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Fluffy. Fluffy the dog. The dog you don’t have.

Angel – “The House Always Wins” (David Fury)

I am naughty. I watched “The House Always Wins” ages ago and forgot to blog about it.

Erm, it was a bit rubbish really.

• I like Lorne. I like Andy Hallett but not so keen on the singing going on and on.

• I’m not happy to single out someone (particularly when I’m watching something that is several years old) but Amy Acker is distracting me too much with her thinness. 
  

  The green doesn't help either, I suppose.

• she also has a very pointy nose which is quite endearing.
• which Wesley having telephone sex with Lilah is most decidedly not – is this is the bad-ass Wesley I’m supposed to love?

• Lord help me but I am starting to like David Boreanaz as Angel.

• which is more than I can say about J. August Richards as Gunn – it doesn’t help the poor chap he is often saddled with the unforgivable dialogue such as:

Gunn: Yeah, great work. How you sold Angel out…boy, DeMarco must have wet his pants when you told him what a ripe destiny that was for the pickings. A champion to
save the world or destroy it.
Lorne: You really believe I’d do that?
Gunn: I don’t know, Lorne. I don’t know why you did any of it. What, you were living so large, blaring Tony Bennett so loud in that sweet suite of yours, you couldn’t hear your conscience screaming at you!
Fred: Charles, it doesn’t matter.
Gunn: It does to me. I wanna know, Lorne. Why didn’t you just say no to that piece of…
Lorne: I did! The first time he asked me to, of course I refused. So he blew a girl’s brains out right in front of me. And he said that’s what I could expect every time I said no.

• and finally, I am most glad that Cordelia is back on Earth because Charisma Carpenter’s poor line-readings from Heaven were getting on my nerves (was she bored, I wonder?).

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I’m pregnant

Mad Men – “Meditations in an Emergency” (Matthew Weiner and Kater Gordon)

This season ender doesn’t have the power of “The Wheel” but it does have the best scene so far when Pete confesses to Peggy that he loves her and she tells him it’s too late.

Pete: I love you. And I want to be with you. What? Didn’t you know that?
Peggy: Pete. I could have had you in my life forever if I wanted to.
Pete: What do you mean?
Peggy: I could have had you. I could have shamed you into being with me. But I didn’t want to.
Pete: I don’t understand.
Peggy: You got me pregnant. I had a baby. And I gave it away.
Pete: What?
Peggy: I had your baby. And I gave it away.

It was utterly gripping and it was this scene (following on from her scene with Father Gill) that has convinced me that Elisabeth Moss is playing Peggy very well indeed. Father Gill is doing his job but I was so relieved that Peggy wasn’t falling for his fearmongering despite the imminent apocalypse.

Father Gill: Hell is serious and very real and unless you unburden yourself you cannot know peace.
Peggy: I understand that, Father, but you’re upsetting me right now.
Father Gill: That is your guilt, Peggy. All that God wants is for you to reconcile with him. Don’t, don’t you understand that this could be the end of the world and you could go to Hell?
Peggy: I can’t believe that’s the way God is. Good night, Father.

Betty spends the whole episode telling everyone she doesn’t want the baby to no avail although the much missed Francine has more advice than most. I love Anne Dudek and I think a re-viewing of The Book Group is required. I also love Lois (Crista Flanagan). She is such a sweet character. I do like how actors in these tiny recurring roles sneak up on you in terms of affection. Pete’s secretary Hildy is another favourite of mine (Julie McNiven – “Stand-in/body double for Lindsay Lohan!” – excellent).

I had written a lot of stuff about casual sex but it doesn’t matter. Betty is pregnant, is confused about her marriage, and is drunk. What would I do?

When Don comes to see Betty at the stables I was in two minds about whether I wanted her to say “it’s okay” or to say what she did say. Damn Don’s charisma. Don’s letter was a marvel and the moment when Joan tells Don that Betty wants him to come home made my heart leap.

What happens next? A jump in time again? I won’t be waiting until 2010 to find out

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You’re definitely in a strange place.

