DRIVE
I <3 Good TV.
Drive - the new show created by Tim Minear (one of the producers of Firefly and Angel), starring Nathan Fillion - I'm addicted to it. Totally.
There was a 3 part premiere (basically just three eps in a couple days to jump start the show) and then episode four aired last night. I have thoughts about it - fan thoughts, fic thoughts, academic study thoughts. I'm trying to NOT think too much about it because I really need to be working on my thesis, but it's like a new drug that I can't get enough of, even when I've got my old drug to give me a temporary fix. I thought maybe if I raved about it here, I could get some of it off my mind and get back to my thesis work.
So - fan thoughts:
-OMGSQUEEEE!!!! It's got a great producer, apparently good writers, Nathan Fillion (playing an amazingly Mal-type character), Amy Acker playing his wife, and a number of other people who seem to be good actors playing well-written and developed characters. Oh yeah, Melanie Lynsky. She's always fun, and I love her character in this. It's like Lost because there's all these strangers thrown together in a crazy life-or-death situation and they don't quite know what's happening from moment to moment. It's like Firefly because there's all this action and underhanded stuff going on, but the good guys are doing bad things because the bad guys leave them with no choice, and Mal, er, I mean, Alex Tully, is trying to help everyone out and make sure people are safe and such, even though he's got to win the race or they'll kill his wife. It's got backstory on all the characters that we get to find out bit by bit in conversation and stuff. It's got fun interaction that makes me laugh out loud multiple times in one episode. It's got suspense and mystery, and a touch of supernatural (there's a voice of God involved at times), and humor and sexual tension and.... gah!
Now - fic thoughts:
-I want to write fics on these people's backstories. I don't know why Wendy left her baby in a safehouse or why she's scared of her husband, so I want to write it myself. I want to write the story of Alex and Kathryn getting together and him giving up the bank robberies for her. I want to write scenes of Winston growing up, knowing he had a brother and a father that didn't acknowledge him. I want to write internal monologues for Sean, reacting to all the things that he's discovered during these four episodes. I kinda want to write Alex/Corrina fic, even though I don't want Alex to cheat on Kathryn. Oh, and I can't remember her name, but I kinda want to write a death fic starring the annoying wife that made her Army husband AWOL because she's such a selfish idiot. I really don't like her.
Finally - academic thoughts:
-Alex - former "wheel guy" for a team of bank robbers, gave it up for his wife, is a gardner with his own landscaping business, has a sister, been married at least one year (his wife disappeared on their anniversary), has no kids "yet." He can be a total badass, tie people up in bathtubs and subtley torture them overnight in an attempt to get information. He doesn't put up with shit or lies, but he has a soft heart underneath and will help an underdog in many cases. He still has some contacts from his bank robbing days. It seems like he's trying to leave behind the crook side of himself, even referring to himself as two different people after he's grabbed, held captive, and beaten by a pseudo-cop that works for the people running the race. He obviously knows what he's capable of, but feels the need to keep that side of himself locked away as a separate individual. He talks to his wife's image in mirrors sometimes, which is really cute and shows how much he loves her and how much she's on his mind. It could suggest a touch of insanity, but I don't think so.
-Corrina - she was kidnapped 27 years ago and her parents forced to enter this race to get her back. Just as they were about to cross the finish line, and saw her standing there waiting for them, they were run off the road and killed. Corrina saw the whole thing and is now out to get the people behind the race. She started out by hooking up with Alex, tagging along as if she just needed a partner, but it turned out she wasn't an official contestant in the race. Alex made her his official partner at one of their checkpoints, and attempted to leave the race, but was soon sent a video message with proof that his wife is alive and being held. Corrina is strictly out for vengeance, and has strong determination to do whatever it takes to reach the people in charge of the race.
