Whole Bunch of Stuff
May. 31st, 2005 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxThe beach was nice though I joked to my mother that we were just camping with air conditioning and a really sturdy tent. I say that because my sister's house is still in a mid renovation catastrophe with a 2/3 finished kitchen, 1 fully functioning bathroom... that has no mirrors, paint or vent covers. There's also not much in the way of furniture (just a loveseat that is literally older than I am, and matresses and box springs in the upstairs bedrooms [no actual beds... just the mattresses]. No phones (though I still have my cell) and the tv has no cable so it's DVDs or nothing. Glorified camping indeed. But it's nice if you aren't high maintenance... or mid-maintenance. And I'm quite impressed with my 10-year-old neice for happily occupying hereself there with only her grandparents and her aunt.
Various and sundry things:
It was on my neice's summer reading list so on the way down and the way back we listened to "Anne of Green Gables" on the unabridged book CD.
Yeah, I know it's not actually reading the book... but it is unabridged). It's been at least 20 years since I read the book and in the meantime my mental image of the story is hopelessly intermixed with the mini-series. So remembering the petite actress who had played Anne from the age of 11 though what had to have been her mid to late twenties, I had forgotten that in the book by the time that Anne is in her late teens, she's supposed to be tall. I also noted for the first time, some of the structure of the book. The writer did manage to make Anne both incredibly almost pollyanna-sh/Mary Sue sweet... without it being cloying or off putting. Anne was a Mary Sue who wasn't because clearly the character was largely based on the author, and yet for all of Anne's melodramatically downtrodden past, she is actually human as evidence by her fits of temper. (I loved when she started off on the wrong foot with Rachel proclaiming bluntly "I hate you" and the years long grudge against poor Gilbert Blythe. All in all the book was as enjoyable as I remembered.
We also went shopping while at the beach and bought this skirt (It's actually a softer blue than it appears to be.)
And since we didn't have cable we watched a bunch of videos which we owned. Part of what I owned was Season 1 and Season 2 Northern Exposure, and we haphazzardly skipped through the two seasons.
I was surprised at how much in the early seasons they tried to paint Maggie and Joel as being sort of "meant to be." I noticed it in at least two episodes. The first was the episode where the town was hit by the flu and it's pointed out that only Maggie and Joel don't become ill (and a parallel is drawn that they are both the only ones who didn't fall ill) Well, except if you're watching Ed never fell ill either so I guess it was a somewhat flawed parallel. But they did point it out.
They also were shown in parallel courses in the episode where spring is coming and the ice is "groaning" getting ready to break. All the other characters have obsessions which come out. Chris is stealing. Shelly is hit with the reading bug, devouring books. Holling was dying to pick a fight. etc. Both Maggie and Joel are pretty much in heat. (Joel trying to convince himself that he's only buying Playboy for the articles is a funny scene though). But, again, while the other characters are given an assortment of obsessions, they chose to give Maggie and Joel the same obsession and have them play off of one another.
It's quite clear that the show intended the audience to ship Maggie and Joel, and, yes, certainly there's lots of sexual chemistry between the two characters. But having watched the entire series I know that attraction is both going to be fulfilled and doomed. And, while I know a lot of people were upset by the fact that Maggie and Joel got together but didn't end up together (and I was probably one of them), in retrospect I'm more than okay with it. Yes, Maggie and Joel have a lot of sexual chemistry and they are fun to watch as they bicker and banter... but looking at it objectively with lots of years behind it... Maggie was probably better off ending up with Chris. Joel was certainly a good man, and I enjoy the fact that ultimately he chose (for a while at least) to stay in Alaska and was made to appreciate that life before he returned to NYC. The truth is his story probably wouldn't have been complete until he returned to NYC because though it was good for him to have those epiphanies and go nature boy for a while... he really was a New York guy at heart and it had been important to his character from the first. So it was actually right that he returned to NYC in the end. And... that really isn't the life that Maggie would have wanted. She could easily survive there since she was a Grosse Point girl... but that was NOT the life she wanted. It never had been. So, actually though it wasn't the original course set by the series which was clearly going for Maggie + Joel 4 eva, and while that's certainly the sentimental ship of the series... in a purely objective judgement Maggie probably was better off ending up with Chris as Maggie and Chris shared lifestyles and interest. Maggie and Chris happily intended spending the rest of their lives in Cicely and they were both genuinely good and nice people. So for all the fact that series set-up and audience expectation from the start was that Maggie and Joel should end up together, it's probably more realistic that she ended up with Chris (which isn't to say that the show should have gone on without Joel. The replacement yuppies never, ever lived up to the neurotic Joel Fleishmann. The show probably should have ended with the "Maggie and Joel on a quest to find the City of the North" episode.
