Quarantine Control #142: Tread Upon Holiday Special Eve

DC Staff | December 22, 2022 | Animation, Features, Reviews, Television | No Comments

Only three days remain until Christmas Day, making this the last Quarantine Control before the biggest holiday of the year. What’s remarkable isn’t how quickly this time has arrived, or slowly depending on how your life has been going, but how… eerily normal it feels. It shouldn’t feel that way given the number of viruses swirling around and how contagious they are (thus justifying this feature’s continued existence — thanks), but they aren’t the top stories among the press or public. There’s potential for us to be in a world of hurt come the new year, the time when people will realize they got sick with something while visiting family over the holiday season. That will hopefully be one case of “potential” that doesn’t come to pass, however.

Geoffrey Barnes

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)
Source: Disney Plus
Episodes: 1 short

Director James Gunn had been absent from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe for some time. It was well publicized that Disney made the mistake of caving to the mob when right-wing individuals and groups ran a bad-faith campaign that involved highlighting some of Gunn’s old and terrible tweets. Disney saw those and realized they couldn’t keep someone who posted them, despite an acknowledgement and apology from Gunn, and fired him during preparations for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s production. The movie later resumed development, and is planned for release next May. Before that, though, and following the Guardians’ brief appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, Gunn and the crew wanted to make a holiday special. Its tone and brevity were the perfect ways for Gunn and the audience to get reacclimated with the Guardians ahead of the third film.

(I’m staying away from everything Gunn’s involved with currently, though… for now.)

A big focus of the special is the dedication Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) shows while celebrating Christmas every year. This is because he didn’t have Christmas celebrations as a child while being raised by Yondu (Michael Rooker), shown through animated clips done in a style that pays homage to 1980s cartoons. Upon realizing this, fellow GotG members Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) are dead-set on getting him a special gift: American actor Kevin Bacon (Kevin Bacon). The short largely involves the pair’s attempts to abduct him from Earth, not realizing that kidnapping is immoral.

Other entertainment works this special pays homage to are older Christmas specials, as it does away with any action and seriousness the GotG movies include to focus entirely on lighthearted comedy in the spirit of the holiday season, but doesn’t veer too far into corniness. The story is largely inessential in the MCU’s grand scheme. I didn’t read anything about this before watching it, so forgive me if I expected a tale on par with Halloween special Werewolf by Night, which introduces characters and plot threads that will be important for the universe’s future. Not this one, though, outside the lack of presence from one character and another small (though previously heavily implied) reveal. I am, notably, not saying the difference in tone is a problem.

The other GotG members play minor roles here. The special is about a gift for Peter Quill, essentially the leader of the group as Star Lord. But Mantis takes the main stage this time around, and is the only one who gets any good character development. It’s a solid purpose to have given how minor her parts have been since her introduction in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. You could probably count the number of lines for Rocket Racoon and Nebula on one hand, but they’ll presumably get plenty of development in the third film.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special serves its purpose as being a short-but-fun piece of entertainment to watch for the brief portion of an evening, and it didn’t need to be anything more when the sequel is right around the corner. I hope Marvel continues the trend of providing shorts for specific seasons, even if some of them are bound to be duds eventually. Gunn himself may not be involved in another one, though.

Angela Moseley

We’re at the Quarantine Control before Christmas 2022. I hope your holiday is fun and relaxing, even if you’re not celebrating. A day off is always welcome and I’m certainly going to enjoy the holiday. The show I’m writing about has a Christmas themed season finale, so that works out fantastically. Let’s just pretend that I planned it that way.

Rick and Morty, Season 6, Part 2 (2022)
Source: Adult Swim
Episodes: 4

After I enthusiastically wrote about the season six premier of Rick and Morty for QC #128 and the first half of the season for QC #137 I had high hopes for the latter part of the season 6. My high hopes were extremely short-lived. Disappointing is the most charitable way I can describe my feelings. Season 6 arrived with a roar and ended with a squeak. Out of the last four episodes that aired, there were only two gems. I suspect the month-long break didn’t help.

Things started off weird when “Full Meta Jackrick” aired. It’s an episode that takes season 4’s “Never Ricking Morty” (aka the story-train) and jacks it up to 11. Not in a good way, either. The story is way too meta for its own good. If you’re a person who’s dabbled in writing fiction, writing about fiction, or spends way too much time on TV Tropes, you’ll immediately get many of the references this episode made. If not, you’ll likely find yourself lost as the plot moves along and it’s almost nothing but inside jokes. As a writer, I’m impressed the showrunners had the gall to basically say “Screw it, this episode is for anyone who’s ever written a script for TV!” Still, there’s a a danger of being too on the nose with meta commentary and this episode feels like being punched in the face as a viewer. Though I admit, making the idea of retcon a villain is great, given how much of a cop out retcons tend to be.

