Fallout’s reality-show vault gets a date, Mouthwashing heads to Xbox, Windows rings your missing phone, and EFF asks for an age-gate paper… Read more
A reality-show vault, a very bad week aboard a spaceship, and a Windows button that might actually be useful. Sunday’s afternoon dispatch:
vault-tec would like you to form an alliance
Fallout Shelter: The Experiment has a premiere date: January 13, 2027, on Prime Video. Bethesda’s Fallout Day roundup confirms the competition series will put contestants through escalating challenges for a cash prize, with Amazon, Kilter Films and Studio Lambert behind it. This is the unscripted spinoff, not the next season of the drama. The vault has finally found a use for its confession booth.
Mouthwashing reaches Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC and Game Pass on October 29, according to publisher CRITICAL REFLEX; Xbox’s Friday release calendar also lists Thursday’s arrival. Wrong Organ’s psychological horror follows five crew members stranded aboard the freighter Tulpar, with supplies running out and nobody having a particularly healthy time. The news here is the Xbox release, not a new sequel—and a doomed workplace is a fairly efficient Halloween setting.
Microsoft’s October 23 Experimental Insider preview is gradually adding phone controls to Quick Settings: supported Android devices can be rung, switched to Do Not Disturb, or have their ringer mode changed from the PC. It is also testing internet-speed results inside Quick Settings rather than sending you off to a browser. iPhone support starts with a more limited status-focused experience, and none of this is a promise of general availability yet. Still: finding the phone under the couch is a respectable use of a computer.
EFF is asking people to document account losses, failed age checks and other access problems after the Eleventh Circuit reversed or vacated preliminary injunctions blocking Florida and Georgia’s social-media restrictions. Florida’s covered platforms must exclude under-14s and require parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds; Georgia requires parental consent for under-16s on covered platforms. The litigation is not over, and EFF’s practical request is to save dates, screenshots and the platform’s explanation—not hand over extra sensitive information just to prove there was a problem. An age-check pop-up is considerably less trivial when your whole community is behind it.
Treehouse of Horror on FOX at 8/7c, The Terror’s AMC finale at 9/8c, and Kate Berlant on demand. Facet’s Sunday watchlist. Read more
what to watch tonight · sunday, october 25
Springfield opens the treehouse, AMC closes out a very bad hospital stay, and Kate Berlant provides an exit from the horror department. Three options, depending on whether tonight calls for cartoon death, institutional dread, or a woman having a complicated relationship with her phone.
US listings below. Broadcast and cable times are Eastern/Central; the comedy special is already streaming on demand. Subscription or TV-provider access may be required.
8/7c: the simpsons opens the treehouse
FOX · “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII” · new tonight.
The annual Halloween episode sends Marge into a frightening marital detour, pairs Bart with Santa’s Little Helper for an adventure, and gives Homer a driving lesson. The last of those could have been a horror premise without any seasonal assistance.
This is the half-hour option for people who want the Halloween episode rather than a six-hour commitment. FOX lists it for 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central. The Simpsons on FOX · Official episode listing.
AMC · The Terror: Devil in Silver · cable finale tonight.
Dan Stevens plays Pepper, a moving man wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital. Victor LaValle’s novel supplies this installment’s setting, where confinement and neglect are frightening enough before anyone investigates the supernatural problem.
Tonight concludes AMC’s cable run at 9 p.m. Eastern, 8 Central. It is not a new streaming finale: all six episodes are already on AMC+. If you have not started, begin with the first episode rather than arriving at the hospital for the closing argument. AMC’s series page · Official Sunday schedule.
on demand: kate berlant supplies a different kind of spiral
HBO Max · Kate Berlant: Parmesan · already streaming.
Berlant’s new stand-up special moves through technology, sexuality, and the odd business of being a person in public. Filmed at Los Angeles’s Plaza Nightclub and directed by Doron Max Hagay, it arrived October 16; this is a catch-up pick, not a Sunday premiere.
