(no subject)
Torchwood 1x05: "Small Worlds"
*spoilers*
I think they over-did the focus on the story-of-the-week just a little. I mean, 70% of the episode featured the guest stars only, and the Torchwood team weren't involved in that part of the plot until the last 10 minutes. And then when we DID see the team, we only saw a tiny bit of Ianto and Jack, and then Jack and Gwen. How long was it before we saw Owen and Toshiko? I think it must've been fifteen, twenty minutes in. Slightly irked about that folks.
That said, I did like this week's episode. I'm probably a boring viewer in that I haven't disliked an episode yet. Same goes for every show I watch, I never out right hate an episode, because if I'm watching a show I'm watching it because there's something or a few somethings that I like about it, and they're usually present in some form in each episode.
A lot of what was in "Small Worlds" went right over my head, possibly because I've only watched it once. I had thought that Doctor Who's powers that be and Torchwood's by default were keeping away from any 'magical' storylines and keeping everything strictly alien. I thought the 'fairies' in this weeks ep were going to be in fact aliens - but it turns out they're, what? Old, old inhabitants of Earth? Ones that used to have their own land, but now are forced to inhabit human's lands because we took it from them?
I for one loved the Jack/Estelle wartime romance. It was incredibly sweet that he got in contact with her decades later and pretended to be his own son just so he could be around her again. He never stopped loving her even though she was now an elderly woman. Estelle was a smashing old gal, and I loved her child-like enthusiasm about fairies.
I'm glad we saw into Jack's past a little, but it still doesn't make said past any clearer. Was he with Estelle back when we saw him in Doctor Who series 1? Was it when he was a Time Agent? Or was it this time around so to speak, was it after he came back to Earth from the Game Station? Same goes for the flashback to 1909 - Time Agent undercover work, rogue Jack messing about, or current Jack doing something for Torchwood? Dear God they've got A LOT of 'splaining to do.
I was spoiled in that I knew that Estelle was going to die, but it didn't make it any less shocking or sad when she did. I was devastated on Jack's behalf, and considering the fact that I'm not a Jack-fancier and that he's not the reason why I watch Torchwood, this is a surprise to me. I was really invested in Jack this week, maybe because this was a more character-driven story. We saw a quiet, troubled side to him rather than screaming-hysterical-angst-Jack.
A lot of people bitched about John Barrowman's 'over the top' playing of Jack last week in "Cyberwoman" while I had no problem with it. Last week, one of his trusted colleagues had someone who was a fatal threat to the team and the general population stashed in HIS basement without his knowledge. He felt betrayed, probably a little stupid and more than a little scared. It was something that definitely called for some hysterical screaming. This week called for the quiet contemplation. He was totally perfect.
The Chosen child thing totally lost me. They choose a child to become one of them (ie, scary looking monster things) or does she rule over them? My own take on it, from what Jasmine said at the end, was that they were avenging on her behalf (taking out the paedophile, the step-dad) but they were also killing people to make her go with them. She said something to Jack like if I don't go they'll keep killing. What ever it was, I loved the way that Jack was utterly torn. He didn't want to let that little girl go, and it killed him to do so.
The rest of the team are totally disgusted with him, but they don't seem to realise even now the power of these creatures, or that Jasmine wanted to be with them. I think Gwen kind of got it when she saw Jasmine's face in the Cottingley Fairies photograph - I hope so at least.
I don't hate Gwen, but it has been annoying me that while the other characters get their 'own' episodes every now and then, Gwen gets one every week. They focus too much on her, or her and Jack, when there are three other characters begging to be explored.
On the whole fallout from last week thing, I didn't mind that there was no spoken animosity between Jack and Ianto. It seemed like time had passed since Lisa's death, and I sensed definite 'I'm uncomfortable' vibes from Ianto, which Jack smoothed over by chatting with him right away and the comforting hand on the shoulder. I think that maybe Ianto's issues with it will come up next week's episode.
Speaking of, "Countrycide" looks like a very rounded team episode and OH MY GOD, 1) Ianto actually goes out on a mission and 2) parts with his suit and wears jeans. Fingers crossed for less of Gwen looking around wide-eyed and more of Owen being generally amazing.
In conclusion: Beautiful. Sad. Fairy lore! Too much Gwen and Jack. Not enough Owen (or Toshiko for that matter). Amazing music. Slightly confused as to what happened at the end. Yay for Jack back-story. Estelle was lovely . This episode just made me glow with happy, despite the downbeat ending for the Torchy team. Bring on next Sunday... now.
