Bones: does this show have a plot? Does this show need a plot?

Still hideously Buffy-deprived (Filmi Girl and I are watching more tomorrow. If not, I give in and will watch by myself :P), I decided to check out a couple of eps of Bones I had on my hard-drive.

It's not really anything I'd watch devotedly as I am not big into procedurals, but as an occasional thing, it's not bad. More importantly, it's a pretty painless way to spend the evening: watching hot burly men and hot pretty women reenact fanfic scenarios in between boring procedural talk. I think some former fanfic writers write some of these scripts as the two eps I've watched had (a) the leading pair have to go undercover and dress-up as a couple for nebulous reasons. Heeee; and (b) heroine gets buried alive and hero has to find her and dig her out.

I approve.

Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already!



( Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already! )

Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please.



( Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please. )

Conclusion: Procedural plots are totally silly and by the numbers but my brain is overruled by hotness and fanficness of it all. Ultimately, it's a big squee of approval from my id.

Bones: does this show have a plot? Does this show need a plot?

Still hideously Buffy-deprived (Filmi Girl and I are watching more tomorrow. If not, I give in and will watch by myself :P), I decided to check out a couple of eps of Bones I had on my hard-drive.

It's not really anything I'd watch devotedly as I am not big into procedurals, but as an occasional thing, it's not bad. More importantly, it's a pretty painless way to spend the evening: watching hot burly men and hot pretty women reenact fanfic scenarios in between boring procedural talk. I think some former fanfic writers write some of these scripts as the two eps I've watched had (a) the leading pair have to go undercover and dress-up as a couple for nebulous reasons. Heeee; and (b) heroine gets buried alive and hero has to find her and dig her out.

I approve.

Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already!



( Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already! )

Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please.



( Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please. )

Conclusion: Procedural plots are totally silly and by the numbers but my brain is overruled by hotness and fanficness of it all. Ultimately, it's a big squee of approval from my id.

Bones: does this show have a plot? Does this show need a plot?

Still hideously Buffy-deprived (Filmi Girl and I are watching more tomorrow. If not, I give in and will watch by myself :P), I decided to check out a couple of eps of Bones I had on my hard-drive.

It's not really anything I'd watch devotedly as I am not big into procedurals, but as an occasional thing, it's not bad. More importantly, it's a pretty painless way to spend the evening: watching hot burly men and hot pretty women reenact fanfic scenarios in between boring procedural talk. I think some former fanfic writers write some of these scripts as the two eps I've watched had (a) the leading pair have to go undercover and dress-up as a couple for nebulous reasons. Heeee; and (b) heroine gets buried alive and hero has to find her and dig her out.

I approve.

Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already!



( Fanfic as show scenario Number 1: Dressing Up, Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Fake Coupling. Oh, make out already! )

Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please.



( Fanfic scenario Number 2: Evil murderer-kidnapper takes Bones and Booth has 12 hours to rescue her while angsting photogenically. Yes please. )

Conclusion: Procedural plots are totally silly and by the numbers but my brain is overruled by hotness and fanficness of it all. Ultimately, it's a big squee of approval from my id.

Book joy and Iljimae rant

Kill that baby!

Any book that starts that way can't be all bad :) SMeyer should have paid attention.

Yes, as you can tell, I got my hands on Acheron. There better be loads of angst, is all I am sayin'. Cursed at birth is a good start, so let's hope Kenyon keeps this up.

In other news, I completely lost any interest in finishing Iljimae, even beyond my mini-hiatus from dramas. It's not a bad piece of work, but if that's the most I can say, it's not going to hold me. Someone once compared it to a live action version of a cartoon comic book and it's true. Not much room for nuance or character study there. Lee Junki could do this in his sleep. My basic problem is the script: just like character development, it doesn't go anywhere. It's the opposite of tighly written or arced and it does not evoke any genuine emotions from me. There so many ways the basic story could be made interesting, gripping even, but it has these moments of brilliance and then fades away into nothingness again. I mean, this thing has 24 episodes! The Legend managed to tell a Lord of the Rings type epic fantasy in that much!

