television land
+ Tara's storyline is still going well. I'm sad that Franklin came back, but glad she got to say her piece; I hope it helps. I'm worried about what her vampire-hate is going to mean for the future, though.
+ Crystal, idek. I know what the deal is, and I hope it comes out soon, because the squabbling over her between Jason and her family is starting to get annoying.
+ I've decided the show is much more interesting when Sookie is just one character among many; I love the world, and I like the story of the world much better than I like 'The Sookie Stackhouse Story.' I rather think Alan Ball does too.
+ More Lara Pulver! The scene from the trailer, where she blasts Bill. I know where this is going as well, and I'm really curious as to how it's going to go over.
+ So much good stuff in this episode, actually. Lafayette and Jesus were adorable, and Ruby is hilarious ('Huh. Maybe God loves fags.') Eric, as usual, especially facing off against Nan. And tantalizing hints about the Authority. Will be interesting to see how that develops, as I haven't seen much about it in discussions. And then Russell. He is over the top, and it is amazing (see icon). He was an interesting character before, but he has just rocketed into the top favorites. I am so excited for the rest of the season.
For people who aren't familiar with Pillars of the Earth, it's a pretty terrible book about the building of a cathedral in mid-twelfth-century England. It's one of the maybe five novels I have ever not finished because the writing was so bad. But I figured I'd give the show a go--it's an eight-part miniseries on Starz--and I'm really glad so far I did.
While the building of the cathedral is the centerpiece of the story, tied in with it are the stories of the people who are involved: the prior at the monastery, the mason, his children, the nobles who are funding it, the bishop, King Stephen and yet-to-be-Empress Matilda. All these things are wrapped up together because the cathedral becomes part of the power plays amongst these people as they struggle to get ahead. There are secrets, battles, love stories--so far, excellent. It's good enough to make me get mad at people and root for others. The women are some of the most interesting characters; we see Matilda (called Maud, a variation of Matilda) go to battle in armor, Lady Regan being crafty and utterly reprehensible, and Aliena is strong and smart and amazing. She and Jack are probably my favorite characters.
We're halfway through it so far, and I've been really impressed. They've obviously done their historical research; the costumes and armor are good, and there are great little details like the merchant at the market chopping up bits of coin to pay amounts smaller than a pound. There are liberties taken, obviously--it seems like they're going for a gothic-style cathedral, which is a bit early for England, and Henry I didn't die right after the birth of his grandson, Henry II, but the choices seem justified by the story, and there are enough other things to make up for it. I am endlessly delighted that they had Henry I die from 'a surfeit of lampreys,' which is the given cause of death in one medieval chronicle.
In the first two episodes there are some slow bits, but as of halfway through we are very much enjoying it. Recommended if you want some gritty, dramatic medieval television.
p.s. Not sure how I feel about this. Love seeing Karl Urban in a lead role, but . . . that didn't really work out so well for Pathfinder. Hopefully this is more 'new adaptation à la Batman' than 'remake of a Sylvester Stallone movie.'