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shadowkatI don't know why, but I've never been able to fall in love with the Doctor Who series. I like it. But I don't lovvve it. Why this is...I'll never know. It's weird what I fall in love with. There's only a handful of tv series that I've fallen in love with - MASH, Buffy, Farscape, Battle Star Galatica (both versions), Kimba, The Monkeyees (I know), and Battle of the Planets. Very odd. Although did obviously fall enough in love with Game of Thrones to buy the first season on DVD. And
I own the first season of ...Veronica Mars on DVD. Plus four seasons of Angel (skipping S3). And I do own the 5th Season of The NEW Doctor Who on DVD....so there is that, I guess. What can I say? I'm a tv whore? Been tempted by the DVD set of The West Wing. Love The West Wing. Did I tell you that they did a skit from The West Wing as a church reading last Sunday? It was part of the Minister's Sermon.
Anywho...Vamp Diaries aka The Vampire Diaries or TVD was better than expected this week.
Tempted to do a two-parter review. Half snark/half serious, because there were actually some juicy character bits. Also EW did an interview with producer/head writer Julie Plec on Vamp Diaries characters...
First things first...Vamp Diaries Review
1. So, we finally have a name for Professor/Witch Doctor Guy - it is Atticus Shane. Apparently someody is a fan of the films To Kill a Mockingbird and Shane, and felt the need to merge the two heroes names? Oh I know, Julie Plec thought after watching them back to back, we'll name the new character Atticus Shane. (Still more innovative than Billy. Vamp Diaries is better at character names than Whedon and Buffy were...I'll give it that. Not that I'm stellar at it. Which may be why I'm impressed?)
But an admittedly interesting bit of mythology comes with Atticus Shane. (I keep wanting to call him Atticus Finch for some bizarre reason.) He's clearly an anthropologist not a theologian. And he tells the story of Silas - who is a powerful witch that creates a spell for immortality, but instead of giving the immortality to the witch helping him to obtain it - he chooses to give it to another women. Pissed, the witch Katynia (??) decides to kill his significant other, and imprison him for eternity in a tomb. Nice. Gives a whole new meaning to the term a woman scorned.
(The writers of Vamp Diaries excel at coming up with cool bits of mythology. Makes the frustrated anthropologist/mythologist in me very happy. Actually I think they are also quite good at exposition. Other tv writers should take notes. )
Any bets that Atticus Finch is either Silas or after what Silas came up with? I've also decided that this cure that the vampire hunters possess isn't just to make vampires human, but to make humans immortal. Or possibly bring back Silas. Who Atticus admits was frightening, more so than Katynia.
Hee. Vamp Diaries is doing The Mummy! So cool.
2. Meanwhile, April drops an interesting tid-bit regarding Atticus Shane that normally dumb as a doornob, Matt, picks up on - impressing both Damon and well, me.
Matt: I know I'm not your favorite person and you don't like me very much. But April dropped some info on her Dad and Atticus Shane that I have to share with someone.
Damon lifts his brows...(okay interested, as am I)
Matt: According to April - her father knew Atticus Shane. And I checked the logs and right before the gas explosion he made several calls to Professor Shane. Several. Also...Shane knows far too much about the vampire hunter curse - which in Mystic Falls is not just creepy, but a little too convienent.
Damon passes Matt a bourbon...and decides to agree. As do I. YAY, show! You just made Matt interesting! And Smart! Also gave April something to do!
Way to go with the exposition!
3. Oh dear, Elena must be a damsel for another week. But never fear...it will be over soon. No she won't kill herself. (We should be so lucky. But no, alas, she is the star of the series after all - if they killed her off...where would we be? Show you must stop teasing me on this front. I know you won't kill her - it now becomes a game, how will Elena get out of this problem or more likely, who will save Elena this time and how?)
It was a group effort. Which it admittedly usually is. And this is getting old. Seriously Elena you are the most self-absorbed bitca on the planet. I agree with Katherine. Whiny.
That said...I get it. And it is an admittedly interesting take on suicide. Also the murder trope.I.e - the hero/heroine never kills anyone who is human or the villain, unless they are a vampire or already dead. It's a dicey trope and doesn't quite always work. In fact most of the time, it feels like the writers are attempting to have their cake and eat it too - in short dishonest.
Examples?