(Screencaps from The Institute)
Robin Hood 1x06: "The Taxman Cometh"
I liked last week's episode better. I felt like this episode never picked up and was over before it began. That said, I loved the nun, despite the fact that she became utterly uninteresting when she was revealed to be a conniving seductress at the end. The holier-than-thou attitude and sparring with the Sherrif was way more interesting.
I really enjoyed Marian's story this week. As much as I want her and Robin to get their acts together, I can't help but be endeared to the idea of her and Guy. I'm torn on Guy, he fathered a child and personally abandoned it in a wood to die, and yet here his is being amazingly concerned for an injured nun (albeit a fake one) and following Marian around with a puppy dog look. Wtf? He isn't threatening her, he isn't being even remotely marry-me-or-die, he's actually trying to woo her.
Oh, for the Much/Robin love! Back together again, and as much of a double act as they were before the merry men intervened. This is how I see things were in the Holy Land - Robin dragged Much off into trouble time and time again. As much as I love the comedic aspect Much brings, where the frack is the Much that broke down in the bath in episode 1? I honestly want to see that serious, utterly damaged, war-torn Much again. NOW. We know Robin's been affected by the Crusades to the point of having nightmares and of almost switching to the 'enemy's' side, let's see some more of how it affected Much.
I want to see more of Will and Allan too. This seems to be the loudest refrain in discussions about the series and I have to repeat it. There's so much that can be used there. Robin's cheeky grins and the (I have to say it) paper-thin going-up-against-the-Sherrif-and-winning-again plots can only go so far. We need more character development.
Djaq I am totally loving. She's my girl crush. She and Will must bond immediately. I want to see those cheeks of his flush like they did when he saw her topless and realised she was a GIRL. More from them please BBC.
Veronica Mars 3x06: "Hi, Infidelity"
Okay so the rape mystery is coming to a close but when exactly are things actually supposed to be adding up? Personally, I don't think that ANY of the girls were raped. I never have. The girl at the newspaper was just too gung-ho about getting the frat boys for my liking. I really think she's involved, and it's a ruse to get back at them - maybe she was raped by one of them at some point.
And does NOBODY think that Logan's angst-ridden expression at the end was not over Mercer being falsely accused but because the reason he can't tell Veronica what they were doing that night is because he was cheating on her with someone? He looked far too guilty for this not to be obvious. And the "hints" regarding Veronica and Piz weren't so much hints as anvils. There are leading up to a V/L break up and a V/P hook up. At this point, I can't really be bothered to care. I love Veronica and Logan, together or not together. I'll just be running back to my season 1 V/L scenes for a fix.
Despite my misgivings about Piz, I liked him even though I knew his whole reason for being was to be Veronica's new squeeze. Now I'm hating that the PTB have made me hate HIM because he has no character of his own, he only exists to follow Veronica around with doe eyes.
Too many cooks spoil the broth people. We've got Piz, Wallace, Dick, Parker and Mac as supporting stars. They clearly aren't handling them all well, or giving them their own storylines in a proper way. We saw a total of one scene of Dick's 'character development' way back at the end of episode 1. As I said, Piz is just V's lapdog. Parker had come along surprisngly well despite all this and I actually like her. Wallace is being given nonsensical school vs basketball plots, and has had about three scenes with Veronica so far. And Mac? Who's Mac? You get my drift.
And let me just assert my abounding love for Sherrif Lamb yet again. We've seen him like five times, mostly in scenes with Veronica. In the first he was a total ass-hat about the whole 'crying wolf' rape thing, then he was almost KIND to her about her stolen necklace, and in this episode he WILLINGLY tells her confidential police info about the GHB in Mercer's cash box.
Pray tell, is Lamb realising that Veronica is 1) a human being and 2) a great asset to him in that she's way better at HIS job than HE is? Or is it just the powers that be are making him more likeable for the new CW viewers? I mean, they have made him appear as a more humorous character to be laughed AT than one who we laugh WITH when he makes his usual snarky remarks. E.g. him doing the robot last week and then muttering to himself about kicking someone's ass and having a snit when he walks into his office and there's Veronica listening to his ranting this week.
Whatever it is, this is me not caring, because any Sherrif Lamb is better than none at all.
