Over the quarterlife crisis

A number of years ago, I got excited when I heard about an upcoming show called quarterlife. In the midst of seeing Avenue Q and Garden State, I was all about 20-somethings cast adrift in life. It finally arrived. And boy, did it suck. My problem is that I can't tell whether I would've like it, say, 5 years ago. I'm not sure, because I was never a "I'm stuck in a dead-end job that stifles my creativity" person, and that's who this show seems to both be about and directed to.

I'm pretty sure I would've hated it. The characteres are idiots, particularly the lead character, Dylan. She seriously thought it'd be OK to do a video blog on her website about her friends, using their real names and detailing their lives and secrets? Really? And that it'd be a good idea to, in the middle of a staff meeting, say that her boss/superior stole her idea? I'm supposed to sympathize with this woman?

I had to turn it off in the middle of the show. I just could not take it anymore. There are times when I can watch shows full of characters who aren't sympathetic, but those shows have one thing this one didn't--good writing.

Edited to add that I needn't worry about this anymore; after only one episode, it's been cancelled.

You need a montage

Unlike, oh, pretty much most other people, I love the montages during awards shows. Love them. It seems like every year, people complain about the montages. And I can understand why. The show already runs so long, why just make it longer? But I can't help it. I'd rather forgo acceptance speeches than get rid of the montage.

I wish I could explain it. Maybe it's the delight at recognizing a movie I've seen, or it's that my flea-sized attention span enjoys a series of quick images. Or maybe it's that a montage shows the best moments of whatever the montage is about.

And it's not confined to awards shows. Possibly the best montage is the makeover montage in a movie. There is nothing like seeing the heroine model a bunch of different outfits and hairstyles in rapidfire succession. (That alone makes me want to see 27 Dresses). And, naturally, there's the training montage. Who wants to waste precious minutes seeing the hero train for months? A rock song and a couple of minutes, and look! He or she is ready to face evil.

(I admit I'm also a sucker for shipper montages on YouTube. I've spent many a happy hour watching Jim/Pam and Veronica/Logan videos. Yes, my life is that pathetic.) (I'm talking pathetic to the point of not being able to hear Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" without thinking of the Karen/Jim/Pam video. Because it's awesome.)

That being said, I'm meh on montages of people getting handed awards. It's kind of sweet seeing, say, an old Charlie Chaplin, but I don't really need to reminisce about last year's Oscars.

Lovers of historical movies, unite!

It must be a tough balance to make a historical movie, particularly a movie like Warm Springs, which I watched last night (I made myself take a break between seasons 2 and 3 of Veronica Mars). It's about Franklin Roosevelt's fight with polio, which honestly doesn't sound that fascinating unless you're already interested in Roosevelt or polio or, I guess, history in general. The problem, then, is that you get people like me watching it--people who already know the story and can critique any liberties you take with, you know, the way things actually happened.

I did enjoy the movie, though I got frustrated with it. I like that it included FDR's infidelities with Lucy Mercer, though I disliked that they used that to set up a reconcilitation of sorts between FDR and Eleanor. It did help the wounds heal a bit, but they hardly fell in love all over again, as the movie shows. It would be kind of a bummer to end the movie with, "On April 12, 1945, Franklin died at Warm Springs. Lucy Mercer was there with him," even though it's the truth.

I also found the timeline confusing; it seemed to show that his bid for vice president came before his time as assistant secretary of the Navy, which wasn't the case. But I did like the portrayal of Franklin's mothere, which seemed fairly accurate. And it's pretty cool that they filmed at Warm Springs. I've always wanted to go, so it's neat to see how it actually looks. And the performances were good.

I kind of wish I had watched it with someone who wasn't as familiar with the story as I was, but that goes back to the initial problem--who watched this movie, other than people like me?

The benefits of DVD

As I was doing some work-related scanning of the forums on TWOP today, I realized that there are more benefits to watching television on DVD than just being able to watch a season's worth of the show in a few days. Watching an entire season in a compressed period of time takes away a lot of the frustration of finding out what comes next, and it also takes away some of the criticism a regular viewer might have.

