Bunch O' Stuff
Apr. 19th, 2011 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxFringe - Tornadoes had the show pre-empted in my area, so I didn't have a chance to see it until the Saturday 10pm re-airing. That was a really trippy episode with bits of Inception and A Scanner Darkly I pretty much knew that Leonard Nimoy's character had to die again. And I was relatively sure that he would continue to be a good guy (it's Leonard Nimoy, y'all!) Was surprised by Olivia bluntly saying that the unidentified guy in the zeplin is the guy who is going to kill her. Nice bookend with Peter recognizing the "not real" Olivia. Olivia probably needed that. And LOL at acid trip Broyles.
Upstairs, Downstairs - I forgot about this last week and so missed episode 1 entirely. But, I found it interesting and watchable this week. I found the flirtation with fascism plot quite interesting (and even timely). I'll be watching again.
Game of Thrones (BOOK) - Finally finished the book last night. It's paced quickly enough to be readable, though I find that I have ambivalent feelings. First off, I hate the Dothraki plot. I understand why it's there and the purpose that it serves... but the amount of skeeve tends to trump everything else for me. I understand that the Dothraki are some reflection of various 'horse peoples' from the Mongols, the Huns, to the Comanches. So I do understand the historical precedent, but... I still didn't enjoy that part of the story.
What I did like? Tyrion.
Tyrion is my favorite character in the book, bar none. I really could've just read 'the adventures of Tyrion' and been happier. Which isn't to say he's the only character I liked. I greatly enjoyed Arya. I have nothing against Jon Snow or Eddard Stark either. And while I liked them less, I totally understood both Catelyn and Sansa. I'd even argue that though I don't like her, Sansa is a well written character inasmuch that there are times I just want to slap her and other times where I genuinely feel for the girl (but that doesn't lessen the urge to slap her). So those were positives.
Will say that Ned was rather dim-witted in letting the Queen outmaneuver him. It was obvious that she was given ample opportunity to set everything up to her advantage. Ned was stupid to continue and continue convincing himself that she'd eventually flee when she flat out told him that this wasn't going to happen. Win or die. She was all in. So that blind spot was huge.
Also I'm curiously detached from Dany. They certainly put her through hell, and she's sympathetic enough. And yet... I just keep feeling that I should be feeling for her.
Finally, the ending... was a cliffhanger. I kind of expected more of an ending. I caught on when Tyrion got a hint of recognition (convenient though it was) from his father, with Bran getting an assload of exposition told to him as he expressed a desire to learn magic, followed by Jon deciding to remain at the wall, that this was going to be as much of a resolution as we were going to get in Book I. And certainly the birth of the dragons was a big image to exit on, but I still felt I would've like a bit more of a resolution for this novel rather than it clearly being a set up for the next.
I kind of feel a bit overwhelmed by the darkness of it all, though. I'm in for the next novel because I'm curious enough. I could deal with a bit more pleasure along the way though. Pleasure or zombies. More of either would be good.
I'm not totally complaining about the darkness, though. It makes sense, so it's not an objective criticism so much as an emotional one and preference. A lot of story seems reasonable enough. Having read my fair share about Eleanor of Aquataine, Queen Isabella she-wolf of France, Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey, Queen (Bloody) Mary, and Elizabeth I, I can see the thrust of the story as being quite plausible and not any darker than real history. I know that the story is somewhat inspired by the War of the Roses (so I'm wondering Stark=York? Lancaster=Lannister?) But it's all rather emotionally taxing. And even that doesn't quite capture it because The Hunger Games is emotionally taxing. I think the difference is that The Hunger Games evoked tears from me. There were places where I had a good cathartic cry. I never had the urge to cry during A Game of Thrones. I was more detatched from the darkness which, strangely made it more depressing (if that makes any sense). JMHO.
Game of Thrones (TV) - so, yeah, still hate the Dothraki plot (and for the dude over on TWOP, it's not an insult to George R.R. Martin if people -- especially those who haven't read the book -- have some issues with the casting of the extras at the Dothraki wedding. It's not like he personally selected all the extras. So stop creating strawmen arguments around stuff that people didn't say and acknowledge that just maybe there were problems in the fact that the only people of color cast in the pilot episode appeared as 'savages'. Nothing in the book required this to be the case so allow folks some "did they really have to do that?") Still loved Tyrion, though he didn't have much of a role. Most everyone seems well cast, though the jury is out on Jon Snow's casting. They didn't give him much to do so it's hard to tell. Bean is a great choice for Eddard. I'm hoping the actress can make me feel more for Catelyn. Arya has potential. Sansa really is quite lovely to look at. The changes in the Dany deflowering... well, I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, that shit isn't fun to watch. I understand their changing it from overtly consensual to what is really a marital rape because it was rather confusing to go from a relatively tender love scene to the follow-up chapter where Dany doesn't have sex with Drago without pain and without his being tender at all without there being any real change other than chapters. So I can understand why they didn't bother with the way the wedding night played out in the book. And, honestly, I have no actual good feelings for Drago. Dany may have come to love him, but I never did. He was generally a cipher to me, so I'm not over bothered that they changed it. On the other hand, it's really grossing me out. This is part of why I hated the Dothraki plot. Again, I understand its purpose in the story and in Dany's plot, that doesn't mean that I have to like it. There was also some change in the Lannister Twincest. I really don't get why the show chose consistent doggy-style sex. It's noted that that's the Dothraki way, but that really isn't the way Lannister twincest happened in the book. But... I don't really care, other than it contributed to a sense of overkill.