“Analyze Piss” is easily the best episode of the second half of the season. It pokes fun at Marvel superheroes and it shows how much Rick has grown during season 6. Previously, Rick was willing to leave behind everything to pursue what he wanted. He didn’t care much about the feelings of others. However, he’s been steadily taking his family’s feelings into consideration and even seeks out therapy. This goes surprisingly well for Rick until he realizes how miserable he is without conflict. When needed, he’s able to step up and give someone else the limelight without taking credit in the end. A few seasons ago I couldn’t image Rick doing this for someone else, and I love how he’s become less egotistical. Less actual urine in the episode would have been nice, yet it doesn’t work without the shock factor.

A lot of people were mixed on “A Rick in King Mortur’s Mort,” but I really enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t as thoughtful as “Analyze Piss,” still I found meaning. Namely, that religion and tradition does have a place in society and that traditions can change over time– namely to become less destructive. In terms of the actual episode, I was tickled that even with all the technology this world has to offer, magic and mythology are still very real. Which given the throw down between Rick and a Zeus-like being in season 4’s “Childrick of Mort,” shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, being offered the job of a mostly immortal Knight of the Sun sounds great, until one has to cut their penis off to join. No wonder those poor knights became drug addicts after being disillusioned by Morty. Also, the surprise throwback to the “Vat of Acid Episode” was a nice way to end this particular adventure.

After absolutely amazing finales in seasons 4 and 5, I was expecting the same for this season. “Ricktional Mortpoon’s Rickmas Mortcation” doubled as both a Christmas episode and a letdown of a season finale. The episode itself isn’t bad, just not what I wanted from a season ender. It was revealed Rick replaced himself with a robot that’s 22% more agreeable after the events of the previous episode. While Robot Rick was off making the family happy, the real Rick decided to track down “Rick Prime” calling back to the season premiere. On one hand, having Rick replace himself with a robot at the start of the season would have been more impactful as he promised Morty he wouldn’t obsess over Rick Prime. On the other hand, I’m glad the character development from this season wasn’t undone. The primary purpose of this finale was to move the set pieces in place for season 7, as it looks like Morty will help Rick in his quest to find and kill Rick Prime. Also, we got jabs at Star Wars and Gen X hating on Gen Z.

All in all, season 6 was mostly strong, but it ran out of steam during the second half. The themes were the current configuration of the Smith-Sanchez family growing more comfortable with each other and continued character growth. Beth becomes more comfortable with herself and Space Beth (who’s now a bigger part of the family). Jerry’s grown more confident while still being a dork. We see more of Summer’s genius and potential. Morty continues to become more independent as he grows disillusioned with Rick. Rick learns to be more vulnerable and respects his family more.

It will be interesting to see how this transitional season sets up the character growth for payoff the coming seasons. I am looking forward to season 7. At the same time, I also hope Rick and Morty wraps up around 100 episodes. It feels like much of the charm from the first few seasons is now hit or miss, and I suspect more misses than hits the longer this show continues. It’s okay to let a show go out with a bang instead of being milked to death.

On a quick side note, I asked folks on Mastodon if episodic shows should run forever or not. I’m pleased with the polling results.

Joseph Daniels

I’m pretty excited this week, because after a two year wait, look what’s back!

Alice in Borderland (2020)
Source: Netflix
Episodes: 8 16

I mentioned it way back in Quarantine Control 37 after bingeing the first season and I’ve been looking forward to seeing how it ends. Well, if it ends. I haven’t seen the second season yet and I’m avoiding spoilers. I don’t know if it’s going to end after two seasons or if there’s a third season somehow planned.

The good news is that we’re finished with Naughty and Nice topics, so I don’t have anything keeping me from watching it except…

Parasite Eve (1998)
Developed: Squaresoft
Published: Square Electronic Arts
Genre: Action RPG

My annual Parasite Eve playthrough. If you’ve been here before (and especially if you read Quarantine Control 38), you’ll know that I’ll be playing this in real time, playing the entirety of day one on the 24th of December, and so on until I’m done. I’ve kept my save file from last year, so I should be able to attempt the bonus content this time around. I’ve heard it’s better if you’ve played through a few times so that your weapon and armour of choice are augmented higher than they would be on just one playthrough, but we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, this week I have some unfinished business from the last couple weeks to attend to.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
Source: Disney+
Tigers?: Nope, not this time

After Prince Caspian performed far lower than everyone would’ve liked, the future of the Narnia movies was in doubt. They gave it one more shot, though, this time distributing it through 20th Century Fox after Disney pulled out.