* Buffy - the woman is killing vampires and demons right and left. Then all of a sudden we find vampires aren't necessarily clearly evil, and some demons aren't, and there are humans that are - which of course she doesn't kill and it all gets murky, and we start wondering as does Buffy is she just a killer too? This actually worked better on Buffy. Whedon for what it is worth did a decent job of traversing this dicey moral ground. Since Buffy leaps from the black and white morality of teen hood and Giles' authority...to the more grey bits of adult hood, where she begins to see that even Giles isn't stalwart and true and always wearing a White Hat. The episode Lie to Me in Buffy depicts this quite well, forshadowing what is to come.
* Comic books - superheros can not kill villains. They arrest them. If they kill them they feel guilty. But this gets dicey...in that, if they killed the villain lots of innocent people would still live. But which villains do you kill? Some can be redeemed?
Sort of like real life.
Problem with the death penalty is it is never cut and dry.
On Vamp Diaries...Elena is upset that she killed someone and worse enjoyed it. The Vampire Hunter Curse plagues her...because it works on that feeling of guilt and exploits it. The dicey bit about the episode is...you are not quite sure what the message is exactly. Also, how exactly is Jeremy's actions good? To be fair, they don't state that they are. Any more than they state Caroline and Stefane's are in this instance. As Tyler tells Caroline - you sacrificed a friend for a friend. I told Chris, we had his back. And you killed him. And worse, you agreed to date Klaus for it to happen. All to save Elena, as if Elena's life mattered more than Chris'?
Tyler isn't wrong. And this isn't the first time they've sacrificed others lives for Elena. But I doubt Elena knows what they did. They haven't exactly told her. Nor is she directly responsible for it. Caroline/Bonnie/Klaus/Jeremy/Stefan/Damon made that decision for their own selfish reasons.
And the show does demonstrate how killing someone has consequences...or a chain reaction. Killing Vamp Hunter Connor may have seemed to be a good idea at the time...but it had nasty consequences.
It was too easy. But it was admittedly in self-defense. So murky.
I had issues with her guilt towards killing Connor. Mainly because she doesn't show any guilt over other things - like Stefan's killing of innocent women while they were dating and he went Ripper on her. Or Damon's for that matter. Or the deaths that are directly linked to her own survival unless of course they happen to be people she loved or cared for. But it may be best not to think too hard about this series. And admittedly what I like most about it is that it requires little thought. I want pulpy fun right now.
The show feels inconsistent on this point. If you are going to make her guilty about Vamp Hunter Connor...then what about those other people? Then again, she wasn't directly responsible for their deaths and there is a huge difference between killing someone yourself and seeing someone else do it. If Damon had killed Vamp Hunter Connor - it wouldn't have bothered her - because - hello, no visions. (Actually it may have been more interesting to see Damon haunted by Connor's ghost).
So did she really feel guilty or was that just the curse? And was it guilt or that depression/suicidal tendency she's been flirting with.
What may have changed in Elena...which pulls her towards Damon and away from Stefan, is a desire for life not death. Ironic that. She's a bit..darker. Wants more. Wants to let loose. To be stronger. Is less interested in hiding, playing damsel, or dying. Having now, actually died, she seems to want to live?
Don't know. Was more interesting than expected at any rate. And the shout-outs to Buffy were rather humorous..."chosen one", "potentials", "Vamp Hunter Connor"...hee.
4. Damon continues to crack wise and with great eyebrow action. While Stefan just broods. Did like the Damon/Bonnie and Damon/Matt action as well. Also that scene with Jeremy was great.
Best lines?
Elena (after stabbing Jeremy in the throat and killing him - hee, she's even with Damon now, he broke Jeremy's neck): What do I say to him after he wakes up?
Damon: Thank you for not ditching your ring after wearing it drove Alaric insane?
Bonnie: We have a way to save Elena, you must kill a vampire.
Jeremy: Oh good. I'll kill Damon.
Damon: Hold off Van Helsing. We'll find you one.
Poor Chris. He got to be red-shirt this week. Personally, I'd have preferred Hayley, but she's not a vampire or hybrid, so never mind. Is it just me or is the show trying to get rid of the hybrid population?
5. I don't care what anyone says ...Vamp Hunter Conner was hot, so too is Atticus Shane, who admittedly has a better name. (While Whedon has an affection for the name Billy, Williamson and Plec just steal from other writers.)
6. Caroline, darling, now that Tyler has sort of/kinda dumped you, can you please have that hot blistering affair we all know you want to have with Nic-Klaus? Come on. He's so much hotter than Tyler. Yes, I'm starting to ship this against my will, folks. Help.
