give me two strong arms to protect myself
12/19: 
glass_icarus asked about comfort food/recipes?
For me, comfort food is best if it's cooked by someone else! My mother used to make me pastina when I was a young kid (though she'd use chicken broth rather than water to cook the pastina) and when I got laid-off, that is what I made for myself with some regularity. It also has the benefit of being cheap, easy, and filling. When I hurt my knee last year, when I got home from the doctor, I made a bowl. It's exactly the kind of bland, nostalgia-laden dish that comfort food should be. Also, grilled cheese. Pancakes. I also find bagels very comforting, especially when hungover. The best hangover breakfast is a toasted poppy seed bagel with cream cheese and a big cup of iced coffee.
***
I discussed the fall 2013 tv season back in September, and now that everything's in hiatus, instead of that TV meme people are doing, it's time for some report cards.
Note: all grades are arbitrary and based on how much I enjoyed something (often it's how much I enjoyed it vs. how much I expected to enjoy it), and of course, mileage varies.
Full season report cards:
These are shows that fully aired in 2013, usually with a shortened season, or ended their season/series in 2013.
Avatar: Legend of Korra: C+/B-
Season 2 had a slow and scattered start after season 1 never lived up to its potential, but the back half of the season had some really exciting episodes, even if some of it was coasting on goodwill for the first series. I don't think the season hangs together as a whole (and I didn't love it enough to rewatch it all in one go), and I think the writing has been really scattershot, and I don't love this group of characters the way I loved the Gaang (there are a few characters I feel could have disappeared completely and I would never have missed them), but I do like Korra herself a lot, even if I feel like she is bad at learning life lessons.
Orphan Black: A-
There were a couple of things I was meh about - I wish Art were more involved/in the know, I wish we knew more about Beth Childs, Paul is still boring - but this show was pretty fantastic from start to finish. I know. I watched it all in one day! SARAH, ALISON, AND FELIX OH MY. Can't wait for s2. PROCLONE AHOY.
Young Justice: Invasion: B+
I feel like "Invasion" as a season tried to introduce too many characters and spent too little time with the ones I was most interested, aka, the original group (and then they didn't even give us a comics core four Tim, Kon, Bart, and Cassie episode, and I absolutely reject the Tim/Cassie hookup they tried to sell at the end. WTF?). It did have some really great stuff in it, though, mostly related to Kaldur and Artemis, and Dick's slow descent into Batmannishness (I wish the show had acknowledged this more, and also the fact that CLEARLY Jason's death had something to do with it), and M'Gann's descent into darkness (which could have had more depth to it - a lot of it took place off-screen - I still want to see that conversation with Conner, for example), and a lot of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, plus Roy and Cheshire and Lian. I'm sad it was cancelled but I enjoyed what we got.
Mid-season report cards:
Returning shows
Teen Wolf: C+/B-
There were a couple developments I really liked: SCOTT! ALLISON! LYDIA! The sheriff finally learning the truth about werewolves! And things that I didn't like: Boyd and Erica's pointless deaths. Jennifer Blake ending up both evil and dead while both Gerard and Deucalion are still alive. The twins just being accepted by Scott et al. after killing Boyd. The complete lack of information about Derek and Cora's relationship and how it affected them. Peter and Lydia's weaksauce confrontation and Lydia not just clawing his eyes out right then and there. I am not fannish about this show so I haven't kept up with rumors or promos for the second half of the season, but let's just say my expectations are not very high.
Elementary: B+/A-
Season 1 went out with a bang, and it was lovely all around; the first season improved so steadily, and so carefully developed Joan and Sherlock's relationships that the weak cases never really bothered me. Season 2 has had a couple of stumbles that I haven't been able to strongly articulate, but are mostly related to the feeling that Joan is being backgrounded more and more when she is a co-lead. I also appreciate that Sherlock has discovered that his actions can and do have unexpected consequences that affect not just him but other people. But I don't want Bell getting shot to be about Sherlock's pain. That is basically the definition of manpain, and I do not want it. I like that it has caused a rift in their relationship - well, the fact that Sherlock was unable to visit Bell and offer him a sincere apology while accepting that his behavior has consequences which can be harmful on occasion (like, the guy who shot Bell is to blame for Bell getting shot, but certainly Sherlock's behavior can and should be called into question about it) - but I didn't like Sherlock walking that back in the next episode, all "I've been over it and I did nothing wrong!" Maybe if you weren't always a smug jerk when it wasn't necessary, you could say that! But you were so you can't! I'm not sure how much of that was pure defensiveness, but I didn't like it going unquestioned. I also wonder what contact with Moriarty is doing to him. Other missteps include having Joan sleep with Mycroft completely out of the blue, the complete lack of Ms. Hudson, and not nearly enough Clyde. I hope they, and Alfredo, show up more frequently going forward.