I pretty much expected overkill. It's the HBO/Showtime standard with any new series. Amp up the sex and violence to 11 for buzz. Usually it tones down and they eventually get around to telling the stories. Not that the sex in the episode (other than Tyrion with the however many it was whores) wasn't in the book. Both twincest and Dany deflowering, and awful wedding humping were in the book. It's just that some things are easier to take in books than in visuals and I wish they had erred a tiny bit more on discretion because it's really easy to go for overkill.
Pacing-wise, I think that they had a crapload of exposition to try to impart so I'll give them a break on the pacing. There's really only so much you can do when you're trying to explain a half a bazillion characters, their relationships, and giving a quick rundown of what's going on. I've heard that the next several epsiodes are better paced, so I'm not going to complain about the pacing.
Since the pilot was shot then re-shot then pasted together (with a couple of different women playing Dany and Catelyn) I'm willing to cut some slack. It's an interesting story. I just tend to grow tired with things that are pretty relentlessly dark, so I fear I may find the series exhausting. Still, I'm interested in seeing how they do things (though I may ff Dothraki plot where I can).
Spike comic - Downloaded and read the recent edition. Eh. The whole Spuffy bit feels like they're trying to stick an afterthought bandaid on Season 8's infinite Spuffy lameness. Look, no bandaid is ever going to make the Spuffy reunion any less of the underwhelming raspberry in Spuffy fandom's face that Joss wrote, so I wish they'd quit trying to begrudgingly toss in stuff. You're in a hole. Stop digging! It's reads an awful lot like, "Yeah, fandom, you've bitched about never learning how Buffy found out about Spike being 'alive'. Here's a bone". Honestly, it's an underwhelming, lame bone (is it even a bone? I don't know that it even qualifies as that) that doesn't lessen the lame 'reunion' that can't be re-written now.
What's done is done. That cookie is cooked. It can't be retroactively fixed by piling on.
Upstairs, Downstairs - I forgot about this last week and so missed episode 1 entirely. But, I found it interesting and watchable this week. I found the flirtation with fascism plot quite interesting (and even timely). I'll be watching again.
Game of Thrones (BOOK) - Finally finished the book last night. It's paced quickly enough to be readable, though I find that I have ambivalent feelings. First off, I hate the Dothraki plot. I understand why it's there and the purpose that it serves... but the amount of skeeve tends to trump everything else for me. I understand that the Dothraki are some reflection of various 'horse peoples' from the Mongols, the Huns, to the Comanches. So I do understand the historical precedent, but... I still didn't enjoy that part of the story.
What I did like? Tyrion.
Tyrion is my favorite character in the book, bar none. I really could've just read 'the adventures of Tyrion' and been happier. Which isn't to say he's the only character I liked. I greatly enjoyed Arya. I have nothing against Jon Snow or Eddard Stark either. And while I liked them less, I totally understood both Catelyn and Sansa. I'd even argue that though I don't like her, Sansa is a well written character inasmuch that there are times I just want to slap her and other times where I genuinely feel for the girl (but that doesn't lessen the urge to slap her). So those were positives.
Will say that Ned was rather dim-witted in letting the Queen outmaneuver him. It was obvious that she was given ample opportunity to set everything up to her advantage. Ned was stupid to continue and continue convincing himself that she'd eventually flee when she flat out told him that this wasn't going to happen. Win or die. She was all in. So that blind spot was huge.
Also I'm curiously detached from Dany. They certainly put her through hell, and she's sympathetic enough. And yet... I just keep feeling that I should be feeling for her.
Finally, the ending... was a cliffhanger. I kind of expected more of an ending. I caught on when Tyrion got a hint of recognition (convenient though it was) from his father, with Bran getting an assload of exposition told to him as he expressed a desire to learn magic, followed by Jon deciding to remain at the wall, that this was going to be as much of a resolution as we were going to get in Book I. And certainly the birth of the dragons was a big image to exit on, but I still felt I would've like a bit more of a resolution for this novel rather than it clearly being a set up for the next.
