The Rabbit Hole

Because BSG is on again tonight, I'm thinking seriously about how they're never going to resolve any of their plot lines satisfactorily. But I'm still trying to work out how they might, which is endlessly frustrating. Fun! I need the relief, honestly. Last week was decent enough to make me hopeful, and this entire week has been one of disappointing Netflix rentals so I've had nothing else to distract me. (F-list, feel free to remove Martin, Kurt Cobain: About a Son, and Sharkwater from your queues on my recommendation. You'll thank me for saving you several wasted rentals.)

I did finally watch Hello, Dolly last night. It's a confusing story at times because Barbara Streisand swallows a lot of her dialogue. She and Walter Matthau also have negative chemistry, which makes sense since apparently they hated each other. If you, like me, added that one to your queue because of Wall-E, I'd say you can probably skip it and not miss much. YouTube the dancing sequence for "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," and look at some pictures of Babs in her awesome gowns (and equally amazing hats), and you achieve the same effect in under half an hour (instead of over two).

But back to BSG: this article pretty much articulates all the things I have ever thought about this show's problematic representations of women. (Spoilers for recent episodes, so beware.) ( Don't worry, this is hardly about feminism at all. )

No, no really: Oh, Boomer.

( And the rest is spoilers for last night's BSG. )

Speaking of notes: ( In which I concede viridian her prediction (more spoilers) )

And on the subject of Sam: ( My own pet fanfic theory is going to come true! )

So the problem is now that this episode had just enough to make me like it that I'm now getting my hopes up again. This is a bad thing. I think moonlightalice is right that anything good will be saved for the second half, of the second hour, of the very last episode, but this was decent enough. If it just gets better, hey, more power to 'em. I just shouldn't hold my breath that it will.

So I am sharing with the internets!

( One more BSG 'No Exit' Spoiler! )

Thing is? Aside from that first example, this show is going to ignore that horror. I WISH I COULD.

BSG. Last night. What the frak?

I fully confess I was a flagon past tipsy watching it, which was great because Ms. Beans and fiance were there with me. (Probably less fun for the always more responsible feiran.) But not so great for understanding the story, akshully. I can has rewatch?

No, you know what bothered me? Is that it was an exposition dump. It was 60% exposition dump. That may even be a conservative estimate. And the sort of things they got into didn't have to be told that way, which is annoying plus infinity. They just left it too late. That's my entire beef with this season--why are we only getting into this now? Stupid third season was a waste of space, and now the stuff that's interesting gets two minutes (if we're lucky) to come out in the most tell-y way imaginable? Frak.

( Spoilers in the style of someone who may not have gotten it. )

More bitching to come, for sure, when (if?) I watch again. John Hodgman though? Terribly cute, don't get me wrong. (He's why those stupid Mac ads fail because the PC is just too freakin' adorable and the Mac guy is a smarmy asshole.) Just...jarring to see here. He's just not that great an actor, and his crazy enthusiasm, while character-appropriate, was just out of place.

I don't care about the subplot I saw a clip of featuring Captain Pantene Hair: next week is going to be awesome.

( Minor spoilers for this Friday's BSG, but not really anything you didn't see with the promos. )

( A minor spoiler from a non-US promo for Friday. )

So I accidentally set the link to LJ book to be in the bookmark bar on Firefox (because this stupid work mouse always double clicks) and I clicked it randomly (stupid mouse!) and wonder of wonders, I actually got an LJ Book made! I guess people stopped flooding the service when the imminent explosion of LJ never happened. Give it a shot, folks, if you're looking to preserve your journal in PDF.

Scrolling over my LJ pages, I randomly came across this, and given my renewed interest in Battlestar Galactica, it amused me greatly:

( Just in case, spoiler for season three. )

Another page had me predicting that ( spoiler! ) was also a Cylon by virtue of his not being an asshole. That seemed to be my only criteria for Cylonicity before they revealed who the Final Four/Five were. I amuse myself.

Et tu ( spoiler! )

This is the first episode of the second half to provoke my interest and enthuse me to the point of debating for hours. A longer post is clearly in the offing, but, yeah, way to go, show. Way to not forget everything and start actually doing shit with the precious little time we have left!

(Spoilers may lurk in comments!)

I don't even have a strong opinion about the 4.5 BSG premiere. I had one shock, which I'm sure people can guess at. Otherwise, I don't...really...care?

And the 5th? I don't buy it. Even if that's what the show thinks, I still don't buy it. I think it's a projection thing. It's probably not, but fuck that. I say it's another one of many, many hallucinations/dreams/visions on this show. I remember being really excited for season four to start. I wasn't even a little rabid about 4.5 starting. With good reason, it seems.

LINKS AND COMMENTS WILL PROBABLY HAVE SPOILERS. SO THIS IS ME WARNING YOU.

I'm beginning to hate this so much I love it. Who was supposed to be gay on Stargate: Atlantis??? Inquiring minds want to know, if only to be sure that this doesn't interfere with their OTP OTP OTP!!!

It's a two-fer today: guess who's not as queer as previously believed on BSG?

::BASHES HEAD INTO DESK::

If you're going to do "Queer out of nowhere!" can you at least have the courage of your convictions and either go for it or not? None of this left-on-the-cutting-room-floor, we're-not-sure-how-gay-that-character-really-needs-to-be shit. Yes, it's great that that BSG character is bi. It fucking sucks who he/she sleeps with to qualify as a switch-hitter, though. Because that IS SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than the genitalia of the person with whom he/she is sleeping.

And this is why this shit bugs me. What people sleep with is really 100 million times less interesting than who. You can get your hetero boning on. But is it more shocking that you do that with, say, a robot (looking at you, Helo) or that you get some homo boning on? According to the Sci-Fi Channel, it's the latter. And that's what's fucking wrong with all of this being "news." Even if the people IN THE SHOW don't make a big deal out of it, the show/channel runners are and that's painting how we see it, damn it.

Guess who's gay on BSG? (Spoilers!) While I applaud them for at least recognizing gay people exist, they still aren't doing it right. (Homos: ur doin' it rong!) The point isn't just to shove an unnecessary gay romance where it doesn't belong (Hello, Admiral Cain), but to show that gay romances are no more abnormal than straight ones, that they happen, not that They Happen! And We're Showing It Happening!

Also: LOLZ, I TOTALLY KNEW THAT CHARACTER WAS A GAY.

*

I have seen the Star Trek trailer. Am rethinking whether I should attend on ZOMG KARL URBAN/DR. MCCOY!!! attraction alone. I can't see this movie being worth it, even for my level of pervy-ness. I can always look at movie stills and no awfulness will get in the way of my being sluttish.