Steven Shinder

A week and a half ago, I got around to watching the film Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix (whose birthday happens to be today). It's a film that I was hesitant about seeing, and it definitely challenged my pre-conceived notions of Batman characters, particularly Thomas Wayne, who does not have many visibly virtuous characteristics here. (Though it may be a matter of perspective.) All that being said, I am glad that I watched it. I appreciated it more than I thought I would. It is a well-crafted, thought-provoking standalone. I am left with questions, which may be SPOILER-filled. So if you have seen the film, feel free to read on.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie premiered on Netflix earlier this month, and I have had some time to digest it. Since it has been out long enough, I may bring up SPOILERS not just for the movie, but also for the Breaking Bad TV show.

In early 2014, the Yes lineup of vocalist Jon Davison, keyboardist Geoff Downes, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White recorded a new album. They reunited with Roy Thomas Baker, who had produced the failed 1979 Paris sessions. This seemed to be part of a pattern in which Yes revisited certain things from their distant past. After all, they had revisited material from the Drama era for their 2011 album Fly from Here, and they had done a 2013 Three Album Tour in which they performed Close to the Edge, Going for the One, and The Yes Album.

After Yes' 35th Anniversary Tour, the band ended up going on a hiatus. Many years later, Jon Anderson would admit that he left Yes in 2004. By 2008, there were plans to commemorate the 40th anniversary with the Close to the Edge And Back Tour. Other Yes veterans would have included Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), and Alan White (drums). Rick Wakeman's son Oliver Wakeman joined the band in his father's place.

The Netflix fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a prequel to Jim Henson's 1982 film The Dark Crystal, has been embraced by many fans of the franchise. However, it has contradicted other Dark Crystal media, thus bringing attention to the question of canon. Below is a history of what the Jim Henson Company has said about the canon, as well as a broad overview of the contradictions (which may contain spoilers).

After The Ladder Tour, Billy Sherwood left Yes (though he would return much later). In 2000, the band embarked on their Masterworks Tour, with the set list decided by fan votes and including epics "Close to the Edge," "Ritual," and "The Gates of Delirium." During the tour, keyboardist Igor Khoroshev was involved in an incident involving two female security guards. After he left the band, the Yes lineup was down to Jon Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), and Alan White (drums).