Meanwhile can someone unstake Rebecca - so she and April can have that fling?
7. Oh Well, Jeremy...so much for keeping the tattoo thing secret. Probably should not have told Matt, because then Damon found out...and well now you are a Vampire Hunter. That is not going to end well. On the other hand - at least you have a story. Granted it's still all about Elena, but what the hey?
Elena: You compelled Jeremy...
Klaus: Probably not an issue after you stabbed him in the neck
Poor Jeremy. Has to have a complex. This is what happens when you take your sister to the hospital in the middle of the night and entrust her to a doc who curse people with vampire blood.
Overall...rather entertained. Which is of the good.
I'm a weird person. Some people get bored watching tv at home. I get bored sitting in bars listening to chatter.
Before I go into the next section. EW mag had three interesting things of note.
1. EW states Twilight changed books, tv, and film. Eh. I disagree. Twilight's just a pop culture trend/fad. It'll go the way of the dodo in ten years. It would have gone away sooner, but the movies sort of extended it. I personally think Harry Potter will last longer.
They say that Twilight made Hollywood embrace YA film and books. But Harry Potter actually did that. IF it weren't for Harry Potter, we most likely would not have Twilight. Or Hunger Games for that matter. Also they state Twilight jump-started the vampire craze - uh no, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was ahead of it, and I think it inspired Twilight. It also inspired Smith's Vampire Dairies, which started as books. Also the whole vampire bit has been around for a long time. Anne Rice was the one who revolutionized the genre with Interview with the Vampire - where she created world-weary, off human blood and brooding Louis. Which gave birth to Nick at Night, Forever Knight, The Kindred, Angel...et al. And in books - sorry there have been best-selling sexy fanfic books before the Twilight fad or 50 Shades of Grey. You just weren't aware of them. Fanfic has been around forever. All EL James and the Twilight fanficcers did differently was discover e-publishing via Book Cafe Express. But their fanfic is not all that different than the Buffy stuff. 50 Shades was a lot like Nautibitz's CRAVE - which is a Buffy fanfic and a whole lot better written. The media is into spin and hyperbole. No one more than EW.
2. Star Wars bought by Disney, who has turned into a bit of a frightening mega corporation - like a big shark swallowing a lot of swordfish and Little Nemos. 45 year old me, who is cynical, is bemused. 25 year old me is skittish. 12 year old me is sort of thrilled? Hey, I liked Disney at 12.
I was young and wet-behind the ears.
At any rate what amused me the most was the excitement expressed by the aging, and I do mean aging, stars of the original three movies - Star Wars - New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Apparently Lucas invited Fisher and Hamill to his house to break the news in person.
We're going to do the last three films - or chapters VIII onwards, after Return of the Jedi.
Harrison Ford, who in 2010 was less than thrilled by the idea of a reboot or more films in the franchise, at 70 - can hardly wait for them to film. Makes sense...he can't get the action roles any longer, the old guy is bored. Finally something to do. Hey, if they won't hire me to play the hot lead, there's always a Han Solo cameo. Poor Dude, no matter how many films he does, he'll always be Han Solo and Indy Jones. Fisher and Hamill are equally thrilled - most likely for the same reasons. It's ironic, really, if these films came to fruitation 10-15 years ago, they wouldn't have been interested, well except for Hamill who has made a career doing voice-overs.
Good news? The script writer isn't Lucas. It's the guy who wrote Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine. Nor is the director. Also Kathleen Kennedy is in charge. Which also may explain why the original stars are excited...Lucas wasn't exactly known for being an actor's director. Robots loved him. Actors...not so much.
From a fan perspective? I wouldn't mind new episodes. But am admittedly ambivalent. The prequels sort of killed my fandom or love of Star Wars, along with Lucas's constant re-editing and releasing of the originals. Whedon killed Buffy for me with his comics. Lucas killed Star Wars with the prequels. Note to creators and artists out there? You need to know when to let a thing go.
At any rate, after the prequels, I figure Disney can't hurt Star Wars worse than Lucas did. OTOH...the article states that Lucas still has his hand in the pot...some sort of creative consulting credit? This is more worrisome than it should be.
3. Vamp Diaries...the EW interview with Julie Plec:
"Vampire Boss Julie Plec Takes your Questions" (Interestingly enough some of these same questions could have been asked to Joss Whedon by Buffy fans, not that we did, nor that he'd answer them...but still it is worth noting.)
