#This is the best episode of television I've ever seen in my whole life | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

benoitblanc · 7 days

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hey arwen, long time no see!! hope you're doing well! 💜

i know nothing about txf besides what i've gleaned from this hellsite which is a) mulder is a lovable idiot, b) scully both loves him (almost against her will??), and c) they literally invented shipping BUT tell me about your top 5 txf episodes!!!

hi mitali i have been EXTREMELY patchy on here lately haven't i lol. local woman appears on tumblr to write ten meta posts about the x files and then disappears again! i'm doing okay; my real life has been kind of chaotic (had to last-minute cancel a trip i have been desperate to go on for years so :/ but! on the bright side it means i get to see my flatmates sooner than i thought and i miss them even though i've been gone from my flat for like a week and a half lol). how have you been???

those are very accurate txf vibes but i will say that scully is a very active and willing participant in being in love with mulder even though he can be very very stupid at times lol. i hope you watch it someday- i think it would be right up your alley! kind of similar doctor who ecological niche of being weird, heartfelt, politically relevant sci-fi with no consistent quality or tone.

ANYWAY. top 5 txf episodes, bearing in mind that i've technically only watched up until the end of the fourth season so far; i'm just a ho for spoilers:

pusher (3.17)... what can i say about pusher that i haven't said already. a lot, probably, because every single day i log on here and i see someone's written new meta about pusher that makes the entire show make more sense. it's just... it's txf distilled to its barest elements. it's about trust and codependency and a supernatural force that is made all the more unsettling by the fact that at its core it is just some guy. it's funny and terrifying and heartfelt all at once. the russian roulette scene changed television

clyde bruckman's final repose (3.04) is also just so txf. darin morgan (the writer) tended to write episodes that were so absurdist they wrapped back around to satirical, but this is far and away my favorite of his because it's not too bonkers. i love coprophages and from outer space especially, but clyde bruckman is a little more grounded, and it manages to be sarcastic and sincere in equal measure. and i love when scully gets to solve the mystery

irresistible (2.13), which is famous for being pretty much the only txf episode where there isn't actually an x-file. and it's SO fucked up. it is hands-down the most fucked up episode of the entire sh- well. besides the episode that they banned from reruns for like a decade for being so fucked up, it's hands-down the most fucked up episode of the entire show

beyond the sea (1.13) and paper hearts (4.10) are thematic sisters so i'm keeping them together. they're both about choosing to move past grief instead of wallowing in it and choosing the future over the past. so what if a criminal says they can give you the answers you've spent your whole life chasing? what matters is that you're at your partner's hospital bedside when he wakes up from an injury, or that you save a little girl's life

right now? probably ice (1.08), because i just rewatched it with my flatmate (who is going through s1 for the first time and is almost as obsessed as i am). it's like if midnight doctor who and the thing had a baby. normally i think this slot would go to duane barry/ascension/one breath (2.05/2.06/2.08) or nisei/731 (3.09/3.10), which are the tightest, tensest episodes relating to the show's overarching mythology

honorable mention goes to elegy (4.22) because the a-plot is a very 90s depiction of neurodivergence and it's not the best-handled thing i've ever seen, but the character showcase of scully in the b-plot gave me fucking brain worms. i cannot stop thinking about it. it's haunting.

also, memento mori (4.14). vince gilligan and gillian anderson you're splitting my therapy bill

ask my top 5/10 anything!!!

#THAT WAS A RAMBLE AND A HALF #anyway as i move forward i think redux ii monday triangle and probably bad blood will be battling it out for some of these slots #but i'm not officially there yet!#thanks so much for asking!!!#answered #*mutuals #*mitali #the x files

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moonsghostwriter · 5 months

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I was listening to Spotify and got the idea for this

Being a singer under Gideon's record label and getting sick of him mistreating you and taking advantage of your fame for his own greediness

(inspired by Season 2, Episode 7 of Helluva Boss where Fizzarolli quits working for Mammon and sings a whole song about it, yeah reader sings that in this)

(I'm so sorry but I actually enjoy fics where the reader sings, unless it's at a cringey time or a really cringey song)

______________________________

You stood in your dressing room as you got ready for your feature on a late night television show as a musical guest. This one was your most important one yet, which meant Gideon—who acted as your manager, but was really the owner the label you were under—was going to be there. You knew he also was the head of some evil league, but that didn't really concern you, though you had met the members several times. You'd really hit it off with Roxy, becoming instant best friends, and she supported everything you did.

However having been working with him for almost 5 years now, you had gotten to your brink of dealing with his abuse and mistreatment. So, tonight you had a very special song prepared for your performance. Roxy was in the audience too to cheer you on, and she was sitting near Gideon so she could watch his reaction for you, knowing you'd want the hilarious details later.

A sly smile spread across your face as you walked onto the stage, watching to the live audience and to the cameras. "Here's [Y/N] with H-" The host read the announcement before being cut off by a stagehand who whispered in his ear. ".. Two Minutes Notice!" The host bit his lip as he read the name of the new song. Gideon leaned forward in his spot, narrowing his eyes. This wasn't the song you two had agreed upon.

"I have wasted time, I have seen my use. I have packaged and sold every part of me, suffered a lifetime of abuse. I have lost myself, I have worshipped at your feet. And here I am standing on top of the world with some bitches to defeat." The song starts and you act out the words, feeling yourself get weak under the pressure if this went horribly, horribly wrong.

"I've played the game, I've won it all. They've screamed my name, they bought the doll. I've seized the day, now I've got one thing left to say, hey, hey! Fuck you! Here's my two minutes notice! Fuck you! Time to quit and smell the roses! Say goodbye, while I look you in the eye and say fuck you!" You sing and dance on stage, still worried yet trying to act confident.

"Jeez, I'd hate to be the guy who that song's about." Gideon says, laughing to himself. Roxy leans back in her chair, looking at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"It's you." She says simply before moving back to her spot and watching you with a smile.

"Yeah, right." Gideon rolls his eyes with a cocky smile, of course he didn't believe Roxy, you loved working with him! He was your idol!

"I have taken shit, been crushed under your heel. I have suffered for profit and suckered for fame, made a fortune you could steal. I've had enough, I've hit the wall. I'm tired of taking your calls. It ends today, now there's just one last thing to say! Fuck you! I wish I'd said it sooner, fuck you! Cut you off just like a tumor! Hope you die! Kiss my ass goodbye, you cuck! Fuck you!" You flip off the audience, spotting Gideon and making sure to look him right in the eyes as you blatantly insult him. He grips the armrests on the chair, fuming with anger as he sits and stares, shellshocked almost at your audacity.

"Have you ever felt sick and tired of doing the same shit everyday with your anger brewing? Eating shit for a boss that you're sick of obeying. If you ever felt the same let me hear you say,

Did you really think I was gonna stay spending life bent over with your fist in my a-? Slander me, say I'll never work in this town, if I stick around I'll be six more feet under the ground! Fuck you! Suck it greedy bastard! You're a stupid ass clown! Say goodbye, too late to apologize! So this is it, Gideon you sad sack of shit! Fuck you!" You finish the song leaving the crowd unsure whether to cheer or be worried, however Roxy was cheering like crazy while Gideon sat fuming in his seat. You smile proudly and leave the stage, going back to your dressing room, not caring Gideon would probably barge in soon to confront you.

He couldn't control you or your passion anymore. You were free, and you were happy

#gideon graves #fanfiction #sillyposting #not super serious tbh #helluva boss #reader is fed up #scott pilgrim #roxy richter #dont take this too seriously

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episodeoftv · 10 months

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Prelims, BoJack Horseman

The top 2 results will move on to the main bracket

propaganda and summaries are under the cut (May include spoilers)

1.11 Downer ending

BoJack embarks on a project in his typically gonzo style, leading to a drug-fueled revelation.

