selenak

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

You might have heard a bit of news that gave me a thrill: the tv series Marvel comissioned from Joss which I was resolved not to believe in until it's actually there starts to look more real by the day, since we now know it's going to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. series. In other words,

samdonne, it's going to be the Nick Fury's People show you longed for after watching The Avengers.

There are no news yet as to which comicverse characters are going to be in it, which is why everyone is speculating. Personally, I'm hoping for my beloved Abigail Brand because Joss created her the last time he was in charge of a Marvel property, and since S.W.O.R.D. doesn't exist yet in the movieverse she has to get her early training somewhwere, doesn't she? I'm also hoping for Maria Hill, of course, though since I hear the actress has other obligations he might have to recast. Natasha sadly is out of the question given she's a hot movie property, and my guess is Marvel will want to keep Sharon Cartner for the Captain America films. But what about Mockingbird?

Here is a Joss interview about all things Marvel, in which he also gives a rare non-joking reply as to his thoughts about now having directed the third most successful blockbuster of all time:

I don't think it's a perfect movie. I don't even think it's a great movie. I think it's a great time, and I'm proud of it, but for me, what was exciting is that people don't go to see a movie that many times unless it's pulling on something from within, unless there's a need there. That's very gratifying.

Now whether like me you loved that movie to bits and watched it multiple times and still can't wait for the dvd or whether you feel the other extreme, that is an excellent definition.

Still Whedon-related, on the question as to whether Buffy should have ended with The Gift or with Chosen, I'm firmly on the Chosen side, and this wonderful meta details why.

****

Another meta link: Why Doctor Who and ST: TNG can be friends. I wasn't aware there is a section of thought who thinks they couldn't. But then, I'm coming to the fandoms from the exact opposite corner than the poster, in that I was a Star Trek fan first (and specifically a TNG and DS9 fan) and only discoverd DW years and years later. (Also I like the Seven era better than she does.) Anyway, these are good and charming observations on both shows.

*****

By contrast, here's something vile. Not the actual post but what it collects to make a (gruesome) point. If you think the Skyler hate on tumblr is bad, apparantly it's even worse on twitter and facebook. Major, major trigger warning for rape and violence, not in the show but in the fannish reaction, but reading this collection of twitter and facebook posts - from this season, not from the start of the show, to make that clear - makes me seriously wonder whether Breaking Bad sets some sort of record of being the best show with the worst (vocal) fans. The introduction gives some spoilers for the first four seasons to create context. Just to get the horrible taste out of my mouth, I'm rewatching the epic Skyler-Walt confrontation scene from 51 now. (Aka why Anna Gunn should join Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as an Emmy winner.) SPOILER for BB, season 5, obviously. (I'd link but then you'd end up with the YouTube comments, which are, again, vile.)

Current Mood: indescribable
Current Location: Bamberg

Skyler White is not one of those characters you fall in love with at first sight. Or second sight. She's not a witty quipper, a female warrior or a morally ambiguous male (though her own moral ambiguity will unfold in the course of the show); when we meet her, she's the pregnant and dominating wife of the main character whom he has to hide things from, read: coming close to the macho male's worst nightmare without being "cool" in a way viewers of either gender can identify with. Why, she even is busy typing a story for her creative writing class while absent mindedly giving her husband a hand job. (The most common summary for the White marriage pre show usually reads "Skyler has emasculated Walt".) And it's not until the last third of the first season that Skyler starts to get scenes outside of the "Walt lies to Skyler"/"Skyler has an inkling she's lied to and investigates" paramater. So no, I'm not surprised Skyler drew hostility. Back when I marathoned the show, I saw her mostly as a commentary on Walter through the first season until, again, the last third, was pleasantly surprised to get more development in the second, but really fell in love in the third. By now, she's become my favourite Breaking Bad character. And the show, which as opposed to certain other shows which started promisingly but then narrowed their focus to one or two main characters and flattened the others (*cough* Dexter *cough*) widened its focus and detailed narrative attention (from which Skyler, Hank, Marie, and various gentlemen in the meth business all benefited), gave me plenty of reasons. Some of the more prominent ones are below the cut.

( How to fall love with Skyler White in six easy steps )

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: Bamberg

Note to self: you already knew not to look at Breaking Bad comments. You have only yourself to blame for breathing fire again. But seriously: "Walt needs a hug! Skyler, you bitch!" as a response to the latest BB episode?!? Rinse, repeat older entry about Skyler hate and how it creeps me out, even more than the usual fandom misogyny. I think I'll do something constructive with my frustration and make a post about how I came to love Skyler White and why Anna Gunn should win an Emmy already. It didn't happen overnight or immediately, but happen it did, and writing a post about why I think she's a great character will be better than hating on the haters and their idiotic, moronic... well, you get the picture.

