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tv and comics, what else is there?
Well, I've given up on Fringe and deleted all the saved episodes from the old DVR tonight to free up space for stuff that will be taped while I'm away. Taking off from Dec 19th to Dec 27th, weather and airlines permitting. There's a storm coming in on Friday, yes, another one, but I'm thinking I'll be okay.
It's funny - they've cancelled five shows I find interesting enough to watch live, and kept three shows that I merely saved to the DVR and have yet to get to. Granted how long these three will last is up in the air, but still.
(The three are Life, Sancturary and the recently deleted Fringe. This does not include the numerous tv shows I don't even bother with or consider unwatchable - I'm looking at you Private Practice and Knight Rider. Or the one's I found mildly entertaining last year and gave up on this year - Samatha Who, 30 Rock, and The Office - this happens alot with sitcoms, I find them mildly amusing even hilarious for about five or six episodes, and then incredibly repetitive and mildly offensive or just plain dull.)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not that upset about these cancelled shows - nor do I expect I'll miss them that much. Well, maybe Lipstick. Pushing Daisies - I knew wouldn't make it more than a season - let alone two. You can thank the writer's strike for it's extended life or blame it for it's protracted one. Up to you. Personally, knowing what I know about tv and most tv watchers - I'm thinking it's the former.
Pushing Daisies just is too stylish for TV. Requires too much from the audience - to connect to it. I didn't know anyone outside of people on lj that watched it - and only about 2% of the people on lj appeared to. So I knew it was dead on arrival and never bothered to emotionally invest in it. I DVR'd it, am doing so now. And I watched it. But it never for some reason pulled at my emotions. Lipstick Jungle on the other hand did pull at my emotions, not sure why, it's not as well written as Pushing nor as well directed and acted. But I identified with the characters on a level that I never did with the ones in Pushing, and it fit more with my fantasies. Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls appealed to me more for some reason. Particularly the former - I identified with George and her compatriots in a way that I never did with Chuck (who sort of grates on my nerves) and Olive (whose voice only does - sort of like the character though - she's spunky).
All this does is prove that tv like other cultural mediums is mainly a subjective experience which unfortunately to continue requires universal appeal. If a high enough percentage of the population is not moved or turned on by a particular show - it's gone. (I've lost count of the number of tv shows I loved and got bumped off the air. At least now - you can buy them on DVD or if you are really lucky, see all the loose ends wrapped up in comic books and a big screen movie. Just a few years ago that was not the case. If a show was cancelled - it was gone, never to be seen again. )
In any case - Majority rules, even if the majority's taste leans to really stupid things like Wide World of Wrestling, the Superbowl, American Idol, and Twilight (the book series not the Buffy villain). People suck sometimes, don't they?
Speaking of sucking and Twilight - picked up the new Buffy comic and Angel comic, which I devoured in a matter of two hours, maybe less. The Buffy comic was better than expected, I admittedly went in with low expectations. But, how many times do they have to tell us that Buffy is alone and miserable and hates her current life? And in how many ways? I know. Let's move on now. But it was fun and quirky. Art - horrid. Made me miss Jeanty. Cartoon art - really only looks good in motion. Next issue - looks like it could be interesting or really annoying - good news is that it's being written by Jane Espenson, bad news is...I don't like the character that is making a guest appearance. There's about five characters in the Buffyverse - I'm not that crazy about, which just keep popping up over and over again like cockroaches. The next issue features one of them.
Angel - After the Fall Issue 15.
OMG - they killed Connor! I can't believe they killed Connor! Actually I can, I just felt like writing that. Of all the characters to kill off - he's actually the only one that would cost them oodles of fan dollars (more people appear to dislike Connor than like him for some reason). Then again, I could be wrong - Connor might still be alive. No one appears to stay dead in Angel. They just become something else.
Also, I have a sneaky suspicion that they may push one of those reset buttons that annoy me to no end. It's why I don't like time travel in fiction - writers use it to manipulate plot lines and arbitrarily change things they don't like. Rarely is it used effectively.
From the spoilers, I've read? I don't think they will do this - since they keep stating, the people who survived the Fall and fight in the aftermath. So my guess is that the writers have something else in mind. What? I'm not sure. I can't decide if Illyria is dead. Illyria's fate - has a lot to do with how they get out of hell. Gunn intended for Illyria to push time backwards - until they were back in a time and place before everything went to hell.
If Illyria isn't dead - that could still happen. It could happen even if she is - because WRH could also do it. They already said something about plucking people out of time lines in order to save them. Can't really think of another way to get them all out of hell. There's of course another option - keeping them in hell - which would allow Whedon to keep the Buffy and Angel universes separate, and keep the gangs separate - without defying logic to do so.
