Just a quick note of some of the funnest content I consumed last month (in no particular order):
– Jennifer Tilly posted a picture with her ‘Tiffany’ doll on Twitter, wearing coordinated Christmassy outfits!
– I revisited Rachel Bloom’s classic seasonal song-parody “Chanukah Honey”, from the album Suck It, Christmas!!! (2013). I also got a kick out of Ana Gasteyer’s holiday album Sugar & Booze (2019), which mixes reworked classics with original comedy songs. On a more topical tip, Charly Bliss recorded a socially-distanced track/video about, uh, being socially-distanced, called “It’s Christmas and I F*cking Miss You!” (and, yes, it did make me a little weepy… but then pretty much everything does, these days…)
– Sage Hyden (aka “Just Write”) posted a surprisingly moving video-essay about why the original animated Mulan (1998) “holds a very special place in [their] heart… and why the new live-action adaptation is less than satisfying.”
– Patti Harrison posted a home-made skit in which she announced the winner of the “Car of the Year Award”, while crawling across the floor in a glamorous frock, staring directly into the Sun! Meanwhile, I was very disappointed to discover that her “Exotic Animal Reviews” had disappeared from YouTube, though thankfully they are still available via the SeriouslyTV Facebook page.
– “Urban punk” duo Nova Twins performed a short (but scorching) set in Kerrang’s “K! Pit”, pulling most of the tracks from their debut album, Who Are The Girls? (2020), which is currently rocking 81% over on Metacritic. They’ve also collaborated with Bring Me The Horizon on a track for their recently-released Post Human: Survival Horror EP, which apparently features guest-appearances by Babymetal and Amy Lee too!
– Nigella Lawson made a welcome return to our TV screens with a new six-part serving of food-porn, titled Cook, Eat, Repeat. Personally, I think the nationwide lockdown actually improved this series, as it forced them to eliminate the cringe-y in-between scenes where she pretends to relax with a bunch of hired extras, and we get gross close-ups of them gobbling down her food while chuckling at some unheard joke. Shudder. Unfortunately, they did shoehorn a couple of those into the hour-long Christmas special, but they were mercifully brief and skippable.
– Aubrey Plaza went “full witch” in quarantine, treating Stir Crazy host Josh Horowitz to an alternately erotic/insulting tarot card reading. Lucky duck.
– Marvel launched a series of self-promoting documentaries, titled Marvel’s 616* (or “Marvel 616”, depending where you look), some of which were more serious/watchable than others. Of particular note/interest was ep. #1.2 (“Higher, Further, Faster”), which focussed on female characters and creatives, such as Sana Amanat (editor on various books, and co-creator of ‘Kamala Khan’ (aka “Ms. Marvel”)), G. Willow Wilson (multi-award-winning writer/co-creator of Ms. Marvel), Kelly Sue DeConnick (writer on Captain Marvel, among others, and co-creator of Bitch Planet for Image Comics), and Nilah Magruder (writer for the Marvel Rising books, and creator of webcomic M.F.K.). Despite the confusing non-linear timeline, it was a fascinating/enlightening watch… though I am kinda pissed that Squirrel Girl‘s sidekick, Tippy-Toe, somehow got more mentions/screentime than her! Also, ep #1.3 (“Amazing Artisans”) spent a goodly amount of time profiling/following Natacha Bustos, the main artist on Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur… and ep #1.5 (“Lost and Found”) featured a cameo by Rachel Bloom as part of a celebrity “focus-group” questioning Paul Scheer’s vision for a new child-friendly superhero cartoon/toy-line.
– And finally, Netflix aired Charlie Brooker’s “mockumentary” Death to 2020, which I enjoyed a lot more than some critics/viewers seemed to, though it clearly wasn’t up to the same satirical standard as the “Wipe” shows he’s previously produced for the BBC. It was definitely a much “softer” style of comedy, but apparently that was his intention, so fair enough… and Cristin Milioti was fantastic as ‘Kathy Flowers’, a crazed conspiracy-spouting “soccer mom” with heavy “Karen” energy.
– Perennial faves include Meg Tilly’s Cozy Tea Time chats, Ryan George‘s Pitch Meeting skits, and Bailey Meyers‘s gaming streams!
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* In reference to the designation of the comic books’ “true” universe as “Earth-616”.
Valet of the Ultra-Vixens 
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