Unpopular Opinions, Vidding, Movies and Doctor Who.

[beccatoria]

This is one of those Summer-And-Everyone's-Bored-And-Nothing's-Happening posts. :/

Dammit, why is the internet not alive with fandom excitement about...something?! Well. In the absence of that, here's stuff what's been going on.

1. I got Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon! SAMMO HUNG, PEOPLE. SAMMMMMOOOOOO!

I find it hilarious that the three people on the front of that DVD are the two main characters on either side of...a fairly minor character. Presumably because the actual third main character, Sammo Hung, is considered too old and fat to be cool enough to sell it. FOOLS, I say. Watch him in "Martial Law"! Fat Sammo will kick your damn ass!

Just in case anyone has seen the recent Western cut of Red Cliff, a recently released movie (it was released in two parts over the last few years in Asia) that is based on the same stuff as the above film (the historical Romance of the Three Kingdoms, about China when the kingdoms of Wu, Wei and Shu were all fighting and shit and it hadn't been unified yet), this isn't that film. They just made films about the same thing at the same time. Didn't that happen with a biopic of Truman Capote a few years ago or something?

Anyway, I liked both of the films. Red Cliff gets across the epic scale of the conflict and the level of tactics involved, but I think, in all, I prefer Three Kingdoms because it's more personal. It follows Zhao Yun (or Zhao Zilong, depending on the names they're using), who's my favourite ancient Chinese general anyway, from a young man all through his rise to one of the five tiger generals at the end of his career, sacrificed, despite everything, on a futile campaign, trapped by honour, regretting none of it. Three Kingdoms shows the personal cost of the scope depicted in Red Cliff. And Sammo Hung is brilliant and really, really heartbreaking by the end. He's such a great actor and criminally under appreciated.

Maggie Q plays a fictional character - Cao Ying never really existed, but I did enjoy the role she played here, and it was nice, if slightly historically inaccurate, to get a girl in a major role in this capacity.

Plus it does not hurt that Andy Lau is hot.

Anyway, it's an awesome film!

2. Stephen Moffat is doing his very best to make me watch his new version of Doctor Who, isn't he? I mean, I'm still not sure I'll ever get over how much I dislike David Tennant, the things that happen to David Tennant's companions, general RTD-ludicrousness, or NOT getting Paterson Joseph as the Eleventh Doctor, but I have liked the Moffat stuff and:

1) I approve that at least they're putting the young, pretty boy in proper Old Man clothes.
2) If you've seen pictures from the first days of filming you will know that those pictures show a character I loooooooooooove a great deal AND the filming location is one extremely close to my heart; it's one of my favourite places in the whole world.

I'm trying to be strong though. Every other time I've tentatively crawled back to this universe they've done something like turning the Master from Cadfael into a Tennant Clone or murdering Tosh. :/

3. Unpopular fannish opinions! In an effort at variety, the first 5 are general fandom opinions, the last 5 are BSG-related.

To be honest, I don't really think most of my opinions which would be unpopular on a large scale (OMG DIE, ADAMA. DIE IN A FIRE.) are going to be that unpopular on my flist, but, um, I'm trying!

1. I LOVE GEN. I wish there was more of it. I don't mean, by that, that there can't be any romance. Especially these days, romantic relationships are often woven throughout both character and plot, and that's something I enjoy. By gen I simply mean something that doesn't exclusively focus on a romantic relationship. And I'm kind of talking about something more than <1000 word character sketches too. I mean, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with ship fic or character sketches or anything. Hell, the list of fic I've written is short, but you'll find both of those kinds of things on it. And if we didn't have many of those, I'd be sat here lamenting the lack of THEM. But...I just... In shows such as BSG especially, there's this whole, massive rich world out there and it frustrates me that plotty fics, or plots about mytharc mysteries, or friendships or political scenarios get less attention and play.

GEN, DAMMIT!

I think maybe this is a reason I like vids so much? Gen doesn't get as sidelined there?

(And yes, I wish I were participating more thoroughly in the current Kara gen fic battle; been having a bit of an issue with RL and motivation the last few days, but I do hope to add at least one more entry before it ends.)

2. Porn? Generally speaking, a world of meh. The few explicit stories I've read and thought were really great, usually managed, somehow, to use said explicitness to some narrative/thematic point beyond OMGHOTT.

3. I HATE DAVID TENNANT'S DOCTOR. I might like if I and Harriet Jones got to beat him up one day.

4. I didn't think Farscape: the Peacekeeper Wars was actually all that great. I mean, I liked it. In terms of general story arc it was good and all. But somehow, Bad Timing was so much more of a Farscape ending, even though it took me about two months to come to terms with it. I'm SO, SO GLAD that we got PKW. I mean, I loved that show since I saw the premiere on BBC2 when I was like 16 or whatever. I went on a freaking PROTEST MARCH in London for it. (Where, in a surreal turn of events, my husband (then-boyfriend) shoved about sixty leaflets into Jade Goody's passing limousine, cus she rolled down the window to see what the fuss was about). And there's a lot to like about it. Some gorgeous visuals, some wonderfully acted scenes. But just...in all? It felt kind of rushed, a little pat, and the jigsaw-head people were kind of a boring McGuffin. I still heart Farscape though.

5. Buffy. Meh. Joss Whedon in general. Meh. Doctor Horrible. Eew. (Note: I did love Firefly).

6. Unless he is in a suit (WTF brain?!) I just don't find Jamie Bamber very attractive. :(

7. Sometimes a Great Notion made me retrospectively LIKE Lee/Dee. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's still a badly handled mess of messiness that even RDM admits should have been better handled if it was going to work. But in SaGN, I loved them and like...it made me think of how it should have been between them. And now, as long as I'm not actually WATCHING one of those quad o' doom episodes, I can happily imagine it was always like that. (SHUT UP BRAIN, STOP REMEMBERING THE ACTUAL SCENES!)

8. Despite the fact that no Tigh/Ellen scene ever made me cringe and want to gouge out my own eyes, and in fact had they not brought her back as a Cylon, I think that Tigh killing Ellen might have been the most heartbreaking thing the show had ever done, and despite the fact that certain Caprica/Tigh do, in fact, want to make me run screaming into the night (srsly, Americans, when you get your 4.5 DVDs and watch the deleted scenes for Deadlock DO NOT SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU) with their weird creepiness, I still think?

I-see-you-as-my-wife-that-I-murdered/I-want-to-save-you-with-religious-violence > We're-drunken-pirate-hookers. Much as I love drunken pirate hookers. And much as Caprica/Tigh could not possibly exist without Tigh/Ellen.

9. I think that RDM's authorial intention was probably that Hera is the only cylon hybrid ever born and I'm kind of surprised more of fandom didn't pick up on this. Fortunately, on those days when I'm not busy denying Daybreak happened, no one ever says this in words on the show, so I can just pretend otherwise.

10. If we're talking about Billy in the context of Billy and Dee then Billy has all my sympathy and I just want to hug him. But for real? Petty as it is? I've never quite forgiven him for ditching Laura during her mutiny. I know there were actor comittments and stuff, but as a result it really felt pastede on yay and ungrateful on Billy's part. I was left with the uncomfortable feeling that Laura loved him more than he loved her, and DAMMIT BILLY. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO BE ADOPTED BY LAURA ROSLIN? Some of us spend our entire lives and never get an opportunity like that! And I bet you all thought Billy-Love was universal, didn't you? ;)

4. The State of the Vidder.

Well, currently I'm still working on my Farscape vid. Really I should be doing that right now. It's going so slooooooowly. Cus I don't know the source and I'm vidding with a new program, and the program itself is better for playback and crashing than WMM but still slow. So. I'm like 1:20 into a 3:00ish song. But at least I'm pretty happy with it so far.

As to future projects? I dunno. A lot of my pre-finale vid bunnies are still kind of dead, even my D'Anna vid which wasn't ever gonna go beyond 4x11 and which I actually have 45 seconds of already (but would have to remake because I lost the project file *facepalm*).

Instead I'm left with an embarassingly long list of vids that I want to make to various Sage Francis songs (and occasionally others). The VERY VAGUE project list currently goes thusly:

1. Farscape vid (currently working on).
2. Laura Roslin and Gaius Baltar engage in a rap battle (4.5 fail vid).
3. Human/Cylon OTP! (asta77 - yes this is the one we were talking about).

At which point we break down into vagueness and no real intention of sticking to this order.

4. Kara Thrace vid - I kind of still want to do "there's a war going on for your mind, kara" but given a vague lack of impetus post-finale plus capping off Laura's rap triptych with the vid above, I'm also tempted to use another song I've thought of as a Kara song for years, though it's far more um, folk-song and less epic, so maybe less of a good choice for her. Ideally I'd make both but I dunno. We'll see.

5. Sam Anders vid. I have a song and everything for this and am really excited to make it but given a huge number of other projects, I'm currently thinking I'll put it off until The Plan has come out for the extra footage.

6. Fringe. Yes, I have a really insistent but really vague Olivia vid-bunny for Fringe, however, I really, really, really don't think I can do it until I see how S2 plays out and if it'll go in the right direction. So this is quasi-permanently on hold.

7. TSCC. Lower down than Fringe because I'm less certain what I'd do with it. The song and feel I was going to go for and use is now less appropriate given the tone of the finale (which I LOVED and all). I think it'll still work but it is a little less pressing to make than perhaps it was. I don't want to never vid this show though.

Currently permanently on hold, though I may pick them up at some point cus I like the ideas enough not to trash them:

- Aforementioned D'Anna vid about anger at the notion that she has anything to repent for.

- Ellen/Cavil lullaby of twistedness about the genesis of the Cylon. I think if I made this I'd have to pretty much cut off canon at 4.15 or make it a Redactica vid because otherwise my feelings about the finale few episodes might wreck it. We'll see.

