Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Trailer: Hemingway & Gellhorn
Ooh, a premiere date: May 28! Whee! I'm sure it will surprise absolutely none of you to hear that I will be ALL OVER this one. (via Alyssa Rosenberg)
Morning Coffee (3/20/12)
Happy First Day of Spring! It's ridiculously warm here.
Today in "the BBC must be creating their shows literally from my dreams:" British procedural. Historical drama. Jack the Ripper. Matthew Macfadyen. All in one show. I'm beside myself.
James Fallows has interesting and important things to say about The Sad and Infuriating Mike Daisey Case.
10 Years Later: The Tragedy of Andrea Yates
Alarming story of the day: Gadhafi’s Son Built a Ship With Deadly Shark Tank Inside
Round 2 of TV Showrunner Madness has many fewer difficult decisions.
Otters Who Look Like Benedict Cumberbatch
I'm sure the better-informed have many more feelings than I do about the first image from Arrow.
Idris Elba as Imhotep and an astronomer in the future? Awesome.
Interesting: the ubiquity of QWERTY keyboards is changing the meaning of words.
Today in "the BBC must be creating their shows literally from my dreams:" British procedural. Historical drama. Jack the Ripper. Matthew Macfadyen. All in one show. I'm beside myself.
James Fallows has interesting and important things to say about The Sad and Infuriating Mike Daisey Case.
10 Years Later: The Tragedy of Andrea Yates
Alarming story of the day: Gadhafi’s Son Built a Ship With Deadly Shark Tank Inside
Round 2 of TV Showrunner Madness has many fewer difficult decisions.
Otters Who Look Like Benedict Cumberbatch
I'm sure the better-informed have many more feelings than I do about the first image from Arrow.
Idris Elba as Imhotep and an astronomer in the future? Awesome.
Interesting: the ubiquity of QWERTY keyboards is changing the meaning of words.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Morning Coffee (3/19/12)
Happy Monday! Sorry for the lack of a Morning Coffee post on Friday, by the way. I had a bunch of other stuff due that morning and something had to go.
Someone has finally just gone for it and made Nathan Fillion a god.
Great one from my dad: An academic sentence generator.
Malinda Lo's new sci-fi novel, Adaptation, looks interesting. See the cover and enter to win an ARC at her blog.
Fun history scandal of the day: RutherfordGate.
I won't say I've ever been particularly interested in the Home Alone movies, but I stand by my pledge to watch whatever Aaron Ginsburg and Wade MacIntyre write.
Fascinating and a little creepy: The invisible mother in early child photography.
Someone has finally just gone for it and made Nathan Fillion a god.
Great one from my dad: An academic sentence generator.
Malinda Lo's new sci-fi novel, Adaptation, looks interesting. See the cover and enter to win an ARC at her blog.
Fun history scandal of the day: RutherfordGate.
I won't say I've ever been particularly interested in the Home Alone movies, but I stand by my pledge to watch whatever Aaron Ginsburg and Wade MacIntyre write.
Fascinating and a little creepy: The invisible mother in early child photography.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Book Thoughts: Unspoken & The Thief
Over at my book blog this weekend I have two not-quite-reviews. I ended up loving Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief, but my review is truncated because I don't want to risk ruining the magic of the plot for anyone. And I completely adored Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken, but my actual review will be posted closer to the release date in the fall. In the meantime, here are my first, excited thoughts.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Book Giveaway: Mend It Better
My good friend Caitlin Andrews has a project in the awesome-looking new book Mend It Better, which will be of interest to all you crafty and DIY types out there. And even better: Caitlin's having a giveaway of the book at her blog, Stevens Handmade. Just comment on the post by Sunday night at 8 ET to be entered to win a free copy! Head right this way to enter.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Pilot Thoughts: Missing
ABC's new show Missing, which premieres tonight at 8, sounds like the sort of thing I should be all over - it's about a retired CIA agent (played by Ashley Judd) running around Europe looking for her missing college-aged son. Unfortunately, the first 15 minutes of the pilot went back and forth between being utterly boring and completely preposterous that I almost turned it off. (And it's not like I demand a lot of action or realism from my spy stories - I'm a fan of both Rubicon and Burn Notice, after all.) Luckily - for the show, maybe not for me - it improved a bit after that, at least enough that I'll give it another episode or two to hook me.
