Small Talk: The Quiver

[Starfish35]

I loved Vala and Mitchell, completely. I did not so much enjoy the Ori plot. But Vala and Cam I was totally a fan of. And yeah, a lot of that had to do with the actors, but also by the end of S8 I thought SG-1 was showing its age, and I was all for a shakeup. I thought Vala and Cam brought some new energy to the show.

I guess it's kind of like what happened with NCIS. I like the way the show's gone since Ziva left. Not because I hated Ziva - I didn't. But I felt like the show had gotten in a rut, and I like the new dynamic with Bishop.

SGA was my last fandom before Arrow, but....yeah. I never really forgave them for getting rid of Torri Higginson. And although Rodney was my favorite character, even I had to admit he was way overused. And Jennifer Keller, yeah. Keller was basically SGA's Laurel (though the comparison is not really fair to Jewel Staite). Most of the fandom loathed her. A section of fandom passionately defended her. And the writers basically said the more people complained, the more they were going to write for her. It was fun.

ETA: Re the trickster character type - I guess maybe that is a character I do happen to like, as long as they're just tricksters and not evil. I liked Bela on SPN too, before I quit watching that show, and fandom loathed her. I remember thinking that Vala reminded me of Amanda in Highlander, and I always liked Amanda. I will admit though - I'm not so sure I would have really liked Vala if a less talented actress had been playing her. Claudia Black gave Vala a lot of layers that I can't really give the writers credit for.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Starfish35

[statsgirl]

Memento Mori and 200 were a couple of my favorite episodes, along with Mobius.  I want nothing to do with season 6.

 

Sapce still plays SG:1 (Canadian content?) regularly and ti's like comfort food after a bad day.

[Starfish35]

Momento Mori was really good, especially at the end where Daniel takes the gun from her.

My favorite seasons of SG-1 are the early ones, though. Those I can watch over and over again. Urgo is one of my top favorite episodes.

[BkWurm1]

I loved Vala and Mitchell, completely. I did not so much enjoy the Ori plot. But Vala and Cam I was totally a fan of. And yeah, a lot of that had to do with the actors, but also by the end of S8 I thought SG-1 was showing its age, and I was all for a shakeup. I thought Vala and Cam brought some new energy to the show.

 

I agree with you soooooo much. 

 

SGA was my last fandom before Arrow, but....yeah. I never really forgave them for getting rid of Torri Higginson. And although Rodney was my favorite character, even I had to admit he was way overused. And Jennifer Keller, yeah. Keller was basically SGA's Laurel. Most of the fandom loathed her. A section of fandom passionately defended her. And the writers basically said the more people complained, the more they were going to write for her. It was fun.

 

Talk about whiplash, I used to wonder if there were competing Keller wars going on within the writing staff. They just kept contradicting her characterization and history and then to have her the replacement after killing (kinda) off our beloved Dr. Beckett?  Of course she got the backlash even if I think the real reason they killed him was to end the Becket and McKay bromance and push Rodney to stand along leading man status or at least more toward a bro-mance with Sheppard.  The problem for me was Mckay and Becket were genuine friends while Sheppard and Mckay were friends only because time wore them down and I just never enjoyed that dynamic as much.  Plus Mckay didn't need a love interest and certainly shouldn't have been with Keller. 

 

Keller would have been better off if they'd stuck to setting her up with Ronan.  I liked that original Keller, the shy nerd who'd never been to a dance, who never thought she should be in charge, who was curious and inventive and non judgmental, not the one that used to hang out at bars with her rough and tumble brothers playing drinking games and was mad when someone risked their life to save her from her kidnapper .   I didn't like the character that they forced so she'd work with Mckay.  Made all the characters look bad. 

Edited February 18, 2015 by BkWurm1

[BkWurm1]

Momento Mori was really good, especially at the end where Daniel takes the gun from her.

My favorite seasons of SG-1 are the early ones, though. Those I can watch over and over again. Urgo is one of my top favorite episodes.

I find myself frustrated in watching a lot of the older episodes.  I had at one time some ship expectations between O'Neill and Sam and nothing happened so all those beats in the old episodes annoy me as does the building crankiness between O'Neill and Daniel in season 5 and season one seems soo far removed from everything that the show eventually became and the season after they killed Sha're depresses me and season 6 is to be avoided - I've managed to avoid most of it so far- and seven and eight the team felt so disconnected.  So for me, it's the newest seasons that I enjoy rewatching the most.   I feel like if I could have a best of list from the older seasons I'd be good but just popping in DVD's isn't going to happen (presuming I ever collect all the old seasons eventually) 

[Sakura12]

I just did a partial rewatch of SG-1 over the summer, meaning Season 1-5. I agree, seeing the shipper moments with Jack and Sam and knowing it will never go anywhere was annoying but since they were kept apart because of Military law and not stupid cliche reasons like almost every other show I'm okay with it. As for Cam and Vala. I loved Vala right away (this was before I watched Farscape, CB was what me want to watch Farscape). Cam I didn't like him at first but he grew on me as his first season progressed. The Ori plot line was stupid and gave the show a completely different feel that I didn't like. 

 

I watched SGA for Teyla, Ronan and Sheppard (not in a shipper way, I didn't really ship anyone on that show). But I could not tell what happened in the last season. All I remember is Carter was there. Maybe I should do a rewatch? 

 

Never watched Stargate Universe. 