So I see that some other Bojack episodes have submitted AND THEY ARE ALL BANGERS TOO. But I think this one is a bit underrated when it comes to great episodes of Bojack Horseman. A lot of season 1 gets underrated because it starts off sort of hard to watch & the later seasons get so good that it's easy to forget. But Downer Ending really takes my breath away every time I watch it and leaves me with this feeling of despair and unease. And, unlike the later episodes, I have not gotten that despair fatigue that sets in at season 6 (not dissing it! Still a great season.)

4.02 The Old Sugarman Place

BoJack goes off the grid and winds up at his grandparents' dilapidated home in Michigan where he reflects on his family legacy and befriends another soul haunted by the past.

A clever, contained, sharp look at generational trauma and grief. Uses flashbacks but also lets events overlap on screen so that BoJack's family are literally haunting the narrative. Eddie is an excellent single episode character - his duet across time with Honey is properly heart wrenching. It's also very funny. He said his name was Hambone Fakenamington.

4.11 Time's Arrow

In 1963, young socialite Beatrice Sugarman meets the rebellious Butterscotch Horseman at her debutante party.

incredible portrayal of memory and dementia, adds depth to a character who'd previously just been a fairly one dimensional bad mother but becomes a fully realised person over the course of just twenty minutes, some of the best creative use of animation and visuals in an adult animated series

5.06 Free Churro

BoJack delivers a eulogy at a funeral.

The whole episode is one 20 minute monologue delivered by a cartoon horse and it's one of the most compelling things I've ever seen in my life.

6.15 The View From Halfway Down

BoJack reconnects with faces from his past.

Listen... Bojack has a lot of THAT EPISODE episodes, but this one just takes the cake. It's the penultimate episode of the show, in which the main character (SPOILERS) attends a dinner party inside his own mind with every character who has died over the course of the show. They all have deeply philisophical discussions about what it means to live a selfless, morale life, the value of sacrifice, the role of religion in personal fulfillment. Every background detail is packed with so much symbolism, the shape of a chair, the bridge the characters take a smoke break on. It's got an amazing dream-like quality, every small detail like a wire phone stretching too far, things getting misplaced, characters get older and no one comments on it, ect. But this is also the episode that just RIPS into Bojack as a character (which the show is already pretty famous for) but he's forced to face EVERY mistake, and watch all the people he's lost fade into the darkness (all in ways that mirror how they actually died) while trying to confront his own mortality, and coming to the realisation that - he's dying. He's drowning in the pool and this is all happening inside his own head. Everything everyone tells him, the ways they're acting in this episode, that's not who they actually are, those nice things aren't things they'd actually say, it's just what he WANTS them to be like. And at the end he has to stop running from the darkness that's already taken everyone around him, and just let it take him. Stop fighting, just let go. And then, rather than the usual end credits song, we just hear a flatline that runs throughout the credits. It fucks you up so bad.

Takes place entirely in the main character's mind while he's on the brink of death, genuinely terrifying especially considering the rest of the show is a dramedy, some of the greatest voice acting work I've ever heard, the titular poem performed in the episode is incredibly haunting

#bojack horseman #episodeoftv #polls #poll #prelim #tournament poll

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witchofthemidlands · 9 months

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I finally finished Bad Sisters, I found it difficult to watch in places, I’ll be honest & I’m not sure I could have been able to watch it if we, as the audience didn’t know that JP was dead in the beginning, not because of anything wrong with the show but because I found his scenes so uncomfortable to watch. I genuinely think it is one of the best shows I have ever seen. The writing, the story as a whole, the characters, the acting & the music 🤩 everything about it was absolutely phenomenal. The villain was incredibly well written because not only did he make me feel nauseated every time he was on screen. HE WAS JUST A PRICK! There was no tragic backstory, no trying to explain away his behaviour with this reason or another, he was just a DESPICABLE MONSTER & we need more villains like that. The dark humour was so witty & so well executed, some moments i may have to gif because words would never do some of those scenes justice (the chaos of the boat scene, every time they're on the phone to grace wondering if they succeeded)

Bibi Garvey was my favourite, from start to finish I absolutely loved that woman. Her passion & determination to get the job done was everything. The only thing I wish is that there had been more of her with her wife, Nora & their son (I also think Nora should have helped with the plotting 😈). Eva Garvey coming in close second, her love for her sisters, how she would do anything for them & that scene with her & her sisters around the table when they find out what really happened absolutely broke my heart. Grace Garvey unexpectedly became one of my favourites by the end, especially in the last episode 😍 her journey was incredible, i cannot wait to see her in season 2 now that she is completely free of the trash between a racoons toes. I loved Becka Garvey as well, I saw a lot of myself in her but what she did near the end was the only thing I couldn’t really get past even though it was an accident & i do genuinely think poor Minna would have been killed by The Prick. Ursula, I liked her, I really did but for personal reasons I just found it difficult to like her as much as the others.

Honestly what I loved the most about it was that it was so clear that whilst they were planning a murder, it was completely justified, there was NEVER a moment where i thought, ‘oh, this is wrong’ oh no, I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT SOONER! I genuinely think they'd have gotten away with it & all because of how much of a loathsome prick he was which is why the insurance people INFURIATED ME (not matt in the end though because he clearly realised that the guy was an a grade PRICK & did the right thing) because when it came to the murder, the sisters were not bad to me, they were completely in the right 100% of the time because JPrick was disgusting, he was horrible, vile creature, an absolute abomination of a man, they created the most unbearable character I have ever seen in all my years of watching television & I feel so bad now for the rather harsh words I wrote about Claes Bang's acting in a certain bbc show (which i now feel like i should actually finish watching one day) for part of a writing project for my degree because CLEARLY I was wrong about him, he IS a good actor, he acted The Prick in a way that I had to look down at my phone nearly every time he was on screen because the character was that horrific & uncomfortable to watch in the way that he spoke & moved around the sisters, his wife, his daughter, his neighbour & well, everyone he interacted with & I think it’s because I have met people exactly like that character in real life & I have felt the same emotions the sisters portrayed when in the presence of someone like that.

ANYWAY! Bad Sisters is the best show I've watched all year & it deserves all the awards, all the hype & all the praise because it is a masterpiece. ALL THE STARS 🤩🤩🤩

#bibi garvey #eva garvey #grace garvey #becka garvey #ursula flynn #matt claffin #bad sisters #sarah greene #sharon horgan #anne marie duff #eve hewson #eva birthistle #claes bang #kat’s thoughts 🍄

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addictedtostorytelling · 1 month

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Hi, aj!

How are you?

This will be about ER. Who is your favorite character and why?

hi, anon!

i'm well! how are you doing?

honestly, i have a hard time deciding on one single favorite character on er, just because a) there are so many characters i absolutely adore (mark, susan, carter, benton, lucy, and neela among them), and b) my answer tends to change based on the era.

that said, forced to choose, i'd say my all-time favorite er character is abby lockhart.

while certainly there are some parts of abby's storyline i enjoy more than others—i've never really liked any of her canon romances, tbh—in terms of her personality and overall arc, i find her so endlessly compelling.

given what her background is, she reads exactly as she ought to.

she is so real and three-dimensional and dynamic!

watching the way she evolves over the course of her nine years on the show is one of the great delights of er's later seasons for me.

and, of course, maura tierney is such a consummate actress! i can only imagine that had she not been in direct competition with west wing-era allison janney for most of her er career, she probably would have much more major award show hardware on her mantel for this role.

just on a pure character design level, i love abby's wry, sardonic sense of humor; that she is a fellow minnesotan and has that "well, i guess this may as well happen—" kind of fatalistic midwestern outlook; how she occasionally is possessed of a streak of "bored housecat" naughtiness; how deeply she cares about her patients and will go out on limbs for them, oftentimes literally; her complicated relationships with her family members; how steel-trap clever she is; the way she struggles with her self-esteem; how she has to really work to initially find her confidence and speak up but then becomes such a firebrand (and sometimes rebel) in the department; her love for dead flowers; her deadpan comedic scenes; that she has some of the deepest, most fleshed-out female friendships on the show (particularly with kerry and neela); the way she so often self-sabotages and then has to deal with the consequences but always does deal with them, however roughshod the effort; how she gradually overcomes her hard start in life and eventually grows into this really graceful, wise, centered person, both professionally and personally; etc., etc., etc.

