dollhouse, criminal minds, ncis, lie to me

[cimorene]

1. I've been watching Dollhouse and enjoying the good dialogue and disliking all the usual targets for feminist critique, which is almost everything in this show; so the enjoyment is uncomfortable. Then there are plot-level problems and hating the "genius" character (whom I don't find remotely credible as a genius, even on the level that pseudoscience is used here, which is more or less the Stargate level) and every scene he appears in, pretty much. I like black Giles and, although I don't think she necessarily makes sense and (insert feminist critique here), I also enjoy Olivia Williams on a line-delivery level. But the last episode was better-written than the first two although not necessarily more problematic; and I think everyone is able to get into it a bit more here because at least Echo's character arc is really becoming more visible here, and we're finally starting to see some real movement in it. The first couple of eps were both devoted to setup, which was unfortunate; they really should have been put together in a single pilot, I think, because of the way they read like a single chapter.



2. Speaking of feminist critique, how about Criminal Minds last week, huh? I mean, they've already failed so spectacularly this season with the Gypsies Steal Babies story that the It's Bad To Not Give Psychics In Law Enforcement A Fair Shake episode and its confused moral (Rossi was right all along but somehow his caution that was totally necessary was still assholey? What?) was not even a blip. But last week's Secret Diary of a Dallas Call Girl ep, which was actually better-written on a pacing/dialogue level than the CM median, was still a blip because even after presenting the call girl as a sympathetic character in that she is both a victim of The Patriarchy and a vigilante serial who shares a Moment with Hotch... do they even realise that the "yesss, Hotch helped stick it to The Man by embarrassing her Wall St dad" moment is kind of invalidated because they've already made the victimised woman into a violent killer?



3. After the second-to-last episode of NCIS and the Gayness Spike where Gibbs told Tony how much he meant to him, and that he was proud and trusted him, and touched him reassuringly and gave him the keys to the sexycar and took him on a date, I was interested to see what would happen, how they'd transition back into the normal run of things since the show's crimefighting and Tony-as-comic-relief schtick can't really allow for that level of focus on Gibbs/Dinozzo to continue. Also, the next episode is really significant to any kind of episode tags - it shows the state of the interpersonal dynamic after any hypothetical Basement-Boat-Bow-Chicka-Wow scenes. If that makes sense. Well, the new episode has Tony's normal type of comic relief back in full force but was actually doing quite a bit to maintain the gay , in that they made up the entire inheritance plot just to show gibbs spontaneously so worried about whether Tony would leave him that he admits to his constant spying on everyone and brings the whole thing up himself. Obvs. Tony's response to this is so unimportant that they don't even show it because the point is How Far Gibbs Has Come! First he talks about his feelings, and then he talks about the future! What's next? Hugging in public?!



4. There was no new Lie to Me this week, which is really sad. The show's showing great promise, even besides having Tim Roth: it's got multiple sub-plots that all show simultaneous movement, supporting actors who are interesting and not bad, entertaining plots of the week and law-enforcement shenanigans. I especially love the way everybody on the show is equally likely to turn into the Exposition Ho of the moment, and the way they tend to throw up their examples of people's Lying Body Language on big screen tvs and projectors and rewind them multiple times for our benefit... and then reinforce them with news clips of politicians and celebrities. They actually used "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" the other week. I really hope they don't get cancelled yet.

Comments

[iscaris.livejournal.com]

(Not stalking (!) just came over to your LJ because your username seems so familiar but I can't remember which fandom I might have seen you in.)

Last week's episode was somewhat of a letdown. I think the main reason is that Megan's motivation for turning into a killer is so weak -- her father was unfaithful and broke up the family. Countless number of kids in families over the world have gone through that ordeal and didn't grow up to becoming a serial killer. Her dad's infidelity is nowhere near as serious a motivation as family violence or sexual abuse. And she lost even more points when she killed that new client who was a widower and didn't even have kids.

Favorite moment of the episode? Hotch saying "How am I a whore?" (Heh.)