Mad Men – “The Mountain King” (Matthew Weiner and Robin Veith)

This was an action-packed episode, well, packed. What with Peggy’s new office, Betty berating Sarah Beth, Don and Anna then and now, Joan’s rape, the Popsicle and Clearasil accounts, and Peggy cracking a joke, there was a ton of great stuff to digest.

We were taken once again away from the New York world that we are used to but unlike “The Jet Set” the scenes in San Pedro, CA, totally worked.  Don’s relationship with Anna was fascinating and the actor (Melinda Page Hamilton) was instantly likeable. Dick/Don’s excitement over meeting Elizabeth was a little overplayed by Jon Hamm but the line “I just like the way she laughs, and the way she looks at me” just killed me with its irony.

I was concerned that the child playing the piano was Don’s son which was a complication I wasn’t interested in seeing.

Peggy scoring Freddy’s office just by asking was fabulous and seeing her behind the desk joking with Pete (“How the hell did you swing this?” “I’m sleeping with Don. It’s really working out.”) and drinking whisky was very exciting.

Betty’s changing relationship with her daughter Sally was a pleasure to see though I was 21st century horrified when she put her in the cupboard as a punishment. However, she treated her better later on by giving her riding boots (and hence riding lessons) and telling her the truth about Don was a great leap forward.

Betty’s words during her phone call to Sarah Beth were harsh but I see disappointment in Betty’s reaction. Sarah Beth failed to be faithful despite what she has said to Betty about her marriage and Betty was disappointed.

Joan’s rape by her perfect fiancé was pretty hard to watch. Her face as she looked away into the distance was heartbreaking – Christina Hendricks is amazing and I was sad that she wasn’t Mrs Reynolds at this point because then she could beat the shit out of him. Sadly, in real-life, kick-ass women don’t exist.

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Kurt’s a homo

Mad Men – “The Jet Set” (Matthew Weiner)

I think I get Matthew Weiner’s intentions for “The Jet Set” but I felt a growing sense of disbelief as the episode progressed. It just didn’t work at all. The bohemians felt so phoney that it took me ages to realise that they weren’t actually con artists or something of that ilk (or maybe they were – sometimes I think I watch through a fog of incomprehension). The actor playing Willy was the least convincing and Joy with Don felt forced and unnatural.

I may be misinterpreting this but I felt they were also trying to present Pete as an awkward and somewhat repellent figure. He may be a bit of an idiot (maybe) but he’s not so instantly dislikeable and certainly has not been depicted in that way before.

All the focus on Don and his failure to connect to people who have cracked glasses poolside meant no Betty time and I did want to see how she was getting on while he was away.

I loved Kurt’s coming out which certainly didn’t seem implausible to me. Not everyone was terrified of upsetting conventions and he is (pointing to Scandinavia maybe) European… I am disappointed his makeover of Peggy didn’t do something with her fringe but everything involving Kurt and Peggy made me laugh. She also wore two lovely outfits: a cream dress with red flowers and a green and black suit.

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I got so much strength, I’m giving it away

Same Time, Same Place (Jane Espenson)

This is more like the Buffy I love. It felt like an old fashioned earlier episode in which valuable lessons are learned and wrapped up in an interesting MOTW with the bonus of Gnarl being really nasty looking and really nasty behaving. Moreover, it is no coincidence that it was a Willow-centric episode in which Alyson Hannigan gets to play sweet, lost, perturbed, vulnerable, confused and adorable, and that is what she does brilliantly.

The funniest part of this was Dawn falling off the sofa with a squeal. Poseable Dawn was a treat even if people should have cared a tiny bit more.

Buffy’s total lack of concern over Dawn’s paralysis make me think of the lack of concern over Xander’s syphilis in “Pangs”. Both episodes were written by Jane Espenson…

There was evidence of the episode being cut (or a lack of concern about continuity) when Buffy and co appeared in the cave just like that despite the fact they had previously blocked it up.

I liked Anya interactions with Willow. I liked her telling Willow she was the one responsible for the mayhem.

I love Jane’s dialogue here:

Oh, at the new high school, probably. Everyone’s all about the high school. Buffy’s got some kind of job there helping junior deviants, Spike’s insane in the basement, Xander’s there doing construction on the new gym—

Wait, Spike’s what in the whatment?

