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https://www.themarysue.com/ask-the-mary-sues-pop-culture-were-thankful-for-in-2020/
After only 5,693 months, the hellmouth that is the year 2020 is FINALLY coming to close. With only 42 days left in this cursed year, we’re all white-knuckling it through the holidays together. And once 2021 begins, we need only wait 20 days for Joe Biden’s inauguration and for Trump to GTFO of our lives forever. Oh what a glorious day that will be.
With 2020 soon in our rearview, we wanted to take a look at the pop culture that distracted us from the dumpster fire of this year. Whether it was movies, television, gaming, or wine, we all sought solace in our favorite pop culture pockets of joy. And it’s in hard times like these that entertainment becomes more than diverting. It can be therapeutic, as well. Here’s some of the content that kept us going in this relentless year.
Briana Lawrence:
Princess Peach for #blacktober pic.twitter.com/6ZljjStXF5
— ⭐ Halcyon ⭐ @ commissions (@Lunaris21) October 20, 2020
I’m going to say #Blacktober and the daily dose of joyful Black art I got all through the month of October. It was the perfect burst of happiness that, thankfully, leaked into November during peak times of stress.
Chelsea Steiner:
As someone entirely uninterested in sports, I began Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso with zero expectations. To my surprise, the Bill Lawrence series offered up a delightful feel-good comedy that never punched down and always erred on the side of kindness. This is chiefly displayed in Jason Sudeikis’s irrepressibly optimistic title character, a man who is the perfect combination of old school gent and woke cheerleader.
Lasso’s relentless good humor and loving support are traits we (sadly) rarely see in male protagonists, which makes this Apple TV+ series all the more refreshing. In a pop culture world filled with bitter anti-heroes, we could all use more men like Coach Lasso. Luckily for us, Apple has already renewed the series for a 2nd and 3rd season.
Jessica Mason:
In this chaotic and generally terrible year, I’ve been most thankful for the shows and movies that brought me into Geekdom and Fandom, and aside from Supernatural, which I’ve covered a lot this week, the one that brought me the most hope was The Lord of the Rings. It means so much to have a story about the triumph of good over the shadows, where the smallest people can make a difference and be heroes.
Every day leading up to the election, I whispered Samwise’s speech from The Two Towers to myself, because we always need to remember that no matter what, there’s some good in this world. And it’s worth fighting for.
Rachel Leishman:
A great distraction for me throughout quarantine has been Lucifer. Discovering the show late in the game, I got to watch the entire run through season 5A and became addicted to it. Watching the Devil learn how to live among the world of man and grow as a character was shockingly fascinating to me. I really enjoyed how he took his own personal growth seriously, which was something you don’t often see when people talk about Satan, and I loved watching every second of it.
Vivian Kane:
I would guess that, by this point, I’ve seen every Bob’s Burgers episode (save for the latest season) at least 20 times each. All year, it’s been the show I fall asleep to because there’s something about the sound of H. Jon Benjamin yelling that I find really soothing, especially in 2020. It’s so smart that even now, I find myself catching jokes that slipped through the cracks and at its core, it’s just a really honest depiction of a family that has its issues and its difficulties, but that really loves each other and is just doing their best.
Princess Weekes:
Animal Crossing came at the right time for a lot of us. It may seem clichéd, since everyone was obsessed with it, but getting to build my island and spending the very start of COVID-19 there was a distraction that was more powerful than even Netflix. Being able to interact and build a community with people, visit friends, and even host events while stuck indoors was important. I couldn’t have gotten through those first few months without it.
Dan Van Winkle:
Shrill, Hulu’s TV series adaptation of Lindy West’s memoir, will always be the little bright spot I remember about this year before everything went to hell. As is frequently the case in January, I had nothing to watch, and I happened to check out the series on a whim after remembering it from the work of some of our writers, as its second season made its debut. They did not steer me wrong. The show manages the ever-delicate balancing act between hilarious and heartfelt with aplomb, tackling a lot of meaningful subject matter in the process, and my only complaint is that its seasons are too short.
What pop culture has gotten you through 2020? Let us know in the comments!
(featured image: Apple TV+)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
The post Ask the Mary Sues: What Pop Culture Are You Thankful for in 2020? first appeared on The Mary Sue.
After only 5,693 months, the hellmouth that is the year 2020 is FINALLY coming to close. With only 42 days left in this cursed year, we’re all white-knuckling it through the holidays together. And once 2021 begins, we need only wait 20 days for Joe Biden’s inauguration and for Trump to GTFO of our lives forever. Oh what a glorious day that will be.