The Good Wife: A-
HOW GOOD HAS THIS SEASON BEEN SO FAR OMG? But, you know, don't take my word for it! The show still has two main problems: 1. Integrating Kalinda back into the main storylines (also, I am still holding the plotline of which we do not speak against them, and that was 2013, too); 2. Its handling of race. It's frequently awful and cringe-worthy, and it doesn't need to be. I don't understand how they keep doing it so badly. But overall, I think this is the best show on television right now (certainly it's the best one I'm watching). I spend the 43 mintues of each episode GLUED to the screen, literally leaning forward sometimes so that I don't miss anything, because so much of this show is silent, and conveyed in tiny little emotions passing across the actors' faces and they are SO GOOD at it. Gah. SO GOOD.
Arrow: A-
And believe me, that minus is mainly because they need to figure out how to fix the Laurel problem. (I still say shipping her off to Gotham or Metropolis is the answer; it gives them time to figure out what they want her to be without killing her and leaving her free to come back if they need her, but removes her from dragging the show down with her negative energy.) ANYWAY. This show has improved steadily and greatly. It started out as not very good but still entertaining, at least enough to keep me watching through the early, less good episodes (admittedly, a lot of that was "watching" while I was checking tumblr or DW or whatever), but it kicked it into gear in the second half of the first season, and just kept steadily climbing (with one or two clinkers) from there. I don't even always hate the island flashbacks anymore!
Adding Felicity and Slade was a smart move (Arrow!Slade is almost up there with animated Teen Titans!Slade, and you know what a great villain he was). I also love how confidently they've expanded the world by throwing out references to the larger DC universe (H.I.V.E., ARGUS, THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS) that are coming into play, but they've mostly kept the focus on Ollie and his family, both blood and found. Plus, Detective Lance and Sara and Sin and Roy have all been welcome additions (which is amazing considering how much I found Det. Lance a drag early on), Moira has been great, Thea has stuff to do, which will hopefully eventually include threesomes with Roy and Sin and also crime-fighting, and the fight scenes are continually amazing. I wish Diggle had more to do, and I really hope they don't reduce Felicity to pining potential girlfriend, because the show's at its best with the three of them at the heart of it, as partners, but I feel like those are minor quibbles right now. Let's hope they don't become major in the second half of the season.
Arrow is a comic book show that is probably the closest thing you're going to get to a live action comic on TV at this time, and it wears it well. Is it brilliant, groundbreaking television? No, but it sure is fun to watch. (see also: Arrow became great by emphasizing characters above all else; You have not failed this city: Catching up on the CW's fun 'Arrow' and 'Arrow' (And The Flash) Hit The Target.)
New shows
Almost Human: Incomplete
I liked the pilot and I thought the sexbot episode and the Die Hard episode had some interesting flashes, but I fell asleep during the episode after that, and forgot it was even on the past couple of weeks, so I guess I will wait for all y'all to tell me when to tune back in; otherwise I can get the highlights via gif set on tumblr.
Agents of SHIELD: C-
I wanted to love this SO MUCH but it's the biggest disappointment of the season. How is it so cheap-looking and boring? How are the plots so yawn-worthy and the fights staged so uninterestingly? How is the dialogue so clunky and the characters so flat? How is its handling of race so full of facepalm and how has no one on the writing staff noticed?
SHIELD occasionally shows glimmers - May is still the best (though the episode that was supposed to be about her backstory was pretty godawful and also not actually about her backstory!) and I've grown to like FitzSimmons, but the best thing about Ward is the weekly nickname thread on the AV Club (Big McHugeLarge, Slab Hardcheese, etc.). There was a moment where I thought they were going to pull him through (in the episode with Simmons and the virus), but no. Not even having sekrit feelings for May can save him, because WHO WOULDN'T?