Insane. Base. Xander does construction. He likes to start early, so he’s probably there by now.

And here:

This isn’t going to get all sexy, is it?

I’d be shocked. OK, do you have your powder?

Oh, I ate that. I have it.

And here:

I don’t know. Sounds pretty thin to me.

Well, that’s why you teleport over there real quick like a bunn—real quick and, uh, see if I’m right.

No. Sorry. You damaged my carpet.

Anya, you’re a vengeance demon. Just teleport!

…because that bunny reference is just for the fanatics.

Unfortunately, Anya doing spells with Willow highlighted the loss of Tara. The Scoobies conversation at the airport would have been a good moment to mention Tara. So far we have had no dialogue that mentions her by name and no other character (apart from Willow) has alluded to her at all. Not that I am obsessed in noticing this or anything.

Nobody should be at be worried that Willow made her friends go away by  “just by thinking it”, should they?

Posted in Buffy Season 7, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Television | 10 Comments »

From beneath you, it devours

Beneath You (Douglas Petrie)

For some people the last five minutes of this are some of the best minutes of Buffy ever. For others, they might have been some of the most interminable. Apparently the scene was written by Joss Whedon himself.

I’m struggling to find much to say about this episode.

I like DB Woodside as Principal Wood. He’s handsome and appealing.

I like Emma Caulfield and she makes Anya, the unrepentant vengeance demon, far more likeable than she should be. She was the highlight of this episode particularly when she realises the truth about Spike.

And how much better would the scene at the end have been if we hadn’t known about Spike’s soul?

This is the one that begins with a homage to an early episode of Alias which itself was a homage to Run Lola Run. Dollhouse played Beck’s cover of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” which itself was used at the end of the similarly themed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Nothing original there, is there?

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I came to rescue you

Mad Men – “The Inheritance” (Lisa Albert & Marti Noxon and Matthew Weiner)

I was shocked when Betty’s dad grabbed her boob. I think she recovered more quickly than I did.

It’s a shame that the actor playing Glen isn’t very good. I really didn’t believe him when he told Betty that he hated her. Betty has been triggered at last. She needs to take charge and with Don away she really has to step up.

Despite Don’s advertising acumen he just cannot work out how to talk to his wife (though I suspect a confession and a heartfelt sorry might work) and he has now run away (he also tried to run away with Rachel).

Joan was unnecessarily mean to Paul even if he is a pompous bore.

When Betty seduced Don on the bedroom floor I was convinced it was a dream just because the episode had been co-written by Marti “Buffy” Noxon.

Pete is such an arse although no matter how crass and appalling he behaves, he always manages to redeem himself in some way. In this it was his touching conversation with Peggy about his father and mother.

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I thought you can talk anyone into anything

Mad Men – “Six Month Leave” (Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton and Matthew Weiner)

The Mad Men crew are knocking out one excellent episode after another. After the iffy “I’m not sure I want to watch this any more” “The Benefactor” the series has just got better and better. Consequently we are now on a MM marathon weekend and I’ll be trying to produce short practically pointless observations.

When Roger touched Jane on the back I shuddered. He really is the creepiest creep and his wife should be glad he’s leaving her. John Slattery plays him brilliantly.

I’m glad they had Don admit to Roger about relieved about his freedom. Betty has no-one to talk to at the moment. She could talk to Clara but there is too much of a class and racial gap for that to happen.

Freddie Rumsden’s alcoholism was tremendously sad. Nobody knew how to deal with it effectively or even, in some cases, seriously. Freddie is finished because without his work he’s dead. Peggy’s outrage over the Rumsden incident is misplaced. Something had to be done but perhaps six months’ leave isn’t quite the right answer.

Betty’s manipulation of Sarah Beth and Arthur was sneaky. Manipulation seems the wrong word to use in regard to Betty who doesn’t seem to think through things but rather acts instinctively. I think Betty’s journey this season will involve a change from reacting to things to taking charge (oops, I’m getting ahead of myself).

Don and Betty just don’t know how to communicate with each other and it’s painful to watch.

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Random stuff

I thought Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s Demo (2005) was a tremendous piece of work: certainly one of the best comics I have read in the last year. It seems that Becky is a pretty good writer too as this creepy MySpace Dark Horse Presents comic called I See The Devil in My Sleep shows. Nathan looks like Alan Tudyk.

