I don't think I've been taking nearly enough stupid quizzes lately, do you?
Congratulations, you're Washington, DC., the capitol of the United States.
What US city are you? Take the quiz by Girlwithagun.
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Depresso-Trek
So, I got in touch with some friends today to see if they were interested in going to see Star Trek: Nemesis this weekend, and for the most part the reaction was decidedly lukewarm. (Towards the movie that is, not towards the idea of going to the movies with me. I hope!) And I have to say, I can understand this. It's really kind of sad, though. When I was young, there was very little that was more exciting than a new Trek movie. I'd wait with quivering enthusiasm for the movie to come out, rush out to see it on opening night, and then most likely go back three or four times to see it again. And for pretty much everyone I knew (being as I always have run with an exceedingly geeky crowd), it wasn't a question of if you were going to see the new Star Trek movie, but only of when. And now my friends are like, "eh," and I don't really blame them, because, even though the previews look pretty cool, my own reaction is mostly something along the lines of, "Gee, I really hope it doesn't suck."
I fear the time of Star Trek is past.
The thing is, I remember when Trek was it. The first week I was in college, an upperclassman cheerfully told me, "Star Trek is the closest thing we have to an organized religion around here." (Well, it was a tech school.) And it was true. Everything on campus would come to a complete standstill on Saturday afternoons when Star Trek: The Next Generation was on, and everyone would be talking about the episode the next day. And I, I was the Trekkie Queen. Which, given that this was a tech school, was actually an extremely cool thing to be. Complete strangers would walk up to me and ask me Trek trivia questions. Large groups of people would show up in my dorm room to watch TNG, because they absolutely knew that I'd be there and that it would be on. I had a rep. Star Trek was cool. I was cool (again, for the tech school defenition of "cool"). Life was good.
But eventually something happened. I'm not sure if it's that Star Trek got lamer or just that we got older -- probably a combination of both -- but either way, it's really pretty depressing. Today, Star Trek is passe. It's old hat. Something it's mildly embarrassing to still be into. And I, the former Trekkie Queen... find it difficult to disagree. For one thing, there's just nothing exciting about new Star Trek any more. There's too damned much of it on TV already, and very little of it is worth paying much attention to. That's been the case since Deep Space 9 went off the air, and, face it, comparatively few people watched Deep Space 9 anyway. Casual viewers found it hard to get into, and the geeks were busy deserting Star Trek for Babylon 5.
The franchise has become watered-down and over-extended, a pale shadow of its former self. Part of me -- a rather large part -- wishes they'd just stopped making it years ago, so I could at least remember it with fond, happy nostalgia. As it is, it's far too much like watching someone you love descending into senility. Oh, Enterprise does show occasional moments of lucidity, but somehow those just make it all the more painful when it once again starts repeating the same rambling, pointless stories we've already heard a million times and which it will have forgotten all about telling us again by next week.
I'd like to console myself with the thought that the reason Star Trek no longer enraptures me as it once did is that the quality of science fiction TV has increased greatly in the meantime, thus raising my expectations and standards. And that is true. Many great shows have come along in the last few years and done new things, innovative things, things that bring a freshness the over-mined Trek universe can no longer provide. But I look at the high-quality, standards-elevating shows that are on the air right now, and I can't help but notice a trend. Farscape: cancelled. Firefly: teetering on the edge of cancellation after a bare handful of episodes. Buffy: highly successful, but unlikely to last another season. Gee, somehow, that all just completely fails to comfort.
I'm really hoping that Nemesis doesn't suck. It looks to be the last Next Gen movie, and, unlike the Trek franchise in general, I'd really like to see them go out with a bang, rather than a whimper.
Please?
So, I got in touch with some friends today to see if they were interested in going to see Star Trek: Nemesis this weekend, and for the most part the reaction was decidedly lukewarm. (Towards the movie that is, not towards the idea of going to the movies with me. I hope!) And I have to say, I can understand this. It's really kind of sad, though. When I was young, there was very little that was more exciting than a new Trek movie. I'd wait with quivering enthusiasm for the movie to come out, rush out to see it on opening night, and then most likely go back three or four times to see it again. And for pretty much everyone I knew (being as I always have run with an exceedingly geeky crowd), it wasn't a question of if you were going to see the new Star Trek movie, but only of when. And now my friends are like, "eh," and I don't really blame them, because, even though the previews look pretty cool, my own reaction is mostly something along the lines of, "Gee, I really hope it doesn't suck."
I fear the time of Star Trek is past.
