Thanks to all, plus fannish five
I am feeling much better today, both b/c of judicious margarita application by cesperanza last evening, kindly favors by geekturnedvamp today and your many very kind posts. I am truly very, very grateful and lucky to have you guys, so thanks again. {{{flist}}}
I have also completed my move into the new office and can glance down Broadway now. Much finer view. And I'm entirely unpacked! The process has gone pretty smoothly, so far. Also, it appears that I control the floor thermostat. Those of you who work in office buildings know that this means I have, essentially, acquired the workplace equivalent of superpowers. Bwah hah hah. All those who fear arctic chill must LOVE ME AND OBEY!
Ahem.
Now, this week's fannish5 question: Who are your five favorite villains, and why?
1) Arvin Sloane: I almost didn't list him, because even if I accept the last bit of canon at face value (and I'm not at all sure that I do), for all that Sloane's done, I can't wholly see him as a villain, at least not in the era after he learned about Nadia. But for his intelligence, his cunning, his flair, his passion and above all his ability to love even the people he would hurt the most, I couldn't imagine leaving him out.
2) and 3) Gul Dukat and Kai Wynn: I will always consider their final love affair the single most cracktastical storyline I've ever, ever seen (or expect to see) on TV. That said, I couldn't love these two more. Both of them managed to have believeable shades of grey -- humanity and depth and intelligence -- while still being firmly rooted in principles and actions that people of conscience can't condone. It's hard to strike that line between "cartoon evil" and "too sympathetic," but DS9 got it right.
4) Cigarette-Smoking Man: Yeah, XF sort of ruined him in the end; I didn't need to know that he was an aspiring writer, like, ever. But nobody ever has (or probably ever will) creeped me out the way CSM could just standing in the corner, not saying a word.
5) the Mayor: Back in the good days of BTVS, nobody was ever funnier, and nobody's evil plans were ever as sympathetic (he really did love Faith, in his way) or as neatly scheduled (2:30 -- hair cut. 4:00 -- become invulnerable). And weren't his last words something like, "Oh, gosh"?
I stuck to fannish things, which means that I left out my actual favorite villains of fiction: Mrs. Iselin of "The Manchurian Candidate," Mrs. Minchin in A Little Princess and the greatest of them all, Livia in I, Claudius. And oh, this reminds me how delordra and I were talking the other day about a pastiche of A Little Princess and "Alias," in which Sydney is sent to boarding school while Jack goes on Victorian-era secret missions, and then when he's reported dead, Sydney is sent to the garret but is good and kind to all others, occasionally beating up chimneysweeps who trouble sweet little scullerymaid Nadia. Exotic, kindly neighbor Irina moves in next door with pet monkeys and kind words for little Sydney, sneaking in silk coverlets and warm breakfasts across the rooftops. Then we would twist the plot so that Jack, instead of being dead, returned home just fine and kicked Mrs. Minchin's ass. How great would that be?
A headache is hatching. Hrrmph.
I have also completed my move into the new office and can glance down Broadway now. Much finer view. And I'm entirely unpacked! The process has gone pretty smoothly, so far. Also, it appears that I control the floor thermostat. Those of you who work in office buildings know that this means I have, essentially, acquired the workplace equivalent of superpowers. Bwah hah hah. All those who fear arctic chill must LOVE ME AND OBEY!
Ahem.
Now, this week's fannish5 question: Who are your five favorite villains, and why?
1) Arvin Sloane: I almost didn't list him, because even if I accept the last bit of canon at face value (and I'm not at all sure that I do), for all that Sloane's done, I can't wholly see him as a villain, at least not in the era after he learned about Nadia. But for his intelligence, his cunning, his flair, his passion and above all his ability to love even the people he would hurt the most, I couldn't imagine leaving him out.
2) and 3) Gul Dukat and Kai Wynn: I will always consider their final love affair the single most cracktastical storyline I've ever, ever seen (or expect to see) on TV. That said, I couldn't love these two more. Both of them managed to have believeable shades of grey -- humanity and depth and intelligence -- while still being firmly rooted in principles and actions that people of conscience can't condone. It's hard to strike that line between "cartoon evil" and "too sympathetic," but DS9 got it right.
4) Cigarette-Smoking Man: Yeah, XF sort of ruined him in the end; I didn't need to know that he was an aspiring writer, like, ever. But nobody ever has (or probably ever will) creeped me out the way CSM could just standing in the corner, not saying a word.
5) the Mayor: Back in the good days of BTVS, nobody was ever funnier, and nobody's evil plans were ever as sympathetic (he really did love Faith, in his way) or as neatly scheduled (2:30 -- hair cut. 4:00 -- become invulnerable). And weren't his last words something like, "Oh, gosh"?
I stuck to fannish things, which means that I left out my actual favorite villains of fiction: Mrs. Iselin of "The Manchurian Candidate," Mrs. Minchin in A Little Princess and the greatest of them all, Livia in I, Claudius. And oh, this reminds me how delordra and I were talking the other day about a pastiche of A Little Princess and "Alias," in which Sydney is sent to boarding school while Jack goes on Victorian-era secret missions, and then when he's reported dead, Sydney is sent to the garret but is good and kind to all others, occasionally beating up chimneysweeps who trouble sweet little scullerymaid Nadia. Exotic, kindly neighbor Irina moves in next door with pet monkeys and kind words for little Sydney, sneaking in silk coverlets and warm breakfasts across the rooftops. Then we would twist the plot so that Jack, instead of being dead, returned home just fine and kicked Mrs. Minchin's ass. How great would that be?
A headache is hatching. Hrrmph.