[Starfish35]

It's been a long time since I watched any Stargate, tbh, even though I own all the seasons of SG-1 and SGA.

I keep meaning to do an SG-1 rewatch but it keeps pushed down the priority list.

Referring back to some earlier posts -

Re: Farscape - I bingewatched all four seasons and the miniseries, so I never had time to get tired of the John/Aeryn angst I guess. It was just one big long story.

Re: Grimm - I bingewatched the first two seasons before joining S3 as it aired. I got to deal with the whole Juliette-amnesia arc in a weekend. :) It was much more bearable that way. Season three was kind of a drag though. Adalind's pregnancy arc just seemed to go on and on.

[statsgirl]

I find myself frustrated in watching a lot of the older episodes.  I had at one time some ship expectations between O'Neill and Sam and nothing happened so all those beats in the old episodes annoy me

It's funny how season 4 is really shippy for them, and then again season 8 when they thought the show was going to be cancelled.  And then the next season it all went icy.

 

But they did get together, if you squint and look at it sideways.  In the SGA where Sam, Keller and Rodney are trapped, Sam says that she's seeing an older guy who lives in Washington. And when she unpacks upon arriving at Atlantis, you can see a framed picture of O'Neill in her luggage.

 

You know, like how Oliver and Felicity got together in the Arrow 2.5 comics.  *rme*

[dtissagirl]

I'm aware of my odd-duckness re: Stargate, but Daniel was never a favorite of mine on SG1, and I actively hated McKay at all times ever . I think I actually had the exact same problem with Shanks and Hewlett that I currently have with Barrowman: I wish they came with a dial so I could DIAL THEM DOWN. Much less Shanks than the other two -- I never hated Daniel, and I legit love him in selected episodes, it's just that the Daniel-centric episodes never did much for me. But yeah.

[Morrigan2575]

Daniel was my favorite, I pretty much stopped watching after Daniel died.  I tried to give it a shot, I loved Parker Lewis so I wanted to give Corin Nemic/Jonas a chance but the show just lost all fun after Daniel died.  I was never a shipper, i didn't care of Sam/Jack got together or who Daniel hooked up with.  My favorite relationship was the odd friendship between Daniel/Jack and without Daniel it just didn't work.  The same goes for later episodes when Daniel came back and Jack got the reduced role in S8 and then left in S9-10.

 

One of my favorite things that SG-1 was the way it handled the switch from Daniel to Jonas and that was all due to RDA.  From what's I've read/heard, the writers/producers wanted character to fangirl/accept Jonas quickly (and you see it with Sam/Tel'c) but RDA refused, he said Jack would never act like that.  So you have Jack, pretty much being a dick to Jonas, and not accepting him into the group as an equal or replacement. 

[Sakura12]

I used to love Daniel, but during my rewatch I found him incredibly annoying. I was sad watching him "die" again though. 

 

I tried to watch Season 6. Jonah wasn't as bad as I remembered during my first time watching it. But everything felt off without the original team and Jack not accepting him made me not want to accept him. It was different with Mitchell, I grew to like and accept him as part of the team. 

 

Since I've taken quite a few shows of my schedule, I'm going to try to make it through season 6 or just skip it and continue my rewatch. Then start on SGA. 

[KirkB]

I adore Babylon 5, even to this day if I happen to find it airing somewhere I will stop and watch, but it is still only my second favorite sci-fi because at the end of the day my heart will always belong to Stargate SG-1. The funny thing is, I wasn't really all that thrilled with the original movie, it was just kind of ehh for me, and when I heard they were doing a show I wondered how and why. I never got to see it at first since it was on Showtime, I think. Then Fox started airing reruns, which I didn't know, and I only stopped to watch an episode, having no idea what it was at the time, because I saw Richard Dean Anderson and I was ridiculously devoted to MacGyver. I wasn't as fond of the last couple of seasons as what came before though, since I thought wrapping up the Goau'ld and Replicator storylines should have pretty much ended the show, and I was less than excited at seeing SG-1 with O'Neill, but I think Browder did an admirable job trying to fill the shows of the guy even he admitted was the whole reason the show got picked up in the first place.

[tv echo]

Some of my fave depictions of adult couple relationships on TV (in no particular order):

 

Mulder & Scully, The X-Files

John & Aeryn, Farscape

Helo & Sharon, Battlestar Galactica

Richard & Kahlan, Legend of the Seeker

[Danny Franks]

I never watched a Stargate show until Stargate Universe. The franchise just seemed too cheesy and corny. Sadly, it appears that's how fans liked it, because a lot of them did not like SGU, which I considered a very good scifi show. The level of nitpicking and criticism directed at it from people who had been fans of the previous shows? Yeesh. I remember getting a warning on TWoP because I pointed out (admittedly in snarky fashion) that someone who had complained about something not being explained might have been happier if they'd actually paid attention and listened to the explanation that was in the episode.

 

And as a result of that, I know I'm never going to bother watching SG1 or Atlantis.

[BkWurm1]

I was never a shipper, i didn't care of Sam/Jack got together or who Daniel hooked up with.  My favorite relationship was the odd friendship between Daniel/Jack and without Daniel it just didn't work.  The same goes for later episodes when Daniel came back and Jack got the reduced role in S8 and then left in S9-10.

 

I think Browder did an admirable job trying to fill the shoes of the guy even he admitted was the whole reason the show got picked up in the first place.

