thedeadlyhook (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thedeadlyhook) wrote2006-07-15 11:28 am
thedeadlyhook) wrote2006-07-15 11:28 am
Exhausted
So either the last couple of days of my allergies acting up big time were a warning sign that my resistance level was getting low, or they were actually early symptoms, because now I have a head cold. Dammit. Hopefully, I can get shed of this thing by Thursday, so I don't end up carrying germs with me as presents to everyone I'm hoping to meet.
Toys has been keeping a vampire's hours lately - he's asleep now - working all night on the never-ending illustration job, while I sleep poorly only for a few hours at a time thanks to my miserable sinuses, and man, am I tired. The chiropractor yestderday told me I am "wearing my stress" in my shoulders, and boy-howdy yes. Everything aches.
Some TV stuff to take my mind off world events.
Stargate SG-1
Disappointing. The highlight, honestly, was seeing Claudia Black wearing that Ren Faire dress, and that's not much of a highlight.
The problem with the current Ori story isn't just the mystical child plot (groan, where haven't I seen that one before?), but the fact that, as Toys put it, suddenly the followers of Origen are kicking the butts of the collected forces of Earth and their allies with superior space science in their super-starfreighters, when previously, their society had been protrayed as Medievals who burn witches in between Bible readings and trips to the tavern to get their tankards topped up by serving wenches. The earlier Ori arc seemed to be suggesting that the followers of Origen were kept socially backward for a reason - easier to control that way - but making them ultra-powerful technologically as well? Not so much. The SG-1 writers are trying to get one of everything out of this story - social comentary, and a big, splashy space battle, never mind if those two things go together or not.
And, uh, on said space battle? Yawn. Basically, all these ship-to-ship combats look pretty much the same: lots of rocking bridge action, sparking control panels, and officers shouting military jargon. Since Star Trek pioneered the artchetype, all anyone's really done to make it different is to add more realistic jargon, which in my book only ups the tedium - at least Star Trek jargon is funny.
There was one amusing prescient couch moment: When Vala's magic daughter asked her mother to give her a name, Vala smiles brightly and gives her mother's name. Toys chimes in with: "You know, you could do something funny there, like, 'I always thought a daughter of mine would have my mother's name. Her name was shithead.' And then have the little girl intone, 'Yes, from now on, you will address me as shithead.'" And then, lo and behold, later we hear that Vala's mother was indeed not quite the strong and wonderful role model she'd been pitched as. Heh.
Stargate Atlantis
I'm liking Atlantis a lot more than SG-1 lately, despite some real barkers last season (Jungle Girl's soloist turn in a ruffled prom gown? Shudder), because the Wraith are just hilarious. They coccoon people like the aliens from Alien, suck your lifeforce like vampires, assimilate human societies like the Borg. They hiss! And unlike the followers of Origen, I can buy that they fly super Hive starships.
Lots of funny dialogue in this one. Best line of the night was probably Shepard's response to Michael, the Wraith With a Human Heart's claim that "I was as deceived as you": "I dunno, I was pretty deceived." Kudos also to the brains-and-brawn Master Blaster dream-team of Rodney plus Ronon Dex! And everything more or less wrapped up in one ep! Nice.
Thumbs down, though, for the subplot with Weir. Ugh, can I be any less in the mood to hear about how civilian oversight of military action just gets in the way of what those important people at the top are doing? In the Stargate world, there's at least a level of fantasy in that certified geniuses are always stationed in those high positions, so of course they're always right, but it's only that earnestness that keeps this from feeling like propoganda. (Ironically, though, similiar thought-tracks in the far more cynical Battlestar Galactica ended up crossing that line, IMHO.) Dudes! This subtext is getting disturbing. Knock it off.
Finally, for those who haven't seen it yet, and need a laugh: Dave Chappelle and a 'New' Tupac Song. "I wrote this song a long time ago, a real long time ago..."
Toys has been keeping a vampire's hours lately - he's asleep now - working all night on the never-ending illustration job, while I sleep poorly only for a few hours at a time thanks to my miserable sinuses, and man, am I tired. The chiropractor yestderday told me I am "wearing my stress" in my shoulders, and boy-howdy yes. Everything aches.
Some TV stuff to take my mind off world events.
Stargate SG-1
Disappointing. The highlight, honestly, was seeing Claudia Black wearing that Ren Faire dress, and that's not much of a highlight.
