Virtual Advent: Favorite Not-Holiday Movies, TV Binge Watch Edition

It's that time of the year again, where I talk about my latest and mostest Favorite Not-Holiday Movies. For those of you who are new here, favorite not-holiday movies are movies I like watching during the holidays, but which aren't really "holiday movies." You can find more of my favorite not-holiday movies here, here, here, and here.

This year I decided to do something a little different and highlight series or miniseries you can stream through services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and which you'll want to watch all once like a really long movie. Because sometimes you just need to settle on the couch in your pajamas and binge out.

The Hour, starring Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw, and Dominic West

This series is super hip. It's set in 1960s London, and the locations and costumes are to die for. Freddie, an idealistic young journalist, and his bestie, Bel, are hired to create the newest, cutting-edgiest news program on the BBC, The Hour. The only problem is The Hour's host, Hector, knows nothing about journalism and is a terrible interviewer. In between tutoring Hector, Freddie starts digging into government conspiracies and suspects there are people watching his every move.

The Hour perfectly crosses spies, murder, and danger with the personal lives of Hector, Bel, and Freddie. It works because the characters are brilliant. I ADORE Ben Whishaw as Freddie, he is too lovable, but really all the characters are interesting and sympathetic.

And I'm pretty sure there are Christmas scenes in the series. I distinctly remember seeing a Christmas tree of some sort. 20% sure.

Also, like all the series on this list, you can watch The Hour more than once and enjoy it just as much, if not more so, than the first time! The first time I saw The Hour I binged it in one night right before Christmas, or maybe it was Thanksgiving... ANYWAY, I enjoy rewatching it during the holidays.

Mozart in the Jungle, starring Lola Kirke, Gael García Bernal, Bernadette Peters, and Malcolm McDowell

This series is based on a memoir, but it has the feeling of a new adult serial novel brought to life. Hailey's dream is to play for the New York Symphony Orchestra. When she gets the chance to audition for the Symphony's temperamental and unconventional new conductor, she improbably lands a chair in the oboe section. But it soon turns out her dreams are not so swiftly achieved...

Mozart in the Jungle is a series about following your dreams and being true to yourself that gives us a peek into the unique world of a classical musician. It's hilarious and awesome and, as with all the best NA serials, you CANNOT. STOP. WATCHING. Every person I've talked to who has watched this series finished it in one to two days. Not to mention how fantastic it is to see Bernadette Peters on TV again–LOVE HER.

As for why you should watch it during the holidays, I remember there being a lot of scarves. So I guess it takes place during winter? The second season goes up on Amazon December 30th!

Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, and David Tennant

While this series is based on a Marvel comic, it couldn't be more different from shows like The Avengers, Agents of SHIELD, and Super Girl. AND THANK GOD FOR THAT. Jessica Jones used to be a superhero, until something terrible happened to her. Now she barely scrapes by as a hard-drinking PI–that is until one case involving a missing girl blows her world apart, again.

Jessica Jones is a neo-noir that hits all the right notes of grittiness, sex, violence, mystery, redemption (or the lack thereof), and dark humor. Krysten Ritter is perfect as the shell-shocked Jess, and David Tennant...! I mean, I love Kilgrave. Tennant is just soooo good at making him charmingly evil.

There's something about noir and Christmas that just goes together for me; that's why my absolute favorite not-holiday movie is LA Confidential. Jessica Jones is a definitely a worthy entry into that genre.

North & South, starring Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage

If you haven't watched North & South yet... um, you should get to doing that. Margaret Hale's pleasant life in the south of England is ripped apart when her father abruptly decides his calling is in the northern factory town of Milton. Margaret does not like Milton AT ALL, and she especially doesn't like the rude factory owner, John Thornton. Even though he is SUPER HOT. Anyway, the longer she hangs around the more both start to grow on her.

Sometimes you just need something cozy and historical and romantic to watch, and North & South is the perfect remedy. Yes, the plot is basically ripped from Pride & Prejudice, but idk. I don't mind it. And Richard Armitage... rawr. No one stares after a girl like he does, let me tell ya. The man has a gift.

As for why you should watch this at Christmas, it's really good any time of the year. But Milton is cold. Wintry! My favorite line is when Margaret says, "I believe I have seen hell and it's white, it's snow white." Dontcha just want to sip on a hot cocoa and watch this now?

And last but not least...

Scandal, starring Kerry Washington

When I got a Roku Player for Christmas a few years ago, Scandal was the first series I binge watched on it, so I feel like it needs to be mentioned even if it's not that Christmasy. It's about a Washington DC fixer named Olivia Pope who's a total badass, but it's really a love story between Olivia and the President, Fitz. If you haven't watched the series, I know you're rolling your eyes and thinking, "The President? Really?" because that's what I thought. But this is one of my favorite romantic TV pairings of all time, trust me.

I actually stopped watching Scandal a few seasons back because I felt like it lost the thread of its original plot, but the first two seasons are definitely binge-worthy and must-see. Like you'll watch it, and then you'll find yourself randomly cornering people and demanding to know if they've watched Scandal yet. YOU'LL BECOME OBSESSED. It's the perfect recipe to take your mind off of holiday stress for a few hours.


Check out all the other Virtual Advent 2015 posts at Sprite Writes!




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The Salon: A Continuing Investigation

Paul Gauguin's Spirit of the Dead Watching shows his Tahitian wife, Tahura.

For several years, I've been following the activities of a cabal organization known as The Salon. It all started when I read the graphic novel The Salon, by Nick Bertozzi, which takes place in pre-War (World War I, that is) Paris and is about a group of people—Alice B. Toklas, Erik Satie, Picasso, Georges Braque, Guillaume Apollinaire, etc.—who drink a special absinthe that allows them to enter paintings. It's all fun and games until Paul Gauguin's fourteen-year-old Tahitian wife, Tehura, uses the absinthe to travel OUT of the paintings and into the real world, where she wreaks vengeance! against Gauguin and his asshole friends for sexually objectifying her. In response, The Salon develops Cubism, which relegates its subjects to two-dimensions.

I know you're probably thinking this is just fiction. That's what I thought, too, until a woman attacked Gauguin's painting Two Tahitian Women at the National Gallery, screaming, "This is evil!" and told police that Gauguin, "was evil and the painting should be burned," the exact method The Salon used to destroy the paintings with Tehura in them. Coincidence?! Add to that the fact that no one seemed to know who the woman was and the whole incident smacked definitively of The Salon.


An artist's studio filled with portraits of the same woman.

Since then The Salon has been keeping a low profile, but last night on the TV show Grimm, they appeared again. The episode, titled "Kiss of the Muse," was about a woman who, because she's a magical Wesen creature (work with me here) naturally attracts artists. Only to drive them insane to the point that they start killing one another and themselves in order to be with her. It's revenge for objectification all over again.

