First, let me just say that I am going to miss seeing Conan on my TV every night. If he doesn't get another show soon, I will probably cry.
But I love him so much for being such a class act. He could have fought NBC, he could have held a grudge against Leno, he could have folded and taken the 12:05 slot, but he walked away for the sake of the franchise that he grew up loving, the show that was his freaking dream to host for pretty much his entire life, and he made us laugh while doing so. This is the Conan that I will always, always love and support. I don't know where he's going from here, but I'll follow him wherever he goes. He'll always be my favorite host of anything. ALWAYS. I never did take to Craig Ferguson, I find Jimmy Fallon dreadfully boring, can only tolerate Leno so much, and can't freaking stand Letterman unless he has a guest that I really, really love. I do enjoy watching old clips of Jack Benny and Johnny Carson, but they were both before my time (well, Carson was hosting while I was a kid, but I was too young to stay up late enough to watch him). So, Conan will always own my heart. I love the man. And I hope that NBC still has to pay him every penny of what his contract said they would.
ETA: CONAN'S BEEN PIMPED. Ahahahahaha, HO. At least he's the pretty ho.
Second, I finally caught up on Dollhouse. I just marathoned the last 7 episodes this weekend and HOLY CRAP! What an onslaught of breathtaking awesomeness, good lord. I don't understand why the first three eps this year were so awful, to the point of me wanting to give up on this show altogether (and pretty much did until I saw my f-list explode with Boyd icons on Friday night). Episode 4 restored my faith, but apparently not enough for me to keep track of when Fox was actually airing the show (seriously, I was so, so confused, so I decided to just give it up since it was being canceled anyway). Pretty much everyone has already expressed much better than I can how wonderfully mind-boggling this show is, so I'll just do a quick assessment:
1. Paul/Echo - BARF BARF BARRRRRRRRRRF. However, I am happy with how it turned out in this last ep. But still, BARRRRRRRRRRRF. Please do not ever, EVER subject me to that nonsense again, show. Ugh. UGH. And Kristin from E!, please do not ever, EVER again make it sound like the fans of the show actually want to see them get it on. Most of us would puke our brains out at such a notion.
2. PAUL/MELLIE, OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! SHOW, DO YOU SEE HOW WONDERFUL THEY ARE? HOW BEAUTIFUL? HOW THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THIS THING CALLED CHEMISTRY? Yeah. I forgot how much I used to love that ship, you know, before it got creepy. But I think I love Paul/Madeline even more. There are no words for how pissed I was that Paul's absence from the Dollhouse was for Echo and not Madeline.
3. Adelle's fall from grace into a drunken stupor, and then her rise back to HBIC, was so beautifully played. Totally epic in every way. And she had me convinced for awhile that she was on the dark side, which I thought was a twist, but then the show went and twisted the twist by showing that she was actually on the side of good the entire time.
4. The Attic was awesome. I so love the idea of them being human computer servers and being able to jump from brain to brain. Dominic was absolutely epic in this episode, and I loved him teaming up with Echo this time instead of trying to kill her. Although, knowing what I know now after 2x11, perhaps Dominic was right all along in his wanting to kill her.
5. I so loved getting an episode where Echo and Boyd were like partners. They are just so wonderfully wonderful in their peaceful in tuneness. They are one when they're together. It's just so nice to have that totally not creepy relationship that is so safe and wonderful and pure and beautiful and easy and full of love. OR SO I THOUGHT.
6. BENNETT. BENNETT/TOPHER. EPICNESS ALL AROUND. Also, I was totally feeling the Ivy/Topher in the Bennett eps, and previous to that I had never felt anything there.
7. Claire shooting Bennett. I gasped. I just... I think I was sort of expecting it but not really? And I seriously thought that Claire did it of her own volition, because she so was not acting like a doll that had just been triggered. She was carrying on a conversation and it seemed to come out of bitterness, not an order to kill her. So I am still not entirely convinced that Claire was a sleeper, nor am I convinced that that's what Boyd had wanted her to do. What does he gain by Bennett being dead? Why did he corrupt her just for that? At first I thought it was because he didn't want Echo to get Caroline's memories because then she'd know that Boyd is the head of Rossum, but then in the end he holds her hand and looks happy that her memories are being restored. I just... don't get it. Or did he seduce Claire because she was getting too dangerous to his overall plans and figured that manipulating her would be better than wiping her and giving her a new identity? I don't know, but now I totally get why Whiskey goes insane in Epitaph One. Originally I thought it was because Boyd told her to wait there for him and he died, but now it's probably because HE RIPPED HER HEART OUT AND STOMPED ALL OVER IT and he's totally the bad man and she can't come to terms with that and still sees him as the sweet manly handsome Boyd that saved her and showed her that she was still a person even though she was a doll.
