It's such a pleasure to touch your heart, to touch your heart
*Icon in memoriam, man.
So, I thought for a second today that I might be jealous of the snow-dump DC is experiencing this winter, as I was maybe slightly cheated out of that kind of crazy, abundant East Coast snow last year. But then I went outside in my flip-flops and picked an orange off my parents' tree instead. Then I felt better.
(However, I am thinking, depending on my level of relative poverty, of visiting sometime in the late spring/early summer for purposes of--among other things--seeing friends, hanging with my brother, soaking up some New York, and seeing The Addams Family on Broadway. East Coasters, what do you think?)
Ugh, I'm so close and yet so far from having Final Draft: I broke out the CD this morning, and...it's PC-only. Excellent. So I snooped around Google a bit and managed to run it via CrossOver, a cross-platform program, but CrossOver's only a thirty-day trial, in which case I might as well get the thirty-day trial of the legitimate Final Draft 8 instead, right? Which is where things stand now. I'm not too disappointed, as a) I bought this $189 program for $10 off a nineteen-year-old in my community college screenwriting class, and b) I technically haven't lost anything, as, twenty-four hours ago, I had no concept of having cheap Final Draft in my life. And, who knows? Maybe she has the .dmg sitting around somewhere, too. However, thus resumes the epic Snow-Leopard-vs.-Final-Draft debate.
Now, let's talk about TV.
I'm always a little surprised when Chuck goes angsty--see "Chuck vs. the Suburbs and Santa Claus--but I thought they pulled it off pretty well this time via Chuck and Johnny Walker. That's an image, you know?
I'm also interested in the way they keep coming up with anti-Chuck/alterna-Chuck characters to introduce--it's a fun, sprawling way to explore the question of who Chuck Bartowski is, who he might be, who he wants to be, and where Sarah fits into that particular equation. I know the "Chuck becomes a real spy and has to deal with the consequences" storyline isn't universally popular, but I like it--I think it's a natural progression for the show, I think it gives Zach Levi something new to do (come here Chuck and let me comfort you, I don't mind, no really), and I don't think an all-comedy-all-the-time approach would ring true anyway.
Also, with the wisdom of two weeks of film class behind me, I say to both Chuck and Morgan that if Hannah's into French New Wave cinema, RUN. RUN AWAY AND WATCH STAR WARS.
I have no thoughts on Lost that haven't been said elsewhere, but I like saying them anyway.
I liked the premiere a lot; I also think it demonstrated (one of) the fundamental dilemma(s) of the show: the way it's simultaneously one of the greatest television shows ever made--no, really--and yet also sometimes manages to be so cheesy and weird in the moment. It's always been that way, and it doesn't generally take away from the scope and general awesomeness of what they're doing, but better to own it and give it a name than pretend those "that probably sounded better in the room" moments don't exist. That long, long CGI shot of the sunken island (with Ezra P. Sharkington TM the Official Lost Podcast with Damon & Carlton), which was critically important and yet vaguely awkward? The Temple in general? Still part of Lost canon; still silly.
That said, I'm totally obsessed with Oceanic 815 2.0: Why is Claire already in L.A., is she pregnant, where's Shannon, how did Desmond end up on the plane, and was he there the whole time or just popping in for a chat? DYING TO KNOW. THIS IS SO COOL. (You know, "cool.")
Also, who else thought the clear winner in these episodes was Terry O'Quinn? How can he be so terrifying and so heartbreaking all in one week? (I believe they call it "ack-ting.") I just think the way his face goes from smiling Locke to crazy-eyes Smokey (or whatever it is we're calling him these days), with no intermediate step, is...not really normal or replicable by other human beings. And then he's his resigned 2004 non-Island self, giving hope and comfort to Jack, and I want to cry because of who he could be, even though who he could be is both terrible and, actually, short-lived. Argh. Well played, Dad from The Cutting Edge. Well played.
I was so pleased to see that Jeff Jensen joins me at Camp Sawyer/Juliet 4Eva!!!!1! I'm telling you, you guys, all other permutations of that particular love quadrangle are now basically unacceptable to me.
A few thoughts about the future, including things that may be spoilery if true:
- I heard recently that, when Walt was written out, they filmed a bunch of footage of him for later use. I don't know if that's true, but I hope it is.
- Noodling around on Wikipedia the other day, I ran across this image, which may or may not be in actual use (and may therefore may or may not be legitimately spoilery). It includes thirty-one characters, dead and living, plus Vincent. If we see all these people again this season, I will be PSYCHED.
- Subpoint: Especially Libby. They never did explain her trajectory from chilling with Hurley in Santa Rosa to giving Desmond her boat (or the other way around), and this inquiring mind would like to know.
Good stuff. More, please.
Case, blah blah; what I mostly want to discuss is a) how Pej Vahdat is kind of super hot, and how that revelation always reminds me of the weird complexity of their "Ta da! Arastoo is actually an attractive and culturally astute young man from, like, Ohio!" reveal and what it says about people and audiences and accents and the Other, and b) how the last scene each week can be both totally irrelevant to the rest of the episode (okay, more tonally than subject-wise) and completely magical. Answer: Because they are in love, and because David Boreanaz makes that face. You know the one.
In conclusion, why do my parents only ever watch network TV news and American Idol, loudly?
