teevee talk because i have actually been following shows lately

[riseupwithfists]

Because I swear I can talk about something other than comics once in a blue moon:



1. Community: So I've been informed by multiple parties that I should pretend that the season finale doesn't exist, so I'm going to go right on ahead and do that. Romance is nearly always my least favorite part of any media, anyway. Especially genre shows - let's face it, the Sawyer/Jack/Kate love triangle pretty much killed my interest in the show. I think it's partly because there's a 99.9 percent chance that the romance will be restrictively heteronormative and my desire to not have to think about that sort of universe when I'm trying to just be entertained.

And I can actually bear Jeff when he and Britta are being friends and egging each other on to do stupid shit together, but if that's going to be backburnered in favor of the usual sitcom romance bullshit then I might start having to edit them out of my episodes in the second season, because life is just too short, you know?

So instead of ranting for three pages about how modern day television enrages me and how I already miss Justin Suarez (BECAUSE I DO): more friendship antics, less romance bullshit.

2. Treme:
I love this show so much that I can't really even talk about it. It's just fabulous and I love the music and the pacing and how can people say that there's nothing going on in this show? It's chock-full of happenings! The ladies are all fierce as hell, too, and did I mention the music? I had this problem with The Wire, too, where my fannishness for it somehow transcended fandom, if that makes any sense? Anyway, I am happily along for the ride here.

The one thing that bothers me, and it is a big thing: this show is taking pains to portray the artistic culture of New Orleans. How come our only hint that there might be a queer community comes in the form of the "gentrifying" white gay couple who are eventually won over by Davis' douchebag antics? That shit, it ain't right. To be completely and utterly blunt here, where the hell are the drag queens? I'm a queer Southerner with some pretty basic knowledge of the queer South, and a New Orleans with a dequeered culture is... just not New Orleans to me. At all. It's the same sort of basic wrongness that made me so pissed off about Aaron Sorkin's completely homo-free show business community in Studio 60. WHY DO YOU MAKE US HATE YOU, AARON?

(Oh man, don't get me started on Aaron Sorkin, actually. His recent editorial in which he stuck his nose into the Newsweek thing and lectured us all on basically wanting out queer role models on our televisions was... special.)

Also, I'm worried about how... true to life the plot trajectory of the busker couple is going to be. And I think elaboration on that could be a massive spoiler, and possibly an incorrect one, so I'll say nothing more on that subject.

Also also, I hope that it becomes more evident that Davis is supposed to be just a jackass instead of a lovable jackass, because he is a generally awful person.

3. Doctor Who: This show has never captivated me before now - I glutted myself on selected greatest hits of the Tenth Doctor a couple of weeks ago when I had insomnia and couldn't look at AiS for one moment longer: Blink! Silence in the Library! (Holy shit, River Song is so hot that I really cannot deal. I totally had a crush on her when she was on ER and I was a baby gay.) Right now I'm currently blasting my way through the new season and I don't know if it's in my head but the writing seems a hell of a lot sharper, the cheesiness factor taken down a notch but not in favor of being Darker and Edgier, thank goodness, and at times it's genuinely frightening (I know I'm totally late to the party on this, but BLINK HOLY SHIT and then it's recent two-parter follow-up, which is totally the Aliens to Blink's Alien). Whereas Tennant was often a bit too grating in his manic energy, Matt Smith is that perfect mix of badass competence, faily adorkability, and compassion that is apparently everything that I want the Doctor to be. It's generally non-faily, it's brisk and funny and fun, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

I'm not entirely thrilled by the Amy/Doctor weird maybe UST, but not overly bothered by it, either, and Rory is adorable and needs to hang around more. And, okay, if wanting Doctor/Amy/Rory is wrong, THEN I DON'T WANNA BE RIGHT. Please tell me there's some out there, because Rory's totally crushin' on that just as much as Amy, he just doesn't want to admit it.

I would kill for a fic where Bart's a Companion. Or Kara. OR JAIME AS A COMPANION AW SHIT I JUST LOST THE GAME.


And now, a meme, since I don't know if I've done a DW icon meme yet: Reply to this post, and I will tell you my favorite icon of yours. Then post this to your own journal using your own favorite icon. I'm an indecisive soul, so it'll probably be more like three, so.

