5 tidbits before Bed...mainly about tv.

1. It appears to be cold everywhere in the US, and possibly Canada. Curious, is it warm anywhere?

In Jamaica, Queens, NY it was - 9 degrees with windchill. Which feels like knives of ice cutting through your skin. I think there were a few tourists from Wisconsin or Siberia in town, because they are wearing light jackets.

2. Just about finished watching the episodes of Almost Human - which is an innovative buddy cop series - and far more compelling in places than expected. It takes place in the distant future - where regulations on technology have failed or are no longer in effect. In short, technology has gone beyond ethical limitations. To combat the criminal element, and due to a lack of human bodies, each cop is paired with an automated cop. Most of the automated cops are basic rent-a-cops or standard issue robots, that act like computerized ken dolls, complete with, ahem, the lack of below the belt anatomy. Except for Dorn, an emotional and almost human cop, who was decomissoned for being too emotional or human.He's re-commissioned when our hero, John destroys the rent-a-cop he's forced to partner with. John - was gravely injured in an ambush that killed his entire team, including his former partner. He now has a synthetic leg. The bomb that destroyed his leg and killed his team - was most likely set by the woman he was dating and was in love with. A year later, he's put back on the job, and assigned Dorn by his captain. The Captain is played by indie actress Lily Taylor. Which is clever casting - because they are going against the trope there. Dorn is also well cast - and the dialogue is rather good in places. And the plots twisty.

It's still a procedural, so there is the paint-by-numbers aspect to it. But it has some clever moments.

3. Revenge appears to be the storyline that I sort of predicted -- watched it on demand -- which is - that Emily Thorne has legitimate amnesia. She has forgotten everything and is not faking it. (While my mother was hoping they'd go with the fake-out, I've watched too many soap operas and know there's less soapy moments. If this were a thriller, like it's trying to be, they'd have gone with the fake-out. But going with the opposite.) I'm only watching because I'm curious to see where it goes...so far, Emily's revealed to Charlotte that she remembers her father's name - David Clark. In short, she's probably forgotten everything that occurred when her father was convicted. She's gone back to the time prior to all the trauma caused by the Graysons.

Unfortunately, the Graysons are still managing to weasel themselves out of anything. Victoria figured out that the only way to get Daniel and herself off the hook for Emily's attempted murder is to frame Lydia. And she managed to coerce Conrad into it - because Daniel threatened to turn himself in to save Victoria. So Conrad sent Lydia away.

Emily is beginning to remind me of Wile E. Coyote. She just can't destroy these nitwits to save her life. Instead they appear to be destroying her - which is actually an apt take on revenge. Revenge rarely ends well. Emily would have been better off if she'd just gone off and had a nice life - the Graysons were sort of self-destructing on their own. But - from a television watching point of view? It's frustrating to watch - because the Graysons are just despicable. And Daniel is a tool. You want them to fail. Not that Emily is that much better.

I am, however, curious to see where they go with the whole amnesia bit. So far, Aiden is frustrated - Emily doesn't appear to remember him and got scared when she saw him. Although maybe she should - he appears to be in a romantic entanglement with some nurse/doctor treating Emily, who hails from Australia and is from his past. Meanwhile, Victoria has just connected Emily's odd infinity tattoo which relates back to her father, David Clark. As Jack bonds with Emily in the hospital...in a way that Aiden was unable to.

Ah, she's remembering something now - so apparently not going to drag the whole memory laspe thing out and not going to have her fall in love with Daniel - since she remembers that Daniel shot her. And the previews from next week - show that she is being held hostage and tormented by Victoria. Honestly, are we ever going to see Victoria get it? This is getting rather drawn out - also it's not fun to watch Emily tortured - she's been tortured enough.
I may give up yet.

Hmm...I'm starting to agree with my mother - a fake-out story would have been less predictable and more interesting.


4. I keep having the same re-occurring conversations at work.
( Read more... )

5. I'm admittedly curious about Killer Women. This is the new series from executive producer Sofia Vergara (the actress on Modern Family). The series is apparently an adaptation of an Argentine drama and stars Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galatica's Six) as a Texas Ranger. It's opposite Justified. I'm recording both to watch later. I don't watch things live - if I can help it.

This new series brings up the whole issue of strong women characters on tv. Recently I listened to a podcast between Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon regarding Buffy's legacy - specifically on how they wrote strong women and the tv shows that have aired since Buffy not living up to Buffy's image. Gaiman's response - was my favorite. Gaiman points out that what worked on Buffy - wasn't that Buffy herself was strong, but that it was populated with at least five other strong women, who did not have super-powers or super-strength, but various other strengths. I'd have to agree. What made Buffy special was actually it's ensemble cast, which was largely made up of tough and complex women - Willow, Dawn, Anya, Cordelia, Drusilla, Darla, Joyce, Jenny, and Faith.

But..here's the thing - while I agree that the many of the tv series on the CW don't exactly live up to Buffy, there are several tv shows that do depict strong women. And far more interesting and complex women than even Buffy did. Below is a list of 10 television series that are currently airing or about to air that feature complex and strong women, in leading and supporting roles and often of various ages.

1. Once Upon a Time (Regina, Emma, the Blue Fairy, Tinkerbell, Belle, Snow White, Ruby)
2. The Good Wife (Alicia, Diane, Kalinda, Robin, Marilyn, Jackie.)
3. Dowton Abbey (Lady Mary, Cora, the Dowager, Isobel Crawley, Edith, Mrs. Hughes, the Cook,
Anna)
4. Elementary (Jane Watson, Irene Adler)
5. The Game of Thrones (almost too many to list - Cersei, Sansa, Ayra, Aysha, Dany, Ygritte,
Margery, Brienne....etc.)
6. Sleepy Hollow (Abbie Mills, and her sister..Jenny, also Katrina)
7. Grey's Anatomy (Bailey, Cristina, Meredith, Callie, Arizona)
8. Scandal (Olivia Pope, her mother, Abby, Quinn, Mellie)
9. Nashville (Rayna, Scarlett, Juliette, Zoe, Rayna's daughters)
10. Call the Midwife (pretty much the whole cast)