Spontaneous Musings

1. Hee...

Apparently some high school put on a play adaptation of the Ridley Scott Film Alien -- yes, THAT "Alien".

2. And there's FINALLY a movement to do older people in romance What's Age Got to Do With it? It also explains why every romance novel for years has women between the ages of 16-28 in a romance, but no one over that. And we wonder why our society is wacked. Why? Because the publishing industry was under the delusion that people don't want to read about older people getting it on -- all evidence to contrary. (Were they blind to the success of Bridges of Madison County?) Also weirdly more men write older women romance novels. They don't write the younger ones. Interesting. (The article didn't say that -- I just picked up on it.) I noticed it in the fanfic too, women (lesbian and het) wrote young innocent gal older guy erotica, while men did not. Interesting. I wonder why? (Of course I may be completely wrong on this -- it's not like I made a study of it or anything, just a random observation.)

Anyhow, another thing I noticed? It's bloody hard to find historical romance novels with older heroines. I've found a couple. Reading one now, actually. Easier to find contemporary with older heroines. Although, you do have to look. I'm actually sort of writing one -- except my book sort of defies description at the moment.

3. You can stream Jordan Peele's premiere episode of the Twilight Zone for free on Youtube. Go HERE. Yes, this is a blatant attempt to get subscribers. They haven't gotten me yet. But that's mainly because I've more television shows to watch than I know what to do with. Having widely diverse tastes or eclectic ones -- comes with its downsides in content saturated marketplace.

4. Hmmm..

Seeing Red - She begged for her life" post by itsnotmymind (nifty name by the way), is about how the writer's made the interesting choice to have Buffy beg Spike to stop in the attempted rape sequence, not just kick him off right off the bat -- while neither of the slayers he killed begged for their lives.

What I find interesting -- is I saw two television shows deal with domestic violence and assault in the last two weeks. Both showed it solely from the victim's perspective. One showed the aftermath, and the victim's helplessness, and inability to do anything to the attacker or defend themselves, the other showed the victim finally killing him, after literally fighting for her life.
( spoilers for Grey's Anatomy, Seeing Red, and 9-1-1 )

1. What are you reading?

Lots of X-men comics. Adventures in Bad Taste (AIBT) has some interesting bits as well. Honestly, taste is in the eye of the beholder.

Finished Uncanny X-men (2018-11) by Matthew Rosenberg and Salvador Larroca.
The problem with the X-men -- is they have a tendency to just use the same title and renumber. So we have Uncanny X-men 11 - 2015, and Uncanny X-men #11 - 1990s...so it's really hard to find the issue in Good Reads.

Anyhow here's the somewhat spoilery review:

( spoilers )

Still reading a romance by Laura Kinsale, The Shadow and the Star, which would either make you roll your eyes or you'd enjoy. I fall somewhere in between. ( Read more... )

Also reading Age of X-men -- which is sort of the flip-side of Age of Apocalypse, where the X-men live in an isolated Utopia, with no humans. A nice commentary on utopian views and how they are great in theory but not in practice.
And being a long running serial -- there's some nice character touches along the way.

Finished both Age of X-men - Alpha and Marvelous X-men -- which is the lead title. There's about five or six titles, five issues each, and an Alpha and Omega -- patterned after the Age of Apocalypse. And it is a critique of a certain set of current political idealogies that are cropping up. Ayn Rand's Individualism aka Objectivism and the whole concept of letting go of negative emotions, connections, and isolating oneself in a peaceful existence of contemplation -- no tribal connections of any sort. One big unifying family, with children created via a hatchery. Oh, Brave New World...indeed. (Reminds me a little of Adolus Huxley.)

It's well done. The art has a sort of calm look to it -- peaceful pallet, simple lines, reminds me a lot of post-modern literary comics. And the X-men are the Avengers. They live in their own nice homes, solitary, and meet as a team to fight the world's ills. There's no romantic love or love, so no strife. Everyone is friendly. No family ties, just loose friends. No biological connections. Individualism reigns supreme. And we're given the philosophy -- it's a utopia of sorts. Yet, there's a quote after each segment..."At the heart of every so-called utopia is tyranny" and in Age of X-men, "revolution is in who we are, not just what we do...the desire to fight for freedom" -- from Ursula Le Quinn's The Dispossessed.