 

I was never a hard core shipper between Sam and Jack, more of either do something with it or drop that vibe because it became demeaning to Sam at points and it stuck her in that really weak relationship with....I'm blanking the name but everyone knows who I'm talking about.  I did originally ship Daniel and Sha're from the movie and I hated when they first kidnapped her and then killed her.  I didn't really ship anyone seriously until Vala showed up in season 8 for her supposedly one off episode.  After that nothing but Vala and Daniel made sense to me. 

 

There really was a void when the show lost the push and pull dynamic between Daniel and Jack and also lost out on the everyman running into danger head first as Jack (and RDA) aged.  I saw Cam as the new action guy slash strictly military connection but I found the push and pull dynamic best replicated between Vala and Daniel right down to saying an awful lot without saying much at all. 

 

She really was the female version of Jack O'Neill (yes with some personal growth to do) Easily bored, amused by the little things.  She challenged Daniel and called him on his crap the way Jack used to do while at the same time really adoring the guy.  Like Jack, she was deeply pragmatic, spoke out of turn, played dumb when it suited her,  was guarded about her past, used humor to deflect emotion, and was an excellent judge of character.  By the second season she was openly devoted to her team and her loyalty to them was unquestioned.  She came with a lot of contradictions but it made her a complex character rather than ever out of character. 

 

I also liked how the rest of the team responded to her.  The whole team seemed more relaxed and lighter because of her.  It was like the original team so respected and understood each other's boundaries and deep emotional triggers, that they walked on eggshells around each other and their relationships started to stagnate as they drifted away but Vala dragged Sam out shopping and reminded Sam of the fun of being a woman; she nagged Cam into letting her follow him to a high school reunion and by the end they were bickering like siblings (such different characters than Farscape), she never treated Teal'c like an alien since to her, he wasn't so alien and she never allowed Landry to be this distant scary figure.  Cam was the team's number one fan boy and helped relight that old fire in them too with his never ending enthusiasm, but I felt that it was Vala - who had no boundaries and respected none - that pushed Sam, Teal'c and Daniel to start living and enjoying life in the now.   She erased a certain stiffness and formality in the team and brought out a level of playfulness I'd not seen in the others before.  And I really enjoyed that. 

 

Sorry to go on and on, but Daniel and Vala are one of my favorite OTP and the only reason IMO they work so well was because of the honest changes and growth the show allowed Daniel to make in the ten years the show was on the air and it's rather impressive if you compare the difference between season 1 Daniel and even season 8.  

 

Quick, someone distract me with something shiny before this post gets any longer.    

[BkWurm1]

I never watched a Stargate show until Stargate Universe. The franchise just seemed too cheesy and corny. Sadly, it appears that's how fans liked it, because a lot of them did not like SGU, which I considered a very good scifi show. The level of nitpicking and criticism directed at it from people who had been fans of the previous shows? Yeesh. I remember getting a warning on TWoP because I pointed out (admittedly in snarky fashion) that someone who had complained about something not being explained might have been happier if they'd actually paid attention and listened to the explanation that was in the episode.

 

And as a result of that, I know I'm never going to bother watching SG1 or Atlantis.

I liked what they were trying to do with SGU but in going for SERIOUS Sci fi, they dropped all the good stuff they'd done in SG1 and Atlantis, and that was make the characters relatable and likeable.  SGI and Atlantis just wasn't set up for true serialized episodes or long term storylines and SGU was, but in SGU they took away the heroes.  I wanted to like and root for the whole cast but it felt like apart from Eli (who quickly got pushed into the background early on in favor of the popular crowd) there were was no one I could point to and say, yeah, that's my guy or that's my girl.  The only ones they wanted you to see as true hero types were Chloe and her love interest and they were bland and perfect in a dull, dull way.  The more interesting characters like the captain, Dr Rush, ect were almost too flawed.  I had a hard time telling if I was supposed to love them or hate them or love to hate them.  There's ambiguous and complex and then there's misleading and confusing. 

 

Plus the whole body swapping thing between the ship and earth was the most problematic thing ever done.  It was a nice way to say hi to mom or visit with loved ones, but they took it too far and never addressed the extreme squick factor.  In the end, I started liking the show and the characters started to find themselves, but the occasional times we had guest stars show up from the other series, I was repeatedly blown away at how much more charisma I felt from those actors.  SGU worked too hard in the beginning not to be like the other franchises and in the process, unnecessarily sucked a lot of the fun away.  By the time it started to recover, it was too late. 

[KirkB]

I got what they were trying to do with SGU too. The problem is, while it would be fair to say SG-1 and Atlantis were formulaic, it was that very formula most of us who liked the shows watched for. A central heroic character (O'Neill and Sheppard) leads a team on adventures through the stargate. But there was no central heroic character in Universe and the stargate was almost secondary to the stories. Rush was sort of the driving force though he was about as far from heroic (or even likable half the time) as you can get and it was Robert Carlyle's performance that was the most fun to watch. Eli, Young and Scott view for the secondary position though I thought Eli was the only really memorable one.

