"Haven't you tasted enough garbage for one day?"
I am so sick of being sick. This weekend was a total wash--though I did end up watching quite a bit of Season 3 of due South, just me and the couch and my gnat-like attention span, throbbing sinuses, bottomless glass of juice, and rapidly accumulating Mt. Everest of tissues.
At least I stayed home sick on Friday, when the weather was awful and gusts in my neighborhood got up to 50 MPH. And at no time have I been the person in this canoe. It could always be worse. And in fact I'm recovering, albeit slowly and with much continued snot.
due South 3.03 - "I Coulda Been a Defendant"
Shaky plotting moment of this episode: Ray and Fraser dropping everything to chase down a good samaritan who clearly values his anonymity so that they can force recognition on him. Ray has better things to do, and Fraser is generally better about respecting people's wishes rather than making decisions for them. Still, Fraser's conviction that people need stories about heroes does ring true, and Kevin and Bruce's story expands that theme--the fact that Kevin thinks of Bruce as a hero, that Bruce went on to have a job that really helped people, the way Bruce feels more heroic in Kevin's eyes and genuinely wants to be that person, and the way he so utterly fails because when push comes to shove, he makes the choice to sacrifice Kevin for the sake of his career advancement. And then there's Elaine, whose instincts show how much she deserves her place in the police department. (Although in retrospect, Elaine's graduation is something I would be more excited about if it wasn't the point where she disappeared completely from the show, at least as of the end of Season 3.) I think my favorite part of this episode was the way Fraser teased the clues out of Kevin, twigging to the way his mind worked and figuring out how to ask the right questions, entering into Kevin's mindset instead of trying to force him to engage with the world in a way he couldn't understand. The way Fraser himself makes connections between things and people is not that different, in some ways, and it was clear he had a lot of empathy for someone who sees the world through a different set of lenses.
due South 3.04 - "Strange Bedfellows"
First of all--OMG, Stella Kowalski is Cam Mitchell's high school sweetheart and also Mrs. Peter Deluise, so there's another spectacular fandom collision. Oh, Vancouver actor's pool, never let me down.
I already felt like the differences between Ray K. and Ray V. were sharply drawn--specifically, that Ray K. is a little bit of an oddball loner, a guy with a strange interior life and a lot of sadness around the edges, and that Fraser in some ways comes across as the one with the more solid external connections in their partnership. So it's interesting that both Rays are haunted by failed marriages, and that Ray V. was defensive and quiet about his, while Ray K. is a giant, messy, open ball of emotion. In Ray K's attitude toward Stella, I think the boundaries between romantic and creepy stalker are fairly blurry; he has two relationships with Stella, the real one, where she reminds him that their relationship is over, and the one in his head, where they're meant to be together. And yet he's not quite restraining order material, because despite the fact that he's willing to leap to the wrong conclusions about her new boyfriend, it's also clear that Stella still has feelings for Ray, and Ray's not entirely imagining it. And Ray's obsession with Stella does come across to the viewer as slightly unhinged--ultimately harmless but intense enough to give one pause--at the same time that Thatcher expresses concern that Fraser might be going crazy, and outside evidence for that theory mounts; the vision of Bob takes up a physical space in Fraser's surroundings for the first time, anchored to a place in his life, one where he can visit when he wants to talk to his father's ghost.
I'm left with the sense that Ray K., with his pie-in-the-sky vision of what their relationship should be, is sort of exhausting to be with; it has to be perfect, it can't just be, he wants so much from her. It's a kind of emotionally charged idealism, focused on one person or one situation, and very different from Fraser's idealism, which is general, and catalogs the rights and wrongs of human behavior but accepts much more readily that people don't always live up to those standards.
due South 3.05 - "Mountie and Soul"
I actually disliked this episode quite a bit, probably far more than it deserves, but I don't like boxing to begin with, and those were some of the tamest and least believable "gang" members I've ever seen, and in general it just felt like the episode retold a lot of the same story as "White Men Can't Jump to Conclusions," except without any of the layers or any sympathetic secondary characters. And Ray and Fraser both exhibited a level of ignorance so obviously meant to be cutesy that it worked on my last nerve; I reconciled myself pretty well to Fraser's cluelessness once it became apparent that at least part of it was an act, to wind up Ray, but there's no way you can tell me that Ray, who is allegedly heavily involved in amateur boxing, doesn't know what the word "diuretic" means, much less that he isn't even able to pronounce it after hearing it multiple times. So, moving on.
