Chocolate pudding cake makes it all better
Apr. 9th, 2007 10:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalkerI definitely have one of the more sensitive set of nerves of the human race, because I am still rattled by getting an errant box smacked into my windshield while driving home last night. (Let this be a lesson to everyone who ever plans to haul stuff in the back of a pickup: ropes and bungee cords are your friends! Use more of them!) Fortunately, yesterday I baked a chocolate pudding cake, so I was able to juice up my brain with some happy chemicals when I got home. It did help a bit. Who says chocolate isn't good for you?
In other news, I have started Netflixing Babylon 5, because I have heard wonderful things about the show and decided it was high time for me to catch up.
My very first reaction was, "Hey, this looks like Earth 2! Not in any particulars, but it does." I checked the air date, and realized they were both products of 1994. Ah-ha. That's the vibe I was picking up. (And wow, I am 13 years behind the times.)
I was warned in advance that the pilot was not the show at its best, so I ignored the wooden acting and overly-scripted sound of the dialog as best I could. I really, really liked the setup of the show, and I'm liking it even more as the season goes on. There is a huge secondary universe there, with dozens of races and alliances (current and not), different religious and political factions for each world (yay for not having monocultural aliens!), changing balances of power, old wars that the characters still remember and care about... It's awesome. And so far, it all seems to hang together really well (rather than being a bunch of events dumped into a show together).
Best of all (to me), in this show, history matters. For instance, the Centauri are trying to hang onto their old power and glory, or at least trying to forget they've diminished so much, and this affects everything from their foreign policy to their clothing. Races which fought recently have characters who find it hard to trust members of their former enemies. Things that happened ten years ago explain why some characters are doing certain things today, and the things they do today affect what happens several episodes down the line - even if the actions seemed innocuous at the time. Everything that happens, even in apparent stand-alone episodes, makes sense as part of the larger universe. You get the feeling that even the stand-alones reveal something important about the larger issues or might be important down the line - not in a contrived way, but because everything is so organically connected. Characters don't all forget what happened last episode (even if they appear to for a while), so past actions really matter. I think all of this is a long way of saying that I haven't seen a reset button on Babylon 5 yet. It feels real. The characters are also interesting, which I will probably talk more about some other time. I will gladly overlook 1994-quality CGI for all that.
One thing still grates on me, though, and that's Commander Sinclair's acting. He reminds me of those Geico commercials where they have the real (?) customers and the overly-dramatic famous actors to help the customers tell their stories. Like this:
REAL COMMANDER: We had an accident at the loading docks.
FAMOUS ACTOR, WITH HIS DRAMATIC FACE ON: The docks were in chaos. Flames roared toward the hatches as men rushed to safety, the screams of their dying comrades ringing in their ears. It was a catastrophe which could endanger the future of the entire station. I knew I had to act, and soon.
Basically, he sounds like he's reading the voice-over for the credits during the whole show to me. But I just read that he's replaced for Season 2 (probably because of things the character has done this season - I loved how they explained what happened to the first doctor and psychic), so maybe Commander 2 will be better.
I know that there will probably be things in later seasons which will disappoint me (or at least, I tell myself that to lessen the disappointment if that does happen), but right now, I'm still in that first rush of fannishness where everything about the show looks wonderful.
In other news, I have started Netflixing Babylon 5, because I have heard wonderful things about the show and decided it was high time for me to catch up.
My very first reaction was, "Hey, this looks like Earth 2! Not in any particulars, but it does." I checked the air date, and realized they were both products of 1994. Ah-ha. That's the vibe I was picking up. (And wow, I am 13 years behind the times.)
I was warned in advance that the pilot was not the show at its best, so I ignored the wooden acting and overly-scripted sound of the dialog as best I could. I really, really liked the setup of the show, and I'm liking it even more as the season goes on. There is a huge secondary universe there, with dozens of races and alliances (current and not), different religious and political factions for each world (yay for not having monocultural aliens!), changing balances of power, old wars that the characters still remember and care about... It's awesome. And so far, it all seems to hang together really well (rather than being a bunch of events dumped into a show together).
