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SFU men’s basketball drop first two home games of GNAC season

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Peak Web
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Not much went the Clan's way on the two-game home stand. (Photo courtesy of SFU Athletics)

On Thursday, January 3 and Saturday, January 5, the Clan played their first two games of the calendar year against the Saint Martin’s University Saints and the Seattle Pacific University Falcons. The games were also the first two home games of the SFU’s GNAC season. Unfortunately for the home side, however, neither game went as planned, with both opponents finding it too easy to score against the Clan defence.

Game 1 vs. Saint Martin’s University

While the Clan played well for some stretches, Saint Martin’s went on a couple of huge runs that made it impossible for SFU to get back into the game. For example, a 19–0 run to start the game for SMU took the life out of the West Gym.

After being down by as much as 30–4, however, the Clan played the rest of the first half the way they wish they would’ve started out. A 9–0 run capped off by a three-pointer from guard Othniel Spence brought some life back into the gym, and the home team were able to go into the break by a more respectable score of 51–37. This came after Rhett Baerlocher scored a buzzer beating three to end the first half of play.

Any chance of a comeback was nulled in the opening minutes of the second half, as the Saints went up by 24 with less than 14 minutes left in the frame. The Clan were unable to cut the lead to less than 16 points from then on, as Saint Martin’s cruised to a 20-point win.

The Saints were led by BJ Stanley, who had 22 points on only seven field goal attempts, going 12–12 from the free-throw line.

For the Clan, Spence had a solid game, leading SFU with 17 points and three three-pointers.

Game 2 vs. Seattle Pacific University

The Clan would not have much better luck on Saturday when they took on the Falcons.

While they did not get off to a rough start like Thursday’s game, keeping the game within five points for the first nine minutes or so, the end of the first half cost the Clan any chance of a victory. Seattle went on a 22–4 run to end the half, taking a 49–25 lead into halftime. SFU could hardly buy a bucket during this time, while SPU had their way in getting into the point on the offensive end.

Being down by such a large deficit, the Clan were always going to have a hard time coming back, and unsurprisingly, they were unable to do so. They would eventually lose by a score of 94–66.

The Falcons did a good job of scoring by committee, while the Clan only had two players (Julian Roche and Wilfried Balata) in double figures. Both players also shot over 50% from the floor.

What’s next:

SFU will now hit the road for a three game road trip, facing off against Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, and Western Washington University. Their next game is against Central Washington University on Thursday, January 10. Tip off for that one is at 7:30 p.m.

Carols of January

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Peak Web
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Momo Lin

Written by: Kitty Cheung

Ahh, back to school season for the new year. The Peak has compiled a list of January carols to help us get back into the spirit of leaving behind our protective winter-break blanket cocoons and bursting into the soul-sucking peril of our education system. Cheers to spring term!

Let It Burn

Oh, the Burnaby Mountain weather is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we failed this paper last term,

Let It Burn! Let It Burn! Let It Burn!

O Holy Syllabus

O holy syllabus my eyes are brightly burning

from reading this small print and lack of sleep

I’ll carelessly stuff you in my bag, spurning

then pore over you the morning of the final and weep

Rudolf the Sleep-Deprived Student

Rudolf the Sleep-Deprived Student

was only ever hyped up on coffee

and if you ever saw him

you would doubt he’d finish his degree

Then one foggy 8:30 class

The prof came to say:

“Rudolph with your head nodding slow

I’m afraid a zero in participation I will bestow!”

Paycheques Roasting on an Open Fire

Paycheques roasting on an open fire,

Papa Petter nipping on your tuition,

Financial situation is dire,

At least this part-time pays commission

All I Want in January

All I want in January is a passing grade

hung on by barely a thread last year

needed some winter cheer

now I’m ready to continue the academic cascade

hoping for a “meets expectations” fate

Deck the 145

Deck the 145 with winter coats and antisocial earphones

Compass-card beeps x9

‘Tis the season to read Reddit and ignore your classmates

“Please move to the rear of the bus” x9

Board Shorts

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Peak Web
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Irene Lo / The Peak

Written by: Michelle Gomez and Henry Tran 

Board to potentially apply a no-show fee on Clubs Days starting this semester

At the latest Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) board of directors meeting on Jan. 4, the board discussed whether to charge clubs a fee of $20 if they don’t show up at their booked table by 10:45 a.m. on Clubs Days.

