Line #51 Awesome/MarkDoesStuff


1	* After finishing the entire ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' series, they didn't want the books in their house anymore, but thought destroying them would send the wrong message. So they filmed themself hiding them all over Los Angeles, with notes inside for anyone who found them directing them to Mark's site. Unfortunately, they have yet to receive any word if this paid off.
2	* The [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Sozin's Comet]] liveblog--old and new fans alike turned up in droves, breaking the site and surpassing the ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' liveblog as the most-commented event yet.
3	** Their liveblog of [[Literature/HarryPotter Half-Blood Prince]] on Buzznet received over ''seven thousand'' comments. (Compared to three thousand for Sozin's Comet)
4	** And that record was smashed into oblivion by the liveblogs of the ''Lord of the Rings'' films.
5	* Garnering praise from Neil Gaiman himself while reviewing ''Literature/{{American Gods}}''.
6	** A direct quote from Mr. Gaiman: "I enjoyed your American Gods read so much. It was like getting to look through a reader's eyes & find out what worked."
7	* The ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'' fans crashing the site within ''one minute'' of the pilot review being posted. Mark was quickly forced to find a new server so this wouldn't happen every single day.
8	* The final chapter of their ''Breaking Dawn'' LB, where Bella, Edward, and Jacob get fed up with the way they're written and deliver an epic {{The Reason You Suck Speech}} to Stephanie Meyer. Then they're prepared to kill her as fully in keeping with the characterization she gave them, but are stopped by Renesmee, who points out that whatever Meyer made them do before, they clearly have their own free will now, and can choose to be the bigger people. So they just leave her to wallow in her own shame as she weakly apologizes.
9	* J. August Richards Tweeting that [[Series/{{Angel}} Gunn]] will marry them.
10	* Their response to The Great Spuffy Meltdown of 2012, furiously laying down the law before their review of the ''Angel'' episode "Dad" and the ''Buffy'' episode "Gone."
11	* The post for chapter 3 of ''[[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 The Wake]]'', perfectly tying in thematically to its BreakingTheFourthWall nature in a very moving way.
12	* It only took Creator/SeananMcGuire ''and'' Tamora Pierce a day to talk about Mark's ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'' and ''Literature/TortallUniverse'' articles.
13	* The end of their first playthrough of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. They killed the Archdemon on their first try, with the whole party dead except Alistair, no health poultices left, and Alistair down to a tiny amount of health by the time they made the final blow. And right at the time their hour was up!
14	* Mark's review of the first episode of ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' got more comments than ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' episode 1, as much a moment of awesome for PT's small but devoted fandom as for Mark.
15	* They spend most of the video for the ''Series/{{Friday Night Lights}}'' pilot talking about how they've never cared about football, and their high school had a crappy team anyway. But from the moment Matt steps into the quarterback spot, they become indistinguishable from the in-universe fans watching the game, cringing at the bad plays and cheering for the good ones.
16	* Getting nominated for a Hugo alongside one of the very books they were currently reviewing.
17	* Their furious deconstruction of Lord Wyldon's arguments for why women shouldn't be knights in ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall''.
18	** And then their joy at seeing Wyldon change into a man who respects and trusts Kel.
19	* Dealing with an unbelievably poorly translated line in ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'' that made Ed look like a racist. What followed was a very mature discussion about the original Japanese line and the various ways it's been translated, how some are much better than others, and how the dub translation was the worst choice they could ''possibly'' have run with.
20	* When Mark announced they was doing ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'', they said they'd just give the first season a shot, and stop if it hadn't grabbed them given the problematic things they'd heard about the show. Then when they actually got to it, they announced that they ''would'' be doing the whole thing (with the show still ongoing and about to begin its ''ninth'' season) just to spite the people who insulted them for watching it in the first place. They finished by saying that even if they end up hating it, it will still be fun to write about as a return to their ''Twilight'' days.
21	* In Chapter 15 of ''Untold'', their response to being accused of only saying they likes the book because he knows the author is reading his reviews.
22	* Neil Gaiman becoming the first person to actually ''request'' Mark review one of their works, with ''Literature/TheOceanAtTheEndOfTheLane''.
23	** And when they were very nervous about tying in detailed stories of their own life while reviewing the book, to a much greater degree than ever before, Gaiman replied that it was the perfect way to review it.