It's not a coincidence that I started liking the show better when some supporting characters - especially Cliff Curtis's CIA station chief - appeared, because Judd and her character were most of what made the beginning near unwatchable. Judd's performance is laughably melodramatic and grating, but to be fair, she's not given much to work with. I didn't know it was possible to make a woman looking for her missing son seem so unsympathetic. The character is written as so self-absorbed and difficult to deal with that I'm having a hard time imagining how she could have been such a successful undercover agent. And she seems happy to kill people at the drop of a hat, which a) doesn't make her more likeable and b) doesn't actually serve her ends. They're not going to tell you where your son is if they're dead, lady.
Look, I'm all in favor of more badass women on TV and more female leads in action stuff, but I'm just not convinced that showing a hysterical, irrational woman who only cares about her child - but happens to be running around breaking into places and killing people - is actually progress. (And that's another thing - she has supposedly been out of the CIA for ten years and just going to PTA meetings and jogging, basically, and I'm not thrilled with the implication that the only valid reason to act spy-like again is if her child is in danger.) I'd respect the show more if I thought they were actually trying to show us a woman unraveling and becoming perhaps criminally insane because of the loss of her child, but it seems like the show wants us to think her behavior is laudable.
And . . . I know this basically all sounds negative, but it's a pilot. Sometimes things improve. Many characters I've wound up liking on other shows were awful in their pilots. Hurry up and improve, Missing.
It's not a coincidence that I started liking the show better when some supporting characters - especially Cliff Curtis's CIA station chief - appeared, because Judd and her character were most of what made the beginning near unwatchable. Judd's performance is laughably melodramatic and grating, but to be fair, she's not given much to work with. I didn't know it was possible to make a woman looking for her missing son seem so unsympathetic. The character is written as so self-absorbed and difficult to deal with that I'm having a hard time imagining how she could have been such a successful undercover agent. And she seems happy to kill people at the drop of a hat, which a) doesn't make her more likeable and b) doesn't actually serve her ends. They're not going to tell you where your son is if they're dead, lady.
Look, I'm all in favor of more badass women on TV and more female leads in action stuff, but I'm just not convinced that showing a hysterical, irrational woman who only cares about her child - but happens to be running around breaking into places and killing people - is actually progress. (And that's another thing - she has supposedly been out of the CIA for ten years and just going to PTA meetings and jogging, basically, and I'm not thrilled with the implication that the only valid reason to act spy-like again is if her child is in danger.) I'd respect the show more if I thought they were actually trying to show us a woman unraveling and becoming perhaps criminally insane because of the loss of her child, but it seems like the show wants us to think her behavior is laudable.
And . . . I know this basically all sounds negative, but it's a pilot. Sometimes things improve. Many characters I've wound up liking on other shows were awful in their pilots. Hurry up and improve, Missing.
Morning Coffee (3/15/12)
Happy Thursday! Vampire Diaries and Community come back tonight. In Plain Sight and Fairly Legal return tomorrow. It's a good week.
Tumblr of the day: Least Helpful Reviews
If you need some outrage in your day, read this comment thread about whether women need to act like "ladies."
L.L. Bean ice cream? YES PLEASE.
Your creepy news story for the day.
Calvino's list of types of books found in bookstores is a classic.
10 Women Who Took Titles Normally Reserved for Men
Tumblr of the day: Least Helpful Reviews
If you need some outrage in your day, read this comment thread about whether women need to act like "ladies."
L.L. Bean ice cream? YES PLEASE.
Your creepy news story for the day.
Calvino's list of types of books found in bookstores is a classic.
10 Women Who Took Titles Normally Reserved for Men
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
On Casting News and Spoilers...
