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Farewells serious and trivial
Bad news to wake up to: Michael O'Hare has died. What is it about the B5 cast and far too early mortality? Damn. I remember when some years ago people on my flist started to watch B5 and complained about Sinclair being Kirkian, and I was confused because I remembered him as the exact opposite, and then I did a rewatch and realised where the problem lay: the Sinclair I recalled is the one from about A Flagfull of Stars onwards, when the writing became adjusted to the actor. Very early Sinclair is written more in the action hero vein and O'Hare isn't good at it (while later Bruce Boxleitner will be), but what he is good at conveying is quiet thoughtfulness and gravitas, and later season 1 Sinclair has this. His best performance to me though remains his last as Sinclair: the War Without End two parter in season 3 where Sinclair's story comes to the end that is simultanously a beginning in one of the best and in retrospect utterly sense making plot twists I've seen. Now that the actor is gone, the scene that most haunts me is the one where Sinclair whispers "goodbye, Michael" in part I, and I would post that clip if I could find it on YouTube, which unfortunately I couldn't. There is such affection and sadness in O'Hare's voice that it believes anyone calling him wooden, and the knowledge he'll never see his friend again. I've never felt more like Michael Garibaldi.
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You know, I think I'll stop watching Downton Abbey. I always thought that if something gives you more disgruntlement than viewing pleasure, it's time to get out rather than hang on and complain, and I might have reached that stage, with my inner Jacobin more alert than ever every second a member of the Crawley family is on screen. You know, it's not impossible to sell me on having sympathy for someone of privilege losing their built-on-exploitation home. Gone With The Wind managed it with Scarlett and Tara. You know why? Because by the time Scarlett is in danger of losing Tara, she's not a spoiled 16 years old anymore, works really hard to keep it, and we see her doing said work. (We also see her taking care of her insane father, semi-useless sisters, Melanie who is very willing to share the work but physically weak, Melanie's baby, her son by Charles Hamilton while she's at it, not out of the kindness of her heart - Scarlett is never a kind person - but because there's no one else to do it for her and she's made them her responsibility.) Whereas we've yet to see Mary even once showing a smidgeon of interest in the administration of the estate and doing as much as balancing a ledger. While Robert is walking around with a martyred frown over his money loss (but no attempt to do anything about it) and Matthew complains three times about having to wear the wrong shirt at dinner. I'm so rooting for the house being handed over to the National Trust and the lot of them being gone, I can't tell you, and the show doesn't really mean me to. Meanwhile, Fellowes has split up my favourites, Thomas and O'Brien, and is pitting them against each other, because they're scheming servants (tm), and now that the previous objects of their schemes are gone, he can't think of anything else for them to do, because God forbid there are consequences to what little character development they were allowed to get in the last season during the war. Boo. Hiss. The one thing of academic interest to me is that it occurred to me DA actually offers an answer to something I wondered last when marathoning The West Wing some years ago. Back then, I was reminded that while you get the occasional conservative characters written by liberal writers meant as sympathetic (you also get villains, but really, most of the Republicans showing up on WW weren't but were written as honorable and dedicated as our democratic regulars, notably Ainsley and The Better John McCain in the last season), I couldn't think of a liberal character meant as sympathetic and written by a conservative writer. Well, now I can, because Downton Abbey gave us Tom Branson the socialist (ex-) chauffeur, and Julian Fellowes, a conservative writer, assuredly means him to be sympathetic. Alas, this also shows up Fellowes' weaknesses like a writer like no one's business. I mean, I admit I was charmed by the brother in law alliance with Matthew (these were also the only sufferable moments for Matthew), but the scene with Sybil when they're alone and he says "don't dissappoint me, Sybil" not only reminded me of how badly written Branson/Sybil was the last season but made me suspect Fellowes has no idea of how a working class boy/upper class girl relationship could possibly work beyond vague memories of having once watched Look Back In Anger. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.
Shirley McLaine, when actually given something to do, rose to the challenge and reminded me of having once attended a New Year's show she gave in Munich only a few years ago (singing, dancing, narrating, the stamina of the woman in her 70s is amazing), but I find the Dowager Duchess' quips are getting old and thus I really have no more reason to watch. Beyond spiting the snobbish reviewer from the Guardian some weeks ago, and that's not enough incentive. Life is short. On to other shows! I've heard great things about The Bletchley Circle.
