A-Town Playlist: 17 songs to end 2017

I noticed this morning that I have posted a blog on New Year's Eve two years in a row, so I figured I better knock another one out before we ring in 2018. In 2015, I wrote about my 15 favorite movies of the year. In 2016, I wrote about 16 good things that happened to me that year. This year, I'll give you a good old A-Town Playlist with 17 of my favorite songs from 2017. Enjoy!

1. Cold War Kids - Love is Mystical

2. John Mayer - Changing

3. Ocean Park Standoff - Good News

4. Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

5. Train - Play That Song

6. Weezer - Feels Like Summer

7. Alice Merton - No Roots

8. Imagine Dragons - Believer

9. New Politics - One Of Us

10. Walk the Moon - One Foot

11. Ed Sheeran - Shape of You

12. Harry Styles - Sign of the Times

*Bonus points to Mr. Styles for using the name of my blog as the name of his song.

13. Muse - Dig Down

14. Linkin Park - One More Light

15. alt-J - In Cold Blood

16. Queens of the Stone Age - The Way You Used to Do

17. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You

*This song was technically released in 2015, originally, but it made it big in 2017 and is my pick for Song of the Year, so... deal with it.

Well, there you have it. Hopefully that gave you some good stuff to listen to. Did I miss any of your top songs of the year? Let me know in the comments section below. Happy New Year!

My thoughts after seeing 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' twice in 24 hours

Unless you're living under a rock somewhere, you're aware that "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" came out this weekend. And, chances are, if you've seen it, you've got an opinion about it. I did my best (and actually succeeded) in staying off of social media and avoiding spoilers for the day and a half preceding my initial viewing of the movie - and I'm glad that I did. As soon as I got home from the theater, I hopped online to take a look at the Internet's collective reaction to the film, and what I found was... really surprising. But before I get to that, let me give you my overall thoughts.

CAUTION: I'm about to start with some spoiler-free comments, but we'll eventually dive pretty deep and MAJOR SPOILERS will follow. Be ye warned and forewarned. Proceed at your own risk - and please don't keep reading if you haven't see "The Last Jedi" yet.

What I thought

I liked the movie. I thought it was fun, exciting and had an appropriate amount of humor (unlike "Thor: Ragnarok," which tried way too hard to be funny. I thought it was a heavy plot, with far-reaching consequences and a lot to think about afterward. It had some good character development and explored many of the questions I had after Episode VII, while leaving a few loose ends to wrap up in Episode IX, which is good. I thought that a couple parts were unnecessary and made the movie probably 15 minutes longer than it absolutely needed to be - although the movie didn't ever feel too long. I loved learning more about the relationship between Luke and Ben Solo; this was probably my favorite element of the plot. All in all, I had fun both times I saw it, which is about all I ask for when I head to the movies.

What others thought

Generally, the comments I've seen have fallen on extreme, opposite ends of the spectrum. There are a lot of people calling "The Last Jedi" the best Star Wars movie since "The Empire Strikes Back." There are many who are calling it the best Star Wars film yet. On the other hand, some are saying that TLJ was a burning pile of garbage - the worst movie of the entire franchise, by far.

Take, for instance, these few comments I found within five minutes of searching the Internet:

THE GOOD:

"With plenty of twists and turns, a cohesive story and a sheer tour-de-force of drama and action."

"EPIC! Star Wars: The Last Jedi is simply amazing, and inspiring."

"I laughed. I cried. My heart raced. I was shocked! I was relieved. And even though this was a 2 and a half hour movie of ridiculous greatness, I was sad to see it end."

 "This movie was amazing. I've seen it three times already!"

THE BAD (and keep in mind that these are the ones that didn't include any profanity):

"TLJ is disaster..lazy writing, mess storyline."

"It's an incoherent mess of a story."

"[Director Rian Johnson ruined] the entire franchise with this terrible, terrible movie."

"Anyone who liked this movie is stupid."

Yikes. Like, which is it, people? Make up your dang minds! In my opinion, I don't think it was any of those things - not the best, my favorite nor the worst. What is up with these outrageous reactions?

Why you just can't trust Rotten Tomatoes

Here's a fun fact for you: currently, as of December 16th, "Justice League," which was much-maligned by critics (bias, I say!) has an audience rating of 79% on RottenTomatoes.com. "The Last Jedi," which was rated higher than any other Star Wars movie by Rotten Tomatoes critics, currently has a 56% audience approval rating. Wow.

In my mind, this proves two things: 1) DC movies aren't as bad as critics tell us they are, and 2) Star Wars fans are monsters.

That's right. Monsters.

I feel like I am uniquely qualified to talk about how annoying certain "fandoms" are, after years of working with Comic Con (not the San Diego one, FYI). By far - and it's not even close - the most annoying fan base is that of the TV show "Supernatural." I haven't watched it and never will. Those fans are the absolute worst. But after that show, which I don't even really count because I hate it so badly that I don't want it to be considered, are Marvel and Star Wars.

Don't get me wrong - I love both Marvel and Star Wars, but the super-fans get out of control in a hurry.

Marvel super-fans are currently the worst because they are elitists and they are jerks (in the sense that they think that everything Marvel does is the greatest thing ever created and, contrarily, that everything DC Comics does is absolute rubbish; neither of those statements are entirely true).

Star Wars super-fans are currently the second worst because they think they know everything (all that "extended universe" junk that isn't even canon anymore) and they compete against each other to show who knows the most (or who is the "biggest Star Wars fan") more than any other fandom. I don't think that Star Wars fans have any real beef with Star Trek fans (it's more the other way around, if I'm not mistaken), but they can sure be rude to each other online. If you're bored, go hop into the comments section of any recent Star Wars post and you'll see what I mean.