Sammy Hajhamid’s Switch 2 writeup gives the reset button its own tiny employee. The human effort still matters. Read more
Sammy Hajhamid’s Switch 2 jailbreak writeup has a very good supporting character: a Bluetooth light-switch gadget whose job is to press the power button after the console crashes.
The software can send controller inputs and receive video. Restarting the physical machine still requires a small appliance to reach over and do the obvious thing. Someone has to work the door.
From the Pale Panda archive: the original March 28, 2018 conversation, restored for Taco ’Bout. Read more
From the Pale Panda archive. Originally published March 28, 2018, by Andrew Schwegler. Restored from the original WordPress export for Taco ’Bout, Pale Panda’s spiritual successor. References to “now,” projects, platforms, relationships, and recommendations belong to that original conversation.
Halloween seems like a reasonable time to bring this one back. In March 2018, I talked with Michael Varrati about queer horror, Hallmark movies, screenwriting, and Buffy. Death is inevitable. His brunch plans were more reassuring.
The original interview
I had the pleasure of chatting a bit with, master of queer horror, Michael Varrati. We talk about his projects, Hallmark movies, and Buffy. He is amazingly fantastic, and once you are done reading this interview, you should go subscribe to his podcast.
Pale Panda: If you were to describe your personality as a way to die in a horror movie, what would it be?
Michael Varrati: Oh, my personality is probably akin to Glen (Johnny Depp) being eaten by the bed in the original Nightmare on Elm Street: Gratuitous with no regard for decency, a little messy, but a definite crowd-pleaser.
Why can’t the final girl of the new Friday the 13th have a final girlfriend?
P: If Love, Simon was a breakout mainstream queer romcom, do you feel like a breakout mainstream queer horror film is on the horizon? Or has there already been one that I’ve just missed?
M: That’s a great question. As anyone who knows me is aware, I’m very interested in the intersection of the queer identity and a draw to the horror genre. There’s a lot of queerness present in horror’s history, and there are visibly queer characters in horror movies as far back as the 30s.
But, as far as a mainstream queer horror film released by a studio where characters aren’t masked or pushed aside? Yes, I believe it’s coming. Why can’t the final girl of the new Friday the 13th have a final girlfriend? I want a gay boy to get his big vampire romance film. I want a trans person to save us from the zombie apocalypse.
It’s coming. And I can’t wait. In the meantime, there’s SO many wonderful indie horror films with queer content that are out there and I encourage people to seek them out.
People who think they're being clever say DIE HARD is their favorite Christmas movie. People who KNOW they're being clever say it's BATMAN RETURNS. pic.twitter.com/nvU6J2rTnE
P: I keep my television on Hallmark during the holiday season. As such, I’ve seen Broadcasting Christmas (written by Varrati) a few times this year. Does your work in the horror genre inform your work in the Made-for-TV-Movie genre?
M: It informs my work in the way that both horror movies and the made-for-TV projects. in their way, fit the definition of what we would consider “cult cinema,” though I’m sure the TV folks would eschew that label.
Ultimately, both styles of film are built around certain rules and audience expectations. Granted, you can subvert and play with those expectations, but there’s always a vibe that you have to tap into first before you can do so. And while these are very different styles of films, my approach to understanding their worlds is similar.
After all, characters shouldn’t ever know what kind of movie they’re in when they wake up that morning.
Also, for me, it’s always about characters. Once I know who lives in the world of my story, I can build the movie around them. In that way, all of my screenplays begin in a similar fashion…and only when the action begins do they deviate.
After all, characters shouldn’t ever know what kind of movie they’re in when they wake up that morning. Sometimes they make it to Grandma’s for the annual Christmas party. Sometimes their car breaks down and they get eaten by alien cannibals. That’s the chaos of life, encapsulated in storytelling.
P: You directed the Enemies of Dorothy sketch “Social Justice Strangers.” Do you sometimes think that the movement for social justice goes a little far–especially when handed over to the Internet?
M: We exist in a world where many groups of people are disenfranchised, marginalized, and underrepresented on a near constant basis. I would rather people lean into a social justice mindset and fight for those whose voices need to be heard rather than be willfully ignorant of the problems that exist just beyond our own front doors.
