(no subject)

[liptonrm_backup]

Still fighting The Plague. Didn't come into work yesterday but there was Drama so came in today. Not Work Drama but Family Drama. The Mum isn't too happy with me at the moment. Drama, drama, drama.

It's hard to focus when I'm feeling this way. Thoughts and ideas don't settle down and my mind is always wandering around dazedly. And people get more annoying. Grrrrr.

Read The Stand this week. It's a fun book, nice and apocalyptic-y. I saw the mini-series when it was first on tv and was happily surprised to discover how accurate to the book it was. The biggest problem of the mini-series was some bad casting and the psychological neutering of the human villains. With regards to the book, I'm not completely sure Stephen King pulled off the Big Apocalyptic Battle. One minute the focus of the story was going one way and then the next minute it was off on a whole new tangent. I'm not sure what it was but something about the ending just didn't work for me, it's never worked for me. It's hard to pinpoint.

You know the best thing about staying home all day? Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. That show is so great. For me it ages better then The Next Generation (which comes on right after). The characters are richer, in some way. Sure Picard is great on TNG but he's the only one that is consistently intriguing. Shoot, it took DS9 to make Worf into a character I could love. I got to watch one of the mirrorverse episodes yesterday with nympho!Kira and rebel!Sisko and the enslaved human race. Great fun. Then there was another episode that had this great O'Brien-Bashir drunk scene and Colm Meaney totally let his Irish accent out to play and that was great because I had watched about half of Intermission the night before.

I have the desire to do something creative or productive but am really out of it so will just sit here and let all of you be interesting for me.

Word Origin of the Day: Annoy - In Latin, odium is the word for "hatred." This developed into anoier in Old French, meaning "to generate hate," before appereaing in Middle English as anoien, the direct ancestor of the modern English word. But by this time, the meaning had softened to imply something less extreme.

ETA: In another life my father was a political operative.

Comments

[hiyacynth.livejournal.com]

Sorry you're still down with TFP. And that family drama has exploded. That's never pretty.

I fear DS9 because it's the only series that I didn't watch right from the beginning. I had class (and no VCR) the night it was on, and then was in France the second season. So I tried to get into it in the third season, but by then I'd missed too much. So I know sort of overarchingly what happened during the whole series, but there's a good 2/3 I haven't actually seen. Which... scary. The call is strong.

Oh, except Enterprise, which I gave about four months and then realized that habit is not a good reason to watch a show that didn't engage me. (Wow. That was wise. I'd apply it to ER except for Dr. Malarkey.

*Freudvoice* Tell me about your father...

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I can understand the basis for your DS9 fear. I have also not seen a near majority of the episodes but always happened to see just enough to figure out what was going on and feel investment in the characters. I say go for it, there is no such thing as too many fandoms and it truly is the best of the Treks.

I must have a much lower tolerance level for crappy tv then you do because I never watched Enterprise and I'm not sure that I can continue watching ER, even for Dr. Malarkey. Perhaps my love simply isn't strong enough. =D

Hee. My dad was explaining some sort of bill that's going through the state legislature and the way he was talking about it and the chances it had made me feel like I was watching The West Wing or something. It was great, he was all knowledgeable and stuff.

[hiyacynth.livejournal.com]

My tolerance for crappy TV with people I like in it is fairly high, though it's getting waverier. But like, am I going to pick up Veronica Mars (which I hear is a GREAT show, but I just... No more!!) because Cordy and Willow occasionally guest star? Prolly not. Smallville I can pick up for six episodes because of James Marsters, no problem. But now Ron's on House and I avoided that last year because I heard it was so good and I'd vowed no new TV, but now if I watch it I'll have to rent the Season 1 DVDs so I know what the heck's happening. And then there's Battlestar Gallactica, which I can't even think about because a) missed the whole first season b) no time to watch another full season of DVDs and 3) SciFi just went off my cable plan so I can't watch Season 2 anyway...

OMG Fall TV Anxiety has begun!!

Help me. Please help me.

