"You give them a taste of cat food and pretty soon they're back for the whole cat."
Last night I went on my first real run since the Chest Cold O' Doom at the beginning of September. It was a little rough, and it's rather frightening how quickly one can lose two years' worth of conditioning, but the important thing is that I got moving again. My running route is a little different in the winter, in the dark, and that might have been part of it. Reason #58741 to get a dog: safer and more entertaining running. They enjoy it so much that it's hard not to enjoy it too, even when you're sucking wind.
* * * * *
The Office 6.05 - "Mafia"
With Jim and Pam on their honeymoon, Oscar's left to hold the fort, and he can't do it alone. And he has the office dynamics figured out in distressing detail: "Pam and Jim are on their honeymoon, so there's not the usual balance between sane and others. Toby has mentally checked out since June. It's a very dangerous time. The coalition for reason is extremely weak." asta77, you were right: Oscar is beyond awesome in this episode. But he can't stop the trainwreck that is Michael Scott letting his reality be shaped by Dwight and Andy.
Jim and Pam are gone, but they can't really get away: from Oscar and Michael's separate desperate calls for help to Kevin accidentally cancelling their credit cards, Dunder Mifflin has reached out and touched them. Kevin had better hope they never find out what really happened.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 5.09 - "In the Kingdom of the Blind"
G'Kar's triumphant return to the Centauri court is surprisingly gratifying; I enjoyed it almost as much as he did. I also enjoyed Londo and G'Kar teaming up to solve the mystery of what's going on with the Regent, though now I'm horribly confused about whether the mysterious aliens who seem to be controlling him are related to the parasite on his back, or whether that's a separate issue.
On the other hand, Byron? Worst. Leader. Ever. I don't suppose it occurred to him to just ask for a homeworld before he set about blackmailing the entire Alliance? It wouldn't have hurt, and it might have saved him from alienating some people who might otherwise have been sympathetic. But no, he went right for the nuclear option, and painted a giant target on all of the telepaths along the way. And his followers don't even listen to him anyway! He can't prevent them from reacting to violence with violence, even though--blackmail aside, apparently--the heart of his "strategy" is reassuring the normals that they're not threatening. He's like the anti-Gandhi.
Babylon 5 5.10 - "The Tragedy of Telepaths"
It's totally killing me to admit this, but although Lochley's characterization comes across as very clunky here, I do think the show does a good job of showing that she's an effective leader: she calls in Bester because she doesn't think she can handle the telepaths on her own, but she does go in herself to try to defuse the situation, using her own credibility as a tool. Tracy Scoggins is definitely not the worst thing on this show. I hope Byron is taking notes.
Because speaking of Byron, I think it's a bad sign that I'm rooting for Bester. I like Bester. I mean, he's an awful human being, but he's got depth; he's smart, and his motivations make sense. And he's going to eat Byron for lunch.
And poor Na'Toth! This show really doesn't leave around any loose ends. Londo helped rescue her, and I like that the subterfuge he used--the only one that would work, really--is something that G'Kar never would have thought of, much less have been able to pull off.
I'm speculating that there's a connection between the mysterious aliens controlling the Regent on Centauri Prime and whoever is sowing discord among Alliance members. Whatever is going on, it looks like someone's preparing for war using Centauri resources.
And now I've actually caught up with my viewing. And with tenants for downstairs, treatment for my lungs, and a working DVD player, hopefully I'll be able to push through the rest of the season without any more lame interruptions.
* * * * *
The X-Files 1.21 - "Tooms"
* I knew it! I knew that Tooms would try to escape by elongating himself through the tray slot in the cell door. However, I failed to anticipate that he would finally get out... by being paroled?
* Skinner! Our very first Skinner sighting! *marks calendar* His insistence that Scully follow procedure amounts to an order to be less effective--and they both know it.
* Mulder's completely true testimony makes him sound like a crazy person. Hee hee hee. Something tells me the parole board is not going to give it the weight it deserves.
* It takes Mulder about 1.5 seconds to talk Scully into unorthodox methods; clearly, she did not like being reeled in.
* It's the little details that make Tooms so creepy. Like the fact that the actor does creepy/impossibly young and innocent looking really well. And that he licks his hands after handling road kill. Gross!
* I will pass over the question of how Tooms still just needs one liver, as if there might not be some kind of reset button on the liver quota if enough time has passed between livers, and note instead that he is no match for the child lock on the toilet seat, and in general seems to kind of suck at this liver-hunting business.
