Small Talk: The Quiver

[icandigit]

Besides the multi DC panel did anyone find any good Gotham interviews with Ben Mckenzie.Just curious.

[pootlus]

I loved all the Marvel movies.  I think they've done a great job so far in connecting their different superhero franchises, while still maintaining separate identities for them.

I'm ashamed to say that I've only seen the first Thor movie and the first Iron Man. I liked them well enough (Thor especially) so I've no idea why I never bothered to see any others!

On the DC side - While I loved the last three Batman movies, I thought Man of Steel was one-half of a good movie and I'm skeptical of the upcoming Batman v. Superman movie.  I also don't like the fact that the studios are reluctant to give Wonder Woman her own movie.  Maybe with the box office success of Lucy this weekend, they'll reconsider a female superhero movie.

 

Oh boy I have a really odd relationship with Man of Steel which I seem to dislike more every time I watch it (which is weird, because I loved it the first few times I saw it).

The first half is fine, with the exception of Clark actually being a giant douchebag and ruining some truck driver's livelihood. Sure, the truck driver was a complete ass. And I laughed the first couple of times when I saw the truck impossibly impaled on the trees. But then I thought about it and was all "Hang on, when Superman comes out that truck driver is going to realise that the impossible incident with his truck actually isn't so impossible" and it completely tarnishes Superman's character. Ugh.

The second half - least said the better. And FFS they need to stop having people just walk into reporter jobs with huge newspapers like it ain't no thang. I'm not even in the industry and that strikes me as ridiculously improbable. "Hi, I have a background in drifting, manual labour, waiting tables - oh and I did a few days on a fishing vessel once - can I be a reporter?" "Sure bud." "Thanks!"

 

The Batman movies were very good. I had mixed feelings about Man of Steel tbh. It was much better than the last attempt (terrible though I liked Spacey's Lex) but not the story I expected and the darker Superman doesn't work as well for me as it did for Wayne in the Batman movies. However, I did like the fact that we saw Lois Lane actually doing some investigative reporting and figuring out what was going on. Amy Adams wasn't the casting choice I expected but she was far and away better than that actress in Superman Returns - I don't even remember her name.

Kate Bosworth as another poster mentioned. I don't know if she was just horribly miscast, but the writing/plotting for Lois was terrible and made me wonder whether Brian Singer hates the character. What particularly galled me was taking her irritating six-year-old (or however old he was) kid into danger on Luthor's ship, then of course she gets captured, and has to be saved first by her son, then by Richard, and thirdly by Superman (when she'd been knocked out). Was it possible to make her more pathetic?

That said the airplane sequence at the start is one of my favourite action sequences even if Lois should have had multiple fractures from being tossed around the plane (putting her in traction for the rest of the movie might actually have improved it).

I liked Spacey well enough but as someone said elsewhere, his Luthor was completely out of place in a 21st Century movie. If you handed Gene Hackman the script for Superman now he'd have played Luthor completely differently.

I haven't read a lot of the news about Batman v Superman yet, so I'm not sure what Wonder Woman's story is. I did see some pics of her in costume though, that was unexpectedly different. I really would love to see a super heroine movie. I think the success of movies like Hunger Games and, as you mentioned, Lucy, have shown that audiences can get behind a good, well written female protagonist.

I haven't seen Lucy. I must admit to getting less tolerant of crap like "We only use 10% of our brains", and ScarJo only appeared to have one expression in the trailer which was a bit offputting. I know I need to suspend disbelief more, but eesh.

[poetgirl925]

Man of Steel apparently dusted off the Smallville trope wherein anyone is qualified to be a reporter *rolls eyes*. I was managing editor of my university newspaper during my final year, and I was considering newspaper reporting as a profession at the time. And seriously, even with a degree and a portfolio and the right internships? It's very difficult to get a good job in that field. The career paths for Clark and Lois on SV drove me nuts.

I confess I'm a little concerned about the next Superman movie, but I think at the very least we don't have to worry that Lois will be as useless as the SR Lois. I'd forgotten about her being damseled like three times in a row lol. I haven't seen 'Lucy' yet but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm hoping its not quite as predictable as the trailer makes it out to be, but even if it is, I would like to see it do well just to boost the idea of female protagonists in action/sci-fi/superhero movies.