Also, building a show around Coulson and not giving him a bunch of larger-than-life characters to bounce off of was a terrible idea. Coulson is not, to me, interesting in and of himself, and good lord, how much do I not care about whether he's a clone, an LMD, or magically revived or whatever? They've stretched that out long past what the mystery could bear. He's most interesting when he's herding cats like Thor and Tony, or fangirling Captain America, or being understatedly charming with Pepper. He's best in small doses, and his team is full of BLAH and he is not exciting enough to make up for it.
I wonder if it is a case of too many cooks - if Marvel and Disney and ABC execs are all passing down notes, it would explain why everything is so bland and undifferentiated.
There are any number of shows that could have provided a blueprint for SHIELD, depending on what the creators wanted it to be: Chuck, Alias, Burn Notice, hell, even The A-Team come to mind, but it is like a cut-rate, Saturday afternoon syndicated version of a carbon copy of one of those shows. What I wouldn't give for an Irina Derevko or a John Casey or a Fiona Glennane to arrive and shake up this team.
Also, and this might be what finally fixes the show - it is really hard to root for the team when they apparently have the full might and resources of SHIELD behind them, including that awful plane, which needs to be grounded so they can all go live in Skye's van, and people can stop being polite and start being real. *cough* I mean, they can be a ragtag bunch of underdogs instead of an allegedly competent team working for the premier black ops agency in the world (though the show's version of SHIELD doesn't come off as very bright, either, I have to say). The sooner SHIELD's ultra-sketchiness becomes a major player, and the team has to end run around them or work while being chased by them, the better the show should be.
Anyway, I feel like a C- is generous. It's the equivalent of showing up and writing your name on the SAT form. I keep telling myself I'm going to stop watching and only tune back in when I've heard that it gets better, but I end up watching every week and being bored and then annoyed because I am not at all entertained. Which is why I stopped posting about it, and I guess unless it improves, I'll go back to that strategy until the end of the season, where I will do another one of these roundups.
Sleepy Hollow: B+/A-
I only watched this because I found Nicole Beharie gorgeous and charismatic as Rachel Robinson in 42, but I am so glad I did. I love Ichabod and Abbie's friendly affection (and I totally ship it); I love Abbie's complicated relationship with her sister; I love that Jenny is basically Sarah Connor + Indiana Jones; I love that Undead John Cho is a thing; I love that the HEADLESS HORSEMAN uses a machine gun; I love the attitude towards playing fast and loose with history (yes, of course, George Washington was fighting a secret war against the minions of Moloch) even when they occasionally hurt my head (NO on Middle English in colonial times!); I love the show's willingness to burn through plot at a rate most shows don't manage in five seasons. I love Captain Irving's lenient skepticism right up until he sees the headless horseman and then he is right on board despite still not really believing it could be true. I also like how quickly Abbie and Ichabod share information, and that there isn't a lot of secret-keeping to create ~drama~ between them. I could do with a lot less of it from Katrina, especially since she's trapped between worlds and would do well to be less cryptic, but Katrina is one of the few things that doesn't quite work yet, imo, and they need to fix her or jettison her. I love how the show has underplayed Ichabod's responses to the 21st c. in a way that feels emotionally true and yet hilarious and not clichéd. I feel like they've backburnered Abbie for the past couple of episodes, but I hope that the final few coming up after the hiatus return her to the front and center where she belongs. I did not expect this to be my favorite new show of the season - I honestly didn't expect to make it through the pilot, based on the description - but I am so glad it is.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: B+
Another show I did not expect to enjoy so thoroughly, but ANDRE BRAUGHER. TERRY CREWS ("WHAT KIND OF CASTLE HAS WHEELS?"). ROSA DIAZ, YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE. SO FUNNY, YOU GUYS. I did not plan to watch this at the start of the season because I want to punch Andy Samberg in the face like I want to breathe: effortlessly and often. But then there were gif sets on tumblr and they piqued my interest (the one of Diaz and Santiago not having a moment in the car - I ship it, guys, I totally ship it; and the Holt-Santiago "Your apartment was very easy to find"/"You're beautiful," exchange, to be exact), so over Thanksgiving I caught up and I was so charmed. I still think there are some things that need to be improved - I would happily see Peralta fade a little more into the ensemble and if Gina is going to be sticking around, I'd like to see more of her interaction with Holt, and I will be seriously heartbroken if they don't cast Kyle Secor (or Clark Johnson) as Holt's husband (and have Belzer make a Munch cameo), but for a show that I didn't even want to try, I was happily surprised by how entertaining it is.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/624626.html.
people have commented there.
glass_icarus asked about comfort food/recipes?
