Pop Culture Meanderings, 5/12/10
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 09:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoJust when I am short on funds, the completed series of MTV's Daria is released on DVD. Daria, like The X-Files and Star Trek: The Next Generation, was one of the few geeky bright spots during my high school years. (Jezebel has a wonderful write-up on it here, along with a requisite, poorly recorded YouTube clip.) I was never as sarcastic as Daria, and I couldn't master her almost emotionless facade, but I was so happy to find a kindred spirit on the airwaves that I didn't care. Her high school was filled with stereotypes that I encountered on a fairly regular basis in my own school experience (particularly the brainless cheerleaders and jocks, who would try to get me to do their work during science labs) and her running commentary on the situations she was faced with were nothing short of brilliant. Given that my own mental running commentary could never be spoken aloud (to speak aloud in a bad situation was to be noticed, something I desperately wanted to avoid), watching Daria do it was a thing of beauty. I was lucky that like Daria, I had several great friends who made it bearable. My Jane Lane's were just as geeky as I was, and there was great comfort in being able to talk to them about anything and everything. But Daria was like the friend I didn't have, and seeing her on TV was just as comforting as my real life friends. Somewhere out there, I thought, there is someone who writes and thinks like me, too, and I will meet them one day. High school may be receding in the rear-view mirror of "Thank God that's over" but my fondness for this series will not.
Speaking of geeky goodness, last night's "Lost" was... odd. A hugely mythological origin story, but riddled with confusing non-answers and strange associations. I wanted to like it, because there were a lot of interesting details and a ton of Biblical references. But, mostly, I kept thinking of the writers' insistence at Comic Con several years ago that there was a scientific explanation for everything involved with/happening on the Island. Last night's episode was not scientific in the slightest, and proves that this comment was made before they knew how the series would end. I don't begrudge them not knowing their end game, but this sort of thing sets up weird expectations for me. Anyway, we're down to just two episodes (is it two or one?) before the finale, so I sincerely hope that as many loose ends as possible get tied up before the end.
Finally, in more geeky goodness, and thanks to some friends with cable and some friends who know all the best places on the internet, I've caught up on the new season of Doctor Who! And I love it! It's so much fun! I should say here that I didn't go in expecting a lot one way or another. Given that I didn't see the older seasons as a kid, I wasn't sure how to handle the idea of watching an entirely new actor playing the same character I knew and loved. Add to this the brouhaha surrounding the casting... I will admit, I was a little wary of the whole thing. But Matt Smith won me over quite quickly, as did Karen Gillan. Smith brings a manic energy tempered by a deep-rooted rage that he must battle the same demons and monsters over and over again. Gillan is a good mix of independent, curious, and vulnerable. I like their chemistry quite a bit, and look forward to seeing it play out over the rest of the season. I am somewhat less impressed with the writing so far. It lacks a lot of subtlety, particularly the second episode with the starwhale. (Which was a great creature--just that the circumstances surrounding its entrapment were very, very contrived and seemed to exist only to present the Doctor and Amy with a moral dilemma.) I did like Episode 3 a bit more, if only because the Doctor bluffed the Daleks with a jelly donut, a moment of genuine hilarity! Spitfires in space, though... uhm, what? Neither of these devices (the trapped, kindly space creature, and the trapped, evil space creatures) were especially well-supported by either plot, and didn't have much effect on me one way or another.
Fortunately, the series seems to have hit its stride more competently with "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", which had truly frightening moments, and also River Song. The River Song plot, which seems like it will be explored more fully over the season, has the potential to be awesome, or to be terrible, but I can't tell which way it will go yet. Instead of worrying about that, however, I was far more worried about those frikkin' stone angels! Jebus, those things are creepy. Although the ending felt a little rushed, the character development and menace of the rest of the episodes were well worth it.
Up next: "Vampires in Venice"! It looks like cheesy fun!
Speaking of geeky goodness, last night's "Lost" was... odd. A hugely mythological origin story, but riddled with confusing non-answers and strange associations. I wanted to like it, because there were a lot of interesting details and a ton of Biblical references. But, mostly, I kept thinking of the writers' insistence at Comic Con several years ago that there was a scientific explanation for everything involved with/happening on the Island. Last night's episode was not scientific in the slightest, and proves that this comment was made before they knew how the series would end. I don't begrudge them not knowing their end game, but this sort of thing sets up weird expectations for me. Anyway, we're down to just two episodes (is it two or one?) before the finale, so I sincerely hope that as many loose ends as possible get tied up before the end.
Finally, in more geeky goodness, and thanks to some friends with cable and some friends who know all the best places on the internet, I've caught up on the new season of Doctor Who! And I love it! It's so much fun! I should say here that I didn't go in expecting a lot one way or another. Given that I didn't see the older seasons as a kid, I wasn't sure how to handle the idea of watching an entirely new actor playing the same character I knew and loved. Add to this the brouhaha surrounding the casting... I will admit, I was a little wary of the whole thing. But Matt Smith won me over quite quickly, as did Karen Gillan. Smith brings a manic energy tempered by a deep-rooted rage that he must battle the same demons and monsters over and over again. Gillan is a good mix of independent, curious, and vulnerable. I like their chemistry quite a bit, and look forward to seeing it play out over the rest of the season. I am somewhat less impressed with the writing so far. It lacks a lot of subtlety, particularly the second episode with the starwhale. (Which was a great creature--just that the circumstances surrounding its entrapment were very, very contrived and seemed to exist only to present the Doctor and Amy with a moral dilemma.) I did like Episode 3 a bit more, if only because the Doctor bluffed the Daleks with a jelly donut, a moment of genuine hilarity! Spitfires in space, though... uhm, what? Neither of these devices (the trapped, kindly space creature, and the trapped, evil space creatures) were especially well-supported by either plot, and didn't have much effect on me one way or another.
Fortunately, the series seems to have hit its stride more competently with "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", which had truly frightening moments, and also River Song. The River Song plot, which seems like it will be explored more fully over the season, has the potential to be awesome, or to be terrible, but I can't tell which way it will go yet. Instead of worrying about that, however, I was far more worried about those frikkin' stone angels! Jebus, those things are creepy. Although the ending felt a little rushed, the character development and menace of the rest of the episodes were well worth it.
Up next: "Vampires in Venice"! It looks like cheesy fun!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 04:53 pm (UTC)Also yeah, Lost took a hard left last night. I'm not sure I like the origin of the conflict between Smokey and Jacob played out like a Goofus and Gallant strip...
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 04:55 pm (UTC)Ahahaha! :D Yeah, it sure had that flavor, didn't it? Except that I've never seen Goofus and Gallant tackle the ethical implications of murder. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:46 pm (UTC)You are made of awesome and win, did you know that? :)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 05:04 pm (UTC)The Weeping Angels are *creepy* as all hell. Vampires in Venice was okay, except for a couple of REALLY glaring plot holes. As I saw someone else post on a review, though, it wouldn't be Doctor Who without at least three giant plot holes!
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-13 02:22 am (UTC)Yeah, C likes the colors. To be honest, I kinda liked them too ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-13 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:49 pm (UTC)In a side note, I tried to persuade my friend E. and her boyfriend to go as Daria and Trent for Halloween last year. They ended up not doing anything, and I was sad, because they look so similar (to the characters, obviously)!
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:47 pm (UTC)I do feel like this season of Doctor Who is taking a while to find it's feet, writing-wise. Which is not what I would have expected from a Moffat's first season, but I'm still having a lot of fun watching.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:51 pm (UTC)