At the moment, the board is finalizing the terms and conditions for Clubs Days and these will be made available to the public once it’s fully agreed upon. All conditions will apply to all student groups tabling at Clubs Days, including independent student societies.

According to Samer Rihani, acting president of the SFSS, it costs the SFSS about $15 to book a table and $25 to book a table along with a backboard for Clubs Days.

“For a club that has very minimal funding, [this new practice] can be enough of an impact. I think that as long as it comes with a kind of statement or an email at least warning people, [it can incentivize groups to show up],” said Rihani.

If there is an empty table on Clubs Days after 11:00 a.m., this table will be allocated to another club and clubs have up to 24 hours to change their table booking. Clubs Days is expected to take place from Jan. 15–23 for the spring 2019 semester.

Munchie Mondays

The board approved the motion to put $2,521.16 toward Munchie Mondays, which is an initiative that was started last year. It involves handing out free food on campus on Monday mornings outside MBC 2220, essentially to “provide breakfast to students who don’t have a chance to eat,” said Russell Dunsford, environment representative.

The program will go through a trial period of one month (the first four Mondays of this semester) and then will be re-evaluated by the board to determine whether to continue. If deemed successful, the program can then be extended on either a weekly/monthly/semesterly basis.

Announcement of SFSS Women of the Year Awards

The Women of the Year Award is a new initiative by the SFSS that recognizes exceptional women in the SFU community. A draft document sent from the SFSS to The Peak says that “the purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding student efforts to create a climate that encourages women to succeed at Simon Fraser University.”

Nominees must be self-identifying female undergraduate students in good standing (in terms of paid tuition and fees, not academic standing).

There will be a nomination period where students can nominate peers in each faculty that “demonstrate a commitment to creating an equitable campus environment,” according to the draft document sent to The Peak by the SFSS.

The pool of nominees will be narrowed down by an external committee to 3–5 women from each faculty. From this, students will vote for one winner from each faculty, for a total of eight winners. Among other prizes, the winners will win a ticket to see Michelle Obama in Vancouver.

Transit Talk: Your bus won’t come on time, even with a snowless winter

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Peak Web
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Illustration by: Joy Tian

After several wet, cold, class-cancellation snow falls over the past few years, it looks like the upcoming months may be a much-needed break from the slush-winter/smoke-summer rotation in the Greater Vancouver area. It’s welcome news for most, but there is some concern at TransLink, who will no longer be able to blame the inconsistency of their buses on the weather. A leaked internal memo has revealed that the following announcements have been prepared for public released over the upcoming months.

  • “We’re not late, we’re early” – In an effort to compensate for all of the snow from last year, buses are leaving earlier than their listed times. The lack of weather concerns have caused buses to arrive at their stops five, 10, or more minutes early. The bus came, but you weren’t there.
  • “Environmental concerns” – Obviously, global warming is contributing to the lack of snow, and that should be alarming to everyone. Therefore, as an environmentally conscious company, TransLink has decided not to run your bus today. We would’ve sent you a memo earlier, but we didn’t want to waste electricity.
  • “Health risks for drivers” – We stocked up on road salt after last winter and used barely any for the entire month of December. Therefore, it was a logical next step to use some of the extra salt in the cooking for our annual company holiday party. Allegedly, this has led to a 750% increase in hypertension among our drivers, so we think it’s best not to put too much pressure on them, at least until the lawsuit is settled.
  • “Just ride your bike” – The most common New Year’s resolutions involve personal fitness, and what better way to live your fitness goals than to bike instead of taking transit? Of course, getting a bike onto a bus is a total pain in the ass, so we’re making transit a less reliable option in order to encourage you to bike all the way to your destination. Our hope is that our customers will appreciate our concern for their health, and thank us by not complaining about the fare hike that is definitely coming in the spring.
  • “It’s actually snowing now” – That’s right, folks: it’s the first week of March and we have our first snow of the season. Because in Vancouver, nobody can be ever right about the weather.

