Monday's TV (only 3 days late)
Oct. 12th, 2006 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stakebaitI saw Heroes and Studio 60 on Monday and I’m writing my reactions on Thursday, so this may be vaguer and more inaccurate than usual.
Heroes
So over the voiceover. Unless it turns out to be Siler or something. Actually, even then.
Still loving Mohinder, but wondering how much of that is just that I’m shallow and have a crush. I have to admit, objectively, some of his decisions don’t make a ton of sense. He’s breaking into the apartment of Siler (or however that’s spelled) with no weapons and no one who knows where he’s gone and no more backup than an unarmed girl who he’s only known for a few days? It’s awfully risk-taking behavior for someone who almost shot the macaroni and cheese because he’s so jittery. But I wouldn’t say it’s not a well-chosen risk, in the circumstances, and maybe he’s a lot less jumpy on offense than on defense. Anyway brave and determined looks good on him, and I’m really buying – and loving – his conflictedness about his dad.
Starting to wonder if![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batyatoon is right to mistrust friendly neighbor girl, though. She still reads as harmless and sweet to me, but I can’t discount the fact that she hasn’t said or done anything that wouldn’t make just as much sense if she were an operative trying to get inside his perimeter and learn what he knows and does first-hand.
Feeling somewhat more sympathy and liking for Niki as she seems to be making active decisions to do stuff, and not just pinballing away from one outside hostile agenda to the next. I think part of my negative reaction before was that her angry Id, or whatever MirrorMe is supposed to be, seemed to be the only one who could get proactive, and that seemed like such a trite nice girl/bad girl dichotomy. But that’s not so true anymore, so yay.
Though I’m puzzled as to why she assumed her husband must have killed that guy just because she found the ring. Did I miss something? Just because he's dead doesn't mean lots of people couldn't have killed that guy. If anything the fact that her not so sub-conscious sent her right to that spot in the middle of nowhere seems like an indication that maybe *she* did it. Grandma is an interesting character too. I’m very curious to know how she felt about her son’s and Niki’s relationship before the (possible) crime and disappearance.
Poor Claire. I love this actress, who really succeeds at giving the character a dignity and sweetness without coming off as either saccharine or too precocious. I was initially rolling my eyes a little at the dialogue from the friend – honestly, humans can be more than one thing at once, if she’s a girl *and* a student *and* a cheerleader there’s no obvious reason why she can’t be *and* a superhealer too. At least with Buffy the supposed conflict was the time she needed to devote to the mission, but healing doesn't take time -- at least for her -- and neither of them seem to have made the jump to “there’s something more important you should be doing with your time and these powers” -- it was just “this makes everything else obsolete.”
However I can’t say its an inauthentic way for some teenagers to feel – especially one who found a lot of what Claire was into maybe a little unimportant or silly to begin with (or one who wanted to feel that way, I don’t know him well enough to guess). And anyway it works on the level of foreshadowing, because however much it wasn’t true when he said it, it’s true now, all that’s over. Too many people know how thoroughly dead she was for her to pull off going back and acting like nothing happened.
I wonder if Claire really is adopted. I imagine she is, or at least stolen, so she could be raised as part of a controlled experiment, but it’s not like her dad is a trustworthy source. He could be her actual dad, in which case, I wonder if he has powers too. He could have deliberately induced powers in her. Or it could be a sad accident from his point of view.
I’m a little meh on the rape and quasi-accidental-homicide scene. I don’t want to say that teenage boys never do that, because obviously some do, and the “are you stalking me?” line from when they were flirting works nicely as foreshadowing in hindsight. But on the other hand she was obviously into him to some extent, he’s wasn’t obviously drunk, he was willing to go back to the party a minute earlier, why could the guy who had months to study her milk choices from afar suddenly not wait a date or two? Maybe he’s got poor impulse control or anger at women or something, but it kind of played to me as “he does this now because the plot needs him to.” However, that shocking final shot of her is worth a lot.
Hiro is adorable. It’s our destiny! And his total willingness to obey the comic book down to the particular car – and his immediate and determined grasp of the idea that he has to stop it and no mundane considerations of job or what people would think matter in comparison.
