Entertainment
Perfect, R-Rated Movie About The Man Who Tried To Warn Us
By Robert Scucci
| Published
I hate to admit that I rarely talk publicly about my appreciation of David Foster Wallace’s fiction and essays because, for reasons I’ll never fully understand, his name is associated with pretentiousness. On one hand, I get it. Infinite Jest is not only an intimidating read, but you could also throw it in your backpack before a hike if you want to maximize your workouts because it’s such a heavy piece of work, literally and figuratively.
The End of the Tour, a movie about David Foster Wallace based on the 2010 memoir Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky, unpacks whatever preconceived notions of pretension you may have about Wallace, his work, his anxieties, and his battle with depression that eventually claimed his life in 2008.
Based on Lipsky’s (portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg) multiple-day interview with Wallace (portrayed by Jason Segel) as the author made his final press rounds to promote Infinite Jest in 1996, The End of the Tour humanizes the author in a way that could make anybody who thinks he’s just a holier-than-thou blowhard reconsider their stance. Through Eisenberg and Segel’s powerhouse performances, we catch a fleeting glimpse at what happens when an intimidating amount of intellect intersects with the kind of personality that feels so trapped inside his own mind that he simply doesn’t know how to operate like a regular person.
Wallace’s work is startlingly verbose, and through that verbosity, he doesn’t mince words about his fears of living in a post-modern, post-ironic world. His essays “E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction,” “Getting Away from Already Being Pretty Much Away from It All,” and “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” illustrate how much thought went into every single interaction he had and how those thoughts paralyzed him.
You don’t need to read Infinite Jest to appreciate Wallace’s insights on modern and post-modern American life. Look up any interview, and it’s written all over his face. Jason Segel, in what I consider to be the best role of his career, captures that energy flawlessly in The End of the Tour. So much so that even if you never crack open a Wallace tome, you’ll still come to appreciate him as a human being who felt so lost in this world that he decided to leave it on his own terms.
The End Of The Tour
The premise for The End of the Tour is simple. Struggling author and Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky doesn’t believe a literary work like Infinite Jest, a 1,079-page novel about post-modern American life, could become such a massive success. At his girlfriend Sarah’s (Anna Chlumsky) urging, he reads the book and becomes obsessed with David Foster Wallace, asking his editor to give him a chance to interview him as he wraps up his book tour. Once he gets the green light, he travels to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, where Wallace lives and teaches.
Their relationship is adversarial at first. Wallace is guarded in how he answers questions while Lipsky’s tape recorder is running, and he requests that anything he wants struck from the record can’t go into the final published interview. Lipsky honors that request, and a more trusting rapport eventually forms as they buy copious amounts of junk food from the convenience store, where Wallace loads up his arms with treats the second he learns about his interviewer’s expense account.
These interactions are the bread and butter of The End of the Tour. As Wallace lets his guard down, he tells Lipsky how he thinks, and what’s most astonishing about these conversations is how much Wallace wants to be a regular guy with a private life, despite the fact that it’s clear he’s also the kind of guy who writes books like Infinite Jest. You can tell he wanted the notoriety as a literary force to be reckoned with, then realized he didn’t want the celebrity that comes with it.
Wallace admits that out of all the celebrities out there, he’d probably want to meet Alanis Morissette because she seems like the only person who would occasionally enjoy a bologna sandwich. When they take a final stop on his book tour in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wallace refuses to stop at the statue depicting Mary Tyler Moore tossing her tam in the air, something he talks about at length in “E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction” while unpacking how network syndication added horrifying layers of irony to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which is way too dense to unpack here.
The Fight Against Post-Modern Loneliness
The End of the Tour illuminates how guarded Wallace is when answering questions, always assuming that a journalist like Lipsky will spin the narrative however he wants. But when asked why he doesn’t have a TV, the floodgates open.
While you can find several interviews with the real David Foster Wallace where he talks about the remote control changing the way we consume entertainment, Segel delivers what I believe is the warning Wallace was trying to leave us with, in the author’s words: “And it’s gonna get easier and easier, and more and more convenient, and more and more pleasurable, to be alone with images on a screen, given to us by people who do not love us but want our money.” He goes on to say that when it gets to that point, he’ll want to leave the planet.
As somebody who writes movie reviews for an entertainment news site, I’m fully aware of the irony here, as I’m telling you all to go watch a movie. One of the reasons I don’t hang out on social media is that what Wallace is describing, even though he didn’t live long enough to see it, is basically the current state of the internet. He didn’t have a TV in his house because he knew it would be his undoing. His restraint didn’t come from a holier-than-thou stance, but from being self-aware enough to recognize his own addictive behavior and how easily he’d become a slave to his devices instead of being productive.