Written: Trevor Roberts

SFU earns split in key two-game weekend as BCIHL playoff race heats up

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Peak Web
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The Clan lost to Selkirk at home for the second time this season. (Photo courtesy of SFU hockey)

By: Dylan Webb

The SFU hockey team returned from their brief winter break from academic and athletic duties to play the two most important games of their BCIHL season thus far. Facing off against the league-leading Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans on Thursday night and another of their main rivals, the Selkirk Saints, at home on Saturday, SFU hoped to leapfrog their Castlegar-based nemesis in the standings and turn the page on a disappointing first half of the season.

Unfortunately for SFU fans, a couple of tight, one-goal games over the opening weekend of 2019 play left the Clan earning just two of four points. This showing means that SFU will continue to occupy the fourth playoff seed, at least for now.

On the upside, defeating the Trinity Western Spartans for the first time in four regular-season matchups (with the exception of a September exhibition win) gives the team at least one win over each of their four BCIHL opponents this year, demonstrating their ability to grind out a victory against any team in the league. In a league with few teams, intense rivalries, and playoffs on the horizon, this is certainly an important Clan milestone.

 On Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre, the Clan came out of the gates hard and had their first period of play in 2019 as one of their best periods of play this regular season.  Supported by the first-period tallies from Eric Callegari and team point leader Nic Holowko, veteran Graham Smerek would add another early in the second to give the Clan a three-goal lead.

Following the first 25 minutes of action, team system play loosened up a bit for the road team, resulting in a much tighter result than the team would have hoped for. The team continued to add offense throughout the final two frames, consisting of first career BCIHL goals for both Kyle Bergh and Jakob Krannabetter, as well as a first BCIHL point for defenseman Daniyal Nussipakynov; however, SFU also collectively committed several defensive breakdowns. These allowed Trinity Western to score four goals within the second half of the game, including two in the final five minutes.

Regardless of the less than ideal fashion the two points were earned in, handing the league-leading Spartans their second regulation loss of the entire season, a 5–4 nail-biter, certainly built momentum to kick off the 2019 portion of the schedule.

On Saturday night, however, a low-scoring affair between two teams battling for playoff position ended in favour of the visitors sending the Bill Copeland crowd home disappointed that the Clan were unable to defeat Selkirk at home for a second time this season. Forward Jaret Babych had the lone goal for the Clan as they struggled to penetrate scoring areas and were kept to the perimeter for much of the game despite sending 33 shots on net. Two second-period goals from Saints forward Edward Lindsey were all the Saints would need offensively to secure the 2–1 victory as they benefited from a strong goaltending performance of their own.

Starting both games in goal for the Clan, Michael Lenko had one of the best weekends of play of his first BCIHL season. Stopping 56 of 62 shots over the span of both games, Lenko enabled his team to secure the three-goal lead in Langley on Thursday with a stellar first period. On Saturday, holding the Saint offense to just two goals, Lenko, again, suffered from a general lack of offensive support from his teammates.

Asked about the most important improvements and adjustments the team made coming in to their fourth game of the year against TWU, Lenko pointed to a more “complete game” while the fact that the team did a better job of “keeping [their] emotions in check and therefore staying out of the box.” Looking ahead to key matchups with the two Vancouver Island teams, Lenko acknowledged that there is “still work to do with ensuring that [the team plays] a full 60 minutes as a team and clean up the little mistakes that can end up in the back of [their] own net”.

SFU now faces a thirteen-day break from regular season action before returning to the ice on Vancouver Island. After visiting the recently upgraded UVIC Vikes on Friday, January 18, the team will head to Nanaimo for their fourth game of the season against the VIU Mariners.  

The Clan, as mentioned, continue to occupy the fourth and last playoff seed in the BCIHL standings, which would likely mean a first-round matchup with the powerhouse TWU Spartans against which the team currently holds a 1–3 regular season record. Despite this, they still have plenty of time to make up ground with 1–2 games in hand on each of their competitors.

After the Vancouver Island double-header, the team returns home to Bill Copeland Sports Centre for the fifth and penultimate match up with the league leading TWU Spartans the following weekend on January 26. 

