Spontaneous Musings

Well, they didn't turn Neal into a flying monkey. That's something, I suppose.

( spoilers...and stupid tv writers, grumble, grumble, grumble )

Rather enjoying the twist on Peter Pan. In fact in this episode, Emma and Hook have rather fun little exchange regarding the representation of Pan in Disney and the stories we know and the actuality. I don't remember JM Barrie's take on that well - but his was slightly darker than either the adaptations of his work. The Disney animated version is based on the Broadway musical adaptation of JM Barrie's original work.

[Sorry for the double-posting on LJ earlier, but the dang thing is acting up.]

( Lost Girl spoilers )

This season is so good, and tonight's episode was amongst the best. First off, I continue to adore you, Emma, you do everything I'd have done. And well, Regina or rather Whingina...karma, babe, it's a bitch and it's coming straight for you. Although this episode did a rather good job of layering the character.

( spoilers of course )

Yeah, I know, I'm breaking the New Year's Resolution posting during the week and not on weekends. But the what the heck. Resolutions are made to be broken right?

Bad day. But the plantar fascitis is feeling slightly better. So there is that. Still painful, but not as painful as on Monday and Tuesday. Although I think the orthos I put in my shoes probably are helping along with the heat and cool pads and stretching. We'll see what it feels like over the weekend - I promised my social action group that I'd go to The New Jim Crow forum we are having on Saturday. This is based on the best-selling novel by Michell Anderson. It's in regards to "instituitionalized racism and discrimination" which I've been fighting in various small ways my entire life and not getting very far, but we do what we can do, right? Personally, I feel like I've failed in this regard. ( cut for soap box meandering and the fear that I'll undoubtedly piss someone off... )

Caught up on Sunday TV.

It's odd, but I'm enjoying Merlin more than Dowton Abbey - which feels a bit mawkish to me.
I'm told the writing is better this year? So far, it seems worse. Maybe it gets better??
Or maybe this is a mileage thing? Most likely the latter?

1. Once Upon a Time - it's odd, I know, but Rumplestilskin reminds me a great deal of Spike and the reactions towards the character remind me of Spike. He's a trickster character, who is ambiguous. Does horrible things and good things - and abuses power. Much like Spike he was a bit of a coward in life, when he gets power - he goes nuts. Rumple is a bit more extreme than Spike, mainly because I suspect the writers of BTVS were a tad more subtle and a lot better than the writers of Once. I'm not going to say the acting was necessarily better - because I've seen Robert Carylye in various things, and James Marsters, and let's face it RC is a tad more versatile and a lot better actor. But James had a better writer behind him. (Just my opinion for the moment, it could change, I'm not married to it or anything. Actually I already see loop-holes in it. Not sure the two are comparable at all. So reminds but isn't, works better.)

Once unlike a lot of series is more interested in "familial love connections or parental love" than romantic love, which the writers make a lot of fun of or sort of twist. Friendships are also given a lot of weight. Romantic love is considered...a bit on the flimsy side or made fun of.

So, Rumplestilskin, much like Regina, redemption is not going to be at the hands of Belle, but rather the hands of either Henry or Baelfire. His story has always been about his betrayal of his son - choosing power over his son. Just as Regina is struggling to choose Henry over Power, and her mother Cora betrayed Regina by choosing power over her daughter.

That's the pattern emerging at any rate. So it's not at all surprising that Belle fell across the line. Also, note, it wasn't that her comment that she saw the "good in him" that was important (because of course there is good in him - if there weren't he would be a one-dimensional lead character and the show would be stupid and not worth my time), but rather that he can "change". A comment Henry and to a degree Emma keep making about Regina.

Can people change? This is the same question Buffy the Vampire Slayer asked. Can people change? Not be redeemed. But change. Are we stuck forever as one thing? Or can we learn, evolve and become something else...ourselves, but different. Mature.

Lost asked this question as well. It's a much more interesting question than redemption and more complex. Redemption is a moral question and bracketed by well one's own moral definitions and criteria - as if we are playing judge and jury - somewhat self-righteously, if you ask me, not that you did. But change...that can be for good or ill. Or neither.

( spoilers )

Downton Abbey

I feel sorry for Edith. ( spoilers )


The Good Wife

What I want to call the racist episode or the episode about how power is used to discriminate against those without privilege or misuses of power.

( language differences, classism, privilege, and race )

I like the Good Wife, but the episode did make me a little uncomfortable about the show - not necessarily a bad thing.

Revenge

Eh...it's late and I need to go to bed already. It's okay. Not sure about the Nolan storyline which feels a bit like being a ping-pong ball at a ping-pong match...Nolan in this case the ball.
( spoilers )

Relief efforts in Brooklyn are moving. The outpouring of help for the hurricane victims is astounding.

Besides getting sick last night, I managed to watch Once Upon a Time. I skipped Revenge until this morning because I wanted to get to bed early (little good it did me, but at least I tried.)

