In which the little people in my television entertain me, and other stuff
Babylon 5 5.15 - "Darkness Ascending"
The slow accumulation of information points to the Centauri as the attackers of Alliance shipping. It makes no sense strategically, but people are more than willing to believe it because not only is there evidence, but also it fits the Centauri pattern of bad faith and bad behavior. The audience has been back to Centauri Prime with Londo and G'Kar, and knows there is something more sinister at work; but the most effective lies are the ones that are close enough to the truth to seem real. The hardest part, for me, is knowing that Londo had nothing to do with this latest round of machinations, and that it doesn't matter--he's a Centauri, and will go down defending his people. It seems that Sheridan, Delenn, and G'Kar share my feelings.
Also, you do not have your drinking under control, Michael, and the blown mission on the Drazi homeworld should have been his wakeup call. That he has somehow been able to rationalize his failure there fills me with frustration and despair for him, because how much worse is it going to get before something happens to change this terrible trajectory he's on?
Lyta is a much more effective leader than Byron; instead of holing up in the ducts and watching the candlelight glow off the shiny, shiny hair of her fellow telepaths, she's putting the relationships she's developed with other species to use, striking a deal with G'Kar that can potentially help her find them a new homeworld. And I have to say that her bitterness at this point seems to genuine, and so justified, that I honestly didn't know how she'd answer G'Kar's request for the telepaths to spy on the other ambassadors.
Babylon 5 5.16 - "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"
Londo's right that all of the evidence against the Centauri is circumstantial, except for the video that Lennier took at such great risk; but it's convincing, and it affirms everyone's suspicions, and--sad but true--Londo has gotten in front of those people and lied before enough times that he doesn't have a lot of credibility with most of them. But G'Kar knows him better, and it's a good thing, because at least G'Kar will go back with him to try to find out what's really going on. (At this point, I have the irrational but persistent hope that the future Londo saw for himself will not come to pass, despite the fact that pretty much everything else in that vision has happened exactly as he saw it.)
The moment Sheridan outlined a plan that relied on Garibaldi being conscious and aware during a key moment, I knew it was doomed. If only Zack Allen had heard about tough love, and not being an enabler. *sigh*
Bruce Boxleitner is pretty hammy, but at this point I share Sheridan's frustration with both the Alliance and the Centauri. After all, he traveled to Z'ha'dum and gave his life--or at least part of it--to try to end one war, and he commanded the station through all of the waves of refugees that came through during it, and here they are, at war again, this time with each other. At least this time, G'Kar and Londo are on the same side.
Babylon 5 5.17 - "Movements of Fire and Shadow"
The members of the Alliance continue to squabble and work around each other in secret, and the Narn and Drazi find that they can work together only to screw the others over, and I continue to want to punch all of them. The Drazi are hiding the fact that there were no crews on the Centauri ships. Nobody will tell Londo what's going on; the court is protecting the Regent, and the Regent is doing whatever some mysterious people tell him to--including destroying jump gates and shutting down Centauri Prime's defenses as the Narn and Drazi ships approach. The Centauri have been set up; and it worked, because as Sheridan yelled to the Alliance representatives in the last episode, they wanted war. They had a solution, and they made the problem fit it. These people are all depressingly easy to manipulate.
Babylon 5 5.18 - "The Fall of Centauri Prime"
I am going to go out on a limb here and guess, based on the episode title, that Centauri Prime falls. I watched most of this episode through my hands while moaning "Nooooooooooo," because despite abundant evidence to the contrary, I had really hoped that Londo would evade the future he saw in his vision. But in his own cynical way, he has always been a patriot, has always put his planet and his people ahead of his own scruples--both when he enlisted the help of the Shadows and now, when he accepts the Keeper, and enslavement for them all. It's awful to watch him pull away from everyone; and that distancing is such a contrast to the goodbye he says to G'Kar, the way he wants G'Kar to retain his regard for him, no matter what G'Kar hears in the future. Londo's surrender speech is chilling, though; shades of the Treaty of Versailles, promises of conflict to come. It doesn't feel like a victory at all.
I am glad that Mira Furlan and Bill Mumy have imbued Delenn and Lennier with such dignity, and that I have grown so fond of both of them; I could watch the scene between them where Lennier declared his love and then they got so inconveniently saved without cringing too much. Like most of the romances on this show, it was one I bought in theory but didn't particularly enjoy watching in action.
Also: finally we find out what happened to San Diego! Hooray!!!!! Not that I'm glad the area was accidentally nuked, but I'm thrilled that even the small loose ends are getting tied up.
I'm two episodes behind in my writeups; we're watching the final two on Thursday. It's been a long and very fun journey.