If any of you feel strongly about my current prioritisations, or want to make a case for me to bump a vid further up that list or something, go ahead, though obvs I can't promise to listen. Mostly I feel so strange about still having so many BSG vids to make. On the one hand I'm glad; I don't want to be through with this show.

On the other hand, it's kind of weird given my relationship with this show now.

And....I'm done.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Did you see the shots of the filming of Who on that cliff side where they have all the cast and crew bundled up in big jackets and such, and there's these two locals sunbathing wearing not-very-much, lying on the hard rocks, being totally hardcore and Welsh and mocking the soft Londoners just by virtue of their very existence?

Fantastic.

Also, I agree, Peacekeeper wars was not very good at all. Since I bought it, I've only watched it once. Which is usually a pretty good measure of how much I like something.

I'm still glad they made it. I just wish they hadn't tried to fit 2 entire seasons worth of stories into one movie.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, no I didn't see that. Though if it's the cliff face I think it must be - i.e. the one on the beach filming location, then they really oughtn't be sunbathing very close to it because that cliff face has a tendency to, um, fall off in large chunks. And then provide you with awesome fossils (I have a rock that split in half and you can see both sides of an ammonite fossil and it fits back together again!). But you know, death from above and all. People still do it though.

I think it was more like one season's worth of plot but yes I agree. It was rushed and really suffered for it. They should have just focused on John trying to make peace with wormhole nukes and skipped over the weird McGuffin of the puzzlehead people. Grr!

Though like you, I've very glad they made it. I feel its existence is something of a moral victory even if I don't love it like I love most of the series.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

There ya go, linky to the most recent who pics:

http://community.livejournal.com/doctorwho/4934014.html?style=mine

I'd love to go fossil hunting. I don't think we have the right geology anywhere around here though. Its all volcanic here.


The cancellation of Farscape still annoys me. Mostly I think because of that way they'd promised the two seasons, and then changed their minds for no apparent reason other than the head of Sci Fi didn't like Sci Fi.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Haha! Yes, those are the cliffs. Though tragically it looks like a) they're slightly further over than the really crumbly stuff and b) the second picture shows them a little further forward than would really be dangerous. Boo!

Damn but I love that beach. The pictures make it look all rocky and boring, but those rocks are full of freaking amazing rock pools and when the tide is out there's soooo much beach and sandpools and stuff. <3 Southerndown.

Fossil hunting is fantastic! I'm so sorry you don't get to do it up there. Southerndown is a great place to do it too - when the tide is out, you can walk a few miles along the coast to Ogmore, a beach just down the way, and you just fall over the bloody things and you have to walk over natural bridges and there are huge caves and stuff. It's really awesome there. /rambling.

The reasons for Farscape's cancellation will never cease to confuse and boggle me. :( The one time they were so sure they were coming back too! BASTARDS.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

God, that would be amazing to just be falling over the things. I'd love to visit somewhere like that one day.

(Yeah, according to the internet there's not many good locations in Scotland at all.)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Well if you're ever in South Wales and need a place to stay and fossil hunt, look me up! :)

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Will do. I think that would be amazing,t o just find fossils. Of course knowing my luck, I'd probably bring a cliff down on top of my head.

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

PKW: Agree. Wish they'd just cut and run with the cancelled season and, at worst, removed the 'death' scene from Bad Timing. One of the things that I really really disliked about PKW is that John surpassed the death toll he'd accumulated through 4 seasons with several fell swoops in PKW, but it's all okay because we got peace in the end, right? I'M GONNA KEEP SUCKING WORLDS INTO THEIR DOOM UNTIL YOU GUYS AGREE TO PLAY NICE!!!!! Favourite scene though: the utter pain that rips out of Claudia Black's mouth when she cries out for help with John, while holding the baby. Gawd that woman is awesome.

Lee/Dee: Yeah.

Joss: I believe you and I were one of the few people in that 'Dr. Horrible was not all that' corner. Did you watch Dollhouse at all? INterested in your opinion there.

Hera: I do believe RDM wanted, ultimately, for Hera to be Mitochondrial Eve. The problem is, there were many such major things that he wanted, but he lost control somewhere along the way, or lost the focus that would end in that stupid ending he so desperately wanted and then hurriedly had to pull everything back in to fit. This literally resulted in the excorcism of various plotlines and characters.

GEN: So true. And this is why I like your fic, because it fits my idea of what fic should be. Yes, go ahead and ship, but ultimately, I want to read something that takes the story and characters somewhere [plausible within the overall storyline, even if it's an AU].

PORN: Yeahuh. This is my biggest issue with fanfic. The durteh stuff makes it to the top of the pile (and causes LJ Strikethrough). I have issues with the really perverted stuff that has no contextual value other than LKHing* for the writer. I'm all for Teh Secks, but let it serve a purpose. (And with that, I am now possessed by the image of a lobster asking Bill if he wants some sex. Wig on or off. Thank you, Becca. Thank you. And OMG the foxes.....)

*Publishing your personal sex fantasies.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

oops. sorry. thought this thread was in my journal.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

PKW: See I'm a little different to you in that it's not the death toll that bothers me so much. Basically because I think it was well established throughout the other four seasons that his increasingly insane tactics (like nuclear terrorism) aren't supposed to be healthy. Plus I think that there probably WERE more people on the ENTIRE MOON he blew up with that nuke (even though we know there were some survivors) than on a couple of warships? But yeah, basically, I'm kind of willing to throw this show more slack than I usually do with the "angsty hero must KILLL PEOPLE how HARD FOR HIM." I think because they actually make him go insane because of it? Either way though, I agree, there's NOTHING to keep that peace stable. And fortunately the continuation comics (which I find okay, though notably stylistically more like S1 - because Rockne O'Bannon not Kemper is helming the story - than S2 - 4) are actually addressing the fact that no one, particularly not either the PKs or the Scarrans, view this peace as anything more than breathing room.

Favourite scene though: the utter pain that rips out of Claudia Black's mouth when she cries out for help with John, while holding the baby. Gawd that woman is awesome.

YES.

I know I'm evil, but I still kind of wished John had died... Not enough to think he necessarily SHOULD have. I just...part of me thinks it would have been right to kill him at the end of the story?

Dollhouse: I watched the first episode with Kev. To be fair we were in a TERRIBLE frame of mind for it that day, but we kind of hated it. Not even particularly for the skeezy gender politics (though that too) but just because the first episode seemed badly written and acted? I've heard it gets better but nothing (except the post-apocalyptic AU bonus episode) has even slightly piqued my interest in getting back into it. :(

Fic: Aww, shucks, thanks you. *blushes*

Porn: YES exactly. I mean, I dunno, just because I know it's a big part of our fannish economy I'd stop short of saying that my issues with "twisted for the sake of it" is inherently problematic (and I certainly wouldn't equate consensual NC-17 content with that), but I do know that for me it makes it an area that I don't really want to delve into and a part of the community I have no real interest in exploring?

(And with that, I am now possessed by the image of a lobster asking Bill if he wants some sex. Wig on or off. Thank you, Becca. Thank you. And OMG the foxes.....)

*IS NOT SORRY!* :p

But yay! XD I'm glad to entertain...

SAVE YOURSELF!

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

Are the comics worth hunting down? Also, you said tehre were BSG comics?

I know it was established that he was going crazy (though it was made cute and funny and excuseable with Harvey), and with Zaahn, his crazy = people die came to a head. But it continued, culminating in world go boom and all his friends seem pretty cool with that. Moreover, it wasn't just the people he purposely killed, but the ones that died because he was around, which also occured on a large scale in PKW (at the wedding, Jool and all the ancients that went to all that trouble to hide).

And yes, I would have been down with him actually dying there. It would have worked and it would have been powerful.

Dollhouse: Spoiler free review of the finale and thereby the season here: http://nightxade.livejournal.com/458528.html

I gave up part way through because of poor acting and such, but I'm glad I came back in the end. However, I would still suggest to anyone who wishes to give it a [second] chance, to skim the inner episoeds as I did.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

The BSG comics in general I'd say aren't worth hunting down. The Final Five comics are interesting and there are some things I like about their origins, but also some things I didn't and on the whole while I enjoyed reading them, I don't consider them to be "canon". The other comics were reasonably forgettable and I haven't even read them all.

As to Farscape, I'm definitely enjoying the comics because I'm a whore for sequels and I like seeing the characters again. They're also doing a few things like acknowledging that the peace that Crichton forced on everyone is basically a tenuous sham that's going to disintegrate soon and retconning the lameness of the Sikozu reveal which I appreciate. Other than that, it definitely has more of a crazy "episode of the week" set-up which I think is down to them being written by Rockne S. O'Bannon (well he does the story; various people actually write them) rather than David Kemper, so while it's not going back to S1 in terms of overall style (it's still very much dealing with S2 - S4 themes), stylistically it's not quite my favourite thing and is a little more, well, as I said, episodic and in a sense "trekky" but I feel like saying that badmouths them more than they deserve. Basically I'm enjoying them, but I don't think they're amazing enough I'd start raving and recommending everyone buy them.

It's weird talking about John and his actions right now since I'm making a vid all about his increasingly unhealthy obsession with guns and weapons of mass destruction but basically I'm at a loss to explain why I find his descent into insanity and, well, essentially becoming a nuclear terrorist, and having Angst about this really compelling while similar storylines in so many other shows make me roll my eyes. I think it partly has to do with feeling the angst and sympathy factor the show generates for him comes from a genuine understanding of how messed up he is and also the fact that the situations he ends up in are equally messed up whereas a lot of the time I feel a show pastes on the angst when it's neither deserves nor justified in an attempt to sleight-of-hand the audience away from looking at just how far the character has fallen? Because he's a woobie? But...I do confess that can't be all of it, and he's the kind of character I HATE in so much other fiction?

