sundries

[rm]

So I started watching White Collar. You guys, Torchwood has ruined me for other TV. I'm supposed to be excited by the subtext in this? When on Torchwood I have text? Really?

That said, my impressions of the first two episodes:

- I had seen the posters for this program before it started airing, and was mildly intrigued (cute guy, good suit) but didn't really care. Immediately though, Neal is a much more interesting character that I would have thought, mainly because the first couple of things we manage to see in his eyes are fear and a desire for approval.
- Hey, PoC in interesting roles!
- Lesbians!
- Pug!
- Yeah, the clothes are the fuck awesome.
- Good, interesting use of NYC as the setting.
- I'm not that interested in the world of the show. It's essentially a procedural/caper show. Got it.
- This show is actually about two guys who really love their wives (is Neal married to Kate?) That's pretty cool and actually oddly deviant for TV. On the other hand, wow, it's just really heterosexual and I have a hard time caring.
- But yeah, El is awesome.

So, we'll see where it goes. I totally wound up having a kinky sex dream about it though (okay, it was Jack and Peter watching Ianto/Neal/El. What the fuck?).

Oh man, it is _so_ Monday today.

Oh, hey, important pitch meeting just got pushed a week. This is good.

dot.com turns 25.

Local bees go legal.

Article on Duchess Clothier, which are the folks that do my suits. And I've met the guy with the W.W.W.W.D.? suit.

Comments

[pocketmouse]

Hey it is a US show. How much have you watched? Because it just gets slashier. Or OT3-er, really. But hell, even without that, I just love that Peter and El have an actual, sensible, healthy relationship, unlike most of the established relationships you see on cop shows.

I'm pretty sure Neal and Kate aren't married, she's usually referred to as his girlfriend, and even if that was just an assumption on the FBI's part, Neal & Mozzie have never had any conversations that seem to indicate otherwise.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Only the first two episodes.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

That dream is both hilarious and hot.

Though I'm trying to figure out the logistics. I imagine El topped, and I know Neal bottomed. What was Ianto doing?

Man, now I'm thinking about the kinky switch relationship I just assume El and Peter have. Gah!

[rm.livejournal.com]

What was Ianto doing?

Whatever Jack told him to.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

If you continue feeling like it's really heterosexual, I will be absolutely gobsmacked. And his clothes only get better.

Although, I have to say, as much as I adore the show, I don't really care about the world.

[gallo-de-pelea.livejournal.com]

Seconded - I don't even *have* slash goggles, and that show manufactured a pair for me.

That said, I like White Collar but can't keep up with it just due to lack of time. :(

[hllangel]

I have to agree with the above commenters that White Collar really does develop a significant OT3 bend to it.

That said, Jeff Eastin, the creator, says that the major issue in s1, and what will be continually dissected in s2, is the trust between Peter and Neal. Their trust seems rock solid at times, and then someone (generally Neal) pulls a bone-headed move and it all goes to hell for a bit.

The show goes from light-hearted caper show to mix of caper and conspiracy, and gets nicely tangled.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Jack and Peter watching Ianto/Neal/El.

Maybe your subconscious is telling you to write crossover fic...

I get what you're saying about subtext vs text after Torchwood. I'm not a "slash goggles" person and though I have read Angel/Spike or Mulder/Krycek slash, I never wrote m/m before Torchwood, because hey, canon gay relationships are awesome and rare and inspirational and fun to write about.

(I think I might have threesome goggles, however, because I see them EVERYWHERE.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

That's the thing, I don't want to watch with slash goggles, I want to watch a show that feels like it's about my world. The everyone is queer vibe of Torchwood means a lot to me, and not (just) for the pretty.

I love OT3's, so I'm hoping that's going to get more awesome.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I can totally see Spike hatefucking Angel. Maybe Dru would want to watch...

(Wtf is up with my dirty comments today? Yikes!)

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I think Angel/Spike is one of those things where you really don't need slash goggles unless it's to protect your eyes from the sheer dazzling GLARE of their slashiness.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Maybe your subconscious is telling you to write crossover fic...

