.  On the other hand, I'm pretty sure a lot of already paid members are "Twin Peaks" fans.  The show that probably deserves more attention is "Okja," which won for Feature Film at the 2017 Environmental Media Association Awards for film and television.  On the other hand, "The Sinner" might get more attention at the Emmy Awards.  Here, I don't know if it has enough speculative fiction elements for this electorate.


As for me, I wrote in April "out of this group, I'd probably vote for the Doctor Who Christmas Special unless I get more excited about 'Okja.'"  That's still true, even if I think "Twin Peaks: The Return" has the inside track.


The other category in which the show itself is nominated is under home entertainment.  Unlike Best Science Fiction Television Series, which I'm saving for later, I'm posting this category now.

Best DVD/BD Television Series Release:

"American Gods" (Season 1) (Lionsgate)
"Grimm: The Complete Collection" (Universal)
"The Rockford Files: The Complete Series" (Mill Creek)
"Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series" (Paramount)
"The Vampire Diaries" (The Complete Series) (Warner)
"Westworld: Season One: The Maze" (Warner)

This is a good field, even with "The Rockford Files" as the odd nominee out, although it does qualify as an Action/Thriller television series with high entertainment and nostalgia value.  As for the favorite, I'm not sure.  I suspect it will be "Twin Peaks," but I'm voting for "Westworld."


Follow over the jump for the acting nominations for "Twin Peaks: The Return."

'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things' and 'Black Mirror' at the Saturn Awards

Yesterday, I asked "'Star Trek: Discovery' vs. 'Stranger Things,' anyone?"  The answer is yes as I continue with the Saturn Awards with this entry about the Best New Media Television Series nominees.

"Star Trek: Discovery" is tied with "Twin Peaks: The Return" for the second-most nominations of any television show at the Saturn Awards with five, Best New Media Television Series, Best Actor on a Television Series for Jason Isaacs, Best Actress on a Television Series for Sonequa Martin-Green, Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Doug Jones, and Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for Michelle Yeoh.  That's a good haul of nominations, but nothing like what CBS is attempting to garner at the Emmys.  Watch 'Star Trek: Discovery' Aims For Emmy Awards Consideration from Wochit Entertainment.


In case my readers missed the list, here is an image from TrekMovie.com.


Huh, if I had seen that, I might have moved Jason Issacs to Best Supporting Actor on Television, knocking Kit Harington out and letting Andrew Lincoln back in.  Still, no matter, as those lists were purely theoretical and I promised not to complain about the television acting nominations after that post.

TrekMovie.com has more.

But CBS isn’t done with that, with the DVD screener asking voters to consider Discovery in other categories including Outstanding Music Composition, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Title Design, Outstanding Visual Effects, Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup and Outstanding Costumes (Fantasy/Sci-Fi).

TrekMovie.com forgot Outstanding Main Title Theme, which I think it will be nominated for as well as the last four categories in the quoted paragraph above plus Outstanding Music Composition and maybe Outstanding Cinematography (I'll embed a video of the main title below).  The Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremony will be a big one for "Star Trek: Discovery."  The Primetime Emmys, not so much.

Back to the Saturn Awards.  Two other shows competing with it for Best New Media Television Series have two nominations each, "Stranger Things" with its second nomination for Millie Bobbie Brown who is the returning winner for Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series, and "Black Mirror," which has its second nomination for Jesse Plemons for Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television.  Here are all the nominees in the category from File 770.

Best New Media Television Series:

Altered Carbon (Netflix)
Black Mirror (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Mindhunter (Netflix)
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (Amazon / Sony Television)
Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Stranger Things (Netflix)

If the entertainment professionals were voting, it would be a close call between Black Mirror and "The Handmaid's Tale" with "Stranger Things" right behind them in third.  With this group, I think it will be close between "Stranger Things" and "Star Trek: Discovery," with the latter having more geek cred with a Hugo nomination for Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (so does "Black Mirror: USS Callister," but I think the Saturn Awards electorate would prefer real Star Trek over a well-crafted imitation).  As for me, I'm voting for "Stranger Things."  My wife and I didn't think paying for CBS All Access was worth it, so we didn't catch the second half of the season for "Star Trek: Discovery" but we binge-watched all of the second season of "Stranger Things" in two days.

