Five word response to Doctor Who last week and this week:
The Rebel Flesh: Creepy Doctor with the Creepy face.
Almost People: OH MY GOD AMY.
In other news: I'm thinking about doing bits that are "Friends Comments" and "Grey's Anatomy Judges You". Also thinking about adding a bit for crime-drama but since I don't watch the quintessential crime-drama (though what that is I'm not sure, I was thinking CSI, or maybe Law and Order?) I'm not sure if I can. Anyways, working on a Friends Comments post at the moment. We'll see how it goes. :D
Showing posts with label Grey's Anatomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grey's Anatomy. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Season Finales
My response to each of the season finales I have seen in five words or less* per show.
30 Rock: Liz Lemon rocks.
Grey's Anatomy: Surprisingly undramatic (good thing).
HIMYM: I knew it was Barney's wedding.
Big Bang Theory: CHANDLER AND MONICA! MY EYES! (prompted by an article that spoiled me. I am not actually that upset about it)
Bones: WHAT?!?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!?!??!?!
Castle: THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!
I feel as if I am missing shows, but I am pretty sure that's all of them. STRANGE.
BONUS:
Doctor Who ('The Doctor's Wife' not a finale): Awwwwwwwwwwww.
*This statement may or may not be an accurate count of the words in the response.
30 Rock: Liz Lemon rocks.
Grey's Anatomy: Surprisingly undramatic (good thing).
HIMYM: I knew it was Barney's wedding.
Big Bang Theory: CHANDLER AND MONICA! MY EYES! (prompted by an article that spoiled me. I am not actually that upset about it)
Bones: WHAT?!?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!?!??!?!
Castle: THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!
I feel as if I am missing shows, but I am pretty sure that's all of them. STRANGE.
BONUS:
Doctor Who ('The Doctor's Wife' not a finale): Awwwwwwwwwwww.
*This statement may or may not be an accurate count of the words in the response.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Gearing Up
The 2010 - 2011 TV season begins Monday. I believe some shows have started but the majority of the shows I watch are getting their first episode next week. Here's what I'm following and why.
MONDAY:
House, MD --
We left off last season with House and Cuddy making out. WHAT?! Six years and now they start making out? HOW WILL THEY MANAGE SEASON SEVEN? I am curious to see what kind of things they can put House through while still keeping him House. However, I have been scared by How I Met Your Mother's treatment of characters who get together who should be together, so I am unsure if they will manage to pull through this drastic change. Still, it will be exciting and different and could re-energize the show.
How I Met Your Mother --
So, I hated season 5 of this show. Maybe it was the way I watched it, spread out like it is, or possibly its that the writers decided to ruin Robin, who is my favorite female on television, but either way, season 5 was not a good season for me. The last episode was probably the best (because DON IS GONE!) And it was a good place to be leaving off, with change in the air. I think the next season may be able to lift me out of the funk I am in with this show, but we shall see.
Castle --
A third season for Nathan Fillion? SHOCK. But this show has so much excellent, and raw, potential. They had the sense in the finale to have Kate realize she might like Castle enough to give it a go. They are pushing the boundaries they have set up with the week to week stuff and I like it. How far they can go, we will see, but I think that they are clever enough to make it work, and Nathan and Stana are going to make it work with the chemistry enough for me to give up on the writing and still love the show.
TUESDAY:
Glee --
We all know I don't like Glee about 75% of the time. I had my rant before. In my season finale episode wrap up post, which never got published, I mentioned that the finale of Glee was where the writers really got some pay off, and THAT IS HOW PACING IS DONE GUYS. Maybe they will take it from there, but I worry that its a once in a blue moon kind of thing. I have also heard they are cutting down on music and that is not okay with me. But, on the plus side, Kurt is getting a boyfriend and I think this season may have potential, we will have to see.
THURSDAY:
This is the big night.
Bones --
This past season bored me a little, gotta say. It wasn't that it wasn't good, but the little things started to get at me that didn't used to. Like the palm trees that DO NOT EXIST IN WASHINGTON, or the fact that the Washington Metro has a very specific look, and they ignored it, or the fact that that building that was at "American University" could not exist on this campus. But, I like that they have managed to move into a new place with the Bones/Booth relationship. The taking a year break I think is actually an amazing idea. I thought it was well conceived, if not thought out. I will be interested to see where they take it and what's going to happen.
