where do his intentions lie? and does he even have any?
Because I have nothing deep to say at the moment, I will give you two interesting and worthwhile links on Egypt... and then move on to my true metier, which is apparently TV.
I have one major quibble with today's Being Human. And that is:
I would really, really like to see someone on TV making the active choice not to have a baby. I really would. And I thought, for a few minutes, that that's what we'd get. I loved Nina's moment about her mum: it was really moving in terms of oh god I love Nina and would be her friend any day, and it worked brilliantly to use lycanthropy as a metaphor for what abuse can do to a person. Nina's being a werewolf and her worry she'd pass that on echo and reflect the fear of having been changed by abuse in such a way that she'd pass it on and wouldn't be good enough. Really good stuff. Her getting pissed off with George for making it about him was perfect! And her choosing not to keep the pregnancy would have made so much sense.
I certainly don't blame them for thinking they'd get more narrative mileage out of her deciding to keep the pregnancy, but: DAMMIT WE WERE SO CLOSE. And I wish it hadn't been "because a dying person told me to seize the day" that made her change her mind. People are NOT THAT SIMPLE, and Nina's not that easily manipulated, and also, hey, writers? You can do, and have done, BETTER THAN THAT.
Everything else was ace though. The way they all freaked out at zombie girl; Annie and Mitchell getting together in an Obviously Doomed way then underlined by the Folder Of Foreboding, all the set-up for the new arc... awesome. But dammit I WANTED MY MOMENT.
--
A whole bunch of people I know have been watching Community. It didn't particularly look like something I wanted to see, but then I saw five minutes of the pilot and there was surprise!John Oliver and I laughed and laughed, and then the rest was EVEN BETTER.
Like, 'how is a random and admittedly silly comedy show about a community college being so much better in so many ways than a lot of the stuff on that takes itself more seriously?' good. Three episodes in and there are CHARACTERS, who are awesome, diverse omg-and-the-world-didn't-end!, and they interact in interesting ways that also actually tell a story about society. On top of that it is really funny. So. Much. Win.
Current favourite thing - Abed making the movie was so, so well done and poignant and moving and ABED ABED ABED, and then: CRUNKING. I nearly fell off my chair. Bwaaaah. I am totally shipping Troy and Abed, and I love that TROY is the one to snippily tell Pierce that telling Britta he fancies her is itself the sexual harassment, and just. I am really happy I watched it; it is making me happy to think that there is more story with these people to see. ♥
--
Downton Abbey is coming back but NOT FOR MONTHS and I currently feel this is rather unfair. It's so pretty and it could have felt like a soap opera but instead felt like getting to have an inside view on the village gossip for a while.
Pretty much the only thing I did not like was that Thomas the gay footman barely had any story about him being gay because it ended up being all about how he was eeeeevil. Which: hmmmmm.
I did like at least that O'Brien had a moment of conscience despite having been horrible, though. And even though Bates was so obviously written to be The Best And Most Noble Dude In The World, I really liked that his mum gave a perspective that was more than that. And the performance was just awesome - he wouldn't have been nearly so compelling a character without Brendan Coyle's twinkle and understated irony. Like the bit where he's telling what's-his-face that Anna DOES have someone interested in her, that could have been corny and awful but instead was really charming and made me happy.
It helps that Anna? Is fabulous. Actually all the women are, really: O'Brien's bitchy and horrible but ultimately human, and Mary and Edith have that thing where they just reallyreally bring out the worst in each other despite actually not hating each other at all that I recognise SO MUCH from a lot of my relationship with my sister, and Sybill is just ADORABLE. I love her! She's smart and lovely and political and is a living illustration of the argument that if the world is to change, sometimes it's not enough for those at the bottom of the heap to yell. Sometimes the people at the top have to listen. And she DOES. And I love that Maggie Smith is having such a great time as the Dowager Countess, and I love that she and Cora have alliances, and an adult relationship, that the men really don't want to think about because it kind of confuses them and freaks them out. *g*
And the next series obviously has to be World War 1 from Downton's perspective, and I want to see that! Thomas hasn't really had his comeuppance yet and Matthew and Mary clearly have to sort things out and I want Edith to get a second chance with Sir Anthony and I want Gwen to get to go to her job now she's finally got one, dangit.
--
Wow, NCIS did an episode about domestic violence that was actually pretty good! (
catwalksalone's comment that it is SO OBVIOUSLY written by a woman is very true. And sad.) It wasn't subtle, but then god help you if you go looking to this show for subtlety! And actually, it was more nuanced than I would ever have expected. Ziva, despite also having had experience with abuse, did not in fact connect with Georgia Wooten, because Ziva was rubbish at it. The fact that the guy who killed the abuser didn't then get points for it and instead got carted off to jail despite clearly thinking he ought to land the hot lady for his trouble was good too.
I did not so much like the fact they went with identity theft for Tim's plot AGAIN and also the bar dude calling Tony and Ziva a couple and just eh, the Tiva bores me. Tony saying him and Tim are not dating I just don't believe. *g* (No really, the "don't call me after seven" stuff especially just rang completely wrong and weird. They are FRIENDS!) Especially with the ending, which was adorable and hilarious. Tony catching Tim's criminal so he can ask Tim out on a date = win. With kid making genuinely funny comments? Double win!