due South 3.06 - "Bounty Hunter"
Fraser has some really retrograde ideas about gender roles, so it's really interesting to see the women he's drawn to. Victoria was an extremely capable woman, whatever else she was, but she played on Fraser's desire to rescue damsels in distress, at least at first, before he saw her for exactly what she was and couldn't stop himself from loving and following her anyway. Victoria was the first glimpse we had of Fraser's loneliness. Janet is also extremely capable, and more than a little vulnerable, and Bob tells Fraser that when people are at a low ebb, it's unfair to take advantage of them; Bob's talking about Fraser, not Janet, there. Janet's not actually the one who needs rescuing in this episode, and that's refreshing, and telling. I liked the reminder that for all Fraser serves as a steady counterforce to Ray's snap judgments and emotionality, he's not without feelings; he's lonely, he thinks about having a family; it is, after all, why he's still in Chicago, why he's made a life for himself that revolves so strongly around his friendship with Ray Vecchio, in whatever version, and may even be why he still talks to his dead father.
due South 3.07 - "Seeing Is Believing"
This is a fairly unremarkable Rashomon episode (though it did kind of amuse me that it all took place around the Canadian government's gift of what amounts to mall statuary in a food court), but I liked the way it reinforced Ray's romanticism--the fact that his and Thatcher's recollection of the murder were both so strongly influenced by their perception of the potential romantic undercurrents between the victim and the young couple. (Although Thatcher's characterization has crossed some invisible line for me quite a bit this season, from amusingly flustered by Fraser to ridiculously, pathetically flustered by Fraser, and it does that quite a lot in this episode, and I'm not enjoying that very much.) Against that, we have Welsh's deep cynicism, and Fraser's unwillingness to come to conclusions until he's thought through all of the inputs.
Ray's vanity, his unwillingness to wear his glasses, and the way it leads to a situation where Fraser can see but doesn't have a gun, and Ray has a gun but can't see, is pretty amusing, though. Especially since Callum Keith Rennie looks pretty adorable in those dorky glasses, and Ray's so touchy and defensive about them, like he'll automatically transform into that picked-on kid again just by putting them on, as if they're some kind of powerful magical talisman.
* * * * *
At least I stayed home sick on Friday, when the weather was awful and gusts in my neighborhood got up to 50 MPH. And at no time have I been the person in this canoe. It could always be worse. And in fact I'm recovering, albeit slowly and with much continued snot.
due South 3.03 - "I Coulda Been a Defendant"
Shaky plotting moment of this episode: Ray and Fraser dropping everything to chase down a good samaritan who clearly values his anonymity so that they can force recognition on him. Ray has better things to do, and Fraser is generally better about respecting people's wishes rather than making decisions for them. Still, Fraser's conviction that people need stories about heroes does ring true, and Kevin and Bruce's story expands that theme--the fact that Kevin thinks of Bruce as a hero, that Bruce went on to have a job that really helped people, the way Bruce feels more heroic in Kevin's eyes and genuinely wants to be that person, and the way he so utterly fails because when push comes to shove, he makes the choice to sacrifice Kevin for the sake of his career advancement. And then there's Elaine, whose instincts show how much she deserves her place in the police department. (Although in retrospect, Elaine's graduation is something I would be more excited about if it wasn't the point where she disappeared completely from the show, at least as of the end of Season 3.) I think my favorite part of this episode was the way Fraser teased the clues out of Kevin, twigging to the way his mind worked and figuring out how to ask the right questions, entering into Kevin's mindset instead of trying to force him to engage with the world in a way he couldn't understand. The way Fraser himself makes connections between things and people is not that different, in some ways, and it was clear he had a lot of empathy for someone who sees the world through a different set of lenses.
due South 3.04 - "Strange Bedfellows"
First of all--OMG, Stella Kowalski is Cam Mitchell's high school sweetheart and also Mrs. Peter Deluise, so there's another spectacular fandom collision. Oh, Vancouver actor's pool, never let me down.
I already felt like the differences between Ray K. and Ray V. were sharply drawn--specifically, that Ray K. is a little bit of an oddball loner, a guy with a strange interior life and a lot of sadness around the edges, and that Fraser in some ways comes across as the one with the more solid external connections in their partnership. So it's interesting that both Rays are haunted by failed marriages, and that Ray V. was defensive and quiet about his, while Ray K. is a giant, messy, open ball of emotion. In Ray K's attitude toward Stella, I think the boundaries between romantic and creepy stalker are fairly blurry; he has two relationships with Stella, the real one, where she reminds him that their relationship is over, and the one in his head, where they're meant to be together. And yet he's not quite restraining order material, because despite the fact that he's willing to leap to the wrong conclusions about her new boyfriend, it's also clear that Stella still has feelings for Ray, and Ray's not entirely imagining it. And Ray's obsession with Stella does come across to the viewer as slightly unhinged--ultimately harmless but intense enough to give one pause--at the same time that Thatcher expresses concern that Fraser might be going crazy, and outside evidence for that theory mounts; the vision of Bob takes up a physical space in Fraser's surroundings for the first time, anchored to a place in his life, one where he can visit when he wants to talk to his father's ghost.
