InsaneJournal

_jems_ (_jems_) wrote, @ 2009-02-22 22:41:00

miscellanea
I feel like I hardly have enough going on right now to cobble together one entry. Let's see if this list of Things Going On Right Now proves me wrong:

1. I'm siiiiiick. Ugh, I hate it so much. At least I'm over the hump (I think). From now on it'll just be a few weeks of coughing, sneezing and general mucus issues. Lovely!


2. I'm currently translating season 2 of The Office, which is having the effect of making me fall in love with the show again. Not the new episodes (unfortunately), but I'd forgotten how much I loved it back in the day - and how much better Michael was before he became this caricature of a person. Not that I ever really liked him, but lately I just can't stand him. I think that's why I'm having such a big issue with the show this year: I've reached my Michael tolerance level. As soon as he's on screen, I start disconnecting from the show immediately because I just can't stand to watch him. And it's hard to reengage when the people I do like come back on.
   
   Of course, the atrocity that was the Angela/Dwight storyline this year didn't help.


3. As per usual, I'm watching lots of TV. *is currently at 332 episodes watched*
   Dollhouse
   The premise still squicks me like hell, but I'm coming around to the idea that it's supposed to. I saw some people saying this after the pilot episode, but I wasn't convinced, it glorified the subject matter too much, in my opinion. But after the negotiations at the beginning of this episode, with them talking about a human life as nothing more than a monetary issue, I'm feeling like I'm either supposed to think that the Dollhouse is the sickest thing human beings have come up with in a looooong time, or Joss Whedon & Co. really are the sickest people ever. I have to believe that they're well aware of how atrocious it all is, and that they're working to make it clear to the audience. The alternative would probably make me lose all faith in the human race.
   
   My problems with Eliza Dushku remain. I don't think she's a strong enough actress for this part, and as I feared, her inability to display vulnerability is really doing the character a disservice. Which isn't saying much since there isn't really a character there. But even Echo's empty shell persona rings false to me.
   
   Life
   I am just not warming up to the idea of Reese/Tidwell. If anything, it's gotten worse. It's completely made me stop caring about Dani the way I did last season, when she was such a fascinating, damaged individual.
   
   And it's made me realize that she was my main draw on this show, because these days I can barely be bothered to pay attention to what's going on. The cliffhanger episode right before Christmas was really good, and had me hoping that we were finally going to have something interesting happen, but since we came back, it's just more of the same, and more of me tuning out.
   
   Of course, it hasn't helped that I've also come to realize that Tidwell is nothing but an exposition fairy. All he's good for is "telling, not showing". Instead of seeing them investigate, or them letting the audience draw conclusions based on tidbits, suddenly, all we need in order to find out every minute detail about the case of the week is Tidwell demanding a status report.
   
   They're making me feel stupid for watching this show where everything needs to be spelled out for me - often twice! - and I'm about ready to give up. I'll finish the season, but unless they make Dani Reese as interesting as she used to be, I can't see myself giving this much more of a chance. If it even gets a third season, that is, I have no idea what the ratings are.
   
   Top Chef
   Well, they certainly noticed how much people hated that they threw out better chefs to keep their "romance" hook, didn't they? Cheap stunt, I thought, but at this point, do I care? Not so much.
   
   I would have been much happier if Stefan had gone home, but I never thought Fabio was that fabulous of a chef, so I'm okay with him leaving. Now I'm just going to spend the entire finale rooting for Carla, who's grown on me so much, not just as a participant, but as a chef. I'm really surprised that she's actually as good as she's been these last few weeks, considering what a rough start she had.
   
   NCIS
   I am basically watching this show for Abby, and that's okay with me, I don't need much more. And after that season finale, I'm pretty darned bummed that the shipping of the season 3 DVDs have been held up for weeks. Damn that Amazon! Except...


4. Today I got an email from Amazon.co.uk, informing me that the Pushing Daisies season 2 DVDs will be released on May 25th. I preordered that puppy so fast heads were spinning. Even though I still haven't watched the last aired episode (I don't want to be out of episodes to watch!), I think that three months gives me enough time to come to terms with watching the end of the series. *sniff*


5. I've been making icons that I'm not hating on entirely. I'm not loving them either, but I consider this a definite step up from the months and months and months of crap.


6. Oscar night, huh? For once, I've actually seen quite a few of the movies. Still can't bring myself to care very much. I mean, it's not as if it's the Emmys, which has just become a farce, but I just don't feel the Oscars are all that much more relevant at this point.