Honey, I Shrunk The World
WHICH ONE OF THESE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER?
I pulled my abs yesterday. I think that has to be one of the weirdest muscles I could possibly pull. I was trying to use my bed as an anchor for doing sit ups and the very first sit up sent my lower abs reeling in pain. I did the rest of them anyway, but today I made it worse: I did myself in by trying to do a backwards somersault dance move. I didn't even realize that move engages the abs. Still, all things considered, it's better than cramps.
I'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A URL
In other news, I signed up for a free trial of Netflix. I'm slightly disappointed about the movies that are mail-order only, but I've already watched several seasons of the UK version of Being Human, the second season of Dollhouse (which I don't own yet), and a pretty awesome ballet drama series, Dance Academy, from Australia.
YANKY DOODLE TV
Strangely enough, I tried watching the U.S. pilot of Being Human and found it really dull. I'm pretty sure I didn't even make it through the first half. It's like it was trying too hard. The characters weren't charming, the dialogue wasn't interesting or funny. It seemed to project that the vampire and the werewolf were supposed to be friends, but it felt more like they were two guys who apparently had known each other for a while and gotten so used to each others' quirks that they could finally tolerate each other enough to move in together. The cutesy, boring ghost didn't help. To add to its faults, the American version looked visually bright and glossy like a tropical cruise photo in a travel magazine. It wasn't real. It was shiny plastic fruit trying to fool you into sampling it.
YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A NATURAL PROGRAMME
Both the unaired and the actual pilot from the BBC Being Human were better. I actually watched them first and I'm glad I did. It had a bit more swearing than I would have liked (including many F-bombs), but the characters drew me in. I immediately understood that Mitchell and George were best friends because of the way they interacted with one another (rather than just plot-filled conversation). They had quirks, but their oddities weren't the focus, and their body language was more natural. I liked them almost immediately. The ghost, Annie, was adorable. I love her. The film quality was darker and more down-to-earth, but not the Hollywood darkness that works overtime to advertise just how dark and creepy it's supposed to be. Am I becoming a TV snob? I really apologize if I am.
Anyway, I should note that the actors who ended up starring in the BBC series were much more suitable than the ones in the unaired pilot. The original Mitchell was really broody and misanthropic; he intrigued me, but I didn't really like him. Replacement Mitchell has loads more energy. It was quite a shock when he actually smiled. His Irish accent kind of hooked me in, too. Whoever did the casting did an excellent job. And the writers have a lovely sense of humor.
DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S RECORDING THIS FOR ONLINE VIEWING
Being Human has been on my radar for a while now - I even have a GIF that I just found out is from that show (see userpic) - but Dance Academy took me completely by surprise. I don't even know how it ended up in my recommendations queue. I haven't seen a whole lot of dance movies, but most of them are crap. Either it's actors who have obvious stand ins for the dancing parts, or really horrible plots that try to appease the guys in the audience who were dragged to the theater by their girlfriends or gagged and tied to a chair. This show makes no apologies, appeases no one, and plays almost like a documentary for how unaffected it is. Yet there's still drama, and it's still really appealing and entertaining.
I pulled my abs yesterday. I think that has to be one of the weirdest muscles I could possibly pull. I was trying to use my bed as an anchor for doing sit ups and the very first sit up sent my lower abs reeling in pain. I did the rest of them anyway, but today I made it worse: I did myself in by trying to do a backwards somersault dance move. I didn't even realize that move engages the abs. Still, all things considered, it's better than cramps.
I'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A URL
In other news, I signed up for a free trial of Netflix. I'm slightly disappointed about the movies that are mail-order only, but I've already watched several seasons of the UK version of Being Human, the second season of Dollhouse (which I don't own yet), and a pretty awesome ballet drama series, Dance Academy, from Australia.
YANKY DOODLE TV
Strangely enough, I tried watching the U.S. pilot of Being Human and found it really dull. I'm pretty sure I didn't even make it through the first half. It's like it was trying too hard. The characters weren't charming, the dialogue wasn't interesting or funny. It seemed to project that the vampire and the werewolf were supposed to be friends, but it felt more like they were two guys who apparently had known each other for a while and gotten so used to each others' quirks that they could finally tolerate each other enough to move in together. The cutesy, boring ghost didn't help. To add to its faults, the American version looked visually bright and glossy like a tropical cruise photo in a travel magazine. It wasn't real. It was shiny plastic fruit trying to fool you into sampling it.
YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A NATURAL PROGRAMME
Both the unaired and the actual pilot from the BBC Being Human were better. I actually watched them first and I'm glad I did. It had a bit more swearing than I would have liked (including many F-bombs), but the characters drew me in. I immediately understood that Mitchell and George were best friends because of the way they interacted with one another (rather than just plot-filled conversation). They had quirks, but their oddities weren't the focus, and their body language was more natural. I liked them almost immediately. The ghost, Annie, was adorable. I love her. The film quality was darker and more down-to-earth, but not the Hollywood darkness that works overtime to advertise just how dark and creepy it's supposed to be. Am I becoming a TV snob? I really apologize if I am.
Anyway, I should note that the actors who ended up starring in the BBC series were much more suitable than the ones in the unaired pilot. The original Mitchell was really broody and misanthropic; he intrigued me, but I didn't really like him. Replacement Mitchell has loads more energy. It was quite a shock when he actually smiled. His Irish accent kind of hooked me in, too. Whoever did the casting did an excellent job. And the writers have a lovely sense of humor.
DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S RECORDING THIS FOR ONLINE VIEWING
Being Human has been on my radar for a while now - I even have a GIF that I just found out is from that show (see userpic) - but Dance Academy took me completely by surprise. I don't even know how it ended up in my recommendations queue. I haven't seen a whole lot of dance movies, but most of them are crap. Either it's actors who have obvious stand ins for the dancing parts, or really horrible plots that try to appease the guys in the audience who were dragged to the theater by their girlfriends or gagged and tied to a chair. This show makes no apologies, appeases no one, and plays almost like a documentary for how unaffected it is. Yet there's still drama, and it's still really appealing and entertaining.