Can the internet take things to the extreme sometimes? Sure…but that’s sort of what the internet does. But, in a sea of memes and gifs, if the movement leads to even one person opening their eyes and lending a hand, that feels worth it to me.
If you view setbacks as a learning curve, the next time you step into a room to pitch, you’ll be stronger…
P: What tip would you give young screenwriters out there that you wish had been given to you when you started?
M: Well, the most cliche bit of advice all writers give is “write every day,” but it’s also the most common answer for a reason. The more you write, the more you learn what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how you can work with them.
The other thing I think is an important lesson in the world of screenwriting is that you can’t be afraid of failure. You’re going to get rejections. Don’t let this defeat you, but rather look at that momentary defeat and learn from it. You can gain more from your failures as an artist than your successes because it forces you to look at what’s not working with the things you’re creating.
If you view setbacks as a learning curve, the next time you step into a room to pitch, you’ll be stronger and you’ll know even more about what you bring to the table.
P: Joss Whedon once talked about how high school is a horror show, and that’s why Buffy worked so well. There are a lot of parallels between queer life and horror. Do you see those parallels, and have any creators shined a light on this who we should look out for?
M: Those parallels absolutely have been part of the queer horror relationship for a while, albeit taking different forms. Take A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, for example, which ultimately is about a boy wrestling with his internal demons and making peace with his true self. Of course, it’s been an evolution to see that kind of content reflected in a meaningful way, but creators are making it happen.
There’s a fabulous Canadian series called Carmilla that handles lesbian and non-binary characters in such an effortless and amazing way. It was a subtle and elegant breakthrough. Doctor Who has been handling queer content really well. Wynona Earp also! There’s really marvelous content out there just waiting to be discovered.
I don't believe in ghosts so much as ghosts believe in me.
P: Hell beasts or NRA members M: NRA Members are far worse. Plus, I’ve known a lot of Hell Beasts in my day. Snappy dressers.
P: Squirrels or Mosquitos M: Mosquitos. There’s literally no question.
P: Log Cabin Republicans or Actual Log Cabins M: I mean, I hate camping. But…cabins do always have the possibility of leading to a good Evil Dead like scenario…and I love me some wacky antics. So, Log Cabin Republicans are definitely worse.
P: Sparkly Vampires or Mean Gays on the Internet M: Mean Gays. I get why people don’t like sparkly vampires, but I’ve always maintained that those books could also lead someone to the Lost Boys or Dracula…and then you’ve got a newly-minted horror fan!
P: Riley Finn or Parker Abrams M: Parker is atrocious and without a doubt way worse. But, I’m also an unapologetic Riley super fan. He’s my favorite of Buffy’s boyfriends and I can’t be convinced otherwise!
P: What are a few of your favorite things in media right now?
M: I mentioned DOCTOR WHO and that’s always a perpetual favorite. I’m a long time fan since I saw a Tom Baker episode on PBS in 7th grade and I’ve been hooked ever since. The writers that show gets are next level and continue to astound me.
Some current stuff that is rocking my socks includes the deliciously outrageous cartoon Teen Titans Go!, an amazing Icelandic queer horror film Rift, and the atmospheric fright flick The Blackcoat’s Daughter which stars the sublime Kieran Shipka. Also, Channel Zero is low-key one of the best genre series on TV right now. I continue to be shocked and compelled by the new territory it’s forging.
Oh! And for the readers out there, I just finished Christopher Rice’s Bone Music…and it was exceptional.
I feel empowered by all the content and stories there.
P: What is your favorite thing, place, or person you go to for inspiration?
M: I’ve always found bookstores inspiring…and a little romantic. Whenever I need to collect myself, I go to a bookstore and browse. I feel empowered by all the content and stories there. Is that cheesy? It’s true.
P: What would the title of a reality show about your life be, and what would your Real Housewives-esque tagline be?
M: My reality show would be called “A Queer and Present Danger” and my Housewives tagline would be “Death is inevitable…but so is brunch.”
