Weekly Briefing from the North Texas Apocalypse Bunker, 5/17/25
Stupid Effing Humans edition
This newsletter was deliberately held for an extra day to allow the Division of Media Review to watch and review Murderbot. We understand that feedback was given last week and we are attempting to integrate that feedback into several meaningful solutions that are both executable and also practical. Who cares about punctuality when the DMR has a review to write, hey?
Tee Shirt Design Help
We’re wanting to design a few shirts with some pithy rejoinders across them, similar to “Toldja So.” Things like “Happy Now?” and “Is This What You Had in Mind?” The idea being that these designs are pointed enough that anyone who knows you well will “get it” but you can wear them in public without picking a fight with a random member of the other team in the mall. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Pop Culture Pushes Back
Have you noticed lately how many movies and TV shows are starting to discuss the unease and the outright insanity taking place in key sectors? Not new shows, either: there are a number of things out right now that pull no punches about how modern tech (for instance) is not only messing our lives up, but making it easier for assholes to commit mayhem.
I’ll bet at least one show you watch has made snarky comments, if nothing else. In some cases, like the new season of Leverage: Redemption, where they are going out of their way to feature criminals who are using AI and the Dark Web to commit grand theft. It was fun and games when our heroes were using it to punk the bad guys, but now that the bad guys are doing it to their victims, that’s another conversation, one the writers seem to be willing to have.
It's not just crime dramas. There are stories popping up all over about deep fakes, AI overreach, flat-out grift and graft, and more than a little political shade being thrown at government and the corporate/computer culture, or as I like to think of it these days, “other government.” Even new comedies are taking swipes at how “the Internet sucks now,” or “dating apps are the worst,” and sure, some of these things play as being a little obvious, trending into hackery. But a reaction is a reaction. Pop culture is the mirror, and it’s showing us what we already know, and maybe don’t want to acknowledge or try to deal with, because the topic might be too big, too upsetting, too whatever. But when the credits roll, suddenly, there’s a way of reframing the problem so that it’s not as personal, and thus a little easier to deal with.
Not that I think any of the mouth-breathers of the world are even watching the same shows as me, much less thinking about anything deeper than Nicole Kidman’s side-boob, but maybe having these kinds of macro-conversations in multiple safe spaces (and what’s safer than the TV in your living room?) perhaps the unease will be absorbed via the transitive property. I mean, you’d have to be some kind of sociopath to look around at so many of your friends and family, freaking out, and not even wonder why, never mind empathizing with them. I know, I know, I’m asking for a lot, here.
I mostly brought this up to let you know that you’re not alone. Other people see it, feel it, and in some cases, have been talking about it for over a decade. A while back, I wrestled with the notion that no one is writing for my people (Generation X) anymore, and that the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been my last hurrah in that arena. I take it all back, now. That pause was apparently a lot of people girding their loins and saying, “You want to see something scary? Hold my beer.” It may be cold comfort to know that other people are agreeing with you, but I still believe in the power of art (even pop art) to emote, instruct, and inspire. It’s pretty hard not to join the Rebel Alliance when Mon Mothma gave her rousing speech at the end of Andor.
Weekly Report from the N.T.A.B. Division of Media Review
Note: We are thankful to Administration for giving us the time needed to complete this review. We are not, however, going to change our rating.
Murderbot (Apple)
Alexander Skarsgård plays a synthetic cyborg who cracks his programming and has to learn how to live in the world now that he has free will.
This is not an objective review. Murderbot is based on a book series written by Martha Wells, whom I have known (along with her husband and Friend of the Bunker, Troyce) for many years. I just wanted to get that out of the way, because I’m going to gush a little.
My God, this show is pretty. It’s beautifully shot, well written, looks good, with impressively natural CGI. It’s also very well written, full of both deadpan and dry humor. Apple continues to be the best streaming value out there, and it’s leading the pack in thoughtful and interesting science fiction.
Skarsgård plays the titular character, a security robot that figures out how to jailbreak its own Kindle, or something, and suddenly, he’s free to think and act without orders. The problem is, he’s a robot, so he has to keep it on the downlow, lest they find out and melt him into slag. His worry about discovery is constant and he’s initially really unsure of himself. However, he’s also now free to discuss humanity in some detail, in an inner monologue that only we can hear.
In addition to Skarsgård, the only other face I knew (aside from some awesome cameos) was David Dastmalchian, and it always throws me when I hear him speaking without some accent. The rest of the cast is charmingly weird and/or intense, which only makes Murderbot more uncomfortable.
I think one of the best things about the show is tonal contrast. The galaxy is a shitshow, taken over by a conglomerate of megacorps, and everything costs, and no one trusts the company at all, and in fact, it’s pretty dystopian, but the series itself is bright, even colorful. Considering that the show is ostensibly a comedy, that combo of dark humor and sunlight works well for me.
Only two episodes are up, but each one is 30 minutes, so your buy-in is practically nil. If you have a snarky sense of humor (and we know how you can be sometimes, don’t we?) and you like sci-fi and all of the trimmings, Murderbot will become a new favorite for you. And hey, the books the show is based on? They are great, too, and you should buy them and read them.
Marko do you hear from Dave any?
I’m setting up a St. Remedius Redbubble, thanks to your inspiration. I hope you’re happy.