i also love that her story isn't a linear one: that she starts and stalls, not only along her path to becoming a doctor but also with her own recovery from alcoholism and her mental health issues; her interpersonal relationships and her struggles with her own self-doubt.

the way she is written is remarkable in a good way.

she is allowed to make mistakes to a degree that few female main characters on primetime television ever are—to fuck up royally and even at times be downright unlikeable—and yet she is also allowed to progress, however slowly and unevenly, and to grow.

to me, her long-in-coming triumphs are that much sweeter and more earned because of her numerous setbacks and failings along the way. you really do travel a wending road with her, and by the time you reach the end of it, the destination is so welcome.

there are multiple abby-centric episodes that are among my favorites of the whole series, including episodes 07x07 "rescue me," 10x12 "nicu," 11x10 "skin," and 14x08 "coming home."

i've said it before, but i have never seen such a well-done character sendoff episode on any series as episode 15x03 "the book of abby," which serves as a bittersweet, beautiful forty-five minute love letter to our much-beloved protagonist as she leaves county general for the last time.

her overall arc is one of the best examples of character development i've ever had the pleasure to watch.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #anon #asks: er #**#my meta #meta: er #meta: abby #let's talk shop #er

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matbaynton · 11 months

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tagged by @baynton thank you!! 💙

8 shows to get to know me better

1. BBC GHOSTS

copying nat here to say that this is also where the mat obsession started 😈 my friend hallie (who i will also be tagging to do this obviously) got me into it and i cannot thank them enough for giving me the brainrot! i've watched this show.... idk how many times now i'm constantly rewatching it but i still laugh (and/or cry) every time. don't think i needed to know how absolutely FERAL and UNHINGED and RABID i was capable of being, i swear i was normal before i saw thomas thorne. i WAS, and no one can disprove that so just believe me 🤡 he is my sopping wet babygirl pathetic chewtoy and i love him.... so much..... and i want to d*e on the button house property and become a ghost more than anything in the whole world. anyway this show is fantastic and it changed my life and there isn't a single bad main character!

2. STRANGER THINGS

not sure if it's because i watched this show the year it came out (and on the night before/night of my 18th birthday, so it ended up being the best birthday i've had in years which is. still true lmao) but it continues to hold such a special place in my heart, and i can't truly explain why. gonna be honest seeing that winona ryder was in it immediately made me want to watch (and i love joyce byers + jopper a normal amount) i'm also really into horror and gross shit and this show really delivers on that sometimes, it's fantastic 🫡

3. THE OWL HOUSE

i don't think i can talk about this show for too long without crying lmao, but for a silly starter: THERE IS SO MUCH GOD DAMN FUCKING PURPLE IN THIS SHOW IT IS VERY PLEASING TO MY EYEBALLS!!!!! i'm a huge blubbering baby when it comes to the found family trope and this show has that! not to mention the incredible lgbt+ rep that truly shocked me to my core. i've also never related to a fictional character more than luz noceda, it's almost unsettling. still haven't watched the finale because i'm in denial about it being over and fuck disney channel for cancelling it.

4. DOCTOR WHO

besides glee and pretty little liars (that i'm surprisingly not putting on this list for reasons) this was one of the first real tv shows i've gotten into. my friend and i stumbled upon it on netflix (back in the ancient times of the early 2010's) she wasn't into it AT ALL but when i went home i immediately started watching the rest of it. i love all of the doctors/companions/eras in so many different ways, and every time i rewatch this show it feels like home <3

5. YONDERLAND

99% of the characters in this show are complete dumbasses and i'm truly here for it,. also seeing mat as so many different freaky sexy characters fixed me made me worse. HOWEVER.... the felt puppets still strike fear into my heart, i've gotten somewhat used to it but i still want to scream and poop my pants whenever i see them.

6. COMMUNITY

as we've established i'm a fan of the found family trope (even the FUCKED UP PROBABLY MENTALLY BAD FOR EACH OTHER kind of found family) besides how funny this show is (and how much i love troy and abed AND WANT WHAT THEY HAVE MORE THAN ANYTHING) it was also the first time i interpreted autism portrayed in a somewhat better way than i had ever seen before on television (of course abed being autistic isn't technically canon, hence "interpreted") but i really appreciated it and the fact that he IS canonically the most mentally stable in the group is incredible and i love it. will NEVER forgive them for making a felt puppet episode though, it haunts my nightmares.

7. SANTA CLARITA DIET

drew barrymore plays a zombie milf and timothy olyphant plays her hot husband who helps her kill shitty people to eat. wtf else do i need to say? it's a masterpiece and i wake up every day hating netflix for cancelling it

8. TOO MANY SPIRITS

YEAH THIS IS A SHOW! I'M COUNTING IT AS A SHOW! i knew i was going to put at least one watcher show on this list because i love these idiots so dearly. i chose too many spirits because the amount of times i've almost (😐) pissed myself from laughter watching these morons get drunk and tell stupid stories is TOO MANY..... spirits! like the name of the show! too many! too many times 🤡 anyway

tagging (no pressure to do it!) @larryrickard @reysorigins @softdavidrose @karura @captainsjack @jugheadscrowns @bejeweledantihero @hannamarins

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deramin2 · 11 months

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Decided to watch one episode of The Bear on Hulu while I ate my dinner. My only knowledge was a couple gif sets I saw on Tumblr and a tidbit about the second season being even better than the first. Keep in mind that PIG (2021) is one of my favorite movies and my family are gourmet home cooks.

I ended up going to bed past 1 am after watching the entire first season in one sitting. It was so fucking good holy shit. Hands down some of the best television I've ever seen. Incredible writing.

The editing is so good and keeps every episode at the frenetic pace of a restaurant kitchen. The dialogue is sharp as knives and just as dangerous. The characters are broken people barely holding their shit together, and often not.

It's about an all-star chef who gives it up to run the family's Chicago beef sandwich shop. The shop was left to him by his brother after he died by suicide (the unresolved trauma of this comes up a lot). It's in financial trouble, the books area mess, they're 30 grand in the hole to a dangerous guy who is also an old family friend, and all Carmy wants to do is fix it in the way he couldn't fix his relationship with his brother.

It's disorganized and dysfunctional. There is a lot of yelling and fighting. Sometimes physically. Everything is intense and on edge all the time.

Everyone is fucking up this restaurant in their own way but all of them love it so much they'd kill for it (including each other). The comedic timing often shows how much they're struggling as they try to pretend the can fix the overwhelming number of things wrong as they desperately try not to turn into the people that hurt them (they're not succeeding but damn do they get up every day trying).

It's about men who don't know how to share their feelings trying anyway. About the fierce contraire of kitchens doing excessive amounts of dangerous work as fast as possible. It's about found and blood family. It's about people fucking up over and over again striving for the day they don't. It is a beautiful human cacophony living and loving and struggling on the edge of human limits. It's about class and labor and dreams so big they swallow you whole.

It's poetry written through sweat and cursing and cigarettes and anxiety medication. It's life jumping out through the screen to remind you how fiercely people can love and all the ways they say it even when they're clashing. I'm going to watch all of season 2 tomorrow and then just sit with it.

#the bear #tv review #media review

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pascalina · 3 years

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The brothers' movie

11/07/2015

They don't use the same last name, but they are siblings. Pedro Pascal (40) the Chilean actor who starred in Game of Thrones and now has a starring role in the Netflix series Narcos, uses his mother's surname because it is easier to pronounce in English. 17 years younger, Lucas Balmaceda Pascal (23), also an actor, debuted in Los 80 and today stars in the TVN series Juana Brava. Here, both talk for the first time about their relationship, their love for cinema and their mutual admiration.