Thanks for your review of Dollhouse. I'll check that out and maybe give the show a second chance. I think what I'll probably do, though, is wait and see what fan opinion is on the second season. That'll probably influence my choice to watch or not.

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

To be honest, now that I'm thinking about it more (dammit Simon, why have we not analyzed this???), I have never truly given thought to John's decent into insanity. I've never given him 'credit' for that and still viewed him as the typical awww!hansome hero who happened to have Harvey to blame for his little oopsies along the way. But they were never little oopsies and Harvey wasn't just a chip in his head (and now I am going to require further analysis, comparing John and Gaius! OMG! The thinkies required! SIMON!!!!!!).

The reason for this is that I really was smitten with Aeryn Sun and she and her growth has always been my focus. And now I have to consider how much of John's decent she has permitted (or perhaps even been responsible for? O.o oh my!)

(And because I love Aeryn, I have to take back what I said about agreeing that John should have died there, if only because it would have hurt Aeryn so much ... *sigh* no wait. It would have made her that much stronger. I don't think she would have hardened herself into PK Sun again because of it, not with little D'Argo there).

Oh and refresh my memory please - actually, probably just clarify. What was up with Sikozu? I don't think I ever got that.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I thought we had analysed Johns descent into madness? Given that Farscape is essentially a show about this poor bastard going increasingly insane when he's ripped out of his world and thrown headfirst into this utterly insane universe filled with aliens that fart methane. And eventually has an absolute psychotic break, and threatens to destroy the Universe, tra la la, oh you did NOt just step on my dance shoes Harvey, you KNOW how I hate that!

And ultimately the only thing he has to cling to amidst the wreckage that is his life is his love for Aeryn. Because decent guys are a bit hopeless like that when it comes to love sometimes, and it makes girls roll their eyes a lot.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

The thing that annoyed me most about Doctor Horrible was the sheer ego of JOss shouting 'I AM SO AWESOME!' every chance he got.

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

1. Yeah, this is going to be another of those "but I totally agree with your UO's" comments. ;) In fairness, I think that character and relationship based stories are just easier for a lot of people to write. I know that's true of me; even in gen fic - the plot is generally just something I stress about coming up with to get the the character moments I want. Hmm, maybe I'll try to come up with a list of gen fic recs at some point, because there is some really good stuff out there. (You could check out crack_van; I know rose_griffes is reccing this month and she loves gen. (And writes a lot of it; you could check out her stuff too.) And I can think of a few undeniably shippy fics that also include plot and mythology and politics. It's just a matter of finding it...

3. I stopped watching after that episode. Nine will remain my first and only Doctor.

5. See, I love Buffy, but when I think about it it was three seasons of greatness, three more seasons of mostly okayness and occasional genius and one season of WHY. So I don't know why I love it so much.

6. I'm even weirder; I find him attractive as Lee in the first three seasons, but I didn't like the suit. And I'm not really attracted to him as Jamie Bamber either. Very strange.

7. Interesting. I can see that, just in the fact that they had actual chemistry (and Lee's reaction to her death broke my heart) but... she was just trying to help him while denying her own self and her own feelings - to a much greater extent this time. I mean, I guess she wasn't in that she wanted to have one last moment of happiness, but she found that through supporting Lee, again. So to me it just seemed like more of the same.

8. I guess - maybe - I'm still glad everyone ended up with their ~soulmates~, but I really wish they had made Caprica/Tigh as interesting on the show as it was in fic and our imaginations.

9. I agree, but while this doesn't hugely bother me - it's tragic, but in a way I can live with - like you said, authorial intent that doesn't make it onscreen =/= canon, so there. ;p T

10. Totally agree. I don't even care about the actor's commitments; they could have given him a better reason and they didn't. And hey, that's when Dee first noticed Lee, anyway, and I can't blame her, since he was doing the opposite of her boyfriend's "I agree, but I'm not going to help because it's breaking the rules." :D

If any of you feel strongly about my current prioritisations, or want to make a case for me to bump a vid further up that list or something, go ahead, though obvs I can't promise to listen.

FOUR FOUR FOUR FOUR and also Five. XD

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

1. Oooh, I'll definitely check for gen recs then. I'm more than happy to admit I don't know as much as I should about the good gen stories simply because fic in general doesn't cater so much to my tastes so I tend to not pay it that much attention. Which I hope doesn't case me as aloof it's just...whenever I do check the_wireless or something there's very rarely anything that I want to read. :(

And I completely agree that it's just easier to not have to worry about plot, although I also think that the need for a plot more complex than there is in shippy fics that last longer than a page or two is imagined. You can totally have a gen story that's just about character interaction or a certain situation or a certain theme or event, you know? Though yes, plot is fun and also very hard. I fear it a lot too.

And certainly it's not so much I want less romance as that I want MORE of everything else? So when shippy fics include all the other things? *heart*

3. YOU R SMART. It doesn't get better. Well, there are occasional good episodes, but in general, we're still supposed to think that David Tennant did an awesome thing by fucking over Harriet Jones. I also still don't get how people can't notice that it's NOT something he does in response to her decision to shoot the aliens. He's upset about that, but he's going to let it go. It's not until she questions him personally and asks what they do when he isn't there to save them one day, that he gets angry and starts threatening to destroy her. *sooooo unappealing*

7. Yeah I don't really have anything to refute that. And I hated all the extended shit in UB about her staying with Lee as long as he'd "let her". Maybe it was just that this time the twisted unhealthiness of it was entirely "out there" that made it better for me? Like I didn't think I was necessarily supposed to find this sweet for once? Then it became more interesting? Plus it will ALWAYS look so heartbreaking in terms of Lee's reaction because of its understated juxtaposition to Adama's complete breakdown of emo asshattery.

8. Well firstly, yes, I wish that 4.5 made Caprica/Tigh as awesome as we thought it could be and as awesome as 4.0 made me think it would be, instead of a dead end they had no idea what to do with that ultimately trashed two perfectly good characters and robbed a third of any meaningful plotline. But like, I couldn't even be happy for Tigh/Ellen at the end with the whole "soulmates" thing because the entire plot of Deadlock and the way they never ever speak to Caprica again makes them look unbelievably unsympathetic. Like I actually cannot believe that the writers didn't realise this would be the case? I mean I also - despite being sold on it in one sense from No Exit - think that making Ellen the fifth really fucks over a bunch of Tigh's character arc from S3 - S4.0. But then, Ellen comes back, splits up a relationship and arguably is a leading factor in causing a miscarriage, thereby apparently causing someone she professes to love as a child to end up jilted and childless and apparently also homeless, and we're supposed to go, OMG ELLEN/TIGH SOULMATES <3? I just...I don't get it. I wish I could love them like that, because really, the idea that THEY are the big epic love story is hilarious and also unexpected along the lines of K/S crowding out K/L. But I just. can't. do. it. They both end up looking like selfish jerks, you know? And dammit I loved Tigh so much. That little speech in Deadlock about how he loves EVERYONE and then...well apparently he didn't. :/

9. I think I can't live with it because I feel it's the ultimate unnecessary salt in the wound of the last scrap of "interesting evolutionary relationship to technology," that had survived 4.5 and the only one I honestly thought they couldn't possibly back out of?

10. AHAHAHA! I totally hadn't thought about Dee switching her attention to Lee because HE didn't back out of the mutiny! XD I <3 you!

FOUR FOUR FOUR FOUR and also Five. XD

But WHICH four? Five will definitely get made but four is being...recalcitrant. I'm not sure what I want to do with it right now. :/

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm super excited by the notion of a War for Your Mind Kara-vid, because that Laura vid was so awesome, I'm ah, also not the one to try to talk you out of any misguided notions of combining Kara and folk music. I've had a Lee/Kara/Sam vid made in my head to this song for years now. (Kara is the sailor, natch.) And I just went on another folk-kick and started thinking that this song would be just perfect for a gen Kara vid. When I started mentally composing a Kara/Leoben crack vid to this one, I knew it was time to stop and possibly seek professional help.

3. How could anyone ever think that was anything other than horrible?!? Gah, I don't get writers sometimes.

Maybe it was just that this time the twisted unhealthiness of it was entirely "out there" that made it better for me?

Yeah, that makes sense to me. I think I can like just about any relationship if the problems in it are acknowledged.

One nice thing about the complete destruction of any and all sympathy I ever had for Adama is that I did gain a lot of sympathy for Lee. Their different reactions to Dee's death are a perfect example of why.

8. Yeah, I think that Tigh's "I love everybody!" speech was much like Chief's "we can both be Daddy!" promises. They wanted us to feel okay about how these storylines were being tied up, but they didn't want to deal with them anymore, because ultimately they just wanted to wriggle out of the multiple hybrids/cybrids problem. I guess maybe we're supposed to fill in scenes of Chief visiting Nicky and Tigh and Ellen being decent to Caprica, but it really looks like they both got ditched.

10. See, if you look at it that way you can kind of see her point, no? ;)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

I knew it was time to stop and possibly seek professional help.

Nooo! It's time to seek the help of your vidder friends to ENABLE this impulse! *encourages you shamelessly* Really. It's the only way you'll ever exorcise your vid bunnies.

