Interesting things learned from the old friends list

[_jems_]

Well, first of all, there are apparently evil people on it. Specifically, molly_may for linking to Qwyzzle yesterday, which led to me spending four hours this evening solving puzzles. I quit at #34 - seemed like it would take way more brain power than I had available at the time. Further sign of evilness? I couldn't get it to work in Firefox so I had to use

Comments

[skywaterblue]

I find Baltar and Six to be pretty fascinating in a shippy way in the sense that I have the feeling it is totally a genderswapped bitchslap to redemptionistas. Someone in the BSG office decided it would be a clever idea (and oh, how it is!) that Baltar really, at heart, isn't all that evil.

But as he begins to open up and become more human in the sense of allowing himself to experience the entire range of human passions, including love, he's more capable of being extremely manipulative and dangerous.

But yeah-- I recently went spoilers on BSG because it does seem like the show is fast approaching the tipping point. It either all comes together or all comes apart real soon.

[_jems_]

I have this thing for Six, I just love her. Baltar has gotten a lot better lately, but it's Six I love out of the two. But I don't really love her as a person, just as a character, and I think that's where the 'shipping "disconnect" happens.

I recently went spoilers on BSG because it does seem like the show is fast approaching the tipping point.
So it's not just me then? Good to know.

[skywaterblue]

Six is awesome. But I have a lot of sympathy for Baltar too, because he doesn't really read to me as a terrible guy. Just bright and maybe a little unbalanced before the world ended. He just makes bad choices because he's a slut. It's not something I'm willing to condemn him for.

Anyway, they are totally my BSG OTP. I guess my love for Six is also because she's ruthless but somewhere along the line I became completely convinced that she does love Gaius. That her dislike of Sharon is because Sharon is pregnant and she wants to have his child inbetween, you know, indiscriminately killing off the rest of humanity.

So it's not just me then? Good to know.

Nope. Not just you at all.

[_jems_]

I think the reason I never really warmed to Baltar before (but have in the last few episodes) is that crazy doesn't really appeal to me. He's been getting a whole lot saner since the incident with Six where she put a stop to the sexy act and since he met Gina, which bodes well for me liking him more.

she's ruthless but somewhere along the line I became completely convinced that she does love Gaius
I'm not so convinced she's ruthless either. We start the mini with her snapping the neck of a baby, but when I rewatched it seemed to me more to be a pity killing. Or maybe that's just my Cylon and Six love rearing its ugly head.

I'd just be much more interested in seeing emotional conflict on the part of the Cylons instead of them being mustache-twirling caricatures. They haven't been portrayed that way so far, in my opinion, but when people refer to the podcasts in their reviews it seems like they're actually supposed to epitomize evil, and my completely different view of things is all wrong.

[nm973]

I can use my new The Office (US) icon I just uploaded. Whee!!! Here's the thing: the first season wasn't very good. Keep going, because I swear it gets funnier. I fell in love--or, more in love--with the show over the holidays so I went and downloaded them all. I'm about to get webspace so I could upload them for you, but they're all on mininova and have good speeds. Really. I just love it.

Also, I don't know if you're into podcasts, but the Ricky Gervais one is very funny. Basically, it's him and his writing partner Stephen Merchant and the most hilariously deadpan idiot savant Karl, who I guess has been a producer for them for a long time. It makes my walks much more enjoyable (but I guess that won't help you, seeing as you have Winter.)

[_jems_]

The first season is too similar to the UK version. Which is fine, because the UK version is good, but I don't want to watch a reenactment of a show that I feel has already been done better. I think one of the biggest problems for me right now is actually Ricky Gervais's replacement. I don't even know what it is, it just isn't clicking for me.

There are podcasts? I'm not usually one much for commentaries, but a Ricky Gervais one sounds like it'd be hilarious.

but I guess that won't help you, seeing as you have Winter.
Not to mention: no iPod. /woe

[nm973]

Well, you could always listen to the podcast on your computer while solving puzzles. *hee* Here's the info for the podcast in case you're curious. As they claimed on their 1/2/06 broadcast, it's the most popular podcast in the world. It is very high up in iTunes, and really, quite funny.

The episodes in the first season of The Office (US) were based on the UK version's stories, and it just didn't fit. In the second season they've found their voice, and if you're a shipper at all--and I know you are!--this show has the best one on tv right now. So freaking cute.

[_jems_]

Definitely interested. Thanks for the link.

One thing about the US version that speaks in its favor is that I'm liking Pam a lot, probably more than Dawn. Jim, however, freaks me out (in a good way in the long run, I'd wager) because he looks and acts so much like Tim. It's bizarre!

[sexycereal]

I am SO not spoiling myself. Why has everybody done that? I noticed the same thing with hundred of people on my FL.

[bigboobedcanuck]

I'm not either, although I was not aware that was the new trend sweeping the nation. Man, why would I spoil myself now? We've got Sweeps a-coming! *g*

[_jems_]

Me neither, not for VM. I think I understand the reason why people are spoiling themselves, but I lost all interest in doing so when I learned that the things I wanted to know aren't available in the spoilers anyway.

