sophinisba | Torchwood and Supernatural

Entry tags:

Torchwood and Supernatural

I sure have been watching a lot of TV lately. 2nd season of the new Dr. Who, 1st season Torchwood, and a bit of 1st season Farscape on DVD, and new episodes of Lost and Supernatural. The ones I'm the most excited about right now are probably Torchwood because of all the same-sex kissing and Supernatural because of the look on Dean's face when he lies. (OMG Dean.) Both of these shows are often gorier than I would like, but…well, most of the time when there's something I don't want to see I just look at my knitting. :)

Another problem is trying to watch new episodes of SPN. The only TV in our apartment is the very small one in my roommate's bedroom that doesn't get cable. Across town, my parents have a cable package with hundreds of channels and DVR, but it doesn't include the CW. What's with that? (At least they do get BBC America.) New SPN episodes air Thursday nights but they don't become available on cwtv.com until the following Tuesday, and by that time the fandom is pretty much done discussing, so I feel all disconnected. Which is probably fine, since I don't know how much I can ever connect with that fandom when I'm not interested in the two of them having sex with each other. Still, I would like to see those new episodes when they are really new!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You could still join discussions later...eh , but I guess it's not quite the same! :D

I would probably not join discussions anyway because I suck at meta and for that matter I also suck at squeeing.

(Hey do you think we're on the same cycle?)

lol! Maybe! :D

I love Torchwood for the frank treatment of sexuality of all kinds, and for the relationships amongst the characters, that change and develop over time, just like they would in real life.

Too bad about your not being able to get SPN. I love it, but I don't get into the Wincest, so I feel a little out of touch with some of the other fans, but we can babble together about how great the episodes are, and what we love about the characters.

Well, at least I do get to see the Supernatural episodes within the week. I watched last week's last night, and it wasn't as awesome as some of the other recent eps but I still enjoyed it a lot. I still felt a little disconnected from the fandom even last spring when I was watching new episodes and following the fic newsletter and reading people's flail-y posts, so maybe it's not meant to be. Darn good show though!

I am SO completely hooked on Torchwood that I'm reeling. I've got to get myself out of that stage, or I'll become a raving lunatic.

Since you don't like gore, I'll warn you about Season Two, Episode 4, Meat. It's very good, but absolutely horrific. I shall say little more, because you've either seen it or don't want to be spoiled. Let's just say that I have a cast-iron stomach, as far as gore is concerned, and this episode tested me in ways I never wanted to be tested. Made me cry, too, and that never happens.

Catherine

Thank you for that warning and for giving it to me without spoilers. I don't want to know what is going to happen but I do like to be prepared for the general feel of an episode, I guess. This has happened to me before, like I remember this one time when I had cramps and I thought, oh, I'll watch another episode of Lost! And it turned out to be the one with the same thing as "Countrycide", that is, a character that I've liked up till then torturing someone. WTF Jack Harkness! You don't get to be my hero anymore and neither does Elizabeth Weir!

(But I still like the show. Like right now, I wish that I could watch another ep and I'm sad that I won't get to for at least a few more days.)

You're most welcome. I don't object to spoilers, except in the Harry Potter book series. (I really MUST finish Deathly Hallows!) However, I can completely understand anyone who does.

Now, without being spoilery, I have to say that I understand completely your disenchantment with Jack after "Countrycide", and I shared it. However, there's so much to know about him that I found myself able to forgive him for this, much though I seriously loathe torture. I guess that one of the things I like most about this series is that everyone it it is so very flawed, and the writers have no compunctions about exposing those flaws. I find that incredibly refreshing. It enables me to love the characters, rather than worship them from afar, I think. Of course, we all know that I'm terminally weird. ;)

For future reference, how far along are you in the series? I don't want to slip and spoil you for stuff you haven't seen.

one of the things I like most about this series is that everyone it it is so very flawed, and the writers have no compunctions about exposing those flaws.

