The good, the bad, the sad
The pundits are having their best week EVER (or so it seems). I am enjoying the ride tremendously. Also, can't wait for Andy's appearance on The Colbert Report on Thursday night. Wheeeeee!
***
I have been pretty unhappy about the direction of House this season, and the handling of certain MAJOR stuff on SGA, and thus I haven't written about either of my - heh - favorite shows in a while. I'm hoping things will change. Otherwise, I'd have to start watching both of these shows the way I watch Heroes which is the special pet kind of show, you know? The one that looks totally adorable and makes you emit high-pitched noises of love, even though it keeps walking into walls and every day discovers with equal amount of surprise that it can't quite digest your shoelaces? Yeah. Still, LOTS of high-pitched noises of love.
***
As for other shows that I'm enjoying, in several different ways... hmm, let's see if you can guess what they have in common*.
Chuck continues to be profoundly adorable - campy as hell, ridiculous in terms of plot, but aware of said ridiculousness and at times surprisingly genuine and sweet. Plus, Adam Baldwin. (Who totally bottoms in this fandom, and that is official CANON.)
Life continues to be a special puppy with weekly police plots, but Damian Lewis is still AMAZING. And his partner is awesome. And they keep bringing in guest stars from Deadwood. And ooooh, so that's what Tim Riggins' hot older-woman neighbor from last season has been up to! Wow. Kinda liked that, I must say; well handled. Also, cupcakes.
Pushing Daisies pretty much knocked me over with 1) the appearance of Raul Esparza OMG!!!, 2) continuously great dialogue, 3) continuously great acting, and 4) Lee Pace in that black shirt. And some other stuff, but I'm too lazy to make cut-tags tonight.
*And what these shows have in common is this: all of a sudden, I find myself rooting for... wait for it... the main het pairing. When I say main, I mean the one that smacks you in the face with the very order of actors' names in the opening sequences - yes, it's that obvious and cheesy. I am SO ASHAMED.
Chuck and Sarah? Awesome chemistry! Awesome like cheese is awesome! And she kicks ass! And he got her olive-free pizza! And they're so comfortably uncomfortable with each other!!! I'm not interested in fic (yet), but they make me go awwww a lot.
Charlie and Dani - his partner - have so far shared two SHOCKINGLY hot scenes, which were not even sexual (except in my head, I fear); and yet they're completely convincing as partners who can be pros AND human AND not annoying in their interactions, somehow. The first hot scene was in the pilot when Dani gets a bagful of drugs in her face, freaks out, and blindly looks for the shower to wash off the powder; and Charlie helps her get into the tub and turn on the water... and then moves away, but. BUT. The second scene was in last week's ep when she asks him to give her the knife he's not supposed to be carrying around, and he turns his back and sort of slip-passes it to her and... yes. I KNOW, RIGHT?
As for Ned and Chuck (hmm, lotsa Chucks this season), OH HOLY MOTHER OF KINK. That pairing is where sublimation meets prophylactic bondage, right? (Speaking of, if Trojan runs a commercial during this show, I might start to laugh and not stop until they put me in a big shirt with funny sleeves and take me away.) I've been a sucker for fairytales gone dirty since my teenage years when I discovered Angela Carter, people. So: saran wrap demands fic, right? LOTS AND LOTS OF IT, PLEASE. However, the part that breaks my brain is how freakin' WHOLESOME the whole thing manages to be - which clearly activates the filthiest, most pornographic nooks of my brain. So, um, yes. Fic, please!!!
Aaaaand that's that.
***
Finally, I have some sadness to share. This is not really the space to do it, because my sadness is over the untimely death of Toše (pronounced "Tosheh") Proeski, Macedonian pop star - who doesn't have a fandom around these parts - but I've been heartbroken since yesterday morning when I heard about the tragic car crash, so... here goes.
I've been trying to "translate" Toše for this audience by comparing him to some American pop singer so you'd have a sense of context, but... I'm not sure to whom I could compare him. Simply put, he was one of the "cleanest" and most scandal-behavior-free celebrities I've ever seen: kind and modest, genuinely humanitarian, a well-raised kid, and yes, even cheesy because his performance of pop stardom never really seemed to fit him (although he wore it with child-like enthusiasm). Perhaps most importantly, he was one of very few musicians who were beloved in all of the former Yugoslavian countries since the breakup of the Balkans; part of it is clearly smart management and good marketing, but his success is hugely due to his very persona(lity) and the ease with which he crossed those borders and offered his songs to any audience.