Restored from Pale Panda’s January 2, 2022 WordPress export. Original post ID: 4400. Original interview wording retained; obsolete site widgets removed and formatting adjusted.
The original export did not identify photographers for this interview’s images. Images restored from the original Pale Panda interview archive; no photographer or permission credit has been inferred.
Bravo’s pocket-sized murder romance, EastEnders’ UK archive channel, a one-player planet, Slayground’s teaser, and PowerToys’ mouse relief. Read more
Sunday, October 25, 2026 · morning briefing
Bravo is shrinking the drama, EastEnders is getting an archive channel, and one platformer has made the entire planet take a number. Also: a haunted attraction with staffing issues and two useful mouse fixes.
bravo has made the drama pocket-sized
Bravo’s October 23 announcement includes its first scripted microdrama, Charmed by a Southern Monster, with Craig Conover and Nicole Mattox leading a romance involving a family estate and a rumored murderer. It premieres November 9 exclusively in the Peacock mobile app; the same announcement orders Next Gen Atlanta and renews Next Gen NYC, Southern Hospitality and In the City. The television is apparently too large for this particular property dispute.
jono has invented the global queue
Jono, Part Time Monkey’s free Windows platformer released earlier this month, gives the entire world one character and each player a one-minute turn. Everyone else watches and chats while waiting, and cleared rooms count toward a shared million-room journey. In this week’s developer interview, Tuomas Erikoinen explains how that queue became the game’s social center. Finally, a multiplayer game willing to admit most of the evening is waiting for somebody else.
albert square is getting its own channel, with a geographical catch
UKTV announced eight new free, ad-supported channels on October 21, including EastEnders on U, with a rollout on LG Channels and Freely before the end of the year. The EastEnders selection goes back to the mid-2000s; Casualty and Holby City also get dedicated channels. This is a UK announcement, not a new U.S. streaming option, and no exact launch day is given. Albert Square can now keep arguing while the remote takes the afternoon off.
A24 has posted a teaser for Slayground, written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, with Cory Michael Smith, Chase Sui Wonders and Sophie Wilde among the cast. A scare actor wakes up at his haunted attraction surrounded by dead colleagues and cannot remember how it happened. The official page sets the theatrical release for January 29, 2027, so this is a trailer to inspect, not a Halloween streaming premiere. Seasonal employment continues to offer a concerning benefits package.
Microsoft’s October 21 stable PowerToys release, 0.102.2933.0, adds Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide. The first lets a brief hold keep a mouse button engaged for dragging or selecting until another click; the second hides the pointer while typing or after inactivity, then restores it when moved. There is also a quick-access shelf for pinned Command Palette actions. Sometimes the useful update is simply fewer things to keep holding down.
Nerdist follows VisionQuest’s Butcherbird story into the comics. Marvel’s robot family tree could use a second whiteboard. Spoilers through episode 4 at… Read more
VisionQuest has reached the part of the family history that requires arrows. Eric Diaz’s Nerdist explainer traces the Butcherbird story back through Marvel’s comics, where creating a robot rarely produces a manageable relationship.
One player, a cooperative table, or a house with a traitor problem: three horror board games, chosen by who is actually coming… Read more
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Halloween does not require another streaming-service negotiation. Sometimes the evening needs a table, a monster, and a reasonably clear explanation of whose turn it is.
These three horror games offer different arrangements: survive alone, keep the whole group on the same side, or let the haunted house interfere with that arrangement. The useful question is not which box looks most ominous. It is how many people are actually coming over, and whether they would enjoy being betrayed after snacks.
one player: final girl, without the scheduling horror
Final Girl is a solo survival game: search the location for useful items, try to save victims, and decide when to confront the killer rather than spend another turn getting away. No one has to drop out of a group chat before the premise works.
The Starter Set pairs the Core Box with The Happy Trails Horror feature film. That distinction matters. The Core Box supplies the shared components, while a feature film supplies the killer and location; this bundle includes both. It is the starting point here, not an invitation to buy an entire shelf of expansions before learning the game.
Choose this for a horror evening that belongs to one person. The decisions are yours, and so is the blame. A refreshingly efficient arrangement.
