I wrote up a piece for Joss' birthday at HiLobrow.
There are cockroaches in Mexico big enough to own property.
Cordelia ,'Lessons'
Buffy and Angel 1: BUFFYNANGLE4EVA!!!!!1!
Is it better the second time around? Or the third? Or tenth? This is the place to come when you have a burning desire to talk about an old episode that was just re-run.
DavidS - Jun 23, 2010 8:19:03 am PDT #7404 of 10464
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Jon B. - Jun 23, 2010 9:29:20 am PDT #7405 of 10464
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Vera nice, David!
Beverly - Jun 23, 2010 9:39:54 am PDT #7406 of 10464
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Such a pleasure to read something so well-written and conversant with the subject. Usually there's some choice necessary between the two. Thank you, David.
DavidS - Jun 23, 2010 10:10:44 am PDT #7407 of 10464
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Thank you, both!
Such a pleasure to read something so well-written and conversant with the subject. Usually there's some choice necessary between the two.
Sometimes its difficult to write these shorter pieces when you're so intimate with the subject. But I was able to zero in on that element of Joss' work which is the crux between his technique ("character is revealed by our choices") and narrative themes.
It actually helped me to clarify some of my thoughts about his worldbuilding (Firefly and Dollhouse both derive tremendous narrative potential by the sheer moral fuckedupness of those worlds), his definition of the soul in his vamplore (an inclination to do good) and how much writing respect he invests in morally grey characters and scenes.
quester - Jun 23, 2010 11:55:55 am PDT #7408 of 10464
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.
Nicely done, David!
libkitty - Jun 23, 2010 5:27:12 pm PDT #7409 of 10464
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs
Very nice, indeed. I particularly like how you handle the criticism of Dollhouse: appreciating supposedly conflicting viewpoints without denigrating either.
DavidS - Jun 23, 2010 6:14:32 pm PDT #7410 of 10464
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I particularly like how you handle the criticism of Dollhouse: appreciating supposedly conflicting viewpoints without denigrating either.
Noam Chomsky and his Mind Wiped Whores! I mean, I do recognize that particular blind spot of Joss, but I also think that the early criticisms of Dollhouse didn't come close to what he attempted and achieved with that show. Which (to me) became less and less about fluid identities than about the corrupting influence of buying. It's actually essential that the Dolls are for rent. That's something he was able to spin around politics and media and the commodification of every desire.
Shir - Jun 23, 2010 8:06:10 pm PDT #7411 of 10464
"And that's why God Almighty gave us fire insurance and the public defender".
Noam Chomsky and the Mind-Wiped Whores!
Should be a band name.
And David, that was, indeed, a treat.
libkitty - Jun 23, 2010 9:47:50 pm PDT #7412 of 10464
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs
Noam Chomsky and the Mind-Wiped Whores!
On reread, I suppose some might take that as denigrating, but I really loved how balanced it was. And Shir is right, that's a great band name!
JZ - Jun 25, 2010 6:03:51 pm PDT #7413 of 10464
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.
Buffy marathon on Logo - "Conversations With Dead People" just started.
And "Him" just ended, sigh. Not a good episode, but a couple of great moments. Principal Wood doggedly plowing through paperwork at his desk, completely oblivious as Buffy charges his window with her rocket launcher and Spike tackles her? Still funny. Probably will never not be funny.
Oh! Here comes Holden up out of his grave!