OT: Some will be happy to see this
Bill
See the third paragraph.
Personally, I don't quite understand the vitriol that goes Eliza
Dushku's way. No, she's not the kind of actor that can disappear into
a role. But how many Meryl Streeps are there really? I also freely
admit that I can't tell a good actor from a bad actor unless they are
REALLY good or REALLY bad. Somewhere, Bill Shatner commented about his
own acting (paraphrased), "What you get is the actor saying the lines
of the character." Dushku is very much the same. It doesn't matter
what her character's name is, what you get is Eliza Dushku saying the
lines written for Faith or Echo or whoever. Anyway, Dollhouse is dead
and gone now so it's a moot point.
Bill
Amy Guskin
(in article
<cdb4d7b0-e225-48e9...@m35g2000vbi.googlegroups.com>):
I wouldn't say I direct vitriol her way, but she just isn't that good an
actress. And she suffers _greatly_ in comparison with the other actors on
her own show, which makes it hard to ignore. Dichen Lachman (Sierra), for
example, acts rings around her. You don't notice the difference in their
levels of performance?
I'm not happy it's cancelled, but I don't think her acting -- or critique of
her acting -- had anything to do with it.
Amy
--
Ten Thousand Questions
A Question a Day for Journaling, Self-Discovery, and Transformation
"2009 is the Year of Questions"
tenthousandquestions.com
Lance Corporal "Hammer" Schultz
I waited until the first season was on DVD to watch it. It was much
better than I expected, but seemed to be yet another showcase for Joss
Whedon's inability to comprehend what a meaningful relationship is.
The role suits Dushku pretty well -- her normal state is vapid, so she
does a decent "empty brain doll." But she's hard to buy in several of
the "active" roles.
Anyway, I thought the first season was pretty good, so I put it on the
DVR, but it seems to be going nowhere fast in S2. I'm not the least
bit surprised it's getting the axe. It's getting harder and harder to
suspend disbelief -- there is just no way that a system like the
Dollhouses would be able to stay under the radar for so long with *so*
many people involved on the outside -- especially when they start
bringing on people who disapprove of the whole concept to work on the
staff!
--
Lance Corporal "Hammer" Schultz
Promote someone else.
Blair Leatherwood
>>> On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:39:05 -0500, Bill wrote
> (in article
> <cdb4d7b0-e225-48e9...@m35g2000vbi.googlegroups.com>):
>
>> http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/networks-play-the-cancellation-card--783
>>
>> See the third paragraph.
>>
>> Personally, I don't quite understand the vitriol that goes Eliza
>> Dushku's way. No, she's not the kind of actor that can disappear into
>> a role. But how many Meryl Streeps are there really? I also freely
>> admit that I can't tell a good actor from a bad actor unless they are
>> REALLY good or REALLY bad. Somewhere, Bill Shatner commented about his
>> own acting (paraphrased), "What you get is the actor saying the lines
>> of the character." Dushku is very much the same. It doesn't matter
>> what her character's name is, what you get is Eliza Dushku saying the
>> lines written for Faith or Echo or whoever. Anyway, Dollhouse is dead
>> and gone now so it's a moot point. <<
>
> I wouldn't say I direct vitriol her way, but she just isn't that good an
> actress. And she suffers _greatly_ in comparison with the other actors on
> her own show, which makes it hard to ignore. Dichen Lachman (Sierra), for
> example, acts rings around her. You don't notice the difference in their
> levels of performance?
>
> I'm not happy it's cancelled, but I don't think her acting -- or critique of
> her acting -- had anything to do with it.
>
> Amy
The actor who really impresses me is Enver Gjokaj--he has really
demonstrated some range in this show.
Blair
Cheryl Martin
Yah. He's amazing! And yes, I was more impressed with the others but
I liked Eliza anyhow. The show was going somewhere and I'm
disappointed that I won't get to enjoy the ride.
Well, at least we get to see the rest of the episodes!
Cheryl
--
*Moderator: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated ,sci.space.moderated *
*http://www.grumpywitch.org http://dragonnette.livejournal.com *
*I am grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are grey. *
*We stand between the darkness and the light. ---JMS *
Charlie E.
Hi Amy,
Well, I don't know if 'anything' to do with it is exactly true, it was
just one more nail in the coffin of a rather odd, and eractic show. I
watched it, but there were many episodes that I had to just 'get
through.'
You know, now that I have my DVR all set up, it is interesting to
judge which shows you really like by when you watch them.
I watch DWTS (Dancing with the Stars) right away, usually during the
actual air time, because I actually vote sometimes. However, you can
skip through about half of it. Of course, my wife watches that, so
that raises its importantance.
I watch NCIS as soon as possible. Pam likes Ducky!
I watch Castle as soon as I can the next day. It's funny and
interesting, and both Pam and I enjoy it.
However, Heroes, NCIS LA, V, Bones and Fringe Flashforward are on the
'when I have some spare time' list. I am two weeks behind on both
NCIS LA and Flashforward...
Charlie
Amy Guskin
(in article <hdhm2r$g2a$1...@news.eternal-september.org>):
Agreed. Somebody needs to give him _and_ Dichen Lachman a show. Together,
even!
Amy Guskin
(in article <589pf5t8fb6vkrd23...@4ax.com>):
Okay, I'll accept it if we say it was an indirect cause, only. The bottom
line, always and forever amen, is ratings, which translates to ad dollars.
Technically, I guess you could say that the low ratings were at least in part
due to the acting talent of the lead. But I still don't really believe that
played a part in why people weren't watching it.
>> I watch DWTS (Dancing with the Stars) right away, usually during the
> actual air time, because I actually vote sometimes. However, you can
> skip through about half of it. Of course, my wife watches that, so
> that raises its importantance. <<
I am the envy of all my married friends, because my husband doesn't watch ANY
television. At all. (Except for the very occasional episode of Bill Maher's
show, and only if I cajole.) So I never have to battle over the remote, or
for space on the DVR. :-D
>> However, Heroes, NCIS LA, V, Bones and Fringe Flashforward are on the
> 'when I have some spare time' list. I am two weeks behind on both
> NCIS LA and Flashforward... <<
I'm really enjoying Fringe and Flashforward. Those, and Supernatural, are
the highlight of my viewing week (now that Mad Men is on hiatus).
Mac Breck
> On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:39:05 -0800 (PST), Bill wrote:
>
>> http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/networks-play-the-cancellation-card--783
>>
>> See the third paragraph.
>>
>> Personally, I don't quite understand the vitriol that goes Eliza
>> Dushku's way. No, she's not the kind of actor that can disappear into
>> a role. But how many Meryl Streeps are there really? I also freely
>> admit that I can't tell a good actor from a bad actor unless they are
>> REALLY good or REALLY bad. Somewhere, Bill Shatner commented about
>> his own acting (paraphrased), "What you get is the actor saying the
>> lines of the character." Dushku is very much the same. It doesn't
>> matter what her character's name is, what you get is Eliza Dushku
>> saying the lines written for Faith or Echo or whoever. Anyway,
>> Dollhouse is dead and gone now so it's a moot point.
>
> I waited until the first season was on DVD to watch it. It was much
> better than I expected, but seemed to be yet another showcase for Joss
> Whedon's inability to comprehend what a meaningful relationship is.
>
> The role suits Dushku pretty well -- her normal state is vapid, so she
> does a decent "empty brain doll."
That's part of why I hated it. I _can't_ _stand_ vapid.
> But she's hard to buy in several of
> the "active" roles.
True.
--
Mac Breck (KoshN)
-------------------------------
"Babylon 5: Crusade" (1999) - "War Zone"
Galen (to Gideon): "I've been penalized before for helping other
people. I've been trying to decide whether or not I should risk it
again."
Mac Breck
> http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/networks-play-the-cancellation-card--783
>
> See the third paragraph.
>
> Personally, I don't quite understand the vitriol that goes Eliza
> Dushku's way.
I actually think she was pretty good in "The Alphabet Killer" and "Wrong
Turn," but didn't care for her performance at all in "Tru Calling" or
"Dollhouse" (the latter I could only stand watching two episodes.). In
TV series, especially where she is the center of attention/lead, that
glassy-eyed, thousand yard stare just gets to me/annoys me.
> No, she's not the kind of actor that can disappear into
> a role. But how many Meryl Streeps are there really? I also freely
> admit that I can't tell a good actor from a bad actor unless they are
> REALLY good or REALLY bad. Somewhere, Bill Shatner commented about his
> own acting (paraphrased), "What you get is the actor saying the lines
> of the character." Dushku is very much the same. It doesn't matter
> what her character's name is, what you get is Eliza Dushku saying the
> lines written for Faith or Echo or whoever. Anyway, Dollhouse is dead
> and gone now so it's a moot point.
IMHO, Eliza Dushku was better as Faith than in any other TV series she's
ever been in.
Mac Breck
<snip>
> I watch NCIS as soon as possible. Pam likes Ducky!
I've always watched NCIS. Have the first two seasons on DVD sets, and
record it, but I'm behind on everything except The Big Bang Theory and
Criminal Minds. I tend to do marathons to get caught up with a show,
but then the others slip. Not enough time! Got to get off of this
computer!
> I watch Castle as soon as I can the next day. It's funny and
> interesting, and both Pam and I enjoy it.
I record it. Have the Season 1 DVD set. Catching up.
How about The Mentalist?
> However, Heroes, NCIS LA, V, Bones
I record all of those, but am lukewarm on NCIS-LA and V. Like Heroes
but it seems to have lost its way long ago and is wandering aimlessly
(like The X-Files did.). On Heroes my favorite characters are Hiro,
Ando and Noah Bennett (H.R.G.). Love Bones.
> and Fringe
Like the show but can't record it because of CSI and Supernatural. Not
enough recording devices.
> Flashforward are on the 'when I have some spare time' list.
Record it. Spare time? What is this concept? I'm recording over tapes
(Yes, TAPES.) that I recorded last season and still haven't managed to
watch. For most I have DVD sets to cover the important stuff.
> I am two weeks behind on both
> NCIS LA and Flashforward...
I saw part of the first episode of the season of each of those.
voxwoman
> >> On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:21:10 -0500, Charlie E. wrote
>
>
>
>
> > On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:16:08 -0500, Amy Guskin
> > <aisl...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
>
> >>>> On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:39:05 -0500, Bill wrote
> >> (in article
I'm giving Flashforward a rating of Meh+ I'm mostly watching it
because of the cast (and it took me till tonight to recognize Peregrin
Took for godssakes - it was driving me crazy!) Nothing's really
grabbing me this season. I think most of the shows we like are now on
USA network, although I am enjoying the CGI in Stargate: Universe, and
I can tolerate the rest of it for now.
