I'm at your back door with the earth of hundred nations in my skin
Re: Queens not having cool gear, 
lunaris1013 reminded me that both the Ramones AND Spider-man are from Queens, and
skalja reminded me that those are two great tastes that taste great together.
Hey, if I'm going to be singing it all day, so are you.
*
Last Resort: Skeleton Crew
Now that is what I'm talking about! This was the best episode since the pilot, I think. The LOOK on Marcus's face when Sam takes the deal. ANDRE BRAUGHER FOR ALL THE AWARDS. I mean, Chaplin is a huge scenery-chewing role and the writing is not the best, but he sells it hard. It stays sold, is what I'm saying. And then it turns out it was an negotiating tactic. OR WAS IT? I like that you can't tell if Marcus has gone over the line from overly zealous to, you know, bugfuck delusional, or just erased that line altogether.
For once, I also enjoyed Robert Patrick and Grace sniping at each other ("How did you stay married?" "I was always deployed!"), though I'm not sure I buy that she's finally earned his respect or whatever. And I also enjoyed the "French is the opposite of cowboy." "Robert Duvall--" "Is French." "You take that back." exchange. Hee!
And for once I didn't hate the Washington stuff, now that I know the wife is onto sleazy lawyer friend.
Really, any time someone's on a submarine yelling, "Right full rudder!" or "Give me one ping and one ping only" I tend to be happy. I might need to dig out my copy of "Hunt for Red October" this weekend for a rewatch. I hope I didn't give it away in my last DVD purge.
*
Elementary: The Rat Race
Best episode yet. aside from a few minor quibbles, this was basically everything I want from this show. They've made me really like JLM's Sherlock, and ♥JOAN♥ and they're progressing the relationships nicely.
Quibbles out of the way first: 1. There was really no need for the "36 hours earlier" set up. It was disappointing to me at first because I was hoping the episode would be Joan tracking Sherlock going forward from that moment, not tracking back to show how we got there.
2. The case wasn't dire, but I feel like it could have been interesting and just wasn't. I didn't know who the actress who played Donna was, but I knew she looked familiar, which on shows like this means she's the killer. We have that advantage over every TV sleuth, and it's nice when shows can subvert that "most well-known guest star is the killer" routine.
3. The texting thing - and identifying that it wasn't Sherlock by the lack of textspeak was hokey but the judges will accept it since it was set up earlier.
With all that said, however, I am full of so much LOVE for this episode. Sherlock was utterly charming tonight, when he wasn't being vulnerable. I like that Joan's already having an influence on him, as much as he is on her. The scene with Gregson at the end - I'm so pleased they're not just going to take an easy out on the addiction storyline. You could tell how much Gregson's respect for him as an investigator meant to Sherlock, and possibly his estimation of Gregson - already high, for him - kicked up another notch when he revealed he already knew (certainly my respect for the character - and the writers - went up when they revealed that).
And his bit with Joan at the end also, about people being the most fascinating puzzles but not really liking themselves to be seen that way. Just. SO GOOD.
I also loved their banter. "You speak Mandarin." "Not as well as I'd like. You?" "Not as well as my mother would like." I thought that was a great character note for both of them. And also, she doesn't let him take credit for her rescuing him! She totally calls him on that.
I also really like the way he looks at her - like she is the best, most interesting, exciting person he knows and he doesn't want her to leave and he doesn't want to disappoint her. I don't think it's sexual or shippy, it's just fascination right now, but it could (should) easily tip into love (platonic or other) as they spend more time together and get to know each other.
So that was a really good night of television.
*
And speaking of television: the AV Club's homage to The Middleman, a show you should all watch if you haven't already, because it is AWESOME and funny and sweet and a little heartbreaking, and not just because it only got 12 episodes to be awesome.
The main character, Wendy Watson, is a woman of color who is an artist who saves the world as a Middleman-in-training. She is smart and funny and has a great relationship with her best friend, Lacey, also an artist, and I love that when they fight, it's over things that people actually fight about (i.e., not men), and that those fights are given the appropriate weight and also resolved in believable ways. I love that she is an artist and a gamer and a geek and also a badass. I love her relationship with her boss, the titular Middleman, who is so square-jawed and righteous he could give Steve Rogers a run for his money in the who is a more upright citizen sweepstakes. He's a former Navy SEAL who drinks milk and doesn't curse, and his exclamations are AMAZING. I'm as serious as a Hefty bag full of Rottweilers!
Then there's Ida, the Middleman's snarky cyborg secretary, who is also hilarious and awesome. And Noser, who... you should discover all Noser's myriad awesome ways yourself. (Now I want fic where Noser meets or already knows Abed. Maybe he knows Abed and is introduced to Troy. Someone not me should write that.)
Anyway, here's a pimping post I made back in 2009, and i'll just end by quoting something I wrote there, because it's true and I don't think I can really say it any better:
The show is wall-to-wall pop culture references (some too obscure even for me to get!), and while it is hilariously funny, it is also full of heart and hope, and the belief that one person can make a difference. It's also smart and sweet and emotionally involving, and I am kind of amazed it ever got on tv at all, let alone lasted for 12 episodes. I draw a million sparkly pink hearts around it.
