Cloudy with passing bits of blue...
Mar. 29th, 2020 10:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFinished watching Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist tonight. So I'm thinking the week without preview trailers - was probably because the shows were originally supposed to go on hiatus for various live events airing in March, including the NCAA Basketball Finals, which have since been cancelled. They are currently doing a concert via iHeart Radio on Fox - with various people performing in their homes to raise money for "Feed America" and Donating to Children's Relief Fund. I tried to watch, but the eerie photos of a deserted Mid-Town Manhattan were more than I could handle.
Zoey was a weird episode tonight, reminding me a touch more of Crazy-Ex. Zoey is upset about what is happening to her Dad, so she starts breaking out in song and dance numbers. Heart songs. Or whatever she's feeling at the moment and in her head she has dancers, and music, and people singing with her. When in reality it's just Zoey singing and dancing on her own. She has no control over it - and it doesn't stop until she faces the emotional problems and talks to people about them.
I cried during it. Somewhat cathartic actually. I can identify with the Dad bit.
Mine is depressed - because his body is breaking down, and well he was doing fine until COVID-19 stopped all activities and put them under a kind of lockdown.
It's surreal. I go outside, and with the exception of seeing face masks here and there, or gloves on the ground, you wouldn't know anything was happening. I don't see any sickness. And the spacing while there -- it's not overly noticeable. It reminds me a little of that Doctor Who episode? Silence in the Library, Forests of the Dead - where the threat is invisible. You can't see it. Lurking death.
I've read about pandemics, fictional and non-fictional, and watched movies about them, even kind of wrote about it, but what no one really talks about is the feeling of sitting alone with fear. The boredom, the uncertainty, the climbing sense of dread - - and the feeling that none of this is real. And maybe it's just something on the tv set. I can see why there are people out there who aren't taking it seriously and are somewhat blase. Visible threats are easy to fight. But disease isn't visible. It's not as tangible. It's microscopic. And you can't blame anyone or blast it away with a gun. In a way, I think the reason so many love zombie films - is the disease is visible, you can kill it. But here, no, that's not as easy as it sounds.
Zoey is a story about a young woman who has a migraine, gets an MRI, and during an earthquake, magically ends up with the ability to hear others feelings through song and dance numbers. It's an ability she can't control, that disrupts her life and throws things into chaos. This sense of no control. Her father has a mascular degenerative disease - I think ALS. And has limited time left to live. She can't do anything to solve it. No one can. There's no cure.
And I identified in a way. It also felt oddly comforting to have this expressed through various pop tunes such as Pressure by Billy Joel, Crazy, I don't know how to live without you...etc. If only the world were a fluffy rainbow colored musical. Sometimes it is. Lately its felt cloudy with passing bits of blue.
Zoey was a weird episode tonight, reminding me a touch more of Crazy-Ex. Zoey is upset about what is happening to her Dad, so she starts breaking out in song and dance numbers. Heart songs. Or whatever she's feeling at the moment and in her head she has dancers, and music, and people singing with her. When in reality it's just Zoey singing and dancing on her own. She has no control over it - and it doesn't stop until she faces the emotional problems and talks to people about them.
I cried during it. Somewhat cathartic actually. I can identify with the Dad bit.
Mine is depressed - because his body is breaking down, and well he was doing fine until COVID-19 stopped all activities and put them under a kind of lockdown.
It's surreal. I go outside, and with the exception of seeing face masks here and there, or gloves on the ground, you wouldn't know anything was happening. I don't see any sickness. And the spacing while there -- it's not overly noticeable. It reminds me a little of that Doctor Who episode? Silence in the Library, Forests of the Dead - where the threat is invisible. You can't see it. Lurking death.
I've read about pandemics, fictional and non-fictional, and watched movies about them, even kind of wrote about it, but what no one really talks about is the feeling of sitting alone with fear. The boredom, the uncertainty, the climbing sense of dread - - and the feeling that none of this is real. And maybe it's just something on the tv set. I can see why there are people out there who aren't taking it seriously and are somewhat blase. Visible threats are easy to fight. But disease isn't visible. It's not as tangible. It's microscopic. And you can't blame anyone or blast it away with a gun. In a way, I think the reason so many love zombie films - is the disease is visible, you can kill it. But here, no, that's not as easy as it sounds.
