Summer TV
In between all the mess that my life has been so far this summer, I've actually managed to see a few TV shows and kinda keep up with them. Which, when you're staying with my parents, is a huge feat. Mostly, I've been watching USA since I can actually get my mom into watching a few of the shows with me, which makes commandeering the TV so much easier. Of course, none of the shows are all that spectacular, but they're decent enough for me to be interested and watch them.
Of course, White Collar is kinda a given. My mom's not too keen on that, so I've mostly been catching up online. But really what I've been watching is Covert Affairs. Which isn't a brilliant TV show, but the main lead, Annie Walker, has good chemistry with the rest of the characters. Also Christopher Gorman might be one of my ideas of hot. And the guy who plays Jai. The action scenes aren't too bad, Walker's ability to come up with solutions and think on her feet is also a plus, and the plotlines, while basic, still manage to keep me going through the episode. Not anything that would completely knock your socks off, but provides an hour of plot and characters that are still interesting enough to get me invested.
As for the fangirl in me? While I don't consider myself strictly a slasher, that's all I've been reading lately. In Covert Affairs, for a one, there aren't heaping amounts of "slashy" moments between Auggie and Jai ( the only two so far who might really be slashed), so that kind of prevents fic from being written. For another, the fandom is still pretty small. So there isn't quite the amount of fic-type diversity that you see in larger fandoms. (Though some small fandoms don't suffer from that issue, this one does).
Also, Annie has pretty good chemistry with most of the males on the show (though that is partly intentional), I mostly interpret it as "friendly chemistry", especially since she is supposed to be good with people. This could provide some pretty good het fic, but most of the fic I've found is on FF.net, and I'm always worried about quality when I read stuff off there.
All told, this isn't really a tv show I'm invested in for fandom. Which is actually a good thing, and kind of a relief for once. Now when I finish an episode I don't feel like I need to go run off and try and find fic to release some of the excitement. I kinda like it.
So since I've been watching USA I ended up tuning in for the series premiere of "Suits" tonight. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting it to be AWESOME plotline wise, but I was really really excited after watching the ads because it looked like the two main leads had chemistry JUST from the promos. And I was right. Seriously, I didn't even get halfway through the episode and I was convinced that if enough people tune in, there will be some GOOD slash coming up.
By the end of the episode, Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams) teases his new boss and partner Harvey Specter (Gabrial Macht) and says to him "Admit it. You care about me. You smiled when I came into work this morning." To a slash fangirl, this is like GOLD. The whole thing where Mike tells Harvey that Harvey might become the next person in his life to call him on his bullshit and that he might come to trust Harvey is also something that was squee-inducing. I think people in fandom could play around with the idea that Harvey sort of keeps Mike out of trouble while Mike makes Harvey more human and less jaded by the job.
And Adams and Macht really did a good job bringing perfect character interactions to the table. Like one review I read online noted, their chemistry together is currently what is making the show. The case in the pilot tonight wasn't earth-shattering. The point of the pilot was to introduce the characters and illustrate the relationships they have with one another. And the case next week doesn't look all too great either. BUT. I am soo excited to see how Adams and Macht's characters develop more and interact through the coming episodes. It definitely seems promising.
Beyond the character interactions, the plot seems kinda run-of-the-mill. Interesting enough to keep me watching, like Covert Affairs, but not anything to write home about. The main point of contention for the show right now is that Mike has been hired on at a company that only takes Harvard lawyers and he doesn't have a law degree. If anyone finds out, Harvey gets the axe as well. So of course, in the ad for the next ep it made a big deal about them being found out. So it's nothing spectacular. But I really do think that these two guys have the kind of chemistry that even non fangirls see and think of as an interesting friendship. I really do hope this show makes it, if for no other reason than that I want a summer fandom to keep me entertained.
Oh, and I really really want to see Gina Torres of Firefly fame utilized in this show so MUCH. She is completely awesome and you have NO idea how excited I was when I saw her on the screen. Mom was giving me odd looks when she passed by the living room, I was jumping up and down and making incoherent noises so much. She really didn't show up enough in this episode, but I'm hoping that she will play a larger role in the future. I really liked her scenes with Harvey and thought there was lots of potential there in both a fannish sense and a regular sense.