[Sakura12]

I just came back from seeing Lucy, not that ScarJo is the best actress or anything but the blank expression in the movie is intentional. As for the movie it's okay if you can get past the 10% of our brain crap that's been dis proven so many times, apparently the creator is aware of that and just wanted to make a movie about it anyway. The first half hour is pretty good with the suspense and there is one part reminded me of the Doctor from Doctor Who. As for action, Black Widow is much more awesome badass. So if you are looking for a movie purely for something to do I'd recommend it. But then again, I see movies for free because my sister works at AMC, so I'm never upset if the movie sucks. 

Edited July 28, 2014 by Sakura12

[tv echo]

Besides the multi DC panel did anyone find any good Gotham interviews with Ben Mckenzie.Just curious.

Ben McKenzie says 'Gotham' is the opposite of the original Batman

 

Cast of Gotham Talks Batman's Origins - Comic Con 2014

 

"Gotham" Interview at Comic-Con 2014 - TVLine

[Velocity23]

Reaction of the Arrow and Flash actors to the new Wonder Woman costume

 

[icandigit]

Thanks tv echo.

[tv echo]

Equal time for DC from SDCC 2014 (two different videos of same intro).  Ben Affleck must've been working out because he looks bigger than Henry Cavill, and Gal Gadot looks like a cross between Angelina Jolie and Ashley Judd...

 

TFP Comic Con 2014: BATMAN v SUPERMAN (Panel Footage)

 

BATMAN V SUPERMAN Panel, Comic Con 2014; feat: ZACK SNYDER, BEN AFFLICK, HENRY CAVILL

Edited July 28, 2014 by tv echo

[Chairman Meow]

Do people on here ever PM each other?  There are times I would like to discuss totally mean and petty Arrow-related things with people who I am pretty sure share my opinions, but I wasn't sure if that is appropriate or not :)

 

My tumblr is that way, everything public is pretty rah rah, happy feel good, positivity and no hating... but on private messages and email, I let the snark out. 

 

I'm a HUGE MCU fangirl, while Mr. Chairman Meow is an avowed DC fanboy.  He will give me lists upon lists of why Nolan's Batman franchise and the new Superman are better movies, more realistic, more gritty and I always argue back that I don't want my comic book movies to be realistic and gritty. When I leave the theater after watching a Marvel movie, I'm giddy with excitement, and can't wait to watch it again.  When I leave a DC movie, I'm relieved to get back to my real life, which might not be perfect, but it's at least better than the ugly grey world envisioned in the DC universe.  

 

I'm actually excited about Ben Affleck's turn as Batman.  I really like him, as a person, as a director and even as an actor... so I'm rooting for him to blow everyone away and OWN Batman.  But since I really disliked Man of Steel, like, A LOT (I do not get the love of Henry Cavill AT ALL) - even if he sucks, it won't tarnish the franchise or anything for me. 

 

I am looking forward to Constantine and Gotham though... for some reason, dark thematic elements and monochromatic color schemes don't bother me on the small screen. 

[BkWurm1]

I'm curious, Man of Steele wasn't perfect (destroyed New York more than the Avengers did) but it was IMO far better than Superman Returns and compared to Smallville, I found Henry Cavil's Superman/Clark Kent fresh and positive and so much less weighted down with mope and guilt and that's even with him thinking his dad may have needlessly dies protecting his secret.  Really enjoyed rooting for the new Lois Lane too.

 

I'm curious, what do people really dislike about Man of Steele?  How deep does the hate go?

[Sakura12]

I just thought the movie was really boring. So I wasn't impressed by anything in Man of Steel. Superman Returns sucked too. The difference for me is even though I didn't think the Thor movies were that great they were still entertaining, while all the DC movies (minus the Batman ones) have just not been interesting. I don't know if it's the story or the acting. 

[tv echo]

Here's my take on Man of Steel.  I really liked the origin story and even how Clark tries to hide himself in menial jobs all over the world.  I thought Henry Cavill and Amy Adams had little or no chemistry together (and I like Amy Adams).  However, I hated most of all the big fighting sequence toward the end, especially when he and Zod destroy tons of buildings (and probably kill hundreds of people) while they're fighting from Smallville to Metropolis.  Clark agonizes over killing one person, Zod, at the end - but he probably killed a lot of people when he was flying through and destroying those buildings when he was chasing Zod and then fighting with Zod.  That's what I remember, anyway.

 

I'm in the minority, but I liked Thor.  I thought Chris Hemsworth is a good actor and added depth and layers to a very colorful character that could easily become too cartoony.  A big flaw of that movie, in my opinion, was the miscasting of Natalie Portman, who acted like a giggly school girl and had zero chemistry with CH. 

