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shadowkat1. Doctor Who - this season appears to be devoted to examining the negative side of The Doctor, or the negative consequences of his choices. Each episode pulls up a different aspect. We have a much darker character, more cynical, more world-weary, less positive about the universe and humanity. Which makes sense considering how many people he's lost. He wears an older face, but appears to forget he is wearing it - and thinks he looks the same age as Clara.
The most interesting exchange was between Mr. Pink and The Doctor. The Doctor dislikes Pink because he is a solider, and insists on belittling him - calling him P.E., he'd rather Clara were with the English Lit/Drama prof, Adrian, who sports a bow-tie and resembles his younger aspect (the 11th Doctor). But Pink finally calls him on it - stating, The Doctor is an officer (Time Lord)- part of the privileged aristocracy, who ordered others around, but did not take the fall. Sneering down his nose at us lesser beings. Clara insists he's wrong, but Pink wonders if Clara may be in danger with the Doctor - who pushes her, perhaps pushing her too far. "You showed no fear, you weren't even scared." (Fear theme resurfaces.) Clara replies: "No, of course not, I feel safe with him." And Pink responds, "But you should have been scared. You were in danger." (Keep in mind what happened to Rory, Amy, Dr. Song, Donna, Rose...all who did not show fear.)
Also, Pink is the math teacher - which is interesting as well - since the Doctor is ultimately a scientist, doing calculations.
2. Once Upon a Time - Season Premiere for the 4th Season.
Better than expected. Or rather I was pleasantly surprised by the Regina scenes, they didn't quite go the direction I expected. The show is depicting redemption as a continuing process.
Neither Regina nor Rumple can quite let go of their desire to avenge or control others to obtain what they want. They still abuse their power to achieve their desires, yet remain complex. Best two characters in the series. If only the writers spent as much time on the others. (I'm looking at you, Belle. Robin however is much more interesting as is, weirdly, Marian who barely got there. But Belle remains less interesting then the animated version. And doing the dance sequence from the animated version of Beauty and the Beast - only reminded me how much more interesting the character was in that version.)
That said, I did like the fact that we picked things up immediately at the conclusion of last season with no time passage. Even if it did feel a wee bit like a Frozen fanfic. I don't know..this stinks of Disney cross-marketing. But a whole lot better executed than expected.
* Elsa - better performed than I thought. Also the snow monster, trolls and Sven were well done, considering. As was the casting of Anna, Elsa, and Christoph. If you are going to write Frozen fanfic, at least make sure you get the characters down - or you will lose the fans that you are writing the fanfic for. And they did.
* Emma/Hook are not smoothly sailing into the sunset - she's putting him off slightly. That makes sense. It does not work from a character standpoint for Emma to just jump into Hook's arms. She was deeply in love with Neal who sacrificed himself to save everyone last year. And, well, she hasn't exactly had the best of luck with men, plus Hook is a bit of a rogue, which she is all too aware of. (Emma likes the rogues to her own considerable chagrin. I rather like the fact that she's conscious of this not to mention the problems, unlike Belle who seems to think - oh, I can save the bad boy and everything he's done? No problem. Emma is at least a bit more realistic and careful.)
Also, Emma has Henry to think about. And introducing Hook into the picture with Henry is giving her pause. Regina had it easier with Robin Hood, well that is until Maid Marian popped back into the picture.
* Speaking of Hook and Marian - do these characters ever change clothes? Regina, Snow, Charming, Henry, Belle and Gold seem to be allowed to change clothes. Hook not so much, and Marian - not so far (granted she just got there, so doesn't have any).
Emma (the actress must be getting tired of that red leather jacket.).
I get saving money on costume changes...but, still. TV shows are very weird about this sort of thing - particularly fantasy/sci-fi actions series. (Note - Spike and Angel often wore the same outfit all the time in Buffy, Icabode hasn't changed clothes at all in Sleepy Hollow - they make jokes about it, so at they are aware.) The wardrobe budget is sliced in half due to all those expensive special effects. (My favorite wardrobe choices were on Farscape - I loved those long black leather dusters that the lead characters wore, along with the leather pants - not that I would buy either, highly impractical and difficult to move in - but they do look great.)
* Regina is struggling. She did however do us all a wonderful service by bringing back the excellent Sidney Greenstreet back into the show. (I like that actor, who is available again - now that Revolution has been cancelled. Another LOST veteran.) But
she doesn't quite know how to handle this. She wants her happy ending. Robin is being all honorable - he must stay with his wife. Yes, he loves Regina now, but he is duty bound to Marian. Regina is thinking if I can just get rid of Marian - but I can't kill her - because that would make me a monster and I'd lose everyone. Plus it's wrong. I just need her removed. She considers her options - hmmm, who do I blame?