24	* Their reaction to the MightyWhitey aspects of ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', showing that they're not going to let this kind of thing slide, even from one of their favorite authors who is also a commenter on the site. And once again, the other commenters provide a completely mature and thoughtful debate on the subject, with none of the childishness you'll see anywhere else on the Internet where these subjects are discussed.
25	* Providing impromptu accompaniment to the first instance of "Carry On, Wayward Son" in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.
26	** And for the season 5 finale, a fan tweeted about the song literally the second they started watching.
27	* For someone who is so often blindsided by plot twists, they figured out the America the Beautiful clues in ''Literature/TheWestingGame'' very quickly.
28	** And the theme naming, though they didn't guess what it meant.
29	* Taking eight fans to see the ''Series/VeronicaMars'' movie on opening night, for free. And they said any other fans in the area were welcome to come too.
30	* They again show they're not going to let problematic stuff go even in works they love when they take ''Veronica Mars'' to task more and more for the {{Straw Feminist}}s in season 3.
31	* While watching ''Series/TheMiddleman'' they're exactly in tune with Wendy Watson, to a kind of scary level. The highlight is when they both say "Sweet" at the exact same time when the Middleman brings up ghosts.
32	* Their review of episode 2x4 of ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'', which is entirely a rant about Beverly being StuffedIntoTheFridge, both what a bad story decision it is and how insulting to women and Asians it is.
33	* From the comments, Spectalbovine's continuation of ''Series/TheWestWing'' starring Idris Elba as Stacker Bellicose, now collected [[http://ghostwritingcow.com/the-west-wing-seasons-8-10/ here]].
34	* Their [[http://markdoesstuff.tumblr.com/post/91769561890/i-was-at-dashcon-an-unnecessary-q-a-with-myself post]] about [=DashCon=], clearing up some misconceptions and calling people out who are just using it as a chance to trash teenage girls.
35	** Also, them tearing into a post calling the con racist because it was "filled with white people", when [=DashCon=] was actually very racially diverse.
36	---> White people, here is a free tip: '''DO NOT FUCKING ERASE PEOPLE OF COLOR [[InsaneTrollLogic IN ORDER TO TRY TO BE ANTI-RACIST]]'''.
37	* During the ''Star Trek'' episode "The Menagerie Part II," they [[StraightGay raises their hand]] when it's said that no man can resist an Orion slave girl.
38	** The review of "Patterns of Force." Their horrified disgust with the episode just radiates off the screen.
39	** Ditto "The Omega Glory."
40	** In "The Paradise Syndrome" even the video is full of it, calling out one horrific piece of UnfortunateImplications after another and ending up declaring it the show's new low point.
41	** Immediately catching the subtle change of transporter coordinates in "The Mark of Gideon."
42	* The furious condemnation of Dean erasing himself from Lisa and Ben's memories without their consent in ''{{Series/Supernatural}}''.
43	** The review of "Man's Best Friend with Benefits," where they seriously suspect the episode is from some alternate universe as the only way it could be written, filmed, and edited without anyone ever realizing how horribly offensive it is.
44	** The rant against the show killing off Kevin Tran, and how it's an undeniable part of a pattern of the show's crappy treatment of non-white male characters.
45	** Nailing their first prediction for Season 10, that Dean would be cured in three episodes.
46	** Their Twitter post upon watching "Dark Dynasty": "I talk a lot of shit, y'all. I know it. And most of the time, it's out of like… respect and love and wanting better things. I have never meant the following sentence more in my entire life, but seriously: Fuck you, ''Supernatural''."
47	* The review of ''Wyrd Sisters'' Part 13 features a quite thorough rebuttal to the people who constantly accuse them of being a Social Justice Warrior. They're not condemning older works like this for not conforming exactly to modern senses of political correctness, just pointing out that these things can be a problem and writers shouldn't do them. Plus, that very same day also saw their review of "Patterns of Force" noted above, showing that no matter the era, some ideas are just so wrongheaded that even at the time the writer should have known better.
48	* Some of Mark's predictions can fall into this when they get something right, but one of the best has to be predicting that Ty Lee would betray Azula in book three of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Fans who'd already finished book three ''exploded'' over on the spoiler site.
49	* After they naturally threw a fit on Twitter after watching ''The Wrath of Khan'', a fan provided the perfect rejoinder: "Sorry, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one."
50	* Many times while reading ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', they pause to explain ''exactly'' why Christian Grey is such a monster while still showing complete respect for BDSM lifestyles and acknowledging they have little personal knowledge of it.
