Oh, look! A Regular Entry!
Nothing terribly exciting going on. I just felt the need to share my adventures with MS Vista Service Pack 1 and thoughts on the season finales of a couple of shows, since I just now got around to actually watching them.
Adventures with MS Vista
1. If your computer insists on installing this, as mine did, make sure you have enough tech knowledge to fix and/or reinstall any drivers or software it might randomly decide don't exist anymore. You'll probably need it. More on this in point two.
2. No, Vista, my modem is not a new hard drive. Really. Nor is it a CD drive. And I can promise you that that didn't change in the two hours it took you to download and install that 'update'. Sadly, it took me another hour to prove to you that it was neither of the above and was, in fact, still a modem.
3. That's three hours of my life I'll never get back again.
4. Having my display drivers eaten by this 'update' made it very difficult to see what else Service Pack 1 destroyed, but that might've actually been part of the plan.
5. Reinstalling display drivers is not a picnic when you can't see anything.
6. I'm still trying to figure out what it might've improved and/or fixed, since Vista seems to have the very same glitches it had before the service pack.
7. Also, dear Vista, the external hard drive I do have? It's still there. I see it. You see it. I can click on it and everything. Stop sticking a question mark beside it like you've never seen it before and don't have a clue what it is. It's been there for weeks and it's not an overly complicated device.
8. Thank you, Microsoft, for giving my AV software a nervous breakdown. All your random, nonsensical changes made it cry, I hope you're proud of yourself, ya big bully.
I like Vista, generally. It's pretty, about as useful as I can expect from Windows, and - though I know it's not nearly that way for a lot of people - actually has run more stable for me than XP. Except for updates, which for some unknown reason tend to always destroy some of my drivers. Usually the sound or touchpad. The service pack, however, took that to new levels and refused to recognize some things until the software had a totally fresh reinstall. Everything is working properly again, with no noticeable improvements however, but if there's a Service Pack 2 I'm not going to be inclined to give into the Windows Update whining to install it. Especially since I heard that the first SP 1 release was actually worse.
Season Finales
I missed a couple as they aired and just now caught up on them. Mostly House and Bones. Didn't bother with Grey's, since that show this season just hasn't managed to hold my interest. Too much focus on the ridiculous relationship melodrama and the actual premise has turned into an accessory for that.
Bones - Entertaining enough, as a show in general, but it's always been hit or miss for me as far as quality of writing, attention to detail, or characterization. I need to read the books this was based on, since I've heard they're very different. I can believe that, since I'm not sure the writers have ever encountered a real person with the sort of personality they're trying to portray with Temperance Brennan. They need to stop hitting us over the head with her socialization and emotional expression issues. That's not how that works and she's not a freaking Vulcan for god's sake.
The finale left me feeling...very 'meh' about the whole thing. It was a very interesting season-long plot for the most part, even if some things didn't quite mesh like they should, but the execution of the wrap was was amazingly poor, rushed-feeling, and didn't do the plot potential any sort of justice in my opinion. A whole season to find this guy, and he gets a minute of screen time almost as an afterthought before it's over. Ditto the guy on the staff who was the 'big revelation'. His reasoning for being involved in this was amazingly contrived-feeling, especially for what was supposed to have been one of the most logically-thinking characters on the show, as was the way he was 'talked out of it'.
Oh, please. So lame. Yes, I'll miss his character, but I found myself not particularly upset by any of it. There wasn't enough thought put behind it to evoke the sort of emotions it should've. Nor did they really take any risks at all with how it wrapped up. It came across to me as a very by the numbers way to get rid of a character whose actor isn't returning for the next season. I'm not sure if that was actually the case here, since I haven't checked on the off-panel circumstances, but that's what it felt like.
The best parts of the episode, as far as I'm concerned, were the beginning at Booth's 'funeral' and some of the tension generated when they realized they had someone on their immediate staff involved in this case. The rest was downhill and ultimately unsatisfying for something they'd put so much time into building up.
House - Ok, that is how a season finale should work. I've always been a fan of this show and tend to expect a great deal from it's writing and acting. Yes, it's had it's less than perfect moments, no question. I'm not much of a fan of the new 'team' and miss the old one being around as much. But generally it meets a pretty high standard and that really came through in the season ender.
It wasn't nearly as predictable as what Bones was up to, they took some definite risks with it, and they put a lot of effort into the writing and acting to get what they needed from it to make it all work. I didn't even like that character, and still I was crushed at how it all ended. They got in the amazing emotions and got the viewer invested in what was going on in the way that Bones didn't manage. And it made me like and care about the fate and feelings of characters I could've cared less about three or four episodes ago, or at least sympathize with them.
And it did what all good season finales should do. It made me anxious for next season to start, so that I can know how it's going to carry over, consequence and dynamic-wise. There were no winners in this one, but it was an excellent show.
Moonlight - The new show I'm hooked on, which is just a slightly more well-done version of Forever Knight, if anyone remembers that one. Nothing particularly amazing in the finale, or the show itself, really. It's not going to impress anyone with it's amazing feats of writing and acting. It's pretty predictable most of the time, but you sort of expect it to be. But it's FUN. And there are vampire detectives and business moguls. What's not to like? I'm looking forward to next season just for sheer entertainment and fun characters.
Vampire Knight - (Sensing a theme here, yet?) It's anime', which I never thought I'd be watching. But I have to say the plot's pulled me in to the point I'm waiting anxiously every week for the next installment to be posted. It's still ongoing and on episode 8 of 26. If you like vampires and cartoons, it's worth checking out.
