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So for some reason Community's showrunner was replaced. The new show (which I have given it 8 eps before judgng) is lacking most of the edge the former showrunner brought into it. The meta-ish feeling is no longer there, nor is the loving mocking of pop-culture.
Now my question is why? Is this the price we pay for bigger ratings? Making every show middle of the road, perfectly slot-fitting genre shows to permit easy access? Is this what the market wants? I'm pretty sure it's not what the audiences want. Or maybe it's just me?
I see Community relying heavier on romance and less sharply drawn characters, which makes them more of the general TV caricatures, thus totally losing the sarcastic element. The sarcasm made the show stand out now it's looking more and more like a generic sitcom, complete with romantic couples (in the right age-range or f course) and yes, visiting popstars. All that is missing is the laugh-track.
I'll still watch because I love the characters and I can see how much the actors strive to make the best of the scripts they are given. There are some small gems (oh like Yvette Nicole Brown's motherly voice when scheming to set up Abed with the right, according to her, girl). But it's not in the text like it used to be with the former showrunner.
And worst of all, The Troy/Abed scenes at the end are mostly gone.
Good thing I still have seasons 1-3 to treasure for the more daring, edgy scripts with loving social and cultural critique beautifully baked in.
Now my question is why? Is this the price we pay for bigger ratings? Making every show middle of the road, perfectly slot-fitting genre shows to permit easy access? Is this what the market wants? I'm pretty sure it's not what the audiences want. Or maybe it's just me?
I see Community relying heavier on romance and less sharply drawn characters, which makes them more of the general TV caricatures, thus totally losing the sarcastic element. The sarcasm made the show stand out now it's looking more and more like a generic sitcom, complete with romantic couples (in the right age-range or f course) and yes, visiting popstars. All that is missing is the laugh-track.
I'll still watch because I love the characters and I can see how much the actors strive to make the best of the scripts they are given. There are some small gems (oh like Yvette Nicole Brown's motherly voice when scheming to set up Abed with the right, according to her, girl). But it's not in the text like it used to be with the former showrunner.
And worst of all, The Troy/Abed scenes at the end are mostly gone.
Good thing I still have seasons 1-3 to treasure for the more daring, edgy scripts with loving social and cultural critique beautifully baked in.
My nerves, my nerves, my fucking nerves!
Feb. 6th, 2013 01:22 pmThe medical establishment is falling apart here.
Today I had a kid for assessment that showed all the signs of thyroxine-deficiency and looking at his lab results, there were no hormonal tests taken. So I called my partner in crime and he sent the kid to the lab. True enough, all the kid's problems are medical, not psychological and he's been everywhere because of his "depression". Which is fucking medical and should have been controlled at his first visit to any medical expert.
I should not have to second guess medical doctors. I feel like reporting them all to Valvira. Never mind the cost this negligence brings with it. Let's not even think about the costs regarding the the clients' well-being.
And now it's again been established that anti-depressant do not cure depressions without added therapy. Which I have been saying for years. WTF? Doctors write prescriptions like its candy without any investigations as to the whys of the depressive reaction. How many times does this have to be proven to a supposedly intelligent group of professionals?
I guess it's all to make the stock-holders happy. Never mind the patients.
I'm having a 'bureaucracy afternoon' and I'm so pissed I get very little done.
And tonight I'm supposed to efficient as the in-training art-therapist. Sigh.
Today I had a kid for assessment that showed all the signs of thyroxine-deficiency and looking at his lab results, there were no hormonal tests taken. So I called my partner in crime and he sent the kid to the lab. True enough, all the kid's problems are medical, not psychological and he's been everywhere because of his "depression". Which is fucking medical and should have been controlled at his first visit to any medical expert.
I should not have to second guess medical doctors. I feel like reporting them all to Valvira. Never mind the cost this negligence brings with it. Let's not even think about the costs regarding the the clients' well-being.
And now it's again been established that anti-depressant do not cure depressions without added therapy. Which I have been saying for years. WTF? Doctors write prescriptions like its candy without any investigations as to the whys of the depressive reaction. How many times does this have to be proven to a supposedly intelligent group of professionals?
I guess it's all to make the stock-holders happy. Never mind the patients.
I'm having a 'bureaucracy afternoon' and I'm so pissed I get very little done.
