Entertaining in a Disturbing Way

A while back, I bought some of the American Poirot/Marple adaptions:
Evil Under the Sun
Death on the Nile
The Mirror Crack'd

I'd seen the second before, ages ago, so I was hopeful they'd be at least all right.

I finally got round to watching them, and I was honestly surprised.
( Read more... )

1. So, DragonCon. As we lost someone in my team at work there was 0 chance I could fly down or have any days off the week of month end close. This meant that I took the Thurs/Fri before off, packed and flew down to stay with my sister. Which, was awesome, because I don't get to see my sister that often. But also sucked, as I then worked Monday-Friday.

1A. Sis roped me into watching Stranger Things, through season two. I... I liked parts of it? I feel no one should be surprised that I came out a) shipping Jonathan/Nancy/Steve (and disappointed at the straightness, jesus), b) disinterested in the little kids, c) wanting to climb Hopper like a tree (even if I think he's kind of an asshole). I'm aware my taste can be a little sad at times. Otoh, can I just say that MARTINE AS A HOUSE WIFE took a lot to get used to (I mean, I didn't. I kept waiting for her to shoot someone). And Ryder was absolutely amazing (also, I really appreciated that the "there is Something Happening" is not dragged on for too long with people going "you're just hallucinating" for twenty episodes).

1B. Bad news, though, my nephew was home from school as he didn't feel good. Ended up testing positive for Covid on Wednesday. Both sis and I are vaxed, so I wasn't that worried, but she was, so she stayed away from me most of the week (sadly). I suppose I got a lot of work done. Neither I nor my sister have Covid.

2. DragonCon was entertaining, even with masks and not a lot of things I wanted to see/do. I spent Thursday working, then took an uber in and got our hotel room. Friday was all work (including a 8 am meeting taken in one of the long hotel corridors on the 3rd floor. Thank goodness for comfy chairs and everyone sleeping in.). I didn't see a lot, but I watched some stuff on DC TV, and had dinner with GreyCoupon one of the nights.

3. I did watch the first episode of Sense8 a while back. I liked it, and I will watch it -- I just need to carve a time out to bury myself in it.

4. I also re-watched the first Walden Narnia movie while with my sister, and, uh, then proceeded to fall down a Narnia fic-reading rabbit hole (I cannot count how many times I've re-read National Service, and it's hard to find stuff that matches that exact super-competent flavor that hits my id so deliciously---which is not to say I didn't find a lot). I find myself not wanting any of them to be domesticated. I blame Leverage. (now there's a crossover for you)

5. I did read some Stranger Things fic, but as I don't care about the pre-teens, nor for a lot of what I found so, I sort of gave up after a while (OT3 or not, I am sooo vanilla, ok. D/s is just not my thing, no matter who it is, and there's a few too many "Steve and Jonathan love each other more than they love Nancy, who's there to facilitate their screwing" framings for my taste; also, I might want to climb Hopper, but I do not want smut with him, ok.)

6. Mom and I have looped back around to season two of Leverage in our watching. It has been interesting, as I don't think I've re-watched this season quite as much as 1, 3 and 4? We have reached Tara, and I still love her so.

A. Fic round-up for July, since I finally dusted and edited some things and back-dated to post them:

1. Doctor Who Questions Answered Before Asking - terribly fluffy, but slightly angsty Thirteen/River where they don't actually meet. Borrows heavily from Blink.

2. Doctor Who A Woolf of One's Own - River Song/Virginia Woolf. This one has been half-finished for ages. I finally had the push to get it done last month and boom, posted.

3. MCU: Ant-Man Echoes Flare - Ava/Hope ficlet which is mostly anger on Hope's side and sexual frustration on Ava's.

It wasn't a deliberately femslash-heavy month. It just happened that way.

B. Big Finish's Legacy of Time, or whatever the anniversary six-parter was, was UTTERLY BRILLIANT. I pretty much loved it in its entirety. DI Menzies, Charley, and Sixy were together again and it was smashing (and I think Menzies needs her own series where people keep giving her the ~unusual cases, and she wants to shoot people a lot). I should babble about it later.

C. I had someone ask me a question the other day and told them to ask Procurement (as its their responsibility), and the person came back to ask me the question. Again. Reading comprehension is low these days.