One of the biggest barriers to entry in a series like The Chronicles of Narnia is that there’s always a revolving door of characters, and this starts to become apparent with the third book in the series. Peter and Susan have been dismissed from the cast and now Edmund and Lucy are stuck with a snot-nosed, stuck-up brat named Eustace Scrubb. Unfortunately, this means that we’re stuck watching an unlikeable new character, along with the least likeable character from the first two films. Lucy would’ve had to carry this film hard, but even she’s getting noticeably older and the charming innocence she had in the first two films is fading enough that she’s beginning to give into temptations herself. At the start of the film, she’s got the look of someone who’s stopped believing in Santa and is starting to grow up (which is weird to think about, since they met Santa in the first film).

This time, the Narnia delivery method is an enchanted painting, similar to Final Fantasy: Record Keeper, and not only do Edmund and Lucy make a return trip, Eustace is dragged along with them. His adamant non-belief in what’s happening borders on strawman, which doesn’t surprise me. I feel somewhat like Eustace is supposed to represent people who don’t believe Christianity despite “evidence” to the contrary, as he continues to spout his nonsense even after watching a painting come to life, flood a room, and turn the world around them into Narnia for a bit. In fact, he doesn’t calm down until later on, but I’ll get to that. Eustace has a run in with Reepicheep and then a minotaur and is convinced that everything is a prank or a dream and he wants to wake up back in England, and that’s basically his character for half the film.

So what brought them to Narnia? No one knows. Caspian, now king, has brought peace to the land, but there’s still something wrong. He’s on a quest to look for the Seven Lords, who he suspects may have gone missing. I think this is another reason why The Chronicles of Narnia doesn’t resonate with viewers. There’s always new lore being introduced instead of building upon lore already established.

Upon reaching the Lone Islands, they find there’s no one there and investigate. Playing up the wonder of the setting in the first film might’ve been a mistake, because the second and third films are much darker experiences. Case in point, Caspian and the visitors from England get captured by slavers and are set to be sold. Meanwhile, a green mist has been eating people out at sea, and it’s clear that the whimsy present in the first movie is gone.

Of course, when Caspian never returns, his crew comes and rescues him pretty much right away. Eustace is pretty useless through this entire sequence until he accidentally disables an enemy, upon which he continues to be useless and even deludes himself into thinking he was kidnapped and that everyone around him is crazy. After the slavers have been driven off, Caspian receives one of the seven swords from the golden age of Narnia and everyone continues on their journey.

I can’t help but feel like it would be great if the swords had been present in the first film, since they were apparently a gift from Aslan to someone during the time of the Pevensies’ reign as kings and queens of Narnia, but they were created for this film, they don’t appear in any version prior to this. Father Christmas’s gifts are a constant presence in the second and third films, but this is the first we’re hearing about the swords. I think my time playing Final Fantasy XIV has given me an unreal expectation for intelligent foreshadowing.

I think not every human who crossed over into Narnia got sent back at the end of Prince Caspian because most of the cast of this film are also human. I assume it’s easier to write about humans than to write about non-humans, and it’s especially easier to depict them on screen, but I feel like it’s not what people who watched the first film are looking for. Aslan, also, is barely seen in the film, which is another point in its detriment.

When Lucy finds herself coerced into accepting a quest to break an invisibility spell, she finds herself tempted by a beauty spell and eventually learns a lesson about her own value, but that loss of innocence and her giving easily into temptation despite being the most devoted of all the Pevensies may leave a bad impression on viewers.

Eustace’s transformation into a dragon comes when he’s tempted by wealth beyond imagination, but at first the audience is led to believe he’s been killed. Honestly, it’s not much of a loss if he were to die in Narnia. Eustace the dragon proves to be much more useful than Eustace the human, and his transformation and surprising adeptness at flying helps to bring him around to believing in Narnia. He’s even very expressive as a dragon. There’s a very touching scene where Reepicheep helps comfort a crying Eustace during his first night in his larger, draconic form.

All the evil hurting Narnia this time is building on the appropriately named Dark Island, and to get rid of it, the seven swords must be laid on Aslan’s Table, and all will be set right again. But rather than an actual corporeal threat, the culprit is a dark spell that doesn’t seem to have an origin, and the seven swords break the spell. I remember liking the movie when I first watched it, but actually analyzing it now, I don’t think it’s as good as I remember. The first film is a classic, but the next two lack enough of what the first film had that I can see why they didn’t do as well.

