Day 1, here we go
Work has been super slow today and yesterday. Students must be busy with classes because they haven't really been coming in. Instead, I've been using my time going through the many documents the last, incompetent, staff in my department left me. That and reading blogs. Mostly the blogs.
*****
Weirdly enough, I'm tempted to say I've been a hermit lately, but that hasn't really been true. I've been out every night this week, having dinner with various friends and coworkers. I guess it's more of an attitude thing. I feel hermit-like. All I want to do after work is go home and read or watch stuff on the internet.
The obvious solution is to be more active. I need to go to the gym and put myself in an active state of mind. If I want to be energetic, I have to think energetic. New goal.
*****
And now for the new meme!
Day 01 - 5 shows that should never have been cancelled.
1. Firefly
Ok yes, I know this is a totally cliche response. But the reason so many people put it on their "cancelled before its time" lists is that it's true. Joss Whedon created something wonderful with this show and filled it with fab actors like Nathan Fillion.
The show follows the crew of a beautiful Firefly class ship called Serenity. Captain Mal Reynolds and his first mate Zoe are veterans of a hopeless rebellion against the galaxy-ruling Alliance. With their crew of misfits, they fly around the 'verse picking up any job, however semi-legal, they can get. Things get even more complicated when they pick up a brother and sister with a dark secret.
Every episode in its short run demonstrates the chemistry of the cast, the detail with set-design and costuming, and the love that was poured into the project. Even with its problems (badly-spoken Chinese, no Asians), the show had so much potential. I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that I could've used a lot more Firefly in my life. Shiny.
2. Better Off Ted
This show was so clever and funny and offbeat. And hardly anyone watched it! It involves the day-to-day work of an R&D department. Sound boring? Too much like The Office? Well, when you work for a company like Veridian Dynamics, which researches exploding pumpkins, self-growing meat, and jetpacks, day-to-day is anything but boring.
The main character, Ted, is incredibly normal and well-adjusted. However, he is surrounded by the craziest group of employees ever to be assembled. There's his insanely competent and just plain insane boss Veronica, played by the wonderful Portia de Rossi, flaky cream-stealing love interest Linda, and the dorky, unsocialized tag-team of Phil and Lem. Playing background is a host of strange characters and Phil and Lem's inventions themselves.
When the show was cancelled, there was still so much to explore. Phil and Lem provided opporunities for endless nutty inventions, and Veronica always had something unethical yet hilarious to say about those inventions. There was a love triangle that never really resolved itself, and the show was just so likeable and darkly funny.
3. Veronica Mars
This show almost doesn't count, because by the time it was cancelled, it no longer resembled the wonderful, witty show it had been.
Veronica Mars is not your average teenager. Her mother has left, she's unpopular, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend was recently murdered. After these traumatic events she has become less an innocent teenager, and more an unmasked snarky vigilantist. This noir-tinged high school drama was one of the best shows on TV before its third and last season, wherein Veronica became a morally bankrupt shrew, and other characters morphed beyond recognition.
4. Arrested Development
It's Arrested Development, 'nuff said.
5. Legend of the Seeker
This was a really great, campy and actiony show that reminded me of my childhood viewings of Xena and Hercules. Sure, the acting wasn't always top-notch (extras in New Zealand often have pretty awful American accents), and the writing was often over-wrought, but the beautiful shots of scenery and the performance of the main cast really sold it.
Like Xena, the show operated mainly on a "monster of the week" formula. Richard, the titular Seeker, his Confesser Kahlan, and their wizard Zedd, are on a quest to destroy Darken Rahl. On the way they encounter evil magic, good and bad townspeople, and horrible monsters. There's also romance and mythology up the wazoo. Did I mention how pretty the main cast is?
So yeah, those are the shows that I think should never have been cancelled. They were gone before their time, and I do so miss them. Speaking of, I may have to dig out my Arrested Development DVDs soon.
*****
Weirdly enough, I'm tempted to say I've been a hermit lately, but that hasn't really been true. I've been out every night this week, having dinner with various friends and coworkers. I guess it's more of an attitude thing. I feel hermit-like. All I want to do after work is go home and read or watch stuff on the internet.
The obvious solution is to be more active. I need to go to the gym and put myself in an active state of mind. If I want to be energetic, I have to think energetic. New goal.
*****
And now for the new meme!
Day 01 - 5 shows that should never have been cancelled.
1. Firefly
Ok yes, I know this is a totally cliche response. But the reason so many people put it on their "cancelled before its time" lists is that it's true. Joss Whedon created something wonderful with this show and filled it with fab actors like Nathan Fillion.
The show follows the crew of a beautiful Firefly class ship called Serenity. Captain Mal Reynolds and his first mate Zoe are veterans of a hopeless rebellion against the galaxy-ruling Alliance. With their crew of misfits, they fly around the 'verse picking up any job, however semi-legal, they can get. Things get even more complicated when they pick up a brother and sister with a dark secret.
Every episode in its short run demonstrates the chemistry of the cast, the detail with set-design and costuming, and the love that was poured into the project. Even with its problems (badly-spoken Chinese, no Asians), the show had so much potential. I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that I could've used a lot more Firefly in my life. Shiny.
2. Better Off Ted
This show was so clever and funny and offbeat. And hardly anyone watched it! It involves the day-to-day work of an R&D department. Sound boring? Too much like The Office? Well, when you work for a company like Veridian Dynamics, which researches exploding pumpkins, self-growing meat, and jetpacks, day-to-day is anything but boring.
The main character, Ted, is incredibly normal and well-adjusted. However, he is surrounded by the craziest group of employees ever to be assembled. There's his insanely competent and just plain insane boss Veronica, played by the wonderful Portia de Rossi, flaky cream-stealing love interest Linda, and the dorky, unsocialized tag-team of Phil and Lem. Playing background is a host of strange characters and Phil and Lem's inventions themselves.
When the show was cancelled, there was still so much to explore. Phil and Lem provided opporunities for endless nutty inventions, and Veronica always had something unethical yet hilarious to say about those inventions. There was a love triangle that never really resolved itself, and the show was just so likeable and darkly funny.
3. Veronica Mars
This show almost doesn't count, because by the time it was cancelled, it no longer resembled the wonderful, witty show it had been.
Veronica Mars is not your average teenager. Her mother has left, she's unpopular, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend was recently murdered. After these traumatic events she has become less an innocent teenager, and more an unmasked snarky vigilantist. This noir-tinged high school drama was one of the best shows on TV before its third and last season, wherein Veronica became a morally bankrupt shrew, and other characters morphed beyond recognition.
4. Arrested Development
It's Arrested Development, 'nuff said.
5. Legend of the Seeker
This was a really great, campy and actiony show that reminded me of my childhood viewings of Xena and Hercules. Sure, the acting wasn't always top-notch (extras in New Zealand often have pretty awful American accents), and the writing was often over-wrought, but the beautiful shots of scenery and the performance of the main cast really sold it.
Like Xena, the show operated mainly on a "monster of the week" formula. Richard, the titular Seeker, his Confesser Kahlan, and their wizard Zedd, are on a quest to destroy Darken Rahl. On the way they encounter evil magic, good and bad townspeople, and horrible monsters. There's also romance and mythology up the wazoo. Did I mention how pretty the main cast is?
So yeah, those are the shows that I think should never have been cancelled. They were gone before their time, and I do so miss them. Speaking of, I may have to dig out my Arrested Development DVDs soon.