Raising Weeds: A Review Mash-Up
Managed to bank away the first seasons of both Raising Hope and Weeds in the last few days while doing all the busy work of Winter Term Week One. The answer to which one I liked more might surprise you.
It was Raising Hope by a longshot. Weeds, while clever, sardonic and often-times morbid, just doesn’t have the grace, spirit and ludicrous details that makes Raising Hope much more enjoyable to watch. Weeds is bitter and skunky. Hope is happy and sentimental.
Weeds gets a small reprieve from my ire in the form of timing. The first season aired in 2005, pre housing crash, pre economic depression and pre layoffs in my immediate family. Back when times were still looking good and the upper middle class thought their bubbly gated communities would never burst or crumble to the ground.
Sadly or happily, depending on how you feel about rich folks, all that has changed for the most part. It’s no longer insane to think that a comfortable wealthy family would fall on hard times and self-destruct or turn to illegal means to maintain their plush existence.
The only thing that leaves a sour note? Many families did meet this sad end in the last four years and didn’t think that turning to crime was the best answer. They walked away from their Range Rover, McMansion, In-ground pool and live-in-maid to rebuild their lives by doing something most of us have to in order to sustain ourselves. Work.
I should love Weeds because Mary Louise Parker is so bad ass and the show revolves around a sistah doing it for herself. But I just freaking don’t. Her socio-economic status over-rides gender at every turn. There are no likable characters, they are all self-involved and self-indulgent.
There was some promise in the first season when I thought she was going to turn her business front into a legitimate enterprise. That could have been an interesting plotline a single mother involving juggling a bakery and marijuana distribution – “baked” goods. Maybe this was the dark comedic response to Desperate Housewives? Whatever the case – I finished up season one dutifully and can’t say that I’ll be returning to Agrestic anytime soon.
Saluting the United States of Tara
Finished up the third and final season of United States of Tara today.
Yes, I’m on a Diablo Cody binge right now. Decided to give it a spin after having mixed feelings regarding Young Adult and to a certain extent – Jennifer’s Body and Juno. I just might be the only person on the internet that didn’t really have a problem with Jennifer’s Body. In fact, as a horror fan, I thought it was spoofy and high fun. It seemed to both mock and alternately love the horror genre in ways few flicks manage to get right.
The Ginger Snaps comparisons are lost on me. I’ve seen both and didn’t once think of Ginger Snaps while watching Jennifer’s Body. If anything, I thought of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. All the goobery dialogue and tongue-in-cheekness there.
Also – how hard does a female writer have to work to get some respect up in H-Town ya’ll? She won a damned Academy Award and at least two characters she helped script have either won major awards or been nominated (possibly a third depending how Young Adult fares). And still, she gets a ton of e-hate and bitchy comments cause she stripped for a year or something. I don’t even know. But it totally has nothing to do with her gender or anything. Carry on.
Back to United States of Tara: The show is about a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) leading a suburban life in Kansas, raising two children with her husband who is a self-employed landscaper.
Cody’s skills as a creator and writer are on fine display here. I was wary approaching it – a bit burnt out on mental illness as comedy fodder, or reality TV fodder, or fodder in general.
What struck me? In the same way that Juno struck me? The mid-west normalcy. The harkening back to classic TV shows that I identified with in my youth, like Roseanne. A family living together using sarcasm, humor and love to sustain themselves. Only mental illness fills the role of economic hardship as the main struggle in the lives of the Gregsons.
Three British Period Pieces Worth Watching
Blame it on a horrid stomach bug, but I’ve spent the last week fascinated by three separate BBC miniseries. All available now on Netflix Instant Watch.
The plot itself is a bit Pride and Prejudice mixed with some Dickensian characters and commentary on poverty and the Industrial Revolution. It’s four episodes long, but very beautifully shot. Beautiful for BBC – who isn’t notorious for having the most crisp or clean-looking productions. But I can’t get the images of the white fluffs of cotton blowing around in the factory out of my head.