[hiyacynth.livejournal.com]

Also please help me remember the / when I get all fancy with my TV show names.

[writerj.livejournal.com]

DS9 was the best. Period. Even in its early seasons, it was this wonderfully colorful little slice of scifi zeitgeist, with Quark's and Sisko's baseball fixation and the tension of the Bajoran nation-building (or planet-building as the case may be) and the whole amazing spirituality of the Wormhole. I still prefer the opening credits sequence before they added all the runabouts, when the climax of the theme music (my favorite Star Trek series theme) was the unfurling of the Wormhole.

And then, when the Dominion War started ... oh my God!

Yes; although I adore Voyager, because I've seen it from beginning to end and Janeway is my favorite captain, and because I find it closest to the jauntiness that was the original concept, DS9 was the best TV. At its best seasons, it was right up there with Babylon 5.

TNG left me cold and still does. I think it's the plush carpeting on the beige bridge.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

*sigh* DS9!
I grew up watching TOS and then TNG (for 7 years every saturday night in my house was Pizza and Picard) and then DS9 started. I watched the first few seasons and loved them and then they moved it to the middle of Saturday afternoons and started the continuing storyline and I kept missing and then gave up.
I tried Voyager - but between hating Janeway and getting bored with Gilligan's Island in space, even my Trek-love couldn't get me to watch it and I've never seen any Enterprise.

But DS9. One of these days I need to go through and watch it all. Because I love them - I love Dax and Kira and Bashir & O'Brien and Bashir & Garak and Quark & Odo. I rented the first disc a bit ago and was blown away by how much I still loved them all. And how cute and puppy-like Bashir was at first.

Sorry, I just Trek-rambled rather a lot at you.
*hugs* on the sick and the drama! Hope they all smooth out and the weekend treats you well!

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

King gets a lot of credit for The Stand, but I don't think it holds a candle to It.

Another interesting King read is a book called Eye of the Dragon, wherein the badguy is an evil wizard named Flagg. The character is very reminiscant of the Walking Dude from The Stand.

[lil-banik-slave.livejournal.com]

I've always prefered DS9 to the others, but that might be because where it was a Space Station it was less "Planet of the week" and more character based like Babylon 5.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Exactly. DS9 was the best overall experience of any of the Treks. Though it's also the one that I think a lot of 'trekkies' are the most divided on. A lot of the hardcore fans don't find it enough trek-like, whatever that means and then you have the people who will hate on it because "OMG Babylon 5 was so much better and DS9 is such a big rip-off." etc, etc. Us intelligent fans know that both can be loved for their triumphs and weaknesses.

I wanted to love Voyager and I did enjoy the heck out of it for a while. I kind of went cold on it, after awhile. I'm random, I suppose. =D

Dude, I really need to buy the DS9 season dvds. Yeeeeeaaaah.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

That's how it was at my house too! When DS9 moved to Saturday afternoons I was never sure when it was on. That's why I wish Paramount wasn't so obnoxious and would sell the season dvds for a reasonable price because there's space station goodness that I need to see!

Word on Voyager, too. Janeway just wasn't a very good captain. And she annoyed me. And the writers sucked.

All of us children of Star Trek. We're quite the generation. =D

I'm sure the drama will resolve itself. There's always drama with the Mum. *rolls eyes*

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

My King education is severely lacking. We weren't allowed scary things when I was a child. ;-) Will have to pick up It, I'm always hearing good things about it.

King has a tendency to cross characters over and around in his books. I've heard that all of his books are set in the same universe and when it's obviously not (like in Eyes of the Dragon or The Dark Tower) he'll use good ol' Randall Flagg as the Big Bad. Convenient, that.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

You know, that's probably the main reason why DS9 gets so much love and hate. The people who love the old Trek adventure stories aren't too fond of it but the people who are more invested in character and plot think it's the greatest.