Things to look out for in SFU sports in 2019

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Peak Web
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After winning GNAC coach of the year in 2018, Thomas Ford will be looking to get into the win column in the GNAC this year. (Photo courtesy of SFU Athletics)

As we begin 2019, it’s always good to look ahead at some exciting things that could happen in the new year. In SFU sports particularly, there is a lot to be excited about in the near future. Can SFU football win their first GNAC game since 2014? Can SFU men’s soccer advance to the national tournament? How will Emma Pringle fare in her senior season? Find out what excites us in SFU sports in 2019 here.

SFU men’s basketball to make the postseason

It’s still very early in the GNAC season, but the SFU men’s basketball team has been playing some really good ball to start off the year. They’re 1–1 in the GNAC so far, but are 7–3 overall this season, and have yet to lose at home. The team is moving the ball much better than they were last year, and they’re finding their shooters when they need to. Improved size is helping their efforts on defence and rebounding, which were two areas that needed improvement from last year. It will be a grind, but the Clan should be competitive in 2019.

SFU swim team at NCAA Championships

After finishing with an incredible 14 All-American performances at the NCAA Championships in 2018, we’re excited to see what the SFU swim team has in store for this year. The team has had a strong start to the 2018-2019 season, with multiple SFU records already broken this year. Look for big performances from Mackenzie Hamill, Rolando Hernandez, and Adrian Vanderhelm on the men’s side, and Jessie Gibson and Kaleigh Sharkey for the women.

A big 2019 for SFU track and field

SFU track and field is poised to have a very successful season in 2019. The women’s side in particular looks incredibly strong. Led by seniors Addy Townsend and Julia Howley, who have both had amazing SFU careers so far, and with a strong supporting cast, the team is set to compete at nationals with the possibility of making a lot of noise at the national tournament. The group had an all-american performance last season, when they finished third in the distance medley relay in Pittsburgh, Kansas last year. Look for them to improve upon that mark this year.

SFU football to win their first GNAC game since 2014

If Las Vegas had odds on SFU football winning a conference game in 2019, I would put some money down. Not only because I actually believe it could happen, but also because the odds would probably be pretty generous. The Clan lost two GNAC games by only one possession in 2018, both by a score of 23–16 to Humboldt State University. In Thomas Ford’s second season as head coach, I think it’s fair to expect some improvements by the squad. We’ll win one of our matchups against Humboldt State this year.

Emma Pringle to dominate the GNAC

After being a top scorer in the GNAC her first three seasons at SFU, look for Emma Pringle to dominate once again in 2019. In fact, we would be surprised if she doesn’t lead the entire conference in scoring. In the last three seasons, Pringle has finished with nine, 14 and 11 goals respectively, always finishing in the top three in her conference in scoring. Look for her to go out strong in her senior season at SFU, and lead an exciting SFU offence.

SFU men’s soccer to get another shot

Yes, the Clan have won three straight GNAC titles, but at this point, that is not enough for a group that knows that they are one of the best in the entire nation. For three straight years, they have faced Cal Poly Pomona to advance to the National Championships, and for three straight years, they have been shocked in defeat. While the team will be losing important seniors such as Mamadi Camara and Michael North, the rest of the group will be gaining another year of experience. With key pieces like Matteo and Marcello Polisi, Connor Glennon, Aidan Bain and others returning, look for 2019’s group to win another GNAC title, and possibly do a lot more.

Ten sports predictions for 2019

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Peak Web
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Could 2019 see Colin Kaepernick return to the NFL? (Photo courtesy of Fox News)

Toronto Raptors retain Kawhi Leonard in free agency

When the Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard in July, the initial widespread reaction was that the Raptors had given up a lot for what many believed would be a one-year rental. So far, however, the risk has paid off, as the Raptors have a league-best 28 wins through 39 games and could have an even better record if they weren’t hit so hard by the injury bug.

Leonard knows that he is on one of the best teams in the association, and with a rising star in Siakam beside him and tons of cap space in 2020, I think he sees Toronto as his best chance to win another championship. That should be enough to keep him.

At least one of the “big four” leave the Golden State Warriors in free agency

To start this off, no, Demarcus Cousins does not count as one of the “big four” in Golden State. The only scenario I could see him resigning with the Warriors is if one of their other big stars leave, and even then it’s far from guaranteed.