Edited July 29, 2014 by tv echo

[doesntworkonwood]

This is slightly off topic, but does anyone else get really confused between Matt Bomer and Henry Cavill?

 

R.E. Man of Steel. I don't know what it was about that movie, but I got really bored so I only watched about half of it. It just felt really grey.

[Sakura12]

This is slightly off topic, but does anyone else get really confused between Matt Bomer and Henry Cavill?

 

They do look similar, but Henry Cavill can never be Neal Caffrey. 

 

The fight scenes were even boring in Man of Steel all they did was crash through buildings (probably killing or severely injuring tons of people). I couldn't wait for it to be over which should never happen during a fight sequence. 

[Chairman Meow]

I'm curious, Man of Steele wasn't perfect (destroyed New York more than the Avengers did) but it was IMO far better than Superman Returns and compared to Smallville, I found Henry Cavil's Superman/Clark Kent fresh and positive and so much less weighted down with mope and guilt and that's even with him thinking his dad may have needlessly dies protecting his secret.  Really enjoyed rooting for the new Lois Lane too.

 

I'm curious, what do people really dislike about Man of Steele?  How deep does the hate go?

I wouldn't say I hate it... I would categorize myself as ambivalent towards it, unless I'm being preached at about how superior it was to any of the Marvel movies, including The Avengers.  Then I'm frothing at the mouth and spewing profanities about it.  :)  

 

I actually really liked Amy Adams as Lois Lane, I enjoyed a lot of the secondary cast, Christopher Meloni, Richard Schiff and Diane Lane particularly.  I liked the origin part of the story... but then it just felt like it was dragging on forever.  I really disliked Zod and his crew, and I know that I was meant to... but it wasn't in the fun way that I root against Loki or The Red Skull, it was in an 'OMG ENOUGH, JUST SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!' kind of way.  They were all smug and superior and sanctimonious.  I think that the best villains have to have a little charisma, and Zod's lot was just completely personality free.  It probably didn't help that I was actually really irritated at the end when there was even hesitation over killing Zod.  As TV Echo pointed out, they had probably killed hundreds of people in the course of their battle, not to mention the thousands (millions?) of people killed by Zod's World Engine - I just rolled my eyes and grumbled when Clark wibbled.  

 

I also agree with Doesntworkonwood that the movie felt 'grey' (as do Nolan's Batman movies) and with Sakura12 that I couldn't wait for it to be over.

 

Obviously this is all very much YMMV and just my own opinion.  I should also mention that I never watched Smallville and that none of the Superman movies (even the Christopher Reeves ones) have ever held a great deal of appeal to me.  So it could just be that I'm just not going to be crazy about any Superman movie.  *shrug*  I'm still looking forward to Batman vs Superman though.  :) 

[catrox14]

I liked it. I thought Cavill was one of the better Supermen(?) sorry Brandon.  I love their Lois Lane because she wasn't an idiot.  I didn't care for the overly long fight sequence, but I quite enjoyed.

[Starfish35]

I've only seen it once, and I think I'd need to watch it again to really critique it. I liked it - didn't love it. I liked it better than the other Superman films in that I don't really care for the perspective where Superman is the real identity and Clark Kent is the disguise - I like it better the other way around. The destruction was a bit much. And there were some parts with his dad that bothered me. And I know this is ridiculous, but for some reason I cannot make myself think of Amy Adams' character as Lois Lane. I like the character a lot - it's just... I don't know. There's a mental block there. I think it's the red hair. LOL. It's crazy - I know it.

[JayKay]

The conflict with Zod reminded me of something out of Dragonball Z: Overlong, melodramatic and cursed with a glut of ridiculous fighting physics that became less impressive with repetition. The only time I really got invested was when Clark just barely saved his mom from Zod and that was mostly because watching moms get hurt is unpleasant in general. But then it just got all fighty again. I get that they have to up the stakes for Superman because he can solve most crises over the weekend, but I thought that Superman Returns had more sentiment and life to it. And color.

[pootlus]

Well when you Nolanise everything it has to become grey and gritty.

 

I just think, for me at least, gritty and Superman shouldn't really go together.  I mean the S on Superman's chest may mean "Hope", but I didn't get much of a hopeful vibe out of the movie.

[BkWurm1]

Yeah, I get all of that.  It by no means has the fun of the Marvel movies (I learned to love them all) which is interesting since those movies had moments that were extremely dark.  I came close to tears during the Loki in Germany scene with the old man with how moving the moment was but hop skip and a jump later and we had the hilarity of a three way with Thor, Iron Man and Captain America.

