I've had a strange problem with my Netflix lately. When I access my account from my Tivo, the video plays, but with no sound. I keep messing with the audio settings, but nothing seems to fix it. However, when I access Netflix through my Apple TV (using the same television), both audio and video work just fine. I don't know what's going on.
Anyway, I found that the new season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was on Netflix now, so I binge-watched the episodes over a couple of days. There's new pictures in the opening credits, and the show is still fun and enjoyable. They even had an episode about female hysteria featuring an "electric massager" device. The show continues to be feminist, with Dottie asserting to both Hugh and her Catholic priest that she's not going to be a meek obedient wife. In one episode, a woman disguises herself as a man in order to become a pilot, and in another, we learn of the women factory workers who died of radiation poisoning after painting watches with radioactive paint. (Polonium is substituted for radium.)
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Muppets and Other Premieres
Damn, it's officially fall now, but Texas still has 90-degree weather like it's summer. I wish there was some relief soon, but the meteorologist said it wouldn't be for another month. (And with global warming, who knows how much worse it will get.)
Anyway, The Muppets debuted last night, and I liked it so far. Way too many people are complaining about the show being too "adult" now. This isn't Sesame Street. Just this Sunday, PBS aired a special about Jim Henson, showing that he hated people pigeonholing his muppets as being for kids only. He created the original Muppets variety show in order to prove that his muppets were for grownups too. (I watched it as a kid at the time, so some jokes flew over my head. That's probably what will happen here.) I hope it continues to get good ratings.
I was so glad for Fresh Off The Boat to come back too, and was not disappointed. I was surprised, though, that the same actress who had played Fozzie Bear's girlfriend was playing Jessica's massage therapist also. (I think she's one of the leads of that Another Period show, but I don't know their names yet.)
Anyway, The Muppets debuted last night, and I liked it so far. Way too many people are complaining about the show being too "adult" now. This isn't Sesame Street. Just this Sunday, PBS aired a special about Jim Henson, showing that he hated people pigeonholing his muppets as being for kids only. He created the original Muppets variety show in order to prove that his muppets were for grownups too. (I watched it as a kid at the time, so some jokes flew over my head. That's probably what will happen here.) I hope it continues to get good ratings.
I was so glad for Fresh Off The Boat to come back too, and was not disappointed. I was surprised, though, that the same actress who had played Fozzie Bear's girlfriend was playing Jessica's massage therapist also. (I think she's one of the leads of that Another Period show, but I don't know their names yet.)
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Edalji, Emmys, more
I didn't really like Arthur and George overall. You'd think, if the writers wanted us to treat the rippings like a mystery, that the show would try to show many suspects early on, but actually 2 out of 3 episodes kept trying to raise the doubt that "maybe he's not innocent!" and "boy, his foreign family sure are weirdos!"; they even had Sir Arthur deliberately destroy footprints because he feared they would be evidence of George Edalji's guilt. Way to prove that you're not emotionally involved and blinded by your own bias! And the whole shit about a Hayden Price character being a real-life Moriarty (when it was probably Adam Worth) just to make George look sinister was a waste of time. Really horrible, and the ultimate solution to the mystery, with the guilty persons getting killed, was so convenient. Stupid fictionalized mess. The only part I really liked was George's sister mentioning "Speckled Band" to point out that Sherlock Holmes is sometimes wrong. Heck yeah, he's fallible. And Sir Arthur is too, which makes the arguments against his amateur investigation more valid. The closing titles talked about George's pardon but glossed over the fact that he was not pardoned for the letter-writing. Well at least the appeals court was created.
Anyway, I also watched the Emmy Awards on Sunday. I don't usually watch them anymore, but decided to do so this year since Andy Samberg was the host, and I've grown fond of him in Brooklyn Nine Nine. He did great, though the awards quickly became boring once I realized that Olive Kitteridge was going to win every damn category it was in. I don't give a damn about the other cable shows either. I stayed with the Emmys though, enjoying how Taraji was so happy for Regina King, and then Olivia Davis later. Very nice moments in the show, though I'm still disappointed that Constance Wu wasn't even nominated.
I decided to try to watch Minority Report after all, since I do like Meagan Good. The pilot did acknowledge that Pre-crime was wrong and rightly abolished, with Wally talking about the "outliers" in the minority report. The freed convicts who had their lives ruined and wanted revenge was a good way to show the consequences of the bad policy. And yet they still don't have an answer for why Meagan's character should trust Dash's visions. If the visions of the three precogs contradicted each other, then why does she think that Dash, or Dash and his brother, will somehow miraculously get everything 100% right and be in agreement now? The other storyline with Agatha and Arthur afraid that they'll be recaptured and put back to work does suggest that the show can see how problematic it is to try doing Pre-crime stuff again. So I'll stick with it for now.
Anyway, I also watched the Emmy Awards on Sunday. I don't usually watch them anymore, but decided to do so this year since Andy Samberg was the host, and I've grown fond of him in Brooklyn Nine Nine. He did great, though the awards quickly became boring once I realized that Olive Kitteridge was going to win every damn category it was in. I don't give a damn about the other cable shows either. I stayed with the Emmys though, enjoying how Taraji was so happy for Regina King, and then Olivia Davis later. Very nice moments in the show, though I'm still disappointed that Constance Wu wasn't even nominated.