The other major problem with Star Wars fans is that they're incredibly hypocritical. I loved Episode VII, but it came to my attention that many so-called fans did not - for a surprising reason. I see the similarities now, of course, but at the time I first saw "The Force Awakens," I wasn't bothered by the comparisons to "A New Hope." People didn't like VII because it was too similar to IV. Now, it seems, people don't like Episode VIII because it isn't similar enough to the old movies. Uhhh... ok?

It has come to my attention that there are three types of Star Wars fans:

Going to see #TheLastJedi for the second time in 24 hours. Should I go into the movie tonight as my regular self, as the unrealistically optimistic Star Wars fan, or the inexplicably pissed off Star Wars fan? #options

— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) December 16, 2017

Further analysis

Posting their own spoilers

I was really careful to avoid spoilers on social media. I think I only watched the full second trailer once or twice because I didn't want to know anything specific about the movie before seeing it for myself. Did any of you see those little commercials that Disney put out, which said "Don't let anyone spoil this"? (Watch them all here.) Weren't those spoilers, in and of themselves? Kylo reaching out to Rey, Finn fighting Phasma, Kylo debating whether to blow up Leia's ship, Rey using the Force, Rey threatening Luke with a lightsaber, and the two that made me the most upset - Snoke torturing Rey and Rey wielding Kylo Ren's lightsaber. Why not leave all of these moments a surprise? I understand what they were trying to do - tease moments that people will likely be talking about as a way to entice people to see the movie early on - but come on, people. Why spoil these moments by warning viewers not to have those moments spoiled?

"Screw you and your predictions" - the writers, probably

I was honestly shocked to see all the negative comments when I got home last night. All I had heard going into the movie was that everyone loved it. IGN gave it a 9.7 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes, as previously mentioned, has it sitting at 94%, higher than any other Star Wars movie. I'd heard all the critics loved it - and I generally trust Disney to put out a good product - but all this hate blew my mind... and kept me up, laughing, until 3:15 in the morning. (It was a late showing, I'd taken a nap beforehand and I just wasn't tired, ok?)

Even though I think most of the hate for the movie is practically unfounded or completely unnecessary, I do see some of what people were upset about. First and foremost, let's talk about everyone's ridiculous expectations for this movie. This is where we will be getting into MAJOR SPOILERS, so if you're still reading and you don't want to know, STOP NOW.

"The Last Jedi"? They might as well have called it "The Last Fan Theory." Because that's what it basically was: the end of fans thinking they call the shots. After "The Force Awakens," Star Wars fans began postulating absurd theories as to a plethora of different plot points, but a two major topics came to the forefront right away:

• Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?
• Who are Rey's parents?

In "The Last Jedi," both of those theories were laid to rest immediately. Let's break them down:

• Theories about Snoke's true identity swirled largely around two major possibilities: Emperor Palpatine and Darth Plagueis. Fans were convinced that the man who seduced young Ben Solo (now Kylo Ren) to join the Dark Side of the Force must have had some ties to a great Sith Lord from the previous movies. This theory was debunked when Kylo Ren killed Snoke upon his throne in "The Last Jedi." Not a mention was made of his backstory nor any other previous identity. The dude is dead and, from the looks of it, he ain't coming back. So there's that.
• Theories about Rey's parentage began in Episode VII when we learned that her mother and father abandoned her on Jakku as a child. She always believed that they'd return to her, and it was therefore assumed that they were of some great importance in the "big picture." Most fans assumed that Rey was either a Skywalker or a Solo, or perhaps even the granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The identities of her parents are teased throughout the first half of TLJ, only for us to find out that her parents were actually "nobody," which Rey admits to Kylo Ren shortly after Snoke's death. Kylo expounds that her parents were Jakku junkers that sold her for drinking money. It has been speculated that this may have just been a lie from Kylo to entice Rey to join him on the Dark Side, but, after seeing the scene for a second time, it is of note that Rey was the first one to admit that her parents were inconsequential. So there's that.

I think that the shooting down of these two popular speculation points is the main reason why some fans got so mad at "The Last Jedi." One Twitter user put it really well:

I wonder if people are really mad at the Last Jedi because they didn’t like it, or because it smashed all our theories we spent the last 2 years carefully creating?🤔 #lastjedi

— Brian West (@BrianWest53) December 15, 2017

One Facebook user had this to say:

"I find it funny [that] everyone has an issue with not knowing [any] of the details on Snoke's backstory yet we knew even less about the Emperor in the original trilogy and yet no issue (sic). There also was no push or hype from The Force Awakens on Rey's parents being any big reveal[; it was] just briefly mentioned. I think we are guilty as fans of sometimes building stuff ourselves that was never implied in a film, then criticizing a film for not answering or having a big plot reveal to something they never implied to begin with."

Guilty as charged - on both counts. Over the past two years, we have come up with some pretty compelling theories and we acted like we knew everything that was going to happen. It's like we wanted to write the movies ourselves. Welp, Disney gave us all the middle finger in the most loving way possible with this one, folks.

In the end, I think this is a good thing. Hopefully it will get super-fans to tone down how aggressive they get with this stuff. Clearly, the writers and directors don't give a crap about our theories, so (hopefully) in the future, we'll just go to movies to have fun, not to see whether our theories were correct or not. It's fun to guess and try to predict stuff, but it sure felt like TLJ was not-so-subtly reminding us who's boss.

The Ultimate Troll Job

Along those lines, did anybody else feel like this movie was just a constant troll job? No? Let me remind you of a few things that happened. A few fake-outs. A few swerves. As I said before, this story pretty much gave fans the middle finger - multiple times.

• Leia's dead! J/K, she's alive, she's using the Force for the first time on screen and SHE'S MARY POPPINS, Y'ALL! (Arguably the worst part of the movie, if you ask me. More on that in just a sec.)
• Vice Admiral Holdo is bad! J/K, she's Leia's BFF.
• Kylo Ren's a good guy! J/K, he's not.
• Snoke is so mysterious! J/K, he's dead.
• Rey's parents are important! J/K, they're dead, too.
• Finn is about to make the ultimate sacrifice! J/K, nah.
• Luke is taking on the whole First Order by himself! J/K, he's not really even there.

