Meandering Musings

I'm not sure what it is that make certain storylines 'work' for me, why they're something that intrigues me and makes me want to think and talk about them.  At any rate the three that interest me most at the moment (in no particular order).

---

Being Human

I'm really enjoying this plot.  It's chewy.  Those who watched last season know that Mitchell did something horrible.  I've really enjoyed how they have not let that slide, and how they have used that to reinforce their metaphors. 

Being Human has always had that underlying subtext that vampirism is addiction (and far more clearly than BtVS/AtS ever did, because, honestly, I don't think BtVS/AtS ever did work that way... beyond lip service.  AtS might say that it was a metaphor for addiction, but it was never shown in a convincing light.  There might be 'falling off the wagon'- like  dialog occasionally, but there weren't cravings, etc. 

BtVS worked on the concept of demons representing Buffy's 'demons' (her inner demons, demons she had to face) and Angel and Spike were created and born in that context.  Angel and Spike's journeys weren't their own until further down the line.  And, quite frankly, there's always been something almost  Calvanist in the Whedonverse with all it's dependence on the Chosen/Elect and the damned (and everyone else) ...with the occasional boon given to free will. 

Vampirism in the Whedonverse always seemed to be far more about those concepts to me (and even some odd parallel to the concept of Original Sin).  Vampirism in BtVS/AtS is a curse, an edict, or a judgement.  It was more about falling prey to ones demons or subsuming (or  Spike/Angel case an effort at) overcoming some  'fate' and  fixed destiny.  Whedonverse vampirism was completely bound up in the concept of souls and curses and whether or not vampires had any choice but evil.  Were they even allowed to have free will?  {Go team Spike free will!} Basically, in the Whedonverse it always seemed to me to be more of a dialog about the struggle of free will versus a somewhat Calvanist doctrine of fate, destiny, and inevitability, thus the emphasis on souls, being "Chosen", prophecy, etc.... which was always amusing to me because Whedon is an atheist). 

Being Human's vampirism is very, very much a metaphor for addiction.  The rationalization, the backsliding, the struggle.  It's so easy to see Mitchell as some heroine addict and all that would entail.  He fits far too well the sort of thing you see when you watch "Intervention" on A&E (as well as the problems of a drug addict that grew up down the street from me who was a nice guy when sober and yet could never overcome addiction and who in the end became a very real-life monster before his suicide).   The aftermath of last year's story is being played out with this years and we see the way that Mitchell explains and avoids those things and how that is all very much a part of not only who he is but who he has always been and how that has very much informed his whole vampiric existence.  And the story has worked very much in Annie's metaphor as well.  Annie, the ghost.  Annie who denied to herself that she was in an abusive relationship, painting a happy face on it, eplaining it away, even as it killed her, leaving her trapped in that place.  She was a victim, invisible to many and unable to actualize herself.  She has a history of falling into destructive relationships, of living vicariously through others, being the kind of 'giver' that doesn't understand that she needs to stand up for herself.  Ah Mitchell/Annie your weaknesses were bound to...er... bind you.   I've liked the way this story has gone and the way it's been quite subversive about its vampire romance trope.

---

Big Love  

Yeah, last season was teh crazy, and this season is much the same.  However, I really enjoy just how freaking screwed up these people are. (I've even gotten my mom into loving this show.  Bill Hendrickson amuses the hell out of her).  Bill is such a self-serving douche.  He really, really is. Oh, he's so goooooood.  So righteous.  He goes on and on about serving God and begging God "why are you testing me so?" while he is so, so, so oblivious that he's a douchebag!  Dude, it's not "God" directing you to do a host of self-serving things.  It's your collosal, oversized ego!  Oh, and your penis!  "God" doesn't tell him to pick fights with wacked out cult leader Alby.  'God" didn't tell Bill to build a casino.  "God" didn't tell him to run for the Utah State Senate.  Nope.  That was all  Bill.  He totally overlooks what he inflicts on the people around him with what he does, especially his cult-o-sister-wives and for his long suffering business partner.  How much shit has he made them all take and eat?  Because he thinks he's their 'priesthood holder.'  Bill is a piece of work.  So 'good', so 'righteous' ...such a self-serving douche. 

And I've really enjoyed all the massively screwed-up sister-wives and their own dysfunctions that have led them into this life with Bill. ( Read more... )All these people are so very, very screwed up (and so very righteous and 'godly' about it.  "God" tells them to do all these things. 'God' really really wants them to be rich and powerful and smite all their enemies too.  And when things don't work it's because 'God' is testing their faith so they double down) . I can't help it.  It's a trainwreck that I cannot help but watch.