 

I guess it's good I didn't judge the movies against each other.  I was judging it against Superman Returns and Smallville.  By the time the movie came out I was still feeling left over hate for Clark and Lois and I was desperate for a reboot to wash the past away.  I think Man of Steel was a good start.  I liked Lois, she was smart and fair and they did away with the triangle for two which I am sick to death of.  Clark was naïve and a little lost (but very pretty thank you oil tanker scene) and I immediately liked the very tentative vibe between he and Lois.  He trusted her.  He called her his friend and I don't think this Clark has had many friends. 

 

I enjoyed Jor-El's story and even Zod's to an extent but I wish they had ended the fight before the big Supes/Zod smackdown.  Over the top, hard to believe that thousands didn't die (I tried to convince myself that New York was really good at evac) and then almost worse for me than the neck snap was that Lois some how managed to cover how many blocks in a handful seconds to be there.  It took me out of the moment even though I wanted to be in it.  If they could have plausibly explained how she managed to get there (let alone how she knew to go there) I would have enjoyed it more.

 

Still.

 

I thought the movie was fine for starting up the franchise.  I was certain that in the second one they would spend the proper time on character building that had not happened in Man of Steele.  I was really looking forward to him working with her with Lois actively keeping his secret.  I'm still trying to be optimistic but I feel my hope for character building was traded for the Versus in the title.  I think DC rushed the franchise.  They need the audience to love the individual characters but as much as I wanted to, I'm not sure they will give me enough to love. 

 

Still, trying to be optimistic. 

[pootlus]

I thought the movie was fine for starting up the franchise.  I was certain that in the second one they would spend the proper time on character building that had not happened in Man of Steele.  I was really looking forward to him working with her with Lois actively keeping his secret.  I'm still trying to be optimistic but I feel my hope for character building was traded for the Versus in the title.  I think DC rushed the franchise.  They need the audience to love the individual characters but as much as I wanted to, I'm not sure they will give me enough to love. 

 

Still, trying to be optimistic. 

 

So much this.  I desperately wanted the second movie to develop Clark, Lois and the rest of the characters (especially Fishburne's Perry), so I was bitterly disappointed to find Batman (and then the rest of the JL) involved that has nothing to do with Affleck or any other casting.

 

Big, sad sigh.

[tv echo]

Women Who Kick Ass panel from San Diego Comic Con 2014 featuring Katey Sagal, Sarah Paulson, Tatiana Maslany, Nicole Beharie, Maisie Williams, and Natalie Dormer:

 

[tv echo]

I forgot to say that I actually liked Henry Cavill as Superman  I recently saw him in the movie Immortals and thought he was good in it as well (although the movie was terrible).  Sometimes, though, the movie can make a difference.  For example, I disliked Chris Evans as the Human Torch in The Fantastic Four, but I love him as Steve Rogers in the Captain America movies.  

 

TO CLARIFY:  When I say that I like, dislike, love or hate an actor, it's different from when I say the same about a person in my real life.  Obviously, I don't know the actor personally.  My opinion of an actor stems from mainly two things: (1) their professional work (such as acting performances) and (2) their public persona (formed through their media appearances, their interviews, and what they themselves post on social media like facebook or twitter).  In addition, if they do charitable or humanitarian work, then that's plus;  but if they commit a crime or go on a racist rant, then that's a negative.  There is such a thing as the Q rating that measures a celebrity's popularity and likeability with the public.

Edited July 30, 2014 by tv echo

[Sakura12]

Real life DC heroes action figures. lol

 

[SonofaBiscuit]

Anybody here have any shows that they watch just so they can read the forum comments?  I'm currently watching Under the Dome and keeping up with it so that I can read the comments...they are pretty amusing.  Just wondering if anyone had any funny forum recommendations.

 

PS: The snarkier, the better!

Edited July 30, 2014 by SonofaBiscuit

[Sakura12]

The only show I watch for snark value is Pretty Little Liars (and I can't quit that stupid show). It's pretty much all snark. The best part of watching the show is to join in on the fun with recaps, forums, twitter and tumblr.

 

This is a snarky recap of the show which pretty much describes the actual show. 