But that's not all. During the episode we learn more about this Wesen creature, and it turns out SHE WAS THE REASON GAUGUIN AND VAN GOGH SPLIT UP AND VAN GOGH WENT CRAZY ZOO CRACKERS. You see, Van Gogh and Gauguin were hanging out in Arles, happy as one massively egotistical and narcissistic artist and one really sweet and sensitive artist could be, until Van Gogh saw this "musai," or muse, and started obsessively painting her. When Gauguin showed up, Van Gogh perceived him as a threat to his exclusive relationship with his muse and threatened Gauguin with a razor blade. After Gauguin left, Van Gogh's spiral continued, and he eventually cut off his own ear.


Massive portrait of the artist's muse. Crazy colors show he's on the edge!

I know what you're thinking—if that's true, where are the paintings of this muse of Van Gogh's? THE SALON DESTROYED THEM, obvs! The more interesting question is, why would The Salon reveal itself on a TV show like Grimm? Answer: I think The Salon is trying to tell us something. It wants us to beware of all representational art and sexual objectification, because muses are more dangerous than you think. Even with The Salon's promotion of abstract art, people still like to represent things.

Does The Salon know something we don't? Has another muse escaped her painting to cause death and destruction? I will post more details as they become available.




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Beware of Women Readers

The Following is a new TV show about a former professor named Joe Carroll who goes crazy and starts killing women in honor of his hero and scholarly raison d'etre, Edgar Allan Poe. The show actually doesn't weave Poe into the story THAT much, which is kind of disappointing (seriously, one quote every other episode does not a literary take-off make); but I do find how it treats the female characters interesting.

One of the major characters on the show is Emma, a follower of Carroll's (why didn't he study Alice in Wonderland, one wonders) who appears sweet and innocent, but is one crazy bitch. Here's how she gets involved with Carroll: as a teenager she was a huge fan of his writing (so romantic and tragique! le sigh) and went to one of his signings. At the signing--which appears to be a bust since only she showed up--Emma is immediately attracted to Professor Suave, and he makes it clear he returns her attraction. Fast forward: because of her meeting with Carroll, Emma discovers her sexual power and independence, and as a result Carroll gains her devotion and loyalty.

The dynamic Carroll has his with fans/followers is interesting, and I think Emma is a great example of that. They're all devoted to him, but Emma seems to be the leader of the group because she's the smartest, and she has an emotional connection with Carroll--a connection that might be one-sided, but that Carroll nevertheless encourages. There's a sexual aspect to Carroll's relationship with all of his female followers that isn't necessarily present in his male followers. They seem to follow him because they're gutless wonders looking for a leader; the women in this group are definitely not sheep. They're fans.

I've blogged about how publishers use sex to sell books to women before while men are usually marketed to using their intellect. The same sensibility can be found in The Following's females--they're emotionally volatile and unpredictable, while the men (even the homicidal ones) appear to be more logical and sensible. Of course, Carroll, the author manipulating everyone, is über-intellectual, calm, and attractive.

A part of me wonders if Carroll's female fans in The Following--who are all total psychos--reflect a greater tension in our society over reading and writing being cast as a feminine activity, and the supposed rise of books by books by, for, and about women (if you don't think this is an issue, Google boys and books). I think in part it might be, because the show is really all about masculinity and Carroll trying to reassert his power: all his actions center on punishing his ex-wife, who slept with the man who put him in prison; and on removing his son, a physical embodiment of his virility, from his mother's influence and remodeling him in Carroll's own image. 19th- and 20th-century painters faced a similar dilemma, in that their profession was considered very "feminine," and so they often overcompensated by being chauvinistic assholes. In any case, Emma is the most powerful female character on the show because she's smart (see: reading), sexually manipulative, and emotionally unpredictable--a femme fatale trifecta.

Overall I find The Following to be pretty misogynistic. Yet I still watch it. What can I say, it's entertaining.



Further Reading:

• "A Literary Hard-On" on Truth Beauty Freedom & Books
• "OMG SOMEONE THINK OF OUR BOY CHILDREN" on Bookalicio.us

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Manet's OLYMPIA in Books and TV

Olympia, Edouard Manet, 1863, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

Ahoy, mateys! Major rant ahead...

Edouard Manet is one of my favorite historical crushes. Just check out the interview I did with him if you don't believe me. A nineteenth-century avant-garde artist, Manet inspired the Impressionists and was one of the first modern artists. But he's definitely not as famous as any of the Impressionists, including his bestest frenemy, Edgar Degas. And that's perfectly fine with me. Manet is my historical crush; get your own!

It's kind of weird that in the past few months, I've seen Manet's Olympia given the art history shout-out treatment twice: once on TV and once in a book. And both times it was totally anachronistic. The first instance was on the BBC America series Copper, which is about the NYC police department during the Civil War. On the show, the wealthy Elizabeth Haverford has Olympia hanging in her drawing room. Okay, it's not the ACTUAL Olympia (I can just imagine what they'd have to pay the Musée d'Orsay to get away with that), it's just "very reminiscent of" Olympia according to the show's own blog.


Screenshot of Elizabeth Haverford's painting. C/o BBC America blog.

I don't have a problem with a TV show creating its own version of a famous painting, but I do have a problem with Copper using Olympia. It's horribly anachronistic and drove me crazy. Yes, Copper is set in 1864 and Olympia was painted in 1863, but:

1. Manet didn't exhibit it--in Paris--until 1865, so how would Elizabeth have gotten her hands on it, hm?
2. Even ignoring the whole exhibition thing, seeing how the painting isn't "really" Olympia, in order to get a painting like it, Elizabeth would have had to travel to Paris. In the middle of the Civil War? I don't think so.
3. When Olympia was first exhibited it was WAY avante-garde. It took the French public nearly 30 years to accept Olympia as a masterpiece. The US was generally about twenty years behind Paris in the visual arts (at least in the 19th century), so by my calculations there is no way an American would have anything resembling Olympia until the 1910s at the earliest. BUT...
4. When I say "Americans" I actually mean American men, since if you haven't noticed there's a naked prostitute in that there picture (that's what made the painting scandalous, by the way--also, it's pretty badly painted). Not the sort of thing a respectable woman would own, let alone have hanging in her drawing room. Even William Bouguereau's Nymphs and Satyr was considered too risque for women to look at, for heaven's sakes!

For the above reasons, although I of course love Manet, I found the presence of Olympia on Copper very annoying. Whenever I saw the painting in Elizabeth's house I was thrown out of the story. Fortunately Corky got pissed off and slashed the painting near the end of the first season, so I won't have to look at it in season two. Yay!

The second instance was in The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville, which I'm currently reading. Naturally one cannot see paintings in a novel, but I'm pretty sure the portrait described at the beginning of the book is Olympia. It's of an "almost naked [later "stark naked"] woman, reclining on a satin-draped divan." The figure has short, red hair and a bold, direct gaze. Also: Caro wears a ribbon around her neck like Olympia. But most of all, the painting is modeled after a Titian. A Titian like this, for example?


The Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

BOOM. Manet totally modeled Olympia after The Venus of Urbino. This is the only Titian where the subject is 1. a female nude who is 2. lying down, 3. a ginger, and 4. looking at viewer, so it must be the Titian Caro's husband bought and her friend Oliver later copied, using her as a model.

Again, while I enjoy art history shout-outs, this is pretty anachronistic. The Importance of Being Wicked takes place in 1811 at the latest (likely earlier), and again there's no way a woman of the time would have a painting like that hanging in her drawing room, no matter how daring she was.

What I wonder is, why Olympia? It's a pretty famous painting--even if you don't have an art history degree you've probably seen it--so it's not as if no one would recognize it. I get it, Elizabeth Haverford's a whore (like every single other female character on Copper) and that's why there's this ugly painting of her in the drawing room; but I'm pretty sure there's only about a bazillion paintings out there that could convey that fact more cleverly and effectively than Olympia AND be historically appropriate. Even a Madame X type of portrait would make more sense than Olympia.

With The Importance of Being Wicked, I don't have to look at the painting while I'm reading, so that makes it less annoying than Copper. But the characters show an anachronistic tendency towards "modern art" (term actually used in the book) by reviling the dramatic poses and allegorical works that were popular at the time. That just doesn't shake out in the context of the time period: what we consider "natural posing" doesn't make sense without photography. Not to mention, since the novel IS set in the late 18th century, that London was the Scandalous Portrait Capital of the World! For realz, it's not as if the most famous women in English history at the time had their portraits painted when they either wanted to become famous or shock their family, or both. OH WAIT they all did that, my bad. Modeling a portrait off one of the (many) paintings of Kitty Fischer, Sarah Siddons, Lady Sarah Lennox, or Lady Hamilton would make much more sense. It's not as if there isn't a lot of options to chose from.

Art is a reflection of its place and time, and thus is a great tool for writers and filmmakers to enhance the setting of their story and add depth to their characters (a great example is the use of the Bird Lady on True Blood). But not if the art used is inappropriate! In that case all one winds up with is a sad mess that doesn't mean anything to anyone, least of all to the people who might appreciate the reference the most (such as myself).


Further Reading:

• I Interview Edouard Manet
• Judging a Failure
• The Male Gaze
• True Blood Art History Shout-Out
• Elizabeth Haverford's Painting (BBC America blog)

On the TV: THE HOUR and ELEMENTARY

I haven't done a television post in a while (unless you count all those Downton Abbey posts--here and here and at Edwardian Promenade--but anyway) and I thought I was due for one, especially as there are two shows I really want to talk about!

THE HOUR

This a show you definitely should be watching. It takes place in 1950s London and is about a television news show called The Hour. But that's not all it's about! There are spies and murders and cocktails and country house parties and awesome cars. At the heart of the show, is the romance between Bel, The Hour's producer; and Freddie, a copywriter and reporter. Bel and Freddie have known each other forever and are best friends. These two are so clearly in love but aren't sleeping together, I don't know why. It's maddening. I LOVE FREDDIE SO MUCH. Actually I love all the characters, but Freddie's my favorite. He's one of those journalists who looks at his job as a calling, not a means of employment.

Basically, if you like Mad Men, The Hour is like that but with a John le Carré twist. It distracts you with shiny television gossip and then it's like BOOM, SPY STUFF! It's totally awesome. Thanks to Ruth from Booktalk & More for convincing me to give it a try. The second season just started on BBC America and you seriously must watch it; it's one of the best shows I've seen in a long-ass time.

ELEMENTARY

When Elementary first started, I'll admit I was a bit snobbish about it. Compared to BBC's Sherlock, it seemed really fluffy and stupid. It didn't reference the Sherlock canon nearly at all, and the mysteries were kinda blah. Plus it didn't have Benedict Cumberbatch in it (PS: brain, feel free to give me more BBC Sherlock dreams whenever you want, thanks). Buuuuuuut I kept watching because I do like both Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Lui quite a lot.

Now that the show's been going for a few months, I've done a complete 180. I love this show. No, it's not canon and referential in the way BBC Sherlock is; but I think of the two it's actually the more creative adaptation. BBC Sherlock is almost slavish in its devotion to the canon--which is great, I love the layers of references in each episode--but Elementary allows its characters to live on their own and take off in an independent context. Sherlock's drug addiction, which at first seemed like kind of a gimmick, has really given the character and story an unexpected depth. I also think Lucy Lui does a great job as the Watson--both literally and figuratively--in the relationship, and I love the dynamic between her and Johnny Lee Miller. Despite my crush on Benedict Cumberbatch and my appreciation of the complex references in BBC Sherlock, I think Elementary might actually surpass it as my favorite Sherlock TV adaptation (especially if BBC Sherlock doesn't return until late 2013 *dies*).



Have you seen any of these shows? What are some of your new favorites?

Book to Movie: IVANHOE

(Really a Mini-series)
Originally released: 1997
Directed by: Stuart Orme
Starring: Steven Waddington, Ciaràn Hinds, Susan Lynch, Christopher Lee
Based on: the novel of the same name by Sir Walter Scott

After spending about a month reading Ivanhoe (review at PGP), I really wanted to rewatch the 1997 miniseries starring Ciaràn Hinds as Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert. Luckily, I had it on DVD!

If you haven't heard of the story before, Ivanhoe is about Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a knight who returns from the Crusades wanting to marry his true love and win the respect of his father.





Ivanhoe has everything you could possibly want in a story about 12th-century Britain: jousting, Robin Hood, Prince John, Templar knights, Richard the Lionhearted. And the mini-series follows the novel pretty closely (at 5 hours, it should). But while there aren't any major plot differences, the miniseries creators did make some interesting choices in the way they altered the story.

• Love Triangle--Who doesn't enjoy a love triangle? Probably just about everyone these days. In both the book and movie, Ivanhoe's true love since childhood is Rowena. In the novel, Rebecca (Jewish woman who's a doctor) develops a crush on Ivanhoe when they're imprisoned together and Ivanhoe is wounded, but it never goes farther than that, especially on Ivanhoe's end. In the miniseries, on the other hand, the writers give Ivanhoe and Rebecca a lot more scenes together and they definitely develop feelings for one another. Of course nothing can come from it, because Rebecca's Jewish. And even if she wasn't, Ivanhoe would honor his promise to wed Rowena because that's what he does. Ensue bitter-sweet ending.
  
