Thursday night TV - I loved everything!
Apr. 30th, 2011 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bennet_7So all my Thursday night TV shows were pretty great this week.
Parks and Recreation was glorious. I loved that Leslie's storyline was all about her feeling powerful and desirable after being in a funk over the situation with Ben, and that this came about because she saw herself depicted as a goddess. Yes, you could technically argue that Jerry was the source for her self-esteem boost but that was unintentional on his part - he just thinks of her when he thinks of powerful women. So it was more of a case of Leslie remembering that she's awesome, rather than believing she's awesome because she was told that she was by a man.
I also adored the Ben/April/Andy subplot. Him teaching them how to be adults was great, but so was their realisation that they did need to grow up a little (but not to much!).
I really enjoy any time that Ron is forced to make a speech and I was laughing out loud at Chris's sheer enthusiasm for setting people up.
I find Community so much better when it isn't being meta so this episode really worked for me. It also helped that the focus was on Britta and Shirley, whom I love and who haven't gotten enough decent storylines this season. I thought this was some of the best characterisation we've seen for both of them in quite some time, particularly Britta. Dan Harmon et al frequently seem to forget that they declared her the heart of the group last season, and it was nice to see her desire to help others not being treated completely cartoonishly.
I also really like the moments between her and Jeff. I would not be adverse to fic about them as hipster parents.
This episode of The Office was so much more enjoyable than last week's. I think my favourite moments were Michael and Dwight playing paintball and Michael and Pam's unheard goodbye, but all of his farewells had some genuine sweetness.
I was amused by Michael attempting one last time to use the baler and be seen as cool in the warehouse, and that Toby seemed to find his own brother kind of a drag.
And The Vampire Diaries continues to offer a masterclass in well-paced WTF moments. I was shocked and appalled by Damon forcing Elena towards vampirism, but equally glad to hear Elena declare to Stefan that that wasn't what she wanted. Elena has never struck me as likely to turn, even though she does love Stefan: her and her humanity have always been intrinsically linked.
But Damon can die any time now and I will not give a damn. How dare he take away Elena's choices and disrespect her autonomy and her decisions? He is vile.
And yet I've seen some fans trying to justify his actions because he did it out of love and it's not the worst thing he's done and. just. no. You can not make his behaviour acceptable to me in anyway. I was done with Damon when he killed Jeremy but if he continues like this he'll be tainting the show for me.
Parks and Recreation was glorious. I loved that Leslie's storyline was all about her feeling powerful and desirable after being in a funk over the situation with Ben, and that this came about because she saw herself depicted as a goddess. Yes, you could technically argue that Jerry was the source for her self-esteem boost but that was unintentional on his part - he just thinks of her when he thinks of powerful women. So it was more of a case of Leslie remembering that she's awesome, rather than believing she's awesome because she was told that she was by a man.
I also adored the Ben/April/Andy subplot. Him teaching them how to be adults was great, but so was their realisation that they did need to grow up a little (but not to much!).
I really enjoy any time that Ron is forced to make a speech and I was laughing out loud at Chris's sheer enthusiasm for setting people up.
I find Community so much better when it isn't being meta so this episode really worked for me. It also helped that the focus was on Britta and Shirley, whom I love and who haven't gotten enough decent storylines this season. I thought this was some of the best characterisation we've seen for both of them in quite some time, particularly Britta. Dan Harmon et al frequently seem to forget that they declared her the heart of the group last season, and it was nice to see her desire to help others not being treated completely cartoonishly.
I also really like the moments between her and Jeff. I would not be adverse to fic about them as hipster parents.
This episode of The Office was so much more enjoyable than last week's. I think my favourite moments were Michael and Dwight playing paintball and Michael and Pam's unheard goodbye, but all of his farewells had some genuine sweetness.
I was amused by Michael attempting one last time to use the baler and be seen as cool in the warehouse, and that Toby seemed to find his own brother kind of a drag.
And The Vampire Diaries continues to offer a masterclass in well-paced WTF moments. I was shocked and appalled by Damon forcing Elena towards vampirism, but equally glad to hear Elena declare to Stefan that that wasn't what she wanted. Elena has never struck me as likely to turn, even though she does love Stefan: her and her humanity have always been intrinsically linked.
