'Vast, me hearties.
Yesterday was one of the better days I've had since I returned to Europe, which is saying something considering I had a headache for at least half the day.
My parents are essentially landlubbers *, alas, so I only got to talk like a pirate to a couple of people on the internet. I did, however, drag myself out of the house without external prompting (!), and on my way to H&M saw a street theater performance behind the church. Stayed to watch because the performer had a diabolo, and I once had sorry, sorry aspirations of wanting to learn. He actually managed to throw the spool past the clock on the church tower, which was pretty impressive! Then he juggled with fire, sharp objects, and volunteers. (He didn't juggle the volunteers, he stood on them.)
So I didn't actually have much time at H&M by the time I got there, given that I'd set out late in the afternoon to start with and in Switzerland, everything closes at 6 (18h, I should say). Not too big a deal -- I already knew I'd have to go back there at least once more. I picked up a basic dress/underdress in black which I'm too much in love with for what it is, and a pair of dark green tights.
Came home, goofed off, and discovered one of the benefits of being here is that I can now watch Merlin as it airs. Woohoo! My thoughts on the season premiere: I'm impressed at how much the show has matured from its dorky beginnings. Don't get me wrong, it's still dorky, and not afraid to be so, which is a good deal of its charm. (Clotpole, anyone? Although that's is going t drive me nuts, because clodpole is already a well-established insult and huh-what-why?! *tears out hair*) But it's not just that oddball, who-cares-about-history what-if show where Merlin and Arthur meet as kids anymore. And yes, I know it already wasn't by the middle of the last series, but I think this episode really demonstrates the emotional breadth of the show so well -- it went from dramedy to comedy, to straight drama with action/adventure and mythic tragedy thrown in, back to comedy without missing a beat.
There's a real sense of mythic tragedy building up, despite how well we all know the various versions of the Arthurian romances (of course, it helps that the Merlin writers aren't following the playbook too closely). The life of Mordred is already hanging over Merlin's head, and now he's made a devil's bargain with the Great Dragon. Arthur's reign hasn't even begun and the stage is already set for things to go horribly wrong, and there's nothing to be done about it. Normally, I hate stories like this -- guys, fighting the prophecy is as good as fulfilling it, haven't you figured that out yet?! -- but the writers have done an excellent job of showing how and why the characters come to make the choices they're making, even knowing those choices might (will) trap them in the end.
I'm really looking forward to the new series. Merlin did everything he should, and gets the reward of being hunted by a dog. Uther learned exactly the wrong lesson from this week's mess, because ... he's Uther. Looks like Mordred and Lancelot will be back (duh!), and someone will at least try and out Merlin to the entire court. Yeah, I'm psyched.
On to this week's Psych. You all already know that I got waaay too obsessed with the remixed opening credits, and it was even more fun to see it in context. At first I wasn't quite as into it as previous episodes, just because I had to watch it split into two sessions while I had a headache, but the more I think about it the more I like it. I think I'm probably going to rewatch 4x2-4x10 over the mid-season break (less than a month from now, sob!), so we'll see how it ranks then.
Random thoughts:
» I spent a good half the episode wondering what indefinable quality I was noticing in Sendhil Ramamurthy's voice that was different from his work on Heroes, and then I realized that he was talking with his (presumably) real accent, rather than the fake Indian one he puts on for that show. Thank God.
» Abigail is awesome - I love that she likes Shawn and riffs off of him but clearly sees right through him -- but desperately underutilized by the writers. Seriously, can you guys stop using her just to showcase the other characters? I know I've said this already, but it bears repeating.
» The bunnies thing totally killed me. Gus really ought to know better, because it's Shawn, and bunnies? Really? But he doesn't, because he's GUS, and so. Bunnies.
» "Don't be a ..." / "I've heard it both ways" two-fer! And it was a pop culture reference, too. Psych-meme trifecta!
» "What he needs to do is step into reality. Up!" *floats away*
» I love that Lassie managed to get one up on Shawn multiple times this ep. Springing the curse on him, then with the walkie-talkie (snarking at him about Juliet, no less), and just generally keeping up with him on the snark.
»
» Jules had lovely outfits this episode. Although I'll admit I only started noticing because I was wondering whether I'd seen that blue shirt at H&M yesterday.
Also, there are new webisodes being aired. Pfffft Gus invented an iPod before there were iPods!
I also planned to start rewatching NCIS, and I have a reaction post to the two-part JAG pilot that I'll edit and post later, because this one is long enough as it is but I aborted said plan when I realized that the new season starts next week. If I kept rewatching, I'd be watching season 7 online, season 6 as it airs in Switzerland, and rewatching older episodes as well -- yeah, no. I'll probably catch up on House or Gossip Girl first. Or get back to the Dr Who/Torchwood marathon.
Man, I'm watching way too much tv these days. Note to self: you WILL finish those e-mails for grad school tomorrow. Or ... Tuesday. But definitely this week. >_>
*By landlubbers I mean "not inclined to understand why I'm talking like a pirate" rather than "permanently land-bound." Actually, since my dad's two biggest hobbies these days are collecting small island territories for his "Have Traveled To" list and scuba diving, I'm pretty sure I'm the landlubber by the technical definition.