• Brian de Bois-Guilbert--Probably the biggest alterations between the miniseries the original story are points dealing with Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a Templar knight who's kind of a badass and kidnaps Rebecca. For some reason the miniseries creators decided to make him more of a villain, in that he betrays Richard the Lionhearted and lets Ivanhoe take the blame for it. SIR BRIAN WOULD NEVER DO THAT. For one, he values his honor as a knight more than anything. For two, if he did betray King Richard, he wouldn't lie about it. He'd be like, "Yeah, I made sure he landed in an Austrian prison. And I'll do the same to you if you don't stfu." As much as I love Ciaràn Hinds in this role, it seems like the script plus his performance really wiped out a lot of Sir Brian's personality. Hinds has two modes in this show: scowling while talking in a normal speaking voice, and shouting while stomping about. A lot of Bois-Guilbert's gentler and more honorable personality traits, meanwhile, were transferred to Maurice de Bracy--WHY I DON'T KNOW. I do like that Ivanhoe has to redeem his reputation and hide his identity because he's been wrongly accused of treason (which isn't in the book); I just think making Bois-Guilbert the person who betrayed the king is redic. Not that he isn't still awesome, of course.
• A shout-out for the ladies--There aren't a lot of women in the novel Ivanhoe. Actually, there are two. I do have to give the miniseries creators some props for giving the female characters stronger roles, especially Rowena, who has an awesome scene in the first episode where she tells Brian de Bois-Guilbert off. However, making Rebecca more "modern" only made her more annoying and self-righteous (I wouldn't have thought that was possible); and while it was fun to see Eleanor of Aquitaine travel all the way to England to tell Richard and John off, 1. I don't think she would have done that and 2. I didn't see what the point of that scene was.

Honestly, Ivanhoe is a pretty good miniseries--probably as good as 1995's Pride & Prejudice, although it seems a little dated now. But it's not as good as the book. And trust me, there were times when the book drove me CRAZY, and I'm so glad the filmmakers cut the crazy-making parts out. Still, even though the miniseries actually added a lot of plot to the story (because that's what Ivanhoe needs, more plot!), the book felt more complex because of the richness of the historical detail and the characterizations. The miniseries kind of feels like Ivanhoe Lite now.

TSS: Guilty Pleasures

Shumita at the beauty salon. Credit: Julie Moggan

The other night there was a documentary on PBS about "the deeper personal and social meanings of the [romance] genre's allure," with the unimaginative title of Guilty Pleasures. As much as the title gave me pause, I naturally got very excited--as I always do when books are discussed, but most especially romance novels. You'll probably be equally unsurprised at how annoyed I was at the documentary. Here are a few things that really struck me:

1. Romance is a genre by, for, and about women. Yet the ONLY romance author featured in the entire documentary was a male. Now, said author (Roger Sanderson, writing under the pseudonym Gill Sanderson) seemed like a good guy and gave some sound advice about writing--other than the comment, "Women want to be told the same things over and over," which made me a trifle stabby--but in the only literary genre where women are both the primary consumers and producers, and damn proud of that fact, why would you choose to feature a male author? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? Because you don't really want to make a film about the romance industry at all? Gotcha.
   
2. Moving on to the readers, the filmmakers once again made interesting choices in the subjects (or, as director Julie Moggen referred to them, "characters") they interviewed. Naturally, all the readers were women, and the world-wide appeal of romances was highlighted through a selection of women from the UK, India, and Japan. Despite their cultural differences, however, all these women seemed basically the same: they were all bored housewives. Or, if any of them did have jobs, they weren't featured doing them. They also had less than satisfactory love lives: Shumita, a rejected first wife, is dating a man-child more in love with his car than with her; Shirley is a housewife with a husband who's a manic-depressive bloke; and Hiroko is yet another housewife whose inadequate husband does not get her obsession with "ballroom dancing." Lonely, undersexed women of the world unite! Mommy porn, anyone?
   
3. I know what you're totally not thinking right now and would never think: how do romance novels affect the men in their female readers' lives? Well, it's a good thing you don't give a rat's ass, because the filmmakers made sure to focus on that. Basically, the men-folk were left feeling isolated and mystified by their partners' interest in romances--even when they were more or less supportive of their partner's little hobby. In fact, I was a little perturbed by how the filmmakers implied the women's interest in romances--Hiroko in particular--was selfish and resulted in them neglecting their families. Hiroko's husband is the one shown parenting their children--even in the scenes where they're in the same room, Mr. Hiroko is playing with their kids while Hiroko herself ignores them. Other scenes show her watching dance videos on TV and lying on the couch reading, sans-offspring. Shirley is supposedly a mother as well, but I don't recall seeing any scenes of her with her kids. I do, however, remember her lying on a couch and eating bonbons.
   
4. The filmmakers also implied the readers have trouble separating fantasy from reality (which I find ironic considering this entire documentary is a fantasy). Hiroko seems to conflate European (i.e., romance hero) looks with good dancing, is having an affair in her head with her dance instructor, and wants her husband to act out scenes from romance novels. Shirley is given kudos for not rejecting her hubby despite the fact that he's not perfect (like a romance hero), even though she had to think about it for a while.
   
5. The male cover model--now I may be outlier here, but I really do not care about the models on the covers of romance novels. AT ALL. I try my best to ignore romance novel covers, and I don't see how the model is pertinent to this topic. Why not interview the paper supplier and the person who designed the book's font while you're at it?
   
6. I did like how the conclusion of the documentary showed Hiroko's husband stepping up to the plate and learning how to ballroom dance so he could spend time with her, and Shirley's hubby going out of his way to make them a romantic dinner. That was really sweet. But notice it's the MEN going through a narrative evolution here, not the women.
   

Overall I found Guilty Pleasures to be an extremely lackluster and boring look at romance, because it relied on stereotyping and there was practically no research. I've seen better segments about romance novels on Nightline. NIGHTLINE--the show that cites The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as if it is a factual investigative source. Talk about having trouble separating fantasy from reality!

Guilty Pleasures did not reflect anything I personally know about the industry or the genre, such as the fact that people of both sexes read romance, and that romance readers come from all walks of life, careers, interests, education, religions, and so forth. A five-minute look at romance blogs should be able to tell you this much. But then Guilty Pleasures isn't really for romance readers; it's for suits who would never dream of picking up a romance. It wants to reinforce the stereotypes about romance readers, not shatter them, and chooses to treat the subject with sentimentality, not honesty. The final message seems to be, "Aren't romance lovers cute?"

At least they didn't refer to romance as porn--I suppose that's a step in the right direction?

On the TV: HIDDEN CITY

Hidden City tries to uncover the essential character of a city by looking at its criminal history. If it sounds kind of like City Confidential--the true crime show that used to air on A&E back in the day--that's because it is, in theory. But whereas City Confidential took an in-depth look at one crime per episode, Hidden City usually covers three or four in the space of an hour.



The real strength of the show is the host, crime novelist Marcus Sakey. He gets some great one-liners in ("I'm not a criminal... I'm a novelist." HELLS YEAH! I started watching the show just because of that line), and he looks like a detective out of a 1970s movie. I love him! The best moments of the show are where Sakey tries to "get into" the criminals' heads by doing things like being pepper sprayed, panning for gold, and tailing a spy. In the second episode, Sakey was criminally profiled and the psychiatrist was like, "Yeah, you're a borderline sociopath." That was weirdly fun.