8. Victor and Sierra continue to be adorable beyond belief.
9. Alpha is still wicked awesome. I am embarrassed at how happy I was when he fried Ballard's brain. I still hate that Echo loved Paul, mainly because we are just expected to accept this without having seen why she loves him (because the scenes we've gotten just show that they lack any chemistry whatsoever and it is still super creepy), so I totally identified with Alpha's rage and befuddlement over Echo loving Paul, which I don't think was the show's aim. But anyway, he fried Paul, and I cheered, even though I do have a fondness for Paul but only when he is with anyone but Echo. But anyway, Alpha was awesome and hilarious and creepy and AWESOME.
10. BOYD FREAKING LANGTON, HOLY HOLY CRAP. I knew he was badass, but only jokingly did I ever think he was the ultimate Big Bad. He's just so steadfastly good and noble and handsome and manly and HOW CAN HE BE ROSSUM? HOW? That was just the twistiest twist that could ever be twisted. He was the one character that I was absolutely convinced would always be on the side of good. I just... WHAT HAPPENED? And I so love that this puts a whole new spin on the Boyd/Echo relationship, and suddenly it is not so pure and safe and is in fact COMPLETELY SEEDY and full of manipulation of the greatest magnitude, and even when Boyd was being all Bad Rossum Dude he still seemed to have that hold over her where she just inherently trusts him and she is totally his girl.
I know my f-list has been going crazy over DeWitt/Dominic (seriously, I think I have 10 Dollhouse friends and at least 8 of them are all about the D/D), but for some reason this ship just never managed to capture that OTP part of me. This saddens me, because I so wish I could be a part of all the squee. My Boyd/Echo shipping heart feels so utterly alone. But I don't even get that excited over them, if I'm honest, since I ship them in a platonic sort of way. All of my excitement lies with Boyd. I am a Boyd fan through and through. Anyway, I am glad that you all can't stop talking about Dollhouse, because it forced me to pick up the show again and not miss out on its epicness. I really don't get the people who diss this show, because, good god, it is AMAZING. It just has this terminal problem of being way too slow in the beginning and then hitting us with nothing but epic awesome after most people have determined that the show is slow and pointless.
I spent most of my sick time catching up with Colin Firth movies that I skipped these past few years, and... now I know why I skipped them. But hey, it was good catching up with his career:
Easy Virtue - I actually enjoyed this one, though it was kind of slow. But I love that it all turned out exactly how I wanted it to. And Colin was totally sexy, which is all that really matters, yes? And Ben Barnes has a pretty singing voice. And the film made me laugh quite a bit.
Accidental Husband - Worst rom-com ever made? It's very possible. Uma Thurman and Jeffery Dean Morgan make Paul/Echo look like they have smoldering hot chemistry. Seriously, they were that terrible together. Colin Firth, however, was adorable and amazing as always, and he had so much more chemistry with Uma that it simply did not make sense that she was in love with the other dude. The film was kind of excruciating to sit through, honestly, and I got fed up and started fast-forwarding to the Colin bits. Will never ever watch this film again. It was so horribly cast that I just can't fathom the casting director ever getting anymore work.
Genova - Most pointless movie ever? It's very possible. I am not big on indie films, nor am I big on realism, so this movie was almost as excruciating for me as Accidental Husband was. The difference though is that this film was extremely well-acted, the little girl especially was very good. But this is just not my genre, and I kind of hate it when my favorite actors do these kinds of films, even though it totally shows off their acting chops. But I watch films to escape reality, not to be reminded of how sucky the world is. The only film that I've really enjoyed like that is Keane, and I'm convinced I only dug that film because I watched it at the height of my Damian Lewis obsession, so I didn't mind staring at his head for an hour and a half. Plus, he and tiny Abigail Breslin were simply amazing together. But anyway, back to Genova. Not even Colin's cuteness could save this one for me, because it was just too depressing, and I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did.
