beccatoria (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
beccatoria) wrote2009-04-07 02:50 pm
beccatoria) wrote2009-04-07 02:50 pm
Entry tags:
TV Poll! I don't watch enough to know what's on!
Okay so. When I started hating The X-Files, it was right around the time I fell for Farscape. When Farscape got axed BSG very kindly showed up to steal my heart. Now that BSG is over (and my heart is in tatters; nope, still not over the surreal anti-intellectual reactionary technophobic crap: after all the stuff it pulled and the wars fought in its name they should have kept the tech and thrown GOD into the sun) I find myself adrift.
My cunning plan was to jump on the Terminator train anddevelop wallow in an enormous crush on Agent Ellison and an intellectual crush on Weaver/Cameron/John Henry. However, it's looking increasingly and depressingly likely that it won't get renewed. *commences wailing*
And for real, I watch like, no television. Occasionally I'll catch an episode of House or Bones or something but other than that, my TV schedule consists pretty much exclusively of BSG, Terminator and, when it's on, Dexter. So I need advice on what to start watching next.
I know you can't force fannish love, but I can at least start, um, "seeing other shows," and finding out if there's a spark, right?
So, my personal ad! Sorta.
Basically I like science fiction/fantasy/magic realism/SOMETHING that means its not just...our normal, ordinary world. This makes me feel like a really huge geek, because I don't watch shows everyone tells me are amazing like The West Wing or The Wire because I'm like...blah. It's not crazy or magic or epic enough! Boo!
I love brilliant acting and interesting character arcs. I like narrative story arcs.
I also like shows that make me think. I like shows that try to talk about big, complicated issues, and I have a special weakness for techy cyborgy religious weirdness and moral relativism done well (i.e. NOT as an excuse for the hero to do reprehensible, selfish things just because it's "dark" which MUST make it "cool" and "more mature.")
I mean, I enjoy TV that doesn't make me think lots too; I do completely get that "I just want to have fun with it!" mentality. But I find it hard to be truly fannish about those shows because, well, I end up with nothing to say, or vid.
Similarly, I can love shows that are set completely within the bounds of the "real world" (Dexter and Breaking Bad are both ace) but similarly, it's hard for me to really connect on a total geek-out level.
I think the problem is that I'm a science fiction fan in the tradition of LeGuin or Ghost in the Shell. I want everything. I want all the big issues we face combined with world-/civilisation-spanning alien fascinating stuff that punches these issues out into an arena other than the one we're familiar with, and as such, allows us to examine these issues from new angles.
I guess what I want is intelligent science fiction, with a side-order of character-arc and extra epic.
Do any of you know where I might be able to find such a thing these days?
* * *
Redacted.
My cunning plan was to jump on the Terminator train and
And for real, I watch like, no television. Occasionally I'll catch an episode of House or Bones or something but other than that, my TV schedule consists pretty much exclusively of BSG, Terminator and, when it's on, Dexter. So I need advice on what to start watching next.
I know you can't force fannish love, but I can at least start, um, "seeing other shows," and finding out if there's a spark, right?
So, my personal ad! Sorta.
Basically I like science fiction/fantasy/magic realism/SOMETHING that means its not just...our normal, ordinary world. This makes me feel like a really huge geek, because I don't watch shows everyone tells me are amazing like The West Wing or The Wire because I'm like...blah. It's not crazy or magic or epic enough! Boo!
I love brilliant acting and interesting character arcs. I like narrative story arcs.
I also like shows that make me think. I like shows that try to talk about big, complicated issues, and I have a special weakness for techy cyborgy religious weirdness and moral relativism done well (i.e. NOT as an excuse for the hero to do reprehensible, selfish things just because it's "dark" which MUST make it "cool" and "more mature.")
I mean, I enjoy TV that doesn't make me think lots too; I do completely get that "I just want to have fun with it!" mentality. But I find it hard to be truly fannish about those shows because, well, I end up with nothing to say, or vid.
Similarly, I can love shows that are set completely within the bounds of the "real world" (Dexter and Breaking Bad are both ace) but similarly, it's hard for me to really connect on a total geek-out level.
I think the problem is that I'm a science fiction fan in the tradition of LeGuin or Ghost in the Shell. I want everything. I want all the big issues we face combined with world-/civilisation-spanning alien fascinating stuff that punches these issues out into an arena other than the one we're familiar with, and as such, allows us to examine these issues from new angles.
I guess what I want is intelligent science fiction, with a side-order of character-arc and extra epic.
Do any of you know where I might be able to find such a thing these days?
* * *
Redacted.
no subject
However, I do have one show that, though I'm not "fannish" over, I do think does a lot of things very similar to some of the Sci Fi shows I've loved, and that is Mad Men. I am surprised how alien the world of 1962 feels. And it absolutely is addressing issues of politics, religion, identity, feminism, racism and technology, and is set right at the time when all of those issues were coming to a head in our society, and plays them to the hilt. And the beauty is, because of the historical setting, you can see all the ironies that are about to hit these people four square.
Another show I'd recommend, if you haven't seen it is Avatar the Last Airbender. It's completed its run and is out on DVD, and is rerun regularly on Nickolodian. It's just a little cartoon but it was a very well told story with some great characters and fantastic world building. It's much lighter viewing than BSG, which makes it kind of a relief.
I'm really looking forward to Redactica.
no subject
I understand not wanting to jump into something else epic, but I kind of...don't think I'd know what to do with myself if I didn't have something to geek over. Probably I'd have to actually start undertaking autonomous creative pursuits! THE SHOCK COULD KILL ME! ;)
I've heard good things about Mad Men. I may check it out, though I think, like you, however much I loved it, I wouldn't be "fannish" over it? Like Dexter - I love that show. I think it's fantastically put together and really interesting, but I have no desire to vid it or meta it or anything.
Whenever it eventually gets finished (hopefully before we all get old and grey - no actually I'm tentatively hopeful it'll be out in a month or two) I hope Redactica entertains. I'm trying to work out a K/S easter egg for the coda. ;)
no subject
I'm sure I'll work my way back into epic TV at some point. I've been thinking of downloading True Blood to see if that is as good as people say. And maybe The Tudors.
Right now, I enjoyed Leverage very much, and am currently delighted to have My Boys on my DVR. (But, umm, that's about a sports crazy woman in Chicago, how could I ever identify! ;)
And there are two BBC shows, Primeval (which is light, entertaining no-brain-necessary fluff about British scientist chasing dinosaurs through time warps in modern day London :giggle: ) and maybe Being Human about a ghost, werewolf and vampire living together which I'll probably check out when it comes on.