* The entire stakeout scene between Mulder and Scully is gold. He's buried in food wrappers, but he pulls out a pine scented air freshener as if that makes it all better, and you can practically see Scully asking herself what she sees in him. But she brings him a liverwurst sandwich, and she calls him Fox--once, anyway.
* I take a moment to appreciate the irony: Mulder was so completely exhausted after his marathon stakeout that he slept through Tooms sneaking into his own apartment. I thought that was the end of Mulder's liver, but no, Tooms has much more devious plans.
* Wow! Scully lied to give Mulder an alibi. That slope sure is slippery.
* I take another moment--which I suspect is one moment too many--to wonder what Cigarette Smoking Man would do in today's nonsmoking workplaces. Nicotine Gum Chewing Man just doesn't have the same cachet.
* Yes, oblivious psychiatrist, Tooms is tearing up strips of newspapers to make papier-mache--a papier-mache NEST OF BILE. There goes his liver.
* The brand-new, shiny mall is a much less appropriate location than Tooms's old building was in which to build a bile nest. And while this entire denouement was creepy and gross, they went the extra mile with the torn-apart-by-an-escalator finish. GROSS.
* Mulder thinks change is coming because of a hunch? Scully and I both roll our eyes.
The X-Files 1.22 - "Born Again"
* Oh, hey, it's Chandler Bing's obnoxious ex-girlfriend Janice! See, I can also spot actors who weren't in SG-1.
* I like the way Mulder immediately treats the little girls' claim that she saw a man seriously, and starts circulating a sketch.
* Of course, it doesn't help his case that the little girl is creepy as hell, on thorazine, and has "a lot of rage and anxiety." And mutilates dolls.
* Mulder's frustrated by Scully's skepticism in the fact of what he sees as irrefutable evidence; but there's a plaque with the man's picture on the station room wall.
* God, Scully's overcoats are the worst thing EVER. How can they fit so much cloth on someone so tiny?!?
* Okay, death by scarf caught in runaway bus door is also very gruesome.
* Blah blah ex-partner of dead cop is acting squirrely.
* So Mulder thinks that little Michelle is some kind of rebirth or reincarnation or spiritual transfer of the dead cop. So, of course, we bring in the hypnosis. I'm with Scully--even if it's true, hypnosis isn't admissible in court because it's junk science.
* Sinister origami giraffe! I think this is the first time I've ever seen origami used as a plot point on TV. Hmmm.
* Although the rest of this episode is kind of so-so, the blank-faced little girl with adult motivations, performing adult actions, is pretty darn creepy. At least she came out of it in the end.
The X-Files 1.23 - "Roland"
* Hey, it's the guy who always plays evil corporate people in suits (and the world's most boring vampire boss on True Blood)! Only this time he's some kind of idiot savant janitor at a propulsion lab.
* Aw, man, now we're pulling people through giant fans?!?
* I love the way Mulder distinguishes between unexplainable (possible) and unidentifiable (not possible here). "There's something unexplainable here, Scully, but that doesn't mean it's not unidentifiable." Of course not, when your default setting is "has something to do with UFO technology."
* I also love the way the show is constantly providing these little reminders that Mulder is actually really, really good at what he does, underneath the wild-eyed UFO-chasing--he zeroes in right away on the fact that the last equations on the whiteboard don't match the dead man's handwriting.
* He also notices that Roland is good with numbers, when everyone else just sees him as the developmentally disabled night janitor and automatically dismisses the possibility that he could have been involved.
* Yep, there is definitely something going on with Roland.
* So... I'm guessing Roland's strange dreams and involuntary behavior have something to do with the fact that his twin's head is cryogenically frozen. Roland himself is surprisingly sweet, and very scared about what's happening to him, which is nice, because it gives the audience a victim to identify with who is not one of the rather unlikable scientists at the lab.
* For example, the one who thought he figured out what was going on and held Roland at gunpoint, to try to take credit for his work, but got distracted by the equations. It's the wind tunnel and the giant fans for you, buddy!
* Well, that's depressing but realistic: in the absence of real evidence for what really happened to Roland, he's on the hook for his twin's actions, even though Mulder and Scully will recommend leniency.
The X-Files 1.24 - "The Erlenmeyer Flask"
* I get the sense that there's something unusual about the guy the cops are chasing in the teaser. Like the way he's able to overpower them, rip taser leads out of his chest, leap far distances, and shrug off gunshots. Also, the green blood is another small clue.