[Danny Franks]

I liked what they were trying to do with SGU but in going for SERIOUS Sci fi, they dropped all the good stuff they'd done in SG1 and Atlantis, and that was make the characters relatable and likeable.  SGI and Atlantis just wasn't set up for true serialized episodes or long term storylines and SGU was, but in SGU they took away the heroes.  I wanted to like and root for the whole cast but it felt like apart from Eli (who quickly got pushed into the background early on in favor of the popular crowd) there were was no one I could point to and say, yeah, that's my guy or that's my girl.  The only ones they wanted you to see as true hero types were Chloe and her love interest and they were bland and perfect in a dull, dull way.  The more interesting characters like the captain, Dr Rush, ect were almost too flawed.  I had a hard time telling if I was supposed to love them or hate them or love to hate them.  There's ambiguous and complex and then there's misleading and confusing.

 

See, I did root for Matt and Chloe as characters, because I didn't really see them as perfect and dull. I liked that Matt was just a junior officer, in way over his head, with a flaky boss and not much experience. And that Chloe really wasn't equipped to do much of anything to help the crew survive. I thought they were interesting ideas for the characters, and both of them were good people, which is becoming a rarity in television, these days. Eli was good as well, but I wish they hadn't killed his girlfriend.

 

I think they did spend too much time trying to make Rush and Young 'complex' and 'ambiguous' though. At some point, they had to just realise that we got the point, and move forwards.

 

Plus the whole body swapping thing between the ship and earth was the most problematic thing ever done.  It was a nice way to say hi to mom or visit with loved ones, but they took it too far and never addressed the extreme squick factor.  In the end, I started liking the show and the characters started to find themselves, but the occasional times we had guest stars show up from the other series, I was repeatedly blown away at how much more charisma I felt from those actors.  SGU worked too hard in the beginning not to be like the other franchises and in the process, unnecessarily sucked a lot of the fun away.  By the time it started to recover, it was too late.

 

Yeah, that was a crazy thing to do. The stones as communication devices? Fine. It made sense and gave them a way of being in contact with Earth. But the idea that people signed up to be meat puppets, available to be used as the wearers saw fit? That was fucked up. Young comes back in someone else's body to fuck his wife, Camille comes back to spend a month with her girlfriend, in full intimacy and there's no weirdness at all? It never quite worked, because you know there's a person who has no awareness of their body being enjoyed by other people, but also these people in supposedly committed relationships, getting to have sex with another body.

 

I think they just wanted the drama of their home lives to overlap the drama of them being stranded.

[BkWurm1]

It never quite worked, because you know there's a person who has no awareness of their body being enjoyed by other people

 

Never addressing it made it even worse. 

 

See, I did root for Matt and Chloe as characters, because I didn't really see them as perfect and dull. I liked that Matt was just a junior officer, in way over his head, with a flaky boss and not much experience. And that Chloe really wasn't equipped to do much of anything to help the crew survive. I thought they were interesting ideas for the characters, and both of them were good people, which is becoming a rarity in television, these days

 

I didn't hate them apart but together I started yawning, plus I didn't like the way she jerked Eli around.  And their flaws were "perfect" problems, a son that had been hid from him, being too smart and special, a young officer over his head but more steady than the officer in charge.  It felt like they not only were trying too hard, but that they bait and switched the characters I was supposed to invest in. 

 

I think Eli was part of the problem in as much as the first episodes introduced him as the audiences gate way character. I cared what happened to him. I rooted for him and saw the show from his eyes and too quickly the show shifted to trying to tell it's story from Matt or Chloe's or any number of other character's stand point and maybe spread itself too thin? Chloe and Matt also suffered from being considered "good" characters while treating some of the other characters rather shabby.  Toss in Chloe turning into an alien and I was rolling my eyes and whishing we could focus on someone else which is why when they started getting back to Eli, I again started caring about the show. If they didn't want me to think of Eli as a lead, they should have done the pilot differently.     

 

I had been hoping for a movie to wrap up the series but MGM hit such hard times financially that didn't happen. 

[Danny Franks]

Never addressing it made it even worse. 

 

I didn't hate them apart but together I started yawning, plus I didn't like the way she jerked Eli around.  And their flaws were "perfect" problems, a son that had been hid from him, being too smart and special, a young officer over his head but more steady than the officer in charge.  It felt like they not only were trying too hard, but that they bait and switched the characters I was supposed to invest in. 

 

I think Eli was part of the problem in as much as the first episodes introduced him as the audiences gate way character. I cared what happened to him. I rooted for him and saw the show from his eyes and too quickly the show shifted to trying to tell it's story from Matt or Chloe's or any number of other character's stand point and maybe spread itself too thin? Chloe and Matt also suffered from being considered "good" characters while treating some of the other characters rather shabby.  Toss in Chloe turning into an alien and I was rolling my eyes and whishing we could focus on someone else which is why when they started getting back to Eli, I again started caring about the show. If they didn't want me to think of Eli as a lead, they should have done the pilot differently.     

 

I had been hoping for a movie to wrap up the series but MGM hit such hard times financially that didn't happen. 

 

I didn't think Chloe treated Eli shabbily, to be honest. She knew he had a crush on her but she didn't reciprocate, while still valuing him as a friend. That's a tough position to be in, and I don't really know what the right way to deal with that would be. She wasn't obligated to return his feelings. When she finally did address it, I thought she was as nice as she could be, in telling him that being her friend was important too. Matt was a good friend to Eli too, and from his perspective, I don't think he ever really considered that Eli might have feelings for Chloe (Matt wasn't the brightest, let's be honest).

 

Matt definitely treated Lt. James like shit though, and that was an odd, dangling plot thread that seemed pointless. I guess they wanted to establish him as a guy who makes mistakes in his personal conduct? A guy who wasn't good at maintaining relationships? Don't really know. 