José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal was born in Chile, but a few months later he had to go into exile with his parents and his older sister, Javiera, to Denmark. It was the end of 1975. Thanks to the Rockefeller scholarship granted for his father, the doctor José Balmaceda Riera, a year later they moved to the United States: first they lived in San Antonio, Texas. Life there was just beginning and it was not easy.

Seventeen years later, in 1992, Lucas Balmaceda was born in Orange County, California, into the comfort of a family that was financially in its prime. His dad was at the peak of his career: as a fertility specialist and director of one of the University of California's reproductive health centers. But suddenly they moved back to Chile when Lucas was three years old and his brother Nicolas was eight. The two older ones stayed there. Pedro was already studying drama at Orange County High School of the Arts. Then he went to New York to study theater at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

After a couple of small appearances in TV series, in 2014 he took the big leap in his career: he played Prince Oberyn in Game of Thrones, which made him world famous. Today, he has a starring role in the series Narcos. He is also filming a movie with Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe.

Fame came early for Lucas. After leaving Saint George High School in 2010, he studied theater at the Universidad Católica, and he began to shine: in year fourth, he starred in the theater play "La noche obstinada", by choreographer Pablo Rotemberg, and got a role in the successful television series Los 80 and today, in his last year, he is the co-star of Juana Brava, the new TVN nighttime series.

Scene one:

Lucas appears in Pedro's life

P: "I was 17 when Lucas was born. He was a baby when I left to go to university. I remember my first visit back and Lucas, who was not even two years old, was already the owner of the house. I remember those looks, wanting to tell me: 'I don't know who you are, but this is my house, mate.

To this day I have never seen that personality in another child. It was fascinating to see that wit in someone so small. Since he was a kid he had that fierce intelligence... The four siblings, Javiera, the eldest and the queen of the family; Nicolas, the doctor; Lucas and I are like a compact and consistent unit. I can't imagine life without them".

L: "Pedro was studying at the university in New York when I was born. When he went home for vacations to see the family, as I didn't know him, I thought: 'who is this guest, who is this weirdo who kisses my mother? She's mine!'. Back in Chile, every year Pedro came to visit us. It was the most entertaining thing in the world for me. He was much older and he would come with all the coolness, with all the culture of cinema, with horror movies that were not available here. Then we would watch them and play them out, we would do sketches. We would play that Pedro was a murderous monster and we would escape from him. We were each a character. He was very funny, he did voices, he impersonated people. He gets mad when I tell him, but I've always found that he has a Jim Carrey thing about him, he manages to make some impressive faces. When he came on, I couldn't stop watching him, he was too entertaining. We are all big movie buffs thanks to my dad. When I was three years old, he took my brothers and me to see Batman. I remember crying hysterically. I was very young, sensitive, and being in the cinema was like entering to another reality: loud noises, giant screen. I didn't understand anything.

Scene two

Transplanted

P: "What's Chilean about me and what's gringo about me is a very interesting question, because I don't think even at 40 years old I've been able to figure it out. I was raised and educated in the United States and socialized a lot with American pop culture, but Chilean pride has always been unwavering. My parents were exiled for eight years. So our visits to Chile were regular. My whole life I have lived in the United States and my whole life I have visited my relatives in Chile. However, since my siblings were raised in Chile, my connection to the country is much stronger today and it is something I am grateful for. Something that happens to me a lot is that when I say I've been in the U.S. my whole life, they say, "Well, you're a gringo then! And after a conversation in my fluent Spanish with a clear Chilean accent that same person turns around and says: I've been listening to you, you're Chilean!

L: "I am Chilean because I lived and grew up here since I was three years old, but at the same time I have a cultural disconnection: my parents lived 25 years in the United States, my brothers are gringos. My visual culture is super gringo, the TV shows I watched when I was a kid or the movies I watch to this day I understand them from that place: as an American. More than being born in the United States, I feel it's because of my family's background".

SCENE THREE:

The performance

P: "There were good years and bad years (when I started my acting career in the United States). Many years I was a waiter to supplement my income. But from a very young age I was auditioning for professional jobs. In my late twenties my career in the theater was relatively consistent. Then, when opportunities in television arose, I was consolidating and it became much easier to pay my expenses. I think that struggle, going through those situations, empowers you a lot and it's one of the things I'm enormously grateful for. And Game of Thrones was an incredible gift. It's the best role I've ever played and they're the best people I've ever worked with."

L: "It's Pedro's fault that I wanted to be an actor. But when I told him I wanted to study theater it was hard for him, more than anything, because he cares about me and studying theater is hard. You have to be very wise and have a super high self-esteem to take care of yourself. Pedro went through many things. If there is an actor who doesn't have contacts in the United States, it's him. Everything he has achieved is because of his work. That's why when people ask me why I don't go to the U.S., it's a resounding no. Being Pedro Pascal's little brother is not going to get me around the corner; I would have to be Tom Cruise's twin to achieve anything. Even so, Pedro had many failed career starts. In 2011, for example, he was offered a starring role in a series called Wonder Woman and it was eventually canceled. That's why, when Games of Thrones came up, I was like, wow! We were all freaking out, because Games of Thrones is like a worldwide trending topic. All the episodes he was in, we were all watching them together at my house, eating pizza or sushi."

SCENE FOUR:

Mutual lessons

P: "I try not to get too involved in anything Lucas does or how he does it. He has single-handedly created each of his experiences and is one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. He loves his work and is continually developing his skills for television and theater, and eventually film. He executes like a real artist and, to be honest, it is more common for me to learn something from him than for him to learn something from me. I mean that very sincerely. Lucas reminds me to work hard and keeps me inspired. When I saw him in Los 80 I was incredibly proud, but not surprised. I was seeing something I had always known. The only advice I've given him is to not be such a workaholic, to take care of himself and to be proud of what he's accomplished and what he still has yet to accomplish. Deep down, I'm always going to be the protective big brother."

L: "Pedro is an object of admiration for me. What he says is law for me. Sometimes I ask him: 'Pedro, did you see that movie?' and he says: 'Yes, I didn't like it'. I tell him: 'Oh, I didn't like it either'. The nice thing about our relationship is that it happens so sporadically, once or twice a year, that the moments when we see each other are very intense. We either fight a lot or we love each other too much, but it's always like a story, like a movie. While he's there and I'm here, we talk a lot on WhatsApp and Facebook".

P: "With Lucas we always keep each other up to date on what movies to watch, what TV shows are good. I bug him all the time asking him about what's going on in his life and I'm always asking him about his perspective on things. Despite being away from each other for a long time, Lucas and I are very close and always have been. I see Lucas at the beginning of an amazing career, with an unwavering curiosity and passion. I love it when he confides in me about things he is enjoying or situations he is dealing with."

L: "I've never seen Pedro in theater, but I've been told he's tremendous. On camera, I find that he has a very intense look. He also has, and in that we are very similar, a very strong visual culture, the fact that we have always liked horror movies. He plays characters that hide something, dark characters. A great strength is that he is very sensual, he knows how to handle himself well from seduction".

P: "Lucas is brave, he's fearless. There's nothing he's not willing to try, he's never going to give up on a challenge, he's never going to leave something halfway, no matter what that means to him. Lucas is unstoppable.

Link interview

#pedro pascal #lux pascal #siblings

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frame-of-mind-au · 3 years

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Star Trek Fan? Favorite Series and episodes? "Temba, his arms wide."

Voyager, easily. I've heard Deep Space Nine is excellent, but I have yet to finish it (my watchlist is a mile long). I also haven't seen Discovery or Picard yet, so no spoilers on those please!

Favorite episodes is harder... there's a lot I love across the various series.