 

 

Previously on Pretty Little Liars: all the things. Just everything you could possibly think of. A pair of Lady Gagas. Prison jumpsuits. Liars getting hit by cars. Liars doing hittings with cars. Child pilots. Jars of eyeballs. Barbie doll slasher flicks. Blind girls getting punched in the head. Blind girls not being blind. Raccoon claw earrings. Old people furniture whittled by teenage boys. Hockey sticks. Shovels. Fire pokers. Canes. Every curve-shaped murder weapon under the sun. Pottery. Mausoleum porn. The law firm of Dolce, Gabbana & Liebowitz. Poisoned Icy Hot. Tory Burch boots. Bell towers. Drunkies. Drowning. V-cards getting punched. Glamping. Hobbits. Vampires. Werewolves. Ghosts. Ninjas. Robots. Zombies. Time Traveling. Girls kissing boys. Girls kissing girls. Hugs. Wallops. Live rats. Dead rats. Satan’s fetus. Fax machines. Computer words. And more Lit 101 references that Ezra Fitz has feelings journals

Edited July 30, 2014 by Sakura12

[FurryFury]

There were a couple of shows I didn't exactly watch (only saw a few episodes) but read the threads on TWOP about them, like The Following, Under the Dome, Revolution. However, this forum isn't quite the same, sadly, so I stopped doing it.

 

I've still haven't decided if I ever return to watching PLL, there are still a few characters I genuinely care for, but I feel that shipping has destroyed that show completely. 

 

PS All this talk about Superman makes me wonder... Am I the only person who just doesn't give a shit about the character? I simply don't care about him, period, and don't read or watch anything with/about him. I just find him completely boring (to be fair, I'm not a fan of superhero genre in general, I can handle something low on cheese, like Arrow, or something lacking my usual pet peeves like double identities or ridiculous costumes... or, well, anything involving Joss Whedon). No? Just me? OK then...

Edited July 30, 2014 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

I've still haven't decided if I ever return to watching PLL, there are still a few characters I genuinely care for, but I feel that shipping has destroyed that show completely.

 

Sadly, who has the loudest shipping community is what most shows seem to be reduced to nowadays. 

 

I'm still watching PLL because they have finally shown us Ali as the psychopath I always thought she was. 

[icandigit]

I have a strong attachment to Christopher Reeves Superman because I was a kid at the time and it was awesome. I haven't watched the new Superman movies. I don't find Superman as interesting as I did back in the day and people kept saying how the movies  weren't really good. So I didn't bother.

 

I did watch Lois&Clark the tv show, because Dean Cain was fine as hell as Clark Kent, him as Superman was lame. I loved Lois but thought it was weird she liked Superman over Clark. I didn't watch Smallville because I didn't find TW attractive or charismatic.  I don't think he's ugly, but I need something from the lead to draw me into the show. Because I'm shallow. I may try Superman again with the Batman v. Superman thing because I'm curious about Ben Affleck.

Edited July 30, 2014 by icandigit

[pootlus]

Right, so I'm just about to leave to get my plane to the US.

 

Of course they've already said it may be delayed because of strong wind.  I'm just glad I have 4 hours in LAX to get my onward flight to San Antonio!

 

Have booked photo sessions with both Manu and JB so hopefully will have some stories to share even if it's just me humiliating myself in the Felicity verbal goofball way.

 

@icandigit :

 

 

I did watch Lois&Clark the tv show, because Dean Cain was fine as hell as Clark Kent, him as Superman was lame. I loved Lois but thought it was weird she liked Superman over Clark.

 

I think it's just one of the things you have to accept with Superman.  It was verging on the daft in L&C though especially when Lois almost picked Dan Scardino - hah! - over Clark.  They had to practically make Clark an ass to make it believable.

 

I have a photo op with Dean Cain too.  Someone back on TWoP mentioned that he was still ridiculously attractive in person so I'll probably go non-verbal.  In the words of Ms Rosenberg: "I make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."

 

Still, nothing can top my David Boreanaz experience fifteen years or so ago.  I'm just thankful that celebs meet so many people that they don't remember us...

Edited July 30, 2014 by pootlus

[icandigit]

Wow.You met David Boreanaz. I was so obsessed with the show Angel. It was so good and nobody knew it.

Edited July 30, 2014 by icandigit

[Sakura12]

Be prepared Manu Bennett smells amazing and he is much better looking in person, you may forget how to walk after meeting him. I did. Barrowman is pure charm even in person.

 

David Boreanaz is going to be at the con here but his photo op is way too expensive for me. 

[BkWurm1]

Why I initially cared about Superman?  I'm a sucker for a love story.

