TV this week
Sep. 12th, 2008 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynI'm behind on viewing because I had a proof job come in early this week, so I still have a few things to catch up on. But this is the consumption so far: (spoilers, I'm sure)
Finally, finally, they got rid of Blayne. I keep telling everyone how ashamed I am that he's from my neighborhood. His designs are awful and have been since the beginning, he's horrid to look at (that hair and that stupid hoodie) and listen to... This is the first season I've seen more than a few eps of, and have watched regularly from the beginning, and I just have to wonder if they usually pick this many awful people for the show. Between Blayne and Stella, with her scary blank stare and leh-thu obsession, and the mousy girls (though Leanne has really stepped up to the plate, huh?), and the hideous third-person talking Suede, and probably my most hated one, Daniel, with his hit-over-the-head-with-a-shovel look and insistence on his elegant aesthetic, and most of the designers who are gone by now... such awful people (although I liked Keith, but he really needs to stop whining and take his life into his own hands). Irrititating and infuriating. And I'm praying that next week it's Henley -- she is not only a bad designer, she's just so hideous to listen to, with her nasal braying and Valley Girlish lack of enunciation and just... shudder.
I was never impressed with Terry's designs, not as much as she was, so I am not sorry to see her go. From the beginning, she seemed like a strong possibility, but I realized partway through what's come to be seen more and more lately, that she has no people skills whatsoever, and that she's very petty and arrogant. The way she treated Keith this week was completely uncalled for, and Kors was right -- even if people walk out on you (and you give them reason to), you still have to take responsibility for your work.
Design-wise, I loved Korto's and Leanne's looks the best. But, I always like Korto's the best, anyway. I truly hope she wins it. Maybe then she might make eye contact and smile at people? She's such a beautiful, strong, smart woman, and I sometimes want to smack her and say, "Look up! You are going to win this! Don't look down and away all the time!" I finally figured out why I have never been able to watch this show regularly, this year. Partly it's that I really don't like reality competition shows, but mostly it's... Heidi Klum. I despise her little girl voice, the things she says, the way she goes from mean and nasty comments to sweet little air kisses in a picosecond... I'm sure she's a nice person, and I hope she and Seal are happy forever, etc., but I do not like her. I try to FF as much as I can through her, but she's hard to avoid, for sure. I'll take Tim solo any day.
Oh, PB, you are so, so stupid. I never know what's going on with you, because I FF through anything that doesn't have Fichtner or Michael and Sara onscreen. I keep thinking you're done for, but then you come back.
But this week's -- oh! The scene with Alex choking out his "they killed my child!" and then the little rapprochement with Linc. Who knew Linc had it in him? Really. I would not have expected him to do that, to not only say something decent to Alex, but then grip hands in a manly show of solidarity. That made my little heart skip a beat. Though Michael will be jealous if Alex and Linc get too nicey-nice with each other. And how much did I love Alex going after Stereotypical Asian Computer Geek Guy? Thiiiiiiiiiiiis much. I really don't know what's going, and sadly, it looks like next week I won't be able to FF past T-Bag anymore since he'll be back in the story, but... oh show. Just keep using my guy and I will be happy.
I just can't bring myself to watch this week's, because last week's was so truly wretched. I admit, they killed my love for the show with the season finale last year and the Zack thing. But the London eps were just beyond awful -- they had every stupid American cliche about England in there they could possibly fit, they made Booth look like the worst moron ever, it was so offensively dumb that I just can't forgive them anymore. So, yeah. No longer my happy place.
Hm. Just once, I think I'd like to hear J.J. Abrams actually admit that he's cribbing from other shows. I don't care how much of a spin he puts on things, or how he's tweaked it, he takes from other shows and refuses to admit it. Even the credits in this show look like X-Files'. Would it kill him to talk about how much like XF this series is? That it's taking things to the next level or whatever? No. No, it would not. Also, I have become one of his anti-admirers, just because I think he's one of those guys who is a starter, but not a finisher -- he can get a series going, can come up with the characterization and basic concept, but then he drifts off and as I said to friends when Lost started, mark my words, he will break your heart. He can go out of the gate, but he can't make it to the finish line in one piece. (I have a lengthy rant about the cult of the series creator we have in this country now, but I'll spare you that.)