The thing is, I remember when Trek was it. The first week I was in college, an upperclassman cheerfully told me, "Star Trek is the closest thing we have to an organized religion around here." (Well, it was a tech school.) And it was true. Everything on campus would come to a complete standstill on Saturday afternoons when Star Trek: The Next Generation was on, and everyone would be talking about the episode the next day. And I, I was the Trekkie Queen. Which, given that this was a tech school, was actually an extremely cool thing to be. Complete strangers would walk up to me and ask me Trek trivia questions. Large groups of people would show up in my dorm room to watch TNG, because they absolutely knew that I'd be there and that it would be on. I had a rep. Star Trek was cool. I was cool (again, for the tech school defenition of "cool"). Life was good.
But eventually something happened. I'm not sure if it's that Star Trek got lamer or just that we got older -- probably a combination of both -- but either way, it's really pretty depressing. Today, Star Trek is passe. It's old hat. Something it's mildly embarrassing to still be into. And I, the former Trekkie Queen... find it difficult to disagree. For one thing, there's just nothing exciting about new Star Trek any more. There's too damned much of it on TV already, and very little of it is worth paying much attention to. That's been the case since Deep Space 9 went off the air, and, face it, comparatively few people watched Deep Space 9 anyway. Casual viewers found it hard to get into, and the geeks were busy deserting Star Trek for Babylon 5.
The franchise has become watered-down and over-extended, a pale shadow of its former self. Part of me -- a rather large part -- wishes they'd just stopped making it years ago, so I could at least remember it with fond, happy nostalgia. As it is, it's far too much like watching someone you love descending into senility. Oh, Enterprise does show occasional moments of lucidity, but somehow those just make it all the more painful when it once again starts repeating the same rambling, pointless stories we've already heard a million times and which it will have forgotten all about telling us again by next week.
I'd like to console myself with the thought that the reason Star Trek no longer enraptures me as it once did is that the quality of science fiction TV has increased greatly in the meantime, thus raising my expectations and standards. And that is true. Many great shows have come along in the last few years and done new things, innovative things, things that bring a freshness the over-mined Trek universe can no longer provide. But I look at the high-quality, standards-elevating shows that are on the air right now, and I can't help but notice a trend. Farscape: cancelled. Firefly: teetering on the edge of cancellation after a bare handful of episodes. Buffy: highly successful, but unlikely to last another season. Gee, somehow, that all just completely fails to comfort.
I'm really hoping that Nemesis doesn't suck. It looks to be the last Next Gen movie, and, unlike the Trek franchise in general, I'd really like to see them go out with a bang, rather than a whimper.
Please?
And in Business News...
Apparently Viacom (which, among other things, holds the rights to all the Star Trek series), has expressed an interest in buying the Sci-Fi Channel, or possibly even in launching their own science fiction-oriented cable network. (Though the latter may be just a bit of wild speculation; it seems there was an article in Variety discussing the possibility, but you've got to be a subscriber to read most of it.)
You think maybe they'd actually be interested in putting science fiction on the Sci-Fi Channel if they got it? Personally, I think it sounds like a hopeful possibility. They certainly couldn't make it any worse...
Apparently Viacom (which, among other things, holds the rights to all the Star Trek series), has expressed an interest in buying the Sci-Fi Channel, or possibly even in launching their own science fiction-oriented cable network. (Though the latter may be just a bit of wild speculation; it seems there was an article in Variety discussing the possibility, but you've got to be a subscriber to read most of it.)
You think maybe they'd actually be interested in putting science fiction on the Sci-Fi Channel if they got it? Personally, I think it sounds like a hopeful possibility. They certainly couldn't make it any worse...
"Good Morning" Is an Oxymoron
Tell me, why is it that no matter how much sleep I've actually had, even if I went to bed at 9:30 (as I did last night), it still takes a near-heroic act of will for me to haul my ass out of bed at 6:45 AM? Well, no, don't answer that. I know the reason: circadian rhythms, low body temperature, the fact that I just seem to be genetically predisposed to be a night person. Which is actually pretty handy when I'm working night shift; unlike most of my co-workers, I seldom have any problems sleeping during the daylight hours. But sometimes I really, really envy those damned morning people. The entire world seems to be geared towards them, have you noticed that?
Pardon me. I must go and inhale some more coffee now.
Tell me, why is it that no matter how much sleep I've actually had, even if I went to bed at 9:30 (as I did last night), it still takes a near-heroic act of will for me to haul my ass out of bed at 6:45 AM? Well, no, don't answer that. I know the reason: circadian rhythms, low body temperature, the fact that I just seem to be genetically predisposed to be a night person. Which is actually pretty handy when I'm working night shift; unlike most of my co-workers, I seldom have any problems sleeping during the daylight hours. But sometimes I really, really envy those damned morning people. The entire world seems to be geared towards them, have you noticed that?
Pardon me. I must go and inhale some more coffee now.
