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Jun. 15th, 2025 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatMethinks I've contracted a chest cold, or a head cold, feels like a chest cold. Lovely, I need to get blood work done on Thursday, and have a virtual appointment on Friday. I'll just wear a mask on Thursday. Also, apparently for most of this week.
I blame Breaking Bad, whose been under the weather of late. Or the subway.
God knows.
I did not go protest in the No Kings Protests yesterday, outside of the fact that I was feeling poorly and not sleeping well, so exhausted, plus digestive issues (one does not march with digestive issues in a huge city with no easily accessible bathrooms - it's just not done), and bum knees, with a sciatic nerve. The people doing it in their walkers, just protested outside of their homes on the sidewalk, not quite the same thing.
Not that I feel guilty or anything. (well maybe a little).
The official count is 12.1 million. Palantir is collecting data for the evil Empire (aka Trump Administration and his Republican cronies), so various sources have put up protections and aren't re-posting videos, photos, or addresses any longer. Things are starting to get heated in the US, and I'm not quite sure where its headed. I most likely have the same news resources that you all have, so we're kind of in it together?
Between the chest congestion, digestive issues, lack of sleep, sciatic nerve, and the news...I've fallen into a malaise of sorts and am finding it difficult to concentrate. As a result, I didn't get any of the things I intended to do - done this weekend. Oh well, I did at least do some exercises, took out the trash, and got a lot of water. (The water went out in my building on Friday night, so I went and picked up some.)
Did finish watching a few things of note:
1. Dept. Q on Netflix. Will it get a second season? Forbes thinks so, since Netflix submitted it for the Emmy's and doesn't tend to do that otherwise - also it got a good reception. But honestly, it's Netflix, so who knows?
It's a mixed bag, and I agree with the critics. Excellent performances, Mathew Good is rather brilliant in it, as is the rest of the cast. But, like most of these mystery series - it spends far too much time on the convoluted sadistic Case of the Arc or Lost Case, and not enough on the other mysteries. It's why I didn't like Criminal Minds, CSI, Will Trent, etc. And preferred the Residence, Prime Suspect, and mysteries that tend to be more focused. And the Case of the Season or the Lost Case - is a sadistic affair, that is gloomy, frustrating, dark, and depressing. It gets resolved in a satisfying manner - but it is frustrating getting there, with lots of misleads, not helped by the fact that the audience figures it out before the detectives do. This is a tired set-up and I wish television and mystery writers would stop doing it. But alas...what do I know?
That said? Compelling characters, and I want to see more of them, and I liked them. Also I want more of the series. So...I was like all of the other critics willing to handwave the Lost Case.
2. Season 2 of My Buffy Re-watch
Take aways? Becoming Part II is a lot better than Becoming Part I, mainly for the Spike, Buffy, and Joyce scenes. Also the Drusilla, Jenny, Angel and Giles scenes. It's a lot more fun, and a little less on the campy/cheesy side.
Whistler doesn't work upon reviewing, and I'm glad Max Perlich got himself into a heap of trouble, so wasn't able to continue with either series. (Buffy was a 1990s series, and those series had their share of scandalous actor behavior. Perlich was on Homicide Life on the Streets - a regular, and a reputable actor, but he got himself into a heap of trouble and they jumped over to Glenn Quinn instead when Angel the Series took off.)
There's quite a few, insecure, and insanely arrogant male incel characters in this series? Whistler is the latest. Principal Synder is another one.
Whistler is there - to subvert the hero's journey. The Prophecy or the Hero's Journey in Buffy was that Angel would redeem himself by sacrificing himself to stop Acathla (who opens the vortex to hell). Except, Buffy doesn't die in Prophecy Girl, and Spike helps Buffy defeat Angle. Whistler believes Buffy is alone, as does Angelus/Angel. But she's not - Spike switches sides, Xander arrives to save Giles, and Willow/OZ/Cordelia do the spell to give Angel back his soul in case things go awry. She's not alone.
Quite the opposite actually.
Angel however is alone. Spike betrays him and takes Dru. And his minions turn to dust. Whistler? He's off in the wind.
It's a nice subversion of various tropes.
* The Last Girl or Survivor Trope - where he says you have no one left, and she says, that's not true, there's me? Of course a careful viewer will pick up on the fact that she clearly isn't alone at all - and like most of us, falsely perceives it to be that way. She's not the Last Girl or the Only Girl in All the World - this is constantly undercut during the series. Spike helps her. Angel's right she couldn't have fought them all by herself. Xander helps her. Willow helps her. As do Oz and Cordelia. The writers deftly subvert that trope and kind of mock it in the process.
* The Classical Hero who is prophesied to sacrifice himself to save the world, while the heroine stands by crying for him. Instead she sacrifices him and their love to save the world.
