Drive By and a bit on ATS S6 Virtual
Nov. 13th, 2004 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatQuick drive by, have lots of errands to run to today, before heading off to see The Incredibles with cjlasky.
Read Exodus , episode II of the aTPO's S6 Virtual project, by Arethusa.
Actually quite good. Still not a huge fan of the screenplay format (tracking shots, grounding shots, etc. tend to annoy and take me out of the story - but I felt that way reading the screenplay to Chinatown and Butch & Sundance, hence the reason I did not go to film school, become an actress, or write screenplays. I blame the over 1000 plays I was forced to read in high school personally.)
But, she nails Spike. Also nails the Spike/Angel relationship. (An aside: Why is it that so many people think that good people aren't snarky? That snark = evil? Hello? I'm snarky. I love verbal wit. Physical humor squicks and embarrasses me, but a good one-liner makes me giggle uncontrollably for hours. This in a nutshell may explain why I preferred Spike to Angel, or Marsters to Boreanze. Boreanze did (to me) embarrassing physical humor (which I can't watch without either cringing or wanting to leave the room). Marsters did verbal/dry wit comedy. Even the physical humor was more snarky, with a one-liner attached. Snark is no meaner, than laughing at how badly someone dances or sings Mandy. It is no meaner than laughing at a pratfall. For some reason, Spike gets a soul, he loses his snark or sarcastic wit, since I'm not sure snark is a word, in so much fanfic. Weird. If anything he'd be more sarcastic.
Because that's how he dealt with pain and discomfort, by being sarcastic about it.) At any rate - Aresthusa has Spike down. The lines sounded to me at least
as British, snarky, and gave insight to the character. She also does an admirable job of conveying Gunn, Angel, and Illyria. Fun dialogue that made me laugh, smile and kept my interest.
I also liked the twist at the end. My only criticism is the WaiJani bits, it does slow down the action and comes across here as well as in the prior episode as a tad conventional and cliche in places. I understand why it was needed, but I'm not sure it works. The Wa!Jani are too nice. Too likable. A bit like Lucas' Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Which may have been the point, as a means of emphasizing the difference between the world Angel is desperate to leave and the one he returns to, also emphasize how self-involved Angel has become and as a result of only seeing his own big picture, misses what is really important. The characters who do not have power, who are not "the chosen one" or the "prophesied one" with a destiny - Gunn and Spike, do see it. They see the Wa!jani. They seem to realize what Angel wants is wrong and will not lead to a good end and both are clearly annoyed with him. Illyria and Angel, who have power and destiney, can't see anything but that. Nothing else is important, even if they have to roll over and bulldoze everything in their path. A very interesting comment on prophecy, Gods, and destiny and one's own self-importance. Hmmm, seems I've changed my mind. It works overall. I'm just not sure we need the long back and forth translation of the Wa!Jani's view their gods are helping them. I think that could have been shortened a bit. (Probably would have been if this were filmed for TV.)
Interesting fanfic. Only drawback of trying to read this fanfic project - is my printer is on the blitz and it is difficult to print off. Words fall off the page. Some are blurred. Sigh. Not your problem, I know. But there it is.
Shouldn't complain - only fanfic I'm reading at the moment. Stopped reading fanfic in August. Nothing personal, just lost interest and got busy.
Finished Neverwhere. Am reading Richard Paul Russo's Ship of Fools now. Very good. Quite taken with Ship of Fools. More so actually than Neverwhere, oddly enough, which took a while for me to get in to. I liked Neverwhere, but didn't love it. The lead character, like most of Gaiman's leads, felt somewhat passive, as if he were sleepwalking through the novel, observing, occassionally taking part, but mostly just watching or hosting the action. It's a sin I'm guilty of as well in my writing, so I may be hyper-aware of it.
Read Exodus , episode II of the aTPO's S6 Virtual project, by Arethusa.
Actually quite good. Still not a huge fan of the screenplay format (tracking shots, grounding shots, etc. tend to annoy and take me out of the story - but I felt that way reading the screenplay to Chinatown and Butch & Sundance, hence the reason I did not go to film school, become an actress, or write screenplays. I blame the over 1000 plays I was forced to read in high school personally.)