I also watched numerous other movies in my sick time, and they were pretty darn good (I believe I already mentioned my love of Up in the Air, so, here are some others):
The Lovely Bones - OMG, SUCH A GORGEOUS FILM. I didn't think I would dig this one, simply because these child kidnapping stories disturb me more than fictional things normally do, but I sucked it up and watched it because the previews kept making me want to, and, goodness, this film is so beautiful and heartbreaking and suspenseful and it almost has a whimsical quality to it. It also helps that it was a little bit of a psychological thriller. Everyone was amazing in this film, especially the girl that played Susie. It seems like it would be a tough role for someone that young to grasp, but she was excellent. And, that scene, the scene where she gets abducted, the whole time you know what's going to happen, and yet I was still squirming and yelling at my computer screen the whole time. But they didn't show anything in detail, so the film didn't disturb me at all like I had feared it would. And I so loved how they handled the afterlife aspects of the film. It reminded me a little bit of What Dreams May Come, only, surprisingly, it's not as heavy as that film. Through all the hurt and fear going on in this film, there's also a lot of hope and love and peace that comes with the moving on. Gorgeous film.
Precious - Another superb film. It disturbed me on many levels, but it also had a sort of whimsical note to it through all the atrocities that Precious experienced. Here's a girl whose parents rape her and beat her and tell her she's worthless, but she still has the ability to dream, and to love, and to not give up. It's actually kind of surprising how much this film made me laugh, but it had so many good lines, and it's one of those films that can make you laugh one minute and then in the very same scene make you break down crying. I was just blown away by this film, and if it doesn't win anything at the Oscars, I'll probably be a little angry. And, dudes, I didn't even recognize Mariah Carey in this film. I knew in the back of my mind that she was in this film, but I didn't see her, so I was like, "What? Mariah's not in this film." But she was. And she was really good. And Mo'Nique was the mother, but I didn't put it together in my head that she was Mo'Nique until the film was over and I was like, "OMG, WHAT?" She was just... wow. So different from her typical roles. She was brutal in this, totally became the character. I don't know if this film just had a really great director or what, but the performances were so, so good. I've seen Mariah and Mo'Nique in other films, and they were nowhere near this good at acting before, so I suspect this film had a darn good director. But anyway, that feeling of hope that ran through this movie kept it from being a total downer. And Precious, despite her circumstances, was still very much a 16 year old girl. She was such a beautiful character. Out of all the films I watched last week, this is probably the one that has stuck with me the most.
Sherlock Holmes - Now this, my friends, is my kind of movie. It was hilarious and awesome all around. I did not expect that much kung fu. I love that pretty much every action film these days has to have some kind of martial arts in it, and they're all going Jackie Chan style with the picking up of random props and using them to fight with. I LOVED the slow-mo think-it-out and then the live action where you see how ridiculously fast the moves are. I never knew that Sherlock Holmes was this badass. And Watson! And Holmes/Watson! They were beyond adorable together, and I loved Holmes' jealousy of Mary, and I kept thinking through the whole thing, "Ah, now I see why House/Wilson is always being compared to Holmes/Watson." They basically were House and Wilson, only more cheery and way more lovable. I also loved that Mary understood Watson and Holmes' relationship, and she knew that Holmes loved Watson just as much as she did. And the tension between Holmes and Mary was amazing. Basically, I OT3 the heck out of Holmes/Watson/Mary. Irene I didn't care for so much. I feel like she could have been way more kickass than she actually was. It seemed like she was just an afterthought to remind us that Sherlock Holmes isn't actually gay despite the fact that he wanted to marry Watson himself. And in the end she was just a plot device to introduce something more important. So, she was pretty much the only weak point of the film, I felt. But she wasn't bad or anything, just kind of pointless. And I am sad that Mary couldn't be in on the adventures, too. Mary was awesome! I think I love Mary more than I was supposed to. It is becoming a fatal flaw of mine to always fall for ridiculously minor characters.
The 30 Day Meme
Day 18 → Whatever tickles your fancy
*dreamy sigh*
Day 19 → A talent of yours
I honestly have no talent. Unless you count laziness. I could win a gold medal at that if it was a sport in the Olympics. Um... yeah, I really can't think of anything. I'm so mediocre at everything that I've ever attempted. I will just post one of my fanvids, even though I don't even consider myself talented at that:
Click to view
Day 20 → A hobby of yours
I... collect fandom toys. Most especially dolls/action figures. It started with one single Jackie Chan action figure that I bought for half price from Suncoast and grew from there.
Day 21 → A recipe
Clearly this meme is too lazy to look up a recipe itself.
Day 22 → A website
ASH Latte, of course.
Day 23 → A YouTube video
Click to view
As Andy Bernard says, everything's better a cappella.
Day 24 → Whatever tickles your fancy
(I totally just stole
kungfucarrie's answer)
Just in case anyone is interested, I wrote an Uther/Morgana drabble for the kink meme a couple weekends ago:
No Room for Regrets I probably won't post it anywhere else, but thought I'd at least un-anon to my f-list. For some reason I was in a kinky sex-and-murder mood that day. *shrugs*