ETA: Also, I'm sort of going on a subscribing spree, so if you've left an interesting comment either here or in a friend's journal and I like the cut of your jib, I'm being a creeper and adding you. I am KATE. I write fic and slightly self-righteous meta, usually about comics. I also enjoy salmon.

Comments

[dingsi]

Please tell me there's some out there

Hey, if you find (or get recced) any good fic, will you tell us about it in your journal? Because I'd be interested.

Also, I'm curious re: icons. (If you want me to pick one of yours in return, just say so. Or sign up at my meme post? You know. Whatever suits you best.)

[riseupwithfists]

I've done some perfunctory looking out there and there doesn't even seem to be that much Eleventh Doctor fic in general yet, or maybe I haven't found the right places to look. I will definitely shout it far and wide if I find anything of notice.

Ooo, I think I have to pick this one because I've been having fits of major BSG nostalgia lately and this icon never fails to make me smile for some reason. Oh Baltar.

[dingsi]

THIS IS SRS POLITICS *snore*

... yeah.

I was afraid of watching the show til the end. I stopped somewhere mid-S3. :/

[riseupwithfists]

Ahaha, yeah, I neglected to add that the nostalgia only lasts until the end of Season Two, as I totally stopped watching there.

[ailelie]

...And I just lost the game. Thanks.

Yes-- Matt Smith is an awesome Doctor. Despite being so young, he portrays age really well. Plus? He gets along with Rory which is awesome.

I liked the Community finale in parts and hated it in others. It is worth watching, if only to contrast how much Jeff has changed from the first episode. As for the Britta plot line-- I mentally wrote Jeff out of it. Still not great, but better than the other option. I want to say more, but if you've not watched it yet... bleh. Anyway. Enjoy.

Oh and I'm here via network.

[riseupwithfists]

I am *sure* that I'll end up eventually watching the Community finale because it'll be a long, hot summer and I'll eventually give into the temptation. At least I've been warned?

Welcome, btw. :)

[eisen]

I haven't even watched anything other than vids for Eleven's run yet (I got burned by Ten so hard :| I need to work up to dealing with Doctors that aren't Five or Nine again!) but I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT EITHER.

Also do my icons!

[riseupwithfists]

I... am very lucky that I haven't seen that much Ten, aren't I? I'm sort of pretending that there hasn't been any show before this one; we'll see how that goes.

Oooo, your icons are all absolutely gorgeous so this is hard. I suppose... your current default, because it's beautiful and makes me feel.. idk, like spring will never end or something.

[ex_troublesteady667]

HI!

Treme is a beautiful thing of beauty, and turns me into a giggly high-pitched David Simon fangirl. To all the people who say nothing happens there: you probably said the same about The Wire and Generation Kill, didn't you. Re: the queerness, I am very much hoping it gets better -- by which I mean more pronounced -- as the show progresses. I need to believe that David Simon's life quote of writing queer characters wasn't met by Kima, Omar and Bayliss.

Anyway, that is me, and I'm extremely glad you subscribed to my journal because that way I get to meet you! And you seem like a really awesome person. Like: way awesome.

[riseupwithfists]

Hi there!

I've also been reading a lot of criticism that there is too much music in the show, which just makes me sputter in outrage. THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT, PEOPLE. I personally think that there should be *more* music. I'm hoping that the queerness gets better, too. I know that it's still early days, but the whole "Davis torments his gay neighbors and then they become friends!" storyline just rubbed me the wrong way and it seemed out of character with how The Wire handled similar material.

Ahaha, I am not really that awesome, but am totally flattered that you think so.

[msilverstar]

I'm not terribly thrilled with the new Doctor, he's just too young and whitebread for me.

But I've caught two episodes of Treme so far, and I'm in LOVE. There are lots of people, and things happen, and they are neither all good nor all bad. And it's not the music by itself, it's the way the music moves people that gets to me. I may have to subscribe to HBO. I wanted to just buy the episodes but they aren't doing it like that, so it's subscribe or pirate :-(

[riseupwithfists]

Yes! The show is really hitting me in all the right nostalgic places when it comes to music, because I can remember when it was just as strongly in my blood and I felt like a part of it all. I haven't felt like that in a while, sadly, but it's really nice and refreshing to see it expressed somewhere in the media, because it's so well done.

