The Pretender 208: Hazards

Feb 23, 2009 22:42


I actually watched this ep on Friday, but I've had a busy weekend out, and a migraine for much of today. :-P

Twinkies = twin kies )

the pretender

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Comments 27

redstarrobot February 23 2009, 10:19:02 UTC
I know, Parker was fantastic in that scene with the silencer. That was so set up to be the more trite version of that exchange.

We do not, sadly, meet Bernice.

Jean-Michael, actually; that's the French pronunciation of the English spelling of Michael. Belgium actually has a lot of Dutch/German names, because of the Flemish population, and English names also seem to be really popular there, for some reason.

And I know, how deep was Syd's self-delusion all these years? :)

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vilakins February 23 2009, 10:24:32 UTC
Jean-Michael makes more sense! So we still don't know Sydney's surname.

English names also seem to be really popular there, for some reason.

I have a friend who used to live in Argentina, and she said one of her friends there named her baby Kevin. Kevin! Why? "Because it sounds so exotic." :-P

You'd think it might have hit Sydney when he got Jarod to draw Krieg, or when Jarod saw his Dachau number. Yes, the self-delusion in impressive. I was glad to hear that Israel extradited the bastard.

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redstarrobot February 23 2009, 10:35:26 UTC
No, I don't think we ever learn his surname. Or Parker's first name.

I really don't think Baby Sydney would have picked it up; the denial was so strong in that one. He had no doubt whatsoever that there was no comparison between Jarod's experience and his. You would think the "experimenting on twins" thing would hit him and Jacob both with a clue stick, but it's possible they mentally framed it as a rejection of Krieg's work rather than a continuation of it, trying to disprove his work or make some good come out of it, or who knows what; hard to say. (And it's quite possible that their work with twins was quite ethical, unlike the work with Jarod, although the electric shock aspect does give one pause.)

Oh, and, no, Twinkies aren't that good. They're a generic mass-produced supermarket snack cake, which somewhat limits the heights to which they can aspire. :)

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vilakins February 23 2009, 10:45:57 UTC
I've heard Twinkies have zero nutritional value and will survive for millennia without decay. ;-) What do they taste like, though?

I wonder that Jarod doesn't make himself sick eating all that jelly and sugar.

I should go to bed now.

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entropy_house February 23 2009, 14:25:24 UTC
Twinkies taste like sweet light spongy chemical fluff to me. Whatever is in them used to make me feel slightly queasy & sometimes give me a headache. But then, I always had that reaction to angelfood cake, which seems the closest 'real food' equivalent.

Most children like them, but not too many adults.

This is a short discussion of the book in the next link.
http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22107/35281

http://www.amazon.com/Twinkie-Deconstructed-Ingredients-Processed-Manipulated/dp/1594630186

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vilakins February 23 2009, 21:39:51 UTC
Much as I thought. I don't like sponges anyway; they have no taste apart from sweetness which I don't like without another fairly strong taste like chocolate or fruit.

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executrix February 23 2009, 15:33:07 UTC
Twinkies are disgusting--they're filled with sugared vegetable shortening. Of course we could send you some, they'd be the same irrespective of what continent (or planet) they were shipped to.

BTW, the Wall Street Journal had an article recently about lamingtons:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123317164828425285.html

which I knew were some kind of cake, but apparently are what I would call Hostess SnoBalls...only GOOD.

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vilakins February 23 2009, 21:48:04 UTC
No thanks. I've never liked sponge and loathe mock cream filling, and those things sound worse than the usual run.

From the article:
Fortunately for us Aussies, it seems our Kiwi cousins aren't interested in claiming lamingtons -- at least not yet.

Wrong! They're ours too! I love them, but they have to be chocolate; none of that upstart strawberry. They and trifle or tiramisu are about the only way I'll eat sponge because of the strong added flavours.

I once made a plate of them for a work do, and seeded them with three made of foam rubber, also iced and coconut-ed. One of the manager I didn't like much (ex-Canadian army officer who expected us programmers to salute and jump to his orders) got one, and he really, really tried to eat it. Man, the look on his face (and probably mine)! He was determined to get his teeth to meet, but failed. That made the annoyances and misery he put us through--almost--worthwhile.

