Tmg - Blog Posts
i have some thoughts about what would happen if bojack and mr peanutbutter got together before the start of the show. @fandomfreakstudios have a wonderful post on this topic and i like their au very much. i just want to speculate on this from a slightly different angle.
i agree with freak's vision in many ways, but thinking about it, i've always found their relationship in such a scenario to be more messy and extremely ambiguous. ambiguous in terms of the fact that they themselves do not know who they are to each other… okay i'll try to explain
they meet for the first time at some event: an award ceremony, a party, whatever. then they see each other again, again, again, and in the end bojack reluctantly gets closer to pb - out of boredom, maybe - they drink together, chat about everything, discuss acting and so on. gradually they grow closer, their relationship becomes more trusting and intimate.
and before they knew it, they suddenly started spending nights at each other's places; mr peanutbutter recently divorced katrina, and he doesn't want to feel lonely, so all his attention is now focused on bojack. he became attached like a faithful dog (literally) and it will be almost impossible for him to let this man go, no matter what a jerk he actually is.
and bojack, who completely destroyed his previous relationship with herb, sees this. he doesn't reject pb when he becomes more intrusive for two reasons: firstly, he is afraid to ruin everything again, to lose a loved one, and therefore he tries to play a good friend; secondly, he likes this attention. he craves it. he longs to be wanted, to be admired, to be needed no matter what.
so, yes, their relationship is growing, and so is codependency. bojack tries to be kind, fair, supportive, but when he discovers how difficult it is - and most importantly, when he sees that his efforts don't matter, because pb won't leave him anyway - he stops. and, when there is not only an agent who will get you out of any trouble, but also a close person who is ready to love you no matter what disgusting things you do, and justify your behavior in any way, you stop not only growing, you become much worse than you were already.
nevertheless, he still has bright sides, some kind of concept of morality, and he is literally eaten up by guilt for what he is doing with their relationship. he, from time to time, makes some attempts to fix it - with well-known grand gestures - but it doesn't last long. then he gets tired again, realizes that everything he does is pointless, and turns to alcohol, drugs - everything, just to calm the pain and guilt consuming him from the inside.
mr peanutbutter also tries hard at first. he genuinely believes that if he makes enough effort, their relationship will be as happy and trouble-free as it was in his family, as it was on his native peninsula. he keeps ignoring all the red flags until everything turns into a real disaster. he still doesn't want to leave bojack because a) he is afraid to be alone, b) he is attached to him, he actually likes him very much; c) he feels sorry for boj.
we have seen how mr peanutbutter can behave in a relationship if he is really displeased or upset about something. eventually even his patience comes to an end, and maybe he makes the first attempt to leave, but quickly returns - either on his own initiative, or because of bojack's conviction that he will change. then everything repeats again.
this time, pb stops ignoring the bad attitude and goes on the offensive - he responds to manipulation with manipulation, to neglect with neglect etc. as a result, he becomes little better than his partner. they start quarreling constantly, it exhausts both of them. but that's all they have left when they just can't let each other go.
if we draw analogies, then this is something between bodiane, pb/diane and bojack/pc relationships, but i hope you understand the course of my thoughts.
