Yes, spring has come and gone. Yes this is a late update. Yes, if I'm lucky, two people will read this.
But hey, I don't care.
Alright, so my TV addiction has reached new heights. After having watched the ENTIRE series' run of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (still awesome, btw), I bought the entire boxset and watched most of the commentaries and featurettes as well as a few favourite episodes. And I realised something - there's a reason why I'm nearly always in the mood for a good TV show, and actually rarely in the move for a movie. I love telly. I love the played-out storylines, the long term character development, and TV's ability to truly grab a viewer and hold on.
It's a different feeling to watching a movie. Movies can grab you, but it's rarely a long-term thing. Maybe that's something you can judge a person by - moviegoers are used to falling fast in love with something two hours long... sometimes not even that. A movie requires you to spend a concentrated period of time watching a preplanned series of events that are all pointed to one ending. A really, truly amazing movie covers a few major themes and touches on some minor ones, but generally can only have one basic thrust. Love stories, coming of age, saving-the-world stories... in the end, they need to be categorised.
Television's different though. A good TV show, like Doctor Who, or Buffy, or Glee, can showcase a load of themes - love, revenge, pain, loss, comedy, high-school drama, saving the world, confidence issues, how it feels to be an outsider... a good TV show can cover some or all of these and more. It can make you laugh one episode or cry the next. A movie can only ever be monster-of-the-week, a TV show can have over-arcing story lines, and the Baddies can win once in a while without a comeback heroic victory five minutes later.
TV can draw it out, it can convince you something is truly scary with a good build up, it imitates life better than any movie. We can see Rose and the Doctor's relationship gradually growing up, it can be subtle and slow. A movie has two hours to fit in an entire story - a TV show has a series, up to 24 episodes to tell you a story and engage you with a setting and a set of characters, so it hits harder when they fall and feels better when they succeed.
I mean, movies are great. The end of a good, sad movie can make you cry, but it can rarely make you laugh, cry and jump for joy over and over again. TV can do that.
It can be subtle, build things up, and fit in a whole range of themes and plot lines. It can subvert genres and make a huge mark on pop culture. Movies, when they're good, can do this too, I'll grant you. But I like the slow build of really good TV, when it progresses from the set-the-scene series opener to the dark peril and ultimate explosion of the finale. Characters and settings become real to the viewer, and we are tempted to imagine the hundreds of paths not taken, much as we do in life.
So there, analysis over, just thought I'd defend my TV mania. I like to be sucked into a different world, and true immersion is rarely instantaneous. I like books that take a while to read and TV shows that take a few days, at least, to watch. It gives you time to reflect, and to guess what's coming.
That's why I think that, on balance, there are more rabid TV fandoms than there are rabid movie fandoms.
And movies just don't have that. So, TV worlds I'm currently immersed in:
Doctor Who (of course)
Glee
BtVS
Gilmore Girls
Gossip Girl (very, very sad but true)
How I Met Your Mother (hilarious, and Barney/Robyn is AWESOME)
Friends (cause I've seen every episode... yeah)
Ouran High School Host Club (Anime, yeah!)
To name but a few. I should take media studies, and get graded for this kind of analysis.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Sunday, 21 February 2010
February
So the only fun thing I did this half term was watch Valentines Day with Wikkid.X and Megan. It was a decent movie, lots of attractive people having cliched but fun story lines and intermingling, with two great songs by Taylor Swift (who was in it, acting like a bimbo and making out with Taylor Lautner).
Aside from that, I did a History project, revised Chemistry, watched five more episodes of Buffy (which is still epic, with soulless!evil!Angel and Spike and Drusilla and *dies of awesomeness*) and went to the dentists.
Who says I don't have an exciting existence? Well, to be fair, it was only boring because, for most of it, everyone was out of town or busy. With Emma and Sarah skiing, Megan visiting family, and Wikkid.X in London, things were kind of dull.
And tomorrow's back to school. Joy.