---

Fringe
Mmm.  Yummy sci-fi that hits so many kinks. 

I love Olivia as a heroine.  She's smart, competent, brave, and she tries so very, very hard.  And, her life has been such shit.  Her mother died.  Her step-father abused her.  She was used as a medical guinea pig in shocking horrific medical experiments as a kid that damaged her in ways she can't really explain but which also gave her and eidetic memory and the ability to walk between parallel universes. She has such a difficult, difficult time forming relationships, but her heart does love deeply.  And things just never quite seem to work out for her.  Yet she tries so hard to be fair and adult about it.  She breaks my heart.  I want her to be happy, damnit!  (It hurt seeing her happy last night.  It's so rare to see her happy, and we the audience know... something... is going to come down on her like  a ton of bricks soon.  So, even as she's glowing with new found happiness, I'm going "Poor Olivia"...)

At its big, red, throbbing heart, the show tells the story of a love so powerful, it crosses universes: When Peter was seven, he died. His brilliant-scientist father, Walter, having discovered that there was a parallel universe containing doubles of everyone here, transported himself to that Other Side and brought back that universe’s Peter, to love and to cherish. In doing so, he created not just a rift in the universes (which are now dangerously, explosively out of balance), but also a rift between father and son (when Peter discovered who he really was, and grappled with the idea that he belonged to another Walter, a “Walternate”).

And you've got that Olivia/Peter thing that  is oh-so-starcrossed... and on a ticking time clock of an apocalypse where their relationship is pivotal.. and which may require Peter's death.   This year so many of the episodes are clues to what is important to the mytharc (even if they're MOTW) or metaphors for the dynamics of the entwined relationships of Olivia/Peter/Walter... as well as things concerning the alternative_universe dopplegangers of both themselves and their friends.  

Throw in some zeplins, an intact World Trade Center, an alternative-history (MLK asn't assassinated, Nixon was never impeached, Kennedy is still alive.  An Alternative Olivia, an Alternative_Walter, an Alternative_Fringe {but no FBI...})  in the same but subtly different alternative universe, and pop me some popcorn while I sit in front of a television because I'm a sucker for this stuff.

I'm not sure what it is that make certain storylines 'work' for me, why they're something that intrigues me and makes me want to think and talk about them.  At any rate the three that interest me most at the moment (in no particular order).

---

Being Human

I'm really enjoying this plot.  It's chewy.  Those who watched last season know that Mitchell did something horrible.  I've really enjoyed how they have not let that slide, and how they have used that to reinforce their metaphors. 

Being Human has always had that underlying subtext that vampirism is addiction (and far more clearly than BtVS/AtS ever did, because, honestly, I don't think BtVS/AtS ever did work that way... beyond lip service.  AtS might say that it was a metaphor for addiction, but it was never shown in a convincing light.  There might be 'falling off the wagon'- like  dialog occasionally, but there weren't cravings, etc. 

BtVS worked on the concept of demons representing Buffy's 'demons' (her inner demons, demons she had to face) and Angel and Spike were created and born in that context.  Angel and Spike's journeys weren't their own until further down the line.  And, quite frankly, there's always been something almost  Calvanist in the Whedonverse with all it's dependence on the Chosen/Elect and the damned (and everyone else) ...with the occasional boon given to free will. 

Vampirism in the Whedonverse always seemed to be far more about those concepts to me (and even some odd parallel to the concept of Original Sin).  Vampirism in BtVS/AtS is a curse, an edict, or a judgement.  It was more about falling prey to ones demons or subsuming (or  Spike/Angel case an effort at) overcoming some  'fate' and  fixed destiny.  Whedonverse vampirism was completely bound up in the concept of souls and curses and whether or not vampires had any choice but evil.  Were they even allowed to have free will?  {Go team Spike free will!} Basically, in the Whedonverse it always seemed to me to be more of a dialog about the struggle of free will versus a somewhat Calvanist doctrine of fate, destiny, and inevitability, thus the emphasis on souls, being "Chosen", prophecy, etc.... which was always amusing to me because Whedon is an atheist). 