D. Dyed my hair (refreshing the color, since I had about two inches of root), and while it was supposed to be a reddish brown, it is now candy-maroon-red. At least I've had the color before and it doesn't bother me. It is Very Drahmahtic, though. /amused. It is Last Stand Jean Red.

E. I listened to the Missy audios as well. Not sure I have thoughts on those outside of loving Michelle Gomez.

F. Finally finished off season ten of DW! I am through all of Twelve, hurrah. My... thoughts aren't particularly revolutionary. Mostly, I feel sort of meh on it. I think I need more watches or something. It's probably not helped that I don't have it as audio files.

G. I'm still paused on season eleven. I need to pick that up again (I got frustrated with downloads right after Rosa, which I thought was a fine episode, if a bit uncomfortable in the White People Should Not Be Part Of This Story way).

H. Gave the first episode of Miss Fisher's Modern Mysteries a try and... was not impressed. I just really dislike condescending, domineering men who don't get shot before the third act so I never have to see them. Probably didn't help that the intro to Miss Fisher was "here are her ass and tits, boys! Also, she totes likes sexxxx." I mean. I'm not saying Phryne was ever subtle, but her intro was sauntering along with Mac. WAY different framing. :/

(also, not a fan of love triangles; which it appears to be going for. Also, tired of 'female detective learns the ropes' story-lines)

I. Yes, I have seen the trailer for Nancy Drew. No, it doesn't look good. I probably sound old saying this, but the 50s-flavor to the movie they did about a decade ago was way more entertaining than a modern teen sexay drama with supernatural bullshit.

J. THOUGH. If they want to do it as a 1920s-era thing. I'd be all for that. (Bess would insist on flapper wear, George would do a lot of "why is this my life" facepalming, and Nancy would still drive her car. A bit like Phryne. Ahem.)

K. I need to go back to dusting off files and posting ficlets. I sort of stalled out on that.

1. The worst thing about editing old fic with the intention of finishing it is realizing that half of the beginning scene is written in present tense. And while it works for pulling the reader in, it makes for a jarring moment when it slips out of that tense to continue onwards.

Also, the beginning needs an actual beginning. The in media res start is too cold.

(spellcheck, onwards is TOO a word)

2. I re-watched the Lord of the Rings a couple of weeks ago (not long after Christmas). And I had thoughts while watching it that were different from my thoughts from when it first came out. Mostly, it revolved around the fact that Aragorn seemed a lot less conflicted about his job/role. Also, that Osgiliath remains very pretty, and I wish I'd ignored the forts that were in the book when I wrote Random Orcs.

Ok, and also that Eowyn has zero chance with Aragorn. Which is also not what I thought the last time through (I ship Arwen/Aragorn a lot, but, even I thought Eowyn/Aragorn was maybe possible ten years ago). I'm actually pretty sure that even if she hadn't stayed that he would have picked someone not Eowyn to marry when the time came (because his duty as a king requires heirs, after all).


3. I am mid-way through season ten of Doctor Who. I really like Bill? But I feel like most of the episodes aren't... that good. :/ I got stuck in the pyramid one about a third of the way in because it was dull. Eventually, I'll pick it back up.

4. I was bored tonight and watched the first episode of the Fabulous Mrs. Maisel, and while I mostly enjoyed it, I have the feeling that it's going to have lots of dull RL-ness, and possibly not enough stand-up. Because Midge is v good at that and the rest of it was... eh.

5. And last night, I watched John Quixote twice through - the second time with the commentary on - because I miss Farscape. And that episode remains fucking amazeballs. Just. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT is SO GOOD. Also. It contains exactly the same thing Ben went on to write SG-1's "Bad Guys" episode about(seeing Our Team from the Outside).

(also, I need to re-read my ancient Kitty falls into the game fic. Note to self: dig it out; ETA note for posterity: Rachel Summers fell into the game and failed to rescue Longshot and Spiral. What I actually need to do is finish writing the GameSpriteJohn rescues them fic. Writing a completely different fic where Kitty bangs Crichton is also possible. [1/26])

1. Someone linked to a purported Joss Whedon Wonder Woman script and... if it's not Whedon, whoever wrote it aped his style for destroying women to build them up pretty well.