The scene of Jason slowly and dramatically (and repeatedly) falling on his face was priceless and worth every portentous rooftop transition from the first episode to get that payoff. But I was somehow squidged by his “I’m meant for something more” in a way that I wasn’t by Hiro’s “it’s our destiny” even though on the face of it they're practically identical statements. And I don't think it's just that Hiro has literally seen the future and Jason hasn't. It came off as a little grandiose, off-balance – reminiscent of his brother’s nothing-matters-but-the-election tunnel vision. And it had the effect of devaluing his previous one-on-one work, as if he were never doing that because he believed in it but because he thought that’s all he was good for, being the co-dependent one, and now he has promoted himself to the center-of-attention role based on his powers. Especially because I got the vibe that his not being willing to ask out the girl before had as much to do with not thinking he was worth it until he got his powers as it did not crossing the professional lines.
I’m still not sure he even has powers. Maybe I’m reading too much into a facial expression, but I really got the sense that last time he only flew because his brother lifted him, and his inability to replicate it does nothing to contradict that. If I’m right, I worry about what’s going to happen when his newfound sense of self-worth collapses ‘cause it’s based on something false. And even if I’m wrong, it still feels too based on something external, like someone who thinks they’re only worth dating because they’re rich or have a nice car.
Isaac – I’m interested. But it’s hard to learn about him unless he’s interacting with someone, and his interactions with Simone seem both a little one-note, and over.
Studio 60
Glad they brought the writer’s room back and threw us a line for where they’d gone. And I’m liking Rickie and Ron, who seem to have a non-evil, if not necessarily compatible, agenda in their own right *and* some scruples and talent, as well as functioning as a sort of mirror collaboration for Matt and Danny.
The Joke of the Week was funny this time, I thought, though not thigh-slapping enough to stand up to lots of repetitions – but then what is? I did admire how willing everyone was to be where the buck stopped for someone else’s mistake. But I found the “we own the copyright” ending somewhat anti-climactic – mostly because it doesn’t really resolve the ethical issue. Unless the guy who screwed up knew that when he did it, in which case why didn’t he say so, it’s like breaking into someone’s house and accidentally stealing silver that it turned out you own. I especially liked that it wasn’t just a writers issue – the actor was personally upset.
I know they have a large cast to wrangle, but I miss more Matt/Danny interaction. “I trust you to do your piece and you trust me to do mine so we don’t talk much” is a perfectly valid method of collaboration but it doesn’t give me my pre-slash jollies. Though I’m pleased, and a little surprised, to find I am interested in the Harriet/Matt stuff that we got instead. Probably for the same reasons I initially liked Allie McBeal – the ex you have an ongoing and complicated friendship with is a common feature of life for many people I know, but it doesn’t appear nearly as often on screen, especially in shows about grownups. So there’s lots of room to be nuanced and unexpected. Not that the baseball bat is nuanced, exactly. Sorkin certainly knows how to concretize a metaphor -- and Matt decided not to give her the boot.
I’ve decided I don’t like Jordan. That could change, of course, but for now, she’s “feisty”. I hate feisty. It’s like fake-powerful, where on the surface you’re irreverent and tough but underneath it’s all based on the idea that you’ll get away with it because it’s cute. I like that she backs Matt and Danny and their calls, and that she’s not afraid to be made fun of, or at least understands that not allowing it is worse. But apart from having the Eve-on-Angel problem (allegedly being high-powered but in practice seemingly always underfoot with nothing better to do), every time she says something saucily quasi-defiant to her boss I find I’m gritting my teeth. I like her best when she’s interacting with Danny – hints of a love interest there? I could see an interesting parallel going between a Matt/Harriet and a Danny/Jordan relationship, wrt to the dating your boss issues. Although I’d be fine if they don’t go there, too.
Somehow this episode, while never dragging, didn’t feel as full of meat to me as previous episodes did. Maybe it’s just that my learning curve is leveling off now that I’ve got at least a vague sense of what everyone’s job is, even if I don’t know all their names.
Heroes
So over the voiceover. Unless it turns out to be Siler or something. Actually, even then.
Still loving Mohinder, but wondering how much of that is just that I’m shallow and have a crush. I have to admit, objectively, some of his decisions don’t make a ton of sense. He’s breaking into the apartment of Siler (or however that’s spelled) with no weapons and no one who knows where he’s gone and no more backup than an unarmed girl who he’s only known for a few days? It’s awfully risk-taking behavior for someone who almost shot the macaroni and cheese because he’s so jittery. But I wouldn’t say it’s not a well-chosen risk, in the circumstances, and maybe he’s a lot less jumpy on offense than on defense. Anyway brave and determined looks good on him, and I’m really buying – and loving – his conflictedness about his dad.
