... in which the geekery is shameless
I fail at commenting recently - I have been both surprisingly sociable in the last few days and, um, finding sentences difficult. However mrsronweasley, who is both lovely and amazing, gave me some topics to talk about in order to get me out of the rut, and so therefore you get some babble on...
1. Sports Night.
I just got villainny into this and it reminded me of why I adore it so very, very much. I love that it doesn't seem much, each episode zips by and it's very much like nothing happened, but then somehow the bits add up to so much more than the whole, simply because of the people in it. And oh, oh, the people. Dan and Casey are just so very much in love that I honestly don't see how anybody could see it otherwise, Jeremy is just the best nerd in the history of nerdiness, and he really and truly thinks that he's the luckiest guy in the world because he gets Natalie. It just makes me melt. I love that Natalie and Dana actually do have a friendship and conversations beyond the men in their lives. I love that Dana seems more competant and hardcore and Natalie seems more dippy and unreliable but actually it's the other way round. I love that Dan, even when he's having a breakdown and his world sucks, still does his best to be a good friend, a good person.
And I love that it has a happy ending. More than one, in fact. It's a bit of a lame reason to love something, but Sports Night is my happy place, and I'm so glad I've got to remember that over the last week or two.
2. Strangers with Candy
I love that it's so completely insane but still very, very smart. My very favourite thing about comedy ever is that being really silly doesn't mean you aren't making very serious, valid points, and SWC does that and has a dance sequence at the end of every episode. I love that they know that, that they can do all these beautifully, crazily genius things, work so hard at putting them together and make them seem so effortless. Every single time I watch an episode, there's something new to see, to appreciate. It repays the love so well, even if it's just so you can snigger over the fact that Tammi's surname is Littlenut, or the way Jerri says "Fandaaaango? Hobocamp? HOBOCAMP!". Heh.
I love that there is canon gayness, lots and lots of canon gayness, and that it is complicated and funny and gorgeous and not even slightly stupid or "hur-hur they're gaaay". And I love that they're just so totally OK with doing that, that they really and truly don't think that gayness is a bad thing, enough that they'll put it into their work just like anything else. Enough that they actually are that cool in real life. I love that they do that and don't make a big deal out of just how special that is.
3. Due South
DS is one of those things where the love is so assumed it's kind of hard to describe it. Cause I could say that I love that it's a show about weirdos, and that's true, but basically all the shows I like are about misfits in some way, shape or form. I could say that I love the surrealism, or the characters, or the total love of the world that shines through in every moment of it, and that's true too, but it's not the whole story.
I think that really, what I love is that it says there's more than one way of doing things. On the surface, it's a buddy-cop drama, but they took that and they made something honestly new and interesting out of it. They went, it doesn't have to be boring. And it wasn't. And even better, they show that view through the action of the show itself, too; Fraser and both Rays have different ways of viewing the world, different ways of doing things, but none of them are wrong. And they can get on together, and love each other and the world they're in, without making that kind of judgement. Which is really cool. (And sort of the opposite of Strangers with Candy, which just shows lots of fucked-up ways of viewing the world without giving you a better one.)
4. Supernatural
This one is easy. It's a cheesy show, it's funny but not outstandingly so, its mythology has more holes than even the poshest of cheeses. But: it's all about family.
I'm surprised at how rare that is, really. Everybody has family issues in some way, shape or form; with such a universal thing, you'd expect a whole lot more TV about it. But no. Most of the time, once somebody in TV land has reached eighteen, all their family issues are gone and dealt with and they are a functioning adult. This is simply not realistic, which is why it's all the cooler that Supernatural came along. "Hot boys fighting paranormal baddies" is OK: "hot boys fight paranormal baddies while having a fascinating and complicated family life" is fantastic. You wouldn't have thought this show would have depth, but when it comes to the family relationships, it totally does. And that is very cool.
5. Slings and Arrows
I hate putting these in order, because honestly, I really want a definitive list of the relative rankings of all these shows and that just isn't going to happen. I love different things about all of them and so I flail a lot when trying to make a comparison.
I can happily say, though, that I think Slings and Arrows is one of the best TV shows of the last twenty years. It's mindbogglingly smart, it has so much depth that I would pay to read theses on it... but it doesn't for one minute talk down to the audience, or make a big deal out of how smart it is. You could go into it without having read Shakespeare in your life, and you'd be just fine. I can't think of any other show that's even a tenth as smart that manages that issue quite so well.
And oh, oh, the love. This show is in love with art, with the possibilities art brings, the creativity people are capable of. And that's beautiful... and especially impressive given that it doesn't ever over-idealise people. The characters are flawed, occasionally fucked up and sometimes not very nice. They make mistakes. (Which is a good thing; they're believable and loveable because of it.) But the show never turns that into a reason to give up, a reason to think art and beauty aren't possible. Which is really, seriously cool.