As I've been watching Veronica Mars, I've been reading the TWOP recaps, and it's interesting when Couch Baron makes comments about reader reaction on the forums. I rarely reflect on any of the deeper aspects of the show; I don't really take the time to dissect character motivations or reflect on errors in logic. As I watch, I might nitpick a bit, but when an episode ends, I can just think "Holy crap!" and move on, being immediately gratified to know about the next twist.

In a lot of ways, it's good. I don't have the torture, and I don't have a week's worth of anticipation built up every time I turn on a new episode. I might briefly think, "That episode was meh," but I can quickly move on. It leads to less disillusionment, I think. I know that a lot of people criticized VM for being inconsistent, but I don't remember what they specifically had problems with. Sure, I think the first season was a bit better overall than the second, but I'm certainly still completely sucked in.

That having been said, I need to go finish off the second season.

Dean, Duncan...they both start with "D"

Does anyone else feel like the kid who played Dean on Gilmore Girls could’ve played Duncan on Veronica Mars? I realize he’s on Supernatural and whatever, but I feel like he could’ve done it.

And yes, I much preferred Dean to Jess.

One's impossible

So I’m watching Company on PBS. It’s the same director who did a version of Sweeney Todd, wherein all the actors play instruments. I saw the Sweeney Todd in London and loved it, but wasn’t sure about doing the concept over and over and over for, like, all Sondheim shows ever.

But I’m enjoying it. I’m still not sure about the concept, but Raul Esparza is totally selling Bobby. I’m a sucker for the role, anyway; as the only single with a lot of coupled friends, I find myself relating. His face is just incredibly expressive, and seeing his reactions is giving me some new insights into the show and the characters. Well, Bobby, at least. Although right now he’s kind of reminding me of Ted from How I Met Your Mother. Well, third season Ted—the one not necessarily looking for a wife.

I saw Company a few years back, as part of the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim celebration. John Barrowman was Bobby and I remember loving that, too. Great voice, but I can’t remember much about the characterization.

I’m debating turning it off soon. Partly so I can watch another episode of Veronica Mars, but partly to avoid “Being Alive.” That song absolutely kills me. It’s one of the songs that just makes me cry pretty much every time I hear it. Again—I relate just a tad too much.

Anyway, they have April carry around an oboe. They know the way to my heart.

Missed the Mars train

I don’t remember now why I didn’t watch Veronica Mars when it first aired. It was probably on against something I already watched, or maybe I had tap that night. I remember people discussing it, liking it…I liked Buffy, I liked Gilmore Girls, so VM is something that I’d probably like, too.

The DVDs came out, and I added the first season to my queue. In the years since then, I was spoiled for the first season, but that’s OK. And finally the first two DVDs came. And…wow. Hooked. Immediately. I’m tearing through it. (I wound up borrowing the entire series from a friend.) Last Wednesday I wound up watch the last six episodes of the first season, even though I should’ve been working.

The problem is that I have nobody to really talk to about it. Except for the friend who lent it to me, none of my friends have seen it. So I’m going through the old threads at TWOP and occasionally emailing the friend who lent me the DVDs. It just feels a bit silly to go over Veronica with Logan vs. Veronica with Duncan (I’m mid-second season; I understand why she’s with Duncan and I do like her with Duncan, but mmm Logan—there’s such heat there, you know?) (which is totally bizarre, by the way, because in general, I go for the good boys, not the bad boys—but Jason Dohring’s performance is just so awesome, and it’s such a great combination of jerkhole and vulnerability; plus, he’s not too hard on the eyes) when the debate is three years old.

(And I do see why she’s with Duncan. He’s safe and strong and consistent, if a bit closed off. After the past year, I can see why she’d fall back into a comfortable pattern. Logan is too unpredictable, too passionate, too challenging. And see the interactions among the three of them are fantastic.)

In any case, even though I tend to get obsessive about things, it is somewhat comforting to go to a place like TWOP and see that as obsessive as I am about these shows, there are people out there way worse than me.