Speaking of the Maggie and Joel "quest" episode... I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the whimsey of the series existed almost from the first. There were so many dream sequences. From the ep we watched where Joel's subconscious was warning him that his fiance and he were doomed, doomed, doomed because in his dream he's back in NYC and everyone kept referring to his sister... only for him to discover that his "sister" was his fiance and that Maggie (complete with Red Barron bomber jacket and white scarf flowing in the breeze) was his wife. To the Joel singing lead in "Simply Irresistable" complete with the bevvy of models.
The most hilarious dream sequence in the eps we watched was the one where Holling decided that he needed to be circumcized (yikes!). Shelly commented on his "little turtleneck" and how all the other guys she had been with hadn't had those, and Hollilng took it into his head that if he got circumsized his dick would look "younger." His showing up dead drunk on Joel's doorstep telling Joel not to be worried about the surgery was pretty funny along with his telling Joel about his history of "adventures with Johnny" until Joel figured out that "Johnny" was Holling's dick was also funny. But the dream sequence where Holling dreams he's laying on the surgery table with all of Cicely looking on and gasping as Joel "oops!" makes a mistake (with a chain saw instead of a scapel) was cringeworthy and pretty hilarious.
I did catch a continuity error in one of the eps. It was founder's day and Chris was giving a talk on the history of the founding of Cicely giving the story of how the lesbian couple of Cicley and Roslyn founded the city (and of course the homophobic Maurice insisting that they were "hearty spinsters"... LOL!) Anyway, the continuity error was Chris describing Roslyn as being a not particularly attractive woman. But I remember the "flashback" episode that showed the initial founding of Cicely and both Roslyn and Cicely were very attractive women. That said it's a minor continuity error because the flashback episode kept the same starcrossed love story that Chris was talking about on Founder's Day... and it's not exactly a huge problem that they cast attractive actresses to play the part in the fantasy flashback.
Anyway, it's too bad that we don't have many quality shows and it would be nice to have a few more of NE's caliber around these days.
When I made it back home I watched my TiVoed eps of and OH MY GOD! The so-called "heroic" Ryan Lavery hit all new levels of unbelievable ASSHAT status. Truly, the character has become revolting and abusive...and why in the hell does the FEMALE headwriter of the show think that this raging, verbally abusive asshat is a "hero" is beyond me. Guh!
And I watched Ep 2 of the new that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rahirah was kind enough to send to me. The fx are of course greatly improved over the old series. But as improved as they are, there is still some cheese to them. And in a way or two the ep reminded me of somthing that Star Trek:TNG might do. Then again Star Trek:TNG was the GOOD Star Trek. What this version of Dr. Who has going for it are two very appealing leads. Rose is a sympathetic avatar for the audience. She seems a good proxy for "us." And (and coming from a BtVS fan this is ALWAYS appreciated) she is expressive. She comes off as bright and compassionate. She's very easily liked and delivered a good performance. And the new Doctor is very appealing. He still has some of the nerdishness that is my primary memory of the old Who. But his nerdishness is now given a new twist with (mmmm) black leather and a certain degree of "cool" as well. The moment he won me was the moment when he had tears in his eyes over the death of his own civilization. I know there's probably no point to ship these two as Eccleston has already quit and I read the other day that "Rose" has as well. But I certainly understand the urge to ship them. All in all, while there's still some cheese involved, the new Who was very enjoyable -- entertaining AND emotional. So all inall, good TV.