These new writers, artists and editorial staff have something to say. It's odd, but most ideological and socio-political critique is found cult art or pulp. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, comic books, soap operas, then really in the more literary or mainstream fair. It's no accident that Buffy was the first broadcast television show to depict a lesbian relationship, or that All My Children was the first to do so, and pre-dated Buffy by about five years with not one but two relationships, along with a gay storyline. Daytime Soaps often tackled serious social issues that prime time series steered away from. Why? Because they fell under the wire of the censors and the advertisers during that period were a bit more open-minded. Comics are the same way -- often going right for the juglar regarding complex socio-political issues. It wasn't surprising to me that both Captain America-Civil War and Black Panther tackled serious socio-political issues that most films steer clear of. Or that we see them tackled in horror films. Perhaps being able to use metaphor helps? It provides enough distance from the reader/viewer and the topic for it to be discussed?

I don't know. But it is to a degree why I've always been drawn more to genre, and in particular comics and soaps. Well that, and the fact that you can't find better character arcs and analysis anywhere else. Nobody explores characters better than a long-running serial. That may explain, why I don't think characters in sitcoms are well-developed and seem a tad shallow. Mainly because we don't get to look at them from every angle imaginable.

2. What are you watching?

Finished Russian Doll -- earlier in the week. See posts for reviews. It's good, but the Groundhog Day/Time Travel gimmick still annoys me and does not work from a plot perspective. (shrugs)


A Million Little Things -- it's okay, irritating in places, but compelling in its' own way. I'm interested in the mystery but find the individual emotional character subplots -- annoying and poorly written also very cliche ridden in places. ( spoilers )

And I gave up on it -- and wandered off to do laundry. Shows how well it was holding my attention, doesn't it? Then came back and finished.

( spoilers )

*Grey's Anatomy -- which was a whole lot better and once again made me cry.
Sigh. I do like how these writers handle love triangles -- which is to sort kick them to one side. That said, why they feel the need to push people to have romantic relationships...( Read more... )

* Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Well they are doing a great job of wrapping up all the character arcs. Also in explaining mental illness and Rebecca's journey through it. While at the same time, critiquing romantic shipping and how our society pushes romance, careers, etc to equal happiness. Rebecca is now pursuing her dream of being a musical theater star.

3. Doing?

Did Laundry. Four loads. Huzzah. The laundry gods were with me.

Crisp cool day that began with me hugging my alarm clock (literally) and ended with a beautiful clear sunset out my windows.
The hugging alarm clock bit was due to me being only partially awakened by it - while wrestling to shut it off - I fell asleep, woke up, luckily 45 minutes later (6:51 am) and raced about to make to the subway by 7:18, made it to the train station by 7:35, and caught the train to Jamaica. In to work at 8:05, right after my boss - five minutes late, not bad. But very weird to wake up hugging one's alarm clock.

Am debating exploring areas of Brooklyn this weekend to determine new places to hunt for apartments in. Have been invited by a friend from church to check out an area around Brooklyn College. There's apparently some affordable condos out where she lives. But she just moved...might be better to wait a week.

Never know how personal to be in this lj. I think I tend to stick in the middle, flocking the ultra personal posts.

Still making my way through GRR Martin's Feast of Crows - which is a fascinating read, if somewhat of a downer.
( Feast of Crows - vague spoilers )

This week's Grey's Anatomy was hilarious - well if you are geek and got the jokes. Or know geeks and got the jokes. Although I do resent the fact that in all these series none of the leads or regulars are geeks. Hello, completely unrealistic. The stereotype that all geeks wear horn-rimmed glasses, are under the age of 30, and look like Kevin Smith is such a stereotype.
It's ironic considering most of the writers are geeks - do they just have poor self-esteems or something? (Nothing against Kevin Smith - who is a multi-millionaire). Anyhow they bring in this bus-load of comic-con/sci-fi convention attendees who got in a serious accident. One is wearing hobbit ears, another is in a storm-trooper outfit. And the best two are arguing over a toy tardis.

( geeky jokes )

Does anyone out there know what to do about a persistent dry cough? It's not a cold. It's just a chest cough that seems to be connected to dry air associated with heaters? Not sure. But I can't seem to shake it. And that's the only symptom this chest cough.

