I had lots of fun writing my previous series, Audiovisual Summer of Doom, so I decided to write a similar series for the fall season.
Also, despite my ego taking a massive beating recently, apparently it is strong enough to make me believe anyone cares about what I have to say. Whatever.
I will be extremely busy in the next month, so I’ll try to post as regularly as possible (meaning, I’m not sure how often I’ll post, but I’ll try to make it a weekly thing).
So, let’s do this!
Warning # 1: By reading this, you might die of chronic boredom.
Warning # 2: It will be infested with spoilers.
Warning # 3: My stupid opinions are just that – stupid opinions. If at any point they seem patronizing, then… what? They are stupid opinions. Just ignore them and move on.
Warning #4: Yes, I copied the warnings from Audiovisual Summer of Doom because I was too lazy to write new warnings.
In this installment: Models, Weirdoes, Dancers, and Bloodsuckers. By the way, I was going to review the brand spanking new Melrose Place but I just can’t bring myself to watch that thing.
Fringe season 2 premier
The cow is back! Woo!
I won’t comment much about this episode in general because I thought it was good. The team is getting proactive, Walter is as crazy as ever… It’s all good.
But there’s something about this episode I’d like to comment about: The Charlie situation.
Olivia’s partner, Charlie (played by Kirk Acevedo) has become quite a beloved character. The love factor is increased tenfold by the fact that Kirk Acevedo is a Brother (as in, he was in Band of Brothers). So when rumors started circulating about Charlie being killed off and Kirk Acevedo getting the boot, the screams of protest plagued (in text form) every corner of the web. Even I went all Mary Murphy and yelled “YOU DO NOT KILL A BROTHER! NO YOU DON’T!”
Well, Charlie’s “death” occurred in this episode and it wasn’t so bad. But whoever leaked information about Charlie’s death is an idiot. His death, or to be more specific, the death of the Charlie from Fringe’s main reality/universe, could have been a very surprising twist, sort of like a slap across the face. Instead, it was totally expected. That being said, I liked the idea of Charlie being killed and “duplicated” by a shape shifter super soldier from another reality. At least we still have Kirk Acevedo as one of the baddies, and also as the scarred alter Charlie (or, as the fans call him, “Scarlie”). But if it turns out Kirk Acevedo will be kicked out of the show permanently and replaced by that new silly FBI agent, I’m all for some serious boycotting.
By the way, the shape shifter’s shifting was outstanding.
Eew…
When it comes to shape shifting on the tele, the usual thing to do is to use morphing. But in this case, the guy deforms his own face with his hands, shoves a metal contraption into his palate, does the same to his victim, and proceeds to “shock” himself into a new appearance. I think this is a pretty innovative approach to something done before countless times. And on the plus side, the first transformation occurred in a living room while an episode of The X Files was on a TV. Silly people…
In conclusion, this episode was a good season beginner. Oh, how I’ve missed my weekly fix of all things crazy.
About So You Think You Can Dance…
For this fall series I’ve decided not to review So You Think You Can Dance and its Canadian counterpart. I’ve already made it abundantly clear that I love the Canadian show and I think that despite featuring incredible talent, the American show is firmly starting to jump the shark.
Instead, I’ll post my favorite dances of the week (if I find video for them). So —
Here are the dances of the week:
So You Think You Can Dance is currently airing its boring audition episodes so the videos for this week come from Canada.
SYTYCD Canada began a while ago, so I’ve chosen a routine from episode 6 (afro jazz) and episode 12 (house). Enjoy!
The Beautiful Life (TBL) – Haven’t we seen this before?
…a blond Gilmore Girl?
Yes we have! It was called Models Inc., which was a primetime drama that aired in the 90’s and ended up being more like a telenovela than a drama. Models Inc. was the type of show that makes you feel completely ashamed for watching it but you just can’t help yourself; a guilty pleasure, as some might say. And I’m sure The Beautiful Life will be as much a guilty pleasure as Models Inc. was back in the days.
TBL features the same clichés that Models Inc. shamelessly exploited: The innocent farmer girl making it big in the modeling world, the model with a big scary secret, the burned out super model, and the British model with an attitude… TBL is basically a modernized version of Models Inc. but with better production values and set in New York.
The acting is competent enough. But the highlight is Mischa Barton as Sonja, a diva supermodel with a secret daughter and some serious issues. Sara Paxton also does a decent job but she’s so freakishly similar to Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls that It`s almost disturbing. Those two look like twins and they’re both Hispanic, but they’re not related. That’s just too weird.
That being said, I found myself more fascinate with the guest actors than with the main cast.
Oh my Gods, it’s Jaime Murray, Dexter’s psycho pyromaniac ex!
Oh my Gods, it’s Conrad Pla from Regenesis (one of my favorite shows ever)!
Oh my Gods, it’s Nico Archambault, winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 1, and he’s shirtless! Woohoo!
All in all, the show was alright and hopefully it will improve in the coming weeks and not take the creepy melodramatic path Models Inc. took in the 90’s.
The Vampire Diaries
Why are you looking at me like that? I still love you, Redeemer…
I so don’t need romance in my life right now (in any capacity) but I must admit I am mildly amused by this show, which is at its core all about pure teenage hormonal love. And therein lies the only problem I have with it (aside from the cheesy non diegetic music from the pilot’s opening sequence and the very convenient use of fog when the big baddie shows up), which is also the reason why I refuse to watch anything related to Twilight: I hate teenagers. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part I really hate them. I hated being a teenager back in the days. I hated kids my age back in the days. I hate how the majority of teenage behavior is dictated by hormones and not one bit of brain function. Teen comedies can be really fun, but dramas? I don’t think so. Except for Gossip Girl. So the idea of people stuck as teenagers for eternity creeps me out like you wouldn’t believe.
But I saw the pilot and I thought it was alright. The story indulges in a few clichés, and it’s already been made perfectly clear that there was a love triangle between the two vampire brother (played by Ian Sommerhalder from Lost and the very pretty Paul Wesly from Fallen), a love triangle that will come back to life thanks to Elena’s resemblance to the original female component of this triangle; which is totally annoying because love triangles are just SO tiresome. The pilot had its darkish moments but it mostly felt like a supernatural chick flick. But by the end I sort of developed a serious case of morbid curiosity, so I’ll be checking it out again. Hopefully it will find its footing and end up not sucking.
Ha, sucking! Because it’s about bloodsuckers… I’m so lame.
And now, the YouTube video(s) of the week:
Colombian television is plagued with telenovelas, crappy imitations of reality shows, and news reports about Chavez and Correa trying very hard to discredit President Uribe.
But in the early-mid 90’s, there was show that turned everything on its head. It was called La Tele, a show that was merciless in its approach to criticism of Colombian society and normal day-to-day everything; a show that was eventually shut down because of its raw irony, humor, and brutal honesty. Oh, how I wish I could be part of a show like La Tele. I’d donate my left kidney for a chance like that.
Forgive me, English speakers, for the following clips are in Spanish, with no subtitles. They’re part of a special shot in Argentina. So Spanish speakers, enjoy!
In the next installment of Autumn Detritus: House and crazy clowns, some more dancing and hopefully District 9!
Until next time… don’t eat your veggies.