And tonight I'm supposed to efficient as the in-training art-therapist. Sigh.
Made me so happy
Jun. 30th, 2012 10:44 pmToday, in the middle of a mall a man walked up to me and smiled while saluting me by name. He told me I looked exactly the same so I knew I should know him. No bells at all were ringing. He had 2 kids with him so I looked at them and knew I hadn't seen them either so I was at a loss.
Then he laughed and presented himself and my jaw hit the floor.
He was a boy I had numerous battles with in 7-9th grade because of his racism. The wonderful thing? The kids he presented me with were of color, a girl of around 10 and the boy was maybe 6. Then his wife came and he presented us by saying:"This is the one I told you about."
Wife laughed and said: "Did you ever think this nitwit would marry one adopted from Ghana?"
I told her that never in my life. And then I had to ask how they met?
She told me she had a summer job selling ice-cream at a stand and this boy, skinhead, kept hanging around the stand all the evenings. Then one night some drunks were hassling her and he defended her. They've been together since he was 20 and she was 18.
I told him I was so fucking proud of him.
"Love changes a man," he replied and goddammit if he didn't blush.
It takes so little for me to restore my faith in mankind. This is a memory I will treasure for a long long time.
Then he laughed and presented himself and my jaw hit the floor.
He was a boy I had numerous battles with in 7-9th grade because of his racism. The wonderful thing? The kids he presented me with were of color, a girl of around 10 and the boy was maybe 6. Then his wife came and he presented us by saying:"This is the one I told you about."
Wife laughed and said: "Did you ever think this nitwit would marry one adopted from Ghana?"
I told her that never in my life. And then I had to ask how they met?
She told me she had a summer job selling ice-cream at a stand and this boy, skinhead, kept hanging around the stand all the evenings. Then one night some drunks were hassling her and he defended her. They've been together since he was 20 and she was 18.
I told him I was so fucking proud of him.
"Love changes a man," he replied and goddammit if he didn't blush.
It takes so little for me to restore my faith in mankind. This is a memory I will treasure for a long long time.
What did I tell you?
May. 19th, 2012 08:37 pmJust got to listen to the tragedy in Italy, my heart goes out to all concerned.
But this isn't mafia or traditional terrorism. Most likely this was an individual with narcissistic or psychopathic tendencies, not very intelligent who has been snubbed by a girl at the school. Probably there wasn't even an actual bond between him and the object of his desire. The revenge was too impersonal for something like that to have been. He's a loner, hangs on the web and doesn't even understand what he's done because it was never intended to kill anyone, only scare them shit less and give the individual back the power he felt he lost when he was "turned" down.
These are the kind of people we are producing in this culture of egoism.
We are going to pay for this culture for a very long time. The culture of intra-societal warfare war brings this.
Let's see what kind of a profiler I am? I just can't compute what is happening right now, I turn on the rational side and shut down the emotional. Because this development scares me shit less.
Can't wait till I get home tomorrow to watch Community.
Sto pensando a voi, tutti gli Italiani colpiti dai disastri economici, emotionali ed umanitari. Sto pensando a tutti vittimi. E mi mancano le parole.
But this isn't mafia or traditional terrorism. Most likely this was an individual with narcissistic or psychopathic tendencies, not very intelligent who has been snubbed by a girl at the school. Probably there wasn't even an actual bond between him and the object of his desire. The revenge was too impersonal for something like that to have been. He's a loner, hangs on the web and doesn't even understand what he's done because it was never intended to kill anyone, only scare them shit less and give the individual back the power he felt he lost when he was "turned" down.
These are the kind of people we are producing in this culture of egoism.
We are going to pay for this culture for a very long time. The culture of intra-societal warfare war brings this.
Let's see what kind of a profiler I am? I just can't compute what is happening right now, I turn on the rational side and shut down the emotional. Because this development scares me shit less.
Can't wait till I get home tomorrow to watch Community.
Sto pensando a voi, tutti gli Italiani colpiti dai disastri economici, emotionali ed umanitari. Sto pensando a tutti vittimi. E mi mancano le parole.
Oh Communty @hearts;
May. 12th, 2012 01:51 pmTaking on society by 'psychologizing' normal reactions to culturally defined diseases was pure gold.