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Improve Your Pop-Cultural Literacy
Here's another really cool site I just stumbled across, which should provide you with hours of entertaining link-clicking (at least, if you're as easily amused as I am): Pop Culture Junk Mail. Because, you know, there's not nearly enough pop culture junk on this blog.
Among other things, I now know which Seasame Street Muppet character's Dark Secret I am, which I suppose is a good thing:
Which Sesame Street Muppet's Dark Secret Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Here's another really cool site I just stumbled across, which should provide you with hours of entertaining link-clicking (at least, if you're as easily amused as I am): Pop Culture Junk Mail. Because, you know, there's not nearly enough pop culture junk on this blog.
Among other things, I now know which Seasame Street Muppet character's Dark Secret I am, which I suppose is a good thing:
Which Sesame Street Muppet's Dark Secret Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Back to Buffy
Thanks to my good friend Greta (the Buffy goddess), who continues to send me tapes to feed my newest addiction, I am now pretty much caught up through season 4 of Buffy. Just got through the big climactic fight where they finally kick the bad guy's butt last night (after yet another marathon Buffy-watching session -- you can't watch just one!). I gather there's one more episode after that, but I'm not sure If I've got that one on tape or not. Never mind. I figure I've seen enough to have a pretty good handle on the fourth season, and to tide me over until it finally comes out on DVD.
And I find that I have somewhat mixed feelings about it, actually. In terms of the character drama, it was excellent. I mean, if nothing else, you have to have a heart of stone not to ache for poor lil' Willow a time or two in there, and there were all kinds of interesting characterization shifts as Our Heroes adjusted to college life and the sudden onrush of adulthood. It's great stuff, and I was very caught up in it.
On the other hand... Xander has a line in there, somewhere toward the end of the season: "Is anybody but me missing the Mayor?" Truth is, yeah, I have been. The 4th season's Big Bad, Adam, is an interesting character, and very well-acted, but he lacks the sheer presence of earlier villains like the Mayor and the Master, not to mention their quirky sense of humor. I also never felt that his motives and personality were quite as well-defined as they should have been, though it's quite possible that I missed something in the few episodes I haven't seen which would have provided that for me. The climactic battle, while probably unmatched for sheer body count, wasn't nearly as cool as the 3rd season's "Graduation," either... Although it tries, it just isn't quite up to the same level in terms of emotional resonance, or even sheer adrenal quality. And the whole concept of the "Initiative," while interesting to begin with, began to get a bit tiresome by the end of the season, possibly due to the fact that it just felt a bit to X-Files-ish. On the other hand, the idea of implanting an anti-violence chip in Spike's head was just brilliant (and makes me wonder anew if Joss Whedon is a Blake's 7 fan, since that show featured almost exactly the same gadget implanted in the brain of one of the main chracters). Spike's a great, funny character, and it's nice to have an excuse for him to hang around and actually help out the good guys on a semi-regular basis. Also, we got to see Giles singing, which in itself is almost enough to make the season shine for me.
My next Buffy-related project is to get myself caught up on the 7th season as much as possible. I'm getting a bit tired of perpetually being far behind the rest of the universe in my Buffy-watching!
Oh, and apparently the 3rd season DVDs will be out in a scant few weeks. It may be time to place a pre-order...
Thanks to my good friend Greta (the Buffy goddess), who continues to send me tapes to feed my newest addiction, I am now pretty much caught up through season 4 of Buffy. Just got through the big climactic fight where they finally kick the bad guy's butt last night (after yet another marathon Buffy-watching session -- you can't watch just one!). I gather there's one more episode after that, but I'm not sure If I've got that one on tape or not. Never mind. I figure I've seen enough to have a pretty good handle on the fourth season, and to tide me over until it finally comes out on DVD.
And I find that I have somewhat mixed feelings about it, actually. In terms of the character drama, it was excellent. I mean, if nothing else, you have to have a heart of stone not to ache for poor lil' Willow a time or two in there, and there were all kinds of interesting characterization shifts as Our Heroes adjusted to college life and the sudden onrush of adulthood. It's great stuff, and I was very caught up in it.
On the other hand... Xander has a line in there, somewhere toward the end of the season: "Is anybody but me missing the Mayor?" Truth is, yeah, I have been. The 4th season's Big Bad, Adam, is an interesting character, and very well-acted, but he lacks the sheer presence of earlier villains like the Mayor and the Master, not to mention their quirky sense of humor. I also never felt that his motives and personality were quite as well-defined as they should have been, though it's quite possible that I missed something in the few episodes I haven't seen which would have provided that for me. The climactic battle, while probably unmatched for sheer body count, wasn't nearly as cool as the 3rd season's "Graduation," either... Although it tries, it just isn't quite up to the same level in terms of emotional resonance, or even sheer adrenal quality. And the whole concept of the "Initiative," while interesting to begin with, began to get a bit tiresome by the end of the season, possibly due to the fact that it just felt a bit to X-Files-ish. On the other hand, the idea of implanting an anti-violence chip in Spike's head was just brilliant (and makes me wonder anew if Joss Whedon is a Blake's 7 fan, since that show featured almost exactly the same gadget implanted in the brain of one of the main chracters). Spike's a great, funny character, and it's nice to have an excuse for him to hang around and actually help out the good guys on a semi-regular basis. Also, we got to see Giles singing, which in itself is almost enough to make the season shine for me.
