Re: ALL THE TV from October and November
I have watched a lot of TV in the last month and a half holy shit.
American Horror Story
I watched the first two episodes of this. It's about a family who moves into a house whose previous inhabitants all (or mostly) died in gruesome, violent ways. The girl who lives next door constantly breaks in and says, "You're going to die in here." Her mother is also disturbing but in a more subtle (yet more threatening) way. The maid says she has been with the house through many owners and appears as an old, half-blind woman to everybody except the father, who sees a seductive young woman in a French maid outfit. The father is a psychiatrist whose patients calmly recount violent fantasies and dreams. And one of the house's previous owners approaches him, begging him to get out of the house and telling him that the house made him crazy and caused him to kill his family. The show is not actively scary, but it's really creepy all over and something is going on between the neighbor and the maid and the father's patient and gaaah it's so interesting.
Battlestar Galactica
I watched the show's two-part introductory miniseriesand was very, very impressed. The first hook appeared in four minutes. It was pretty simple but strange and unexpected, which piqued my curiosity. Then there were the effective expository techniques wherein the dialogue of minor characters lay the foundations for major plot details such that, by the time these details were stated explicitly, they made sense and were easily understandable. Then came the emotions. I hadn't even reached the halfway point when I started caring about the characters, chiefly Lee Adama and Commander Adama. SO MANY FEELINGS. The use of tension is brilliant, too. Not only is the buildup great, but the heart of tension is the the audience's anxiety about what is going to happen. It needs to have some kind of followthrough. I've seen stories create tension very well but fall flat with the followthrough far too often. (*cough* Doctor Who *cough* Torchwood *cough) BUT NO. Battlestar Galactica's tension is perfect. Another aspect of the miniseries that I liked was the controversial nature of the characters' choices. It's very difficult to judge the characters' actions because they often have to choose between two very unattractive possibilities. A lot of stories deal with this by having the hero character refuse to make a choice and conveniently be able to save everyone, but refusing to choose is actually the least responsible thing a person can do. The characters on Battlestar Galactica recognize that they have to make a decision, and we can approve or disapprove of them, but for the most part, I just admire them for being able to make a choice and live with the consequences.
Doctor Who
I do not even want to talk about how disappointed I am with Doctor Who right now except that clearly I do because I have a half-completed essay on my computer about what is fundamentally wrong with Moffat Who, with an emphasis on the train wreck that was Series 6. That will merit its own entry if I ever complete it. I honestly cannot wait for Steven Moffat to step down from the role of head writer. Everything is so wrong. I am going to give just one very specific example of wrong that I wrote as a comment on _thirty2flavors excellent entry about the "Top 5 Ways to Fix Doctor Who Series 6" short of changing everything (which would be preferable):
CHURCHILL: "Yo, Doctor, why'd you invite your buddies to witness your death?"
DOCTOR: "I had to fake my death. I didn't have to fake my death alone. Besides, wasn't it funny how I let Amy grieve for all those months before I revealed what a dick I am?"
--paraphrased from 6x13 "The Wedding of River Song"
THAT IS THE KIND OF BULLSHIT CAUSED BY STEVEN MOFFAT'S COMPLETE INABILITY TO GRASP CAUSE AND EFFECT.
But in more pleasant news, my flatmate Samir has begun watching Doctor Who, and it is glorious because he hasn't reached Moffat Who yet.
Ringer
The first couple of episodes were mediocre, but starting from around the fourth, it really picked up. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Zoey Deutch are ridiculously pretty, and Ioan Gruffudd's character is just such a darling. I was concerned that he would break my heart, but it's becoming increasingly likely that Sarah Michellar Gellar's characters will break his.
Rome
I just finished the first season of Rome. It is excellent, and it's obvious that the creators did their research. Funny little details like Cleopatra being snuck to Caesar in a carpet are actually attested to in historical documents. I love the bromance between Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, and I very much appreciate Marc Antony's sarcasm. I once paused an episode to tell Samir how Antony is sarcastic non-stop, and when I hit play, Antony said sarcastically, "Touching." And then he did a sarcastic shoulder pat and made another sarcastic remark and basically he is the best. After Lucius Vorenus. Because I really love Lucius Vorenus. Atia and Octavian are wonderfully sassy. Brutus' relationship with Caesar is incredibly well done, and I have a special love for the newsreader.
Single Father
This four-episode mini-series was good but unmemorable. David Tennant was excellent as Dave, of course, as was the score by Murray Gold, written in a very different style from that of either Doctor Who or Casanova. I was not particularly fond of any of the characters, with the exception of Dave's older son, Paul, who was so considerate and conscientious that I couldn't help but love him.
