Fandom catchup.
Mar. 4th, 2007 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
castaliaThere are a myriad different posts I want to make about television, books, and other fannish things at the moment, but I'm behind on them and likely will remain so. However, here's a few brief thoughts about recent new TV eps.
The Road Not Taken
I must confess, most of this episode bored me, like most alternative reality eps they've done. They had some good things to say, but it just didn't entertain me very well. However, having an AR where Sam was married to Rodney cracked me up. Well done.
However, Ben Browder should never, ever have long hair again. Plzkthnx.
Bounty
Already talked about 10x14 (The Shroud), so we'll skip ahead here. I wanted to like this ep, and in general I did, but there were lots of little things that annoyed me. Vala was excellent as usual, Cam's parents were sweet, Darryl was adorable and I'd love to see him again, and Daniel wore leather again. Cameron also looked damn fine in his suit and civvies.
However, I hate storylines where Character A meets up with Character B, upon whom Character A had a crush back in high school, and all those feelings are still there despite so many years and both characters changing significantly. It didn't even sound like they talked much in high school, let alone developed any real feelings, yet we're supposed to believe simply seeing each other in fancy clothes is enough to kindle adult passion and true love. Blech. That killed any amusement I could've gotten from seeing Cameron hook up with Stella Kowalski (who is married to one of the DeLuise brothers, it seems - is there anyone left from that family we haven't had on the series by now?).
Cam also treated Vala like crap, and his mother really ought to have smacked him for it.
One of my biggest gripes, however, is that they chose to make Cameron hail from Kansas. I will forever have a soft spot for Ben Browder if only because he's from Memphis originally, was raised in the South, and has retained his accent even in roles like this. With all the little hints throughout the past few seasons, his lovely accent, and Ben's heritage I'd hoped we might get a top-billed television character from the Deep South who isn't a joke or a stereotype. I would've jumped for joy had he been from Tennessee, but that's always been too much to ask. *sigh* He certainly doesn't have a midwestern accent. It's just disappointing.
However, to end on a more positive note, Daniel's reaction to the bounty hunter chick's overtures was most amusing. No stuttering and embarrassment as we might've seen in earlier seasons, only a quick refusal with no sign of interest at all. Either he's truly turned asexual or the rumors of him being coded as batting for the other team these days have more substance to them than I thought. He's being remarkably faithful to Jack ;)
Bad Guys
Now this was a MUCH better offering in the humor department. I jumped for joy when I saw BB's name in the writing credits and I wasn't at all disappointed. Cam and Vala have been getting more screentime together lately, which is nice, and BB and CB still have great chemistry without making me think too much of John/Aeryn. I enjoyed seeing a first contact go wrong like that, with SG-1 in the "bad guy" role for a change. Daniel's reaction to this was the best of the lot, especially his ranting about hostage etiquette and trying to make threats. *snicker*
Also, it seems no one is checking MS on all those Canadianisms these days. I'd never heard of the phrase "we are hooped", but I'm told it's a B.C. thing. That and his "don't eyeball me" cracked me up, not to mention "Unless you get cute, in which case there's gonna be killing". *g*
I almost died laughing when Teal'c zatted the politician guy then tried to reassure the hostages in that scary tone. I'm sure that reassured them a lot, Teal'c. Then he had to go and sail into the one scene simply to enlighten Daniel about Cameron's Die Hard reference. Hee. I'll bet Teal'c and Cameron watch all sorts of movies together and quiz each other on pop culture.
It was nice to see Vala's input being listened to and valued by the rest of the team. Definitely liked that.
Oh yes, and how cool was it to see Joshua Malina guest star? Very cool. He did a great job with what could've been an otherwise dull role and it makes me sad that the series is coming to a close and we probably won't see him again.
Talion
Finally a good Teal'c episode, after such a long time without. I was a bit disappointed that they fell back on the Jaffa Revenge motif yet again, but it was a solid episode if very dark. I felt bad for laughing when Teal'c said "I am leaving. You are about to explode.", b/c damn, blowing up a guy who wasn't really the big baddie was a bit extreme. And going after the middleman for selling the explosives was just petty.
Despite the folly of Cameron attempting to reason with Teal'c, seeing them fight was more amusing than it should've been. Cam held his own pretty well, but either he was trying not to hurt Teal'c or he forgot all his training, aiming punches at armoured ribs instead of vulnerable areas. Tsk, Cam.
The final fight scene was probably more gore than we've seen in this show before. I mean, damn.
I was SO afraid they might kill off Bra'tac, and was more relieved than I can say that they didn't. Still keeping my fingers crossed that he'll survive the rest of the season.
Family Ties
Nice to get some more backstory on Vala, but OMG her father was annoying. Good casting, certainly, but I really wanted to strangle him.