I have a hard time with the saint Stefan vs. demon Damon dynamic. Damon may have impulse-control issues, but he never killed an Entire Migrant Village.
(Okay when did Stefan kill a Migrant Village? I clearly either missed or forgot an episode in there somewhere. But what struck me as humorous, was you could easily replace the names Stefan and Damon with Angelus and Spike...without breaking a sweat or smirk. )
Plec: Damon is a character who needs to be continually judged, so he can absorb that criticism and make decisions for himself about the kind of man and vampire he wants to be (ie. he has no moral compass of his own and someone has to help him? Or he just needs to grow up? Or learn how to use it?) Stefan is a ...walking consequence of his actions...to pile more onto that seems almost unfair. (In other words, he feels guilty enough as it is, he really doesn't need help. Except here's the thing what good is guilt if it doesn't motivate you to change or control your actions and just mope around and feel sorry for yourself?)
I am hating me some Elena. Her constant whining and blaming others for her problems is getting old
(Hmmm...not just me then. Good to know. Flist loves her. So I have to be a bit careful. Although I do think the above comment is a tad extreme. I don't hate the character. She's what 18? They tend to be like that. Generally speaking.)
Plec: Elena's struggle with [being a vampire] is very much firmly rooted in her character and who she was as a human...That being said, things take a very significant turn for her in the next couple of weeks, and we're going to be moving past the "Oh poor me" and moving forward into an entirely new predicament.
(Oh thank heavens. Was getting tired of whiny/damsel Elena who can't make up her mind. Nice to see a more pro-active character.)
At what point is this love triangle going to end? It seems unfair to both Stefan and Damon.
(Yes, well it is a supernatural soap opera, what do you expect? Love triangles tend to be thing in soaps. It'll end when the series ends...well, if we're lucky. Sometimes they just continue...going on and on and on...into eternity, worse than the energizer bunny. Just ask Buffy fans.)
Plec: [Laughs] Maybe when the show's over...[hey, at least she's honest!] The important thing is that these two brothers are on a journey with this girl...and we're just in the middle of that journey.
(People it would be boring if she picked one of them. The love triangle fuels the series. Hello. Welcome to Soap Operas - they are all about love triangles.)
Why haven't the writers put any vamp sex in this season?
(Wait. I thought they had? Are we watching the same series...)
Plec: Stay Tuned
(Most likely November 29.)
Elena is perhaps the messiest vampire eater in history. Why is she always covered in blood after a feed? Bring a napkin, woman.
(Actually I thought that was realistic. Seemed weird that they were so clean. Buffy did a better job with this sort of thing.)
Plec: She'll carry a thing of Wet Wipes in her pocket. [going forward)
(Certainly saves on the makeup.)
What is going on with Bonnie always being the Debbie Downer of vampire fun?!
(Well she did lose her Mom, all her lovers, and her Gran to vampires. I mean seriously, would you like them if they killed your family, your friends, your lovers, and were constantly making you do their bidding? I don't think so. )
Plec: From the beginning Bonnie has been the one to say, "Hey, wait a minute, let's not be so quick to embrace vampires." ...As much as it's not necessarily popular, it's consistent for her character and it's who she is.
(It's also realistic and sane. People who embrace vampires are idiots. Honestly. These are the human version of spiders, people. Yes, I can enjoy the fictional stuff, but seriously, she'd have to be loony to embrace them. They've destroyed her life..)
Klaus likes Caroline, but there is virtually no interaction between them.
Plec: November and December are going to be big months for people asking these questions.
(Clearly this interview occurred prior to this week's episode.)
Bring Alaric Back!!! WAHHH!!!
(Apparently I'm not the only one who misses the big lug? Well, me and Damon at any rate?)
Plec: ANYTIME!!!
(Is that a promise? Because occasional ghostly visits is not good enough.)
I own the first season of ...Veronica Mars on DVD. Plus four seasons of Angel (skipping S3). And I do own the 5th Season of The NEW Doctor Who on DVD....so there is that, I guess. What can I say? I'm a tv whore? Been tempted by the DVD set of The West Wing. Love The West Wing. Did I tell you that they did a skit from The West Wing as a church reading last Sunday? It was part of the Minister's Sermon.
Anywho...Vamp Diaries aka The Vampire Diaries or TVD was better than expected this week.
Tempted to do a two-parter review. Half snark/half serious, because there were actually some juicy character bits. Also EW did an interview with producer/head writer Julie Plec on Vamp Diaries characters...