Sure, the Warriors are the greatest basketball team ever assembled, but I think somebody decides they want a bit more of the ball or a bit more money, and decides to leave. There have been reported issues between teammates Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, and I’ve always wondered how Klay Thompson would fare in an expanded role. At least one of Thompson, Durant or Green will suit up for a different NBA team in 2019.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lives up to the hype

After a couple of exciting seasons in 2015 and 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays have entered into a major rebuild of the team. During this rebuild, they have unearthed one of the brightest prospects in all of baseball in third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., son of Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero.

Despite the excitement around this prospect, however, he has yet to play in a major league game, even though he absolutely destroyed the minor leagues in 2018. He will surely play in the big leagues in 2019, and he’s expected by baseball analysts to be an impact player from the moment he steps onto the field. I expect the 19-year-old to be the best hitter on the Blue Jays this upcoming season, and look every bit the potential superstar that many have touted him to be.

Bryce Harper will pick Philadelphia

It feels like everyday I read something about where Bryce Harper will go in free agency. The Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies are both rumoured to be offering Harper a 10-year deal, which is crazy considering he would be 36 by the end of that contract. At the end of the day, though, money talks, and given that the White Sox lost 62 games last year, I can see Harper picking the city of brotherly love.  

Barcelona win the treble

Out of all my predictions, this is probably the least likely given all the factors at play. Anything can happen in the Copa Del Rey or the Champions League, and the team are only three points up in the La Liga table as it currently stands.

However, even though all is not perfect in Barcelona, I could see them winning all three competitions in 2019. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are playing fantastic up front, the drama surrounding Dembele has seemed to die down, and honestly, even though I’m not a Barcelona fan, I just want to see it happen. Hopefully,  they match up against Juventus at some point so we can be treated to another Messi versus Ronaldo matchup.

Lionel Messi wins Ballon d’Or

Let me start this off by saying that it was outrageous that Messi finished as low as fifth in last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings. Even with that voting mishap, however, I’m still pretty confident that the soccer world sees Messi as either the best or second-best player in the world. Messi has no major national team tournament to choke in this year, as good a chance as anybody to win the Champions League, and plenty of anger from both him and others over last year’s results — I can see Messi reminding the soccer world of just how great he is.

Neymar will switch sides once again

When Neymar left Barcelona in the summer of 2017, there were few people in the soccer world that weren’t shocked. This year, I could see him shocking the soccer world once again.

After losing Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, Real Madrid will be looking to get another Galáctico on their side as soon as possible. Surprisingly, Barcelona has been rumoured to be trying to get Neymar back on their side next summer as well. Lastly, PSG may be forced to move one of Neymar or Kylain Mbappe this summer due to financial fair play rules. Get ready for one of the biggest transfer sagas we’ve ever seen.

Vancouver Canucks get it right in 2019

Surprisingly, the Canucks are playing competitive hockey into the new year. For most fans, this is a good thing, as the team has an actual shot at playing playoff hockey in 2019. More than likely, however, this is not quite a playoff team. The worst place to be in professional sports is in the middle, as your team is unable to compete for a championship and not given the top picks it needs to rebuild.

While the Canucks are on course to be in this situation, I can see them capitalizing on a veteran or two before the trade deadline by trading them for draft picks, losing some games to get a higher draft pick, and making the necessary moves to get this franchise back to winning in 2020 and beyond.

New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl

Picking a Super Bowl winner in 2019 is as hard as any year that I can remember, but that’s not going stop me from giving it a shot. The Saints are led by Drew Brees, but don’t get it mistaken: they have difference-makers all over the field. NFL analysts have been predicting them as a Super Bowl champion since before the season even began, and they have done nothing to make me think that they shouldn’t still be considered the favourites.

Colin Kaepernick returns to the NFL

Colin Kaepernick deserves to be on a NFL team. Sure, he might not be a major difference-maker at this point, but there are many teams that could use him as a backup, and some that might even allow him to get some starts. The thing that has kept him out of the league these last few years is the drama that has surrounded him. Even after his appearance as the face of a Nike advertisement, however, this drama has seemed to die down. All it takes is one team that is willing to give him a shot, and 2019 could be the year that it happens.