Being Human's vampirism is very, very much a metaphor for addiction.  The rationalization, the backsliding, the struggle.  It's so easy to see Mitchell as some heroine addict and all that would entail.  He fits far too well the sort of thing you see when you watch "Intervention" on A&E (as well as the problems of a drug addict that grew up down the street from me who was a nice guy when sober and yet could never overcome addiction and who in the end became a very real-life monster before his suicide).   The aftermath of last year's story is being played out with this years and we see the way that Mitchell explains and avoids those things and how that is all very much a part of not only who he is but who he has always been and how that has very much informed his whole vampiric existence.  And the story has worked very much in Annie's metaphor as well.  Annie, the ghost.  Annie who denied to herself that she was in an abusive relationship, painting a happy face on it, eplaining it away, even as it killed her, leaving her trapped in that place.  She was a victim, invisible to many and unable to actualize herself.  She has a history of falling into destructive relationships, of living vicariously through others, being the kind of 'giver' that doesn't understand that she needs to stand up for herself.  Ah Mitchell/Annie your weaknesses were bound to...er... bind you.   I've liked the way this story has gone and the way it's been quite subversive about its vampire romance trope.

---

Big Love  

Yeah, last season was teh crazy, and this season is much the same.  However, I really enjoy just how freaking screwed up these people are. (I've even gotten my mom into loving this show.  Bill Hendrickson amuses the hell out of her).  Bill is such a self-serving douche.  He really, really is. Oh, he's so goooooood.  So righteous.  He goes on and on about serving God and begging God "why are you testing me so?" while he is so, so, so oblivious that he's a douchebag!  Dude, it's not "God" directing you to do a host of self-serving things.  It's your collosal, oversized ego!  Oh, and your penis!  "God" doesn't tell him to pick fights with wacked out cult leader Alby.  'God" didn't tell Bill to build a casino.  "God" didn't tell him to run for the Utah State Senate.  Nope.  That was all  Bill.  He totally overlooks what he inflicts on the people around him with what he does, especially his cult-o-sister-wives and for his long suffering business partner.  How much shit has he made them all take and eat?  Because he thinks he's their 'priesthood holder.'  Bill is a piece of work.  So 'good', so 'righteous' ...such a self-serving douche. 

And I've really enjoyed all the massively screwed-up sister-wives and their own dysfunctions that have led them into this life with Bill. ( Read more... )All these people are so very, very screwed up (and so very righteous and 'godly' about it.  "God" tells them to do all these things. 'God' really really wants them to be rich and powerful and smite all their enemies too.  And when things don't work it's because 'God' is testing their faith so they double down) . I can't help it.  It's a trainwreck that I cannot help but watch.

---

Fringe
Mmm.  Yummy sci-fi that hits so many kinks. 

I love Olivia as a heroine.  She's smart, competent, brave, and she tries so very, very hard.  And, her life has been such shit.  Her mother died.  Her step-father abused her.  She was used as a medical guinea pig in shocking horrific medical experiments as a kid that damaged her in ways she can't really explain but which also gave her and eidetic memory and the ability to walk between parallel universes. She has such a difficult, difficult time forming relationships, but her heart does love deeply.  And things just never quite seem to work out for her.  Yet she tries so hard to be fair and adult about it.  She breaks my heart.  I want her to be happy, damnit!  (It hurt seeing her happy last night.  It's so rare to see her happy, and we the audience know... something... is going to come down on her like  a ton of bricks soon.  So, even as she's glowing with new found happiness, I'm going "Poor Olivia"...)

At its big, red, throbbing heart, the show tells the story of a love so powerful, it crosses universes: When Peter was seven, he died. His brilliant-scientist father, Walter, having discovered that there was a parallel universe containing doubles of everyone here, transported himself to that Other Side and brought back that universe’s Peter, to love and to cherish. In doing so, he created not just a rift in the universes (which are now dangerously, explosively out of balance), but also a rift between father and son (when Peter discovered who he really was, and grappled with the idea that he belonged to another Walter, a “Walternate”).

And you've got that Olivia/Peter thing that  is oh-so-starcrossed... and on a ticking time clock of an apocalypse where their relationship is pivotal.. and which may require Peter's death.   This year so many of the episodes are clues to what is important to the mytharc (even if they're MOTW) or metaphors for the dynamics of the entwined relationships of Olivia/Peter/Walter... as well as things concerning the alternative_universe dopplegangers of both themselves and their friends.  

Throw in some zeplins, an intact World Trade Center, an alternative-history (MLK asn't assassinated, Nixon was never impeached, Kennedy is still alive.  An Alternative Olivia, an Alternative_Walter, an Alternative_Fringe {but no FBI...})  in the same but subtly different alternative universe, and pop me some popcorn while I sit in front of a television because I'm a sucker for this stuff.

So I finally got to see the Season 3 premiere of UK "Being Human." Like the season set up. ( Read more... )

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/25/bbc-being-human-season-three/

BBC's Being Human to start Feb. 19th on BBCA:

Every time we post a story about Syfy’s Being Human, we get comments about how much people loooove the UK original. Well, this is great news for you: The highly anticipated third season is coming to the U.S. on BBC America, and sooner than you might think.