Starting to wonder if
batyatoon is right to mistrust friendly neighbor girl, though. She still reads as harmless and sweet to me, but I can’t discount the fact that she hasn’t said or done anything that wouldn’t make just as much sense if she were an operative trying to get inside his perimeter and learn what he knows and does first-hand.Feeling somewhat more sympathy and liking for Niki as she seems to be making active decisions to do stuff, and not just pinballing away from one outside hostile agenda to the next. I think part of my negative reaction before was that her angry Id, or whatever MirrorMe is supposed to be, seemed to be the only one who could get proactive, and that seemed like such a trite nice girl/bad girl dichotomy. But that’s not so true anymore, so yay.
Though I’m puzzled as to why she assumed her husband must have killed that guy just because she found the ring. Did I miss something? Just because he's dead doesn't mean lots of people couldn't have killed that guy. If anything the fact that her not so sub-conscious sent her right to that spot in the middle of nowhere seems like an indication that maybe *she* did it. Grandma is an interesting character too. I’m very curious to know how she felt about her son’s and Niki’s relationship before the (possible) crime and disappearance.
Poor Claire. I love this actress, who really succeeds at giving the character a dignity and sweetness without coming off as either saccharine or too precocious. I was initially rolling my eyes a little at the dialogue from the friend – honestly, humans can be more than one thing at once, if she’s a girl *and* a student *and* a cheerleader there’s no obvious reason why she can’t be *and* a superhealer too. At least with Buffy the supposed conflict was the time she needed to devote to the mission, but healing doesn't take time -- at least for her -- and neither of them seem to have made the jump to “there’s something more important you should be doing with your time and these powers” -- it was just “this makes everything else obsolete.”
However I can’t say its an inauthentic way for some teenagers to feel – especially one who found a lot of what Claire was into maybe a little unimportant or silly to begin with (or one who wanted to feel that way, I don’t know him well enough to guess). And anyway it works on the level of foreshadowing, because however much it wasn’t true when he said it, it’s true now, all that’s over. Too many people know how thoroughly dead she was for her to pull off going back and acting like nothing happened.
I wonder if Claire really is adopted. I imagine she is, or at least stolen, so she could be raised as part of a controlled experiment, but it’s not like her dad is a trustworthy source. He could be her actual dad, in which case, I wonder if he has powers too. He could have deliberately induced powers in her. Or it could be a sad accident from his point of view.
I’m a little meh on the rape and quasi-accidental-homicide scene. I don’t want to say that teenage boys never do that, because obviously some do, and the “are you stalking me?” line from when they were flirting works nicely as foreshadowing in hindsight. But on the other hand she was obviously into him to some extent, he’s wasn’t obviously drunk, he was willing to go back to the party a minute earlier, why could the guy who had months to study her milk choices from afar suddenly not wait a date or two? Maybe he’s got poor impulse control or anger at women or something, but it kind of played to me as “he does this now because the plot needs him to.” However, that shocking final shot of her is worth a lot.
Hiro is adorable. It’s our destiny! And his total willingness to obey the comic book down to the particular car – and his immediate and determined grasp of the idea that he has to stop it and no mundane considerations of job or what people would think matter in comparison.
The scene of Jason slowly and dramatically (and repeatedly) falling on his face was priceless and worth every portentous rooftop transition from the first episode to get that payoff. But I was somehow squidged by his “I’m meant for something more” in a way that I wasn’t by Hiro’s “it’s our destiny” even though on the face of it they're practically identical statements. And I don't think it's just that Hiro has literally seen the future and Jason hasn't. It came off as a little grandiose, off-balance – reminiscent of his brother’s nothing-matters-but-the-election tunnel vision. And it had the effect of devaluing his previous one-on-one work, as if he were never doing that because he believed in it but because he thought that’s all he was good for, being the co-dependent one, and now he has promoted himself to the center-of-attention role based on his powers. Especially because I got the vibe that his not being willing to ask out the girl before had as much to do with not thinking he was worth it until he got his powers as it did not crossing the professional lines.
I’m still not sure he even has powers. Maybe I’m reading too much into a facial expression, but I really got the sense that last time he only flew because his brother lifted him, and his inability to replicate it does nothing to contradict that. If I’m right, I worry about what’s going to happen when his newfound sense of self-worth collapses ‘cause it’s based on something false. And even if I’m wrong, it still feels too based on something external, like someone who thinks they’re only worth dating because they’re rich or have a nice car.
Isaac – I’m interested. But it’s hard to learn about him unless he’s interacting with someone, and his interactions with Simone seem both a little one-note, and over.
