New TV.
Legend of the Seeker, season 2
I seriously think that 2x07 was one of THE best LotS episodes yet. I knew nothing about it, so the twist with Denna killing Richard and Richard actually turning up in the underworld made my jaw drop. I only recently caught up on season 2 and I was very tentative at first about the changes. It took a few episodes for me to like where things were going, but now I do of course. I think the show has maintained and possibly even amped up momentum, and the change from defeating Rahl to finding the Stone of Tears is fun and interesting.
I was uneasy about Cara at first. I didn't like the actress / character's style - that expressionless, monosyllabic, tough girl thing. She seemed too reminiscent of Denna, in looks, acting style and character traits. I was also weirdly, very defensive of Kahlan's turf as the only female character, and in terms of her relationship with Richard. I felt that having Cara be Kahlan's sister's murderer was going to be a massive deal and would make the group very tense.
I've adjusted now and I like the addition of Cara. I get now that Richard and Kahlan are secure, but I was still silly to be all up in arms over my OTP. I actually LIKE Richard's attachment to Cara. I think it may be a little too fast and too devoted to really make sense in the story, but it's still a good plot. Cara insisting her loyalty is only to the incumbent Lord Rahl is wearing thin because you can see she really does like Richard. I've liked the character development on her so far - her actually saying that Kahlan was a woman of honour was incredible, and when she realised the agiles no longer worked, meaning Richard was dead, her expression was devastated. She showed more emotion than that of someone whose lord and master has died. I also like the idea of Richard/Cara, not as much as him and Kahlan but it is an interesting couple. Plus... since the introduction of Cara and her development, I've actually found her more interesting than Kahlan who can be one note at times with how good and moral she is.
Overall, this season 2's episodes 1 - 7 are actually better than s1's same batch of episodes, and it seems like they are only going to get better. Richard's fury coming into play in 2x06, his headaches, leading up to the revelations about his true magical powers in the next few episodes... that's going to be epic. I confess I got bored with the books and gave up, I don't like the writing style, I slogged through them to be honest, and I HATE the Mud People with a vicious passion, but I kept track of the larger plot developments and I'm excited to see some of them play out.
My biggest problems is this - I genuinely thought that when Kahlan confessed Richard whilst he wielded the power of Orden that he would technically have been confessed, though protected by Orden from the real effects of the magic... thus he and Kahlan could now be together without any problem. I was so annoyed to discover again in 2x01 that they still can't be together. With no satisfaction or conclusion in sight, the Richard / Kahlan love story may wear thin for me, despite how much I love it. There have been too many near misses and potions and ways around that they have lost out on, and they deviated from the books of course, in which Richard's own love for Kahlan means he already loves her as much as he would if he were confessed, meaning her confession is useless on him.
Being Human 2x01
Yeah, it was okay... I'd give it a 6/10. Obviously it was a little bit more morose and angsty than usual. I mean, Being Human always brought the drama but it was deeper than before. I know everyone's still adjusting from the reverberations of Herrick's death, George and Nina especially but.... still, I can't say it was one of my favourite episodes. George particularly was extremely unlikeable, to the point of me hating him. He was a complete dick, so arrogant and judgmental - complaining that Nina was disdainful of him, all the while he's actually being disdainful of her. And sleeping with Daisy... BLEGH. That went too far. He hasn't just ignored Nina's emotions and pain now, but he's betrayed her. I GET IT, yes, it's a journey, and I suppose George being unlikeable was the point of his arc in this episode, it just put a really bad taste in my mouth though.
Evil doctor dude was interesting I suppose with the werewolf experiment, but the religious stuff at the end was a whole bunch of MEH. It's been DONE. Another religious zealot ridding the world of unclean things. Boring. I hope it gets more interesting. Nina being around permanently is different. I just like the three of them in the house really, but we'll see. Lyndesy Marshal turning up as Lucy was nice, I like her from Rome, Garrow's Law and The Shadow in the North, she's super pretty and a great actress. I had no idea she'd be in this. I wonder if it's going to be a permanent guest role. If things develop between her and Mitchell it'll be a bit too reminiscent of George and Nina... the 'monster' falling for the oblivious human... and look how that turned out for Nina...
Well I'll keep watching obviously, it's a good show but I don't feel the spark I did in series 1 did, for some reason. It's weird.
