Lantern7

I disagree. Even with all the Very Special Stories, I don't consider ANW to be a reality series.

Emmys nominations announced; TAR tries to reclaim throne. For me, the big surprise is the inclusion of American Ninja Warrior.

Man. Is there anybody on the Challenge worth rooting for? Nice guys like Cohutta and Isaac never make it to the end.

Also: I think the ASG should be played on a Sunday. I know that it would be rougher to figure out when to restart games on Tuesday or Wednesday, but the other major sports hold their exhibition on a Sunday. And surely, MLB can sacrifice a weekend's slate of games. I had to go to bed early. How long did the Game last? I'm betting after midnight on the East Coast. Only time that wasn't an issue for me was when I went to San Diego in 2003. So trippy to see festivities start at 5. I think that was the year Dusty Baker made Armando Benetiz as the Mets' sole representative.

Picked that up. I would be annoyed if readers had to pick up the other books to get more prologues to SofC. I will say that the Fourth Doctor one-pager has a nice last-panel visual: In other news, Todd Nauck is doing covers for the books. Next time I see him, I'm gonna ask for a DW-themed sketch. I was a fan of his work on Young Justice and Wildguard.

With the completion of Samurai Champloo last Saturday, I'm wondering: what "old school" anime should Toonami bring back, even if it's in the last slot of the night? Off the top of my head, I'm thinking Soul Eater, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and/or Death Note. Recently, I found out there's going to be an American live-action adaptation for the last one, with the protagonist's name being "Light Turner." We have to be reminded how good the anime was . . . the cuffs, the cat-and-also-cat action, Misa being worthless, Matsuda being even more worthless, Mikami putting the "l33t" in "delete," and Light's ability to make eating chips dramatic. Good times.

What should determine which team gets home-field advantage in the World Series? I'm thinking head-to-head record, won-loss in interleague games, team from the league that won the most interleague games . . . or, screw it, go back to alternating between the leagues.

Here's the thread for that talk, along with other behind-the-scenes stuff you'd like to chat about.

Given how the kerfuffle over the events of The Ruins has overtaken two threads, I am starting a topic where we can talk about the inner workings of Bunim-Murray Productions, in relation to The Challenge. Thanks to Stinger97 for suggesting the direction. If you can come up for a better title for the thread, I'm all ears. Personally, I think what happened to Tonya did happen, and it is highly indicative of the "bros will be bros" atmosphere of the show. I'm happy Evan and Kenny are persona non grata on the show (though I expect "Mr. Beautiful" to pop up on tonight's special), and I look down upon anybody who would defend them.

My reaction to the events in Civil War II #3 in five words: "Yeah, that's not gonna stick." Anybody else reading Vote Loki? At this point, if one of the real-life candidates decides to float into a rally to "I Need A Hero," I would not be surprised. ETA: Found this on Bleeding Cool. Skottie Young might have gotten in on the big event, or the cover could be a coincidence.

I knew Kimmimaro looked familiar. Looks like Sasuke is ready to murder Itachi. It'll probably take over a year to get a resolution to that story. Also liked the cut to the Leaf in the end. "Oh, shit! This anime isn't titled Sasuke! We gotta get the real lead on screen!!"

I DVRed this and "Card Wars," then watched in chronological order. Are most card games like that? My experience starts and ends with Yu-Gi-Oh! Nice to see Jake try to suppress his all-consuming desire to win. Funny to see BMO know where the story was going and (literally) jump ship.

Thought: The result of the ASG should not determine home field for the World Series. Bud Selig fucked up, and he put emphasis on an exhibition game. "Representative of Winning Team at All-Star Game" should fall between "Most Doubles In Extra Innings" and "Coin Flip."

I downloaded DC Comics' app. Is the Barrowmans' take on Malcolm worth "picking up"?

Anybody else put off that ESPN only allots two hours for the Derby? That always runs over. I'm not bugged by that, but I can imagine somebody who wants to see the softball game getting frustrated every year. When will the Marlins next face the Mets? Staton is going to be fatigued for a good while after this.