My next Buffy-related project is to get myself caught up on the 7th season as much as possible. I'm getting a bit tired of perpetually being far behind the rest of the universe in my Buffy-watching!
Oh, and apparently the 3rd season DVDs will be out in a scant few weeks. It may be time to place a pre-order...
Sunday, December 08, 2002
You Gotta Laugh...
OK, I just have to post a link here to Tachyon TV, which has to be the single funniest website devoted to science fiction TV I've ever seen. (You gotta love those Brits and their wacky sense of humor!) Favorite items from the current issue: the breaking news item informing us that "The 'thank you for your continued support' letter sent by the Sci-Fi channel to fans of Farscape has won the Best New Fiction category at this year's Saturn Award" and the spoiler blurb for Firefly ("Who cares - it'll be cancelled next week anyway"). Not the mention the sad news about the death of William Hartnell...
OK, I just have to post a link here to Tachyon TV, which has to be the single funniest website devoted to science fiction TV I've ever seen. (You gotta love those Brits and their wacky sense of humor!) Favorite items from the current issue: the breaking news item informing us that "The 'thank you for your continued support' letter sent by the Sci-Fi channel to fans of Farscape has won the Best New Fiction category at this year's Saturn Award" and the spoiler blurb for Firefly ("Who cares - it'll be cancelled next week anyway"). Not the mention the sad news about the death of William Hartnell...
Well, I Guess It's Officially Winter
Our first snowfall of the year is currently happening right outside my window. So far it's moderately light, and it doesn't seem to be sticking... which is a good thing, since I have to drive home in a few hours, and road conditions in New Mexico get utterly insane when it snows.
Our first snowfall of the year is currently happening right outside my window. So far it's moderately light, and it doesn't seem to be sticking... which is a good thing, since I have to drive home in a few hours, and road conditions in New Mexico get utterly insane when it snows.
This Is Why I Never Have Any Money
I just read a nice article at Salon.com about why books are so doggoned expensive these days. (Thanks to Uncertain Principles for the link.) Interestingly, it seems that when you adjust for inflation the price of hardbacks hasn't actually risen much since 1975. But paperbacks, as my wallet can attest, are another story entirely. "[T]he average price for mass-market paperback fiction has gone up a whopping 328 percent (from $1.35 in 1975 to $5.78 in 2000)," and "[a]djusting for inflation... the average price of mass-market paperbacks has gone up almost 40 percent," say the sources quoted in the article. Sheesh. What are us book addicts to do? Well, actually, the article does mention one of the things this book addict has certainly started doing: turning to trade paperbacks instead. Hey, when a regular "mass market" paperback costs $8 and the much nicer trade edition is $14, it often seems worth it to shell out the extra few bucks and feel like you're at least getting something for your money. Particularly when the hardback, which (for my purposes, at least) is only marginally preferable to the trade edition, costs you $35. Another thing I do, which the article doesn't address, is to buy cheap book club-edition hardbacks. They're smaller and more cheaply made than regular hardbacks, but they often cost about half the price. And, of course, as new book prices continue to skyrocket, I find myself increasingly turning to used books instead. I'm sure I've said it here before, but it bears repeating: thank goodness for library sales!
I just read a nice article at Salon.com about why books are so doggoned expensive these days. (Thanks to Uncertain Principles for the link.) Interestingly, it seems that when you adjust for inflation the price of hardbacks hasn't actually risen much since 1975. But paperbacks, as my wallet can attest, are another story entirely. "[T]he average price for mass-market paperback fiction has gone up a whopping 328 percent (from $1.35 in 1975 to $5.78 in 2000)," and "[a]djusting for inflation... the average price of mass-market paperbacks has gone up almost 40 percent," say the sources quoted in the article. Sheesh. What are us book addicts to do? Well, actually, the article does mention one of the things this book addict has certainly started doing: turning to trade paperbacks instead. Hey, when a regular "mass market" paperback costs $8 and the much nicer trade edition is $14, it often seems worth it to shell out the extra few bucks and feel like you're at least getting something for your money. Particularly when the hardback, which (for my purposes, at least) is only marginally preferable to the trade edition, costs you $35. Another thing I do, which the article doesn't address, is to buy cheap book club-edition hardbacks. They're smaller and more cheaply made than regular hardbacks, but they often cost about half the price. And, of course, as new book prices continue to skyrocket, I find myself increasingly turning to used books instead. I'm sure I've said it here before, but it bears repeating: thank goodness for library sales!