*spoilers*
I think they over-did the focus on the story-of-the-week just a little. I mean, 70% of the episode featured the guest stars only, and the Torchwood team weren't involved in that part of the plot until the last 10 minutes. And then when we DID see the team, we only saw a tiny bit of Ianto and Jack, and then Jack and Gwen. How long was it before we saw Owen and Toshiko? I think it must've been fifteen, twenty minutes in. Slightly irked about that folks.
That said, I did like this week's episode. I'm probably a boring viewer in that I haven't disliked an episode yet. Same goes for every show I watch, I never out right hate an episode, because if I'm watching a show I'm watching it because there's something or a few somethings that I like about it, and they're usually present in some form in each episode.
A lot of what was in "Small Worlds" went right over my head, possibly because I've only watched it once. I had thought that Doctor Who's powers that be and Torchwood's by default were keeping away from any 'magical' storylines and keeping everything strictly alien. I thought the 'fairies' in this weeks ep were going to be in fact aliens - but it turns out they're, what? Old, old inhabitants of Earth? Ones that used to have their own land, but now are forced to inhabit human's lands because we took it from them?
I for one loved the Jack/Estelle wartime romance. It was incredibly sweet that he got in contact with her decades later and pretended to be his own son just so he could be around her again. He never stopped loving her even though she was now an elderly woman. Estelle was a smashing old gal, and I loved her child-like enthusiasm about fairies.
I'm glad we saw into Jack's past a little, but it still doesn't make said past any clearer. Was he with Estelle back when we saw him in Doctor Who series 1? Was it when he was a Time Agent? Or was it this time around so to speak, was it after he came back to Earth from the Game Station? Same goes for the flashback to 1909 - Time Agent undercover work, rogue Jack messing about, or current Jack doing something for Torchwood? Dear God they've got A LOT of 'splaining to do.
I was spoiled in that I knew that Estelle was going to die, but it didn't make it any less shocking or sad when she did. I was devastated on Jack's behalf, and considering the fact that I'm not a Jack-fancier and that he's not the reason why I watch Torchwood, this is a surprise to me. I was really invested in Jack this week, maybe because this was a more character-driven story. We saw a quiet, troubled side to him rather than screaming-hysterical-angst-Jack.
A lot of people bitched about John Barrowman's 'over the top' playing of Jack last week in "Cyberwoman" while I had no problem with it. Last week, one of his trusted colleagues had someone who was a fatal threat to the team and the general population stashed in HIS basement without his knowledge. He felt betrayed, probably a little stupid and more than a little scared. It was something that definitely called for some hysterical screaming. This week called for the quiet contemplation. He was totally perfect.
The Chosen child thing totally lost me. They choose a child to become one of them (ie, scary looking monster things) or does she rule over them? My own take on it, from what Jasmine said at the end, was that they were avenging on her behalf (taking out the paedophile, the step-dad) but they were also killing people to make her go with them. She said something to Jack like if I don't go they'll keep killing. What ever it was, I loved the way that Jack was utterly torn. He didn't want to let that little girl go, and it killed him to do so.
The rest of the team are totally disgusted with him, but they don't seem to realise even now the power of these creatures, or that Jasmine wanted to be with them. I think Gwen kind of got it when she saw Jasmine's face in the Cottingley Fairies photograph - I hope so at least.
I don't hate Gwen, but it has been annoying me that while the other characters get their 'own' episodes every now and then, Gwen gets one every week. They focus too much on her, or her and Jack, when there are three other characters begging to be explored.
On the whole fallout from last week thing, I didn't mind that there was no spoken animosity between Jack and Ianto. It seemed like time had passed since Lisa's death, and I sensed definite 'I'm uncomfortable' vibes from Ianto, which Jack smoothed over by chatting with him right away and the comforting hand on the shoulder. I think that maybe Ianto's issues with it will come up next week's episode.
Speaking of, "Countrycide" looks like a very rounded team episode and OH MY GOD, 1) Ianto actually goes out on a mission and 2) parts with his suit and wears jeans. Fingers crossed for less of Gwen looking around wide-eyed and more of Owen being generally amazing.
In conclusion: Beautiful. Sad. Fairy lore! Too much Gwen and Jack. Not enough Owen (or Toshiko for that matter). Amazing music. Slightly confused as to what happened at the end. Yay for Jack back-story. Estelle was lovely . This episode just made me glow with happy, despite the downbeat ending for the Torchy team. Bring on next Sunday... now.