Listen, I’m not telling anybody to go pick up a copy of Infinite Jest. Watching The End of the Tour, on the other hand, is a great idea because the dialogue is pulled from recorded conversations between Lipsky and Wallace. While their talking points are still deep and cerebral, they also function as a conversational counterpart to his more verbose writing, all of which carries the same underlying message.
As of this writing, The End of the Tour is available for rental or purchase through Fandango at Home, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video.
Rest in peace, David Foster Wallace. You would have absolutely hated Instagram Reels.
Entertainment
How I scored ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents
SAVE $26: As of April 22, returning subscribers can score two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents per month with the code N8C27L. Usually $13.99 per month, that’s $26 in savings. Just note that your mileage may vary.
$0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) with code N8C27L
If you’re looking to save some money on your streaming lineup, my number one recommendation is to cancel your subscriptions. While it doesn’t work for every streamer, many will offer you a special discount to come back. Not to mention, you’ll be eligible for any new deals that may appear that are marketed to “new and returning customers.” Case in point: as of April 22, returning subscribers can get two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month.
I’ve tested this out myself, so I can vouch for it. When you navigate to Paramount+ and sign in to your existing account, you’ll be prompted to pick a plan. Select the Paramount+ Premium monthly plan for $13.99 per month. On the “Welcome back!” page, scroll down to the box that says “Have a promo code?” and enter N8C27L. Once you hit “apply” the price should drop to just 99 cents per month.
Credit: Paramount+
That’s all, folks. You can take advantage of two full months of ad-free Paramount+, Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS live TV, UFC fights, and more for less than two bucks. That’s $26 total in savings.
Mashable Deals
Paramount+ has a surprisingly hefty library. Subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS hits like Survivor and NCIS, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. Not to mention, there’s a lineup of movies that’ll keep you fully entertained for your two-month promotional period. Just be sure to cancel again before the second month is over if you want to avoid paying full cost. You can always sign up again when another deal arises. I know I will.
Entertainment
How Stargate SG-1 Used A Classic Trope To Emotionally Wreck Its Fans
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Garfield and Friends said it best: “Oh no, we’ve resorted to an evil twin storyline.” Star Trek: The Original Series did it the best with Mirror Universe Spock, and ever since, it’s been a lazy excuse for every series to use when they run out of ideas. The exception is Stargate SG-1’s sixth episode, “Cold Lazarus,” which plays with the trope by making the twin less evil and more confused.
When fans say they skip this episode when rewatching, it’s not because it’s a lazy, poorly written episode. In fact, it’s the opposite. The ending of “Cold Lazarus” is a pivotal character moment for Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and a gut punch to the audience.
Stargate SG-1’s First Evil Twin
“Cold Lazarus” opens with the SG-1 team on a planet that doesn’t look like Vancouver (it was a giant pile of sulfur at the port of Vancouver). The desert landscape is dotted with shattered blue crystals that look like the remnants of a civilization until we see a crystal eye-view of O’Neill, a mysterious light knocks him out, and all of a sudden, a second O’Neill is looking down at the first. Turns out, the crystals are the civilization.
Fake O’Neill is trying to figure out who O’Neill is and what SGC is all about. When he pulls out photos of his family, it takes Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) by surprise. O’Neill’s never mentioned his wife, Sara, or his son, Charlie. Confused, the Fake O’Neill goes to the home, where Sara is disgusted he’d come by and thinks it’s a sick joke that he’s asking about Charlie. If you’re wondering if you missed a key part of O’Neill’s backstory, don’t worry, this is the first time that either Sara or Charlie is mentioned, and tragically, we soon learn why.
No One Ever Dies
Charlie shot himself with O’Neill’s gun. Fake O’Neill starts to piece this together when he goes into Charlie’s old room and breaks down, prompting Sara and him to finally have the conversation about their shared grief. Back in SGC, the crystal’s nature is revealed to be an energy alien calling itself Unity, which accidentally killed a Jaffa, and the Goa’uld shattered them in retribution. That’s when O’Neill stumbles back through the Stargate, and the team realizes the mistake they made.
The Fake O’Neill is soon captured at a local hospital, suffering from Earth’s radiation, where he explains that he sensed O’Neill’s pain after he took his form and wanted to help ease the suffering, as nothing ever truly dies to Unity. To prove its point, Unity transforms into Charlie, giving O’Neill and Sara one last chance to see their child. Fans who haven’t lost a child can understand the emotion, but for fans who have, this scene is emotional torture, in the best way possible.
Jack knows this isn’t Charlie, but he talks to him like he is, and then they walk together through the Stargate back to Unity’s planet. It’s a beautiful moment that explains so much about O’Neill’s throwing himself into work and how even his friendships remain professional. “Cold Lazarus” may have started out with the “evil twin” trope in full effect, but the ending is proof that even early during its run, Stargate SG-1 was going to be the greatest.