Aside from that, I did a History project, revised Chemistry, watched five more episodes of Buffy (which is still epic, with soulless!evil!Angel and Spike and Drusilla and *dies of awesomeness*) and went to the dentists.
Who says I don't have an exciting existence? Well, to be fair, it was only boring because, for most of it, everyone was out of town or busy. With Emma and Sarah skiing, Megan visiting family, and Wikkid.X in London, things were kind of dull.
And tomorrow's back to school. Joy.
Friday, 29 January 2010
I know I came late to the party...
...But Buffy The Vampire Slayer absolutely one-hundred-percent RULES! I've been watching it for... oooh, a week now? And I just watched the best one so far. It had:
1) Angel. Who, thus far, equals EPIC WIN. He's everything Edward Cullen should have been and wasn't. Sarcastic, a little (well, more than a little) badass, protective and in love with the heroine..l. but who lets her FIGHT HER OWN BATTLES. He shows up when he's needed, and not before, allowing Buffy to do her job.
2) The hero faces his/her own death. Again, epic, because it means that they're not just fighting a bad guy, it's death itself they're facing. The prophecies said the Slayer would die when the Master rose from the Hell Mouth and claimed the Earth. She knew that, and she had the breakdown you expect in that situation. It was wonderfully acted, and written, and placed, because once you get past her seeing Angel, who she's crazy about, for the first time in months, she's plunged into a nightmare. She's sixteen, and she's facing the end of her life, and she screams and cries and doesn't want anyone near her. But, in the end, she goes and does what's right anyway. It's so wonderfully done, it rivals the end of EoT.
3) The Bad Guy is really Bad. Yeah, and that doesn't happen enough anymore. He whispered in her ear that, if she hadn't come to try and kill him and save the Earth, he would never have been freed. As he kills her, he makes sure she knows that she handed him his victory. It's sadistic, cruel and somehow awesome, because at that point, she's powerless. He somehow manages to be awful and hypnotic and disgusting all at once, and it combines to be completely terrifying. Her last tears make you give up all hope.
4) Real characters. Willow can't handle seeing the boys she grew up with dead in the school. Xander loves Buffy, and can't handle rejection. Angel doesn't like humans, but still comes to protect the Slayer. Giles won't tell her she's going to die because he's scared, and is going to fight the Master alone, so she won't die. Even Cordelia has a moment of awesomeness when she bites a vampire back!
5) Anthony Head gets punched out. He's awesome, but TAKE THAT MR FINCH! (Wait... Finch... damn, that means Atticus now...) He was going to sacrifice everything to save her, because he's so noble, and she punches him out because she's the Slayer and this is what she does. She slays vampires, and at this point she's faced up to destiny. She's terrified, but she's going to do this anyway. She is, in a word, awesome.
6) (man this list is getting long) The heroine saves the day in a long white dress. She looks a little bit like the Corpse Bride near the end, and when she comes walking back to the school, guitar soundtrack playing, slaying vampires with every step, it's like a wonderful cross between the best of Doctor Who, and the end of Ouran.
Right, so, that episode was simply amazing. If this is just series one, where most people say the show hadn't got good yet, I can't wait for what's next. Although, with the Master dead, I don't know what horrible mega-villain they can have next...
1) Angel. Who, thus far, equals EPIC WIN. He's everything Edward Cullen should have been and wasn't. Sarcastic, a little (well, more than a little) badass, protective and in love with the heroine..l. but who lets her FIGHT HER OWN BATTLES. He shows up when he's needed, and not before, allowing Buffy to do her job.
2) The hero faces his/her own death. Again, epic, because it means that they're not just fighting a bad guy, it's death itself they're facing. The prophecies said the Slayer would die when the Master rose from the Hell Mouth and claimed the Earth. She knew that, and she had the breakdown you expect in that situation. It was wonderfully acted, and written, and placed, because once you get past her seeing Angel, who she's crazy about, for the first time in months, she's plunged into a nightmare. She's sixteen, and she's facing the end of her life, and she screams and cries and doesn't want anyone near her. But, in the end, she goes and does what's right anyway. It's so wonderfully done, it rivals the end of EoT.