* The Cursed Hero Trope - Where the hero is saved by love, in this case love curses him. He can't be saved by romantic love - it actually results in his love of a soul - because the soul in itself is the curse. Buffy's decision to send him to hell, not just kill him, but send him to hell with the vortex and acathla, goes against the trope. It's also pretty much a declaration by the writers - that these two characters aren't ending up together. Her love can't save him - if anything it dooms them both.
This is the better episode of the two. Also Marsters decision to mimic Head's acting style, paid off in spades for him, his character evolves as a result. I've seen this happen on various serials, where an actor decides to try something new or be more restrained in his acting, and the writers - think, okay, whoa, let's write for that. I honestly think if he'd kept the theatrical style of School Hard through Lie to Me, he'd have been killed off. But he didn't and he wisely got the audience and writers behind him.
Whedon couldn't kill him off, and the show is better for it.
Boreanze is rather good at playing Angelus. He has a fiendish smile. So good, it was a clear they could do a series with him. But the wig really shouldn't have followed him over there.
Gellar's acting chops in these two episodes blew me away. What happened? Did she get burned out? I think so. Same with the other actors. I honestly don't think any of them have done anything else nearly as well, with the possible exception of Anthony Stewart Head. Makes me think that writing and direction and editing really do play a large role in the proceedings.
3. Murderbot I'm about five episodes in? Saw the latest at any rate, and kept falling asleep during it. It's a slow series. The books were too.
It's funny, but there's too much time spent on the space opera parody that the Murderbot is a fan of. Yes, yes, I get what the writers are doing there, but a little parody goes a long ways. I kept going to sleep.
4. Andor - it's almost too political for its own good. And convoluted. Reminds me a little of the second of the Star Wars prequels, which was also very political. I'm enjoying it, but my attention kept drifting today during it, which again may be due to an overall lack of focus on my part.
***
In the 60sF/10sC, wet and rainy. I've stayed in, since I'm a bit under the weather and tired. I'm supposed to go on a tour of Grand Central tomorrow with the big headhoncho, but I may cancel and just hide in my cubicle.
This chest cold is threatening to be annoying. Maybe it's just allergies?
Good news, is it is a short work week. I have Thursday and Friday off. So just have to somehow get through Monday through Wed.
I blame Breaking Bad, whose been under the weather of late. Or the subway.
God knows.
I did not go protest in the No Kings Protests yesterday, outside of the fact that I was feeling poorly and not sleeping well, so exhausted, plus digestive issues (one does not march with digestive issues in a huge city with no easily accessible bathrooms - it's just not done), and bum knees, with a sciatic nerve. The people doing it in their walkers, just protested outside of their homes on the sidewalk, not quite the same thing.
Not that I feel guilty or anything. (well maybe a little).
The official count is 12.1 million. Palantir is collecting data for the evil Empire (aka Trump Administration and his Republican cronies), so various sources have put up protections and aren't re-posting videos, photos, or addresses any longer. Things are starting to get heated in the US, and I'm not quite sure where its headed. I most likely have the same news resources that you all have, so we're kind of in it together?
Between the chest congestion, digestive issues, lack of sleep, sciatic nerve, and the news...I've fallen into a malaise of sorts and am finding it difficult to concentrate. As a result, I didn't get any of the things I intended to do - done this weekend. Oh well, I did at least do some exercises, took out the trash, and got a lot of water. (The water went out in my building on Friday night, so I went and picked up some.)
Did finish watching a few things of note:
1. Dept. Q on Netflix. Will it get a second season? Forbes thinks so, since Netflix submitted it for the Emmy's and doesn't tend to do that otherwise - also it got a good reception. But honestly, it's Netflix, so who knows?
It's a mixed bag, and I agree with the critics. Excellent performances, Mathew Good is rather brilliant in it, as is the rest of the cast. But, like most of these mystery series - it spends far too much time on the convoluted sadistic Case of the Arc or Lost Case, and not enough on the other mysteries. It's why I didn't like Criminal Minds, CSI, Will Trent, etc. And preferred the Residence, Prime Suspect, and mysteries that tend to be more focused. And the Case of the Season or the Lost Case - is a sadistic affair, that is gloomy, frustrating, dark, and depressing. It gets resolved in a satisfying manner - but it is frustrating getting there, with lots of misleads, not helped by the fact that the audience figures it out before the detectives do. This is a tired set-up and I wish television and mystery writers would stop doing it. But alas...what do I know?
That said? Compelling characters, and I want to see more of them, and I liked them. Also I want more of the series. So...I was like all of the other critics willing to handwave the Lost Case.