By the way, it's annoying that the only Angel character to cross over to Buffy is going to be Harmony. That's my biggest problem with the Buffy comics - they keep picking my least favorite supporting Buffy characters to make guest appearances, while either summarily killing off or ignoring my favorite ones. Angel, on the other hand, has done a much better job in this regard. Your mileage may differ of course. Enuf said.
The Angel comic was rather interesting. Especially the Spike/Angel dynamic. Spike clearly cared about Connor - he raced to Connor's side and tried, albeit unsuccessfully to stop Gunn.
He also immediately provided back-up to Angel in his fight with Gunn, taking out Tank. Plus,
he knelt by Connor for a while - grief-stricken. The artist did a good job in this issue - the characters facial expressions were apparent. Spike isn't as pretty in this rendering as he is via Urru, but close enough.
Also, they did a good job of delving into the whole Illyria/Fred bit. Apparently, Illyria wants to be Fred. Whether she is Fred or not, isn't clear. It's an interesting interpretation and reminds me a little of Spike - who towards the end of S6, decided he wanted to be William again. Which explains Spike and Illyria's relationship. Wes has a similar response - I think.
Then there's Gunn who like Illyria, wants to be Gunn, a good guy. Not a villian.
All of which are metaphors for Angel's own dualistic state - is he Angelus or Angel? Human or Vamp - Angel himself isn't sure. He knows that Angelus was not the demon, but him, without a conscience. Without inhibitions. It's why he couldn't be with Buffy, that knowledge. And part of him enjoyed being Angelus - enjoyed the power. Angel is a bit - narcissitic and vain.
It's how they write him. Very noirish hero. Each character is in some respect a mirror to him.
At any rate - enjoyable read. Getting late and I'm starting to drift and babble, which I do when I get tired. So signing off for now. Don't know when I'll post again. Tomorrow night if time permits.
Happy Holidays.
It's funny - they've cancelled five shows I find interesting enough to watch live, and kept three shows that I merely saved to the DVR and have yet to get to. Granted how long these three will last is up in the air, but still.
(The three are Life, Sancturary and the recently deleted Fringe. This does not include the numerous tv shows I don't even bother with or consider unwatchable - I'm looking at you Private Practice and Knight Rider. Or the one's I found mildly entertaining last year and gave up on this year - Samatha Who, 30 Rock, and The Office - this happens alot with sitcoms, I find them mildly amusing even hilarious for about five or six episodes, and then incredibly repetitive and mildly offensive or just plain dull.)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not that upset about these cancelled shows - nor do I expect I'll miss them that much. Well, maybe Lipstick. Pushing Daisies - I knew wouldn't make it more than a season - let alone two. You can thank the writer's strike for it's extended life or blame it for it's protracted one. Up to you. Personally, knowing what I know about tv and most tv watchers - I'm thinking it's the former.
Pushing Daisies just is too stylish for TV. Requires too much from the audience - to connect to it. I didn't know anyone outside of people on lj that watched it - and only about 2% of the people on lj appeared to. So I knew it was dead on arrival and never bothered to emotionally invest in it. I DVR'd it, am doing so now. And I watched it. But it never for some reason pulled at my emotions. Lipstick Jungle on the other hand did pull at my emotions, not sure why, it's not as well written as Pushing nor as well directed and acted. But I identified with the characters on a level that I never did with the ones in Pushing, and it fit more with my fantasies. Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls appealed to me more for some reason. Particularly the former - I identified with George and her compatriots in a way that I never did with Chuck (who sort of grates on my nerves) and Olive (whose voice only does - sort of like the character though - she's spunky).
All this does is prove that tv like other cultural mediums is mainly a subjective experience which unfortunately to continue requires universal appeal. If a high enough percentage of the population is not moved or turned on by a particular show - it's gone. (I've lost count of the number of tv shows I loved and got bumped off the air. At least now - you can buy them on DVD or if you are really lucky, see all the loose ends wrapped up in comic books and a big screen movie. Just a few years ago that was not the case. If a show was cancelled - it was gone, never to be seen again. )
In any case - Majority rules, even if the majority's taste leans to really stupid things like Wide World of Wrestling, the Superbowl, American Idol, and Twilight (the book series not the Buffy villain). People suck sometimes, don't they?
Speaking of sucking and Twilight - picked up the new Buffy comic and Angel comic, which I devoured in a matter of two hours, maybe less. The Buffy comic was better than expected, I admittedly went in with low expectations. But, how many times do they have to tell us that Buffy is alone and miserable and hates her current life? And in how many ways? I know. Let's move on now. But it was fun and quirky. Art - horrid. Made me miss Jeanty. Cartoon art - really only looks good in motion. Next issue - looks like it could be interesting or really annoying - good news is that it's being written by Jane Espenson, bad news is...I don't like the character that is making a guest appearance. There's about five characters in the Buffyverse - I'm not that crazy about, which just keep popping up over and over again like cockroaches. The next issue features one of them.