That’s the tragedy of adapting the Narnia books to film. The shift of tone between the first film and what came next in the series makes it hard for all but the most devoted of audiences to enjoy, and sadly, this is where the Walden Media adaptations end. The next movie in the series was going to be The Silver Chair, and was going to follow a much reformed Eustace and new character Jill, having cut the rest of the Pevensies loose, but then Netflix announced that they were developing a Narnia project and at first it was thought that they were picking up where the series left off. At the time of the announcement, this was what Netflix typically did. Shows like Longmire and Designated Survivor would be revived by Netflix and they would make more seasons for the fans to enjoy. They weren’t known to reboot a series entirely, presumably because that would mean a lot more work to develop their own unique version of it.

However, Netflix threw a wrench into that plan when they announced they were developing the entire Narnia series. It’s been four years since then, but thankfully they didn’t announce its cancellation when they cancelled several other projects they had previously committed to. It almost feels as if they announced their own project in order to prevent anyone else from attempting to do anything with Narnia, which you’d think wouldn’t be allowed anyway since Netflix owns the movie and television rights to the franchise, so no one else could. It’s been speculated that COVID-19 is the reason work on the new Narnia adaptations have been suspended, but other projects were able to move forward during that time, including adaptations of properties such as The Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Tooth. It’s possible that Narnia is a bit more complicated to make, considering the BBC made it through The Silver Chair before they, too, stalled out. As such, the last three books in the series have yet to reach any form of visual media.

If the films followed the book, the next one might’ve been A Horse and his Boy, which would’ve introduced audiences to an entirely new set of characters, then would be followed up with the prequel The Magician’s Nephew. As the Harry Potter series has demonstrated, prequels are very hard to market and either work or they don’t. At this point, unless a company is exceedingly devoted to making all seven books into movies, The Last Battle may never be committed to film. I would’ve liked to have seen a Walden Media interpretation of all of the books, but honestly, revisiting them like this, I’ve come to see why none but the first book ever do very well financially when adapted to visual media.

Many elements of the movie weren’t in the book, like the evil on Dark Island, the swords and the green mist, none of this was even hinted at in the first two films. It was like the script writers knew that the book was just a series of temptations for the characters and wanted to punch things up a bit, but were unable to think of an actual villain and went with vague evil instead. In some ways, the movie was improved over the book in that it gave Eustace more time as a dragon and actually gave him more to do as one, but the swords are a clumsy addition and don’t make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Why were there seven, and who were they given to back in the golden age? Were there seven advisors to the Pevensies? That would make a little bit of sense, but we never saw anything indicating this before.

It’s probably for the best that the Walden Media adaptations haven’t continued, and that Netflix has announced that they’d like to have a go at the series. I don’t know if they’re going by chronological order or publication order yet, nor have they mentioned anything about the series in several years. Netflix will need to commit to adapting all seven books and then plan out how they’re going to tie each one into the others in case they plan on altering the books as much as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was altered here. An increased presence of Aslan, where possible, might be nice as well, but there are some things that the audience will need to get used to, too. The revolving door of characters will make it harder for the audience to care about them, for one thing, especially when C. S. Lewis starts jumping around the timeline in the latter half of the series, and that’s something that Netflix is going to have to be mindful about.

Unlike the first two Narnia movies, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader does not actually feature any tigers unless you squint very hard at a scroll which very briefly shows battles from the earlier films. Also, when it comes to finding Christmas specials with tigers in them, there’s not a lot to choose from. Winnie-the-Pooh and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood seem to be the main options here, as was the case when talking about children’s books yesterday. Many tigers live in parts of the world with lots of snow, but apparently that’s not enough justification to allow them entry into the Christmas canon.

Instead, I’d like to point everyone to Big Cat Rescue, which has been uploading Christmas videos every year, and which shows actual tigers celebrating Christmas. This year, they’ve released several videos of considerable length, although the video quality isn’t that high. Past videos are much higher quality, so here are some of my favourites:

Meow-y Christmas, everyone.

Good luck on Christmas Day, and stay safe. Hopefully you’re the kind of person who planned ahead and got all the gifts and food necessary for The Big Day, because we’re not only dealing with viruses here, but a snow and rainstorm in parts of the country, though the form it will take will depend on where you live. Either way, it’s going to be wild out there.

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