This ep mostly seemed one big excuse to get everyone in fabulous civilian clothes. Every single one of them looked terrific, and I was particularly happy to see the return of the Leather Twins.
I will be very curious to see if Sci-Fi airs that last scene intact whenever this ep comes around in the summer. Teal'c's facial expressions killed me, though part of me expected him not to bat a single eyelash at sitting through the Vagina Monologues. *g*
I'm still enjoying BSG, though I must say I'm happy to hear they'll be going back to a 13-episode format next season. Thank God we seem to be past all the crappy love quadrangle stuff, as annoying as all that was.
I can't believe how much outright Adama/Roslin text we've been getting, but I'm thrilled with it. I'm still debating which of the two of them I think might be the secret Cylon, but right now they're just so cute together. They've already admitted to hypothetical love, and this week Adama literally invited her to take one of his beds. *g*
Tyrol was great this week, and I loved seeing more of the fleet and spend some time focusing on the logistics of sustaining so many people on the ships in cramped quarters and less than ideal conditions. The backstory on the Colonies was interesting, especially Baltar's little revelation about being from Aerelon. I must give the actor props, b/c the scene where he switched back and forth between accents was just brilliant. I'd love to know just what sort of UK accent that was - it sounded Northern to me, but it didn't sound like any of the Northern dialects I'm familiar with. Any ideas on that?
However, one thing I didn't like was Adama's little threat to shoot Cally. There were so many ways that situation could've been avoided, and his threat to kill all of Tyrol's crew was ridiculous considering they're so short-staffed that they already denied one of the grunts a promotion. You can't threaten to shoot someone's wife and still have them be so crazy loyal to you afterwards. The Chief looked more like "oh, ha ha, it was a joke" than angry for the tactic. Just, argh. Daddy Adama needs to learn a bit more diplomacy. A worker refusing to work under unsafe conditions is not the same as soldiers refusing an order simply b/c they don't like it.
Not too many eps left in the season, so I'm curious to see where they'll take it in the time they have left. Is that trial for Baltar ever going to happen? Are we going to see the Final Five? Or indeed even one of them? We're definitely due a Cylon revelation soon.
FMA will be getting its own long, rambling post. I finished it last week and have many, many things to say. In the meantime, I'm devouring fic and making icons. *cuddles shiny new fandom*
I'm also finally reading the Temeraire series, which I should've started long ago. I got the first one out from the library on Wednesday and thanks to a boring day of subbing managed to finish it by Thursday night. I traded it in for the other two books yesterday, and I'm about halfway through the second book now. Am definitely enjoying them, and will have more to say about that later on.
The Road Not Taken
I must confess, most of this episode bored me, like most alternative reality eps they've done. They had some good things to say, but it just didn't entertain me very well. However, having an AR where Sam was married to Rodney cracked me up. Well done.
However, Ben Browder should never, ever have long hair again. Plzkthnx.
Bounty
Already talked about 10x14 (The Shroud), so we'll skip ahead here. I wanted to like this ep, and in general I did, but there were lots of little things that annoyed me. Vala was excellent as usual, Cam's parents were sweet, Darryl was adorable and I'd love to see him again, and Daniel wore leather again. Cameron also looked damn fine in his suit and civvies.
However, I hate storylines where Character A meets up with Character B, upon whom Character A had a crush back in high school, and all those feelings are still there despite so many years and both characters changing significantly. It didn't even sound like they talked much in high school, let alone developed any real feelings, yet we're supposed to believe simply seeing each other in fancy clothes is enough to kindle adult passion and true love. Blech. That killed any amusement I could've gotten from seeing Cameron hook up with Stella Kowalski (who is married to one of the DeLuise brothers, it seems - is there anyone left from that family we haven't had on the series by now?).
Cam also treated Vala like crap, and his mother really ought to have smacked him for it.
One of my biggest gripes, however, is that they chose to make Cameron hail from Kansas. I will forever have a soft spot for Ben Browder if only because he's from Memphis originally, was raised in the South, and has retained his accent even in roles like this. With all the little hints throughout the past few seasons, his lovely accent, and Ben's heritage I'd hoped we might get a top-billed television character from the Deep South who isn't a joke or a stereotype. I would've jumped for joy had he been from Tennessee, but that's always been too much to ask. *sigh* He certainly doesn't have a midwestern accent. It's just disappointing.
