i feel like watching 'raiders of the lost ark' right now.

[falulatonks]

1. I don't know, I feel like I mention this a lot, but never in much detail - Shaun of the Dead is one of my five favourite movies of all time, and it's for the same reasons I watch one Spaced episode every couple of weeks or that I would recommend Hot Fuzz to anyone and go to watch it with them - they are intelligent, hilarious, written with genuine heart, and most of all, all of that is achieved naturally. The premises of both the movies and the episodes of the show are larger-than-life, but it's surprising how normal all of them are. It's such a brilliant blend of sweetness and inanity that it just keeps impressing me. None of the comedies try to be funny, it's just that they are stories that have writers and actors who make it funny.
   
   I haven't watched a lot of the movies that the show/movies refer to, but every time I go back to give each of these a try, there are new references I can pick out and enjoy. At the same time, though, the references aren't important to the stories at all. Isn't that fantastic? To have narrative that is only enhanced by wider cinematic knowledge? Where the characters are so well-established and neat and identifiable that everything each of them does just fits? It's so thoughtfully written and executed. If Dreamworks commissioned a movie from Pegg/Wright/(Frost/Hynes), the pop culture references would work!
   
   Also, there's a scene near the end of Shaun of the Dead that makes me cry every time. There are scenes in Spaced that I watch giddily because I'm so excited by how the show mixes these very funny things with sweet, character-driven moments. I mean, Tim/Daisy is one of my favourite 'ships ever, and it's all from fourteen episodes! (Although this is maybe because Simon Pegg is clearly a very big 'shipper, and is a huge sap about the two of them, which I will give sufficient proof for in a later entry.) It's such excellent geek-out material.
   
   When I say I want to take up screenwriting or writing for TV, I'm pretty much motivated by this bunch of people. I have promised myself I will write a chick flick that has relatable, down-to-earth characters of both sexes! with obstacles that everyone faces! with well-written friendships! The characters will push the story forward! It will star Simon Pegg, so that the lead can make people laugh and cry at the same time! and! And! I will make it very, very bloody!
   
   I've realised I still haven't been very good about pinning down my reasons for loving these, and I know it's completely subjective. Still. There you go, I guess.
2. I tried Black Books last week, cracked up a lot, frequently, but it's missing the female-writer voice that Spaced got from Jessica Hynes, I think? It got better by the end of the first series, though. I'm looking forward to seeing the second one as I try to survive this abominable cold.
3. I am very, very sick, with a runny nose like I've never had before. I've literally used up three packets of tissues in the last day, and I feel so bad for it (SORRY TREES) but kajsdaksd my throat! my nose! my eyes! my faaaceee. I also have cramps and it's kind of ridiculous how sorry for myself I'm feeling right now.
4. I wish I'd left my Office and Community watching for when I actually got sick, because when I watched them I was fine and laughed my butt off. The Office (written by Mindy, directed by Steve!) was surprisingly good, I think - not highest quality, of course, but funny and sweet and all that. Andy/Erin was cute! Erin was funny! Jim/Pam was cute!
5. Community, though...Community is just something else. I can't wrap my head around how FANTASTIC this show is. The writing! The directing! The ACTING! The characters! The jokes! EVERYTHING WORKS. I adore it so much. It's hands-down my favourite comedy on TV right now. I feel like people who aren't watching it are sad, sad people. I can never go into detail about what I love from every episode, because when I start I always find I've either missed something or have mentioned too many things, so I'll have to leave it here. (I do want to say, though, that this isn't mentioned a lot in favour of how funny everyone else is on their own, but I feel like the Jeff-Abed friendship is one of the strangest, sweetest ones on the show, and I love how both characters have changed because of it in really subtle ways).
   
   I just really, really fucking love this show. And the cast. I even cussed for them!
6. 30 Rock was really only OK this week. I can't wait for Michael Sheen to be back! And I feel like they're building up towards something for the end of the season, and I'm looking forward to that.
7. I want to mention in passing that Castle is doing a little bit of a "oh, this is a love obstacle in shape of a man for the female lead!" type of thing right now, but instead of pissing me off, I just fell a little more in love with this show. Things they did right -
   • Beckett is not enamored with the guy, and was ready to beat him up for her team when they had reason to doubt him (and she was angry!)
   • they drew focus to the other characters on the team, Ryan and Esposito, who are both strong, interesting characters and were perfectly capable to shouldering the episode, and therefore we got less time to get annoyed with New Guy
   • Castle wasn't jealous, but sad and resigned, because he thinks he would probably not be good enough for her
   • all his reactions were never in Beckett's face or too over-the-top, and he just held it back.
   We also got sweet moments between Castle and his daughter, and between Castle and Ryan and Esposito ("my other partner"! aww.)!
   
   Castle, my friend, you have managed contrivance without being too contrived, therefore neatly side-stepping the great messes that Chuck and Bones and even House turned into at the first sight of a love interest, and for that, I give you my trust. I have read some spoilers I am wincing a little bit about, but you always prove me wrong. Prove me right this time by kicking ass again!
8. Doctor Who was awesome this week, even with River Song! Eleven is still so, so much fun, and he was better than ever in this episode, all exasperated at River and all "I am gathering my thoughts!"-y with everything else (and his TARDIS noise was very, very good and his rant at the end was very well-done and also, I love him). Amy was good, too, I liked her a lot. And the episode was creepy! There was good story-telling, nice execution, and a great build-up. I'm looking forward to next week, and I know for sure that I won't be disappointed. Thank you, Mr Moffat! This is what I wanted from you!
9. Hyperbole and a Half is magnificent. A friend told me to read it on Friday, and then I saw it mentioned on cah215's LJ and then on Tumblr a couple of times, so I think it's recently been spotlighted somewhere? If so, IT'S WITH GOOD REASON. My favourite one so far is The Alot is Better Than You at Everything, which I've subtitled "how to cope with annoying English on the internet". It is so great.
10. Considering how much time I spend thinking and writing about TV, I'm wondering if I should maybe have a separate blog where I can post only these TV-related things, or something.
11. Of course, I shouldn't be doing any of this crap at all, because I'm writing my first SAT in six days, I have two research papers due by the end of June, and I have four major subjects that I'd damn well be excelling in by August for my A'levels in November. WHY DO I LIVE LIKE THIS.

Agh my nose.

-- rachu