And I had a Spike rant/discussion inspired by today's debate on BAPS, but at the moment, I'm tired and ready for bed so it'll keep for another day.
Anyway, nice little mini-vacation and thanks for all the support regarding my Dad's health.
Various and sundry things:
It was on my neice's summer reading list so on the way down and the way back we listened to "Anne of Green Gables" on the unabridged book CD.
Yeah, I know it's not actually reading the book... but it is unabridged). It's been at least 20 years since I read the book and in the meantime my mental image of the story is hopelessly intermixed with the mini-series. So remembering the petite actress who had played Anne from the age of 11 though what had to have been her mid to late twenties, I had forgotten that in the book by the time that Anne is in her late teens, she's supposed to be tall. I also noted for the first time, some of the structure of the book. The writer did manage to make Anne both incredibly almost pollyanna-sh/Mary Sue sweet... without it being cloying or off putting. Anne was a Mary Sue who wasn't because clearly the character was largely based on the author, and yet for all of Anne's melodramatically downtrodden past, she is actually human as evidence by her fits of temper. (I loved when she started off on the wrong foot with Rachel proclaiming bluntly "I hate you" and the years long grudge against poor Gilbert Blythe. All in all the book was as enjoyable as I remembered.
We also went shopping while at the beach and bought this skirt (It's actually a softer blue than it appears to be.)
And since we didn't have cable we watched a bunch of videos which we owned. Part of what I owned was Season 1 and Season 2 Northern Exposure, and we haphazzardly skipped through the two seasons.
I was surprised at how much in the early seasons they tried to paint Maggie and Joel as being sort of "meant to be." I noticed it in at least two episodes. The first was the episode where the town was hit by the flu and it's pointed out that only Maggie and Joel don't become ill (and a parallel is drawn that they are both the only ones who didn't fall ill) Well, except if you're watching Ed never fell ill either so I guess it was a somewhat flawed parallel. But they did point it out.
They also were shown in parallel courses in the episode where spring is coming and the ice is "groaning" getting ready to break. All the other characters have obsessions which come out. Chris is stealing. Shelly is hit with the reading bug, devouring books. Holling was dying to pick a fight. etc. Both Maggie and Joel are pretty much in heat. (Joel trying to convince himself that he's only buying Playboy for the articles is a funny scene though). But, again, while the other characters are given an assortment of obsessions, they chose to give Maggie and Joel the same obsession and have them play off of one another.
It's quite clear that the show intended the audience to ship Maggie and Joel, and, yes, certainly there's lots of sexual chemistry between the two characters. But having watched the entire series I know that attraction is both going to be fulfilled and doomed. And, while I know a lot of people were upset by the fact that Maggie and Joel got together but didn't end up together (and I was probably one of them), in retrospect I'm more than okay with it. Yes, Maggie and Joel have a lot of sexual chemistry and they are fun to watch as they bicker and banter... but looking at it objectively with lots of years behind it... Maggie was probably better off ending up with Chris. Joel was certainly a good man, and I enjoy the fact that ultimately he chose (for a while at least) to stay in Alaska and was made to appreciate that life before he returned to NYC. The truth is his story probably wouldn't have been complete until he returned to NYC because though it was good for him to have those epiphanies and go nature boy for a while... he really was a New York guy at heart and it had been important to his character from the first. So it was actually right that he returned to NYC in the end. And... that really isn't the life that Maggie would have wanted. She could easily survive there since she was a Grosse Point girl... but that was NOT the life she wanted. It never had been. So, actually though it wasn't the original course set by the series which was clearly going for Maggie + Joel 4 eva, and while that's certainly the sentimental ship of the series... in a purely objective judgement Maggie probably was better off ending up with Chris as Maggie and Chris shared lifestyles and interest. Maggie and Chris happily intended spending the rest of their lives in Cicely and they were both genuinely good and nice people. So for all the fact that series set-up and audience expectation from the start was that Maggie and Joel should end up together, it's probably more realistic that she ended up with Chris (which isn't to say that the show should have gone on without Joel. The replacement yuppies never, ever lived up to the neurotic Joel Fleishmann. The show probably should have ended with the "Maggie and Joel on a quest to find the City of the North" episode.
