Basically, just another blog
I’m deeply ashamed of myself for not blogging in so long. Twenty days, for those of you keeping score. As in, just a day shy of three full weeks. FOR SHAME.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to start in earnest now. Maybe tomorrow. In the mean time, I leave you with this. Kisses!
I want to talk to you about “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” which is a new series on the premium cable Starz network. I wasn’t really expecting much, even though the series is the brainchild of some really talented people, namely Steven S. DeKnight (Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse) and Rob Tapert (Xena and numerous Sam Raimi movies). I was pleasantly surprised. It’s actually very engaging, in spite of a few flaws.
John Hannah (who I’ll always remember as the guy who gives that really moving speech at his lover’s funeral in Four Weddings and a Funeral) overacts something awful, chewing the scenery in an obscene manner in every scene he’s in. He’s obviously having fun though, so we’ll overlook it. Lucy Lawless – yes, Xena herself – is slightly more restrained, though not much. It’s OK because she totally kicks ass and also shows her boobs – a lot. Yes, watch this show if you want to finally see Xena’s boobs. (BTW Lucy looks pretty damn good after having a few kids, so good on her!) The rest of the cast is made up of various beautiful people, many of whom appear semi- or completely nude a high percentage of the time. You gotta give this show props though – there’s just as much male nudity as female nudity, and at least one very blatant example of hermaphrodite nudity. YES! Now that’s some freaky stuff right there.
Obviously if you’re sensitive about seeing naked bodies, this show isn’t for you. But you also need to stay away if violence and gore bothers you. Most of the show deals with gladiators, you see, and there is a LOT of graphic and over-the-top gore. More than once dudes have died in the arena with their guts literally spilling out of wounds in their abdomens. It’s uh, rather colorful.
One sad note about Spartacus: gorgeous star Andy Whitfield has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and is in treatment now, necessitating a delay to the start of Season 2, which has already been ordered by Starz. It’s always shocking when a person so young and healthy-looking is stricken by a disease like cancer, and thoughts and prayers are certainly with Andy and his family. From what I understand, his disease was caught early and his prognosis is very good.
You can see Spartacus on the Starz network and on Starz On Demand.
For a long time, we didn’t have Showtime in our house. We’ve always had HBO – Jesus, HBO should be fucking required with every cable plan, so you don’t ever miss stuff like The Sopranos or Rome or Deadwood or whatever – but not usually Showtime. So now we have it, but I don’t really watch a lot of TV. Mostly just an hour or so as I’m falling asleep late at night, plus my regularly scheduled shows like Mad Men and True Blood.
Anyway, I’ve been reading a lot about how great this show Dexter is. It’s on Showtime. I’d watched bits of past seasons and read about it but not really had a lot of interest in it. As much as I like the star, whose work on Six Feet Under was terrific, I just couldn’t fit Dexter into my viewing schedule, such as it is. Then a lot of people started talking about how amazing this past season (the show’s fourth) was, and how Dexter was getting back to what it had made it so great in the first place.
OK, so, long story even longer, I have been watching Season 4 of Dexter on my On Demand service (and OMG I love FiOS just for this feature alone – ON DEMAND IS A GIFT FROM GOD FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE TOO CHEAP OR LUDDITE TO BUY A TIVO). And wow…it’s good. I just watched episode six today, so I have six left to go, and I’m really looking forward to them. Quick impressions:
- The opening credits sequence was entertainingly ironic the first time, but now it’s too damn long (or my attention span is too short) and obvious. I have been fast forwarding through it.
- Julie Benz, who plays Dexter’s wife Rita on the show, was probably best known before this for playing Darla on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.” I’d always read that even though she played a perfectly evil character (for the most part) on those shows, Julie Benz is one of the sweetest, kindest people working in show business. What I like about her work on Dexter is that this side of her really comes out. She IS sweet. Sometimes too sweet, but whatever. Of course in the most recent episodes she’s also a bit of a pain in the ass. However, having read spoilers about how the season ends, I think I know why they’ve started writing her this way at this point in the arc.
- The actress who plays Dexter’s sister is really good, but holy moley she’s so skinny! Chick looks like a spoon. I like her character though; her potty mouth always cracks me up. Why the hell would she ditch her hot new boyfriend to go back to that crinkly old FBI guy though? I didn’t buy that.
- I’m constantly struck, and a little disturbed, by how skillfully this show gets us, the audience, to root for a serial killer. A methodical, cold, calculating killer. OK sure, he only kills bad guys (and girls) – at least most of the time (oops!). But that doesn’t make it any more acceptable. Especially in light of the fact that he works for the police, and could conceivably help bring people to justice without resorting to the freelance death penalty stuff. Creepy.