So far, Hong Gil Dong is the only take on Robin Hood I liked in kdramas. Not only is the script tight-tight-tight, it actually has a resolution as opposed to Iljimae's supposedly open, most nothing is resolved ending (when you set certain 'goals' in a storyline, they must be resolved, dammit). But most importantly, it manages to have character growth, a mix of humor and angst both successful, and characters I fall madly for (or love to hate). It's tightly written, narratively and character-driven, and makes me feel deeply. Iljimae does none of the above. Oh, and HGD actually also has interesting things to say.

It's amazing what difference a good script makes. A script that knows where it's going. Kang Ji Hwan who plays HGD is amazing, true, but Lee Jun Ki can be equally good, I've seen him. But the script gives him (and others) nothing to work with. It reminds me of Powerful Opponents, another interesting premise that went nowhere.

Book joy and Iljimae rant

Kill that baby!

Any book that starts that way can't be all bad :) SMeyer should have paid attention.

Yes, as you can tell, I got my hands on Acheron. There better be loads of angst, is all I am sayin'. Cursed at birth is a good start, so let's hope Kenyon keeps this up.

In other news, I completely lost any interest in finishing Iljimae, even beyond my mini-hiatus from dramas. It's not a bad piece of work, but if that's the most I can say, it's not going to hold me. Someone once compared it to a live action version of a cartoon comic book and it's true. Not much room for nuance or character study there. Lee Junki could do this in his sleep. My basic problem is the script: just like character development, it doesn't go anywhere. It's the opposite of tighly written or arced and it does not evoke any genuine emotions from me. There so many ways the basic story could be made interesting, gripping even, but it has these moments of brilliance and then fades away into nothingness again. I mean, this thing has 24 episodes! The Legend managed to tell a Lord of the Rings type epic fantasy in that much!

So far, Hong Gil Dong is the only take on Robin Hood I liked in kdramas. Not only is the script tight-tight-tight, it actually has a resolution as opposed to Iljimae's supposedly open, most nothing is resolved ending (when you set certain 'goals' in a storyline, they must be resolved, dammit). But most importantly, it manages to have character growth, a mix of humor and angst both successful, and characters I fall madly for (or love to hate). It's tightly written, narratively and character-driven, and makes me feel deeply. Iljimae does none of the above. Oh, and HGD actually also has interesting things to say.

It's amazing what difference a good script makes. A script that knows where it's going. Kang Ji Hwan who plays HGD is amazing, true, but Lee Jun Ki can be equally good, I've seen him. But the script gives him (and others) nothing to work with. It reminds me of Powerful Opponents, another interesting premise that went nowhere.

Book joy and Iljimae rant

Kill that baby!

Any book that starts that way can't be all bad :) SMeyer should have paid attention.

Yes, as you can tell, I got my hands on Acheron. There better be loads of angst, is all I am sayin'. Cursed at birth is a good start, so let's hope Kenyon keeps this up.

In other news, I completely lost any interest in finishing Iljimae, even beyond my mini-hiatus from dramas. It's not a bad piece of work, but if that's the most I can say, it's not going to hold me. Someone once compared it to a live action version of a cartoon comic book and it's true. Not much room for nuance or character study there. Lee Junki could do this in his sleep. My basic problem is the script: just like character development, it doesn't go anywhere. It's the opposite of tighly written or arced and it does not evoke any genuine emotions from me. There so many ways the basic story could be made interesting, gripping even, but it has these moments of brilliance and then fades away into nothingness again. I mean, this thing has 24 episodes! The Legend managed to tell a Lord of the Rings type epic fantasy in that much!

So far, Hong Gil Dong is the only take on Robin Hood I liked in kdramas. Not only is the script tight-tight-tight, it actually has a resolution as opposed to Iljimae's supposedly open, most nothing is resolved ending (when you set certain 'goals' in a storyline, they must be resolved, dammit). But most importantly, it manages to have character growth, a mix of humor and angst both successful, and characters I fall madly for (or love to hate). It's tightly written, narratively and character-driven, and makes me feel deeply. Iljimae does none of the above. Oh, and HGD actually also has interesting things to say.

It's amazing what difference a good script makes. A script that knows where it's going. Kang Ji Hwan who plays HGD is amazing, true, but Lee Jun Ki can be equally good, I've seen him. But the script gives him (and others) nothing to work with. It reminds me of Powerful Opponents, another interesting premise that went nowhere.

I guess I am more squeamish than I thought...

I take back what I said about wanting angst and torture. I am only on page 32 of Acheron and I am already officially freaked out. Way freaked out.