However, to end on a more positive note, Daniel's reaction to the bounty hunter chick's overtures was most amusing. No stuttering and embarrassment as we might've seen in earlier seasons, only a quick refusal with no sign of interest at all. Either he's truly turned asexual or the rumors of him being coded as batting for the other team these days have more substance to them than I thought. He's being remarkably faithful to Jack ;)
Bad Guys
Now this was a MUCH better offering in the humor department. I jumped for joy when I saw BB's name in the writing credits and I wasn't at all disappointed. Cam and Vala have been getting more screentime together lately, which is nice, and BB and CB still have great chemistry without making me think too much of John/Aeryn. I enjoyed seeing a first contact go wrong like that, with SG-1 in the "bad guy" role for a change. Daniel's reaction to this was the best of the lot, especially his ranting about hostage etiquette and trying to make threats. *snicker*
Also, it seems no one is checking MS on all those Canadianisms these days. I'd never heard of the phrase "we are hooped", but I'm told it's a B.C. thing. That and his "don't eyeball me" cracked me up, not to mention "Unless you get cute, in which case there's gonna be killing". *g*
I almost died laughing when Teal'c zatted the politician guy then tried to reassure the hostages in that scary tone. I'm sure that reassured them a lot, Teal'c. Then he had to go and sail into the one scene simply to enlighten Daniel about Cameron's Die Hard reference. Hee. I'll bet Teal'c and Cameron watch all sorts of movies together and quiz each other on pop culture.
It was nice to see Vala's input being listened to and valued by the rest of the team. Definitely liked that.
Oh yes, and how cool was it to see Joshua Malina guest star? Very cool. He did a great job with what could've been an otherwise dull role and it makes me sad that the series is coming to a close and we probably won't see him again.
Talion
Finally a good Teal'c episode, after such a long time without. I was a bit disappointed that they fell back on the Jaffa Revenge motif yet again, but it was a solid episode if very dark. I felt bad for laughing when Teal'c said "I am leaving. You are about to explode.", b/c damn, blowing up a guy who wasn't really the big baddie was a bit extreme. And going after the middleman for selling the explosives was just petty.
Despite the folly of Cameron attempting to reason with Teal'c, seeing them fight was more amusing than it should've been. Cam held his own pretty well, but either he was trying not to hurt Teal'c or he forgot all his training, aiming punches at armoured ribs instead of vulnerable areas. Tsk, Cam.
The final fight scene was probably more gore than we've seen in this show before. I mean, damn.
I was SO afraid they might kill off Bra'tac, and was more relieved than I can say that they didn't. Still keeping my fingers crossed that he'll survive the rest of the season.
Family Ties
Nice to get some more backstory on Vala, but OMG her father was annoying. Good casting, certainly, but I really wanted to strangle him.
This ep mostly seemed one big excuse to get everyone in fabulous civilian clothes. Every single one of them looked terrific, and I was particularly happy to see the return of the Leather Twins.
I will be very curious to see if Sci-Fi airs that last scene intact whenever this ep comes around in the summer. Teal'c's facial expressions killed me, though part of me expected him not to bat a single eyelash at sitting through the Vagina Monologues. *g*
I'm still enjoying BSG, though I must say I'm happy to hear they'll be going back to a 13-episode format next season. Thank God we seem to be past all the crappy love quadrangle stuff, as annoying as all that was.
I can't believe how much outright Adama/Roslin text we've been getting, but I'm thrilled with it. I'm still debating which of the two of them I think might be the secret Cylon, but right now they're just so cute together. They've already admitted to hypothetical love, and this week Adama literally invited her to take one of his beds. *g*
Tyrol was great this week, and I loved seeing more of the fleet and spend some time focusing on the logistics of sustaining so many people on the ships in cramped quarters and less than ideal conditions. The backstory on the Colonies was interesting, especially Baltar's little revelation about being from Aerelon. I must give the actor props, b/c the scene where he switched back and forth between accents was just brilliant. I'd love to know just what sort of UK accent that was - it sounded Northern to me, but it didn't sound like any of the Northern dialects I'm familiar with. Any ideas on that?
However, one thing I didn't like was Adama's little threat to shoot Cally. There were so many ways that situation could've been avoided, and his threat to kill all of Tyrol's crew was ridiculous considering they're so short-staffed that they already denied one of the grunts a promotion. You can't threaten to shoot someone's wife and still have them be so crazy loyal to you afterwards. The Chief looked more like "oh, ha ha, it was a joke" than angry for the tactic. Just, argh. Daddy Adama needs to learn a bit more diplomacy. A worker refusing to work under unsafe conditions is not the same as soldiers refusing an order simply b/c they don't like it.
Not too many eps left in the season, so I'm curious to see where they'll take it in the time they have left. Is that trial for Baltar ever going to happen? Are we going to see the Final Five? Or indeed even one of them? We're definitely due a Cylon revelation soon.
FMA will be getting its own long, rambling post. I finished it last week and have many, many things to say. In the meantime, I'm devouring fic and making icons. *cuddles shiny new fandom*
I'm also finally reading the Temeraire series, which I should've started long ago. I got the first one out from the library on Wednesday and thanks to a boring day of subbing managed to finish it by Thursday night. I traded it in for the other two books yesterday, and I'm about halfway through the second book now. Am definitely enjoying them, and will have more to say about that later on.