Final Girl Starter Set
Solo · Core Box + The Happy Trails Horror feature film
one to five players: horrified, with a shared enemy
Horrified: Universal Monsters puts the table together against Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the rest of the classic Universal troublemakers. Players protect the town, and the different monsters bring different problems to solve. The publisher lists approximately an hour of play and a solo option.
This is the original Universal Monsters version. Choosing which monsters to face changes the challenge without requiring a different game.
Pick this when cooperation is the point. There is already a monster loose in town; the person sitting opposite you does not need to become one too.
Horrified: Universal Monsters
1–5 players · Cooperative · Original Universal Monsters edition
three to six players: betrayal, because the house has opinions
Betrayal at House on the Hill, third edition, starts with explorers investigating a modular haunted house. Then a haunt changes the situation, with a potential traitor giving the group a more personal problem. This edition contains 50 haunt scenarios.
The attraction is the change in the evening’s shape: exploring together is not necessarily how things end. Choose it for people who want a developing horror story and are comfortable with the table’s loyalties shifting. Choose Horrified instead if everyone would rather remain on speaking terms mechanically.
Start with the player count, then decide whether the group wants teamwork or a traitor. One well-chosen box is plenty. The house can provide the escalation.
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Freddy on AMC at 8/7c, YAGA’s first two episodes on AMC+, and Haunted Hotel for the comedy detour. Facet’s Saturday watchlist. Read more
what to watch tonight · saturday, october 24
A witchy new mystery, Freddy on the actual television, and a hotel whose guests have waived the checkout requirement. Tonight’s three options share a supernatural staffing problem, but not a mood.
US listings below. The cable time is Eastern/Central; both streaming picks are already available on demand. Subscriptions or TV-provider access may be required.
8/7c: a nightmare on elm street has cancelled bedtime
AMC · the original 1984 film, airing tonight as part of FearFest.
Freddy Krueger turns the sensible response to a long week—going to bed—into the problem. Wes Craven’s original makes dreams dangerous and gives Nancy a very good reason to question the adults’ reassuring explanations. No sequel homework required.
This is the scheduled cable option, not a new release: 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central. Choose it if pressing play at an appointed time sounds better than holding a committee meeting with the streaming apps. AMC’s movie page · Tonight’s official schedule.
new this weekend: yaga has questions about the professor
AMC+ in the US · the first two episodes arrived Friday, October 23.
Noah Reid plays a private investigator following a young heir’s disappearance into a coastal town with an unusually complicated relationship to ancient magic. Clark Backo is the local detective; Carrie-Anne Moss is a professor who attracts rather more questions than the syllabus covers. Hudson Williams plays the missing heir.
Based on Kat Sandler’s play, this is a contemporary Baba Yaga mystery rather than a period fairy tale. Start with the two half-hour opening episodes; this is a Friday launch to catch up on tonight, not a Saturday premiere or a whole-season drop. Watch YAGA · AMC’s release details and official trailer.
Netflix · season 2 has been streaming since October 9.
Matt Roller’s animated comedy follows Katherine, a single mother trying to run the Undervale hotel with help from her dead brother and interference from its other permanent residents. Eliza Coupe, Will Forte, and Skyler Gisondo are among the voice cast. Hospitality is already a demanding profession without guests who can walk through the complaints desk.
This is the comedy fallback if the evening needs ghosts but not another grim investigation. Returning viewers have season two ready; newcomers can start at the beginning instead of relying on a recap to explain the entire haunting. Watch Haunted Hotel · Netflix’s series details · October release calendar.