See what I mean? Freaking trolls!

What could have been

Speaking of things that didn't end up happening, I've got a couple more thoughts:

1. Why didn't they kill off Leia? No offense, but... Carrie Fisher ain't walking through that door for Episode IX. (R.I.P.) It's not like they didn't have the chance! They freaking blew her up! She was out there, floating in space without any kind of space suit. Not that I've ever been in outer space, but... I'm pretty sure you can't do that. Sure, give her the close-up thing where she looks all beautiful and peaceful, but then call it good! She gone! But no! I admit that it was cool to see Leia finally use the Force, but... that floating scene. It was... so... weird! She's just, like, flying? Miraculously unharmed, despite everybody else on the bridge dying? Man, I'm sorry, but they should have just killed her off there. Or even let her have her Force moment, bring her back, put her in the sick bed thingy, then have that lady with the enormous nose (sorry, but it's true) come out and say, "I'm so sorry... she didn't make it." Everybody cries, it's a terrible moment, and Kylo Ren becomes even more despicable for essentially killing both of his parents. #groundedforlife At this point, there are about, what?, 15 people left in the Rebellion? And now, suddenly, their most prominent member is just, like... gone? Like, what? She's off on some galactic adventure, never to be heard from again? Perhaps they'll just start Episode IX with a funeral and say that she died of a broken heart or something. Ugh. Missed opportunity.
2. I had an insane thought at one point in the movie - something that I hadn't heard anywhere and I truly believe nobody would have seen coming. Remember that part when Kylo tells Rey that he saw her parents and, because of that, he knows that she will turn to the Dark Side? It hit me like a stroke of pure inspiration. REY IS A PALPATINE! Holy crap! Can you imagine? And then I was wrong about that, so I frowned and kept watching. But seriously. That would have been the shocker of all-time shockers.

The nobody from nowhere - and why she's important

It's important that Rey's parents were nobodies. Anakin Skywalker's parents were nobodies, so it's not like this is unheard of. Sure, it would have been fun if Rey was a Kenobi, but with Rey being outside the Skywalker and Kenobi bloodline, it opens the door for more Jedis, beyond this trilogy. We see that little kid at the very end of the movie summoning his broom with the Force, like Harry Potter learning to fly for the first time, so we know that there are other Force-sensitive people out there in the galaxy. The thought many may have had going into "The Last Jedi" was that it was Luke and Rey and that's it. Learning that Rey was a nobody from nowhere shot that theory down, as well.

Random observations and questions

• I'm not big on acting like I know everything so I therefore have the right to point out plot holes, but I found one the second time through. If Luke is a Hologram for that last scene, how was he able to interact with Leia beforehand? He gave her that keepsake from the Millennium Falcon, held her and and kissed her on the forehead, but then, moments later, Kylo Ren was unable to kill him with his lightsaber. It is of note that Luke never touches Kylo in that fight, so that's all good. So... did Leia know Luke was only a hologram and just acted like everything was totally normal when he was next to her? I don't know. Whatever. Doesn't matter.
• Porgs are just as dumb and insignificant as I knew they would be. That one scene with Chewbacca was funny, but that was a total cash grab by Disney. I hope they were able to sell a lot of stuffed animals.
• The Yoda cameo was fun. When he was laughing after lighting that Rebellion-insignia-shaped tree on fire, I was dying. That ol' kook.
• I'm sure someone will take this as being sexist... because she's a woman... but... is Captain Phasma the most useless, worthless character in all of Star Wars? Good riddance, Chrome Dome.
• I didn't like Vice Admiral Holdo, but hitting Light Speed to take out that huge First Order ship was such a baller move. Bravo. See? I'm not sexist, after all!
• They could have cut out the entire casino scene with the supposed Master Code Breaker and made the movie 15 minutes shorter. He was pointless and they could have just found Benicio Del Toro's character somewhere else, like sleeping in one of the escape pods on the Rebellion's ship or something.
• That Dark Side hole in the island wasn't working for me. Could have cut that scene out, too. Also, Rey snaps weird, but I digress. My heart was pounding as Rey got up to that glass wall and the shadows were walking toward her. When it turned out to just be a mirror or whatever, I was pretty let down. Oh well.
• Luke Skywalker is way more likable than Mark Hamill in real life. I've almost had to unfollow the guy on Twitter, between his unbounding hatred for Donald Trump and his non-stop fake Star Wars spoilers, he has gotten on my nerves lately. I was happy to see him as Luke again for two and a half hours and forget about all that real life nonsense.
  
• Isn't it crazy to realize that Han, Luke and Leia are all gone now?
• I still like Kylo Ren's character. He's a whiny little baby and I was forced to cross "See Kylo Ren Shirtless" off the list of "Things I Never Want To See In My Life," but I'm hopeful that he will stay true to the Dark Side at this point. Also, I still love his temper tantrums, and the exchange between Luke and Kylo - "I'm sorry!" "I'm sure you are!" - was my favorite bit of dialogue. They've tried to get him to turn and he's not budging, so I'm hoping that, instead of doing the "Disney Thing" and having him redeem himself in Episode IX, he will just stay evil and die a straight-up death, like a baller. Hang in there, Kylo! You can do it, bro!

Conclusion

Overall, I liked the movie. I think it would probably crack my Top 3 or 4, in terms of all-time ranking in the franchise. Certainly better than II (the worst!), I (although I loved Darth Maul and podracing), III (despite my enjoyment of the connecting moments between trilogies) and "Rogue One" (which was fine, but altogether unnecessary). I guess I'm an idiot because I've never really liked "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" was my favorite movie for like five years as a kid. Apparently that's an unpopular opinion. I do think that Episode VII is probably my favorite. This is not to say that "The Last Jedi" was bad - because it wasn't. It was good, it was fun, and the knee-jerk reactions on social media gave me a lot to make fun of.