First things first...Vamp Diaries Review
1. So, we finally have a name for Professor/Witch Doctor Guy - it is Atticus Shane. Apparently someody is a fan of the films To Kill a Mockingbird and Shane, and felt the need to merge the two heroes names? Oh I know, Julie Plec thought after watching them back to back, we'll name the new character Atticus Shane. (Still more innovative than Billy. Vamp Diaries is better at character names than Whedon and Buffy were...I'll give it that. Not that I'm stellar at it. Which may be why I'm impressed?)
But an admittedly interesting bit of mythology comes with Atticus Shane. (I keep wanting to call him Atticus Finch for some bizarre reason.) He's clearly an anthropologist not a theologian. And he tells the story of Silas - who is a powerful witch that creates a spell for immortality, but instead of giving the immortality to the witch helping him to obtain it - he chooses to give it to another women. Pissed, the witch Katynia (??) decides to kill his significant other, and imprison him for eternity in a tomb. Nice. Gives a whole new meaning to the term a woman scorned.
(The writers of Vamp Diaries excel at coming up with cool bits of mythology. Makes the frustrated anthropologist/mythologist in me very happy. Actually I think they are also quite good at exposition. Other tv writers should take notes. )
Any bets that Atticus Finch is either Silas or after what Silas came up with? I've also decided that this cure that the vampire hunters possess isn't just to make vampires human, but to make humans immortal. Or possibly bring back Silas. Who Atticus admits was frightening, more so than Katynia.
Hee. Vamp Diaries is doing The Mummy! So cool.
2. Meanwhile, April drops an interesting tid-bit regarding Atticus Shane that normally dumb as a doornob, Matt, picks up on - impressing both Damon and well, me.
Matt: I know I'm not your favorite person and you don't like me very much. But April dropped some info on her Dad and Atticus Shane that I have to share with someone.
Damon lifts his brows...(okay interested, as am I)
Matt: According to April - her father knew Atticus Shane. And I checked the logs and right before the gas explosion he made several calls to Professor Shane. Several. Also...Shane knows far too much about the vampire hunter curse - which in Mystic Falls is not just creepy, but a little too convienent.
Damon passes Matt a bourbon...and decides to agree. As do I. YAY, show! You just made Matt interesting! And Smart! Also gave April something to do!
Way to go with the exposition!
3. Oh dear, Elena must be a damsel for another week. But never fear...it will be over soon. No she won't kill herself. (We should be so lucky. But no, alas, she is the star of the series after all - if they killed her off...where would we be? Show you must stop teasing me on this front. I know you won't kill her - it now becomes a game, how will Elena get out of this problem or more likely, who will save Elena this time and how?)
It was a group effort. Which it admittedly usually is. And this is getting old. Seriously Elena you are the most self-absorbed bitca on the planet. I agree with Katherine. Whiny.
That said...I get it. And it is an admittedly interesting take on suicide. Also the murder trope.I.e - the hero/heroine never kills anyone who is human or the villain, unless they are a vampire or already dead. It's a dicey trope and doesn't quite always work. In fact most of the time, it feels like the writers are attempting to have their cake and eat it too - in short dishonest.
Examples?
* Buffy - the woman is killing vampires and demons right and left. Then all of a sudden we find vampires aren't necessarily clearly evil, and some demons aren't, and there are humans that are - which of course she doesn't kill and it all gets murky, and we start wondering as does Buffy is she just a killer too? This actually worked better on Buffy. Whedon for what it is worth did a decent job of traversing this dicey moral ground. Since Buffy leaps from the black and white morality of teen hood and Giles' authority...to the more grey bits of adult hood, where she begins to see that even Giles isn't stalwart and true and always wearing a White Hat. The episode Lie to Me in Buffy depicts this quite well, forshadowing what is to come.
* Comic books - superheros can not kill villains. They arrest them. If they kill them they feel guilty. But this gets dicey...in that, if they killed the villain lots of innocent people would still live. But which villains do you kill? Some can be redeemed?
Sort of like real life.
Problem with the death penalty is it is never cut and dry.
On Vamp Diaries...Elena is upset that she killed someone and worse enjoyed it. The Vampire Hunter Curse plagues her...because it works on that feeling of guilt and exploits it. The dicey bit about the episode is...you are not quite sure what the message is exactly. Also, how exactly is Jeremy's actions good? To be fair, they don't state that they are. Any more than they state Caroline and Stefane's are in this instance. As Tyler tells Caroline - you sacrificed a friend for a friend. I told Chris, we had his back. And you killed him. And worse, you agreed to date Klaus for it to happen. All to save Elena, as if Elena's life mattered more than Chris'?
