Small Talk: The Quiver

[FurryFury]

Pretty sure iZombie's not going to survive season 4 (of course, it's still 2 more seasons). It's fun, but it's nothing really special, IMO. As for Lost Boys, eh, don't really care. I'd love a VM Netflix mini-series or at least a few more books. 

[Delphi]

Unpopular opinion,  I liked Duncan.  I have no idea why.   Also yes,  if Gilmore Girls gets a netflix revival Veronica Mars totally deserves one. 

[Jediknight]

1 hour ago, Delphi said:

Unpopular opinion,  I liked Duncan.  I have no idea why.   Also yes,  if Gilmore Girls gets a netflix revival Veronica Mars totally deserves one. 

And in the revival, Logan Echolls needs to meet the business end of a Louisville Slugger.

[FurryFury]

Duncan was probably one of the worst-written and worst-acted characters in otherwise good shows that I've ever seen. He was the blight on the stellar season 1.

[Genki]

I went to Rob Thomas session last year and he said he says he wouldn't do anymore VM books while doing iZombie because it was too much. So maybe we would have to wait for iZombie (which I quite like but not over VM) to finish up.

I think Duncan was OK for season 1, especially since 

Spoiler

he was the alternate murderer, if Aaron Echolls was leaked IIRC.

But he definitely needed to go for S2.

I'm not sure who was worse Donut or Piz.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Genki
clarity and genereal mistakes

[FurryFury]

I go back and forth on that, but Duncan is probably worse because, unlike Piz, he isn't introduced as an obvious Romantic False Lead trope (think Ray Palmer in Arrow s3 if you aren't familiar with trope-speak). I've seen dozens of such characters and I wasn't really that annoyed by him (although he really didn't have a place in the movie). And also s1 is MUCH better than s3, so Duncan being so awful sticks out way more. Also, Duncan pretty much had lots of stuff that should have made him fascinating, I mean, psychological troubles, guilt, parental issues... But none of it gelled and the character just didn't work at all. At least with Piz you knew who he was and how his mind worked, even if he was generic and boring as hell.

[tv echo]

I didn't know this...

5 TV shows canceled due to an idiotic mistake
http://www.looper.com/7669/shows-canceled-idiot-mistake/s/angel-asks-for-early-renewal-gets-canceled-instead/

Quote

Angel asks for early renewal, gets canceled instead
.  .  .
After Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003, fans flocked to the show's spinoff series, Angel, which was entering its fifth season. After spending years on the renewal bubble, Angel enjoyed a post-Buffy ratings bump, which convinced series creator Joss Whedon to approach the network about an early pickup for a sixth season. Although Whedon's move wasn't purely a power play—he was looking for extra security for the show's team, who'd endured years of passing up potential gigs while waiting for last-minute renewal news—it was seen as an ultimatum by the network president, who reacted by pulling the plug. Although the network later admitted they'd made a mistake, it was too late to revive Angel.

Edited August 22, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

'Star Trek' marks start of new mission for CBS
By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch  22 hrs ago
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/star-trek-marks-start-of-new-mission-for-cbs/article_20a11103-a507-5fe2-a8a5-9f70aa465b86.html

Quote

Bryan Fuller can’t tell us everything about “Star Trek Discovery.” But he spilled quite a lot when he sat down recently with TV critics meeting in Los Angeles.

Fuller, who already has 22 writing credits on “Star Trek” series including “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager,” is developing “Discovery” for CBS along with Alex Kurtzman (“Sleepy Hollow”). The 13-episode series will debut on the network in January, and then move to subscription service CBS All Access.

“Discovery” will be set in the Prime universe, about 10 years before Capt. James T. Kirk’s five-year mission in the original “Star Trek.”

(“The correct designations according to the internet now are the Kelvin Universe, which is the J.J. Abrams universe, and the Prime Universe,” Fuller explained.)