3) The Bad Guy is really Bad. Yeah, and that doesn't happen enough anymore. He whispered in her ear that, if she hadn't come to try and kill him and save the Earth, he would never have been freed. As he kills her, he makes sure she knows that she handed him his victory. It's sadistic, cruel and somehow awesome, because at that point, she's powerless. He somehow manages to be awful and hypnotic and disgusting all at once, and it combines to be completely terrifying. Her last tears make you give up all hope.
4) Real characters. Willow can't handle seeing the boys she grew up with dead in the school. Xander loves Buffy, and can't handle rejection. Angel doesn't like humans, but still comes to protect the Slayer. Giles won't tell her she's going to die because he's scared, and is going to fight the Master alone, so she won't die. Even Cordelia has a moment of awesomeness when she bites a vampire back!
5) Anthony Head gets punched out. He's awesome, but TAKE THAT MR FINCH! (Wait... Finch... damn, that means Atticus now...) He was going to sacrifice everything to save her, because he's so noble, and she punches him out because she's the Slayer and this is what she does. She slays vampires, and at this point she's faced up to destiny. She's terrified, but she's going to do this anyway. She is, in a word, awesome.
6) (man this list is getting long) The heroine saves the day in a long white dress. She looks a little bit like the Corpse Bride near the end, and when she comes walking back to the school, guitar soundtrack playing, slaying vampires with every step, it's like a wonderful cross between the best of Doctor Who, and the end of Ouran.
Right, so, that episode was simply amazing. If this is just series one, where most people say the show hadn't got good yet, I can't wait for what's next. Although, with the Master dead, I don't know what horrible mega-villain they can have next...
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Sherlock Holmes and Eva Ibbotson
I have discovered a new ship - Holmes/Adler. Or Sherlock/Irene, I suppose, but they're the same thing.
"Why don't you trust me?" "Do you want the reasons listed chronologically, or alphabetically?"
We saw the (completely EPIC) Sherlock Holmes movie today. It was, as I just said, totally amazing, with explosions and snarky insults and a lovely soundtrack, all things that make me love a movie.
But, of course, one thing that makes a movie/book/story-in-general is a nice romance. Well, maybe not NICE per se, but I happen to think that drama is enhanced when you have people flirting with each other. Even if it's a sideline and a little bittersweet and hidden behind snark and rivalry.
Which is what Holmes and Adler are. They're rivals and sarcastic and they don't trust each other, but they're perfect. It also helps that Robert Downey Jr and Rachael McAdams can really act, making you believe them. And that Downey Jr is totally gorgeous, especially for a guy in his forties with kids.
I liked Holmes/Watson as well, but I've never been a proper slash fangirl. I laugh at it, but in the end I can't properly ship it. I like Irene and Holmes too much (even if Watson's wife was Caroline Bingley, which is code for girly evil). Sorry, rambling again. I just... I love them. They're so dysfunctional and sarcastic and untrusting and... bittersweet.
So, yeah, maybe Holmes (hardcore, asexual, Conan-Doyle Holmes) would never get himself tangled up in something like that. He was just... unaware of love or desire or anything 'soft' like that. I think the actual line from... Scandal in Bohemia? Is something like 'he never spoke of the softer passions except with a sneer' or something like that.
But who expects movies to be true to the books? Sarah/Caspian never happened, and that was there in the movies. Even New Who have a dramatic, most definitely not asexual Doctor in Ten, if not in Nine (and who believes that, really?). The world moves on, and sorry, but drama, romance and all of that creeps into everything these days - and I happen to believe that the characters are richer, brighter... more human for it.