The problem with the current Ori story isn't just the mystical child plot (groan, where haven't I seen that one before?), but the fact that, as Toys put it, suddenly the followers of Origen are kicking the butts of the collected forces of Earth and their allies with superior space science in their super-starfreighters, when previously, their society had been protrayed as Medievals who burn witches in between Bible readings and trips to the tavern to get their tankards topped up by serving wenches. The earlier Ori arc seemed to be suggesting that the followers of Origen were kept socially backward for a reason - easier to control that way - but making them ultra-powerful technologically as well? Not so much. The SG-1 writers are trying to get one of everything out of this story - social comentary, and a big, splashy space battle, never mind if those two things go together or not.
And, uh, on said space battle? Yawn. Basically, all these ship-to-ship combats look pretty much the same: lots of rocking bridge action, sparking control panels, and officers shouting military jargon. Since Star Trek pioneered the artchetype, all anyone's really done to make it different is to add more realistic jargon, which in my book only ups the tedium - at least Star Trek jargon is funny.
There was one amusing prescient couch moment: When Vala's magic daughter asked her mother to give her a name, Vala smiles brightly and gives her mother's name. Toys chimes in with: "You know, you could do something funny there, like, 'I always thought a daughter of mine would have my mother's name. Her name was shithead.' And then have the little girl intone, 'Yes, from now on, you will address me as shithead.'" And then, lo and behold, later we hear that Vala's mother was indeed not quite the strong and wonderful role model she'd been pitched as. Heh.
Stargate Atlantis
I'm liking Atlantis a lot more than SG-1 lately, despite some real barkers last season (Jungle Girl's soloist turn in a ruffled prom gown? Shudder), because the Wraith are just hilarious. They coccoon people like the aliens from Alien, suck your lifeforce like vampires, assimilate human societies like the Borg. They hiss! And unlike the followers of Origen, I can buy that they fly super Hive starships.
Lots of funny dialogue in this one. Best line of the night was probably Shepard's response to Michael, the Wraith With a Human Heart's claim that "I was as deceived as you": "I dunno, I was pretty deceived." Kudos also to the brains-and-brawn Master Blaster dream-team of Rodney plus Ronon Dex! And everything more or less wrapped up in one ep! Nice.
Thumbs down, though, for the subplot with Weir. Ugh, can I be any less in the mood to hear about how civilian oversight of military action just gets in the way of what those important people at the top are doing? In the Stargate world, there's at least a level of fantasy in that certified geniuses are always stationed in those high positions, so of course they're always right, but it's only that earnestness that keeps this from feeling like propoganda. (Ironically, though, similiar thought-tracks in the far more cynical Battlestar Galactica ended up crossing that line, IMHO.) Dudes! This subtext is getting disturbing. Knock it off.
Finally, for those who haven't seen it yet, and need a laugh: Dave Chappelle and a 'New' Tupac Song. "I wrote this song a long time ago, a real long time ago..."
no subject
I was so disturbed that I stayed up watching Anderson Cooper live until 2 a.m. and didn't get to sleep until 3. Then the cats got me up at 8. Cats must be fed.
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
Exactly. It's, uh, Celtic! Pronounced "she-theed"!
And man, the randomness with the Ori is bugging the heck out of me. They spend a whole season setting up their followers as superstitious peasants who are being mustered for a grueling crusade, and establish that the standard Ori operating procedure is to use signs and portents and plagues and miracles to bully the yokels into line, and then it turns out their battle plan is to overwhelm us with their awesome industrial power and advanced technology. I mean, the hell?! I'm surprised these people can even read, let alone build and operate intergalactic battle-fortresses.
Atlantis, though, has indeed suddenly turned awesome. Well, at least this week. :-)
no subject
Actually, I don't think that's an incorrect assessment, but coming off seeing nine seasons of the show over the past year (stop laughing at me!), I made an automatic leap from the way the goa'uld treated their followers. The goa'uld held the advanced technology close to their chests, doling it out to others only when necessary. I just assumed the Ori did the same, keeping their followers in relatively easy-to-control backwardness and then imparting knowledge and handing out technology once they were ready to prepare for their big crusade.
I think I've gotten too used to seeing spaceships lit by torches and thinking that's a pretty normal way to go about things.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
The only way I can watch it is to remind myself that it's not the same show, it's not the same show, it's not the same show. Ok, well, it's technically the same show, but er, not so much, lol.