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grimorieI really have to wonder how long I'm going to mourn Life. It's really ridiculous how I let the show get under my skin and even more ridiculous is how I'm unable to let go.
I don't even bother to watch the shows I used to watch or if I do I don't even bother to blog about.
I know Bones, Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, and Castle are all awesome but... well, I don't feel the need to check them out. What is up with that?
More and more I feel myself drawn to the quiet slice of life dramas than the flashbang, snazzy series. Or, okay, I'm still drawn to them but not as much as I used to be all starry eyed about it.
It was the quiet character moments and the camaraderie between Crews and Reese that made me fall for Life and it was these moments the second season lacked IMHO. Especially when the showrunners and NBC decided to go for slick. It's a mistake they never really recovered from because for all it's procedural trappings Life really isn't a procedural.
It's more gentle and forgiving of human frailties and, a lot more hopeful than a regular cop show.
I suppose it's why I've turned to anime because there's surprisingly a lot of gentle slice of life anime dramas that's weaved together by a beautiful and haunting soundtrack.
In short, the first few paragraphs were part of my long winded introduction to Honey & Clover a two season anime series about art students in college.
Just that. No forces of darkness to fight, no giant robots on a rampage but students and teachers. People struggling to get by and finding some sort of meaning in their lives. It's bittersweet and funny with unrequited love and love triangles that don't make me want to scratch my eyes out because everyone is treated fairly and no one is a villain in the story.
It's one of the more affecting shows I've seen in a while and I couldn't believe how fast I was drawn into the character's lives, more, how fast I came to care for them. It's really amazing how manga/anime can build such a big cast but make everyone distinct and unforgettable. I particularly love the friendships formed and how the series show us the little moments that, as the series progresses become such a huge fabric of their lives.
--
Sports Night - Series overview
I think I can lump Sports Night in this category. Sure, its about a sports news show but since the character's lives revolve so much around 'Sports Night' I think we can smudge a little and say, SN is also a slice of life.
For a comedy a lot of the episodes hue closer to the dramatic and the heartbreaking. Plus Sorkin has a knack of putting things together that at first glance are completely random but pull it together in a moment when the light bulb lights in your head and you sit back in your chair, stunned. Casey's "You're wearing my shirt." line is one such moment.
Talk about game changer.
Upon finishing the series my opinion on Casey changed drastically. I used to like him very much during the first season but somewhere along the line I grew to dislike him. Dan, on the other hand kept rising in my estimation and I loved Dan's story line with Rebecca and how his life slowly imploded because of it. I ship them because they're both so obviously scarred, Rebecca is so obviously scarred.
Then there's Dana, I cringed when the Dating plan started, I knew about it coming in but seeing it play out was more than a little heartbreaking. I sort of understand why she did that, she just ended a bad relationship and now entering, or about to enter a relationship with a man she's been dancing around with for fifteen years. And it's a dance that's been playing out with Casey pulling the strings and it's just... heartbreaking for everyone.
In the end I wanted Dana and Dan to be happy and maybe because of that I started shipping Dana and Dan a little. Especially during the few scenes where they were allowed to talk and not banter around each other.
(Speaking of, I first encountered SN through other blogs and fanfics and a lot of people shipped Casey/Dan so I was expecting to see something but... I didn't. Maybe I need to be hit by a semi before I actually see? I suppose this proves I have the worse slash goggles ever?)
I love that in Sports Night universe the show still went on and the passionate but dynamic team behind the show are still together. It removes the sting of the cancellation.
Speaking of teams...
--
NCIS - Truth & Consequences
There was one show besides Burn Notice I really looked forward to and it's NCIS. I was waiting for the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger and this show didn't disappoint. I remember being so surprised that this show actually had character continuity amidst all the episodic cases and the season premiere showcased that.
