RavishingRickRudo

I'm still thinking Cena is more likely.

The Announcing is a big reason as to why I don't feel the need to watch RAW. I think it's insulting and tends to detract from the already bad wrestling. Bad Announcing won't necessarily break a great show, and it won't necessarily make a bad show, but it can tip the scales on a "eh" show - which RAW tends to be a lot.

Cole isn't nearly as bad as JR on moralizing with heels and faces. Quite frankly, the "No one on RAW does that." point keeps getting weaker, especially when they force you to "tune them out". Announcers *on raw* certainly are not secondary characters. Shall we count how many angles they've been in in the last year? I don't think I have to, you know it already. Announcers are *integral*, they are performing during the whole show, they influence fan response (or try to) and guide the fan through the show - they effect each storyline with the way they call it. If they call it poorly, then the match/wrestler/feud will be lessened because of it.

Do we really need to piss and moan about him not getting a shot at the specific WWE title? Yes. Benoit's history is with the actual WWE title. He has made no intention to win the WCW title. Why would he? It's retarded. Benoit deserves better.

Yeah, plus it makes it seem more conversational and natural rather than the seemingly programmed JR and King. It also treats it more like an athletic contest,

It's actually worse, since the Announcers are featured _at_all_times_ on the show(s). I haven't watched Smackdown in a while (not a full one since Benoit/Brock), caught a few solitary matches here and there, but unless anything has changed in the past month, I'll take Cole and Tazz over JR and King any day of the week. Cole isn't very good, but he at least tries to improve (actually focusing on matches, referring to Tazz) whereas JR continues to be trash. Neither are really "good", but Cole at least hasn't been played out for 5 years (Cole having *improved* in 02). The difference between teams is Tazz and Lawler - Tazz is heads and shoulders above Lawler...and JR... and Coach... and Al Snow... Tazz talks about strategy, a wrestlers history (albeit limited, at least he doesn't go on about their football history), and actually sometimes says what a move does, rather than just what a move is (or in JR's case, looks like).

JR and King don't suck... ... the enjoyment out of the show for you?

I can't find that funny. It's frustrating, seeing really stupid things on tv. Now, talking about it - that's fun and funny; which is probably why when Smackdown or Raw is on I'm more likely to be on-line talking about it rather than watching it.

I find both rather horrid. I don't care about a single thing on RAW - Austin bores me, and I'm a bit of an Austin apologist (at least was, I jumped sides JUST NOW!). Bischoff is on cruise-control. And the fact that they are the two "stars" of the show doesn't help matters. I hate HBK. I don't care about HHH. Jericho is dead to me. Orton I don't hate and I could see myself sorta kinda digging a feud with Foley, but it's been bad thus far and there's no signs of it getting better. The Tag Division is barely there. The IC division is Orton, Booker, Christian, and Mark Henry YIPPEE! They keep putting focus on the announcers. The Womens division never pays off so I don't care. And the wrestling sucks. There's nothing for me here. If I miss a show, I shrug my shoulders and smile cause I didn't _really_ "miss" anything. Smackdown has wrestlers that I somewhat care about - mainly Brock and Benoit. But, as mentioned, they keep delaying everything and there's never really a sense of satisfaction when watching the show. Building is good, Building for the sake of Building without a plan for an ending isn't. The Tag Division is horrible. How hard is it to make a good tag division? Seriously? There's many combinations to work, many formulas to use - it's fucking real simple. Their use of the crusierweight division is baffling - why should I bother watching the matches when there's nothing unique about them? They keep putting the belt on Rey but do they ever do something with it? OR HIM? They have this policy of only using so many crusierweights, which is annoying. Smackdown is just like RAW, I don't have to watch it. There's no need to.

As am I... ... I'm just sayin, that angle could work really well.

Agreed. It would also freshen things up.

Yeah, but I also said McMahon would use Zach's own leg as a weapon in the Vengeance match...

Now is actually a pretty good time to bring him back. Have Lesnar beat down Holly on Smackdown next week - have Gowen come down for the save (he wants revenge too for the broken leg). Holly gets up and says he doesn't need Zachs help. Zach wants the same thing Holly wants and they should work together. Gowen talks about being a fan of Holly's ever since the mid-90's when he was sparkplug. Holly says he is a loner and doesn't need some freaks help. After Holly loses to Lesnar at RR, Gowen challenges him (Lesnar) on a Smackdown (2 weeks after Rumble). Gowen gets his ass kicked, Hardcore comes down and gets his ass kicked too. "In the back" they're both getting medical help and Gowen offers his hand to Holly, Holly refuses to shake it. This starts the Holly/Gowen team (since Holly will be dead after RR and Gowen is better suited in a tag situation) where Gowen needs a partner (let's say, for a mini tag tournament), asks everyone in the back, everyone refuses, and Holly comes out to Zachs surprise. It's a pretty good concept and could work for a few months where Zach is the perfect face-in-peril and Hardcore is the hot tag.