Being Human season three — which just debuted in the UK a few days ago — will premiere on the stateside cable network on Saturday, Feb. 19.

“A third season is a unique opportunity because it allows you to take all the best bits of season one and season two,” creator Toby Whithouse says. “What we took from season one is the domestic element and very strong stories of the week with very strong guest characters. Season two had much more of an epic sweep and a breadth of ambition. Season three has allowed us to combine all those things.”

Being Human follows four friends — two werewolves, a ghost and a vampire — coping with the supernatural challenges in their lives while trying to blend in with their human neighbors. The showdown last season has ( Read more... )

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'Fringe' Makes Friday Debut and Doesn't Drop in Ratings!
By some miracle of magic or science, Fox’s Fringe moved to Friday night and did not go down in the ratings.

The episode — titled “The Firefly” (nicely ironic considering the show’s move to Fox’s infamous Death Slot) — actually improved upon its most recent Thursday performance.

Fringe, which featured Christopher Lloyd as a guest star, delivered 4.9 million viewers and a 1.9 preliminary adults 18-49 rating last night. That’s right in line with its Thursday season average. Remember, Fox’s Kevin Reilly said if the show maintains its Thursday numbers on Friday, he’d renew it, so let’s hope the drama can keep this up.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/01/25/bbc-being-human-season-three/

BBC's Being Human to start Feb. 19th on BBCA:

Every time we post a story about Syfy’s Being Human, we get comments about how much people loooove the UK original. Well, this is great news for you: The highly anticipated third season is coming to the U.S. on BBC America, and sooner than you might think.

Being Human season three — which just debuted in the UK a few days ago — will premiere on the stateside cable network on Saturday, Feb. 19.

“A third season is a unique opportunity because it allows you to take all the best bits of season one and season two,” creator Toby Whithouse says. “What we took from season one is the domestic element and very strong stories of the week with very strong guest characters. Season two had much more of an epic sweep and a breadth of ambition. Season three has allowed us to combine all those things.”

Being Human follows four friends — two werewolves, a ghost and a vampire — coping with the supernatural challenges in their lives while trying to blend in with their human neighbors. The showdown last season has ( Read more... )

---

'Fringe' Makes Friday Debut and Doesn't Drop in Ratings!
By some miracle of magic or science, Fox’s Fringe moved to Friday night and did not go down in the ratings.

The episode — titled “The Firefly” (nicely ironic considering the show’s move to Fox’s infamous Death Slot) — actually improved upon its most recent Thursday performance.

Fringe, which featured Christopher Lloyd as a guest star, delivered 4.9 million viewers and a 1.9 preliminary adults 18-49 rating last night. That’s right in line with its Thursday season average. Remember, Fox’s Kevin Reilly said if the show maintains its Thursday numbers on Friday, he’d renew it, so let’s hope the drama can keep this up.

Well, they tried to retain some off the 'look.' The apartment is different but they were clearly shooting for some of the same art direction. Same with the hospital and room where George now Josh locks himself in. They even took the shot of George Josh with the dead deer. Same look to the vamping too. AnnieSally's outfit is somewhat similar.

Not at all sure why they changed the names. George is now Josh. Annie is now, inexplicably Sally (isn't Annie a more common American name? Why the frell Sally?) And Mitchell is now Aidan (which is just darn confusing!)

Oh and Merrick is now Bishop. (Seriously, what was the purpose of the name changes? I do not get it.)

They also decided to up both GeorgeJosh and Aidan from just being orderlies (I've forgotten the Brit term for their job, but from the way it was depicted, it was always the U.S. version of an orderly). GeorgeJosh is now pre-med and Aidan is a nurse. Annie Sally was a grad student. GeorgeJosh also now has a sister. I hope to god the irritating nurse isn't the American Nina. Seriously, if she is I'll be quite upset.

Plotwise, it's basically the same only more linear. Stuff that was shown in flashback (such as meeting Annie) was shown as linear plot here. Dialog and scenes were different. The death of Lauren Rebecca was shown as linear plot as well, except they sort of truncated it strangely.

Basically story is recognizably the same, but the script is different.

From TV Guide:

Does no one have an original idea in TV land anymore? Judging from tonight's latest batch of mid-season offerings, it hardly appears so. Programmers have either gone to England for inspiration, rarely improving on the source material, or back to the drawing board of tried-and-true formats like the courtroom drama, resulting in an unhappy epidemic of deja view viewing.

