Spirited
Dear lord. Australian people on my Flist - why didnt you tell me about Spirited? WHY? It's possibly the best thing I've watched in AGES. Brilliant. It's so brilliant oh my good lord. YOU ARE ALL FIRED FOR NOT TELLING ME ABOUT IT! FIRED I SAY!
Basic story - our two leads (featured in my icon being FUCKING ADORABLE) are Suzy and Henry. Repressed dentist Suzy takes her two really cool kids and leaves her total and complete asshole of a husband and moves into the penthouse apartment of a building that used to be a hotel where she is haunted by the ghost of a punk rock front man, Henry. Fun caveat - she is the only one who can see or hear him. HIJINKS ENSUE.
It's not a particularly new concept. In fact, there's a tiny hint of "dude, this could be an episode of Ghost Whisperer" to the idea. HOWEVER! Unlike Ghost Whisperer, Spirited is freaking QUALITY TV. It's creative. The acting is so good that I'm sometimes staggered by how much talent Matt King(Henry the ghost), Claudia Karvan(Suzy the Dentist) and the rest of the cast have.
Oh god, and the blocking and editing in this show. For a show about a dead guy, there is VERY little special effects. Mostly its all about how the actors movements are blocked out in the scene - around him, through him. He appears places and its INSANELY effective but it is mostly editing and blocking choices - where the film's cut together and how the actor or actors move together in the scene. The drama geek in me is fangirling over that element alone.
You should know that this show gives me ALL THE FEELINGS okay? The inevitable romantic element is paced beautifully. Watching all the characters - not just our two protagonists but ESPECIALLY Henry and Suzy - grow is the kind of writing that should be the expected standard. It plays with that "no touching" element like Pushing Daisies but in a different and fresh way that made me want to rend my garments and weep for the characters and all they lost/gained. THEY TURNED EATING CHEESE INTO A CHARACTER/RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SCENE YOU GUYS! Who does that? Answer: Spirited. I leave each episode clutching my pillow going HENRY! SUZY! SHOW!!! /o\
And details - the music and the costuming. Henry's wardrobe looks like The Black Parade and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club got together and had a love child. Plus there's like - "footage" from when he was alive and I just- for the love of god. Suzy's staid mom-wear next to that mixed with her crazy sister are... I dont even know. Plus, the fictional band in the show has actual music that you can get on iTunes and the like. It's magical.
And if that doesnt reel you in then hey, one of the families living in the building in season one is a polyamorous gay trio. Their relationship isn't seen as anything but normal and sweet and awesome - albeit with issues within the trio. So if that plus ghost romance madness isnt enough to get your attention then I cant help you.
Season 2 is still airing right now and I do not know how I am going to survive waiting a whole few days for the next episode!
I'm working on possibly getting these episodes to share. If I do that, it will be locked. However if you're interested, leave me a comment(or PM me if you're not comfortable with that) and if I decide to share, you wont miss it.
Basic story - our two leads (featured in my icon being FUCKING ADORABLE) are Suzy and Henry. Repressed dentist Suzy takes her two really cool kids and leaves her total and complete asshole of a husband and moves into the penthouse apartment of a building that used to be a hotel where she is haunted by the ghost of a punk rock front man, Henry. Fun caveat - she is the only one who can see or hear him. HIJINKS ENSUE.
It's not a particularly new concept. In fact, there's a tiny hint of "dude, this could be an episode of Ghost Whisperer" to the idea. HOWEVER! Unlike Ghost Whisperer, Spirited is freaking QUALITY TV. It's creative. The acting is so good that I'm sometimes staggered by how much talent Matt King(Henry the ghost), Claudia Karvan(Suzy the Dentist) and the rest of the cast have.
Oh god, and the blocking and editing in this show. For a show about a dead guy, there is VERY little special effects. Mostly its all about how the actors movements are blocked out in the scene - around him, through him. He appears places and its INSANELY effective but it is mostly editing and blocking choices - where the film's cut together and how the actor or actors move together in the scene. The drama geek in me is fangirling over that element alone.
You should know that this show gives me ALL THE FEELINGS okay? The inevitable romantic element is paced beautifully. Watching all the characters - not just our two protagonists but ESPECIALLY Henry and Suzy - grow is the kind of writing that should be the expected standard. It plays with that "no touching" element like Pushing Daisies but in a different and fresh way that made me want to rend my garments and weep for the characters and all they lost/gained. THEY TURNED EATING CHEESE INTO A CHARACTER/RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SCENE YOU GUYS! Who does that? Answer: Spirited. I leave each episode clutching my pillow going HENRY! SUZY! SHOW!!! /o\
And details - the music and the costuming. Henry's wardrobe looks like The Black Parade and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club got together and had a love child. Plus there's like - "footage" from when he was alive and I just- for the love of god. Suzy's staid mom-wear next to that mixed with her crazy sister are... I dont even know. Plus, the fictional band in the show has actual music that you can get on iTunes and the like. It's magical.
And if that doesnt reel you in then hey, one of the families living in the building in season one is a polyamorous gay trio. Their relationship isn't seen as anything but normal and sweet and awesome - albeit with issues within the trio. So if that plus ghost romance madness isnt enough to get your attention then I cant help you.
Season 2 is still airing right now and I do not know how I am going to survive waiting a whole few days for the next episode!
I'm working on possibly getting these episodes to share. If I do that, it will be locked. However if you're interested, leave me a comment(or PM me if you're not comfortable with that) and if I decide to share, you wont miss it.