Abed goes 'nuts' after being expelled from college? And should be committed? Oh yes, keep giving us those punches, I love it.
College as a mirror of society is just pure fricken gold. All with the game pieces, an insane dean as the front-figure for other forces and Abed's tendencies to deal through escapism. It's so goddamn true and hilarious I laughed till my sides hurt.
"Why would you lie to make us think we're crazy?"
Love this show.
Abed goes 'nuts' after being expelled from college? And should be committed? Oh yes, keep giving us those punches, I love it.
College as a mirror of society is just pure fricken gold. All with the game pieces, an insane dean as the front-figure for other forces and Abed's tendencies to deal through escapism. It's so goddamn true and hilarious I laughed till my sides hurt.
"Why would you lie to make us think we're crazy?"
Love this show.
Media's changed in recent years
Apr. 24th, 2012 05:07 pmwhich is rather glaring now that Iäve watched some old series like Northern Exposure and All Creatures Great and Small. And it's changed tremendously these past few years.
Is it like Glassner says? That media mirr0rs society instead of the common held belief that it forms it?
I'd say yes.
Something happened during these 10 years and it ain't pretty.
Take CSI at the beginning. We followed victims, we had emotional responses to disasters, there was a social ethos. Not anymore. Now we follow individuals and their struggles for egocentric goals. Looking back to the beginning of the show, when cases affected the characters and gave us ann understanding of the it has turned into how the characters affect the stories. Everyone seems isolated, in a bubble of their own. Same goes for most of the series I followed. Bones - started out with a heavy social pathos with Bones' struggles with her idiosyncrasies and her background. That is pretty much gone now and the story is about the individuals on the show, and how they deal, pretty much solely with their own isolated issues. This flattens the characters and forces the writers to turn to melodrama to make them interesting. Just because they lack the very basic element in every individual's life; society as a primer, society carrying a moral-code (shared or unshared by the character, it's always present) and most of all, the character as a part of the society and simultaneously socialized by it. This alone has plenty of stories to tell.
Granted, I don't watch much TV any longer because narrow, isolated POVs are boring me to death. I need some social pathos to remain interested.
Not even hot guys or gals can make up for lacking in something I consider very basic; social pathos.
Even SPN, a show that should have been canned ages ago, had something of a social pathos in season 1 and 2. There were consequences of actions mirrored in society, moral-codes were played on and the individuals on the outskirts of said society were addressed, That was before the story became a ludicrous fan-serving mish-mash of ripped-off fanfic and dropped storylines. Granted, the show was never very good but it had some interesting features that were buried and forgotten thanks to a very vocal on-line fandom.
Much like CSI did with the horrid romance (thanks to fandom)that literally slaughtered two of the main characters. Or the fact that the racism got very overt with the POCs beating up poor Greg.
Every new show I've tried to watch lately has one thing in common; lack of societal background to which the characters react and interact.
All but one; Community.
That show stands out because it does take societal issues very seriously. It's not in a very overt way but dagnabbit, it mocks us endlessly and I love it. It handles the college like the micro-cosmos it is and places the characters firmly within a world has is pretty much a caricature of today's commercially funded society.
Is it like Glassner says? That media mirr0rs society instead of the common held belief that it forms it?
I'd say yes.
Something happened during these 10 years and it ain't pretty.
Take CSI at the beginning. We followed victims, we had emotional responses to disasters, there was a social ethos. Not anymore. Now we follow individuals and their struggles for egocentric goals. Looking back to the beginning of the show, when cases affected the characters and gave us ann understanding of the it has turned into how the characters affect the stories. Everyone seems isolated, in a bubble of their own. Same goes for most of the series I followed. Bones - started out with a heavy social pathos with Bones' struggles with her idiosyncrasies and her background. That is pretty much gone now and the story is about the individuals on the show, and how they deal, pretty much solely with their own isolated issues. This flattens the characters and forces the writers to turn to melodrama to make them interesting. Just because they lack the very basic element in every individual's life; society as a primer, society carrying a moral-code (shared or unshared by the character, it's always present) and most of all, the character as a part of the society and simultaneously socialized by it. This alone has plenty of stories to tell.
Granted, I don't watch much TV any longer because narrow, isolated POVs are boring me to death. I need some social pathos to remain interested.