His music was very popular and, yes, quite commercial; here is an example which also perfectly illustrates how he climbed to super-stardom by the age of 18: he was INCREDIBLE in live performances. If he were to appear on an American Idol kind of show, he'd be the contestant who makes you put down the dishes and pay attention, or gets you choked up with a sad song, or wows you with his range (he studied singing with Pavarotti's teacher), or makes you tune in the next day because you want to see what kind of ridiculous outfit he'll wear and what he'll choose to sing (because he loves to sing anything and everything, including traditional folk songs with really tricky vocal work) and how emotional he'll get on stage - infusing some oldie with so much intoxicating passion that you rediscover the appeal of the overplayed song, to your own surprise.
Case in point: here is a cover he did in several of his shows. It's "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica - oh, the incongruity! - and he spends much time at the start of the performance talking about how the guitar opening gives him the chills, how this song makes his heart act all funny, how he wishes his audience could see the starry night made up of their cell phones glowing in the darkness of the amphitheater because it's all INDESCRIBABLY COOL. And he rocks out with his entire barely-five-feet, pop-star-prodigy, cheesy and hilarious and thoroughly GEEKED OUT being. When I first saw this clip a few months ago, I laughed and awww-ed and really adored him for Mary Sue-ing himself so fearlessly into, you know, Metallica of all things! And now, because of all the things he was and everything he represented, I'm heartbroken and I can hardly believe that he is gone.
He was a fan of music, a huge dork, a wonderful human being, and a remarkable singer and composer (he left behind about 100 songs he'd written to produce at a later date). Macedonian government had declared the day of his funeral a national day of mourning; hundreds of thousands of people gathered in several cities back home to light candles, leave flowers, and cry for him. If I were there, I'd join them; but since I'm not, I write.
What a terrible, terrible loss.
Rest in peace, sweetie. You will be missed.
***
I have been pretty unhappy about the direction of House this season, and the handling of certain MAJOR stuff on SGA, and thus I haven't written about either of my - heh - favorite shows in a while. I'm hoping things will change. Otherwise, I'd have to start watching both of these shows the way I watch Heroes which is the special pet kind of show, you know? The one that looks totally adorable and makes you emit high-pitched noises of love, even though it keeps walking into walls and every day discovers with equal amount of surprise that it can't quite digest your shoelaces? Yeah. Still, LOTS of high-pitched noises of love.
***
As for other shows that I'm enjoying, in several different ways... hmm, let's see if you can guess what they have in common*.
Chuck continues to be profoundly adorable - campy as hell, ridiculous in terms of plot, but aware of said ridiculousness and at times surprisingly genuine and sweet. Plus, Adam Baldwin. (Who totally bottoms in this fandom, and that is official CANON.)
Life continues to be a special puppy with weekly police plots, but Damian Lewis is still AMAZING. And his partner is awesome. And they keep bringing in guest stars from Deadwood. And ooooh, so that's what Tim Riggins' hot older-woman neighbor from last season has been up to! Wow. Kinda liked that, I must say; well handled. Also, cupcakes.
Pushing Daisies pretty much knocked me over with 1) the appearance of Raul Esparza OMG!!!, 2) continuously great dialogue, 3) continuously great acting, and 4) Lee Pace in that black shirt. And some other stuff, but I'm too lazy to make cut-tags tonight.
*And what these shows have in common is this: all of a sudden, I find myself rooting for... wait for it... the main het pairing. When I say main, I mean the one that smacks you in the face with the very order of actors' names in the opening sequences - yes, it's that obvious and cheesy. I am SO ASHAMED.
Chuck and Sarah? Awesome chemistry! Awesome like cheese is awesome! And she kicks ass! And he got her olive-free pizza! And they're so comfortably uncomfortable with each other!!! I'm not interested in fic (yet), but they make me go awwww a lot.
