Welcome, dear readers, to our regular letter column; a series of missives from and to the internet, delivered by a series of tubes.

We welcome your comments and questions. About anything! It could be about comics, it could be about baseball, it could even be about why you shouldn’t let your zucchini get too big (they get woody and lose their flavour, no matter what the stand at the farmer’s market tells you). Whoops, I guess I answered that one already. You could still ask something else, though. I have a great way to dehydrate eggplant just enough before you cook it that it tastes amazing and isn’t soggy.

You’re welcome, internet. (J)

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Scotty (@scottybomb) asks: What, in your opinion, is the best new show this TV season?

James: This is actually a hard one for me, partly because I haven’t yet watched Sleepy Hollow and I’m a week behind on Agents of SHIELD, but mostly because it’s just so darned early in the season. The way the pilot season/pickup process works, shows frequently get retooled in the months after the pilot but before anything airs. And even if they don’t (but especially if they do), it often takes a few episodes to really find a groove that works. As a result, it’s really hard to judge shows, particularly comedies, in the first few episodes. I usually try to try most comedies (unless I’ve been warned they’re so offensive (see: Dads) that I shouldn’t even try), and even if I don’t like one right away, I check back in the new year when they’re entering their back nine episodes. If I don’t like it then, I’ll accept that it’s just not for me, but unless a show is genuinely terrible right off the bat it’s really hard to tell.

That said, I am really loving Brooklyn Nine Nine. Cop procedurals are done to death, but B99 ends up feeling fresh because it’s a comedy, the same way that I like Psych because James Roday and Dule Hill get to act really goofy around murder. The difference here is that Andy Samberg is acting goofy around must less serious crimes, and despite the fact that I’m not often a big fan of Samberg’s projects outside of SNL, it works. It helps that his dynamic with his Captain is fairly well-rooted: one wants things to stay the same as they are and feels his own genuine talent justifies it, while the other doesn’t want a lack of discipline to affect his own genuinely precarious professional rise (he’s gay in a profession not usually seen as pro-LGBTQ). Each has a real reason for behaving the way they do, and their conflict is rooted in emotion that rings true. It’s easy, with a goofy comedy, to make the lead character infallible and super cool and untouchably funny no matter what the situation here. Instead Samberg’s Detective Peralta’s rebellious jokes come with signs of visible annoyance and exasperation. This means that he’s actually a real character and not just a joke highway, and the show is the better for it. The supporting cast is less developed right now, but again: it’s been three episodes. There’s more than enough time to make them more complex after a few weeks of selling the core character dynamic.

Brandon: I’m definitely going to stump for Sleepy Hollow. I heard that it was great, goofy fun from a few sources, and then Dylan Todd (aka @bigredrobot) pushed me over the edge when he talked about it on this week’s episode of Podcast! The Comics. It’s a show that plays a lot of stupid concepts with a straight face, but never once takes itself too seriously - or rather, it’s the kind of comic I love the best, only done in the television medium. And yes, I know, it’s not “historically accurate”, but come the fuck on, this is a show about how Ichabod Crane shown a secret map by George Washington and is charged with stopping the apocalypse, only to be put to sleep by his wife (who is a witch) to wake up 200 years or so later to continue fighting the good fight. I think they can bypass “legit history”.

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Scotty continues: Which superhero or villain would you elect as your mayor?

James: Superman. Like, it’s not even close. I actually typed his name instead of my own when I was setting up this entry, and not because of the usual narcissism. No, it’s because I’m that excited at the prospect of a character representing mankind at its brightest, best and most optimistic being a political leader. Some less great stories (*cough Superman: Red Son *cough*) like to portray Superman as a character who gets overwhelmed or seduced by power, but to me, Superman represents the best qualities of us all, even besides all the superpowers. His main strength is that he inspires people, whether it’s a comic where everybody gets his powers for a day and decide to help him because he’s always helped them, or a scene where he stops whatever he’s doing to keep a distraught teenager from killing herself, just by letting her know that she’s not alone. Superman’s real strength is his morality, and that kind of unswerving rightness is what makes him the ideal leader.

Brandon: My elected official is already in power in the Marvel U: J. Jonah Jamison for mayor, everyone! Reasoning? Well, Mark Waid used to talk about how they originally intented for Jonah’s run as mayor to be a huge disaster, before thinking things over and realizing the skinflint would probably be a perfect mayor - tight at budgetting and just pigheaded enough to keep things on track. So yeah. That guy. Wait, you probably meant super-powered? Eh. Whatever.

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Scott (@scottowilliams) asks: What are your favourite movies to watch on Halloween?

James: Assuming The Halloween Tree isn’t on basic cable (because let’s be real, what’s better that a bunch of kids risking their lives to save their sick friend by learning the true spirit of Halloween over the ages), my actual favourite is one that’s pretty hard to actually watch if I’m too lazy to find the right DVD edition, 1922′s silent German classic Nosferatu. It’s one of the scariest, moodiest movies I’ve ever seen - it actually scared me so much as a child that I made my parents come pick me up from the birthday party where I watched it because I couldn’t sleep hours later - and, in my mind, the perfect example of what Halloween is. Unfortunately, it’s not really on TV here or widely available here, which makes the next thing so great:

IT IS BEING PRESENTED BY THE EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ON HALLOWEEN WITH A LIVE PIPE ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I am excited as hell.