Follow over the jump for the acting nominations for "Star Trek: Discovery," "Stranger Things," and "Black Mirror."

'The Walking Dead' vs. 'American Horror Story: Cult' plus Saturn Awards for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Happy Flashback Friday!  For today's tribute to the past, I'm combining this year's version of 'The Walking Dead' vs. 'Westworld' at the 2017 Saturn Awards with the retrospective about the Saturn Awards I promised near the end of Climate for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.  Yes, an analysis of the competitors for Best Horror Television Series combined with a look back at one of the top posts of the year.  Synergy from synchronicity!

Enough meta.  "The Walking Dead" has seven nominations, the most of any show, Best Horror Television Series, Best Actor on a Television Series for Andrew Lincoln, Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Khary Payton, Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series for Danai Gurira and Melissa McBride, Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series for Chandler Riggs, and Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  Its stablemate in the franchise, "Fear the Walking Dead," has three, Best Horror Television Series, Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series for Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television for Michael Greyeyes.  Their main competition, at least in terms of number of nominations and mainstream recognition, is "American Horror Story: Cult" with four nominations, Best Horror Television Series, Best Actress on a Television Series for Sarah Paulson, Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series for Evan Peters, and Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series for Adina Porter.  All eight categories for which the horror shows are eligible have at least one nominee from the three shows.  For the rest, here are the nominees, along with my comments, some of which I have recycled from How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess and What if the entertainment professionals voted on the television acting nominations at the Saturn Awards?

Best Horror Television Series:

"American Horror Story: Cult" (FX)
"Ash vs. Evil Dead" (Starz)
"Fear the Walking Dead" (AMC)
"Preacher" (AMC)
"The Strain" (FX)
"Teen Wolf" (MTV)
"The Walking Dead" (AMC)

I already announced my choice in this category last month.

As for my vote, it goes to "The Walking Dead."  The entertainment professionals would vote for "American Horror Story," but they're not part of the Saturn Awards electorate.  I am.

Follow over the jump for my thoughts and choices on the acting nominees.

What if the entertainment professionals voted on the television acting nominations at the Saturn Awards?

It's Throwback Thursday, which means it's only appropriate that follow through on a promise I made in last month's How did my Saturn Awards television submissions fare? O.K., I guess.

I'm almost as displeased at Tatiana Maslany getting snubbed as I was at Eva Green and "Penny Dreadful" being ignored for three consecutive years.  Humph.  I'll plan on writing a post about how these awards would look if the entertainment professionals were in charge of them instead of two people on the Television Committee.  I'll critique the acting nominations there.

I'm going to do the light version of this, which involves postulating what the actors, critics, and other entertainment professionals, along with more dedicated mainstream fans, would nominate in the acting categories given the shows already nominated for this year's Saturn Awards — redoing the show nominations based on insider preferences and then projecting the acting nominations from those would be too much work!  Besides, the data are incomplete.  I won't really know until after this year's Emmy nominations are announced.  I might do the heavy-duty version then.

To determine the hypothetical nominees, I tallied the nominations from eleven awards programs that recognize television acting, the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Critics' Choice Television Awards, Television Critics Association Awards, Empire Awards, Gold Derby Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Online Movie and TV Association, Satellite Awards, and Awards Circuit Community Awards, as well as the Saturn Awards.  For every program that nominated an actor from one of the shows already nominated, I tallied one point.  I did not count multiple nominations nor did I double points for wins like I did for the most honored political documentaries of 2017.  However, I did do that to resolve ties for the eighth spot, which happened when only one awards program nominated the performer, in which case I used the lifetime number of wins (2 points) and nominations (1 point) on the actor's IMDB page.  In addition, I double counted the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and BAFTA Awards, which IMDB lists above all others, so that wins in these awards are worth 4 points and nominations are worth 2 points.  I also moved miscategorized nominees, mostly from Best Actress on Television to Best Supporting Actress on Television, but also from Best Supporting Actress to Best Guest Performance on Television.  After that happened, the top eight point earners become the hypothetical nominees.

I decided against moving nominees from Best Guest Performance on Television to Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actor; that would have caused too much trouble.  I also ended up adding one performer to the Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series alone, as the tiebreaker didn't break the tie for eighth.

With my procedure out of the way, here are the actual vs. hypothetical nominees out of the way.


I begin with the leading men.