-Wendy
Amy Guskin
(in article
<a1831f92-b908-4e9f...@v37g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>):
That's funny. To me, he's now thoroughly Charlie Pace.
Amy ("You all, everybody!!!")
Matt Ion
> Somewhere, Bill Shatner commented about his
> own acting (paraphrased), "What you get is the actor saying the lines
> of the character." Dushku is very much the same. It doesn't matter
> what her character's name is, what you get is Eliza Dushku saying the
> lines written for Faith or Echo or whoever.
Friend of mine hold the same opinion of most of Kevin Costner's roles...
"Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
Costner vehicle)"
Charlie E.
<ais...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
Yeah, Pam likes Fringe too, but she doesn't get Flashforward. It is
too hard for her to tell 'when' a scene is supposed to be happening,
since she can't see them.
Charlie
Duggy
> Agreed. Somebody needs to give him _and_ Dichen Lachman a show. Together,
> even!
I finally worked out what bugged me about her - she was on a soap in
this country for a while and everytime I saw her when I was flicking
channels I internally groan and changed channels... seeing her in
Dollhouse something always annoyed me about her and I could never work
out what.
Now I know what I can probably get past it...
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
> Friend of mine hold the same opinion of most of Kevin Costner's roles...
> "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
> Costner vehicle)"
We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
Sometimes that's a bad thing, sometimes it's good (audience knows what
to expect, short-hand for describing character, etc) sometimes it's
bad (it's lame and boring.)
Also, it can be a function of the director rather than the actor...
perhaps Kevin Costner is being hired to plan Kevin Costner... or Kevin
Costner's corpse.
And I think that part of the problem can me if you like the actor or
not. I had a friend who hated Bogart because he felt he always played
Bogart... while, to a degree, that is true, I like him so I "put up
with it."
The real issue with Dollhouse is that Eliza's meant to be playing a
range of characters, not just a single character.
Eliza playing Eliza in Buffy is fine because we can accept that that's
what Faith is like.
Eliza playing Catherine, Blank-Echo, a facilitator, a member of a
cult, a struggling singer, etc doesn't really work if they are all
Eliza.
===
= DUG.
===
Amy Guskin
(in article
<2f55fc61-3ed2-4026...@y28g2000prd.googlegroups.com>):
Was it that she was _bad_ in the soap, or just an automatic prejudice against
soap actors?
David E. Powell
I always found her to be capable. Sometimes people who have positives
going for them draw vitriol for them as well as for any drawbacks.
Sour grapes as it were.
Duggy
> Was it that she was _bad_ in the soap, or just an automatic prejudice against
> soap actors?
Daily teen soap which I person find bad... and she always seemed to
have a dopey look on her face in the soap, but I never saw enough to
rate her acting, just the pavlovian response of seeing her (and others
on the soap) and wanting to change the station.
The acting is generally bad, but it is a daily soap so it isn't like
they have a lot of time for rehersals, etc, etc...
That said, a lot of successful actors have come out of that soap, some
who have done well in the US...Jesse Spencer, Alan Dale, Guy Pearce to
name a few.
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
wrote:
> I always found her to be capable. Sometimes people who have positives
> going for them draw vitriol for them as well as for any drawbacks.
> Sour grapes as it were.
Sour grapes? I don't want to appear in Dollhouse. I don't have
anyone who I want to appear in Dollhouse as Echo. I just think she
wasn't well suited to the role.
===
= DUG.
===
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
> > Costner vehicle)"
>
> We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
And sometimes directors, too. Michael Bay, Ronald Emmerich and Paul
Verhoeven spring to mind.
> Sometimes that's a bad thing, sometimes it's good (audience knows what
> to expect, short-hand for describing character, etc) sometimes it's
> bad (it's lame and boring.)
>
> Also, it can be a function of the director rather than the actor...
> perhaps Kevin Costner is being hired to plan Kevin Costner... or Kevin
> Costner's corpse.
And sometimes the director can pull a real performance rather than a
mere recital out of an actor. I thought Tom Cruise forgot how to act,
and then I saw him in "Collateral" directed by Michael Mann.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
Peter's Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord, #96.
My door mechanisms will be designed so that blasting the control panel
on the outside seals the door and blasting the control panel on the
inside opens the door, not vice versa.
Amy Guskin
(in article
<c51f6a82-9b6c-46af...@u36g2000prn.googlegroups.com>):
Ah, Alan Dale! He's great. Soaps are a terrific training ground for actors,
and stage actors often do better on them because there's so much memorization
(and little prep time) involved.
Amy Guskin
(in article
<5d1e476e-8c4e-4448...@u16g2000pru.googlegroups.com>):
Yeah, I kind of had the same reaction to this. If I had some kind of sour
grapes, "I coulda done it better!" thing going on, I wouldn't be lavishing
praise on the other cast members, as I have been (and so have most of the
others who have issues with Dushku's performance).
David E. Powell
> >> On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:30:39 -0500, Duggy wrote
>
> (in article
>
> > On Nov 14, 11:54 am, "David E. Powell" <David_Powell3...@msn.com>
> > wrote:
> >> I always found her to be capable. Sometimes people who have positives
> >> going for them draw vitriol for them as well as for any drawbacks.
> >> Sour grapes as it were.
>
> > Sour grapes? I don't want to appear in Dollhouse. I don't have
> > anyone who I want to appear in Dollhouse as Echo. I just think she
> > wasn't well suited to the role. <<
>
> Yeah, I kind of had the same reaction to this. If I had some kind of sour
> grapes, "I coulda done it better!" thing going on, I wouldn't be lavishing
> praise on the other cast members, as I have been (and so have most of the
> others who have issues with Dushku's performance).
>
> Amy
Alright, I can see that. Maybe it just wasn't her power alley. She was
pretty good in "Bring It On."
David E. Powell
> Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Duggy said:
>
> > > "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
> > > Costner vehicle)"
>
> > We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
>
> And sometimes directors, too. Michael Bay, Ronald Emmerich and Paul
> Verhoeven spring to mind.
>
> > Sometimes that's a bad thing, sometimes it's good (audience knows what
> > to expect, short-hand for describing character, etc) sometimes it's
> > bad (it's lame and boring.)
>
> > Also, it can be a function of the director rather than the actor...
> > perhaps Kevin Costner is being hired to plan Kevin Costner... or Kevin
> > Costner's corpse.
>
> And sometimes the director can pull a real performance rather than a
> mere recital out of an actor. I thought Tom Cruise forgot how to act,
> and then I saw him in "Collateral" directed by Michael Mann.
That's a good point. Some directors really push an actor, or sometimes
the personalities of the two just click. Sometimes there's a little of
both....
Mac Breck
<snip>
> The real issue with Dollhouse is that Eliza's meant to be playing a
> range of characters, not just a single character.
>
> Eliza playing Eliza in Buffy is fine because we can accept that that's
> what Faith is like.
>
> Eliza playing Catherine, Blank-Echo, a facilitator, a member of a
> cult, a struggling singer, etc doesn't really work if they are all
> Eliza.
What he said.
Giovanni Wassen
> On Nov 13, 10:36�am, Amy Guskin <aisl...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
>> Agreed. �Somebody needs to give him _and_ Dichen Lachman a show. �Tog
> ether,
>> even!
>
> I finally worked out what bugged me about her - she was on a soap in
> this country for a while and everytime I saw her when I was flicking
> channels I internally groan and changed channels... seeing her in
> Dollhouse something always annoyed me about her and I could never work
> out what.
>
> Now I know what I can probably get past it...
I know of one person who disliked her in that particular soap (Neighbours,
it even was (or is) broadcasted here in the Netherlands, but then again, so
it the bold and the beautiful, as the world turnes, days of our lives) but
liked her in Dollhouse.
--
Gio
http://www.watkijkikoptv.info
http://myanimelist.net/profile/extatix
http://watkijkikoptv.info/animeblog
Giovanni Wassen
> How about The Mentalist?
I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went nowhere.
It was also a victim of 'too much to watch already'.
Giovanni Wassen
> Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Duggy said:
>
>> > "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
>> > Costner vehicle)"
>>
>> We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
>
> And sometimes directors, too. Michael Bay, Ronald Emmerich and Paul
> Verhoeven spring to mind.
Uhm, okay. Total Recall, Zwartboek, Showgirls, all the same :)
The other two I agree though :D
Giovanni Wassen
> Alright, I can see that. Maybe it just wasn't her power alley. She was
> pretty good in "Bring It On."
I also liked her in Wrong Turn and a few Tru Calling episodes. A few, not
much. Only the episodes where she actually was allowed to be not bland.
Mac Breck
> David E. Powell wrote:
>
>> Alright, I can see that. Maybe it just wasn't her power alley. She
>> was pretty good in "Bring It On."
>
Check out "The Alphabet Killer." ;-)
Giovanni Wassen
> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>> David E. Powell wrote:
>>
>>> Alright, I can see that. Maybe it just wasn't her power alley. She
>>> was pretty good in "Bring It On."
>>
>> I also liked her in Wrong Turn....
>
> Check out "The Alphabet Killer." ;-)
Is that movie worth the time? (I already saw uhmmm.. screenshots of one
particular scene :-p)
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>> David E. Powell wrote:
>>>
>>>> Alright, I can see that. Maybe it just wasn't her power alley. She
>>>> was pretty good in "Bring It On."
>>>
>>> I also liked her in Wrong Turn....
>>
>> Check out "The Alphabet Killer." ;-)
>
> Is that movie worth the time?
Yes. She was pretty good in it.
> (I already saw uhmmm.. screenshots of
> one particular scene :-p)
Yeah, and I can guess which one. *eg*
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Duggy said:
> >
> >> > "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert name of
> >> > Costner vehicle)"
> >>
> >> We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
> >
> > And sometimes directors, too. Michael Bay, Ronald Emmerich and Paul
> > Verhoeven spring to mind.
>
> Uhm, okay. Total Recall, Zwartboek, Showgirls, all the same :)
>
> The other two I agree though :D
Flesh+Blood, Robocop, Total Recall, Showgirls, Starship Troopers,
Hollow Man... they all go over the top on something. Mostly violence,
sometimes sex, sometimes both at the same time.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
Peter's Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord, #220.
Whatever my one vulnerability is, I will fake a different one. For
example, ordering all mirrors removed from the palace, screaming and
flinching whenever someone accidentally holds up a mirror, etc. In the
climax when the hero whips out a mirror and thrusts it at my face, my
reaction will be "Hmm...I think I need a shave."
