The characters on my list were:

1. Alex Millar (Being Human UK)
2. Hank Schrader (Breaking Bad)
3. Jamie Moriarty (Elementary)
4. Cora Mills (Once upon a Time)
5. Felix Dawkins (Orphan Black)
6. Lix Storm (The Hour)
9. Guinevere "Gwen" (Merlin)
7. Bruce Banner (MCU)
8. Ichabod Crane (Sleepy Hollow)
10. Lucas Buck (American Gothic)
11. Jo Grant (Doctor Who)
12. Ray Carling (Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars)
13. Andrew Wells (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
14. Cameron (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
15. Jack Harkness (Torchwood, Doctor Who)

( Now for whacky adventures caused by questions under the cut! With spoilers for the shows/films these characters are from )

Come up with new years resolutions for 5 different characters.

1.) Merlin from Merlin : Agrivaine's admiring words have been getting to him, so his resolution is not to lie to Arthur anymore. Well, no more than strictly necessary. Well, no more than once a day definitely!  

2.) Amberverse Lincoln from Fringe: new glasses for the frame Peter has so thoughtfully given him are due, but more importantly, given that his old spectacles were quite satisfactory, he has to decide whether Peter was actually trying to make a pass and/or suggest a threesome. His new year's resolution is to have the courage to ask Olivia on her opinion about this.

3.) Lucrezia Borgia after s1 of The Borgias: use her father's currently grateful and sentimental mood to ask for more diplomatic missions instead of being married off again. Although she suspects he'll tell her the one could go hand in hand with the other. Still, it's worth a try, isn't it? 

4.) Grace Florrick from The Good Wife: it doesn't seem fair that Zack got a car out of the parental situation while one little screw up, for which she's heartily sorry, got her grounded. However, she has found the perfect solution. Her resolution is to ask her parents to allow her to become Kalinda's detective assistant in her spare time.  That way, she'll be supervised by someone her parents appreciate and trust, she'll get to see plenty of exciting things, and maybe she can copy Kalinda's wardrobe while she's at it, with the additional pocket money she'll earn as a detective assistant paid by Lockhart & Gardner. 

5.) Gwen Cooper from Torchwood: new ear muffins for Anwenn once she gets back to her and finding out why the hell she ended up with an annoying sexist bloke who makes Owen at his worst look enlightened as her new boss, and in bloody London, no less.  She also wishes she'd have asked Tosh more about her time travel experience, because not only is she in London but she's in the shitty late 80s. She doesn't wonder whether she's mad or in a coma because it's obious she's travelled in time. The only two questions are why, and when she'll locate Jack's friend the Doctor so he'll get her back where she's supposed to be. If that takes too long, there's always the Rift in Cardiff, granted, with the downside she could arrive wherever completely mad, but then again she won't have the murder of one Gene Hunt on her conscience, which looks more and more imminent the longer she stays here. So, her immediate resolution is not to kill her boss (despite old habits), and getting away as fast as she can.



....in other news, happy new year, everyone! May we have a good 2012.

Name the five best "cold open"/teasers (the scene of a TV show before the opening credits)

Tricky to narrow it down to five, as nearly always. However, here are five teasers that definitely made an impression so strong that I can recall them at once when hearing the question:

1) A Tale of Two Cities, season 3 of Lost. Lost of course did good teasers galore, and far more shocking ones, but here's why this one sticks with me even more than the others: ( spoilery reasons ensue. )

2) Samson and Delilah, season 2 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Season 1 ends on a cliffhanger; the teaser starting season 2 resolves that cliffhanger as far as immediate circumstances are concerned but at the same time sets up, in only a few minutes and basically without dialogue, some of the big issues of season 2 (as well as the suspense situation for the season opener) - ( spoilers are still in awe and admiration about that. ) And all of this to the tune of Shirley Manson singing a gospel. It's magnificent.

3) Kobol's Last Gleaming I, season 1 of Battlestar Galactica. Speaking of great music, here Bear McCreary, as he will in the tag scene of part II, brings on his symphonic skills in a big way. The teaser of part I combines several season 1 themes - Boomer's struggle against her Cylon identity and increasing depression, Roslin's Chamalla-induced visions, the relationships between Kara and Lee as well as Kara and Gaius Baltar - in one wonderfully scored sequence. (Sidenote: as a Kara/Lee anti-shipper throughout the show who had really hoped they wouldn't go there I probably had an atypical reaction to a certain scene, but independent from that, I can't deny it was skilfully done.)