 

I thought Eli did get some attention from the writers but he was, by nature, a rather passive observer of life. I think that was a deliberate choice, and they buttonholed it by giving him those floating camera, with which to observe everyone and everything. I thought his journey was about becoming more proactive and assertive in the direction of his own life and, by extension, the lives of everyone on the ship. The second season ended with him making the decision to sacrifice something of himself to ensure they could continue, so I think he was definitely getting there. 

 

Like I say though, I wish they'd kept his girlfriend alive, rather than kill her off along with that other lady, just to give Rush some righteous angst. In that, Eli wasn't even an observer. He took a complete backseat to Rush's Revenge Rampage.

 

Rush was sort of the driving force though he was about as far from heroic (or even likable half the time) as you can get and it was Robert Carlyle's performance that was the most fun to watch. Eli, Young and Scott view for the secondary position though I thought Eli was the only really memorable one.

 

 

I think the writers thought Young was heroic and likable, but I really found him to... not be those things. He was an ass at the best of times, and just didn't feel worthy of the loyalty of anyone. It boggled my mind that TJ had ever even slept with him, let alone been in love with him.

 

Had the show continued, I think they might have developed some of the other secondary characters a bit more. James, Greer, Volker, Brody etc. But I think Rush, Young, Matt, Eli, Chloe and TJ would have remained the main characters.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Danny Franks

[BkWurm1]

I didn't think Chloe treated Eli shabbily, to be honest. She knew he had a crush on her but she didn't reciprocate, while still valuing him as a friend. That's a tough position to be in, and I don't really know what the right way to deal with that would be. She wasn't obligated to return his feelings. When she finally did address it, I thought she was as nice as she could be, in telling him that being her friend was important too.

 

It felt like she knew early on he had feelings for her and kind of led him on though several times. I didn't like that.

 

Young is the one that confused me.  Rush you knew was an ass but usually that was ok, but Young, he was all over the place and as much as I wanted to delve into what ever went down between he and TJ, the show just kept sidestepping and marginalizing her character.  Then we had the weird baby hallucination that may not have been a hallucination.  Confusing.   

(Matt wasn't the brightest, let's be honest).

 

True and that probably didn't help me.  I don't enjoy dumb though since I'm still watching each week of Arrow apparently I must on some level like stupid. 

[Starfish35]

Does anyone remember Brad Wright taking exception to Maureen Ryan's criticism of SGU? I thought it was hilarious, but then I don't think much of Brad Wright.

Here's a recap for those who might not remember it. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/11/08/stargate-universe-producer-brad-wright-talks-back-to-critics-talks-smack-about-abcs-v/32966/

[statsgirl]

It's a good example of when a show runner's head gets too big.  (Are you following, MG?)

 

I tried with SGU but I just couldn't last past a few episodes.  I think the producers wanted to take the Stargate franchise in an edgier, younger direction (gloriously mocked in 200) and the fans wanted more of what they loved.

 

I thought Sanctuary was more the child of SG1 than SGU.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Damn, my power just went out, and it's -2 degrees F outside.  Fuck!

[statsgirl]

Good luck, SonofaBiscuit.  Stay warm, leaving the taps dripping a bit.  I found out last year that a few tealights in a glass jar can provide a fair bit of heat.

 

Apparently, this is the coldest winter since 1934.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Unfortunately, we have no water when there is a power outage because we have a well with a pump that requires electricity to run!  I'll be praying to the ComEd gods to please get my power restored ASAP.

[statsgirl]

Let us know when you get it back on, and stay warm. 

[SonofaBiscuit]

Let us know when you get it back on, and stay warm. 

 

Only took 2.5 hours, whew.  It's always panic-inducing when this happens because I've gone a few times for 3 days without power, and it becomes a nightmare when you don't have water, don't have heat, and have animals that need to be cared for.  

[statsgirl]

Glad you're okay.

There are people out in the Maritimes who have been without power for 4 days now and huge snowdrifts. I don't know how they do it.

 

I know you're supposed to keep an emergency supply of food and water and medicine, but I'm ashamed to say I don't.  I did get a lot of candles though after the ice storm last year.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Well, you know, smart people who live in rural areas have generators, but those things are such a pain in the ass.  I always have plenty of bottled water, but that doesn't last long if you are using it to wash your hands, water your animals, etc.  I guess that I shouldn't complain since there are people who sometimes have to go weeks without electricity, but it really is inconvenient.  But I received a letter saying that they are upgrading my setup (there are miles of power lines running through the forest---hoping they will run a few poles down the road and tie me into the same lines as the neighbors half a mile away), so hell yeah!  Maybe this won't happen anymore.  

[Starfish35]

Glad to hear you got your power back on.

[BkWurm1]

Unfortunately, we have no water when there is a power outage because we have a well with a pump that requires electricity to run!  I'll be praying to the ComEd gods to please get my power restored ASAP.

I have that issue with wells and pumps too.  Really glad your electricity is back on.  Beyond the hardship, I was worried about your pipes freezing and potentially bursting. 

 

I was just telling someone that every time we have a relatively mild winter I feel guilty because the rest of the country seems to get more than their fair share of messes.  So, um, sorry?