(Screencaps from The Institute)
Robin Hood 1x06: "The Taxman Cometh"
I liked last week's episode better. I felt like this episode never picked up and was over before it began. That said, I loved the nun, despite the fact that she became utterly uninteresting when she was revealed to be a conniving seductress at the end. The holier-than-thou attitude and sparring with the Sherrif was way more interesting.
I really enjoyed Marian's story this week. As much as I want her and Robin to get their acts together, I can't help but be endeared to the idea of her and Guy. I'm torn on Guy, he fathered a child and personally abandoned it in a wood to die, and yet here his is being amazingly concerned for an injured nun (albeit a fake one) and following Marian around with a puppy dog look. Wtf? He isn't threatening her, he isn't being even remotely marry-me-or-die, he's actually trying to woo her.
Oh, for the Much/Robin love! Back together again, and as much of a double act as they were before the merry men intervened. This is how I see things were in the Holy Land - Robin dragged Much off into trouble time and time again. As much as I love the comedic aspect Much brings, where the frack is the Much that broke down in the bath in episode 1? I honestly want to see that serious, utterly damaged, war-torn Much again. NOW. We know Robin's been affected by the Crusades to the point of having nightmares and of almost switching to the 'enemy's' side, let's see some more of how it affected Much.
I want to see more of Will and Allan too. This seems to be the loudest refrain in discussions about the series and I have to repeat it. There's so much that can be used there. Robin's cheeky grins and the (I have to say it) paper-thin going-up-against-the-Sherrif-and-winning-again plots can only go so far. We need more character development.
Djaq I am totally loving. She's my girl crush. She and Will must bond immediately. I want to see those cheeks of his flush like they did when he saw her topless and realised she was a GIRL. More from them please BBC.
Veronica Mars 3x06: "Hi, Infidelity"
Okay so the rape mystery is coming to a close but when exactly are things actually supposed to be adding up? Personally, I don't think that ANY of the girls were raped. I never have. The girl at the newspaper was just too gung-ho about getting the frat boys for my liking. I really think she's involved, and it's a ruse to get back at them - maybe she was raped by one of them at some point.
And does NOBODY think that Logan's angst-ridden expression at the end was not over Mercer being falsely accused but because the reason he can't tell Veronica what they were doing that night is because he was cheating on her with someone? He looked far too guilty for this not to be obvious. And the "hints" regarding Veronica and Piz weren't so much hints as anvils. There are leading up to a V/L break up and a V/P hook up. At this point, I can't really be bothered to care. I love Veronica and Logan, together or not together. I'll just be running back to my season 1 V/L scenes for a fix.
Despite my misgivings about Piz, I liked him even though I knew his whole reason for being was to be Veronica's new squeeze. Now I'm hating that the PTB have made me hate HIM because he has no character of his own, he only exists to follow Veronica around with doe eyes.
Too many cooks spoil the broth people. We've got Piz, Wallace, Dick, Parker and Mac as supporting stars. They clearly aren't handling them all well, or giving them their own storylines in a proper way. We saw a total of one scene of Dick's 'character development' way back at the end of episode 1. As I said, Piz is just V's lapdog. Parker had come along surprisngly well despite all this and I actually like her. Wallace is being given nonsensical school vs basketball plots, and has had about three scenes with Veronica so far. And Mac? Who's Mac? You get my drift.
And let me just assert my abounding love for Sherrif Lamb yet again. We've seen him like five times, mostly in scenes with Veronica. In the first he was a total ass-hat about the whole 'crying wolf' rape thing, then he was almost KIND to her about her stolen necklace, and in this episode he WILLINGLY tells her confidential police info about the GHB in Mercer's cash box.
Pray tell, is Lamb realising that Veronica is 1) a human being and 2) a great asset to him in that she's way better at HIS job than HE is? Or is it just the powers that be are making him more likeable for the new CW viewers? I mean, they have made him appear as a more humorous character to be laughed AT than one who we laugh WITH when he makes his usual snarky remarks. E.g. him doing the robot last week and then muttering to himself about kicking someone's ass and having a snit when he walks into his office and there's Veronica listening to his ranting this week.
Whatever it is, this is me not caring, because any Sherrif Lamb is better than none at all.