Studio 60
Glad they brought the writer’s room back and threw us a line for where they’d gone. And I’m liking Rickie and Ron, who seem to have a non-evil, if not necessarily compatible, agenda in their own right *and* some scruples and talent, as well as functioning as a sort of mirror collaboration for Matt and Danny.
The Joke of the Week was funny this time, I thought, though not thigh-slapping enough to stand up to lots of repetitions – but then what is? I did admire how willing everyone was to be where the buck stopped for someone else’s mistake. But I found the “we own the copyright” ending somewhat anti-climactic – mostly because it doesn’t really resolve the ethical issue. Unless the guy who screwed up knew that when he did it, in which case why didn’t he say so, it’s like breaking into someone’s house and accidentally stealing silver that it turned out you own. I especially liked that it wasn’t just a writers issue – the actor was personally upset.
I know they have a large cast to wrangle, but I miss more Matt/Danny interaction. “I trust you to do your piece and you trust me to do mine so we don’t talk much” is a perfectly valid method of collaboration but it doesn’t give me my pre-slash jollies. Though I’m pleased, and a little surprised, to find I am interested in the Harriet/Matt stuff that we got instead. Probably for the same reasons I initially liked Allie McBeal – the ex you have an ongoing and complicated friendship with is a common feature of life for many people I know, but it doesn’t appear nearly as often on screen, especially in shows about grownups. So there’s lots of room to be nuanced and unexpected. Not that the baseball bat is nuanced, exactly. Sorkin certainly knows how to concretize a metaphor -- and Matt decided not to give her the boot.
I’ve decided I don’t like Jordan. That could change, of course, but for now, she’s “feisty”. I hate feisty. It’s like fake-powerful, where on the surface you’re irreverent and tough but underneath it’s all based on the idea that you’ll get away with it because it’s cute. I like that she backs Matt and Danny and their calls, and that she’s not afraid to be made fun of, or at least understands that not allowing it is worse. But apart from having the Eve-on-Angel problem (allegedly being high-powered but in practice seemingly always underfoot with nothing better to do), every time she says something saucily quasi-defiant to her boss I find I’m gritting my teeth. I like her best when she’s interacting with Danny – hints of a love interest there? I could see an interesting parallel going between a Matt/Harriet and a Danny/Jordan relationship, wrt to the dating your boss issues. Although I’d be fine if they don’t go there, too.
Somehow this episode, while never dragging, didn’t feel as full of meat to me as previous episodes did. Maybe it’s just that my learning curve is leveling off now that I’ve got at least a vague sense of what everyone’s job is, even if I don’t know all their names.
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no subject
Date: 2006-10-12 09:16 pm (UTC)I think part of the reason why Peter comes off as a jackass while Hiro comes off as sweet is that Peter said "I'm meant for better things!" to the woman whose dying father he was taking care of. Not that I like Simone overmuch but kee-rist, Peter! I think maybe she thinks her dad is pretty damn important? Wanna show some sensitivity or at least fake it if you have to?
Of course I don't get their thing at all since later she's macking on him which... kay. I mean I guess it's vaguely IC since her previous boyfriend was a herion junkie, so perhaps "jackass, but sober" is a step up, but still.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 12:09 pm (UTC)Oooh, good call! I like that much better than anything I came up with.
And excellent point about the dying dad being what adds the creepy. It makes it look like all his much vaunted empathy from before just got totally shed as soon as he had another option.
Someday I will get the guy's name right, too. :)
I'm guessing she's reading him as caring and now add ambitious, which are both good contrasts to her ex, but I'm with you.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-12 11:22 pm (UTC)You're not completely off base--he does have powers, but unless you want a spoiler I won't tell you what it is. They revealed all in a recent issue of TV Guide.
At least, regarding his powers. Still not sure on what Niki's actually is.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 12:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 12:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 02:34 pm (UTC)And while it may have some old-fashioned charm, that's GOT to get old after awhile.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-16 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 03:20 pm (UTC)So far, I like Claire best with her almost X-Men 2 storyline--if you remember, the general hated mutants especially because his son was one. Next, I like Greg Grunberg (the L.A. cop) and Clea DuVall (who was awesome on Carnivàle). I’m especially intrigued by the idea that Niki’s power may be the same as Sylar’s (apparently telekinesis, but it’s speculation wrt Niki, since we still haven’t seen precisely what Niki’s power is).
I can see how the dad might’ve controlled the rape thing, because what better way to spirit the daughter off to be a lab rat than to say, “Sorry, honey, she died after a night of drunken partying--here’s the autopsy report.” Her waking up on the table with her chest sliced open? Super creepy.
