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Feb. 10th, 2012 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
othersideofthis* Today's my birthday. I don't particularly care about birthdays, but I will say that I started my morning off by getting bitten by my cat (I apparently wasn't waking up quickly enough for him) and then by leaving my gloves on the train. Ugh.
* Is anyone else watching Smash? I have feelings about it. I really don't like how the show is basically pitting Kat McPhee vs. Megan Hilty (whatever their character's names were). Is it too much to ask to have a show where the female leads aren't in competition with one another? I mean, I know it's a show about theater, so it's sort of inevitable, but for some reason, that aspect is turning me off. From the promos, it felt to me like McPhee and Hilty were playing two different roles in the musical, not competing against one another. I was really turned off by creepy director Jack Davenport doing the late-night-casting-call-on-the-director's-couch thing to Kat McPhee's character. Again, it's theater and I'm sure this is something that still happens, no matter how gross it is, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it, and I'm really hoping that McPhee's character doesn't fall for it. I was entertained by her relationship with and the scenes with her parents, even if they were sort of cliche. They reminded me in a way of my relationship with my own parents -- not their concerns about me being a starving artist, since I've sold out to The Man, but their worry about me being in a big city all by myself. I think what it boils down to is that I'll need a few more episodes of the show to really sell me on it. It's very nicely directed and put together and with plenty of great actors but the writing was a bit unfulfilling and cliche a lot. The music parts are fantastic and I'm such a sucker for that stuff that I may continue watching a show I am otherwise meh about because of the musical numbers, and also because at heart I always wished that I'd had the personality to make it as a theater person.
* And for White Collar. .
* The crime of the week was pretty convoluted and seemed shoehorned in as an excuse to get Hilarie Burton back on. Neal was really not necessary for Sara's investigation, but there he is anyway. I appreciate Sara more whenever she and Neal are not together -- I enjoyed her first appearance, but liked her less and less as they inevitably moved towards hooking her up with Neal. She was more tolerable this episode and I wouldn't mind if she and Neal just stayed friends. I would not be sad to see her go once this season is up, but of course I don't know what her contract calls for.
* Can we also pause to take a minute to talk about how great Diana is? She's an out lesbian, person of color, and it's not a big deal. The important part is that Diana is brilliant, and a badass, and scary good at her job. Someday, everything will be like this, and we will wonder what the big deal was.
* On to other general thoughts. It is easy to forget that Mozzie is a brilliant criminal too, even after the whole deal with the treasure, because he's played as the funny man, but this episode reminds us again, right at the start: all because Neal's (temporarily?) on the straight and narrow, it doesn't mean that's where Mozzie wants to be. Neal's thinking a bout getting a job, a real job, having a legit life, if his sentence is up, and Mozzie's here encouraging him to go back to stealing things. Sigh.
* The entire subplot with El's parents coming out to visit is cliche but still hilarious, but it gives us so many classic moments. For example:
But it's scenes like that with Neal and Peter, just being friends, talking about concerns, shooting ideas back and forth, being hilarious, that would keep me watching this show even if everything else sucked.
* Rewatching this to blog my thoughts, I really REALLY don't care about the crime-of-the-week. The whole scene with Neal and Sara at the bad guy's apartment could add extra depth to Sara's character, but I just can't make myself care about her.
* THAT CREEPY DOLL. El's facial expression as she goes in to the kitchen to show Peter the doll is PRICELESS. I never thought I'd see Tiffani Thiessen in something that made me love her, but Elizabeth Burke has done it.
* Of course Mozzie watches cat videos on the internet. Also in the suspension of disbelief category, though, how quickly Elizabeth and Peter welcome him back into their lives despite the fact that he was the one who really stole the treasure and blah blah blah. Whatever, I would have been super sad if they had written Mozzie out or turned him into a complete bad guy or something. His interactions with the Burkes are just too good to pass up.
* Diana and Neal don't always get a lot of on screen time together, but when they do, it's usually pretty poignant. She doesn't trust him the same way Peter does, but there's something there, and I loved their conversation in the van. It was about Diana's feelings about Christie proposing, but it also could very well be about Neal's feelings towards getting his anklet off, and it's brilliant.
* Kramer's reappearance is interesting and foreboding for the end of the season. I really doubt that they're going to let Neal out of his anklet, so something has to happen to keep him in. (I think Matt Bomer has even said that without Neal on the anklet, there is no show.) I just hope he doesn't mess up the dynamic with Diana, since it seems like he's going to try to use her to get to Neal.