Vampire Diaries rocked big time, again. This has turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining tv show. Also amongst the few gothic horror shows that has gone into detail about how painful it is turn into a werewolf. ( Read more... )

Grey's Anatomy also rocked. Really loving the Cristina Yang arc this season. Actually I'm enjoying all the characters and their arcs. Rare to find a show you feel that way about. Usually there's at least two or three characters I really could do without ...but this season, that's not the case. I adore them all.

Almost done with Storm of Swords - thinking of reviewing it when I finish. It's quite brilliant actually. All the character arcs work. There's a lot of death, and quite a bit of it is not for the weak of stomach, but it works. As far as epic fantasies go...this may be amongst the best I've read...it has magic, but the magic doesn't rule the world, it's referenced, and comes into play, but it's not used as a deux ex machina nor is it overdone, if anything it's quite believable and mysterious - making this fantasy world seem real. ( Read more... )

Damn, this cough, I don't know what to do about it. Thinking of seeing a doctor, but have no time.
Maybe next week. I'll call tomorrow and try to set up an appointment. Don't want this turn into bronchitis like it did last time. It feels like a reaction to dry air. So maybe a humidifier??

Goals this weekend, assuming I survive the work week - which I most likely will, are : 1) run errands, 2) church, 3)apt hunt, and 4) look at novel and attempt to figure out how to write a synopsis and a query letter. Don't suppose anyone out there has any tips on that? Guessing not.
But worth asking anyhow.

Just finished watching last night's Grey's Anatomy which I loved to pieces. It's been very good this year, and apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so - EW even put it on it's must watch list and it's been climbing steadily in the Nielsen ratings. I'm at a point in my life in which stories with emotional themes resonate for me far more than one's that do not. Political allegory, philosophical/metaphysical theme, or dysfunctional themes about bad parents...are starting to slowly grate on my nerves. There are however a few exceptions, for political allergory and feminism - nobody does it better than The Good Wife, for metaphysics, religion and parental dysfunction - the prematurely canceled Caprica rocks the proverbial boat. True Blood does both political and religious satire quite well. For raw emotion? There's Supernatural (bro-romance and father/son, brother/brother issues like whoa! Plus a deft examination of raw right-wing Christian mythos) and Vampire Diaries (the angst of being alone) and the angst of wanting love and to be loved.

But Grey's...sigh, it really captures how people react to a traumatic event in different ways. No one does it the same. And it avoids stereotypes. Each character is uniquely drawn and often goes against what you might expect. I find myself rewinding during it, rewatching bits, and well, falling in love.

To fall in love with a piece of art is a rare thing...a special thing. Just as falling out of love with it can be a painful and grating thing, which is separate post. In tonight's Grey's - each character was explored and furthered...in detail. Plus Amber Bensen had a small and rather interesting part - as a patient's long lost daughter. Amber, who once played Tara, looks different, thinner in the face, older, her hair shorter. But she plays that warm insecurity very well. Not only were the character's explored through their workplace duties, but also through their relationships. Admittedly the reason hospital/medical dramas work so well for me is that
I know next to nothing about medicine, avoid hospitals like the plague, and hated biology (ew).
Being a doctor or nurse was never an ambition. Candy stripper was bad enough. Hospitals tend to make me nervous and scare me. Don't like them. Which is why I love medical dramas. Legal and criminal procedural dramas on the other hand bug the beegesus out of me - because I actually did pursue a career in both fields and actually do know quite a bit about both, more than I want to.
I'm weird, I like to watch tv shows about things I don't know much about...

Was a bit surprised by this week's episode...( spoilers )

Today, on a random tv show which I'm not telling you the name of so don't ask, a character delivered this amazingly apropos monologue:

"My grandmother had a saying, Comparison is the killer of joy. And if you think about it- she was right. The minute you put yourself or what you have up against someone else, you'll feel inadequate or your ego gets so blown out of proportion - especially when you compare yourself to other people's relationships because there's always going to be another couple out there who is better off or worse off than you are and it's a false impression because no on really knows what works and doesn't work in that relationship except for the people who are in it."