Giovanni Wassen
>> >> > "Starring, Kevin Costner, as... Kevin Costner! ...in (insert
>> >> > name of Costner vehicle)"
>> >>
>> >> We could probably list 100 actors to insert into that sentence.
>> >
>> > And sometimes directors, too. Michael Bay, Ronald Emmerich and
>> > Paul Verhoeven spring to mind.
>>
>> Uhm, okay. Total Recall, Zwartboek, Showgirls, all the same :)
>>
>> The other two I agree though :D
>
> Flesh+Blood, Robocop, Total Recall, Showgirls, Starship Troopers,
> Hollow Man... they all go over the top on something. Mostly violence,
> sometimes sex, sometimes both at the same time.
I don't see a problem? <g>
Duggy
> Duggy wrote:
> > On Nov 13, 10:36 am, Amy Guskin <aisl...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
> >> Agreed. Somebody needs to give him _and_ Dichen Lachman a show. Tog
> > ether,
> >> even!
> > I finally worked out what bugged me about her - she was on a soap in
> > this country for a while and everytime I saw her when I was flicking
> > channels I internally groan and changed channels... seeing her in
> > Dollhouse something always annoyed me about her and I could never work
> > out what.
> > Now I know what I can probably get past it...
> I know of one person who disliked her in that particular soap (Neighbours,
> it even was (or is) broadcasted here in the Netherlands, but then again, so
> it the bold and the beautiful, as the world turnes, days of our lives) but
> liked her in Dollhouse.
Honestly, I don't watch the show so I can't say if she was good or
bad... I just recognised her when I flicked channels and thought "Eh,
Neighbours" and kept flicking... hense, I think, even though I didn't
conciously recognise her I though "Eh" whenever I saw her... not that
I knew why or not that it was really fair, it was just my reaction.
===
= DUG.
===
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> How about The Mentalist?
>
> I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went
> nowhere.
In other words, they didn't make progress finding Red John quickly
enough for you. They _still_ haven't caught him, and we're 7 episodes
into Season 2. The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread
that spans *many* episodes and is not integral to most of them.
Instead, it provides Patrick Jane with part of his motivation for
staying with the C.B.I.. Eventually, they'll catch Red John, but pretty
much, each case is a standalone except for where the Red John thread may
touch it. I just hope that when they catch Red John, the show isn't
over (like Voyager reaching home.).
> It was also a victim of 'too much to watch already'.
"The Mentalist" is one of the few that are "Must See TV" for me. If it
comes on, even if it's a repeat, I'll watch it. I just really like the
characters, their chemistry together and the humor. Like "The Big Bang
Theory" and "Criminal Minds," I try to watch "The Mentalist" every week.
I missed a lot of the first season of "The Mentalist" and am catching up
via the DVD set.
Regarding dropping something because of the "too much to watch already"
reason, "FlashForward" is already gone from my lineup for that reason,
with "V," "The Forgotten" and "NCIS-LA" almost certainly soon to follow.
Now, I'm down to:
_Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
ASAP is Craig.)
The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled before S2.)
The Late Show with David Letterman (convenient M-F Prg. Block w/Craig)
The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (may cut prg block back to
1159PM-137AM, M-F.)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
_Monday_
How I Met Your Mother
Accidentally on Purpose (I like Jenna Elfman. <shrug> It's in a 8PM-10PM
timer recording block for me.)
Two and a Half Men
The Big Bang Theory
Heroes
House M. D. (via DVD set only. Not enough recording devices. <shrug>)
Castle
_Tuesday_
NCIS
NCIS-LA (May drop.)
The Forgotten (May drop. Will likely get cancelled anyway.)
_Wednesday_
Gary Unmarried
Criminal Minds
CSI: NY
Hank (already cancelled)
The Middle (part of convenient 8PM-10PM timer recording block, but now
that "Hank" is gone, I might shorten that to 9PM-10PM.)
Modern Family
Cougar Town
_Thursday_
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The Mentalist
Bones
Supernatural
_Friday_
nothing
_Saturday_
"The Red Green Show" (on PBS, Public Broadcasting System, WQED-13,
10:08PM-10:30PM)
_Sunday_
"Newhart" and The Honeymooners" reruns on Superstation WGN America.
Kurt Ullman
"Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled before S2.)
I"m not going to take that bet. Although it has had lousy ratings it
is SO very cheap to produce even compared to reality shows and
especially the scripted shows that almost have to run at 10 and NBC can
make fairly decent money. It isn't like they have shown any proclivity
for 10 pm blockbuster programming over the last few years.
--
To find that place where the rats don't race
and the phones don't ring at all.
If once, you've slept on an island.
Scott Kirby "If once you've slept on an island"
Vince M Hudd
> In other words, they didn't make progress finding
[snip this bit telling people what doesn't happen so far in S2]
> The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread that spans *many*
> episodes and is not integral to most of them. Instead, it provides Patrick
> Jane with part of his motivation for staying with the C.B.I..
Good job I have no intention of watching it, then. AFAICS, season one is
currently being repeated here, with no sign of S2 in my listings.
[...]
> Now, I'm down to:
> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
> ASAP is Craig.) The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled
> before S2.) The Late Show with David Letterman (convenient M-F Prg. Block
> w/Craig) The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (may cut prg block back
> to 1159PM-137AM, M-F.) The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
In future episodes of each of those, guests will appear and the host will
ask them questions. There may even be laughter.
Not that I'm trying to spoil the shows, or anything. :p
[...]
--
Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
http://www.softrock.co.uk
http://misc.vinceh.com
Mac Breck
> In article <ZvmdnVs3oJi_9pzW...@supernews.com>,
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled before S2.)
> I"m not going to take that bet. Although it has had lousy ratings
> it is SO very cheap to produce even compared to reality shows and
> especially the scripted shows that almost have to run at 10 and NBC
> can make fairly decent money. It isn't like they have shown any
> proclivity for 10 pm blockbuster programming over the last few years.
Other than the monologue and stuff like Headlines, I find the new show
to be about as appealing as dead air. It's like they have 10 to 15
minutes of good~decent stuff stretched to fill 44 minutes of airtime.
Mac Breck
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding
>
> [snip this bit telling people what doesn't happen so far in S2]
>
>> The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread that spans
>> *many* episodes and is not integral to most of them. Instead, it
>> provides Patrick Jane with part of his motivation for staying with
>> the C.B.I..
>
> Good job I have no intention of watching it, then.
Your loss. You're missing a good show.
Blair Leatherwood
This sounds like fun!
In our house, its:
Daily:
All My Children, General Hospital, One Life to Live (Judy's soap block)
Keith Olbermann
Rachel Maddow
Monday:
HIMYM
Big Bang Theory
Castle
Trauma (only because now I'm watching to see if there's anyone else I
know showing up on it)
Tuesday:
NCIS
NCIS-LA
V
Wednesday:
Glee
Thursday:
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
Friday:
Dollhouse
Real Time with Bill Maher
Saturday:
nothing
Sunday:
Desperate Housewives
And then, whenever they decide to run them again, Doctor Who and Torchwood.
voxwoman
Here's my TiVo list:
> Now, I'm down to:
>
> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
Judge Judy
>
> _Monday_
>
>
> Heroes
> House M. D. (via DVD set only. Not enough recording devices. <shrug>)
Accidentally on Purpose (I watch on cbs.com on tuesdays since I can
only do 2 shows in the same time slot)
I don't know what I'm going to do if when they bring back Chuck it's
against these other shows.
>
> _Tuesday_
>
I think the TiVo is reserved for my daughter on tuesdays because it's
recording "So you think you can dance" and "America's Top Model"
neither of which I watch.
V (giving it a bit of a shot, but I'm not thrilled)
>
> _Wednesday_
> Glee
>
> _Thursday_
Flash Forward (because of recoomendations on another forum - just
caught up with online eps 2 weeks ago and watching as they're
broadcast. I'm still not "hooked" on it)
When they return in January:
In Plain Sight
Burn Notice
>
> _Friday_
Monk
White Collar
Psych (when it returns)
SG:U
Sanctuary (may drop - right now I have it on as background for
folding laundry)
>
> _Saturday_
Nothing
>
> _Sunday_
Simpsons
Next Iron Chef
Challenge (actually we watch the freakin' Food Network all evening
some sundays!)
this week also recording "The Prisoner" (remake)
Bill
> The real issue with Dollhouse is that Eliza's meant to be playing a
> range of characters, not just a single character.
>
> Eliza playing Eliza in Buffy is fine because we can accept that that's
> what Faith is like.
>
> Eliza playing Catherine, Blank-Echo, a facilitator, a member of a
> cult, a struggling singer, etc doesn't really work if they are all
> Eliza.
Actually, that did work for me because one of the impending crises of
the show was pretty clearly going to be either that the original
personalities of the dolls were going to reassert themselves or that
some new composite would emerge, a la Alpha.. So naturally *all* of
Echoes imprints were simply going to be variations on the original, no
matter what the Dollhouse claimed the tech could do.
Bill
Bill
> >> Check out "The Alphabet Killer." ;-)
>
> > Is that movie worth the time?
>
> Yes. She was pretty good in it.
>
> > (I already saw uhmmm.. screenshots of
> > one particular scene :-p)
>
> Yeah, and I can guess which one. *eg*
Showtime just had Alphabet Killer on. The enjoyable 30 seconds or so
wasn't worth wading through the other two hours. Badly underused cast
(Cary Elwes, Timothy Hutton, Michael Ironside, Carl Lumbly) and a by-
the-numbers plot that included a "twist" I saw from about 15 minutes
in.
Bill
Lance Corporal "Hammer" Schultz
> Other than the monologue and stuff like Headlines, I find the new show
> to be about as appealing as dead air. It's like they have 10 to 15
> minutes of good~decent stuff stretched to fill 44 minutes of airtime.
That's what DVRs are for. :-)
--
Lance Corporal "Hammer" Schultz
Promote someone else.
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > _Monday_
> > Heroes
> > House M. D. (via DVD set only. Not enough recording devices. <shrug>)
> Accidentally on Purpose (I watch on cbs.com on tuesdays since I can
> only do 2 shows in the same time slot)
> I don't know what I'm going to do if when they bring back Chuck it's
> against these other shows.
Not to worry. WHEN Chuck returns, it's going into the Heroes timeslot.
This was NBC's plan from the start for the year. Latest rumor that I
know of is that they've ordered additional episodes of Chuck, which
indicates that Heroes may be cut early.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
"The Superior Person's Book Of Words", by Peter Bowler: EQUANIMITY:
Calmness, unconcern. For maximum effect, use in a context where the
reverse of this meaning is foreshadowed by the preceding words, e.g,
"I must admit, Arbuthnot, that the prospect of our losing you is one
that we all face with no little equanimity."