I'm disturbed, because reading excerpts? That is the movie I assumed we would get for Wonder Woman, no matter who did it. That we got something so much better continues to boggle my mind.

2. There's been a couple "no one has ever been this badass on film" things re: Wonder Woman and... while, yes, there have been badass women who have come before (and let's be real, here, without Ripley...)--there have not really been big screen epic movies that were so centered on a badass female heroine without turning her into a sex object and constantly apologizing for her being female by shoving her in skimpy, sexy outfits and having men call her whore (or mewling quim).

At least not in Hollywood (and if there have been, and they've been so amazingly successful, then I guess WW isn't really ground-breaking).

3. That said, anyone who thinks Aeryn Sun couldn't kick Diana's ass is wrong on the internet.

4. (this is the new Hulk vs. Wolverine, ok.)

5. I have watched half a season of Wynonna Earp. I like it. I don't have a lot of thoughts on it, aside from constantly being annoyed by all the unbound long hair just waiting to get caught in things (like under someone's arms, because let me tell you, internet, I do that all the time and it is fucking annoying that it never seems to happen to heroines on tv. Diana doesn't count, she's an alien/goddess/whatever from the dawn of time, her hair is magical).

I tell a lie. I find the main bad guy incredibly dull.

6. I also watched a lot of Absolutely Fabulous (until my embarrassment squick quotient had been hit). And I have to say, Jane Horrocks is almost more amazing than Michelle Gomez in Green Wing. Or possibly DW. Because Horrocks is ridiculous in AbFab, and she pulls it off amazingly. I mean, Bubble, folks. Bubble.

7. Unconventional Courtship is starting up again, for those who like that sort of thing (I enjoy hearing about it even if my brain continues to balk at trying to write anything for it).

1. Flist, I have a very important question that I almost posted to twitter but forgot about. Did Jonas Quinn ever wear a bandanna a la Daniel Jackson and his do-rag of shame? (and why do I think I've asked this before? I don't even know WHY I wondered about this one my way home today).

2. It has come to my attention that I've not talked comics in, like, ages. (probably because I subsist on trades these days; holy shit it was back in 2014) And

• Rat Queens is currently on hiatus (and reading up on it, there has apparently been a quagmire of drama over the book for the last two years that I didn't even know about). This makes me sad. Although perhaps there is hope?
  
• Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl was everything I ever wanted in a story about Emily Aster. I love that woman, even if she's an asshole.
  
• Amazon keeps suggesting comics to me, which is why I've picked up:
  
  
  • Copperhead - it's a gritty space-age western with a badass female sheriff who is the quintessential cranky John Wayne type. Plus there's alien tensions, kidnapping, the heroine has sex, and bad things are on the horizon. (I totally loved it, ok, I can't help that I am weak for confident women having sex)
    
  • Paper Girls TOTAL 80's nostalgia trip, it's Twilight-Zone-influenced and hilarious and amazing. Plot? A group of paper girls on bikes vs what might be aliens in their sub-division. I love it.
  
  
• I continue to buy Saga, Lazarus, Sex Criminals, Ms. Marvel & Captain Marvel, but I haven't actually read all of them yet (I think I'm three trades behind in all but SC).
  
• I keep waiting for the new Velvet & Saucer Country trades in the vain hope they're not actually finished.
  
• I did read The Wicked and the Divine and, like Phonogram, it is a delight.
  
• Things I am not reading: most of Marvel, all of DC, and I may have accidentally broken up with Ghostbusters (but the movie may fill the hole in my life).
  
• Also not reading any of the new Doctor Who stuff out of (probably) loyalty to IDW. And also because I am not made of money.
  
• Where is my Painkiller Jane move, Mr. Palmiotti? Where? (I know, Emanuelle Vaugier and Kristanna Lokken are hard acts to follow)

3. Speaking of media, I am aware that there is new space opera on tv. However, I'm also sure none of you are surprised that I watched the first two episodes of The Shannara Chronicles the other day instead of Killjoys or Dark Matter. And unlike Legend of the Seeker I did not spend the entire thing going "please die, leading males, please fucking die as you are annoying and dull and boring." Instead, I mostly went "Oh, Wil, you're not that bright." and "I'm sorry, Allanon, that people are stupid and childish." and "What the fuck is Amberle wearing. WHY." (although, the thoughts were actually in reverse order). Idk. Epic fantasy apparently has hold of me right now? I liked Mr. Long-Suffering Druid and Amberle and Eretria, and Wil is adorable like a puppy.