2. Season 2 of My Buffy Re-watch
Take aways? Becoming Part II is a lot better than Becoming Part I, mainly for the Spike, Buffy, and Joyce scenes. Also the Drusilla, Jenny, Angel and Giles scenes. It's a lot more fun, and a little less on the campy/cheesy side.
Whistler doesn't work upon reviewing, and I'm glad Max Perlich got himself into a heap of trouble, so wasn't able to continue with either series. (Buffy was a 1990s series, and those series had their share of scandalous actor behavior. Perlich was on Homicide Life on the Streets - a regular, and a reputable actor, but he got himself into a heap of trouble and they jumped over to Glenn Quinn instead when Angel the Series took off.)
There's quite a few, insecure, and insanely arrogant male incel characters in this series? Whistler is the latest. Principal Synder is another one.
Whistler is there - to subvert the hero's journey. The Prophecy or the Hero's Journey in Buffy was that Angel would redeem himself by sacrificing himself to stop Acathla (who opens the vortex to hell). Except, Buffy doesn't die in Prophecy Girl, and Spike helps Buffy defeat Angle. Whistler believes Buffy is alone, as does Angelus/Angel. But she's not - Spike switches sides, Xander arrives to save Giles, and Willow/OZ/Cordelia do the spell to give Angel back his soul in case things go awry. She's not alone.
Quite the opposite actually.
Angel however is alone. Spike betrays him and takes Dru. And his minions turn to dust. Whistler? He's off in the wind.
It's a nice subversion of various tropes.
* The Last Girl or Survivor Trope - where he says you have no one left, and she says, that's not true, there's me? Of course a careful viewer will pick up on the fact that she clearly isn't alone at all - and like most of us, falsely perceives it to be that way. She's not the Last Girl or the Only Girl in All the World - this is constantly undercut during the series. Spike helps her. Angel's right she couldn't have fought them all by herself. Xander helps her. Willow helps her. As do Oz and Cordelia. The writers deftly subvert that trope and kind of mock it in the process.
* The Classical Hero who is prophesied to sacrifice himself to save the world, while the heroine stands by crying for him. Instead she sacrifices him and their love to save the world.
* The Cursed Hero Trope - Where the hero is saved by love, in this case love curses him. He can't be saved by romantic love - it actually results in his love of a soul - because the soul in itself is the curse. Buffy's decision to send him to hell, not just kill him, but send him to hell with the vortex and acathla, goes against the trope. It's also pretty much a declaration by the writers - that these two characters aren't ending up together. Her love can't save him - if anything it dooms them both.
This is the better episode of the two. Also Marsters decision to mimic Head's acting style, paid off in spades for him, his character evolves as a result. I've seen this happen on various serials, where an actor decides to try something new or be more restrained in his acting, and the writers - think, okay, whoa, let's write for that. I honestly think if he'd kept the theatrical style of School Hard through Lie to Me, he'd have been killed off. But he didn't and he wisely got the audience and writers behind him.
Whedon couldn't kill him off, and the show is better for it.
Boreanze is rather good at playing Angelus. He has a fiendish smile. So good, it was a clear they could do a series with him. But the wig really shouldn't have followed him over there.
Gellar's acting chops in these two episodes blew me away. What happened? Did she get burned out? I think so. Same with the other actors. I honestly don't think any of them have done anything else nearly as well, with the possible exception of Anthony Stewart Head. Makes me think that writing and direction and editing really do play a large role in the proceedings.
3. Murderbot I'm about five episodes in? Saw the latest at any rate, and kept falling asleep during it. It's a slow series. The books were too.
It's funny, but there's too much time spent on the space opera parody that the Murderbot is a fan of. Yes, yes, I get what the writers are doing there, but a little parody goes a long ways. I kept going to sleep.
4. Andor - it's almost too political for its own good. And convoluted. Reminds me a little of the second of the Star Wars prequels, which was also very political. I'm enjoying it, but my attention kept drifting today during it, which again may be due to an overall lack of focus on my part.
***
In the 60sF/10sC, wet and rainy. I've stayed in, since I'm a bit under the weather and tired. I'm supposed to go on a tour of Grand Central tomorrow with the big headhoncho, but I may cancel and just hide in my cubicle.
This chest cold is threatening to be annoying. Maybe it's just allergies?
Good news, is it is a short work week. I have Thursday and Friday off. So just have to somehow get through Monday through Wed.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-16 10:27 pm (UTC)He'd fired a weapon into the air during a dispute with a neighbor.
Yes, Marsters performance in School Hard through What's My Line was due to the 100 + plays he'd done. He had limited experience in front of a camera (first roles were Northern Exposure). But he started watching Head, and retrained himself in screen acting. Per Marsters, he got away with it on School Hard and early on - because the character was meant to be theaterical and a bit over the top. If you watch the season - his acting changes and is more subdued as we move on in episodes.