Mac Breck
<shrug> When it comes to an Eliza Dushku movie, I have low expectations.
This movie surpassed them.
David Williams
"Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ZvmdnVs3oJi_9pzW...@supernews.com...
> Now, I'm down to:
>
> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
> ASAP is Craig.)
Agreed. I like Craig's monologues and interviews. His comedy bits are hit
and miss for me. They often feel like he and the staff just didn't feel
like taking too much time or effort to really work on them. IMO
Monday to Thursday
Daily Show and Colbert Report
> _Monday_
Dancing with B-Listers Trying to Jumpstart their Sagging Careers. (I'm
married and we have one tv...)
House M. D.
Castle
Good Eats
> _Tuesday_
Milking the Advertisers with the "Results Show" of Dancing...
Mystery!
> _Wednesday_
> _Thursday_
Community
Parks & Recreation
The Office (starting to get old for me, though)
30 Rock
> _Friday_
Bill Maher (When he's on)
> _Saturday_
College football, particularly THE Ohio State Buckeyes (I enjoy it, but
again, I married into it...)
This Old House
Ask This Old House
> _Sunday_
TV tends to be tuned to whatever NFL is on, unless I sit down in front of it
and find something else.
Other shows, if I can catch one I haven't seen:
American Experience
Frontline
BBC News
America's Test Kitchen
Cook's Country
Anything Giada does... <:-}
Three Sheets
Anthony Bourdain
Ham on the Street
Mythbusters
Dirty Jobs
MeTV is pretty dangerous too. Right now I just stick to reruns of Barney
Miller. But they have plenty of options I could lose whole days watching.
Regards,
David W.
Mac Breck
> On Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:29:00 -0500, Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> Other than the monologue and stuff like Headlines, I find the new
>> show to be about as appealing as dead air. It's like they have 10
>> to 15 minutes of good~decent stuff stretched to fill 44 minutes of
>> airtime.
>
> That's what DVRs are for. :-)
....and good ol' VCRs. Trust me, I FF through a lot of Leno and the late
night stuff. I watch almost nothing "live" and when I do, I'm usually
reaching for the remote to FF through it. Habit. <rolleyes>
Mac Breck
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:ZvmdnVs3oJi_9pzW...@supernews.com...
>> Now, I'm down to:
>>
>> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to
>> watch ASAP is Craig.)
>
> Agreed. I like Craig's monologues and interviews. His comedy bits
> are hit and miss for me.
I like it when he gets a lively guests like Jennifer Love Hewitt. When
he gets most (but not all) country singers or *any* rappers/hip-hop,
it's floor-it *FF* time for me.
> They often feel like he and the staff just
> didn't feel like taking too much time or effort to really work on
> them. IMO
I like the puppet stuff at the beginning of the show, especially Wavey
the Croc :D and the Shark puppets. The comic musical numbers they
sometimes do with the minor players and the puppets are usually
entertaining (which is surprising for me because I _don't_ _like_
_musicals_ .). Wish he's go back to doing ESPN UK, Larry King, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sean Connery, Prince Charles, Fred Willard, etc.
skits. Never could stand the J. K. Rowling or Elton John skits. I'm
getting awfully tired of the Aquaman skits.
> Monday to Thursday
> Daily Show and Colbert Report
I'd watch those if they came as part of my cable package, but I can't
keep up with everything I get now.
>> _Monday_
> Dancing with B-Listers Trying to Jumpstart their Sagging Careers. (I'm
> married and we have one tv...)
You don't have to watch that, do you? B-Listers?....you're being
charitible. I wouldn't be caught dead watching Dancing with the
D-Listers, or for that matter any "Reality TV" shows.
> House M. D.
> Castle
> Good Eats
I don't get Food Network, but PBS often has a lot of interesting cooking
shows on the weekends, and I sometimes catch them when channel surfing.
>> _Tuesday_
> Milking the Advertisers with the "Results Show" of Dancing...
Gah! See my comments above.
> Mystery!
PBS?
>> _Wednesday_
>
>> _Thursday_
> Community
> Parks & Recreation
> The Office (starting to get old for me, though)
Got boring for me early in Season 1. I worked in cubicleland for 19
years. No desire to revisit it. For me that show is as dry as sawdust,
and about as interesting.
> 30 Rock
>
>> _Friday_
> Bill Maher (When he's on)
>
>> _Saturday_
> College football, particularly THE Ohio State Buckeyes (I enjoy it,
> but again, I married into it...)
Again, wouldn't be caught dead watching football, basketball, tennis,
golf or hockey. Baseball, maybe, once in a blue moon. Here in
Pittsburgh, the Pirates have been losers for about 17 years straight.
The owners have no desire to win. People go to see the Pirates play
anyway, so why shouldn't the owners sell off all of their best players
as soon as they show some talent? The Pirates are a farm team for the
rest of the league. The best reason to go see the Pirates is to visit
the new ballpark, one of the nicest in the leagues (National or
American). Too bad a decent team doesn't play there.
> This Old House
> Ask This Old House
Yes! Good ol' PBS. :-)
>> _Sunday_
> TV tends to be tuned to whatever NFL is on, unless I sit down in
> front of it and find something else.
I'd rather have my teeth drilled sans novocaine, by Dr. Christian Szell
(Laurence Olivier, "The Marathon Man" (1976)).
> Other shows, if I can catch one I haven't seen:
> American Experience
> Frontline
> BBC News
> America's Test Kitchen
> Cook's Country
> Anything Giada does... <:-}
> Three Sheets
> Anthony Bourdain
> Ham on the Street
> Mythbusters
> Dirty Jobs
>
> MeTV is pretty dangerous too. Right now I just stick to reruns of
> Barney Miller. But they have plenty of options I could lose whole
> days watching.
Oops, I forgot to mention Sunday reruns of "Cheers" on WGN-America.
Giovanni Wassen
> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>> Mac Breck wrote:
>>
>>> How about The Mentalist?
>>
>> I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went
>> nowhere.
>
> In other words, they didn't make progress finding Red John quickly
> enough for you.
No, in other words: it was basically the same story each week imo. And
apart of the main character nobody interested me.
> Regarding dropping something because of the "too much to watch already"
> reason, "FlashForward" is already gone from my lineup for that reason,
> with "V," "The Forgotten" and "NCIS-LA" almost certainly soon to follow.
FlashForward and Fringe could be next here.
> Now, I'm down to:
Let's see.
Dexter
How I Met Your Mother
House
Bones
FlashForward
Fringe
Stargate Universe
Dollhouse
That's the side dish.
Aoi Bungaku
Bleach
Fairy Tail
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Kimi ni Todoke
Kobato.
Kuchu Buranko
Naruto: Shippuuden
Nyan Koi!
Seitokai no Ichizon
Sora no Otoshimono
Winter Sonata
That's the main dish.
Mac Breck
<snip>
>> _Monday_
>>
>>
>> Heroes
>> House M. D. (via DVD set only. Not enough recording devices. <shrug>)
> Accidentally on Purpose (I watch on cbs.com on tuesdays since I can
> only do 2 shows in the same time slot)
> I don't know what I'm going to do if when they bring back Chuck it's
> against these other shows.
Hopefully, they'll move "Chuck" to Tuesdays or Fridays (bad day, I know,
but I'm watching nothing but Leno in primetime of Fridays.).
<snip>
_Thursday_
I'd be watching Fringe were it not for CSI & Supernatural.
>> _Friday_
> Monk
"Monk" is one of the shows I've always bought DVD, so that's how I catch
it.
<snip>
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> Now, I'm down to:
>>
>> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to
>> watch ASAP is Craig.)
>> The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled before S2.)
>> The Late Show with David Letterman (convenient M-F Prg. Block
>> w/Craig) The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (may cut prg block
>> back to 1159PM-137AM, M-F.)
>> The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
>>
>> _Monday_
>> How I Met Your Mother
>> Accidentally on Purpose (I like Jenna Elfman. <shrug> It's in a
>> 8PM-10PM timer recording block for me.)
>> Two and a Half Men
>> The Big Bang Theory
>> Heroes
>> House M. D. (via DVD set only. Not enough recording devices.
>> <shrug>) Castle
....and *Chuck* as soon as it comes back.
Firefly fan? (I am. Morena's the reason I started watching V.)
> Trauma (only because now I'm watching to see if there's anyone else I
> know showing up on it)
>
> Tuesday:
>
> NCIS
> NCIS-LA
> V
>
> Wednesday:
>
> Glee
>
> Thursday:
>
> Grey's Anatomy
> Private Practice
>
> Friday:
>
> Dollhouse
Looks like that one's cancelled.
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/11/11/this-just-in-dollhouse-axed/
> Real Time with Bill Maher
>
> Saturday:
>
> nothing
>
> Sunday:
>
> Desperate Housewives
>
> And then, whenever they decide to run them again, Doctor Who and
> Torchwood.
For Doctor Who, I rely on the DVD sets. Gave up on Torchwood early in
Season(Series) 2.
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>> Mac Breck wrote:
>>>
>>>> How about The Mentalist?
>>>
>>> I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went
>>> nowhere.
>>
>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding Red John quickly
>> enough for you.
>
> No, in other words: it was basically the same story each week imo.
That could be said about a lot of shows, e.g. House (just a different
disease, week to week), or any of the crime procedurals (CSIs, L&Os,
etc.).
> And
> apart of the main character nobody interested me.
I like all of the main characters, and the humor. I also watch just to
lay eyes on the goddess Amanda Righetti.
<snip>
voxwoman
It's only got 3 more episodes till they wind it up. I don't like
waiting for DVDs. I also don't want to watch mysteries more than once,
generally.
"White Collar" stars the fellow who played Bryce on "Chuck," which is
why I checked out the pilot. It was well-written and acted and it's
another crime dramedy, which my husband and I both seem to enjoy a lot
- most of the new shows we watch are on USA network. (we also liked
"Royal Pains" over the summer)
I also forgot, we are hooked on "Sons of Anarchy" (Katy Sagal, Ron
Perlman and a biker gang!) - That's our gritty drama of the week.
And as a final note - I actually enjoyed the latest SG:U that aired on
Friday. It's about time that these random planets became a lot more
dangerous than those in SG-1.
-Wendy
Duggy
> Actually, that did work for me because one of the impending crises of
> the show was pretty clearly going to be either that the original
> personalities of the dolls were going to reassert themselves or that
> some new composite would emerge, a la Alpha.. So naturally *all* of
> Echoes imprints were simply going to be variations on the original, no
> matter what the Dollhouse claimed the tech could do.