Features some spot-on acting by Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe, who both do fine jobs portraying smoldering romance with fluttering eyes and lips. Other actors worth mentioning are Sinead Cusack as the crotchety but sympathetic mother foil, Brendan Coyle as union rabble rouser and Anna Maxwell Martin as a town girl with a chronic illness.
Be sure to watch this fan-vid after you view the series. It’s perfect.
It struck a cord immediately – reminding me of a serialized Gosford Park and both of which I assume owe some kind of nod to Upstairs, Downstairs which is a series I’ve never seen myself. Either way, I much prefer Downton Abbey because it is visually quite a bit nicer than most of the other BBC television productions. Probably because it’s ITV. Oh snap. J/K BBC, I still love you.
Perhaps it’s not breaking any new territory in terms of focusing on the lives of nobility and their household staff, but I was immediately drawn to it – recognizing Brendan Coyle from North & South, as well as Joanne Froggatt from Robin Hood. And of course – Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton. Hugh Bonneville is wonderful too – though I didn’t immediately recognize him from something, his face was very familiar.
My only beef with this show is that the passage of time is not obvious (all the sudden the characters were like “well, it’s been two years”). The Titanic sinking was a great series opener and ended with World War I kicking off. Only eight episodes available on Netflix right now. I know there are at least sixteen.
“Once Upon A Time”…When TV Was Good
I have a three date rule with new Television shows. Sometimes I might even stretch that to 6, if I am really pulling for the actors, writers, producers, or creators. Or the premise. Basically, I’m a sucker for being strung-along by a show that I really want to win. And by “win,” I mean, be renewed for another season.
No, I’m not talking about Community. I know there are tons of great 30 minute comedies out there right now. But I’m just not buying them. Sorry ya’ll. I hope many blessings fall upon you and that all your favorite television shows are renewed.
*THAR BE SPOILERS HERE*
Once Upon A Time Poster
I’m talking about Once Upon a Time. I’m talking about how many quality shows are on the air right now that I could be devoting my attention to and yet I feel so compelled and moved to share my feelings about this particular gem.
If you want to call it that.
I have feelings about this show. The pilot and first two episodes were BAD. Not good/bad but bad/bad. And yet, I kept watching. The writing is ham-fisted. The acting is dubious. The dialogue is ill-suited for the fairy tale world. There is little humor or charm. It either takes itself too seriously or not seriously enough. And the CGI. Yipe.
There are also weird race issues happening all over the place. The Evil Queen and her equally evil mirror are the only characters of color I can determine, and anyone with a slightly European accent is a bad guy or pawn of a bad guy.
Dudes – what is happening on this show? They just killed off my favorite sexy mysterious character in the last episode ala Boon on Lost, which is par for the course because THIS is the creative team behind THAT series.
Sheriff Graham as depicted by the imminently shaggable Jamie Dornan was one of the few intriguing characters, not just because of his tasty Irish accent and scruffy neck-bearded hipster loveliness, but because he was one of a limited variety who wasn’t purely good or evil. His amorality was a decided plus in a fairy tale world where Good is GOOD and Evil is EVIL. I mean, that is boring ya’ll. The best TV shows come down squarely in the middle.
Which is another part of the reason Once Upon a Time is failing on so many levels. One of them being it’s comparisons to (what I’ve heard is) the far superior comic book series Fables from which the premise is purported to have been cannibalized.
A Song of Ice and Fire: Halloween Costume Recap
Blame Nanowrimo for the lack of posting this week. After clocking in 2,000 words of fiction everyday, it is difficult to get inspired for a blog entry, I will admit. So I’m bout to be super lazy and just throw some pics at you. Get ready!
Here are the awesomely epic Game of Thrones inspired costumes we happened across this weekend.
The spouse and I dressed as Brienne of Tarth and Samwell Tarly. If you look closely you might even spot that I added freckles to my face to really flesh out the Brienne look. No one was willing to admit I have a horse face. Bless their hearts. 
Brienne of Tarth and Samwell Tarly
Our buddy Addie came dressed as Melisandre, complete with sexy red contacts and a hand sewn cape. Also, the coolest Jon Snow necklace of all times. She promised to make me one. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t totally stoked.