I kind of feel a bit overwhelmed by the darkness of it all, though. I'm in for the next novel because I'm curious enough. I could deal with a bit more pleasure along the way though. Pleasure or zombies. More of either would be good.
I'm not totally complaining about the darkness, though. It makes sense, so it's not an objective criticism so much as an emotional one and preference. A lot of story seems reasonable enough. Having read my fair share about Eleanor of Aquataine, Queen Isabella she-wolf of France, Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey, Queen (Bloody) Mary, and Elizabeth I, I can see the thrust of the story as being quite plausible and not any darker than real history. I know that the story is somewhat inspired by the War of the Roses (so I'm wondering Stark=York? Lancaster=Lannister?) But it's all rather emotionally taxing. And even that doesn't quite capture it because The Hunger Games is emotionally taxing. I think the difference is that The Hunger Games evoked tears from me. There were places where I had a good cathartic cry. I never had the urge to cry during A Game of Thrones. I was more detatched from the darkness which, strangely made it more depressing (if that makes any sense). JMHO.
Game of Thrones (TV) - so, yeah, still hate the Dothraki plot (and for the dude over on TWOP, it's not an insult to George R.R. Martin if people -- especially those who haven't read the book -- have some issues with the casting of the extras at the Dothraki wedding. It's not like he personally selected all the extras. So stop creating strawmen arguments around stuff that people didn't say and acknowledge that just maybe there were problems in the fact that the only people of color cast in the pilot episode appeared as 'savages'. Nothing in the book required this to be the case so allow folks some "did they really have to do that?") Still loved Tyrion, though he didn't have much of a role. Most everyone seems well cast, though the jury is out on Jon Snow's casting. They didn't give him much to do so it's hard to tell. Bean is a great choice for Eddard. I'm hoping the actress can make me feel more for Catelyn. Arya has potential. Sansa really is quite lovely to look at. The changes in the Dany deflowering... well, I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, that shit isn't fun to watch. I understand their changing it from overtly consensual to what is really a marital rape because it was rather confusing to go from a relatively tender love scene to the follow-up chapter where Dany doesn't have sex with Drago without pain and without his being tender at all without there being any real change other than chapters. So I can understand why they didn't bother with the way the wedding night played out in the book. And, honestly, I have no actual good feelings for Drago. Dany may have come to love him, but I never did. He was generally a cipher to me, so I'm not over bothered that they changed it. On the other hand, it's really grossing me out. This is part of why I hated the Dothraki plot. Again, I understand its purpose in the story and in Dany's plot, that doesn't mean that I have to like it. There was also some change in the Lannister Twincest. I really don't get why the show chose consistent doggy-style sex. It's noted that that's the Dothraki way, but that really isn't the way Lannister twincest happened in the book. But... I don't really care, other than it contributed to a sense of overkill.
I pretty much expected overkill. It's the HBO/Showtime standard with any new series. Amp up the sex and violence to 11 for buzz. Usually it tones down and they eventually get around to telling the stories. Not that the sex in the episode (other than Tyrion with the however many it was whores) wasn't in the book. Both twincest and Dany deflowering, and awful wedding humping were in the book. It's just that some things are easier to take in books than in visuals and I wish they had erred a tiny bit more on discretion because it's really easy to go for overkill.
Pacing-wise, I think that they had a crapload of exposition to try to impart so I'll give them a break on the pacing. There's really only so much you can do when you're trying to explain a half a bazillion characters, their relationships, and giving a quick rundown of what's going on. I've heard that the next several epsiodes are better paced, so I'm not going to complain about the pacing.
Since the pilot was shot then re-shot then pasted together (with a couple of different women playing Dany and Catelyn) I'm willing to cut some slack. It's an interesting story. I just tend to grow tired with things that are pretty relentlessly dark, so I fear I may find the series exhausting. Still, I'm interested in seeing how they do things (though I may ff Dothraki plot where I can).
Spike comic - Downloaded and read the recent edition. Eh. The whole Spuffy bit feels like they're trying to stick an afterthought bandaid on Season 8's infinite Spuffy lameness. Look, no bandaid is ever going to make the Spuffy reunion any less of the underwhelming raspberry in Spuffy fandom's face that Joss wrote, so I wish they'd quit trying to begrudgingly toss in stuff. You're in a hole. Stop digging! It's reads an awful lot like, "Yeah, fandom, you've bitched about never learning how Buffy found out about Spike being 'alive'. Here's a bone". Honestly, it's an underwhelming, lame bone (is it even a bone? I don't know that it even qualifies as that) that doesn't lessen the lame 'reunion' that can't be re-written now.
What's done is done. That cookie is cooked. It can't be retroactively fixed by piling on.
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Date: 2011-04-20 07:48 am (UTC)If you burn a cookie to a crisp, no amount of icing and sprinkles can take away that it's still burned.