television/comic stuff, all mashed together
Rewatching Psych, I came to "If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead?" and noticed this time that Lassie's toughening up of Juliet and Shawn commenting that a girl only went out with Gus because Shawn told her he was dying are both in that episode. I hadn't connected the lines to the same ep before. I think we can determine that it is not coincidence, and that Anupam Nigam (the writer of the ep) is indeed a Press Gang fan. Coolness.
Speaking of Psych, I got some of my old Bamse comics from my parents' house and could determine that I had remembered Minihopp's Shawn-like adventure almost correctly, which is impressive after all these years. I'd forgotten the beginning of the story, in which Minihopp doesn't just happen to hide inside a doll box - he's made a habit of taking out dolls in the window display and standing in their boxes, only to move when people look at the display. And in the Lost & Found, when his parents are coming to get him, he's hanging by one paw from a shelf, exclaiming, "It's so much fun here!" The story is called, "I'll do it anyway! said Minihopp" and I really wish I had a scanner so I could scan it in and translate it for you to see, because it's so freaking adorable.
I have now seen the full first Sarah Jane Adventure(late, I know), and I have some brief thoughts:
First of al, Slitheens weren't a good villain the first time around. They/she were/was a slightly better villain the second time around, but that is not an indication that they should be brought back a third time. I find it vaguely disturbing that the plotlines of both the SJA pilot and the first "real" ep are based in such over-the-top buffoonery. I don't like the thought that RTD is taking this less seriously because it's a children's show. (I've seen far, far too many people assume that crap is okay when it's aimed at kids.)
OTOH, it seems like RTD found the third season of Doctor Who "too serious" (yeah, thanks Rusty, it's only the best season so far) so maybe the man just has no taste. It's not as if "adult" Torchwood has top-notch villains all the time either.
If we forget the plotline for a moment (gladly), I really loved the interaction between Sarah Jane and Luke. I'm easy when it comes to alien children, I admit it, but I really do think that they're showing a great deal of care handling the subject. I particularly liked that Luke called him helping the Slitheen a "social mistake". Oh, Luke. *Hugs Luke.*
I'm not entirely sold over by Clyde yet - he seems a little too full of himself - but I can appreciate having someone around who's first solution to every problem is "We bomb them!" and who probably has played a few too many video games.
Maria's mom is grating, which is all the more obvious since both Maria and her dad are so low key (and lovely performances). I also can't help wondering why the parents got divorced if mom is going to spend all of her time in dad's house anyway.
In general, I guess you could summarize my reaction as liking all the more downplayed parts, and disliking all the stuff that shouts out, "Look how silly we are!" There are shows that can pull off a large among of cheese, and sadly SJA isn't one of them. I say sadly, because it seems that's what they'll be going for.
I also got around to reading up on the Heroes comics, and can I just take a moment to rage about the latest one?
It's weird, from the start Heroes has stood out to me as a show where I pretty much liked the characters. There have been people who have made me gone meh, even VERY meh (*cough* Janice *cough*) but while many shows have characters that send me into a homicidal rage, that has never happened with Heroes.
Until now.
Let it be known: I hate West. I want West to be dead, preferably now. If they try to make him the romantic hero of Claire's little high school life, I might just puke. Fortunately, after reading the comic (which made him seem even CREEPIER than the show did, well done, ass boy!) I suspect they might actually be consciously portraying him as a jerk. My suspicion is due to these hints:
1. He talks about how rules apply to other people, but not to special people like himself. I think the writers are aware that's rarely a good sign.
2. Heroes has always been to a large degree about connecting with others, doing things together, helping each other out to save the world. Even when Peter rambled the most about being special, he was always trying to draw others into this, most noticeably Nathan but also Mohinder. West's assurance that he'd rather be alone than with robots is very unlike any conventional Heroes mentality. (Takes a moment to contemplate that I, with my huge need for personal space, am never the less so on board the work-together train. Must be my Swedish upbringing with its belief in solidarity.Taking a second moment to remember Tage Danielsson: "En droppe droppad i livets älv har ingen kraft till att flyta själv. Det ställs ett krav på varenda droppe: hjälp till att hålla de andra oppe!" Rough translation: "A drop in the river of life does not have enough strength to float on its own. Every drop has a mission: help the other drops float!")
3. The sheer irony of having the person who rambles the most of how special and different he is, is also the first one with a repeated power. I imagine with delight an exchange something like this:
West: Okay, the thing is... *dramatic drumroll* I can fly!
Claire: Oh? Cool! So can my bio-dad.
West: Wait, what?
Claire: Yeah, he can zoom straight into the stratosphere in no time at all. It's amazing. My uncle can fly too. Of course, my uncle can do eeeeverything.
West: Everything as in...
Claire: He mimics other people's powers. So anything that anybody can do, he can do too, if he just gets to meet them first. So right now, for instance *starts counting on fingers*, he can fly, regenerate like me, read minds, paint the future, move things with his mind, stop time, turn invisible, turn radioactive, he's super-strong, and he gets these psychic dreams. Oh, and did I mention he has the sweetest eyes...
