(no subject)

[chelseagirl]

24. Without Sherri or Evil Nina to liven things up, with President Palmer not seeking reelection, and with Kim on the path to settling down and Tony Almeida probably going to prison, either they're setting themself up for something new and significantly different next season. I hope so; I hope it works; because this show has had seriously diminishing returns. The last episode felt pretty anticlimactic -- a lot of what needed to happen had happened last week, and I found myself getting annoyed during the Jack-Chase scene loooong before they finally spotted the axe. ("You idiot, he doesn't need a hand as much as he needs to be alive.") Was annoyed with Jack for not asking for a Presidential pardon for Tony while he had the opportunity; OTOH, Tony did f**k up pretty seriously. Rather than a dramatic "wife dying in arms" scene or the possibility of romance with Spunky Kate Warner, this season's closing shot, Jack breaking down and being interrupted by a call to go in and help with an interrogation, felt both anticlimactic and very real, very appropriate.

Gina Torres is stalking me. Seriously. I cannot turn on the tv without her being there. Firefly. Angel The second and third Matrix movies. Someone reminded me she was in the women's prison episode of La Femme Nikita, though I've yet to go back and rewatch. 24. Then I'm watching the Alias DVDs and there she is as Sydney's spy rival.

I fully expect she'll show up on Deadwood next season.

Otherwise, I am on a Homer-related reading kick. Soon I will recover enough to start The Iliad. I've got the Fagles and Lattimore translations sitting around waiting to be read; I'm inclining towards Lattimore. Picked up a copy of Bulfinch's Mythology for cheap at a used-book store (love Graves, but wanted to read something more narrative); am in the midst of a rather basic but useful study called Homeric Moments; also picked up a book on Greek art, since many of my students will be studying that in art history at the same time they're taking my class. Troy has also brought out useful stuff on tv -- there was a The Real Troy thing on the History Channel which I've taped.

Also broke down and bought the next two Patrick O'Brians. It's like a compulsion. Well, that and Columbia's got most of the second half of the series in the library, but not the first, so just a few more and I can start checking them out. You know, reading these is kind of like watching a tv show. No disrespect meant, but I just started The Fortune of War and, gosh, Stephen's wombat is eating Jack's dress uniform hat. When Jack mentions it, Stephen assures him that it won't harm the wombat's digestions. Then Jack meets with the Admiral in port and, gosh, they try to take his officers away, but he valiantly resists.

Comments

[insidian.livejournal.com]

Yup. And then they play cricket. It *is* rather sitcom-esque, but don't worry. It gets better.

The absolute worst start I've come across thus far, though, is Reverse of the Medal which is all "Exposition, exposition, these fellows are British, they sail in ships," and I wanted to gouge my eyes out from the obviousness.

But maybe that's just me.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Stephen plays cricket? Or just Jack and the lads? (Mind exploding at Stephen with bat in hand -- he'd probably get it wrong and bring the flying kind in a fit of absentmindedness.)

I just had to laugh at the Wacky Neighbor intro Stephen got in this one. Gosh, you think we might have forgotten he's a tad on the eccentric side?

And then of course there's the Romantic Thinking About Wife interval for Jack. I'm about 20 pages in and it feel like "Previously on Jack and Stephen's Wacky Boat Adventures"

[insidian.livejournal.com]

OMG the cricketplaying. Jack's like "Stephen, do you play cricket?" and Stephen's like "I'm an expert at hurling. Does that relate to cricket? What's cricket?" And Jack's like "What's hurling?" Hilarity ensues.

I dunno, I think you need the wacky intros to balance all the shit that happens later in the books. Also, I think O'Brian was pressured, by himself or by his editors, to make each book stand alone more or less. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (my expozition iz pastede on YAY!), but I think the reintroduction to the characters and the plot is necessary.

But I can just hear the announcer voice saying Previously on Jack and Stephen's Wacky Boat Adventures *snerk!* Love it!

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Right, of course the original "read 'em as they're published" readers weren't obsessively picking them up one after the other, either.

Still, it does lead to some amusement -- though of course it's much better handled than some series I have read where practically the same introductory phrases and descriptions are used each and every time . . .

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

Hee! But I love the wombat - because, well, wombat = comedy gold ;) Although he's not as wonderful as the sloth!

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

wombat = comedy gold

*loud snerking*

Yeah, and Stephen's assurance is just so perfect. So Stephen. Love him.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Stephen is the man, isn't he?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

The wombat's "deep affection" for Stephen made me very happy -- as did the gold lace hanging from its jaws -- but there are just scenes where Stephen is in danger of becoming the "wacky neighbor", you know?

Never once the stories get going; just the intro bits . . .

[mortalwombat731.livejournal.com]

Had I known there was a wombat, I'd have read them by now.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a lovely sloth a few books back, who develops a bit of a drinking problem when Jack finds that he can only overcome its aversion to him by sharing his grog. This is the wombat's first appearance, though, in book 6 of the series.

Stephen's always picking up pets.

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

Also, Fortune of War is actually kind of dark and depressing, so I like it. Plus, most of it takes place somewhere that I know VERY well indeed, which makes me happy too.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Boston? India? I guess I shall have to read and see . . .

[silme.livejournal.com]

We haven't finished with 24 yet over here, but I'm mostly watching out of habit. I've felt that this year just isn't very strong. Maybe it's time for Jack to take a year off?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I actually was hoping he might die nobly before the show goes any further downhill. Know what you mean about habit-watching, though. The last 2-3 years of X-Files was habit watching. Even when Buffy was at its worst, I still cared, but Angel was habit-watching for awhile and then got good again.

[silme.livejournal.com]

We're to 5 AM after Thursday's episode. I am liking Michelle a lot this season, although I've liked her character in the past also. I know, I know, she's in the hotel, so she probably will die.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Michelle has an interesting story arc.

I will, obviously, say no more.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Okay, I will wait until Thursday to find out more about her in the hotel. :)

[harrietthaspy.livejournal.com]

Have you posted before about Homeric Moments? I placed a hold on it last month, then failed to get to the public library in time to pick it up. If you're finding it basic and useful I definitely need to take a look at it before attempting The Odyssey with Stephen. We're Fagles fans. Wish he'd hurry up with the Aeneid.

GT should be too busy with the Firefly movie to be on Deadwood, but if she makes an appearance, I hope it's to feed Cy Tolliver to the pigs.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

re. Homeric Moments -- don't think so; picked it up the other week. It's pleasurable reading, and I think highlights a lot of things that'll be useful for my students. (As opposed to a lot of the collections I check out that bring me up to date on a lot of the latest scholarship but are less transferable to actual useful teaching stuff.)

A number of people I've spoken to have suggested Fagles has a bit *too* contemporary a tone; of course I've heard Lattimore described as too stiff, so . . . I'm actually a Fitzgerald fan myself, as far as the Odyssey and Aeneid go, but I was given the Lattimore Iliad and picked up a nice hardcover of the Fagles inexpensively, so I don't fancy going out to buy the Fitzgerald when I've got the others.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

P.S. Re Torres: Dunno. I think she'll find the time in her shooting schedule. ;-) Actually, if she played a variation on her Firefly character, taking into account the realities of the times, she would be an interesting character.

Oh geez. Okay, I knew this would happen. My mailer lost all my old email, somehow, as of yesterday morning and I'm slowly remembering what was stacked up waiting. And one thing (I am *soooo* sorry) was the first part of your ASJ story. Could you please resend? School is out and I will actually truly read it this time. :-(