For me, comfort food is best if it's cooked by someone else! My mother used to make me pastina when I was a young kid (though she'd use chicken broth rather than water to cook the pastina) and when I got laid-off, that is what I made for myself with some regularity. It also has the benefit of being cheap, easy, and filling. When I hurt my knee last year, when I got home from the doctor, I made a bowl. It's exactly the kind of bland, nostalgia-laden dish that comfort food should be. Also, grilled cheese. Pancakes. I also find bagels very comforting, especially when hungover. The best hangover breakfast is a toasted poppy seed bagel with cream cheese and a big cup of iced coffee.
***
I discussed the fall 2013 tv season back in September, and now that everything's in hiatus, instead of that TV meme people are doing, it's time for some report cards.
Note: all grades are arbitrary and based on how much I enjoyed something (often it's how much I enjoyed it vs. how much I expected to enjoy it), and of course, mileage varies.
Full season report cards:
These are shows that fully aired in 2013, usually with a shortened season, or ended their season/series in 2013.
Avatar: Legend of Korra: C+/B-
Season 2 had a slow and scattered start after season 1 never lived up to its potential, but the back half of the season had some really exciting episodes, even if some of it was coasting on goodwill for the first series. I don't think the season hangs together as a whole (and I didn't love it enough to rewatch it all in one go), and I think the writing has been really scattershot, and I don't love this group of characters the way I loved the Gaang (there are a few characters I feel could have disappeared completely and I would never have missed them), but I do like Korra herself a lot, even if I feel like she is bad at learning life lessons.
Orphan Black: A-
There were a couple of things I was meh about - I wish Art were more involved/in the know, I wish we knew more about Beth Childs, Paul is still boring - but this show was pretty fantastic from start to finish. I know. I watched it all in one day! SARAH, ALISON, AND FELIX OH MY. Can't wait for s2. PROCLONE AHOY.
Young Justice: Invasion: B+
I feel like "Invasion" as a season tried to introduce too many characters and spent too little time with the ones I was most interested, aka, the original group (and then they didn't even give us a comics core four Tim, Kon, Bart, and Cassie episode, and I absolutely reject the Tim/Cassie hookup they tried to sell at the end. WTF?). It did have some really great stuff in it, though, mostly related to Kaldur and Artemis, and Dick's slow descent into Batmannishness (I wish the show had acknowledged this more, and also the fact that CLEARLY Jason's death had something to do with it), and M'Gann's descent into darkness (which could have had more depth to it - a lot of it took place off-screen - I still want to see that conversation with Conner, for example), and a lot of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, plus Roy and Cheshire and Lian. I'm sad it was cancelled but I enjoyed what we got.
Mid-season report cards:
Returning shows
Teen Wolf: C+/B-
There were a couple developments I really liked: SCOTT! ALLISON! LYDIA! The sheriff finally learning the truth about werewolves! And things that I didn't like: Boyd and Erica's pointless deaths. Jennifer Blake ending up both evil and dead while both Gerard and Deucalion are still alive. The twins just being accepted by Scott et al. after killing Boyd. The complete lack of information about Derek and Cora's relationship and how it affected them. Peter and Lydia's weaksauce confrontation and Lydia not just clawing his eyes out right then and there. I am not fannish about this show so I haven't kept up with rumors or promos for the second half of the season, but let's just say my expectations are not very high.
Elementary: B+/A-
Season 1 went out with a bang, and it was lovely all around; the first season improved so steadily, and so carefully developed Joan and Sherlock's relationships that the weak cases never really bothered me. Season 2 has had a couple of stumbles that I haven't been able to strongly articulate, but are mostly related to the feeling that Joan is being backgrounded more and more when she is a co-lead. I also appreciate that Sherlock has discovered that his actions can and do have unexpected consequences that affect not just him but other people. But I don't want Bell getting shot to be about Sherlock's pain. That is basically the definition of manpain, and I do not want it. I like that it has caused a rift in their relationship - well, the fact that Sherlock was unable to visit Bell and offer him a sincere apology while accepting that his behavior has consequences which can be harmful on occasion (like, the guy who shot Bell is to blame for Bell getting shot, but certainly Sherlock's behavior can and should be called into question about it) - but I didn't like Sherlock walking that back in the next episode, all "I've been over it and I did nothing wrong!" Maybe if you weren't always a smug jerk when it wasn't necessary, you could say that! But you were so you can't! I'm not sure how much of that was pure defensiveness, but I didn't like it going unquestioned. I also wonder what contact with Moriarty is doing to him. Other missteps include having Joan sleep with Mycroft completely out of the blue, the complete lack of Ms. Hudson, and not nearly enough Clyde. I hope they, and Alfredo, show up more frequently going forward.