* Okay, I absolutely adore Scully for her skepticism of Mulder's source, especially after following the leads he provides doesn't produce anything useful. "If this is monkey pee, you're on your own." Heeeeeee. She's willing to go along with Mulder to a point, but she's also his reality check.
* Oooh, maybe Mulder's onto something. Mysterious bacteria! Giant, humanoid-filled aquariums!
* Even better, mysterious, possibly ALIEN bacteria with a fifth and sixth neucleotide base pair. This is what Scully knows; this is where she lives--undeniable evidence of something that doesn't exist in nature and must therefore have come from somewhere else. And she admits that she was wrong to try to talk Mulder out of his investigation, that he has good instincts. She admits that for the first time in her life, she doesn't know what to believe, and sounds so scared while doing it.
* Er. I realize that shady government organizations are shady, but it seems rather foolish to treat human subjects with alien viruses, and then be surprised when they mutate into monsters and escape. Don't they know what show they're on?
* Aaaaand Mulder's down. He got too close.
* There is such unspoken weight to the fact that Scully is now working with Mulder's source.
* Aiiieeeee! The original tissue is a tiny alien in a jar! I know the show is all about the alien conspiracies, but I still seem to have this idea that it will all be shrouded in a little more mystery than it is. But no, it's a tiny alien in a jar. It's all the proof Mulder ever wanted, but she has to trade it for him. Sort of. At least that's the way the exchange more or less works out.
* They can't shut down the X-Files! Mulder and Scully can't have other partners! Noooooooooo! And Skinner delivers the bad news, but it doesn't sound like it was entirely his idea.
* Meanwhile, in a scene suspiciously reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Cigarette Smoking Man crates the alien in a jar in a box on a shelf in the Pentagon. There are a lot of shelves, and a lot of boxes, but I'm going to ignore that, because I am not thinking about the conspiracy.
And here endeth Season 1, which had its ups and downs but was overall very entertaining.
* * * * *
Random links for Wednesday:
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/141900.html (
comments). Comment at either site.
* * * * *
The Office 6.05 - "Mafia"
With Jim and Pam on their honeymoon, Oscar's left to hold the fort, and he can't do it alone. And he has the office dynamics figured out in distressing detail: "Pam and Jim are on their honeymoon, so there's not the usual balance between sane and others. Toby has mentally checked out since June. It's a very dangerous time. The coalition for reason is extremely weak." asta77, you were right: Oscar is beyond awesome in this episode. But he can't stop the trainwreck that is Michael Scott letting his reality be shaped by Dwight and Andy.
Jim and Pam are gone, but they can't really get away: from Oscar and Michael's separate desperate calls for help to Kevin accidentally cancelling their credit cards, Dunder Mifflin has reached out and touched them. Kevin had better hope they never find out what really happened.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 5.09 - "In the Kingdom of the Blind"
G'Kar's triumphant return to the Centauri court is surprisingly gratifying; I enjoyed it almost as much as he did. I also enjoyed Londo and G'Kar teaming up to solve the mystery of what's going on with the Regent, though now I'm horribly confused about whether the mysterious aliens who seem to be controlling him are related to the parasite on his back, or whether that's a separate issue.
On the other hand, Byron? Worst. Leader. Ever. I don't suppose it occurred to him to just ask for a homeworld before he set about blackmailing the entire Alliance? It wouldn't have hurt, and it might have saved him from alienating some people who might otherwise have been sympathetic. But no, he went right for the nuclear option, and painted a giant target on all of the telepaths along the way. And his followers don't even listen to him anyway! He can't prevent them from reacting to violence with violence, even though--blackmail aside, apparently--the heart of his "strategy" is reassuring the normals that they're not threatening. He's like the anti-Gandhi.
Babylon 5 5.10 - "The Tragedy of Telepaths"
It's totally killing me to admit this, but although Lochley's characterization comes across as very clunky here, I do think the show does a good job of showing that she's an effective leader: she calls in Bester because she doesn't think she can handle the telepaths on her own, but she does go in herself to try to defuse the situation, using her own credibility as a tool. Tracy Scoggins is definitely not the worst thing on this show. I hope Byron is taking notes.
Because speaking of Byron, I think it's a bad sign that I'm rooting for Bester. I like Bester. I mean, he's an awful human being, but he's got depth; he's smart, and his motivations make sense. And he's going to eat Byron for lunch.