What did you think of the movie? It's not safe to discuss this out on Facebook yet, but you can definitely leave a comment below or shoot me a message to talk to me about it. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Until next time, don't be a jerk and post spoilers where unsuspecting victims might come across them... and may the Force be with you. Always.

"Orient Express" is everything you could ask for in a murder mystery

There was a point in my life when I was obsessed with movie reviews. I loved reading them. I wanted to know which movies were good, which weren't and which ones I should spend my time and money on.

That is no longer the case. These days, there is only one movie critic that I completely trust.

Myself.

With that in mind, I completely avoided any reviews about "Murder on the Orient Express" because I didn't want any spoilers (as would be incredibly easy to find for a film such as this) and because I wanted to go in and make up my own mind.

It is of note that, without reading any reviews, I did see that the movie was "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes (currently sitting at 58%) - yet IGN gave it a 9.1 out of 10 - and that Entertainment Weekly said... well... whatever they're trying to say here:

Um, ok. I don't know about you, but I don't understand about half of those words. Like, did somebody get a thesaurus for their birthday or something? Here is my quick, spoiler-free review of the movie, which I saw this morning:

It's a little slow, but that's deliberate.

• In order for a murder mystery to work, you've got to have an intricate cast of characters. In order for an audience to buy into those characters, you've got to take time introducing them and making viewers care about them. And in order for the audience to get sucked into the interweaving backstories of those characters, you've got to take time to explain things.
• Admittedly, I was a little in-and-out of consciousness for a bit toward the beginning of the movie, but that's not the film's fault. It's my fault because I'm an idiot and stayed up way too late last night, and I felt terrible about it because I was afraid that I'd miss a clue or an important conversation. Luckily, I think I was mostly all right.

It's stylish and looks great

• It almost made me wish I lived in that era and could have taken a trip on a fancy train like the Orient Express, until I realized how badly it probably sucked to be living in that era. The costumes were wonderful and the cinematography was tremendous, including one particular shot toward the end of the movie that I immediately recognized as a recreation of a very famous piece of art. It was a cool shot and most certainly done intentionally. Good work.

It's not funny - but it shouldn't be

• In a world where many moviegoers seem to think, "If it's not funny, it must not be good" (cc: any DC Comics movie), I am here to tell you that this logic is simply not true. I think I maybe laughed once or twice throughout "Orient Express," but come on, people - it's a murder mystery, not a comedy. Somebody on the train has been killed. That is hardly a laughing matter, if you ask me. If you want a movie that will try its darndest to make you laugh, go watch "Thor: Ragnarok," which tries too hard, in my opinion, to be funny.

It keeps you guessing - and, of course, I was wrong

• The mark of a good murder mystery is its ability to keep viewers guessing. There's a little thing called "misdirection," and I wasn't going to take that bait. Certainly, the most obvious suspect was not actually going to be the murderer. As one unfamiliar with any Agatha Christie novels, I went into the theater kept my eyes peeled for the smallest of hints, trying to discern who the killer may have been. In the end, I didn't guess correctly (which is a good thing, right?), but realized, in retrospect, that the explanation given at the film's conclusion added up and even somewhat crossed my mind toward the end of the movie.
• On a relatively similar note, I once guess the killer about halfway through a mystery novel. I was so proud of myself for finally getting it right, but was also simultaneously disappointed that the book wasn't written confusingly enough to trick me. It was at that moment that I realized that I'd rather be surprised by the ending than be right all along.

Conclusion

"Murder on the Orient Express" is everything you could ask for in a murder mystery. It's clever, well-acted, has a complex cast of potential suspects and a superb lead in director/actor Kenneth Branagh's double-mustached Hercule Poirot, and even hints at future installments, which I think is great. The plot is intricate and good enough to make me (a non-reader) want to pick up Agatha Christie books for more thrills. If you've got two hours to spare, I would highly recommend "Orient Express," a movie which is completely unique, in comparison to the current superhero-saturated box office, and, in terms of murder mysteries, about as good as it gets.

Rating

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

You may also be interested in:

• Vantage Point
• Clue
• Source Code

Virtual Roundtable: "Stranger Things: Season 2"

The second season of Netflix's cult favorite series "Stranger Things" is upon us, and many a nostalgia nerd have already plowed their way through the quick nine-episode run. We here at The Underground have gathered some of the brightest minds this side of the Jordan River to discuss in detail the zigs, zags, ups and upside-downs of this Fall's most binge-worthy show.

Be ye warned and forewarned that forthcoming will be MAJOR SPOILERS for "Stranger Things: Season 2." Do not proceed past this point unless you have either watched the entire season or really don't care.

All right. If you've made it this far, we will assume that you have watched both seasons of "Stranger Things" and will therefore not take time to explain who characters or nor go into great detail laying backstory for the events that take place in the show. You've watched. You know. We're all adults here.

What follows will be a compilation of answers that were given, with no collaboration between participants. Although some of the comments may ultimately wind up edited for length, clarity and/or punctuation and grammar, the content and intent thereof will remain unchanged. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's introduce today's panelists:

Aaron Christensen - Main contributor and creator of the "Signs of the Times" blog franchise; former journalist of Deseret News, Salt Lake Comic Con and college radio fame.

Amy Morgan - Two-time Virtual Roundtable contributor, lover of "This is Us," the one and only Christensen sister.

Mandi Russell - Hardcore gamer, cosplayer, double Instagrammer.

Abbie Sugihara - She talked to Aaron at church twice and made the happy mistake of commenting on his recent "Stranger Things" status updates.

Amanda Nelson - Underground contributor, Whovian, frequent world traveler.

Karrie Randall - First-time mom, party game champion, dressed as Barb for Halloween.

Brad Randall - Married to Karrie / Father of Lou, overall cool dude, dressed as Dustin for Halloween.

