Because I haven't talked enough lately...

[next_to_normal]

So, as I mentioned to angearia on my last 30 Days post, I tend to need direction when it comes to thinking of things to talk about. I like being given a topic or having to answer a question. Thus, another asking questions meme! Snagged from snickfic.

Ask me one fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific, general, or about fandom/lj stuff/fic writing/etc. in general. Favorite character, favorite moment, unpopular opinion, something about a fic of mine... whatever. Subparts allowed. Wackiness encouraged.

I've talked about a lot of TV shows lately, so you should have a better idea of what fandoms interest me, but if there's anything you want to hear more about, now's the time to ask.

Comments

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I want to ask you a West Wing question, of course, but I'm not quite sure of what to ask!

Let's do this: I'm finishing up S3 tonight, in all likelihood. Want to ramble about your favorite moments in the first three seasons so that I can squeal and know what you're talking about?

[next_to_normal]

Ohhhhh, boy, lol. I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into. :) I love pretty much everything about seasons 1 and 2.

I ADORE Big Block of Cheese Day every time it comes up, and I'm honestly not sure which is better, CJ getting all passionate about the wolf superhighway ("More people get killed getting change out of vending machines than get killed by a wolf attack... I don't know. I mean, maybe the vending machines fall on them while they're getting their change.") or CJ being utterly baffled by the Cartographers for Social Equality ("So, uh... You're probably wondering what all this has to do with social equality?" "No. I'm wondering where France really is.").

I have noted that this show tends to do hilarious Thanksgiving episodes (again, it is a toss-up between CJ and the turkeys or President Bartlet and the Butterball hotline as to which I like better), and then very serious Christmas episodes. I LOVE "Noel" to pieces, mostly because I love Josh to pieces, and Yo-Yo Ma, and Leo's story about the guy who falls in a hole. It cracks me up that Josh has two different therapists named Stanley.

"Celestial Navigation" is, as previously noted, the most quotalicious episode ever. "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" is the most flashbackalicious episode ever.

I love Ainsley Hayes like candy. I love it when she kicks Sam's ass on television, I love it when she tries to pee in Leo's closet, I love it when she's all blonde Republican sex kitteny, and I love it when she dances the Bossa Nova. I also love John Larroquette and his cricket bat.

I am ALL OVER the Sam/Donna shipping in "Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail" (which, btw, wins the award for the longest episode title ever). I am all over the Josh/Joey Lucas shipping every time she shows up. I am all over Amy falling off the edge of the earth, never to be seen again. I think she gives feminists a bad name by having such a godawful annoying voice and obnoxious personality.

Danny gives CJ a goldfish! Longest-lived goldfish EVER, btw. Also, if you look carefully, you can see that Gail often has decorations in her bowl that match the theme of the episode, lol.

Season 3, I feel like, is less fun than the first two, because there's the whole MS thing hanging over everyone's heads. It's darker and less delightfully snarky than the first two. But I still love the LemonLyman.com subplot (inspired by Aaron Sorkin's true adventures on the internet) and I adore the Simon Donovan arc. "Hallelujah" in "Posse Comitatus" is one of this show's fabulous pairings of song to scene.

Ohh ohhh, and: "In the future, if you're wondering, "Crime. Boy, I don't know" is when I decided to kick your ass." PRESIDENT BARTLET PWNS YOU!!

Now, the important question - what are YOUR favorite moments?

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

Since I'm compiling my Herald issue, my thoughts are, of course, on Btvs.

So I'd like to hear your thoughts on the character of Riley Finn and his arc during seasons 4 & 5.

[next_to_normal]

Hmmm. Honestly, I don't have many thoughts on Riley. Mostly I think he's kinda boring. :(

I don't hate him, as a lot of Spuffy shippers do (outside of "Into the Woods," where he's a complete douche). Mostly I think he's an okay guy who does some shitty things (but don't we all do shitty things sometimes?). I liked his friendships with Forrest and Graham - in fact, one of the most heartbreaking Riley moments is when Buffy has to tell him Forrest is dead. I felt like there was a lot of lost potential when they killed off Maggie Walsh so soon. I think that would've made for a much more compelling arc than Adam, and I think it would've added more depth to Riley's identity crisis.