West: I think I hate your uncle.
Claire: Well, I think this conversation is over! *Walks off in a huff.*
And thus endeth the interactions of Claire and ass boy.
...Well, a girl can dream!
Speaking of Psych, I got some of my old Bamse comics from my parents' house and could determine that I had remembered Minihopp's Shawn-like adventure almost correctly, which is impressive after all these years. I'd forgotten the beginning of the story, in which Minihopp doesn't just happen to hide inside a doll box - he's made a habit of taking out dolls in the window display and standing in their boxes, only to move when people look at the display. And in the Lost & Found, when his parents are coming to get him, he's hanging by one paw from a shelf, exclaiming, "It's so much fun here!" The story is called, "I'll do it anyway! said Minihopp" and I really wish I had a scanner so I could scan it in and translate it for you to see, because it's so freaking adorable.
I have now seen the full first Sarah Jane Adventure(late, I know), and I have some brief thoughts:
First of al, Slitheens weren't a good villain the first time around. They/she were/was a slightly better villain the second time around, but that is not an indication that they should be brought back a third time. I find it vaguely disturbing that the plotlines of both the SJA pilot and the first "real" ep are based in such over-the-top buffoonery. I don't like the thought that RTD is taking this less seriously because it's a children's show. (I've seen far, far too many people assume that crap is okay when it's aimed at kids.)
OTOH, it seems like RTD found the third season of Doctor Who "too serious" (yeah, thanks Rusty, it's only the best season so far) so maybe the man just has no taste. It's not as if "adult" Torchwood has top-notch villains all the time either.
If we forget the plotline for a moment (gladly), I really loved the interaction between Sarah Jane and Luke. I'm easy when it comes to alien children, I admit it, but I really do think that they're showing a great deal of care handling the subject. I particularly liked that Luke called him helping the Slitheen a "social mistake". Oh, Luke. *Hugs Luke.*
I'm not entirely sold over by Clyde yet - he seems a little too full of himself - but I can appreciate having someone around who's first solution to every problem is "We bomb them!" and who probably has played a few too many video games.
Maria's mom is grating, which is all the more obvious since both Maria and her dad are so low key (and lovely performances). I also can't help wondering why the parents got divorced if mom is going to spend all of her time in dad's house anyway.
In general, I guess you could summarize my reaction as liking all the more downplayed parts, and disliking all the stuff that shouts out, "Look how silly we are!" There are shows that can pull off a large among of cheese, and sadly SJA isn't one of them. I say sadly, because it seems that's what they'll be going for.
I also got around to reading up on the Heroes comics, and can I just take a moment to rage about the latest one?
It's weird, from the start Heroes has stood out to me as a show where I pretty much liked the characters. There have been people who have made me gone meh, even VERY meh (*cough* Janice *cough*) but while many shows have characters that send me into a homicidal rage, that has never happened with Heroes.
Until now.
Let it be known: I hate West. I want West to be dead, preferably now. If they try to make him the romantic hero of Claire's little high school life, I might just puke. Fortunately, after reading the comic (which made him seem even CREEPIER than the show did, well done, ass boy!) I suspect they might actually be consciously portraying him as a jerk. My suspicion is due to these hints:
1. He talks about how rules apply to other people, but not to special people like himself. I think the writers are aware that's rarely a good sign.
2. Heroes has always been to a large degree about connecting with others, doing things together, helping each other out to save the world. Even when Peter rambled the most about being special, he was always trying to draw others into this, most noticeably Nathan but also Mohinder. West's assurance that he'd rather be alone than with robots is very unlike any conventional Heroes mentality. (Takes a moment to contemplate that I, with my huge need for personal space, am never the less so on board the work-together train. Must be my Swedish upbringing with its belief in solidarity.Taking a second moment to remember Tage Danielsson: "En droppe droppad i livets älv har ingen kraft till att flyta själv. Det ställs ett krav på varenda droppe: hjälp till att hålla de andra oppe!" Rough translation: "A drop in the river of life does not have enough strength to float on its own. Every drop has a mission: help the other drops float!")
3. The sheer irony of having the person who rambles the most of how special and different he is, is also the first one with a repeated power. I imagine with delight an exchange something like this:
West: Okay, the thing is... *dramatic drumroll* I can fly!
Claire: Oh? Cool! So can my bio-dad.
West: Wait, what?
Claire: Yeah, he can zoom straight into the stratosphere in no time at all. It's amazing. My uncle can fly too. Of course, my uncle can do eeeeverything.
West: Everything as in...
Claire: He mimics other people's powers. So anything that anybody can do, he can do too, if he just gets to meet them first. So right now, for instance *starts counting on fingers*, he can fly, regenerate like me, read minds, paint the future, move things with his mind, stop time, turn invisible, turn radioactive, he's super-strong, and he gets these psychic dreams. Oh, and did I mention he has the sweetest eyes...
West: I think I hate your uncle.
Claire: Well, I think this conversation is over! *Walks off in a huff.*
And thus endeth the interactions of Claire and ass boy.
...Well, a girl can dream!