Suzzanne Bailey - Hilarious coworker, lover of Tom Hiddleston, wearer of amazing t-shirts.

Jena Alison - She says she's a passionate, organized mom. I say she is the granter of Comic Con wishes.

The time has come. Let's get it on!

Question 1 - What did you like most about Season 2? What was the most pleasant surprise?

Consensus: Everybody loves Steve. The character "pair-ups" were also a big hit with the panelists.

Mandi: My favorite thing about Season 2 was the building of characters. With every episode, a new layer was peeled back on each character and we learned more about them in a very natural way. The pairing of characters (Hopper & Eleven, Steve & Dustin) really brought out new aspects to each of their personalities, where we saw them define and realize who they really were. A perfect example was the episode where Steve and Dustin were walking along the train tracks. Steve began to mentor Dustin and was a real and true friend to him - he even let Dustin in on his haircare secrets!

Abbie: The character development for Steve & Hopper. (Talk about a major "glow-up.") Steve and Hop both act as father figures for the younger kids while maintaining their toughness.

Karrie: I loved the "team” that ended up together fighting off the demo-dogs and trying to free Will from the influence of the smoke monster. I loved the addition of Max and I loved the role that Steve played in helping the kids and Joyce. ... This season, I [also] really learned to love Joyce and Hopper and Will!

Suzzanne: I actually liked this season better than the first. I loved how we didn't spend a lot of time developing new characters, and the adventure started off from the word "go." The villain was better, scarier and more sentient than the Demogorgan from Season 1. Most pleasant surprise? The Steve/Dustin bromance. It was everything I didn't know I needed in my life.

Question 2 - What did you like least about Season 2? What was the biggest disappointment?

Consensus: The panelists really didn't like Episode 7, Max and Billy.

Mandi: My least favorite thing was meeting Eight. The gritty/grungy vibe of the mid-80s was great, and I loved what the Duffer brothers were going for, but it dragged and the characters weren’t lovable, let alone likable or relatable. I didn’t care for any of them, and Eight’s relationship with Eleven didn’t seem very deep. I believe that Eight will eventually want to reach out to Eleven and have a more serious connection with her, but I felt that she was using Eleven far more than helping her unlock her potential.

Suzzanne: I don't really think that they needed a human antagonist. The whole Billy storyline was kind of a waste of screen time that could have been given to more Eleven-and-Hopper scenes. ... I do wish we'd seen more Eleven interacting with the boys, beyond the brief scene at the Byers' house and at the Snow Ball.

Amy: It's a tie between the weird love triangle between MadMax, Dustin and Lucas, and "The Lost Sister." I really don't care for Max or Lucas in the first place, so I just thought it was annoying. "The Lost Sister" could have been summed up into 5 minutes of actual important stuff. I was not that impressed with Eight and I hated seeing Eleven as this angsty teenage girl who ended up looking like a gothic teenage version of the Godfather. [Also,] Nancy and Jonathan sleeping together and them getting together with the weird P.I. to take down Hawkins Lab. I hated everything about that episode.

Aaron: Episode 7 was just plain terrible. I understand why they did it, but they could have basically condensed that whole episode into a five-minute Eleven training montage. If I ever re-watch this season, I'm skipping that episode. Also, Greaser Eleven is the worst. Also, that ridiculous will-they/won't-they scene with Jonathan and Nancy (AKA "Jancy"), which that they jacked straight out of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

Brad: Episode 7. I get that they are trying to build on Eleven's character, but I didn't feel that story deserved an entire episode and I didn't feel it pushed the story further.

Karrie: Obviously, Episode 7 was a bit of a bust. I was excited to find out who 008 was and, while I am excited to see where that goes, that episode felt like a waste. I also thought that certain plot points were a little muddled and could have used a little more detail, like when Nancy and Jonathan went to lab and then met with that man who helped them send out the tape to all the newspapers. It just felt like they weren’t quite committed enough to that portion of the story. I also really wanted there to be more justice and closure for Barb and her family!

Abbie: "The Lost Sister" episode was garbage. The additions of Billy and Max also sucked. They provided no extra meaning to the plot. It’s like they were just... there.

Question 3 - Who was your favorite Season 2 character and why?

Amanda: Dustin. That kid has the best one-liners. His humor just makes it.

Brad: I really liked Will. I thought his acting was incredible.

Jena: Eleven. It was nice to see her be a kid.

Mandi: Steve. Selfless, caring and tough. 

Karrie: I loved both Joyce and Hopper. Joyce, because she seemed way less cuckoo in this season and I loved how she fought for her son. I loved that Hopper took Eleven in and how kind he was to Joyce.

Suzzanne: Steve! Talk about character development. He needed more to do, and he's way too good for Nancy.

Aaron: Gotta go with Steve. The man is a baller with glorious '80s hair.

Amy: Steve hands down. He is the best [dang] babysitter around!

Abbie: STEVE HARRINGTON. He had the greatest character development from Season 1 to Season 2. Plus, I’m also 100% here for his hair.

Question 4 - Who was your least favorite Season 2 character and why?

Consensus: Everybody hates Billy the Bully and his fancy through-the-legs layups.

Abbie: Billy. He was garbage. He served no purpose to the season except for giving us Steve’s confused “....Nancy?” when he woke up after getting beaten by Billy.

Amy: Max and Billy. They were crappy additions to the show that the [story] could have easily done without.

Suzzanne: Billy... UGH. He kind of took over Steve's throne as the school 'cool kid/king of the jerks' but I don't think that they really needed it.

Mandi: Max and Eight are tied for least fave. I feel like Max was thrown in as a P.C. necessity and Eight wasn’t at all altruistic - she was very selfish and manipulative.

Aaron: Mad Max and Billy were practically pointless. Honestly, when did Max ever do anything of value, other than illegally driving a car? Also, I didn't know Billy actually had a name until like Episode 5. I just called him "The Kid That Is Always Smoking on School Property."

