You know how sometimes when you’ve been doing something for a long time, it inevitably starts to make you comatose, even if you love it? This has been the case for me for a while, the offending activity being my Avid studies.
When I got my Avid Certification, I still had 8 units left to finish (only 5 are required for the certification exam). With a March 5 deadline coming my way, I began cramming information and going through all those units as fast as I could.
The comatose episodes (well, it was actually more like sudden bouts of narcolepsy) began about a month ago. I’d be half way through a lesson and suddenly my eyelids would get really heavy. Then I’d open my eyes to find myself in some strange contorted position, or with my head buried in the keyboard, at least thirty minutes after the initial eyelid malfunction. Thankfully no one was around to take pictures. That would have been embarrassing.
The only other time I’ve experienced anything similar was when my dad taught me how to solder electrical wiring and I assembled a light brainwave stimulator.
Yes, I’m a geek.
I used to set the device to alpha or delta waves (I can’t recall), put it on, and pass out for a few hours. Then I’d snap out of it like I’d simply blinked. It was weird.
Anyway, I finished my Avid studies today (Yay for me!). I plan on celebrating by finally watching Inglorious Basterds, Command Performance, and Moon. And maybe I’ll sleep a bit. We’ll see.
Between excessive studding, I’ve managed to make some time for a healthy dose of TV. That’s the advantage of being sleep-deprived and having no social life. So here are a few comments about what I’ve been able to watch lately.
Human Target: The cult of Guerrero
First, watch 5 minutes of the fabulous Jackie Earle Haley talking about Guerrero, the age limit he’s imposed on his daughter to be able to watch his work, and that little known character of his called Freddy. Then, I’ll proceed to bore you to death.
I’d been looking forward to this show since it was first announced. The Idea of having another weekly action show (along with Burn Notice – by the way, Chris Vance’s character is the best shameless super gay Villain ever!), seemed like a dream. And with Mark Valley, Jackie Earle Haley, and Chi McBride as the leads, what could possibly go wrong?
My initial thought after watching the pilot was that the show was too light for being an action show that is not a proper action/comedy show, despite great actions scenes and great character interactions.
Things didn’t get any better for me, the lowest point being the Russian Embassy episode. Then episode 5 aired and I fell in love all over again. The episode had a good balance of action and drama, with a few comedic highlights. I like how Chance’s past has been slowly introduced as the show’s A-plot. Hopefully it’ll turn into a mythology of sorts.
For me, the highlight of the show is Guerrero. The scene where he shocks the guy that was having the tracking anklet removed made me laugh and cry.
Murphy’s Law began as a very light show that got great as soon as it went dark. I think that’s what could potentially happen with Human Target. If it gets a little darker, it will be an awesome show.
SYTYCD UK: Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Charlie and Tommy hotness! And I can’t believe I’m posting a video with Britney Spears music on CHUD.com. Silly me.
The first season of SYTYCD UK, which ended last Saturday, marked a great improvement over the much maligned season 6 of the American version. The new stage design translated much better on a smaller stage and the camera coverage was brilliant; a good variety of styles were represented by the dancers, but most importantly, contemporary dance wasn’t overrepresented; the auditions were reduced to 1 episode, instead of the 457 lethally boring audition episodes the American version force feeds its audience; and the performance and elimination episodes aired on the same day.
Then the finale came and things got a bit dodgy. As with the American version, the judges’ comments progressively became inconsistent and at times insolent, resulting in the overpimping of one dancer and the undermining of the best dancer in the competition.
The winner and runner-up are defined by public vote, and although audiences can’t be told who to vote for, their vote can be swayed by judges’ comments.
So jazz dancer Charlie Bruce, who had a good run on the show with some ups and downs, was crowned the winner; and hip hop dancer Tommy Franzén, the most versatile and consistently great dancer of the pack (who everyone predicted to be the winner) , ended up in second place. So sad…
For series 2, expect more dancers to pay for the judge’s transcontinental inconsistency. Hopefully they’ll learn from the mistakes made in series 1. Yeah, like that’s going to happen…
But overall, it was a good season of great dance. Which brings me to:
Blaze
If you’re a regular CHUD.com reader who happens to be a closet dance lover or if you’re shameless a dance lover and you live in the UK, you have the chance to do something I unfortunately can’t do:
You can go to Blaze, a Hip Hop show starring SYTYCD UK contestants Tommy Franzén and Lizzie Gough. The show starts on March 11 at The Peacock Theater in London.
So yeah, don’t miss the show! You’ll surely have all kinds of fun whilst I’m consumed by envy.
And because this post is too long already, here are a few quickies:
– Why is Fringe being systematically destroyed by Fox? The new episodes better make up for the craptacular load of stand-alone episode from the winter season.
– Caprica is fantastic!
– Despite some initial apprehension, I ended up watching Primeval and fell in love. It’s too bad the new episodes will air next year.
And to finally end this post, here’s a Dolph Lundgren interview:
I sometimes joke about wanting to have Dolph Lundgren’s babies, which is a load of crap because I would NEVER allow a man that big to impregnate me. It would be like signing up to reenact one of the many alien birth scenes from the Alien series with my womb. But I do think Lundgren is a great action star, and he seems like a cool guy too. I’d even go as far as saying he’s one of the most likeable action stars out there. The following interview proves my point. He’s just so cool!
That’s all folks! … For now.