View source for Comm-Link:Spectrum Spectator - Slice of Life

'''[[Lars Gonall]]''': Welcome to the hell pit, or as it’s more commonly known, ''Spectrum Spectator''. I’m Lars Gonall and with me as always is my spectrum life-partner [[Daisy Wences]]. For those of you at home wondering why I’m glistening like a dew-kissed lawn, the environment systems in our building decided to start freaking out today and while they claim it’s safe for us to go ahead and record the show, it is stupid hot in our studio right now.

'''Daisy''' Wences: And here I thought that healthy glow was because you saw our special guest backstage.

'''Lars''': I would normally snark back at this juncture, but I’m pretty sure I’m sweating out large portions of my brain function. I don’t know how you still look so put together.

'''Daisy''': I grew up on Vosca. This is basically sweater weather for me.

'''Lars''': Guess that explains why you had a steaming bowl of kacho for lunch.

'''Daisy''': Damn straight. Best thing to eat on a hot day is spicy soup. My grandfather taught me that. The more you sweat, the more it can evaporate and cool you off.

'''Lars''': Spectrum Spectator, come for the reviews, stay for the folksy wisdom.

'''Daisy''': Thanks for reminding me that we should probably actually do some reviewing. On today’s Spectrum Spectator, we turn our focus entirely towards the recent spate of documentaries and reality shows that premiered this month.

'''Lars''': Note that we didn’t set out to do a theme show, but there was such a glut of quality recently it just worked out that way. You wanna go first, Daisy, so I can chug this liter of hydro-gel?

'''Daisy''': And maybe we can get a towel for you. With how quickly that puddle of sweat is growing, I think electrocution is as likely to kill you as overheating at this point.

'''Lars''': Spectrum Spectator, come for the reviews, stay for the death pool.

'''Daisy''': Speaking of things that refuse to die, I had the pleasure of watching ''[[One World at a Time: An Inquiry into Project Archangel]]'', a sweeping epic that explores in detail the history of the [[Synthworld]] from its earliest conception to its current controversial status. Just like the artificial planet itself, ''One World'' is quite daunting in size. Clocking in at over thirteen hours long, the documentary does take some significant time investment, but the choice of directors [[Cambio Astley]] and [[Viktoria Hampton]] to focus on the people actually building the world, rather than the typical political drama, give the piece a vitality that’s hard not to get caught up in. These are people who have given their lives to make the impossible a reality, and their passion for the project is captivating.

Even more impressive may be just how balanced the whole vid feels. There’s very little sugarcoating going on. Engineers discuss missteps. Project leads candidly talk about mistakes. During one of the standout moments in the piece, [[Corbyn Salehi|Imperator Salehi]] admits to mishandling how the initial scheduling and financing needs were presented to the public. Combine all those exclusive interviews with gorgeous shots of the construction site itself and an almost lyrical editing style, and you really get a sense of why so many people believe in the Synthworld dream.

'''Lars''': I feel like I’ve seen half of it already, just thanks to the sheer volume of clips that have been passed around.

'''Daisy''': And to be fair, I think that’s how most people are going to wind up watching it.

'''Lars''': It’s actually how I wound up watching the documentary ''Bullet Catcher''. A bunch of people had forwarded me clips of some of the metalworking sequences and I was like, okay, I’m in. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of these artisan and craftsmen-type vids, but there was something about mixing in the seedy underworld of [[Spider]] that just did it for me.