The seventeenth comic: #796 Meanwhile
Choose your own adventure stories are interesting. The storyies tend to be shorter, but there's some excitement in knowing you have influenced what will happen. The lack of length - due to the number of entries that needs to be supported - is unfortunate however, either because choices are curtailed early or because they all have to be short. When comics are already short, this feels like it would get even worse.
Meanwhile pulls this off quite well, both by doubling back on itself and by densely packing its pages, using pictures in pictures and mixed panels to add reminders to the story. There's even room for a giant squid picture that doesn't link to anything else. The story itself makes use of this too, using time travel to reuse panels and link them together. Even then it creates an interesting story, with possibilities of a perfect future or a grandfather paradox style item that populates the world.
Or you just go home and enjoy your ice cream.
The eighteenth comic: #249 Fritz the Cat
Fritz the Cat, when seeing the title, reminded me of Felix the Cat, but this is obviously different. Fritz is an anti heron, in the comic we read (Bugs Out) clearly someone who messes up his life and that of those around him because he's surly after a bad break up. It's recognisable, anarchic in its setup, and fun to follow.
The artwork is a bit rough, something that suits the tone and feel of the comic - the character is rough and a bit off. There is some salacious contents, characters get drunk, use drugs and have sex. None of it is glorified or emphasized (something I understand the film adaption didn't handle as well), instead it's seen as part of the system.
Not laugh out funny, but very entertaining and interesting to read.
The tenth TV show: #983 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
While trying to keep up with the Daily Show for a while, we saw John Oliver's tenure as Daily Show host for a while, so when he moved to HBO for his own show we followed and watched it. We've seen him create his own church, encourage people to take and post dick pics and recently take down Trump pretty effectively.
While funny, the longer time each week and lack of time reserved for an interview, means that it goes deeper into the topics. There are in-jokes, but it's all more subdued, using clips and expertly tuned rants to make a point, most of the jokes simply to enforce the point - often ending with a sketch that's funny enough, but also has you cheering.
It's an interesting dynasty of presenters that have come from the Daily Show, and Last Week Tonight feels like it's best - with every episode making a good viral video that spreads. Always a highlight of our week.
The eleventh TV show: #805 Only Connect
There is a difference in game shows. On one side, you have the difficult, smart shows that are difficult from start to finish, where you're not expected to go along because they are that difficult. On the other hand, you have the ones where you're expected to play along, the answers are easy and there's more a guessing game, a twist, or something similar - Family Feud for example. They are always in between there somewhere, with something like Pointless being pretty friendly, but having some more difficult questions in the final rounds.
Only Connect leans towards the smart show. You can absolutely play along, but it is unapologetically difficult, to the point where when they got a complaint that their Greek symbols used to select questions were too pretentious, they stepped it up by using Egyptian hieroglyphs instead. The questions are difficult - we really started struggling after the first round - but fun to follow along.
The host Victoria Coren Mitchell helps create that feeling. She clearly knows her stuff and gets visibly annoyed when people don't get it (something visible during the third round a few times), but lightens the mood with, usually, sarcastic comments and non sequiturs. It's delightful and being surprised by her (and, in the series we watched, clearly hungry and wanting alcohol) makes it human, understandable... and wanting to get it right to get the approval. Like that school teacher who knew how to keep you entertained (it's a good thing).