* * * * *
I Netflixed Red Dwarf last fall, and then didn't have a chance to post about it while I was watching it, but I loved it much more than I thought was possible. I'm not sure how a show that starts out by throwing broad archetypes, serious weirdness, and an effects budget composed of the change someone found under the couch cushions into the blender and hitting 'frappe' could also be, by about the third episode, a profound meditation on loneliness and finding purpose in the universe. The choice to have the Red Dwarf crew encounter nothing that didn't originate on Earth is a canny one, because it imbues the ship with a sense of isolation, of traveling among the relics and ruins of a civilization that's irretrievably gone. They really can't go home again. (And in this, it reminds me, weirdly but strongly, of Farscape.)
The show clearly went through some ups and downs. I think Series V is my favorite because of "Terrordrome," "Quarantine," and "Angels and Demons"--so much demented S&M for a sitcom!!!--and I liked some of the changes better than others. But Kryten was fun after he learned to lie and became incredibly passive-aggressive and self-pitying; and I liked the oddly graceful maturity that Kochanski brought out in the otherwise deliberately juvenile Lister. And Rimmer--oh Rimmer. I wasn't overly fond of the abandonment of the Red Dwarf for more adventuring on the Starbug, and Cat seemed to become more of a caricature over time, but the show has a profound aura of ridiculous weirdness that I appreciate. Then again, I was raised on Monty Python from a pretty young age. That explains a lot, doesn't it?
* * * * *
I Netflixed Wire in the Blood after reading John Rogers' post about it, and all I can say is, what he said. Simone Lahbib's Alex Fielding is an interesting character in her own right, but suffers from having to try to replace Hermione Norris's Carol Jordan, who hits ALL of the buttons on my awesome female characters control panel, especially my competency kink. She's so businesslike, and sometimes harsh, and always human, and very good at her job. Also, while the show is gory and deeply weird and creepy from the beginning, the plots get increasingly outlandish and detached from the characters and the intersection of everyday life and disaster that make them so affecting in the beginning. Still, it's a smart and character-driven procedural; the longer running time (each episode is about 90 minutes) and lack of commercial breaks allow for a more gradual ratcheting up of tension, and more investigative diversions, and far more character moments.
Also, I seem to have developed a serious Tony Hill/Carol Jordan shipping issue. HELP.
* * * * *
I had a sort of a love/hate relationship with Chuck last year, if for "love" you substitute "mild interest and fondness" and for "hate" you substitute "mild annoyance and boredom." I think there are very specific parameters for what works in the show, and that they overshoot them more frequently than is good. New super-spy Chuck has put a new gloss on several elements of the formula that were getting really stale, though: now that Chuck is able to defend himself more, and sees his own role as trying to help other people--with the personal sacrifices that may entail--we can hopefully get away from Casey and Sarah rescuing Chuck in every episode, and the romantic angst between Sarah and Chuck can at least have a more mutual basis of reserve and awareness of consequences.
If they really killed Awesome off, I will be very sorry to see him go, but impressed that the show had the bravery to go through with it. Those are the kinds of consequences that would really shake both Sarah and Chuck up, and that will go a long way toward ameliorating the fact that most of the characters now live in the same apartment building and work in the same mall, which is pretty ridiculous even by this show's already pretty ridiculous standards.
* * * * *
I have nothing to say about Castle, other than that I'm glad it's back and it was its usual fun. I'm looking forward to the return of Leverage and Burn Notice and White Collar, and am grateful that there is new shiny for me to watch at the same time as I wonder when I'll see a show I'm fannish about again. I TiVO'd the original Southland premiere last night, but didn't have a chance to watch it yet thanks to a conference call that lasted until almost 8 WTF WORK? Nevertheless, I am, like many of you, brimming with schadenfreude at the implosion of NBC's Leno experiment, and amazed that they've actually made it worse by handling it so badly. Go Team Conan!
* * * * *
Leila at Bookshelves of Doom is reading Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and I am so excited!!! I love me some Wilkie Collins. Posts so far: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Things San Franciscans Like: Dog Ownership--so true! I am learning that more and more, now that I am out and about with my own dog, and meeting every single one of my neighbors and their dogs. And speaking of my dog, he's doing well now that he's settled into life with me. It helps that he's getting a lot of exercise with the dog walker. We are still in desperate need of obedience classes, which I can't start until the rescue sends me his shot paperwork, and he's only slooowly learning to play with other dogs, but he's learned to love the car because it takes him to the dog park, and fortunately, he's really, really cute. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can get him to stand still long enough.
And on a more serious note, a a list of NGOs operating in Haiti that could really use some donations right now.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/144836.html (
comments). Comment at either site.