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executrix February 23 2009, 21:51:45 UTC
I've often wondered about what kind of April Fool's Day pranks they have on Serenity, and that sounds like one of them...

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vilakins February 23 2009, 22:48:06 UTC
You're welcome to use it, either in a fic or RL. :-)

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astrogirl2 February 23 2009, 18:15:15 UTC
Are they really as good as I hear and Jarod obviously thinks?

They're very, very sweet in the kind of way that appeals to children, but they don't really bear any resemblance to actual food. :)

I was warned that this ep was disturbing, but it really was nowhere near as bad as I feared, given all the Holocaust, genocide, and medical experimentation stuff I read before I was 13.

I find fictional stuff that brings up memories of real-world horror much more disturbing than that which stays safely in the land of fictional angst, personally. Despite that (or perhaps partly because of it), I did find this a really, really good episode.

I knew what was going on as soon as I heard Dr Krieg's (Dr War's!) accent.

Yeah, I had a pretty good inkling at that point, myself, although the details still kind of shocked me.

I actually found Sydney's slightly crazed smile as he told Parker he was wearing new underwear a bit more worrying.

Apparently that's what Sydney's like after he's had a really, really good night. :) I think it's kind of ( ... )

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vilakins February 23 2009, 22:14:05 UTC
I find fictional stuff that brings up memories of real-world horror much more disturbing than that which stays safely in the land of fictional angst, personally.

I think even the fictional stuff has happened; there's no limit to the horrible things people will do to other people. I'm not exactly inured to the horror; it's just that I know a lot about the Holocaust and have met a number of people who survived it. It's something I've thought about enough to not be shocked by any more. Appalled and disturbed, yes, but I've thought it through so thoroughly as a child and adult, wondering how I'd have lived through and with it, that Sydney's story didn't shock; it just saddened. I'm not sure if that makes sense.

Apparently that's what Sydney's like after he's had a really, really good night. :)

Ah, so Sydney got laid after the comedy show? Good for him, and well done buying the new and possibly snazzy underpants. I can't imagine him wearing anything with holes or a perished waistband though; he's far too well groomed.

This, IMHO, is a ( ... )

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astrogirl2 February 23 2009, 22:22:43 UTC
I'm not sure if that makes sense.

Oh, no, it makes perfect sense. I did kind of have the impression it was a topic you might find particularly disturbing, hence the warning. But, yes, one is far less likely to be shocked by things one has already thought through carefully. And it is more saddening than anything. Well, it is also kind of shocking, I think, to find that out about Sydney.

Ah, so Sydney got laid after the comedy show?

They didn't explicitly say so, but he certainly seemed to have a really, really good time. Personally, I imagine the answer is yes. Go, him! :)

Good for him, and well done buying the new and possibly snazzy underpants.

Well, I think the underpants were a joke. One he'd stolen from the comedy show, apparently. :)

Does she get any more mentions?

Alas, no. At least, not that I've seen so far. I think she may have just sort of faded out of his life after this. Aww. You know, I think there should be fic to fill in the gaps there. :)

Really? I've not met any female Sydneys,I know one in ( ... )

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vilakins February 23 2009, 22:47:16 UTC
Well, I think the underpants were a joke. One he'd stolen from the comedy show, apparently.

But I can see him buying new ones for a hot date!

I know one in elementary school. Come to think of it, she also had an identical twin!

Not Jacqui by any chance? ;-)

My sister and I were always taken for non-identical twins, being exactly the same height for most of our school years, and we were befriended by lots of twins, esp on holiday when we could play along. There must be some sort of twin attraction thing there.

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executrix February 23 2009, 21:53:41 UTC
And hmmm, Sydney seems more familiar with guns than he leads others to believe.

He really does, doesn't he?

"That's no Shepherd!"

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vilakins February 23 2009, 22:17:12 UTC
That's no psychiatrist! I think Sydney keeps a lot hidden so people won't realise what he's capable of. He did break into Broots's house and surprise him (and the viewer) with a stealthy approach.

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astrogirl2 February 23 2009, 22:25:08 UTC
I think Sydney keeps a lot hidden so people won't realise what he's capable of.

Which is an excellent survival skill in his environment. :)

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vilakins February 23 2009, 22:48:43 UTC
Yep.

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