By the way, I believe the opening and closing V.O. is Mohinder!
On Studio 60:
I personally love the control room scenes (as I did on Sportsnight), but that’s primarily due to my training in film and television--I know what actually goes on in there. This episode especially tickled me, since it was so chock full of live-TV goodness. I especially loved the bit about the Bangalore cricket score because that’s the only sport they could find at that time of the night. But my favorite line was Matt’s “Now you’ve earned my respect.”
no subject
Date: 2006-10-13 10:46 pm (UTC)About Mohinder... you don't lie.
ejg25
no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-16 01:24 pm (UTC)I was initially rolling my eyes a little at the dialogue from the friend – honestly, humans can be more than one thing at once, if she’s a girl *and* a student *and* a cheerleader there’s no obvious reason why she can’t be *and* a superhealer too.
Except that all the things he listed were things that made her one of the Popular Kids -- i.e., things that separated her from him. He'd love to believe, and to convince her, that those things don't matter anymore.
It hadn't occurred to me either that her dad might have set up the rape-and-accidental-killing until I read TBQ's comment above, but yeah, wow, does that ever work.
I adore Hiro's determination to follow his own canon to the letter, but I wish his friend had called him on the fact that they're, um, trying to change the future -- shouldn't that mean deviating from what the artist says they do? Except Hiro knows about the KABOOM from having seen it live, not from having seen the painting, so eh.
I really do wish some of these people were smarter. Just in terms of working out the likely consequences of their actions.
* How did Politician Brother think outing his brother's "suicide attempt" without warning him was a good idea? Everybody at that party saw Peter storm out. That can't look good.
* Meanwhile, Peter: did you somehow miss the toast Simone made? And conclude that now might not be the best time to make a move on her?
* Niki to her mother-in-law: "I want you out of my son's life." And that's why you brought him here?
* Parkman, you have got to start learning to tell the difference between what people are thinking and what they're saying, and you don't seem the least bit aware of this pressing need.
There were other examples, but I can't call them to mind.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-17 11:45 am (UTC)He'd love to believe, and to convince her, that those things don't matter anymore.
Fair enough. They really haven't done much to suggest that he's unpopular, since we never see him do anything but hang out, in public, with a popular cheerleader, but I do think that's what we're meant to read him as, so I'll go with it.
but I wish his friend had called him on the fact that they're, um, trying to change the future -- shouldn't that mean deviating from what the artist says they do? Except Hiro knows about the KABOOM from having seen it live, not from having seen the painting, so eh.
This is true. Since Isaac's trying to change the future too, it's a little unclear if the comic should be taken as what to avoid or what to do to avoid the other bad paintings, but I'm not sure Hiro has enough info to realize that dilemma is even there.
How did Politician Brother think outing his brother's "suicide attempt" without warning him was a good idea? Everybody at that party saw Peter storm out. That can't look good.
Actually I think that's okay, from PB's massively egocentric POV, in that it lends further color to the idea that Peter is emotionally unstable and therefore tends to back up the suicide attempt story and further discredit anything Peter might let slip about flying. It doesn't do much for the part of the story that says he's a good hearted guy who's just trying to do the right thing for his family member, but hey, people are almost never willing to believe that about a politician even when it's true, so I doubt he lost much beyond the automatic assumption of "there must be an angle, it's damage control".
* Meanwhile, Peter: did you somehow miss the toast Simone made? And conclude that now might not be the best time to make a move on her?
There I'm right with you.
* Niki to her mother-in-law: "I want you out of my son's life." And that's why you brought him here?
Yeah, I wondered about that. Especially since nothing obvious seemed to come of the visit -- like money, or information, or a place to stash the kid while she does something unsavory, or even a place for her to hide (and if you're hiding, BTW, shiny red convertible maybe not the best choice.) I think we're meant to assume that showing Grandma the ring was worth it because she thought it would put a dent in her assumption of her son's innocence, and that was worth it because... I dunno. Maybe it would soften her attitude towards Niki? And Niki only said the other when it failed?)
Parkman, you have got to start learning to tell the difference between what people are thinking and what they're saying, and you don't seem the least bit aware of this pressing need.
I'm willing to give him another ep or two on this given that it's so new, though since he's clearly aware that he's reading thoughts and *we* can clearly hear the funny sound effect that signifies it, it'd be good if he got up to speed soon.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 01:27 pm (UTC)Time will tell. What a fun ride!
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 02:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 09:26 pm (UTC)I'm loving this show.