30 Rock --
Oh Tina Fey. I am so hoping that she gets to have a boyfriend this season. I think it would be more fun to see her doing stuff like learning to accommodate someone else into Liz Lemon's life, then her doing the stereotypical ridiculousness they make her do on the show. I will probably be disappointed on this point, but I will continue to watch because its smart and funny.
Big Bang Theory --
Sheldon and a girl. I am a huge Sheldon/Penny shipper, but I think that the relationship that is going to unfold (spoiler) is going to be interesting to behold. I believe that it will, in fact, help my Shenny cause, as it will allow Sheldon to grow and become someone new. Leonard, Raj and Howard must also have face time, but I believe that the real draw of the show now is Sheldon. I worry, however, that BBT will lose its sense of who the show is about like HIMYM did, going from ensemble show to the Barney/Sheldon show. They may not make the same mistakes though, and we can hope that is true.
Grey's Anatomy --
Why? Why, you ask me. Well, Grey's has been a battle for me. I sometimes watch and I sometimes don't, but I believe there could be some interesting stuff coming from this season. It may also be heading towards its conclusion, as Ellen wants to get out of the Grey's business, and I am unsure if Lexie Grey can be the Grey in the title. Its going to be an interesting season, and may result in strangely good episodes.
Private Practice --
See, you should have waited until I said this show to ask me why. Not only is this worse then Grey's, all of the show has turned into a horrible mess of "WHO'RE YOU SLEEPING WITH?". But CHARLOTTE AND COOPER ARE GETTING MARRIED. LOVE.
So that's the new season for me. Maybe a new show will catch my eye. I am debating Nikita, as a new show, but I'm unsure if I'll have time, slash it looks a little trashy. So we'll see. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
MONDAY:
House, MD --
We left off last season with House and Cuddy making out. WHAT?! Six years and now they start making out? HOW WILL THEY MANAGE SEASON SEVEN? I am curious to see what kind of things they can put House through while still keeping him House. However, I have been scared by How I Met Your Mother's treatment of characters who get together who should be together, so I am unsure if they will manage to pull through this drastic change. Still, it will be exciting and different and could re-energize the show.
How I Met Your Mother --
So, I hated season 5 of this show. Maybe it was the way I watched it, spread out like it is, or possibly its that the writers decided to ruin Robin, who is my favorite female on television, but either way, season 5 was not a good season for me. The last episode was probably the best (because DON IS GONE!) And it was a good place to be leaving off, with change in the air. I think the next season may be able to lift me out of the funk I am in with this show, but we shall see.
Castle --
A third season for Nathan Fillion? SHOCK. But this show has so much excellent, and raw, potential. They had the sense in the finale to have Kate realize she might like Castle enough to give it a go. They are pushing the boundaries they have set up with the week to week stuff and I like it. How far they can go, we will see, but I think that they are clever enough to make it work, and Nathan and Stana are going to make it work with the chemistry enough for me to give up on the writing and still love the show.
TUESDAY:
Glee --
We all know I don't like Glee about 75% of the time. I had my rant before. In my season finale episode wrap up post, which never got published, I mentioned that the finale of Glee was where the writers really got some pay off, and THAT IS HOW PACING IS DONE GUYS. Maybe they will take it from there, but I worry that its a once in a blue moon kind of thing. I have also heard they are cutting down on music and that is not okay with me. But, on the plus side, Kurt is getting a boyfriend and I think this season may have potential, we will have to see.
THURSDAY:
This is the big night.
Bones --
This past season bored me a little, gotta say. It wasn't that it wasn't good, but the little things started to get at me that didn't used to. Like the palm trees that DO NOT EXIST IN WASHINGTON, or the fact that the Washington Metro has a very specific look, and they ignored it, or the fact that that building that was at "American University" could not exist on this campus. But, I like that they have managed to move into a new place with the Bones/Booth relationship. The taking a year break I think is actually an amazing idea. I thought it was well conceived, if not thought out. I will be interested to see where they take it and what's going to happen.
30 Rock --
Oh Tina Fey. I am so hoping that she gets to have a boyfriend this season. I think it would be more fun to see her doing stuff like learning to accommodate someone else into Liz Lemon's life, then her doing the stereotypical ridiculousness they make her do on the show. I will probably be disappointed on this point, but I will continue to watch because its smart and funny.
Big Bang Theory --
Sheldon and a girl. I am a huge Sheldon/Penny shipper, but I think that the relationship that is going to unfold (spoiler) is going to be interesting to behold. I believe that it will, in fact, help my Shenny cause, as it will allow Sheldon to grow and become someone new. Leonard, Raj and Howard must also have face time, but I believe that the real draw of the show now is Sheldon. I worry, however, that BBT will lose its sense of who the show is about like HIMYM did, going from ensemble show to the Barney/Sheldon show. They may not make the same mistakes though, and we can hope that is true.
