Ausiello from TV Guide was at the BSG panel at the Museum of Television and Radio last week, and he had a little write-up online, including talking with the panel afterwards. An excerpt: "I ended the evening chatting up a tipsy McDonnell, who gushed endlessly about Galactica fans and admitted she can't wait to attend Comic-Con next month. Gods love her."
Hee.
Caro, could you email me your address? I don't think I've mailed you anything since you've been in LA, so I don't have it. (I might be only a month late!)
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
I had my first Austin City Limits taping today (although I didn't have to stay for the taping proper); watching the rehearsal was pretty fun, but the interns don't really have much to do. At 32 seasons, this show is a fairly well-oiled machine. So now I'm just doing homework for my archaeology class, which, I know it's a summer class and is therefore condensed, but there's a wee bit too much reading (and if I'm saying that...). Let's just say that I'm glad it's only for a month, although I am really enjoying the class and it's definitely interesting.
I can't remember if I had posted/told people about the fact that Roommate moved out. She's doing an internship in LA this summer, and then informed me that she wanted to live by herself next year. Apparently, I wasn't silent enough. (Read: completely.) But UT Laura is moving in with me at the end of August, so that should be fun. In the meantime, I'm living by myself for the first time ever, and it's been mostly cool.
Except for last night, when my cell phone rang three times at 2am. Each time, the caller id came up as "Restricted," and I don't know what that means, but it's terrifying since instead of ringing The Final Countdown, it rings this harsh, loud, insistent ring that freaks me out when it occasionally does it once or twice a month in the day time. In the middle of the night, three times in a row (I kept opening the phone and closing it to hang up) on 6/6/06, and I'm all alone? I got freaked. And the front part of my brain is telling me that I'm dumb, that it's either a prank or a persistent wrong number, and everything's locked up and I'm fine. The lizard part of my brain decided that the restricted phone calls were coming from inside the apartment, and I had to turn off my white noise machine and my fan and go to my bedroom door to listen and see if anyone were in the main living space, but the air conditioner was on and I couldn't hear anything. So, I kid you not, I got down to look underneath the door to see if I could see movement, or shadows passing through the crack of light. Nothing, so I finally got into bed, deciding I was being an idiot, and that's when the phone rang the third time.
I turned it off, opened my bathroom door so I could see the night light, and laid on my back and stared at the bedroom for the next half-hour or so until I could finally fall asleep. As always, the next day it feels idiotic in retroscpect, but it was NOT FUN last night, at all. Stupid cell phone.
To conclude this post on a somewhat more upbeat note, thanks to the person who uploaded all the Martha/Aaron scenes on YouTube. Oh, YouTube, how I love you.
I can't remember if I had posted/told people about the fact that Roommate moved out. She's doing an internship in LA this summer, and then informed me that she wanted to live by herself next year. Apparently, I wasn't silent enough. (Read: completely.) But UT Laura is moving in with me at the end of August, so that should be fun. In the meantime, I'm living by myself for the first time ever, and it's been mostly cool.
Except for last night, when my cell phone rang three times at 2am. Each time, the caller id came up as "Restricted," and I don't know what that means, but it's terrifying since instead of ringing The Final Countdown, it rings this harsh, loud, insistent ring that freaks me out when it occasionally does it once or twice a month in the day time. In the middle of the night, three times in a row (I kept opening the phone and closing it to hang up) on 6/6/06, and I'm all alone? I got freaked. And the front part of my brain is telling me that I'm dumb, that it's either a prank or a persistent wrong number, and everything's locked up and I'm fine. The lizard part of my brain decided that the restricted phone calls were coming from inside the apartment, and I had to turn off my white noise machine and my fan and go to my bedroom door to listen and see if anyone were in the main living space, but the air conditioner was on and I couldn't hear anything. So, I kid you not, I got down to look underneath the door to see if I could see movement, or shadows passing through the crack of light. Nothing, so I finally got into bed, deciding I was being an idiot, and that's when the phone rang the third time.
I turned it off, opened my bathroom door so I could see the night light, and laid on my back and stared at the bedroom for the next half-hour or so until I could finally fall asleep. As always, the next day it feels idiotic in retroscpect, but it was NOT FUN last night, at all. Stupid cell phone.
To conclude this post on a somewhat more upbeat note, thanks to the person who uploaded all the Martha/Aaron scenes on YouTube. Oh, YouTube, how I love you.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Inspired by Catherine, here is my list of my favorite 10 episodes of television, in alphabetical order.