With 2020 soon in our rearview, we wanted to take a look at the pop culture that distracted us from the dumpster fire of this year. Whether it was movies, television, gaming, or wine, we all sought solace in our favorite pop culture pockets of joy. And it’s in hard times like these that entertainment becomes more than diverting. It can be therapeutic, as well. Here’s some of the content that kept us going in this relentless year.
Briana Lawrence:
Princess Peach for #blacktober pic.twitter.com/6ZljjStXF5
— ⭐ Halcyon ⭐ @ commissions (@Lunaris21) October 20, 2020
I’m going to say #Blacktober and the daily dose of joyful Black art I got all through the month of October. It was the perfect burst of happiness that, thankfully, leaked into November during peak times of stress.
Chelsea Steiner:
As someone entirely uninterested in sports, I began Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso with zero expectations. To my surprise, the Bill Lawrence series offered up a delightful feel-good comedy that never punched down and always erred on the side of kindness. This is chiefly displayed in Jason Sudeikis’s irrepressibly optimistic title character, a man who is the perfect combination of old school gent and woke cheerleader.
Lasso’s relentless good humor and loving support are traits we (sadly) rarely see in male protagonists, which makes this Apple TV+ series all the more refreshing. In a pop culture world filled with bitter anti-heroes, we could all use more men like Coach Lasso. Luckily for us, Apple has already renewed the series for a 2nd and 3rd season.
Jessica Mason:
In this chaotic and generally terrible year, I’ve been most thankful for the shows and movies that brought me into Geekdom and Fandom, and aside from Supernatural, which I’ve covered a lot this week, the one that brought me the most hope was The Lord of the Rings. It means so much to have a story about the triumph of good over the shadows, where the smallest people can make a difference and be heroes.
Every day leading up to the election, I whispered Samwise’s speech from The Two Towers to myself, because we always need to remember that no matter what, there’s some good in this world. And it’s worth fighting for.
Rachel Leishman:
A great distraction for me throughout quarantine has been Lucifer. Discovering the show late in the game, I got to watch the entire run through season 5A and became addicted to it. Watching the Devil learn how to live among the world of man and grow as a character was shockingly fascinating to me. I really enjoyed how he took his own personal growth seriously, which was something you don’t often see when people talk about Satan, and I loved watching every second of it.
Vivian Kane:
I would guess that, by this point, I’ve seen every Bob’s Burgers episode (save for the latest season) at least 20 times each. All year, it’s been the show I fall asleep to because there’s something about the sound of H. Jon Benjamin yelling that I find really soothing, especially in 2020. It’s so smart that even now, I find myself catching jokes that slipped through the cracks and at its core, it’s just a really honest depiction of a family that has its issues and its difficulties, but that really loves each other and is just doing their best.
Princess Weekes:
Animal Crossing came at the right time for a lot of us. It may seem clichéd, since everyone was obsessed with it, but getting to build my island and spending the very start of COVID-19 there was a distraction that was more powerful than even Netflix. Being able to interact and build a community with people, visit friends, and even host events while stuck indoors was important. I couldn’t have gotten through those first few months without it.
Dan Van Winkle:
Shrill, Hulu’s TV series adaptation of Lindy West’s memoir, will always be the little bright spot I remember about this year before everything went to hell. As is frequently the case in January, I had nothing to watch, and I happened to check out the series on a whim after remembering it from the work of some of our writers, as its second season made its debut. They did not steer me wrong. The show manages the ever-delicate balancing act between hilarious and heartfelt with aplomb, tackling a lot of meaningful subject matter in the process, and my only complaint is that its seasons are too short.
What pop culture has gotten you through 2020? Let us know in the comments!
(featured image: Apple TV+)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
The post Ask the Mary Sues: What Pop Culture Are You Thankful for in 2020? first appeared on The Mary Sue.
Kirby Morrow, the voice actor behind multiple English anime dubs and Captain Dave Kleinman from Stargate Atlantis, has passed away at 47.