ART CRAWL! o/
*
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/512919.html.
people have commented there.
lunaris1013 reminded me that both the Ramones AND Spider-man are from Queens, and
skalja reminded me that those are two great tastes that taste great together.
Hey, if I'm going to be singing it all day, so are you.
*
Last Resort: Skeleton Crew
Now that is what I'm talking about! This was the best episode since the pilot, I think. The LOOK on Marcus's face when Sam takes the deal. ANDRE BRAUGHER FOR ALL THE AWARDS. I mean, Chaplin is a huge scenery-chewing role and the writing is not the best, but he sells it hard. It stays sold, is what I'm saying. And then it turns out it was an negotiating tactic. OR WAS IT? I like that you can't tell if Marcus has gone over the line from overly zealous to, you know, bugfuck delusional, or just erased that line altogether.
For once, I also enjoyed Robert Patrick and Grace sniping at each other ("How did you stay married?" "I was always deployed!"), though I'm not sure I buy that she's finally earned his respect or whatever. And I also enjoyed the "French is the opposite of cowboy." "Robert Duvall--" "Is French." "You take that back." exchange. Hee!
And for once I didn't hate the Washington stuff, now that I know the wife is onto sleazy lawyer friend.
Really, any time someone's on a submarine yelling, "Right full rudder!" or "Give me one ping and one ping only" I tend to be happy. I might need to dig out my copy of "Hunt for Red October" this weekend for a rewatch. I hope I didn't give it away in my last DVD purge.
*
Elementary: The Rat Race
Best episode yet. aside from a few minor quibbles, this was basically everything I want from this show. They've made me really like JLM's Sherlock, and ♥JOAN♥ and they're progressing the relationships nicely.
Quibbles out of the way first: 1. There was really no need for the "36 hours earlier" set up. It was disappointing to me at first because I was hoping the episode would be Joan tracking Sherlock going forward from that moment, not tracking back to show how we got there.
2. The case wasn't dire, but I feel like it could have been interesting and just wasn't. I didn't know who the actress who played Donna was, but I knew she looked familiar, which on shows like this means she's the killer. We have that advantage over every TV sleuth, and it's nice when shows can subvert that "most well-known guest star is the killer" routine.
3. The texting thing - and identifying that it wasn't Sherlock by the lack of textspeak was hokey but the judges will accept it since it was set up earlier.
With all that said, however, I am full of so much LOVE for this episode. Sherlock was utterly charming tonight, when he wasn't being vulnerable. I like that Joan's already having an influence on him, as much as he is on her. The scene with Gregson at the end - I'm so pleased they're not just going to take an easy out on the addiction storyline. You could tell how much Gregson's respect for him as an investigator meant to Sherlock, and possibly his estimation of Gregson - already high, for him - kicked up another notch when he revealed he already knew (certainly my respect for the character - and the writers - went up when they revealed that).
And his bit with Joan at the end also, about people being the most fascinating puzzles but not really liking themselves to be seen that way. Just. SO GOOD.
I also loved their banter. "You speak Mandarin." "Not as well as I'd like. You?" "Not as well as my mother would like." I thought that was a great character note for both of them. And also, she doesn't let him take credit for her rescuing him! She totally calls him on that.
I also really like the way he looks at her - like she is the best, most interesting, exciting person he knows and he doesn't want her to leave and he doesn't want to disappoint her. I don't think it's sexual or shippy, it's just fascination right now, but it could (should) easily tip into love (platonic or other) as they spend more time together and get to know each other.
So that was a really good night of television.
*
And speaking of television: the AV Club's homage to The Middleman, a show you should all watch if you haven't already, because it is AWESOME and funny and sweet and a little heartbreaking, and not just because it only got 12 episodes to be awesome.
The main character, Wendy Watson, is a woman of color who is an artist who saves the world as a Middleman-in-training. She is smart and funny and has a great relationship with her best friend, Lacey, also an artist, and I love that when they fight, it's over things that people actually fight about (i.e., not men), and that those fights are given the appropriate weight and also resolved in believable ways. I love that she is an artist and a gamer and a geek and also a badass. I love her relationship with her boss, the titular Middleman, who is so square-jawed and righteous he could give Steve Rogers a run for his money in the who is a more upright citizen sweepstakes. He's a former Navy SEAL who drinks milk and doesn't curse, and his exclamations are AMAZING. I'm as serious as a Hefty bag full of Rottweilers!
Then there's Ida, the Middleman's snarky cyborg secretary, who is also hilarious and awesome. And Noser, who... you should discover all Noser's myriad awesome ways yourself. (Now I want fic where Noser meets or already knows Abed. Maybe he knows Abed and is introduced to Troy. Someone not me should write that.)
Anyway, here's a pimping post I made back in 2009, and i'll just end by quoting something I wrote there, because it's true and I don't think I can really say it any better:
The show is wall-to-wall pop culture references (some too obscure even for me to get!), and while it is hilariously funny, it is also full of heart and hope, and the belief that one person can make a difference. It's also smart and sweet and emotionally involving, and I am kind of amazed it ever got on tv at all, let alone lasted for 12 episodes. I draw a million sparkly pink hearts around it.
ART CRAWL! o/
*
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/512919.html.
people have commented there.