Us fans are such a difficult bunch, so diverse and picky. ;-)

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Oh NO! Not fall tv anxiety! *gasp*

Ahem. Well, I can say that I've been watching Veronica Mars over the summer, on the strong recommendation of a friend, and it's good; not exceptionally great but relatively engaging. I'll probably be taping the second season because it's on at the same time as Lost and I'm involved enough to want to keep on watching but not nearly infatuated enough to skip watching all those wacky shenanigans on our favorite desert island.

I'll definitely be watching House because I fell in snarky love last season. It's funny because I kept on flipping by and getting caught because out of the corner of my eye Hugh Laurie's face is reminiscent of Damian Lewis's (I think it's the shape). Now that Ron's going to be on I am amused beyond words. If you want to watch I wouldn't worry too much about renting the season 1 dvds first. I came in mid-season and was able to catch on pretty well.

And that's enough tv blather, I could take up another 100 feet or so with it (and doesn't that sound oh so Harry Potter? The internet = The Wizarding World, I just know it does). I think I'll actually be happy to have too much tv to invade my quiet time. To much thinking is never good. ;-)

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really liked It a lot. The book's about a bunch of eleven-year-old kids who fight a big, scary monster with their imaginations (that is a terribly summary, but roughly correct). It's just... really interesting. I can see it being a sort of grown-up version of a fantasy he had as a little kid, really.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

That's why I wish Paramount wasn't so obnoxious and would sell the season dvds for a reasonable price because there's space station goodness that I need to see!

I know! I don't get why Star Trek is 2-3 times more expensive than any other series. It's not like they have more hours/dvds than other shows. And they don't have to do film restoration like M*A*S*H. Some people say it's because they know Trekkies will pay it but other shows have crazy fans and there's so many of us who don't buy them because the price is so ridiculous.

Word on Voyager, too. Janeway just wasn't a very good captain. And she annoyed me. And the writers sucked.

Yep. I was so excited to finaly get a female captain and then I HATED her. And so many other characters had potential that was just never realized. And then it all became about how sexy 7 of 9 was and so very much Gilligan's Island and I quit.

:) It's true. And yet, in my junior high/high school admitting to liking Star Trek was the surest way of getting outcast as the biggest nerd ever.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Paramount obviously hates the fans. I mean, look, they kept Rick Berman in charge of the franchise for long enough to kill it off. They must really despise us.

Voyager took all of the worst tendencies of TNG and magnified them by a factor of a million. And Kate Mulgrew is no Patrick Stewart.

That's it, one day we will all get together and watch DS9 and Babylon 5 and Band of Brothers and Firefly and The West Wing and then the world will officially come to an End. =D

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

I'll have to put It on The List. You do, after all, have impeccable taste.

I love Stephen King. He's such a grown-up geek.

[azur-infinie.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about the ending of 'The Stand'. It's been years since I read it, but I always found it disappointing compared to the first half of the book. I read the extended version with all the stuff that Stephen King originally cut out, and I've never been sure if it was worth putting it all back in. I still have the video somewhere, but all I remember is that Rob Lowe was in it, lol.

[lil-banik-slave.livejournal.com]

It's what makes us us

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

Rick Berman actually gave a talk at my college freshman year - a tech school FULL of rabid Trekkies. I don't remember much of it, but it was kinda interesting. And yeah, they do seem to despise us. Or, use us perhaps? Almost an abusive relationship, really.
(and apparently Bruce McKenna of BoB fame gave a talk at our neighboring college the semester after I graduated - apparently his family is strongly tied to Claremont McKenna college. Go figure :) )

Very true. I don't mind being lectured by Patrick Stewart. But when Mulgrew tries I just want to slug her. I swear her voice made me wince. Plus, I do like TNG. I admit it.

WE WILL! We just have to both make it to Chicago on the same weekend or somesuch. Though I admit to never seeing a single minute of B-5.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The End of the World plague stuff was gripping but he didn't build up enough Apocalyptic tension in the first part to pay off in the end. And King's extended edition kind of makes it all worse.

When the mini-series first came out my brothers and I loved it. We watched it a whole bunch. I totally need to scrounge up a dvd. It wasn't perfect but boy was it a lot of fun. =D

[writerj.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's it, you both get the Kate Death Glare *glare*. You don't diss my momma!