And poor Na'Toth! This show really doesn't leave around any loose ends. Londo helped rescue her, and I like that the subterfuge he used--the only one that would work, really--is something that G'Kar never would have thought of, much less have been able to pull off.
I'm speculating that there's a connection between the mysterious aliens controlling the Regent on Centauri Prime and whoever is sowing discord among Alliance members. Whatever is going on, it looks like someone's preparing for war using Centauri resources.
And now I've actually caught up with my viewing. And with tenants for downstairs, treatment for my lungs, and a working DVD player, hopefully I'll be able to push through the rest of the season without any more lame interruptions.
* * * * *
The X-Files 1.21 - "Tooms"
* I knew it! I knew that Tooms would try to escape by elongating himself through the tray slot in the cell door. However, I failed to anticipate that he would finally get out... by being paroled?
* Skinner! Our very first Skinner sighting! *marks calendar* His insistence that Scully follow procedure amounts to an order to be less effective--and they both know it.
* Mulder's completely true testimony makes him sound like a crazy person. Hee hee hee. Something tells me the parole board is not going to give it the weight it deserves.
* It takes Mulder about 1.5 seconds to talk Scully into unorthodox methods; clearly, she did not like being reeled in.
* It's the little details that make Tooms so creepy. Like the fact that the actor does creepy/impossibly young and innocent looking really well. And that he licks his hands after handling road kill. Gross!
* I will pass over the question of how Tooms still just needs one liver, as if there might not be some kind of reset button on the liver quota if enough time has passed between livers, and note instead that he is no match for the child lock on the toilet seat, and in general seems to kind of suck at this liver-hunting business.
* The entire stakeout scene between Mulder and Scully is gold. He's buried in food wrappers, but he pulls out a pine scented air freshener as if that makes it all better, and you can practically see Scully asking herself what she sees in him. But she brings him a liverwurst sandwich, and she calls him Fox--once, anyway.
* I take a moment to appreciate the irony: Mulder was so completely exhausted after his marathon stakeout that he slept through Tooms sneaking into his own apartment. I thought that was the end of Mulder's liver, but no, Tooms has much more devious plans.
* Wow! Scully lied to give Mulder an alibi. That slope sure is slippery.
* I take another moment--which I suspect is one moment too many--to wonder what Cigarette Smoking Man would do in today's nonsmoking workplaces. Nicotine Gum Chewing Man just doesn't have the same cachet.
* Yes, oblivious psychiatrist, Tooms is tearing up strips of newspapers to make papier-mache--a papier-mache NEST OF BILE. There goes his liver.
* The brand-new, shiny mall is a much less appropriate location than Tooms's old building was in which to build a bile nest. And while this entire denouement was creepy and gross, they went the extra mile with the torn-apart-by-an-escalator finish. GROSS.
* Mulder thinks change is coming because of a hunch? Scully and I both roll our eyes.
The X-Files 1.22 - "Born Again"
* Oh, hey, it's Chandler Bing's obnoxious ex-girlfriend Janice! See, I can also spot actors who weren't in SG-1.
* I like the way Mulder immediately treats the little girls' claim that she saw a man seriously, and starts circulating a sketch.
* Of course, it doesn't help his case that the little girl is creepy as hell, on thorazine, and has "a lot of rage and anxiety." And mutilates dolls.
* Mulder's frustrated by Scully's skepticism in the fact of what he sees as irrefutable evidence; but there's a plaque with the man's picture on the station room wall.
* God, Scully's overcoats are the worst thing EVER. How can they fit so much cloth on someone so tiny?!?
* Okay, death by scarf caught in runaway bus door is also very gruesome.
* Blah blah ex-partner of dead cop is acting squirrely.
* So Mulder thinks that little Michelle is some kind of rebirth or reincarnation or spiritual transfer of the dead cop. So, of course, we bring in the hypnosis. I'm with Scully--even if it's true, hypnosis isn't admissible in court because it's junk science.
* Sinister origami giraffe! I think this is the first time I've ever seen origami used as a plot point on TV. Hmmm.
* Although the rest of this episode is kind of so-so, the blank-faced little girl with adult motivations, performing adult actions, is pretty darn creepy. At least she came out of it in the end.
