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Sep. 25th, 2012 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAfter spending an entire day trying to wake up, or just stay awake, now, when it is time for bed, I'm awake?
Finished watching episode 2 of Revolution - which is unfortunately a bit too predictable for its own good. I feel like I've seen or read this story somewhere before, there's the oddest feeling of deja-vue. And I'm not surprised by any of the twists or turns. I should be.
The other problem with it is the central character, "Charlie", isn't interesting and the actress isn't charismatic. She feels like the poor man's Jennifer Lawrence or what the casting agency hunted down when they were told to find someone who was like Jennifer Lawrence. You know there's a problem when the little girl portraying the same part emotes more than adult version. Elizabeth Mitchell who plays her mother, and the actress portraying Doctor Lydia on the other hand do have screen presence and I wish I could see more of both and the story centered more on both. Not sure how much longer I'm going to stick with this...I just keep feeling like I've read the comic book already.
This season's Doctor Who isn't thrilling me for some reason. (Yet I did sort of like this week's episode, more than some and less than others.) Possibly the lack of River Song and a more "episodic" feel to the series. Keep in mind that 75% of Doctor Who does not thrill me. I only liked three episodes in S3. Blink, Family of Blood, and Human Condition. And only two episodes during the Donna Noble period - "Silence in the Library and Forests of the Dead", the rest of the season I thought was a bit on the silly side of the fence and I've forgotten. S1 - I can't remember. Season 2 - I skipped most of, due to lack of interest. Actually, I preferred Torchwood - which had more interesting characters and storylines. The only two seasons I loved were S5 and S6, I bought S6. Those were twisty and layered, and I liked all the characters, and it didn't feel predictable. I felt the writer was taking risks. So, hardly a "Doctor Who Fan" by any stretch of the imagination. Which is why it is not all that surprising that I'm ambivalent about the latest group of episodes. I actually liked the short web episodes better. Although the last two episodes weren't bad. And the whole bit with the human Darleck was sort of an interesting metaphor for the human condition or humanity's love/hate war with technology. In some respects I like this season better than S1 and S2, but keep in mind not a huge fan of sentimentality and big emotion. I find it sappy. There are good moments here and there in this season.
The Doctor killing aliens doesn't bug me - he's always done that, I don't know what show you were watching, but I remember him killing the Spider lady (which I was admittedly happy about even if Donna questioned it, because hello, Spiders!), the Time Lords (that was RT Davies idea), and various others...including The Family of Blood. He's not necessarily a nice guy, which is what makes him interesting. If he was Dudley Do-Right, I'd be rolling my eyes. The Doctor accidentally killing humans doesn't either - because he's done that before too. It's sort of par for the course when you are traveling willy nilly through time with little regard to how you may be changing time lines when you are doing it. I give Moffat some credit for thinking about how mucking about with time has serious consequences.
The Amy/Doctor moments are rather insightful. She questions her need for the Doctor, making it clear that it pulls her constantly out of her life. The quiet moments of her life and her human relationships. Rory notes this as well. But both crave the adventure, the escape - a great metaphor for the audience tuning in each week. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't give up everything for the Doctor, that is.
She also questions whether they are running away from life. The doctor states he's running towards life. Running towards things. Wants to see and experience everything. And yet, what does he miss by doing it? It's an interesting question. There's a lot of interesting layers to last week's episode if you think about it. What makes life meaningful? The need to busy all the time? Is the relationship between Rory/Amy and the Doctor destructive or helpful or both? Is Brian (Rory's Dad) right that they need the Doctor more than they need their lives? And are the cubes a metaphor for how something that is seemingly harmless, and seemingly useful, can be deeply dangerous?
Less obvious and less emotionally sappy episodes are a lot more fun to play with.
In other news, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid is a fascinating book. Interesting narrative structure - which I want to call post-modern stream of consciousness hyper-realism. It is told in three different points of view, all first person close, then omniscient, then back again to first person close. And the style does a great job of depicting the mindset of someone serving in the military. It pulls you into the minds of the characters. You can feel monotony, and the madness of what they are being made to do. And how meaningless it feels. This sense of inertia. And despair. Yet, sparked with hope.
Takes a while to read though. These sort of books often do. Also feels a lot like a memoir, the narrative has a deeply personal aspect to it, as if the writer is attempting to understand something through her writing, while communicating it to her audience. I feel like I'm inside the writer's dreams, or more likely nightmares.
On a whim, I bought Carrie Fisher's latest memoir - "Shockalocic" about her time on Star Wars and in Hollywood during the late 1970s and 1980s. Mainly because I'm a pop culture junkie and have deep nostalgic feelings towards everything "Star Wars" related. You either get that or you really don't. At any rate, as I stated in another post, I tend to get obsessed by everything to do with deeply flawed visual masterpieces such as Star Wars, Farscape, Buffy. I don't know why.
Finished watching episode 2 of Revolution - which is unfortunately a bit too predictable for its own good. I feel like I've seen or read this story somewhere before, there's the oddest feeling of deja-vue. And I'm not surprised by any of the twists or turns. I should be.