I’m listening to Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961) on Spotify at the moment. I own this album on vinyl and so I haven’t listened to it in years. It is really rather good. Garland’s voice is still strong and the song selection is fabulous. She recounts a story about a newspaper article that describes her so: “She’s not plump, she’s not chubby, she’s fat.” – I guess the Daily Mail was around then too.

Talking of Spotify reminds me of The Gadget Show and Gail Porter’s recent stint on the show while Suzi Perry was unwell. Gail and Jason did a comparison between Spotify and iTunes but that is besides my point which is that I can’t tell you how fantastic it was to see a bald, large, unapologetic woman fronting a TV show. I admire how Gail has dealt with her alopecia areata.

I thought this recent post over at Sociological Images about Facebook’s neutral avatar was really interesting. It is a man and so not neutral and goes in the face of Facebook’s demographic. The leaflet that has just come through our door (only eight days after the day I thought we were supposed to get one) called Important Information About Swine Flu has two images of people: a man sneezing on the front cover and an avatar type image of a man inside. I don’t think it would have occurred to me that there was something iffy about that before.

The follow up post is interesting too.

Awesome! Feminists have just been told by a feminist to lighten up. Her exact words are “Chill out everyone, it was a bit of fun!”. Bingo! Julie, get lost.

Posted in Comics, Female thinking, Music, Television | No Comments »

You’re in a lair! An evil lair!

Dollhouse – “Omega” (Tim Minear)

Whatever you say about Dollhouse (and I did) it was certainly different from the average TV show. I think it failed for approximately half the time. Some episodes were terrible. Others were amazing and “A Spy in the House of Love” was one of the best episodes that Joss Whedon has ever produced.

This was an episode chock full of exciting incidents and yet it still managed to be unsatisfactory.

(Poor Dollhouse. No other show I watch is burdened with such scrutiny because even my notes on Buffy, Angel and Mad Men are just reactions rather than criticism. Admittedly that is my style. I’m not analytical enough to get into the substance of a show. That’s what other people are for.)

I liked:

• The performances which, as usual, were on the nose from my favourite cast members. The others were even okay. I think Eliza is perfectly serviceable as Echo. She wasn’t outstanding but she was watchable enough which is fine when you aren’t carrying the whole show on your shoulders. I think that is one of the reasons why Bionic Woman failed, as much as I like Michelle Ryan, she wasn’t strong enough to carry the show (despite being the Bionic Woman, ha ha) and the supporting cast weren’t strong or interesting enough either (maybe they should have promoted Molly Price to joint lead).
• The asking of the question of whether good and evil is innate or, if evolved, then indelible once it’s in your personality (or soul or whatever).
• The Topher and Whisky interactions near the end were mysterious and intriguing.

I didn’t like (and this list is longer):

• The abrupt escape of Alpha and the lack of November and Sierra as bounty hunters (*these important scenes were cut for time).
• The freedom granted to Madeleine. If she has been given back her original personality surely she is still grieving for her child? What was that closure she had back in “Needs”?  Why was she dressed as a frump? I’ll miss Miracle Laurie. I do wonder what she will get cast in next.
• The eye gouging and the torture scene were too graphic for my taste and really rather unnecessarily lengthy.
• Dr Saunders telling Victor he was ugly which is such nonsense and really hurtful.
• The fight between Alpha and Echo wasn’t exciting enough. Whatever else there is to say about Tahmoh Penikett, he knows how to fight.
• Echo knocking off the “wedge” wasn’t handled well. It just looked silly. Though Paul saving Caroline that way was hilarious.
• The fact that the whole series revolved around the fact that Alpha thought Echo was hotter than Whiskey.
• That Alpha was sinister at all times even when he was a doll (I do understand he was gaining self-awareness but he was creepy the whole time).

I didn’t mind:

• Paul joining the Dollhouse because that may make no sense now but it will in the future. Won’t it?
• That we got no further information about Caroline’s past. Something has to be saved for S2.

*Click for larger image

Posted in Dollhouse, Television | 2 Comments »