Grey's Anatomy --
Why? Why, you ask me. Well, Grey's has been a battle for me. I sometimes watch and I sometimes don't, but I believe there could be some interesting stuff coming from this season. It may also be heading towards its conclusion, as Ellen wants to get out of the Grey's business, and I am unsure if Lexie Grey can be the Grey in the title. Its going to be an interesting season, and may result in strangely good episodes.
Private Practice --
See, you should have waited until I said this show to ask me why. Not only is this worse then Grey's, all of the show has turned into a horrible mess of "WHO'RE YOU SLEEPING WITH?". But CHARLOTTE AND COOPER ARE GETTING MARRIED. LOVE.
So that's the new season for me. Maybe a new show will catch my eye. I am debating Nikita, as a new show, but I'm unsure if I'll have time, slash it looks a little trashy. So we'll see. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
First Tags
In one of the current novels I'm working on, I decided to write it with a TV shows standard arcs, as if each chapter was an episode of a season. It worked really well to be honest, and I got reinvested in my newest novel again by thinking about trying it again. Only this time making the chapters actually like episodes of TV shows. So I started looking at tags of the first episode of various shows.
Legend of the Seeker came to mind first as it is an epic fantasy (similar to what my novel will be like). LotS starts with Kahlan running from a quad, and heading into Westland. Then you go to Richard... half naked... okay, distracted. Craig Horner's torso is just so attractive.
If you think about it in terms of character developement, the tag is an important event. You've got your first impression of the characters in these brief moments. Here we get an impression of Kahlan -- strongly. We start out with her in action -- running. She also has an emotional, caring moment when her sister gets shot. We get to see the major facets of her personality in the first, what five minutes? We also get to see Kahlan's power at work, and watch her face down death without fear. And then she's all "I'm a lone ranger you can't touch me emotionally!" but is totally into Richard even though she knows its wrong.
Richard as well gets some of this. We see Richard caring about a young boy and being a generally nice and sweet guy -- and then we get to see him being really impulsive and running off to help Kahlan because she's pretty in white. Or because that's what his personality is like. He doesn't back down from a fight, he defends the weak (well he thinks Kahlan is weak), and tries to help even though she's a stranger.
And of course we get to start with the UST. Kahlan and Richard get into it right away and the music indicates everything you need to know about their future relationship.
I stopped off next with Xena, same creative vibe from it, but older, because I'm writing a fantasy, but also because my novel deals with a redemptive quest and who better to look at then Xena for that?
The tag once again sets up characters well. Xena has two protagonists: Xena (duh) and Gabrielle.
Xena's first scene is melancholic as she attempts to deal with events in her past (we see through flashbacks that she was a warrior princess pretty much), and she wants to make up for her past sins. She has a conversation with a boy who's parents she killed, and decides to give up her battle gear -- attempting to bury it. But when given the opportunity to fight, she enjoys it -- you can see it on her face the way she laughs and has this bright smile on her face, because its what she's meant to do. Thus, we are set up with a conflicted character, one who wants to do the right thing, but doesn't know how to not fight.
Gabrielle's first act on the show is to offer herself in place of another. If you've seen the show, it is completely who Gabrielle is. She is never conflicted about her actions, knows what is right and will act on it. What you see as the tag moves on is that she's fighting -- she wants to save herself and others -- but in another way its also fighting against what she is. Gabrielle does go under significant changes as the show progresses, but she will always be at the heart of the matter, and will remain Xena's moral center.
Without even trying too hard this show has set up the central conflict, and without the protagonists having a conversation, you can tell what's going to happen already. Its a very strong tag in that way. Character here is more important even then in what happened in LotS because it is so well defined that you don't really need plot to move it forward.
Moving on to a show that is not high fantasy, but more sci-fi, I looked at Torchwood's opening. They don't really have a tag for this episode, so I just watched a bit, knowing what happens in its entirety.
As a great lover of this show I would say that the character's well done in this tag as any other -- but as a more impartial, looking for information kind of viewer, I would say you get hints from this tag. There's the hint about Jack being not quite normal (Jack: Still at least I won't get pregnant. Never doing that again.) and Owen being a bit of an ass, as no one wants him to talk to the dead guy, and Tosh being not so good at communication. The best you get from it is that Jack is the father figure of the group, and Gwen is a clever-clogs because she figures out how to watch Torchwood at work.