My folksy Kara one would be to this song (http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/dave_carter_and_tracy_grammer_lyrics_21869/other_lyrics_52502/the_mountain_lyrics_547836.html). "The Mountain" being like, destiny and the fact she's half cylon (SHE SO IS) and shit. I dunno, on the one hand soooooong! On the other, I feel like fandom doesn't need yet more earnest songs to folk music, even though that's hypocritical of me since I never tire of watching them and if I don't make this, I'll just spend the next YEAR OF MY LIFE flooding my LJ with increasingly unoriginal political rap vids. :/

As to "war for your mind, kara," firstly yay, thanks for the nice words about the Laura vid - this wouldn't be to the same song - it's to a mashup of different songs from that album and as a result is like...a lot more choppy and channel changey (by design; I've already made the mashup just was waiting for the end of the series before vidding it and then...meh). So we'll see. I like it but a lot of my visual associations are dying on me, so yeah. We'll see. I don't want it to die though since I've already started work on it.

One nice thing about the complete destruction of any and all sympathy I ever had for Adama is that I did gain a lot of sympathy for Lee. Their different reactions to Dee's death are a perfect example of why.

One of the highlights of 4.5 for me was watching more and more people come around to my way of thinking about Adama...

Yeah, I think that Tigh's "I love everybody!" speech was much like Chief's "we can both be Daddy!" promises. They wanted us to feel okay about how these storylines were being tied up, but they didn't want to deal with them anymore, because ultimately they just wanted to wriggle out of the multiple hybrids/cybrids problem.

Yeah, I think you're right, which like...it emblematic of the disappointments I had with 4.5 - lots of wriggling and easy answers without any follow up. Plus I will never understand why they needed to posthumously trash the horrifying understanding of why Cally did what she did just so Nicky wasn't a hybrid? I mean, really, what did that actually get us, plot wise? Except a psychotic Chief who was willing to murder Tory?

Which I suppose gets us to the real reason I hate the idea of Hera as the only hybrid; less cus OMG MEAN TO CAPRICA (though obvs that too) and more because it seems so...reductive to the story without giving us anything in return. Well, that and the fact it turns a story about evolution into a story about intelligent design.

10. See, if you look at it that way you can kind of see her point, no? ;)

Yes, though I would also have had to consider riling the President who clearly also had her eye on that package... :p

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Plus I will never understand why they needed to posthumously trash the horrifying understanding of why Cally did what she did just so Nicky wasn't a hybrid?

Hee, I'm actually writing meta on Tory and Cally right now. Okay, when I was inadvertently spoiled for that retcon I flipped my shit both because it seemed to make hash of her death, and also, like, "vacant-eyed shriek and a slut too? Oh show, never do anything in moderation!" But on the other hand, I always thought a huge part of the reason she was going to take Nicky with her was a (completely insane) need to protect him? Like what Chief said about knowing she would never leave him behind. It doesn't really make sense, but I guess I feel like at the point you've decided that killing yourself is your best option because the world is so horrifying, it's more understandable. I buy that finding our your husband and other people you'd known and trusted for years were literally evil monsters (in your mind) who'd been lying to you all this time would bring someone to that point.

But it's kind of like the Daniel thing; Cally almost killing Nicky because he was a hybrid seemed so clearly implied and then it turns out it wasn't supposed to be.

My folksy Kara one would be to this song.

*reads lyrics* Oh man, that's perfect! The fandom definitely needs more earnest vids set to folk music. I've decided. :D

One of the highlights of 4.5 for me was watching more and more people come around to my way of thinking about Adama...

Ahaha, I totally understand that. I had a little bit of that too, and also, of being able to stop worrying about whether I was being unfair? Because I certainly thought he was flawed - and occasionally useless; "cancer in your heart?" Most inadequate response to a situation ever - but the first time I really hated him was after the way he treated Kara in Torn. I definitely thought he was a crappy father to Lee plenty of times before that, but I always thought we were supposed to see him as being a crappy father to Lee, as opposed to ~awesome.~ But after Torn I started seeing him as increasingly ridiculous and narcissistic and willfully blind to the needs of the people around him, but I could never be sure if this was just my insane levels of Kara fangirling. But after that last season? No, no he objectively sucks, the end. It's liberating, in a way. :D

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Well, first off, OMGYAY META!!11! Meta on Tory and Cally no less! :D

I've always loved Tory; Cally I was kind of indifferent to (thought she was good as a character but never had much personal connection with) pretty much UNTIL her final episode when I was like, "Omg, this is why she's amazing and necessary to this show," and I pretty much straight up thought that scene was the hardest and most uncomfortable thing BSG had ever made me watch, which was impressive, so seeing it...lose nuance is kind of tragic for me since from that scene sprung my entire understanding of Cally?

buy that finding our your husband and other people you'd known and trusted for years were literally evil monsters (in your mind) who'd been lying to you all this time would bring someone to that point.

See, I kind of don't? I mean, I do but not quite with the level of mental instability she was given at that point? Not with a much, much more complex motivation used even throughout the sequence, with the focus on Nicky?

I believe that could bring someone to that point, but equally it makes Cally even weaker than previously on a show where she's already somewhat schizophrenically characterised and demonised. Not that I think everyone can or should be a rockstar in these situations but I guess it just seems an awfully plot-convenient response in place of my preferred reading?

Which wasn't that she was actively trying to kill her son, actually. More just that...well the thing she loves most from the thing she hates most, you know? It's her son and she loves him; she can't ever be free of this or unentangled from it. She CAN'T get away just by outing them or leaving Chief.

Knowing that Nicky wasn't his, my first question, even at the time, would have been...okay, but I want some more info as to why her response is murder-suicide rather than running away.

I guess it doubly frustrates me because even if it HAD been imperative Nicky not be a Cylon, why not have Nicky's human nature confirmed during his stint in sickbay with renal failure? Tests run then could confirm his blood type and species. Cottle could still know the backstory but perhaps Cally chose to have Nicky and then DIDN'T get a paternity test. Same outcome, no trashing of Cally's arc?

Boo. *clings to hybrid Nicky*

*reads lyrics* Oh man, that's perfect! The fandom definitely needs more earnest vids set to folk music. I've decided. :D

Yay! You like! I'm glad.

Also, at least some of those vids should be MADE BY YOU!

As to Adama, YES. Torn was it for me too. I mean, I found him boring prior to that and occasionally outright disliked him but thought his major actual failing was in parenting Lee which I (at that point at least) thought was supposed to be fairly textual.

But MAN did I ever pitch a fucking fit about Torn. I was also so convinced, at the time, it was intentional? Because like, he uses the EXACT same term as her mom; calls her a cancer, disowns her, says she's inadequate, then beats on her. And yet in retrospect it seems we were supposed to be on his side? o_O

Though as an aside, it's so weird. Up until I got a little tetchy with the show in 4.5, while I HATED Adama and the writing for him, it was like this weird little bubble of blindness that the writers had, that, while I also sincerely found frustrating and occasionally rage-inducing, I honestly was kind of zen about in terms of the rest of the show? Like by the time we got to Sine Qua Non and Revelations, I was just so zen about it?

"Guys, this show is amazing, complex, clever, moving, brilliantly written and acted. And then there's Adama; just don't worry about that bit, it's in there for comic relief."

I think it was that liberation you mentioned. I actually kind of still have it too. There is little that will make me laugh as much as rewatching that painting scene. It's amazing.

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Well, first off, OMGYAY META!!11! Meta on Tory and Cally no less! :D

Well, more like self-indulgent rambly fic commentary, and you've probably ascertained that we have the exact opposite character biases. But I tried! ;)

Up until I got a little tetchy with the show in 4.5, while I HATED Adama and the writing for him, it was like this weird little bubble of blindness that the writers had, that, while I also sincerely found frustrating and occasionally rage-inducing, I honestly was kind of zen about in terms of the rest of the show? Like by the time we got to Sine Qua Non and Revelations, I was just so zen about it?

Ahaha. Oh, Sine Qua Non. That actually was a moment where I worried about possible suck leakage. Because at first, when he actually said to Athena that sure she (1) Murdered a woman in cold blood, (2) Murdered the leader of their tentative alliance in cold blood, (3) Endangered a bunch of lives, including her husband's and (4) THE PRESIDENT'S, but all of that paled in comparison to her breaking her promise to HIM, I thought "wait, is this deliberate?" And then I realized it couldn't be, because it was TOO EXTREME. And there is no way anyone would deliberately make their main character as unsympathetic as Adama had become. And that was a scary moment. :/

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

And then I realized it couldn't be, because it was TOO EXTREME.

YES.

Except for me, that moment was oddly and wonderfully freeing? Because I still loved every other bit of the show I kind of became oddly comfortable in my alternative reading? Because the thing is, he was so CONSISTANTLY fucking ridiculous that I could honestly pretend it was intentional? The problem came in 4.5 when he never got any comeuppance. But really, even until the end, Adama was a remarkably consistant character. It's just that the show seemed entirely unaware of how much of an ass he was.

But yes, I get how it would be a scary moment.

The more I think about it, the more it probably was for me too, except I was near the height of my show-love at that point. And I think my brain sort of recognised that this was a total sheer cliff-face of hilariously wrong and decided to just JUMP OFF IT and hope it learned how to fly before it hit the bottom?

Well, more like self-indulgent rambly fic commentary, and you've probably ascertained that we have the exact opposite character biases. But I tried! ;)

YAY! *runs off to read*

Also, your icon, man. Your icon. That no one ever said that to Gaius (ESPECIALLY post-coitally) is a travesty.

[asta77.livejournal.com]

See, I love Buffy, but when I think about it it was three seasons of greatness, three more seasons of mostly okayness and occasional genius and one season of WHY. So I don't know why I love it so much.

I'm curious, do you view Seasons 1-3 being great, 4-6 as being OK, and 7 as WHY? Or do you feel the quality jumped around? I can rank the seasons, but they're all over the place for me.

I'm even weirder; I find him attractive as Lee in the first three seasons, but I didn't like the suit. And I'm not really attracted to him as Jamie Bamber either.

WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?! ;p

But, to be fair, there are moments (however brief!) where I don't find him attractive. Maybe I'm a bad Jamie fangirl, but I do not think he looks awesome or hot or gorgeous in every picture taken of him. And while I do love him in a suit, there are times where I'm left thinking, "What the hell were you thinking???" The boy should never be allowed to dress himself.

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Okay, Great-->Okay--WHY? is an oversimplification, because I thoroughly enjoyed the first five seasons, and I'm not sure that if you counted up all the good/bad/in-between episodes, seasons four and five wouldn't do a lot better than season one, at least. But as a whole, I like the season-long arcs in 1-3 a lot more than those in 4-5. I also like the high-school setting and the tight-knit dynamic between the Scoobies and Giles, and I think the metaphors were generally better done, while in later seasons the subtext started rapidly becoming the text, as it were.

I loved the beginning of season six, and was pretty excited about Buffy's arc and Buffy/Spike. But then "Wrecked" happened, and for me Willow's literal magic addiction was an absolute they just didn't care moment. And I felt like the bad episodes were worse than the bad episodes of other seasons.

And I can't even talk about season seven. ;) By the end, I was hoping that spec about Giles having died at the beginning and he was really the First pretending to be him was true, just so there would be SOMEONE on the show I could still LIKE.

WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?! ;p

*dies* Okay, this talk of attractiveness is all on "tv people attractiveness" scales, so yes, if I saw Jamie walking around on the street my jaw would undoubtedly drop. And I DO find him quite attractive as Lee, at least prior to the career change; my only consolation in having to watch Black Market a second time with my roommate is that he's really, really pretty to look at. Maybe he's just a little too perfect looking to really make my knees melt? IDK. I have weird taste. ;p

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I'd agree the metaphors became less subtle as the series progressed. I was actually shocked they made Willow's magic addiction literal.

I still rank Season 5 as my favorite. I didn't find Glory a particularly interesting villain and the Dawn stuff is iffy, but it was the season I got hooked on the show (I didn't actually begin watching until Season 4) and got involved in online fandom thanks to Buffy and Spike so it holds a special place in my heart. I'm also a big fan of Season 2 (Spike! Dru! Angelus! Xander and Cordelia!) and I think I'm one of the few people who really liked Season 4. Yes, the season has the worst Big Bads of the series and we are introduced to Riley, but I love the humor and Pangs, Something Blue, and Hush were three awesome episodes that aired back to back to back! Season 1 I was, and largely still am, bored with so I rank it at the bottom even though I would agree the final season had it's share of problems and I find Angel's series finale superior.

And I actually do understand not everyone being attracted to Jamie and that he, for some, is too pretty. That's kind of how I feel about Tom Welling. Though his limited acting ability also lessens the attractiveness. :p

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

1. Gen fic. I think people often think something is not gen when it actually is. Or at least I think if you asked me I would say I almost never write gen fic. But thinking about it recently...I've written several friendship fics for Kara. And a Sam/Jean friendship drabble (ahem, about Kara and his marriage..but still...) But stuff that really uses the whole cast has always seemed daunting to me. I'm just going to agree with Allie all over this comment but like she said, I'm more focused on getting to the interpersonal relationships/emotion rather than plotting out a big action or mystery arc.

The fic battle has been a good challenge for me. I thought I wouldn't have much to share (because I don't like Kara!abuse stories much and I didn't want to write about her destiny because I have a fic in the works set during Maelstrom), but it's actually been quite the opposite and I've been trying to do one fic almost every day. (There's plenty of time, since it's open till the end of the month too.)

5. I liked Buffy (first three seasons most) and Angel. Dr. Horrible was clever but I couldn't be fangirly about it. Firefly...eh. I liked it but it didn't really go anywhere for me. Dollhouse has been less than impressive overall so far. I'll stick with it though because I like the actors.

6. Unless he is in a towel, I don't find Jamie Bamber very attractive. Ok, not totally true, he's got pretty eyes and a nice jaw, but I mostly feel the same as Allie. And I, too, liked him far more in uniform than in suits.

10. Billy. Eh. Was always kind of neutral on him. Don't care that Dee dumped him.

I'm curious as to what folk song it is for the Kara vid. You may have mentioned it before... Glad you have so many bunnies too.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

1. Yes, I agree. People think it's really plot heavy all the time, or like, a standalone episode that has no relation to anything arc-y, which would bore me stupid too. But as you say, you've actually written quite a lot of Kara gen, you know? I'm glad the battle has been a good exercise for you and yeah, I'll definitely try and get one or two more in before the deadline. I ought to practice what I preach, you know?

As to the action/mystery stuff, well...I don't do a lot of that either. I mean, I'm a real character-relationship-emotions type person too. So when I was writing the only really big "plotty" arc fic I wrote - The Body is a Myth - I basically only came up with all of those ideas because I was fascinated by what it would do to the characters? I think that a lot of stories I read have some sort of plot or other, unless they're really, really short.

As I said to Allie, it's less I want NOOO SHIPS and more I just want more of everything else? You know, more friendships and political discussions and mystical crap that doesn't signify anything but sounds awesome and ethical dilemmas and just putting characters in unfamiliar situations to see how they react and making up what happened to them in scenes we didn't see, you know?

5. I really thought Dr Horrible was good with the songs but the height of lazy in other ways. I didn't think the "twist" about having us sympathise with Dr Horrible even though he actually became a supervillain was all that original and Penny was a Girl in a Fridge, and I don't really buy into arguments of "But she was SUPPOSED to be!" because, um, that's the point.

10. Well I liked him and I did feel bad for him and Dee. But I also always felt, BILLY. LOVE YOUR PRESIDENT MORE. I WOULD.

The folk song is this one (http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/dave_carter_and_tracy_grammer_lyrics_21869/other_lyrics_52502/the_mountain_lyrics_547836.html) if you're interested. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but it's been in the back of my mind as a possibility since season 2 at least!

I have waaaay too many bunnies though. I'll probably never get through half of them but I'm always impatient to start new ones. I'm going to make myself finish in-progress stuff before starting new ones though. *is strict*

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

*nods* I didn't mean to imply that it was a choice between plot or character for gen fic, but I think, for me, the events of the show inspire me less and I am less naturally inclined to have ideas that stem from the mythic arcs or the missions or politics (definitely never politics). I watch for the relationships almost solely (I love the soap opera aspects of BSG most Heh.) so more shippy and even friendshippy ideas happen for me than other stuff. I would like to be more diverse though...so hopefully I am training my brain to do that with all these drabbles.

Honestly the thing I liked most about Dr. Horrible was that it reminded me how charming Nathan Fillion was (and Neil Patrick Harris sang at me). That's...well, kinda it. I like that Joss likes musicals though and is encouraging their profligation. :)

Interesting song choice. I'm intrigued to see the connections you will make and why you think it's a Kara song.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry, I didn't think you meant that I'm just a compulsive disclaimer and like blathering. ;)

For me, certainly some shows I'm really only in it for the soap aspect. So probably my opinions on gen would get affected by the show itself and my participation in its fandom? But for BSG especially, I was just fascinated by the whole package, you know? I wish I could find another show like that but currently...no. :(

I did also like the singing in Dr Horrible! Despite the fact I think Joss Whedon is overrated, one place he is definitely not overrated is his talent with music. There he is uniformly excellent. I did enjoy the cleverness of the songs; my issues with the series were mostly story-based.

I'm not entirely sure why I think it's a Kara song. It's certainly not so much the kickass pilot Kara song as it's a destined troubled Kara song - though I don't blieve the two are incompatible, or should be looked at in isolation. I think it's because it feels as lonely as I think Kara is during large parts of her storyline and life. Either the necessity of isolation to keep up those walls that make you the top gun, big shot, smoothest pilot on the ship, or the fact that you, alone, are destined to do...something. Mainly I think I see "the mountain" of the song as her impending doom/destiny, and the other parts of the story seem to be about a journey and harships which also fit her?

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Every other time I've tentatively crawled back to this universe they've done something like turning the Master from Cadfael into a Tennant Clone or murdering Tosh. :/

:/

It would have to be Moffat wouldn't it. I usually loved his eps, even if I happened to be hiding behind the couch. I'm waiting for my better judgment to kick in here, because it can only end in tears!

And while I'm on it,

3. YES. THIS. Fastest show whiplash I ever had was watching the Christmas Invasion and realizing how much I hated David Tennat's Doctor after my high of the first series. And there's a couple fellow Harriet Jones fans on my flist who would help with the smackdown, I'm sure. I did catch a good chunk of the 2nd and third series and I'm wondering if the kind of apocryphal story about DT being sick while filming Human Nature is true. Because this may be the only time I actually liked his acting, though the character was as self-involved as ever.

1. Mhmm, yes. The shows I fall for all have all tend the have these sprawling ensembles of characters, where the realtionships are just one part of what I love. I'll second the rec to check out rose_griffes work, she also keeps a very tidy Delicious fic page that has a gen tag, I think. It's how I found the good stuff back when I was lurking.

4. PK Wars...wasn't awful? I hated what happened with Sikozu's character, and..other things, but it did have some spectacular scenes and sort of justified my love for Muppets and also all of them. I just could not have coped with Bad Timing as the end, even if I do agree that everything a little too neat. But I was actually pretty happy at the end.

6. Heh, it's funny like that. I have almost no attraction to Lee Adama, except as a politician with awful hair. Jamie Bamber's pretty though. *iz condradictory*

8. As much as I thought that Tigh/Ellen was absolutely hilarious when it crushed all in terms of epic robot love story, they had kind of already used up what was interesting about them for me by the end I think? They were a fascinating trainwreck that tore my heart out a lot little during season 3. But they had that same monumentally selfish vibe (for everyone but each other) in 4.5 that turned me off of A/R forever and retconning in the bright, shiny future for them was just...odd. And I miss the frakked-up-but-mutually-redemptive vibe Caprica/Tigh had the potential for. You make me nervous with those deleted scenes.