Considering that my brain has not been able to let go of this all day, I may just do it.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much what I thought when I started White Collar. I almost quit around episode four or five because I figured RTD has ruined me for all other TV.

But then I got really into it. The show comes together well mid-season, when the actors and writers get more comfortable with what they're doing. The plots are stupid and make no sense, but that's okay because they're irrelevant--the show is about Peter and Neal. The plots are just an excuse to explore the characters, who are fantastic.

Immediately though, Neal is a much more interesting character that I would have thought, mainly because the first couple of things we manage to see in his eyes are fear and a desire for approval.

Yes, this! And it's fascinating to see Neal explored as a character, particularly in terms of his relationship with Peter. The dynamic between the two of them is complex and interesting and very fun to watch.

It gets waaaaay slashier, don't worry.

(But yes, RTD did totally spoil us. It sucks having to go back to subtext after you get used to having actual text.)

[laura47.livejournal.com]

i saw the pilot, squeed with everyone, got distracted, and only came back midseason, and was quite happy going forward. i assume i'll go back and watch episodes 3-5 or whatever it was when i am jonesing for more during hiatus.

[scarlettgirl.livejournal.com]

I enjoy the hell out of White Collar but I'm not fannish about it. It's too...straightforward I guess.

What I do appreciate is that it turns the trope of "charming criminal schools the establishment" on its head because Peter always has Neal's nunmber, always figures out what he's up to and calls him on it. All the while being absolutely delighted to match wits with someone just as clever and smart as himself. They really *like* each other which I find charming and refreshing. Whether it's bromance or romance, there is a real depth of feeling as the series progresses.

Still not fannish, though. ;)

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

I found this amusing: there's a poll up at the show's official web site on Which villain got under your skin the most?, and the last option is "Kate?" Yes, with the question mark.

Jack and Peter watching Ianto/Neal/El. -- Oh, wow, helloooooo new happy place.

You know, I really want someone to give Neal a copy of Going Postal.

Huh, I had no idea beehives were illegal in NYC. Also, now I'm imagining a swarm of bees puppeting a business suit.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Hah! Kate? and Fowler are miles ahead of the rest of teh pack. Love it.

[skitty-kitty.livejournal.com]

I may kiss you for comparing Neal to Moist. That's the first thing I thought of when I started the show. ;D

[cruentum.livejournal.com]

A lot of my friends are head over heels. I see a lot of people promising you that you'll fall for it as the show goes on because supposedly it gets uh deeper. It never happened for me. It's an entertaining show but not one I particularly care about on more than an entertainment level. I can see the potential for fic, but only insofar as that the blueprint of the dynamic is not uninteresting and it'd be fun to give it some grit and substance in writing, but there's admittedly not much at all of it in there. The subtext becomes a lot more text-y but with it, imo, a lot more blatant and uh ... boring/predictable to watch. It's too smooth for me, all over, but then, I like Torchwood's darkness and grittiness and whatnot too much, the edges to the people and their behavior. It's hmm ... it lacks teeth, White Collar does, to hold my interest.

[idunn.livejournal.com]

Duchess Clothier looks AMAZING. I just saw a picture of you the other day and thought, damn, those are great clothes. How is Duchess at fitting suits to female bodies? I love suits but everything in the stores that I find is for men, and I'd want something that looks, well, fitted. Plus I don't know the first thing about wearing suits :/ I want the opportunity though!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Duchess makes both women's suits for women (i.e., hugging your curves) that are beautiful and has also been great with me in terms of disguising same in order to have a male look on my body.

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, wow, it's just really heterosexual and I have a hard time caring.

It's funny how I never noticed until recently, but over the past year, romantic plots in Hollywood have had the same effect on me. "So what?"

[sethg]

Having a domain name made it simpler for the average person to access a Web site. Instead of having to remember a long series of numbers and dots, you could type in ATT.com, IBM.com or CNN.com.