Saturday, December 07, 2002
Currently...
Yeah, let's do this again.
Current clothes: Gray sweatpants. A black Blake's 7 t-shirt with a picture of the Liberator flying under the 1st-3rd season logo. A red long-sleeve button-down denim shirt ubuttoned over it. (There's a tiny "Marlboro" logo towards the bottom of the strip of fabric with the buttonholes, because my mother got the shirt for sending in her cigarette boxtops, or whatever it is you send in from cigarettes.) Black socks. At the moment, I'm also wearing leopard-print slippers with big claw-tipped toes on the ends.
Current mood: Pretty good. I was feeling really drug-out last night, and was a bit worried that I might be coming down with something, but I feel a lot better today. So that's a relief.
Current music: In the stereo at the moment is Runaway Sunday by Altan, a traditional Celtic band I was first introduced to when they played here in Socorro a few years ago.
Current hair: Well, a week or so ago a guy at work who I hadn't seen in a while said to me, "Did you redo your hair? It looks good." So I guess it's good. The secret is that I don't comb it. I just run my fingers through it in the morning and then forget about it.
Current annoyance: The fact that there's still all kinds of junk piled up in my living room that I badly need to reorganize now that I've got the new entertainment center thingy in there.
Current thing: I seem to be pretty much caught up in doing the "family" thing at the moment, between visiting one set of relatives in New Jersey last month and having another set over for Thanksgiving and getting ready to go up to Oregon to see my sister and her family over Christmas.
Current desktop picture: This screen capture from a Farscape episode. It's particularly appropriate because the name of my computer is "Wormhole."
Current song stuck in head: Amazingly, it's pretty quiet in here at the moment, but "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath has kept drifting in and out all day.
Current book: I'm still reading The Talisman. Currently on pg. 661 out of 770. The end is in sight! Gimme a Hallelujah!
Current video in player: I don't think there's actually anything at all in the VCR at the moment. Currently in the DVD player is the first extras disc for the Fellowship of the Ring extended-edition release.
Current refreshment: I just had a Henry Weinhard's Vanilla Cream Soda. Damned good stuff.
Current worry: Getting everything I need to get done before I leave for Christmas taken care of. Like finishing up my Christmas shopping and finding someone to watch my cats... Actually, not so much of a worry, just an annoyingly over-full To Do List.
Current thought: That I probably don't really have all that many things to do, it's just that having anything at all to do bugs me.
Yeah, let's do this again.
Current clothes: Gray sweatpants. A black Blake's 7 t-shirt with a picture of the Liberator flying under the 1st-3rd season logo. A red long-sleeve button-down denim shirt ubuttoned over it. (There's a tiny "Marlboro" logo towards the bottom of the strip of fabric with the buttonholes, because my mother got the shirt for sending in her cigarette boxtops, or whatever it is you send in from cigarettes.) Black socks. At the moment, I'm also wearing leopard-print slippers with big claw-tipped toes on the ends.
Current mood: Pretty good. I was feeling really drug-out last night, and was a bit worried that I might be coming down with something, but I feel a lot better today. So that's a relief.
Current music: In the stereo at the moment is Runaway Sunday by Altan, a traditional Celtic band I was first introduced to when they played here in Socorro a few years ago.
Current hair: Well, a week or so ago a guy at work who I hadn't seen in a while said to me, "Did you redo your hair? It looks good." So I guess it's good. The secret is that I don't comb it. I just run my fingers through it in the morning and then forget about it.
Current annoyance: The fact that there's still all kinds of junk piled up in my living room that I badly need to reorganize now that I've got the new entertainment center thingy in there.
Current thing: I seem to be pretty much caught up in doing the "family" thing at the moment, between visiting one set of relatives in New Jersey last month and having another set over for Thanksgiving and getting ready to go up to Oregon to see my sister and her family over Christmas.
Current desktop picture: This screen capture from a Farscape episode. It's particularly appropriate because the name of my computer is "Wormhole."
Current song stuck in head: Amazingly, it's pretty quiet in here at the moment, but "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath has kept drifting in and out all day.
Current book: I'm still reading The Talisman. Currently on pg. 661 out of 770. The end is in sight! Gimme a Hallelujah!
Current video in player: I don't think there's actually anything at all in the VCR at the moment. Currently in the DVD player is the first extras disc for the Fellowship of the Ring extended-edition release.
Current refreshment: I just had a Henry Weinhard's Vanilla Cream Soda. Damned good stuff.