Tyler isn't wrong. And this isn't the first time they've sacrificed others lives for Elena. But I doubt Elena knows what they did. They haven't exactly told her. Nor is she directly responsible for it. Caroline/Bonnie/Klaus/Jeremy/Stefan/Damon made that decision for their own selfish reasons.
And the show does demonstrate how killing someone has consequences...or a chain reaction. Killing Vamp Hunter Connor may have seemed to be a good idea at the time...but it had nasty consequences.
It was too easy. But it was admittedly in self-defense. So murky.
I had issues with her guilt towards killing Connor. Mainly because she doesn't show any guilt over other things - like Stefan's killing of innocent women while they were dating and he went Ripper on her. Or Damon's for that matter. Or the deaths that are directly linked to her own survival unless of course they happen to be people she loved or cared for. But it may be best not to think too hard about this series. And admittedly what I like most about it is that it requires little thought. I want pulpy fun right now.
The show feels inconsistent on this point. If you are going to make her guilty about Vamp Hunter Connor...then what about those other people? Then again, she wasn't directly responsible for their deaths and there is a huge difference between killing someone yourself and seeing someone else do it. If Damon had killed Vamp Hunter Connor - it wouldn't have bothered her - because - hello, no visions. (Actually it may have been more interesting to see Damon haunted by Connor's ghost).
So did she really feel guilty or was that just the curse? And was it guilt or that depression/suicidal tendency she's been flirting with.
What may have changed in Elena...which pulls her towards Damon and away from Stefan, is a desire for life not death. Ironic that. She's a bit..darker. Wants more. Wants to let loose. To be stronger. Is less interested in hiding, playing damsel, or dying. Having now, actually died, she seems to want to live?
Don't know. Was more interesting than expected at any rate. And the shout-outs to Buffy were rather humorous..."chosen one", "potentials", "Vamp Hunter Connor"...hee.
4. Damon continues to crack wise and with great eyebrow action. While Stefan just broods. Did like the Damon/Bonnie and Damon/Matt action as well. Also that scene with Jeremy was great.
Best lines?
Elena (after stabbing Jeremy in the throat and killing him - hee, she's even with Damon now, he broke Jeremy's neck): What do I say to him after he wakes up?
Damon: Thank you for not ditching your ring after wearing it drove Alaric insane?
Bonnie: We have a way to save Elena, you must kill a vampire.
Jeremy: Oh good. I'll kill Damon.
Damon: Hold off Van Helsing. We'll find you one.
Poor Chris. He got to be red-shirt this week. Personally, I'd have preferred Hayley, but she's not a vampire or hybrid, so never mind. Is it just me or is the show trying to get rid of the hybrid population?
5. I don't care what anyone says ...Vamp Hunter Conner was hot, so too is Atticus Shane, who admittedly has a better name. (While Whedon has an affection for the name Billy, Williamson and Plec just steal from other writers.)
6. Caroline, darling, now that Tyler has sort of/kinda dumped you, can you please have that hot blistering affair we all know you want to have with Nic-Klaus? Come on. He's so much hotter than Tyler. Yes, I'm starting to ship this against my will, folks. Help.
Meanwhile can someone unstake Rebecca - so she and April can have that fling?
7. Oh Well, Jeremy...so much for keeping the tattoo thing secret. Probably should not have told Matt, because then Damon found out...and well now you are a Vampire Hunter. That is not going to end well. On the other hand - at least you have a story. Granted it's still all about Elena, but what the hey?
Elena: You compelled Jeremy...
Klaus: Probably not an issue after you stabbed him in the neck
Poor Jeremy. Has to have a complex. This is what happens when you take your sister to the hospital in the middle of the night and entrust her to a doc who curse people with vampire blood.
Overall...rather entertained. Which is of the good.
I'm a weird person. Some people get bored watching tv at home. I get bored sitting in bars listening to chatter.
Before I go into the next section. EW mag had three interesting things of note.
1. EW states Twilight changed books, tv, and film. Eh. I disagree. Twilight's just a pop culture trend/fad. It'll go the way of the dodo in ten years. It would have gone away sooner, but the movies sort of extended it. I personally think Harry Potter will last longer.