The time bridges the gap between the original series and “Enterprise,” and also allows Fuller and his team to “redefine the visual style of ‘Star Trek,’” to modernize “not only the way we’re telling stories, but the way you’re seeing aliens in this environment,” he said.
*  *  *
“We’re much closer to Kirk’s time than to ‘Enterprise,’ so we get to play with all that iconography.” But no, “Discovery” won’t be set during the Romulan War, Fuller told one persistent questioner. “Close, but no banana.”

Casting is just getting started, but Fuller, whose credits include “Dead Like Me,” “Pushing Daisies” and “Hannibal,” confirmed that the lead character will be female and also human rather than alien. She won’t be a captain, though.

Describing her rank as “lieutenant commander with caveats,” he said, “We’ve seen six series now from captains’ points of view, and to see a character from a different perspective on a starship, who has a different dynamic relationship with the captain, with subordinates, felt like it was going to give us richer context.”

In creating the character, “I’ve talked extensively with Mae Jemison, who is the first black woman in space, and it was interesting to send her outlines and get her perspective of what it’s like for a woman in the sciences now,” Fuller said.

The seven or so lead characters in the ensemble will be as diverse as “Star Trek,” which teamed a Russian, a Vulcan and a black woman, has always been, Fuller said. “We’re absolutely about continuing that tradition.” There will also be a gay character.

“Star Trek Discovery” will also have robots and many aliens, and possibly even alien-human sex, since CBS All Access won’t fall under the network’s Standards and Practices rules. “Why do you think we call it STD?” Fuller joked.

The fact that, after a tease, “Star Trek Discovery” will air on a subscription service is likely to be a sore spot with viewers, especially those who are already paying for CBS via a cable or satellite provider.

All Access, which currently costs $5.99 a month and streams on most devices, will also air the planned spin-off of “The Good Wife,” starring Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo. A special fall season of “Big Brother” will air only on All Access.
*  *  *
CBS All Access is “our way of delivering the CBS television network and all of its incredible assets, plus even more from our library, directly to subscribers over the internet,” DeBevoise said. “It’s not in competition with or in some way contradictory to our network television model or brand” and doesn’t even endanger local affiliate stations, because subscribers get the feed from those stations.
*  *  *
“It’s a very broad audience track in ‘Star Trek,’ but you may think of it as more male or maybe slightly older. The same thing may be true with ‘The Good Wife,’ but a different demo,” he said. “You can see us sort of testing the waters in each of these areas and potentially doubling down in all of them or some of them or others as we grow the service going forward.”

Edited August 22, 2016 by tv echo

[Sakura12]

Season 1 of Veronica Mars was probably the best show I watched on TV. Even with Duncan being the weakest link. That was just bad casting. They found the one person in the world that did not have chemistry with Kristen Bell. 

I enjoy iZombie but if it was that show or more VM, VM will always win. 

[looptab]

Never watched Veronica Mars. I'll have to catch up on that sometimes.

On another note, I came across a rerun of Dawson's Creek, and it was the episode after Mitch's death. Each character had a sort-of- flashback of him, and it just got me thinking of how awful Canary Cry was.

[BkWurm1]

9 hours ago, Genki said:

I went to Rob Thomas session last year and he said he says he wouldn't do anymore VM books while doing iZombie because it was too much. So maybe we would have to wait for iZombie (which I quite like but not over VM) to finish up.

I think Duncan was OK for season 1, especially since 

  Hide contents

he was the alternate murderer, if Aaron Echolls was leaked IIRC.

But he definitely needed to go for S2.

I'm not sure who was worse Donut or Piz.

 

8 hours ago, FurryFury said:

I go back and forth on that, but Duncan is probably worse because, unlike Piz, he isn't introduced as an obvious Romantic False Lead trope (think Ray Palmer in Arrow s3 if you aren't familiar with trope-speak). I've seen dozens of such characters and I wasn't really that annoyed by him (although he really didn't have a place in the movie). And also s1 is MUCH better than s3, so Duncan being so awful sticks out way more. Also, Duncan pretty much had lots of stuff that should have made him fascinating, I mean, psychological troubles, guilt, parental issues... But none of it gelled and the character just didn't work at all. At least with Piz you knew who he was and how his mind worked, even if he was generic and boring as hell.

