bennet_7

Hey hey hey. Hope everyone had/is having a good holiday. I stayed in London, spending Christmas with friends, preparing and then eating an absurd amount of food.

I should be studying right now but...Yuletide. I am going through the fandoms alphabetically and currently I am somewhere among the H's. Here are a bunch of recs I've got so far.

( Definitely something for everyone here )

If you aren't watching Parks and Recreation you should. I know I've said it before but I honestly believe that you are missing out on one of the best and most enjoyable TV shows I have seen in a long time. It's funny, it's smart, it's heartwarming, and it's consistently awesome. ( Spoilers for latest episode )

I thought this last episode of Community was good but not great. ( Spoilers )

Doctor Who was pretty great! ( Spoilers )

Finally: EUROPE! I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! HOW COULD YOU VOTE FOR ( Spoilers for the winner of Eurovision )

One of my favourite entries, from 2007.



This is what Eurovision should be!

Some things that I watched in the order that I watched them.

The Killing

Another good episode but I'm slightly concerned that ( Spoilers )

Forbrydelsen

I watched the first episode of the original Danish version of The Killing and damn it was weird. So many similarities, not just in terms of the script, but the shot composition and the acting choices as well - particularly Mitch Larsen. I knew before that the two series shared the same composer but it was really jarring to hear the same music cues used. There are some notable differences though, mostly in the structure. You learn something about Stan in the first Danish episode that only comes up in the fourth American one.

I know that the killer is going to be different and that the American version will eventually diverge from the original but for now I'm going to wait to watch the rest of Forbrydelsen until after The Killing is finished as its the latter I'm currently more involved with and I don't want to be spoiled on even the smallest details.

Game of Thrones

I wasn't super psyched for this one because it looked grim, depressing, and incesty and it is all those things but I enjoyed it anyway and am really looking forward to the next episode. ( Spoilers )

How I Met Your Mother

Decent! Loved the credits.

Chuck

Beige! The only bright spot for me was Sarah's impression of Chuck's intersect face.

Cougar Town

Yes, I watch Cougar Town. I swear it's really really good! These episodes were no exception: funny, but with heart. Penny can!

The Chicago Code

I liked how this episode showed that there are people other than Gibbons that Teresa has to fight. ( Spoilers )

The Dan and Blair Show

Feeling remarkably optimistic about this one because ( Spoilers )

Parks and Recreation

Was the best! As always! ( Spoilers )

Community

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than any other of late, even as it pointed out just how formulaic Community can be. ( Spoilers )

The Office

I was whelmed. ( Spoilers )

Doctor Who

I liked a lot of this episode but I think I'm going to need to see the next part to figure out if I love it. ( Spoilers, sweetie )

I have not updated in ages because I've done so much writing for uni that I got a bit sick of it. But I've been watching a heap of great TV shows lately that I want to talk about even if I don't quite have time to go into detail.

Totally and completely love:

- The Thick of It. Imagine The West Wing except it's only half as long, British, a dark comedy, and monumentally profane. Like, I am not even joking about the language but it's funny because most of the f-bombs are dropped by a mad Scottish version of Rahm Emmanuel and everything is just funnier when said with a Scottish accent. You don't really need to know anything about British politics, but an appreciation for Machiavellian schemes would certainly help.

- Misfits. Everyone describes it as Skins meets Heroes and that certainly works. It's about a group of juvenile delinquents who, while doing community service, are caught in a thunder storm that gives them abilities or powers that are somehow related to their personalities. There's Kelly the punchy chav who can suddenly hear people's thoughts, Alisha the good time girl whose touch sends people into a sexual frenzy, frequently ignored Simon who can become invisible, and disgraced runner Curtis turns back time. Only the obligatory psychotic jackass Nathan appears to be unchanged but we find out eventually and it would spoil the finale to tell you.

The show is intelligent and real and because it's British it's not populated with former models. These kids can act and a couple of the characters are genuinely weird or disturbed.

Quite like:

- Cranford Revisited. Just a two part Christmas special with most of the characters returning plus a few new ones. It started out a little fluffy but then the Gaskell March of Death started up so I wouldn't be surprised if half the town died in the next episode. Still, if you have longed to see Andrew Buchan holding a small infant (and I know I have) then you get your wish.

- Doctor Who. I have such low expectations for RTD penned episodes that I generally like them ok. As usual, a rubbish plot was buoyed up by great performances. Bring on The Moff!

Good but probably won't ever watch again:

- The Thorn Birds. I bought this mini-series for my mum and we watched it all on Boxing Day and as it's 400+ minutes long and I hadn't seen it before, my mind was fried after. I thought it was good despite the fact that I didn't like most of the characters. I had no idea the relationship between Meggie and Ralph was so squicky (for those who haven't seen it, they meet when she's a child and he's in his late 20's and he acts as a father figure to her. So inappropriate!) Despite the fact that it was set in Australia, it was actually filmed in California and featured only one Australian actor so it didn't feel at all Australian to me. There was only one kangaroo! Still, my favourite part of it all is that Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown (that lone Australian actor) met on the set in 1983 and have been married ever since. The chemistry between them does sizzle.


Hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoy the New Year!

Let's have a list of things that are quite awesome:

1. After approximately a million years, Elizabeth Peters has finally written another Vicky Bliss mystery and it is being published next month. I've always preferred her Amelia Peabody series but that has gotten a bit tired and stale of late, so I'm glad she's returned to the adventures of Vicky and the very swoon worthy Sir John Smythe (my crush on this character is epic). If you have no idea what I'm talking about here are the first five books in the series: Borrower of the Night, Street of Five Moons, Silhouette in Scarlett, Trojan Gold, Night Train to Memphis (1, 2, 4, and 5 are .lit, 3 is .html in a .rar).

I just finished re-reading Night Train to Memphis and it was amazing, partly because it is quite a good book but mostly because I've now been to most of the sites in Egypt mentioned in the book. Never before have I had that experience - of having been to the place that I'm reading about in a novel (well ok, I've read a couple of books that have been set in Sydney but it's not the same). When she described the pyramids and Sakkara and Karnak and King Tut's tomb (I agree, it's a disappointment) I didn't have to imagine what it's like - I know. Now that might not seem so amazing to people who live in places they also read about but it was a new experience for me - and one I rather enjoyed.

2. I was recently overcome with the desire to re-read a book that I had loved in high school but was faced with certain problems. Like that I couldn't remember the title. Or the author. Or the names of any of the characters. I had a vague idea of the plot which is that prince in a fantasy kingdom grows up with half a body and as his faithful companions die, body parts reappear. However, if you try typing that into Google you'll get a bunch of links to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Not helpful. Still, after much searching I discovered that it's called One for the Morning Glory and it's by John Barnes. Have now ordered a copy and am hoping it's as good as I remember (because I do remember it being very good).

3. Of the things that I am watching currently, I just finished re-watching the 2000 version of Wives and Daughters which is just a lovely adaptation of Gaskell's novel. It's one of Andrew Davies more restrained works - only one gratuitous wet shirt scene and it's almost a plot point!

4. Scans of the latest Invincible Iron Man have not yet appeared, which has me gnashing my teeth with impatience. When I fall for something I generally fall hard and I don't do well sitting around and waiting for my obsessions to come to me. Luckily, Comic Book Resources has the first 8 pages up which helps to take the edge off.

5. I started the great Press Gang rewatch of 2008 and am already onto the second season. It's not that I forget that this show is brilliant but I'm always reminded of it on rewatch. While Blink, The Girl in the Fireplace, The Forest of the Dead, and Jekyll are excellent examples of Steven Moffat's genius when it comes to pacing and structure and big stories, it's Press Gang that you really need to look to if you want to know what he's going to do with Doctor Who because Press Gang is all about characters and relationships and finding your way in the world. And it's got obsession and sacrifice and blaming yourself for the actions of others.

Honestly, the main reason I'm so excited about The Moff taking over Who is because I hope that it will give him the clout to bring about a Press Gang reunion special.

Random quote:

Spike: "You don't happen to be jealous of a girl I've never even met, do you?"

Lynda: "Of course I'm jealous, Spike. I wish I was the girl you've never even met."

Oh Lynda. Oh Spike. You're my favourite.

In this post: Doctor Who 29 (The Voyage of the Damned), Northanger Abbey 26 (mostly Henry Tilney, as played by the wonderful JJ Feild), The Office 9 (US, mostly 3.21), Half Nelson 4, Pushing Daisies 7 (1.02), and assorted miscellany.

Also, I'm going through a black & white phase so there are quite a few variations in the mix.

( This way! )

Every couple of months I get this desire to watch Doctor Who. It's so joyful and silly and wonderfully British - I love it. I enjoyed the earlier series, notably One and Four, but Nine made me a true fan and Ten sealed the deal.

The reason for that (aside from the obvious physical charms of Nine and Ten) is Rose. She is without a doubt my favourite companion. When I heard that Billie Piper had been cast I was very "ugh" about it. The only thing I knew about her was that one song she used to sing when I was about 12 - 'Honey to the Bees' I think it was called. But Billie was fantastic as Rose, making her entirely sympathetic and relate-able.

Of course, every Doctor Who rewatch ends in tears and screams of "Why couldn't Billie just have stayed in the show forever and ever? I don't understand!", and so I have to turn to fanfic to get my fix (I haven't started watching season 3 because I've already exceeded my download limit for this month). However, when it comes to Doctor Who fanfic I have a very big problem - as much as I believe that the Doctor and Rose truly love each other on a soul mate level and despite the fact that David Tennant and Billie Piper have more chemistry than a science lab, I can't really stomach the Doctor and Rose having a sexual relationship in fic. It just seems all kinds of wrong to me.

( More and a few fic recs )