Those moments are great because they're relatively original. The problem is, those original moments are few and far between. The crimes and events are, ones that are generally familiar to the general public. Take the premier Chicago episode, for example, which covered HH Holmes (subject of Devil in the White City by Erik Larson), the Democratic National Convention riots in 1968, and John Dillinger. All of these subjects are interesting, but they've been dealt with before, better and more in-depth. The strength of City Confidential was that, one, the stories were thoroughly plumbed; and two, they were about crimes that might be notorious within the city, but were relatively obscure to outsiders. Hidden City has neither of these things going for it.

I will, however, say that the last few episodes have been really good, probably because they went to less-covered locations: Seattle and Anchorage. So while this isn't the greatest true crime series ever, it's definitely improving, and I'd be interested in seeing what they do with a second season. Sakey does have a way with words. (And yes, I know the season's over. As usual I have incredible timing.)

Downton Dudes

Image by Hey Downton Lady

I read an article recently titled, "Why Men Like Downton Abbey." While the main purpose of the article was to make fun of the idea that men can't enjoy historical drama (and I agree that's pretty stupid), I think the question of masculinity plays a big role in the series, and that's part of its attraction. As one respondent to the informal poll replied,

There's a Clint Eastwood epic flowing through the show in that everyone has deeply repressed emotions and is big on obligations to duty. I don't think you see that in American shows so much, especially with reality TV. Everyone is putting their thoughts out there and emotions are heightened. [In 'Downton'] people are swallowing their deeply held feelings and doing their duty anyway. I wish I had the ability of Mr. Bates to stuff everything down into a dark hole, but instead I'm Twittering.

You're right, guy who confuses Twitter (noun) with tweeting (verb)--even if Downton Abbey had wifi, Bates would be too busy being awesome to use it. I'm pretty sure the whole reason WWI started was because he was no longer in the government's service and thus unable to prevent it. Also: Clint Eastwood.

To my dad's generation, Eastwood is what John Wayne was to my grandfather's generation: the embodiment of what a man should be. And it's no coincidence that both actors made their name in westerns, a genre that's all about coming-of-age and masculinity. So I think when Twittering Guy compares Downton to "a Clint Eastwood epic," he's actually identifying the themes of manliness running through the show.

Unfortunately, none of the men on Downton are doing a very good job of maintaining their masculinity. As I mentioned on my recap of the Series 2 finale at Edwardian Promenade, practically every man on this show, with the possible exception of Carson, is emasculated by the end of the season. Let's take a quick run-down, shall we?

• Lord Grantham--He's the boss of the place, but after the army turns Downton into a hospital, no one listens to what he says anymore. Plus, we wants to go into the army to fight the war, but he can't because he's OLD. So instead he just spends the entire season in his out-dated uniform, which is pathetic. When the war is finally over, he wears these new-fangled tuxedos, as if he's a young man on the cutting edge of fashion (not even), and starts an affair with a house maid. But he can't even manage to do that right--instead, he's cock blocked by Bates. COITUS INTERRUPTUS, as they say.
  
• Matthew--Of all the men on the show, Matthew really gets it the worse. He is LITERALLY impotent for half the season. They bring it up so much that his nickname might as well be Castrated Crawley. "I'm going to see Mr. Crawley--you know, the one who's basically a eunuch." "Oh, yes, that one." Even when he does regain the use of his limbs--all three of them--he still behaves like he's powerless. Instead of telling Mary he loves her and he's going to do something about it, he apologizes. Instead of taking responsibility for his own decisions, he blames everything on fate. Instead of having a dick, his is one.
  
• Bates--Despite his gimpy leg, Bates used to be the most badass guy on this show (which should tell you something right there). Oh, he wouldn't punch you in the face, but you knew that he could if he wanted to. Plus, he staked a claim on what he wanted, like in the final scene of Season 1 where he told Moseley to back off Anna. But then, before Season 2 had barely said good morning, his ex-wife, Vampy Vera, showed up, and it became abundantly clear she'd ripped off his balls and been kicking them down the street for years. You could practically see him shriveling before her very eyes. He then spends the rest of the season slinking around, hiding, and basically letting Vera command him to her bidding. Anna has to order him to marry her (naturally he acquiesces); and don't even get me started on the Bates Motel he keeps talking about. Oh, the Freudian symbolism! I think we all know he didn't kill Vera, but don't you kind of wish he did?
  
• Branson--Branson doesn't fair as badly as some of the other men in this program--after all, he does profess his love to Lady Sybil and drive a car. But then came the part where he was rejected by the military for "medical reasons." Now, I don't know if this is just an American thing, but in US movies whenever a man is rejected from the military for medical reasons, it winds up being code for This Character Is Gay. Seriously, every single time. Of course Branson isn't gay, but if his petulant behavior for the rest of that episode is anything to go by, being rejected by the military is still an insult to his masculinity. As for Sybil, he may have to fight for her, but it's not as if he has to fight for her against another man of her own class, is it? He's the only young man meat in town. She's in total control of their relationship, when he sees her, where, and what will happen when he does. And he ends up accepting Lord Grantham's money. Nuff said.
  
• Thomas--Thomas is another character that used to be pretty boss, but he's been acting strange all season. First he fell in love with a blind guy who committed suicide, then he let the doctor/military guy boss him around. And he actually showed concern for people a few times. But by far his lowest point came at the end of the season, when he found out the cache of black market goods he'd spent all his money on were fake. Then he seemed pretty pathetic. By the end, Thomas is once again a footman, which I think we can all agree is a bit of a demotion.
  
• Sir Richard--Sir Richard, Lady Mary's slimy fiance, is the only guy in this season who gets anything done. You want Vera taken care of? BOOM. Get out of my office, bitch. You want Matthew distracted from Mary? DONE. He could do that in his sleep. You want to weasel out of an agreement you made with him? Too bad--now get against the wall and pucker up, slut. Is it any wonder he's the one about to marry the Ice Princess? Both Lord Grantham and Matthew know this guy is bad news, but are too intimidated to say a single word against him. He owns their asses.

Clint Eastwood and Lady Violet have a similar opinion of you.

If there's any character that embodies Clint Eastwood's masculinity in Downton Abbey, it's Lady Violet. Who's the only person with a clue as to what's going on around the Abbey? Who's the person that successfully outmaneuvers the military and the church to get William to Downton Hospital and married to Daisy? Who's the only one with the cojones to tell Matthew that Mary is still in love with him and he needs to man up? Who sweeps in to save the day whenever one of the sisters needs help? LADY VIOLET, that's who. Then she rides off into the sunset in her fancy equipage and feathered hat.