But, she nails Spike. Also nails the Spike/Angel relationship. (An aside: Why is it that so many people think that good people aren't snarky? That snark = evil? Hello? I'm snarky. I love verbal wit. Physical humor squicks and embarrasses me, but a good one-liner makes me giggle uncontrollably for hours. This in a nutshell may explain why I preferred Spike to Angel, or Marsters to Boreanze. Boreanze did (to me) embarrassing physical humor (which I can't watch without either cringing or wanting to leave the room). Marsters did verbal/dry wit comedy. Even the physical humor was more snarky, with a one-liner attached. Snark is no meaner, than laughing at how badly someone dances or sings Mandy. It is no meaner than laughing at a pratfall. For some reason, Spike gets a soul, he loses his snark or sarcastic wit, since I'm not sure snark is a word, in so much fanfic. Weird. If anything he'd be more sarcastic.
Because that's how he dealt with pain and discomfort, by being sarcastic about it.) At any rate - Aresthusa has Spike down. The lines sounded to me at least
as British, snarky, and gave insight to the character. She also does an admirable job of conveying Gunn, Angel, and Illyria. Fun dialogue that made me laugh, smile and kept my interest.
I also liked the twist at the end. My only criticism is the WaiJani bits, it does slow down the action and comes across here as well as in the prior episode as a tad conventional and cliche in places. I understand why it was needed, but I'm not sure it works. The Wa!Jani are too nice. Too likable. A bit like Lucas' Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Which may have been the point, as a means of emphasizing the difference between the world Angel is desperate to leave and the one he returns to, also emphasize how self-involved Angel has become and as a result of only seeing his own big picture, misses what is really important. The characters who do not have power, who are not "the chosen one" or the "prophesied one" with a destiny - Gunn and Spike, do see it. They see the Wa!jani. They seem to realize what Angel wants is wrong and will not lead to a good end and both are clearly annoyed with him. Illyria and Angel, who have power and destiney, can't see anything but that. Nothing else is important, even if they have to roll over and bulldoze everything in their path. A very interesting comment on prophecy, Gods, and destiny and one's own self-importance. Hmmm, seems I've changed my mind. It works overall. I'm just not sure we need the long back and forth translation of the Wa!Jani's view their gods are helping them. I think that could have been shortened a bit. (Probably would have been if this were filmed for TV.)
Interesting fanfic. Only drawback of trying to read this fanfic project - is my printer is on the blitz and it is difficult to print off. Words fall off the page. Some are blurred. Sigh. Not your problem, I know. But there it is.
Shouldn't complain - only fanfic I'm reading at the moment. Stopped reading fanfic in August. Nothing personal, just lost interest and got busy.
Finished Neverwhere. Am reading Richard Paul Russo's Ship of Fools now. Very good. Quite taken with Ship of Fools. More so actually than Neverwhere, oddly enough, which took a while for me to get in to. I liked Neverwhere, but didn't love it. The lead character, like most of Gaiman's leads, felt somewhat passive, as if he were sleepwalking through the novel, observing, occassionally taking part, but mostly just watching or hosting the action. It's a sin I'm guilty of as well in my writing, so I may be hyper-aware of it.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-13 11:40 am (UTC)My difficulty with Neil Gaiman is I feel removed from his characters. (Had the same problem in the Sandman series and American Gods, actually Neverwhere is the best of the three in my opinion.)
I care what happens to them and enjoy their story, but I feel as if there is an invisible wall between us and part of that is due to the passivity of the lead who seems more of a cipher than a true personality. Everyone around him is interesting, but the lead. It was worse in American Gods. Neverwhere, Richard feels a little more graspable, less wispy, less a cipher.
I can't quite put my finger on why Gaiman's writing leaves me unsatisfied, it's like getting a really great looking pastry, but there's just something missing? I think it's the passivity of the lead.
Not sure. Clearly a subjective thing - since more than one person I've met adores his writing.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-13 03:26 pm (UTC)In an interview of his I read (but have of course no clue where it is now), he says that his propensity for protagonists that do more reacting to the oddness around them than much action themselves is a conscious homage to Alice in Wonderland.
I had personally never taken much notice of the passivity, though, because I'm one of the people who worships his writing. :)