Angel - After the Fall Issue 15.
OMG - they killed Connor! I can't believe they killed Connor! Actually I can, I just felt like writing that. Of all the characters to kill off - he's actually the only one that would cost them oodles of fan dollars (more people appear to dislike Connor than like him for some reason). Then again, I could be wrong - Connor might still be alive. No one appears to stay dead in Angel. They just become something else.
Also, I have a sneaky suspicion that they may push one of those reset buttons that annoy me to no end. It's why I don't like time travel in fiction - writers use it to manipulate plot lines and arbitrarily change things they don't like. Rarely is it used effectively.
From the spoilers, I've read? I don't think they will do this - since they keep stating, the people who survived the Fall and fight in the aftermath. So my guess is that the writers have something else in mind. What? I'm not sure. I can't decide if Illyria is dead. Illyria's fate - has a lot to do with how they get out of hell. Gunn intended for Illyria to push time backwards - until they were back in a time and place before everything went to hell.
If Illyria isn't dead - that could still happen. It could happen even if she is - because WRH could also do it. They already said something about plucking people out of time lines in order to save them. Can't really think of another way to get them all out of hell. There's of course another option - keeping them in hell - which would allow Whedon to keep the Buffy and Angel universes separate, and keep the gangs separate - without defying logic to do so.
By the way, it's annoying that the only Angel character to cross over to Buffy is going to be Harmony. That's my biggest problem with the Buffy comics - they keep picking my least favorite supporting Buffy characters to make guest appearances, while either summarily killing off or ignoring my favorite ones. Angel, on the other hand, has done a much better job in this regard. Your mileage may differ of course. Enuf said.
The Angel comic was rather interesting. Especially the Spike/Angel dynamic. Spike clearly cared about Connor - he raced to Connor's side and tried, albeit unsuccessfully to stop Gunn.
He also immediately provided back-up to Angel in his fight with Gunn, taking out Tank. Plus,
he knelt by Connor for a while - grief-stricken. The artist did a good job in this issue - the characters facial expressions were apparent. Spike isn't as pretty in this rendering as he is via Urru, but close enough.
Also, they did a good job of delving into the whole Illyria/Fred bit. Apparently, Illyria wants to be Fred. Whether she is Fred or not, isn't clear. It's an interesting interpretation and reminds me a little of Spike - who towards the end of S6, decided he wanted to be William again. Which explains Spike and Illyria's relationship. Wes has a similar response - I think.
Then there's Gunn who like Illyria, wants to be Gunn, a good guy. Not a villian.
All of which are metaphors for Angel's own dualistic state - is he Angelus or Angel? Human or Vamp - Angel himself isn't sure. He knows that Angelus was not the demon, but him, without a conscience. Without inhibitions. It's why he couldn't be with Buffy, that knowledge. And part of him enjoyed being Angelus - enjoyed the power. Angel is a bit - narcissitic and vain.
It's how they write him. Very noirish hero. Each character is in some respect a mirror to him.
At any rate - enjoyable read. Getting late and I'm starting to drift and babble, which I do when I get tired. So signing off for now. Don't know when I'll post again. Tomorrow night if time permits.
Happy Holidays.
no subject
I actually really enjoy 'Life' (the DVRed show you haven't watched yet)... but they did cut back on the Zen Buddhist fun, but I still love the characters....
I'm really enjoying both comic book series, Angel is tighter and more exciting (and I actually cried for a second over Connor), but I am having fun w/Buffy too. I expect actual plot twists and surprises from both of them (I avoid all spoilers/previews so that may be why I'm easily fooled).
Oh Life is on... I must go watch it...
no subject
Merry Xmas.
Weather and airline gods permitting - I'm off bright and eary tomorrow.
no subject
And a great 2009
no subject
I don't think that completely follows, though. Since it is such an expensive show to film, if it weren't doing well enough last year to warrant a renewal, then why did they renew it? It seems like the writer's strike would have been a perfect excuse to simply not continue a show that wasn't doing well. Last year, it was enough of a hit to bring back and spend a lot of money on.
no subject
1. ABC didn't have anything in the hopper to immediately replace it with - because of the strike.
2. It wasn't doing "great" - never made it in the top 20, but it was doing well enough to warrant a second chance after the strike. Same deal with Dirty Sexy and
with Lipstick Jungle.
3. Of the three ABC shows, Private Practice was the only one to keep enough of it's original percentage in a key demographic group to get picked up.
4. It had critical applause and emmy nods - and that often, not always gets shows a second chance.
It's about money and how much they get via advertising.
Critical praise is nice but it doesn't pay the rent.