Current worry: Getting everything I need to get done before I leave for Christmas taken care of. Like finishing up my Christmas shopping and finding someone to watch my cats... Actually, not so much of a worry, just an annoyingly over-full To Do List.
Current thought: That I probably don't really have all that many things to do, it's just that having anything at all to do bugs me.
Friday, December 06, 2002
Farscape Update
Apparently Sci-Fi has been advertising the upcoming new episodes of Farscape during their series, Taken[*]. And, as usual, they're being more than a little... Oh, let's be polite and use the word "disingenuous." The ads refer to "the season premiere of Farscape," airing on January 10th. Well, it's not the season premiere, and they're not starting a new season. They're showing the second half of season four, just the way they always do after a great big gap in the middle (during which they doubtless lose some not-insignificant percentage of their viewers, but that's a rant for another day). At least one person I know who saw the ad got the impression from it that the show had been renewed for another season, after all. It hasn't been. Yet. (Hey, I can do optimism!)
[*] Which I haven't been watching, in large part because I've just become so damned disillusioned with the Sci-Fi Channel that I can't work up any enthusiasm for watching their new shows at all. I mean, why bother when they only go and axe the good stuff, no matter how well it's doing for them?
Apparently Sci-Fi has been advertising the upcoming new episodes of Farscape during their series, Taken[*]. And, as usual, they're being more than a little... Oh, let's be polite and use the word "disingenuous." The ads refer to "the season premiere of Farscape," airing on January 10th. Well, it's not the season premiere, and they're not starting a new season. They're showing the second half of season four, just the way they always do after a great big gap in the middle (during which they doubtless lose some not-insignificant percentage of their viewers, but that's a rant for another day). At least one person I know who saw the ad got the impression from it that the show had been renewed for another season, after all. It hasn't been. Yet. (Hey, I can do optimism!)
[*] Which I haven't been watching, in large part because I've just become so damned disillusioned with the Sci-Fi Channel that I can't work up any enthusiasm for watching their new shows at all. I mean, why bother when they only go and axe the good stuff, no matter how well it's doing for them?
Lord of the DVDs
Well, I did finally find the time to watch the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring last night, although I haven't even started going through all the extras. And, no question about it, the extra scenes are definitely a Good Thing. Actually, given that I suppose they pretty much had to cut the movie down to something approaching a reasonable length, the choice of which scenes to cut was overall pretty good. The movie worked perfectly well without them, so they obviously didn't contain anything overwhelmingly important in terms of plot. But having them back in the movie does add quite a bit of depth to the characters and the setting. In particular, the extended and loving look at the Shire at the beginning, while totally unneccessary in terms of plot, goes a very long way towards bringing home just what it is that Frodo is taking this journey for: the preservation of this timeless and innocent way of life that he loves so dearly.
Among my favorite additions (warning: if you haven't seen the extended version yet and want to be all surprised, don't read!):
A scene between Bilbo and Frodo at the party, where Bilbo hints to Frodo about what he means to do and offers a vague apology. Without it, one does kind of get the impression from the movie that Bilbo just took off and left him without anything at all in the way of a goodbye, which seems a little unfair to poor Frodo.
Getting to meet the Sackville-Bagginses and Gaffer Gamgee, however briefly.
The reinsertion of what I always (for some reason) found to be one of the more memorable lines from Book I: Frodo's comment that a servant of the Enemy would likely "look fairer and seem fouler" than Strider.
More of the poems and rhymes that were such a major part of the original books, including a lot of singing in Elvish, which sounds just as beautiful as it's supposed to. I found Sam's little rhyme in memory of Gandalf particularly touching; it actually brought tears to my eyes, whatever its artistic qualities or lack thereof.
Frodo asking Gandalf whether Mordor is left or right, as he ceremoniously leads the Fellowship out on the start of the quest, which made me laugh out loud.
Galdriel's gift-giving, of course. Everybody who'd read the books noticed that was missing (or at least, most of it was).
Gimli revealing how smitten he'd become with Galdriel. Now, if you ask me, that was a real shame to have cut out in the first place, given how nicely they'd set up his initial anatagonism towards elves in general, and this "elf-witch" he'd heard rumors about, specifically.
A few more lines of verbal sparring between Legolas and Gimli, aka the Odd Couple of Middle Earth. Also a few more scenes between Aragorn and Boromir, which is another really interesting and complex relationship.
And I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole bunch...
Man, now I really can't wait for The Two Towers!