4) The Body, season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of Joss Whedon's four most experimental episodes in this show, Hush, Restless, The Body and Once More, With Feeling, which I think are four of the best hours of tv ever, Restless is probably my overall favourite but The Body is the one which affects me most deeply. As a depiction of the immediate aftermath of death, I find it devastatingly accurate, and ( spoilery descriptions ensue. )

5) The Sam Tyler Jacket, Ashes to Ashes season 3, episode 5. I didn't want a "real" appearance by Sam on AtA - he had his own show, you know? - and thus was not disappointed we never got one, but this use of John Simm footage by way of Alex' brain was great and cracks me up to this day; competing with that for my favourite AtA teaser is the "Uptown Girl" sequence, also from season 3, which YouTube won't let me link. I ♥ Alex Drake and her dreams, I tell you.

On the train to Osnabrück, which means time for more ramblings. I've been thinking about why the finale for Life on Mars upset me so much that I fell out of affection (I was never in love, but I liked the first season very much, and while the second one didn't feel as good by comparison, the affection was still there) with the entire series, whereas the finale for Ashes to Ashes, without being perfect, reaffirmed my love (yes, in this case, love) for show and 'verse.

Basically, as most storytelling does, it comes down to buttons pushed, both good and bad, and also the way stories are told. John Simm's performance as Sam Tyler was undeniably fantastic, but LoM was so much Sam's story (probably in the second season Sam's and Gene's), we were so strictly in Sam's pov, Sam was (nearly, there was that one episode where he got to watch some of the team on tv) in every frame, that if you started to lose affection for the character, which in the second season I did, and also, as opposed to most of the fandom, weren't in love with Gene Hunt, there was a problem even before the show finale. Yes, Annie was consistently endearing, but she also was more and more in the background, and (with the caveat I haven't rewatched LoM, and might misremember after years) Chris and Ray never were developed beyond "the nice one and the thuggish one", Gene's sidekicks. (Otoh, Phyllis, as kalypso_v pointed out to me, had more of a presence and argumentative scenes than Viv ever did.) Then came the finale, which to me seemed basically to say ( spoilery things for LoM ) IMO, perspective may differ, etc.

Meanwhile, AtA from the get go was more of an ensemble show, which appealed to me. Not because I didn't like Alex - which I did, and do - but because the older I get the more I treasure shows that give more than one or two characters room to breathe, especially since often a show may start as more of an ensemble show and then narrows its focus until everyone is just a Greek chorus for the leading couple. (See also: Farscape season 4.) I got to know Ray and Chris in ways I never did on LoM, not least because Alex' relationship with them was different from Sam's, especially with Ray, and Shaz instead of fading into the background like I remember Annie doing in s2 of LoM instead gained more profile; while the third season was the strongest for developing Shaz, Ray and Chris, both as individuals and into an OT3, it was a development that started in the AtA pilot and went through the first two seasons as well. Instead of reducing the ensemble to commentators on the leads, AtA actually heightened its ensemble nature, a rarety on tv. In the finale, everyone contributed to saving the day externally and internally. The "friends come through for each other" idea worked for me here when it was ( spoilery for AtA ) If I had to come up with one overall message, it would be:( definitely spoilery for AtA ) Which I found infinitely more appealing, humanistic and, ironic given the circumstances, life-affirming.

Now, of course it's possible to read the finale and the show far differently, and/or get much more objectionable messages out of it (for example: ( spoilery spoil )), just as you can love the LoM finale, interpret as, say, ( still spoilery for LoM ). We all "read" texts, be they books or tv, with our individual filters, needs and rejections, and I might read both shows differently when I embark upon a rewatch. Right now, though, this is how they worked out for me in the end and why.

With shows approaching their finales left, right and center, here are a few not so secret wishes on my part to the show runners:

Ashes to Ashes: you guys have been amazing with the ensemble development, which is one of several reasons why I prefer the spin-off. Keep it up right until the end and give Shaz, Ray and Chris as good a goodbye als Alex and Gene. Speaking of Gene, I'm okay with redeemed, tragically-flawed-yet-heroic Gene Hunt, but please, please, do not, especially after a season that showcased his flaws like no other, including the first of LoM, suddenly pull a "was right all along in everything and is the bestest copper who ever existed!"Gene Hunt. Also, I'm with jesuswasbatman: no Sam Tyler cameo as the grand climax. He's an important part of the backstory, yes, but he's not the hero of this show. Which brings me to Alex, and my ideal ending for her is what I've outlined in the last reviews: ( spoilery ).

The Good Wife: has remained excellent so far, but I have a few caveats. ( Which are spoilery ) Regarding Kalinda, I have no fears, and am game for anything the show comes up, given all they've done with her so far.

Lost: oh, where to start? Instead of a long list, I'll simply say: be magnificent, guys. I don't care whether this includes being partly frustrating as well, because, well, tradition, but I want something splendid for the finale, and I know you can do it. Also, because the internet is like that, look what I found: The John Locke Rap, summing up Locke's life until mid-season 5.