The Good Wife: A-
HOW GOOD HAS THIS SEASON BEEN SO FAR OMG? But, you know, don't take my word for it! The show still has two main problems: 1. Integrating Kalinda back into the main storylines (also, I am still holding the plotline of which we do not speak against them, and that was 2013, too); 2. Its handling of race. It's frequently awful and cringe-worthy, and it doesn't need to be. I don't understand how they keep doing it so badly. But overall, I think this is the best show on television right now (certainly it's the best one I'm watching). I spend the 43 mintues of each episode GLUED to the screen, literally leaning forward sometimes so that I don't miss anything, because so much of this show is silent, and conveyed in tiny little emotions passing across the actors' faces and they are SO GOOD at it. Gah. SO GOOD.
Arrow: A-
And believe me, that minus is mainly because they need to figure out how to fix the Laurel problem. (I still say shipping her off to Gotham or Metropolis is the answer; it gives them time to figure out what they want her to be without killing her and leaving her free to come back if they need her, but removes her from dragging the show down with her negative energy.) ANYWAY. This show has improved steadily and greatly. It started out as not very good but still entertaining, at least enough to keep me watching through the early, less good episodes (admittedly, a lot of that was "watching" while I was checking tumblr or DW or whatever), but it kicked it into gear in the second half of the first season, and just kept steadily climbing (with one or two clinkers) from there. I don't even always hate the island flashbacks anymore!
Adding Felicity and Slade was a smart move (Arrow!Slade is almost up there with animated Teen Titans!Slade, and you know what a great villain he was). I also love how confidently they've expanded the world by throwing out references to the larger DC universe (H.I.V.E., ARGUS, THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS) that are coming into play, but they've mostly kept the focus on Ollie and his family, both blood and found. Plus, Detective Lance and Sara and Sin and Roy have all been welcome additions (which is amazing considering how much I found Det. Lance a drag early on), Moira has been great, Thea has stuff to do, which will hopefully eventually include threesomes with Roy and Sin and also crime-fighting, and the fight scenes are continually amazing. I wish Diggle had more to do, and I really hope they don't reduce Felicity to pining potential girlfriend, because the show's at its best with the three of them at the heart of it, as partners, but I feel like those are minor quibbles right now. Let's hope they don't become major in the second half of the season.
Arrow is a comic book show that is probably the closest thing you're going to get to a live action comic on TV at this time, and it wears it well. Is it brilliant, groundbreaking television? No, but it sure is fun to watch. (see also: Arrow became great by emphasizing characters above all else; You have not failed this city: Catching up on the CW's fun 'Arrow' and 'Arrow' (And The Flash) Hit The Target.)
New shows
Almost Human: Incomplete
I liked the pilot and I thought the sexbot episode and the Die Hard episode had some interesting flashes, but I fell asleep during the episode after that, and forgot it was even on the past couple of weeks, so I guess I will wait for all y'all to tell me when to tune back in; otherwise I can get the highlights via gif set on tumblr.
Agents of SHIELD: C-
I wanted to love this SO MUCH but it's the biggest disappointment of the season. How is it so cheap-looking and boring? How are the plots so yawn-worthy and the fights staged so uninterestingly? How is the dialogue so clunky and the characters so flat? How is its handling of race so full of facepalm and how has no one on the writing staff noticed?
SHIELD occasionally shows glimmers - May is still the best (though the episode that was supposed to be about her backstory was pretty godawful and also not actually about her backstory!) and I've grown to like FitzSimmons, but the best thing about Ward is the weekly nickname thread on the AV Club (Big McHugeLarge, Slab Hardcheese, etc.). There was a moment where I thought they were going to pull him through (in the episode with Simmons and the virus), but no. Not even having sekrit feelings for May can save him, because WHO WOULDN'T?