I don't begrudge him the chance to date Buffy just because I like Buffy better with someone else. (Though, to be honest, I thought Riley had more chemistry with Willow in the beginning when he was asking for her help in wooing Buffy.) I do tend to think that, personality-wise, they were just wrong for each other. It seemed like a good match superficially, because they're both demon fighters, but when it comes down to it, they want very different things out of their relationship. I think it says it all that Buffy has no idea there's anything wrong with their relationship, and meanwhile Riley is thinking she doesn't love him and going to vampire whores just to feel needed.

I kind of want to feel bad for Riley in season 5, because I get that he's lost everything. His career - his entire life, really - turned out to be a lie, and without his military identity, Buffy is all he has left. So I understand that he's a little clingy and needs validation, and it's sort of painful to watch because he and Buffy are just on completely different pages. Especially since I really want Buffy to be able to open up to him, and it's sad that she can't. I think she could really benefit from learning to let other people in instead of bottling everything up.

But dude. Buffy is dealing with a tremendously stressful and frightening situation, and Riley is making it about him feeling unloved. His issues need to take a backseat to her mother possibly dying, and if he's so insecure that he can't see that, then this is not the right relationship for him. And, like I said, then we get to "Into the Woods" and he's a complete douche for blaming Buffy for his insecurities and then giving her an ultimatum. So... not a good note to end on, and I feel like a lot of times that colors people's perceptions of him ("As You Were" doesn't help, either).

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

I've never seen The West Wing. Is it a deeply political/preachy show? I'm only curious because I've been thinking of Netflixing the show, but I have a feeling it's not up my alley. I'm a pretty apolitical person, and usually get a little sick to my stomach when a show or movie tries to ram a bunch of political punditry down my gullet, be they of either the "Red" or the "Blue" variety. I understand that some people like political messages in their entertainment, but its always been the sort of thing that turns me off.

[next_to_normal]

Well, I'd say it's very political, but not especially partisan. I think it would be difficult to enjoy the show without some appreciation for the political process and the various policy debates. I mean, that's pretty much the plot of most episodes. But I don't find it to be too preachy - the President and the White House staff (who are Democrats) are definitely the good guys, but the good guys don't always do the right thing, and the bad guys aren't always wrong. Sometimes there is no right answer, and they just have to choose the lesser of two evils.

Then again, I am pretty steeped in politics all the time, so I'm not the best judge of what normal people can tolerate, lol. penny_lane_42 is more bipartisan than me, so she can probably tell you if she's offended by anything too preachy.

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

I think it would be difficult to enjoy the show without some appreciation for the political process and the various policy debates

Hrmmm... well it's not that I hate policy debates, as long as their intelligent and respectful. I guess it's more the presumptuousness of some of the politically-skewed stuff I see on TV shows that bugs me. Giving the short-shrift to one position (Mr. X thinks that way about Issue Y because he is EVIL INCARNATE AND WANTS TO DESTROY RAINBOWS AND KITTENS!) and selling the other side like it is all sweetness and light is something I've always found really condescending. The whole Good Guy / Bad Guy thing you mentioned maybe doesn't bode too well... I tend to think of ALL of them as the Bad Guys.

I guess my real fear is that I Netflix it and then my better-half winds up falling in love with it even though it makes me want to light myself on fire and jump out a window. Sadly, this happened with "The L-Word", and I wound up having to endure mini-marathons of it for months and months.

[next_to_normal]

The whole Good Guy / Bad Guy thing you mentioned maybe doesn't bode too well... I tend to think of ALL of them as the Bad Guys.

I don't think I'd want to watch a show where everyone's a bad guy. Not in politics, anyway. The thing most people seem to like about The West Wing is that it's hopeful, the way politics ought to be, the people you want running the government. It's not wholly idealistic - they still have to make painful compromises and tough decisions where there's no good answer - but the bottom line is that these are people want to make the country a better place. They are smart, witty, hard-working people with a strong sense of civic duty, and the show makes you realize just how difficult (but also how rewarding) their jobs are.

If you're looking for a show that trashes politicians, this isn't it.

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for a show that trashes politicians, this isn't it.

Heck, I have a whole channel that does that... it's called C-Span! :P

Thanks for the advice.

[dragonflylady77.livejournal.com]

Jumping it to add that I don't know much about politics, least of all the way it all works in the US of A (I did learn some stuff about in high school though) but I absolutely love The West Wing because of the amazing cast. :)

[lostboy-lj.livejournal.com]

Yeah that's what I heard too. That's what got me curious. I also heard it was really well-written, and I am a sucker for good writing.

[dragonflylady77.livejournal.com]

Well then I reckon you should give it a go!