****
Prometheus vid rec: Paradise (Comes At A Prize). Excellent vid focusing on Elizabeth Shaw, David, Holloway, Wayland and the creators. Creepiness, messed up family and created-creators relationships and assorted imagery abounds.
***
You know, I think I'll stop watching Downton Abbey. I always thought that if something gives you more disgruntlement than viewing pleasure, it's time to get out rather than hang on and complain, and I might have reached that stage, with my inner Jacobin more alert than ever every second a member of the Crawley family is on screen. You know, it's not impossible to sell me on having sympathy for someone of privilege losing their built-on-exploitation home. Gone With The Wind managed it with Scarlett and Tara. You know why? Because by the time Scarlett is in danger of losing Tara, she's not a spoiled 16 years old anymore, works really hard to keep it, and we see her doing said work. (We also see her taking care of her insane father, semi-useless sisters, Melanie who is very willing to share the work but physically weak, Melanie's baby, her son by Charles Hamilton while she's at it, not out of the kindness of her heart - Scarlett is never a kind person - but because there's no one else to do it for her and she's made them her responsibility.) Whereas we've yet to see Mary even once showing a smidgeon of interest in the administration of the estate and doing as much as balancing a ledger. While Robert is walking around with a martyred frown over his money loss (but no attempt to do anything about it) and Matthew complains three times about having to wear the wrong shirt at dinner. I'm so rooting for the house being handed over to the National Trust and the lot of them being gone, I can't tell you, and the show doesn't really mean me to. Meanwhile, Fellowes has split up my favourites, Thomas and O'Brien, and is pitting them against each other, because they're scheming servants (tm), and now that the previous objects of their schemes are gone, he can't think of anything else for them to do, because God forbid there are consequences to what little character development they were allowed to get in the last season during the war. Boo. Hiss. The one thing of academic interest to me is that it occurred to me DA actually offers an answer to something I wondered last when marathoning The West Wing some years ago. Back then, I was reminded that while you get the occasional conservative characters written by liberal writers meant as sympathetic (you also get villains, but really, most of the Republicans showing up on WW weren't but were written as honorable and dedicated as our democratic regulars, notably Ainsley and The Better John McCain in the last season), I couldn't think of a liberal character meant as sympathetic and written by a conservative writer. Well, now I can, because Downton Abbey gave us Tom Branson the socialist (ex-) chauffeur, and Julian Fellowes, a conservative writer, assuredly means him to be sympathetic. Alas, this also shows up Fellowes' weaknesses like a writer like no one's business. I mean, I admit I was charmed by the brother in law alliance with Matthew (these were also the only sufferable moments for Matthew), but the scene with Sybil when they're alone and he says "don't dissappoint me, Sybil" not only reminded me of how badly written Branson/Sybil was the last season but made me suspect Fellowes has no idea of how a working class boy/upper class girl relationship could possibly work beyond vague memories of having once watched Look Back In Anger. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.
Shirley McLaine, when actually given something to do, rose to the challenge and reminded me of having once attended a New Year's show she gave in Munich only a few years ago (singing, dancing, narrating, the stamina of the woman in her 70s is amazing), but I find the Dowager Duchess' quips are getting old and thus I really have no more reason to watch. Beyond spiting the snobbish reviewer from the Guardian some weeks ago, and that's not enough incentive. Life is short. On to other shows! I've heard great things about The Bletchley Circle.
****
Prometheus vid rec: Paradise (Comes At A Prize). Excellent vid focusing on Elizabeth Shaw, David, Holloway, Wayland and the creators. Creepiness, messed up family and created-creators relationships and assorted imagery abounds.
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Someone elsewhere suggested that one very good possible ending would be for Bates to actually turn out to be a wife-murdering psychopath; that's my new headcanon. He's released from prison and kills them all in their beds!
The Bletchley Circle, on the other hand, was quite enjoyable and satisfying, although a little OTT by the third hour. You should watch it.
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Off to Bletchley Circle shores.
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Oh man :(
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I watched 3x01 of Downton and I'm willing to give the rest of the season a chance, but I see all your complaints. The Matthew/Branson writing was cute but at some point they've forgotten that Sybil used to have a personality (also, as you say with forgetting how the upper class girl/lower class boy would work, he's really not in a position to be dictating terms to her.)
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Didn't read the spoilers, but Downton sounds like it's getting more annoying than it was in season two. I'm taping the episodes for my folks, but may not end up watching it. I really DISLIKE everyone now.
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