Amanuensis's Journal

Game of Thrones: I finally gave in and read A Dance With Dragons even though I was trying to save it, because I couldn't allow myself to read anything marked for spoilers even if those spoilers might only be revealing stuff in the show or this season. Was afraid it might reveal things in ADWD, so, I went ahead. I think the show is compressing things admirably while making some of the books' Moments of Awesome even more awesome. This is very likely my favorite show on television at present.

Hannibal: It should go without saying, never watch Hannibal while eating. I like the show; the "is this a dream or is actually happening?" element is jarring, though, because you honestly cannot tell. They are going for the freakiest of serial murder premises/leitmotifs/dioramas imaginable. This article by Aja Romano delighted me about how the 'ship wars on this one are just insane, because "of course you can 'ship a fleshthirsty psychopath, but god forbid you should make him gay" is just too hilarious. (I see where all the Grahamibal is coming from, though. I'd even read it.)

Doctor Who: Back when Moffat wrote the occasional Doctor Who episodes, the Moffat "filler" episodes were my favorites. Now Moffat writes the story arc episodes, and now I love Moffat arc episodes and get bored with the filler ones that he doesn't write. It's strange, because I used to enjoy the arc episodes for being arc episodes and the filler were top-notch, but now the filler ones don't feel top-notch to me any longer.

Still watching (and enjoying) Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Arrow, and Glee.

I come away from that terribly interesting and fun episode of Doctor Who written by Neil Gaiman with the main thought that the Doctor is absolutely right about ( click and learn! )

Thoughts on the Doctor Who season finale, "The Big Bang."

( Spoilers won't let me use the icon I want outside the cut )

The ending of the Vincent and the Doctor episode of Doctor Who ( Spoilers )

One of the things that endears me to Doctor Who so much is the way it invites its viewer fans to anticipate the story twists and hints, rather than trying to obscure them or startle you with them. It's like there's this mutual glee between the writer and the viewer, with the writer saying, "GUESS WHAT THIS IS" and the viewer saying "I KNOW I KNOW" and the writer saying back "I KNEW YOU WOULD GET IT RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE YOU ARE SO CLEVER, GO TELL YOUR FRIENDS HOW CLEVER YOU ARE, ISN'T THIS FUN," and then both writer and viewer squeeee like twelve-year-old girls at a sleepover. It matches the tone of the show and the main character in being so manic.

What are the chances that in the 1980s two Doctor Who fans independently wrote full filk versions of Evita? Both called it Whovita, of course. I wrote one and never showed it to a soul because, like, sucky 'n' embarrassing 'n' such. And I just learned today there's another one out there. Wild.

Honestly? You want to engage me and make me believe you've ramped up the story? Stop effing shoving "ultimate," "supreme," and "maximum" into every other sentence. Oh, and "destiny." SURPRISE ME. ENGAGE ME. STOP TELLING ME HOW MUCH I SHOULD BE ENGAGED.

*looks at all the squee on flist* I guess I'm the only one who thought it was 45 minutes of "hey Mom, watch me watch me watch me watch me" tell-not-show, huh.

Fired, every last one of you, FIRED, for not telling me to sit down and watch the sublimity that is Death Note. You made me wait until I stumbled across the premise for myself. You all suck. This show is full of so much clever my brain cannot process. Eeeeeeee. I just watched episode 7--the one that takes place almost entirely on the street and is kind of real-timey, a la 24?--and I'm frozen from going on, frozen, because it was so freaking perfect I almost want the series to end right there. You people with your Supernatural and your Stargate Atlantis--bah, I tell you, bah! *writes down entire flist's names on Death Note*

I did somehow make time in the middle of mainlining Death Note to watch the latest Doctor Who, "Midnight." Exactly the kind of story that deserves to be a one-shot, yay for spot-on pacing. I was very happy that my first suspicions of "Wait...don't tell me it will all turn out to be--" were unfounded, and yes, images of the Doctor's face during that scene will be etched on my retinas whilst in the throes of sexual joy in the future. As if you doubted.

Without doing anything beyond bordering on spoilers, Doctor Who 4 x 08, Silence in the Library, is my favorite episode of the season, and I say that knowing full well they could fudge it all up next episode, but I don't think they will. This is exactly the sort of brain-pounding "Where is this all GOING, omigod??" that I loved about episodes like Blink and The Girl in the Fireplace.

I have finally got around to watching My Boy Jack--I've heard very little about this on my flist, which surprises me. I'd be watching this even if not for Dan Radcliffe, as my TiVo is set for Masterpiece anyway, but, migod, I'm only forty minutes in and I've been close to tears so many times. Radcliffe really can act, dear gods, he really can. And this is a perfect role for him, metaphorical even, as a young man in transition to grim adulthood. I suspect I'll really be at the kleenex before this is over.