Entertainment
Star Trek’s Scariest Episode Secretly Answered Fans’ Oldest Complaint
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Trek is a long-running franchise filled with tropes, some of them more annoying than others. For many fans, the dumbest trope that keeps popping up is when there’s only one ship that can save Earth from one catastrophe or another. It always begs the question: why isn’t the seat of the United Federation of Planets better protected? It certainly feels like such an important planet would have its own fleet for protection rather than relying on a long-range vessel like the Enterprise to warp in and save the day.
However, it seems that Star Trek’s scariest episode might have secretly answered fans’ oldest complaint about the franchise. Over on Reddit, user u/Wallname_Liability presented a compelling theory: that in the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter “The Best of Both Worlds,” the collection of Starfleet vessels lost fighting the Borg at Wolf 359 was the home fleet. This theory would help explain that Earth was typically better-defended than we might imagine and why there were fewer ships to protect the planet in later movies and shows.
My Borg Friend’s Back (And There’s Gonna Be Trouble)
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, most of the adventures take place in deep space because the intrepid crew has an ongoing mission to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and (come on, you know you’re already saying it out loud) boldly go where no one has gone before. But in “The Best of Both Worlds,” a Borg Cube starts heading directly for Earth. The Enterprise crew tries to develop a weapon that can defeat this implacable foe, one who seems nearly unstoppable after they assimilate Captain Picard. Meanwhile, a fleet of Starfleet ships assembles at Wolf 359 for one last stand against the Borg.
Unfortunately, that entire fleet is wiped out. The Borg makes it to Earth, but the Enterprise manages to stop these bionic baddies after rescuing Captain Picard. Data exploits Picard’s connection to the Collective and puts the cube to “sleep,” and it explodes soon after that. Picard and his crew get a mostly happy ending, but the same can’t be said for the crew of the ships that fought at Wolf 359. All vessels were lost, and only a handful of people survived, including Benjamin Sisko and Liam Shaw.
Resistance Was Futile
According to this Redditor’s theory, the fleet that assembled at Wolf 359 was the home fleet assigned to (among other things) protect Earth. Some of the ships were likely already at Earth (possibly undergoing repairs or retrofits), and others might have been located near some of humanity’s older colonies. But everyone would have had to have been close enough to Earth to quickly warp to Wolf 359, a real star system that is only eight light-years from humanity’s home planet.
Why is the idea that this was the home fleet so important? In various Star Trek episodes and films, there has often only been one ship (usually the Enterprise) close enough to save Earth. In Star Trek: Generations, for example, the Enterprise-B is on a shakedown cruise, but it’s the only ship close enough to save the El-Aurian refugees from the threat of the Nexus. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, only the Enterprise can intercept V’ger. In Nemesis, the Enterprise is the only Starfleet ship capable of preventing Shinzon from killing everyone on Earth, and so on.
The Best Of Trope Worlds
This trope can get frustrating when you start comparing Starfleet to, say, the United States Navy. How insane would it be if the whole country had to keep relying on a single ship to save us from major existential threats? Star Trek asks us to repeatedly believe that there’s only one ship within spitting distance of the entire solar system that can take care of the crisis du jour. It’s completely unbelievable, but this Wolf 359 home fleet theory helps make these frustrating moments make more sense.
It’s entirely possible that, in the time of Star Trek: The Original Series and its spinoff movies, there wasn’t a home fleet. Starfleet was a lot smaller back then. Remember, the original Enterprise was one of only 12 Constitution-class vessels. However, both The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home had Earth being attacked by seemingly unstoppable alien forces. In each case, the only man who could stop things was James T. Kirk, but Starfleet must have known he wouldn’t be around forever. Therefore, sometime before The Next Generation premiered, they developed a home fleet that could protect the Earth from overpowered alien attackers.
The Worst Massacre In Starfleet History
Or so they thought. The Borg wiped the floor with the fleet at Wolf 359, which helps to explain why the admiralty needed to assemble an ersatz fleet in First Contact. They were still rebuilding from earlier losses, and most spare vessels were probably being ordered to areas of interest as the Dominion War loomed near. Speaking of which, that war is the most likely reason that the Enterprise was the only ship that could help in Nemesis. The movie took place four years after the Dominion War ended, and once more, Starfleet would have needed time to fully rebuild its fleet.
Obviously, these are only theories, but they are compelling ones. It makes sense that Starfleet would have learned its lessons from V’ger and the Alien Probe and developed a home fleet, only for it to be destroyed by the Borg at Wolf 359. Afterward, the next big Borg attack and the Dominion War destroyed many vessels, all while requiring the existing fleet to stretch that much thinner. Fortunately, Earth was in good hands. No matter how bad the war with the Dominion got, Captain Sisko and Admiral Ross ensured that there was always a fleet or two close enough to protect paradise, even from those pesky Breen.
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