Anybody else hoping Jessie doesn't use her powers for evil? She didn't clear the course like Kacy did two years ago, but that was one helluva run. Dunno what was worse . . . Flip revealing why he wore the mask, or the unintentional dismount off The Wedge. I don't want to pity the guy, but damn. Nice to see him rebound after all those years. Suspense: Can Kevin Bull clear a finals course after everybody else biffs it? ETA: One guy clears it. Do the course creators get a bonus? Also, I'm fuzzy on the math . . . this year, there are only five regional courses. That means 75 slots would be filled. Will ANW be shooting for 100, with 25 wild cards? Or am I missing something?

Saw Brad Neeley's new show on DVR. They should have called it Brad Neeley's Robot Chicken. Funny how Brad did the standard show first before going into skits. A Reverse Seth Green, if you will. I'll check out Squidbillies later. ETA: Discussion for the class . . . if you compile a list of the best original animated series on AS, does Squidbillies crack the top ten? I'd like to think so.

Care to link? How about a Bumgarner/Colon home run derby, before the softball game? That would have been fun to watch.

I download Comixology to my iPad. Is there anything I should seek out right away? I mainly did it for the DC Comics/KFC special, which is pretty good.

Did Bumgarner decide that a trip to San Diego wasn't worth it? The New York Mets: "At least we're better than the Yankees. For now, anyway."

Note to Mets fans: Don't look at the statistics showing Daniel Murphy's stats at the break last year and those against the Mets this year. I think he should join Giancarlo Staton on the "Do Not Pitch To Under Any Circumstances" list. The Mets are jinxed. Not jinxed-jinxed like the Cubs, but second-tier jinxed. If they didn't trade Nolan Ryan to the Angels, his career would have ended around 1975, and he would have to pay admission to visit the Hall of Fame.

How long is the first season? Thirteen episodes? Because I want to get out of Annville. I understand the whole "power corrupts" deal, but it's agonizing to see Jesse not Get It yet. At least we see how screwed up his childhood was. I'm hoping we get more about that in the next season. Also disappointed that Eugene tried to kill Coma Girl (obviously, she was awake when it happened). While I understand that the comic origin wouldn't translate (Eugene tried to kill himself when his hero Kurt Cobain did the same), I would have wanted him to try and not take anybody with him. I do like the idea that the suicide attempt made him a nicer guy. Damn, those were some good effects to show Cassidy burning. You can almost smell the flesh burning. I hope we get an explanation as to how The Word didn't quite work on Quincannon. I only got recently reacquainted with the first twelve issues, so I'm hazy about limitations. I'm thinking that it might not work on somebody who doesn't understand English ("Go to hell." "Que?!?"), but I'm probably wrong about that.

That would be Inferno II. Here's my recap. Bigger disgrace to Mormons: Julie or Jenna from Go Big Or Go Home?

Man . . . not much feedback here, and I heard the movie has overtaken Captain America: Civil War as the top-grossing movie this summer. Cut to Disney execs furiously jacking it. Man, there are a lot of "special needs" creatures in the ocean. That's my takeaway from the movie. Very sweet stuff, and Ellen didn't bug that much as Dory. I think the seals/sea lions are my favorite new characters, even if their shtick was based on the sea gulls. "OFF! OFF! OFF! OFF!!!" When I went to Epcot with my mother, they had mechanical birds that went "MINE! MINE! MINE!!" How long before a Disney park brings those two/three to the masses?

Heads up: no After Show this coming week, but there will be a "best of" special following the next episode. As usual, it'll probably be about the most recent seasons, so it'll suck. I'd like to see the likes of Coral and Sarah Grayson for old time's sake, especially since the latter has been on Sarah Rice and Susie's podcast. Also: CT talking heads with the beard I can't get behind. It's not Rupert bad, but it's like Adam Larson's facial hair from The Gauntlet, where it does him little favor.