Also, I think I've gotten a lot more upbeat about the show in the last few weeks. I mean, they can't be totally clueless, can they?

[magnolia888]

No, the Office (US) most definitely does not suck. In fact, it's starting to rival AD for my affection as fave sitcom.

Nobody loved The Office (UK) more than me (Ricky Gervais rules!), and I was all set to hate the US version like I hated the US Coupling (yuck! ptooey!).

But the producers of the Office knew what they were doing: they actually cast actors who were funny and not just pretty, and they didn't try to make a carbon copy of the original. They made it into something more accessible to the American viewing public, while still keeping the spirit of the original. And the cast is superb.

Love that Jim icon up above. Jim is so my new TV boyfriend. As much as I loved Tim and Dawn, I love Jim and Pam more.

Just let me make this clear, I would save the receptionist.

[_jems_]

Ah, but the first episode is a carbon copy of the original series, and the rest of season 1 pretty much stays on the same course. If season 2 deviates onto its own path, so much the better.

[magnolia888]

The first episode is a copy, but I didn't think the rest of S1 was a copy as much as an "interpretation." Not like Coupling tried to be a direct copy, anyway. (yuck! ptooey!)

But S1 was so short (6 eps? something like that), I can barely remember those episodes now. The show didn't really start to grow on me until the last few weeks when it's just gotten better and better.

I was all set to hate this show b/c I thought nothing could compare to the original, but I have to take my hat off to them, because they've made me appreciate this show all on its own without comparing it to the original anymore. Nothing beats the original but this version is pretty darn good.

Michael is no David Brent, though. I pited David as much as I was annoyed by him, but Michael is just a jerk and buffon without the sympathy element.

[bigboobedcanuck]

Apparently VM isn't returning until the 25th.

Oh, really? Interesting. They'd better still be showing ep 11 in Austin or I will be unimpressed. And I hope it's good, or else that's going to be one uncomfortable Q&A. Heh.

dearladydisdain linked to a post on BSG and how Kara/Lee is somehow a sign of 'shipper entitlement. And I totally don't get it.

Uh, you're not the only one. I just read that post and am thankful that I can just, you know, enjoy TV without the endless navel gazing. To each their own, of course, but...lordy.

[_jems_]

I doubt they'd show anything but 2x11. It's not like they can show a repeat of One Angry Veronica, there'd be rioting. And not just because it would be a repeat. ;-)

As for that other post, I still can't figure out if my view of it is so skewed because I am a 'shipper by nature, just not for BSG. I don't see what's so wrong about the squeeing fangirls, nor do I see anything wrong with it being a forgone conclusion that they will become a couple at some point.

The problem, as I see it, usually occurs when showrunners start putting up ridiculous obstacles for their "golden couple", because getting them together would mean they'd have to, you know, work on characterization and stuff. That mindset pretty much ruined Moonlighting, The X-Files, The West Wing. And I don't mean "ruined" like it was the only thing that made the show worth watching, but by "dodging the bullet" and refusing to put a couple together, yet always hinting at the possibility, the showrunners make everything about the couple, not the 'shippers. That's one of the

[bigboobedcanuck]

It's not like they can show a repeat of One Angry Veronica, there'd be rioting.

Ha! Definitely the weakest episode of the season, and I'm hoping it's all uphill from here. To be honest, S1 didn't really start to rock until later in the season for me, so. And who am I kidding, as long as Jason Dohring is looking cute, I'll be happy to be there. *shallow*

I don't see what's so wrong about the squeeing fangirls, nor do I see anything wrong with it being a forgone conclusion that they will become a couple at some point.

Yeah, me neither. I mean, if not for Brian/Justin, I doubt I would have watched QAF, and certainly would never have been obsessed with it. So what if some people only watch a show for a couple? Shock, horror! With VM, it was Logan/Veronica that got me really hooked on the show. I like romance, I like 'ships. It tends to be the deciding factor for me between "That's a great show" and "OMGILOVETHATSHOW!!!!!!!!!" But I don't see how I'm like, oppressing the rest of fandom. Or something.

the showrunners make

[_jems_]

I like romance, I like 'ships. It tends to be the deciding factor for me between "That's a great show" and "OMGILOVETHATSHOW!!!!!!!!!"
I agree wholeheartedly. I like a lot of shows, but the ones I obsess about are invariably because I obsess about 'ships.

But I don't see how I'm like, oppressing the rest of fandom. Or something.
I think this feeling of resentment towards 'shippers stems from the fact that as fandom has "come out of the closet", as it were, TV show creators, writers and producers have become aware of the fact that the people who are most likely to spend money, convert people into fans and make their show known are 'shippers. I mean, let's face it, 'shippers are usually the most vocal group. And I think they get more and more obstinate about it the more people look down on their 'shipping ways. But that may be just me. *g* I never used to identify myself to others as a 'shipper, but the more derogatory comments I saw, the more I took pride in being a 'shipper.

How can you not tell the difference between Lee and Helo