Luckylyn

I hated this episode. Harold basically had a neon sign on his head saying “I’m up to something bad.” There should be things about him that make him appear suspicious but it shouldn’t be so blatant. It makes the people who aren’t suspicious of him seem like idiots. I don’t understand why Nadine/Harold is a secret when in the book they were openly a couple. There’s no logical reason why they can’t just be dating. That would make their evil plotting easier because they can be seen openly together. I felt nothing for Nadine and Larry’s scene. The show hasn’t built up their feelings for each other adequately. Just like Tom leaving Boulder in episode 4 lacked impact because the show runners didn’t bother building up the relationships between characters and also took short cuts with character development. So as a result we don’t get to know characters or get as invested in their journey. Imagine if in the movie Shawshank Redemption they just skipped to the end. The journey is as vital as the destination in storytelling. The show has taken so many shortcuts. The momentum has been lost and the characters have not be developed to their full potential. One thing I liked was Flagg playing dead. That was well done. They have a fantastic (mostly) cast and have wasted them. I was so excited for this miniseries. I’m really disappointed.

I think Laurel’s brother is going to somehow be connected to Nicky and Jack and their time in Vietnam . I think Kevin will be fine but possibly hit someone else causing serious harm. Or he ends up rescuing someone who has crashed.

I’m betting we’re going to find out that Laurel’s brother knew Nicky and/or Jack in Vietnam. Or if he didn’t know them he somehow indirectly impacted them.

Didn’t they tell Kim they wanted to do a Sam/Brady sexting storyline and she was horrified? edited to add: Kim Cattrall’s Plot in Sex and the City 3 Would Have Involved Miranda’s Teenage Son

When I was a kid it made me cry.

Exactly, Mother Abigail being self sufficient was an important aspect of the book. She grew her food, slaughtered her own animals, carried water from a well if needed etc.... Details like that establish how strong and independent a type of person she was. It showed how she was able to survive the destabilization of civilization. I don’t understand what they are doing with Mother Abigail in this version at all. I feel like the writers don’t know who she is at her core at all and Whoopi’s performance is so lifeless that she can’t elevate already weak writing for her character. Changes can be a good thing and add more to the material. But some of these changes seem pointless. I don’t understand some of these decisions. I was so excited to see a modernization of this story that wouldn’t be censored like the 1994 series had to be. Yet the poorly edited time shifts, diminishing of characters, rushing through character development, changes that distract rather than enhance the story, etc... take away from something that could have been amazing. Most of the cast choices were so great but their potential is being squandered. I want to like this but feel frustrated.

I do think realistically Marc is a jerk who would cruelly remark on Kate’s weight. I don’t think he’d just stand there and listen to her. But the writers are choosing to be considerate of the actresse’s feelings probably. It’s a tightrope they are walking. They got backlash for for not protecting the child actor who played Randall from hearing rascist dialog from Rebecca’s mother and so may want to avoid that with subjecting the actress playing Kate to harsh language about her weight. She’s not wearing a fat suit. Her size is real. Whatever insult they could have written for Marc to say could be internalized by the actress. I think of the Growing Pains situation where they had brother Mike make fat jokes about his sister Carol and how this triggered the actress playing Carol’s eating disorder. They didn’t cause her disorder but did exacerbate it.

