The Everything TV Post

[alexiscartwheel]

I've been slacking a bit on the school work this weekend. Yesterday I spent a lot of the day out in the yard planting and composting, and today I'm trying to work on laundry and cleaning. And in between I've been catching up on some TV watching. Maybe I should be doing projects, but I feel like a deserve a bit of time to relax, yeah? So without further ado, everything on TV ever. (Well, not quite.)

Bones is my newest TV obsession. I have no idea how this stayed under my radar for so long. It's a crime drama--a genre I've enjoyed since the days when I watched Murder, She Wrote with my mom--featuring a cast of completely nerdy characters. I'm always a fan of awesome leading ladies, so it's no surprise that I really love Brennan. She's incredibly smart and also quite the badass. It's pretty unusual for a female character to have such a violent streak, which makes for interesting watching. And she's endearingly socially incompetent. (She and Booth are kind of like the anti-Gilmore girls. Instead trading pop culture references, Bones has Brennan's deadpan "I don't know what that means.") Aside from all the strange cases, one of the things I really like about Bones is the amount of character development, which is unusual for a crime drama. And it's not just Brennan and Booth, the supporting characters get there moments too. Gotta say though, Booth seems to have a strangely encyclopedic knowledge of Catholicism. Yes, I know it's just to advance the plot, but it seems to come into play fairly regularly. I excuse it though, cause David Boreanez is pretty.

Anyway, in a nutshell, it's completely fabulous. I've finished the first season and moved on to the second, but it'll still be awhile before I actually get caught up.

Sarah Jane Adventures continues to deliver. I still think Rani's alright, but I'm not blown away; her mum and dad, however, are completely made of win. It's Sarah-lite this week, which is pretty cool. It changes the dynamic when the kids are left to there own devices. We certainly are getting lots of Clyde this season, eh? Not that there's anything wrong with that, what with Clyde being awesome and all. Clyde's mum is really cool, but his dad's a selfish bastard. Snap out of it, Clyde! Your mum and your friends are the ones who really care!

Put everyone in period dress, and suddenly I'm motivated to keep up with a TV show. :D I actually wouldn't have heard about Little Dorrit if it weren't for Who fandom. (Freema Agyeman and Eve Myles are both in it. Eve's character, Maggy, is a adorable.) I'm breaking my normal rule that I have to read the book before watching an adaptation because as much as I love Dickens' books, I don't have as much time for reading as I'd like. I'll read it eventually though, because it seems like a good story so far.

The Office has been pretty good so far this year, though not always up to it's highest standards of funny. I'm disappointed that they didn't keep Holly around longer. She and Michael were completely perfect for each other, in their awkward little way. Michael can frequently be an idiot, but I still felt bad for him that Holly got transferred. And what's with all the long distance Jim and Pam? Do not want! How're they supposed to plot against Dwight if Pam's in a different city? The world's smallest bluetooth thing was pretty funny though.

To be completely honest, I'm still not quite sure what the big deal is about Heroes. I just watched the first episode of season three earlier this week, and it was okay, but not remarkable. Maybe the problem is that I started watching with season two, and still haven't seen all of season one yet, but in general Heroes seems more pretentious than anything else to me. Most of the fun of season two was watching with Andrea, since she was so into it, but I remember feeling at the end like there was a whole lot of build up to not much. d4ni says it gets better, or maybe just more femslashy, so I'll keep going. It's just not a priority. (Cause there is Dickens on, yo!)

I watched the first episode of Merlin, and it seems pretty amusing. It's historical... ish (I'm sure it's just about as historically accurate as Robin Hood is, that is to say, not very) and has magic and stuff. And Anthony Head! I liked the first episode enough that I'll probably keep going with this one.

I decided to give Life on Mars (US) a chance, mostly out of curiosity. Compared to the original pilot, which I thought was nearly unwatchable (I think I made it through about five minutes, then fast forwarded through bits of it) the real first episode was much, much better. There were a couple instance were I thought they did a good job "Americanizing" the cultural references, and I think the decision to move it from L.A. to New York was a good one. Even though it was better, I still found myself comparing it to the original the whole time. The plot for the first episode was almost exactly the same, but I didn't like the way the characters were portrayed as much. At this point, I'm not really interested enough to bother with watching more.

