Vid recs, link recs, and SGA, SG-1, and Wonderfalls episode talk
OMG you guys, I am so bored. SO BORED. And yet crazy-busy with work. I hate that. So I bring you long overdue episode thoughts on Wonderfalls, SG-1, and SGA.
But first, a vid rec. Rumble by Shalott and Speranza. I didn't see a single rec for this on my flist, but it was released during the holiday season when I was incommunicado so I probably missed it. Anyway, it's a Stargate: Atlantis vid set to a medley of West Side Story songs. You have to see it to fully appreciate the cracked-out appropriateness.
just_eunice also released a Stargate: Atlantis vid, but just yesterday so I'm actually on time with this one! It's a John vid to Running Down A Dream. It's fun and sharp and angsty and hopeful all rolled up in a very John manner. Even if you're not familiar with the show, it's a great ride.
I guess in keeping with the SGA theme, I'll start with a couple thoughts on the last two SGA episodes (I'm watching on the American schedule).
The Hive - Ford's not dead. Come on, we didn't see a body! This is science fiction! He's not dead! I really liked this, and I liked the way they resolved the Wraith portion of the conflict. Interesting addition to the world, too, having the Wraith travel in, essentially, gangs. And Ford really isn't dead. La la la la.
Epiphany - I didn't enjoy this episode. It fell too hard on cliche (I know this is SGA's specialty, but it didn't work for me this time), and I couldn't get all that enthused about the invisible monster. It probably doesn't help that I was in a snarky mood after SG-1 and in a room with people who were also in the same mood. Heh. I still haven't re-watched this one with AHH, and I'm not really anxious to. What I remember most about it was how long it seemed to take. It's like we were stuck in our own time field!
And as for this week's episode, which I'm minorly spoiled about, what happened to "we'll never have the Goa'uld on SGA! Never happen!" Pft.
As for Stargate SG-1 -
The Fourth Horseman - I actually liked this episode best out of the mini-arc, with a few huge caveats, including Beau Bridges sudden inability to act in a few key scenes, like when he's told he has the virus. (As danceswithwords put it, he was reaching for "I just got a life-threatening disease" but only hit "I lost my car keys.") The resolution was solid, I was interested in Jaffa politics for the first time ever, and we did get excellent Daniel&Cameron snark. Keep this up, SG-1.
Collateral Damage - Oh Ben. You alone can win me over to this show, with your pretty crying and your eerily-reminiscent-of-Farscape-scenes in the chair. But mostly your pretty crying. This episode was better for me on re-watch with AHH, actually, than it was on first viewing. Maybe because I was prepared for some of it. Mostly I just have to snicker because Cam is, indeed an orphan and puppy killing bastard. *shakes head*
And for this week's preview, it looks like we get evil!Cam. Hee. I'm looking forward to this, actually, since I know they've done this duplicate team thing before in SG-1, right? Last season?
I have little to say about BSG except that I liked Resurrection Ship part 2 a lot more than I liked the prior two episodes, but I still have issues that are making me struggle with loving the show again. BSG and I are healing. I also want to say that Roslin is easily my favorite character these days, and based purely on the preview, I am very hopeful for tonight's episode.
Now for shows that are no longer running even though they should be but they aren't because Fox is run by a bunch of monkeys on crack, let's talk the last three episodes of Wonderfalls.
Cocktail Bunny - "Because you listen" is the best answer I could have hoped for from the show, and as it's the only answer we get, I'm entirely satisfied with it. I think that any definitive answer would never have been as good as just letting the why of it be unknown; and in fact not knowing is part of what we're supposed to take from the show. I feel like there's a deep meta thought going on in Wonderfalls that I'm not quite with it enough to grasp yet, but Aaron isn't a Theology major on accident, and "because you listen" isn't just the obvious response. I was happy to see Dr. Ron again, which is kind of amazing considering how little screentime he actually had. But the show is very good at making the secondary characters three-dimensional and memorable. Given that I knew there were only two episodes left, I wasn't sure they weren't just going to let Eric go with Heidi at the end, and this episode starts painting a less all-out evil picture of her, IMO, even given the fact that I believed she might be trying to kill Eric. Hee.
Totem Mole - This episode was not as bad as I was led to believe. It has the feel of "A Girl In Question," where it's really a break from all of the intense drama of the preceding episodes, and it gives us a breather before we head into the finale. Even though Eric isn't specifically mentioned, you still get the feeling this is a break for Jaye, a chance to put distance between them. And it leads us back into 'Caged Bird' more smoothly than if you went straight from 'Cocktail Bunny.' I was also really amused by the Native American whose name I don't think we ever got, the one in the cowboy hat? He was funny. Plus, bad pun in the title!
Caged Bird - Fantastic ending. Really. I loved how they wrapped it up, where they walked the line by giving us closure on the series but still leaving the feeling that their lives were continuing on. The Sharon and Jaye scene, where Jaye breaks down in front of her sister, was unexpected but very sweet. They fell back a bit into making Heidi straight Heidi-Ho, but I thought her conversation with Mahandra really humanized her, even though she went a bit crazy there at the end. Her and Jaye screaming after the guy got hit by the ambulance (which shocked me!) was funny. I give this show two enthusiastic thumbs up! Much, much love for Wonderfalls.
In non-fannish news, this, gakked from...somewhere, probably twistedchick, is a fascinating article about Barack Obama, what he's done, where he's been, where he might go.