I’m thinking I should be done with the season by the end of the weekend. So, happy stabby New Year!
I just said to my co-worker the other day, “I blog, yeah. I blog all the time!” So of course I ended up not blogging for over a week. Doh! Why?
- Work has been kicking my ass. I’m on a tight schedule trying to finish running about 500 test cases and my project manager keeps asking me if I think I’ll be done early. EARLY!
- I haven’t been feeling so good with the weird weather patterns here. My sinuses are just killing me. Also, nosebleed every morning = total drag.
- The few things I have felt passionate enough about to actually maybe turn into a blog post are just too controversial. I have kind of learned the hard way that it’s best for me NOT to blog about politics and stuff like that. I just shouldn’t go there. Ever. (Of course, I probably will again, at some point. Just not now.)
Anyway, Friday I actually stayed home sick. OMG I felt like hell! While I was at home, completely out of it, I watched a few things on TV.
Role Models (2008): surprisingly funny. I like Paul Rudd in snarky mode. Also has Jane Lynch, so what’s not to like? It was juvenile and preposterous, sure, but still pretty good. The whole plot about the kid who’s into the LARP game was especially funny to me, because last year I watched that documentary Darkon, so I know that these people really exist and really are that hilariously intense!
Paranoid Park (2007): haunting. Gus Van Sant really knows how to fuck with your head, you know? Reminded me a little bit of Brick because of the setting, but it’s much more realistic and, ultimately, depressing.
Zombiemania (2008): a documentary about the zombie sub-genre of horror films, featuring interviews with George Romero, Tom Savini, Max Brooks, Boyd Banks, and others. Not bad, really. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t address the European zombie films (Fulci, etc.) at all. Maybe they couldn’t get clearances. But in any case, it was somewhat entertaining (especially the Max Brooks stuff) and it’s always nice to hear everyone involved in zombie films give so much credit to Romero (especially since he hasn’t made nearly the money he should have off the genre he basically invented).
I think I watched more stuff, but I was really out of it and I don’t remember now.
Before I sign off and head up to do even more laundry on a lovely Sunday afternoon, let me just say a few things about Project Runway. There’s a lot of talk about this season being somehow “boring” or less exciting than the previous seasons. I don’t necessarily buy that. I think people WANT to believe that just because the show is on Lifetime now, and not Bravo. Whatever. I do think it’s a problem that the judging has been so inconsistent, and has led to some really ridiculous things happening, like Epperson and Ra’mon getting sent home while useless hacks like Logan, Christopher, and Nicolas hang in there for so long (bye bye, Nicolas!). The show worked better for everyone when it was Heidi-Michael-Nina plus a guest judge every week.
As far as a favorite, right now I don’t have one. But I’ll tell you this: if Irina gets to go to the final four or whatever, I will be PISSED. Because she is SUCH A CLASSLESS TOAD. Have you ever heard anyone shit talk so much about so many people, with (apparently) no consequences? She never, ever has anything nice to say about anyone else, and it just shows a lack of tact, class, and maturity. It’s one thing to be confident in your own work, nothing wrong with that. But it’s really lame to do nothing but criticize everyone else’s. I wonder, can she really be that clueless? Or are they only showing us her interview clips that criticize – maybe the producers have set her up to be the wicket witch of the season? Whatever – if that’s the case, she’s certainly given them plenty of material to work with!
And, to finish, let me just say: whatever. Because I noticed I’ve used that word a lot today and I think a few more would help. WHATEVER.
A partial list of things that other people seem to think are awesome…and I don’t:
- Tenacious D. Meh. I like Jack Black, and I think they’re funny and clever, but they’re not all that. I don’t get why people practically worship them.
- Lost. I used to be kind of obsessed, but by the middle of the second season I “lost” interest. Ha ha! Lost joke. Get it?
- The Shield, The Wire, and 24. Never watched any of them. Not a single episode. Thinking about going back and watching The Wire, because I know what kind of quality HBO shows are capable of. But the other two? Nah.
- Gossip Girl. This must be targeted at people younger than me, because I have zero interest.
- Football. Ugh, please. Wake me up when the damn season is finished. I used to like it OK but I’m just over it.
- Survivor, The Amazing Race, Top Chef, etc. Really the only “reality” show I have any use for is Project Runway, and that’s 99% because of Tim Gunn. Without Tim, you can’t “make it work.” Ha!
