Random Thoughts...are well random

Because I have no idea how else to title this post.

1. Saw an interesting question regarding the other day. What seasonal arc of your favorite tv show would you change and how?

Easy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 7. No contest.

While S6 and S4 clearly had their issues arc wise, I'd have to say the only plot arc that irked me on that series and I felt a need to tinker with - was Season 7, the final season, where you could sort of tell that 85% of the writers were burned out, the only one who didn't appear to be was Drew Goddard (the new guy) and were entertaining themselves by writing quirky lines for Tom Lenk. Plus for reasons that escape me, the showrunner decided to spend money on bringing in a whole slew of new characters in the final season and bringing back an unlikable and sort of peripheral character (Andrew) from the previous one, mainly because Danny Strong (Jonathan) was busy doing other things (his career has taken off by the way, I hear he's been tasked with writing the script for Mockinjay - the third and fourth films of the Hunger Games, and he wrote The Butler.). Instead of spending the money on bringing back more old favorites or focusing more on the current cast. It was the final season for heaven's sake. But the show-runner and lead were playing footsie with everyone and not admitting to it until quite late in the season.

At any rate, how would I change it?
( Read more... )

So What arc would you change in your favorite series and how?


2. Finished What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity which was not as well written as The Husband's Secret, I did a lot of skimming. The writer is repetitive and tends to ramble a bit. That said, this was a fascinating study of how a marriage can crumble and then be built back again. It also depicts how relying too much on one person can disrupt your life or one friend. Rather interesting narrative style as well - a sort of stream-of-consciousness ramble. And through this style - the writer subtly conveys how self-absorbed people can be and oblivious to others feelings, too focused on their own. To the extent that they don't listen. It also explores the nature of memory - what it means, and how it forms character.
(One of my story kinks.) And finally, explores forgiveness, what it means, how we do it, and how it comes about (another story kink).

I recommend it with the following caveats...it rambles (more than I do, yes, I know hard to imagine), stream-of-consciousness in nature, and repetitive in places. Great literature it's not. But it is interesting and compelling in places. Also I found the cultural language differences between Australia and US fascinating. We do however watch the same tv shows. More so than we did in the 1990s (when I visited Australia).

Next book on the horizon? I don't know. I'm flirting with Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin again, also with Cloud Atlas, and buying another memory loss novel - either The Song Remains the Same or Remember When, although both may be too fluffy for my current mood. I want something better written. But is there anything literary about memory loss and forgiveness, which is not about Altzheimers?

3. On FACEBOOK - someone posted: "I am loving Marvel Agents of Shield - why are people hating it or not liking it?"

A better question might be - why do you love it? Quite a bit has been written on why people despise and hate it. Very little on why people like it - that isn't reacting to why people hate it. But I restrained myself from replying.

4. The Oscars...it's admittedly hard to care, there's over 100 award entertainment award shows. It gets lost in the shuffle.

But...I was happy to see American Hustle, Philomena and 12 Years a Slave get nominated. Surprised Tom Hanks and Robert Redford weren't. I think American Hustle and Nebraska may have kicked them out of the running. Christian Bale is beginning to remind me of the great 1970s method actors...who could play anything and got nominated numerous times.