Speaking of the Maggie and Joel "quest" episode... I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the whimsey of the series existed almost from the first. There were so many dream sequences. From the ep we watched where Joel's subconscious was warning him that his fiance and he were doomed, doomed, doomed because in his dream he's back in NYC and everyone kept referring to his sister... only for him to discover that his "sister" was his fiance and that Maggie (complete with Red Barron bomber jacket and white scarf flowing in the breeze) was his wife. To the Joel singing lead in "Simply Irresistable" complete with the bevvy of models.
The most hilarious dream sequence in the eps we watched was the one where Holling decided that he needed to be circumcized (yikes!). Shelly commented on his "little turtleneck" and how all the other guys she had been with hadn't had those, and Hollilng took it into his head that if he got circumsized his dick would look "younger." His showing up dead drunk on Joel's doorstep telling Joel not to be worried about the surgery was pretty funny along with his telling Joel about his history of "adventures with Johnny" until Joel figured out that "Johnny" was Holling's dick was also funny. But the dream sequence where Holling dreams he's laying on the surgery table with all of Cicely looking on and gasping as Joel "oops!" makes a mistake (with a chain saw instead of a scapel) was cringeworthy and pretty hilarious.
I did catch a continuity error in one of the eps. It was founder's day and Chris was giving a talk on the history of the founding of Cicely giving the story of how the lesbian couple of Cicley and Roslyn founded the city (and of course the homophobic Maurice insisting that they were "hearty spinsters"... LOL!) Anyway, the continuity error was Chris describing Roslyn as being a not particularly attractive woman. But I remember the "flashback" episode that showed the initial founding of Cicely and both Roslyn and Cicely were very attractive women. That said it's a minor continuity error because the flashback episode kept the same starcrossed love story that Chris was talking about on Founder's Day... and it's not exactly a huge problem that they cast attractive actresses to play the part in the fantasy flashback.
Anyway, it's too bad that we don't have many quality shows and it would be nice to have a few more of NE's caliber around these days.
When I made it back home I watched my TiVoed eps of and OH MY GOD! The so-called "heroic" Ryan Lavery hit all new levels of unbelievable ASSHAT status. Truly, the character has become revolting and abusive...and why in the hell does the FEMALE headwriter of the show think that this raging, verbally abusive asshat is a "hero" is beyond me. Guh!
And I watched Ep 2 of the new that
rahirah was kind enough to send to me. The fx are of course greatly improved over the old series. But as improved as they are, there is still some cheese to them. And in a way or two the ep reminded me of somthing that Star Trek:TNG might do. Then again Star Trek:TNG was the GOOD Star Trek. What this version of Dr. Who has going for it are two very appealing leads. Rose is a sympathetic avatar for the audience. She seems a good proxy for "us." And (and coming from a BtVS fan this is ALWAYS appreciated) she is expressive. She comes off as bright and compassionate. She's very easily liked and delivered a good performance. And the new Doctor is very appealing. He still has some of the nerdishness that is my primary memory of the old Who. But his nerdishness is now given a new twist with (mmmm) black leather and a certain degree of "cool" as well. The moment he won me was the moment when he had tears in his eyes over the death of his own civilization. I know there's probably no point to ship these two as Eccleston has already quit and I read the other day that "Rose" has as well. But I certainly understand the urge to ship them. All in all, while there's still some cheese involved, the new Who was very enjoyable -- entertaining AND emotional. So all inall, good TV.And I had a Spike rant/discussion inspired by today's debate on BAPS, but at the moment, I'm tired and ready for bed so it'll keep for another day.
Anyway, nice little mini-vacation and thanks for all the support regarding my Dad's health.