Not what the tech claimed it could do, but that it could do in the
other cases.
I'd have preferred the bleed between roles played subtlely by a good
actor not played by default because of the actor's range.
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
<starf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:29:00 -0500, Mac Breck wrote:
> > Other than the monologue and stuff like Headlines, I find the new show
> > to be about as appealing as dead air. It's like they have 10 to 15
> > minutes of good~decent stuff stretched to fill 44 minutes of airtime.
> That's what DVRs are for. :-)
Jeff from Coupling (on the plot in porn): "Well, it's kind of hard to
tell isn't it 'cos you tend to fast forward if anyone's dressed.
Sometimes I forget and do that with proper films. I can get through a
lot of movies in an evening."
===
= DUG.
===
Jeffrey Kaplan
> "White Collar" stars the fellow who played Bryce on "Chuck," which is
Oh, so that's why he's vaguely familiar.
> why I checked out the pilot. It was well-written and acted and it's
> another crime dramedy, which my husband and I both seem to enjoy a lot
> - most of the new shows we watch are on USA network. (we also liked
I've noticed that, too.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"So what do we do? Keep him locked up forever?" "I can get by on
that." (Dr. Franklin and Cmdr. Ivanova, B5 "Ship Of Tears")
Amy Guskin
(in article <gemini.kt7k840...@softrock.co.uk>):
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
>> ASAP is Craig.) The Jay Leno Show (almost certainly going to be cancelled
>> before S2.) The Late Show with David Letterman (convenient M-F Prg. Block
>> w/Craig) The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (may cut prg block back
>> to 1159PM-137AM, M-F.) The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
>
> In future episodes of each of those, guests will appear and the host will
> ask them questions. There may even be laughter.
>
> Not that I'm trying to spoil the shows, or anything. :p <<
Ha, good one.
I had no plans to watch that show anyway, but I was also surprised by the
degree of spoilerage.
Amy
--
Ten Thousand Questions
A Question a Day for Journaling, Self-Discovery, and Transformation
"2009 is the Year of Questions"
tenthousandquestions.com
Amy Guskin
(in article <p_mdnQA_8b9F7JzW...@supernews.com>):
> Vince M Hudd wrote:
>> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>>> Mac Breck wrote:
>>
>>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding
>>
>> [snip this bit telling people what doesn't happen so far in S2]
>>
>>> The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread that spans
>>> *many* episodes and is not integral to most of them. Instead, it
>>> provides Patrick Jane with part of his motivation for staying with
>>> the C.B.I..
>>
>> Good job I have no intention of watching it, then.
>
> Your loss. You're missing a good show. <<
He was making a point about your having spoiled the storyline.
Mel
Mac Breck wrote:
> Vince M Hudd wrote:
>
>>"Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>>
>>>>Mac Breck wrote:
>>
>>>In other words, they didn't make progress finding
>>
>>[snip this bit telling people what doesn't happen so far in S2]
>>
>>
>>>The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread that spans
>>>*many* episodes and is not integral to most of them. Instead, it
>>>provides Patrick Jane with part of his motivation for staying with
>>>the C.B.I..
>>
>>Good job I have no intention of watching it, then.
>
>
> Your loss. You're missing a good show.
>
It's got Robin Tunney in it, which is reason enough not to watch. I was
actually *happy* when her character was killed off on "Prison Break."
Mel
Mac Breck
Juggle enough chainsaws and time just flies. ;-)
> I also don't want to watch mysteries more than once,
> generally.
I still enjoy the humor between the characters, e.g. Stottlemeyer and
Monk and the house with the pet snakes (three Boa Constrictors, IIRC,
and one not accounted for.). "Hey Moe!" LOL
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>> Vince M Hudd wrote:
>>
>>> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Giovanni Wassen wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Mac Breck wrote:
>>>
>>>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding
>>>
>>> [snip this bit telling people what doesn't happen so far in S2]
>>>
>>>
>>>> The thing is, Red John is just an overarching thread that spans
>>>> *many* episodes and is not integral to most of them. Instead, it
>>>> provides Patrick Jane with part of his motivation for staying with
>>>> the C.B.I..
>>>
>>> Good job I have no intention of watching it, then.
>>
>>
>> Your loss. You're missing a good show.
>>
>
> It's got Robin Tunney in it, which is reason enough not to watch.
Your reason not to watch is one of the reasons I watch.
> I
> was actually *happy* when her character was killed off on "Prison
> Break."
Never watched it. Don't intend to, either.
Giovanni Wassen
>>>>> How about The Mentalist?
>>>>
>>>> I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went
>>>> nowhere.
>>>
>>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding Red John quickly
>>> enough for you.
>>
>> No, in other words: it was basically the same story each week imo.
>
> That could be said about a lot of shows, e.g. House (just a different
> disease, week to week), or any of the crime procedurals (CSIs, L&Os,
> etc.).
Yeah, and I already watch House and Bones the limit was already reached
:)
Both those shows have a set of characters I actually enjoy watching as
an ensemble, the Mentalist not so much.
>> And
>> apart of the main character nobody interested me.
>
> I like all of the main characters, and the humor.
I like the Asian looking guy's humor, but that isn't enough to keep
watching. Also I dislike Robin Tunney. Don't know why exactly though.
About the Red John thing, lots of shows manage to wrap up a storyline
and still be interesting the next season, no need to stall this for a
number of seasons.
> I also watch just to lay eyes on the goddess Amanda Righetti.
She looks great yes, no doubt about that.
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>>>>>> How about The Mentalist?
>>>>>
>>>>> I liked this show but decided to drop it after it repeatedly went
>>>>> nowhere.
>>>>
>>>> In other words, they didn't make progress finding Red John quickly
>>>> enough for you.
>>>
>>> No, in other words: it was basically the same story each week imo.
>>
>> That could be said about a lot of shows, e.g. House (just a different
>> disease, week to week), or any of the crime procedurals (CSIs, L&Os,
>> etc.).
>
> Yeah, and I already watch House and Bones the limit was already
> reached :)
>
> Both those shows have a set of characters I actually enjoy watching as
> an ensemble, the Mentalist not so much.
>
>>> And
>>> apart of the main character nobody interested me.
>>
>> I like all of the main characters, and the humor.
>
> I like the Asian looking guy's humor, but that isn't enough to keep
> watching.
I just watched the Season 1 episode "Red Handed" (about the casino boss
who is killed and whose hand is severed and left on the CA/NV border.
Remember when Patrick won all that money and bought Lisbon an emerald
necklace, Grace a ruby necklace (which they later returned) and the guys
expensive watches (which the guys kept)? I loved seeing everybody
light up when they got their presents.
> Also I dislike Robin Tunney. Don't know why exactly though.
She has an asymmetrical face and almost always seens to be frowning.
For some reason, I like her.
> About the Red John thing, lots of shows manage to wrap up a storyline
> and still be interesting the next season, no need to stall this for a
> number of seasons.
Doesn't bother me. With B5 I got used to stuff that spanned seasons.
Novels can be that way as well. Right now, I'm reading The Dresden
Files series of novels, currently on #10 of 11 ("Small Favor") and it's
nothing for something in Book #9 or #10 to refer to events in any of
the previous books, all the way back to #1 ("Storm Front"). To get all
of the references, to fully experience each book, you have to keep all
that in memory.
>> I also watch just to lay eyes on the goddess Amanda Righetti.
>
> She looks great yes, no doubt about that.
She's got one of the prettiest faces I've ever seen.
Giovanni Wassen
>> Also I dislike Robin Tunney. Don't know why exactly though.
>
> She has an asymmetrical face and almost always seens to be frowning.
> For some reason, I like her.
It's not just her face, it's her whole attitude in the series. I just
can't put a finger on it what is exactly is. But then again, I also
don't really like Foreman in House, but it doesn't bother me as much
because the rest of the cast is great.
>> About the Red John thing, lots of shows manage to wrap up a storyline
>> and still be interesting the next season, no need to stall this for a
>> number of seasons.
>
> Doesn't bother me. With B5 I got used to stuff that spanned seasons.
Sure, but B5 was and is an exception. BSG tried to do a season spanning
arc and failed horribly IMHO.
> Novels can be that way as well. Right now, I'm reading The Dresden
> Files series of novels, currently on #10 of 11 ("Small Favor") and
> it's nothing for something in Book #9 or #10 to refer to events in
> any of the previous books, all the way back to #1 ("Storm Front"). To
> get all of the references, to fully experience each book, you have to
> keep all that in memory.
I don't mind it in books as much. While I don't read series which last
that long (three Peter F. Hamilton books is just long enough) I like
stories which take a while. But I also know the ending will be okay, I'm
not so sure about the Mentalist in that way. They keep on building it up
till a certain point where they fail to catch Red John and the next
episode is just another crime-of-the-week where Red John is hardly
mentioned if at all. Take Dexter for example, the main arc is almost
always present.
>>> I also watch just to lay eyes on the goddess Amanda Righetti.
>>
>> She looks great yes, no doubt about that.
>
> She's got one of the prettiest faces I've ever seen.
I think the whole package looks stunning :)
Mac Breck
> Mac Breck wrote:
>
>>> Also I dislike Robin Tunney. Don't know why exactly though.
>>
>> She has an asymmetrical face and almost always seens to be frowning.
>> For some reason, I like her.
>
> It's not just her face, it's her whole attitude in the series. I just
> can't put a finger on it what is exactly is. But then again, I also
> don't really like Foreman in House, but it doesn't bother me as much
> because the rest of the cast is great.
My interest in "House M.D." waned when Chase, Cameron and Foreman left
the team and the new gaggle of (competing) doctors came joined it in
Season 4. I've watched through Season 3, and was part way through
Season 4 when I stopped. I'll pick it up again when I have time (if
that ever happens. <rolleyes>). I own Seasons 1 thru 5 on DVD; I just
have to find time to watch it.
>>> About the Red John thing, lots of shows manage to wrap up a
>>> storyline and still be interesting the next season, no need to
>>> stall this for a number of seasons.
>>
>> Doesn't bother me. With B5 I got used to stuff that spanned seasons.
>
> Sure, but B5 was and is an exception. BSG tried to do a season
> spanning arc and failed horribly IMHO.
For me, new BSG gradually became unlikeable. I owned the miniseries
through Season 2.5 and Razor on DVD, and watched Season 3 via Netflix
(already getting sick of it so I didn't buy those DVDs.), and stopped
after watching Season 3. Then, I sold my BSG DVDs to a friend for half
of what I paid (half of discount/sale price), and haven't been even
_slightly_ tempted to watch BSG Season 4. I don't even want to waste a
_rental_ on that. To put this in perspective, I finished watching "Star
Trek: Enterprise" (all of Season 4) via Netflix.