(In the tv show the character's girlfriend was comparing their relationship to her parents epic romance and trying to live up to it, and he was telling her that it was impossible. Let that romance be theirs, this is ours. But I liked the quote because it is that rare speech that works beautifully out of context...and is universal. And well, it was what I need to hear. The problem with life is I'm reading or listening to other people's stories...and it hard not to compare them to my own. When by doing so, I'm doing both of us an egregious injustice. )

( musing/ramble on romantic love in tv shows vs. actuality...and spoilers on Vampire Diaries - especially most recent episode. This is a serious essay not snarky, and not so much critical as it is me musing on why this particular endless love trope bothers me on tv shows and in books/films now. References both BTVS and Vampire Diaries as well as Grey's Anatomy. )

[**Regarding the above - because I can already hear some of you arguing with me about what I just wrote. So... please keep in mind that I'm well aware this is my opinion, I'm hardly an authority on this topic, and that mileage varies greatly. Also be mindful of my blood-pressure if you choose to disagree. Sort of tired of fighting. Do that all week, because work in an adversarial environment. So, am unlikely to fight online. Pooped or tired as it were.]

Haven't done too much today, cold or allergies have wiped me out. Did go grocery shopping and bought more cold meds, since whatever I bought yesterday wasn't doing the job last night. Kept up blowing my nose, coughing, and my eyes watering, plus clogged ears. Mucus in all orifices? Lovely.

Lovely day though. Wicked sunset last night - had a rainbow, shades of orange, pink, lavender, and blue with dark gray and brillant yellow. And today - crystal clear blue sky taunting me with its fabulousness. I really wanted a gray rainy day, dang it. Sometimes you just do.

Did make it through most of the tv shows/premiers I DvR'd during the week - only have "Dirty Sexy Money", "Cane", "Life", "ER", "CSI", "Doctor Who", "Torchwood", "Damages", and I think "Bones" to go. I've watched Moonlight, Bionic Woman, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Reaper, House, Journeyman, Chuck, Back to You, Smallville, Ugly Betty, and Without a Trace. Missed Eureka, Big Shots, Boston Legal, and the Office, because we must make choices.

Sigh. Too much bloody tv. I'm going to have to cut some of it. And I *really wish* 30 Rock and The Office were on some other night besides Thursday. Like maybe Friday? Or Monday? I can tape two shows on two channels at the same time but not three. Also is it just me or has anyone else's DVR/Tivo cut out the last minute of a show because the stupid things are all going a minute over? Missed the last minute of Grey's because of that - it flipped to ER.

So...what's my quick take on the one's I've seen so far? Well, for the first time in a long time, I agree with the reviews I've read on my flist regarding them.

New Shows:

1.( Bionic Woman )

2. ( Chuck )

3. ( Reaper )

4, ( Moonlight )

5. ( Journeyman )

6.( Back to You )

Returning Favorites:

(ugh should do two posts for this but don't feel like it.)

1. ( Grey's Anatomy - does contain a vague spoiler )

2. Ugly Betty - this feels like a cheerful and warmhearted send-up of soap operas. And is at times a bit over the top about it. I do find it amusing though. And I like the twists and turns. Plus I enjoy all the characters.

3.( Heroes - plot spoilers for the episode! )

4. ( Smallville )

5. ( Without A Trace )

6. ( House )

Show's I'm thinking of giving the ax to? Too early to tell. Still have more to watch, when and if I find the time. Ugh. I do have a life outside of television watching...you know.
For example just finished reading Kafka on the Shore - which I highly recommend.
I may write a complete review of it in another post...until then will leave you with this quote from it:

Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in a while, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library.

Am currently reading America's Best Short Stories - 2007 edition, edited by Stephen King which is not what you'd expect and so far kick-ass. The first story blew me away.
And the second is doing much the same thing. That too, I'll save for another post.


Am tired or wiped out. Going to take medication and go to bed.

An ode to Television Writers - who are currently writing TV shows and/or movies/comic books that I can read. Why TV Writers and why this ode? Ah, because I need a frigging distraction at the moment from my frustrating job search. And two because TV writers have the toughest jobs out there. Novelists have it easy - they get to take as much time as they want to develop their story, revise it, outline it, edit it, tinker with it, and they don't have to worry about some director/head writer/network exec/producer and actor mucking around with it or excuse the lingo, fucking it up. TV writing requires a lot of patience, a bit of negotiation, and a touch of compromise. You have to know when to fight for your art and when to let go - because letting go makes it better. You also have to write fast, on demand, and occassionally for characters and stories you may despise and had no control in creating. TV writers are a bit like actors - they jump from gig to gig, often not knowing how long their work will last. Their jobs are stressfull, fast-paced, and collaborative. They also put up with a lot of crap. And if their work sucks - they get creamed from five places at once. Not a job I envy nor one I'd want, hence the reason I've never tried to be a TV writer. I love to write and I adore TV - but I would not want to be a TV writer.