Brienne of Tarth and Melisandre
We hit up our friends party the next night and just happened to bump into another Game of Thrones nerd couple with themed costumes. The dude was dressed as an Other and she was Melisandre. Quite a popular choice! I only wish we could have found a Daenerys or Jaime Lannister to complete the group. Hats off to everyone on their costumes though. The lady of the couple really went all out – she even created the banner of Stannis Baratheon. Happy Day!
An Other, Melisandre and Samwell Tarly
You can check out the making of the Brienne costume on these posts:
Really enjoyed putting these costumes together and nerding out with people who actually knew what they represented! Being surrounded by fellow nerds this weekend inspired me to start reading Book 3 again, and I’m like 25% of the way through. No spoilers here – but so far I’m glad I stuck with it so far. George R. R. Martin is one sick bastard, that’s all I have to say.
Brienne of Tarth Costume: Part Three
Some of the final pieces of the Brienne of Tarth costume came in the mail on Wednesday. I was exuberant until I opened the package and realized that at least one of the items was not going to work.
At first I had hope for the floppy chest armor…if I just cut it in the right places, that might decrease the weird stomach bulge happening because of the poorly designed tying system.
This chest armor has nipples. This is what happens when you don't heed the warning reviews on the costume website. :"
By Wednesday evening I’d abandoned the idea of the armor working and was back to bouncing around all the internet sites hoping against hope that I could find a cheap alternative that would arrive in time.
Then, the DH and I recalled some armor at Party City which had actually looked decent. Unfortunately, it’s a bronze color. Not to worry though – just had to bust out the spray paint and go to town.
THE CHEST ARMOR
Here is the chest piece BEFORE:
This is Sparta!
Here is the chest piece AFTER:
THIS is Brienne of Tarth!
I applied the spray paint with a cloth method from this video tutorial. I didn’t use a black matte base, because the armor already had a lot of black mixed with the bronze. And I used more of a dabbing motion than any kind of sweeping. The whole process took about 30 minutes or so.
THE ARMOR SKIRT
Was also mildly disappointing because it only ended up being a “half-skirt” which is fine, because the cape will be covering up my backside anyway. But really – they couldn’t design a silver armor skirt that just, you know – wrapped around the entire body? Coulda used velcro and overlapping. *smh*
But it fits with the rest of the costume pieces so well:
Game of Thrones Costume: Brienne of Tarth Part 2
Have been working on putting the costume together and picked up a few pieces over the last week. Thought I’d post an update here to prove there’s been progress.
The sword:
Added some brown duct tape to the handle for better grip.
The armor:
Leg, shoulder and wrist guards. Rubber material.
The boots:
Have been wearing these around town to break my feet into the notion of high heels. This is how much I love Halloween and costumes.
True Blood Season Four: Truly Done
It was with great reluctance I sat down to ingest Season 4′s bounty of True Blood over this summer. But I managed to choke it all down and even get myself moderately excited about the season finale on Sunday.
But this show has truly gone off course.
And this is coming from a woman who spent the last week of unemployment watching the first two seasons again and enjoying them immensely.
It’s just depressing to see how nicely everything was set up – how they took the time to develop interesting characters which they have now abandoned for mere caricatures. Sadly, it’s not an uncommon theme in television anymore for the creative team to use the first few seasons to create characters and then forget about growth or relatability and sacrificed it all for the plot and water cooler moments.
Well, I no longer have a water cooler to gather around. So I guess this means I can say goodbye to True Blood as well. Even before Tara had her brains blown out in the same kitchen where Gran died, I knew I was done. None of the characters have shown any real progression or any logical reasoning since the beginning of Season 3. Jason is a complete fucking mystery. Jessica and Hoyt breaking up made NO SENSE.
The sense of community amongst the characters – their connection – their humanity – it’s gone. There hasn’t been a moment to breathe and I have no more breath to waste.
Really, despite my inclination towards nerdosity – mutants, vampires, werewolves, aliens, zombies – I need to feel like I know where the people are coming from. Motivation. Character development. Archs. A storyline that ties everyone together in a way which doesn’t feel clunky and forced.
