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Feb. 23rd, 2013 12:17 amYou get rambly thoughts. Yay!
Revenge: A bit muddled here and there, but still interesting, especially because of the extent to which (at least at the beginning) it's framed as this faceoff between two women, both powerful in their own way. Because of the aforementioned muddling, it doesn't quite stay that way, but it was still nifty while it lasted. And I kind of love the relationship between Emily and Nolan -- all the more so because the show is unafraid to make Nolan a physical wimp. When somebody holds him at knifepoint, he gets scared. And then he turns around and calls Emily on her errors, and she generally admits he's right.
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kniedzw called it a "soap opera" at one point, which got me thinking about the extent to which a soap opera can be defined as a drama that caters to a female audience. There are other aspects, too -- the daytime slot being a shallow one; the constant plot churn being a more substantial one -- but "soap opera" has a connotation of "ridiculous," and really, I don't think Revenge (at least in its first season) is any more ridiculous than various evening dramas that cater to a male audience. So there's that.
Lost Girl: The werewolf guy is hot, but the tone of the show really doesn't do it for me, and I can't help but roll my eyes at the extent to which the protagonist's nature seems like an excuse to have her make out with people every episode. Not my cup of tea, I think.
The Vampire Diaries: Also not my cup of tea, but I watched the first two episodes out of curiosity (yay Netflix streaming!), and have to applaud the way Stefan goes against the stereotypical grain of the YA paranormal boyfriend. Which is to say, he's not an asshole. In fact, he is an anti-asshole in some ways I can't help but read as a deliberate response to Edward in Twilight, whether that's the case or not. I still don't find him that interesting, but at least I don't want to deck him.
Coriolanus: And now for something that isn't TV. Not one of Shakespeare's better-known tragedies, but after watching this adaptation, I have no idea why. It's been too long since I read the play (my sophomore year of college, I think) for me to recognize whether it's a matter of how they edited the script, or just the bloody fantastic performances from Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler and Brian Cox and James Nesbitt and oh my god Vanessa Redgrave, but it fits all but seamlessly into a run-down, militarized present day, with weary politicians and some conspirators who are, when I think about it, weirdly honest. I think I may have to buy a copy of the movie and add it to my library of Good Shakespeare Adaptations.
Revenge: A bit muddled here and there, but still interesting, especially because of the extent to which (at least at the beginning) it's framed as this faceoff between two women, both powerful in their own way. Because of the aforementioned muddling, it doesn't quite stay that way, but it was still nifty while it lasted. And I kind of love the relationship between Emily and Nolan -- all the more so because the show is unafraid to make Nolan a physical wimp. When somebody holds him at knifepoint, he gets scared. And then he turns around and calls Emily on her errors, and she generally admits he's right.
kniedzw called it a "soap opera" at one point, which got me thinking about the extent to which a soap opera can be defined as a drama that caters to a female audience. There are other aspects, too -- the daytime slot being a shallow one; the constant plot churn being a more substantial one -- but "soap opera" has a connotation of "ridiculous," and really, I don't think Revenge (at least in its first season) is any more ridiculous than various evening dramas that cater to a male audience. So there's that.Lost Girl: The werewolf guy is hot, but the tone of the show really doesn't do it for me, and I can't help but roll my eyes at the extent to which the protagonist's nature seems like an excuse to have her make out with people every episode. Not my cup of tea, I think.
The Vampire Diaries: Also not my cup of tea, but I watched the first two episodes out of curiosity (yay Netflix streaming!), and have to applaud the way Stefan goes against the stereotypical grain of the YA paranormal boyfriend. Which is to say, he's not an asshole. In fact, he is an anti-asshole in some ways I can't help but read as a deliberate response to Edward in Twilight, whether that's the case or not. I still don't find him that interesting, but at least I don't want to deck him.
Coriolanus: And now for something that isn't TV. Not one of Shakespeare's better-known tragedies, but after watching this adaptation, I have no idea why. It's been too long since I read the play (my sophomore year of college, I think) for me to recognize whether it's a matter of how they edited the script, or just the bloody fantastic performances from Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler and Brian Cox and James Nesbitt and oh my god Vanessa Redgrave, but it fits all but seamlessly into a run-down, militarized present day, with weary politicians and some conspirators who are, when I think about it, weirdly honest. I think I may have to buy a copy of the movie and add it to my library of Good Shakespeare Adaptations.