Not even hot guys or gals can make up for lacking in something I consider very basic; social pathos.
Even SPN, a show that should have been canned ages ago, had something of a social pathos in season 1 and 2. There were consequences of actions mirrored in society, moral-codes were played on and the individuals on the outskirts of said society were addressed, That was before the story became a ludicrous fan-serving mish-mash of ripped-off fanfic and dropped storylines. Granted, the show was never very good but it had some interesting features that were buried and forgotten thanks to a very vocal on-line fandom.
Much like CSI did with the horrid romance (thanks to fandom)that literally slaughtered two of the main characters. Or the fact that the racism got very overt with the POCs beating up poor Greg.
Every new show I've tried to watch lately has one thing in common; lack of societal background to which the characters react and interact.
All but one; Community.
That show stands out because it does take societal issues very seriously. It's not in a very overt way but dagnabbit, it mocks us endlessly and I love it. It handles the college like the micro-cosmos it is and places the characters firmly within a world has is pretty much a caricature of today's commercially funded society.
Northern exposure
Apr. 9th, 2012 07:58 pmwas fricken fantastic. I noticed Christine Elise, she was very distinctive in her looks at the time. in one ep. I remembere her being everywhere at one point and today, she's nowhere to be seen. Ok, so I on't watch a lot of TV but in comparison she's just like swept away off the creen. Checked her at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253705/ and yes, she's active still but not in anything I've ever heard of.
If I remember correctly she was to be the next big thing. Hollywood is fickle, I reckon and very hard on the female characters. Let's just say that female roles are not on the agenda right now. And I loved some of the actresses on NE. Rob Morrow is still going strong but I don't recall seeing any of the females get leads of hitting it big.
Community is one of the few shows that has some female characters that are allowed to be more than window dressing and either emotionally frail or weirdo sidekicks. I do see a slight change coming on with a couple of shows with female leads emerging so heres's hoping that the utter crap is going to get cut to a minimum and some quality will take its rightful place on the small screen. I just would like if the producers weren't so set on the typical TV-archetypes because they are so boring, but apparently very effective.
If Community can do it ...
If I remember correctly she was to be the next big thing. Hollywood is fickle, I reckon and very hard on the female characters. Let's just say that female roles are not on the agenda right now. And I loved some of the actresses on NE. Rob Morrow is still going strong but I don't recall seeing any of the females get leads of hitting it big.
Community is one of the few shows that has some female characters that are allowed to be more than window dressing and either emotionally frail or weirdo sidekicks. I do see a slight change coming on with a couple of shows with female leads emerging so heres's hoping that the utter crap is going to get cut to a minimum and some quality will take its rightful place on the small screen. I just would like if the producers weren't so set on the typical TV-archetypes because they are so boring, but apparently very effective.
If Community can do it ...
Community is pure meta
Mar. 30th, 2012 05:52 pmAnd it totally serves today's failing society on a silver platter, for everyone to see - and mock.
( spoilery-cut )
I ♥ this show so friggen much.
( spoilery-cut )
I ♥ this show so friggen much.
I love cynisism because damned
Mar. 27th, 2012 04:05 pmit's a 100% right.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lin71 sent me this on twitter and yeah, my ranty mood got a bit stilled. I still have to battle the rant but it feels good someone else is ranting. Love this dude.
Rant on people! Do it for me.
Gotta go read some N/W fic to calm down. It's been ages since I read fanfic. Long live escapism.Yes, I'm taking a day off reality, if possible.
lin71 sent me this on twitter and yeah, my ranty mood got a bit stilled. I still have to battle the rant but it feels good someone else is ranting. Love this dude.Rant on people! Do it for me.
Gotta go read some N/W fic to calm down. It's been ages since I read fanfic. Long live escapism.Yes, I'm taking a day off reality, if possible.
Community just rocks \o/
Mar. 16th, 2012 05:31 pmAnd is really one of a kind in its mocking of myths and societal issues.
( Spoilery cut )
♥ Show, welcome back, I missed you so friggen much . These writers have the finger right on the pulse of today.
( Spoilery cut )
♥ Show, welcome back, I missed you so friggen much . These writers have the finger right on the pulse of today.
Has to be shared
Mar. 4th, 2012 02:53 pmAnd one of these days I'll have time to read through the fl too, yes I will. Hope everyone is fine.
