(no subject)
So we lost. Not that I'm that surprised, but it was a much sadder affair than I expected. The boys put up some fight in the second part, but in the first and the third set they practically let the Brazilians swipe the floor with them. It was clear they didn't feel comfortable, that they were daunted both by the weight of this game and by the opponent. Which is a pity, because I know they were able to at least make the Brazilians sweat for the title.
Still, let's not forget that they played just beautifully before, that they were the only team who hasn't lost a single game (while even Brazilians lost to France back in the first round) and that they won the silver and are now the second best team in the whole freaking world. That counts. That counts a lot.
Now, the Brazilians. I always get a bit annoyed when they win, mostly because I'm pretty tired of them snatching all the possible titles and I really want someone to finally kick their asses and get to the gold before them just for the sake of diversity. And I hate on their coach for some reason, this goes against them, too. Still, I do admit that they actually do play the most beautiful, the most delightful volleyball in the world. They are bloody inspired. And they earned this gold, they really did.
As for our boys, don't you worry, sweeties. I still love you.
Now, some dreadfully late tv loving. Yes, I actually am embarrassed about it. But I won't say I won't happen again, because I know it will. It really looks like I'm going to need the Christmas hiatus.
'Stargate Atlantis' 3x12 - 'Echoes'
The level of excitement I wait for every new SGA episode with is, frankly, quite alarming. No other show rates as high to me with the sheer joy factor. There are better, wittier, cooler shows out there, but it's 'Stargate Atlantis' that I love the most right now. Just to think I nearly dumped it this summer...
That said, SGA has really been outstandingly good these past two weeks. I honestly can't remember it ever being that good. On the other hand, the unhealthy excitement might be screwing with my perception.
Anyway, some of the numerous - numerous, people - glee-moments:
- Radek and Ronon returning from a field trip together, with Radek geekily excited and Ronon grumpy because Zelenka scared off his game and he could play.
- Teyla in her serene meditation mode (which she really excels at) and Ronon the Action Man snoring, which, naturally, makes Teyla most displeased - Teyla is never pissed off, she's always displeased - what she shows by kicking Ronon's ass later with her sticks. Btw, they should really show us more stick-fights. They are pretty.
- Rodney badgering Weir about the ZPMs - with so adorable earnestness, too - and Weir getting progressively annoyed. (Rodney: 'You know, bulletpoint. Very brief', Weir: 'It was 26 pages!')
- Rodney on a whale-watch and Sheppard coming up to check on him. And Rodney: 'How long have you been standing there?' Sheppard: 'An hour or so', Rodney: 'What? Why haven't you said anything. I feel like a-- Oh, it's the kidding'. Flanigan's deadpan is really kinda great.
- Rodney excited about his Lassie Whale (Sam? come on, Rodney, 'It's creepy' as some people would say) and Weir deciding that all the information she wants to know ends at the size of the whale's unmentionables.
- Heightmeyer still, well, alive. Who knew? And she's a redhead now.
- Sheppard and Mckay half-deaf and stuck in the infirmary, where Sheppard gets bored after, probably, about ten minutes and tries to get Rodney to play, with no success whatsoever because Rodney has his laptop so he's out in his happy-land. And I loved that Sheppard slips a 'Meredith' in there, that little shit. No, seriously, it was funny.
- Rodney finding a new adventure for both of them and Our Intrepid Duo immediately bolting out of the infirmary, still half-dead, but high on life. Much to Beckett's disapproval, too.
- Rodney attempting stealth signs, which is never ever going to get old.
- Rodney gaining speed on his 'a new disaster ahead' presentation, only to trip on the thought that Zelenka is a fan of pigeons.
- Sheppard coming up with a suicide mission (of course) and Rodney miserably tagging along. And then, when things are really starting to get hot (ha, a pun! a bad one, too!), his unhappy 'I told you it wasn't a good plan.'
- Radek and Ronon keeping tabs on operation Sun Umbrella, with Radek techno-babbling and Ronon staring unimpressed.
On the side note, I know it makes sense that the Replicators brought some ZPMs with them for the invasion, and now the Atlantis expedition has them as a loot, but I really think this show works better when they can't call home every damn week. It ruins the frontier outpost atmosphere to me. But I guess it's necessary so that Carter can now freely come and go in season 4. Yeah, I'm trembling with excitement already. *snort*
'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' 1x10 - 'B-12'
Not as good as the episode last week, and still definitely not what I expect this show to be, but a reasonably ok installment. Doesn't bring the show up, but doesn't put any more nails in its coffin either.