Staying In: The End of the F***ing World

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Peak Web
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Image courtesy of Clerkenwell Films

By: Kim Regala, Peak Associate

Best for: Quirky-romance lovers, anti-hero allies, and people with a dark sense of humour

It’s funny, twisted, and everything in between. It’s Dexter meets any quirky romance movie, but in all the right ways. The End of the F***ing World, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re definitely fucking missing out!

When 17-year-old Alyssa moves to a new high school, she meets James: a social outcast whose hobby is killing small animals. She’s determined to find her long-lost father, while he’s eager to make her his first human target. Together, they embark on a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns along the way.

This Netflix series is a romantic coming-of-age story about two odd yet inexplicably lovable characters. One is fully convinced he’s a psychopath, while the other is the embodiment of an angsty teen gone wild. There’s almost too much to enjoy, from the stunning cinematography to James and Alyssa’s quirkiness. However, what truly sets The End of the F***ing World apart is how it perfectly blends dark humour with the innocence of young, reckless love. The two lovebirds really start to grow on you, and by the last episode, you’ll find yourself rooting for these anti-heroes.

The End of the F***ing World is available for streaming on Netflix.

Album Reviews

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Image courtesy of LRVN

By: Youeal Abera, Staff Writer

Last Day of Summer by Summer Walker

In a musical era where R&B made a comeback, Summer Walker managed to stand out amongst the group of women at the resurging genre’s forefront. As her soulful single, Girls Need Love, captured the attention of music-lovers this past summer, many were intrigued by the questions of who the young artist was and what she would do next. Nevertheless, as she dropped her debut album this past year, Last Day of Summer, Walker delivered a message loud and clear: her music and talent isn’t going anywhere.

The album opens with the smooth-serenading track titled “BP,” in which Summer denies a man’s romantic interest in spite of his lack of experience being turned down. Throughout this album, these elements of agency and empowerment are laden in the midst of the bass-heavy, slow-playing tracks. The album’s most popular song, “Girls Need Love,” expresses Walker’s desire to let her crush know that, just like any man, girls enjoy sex and should therefore be free to say so.

The final song on the album, “Just Like Me,” showcases Summer in a more vulnerable light, letting her significant other know that, even in lieu of the flaws found in their relationship, her belief that they belong together is ardent. This song’s transparency and raw emotion are the kind that not many, even in the world of R&B, have expressed in a very long time.

Although the Last Day of Summer album is only this songbird’s first, Walker’s grit and authenticity strongly indicate a prosperous career.

There You Have It by Reason

Discover vivid lyrics, descriptive story-telling, and profound resonance in There You Have It, the debut album by Top Dawg Entertainment’s Reason. An endearing and powerful record, Reason recalls being a young black man within a disenfranchised community in America.

After the humorous “Rufus Collection (Skit),” Reason exudes great ambition and determination on the album’s title track “There You Have It.” The intelligent wordplay, precise diction, and tangible, musical competence within the MC’s voice motivates listeners into believing that they too are more than capable of reaching any dream.

Reason uses another standout track, “Colored Dreams/Killers Pt.2,” to reveal the fallacy behind gang culture — a culture which provides nothing but pain and heartache while falsely advertising power and prosperity. The track offers a breath of fresh air for hip-hop, a genre in which young fans  who don’t actually come from “‘hoods,” brag about violent acts that they have never committed.

“State We In,” the second-to-last track on the album, is perhaps the most imperative message song on the record. An homage to the men and women from his community, Reason uses the song to accentuate the message of hope and faith. Reason also bravely admits some of his biggest fears on the track, stating “Tryin’ to stay strong, my biggest fear is my future son bein’ Trayvon / Or me Eric Garner, they murder me, then blame him for not havin’ a father”. Through admitting the fear of having his future son or himself die at the hands of law enforcement, Reason sheds light on a systematic issue of Black lives being murdered and discarded by America’s law system.  What’s most earnest about State We In is that in spite of Black men in hip-hop not typically being permitted to open up about significant worries, Reason admits a very real, daunting fear that he shares with other Black men.

With albums like this, hip hop doesn’t sound so dead. Instead, it sounds like Reason’s voice.

