insta-rec and Jericho
First, an insta-rec -- Fireball, by celli. I may well be the least-likely reader for this fic, since it's an SGA AU set in the world of NASCAR racing, which is something I know absolutely nothing about. Maybe less than nothing. As I type this, I'm betting that the "R" stands for "racing," so that NASCAR racing is actually redundant. Whatever. The point is that I took a chance on it, and loved every single word of it. It's John/Rodney, but the whole team is there, and everyone seems perfect to me. It made me laugh out loud, it's a romance, the plot kept me going, and the whole thing just works really, really well.
Even if it's not your thing, go give it a try.
* * *
Last night I saw the Space Channel rerun of Jericho and absolutely loved it. I mean, I knew I would love it when I realized that Jonah would be coming back, because Jonah is a great character, and he makes Emily about 300 times more interesting, but I loved the way it went. For a while in the middle of the episode I was wondering whether the show would go with an occupation storyline for the next season (which they would probably pull off better than BSG did), but I think that they'll manage to hold off New Bern's attack in the season finale.
But seriously, the mortars! Well, of course they'd use the mortars to get Jericho to give in -- and of course Gray was about to, even though he knew as well as anyone that this would only be the start of it, that once Jericho gave these farms up they would lose the whole town. And the end was just amazing, passing out the guns because they can't pretend that the world hasn't changed, and if they plan to keep the town they need to defend it.
I loved pretty much everything about this episode. Did Dale basically give the refugees the farm to get their help? or just an interest in it? He may be turning into a leader rather than a gangster -- or he may, if he lives long enough. He brought his people out in the end, of course, because if the town loses he goes with it. He isn't Jonah, or not yet, anyway. But I think he'll still try to make demands: in the same way, though, the scene with the refugees makes me think that he can also be forced to make concessions. Whether or not he understands personal loyalty, I'm not sure -- that's what Johnston wants, loyalty to himself, and to the town. I don't think Dale sees things that way: Dale is loyal to himself, first and foremost. Then maybe to that girl (Skyler? something like that?). But everything else is a transaction to him.
(OK, Jonah's plot logic did leave me a little confused -- first he tells Emily to come with him, because Jericho is going to be taken over, and then he tells her to stay, because he knows that she can't bear to come with him, but he decides to leave with the mortars anyway, leaving Jericho without the extra protection, thus making it more likely that New Bern will win and the town will come to a Bad End. Logically, if Jonah wants Emily to be safe, he's only got two choices: knock her over the head and take her with him, or help defend the town she won't leave. I wonder if we'll see him again next week as the last-minute rescue? But I love the way he keeps stealing things right out from under the noses of the people of Jericho.)
I loved Hawkins deciding that Jericho was his home now, and he would defend it -- not that he hadn't been doing plenty before, but I think he always thought that if things got too tight, he'd take his family (and the nuke? plot logic?) and go -- and then handing out the guns, and giving one to Alison, as well. There's a post to be made about the gender dynamics on the show, but the person making it would probably need to know something about gender roles in small-town Kansas, which I don't. That said, I was not surprised that the militia (that's what it was, of course) was pretty much all-male, although there were a couple young women in it, and that the majority of women wouldn't participate in the shooting war.
By the way -- when Stan made the first attack on the mortars, and he lost his whole team -- did that include Jimmy? because I think Jimmy was part of the team, and he lost them all. I will be sad, if that's the case. On a similar topic, I note that even on the show, they're reluctant to confirm whether Heather is dead or not -- last week Jake claimed he wasn't sure, and this week he doesn't get a chance to tell Emily. I'm going to continue to hope that she's out there somewhere, having Adventures.
As for Emily -- well, like I said above, Jonah makes her more interesting. I think the character has to do too many things at once, and that makes her a little unbelievable (she's the teacher! and Jake's lost love! and Jonah's daughter! and the tough chick with the gun!), and I kind of regret the fact that her mere presence on the screen makes me think that she show is pushing the Jake/Emily romance at me.
I was pretty much pinned to my couch for the entire episode, getting more gleeful with each passing moment (Gray telling Johnston that he needs him! Eric and Mary's reunion, and the way Mrs. Green's face softened as she watched it! Hawkins taking Darcy into the secret room! Alison coming up at the end for a gun -- I know I mentioned this before, but it really had a lot of impact on me. Jonah's double-cross!). The show is really pulling together for the end, and I really, really hope that it gets another season, because I think it could be excellent.