Jena: The doctor. I thought he was slimy and didn't want him to be "good."

Question 5 - Who is the most underrated character of the series so far?

Brad: Lucas! Or Steve. Love them both.

Amanda: Hopper. His character development is great. I really can't [wait to] see what they do next with him.

Karrie: Joyce. She doesn’t get enough credit for all that she does and has done for Will and the others.

Jena: Joyce. She gets written off as crazy, when she's really the only one who's paying attention.

Amy: Bob. Sure, he was kind of a goofy guy, but he did so much to help the Byers, from being somewhat normal to escaping Hawkins Lab by knowing Basic.

Suzzanne: Dustin. This kid is smart - he knows he needs his paddles for his curiosity voyage! He so many moments of bravery in this season (and a few stupid moments... of course your weird new friend is a baby demogorgan!) He wasn't completely useless without his friends either; he went looking for Mike and, when he couldn't find someone, he recruited Steve.

Aaron: That goofy police officer with the glasses. Did anybody dress up like him for Halloween? That would be a great costume.

Question 6 - Is there a character that you wish would have been killed off? If so, who and why?

Consensus: Brad and Karrie are the kindest of the panelists because they didn't want to kill anyone. Five points to each of them.

Abbie: Billy and/or MadMax.

Jena: The doctor. I don't see a reason for keeping him alive actually.

Aaron: I thought for a second that they were going to have to kill Will. That would have been crazy. Other decent options: Nancy, Max and Billy.

Amanda: I'm not a huge fan of Will. I feel like he is just there to further the story along, but I have no connection to him.

Mandi: Max. She is everything i hate in female protagonists: cocky, pushy and mysteriously better than anyone else at something. I’m sure she’ll be helpful next season, but they need to tone down her “holier than thou” attitude.

Amy: Either Max or Billy because they are the worst. Or the stupid P.I. conspiracy theory guy. He was just a part of the series to get Nancy and Jonathan to sleep together.

Suzzanne: Actually... Jonathan. He's a sweet kid, and I do believe that he would die for his brother. Something about him creeps me out, though. I think I'd like him a little better if he did some great self-sacrificing gesture so his baby brother could have a normal life. Is that mean? Maybe.

Question 7 - Was there anything you wish would have happened in Season 2 that didn't come to pass?

Amanda: I wanted the shadow monster to come out of the Upside Down!

Suzzanne: I wanted more Will. He was the such a central character in Season 1 and he wasn't featured a whole lot. I wanted to get to know him a little better.

Karrie: Some other part of Barb's story. I’m not sure what they could have done... but I️ would have liked to see something..

Mandi: I wish we could have seen more of the Upside Down. Are there any good or redeemable creatures there (like Dart?), or are they all inherently evil?

Abbie: Part of me is still waiting for Joyce and Hop to hook up.

Aaron: I was really hoping there would be a scene at some point where Joyce came home to discover an unconscious boy on her floor and a dead alien in her fridge.

Question 8 - Who or what is most to blame for the calamities that befell Hawkins, Indiana, in Season 2, and why?

Karrie: Technically, Eleven opened the gate. But she was doing that to try to save herself. So really, it’s the labs fault, and Papa's.

Amanda: Eleven. I mean she started the whole thing. The season connected completely to season one. Although, if not for Eleven there probably wouldn't be a show, so yeah.

Abbie: As much as I love her, probably Eleven. She opened the gate at the end of season 1, and by it staying open, the mess from the upside down seeped into Hawkins.

Aaron: Eleven, originally, but in Season 2, I put a lot of the blame on Dustin for keeping (and feeding) Dart. You know what? I blame the Three Musketeers!

Mandi: Bob! I loved him, but knew it wouldn’t end well the moment he told Will to “fight” the shadow monster.

Amy: Bob, because he told Will to stick up to the Mind Flayer/shadow monster. Dustin, because he raised a demo-dog. The pumpkin farmers for creating so much drama. Nancy because she's the worst. Above all, I blame the Mind Flayer for everything that happened in Hawkins.

Jena: The lab. Because, government.

Suzzanne: The Cold War.

Brad: I'm sure there's a better answer here, but I'm guessing Donald Trump is somehow behind it all.

Question 9 - #JusticeForBarb or #JusticeForBob?

Question 10 - Who should Nancy date?

Question 11 - How did you feel about Episode 7: "The Lost Sister"?

Question 12 - Whose powers would you rather have?

Question 13 - What is the best song featured in Season 2?

33.3% "Every Breath You Take" - The Police

22.2 % "Runaway" - Bon Jovi

11.1% "Should I Stay or Should I Go" - The Clash

11.1% "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" - Jim Croce

11.1% "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions

11.1% "Whip It" - Devo

Question 14 - Is Stranger Things the greatest TV show of all time?

Amanda: Close. It just has so much to love about it. Great characters and plot, but I don't know if anything can beat "The X-Files."

Jena: Not quite, but it's still fantastic. "Doctor Who" and "LOST" are at my top.

Suzzanne: Greatest show of all time? No. An amazing show that has mass appeal and is wildly entertaining? Abso-freaking-lutely. This show has great appeal because it is a mix of sci-fi, suspense, comedy, mystery, and nostalgia. It's just great. The re-watch value is high, and it gives you a lot to talk about.

Mandi: It's my favorite new show, for sure. It’s instantly nostalgic, has iconic references and pop culture moments, but is unique and not at all kitschy or overplayed. I really love how they develop the characters and make it just creepy enough to really suck you in.

Amy: I don't know about "all time," but I do think it's a great TV show. It's kind of a thriller, but it's funny enough to keep me coming back for more. I also love the '80s theme! The songs, the style, the glasses, the Eggos... It's all so perfect!

Brad: No. It is not. But it is a wonderful popcorn binge-worthy entertainment choice that is a hit with many teens and adults alike. When does that happen?