I should never have
Feb. 15th, 2012 06:11 pmwatched those Herriot eps! I got a real hankering for the rest of the series and I have a stack of textbooks and tedious articles to read :( I sit here, trying to remember something of what I've just read, while watching the DVDs. I'll soon have to ration the eps/day. Oh Tristan, even though you are the epitome of the tv boy, you are friggen wonderful. ♥ Oh Siegfried! Best casting ever! I love the original Mrs. Herriot best though. She's so friggen perfect ♥ ♥ ♥
I love the cluelessness of James. And the rest of the character are very colorful to say the least. Adorable!
I guess it'll tide me over until Community starts again.
I love the cluelessness of James. And the rest of the character are very colorful to say the least. Adorable!
I guess it'll tide me over until Community starts again.
Everybody needds to know!
Feb. 7th, 2012 08:19 pmThere's a new show "Young James Herriot". 3 eps up on ezv.it
*iz squeeing and doing somersaults*
*iz squeeing and doing somersaults*
First I read that female tennis players are forbidden to groan while playing on court. I thought it was a joke but apparently it is not. The gentleman sport considers it disturbing.
Then I watched an ep of "Whitney" that pushed Community off the schedule.
I give in - stupidity has won and is ruling unchallenged.
Then I watched an ep of "Whitney" that pushed Community off the schedule.
I give in - stupidity has won and is ruling unchallenged.
A dream presidential candidate
Jan. 21st, 2012 03:51 pmfor kicking all the friggen conservative Finns' asses ♥
( He is openly gay and in a registered relationship with an Equadorian since 2002. )
In your face all gay bashers and xenophobes. (Shallow point - they are adorable together)
He is pro-peace and speaks a lot of languages.
In your face nationalists.
Just hearing him speak you realize he has a higher IQ and EQ than the rest of the candidates combined.
But alas, we will probably end up with a right-wing moron all the same. :(
( He is openly gay and in a registered relationship with an Equadorian since 2002. )
In your face all gay bashers and xenophobes. (Shallow point - they are adorable together)
He is pro-peace and speaks a lot of languages.
In your face nationalists.
Just hearing him speak you realize he has a higher IQ and EQ than the rest of the candidates combined.
But alas, we will probably end up with a right-wing moron all the same. :(
It's official, I am a moron.
Jan. 15th, 2012 07:32 pmToday, when I phoned man at lunch time I complained that if felt like I had been sitting for days which well, was the truth.
When he came to pick me up at the end of tthe lectures he asked me when I had last eaten. And I still didn't get it. I just told him I was fine and then he took me to climb a wall. And here comes the last proof of my moronic nature - I am afraid of height and I still couldn't step back from the challenge when the fucker teased me. So I climbed. Anyone who has watched the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon's wall-climbing knows how I felt. Near the top I did not dare look or climb back down despite the lactic acid friggen burning in every muscle. When I got to the top, I laid down and told man I'm not moving in any direction anymore.
But of course I had to climb back down and it was worse than going up because I had to watch where I put my feet and thus saw the friggen distance to the floor. Yuck! On the floor again I was totally beat and man had to drag me to the car and shove me in. I was too tired to even eat. Until an hour ago when fame had me eat like I hadn't seen food in a week. O_o
Never doing that again!
I kind of wonder if I will get out of bed tomorrow morning?
When he came to pick me up at the end of tthe lectures he asked me when I had last eaten. And I still didn't get it. I just told him I was fine and then he took me to climb a wall. And here comes the last proof of my moronic nature - I am afraid of height and I still couldn't step back from the challenge when the fucker teased me. So I climbed. Anyone who has watched the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon's wall-climbing knows how I felt. Near the top I did not dare look or climb back down despite the lactic acid friggen burning in every muscle. When I got to the top, I laid down and told man I'm not moving in any direction anymore.
But of course I had to climb back down and it was worse than going up because I had to watch where I put my feet and thus saw the friggen distance to the floor. Yuck! On the floor again I was totally beat and man had to drag me to the car and shove me in. I was too tired to even eat. Until an hour ago when fame had me eat like I hadn't seen food in a week. O_o
Never doing that again!
I kind of wonder if I will get out of bed tomorrow morning?