>> Novels can be that way as well. Right now, I'm reading The Dresden
>> Files series of novels, currently on #10 of 11 ("Small Favor") and
>> it's nothing for something in Book #9 or #10 to refer to events in
>> any of the previous books, all the way back to #1 ("Storm Front").
>> To get all of the references, to fully experience each book, you
>> have to keep all that in memory.
>
> I don't mind it in books as much. While I don't read series which last
> that long (three Peter F. Hamilton books is just long enough) I like
> stories which take a while. But I also know the ending will be okay,
How can you be sure until you get to the ending? Faith in the writer?
Previous experience with the writer?
> I'm not so sure about the Mentalist in that way.
Yes, TV shows can be that way; they can string you along until they just
fizzle, and then stop because of declining ratings. Sometimes the
writers seem like they're lost/out-of-ideas and are just making up
random junk as they go along (e.g. "The X-Files"), or they don't really
have enough material to fill a complete US TV season (e.g.
"Supernatural" this season) and the start and end of the season are arc
intensive, and the middle 75% of the season are filler/standalones
(running in place) that have little or no connection to the arc and
sometimes rehash old stuff that you've seen before in the show.
> They keep on
> building it up till a certain point where they fail to catch Red John
> and the next episode is just another crime-of-the-week where Red John
> is hardly mentioned if at all.
So, you're bothered by the repetitive tease, the buildup without the
final payoff? (Sounds a little like I felt while reading Babylon 5 -
Dell #5 "The Touch of Your Shadow, The Whisper of Your Name." That was
an _AWFUL_ novel.) I haven't watched enough of "The Mentalist" _in_
_broadcast_ _order_ to be able to sense that repetitive tease. Like I
said, I'm catching up via the Season 1 DVD set. I'm only on Season 1
Episode 7, and I've seen some of Season 1 Episodes 8 through 23 in first
run, but _not_ all of them, _not_ even complete episodes sometimes (I'd
get interrupted, get called out to work, etc.), and _certainly_ _not_ in
broadcast order (catching reruns). So far this season, I've only
managed to watch episodes 5 ("Red Scare") and 7 ("Red Bulls"), even
though I've recorded them all. I'm trying to get caught up by watching
them in broadcast order, but sometimes I get tempted and end up watching
like I did for Season 2 episodes 5 & 7. <shrug> If I watch more than a
few minutes, I'm there for the whole episode, unless I get called away.
> Take Dexter for example, the main arc
> is almost always present.
I've only seen "Dexter" Season 1. *THAT'S* a disturbing show. I like
it, _after_ I'm into it, but it's like jumping into cold water. That
first bit is a shock, but once you get acclimated, it's OK. Rooting for
a serial killer is....disquieting. I don't want to give anything away
for anybody who hasn't seen it, but the way Dexter slaughters that
person at the end of Season 1, premeditated, methodical, emotionless at
the end, like the slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse....that's
disturbing.
>>>> I also watch just to lay eyes on the goddess Amanda Righetti.
>>>
>>> She looks great yes, no doubt about that.
>>
>> She's got one of the prettiest faces I've ever seen.
>
> I think the whole package looks stunning :)
From the neck up, she has me glamoured (i.e. enchanted. Remember I'm
reading "The Dresden Files" books at the moment. ;-) ). That's usually
as far as I get. However. remember the episode where she's wearing the
form-fitting, red dress, and as she walks up to Rigsby in the (outdoor)
restaurant, he says under his breath "Van Pelt, you're killing me." ?
Me too, Rigsby, me too.
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > It's only got 3 more episodes till they wind it up. I don't like
> > waiting for DVDs.
> Juggle enough chainsaws and time just flies. ;-)
So will body parts... :)
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
Actual label instructions on consumer goods:
On a bar of Dove soap: Directions: Use like regular soap.
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > _Monday to Friday_ (Of the following, the one I'm most likely to watch
> > ASAP is Craig.)
>
> Agreed. I like Craig's monologues and interviews. His comedy bits are hit
I cannot stand Craig Ferguson. Even if I did stay up that late on a
regular basis, I would not watch him. Maybe if I was paid to...
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
"The one thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart."
(Miles Vorkosigan [Lois McMaster Bujold, "Memory"])
Jeffrey Kaplan
> Sure, but B5 was and is an exception. BSG tried to do a season spanning
> arc and failed horribly IMHO.
B5 excelled and BSG failed at that for opposite sides of the same
reason: B5's multi-year arc was planned out from the start and BSG's
was made up as it went.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
Tips for the Innocent Bystander: 22. If you are a security guard for
a vast, powerful corporation, try to get assigned to the Marketing or
Personnel departments, rather than R&D.
Mac Breck
> Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Mac Breck said:
>
>>> It's only got 3 more episodes till they wind it up. I don't like
>>> waiting for DVDs.
>> Juggle enough chainsaws and time just flies. ;-)
>
> So will body parts... :)
A man's got to know his limitations. Don't go beyond 'em. ;-)
Jeffrey Kaplan
> > Take Dexter for example, the main arc
> > is almost always present.
>
> I've only seen "Dexter" Season 1. *THAT'S* a disturbing show. I like
> it, _after_ I'm into it, but it's like jumping into cold water. That
> first bit is a shock, but once you get acclimated, it's OK. Rooting for
> a serial killer is....disquieting. I don't want to give anything away
> for anybody who hasn't seen it, but the way Dexter slaughters that
> person at the end of Season 1, premeditated, methodical, emotionless at
> the end, like the slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse....that's
> disturbing.
Well, he IS a serial killer. If you think that's disturbing, wait
until you see season 2.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
Double ROT13 encoded for your protection
"Then you can't have any." "What is it?" "Doesn't matter, you're not
getting any." (Mr. Garibaldi and Dr. Franklin, B5 "A Distant Star")
Amy Guskin
(in article <nOCdnZ8uCobDVp_W...@supernews.com>):
I don't want to give anything away
> for anybody who hasn't seen it, but the way Dexter slaughters that
> person at the end of Season 1, premeditated, methodical, emotionless at
> the end, like the slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse....that's
> disturbing. <<
Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
Vince M Hudd
> > > On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:12:08 -0500, Mac Breck wrote
> (in article <nOCdnZ8uCobDVp_W...@supernews.com>):
> > I don't want to give anything away for anybody who hasn't seen it, but
> > the way Dexter
[spoilerage removed]
> Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
My thoughts, too, when I read it - but, strangely, this time it's actually a
good thing for me. It looks like a massive spoiler, which I should hate -
but without that spoiler... well, Dexter has never been on my radar, at all
- I'm not sure I've even heard of it before - but that comment sparked my
interest and I've looked it up.
I now want to see this show.
But it's not currently being broadcast on any of "my" channels, and I'll
want to watch it from the start anyway - so it has to go on the DVD list,
and may take some time before I finally get around to it. So no more
spoilers, please!
--
Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
http://www.softrock.co.uk
http://misc.vinceh.com
Mac Breck
> Amy Guskin <ais...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:12:08 -0500, Mac Breck wrote
>> (in article <nOCdnZ8uCobDVp_W...@supernews.com>):
>
>>> I don't want to give anything away for anybody who hasn't seen it,
>>> but the way Dexter
>
> [spoilerage removed]
>
>> Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
>
> My thoughts, too, when I read it - but, strangely, this time it's
> actually a good thing for me. It looks like a massive spoiler, which
> I should hate - but without that spoiler... well, Dexter has never
> been on my radar, at all - I'm not sure I've even heard of it before
> - but that comment sparked my interest and I've looked it up.
Spoiler?!? I kept things /vague/ . I didn't saw who was killed. I
didn't give the sex of the person who was killed. I didn't say why they
were killed. I didn't describe the specifics of the act in any way that
somebody could accurately visualize it. Sheesh!
> I now want to see this show.
>
> But it's not currently being broadcast on any of "my" channels, and
> I'll want to watch it from the start anyway - so it has to go on the
> DVD list, and may take some time before I finally get around to it.
> So no more spoilers, please!
NETFLIX. That's how I saw it. Blockbuster would be another way.
Mac Breck
> Vince M Hudd wrote:
>> Amy Guskin <ais...@fjordstone.com> wrote:
>>>>> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:12:08 -0500, Mac Breck wrote
>>> (in article <nOCdnZ8uCobDVp_W...@supernews.com>):
>>
>>>> I don't want to give anything away for anybody who hasn't seen it,
>>>> but the way Dexter
>>
>> [spoilerage removed]
>>
>>> Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
>>
>> My thoughts, too, when I read it - but, strangely, this time it's
>> actually a good thing for me. It looks like a massive spoiler, which
>> I should hate - but without that spoiler... well, Dexter has never
>> been on my radar, at all - I'm not sure I've even heard of it before
>> - but that comment sparked my interest and I've looked it up.
>
> Spoiler?!? I kept things /vague/ . I didn't saw
*say* <rolleyes> How did that happen? The "w" and "y" aren't even next
to each other.
Dr Nancy's Sweetie
>> Juggle enough chainsaws and time just flies. ;-)
> So will body parts... :)
If you're a beginner, take the chains out. The thing makes just as
much noise, and people sitting in the audience won't notice.
Darren Provine ! kil...@elvis.rowan.edu ! http://www.rowan.edu/~kilroy
"The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong
to be broken." -- Samuel Johnson
Vince M Hudd
> > > > Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
> > > My thoughts, too, when I read it - but, strangely, this time it's
> > > actually a good thing for me. It looks like a massive spoiler, which I
> > > should hate - but without that spoiler... well, Dexter has never been
> > > on my radar, at all - I'm not sure I've even heard of it before - but
> > > that comment sparked my interest and I've looked it up.
> > Spoiler?!? I kept things /vague/ . I didn't saw
> *say* <rolleyes> How did that happen? The "w" and "y" aren't even next
> to each other.
Perhaps you were subconsciously fantasising about methods of disposing of a
body if you were a killer yourself? :p
> > who was
[snip GAH!]
> > I didn't describe the specifics of the act in any way that somebody
> > could accurately visualize it. Sheesh!