Sorry, I didn't mean this to become a rant. It just... annoys me when people do that. If a character is as awesome as Holmes, and played by someone as, well, epic as Robert Downey Jr, then why not exploit it? Why not have Holmes and Irene flirt in a hotel room while she's drugging him? (And FYI, I think the sedative in the wine was odourless and tasteless... like iocane powder, lol, that's why he didn't detect it right away... that, and, well, she was naked only about five feet away.) Why not have them a little angsty, saying goodbye on the in-progress Tower Bridge.
Why not have them almost - almost - wishing they were normal, so they could be happy, while still loving the angst-and-snark-ridden rivals/lovers/enemies thing they have going?
Because seriously, if you're going to have Holmes/Watson left right and centre, why not add someone else into the mix? LOL, I'd love to have Watson react to her as Holmes reacts to Mary.
I need to write some fanfic for this - get it out of my system.
Aaaand we're back at the rant. This is a really long blog post, isn't it?
Okay, new topic: Eva Ibbotson romances, there we go. I'm reading another in that series - this one's called 'the Morning Gift' and, even quicker than usual, I've already fallen for the hero. As is right and proper, I might add. It's like a Mills and Boon plot (marriage of convenience turns to something more) but with Nazis and war and paleontology and a hero who resembles a certain dearly departed Doctor. At least, in my head ;).
The heroine is archetypal Ibbotson heroine: long-haired, foreign, musical, 20-ish. She's got something about her though - she's bright, and nice, as they all are, and I do like her. And she and the hero get on really well,. Ibbotson is good at three things: Characters (especially eccentric ones), Settings and Relationships. The plot is good as well, but you really get to know her characters, and root for their relationships - romantic and platonic, and feel like you are where she describes (usually Austria and Vienna, or England, as that's where the author grew up), because the author's knowledge of the places is communicated to the reader.
Right, enough analysis. You can tell I haven't been in classes, I'm analysing everything - including the scientific aspects of Hitchhikers Guide.
One more thing: PARAMORE RULES!
"Why don't you trust me?" "Do you want the reasons listed chronologically, or alphabetically?"
We saw the (completely EPIC) Sherlock Holmes movie today. It was, as I just said, totally amazing, with explosions and snarky insults and a lovely soundtrack, all things that make me love a movie.
But, of course, one thing that makes a movie/book/story-in-general is a nice romance. Well, maybe not NICE per se, but I happen to think that drama is enhanced when you have people flirting with each other. Even if it's a sideline and a little bittersweet and hidden behind snark and rivalry.
Which is what Holmes and Adler are. They're rivals and sarcastic and they don't trust each other, but they're perfect. It also helps that Robert Downey Jr and Rachael McAdams can really act, making you believe them. And that Downey Jr is totally gorgeous, especially for a guy in his forties with kids.
I liked Holmes/Watson as well, but I've never been a proper slash fangirl. I laugh at it, but in the end I can't properly ship it. I like Irene and Holmes too much (even if Watson's wife was Caroline Bingley, which is code for girly evil). Sorry, rambling again. I just... I love them. They're so dysfunctional and sarcastic and untrusting and... bittersweet.
So, yeah, maybe Holmes (hardcore, asexual, Conan-Doyle Holmes) would never get himself tangled up in something like that. He was just... unaware of love or desire or anything 'soft' like that. I think the actual line from... Scandal in Bohemia? Is something like 'he never spoke of the softer passions except with a sneer' or something like that.
But who expects movies to be true to the books? Sarah/Caspian never happened, and that was there in the movies. Even New Who have a dramatic, most definitely not asexual Doctor in Ten, if not in Nine (and who believes that, really?). The world moves on, and sorry, but drama, romance and all of that creeps into everything these days - and I happen to believe that the characters are richer, brighter... more human for it.
Sorry, I didn't mean this to become a rant. It just... annoys me when people do that. If a character is as awesome as Holmes, and played by someone as, well, epic as Robert Downey Jr, then why not exploit it? Why not have Holmes and Irene flirt in a hotel room while she's drugging him? (And FYI, I think the sedative in the wine was odourless and tasteless... like iocane powder, lol, that's why he didn't detect it right away... that, and, well, she was naked only about five feet away.) Why not have them a little angsty, saying goodbye on the in-progress Tower Bridge.