On my walk today, started thinking about *who* my favorite tv writers were (see here comes the geekiness, told you). Why think this? Ah, while bored and wired last night I wandered about the net and realized that if I were at a convention, I would not be standing in the line around the block for an autograph for James Marsters (*really* not into autographs and ugh, lines - I don't do lines unless absolutely necessary), but rather at one of the writers' tables chatting or listening to a writers panel. (Which may explain why I don't do conventions. That and the crowds. Me and large crowds of people - unmixy things.)

Anywho - My subjective qualifications regarding tv writers are relatively simple: good/snappy dialogue, interesting and prickily characters, unpredictable plot-arcs, and a desire to subvert or change stereotypes and genres - bend them. I also tend to like serials. Always have. Always will. For me you need to give the story time to unfold. The episodic show which lasts no more than an hour - just doesn't have enough time. Again it is a subjective thing. (ie. My opinion.)

Other qualifications - which if you choose to copy this meme you should follow since this is the only objective criteria outside of the number -

1) these are writers who I've seen most of their work and tend to follow around, watching whatever they write for because I know they are writing for that series. (To prove this am listing what they've done in the past.)

2)Each one must be associated with a favorite TV show either currently on or that I've watched in the past and on DVD and is part of reason I am watching said TV show:

In no particular order, just off the top of my head. (Because I'm not bothering to rank. Ranking would be silly, hate ranking. Do far too much ranking in this society in my opinion. Do not need to do more.)

1. Ron Moore - Battle Star Galatica - this third season looks fascinating. According to one of the zines I read: They are playing with Lost's format of doing the flashback to explain why the character is where they currently are. So you get two parrelle stories - A: current plot arc, B:flash-back. Flashback is often self-contained and can be episodic. Current isn't. Both centered on character and the characters propell themes and story-arcs. For example - we'll get flashbacks explaining Starbuck's current relationships with Apollo and Col. Tigh. Prior to BSG - Ron Moore wrote for Star Trek Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space 9, Carnival, Roswell, Touching Evil, G vs. E, Mission Impossible II, and the screenplay for Star Trek : First Contact. Having seen portions of all of these - can say, fantastic genre writer. [go here for info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601822/ and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_D._Moore]

2. Shonda Rhimes - Grey's Anatomy, and one of the few female head writers in TV right now. It's a wasteland out there. And Rhimes has Whedon and Sorkin's knack for dialogue/slang. She develops catch-words that find their way into pop-culture. va-jay-jay, seriously, mcDreamy...are all examples. Also one of the few writers out there who can do a multi-racial cast without falling into racial stereotypes. Moore does the same. Hasn't written for many tv shows. Did write something for Scrubs and a TV film: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Known to be a huge BTVS fan and took a page from Whedon in coming up with her own slang for her show. [Go here for info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shonda_Rhimes]

3. Rob Thomas - Veronica Mars - is able to make a teen drama adult, juggling both the adult and teen storylines simulataneously. Also bends and transforms a tired noir detective genre, making it at times snarky. Pokes fun at it. Does for Private Dick films what Whedon did for slasher horror films. Pop-culture is used sparingly but well. Hasn't written that much for TV - his cred's currently include Dawson's Creek (yes, scoff all you want, I watched and enjoyed Dawson's for quite a while, it's the predecessor to The OC) Snoops - in 1999 (but had a falling out with David E. Kelley - which makes me like him even more, Kelley gets on my nerves - how long and how sappy can we make the mologue today? sigh.),Cupid - short lived but quite wonderful, Space Ghost Coast to Coast - which I didn't catch much of. [For more info - go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Thomas_%28writer%29]

4. Doris Egan - currently with House, but you've seen her work on Smallville, Dark Angel, The Profiler, and Tru Calling. A writer who hunts a way to make the medical mystery explore an internal part of the character. One of her episodes was last year's House and the lawyer lady stuck at the airport.[Go here for more info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0250668/ and her blog: tightropegirl]

