Comments | heresluck: TV I've been watching and not watching

heresluck

TV I've been watching and not watching

Jan 16, 2007 23:34

I've been meaning to post meaningfully about TV for months; instead I've been jotting down occasional notes. At this point I've accumulated enough notes that a) I will never get around to turning them into meaningful posts, and b) they're sort of a large post all by themselves. So here we go ( Read more... )

tv: firefly/serenity, tv: doctor who, tv: bsg, tv: wire, tv: btvs, tv: veronica mars, tv: farscape, tv: gilmore girls, tv: slings & arrows

Comments 44

renenet January 17 2007, 06:07:16 UTC

Influence, influence, influence! I mean, sure, I was never trying to get you to watch any of the shows with which my name is associated above. And, sure, you disliked every one of them. But at least I can claim "influence, influence, influence!" that you are even giving certain things a look. Also, any post containing chat excerpts between you and me is GOLDEN! Post more!!!

heresluck January 18 2007, 02:13:59 UTC

Yes, you definitely get influence influence influence credit on this one, or rather these many.

Also, we crack me up. I love us. I must make time to post The Lost Episode Of The Show this weekend.

wordsleadmeon January 17 2007, 06:19:32 UTC

(and praying they get enough of a budget for next year that they can afford to have my favorite characters onscreen simultaneously rather than sequentially).

I think I'll start focusing on that rather than making myself feel sick stressing over whether they'll be around next year at all... seems like a better plan.

Also... your Supernatural thoughts? Seem to have finally put into words what my problem is. Everyone around me is squeey about it, and I'm kinda meh... and then you so logically pointed out that two things are missing from most of what I end up in total fannish squee over or buy on DVD. A Female lead character of any degree, and no ensemble cast.

So, thanks!

Though I also do think the fact that EVERYONE squees about it so much has put me off, 'cause it's built it up to be so good and I'm just not seeing it.

heresluck January 18 2007, 02:16:56 UTC

Though I also do think the fact that EVERYONE squees about it so much has put me off, 'cause it's built it up to be so good and I'm just not seeing it.

I get that. In my case it's not so much a question of quality as it is taste. I mean, I could see why other people would get into Supernatural, but I just wasn't feeling it -- and that was my reaction to Homicide, too, even though Homicide is clearly a VERY well done show.

But, as vonnie_k pointed out, it'd be a boring world if everybody liked the same things.

cofax7 January 17 2007, 06:22:38 UTC

I blame coffeeandink and hossgal for the Supernatural thing. Well, and the fact that while there still are no major female characters (which is not to say there aren't recurring women, but the show is about two young men, period), they are hitting the fannish emotional buttons like woah when it comes to family drama. It's all "I'll die rather than let anything hurt you!" sort of thing. (And the fic, oy. So much good fic.) The show crept up on me, when I was watching it more out of fannish obligation than anything else, and it wasn't until I hooked onto the characters rather than the plot that the fannishness took over. And yeah, Dean is pretty, but without the emotion that wouldn't be enough to keep me around.

Which is not to say that is how it should work for everyone, or even anyone other than me.

I watched about 3.5 episodes of Torchwood and haven't gone back for more. ::shrugs::

But Homicide, man, that was a show. So very good. Frank Pembleton is still my favorite cop ever.

The ways of the fannish brain are unpredictable...

coffeeandink January 17 2007, 13:15:18 UTC

That is so totally unfair! I only started watching SPN because you were making uncofax-like noises about Dean Winchester.

cofax7 January 17 2007, 14:58:41 UTC

*is gobsmacked*

But you were the one who went into fannish squee over the show long before I did. I think my initial response was, "well, he's awfully pretty," but I didn't have much to say about the show itself.

cofax7 January 17 2007, 15:03:12 UTC

Err, that would be me.

Thread 7

sdwolfpup January 17 2007, 06:27:21 UTC

Oh I'm delighted that you're giving The Wire a try. There is some amazing stuff the whole way through and Season 4 was extraordinary, IMO.

I shall try to contain myself. :)

heresluck January 18 2007, 02:30:12 UTC

I'm looking forward to checking it out. I just want to wait until I have more time to watch regularly; it's clearly got a lot of characters and a lot of storylines, and I want to be able to focus rather than just skim the surface.

oyceter January 17 2007, 06:47:14 UTC

It made me think about how different it is - how different, literally, it looks - to have multiple people of color onscreen instead of just The Token Nonwhite Character.

I know! It really does look so different! And sometimes I feel stupid saying that, because sometimes even in real life, when I look up and realize I am surrounded by Asians with a token white person, even though this comprises a good percentage of my life, I am still surprised. It is even weirder on TV. (but a good different! and a "I hope it will be less weird eventually! different)

heresluck January 18 2007, 02:52:17 UTC

I hope it will be less weird eventually!Yeah, exactly. And this is part of why I hope I do end up liking The Wire, because there *are* shows out there that aren't All White People All The Time, and I would *like* for one of them to ping for me ( ... )

oyceter January 18 2007, 22:54:38 UTC

You know, one of my friends just mentioned some study (obviously this is totally hearsay and not scientific fact) in which they said you need at least three women in a meeting or whatnot to actually change the gender dynamics. I bet the cohort of minorities is the same -- if there are only one or two, I still feel sort of like a sore thumb.

It's so odd to feel the pressure to keep fighting and to be representative and to also resent there being a need to fight and to be represented; but I think the asking is still helpful.

Also, I love hearing about your students and your classes!

heresluck January 21 2007, 22:15:00 UTC

...you need at least three women in a meeting or whatnot to actually change the gender dynamics. I bet the cohort of minorities is the same...

That makes a lot of sense to me.

One of the interesting complications on this campus is the number of Native American students, many of whom are not obviously Native; some of them out themselves right away and others don't -- and I use the word "out" deliberately, because the phenomenon has really made me rethink my ideas about the visibility of different identity categories.