And WTF at the BBC press release which says that there will be a series 3, but then goes on to splash out spoilers for the series finale by saying the characters are relocating from Bristol to Wales after events at the end of s2? I mean, they didn't have to mention that bit already, they could have waited. I'm annoyed at the Wales thing because I thought I'd seen in a BH extra that they purposely chose Bristol because enough recent shows had already been set in Wales anyway. Clearly this move is a production driven one - a heap of shows are filmed in Wales as it is, and it'll probably cut costs to relocate there. I just find it silly, within the narrative of course. Wales is probably the last place that would occur to the characters. If they had to escape somewhere they'd probably go to London or Manchester, or a heap of other big cities. It was just nice to watch a BBC show that was set somewhere other than Wales.
Dollhouse 2x11
I am loving Dollhouse. Like many other fans, I was meh to it until late season 1 and since then it's been spectacular. I wasn't impressed with Summer Glau's turn as Bennett, I felt there was a lot of bad acting there, despite my being a fan of hers... but in this episode the character seemed more real and I loved her. Of course I was SHOCKED when Claire shot her in the fucking head in front of Topher, who had just shared his first kiss with Bennett and was totally falling for her. While I liked Claire before, especially her weird connection to Topher, I now despise her for that one spiteful, despicable act. I don't believe that she's a sleeper simply eliminating a woman who could have helped Adelle, she was getting revenge on Topher. I still don't fully understand Claire's hatred of Topher... and I hate when people take revenge by killing someone ELSE that that person loves. That's just sick in my opinion. It's another person whose life is lost. Anyway, given that I myself have gone from hating Topher to him being my favourite character... I am so on his side, and so devastated and heartbroken for him. I hope they wipe that bitch's personality ASAP.
Echo / Ballard were my Dollhouse OTP... whoops, I've been Jossed again. Goodbye to that. Saving Ballard from brain death meant making him a Doll, which in turn meant sacrificing newer emotional connections. He doesn't love Echo anymore. That's really sad actually. I loved them so much. Ballard gets so much hate, but I really, really like him a lot. I also love Echo a lot too. I love this person she's become. I hated the thought of this evil Caroline taking her body but when I saw that Caroline wasn't as bad as I thought, I changed my views. I get Caroline now.
And WTF at Boyd? Boyd is Rossum. Boyd is Dollhouse's Big Bad.... I DON'T EVEN. So Boyd/Rossum, intrigued by Caroline got himself into the Dollhouse as Echo's handler to watch this woman, and has been pretending ever since? I mean, I do kind of get it, I just wish there had been more clues so it didn't seem so stupid. Many people have posted pointers to clues, like Boyd's lack of personal history, his deep attachment to Echo etc... but none of that truly points to him being the Big Bad that he is helping Adelle to defeat...
But whatever, we'll see what happens. The last 2 episodes are going to be very interesting, but I can't say I'm happy about the continuation of the Epitaph One story. I liked that as a what if scenario... but I had hoped that the present day efforts would avoid the apocalypse. I'm just not really into the end of the world story posited here, I'm more interested in seeing them avoid this path and how they do that. I suppose they actually DON'T avoid it, which is annoying.
- I'm also continuing to plough through The X-Files. It's taking me so long, but I don't mind. It's something to come back to every now and then. I'm only mid season 4. So much has happened so far though. A few gripes, now that I have a good grip on the show - is Mulder Scully's boss in a sense? I know they are partners and that she is assigned to him in 1x01... and yet it seems like he is *always* giving her orders, taking command, telling her where to go, what to do. I think technically it is an equal partnership. Also, has anyone else found many of the standalone episode deathly boring and dull? Some of them I just know are going to be uninteresting within the first few minutes and I skim through, and am proven right. I always look forward to the myth arc episodes, they're always the best it seems, but even they give more questions than answers. It's a great show obviously, and I love Mulder and Scully, but sometimes I feel frustrated by how they take one step forward and two steps back.
- All righty... new Lark Rise to Candleford to watch now!!! Series 2's fuckery with Miss Lane and James made my love for this show plummet but I still enjoy these characters, and I hope they pull Miss Lane's story back to being good. I can't say I have any interest in her and JD's son. She wants her own husband and child, not to steal someone else's. That's just a cop out. But okay. Reserving judgement. Off to watch.
