(no subject)

[trinityvixen]

Oh, uh, attention please! If you're looking to buy Christmas presents at Amazon this year, they're doing a free 30-day trial of their Prime service, which gives you free two-day shipping (and slower, if you want). I've gone ahead and set it up for myself because I'm ordering packages to home and to San Francisco, so if you run a little late this year, you might want to try it out. If I ordered half so many packages from them as I do from DeepDiscount, I'd consider keeping the service for the year. Maybe if I pooled with somebody who does use it that much. Not worth the $80 a year otherwise.

Enough free advertising for Amazon. Last night, I watched Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear (not 'the Hand of Fate,' as I kept calling it; should have known it was wrong when feiran made a Manos joke). Oh, Sarah Jane! I do miss her already. Also, it's terribly unfair of Elizabeth Sladen to be so fucking gorgeous. Even back in the seventies with her bowl haircut that makes her look like Danny Partridge. Even in overalls that look like they were out of fashion even then, she's beautiful. Not to be mean to Tom Baker, but he's no prize catch, and she comes off even more friggin' fantastic for it. And she's still pretty! Will those rotten genes of hers never give up?

Oh, the show...right, right, something to say. Uh, okay, I guess. Very silly. Because they shot it in an actual nuclear power plant, production values were very high until they went all sci-fi in the setting, then it was ridiculously cheesy 1970s effects. What are you going to do? I have to say I liked the other two serials I'd watched a bit better for the Doctor having better lines--the Fourth Doctor is very snarky, and, after watching the interminably long interview special feature about the episode (it was half as long as the entire arc!), I come to realize that much of that must just be Tom Baker. Because he's flippin' hilarious. When he talked about wanting to change things in the script or how if Elizabeth wanted to do so, she'd go to him because he'd threaten to murder the writers. He says this in this perfectly calm, British sort of way. "But then I'd get to know the chap, and I wouldn't want to kill him. So inconvenient." Like that. Hilarious.

I also watched another episode of Spooks. This show is almost too intense to watch, a la Battlestar Galactica. With the flawless awesomity (yes, that's the word) of the first episode, I was sitting there wondering how long it would go on before the agents made a mistake. Well, this is British TV, so they have six episodes. They screwed up in episode two, which I watched last night. Makes you wish that American TV shows were so short. None of that dragging out "Look how greeeeaaaaat the CSI guys are!" before you get the token episode where they're stumped or unable to prosecute or whatever.

And I am beginning to share deepredbelle's passion for Matthew McFayden as Tom. He's got such a baby face, so I'm not attracted to the actor at all, but his character is dead fascinating. And this second episode made me hurt so tremendously for him. I love British television, I really do. Because I compare Tom losing his partner on the mission to say, Tom Cruise losing a partner in Mission Impossible and I nearly choke with rage. What does an American hero do when he's lost his buddy? He gets angry! His anger decimates the bad guys and he comes through completely unscathed. Then he has his scene of mourning and he kisses the girl and all is well.

What does Tom do? Gets a major case of PTSD. If the show doesn't have time to go into it, fine, but part of why I loved Matthew McFayden was he managed to convey that this was so even still. His character is a bit blood thirsty for a guy growing up in a country without the death penalty, but that anger doesn't protect him. His training doesn't protect Helen, and, if not for a fortuitous intercession, it wouldn't have saved him either. When Zoe finds him in the safe house cowering, bloody, unable to talk, and staring blankly at her, mistrusting even her most trusted face, I nearly died. His covering later, his being almost Tom enough to be like enough to Tom that no one calls him out after that scene isn't worse, but it is at the same time. He goes to his girl, like his American counterpart, but he's clinging to her, desperate to connect again to a world that doesn't hurt, not just returning to the sunshine and puppy life he had before. So brutal.

I might have another new favorite show! Hurrah! Stupid Brits and your wonderful television!

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I already ordered a bunch from Amazon, but I may have a few additions I should work in to fill out presents for people.

I watched the first 18 minutes of "Small Worlds" (Torchwood) last night and found myself liking it so far, mostly for the revelations about Jack's past. But I got too sleepy to continue, so I'll have to finish it tonight!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I really detested that episode. So melodramatic. I seem to be in the minority, though, so maybe?

As for amazon, you can pile orders on my free prime service if you need to.