Best Actor on a Television Series:

Jon Bernthal Marvel’s The Punisher (Netflix)
Bruce Campbell Ash vs. Evil Dead (Starz)
Sam Heughan Outlander (Starz)
Jason Isaacs Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Andrew Lincoln The Walking Dead (AMC)
Seth MacFarlane The Orville (Fox Television)
Kyle MacLachlan Twin Peaks: The Return (Showtime)
Ricky Whittle American Gods (Starz)

This is not an unreasonable list.  These are all the leading male actors in their shows, all of which deserved their nominations.  The possible exception might be Ricky Wittle; the Broadcast Television Critics Association Awards nominated Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday/Odin) instead.  Still, while Mr. Wednesday is pulling the strings, "American Gods" is told from Shadow Moon's perspective.  It reminds me of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."  It's really Will Turner's story, but Jack Sparrow hijacks it.

Enough of that aside.  Now for the nominees that my methods produced:

Ted Danson "The Good Place"
Brendan Gleeson "Mr. Mercedes"
Sam Heughan "Outlander"
Jason Isaacs "Star Trek: Discovery"
Seth MacFarlane "The Orville"
Kyle MacLachlan "Twin Peaks: The Return"
Ewan McGregor "Fargo"
Bob Odenkirk "Better Call Saul"

Four actors appear on both lists, Sam Heughan, Jason Issacs, Seth MacFarlane, and Kyle MacLachlan.  The highest rated of them was MacLachlan, who was nominated by four awards shows, so that would make him the establishment candidate among all the actual nominees.  That doesn't mean that he will or should win or even that I'll vote for him.  Recall what I've written repeatedly about these awards: "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  Speaking of which, look at the actors who other awards shows thought worthy of nominations, Ted Danson, who won Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, Brendan Gleeson, Ewan McGregor, and Bob Odenkirk.  The last two were the most recognized by other awards shows, including nominations at the Golden Globes, Emmys, and Critics' Choice Awards.  Hah, the Saturn Awards snubbed Obi Wan Kenobi and Saul Goodman!


Now for the leading ladies actually nominated.

Best Actress on a Television Series:

Gillian Anderson The X-Files (Fox Television)
Caitriona Balfe Outlander (Starz)
Melissa Benoist Supergirl (The CW)
Lena Headey Game of Thrones (HBO)
Sonequa Martin-Green Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Adrianne Palicki The Orville (Fox Television)
Sarah Paulson American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Fargo (FX)

Remember how irked I was at Evan Rachel Wood and Anthony Hopkins being miscategorized for their roles in "Westworld" at last year's Saturn Awards?  I'm almost that annoyed at Lena Headey and Mary Elizabeth Winstead being nominated as lead actresses when everyone else considers them to be in supporting roles.  As a result, I'm removing them from this category and placing them in competition for Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series.  Here's the resulting field when I do that and use other awards shows' nominations to determine the hypothetical nominees.

Gillian Anderson "The X-Files"
Caitriona Balfe "Outlander"
Kristen Bell "The Good Place"
Melissa Benoist "Supergirl"
Jessica Biel "The Sinner"
Carrie Coon "Fargo"
Elisabeth Moss "The Handmaid's Tale"
Sarah Paulson "American Horror Story: Cult"

Again, half the actual field survives the process.  Of them, the most nominated is Caitriona Balfe.  I was considering voting for her last year, but didn't.  This year, I plan on it.  As for the other four, the most highly nominated were Elisabeth Moss and Carrie Coon with nine and six nominations respectively.  Moss is not alone.  All of the other Emmy winning actresses from "The Handmaid's Tale" were ignored as well.  Talk about sticking it to the experts!  As for Coon, I was trying to get "The Leftovers" nominated in hopes of her being nominated for Best Actress on a Television Series and failed.  Instead, "Fargo" was nominated and she still didn't get recognized.  Coon got screwed twice!  I'd have also liked to see Kristen Bell here.  She deserved it.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the hypothetical fields of nominees.

Action, Thriller, Independent, and International Films at the Saturn Awards

Today, I finished writing about the Saturn Awards movie nominees with the "entry about the Action, Thriller, Independent, and International Film nominees" I promised yesterday. Without any further ado, here are the nominees in all four categories from File 770 along with my comments.

