Got caught up on a month’s worth of Mad Men yesterday. Among the many things one could say about the show, the thing that stood out to me was just how much I enjoy Joan and Peggy’s scenes.
TV
Game of Thrones: The Old Gods and the New
Well, that’s probably the most deviations from the books’ plot in a single episode of Game of Thrones.
Now, I’m not saying that’s bad. In general I’ve been fairly satisfied with the changes to the story (with one admittedly very subjective exception). It is an adaptation, and those books are long, the plot is very complicated, and in general I think the changes have been understandable and have made for a better TV series than if it had remained unchanged.
But seeing as there were quite a few changes, I thought it’d be interesting to dissect them. (Needless to say, spoilers! Although I do try to be vague about book stuff).
Fierce, fabulous Joan
I don’t usually blog about Mad Men, in large part because I find that other people usually say whatever I might have said and more, but I just have to comment on Mystery Date, episode 3 (or 4, technically) of season 5.
Now leaving the darkest timeline
How long has it been since Regional Holiday Music? Almost exactly three months, right? Way too long in any case, but Community is finally back. I’ve missed these characters and this show so much.
Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts was one of the more “normal” Community episodes, and while I do think that you need episodes like this to balance out blanket forts and zombie apocalypses, I also find it really amusing that this episode also contained an entire subplot about how if weirdness is in your nature you should embrace it and not try to be normal (hard not to take Troy and Abed’s subplot as meta commentary, isn’t it?).
There’s something to be said for Spooks’ practical and direct approach
I love stories about spies. Any kind of spies, really. The first two seasons of Alias are among my two favorite seasons of TV, ever. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, no matter how much suspension of disbelief is involved. But I also love Spooks, or a story like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both the book and the movie), where espionage isn’t a game to be played with wigs, high heels, explosives and high tech gadgets. Stories that ring more true to what a life working in intelligence must actually entail (not to self: get around to watching Rubicon).
All of this has been on my mind because recently I’ve been rewatching season 2 of Alias, and I also went back to watching Spooks, and watching both shows so close together really highlights the contrasts.
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The Doctor’s farewell tour: ‘Closing Time’
One of the things I love about Doctor Who is that even when you know something is coming, it still surprises you.
Doctor Who: The God Complex
The fact that being the Doctor’s companion quite often is a curse disguised as a blessing is something that has been explored before in Doctor Who. Moffat has been toying with it all along, and I really like how it all comes to a head in this episode, how the 11th Doctor has to face that truth and do something about it.