It happened with The Vampire Diaries last night. It's happened with Justified twice in the past few weeks. Co-stars or recurring guest stars on current shows book new pilots. It's what they do! Actors want bigger roles and steady jobs! This is totally fine. And then outlets like Deadine report the casting, because, again, it's what they do! And then some fans read the news and get upset that the current show has been "spoiled" by the knowledge of this other show's casting. And . . . honestly, I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and calm down.*
First of all, knowing that someone's role will be reduced or eliminated does not actually spoil the plot. (And casting notices like these almost always claim that the actor will be available to return to his old show as a guest star, regardless of whether that actually happens.) It doesn't necessarily mean the character will die. He might move away. It might be something else entirely. "XYZ character will die in a car crash" is a spoiler. "XYZ actor may be leaving the show" is not. (Note: That was not a real spoiler, about anyone. I know nothing!) Sure, it may make you watch the rest of the season a little differently, but any show worth watching should be giving you plenty of reasons to stay engaged other than the future of one particular character, anyway.
But more importantly, we need to get past this idea that anyone has a right or a reasonable expectation to participate in public discussions of TV (or books or movies) while remaining in a spoiler-free bubble for whatever that person's definition of "spoiler" happens to be. If you're going to be upset by seeing Deadline headlines on Twitter, don't follow people who will retweet Deadline headlines. More to the point, if you want to talk about a show without hearing absolutely anything about the future, don't talk about it on Twitter or large, general fansites. Email your friends. Start your own forum with strict rules. There are options.
And this goes doubly for things that have already aired. Personally, I try not to tweet spoilers for a day or so (or at least until the West Coast has seen an episode) as a courtesy, but I don't actually think that anyone owes anyone this. If you know you haven't seen this week's episode of your favorite show yet and you really care deeply about not hearing about it, just don't go on Twitter or wherever else you know people will be discussing it until you see it. The people you follow don't magically know your viewing schedule, and frankly, it's not their responsibility to care. And for God's sake, don't throw a fit if someone mentions a plot point that aired months or years ago. (I refuse to even call it a "spoiler" at that point.) He won the basketball game without turning into a wolf. 27 years ago. If you haven't seen it yet, you can't care that much.
* Note: I am in no way saying people shouldn't get upset about a character or actor they like leaving a show. That's perfectly fine. I'm just saying they shouldn't get mad at other fans for talking about it.
First of all, knowing that someone's role will be reduced or eliminated does not actually spoil the plot. (And casting notices like these almost always claim that the actor will be available to return to his old show as a guest star, regardless of whether that actually happens.) It doesn't necessarily mean the character will die. He might move away. It might be something else entirely. "XYZ character will die in a car crash" is a spoiler. "XYZ actor may be leaving the show" is not. (Note: That was not a real spoiler, about anyone. I know nothing!) Sure, it may make you watch the rest of the season a little differently, but any show worth watching should be giving you plenty of reasons to stay engaged other than the future of one particular character, anyway.
But more importantly, we need to get past this idea that anyone has a right or a reasonable expectation to participate in public discussions of TV (or books or movies) while remaining in a spoiler-free bubble for whatever that person's definition of "spoiler" happens to be. If you're going to be upset by seeing Deadline headlines on Twitter, don't follow people who will retweet Deadline headlines. More to the point, if you want to talk about a show without hearing absolutely anything about the future, don't talk about it on Twitter or large, general fansites. Email your friends. Start your own forum with strict rules. There are options.
And this goes doubly for things that have already aired. Personally, I try not to tweet spoilers for a day or so (or at least until the West Coast has seen an episode) as a courtesy, but I don't actually think that anyone owes anyone this. If you know you haven't seen this week's episode of your favorite show yet and you really care deeply about not hearing about it, just don't go on Twitter or wherever else you know people will be discussing it until you see it. The people you follow don't magically know your viewing schedule, and frankly, it's not their responsibility to care. And for God's sake, don't throw a fit if someone mentions a plot point that aired months or years ago. (I refuse to even call it a "spoiler" at that point.) He won the basketball game without turning into a wolf. 27 years ago. If you haven't seen it yet, you can't care that much.
* Note: I am in no way saying people shouldn't get upset about a character or actor they like leaving a show. That's perfectly fine. I'm just saying they shouldn't get mad at other fans for talking about it.
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