All the S60 sketches are still almost aggressively not funny. And one of them was repeated twice, for reasons totally unfathomable to me, because it was even lamer the second time around. Even the Jew joke that Harriet was desperately trying to remember sucked. If they are going to keep throwing at us how hilarious, edgy and all-around wonderful the-show-within-the-show is, they really should stop flooding us with the proofs to the contrary. And seeing people pretending to laugh in the audience actually doesn't help at all.
A quick rundown of the characters: Matt and Danny still work smooth together, but there weren't any special sparks this time, Jack is back full force to being great, the Jordan drama is excessive (but I appreciate the fact that she's not that smart/pretty/perfect woman that the show was annoyingly making her look like at first), the Lucy/Darius combo is real cute, though that's mostly Lucy's doing, Andy was pretty cool and I hope we'll see more of him, Harriet's struggle with a joke was adorably unrealistic, Simon and Tom didn't actually got any storyline this week, Cal wasn't there at all, and Martha Odell annoys the hell out of me.
The lines of notice, sadly a bit sparser than expected:
Danny: 'I'll let her have it', Matt: 'I wouldn't', Danny: 'Why not?' Matt: 'I'm scared of her'.
Jack: 'I do think you're gonna get fired', Jordan: 'On what grounds?' Jack: 'On the grounds that there's a growing public perception you're a twit'.
Andy: 'They gotta be every bit as damaged as you are', Danny: 'That's a lot to shoot for, Andy', Matt: 'It is'.
On the whole, not a bad episode, but the show really has to do better than that. The only plotline that worked as it was supposed to was the one with the writing staff, with Lucy and Darius, the only remaining writers, completely petrified with the new situation and Matt, after turning out to be a crappy troops leader himself, bringing in reinforcements to make his hapless team into a real deal. The reinforcements being Andy the Serious Guy, a man with a traumatic past, somewhat dry, yet gentle approach and with a apparent penchant for Dutch. Oh, and the 'thank you' scene was just as delightful as the promo, well, promised.
'Heroes' 1x10 - 'Six Months Ago'
About the 'Homecoming' episode, the review of which, oops, must have been lost in the mail (at least that's the version I'm sticking to). It was actually kind of a let-down how the 'save the cheerleader' plotline played out in the end, the promised come-together was much smaller than expected and the only twist I met with genuine joy was Mr Bennet's Mind-Warriors Duo taking down Sylar. Seriously that was plenty cool. I'm now officially rooting for Mr Bennet's team.
'Six Months Ago' was an episode I was long waiting for. It gives us the much-needed deeper look into the characters, and especially in Niki and Nathan's case it means a world of difference. These two have been really getting the short end of the stick so far and they desperately needed some extra layers.
Niki. We still don't really know what is Jessica, but now we have two brand new, exciting options. She's either Niki's sister who somehow managed to transfer into her body after she died. Or she could be a split personality that Niki subconsciously created to cope with the abuse and that she called Jessica because, perhaps, Jessica used to protect her, and after she was gone, Niki needed protection even more than before. And, whatever possibility actually checks out, Jessica is one very protective, very determined lady. I think I'm starting to like her.
And I liked that Niki, D.L. and Micah used to be so happy, so normal together. It makes the transition into present time, when Niki/Jessica and D.L. are gunning for each other even harsher.
Nathan. We saw a completely different him this week, before he became this cold bastard shark he is today. I liked his devotion to the case, I liked his close and very easy relationship with Peter, I liked his obvious adoration for his wife. And I definitely liked how his burying himself inside four thick walls of denial finally makes more sense.
Sylar, the biggest enigma so far. Finally, finally we get to see more. And I very much approve of the results. How Sylar just started as a delusionary, power-hungry fanatic, how he's a watchmaker, how he desperately needed to be something special and finally how utterly awesome his power is. Actually, I'm still not entirely sure what his power exactly entails, but I know it involves stealing other people's powers by poking into their brains. Because they are 'broken'. And that's just plain cool.
Charlie was sweet and cute, but her storyline with Hiro dragged out for me a bit. And I'm really having a hard time believing how Hiro's time-stopping tricks don't freak out everyone around.
Mr Bennet rocks as ever. And Eden is getting neater with every episode.
Papa Suresh is quite boring, though. Must run in the family.