I'm left with the sense that Ray K., with his pie-in-the-sky vision of what their relationship should be, is sort of exhausting to be with; it has to be perfect, it can't just be, he wants so much from her. It's a kind of emotionally charged idealism, focused on one person or one situation, and very different from Fraser's idealism, which is general, and catalogs the rights and wrongs of human behavior but accepts much more readily that people don't always live up to those standards.
due South 3.05 - "Mountie and Soul"
I actually disliked this episode quite a bit, probably far more than it deserves, but I don't like boxing to begin with, and those were some of the tamest and least believable "gang" members I've ever seen, and in general it just felt like the episode retold a lot of the same story as "White Men Can't Jump to Conclusions," except without any of the layers or any sympathetic secondary characters. And Ray and Fraser both exhibited a level of ignorance so obviously meant to be cutesy that it worked on my last nerve; I reconciled myself pretty well to Fraser's cluelessness once it became apparent that at least part of it was an act, to wind up Ray, but there's no way you can tell me that Ray, who is allegedly heavily involved in amateur boxing, doesn't know what the word "diuretic" means, much less that he isn't even able to pronounce it after hearing it multiple times. So, moving on.
due South 3.06 - "Bounty Hunter"
Fraser has some really retrograde ideas about gender roles, so it's really interesting to see the women he's drawn to. Victoria was an extremely capable woman, whatever else she was, but she played on Fraser's desire to rescue damsels in distress, at least at first, before he saw her for exactly what she was and couldn't stop himself from loving and following her anyway. Victoria was the first glimpse we had of Fraser's loneliness. Janet is also extremely capable, and more than a little vulnerable, and Bob tells Fraser that when people are at a low ebb, it's unfair to take advantage of them; Bob's talking about Fraser, not Janet, there. Janet's not actually the one who needs rescuing in this episode, and that's refreshing, and telling. I liked the reminder that for all Fraser serves as a steady counterforce to Ray's snap judgments and emotionality, he's not without feelings; he's lonely, he thinks about having a family; it is, after all, why he's still in Chicago, why he's made a life for himself that revolves so strongly around his friendship with Ray Vecchio, in whatever version, and may even be why he still talks to his dead father.
due South 3.07 - "Seeing Is Believing"
This is a fairly unremarkable Rashomon episode (though it did kind of amuse me that it all took place around the Canadian government's gift of what amounts to mall statuary in a food court), but I liked the way it reinforced Ray's romanticism--the fact that his and Thatcher's recollection of the murder were both so strongly influenced by their perception of the potential romantic undercurrents between the victim and the young couple. (Although Thatcher's characterization has crossed some invisible line for me quite a bit this season, from amusingly flustered by Fraser to ridiculously, pathetically flustered by Fraser, and it does that quite a lot in this episode, and I'm not enjoying that very much.) Against that, we have Welsh's deep cynicism, and Fraser's unwillingness to come to conclusions until he's thought through all of the inputs.
Ray's vanity, his unwillingness to wear his glasses, and the way it leads to a situation where Fraser can see but doesn't have a gun, and Ray has a gun but can't see, is pretty amusing, though. Especially since Callum Keith Rennie looks pretty adorable in those dorky glasses, and Ray's so touchy and defensive about them, like he'll automatically transform into that picked-on kid again just by putting them on, as if they're some kind of powerful magical talisman.
* * * * *
- I spent a little time this weekend updating my ravelry with actual pictures; I still have some work to go on that, but now I actually have a Flickr account, so. If any of y'all are on ravelry, let me know! (willowgreen, I saw that you are, but I couldn't find your account.)
- I know. I KNOW. I just don't care. I wear 3" heels so often that even people who know me well are shocked when they see me in bare feet and realize I'm actually pretty short. But who needs a working back and functioning knees anyway?
- Via sdwolfpup, a BSG Season 4 preview that would have me really excited if I dared to watch it, but I'm trying to avoid any solid information whatsoever about Season 4. Still, I'm excited that the show's coming back, that it's coming back on Fridays, and that there will be something on my TiVO besides L&O: SVU reruns at that point, because the pickings out there are starting to get pretty slim, y'all.
- Speaking of which, Babylon 5 watching to start the week after next. Yay! If anyone else is interested in following along on LJ, I'll try to figure out a way to do that.