Parallels from TNG is one I love, the idea is just really cool and it actually kinda makes me care about Worf's existence even if it's only for 45 minutes.

Loud as a Whisper is just stellar. It tends to slip my mind when folks ask about The Next Generation, but if I'm picking out an episode to watch or I catch it on TV, I'm gonna be glued to my screen for all of it. Even in the 24th century, communication is still something that is not as universal as one might expect. And since we're on the topic...

Darmok is another great one. An alien species that essentially communicates through memes and the irony of "Temba, his arms wide" lowkey becoming a meme irl is truly something, especially since to some degree this is a real-world phenomenon. I could relay something to someone entirely with SpongeBob and Vine quotes. Its awesome.

Frame of Mind from TNG obviously is another, no suprise there XD Characters being fucked with on a psychological level is interesting to me and it's territory Star Trek doesn't get to explore very often.

Pretty much any Data-centric or Seven Of Nine-centric episode would apply to this list so I won't go through all of those.

Course: Oblivion was the first VOY episode I clearly remember seeing, when I was around 9 or 10 I think, and its ending really stuck with me even without intimate knowledge of the characters. It's one of the reasons I lean so hard towards bittersweet endings for my own stories.

Living Witness from VOY is a super cool concept, and the Doctor is one of my favorite Star Trek characters ever, so that's an easy pick.

The infamous VOY episode Threshold for just the shear batshit craziness of that making it to television... the first half sets up such a dope premise only for it to just totally derail in its second half and its HILARUOUS! Plus, Voyager's fandom takes having one of the worst episodes ever really well. We've even got a day dedicated to celebrating it!

In the Wink of an Eye, also from VOY is a fun one too. It's a time travel episode (of sorts) that's not a pain in the ass to explain and understand, while still being super interesting.

Year of Hell, Parts 1 & 2, is another VOY staple and an auto-include. Not gonna explain the premise since I'd argue this is one you'd need context for.

Twisted, once again from VOY, I feel like gets forgotten about sometimes. Not sure what about it I love so much, I just do. I will try not to spoil the ending for people who haven't seen it yet, but I like the ending a lot. Sometimes there really isn't anything you can do, and that's okay.

And speaking of endings, Tuvix has one of the best. The choice that Janeway makes is a hard one, and one I feel like only she could make as far as Star Trek captains go (at least from the captains that I'm familiar with). I don't think Picard could be given a moral dilemma of that caliber.

This Side of Paradise from the original Star Trek series was the first Star Trek thing I ever saw and to this day I still love it. I'd recognize the flute melody that plays throughout the episode nearly anywhere.

For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, also from TOS, is another favorite, for both having the current record for longest episode title and because the premise for it is just so interesting. It's really nice when Star Trek actually follows through on the whole 'seek out new life and new civilations and boldy go where no one has gone before' thing and this is one of those episodes.

Picking favorites for Star Trek: Enterprise is a bit harder, as it only piqued my interest when it started having an actual plot (i.e. season 3 onwards), so most of the ones I like are really plot heavy and hard to recommend for peope who just wanna watch a one-off thing without needing a shit ton of context.

Ones that explore alien Xenophobia are interesting to see with this series' placement in the Star Trek timeline. It's early in humanity's space exploration so not everyone is used to aliens yet and it makes for some good drama.

I think I'll cut this off here for now, cuz real talk, there are so many episodes I like... I could ramble about Star Trek for ages and this isn't my main!

bUt NuGgEt, I hear you saying, wHaT aBoUt Inner Light???

Okay yes, that is a great TNG episode, and I do love it to peices, but fuck, that thing has been praised to hell and back and won several awards, its got more than enough clout. Hush.

But yeah, I'm done now, go home.

#anon what have you done #you asked about a Special Interest #you madlad #anyway #if you wanna ask about any of my other hobbies or intrests outside of SU then hit up my main!#cuz lord knows i have no self control and i will ramble for pages about things i like #ask #anon #meta

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hoaxexistence · 4 years

Text

How I Met Your Mother.

This show inhabit a special place in my heart, and that is why my first show review here will be about it. The most controversial ending in the 21st century television. I'll start. Spoilers alert obviously.

Season 1 - We were introduced to this life of Ted Mosby. We got to know his friends, Lily, Barney, his best friend Marshall, and Robin. In this season, the audience's sympathy and feelings were with Ted. The feeling of finding someone to love and to have their feelings reciprocated equally. At some point, we were all Ted - stupid, indecisive, hopeless romantic. He's smart, supportive and loving and we saw that in the first season.

Season 2 - Since Ted is stupid, he cheated on someone for someone who isn't sure with him. Yes, last season, he cheated on Victoria for Robin. Crazy. Still, he's a great friend anyone could ask for. He never leave Marshall when Lily left and supported his sadness. In this season, I saw Barney's heart. He is more than a womanizer that he always wanted to portray. He does care. Takeaway in this season, I realized that love is something that most people search and never find that's why when you find that person you feel like you want to spend your life with, you do something about it and you keep them. Lily and Marshall proves that. And that it's not bad to chase your dreams as long you know how to weigh things. And art is life.

Season 3 - "it's funny how sometimes you just find things." In this season, Lily and Marshall started to build their own life by owning their own house (kinda redundant but who cares?). Ted, who still believe in love, dated again. Robin tried to live her life in the way she thinks suits her. The takeaway in this season is that when you have a dream, you gotta hold on to them. It can be hard, there will be obstacles along the way and we should face them because those can be the path that can lead us to where we supposed to be. Risking is not that scary if you know you got the right people with you.

Season 4 - Finding your purpose. I'm not one to talk about this topic because I personally have no idea about mine. But in this season, I felt the same way with Ted (I totally relate to him and I hate it) about what he wanted to do. It was a bumpy road for the gang in terms of their personal life and career, but in the end, Ted decided to teach (damn it, just to be clear, I never wanted to be a teacher, oh fvck, what if I end up like him?) Anyway, season takeaway: if you feel like you do not fit in to something, probably, you have to leave. Some things may be waiting for you to discover and you just haven't found it yet because you're stuck trying to push yourself into something you're not for. And you may be doing other people a favor by doing so.

Season 5 - "You can ask the universe for signs all you want. But ultimately we only see what we want to see, when we're ready to see it." A good season. Lily and Marshall's character were growing. Barney, kept his awesome self but his character keeps on showing softness which can be visible every now and then. Robin, well I personally don't like her (probably because I see myself in her, dammit) Ted, on the other hand, never stop believing in love tho he did doubt it when Stella left him at the altar and in some parts at season 2. But he's Ted Mosby, he'll start believing again. My personal favourite episode in this season I think, is 'the last cigarette ever', I don't know, I just love the friendship that was shown on that episode. Anyway, season takeaway: when you ask for a sign, that's already a sign. And you can't force your way out into something because you got to deal with them at some point.

Season 6 - "Sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things" yea that's the exact quote but I like to say it this way: some things fall apart so that better things can fall together. Same thought but better right? Yea, whatever. Lol. This season is full of emotions. Like a lot of emotions. I can say that the writers really outdid themselves. Marshall's father died, which I never saw coming. And tell you what, I've seen the show four times and I still cry on that scene. And Barney, he met his dad, and that scene on his dad's court, that broke me. Neil's acting was superb. Season takeaway: forgive people. Forgive yourself. Enjoy the little things. Appreciate each moment. Cherish the people who make you feel loved. Never hurt other people intentionally and make wise decisions. That's quite hard, but I guess doable.

Season 7 - "Not because something needs to be said, does it mean it needs to be heard." I don't know why I chose this quote for this season but I just did, so. Anyway, this is a good season, I loved this season, tbh. Lily gave birth to their son, Marvin. New beginnings, but Ted, somehow was still unable to settle his feelings. (I don't want to elaborate, just watch the damn show) And I hate him for being so dumb. There's this episode entitled, 'symphony of illumination' and 'tick, tick, tick' yea, those bummed me. I love how those episodes tugged my heart.