The short version -- all the slow plot-and-character-and-world-building from the beginning is finally paying off, and paying off big-time. If you are looking for a show to catch up on over the summer, jericho is worth a look.
* * *
In other news, I have been reading Vorkosigan books pretty much non-stop for the past few days, and will probably have something to say about that, eventually.
Even if it's not your thing, go give it a try.
* * *
Last night I saw the Space Channel rerun of Jericho and absolutely loved it. I mean, I knew I would love it when I realized that Jonah would be coming back, because Jonah is a great character, and he makes Emily about 300 times more interesting, but I loved the way it went. For a while in the middle of the episode I was wondering whether the show would go with an occupation storyline for the next season (which they would probably pull off better than BSG did), but I think that they'll manage to hold off New Bern's attack in the season finale.
But seriously, the mortars! Well, of course they'd use the mortars to get Jericho to give in -- and of course Gray was about to, even though he knew as well as anyone that this would only be the start of it, that once Jericho gave these farms up they would lose the whole town. And the end was just amazing, passing out the guns because they can't pretend that the world hasn't changed, and if they plan to keep the town they need to defend it.
I loved pretty much everything about this episode. Did Dale basically give the refugees the farm to get their help? or just an interest in it? He may be turning into a leader rather than a gangster -- or he may, if he lives long enough. He brought his people out in the end, of course, because if the town loses he goes with it. He isn't Jonah, or not yet, anyway. But I think he'll still try to make demands: in the same way, though, the scene with the refugees makes me think that he can also be forced to make concessions. Whether or not he understands personal loyalty, I'm not sure -- that's what Johnston wants, loyalty to himself, and to the town. I don't think Dale sees things that way: Dale is loyal to himself, first and foremost. Then maybe to that girl (Skyler? something like that?). But everything else is a transaction to him.
(OK, Jonah's plot logic did leave me a little confused -- first he tells Emily to come with him, because Jericho is going to be taken over, and then he tells her to stay, because he knows that she can't bear to come with him, but he decides to leave with the mortars anyway, leaving Jericho without the extra protection, thus making it more likely that New Bern will win and the town will come to a Bad End. Logically, if Jonah wants Emily to be safe, he's only got two choices: knock her over the head and take her with him, or help defend the town she won't leave. I wonder if we'll see him again next week as the last-minute rescue? But I love the way he keeps stealing things right out from under the noses of the people of Jericho.)
I loved Hawkins deciding that Jericho was his home now, and he would defend it -- not that he hadn't been doing plenty before, but I think he always thought that if things got too tight, he'd take his family (and the nuke? plot logic?) and go -- and then handing out the guns, and giving one to Alison, as well. There's a post to be made about the gender dynamics on the show, but the person making it would probably need to know something about gender roles in small-town Kansas, which I don't. That said, I was not surprised that the militia (that's what it was, of course) was pretty much all-male, although there were a couple young women in it, and that the majority of women wouldn't participate in the shooting war.
By the way -- when Stan made the first attack on the mortars, and he lost his whole team -- did that include Jimmy? because I think Jimmy was part of the team, and he lost them all. I will be sad, if that's the case. On a similar topic, I note that even on the show, they're reluctant to confirm whether Heather is dead or not -- last week Jake claimed he wasn't sure, and this week he doesn't get a chance to tell Emily. I'm going to continue to hope that she's out there somewhere, having Adventures.
As for Emily -- well, like I said above, Jonah makes her more interesting. I think the character has to do too many things at once, and that makes her a little unbelievable (she's the teacher! and Jake's lost love! and Jonah's daughter! and the tough chick with the gun!), and I kind of regret the fact that her mere presence on the screen makes me think that she show is pushing the Jake/Emily romance at me.
I was pretty much pinned to my couch for the entire episode, getting more gleeful with each passing moment (Gray telling Johnston that he needs him! Eric and Mary's reunion, and the way Mrs. Green's face softened as she watched it! Hawkins taking Darcy into the secret room! Alison coming up at the end for a gun -- I know I mentioned this before, but it really had a lot of impact on me. Jonah's double-cross!). The show is really pulling together for the end, and I really, really hope that it gets another season, because I think it could be excellent.
The short version -- all the slow plot-and-character-and-world-building from the beginning is finally paying off, and paying off big-time. If you are looking for a show to catch up on over the summer, jericho is worth a look.
* * *
In other news, I have been reading Vorkosigan books pretty much non-stop for the past few days, and will probably have something to say about that, eventually.