Piz wouldn't have been so bad if the series hadn't ended with him still in the picture.   Then for him to be around again years later when the movie picked up, yeah, I had a bad time of it when I thought at first he'd been around the whole time in between. 

Duncan wasn't so bad IMO in the first season.  Yes he was vacant and a suck of chemistry but he was also supposed to be on so meds that made him that way so when he was in a scene and just didn't seem to be quite right, it made sense to me.  I thought it was done on purpose, lol.  But by the end of the first episode of season 2 I hated him because he did NOT work at all.    I did like how they wrote him off the show though.  Favorite put on a bus situation.  Followed by favorite cameo later in the season when he answers the phone call on the beach.  Justice. 

[bijoux]

When did fracken become a thing? I presume it's synonymous with freaking, to which I say, what the hell is wrong with freaking? Why is it not good enough anymore? Get these pesky kids off my lawn!

[FurryFury]

I loved the whole Donut Run episode, but I think it was overall very OOC for Duncan (as much as we can say OOC for a character whose characterization was let's just say struggling).

[catrox14]

Quote

When did fracken become a thing? I presume it's synonymous with freaking, to which I say, what the hell is wrong with freaking? Why is it not good enough anymore? Get these pesky kids off my lawn!

"Frak" was the euphemism for fuck on Battlestar Galactica 2003 reboot. I'm pretty sure that's where it came from. I use it all the time now and I have my own lawn which I shout at people to get off.. 'Get the frak off my lawn!!"

Edited August 22, 2016 by catrox14

[Sakura12]

27 minutes ago, bijoux said:

When did fracken become a thing? I presume it's synonymous with freaking, to which I say, what the hell is wrong with freaking? Why is it not good enough anymore? Get these pesky kids off my lawn!

Battlestar Galactica is when I started using it. 

[bijoux]

I know of frack, but I've only come across fracken in the past few days. And now it seems like it's everywhere.

[catrox14]

I think they confusing the spelling of "frak" from BSG 2003 with 'frack" from the Original series or with the drilling technique and it ends up as fracken. In the Battlestar Wiki the 2003 reboot it's spelled "frak".  I'm annoyingly pedantic about how "frak' is spelled. LOL

32 minutes ago, bijoux said:

When did fracken become a thing? I presume it's synonymous with freaking, to which I say, what the hell is wrong with freaking? Why is it not good enough anymore? Get these pesky kids off my lawn!

[manbearpig]

I'm catching up with iZombie season two now and having a lot of fun. Blaine dressing up to look older to trick his dad made me laugh out loud. I just love that he went to all that effort for such a brief moment.

Edited August 22, 2016 by manbearpig
Edited because I can barely construct a sentence, apparently.

[tv echo]

There's also "What the frell?!" from Farscape.

[catrox14]

4 hours ago, tv echo said:

There's also "What the frell?!" from Farscape.

That always made me laugh because I figured  "frell" was "fucking Hell" since it was filmed in Australia but I could never figure out what the 'r' meant.

[tv echo]

Includes some shows already scheduled to debut this fall...

17 TV Remakes And Revivals That Are Currently In The Works
BY LAURA HURLEY August 25, 2016
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/1549429/18-remakes-and-revivals-that-are-currently-in-the-works

Xena: Warrior Princess
Training Day 
MacGyver
The Notebook
L.A. Law
Tales from the Crypt
Prison Break
Lethal Weapon
Twin Peaks
Lost In Space
Gilmore Girls
Frequency
Star Trek: Discovery
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The Exorcist
Varsity Blues
The Departed

Edited August 26, 2016 by tv echo

[tv echo]

New Doctor Who spinoff is being compared to Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

Class: Patrick Ness talks the Doctor Who spin-off
John Nugent  24 Aug 2016 
http://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/class-patrick-ness-talks-doctor-spin/

Quote

So, where the long-running BBC sci-fi series features a 900-year-old protagonist, its new sister show will feature teenagers confronting otherworldly beasts, in the vein of Buffy, which Ness mentions as a touchpoint. “Adults watch that, because it’s a great show, but the POV and the agency are all teenage, and that’s what we want to do with Class. It needs to be from the point of view of the sixth-formers – but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a ‘young show’.”