Abbie: Debatable. I love it, but I also know people who don’t, usually because Sci-Fi isn’t something they get into. All things considered: 11/10 would recommend to anyone.

Karrie: Yes.

Aaron: I give it 8/10 stars, but no. The greatest TV show of all time has already been made... and its name is "LOST"!

Question 15 - Make a bold prediction about Season 3 or beyond.

Mandi: I think the Mind Flayer has its sights set on Eleven. My guess is it realized her strength and it will possess her.

Jena: We see more of the lost siblings.

Brad: I think Season 3 expands [the story] outside of just Hawkins. Hawkins is the central area, but bigger powers get involved and more havoc unleashes.

Amanda: The earth is destroyed and they all get stuck in the Upside Down.

Abbie: As much as I hated the "Lost Sister" episode, I’m hoping that it serves a greater purpose than some minor character development for El. I think there’s potential for something great with her story.

Karrie: Billy is going to end up a good guy. Joyce and Hopper end up together.

Suzzanne: The Mind Flayer uses another telekinetic kid to open a gate and it comes for the town of Hawkins. Eight is brought into the story by Eleven to try to help trick the Mind Flayer and save the day.

Aaron: Somebody finally gets the guts to say, "You know what? I'm moving to Omaha."

Amy: [HOT TAKE ALERT!!!] Hopper and Dustin are going to be the new hosts for the Mind Flayer. (They both got stuff in their mouths in the tunnels and it may be something that causes an infection.)

BOOM! There you have it! What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Did we miss anything you wanted to discuss? Sound off in the comments section below. But not on Facebook. No, no. Not on Facebook for a couple more weeks, lest your friends unleash fury upon you for ruining Episode 7 for them.

See ya on the flip side. 🙃


For more "Stranger Things," check out our Season 2 Power Rankings by clicking here.

"Stranger Things: Season 2" Power Rankings

"Stranger Things" is all the rage right now, which got me thinking about which characters are most beloved by my fellow binge-watchers of America. I devised a way to determine this, based on a popular method used in sports called "Power Rankings."

According to Wikipedia, "Power ratings are numerical representations of competitive strength, often directly comparable so that the game outcome between any two teams can be predicted. Power rankings can be directly provided (e.g., by asking people to rank teams) so that the highest rated team earns the #1 rank."

With that in mind, I asked my online acquaintances to rank characters from Season 1 and Season 2 of "Stranger Things" to see where they stacked up. Here are the results:

Season 1 Power Rankings:

Season 2 Power Rankings:

Biggest Movers: Steve Harrington, +4; Eleven, -3; Nancy Wheeler, -3

Dropped from rankings: Mr. Clarke, Barb Holland

New this season: Bob “The Brain” Newby, MadMax Mayfield, Eight / Kali, Billy Hargrove

For more "Stranger Things," check out our Virtual Roundtable by clicking here.

Good Costume / Bad Costume: Round II

Well, it's that time of year again. Halloween is upon us and you probably procrastinated your costume again this year, didn't you? Thankfully, I've brought back a time-honored tradition - a blast from the past, as it were - and I'm here to protect you from the shame and embarrassment of showing up at that big party tomorrow night looking like a fool. That's right, everyone - it's time for...

Luckily, I wasn't the only one who played along this time around. Quick shoutout to Suzzanne Bailey, Jordan Holmes, Ryan Goulding, James Winder, Jonathan Blackham, and the Trusty Triumvirate of Cody Christensen / Amy Morgan / Cole Morgan for their contributions. Here are the top suggestions from this year's edition:

Good costume: Eleven

Bad costume: Twelve

Good costume: Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bad costume: Bill Nye the Grammar Nazi

Good costume: Luke Skywalker

Bad costume: Luke Landwalker

Good costume: Aquaman

Bad costume: Water boy

Good costume: Gene Simmons

Bad costume: Richard Simmons

Good costume: Frozen

Bad costume: Thawed

Good costume: Gym rat

Bad costume: Gym mouse

Good costume: Unicorn

Bad costume: Unibomber

Good costume: Batman

Bad costume: Steve Bartman

Good costume: Lord of the Rings

Bad costume: Lord of the Flings

Good costume: Frodo

Bad costume: Frodon't

Good costume: Samwise

Bad costume: Samstupid

Good costume: It

Bad costume: That

Good costume: Walter White

Bad costume: Walter Off-white. Like, beige, almost.

Good costume: Bill & Ted

Bad costume: Bill Cosby and Ted Cruz

Good costume: Phantom of the Opera

Bad costume: Phantom vibrates

("I'm a cell phone that doesn't vibrate in your pocket oooOOOOoooo!")

Good costume: The Fonz

Bad costume: The Ponzi Scheme

Good costume: Sports Fan

Bad costume: BYU Fan

Good costume: Scott Pilgrim

Bad costume: Scott Conquistador

Good costume: Maui the Demigod

Bad costume: Maui the Demogorgon

Good costume: Leslie Knope

Bad costume: Leslie Yep

Good costume: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Better costume: Ruth Vader Ginsburg

Good costume: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Bad costume: Luke Warm Steve Austin

Good costume: Britney Spears

Bad costume: Britney’s tears

Good costume: Betty White

Bad costume: White Betty

Good costume: Millenium Falcon

Bad costume: Millennial Falcon

Good costume: Doctor House

Bad costume: Doctor Apartment

Good costume: Doctor Strange

Bad costume: Doctor Normal

Good costume: Conan the Barbarian

Bad costume: Conan the Humanitarian

Good costume: Julius Caesar

Bad costume (tie): Orange Julius, Caesar Salad

Good costume: Wednesday Addams

Bad costume: Thursday Addams

Good costume: The Devil Wears Prada

Bad costume: The Devil Wears Nada

You're welcome.

Happy Halloween from everybody at The Underground!

WWE 2K18 roster preview: Who's out? Who's in?

