Notes on media consumption
Oct. 2nd, 2007 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wordplayEnormous post about the new season of television. Seriously, writing all this out was kind of exhausting - just imagine WATCHING it.
FNL: I have worries about what happens in the first episode of the season. Part of the reason I love the show is because of its tight, reality-based arcs, and I'm afraid that one of these stories just took a turn into high-drama territory. There's so little trust in TPTB at NBC and it seems to be widely believed among the fandom that that particular direction was due to pressure from the network to create a need for "Very Special Episodes." It's a disturbing thought, because the point of FNL is that these are Very Special People, because they're so ordinary and wonderful and beautifully drawn. I'm fretting about what's going to happen here.
Charlie Jade: This is a download, and I'm not at all sure what's going to happen with it. See, I have a really, really limited tolerance for noir. I find it very overdone, and it never strikes me as anything other than overblown and cliched and vaguely ridiculous. This is part of my uneasy relationship with cyberpunk, because I am down with the cyber and really like the reality focus but the grittiness always feels artificial and contrived to me. This is part of why I love Stephenson but am not particularly fond of Gibson's "Neuromancer", because I feel like N.S. turns out just very stripped down prose and surely its timeliness doesn't hurt - the worlds he projects don't even necessarily feel REAL, but they feel less constructed that Gibson's. Or something.
ANYWAY. This is part of why I'm so "meh" about Bladerunner because, classic or not, it has always felt to me like they're trying too hard. And "Charlie Jade"? OMG HE'S A CYNICAL, REBELLIOUS PRIVATE EYE WHO IS FIGHTING HIS DEMONS. IN THE RAIN. I mean, right? Whatever.
That said, the premise is right up my alley and people seem to be liking it, so I'll likely keep downloading it, at least a little bit longer. It's coming to the UK this month, I think; I'll be interested to see what you guys think.
SGA: I'd seen the first episode, so no surprises. I will not say much about Carter here - I've been snippy enough in other places - but there is something about The Eternal Rightness of Sam Carter that I find so grating, and there she was at the bridge, being all smug and Eternally Right and grrr.
Heroes: Hee, Claire will have to redo her pedicure. Also, I love Hiro being all autoheroic. Adorable. Glad to see the Haitian and Mr. Bennet back together.
Journeyman: OK, GOD this guy bugs the hell out of me. First of all, dude, do you have any idea how irritating it is when you're really worried about something kind of big that's happening in your household and your life partner acts like it is just no big deal? So stop that. Also, when your wife finds out that your ex-girlfriend is part of this whole thing, and that you're spending all this time watching your wife make out with your brother, she is going to completely lose her shit. COMPLETELY.
Cavemen: The reviews were crap, but the first episode in I'm finding it kind of adorable. Great pop media references and I really rather like the idea of using this to play with identity issues; I know it's been panned for being too heavy-handed but tell me the other shows on television that are directly addressing race issues. Go!
How I Met Your Mother: Still fantastic, still fresh and funny, you're still not watching it and so, yes, you still suck.
Bionic Woman: Was I the only person who was kind of bored by this? OK, Katee Sackhoff, yes please. Other than that? Meh.
Chuck v. Reaper: I thought it would be Reaper, maybe because of the Kevin Smith factor, but I actually really preferred Chuck. Adam Baldwin! CIA v. NSA! Yeah, I'm easy. *shrug*
Dexter: My serial killer TV boyfriend is back! I'm worried, though, because I really can't stand an entire season of being CONSTANTLY worried that he's going to be caught. And I get that that's part of the tension in the morality, but if they keep hitting this point this hard all season, I'm just not going to enjoy the show.
The Office: My Jim/Pam love is unspeakable. I LOVED the timing of Kevin's "You have GOT to be kidding me", because he cut me off about 0.5 seconds before I let loose with mine. And then later, in the car? *clutches chest* Seriously, absolutely adorable.
Grey's Anatomy & House are out of my rotation - got bored with them, although I'll miss GA's great music supervisor. I can't wait till the first few weeks of the season are over and I can happily trim away more.
Things we'll check out later: Pushing Daisies & Lost.
God, that's a lot of TV. Seriously, way WAY ready to trim some of this, but I always feel like I have to at least SEE what the new offerings are like, because what if there's something brilliant and amazing and I miss it?
FNL: I have worries about what happens in the first episode of the season. Part of the reason I love the show is because of its tight, reality-based arcs, and I'm afraid that one of these stories just took a turn into high-drama territory. There's so little trust in TPTB at NBC and it seems to be widely believed among the fandom that that particular direction was due to pressure from the network to create a need for "Very Special Episodes." It's a disturbing thought, because the point of FNL is that these are Very Special People, because they're so ordinary and wonderful and beautifully drawn. I'm fretting about what's going to happen here.
Charlie Jade: This is a download, and I'm not at all sure what's going to happen with it. See, I have a really, really limited tolerance for noir. I find it very overdone, and it never strikes me as anything other than overblown and cliched and vaguely ridiculous. This is part of my uneasy relationship with cyberpunk, because I am down with the cyber and really like the reality focus but the grittiness always feels artificial and contrived to me. This is part of why I love Stephenson but am not particularly fond of Gibson's "Neuromancer", because I feel like N.S. turns out just very stripped down prose and surely its timeliness doesn't hurt - the worlds he projects don't even necessarily feel REAL, but they feel less constructed that Gibson's. Or something.
