Getting used to new stuff...
Feb. 23rd, 2009 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sister_luckI'm currently reclining comfortably on our bed, propped up by an insane amount of pillows and balancing my shiny new notebook on my lap. There's no need for me to be in bed. I'm only here because now I can be on-line wherever I want and well, bed was the obvious choice.
What a difference! Everything looks brighter and sharper and wow, that screen is wide! (Our desktop computer is outwardly still stuck in the late 90s and the monitor's colours are dull no matter how you change the setting.)
What a great investment! No more impatient waiting to get to the computer because it's in use by someone else. More opportunity to spend time procrastinating on the internet! And it's much faster, too!
But, like with all changes, it takes some getting used to - there's the touchpad (evil little things that confuse my fingers) and the keyboard, too, of course.
Speaking of new stuff, there's the second episode of Dollhouse to talk about. Interesting. I liked it, the boyfriend liked it less. I think it managed to achieve quite a few useful things, but on the other hand, there are still aspects that don't work for me yet.
I'm not fully convinced that it was a good move to start the series with Echo already changing and then adding the backstory of Alpha, which obviously at least contributes to Echo's growing awareness. On the other hand, it makes Amy Acker's character much more interesting, seeing her now and not quite knowing what happened between her and Alpha. It also adds the seeds for the arc, I guess.
The assignment of the week managed to show the audience that this whole wish-fulfillment deal that the Dollhouse offers is more than a bit dodgy, that it exploits the dolls and that it attracts the creeps. The change in the boyfriend (who is actually a client and not a boyfriend) seemed a bit sudden, but for me personally, it worked on the level of me subconsciously thinking "Oh, she's out having fun and adventures with a good-looking guy, what's the harm in that?" and then going "Wait a moment, this is actually not a good deal and this guy wants something totally different from her and is using her in a really despiccable way". That Echo turns it around in the end and escapes this guy's control, well, it might be a slightly heavy-handed metaphor for what's going to happen... "Shoulder to the wheel" I think, is the catchphrase. And I liked how the episode established the relationship between Echo and her handler.
The B-story with the FBI agent, yes, I know, he's pretty, doesn't work for me yet. He's obsessed, someone gives him hints, but it's too disconnected for me from the main storylines. That'll change, no doubt and I'm sure that I'll then see beyond the pretty. There's a certain disconnect for me with these typical police procedural scenes, especially in the office, because it seems so un-Whedon to me. Something more to get used to.
That's enough for now, I'll keep on watching - I'm intrigued.
What a difference! Everything looks brighter and sharper and wow, that screen is wide! (Our desktop computer is outwardly still stuck in the late 90s and the monitor's colours are dull no matter how you change the setting.)
What a great investment! No more impatient waiting to get to the computer because it's in use by someone else. More opportunity to spend time procrastinating on the internet! And it's much faster, too!
But, like with all changes, it takes some getting used to - there's the touchpad (evil little things that confuse my fingers) and the keyboard, too, of course.
Speaking of new stuff, there's the second episode of Dollhouse to talk about. Interesting. I liked it, the boyfriend liked it less. I think it managed to achieve quite a few useful things, but on the other hand, there are still aspects that don't work for me yet.
I'm not fully convinced that it was a good move to start the series with Echo already changing and then adding the backstory of Alpha, which obviously at least contributes to Echo's growing awareness. On the other hand, it makes Amy Acker's character much more interesting, seeing her now and not quite knowing what happened between her and Alpha. It also adds the seeds for the arc, I guess.
The assignment of the week managed to show the audience that this whole wish-fulfillment deal that the Dollhouse offers is more than a bit dodgy, that it exploits the dolls and that it attracts the creeps. The change in the boyfriend (who is actually a client and not a boyfriend) seemed a bit sudden, but for me personally, it worked on the level of me subconsciously thinking "Oh, she's out having fun and adventures with a good-looking guy, what's the harm in that?" and then going "Wait a moment, this is actually not a good deal and this guy wants something totally different from her and is using her in a really despiccable way". That Echo turns it around in the end and escapes this guy's control, well, it might be a slightly heavy-handed metaphor for what's going to happen... "Shoulder to the wheel" I think, is the catchphrase. And I liked how the episode established the relationship between Echo and her handler.