51	* Their review of "Code of Honor" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is more of a treatise on how to avoid the racism and sexism that the episode reeks of, while also slinging plenty of deserved jabs at the more basic script problems.
52	** They naturally go completely medieval on "The Outcast," accusing Jeri Taylor and the others involved of being a bunch of cowards who wanted to pay lip service to the idea of homosexual/transgender equality without any real understanding of the issues involved, let alone any willingness to portray them without a heavy protective cloak of allegory to pander to all the bigots watching the show.
53	** Their TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to "Journey's End" for its ill-conceived portrayal of Native American culture, at the writers for acknowledging the UnfortunateImplications in the episode and then ignoring them, and at the Traveler in particular for using Native American spirituality and culture to better himself then sanctimoniously leaving them to die by claiming he was [[OmniscientMoralityLicense above their troubles now]], because of the power that ''he stole from them''.
54	* The articles on ''Literature/MovingPictures'' are very much informed from their own experience living in Los Angeles, and give a fascinating insight into how deep the book's satire goes.
55	** For ''Literature/SoulMusic'', they spent some time as a rock musician himself.
56	* They managed to remain unspoiled about the greatest ItWasHisSled moment in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', knowing only that "it broke the internet". That is no small feat.
57	** Not only Mark themself but several commenters giving the show hell for all the UnfortunateImplications in it, despite their generally liking it.
58	** In the video for the series finale, they look forward to finally learning what this big thing that broke the Internet was and that their fans have been dutifully shielding him from learning. This includes one guy who maliciously tried to spoil them, which everyone else put a stop to by throwing things at the jerk.
59	* Their appearance at [=ConQuesT=] 46, sharing the stage with George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson.
60	* The TranquilFury of their review of the ''Supernatual'' episode "Dark Dynasty," coldly tearing apart why killing Charlie was a horrible, insulting story choice, finishing it by saying that they would stop watching the show if they weren’t obligated to continue watching it.
61	* After realizing they were reaching the end of his list of future shows to watch, he reopened the poll to find more. Thing is, this was several months after the premiere of ''Series/{{Sense8}}'', a show absolutely tailor-made for them with its incredibly diverse cast, heavy focus on non-heteronormative issues, and fascinating sci-fi premise on top of it. And even without giving away a single thing of what the show actually is thanks to their strict spoiler policy, the response that they should watch the show was so overwhelming that they not only added it to the list but bumped it up to be the ''very next'' show on their schedule.
62	* Their method of talking about the death of Wells in ''Series/{{The 100}}'', talking about it entirely in terms of what a bad story decision it was, setting up this character with a ton of good backstory and promise for future developments just to kill him off as a cheap shock tactic, then throwing in at the end that the racist implications of this happening to a black guy are so obvious that they doesn't even need to explain them.
63	** And yet, after this extremely rocky start, they ended up absolutely adoring the show, calling it one of the most relentlessly paced and constantly fucked up things they'd ever seen, and even perhaps the most fun they've ''ever'' had making videos for the site.
64	** Much like ''Legend of Korra'', they managed to remain completely unspoiled about some issues in Season 3 that are right up their alley, enough that several times since the episodes aired they've had people make clear they want them to discuss something about it, until they moved the season up to be the next Double Feature just to make sure they wouldn't get any spoilers. Making it more impressive is that Baize clearly ''does'' know about Lexa's death and spends every episode wondering when it's going to happen.
65	* The creators of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' deliberately put the first mention of the show's BigBad the Dominion into a filler comedy episode so people would dismiss it until it came back with a vengeance later. And then the guy who's perpetually surprised for a living picks up on it right away, insisting that it has to be important somehow.
66	** In their Season 3 prediction post for Deep Space Nine, they manage to get every single prediction right, with only one exception: thinking that Bareil and Winn will appear in three episodes each this season, when they only appear in two each. Easily their best prediction post yet.
67	** Within a couple hours of them making a Twitter post raving about "The Visitor," where Tony Todd played the adult Jake Sisko, Todd subscribed to them.
68	** Their deconstruction of Silaran's reasoning in "The Darkness and the Light", utterly denouncing the idea that he was a victim by pointing that even if all he did was fold shirts, he still willingly participated in the colonization of Bajor and and knowingly benefited from the horrific oppression of the Bajorans.
69	** Their review of "Far Beyond the Stars," where their praise of the episode directly tackling heavy social issues without the sci-fi genre's usual allegory shield (see the above entry on the TNG episode "The Outcast") is intercut with several stories of the racism they've faced to stunningly powerful effect.
