TV Shows >>> Real Life
May. 16th, 2009 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fishpatrolIn my next entry, I will talk about Yay: graduating, Doom: grad school, Itchy: strange bug bites? unknown allergies? But this entry is all about what I've been doing since I moved back home one week ago: watching TV. :D/
Supernatural
I didn't start watching SPN until Season 4 was well underway. I had, as per my habit, spoiled the plot for myself before I even started watching. All the stuff about angels and demons and showdowns intrigued me, which is why I picked up the show in the first place. Oh, and the hot brothers. Did I mention the hot brothers? I didn't much like the first season, which appears to be somewhat of an unpopular opinion. Monsters-of-the-week episodes didn't do much for me (especially since I had to cover my eyes throughout most of those episodes. Chicken? Who, me?). When I try to explain to RL friends why I watch it, I'm all, "Angels and demons and monsters and a great battle between good and evil except no side is actually all good and it's all very complicated and intense and did I mention the hot brothers who are totally in love with each other?" ...Okay, well, I usually leave out the "in love with each other" part.
I found that the show got much better when a stronger underlying plot was introduced that connected each subsequent episode. Season 4 had a few clunkers (like Season 5 of SGA -- the good episodes were fantastic, but the bad ones... Yes, I am thinking of that horrible bodyswap one. Okay, total tangent here, but I really, really want to see a Dean-and-Sam bodyswap episode. *__*), but was an overall good season.
I'm a main-character sort of fan unless there's a big cast where multiple characters share the screen time (e.g. Prince of Tennis, Ouran Host Club... does Super Junior count?). For me, SPN is pretty much the Sam-and-Dean Show. It is a shame, though, that most of the side characters aren't fleshed out more.
A few (quick, disjointed) thoughts on some the Season 4 side characters:
Anna: This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I think she was more interesting as a fallen angel than a human girl with supernatural powers. I was surprised that she didn't appear at all in the finale. I would have thought that she would give an encouraging word or two to Castiel to change sides, to support the humans. I suppose she was still held prisoner after Castiel turned her over to the higher management.
Castiel: As the episodes progressed, his character definitely became more interesting. The scene in 4x22 where he suddenly changes his mind about following Zachariah's orders and helping Dean was so intense and awesomely great. *___*
Ruby: To be honest, I had no idea whether she was going to turn out evil or not. I do think that Genevieve!Ruby developed in a very different direction than Katie!Ruby -- it's hard to believe that they're supposed to be the same character. I prefer Katie!Ruby over Gen!Ruby; Katie!Ruby had much more in the way of attitude and energy. But what bugged me most about Ruby's character overall was her lack of motive. Her story about remembering being human and wanting to help the Winchesters because of it was weak -- can't blame Dean for never trusting her. But never even seeing glimpses of her "evil" side also makes the reveal of her planning to release Lucifer all along a hard story to swallow for the viewers.
What I did like was her pleading for Sam to follow her to the dark side (y'know, or so to speak) and that he would be rewarded, and how well that parallelled Zachariah's offer to Dean. I'm not a Sam/Ruby shipper, but I like to think that although she played Sam, she did genuinely care about him in some way.
Lilith: She was creepier and way cooler as a little girl. Lilith didn't retain her character when she possessed the dental hygienist (her whole sex-doll act in the Chuck-the-prophet episode was just...lacklustre), not like the way she did when she possessed Katie!Ruby (now that was creepily awesome). Maintaining Lilith's childlike speech would have a stronger impact (and increased creep-level!), especially for the final scene in 4x22.
I wasn't opposed to the idea of a Sam vs Dean showdown or Sam as an evil overlord, but I admit to feeling relieved when they reconciled at the end. When Dean's voicemail message got cut off before his last line, I eeped and wibbled. I was practically gnawing at my knuckles when Sam listened to the message right before following Ruby into the convent and heard the same lines from his hallucinated!Dean, that Dean thought he was a monster. Oh, boys. :( Season 5 is going to be Sam-and-Dean against the angels and demons and it'd better damn well be EPIC. eeeeeee [/dolphin noise]
I may have had more to say, but I watched 4x22 yesterday and watched, like, seven episodes of Bones since then, so, like, idk, it was a good episode? Better season finale than The Big Bang Theory? (Though, Sheldon's sense of humour + "Bazinga" = hilariously awesome, but, Show, really, stop beating the Leonard/Penny dead horse -- or dead ship, rather.)
Anyway...
Bones
I watched the first two episodes of Season 1 online a couple of weeks ago (I didn't want to study for my exams. What?) and then borrowed the Season 2 DVDs (couldn't get my hands on the first season) and marathoned through those during the past couple of days. First off: I like the colours. I don't know how to described them, but they're clear and contrasting and...sharp? Saturated? Can I just stick with "pretty" as a descriptor? After the dark, dark, and more dark of Supernatural, this was refreshing. But thanks to Supernatural, I've been mostly desensitized by the blood and corpses and I hardly ever have to look away from the screen when they drag out the rotting bodies. ;) I find the exposition to be excessive at times, but overall, it's a fun series. Using science to solve crime, yay. \o/ Also: I love smart characters.