Best Action / Adventure Film Release:

"Baby Driver" (TriStar / Sony Pictures)
"Dunkirk" (Warner Bros.)
"The Fate of the Furious" (Universal)
"The Greatest Showman" (20th Century Fox)
"Hostiles" (Entertainment Studios)
"Kingsman: The Golden Circle" (20th Century Fox)

I haven't decided yet which of these movies to vote for. The Oscar winner for Editing and Best Picture nominee is "Dunkirk."  The three-time Oscar nominee is "Baby Driver."  The surprise, but still with an Oscar nomination for Original Song, is "The Greatest Showman."  In order, those are the entertainment establishment's nominees and mine as well.  That doesn't mean that I think any of them will win, even if one of them should.  Instead, I suspect "The Fate of the Furious" is likely to walk away with the Saturn statuette.  I watched that movie on a flight this summer and it was pure dumb escapist fun.  As I think I've mentioned in almost every entry of this series so far, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  Voting for "The Fate of the Furious" would fit all three criteria.

As I have for the past two entries, I'm pointing out a snub in this category, "Atomic Blonde."  That could have been here instead of "The Greatest Showman" or "Hostiles," but may have deserved not being nominated.  I wrote as much in the comments to Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 58 at Booman Tribune.

"Atomic Blonde" had a great star, a great soundtrack, and an interesting premise, but it ended up being kind of a dud.  I was expecting it to earn a nomination for Best Action / Adventure Film Release at the Saturn Awards, but it got beat out by the obscure film "Hostiles" and the musical "The Greatest Showman" in addition to all the films I expected to be nominated, "Baby Driver," "Dunkirk," "The Fate of the Furious" (in which Charlize Theron also starred), and "Kingsman: The Golden Circle."  "Atomic Blonde" couldn't get any respect from the people who honor films the Hollywood professionals don't respect!

Oh, well, at least it has a nomination at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards for Best Fight.

Best Thriller Film Release:

"Brawl in Cell Block 99" (RLJE Films)
"Murder on the Orient Express" (20th Century Fox)
"The Post" (20th Century Fox)
"Suburbicon" (Paramount)
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Fox Searchlight)
"Wind River" (TWC)

I'll be a good environmentalist and recycle what I wrote in Three thrillers for the Saturn Awards at my Dreamwidth journal.

During the past week, my wife and I watched three movies nominated for Best Thriller Film Release at the Saturn Awards. While we both watched it for the entertainment, I was also evaluating which one of the three would get my vote, as I am a Saturn Awards member.

"Murder on the Orient Express" was a remake of a movie I watched with my parents in the 1970s, so I wasn't surprised at the twist; it was the same. I did enjoy the all-star cast, the settings, and the lavish production values. I was surprised it was not nominated for an Academy Award. It was obvious Oscar bait, probably too obvious.

"The Post" won Best Film about Politics and Government at the first Coffee Party Entertainment Awards for movies. It deserved it. It was indeed a thriller, although a low-key one. It also had the best ending.

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri" had great acting, a decent amount of action, and great performances [ETA: camera work and editing]. Unfortunately, my wife and I found its ending disappointing. I'm not voting for it, although I'm still considering voting for Frances McDormand for Best Actress in a Movie. Instead, I think I'm casting my vote in this category for "The Post."

The only other nominee I'd consider to be serious would be "Wind River."  "Suburbicon" was a high-concept flop and "Brawl in Cell Block 99" deservedly earned a nomination for Best Overlooked Film from the Hawaii Film Critics Society (it lost to "Wind River" and "T2 Trainspotting").  I would have suggested "Molly's Game" instead.

Best Independent Film Release:

"I, Tonya" (Neon)
"LBJ" (Electric Entertainment)
"Lucky" (Magnolia)
"Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" (Annapurna Pictures)
"Super Dark Times" (The Orchard)
"Wonder" (Lionsgate)
"Wonderstruck" (Amazon / Roadside Attractions)

Only one film in the field is both an Oscar winner (Supporting Actress for Allison Janney) and a nominee (Best Female Lead for Margot Robbie) and winner (Best Editing) at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, "I, Tonya."  That makes it my likely choice.  That doesn't make it the favorite, as this is its only nomination at the Saturn Awards.  Instead, I think one of "Wonder" or "Wonderstruck," each of which has three nominations here, will likely be the winner.  Of the two, "Wonder" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Hair and Make-Up, but didn't win.  It was also nominated for three awards at the Makeup and Hair Stylists Guild Awards, but was shut out.  I was not impressed, but the bulk of the Saturn Awards electorate might care.  On the other hand, the Saturn Awards are the only awards show to have nominated "Wonderstruck" for any awards.  Voting for it might be a good way to "stick it to the experts."  Speaking of which, the dark horse would be "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women," which could win if all the comic book fans voted for it.  I don't think that will happen, especially since I think most of them are voting for "Black Panther," not "Wonder Woman."

