Rainy drippy Saturday
Oct. 30th, 2004 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe smell of cooking brownies fills my apt. Yep, I caved and made some more, (no, not from scratch, are you nuts! )and they are baking in my oven. Needed comfort food.
Hard week. Still sore from my tumble on Tuesday. Tired from work - or trying hard not to make any mistakes at work. Way I look at it? I survived my first month and a half. That's something. Healthcare benefits kicked in - ironic if they didn't considering I am working at a healthcare company. So saw some doctors for the requisite check-ups. Today's was the eye doc. Who requires a follow-up visit next week. (Dang it.) But outside of that, all is swell.
Finished my Farscape Marathon. That's right have now watched the entire series, including the four-hour miniseries. And what an interesting ride. I prefer the series to the mini-series by the way. Not that I didn't like the mini-series, I did, loved it. But, the series felt more character centric, less preachy/ideal driven. What is it about tv shows and their latter seasons? They all start getting preachy and "ideal" oriented towards the end, almost as if the writer has decided, wait I've established the characters, now it's "MESSAGE" time. I have a captive audience - time to tell them what I think, before I lose my chance! That said? I think Farscape was the most entertaining in this respect, not to mention most cohesive, and true to its characters. Can't say the same for other tv shows I'm afraid. BTVS? Sort of lost me in the second half of Season 7. Or rather it lost most of its characters. Never felt that way with Farscape, but then Farscape was only on for four years and wrapped up with a four-hour mini. Only other sci-fantasy show that comes close to this level plot-tight character centric - cohesive story-telling, may be Bablyon 5, which was meant to be a tele-novel. Both feel like watching novels for TV. At any rate, I recommend Farscape, with the following adivisories: 1)You have to get to episode 15 or 17 before it takes off. 2)The mini-series won't make much sense if you don't watch the series, trust me on this. It's not a movie you can watch separately from the series, the two are interconnected. 3)If you do not like alien makeup or puppetry and prefer straight, literal story-telling with few visual metaphors - you will probably hate this series. 4) It is morally dark in places and has graphic torture sequences - if you have issues with that or can't handle graphic violence or torture scenes? You may not be able to handle this show. These guys make Whedon and Minear look like wimps.
Hard week. Still sore from my tumble on Tuesday. Tired from work - or trying hard not to make any mistakes at work. Way I look at it? I survived my first month and a half. That's something. Healthcare benefits kicked in - ironic if they didn't considering I am working at a healthcare company. So saw some doctors for the requisite check-ups. Today's was the eye doc. Who requires a follow-up visit next week. (Dang it.) But outside of that, all is swell.
Finished my Farscape Marathon. That's right have now watched the entire series, including the four-hour miniseries. And what an interesting ride. I prefer the series to the mini-series by the way. Not that I didn't like the mini-series, I did, loved it. But, the series felt more character centric, less preachy/ideal driven. What is it about tv shows and their latter seasons? They all start getting preachy and "ideal" oriented towards the end, almost as if the writer has decided, wait I've established the characters, now it's "MESSAGE" time. I have a captive audience - time to tell them what I think, before I lose my chance! That said? I think Farscape was the most entertaining in this respect, not to mention most cohesive, and true to its characters. Can't say the same for other tv shows I'm afraid. BTVS? Sort of lost me in the second half of Season 7. Or rather it lost most of its characters. Never felt that way with Farscape, but then Farscape was only on for four years and wrapped up with a four-hour mini. Only other sci-fantasy show that comes close to this level plot-tight character centric - cohesive story-telling, may be Bablyon 5, which was meant to be a tele-novel. Both feel like watching novels for TV. At any rate, I recommend Farscape, with the following adivisories: 1)You have to get to episode 15 or 17 before it takes off. 2)The mini-series won't make much sense if you don't watch the series, trust me on this. It's not a movie you can watch separately from the series, the two are interconnected. 3)If you do not like alien makeup or puppetry and prefer straight, literal story-telling with few visual metaphors - you will probably hate this series. 4) It is morally dark in places and has graphic torture sequences - if you have issues with that or can't handle graphic violence or torture scenes? You may not be able to handle this show. These guys make Whedon and Minear look like wimps.
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Date: 2004-10-30 07:10 pm (UTC)Ditto. I agree with Rob on this one. Having seen all the seasons of Alias, every season of Smallville but the current one, all of Bablyon5, ATS, and BTVS (three shows that up until now I considered the best in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV genre) - I have to state Farscape is a better series.
Why?
At one point or another all the other series lost me.
I either got annoyed at the leads or lost interest in them. Or felt that the series dropped a ball.
Farscape never lost me.
Oh - and we have a female character that would give Emma Peel a run for her money.
But is it fun?
Date: 2004-10-31 05:47 am (UTC)What you say about "MESSAGE TIME" is SO TRUE. WHen I want insightful looks into human society, morality and culture, I rarely go to authors' views. I may go to their works of art, but not to their opinions or views.
Re: But is it fun?
Date: 2004-10-31 06:21 am (UTC)YES!!! More so actually than most science fiction.
This is one of the few tv series that has made me laugh throughout. I don't think I laughed so hard at anything since well, the Puppet!Angel episode.
Look At the Princess - is hilarous arc in Season 2.
There's an episode where the characters end up in each other's bodies that combines physical and situational comedy in a way that Red Dwarf tried to do, but failed miserably in my opinion. (It's a rare thing for me to laugh at physical comedy, since I can't handle "embarrassement"). All the way through, Cricton makes wise-ass comments that make me giggle.
Very much a sense of fun. It was the same wry, dry sense of humor ATS and BTVS have. (One of my problems with the Trek series is it took itself too seriously. Farscape? Not a problem. It actually makes fun of its own genre and the shows that came before it.) Heck they have an episode that combines Chuck Jones Cartoons (such as Road Runner) with live action. How's that for fun?
Re: But is it fun?
Date: 2004-10-31 07:31 am (UTC)I'm the same way. Part of the reason I'm enjoying Farscape so much is until yesterday I hadn't read one interview with an actor or writer. I was just enjoying the art. It did affect my enjoyment. I can't help but wonder if my enjoyment of BTVS and ATS may have been tainted by reading the authors and actors views on the piece. I mean honestly does it matter that Sarah Michelle Gellar hated doing Dead Things? Or that Whedon thought we should see this message as opposed to that one? What matters is what we get out of our experience with the art-work. And in many cases it may not be what the author/creator intended or expected.
I may love the poems of T.S. Eliot, but despise his views and don't like what I've read of the man.
(Oh on the fun side - Farscape is probably the zaniest funniest sci-fi series I've ever seen.)