Sigh.
So, I thought for a second today that I might be jealous of the snow-dump DC is experiencing this winter, as I was maybe slightly cheated out of that kind of crazy, abundant East Coast snow last year. But then I went outside in my flip-flops and picked an orange off my parents' tree instead. Then I felt better.
(However, I am thinking, depending on my level of relative poverty, of visiting sometime in the late spring/early summer for purposes of--among other things--seeing friends, hanging with my brother, soaking up some New York, and seeing The Addams Family on Broadway. East Coasters, what do you think?)
Ugh, I'm so close and yet so far from having Final Draft: I broke out the CD this morning, and...it's PC-only. Excellent. So I snooped around Google a bit and managed to run it via CrossOver, a cross-platform program, but CrossOver's only a thirty-day trial, in which case I might as well get the thirty-day trial of the legitimate Final Draft 8 instead, right? Which is where things stand now. I'm not too disappointed, as a) I bought this $189 program for $10 off a nineteen-year-old in my community college screenwriting class, and b) I technically haven't lost anything, as, twenty-four hours ago, I had no concept of having cheap Final Draft in my life. And, who knows? Maybe she has the .dmg sitting around somewhere, too. However, thus resumes the epic Snow-Leopard-vs.-Final-Draft debate.
Now, let's talk about TV.
I'm always a little surprised when Chuck goes angsty--see "Chuck vs. the Suburbs and Santa Claus--but I thought they pulled it off pretty well this time via Chuck and Johnny Walker. That's an image, you know?
I'm also interested in the way they keep coming up with anti-Chuck/alterna-Chuck characters to introduce--it's a fun, sprawling way to explore the question of who Chuck Bartowski is, who he might be, who he wants to be, and where Sarah fits into that particular equation. I know the "Chuck becomes a real spy and has to deal with the consequences" storyline isn't universally popular, but I like it--I think it's a natural progression for the show, I think it gives Zach Levi something new to do (come here Chuck and let me comfort you, I don't mind, no really), and I don't think an all-comedy-all-the-time approach would ring true anyway.
Also, with the wisdom of two weeks of film class behind me, I say to both Chuck and Morgan that if Hannah's into French New Wave cinema, RUN. RUN AWAY AND WATCH STAR WARS.
I have no thoughts on Lost that haven't been said elsewhere, but I like saying them anyway.
I liked the premiere a lot; I also think it demonstrated (one of) the fundamental dilemma(s) of the show: the way it's simultaneously one of the greatest television shows ever made--no, really--and yet also sometimes manages to be so cheesy and weird in the moment. It's always been that way, and it doesn't generally take away from the scope and general awesomeness of what they're doing, but better to own it and give it a name than pretend those "that probably sounded better in the room" moments don't exist. That long, long CGI shot of the sunken island (with Ezra P. Sharkington TM the Official Lost Podcast with Damon & Carlton), which was critically important and yet vaguely awkward? The Temple in general? Still part of Lost canon; still silly.
That said, I'm totally obsessed with Oceanic 815 2.0: Why is Claire already in L.A., is she pregnant, where's Shannon, how did Desmond end up on the plane, and was he there the whole time or just popping in for a chat? DYING TO KNOW. THIS IS SO COOL. (You know, "cool.")
Also, who else thought the clear winner in these episodes was Terry O'Quinn? How can he be so terrifying and so heartbreaking all in one week? (I believe they call it "ack-ting.") I just think the way his face goes from smiling Locke to crazy-eyes Smokey (or whatever it is we're calling him these days), with no intermediate step, is...not really normal or replicable by other human beings. And then he's his resigned 2004 non-Island self, giving hope and comfort to Jack, and I want to cry because of who he could be, even though who he could be is both terrible and, actually, short-lived. Argh. Well played, Dad from The Cutting Edge. Well played.
I was so pleased to see that Jeff Jensen joins me at Camp Sawyer/Juliet 4Eva!!!!1! I'm telling you, you guys, all other permutations of that particular love quadrangle are now basically unacceptable to me.
A few thoughts about the future, including things that may be spoilery if true:
- I heard recently that, when Walt was written out, they filmed a bunch of footage of him for later use. I don't know if that's true, but I hope it is.
- Noodling around on Wikipedia the other day, I ran across this image, which may or may not be in actual use (and may therefore may or may not be legitimately spoilery). It includes thirty-one characters, dead and living, plus Vincent. If we see all these people again this season, I will be PSYCHED.
- Subpoint: Especially Libby. They never did explain her trajectory from chilling with Hurley in Santa Rosa to giving Desmond her boat (or the other way around), and this inquiring mind would like to know.
Good stuff. More, please.
Case, blah blah; what I mostly want to discuss is a) how Pej Vahdat is kind of super hot, and how that revelation always reminds me of the weird complexity of their "Ta da! Arastoo is actually an attractive and culturally astute young man from, like, Ohio!" reveal and what it says about people and audiences and accents and the Other, and b) how the last scene each week can be both totally irrelevant to the rest of the episode (okay, more tonally than subject-wise) and completely magical. Answer: Because they are in love, and because David Boreanaz makes that face. You know the one.
In conclusion, why do my parents only ever watch network TV news and American Idol, loudly?
Sigh.