Hulu is crying wolf again

[annavere]

I think I'm basically done with Stargate Atlantis for now. It's maintaining its entertainment quality and showing a willingness to mess with the status quo and I actually care about the characters a great deal - what they've done with Ford has given him a very interesting and sad arc, and if there's one thing I've discovered from the current discourse about Doctor Who, it's that I really enjoy tragic-heroic storytelling, where doing great things comes with a terrible price and yet those things are done anyway. I like doomed soldiers, ergo I actually liked the Donna storyline even to its former conclusion, and liked the Rose storyline until RTD decided to paste on a happy ending and am now fascinated by poor broken Ford trying to prove himself even as he descends into madness. It's not really a right or wrong reaction, and it feels pointless to elaborate because it's like preferring chocolate or vanilla and here I am choosing coffee over both.

I'm looking forward to continuing SGA, but since I don't want to be paying for Hulu forever (which at the pace I watch TV, is all too likely), I'm adding it to my DVD wishlist instead and turning my focus to other stuff which I haven't made up my mind about yet.

Another expiring notice, this time for White Collar, whose first episode was extremely rote and failed to keep my interest. So I finally watched the second half of the two parter and it was a lot better. Liked both leads more, appreciated the happy marriage, the Kate storyline looks a little more interesting than first glance and the jokes were less over the top and better integrated into the world. I want to compare it to The Blacklist, only for white collar crime - and actually good, though being better than The Blacklist is a low bar to clear.

Went Christmas shopping and discovered my local used bookstore has a well hidden DVD shelf, which is an exciting development. I grabbed a nice copy of Roman Holiday for myself and will hope for some nice TV shows to get liquidated there as well.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

Makes sense about SGA. And I think WC reached its high point in S2 (not coincidentally after the Kate storyline changed) so I think there's better to come.

[annavere]

I've noticed an uptick in YT videos talking about collecting physical media. I'm a person who never stopped, but after some of the streaming services started refusing to air completed seasons, I think it got people worried about future availability. In addition, for me, I don't have the fastest internet connection, so if I want to see a show in high definition, DVD is the way to go. And if I still like a show after a season+ (the + is important because some shows get drastically retooled in the second season) - well, there are a lot of others waiting their turn! So yeah, switching out SGA for something untried is just good sense at this point.

Also, I know binging is very popular, but even when I have extra time for it, I generally don't enjoy consuming shows like that. I tap out at two 45 minute episodes a day pretty consistently. More feels like cramming for a test.

[killabeez]

I struggled a bit with White Collar because of...weird aside...the art. Neal is supposed to be an art forger, and a huge part of the appeal of a show like this (basically any con artist/heist formula) for me is hyper competency. But they never asked anyone who knew a SINGLE thing about art to consult, and it shows, painfully.

I sympathize so much with my friends who are lawyers, cops, doctors, nurses, etc.—TV is always challenging when it comes to accuracy in those fields. It's rare that my particular job is represented in TV, and when it is, it's often done pretty well (Mad Men, etc.) so it was jarring in this case. Fandom convinced me to stick with it, and I was glad I did, despite that repeated tripping point.

May I share this delightful, largely non-spoilery fanvid? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxYtbnWDxB4

Edit: and also, one of my favorite things on the internet ever, from back when WC was first airing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7HtBy9cwfs

[annavere]

That's a very good point, about the art. It's a shame they didn't go the extra mile - I bet it would have helped their plots feel less by numbers. Not being an expert, it's still been noticeable to me that the cases of the week feel very light on detail. That explains a lot!

I'm definitely not watching this show for the cases, and on that note, 'Let's Misbehave' was the perfect choice of song for this fandom. Thank you for the double shot of happiness today.