Too big for my heart; my five most powerfully affecting moments on fictional TV

[corbyinoz]

I need something to distract me this morning, so I got thinking about the five fictional scenes on TV that really knocked my socks off. Well, why not? There are plenty of sporting moments, because I do like watching a lot of sport - Steve Waugh's 100 at the SCG, Sally Pearson winning gold at the Olympics, Makybe Diba's third Melbourne Cup, Sydney

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[mab2701]

A friend of a friend posted yesterday "Well it could be worse I could be a queer woman in education... oh wait.". And that's pretty much where i've been for the past day. My mother tried to cheer me up last night with "well the policies won't affect you personally" to which I couldn't even begin to respond. Fuck

I'm now mainlining west wing and Parks and Recreation because their fictional politicians are awesome... (And waiting on tenterhooks about the outcome of my seat).

But you have given me things to try and track down and distract me. I love Matthew McFadyen but have never seen Warriors and The Big Battalion sounds interesting. I've loved Alexander Siddig since he was still Siddig El Fadil but haven't seen that one either.

As for my fandom moments of overly emoting- the pilot of Veronica Mars with Veronica's sardonic voice-over talking about the murder of her best friend and then following it with the night she was raped, all while sitting outside a hotel trying to photograph a cheating husband. It was 20 minutes into the pilot and it had me hurting for some random blonde teenage girl.

Torchwood's season 2 finale - I think i cried for nearly half of it when Tosh was stuck with a gun shot wound to her stomach that she could survive if she gets out but she had a job to do and she was going to see it through even if it killed her (which of course it does). I still don't know if it was the depression and homesickness that caused all the tears or it was just that horrible.

West Wing - Too many moments... When Leo is running to Jed to let him know that Zoe was kidnapped. When Annabeth finds Leo's body after John Spencer had to be written out. When Mrs Landringham died on Sept 11, 2001 and the episode which had already killed me dead of feels cut to the news with the twin towers on fire.

And Buffy - When Tara died. Joyce's death was a shock but Tara came out of nowhere and hurt maybe moreso because it felt like I was working out my sexuality the same time as Willow.

[corbyinoz]

The hallowed halls (cough) of my place of so-called employment rang with sardonic laughter today. Pissing in the wind, as it is otherwise known. We're already broke, with salary freezes and no staff replacement policies in place - what joys will the Mad Monk and Chris 'I have a bad smell under my nose' Pyne bring us? We await with grim and mirthless fortitude. And much vodka.

I commented to a mate, it's a bad day if you're a woman. Or a child. If you're poor. An immigrant. A refugee. GLBTQ. The environment. In education. In health. A public servant. I'm sure there's more but I'm too depressed to go on.

I'm so glad you called him Siddig El Fadil! Me too! I've had a thing for him since Lawrence after Arabia. And then DS9, of course. He's fab in Kingdom of Heaven, too. The Big Battalions is about religion - has Brian Cox, Julia Sawalha's dad, Siddig. I remember it as being very good, but haven't seen it since. I did get a letter about it in The Green Guide published!

I have re-awakened a determination to get a copy of Warriors, so I'll lend it to you when I do. You cannot fit any more DVDs in your house, we swears it.

So many of your fab moments I don't know. Argh! So much good telly, so little time. I am convinced I need to watch West Wing - now more than ever. I never saw Veronica Mars, but it sounds great, I heard very good things. Didn't watch Torchwood S2 and probably won't, and am particularly shitty that they killed off Tosh.

And yes, Tara's death - I think we can handle noble, meaningful deaths, even as they slay us (ha! No Buffy pun intended). But that was so pointless, and random, and it was *good* in a way because RL death all too often is, but it was utterly *bad* because that's RL, not drama, and there are conventions and some sort of fairness and foreshadowing, dammit! that we expect in drama. Tie that in with what you were going through and yes. I hear you.

AS for your seat - I'm afeared. But at least the Bitch knows she's not the Chosen One any more, and some at the aforementioned place of work were suggesting that the Libs might back away slowly from her now, see her as a liability. That alone might be worth some small consolation.

BTW, and most importantly; drinks and dinner at my place. School holidays. Be there. Bring bottle and bird.

[mab2701]

You know in an entire party of rich, entitled private school dicks and i'm really not sure there is a worse education minister than Pyne. I still think the best description ever is "mincing poodle" (bless Julia Gillard's way with words). We were told last week national partnership funding was drying up which meant that there would be at least 6 less positions next year. All of us will have to re-apply so joining you guys with the vodka and the grim outlook.

The 7 seasons of West Wing are here and at your disposal when wanted. It's one of those shows where my favourite stuff is in the first few seasons but the rest are still good quality and worth it for Allison Janney alone. Also if you want Veronica it's here too and on downloaded versions.

Oh god, my seat has just gotten even more interesting. H and her parents were involved in the campaign to minor degrees and we went to the Wodonga celebration at the close of voting. In the days before and even on the night Cathy seemed happy to be working just to keep the bitch on her toes and accountable after the election... i'm pretty sure she was not expecting this. That said, the sense of schadenfreude at the news that Sophie had locked out media from her "party" was brilliant. I get the feeling that even if the evil bitch monster of death somehow grasps victory from the jaws of defeat it'll be her last term - she won't want to risk this much humiliation again. But now that there's an extra 1003 lost votes found we may be in for a happy day!

Dinner and drinks sound awesome. I'm away until the Thursday of the second week but that last weekend we are both free.

[corbyinoz]

I know!!! You should have seen us this week at work - every time there was a sniff of a chance for Cathy, we'd be passing it on, tamping down the gleeful hope with an "Oh, that bitch will probbaly win, but at least Cathy's given her a real race." Then all of a sudden... it might happen. It really might. Worst case scenario, if SM does slither and crawl her way to a win, she's lost the chance to be on the frontbench. She was slated to be Minister for Industry. And Cathy has been so positive and gracious throughout. I know she's basically a conservative, but you can be a conservative without being an arsehole. Sophie's both.

How about the last Friday night of the holidays then? Come on over to my place, stay the night. I have to go down to Wang to pick up my Woman on the Saturday. That would be very gradely!