Given the almost complete disjunction between this field and the movies nominated at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, there are too many potential snubs to name.  That written, "Call Me by Your Name," "Lady Bird," "The Big Sick," and "The Florida Project" would have been a high-quality independent field in addion to the three movies I mentioned above.

Best International Film Release:

"Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" (Arka Media Works)
"Brimstone" (Momentum Pictures)
"The Lodgers" (Epic Pictures Group)
"The Man Who Invented Christmas" (Bleecker Street)
"The Square" (Magnolia)
"Wolf Warrior 2" (Well Go USA)

"The Square" is far and away the establishment choice in this field, as it not only earned an Oscar nomination, but also nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and Golden Globe Awards.  In fact, it's the only nominee from any of these awards in this field, which means I'm likely to vote for it.  On the other hand, "The Man Who Invented Christmas," which I thought might be nominated for Best Fantasy Film, was.  Remember, this is an International Film category, not a Foreign Language one, as "The Man Who Invented Christmas" is in English.  I suspect that will give it a leg up with the Saturn Awards electorate.  As for snubs, both "Thelma" and "Body and Soul" were both foreign language speculative fiction movies nominated at the Critics' Choice Awards and Academy Awards, respectively, but they weren't nominated here.

Follow over the jump for the other categories with nominees from these films.

'Get Out' vs. 'It' at the Saturn Awards

I closed 'The Shape of Water' vs. 'Beauty and the Beast' at the Saturn Awards with a program note followed by a question: "I plan on posting an entry about the horror nominees tomorrow.  "Get Out" vs. "IT," anyone?"  Time to follow through with a discussion of a showdown between last year's most honored horror movie and last year's  highest grossing horror movie.

Like all the other categories so far, at least one nominee is an establishment favorite.  "Get Out" earned four Oscar nominations and took home one of them for Original Screenplay, an award it also won at the WGA Awards.  It also won the First-Time Feature Award at the DGA Awards and Daniel Kaluuya won Rising Starat the BAFTA Awards.  That's quite impressive.  Here at the Saturn Awards, it's nominated for Best Horror Film, Best Director and Best Writing for Jordan Peele, Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya, and Best Editing.

Competing against "Get Out" are the highest grossing horror film of all time, "It," and a bunch of run of the mill horror movies.  Here is the field from File 770.

Best Horror Film Release:

"47 Meters Down" (Entertainment Studios)
"Annabelle: Creation" (Warner Bros.)
"Better Watch Out" (Well Go USA)
"Get Out" (Universal)
"It" (Warner Bros.)
"Mother!" (Paramount)

As I wrote yesterday, "I explicitly take the establishment position unless persuaded otherwise by the performance."  Therefore, I'm voting for "Get Out."  On the other hand, as I've written repeatedly, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  Voting for "It" would do all three, so I think "It" has a good chance of upsetting "Get Out."  However, at the two awards show where the two went head-to-head, "Get Out" beat "It" both times.  At the the Fright Meter Awards, "Get Out" won Best Horror Movie, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.  At the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, it won Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie.  I find those facts reassuring.

As for the rest of the field, if 2017 had been a normal year for horror films, like 2016, when I had trouble deciding between "Don't Breathe" and "Train to Busan," "Annabelle: Creation" would likely win.  It was not a normal year, pun intended, so they don't stand a chance.