70	** They end up declaring ''Deep Space Nine'' not only their favorite ''Star Trek'' series, but the home of their picks for the ''three'' best episodes of the entire franchise in "The Visitor," "Far Beyond the Stars," and "In the Pale Moonlight."
71	* Their ''Manga/DeathNote'' reviews are pretty much a constant barrage of deconstructions of Light's actions and motivations, providing a great thing to point the series' notorious MisaimedFandom to and say "''That's'' why Light is the bad guy."
72	* The [[https://www.facebook.com/markdoesstuff/posts/1055796457774855 Facebook post]] about the hell they went through at [=ConQuest=], which quickly went viral and resulted in nigh-universal condemnation of the con. Shortly afterward, one of the people who refused to do anything about the harassment resigned from the staff of another con, and sent them one of the few apologies they got from it (which they were perfectly fine with, having never actually asked for ''anything'' in the post).
73	* The entirety of ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', taking a wrecking ball to its horrific racism, which reached such heights in this book that even many huge Pratchett fans prefer to forget it exists (and had some of Mark's fans seriously worried that it would cause them to quit the series altogether). Keep in mind that they're having the guts here to take on the faults of a writer who's not only highly beloved but recently deceased.
74	* Despite knowing nothing about the behind-the-scenes issues that plagued ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', in "Non Sequitor" they were able to pick up that Garret Wang had been deliberately directed to constantly play Harry Kim as nothing but a wide-eyed waif, refused any kind of character development.
75	** In "Worst Case Scenario" they initially dismiss Tuvok as the mutiny story's author, but then walks back on it shortly before the reveal, and even correctly guesses that it's actually a training scenario.
76	** Though it takes them a while to place her name, they immediately recognizes Creator/JeriRyan under the heavy Borg makeup, despite having no idea she'd be showing up.
77	* After several group readings of stories from the absolutely insane gay erotica writer Chuck Tingle, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIwJuN59wX8 Mark was actually written into one.]]
78	* After having a great deal of problems figuring things out in "Literature/MenAtArms", they figure out the method of poisoning in "Literature/FeetOfClay" a full two parts before Vimes does.
79	* An avid player of ''VideoGame/PokemonGo'', during a con appearance in Amarillo, Texas they took over ''every single gym'' in the area during their time off. His chaperone joked on Twitter that future people with the job should know this is what happens if you take your eye off them.
80	* After upgrading their servers due to the above influx of ''Buffy'' fans, it was smooth sailing for a few years...until their article on the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Jail Break" overwhelmed even that setup. And along with that was an amazing bit from Mark themself on how the episode is a proud declaration of queerness, and they're proud to be part of it.
81	* They got so invested while reading ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' that they actually read the word "bitch," something they usually ''never'' actually say out loud, instead pausing and saying "that word" whenever they come across it.
82	* In 2017 they became part of the cast of an FMV game written by Chuck Tingle, alongside the likes of Jim Sterling and Mara Wilson.
83	* Halfway through the ''Series/BabylonFive'' pilot, they nail that the villain is a shape-shifter, despite noting that they have no idea if they exist in the show.[[note]]Technically he's using technology to change his appearance, though the original script did have a shape-shifting alien in the role.[[/note]]
84	** After several episodes of puzzling where they know Mira Furlan's voice from due to her heavy makeup, he finally recognizes just enough of a facial expression in "And the Sky Full of Stars" to recognize her as Danielle from ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
85	** Across all the early episodes, it's quite amazing to see how just about everything they talk about hoping to see later on actually ''is'' stuff that the show will later address, making for a very impressive showcase of just how good at creating this story JMS was.
86	* In Series 10 of ''Series/DoctorWho'' they immediately guessed that Missy was in the vault at the first real clue to it.
87	* They actually managed to post their review of the ''Series/JaneTheVirgin'' episode where Alba passes her citizenship test, and then imagines a picture of Donald Trump changing to Barack Obama to welcome her to the country, on the ''very same day'' that Trump was officially defeated by Obama's VP Joe Biden.
88	* After years of being a major fan of ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'' and expressing how amazing it felt when Nico came out as gay, Mark got to [[https://fangirlish.com/2021/10/07/rick-riordan-and-mark-oshiro-to-co-write-a-new-book-about-nico-and-will/ co-write a canon novel]] featuring Nico and his boyfriend Will. Talk about PromotedFanboy!

Context Awesome / MarkDoesStuff