My parents are essentially landlubbers *, alas, so I only got to talk like a pirate to a couple of people on the internet. I did, however, drag myself out of the house without external prompting (!), and on my way to H&M saw a street theater performance behind the church. Stayed to watch because the performer had a diabolo, and I once had sorry, sorry aspirations of wanting to learn. He actually managed to throw the spool past the clock on the church tower, which was pretty impressive! Then he juggled with fire, sharp objects, and volunteers. (He didn't juggle the volunteers, he stood on them.)
So I didn't actually have much time at H&M by the time I got there, given that I'd set out late in the afternoon to start with and in Switzerland, everything closes at 6 (18h, I should say). Not too big a deal -- I already knew I'd have to go back there at least once more. I picked up a basic dress/underdress in black which I'm too much in love with for what it is, and a pair of dark green tights.
Came home, goofed off, and discovered one of the benefits of being here is that I can now watch Merlin as it airs. Woohoo! My thoughts on the season premiere: I'm impressed at how much the show has matured from its dorky beginnings. Don't get me wrong, it's still dorky, and not afraid to be so, which is a good deal of its charm. (Clotpole, anyone? Although that's is going t drive me nuts, because clodpole is already a well-established insult and huh-what-why?! *tears out hair*) But it's not just that oddball, who-cares-about-history what-if show where Merlin and Arthur meet as kids anymore. And yes, I know it already wasn't by the middle of the last series, but I think this episode really demonstrates the emotional breadth of the show so well -- it went from dramedy to comedy, to straight drama with action/adventure and mythic tragedy thrown in, back to comedy without missing a beat.
There's a real sense of mythic tragedy building up, despite how well we all know the various versions of the Arthurian romances (of course, it helps that the Merlin writers aren't following the playbook too closely). The life of Mordred is already hanging over Merlin's head, and now he's made a devil's bargain with the Great Dragon. Arthur's reign hasn't even begun and the stage is already set for things to go horribly wrong, and there's nothing to be done about it. Normally, I hate stories like this -- guys, fighting the prophecy is as good as fulfilling it, haven't you figured that out yet?! -- but the writers have done an excellent job of showing how and why the characters come to make the choices they're making, even knowing those choices might (will) trap them in the end.
I'm really looking forward to the new series. Merlin did everything he should, and gets the reward of being hunted by a dog. Uther learned exactly the wrong lesson from this week's mess, because ... he's Uther. Looks like Mordred and Lancelot will be back (duh!), and someone will at least try and out Merlin to the entire court. Yeah, I'm psyched.
On to this week's Psych. You all already know that I got waaay too obsessed with the remixed opening credits, and it was even more fun to see it in context. At first I wasn't quite as into it as previous episodes, just because I had to watch it split into two sessions while I had a headache, but the more I think about it the more I like it. I think I'm probably going to rewatch 4x2-4x10 over the mid-season break (less than a month from now, sob!), so we'll see how it ranks then.
Random thoughts:
» I spent a good half the episode wondering what indefinable quality I was noticing in Sendhil Ramamurthy's voice that was different from his work on Heroes, and then I realized that he was talking with his (presumably) real accent, rather than the fake Indian one he puts on for that show. Thank God.
» Abigail is awesome - I love that she likes Shawn and riffs off of him but clearly sees right through him -- but desperately underutilized by the writers. Seriously, can you guys stop using her just to showcase the other characters? I know I've said this already, but it bears repeating.
» The bunnies thing totally killed me. Gus really ought to know better, because it's Shawn, and bunnies? Really? But he doesn't, because he's GUS, and so. Bunnies.
» "Don't be a ..." / "I've heard it both ways" two-fer! And it was a pop culture reference, too. Psych-meme trifecta!
» "What he needs to do is step into reality. Up!" *floats away*
» I love that Lassie managed to get one up on Shawn multiple times this ep. Springing the curse on him, then with the walkie-talkie (snarking at him about Juliet, no less), and just generally keeping up with him on the snark.
»
» Jules had lovely outfits this episode. Although I'll admit I only started noticing because I was wondering whether I'd seen that blue shirt at H&M yesterday.
Also, there are new webisodes being aired. Pfffft Gus invented an iPod before there were iPods!
I also planned to start rewatching NCIS, and I have a reaction post to the two-part JAG pilot that I'll edit and post later, because this one is long enough as it is but I aborted said plan when I realized that the new season starts next week. If I kept rewatching, I'd be watching season 7 online, season 6 as it airs in Switzerland, and rewatching older episodes as well -- yeah, no. I'll probably catch up on House or Gossip Girl first. Or get back to the Dr Who/Torchwood marathon.
Man, I'm watching way too much tv these days. Note to self: you WILL finish those e-mails for grad school tomorrow. Or ... Tuesday. But definitely this week. >_>
*By landlubbers I mean "not inclined to understand why I'm talking like a pirate" rather than "permanently land-bound." Actually, since my dad's two biggest hobbies these days are collecting small island territories for his "Have Traveled To" list and scuba diving, I'm pretty sure I'm the landlubber by the technical definition.