Charlie and Dani - his partner - have so far shared two SHOCKINGLY hot scenes, which were not even sexual (except in my head, I fear); and yet they're completely convincing as partners who can be pros AND human AND not annoying in their interactions, somehow. The first hot scene was in the pilot when Dani gets a bagful of drugs in her face, freaks out, and blindly looks for the shower to wash off the powder; and Charlie helps her get into the tub and turn on the water... and then moves away, but. BUT. The second scene was in last week's ep when she asks him to give her the knife he's not supposed to be carrying around, and he turns his back and sort of slip-passes it to her and... yes. I KNOW, RIGHT?
As for Ned and Chuck (hmm, lotsa Chucks this season), OH HOLY MOTHER OF KINK. That pairing is where sublimation meets prophylactic bondage, right? (Speaking of, if Trojan runs a commercial during this show, I might start to laugh and not stop until they put me in a big shirt with funny sleeves and take me away.) I've been a sucker for fairytales gone dirty since my teenage years when I discovered Angela Carter, people. So: saran wrap demands fic, right? LOTS AND LOTS OF IT, PLEASE. However, the part that breaks my brain is how freakin' WHOLESOME the whole thing manages to be - which clearly activates the filthiest, most pornographic nooks of my brain. So, um, yes. Fic, please!!!
Aaaaand that's that.
***
Finally, I have some sadness to share. This is not really the space to do it, because my sadness is over the untimely death of Toše (pronounced "Tosheh") Proeski, Macedonian pop star - who doesn't have a fandom around these parts - but I've been heartbroken since yesterday morning when I heard about the tragic car crash, so... here goes.
I've been trying to "translate" Toše for this audience by comparing him to some American pop singer so you'd have a sense of context, but... I'm not sure to whom I could compare him. Simply put, he was one of the "cleanest" and most scandal-behavior-free celebrities I've ever seen: kind and modest, genuinely humanitarian, a well-raised kid, and yes, even cheesy because his performance of pop stardom never really seemed to fit him (although he wore it with child-like enthusiasm). Perhaps most importantly, he was one of very few musicians who were beloved in all of the former Yugoslavian countries since the breakup of the Balkans; part of it is clearly smart management and good marketing, but his success is hugely due to his very persona(lity) and the ease with which he crossed those borders and offered his songs to any audience.
His music was very popular and, yes, quite commercial; here is an example which also perfectly illustrates how he climbed to super-stardom by the age of 18: he was INCREDIBLE in live performances. If he were to appear on an American Idol kind of show, he'd be the contestant who makes you put down the dishes and pay attention, or gets you choked up with a sad song, or wows you with his range (he studied singing with Pavarotti's teacher), or makes you tune in the next day because you want to see what kind of ridiculous outfit he'll wear and what he'll choose to sing (because he loves to sing anything and everything, including traditional folk songs with really tricky vocal work) and how emotional he'll get on stage - infusing some oldie with so much intoxicating passion that you rediscover the appeal of the overplayed song, to your own surprise.
Case in point: here is a cover he did in several of his shows. It's "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica - oh, the incongruity! - and he spends much time at the start of the performance talking about how the guitar opening gives him the chills, how this song makes his heart act all funny, how he wishes his audience could see the starry night made up of their cell phones glowing in the darkness of the amphitheater because it's all INDESCRIBABLY COOL. And he rocks out with his entire barely-five-feet, pop-star-prodigy, cheesy and hilarious and thoroughly GEEKED OUT being. When I first saw this clip a few months ago, I laughed and awww-ed and really adored him for Mary Sue-ing himself so fearlessly into, you know, Metallica of all things! And now, because of all the things he was and everything he represented, I'm heartbroken and I can hardly believe that he is gone.
He was a fan of music, a huge dork, a wonderful human being, and a remarkable singer and composer (he left behind about 100 songs he'd written to produce at a later date). Macedonian government had declared the day of his funeral a national day of mourning; hundreds of thousands of people gathered in several cities back home to light candles, leave flowers, and cry for him. If I were there, I'd join them; but since I'm not, I write.
What a terrible, terrible loss.
Rest in peace, sweetie. You will be missed.