And stoney321 linked to this site today, and I highly recommend it. Very peaceful and quietly engaging.
Ok, break is over, time to get back to work. :)
But first, a vid rec. Rumble by Shalott and Speranza. I didn't see a single rec for this on my flist, but it was released during the holiday season when I was incommunicado so I probably missed it. Anyway, it's a Stargate: Atlantis vid set to a medley of West Side Story songs. You have to see it to fully appreciate the cracked-out appropriateness.
just_eunice also released a Stargate: Atlantis vid, but just yesterday so I'm actually on time with this one! It's a John vid to Running Down A Dream. It's fun and sharp and angsty and hopeful all rolled up in a very John manner. Even if you're not familiar with the show, it's a great ride.
I guess in keeping with the SGA theme, I'll start with a couple thoughts on the last two SGA episodes (I'm watching on the American schedule).
The Hive - Ford's not dead. Come on, we didn't see a body! This is science fiction! He's not dead! I really liked this, and I liked the way they resolved the Wraith portion of the conflict. Interesting addition to the world, too, having the Wraith travel in, essentially, gangs. And Ford really isn't dead. La la la la.
Epiphany - I didn't enjoy this episode. It fell too hard on cliche (I know this is SGA's specialty, but it didn't work for me this time), and I couldn't get all that enthused about the invisible monster. It probably doesn't help that I was in a snarky mood after SG-1 and in a room with people who were also in the same mood. Heh. I still haven't re-watched this one with AHH, and I'm not really anxious to. What I remember most about it was how long it seemed to take. It's like we were stuck in our own time field!
And as for this week's episode, which I'm minorly spoiled about, what happened to "we'll never have the Goa'uld on SGA! Never happen!" Pft.
As for Stargate SG-1 -
The Fourth Horseman - I actually liked this episode best out of the mini-arc, with a few huge caveats, including Beau Bridges sudden inability to act in a few key scenes, like when he's told he has the virus. (As danceswithwords put it, he was reaching for "I just got a life-threatening disease" but only hit "I lost my car keys.") The resolution was solid, I was interested in Jaffa politics for the first time ever, and we did get excellent Daniel&Cameron snark. Keep this up, SG-1.
Collateral Damage - Oh Ben. You alone can win me over to this show, with your pretty crying and your eerily-reminiscent-of-Farscape-scenes in the chair. But mostly your pretty crying. This episode was better for me on re-watch with AHH, actually, than it was on first viewing. Maybe because I was prepared for some of it. Mostly I just have to snicker because Cam is, indeed an orphan and puppy killing bastard. *shakes head*
And for this week's preview, it looks like we get evil!Cam. Hee. I'm looking forward to this, actually, since I know they've done this duplicate team thing before in SG-1, right? Last season?
I have little to say about BSG except that I liked Resurrection Ship part 2 a lot more than I liked the prior two episodes, but I still have issues that are making me struggle with loving the show again. BSG and I are healing. I also want to say that Roslin is easily my favorite character these days, and based purely on the preview, I am very hopeful for tonight's episode.
Now for shows that are no longer running even though they should be but they aren't because Fox is run by a bunch of monkeys on crack, let's talk the last three episodes of Wonderfalls.
Cocktail Bunny - "Because you listen" is the best answer I could have hoped for from the show, and as it's the only answer we get, I'm entirely satisfied with it. I think that any definitive answer would never have been as good as just letting the why of it be unknown; and in fact not knowing is part of what we're supposed to take from the show. I feel like there's a deep meta thought going on in Wonderfalls that I'm not quite with it enough to grasp yet, but Aaron isn't a Theology major on accident, and "because you listen" isn't just the obvious response. I was happy to see Dr. Ron again, which is kind of amazing considering how little screentime he actually had. But the show is very good at making the secondary characters three-dimensional and memorable. Given that I knew there were only two episodes left, I wasn't sure they weren't just going to let Eric go with Heidi at the end, and this episode starts painting a less all-out evil picture of her, IMO, even given the fact that I believed she might be trying to kill Eric. Hee.
Totem Mole - This episode was not as bad as I was led to believe. It has the feel of "A Girl In Question," where it's really a break from all of the intense drama of the preceding episodes, and it gives us a breather before we head into the finale. Even though Eric isn't specifically mentioned, you still get the feeling this is a break for Jaye, a chance to put distance between them. And it leads us back into 'Caged Bird' more smoothly than if you went straight from 'Cocktail Bunny.' I was also really amused by the Native American whose name I don't think we ever got, the one in the cowboy hat? He was funny. Plus, bad pun in the title!
Caged Bird - Fantastic ending. Really. I loved how they wrapped it up, where they walked the line by giving us closure on the series but still leaving the feeling that their lives were continuing on. The Sharon and Jaye scene, where Jaye breaks down in front of her sister, was unexpected but very sweet. They fell back a bit into making Heidi straight Heidi-Ho, but I thought her conversation with Mahandra really humanized her, even though she went a bit crazy there at the end. Her and Jaye screaming after the guy got hit by the ambulance (which shocked me!) was funny. I give this show two enthusiastic thumbs up! Much, much love for Wonderfalls.
In non-fannish news, this, gakked from...somewhere, probably twistedchick, is a fascinating article about Barack Obama, what he's done, where he's been, where he might go.
And stoney321 linked to this site today, and I highly recommend it. Very peaceful and quietly engaging.
Ok, break is over, time to get back to work. :)