I suppose it's no surprise in a show about a house that the male characters aren't quite as masculine as Clint Eastwood, but it would be nice if they asserted themselves more in Season 3. For example, when refused a place in the military, Lord Grantham could say, "You may stop me from serving as an officer, but can you stop me from sailing my yacht full of explosives into the German fleet?" instead of, "What's the meaning of this? *bluster bluster bluster*" And instead of telling Mary "I'm so so sorry," Matthew could say, "Get on that table so we can add a rhythm section to this gramophone record." Then they'd be giving Lady Violet a run for her money.

Downton Dragout: BRANSON

Boom chicka-wow-wow

Everyone loves a rebel, and the mysterious Irish chauffeur, Tom Branson, is Downton Abbey's version of a rebel with a cause. Not only is he young and handsome, he's more daring than any of Downton's other employees, as evidenced by his willingness to answer the phone. And he's got Big Plans. "I won’t always be a chauffeur," he tells Lady Sybil, like three seconds after meeting her. Just so's you know!

Branson, like most rebels, is somewhat of a reverse snob and fed up with The Man. However, he does really like The Man's daughter and encourages her to break allll sorts of rules. Dontcha just love rule breakers? Women's suffrage, yay! Because of him, Sybil gets to do exciting things like go to radical political rallies, wear harem pants, and cook. Branson knows because he's watching... ALWAYS WATCHING.


Hey kid, don't you have work to do?

Of course, Branson isn't as bad-ass as he--or everyone else--thinks he is. Political ideologies aside, the guy's a total softie. He freaks out like a teenage girl when Sybil gets bonked on the head, nearly swoons when she holds his hand, has absolutely no interest in fighting in the war; and then there's the goodbye speech when Sybil goes off to nursing school (which was like, what, three miles away?).  I think this calls for a rewatch (skip to 1 minute mark):



"I've told myself and told myself you're too far above me, but things are changing." And Branson's done a pretty good job of making sure Lady Sybil is changing with them, eh?

After Sybil rejects his simple yet eloquent profession of love, Branson's feelings are hurt. He spends the next five episodes acting out and being snappish with her, because he's a sensitive dude, mofus.

Okay, so maybe Branson's character isn't the most fleshed-out of the characters at Downton, but he has a romantic soul, acts like a rebel, is cute like a little puppy, and has a car (kind of). By all the rules of 1950s teenager movies, the guy's a dreamboat! And I will dump a tureen of poo soup on anyone who disagrees.



Downton Dragout--where we're advocating for our favorite Downton Abbey characters! Be sure to check out the other blogs participating:

Evangeline from Edwardian Promenade for Lord Grantham
Katiebabs from Babbling About Books and More for Bates
Pam from Bookalicio.us for Matthew

Who's your favorite Downton Abbey character?

Downton Abbey Season Two Episode One Recap!

Today I'm co-recapping the fist episode of Downton Abbey's second season at Edwardian Promenade. Check it out and share with us what you thought!

TV Showdown: TEEN WOLF and NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING

This summer two teen-centric series premiered on television: Teen Wolf, which is a remake of a movie I've never seen; and The Nine Lives of Chloe King, which is based on a book and has a very long title.

Both shows are cheesy but good for some "lite" entertainment. But which one is better? Compare and contrast time, kids! Behold, I give you this spreadsheet that took me way longer to put together than if I'd just written a paragraph:

. Protagonists . Teen Wolf Nine Lives of Chloe King (hereafter known as NLoCK) . Scott McCall Personality: doofus Chloe King Personality: bubbly . Age: 16 Age: 16 . Extracurricular activities: lacrosse Extracurricular activities: trying on clothes . Job: vet assistant Job: clerk in 2nd-hand clothing boutique . Favorite superhero reference: The Hulk Favorite superhero reference: none . Parents: Mom crazy busy; dad mysteriously absent Parents: Adopted; mom crazy busy, dad mysteriously absent . Happy he got superpowers because: he can now play lacrosse Happy she got superpowers because: she's attractive to the men-folk . Sad he got superpowers because: he's even more of weirdo now than he was before. Sad she got superpowers because: she can't hang with her friends constantly . Best Friends . Teen Wolf NLoCK . Stiles Personality: adorkable Amy Personality: Sassy bitch . Brings to the table: a car, research skills, brains, comic relief Brings to the table: a car, the cold hard truth . Worried about: being eaten Worried about: losing her bestie . Jealousy meter: low Jealousy meter: high . Paul Personality: lost puppy . Brings to the table: superhero knowledge, emotional support for Amy . Worried about: not being a sidekick . Jealousy meter: medium

. Love Interests . Teen Wolf NLoCK . Allison Attractive because: She's new at school, so has no idea what an idiot Scott is Brian Attractive because: Is in college . Sexual aggression meter: high Sexual aggression meter: just this side of gay best friend . Romeo and Juliet element: dad is a werewolf hunter Romeo and Juliet element: dad heads organization trying to wipe out people like Chloe . Convenient plot device: soothes the savage beast Convenient plot device: has a car . Special Powers . Teen Wolf NLoCK . Better vision check Better vision oh heck yes . Stronger double-check Stronger yes . Faster check Faster yup . Super hearing check Super hearing yes . Shape shifting check Shape shifting has yet to grow a tail and whiskers . Empathic no Empathic yes . Immortal no Immortal kinda; has 9 lives instead of 1 . Miscellaneous Plot Elements . Teen Wolf NLoCK . Sensei Derek, lives in crappy house and is grumpy Sensei Valentina, lives in kick-ass apartment and is super-understanding . Location NorCal Location San Francisco . Things this teenager does that teenagers would never do Accept punishment gracefully Things this teenager does that teenagers would never do Dinner party with friends every Wednesday

. Pressure to conform? An alpha will kill him unless he joins a pack Pressure to conform? Chloe must train to become leader of the Mai, an ancient race of cat people. . School Antagonist Jackson, captain of the lacrosse team School Antagonist Alek's girlfriend . Superhero Antagonist The werewolf hunters Superhero Antagonist An evil organization dedicated to wiping out the Mai . Uses powers for personal gain? Uses super strength and speed in lacrosse Uses powers for personal gain? Listens to friends' conversations when they think she can't hear

As you can see, these shows are pretty similar, but NLoCK is more feel-goody and lighter on the dramaz. I would also say Teen Wolf is slightly better-written than NLoCK.

What interests me about both shows is how both kids seem to have sexuality tied to their supernatural abilities. This is especially true for Chloe, who starts attracting boys the way a Coyote Ugly waitress attracts barflies as soon as she turns sixteen--and comes into her Mai abilities on the same day. Coincidence? I don't think so. Scott also magically starts dating only after he's been bitten by a werewolf.