So they decided to just make Nadine THE EVIL without any nuance or character development. I have never found Nadine likeable but her journey to the dark side took time. She struggled and this miniseries just skipped over her journey. The committee went from a group of 7 (which is a symbolic number) to a group of five. Also Fran is the only woman included when in the book the committee had two women. I know Susan Stern is a minor character, but I don't know why the committee couldn't be 7 and have more than one woman included. The character Ray was a man in the book. They changed him into a woman, diminished the character, and now she's not on the committee like in the book. His/Her friendships with the characters is just glossed over. Why? I'm not a purist who insists everything must be the same as the novel. I don't mind changes if the overall story is true to the spirit of the book and/or it stands up as a good story. Novels and series are different mediums and there should be differences when you transition from text to visual. What they are doing with Harold is working and Fran is being handled better here than in the 1994 miniseries. Most of the cast is solid and I really like some of the casting choices. I just don't understand some of the changes. Why screw with the momentum and go non linear in such a clunky way? Why make Nadine so boring? Why rush through Nick's story? I feel like we didn't get the chance to see the friendship with Tom and Nick develop and really feel their bond. Also is Frannie the only woman they want to write any depth for? Nadine's one dimensional. I feel like Mother Abigail has been diminished. Susan Stern and Lucy have been thrown away when they could have given them more to do. They changed Ray into a woman and then seemed to discard her. I hope they do something interesting with Dana at least. Changes should be purposeful for the story. Do they want to be different just for the sake of being different? What is the point of some of these decisions? Non-linear is not inherently bad but it's a structure that doesn't work for all stories. Also how it's done matters. I feel the transitions are jarring and could be smoother. The movies and the tv show Highlander included flash backs all the time, and there were some really nice transitions between present and past scenes. Shifting around in time can be done better.

I think it is. There are aspects that are dated but overall I think it's a good read.

I thought Madison’s main concern was Kevin’s assumption that she and the twins would be traveling all over with him. It didn’t seem to occur to him that she might not want to do that. It’s clear they haven’t had a conversation about how their family will work regarding working and family time. They are making assumptions about each other based on what they want and not really planning ahead realistically. I feel that they are both very careful with each other and not communicating as clearly as they could. Also what is Madison’s job? Is she planning to be a stay at home Mom or continue the career she already has? I notice neither he nor her brought it up. His career is treated as the priority and the show hasn’t given any thought to Madison’s personal ambitions. Maybe we’re supposed to assume this was discussed off screen and that’s why Kevin assumes Madison would be free to travel with him all the time. Even is she wants to be a stay at home Mom that doesn’t mean she’ll want a life where she and her kids are traveling a lot. Some people enjoy a life on the road while others don’t. They need to stop walking on eggshells with each other and be more specific about what they want. I have seen so many Lifetime movies and so I am fully expecting Kate’s ex to start stalking her. He could find her as easily as she found him. But I’m hoping it doesn’t go there. I found the Marc arc anti climactic. I find I am bored with Randall this week. I feel like the show’s repetitive.

Lol, I didn’t remember that.

I think Ossyra is an interesting villain but the actress and her changing accent (British one second, American the next) aren’t working for me. It’s intriguing that she is willing to make changes but only if she’s allowed to stay in the driver’s seat. Ultimately she’s only negotiating out of desperation due to running out of dilithium not because of a true desire for peace. The fact is no one will take a Federation /Emerald Chain alliance seriously if there’s any appearance of Ossyra puppeteering behind the scenes. Ossyra can have peace or control. She can’t have both. She’s do whatever necessary to survive and work behind the scenes scenes to gain control. She didn’t even offer a compromise like going into exile. She must have a seat at the table or else. It occurs to me that parent/child relationships have been a particular theme this season. Family is a the key to The Burn and resolving the current conflict.