[dancesontrains]

HI!

Like a few other people, I just can't make myself watch Eleven's run (or...anything Who related at all recently) as I really wanted someone not white or male to have the top job, and I'm just tired of the bullshit genre (or all?) tv/film pulls wrt. female and poc and queer characters, far too tired to bother with Moffat after RTD even for MOTHERFUCKING RIVER SONG. (Almost everyone in fandom hates her.) So you'll be getting nothing but silence or exhausted bile from me about the franchise for a while :|

[riseupwithfists]

Hi as well!

Well, luckily I don't see myself posting a lot about DW (I am baffled but sadly not surprised re: the River Song hate). Personally I haven't been able to watch television without spitting in quite a while, and I tend to be hypercritical of the television I watch, so I'm not sure why it hasn't pushed any of my buttons yet. It may well in the future, however, so thanks for the heads-up.

[musesfool]

I am LOVING "Treme" so far, especially Toni and Ladonna. And I really hope that's not where they're going with Sonny and Annie, even though I would be happy to never see Sonny again.

[riseupwithfists]

Ladonna has my fucking *heart*.

I really hope not as well, though it seems increasingly obvious that something bad is going to go down. Sonny and Davis are on my shitlist, for sure, and I wouldn't shed a tear if someone dropped a house on them next episode.

[gloss]

Icon me?

<3

[riseupwithfists]

It's hard to pick for you because I, like, automatically love all of your icons! Out of the ones I've seen before, I heart this one and MAGIC LAP OF MAGIC, ALWAYS AND FOREVER. Out of your newer ones, I am so digging on this one because she is a cuuuutiepie.

[gloss]

The magic lap of magic is quite magical! IT MAKES LITTLE BOYS INTO QUEENS ROBINS.

*eee*, Dubby is so damn cute, it *hurts*.

Thank you!

[mona]

You are making me very interested in Treme, even though this is the first I'm hearing of it! Also,

(Oh man, don't get me started on Aaron Sorkin, actually. His recent editorial in which he stuck his nose into the Newsweek thing and lectured us all on basically wanting out queer role models on our televisions was... special.)

FUCK YOU AARON SORKIN.

And I am pretty sure I've mentioned this to you in the past, but I really, really love knowing that I'm not the only one who will do anything in my power to get away from heteronormativity on the teevee. And who gets really, really upset when it becomes impossible to escape, for so MANY reasons but particularly the most visceral (that I feel completely shut out from it). I mean, I am an honest-to-god romantic, it was ages before I could even read gen or ensemble fic because I was so fixated on shippy shippy shippiness and soap operas and truuuue looove. But I grew up HATING ALL ROMANCE in mainstream fiction purely because heterosexuality was this experience that was so alien to me (like, long before I figured out I was queer, I just knew I wasn't straight), this element of characters and how they engaged with the rest of the world that I found so distancing. IT'S PRETTY MUCH WHY I SLASH/AM IN FANDOM AT ALL so yeah. :D This is a long way of saying: the Jeff/Annie shippers can make me angry, Dan Harmon's understanding of why Jeff/Annie should happen makes me apoplectic, but I find it so relieving that I have a fellow Jeff/Britta antishipper who dislikes it not because Britta stands in the way of a ship or doesn't ~deserve~ Jeff, but because EUGHHH TAKE YOUR ENFORCED HETERONORMATIVITY AWAY FROM MEEE.

Ahahaha I can't say any more on Community or I'll start ranting again. But! <333

[riseupwithfists]

Oh, Treme is GORGEOUS. It's a different sort of show from The Wire, but I have so much confidence in the team behind this that I'm willing to be patient and let them work a few of the more problematic kinks out (and there really aren't that many of them compared to other shows!). It's... it's more of an experience than a narrative to me, if that makes any sense. I love just sitting back every week and watching the music happen. As a former Southerner and former music geek (which should have been painfully obvious by the way that AiS is practically a musical), it really appeals to me on some sort of deep, almost unconscious level.

re: your Community thoughts: ABSOLUTELY. I mean, I think it says a lot about the show that it isn't enough to drive me away from it forever? But it's definitely the least interesting aspect of the plot for me. And yes, I will happily rant about heteronormativity any time of the day, lol.