Gwen then gets more of an intro with the rest of the act (and episode). They introduce her as an every woman -- though in reality she's kind of special -- but the point of the tag is to make the viewer feel like you're with Gwen the whole time. She is our lead in and as a result, she is the most important character. Its interesting to see how she gets drawn into this world where there are weevils and people get brought back to life, and how she won't let it go, won't stop picking at the surface of things, as if she just has to know (which comes up later in the show).
By giving her the tenacity to keep going despite the odds, we get invested and I think that's what gives this tag its edge. Unlike the previous two examples, we're drawn in as Gwen is, and its not so much about character as it is about the possibility of what she's looking at.
We see in the Firefly tag the loss of the Battle of Serenity Valley. This is a classic setting up a story so exposition doesn't have to happen later and I love Joss Whedon for doing it this way. This is a very important scene in Mal's life -- and in Zoe's -- but definitely Mal's, and it builds his character incredibly. You see him caring for his men, looking out for people and truly believing in something -- the moment when he kisses the cross -- that's the moment. And you see it -- the Mal we know, or will come to know, who will never give up. We also get the usual amusingness of Joss Whedon's dialogue with Wash. And there is a set up for what this show is going to be about -- space pirates.
The thing about Firefly's tag is that it does so much with so little time -- setting up the show, introducing us to our main protagonist, dealing with the fact that Mal is a haunted, haunted man, and seeing the clear difference between Mal of the past and Mal now (also, Nathan Fillion being on a Joss Whedon show and not scaring the shit out of me... oh well, I watched Buffy before Firefly I realize that Nathan Fillion was Mal before he was Caleb).
Speaking of Buffy, in her show we have an interesting situation -- considering Darla is set up, and she's not a main character. But its a good way to show what exactly is going to happen in this series -- vampires exist, and we're going to blow your silly little minds. Its much shorter then the other tags I looked at and I think that's what makes it so worth while. Its to the point, we don't get character development, its a good start to a monster of the week kind of show.
Lets look at an example out of the fantasy realm -- Grey's Anatomy has a sort of shtick that makes introductions easy -- the voice over:
Legend of the Seeker came to mind first as it is an epic fantasy (similar to what my novel will be like). LotS starts with Kahlan running from a quad, and heading into Westland. Then you go to Richard... half naked... okay, distracted. Craig Horner's torso is just so attractive.
If you think about it in terms of character developement, the tag is an important event. You've got your first impression of the characters in these brief moments. Here we get an impression of Kahlan -- strongly. We start out with her in action -- running. She also has an emotional, caring moment when her sister gets shot. We get to see the major facets of her personality in the first, what five minutes? We also get to see Kahlan's power at work, and watch her face down death without fear. And then she's all "I'm a lone ranger you can't touch me emotionally!" but is totally into Richard even though she knows its wrong.
Richard as well gets some of this. We see Richard caring about a young boy and being a generally nice and sweet guy -- and then we get to see him being really impulsive and running off to help Kahlan because she's pretty in white. Or because that's what his personality is like. He doesn't back down from a fight, he defends the weak (well he thinks Kahlan is weak), and tries to help even though she's a stranger.
And of course we get to start with the UST. Kahlan and Richard get into it right away and the music indicates everything you need to know about their future relationship.
I stopped off next with Xena, same creative vibe from it, but older, because I'm writing a fantasy, but also because my novel deals with a redemptive quest and who better to look at then Xena for that?
The tag once again sets up characters well. Xena has two protagonists: Xena (duh) and Gabrielle.
Xena's first scene is melancholic as she attempts to deal with events in her past (we see through flashbacks that she was a warrior princess pretty much), and she wants to make up for her past sins. She has a conversation with a boy who's parents she killed, and decides to give up her battle gear -- attempting to bury it. But when given the opportunity to fight, she enjoys it -- you can see it on her face the way she laughs and has this bright smile on her face, because its what she's meant to do. Thus, we are set up with a conflicted character, one who wants to do the right thing, but doesn't know how to not fight.
Gabrielle's first act on the show is to offer herself in place of another. If you've seen the show, it is completely who Gabrielle is. She is never conflicted about her actions, knows what is right and will act on it. What you see as the tag moves on is that she's fighting -- she wants to save herself and others -- but in another way its also fighting against what she is. Gabrielle does go under significant changes as the show progresses, but she will always be at the heart of the matter, and will remain Xena's moral center.