And now I have to run, because I am - *gasp!* - actually being sociable again tonight. Dude.
1. Sports Night.
I just got villainny into this and it reminded me of why I adore it so very, very much. I love that it doesn't seem much, each episode zips by and it's very much like nothing happened, but then somehow the bits add up to so much more than the whole, simply because of the people in it. And oh, oh, the people. Dan and Casey are just so very much in love that I honestly don't see how anybody could see it otherwise, Jeremy is just the best nerd in the history of nerdiness, and he really and truly thinks that he's the luckiest guy in the world because he gets Natalie. It just makes me melt. I love that Natalie and Dana actually do have a friendship and conversations beyond the men in their lives. I love that Dana seems more competant and hardcore and Natalie seems more dippy and unreliable but actually it's the other way round. I love that Dan, even when he's having a breakdown and his world sucks, still does his best to be a good friend, a good person.
And I love that it has a happy ending. More than one, in fact. It's a bit of a lame reason to love something, but Sports Night is my happy place, and I'm so glad I've got to remember that over the last week or two.
2. Strangers with Candy
I love that it's so completely insane but still very, very smart. My very favourite thing about comedy ever is that being really silly doesn't mean you aren't making very serious, valid points, and SWC does that and has a dance sequence at the end of every episode. I love that they know that, that they can do all these beautifully, crazily genius things, work so hard at putting them together and make them seem so effortless. Every single time I watch an episode, there's something new to see, to appreciate. It repays the love so well, even if it's just so you can snigger over the fact that Tammi's surname is Littlenut, or the way Jerri says "Fandaaaango? Hobocamp? HOBOCAMP!". Heh.
I love that there is canon gayness, lots and lots of canon gayness, and that it is complicated and funny and gorgeous and not even slightly stupid or "hur-hur they're gaaay". And I love that they're just so totally OK with doing that, that they really and truly don't think that gayness is a bad thing, enough that they'll put it into their work just like anything else. Enough that they actually are that cool in real life. I love that they do that and don't make a big deal out of just how special that is.
3. Due South
DS is one of those things where the love is so assumed it's kind of hard to describe it. Cause I could say that I love that it's a show about weirdos, and that's true, but basically all the shows I like are about misfits in some way, shape or form. I could say that I love the surrealism, or the characters, or the total love of the world that shines through in every moment of it, and that's true too, but it's not the whole story.
I think that really, what I love is that it says there's more than one way of doing things. On the surface, it's a buddy-cop drama, but they took that and they made something honestly new and interesting out of it. They went, it doesn't have to be boring. And it wasn't. And even better, they show that view through the action of the show itself, too; Fraser and both Rays have different ways of viewing the world, different ways of doing things, but none of them are wrong. And they can get on together, and love each other and the world they're in, without making that kind of judgement. Which is really cool. (And sort of the opposite of Strangers with Candy, which just shows lots of fucked-up ways of viewing the world without giving you a better one.)
4. Supernatural
This one is easy. It's a cheesy show, it's funny but not outstandingly so, its mythology has more holes than even the poshest of cheeses. But: it's all about family.
I'm surprised at how rare that is, really. Everybody has family issues in some way, shape or form; with such a universal thing, you'd expect a whole lot more TV about it. But no. Most of the time, once somebody in TV land has reached eighteen, all their family issues are gone and dealt with and they are a functioning adult. This is simply not realistic, which is why it's all the cooler that Supernatural came along. "Hot boys fighting paranormal baddies" is OK: "hot boys fight paranormal baddies while having a fascinating and complicated family life" is fantastic. You wouldn't have thought this show would have depth, but when it comes to the family relationships, it totally does. And that is very cool.
5. Slings and Arrows
I hate putting these in order, because honestly, I really want a definitive list of the relative rankings of all these shows and that just isn't going to happen. I love different things about all of them and so I flail a lot when trying to make a comparison.
I can happily say, though, that I think Slings and Arrows is one of the best TV shows of the last twenty years. It's mindbogglingly smart, it has so much depth that I would pay to read theses on it... but it doesn't for one minute talk down to the audience, or make a big deal out of how smart it is. You could go into it without having read Shakespeare in your life, and you'd be just fine. I can't think of any other show that's even a tenth as smart that manages that issue quite so well.
And oh, oh, the love. This show is in love with art, with the possibilities art brings, the creativity people are capable of. And that's beautiful... and especially impressive given that it doesn't ever over-idealise people. The characters are flawed, occasionally fucked up and sometimes not very nice. They make mistakes. (Which is a good thing; they're believable and loveable because of it.) But the show never turns that into a reason to give up, a reason to think art and beauty aren't possible. Which is really, seriously cool.
And now I have to run, because I am - *gasp!* - actually being sociable again tonight. Dude.