toddwilliard.bsky.social
Co-host & editor of “Discerning Geeks Portal” podcast. Always mentioning “Babylon 5," so glad “High Potential” s1 and “The Rookie” s7 are back, loved “Superman & Lois” finale. Might have to watch “The West Wing” on loop for 4 years.
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I agree. Everything she said was extremely smart, insightful, articulate, and level-headed. I’m impressed. I’m tempted to listen to it again so that I don’t forget any of her points.
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I really like this episode. I’m not sure why, but this one and “There All The Honor Lies” have always had special places in my heart as kind of 2nd-tier favorites of season 2.
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Thom Tillis is my senator (unfortunately), and for every time he does something decent, rational, or admirable, he does another 10 to 12 things that annoy me. I see he’s still being consistent. I’m sorry. I didn’t vote for him.
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It's like, somewhere along the lines, people just forgot about protecting their reputation, getting their way without coming off as extremely petty and small. I guess it's a Trump thing. He's petty and small so everyone's allowed to be now.
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Yes, I’m co-host and editor of “Discerning Geeks Portal.” I’m also working on editing the first episode of a political podcast that I’m probably going to call “The Political Escape Pod.” I’m in the middle of something, so I might have to come back with the link.
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1. Hit points are dull & abstract; 2. Crafting rules require too much playtime that I can’t imagine players investing in. What methods make damage/wounds/injuries more cinematic & risky without being too deadly? How can alchemy, herbalism, etc. be faster & more interesting without being too easy?
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Good advice & partly why I’m inclined to mini-modules and/or homebrew. I’m worried about player directions changing the long term goal of a pre-written story. Also, I make a better editor than creator, so I want to see which directions players would go before planning out each subsequent step.
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This is great advice, and this is something I already feel strongly about. The story should be a group effort. I guess there are two things I’m afraid of: 1. Not making the world or the story interesting enough in the first place; 2. Not improvising well enough when players do throw a curve ball.
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What is the best, most helpful, and most realistic advice for someone who would like to start Dungeon Mastering but is intimidated by published adventures & gets bogged down in details of a homebrew world, needing help coming up plot lines & hooks that will satisfy players without over-preparing?
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Happy New Year. I don’t even get to play D&D as much as I’d like, but I love your channel anyway. I *might* be playing D&D on Thursday. No guarantees, but if we get a gaming rhythm going, I might DM for the first time in 2025. I hope it’s a great year in every way.
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Malcolm Barrett from “Timeless” and Tracie Thoms from “9-1-1,” correct? Nice circle friends and nice costumes. :) Happy New Year.
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I have both books but haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. I plan to start soon. With one being a prequel to the other, which order is best to read them in, publication order or story order?
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And, am I crazy, or was that admiral’s attitude, Maddox’s intentions with Data, and Louvois’ interpretation of the case all completely out of character for the Star Trek universe? As good as that episode is in some ways, for certain moments, it also gets so much wrong.
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…Just in case we do a year-in-review on Discerning Geeks Portal, I’ve already started a top TV of 2024 list. Unless I change my mind later , I’ve got #SupermanAndLois at #1, above #AManOnTheInside, #HighPotential, #AgathaAllAlong, and #Shogun.
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Which one are you watching?
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Maybe someone with non-human brain…. Data from “Star Trek: TNG.”
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I had a similar thought. Like you say, Andy is the focus, but Red also serves as the narrator. Deuteragonist is a new term for me. Thanks for teaching me something new. :)
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That’s a solid trilogy. Did they ever explain why he starts his stopwatch before he goes into action? Maybe I missed it. Regardless, it’s a great visual cue to the audience that, ooh, somebody’s about to get hurt.
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I know it’s a TV show instead of a film, but I appreciate the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” reference. Great show with a great portrayal of a father-son relationship.
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I hope Samm recovers well from surgery, and I’m sorry you can’t go home for Christmas. I hope things get better. Random…. I miss the Schmoedown days. ChatGPT lists Samm & you as the #2 & #3 all-time best players. I’ll go along that.
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It’s not insane to think that. I don’t know if this is sadder or reassuring, but it might not be that the whole world has gone crazy. It might just be us. From stats I see online sometime, I think some countries are actually happier, saner, safer, and healthier. Our country needs catching up.
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For me, it’s “Star Trek: The Original Series.” Sometimes I fall asleep so fast, that I end up revisiting the same episode until I feel I’ve heard the whole episode or I just give up on that episode and move to the next one anyway.
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I honestly don’t know. I’m assuming it’s English or Irish, maybe German. Also, the extra “i” in my last name isn’t pronounced (and least, not by my dad and me; not sure about my uncle and cousins), so your name and mine would rhyme.
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I’m watching now too, getting ready to re-review it for my podcast (already did it one time four years ago).
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…Odo is one of my all-time favorite characters, and I feel DS9 covers the topics of family, religion, politics, war, and terrorism, better than all other Star Trek shows. TNG is a close 3rd-favorite SF show after B5 and DS9. Obviously, I miss 1990s style storytelling.
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“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” is my favorite Star Trek show, my 2nd-favorite sci-fi show after “Babylon 5,” and maybe my 3rd-favorite show overall, assuming I’d still consider “The West Wing” #2 even though I haven’t rewatched it in a while…
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I don’t have an opinion on “Moby Dick.” Just found you randomly while scrolling and thought I’d say, “Hi,” based solely on our names being similar. :)
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…And, a little bit of a spoiler on my opinion…. I did not like the movie. Take a listen to the review to hear why and how much.
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Writing for the final season was stellar. Every character direction was perfect. I just rewatched Grimm’s Cmas episodes to review for a podcast, and it’s interesting how different Juliet & Lois are. You have range. :) I see one site voted you a top 20 performance of the year; definitely deserved.
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I love both, depending on the flavor and my mood. I usually prefer coffee in the morning. In the evening, I prefer tea, since decaffeinated tea is just as good as normal.
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…And, making “It went by so fast,” the recurring theme for the whole season was beautiful, poignant, and inspiring.
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I don’t know if it was intentional, but the writers pulled a “Babylon 5.” They made the whole last season one long goodbye and a justification of…what was all this for? This was one of the best finales ever. It’s made me shed tears several times, when seeing clips again on TikTok reaction videos.
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<vague-non-spoilery-speech> I’m glad they didn’t drag out the you-know-which-storyline about you-know-who being you-know-what. </vague-non-spoilery-speech> I usually avoid spoilers, but after last week’s cliffhanger, I had to do a Google search to see how the books explained it.