I love the ending and the look that between Ziva and Gibbs, last season ended with the team breaking apart because of divided loyalties. Ziva was still Mossad and the daughter of the Director to boot, her loyalties would be divided and we knew there would be a reckoning one day. It's also heartbreaking when Ziva told Tony she was prepared to die, spoken simply and without regret. She's been tortured for two months straight and had given up hope of rescue. The way she disbelieved Tony and the way she was slowly starting to hope for something broke my heart and this being NCIS, I know to trust that there would be a fallout from the torture.
She's no longer the self-confident and brash Mossad operative, somewhere in that base, she broke and the wounds will be hard to heal. I love how ambiguous Ziva was by episode's end, like she couldn't really trust herself to believe she was home.
...and am I the only one who thinks that her father, Director David, allowed Ziva to be tortured? Sure, I know it was reported the ship went down with all hands but that doesn't fly for me. I also don't trust Vance's insinuation that Ziva only followed her father's order to kill her brother. That moment was such a pivotal point in the series and what really brought me onboard. I suppose I'll just wait and see...
--
How I Met Your Mother
I really thought I had Barney/Robin fatigue with the way fandom kept going on about them I'm glad the show was able to pull of Barney and Robin that's both true to character and left me grinning from ear to ear. Also, I love Lily getting crazier each season!
Guys, I still adore Ted. I adore douche!Ted, I adore!Romantic Ted, I adore Indiana!Ted. I know he's not a fan favorite but he is mine. And speaking of favorites... Marshall! I still love the Marshmallow the best.
Big Bang Theory
BBT on the other hand was a mixed bag. I think the season premiere really sealed the deal for me about Leonard. I don't like Leonard and for this episode it extended to Raj (Howard I never really liked that much). Yes, Sheldon's unbearable and the man could make you want to murder him but FFS if he really is that grating do something about it! Stand up to him! Penny does and their friendship's better for it.
What not to do is to pull a shitty passive-aggressive thing in the Artic where you deliberately mislead a colleague about the results of his scientific research for months!
I wanted to smash Leonard's face in. At least Raj and Howard were coming around Leonard was unapologetic 'til the end. Ugh.
I don't even bother to watch the shows I used to watch or if I do I don't even bother to blog about.
I know Bones, Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, and Castle are all awesome but... well, I don't feel the need to check them out. What is up with that?
More and more I feel myself drawn to the quiet slice of life dramas than the flashbang, snazzy series. Or, okay, I'm still drawn to them but not as much as I used to be all starry eyed about it.
It was the quiet character moments and the camaraderie between Crews and Reese that made me fall for Life and it was these moments the second season lacked IMHO. Especially when the showrunners and NBC decided to go for slick. It's a mistake they never really recovered from because for all it's procedural trappings Life really isn't a procedural.
It's more gentle and forgiving of human frailties and, a lot more hopeful than a regular cop show.
I suppose it's why I've turned to anime because there's surprisingly a lot of gentle slice of life anime dramas that's weaved together by a beautiful and haunting soundtrack.
In short, the first few paragraphs were part of my long winded introduction to Honey & Clover a two season anime series about art students in college.
Just that. No forces of darkness to fight, no giant robots on a rampage but students and teachers. People struggling to get by and finding some sort of meaning in their lives. It's bittersweet and funny with unrequited love and love triangles that don't make me want to scratch my eyes out because everyone is treated fairly and no one is a villain in the story.
It's one of the more affecting shows I've seen in a while and I couldn't believe how fast I was drawn into the character's lives, more, how fast I came to care for them. It's really amazing how manga/anime can build such a big cast but make everyone distinct and unforgettable. I particularly love the friendships formed and how the series show us the little moments that, as the series progresses become such a huge fabric of their lives.
--
Sports Night - Series overview
I think I can lump Sports Night in this category. Sure, its about a sports news show but since the character's lives revolve so much around 'Sports Night' I think we can smudge a little and say, SN is also a slice of life.