Twenty-five years ago, there were no Web sites, duh. The first Web browser was written in 1990. And the alternative to domain names was not “a long series of numbers and dots”, because a lot of networked computers didn’t have Internet Protocol addresses; instead you (or some little database in your server) had to know which machines served as gateways between different networks. For example, a server at the University of Wisconsin routed email between the Internet and BITNET; when I wanted to send email from my account at MIT to a friend at Yale, I wrote his address as FRIEND%YALEVMX.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU.

Some day I will lose even the last vestige of expectation that a mainstream news outlet can get basic Google-checkable facts correct. It will be good for my blood pressure.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I noticed the wrong too but hadn't felt like tracking down the details. I got online in 1990 and had a bitnet address like what you describe.

[lefaym.livejournal.com]

The world of White Collar isn't really the sort of thing that grabs me either, and it took me half a dozen or so episodes before I really started to feel like I was into it. Ultimately though, the characters have got me, and I am a dedicated Peter/El/Neal shipper.

What makes me sad is that I think that, even though it's canonically non-sexual, by the end of S1, the love between Neal and Peter has way more depth and nuance than any canonical "love" between Jack and Ianto ever did. If only a show with the queerness of Torchwood could be written with the subtlety of White Collar.

[therealycats.livejournal.com]

I don't know which of your WC questions have been answered yet, but no, Neal and Kate aren't married; they lived together and were a couple for years though. Diana, the female agent from the pilot episode, has finally come back to us in the finale (I don't consider that a spoiler, just something for you to look forward to). The actress/character they replaced her with for the rest of the season is one of the dullest, most unbelievable characters ever. I absolutely cannot buy that she's an FBI agent. She seems neither strong enough nor intelligent enough to be in the same league as Peter and Diana, and the entire point of character seemed, in some capacity, to put her as an eventual love interest for Neal, and it's really transparent that that's all she's there for. She rarely ever does anything. Word has it that Lauren will be gone next season and Diana will be back as a regular. Not sure how much they'll get into her personal life as I'm not sure how much it will relate to the show as a whole, but I thought it was pretty awesome that in the pilot it seemed we would have an openly gay leading female (well, not leading, but as far as the women go, she and Tiffani Theissen are pretty much it on the show).

The first couple episodes start off slow; I think the pilot was exactly what most pilots are: a pitch to the networks, followed by episodes with some retooling. I think the pilot has a slightly different tone than the rest of the series so far.

As for Neal and Peter, give the relationship some time to develop; eventually it will become clear that they care for one another.

And as for some trivia that's really irrelevant to the show and also not really any of our business, but it's Hollywood so the media MAKE everything our business, to my knowledge Matt Bomer is openly gay (there are plenty of pictures and I believe old interviews/articles floating around), has a partner (boyfriend or husband, not sure), and may have a child (can't remember; may be confusing NPH/David Burtka). Sadly the network has been trying to keep all this under wraps because network executives are stupid and think that if women know a man is gay that means they will be completely incapable of lusting after him (because god knows I don't drool over NPH or John Barrowman; nope, never been guilty of that EVER) and therefore won't watch. Personally I'd be willing to bet that the majority of White Collar's viewers are female who don't give a rat's ass about the main star's sexuality because have you LOOKED at him?

Sorry, I'm in your post, leaving you a novel.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I was going to tell you that it's not that much of a Monday until I realized that today is actually Tuesday, and that I was out sick yesterday with the ZOMG GUTSICKNESS.

So yeah. That was a Monday for sure.

You guys, Torchwood has ruined me for other TV.

I can't say that it actually pleases me to see another person having this problem, but it's sort of nice not to feel alone about it. Except for the part where other television is just not as good. Lie To Me is the closest I've gotten so far, and I'm told I'm a bit of an outlier in that regard.

[rm.livejournal.com]

You should check out White Collar. Not that it so much meets the need, but the emotional intelligence and total hotness of some of the fic I've read has been staggering.