The X-Files 1.23 - "Roland"
* Hey, it's the guy who always plays evil corporate people in suits (and the world's most boring vampire boss on True Blood)! Only this time he's some kind of idiot savant janitor at a propulsion lab.
* Aw, man, now we're pulling people through giant fans?!?
* I love the way Mulder distinguishes between unexplainable (possible) and unidentifiable (not possible here). "There's something unexplainable here, Scully, but that doesn't mean it's not unidentifiable." Of course not, when your default setting is "has something to do with UFO technology."
* I also love the way the show is constantly providing these little reminders that Mulder is actually really, really good at what he does, underneath the wild-eyed UFO-chasing--he zeroes in right away on the fact that the last equations on the whiteboard don't match the dead man's handwriting.
* He also notices that Roland is good with numbers, when everyone else just sees him as the developmentally disabled night janitor and automatically dismisses the possibility that he could have been involved.
* Yep, there is definitely something going on with Roland.
* So... I'm guessing Roland's strange dreams and involuntary behavior have something to do with the fact that his twin's head is cryogenically frozen. Roland himself is surprisingly sweet, and very scared about what's happening to him, which is nice, because it gives the audience a victim to identify with who is not one of the rather unlikable scientists at the lab.
* For example, the one who thought he figured out what was going on and held Roland at gunpoint, to try to take credit for his work, but got distracted by the equations. It's the wind tunnel and the giant fans for you, buddy!
* Well, that's depressing but realistic: in the absence of real evidence for what really happened to Roland, he's on the hook for his twin's actions, even though Mulder and Scully will recommend leniency.
The X-Files 1.24 - "The Erlenmeyer Flask"
* I get the sense that there's something unusual about the guy the cops are chasing in the teaser. Like the way he's able to overpower them, rip taser leads out of his chest, leap far distances, and shrug off gunshots. Also, the green blood is another small clue.
* Okay, I absolutely adore Scully for her skepticism of Mulder's source, especially after following the leads he provides doesn't produce anything useful. "If this is monkey pee, you're on your own." Heeeeeee. She's willing to go along with Mulder to a point, but she's also his reality check.
* Oooh, maybe Mulder's onto something. Mysterious bacteria! Giant, humanoid-filled aquariums!
* Even better, mysterious, possibly ALIEN bacteria with a fifth and sixth neucleotide base pair. This is what Scully knows; this is where she lives--undeniable evidence of something that doesn't exist in nature and must therefore have come from somewhere else. And she admits that she was wrong to try to talk Mulder out of his investigation, that he has good instincts. She admits that for the first time in her life, she doesn't know what to believe, and sounds so scared while doing it.
* Er. I realize that shady government organizations are shady, but it seems rather foolish to treat human subjects with alien viruses, and then be surprised when they mutate into monsters and escape. Don't they know what show they're on?
* Aaaaand Mulder's down. He got too close.
* There is such unspoken weight to the fact that Scully is now working with Mulder's source.
* Aiiieeeee! The original tissue is a tiny alien in a jar! I know the show is all about the alien conspiracies, but I still seem to have this idea that it will all be shrouded in a little more mystery than it is. But no, it's a tiny alien in a jar. It's all the proof Mulder ever wanted, but she has to trade it for him. Sort of. At least that's the way the exchange more or less works out.
* They can't shut down the X-Files! Mulder and Scully can't have other partners! Noooooooooo! And Skinner delivers the bad news, but it doesn't sound like it was entirely his idea.
* Meanwhile, in a scene suspiciously reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Cigarette Smoking Man crates the alien in a jar in a box on a shelf in the Pentagon. There are a lot of shelves, and a lot of boxes, but I'm going to ignore that, because I am not thinking about the conspiracy.
And here endeth Season 1, which had its ups and downs but was overall very entertaining.
* * * * *
Random links for Wednesday:
- I know that Slate has earned a well-deserved reputation for publishing mindlessly contrarian pieces, but in defending Creed, have they finally gone too far?
- This Amazon listing for Tuscan whole milk (?!?!) has the best review section ever. I particularly like the review done in the style of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.
- Have any of you been following the issues with the Large Hadron Collider? There's a new theory about what's going on: "A pair of otherwise distinguished physicists have suggested that the hypothesized Higgs boson, which physicists hope to produce with the collider, might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather." And it seems that the physics community has to agree that while that's not likely, they can't prove it's impossible either. I wonder what Samantha Carter would say.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/141900.html (
comments). Comment at either site.