I grew up hearing Morrow as the voice of Scott Summers (a.k.a. Cyclops) in X-Men: Evolution and as the horny priest Miroku in Inuyasha. He was also Trowa Barton in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and the second voice of Goku in the Ocean Production dub of Dragon Ball Z. He also reprised the Miroku role in the Funimation dub of Inuyasha’s sequel series Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
Actor Kirby Morrow has died at 47
His most notable roles:
• Goku (DBZ Ocean Dub)
• Trowa (Gundam Wing)
• Miroku (Inuyasha)
• Cyclops (X-Men: Evolution) pic.twitter.com/EUwoHdYXbq— Fandom (@getFANDOM) November 19, 2020
We’re incredibly sad to hear the news of voice actor Kirby Morrow’s passing. He was an amazing talent and we were honored to have worked with him on Inuyasha and Yashahime. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
— VIZ (@VIZMedia) November 20, 2020
In Loving Memory of Kirby Morrow 1973-2020 pic.twitter.com/QcWuiCJMty
— Kyle Tonarella (@KTonarella) November 19, 2020
Shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the passing of dear @Kirby_Morrow. It seems at every important stage in my career, he was there at the mic right next to mine. Jay, Van, Nutcracker Prince, Miroku. My good luck charm. He’ll be so very missed by myself & our entire community. pic.twitter.com/Or9joPf6Lc
— Kelly Sheridan (@KSheridanVoice) November 20, 2020
RIP to Kirby Morrow, a very talented VA who voiced many roles from past and present, including Ocean Dub Goku
47 is way too young, and he will be missed. This year continues to take a heavy toll… pic.twitter.com/9KFaF4s9eC
— TRAFON (@RiseFallNick) November 20, 2020
The industry is deeply saddened by the loss of Morrow, and fans of his work have taken to the internet to remember his legacy. I hope his family feels some level of comfort at seeing how loved he was by so many people. He was so young and while there is no current cause of death listed, to lose anyone, especially during this time of the year and in a pandemic, is so horrific. Our thoughts go out to Morrow’s family and friends in this sad time.
(via io9, image: Warner Bros. Television Distribution; Adult Swim)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
The post Voice Actor Kirby Morrow Has Passed Away at 47 first appeared on The Mary Sue.
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
When Ne-Yo filed to divorce Crystal Smith, his wife of nearly five years, last April, he didn’t make her aware of his decision. In fact, Smith told Tamron Hall that she learned of the filing on the internet.
“We weren’t really talking at that time. I chose to leave the relationship because of issues, and at the time I felt like it was to get back at me or to hurt me, or whatever the case may be. He said that it wasn’t so I took his word for that. But it definitely didn’t feel good, it was embarrassing to say the least.” Smith explained during a recent appearance on “The Tamron Hall Show.” “It made me feel like ‘what was the point of opening myself up or letting my walls down?’ I chose to go to therapy and to start working on my pain and my issues and everything I was dealing with internally. I feel like that was the right step for me to get past it. So whether we were going to be together or not, I had to heal for myself so I could get up and perform for my kids.”
Ironically, while he failed to talk to his wife, Ne-Yo had quite a bit to say about his decision to file during an appearance on the “Private Talk with Alexis Texas” podcast.
“The reason that I went ahead and made it known on the podcast at the time was because I had gotten word that it had gotten out and I was trying to get in front of the blogs and everybody,” Ne-Yo explained. “I’ve always hated the whole third-person thing, if I don’t hear it from the horse’s mouth, I don’t believe it. So I decided to get in front of it before it became a rumor or an accusation and all kinds of extras were put on it. The bottom line is what I meant by ‘our demons don’t mesh,’ is that, there’s not a perfect person walking around the face of this planet. I have my issues, she definitely had her issues, and at the time we just weren’t in a place where we could help each other through our issues. My issues became a reason for us to not be together, as did hers…Everybody has demons, everybody is fighting a demon of some sort, and ours just weren’t allowing us to be together at the time. I thought that I was getting in front of it by going ahead and declaring it.”
Strangely, Ne-Yo admits that he never actually wanted to divorce his wife.
“I can actually say that though, to a degree, I felt that I had to put on a face for the public, I did not want to get divorced,” the singer confessed. “I was really, really broken up about it. I felt like I couldn’t show that to the world. My pride wouldn’t let me show that to the world and wouldn’t let me show it to her, initially. But I think she kind of knew where I was it.”
“He filed for divorce, came home, and asked what was for dinner,” added Smith. “I was like, ‘Whatever your mama’s cooking. I don’t know.’ I was like, ‘You got to get up out of here. I don’t know what you’re doing, player.’ So he was like, ‘I’ll leave for the weekend, but I’ll be back on Monday.’ And it was just like, what’s the point?”
The couple would continue to quarantine together as a result of coronavirus, which is what they credit with saving their marriage.
“It just didn’t feel right, it didn’t make any sense to me. This is what we’ve been forever. We don’t know what this thing is, we could be gone tomorrow,” Ne-Yo went on. “So I’m not about to waste what could potentially be maybe our last moments together not together. I’m not doing it. I’m going where my home is, I’m going where my heart is. And that was it.”
While it’s pretty awful that Ne-Yo couldn’t attempt to speak to his wife before filing for divorce, it’s good to hear that they were able to work things out.