 

I watched the CR Superman movies as a kid (well the first two- didn't catch the last two until this last decade) and I just couldn't get the conundrum of how Lois could be with Superman when Superman couldn't put one woman ahead of mankind.  (Which was a stupid premise, the whole giving up his powers to be with her, why the all or nothing?) So staying in the parameters set by the movie, I decided that the only way Superman and Lois Lane could have their happy ending is if Superman got Lois to fall in love with Clark Kent. 

 

I was a kid and had no prior knowledge of the comics so I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out a solution, lol.  I'd pull out the thought every once and a while when the movies where mentioned or scheduled on tv and then the show  Lois and Clark showed up on TV and it was like someone had climbed in my head and stole my idea (which now I realize everyone had already known for like fifty years)

 

L&C had it's contrived moments but it also had some really well earned romance and character moments.  I never watched for Superman cause it was Clark Kent that was the real person and so much more interesting (and cute).  Loved TH's Lois.  Loved Perry, loved the first Jimmy (tolerated the second one) ADORED Clark's parents and loved that the show never buckled under due to past storylines and thus let Jonathan actually LIVE!!!  So yeah, I had a very soft spot for Superman and Lois Lane.

 

Then Smallville.  That show messed me up cause it made me find Lois unworthy, annoying and worthless and at times made me absolutely despise Clark to the point where I couldn't even go back and watch old L&C reruns.  I came to terms with SVLois, I still had Chloe to make it better- she fit my Lois bill better even if the show didn't go there, but Clark was still a problem.

 

I needed the Superman movies to give me back my love of Superman.  Man of Steele helped but I still need more to squelch the poisonous mememory of Smallville.  I'm not sure if I care about Superman anymore so much as I want everyone to love him in the movies so no one goes back and uses Smallville to reference who he is supposed to be.  

Wow.You met David Boreanaz. I was so obsessed with the show Angel. It was so good and nobody knew it.

 

I just couldn't stand Cordelia as a love interest so I didn't watch more than a handful of Angel episodes until the final season which I thought was fantastic.  I didn't actually think David Boreanaz was that attractive though until he was on Bones, but then I swooned hard.  Such a great smile. 

[catrox14]

Wow.You met David Boreanaz. I was so obsessed with the show Angel. It was so good and nobody knew it.

 

Oh man, Angel is still in my top 5 fave shows and I was so bitter about it's cancellation that I refused to watch Supernatural since it was in essence the replacement show.  I finally let go of that grudge and caught up this past year on SPN.  LOL. But to this day I think Angel finale is the best and most satisfying finale I have seen (and I seriously watch far too much TV).

[JayKay]

It's so strange considering how obsessed I was with Buffy when I was younger, but now I think that Angel might actually be the superior show. I can rewatch Angel and get more substance out of it than I do from rewatching Buffy. But maybe that's just my age catching up with me. Damn.

 

The Angel season five finale depressed me so much I could only watch it once. Not because of Wesley dying, but because the big battle that the entire show's run had been leading up to was finally on and it's over?! No! Not okay, WB. Not okay. Gah, and hearing somewhere that Joss wanted Faith to show up and help out the gang if it had been renewed for a season six only made it worse.

[catrox14]

Not only was Faith going to show up, but rumor had it that Fred was still lurking somewhere inside Illyria and there was going to be some kind arc with both Fred and Illyria. That would have been awesome.  But personally I loved the ending because well, I assumed at some point, all of them were going to die fighting the good fight.  I LOVED it.

[Starfish35]

I don't know. Personally I still like Buffy more than Angel. The first couple of seasons are alright, but I thought things started going off the rails with the Connor storyline, and then season four - well. But then I was a huge Cordy fan, and I did not deal well with what they did to her. :( And I despised Connor.

I didn't know that about their season six plans though. Gaining Faith might have helped make up for losing Cordy, and I would have liked to have seen the Fred/Illyria storyline play out. Although Wesley would presumably have still been dead. :(

Edited to correct spelling :(

Edited July 31, 2014 by Starfish35

[Sakura12]

I read a little bit of the comics where Faith went to England and lived with Giles

and from their time together when Giles died he left his entire estate to Faith and a vampire book to Buffy. Which I thought was interesting

and now has her own series with Angel. It would've been cool to see those two pairings on screen. I loved the Faith/Angel friendship.