3a. I think I'm terrified that all of the Who audio I listen to will make me super-critical of space opera (I mean, the Tricia Helfer thing from last year was probably amazing, but I couldn't last twenty minutes because dead girls and too many sexist males, but). Which is why I didn't try the other two.

3b. I also need to watch Wynnona Earp. And The Living and the Dead. (because creepy Victorian Gothic Horror; also, I'm pretty sure that if someone did a gothic horror series starring Romoloa Garai and Mia Wasikowski I would be all over that)

4. I did recently re-watch the Marple version of The Sittaford Mystery with Zoe Telford and Carey Mulligan. As always, it was excellent and I love Emily and Violet (and ship them so violently it's sad). And it made me want to work out more of a plot and finish the Emily/Violet fic I started the last time I watched (because Emily follows the money, but she can't help loving Violet, and Violet dislikes being used for her money but Emily is exactly what she needs now). Possibly there were Russian spies involved (shut up, I like spies and it was the 50's, and the Red Scare was a thing then. Besides, they were in South America. or maybe Prague)

5. So, my grand re-read of the Virgin NAs hit a snag as I realized that I would have to actually read Falls the Shadow. I certainly didn't manage it my first time through, and my completist brain wants to not skip. Sigh. But it's so long and full of dull torture, ma. */whines* Which is to say I haven't actually read anything since finishing off St. Anthony's Fire.

5a. Though, to be fair, I don't think I've managed to read an actual book this year. Perhaps I should break that curve.

1. Really. Bowie and Rickman in one week? Was it too much to ask not to spread them out a bit?

2. I am officially caught up on Doctor Who. Points to me for not stopping until I'd made it all the way through. No points to me for taking so bloody long.

3. I have also, disturbingly, caught up entirely on Sherlock. I blame the bushy-haired tall dude. Because he's not as tall as Trucco and Tahmoh, but he is tall, even if he's a bit odd-looking. (ok, also, Mary. And Molly.) and that voice, god

4. I should write up review things about the above two points, but they might entirely consist of "Can I have one?" (Clara) and "Can I have one?" (Sherlock). (ok, I'm not entirely that shallow)

(mostly)

5. In other news, I was listening to Spooks at work the other day (as you do, when windows keeps cuing up the episodes), and I realized that Tom Quinn is still the Angstiest Spy Ever, but Adam definitely gives him a run for his title. And as a whole, Harry's team really are the Worst, Most Obvious Spies. (also, Harry says something in a fourth series episode about not wanting to play god and I practically fell out of my chair. REALLY, HARRY. REALLY) And Ros, Ruth and Jo remain my favorites--if I had to quickly pick a team of women to storm the world, they'd be it. (and possibly Molly Hooper for medical backup. Or maybe Martha Jones. I can't decide which)

6. Like, a month ago I went down and visited aj and havocthecat, and there were potatoes and latkes and long conversations and it's been way too long since I'd seen them. And it was amazing to hang out. We all agreed that we are not too old for fandom, and that it sometimes is a bit scary to think about how long it's been since we entered said establishment and/or met each other (for reals, every time someone on my flist talks about the age of their children--if they have them--I suddenly am like "shit, I remember when...").

7. Christmas happened, saw parts of my family. Didn't see others. Drove a Ford Focus down and back, and it was lovely. (my sis and bro-in-law almost spoiled me for DW s9 and the xmas special, but I was all "la la la, can't hear you" at them. And then my sis was saying that she didn't get Elementary, 'cause Joan Watson sounds wrong, and I almost said "them's fighting words" but got distracted 'cause Joan would be like "...whatever" and go solve crime)

8. Watched the recent adaption of And Then Where None and thought it was very well done. Dark, gothic and very compelling (even if the music was occasionally a bit much). I also managed to not want it to end the way it did (and for once, fandom gave me presents in that the pairing I wanted to read is about the only thing out there--I know they are awful, awful people, but I ship it like I shipped everyone in Crimson Peak, ok)

9. I fell down on the job with keeping a booklist over the last year, so I've no idea what I read over the year. Perhaps I'll manage better this year. The only thing I remember is re-reading Georgiana again (I can't help it, Georgie is ridiculous and forthright and clever and she shoots him this one time, that's like Lyssie kryptonite served up with milk chocolate truffles)

10. I really have to stop with the parenthetical statements (even if they are fun, this is not prose, dammit).

(sigh)

Wiscon happened. So did lots and lots of work.