Supernatural
I'm a few episodes into S6. I am not liking the Campbells.
American Horror Story
I watched the first two episodes of this. It's about a family who moves into a house whose previous inhabitants all (or mostly) died in gruesome, violent ways. The girl who lives next door constantly breaks in and says, "You're going to die in here." Her mother is also disturbing but in a more subtle (yet more threatening) way. The maid says she has been with the house through many owners and appears as an old, half-blind woman to everybody except the father, who sees a seductive young woman in a French maid outfit. The father is a psychiatrist whose patients calmly recount violent fantasies and dreams. And one of the house's previous owners approaches him, begging him to get out of the house and telling him that the house made him crazy and caused him to kill his family. The show is not actively scary, but it's really creepy all over and something is going on between the neighbor and the maid and the father's patient and gaaah it's so interesting.
Battlestar Galactica
I watched the show's two-part introductory miniseriesand was very, very impressed. The first hook appeared in four minutes. It was pretty simple but strange and unexpected, which piqued my curiosity. Then there were the effective expository techniques wherein the dialogue of minor characters lay the foundations for major plot details such that, by the time these details were stated explicitly, they made sense and were easily understandable. Then came the emotions. I hadn't even reached the halfway point when I started caring about the characters, chiefly Lee Adama and Commander Adama. SO MANY FEELINGS. The use of tension is brilliant, too. Not only is the buildup great, but the heart of tension is the the audience's anxiety about what is going to happen. It needs to have some kind of followthrough. I've seen stories create tension very well but fall flat with the followthrough far too often. (*cough* Doctor Who *cough* Torchwood *cough) BUT NO. Battlestar Galactica's tension is perfect. Another aspect of the miniseries that I liked was the controversial nature of the characters' choices. It's very difficult to judge the characters' actions because they often have to choose between two very unattractive possibilities. A lot of stories deal with this by having the hero character refuse to make a choice and conveniently be able to save everyone, but refusing to choose is actually the least responsible thing a person can do. The characters on Battlestar Galactica recognize that they have to make a decision, and we can approve or disapprove of them, but for the most part, I just admire them for being able to make a choice and live with the consequences.
Doctor Who
I do not even want to talk about how disappointed I am with Doctor Who right now except that clearly I do because I have a half-completed essay on my computer about what is fundamentally wrong with Moffat Who, with an emphasis on the train wreck that was Series 6. That will merit its own entry if I ever complete it. I honestly cannot wait for Steven Moffat to step down from the role of head writer. Everything is so wrong. I am going to give just one very specific example of wrong that I wrote as a comment on _thirty2flavors excellent entry about the "Top 5 Ways to Fix Doctor Who Series 6" short of changing everything (which would be preferable):
CHURCHILL: "Yo, Doctor, why'd you invite your buddies to witness your death?"
DOCTOR: "I had to fake my death. I didn't have to fake my death alone. Besides, wasn't it funny how I let Amy grieve for all those months before I revealed what a dick I am?"
--paraphrased from 6x13 "The Wedding of River Song"
THAT IS THE KIND OF BULLSHIT CAUSED BY STEVEN MOFFAT'S COMPLETE INABILITY TO GRASP CAUSE AND EFFECT.
But in more pleasant news, my flatmate Samir has begun watching Doctor Who, and it is glorious because he hasn't reached Moffat Who yet.
Ringer
The first couple of episodes were mediocre, but starting from around the fourth, it really picked up. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Zoey Deutch are ridiculously pretty, and Ioan Gruffudd's character is just such a darling. I was concerned that he would break my heart, but it's becoming increasingly likely that Sarah Michellar Gellar's characters will break his.
Rome
I just finished the first season of Rome. It is excellent, and it's obvious that the creators did their research. Funny little details like Cleopatra being snuck to Caesar in a carpet are actually attested to in historical documents. I love the bromance between Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, and I very much appreciate Marc Antony's sarcasm. I once paused an episode to tell Samir how Antony is sarcastic non-stop, and when I hit play, Antony said sarcastically, "Touching." And then he did a sarcastic shoulder pat and made another sarcastic remark and basically he is the best. After Lucius Vorenus. Because I really love Lucius Vorenus. Atia and Octavian are wonderfully sassy. Brutus' relationship with Caesar is incredibly well done, and I have a special love for the newsreader.
Single Father
This four-episode mini-series was good but unmemorable. David Tennant was excellent as Dave, of course, as was the score by Murray Gold, written in a very different style from that of either Doctor Who or Casanova. I was not particularly fond of any of the characters, with the exception of Dave's older son, Paul, who was so considerate and conscientious that I couldn't help but love him.
Supernatural
I'm a few episodes into S6. I am not liking the Campbells.