Brandon: Once when I was a kid, I watch Scream all alone in a dark basement and then woke up almost evey half hour thinking I was about to get stabbed to death, so I don’t really do Halloween movies. Normally, I just keep one watching whatever shows I’m behind on for the TV.

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Scott continues: What’s your favourite H. Jon Benjamin role?

James: I’m a fan of basically all of Benjamin’s roles, from Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist to Home Movies and beyond, but I think my favourite role of his might just be Bob Belcher on Bob’s Burgers. For a guy known for his monotone, he and the writers sure bring a nuance to Bob’s exasperated love for his family. It’s really nice to see.

Brandon: I’ve really only watched him on Archer, so there’s that.

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Scott asks exactly what James was hoping people would ask: Thoughts on the videos for “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball”?

James: Finally, a real question.

I’ve had a lot more time to watch, rewatch and ruminate on “We Can’t Stop,” so my thoughts on it are more fully formed than those on “Wrecking Ball.” Quite bluntly, I really like the video for “We Can’t Stop” because it perfectly matches what the song is about, namely hanging out with friends doing stupid shit and having fun. The video is basically a mishmash of shots of partying and hang-outs, sometimes taken literally from the lyrics (see: the twerking), other times much more generally (dancing, laughing), and hey, that’s what the song is about. Even the weird, vaguely creepy computerized head that goes with the deeply auto-tuned and manipulated male vocal riff fits the actual sound of the vocals themselves. The whole thing is on-topic the same way that Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” is; “Dirrty” was a song about being dirrty that showed Aguilera being provocative and, well, being dirrty. There was also a kick-ass motorcycle intro that “We Can’t Stop” doesn’t have, but well, not every video can be basically perfect. Even Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” had that fucked-up scary-ass clown that introduced a video that was mostly about Mariah Carey being sexy on a soundstage comma roller blades comma roller coaster. ”We Can’t Stop” is about having fun and telling adults that Cyrus isn’t going to stop just because adults tell her to, so guess what, adults who are expressing criticism of what she does in the video: she has literally told you for three minutes and fifty-three seconds that she doesn’t care.

Plus, the song has a line about doing cocaine in the bathroom, and you cannot tell me that the video doesn’t absolutely look like it was made by a bunch of people who just did a line of coke in the washroom.

“Wrecking Ball,” however, is a bit more fraught, and not just because it’s not actually a song by Bruce Springsteen. After all, most songs aren’t, and it hardly seems fair to judge them for it. No, the problem is that whereas “We Can’t Stop” is a sexy video for a sexy song, “Wrecking Ball” is a sexy video for a song that’s about a relationship gone wrong. And hey, that can be done. Justin Timberlake, I’m looking at you. ”Wrecking Ball,” however, is a really serious song, and the video sets that up as its primary identity by having the opening shot be Miley staring at the camera, crying. And then she nudes up, licks a sledgehammer and provocatively rides a wrecking ball. It’s on-the-nose like “We Can’t Stop,” sure, but only on the surface content. The shots of Miley being serious or a wrecking ball destroying the cinder block set are successful to an extent, but only until they cut to a shot of Miley licking something. The juxtaposition is jarring, and not in a good way. You can do a video that includes sexy aspects while combining them with more serious or emotional parts, while doing service to both. After all, look at how low-cut Mariah Carey’s top is in the video for “Always Be My Baby.” It’s very clearly attractive, but it doesn’t take away from the story of the young love that the rest of the video tells. Jennifer Paige’s “Crush” even manages to balance shirtless hunks in convertibles and a pretty lady in soft focus with a song that’s kinda about not giving into shirtless hunks in convertibles. It can be done, y’know? ”Wrecking Ball,” however, is confusing like a boner at a funeral.

Brandon: I hadn’t realized that I’d actually heard “We Can’t Stop” several times over the past few weeks. I’m not a huge radio guy, but when I’ve forgotten my iPod either at home or at work, and I don’t want to get depressed by listening to CBC’s The Current, I usually flip it to a high energy station to get me around - and that song is just on all the time, isn’t it? Or maybe I’ve just been listening at very specific times. I dunno. Anyway, yeah, those sure are some music videos that are on the television.

Listen, I would never begrudge a person for telling folks to fuck off with the slut shaming, but I feel as though Miley is over-correcting with these videos. I understand the idea behind them, and why she felt the need to make such a statement, but they’re both as subtle as aaayyyee uhh… a something. Can’t quite think of the word right now. Maybe ask again later?

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That’s it for the one hundred and fifth installment of Um, Actually. Check in every Monday and Thursday for a new batch of questions. If you have anything you’d like answered, hit up our contact page! If you submit anything via Twitter – to @blogaboutcomics, @Leask or @soupytoasterson – remember to include the hashtag #UMACTUALLY so that we don’t lose it. Remeber: you can ask us anything. Seriously, anything.