Watched episode 3 of The Last of Us, mainly to see what the fuss was about. Post-apocalyptic survival TV series are simply not my thing; there are just so many spins you can put on the material. The main characters form a familial bond. They evade various mutations of the infected undead. They encounter fascistic mini-regimes. Lather, rinse, repeat. I couldn't endure The Walking Dead for more than a minute.
[I don't mind the movies so much. Two hours and you're out. Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead were fun.]
But "Long Long Time" was a nice break from the usual shambling undead business, a sweet character study of a loving couple who just happened to be middle aged men--something you really don't see on TV.
For fans of Parks and Recreation (and Nick Offerman), the episode boiled down to: what if Ron Swanson was gay? Because Bill really isn't that much different from Ron: the same distrust of governments, the same hyper-developed survivalist skills, taciturn to a fault. The only question I had was: could Offerman pull off the love scenes without embarrassing himself (and the audience)?
Turns out? He did fine. He had a very good partner in Murray Bartlett as Frank, who drew him out of his shell and eased him into the role.
I also enjoyed the Ronstadt reference (you know I'm a big fan of Linda). But this was probably my first and last episode. (I enjoy eating mushrooms too much to be terrified of them, week in and week out.)
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Beverly Crusher got on your nerves. She irritated a lot of TNG fans.
I loved Beverly.
She was stubborn, hard headed and loudly opinionated. She got up in Jean-Luc's face numerous times during the series and Q couldn't stand to be in the same room with her for more than a minute.
For me--as a saying goes--that's a feature, not a bug.
What's interesting to me is that the interests of a physician and a starship captain do not necessarily dovetail. Picard had to worry about galactic politics and the Prime Directive and such things; Beverly didn't give a crap about that stuff. She just wanted to treat her patients without the bureaucracy.
Beverly could have stayed at Starfleet Medical after TNG Season 1 (and again, after Nemesis), but she kept pulling up stakes and heading back to the frontier.
And then there's her relationship with Jean Luc. What a wonderful, tangled mess. To be attracted to the man who sent your husband to his death. (And she named their child after that dead husband! Beverly, that is just weird!) Gates McFadden and Beverly were all but ignored in the TNG movies; and then, after the movies were done, THEN the interesting stuff happens! We never got to see Jean Luc and Beverly finally try a relationship... and flame out spectacularly.
I don't have Paramount+. I doubt I'll ever see this series. But even from the sidelines, I'm delighted to see Gates and Beverly finally command center stage.
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branchandroot
The Last of Us; The Dancing Doctor
Date: 2023-03-07 01:16 am (UTC)[I don't mind the movies so much. Two hours and you're out. Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead were fun.]
But "Long Long Time" was a nice break from the usual shambling undead business, a sweet character study of a loving couple who just happened to be middle aged men--something you really don't see on TV.
For fans of Parks and Recreation (and Nick Offerman), the episode boiled down to: what if Ron Swanson was gay? Because Bill really isn't that much different from Ron: the same distrust of governments, the same hyper-developed survivalist skills, taciturn to a fault. The only question I had was: could Offerman pull off the love scenes without embarrassing himself (and the audience)?
Turns out? He did fine. He had a very good partner in Murray Bartlett as Frank, who drew him out of his shell and eased him into the role.
I also enjoyed the Ronstadt reference (you know I'm a big fan of Linda). But this was probably my first and last episode. (I enjoy eating mushrooms too much to be terrified of them, week in and week out.)
**************
Beverly Crusher got on your nerves. She irritated a lot of TNG fans.
I loved Beverly.
She was stubborn, hard headed and loudly opinionated. She got up in Jean-Luc's face numerous times during the series and Q couldn't stand to be in the same room with her for more than a minute.
For me--as a saying goes--that's a feature, not a bug.
What's interesting to me is that the interests of a physician and a starship captain do not necessarily dovetail. Picard had to worry about galactic politics and the Prime Directive and such things; Beverly didn't give a crap about that stuff. She just wanted to treat her patients without the bureaucracy.
Beverly could have stayed at Starfleet Medical after TNG Season 1 (and again, after Nemesis), but she kept pulling up stakes and heading back to the frontier.
And then there's her relationship with Jean Luc. What a wonderful, tangled mess. To be attracted to the man who sent your husband to his death. (And she named their child after that dead husband! Beverly, that is just weird!) Gates McFadden and Beverly were all but ignored in the TNG movies; and then, after the movies were done, THEN the interesting stuff happens! We never got to see Jean Luc and Beverly finally try a relationship... and flame out spectacularly.
I don't have Paramount+. I doubt I'll ever see this series. But even from the sidelines, I'm delighted to see Gates and Beverly finally command center stage.