Why not have them almost - almost - wishing they were normal, so they could be happy, while still loving the angst-and-snark-ridden rivals/lovers/enemies thing they have going?
Because seriously, if you're going to have Holmes/Watson left right and centre, why not add someone else into the mix? LOL, I'd love to have Watson react to her as Holmes reacts to Mary.
I need to write some fanfic for this - get it out of my system.
Aaaand we're back at the rant. This is a really long blog post, isn't it?
Okay, new topic: Eva Ibbotson romances, there we go. I'm reading another in that series - this one's called 'the Morning Gift' and, even quicker than usual, I've already fallen for the hero. As is right and proper, I might add. It's like a Mills and Boon plot (marriage of convenience turns to something more) but with Nazis and war and paleontology and a hero who resembles a certain dearly departed Doctor. At least, in my head ;).
The heroine is archetypal Ibbotson heroine: long-haired, foreign, musical, 20-ish. She's got something about her though - she's bright, and nice, as they all are, and I do like her. And she and the hero get on really well,. Ibbotson is good at three things: Characters (especially eccentric ones), Settings and Relationships. The plot is good as well, but you really get to know her characters, and root for their relationships - romantic and platonic, and feel like you are where she describes (usually Austria and Vienna, or England, as that's where the author grew up), because the author's knowledge of the places is communicated to the reader.
Right, enough analysis. You can tell I haven't been in classes, I'm analysing everything - including the scientific aspects of Hitchhikers Guide.
One more thing: PARAMORE RULES!
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
SNOW DAY!
We had the day off today due to the lovely, wonderfully slippery-on-the-roads, rare snow. It's almost a foot deep in some places, so even Warrington looks gorgeous and white.
We have tomorrow off, too, so the Gang are coming over to watch DVDs. I think a Tribute To Ten will happen at some point... :)
Finished Fire Study, and I now feel at a loose end. I love reading books that are so good that when you finish them, you actually miss the characters. I think I'll write something now, it might help with this misplaced feeling.
I love Paramore. Have I mentioned that? Their new album is epic- especially The Only Exception, Misguided Ghosts, Brick by Boring Brick and All I Wanted. Hayley Williams shouts really well, but she sings even better, and that shows on there. Now I'm analysing like Wikkid.X, so I'll leave that to her, and just keep this to music recs.
Like Fireflies by Owl City, which is totally a Doctor song. Especially if you think that the fireflies are his friends/companions. They're small, short-lived, and burn so brightly. :)
Oh! One more thing: I finally found titles for my stories. My NaNo project (now the first in a trilogy... eek!) is called 'Run' (XD), the second is 'Fly' and the third is 'Fight'. I now need a series name to finish it off (and to at least finish the first story :s... might go do that now)
SNOW!!!
We have tomorrow off, too, so the Gang are coming over to watch DVDs. I think a Tribute To Ten will happen at some point... :)
Finished Fire Study, and I now feel at a loose end. I love reading books that are so good that when you finish them, you actually miss the characters. I think I'll write something now, it might help with this misplaced feeling.
I love Paramore. Have I mentioned that? Their new album is epic- especially The Only Exception, Misguided Ghosts, Brick by Boring Brick and All I Wanted. Hayley Williams shouts really well, but she sings even better, and that shows on there. Now I'm analysing like Wikkid.X, so I'll leave that to her, and just keep this to music recs.
Like Fireflies by Owl City, which is totally a Doctor song. Especially if you think that the fireflies are his friends/companions. They're small, short-lived, and burn so brightly. :)
Oh! One more thing: I finally found titles for my stories. My NaNo project (now the first in a trilogy... eek!) is called 'Run' (XD), the second is 'Fly' and the third is 'Fight'. I now need a series name to finish it off (and to at least finish the first story :s... might go do that now)
SNOW!!!
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Ten's Dead.
I'm currently in a very fragile emotional state.