Everybody's got a hobby. Believe it or not, I have several. These hobbies include blogging, playing the trumpet, binge-watching TV shows, playing video games and (as I've previously blogged about... before... several times) casually keeping up with pro wrestling.

Occasionally, these hobbies converge, such as, for instance, each October when a new WWE video game is released. Although these are not my favorite video games, they do come in handy when you want to virtually beat the crap out of somebody with a garbage can or senselessly pummel their face with your Playstation fists.

Who's out?

With "WWE 2K18" coming out (early release) on October 13, I was curious to see which wrestlers from "2K17" didn't make the cut for the new game. Generally, they'll cut a few characters that haven't been on TV in a while or who have left the company for one reason or another. Today, I did the proverbial math and have come up with a list, since I couldn't find it spelled out anywhere else. Here are the wrestlers who aren't making the jump from last year's edition:

• Alberto del Rio - no longer with the company; spent some time on "Lucha Underground" in 2015 as "Alberto El Patron" ("Lucha Underground" is on Netflix and is worth a binge-watch if you're a big wrestling fan with nothing else going on in your life.)
• Arn Anderson - "The Enforcer" and a former member of "The Four Horsemen"; likely just not a popular enough character to justify bringing along
• Austin Aries - left WWE on his own terms earlier this year after a stint as a wrestler and commentator on "NXT" and "205 Live"
• Big Show (1999) - included as part of the "Hall of Fame Showcase" DLC for "2K17"; probably the worst possible version of Big Show; there will still be a current model and a "2000" model of Big Show in "2K18," so this is not a big loss
• Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James - I've got two words for these members of D-Generation X: SEE YA!
• Blake and Murphy - two NXT stars that never made the jump to the main roster; they will not be missed
• Brian Pillman - I'm always confused by the decision to include Pillman in so many of these games; he was probably just before my time and I don't understand the nostalgia of it all
• Bubba and D-Von Dudley - the Dudley Boyz made a comeback in WWE from 2015-2016 (which I missed), but that run has come to an end, and so has their time in the 2K video games
• Diego and Fernando - Los Matadores were the casualties of a stupid gimmick and, thankfully, they will not be appearing as their masked personas in "2K18"; they will, however, be appearing as their current, low-mileage characters, Epico and Primo Colon (who notably have not been on TV in quite some time)
• Eva Marie - she of "all red everything" is bidding a fond farewell to the video game series; she was recently released by the company on reportedly questionable terms
• Jack Swagger - let us all take a moment to place a hand over our hearts and say, in a loud, clear voice, "WE, THE PEOPLE!"
• Simon Gotch - I missed the "Vaudevillains" era of WWE (it all seemed very odd to me), but Gotch hasn't been with the company for a while, so there is no sense in including him in this year's game
• Stardust - I also missed most of the Stardust era, but it was a terrible way for Cody Rhodes to leave the company; he is doing very well for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling, however, so good for him

So there you have it. I won't particularly be missing anyone on that list. There's nobody that's completely irreplaceable - and even if I really did need any of them, they're just a quick Create-a-Wrestler away.

Who's in?

Now, who are the new additions for "WWE 2K18"? Let's break it down quickly - and there are a lot of names to cover. We'll do it in groups:

• Main Roster: Bobby Roode, Curt Hawkins, Elias, Jinder Mahal, Maryse, Mickie James, Primo Colon and Epico Colon, Rhyno
• NXT: Akam and Rezar with Paul Ellering ("The Authors of Pain"); Alexander Wolfe, Eric Young, Killian Dain and Nikki Cross ("SAnitY"); Billie Kay and Peyton Royce ("The Iconic Duo"), Ember Moon, Johnny Gargano, Kassius Ohno, Nick Miller, No Way Jose, Roderick Strong, Sawyer Fulton, Shane Thorne, Tommaso Ciampa
• 205 Live: Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander, Gran Metalik, Jack Gallagher, Noam Dar, Rich Swann, The Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins
• Legends: Rick Martel
• DLC: Aleister Black, Beth Phoenix, Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy, Lars Sullivan, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, Ruby Riot
• Deluxe and Pre-order bonuses: Batista, Kurt Angle (2001), Kurt Angle (2006), Rob Van Dam

By the Numbers

Huge credit to TheSmackdownHotel.com for helping me figure this all out. See their full "2K18" roster here. They also include the following interesting statistics:

The "WWE 2K18" roster includes:

• 174 unique playable characters on-disc (record)
• 203 playable characters on-disc, including alternate versions of Superstars (record)
• 184 unique playable characters, including DLC (record)
• 213 playable characters, including DLC and alternate versions of Superstars (record)
• 32 playable women, including DLC (record)
• 220 total characters, also including managers (record)

Take-aways

• There are a whole lot of new NXT characters that I don't give a crap about. WWE is making huge strides with their developmental show, but I don't watch it, so a lot of these new characters are meaningless to me. I'll likely just use them for easy wins and squash matches, where I can light a dude up with chair shots and get that 1-2-3.
• I'm glad that they aren't dropping any of my favorite retro characters like Goldberg, Sting and pretty much anybody from the old mid-'90s WCW.
• Why is Tyson Kidd still in the game? And Tatsumi Fujinami (who even is he??). I don't need pre-Stone Cold Stone Cold. I definitely don't need three versions of Triple H. Not sure why Albert is in there again, and I don't want two versions of Big Boss Man. BUT - I am eternally grateful that they didn't include James Ellsworth because he is currently the worst.
• Kurt Angle pre-order bonus! It's true! It's dang true!
• I'm excited to have actual, legitimate versions of Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal and the Hardys. That women's division is pretty stacked now, too, although I don't usually play much with the ladies. Overall, this is a really impressive roster.

Should be a pretty fun game. Check out IGN.com's hands-on preview here. The graphics certainly look better than last year's (which were good, but some of those faces... yikes.) Is anybody else picking up "2K18," or was this a total waste of a blog? Let me know in the comments below. Or not.