Tag: tweets

Longtime ‘Doctor Who’ Writer Loses Book Deal Over Transphobic Tweets

A new anthology of stories based on The Doctor Who has dropped Gareth Roberts, a former writer for the BBC TV sci-fi show, for transphobic tweets.

 

Gareth Roberts

Image Via Doctor Who.TV

The Doctor Who: The Target Storybook is an upcoming anthology that contains both prequels, sequels, and spin-off set in the Doctor Who universe. It’s from Ebury Publishing, an imprint BBC Books, set out for this October.

Penguin Books lists the writers as “Terrance Dicks, Matthew Sweet, Simon Guerrier, Colin Baker, Matthew Waterhouse Jenny T Colgan, Una McCormack, Steve Cole, Vinay Patel, George Mann, Susie Day, Mike Tucker, Joy Wilkinson, Beverly Sanford,” and advertises that “[w]ith contributions from show luminaries past and present, the Target Storybook is a once-in-a-lifetime tour round the wonders of the Whoniverse”.

Notably, Gareth Roberts has been taken off the list.

 

Still from "The Lodger"

Image Via TV Club – The AV Club

Gareth Roberts has only scripted episodes such as The Lodger and Closing Time (to name a few,) but he’s written a range of Doctor Who spin-off novels and comic stripes for the Doctor Who Magazine.

Thus he was contacted and commissioned to the write a story for the upcoming anthology. He submitted it, and it got leaked online. He claims “a section” of the Doctor Who fandom “agitated” for his removal, and other contributors threatened to withdraw if he was involved.

 

Dr. Who

Image Via Pink News

Back in Pink News wrote in 2017 how Gareth Roberts’ Twitter tirades.

Come the announcement of the new book, if the fandom is anything like me, you looked up the authors of this anthology. Who will be adding to the Doctor Who universe? What have they done? What can we expect?

Thus the tweets were found and, as Bleeding Cool notes, “[n]aturally, this caused some backlash, as his comments can be seen as deeply offensive. And some are left wondering whether his connection with Doctor Who has left others who identify as trans too uncomfortable to work on the show, or even blocked their access to it.”

Fellows author has writing for the anthology came out against Gareth Roberts as well.

 

According to Gareth Roberts, he’s never met them, however he has since deleted his tweets.

Pink News grabbed a screenshot. That is below:

 

Gareth Roberts' history of anti-trans slurs

Image Via Pink News

Gareth Roberts, also about the potential for a public apology:

Some have urged me to make a full, obeisant apology. Even if I was inclined to, I don’t think it would have any effect at all – for example, Helen Lewis of The New Statesman is currently being monstered for the most careful, respectful piece on this issue. I’m not bothered very much by words though I’m bothered when they distress my friends and family. But then, that’s how intimidation works. That’s why intimidators intimidate. (And I know for a fact it would be much worse for a woman in this position.)

He also notes in the last paragraph that, “My opinions on transgenderism are neither extreme nor unusual.” He also notes he will not have to give back the back money he received for the story.

The Guardian quotes a Ebury Publishing spokeswoman as saying, “Comments made by the author on social media using offensive language about the transgender community have caused upset to Doctor Who fans and conflict with our values as a publisher.”

From Ebury Publishing, an imprint BBC Books, The Doctor Who: The Target Storybook will be out this October.

 

 

Featured Image Via Instinct Magazine

Top 10 Tweets About the Jon/Ghost Reunion!

I’ll admit it, I too thought that Jon Snow not petting Ghost was the worst thing ever, but turns out that heartbreaking scene in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones was merely creating hope that they would meet again at home (yes, the Night’s Watch has and always been Jon’s one true home).

Now Twitter might not the best thing on the internet (the best thing on the internet is obviously memes about hotdogs), but it does showcase some of the best reactions to Jon meeting, and staying with, our favorite runt of the Dire wolf litter Ghost.

Fair warning, a lot of these Tweets will tug at your heartstrings, and if none of them do then Ghost will eat you.

 

Ghost baring his teeth (they're scary)

Image Via mirror.co.uk

I’m kidding! (I’m not kidding).

 

Number Ten

Before get too emotional, let’s remember about how we all complained that Jon should have pet Ghost goodbye.

And it worked, it did shut me enough. It shut me up so much that now I’m writing an article about it.

Number 9

Regardless of what you think of this season or any other season or any specific scene or scenes, just look at this.

This strange-faced tweeter is right. Like a baseball smacking you in the nose, life really does come at you fast…

On a related note, Kit Harrington ages like honey.

Number 8

Speaking of life, let’s watch the original scene but with a nostalgic filter on it.

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Number 7

Speaking of how far we’ve come, let’s look at this Tweet.

Jon and Danny with their animal companions. It almost makes me forget that Danny died as a war criminal.

 

NUmber 6

Speaking about how Danny turned to the dark side (note to self, never trust anyone who says they can solve all your problems), let’s look at how Jon and Danny were different. Daenerys might be Queen of the Unsillied, mother of Dragons, burner of women and children, liberator of women and children, but Jon Snow has the best title of all.

The best part about this title? Jon Snow doesn’t brag it out to everyone.

 

Number 5

The only thing better than Jon Snow is his Dire Wolf, Ghost.

Right on!