All this really boils down to is that I will- for now at least- be tuning in to one more show this summer: Suits.
Edit: I always end up writing this stuff late at night, and last night I didn't get a chance to post, so it's here this morning.
Of course, White Collar is kinda a given. My mom's not too keen on that, so I've mostly been catching up online. But really what I've been watching is Covert Affairs. Which isn't a brilliant TV show, but the main lead, Annie Walker, has good chemistry with the rest of the characters. Also Christopher Gorman might be one of my ideas of hot. And the guy who plays Jai. The action scenes aren't too bad, Walker's ability to come up with solutions and think on her feet is also a plus, and the plotlines, while basic, still manage to keep me going through the episode. Not anything that would completely knock your socks off, but provides an hour of plot and characters that are still interesting enough to get me invested.
As for the fangirl in me? While I don't consider myself strictly a slasher, that's all I've been reading lately. In Covert Affairs, for a one, there aren't heaping amounts of "slashy" moments between Auggie and Jai ( the only two so far who might really be slashed), so that kind of prevents fic from being written. For another, the fandom is still pretty small. So there isn't quite the amount of fic-type diversity that you see in larger fandoms. (Though some small fandoms don't suffer from that issue, this one does).
Also, Annie has pretty good chemistry with most of the males on the show (though that is partly intentional), I mostly interpret it as "friendly chemistry", especially since she is supposed to be good with people. This could provide some pretty good het fic, but most of the fic I've found is on FF.net, and I'm always worried about quality when I read stuff off there.
All told, this isn't really a tv show I'm invested in for fandom. Which is actually a good thing, and kind of a relief for once. Now when I finish an episode I don't feel like I need to go run off and try and find fic to release some of the excitement. I kinda like it.
So since I've been watching USA I ended up tuning in for the series premiere of "Suits" tonight. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting it to be AWESOME plotline wise, but I was really really excited after watching the ads because it looked like the two main leads had chemistry JUST from the promos. And I was right. Seriously, I didn't even get halfway through the episode and I was convinced that if enough people tune in, there will be some GOOD slash coming up.
By the end of the episode, Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams) teases his new boss and partner Harvey Specter (Gabrial Macht) and says to him "Admit it. You care about me. You smiled when I came into work this morning." To a slash fangirl, this is like GOLD. The whole thing where Mike tells Harvey that Harvey might become the next person in his life to call him on his bullshit and that he might come to trust Harvey is also something that was squee-inducing. I think people in fandom could play around with the idea that Harvey sort of keeps Mike out of trouble while Mike makes Harvey more human and less jaded by the job.
And Adams and Macht really did a good job bringing perfect character interactions to the table. Like one review I read online noted, their chemistry together is currently what is making the show. The case in the pilot tonight wasn't earth-shattering. The point of the pilot was to introduce the characters and illustrate the relationships they have with one another. And the case next week doesn't look all too great either. BUT. I am soo excited to see how Adams and Macht's characters develop more and interact through the coming episodes. It definitely seems promising.
Beyond the character interactions, the plot seems kinda run-of-the-mill. Interesting enough to keep me watching, like Covert Affairs, but not anything to write home about. The main point of contention for the show right now is that Mike has been hired on at a company that only takes Harvard lawyers and he doesn't have a law degree. If anyone finds out, Harvey gets the axe as well. So of course, in the ad for the next ep it made a big deal about them being found out. So it's nothing spectacular. But I really do think that these two guys have the kind of chemistry that even non fangirls see and think of as an interesting friendship. I really do hope this show makes it, if for no other reason than that I want a summer fandom to keep me entertained.
Oh, and I really really want to see Gina Torres of Firefly fame utilized in this show so MUCH. She is completely awesome and you have NO idea how excited I was when I saw her on the screen. Mom was giving me odd looks when she passed by the living room, I was jumping up and down and making incoherent noises so much. She really didn't show up enough in this episode, but I'm hoping that she will play a larger role in the future. I really liked her scenes with Harvey and thought there was lots of potential there in both a fannish sense and a regular sense.
All this really boils down to is that I will- for now at least- be tuning in to one more show this summer: Suits.
Edit: I always end up writing this stuff late at night, and last night I didn't get a chance to post, so it's here this morning.