I decided to try to watch Minority Report after all, since I do like Meagan Good. The pilot did acknowledge that Pre-crime was wrong and rightly abolished, with Wally talking about the "outliers" in the minority report. The freed convicts who had their lives ruined and wanted revenge was a good way to show the consequences of the bad policy. And yet they still don't have an answer for why Meagan's character should trust Dash's visions. If the visions of the three precogs contradicted each other, then why does she think that Dash, or Dash and his brother, will somehow miraculously get everything 100% right and be in agreement now? The other storyline with Agatha and Arthur afraid that they'll be recaptured and put back to work does suggest that the show can see how problematic it is to try doing Pre-crime stuff again. So I'll stick with it for now.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Arthur and George and Sherlock
Sunday I watched part one of the Masterpiece adaptation of Arthur and George, the novel about George Edalji's case. I've never read the book and have since heard that the book and TV show take liberties with historical accuracy. It was an okay show and kind of spooky. I knew I recognized the actress playing Jean Leckie from somewhere, so I looked her up in IMDB; Hattie Morahan actually played the love interest in the Mr. Holmes movie, so she's been romancing both ACD and his fictional creation. I like her in this role, though her comment about ACD's weight would have made more impact had the actor been padded more heavily to resemble ACD. I'll have to see what parts 2 and 3 are like before I can really judge the whole show. There was a 10 minute behind the scenes video at the end of the episode which was interesting too.
In the meantime I was curious about what happened with the feminist s(her)lock web series, and after a search I learned too late that they did an indiegogo campaign this summer to get more funding. I totally missed it, but would not have been able to fund since I'm still unemployed; I should have tried to promote it though. Oh well. Their Facebook page says they still finished filming season 1, though and are doing post-production. They also have a new logo, and are using hyphens instead of parentheses. I don't know if they'll stick to their November release date or not, but at least they posted their first episode on the Indiegogo page. (It was an adaptation of Dancing Men, only the cipher messages were mailed and also faxed, due to it being 1995. I liked it, and enjoyed seeing both Lestrade and Gregson appear, as if this were Study in Scarlet. No backstory about how Holmes met Watson, but we do see her begin writing her first story on Holmes's case.) I'll try to check in on them again later.
They mention that they are still continuing to promote the s(her)lock show, and their Tumblr has a post recapping their appearance at a recent convention. I was surprised that they were fans of Elementary too, so they did a panel about that. They both defend the show and criticize problems. I disagree with them about Moriarty and Mycroft, but am glad to see them defend Joan Watson and analyze the rich emotional relationship she has with Holmes. I'm still not returning to the show, but good luck to it.
In the meantime I was curious about what happened with the feminist s(her)lock web series, and after a search I learned too late that they did an indiegogo campaign this summer to get more funding. I totally missed it, but would not have been able to fund since I'm still unemployed; I should have tried to promote it though. Oh well. Their Facebook page says they still finished filming season 1, though and are doing post-production. They also have a new logo, and are using hyphens instead of parentheses. I don't know if they'll stick to their November release date or not, but at least they posted their first episode on the Indiegogo page. (It was an adaptation of Dancing Men, only the cipher messages were mailed and also faxed, due to it being 1995. I liked it, and enjoyed seeing both Lestrade and Gregson appear, as if this were Study in Scarlet. No backstory about how Holmes met Watson, but we do see her begin writing her first story on Holmes's case.) I'll try to check in on them again later.
They mention that they are still continuing to promote the s(her)lock show, and their Tumblr has a post recapping their appearance at a recent convention. I was surprised that they were fans of Elementary too, so they did a panel about that. They both defend the show and criticize problems. I disagree with them about Moriarty and Mycroft, but am glad to see them defend Joan Watson and analyze the rich emotional relationship she has with Holmes. I'm still not returning to the show, but good luck to it.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Ian McKellan as Holmes
Summer TV is so awful. I used to care about the TCA press tour and follow all the news announcements, but now I'm not interested in each network trying to shill and create buzz for their shows. Not many of the pilots excited me, and I'm waiting on midseason for anything creative and different.
So I went to see the Mr. Holmes movie after all. I read the book years ago and hated it, so I wasn't planning to see this adaptation. However, I read a review from someone else who did read the book, and they told me that things had been changed, which explained why the filmmakers made the title change; it's not exactly faithful. So I went to see it, since it came to a movie theatre that was convenient to me. It was an okay movie, if you like retired, beekeeping Holmes. I personally don't enjoy Holmes as a hermit without Watson. Audiences seem to connect to it, though, with Holmes struggling through his senility and connecting with the boy Roger. The movie is doing relatively well for its small release.