1) "Afternoon Delight," Arrested Development
I know I've said this before, but I have never laughed harder probably in my life than when we see George Michael at Ann's family's Christmas party. That scene alone would have put this episode on the list, but the rest is hilarious as well, with the best mix of puns, slapstick, carefully disguised vulgarity, and a heartwarming lesson to be soon forgot.
2) "Day Five: 4pm-5pm," 24
After spending a week filled with terror about the absolute certainty that Aaron was going to die in the motorcade attack, not only did he not die? He, like, shot a million people including blowing up a flamethrower fuel tank. And then Martha petted him. And then I had to go have a lay-down.
3) "Deep Down," Angel
This episode takes the cake as best television viewing experience ever. Season premiere, I'm watching it with Caro, we're both unspoiled. And it was just spectacular. Wesley finds Angel's coffin on the bottom of the ocean! He feeds him! A cage in his closet! Sleeping with Lilah! I think we shrieked, absolutely shrieked, two or three times.
4) "Fool for Love," Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike was my favorite character, and this was his origin story. It was lush and mythic and funny and sweet and pathetic and hot. If I had to show people a single episode of BTvS to epitomize the whole show, I'd probably show "Hush" or "Passion" or "Graduation Day." But if I had to show one episode from Buffy that demonstrated what this genre as a whole is capable of, I'd choose this one.
5) "Grave Danger," CSI
The highly awesome Tarentino-written and directed season finale, I watched the whole two hours first perched on the edge of my seat and then standing in front of the TV. I cried off and on throughout, until we got to the last ten minutes or so, and when Grissom finds Nicky? "Hold on, Pancho!" That's when I sobbed.
6) "Je Souhaite," The X-Files
Aw, what is there to say? I don't know of anyone who doesn't love this episode. I always secretly liked the funny, wacky eps best, and this is the best of them. Oh, Mulder. I'm fairly happy, too.
7) "Kobol's Last Gleaming Parts One and Two," Battlestar Galactica
I've probably watched this two-parter ten times already. About half a dozen season-long plots collide together in a glorious, mythic, painful mess. It's all about fate vs. free will, how one subverts the other and vice versa, and when Boomer looks up at the end and realizes what she's done, the show goes someplace I don't think I've ever seen television go.
8) "Objects in Space," Firefly
For me, this is the episode that makes me mourn for what this show could have become. Because here's when everything finally clicked into place, the characters and Serenity and the mythos of the show and the tone and all of it. "Are you Alliance?" "Am I a lion?" "What?" "I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well, though - I have a mighty roar." "I said 'Alliance.'" "Oh. That's weird."
9) "The One with the Embryos," Friends
The quintessential Friends episode. "What is Monica's pet peeve?" "Animals dressed as humans." "That is correct."
10) "Post-Modern Prometheus," The X-Files
My favorite episode of XF. My favorite episode of TV. The end, full-stop.
1) "Afternoon Delight," Arrested Development
I know I've said this before, but I have never laughed harder probably in my life than when we see George Michael at Ann's family's Christmas party. That scene alone would have put this episode on the list, but the rest is hilarious as well, with the best mix of puns, slapstick, carefully disguised vulgarity, and a heartwarming lesson to be soon forgot.
2) "Day Five: 4pm-5pm," 24
After spending a week filled with terror about the absolute certainty that Aaron was going to die in the motorcade attack, not only did he not die? He, like, shot a million people including blowing up a flamethrower fuel tank. And then Martha petted him. And then I had to go have a lay-down.
3) "Deep Down," Angel
This episode takes the cake as best television viewing experience ever. Season premiere, I'm watching it with Caro, we're both unspoiled. And it was just spectacular. Wesley finds Angel's coffin on the bottom of the ocean! He feeds him! A cage in his closet! Sleeping with Lilah! I think we shrieked, absolutely shrieked, two or three times.
4) "Fool for Love," Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike was my favorite character, and this was his origin story. It was lush and mythic and funny and sweet and pathetic and hot. If I had to show people a single episode of BTvS to epitomize the whole show, I'd probably show "Hush" or "Passion" or "Graduation Day." But if I had to show one episode from Buffy that demonstrated what this genre as a whole is capable of, I'd choose this one.
5) "Grave Danger," CSI
The highly awesome Tarentino-written and directed season finale, I watched the whole two hours first perched on the edge of my seat and then standing in front of the TV. I cried off and on throughout, until we got to the last ten minutes or so, and when Grissom finds Nicky? "Hold on, Pancho!" That's when I sobbed.
6) "Je Souhaite," The X-Files
Aw, what is there to say? I don't know of anyone who doesn't love this episode. I always secretly liked the funny, wacky eps best, and this is the best of them. Oh, Mulder. I'm fairly happy, too.