-Wendy - she had a baby just days before starting this race, who she left in a safe house before taking off for Florida. Someone is now asking about the baby, and Wendy wants to go get him, but her new partner Ivy won't let her. Wendy obviously has a troubled home back in Ohio, and is hoping to win the race because she can then get away from her husband and take care of herself and her baby, Sam. She's quite determined, but also very skittish and easily deterred. She doesn't seem to have the vicious side that many other contestants have, but she's got her own brand of courage and it appears she's discovering it more and more as she moves through the race.
-Leigh - she didn't seem to care much about the race to start with, certainly not as much as Susan did, but after Susan's dying message that Leigh is going to win the race (according to God), Leigh is setting off to the next checkpoint with a drive and attitude she didn't exhibit before. She definitely won't be surrendering, but I'm curious to see exactly what she's going to do. Will she be angry enough to attack the race organizers because of Susan's death? Will she find someone else to partner with now that she has no car? Will she find some way to buy a car and finish the race on her own? I like her, and I'm looking forward to seeing her character develop more.
-Sean - grew up with a very rich and influential father, and found out during the premier that he has an older half-brother he never knew about. Not only did his father omit this information, but blatantly denied it after attacks from political people. Sean's pissed, hates his father, and left with the new but unknown brother, Winston, to enter the race and piss his father off. He's not above using Daddy's influence though, like calling in favors when Winston was picked up by a recovery officer. At this point, we're supposed to be wondering if Sean will make it through the underground surgery to remove a bullet from his stomach, but since he's in the opening credit sequence, I'm guessing he will. I just wonder how he'll deal with the fact that he killed a man, helped rob a bank, and still has the new brother and Daddy issues to work through.
-Winston - obviously has abandonment issues, and doesn't know how to react when people show personal concern for him (i.e. his reaction when Sean got him released from the recovery officer). He's a tough boy, bad-ass street kid, but underneath, I get the feeling that he's a little boy looking for someone to take care of him and make him a priority.
Okay, I think that's all for now - time to write about Buffy instead of these new people. If you haven't seen Drive, and you have any interest in checking it out, you can watch it online at www.myspace.com/driveonfox
Have fun!
Drive - the new show created by Tim Minear (one of the producers of Firefly and Angel), starring Nathan Fillion - I'm addicted to it. Totally.
There was a 3 part premiere (basically just three eps in a couple days to jump start the show) and then episode four aired last night. I have thoughts about it - fan thoughts, fic thoughts, academic study thoughts. I'm trying to NOT think too much about it because I really need to be working on my thesis, but it's like a new drug that I can't get enough of, even when I've got my old drug to give me a temporary fix. I thought maybe if I raved about it here, I could get some of it off my mind and get back to my thesis work.
So - fan thoughts:
-OMGSQUEEEE!!!! It's got a great producer, apparently good writers, Nathan Fillion (playing an amazingly Mal-type character), Amy Acker playing his wife, and a number of other people who seem to be good actors playing well-written and developed characters. Oh yeah, Melanie Lynsky. She's always fun, and I love her character in this. It's like Lost because there's all these strangers thrown together in a crazy life-or-death situation and they don't quite know what's happening from moment to moment. It's like Firefly because there's all this action and underhanded stuff going on, but the good guys are doing bad things because the bad guys leave them with no choice, and Mal, er, I mean, Alex Tully, is trying to help everyone out and make sure people are safe and such, even though he's got to win the race or they'll kill his wife. It's got backstory on all the characters that we get to find out bit by bit in conversation and stuff. It's got fun interaction that makes me laugh out loud multiple times in one episode. It's got suspense and mystery, and a touch of supernatural (there's a voice of God involved at times), and humor and sexual tension and.... gah!
Now - fic thoughts:
-I want to write fics on these people's backstories. I don't know why Wendy left her baby in a safehouse or why she's scared of her husband, so I want to write it myself. I want to write the story of Alex and Kathryn getting together and him giving up the bank robberies for her. I want to write scenes of Winston growing up, knowing he had a brother and a father that didn't acknowledge him. I want to write internal monologues for Sean, reacting to all the things that he's discovered during these four episodes. I kinda want to write Alex/Corrina fic, even though I don't want Alex to cheat on Kathryn. Oh, and I can't remember her name, but I kinda want to write a death fic starring the annoying wife that made her Army husband AWOL because she's such a selfish idiot. I really don't like her.