Best of all (to me), in this show, history matters. For instance, the Centauri are trying to hang onto their old power and glory, or at least trying to forget they've diminished so much, and this affects everything from their foreign policy to their clothing. Races which fought recently have characters who find it hard to trust members of their former enemies. Things that happened ten years ago explain why some characters are doing certain things today, and the things they do today affect what happens several episodes down the line - even if the actions seemed innocuous at the time. Everything that happens, even in apparent stand-alone episodes, makes sense as part of the larger universe. You get the feeling that even the stand-alones reveal something important about the larger issues or might be important down the line - not in a contrived way, but because everything is so organically connected. Characters don't all forget what happened last episode (even if they appear to for a while), so past actions really matter. I think all of this is a long way of saying that I haven't seen a reset button on Babylon 5 yet. It feels real. The characters are also interesting, which I will probably talk more about some other time. I will gladly overlook 1994-quality CGI for all that.
One thing still grates on me, though, and that's Commander Sinclair's acting. He reminds me of those Geico commercials where they have the real (?) customers and the overly-dramatic famous actors to help the customers tell their stories. Like this:
REAL COMMANDER: We had an accident at the loading docks.
FAMOUS ACTOR, WITH HIS DRAMATIC FACE ON: The docks were in chaos. Flames roared toward the hatches as men rushed to safety, the screams of their dying comrades ringing in their ears. It was a catastrophe which could endanger the future of the entire station. I knew I had to act, and soon.
Basically, he sounds like he's reading the voice-over for the credits during the whole show to me. But I just read that he's replaced for Season 2 (probably because of things the character has done this season - I loved how they explained what happened to the first doctor and psychic), so maybe Commander 2 will be better.
I know that there will probably be things in later seasons which will disappoint me (or at least, I tell myself that to lessen the disappointment if that does happen), but right now, I'm still in that first rush of fannishness where everything about the show looks wonderful.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-09 07:35 pm (UTC)Nope it didn't, and somewhere along the way that ended up effecting everything from the basic story to the characters themselves. that said I get the feeling that BSG's double-edged sword is Ron Moore. he can be brilliant at times, but he can also be the shows biggest problem. For when be states in blog casts that he wanted to play with the fans heads by killing Starbuck, then you have a creator who's focus is the wrong way. It should be on the show and telling the story, not doing things "because they are cool". But I'll stop now before I start to ramble. I think my problem is that I loved S1 and first half of S2 of BSG SO much, that the fall from great highs was great indeed.
But back to B5 - any favourite characters yet?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-04-09 08:22 pm (UTC)Hm, favorites. I really like Ivanova and Dr. Franklin. And Delenn, G'Kar, and Londo fascinate me. I'd like to see more of Na'Toth, Lennier, and Talia Winters, too - there seems to be a lot going on there that I've only seen glimpses of so far. The scenes between G'Kar, Na'Toth, and Londo are such a neat combo of conniving, animosity, humor, and the deep feelings and beliefs they try to keep hidden. Delenn and Lennier are puzzles - well, the whole Minbari culture is, and I like that. They seem to be all about art and spirituality and peace, but have this strong militaristic streak, and Lennier saying looking a member of the Council in the face is not allowed makes me wonder a lot about their class structure. They also have so many fascinating secrets. Ivanova and Talia Winters both strike me as supremely competent and efficient at their jobs (but Ivanova being more open and having a better sense of humor), and the efficient-but-reserved character is a type that usually gets me. Also, I want to know what is up with PsyCorp.
And someone should tell the characters that Exes Are Bad News. So far, we've had Talia's ex turning into a god-thing, Ivanova's ex being a violent bigot, and Sinclair's ex dragging him into an annoying attempt at a romantic subplot which only got a pass from me because it was connected to the god-thing plot.