The best of tonight's premieres is Syfy's remake of Being Human (9/8c), and even it is a pale imitation of the provocative British original. Given the relatively limited reach of BBC America, and the inexplicable reluctance in some corners to embrace anything with a European accent, I get why Syfy would snap up and adapt this fetching premise for the American audience. In terms of production and casting, though, it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

For the unacquainted, this is the story of three supernatural roommates sharing a house in working-class Boston: an immortal and broodingly Byronic vampire (Sam Witwer, who comes the closest to embodying the spirit of the thing), a mild-mannered werewolf still awkwardly adjusting to his monthly curse (Sam Huntington, whose rhythms are a bit too sitcom-like) and a female ghost (shrill Meaghan Rath) who can't leave the house in which she died under mysterious circumstances. If all of this is new to you, the appealing mix of humor and horror may very well hook you. If you've already fallen in love with the British version, as I have, this uneven carbon copy will seem wildly unnecessary. And like me, you'll just find yourself counting the days until BBC America begins airing new episodes later this year.

Still, Syfy's Being Human is a gem compared to the mess MTV has made of Skins (10/9c), another British transfer that could just as well be titled Barely Human. What in the original incarnation was shockingly cheeky, in its graphic and profane depiction of teens indulging in sex-and-drug debauchery, has been neutered and tamed in a remake that is unconvincing, amateurishly produced and very poorly acted. (The exception being a lesbian cheerleader — a gender-reversed version of a male gay character from the original series — who is the focus of next Monday's episode. She's good, even when the show isn't.).

From TV Guide:

Does no one have an original idea in TV land anymore? Judging from tonight's latest batch of mid-season offerings, it hardly appears so. Programmers have either gone to England for inspiration, rarely improving on the source material, or back to the drawing board of tried-and-true formats like the courtroom drama, resulting in an unhappy epidemic of deja view viewing.

The best of tonight's premieres is Syfy's remake of Being Human (9/8c), and even it is a pale imitation of the provocative British original. Given the relatively limited reach of BBC America, and the inexplicable reluctance in some corners to embrace anything with a European accent, I get why Syfy would snap up and adapt this fetching premise for the American audience. In terms of production and casting, though, it leaves quite a bit to be desired.

For the unacquainted, this is the story of three supernatural roommates sharing a house in working-class Boston: an immortal and broodingly Byronic vampire (Sam Witwer, who comes the closest to embodying the spirit of the thing), a mild-mannered werewolf still awkwardly adjusting to his monthly curse (Sam Huntington, whose rhythms are a bit too sitcom-like) and a female ghost (shrill Meaghan Rath) who can't leave the house in which she died under mysterious circumstances. If all of this is new to you, the appealing mix of humor and horror may very well hook you. If you've already fallen in love with the British version, as I have, this uneven carbon copy will seem wildly unnecessary. And like me, you'll just find yourself counting the days until BBC America begins airing new episodes later this year.

Still, Syfy's Being Human is a gem compared to the mess MTV has made of Skins (10/9c), another British transfer that could just as well be titled Barely Human. What in the original incarnation was shockingly cheeky, in its graphic and profane depiction of teens indulging in sex-and-drug debauchery, has been neutered and tamed in a remake that is unconvincing, amateurishly produced and very poorly acted. (The exception being a lesbian cheerleader — a gender-reversed version of a male gay character from the original series — who is the focus of next Monday's episode. She's good, even when the show isn't.).

Good grief, what does BBC America do to these episodes?  

I don't have the original episodes on my computer any more, but it constantly feels as though they've time condensed and cut out beginnings and endings of scenes to make room for more commercials.  Their cutting out the cursing also plays havoc on the effect of George's wolf-suppression tourettes.  Worst of all, I could swear that there are things that were cut out entirely. I remember the bathroom scene being powerful (and more brutal) and the way BBCA has sliced, bleeped, and pixelated it simply made the scene fast.  I also think they've taken out the talkie stuff (wish I still had the originals to compare.  I feel like it was missing a Mitchell/Ivan scene and a partial Lucy scene.  Are the episodes still on YouTube? ETA:  I checked YouTube, the episodes have been removed.)  The talkie stuff is important!  BBCA doesn't leave room for the episode to breathe.

*sigh*  I may stop recording the eps on DVR.  If I want to rewatch, I think I'm going to need the DVDs.

Okay, so I've finally gotten around to seeing Season 2's season premiere (well, not really. I downloaded all of Season 1 while it was airing in the UK so this is a rewatch with the BBC America airings.)

And, may I say that my heart is still with Nina. She was trying to handle a really shitty situation as best she could. And...well... I think she's more forgiving than I would ever be.

And I had forgotten that this episode ended on such a light note. Considering how incredibly dark the season, went it's kind of odd to remember that it had such a light note as a near-ending for the season premiere.

( Anyway )