• 25Sep 06

  Heroes!

  Somedays I really hate doing stuff on the web.
  
  I just wrote this great post all about how I just watched the premiere of the new show Heroes over at Yahoo TV and how much I LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVEDLOVEDLOVED it, and then I saw this thingy at the end labled "tags" and so I clicked on the innocuous looking "?" button and whoops! There goes the whole entry.
  
  So, rather than posting the whole damn thing again, lemme just say that if you like well done, CHARACTER-driven drama, ever wishes you could have superpowers and either have or are willing to make a hole in your schedule Monday nights at 9/8 Central, this is something you NEED to see.
  
  Understand, with the advent of DVRs/TiVo, I've become virtually unable to watch any TV show at the time it's broadcast.  I tape so much that I often end up watching stuff I've taped while taping more stuff - but this show is so good I plan to make it real "appointment TV" and watch it when it actually airs - I don't want to wait a minute longer than I have to to see it.
  
  Some of what I love the most about it:
  
  * Yeah, it's "sci-fi" and will probalby be something of an "action-adventure" show in the long run, but, at least in the premiere, what special effects there were were used sparingly and subtly.  These people have powers and abilities, but the makers of the show have found ways to show what they do without having to use a dazzling array of graphic effects - stuff just ... happens.  I'm sure a lot of that has to do with TV show budgets as compared to movie budgets - who cares - they do it quite well, and it helps the story stay more focused on the characters themselves rather than what they can do.
  
  * The charactes are believable, real people, and there people you can care about.  Hiro (what a great name for a character in this show) is wonderful!  My favourite exchange in the whole episode is when one of his co-workers asks him "Why do you want to be different" and he responds "Why do you want to be the same" - beautiful, isn't it?  And such a perfect summary of one of the biggest sources of conflict in the world.
  
  * This show has been written about all over the net.  NBC has put out who knows how many promos for it, and their website has about 15 or 20 I watched just tonight. I've read just about everything I could find, and watched all the clips I could find, and even with all that, by the end of the show, I discovered that not everything in this jewel had been "spoiled" yet.  There were a few things that I didn't even come close to guessing might happen, which was great!
  
  * It's by Tim Kring, who also does Crossing Jordan.  Now, CJ isn't a perfect show - there have been some serious stumbles along the way (Dad, the "long-lost" brother and mom's murder mystery anyone?), but through it all, Tim has stayed not only true to the characters, but he's also developed them in very organic ways.  Jordan is still a rebel who is terrified of commitment, but she's started thinking more before breaking rules - having discovered that they can have some benefits - and she's becoming more willing to risk trusting someone enough to let herself fall in love.  Lily was a kinda scatter-brained, shy, wallflowery receptionist when the show started who's grown into a woman to be reckoned with when she believes she's in the right, who still remains happily outside the mainstream, but can "blend in" more when necessary, and who has worked hard to become a strong, tender grief counselor who can truly make a difference in people's lives.  Macy has gone from veritable Rock of Gibralter Who Is Never Wrong to a flawed man, realizing he has been a less than ideal father and looking at himself from the doldrums of middle-age wondering if he likes at all what he sees.  Yet when I go back and watch seasons 1 episodes, I don't feel like I'm stepping into a room full of strangers - the essence of what each character was to start with is still there, but you can also see how each involved into who they are now.
  
  * Kring is also able to phase out elements of a show that aren't working without disrupting the show itself.  When Crossing Jordan first came on the air, it's central "conceit" was that Jordan solved crimes largely by taking the evidence she found during her autopsy and forensic investigations and then "play-acting" the crime with her father.  One would play perp and other vic and by submerging themselves in the act of the crime, they could determine who of their suspects had done it. Sometime around the end of the 2nd season, Kring either decided that the "gimmick" wasn't working or the fact that Ken Howard was leaving made it necessary to drop that element, but either way, it stopped being a feature of the show.  The thing was, even though I watch CJ regularly - and watch a lot of the A&E repeats - it wasn't until an episode last season when Jordan and two of her friend did a similar re-enactment that I realized they hadn't being doing them for a while.  It took me almost *3* seasons to realize that the element of the show that was supposed to have been what "set it apart" from other crime-drama shows wasn't being used anymore.  And I hadn't noticed it because by the time it went away, it was really just an "oh yeah, we're doing this thing now" bit to the story - the focus of the story had become the characters themselves, and it didn't need "gimmicks" to keep the show interesting any more.  Given that "Heroes" is character-driven from the start, and that they're not going with a bunch of special effects out of the gate, its giving it a great foundation
  
  Well,I'd say that's kind of a nutshell view of my thoughts right now, but that's more like a freaking coconut tree (I have issues with brevity, though, y'know)
  
  At any rate - here's the point of this whole post:
  
  
  Watch HEROES Monday Night at 9pm/8pm Central on NBC - it'll be worth it!
  • Posted Sep 25, 2006 4:23 am PT
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• 11Nov 05

  Well... I'm home, at least :)

  In August, I posted a note that I'd been kind of sick and the doctor was sending me to the hospital. I've been home for a week now, though I think the insurance company sent me home WAY too early. The problem was a pressure ulcer on my leg and it's not nearly healed - and we're having a hell of a time keeping the wound dressings on it. In the hospital, I was in bed almost all the time so it didn't have that much of a chance to come loose, but here at home, it's so different - and I'm really worried that it will get infected again.
  
  Oh, and I've apparently dislocated my right wrist - and was supposed to see an orthopedic surgeon about it, but because the insurance company sent me home so early, I never got to - and now I'm back in the situation I was in before the hospital, where I don't have any reasonable way to get to the doctor's office (they had to take me to the hospital and bring me home by ambulance - it's a long story, but I've been homebound for about 7 years now...) At least I can still type ok - I just can't grip or lift anything with my right hand
  
  Enough about that, though... I'm sure what EVERYONE wants to know is my opinion on the Rockstar:INXS finale, eh? LOL! Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway
  
  I hated JD. I mean I wanted him off the show from the first episode. Then something weird happened. The first time he took the stage with INXS - when he and Marty were doing their last "audition" performances - everything just clicked. I still think JD's a jerk and that they should watch him pretty closely, but DAMN! He and the band have incredible chemistry on-stage and it SHOWS. Watching him sing one of their old songs, it just felt like that was how it had always been. It sure took long enough, but he finally made a convert of me. Mig's STILL cuter, though, and I'd have loved to see him win, but JD really does fit with the band well.
  
  Since I didn't have much to do in the hospital, I got to watch a bunch of new shows, and have picked up a few - Bones (very nice to see David Boreanaz doing something other than just brooding all the time!), Commander in Chief (not sure why I like it, but I do), Criminal Minds, Close to Home and - Gods forgive me - Martha Stewart's Apprentice. I tried E-Ring, Kitchen Confidential and Supernatural, but they just didn't grab me or keep my attention.
  
  Anyway, that's about it for now -- it's good to be back, and I'm looking foward to trying to catch up with everyone. Thanks to those of you who sent me notes while I was gone - I really appreciated that!!
  • Posted Nov 11, 2005 1:33 am PT
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• 22Aug 05

  Just a note...

  Just wanted to let y'all know I won't be around for at least a few days, maybe longer. For those who don't know, I've been rather sick lately and my doctor is admitting me to the hopsital tomorrow morning. This scares the hell out of me, because I HATE hospitals, so if any of you have any higher beings you can call on for support, I'd much appreciate it!
  
  I'll see you when I get back.
  • Posted Aug 22, 2005 6:21 pm PT
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