The Pitt and a few other things...

Finished The Pitt S2 and here's an interview with Noah Wyle, producer, writer, director and star of The Pitt (he wrote the 14th Episode). I admittedly started watching it because of Noah Wyle (well that and I have a weakness for medical dramas). Now I love most if not all the characters. It's my favorite show at the moment. The Bear is close second. The only two characters I wasn't overly fond of - left the show during S1 or are about to. So, lucky me? I'm ignoring the fandom, because it's insane and doesn't appear to understand how television works. Sigh. Online fandom has become increasingly insane and insufferable since the early 00s, which considering it wasn't exactly sane to begin with... The nerd fandom is a little less crazy but not nearly as insufferable (nerds don't tend to ship romantic pairings (or care who is with whom) and are more into debating consistency issues, such as why is Spike's reflection visible in the glass of that store, along with the nitty gritty details of how a worm hole actually works and can you really fly that that thing through space - which is much easier to deal with.) (I miss the days in which I didn't know shows like the Pitt had a fandom.)

The Pitt is not a melodrama. Even if the crazy marketing folks online keep trying to pretend it is. It's a strict medical procedural that is hyper-realism, kind of like Homicide Life on the Streets was or Law and Order, or This is Going to Hurt (except more so than that).

Anyhow it was a good season. And I found it relatable and comforting. In the interview, Wyle provides five reasons for why it works so well and how it differs from other medical dramas (I'm a medical drama fan - so have seen all of them.)

Five things that make the Pitt work so well

"“It’s a couple of things that work beautifully in concert.

1.) No music. ( Read more... )

2) Shooting it with almost exclusively 50-millimeter or 65-millimeter lenses, which is the most comparable to the human eye—and only shooting from the point of view of a human being that’s present in this space. ( Read more... )

3) Taking place in real time. ( Read more... )

4). The election went the other way,” he says with a shrug. ( Read more... )

5.) This is essentially competence porn. ( Read more... )

Note, while the article may have spoilers, the above does not, and if anything tells you whether you'd enjoy the series. It's not for everyone? I don't like criminal procedurals for example - for some of the same reasons a lot of folks don't like medical dramas.

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I completed Grantchester S2 as well. It surprised me, and not necessarily in a good way. I thought it was swinging more towards hyper-realism than, well it actually is? At the end of the final episode of S2, ( major spoilers )

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It was very warm this past week, but over the past three days it's cooled a bit, and we're back to spring like temperatures. It's in the 50s and upper 40s today, overcast, with a slight breeze. Rain is in the forecast.

While this did affect my health a bit, it didn't as much as usual - ie. no vertigo. Which means what I'm taking to fend off the vertigo and doing to fend it off - seems to be working? I still think it is a combination of neck and sinus issues. The neck resulting in the vestibular, the sinus resulting in the headaches.

Had troubles getting to sleep last night. Spent time before bed on social media - which probably caused it. I got triggered - and as a result, my brain wouldn't shut off. But, I found a cure finally? My Calm App - I used two separate sleep meditations which managed to calm my brain and dis-spell the onslaught of negative thoughts churned up by time wasted on the internet. Note to self - stay off the internet at night.

(no subject)

April Question a Day Memage:

18. How often do you listen to the radio? If you do, what kind of things do you listen to (talk/pop/classical)?

I don't really listen to the radio? But if I do - it's usually music, and a mix. I have an Apple Music account - so I just download music, and its unlimited.

19. In 1934, Shirley Temple starred in her first film. Have you ever seen any of her films?

Yes. In law school during the 1990s, I had a friend who adored Shirley Temple films - so we binge watched a few of them. (I'm not a fan - Temple annoyed me. So, I suffered through them? Also saw a lot of them in the 1970s during the afternoon movie. I've suffered through Shirley Temple, Godzilla, Elvis, Frankie and Annette Beach Party, Sandra Dee, and Kurt Russell films in the 70s. The best were the Kurt Russell films. )

We didn't have cable or streaming back then - so the pickings were kind of slim?

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Started watching From on Prime, although it's an MGM + series. It's rather good. Surprisingly so. I don't find it scary so much as...suspenseful with an air of dread? Also kind of gory, but not overly violent. It's a common enough horror trope - made rather popular in the 1950s and 60s, actually (Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits loved this trope) - in which a group of people find themselves stuck in a town or specific local, there's no way out, and monsters hunt them at night. All they have to depend on is each other - which being human beings whose default is selfish entitled stupid asshole syndrome, isn't necessarily helpful? In these series, it's really the human beings that cause all the problems. Actually that's true in most horror tales. Let's face it - the worst monster is well, us.

The setup is written rather well - or the trap. I enjoyed the first episode, and the tension didn't let up and delivered. It has some nice jump scares. Stars Harold Perrineau of LOST, except with a much bigger role - he's the lead. (Note LOST is part of this particular horror trope - and among the better entries. Where folks are stuck somewhere and keep trying to escape, yet keep finding themselves back there.)

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Online kerfuffles

People will fight about anything online.

I joined a Gluten Free for Beginner's Site on FB, and they keep breaking out into fights on that site.
It's painful.
( Read more... )

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Also, there are still, STILL, idiotic judgemental holier than thou kerfuffles over Spike/Buffy and the attempted sexual assault in Seeing Red. That episode happened over 25 years ago? Seriously, people. Get a grip.

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And, sigh, political kerfuffles over literally everything you can think of.

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I've been battling a sinus headache verging on a migraine, with vertigo lurking in the background all day long. It's made me irritable. I blame it on the weather, allergies, and neck issues. It's also made it hard to do any exercises. I just want to sit very still and pray it goes away.

It appears to be dissipating now, along with the storm clouds.