Another reason was probably that this ep was coming off the awesomeness that was "Zoe's Reprise," which shorted my brain with the Hotch/Rossi scenes and Rossi-in-reading-glasses at the start. I think this was the first episode that Rossi called Hotch "Aaron" when they were alone on the bench at night and I nearly passed out from squee when he did.

[brownbetty]

The most recent Dollhouse cribbed a lot from the script for the pilot which was floating around, which may be part of why it was better-liked.

And re: CM, OH GOD I HATE THE TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL EPISODES SO MUCH OH GOD. Yessss there are these mysterious ways, which are beyond our ken, it's so amaaaaaaaazing, our science doesn't know everything!

EXCUSE ME. I happen to WATCH this show because an hour a week of “Stand back, I know SCIENCE!” is a good start, but inadequate to my sciency needs.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

Lie to Meeeeeeeeeeee *craves*
I love it, event he cheesy parts I will object to when grumpy.

also: #2 = YES.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

No no! I mean I noticed that moment but I'm pretty sure that he'd already called Hotch "Aaron" before that. They've had several little pow-wow moments throughout the series and I'm sure I remember him saying "Aaron" before, just not in a scene with such, like, intimate overtones. Although I have this fuzzy memory of them bonding alone at night and drinking and talking about women in Rossi's office or something? In an episode that I wasn't paying close attention to... and that was kind of the first one where I was like "WHOA" and started shipping it.

There is the fact that they don't really explain (adequately) how Megan turned into a serial killer, and then there's also that they can't seem to decide whether her vigilantism is sympathetic or not. I suppose they're trying for a "the REAL world isn't black and white!" thing, but you can't have it both ways, and honestly, just because someone's a dickwad doesn't mean they even remotely deserved to die, so I don't really see how killing a few deadbeat dads really ties in with sticking it to The Man (and I think they were trying to go for that with Megan's fixation on coverups and the evils of power and emphasising the Wall Street aspects of the victims, but their profession being currently villified in the press has no detectable link to her purported reasons for killing them).

(As for fandoms, I'm a butterfly! But you may be remembering my recs page, which was fairly high-traffic in the days prior to delicious, or you may know me from Harry Potter which I think is why I recognise you.)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

It's even worse on CSI sometimes. Like, you know, no, it's okay to come down firmly against the supernatural in a show whose entire premise's functionality is based on a scientific worldview! I was actually relieved when the psychic turned out to be wrong and all "FINALLY, A CRIME SHOW WITH SENSE"... until that whole "Oh Dave, look, a postcard of a lighthouse in the window". What. the. fuck.

[iscaris.livejournal.com]

Really? This isn't the first time? I must have missed it (just like I missed the bit where Rossi is 52 and Catholic). Good reason to rewatch all Rossi eps, yes it is!

I have this fuzzy memory of them bonding alone at night and drinking and talking about women in Rossi's office or something?

Mmm, yes, I think you're referring to the scene in "The Crossing" when Dave and Hotch work on a case after going to a seminar together (also when Morgan referred to them as "Mom and Dad"!) I don't remember them drinking (have we ever seen Hotch drink?) but Dave was eating from a box of noodles, I think, which was very cute.

I think the first time the Hotch/Rossi slash radar pinged for me was way back in Rossi's second ep when he and Hotch roleplayed -- Dave was the submissive gay man and Hotch was the sadistic son of a bitch, and lines like "I need you to dominate me" and "You're nothing without me" were exchanged. Glee. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7K7kHLJjNw)

Now that you mention it, I think we must have crossed paths in the HP fandom. :D Man, that feels so long ago!

I've friended you, if you don't mind -- the CM fandom is mostly flush with Reid-shippers, so it's nice to find another Hotch/Rossi shipper (not that I don't like Reid, because I do, but H/R is my OTP right now).

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Yay! I was going to friend you too - I would love to have someone to talk Hotch/Rossi with. Perhaps I should rewatch the Rossi eps too, now that I know what I'm looking for. It's bound to stick better the second time.

And yeah, I noticed your post with the clips from that episode and... I honestly cannot believe that I didn't ping at the role-playing scene before. Hahahhaha. ♥

[cimness.livejournal.com]

LOL yes. And it's such a nice surprise after how horrid the pilot was that the actual eps are fairly well-written.