My favourite characters so far would have to be Bones (referring here to the titular character, obvs) and Zach. I had my reservations about Bones at first, but she definitely grew on me with her criticisms on certain social norms and gender role expectations and her "I don't know what that means." I have a thing for the genius-and-socially-inept types (see also: Sheldon Cooper, Rodney Mckay -- ooh, and Inui Sadaharu. Quoting scientific facts and random statistics is never not hot. ;)) She's a strong character who can kick ass and save herself from nasty situations (e.g. blowing up an airbag to get to the surface when buried alive in her car). I admire people who love their job, and especially people who love their research, and Bones fits both of these descriptions.
I love Bones for the same reasons I dislike Angela, which directly relates to the occasional feelings of "uck, squick" directed at Angela/Hodgins. The banter between Bones and Booth is great fun to watch and they really are great partners, but I'm not sure if I would want to see their UST actually resolved on screen -- regardless, I do like seeing them together outside of their working relationship (mmm, UST). Angela/Hodgins on the other hand...something about them together pushes my ick button. I haven't quite pinpointed the cause yet, but it's something about their dynamic and their interactions that bug me.
What bothers me about Angela is completely related to a personal bias. I hate it when people tell me that I shouldn't regard certain things from a logical and rational perspective. Trying to understand interpersonal relationships, in particular, from a rational view is apparently Not Good. The implication that thinking with your rational brain rather than your emotional heart (so to speak) makes you miss out on important fundamental things is one that rubs me the wrong way. Another thing that annoys me a lot? When people tell me I should dress/behave "more girly/feminine". Angela advises Bones to "be more like a girl", she tells Bones that Bones is missing out on a lot by not thinking with her heart, she rejects Hodgins' marriage proposal twice because "I don't know, but it doesn't feel right" and then does a 180 a few days later.
This is veering off course into a sort-of!rant, so I'm going to simply conclude it with: brain > heart, my bias, let me show you it. ;;;;
So, Zach, adorable young genius with no social skills and a slight-off sense of humour? That's my kind of character. The scenes with him and Booth are always fun since Booth just doesn't get him and he's kind of intimidated by Booth's bulk. Unfortunately, Zach gets written off in Season 3, according to Wikipedia, and that makes me sad.
Bones (the show, not the character), for me, is likely to be one of those shows I'll follow along but never veer off from the canon into fanon (and fandom), like Psych and The Big Bang Theory. But yay, new show to follow, now that there's no more SPN to watch. I fully intend to rot my brain with TV shows this summer. \o/
Supernatural
I didn't start watching SPN until Season 4 was well underway. I had, as per my habit, spoiled the plot for myself before I even started watching. All the stuff about angels and demons and showdowns intrigued me, which is why I picked up the show in the first place. Oh, and the hot brothers. Did I mention the hot brothers? I didn't much like the first season, which appears to be somewhat of an unpopular opinion. Monsters-of-the-week episodes didn't do much for me (especially since I had to cover my eyes throughout most of those episodes. Chicken? Who, me?). When I try to explain to RL friends why I watch it, I'm all, "Angels and demons and monsters and a great battle between good and evil except no side is actually all good and it's all very complicated and intense and did I mention the hot brothers who are totally in love with each other?" ...Okay, well, I usually leave out the "in love with each other" part.
I found that the show got much better when a stronger underlying plot was introduced that connected each subsequent episode. Season 4 had a few clunkers (like Season 5 of SGA -- the good episodes were fantastic, but the bad ones... Yes, I am thinking of that horrible bodyswap one. Okay, total tangent here, but I really, really want to see a Dean-and-Sam bodyswap episode. *__*), but was an overall good season.
I'm a main-character sort of fan unless there's a big cast where multiple characters share the screen time (e.g. Prince of Tennis, Ouran Host Club... does Super Junior count?). For me, SPN is pretty much the Sam-and-Dean Show. It is a shame, though, that most of the side characters aren't fleshed out more.
A few (quick, disjointed) thoughts on some the Season 4 side characters:
Anna: This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I think she was more interesting as a fallen angel than a human girl with supernatural powers. I was surprised that she didn't appear at all in the finale. I would have thought that she would give an encouraging word or two to Castiel to change sides, to support the humans. I suppose she was still held prisoner after Castiel turned her over to the higher management.
Castiel: As the episodes progressed, his character definitely became more interesting. The scene in 4x22 where he suddenly changes his mind about following Zachariah's orders and helping Dean was so intense and awesomely great. *___*
Ruby: To be honest, I had no idea whether she was going to turn out evil or not. I do think that Genevieve!Ruby developed in a very different direction than Katie!Ruby -- it's hard to believe that they're supposed to be the same character. I prefer Katie!Ruby over Gen!Ruby; Katie!Ruby had much more in the way of attitude and energy. But what bugged me most about Ruby's character overall was her lack of motive. Her story about remembering being human and wanting to help the Winchesters because of it was weak -- can't blame Dean for never trusting her. But never even seeing glimpses of her "evil" side also makes the reveal of her planning to release Lucifer all along a hard story to swallow for the viewers.