Without even trying too hard this show has set up the central conflict, and without the protagonists having a conversation, you can tell what's going to happen already. Its a very strong tag in that way. Character here is more important even then in what happened in LotS because it is so well defined that you don't really need plot to move it forward.
Moving on to a show that is not high fantasy, but more sci-fi, I looked at Torchwood's opening. They don't really have a tag for this episode, so I just watched a bit, knowing what happens in its entirety.
As a great lover of this show I would say that the character's well done in this tag as any other -- but as a more impartial, looking for information kind of viewer, I would say you get hints from this tag. There's the hint about Jack being not quite normal (Jack: Still at least I won't get pregnant. Never doing that again.) and Owen being a bit of an ass, as no one wants him to talk to the dead guy, and Tosh being not so good at communication. The best you get from it is that Jack is the father figure of the group, and Gwen is a clever-clogs because she figures out how to watch Torchwood at work.
Gwen then gets more of an intro with the rest of the act (and episode). They introduce her as an every woman -- though in reality she's kind of special -- but the point of the tag is to make the viewer feel like you're with Gwen the whole time. She is our lead in and as a result, she is the most important character. Its interesting to see how she gets drawn into this world where there are weevils and people get brought back to life, and how she won't let it go, won't stop picking at the surface of things, as if she just has to know (which comes up later in the show).
By giving her the tenacity to keep going despite the odds, we get invested and I think that's what gives this tag its edge. Unlike the previous two examples, we're drawn in as Gwen is, and its not so much about character as it is about the possibility of what she's looking at.
We see in the Firefly tag the loss of the Battle of Serenity Valley. This is a classic setting up a story so exposition doesn't have to happen later and I love Joss Whedon for doing it this way. This is a very important scene in Mal's life -- and in Zoe's -- but definitely Mal's, and it builds his character incredibly. You see him caring for his men, looking out for people and truly believing in something -- the moment when he kisses the cross -- that's the moment. And you see it -- the Mal we know, or will come to know, who will never give up. We also get the usual amusingness of Joss Whedon's dialogue with Wash. And there is a set up for what this show is going to be about -- space pirates.
The thing about Firefly's tag is that it does so much with so little time -- setting up the show, introducing us to our main protagonist, dealing with the fact that Mal is a haunted, haunted man, and seeing the clear difference between Mal of the past and Mal now (also, Nathan Fillion being on a Joss Whedon show and not scaring the shit out of me... oh well, I watched Buffy before Firefly I realize that Nathan Fillion was Mal before he was Caleb).
Speaking of Buffy, in her show we have an interesting situation -- considering Darla is set up, and she's not a main character. But its a good way to show what exactly is going to happen in this series -- vampires exist, and we're going to blow your silly little minds. Its much shorter then the other tags I looked at and I think that's what makes it so worth while. Its to the point, we don't get character development, its a good start to a monster of the week kind of show.
Lets look at an example out of the fantasy realm -- Grey's Anatomy has a sort of shtick that makes introductions easy -- the voice over:
Meredith: The game: They say a person either has what it takes to play, or they don’t. My mother was one of the greats. Me, on the other hand… I’m kinda screwed.
OH! A fish out of water story! Not knowing what the hell you're doing! Ah to be a medical intern (I was going to go to medical school, I know GA in no way exemplifies a real intern's life, but the feeling is similar). We get to meet Derrek, and Meredith of course, and get to peek into her head and its interesting to have a voice over at the beginning because it means you get to add in all sorts of information that is necessary to know about the character. I almost feel like its cheating though.
One thing that GA manages to do well though, is to throw the characters into action, despite it not being a fantasy show where anything can happen. GA is incredibly dramatic, and you get to see all the drama unfold in front of you in an addictive mess.
On a medical note -- let's look at Scrubs, where the tag introduces you to goofy, cute JD. Here again you get a voice over -- but this is more personal then Meredith's voice over -- its just whatever thoughts go through his mind. We get introduced to the characters quickly and efficiently, and quickly understand that this is going to be a comedy.
So from all of that, what do we get from the first tag ever?
1. Introduce the important characters, giving them details that are salient and important to the character and therefore making the characters differentialable.
2. Set up the premise of the show: what is going to happen in each episode (monster of the week, case of the week) or general theme (fish out of water, space pirates!).
Beginnings are hard -- obviously, or I would be working on my own -- so it can be useful to see how other people do it and "borrow" their ideas (though don't steal that's just annoying).
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