Finally - academic thoughts:
-Alex - former "wheel guy" for a team of bank robbers, gave it up for his wife, is a gardner with his own landscaping business, has a sister, been married at least one year (his wife disappeared on their anniversary), has no kids "yet." He can be a total badass, tie people up in bathtubs and subtley torture them overnight in an attempt to get information. He doesn't put up with shit or lies, but he has a soft heart underneath and will help an underdog in many cases. He still has some contacts from his bank robbing days. It seems like he's trying to leave behind the crook side of himself, even referring to himself as two different people after he's grabbed, held captive, and beaten by a pseudo-cop that works for the people running the race. He obviously knows what he's capable of, but feels the need to keep that side of himself locked away as a separate individual. He talks to his wife's image in mirrors sometimes, which is really cute and shows how much he loves her and how much she's on his mind. It could suggest a touch of insanity, but I don't think so.
-Corrina - she was kidnapped 27 years ago and her parents forced to enter this race to get her back. Just as they were about to cross the finish line, and saw her standing there waiting for them, they were run off the road and killed. Corrina saw the whole thing and is now out to get the people behind the race. She started out by hooking up with Alex, tagging along as if she just needed a partner, but it turned out she wasn't an official contestant in the race. Alex made her his official partner at one of their checkpoints, and attempted to leave the race, but was soon sent a video message with proof that his wife is alive and being held. Corrina is strictly out for vengeance, and has strong determination to do whatever it takes to reach the people in charge of the race.
-Wendy - she had a baby just days before starting this race, who she left in a safe house before taking off for Florida. Someone is now asking about the baby, and Wendy wants to go get him, but her new partner Ivy won't let her. Wendy obviously has a troubled home back in Ohio, and is hoping to win the race because she can then get away from her husband and take care of herself and her baby, Sam. She's quite determined, but also very skittish and easily deterred. She doesn't seem to have the vicious side that many other contestants have, but she's got her own brand of courage and it appears she's discovering it more and more as she moves through the race.
-Leigh - she didn't seem to care much about the race to start with, certainly not as much as Susan did, but after Susan's dying message that Leigh is going to win the race (according to God), Leigh is setting off to the next checkpoint with a drive and attitude she didn't exhibit before. She definitely won't be surrendering, but I'm curious to see exactly what she's going to do. Will she be angry enough to attack the race organizers because of Susan's death? Will she find someone else to partner with now that she has no car? Will she find some way to buy a car and finish the race on her own? I like her, and I'm looking forward to seeing her character develop more.
-Sean - grew up with a very rich and influential father, and found out during the premier that he has an older half-brother he never knew about. Not only did his father omit this information, but blatantly denied it after attacks from political people. Sean's pissed, hates his father, and left with the new but unknown brother, Winston, to enter the race and piss his father off. He's not above using Daddy's influence though, like calling in favors when Winston was picked up by a recovery officer. At this point, we're supposed to be wondering if Sean will make it through the underground surgery to remove a bullet from his stomach, but since he's in the opening credit sequence, I'm guessing he will. I just wonder how he'll deal with the fact that he killed a man, helped rob a bank, and still has the new brother and Daddy issues to work through.
-Winston - obviously has abandonment issues, and doesn't know how to react when people show personal concern for him (i.e. his reaction when Sean got him released from the recovery officer). He's a tough boy, bad-ass street kid, but underneath, I get the feeling that he's a little boy looking for someone to take care of him and make him a priority.
Okay, I think that's all for now - time to write about Buffy instead of these new people. If you haven't seen Drive, and you have any interest in checking it out, you can watch it online at www.myspace.com/driveonfox
Have fun!