7) "Kobol's Last Gleaming Parts One and Two," Battlestar Galactica
I've probably watched this two-parter ten times already. About half a dozen season-long plots collide together in a glorious, mythic, painful mess. It's all about fate vs. free will, how one subverts the other and vice versa, and when Boomer looks up at the end and realizes what she's done, the show goes someplace I don't think I've ever seen television go.
8) "Objects in Space," Firefly
For me, this is the episode that makes me mourn for what this show could have become. Because here's when everything finally clicked into place, the characters and Serenity and the mythos of the show and the tone and all of it. "Are you Alliance?" "Am I a lion?" "What?" "I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well, though - I have a mighty roar." "I said 'Alliance.'" "Oh. That's weird."
9) "The One with the Embryos," Friends
The quintessential Friends episode. "What is Monica's pet peeve?" "Animals dressed as humans." "That is correct."
10) "Post-Modern Prometheus," The X-Files
My favorite episode of XF. My favorite episode of TV. The end, full-stop.
Saturday, June 3, 2006
Ladies, THIS is why when you're out and about by yourself, you don't wave or smile or, gods forbid, talk to strange men who talk to you. Ninety-nine times some stranger might decide you're a bitch, but just one time is all it takes.
OH MY GOD SOMEONE FLY DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE.
Follow up.
*hides under bed*
OH MY GOD SOMEONE FLY DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE.
Follow up.
*hides under bed*
Thursday, June 1, 2006
TV! First things first, remember when I posted that if Aaron got his own freeze-frame, name to the side, previously, that it would make my life? Remember? The life, she is made, and I don't know what else to do from now on. It was very exciting to get to watch that at home with the fam, but unfortunately it didn't occur to me while my mom was taping it that she would retain possession of the tape, so I am downloading a torrent of the finale now so's I can watch it again.
Was I the only person that liked the Will and Grace finale?
(I wish I could do bullets. It would make my lists neater.)
So, like always, it would be cool if the shows that I really liked got Emmy recognition, but I usually resign myself to the fact that it's never going to happen. Except that this year, SciFi is doing a ridiculous push for Battlestar Galactica, including taking out tons of ads in the trades, as well as putting a DVD in with the H'wood Reporter with the Pegasus/Resurrection Ships 1&2 (the best eps of the show) three-parter in their entirety, and sending out the entire second season on DVD for screeners. And there's another MT&R event, this time in NY, just a few days before the show picks up its Peabody Award. I'm allowing myself to get moderately yet vaguely hopeful, which is a short step up from generally pessimistic, as I want to wait and see what the coming month brings buzz-wise. It was heartening to see TV Guide put the show, Olmos and McDonnell on their dream ballot for this year, though (which is slightly tainted by the inclusion of Grey's Anatomy, but I have good selective reading).
Speaking of BSG, the track listing with samples went up for the season two soundtrack. Oh, "Allegro," you will be mine in a few short weeks.
Laura and I watched a fair bit of CSI S1 over the mini-break, and it's amazing how only six years ago, the cell phones were so much more gigantic and bulky. It's nice to know that all our R&D isn't going into space travel, or alternate fuels, or curing diseases, but instead into making cell phones increasingly tinier and crammed with more useless functions.
TV out.
Was I the only person that liked the Will and Grace finale?
(I wish I could do bullets. It would make my lists neater.)
So, like always, it would be cool if the shows that I really liked got Emmy recognition, but I usually resign myself to the fact that it's never going to happen. Except that this year, SciFi is doing a ridiculous push for Battlestar Galactica, including taking out tons of ads in the trades, as well as putting a DVD in with the H'wood Reporter with the Pegasus/Resurrection Ships 1&2 (the best eps of the show) three-parter in their entirety, and sending out the entire second season on DVD for screeners. And there's another MT&R event, this time in NY, just a few days before the show picks up its Peabody Award. I'm allowing myself to get moderately yet vaguely hopeful, which is a short step up from generally pessimistic, as I want to wait and see what the coming month brings buzz-wise. It was heartening to see TV Guide put the show, Olmos and McDonnell on their dream ballot for this year, though (which is slightly tainted by the inclusion of Grey's Anatomy, but I have good selective reading).
Speaking of BSG, the track listing with samples went up for the season two soundtrack. Oh, "Allegro," you will be mine in a few short weeks.
Laura and I watched a fair bit of CSI S1 over the mini-break, and it's amazing how only six years ago, the cell phones were so much more gigantic and bulky. It's nice to know that all our R&D isn't going into space travel, or alternate fuels, or curing diseases, but instead into making cell phones increasingly tinier and crammed with more useless functions.
TV out.