5. Joss Whedon - best dialogue guy out there. Best known as the Creator of Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and has written for Roseanne, also known for writing the screenplays for: Serenity (directed as well), Alien Resurrection, Titan A.E, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film version), and Toy Story. (And I've seen everything he's done, which I suppose makes me a groupie. Ugh.) He's also written the comics Tales of the Vampires, Fray, Astonishing X-men. Knows how to find the humor in just about any dramatic or romantic sappy moment. Also amazing whiz at blending genres. One of the few male writers out there who likes to write strong women, particulary women who save men and not the other way around. (Wish the writers of Smallville and Supernatural would learn from his example.)[For more info, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon]

6. Ryan Murphy - writer of Nip/Tuck and now Running with Scissors. Apparently also wrote an Angel episode? Or is that Shawn Murphy? Interesting writer - again one who knows who to break barriers. Yes, he goes over the top at times, but his characters to me at least remain interesting.And he gives his women bite. They aren't weaklings. Everyone in a Murphy show is messed up yet charmingly so. Hasn't done that much television or not that much that I've seen outside of the snarky teen spoof Popular, and a couple of films. Like Rhimes, an up and comer on the list. [go here for info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614682/#writer]

7. Aaron Sorkin - the king of the rapid fire dialogue, possibly better than Whedon at times - since he does straight drama not genre, which has less action and far more talking. Sorkin can do a rapid fire dialogue scene while two people are doing nothing more than walking down a hallway and make it more interesting than a five minute action sequence, and get in more plot and character development. He does occassionally get preachy, but usually when he's at the top of his game, undercuts with humor or a snide remark. His dramas include: The West Wing (up to S4 I think, before he got caught with drugs and went into rehab), Sports Night, and now tonight, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ( which every tv critic adores - sort of makes me nervous).[Go here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Sorkin] Like Whedon, Sorkin often plays script-doctor on his off time and has written many screenplays including: A Few Good Men, Malice, and The American President - which gave him the idea for The West Wing.

8. Jane Espenson - knows how to do physical comedy without making me cringe, tough to do. Has a subtle touch. Also understands how it should relate to character. She wrote amazingly well for the male characters in Buffy, specifically Xander, Jonathan and Spike. Will be writing an episode of BSG this year. Her tv credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Gilmore Girls, Tru Calling, The OC, Star Trek Deep Space 9, and this year episode 3 of Battle Star Galatica - entitled The Passage. Jane won a Hugo for an episode of Buffy in Season 7 of the show. [For more info, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Espenson]
Jane, like Doris Egan and Shondra Rhimes, has a weblog, which can be located here:http://www.janeespenson.com/]

9. Alan Ball - the writer and creator of Six Feet Under and the film American Beauty. He started his TV career writing for Cybil ( a great situation comedy based on the Brit hit Absolutely Fabulous and is said to have based Annett Being's character on Shephard), Grace Under Fire (another great sitcom), and Oh Grow Up, he's also a playwrite. And his newest tv series, based on the Charlain Harris Southern Vampire novels and entitled True Blood, is slated to premiere on HBO in Autumn 2007. Until then we got the film Towelhead to look forward to. Interested in the dark underbelly of suburban life. I saw one of his plays when he was writing theater in the 80's I believe. One to watch. (Oh - Six Feet Under is coming to Bravo...for those who missed it on HBO, I only saw the first two seasons, unfortunately.)[Go here for more info on Ball:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ball_(screenwriter) and here:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0050332/]

10. Tie : Bryan Fuller - Wonderfalls,Dead Like Me, Deep Space 9 and Voyager. Good at black comedy and has an off-kilter sense of humor. Has also created powerful female characters much like Whedon and Rob Thomas. [Go here for complete list of his works: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0298188/] OR Tim Minear - writer and co-executive producer on Firefly and Angel. Also did Strange World, The X-Files, Lois and Clark and The Inside (a tad too dark for even my sensibilities), and Wonderfalls with Bryan Fuller. Fearless writer who has the ability to delve into the darker areas of characters. (Couldn't decide between these two.) His upcoming stories may be Drive picked up by Fox about the illegal drag racing circuit, and The Spike Movie ( which I'm not holding my breath for, because honestly I think by the time they get around to doing it, Marsters will be 50 and far too old.)He's also writing a screenplay based on a Heinlein novel. [for more info go here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Minear]

Okay, dinner time. And new tv shows...hee.