The other problem with it is the central character, "Charlie", isn't interesting and the actress isn't charismatic. She feels like the poor man's Jennifer Lawrence or what the casting agency hunted down when they were told to find someone who was like Jennifer Lawrence. You know there's a problem when the little girl portraying the same part emotes more than adult version. Elizabeth Mitchell who plays her mother, and the actress portraying Doctor Lydia on the other hand do have screen presence and I wish I could see more of both and the story centered more on both. Not sure how much longer I'm going to stick with this...I just keep feeling like I've read the comic book already.
This season's Doctor Who isn't thrilling me for some reason. (Yet I did sort of like this week's episode, more than some and less than others.) Possibly the lack of River Song and a more "episodic" feel to the series. Keep in mind that 75% of Doctor Who does not thrill me. I only liked three episodes in S3. Blink, Family of Blood, and Human Condition. And only two episodes during the Donna Noble period - "Silence in the Library and Forests of the Dead", the rest of the season I thought was a bit on the silly side of the fence and I've forgotten. S1 - I can't remember. Season 2 - I skipped most of, due to lack of interest. Actually, I preferred Torchwood - which had more interesting characters and storylines. The only two seasons I loved were S5 and S6, I bought S6. Those were twisty and layered, and I liked all the characters, and it didn't feel predictable. I felt the writer was taking risks. So, hardly a "Doctor Who Fan" by any stretch of the imagination. Which is why it is not all that surprising that I'm ambivalent about the latest group of episodes. I actually liked the short web episodes better. Although the last two episodes weren't bad. And the whole bit with the human Darleck was sort of an interesting metaphor for the human condition or humanity's love/hate war with technology. In some respects I like this season better than S1 and S2, but keep in mind not a huge fan of sentimentality and big emotion. I find it sappy. There are good moments here and there in this season.
The Doctor killing aliens doesn't bug me - he's always done that, I don't know what show you were watching, but I remember him killing the Spider lady (which I was admittedly happy about even if Donna questioned it, because hello, Spiders!), the Time Lords (that was RT Davies idea), and various others...including The Family of Blood. He's not necessarily a nice guy, which is what makes him interesting. If he was Dudley Do-Right, I'd be rolling my eyes. The Doctor accidentally killing humans doesn't either - because he's done that before too. It's sort of par for the course when you are traveling willy nilly through time with little regard to how you may be changing time lines when you are doing it. I give Moffat some credit for thinking about how mucking about with time has serious consequences.
The Amy/Doctor moments are rather insightful. She questions her need for the Doctor, making it clear that it pulls her constantly out of her life. The quiet moments of her life and her human relationships. Rory notes this as well. But both crave the adventure, the escape - a great metaphor for the audience tuning in each week. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't give up everything for the Doctor, that is.
She also questions whether they are running away from life. The doctor states he's running towards life. Running towards things. Wants to see and experience everything. And yet, what does he miss by doing it? It's an interesting question. There's a lot of interesting layers to last week's episode if you think about it. What makes life meaningful? The need to busy all the time? Is the relationship between Rory/Amy and the Doctor destructive or helpful or both? Is Brian (Rory's Dad) right that they need the Doctor more than they need their lives? And are the cubes a metaphor for how something that is seemingly harmless, and seemingly useful, can be deeply dangerous?
Less obvious and less emotionally sappy episodes are a lot more fun to play with.
In other news, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid is a fascinating book. Interesting narrative structure - which I want to call post-modern stream of consciousness hyper-realism. It is told in three different points of view, all first person close, then omniscient, then back again to first person close. And the style does a great job of depicting the mindset of someone serving in the military. It pulls you into the minds of the characters. You can feel monotony, and the madness of what they are being made to do. And how meaningless it feels. This sense of inertia. And despair. Yet, sparked with hope.
Takes a while to read though. These sort of books often do. Also feels a lot like a memoir, the narrative has a deeply personal aspect to it, as if the writer is attempting to understand something through her writing, while communicating it to her audience. I feel like I'm inside the writer's dreams, or more likely nightmares.
On a whim, I bought Carrie Fisher's latest memoir - "Shockalocic" about her time on Star Wars and in Hollywood during the late 1970s and 1980s. Mainly because I'm a pop culture junkie and have deep nostalgic feelings towards everything "Star Wars" related. You either get that or you really don't. At any rate, as I stated in another post, I tend to get obsessed by everything to do with deeply flawed visual masterpieces such as Star Wars, Farscape, Buffy. I don't know why.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-26 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-27 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-29 12:26 pm (UTC)I'd say you are a Moffat-era fan. The ones this half season have been rather unusual in their stand-alone-ness, although I think once we know more of the puzzle they'll fit in better. They're a little like shards from a kaleidoscope, as we're only seeing snippets of the larger picture. (Am curious whether you'd like Classic Who, I'd love to hear your take. Seven is VERY Eleven-like in character, except more-so. Hugely manipulative.)