So my expectations here are pretty low. I liked the main character (I especially loved her twitchy drawing inward when Blair Brown's character pulled the skin off her arm; the expression on her face was perfect), and I think John Noble's performance was excellent. It's got Lance Reddick from The Wire being buttheady and mysterious and sardonic, and it's great seeing Blair Brown on something again (especially with a cool robotic arm!). I will probably keep watching, to see what they can do, but I'm not going to let myself get too involved with it -- I learned my lesson on Abrams's other series.
My biggest disappointment was that I'd thought Mark Valley was a regular, so I was somewhat crushed when he was... crunched. Poor guy. From the teaser at the end, it sounds like they're doing something with him again later, but that he's not a regular makes me sad. I don't find anything interesting about the son -- he's very generic white bread heartthrob material, not my type at all. But seeing Lance Reddick every week would make up for the things I didn't like -- filmed in Toronto, with that filmed in Canada flat, lifeless look yet again (GAH!!!) plus the 12 Canadian actors playing all the guest roles; the unbelievably lame and ridiculous name of the paranormal events: really, "the Pattern" is the best you could come up with? How sad.
Boy, talk about your stupid shows. This one has every cliche from the '70s and'80s you could possibly fit into one show. It's so predictable, it makes me cry (see the tears?). But it has two male leads who couldn't be more my type, it has a wonderful female character (though they are starting to play with her in a way I'm not feeling very positive about--keep her the hell away from Newbie! I fucking hate Newbie!), and it has gear porn (the less said about my fetishes, the better).
I can't say I've joined the cult of Hugh Dillon, but boy do I understand the cult a lot better now. As Ed Lane, he's just really, really hot and sexy and my favorite type of guy -- super competent in his work, not so much in his private life, not especially chatty, lets his abilities do the talking. And coupled with Enrico Colantoni, I am a happy older-guys-rock slash girl. I really do prefer my men to be mature and experienced -- and I don't care if they don't fit the traditional good looks model much, either -- I like that they're real people, not vat-grown models. (Bone has an icon that says "I like 'em young and beautiful"; maybe I should make one that says "I like 'em old and rugged"??)
So I will skip through the stories in favor of just enjoying seeing two guys who care so much about each other and who do a dangerous, gear-porny job (oh, I do love me some snipers), and that's enough for me. I wish it had been on longer (they said next week's the season finale already). I also like the fact that it's actually, you know, Canadian for realz, and not trying to pretend to be Boston, California, and that they were shooting at a time of year when there were leaves on the trees and the skies were blue. What a concept! American audiences can actually embrace a Canadian show! And stuff!
OK, I confess, I can't even watch this (SoA). It's sitting on my TiVo, and I can't bring myself to play the whole thing. I caught bits and pieces as it was airing, but I was working in the other room, so I didn't see much (though I had to stop to watch Mitch Pileggi). This reminds me a lot of the Canadian miniseries The Last Chapter with Roy Dupuis and Michael Ironside), which was also about a biker gang and their murdering, drug and gun dealing ways, and their inner workings (read, murder and torture and terror). And truly, despite my love of Ron Perlman and Katy Sagal, I don't want to watch this stuff. I lived through some of that (less said about that scary part of my life, the better) as a kid, so I don't really need to see it. And Mitch playing a tatted, grizzled, wife-beater-wearing meth cooker just kinda... doesn't warm my heart, you know? It may turn out to be a great series, and I can see that Mitch and Ron are both digging their teeth into their roles, but... this is not fun TV.
Neither is the Shield for me, anymore. This week's ep just kinda flew by with me not paying much attention. I don't think the series has been the same for me for a long time, since that stuff with the people slowly dismembering that woman, and Dutch killing the cat. I loved when Glenn Close was on, but it still didn't feel the same, and now I feel very apart from it. The one I do still love to watch is CCH Pounder, seeing her run the Barn is great, but the show is just... I have always loved dark and violent things, but this seems to have pushed past a point of being dark and violent to just sick for sick's sake. I don't know what will happen to Vic as the series comes to a close, and I'll probably watch to see what does happen, but I don't know how much I'll care.
