today is random Band of Brothers day, with some other shit thrown in for kicks.
Over the past couple of days I've been rewatching Band of Brothers again. I love that series like burning. This is probably the fourth time I've watched it all the way through, and yet I can never remember characters' names beyond, like, Col. Winters -- which is not saying much, seeing as he's the central character. I've never been able to, not even the first time I watched the thing and then immediately rewatched within the same week.
It's always really bothered me, but I'd assumed that I was just not paying enough attention or something, so it was extremely heartening to find, when I was looking at the Wikipedia page today, that the Washington Post review at the time it came out mentioned that "few of the characters stand out strikingly against the backdrop of the war. In fact, this show is all backdrop and no frontdrop. When you watch two hours and still aren't quite sure who the main characters are, something is wrong."
I don't think it's NO frontdrop, but it's definitely backdrop-heavy. And I don't mind, really! I think the backdrop is damned awesome! I just do wish I didn't come out of every episode being like, "Shit, who was that guy from two eps ago?" and thinking I need a fandom primer just to keep track.
BoB is one of those shows I've never felt any particular interest in seeking out the fanfic for, partly because there's never been a pairing I've shipped all that hard. I mean, okay, Winters and Dixon are doing it, have always been doing it, and will always be doing it, but that's just such a no-brainer. Beyond that? I like the idea of Toy/Guarnere, but it would probably have to be pre-"Bastogne" -- although I do kind of like them getting sent home from the war and hobbling around on their prosthetic legs and sitting on their farm porch somewhere. This idea would totally work for Winters/Dixon too, sans prostheses. I also have a sort of huge crush on Doc Roe, whose name I have only just remembered thanks to having just rewatched "Bastogne" and all. I ship him with Nurse Renee a little, except for how she is dead at the end of the ep. I would also be very down with him being gay with SOMEONE. I just do not know who!
Any thoughts? Like I said, I don't really have an OTP or whatever, so if there is some totally seminal work of BoB fiction that I have yet to run across, hit me up!
I don't think I can handle that JoBros crossover thing, though. I kind of hate my life that when I got back into watching BoB and thought, "But have I seen any BoB fanfic anytime recently?" that was the first thing that came to mind.
Speaking of war miniseries, I still have not seen Generation Kill. I've heard lots of good things about it; clearly I should watch! Also, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are collaborating on another WWII miniseries, The Pacific, which might be enough to kick me into springing for HBO. It's meant to be coming out sometime this year, and I want it. Also, Entourage comes back sometime this summer, I think. MUST HAVE. I told my roommate I was thinking about getting HBO, and she was all, "Oh yeah, I would be down for that. It's really hard to find The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency online." And then she realized what she had admitted, and I laughed and laughed.
Two further points vaguely related to BoB, war movies, and general badassery:
1) I am all kinds of psyched about The Hurt Locker. You can see the trailer via the link. The movie in general looks like it is right up my alley, but in particular it's got Jeremy Renner! Who was super hardcore and awesome in 28 Weeks Later! HOT.
2) I think in some part of my brain I had known this, but I had not paid a ton of attention: the guy who plays Guarnere in BoB? Frank John Hughes? Oh yeah, he is also on 24, and therefore is on my TV EVERY WEEK. Woohoo, powers of observation!
And one last point related to how my roommates think I am an enormous tool:
The final book in Sarah Monette's Mélusine series, Corambis, is out, and is in my hot little hands! However, it is in my hot little hands sans cover, because this is its cover:
I swear it looks like something out of a Harry Potter fic back in the day, like, when every story absolutely required that Draco wear leather trousers. In fact, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure this could be the cover of Cassie Claire's Passionate Trousers. All you ex-HPers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, don't lie.
Uh, anyway. There's a good reason I'm reading this book without its jacket. This is a better series than bad romance novels, I swear! Even though I'm sure that at some point the scene the cover art depicts will come to pass, I feel like a better human being leaving the cover art hidden on my bookshelf.
It's always really bothered me, but I'd assumed that I was just not paying enough attention or something, so it was extremely heartening to find, when I was looking at the Wikipedia page today, that the Washington Post review at the time it came out mentioned that "few of the characters stand out strikingly against the backdrop of the war. In fact, this show is all backdrop and no frontdrop. When you watch two hours and still aren't quite sure who the main characters are, something is wrong."
I don't think it's NO frontdrop, but it's definitely backdrop-heavy. And I don't mind, really! I think the backdrop is damned awesome! I just do wish I didn't come out of every episode being like, "Shit, who was that guy from two eps ago?" and thinking I need a fandom primer just to keep track.
BoB is one of those shows I've never felt any particular interest in seeking out the fanfic for, partly because there's never been a pairing I've shipped all that hard. I mean, okay, Winters and Dixon are doing it, have always been doing it, and will always be doing it, but that's just such a no-brainer. Beyond that? I like the idea of Toy/Guarnere, but it would probably have to be pre-"Bastogne" -- although I do kind of like them getting sent home from the war and hobbling around on their prosthetic legs and sitting on their farm porch somewhere. This idea would totally work for Winters/Dixon too, sans prostheses. I also have a sort of huge crush on Doc Roe, whose name I have only just remembered thanks to having just rewatched "Bastogne" and all. I ship him with Nurse Renee a little, except for how she is dead at the end of the ep. I would also be very down with him being gay with SOMEONE. I just do not know who!
Any thoughts? Like I said, I don't really have an OTP or whatever, so if there is some totally seminal work of BoB fiction that I have yet to run across, hit me up!
I don't think I can handle that JoBros crossover thing, though. I kind of hate my life that when I got back into watching BoB and thought, "But have I seen any BoB fanfic anytime recently?" that was the first thing that came to mind.
Speaking of war miniseries, I still have not seen Generation Kill. I've heard lots of good things about it; clearly I should watch! Also, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are collaborating on another WWII miniseries, The Pacific, which might be enough to kick me into springing for HBO. It's meant to be coming out sometime this year, and I want it. Also, Entourage comes back sometime this summer, I think. MUST HAVE. I told my roommate I was thinking about getting HBO, and she was all, "Oh yeah, I would be down for that. It's really hard to find The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency online." And then she realized what she had admitted, and I laughed and laughed.
Two further points vaguely related to BoB, war movies, and general badassery:
1) I am all kinds of psyched about The Hurt Locker. You can see the trailer via the link. The movie in general looks like it is right up my alley, but in particular it's got Jeremy Renner! Who was super hardcore and awesome in 28 Weeks Later! HOT.
2) I think in some part of my brain I had known this, but I had not paid a ton of attention: the guy who plays Guarnere in BoB? Frank John Hughes? Oh yeah, he is also on 24, and therefore is on my TV EVERY WEEK. Woohoo, powers of observation!
And one last point related to how my roommates think I am an enormous tool:
The final book in Sarah Monette's Mélusine series, Corambis, is out, and is in my hot little hands! However, it is in my hot little hands sans cover, because this is its cover:
I swear it looks like something out of a Harry Potter fic back in the day, like, when every story absolutely required that Draco wear leather trousers. In fact, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure this could be the cover of Cassie Claire's Passionate Trousers. All you ex-HPers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, don't lie.
Uh, anyway. There's a good reason I'm reading this book without its jacket. This is a better series than bad romance novels, I swear! Even though I'm sure that at some point the scene the cover art depicts will come to pass, I feel like a better human being leaving the cover art hidden on my bookshelf.