Vids!

Since you have reassured me that Sam Anders will eventually have a vid of his very own, the Ellen/Cavil genesis vid is strangely compelling. I want to know that story. It's interesting enough that I really hope The Plan doesn't kill it dead with whatever it decides to retcon. Not that I'm not jumping for joy at everything I've heard so far, but.... And prolix_allie's more than up to prodding "their's a war for your mind, Kara, but GLEEE! That one would be so awesome I can't even say.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

OMFG YOUR ICON <3

Yeah, Stephen Moffat's episodes are always awesome. And yet. It can only end in tears.

Also YES. Harriet Jones show whiplash. At least you didn't then have your Christmas Day Phone Home event dominated by your Dad telling you how AWESOME it was. (I mean, I presume. You might have been). >:( I love my dad, but really, he has questionable taste in television.

4. If you don't already know this about Sikozu's plotline in PKW (which I also hate), here's something that might make you want to throttle something.

She wasn't originally scripted to double-cross Scorpius. But Wayne Pygram asked for the script change because he felt that Scorpius should be a more menacing villain and wanted to end with something harsher and more like, badass or whatever. So basically Sikozu's character got fucked in order to pander to Pygram's desire to make his villain less interesting.

One of the good things the recently published comic strips did was somewhat save Sikozu's character by expanding on WHY she was spying for the Scarrans and how that wasn't at odds with her hatred of them or her desire to free her people. Let me know if you want details.

As much as I thought that Tigh/Ellen was absolutely hilarious when it crushed all in terms of epic robot love story, they had kind of already used up what was interesting about them for me by the end I think?

Yes.

They were a fascinating trainwreck that tore my heart out a little lot during season 3

Strikethrough amended, but yes.

But they had that same monumentally selfish vibe (for everyone but each other) in 4.5 that turned me off of A/R forever and retconning in the bright, shiny future for them was just...odd.

Yes.

And I miss the frakked-up-but-mutually-redemptive vibe Caprica/Tigh had the potential for.

Yes.

Damn, man, talking about all the stuff I didn't like about 4.5 makes me so blue. I'ts just such a waste of such brilliant stuff. Even though Ellen/Cavil is pretty fucking amazing and in No Exit totally sold me on her as the final cylon, I still don't think I'll ever not be sad about what her return does to Tigh's arc, you know? Even if I pretend in my head like they didn't jerk Caprica around forever.

You make me nervous with those deleted scenes.

You know those discs I sent you? You already have it. It's the creepy back rub scene. I very, very almost didn't include it and am still not entirely sure why I did except I think I was warring between a) oh dear god my eyes, b) a general belief that there ought to have been more content about that relationship and her character in particular included throughout the second half of the season and in the end I just...figured I'd be a completist.

So. You can go and destroy your eyes anytime you like... o_O

As to vids!

I don't think The Plan will kill it dead with its retcons. We all know how I respond these days to canon I dislike. It just might turn into a Redactica-vid instead. ;) But I honestly don't think I'll have any problems with The Plan. Because even with its retcons, due to the timeframe, it's not going to be about the stuff I hated in 4.5? Even if they try to foreshadow the deus ex machina ending, at this point in the series, it'll probably still just come across as opinion and not fact?

I agree that the Ellen/Cavil genesis vid is compelling; it's why I want to vid it. But I'm not sure I have enough footage without having to allude to the parts of the story I didn't like? We'll see... I dunno, talking about it has made me like the idea more again. Maybe.

Plus I just realised I also forgot to mention my "Breakups on a Battlestar" duet of Kara/Laura, Lee/Laura as she dumps them both.

WHY? WHY BRAIN? WHY NOT BUNNIES ABOUT SHOWS THAT CAUSE ME LESS ANGST?! *sigh*

As to "there's a war going on for your mind, kara," to be honest, I think not being 100% certain it WOULD be that awesome is why I'm putting it off until I feel I'm able to do it justice? Again, we'll see. I certainly don't want to abandon the idea forever.

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Hah, one of my joys the last couple of days has been the adding of new, sexy, genocidal robot icons. <3

So basically Sikozu's character got fucked in order to pander to Pygram's desire to make his villain less interesting.


Oh hell, I'd forgotten that (for preservation of personal sanity, obv). I definitely want details. I mean, there were other things I disliked, but that was one of the biggest WTF's for basic characterization, IMO.

o. You can go and destroy your eyes anytime you like... o_O

o_O

OMG! I thought I had watched all of those? APPARENTLY NOT. That was...awkward to say the least. Ah. It's scenes like that where I can't really argue if anyone wants to bring up their inherent creepiness. It's sort of "ask me again later?"

And, ick, sorry for the depression over the suck there. I think that, for me, the discussion of it actually makes me feel better by confirming I'm not crazy for thinking it should have been more? And you know, I'm being honest when I say that fanworks like Redactica and Chaila's rage vid helped A LOT. But I really get that reaction, my dad has a similar one when we inevitably go at the finale. I feel like I break out the pom-poms comparatively. :/

Because even with its retcons, due to the timeframe, it's not going to be about the stuff I hated in 4.5?

My only fear with that screwing with the basic genesis stuff from No Exit, which might make me cry. They could always make Sam a lonely hobo.

But it's one of those ideas that I think could be brilliant so I selfishly hope you do find a way to make it work.

And the Kara vid not being as interesting makes some sense. Because of the timing and finale it can't ever have the same urgency as an epic rap battle between Laura, the Hybrid, death and God. I mean. <3. The stakes just aren't as high though. Maybe this is one that's Redactica appropriate? Also, tell me that this would not make an awesome Final Five genesis vid.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Okay, the Sikozu thing, I'm a little hazy on cus the comic was some months ago, but basically, she worked out that while Scorpius was 100% committed to defeating the Scarrans, helping the Kalish was an incidental, teritiary goal at best. He was willing to play on her sympathies and talents, but he wasn't about to go out of his way to join her war. So then Ahkna contacted her and said that in exchange for shopping Scorp, she'd set the Kalish free. Which to be honest, is a little bit of a huge thing to offer a single spy even if you're getting increasingly desperate because your magical flowers are all dead and soon you'll be really stupid. But whatever, apparently it worked and shockingly Ahkna held up her end of the deal and the Kalish are now free.

Except they didn't take too kindly to Sikozu's collaboration with the Scarrans even in face of their freedom and thus exiled her. (Which again, the Kalish didn't, as a race, seem that culturally idealistic to me, but there you go.)

So, um, it's not really all that watertight a retcon in terms of why characters hold up various ends of various bargains, but I like it because it means that Sikozu never wavered in her loyalty to freeing her people AND that she succeeded.

OMG! I thought I had watched all of those? APPARENTLY NOT. That was...awkward to say the least. Ah.

...yeeeeeah. Honestly I'm trying to remember now why I even included it. I think it was something along the lines of, at the time, I thought we ought to find out how Caprica knew it was Ellen. But dude, so glad it was cut.

And you know, I'm being honest when I say that fanworks like Redactica and Chaila's rage vid helped A LOT.

Yay! I'm so glad. Though I think that maybe I'm painting a different picture than I perhaps intended (though I'm jealous you have a dad who UNDERSTANDS when TV sucks!) I find it cathartic and affirming to discuss the ways in which it wasn't good with others too. But it does also bring up all the upset and depression I have about it up again. But again again, if it's still there then probably I'm not ready to let go of it again? It doesn't depress me in a flat, "just go away" sense, it...saddens me is probably a better term, but I still have the urge to discuss it?

The stakes just aren't as high though. Maybe this is one that's Redactica appropriate?

To be honest I think probably all my vids (with the exception of the 4.5 Rage vid) are going to be Redactica-compatible simply because that represents the parts of the show I didn't dislike, so it'll take something fairly large to make me step out of that space. Also I have some issues of self-consciousness with regards to being perceived as attacking stuff that make me hesitate a little before simply declaring vids to be Redactica vids, but...at the same time...those are kind of what I want to make. So we'll see. Fortunately this isn't a pressing concern just now.

Also, tell me that this would not make an awesome Final Five genesis vid.

OMFG. Unfortunately that site won't let me listen to the streaming song itself but judging from the lyrics that would be impossibly perfect. I don't suppose I could entice you to start vidding, could I? *refuses to give up her crusade to turn EVERYONE into a vidder*

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Ok, thank you for the summary. I mean, I agree it's not perfect or entirely logical a resolution, but I can see that dynamic happening with Sizkou and Scorpius. And she wins, which is something more.

I hear good thing about the Farscape tie-ins, I may have to put them on my list of things to check out today.

It doesn't depress me in a flat, "just go away" sense, it...saddens me is probably a better term, but I still have the urge to discuss it?

*nods*

I think I have a little less...sharp a reaction is all. More of a simmer to keep the things I hated from overwhelming what I liked? Or even just that the process of discussion, even/especially on the shortcomings, keeps me clinging to the show? IDK, emotional response continues to evolve, I guess.

My dad IS the "just go away" type after awhile and a couple of other people I know too, so I was hoping I hadn't hit that point of yours, yes. ;)

judging from the lyrics that would be impossibly perfect

And ok,listening to that song makes it even more perfect of a fit. The whole thing is very layered/manufactured with a sort of natural progression already built in. I don't know what Andrew Bird is doing half the time, but it's appropriately creepy, mechanical and epic. I almost fell out of my chair when the first verse hit. I think it's available on Imeem, but if you refuse to visit that evil bastard of a site, I'm more than happy to PM you. :)

I don't suppose I could entice you to start vidding, could I?