I'm thinking I should stick with my gut instinct on this series and stop reading others predictions, speculations. I've been right and they've been wrong. Was right about Doctor Whale. And I now appear to be right about the guy shown in the opening episode of the season, played by the wonderful Michael Raymond-James - who played Renee on True Blood, and the other half of the pairing on Terriers. I adore this character actor, one of the best on tv. Now if only we had a better cast of female actors..note to writers stop going for the "pretty". Sarah Bolger doesn't appear to be able to act, and Ginnfer Goodwin is not a lot better. And don't get me started on Jamie Chung. Jennifer Morrison appears to be trying to carry the bulk of it on her skinny and weak shoulders. Morrison and Goodwin are the only ones of that grouping that appear to be able to act. And that's saying something.

They had similar problems with LOST. The male actors with two or three exceptions were far better than the female ones, who appeared to be hired for looks.

That said, rather enjoyed last night's episode. Also like where this story is going.

( spoilers and speculation )

I need to import icons for DW, I have hardly any appropriate ones.

While The Good Wife episode entitled "The Ham Sandwich" - rocked, I mean really rocked. That was a brilliant episode and a satisfying one as well. Once Upon a Time is starting to frustrate me.

Dear writers of Once Upon a Time, either kill off the bwwahhahha evil Regina, or give me a reason to feel sympathy for her. Because right now, she's starting to grate on my nerves, and having her win in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE is getting old. Keep it up and I'll jump ship. The whole proverbial carrot routine that was such an in-thing dramatically in the 20th Century, isn't going to work in the 21st when we have serials like the Good Wife, Dowton Abbey, Justified, etc to choose from.

In short? Get to the bleeding point. LOST drug out too long too. Learn from Lost's mistakes, pronto.

I'm of two minds about Once - I love the metaphors. And the back story on Sydney Glass, otherwise known as Regina's mirror, is quite brilliant. But it also paints Regina as a classic Narcissist with no redeeming value. This is a problem. Morgana on Merlin is more sympathetic.

Speaking of Merlin? I finally figured out who the guy playing Arthur's Uncle/Cheif Advisor and Morgana's co-conspirator is - he's the actor who played Inspector Lynely on the Lynely Mysteries.
(Courtesy of the Momster). I already knew who James Callis was - because I adored that actor in BattleStar Galatica v.2. This past week's Merlin also rocked. We got to see a really cute white dragon. I have weakness for dragons, I admit it. The Momster and I suddenly wished we had kept all those Anne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of Pern novels, so we could re-read them.

Rather love Merlin. Lost Girl...sigh, can the dialogue be any more wooden or the acting for that matter? Yes, the guy playing the fae cop is sort of hot and looks like a Fae, but...this show is really badly written and this comes from someone who has watched a lot of bad television in her lifetime. It may be too bad for me to tolerate. I refuse to watch the US version of Being Human, it's just so cheesy, and once you see the British version...well let's just say, the US is unwatchable. I don't know if I'd have liked it - if I hadn't seen the British version first. Possible. But now that I have seen the British version - I just can't watch the US one.

Okay off to bed. May write a more in-depth review on Once and Good Wife later.

Here's a few quickie impressions:
( spoilers for Once Upon a Time )


( Good Wife )

Feeling maudlin tonight in part due to that walk down nostalgia lane...wondering what in the heck did I accomplish? On respondent stated somewhat aptly that my relationship with Buffy and the Buffy fandom is in some respects similar to the Buffy/Angel relationship - it has that air of first love affair to it, sad but true. Anyhow...don't mind me. It's that time of week, month, phase of the moon - where no decisions should be made. And the loneliness creeps into the skin with little kid feet. Winter is like that. Gray and gloomy. The streets slick with muck. The sky a hazy gray white, washed of color or shine. Trees naked and bare. And everyone dressed in black jackets. Almost as if someone leeched the color from the world or the shine, and left behind nothing but dank browns, whites, blacks and grays.

Watched Merlin, Lost Girl, and Once Upon a Time - of the three Once was by far the most interesting. None were satisfying. All had that soap opera element...of no resolution or frustration. Once is however continuing to follow the pattern it set in the beginning. If things are going well in the fairy tale world, they aren't in the real one. If well in the real one, not in the fairy tale one. The two stories can't be happy at the same time. It's gotten to the point that I find myself rooting for the fairy tale story to end badly.

Lost Girl was better than I expected. Although co-worker was correct, it is a bit predictable. What's interesting is the lead protagonist is bi-sexual. Her side-kick however is not.
Two women, and a hot guy Fae cop who can help them if they require it. Reminds me a little bit of Xenia actually, has a similar dynamic. The acting is a little stiff, the dialogue silly in places,
and it's rough around the edges, but still entertaining. Comes from Canada. Not as good as Being Erica, but better than Blood Ties. And it is only the pilot.

Merlin has jumped from episodic of the week to full-fledged serial. Kudos. And I'm going to miss ASH. Not Uther. Just ASH. I love Anthony Stewart Head. Hee, Merlin shares two things in common with Buffy - I started watching it because a)it had ASH in it, and b) it was a fantasy and I'm a sucker for fantasy shows, no matter how bad they are. Merlin is actually one of the better written ones, believe it or not.

( spoilers for Once, Lost Girl, and Merlin.... )