The slow accumulation of information points to the Centauri as the attackers of Alliance shipping. It makes no sense strategically, but people are more than willing to believe it because not only is there evidence, but also it fits the Centauri pattern of bad faith and bad behavior. The audience has been back to Centauri Prime with Londo and G'Kar, and knows there is something more sinister at work; but the most effective lies are the ones that are close enough to the truth to seem real. The hardest part, for me, is knowing that Londo had nothing to do with this latest round of machinations, and that it doesn't matter--he's a Centauri, and will go down defending his people. It seems that Sheridan, Delenn, and G'Kar share my feelings.
Also, you do not have your drinking under control, Michael, and the blown mission on the Drazi homeworld should have been his wakeup call. That he has somehow been able to rationalize his failure there fills me with frustration and despair for him, because how much worse is it going to get before something happens to change this terrible trajectory he's on?
Lyta is a much more effective leader than Byron; instead of holing up in the ducts and watching the candlelight glow off the shiny, shiny hair of her fellow telepaths, she's putting the relationships she's developed with other species to use, striking a deal with G'Kar that can potentially help her find them a new homeworld. And I have to say that her bitterness at this point seems to genuine, and so justified, that I honestly didn't know how she'd answer G'Kar's request for the telepaths to spy on the other ambassadors.
Babylon 5 5.16 - "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"
Londo's right that all of the evidence against the Centauri is circumstantial, except for the video that Lennier took at such great risk; but it's convincing, and it affirms everyone's suspicions, and--sad but true--Londo has gotten in front of those people and lied before enough times that he doesn't have a lot of credibility with most of them. But G'Kar knows him better, and it's a good thing, because at least G'Kar will go back with him to try to find out what's really going on. (At this point, I have the irrational but persistent hope that the future Londo saw for himself will not come to pass, despite the fact that pretty much everything else in that vision has happened exactly as he saw it.)
The moment Sheridan outlined a plan that relied on Garibaldi being conscious and aware during a key moment, I knew it was doomed. If only Zack Allen had heard about tough love, and not being an enabler. *sigh*
Bruce Boxleitner is pretty hammy, but at this point I share Sheridan's frustration with both the Alliance and the Centauri. After all, he traveled to Z'ha'dum and gave his life--or at least part of it--to try to end one war, and he commanded the station through all of the waves of refugees that came through during it, and here they are, at war again, this time with each other. At least this time, G'Kar and Londo are on the same side.
Babylon 5 5.17 - "Movements of Fire and Shadow"
The members of the Alliance continue to squabble and work around each other in secret, and the Narn and Drazi find that they can work together only to screw the others over, and I continue to want to punch all of them. The Drazi are hiding the fact that there were no crews on the Centauri ships. Nobody will tell Londo what's going on; the court is protecting the Regent, and the Regent is doing whatever some mysterious people tell him to--including destroying jump gates and shutting down Centauri Prime's defenses as the Narn and Drazi ships approach. The Centauri have been set up; and it worked, because as Sheridan yelled to the Alliance representatives in the last episode, they wanted war. They had a solution, and they made the problem fit it. These people are all depressingly easy to manipulate.
Babylon 5 5.18 - "The Fall of Centauri Prime"
I am going to go out on a limb here and guess, based on the episode title, that Centauri Prime falls. I watched most of this episode through my hands while moaning "Nooooooooooo," because despite abundant evidence to the contrary, I had really hoped that Londo would evade the future he saw in his vision. But in his own cynical way, he has always been a patriot, has always put his planet and his people ahead of his own scruples--both when he enlisted the help of the Shadows and now, when he accepts the Keeper, and enslavement for them all. It's awful to watch him pull away from everyone; and that distancing is such a contrast to the goodbye he says to G'Kar, the way he wants G'Kar to retain his regard for him, no matter what G'Kar hears in the future. Londo's surrender speech is chilling, though; shades of the Treaty of Versailles, promises of conflict to come. It doesn't feel like a victory at all.
I am glad that Mira Furlan and Bill Mumy have imbued Delenn and Lennier with such dignity, and that I have grown so fond of both of them; I could watch the scene between them where Lennier declared his love and then they got so inconveniently saved without cringing too much. Like most of the romances on this show, it was one I bought in theory but didn't particularly enjoy watching in action.
Also: finally we find out what happened to San Diego! Hooray!!!!! Not that I'm glad the area was accidentally nuked, but I'm thrilled that even the small loose ends are getting tied up.
I'm two episodes behind in my writeups; we're watching the final two on Thursday. It's been a long and very fun journey.