Zoey is a story about a young woman who has a migraine, gets an MRI, and during an earthquake, magically ends up with the ability to hear others feelings through song and dance numbers. It's an ability she can't control, that disrupts her life and throws things into chaos. This sense of no control. Her father has a mascular degenerative disease - I think ALS. And has limited time left to live. She can't do anything to solve it. No one can. There's no cure.
And I identified in a way. It also felt oddly comforting to have this expressed through various pop tunes such as Pressure by Billy Joel, Crazy, I don't know how to live without you...etc. If only the world were a fluffy rainbow colored musical. Sometimes it is. Lately its felt cloudy with passing bits of blue.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-30 10:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-30 06:21 pm (UTC)I especially liked the sense of rawness and wild frenzy in her singing and dancing as opposed to the polished performances she observes. On a few occasions, she's singing live, as opposed to overdubbed--a deliberate choice to show the intensity of her internal conflict.
(I get the feeling that if she could have talked with Mo for two minutes, the whole "glitch" would have been solved in... two minutes. But she couldn't get to Mo.)
Is Peter Gallagher a one and done for this series?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-30 11:09 pm (UTC)She seems to spend a lot of time in other places - considering what she does for a living. Tech work is kind of demanding.
I hand-wave a lot of this stuff though. I really don't nit-pick plot logistics that much on broadcast network television series. They are written and filmed so fast - that it is basically a rough draft. Cable yes, broadcast television, not so much. But Zoey for the most part is fairly tightly written, considering.
I agree, showing Zoey sounding off-key and dancing horribly when we aren't in her head, and dancing and singing beautifully when we are - is a nice trick. It also emphasizes how only Zoey can see the song and dance numbers, no one else can. I think her friend, Ted (Is it Ted?) finally believed her and understood what was going on with her - and that he needed to back WAY off. She's not in a good place for any relationship right now. Neither is Simon for that matter. Probably why they are drawn towards each other - well that and the actors have great chemistry. I know its wrong, but I'm pushing for Zoey/Simon. Ted annoys me. ;-) (He was also on Crazy Ex-girl friend and annoyed me there as well - so I'm thinking its the actor.)
Is Peter Gallagher a one and done for this series?
Not yet. He has two weeks to live. I'm guessing he'll die at the very end of season 1. Honestly, I kind of thought he'd have to - to play that role longer than one season would be really taxing on any actor. He's brilliant at it. But it has got to be hard to do.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 12:10 am (UTC)Max is the stereotypical "best buddy who wants to be more." One reason we're not rooting for him and Zoey is that we haven't been privileged to see them together for years and years. He's the "best friend"--but we've only got present day events to show the depth of their relationship. God forbid I use Friends as a reference, but Ross and Rachel were more credible when we had flashbacks to show how much Ross had always loved her.
And, once again, applause for Jane Levy for literally leaving it all on the table. You could practically smell the flop sweat. Man...
no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 12:43 am (UTC)I just hope that they don't do Zoey/Max. It's too predictable and pure stereotype. I was trying to remember if his name was Max or Ted. Interesting, I can pretty much remember all the other character names but his.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 09:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-31 12:43 pm (UTC)The inability to put strict regulatory controls in place regarding the environment resulting in global climate change - resulting in viruses locked under ice coming to the surface.
The inability to restrict and enforce regulations regarding the care and handling and interaction with wildlife. Hunting, gathering and using animals and wildlife for personal gain.
Venturing into wild areas without taking precautions.
Placing a high priority on entertainment, travel, cruises, amusement, sporting events, concerts, profit and a low priority on health care, public transportation, infrastructure.
Etc.
Humanity's selfishness and me first/frak the consequences attitude is why the pandemic happened.
When we start pointing fingers, which is of course what we all love to do more than anything - it never ends. Who is to blame? Everyone? Now, what? Learn from our mistakes and change our priorities and figure out how to solve the problem at hand.