The only thing that felt a bit jarring in this episode is how very defferent the lives of most of them were. Nathan's and Claire's particularly. Niki's too, up to some point. Six months is quite a lot of time on the one hand, but on the other, it just goes by in a flash. It feels like these characters really needed a bit more than a flash to get from 'then' to 'now'.
.
Still, let's not forget that they played just beautifully before, that they were the only team who hasn't lost a single game (while even Brazilians lost to France back in the first round) and that they won the silver and are now the second best team in the whole freaking world. That counts. That counts a lot.
Now, the Brazilians. I always get a bit annoyed when they win, mostly because I'm pretty tired of them snatching all the possible titles and I really want someone to finally kick their asses and get to the gold before them just for the sake of diversity. And I hate on their coach for some reason, this goes against them, too. Still, I do admit that they actually do play the most beautiful, the most delightful volleyball in the world. They are bloody inspired. And they earned this gold, they really did.
As for our boys, don't you worry, sweeties. I still love you.
Now, some dreadfully late tv loving. Yes, I actually am embarrassed about it. But I won't say I won't happen again, because I know it will. It really looks like I'm going to need the Christmas hiatus.
'Stargate Atlantis' 3x12 - 'Echoes'
The level of excitement I wait for every new SGA episode with is, frankly, quite alarming. No other show rates as high to me with the sheer joy factor. There are better, wittier, cooler shows out there, but it's 'Stargate Atlantis' that I love the most right now. Just to think I nearly dumped it this summer...
That said, SGA has really been outstandingly good these past two weeks. I honestly can't remember it ever being that good. On the other hand, the unhealthy excitement might be screwing with my perception.
Anyway, some of the numerous - numerous, people - glee-moments:
- Radek and Ronon returning from a field trip together, with Radek geekily excited and Ronon grumpy because Zelenka scared off his game and he could play.
- Teyla in her serene meditation mode (which she really excels at) and Ronon the Action Man snoring, which, naturally, makes Teyla most displeased - Teyla is never pissed off, she's always displeased - what she shows by kicking Ronon's ass later with her sticks. Btw, they should really show us more stick-fights. They are pretty.
- Rodney badgering Weir about the ZPMs - with so adorable earnestness, too - and Weir getting progressively annoyed. (Rodney: 'You know, bulletpoint. Very brief', Weir: 'It was 26 pages!')
- Rodney on a whale-watch and Sheppard coming up to check on him. And Rodney: 'How long have you been standing there?' Sheppard: 'An hour or so', Rodney: 'What? Why haven't you said anything. I feel like a-- Oh, it's the kidding'. Flanigan's deadpan is really kinda great.
- Rodney excited about his Lassie Whale (Sam? come on, Rodney, 'It's creepy' as some people would say) and Weir deciding that all the information she wants to know ends at the size of the whale's unmentionables.
- Heightmeyer still, well, alive. Who knew? And she's a redhead now.
- Sheppard and Mckay half-deaf and stuck in the infirmary, where Sheppard gets bored after, probably, about ten minutes and tries to get Rodney to play, with no success whatsoever because Rodney has his laptop so he's out in his happy-land. And I loved that Sheppard slips a 'Meredith' in there, that little shit. No, seriously, it was funny.
- Rodney finding a new adventure for both of them and Our Intrepid Duo immediately bolting out of the infirmary, still half-dead, but high on life. Much to Beckett's disapproval, too.
- Rodney attempting stealth signs, which is never ever going to get old.
- Rodney gaining speed on his 'a new disaster ahead' presentation, only to trip on the thought that Zelenka is a fan of pigeons.
- Sheppard coming up with a suicide mission (of course) and Rodney miserably tagging along. And then, when things are really starting to get hot (ha, a pun! a bad one, too!), his unhappy 'I told you it wasn't a good plan.'
- Radek and Ronon keeping tabs on operation Sun Umbrella, with Radek techno-babbling and Ronon staring unimpressed.
On the side note, I know it makes sense that the Replicators brought some ZPMs with them for the invasion, and now the Atlantis expedition has them as a loot, but I really think this show works better when they can't call home every damn week. It ruins the frontier outpost atmosphere to me. But I guess it's necessary so that Carter can now freely come and go in season 4. Yeah, I'm trembling with excitement already. *snort*
'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip' 1x10 - 'B-12'
Not as good as the episode last week, and still definitely not what I expect this show to be, but a reasonably ok installment. Doesn't bring the show up, but doesn't put any more nails in its coffin either.