The heroes of Class are ordinary kids, too, thrust into a school where the boundaries of space-time have been stretched. These guys will have to deal with extraterrestrial threats and A-level revision.

“We’re not telling stories of the ‘chosen ones’,” Ness says. “It’s happenstance that puts these people [at the centre of things]. What if your timing is just weird and things happen to you? How do you deal with it? I’m interested in real consequences. The Doctor is always exciting, but he never stays. He goes off on the next adventure. What happens to real people?”

Edited August 26, 2016 by tv echo

[FurryFury]

Well, considering how Torchwood was compared to Angel (or even inspired by? I don't remember exactly) seeing a Buffy parallel for another spin-off is kinda logical.

[doesntworkonwood]

I think, now that I know that Moffat isn't actually writing it, Class could be quite a success. The Sarah Jane adventures was absolutely amazing, and this seems to be picking up on that sort of theme. It's going to be on BBC Three, so it will be interesting to see them make it to fit within that demographic, but if it did well with Torchwood, I don't see why they wont be able to.

[foreverevolving]

what is bbc3 demo?

I know Torchwood started on that channel. 

[doesntworkonwood]

BBC Three is aimed at 18-35 year olds. It's an online channel now, but it has always tended to focus on 'younger' people. Not really family friendly, but it's a channel that's come out with some really good content since it started. Not just Torchwood (and DW Confidential back when it was on), but some of my favourite programs like Some Girls and Bad Education. For a point of reference, it used to be where Family Guy was on. 

[bijoux]

I've just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and boy, howdy, did it make me ragey. Now, I know the original is titled Men Who Hate Women, so I expected crimes against women, but as I was reading the book, I wondered whether Stieg Larsson is not one of those titular men. Because the way the male and female protagonists are treated are markedly differently.

Warning: Spoiler tags contain spoilers about disturbing book content. Click at your own peril if you are not familiar with the book.

Now, this struck me pretty early on. After all, Blomkvist is presumably at the low point of his career as the book opens, but pretty swiftly we see him with his long time mistress, getting a lucrative, if suspicious job offer and another woman basically throwing herself at him. Lisbeth in contrast deals with her unease around other people, loses the one person she feels comfortable with and is quickly 

Spoiler

Sexually assaulted by her new guardian, a rat bastard abusing his power in every conceivable way. Blomkvist's prison stay meanwhile is a relaxing break which offers him time to reflect.

What made me see red for real was when the murderer was discovered.

Spoiler

Blomkvist goes to see him on his own like an idiot. This is actually a trait he and Lisbeth share. He is taken (duh), constrained and tortured. Seems like a pretty good parallel to Lisbeth being constrained by her guardian early on. And thus it's incredibly easy to see the differences. Blomkivst gets to partake in a conversation with the crazy sadist, he has a voice. Lisbeth was gagged with her own underpants and mute! She was also sodomized quickly. Blomkvist is rescued by her before the rapist/murder has the chance to kiss him. Oh, hurrah! :/ Plus,mLisbeth was alone recovering from her attack, and he had her taking care of him after his.

