I can't say I remember what Benjen Stark looks like in the show, nor would I as a viewer-only be likely to remember he even existed -- in the books we were reminded of him pretty much every Jon chapter, but in the show it's easy to forget he's partly the reason they went North of the Wall in the first place.

Anyway, they could just have him cover his face with a scarf if they want to hide his identity, though if they show some Benjen Stark action in a "previously on Game of Thrones" intro that'll kind of tip their hand.

I'm still bothered by the fact that they pronounce Brienne's name "Bree-ENN" rather than "Bry-EEN," same reason.

I'd be shocked if they did that, just as much as if they did it in this last episode. It needs a few episodes of dedicated build-up to really land the payoff, IMO. They've referenced it but the show hasn't really focused on the idea of the wedding like it did with the Red Wedding.

I wonder if they'll take next season, and said build-up to re-introduce Ser Dontos into the story. They did the whole thing with her saving the drunken knight then seemingly decided, nah, and just abandoned that plotline. But maybe their conspiracy will be her story leading up to the wedding.

My life, the changing of it.

The EXPENDABLES films aren't satire. They're more like JACK SLATER 5 and 6.

Are they only showing this version in IMAX? Because I don't think I saw this version. The movie I saw was a confused jumble of references to Wrath of Khan, lazy callbacks to the previous film, "characters" who exist almost entirely in shorthand, and a lot of punching.

I wanted to come out of this thrilled, and amped for Episode 7, but instead I'm already putting the walls back up.

Yeah, I get it that Del Toro is influenced by darker, O.G. European fairy tales. This is not my problem at all. I like that aspect of what he does. It's that his storytelling skews more nonsensical than sensical, and unlike classical folklore and fairy tales, I come away not knowing what the point was. He's a European-flavored Tim Burton. Lots of style, but any substance is purely coincidental.

AND BUT SO ANYWAY VAN HELSING

Yes, I'm sure the "Art of Hellboy 2" book is well worth the money, but I don't want to sit down and watch someone flip through it for two hours. As with Pan's Labyrinth, cool production design =/= good movie.

EDIT: To be fair, though, seeing as how my brain's hate-center has been recalibrated the last few years, maybe I'd like HELLBOY 2 better if I gave it another shot.

Unless his agent is a complete imbecile, he'll also be getting a cut of the gross receipts. So every ticket purchased is more money in his pocket.

I personally thought the book was garbage before I knew OSC was too, so put em both together and I have no intention of watching this film.

If it makes you guys feel any better, with tomorrow's recording including VAN HELSING -- a movie I've always hated -- plus coming at the end of a brutal pilot season, plus being Cinco de Mayo, there's a decent chance the inaugural WAYDM recordings will feature an appearance by special guest Drunkman. Be there and find out!

That's part of the deal, yes. But they don't have to be unique to each episode, just a note that the episode is actually one of the new show and not related to the trademark owners.

Just finished 11/22/63. Really enjoyed it, thanks to everyone for encouraging me to give it a chance. According to King's afterword (on the audiobook at least), the reason the ending was actually good is because his son, Joe Hill, came up with it. Speaking of, the audiobook is quite well done. Craig Wasson does a very good job of keeping consistent voices for each of the characters, and has a surprising range. It's also a performance, not just a narration, really enhancing the emotions of the story. It's laid on a little thick in a few places - at one point his voice gets so full of grief and horror it's a little hard to quite understand - but only a few. Recommend both the book and the audio recording.

I'll be getting around to reading Under the Dome soon. I don't really want to, if I'm honest, but it looks like I'll be working on the show, so I should be familiar with the material. But I try not to read the same author back to back or their writing voice will start to unduly influence my own, so I'm cleansing my palate listening to a book Trey recommended, Larry Niven's Footfall.