All the S60 sketches are still almost aggressively not funny. And one of them was repeated twice, for reasons totally unfathomable to me, because it was even lamer the second time around. Even the Jew joke that Harriet was desperately trying to remember sucked. If they are going to keep throwing at us how hilarious, edgy and all-around wonderful the-show-within-the-show is, they really should stop flooding us with the proofs to the contrary. And seeing people pretending to laugh in the audience actually doesn't help at all.
A quick rundown of the characters: Matt and Danny still work smooth together, but there weren't any special sparks this time, Jack is back full force to being great, the Jordan drama is excessive (but I appreciate the fact that she's not that smart/pretty/perfect woman that the show was annoyingly making her look like at first), the Lucy/Darius combo is real cute, though that's mostly Lucy's doing, Andy was pretty cool and I hope we'll see more of him, Harriet's struggle with a joke was adorably unrealistic, Simon and Tom didn't actually got any storyline this week, Cal wasn't there at all, and Martha Odell annoys the hell out of me.
The lines of notice, sadly a bit sparser than expected:
Danny: 'I'll let her have it', Matt: 'I wouldn't', Danny: 'Why not?' Matt: 'I'm scared of her'.
Jack: 'I do think you're gonna get fired', Jordan: 'On what grounds?' Jack: 'On the grounds that there's a growing public perception you're a twit'.
Andy: 'They gotta be every bit as damaged as you are', Danny: 'That's a lot to shoot for, Andy', Matt: 'It is'.
On the whole, not a bad episode, but the show really has to do better than that. The only plotline that worked as it was supposed to was the one with the writing staff, with Lucy and Darius, the only remaining writers, completely petrified with the new situation and Matt, after turning out to be a crappy troops leader himself, bringing in reinforcements to make his hapless team into a real deal. The reinforcements being Andy the Serious Guy, a man with a traumatic past, somewhat dry, yet gentle approach and with a apparent penchant for Dutch. Oh, and the 'thank you' scene was just as delightful as the promo, well, promised.
'Heroes' 1x10 - 'Six Months Ago'
About the 'Homecoming' episode, the review of which, oops, must have been lost in the mail (at least that's the version I'm sticking to). It was actually kind of a let-down how the 'save the cheerleader' plotline played out in the end, the promised come-together was much smaller than expected and the only twist I met with genuine joy was Mr Bennet's Mind-Warriors Duo taking down Sylar. Seriously that was plenty cool. I'm now officially rooting for Mr Bennet's team.
'Six Months Ago' was an episode I was long waiting for. It gives us the much-needed deeper look into the characters, and especially in Niki and Nathan's case it means a world of difference. These two have been really getting the short end of the stick so far and they desperately needed some extra layers.
Niki. We still don't really know what is Jessica, but now we have two brand new, exciting options. She's either Niki's sister who somehow managed to transfer into her body after she died. Or she could be a split personality that Niki subconsciously created to cope with the abuse and that she called Jessica because, perhaps, Jessica used to protect her, and after she was gone, Niki needed protection even more than before. And, whatever possibility actually checks out, Jessica is one very protective, very determined lady. I think I'm starting to like her.
And I liked that Niki, D.L. and Micah used to be so happy, so normal together. It makes the transition into present time, when Niki/Jessica and D.L. are gunning for each other even harsher.
Nathan. We saw a completely different him this week, before he became this cold bastard shark he is today. I liked his devotion to the case, I liked his close and very easy relationship with Peter, I liked his obvious adoration for his wife. And I definitely liked how his burying himself inside four thick walls of denial finally makes more sense.
Sylar, the biggest enigma so far. Finally, finally we get to see more. And I very much approve of the results. How Sylar just started as a delusionary, power-hungry fanatic, how he's a watchmaker, how he desperately needed to be something special and finally how utterly awesome his power is. Actually, I'm still not entirely sure what his power exactly entails, but I know it involves stealing other people's powers by poking into their brains. Because they are 'broken'. And that's just plain cool.
Charlie was sweet and cute, but her storyline with Hiro dragged out for me a bit. And I'm really having a hard time believing how Hiro's time-stopping tricks don't freak out everyone around.
Mr Bennet rocks as ever. And Eden is getting neater with every episode.
Papa Suresh is quite boring, though. Must run in the family.
The only thing that felt a bit jarring in this episode is how very defferent the lives of most of them were. Nathan's and Claire's particularly. Niki's too, up to some point. Six months is quite a lot of time on the one hand, but on the other, it just goes by in a flash. It feels like these characters really needed a bit more than a flash to get from 'then' to 'now'.
.