Before I move on to the rest of the nominations for the horror film, I am again pointing out a snub, this time of "The Mummy."  Like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," it was a multi-Razzie nominee, earning nods for Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor for Russell Crowe, Worst Supporting Actress for Sofia Boutella, Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, Worst Director for Alex Kurtzman, and Worst Screenplay for more people than I care to name.  It also earned Tom Cruise a "win" for Worst Actor.  On the other hand, "Mother!" was also a Razzie nominee for Worst Director for Darren Aronofsky, Worst Actress for Jennifer Lawrence, and Worst Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, who was cross nominated for his role in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."  That didn't stop it from being nominated here.  I think it's problem was that it was an attempt at Oscar bait ("Black Swan," anyone?) that failed spectacularly.  The result was that it attracted the attention of the Razzie voters in the way I wrote about Eddie Redmayne's nomination and eventual "win" as Worst Supporting Actor for his role in "Jupiter, Ascending."

In addition to the covert misogyny I suspect among the voters, there is overt Schadenfreude; the voters seem to delight in finding bad performances by big name performers and creators and using them to bring the highest low.  I don't have a problem with that, so I find it to be a useful role for the Razzies.

I think both misogyny and Schadenfreude were at play in the nominations for "Mother!"  Therefore, I was glad when none of the nominees "won."  I'm also glad that it was the one movie with Razzie nominations that earned a nomination here.

Enough of my ranting.  Follow over the jump for my thoughts about the rest of the nominations for "Get Out" and "It."

'The Shape of Water' vs. 'Beauty and the Beast' at the Saturn Awards

As I mentioned in Climate for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, I need to concentrate on the Saturn Awards between now and the deadline for voting, May 28.  To that end, I am looking at the third-most nominated movie at this year's ceremony, "The Shape of Water."  The Best Picture at the Oscars earned nine nominations: Best Fantasy Film Release, Best Actress in a Film for Sally Hawkins, Best Supporting Actress in a Film for Octavia Spencer, Best Film Director for Guillermo del Toro, Best Film Screenplay for Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, Best Film Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Film Music, and Best Film Make-Up.  I'll list and comment on all the categories in which it is nominated, along with Best Film Costume Designer and Best Film Special/Visual Effects, categories in which its likely competitors for Best Fantasy Film Release, "Beauty and the Beast" and "Kong: Skull Island" have nominations.

Here are the categories in which "The Shape of Water" and "Beauty and the Beast" earned nominations from File 770.

Best Fantasy Film Release:

"Beauty and the Beast" (Walt Disney Studios)
"Downsizing" (Paramount)
"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (Sony Pictures)
"Kong: Skull Island" (Warner Bros.)
"Paddington 2" (Warner Bros.)
"The Shape of Water" (Fox Searchlight)

"The Shape of Water" earned 14 Oscar nominations, winning four of them, Best Picture, Best Director, Original Score, and Production Design.  It also won awards at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and BAFTA Awards, so it's the entertainment establishment's choice.  It's also mine, as I explicitly take the establishment position unless persuaded otherwise by the performance.

If the entertainment professionals were voting, its main competition would be "Beauty and the Beast" with four nominations at the Saturn Awards — Best Fantasy Film Release, Best Actress in a Film for Emma Watson, and Best Film Production Design, where it is competing against "The Shape of Water," and Best Film Costume Designer.  It would also be stiff competition with a younger electorate, such as that for the Teen Choice Awards, where it won three awards including Choice Fantasy Movie or the MTV Awards, where it won two including Movie of the Year.  I don't think a lot of either are voting, especially since the teens and tweens won't be paying the $25 or $40 to become members.*

The third film that might be the entertainment industry's choice is "Kong: Skull Island," which has two nominations at the Saturn Awards, Best Fantasy Film Release and Best Special Effects, the latter being a category in which it was nominated for an Oscar.  I'm not too worried about it.  Instead, I think another fantasy in a jungle with exotic animals could be the spoiler, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."  Remember, as I wrote first in Speculative fiction nominees at the 2018 SAG Awards, "the Saturn Awards are about entertainment not art, they don't care for subtle, and they love to stick it to the experts."  "Jumanji" fits the bill; it's very entertaining, it's not subtle, and voting for it would stick it to the experts, as it is the second highest grossing film to not earn an Oscar.  In fact, it's only nominations and victories for the movie itself outside of the Saturn Awards are at the Kids' Choice Awards and MTV Awards.  On the one hand, that would stick it to the experts.  On the other, maybe I shouldn't worry for one of the reasons that I'm not too worried about "Beauty and the Beast" — too young a fan base.