* Is anyone else watching Smash? I have feelings about it. I really don't like how the show is basically pitting Kat McPhee vs. Megan Hilty (whatever their character's names were). Is it too much to ask to have a show where the female leads aren't in competition with one another? I mean, I know it's a show about theater, so it's sort of inevitable, but for some reason, that aspect is turning me off. From the promos, it felt to me like McPhee and Hilty were playing two different roles in the musical, not competing against one another. I was really turned off by creepy director Jack Davenport doing the late-night-casting-call-on-the-director's-couch thing to Kat McPhee's character. Again, it's theater and I'm sure this is something that still happens, no matter how gross it is, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it, and I'm really hoping that McPhee's character doesn't fall for it. I was entertained by her relationship with and the scenes with her parents, even if they were sort of cliche. They reminded me in a way of my relationship with my own parents -- not their concerns about me being a starving artist, since I've sold out to The Man, but their worry about me being in a big city all by myself. I think what it boils down to is that I'll need a few more episodes of the show to really sell me on it. It's very nicely directed and put together and with plenty of great actors but the writing was a bit unfulfilling and cliche a lot. The music parts are fantastic and I'm such a sucker for that stuff that I may continue watching a show I am otherwise meh about because of the musical numbers, and also because at heart I always wished that I'd had the personality to make it as a theater person.
* And for White Collar. .
* The crime of the week was pretty convoluted and seemed shoehorned in as an excuse to get Hilarie Burton back on. Neal was really not necessary for Sara's investigation, but there he is anyway. I appreciate Sara more whenever she and Neal are not together -- I enjoyed her first appearance, but liked her less and less as they inevitably moved towards hooking her up with Neal. She was more tolerable this episode and I wouldn't mind if she and Neal just stayed friends. I would not be sad to see her go once this season is up, but of course I don't know what her contract calls for.
* Can we also pause to take a minute to talk about how great Diana is? She's an out lesbian, person of color, and it's not a big deal. The important part is that Diana is brilliant, and a badass, and scary good at her job. Someday, everything will be like this, and we will wonder what the big deal was.
* On to other general thoughts. It is easy to forget that Mozzie is a brilliant criminal too, even after the whole deal with the treasure, because he's played as the funny man, but this episode reminds us again, right at the start: all because Neal's (temporarily?) on the straight and narrow, it doesn't mean that's where Mozzie wants to be. Neal's thinking a bout getting a job, a real job, having a legit life, if his sentence is up, and Mozzie's here encouraging him to go back to stealing things. Sigh.
* The entire subplot with El's parents coming out to visit is cliche but still hilarious, but it gives us so many classic moments. For example:
NEAL'S FACE
I come from a family of stare-ers, Peter. Get used to it.
Even Satchmo isn't exempt.
But it's scenes like that with Neal and Peter, just being friends, talking about concerns, shooting ideas back and forth, being hilarious, that would keep me watching this show even if everything else sucked.
* Rewatching this to blog my thoughts, I really REALLY don't care about the crime-of-the-week. The whole scene with Neal and Sara at the bad guy's apartment could add extra depth to Sara's character, but I just can't make myself care about her.
* THAT CREEPY DOLL. El's facial expression as she goes in to the kitchen to show Peter the doll is PRICELESS. I never thought I'd see Tiffani Thiessen in something that made me love her, but Elizabeth Burke has done it.
* Of course Mozzie watches cat videos on the internet. Also in the suspension of disbelief category, though, how quickly Elizabeth and Peter welcome him back into their lives despite the fact that he was the one who really stole the treasure and blah blah blah. Whatever, I would have been super sad if they had written Mozzie out or turned him into a complete bad guy or something. His interactions with the Burkes are just too good to pass up.
* Diana and Neal don't always get a lot of on screen time together, but when they do, it's usually pretty poignant. She doesn't trust him the same way Peter does, but there's something there, and I loved their conversation in the van. It was about Diana's feelings about Christie proposing, but it also could very well be about Neal's feelings towards getting his anklet off, and it's brilliant.
* Kramer's reappearance is interesting and foreboding for the end of the season. I really doubt that they're going to let Neal out of his anklet, so something has to happen to keep him in. (I think Matt Bomer has even said that without Neal on the anklet, there is no show.) I just hope he doesn't mess up the dynamic with Diana, since it seems like he's going to try to use her to get to Neal.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-10 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-10 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-10 10:29 pm (UTC)I watched the pilot of Smash several weeks back (It was leaked, I think?), and I think it has a lot of promise. Then again, I'm not as familiar with the theatre-related cliches. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go with it.