...I thought we were just talking about your penchant for eating Giant Hoagies.

Jan - They won't put one here, too short of time to set up a ppv, besides the rumble brings in big buyrates. Feb - Likely; set's up both shows for WM. Mar - No, WM. April - No, just did 2 ppvs and not enough time for post mania storylines May - No, they should give at least 2 individual ppvs to help flow. June - Possibly, this is bad blood time, angles tend to end or start around here; big time for both shows, summer begins, school is over. July - Possibly, setting up summerslam. More likely than June. Aug - no, Summerslam Sept - possibly Oct - possibly Nov - no, Series Dec - no, too close to feb

Listen, I don't know where you're going with this, but... THAT MIDGET ASKED FOR IT!

But did you have to take it a step further by baa-ing like a sheep? I mean, for one, it's the wrong freaking animal, and for two, it pissed off a trio of Kiwis that were drinking at a table next to us which led to a massive bar brawl NOT TO MENTION that inch-long scar on the back of your head.

Can't you just picture Linda in a sort of burlesque-house entertainer with long black stockings, a corset, and a feathered headset? Stephanie as the country bumpkin looking to make a name for herself in the big city? Pig tails and overalls.. or perhaps a flowery sundress? Vince as the evil stageshow owner. He can have a black mustache and top hat with a cape and walking stick and hire the country bumpkin as his personal assitant who he makes do degrading chores. Shane as the star of the show who wants to rebel against the owner, but must earn enough money to free his mother, Linda, so he stays and keeps on working and who also, in the end, turns out to be stageshow owners son. Then there's HHH, the husking Janitor who lurks in the shadows and ends up saving the country bumpkin from the tight grasp of the evil stageshow owner. Featured Songs: "This is my show" - Vince McMahon "I wanna be a star" - Stephanie "Sexual Healing" - Linda "Name in Lights (at what cost?)" - Shane "It will all soon be mine" - HHH

You probably shouldn't have commented on the smell of it...

How about "McMahons going Broadway" where Steph, Shane, Vince and Linda all sing showtunes?

Oh yes, I do recall the New Years 99 incident where you bit down and a big fight ensued and all of your front teeth were knocked out by that rather large polish fellow. You should have asked him before proceeding...

I thought it was "Go down biting"...