*sob*
I've been reading the rest of the Study trilogy by the amazing Maria V. Snyder. They're truly epic, they never stop for a second. The main character's a brilliant and sympathetic heroine, who's first-person all the way through. This means that the reader relates to her really quickly, and it's totally awesome.
There's also Valek, who, while being complex and totally awesome can be summed up in one word: hot. Beyond belief.
All this has not stopped me from dressing all in black today out of mourning. Ten's gone, all the people I loved for years are gone, and the forehead, while looking actually a little bit epic in the trailer, can never replace them.
*sob*
I've been reading the rest of the Study trilogy by the amazing Maria V. Snyder. They're truly epic, they never stop for a second. The main character's a brilliant and sympathetic heroine, who's first-person all the way through. This means that the reader relates to her really quickly, and it's totally awesome.
There's also Valek, who, while being complex and totally awesome can be summed up in one word: hot. Beyond belief.
All this has not stopped me from dressing all in black today out of mourning. Ten's gone, all the people I loved for years are gone, and the forehead, while looking actually a little bit epic in the trailer, can never replace them.
Sunday, 27 December 2009
The Tudors and The High Lord
I like that title, I like it a lot :).
I've been rereading the Black Magician Trilogy (again) and have discovered that the Novice (bk 2) is the best. Well, it's my favourite, at least, because it's where the Guild is how it should be. Like normal, somewhere I'd actually like to be. Plus, the main character is my age and in high school, and I really relate to her in that one.
And there's plenty of dark!Akkarin, which makes me happy, at least.
I'm up to the High Lord now (bk 3) and Akkarin's getting nicer and nicer. In a good way :)
On an unrelated topic, I read the third Return to Labyrinth comic, which I got for Christmas. I love those comics, they're really in the right style and tone for a sequel. Of course, now there's a massive cliffhanger, and I don't know when book 4 (the final installment) is coming out. I need to make Wikkid.X read them, they're amazing. With the canon J/S-ness, and Moppet! I love Moppet, especially when she has a John Smith/Human Nature moment in the third one.
Aah! I love them so much!
I'm also trying to resurrect my Tudor/Doctor Who fanfic. I found a way of getting Ten/Rose in there, not because of my complete fangirl love of them, but because 'romance' fics get more readers, and hey, it's what I want to read.
I know way, way too much about that historical period. I've been addicted to it since I was ten, and now I get to combine it with DW! I can't believe I had four months without looking at it! It'll go up on ff.net when it's done.
Right, I'm off to play on Brother's new PS3, and watch new Ouran episodes - in HQ because of DVDs.
I've been rereading the Black Magician Trilogy (again) and have discovered that the Novice (bk 2) is the best. Well, it's my favourite, at least, because it's where the Guild is how it should be. Like normal, somewhere I'd actually like to be. Plus, the main character is my age and in high school, and I really relate to her in that one.
And there's plenty of dark!Akkarin, which makes me happy, at least.
I'm up to the High Lord now (bk 3) and Akkarin's getting nicer and nicer. In a good way :)
On an unrelated topic, I read the third Return to Labyrinth comic, which I got for Christmas. I love those comics, they're really in the right style and tone for a sequel. Of course, now there's a massive cliffhanger, and I don't know when book 4 (the final installment) is coming out. I need to make Wikkid.X read them, they're amazing. With the canon J/S-ness, and Moppet! I love Moppet, especially when she has a John Smith/Human Nature moment in the third one.
Aah! I love them so much!
I'm also trying to resurrect my Tudor/Doctor Who fanfic. I found a way of getting Ten/Rose in there, not because of my complete fangirl love of them, but because 'romance' fics get more readers, and hey, it's what I want to read.
I know way, way too much about that historical period. I've been addicted to it since I was ten, and now I get to combine it with DW! I can't believe I had four months without looking at it! It'll go up on ff.net when it's done.
Right, I'm off to play on Brother's new PS3, and watch new Ouran episodes - in HQ because of DVDs.
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