Do. Not. Want.

*yikes*

( Spoiler I suppose )

ETA: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??? ( spoiler more I suppose )

Man, I am going to need therapy after this book is over.

I guess I am more squeamish than I thought...

I take back what I said about wanting angst and torture. I am only on page 32 of Acheron and I am already officially freaked out. Way freaked out.

Do. Not. Want.

*yikes*

( Spoiler I suppose )

ETA: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??? ( spoiler more I suppose )

Man, I am going to need therapy after this book is over.

I guess I am more squeamish than I thought...

I take back what I said about wanting angst and torture. I am only on page 32 of Acheron and I am already officially freaked out. Way freaked out.

Do. Not. Want.

*yikes*

( Spoiler I suppose )

ETA: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??? ( spoiler more I suppose )

Man, I am going to need therapy after this book is over.

Maaan, if this book was a movie, it's be NC-17 rated.

Just as I was about to say "Well, to look on the bright side, even with all the other catalogue of horrors, at least there is no self-mutilation or similar," ( spoiler I guess. Is anyone on my flist planning to read this and is spoilerphobic? )

Man, did they have therapists/trauma surgeons/rape counselors in ancient fantasy world? Because they would get plenty of work.

Also, since there has been no blood-curdling awfulness for about ten pages, I wonder what dreadfulness will happen next?

But I have to say Acheron's older sister super-rocks. I imagine her as a common-sense Victorian schoolteacher type with hair in a bun, even though it's completely inaccurate in any respect. She is completely unfazed by all the angst/evil/craziness around her and just does what she thinks she should. Also, how did she manage to escape the evil/crazy/rapist/incestuous/torturer gene, I am not sure, but yay!

ETA: Great. And we are back to the pit of super-misery only worse. Man, I am not reading this book before going to sleep, it's going to give me nightmares. I can't read this thing in one (or two or three) sitting, I need breaks.

ETA2: According to the preface Kenyon seems to be working out some of her own abused childhood issues. Yikes.

Maaan, if this book was a movie, it's be NC-17 rated.

Just as I was about to say "Well, to look on the bright side, even with all the other catalogue of horrors, at least there is no self-mutilation or similar," ( spoiler I guess. Is anyone on my flist planning to read this and is spoilerphobic? )

Man, did they have therapists/trauma surgeons/rape counselors in ancient fantasy world? Because they would get plenty of work.

Also, since there has been no blood-curdling awfulness for about ten pages, I wonder what dreadfulness will happen next?

But I have to say Acheron's older sister super-rocks. I imagine her as a common-sense Victorian schoolteacher type with hair in a bun, even though it's completely inaccurate in any respect. She is completely unfazed by all the angst/evil/craziness around her and just does what she thinks she should. Also, how did she manage to escape the evil/crazy/rapist/incestuous/torturer gene, I am not sure, but yay!

ETA: Great. And we are back to the pit of super-misery only worse. Man, I am not reading this book before going to sleep, it's going to give me nightmares. I can't read this thing in one (or two or three) sitting, I need breaks.

ETA2: According to the preface Kenyon seems to be working out some of her own abused childhood issues. Yikes.

Maaan, if this book was a movie, it's be NC-17 rated.

Just as I was about to say "Well, to look on the bright side, even with all the other catalogue of horrors, at least there is no self-mutilation or similar," ( spoiler I guess. Is anyone on my flist planning to read this and is spoilerphobic? )

Man, did they have therapists/trauma surgeons/rape counselors in ancient fantasy world? Because they would get plenty of work.

Also, since there has been no blood-curdling awfulness for about ten pages, I wonder what dreadfulness will happen next?

But I have to say Acheron's older sister super-rocks. I imagine her as a common-sense Victorian schoolteacher type with hair in a bun, even though it's completely inaccurate in any respect. She is completely unfazed by all the angst/evil/craziness around her and just does what she thinks she should. Also, how did she manage to escape the evil/crazy/rapist/incestuous/torturer gene, I am not sure, but yay!

ETA: Great. And we are back to the pit of super-misery only worse. Man, I am not reading this book before going to sleep, it's going to give me nightmares. I can't read this thing in one (or two or three) sitting, I need breaks.

ETA2: According to the preface Kenyon seems to be working out some of her own abused childhood issues. Yikes.