Prattle in lieu of content

[beckymonster]

I had a lovely birthday and want to thank everyone who took time out to wish me a happy birthday. I did and thank you all again.

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I'm sure most of you already knew this (and hadn't mentioned it) bu Both 'Primeval' and 'Robin Hood' return to UK screens this SATURDAY.

Either I've had my head stuck in the sand or somebody has really dropped the ball on the promotion work!

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The Mentalist starts on UK telly this week.

Opinions after the beep as to whether it's going to be worth a watch or not, please. You guys should know what I like by now;)

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There has been writing but it's been very sporadic. Perhaps if I y'know actually got a story beta'ed and (gosh, shock, horror!) posted! said sporadicalness (sp!) might evaporate...

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I've been to see waaaaay too many movies. I need to go see Watchmen again to form a more coherent opinion.


All I got so far is:
i) Have read the novel (at least twice), think Alan Moore ain't all that (Neil Gaiman, he ain't) and think the movie is far superior. This has got nothing to do with the fact that I have had a run-in or two with some of Mr Moore's fanboys...

ii) Zac Snyder needs to leave the 'Slo-Mo' button well alone!

iii) The 'Hallelujah' scene (you'll know what I mean if you've seen the movie) could have been cut to the benefit of the film.

iv) Star Trek (which was trailered) looks utterly *awesome*!


***

Got a letter from the Professional Organisation about the Spawn of Hell Professional Exams (SoPHE). They're processing with my application. Quite at what point my application is at... they can't tell me.

I should hear about May or July - until then? Out of sight, out of mind!

***

Hope all are well! and I promise not to fall of the planet again!

Comments

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

I think everybody should watch the Mentalist because it is my favorite new shiny program.

The pilot doesn't quite do it justice to the concept. It's on after NCIS and I feel SG-1 teamy goodness with both the shows. If you've seen Psych, the series is like that in concept but while Psych goes into the ridiculous/light/silly side, Mentalist takes a more crime formulaic darker spin on the tale.

By darker, I don't mean like "BSG" dark or anything, but there's a caustic undertone to the humor sometimes. I'm not a big fan of "black comedy" but here I really like it. The interrelationships of the characters is very sweet as it develops. And while Jane can be a bit...not self-centered as in "everything must revolve around me" but focused to the point of being oblivious to other considerations (that improves over time)."

I find even if/when I can predict what will happen, I still enjoy following Patrick Jane and company for the ride.

I hope you like the show.

[becky-monster.livejournal.com]

Well... I have set the Sky+ to tape it (think UK version of TiVO) so I shall have a looksee...

As will the rest of the family as you can only tape two things at once and it's on at the same times as Bones is. So I shall see what the family think too.

Hope today gets better!

[gaslightgallows]

Re Watchmen:

I was remarkably pleased at how well the book made the transition to film, especially considering some of the earlier attempts at scripting (Um, what do you MEAN, time paradox?!). They cram-jammed everything into the film that they possibly could--and maybe that's to the detriment of the film for some people; I personally didn't mind it being three hours long.

Agree with you on the way too much slow-mo. Yeesh.

While I didn't mind the 'Hallelujah' scene... I minded the song. Yeah, okay, Leonard Cohen wrote it, props for that, but the man really grates on my ear drums. When it's out on DVD, I'm going to replace that track with Rufus Wainwright's cover version, which gives me warm emo-fuzzies.

And I am so jealous of you getting to see the Star Trek trailer. All I got to see was the one for the new Terminator movie. Meh!

[becky-monster.livejournal.com]

Agreed with many of your points about the movie adaption.

I have had... 'run-ins' with some of Mr Moore's fanboys in the past. Which is why I tend to take a step back from them.

One led to a sonic screwdriver replica being shoved down the back of my pants/trousers (long story!) and the other... was the ex boyfriend who was trying to use the works of Mr N. Gaiman as a bait and switch tactic... He didn't get the memo that bait and switch is *used* by librarians on others.... It doesn't work on us!

I *loved* the movie version of V for Vendetta and have no intention of reading the book. I'm not a fan of Moore's work and the movie did what it was supposed to do. It stood up on it's own breakfast, told the story (superbly, imho) without need to read the book. Job done, DVD sold!
If a comic book film (or *any* adaption) can do that then... that's fine.

Re: Hallelujiah - this was ruined! by the winner of the UK version of American Idol last Christmas. As much as I adore the Rufus version, I'm having real problems listening to this right now... Maybe it's a sign of encroaching old age but the sex scene wasn't moving the story along - ergo... it should have been dropped.

As for Star Trek it was the trailer with the car going off a cliff. In IMAX it made me do impressions of the Toy Story aliens (oooOOOOoooooo!). Good job I was on my own then;)

Certainly going to see *that* when it comes out!

[nialla]

I didn't know Robin Hood was starting in addition to Primeval. In both cases, I'm really wondering where they're going to go.

I know a lot of people on my flist like The Mentalist, but the lead character annoys me merely from seeing the ads. I guess you could call it a "bad first impression" for the show, so I haven't actually watched.

[becky-monster.livejournal.com]

Primeval seems to have their first episode in the British Museum of all places o.O. Will no one think of the artefacts?!

Robin Hood Don't know, don't really care, but they have Friar Tuck joining them this season.

Oh! And the Doctor Who Special will be aired on Easter Saturday, the BBC confirmed today.

Silly question - Jim Butcher's UK publishers will be publishing the Codex Alera books as of May. Worth a read or shall I just stick to Harry?

[nialla]

Robin Hood went rather 'round the bend on camp (and I enjoyed the camp early on), but the most telling thing for me was the cast changes. That doesn't speak well for what's going on behind-the-scenes for me, especially after everything I'd heard about with Stargate Atlantis comings and goings.

I'd been hearing rumors of a DW special for Easter, but the BBC wasn't officially saying it. What is it with their secrecy about airdates?

In the US, we get months of ads for upcoming shows to the point where even if you want to watch it, you're sick of the ads, while the BBC attitude is more like, "You'll see it in a week. Two at most. Tune in to see. No, we won't even tell you the timeslot, we've got to make it a bit of a challenge."

Codex Alera is old-fashioned epic fantasy. Dresden is more my style, but if you like fantasy, Alera would probably work for you.

A little back history of the world-building concepts in Alera. Jim created the "Furies" on a dare. He was basically told no one could make Pokemon interesting and not silly, so he gave it a go. A few bestsellers later... I hope he collected on the bet. ;)