2018’s Best Netflix specials and shows

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Peak Web
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Image courtesy of Cosmopolitan

By: Kitty Cheung, Kate Olivares, and Winona Young

Hard Knock Wife

Ali Wong’s Hard Knock Wife is a comedy special that delivers feminist punches to sexist conceptions about motherhood and gender roles. As this Asian-American comedian goofs around on stage whilst pregnant with her second child, her maternal satire is fiercely dynamic, sexual, and glorious. Hard Knock Wife is the second Netflix comedy special Wong performed while pregnant, after 2016’s Baby Cobra.

Wong’s charismatic energy seems inexhaustible as she performs exaggerated facial expressions and over-the-top silly sexual pantomimes. Her jokes critique the double-standard of being a female comedian starting a family, advocate on behalf of mothers for maternity leave, and take splendid pride in the role of female breadwinner, earning more than her Harvard-educated husband.

The irony and feminist critique within Wong’s set make her a socially aware and intelligent comedian. Her cleverly observant wit and unapologetically brash persona, decked out in a cheetah-print dress, allow her to sparkle onstage — just like all moms. – KC

Dark Tourist

A travel show like no other, Dark Tourist is precisely the kind of fresh take on the travel genre that Netflix expertly made. Hosted by David Farrier, a renowned journalist with the driest humour possible, he tours the oddest and most bizarre corners of the globe.

Farrier rides through radiation-ridden ghost towns in Kazakhstan, goes on serial killer and murder tours in the heart of America, does a six-hour border-crossing simulation in Mexico, and so much more. What’s wonderful about Farrier as a host is that in the face of these bizarre terrors, he remains unflinching if a little too impulsive to satisfy his (and our) dark curiosity.

Each place is unique and too interesting to pass up, which makes it easy to binge the show in a whole sitting — Farrier’s travels range from campy to quirky to downright disturbing. Offbeat and fascinating in the best ways, Dark Tourist stands as one of Netflix’s most unique and exciting additions of 2018. – WY

Bandersnatch

This year, Netflix released its first interactive film — Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Its interesting format involves a choose-your-own-adventure style, where the audience is given the power to choose options which dictate the protagonist’s path.

The plot follows a 1980s computer programmer who tries to create a video game based off of a book. As Black Mirror fans would expect, writer Charlie Brooker adds that familiarly fucked-up, spit-in-your milk twist to the story. With Bandersnatch, however, this film has multiple twists within different storylines. Since its interactive format makes it possible to choose different paths that alter the narrative, the audience can go back and explore the multiple endings.

Whether you’re a newcomer to the disturbing sci-fi storytelling of Black Mirror or a diehard fan, watch this during a spoopy Netflix party with friends — together, you can chose the fate of the programmer, or else you can cuddle up in solitude and protect yourself in blanket armour for this compelling film addition to the Black Mirror anthology. – KC

Nanette

Provocative and blisteringly vulnerable, Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette is 2018’s comedy special to watch.

Perhaps labelling it a comedy special is misleading. She takes the stand-up format and the expectations that come with a big glossy stage and a Netflix audience, and subverts the genre by talking about how this artform is slowly destroying her from the inside out. Her self-deprecating wit, a trademark style that led to her success, continually hinders her mental health and acceptance of her sexuality, violence, and childhood turmoil. Gadsby goes further by confronting the audience with the comfort of structural ignorance. She delivers a devastating blow when she tells an upsetting anecdote, mentioning how she would usually add the punchline at this moment to relieve the tension. Instead, she says, “This tension? It’s yours. I’m not helping you anymore.”

In a rare feat for a comedy show, its excellence isn’t measured in laughs, but through the agonizing quiet. – KO

Queer Eye

Can you believe (that of course Queer Eye is included)? We can! Originally entitled Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in the early 2000s, it quickly became clear this reboot was one show we didn’t know we wanted but desperately needed. With 2018 being — for the lack of a better word — a clusterfuck, Queer Eye stood as the universal form of comforting chicken soup in a TV show.

Armed with hair products, tucked shirts, avocado recipes, and more, the Fab Five have come to make over several “heroes” both inside and out. Heartwarming in every way and more, what distinguishes Queer Eye as a home/self-makeover show is the true and earnest care they put into helping their subjects. They are encouraging, without being cruel; they root for the hero (and everyone else for that matter) to improve themselves but only to a realistic degree, which is about as wholesome as reality TV could ever get. Love yourself and go love the Fab Five. – WY

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society