Helping to wash the bad taste out of my mouth was also this delightful post of silly crossover ideas (Breaking Bad/Buffy, Breaking Bad/Oz, Breaking Bad/Battlestar Galactica, Breaking Bad/The Wire and Breaking Bad/Deadwood). Spoilers for all shows concerned, but if you don't mind that and want a good giggle, have a look.

Two fanfic recs:

Amazing Spider-Man:

Promise not to promise anymore: ( spoilery for the film summary is spoilery but necessary. )

Battlestar Galactica:

Emissary from Another World: The collected diaries of Dr. Gaius Baltar. It's a story from 2009 but I discovered it only now, and am awed. One of the two best post-finale stories I've read, covering about nine years from the time the show ended. I love the way it takes up, argues with and against and with the ideas of the show. I love the characterisations all around, how the relationships are in constant flux (Gaius and Caprica and their ups and downs, but also Gaius Baltar and Lee Adama striking up the least likely yet, because the story takes the time to develop it step by slow step, entirely believable friendship), how past issues still matter (Caprica and Sharon have quite a different attitude towards Laura Roslin to both each other and to how the colonials see her; Felix Gaeta is very much present in Baltar's thoughts throughout) , how the new characters are as interesting as the ones we know from the show (seriously, this story has one of the best OCs I've seen in the form of Lee's wife, who is... you'll find out), and how people are layered and complicated and screwed up but never quite lose hope but continue trying.

Current Mood: restless
Current Location: Bamberg

So I checked out various reviews of the current Breaking Bad season among the main stream media, and the reviews themselves are fine, but the comments, ugh, the comments. The Skyler hate is incredibly disturbing. Mind you, I’m no longer surprised by this; I’ve been in fandom for too long to be surprised by hate for a female character who makes the male character frequently look uncool. But it’s still very upsetting to read people wishing Skyler dead or calling her names. Even more so since Skyler, like Gwen Cooper in Torchwood, proved to be one of those characters who snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking, whom I started out indifferent towards, started to like in their respective second seasons and now love. In fact, you could say that Skyler has become my favourite character, though it’s a neck to neck race as the ensemble quality proved so good. Anyway, this is why Skyler hate makes me a sad panda even more than it would on general principle.

In this new interview with Anna Gunn, she’s even asked about this by the interviewer and says:

Sometimes . . . [pauses] I’ve been told particularly, how do you say . . . non-flattering or just really vicious – you could use the word vitriolic – angry stuff about Skyler, or about other female characters on other shows. The hatred and the vitriol and the venom and the nastiness and the attacks are so personal sometimes that it feels like, "Oh gosh, OK, I get that you don’t like Skyler, you like Walt, you’re on his side, but it just feels different." I don’t feel like that stuff would be written about a male character. Honestly, Skyler is sometimes the biggest impediment to Walt doing whatever he wants. For the people who love Heisenberg, who love the badass Walt, when Skyler says, "No, you shouldn’t do that," they’re like, "What is her deal!? What’s wrong with her?" [Laughs] I can understand that. I can. But having looked at articles that cite other female characters being attacked like this, I find it disturbing just in terms of a cultural phenomenon. I'm not saying everyone who's into the show and has an opinion is like that, but I feel there's an element of that in there, and it's an interesting gender issue. I'm glad that people are talking about it.

It’s a great interview in general, which also contains this paragraph about the Skyler and Marie relationship:

Despite the humorous side of their relationship – well, humorous to the audience – where Marie nitpicks and pokes at her sister all the time, I don't think Marie means to do that. They both really love each other. Betsy [Brandt] and Vince [Gilligan] and I have discussed this: "Where's their family?" You never hear about the rest of the family, the mom and dad, at all. We made the assumption that we did not have a particularly happy or easy childhood, and that led to the two of us sticking together, because they're very close. For actors, you've gotta sometimes fill in your backstory. At least that's what I did, very specifically – that I needed Marie, and I love her, and I know she doesn't mean ill.

And now I’m even more upset with Walt for doing what he did in the last episode re: Marie and Skyler, but that’s the good kind of upset, because the story means me to be. *glares in the direction of Skyler haters*

Current Mood: cranky
Current Location: Bamberg