ANYWAY. This is part of why I'm so "meh" about Bladerunner because, classic or not, it has always felt to me like they're trying too hard. And "Charlie Jade"? OMG HE'S A CYNICAL, REBELLIOUS PRIVATE EYE WHO IS FIGHTING HIS DEMONS. IN THE RAIN. I mean, right? Whatever.
That said, the premise is right up my alley and people seem to be liking it, so I'll likely keep downloading it, at least a little bit longer. It's coming to the UK this month, I think; I'll be interested to see what you guys think.
SGA: I'd seen the first episode, so no surprises. I will not say much about Carter here - I've been snippy enough in other places - but there is something about The Eternal Rightness of Sam Carter that I find so grating, and there she was at the bridge, being all smug and Eternally Right and grrr.
Heroes: Hee, Claire will have to redo her pedicure. Also, I love Hiro being all autoheroic. Adorable. Glad to see the Haitian and Mr. Bennet back together.
Journeyman: OK, GOD this guy bugs the hell out of me. First of all, dude, do you have any idea how irritating it is when you're really worried about something kind of big that's happening in your household and your life partner acts like it is just no big deal? So stop that. Also, when your wife finds out that your ex-girlfriend is part of this whole thing, and that you're spending all this time watching your wife make out with your brother, she is going to completely lose her shit. COMPLETELY.
Cavemen: The reviews were crap, but the first episode in I'm finding it kind of adorable. Great pop media references and I really rather like the idea of using this to play with identity issues; I know it's been panned for being too heavy-handed but tell me the other shows on television that are directly addressing race issues. Go!
How I Met Your Mother: Still fantastic, still fresh and funny, you're still not watching it and so, yes, you still suck.
Bionic Woman: Was I the only person who was kind of bored by this? OK, Katee Sackhoff, yes please. Other than that? Meh.
Chuck v. Reaper: I thought it would be Reaper, maybe because of the Kevin Smith factor, but I actually really preferred Chuck. Adam Baldwin! CIA v. NSA! Yeah, I'm easy. *shrug*
Dexter: My serial killer TV boyfriend is back! I'm worried, though, because I really can't stand an entire season of being CONSTANTLY worried that he's going to be caught. And I get that that's part of the tension in the morality, but if they keep hitting this point this hard all season, I'm just not going to enjoy the show.
The Office: My Jim/Pam love is unspeakable. I LOVED the timing of Kevin's "You have GOT to be kidding me", because he cut me off about 0.5 seconds before I let loose with mine. And then later, in the car? *clutches chest* Seriously, absolutely adorable.
Grey's Anatomy & House are out of my rotation - got bored with them, although I'll miss GA's great music supervisor. I can't wait till the first few weeks of the season are over and I can happily trim away more.
Things we'll check out later: Pushing Daisies & Lost.
God, that's a lot of TV. Seriously, way WAY ready to trim some of this, but I always feel like I have to at least SEE what the new offerings are like, because what if there's something brilliant and amazing and I miss it?
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no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:13 am (UTC)My favorite pilot BY FAR is Dirty Sexy Money. The title is awful, but the first episode was really good.
I'm trying to not read what you said about Dexter, because I haven't seen the new episode yet. It's really hard, my eyes keep wandering up.
Ooh, another How I Met Your Mother fan! Yay. I didn't start watching until mid last season. NPH is so great.
no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:54 am (UTC)I guess we'll also have to see if they next few episodes are as good, because it's so easy for things to go downhill quickly when they are that type of show. So by the time you have time for it, it might suck.
no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:51 am (UTC)... I never realized that's what that t-shirt was about! I wondered. Hee. XD
no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:25 am (UTC)I love Kevin so much. I need to make a Kevin and Oscar icon that says "they hated to spread gossip," hee!
Also, re Jim/Pam: *rolls around on the floor in delight*
no subject
on 2007-10-03 03:32 am (UTC)So we're racing through season one of FNL, because Marc hadn't seen any of it, and tonight we're watching the episode where Buddy is crashing on the Taylors' couch, and it made me think about male friendships and the way Eric thinks about them and OMG we have to use that!
no subject
on 2007-10-03 04:22 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-03 01:45 am (UTC)Nope. I didn't make it past the first fifteen minutes. It was one of those shows that the entire time I was watching I kept thinking how much better it would be if they had told the story/played a scene differently.
I actually really preferred Chuck.
Everyone keeps saying this, but I was bored by that, as well. Maybe it's just me...
no subject
on 2007-10-03 02:15 am (UTC)No, you're not alone in this. I spent the whole episode going, "but I've seen that before! In another show!"
On the Chuck vs. Reaper question, though, I have to come down on the side of Reaper. I honestly couldn't sit through a whole episode of Chuck. but Reaper makes me giggle, and that's enough for me this season.
no subject
on 2007-10-03 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-03 07:33 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-03 03:08 pm (UTC)I'm worried about Dexter too. Presumably they have a plan, but man, I'm on edge. The second that guy got away...yipes.
I watched some of Cavemen and I didn't hate it.
no subject
on 2007-10-03 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2007-10-04 05:45 pm (UTC)The Office FTW!!! Beth and I watched the sequence in the car about 20 times :D
I really love Reaper. I felt like, in comparison to Chuck, Chuck was far more formulaic and the writing isn't nearly as sharp. But I'm willing to stick it out on both of them.