Before I move on to the rest of the nominations, I want to point out a snub, the absence of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales."  It was the third highest grossing fantasy movie of 2017 and earned five nominations at the Teen Choice Awards, but got no love at the Saturn Awards.  However, it was also a multi-Razzie nominee with Johnny Depp earning two nominations for Worst Actor and Worst Screen Combo along with "His Worn-Out Drunk Routine" and Javier Bardem earning one for Worst Supporting Actor combined with his performance in "mother!"  That might have meant something this year.  The Saturn Awards ignored all the Razzie nominees other than "mother!" — those nominations might have been undeserved — even though there were quite a few movies that were eligible for awards and Razzie nominations didn't deter the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films from nominating either "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" or "Independence Day: Resurgence" last year.  Either the Saturn Awards movie committees agreed with the Razzie voters or there were enough quality fantasy films that they could safely ignore the fifth (and I hope final) installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and nominate "Downsizing" and "Paddington 2" instead.  In any event, it's a quality field.

Enough of my ranting.  Follow over the jump for my thoughts about the rest of the nominations for "The Shape of Water," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Kong: Skull Island."

Baby names from entertainment for Mother's Day 2018

Happy Mother's Day!  To celebrate mothers this Sunday, I'm going to follow up on last year's Baby names from entertainment for Mother's Day 2017 and Baby names inspired by fandom for Mother's Day and 'Star Wars' baby names for Father's Day from two years ago by looking at last year's baby names inspired by entertainment.

I begin with Social Security's Top Ten Baby Names of 2017.

Just arrived! Find out the top 10 baby names of 2017 from Social Security, the source for baby names each year!

Emma, Liam, Logan, and  have definite entertainment and  connections, as Hello Giggles notes.

Emma was the top name for girls last year, the same year that Emma Watson played Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Emma Stone won an Oscar for La La Land.

Not only did the actress's name stay on top, here character's name rose as well.  According to the Social Security baby names page (nothing like going to the source), Belle rose 125 places to 808th from 933th.

Back to Hello Giggles.

Meanwhile, the number one name for baby boys was Liam, and it’s possible that there might have been a few One Direction or Liam Hemsworth fans among parents.

These names have definitely surged in popularity over the past few years. According to the Social Security Administration, Emma was the 17th most popular name in 2000 before its takeover as number one starting in 2014. Meanwhile, Liam skyrocketed from the 140th most popular name in 2000 all the way to the top of the list last year.
...
2 Olivia...You might think of Olivia Pope from Scandal when you hear this name.
3 Ava...The most famous Ava today is probably Ava DuVernay.
...
2 Noah...Noah means “rest” or “comfort,” but we can’t help but think of Noah from The Notebook.
...
5 Logan...Wolverine’s real first name is Logan, so this name definitely sounds tough.
...
10 Jacob...Jacob is another timeless option, although it’s not as popular as it was right after Twilight came out.

Hello Giggles was not alone in noting the entertainment and celebrity connections to last year's popular baby names.  Abby Sandel did as well in Most Popular Baby Names 2018.

Let’s talk about all the news from the new US baby names list, just released today!

Yes, she mentioned Emma and Logan, but she also talked about names outside of the top ten, especially from "Game of Thrones."  Follow over the jump for those and names from Star Wars and both Marvel and DC Comics.

U.S. leaving Iran nuclear agreement pushes U.S. oil price above $70 plus driving update for May 2018: Pearl

"I'm not done with the effects of Trump pulling the U.S. out of the agreement.  Look for news about the high price of oil when I post my next driving update for Pearl."  That's what I wrote to conclude Vox on U.S. withdrawing from Iran nuclear agreement helps update doom and risk for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.  Since Pearl just passed another thousand miles yesterday, it's time for me to follow through.

Even before the announcement, oil prices were going up.  CNNMoney explains Why oil prices are rising from May 7, 2018.

Oil prices have been climbing, reaching the highest level since 2014. CNN's John Defterios explains what's driving the rise.

That was the environment in which the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Iran nuclear agreement was made. CNNMoney didn't even consider the possible effects of the announcment.  On the other hand, CNBC did in Oil Surges But President Donald Trump’s Iran Deal Announcement Looms.

Jeff Kilburg of KKM Financial and Brenda Shaffer of Atlantic Council discuss the rise in the price of oil how President Trump's announcement on the Iran deal may effect the price which crossed $70 a barrel for the first time since 2014.