Shoot, two more seasons. Lol. Okay, FYI, it has been more than a year since I last saw the show, so everything I wrote here is based on memory and a little bit of help from ecosia so that I don't misquote them. Lol. Continue.

Season 8 - oh! this season, one of the best. The most elaborate proposal that I have ever seen. It was a blessing to the people. Jk. But, that proposal was so perfect I freakin cried. In this same season, Ted had a very touching imagination. He looked for his wife. He gave the lines - which I memorized, and told what he felt at that time and I just bawled like a baby the whole scene. It was perfectly sad and heart tugging. It was a premonition that I didn't see coming. Season takeaway: trust is important.

Season 9 - The season where most of the people were left unsatisfied. This whole freakin season revolved around Barney and Robin’s wedding. Yes, that was basically it. Jk. In this season they build up Barney and Robin’s love and then they give us the mother. It was great. Up until the last two episodes. The writers failed me. The love that they built up ended up with divorce. WTF ryt. Then the mother died. And that montage scene of her and Ted together, ugh I had nothing else to do but to let my tears flow. It was heartbreaking. Takeaway: things may not always go according to plan, life goes on and we move forward.

All in all. I was disappointed. The writers tried. And I salute them for trying and giving the audience a streched and realistic ending. Just like what I said before, It's not the destination, it's the journey. And still I love the show, all its plothole, all its bad side, all the inconsistencies, and all its flaws. I've learned a lot of lessons from it. The show has a lot of quotable life quotes. I discovered beautiful songs (the ost is superb). Discovered new shows. And it taught me how to appreciate life more. And for that I am so thankful. Here's a final quote, tho I'm still not fully confident with this:

"Because sometimes even if you know how something’s gonna end, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride."

#How i met your mother #Personal review #Unsettled thoughts #Probably the worst ending #Words #Season break down #I tried #I can't get over

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duhragonball · 6 years

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What do you think of Jiren as a character? I've seen a lot of people come to dislike him after this episode, considering his actions.

Well…

This might come across as egotistical, but as Jiren became more developed, he started to remind me of a villain I wrote in my fanfiction. Basically, I took the Shockmaster from 1993 WCW and decided he would make a cool bad guy. Since he barely did anything in WCW other than trip and lose his mask on live television, I had to come up with a motivation and backstory for the guy. The Shockmaster has gone down in history as a fiasco, but I honestly think he could have been awesome if he had gotten the chance, so I tried to make my version echo that missed opportunity. He was a great hero from thousands of years ago, but things didn’t turn out the way he wanted them to, and he’s been bitter about it ever since. He wants to take everything back to the way it used to be, just so he can have a do-over and prove he can get it right this time. And this is kind of foolish, but he’s so immensely strong that no one can stop him from trying. He’s like a middle-aged man pining for his glory days in high school football, only he’s going to start an interstellar war and kill billions of people to be the star quarterback one more time.

Basically, the point of the character was to demonstrate the flipside of having so much power. He lost all perspective, until the only thing that mattered to him in life was himself and his agenda. On the flipside, the heroine’s power forced her to appreciate the less fortunate around her. Helping them was the only way to alleviate her boredom, until eventually, she started to actually care.

And that’s sort of what I see with Goku and Jiren. Jiren’s main job was to demolish Goku about halfway into the tournament and test his resolve. Goku being Goku, he just wanted to take Jiren on all over again, and he was willing to plow through a couple dozen other fighters to get to him, because Goku just wants to fight. He has things he’s fighting for, and he depends on his friends to motivate him, so he’s not just fighting as an end unto itself, but he’s also a man who thrives on challenge and adversity.

I think fans lose sight of that when they get upset over Toriyama or whoever saying that Goku doesn’t feel this way or that way about things. It’s not that he doesn’t care, but he’s wired differently. He cares because he needs challenge in his life, and the worthy causes are the best ones to fight for. This isn’t to say that he has no sense of empathy otherwise, but the sentimentality and empathy that he does have grew out of that sense of adventurism. He does good things because being a bad guy is easy and ultimately unsatisfying.

By contrast, Jiren worked his whole life to get stronger and stronger, to the point where he lost sight of what he was getting stronger for. He’s technically a hero in his universe, but only because it suits his purposes. To him, strength is all that matters, and that means the strongest person is the one who matters the most. So he’s completely lost touch with the needs of others, because he’s gotten so strong that he doesn’t need to care.

That’s why he was so shaken to hear Goku claim that he draws strength from the trust placed in him by his friends. For Jiren, strength was a get-out-of-caring-free card, an excuse to turn off his feelings and cut himself off from the universe. Once Goku started kicking his ass with the Power of Friendship™, Jiren realized his whole worldview was a sham. Jiren forsook trust for absolute power, but if Goku could surpass him with both, then that meant Jiren had neither.

And that’s why he tried to blow up Goku’s teammates on the stands. I don’t think he expected to beat Goku that way, but he was desperate to prove that Goku’s friends had no bearing on the outcome of their fight. He was basically saying “OK, maybe Goku really is beating me, but he can do that with or without his friends, so at least I’m still right, even if I lose.”

Only Goku just starts kicking his ass even harder, because he’s hella mad that Jiren would stoop to such a thing. Jiren can’t beat what Goku’s running on, because he can’t even understand it.

I’ve seen a lot of people mocking Jiren’s origin story, because they thought it was a feeble attempt by the writers to make you feel sorry for him. No no no, you’re all missing the point. You’re not supposed to feel sorry for Jiren because he had a tragic childhood. The point was that he went through all this and that’s why he feels absolutely nothing towards anyone else. He’s completely jaded and dead inside, and he doesn’t even understand the kind of emotions that Goku takes as a given. At best, you might pity him for that, but he doesn’t really need to be pitied. Not every villain has to be sympathetic.

Really, what Jiren is is a brick wall in the shape of a man. He’s determined to be this unyielding, unfeeling thing, and he’s placed himself in Goku’s way because it suits his purposes. And Goku’s going to tear him down, even if it kills him, because that’s just how he is.

#ask duhragonball #jiren #star-searcher17 #spoilers

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beccaland · 7 years

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Hello! Congratulations on your follower milestone! :D I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on the Eighth Doctor's Big Finish run, specifically which companions/stories are your favourites? I've finished Lucie Miller's series and am currently making my way through the Charley/C'rizz stories, but I know I still have lots to look forward to! :)

My main thought about the Eighth Doctor’s Big Finish run is basically incoherent squee-ing because Paul McGann is so good oh my gosh can you believe we almost only ever had one story where he played the Doctor????? Also, if you don’t listen to the Extras you really should, because he’s a giant dork who really likes the lunches.

Which companions and stories are my favourites? Well, this should really come as no surprise to anybody at this point, but Doom Coalition is flipping amazing, and Liv and Helen, who are the companions for that sprawling 16-episode feast of awesomeness are the absolute best. I mean I love Eight and Charley, and C’rizz is a terrifying cinnamon roll, but the dynamic between Eight and Liv and Helen (and sometimes River) is on a whole other level. Let me explain.

So Eight’s characterization in both the books and audios is notoriously inconsistent, right? I choose to see this as actually a feature of his Doctor and not a bug in the writing (this is also the opinion endorsed in Caerdroia, which you may or may not have listened to yet). He is both a very cuddly butterfly-chasing Tigger and a sarcastic, snark-tastic Grump, and he is both one of the most human Doctors and one of the most alien (like he relates to sentient jellyfish just as much as, and possibly more than, he relates to his fellow bipeds from planet Earth). He oscillates between these extremes. With Charley and C’rizz, he mostly gets away with it, because they are both very much portrayed as ingénues, even after Charley has been traveling with the Doctor for quite a long time, and even though C’rizz has some quite extraordinary life experience before he even meets Team TARDIS. Charley and the Doctor are one of my favorite QPP (queerplatonic pairings) in Doctor Who, but good grief, it’s not even close to being a relationship of equals, and often veers right over into twee territory.