* * * * *
I Netflixed Red Dwarf last fall, and then didn't have a chance to post about it while I was watching it, but I loved it much more than I thought was possible. I'm not sure how a show that starts out by throwing broad archetypes, serious weirdness, and an effects budget composed of the change someone found under the couch cushions into the blender and hitting 'frappe' could also be, by about the third episode, a profound meditation on loneliness and finding purpose in the universe. The choice to have the Red Dwarf crew encounter nothing that didn't originate on Earth is a canny one, because it imbues the ship with a sense of isolation, of traveling among the relics and ruins of a civilization that's irretrievably gone. They really can't go home again. (And in this, it reminds me, weirdly but strongly, of Farscape.)
The show clearly went through some ups and downs. I think Series V is my favorite because of "Terrordrome," "Quarantine," and "Angels and Demons"--so much demented S&M for a sitcom!!!--and I liked some of the changes better than others. But Kryten was fun after he learned to lie and became incredibly passive-aggressive and self-pitying; and I liked the oddly graceful maturity that Kochanski brought out in the otherwise deliberately juvenile Lister. And Rimmer--oh Rimmer. I wasn't overly fond of the abandonment of the Red Dwarf for more adventuring on the Starbug, and Cat seemed to become more of a caricature over time, but the show has a profound aura of ridiculous weirdness that I appreciate. Then again, I was raised on Monty Python from a pretty young age. That explains a lot, doesn't it?
* * * * *
I Netflixed Wire in the Blood after reading John Rogers' post about it, and all I can say is, what he said. Simone Lahbib's Alex Fielding is an interesting character in her own right, but suffers from having to try to replace Hermione Norris's Carol Jordan, who hits ALL of the buttons on my awesome female characters control panel, especially my competency kink. She's so businesslike, and sometimes harsh, and always human, and very good at her job. Also, while the show is gory and deeply weird and creepy from the beginning, the plots get increasingly outlandish and detached from the characters and the intersection of everyday life and disaster that make them so affecting in the beginning. Still, it's a smart and character-driven procedural; the longer running time (each episode is about 90 minutes) and lack of commercial breaks allow for a more gradual ratcheting up of tension, and more investigative diversions, and far more character moments.
Also, I seem to have developed a serious Tony Hill/Carol Jordan shipping issue. HELP.
* * * * *
I had a sort of a love/hate relationship with Chuck last year, if for "love" you substitute "mild interest and fondness" and for "hate" you substitute "mild annoyance and boredom." I think there are very specific parameters for what works in the show, and that they overshoot them more frequently than is good. New super-spy Chuck has put a new gloss on several elements of the formula that were getting really stale, though: now that Chuck is able to defend himself more, and sees his own role as trying to help other people--with the personal sacrifices that may entail--we can hopefully get away from Casey and Sarah rescuing Chuck in every episode, and the romantic angst between Sarah and Chuck can at least have a more mutual basis of reserve and awareness of consequences.
If they really killed Awesome off, I will be very sorry to see him go, but impressed that the show had the bravery to go through with it. Those are the kinds of consequences that would really shake both Sarah and Chuck up, and that will go a long way toward ameliorating the fact that most of the characters now live in the same apartment building and work in the same mall, which is pretty ridiculous even by this show's already pretty ridiculous standards.
* * * * *
I have nothing to say about Castle, other than that I'm glad it's back and it was its usual fun. I'm looking forward to the return of Leverage and Burn Notice and White Collar, and am grateful that there is new shiny for me to watch at the same time as I wonder when I'll see a show I'm fannish about again. I TiVO'd the original Southland premiere last night, but didn't have a chance to watch it yet thanks to a conference call that lasted until almost 8 WTF WORK? Nevertheless, I am, like many of you, brimming with schadenfreude at the implosion of NBC's Leno experiment, and amazed that they've actually made it worse by handling it so badly. Go Team Conan!
* * * * *
Leila at Bookshelves of Doom is reading Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and I am so excited!!! I love me some Wilkie Collins. Posts so far: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Things San Franciscans Like: Dog Ownership--so true! I am learning that more and more, now that I am out and about with my own dog, and meeting every single one of my neighbors and their dogs. And speaking of my dog, he's doing well now that he's settled into life with me. It helps that he's getting a lot of exercise with the dog walker. We are still in desperate need of obedience classes, which I can't start until the rescue sends me his shot paperwork, and he's only slooowly learning to play with other dogs, but he's learned to love the car because it takes him to the dog park, and fortunately, he's really, really cute. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can get him to stand still long enough.
And on a more serious note, a a list of NGOs operating in Haiti that could really use some donations right now.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/144836.html (
comments). Comment at either site.