We begin this week’s edition of “Rob’s Finds” with a touching and poignant moment in the life of a noted TV writer: “Tim Kring apologizes for calling fans ‘dips***s’”:

“Heroes” creator Tim Kring apologized for calling his fans “saps and dipshits” at the recent Screenwriting Expo panel for not using DVRs.

For those who have not followed this story in the blogsphere, it’s been more entertaining than “Heroes” this season, with the NBC show’s fans cast as offended victims and its creator in the role as the heartless villain (hey, he’s got the goatee).

Here’s Kring’s original quote, first reported by IGN:

[Serialized storytelling is] a very flawed way of telling stories on network television right now, because of the advent of the DVR and online streaming. The engine that drove [serialized TV] was you had to be in front of the TV [when it aired]. Now you can watch it when you want, where you want, how you want to watch it, and almost all of those ways are superior to watching it on air. So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the dips**s who can’t figure out how to watch it in a superior way.

Time’s blog did a detailed breakdown that enumerated all the ways this was a bone-headed statement, so I won’t rehash them here. Basically, after weeks of “Heroes” losing ratings, a lingering hardcore group of viewers have stuck with the show, fans who are willing and able to keep track of “Heroes” confusing array of intertwining plots. The last thing NBC wants is for that remaining audience to feel insulted for watching the program live — the primary manner tracked by advertisers.

Now an apologetic message from Kring (below) is making the rounds. NBC verifies its legitimacy but otherwise has no comment:

“I need to strongly apologize for the slightly mangled quote of mine that is making it’s way around the internet. It was made while trying to explain the rise in DVR and online audience for the show. I was making the point that these platforms now offer a superior way to watch the show (without commercials, with extra content, commentary, at the audience’s convenience, etc.) … It was a boneheaded attempt at being ‘cute’ and making a point. Instead, it turned out to be just plain insulting and stupid.”

Apology accepted, Tim. Now about some of the plot twists on your TV series…

One thing I think we’ve all come to know and love about Rob Fuller is that he is a visual dude. Whether it’s some guy with too much time on his hands going all Avatar on himself, freaky hand drawn posters from Ghana, or a weird obsession with Arnold Schwarzenegger turning Japanese, Rob is on a constant quest to provide visual stimulation to faithful GITS readers. So it is with great pleasure I present to you just a few of Rob’s latest finds: “18 Vintage Sci-Fi Posters: Robots, Aliens, Monsters, and Hot Women”:

Invasion of the Saucer-Men

Tobor The Great

Ray Gun Robot

Oh, the depravity! I mean… the humanity!

Lest you think Rob spends all his time lurking through the darker, more sensual aspects of human-alien romance, I think it best to reveal Rob at his intellectual best. No, I mean seriously. Clearly this next item meant something to Rob for unlike most of his mysterious emails to me, which come with nothing more than a title in the subject line and a link, Rob actually wrote me a message about this one: “The Importance of… Visual Effects”:

This a great article on the importance of visual effects in film making. While we are not in this part of the process, I think it’s important to understand what is going to move the viewing audience. With this knowledge, I believe writers can put out more compelling material.

Which I take to mean [best Sally Field]: “He LIKES us. Rob really LIKES us!” From the article:

VISUAL EFFECTS AS DRAMATIC IRONY

One man who knew how to make the most of visual effects was the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. Whether it was for dream sequences that took us into the protagonist’s inner psyche ala Vertigo or chase sequences on top of Mount Rushmore to add visual qualities to the storytelling, Hitch knew exactly what he was doing when it came to using visual effects to contribute to the drama of his films.

Take The Birds as a solid example of this and as also perhaps one of the finest uses of dramatic irony ever executed on screen.

In a truly classic scene the lead female protagonist played by Tipi Hedren sits outside on a school bench whilst waiting for the children to finish school. She sits and smokes whilst listening to the calming sound of the children singing which echoes from the school walls. Then a bird appears on the playground apparatus in the background. Gradually followed by another. And then another. The protagonist remains unaware however as the singing continues to swell over the scene. By the time she realises hundreds of birds have gathered within the playground just as the children are getting ready to leave.

The scene is very impressive for a number of reasons. From a technical standpoint the huge gathering of birds was a complex shot which optically combined over two dozen separate elements. What is really remarkable however is how this impressive technical feat is used to build tension through suspenseful dramatic irony, the perfectly timed transition from calm to panic and the contrast of the peaceful singing with the killing intent of the birds in the park.

Try and imagine now how someone like Michael Bay would have handled this scene? I don’t know about you but I’m picturing the birds straight up invading the school and breaking in through the windows, Tipi Hedren running up the hill with a machine gun to save them, feathers flying through the air and a gamut of blood, explosions and violence. It would all be a big spectacle that you would remember only until the next big spectacle ten minutes later.

Any article that mentions Michael Bay and Alfred Hitchcock in the same paragraph is either something you really should read… or really shouldn’t. I leave it up to you to decide.

Rob sent me so many links this week, I had a hard time choosing which one to close with, but since we started off with talking about the public humiliation of a Hollywood professional, why not round off today’s RF with yet more public humiliation:

“8 Inauspicious Early Roles For Famous Actors”:

I wonder if Laurence took the red pill or the blue pill to get this gig?

1- Benicio Del Toro- “Big Top Pee Wee”

Hey, isn’t that the same make-up that BDT used in the just released The Wolfman?

Thanks again, Rob, for another week of Rob’s Finds.