[JayKay]

I love the Angel & Faith series. Apparently there's also a season ten Angel & Faith series that's out right now but I haven't read it yet. There was some great stuff about Giles

and his time at the Watcher's Academy in A&F S09 (idk how to abbreviate this stuff) that twisted my insides up.

And the artwork by Rebekah Isaacs is fantastic.

 

And I agree with @Starfish35 about Angel season four. While I was mostly apathetic about Connor, the largely icky Connor/Cordelia situation and the rumors about what all happened to Charisma Carpenter behind-the-scenes definitely leave a large dent in the series. But it also delivered the Faith redemption arc which is one of the greatest things on Buffy or Angel imo. I hated how Buffy season seven treated Faith afterwards.

[FurryFury]

It's so strange considering how obsessed I was with Buffy when I was younger, but now I think that Angel might actually be the superior show. 

 

I actually only realized how awesome Angel is after a few rewatches. I think it's my favorite show ever, although Buffy and Veronica Mars are quite close. It does help that Angel, while fluctuating wildly, never sucked anywhere as hard as Buffy did in seasons 6 and 7. It also had a lot of ideas and style and strong dramatic moments and philosophy and character development... hell, I could go all day.

 

But then I was a huge Cordy fan, and I did not deal well with what they did to her. :(

 

I loved s1-2 Cordy. She was awesome and funny and still her own distinct character. But after the saintification of season 3 and trying to mold her into a love interest (destroying a great friendship in the process), season 4 was a relief. I think s4 and 5 (especially 5) are my favorite of the whole run. Although 4 had a really weak ending - still, the Faith arc was so strong it almost makes up for it.

 

Although Wesley would presumably have still been dead. :(

 

I think they've only killed him because they knew they were getting canceled, I doubt it would have happened if the show was renewed. And the cancellation was such a stupid thing, I'm still reeling after reading how it happened. Ugh.

[Pyramid]

Yeah I read that Wesley wouldn't have been killed if they'd been renewed.

I'm in the camp of loving the finale to Angel. The whole point of Angel was there was no real redemption there was only the fight, so what better way to leave it than in the middle of a fight?

 

I feel lonely in my liking of S6 Buffy!

Edited July 31, 2014 by Pyramid

[FurryFury]

It was a great finale, considering the circumstances, but I'd still want a proper conclusion to the whole Senior Partners thing. There was clearly a lot of story to be told. And I was enjoying the hell out of Illyria and the whole Spike/Angel friendship/rivalry/whatever dynamic, too. 

[tv echo]

Anybody here have any shows that they watch just so they can read the forum comments?  I'm currently watching Under the Dome and keeping up with it so that I can read the comments...they are pretty amusing.  Just wondering if anyone had any funny forum recommendations.

 

PS: The snarkier, the better!

For snarky forum fun, I go with sci-fi/supernatural shows that have "magical" science and some ridiculous plot threads... so I recommend (in addition to Under the Dome) The Lottery, Dominion and Falling Skies.  Also, coming up this season, The Scorpion looks like it'll contain lots of fodder for snark.

 

On the other side of the coin, I really wish I had Starz so that I could watch the new mini-series Outlander (debuting August 9)  The opening title credits and trailer for that show (both viewable on YouTube) look amazingly beautiful.

[wonderwall]

I have a question. I'm on spoilertv and just posted a major rant in response to a shipper basher... Said shipper basher said that Cassandra Amell was sent death threats by Oliciters... Is this even remotely true? Because I'm sure SA would've said something about that. 

 

Sorry, I just want the whole truth. Hopefully what she said is wrong. 

[Sakura12]

If it is true I wouldn't consider them Oliciters, they would be real life shippers (the creepiest thing to come out of the Fandom imo) or people who can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Having seen some twitter comments I fear for EBR, some her fans are obsessed, I hope she has good body guards when she walks around. 

[SonofaBiscuit]

For snarky forum fun, I go with sci-fi/supernatural shows that have "magical" science and some ridiculous plot threads... so I recommend (in addition to Under the Dome) The Lottery, Dominion and Falling Skies.  Also, coming up this season, The Scorpion looks like it'll contain lots of fodder for snark.

 

 

I will have to catch up on Dominion and Falling Skies so that I can read the forums.  If you like ridiculous sci-fi shows, as I do, I'd recommend Helix (chances are you might have already seen that one, though).  Extant forums are funny, but you might fall asleep watching that one...it moves soooo slow.