Both shows are über-silly and great for a light brain break. And while I do think Teen Wolf is better-scripted and -produced, there's something about NLoCK that keeps me from hating it, despite the fact that I start grinding my teeth every time I see Chloe's Pier1-sponsored bedroom or her and her mom have a ridiculous heart-to-heart. It's still better than The Vampire Diaries, anyway.

Is anyone else enjoying these shows despite themselves?

Completely Ridiculous Christopher Gorham Post

Warning: this post is utterly pointless and there is no excuse for it.



Sooooo, I don't know if you all know this about me, but I am totes obsessed with Christopher Gorham. If you don't know who Gorham is, then we can't be friends, so I'll just tell you: It all began with Jake 2.0, which was kind of like the CW version of Chuck, except MUCH BETTER because Gorham starred as the geek who is integrated with computery stuff to become a super-spy (sorry, Zach Levi, you're cute but you don't hold a candle to Gorham). I also really liked the supporting cast, especially Jake's doc, Diane. Jake 2.0 is like my favorite show evar, btw.


Gorham creeping around like a ninja in Jake 2.0.

RIGHT. And then he was in Ugly Betty as Henry, an accountant and Betty's sometimes-boyfriend, which wasn't a role with a lot of substance, but whatevs.


So cute!


Wowsa.

After Ugly Betty started to tank, Gorham wisely left the show to star in Harper's Island, which at first seemed really lame but grew on me. I began the series thinking, "Wouldn't it be funny if nice guy Henry (Gorham's character) turned out to be the serial killer?" Haha.


Scary Gorham in Harper's Island. It's a good think he wasn't around when Hitchcock was casting Psycho....

AND NOW he's in Covert Affairs, where he plays Auggie, the blind tech guy (this gives him an excuse to stare broodingly off-camera). The second season starts June 7th and I am totally psyched!!!!11!! Thank god Gorham is in this show, because without him it would be like watching The Bachelorette trying to be a spy, for realz. Here are some more gratuitous pics:




Hmmm, let me get up and walk around my kitchen in the middle of the night for no reason other than to show off my beautiful body. Drink! (What I have to wonder is, why does Auggie have fancy art in his apartment if he's blind? And who picked it out?)


Day mode.


Night mode.

You're welcome!

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Wallander: Faceless Killers

Our favorite pallidly pale detective is back in new episodes of Wallander.  If you don't follow Mystery! (the exclamation mark MUST be included) on PBS religiously, Kurt Wallander is a Swedish inspector who is sad and lonely and grumpy.  What keeps Wallander going?  His daughter and his job--not necessarily in that order.

In Faceless Killers, an old farmer and his wife are murdered.  Before she dies, the farmer's wife whispers something to Wallander, but he doesn't know what it was.  Friend?  Foreigner?  His colleagues leap on the latter, despite Wallander's objections, igniting a spate of hate crime.  Meanwhile, Wallander pursues two other possible leads: the fact that the farmer had a large amount of cash, now missing; and that he had a mistress and son his wife didn't know about.

This was a pretty good episode, although once again the soundtrack is OUT OF CONTROL.  Don't need to be hit over the head with the desolate landscape of Sweden/Wallander, kthanx.  But I do like how Wallander worked his way through the mystery and also the personal journey he goes through in the short course of the 90-ish minutes.

One of the things I found really interesting about this episode was the white horse.  The horse escaped from the farmer's stable when the thieves broke in to search for the money, and appears to Wallander like a vision out of the darkness several times during the course of the episode as it wanders, wild, through the fields. 

White horses are often associated with myth and legend--Odin, for example, rode an eight-legged white horse named Sleipner.  But in this story I think the white horse is more like Captain Ahab's white whale: in one way an unobtainable prize, in another god itself.  For Wallander, the white horse represents the sense of justice that keeps him going and that underpins his dedication to his job (and really his life, since his life is his job).  Throughout the story, Wallander pursues justice for the murdered farmer and his wife, but at what cost?  One large enough to make the justice obtained not worth the pursuit?  When Wallander faces the white horse for the last time, he has his answer.

This is hardly light-hearted television viewing, but it is interesting and well-done, and Kenneth Brannagh is simply brilliant as Wallander.  I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment!

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The Mentalist: Why It's Starting To Annoy Me

<--I'm bored!

I have a particular weakness for mystery shows.  Love them!  Two years ago, The Mentalist was my absolute favorite show on TV.  But after a lackluster second season, and the third season premier this week, I'm starting to think this show is beyond ridiculous.


Why is every episode about rich people?

Honestly, it's bloody bizarre how every. single. episode has a rich person being murdered and/or the suspect.  I guess we're not supposed to be saddened by the bloodthirstiness of Californians because they're so rich?  Or maybe the writers just want to make the show more appealing to foreign markets who've already been conditioned to assume people in California are all wealthy after The O.C. and The Hills (I'm assuming the latter is set in California; I've never actually seen it).

Simon Baker's Wardrobe

Okay, first of all, this is California.  Looking professional doesn't require Oxfords, a jacket, vest, tie, long-sleeved dress shirt, and undershirt.  Why don't you put on a fedora and spats while you're at it?  And second of all, this is California!  I could see all the layers as a sensible fashion choice if you were based in San Francisco, but you go out to the middle of the desert in that getup?  I'm sure.

The emasculation of Patrick Jane

Patrick Jane isn't a "real boy."  He's an asexual Peter Pan zooming around the CBI office and playing tricks on the boring, grown-up pirates while Wendy (aka Lisbon) tries to reign him in.  He has no power (he doesn't even drive when Lisbon's around), drinks tea and dresses like a grandma (if said grandmother was a man, of course).  The only thing Jane (even his name is feminized) has going for him is his quest to seek revenge, bloody revenge! against Red John for killing his family, but that was taken away from him in season two, essentially emasculating the character and rendering him completely useless. 

And let's face it, he's never going to catch Red John.  The writers are going to draaaaag this on forever, because that's what TV writers do.

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North & South

North & South*

I finally gave in to peer pressure and watched North & South, of famed Richard Armitage hotness.  And I have to say--peer pressure can lead to good things!

Margaret Hale is from the south of England, where everything is peaceful and warm.  Then her foolish father gets angry at the new bishop and quits his job.  For some reason, they move to an industrial town in the north of England called Milton (Milltown?), where everything is busy and noisy and people are not very nice.  Margaret is looking for a house to rent, when she sees a cotton mill owner, Mr. Thornton, beat up one of his workers for smoking during his break, then cruelly fires him.  This does not give Margaret a very high opinion of Mr. Thornton--which is too bad, since she sees him everywhere.  Seriously, it's like the guy is stalking her.  And he's very cute, although obviously pig-headed; but still, even though he annoys her, Margaret can't help but feel an itsy bitsy bad every time she gives him the set-down he deserves. 