[SleepDeprived]

Ever read the book for The Congo?  Sexist crap at a subtle but extreme level.  I can't enjoy the movie without raging over the book.  Michael Crichton is an ass (or at least writes women like he is an ass)

 

No, I haven't read it. Or any Michael Crichton book, actually. When I was younger, for some strange reason, I viewed Stephen King and Michael Crichton as authors in competition with one another. I didn't want to be reading both of them so, in a weird sense of loyalty, I guess, I decided I needed to choose one over the other and went with Stephen King (because Pet Sematary and Thinner messed me up, and I cried reading The Green Mile).

 

Though I'm not surprised to hear the book was sexist (Laura Linney's character pretty much dealt with that subtle sexism throughout the movie, as well), I'm happy that my experience of Congo (the movie) wasn't tainted by anything to do with Crichton's book. Same with my experience of Jurassic Park (never read the books, thoroughly enjoyed the movies). Heh.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Stephen King's books are the stuff of nightmares!  My sister watched all of those creepy movies growing up (Pet Semetary, Cujo, IT), and to this day I find clowns completely terrifying.   

[SleepDeprived]

Stephen King's books are the stuff of nightmares!  My sister watched all of those creepy movies growing up (Pet Semetary, Cujo, IT), and to this day I find clowns completely terrifying.   

 

Oh, you mean this?

 

 

Sorry(notsorry). I've always liked horror movies and books. Not to say I never get scared. I do (I have, on occasion, left the lights on in my bedroom and, to this day, I make sure that none of my limbs are hanging off of the side of my bed when I go to sleep). I'm just kind of that weirdo who likes to see whether or not I'll scream at the jump-scare parts in movies (less and less with the "horror" movies, nowadays) and bundle myself while clutching at the sheets in anticipation of creepy stuff. Hee.

[SonofaBiscuit]

^ I would give you a thumbs down if I could :)  Child's Play really did a number on me...I checked under my bed for years to make sure Chucky wasn't hiding out under there.

[Morrigan2575]

Pennywise was so freaky, loved the mini-series, book was good but Stephen King goes to some very crazy places.

[tennisgurl]

My friends mom actually met Stephen King on a plane once! Except she had never heard of him, and only realized he was famous when she mentioned him to my friend. She said he was really nice and friendly, but seemed a bit tired.

 

Pet Semetary and Storm of the Century freaked me OUT.  

[manbearpig]

I actually just finished reading It a few months back! While I was reading it I felt like it would never end, but it was still really good. It was a lot bigger in scope than I expected it to be (multiple periods of time, a bunch of characters and locations), which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. Definitely had a few 'why the hell would anyone write this?' moments, but a fun read for the most part. I find Stephen King quite hit and miss though, but he has written a lot of books so you can't enjoy them all. Carrie and Misery are my favourites of his that I have read, and I liked that JFK assassination time travel story he wrote a few years ago (which, bizarrely, is being made into a Hulu show starring James Franco).

 

I might check out the It miniseries, if only because I liked the book and am interested in seeing Annette O'Toole outside of Smallville. She was good in a small guest spot on Grey's Anatomy last year, though.

Edited February 19, 2015 by manbearpig

[BkWurm1]

Just finished the latest episode of The 100.  That show since the hiatus - before too but especially since - has just been relentlessly moving forward in the best possible way.  Everything that everyone is doing matters and is meaningful and all the dead weight is gone and I'm so impressed with the story they've been telling this second season.  The first season kept my attention but the show wandered and was all over the place and I wasn't sure what they wanted to be but this year I've been impressed from the start. 

 

Which only makes me more annoyed with Arrow.  And also, as long as The 100 is on, Arrow has nothing on it when it comes to grit and violence.  That thing with the axe?  Brutal. 

[wonderwall]

The 100 is phenomenal. 

 

But I have any of you seen Empire? Is it good? I wanna know because the ratings for that show is ridiculous

[Morrigan2575]

Jumping back a topic. I've read a few Stephen King books in my time but, the scariest thing ever is that evil little boy from the Pet Cemetery movie. I was so freaked out by when he sliced Herman Munster's Achilles heel.

Never read that book (short story) so I have no idea if it's in the book but that scene made the movie.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Morrigan2575

[tennisgurl]

God I love The 100. So freaking intense and well plotted! Its basically abandoned all its CW love triangles, and is going for straight up political and survival drama. No weak links in the cast either. There`s no pointless subplots, no filler episodes, no pointless characters. Its just so freaking good! 

 

I have not had a chance to watch the last two episodes of Empire (plan on doing it really soon) but I really enjoy it. Its kind of soapy, but I really enjoy the characters and the plots. There is a lot of potential to get deeper I think. They have already touched on class, race, homophobia, mental illness, and crime, so I hope they keep a good mix between soapy fun, and the more intense issues. And Cookie is just the bomb dot com! 

 

The show I am probably most into right now is Shameless. Without a doubt one of the best ensembles on TV, and, at its best, perfectly walks the line between broad comedy and intense drama and character work. The last episode was, to me, one of the best the show has ever done!

Edited February 20, 2015 by tennisgurl

[statsgirl]

Has anyone seen X Company?  It's a new short (6 episode) show from people who brought you Flashpoint and Orphan Black, about five Allied spies during WWII, with Evelyne Brochu (Delphine) Jack Laskey (Endeavor) and Warren Brown (Luthor).  Laskey's character is based on a real life synesthete (all his five senses were connected).  