But Damon can die any time now and I will not give a damn. How dare he take away Elena's choices and disrespect her autonomy and her decisions? He is vile.
And yet I've seen some fans trying to justify his actions because he did it out of love and it's not the worst thing he's done and. just. no. You can not make his behaviour acceptable to me in anyway. I was done with Damon when he killed Jeremy but if he continues like this he'll be tainting the show for me.
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Date: 2011-05-01 09:03 am (UTC)Loved P&R too. Ron's speech had me cracking up and loved Leslie's glowing acceptance of herself as a goddess. Fave line this week: "What can't centaur women do! Besides ride the escalator and drive a car." Snort!
Ben/Andy/April = most adorable family ever.
And Chris hasn't made me laugh in awhile so I was pleasantly surprised to be howling at him too. Rob Lowe comes at this role in such a wonderfully bizarre way.
This was the best Community for me in weeks and I think mostly because Britta felt like a character and not a caricature. Was just saying to a friend that I don't know if it is the writers or the actress or both, but somewhere along the line they forgot who that character was. This week I saw signs of her again. I also loved the Chang moments and found the drinking game Anthropology final hilarious.
Cried at The Office. Laughed a few times too. Silent goodbye was my favorite. Michael's letter to Dwight was pretty great. And realizing that the reason Michael was being so out of character about the cake and ice cream flavors was because he wasn't going to be there. Aww.
As for TVD, for me it's about loving to hate Damon. It's not about OTP with him and Elena (he is so obviously the true mate of her shadow-self Katherine), but understanding the purpose he serves in their world. And remembering that Stefan made Damon like this, not vice versa. To me it's not about understanding his actions or hoping for his salvation, it's about understanding that they're at war and he's their crazy ass do-anything man. They need him to win.
But yeah, him taking away Elena's choice, totally unexpected. Elena breaking down and telling Stefan she doesn't want to be a vampire, that she never did, even more unexpected. And beautifully done. And IMO, very responsible storytelling. It's like the anti-Twilight. She knows she's too young to understand forever, she wants to have the time to grow and make her own choices, she's lost her parents and she respects the gift that human life is. Lovely.
WOW. LONG COMMENT that basically says, YES! I agree with everything you just said! Let's start a blog together where our favorite fictional characters write television reviews ;)
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Date: 2011-05-01 04:19 pm (UTC)Parks and Rec is just my favourite thing on TV at the moment. It always makes me happy.
This was the best Community for me in weeks and I think mostly because Britta felt like a character and not a caricature. Was just saying to a friend that I don't know if it is the writers or the actress or both, but somewhere along the line they forgot who that character was. This week I saw signs of her again.
I love Britta but I think the writing for her has been really inconsistent and I hate that they just hand-waved her "I love you" to Jeff - why give her those feelings (because I'm not sure that she really did love him but she definitely felt something) in the first place if you're just going to ignore them most of the time?
Community is really not great when it comes to romantic relationships. I've been really annoyed by the ship teasing this season.
It's funny but with The Office Michael was never the reason I watched but I was really sad to see him go. Considering how lackluster the show has been this season, I kind of wish it had ended with this ep - without him the dynamic is really going to change.
And remembering that Stefan made Damon like this, not vice versa.
True, Stefan made Damon a vampire but Damon chooses to act as he does when we know he is capable of more (his friendships with Alaric and Liz for a start). I get that he's in an awful situation but while you cannot control who you have feelings for, how you act is entirely up to you - and Damon could start by respecting Elena and working with her instead of working on her behalf.
My big fear with Damon is that his character won't develop realistically because they need him to stay the same in order to maintain the tension in the triangle. That said, I do have a fair amount of faith in these writers so hopefully we will see some growth.
It's like the anti-Twilight. She knows she's too young to understand forever, she wants to have the time to grow and make her own choices, she's lost her parents and she respects the gift that human life is.
It really is. I know some people think Elena's boring or a Mary Sue, but she's wonderfully complex and thoughtful. A surprisingly great role model from the network that brings us Gossip Girl!
Let's start a blog together where our favorite fictional characters write television reviews ;)
Just imagining Ron Swanson doing recaps is giving me the giggles. And Tom Haverford would be all about the fashion!