sundries: media edition

[rm]

Patty and I have started watching Merlin. It's pretty terrible. It's also pretty inexplicable. The chemistry is amazing and weird (Merlin/Arthur yes, but Guin/Morgana like woah too). Inexplicable is really the only word. I get why people write porn about it, but I don't get why anyone is watching is beyond trying, desperately, to figure out why it exists. Oh, hey, look, random Eve Myles!

Argh, a week without Kings. It's not that good, but it's like nothing else out there and I've found myself missing it.

Doctor Who -- Planet of the Dead -- not the emotional punch I was hoping for. Also, yikes on the Magical Negro front. Jenny and the thief chick should have sex. I wonder what Torchwood was doing while all this shit was going on (other than being glad they weren't in London). Interesting episode structurally for how many other key episodes it referenced (including The Doctor Dances). Loved the "four knocks" premonition thing. Guess that really is John Simm in those blurry frigging photos. Anyway, marchek and I came to the conclusion that the episode was Pitch Black meets The Langoliers

Wacked out dream last night about Australia and raising funds to attend a one week acting/directing course in Sydney that Luhrmann was teaching. Buh? Was set in this weird dream universe version of Sydney and NIDA that I have. But the weirdest part was when I flew down to Sydney just for a day, because I had to (for reasons I can no longer recall), and I was fine dropping $1,500 on the ticket to do it until I realized, after getting there, it was just a one way ticket and I needed $2,322 to get back. bodlon had to come rescue me, and got subjected to one of my long pothos-induced wails about my creative destiny and everything I'm not. Oh! And when I first got to Sydney there was a teenager selling hand-crafted white leather bracelets on the dream!road by the dream!airport and I told her I was broke and wished her good luck. It was the middle of the night and she beamed at me; I had only noticed her because a woman on a cellphone walking towards me had been mean to her. Odd dream that left me oddly out of sorts.

I am finishing work and then heading home I think to write a Jack/Ianto/Andy PWP I just got hit with. Very random.

I see wank coming down the pike in TW fandom (thanks for the heads up redstapler) and wonder of wonders, it's not about me for a fucking change.

Comments

[marcmagus]

Jenny and the thief chick should have sex.

I don't say this very often, but . . . QFT.

I generally agree with your summary, though I'm still trying to decide if we're looking at Magical Negro or psychic person who is black. Meh; inherently fraught discussion, and I definitely had the "Oh, look, Magical Negro" thought when watching, which isn't a good sign.

[rm.livejournal.com]

She didn't serve any other purpose. I liked her, she was a good actress, but as the only PoC character with anything to do, she had to do that? I mean, there was her husband and the guy who tried to fix the bus, but.... really? It might have read differently in Britain, where casting is different, I don't know.

QFT = quite fucking true?

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I didn't twig to the Magical Negro thing, for a couple of reasons

1) She had a family and a life outside of her Help The White Guy role, and

2) There were a lot of black characters in the episode and none of them died trying to save white people or other faily stuff like that.

I loved the ep and concur with your assessment that Jenny and Christina should have sex. Wild, epic space adventures *and* sex, if I were writing the show.

[marcmagus]

Sounds like a post-watershed spinoff in the making!

[demotu.livejournal.com]

I see wank coming down the pike in TW fandom

*is curious*

I've been rather absent from fandom as of late, so I'm unusually clueless.

[rm.livejournal.com]

A recent secret on either Who_ or Fandom_ secrets (it was emailed to me), has major shitstorm potential and I thought was made of fail in more than a few ways.

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

I noticed the Magical Negro thing too. Ick.

I liked Christina, and thought she and Jenny would be good in an episode together; funny that you mention they should have sex!

[rm.livejournal.com]

I feel bad even thinking it, because I thought the actress was so great, but I wish there had been more to her existence than "I am here to be psychic".

[dr-is-in.livejournal.com]

Re: pending TW wank....does it have to do with a certain actor announcing a sudden engagement?

[rm.livejournal.com]

No, unless someone other than Kai just announced something. But yeah, I bet that'll cause wank too!

re: Planet of the Dead

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Don't you think that plot looks a little ... tired?

Dear the Doctor,
I might feel sorry for you if you weren't so busy feeling sorry for yourself.
No love,
Me.