It’s not too much to ask for. And there are moments where I still see glimmers of what the show was promised to be. In the graveside conversation between Sam and Hoyt’s Mom. When Sookie and Tara were connecting at the kitchen table. It used to be a people story with vampires. Now it’s a vampire story with people. And that doesn’t really work for me.
Or it could be as I predicted, I’m just OVER vampires and the inundation of the supernatural in every aspect of popular culture.
What is continuing to degrade in True Blood was the same reason I stopped tuning into Heroes. We’ll give it the next 9 months and see if I feel like punishing myself with Season 5. Until then, I’ll always have Season 1 and 2 as a reminder of what quality the show could aspire to.
Game of Thrones Costumes: Brienne of Tarth
After a drunken conversation about Game of Thrones with one of my oldest friends – she announced her intention to dress as a relatively obscure GoT character. Of course Dan and I took up the gauntlet that she’d thrown down – and we all three agreed to dress as characters for Halloween. She is going as Melisandre, Dan as Qhorin Halfhand and I’m attempting Brienne of Tarth. So of course I’ve been spending most of the last few days looking up ways to make my costume as authentic as possible.
BRIENNE OF TARTH
Base Outfit:
This was the first one that caught my eye, but the cut of the top is too low and the fabric on the sleeves doesn’t even remotely resemble mail. Blah.
Joan of Arc Costume
This one fits the bill much better, except for the startling lack of a skirt or any kind of armor on the bottom half of the body. Its one of the few pieces to actually boast chest armor designed for lady boobs. HAS to be paired with something else.
Silver Glamazon Costume
I will probably have to purchase this Men’s Templar Costume to poach the shoulder armor and the fabric chain mail shirt with hoods. Not sure yet how I’m going to make it attach to the chest piece or what kind of leggings I’ll need – probably go for brown with black boots…some silver knee pads perhaps?
Men's Crusader Costume
Dr. Walter Bishop: Fringe Mix CD
Happy May 4th: May The Fourth Be With You! By request – I have completed the Fringe Mix CD Trilogy with the last edition: Dr. Walter Bishop. As with the previous two entries – Agent Olivia Dunham and Peter From Boston, they are somewhat autobiographical and follow the emotional life of what is known about the character from Seasons 1 and 2.
Out of all three – Walter’s was the easiest and most fun to put together. Maybe because we already know the dude loves to dance.
His musical genre is almost all classic rock with some blues and jazz thrown in for good measure. The perspective is his, so some of the songs are a bit more ironical or tongue-in-cheek and should not be taken at face value. My theory is that Walter is kind of an egomaniac and somewhat delusional about himself. Until of course, he starts to wake up post-asylum.
This mix is also heavily Peter centric, with some references to Elizabeth Bishop and Olivia Dunham. Rather than a Mix CD someone else put together for him, I like to think that Walter is music savvy enough to have created this himself. I can see him sitting around in the lab on a rainy day constructing it.
So here’s what Walter would want you to believe:
2. Well Respected Man – The Kinks
3. God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
4. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
5. Let My Love Open The Door – Pete Townshend
6. The Sun – Mirah (couldn’t find a decent YouTube video except for this, it sounds different from the original) / While We Have The Sun – Mirah
7. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ – The Velvet Underground
8. St. James Infirmary Blues – Louis Armstrong
10. Where Is My Mind? – The Pixies
12. Feelin’ Alright – Joe Cocker
13. From The Beginning – Emerson, Lake and Palmer
14. Crimson and Clover – Tommy James & The Shondells
15. Love and Happiness – Al Green (a great Fringe vid!)
16. Lonely Teardrops – Jackie Wilson
17. One Way Out – Allman Brothers
18. Tomorrow Never Knows – The Beatles
Check out this YouTube playlist somebody put together of all the tracks!
If you are a true Fringe enthusiast you’ll probably notice some of these songs actually appeared in the TV series. I scouted them all out from the first two seasons and used the ones which were most Walter-like. As always – you can download these songs and make your own copy, or I can be bribed to burn and mail you one with beer and candy. Email me at Mindy@Tinyheroes.net if you are interested.
And what do you think? Is this Walter?
tinyheroes
Dan