Adventures with MS Vista
1. If your computer insists on installing this, as mine did, make sure you have enough tech knowledge to fix and/or reinstall any drivers or software it might randomly decide don't exist anymore. You'll probably need it. More on this in point two.
2. No, Vista, my modem is not a new hard drive. Really. Nor is it a CD drive. And I can promise you that that didn't change in the two hours it took you to download and install that 'update'. Sadly, it took me another hour to prove to you that it was neither of the above and was, in fact, still a modem.
3. That's three hours of my life I'll never get back again.
4. Having my display drivers eaten by this 'update' made it very difficult to see what else Service Pack 1 destroyed, but that might've actually been part of the plan.
5. Reinstalling display drivers is not a picnic when you can't see anything.
6. I'm still trying to figure out what it might've improved and/or fixed, since Vista seems to have the very same glitches it had before the service pack.
7. Also, dear Vista, the external hard drive I do have? It's still there. I see it. You see it. I can click on it and everything. Stop sticking a question mark beside it like you've never seen it before and don't have a clue what it is. It's been there for weeks and it's not an overly complicated device.
8. Thank you, Microsoft, for giving my AV software a nervous breakdown. All your random, nonsensical changes made it cry, I hope you're proud of yourself, ya big bully.
I like Vista, generally. It's pretty, about as useful as I can expect from Windows, and - though I know it's not nearly that way for a lot of people - actually has run more stable for me than XP. Except for updates, which for some unknown reason tend to always destroy some of my drivers. Usually the sound or touchpad. The service pack, however, took that to new levels and refused to recognize some things until the software had a totally fresh reinstall. Everything is working properly again, with no noticeable improvements however, but if there's a Service Pack 2 I'm not going to be inclined to give into the Windows Update whining to install it. Especially since I heard that the first SP 1 release was actually worse.
Season Finales
I missed a couple as they aired and just now caught up on them. Mostly House and Bones. Didn't bother with Grey's, since that show this season just hasn't managed to hold my interest. Too much focus on the ridiculous relationship melodrama and the actual premise has turned into an accessory for that.
Bones - Entertaining enough, as a show in general, but it's always been hit or miss for me as far as quality of writing, attention to detail, or characterization. I need to read the books this was based on, since I've heard they're very different. I can believe that, since I'm not sure the writers have ever encountered a real person with the sort of personality they're trying to portray with Temperance Brennan. They need to stop hitting us over the head with her socialization and emotional expression issues. That's not how that works and she's not a freaking Vulcan for god's sake.
The finale left me feeling...very 'meh' about the whole thing. It was a very interesting season-long plot for the most part, even if some things didn't quite mesh like they should, but the execution of the wrap was was amazingly poor, rushed-feeling, and didn't do the plot potential any sort of justice in my opinion. A whole season to find this guy, and he gets a minute of screen time almost as an afterthought before it's over. Ditto the guy on the staff who was the 'big revelation'. His reasoning for being involved in this was amazingly contrived-feeling, especially for what was supposed to have been one of the most logically-thinking characters on the show, as was the way he was 'talked out of it'.
Oh, please. So lame. Yes, I'll miss his character, but I found myself not particularly upset by any of it. There wasn't enough thought put behind it to evoke the sort of emotions it should've. Nor did they really take any risks at all with how it wrapped up. It came across to me as a very by the numbers way to get rid of a character whose actor isn't returning for the next season. I'm not sure if that was actually the case here, since I haven't checked on the off-panel circumstances, but that's what it felt like.
The best parts of the episode, as far as I'm concerned, were the beginning at Booth's 'funeral' and some of the tension generated when they realized they had someone on their immediate staff involved in this case. The rest was downhill and ultimately unsatisfying for something they'd put so much time into building up.
House - Ok, that is how a season finale should work. I've always been a fan of this show and tend to expect a great deal from it's writing and acting. Yes, it's had it's less than perfect moments, no question. I'm not much of a fan of the new 'team' and miss the old one being around as much. But generally it meets a pretty high standard and that really came through in the season ender.
It wasn't nearly as predictable as what Bones was up to, they took some definite risks with it, and they put a lot of effort into the writing and acting to get what they needed from it to make it all work. I didn't even like that character, and still I was crushed at how it all ended. They got in the amazing emotions and got the viewer invested in what was going on in the way that Bones didn't manage. And it made me like and care about the fate and feelings of characters I could've cared less about three or four episodes ago, or at least sympathize with them.
And it did what all good season finales should do. It made me anxious for next season to start, so that I can know how it's going to carry over, consequence and dynamic-wise. There were no winners in this one, but it was an excellent show.
Moonlight - The new show I'm hooked on, which is just a slightly more well-done version of Forever Knight, if anyone remembers that one. Nothing particularly amazing in the finale, or the show itself, really. It's not going to impress anyone with it's amazing feats of writing and acting. It's pretty predictable most of the time, but you sort of expect it to be. But it's FUN. And there are vampire detectives and business moguls. What's not to like? I'm looking forward to next season just for sheer entertainment and fun characters.
Vampire Knight - (Sensing a theme here, yet?) It's anime', which I never thought I'd be watching. But I have to say the plot's pulled me in to the point I'm waiting anxiously every week for the next installment to be posted. It's still ongoing and on episode 8 of 26. If you like vampires and cartoons, it's worth checking out.