I haven't had a chance to see new Burn Notice from last night, and this is getting long enough, so that's probably a good thing!
Finally, finally, they got rid of Blayne. I keep telling everyone how ashamed I am that he's from my neighborhood. His designs are awful and have been since the beginning, he's horrid to look at (that hair and that stupid hoodie) and listen to... This is the first season I've seen more than a few eps of, and have watched regularly from the beginning, and I just have to wonder if they usually pick this many awful people for the show. Between Blayne and Stella, with her scary blank stare and leh-thu obsession, and the mousy girls (though Leanne has really stepped up to the plate, huh?), and the hideous third-person talking Suede, and probably my most hated one, Daniel, with his hit-over-the-head-with-a-shovel look and insistence on his elegant aesthetic, and most of the designers who are gone by now... such awful people (although I liked Keith, but he really needs to stop whining and take his life into his own hands). Irrititating and infuriating. And I'm praying that next week it's Henley -- she is not only a bad designer, she's just so hideous to listen to, with her nasal braying and Valley Girlish lack of enunciation and just... shudder.
I was never impressed with Terry's designs, not as much as she was, so I am not sorry to see her go. From the beginning, she seemed like a strong possibility, but I realized partway through what's come to be seen more and more lately, that she has no people skills whatsoever, and that she's very petty and arrogant. The way she treated Keith this week was completely uncalled for, and Kors was right -- even if people walk out on you (and you give them reason to), you still have to take responsibility for your work.
Design-wise, I loved Korto's and Leanne's looks the best. But, I always like Korto's the best, anyway. I truly hope she wins it. Maybe then she might make eye contact and smile at people? She's such a beautiful, strong, smart woman, and I sometimes want to smack her and say, "Look up! You are going to win this! Don't look down and away all the time!" I finally figured out why I have never been able to watch this show regularly, this year. Partly it's that I really don't like reality competition shows, but mostly it's... Heidi Klum. I despise her little girl voice, the things she says, the way she goes from mean and nasty comments to sweet little air kisses in a picosecond... I'm sure she's a nice person, and I hope she and Seal are happy forever, etc., but I do not like her. I try to FF as much as I can through her, but she's hard to avoid, for sure. I'll take Tim solo any day.
Oh, PB, you are so, so stupid. I never know what's going on with you, because I FF through anything that doesn't have Fichtner or Michael and Sara onscreen. I keep thinking you're done for, but then you come back.
But this week's -- oh! The scene with Alex choking out his "they killed my child!" and then the little rapprochement with Linc. Who knew Linc had it in him? Really. I would not have expected him to do that, to not only say something decent to Alex, but then grip hands in a manly show of solidarity. That made my little heart skip a beat. Though Michael will be jealous if Alex and Linc get too nicey-nice with each other. And how much did I love Alex going after Stereotypical Asian Computer Geek Guy? Thiiiiiiiiiiiis much. I really don't know what's going, and sadly, it looks like next week I won't be able to FF past T-Bag anymore since he'll be back in the story, but... oh show. Just keep using my guy and I will be happy.
I just can't bring myself to watch this week's, because last week's was so truly wretched. I admit, they killed my love for the show with the season finale last year and the Zack thing. But the London eps were just beyond awful -- they had every stupid American cliche about England in there they could possibly fit, they made Booth look like the worst moron ever, it was so offensively dumb that I just can't forgive them anymore. So, yeah. No longer my happy place.
Hm. Just once, I think I'd like to hear J.J. Abrams actually admit that he's cribbing from other shows. I don't care how much of a spin he puts on things, or how he's tweaked it, he takes from other shows and refuses to admit it. Even the credits in this show look like X-Files'. Would it kill him to talk about how much like XF this series is? That it's taking things to the next level or whatever? No. No, it would not. Also, I have become one of his anti-admirers, just because I think he's one of those guys who is a starter, but not a finisher -- he can get a series going, can come up with the characterization and basic concept, but then he drifts off and as I said to friends when Lost started, mark my words, he will break your heart. He can go out of the gate, but he can't make it to the finish line in one piece. (I have a lengthy rant about the cult of the series creator we have in this country now, but I'll spare you that.)