Lucie is more willing to call the Doctor out on his crap, and there is absolutely nothing twee about their dynamic. But Lucie is still very much a novice; she’s kind of a proto-Donna. And just like I initially didn’t like how combative the Doctor’s relationship with Donna was (in Runaway Bride), in the first series of the Lucie Miller audios, I really didn’t like how snarky Lucie and the Doctor were with each other. It made for some good banter, but it’s not my cuppa. The dynamic got better in the second, third, and fourth seasons with this team, and by the end I was really sad to see her go (like Donna level sads, and Donna is tied with Clara for my favorite new series companion). Lucie comes into her own with a bang in the end, but again, it’s never anywhere close to a relationship between equals.

Molly O’Sullivan gives as good as she gets in her interactions with the Doctor, but she’s largely wasted on a story arc that doesn’t know what to do with her beyond using her as a sort of sharp-tongued plot football. Tamsin Drew gets the same treatment, unfortunately. Mary Shelley was a great idea but I feel like those stories never quite worked as well as they ought to have done.

Liv Chenka, on the other hand, has seen some things. She’s a normal human, with a normal human lifespan, but by the time she meets the Doctor for the first time she’s also a seasoned MedTech. By the time she finally joins Team TARDIS on a full-time basis, she’s already had several opportunities to get the Doctor’s measure. He can’t really fool her about who he is the way he can with most companions. Helen Sinclair is more naive in the beginning, and very much in awe of both Liv and the Doctor, but she’s also had to hold her own in a very male-dominated field of academia in the 1960s, which puts her closer to an equal footing than most of her predecessors. Best of all from my POV, neither she nor Liv have any romantic interest in the Doctor at all (I tend to read the Doctor as being more toward the ace-side of the grey-asexual spectrum). These three people love each other and have learned to rely on each other completely, but as friends and as equals–or as equal as any non-Time Lord (or Time Lord equivalent) can be with the Doctor. Their skill sets and personalities complement each other, despite each character’s deep flaws and vulnerabilities. I honestly don’t think there’s ever been a TARDIS team this well-balanced before. Add River Song to the mix and you’ve got my favourite “four doctors” ever.

Within Doom Coalition, my favorite episodes are:

The Eleven, because it introduces a really interesting villain and kicks off the whole extravaganza of awesomeness

The Red Lady, because it introduces Helen and is super creepy and weird

Absent Friends, because it’s beautiful and sad

Ship in a Bottle, because it is a perfect example of its genre

Other favorite Eighth Doctor Audios:

Invaders from Mars (Eight/Charley), because it’s delightfully silly

The Chimes of Midnight (Eight/Charley), because a) it is beautifully atmospheric and creepy and b) it was the first time I really got a sense of what the brilliant folks at Big Finish could do with audio

Neverland/Zagreus/Scherzo (Eight/Charley), because this arc is peak Eight/Charley awesomeness. Also see above re: what Big Finish can do with audio–the scale of these stories would be utterly impossible for Doctor Who to do on television, even if it had a premium cable budget

The Natural History of Fear (Eight/Charley/C’rizz), because I feel like the writers were all sitting around one night and one of them turned to Alan Barnes and Gary Russel and said, “Zagreus was the most mind-bendingly bizarre story ever written for Big Finish,” and then Jim Mortimore was like “hold my beer!”

Caerdroia (Eight/Charley/C’rizz), because one Eighth Doctor is definitely not enough

Other Lives (Eight/Charley/C’rizz), because it’s a straight-up historical and a beautiful character piece, and those are both rare

Memory Lane (Eight/Charley/C’rizz), because LEGO, ice cream lollies, and the Eighth Doctor’s laughter

The Cannibalists (Eight/Lucie), because it’s hilarious and sweet

An Earthly Child (Eight, Susan, and Alex), because I am a sucker for the Doctor’s family

Relative Dimensions (Eight/Lucie, Susan, and Alex), see above

Lucie Miller/To the Death (Eight/Lucie, Susan, and Alex), see above I HATE YOU NICK BRIGGS YOU MONSTER

You’ll notice none of my faves come from Dark Eyes. That’s because, although it had a few moments of brilliance, the arc was kind of a mess, and also chock-full of misery and Daleks, which are not my favorite things. On the other hand, Dark Eyes was how I first encountered the Macqueen!Master, who is almost the only really fun thing in this batch of stories (and is also, unfortunately, and true to character, also the source of much of the other characters’ misery). But if you want to experience the Macqueen!Master and don’t particularly mind skipping over sixteen episodes of Eighth Doctor stories, I’d tell you to listen to And You Will Obey Me/Vampire of the Mind/The Two Masters instead, because they are better stories and you get to enjoy the Beevers!Master, too!

#ask beccaland anything about Doctor Who #Eighth Doctor #Big Finish Audio #I really love Doom Coalition OK #and not just because I really love the Doctor and Liv and Helen and River

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prixmiumarchive · 7 years

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So, Shadowhunters is good, then? I've thought about watching it but have also thought that it looked like it was kind of over dramatic.

***VERY PERSONAL SHADOWHUNTERS DISCOURSE TO FOLLOW***

Cut for length and to avoid annoying people.

My tl;dr answer is: yes, with caveats, a lot of baggage, and a “it is a Freeform show” disclaimer. So, good music, pretty people, pretty lighting, engaging character chemistry… All there. Melodramatic? Maybe, but really, what were you signing up for?

I got into Shadowhunters because my friend @thethirteenthhouse showed me an episode, and I’m still only like five episodes in with her? I enjoy it, though. At the time that she first showed it to me, I hadn’t really made the full connection that it was another attempt at making a film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Cla(i)re.

I realized pretty quickly, though, because they resolve the City of Bones stuff pretty quickly, which was the name of the first TMI book which I had been very, very dimly aware of in high school I guess. I had been put off TMI and Cassandra Cla(i)re (hereafter CC) not by its own content but because of the controversy surrounding CC’s presence in Harry Potter fandom.

I have only recently started to work my way through the Harry Potter series. My parents are not really ax-crazy conservatives, but they occasionally listen to said breed of conservatives, so when I was in the Harry Potter generation, I was denied access to Harry Potter because my parents didn’t want me opening my mind to Dark Magic or something. I mean, we can get into that, but it’s really another story, and I love my parents, and they’re very not-bad-as-parents-go-if-you’re-anything-but-a-heterosexual-vanilla-delight-of-a-human. Anyway, so, Harry Potter is pretty new to me as a person, though I did go through my childhood with a kind of indirect exposure to it. I just didn’t really get to delve in? My parents let up on most of those such edicts after a while, and I did read a few (the first three?) Harry Potter books when I was really into reading in high school. However, I wasn’t really engaging with anyone about it, because I was kind of embarrassed that I was so ‘behind’ compared to my peers who had basically learned to read on Harry Potter. Then, I got sucked into PJO (the first few books of that).

But even though I, personally, was not a Potter kid, my childhood best friend definitely was. She and I had overlapping interests and diverging interests, and she LOVED Harry Potter with no parental chagrin. We used to sit side by side on an office chair and scroll through fansites related to things we liked (GeoCities! Angelfire! Wow.) and eventually got turned onto fanfiction.net as being a thing and other, more restrictive and selective and focused groups and fic archives that existed in the days of yore.

I’m explaining all of that to say that I was actually aware of the Draco Trilogy before all of it was published and when it was popular without a real whiff of controversy having been brought to anyone’s (or at least my childhood best friend’s) attention. If you don’t know about the whole Draco Trilogy mess and want me to do a short fact-finding mission, send me another ask, but I’ll wait in interest of expediency. TVtropes and fanlore websites both have links and information if you just search for “the Draco Trilogy.”