The B-story with the FBI agent, yes, I know, he's pretty, doesn't work for me yet. He's obsessed, someone gives him hints, but it's too disconnected for me from the main storylines. That'll change, no doubt and I'm sure that I'll then see beyond the pretty. There's a certain disconnect for me with these typical police procedural scenes, especially in the office, because it seems so un-Whedon to me. Something more to get used to.
That's enough for now, I'll keep on watching - I'm intrigued.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 05:58 pm (UTC)Oooo - shiny new laptop! There's nothing nicer!! :)
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 06:03 pm (UTC)Yes, I'm really happy with my purchase and no Vista or Windows 7 to get annoyed by. It's not yet set up for everything and transferring my data and so on will take a while, but right now I've got enough time on my hands.
As to Dollhouse: I think ultimately it will deliver, but it'll take another two or three episodes for it to all come together.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 06:16 pm (UTC)If not, mail me and I'll try a better time.
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 06:46 pm (UTC)Sure, go ahead! I'm at home and don't have any plans except for maybe watching a little tv and playing some more with my new preciousss.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 06:52 pm (UTC)Between Vauxhall and Battersea now so I'll call in next 30-45 mins in theory!
Yay! xxx
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 06:55 pm (UTC)Good timing - will have had dinner by then. Looking forward to your call.
xxx
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 07:28 pm (UTC)Did you just try calling me? The phone rang, I answered, but there didn't seem to be anybody on the line.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 07:44 pm (UTC)The B-story with the FBI agent, yes, I know, he's pretty, doesn't work for me yet. He's obsessed, someone gives him hints, but it's too disconnected for me from the main storylines.
This is not untrue. In the pilot Joss intended but that Fox rejected, Ballard met Echo so the FBI stuff wouldn't have been that disconnected.
So far I am not impressed by the FBI scenes either apart from the first one in episode 1 (the meta one with the boxing parts)but that was a Paul scene more than a FBI scene. The police stuff, as you pointed out, isn't very Whedon-like. I think there's a real issue of genre.
But Tahmoh is soooo pretty! ;- )
no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 01:54 pm (UTC)Does that mean you've read the original pilot? I knew that it was doing the rounds, but never actively sought it out. I'd like to check it out at some point, but not right now.
Hm, genre, strangely enough, the police scenes back in Angel worked for me, they fit the noir feel of the series. With Dollhouse I think I've got problems because the worlds of Paul and Echo are so different, one is rooted in pseudo-science, the other seems to be based on hard facts. With Kate and Angel at least, they both basically had the same agenda, though different methods and insights.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 04:15 pm (UTC)Actually I have even seen a few scenes since the first pilot had been shot, including the one with Echo and Paul meeting up.
Yes the show looks between two genres right now. In Angel the police stuff with Kate was part of the fantasy world. I mean, it works because it showed that there was some areas in which police, human law, couldn't do anything. Police is hopeless. It's a bit like in stories with superheroes with superpowers. They are obsviously part of the same world but most of the law guys usually can't imagine there's those dark places filled with true monsters and superheroes (or champions), or they just turn a blind eye and live in denial (like in Sunnydale!). You can either keep it that way, and the gap and misunderstanding work as a comic relief, or make one of the cops become aware of the surnatural stuff. But it's still a fantasy genre.
Here the FBI scenes look like the usual action/investigation tv stuff, except that Joss doesn't do it well. I think you nailed it by saying that the worlds ares so different. Even though Ballard believes that the dollhouse exists, Echo and Paul seem to live in different fictional worlds whose generic rules aren't the same.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-23 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 01:57 pm (UTC)Gadgets have the potential to make life better.
I'm very intrigued by the concept of the iPod touch, but must confess I'm horribly out of touch *groan* how it works. Is it like an iPhone without the phone and the camera? Does it use wifi to access the internet?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 04:24 pm (UTC)Currently I'm not using half of all the possibilities of my iPod touch. I just use it to surf on the internet. I really need to browse those applications to see if there's anything useful for me...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 07:20 pm (UTC)Hm, sounds good, but it means you can only use it at home or where there's free wifi (or possibly where there's wifi that you have to pay for).