Well, I did finally find the time to watch the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring last night, although I haven't even started going through all the extras. And, no question about it, the extra scenes are definitely a Good Thing. Actually, given that I suppose they pretty much had to cut the movie down to something approaching a reasonable length, the choice of which scenes to cut was overall pretty good. The movie worked perfectly well without them, so they obviously didn't contain anything overwhelmingly important in terms of plot. But having them back in the movie does add quite a bit of depth to the characters and the setting. In particular, the extended and loving look at the Shire at the beginning, while totally unneccessary in terms of plot, goes a very long way towards bringing home just what it is that Frodo is taking this journey for: the preservation of this timeless and innocent way of life that he loves so dearly.
Among my favorite additions (warning: if you haven't seen the extended version yet and want to be all surprised, don't read!):
And I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole bunch...
Man, now I really can't wait for The Two Towers!
Thursday, December 05, 2002
Keep On Searchin'...
Remember how I said I never get tired of looking at the goofy search requests that bring people to this blog? I meant it! Here's the current batch:
sikozu naked: I'm now collecting search requests for naked Farscape characters. So far, I've had Sikozu, Crichton, and (multiple times) Zhaan. I'm hoping to collect the entire set. Come on, surely there's some twisted soul out there who wants naked pictures of Scorpius? Or Rygel? I suppose I should just disqualify Pilot, since he's already kinda naked all the time, anyway. And, hmm, it occurs to me that if somebody comes here looking for "stark naked," how can I tell if they're looking for nude pictures of the character, or just employing an adjective?
"stephen king" "gone downhill": I honestly couldn't say whether Stephen King has gone downhill or not, as I haven't read that many of his books, and the ones I have read certainly haven't been in anything like the order he wrote them. I do know that the man is badly in need of an editor who'll make him cut a few hundred pages per book, though. At this point, I feel as if I've been reading The Talisman for approximately six months.
spaceward ho what's the password: You've got me.
grayza pictures: Doggone it, they didn't specify naked, so I can't count it! Although, really, that outfit she wears leaves so little the the imagination she might almost just as well be naked...
successful episode of science and technology: A successful episode of science and technology doing what? I find that I'm actually quite curious about what the heck the rest of this thought might have been.
McDonalds fast food's sales: Billions and billions sold, or so I'm given to understand.
expansion asshole: This is about jerks getting fat, right? Right?
carrots and Thanksgiving: I'd think carrots would go better with Easter. You know, what with the bunny rabbits and all.
Mom naked: Not my Mom! Maybe they were looking for the Futurama character, though if you ask me, that's only marginally less ewww.
Remember how I said I never get tired of looking at the goofy search requests that bring people to this blog? I meant it! Here's the current batch:
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Star Trekkin'
Just thought I'd pass on something from this week's TV Guide:
Sigh. Guys, guys, guys... This desperate desire to make the show "sexy" is, in my humble opinion, a large part of the problem. I know I've said this before, but it's coming across lately as though the writers are trying to force the series into certain directions not because its what's right for the show or what works for the characters, but because they're trying to fit some notion of what those all-important 18- to 49-year-old males want. This is not a good thing. And, truly, if that last epsiode ("Vanishing Point," or whatever it was called) is an example of what they mean by exploring dramatic elements and showing more sides to the characters, please, please, just give me the Random Evil Alien of the Week instead.
On a more positive note, TV Guide also had several articles on Star Trek: Nemesis, which looks pretty cool. (They also have some related stuff on-line here.) I am a bit annoyed, however, at how many plot points they reveal, including some very major hints about the ending. And I was doing such a good job at avoiding spoilers for this movie so far...
Just thought I'd pass on something from this week's TV Guide:
NOT OUT OF THIS WORLD:
As Enterprise Hits Ratings Turbulence, UPN Seeks Ways to Fire Up Its Sex Appeal
A scant season ago, the latest Star Trek series, starring Scott Bakula, was a Top 20 show with 18- to 49-year-old male viewers. But Enterprise's ratings have plunged, and critics say the series doesn't have the same creative juice as its predecessors. "Enterprise started out strong," says Stacey Lynn Koerner, senior vice president and director of broadcast research at Initiative Media, a media-buying firm. "But this season it seems lost in space." UPN president Dawn Ostroff says that the Enterprise crew is ready to explore new directions and that trailers for the series shown in theaters in conjunction with the release of the move "Star Trek Nemesis" should recharge interest. "We've been working on the show," Ostroff says. "It's getting sexier. We're exploring relationships more and pushing the dramatic elements of the show. You'll see a lot more sides to the characters."
Sigh. Guys, guys, guys... This desperate desire to make the show "sexy" is, in my humble opinion, a large part of the problem. I know I've said this before, but it's coming across lately as though the writers are trying to force the series into certain directions not because its what's right for the show or what works for the characters, but because they're trying to fit some notion of what those all-important 18- to 49-year-old males want. This is not a good thing. And, truly, if that last epsiode ("Vanishing Point," or whatever it was called) is an example of what they mean by exploring dramatic elements and showing more sides to the characters, please, please, just give me the Random Evil Alien of the Week instead.