Non-impending tv show finales related links: A hilarious send-up of Christopher Hitchens' autobiography, Hitch-22 : By the early 1980s I had grown tired of the self-satisfied London parochialism that refused to honour me as the greatest thinker of the Far Left, and moved – taking only my first editions of Proust and Rosa Luxemburg – to New York, where I quickly became America's lone moral force against the crass relativism of intellectual pygmies such as Edward Said, Noam Chomsky and Saul Bellow – all of whom have since conceded I was right.

Merlin fanfic rec:

(Possibly not) The End of the World: in which Arthur overslept by fourteen centuries. He blames Merlin. Also Morgana, but mostly Merlin. Especially awesome for the way it uses Gwen, who usually gets the short stick in reincarnation fic, but here plays a crucial part. Choice excerpt: “Wasn’t Lancelot supposed to be looking after you?” asked Arthur as they picked their way down the hill to where the boat was waiting to take them back to shore. “He was. He did. He stopped reincarnating after he and Merlin had words about five hundred years ago,” responded Gwen distractedly, more concerned with not falling over a treacherous tussock in the lingering twilight. “Words?” “I believe the conversation ended along the lines of: ‘Wake me up when you wake Arthur for the Apocalypse and not before.’ </i<

I had an incredibly exhausting day, hence only one link, for those of you who like myself enjoy speculating about the nature of the Ashes To Ashes/ Life on Mars verse, and what Recent Events might mean:

One Grand What Is Really Going On Theory

...because of two links, but I do want to show off the beautiful Ashes to Ashes icon kathyh made for me. Oh Shaz and Ray. Oh amazing Danny Boy scene, how do I love you, let me count the ways.

Now, I also just read a fascinating interview with with Alexander Siddig, aka Siddig El Fadil (whom if you're a DS9 fan like myself you first associate with his role as Julian Bashir), conducted by the novelist Jamal Mahjoub. Both being of Sudanese/English origin, they discuss cultural identity, how their perceptions of themselves shifted through their lives, especially in the 9/11 aftermath (" In terms of my identity, the childhood need to be English no longer exists. And the forcibly adult Arabism, I’m very aware that it’s happening"):

The Accidental Arab

Choice quote, discussing his role in Spooks (in the second season):

JM: Your character in Spooks, Ibhn Khaldun, was quite complex—a reformed terrorist, a freedom fighter now committed to trying to stop the violence. You come across the channel clinging to the back of a train in a very elegant white suit.
AS: That was the beginning of a particular crusade of mine. The first of a series of characters in which I have tried to explore that element of academic Arabs who are disenfranchised by the modern militant wave, whose ideas of Islam have been completely usurped by a much more vocal youth and the various clerics. To me, he represents old Islam, where you can shake someone’s hand or have a whiskey and talk about whatever.
JM: So, a familiarity with the West while remaining rooted in Arab culture?
AS: That character was a godsend, because it enabled me right away to portray various aspects of an Arab man who was readily credible. He came out of a new identity I was looking for, trying to take a snapshot of this guy before he disappears. He was my father. He was your father. He was the father of all the generations that had a liberal upbringing and didn’t make a lot of money.

And a Doctor Who fanfiction link: eledhwen covers the 2009 specials in drabbles, a hundred words for each of them, with her usual brilliance here.

Which, contrary to trailer-raised expectations, wasn't actually a Chris-centric episode, but that's okay.

( Do not go gently into...? )

Another one of my fannish minority things is that I like Ashes to Ashes better than Life on Mars. The fanfic situation for the former is somewhat dire, though, so imagine my delight when I found an entire post full of Ashes to Ashes fanfic recs.

The recent purimgifts exchange has produced some beautiful results, among them:

West Wing:

I'm blushing on the inside: in which Ainsley pwns Josh Lyman.

On open door policy: about Toby and Andrea, who beat Jack Bristow and Irina Derevko for being my favourite pair of m/f exes still carrying a torch.

The Merchant of Venice:

An Unthrift Love: in which Jessica lights candles. Short and beautiful.

On non-fanfiction note, rozk has recently posted two fantastic English versions of poems by Heinrich Heine, one of my favourites. Great to read if you don't know a single word of German and if you're familiar with the Heine originals!


And back to fanfiction:

Merlin:

A Gwen centric OT4 frienship story, on the occasion of the late Tom's birthday.

and arise, a knight: Arthur plans. Gwen helps. Morgana snarks. Post-2.02, has a great working-for-change-for-Camelot theme.

Mending the Wounds: starts directly after the season 2 finale: Gwen, Merlin and Arthur pick up the pieces and try to mend things, not least each other. A story that hits various soft spots of mine - again, working together for the greater good is a big theme; it does justice to the tension between everyone, as well as their affection to each other (Gwen and Merlin, Merlin and Arthur, Gwen and Arthur), and it twists the usual expection by letting Gwen find out about Merlin's abilities first.

Your heart is phosphor: Five times Gwen and Arthur's relationship changed. More post-season 2, and very plausible.