Comments

[arabian.livejournal.com]

Aww, I really enjoy Life on Mars. I didn't watch past the first episode of the original because I didn't like Annie AT ALL. But I'm really enjoying LoM (although, I wasn't a huge fan of the last episode).

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

It's not that I disliked Life on Mars, it's just that I saw the UK version first and loved it, so I can't help comparing it. (For the record, I think Liz White is awesome as Annie!) I have hardly any time to watch TV as it is, so this one gets shelved for now, out of necessity. I may pick it back up later though, especially since the plot will likely go in a different direction after awhile.

[mysticalchild_isis]

I love Bones for the characters- the main two are so very delightful in themselves (I never loved David Boreanaz until Bones), but I love the rest of the cast so very much. In fact, Angela and Hodgins are my favorite characters.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

Brennan's my favorite (see fangirling above) but all the characters on the show are really great. Well, I have mixed feelings about Cam, but maybe she'll grow on me. And Angela and Hodgins are indeed amazing.

[d4ni.livejournal.com]

Yeah Heroes just got a little more femslashy, that's all. Not better. And yeah, I think not seeing season 1 is probably why the show doesn't seem so great. I read something somewhere along the lines of "Well, I know it sucks but it has cool powers so I watch it anyway." That's pretty much Heroes in a nutshell...

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

"Well, I know it sucks but it has cool powers so I watch it anyway."

It would be awesome if there was mainstream sci-fi that didn't suck. But of course, if it was non-sucky sci-fi, than it wouldn't be mainstream.

Speaking of... is it time for more BSG yet? NEEDS MOAR ROSLIN. (omg you know what we need? Roslin/Romana for great justice! Two female presidents are better than one!)

Also, I read this post... somewhere... maybe io9 about how sci-fi sucks more now that it's all serial stories instead of episodic like Trek and other oldies. What say you?

[d4ni.livejournal.com]

OMG Roslin/Romana yesplz. I should make an icon. ::makes note:: Shipping either of those hawt female presidents with ANYONE else is already an OTP, but the two of them together...

...

...


... Well, if I think about it too much my head may explode.


And I'm really not sure what I think about the episodic/serial. When they first started making everything serial I really liked it, but now I think it depends on the show and/or a happy medium would be good. Heroes, for instance, would be much better if it was mostly episodic. Then it wouldn't have time to take itself way too seriously. Good example of a happy medium for me would be Life On Mars and Ashes to Ashes. There's a coherent storyline/mystery underlining it all, but mostly it's just a different crime every week.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I am totally jealous of you and your having more icons slots than me. We need to spread the gospel of Roslin/Romana.

Your icon makes a good point, you know. Femslash + "in space" = MASSIVE WIN! Dumbledore/Obi-wan is an awesome old guy OTP and all, but it's just your garden variety slash, and only half in space.

Roslin/Romana >>>>>> Dumbledore/Obi-wan

I agree that LoM and A2A are good examples of your doing it right for both mainstreamy sci-fi and a balance between episodic and serial storylines. I asked cause I can't really make up my mind either. I do like rich, complex storytelling, but I also like being able to watch a TV show without having to go rent four previous seasons just to stay caught up.

[sea_thoughts]

Booth was a choir boy. 'nuff said ;)

I'm a big fan of Little Dorrit. I will watch Freema in almost anything and I love Matthew MacFadyen, who makes Arthur good without being boring. And even Andy Serkis, though dear God, his character is SUCH a cliche. But that's Dickens's fault.

You need to watch S1 to really get Heroes. And yes, it is a bit pretentious but the first season gets away with it. S2 not so much, because of the writers' strike. S3 assumes you already watched the first two seasons and hits the ground running. So yeah, S1 is kinda essential.