I wanted to watch a few episodes before I stared discussing this. First , I like most of the casting. Stu, Franny, Batman, Flagg, and Larry are well done. I think this adaptation is handling Harlod and his petty rage well. I do wish they had hired a deaf actor to play Nick. They use the excuse that Nick is able to speak in a dream sequence in the book but they have changed other things from the book. Instead of being ableist and having Nick able to speak in dreams why not have others able to use ASL in the dreamscape? Have the world adjust to Nick in his dreams rather than him adjust to them. That would be a nice way to further distinguish Flagg from Mother Abigail. Flagg tries to use the ability to speak as a bribe while Mother simply communicates with Nick in a way that validates him as he is. I think this adaptation is handling Harlod and his petty rage well. I’m glad Rita was included but think it’s odd her death happened off screen. That moment Larry realizes she’s not asleep but dead was horrifying and traumatic. It’s a as a shock that helped Larry go a better path. After having time to adjust to it I think the non-linear structure is hurting the momentum and character development. I hate how rushed Nick’s back story was handled. I feel like we’re not getting to know Mother Abigail as a person. She’s a religious figure because of her connection with God but she’s also a human being. I feel like she’s not conveying much personality. Is it the writing, direction, or Whoopi? I hate the addition of Mother will only communicate through Nick thing. Mother Abigail engages people and it’s wrong to have her cloistered away. Nadine does not just give in to Flagg. She wrestles with him compelling her to him. I agree that something is lost by not using Nadine’s black hair slowly turning white as symbolic of her struggle. Where is Lucy? I realize she’s a side character but I do think she plays a role The 90s miniseries does the bare minimum with Lucy but at least they don’t cut her out. I wonder if they are just dropping her completely but then that means Someone posted elsewhere a concern that the show runners are overly focused on trying to distinguish themselves from the previous miniseries at the expense of storytelling. I think that’s a valid criticism. Style over substance is an issue with this adaptation. There are good things in this miniseries but also a lot of issues.

Star Trek Discovery: so basically Stamets is trapped in a time loop and needs Michael’s help to get Tyler to help save the ship. So Stamets gives Micheal a dance lesson as they talk about love in order to get Michael to be more open with Tyler who is at a party oblivious to the danger that they are in. It’s kind of a sweet moment in a stressful episode and it’s lovely to hear Stamets talk about meeting his partner.

Dolly Parton plays an Angel has become a trope. She’s played an Angel at least 3 times. There was a tv movie years ago, and episode of Designing Women and the current Netflix Christmas musical. She’s awesome so this works perfectly in my opinion.

Wonder Woman 1984 and Issues with Consent and Bodily Autonomy - I mostly enjoyed WW84 but this video covers the one particular aspect of it I really did not like. Colonialism and The Lost World - I found this deep dive into the various adaptations and the historical background of colonialism really interesting

WW 1984 and Issues with Consent and Bodily Autonomy

I just started A Promised Land by Barack Obama today. I’m really looking forward to reading about his perspective.

The body theft added a totally unnecessary problematic plot. They made something that should have been simple (wish brought Steve back in his own body) complicated (Steve possesses random stranger) for no apparent reason.

I really enjoyed the movie despite some flaws. I appreciate that Wonder Woman isn’t gloomy for the sake of it like other hero movies. She’s striving to inspire the best in people. This is the vibe I wished the current Superman had. Batman can be cynical and gothic but Wonder Woman and Superman should be more positive. Wonder Woman shows that good and hopeful does not have to make a character boring. I need a hero who doesn’t just wallow in misery. I say this as someone who loves Batman. There’s room for darker heroes and lighter ones. The only thing I didn’t like was Steve in another man’s body. It was totally unnecessary and it was wrong for Steve and Diana to have sex with him in someone else’s body. Also wouldn’t this guy have an employer, friends, and family who would wonder what was happening to him as Steve took this man’s body all over the place? I kept waiting for the body takeover to have a point but it never did. They could have easily just brought Steve back as himself. One thing I learned from a lot is fantasy shows and movies is that too many script writers don’t understand that having sex with a body that someone has taken over is rape. I stopped watching Stargate Universe because the writers refused to get stuff like that.

I started A Warm Heart in Winter by JR Ward. This is another book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series set at Christmas featuring Quinn and Blay and also with some focus on Zsadist. One unique thing about this series that I really appreciate is that once a couple gets together it isn’t the end of their story. Love doesn’t magically fix everything and sometimes the couples will have problems either as individuals or between each other that have to be worked through.

I think my favorite movie prom look is Eva Amurri’s suit in Saved. Very unique.

That prom dress was an atrocity.

I started A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens . I have seen so many adaptations but I have never actually read it before.

I started In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. I’m enjoying it so far. I am intrigued by the Christmas take of a Groundhog Day plot.