They say that Twilight made Hollywood embrace YA film and books. But Harry Potter actually did that. IF it weren't for Harry Potter, we most likely would not have Twilight. Or Hunger Games for that matter. Also they state Twilight jump-started the vampire craze - uh no, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was ahead of it, and I think it inspired Twilight. It also inspired Smith's Vampire Dairies, which started as books. Also the whole vampire bit has been around for a long time. Anne Rice was the one who revolutionized the genre with Interview with the Vampire - where she created world-weary, off human blood and brooding Louis. Which gave birth to Nick at Night, Forever Knight, The Kindred, Angel...et al. And in books - sorry there have been best-selling sexy fanfic books before the Twilight fad or 50 Shades of Grey. You just weren't aware of them. Fanfic has been around forever. All EL James and the Twilight fanficcers did differently was discover e-publishing via Book Cafe Express. But their fanfic is not all that different than the Buffy stuff. 50 Shades was a lot like Nautibitz's CRAVE - which is a Buffy fanfic and a whole lot better written. The media is into spin and hyperbole. No one more than EW.
2. Star Wars bought by Disney, who has turned into a bit of a frightening mega corporation - like a big shark swallowing a lot of swordfish and Little Nemos. 45 year old me, who is cynical, is bemused. 25 year old me is skittish. 12 year old me is sort of thrilled? Hey, I liked Disney at 12.
I was young and wet-behind the ears.
At any rate what amused me the most was the excitement expressed by the aging, and I do mean aging, stars of the original three movies - Star Wars - New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Apparently Lucas invited Fisher and Hamill to his house to break the news in person.
We're going to do the last three films - or chapters VIII onwards, after Return of the Jedi.
Harrison Ford, who in 2010 was less than thrilled by the idea of a reboot or more films in the franchise, at 70 - can hardly wait for them to film. Makes sense...he can't get the action roles any longer, the old guy is bored. Finally something to do. Hey, if they won't hire me to play the hot lead, there's always a Han Solo cameo. Poor Dude, no matter how many films he does, he'll always be Han Solo and Indy Jones. Fisher and Hamill are equally thrilled - most likely for the same reasons. It's ironic, really, if these films came to fruitation 10-15 years ago, they wouldn't have been interested, well except for Hamill who has made a career doing voice-overs.
Good news? The script writer isn't Lucas. It's the guy who wrote Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine. Nor is the director. Also Kathleen Kennedy is in charge. Which also may explain why the original stars are excited...Lucas wasn't exactly known for being an actor's director. Robots loved him. Actors...not so much.
From a fan perspective? I wouldn't mind new episodes. But am admittedly ambivalent. The prequels sort of killed my fandom or love of Star Wars, along with Lucas's constant re-editing and releasing of the originals. Whedon killed Buffy for me with his comics. Lucas killed Star Wars with the prequels. Note to creators and artists out there? You need to know when to let a thing go.
At any rate, after the prequels, I figure Disney can't hurt Star Wars worse than Lucas did. OTOH...the article states that Lucas still has his hand in the pot...some sort of creative consulting credit? This is more worrisome than it should be.
3. Vamp Diaries...the EW interview with Julie Plec:
"Vampire Boss Julie Plec Takes your Questions" (Interestingly enough some of these same questions could have been asked to Joss Whedon by Buffy fans, not that we did, nor that he'd answer them...but still it is worth noting.)
I have a hard time with the saint Stefan vs. demon Damon dynamic. Damon may have impulse-control issues, but he never killed an Entire Migrant Village.
(Okay when did Stefan kill a Migrant Village? I clearly either missed or forgot an episode in there somewhere. But what struck me as humorous, was you could easily replace the names Stefan and Damon with Angelus and Spike...without breaking a sweat or smirk. )
Plec: Damon is a character who needs to be continually judged, so he can absorb that criticism and make decisions for himself about the kind of man and vampire he wants to be (ie. he has no moral compass of his own and someone has to help him? Or he just needs to grow up? Or learn how to use it?) Stefan is a ...walking consequence of his actions...to pile more onto that seems almost unfair. (In other words, he feels guilty enough as it is, he really doesn't need help. Except here's the thing what good is guilt if it doesn't motivate you to change or control your actions and just mope around and feel sorry for yourself?)
I am hating me some Elena. Her constant whining and blaming others for her problems is getting old
(Hmmm...not just me then. Good to know. Flist loves her. So I have to be a bit careful. Although I do think the above comment is a tad extreme. I don't hate the character. She's what 18? They tend to be like that. Generally speaking.)