*cough* I may have already solicited chaila43 and daybreak777 as enablers. Both to tell me my Eights/uniformity/violent individualization idea did not suck and to hopefully overcome my tendency towards procrastination. We'll see if I succeed. ;)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

<3s your other new sexy robot icon too!

so I was hoping I hadn't hit that point of yours, yes. ;)

Oooh no. I think I'll still be here wanting to discuss this show - it's glory moments AND failures - long after everyone else has gotten pissed off at me. If they haven't already. ;)

IDK, emotional response continues to evolve, I guess.

I get this, very much so. And I think I agree. I don't believe my emotional response is going to change radically (i.e. I'll suddenly see the light and like the finale, although, hey, if it happened, that would be great for my piece of mind!) Nor am I sure that I've managed to move much beyond various iterations of disappointed with various grades of anger and/or sadness on top of that, but at the same time, it is...better to talk through it and continue to let the response change, I think? For sure if I do just walk away and not continue to engage I'll definitely lose the connection to something I spent so much time and creative effort on, and I don't want that. Even if my methods of engaging with it also continue to evolve?

For me perhaps it's also about that? Creative engagement continues to evolve?

but if you refuse to visit that evil bastard of a site, I'm more than happy to PM you. :)

That might be very nice, yes...

*cough* I may have already solicited chaila43 and daybreak777 as enablers. Both to tell me my Eights/uniformity/violent individualization idea did not suck and to hopefully overcome my tendency towards procrastination. We'll see if I succeed. ;)

YAY! I approve this decision AND the vid bunny! *thumbs up*

And now you've told me I feel much better about um, encouraging you. Yeah, that's what it is, encouraging. Not pestering, noooo, not at all...

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

For me perhaps it's also about that? Creative engagement continues to evolve?

Mhmm, that's a good way to put it. I can't claim to have spent as much time creatively on it, but it has taken up a very large part of my brain space and time. And, no I don't think the finale will suddenly not be disappointing, but I do still think the story worth my time, engagement and potential future creativity. It's a little sad to me I didn't get involved/off my ass in the fandom earlier and not have the projects I want to make colored my mixed emotions over the end. But, yeah, still clinging and constantly evolving my response here too.

Not pestering, noooo, not at all..

The thought would never, ever cross my mind. ;)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

I can't claim to have spent as much time creatively on it, but it has taken up a very large part of my brain space and time. And, no I don't think the finale will suddenly not be disappointing, but I do still think the story worth my time, engagement and potential future creativity.

Yes, exactly. And for what it's worth in terms of creative engagement I didn't only mean things like vids, I also meant the time and brain space I'd given over to thinking about it, because analysis and speculation and even joyful enthusiasm can all be said to be creatively stimulating even if it doesn't produce so much of a "work" you can point to.

Honestly, I don't know that I do think the story the finale gave me is one I think is worthy of my time and creative engagement, but I think the other eighty-four episodes are and that's far too much to write-off, if I can just...keep evolving until I'm at peace with that.

But, yeah, still clinging and constantly evolving my response here too.

*clings with you*

The thought would never, ever cross my mind. ;)

Good. Because now I've listened to that song (THANK YOU!), I wholeheartedly endorse you making a FF vid to it. I mean...it's weird yes and very long (though it can be cut down). But it could be spectacular. Actually something I wasn't expecting was that, listening to it, all the lyrical associations I got were frustratingly skewed toward their 4.5 storylines (particularly the ones I kind of hated, WTF brain?!) instead of their 4.0 and earlier ones. Which was kind of heartbreaking. But however one made it, you're right, the lyrics but also the music itself, are oddly and touchingly perfect.

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't know that I do think the story the finale gave me is one I think is worthy of my time and creative engagement, but I think the other eighty-four episodes are and that's far too much to write-off

Linked those a little too close apparently? I basically agree, it's not the finale that keeps me clinging, but all the rest. So I really wish my brain WOULD STOP GETTING STUCK ON THE FINALE LOOP OF DOOM. Man.

all the lyrical associations I got were frustratingly skewed toward their 4.5 storylines (particularly the ones I kind of hated, WTF brain?!)

AHAHAHA! No, I'm sure our associations were different but, yes, exactly. It kind of unfortunately references and draws to the conclusion of their story in 4.5(being chucked into the sun, porno-strangled, eaten by lions),doesn't it? Maybe as the end of their place in this cycle? Hmm, I think I'm just babbling about it now because talking about it is making me excited for it to exist. I should really just go put it on paper, even if it takes awhile to get made. And then go make something!

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

So I really wish my brain WOULD STOP GETTING STUCK ON THE FINALE LOOP OF DOOM. Man.

ME TOO. DENY IT HAPPENED WITH ME. CLAP YOUR HANDS IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN THE FINALE!

Ahem.


It kind of unfortunately references and draws to the conclusion of their story in 4.5(being chucked into the sun, porno-strangled, eaten by lions),doesn't it?

YES. And like, that is difficult for someone who is trying to pretend none of that happened.

Although I am a little in love with you for using the phrase "porno-strangled" because it really, really was.

It's like one of those vids that wants to be made as some kind of retcon of the finale via context as in saying, "you guys, their ends were HORRIFYINGLY TRAGIC!" and yet...I still do not want to admit that any of it happened. Even as I DO because I want to discuss it and make things that point out how sad it all was.

Which probably means it's a good thing you're the one with the vid bunny not me!

Because either way -

And then go make something!

THIS I agree with!

And I will totally come out of my 4.5 denial bubble to squee over it!

[asta77.livejournal.com]

Didn't that happen with a biopic of Truman Capote a few years ago or something?

They did! And I actually liked the less financially successful (though equally critically successful) version.

I approve that at least they're putting the young, pretty boy in proper Old Man clothes.

I’m not finding him at all attractive, which is OK, and I’m not sure how I feel about the clothes. It would be funny if they cast a young guy who ends up acting old, in other words, his real age.

And you are far, far more knowledgeable about Who than I am, but I was wondering if the Doctors keep getting younger? With the exception of one actor, it seems to me that the Doctors of the original run of the series were all played by older actors. If they keep regressing him in age, the Twelfth Doctor should be around sixteen. O_o

I'm trying to be strong though.

HAHAHAHA.....HAHAHAHA....uh, HA!

::wipes tears from eyes::

::looks at calendar to predict when you will cave::

Porn? Generally speaking, a world of meh. The few explicit stories I've read and thought were really great, usually managed, somehow, to use said explicitness to some narrative/thematic point beyond OMGHOTT.

I fully support porn in fic, but, I have to agree with you that I need some plot or at least the author attempting to convey the characters thoughts and feelings during the scene. The bulk of my fic reading still is from when I was in the Buffy fandom and though I read A LOT of NC17 fic the stories were almost always long, involved fics and a few were even series so there was much more going on then just Buffy and Spike doing it. I want motivation besides lust.

(Where, in a surreal turn of events, my husband (then-boyfriend) shoved about sixty leaflets into Jade Goody's passing limousine, cus she rolled down the window to see what the fuss was about).

You have your share of almost celebrity encounters, don't you? Which reminds me, Ioan Gruffudd is doing that con in New York in October and should you also be in the area I am so tempted to fly in and haul you there just so you can tell him you went to school with his sister and witness the conversation that develops. ;)

Unless he is in a suit (WTF brain?!) I just don't find Jamie Bamber very attractive.

I.....I....I just HAVE NO WORDS.

But in SaGN, I loved them and like...it made me think of how it should have been between them.

We’ve had this discussion, but, again, YES, SaGN was the first time I saw chemistry between the two and the potential for what could have (should have) been between them. One new problem I have is, in Seasons 2 and 3, Dee and Sam seemed to be used as obstacles for Lee and Kara being together (which hurt all parties involved), but, in the end, we’re told Lee and Kara were never meant to be? So, did Ron change his mind? And, if not, why not try harder to make Lee/Dee work?

And I bet you all thought Billy-Love was universal, didn't you?

I’m not as angry as him as you are, but that’s mostly because I never really cared about him beyond Laura caring about him. I just never found him, independently, at all interesting. And I actually can forget he was even on the show until someone mentions him or I watch an old episode. Part of me wonders if Ron gave Billy such a crappy excuse to not go with Laura as well as a lame death because he was not happy about Paul wanting to be released from his contract. And, in a way, I can understand because it’s not like he was going on to some awesome project.

Human/Cylon OTP! (asta77 - yes this is the one we were talking about).

Woo!

And later on tonight I’ll get to the email. ;)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

I don't find the new doctor at all attractive either, but my cynical first thought when he was cast was definitely that he was supposed to be.

The doctors are, broadly, getting younger but it's just because we no longer live in an era where a frumpy looking fat old man can be the hero of a show. (YOU HEAR THAT, ADAMA?!) Though, just...boo. I will never be accepting of the Doctor as a sex symbol.

::looks at calendar to predict when you will cave::

IF I FIND OUT YOU'VE BEEN TAKING BETS I WILL NOT BE HAPPY!

I just HAVE NO WORDS.

...at least I find him attractive in certain circumstances? That must be better than nothing? And if not, that means there's more left for you? :p

I am so tempted to fly in and haul you there just so you can tell him you went to school with his sister and witness the conversation that develops. ;)

O.O You'd have to drag me out of the bathroom, woman! I'd be horribly shy, and even if it was obvious that I wasn't lying cus we'd know all the same teachers, I'd be terrified of coming off as some sort of strange stalker or something. It's strange thinking about that actually; I'd be fine getting an autograph off a famous person and saying a few words (hell, me and Kev did speak to Billy Dee Williams briefly at a Star Wars con), but something about actually having something of a, err, not exactly connection but being part of the same pretty tiny subculture and knowing a lot of the same people makes me feel really self-conscious at the thought? How odd. o_O

So, did Ron change his mind? And, if not, why not try harder to make Lee/Dee work?