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

I like TNG too. I don't think it's aged as well as DS9 because it was primarily episodic and not as character based as it's space station counterpart but when it was good it was very, very good. And, dude, Patrick Stewart. 'Nuff said.

Did you know that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan are doing an updated movie version of The Merchant of Venice that will be set in Las Vegas? I'm really excited.

We will meet, one day. Oh yes we will. The scheduling gods are a pernicious lot but we will find a way to appease them.

You've never seen B5? You totally should. The dialogue's not always that great and some of the actors are less then acceptable but the story is fantastic. Highly recommended.

[writerj.livejournal.com]

Babylon 5? Weaknesses? You mean like the acting to the hand? *hugs Tolkien in space*

You just have to watch Voyager an episode a day every day twice for three straight years in which the entire run was repeated three times to grasp the utter meta-Trekness of it all. And the high camp of Seven of Nine. And the high comedy. And the pure drag-queen fabulousness. If you want to take it seriously then you're going to be very disappointed.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Well fine. *sticks out tongue*

It must be one of the bitchy chick things. *wink*

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

I definitely need some better Trek icons.

Now, Voyager as fabulous meta-Trek camp I can totally get behind. That's it, that's my problem. I take all of these things waaaaay too seriously. Obviously I should've smoked weed when I was in college. *nods*

[writerj.livejournal.com]

Well, I must have lost my Trekker membership somewhere along the time I found Young Indy and the *past*, but I never bought the enlightened peaceful humanistic future. My third favorite moment in all Trek movies is when Picard repeats his "we've evolved into higher consciousness" speech from Season 1 to Alfre Woodard in "First Contact" and she tells him "Bullsh!t!", he's going around obsessed with the Borg and shooting everything with a Big Betsy blaster.

So DS9 -- the moral ambiguity of that part of the universe, the presence of *gasp* religion (the Prophets never did really just become "wormhole aliens", no matter how hard Jadzia tried), and then, of course, the utter breathtaking scale, both in ships and planets and in literally Earth-shaking ramifications in galactic politics and civilization, of the Dominion War ...

Plus, I love the scenery-chewingness of Sisko and Dukat and Kai Nurse Ratched.

[writerj.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going to go there, but ... *went there in his head* I do notice certain trends.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

You and me both, brother. I'll take moral ambiguity and messy human relationships over enlightened peaceful humanity any day of the week. You know, Picard could go around the universe preaching peace, love and unity and delude himself into believing that humanity had evolved beyond petty things like hatred and vengeance because he never stayed in one spot for long enough to see the reprecussions of his/Starfleet's actions.

Sisko had to live in the here and now. There wasn't any room for delusions.

has NO Sci Fi icon. blasphemy

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

DS9 started episodic and then changed. And sometimes episodic is better cause you can pick it up in random places - yaknow?
Yep. Picard and Data and GEORDI and Ro and Worf and *sighs* it was good.

Did you know that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan are doing an updated movie version of The Merchant of Venice that will be set in Las Vegas? I'm really excited.

holy crap. that could kill me.

it's true. one day :) we'll just have to take the scheduling gods, twist their arms behind their backs and make them submit (especially since hiyacynth just told me it looks like we'll be missing each other by one week)

Nope. Always thought about watching B5, but it never happened.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

There it is! You call yourself a Trekker, not a Trekkie :)
That's why you love Voyager!

I see what you mean about Picard. And maybe part of my attraction to him is that he and I share a level of hopeless idealism. I personally thing it's something for Picard, having gone through all the crap he's gone through, to still believe in people (and I mean people as, um, not just humans) as much as he does, even if he may be hopelessly idealistic, etc.
I think he knows it's not perfect, he's certainly fought enough, but he sees the potential.

I missed most of the Dominion war and what I saw didn't appeal to me, but I blame a lot of that on catching random episodes and not knowing what was going on.
I did love that they made Sisko such a different captain from Picard and Kirk and still awesome in his own right.