Re: re: Planet of the Dead

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm really into the Doctor's self-loathing, but it felt phoned in!

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

I confess. I love Merlin. I mock it incessantly while I watch it, but I just love it.

I hesitate to ask about TW wank. I've been blissfully unaware for the past few weeks.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Allusions in comments, if you wanna look. None of it is drama yet. I just fear it will be and as per usual, directed at folks who deserve anything but.

[laufeyette.livejournal.com]

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hahahahaahahahahaha. OH GOD. That's so perfectly brilliant right this instant I could die.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Ah, hadn't seen the secrets. :(

Re: the possible engagement... I did hear that. Lovely!

Lady Christina? I'm shipping her with John Hart. Crime. Getaway bus. Perfect. :D

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

Bear in mind the Magical Negro doesn't die or suffer in the episode. And the black kid saves the day by getting the engine running. Not like in Midnight. Although it is a bit frustrating how the black couple end up with the special insight, as this fulfills something of a stereotype.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Ooh a Brit, handy. Um, do we have the "magical negro" stereotype here in the UK, because I didn't really spot a problem: usually if there's going ot be a stereotypical clairvoyant type character it'll be a gypsy, or if the writer has brains they'll skip that obvious one and make it a scatty old lady, likely with cats. The whole mystical black woman one isn't ringing bells for me but at least one of my US friends was very offended, also by the "thick Caribbean" accent, but that just said "Londoner who immigrated in the '50s" to me, and I'm wondering if she's missing cultural cues being not a Brit or if I'm being oblivious (and sorry to jump on you with questions but you seem a sensible person, hello *waves cheerily*)

[woogledesigns.livejournal.com]

also my friend nanw is a runner on merlin. That's why it is so awesome!

[fragiletender.livejournal.com]

The problem I had with the Who episode was that I didn't think the woman who played Christina was a very good actress. She couldn't quite pull of a posh accent and I found her a bit wooden.

I liked the foreshadowing and the incidental characters and the plot was fun. I don't normally rate Lee Evans but he was great as the hero-worshipping scientist. I thought it was very funny but believable that the UNIT people would have a certain level of fan squee about The Doctor. I liked the UNIT leader too and thought it was fantastic that she was prepared to make the tough decision to sacrifice a few, including The Doctor, for the many.

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

I think to write a Jack/Ianto/Andy PWP
YES!!! :D

[evil_plotbunny]

I've just started realising how much I have invested in Kings - it seems to have become my most recent must watch show. I really missed it this week.

As for the magical Negro chick, I'm not sure that any of the characters in the episode (except maybe the Doctor and Christina) were more than cyphers/stereotypes. They needed someone to be hysterical, some strapping lads to do the physical labour, someone to panic and die and someone to be all spooky and foreshadowy. At least it was a relatively well-balanced cast and most of them survived.

[worldof-wonders.livejournal.com]

Tell me briefly about Uther? Someone liked Uther. I am not able to watch it...

[elionwyr.livejournal.com]

And also? Dear lord, I find "Merlin" pretty well-nigh unwatchable. *shudder*

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

more tw wank? WHY?

conclusion that the episode was Pitch Black meets The Langoliers
hee! o, yeah

re: Merlin - i have found some very good fic, but i could not just sit and watch the show. it was something i had on playing in the background while i did other stuff, only way i could take it

[rm.livejournal.com]

TW:

My remark was in relation to a who_secret I thought was particularly uncool (as it's about people I know and like and also took something out of context in a way that implied/encouraged bad fan behavior).

Then I found out that Gareth and Gemma got engaged.

So some sort of fannish drama is most likely coming, sadly enough. I wish I didn't have such a low opinion of people.

[coridan.livejournal.com]

Re: Planet of the Dead - Jack and Ianto were having breakfast in bed, obviously. By the time Jack got his pants on, Christina had made off with the bus.

Generally, I felt as if RTD had phoned that episode in. It was a big yawn for me.

CB

[lorem_ipsum]

Jenny and the thief chick should have sex.

Huh. I was thinking Jack and the thief chick, but this works, too.

...Now I want the AU where Jenny, Jack, thief chick, and Ianto do crime together.