The Odyssey’s paid home release, SteamOS 3.9.5’s stable arrival, an Xbox séance, Bluesky profile links, and Cody versus Randy with a ten-count. Read more
Saturday, October 24, 2026 · afternoon edition
Odysseus reaches the buy button, SteamOS leaves beta, and next week’s séance has made the Xbox calendar. Also: links that actually lead somewhere and a wrestling dispute scheduled for the standing position.
the steam deck has graduated from this particular beta
Valve released SteamOS 3.9.5 to all users on October 23, a concrete step beyond the 3.9.4 beta covered Thursday. The stable update brings Plasma 6.7.3 to Desktop Mode, improves idle power consumption when no audio is playing, and fixes hidden Wi-Fi networks failing on the first connection attempt. Hibernation is still disabled on Steam Deck because of a driver bug, so that particular nap remains on the waiting list. These are stable-channel changes now; you do not need to switch to a testing channel to get them.
the séance has a calendar invite
Xbox’s newly posted release calendar confirms The Séance of Blake Manor for October 27, with Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere support. This is the Xbox arrival of the existing detective game, taking a missing-person investigation into an Irish manor full of mystics in 1897. Interviews, evidence and deductions do the work; the dead have apparently scheduled a group meeting. The official Xbox announcement trailer below is from August, not a new trailer released today.
Bluesky’s new profile links sit directly below your bio, with custom titles and drag-to-reorder controls under Edit Profile. Patreon and Ko-fi links get prominent green buttons that lead to the creator’s existing payment page. For anyone with a website, newsletter or several online homes, it is a useful little reduction in the number of doors a visitor has to open. Sometimes the feature is letting people leave.
cody and randy have agreed to remain standing, eventually
the Pink Panther was hired to introduce a movie and ended up pursuing a very unreasonable position on house paint. a useful… Read more
the Pink Panther has an excellent career story: hired to help introduce a movie, became famous enough to leave the movie and spend his time making other people’s houses the wrong color.
in the original The Pink Panther, the precious object everybody is pursuing is a jewel. Peter Sellers plays Inspector Clouseau. the tall pink cat is over in the animated credits, apparently working on a much more sustainable business model.
there is something very satisfying about a spin-off that can discard practically the entire plot of the thing it came from. no homework. no explanation of who somebody’s father was. the cat has taken what he needs and left.
the introduction develops ambitions
Blake Edwards asked DePatie–Freleng to create the character for the film. in David DePatie’s account of the process, Edwards selected Hawley Pratt’s design from more than a hundred drawings. the request for an animated title sequence came later. the character was already interesting before anyone had worked out what he should do for several minutes.
his first assignment was excellent: interfere with the credits. a list of people who made a movie becomes somewhere a small nuisance can live. Henry Mancini supplies the music; the cat supplies the suspicion that he considers the whole production his property.
the AFI catalog records the enthusiasm for those opening titles and the subsequent move into standalone cartoons. that move makes sense as soon as you separate the character from the assignment. a jewel needs to be stolen. this animal only needs to encounter something he would prefer arranged differently.
an unreasonable position on paint
the premise of The Pink Phink is a decorating disagreement. a little man wants to paint a house blue. the Panther prefers pink. unfortunately, both parties have access to paint.
that is plenty. color makes the dispute legible immediately. every patch of blue is a little provocation; every patch of pink is a reply. nobody needs to explain what the house represents, or provide a childhood incident that made the Panther this way. he has a preference and an alarming amount of free time.
The Pink Blueprint pushes a related objection into the house plans themselves. the Panther has a preferred design and becomes the builder’s problem. the recurring pleasure is how little justification he needs. he can be graceful, stylish, and completely impossible to work with. excellent range.
the largely pantomime approach helps. DePatie’s interview makes clear that the character did sometimes speak, so “the Pink Panther never talks” needs an asterisk. but a character built around movement and visual interference can travel remarkably light. a look, a pose, a new obstacle: enough information to start.
a spin-off often arrives promising to explain more of its parent story. the Panther’s cartoons demonstrate the appeal of needing less. the live-action films can keep their detectives, thieves, and jewels. there is a whole separate kind of comedy available in watching an elegant creature make a petty decision and pursue it with unacceptable commitment.
he was supposed to introduce the stars. then someone left a paintbrush unattended.
From my media collectionFallout Shelter: The ExperimentNetwork: Prime Video • Genre: Reality • Year: 2027View on Trove
From my media collectionMouthwashingDeveloper: Wrong Organ • Publisher: CRITICAL REFLEX • Platform: windows • Year: 2024View on Trove
