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inmyriadbitsHow had I never seen William Shatner reading a Palin speech as beat poetry before? WITH BONGOS AND A DOUBLE BASS. OMG IT'S BEAUTIFUL. :D
I just realized I posted all that Southland pimping under f-lock, and that goes against all pimping principles, so I'm reposting. Sorry to anyone reading twice! I am just trying to spread the love. (I can't believe it's not butter!...my parents went wrong somewhere, didn't they?)
I spent all of Monday watching Southland. Which I really really liked, and you should all see. It's easy to get into! There are only 7 aired episodes so far, and the last four are on Hulu, so you just have to find the first three (which, *cough*Icanhelpwiththat*cough*) and you're golden. It's a nicely-written ensemble; my second and third favorites are Regina King as a totally cool female cop (just wait until the finale, she is SO badass), Ben McKenzie as Very Attractive Man and playing a rather fascinating character. (I've always liked BM, and wanted to smack people who thought he couldn't act because Ryan Atwood was such an understated character, because, are you blind?) It reminds me somewhat of Homicide in the way that it focuses on the characters and the reality of being a cop rather than on crafting sensational cases, and I like that there is a mix of officers/beat cops in with the detectives. They deal with alcoholism and drug addiction and messed up social lives and partnerships that aren't romanticized but still get me in the gut and lots of other good things.
And, oh, let's talk about John Cooper. He's my favorite, which, I thought Ben McKenzie would be (and I do love him), but nope. Cooper! I mean, he's awesome anyway, but then! Then! The writers did what I have always longed for and not yet found -- they wrote a motherfucking awesome character...who happens to be gay. (Not in so many words on the show, but pretty obviously, and Michael Cudlitz has outed Cooper in interviews, and I'm pretty sure they'll out him on the show soon enough. Probably when Ben figures it out.) Usually it's the other way around -- you have The Gay Character, and sometimes they have other character traits, but they are always The Gay Character. Even when a character becomes The Gay Character after being a straight character, all their other characteristics fall to the wayside (Joss Whedon, I'm looking at you writing Willow in later seasons of Buffy). Which drives me CRAZY, because hey, sure, some gay men and women very strongly identify with/shape their behavior based on their sexuality. But hey, let's face it -- with most people you meet, who they like to fuck is not the first thing you learn about them, unless their identity is strongly defined by their affiliation with a sexuality-based community, or they're the type to be hitting on you/someone you know shortly after meeting. Especially for a character who's a cop? They're probably closeted at work. Anyway, I just love how they're writing Cooper as a gay character, and that's totally aside from the way they're writing him as a giant teddy-bear with a gruff, frequently violent exterior, who has back problems and a messed-up family history and is becoming grudgingly fond of his trust-fund rookie partner. He's AWESOME, okay? And I firmly believe you should all watch the show and then write lots of fic. (For the record, there's some really hot Ben/Cooper slash out there. It's a wall-slamming kind of relationship, with complex power dynamics and a nice dose of fucked-up-ness and that whole "red ships and green ships but no ships like partnerships" thing. Even the age difference thing, which normally I'm not into because of power imbalances, but since their power dynamics don't really follow the lines of age, it seems to be a-okay with me. Mm, great flavors that taste great together)
I just realized I posted all that Southland pimping under f-lock, and that goes against all pimping principles, so I'm reposting. Sorry to anyone reading twice! I am just trying to spread the love. (
I spent all of Monday watching Southland. Which I really really liked, and you should all see. It's easy to get into! There are only 7 aired episodes so far, and the last four are on Hulu, so you just have to find the first three (which, *cough*Icanhelpwiththat*cough*) and you're golden. It's a nicely-written ensemble; my second and third favorites are Regina King as a totally cool female cop (just wait until the finale, she is SO badass), Ben McKenzie as Very Attractive Man and playing a rather fascinating character. (I've always liked BM, and wanted to smack people who thought he couldn't act because Ryan Atwood was such an understated character, because, are you blind?) It reminds me somewhat of Homicide in the way that it focuses on the characters and the reality of being a cop rather than on crafting sensational cases, and I like that there is a mix of officers/beat cops in with the detectives. They deal with alcoholism and drug addiction and messed up social lives and partnerships that aren't romanticized but still get me in the gut and lots of other good things.
And, oh, let's talk about John Cooper. He's my favorite, which, I thought Ben McKenzie would be (and I do love him), but nope. Cooper! I mean, he's awesome anyway, but then! Then! The writers did what I have always longed for and not yet found -- they wrote a motherfucking awesome character...who happens to be gay. (Not in so many words on the show, but pretty obviously, and Michael Cudlitz has outed Cooper in interviews, and I'm pretty sure they'll out him on the show soon enough. Probably when Ben figures it out.) Usually it's the other way around -- you have The Gay Character, and sometimes they have other character traits, but they are always The Gay Character. Even when a character becomes The Gay Character after being a straight character, all their other characteristics fall to the wayside (Joss Whedon, I'm looking at you writing Willow in later seasons of Buffy). Which drives me CRAZY, because hey, sure, some gay men and women very strongly identify with/shape their behavior based on their sexuality. But hey, let's face it -- with most people you meet, who they like to fuck is not the first thing you learn about them, unless their identity is strongly defined by their affiliation with a sexuality-based community, or they're the type to be hitting on you/someone you know shortly after meeting. Especially for a character who's a cop? They're probably closeted at work. Anyway, I just love how they're writing Cooper as a gay character, and that's totally aside from the way they're writing him as a giant teddy-bear with a gruff, frequently violent exterior, who has back problems and a messed-up family history and is becoming grudgingly fond of his trust-fund rookie partner. He's AWESOME, okay? And I firmly believe you should all watch the show and then write lots of fic. (For the record, there's some really hot Ben/Cooper slash out there. It's a wall-slamming kind of relationship, with complex power dynamics and a nice dose of fucked-up-ness and that whole "red ships and green ships but no ships like partnerships" thing. Even the age difference thing, which normally I'm not into because of power imbalances, but since their power dynamics don't really follow the lines of age, it seems to be a-okay with me. Mm, great flavors that taste great together)
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-01 04:44 pm (UTC)I would squee more at you, but I'm typing this on my iPod.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-03 01:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-03 02:22 am (UTC)Maybe one night this week for drinks?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-03 04:44 am (UTC)Sounds good! It looks like I have nothing in the evenings this week, so when's good for you?
Relatedly -- question: has
(...and I just realized that I volunteered someone else as hostess. Hmm. It's possible that living in an 80-square-foot room with no way to entertain people is getting to me more than I thought...)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-03 08:06 pm (UTC)It was something about how you'd make some good connections while working on that shoot for that grad student. I am intrigued!
And yes, Lyra is fully aware of the awesomeness of Southland! And she should totally have us over while you make margaritas sometime, but who knows when that would be able to happen! We shall have to make other arrangments in the meantime.
In related news, I finally got some new music on my iPod this weekend and this morning a song from my old O.C. mix came on and I am now in the middle of a moment of brief, yet intense, nostalgia for August 2003.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-07 04:18 pm (UTC)Margarita night with Lyra might have to wait until September, though, since I'm back in Austin for a few weeks as of next Friday. We could do something for the Southland premiere on Sept. 25th? :)
Every time I hear the theme song, I get this overwhelming desire to watch S1 again
and make out with Alex Greenwald. Especially the pilot.