What I did like was her pleading for Sam to follow her to the dark side (y'know, or so to speak) and that he would be rewarded, and how well that parallelled Zachariah's offer to Dean. I'm not a Sam/Ruby shipper, but I like to think that although she played Sam, she did genuinely care about him in some way.
Lilith: She was creepier and way cooler as a little girl. Lilith didn't retain her character when she possessed the dental hygienist (her whole sex-doll act in the Chuck-the-prophet episode was just...lacklustre), not like the way she did when she possessed Katie!Ruby (now that was creepily awesome). Maintaining Lilith's childlike speech would have a stronger impact (and increased creep-level!), especially for the final scene in 4x22.
I wasn't opposed to the idea of a Sam vs Dean showdown or Sam as an evil overlord, but I admit to feeling relieved when they reconciled at the end. When Dean's voicemail message got cut off before his last line, I eeped and wibbled. I was practically gnawing at my knuckles when Sam listened to the message right before following Ruby into the convent and heard the same lines from his hallucinated!Dean, that Dean thought he was a monster. Oh, boys. :( Season 5 is going to be Sam-and-Dean against the angels and demons and it'd better damn well be EPIC. eeeeeee [/dolphin noise]
I may have had more to say, but I watched 4x22 yesterday and watched, like, seven episodes of Bones since then, so, like, idk, it was a good episode? Better season finale than The Big Bang Theory? (Though, Sheldon's sense of humour + "Bazinga" = hilariously awesome, but, Show, really, stop beating the Leonard/Penny dead horse -- or dead ship, rather.)
Anyway...
Bones
I watched the first two episodes of Season 1 online a couple of weeks ago (I didn't want to study for my exams. What?) and then borrowed the Season 2 DVDs (couldn't get my hands on the first season) and marathoned through those during the past couple of days. First off: I like the colours. I don't know how to described them, but they're clear and contrasting and...sharp? Saturated? Can I just stick with "pretty" as a descriptor? After the dark, dark, and more dark of Supernatural, this was refreshing. But thanks to Supernatural, I've been mostly desensitized by the blood and corpses and I hardly ever have to look away from the screen when they drag out the rotting bodies. ;) I find the exposition to be excessive at times, but overall, it's a fun series. Using science to solve crime, yay. \o/ Also: I love smart characters.
My favourite characters so far would have to be Bones (referring here to the titular character, obvs) and Zach. I had my reservations about Bones at first, but she definitely grew on me with her criticisms on certain social norms and gender role expectations and her "I don't know what that means." I have a thing for the genius-and-socially-inept types (see also: Sheldon Cooper, Rodney Mckay -- ooh, and Inui Sadaharu. Quoting scientific facts and random statistics is never not hot. ;)) She's a strong character who can kick ass and save herself from nasty situations (e.g. blowing up an airbag to get to the surface when buried alive in her car). I admire people who love their job, and especially people who love their research, and Bones fits both of these descriptions.
I love Bones for the same reasons I dislike Angela, which directly relates to the occasional feelings of "uck, squick" directed at Angela/Hodgins. The banter between Bones and Booth is great fun to watch and they really are great partners, but I'm not sure if I would want to see their UST actually resolved on screen -- regardless, I do like seeing them together outside of their working relationship (mmm, UST). Angela/Hodgins on the other hand...something about them together pushes my ick button. I haven't quite pinpointed the cause yet, but it's something about their dynamic and their interactions that bug me.
What bothers me about Angela is completely related to a personal bias. I hate it when people tell me that I shouldn't regard certain things from a logical and rational perspective. Trying to understand interpersonal relationships, in particular, from a rational view is apparently Not Good. The implication that thinking with your rational brain rather than your emotional heart (so to speak) makes you miss out on important fundamental things is one that rubs me the wrong way. Another thing that annoys me a lot? When people tell me I should dress/behave "more girly/feminine". Angela advises Bones to "be more like a girl", she tells Bones that Bones is missing out on a lot by not thinking with her heart, she rejects Hodgins' marriage proposal twice because "I don't know, but it doesn't feel right" and then does a 180 a few days later.
This is veering off course into a sort-of!rant, so I'm going to simply conclude it with: brain > heart, my bias, let me show you it. ;;;;
So, Zach, adorable young genius with no social skills and a slight-off sense of humour? That's my kind of character. The scenes with him and Booth are always fun since Booth just doesn't get him and he's kind of intimidated by Booth's bulk. Unfortunately, Zach gets written off in Season 3, according to Wikipedia, and that makes me sad.
Bones (the show, not the character), for me, is likely to be one of those shows I'll follow along but never veer off from the canon into fanon (and fandom), like Psych and The Big Bang Theory. But yay, new show to follow, now that there's no more SPN to watch. I fully intend to rot my brain with TV shows this summer. \o/