I seriously think that 2x07 was one of THE best LotS episodes yet. I knew nothing about it, so the twist with Denna killing Richard and Richard actually turning up in the underworld made my jaw drop. I only recently caught up on season 2 and I was very tentative at first about the changes. It took a few episodes for me to like where things were going, but now I do of course. I think the show has maintained and possibly even amped up momentum, and the change from defeating Rahl to finding the Stone of Tears is fun and interesting.
I was uneasy about Cara at first. I didn't like the actress / character's style - that expressionless, monosyllabic, tough girl thing. She seemed too reminiscent of Denna, in looks, acting style and character traits. I was also weirdly, very defensive of Kahlan's turf as the only female character, and in terms of her relationship with Richard. I felt that having Cara be Kahlan's sister's murderer was going to be a massive deal and would make the group very tense.
I've adjusted now and I like the addition of Cara. I get now that Richard and Kahlan are secure, but I was still silly to be all up in arms over my OTP. I actually LIKE Richard's attachment to Cara. I think it may be a little too fast and too devoted to really make sense in the story, but it's still a good plot. Cara insisting her loyalty is only to the incumbent Lord Rahl is wearing thin because you can see she really does like Richard. I've liked the character development on her so far - her actually saying that Kahlan was a woman of honour was incredible, and when she realised the agiles no longer worked, meaning Richard was dead, her expression was devastated. She showed more emotion than that of someone whose lord and master has died. I also like the idea of Richard/Cara, not as much as him and Kahlan but it is an interesting couple. Plus... since the introduction of Cara and her development, I've actually found her more interesting than Kahlan who can be one note at times with how good and moral she is.
Overall, this season 2's episodes 1 - 7 are actually better than s1's same batch of episodes, and it seems like they are only going to get better. Richard's fury coming into play in 2x06, his headaches, leading up to the revelations about his true magical powers in the next few episodes... that's going to be epic. I confess I got bored with the books and gave up, I don't like the writing style, I slogged through them to be honest, and I HATE the Mud People with a vicious passion, but I kept track of the larger plot developments and I'm excited to see some of them play out.
My biggest problems is this - I genuinely thought that when Kahlan confessed Richard whilst he wielded the power of Orden that he would technically have been confessed, though protected by Orden from the real effects of the magic... thus he and Kahlan could now be together without any problem. I was so annoyed to discover again in 2x01 that they still can't be together. With no satisfaction or conclusion in sight, the Richard / Kahlan love story may wear thin for me, despite how much I love it. There have been too many near misses and potions and ways around that they have lost out on, and they deviated from the books of course, in which Richard's own love for Kahlan means he already loves her as much as he would if he were confessed, meaning her confession is useless on him.
Being Human 2x01
Yeah, it was okay... I'd give it a 6/10. Obviously it was a little bit more morose and angsty than usual. I mean, Being Human always brought the drama but it was deeper than before. I know everyone's still adjusting from the reverberations of Herrick's death, George and Nina especially but.... still, I can't say it was one of my favourite episodes. George particularly was extremely unlikeable, to the point of me hating him. He was a complete dick, so arrogant and judgmental - complaining that Nina was disdainful of him, all the while he's actually being disdainful of her. And sleeping with Daisy... BLEGH. That went too far. He hasn't just ignored Nina's emotions and pain now, but he's betrayed her. I GET IT, yes, it's a journey, and I suppose George being unlikeable was the point of his arc in this episode, it just put a really bad taste in my mouth though.
Evil doctor dude was interesting I suppose with the werewolf experiment, but the religious stuff at the end was a whole bunch of MEH. It's been DONE. Another religious zealot ridding the world of unclean things. Boring. I hope it gets more interesting. Nina being around permanently is different. I just like the three of them in the house really, but we'll see. Lyndesy Marshal turning up as Lucy was nice, I like her from Rome, Garrow's Law and The Shadow in the North, she's super pretty and a great actress. I had no idea she'd be in this. I wonder if it's going to be a permanent guest role. If things develop between her and Mitchell it'll be a bit too reminiscent of George and Nina... the 'monster' falling for the oblivious human... and look how that turned out for Nina...
Well I'll keep watching obviously, it's a good show but I don't feel the spark I did in series 1 did, for some reason. It's weird.