And finally, what I hate most of all is the fact that Lisbeth 

Spoiler

not only comes to him as another willing sex partner but then falls in love with this 40-year-old man child. Sweet baby Jesus. Also, I was less than pleased with Blomkivst barging into her apartment uninvited when she was sleepy, defenseless and half naked. Now, he found out she invaded his privacy in a pretty big way, so I don't actually blame the character in this particular instance. I blame Larsson for the way he has Lisbeth react. This is very shortly after she was raped and she, a hermit-like person, immediately starts to get comfortable with this guy, getting a shower while he putters around her kitchen and then comments on his nice eyes. How does that make a lick of sense?

There were a few good points.

• Lisbeth openly calls herself the best hacker in Sweden.
• She gives a variation of, cool motive, still murder.
• The mystery, while gruesome, is actually good.
• All the Evil (Lisbeth's secret past trauma) is not revealed in this book, and since I have no intention of reading the others, I will never have to know what it is.

[FurryFury]

I heard enough about this movie/book to avoid it. Violence against women, especially sexual, is something I'm quite uncomfortable with. And the male lead sounds really generic and author avatar-y.

[bijoux]

I was ready for the violence within the context of the mystery and I was aware that Lisbeth survived some sort of violence. It was really the sacred cow male protagonist that broke me. I don't think that me cackling with glee at the indication that something bad would befall him was the intended result.

[Morrigan2575]

She didn't  get revenge on the guardian in the book? In the movie she ended up owning him, to the point that he pissed his pants whenever she looked at him crossly.

[bijoux]

She got revenge, although they didn't meet after that. Maybe that comes from the sequels or is inserted into the movie. My point is she and Blomkvist were put in a very similar siruation with very different outcomes.

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, bijoux said:

She got revenge, although they didn't meet after that. Maybe that comes from the sequels or is inserted into the movie. My point is she and Blomkvist were put in a very similar siruation with very different outcomes.

I didn't read the book so i can't comment on that.  However, my impression from the movie was quite favorable and, didn't seem like the movie was setting up a double standard. In fact Lisbeth was the big hero of the movie. Yes she got raped but, she also got revenge and the guardian was cowed by her. In two incidents  (that i can recall) Lisbeth saved Blomkvist's life. She's the one that essentially figures out the big mystery and, stops the bad guy.

I don't know if that's something the movie altered or if it's in the book but, I thought the movie showed a strong female character who in the end, unlike most movies with male/female protagonists, ended up being the hero instead of needing the rescue. 

The only thing I didn't like was that Blomkvist lied to Lisbeth and broke her heart. However, in the end even that wasn't a huge negative because it showed me how strong of a person she was compared to Blomkvist. 

In the end, i can't speak to the book but, I really enjoyed the movie despite the very difficult subject matter.

[bijoux]

In the book, they both figure out the mystery more or less simultaneously, although from different angles. There was one instance of her saving his life 

Spoiler

from Martin Vanger when he has Blomkvist chained in his basement.

I think I might have dealt with it better if they didn't become involved and particularly if Lisbeth hadn't fallen in love with him. This was coming on the heels of Cecilia and aside from the author enjoying his alter ego in a pseudo James Bond role, with all the chicks falling over themselves on his account, I just don't get why it was necessary. It's the first book of the series and he planned for there to be 10. Like, hold your horses, dude.

How did Blomkvist lie to Lisbeth in the movie? He didn't really in the book.

[Morrigan2575]

Quote

How did Blomkvist lie to Lisbeth in the movie? He didn't really in the book.

In the movie she and asks him out and he tells her he can't because he was spending the evening with his daughter.  Lisbeth buys him a present (leather jacket IIRC) and goes to surprise him at his house and she catches Blomkvist with his mistress. 

[bijoux]

No, that definitely never happens in the book. She does come with a present for him and sees him with Berger, but he never lies about it.

[SmallScreenDiva]

Asking here because it's got nothing to do with Arrow although I guess it can be considered Arrow-adjacent: What happened at the Nocking Point party last night? Seeing some disgruntled people on Twitter. Anybody here who was there?