 

NUmber 4

Jon and Ghost, they’re perfect for each other.

 

Number 3

We also have this tweet, because feels.

Awww.

Number 2

Yes it, which leads me say…

Number 1

Nuff said!

 

Featured Image Via Cnet

Not Again! A Water Bottle Showed Up in the Final Episode of ‘Game of Thrones’

Oh boy, it happened again! As a reminder, in episode 4 of this final season of Game of Thrones, a modern coffee cup was spotted next to Daenerys during the big feast scene in The Last of the Starks. A flood of memes and jokes soon followed, with HBO confirming the coffee cup was a total blunder on their part and had it removed from later airings of the episode in question. It appeared this was a once in a lifetime thing, a mistake that would never happen again but…well…it did!

We’ll get into a discussion about it below but first:

 

Melisandre stands before a spoiler warning

Image Via Pininterest 

So, where did the water bottle appear? Let’s see…

 

A water bottle sits underneath one of the council lord's legs during the meeting in GOT

Image via Gulf News

Yep, there it is. The water bottle in question appears where Tyrion, after being held by the Unsullied for several weeks following Jon’s murder of Daenerys, tries to appeal to the newly formed council to elect Bran Stark as their new king. It’s a quick shot but you can spot the plastic water bottle around the 46:19 mark, proudly propped up behind Samwell Tarly’s leg.

Now, of course, this water bottle showing up wasn’t as bad as the clearly displayed coffee cup from episode 4 but still, it’s kind of mind boggling that they made this mistake make AGAIN, especially with how easy it should’ve been for the production team to catch and digitally erase, considering how swiftly the offending coffee cup was taken care of.

Luckily, the Twitter reactions are pretty hilarious and help us in this trying time.

 

 

Did you catch the water bottle? How crazy is it that the production team keeps missing all these mistakes? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! And stay hydrated! Samwell certainly is.

 

 

Featured Image Via The Verge

‘Game of Thrones’ Left a Starbucks Cup in Episode 4 and The Internet Is Loving It

There was a major mistake in Episode 4 of Game of Thrones last night and it’s a pretty hilarious one. During the big dinner scene in the episode as Tormund toasts Jon Snow, Daenerys sulks in the background, giving Jon the side eye for all the attention he’s getting. However, eagle eyed viewers noticed an unusual object in the background, right next to Daenerys. What was the object? Why, a modern day Starbucks coffee cup, all of things! The plastic looking thing stood out in contrast to the rustic, moodily lit surroundings of the Winterfell hall and although a little hard to spot, you can’t unsee it once you do.

See if you can spot the offending latte in this GIF below:

 

A GIF of Tormund toasting Jon Snow in the darkly lit interior of Winterfell as Daenerys sulks in the background next to a Starbucks cup, of all things.

Image Via The Verge

Naturally, the Internet reacted to this error with the usual storm of hilarious tweets and reactions. Here are some of the best ones below:

 

 

 

Oops! That was a considerable blooper, that’s for sure. Perhaps this was all part of a strange tie in deal with Starbucks! After all, who wouldn’t want to have a Starbucks cup that says this on it?

 

A Starbucks cup with all of Daenerys's titles from 'Game of Thrones' on it

 

It is always hilariously baffling when things like this happen, considering Game of Thrones’s massive production costs. Still, it provided many great laughs and memes from the fanbase. Did you catch the Starbucks mug in all its glory in this episode? What was your reaction to it? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

Featured Image Via The Verge 

Sad Amazon

Amazon Error Leads to ‘Game of Thrones’ Early Release!

So the one day I miss a Game of Thrones episode, it leaks. That sums up my life pretty well.

For context, I was busy doing adult-things like napping when I overslept and missed the Game of Thrones episode, and later I’m reading up on how Amazon flubbed and released Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 early. Ain’t that a coinkydink?

Turns out even if I was awake, I couldn’t be able to view the episode. Well, I could view it, but I wouldn’t be able to understand it. Just look at this tweet below.

 

The Wrap quotes an  Amazon spokesman who said, “We regret that for a short time Amazon customers in Germany were able to access episode two of season eight of Game of Thrones.”

For those fearful of spoilers, this was a travesty. Even though the error was ‘soon’ rectified, it still took about an hour. Guess HBO is feeling pretty weird about making the second episode just under an hour, allowing those who saw the leak and jumped on it to spoil everything.

Check them out below.

 

I’m just kidding. Apparently Mariah Carey has the same sense of humor as me, given that she posted this not long after the leak when public. But everyone was in such a jokey move. They were spoilers galore!

 

NO SPOILERS!

Image Via Me.me

But the fans’ radars weren’t the only thing going off, HBO was apparently losing its mind. According to Forbes, “HBO has to be tearing their hair out that this keeps happening, but this show is so popular and there are so many of these markets to manage, it does almost seem inevitable that something will go wrong.”

 

The Night King, Jon Stark, Bran Stark

Image Via Daily Express

Can you blame them? HBO makes money based on how many viewers tune into their show and if the episode is leaked, that means less viewers.

Hopefully this won’t happen again, but since we’re here, I need to ask a question.

 

Question Time

Image Via BBC

This tweet and this tweet and this post on Reddit, are they good summaries or not? Does Podrick really just a song number?

 

 

Featured Image Via Recode