Do not judge Merlin by its first episode. It gets better, I promise (though be warned, some truely cringeworthy dialogue moments).

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I need to see if there are torrents yet for this week's Little Dorrit so I can watch when I get home from work tomorrow. Freema's character... well, she's kind of crazy. I'm pretty interested to see where her bit of the story is going. Matthew MacFadyen is very understated and fabulous.

I know basically what happens in Heroes S1 because I had Andrea to fill me in last year, which helps with understanding what's going on but not what the big fuss is all about. It's one on an ever growing list of things I should go back and watch.

Well, I thought the first episode of Merlin was promising enough to warrant continuing with it. It seems like good fun, so I can put up with a bit of cheese along the way.

[sea_thoughts]

I know, and EVE MYLES. Dear God, isn't she just adorable? I mean, she's SO GOOD as Maggie. I think she's actually my favourite female character (Arthur being my favourite male).

It's kind of sad that you've already been told what happens, because one of the joys of S1 was not knowing what would happen in the next one. It was a bit like HP or a comic book, that kind of "OMG, I NEED TO SEE THE NEXT EP!" quality. It's also really hard to get where the characters are going if you haven't seen where they started. God, that sounds cheesy, but you know what I mean, hopefully.

Merlin is good fun, yes. And slash!tastic. Seriously, even yours truly, who's a hetfangirl through and through, can see the slash between Merlin and Arthur. Doesn't help that they are both RIDICULOUSLY pretty. Especially Bradley Walsh. And I don't normally go for blond men. I don't. But he just... *guh* But I am also quite fond of the spiky relationship between Arthur & Morgana, so I haven't totally gone over to the dark side. ;)

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I'm so impressed with Eve Myles. I think it would be so easy to play Maggie over the top and, well, fake, but she makes her seem very real. She's got this amazing childlike enthusiasm. Too adorable! :)

I do know what you mean about Heroes. So in your opinion, should I keep plugging along with S3, or put that on hold until I have time to go back and watch S1?

I'm generally a hetfangirl myself, which is so boring in online fandom, where everyone is supposed to adore all slash for the sake of slash. But if there are pretty actors and actual good chemistry, then I'm for it!

[sea_thoughts]

She plays Maggie as a real girl. An adult's body but a real ten year-old girl in there. That's why I get a bit iffy when people call her "retarded". She may not have an adult's mind but I think she behaves FAR better than Fanny, for example. She may only be ten years old, but she's an intelligent ten year-old.

Hmmm, I don't know. :/ I mean, I don't want you to give up watching S3 but S1 is so important in terms of the characters and who they were. It also means you understand a lot more about the episode that just went out because that is EXACTLY the first episode of S1 seen from a completely different angle. So... I don't know. It's up to you.

I know what you mean about slash online. It gets so boring.

[sea_thoughts]

Also I tried sending you an email but your email doesn't work anymore. :( Can you send me an LJ message with your new one?

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I watched some more Merlin, and it is indeed slashy like whoa! :D

You know what I think the difference is? Merlin slash is fun because there is actual subtext, whereas in some other fandoms I feel like characters just get paired together because slash is perceived to be cooler than het. Maybe that's cause I'm generally such a canon thumper, and there are usually more het relationships in books and on TV.

[sea_thoughts]

And the slash is completely unintentional! That's the best part! XD

Isn't Bradley Walhsh just the prettiest blond ever? I don't even LIKE blond guys usually and I just cannot resist him. I think it's the high cheekbones. And the fact he has an expressive face.

Don't you think he'd be an amazing St. John Rivers?

I also love the tension between Morgana and Arthur.

[carrotgirl.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely about The Office.

Season One of Heroes was AWESOME and every episode since then has sucked in my opinion. And yet I keep watching it hoping whatever I liked about it in the first season will come back...but it doesn't.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

That seems to be what everyone says about Heroes. Maybe the writers really on had one season's worth of good ideas, and now they're just trying to recreate the magic? I really wish that American TV shows could learn to stop when the story is over. Sometimes one season is better than five if you tell a really great (and complete!) story.