I hated the book for some annoying writing conventions that the author insisted on foisting upon readers. He would start a flashback scene, show half of it, stop it to digress to another plot, then return to the exact same scene a long time later, repeating pages upon pages of stuff I ALREADY READ and DIDN'T NEED REMINDING OF, then finally show me the other half of the flashback. However, that was a lie; there's actually a third or fourth part of the scene which he has withheld from us, and will return us to later, while unnecessarily REPEATING EVERYTHING ELSE AGAIN! Fuck him and his editor who let that get published that way. Thankfully, the movie doesn't try to visually replicate that insane repetition, so that's was a relief. The characters had funny moments, and the ending was much improved, so those problems were fixed too.
Also, there's a scene where Holmes attends a fictional movie based on one of his cases, and Nicholas Rowe plays the fictional Holmes in that film. It's not that Hollywood rewrote the case, though; Watson was responsible for the inaccuracy because he deliberately changed the mystery to make Holmes into a hero instead of a failure. To save his reputation (and to hell with what the real client thought?) and perhaps help Holmes get over the tragedy. One of the themes of the movie is that people tell well meaning lies to protect other people and soothe their pain. It's interesting for me to see that Watson lies so much in the movie, almost constructing a false Holmes persona like in Without a Clue. I have often asserted that Watson lies in the stories myself.
SPOILERS BELOW
So I went to see the Mr. Holmes movie after all. I read the book years ago and hated it, so I wasn't planning to see this adaptation. However, I read a review from someone else who did read the book, and they told me that things had been changed, which explained why the filmmakers made the title change; it's not exactly faithful. So I went to see it, since it came to a movie theatre that was convenient to me. It was an okay movie, if you like retired, beekeeping Holmes. I personally don't enjoy Holmes as a hermit without Watson. Audiences seem to connect to it, though, with Holmes struggling through his senility and connecting with the boy Roger. The movie is doing relatively well for its small release.
I hated the book for some annoying writing conventions that the author insisted on foisting upon readers. He would start a flashback scene, show half of it, stop it to digress to another plot, then return to the exact same scene a long time later, repeating pages upon pages of stuff I ALREADY READ and DIDN'T NEED REMINDING OF, then finally show me the other half of the flashback. However, that was a lie; there's actually a third or fourth part of the scene which he has withheld from us, and will return us to later, while unnecessarily REPEATING EVERYTHING ELSE AGAIN! Fuck him and his editor who let that get published that way. Thankfully, the movie doesn't try to visually replicate that insane repetition, so that's was a relief. The characters had funny moments, and the ending was much improved, so those problems were fixed too.
Also, there's a scene where Holmes attends a fictional movie based on one of his cases, and Nicholas Rowe plays the fictional Holmes in that film. It's not that Hollywood rewrote the case, though; Watson was responsible for the inaccuracy because he deliberately changed the mystery to make Holmes into a hero instead of a failure. To save his reputation (and to hell with what the real client thought?) and perhaps help Holmes get over the tragedy. One of the themes of the movie is that people tell well meaning lies to protect other people and soothe their pain. It's interesting for me to see that Watson lies so much in the movie, almost constructing a false Holmes persona like in Without a Clue. I have often asserted that Watson lies in the stories myself.
SPOILERS BELOW
Summer Blues
We're in for triple-digit heat all this week, and it's making me miserable. I've also been down about all the bad news lately, including the horrific arson attack in Israel, where terrorists burned down a house full of people and killed a baby. I don't know when will be enough for Israel to really change.
But today I read that a federal appeals court struck down the voter ID law in Texas, so that's good for the next election. We still have horrible politicians in Texas, though, and we're so gerrymandered it's not funny. I really hope Hillary Clinton means it when she says she's pursuing a 50-state strategy to improve Democratic chances even in red states like Texas.
Comedians love to snark, but I haven't really been amused by Trump's antics nor do I care to watch the Republican candidates debate anything. I'm apathetic and tired of the circus atmosphere. It's bad enough we need to defend Planned Parenthood from these anti-abortion zealots, but they keep threatening to shut down the government like they haven't learned a thing. Lately, Daily Kos has turned into a nonstop Bernie Sanders cheerleading site, having stupid pie fights constantly about him and Clinton. Even yelling at the founder Kos for not supporting Bernie. I hate those navel-gazing progressives who can't stop flaming each other over every damn thing, and yet it's hard to find any other political news site that's worth following. Liberals are supposed to be big tent, include everybody, but they're so divisive.
But today I read that a federal appeals court struck down the voter ID law in Texas, so that's good for the next election. We still have horrible politicians in Texas, though, and we're so gerrymandered it's not funny. I really hope Hillary Clinton means it when she says she's pursuing a 50-state strategy to improve Democratic chances even in red states like Texas.
Comedians love to snark, but I haven't really been amused by Trump's antics nor do I care to watch the Republican candidates debate anything. I'm apathetic and tired of the circus atmosphere. It's bad enough we need to defend Planned Parenthood from these anti-abortion zealots, but they keep threatening to shut down the government like they haven't learned a thing. Lately, Daily Kos has turned into a nonstop Bernie Sanders cheerleading site, having stupid pie fights constantly about him and Clinton. Even yelling at the founder Kos for not supporting Bernie. I hate those navel-gazing progressives who can't stop flaming each other over every damn thing, and yet it's hard to find any other political news site that's worth following. Liberals are supposed to be big tent, include everybody, but they're so divisive.
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