Favourite "Hat Trick" / "in-joke" 1. The Blue Hand Men/The Gentlemen from "Hush" - very similar. Both are eerie as hell, both wear suits, both have the same expression on their face (not the same as each others, but rather, a consistent expression) and River does a nursery rhyme-esque rant about them whereas the Gentlemen were from a *gasp* nursery rhyme 2. D'Hofferyn! He played the "commander"/"captain" on the first episode. He was also in Angel as the doctor who could detatch limbs. I'm more of a D'Hofferyn mark than the freaky-dude or the captain, which is why this is #2! 3. HOLDEN! YEAH! KNOX~! NO! TRACEY~! YEAH!! 2/3 AIN'T BAD! YEAH! Great performance by "Holdenoxey", and I enjoyed his death very much. His turn was swift, if puzzling in that Book couldn't just say "kid, this is what we're going to do..." rather than just look at Mal and Mal back him, and I liked the Kaylee dynamic. Favourite Relationship: I want to point out how much I LOVE the way that they have *9* characters on the show and manage to have a relationship of some sort between almost every single one of them. 1. Jayne and Book - it's really an unspoken and unlikely relationship on the show; they just work out together... and it's actually not homoerotic... it's a really neat lil buddyship they got goin and I smile every time they're in a scene together. *Jayne see's lesbian kiss* *book struggles to get bar up* You have to wonder if it's because Book was once a fighter himself (?) - and maybe Jayne see's that in him and Book see's it in Jayne - which is why the relationship may not be as unlikely as it seems. 2. Mal and Jayne - Jayne is the muscle, he could probably kill Mal if they ever fought, yet Mal still scares the shit out of Jayne. You see it every time Mal gives Jayne an order - to tell him to get up from the table, to tell him to back off, to threaten him with a horrific death... ok, maybe that last one had just cause for fear... but there's still this over-powering presence about Mal which Jayne becomes subservient to. It's sorta the same way with Zoe, so it might be a military thing, but I think it's something more. I also think it's more than money, as well. Various members of the crew are attracted to Mal - for one reason or another - and I think a big reason for that is his leadership - or "fatherly" - quality. I think that may be why Jayne stays with him. River sort of hinted at Jayne having a "troubled" up bringing, never getting that Christmas toy he wanted but instead getting a piece of coal (Ariel, after getting caught by the cops); Mal is somewhat of a provider for Jayne, he keeps Jayne grounded, gives him direction, as well as his own place to sleep. Jayne is a follower, though he probably sees himself as a leader. 3. Simon and Jayne and River - Ok, this is a 3 way, and it's based on 2 scenes... "It was the best day ever" and "And I can kill you with my brain". River freaks Jayne out, Simon is disgusted and often baffled by Jayne, Jayne generally hates Simon on account of his proper upbringing, and Simon loves River... I love the way Simon and River "look around" a lot. Their eyes are always moving, really enforcing the "fish out of water" scenario, whereas Jayne, Mal, Zoe tend to be more focused. Simon and River are probably the "Xander" of the show, they are our "in" into this world. The DVD Favourite Disk 1. DISK 3 - I rewatched "Trash" the other day and it rose up the ranks, and totally fills-out the disk. Ariel might have beaten "War Stories" in terms of favourite episode. Nathan and Alan do a great job on commentary here and the commentary for "Out of Gas" is almost as good as the episode itself as it gives insight on how things were captured and developed. 2. Disk 1: I love Serenity, Bushwhacked creeps me out and is also very well done, and The Train Job is a really good show that tends to get lost in the shuffle. The Commentary for Serenity and Train Job are both well done with Joss doing double-duty. I had hoped for more inspiration and plans-for-the-future from Joss in his commentary for Serenity as I really wanted to know the direction the show would have gone and developments in the series. I guess we did get that with "Blue Sun" - which was pretty huge - but I expected more. Still, awesome stuff. The Train Job commentary really lets you "in" on the creative process and dealing with Fox. 3. Disk 4 - mainly on the strength of "Objects in Space" - both the episode and the wonderful commentary by Joss. The bonus features at WAAAAAY too short for my likings (c'mon! there had to be more deleted scenes and outtakes!!!) but all of them (cept for "Joss goes around ship") were fun to watch. Favourite Featurette (Disk 4): 1. Here's how it was - it gives you a great look into the development of the show; I'd almost show this to anyone "new" to the show before the pilot - but it gives away some spoilers, so I probably wouldn't. 2. Gag Reel - ARGH! TOO SHORT! Mal and Zoe wearing the 'staches alone makes this worth mentioning. Then, of course, there's the ending ass shot... BRILLIANT! 3. Deleted Scenes - in particular, the one where Zoe talks about the war to Simon. It gives some insight as to what happened in that war and the name "serenity" - even if they changed it up a lil bit. Favourite Commentary: *will probably change on further viewing* 1. Alan and Nathan "War Stories" - they just had so much fun together talking about the show and the "relationship" between River and Simon. Some really fucking funny stuff here. It doesn't age all _that_ well as it wasn't as good as I remembered (of course, I remembered it as "best thing ever!" so...) 2. Joss "Objects.." - He spent a lot of time crafting this episode and his commentary definitely showed that. I really enjoyed this on many levels, I have to listen to it again... 3. Joss and Nathan "Serenity" - another one I have to listen again to. Though I mentioned above that it didn't have "enough" said about the future of the show, it still had a lot of neat lil tidbits and I loved every second of it. Favourite "Never Aired" Episode 1. Trash - a top episode for sure, maybe into my top 5, "well, that went well" was great along with the ~ass shots~ and Mal hanging out in all his glory! Saffron IS hot! River CAN kill you with her mind! 2. The Message - I liked it, and I'll probably like it more when watching it again, but this was one of the episodes that after I watched it - waited - and it didn't "last" with me as say, War Stories did. 3. Heart of Gold - the same can be said for this; it probably gets the distinction of being "the worst of the bunch" when infact it's still a really good episode with a big character development with Mal and Inara. The whore getting down on her knees was a particularly haunting image. Favourite Cover-art 1. BOOK! 2. JAYNE! 3. MAL!

Yeah, I know. When that greasy Italian pulled it out, your eyes lit up like it was the 4th of July. I knew you couldn't take it all, on account of how small your mouth is, and it even looked huge when you held it in your hands - you could barely get your paws around it...

I told you it was too big for you to take...