The problem is you made it sound *significant*, rather than just an
arbitrary happening (given the nature of the lead character and the general
synopsis of the show) leading the potential viewers to a position where not
only do they know it's coming, but also to wondering who it might be as that
point approaches. For some, me included (or in particular), this diminishes
their viewing pleasure. *That* is what makes it a spoiler - it's not in the
amount of detail included or missed out, it's not whether you as the poster
thinks it's spoiling anything or not; it's whether the *reader* of your
posts feels your information has spoiled their viewing pleasure. This varies
from one person to the next, and because of that nobody can know if what
they are about to write is going to spoil things for someone else - and that
is why I have the position I do on always using spoiler space for discussion
of plot details, etc.
When I first mentioned the subject of spoilers here a year or so back (?), I
referred to a post to alt.babylon5.uk by way of an example - a post in which
someone posted spoilers for the film Serenity. If I could be arsed, I'd dig
that link out and repost it here, now - because that person's spoilerage,
and his defence of that spoilerage, bears a remarkable resemblence to what
you've said above!
But I can't be arsed. So I won't. So there. :p
Vince M Hudd
I forgot to reply to this bit before...
[That I now want to watch Dexter, but it will have to wait]
> NETFLIX. That's how I saw it.
I suspect that's not available to me, for some strange reason that I can't
perceive, but which might involve a giant puddle known to some as The
Atlantic Ocean. (Interestingly, .co.uk just redirects to the .com site.)
Even if available in the UK, the problems with rentals as below would apply.
> Blockbuster would be another way.
The main problem with renting DVDs is that once they're here, they have to
be watched in a sensible time frame so that they can be returned. This isn't
always practical. (They do allow you to hold onto a DVD "as long as you
want" - but given that it involves a monthly fee, that could potentially
make them very expensive if I hold onto something long enough for me to
finally get around to watching it.
The other problem is that they then have to be given back. The better
something turns out to be, the more reluctant I am to do that.
Buying the DVDs, OTOH, means they can sit on my creaking shelves until such
a time as I can watch them, however long that takes[1] - and this is
particularly appealing given the monthly fees for renting. Consider:
Blockbuster's cheapest option is �12.71 per month for up to two (count 'em)
discs at a time. DVDPacific has seasons 1-3 of Dexter for just under �18
each (probably about �20 when shipping is included).
[1] All I have to be wary of is the building collapsing under all the weight
;)
Duggy
> >> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:12:08 -0500, Mac Breck wrote
>
>
> I don't want to give anything away
>
> > for anybody who hasn't seen it, but the way Dexter slaughters that
> > person at the end of Season 1, premeditated, methodical, emotionless at
> > the end, like the slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse....that's
> > disturbing. <<
>
> Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
He kills someone in most episodes of season 1, so it isn't giving too
much away... it isn't like he said who & why...
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
> Mac Breck wrote:
> > Spoiler?!? I kept things /vague/ . I didn't saw
> *say* <rolleyes> How did that happen? The "w" and "y" aren't even next
> to each other.
True, but you didn't saw Dexter's final season 1 victim, and I think
it is important to inform people that you weren't part of the killing.
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
> The problem is you made it sound *significant*, rather than just an
> arbitrary happening
I think it was already discussed that Dexter was made up of season
long arcs... so that discussion made it clear that significant things
would happen in final episode.
However, I think the relevation in that post was just that the killing
was more graphic, not actually that it was significant.
> When I first mentioned the subject of spoilers here a year or so back (?), I
> referred to a post to alt.babylon5.uk by way of an example - a post in which
> someone posted spoilers for the film Serenity. If I could be arsed, I'd dig
> that link out and repost it here, now - because that person's spoilerage,
> and his defence of that spoilerage, bears a remarkable resemblence to what
> you've said above!
<POTENTIAL SPOILERS>
IIRC, there is a decoy victim in the final episode... by the time the
real victim is revealed it should be obvious to even the unspoilt
viewer.
> But I can't be arsed. So I won't. So there. :p
Recently talking to a person about a film and how there's something in
the first few minutes that creates a great sensawunder that is the
reason I love the film. From that and the title they guessed
basically the underlying idea.
Personally, I would have been happy if they went in blank, but they
didn't. Anything can be a spoiler in many ways... should we count
everything... after all, telling people the basic premise of Dexter
spoils the first 10 minutes of the show...
===
= DUG.
===
Duggy
> The main problem with renting DVDs is that once they're here, they have to
> be watched in a sensible time frame so that they can be returned. This isn't
> always practical.
I watched the first season of Dexter over 3 days, 4 episodes a day. I
was also working graveyard shifts and not getting much sleep...
Doing that messes with your mind... I do not recommend it.
===
= DUG.
===
Jeffrey Kaplan
> >> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:12:08 -0500, Mac Breck wrote
> (in article <nOCdnZ8uCobDVp_W...@supernews.com>):
>
> I don't want to give anything away
> > for anybody who hasn't seen it, but the way Dexter slaughters that
> > person at the end of Season 1, premeditated, methodical, emotionless at
> > the end, like the slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse....that's
> > disturbing. <<
>
> Yeah, 'cause _that_ wasn't giving anything away <rolling eyes>.
With the first season of "Dexter", it'd be a spoiler to say which
episodes he DOESN'T kill someone.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"I never knew you could be so devious, Commander." "Coming from you,
Ambassador, that's a real compliment." (Amb. G'Kar and Cmdr. Sinclair,
B5 "Born to the Purple")
Jeffrey Kaplan
> My thoughts, too, when I read it - but, strangely, this time it's actually a
> good thing for me. It looks like a massive spoiler, which I should hate -
> but without that spoiler... well, Dexter has never been on my radar, at all
> - I'm not sure I've even heard of it before - but that comment sparked my
> interest and I've looked it up.
>
> I now want to see this show.
>
> But it's not currently being broadcast on any of "my" channels, and I'll
> want to watch it from the start anyway - so it has to go on the DVD list,
> and may take some time before I finally get around to it. So no more
> spoilers, please!
Do you have Netflix or similar over on your side of the Pond?
Amy Guskin
(in article <gemini.kt9tz50...@softrock.co.uk>):
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>> who was
> [snip GAH!]
>>> I didn't describe the specifics of the act in any way that somebody
>>> could accurately visualize it. Sheesh!
>
> The problem is you made it sound *significant*, rather than just an
> arbitrary happening (given the nature of the lead character and the general
> synopsis of the show) leading the potential viewers to a position where not
> only do they know it's coming, but also to wondering who it might be as that
> point approaches. For some, me included (or in particular), this diminishes
> their viewing pleasure. *That* is what makes it a spoiler - it's not in the
> amount of detail included or missed out, it's not whether you as the poster
> thinks it's spoiling anything or not; it's whether the *reader* of your
> posts feels your information has spoiled their viewing pleasure. This varies
> from one person to the next, and because of that nobody can know if what
> they are about to write is going to spoil things for someone else - and that
> is why I have the position I do on always using spoiler space for discussion
> of plot details, etc. <<
This is exactly the kind of spoiler that bothers me, too. I don't care that
much finding out that some actor or another is going to be in the new season
of a show (unless it's a returning character, or gives away the fact that
someone who apparently died in the previous season's finale actually lived --
that spoiler happened to me with one particular season of "24"), or small
specifics. But something like this, I'm going to spend that whole episode,
and probably the ones leading up to it, looking for who that's going to be,
how that's going to happen, etc. That's the worst way to ruin a show for
someone, IMHO. You lose the suspense that you would have had leading up to
that moment in the finale.
>> When I first mentioned the subject of spoilers here a year or so back (?), I
> referred to a post to alt.babylon5.uk by way of an example - a post in which
> someone posted spoilers for the film Serenity. If I could be arsed, I'd dig
> that link out and repost it here, now - because that person's spoilerage,
> and his defence of that spoilerage, bears a remarkable resemblence to what
> you've said above!
>
> But I can't be arsed. So I won't. So there. :p <<
I've read that exchange when you posted a link to it last time. It was truly
_awful_.
Mac Breck
It was just an example, given the known nature of the lead character and
the general synopsis of the show. Dexter has killed many in that way,
and by that I mean premeditated, methodical, emotionless, like the
slaughter of an animal in a slaughterhouse (i.e. like it's just a
*job* ). The example was the only one I remembered because it was the
last one I saw when I finished Dexter Season 1 back on January 14, 2008.
Mac Breck
LOL !
Mac Breck
> "Mac Breck" <macthe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I forgot to reply to this bit before...
>
> [That I now want to watch Dexter, but it will have to wait]
>
>> NETFLIX. That's how I saw it.
>
> I suspect that's not available to me, for some strange reason that I
> can't perceive, but which might involve a giant puddle known to some
> as The Atlantic Ocean. (Interestingly, .co.uk just redirects to the
> .com site.)
Ah, I didn't bother to look at your email addy. Sorry.
> Even if available in the UK, the problems with rentals as below would
> apply.
>
>> Blockbuster would be another way.
>
> The main problem with renting DVDs is that once they're here, they
> have to be watched in a sensible time frame so that they can be
> returned. This isn't always practical. (They do allow you to hold
> onto a DVD "as long as you want" - but given that it involves a
> monthly fee, that could potentially make them very expensive if I
> hold onto something long enough for me to finally get around to
> watching it.
That's why with Netflix I use "1-at-a-Time-Unlimited." I can usually
get one disk watched and mailed back in one day, and that usually
results in me getting a DVD every 3 or 4 days. Works for me. Any more
than "1-at-a-Time-Unlimited" would just slow the turnaround time and
cost me more per rental.
> The other problem is that they then have to be given back. The better
> something turns out to be, the more reluctant I am to do that.
If when I'm watching DVDs of a TV series, I discover that I like it a
lot, I take the remainder of the DVDs out on my queue and instead I buy
the DVD sets of the show. I did that with "Supernatural." Liked the
first couple of disks of Season 1, deleted the rest of the Supernatural
Season 1 DVDs from my queue, and bought Seasons 1 through 3 at a local
discount store for $19.99/season. :D After I finished those I bought
Season 4 which was more expensive because it was newer. Finished those
and now I'm recording Season 5.
> Buying the DVDs, OTOH, means they can sit on my creaking shelves
> until such a time as I can watch them, however long that takes[1] -
> and this is particularly appealing given the monthly fees for
> renting.
Just make sure that you inspect any DVDs (especially DVD sets) that you
buy *before* you put them up on the shelf for an extended period of
time. You wouldn't want to be outside of a store's return period when
you discover that some of the disks are damaged/unplayable. I inspect
all DVDs I buy before I leave the store, or at least before I leave the
parking lot. I've found loose, scratched disks, cracked disks, and sets
that had two Disk 2's, 3, and 4, but no Disk 1 (House M.D. Season 4).
You're buying the disks new, so you're entitled to new discs in
excellent condition, right? I don't quibble about short, minor, light
scratches, but I can tell when a scratch is likely to cause a disk to
hang or skip, and those I don't tolerate.