 

I realize this is super unpopular, but I'm not really that big of a Joss Whedon fan.  He's been involved with some great shows (Firefly), but he's been involved with some terrible ones too (Dollhouse).  Plus, I'm really not a fan of shows that think it's a good idea to kill off main characters.  I assure you, when I invest years of my life into watching your show, seeing a main character die is not what I "need."  In my world, Serenity doesn't even exist.  

[quarks]

Unfortunately, I don't think that's wrong. Katie Cassidy, Cassandra Amell, and Willa Holland have reportedly received death/rape threats. Susanna Thompson did in the past when she was on Star Trek.  

 

The horrible thing about Hollywood, and entertainment in general, is that this sort of thing, usually directed at women, is generally all too common. Even people under the radar can get sudden rape/death threats for no particular reason or pick up a stalker.  I chatted once with a woman who had a couple of very minor roles in genre stuff who said she'd gotten her first anonymous rape threat after her first scene aired - it lasted 20 seconds. That was it. 20 seconds. 

 

I don't think this has much to do with shipping, though, just people who either can't tell the difference between reality and acting, or people that get off on making shitty threats. It's too widespread to be confined to shippers.

[FurryFury]

I realize this is super unpopular, but I'm not really that big of a Joss Whedon fan.  He's been involved with some great shows (Firefly), but he's been involved with some terrible ones too (Dollhouse).

 

I'd never call Dollhouse terrible. Season one wasn't good (although the original pilot is much, much better than any of the first 6 episodes shown), and season two was pretty good. I also loved the whole idea behind the Epitaph flash-forwards - that was really fresh for TV. Of course, I am a die-hard Whedonite, so...

 

Plus, I'm really not a fan of shows that think it's a good idea to kill off main characters.

Well, personally, I think that Whedon (and, come to think of it, George Martin, too) gets way too much flack for killing his characters off. Of all Joss' shows, the only character death I really regretted was Doyle. Wash's demise, I admit, also wasn't that necessary and was done for shock value... although if it happened in, say, season 2 finale, rather than the movie, I would probably be up for it just to see Zoe's reaction and development (she was my favorite!). All others (and yes, it includes a lot of characters I loved and cared for) brought more by their deaths that their lives... Even if it wasn't always executed that well, the ideas behind most of these deaths were sound, and I'll defend them to the death :P

 

The horrible thing about Hollywood, and entertainment in general, is that this sort of thing, usually directed at women, is generally all too common. Even people under the radar can get sudden rape/death threats for no particular reason or pick up a stalker.  I chatted once with a woman who had a couple of very minor roles in genre stuff who said she'd gotten her first anonymous rape threat after her first scene aired - it lasted 20 seconds. That was it. 20 seconds.

 

Wow, I've heard all about death threats for actors and writers (which is horrible and disgusting), but rape? That's just beyond awful...

Edited July 31, 2014 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

Joss Whedon has been able to get me to love almost all his characters, that's why I'm a fan. He really knows how to play to his actors strengths. He made the Hulk interesting and made me love Thor in the Avengers. And I could tell right away that he's not that involved Agents of Shield just by the stories and the dialogue. Jed did not get the same talent as his brother.

[tv echo]

I am a fan of Joss Whedon, but that doesn't mean I like everything he's done.  On TV, I liked Buffy, Angel, and Firefly.  In movies, I liked The Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing and Serenity.  I did not like Dollhouse or the original Buffy movie.

 

While I hated that he killed off Wash in Serenity, everything else about that movie worked for me - esp. the transformation of vulnerable River Tam into an awesome fighting machine.  That role was Summer Glau's best work.

 

I don't like what's becoming the current trend of killing off main characters for the sake of realism or ratings or whatever,  I get that it has to happen on shows like The Walking Dead, but I don't like it and the trend seems to be spreading to other shows where it's totally unnecessary (The Good Wife).  I also invest in characters on a TV show.  I watch shows with characters I like.  If I dislike all of the characters, then I don't want to watch the show no matter how great the plots may be.  On the other hand, if I like at least some of the characters, I may continue to watch even if the show has horrible plots.

 

When actors become well-known or celebrities, they attract both critcism and worship - sometimes extreme on both sides to the point of rabid attacks or stalkerish behavior.   Unfortunately, the anonymity afforded by the Internet allows those fringe elements to post death threats, etc., while hiding their true identities.  But extreme behavior or remarks by this tiny minority of fandom should not be ascribed to the larger group of fans.  Personally, I try to avoid websites that aren't monitored by mods.

Edited July 31, 2014 by tv echo