The Underground — Issue #67
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: A spy show that surpasses recent Bond failures, a wonderful spoof on Batman v Superman, the US Army has some new clothing coming, what happens when you die, and the best women in comedy discuss what it’s like in the industry.
At Social Underground we go beyond the mainstream stuff and see what’s underneath the surface. What should we get into, listen to, read, eat or watch? If there is something in our culture that needs attention that’s our job: Show you the underground things that you need to know about: Books, music, television, movies, comedians, art, and whatever else we can find to get you into something you never knew about. That’s The Underground.
1. The Night Manager is a mini-series to admire. I have been seeing advertisements for this show on AMC for at least a month. It stars Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston, so I figured this show had to be pretty damn great, but knowing the American audience, it may be passed over because extremely smart television shows are passed over for bad jokes followed by a laugh track. However, this show was released earlier in the UK, so I indulged in all 6 episodes and found it to be a great show that will likely be edited for nudity since we can digest mutilated bodies, but a boob is OUTRAGEOUS! Even in the show there was a naked woman with her neck slit, but a sheet covered one boob and the other boob was covered by her hand. The slit throat and blood all over everything was no big deal though.
Premise: Former British soldier Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is recruited by Angela Burr (Olivia Colman), an intelligence operative. He is tasked to navigate Whitehall and Washington, D.C. where there is an alliance between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. He must infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie), Roper’s girlfriend Jed (Elizabeth Debicki), and associate Corkoran (Tom Hollander)
The Night Manager premieres on AMC on April 19th, 2016. Check out the trailer below.
2. Batman v Superman… with Pete Holmes. Before the terrible movie came out, Pete Holmes and the people at College Humor made a spoof of the film before it came out. It nearly 6 minutes long, but it’s more entertaining than the movie and concept it makes fun of. It pretty much ridicules Batman for being a lunatic and Superman for being boring.
“What’re you going to do, Sweetie? Burn us with your magic eyes?” – Batman
Watch this and the other Pete Holmes videos that make fun of Batman. Actually, watch everything by Pete Holmes. He had a late night show that followed Conan that was hilarious, but people are stupid and didn’t watch it. That’s why it’s not on anymore. Meanwhile, The Big Bang Theory goes on. Whatever, America.
3. The US Army has some badass new clothing coming. Whenever you see a US Army member running around in the desert, you usually see them wearing 100 pounds of heavy clothing in 110 degree weather. I get hot watching television in the Summer when the A/C is pumping, but these guys and gals are miserable wearing all this stuff to protect them from people shooting at them. Well, in the next few years, the military will be upgrading their outfits to a more be more high-tech:
That looks a lot more comfortable.
The Army’s current body armor, the Improved Outer Tactical Vest, was originally fielded in 2007 and many vests are reaching the end of their service life. Rather than replace them with identical units, the soldiers who oversee procurement for the Army at the Program Executive Office Soldier wanted new vest designs that would provide better protection.
What they came up with is the Torso and Extremities Protection system, which is expected to reach soldiers in 2019. The TEP armor features greater protection for soldiers’ torsos while reducing weight from an average of 31 pounds to only 23. The armor can be further lightened by removing certain elements when greater mobility is essential, like for troops scouting enemy positions or sneaking through dangerous areas.
An effort to develop new ballistic plates could reduce the weight even further. The new materials being tested perform at the same level or higher than IOTV plates and weigh 7 percent less. (Via)
Basically, the new armor and gear will make soldiers be able to move faster when people are shooting. It also looks like the armor is more protective up the groin area. No one wants to get shot there. NO ONE.
4. What happens when you die? Okay, I’m not talking about spirituality or anything like that. We’re not all drunk or stoned around a bonfire asking “What if?” I’m talking about what happens to your body when you actually die. Sorry, but we all die. You can’t get away from the eventuality of death. It happens to everyone. It happens to the rich and powerful. It happens to the poor and helpless (mostly because of the rich and powerful not doing anything to help, but whatever).
When you watch this, you’ll probably want to be cremated when you die. Me? Just throw me in a dumpster or in an alley. I kinda want to ruin a joggers day or be the first 5 minutes of a Law and Order episode. It would be so cheesy to be that body.
5. The top women in comedy discuss what it’s like the be in the industry. I randomly started watching this roundtable discussion the other day. I’m glad I did because it really sucks to be a woman in the entertainment industry. Listening to all the stories about how they are treated like crap and ridiculed made me a little embarrassed to be a man. But, since I’m a total gentleman, I would never be a POS to a woman… because they scare me.
Emmy nominees Amy Schumer and Kate McKinnon join Tracee Ellis Ross, Lena Dunham, Gina Rodriguez, and Ellie Kemper for The Hollywood Reporter’s Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable where the actress discuss their characters and their work.
One story is so degrading that I wish I knew who the men were that subjected one of the women to it. Actually, a lot of the stories make me want to know the men who did this. These idiots shouldn’t be working in the industry at all. On a side-note: kissing someone you don’t know and then acting normal a moment later? I can’t understand that. I guess that’s why I’m not in porn.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post,UPROXX,BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com