And WTF at the BBC press release which says that there will be a series 3, but then goes on to splash out spoilers for the series finale by saying the characters are relocating from Bristol to Wales after events at the end of s2? I mean, they didn't have to mention that bit already, they could have waited. I'm annoyed at the Wales thing because I thought I'd seen in a BH extra that they purposely chose Bristol because enough recent shows had already been set in Wales anyway. Clearly this move is a production driven one - a heap of shows are filmed in Wales as it is, and it'll probably cut costs to relocate there. I just find it silly, within the narrative of course. Wales is probably the last place that would occur to the characters. If they had to escape somewhere they'd probably go to London or Manchester, or a heap of other big cities. It was just nice to watch a BBC show that was set somewhere other than Wales.
Dollhouse 2x11
I am loving Dollhouse. Like many other fans, I was meh to it until late season 1 and since then it's been spectacular. I wasn't impressed with Summer Glau's turn as Bennett, I felt there was a lot of bad acting there, despite my being a fan of hers... but in this episode the character seemed more real and I loved her. Of course I was SHOCKED when Claire shot her in the fucking head in front of Topher, who had just shared his first kiss with Bennett and was totally falling for her. While I liked Claire before, especially her weird connection to Topher, I now despise her for that one spiteful, despicable act. I don't believe that she's a sleeper simply eliminating a woman who could have helped Adelle, she was getting revenge on Topher. I still don't fully understand Claire's hatred of Topher... and I hate when people take revenge by killing someone ELSE that that person loves. That's just sick in my opinion. It's another person whose life is lost. Anyway, given that I myself have gone from hating Topher to him being my favourite character... I am so on his side, and so devastated and heartbroken for him. I hope they wipe that bitch's personality ASAP.
Echo / Ballard were my Dollhouse OTP... whoops, I've been Jossed again. Goodbye to that. Saving Ballard from brain death meant making him a Doll, which in turn meant sacrificing newer emotional connections. He doesn't love Echo anymore. That's really sad actually. I loved them so much. Ballard gets so much hate, but I really, really like him a lot. I also love Echo a lot too. I love this person she's become. I hated the thought of this evil Caroline taking her body but when I saw that Caroline wasn't as bad as I thought, I changed my views. I get Caroline now.
And WTF at Boyd? Boyd is Rossum. Boyd is Dollhouse's Big Bad.... I DON'T EVEN. So Boyd/Rossum, intrigued by Caroline got himself into the Dollhouse as Echo's handler to watch this woman, and has been pretending ever since? I mean, I do kind of get it, I just wish there had been more clues so it didn't seem so stupid. Many people have posted pointers to clues, like Boyd's lack of personal history, his deep attachment to Echo etc... but none of that truly points to him being the Big Bad that he is helping Adelle to defeat...
But whatever, we'll see what happens. The last 2 episodes are going to be very interesting, but I can't say I'm happy about the continuation of the Epitaph One story. I liked that as a what if scenario... but I had hoped that the present day efforts would avoid the apocalypse. I'm just not really into the end of the world story posited here, I'm more interested in seeing them avoid this path and how they do that. I suppose they actually DON'T avoid it, which is annoying.
- I'm also continuing to plough through The X-Files. It's taking me so long, but I don't mind. It's something to come back to every now and then. I'm only mid season 4. So much has happened so far though. A few gripes, now that I have a good grip on the show - is Mulder Scully's boss in a sense? I know they are partners and that she is assigned to him in 1x01... and yet it seems like he is *always* giving her orders, taking command, telling her where to go, what to do. I think technically it is an equal partnership. Also, has anyone else found many of the standalone episode deathly boring and dull? Some of them I just know are going to be uninteresting within the first few minutes and I skim through, and am proven right. I always look forward to the myth arc episodes, they're always the best it seems, but even they give more questions than answers. It's a great show obviously, and I love Mulder and Scully, but sometimes I feel frustrated by how they take one step forward and two steps back.
- All righty... new Lark Rise to Candleford to watch now!!! Series 2's fuckery with Miss Lane and James made my love for this show plummet but I still enjoy these characters, and I hope they pull Miss Lane's story back to being good. I can't say I have any interest in her and JD's son. She wants her own husband and child, not to steal someone else's. That's just a cop out. But okay. Reserving judgement. Off to watch.