I think he did change his mind, yes. Which on the one hand, is comforting, to know that a writer can look at how the story's developing and account for it not fitting into a previously determined pattern.

Though I don't know why Lee/Dee stunk so awfully. To be honest, I think it was because a lot of it got cut (and RDM has copped the blame on that one) so there was no groundwork for it, and also that it was established almost entirely in two very bland if not actually bad episodes - Sacrifice and Black Market. And then the bulk of it occured when they were completely foundering with what to do with Lee anyway?

Part of me wonders if Ron gave Billy such a crappy excuse to not go with Laura as well as a lame death because he was not happy about Paul wanting to be released from his contract. And, in a way, I can understand because it’s not like he was going on to some awesome project.

Yes, I wonder about that too. Paul Campbell had, I'm sure, good reasons for making the choices he did, but at the same time, it didn't really do much for the character, or my appreciation of him. I know that they wanted him to sign another contract to stay with the show for x amount of time and he was resisting and eventually they had to let him go because he didn't cave first, so I think the show decided to stop waiting on him. Which, yeah, I tend to think that Sacrifice was mostly just an episode that never quite came together; I doubt they were trying to do a mediocre episode, but it does feel very perfunctory.

Woo!

And later on tonight I’ll get to the email. ;)

Which reminds me, whenever I actually finish enough vids to start on that one, I'll have to wade through my inbox to find all those emails... o_O

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I don't find the new doctor at all attractive either, but my cynical first thought when he was cast was definitely that he was supposed to be.

I suspect you are right, but I don't see it. And there are hotter young Brit actors. I also now have an uneasy suspicion that Jack will be hitting (harder) on the Doctor. Yes, I needed to share that image with you. :)

we no longer live in an era where a frumpy looking fat old man can be the hero of a show. (YOU HEAR THAT, ADAMA?!)

HA. True. I do think older men can be the hero, but not frumpy looking old men. And not frumpy looking old men who treat everyone around them like shit, make their children feel like losers, and make everything about them. NOT THAT I'M BITTER.

IF I FIND OUT YOU'VE BEEN TAKING BETS I WILL NOT BE HAPPY!

So you want four to five odds? ;)

but something about actually having something of a, err, not exactly connection but being part of the same pretty tiny subculture and knowing a lot of the same people makes me feel really self-conscious at the thought? How odd.

Well, yes, you are. ;p And I could start things off by saying "I run a fansite for his BFF and, Oh, do you think Horatio and Archie were lovers because Jamie doesn't think so." And then you won't feel so terrified or weird, but will likely be hiding in the bathroom as to not be associated with me. :)

Though I don't know why Lee/Dee stunk so awfully. To be honest, I think it was because a lot of it got cut (and RDM has copped the blame on that one) so there was no groundwork for it, and also that it was established almost entirely in two very bland if not actually bad episodes - Sacrifice and Black Market. And then the bulk of it occured when they were completely foundering with what to do with Lee anyway?

The editing definitely hurt the relationship, although that one scene where they make it clear that Dee is still with Billy and she's planning to go away with Lee for a couple of days (and nights) and neither has an issue with that makes both of them look terrible (Lee even seems to have a cocky attitude about stealing Dee away from Billy) and I'm SO GLAD that got cut. But there are other moments between the two that certainly would have helped develop and sell the relationship.

You also make an interesting point about how the writers were foundering with Lee at the time. They couldn't see the inherent complexity of the character so they were trying to make him complex by giving him this relationship with another woman when he hadn't dealt with his feelings for Kara (and pretty much did the same with Kara and Sam) and it just went badly for all involved. I think the big problem is the writers never saw Lee as the interesting character we saw him as. :/

I'm getting the circumstances of Paul's exit muddled and you are correct about him dragging his feet on (re)signing with the show. The writers did need to know he'd be available to them when needed, though we also know they have been very accommodating in letting actors have time off for other projects or the birth of children or whatever. So I tend to place more blame with Paul for Billy's somewhat abrupt exit. He seemed to have bigger aspirations than a reoccurring role on BSG (wanna bet he might have been one of the Five had he stuck around?) and other than the failed Knight Rider he hasn't been seen much.

I'm pretty sure I still have the emails if you can't find them. ;)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, you are. ;p And I could start things off by saying "I run a fansite for his BFF and, Oh, do you think Horatio and Archie were lovers because Jamie doesn't think so." And then you won't feel so terrified or weird, but will likely be hiding in the bathroom as to not be associated with me. :)

Or possibly declaring, loudly, in welsh, that you had taken me hostage. SAVE ME. :p

They couldn't see the inherent complexity of the character so they were trying to make him complex by giving him this relationship with another woman when he hadn't dealt with his feelings for Kara (and pretty much did the same with Kara and Sam) and it just went badly for all involved.

Except Kara and Same were characters for whom this was a little more in character.

As you say, they made such an interesting, complicated character out of Lee but then didn't really know what to do with him. I don't think they really realised how complex he was in that they saw him as the innocent young foil for Roslin and didn't really think through the implications of the quite intricate moral framework and political belief systems they'd given him. So once Adama began playing the political foil to Roslin, they assumed he ought to sink back to the lands of two dimensional pretty angst-magnet like so many other shows and predictably, that didn't work for the character at all.

In sum: YAY SEASON 4 LEE!

(wanna bet he might have been one of the Five had he stuck around?)

Absolutely. Though it works out better for me because, at least prior to weird characterisation/ending in 4.5 (or possibly even with that), I find Tory ten times more compelling than Billy.

I'm pretty sure I still have the emails if you can't find them. ;)

Yay! It might come to that. Though obviously, I don't need them quite yet.

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

Opinions!
One and Two: I totally agree. (Though long and plotty sort of depends. I usually like the short character studies better, but long and plotty is good too!)

3. I'm okay with DT's Tenth Doctor, but I really love the idea of Harriet Jones beating him up. *g*

6. Bamber is very attractive to me when not playing the role of Lee Adama. *shrugs* (But yes, suit = super hot)

9. I don't care about authorial intent if it can't be easily grasped onscreen. Though, yes, I would agree it was his intent to make Hera the only hybrid. I'm happily ignoring it. Plus any other Eights could have created offspring with the same mtDNA. *sticks out tongue at RDM*

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yes I do agree, with the plotty it does depend largely because "plotty" is not a genre - it's too huge. I like plotty when it is plotty about the mysteries and themes I love; not so much when it's about things that disinterest me - like everything! So for instance, plotty about uncovering the nature of the cycle of time or the final cylon or something? Awesome. Plotty like a standalone Monster of the Week episode of The X-Files? Meh.

but I really love the idea of Harriet Jones beating him up. *g*

There's hope for you yet! :D

Bamber is very attractive to me when not playing the role of Lee Adama. *shrugs* (But yes, suit = super hot)

There seem to be an inordinate amount of people who find Bamber attractive but only when/if certain situations apply, largely to do with him not somehow being Lee Adama or only as Lee Adama. Which like, okay, it maybe makes me less weird, but it's MORE weird as a phenomenon...

Though, yes, I would agree it was his intent to make Hera the only hybrid. I'm happily ignoring it.

*CHEERS YOU ON*

I think the part about the authorial intent that I find weirdest though, is why? I mean like, I actually do not get what possible benefit to a story that was, in the end, about blending races and learning to live together and not repeat the mistakes of the past, in retracting the potential to literally interbreed and create a new race? Weirdness.

But as you say, it wasn't explicitly on screen! Though I do feel it was fairly heavily implied in the text which does...really bug me. :/

Plus any other Eights could have created offspring with the same mtDNA. *sticks out tongue at RDM*

EXACTLY.

(Though if we're going to be REALLY picky science-wise, our mtDNA is soooo closely related to the mtDNA of every other living thing on the planet including plants and stuff, it still kind of doesn't make sense that the source is an alien one; mtDNA is like the one part of our genetic make up that argues most strongly against our origin being at any point extra terrestrial, or if it was, that it was back when single-celled organisms were the only things on the planet.

But really, as the person who DID NOT CARE AT ALL that Laura Roslin got cured by MAGICAL CYLON BABY BLOOD, I am really, really not in a position to nitpick the science...)

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

I came back here to say more about Lee "Justice" Adama's relative attractions and realized that my name was being taken in vain bandied about for genfic. So I thought I'd be extra-helpful (also known as butting in) and give you a few links. Yes, I'm doing the BSG recs (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/tag/battlestar+galactica+(new)) for crack_van this month. It's definitely not all genfic, but you can find some good stuff there, depending on your interests and how much those coincide with any month's reccer.

I have lots of stuff bookmarked here (http://delicious.com/rose_griffes/bsg%3Afic) (though no gen tag). siljamus also has a bunch of fic bookmarked on delicious.com with a bsg:fic (http://delicious.com/siljamus/bsg%3Afic) tag. She probably has more gen stuff bookmarked than I do, but her bookmarks are more sporadic for different time frames. (I'd venture to say that season four killed most of her fannish appreciation, which led to less bookmarking.) Silja's great about including character tags and other details.
I started doing that! Then I stopped.

Okay. Done with that.

I think the part about the authorial intent that I find weirdest though, is why? I mean like, I actually do not get what possible benefit to a story that was, in the end, about blending races and learning to live together and not repeat the mistakes of the past, in retracting the potential to literally interbreed and create a new race? Weirdness.

YES! To me the obvious BIG message of all of season four was the need to make the two groups into one. And then they made Nicky a non-hybrid and so forth. Makes no sense.
Also it annoys me because it totally retcons my crackfic in which Tory and Two have a baby, much to her dismay.