> Consider: Blockbuster's cheapest option is �12.71 per month
> for up to two (count 'em) discs at a time.
That's not good. I pay $9.62 (with the tax) per month for Netflix
"1-at-a-Time-Unlimited." That's equal to 5.72833 GBP, today.
> DVDPacific has seasons 1-3
> of Dexter for just under �18 each (probably about �20 when shipping
> is included).
>
> [1] All I have to be wary of is the building collapsing under all the
> weight ;)
I know what you mean. ;-)
Mac Breck
Exactly.
Giovanni Wassen
> DVDPacific has seasons 1-3 of Dexter
> for just under �18 each (probably about �20 when shipping is
> included).
Play.com has season 1 for �12.99 with no shipping fee. No ocean to cross,
just the canal. Season 2 is �16.99.
Giovanni Wassen
>> It's not just her face, it's her whole attitude in the series. I just
>> can't put a finger on it what is exactly is. But then again, I also
>> don't really like Foreman in House, but it doesn't bother me as much
>> because the rest of the cast is great.
>
> My interest in "House M.D." waned when Chase, Cameron and Foreman left
> the team and the new gaggle of (competing) doctors came joined it in
> Season 4. I've watched through Season 3, and was part way through
> Season 4 when I stopped. I'll pick it up again when I have time (if
> that ever happens. <rolleyes>). I own Seasons 1 thru 5 on DVD; I just
> have to find time to watch it.
Yes, time. One of the mosy valuable things I wish I had more of :) I
might order season 5 around christmas, season 1 through 4 already
present.
Out of curiosity I just counted the amount of titles in my
dvd-collection <http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/extatix> which
I haven't seen yet. A nice amount of 131 out of 411 remain unseen.
>> I don't mind it in books as much. While I don't read series which
>> last that long (three Peter F. Hamilton books is just long enough) I
>> like stories which take a while. But I also know the ending will be
>> okay,
>
> How can you be sure until you get to the ending? Faith in the writer?
> Previous experience with the writer?
Mostly, yes. Dan Simmons & Peter F. Hamilton are two of the writers who
I trust to end it in a good way. I even trust Stephen King to end the
Dark Tower in a proper way, which I really need to finish reading
sometime next year.
>> They keep on
>> building it up till a certain point where they fail to catch Red John
>> and the next episode is just another crime-of-the-week where Red John
>> is hardly mentioned if at all.
>
> So, you're bothered by the repetitive tease, the buildup without the
> final payoff?
In this case yes. They could do multiple arcs for instance, but tv-shows
rarely do this. But it's not that, it's the whole thing. I didn't see
myself enjoying the Mentalist for multiple seasons.
>> Take Dexter for example, the main arc
>> is almost always present.
>
> I've only seen "Dexter" Season 1. *THAT'S* a disturbing show. I like
> it, _after_ I'm into it, but it's like jumping into cold water.
It was one of the shows I always looked forward to.
> Rooting for a serial killer is....disquieting.
It sure is, but it's also why this show actually works.
>>> She's got one of the prettiest faces I've ever seen.
>>
>> I think the whole package looks stunning :)
>
> From the neck up, she has me glamoured (i.e. enchanted. Remember I'm
> reading "The Dresden Files" books at the moment. ;-) ). That's
> usually as far as I get.
So, you didn't notice her healthy length? :)
Giovanni Wassen
> Previously on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, Giovanni Wassen said:
>
>> Sure, but B5 was and is an exception. BSG tried to do a season spanning
>> arc and failed horribly IMHO.
>
> B5 excelled and BSG failed at that for opposite sides of the same
> reason: B5's multi-year arc was planned out from the start and BSG's
> was made up as it went.
Yeah, and apart from B5 I can't really think of a series with a multi-
season long arc which did work. The X Files was fine, but it's arc never
was resolved in a satisfying way.
Vince M Hudd
> > The main problem with renting DVDs is that once they're here, they have
> > to be watched in a sensible time frame so that they can be returned.
> > This isn't always practical.
> I watched the first season of Dexter over 3 days, 4 episodes a day. I was
> also working graveyard shifts and not getting much sleep...
When I do have time to watch a series, then I will usually squeeze one disc
- usually four episodes - into an evening. It's not often I can do that,
though.
Vince M Hudd
[...]
> It was just an example, given the known nature of the lead character and
> the general synopsis of the show. Dexter has killed many in that way, and
> by that I mean premeditated, methodical, emotionless, like the slaughter
> of an animal in a slaughterhouse (i.e. like it's just a *job* ). The
> example was the only one I remembered because it was the last one I saw
> when I finished Dexter Season 1 back on January 14, 2008.
Ah, okay, now that makes sense. That you highlighted it simply because you
remember it, but it's "just" another killing in the show, is fair enough.
(It might have been worth tacking that comment to the original, rather than
just say "I don't want to spoil anything, but..." and then post what looks
like a spoiler!) As you say (and as I observed in one of my posts) the
nature of the show means we can expect that - and Dug said it would be more
of a spoiler to mention episodes in which he *doesn't* kill someone.
The reason I picked up on it thinking it was a big spoiler is that when you
originally mentioned it, it sounded as though you were highlighting it
because it was in some way relevant or important, moreso than the other
killings. *That* would have made it a spoiler.
Vince M Hudd
> Vince M Hudd wrote:
> > The main problem with renting DVDs is that once they're here, they have
> > to be watched in a sensible time frame so that they can be returned.
> > This isn't always practical. (They do allow you to hold onto a DVD "as
> > long as you want" - but given that it involves a monthly fee, that could
> > potentially make them very expensive if I hold onto something long
> > enough for me to finally get around to watching it.
> That's why with Netflix I use "1-at-a-Time-Unlimited." I can usually get
> one disk watched and mailed back in one day, and that usually results in
> me getting a DVD every 3 or 4 days. Works for me. Any more than
> "1-at-a-Time-Unlimited" would just slow the turnaround time and cost me
> more per rental.
Yes, I can see how it would work (and be good value) *if* you have the time
to watch them.
I'd have issues even with that, though. I have a very large collection of
DVDs, and (at a rough guess) I'd say about 40 to 50% are unwatched; if I had
time to watch rented DVDs, then I'd feel that I should have time to watch
those already on my shelves, and watching those should take priority over
paying a rental fee. Which might seem odd, since ATEOTD, I'm buying DVDs and
then putting them to one side - but to my thinking, at least that means they
are there: I have them should I ever choose to watch them, and I can do so
at my own leisure, and have a wide choice of movies and shows, that I
haven't watched before, at my fingertips.
> > The other problem is that they then have to be given back. The better
> > something turns out to be, the more reluctant I am to do that.
> If when I'm watching DVDs of a TV series, I discover that I like it a lot,
> I take the remainder of the DVDs out on my queue and instead I buy the DVD
> sets of the show.
Yeah, that's a good plan. Renting still wouldn't work on principal for me
for the above reason - but using them to, in effect, trial a series is
sensible.
[...]
> > Buying the DVDs, OTOH, means they can sit on my creaking shelves until
> > such a time as I can watch them, however long that takes[1] - and this
> > is particularly appealing given the monthly fees for renting.
> Just make sure that you inspect any DVDs (especially DVD sets) that you
> buy *before* you put them up on the shelf for an extended period of time.
> You wouldn't want to be outside of a store's return period when you
> discover that some of the disks are damaged/unplayable.
First thing I *always* do when new DVDs arrive - though there have been a
handful of exceptions for whatever reason. Bladerunner is still in its
shrinkwrap, for example. Mind you, someone pointed out to me once that the
version I have was selling for silly money on Ebay if it's still
shrinkwrapped, and when I looked he was right. I was tempted. :) It won't be
the case now, though - that was maybe three or four years ago.
> I inspect all DVDs I buy before I leave the store, or at least before I
> leave the parking lot. I've found loose, scratched disks, cracked disks,
> and sets that had two Disk 2's, 3, and 4, but no Disk 1 (House M.D. Season
> 4).
Ouch!
> You're buying the disks new, so you're entitled to new discs in excellent
> condition, right? I don't quibble about short, minor, light scratches,
> but I can tell when a scratch is likely to cause a disk to hang or skip,
> and those I don't tolerate.
Indeed. I can be fussier than that, but only usually as a matter of
principal. If I buy from a shop that keeps the discs outwith the cases on
the shelves, and put them in at the counter, I watch how the assistant
handles the discs. Fingers on the important side, rather than edge and
centre = me complaining, right there and then.
(And that's also why I absolutely and resolutely refuse to loan my DVDs to
anyone. At all.)
> > Consider: Blockbuster's cheapest option is �12.71 per month for up to
> > two (count 'em) discs at a time.
> That's not good. I pay $9.62 (with the tax) per month for Netflix
> "1-at-a-Time-Unlimited." That's equal to 5.72833 GBP, today.
Yeah, the obvious comparison for me was Netflix, and the price differential
is ridiculous - but I'm used to seeing that sort of thing by now. (Hell,
that's why my main DVD player is region free and I look on sites like
DVDPacific!)
[...]
Vince M Hudd
> Vince M Hudd wrote:
> > DVDPacific has seasons 1-3 of Dexter for just under �18 each (probably
> > about �20 when shipping is included).
> Play.com has season 1 for �12.99 with no shipping fee. No ocean to cross,
> just the canal. Season 2 is �16.99.
Yeah, I'd searched fully by that point - and I tend to look at places like
DVDPacific and DVDCrave first because they're usually the cheapest,
especially for TV series.
In the end, though, I ordered it from Amazon UK - just under �11. (An
acceptable price to trial a TV series. When it arrives, I'll try to find the
time to watch the first few episodes/the first disc - and if I enjoy it, I
can proceed with ordering the next season(s) and then let them gather dust
on my shelves.
Kurt Ullman
Giovanni Wassen <ext...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mostly, yes. Dan Simmons & Peter F. Hamilton are two of the writers who
> I trust to end it in a good way. I even trust Stephen King to end the
> Dark Tower in a proper way, which I really need to finish reading
> sometime next year.
Let me know when you finish the DT. The general consensus is people
either think the ending was brilliant or a WT? was he thinking moment.
I'd like to know how you took it. Also, he gives you essentially two
endings, the second one he actually suggests you ignore but it is there
if you want it. I would suggest that you read the first one, put it down
and ponder for a couple of days and then decide if you want to look at
the second.
--
To find that place where the rats don't race
and the phones don't ring at all.
If once, you've slept on an island.
Scott Kirby "If once you've slept on an island"