For a comedy a lot of the episodes hue closer to the dramatic and the heartbreaking. Plus Sorkin has a knack of putting things together that at first glance are completely random but pull it together in a moment when the light bulb lights in your head and you sit back in your chair, stunned. Casey's "You're wearing my shirt." line is one such moment.
Talk about game changer.
Upon finishing the series my opinion on Casey changed drastically. I used to like him very much during the first season but somewhere along the line I grew to dislike him. Dan, on the other hand kept rising in my estimation and I loved Dan's story line with Rebecca and how his life slowly imploded because of it. I ship them because they're both so obviously scarred, Rebecca is so obviously scarred.
Then there's Dana, I cringed when the Dating plan started, I knew about it coming in but seeing it play out was more than a little heartbreaking. I sort of understand why she did that, she just ended a bad relationship and now entering, or about to enter a relationship with a man she's been dancing around with for fifteen years. And it's a dance that's been playing out with Casey pulling the strings and it's just... heartbreaking for everyone.
In the end I wanted Dana and Dan to be happy and maybe because of that I started shipping Dana and Dan a little. Especially during the few scenes where they were allowed to talk and not banter around each other.
(Speaking of, I first encountered SN through other blogs and fanfics and a lot of people shipped Casey/Dan so I was expecting to see something but... I didn't. Maybe I need to be hit by a semi before I actually see? I suppose this proves I have the worse slash goggles ever?)
I love that in Sports Night universe the show still went on and the passionate but dynamic team behind the show are still together. It removes the sting of the cancellation.
Speaking of teams...
--
NCIS - Truth & Consequences
There was one show besides Burn Notice I really looked forward to and it's NCIS. I was waiting for the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger and this show didn't disappoint. I remember being so surprised that this show actually had character continuity amidst all the episodic cases and the season premiere showcased that.
I love the ending and the look that between Ziva and Gibbs, last season ended with the team breaking apart because of divided loyalties. Ziva was still Mossad and the daughter of the Director to boot, her loyalties would be divided and we knew there would be a reckoning one day. It's also heartbreaking when Ziva told Tony she was prepared to die, spoken simply and without regret. She's been tortured for two months straight and had given up hope of rescue. The way she disbelieved Tony and the way she was slowly starting to hope for something broke my heart and this being NCIS, I know to trust that there would be a fallout from the torture.
She's no longer the self-confident and brash Mossad operative, somewhere in that base, she broke and the wounds will be hard to heal. I love how ambiguous Ziva was by episode's end, like she couldn't really trust herself to believe she was home.
...and am I the only one who thinks that her father, Director David, allowed Ziva to be tortured? Sure, I know it was reported the ship went down with all hands but that doesn't fly for me. I also don't trust Vance's insinuation that Ziva only followed her father's order to kill her brother. That moment was such a pivotal point in the series and what really brought me onboard. I suppose I'll just wait and see...
--
How I Met Your Mother
I really thought I had Barney/Robin fatigue with the way fandom kept going on about them I'm glad the show was able to pull of Barney and Robin that's both true to character and left me grinning from ear to ear. Also, I love Lily getting crazier each season!
Guys, I still adore Ted. I adore douche!Ted, I adore!Romantic Ted, I adore Indiana!Ted. I know he's not a fan favorite but he is mine. And speaking of favorites... Marshall! I still love the Marshmallow the best.
Big Bang Theory
BBT on the other hand was a mixed bag. I think the season premiere really sealed the deal for me about Leonard. I don't like Leonard and for this episode it extended to Raj (Howard I never really liked that much). Yes, Sheldon's unbearable and the man could make you want to murder him but FFS if he really is that grating do something about it! Stand up to him! Penny does and their friendship's better for it.
What not to do is to pull a shitty passive-aggressive thing in the Artic where you deliberately mislead a colleague about the results of his scientific research for months!
I wanted to smash Leonard's face in. At least Raj and Howard were coming around Leonard was unapologetic 'til the end. Ugh.