Emma? No, not really Emma's fault. Me? Well that gets me nowhere. Fate? Definitely a possibility. I need to change fate. But who is responsible for fate? Oh, it's the book - it's the book's fault. The book only lets heroes have happy endings, not villains. We need to change the book. If we find the writer of the book - we can make them change it so that villains can have happy endings too. (Uh, she's a bit naive and clearly not all that observant. After all - Neal died last year - so no happy ending for Emma, Henry and Neal. They are making the best of things or finding their own happy ending.) Through Regina - the writers are exploring what happy endings mean in stories and in reality.
I do want Regina to get her happy ending with Robin. But I like the continued exploration of her moral character and whether she'll fall back on bad habits.
*Rumple/Belle - Can we kill off Belle this season? Or at least write her a whole lot better? Do the writers hate the character? OR just not understand her? Although what's not to understand? Maybe they hate the trope? Shame, I rather like the trope.
I loved Rumple's scenes by himself, where he's struggling with the whole dagger bit. Do I give the real dagger to Belle or keep it? He gives it to her, then he sees this weird thing on the table of the new house Belle discovered (Elsa and Anna's house from Frozen), and decides to use the dagger to reveal its true nature. (I've no clue what it is - don't remember it from Frozen.) Rumple's scenes with Belle dripped molasses...and Belle just..words fail.
The most interesting exchange was between Mr. Pink and The Doctor. The Doctor dislikes Pink because he is a solider, and insists on belittling him - calling him P.E., he'd rather Clara were with the English Lit/Drama prof, Adrian, who sports a bow-tie and resembles his younger aspect (the 11th Doctor). But Pink finally calls him on it - stating, The Doctor is an officer (Time Lord)- part of the privileged aristocracy, who ordered others around, but did not take the fall. Sneering down his nose at us lesser beings. Clara insists he's wrong, but Pink wonders if Clara may be in danger with the Doctor - who pushes her, perhaps pushing her too far. "You showed no fear, you weren't even scared." (Fear theme resurfaces.) Clara replies: "No, of course not, I feel safe with him." And Pink responds, "But you should have been scared. You were in danger." (Keep in mind what happened to Rory, Amy, Dr. Song, Donna, Rose...all who did not show fear.)
Also, Pink is the math teacher - which is interesting as well - since the Doctor is ultimately a scientist, doing calculations.
2. Once Upon a Time - Season Premiere for the 4th Season.
Better than expected. Or rather I was pleasantly surprised by the Regina scenes, they didn't quite go the direction I expected. The show is depicting redemption as a continuing process.
Neither Regina nor Rumple can quite let go of their desire to avenge or control others to obtain what they want. They still abuse their power to achieve their desires, yet remain complex. Best two characters in the series. If only the writers spent as much time on the others. (I'm looking at you, Belle. Robin however is much more interesting as is, weirdly, Marian who barely got there. But Belle remains less interesting then the animated version. And doing the dance sequence from the animated version of Beauty and the Beast - only reminded me how much more interesting the character was in that version.)
That said, I did like the fact that we picked things up immediately at the conclusion of last season with no time passage. Even if it did feel a wee bit like a Frozen fanfic. I don't know..this stinks of Disney cross-marketing. But a whole lot better executed than expected.
* Elsa - better performed than I thought. Also the snow monster, trolls and Sven were well done, considering. As was the casting of Anna, Elsa, and Christoph. If you are going to write Frozen fanfic, at least make sure you get the characters down - or you will lose the fans that you are writing the fanfic for. And they did.
* Emma/Hook are not smoothly sailing into the sunset - she's putting him off slightly. That makes sense. It does not work from a character standpoint for Emma to just jump into Hook's arms. She was deeply in love with Neal who sacrificed himself to save everyone last year. And, well, she hasn't exactly had the best of luck with men, plus Hook is a bit of a rogue, which she is all too aware of. (Emma likes the rogues to her own considerable chagrin. I rather like the fact that she's conscious of this not to mention the problems, unlike Belle who seems to think - oh, I can save the bad boy and everything he's done? No problem. Emma is at least a bit more realistic and careful.)
Also, Emma has Henry to think about. And introducing Hook into the picture with Henry is giving her pause. Regina had it easier with Robin Hood, well that is until Maid Marian popped back into the picture.
* Speaking of Hook and Marian - do these characters ever change clothes? Regina, Snow, Charming, Henry, Belle and Gold seem to be allowed to change clothes. Hook not so much, and Marian - not so far (granted she just got there, so doesn't have any).
Emma (the actress must be getting tired of that red leather jacket.).
I get saving money on costume changes...but, still. TV shows are very weird about this sort of thing - particularly fantasy/sci-fi actions series. (Note - Spike and Angel often wore the same outfit all the time in Buffy, Icabode hasn't changed clothes at all in Sleepy Hollow - they make jokes about it, so at they are aware.) The wardrobe budget is sliced in half due to all those expensive special effects. (My favorite wardrobe choices were on Farscape - I loved those long black leather dusters that the lead characters wore, along with the leather pants - not that I would buy either, highly impractical and difficult to move in - but they do look great.)