bojack's career is still a failure, but at the same time pb's one is much less successful than in the original, obviously because of his personal life. well, now he has much more time to, for example, fight with his life partner again and eventually drive off to the other side of the united states together. for some unknown reason. they're sick to death of each other and yet still codependent. well. you know how it is
i could write more, but it seems like i've got a cold and i also want to sleep (whimpering whimpering) and the post already came out kinda long. so yeah. but maybe i'll talk about it later again
oh and i almost forgot
as someone who just finished moby dick & also is rediscovering their love for the mountain goats, I was wondering what your top moby dick tmg songs are. you are the best person i can think of to answer this :)
wow it is truly an honor and a privilege... im limiting this to my personal favorite reading of moby dick which is of course that it is a memory play ishmael puts on ad nauseum because he lives inside the shipwreck and doesn't know how to get out; ahab/whale dynamics would be a whole other project and this already got away from me as it is lol. so, some songs that are about compulsively reliving the day your life ended:
woke up new — i began to talk to myself almost immediately
how to embrace a swamp creature — got out of bed, could not remember my own name / condemned to walk the soil amongst all creatures wild and tame
the slow parts on death metal albums — stock up on gauze in case of accidents / try to keep my story straight
lab rat blues — living water to quench my thirst
going to mexico — i imagined your touch / it was almost too much
keeping house — and when you set the table, set it for two / the ghost on your doorstep has to eat, same as you
maize stalk drinking blood — this is an empty country, and i am the king
historiography — you were warm and that's all i remember
moon over goldsboro — spend all night in the company of ghosts, always wake up alone
almost every door — the moment’s never going to come / when anyone can say that the coast is clear
mobile — lord if you won't keep me safe and warm / then send down the storm, send down the storm
southwestern territory — i try to remember what life was like long ago / but it’s gone, you know
bleed out — i’m gonna make a gigantic mess / but it meant something important i guess
divided sky lane — i will someday learn how to let you go
i could literally keep doing this for hours. but what does everyone else think
Tim Martin Gleason final lair appreciation gifset. I will never get over the way he throws his arms around Christine like he's clinging for dear life.
Phantom Acting Choices That Live in My Head Rent Free (Part 2)
The way Hugh Panaro says "sing for me" during the title song. Extra emphasis on the ME, like this man knows Christine doesn't sing for anyone else like this--especially not that insolent boy.
Tim Martin Gleason's emotionally regulating self-hug.
David Shannon plays the Phantom like his skull exposure is actually vulnerable/causes him chronic pain.
Earl Carpenter directs tf out of Christine's voice during the title song in his '06 run. Gospel choir director energy, but make it sex.
Phantoms kneeling during the Don Juan AIAOY reprise. (Looking at you David Thaxton and Hugh P.)
Every acting decision Gina Beck makes in the final lair.
There's a boot (I think 1995?) where Davis Gaines pauses after he says "this is the choice" and he actually realizes he's gone off the deep end and "this is the point of no return" fr.
Michael Nicholson's deranged laugh turned sob. So sad, so disturbed.
Gary Mauer says like 4-5 ily's in the final lair like he can't stop now that he's uttered it aloud. And the more the merrier imo lol.
Recent Phantoms I've Watched in 1-2 Sentences
[Mostly in the order I've recently watched them, which is random.]
Ted Keegan: A legend. Very much "I know how I want to interpret this character and I will do it consistently well over 20+ years and still make you cry each time."
Jeremy Stolle: The acting is always there, but the voice comes and goes? King of mishaps.
Paul Schaefer: I've only seen one vid of him. His Phantom is literally diabolical up to the very last minute and it's...interesting.
Ben Crawford: Great voice before the post-COVID struggles, but questionable acting decisions. Oddly enough he grew more as an actor as his vocals declined.
Dean Chisnall: Such a shy and sensitive Phantom who sings every note with ease! He wins the award for best reptilian stomach crawl during STYDI.
Laird Mackintosh: He was a solid understudy in the 2010s, but I was awed by how he totally owned the role as a cover in 2023 up to closing. He really brings the heat in the first lair.
James Barbour: Ruined by the legal issues and the fact that I saw him as Rochester first.
Killian Donnelly: He's the perfect combination of sensitive acting and a great voice. Always sticks the landing in the final lair, but he does it a different way each time so every performance feels new.
Tim Martin Gleason: He has the most beautiful hands and I love how soft and tender he becomes after the kiss. He genuinely wants Christine and Raoul to escape safely, like what??
Norm Lewis: If Erik was your dad...but also your toddler?
shout out to this song!! first time I realized I truly wanted to live!!!
I don't wanna die in here
the startings of a new artbook, ft. a title that really resonated with me and then became a shoutout to my girl tove jansson and a new place to channel feelings about important things that happened this year ?? starting with the Most Important Thing, which was incidentally the mountain goats' tuttlingen warriors 2013 at the bottletree in birmingham, al over the summer !!