Also, building a show around Coulson and not giving him a bunch of larger-than-life characters to bounce off of was a terrible idea. Coulson is not, to me, interesting in and of himself, and good lord, how much do I not care about whether he's a clone, an LMD, or magically revived or whatever? They've stretched that out long past what the mystery could bear. He's most interesting when he's herding cats like Thor and Tony, or fangirling Captain America, or being understatedly charming with Pepper. He's best in small doses, and his team is full of BLAH and he is not exciting enough to make up for it.
I wonder if it is a case of too many cooks - if Marvel and Disney and ABC execs are all passing down notes, it would explain why everything is so bland and undifferentiated.
There are any number of shows that could have provided a blueprint for SHIELD, depending on what the creators wanted it to be: Chuck, Alias, Burn Notice, hell, even The A-Team come to mind, but it is like a cut-rate, Saturday afternoon syndicated version of a carbon copy of one of those shows. What I wouldn't give for an Irina Derevko or a John Casey or a Fiona Glennane to arrive and shake up this team.
Also, and this might be what finally fixes the show - it is really hard to root for the team when they apparently have the full might and resources of SHIELD behind them, including that awful plane, which needs to be grounded so they can all go live in Skye's van, and people can stop being polite and start being real. *cough* I mean, they can be a ragtag bunch of underdogs instead of an allegedly competent team working for the premier black ops agency in the world (though the show's version of SHIELD doesn't come off as very bright, either, I have to say). The sooner SHIELD's ultra-sketchiness becomes a major player, and the team has to end run around them or work while being chased by them, the better the show should be.
Anyway, I feel like a C- is generous. It's the equivalent of showing up and writing your name on the SAT form. I keep telling myself I'm going to stop watching and only tune back in when I've heard that it gets better, but I end up watching every week and being bored and then annoyed because I am not at all entertained. Which is why I stopped posting about it, and I guess unless it improves, I'll go back to that strategy until the end of the season, where I will do another one of these roundups.
Sleepy Hollow: B+/A-
I only watched this because I found Nicole Beharie gorgeous and charismatic as Rachel Robinson in 42, but I am so glad I did. I love Ichabod and Abbie's friendly affection (and I totally ship it); I love Abbie's complicated relationship with her sister; I love that Jenny is basically Sarah Connor + Indiana Jones; I love that Undead John Cho is a thing; I love that the HEADLESS HORSEMAN uses a machine gun; I love the attitude towards playing fast and loose with history (yes, of course, George Washington was fighting a secret war against the minions of Moloch) even when they occasionally hurt my head (NO on Middle English in colonial times!); I love the show's willingness to burn through plot at a rate most shows don't manage in five seasons. I love Captain Irving's lenient skepticism right up until he sees the headless horseman and then he is right on board despite still not really believing it could be true. I also like how quickly Abbie and Ichabod share information, and that there isn't a lot of secret-keeping to create ~drama~ between them. I could do with a lot less of it from Katrina, especially since she's trapped between worlds and would do well to be less cryptic, but Katrina is one of the few things that doesn't quite work yet, imo, and they need to fix her or jettison her. I love how the show has underplayed Ichabod's responses to the 21st c. in a way that feels emotionally true and yet hilarious and not clichéd. I feel like they've backburnered Abbie for the past couple of episodes, but I hope that the final few coming up after the hiatus return her to the front and center where she belongs. I did not expect this to be my favorite new show of the season - I honestly didn't expect to make it through the pilot, based on the description - but I am so glad it is.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: B+
Another show I did not expect to enjoy so thoroughly, but ANDRE BRAUGHER. TERRY CREWS ("WHAT KIND OF CASTLE HAS WHEELS?"). ROSA DIAZ, YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE. SO FUNNY, YOU GUYS. I did not plan to watch this at the start of the season because I want to punch Andy Samberg in the face like I want to breathe: effortlessly and often. But then there were gif sets on tumblr and they piqued my interest (the one of Diaz and Santiago not having a moment in the car - I ship it, guys, I totally ship it; and the Holt-Santiago "Your apartment was very easy to find"/"You're beautiful," exchange, to be exact), so over Thanksgiving I caught up and I was so charmed. I still think there are some things that need to be improved - I would happily see Peralta fade a little more into the ensemble and if Gina is going to be sticking around, I'd like to see more of her interaction with Holt, and I will be seriously heartbroken if they don't cast Kyle Secor (or Clark Johnson) as Holt's husband (and have Belzer make a Munch cameo), but for a show that I didn't even want to try, I was happily surprised by how entertaining it is.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/624626.html.
people have commented there.