[bijoux]

If it's what you're talking about, a guest asked the band to play Happy Birthday to her friend who had her 60th yesterday. The lead got snappy and told her they didn't take requests. That brought on criticism about them playing the same set at all the parties. That's what I got, whih isn't to say something else didn't happen as well.

[Chaser]

I saw a tweet about running out of wine and something about one of the band members cussing out some people. 

I didn't see much in the way of specifics. 

[Guest]

These NP parties seem a little scripted to me. Some people have been to quite a few and the same thing happens every single time. SA sings, sometimes with CD or with his wife. Someone from the band is rude. They run out of wine. It's almost formulaic at this point. LOL. I guess once you've been to one you've been to them all!

[bijoux]

That's really neat detailing.

[Jediknight]

8 hours ago, bijoux said:

That's really neat detailing.

Not surprising, in the teaser trailer the sets looked fantastic, so Disney's already shown they're not sparing any expense for that movie.  They know anticipation is high, and there's a lot to live up to, so they want to make sure it lives up to everything.

[lemotomato]

On 8/28/2016 at 10:32 AM, SmallScreenDiva said:

Asking here because it's got nothing to do with Arrow although I guess it can be considered Arrow-adjacent: What happened at the Nocking Point party last night? Seeing some disgruntled people on Twitter. Anybody here who was there?

I'm not sure what people on twitter were saying, but I was disgruntled that they ran out of NP wine within an hour after the non-VIP guests were admitted and they ended up pouring stuff I could've bought at the local supermarket. Also, no Q&A even though it was advertised on the email.

It was livelier than it was last year, at least, because they hired a DJ to fill time between sets. And Colin Donnell is gorgeous up close. The whole cast is, really.

Edited August 30, 2016 by lemotomato

[bijoux]

I finally saw Zootopia and it's such a great movie. It started off with Judy being a wonderful character, one who makes mistakes, apologizes and learns from them, and then moves on to make new ones. But she doesn't give up. 

Then the crime plot starts to unfold and you realize how actually current and important this is. 

[Morrigan2575]

I love Zootopia, great movie

[calliope1975]

Graham Shiels, who played Cyrus Gold in Season 2, just held the door for me at my job. I'm wearing the Stardust/Amell wrestling shirt. I hope he didn't notice. That was my exciting actor encounter today. Don't be too jealous. :p

[SmallScreenDiva]

Just binged on Killjoys in prep for tonight's finale and GOD-FUCKING-DAMNIT! #StopKillingCharactersILike

In other news, I'm looking over a friend's shoulder and reading tweets by Josh Friedman, who created The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He sometimes goes on these mini "lectures" about how TV works and its fascinating. 

Edited September 2, 2016 by SmallScreenDiva

[dtissagirl]

1 hour ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

Just binged on Killjoys in prep for tonight's finale and GOD-FUCKING-DAMNIT! #StopKillingCharactersILike

Yeah. I don't even know if I'm watching tonight's ep, I'll read spoilers first. But I'm not coming back to the show next season. They killed my favorite character [FAVORITE!], and I sorta spend all the time D'avin is on screen just thinking DIE, BLAND BLOCK OF CEMENT, DIE, but clearly the show thinks he's great. I cannot with it.

[SmallScreenDiva]

Yeah, I got a bit bored with the show and let the eps pile up. I didn't see any spoilers so I wasn't prepared for THAT. Grrrr! Is it me or did the focus move away from Dutch this season?

[way2interested]

Definitely less Dutch-centric this season for sure, more like an ensemble this season imo, which works in some cases (more Pawter) and not in others (more Davin). But Dutch still remains tied to a central mystery for the season.

Although, luckily, they could never kill my favorite (Lucy).

[FurryFury]

I dropped Killjoys, all the romancing all over the place bored me. And everybody loves Dutch way too much. I hate the term Mary Sue, but the show really started to handle her like one. I used to prefer Killjoys to Dark Matter, but DM is much better this season (still not perfect, of course, but thumbs up for getting rid of the worst character of the show AND the stupid quasi-love triangle).