After the announcement, WXYZ looked at the effects on consumers at greater detail in US pulling out of Iran nuclear deal raises concerns about rising gas prices.

By pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, many are worried about rising gas prices.

As predicted, oil prices shot up.  On Thursday, Reuters reported that West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main U.S. oil future, reached $71.89 and Brent Crude, the main European oil future, hit the $78 level.  Both were three-and-one-half-year highs.  On Friday, Bloomberg reported slightly lower prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 66 cents to settle at $70.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 2.3 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for July settlement slipped 35 cents to $77.12 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices gained 3 percent this week. The global benchmark crude traded at a $6.44 premium to July WTI.

Despite the prices settling lower on Friday, the long-term perspective looks grim, as Bloomberg reported Oil at $100 Is a Possibility Next Year, Bank of America Says.

Oil prices could rally to $100 a barrel next year, a level not seen since 2014, as supply risks in Venezuela and Iran strain global markets, according to Bank of America Corp.

Brent futures, trading near $77 on Thursday, are set to reach $90 in the second quarter of 2019 as world inventories shrink, the bank said. As that view hinges on OPEC reviving output and a limited impact on Iran from U.S. sanctions, prices could go even higher, it said, becoming the first Wall Street bank to suggest a return to $100.

Eep.  Remember what I wrote about oil prices in The tax bill and the U.S. economy in 2018 and beyond?  "Three things could trigger the next recession...The second is a rapid rise in oil prices, which has occurred either slightly in advance or concurrently with every recession since 1973."  Here's how I thought that would play out.

[T]he extra disposable income runs the risk of overheating an already booming economy, never mind that the fruits of that economy are very inequitably distributed.  That will increase demand for oil and other energy sources, making their prices go up.  That will cause inflation to rise again as energy costs become distributed throughout the economy.  Higher inflation will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise short term rates, eventually inverting the yield curve.  Viola, recession!

I didn't consider a supply shock caused by Trump's action, but that has now been added to the mix, causing the price of oil to rise above a critical threshold.  The U.S. withdrawal from the agreement has now made a recession more likely, as it has pulled one of the triggers of the next economic downturn.  Therefore, I am not ready to delay my call for a recession beginning by this coming December.  Conditions look riper for it all the time.

Follow over the jump for the driving update that prompted today's entry.

Climate for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News

Happy Flashback Friday!  It's time for me to post another retrospective of last year's most read entries.  This time, it will be what I promised in Holidays for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Arbor Day and again in Vox on U.S. withdrawing from Iran nuclear agreement helps update doom and risk for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, a review of the most popular climate posts.  As I wrote last year, "climate change is a recurring subject of retrospectives on this blog going back to its very first year.  It's good to know some things don't change."*

NASA says 2017 second hottest year on record from February 1, 2018 was the twelfth most popular entry of the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News and the tenth most read actually posted during the blogging year just ended with 4462 raw page views.  It was also the third most popular entry of February 2018 both overall and posted during the month with 4387 default page views.  This post had 69 page views before being shared at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page.  It earned 1724 page views in the first two hours and ~3750 in the first 24 hours after being shared.


The other top climate entry during the seventh year of this blog was Trump does not recognize climate change as a national security threat from December 19, 2017 with 2769 raw page views as of March 20, 2018.  The entry was the 29th most read overall for the year and 25th most read among entries posted between March 21, 2017 and March 20, 2018.  It maxed out at 2689 default page views on January 18, 2018.  It was the fourth most read entry overall during January 2018, ending the month with 2592 default page views.  It was shared at the Join the Coffee Party Movement Facebook page at 10 P.M. on January 5, 2018 when it had 124 raw page views.  It earned 946 page views in the first two hours and 2300+ in the first 24 hours after being shared.

Doomsday Clock advances 30 seconds to two minutes before midnight from January 31, 2018, which I reviewed it in Vox on U.S. withdrawing from Iran nuclear agreement helps update doom and risk for the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. was also about climate.  Read about it there.

I will post only one more retrospective between now and Memorial Day, one about the Saturn Awards.  That way, I can devote enough attention to the Saturn Awards nominees before voting closes on May 28.

Follow over the jump for the footnote, a linkspam of previous posts about top climate entries and the other retrospectives of the seventh year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.