Murd's Time Bubble: The Thirty-Third Time Talkback

Adam_Murdough

Just when it seemed that auld acquaintance would be forgot, Murd resurfaces at the helm of the Time Bubble, with remembrances of comics milestones past (Miller, mutants, the Man of Steel, and more!) to banish your 2020 blues. Ring in the new with a dash of the old, courtesy of Murd! (3:09:28)

Listen here.

ChrisMurrin

I don't think I have read any of the books you discussed save for DK2 #1, and I haven't read that since it came out. Thanks for another entertaining jaunt into the days of comics past.

Bryan

Thanks for another great episode Murd. I do want to say, that while I certainly would have loved to get the episode sooner, you should be kinder to yourself. Making it through 2020 at all is a feat, that you didn’t get to everything you wanted to get it shouldn’t be something you need to feed bad about.

BionicDave

Thanks for the shoutout, Murd! Was planning to drop by anyway to leave you praises general and specific, but your soap operatic read of X-FACTOR's Madelyne Pryor and your ruminations on soapy conventions made MTB033 even more of a blast for me.

You asked if soap writers have any short-hand term for those looong takes on woeful characters before cutting to commercials? LOL Well... we sometimes do say "a wrist-to-forehead moment." (As in, when actors in classic operas literally would do that to portray a personal crisis, so even those in the cheap seats could see/grasp their emotion.) But to be honest? Soap writers usually just end scenes with simple stage directions like "On Madelyne" (so the director doesn't pan to some weird prop or irrelevant character lol) or maybe "On Madelyne, fearing she's been abandoned..." (to tell the actor what to go for). So blame those sappy long takes on directors, haha! And editors. Soaps often will shoot long takes just so the editor has flexibility cutting or stretching the run-time of an act. I suppose all of this is enabled by soap opera's general mission statement: to serve viewers with an emotional feast. And those long takes, hammy as they look to outsiders, really do work for keeping viewers glued. But trust me.. writers, crew, and especially the cast frequently laugh while shooting them!

My personal fave is the old "tell-it-to-the-window." When a soap character must confess something, then feels a strange need to drift to the closest window to pour their heart out to the glass... while the poor sap they're talking to has to stare at their back all through the whole conversation! :joy: Directors love it because it lets them show both characters' reactions in the same frame. And it's a gimmick soap viewers get used to fast. But when you realize how crazy it'd look in real life :lol: Or to imagine some gardener under the window awkwardly overhearing them! :lol: :lol:

But now. What I originally came here to post.

Murd.

That new perspective you proposed, for reading Miller's DARK KNIGHT oeuvre? Looking at it as Miller's take on an aged Batman's take on his own life, instead of simply Miller's take on this character? That is flipping genius. I have never heard someone suggest that before - which is all the more impressive as this is one of the most talked-about comics of the last 35 years. Bravo to you! You are a veritable John Milton justifying the ways of God to men. Now I want to sit down and reread DKR and its sequels through this new lens; maybe it even will help me to stomach Miller's Superman a bit more. Maybe it will help me to stomach Miller's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE! (Because, oy vey.)

Thank you for producing yet another fun-filled AND illuminating ride on ye olde Time Bubble. This is podcasting at its finest - and there is no need to apologize for its later than projected arrival. You work hard to make these things, you don't charge for them, you've just worked through your busiest time of year, and we're in the midst of a supervirus pandemic. Please - we understand. Just stay safe!

Your fan,

Telling ALL of this to the window,

BionicDave!