* Regina is struggling. She did however do us all a wonderful service by bringing back the excellent Sidney Greenstreet back into the show. (I like that actor, who is available again - now that Revolution has been cancelled. Another LOST veteran.) But
she doesn't quite know how to handle this. She wants her happy ending. Robin is being all honorable - he must stay with his wife. Yes, he loves Regina now, but he is duty bound to Marian. Regina is thinking if I can just get rid of Marian - but I can't kill her - because that would make me a monster and I'd lose everyone. Plus it's wrong. I just need her removed. She considers her options - hmmm, who do I blame?
Emma? No, not really Emma's fault. Me? Well that gets me nowhere. Fate? Definitely a possibility. I need to change fate. But who is responsible for fate? Oh, it's the book - it's the book's fault. The book only lets heroes have happy endings, not villains. We need to change the book. If we find the writer of the book - we can make them change it so that villains can have happy endings too. (Uh, she's a bit naive and clearly not all that observant. After all - Neal died last year - so no happy ending for Emma, Henry and Neal. They are making the best of things or finding their own happy ending.) Through Regina - the writers are exploring what happy endings mean in stories and in reality.
I do want Regina to get her happy ending with Robin. But I like the continued exploration of her moral character and whether she'll fall back on bad habits.
*Rumple/Belle - Can we kill off Belle this season? Or at least write her a whole lot better? Do the writers hate the character? OR just not understand her? Although what's not to understand? Maybe they hate the trope? Shame, I rather like the trope.
I loved Rumple's scenes by himself, where he's struggling with the whole dagger bit. Do I give the real dagger to Belle or keep it? He gives it to her, then he sees this weird thing on the table of the new house Belle discovered (Elsa and Anna's house from Frozen), and decides to use the dagger to reveal its true nature. (I've no clue what it is - don't remember it from Frozen.) Rumple's scenes with Belle dripped molasses...and Belle just..words fail.
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Date: 2014-09-29 12:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-29 10:47 pm (UTC)TV serials historically struggle with villains, don't they? Where is the point of no return? How far can you take a character and keep them on the show? Because after awhile, it doesn't quite work if the heroes don't defeat the villain or for that matter the villain doesn't defeat the heroes. So, you sort of have to evolve the character to keep them on board, and redeem them a bit - but here's the dilemma...it has to be believable. After all if they've killed, raped, or tortured (often all three) various family members of lead characters/heroes - it's a wee bit hard to have them believably become a hero over night.
But, you have this cool villain, who you want to keep in the show, but to do so - you have to redeem them.
Examples? Spike and Angel. They couldn't get rid of the characters, but realistically speaking? Buffy should have staked them. Both had killed, raped, and tortured various and sundry characters in the cast and well unknowns. Yet, they were popular and had to stay around. I know, we'll do a redemption story.
Same deal with Regina and Rumple. And well a lot of comic book and daytime/prime time soap opera villains.
Most serials don't quite pull it off - they either redeem them too quickly, or have the other characters forgive them a wee bit too quickly (looking like naive idiots as a result.) And when you have a character who was the equivalent of a serial killer - it's very hard to redeem them. And sort of makes discussions like the one between Robin and Regina seem a wee bit silly - I mean comparing thieving to mass murder...Robin, Regina was planning on executing your wife in the past...hello, not quite the same thing as highway robbery.
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Date: 2014-09-29 04:27 pm (UTC)But that house doesn't look like Anna and Elsa's castle to me.
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Date: 2014-09-29 10:51 pm (UTC)Watched Frozen for the first time the night before, and I don't remember that basket container.
Okay, that's new then. Thought it had to be. Shipperx below states it's the hat from Fantasia/Socerer's Apprentice...
But that house doesn't look like Anna and Elsa's castle to me.
Was it a Castle? I admittedly can't remember. The inside looked similar though. Maybe it's not associated with Frozen? Doesn't look like Rumple's house either, though.
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Date: 2014-09-29 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-29 11:08 pm (UTC)I think it was meant to be Merlin in the film, but can't recall. Been too long since I've seen it. Used to own it on VHS, but I got rid of my VHS tapes ages ago.
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Date: 2014-09-29 05:25 pm (UTC)I liked how the Frozen characters translated into OUaT universe, we'll see how well they continue.
re: Belle. in season 1 I thought her character has a lot of potential. Now - I truly believe they wasted it all. Can she take the dagger and become evil? That's about the only thing that might work now.
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Date: 2014-09-29 10:56 pm (UTC)Agreed on Belle - she had potential in S1, now...not so much. It would bother me less - if I didn't like cartoon Belle. This version is somewhat insulting.
Of the cartoons - she was amongst the most intelligent of the Disney heroines, now...she's the dumbest? And she's the only character in the cast who does a lot of reading? Ugh.
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Date: 2014-09-29 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-29 10:30 pm (UTC)