On a more positive note, TV Guide also had several articles on Star Trek: Nemesis, which looks pretty cool. (They also have some related stuff on-line here.) I am a bit annoyed, however, at how many plot points they reveal, including some very major hints about the ending. And I was doing such a good job at avoiding spoilers for this movie so far...
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
Monday, December 02, 2002
A Real Eye-Opener
'Nother link sent to me recently by a friend: check out these optical illusions (the sound effects are kind of nifty, too).
'Nother link sent to me recently by a friend: check out these optical illusions (the sound effects are kind of nifty, too).
Time for Tolkien
I still haven't had the chance to watch any of the stuff on the extended-version Fellowship of the Ring discs (which I picked up while I was on vacation in New Jersey), but I have already made plans to go see The Two Towers when it comes out in a few weeks, an event which I am looking forward to with great anticipation.
In the meantime, I thought I'd pass along a some links that a friend sent me a while back to a couple of good Time magazine articles: one on The Two Towers and another speculating about the reasons behind the current boom in the popularity of fantasy. Interesting stuff.
I still haven't had the chance to watch any of the stuff on the extended-version Fellowship of the Ring discs (which I picked up while I was on vacation in New Jersey), but I have already made plans to go see The Two Towers when it comes out in a few weeks, an event which I am looking forward to with great anticipation.
In the meantime, I thought I'd pass along a some links that a friend sent me a while back to a couple of good Time magazine articles: one on The Two Towers and another speculating about the reasons behind the current boom in the popularity of fantasy. Interesting stuff.
Sunday, December 01, 2002
When Does the "Entertainment" Part Start?
I blogged last time about having to get a bigger entertainment center[*] to fit my shiny new TV into. Well, mission accomplished! I went up to Wal-Mart yesterday after my family left and purchased myself a truly impressive piece of furniture. It's got shelves, it's got cabinets, it's got more shelves... The thing is massive. It occurred to me after I put it together that I'm gonna be in big trouble if I ever decide to move, because there's no way it's ever going to fit out through the door.
The downside of that is that it took forever to put the damned thing together. It's amazing how a simple "let's buy a new piece of furniture" project can simply eat up your entire day. Just buying the thing took most of the afternoon, given that it's a 90-mile round trip from here to Wally-world and that I had to fight all the weekend-after-Thanksgiving shoppers once I got there (not to mention spending 15 minutes looking for someone to help me move the box). Then I had to unhook the three thousand wires leading to, from, in, over, and around the old TV, the VCR and the DVD player. And remove everything from the shelves of the old unit. Then dismantle the old unit. Then put the new one together, which probably took me about five hours. Then I had to hook everything back up again. I still haven't put anything back onto the shelves of the new one, which means that there are currently DVDs and videotapes and games and other random things scattered all over my living room. And on top of it all, my arms are really, really sore from all that hammering and screwing and heavy lifting.
But I keep thinking how cool it's going to be to, say, watch the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring on my beautiful new non-crappy TV in my big new entertainment center. I just have to get all that junk off the couch first so I can actually sit in front of the television...
[*] And is it just me, or is that a really dumb-sounding name for a piece of furniture?
I blogged last time about having to get a bigger entertainment center[*] to fit my shiny new TV into. Well, mission accomplished! I went up to Wal-Mart yesterday after my family left and purchased myself a truly impressive piece of furniture. It's got shelves, it's got cabinets, it's got more shelves... The thing is massive. It occurred to me after I put it together that I'm gonna be in big trouble if I ever decide to move, because there's no way it's ever going to fit out through the door.
The downside of that is that it took forever to put the damned thing together. It's amazing how a simple "let's buy a new piece of furniture" project can simply eat up your entire day. Just buying the thing took most of the afternoon, given that it's a 90-mile round trip from here to Wally-world and that I had to fight all the weekend-after-Thanksgiving shoppers once I got there (not to mention spending 15 minutes looking for someone to help me move the box). Then I had to unhook the three thousand wires leading to, from, in, over, and around the old TV, the VCR and the DVD player. And remove everything from the shelves of the old unit. Then dismantle the old unit. Then put the new one together, which probably took me about five hours. Then I had to hook everything back up again. I still haven't put anything back onto the shelves of the new one, which means that there are currently DVDs and videotapes and games and other random things scattered all over my living room. And on top of it all, my arms are really, really sore from all that hammering and screwing and heavy lifting.
But I keep thinking how cool it's going to be to, say, watch the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring on my beautiful new non-crappy TV in my big new entertainment center. I just have to get all that junk off the couch first so I can actually sit in front of the television...
[*] And is it just me, or is that a really dumb-sounding name for a piece of furniture?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)