I read excerpts of the Draco Trilogy that had particularly pithy dialogue, funny, or sexy overtones that my childhood best friend wanted to share. I also seem to think that we read a fair bit of Draco/Hermione fic in this manner, which I do not know if CC ever wrote but which I bring up because I was sorely disappointed to find out that Draco/Hermione dynamic that I imagined based on these fics (inspired, in part, by a certain fanon-hopeful interpretation of Draco popularized, at least, if not completely and solely originated by CC) was totally not what I got the impression of as an undercurrent from the films. Basically, the fact that Draco was not as CC imagined him which I had developed a conception of through being-in-internet-fandom-if-not-very-into-Harry-Potter was a major disappointment and probably one of the reasons that HP was not high up on my list of Things To Make Happen when my teenage rebellious ingenuity was at its fullest swing to read Parentally Discouraged Books. And, you see, THAT IS THE THING about CC, The Mortal Instruments, why I kind of like Shadowhunters, and why I will probably never stomach delving further behind the curtain than the Shadowhunters TV series itself, though I know there are loads of people who have done so in ignorance/innocence.

This is a serious case of “I can enjoy a thing while being super-critical of, like, everything about it on a meta level.”

Co-opting some descriptive terms from things I’ve read about the Draco Trilogy, a short summary of its impact on its fandom at the time was, apparently, that it was a fanfiction of such phenomenon that some people began to prefer the Draco Trilogy to the direction canon itself was going. And, as fanfiction power goes, that is like the Holy Grail. It is the Goal when canon is in any way disappointing you and your fellow fans. It’s incredible, it’s impressive, and I’m still sitting here impressed that no matter what hellfire CC has had rained down upon her that there was something in her work that resonated with people to a point that there are many willing to forgive unrepentant and repeated acts of plagiarism and bullying in order to resolve the cognitive dissonance of really loving something that was written by and born from a generally jerkish person.

I say that, consciously, as a person who accepts Moffat Who for the most part in spite of all of the Discourse in that direction, too.

The issue with CC’s Draco Triology was certainly not its plotting, its craftsmanship (in terms of its parts making a whole), its characterization, or anything else that would make it a bad fic. I have yet to revisit the texts, though I have procured them as a funny and fanlore matter of interest for my Harry Potter reading log blog @100privetdrive (which tumblr doesn’t wanna link right now), as someone who knows the controversy, and I never read them in full, but I am led to believe that there are many fans who would still like to revisit the texts but feel bad about doing so because they are tainted with plagiarism and a lot of ugliness that followed. CC’s dedication to her work certainly led her to produce a completed trilogy of interconnected longfics, not to mention her one-shots that she produced for the Harry Potter fandom during her stay. Most of them have vanished into the realm of myth when she retreated from fandom life upon getting her book deal (and upon ducking away from those who were out with pitchforks in the fandom at the time), but the Draco Trilogy was of such renown that it has (for now) escaped permanent erasure from record in spite of CC’s attempts.

What I’m telling you is that people like(d) the Draco Trilogy.

CC’s characterizations of the Harry Potter cast were not necessarily consistent with canon, but they were consistent within what she imagined at the time could be or wished was. It is certainly not the case that her fanfiction and the story she quilted together was devoid of original thought or emotional investment in her characters and what she was writing. The problem was, someone discovered that she was essentially lifting word-for-word passages from some quality-but-then-out-of-print fantasy books for sizeable portions of plot-heavy parts of her story, in addition to much of her pithy, interesting dialogue being straight-lifted from popular television of the time such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Honestly, for the latter, few people would call her out for that. She did credit that she borrowed some dialogue from shows she liked, and when trying to defend herself against accusations of plagiarism, she mentioned a kind of in-joke, intertextual referential humor she shared with her fandom friends. Basically, she was doing the same thing as all those incorrect[series]quotes tumblrs that are pretty popular right now, and she did admit it. The issue was what she would not admit when someone found her out and the bullying and war and response that followed.

There is far better documentation on this situation than I can give you, because the entire thing about this drama is interesting hearsay for my part. Again, if you ask, I’ll go on a brief fishing expedition for you, but it will involve a series of search terms you could just as easily google yourself. If any of my recollection is fuzzy, it is because it is solely recollection of things I’ve read about and become aware of as a fandom resident for more-than-the-past-decade.

Getting back to Shadowhunters, the thing about it is, I never really wanted to like anything CC had anything to do with for a long time for all of these reasons. I didn’t really feel good about supporting someone who made the transition from fan-to-creator in a way that felt a lot like she didn’t care who she hurt in the process. I also felt, a little, like it was a betrayal of the spirit of transformative and fandom work to completely remove oneself from the process (by deleting as much as you could of your fandom contributions) when you achieved success. I know of a lot of active fandom writers who don’t do that if and when they become published. However, those people also don’t plagiarize their own work.

Again, this is a-thing-I-read-about because I have not read the Draco Trilogy in anything close to full or ANY of TMI series except screencaps of pages I’ve seen on tumblr. That said, Jace Wayland is CC’s Draco. Clary Fray is CC’s Ginny Weasley. Alec Lightwood is CC’s Harry Potter.

So here is my complicated relationship with kind of liking and getting into the Shadowhunters tv series at this particular juncture in time, space, and my personal history and observation of fandom: I think it is really cool when works influence and can relate to each other. TMI is a far better example of this than 50 Shades, no doubt. However, there is the load of baggage surrounding CC’s success, unapologetic or deflective attitude toward anything she ever does wrong, and so on. But, then again, Shadowhunters is based on her work. Another recent example that might be similar is the CW’s The 100.

The 100 is another show that I genuinely like-what-I-have-seen-of, though I’m behind the point when some people got mad and wrote it off. It is also based on a YA lit book of the same title. However, its similarities with the book diverge sharply after the first few episodes, and it, as an adaptation, is doing its own thing, unrepentantly. I have been told that Shadowhunters is also doing this, and I think that it is an aesthetically pleasing show. It also has interesting concepts at play in its worldbuilding which I will say to my mind are unique in spite of the myriad parallels to a darker-teenier-edgier Harry Potter that will never go away. I also appreciate that the Shadowhunters showrunners are said to care about how their representation of LGBT people plays. It is not an exclusively-white show. It has pretty music. I like the actors’ enthusiasm for the characters they play and the journeys they seem to be taking. I think parabatai is a pretty neat concept. It’s pretty standard as far as what runes themselves are, but the rune usage and tattoos are pretty cool.

There are a lot of things to like about this show. There are a lot of things about them that, without evidence, I am sure are the brain children of CC. I wish that I could just full on and without equivocation go “kudos” to someone who made such an incredible transformative leap from one fandom into her own worldbuilding. However, the divorce of Shadowhunters/TMI/pretty much any of CC’s work feels incomplete and disingenuous on a certain level, no matter how much I am simply enjoying a tv show with-my-criticisms. I feel that a denial of is direct relationship to fanfiction, fandom itself, Harry Potter, and CC’s own past is just an effort to flatten out cognitive dissonance that comes from liking-what-is-intriguing-about-it that simply doesn’t come that easily.

I am enjoying the show in part because it seems really interesting on some kind of fandom-sociological level. I also like it for all the good-things I mentioned above. I like it because my some of my friends love it with an untainted and genuine enthusiasm. However, I’ve got to say, that I actually find watching the Shadowhunters series with my friend feels non-icky in a way that pledging any kind of allegiance to CC’s little empire that actually benefited it in any way does not.

I enjoy Shadowhunters as, basically, the biggest budget AU fanfic I have ever seen, but I think that on some level it has its own soul, too. But I’d be a lot more willing to credit the cast and crew and the Harry Potter fandom of the early-00s with that than I would CC on her own.

#shadowhunters #long post #shadowhunters meta #anti cassandra clare #fanwank #maybe fanwank #my opinions #Anonymous #answered

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