 

There's lots of cool stuff at the show's site, such as this was actually called HYDRA and the base, called The Farm (where the CIA took the name from ) trained more than 500 Allied agents, including from the FBI and Office of  Strategic Services, as well as British agents like Ian Fleming (passed on his swimming abilities to James Bond), Noel Coward and David Ogilvie (advertising master).

 

I thought the show was very well done but too emotionally violent for me.

Edited February 20, 2015 by statsgirl

[Genki]

Empire is really enjoyable...but it is soapy fun. The music is original and entertaining too. Cookie is everything.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Genki

[BkWurm1]

Has anyone seen X Company? It's a new short (6 episode) show from people who brought you Flashpoint and Orphan Black, about five Allied spies during WWII, with Evelyne Brochu (Delphine) Jack Laskey (Endeavor) and Warren Brown (Luthor). Laskey's character is based on a real life synesthete (all his five senses were connected).

There's lots of cool stuff at the show's site, such as this was actually called HYDRA and the base, called The Farm (where the CIA took the name from ) trained more than 500 Allied agents, including from the FBI and Office of Strategic Services, as well as British agents like Ian Fleming (passed on his swimming abilities to James Bond), Noel Coward and David Ogilvie (advertising master).

I thought the show was very well done but too emotionally violent for me.

. Sounds really interesting. Edited February 20, 2015 by BkWurm1

[kismet]

So I actually really like BATB. It started off as a random show to watch similar to Arrow, but I found myself be drawn back to it. There was a lot of interesting characters & relationships in there. Yes the plot lines are ridiculous. Yes it is a silly show. It never promised to be earth shattering EMMY material. But neither is most of the stuff the CW airs... so it fits the network. It also is a show that doesn't take itself as seriously as some other shows. Its pretty fun hour long program. It's entertaining and there's nothing wrong with that. It'll be interesting to see how s3 plays out. They seemed to go too far in some ways in s1 & then overcorrected too far in s2. They'll also fell into some pretty plot & character pot holes that happen during sophomore slumps. So it took a hit in ratings, but it seemed to make improvements and modifications as the season progressed. So im hopefully they found their voice/direction in S3. The cast has a good chemistry with each other so that makes its very enjoyable. The main romantic pairing has some pretty hot chemistry. The show is worth a watch, its pretty entertaining.

Beauty and the Beast got renewed for a fourth season! How? What? How? I like Kristin K though, despite Lana Lang, so I'm glad she's still employed, even if I've never seen the show. Season three hasn't even aired yet! Crazy.

 

http://deadline.com/2015/02/beauty-the-beast-renewed-season-4-season-3-summer-premiere-date-1201373024/

 

I believe it is park of Mark Pedowitz's plan to program year round. It is part of their summer programming, which I think will make it a good fit. Its also where I think they'll drop an ATOM or JL show if they are serious about that.

A third season pretty much assured them a fourth season, and giant returns in syndication money.

Truth is, these days, any show that reaches 3 seasons [of 20 or more episodes] gets a fourth season renewal almost automatically. The last show that didn't was Veronica Mars.

They make a killing in international profits. The show has a big international fan base and does well in international markets.

 

I couldn't get past the CW's version of the beast- a hot guy with some scars. I hear he got rid of the scars.

 

Yes, they got rid of the facial scar in the beginning of s2. They never really explained how or why on the show. But it had to do with the editing & limiting time in the make-up chair. It was just taking more time & $$ to keep the scar on in a realistic fashion for some of the things they wanted to do on the show. The scar was originally put on because they thought it would not be believable to have beast that was as attractive as Jay Ryan without some visible indicator that he beastly or scarred. They opted for a different route in s2 & it was belivable. It made sense that they got rid of it in s2 if it allowed for less time & $$ spent on editing/make-up budget. The reason we don't see SA as shirtless as we did in S1 has a lot to do with the fact that it takes a lot of time to put on all those scars & tattoos. So they eliminate the problem, by having him wear a shirt.

Beauty and the Beast was on a syllabus for a class I took last summer on writing for serialized dramas. It was one of the shows I could choose from in the SciFi/Fantasy genre. I ended up choosing it as one of my shows to analyze female protagonists just because I'd never seen it. Also, I admit I thought it would be bad. Like REALLY BAD. I thought it would be weekly DiD for Catherine. I laughed that it was even on the syllabus.

Honestly, I have to admit it's not as bad as I thought it would be. S1 had some unnecessary characters like that irritating police captain and too much of the little sister. They got rid of both in S2, though the little sister made a couple of appearances. They have some convoluted plots and speeches at inappropriate moments, and there is most definitely too much manufactured relationship drama that hit mid-season in both seasons. I only watched certain episodes and clips from both seasons, but I could see the pattern.

