Tabletop

Man, I love Tabletop. I wish he'd make more.

Last I heard Wil was suing Geek & Sundry regarding them not paying him properly for his Titansgrave RPG show, so unless he owns the rights to Tabletop (smartest thing the Critical Role crew did was maintain property rights to their show) I have a feeling it's pretty much dead.

I just mainlined 3 seasons of "Anne with an E" on Netlix over 2 weeks, only to learn that it has just been cancelled. *sadface* It does end with a modicum of closure (except what about Ka'kwet and her parents!?) so even with that knowledge, I'd recommend it. I spent my late adolescence watching 1985 CBC production of Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows on repeat -- talk about a formative piece of media -- but this one gives that version a good run for the money.

The casting is uniformly excellent. Follows was always adorable, but the young actress who plays Anne in this version (AmyBeth McNulty) plays her with her strings stretched tighter -- her Anne talks a mile an hour, is quick to passion, and often thoughtless and annoying. I rather liked that. Matthew and Marilla are perfection (Marilla is played by the Great Dame Geraldine James, whom I remember all the way from her The Jewel in the Crown days, OH MY GOD I'M SO OLD), and I have a particular soft spot for the actress who plays Rachel Lynde, whose push-pull friendship with Marilla is one of the highlights of the show, honestly. It has a Gilbert who knows how to gaze at Anne *just so*, which is all you need in Gilbert, anyways. It introduces new elements that allow the show to touch on racism, feminism, and LGBT issues. Also, it looks AMAZING. So many beautiful shots of gorgeous PEI (and Ontario, where it was partially shot) countryside!

Anyway, it's the sort of fare that was good for the soul in the midst of January doldrums. I hear there is a passionate fan base campaigning hard for renewal and sometimes cancelled show can be shopped to another streaming venue, so who knows? Keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

I'm literally in the middle of a discussion about the show with a friend (you remember jean, Vonnie!). I knew going into S3 that it had been canceled, so I'm glad it did have closure.

If you're a fervent Anne devotee, it takes a little bit to get used to the changes. It's really Anne AU fanfic, where it looks at the original canon with great affection and then uses that as a base to expand the world into something closer to reality.

you remember jean, Vonnie!

Jeannie from Tuscany trip? There is probably another Jean I'm forgetting, heh.

It's really Anne AU fanfic

That is the perfect description for it. It's an extended universe Anne of Green Gables with a bunch of new characters to populate and enrich the story we all know and love. Same as you, it took me 3-4 episodes to get used to all the non-canon stuff, which I thought initially was unnecessary padding. As a matter of fact, I tried the first 2 eps of the season 1 a couple of years ago and didn't continue because of that reason. But once Matthew brings Anne back to Avonlea, I was in, and I was in allll the way. (Oh my God, so much crying in so many episodes because of Matthew and Marilla. Maybe it's not terrible the show is cancelled because I won't have to see Matthew die. Great, now I'm tearing up just *thinking* about Matthew dying.)

Jeannie from Tuscany trip? There is probably another Jean I'm forgetting, heh.

Heh, no. Jean from Toronto roadtrip and overnight visit.

A-ha! Yes of course I remember now. Brain like a sieve, etc.

The first episode of Picard is now available for free on YouTube: [link]

Oh, fucking yes THANK GOD Netflix will now let you turn off autoplay trailers: [link]

Netflix will now let you turn off autoplay trailers

Hallelujah!

Thanks and done!