I am behind on everything, except I think the new season of Phryne. (Imean, ffs, I haven't actually watched any of this season's Elementary, I'm more than half a season behind in PoI... and there's other things I haven't watched at all that I want to).

I watched the Supergirl pilot. It was less dull than Arrow, but still sort of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in feel (subtlety it didn't have)

Saw Age of Ultron. Um. I didn't hate it? But I didn't really like it much, either. In the shallow column, there were explosions and people punching things. But in the non-shallow column... idek.

Work has been survivable due to large doses of Girls Aloud and Lana Del Rey. Don't ask how that works, I'm not entirely sure myself.

1. Yesterday was new Who day, but I also watched all the things and stuff. Now I've got nothing left to do, so I feel at loose ends (I even did laundry last weekend, so that's sorted)

2. I dreamt in Ponds, weeping Angels, River Song, the Motive detectives (searching for/investigating missing Ponds), Clara, Eleven, and shenanigans.

3. Orphan Black started last night, and I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to next week, as it hits a lot of my buttons. I really like the lead, plus, canon gay.

4. I'm really enjoying Motive, too. ANGIE FLYNN FOREVER. Also, Oscar is entertaining and Dr. Betty is hot. Also also, Angie and Betty are totally having it off, or did once and now they're just good friends.

5. I'm current on Beauty and the Beast, and while I think of things to talk about while watching, afterwards I... don't remember them. I will say that I'm glad Cat/Vincent wasn't dragged out for a billion seasons, but I also don't ship it or find it all that interesting. It doesn't help that they keep having basically the same damn conversation every. single. episode. Not to mention twice in one of the episodes. And TESS. sigh. Meanwhile, Sendhil Ramamurthy showed up shirtless as a new player. Fun.

6. I know I have Bomb Girls, Lost Girl and Scandal to catch up on, but I just... Idk. Not in the mood I guess.

7. I watched the first episode of Red Widow, but didn't finish it. I'm sort of getting tired of female characters who are too stupid to know about the financial details of their lives. This is fucking 2013, for fuck's sake. Also, getting tired of "woman is shallow and can't do anything, has to learn business from the ground up" storylines. (and unsurprisingly, Jaime Ray Newman is her sister. So, no femslash potential)

8. Deception sounds interesting, but hit my embarrassment squick bigtime, so I couldn't even get more than twenty minutes in before stopping.

9. I tried to watch Revolution, and just. the premise is just too stupid. I couldn't stand it, and none of the characters were interesting enough in twenty minutes to make me want to continue watching it (contrast it with Motive where I was hooked by Angie and Oscar and Betty, even though the first episode is not that great. Or Beauty and the Beast which is silly, but compelling).

This is a fifty-minute program about the WASP for PBS' The American Experience.

Amusingly, narrated by Mary McDonnell.

It wasn't bad, I thought it was a nice over-view, even if they didn't really examine a lot of the inner politics that were going on at the time (or mention that they managed to get veterans' status in the 70s).

The one thing that jarred was the entire glossing over of Nancy Love's contribution--in fact, the historian claimed that none of it would ever have happened without Jackie Cochran, and, er. I agree that the large-scale WASP program wouldn't have happened, but Nancy Love's WAFS was already going when Cochran arrived on the scene and threw a fit because she wasn't in charge.

(basically, in fandom terms, Cochran is totally one of those gamer grrls who isn't like all those other bitches. Which, y'know, it's her right, but it's still obnoxious to read/hear about)

Especially since two of the interviewees were part of Love's original group (and they had voice-overs from a third). But no mention was made of the fact that they hadn't been through Cochran's training program.

But it was totally awesome to put faces and voices to names I'd only read about.