Plec: Elena's struggle with [being a vampire] is very much firmly rooted in her character and who she was as a human...That being said, things take a very significant turn for her in the next couple of weeks, and we're going to be moving past the "Oh poor me" and moving forward into an entirely new predicament.
(Oh thank heavens. Was getting tired of whiny/damsel Elena who can't make up her mind. Nice to see a more pro-active character.)
At what point is this love triangle going to end? It seems unfair to both Stefan and Damon.
(Yes, well it is a supernatural soap opera, what do you expect? Love triangles tend to be thing in soaps. It'll end when the series ends...well, if we're lucky. Sometimes they just continue...going on and on and on...into eternity, worse than the energizer bunny. Just ask Buffy fans.)
Plec: [Laughs] Maybe when the show's over...[hey, at least she's honest!] The important thing is that these two brothers are on a journey with this girl...and we're just in the middle of that journey.
(People it would be boring if she picked one of them. The love triangle fuels the series. Hello. Welcome to Soap Operas - they are all about love triangles.)
Why haven't the writers put any vamp sex in this season?
(Wait. I thought they had? Are we watching the same series...)
Plec: Stay Tuned
(Most likely November 29.)
Elena is perhaps the messiest vampire eater in history. Why is she always covered in blood after a feed? Bring a napkin, woman.
(Actually I thought that was realistic. Seemed weird that they were so clean. Buffy did a better job with this sort of thing.)
Plec: She'll carry a thing of Wet Wipes in her pocket. [going forward)
(Certainly saves on the makeup.)
What is going on with Bonnie always being the Debbie Downer of vampire fun?!
(Well she did lose her Mom, all her lovers, and her Gran to vampires. I mean seriously, would you like them if they killed your family, your friends, your lovers, and were constantly making you do their bidding? I don't think so. )
Plec: From the beginning Bonnie has been the one to say, "Hey, wait a minute, let's not be so quick to embrace vampires." ...As much as it's not necessarily popular, it's consistent for her character and it's who she is.
(It's also realistic and sane. People who embrace vampires are idiots. Honestly. These are the human version of spiders, people. Yes, I can enjoy the fictional stuff, but seriously, she'd have to be loony to embrace them. They've destroyed her life..)
Klaus likes Caroline, but there is virtually no interaction between them.
Plec: November and December are going to be big months for people asking these questions.
(Clearly this interview occurred prior to this week's episode.)
Bring Alaric Back!!! WAHHH!!!
(Apparently I'm not the only one who misses the big lug? Well, me and Damon at any rate?)
Plec: ANYTIME!!!
(Is that a promise? Because occasional ghostly visits is not good enough.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2012-11-17 05:46 am (UTC)No, you are definitely not the only one! I love Alaric, and the Damon/Alaric bromance was one of my favorite relationships on the show. I love that they are showing how much Damon misses him this season.
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Date: 2012-11-17 08:26 am (UTC)Any bets that Atticus Finch is either Silas or after what Silas came up with?
I'm betting Silas at this point.
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Date: 2012-11-17 03:11 pm (UTC)EW is a hype machine. They'll accurately tell you premiere dates and who is being seen out with whom. But otherwise its not a source of solid info. They'd say Madonna invented Rock and Roll if they thought it would convince two more of her fans to watch their next show.
Atticus Finch? Is Boo Radley also on that show? ;o)
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Date: 2012-11-17 04:44 pm (UTC)But wait...they'll probably combine Boo and some other characters name soon...Boo Caulfield?
True about EW. It's only useful for reviews, and what's coming up in entertainment. But not so much in regards to analysis and trends.
I call it a GUILTY pleasure rag for a reason. ;-)
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Date: 2012-11-17 04:45 pm (UTC)Oh it's Atticus Shane...not Atticus Finch.
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Date: 2012-11-18 12:22 am (UTC)http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/11/16/breaking-dawn-part-2-ending-twist/
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Date: 2012-11-18 08:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-18 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-18 10:18 pm (UTC)Over time - there's a clannishness....where anyone who isn't part of the central cast is acceptable cannon red-shirt fodder. Will state that The Walking Dead at least commented on it - where they had a character say: "I'd kill anyone for my friends or to keep my friends alive at this point." But in that world...it sort of makes sense, part of the whole thematic structure is how slowly over time one's humanity or ethics gets chipped away by the mere struggle to survive. In Vamp Diaries the characters actions aren't remotely justifiable and while the writers do comment on them...it's not quite enough.