*dreamy sigh*

I don't want to spoil the plot or anything, but it's basically a rip-off of Pride & Prejudice.  That being said, it's an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable rip-off, mainly because of the walking, talking, breathing SEX that is Richard Armitage.  *fans self*  RAWRL.  He makes this miniseries as Mr. Thornton.  He is such a great actor!  Also, the character of Mr. Thornton is bizarrely similar to the hero of a Lisa Kleypas novel--Derek Craven from Dreaming of You.  It's honestly like Derek went straight from Kleypas' book onto the screen of my TV.  That has never happened to me before, but I like it!  I want moar!

Okay, favorite moments:

• When Margaret is walking through the cotton mill for the first time and the bits of cotton are swirling around her like snow--it's like Alice walking into Wonderland.
• When Mr. Thornton says, "I always knew I wasn't good enough for her, and now I love her more than ever."  Awwwwwww.
• When Margaret is leaving Milton and Mr. Thornton watches her carriage drive away and says, "Look back, look back at me."  I thought my heart was going to break!  Why didn't she look back???
• The train scene! *swoon* *sigh!*

So yes, I've officially become a Crusader for North & South and a total Armitage fangirl.  Everyone who gushed about this miniseries was completely right and I think everyone needs to watch this now!!11!!!!!1!

I also kind of want to read the book.

*Um, go to Amazon and buy this right now, 'kay?

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The Book Group

Tagline:  Sex, drugs, and literature.

I spent most of Sunday watching The Book Group, which aired in the US on Ovation TV a few months ago and originally was broadcast in the UK in 2002/2003 (I think you can still catch it on hulu).  The story centers around Clare, an American who moves to Glasgow for reasons unknown, and the book group she starts in order to meet people and make friends.  The members are Barney, a stuck-up grad student; the instantly likable Kenny, Rab--not sure what he's doing there--Dirka and Fist, who are both Swedish and married to soccer players; and Janice, who is also married to a soccer player but I don't think is Swedish.

When I first started watching the show, the only thing I liked about it were the discussions about books (of course); but luckily there was Kenny, who is really the only likable character on the entire show, to keep me going.  The series reached a turning point when they read a made-up book and the whole thing started focusing more on all the characters sleeping together--or wanting to sleep together--and not really on books at all (although I did LOVE all the shots of people reading, especially the Swedish housewives).

I genuinely liked this very short (12 half-hour episodes total) series.  Although the beginning is a little rough and strays into ridiculousness on occassion in a grab for cheap laughs, by the third or fourth episode I got to know the characters and was entertained by them.  The second season, though, really is funny, with Clare's new boyfriend and her sister arriving in her life to give her more problems.  And speaking of Clare's sister, Jean--when I first met her I thought she was a bit of a shrew, but she quickly became my favorite character, dispensing advice like, "So what if you hurt.  People are sick all over the place; GET OVER IT."

I also liked that the writers made reading seem sexy (they really did) and drew a parallel between all the characters' desire to escape and how reading helped them not only do that, but broaden their outlook and experiences.  This is definitely a good series for bibliophiles to try out!

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Violence=Good?

It seems like lately TV shows (especially sci-fi shows--or maybe that's all I watch) are promoting the idea that violence is good, when used against the proper foe. Or at the very least that non-violence isn't necessarily a good thing.

The most obvious example I can think of is the show V. Here, visitors from another planet are coming in peace. Of course, they're actually lizards and will probably want to start eating humans at some point, but only a handful of people realize that on the show. Everyone else is copacetic with the aliens visiting earth (rather unrealistic, in my opinion) and wants to peacefully accept them. The point of the show seems to be:

1. People who preach peace and non-violence are not to be trusted, and
2. A non-military response to outside threats is a bad idea.

Hmmmm. I do really enjoy this show, but I wonder about the subtext sometimes.



Another TV show I noticed this on was Alice on Syfy (why didn't they spell it Alyc?). The Queen of Hearts lives in a casino and feeds off the emotions of the real-world people whom she kidnaps and forces to gamble. Gah, what a plot. In any case, the Queen only wants happy, pleasing emotions--other emotions like violence, fear, etc., are verböten. So what does Alice do to make the Queen's kingdom crumble? If you answered shoot up the casino and threaten everyone's lives until they snap out of it, then you probably watched the show.

Thus, the theme to Alice seems to be that negative emotions are actually good; and doing things like firing randomly into a crowd is really not that bad of an idea. In the end, the violence in Alice seemed to have only positive consequences, and rebellion to overthrow the Queen (for no reason I can see, to be honest) is heroicized.


Do you agree that violence is being presented in a more positive light on TV these days, or am I just a psycho? Wait, maybe don't answer that last part.

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Collision

As if I wasn't paranoid enough about getting into a car accident, Collision did a good job of convincing me that every single person on the road except for me is FREAKING INSANE and not to be trusted.

Collision, which aired on Masterpiece Contemporary the last two weeks, takes us into the fascinating world of... a traffic accident. Yeah, I didn't exactly find the premise gripping, either. But Ruth from Booktalk & More assured me that it was really good (check out her review), so I decided to give it a run on the ol' DVR. And, as usual, she was right!

Okay, so here's the run-down: a bunch of cars are in this huge pile up on the A-something-or-other, which I'm guessing is like the British version of an interstate. And every single person in this crash has something suspicious going on in their lives, and half of the people are murdered! It might even be a higher percentage than that. And yummy yummy Douglas Henshall (oh, Cutter, I missed you so {{{hugs}}}) has to sort through all this crap to find out what caused the accident, and meanwhile his ex-luvah is in charge, and his boss keeps going, "Why haven't you solved this thing yet??? You only have one more day!"

Usually the multiple-storylines-thing annoys me, but somehow Collision managed to completely suck me into all the characters' lives. I think the pacing of the revelations about their lives had a lot to do with it--the idea that all of these people have progressively bigger secrets is patently ridiculous, but I loved learning about them, and was completely willing to suspend any disbelief.

I'm not going to go through all the characters' storylines, but I do want to recount my favorite, which involved a young woman named Jane Tarrant. Jane works at the gas station, but longs for bigger and better things. Yet how can she break out of her rut? After the crash, a rich old guy (well, older) comes into the gas stop and starts crushing on Jane. Then he asks her out for a drink, and btw he's married, and oh haha Jane's actually engaged to some bloke who wants to get married in a pub (uhg). But why don't you go to this art exhibition with me, baby? Wellll, let's just say, he's rich and he loves art. *fans self* Of course, it's Kandinsky, but hey, I can put up with that. And so, apparently, can Jane, who agrees to go to Paris with him, breaks up with her fiance, and quits her job. But will Richy Richard leave his wife for a gas station employee? Oh please oh please say yes, because that would be totally cool.

Um, anyway. Aside from that guy, the other men in this show are NOT SMOOTH. Henshall trying to get back together with his ex-luvahrrrr was totally awkward. Despite that, though, I highly recommend this show. And I believe you can still watch it online at PBS.com.

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