This entry was originally posted at http://soupytwist.dreamwidth.org/52273.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I have one major quibble with today's Being Human. And that is:
I would really, really like to see someone on TV making the active choice not to have a baby. I really would. And I thought, for a few minutes, that that's what we'd get. I loved Nina's moment about her mum: it was really moving in terms of oh god I love Nina and would be her friend any day, and it worked brilliantly to use lycanthropy as a metaphor for what abuse can do to a person. Nina's being a werewolf and her worry she'd pass that on echo and reflect the fear of having been changed by abuse in such a way that she'd pass it on and wouldn't be good enough. Really good stuff. Her getting pissed off with George for making it about him was perfect! And her choosing not to keep the pregnancy would have made so much sense.
I certainly don't blame them for thinking they'd get more narrative mileage out of her deciding to keep the pregnancy, but: DAMMIT WE WERE SO CLOSE. And I wish it hadn't been "because a dying person told me to seize the day" that made her change her mind. People are NOT THAT SIMPLE, and Nina's not that easily manipulated, and also, hey, writers? You can do, and have done, BETTER THAN THAT.
Everything else was ace though. The way they all freaked out at zombie girl; Annie and Mitchell getting together in an Obviously Doomed way then underlined by the Folder Of Foreboding, all the set-up for the new arc... awesome. But dammit I WANTED MY MOMENT.
--
A whole bunch of people I know have been watching Community. It didn't particularly look like something I wanted to see, but then I saw five minutes of the pilot and there was surprise!John Oliver and I laughed and laughed, and then the rest was EVEN BETTER.
Like, 'how is a random and admittedly silly comedy show about a community college being so much better in so many ways than a lot of the stuff on that takes itself more seriously?' good. Three episodes in and there are CHARACTERS, who are awesome, diverse omg-and-the-world-didn't-end!, and they interact in interesting ways that also actually tell a story about society. On top of that it is really funny. So. Much. Win.
Current favourite thing - Abed making the movie was so, so well done and poignant and moving and ABED ABED ABED, and then: CRUNKING. I nearly fell off my chair. Bwaaaah. I am totally shipping Troy and Abed, and I love that TROY is the one to snippily tell Pierce that telling Britta he fancies her is itself the sexual harassment, and just. I am really happy I watched it; it is making me happy to think that there is more story with these people to see. ♥
--
Downton Abbey is coming back but NOT FOR MONTHS and I currently feel this is rather unfair. It's so pretty and it could have felt like a soap opera but instead felt like getting to have an inside view on the village gossip for a while.
Pretty much the only thing I did not like was that Thomas the gay footman barely had any story about him being gay because it ended up being all about how he was eeeeevil. Which: hmmmmm.
I did like at least that O'Brien had a moment of conscience despite having been horrible, though. And even though Bates was so obviously written to be The Best And Most Noble Dude In The World, I really liked that his mum gave a perspective that was more than that. And the performance was just awesome - he wouldn't have been nearly so compelling a character without Brendan Coyle's twinkle and understated irony. Like the bit where he's telling what's-his-face that Anna DOES have someone interested in her, that could have been corny and awful but instead was really charming and made me happy.
It helps that Anna? Is fabulous. Actually all the women are, really: O'Brien's bitchy and horrible but ultimately human, and Mary and Edith have that thing where they just reallyreally bring out the worst in each other despite actually not hating each other at all that I recognise SO MUCH from a lot of my relationship with my sister, and Sybill is just ADORABLE. I love her! She's smart and lovely and political and is a living illustration of the argument that if the world is to change, sometimes it's not enough for those at the bottom of the heap to yell. Sometimes the people at the top have to listen. And she DOES. And I love that Maggie Smith is having such a great time as the Dowager Countess, and I love that she and Cora have alliances, and an adult relationship, that the men really don't want to think about because it kind of confuses them and freaks them out. *g*
And the next series obviously has to be World War 1 from Downton's perspective, and I want to see that! Thomas hasn't really had his comeuppance yet and Matthew and Mary clearly have to sort things out and I want Edith to get a second chance with Sir Anthony and I want Gwen to get to go to her job now she's finally got one, dangit.
--
Wow, NCIS did an episode about domestic violence that was actually pretty good! (
catwalksalone's comment that it is SO OBVIOUSLY written by a woman is very true. And sad.) It wasn't subtle, but then god help you if you go looking to this show for subtlety! And actually, it was more nuanced than I would ever have expected. Ziva, despite also having had experience with abuse, did not in fact connect with Georgia Wooten, because Ziva was rubbish at it. The fact that the guy who killed the abuser didn't then get points for it and instead got carted off to jail despite clearly thinking he ought to land the hot lady for his trouble was good too.
I did not so much like the fact they went with identity theft for Tim's plot AGAIN and also the bar dude calling Tony and Ziva a couple and just eh, the Tiva bores me. Tony saying him and Tim are not dating I just don't believe. *g* (No really, the "don't call me after seven" stuff especially just rang completely wrong and weird. They are FRIENDS!) Especially with the ending, which was adorable and hilarious. Tony catching Tim's criminal so he can ask Tim out on a date = win. With kid making genuinely funny comments? Double win!
This entry was originally posted at http://soupytwist.dreamwidth.org/52273.html. Please comment there using OpenID.