So my expectations here are pretty low. I liked the main character (I especially loved her twitchy drawing inward when Blair Brown's character pulled the skin off her arm; the expression on her face was perfect), and I think John Noble's performance was excellent. It's got Lance Reddick from The Wire being buttheady and mysterious and sardonic, and it's great seeing Blair Brown on something again (especially with a cool robotic arm!). I will probably keep watching, to see what they can do, but I'm not going to let myself get too involved with it -- I learned my lesson on Abrams's other series.
My biggest disappointment was that I'd thought Mark Valley was a regular, so I was somewhat crushed when he was... crunched. Poor guy. From the teaser at the end, it sounds like they're doing something with him again later, but that he's not a regular makes me sad. I don't find anything interesting about the son -- he's very generic white bread heartthrob material, not my type at all. But seeing Lance Reddick every week would make up for the things I didn't like -- filmed in Toronto, with that filmed in Canada flat, lifeless look yet again (GAH!!!) plus the 12 Canadian actors playing all the guest roles; the unbelievably lame and ridiculous name of the paranormal events: really, "the Pattern" is the best you could come up with? How sad.
Boy, talk about your stupid shows. This one has every cliche from the '70s and'80s you could possibly fit into one show. It's so predictable, it makes me cry (see the tears?). But it has two male leads who couldn't be more my type, it has a wonderful female character (though they are starting to play with her in a way I'm not feeling very positive about--keep her the hell away from Newbie! I fucking hate Newbie!), and it has gear porn (the less said about my fetishes, the better).
I can't say I've joined the cult of Hugh Dillon, but boy do I understand the cult a lot better now. As Ed Lane, he's just really, really hot and sexy and my favorite type of guy -- super competent in his work, not so much in his private life, not especially chatty, lets his abilities do the talking. And coupled with Enrico Colantoni, I am a happy older-guys-rock slash girl. I really do prefer my men to be mature and experienced -- and I don't care if they don't fit the traditional good looks model much, either -- I like that they're real people, not vat-grown models. (Bone has an icon that says "I like 'em young and beautiful"; maybe I should make one that says "I like 'em old and rugged"??)
So I will skip through the stories in favor of just enjoying seeing two guys who care so much about each other and who do a dangerous, gear-porny job (oh, I do love me some snipers), and that's enough for me. I wish it had been on longer (they said next week's the season finale already). I also like the fact that it's actually, you know, Canadian for realz, and not trying to pretend to be Boston, California, and that they were shooting at a time of year when there were leaves on the trees and the skies were blue. What a concept! American audiences can actually embrace a Canadian show! And stuff!
OK, I confess, I can't even watch this (SoA). It's sitting on my TiVo, and I can't bring myself to play the whole thing. I caught bits and pieces as it was airing, but I was working in the other room, so I didn't see much (though I had to stop to watch Mitch Pileggi). This reminds me a lot of the Canadian miniseries The Last Chapter with Roy Dupuis and Michael Ironside), which was also about a biker gang and their murdering, drug and gun dealing ways, and their inner workings (read, murder and torture and terror). And truly, despite my love of Ron Perlman and Katy Sagal, I don't want to watch this stuff. I lived through some of that (less said about that scary part of my life, the better) as a kid, so I don't really need to see it. And Mitch playing a tatted, grizzled, wife-beater-wearing meth cooker just kinda... doesn't warm my heart, you know? It may turn out to be a great series, and I can see that Mitch and Ron are both digging their teeth into their roles, but... this is not fun TV.
Neither is the Shield for me, anymore. This week's ep just kinda flew by with me not paying much attention. I don't think the series has been the same for me for a long time, since that stuff with the people slowly dismembering that woman, and Dutch killing the cat. I loved when Glenn Close was on, but it still didn't feel the same, and now I feel very apart from it. The one I do still love to watch is CCH Pounder, seeing her run the Barn is great, but the show is just... I have always loved dark and violent things, but this seems to have pushed past a point of being dark and violent to just sick for sick's sake. I don't know what will happen to Vic as the series comes to a close, and I'll probably watch to see what does happen, but I don't know how much I'll care.
I haven't had a chance to see new Burn Notice from last night, and this is getting long enough, so that's probably a good thing!