What they did do right was make a fairly believable female protagonist. I was surprised she wasn't a DiD since her bf is a super powered vigilante. I thought I was going to be watching Lana 2.0 and that's not the case. They had believable backstory as to why she learned to fight, defend herself, etc. They didn't forget she knew how when it was convenient for plot. They showed her (brace yourselves) training! She trained, y'all. She had some good fights. Season 2 seemed to have a running theme about everyone trying to protect Catherine in their own way - seriously if I'd taken a shot every time someone said the word 'protect' in one of the episodes I watched, I'd have been wasted in less than ten minutes lol. But that episode was hilarious because she was fighting bad guys and, just as she was about to take out the last one, Vincent popped up and knocked the guy out. Was she happy to be saved? Nope. She was pissed, rightfully told him she had that joker, and stomped off muttering "I am not some damsel in distress. I don't need to be saved!" Bless the writers for giving Kristin that line because she had a thankless job on Smallville. It's definitely not a perfect show, but I'll admit I enjoyed the S2 episodes I watched. They stopped taking themselves so seriously, and there were legitimately cute character moments and relationship moments. And they actually had Catherine question the morality of being judge, jury and executioner and her role in aiding vigilantism since she's a cop. There was actual dialogue about this! Color me shocked. Overall I'm not sure it's my kind of show, and I don't have time to go back and watch every episode, but I might watch it again this summer if I decide to take my 3 months off as vacation time.

Frankly, I'd rather see Catherine be Black Canary than Laurel. It's more believable. I find it hilarious that Beauty and the Beast managed to create a better female protagonist than Arrow.

 

Catherine was always written as a kick-ass female, which is great. There were some hiccups in s2, but they tried to fix those. A lot of similar things are happening to Felicity now. I think its a problem on shows that think to hard about trying to write strong females, as opposed to just writing strong females organically. BATB even had their own Ray character & it was just a waste of good plot & character development. They also feel victim to poor plot execution & dumb plotholes that just left you scratching your head. She definitely makes LL look pretty weak at some points. She very rarely plays the damsel in distress.

I didn't watch that whole episode, but I did see a clip of that scene and watched the following episode. Based on overall analysis, that landed in the MRD category and, as far as I could tell, didn't fit characterization for either of them unless Vincent was supposed to have PTSD, which AFAIK wasn't addressed. It seemed like a misstep on the part of the writers.

Whoops, I'm wrong. I looked for my notes and I did watch that whole episode, and the one that followed. What I concluded was that after their reunion in episode 1, the end scene of which I thought was very well written and included a great character moment in which Catherine finally allows herself to grieve what she's lost - her mother, her father, Vincent, and maybe her sister - that episode 2 was establishing their relationship dynamic again. She was desperate for him to remember, it (weirdly) led to sexy times, and (ouch) he still didn't remember. Going back wasn't possible because he wasn't the same person and Catherine was in denial. It was understandable but still denial. So that moment where he pushed her away when she grabbed him was the MRD designed to shake her out of her denial and make her realize this wasn't "her" Vincent - he was the government's Vincent. The problem is that they employed a triggering event to get there, and you have to be careful with triggering events. Without careful handling the audience can be turned off.

PTSD would have fit very well with how they seemed to be exploring his humanity, but I don't think they went there based on the episodes I watched. Since it was clearly CW type MRD, and most likely designed to shock their viewers rather than be explored, I ended up dismissing it from my overall character analysis. Poor Catherine and Vincent were victims of the Plot Bunny Bodysnatchers lol. I still felt like Catherine had some pretty solid characterization overall.

S3 hasn't aired? Are they turning it into a summer show? That might be a good thing for the CW to consider

Yea, the fans had a major issue with the whole throwing Cat thing. It did not go over well. There was a lot of fan outrage. There were a lot of problems with how that story was told, but they did try to address it. Perhaps, not as well as they could have addressed it. But it was to make a bigger character/plot point which was that Vincent was no longer the same person after the mind controlling/warping project. No show is perfect, but it was frustrating to see them fumble the opportunity to bring to light some issues regarding DV. For plot reasons, they focused less on Vincent's humanity in s2, that was more of a s1 thing. So he was more a "weapon" in s2, which is how they tried to create angst & drama. Sometimes, the writers try to hard to write epic stories, when organic angles are so readily present.

[tv echo]

Yet another comic book-based new TV show...

 

Fox's 'Lucifer' Gets Pilot Pickup; Jerry Bruckheimer, Len Wiseman Board DC Comics Take
9:30 AM PST 2/19/2015 by Lesley Goldberg
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/foxs-lucifer-dc-comics-bruckheimer-767811?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews&utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%20News_2015-02-19%2009%3A30%3A00_lgoldberg

[Chaser]

Anna Faris's hair looks like Sara's wig. Lol

 

Her and Chris Pratt look great.

[tv echo]

The Oscars were overall a snoozefest, interspersed by a few rare genuinely emotional moments, but dominated as usual by lame jokes, unnecessary performance fillers, and long-winded speeches.  

 

Neil Patrick Harris turns Oscars 2015 into snoozefest?
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/02/23/neil-patrick-harris-turns-oscars-2015-into-snoozefest/

 

Oscars 2015: Song-and-dance, yes, and the usual yawns

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/oscars-2015-song-and-dance-yes-and-the-usual-yawns/2015/02/23/1d1253da-baf2-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html

 

Review: Bloated Oscar telecast gets in way of terrific Oscar ceremony
BAD JOKES, TOO MANY MUSICAL NUMBERS, BUT LOTS OF GREAT SPEECHES
By Alan Sepinwall  @Sepinwall | MONDAY, FEB 23, 2015 1:19 AM
http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-bloated-oscar-telecast-gets-in-way-of-terrific-oscar-ceremony/

 

But I am glad that Eddie Redmayne won because he is so talented.  He can act (Theory of Everything) and sing (Les Miz) - and dance.  Here he is reenacting his audition for Oliver! at age 9 on The Graham Norton Show (it's hilarious):

Edited February 23, 2015 by tv echo