If that's how it works than I may be able to come to terms with it, and Sayid continues to be one of my favorite characters on Lost in part because of his flaws. I don't know, I'm a wimp and I like my shows and my fannish interactions so even when they do really awful things I usually keep watching.

What really bothers me...Okay, two versions of it that really bother me are when torture is considered and approved by a supposedly moral character like Elizabeth (because, just, no) or when torture gets the characters useful information that they use to save other characters' lives, as happened on the Torchwood episode. It gets used so often that people start to think it's a situation that happens in real life, and we end up with presidents and Supreme Court justices who cite 24 to get the public to go along with Guantanamo.

It makes me so angry I could spit! It makes me so angry I start ranting at my friends even when they've just said they agree with me! :D

Anyway, last night I watched "Greeks Bearing Gifts". (I liked it very much!) I believe I have the rest of the first season and an episode or two of the new one recorded at my parents' house, and I could conceivably go and watch those tomorrow night, or maybe this weekend. But it might be a while before I get further than that. I don't really understand the schedule they're on and I didn't set it to record anything last weekend.

You and I are very much on the same page here, I think. Torchwood has a bad reputation for continuity, and I found the torture of that character completely unnecessary and unearned by the writers. That Jack mentions that it's a part of his past might be important information, but I really think that that could have been worked into the series in other, far more compelling ways.

As for Elizabeth Weir in SGA, I didn't see that ep, as I have major problems with the writing and much of the acting in that show (I really, REALLY hate the way they write the female characters), but I do know enough about her character to know that it's all kinds of wrong to have her agreeing to it.

As for any public figure citing a fictional show as justification for anything, that indicates a total failure of our society to educate its people. Honestly, if we're going to be that stupid and listen to series TV over experts in the field who state (with years of experience and tons of studies) that torture doesn't work, a case could be made that we deserve to fall as a nation. That's something I really don't want to contemplate. (Sorry--I guess it's my turn to rant at someone with whom I agree. ;)) Let's just say that if we have to look to Hollywood or the BBC as role models for our leaders, we are in very, very deep shite.

"Greeks Bearing Gifts" is a wonderful episode, and is the first one I ever saw. Man, I really love the way they explored Tosh! And I really appreciated the exploration of the ethics of reading another person's mind unasked. Unfortunately, it's an issue with which we will probably have to grapple sooner than we think.

There's lots more interesting stuff coming up, and the end of the season is a corker, if a bit hokey in some respects, and brings up some very interesting issues. The tone of season two is different, and the writing much better than in S1. Now, I'm going to shut up and stop clogging your journal before I slip up. ;)

Catherine

It was all kinds of wrong to have Elizabeth agree to it! The worst was that she agonized over the decision and then said it was okay! She was clearly putting a lot of thought into it and then a;lkjd;aldkja !!!

Yeah, it's very disturbing that so many people buy into that but also makes me think, damn, lazy and immoral writers who think it's okay to repeat it just because it made for a tense dramatic situation on some other show. D:

But anyway! Tosh! Whoo!! I had been hoping for some more development for her character since they seemed to be do so little with her up till then, and then that turned out to be part of what it was about, like here let's see the anguish of the character that people don't pay enough attention to. It worked great! (And, as sometimes happens, I identified maybe a little too much!) It was a little bit like what they'd done with Ianto a couple episodes before, where he actually comes out and says that stuff about how they only think of themselves and never wonder about him and his life etc. Then I loved that little bit in this one where Tosh could hear him thinking about how it was never going to stop hurting this much. Omg Ianto!

Oh but there's quite a large slice of the fandom who's only into the gen, brotherly love of the boys. I'm into both, and I love to squee, as you've probably noticed :D

If you want to give the fics a try, you might want to start with

big_pink. One of the best, if not The Best among the gen writers.

http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=big_pink

I think that's the author [Unknown site tag] was talking about in that other post you linked to, right? I will try checking out the fics. I was teasing a little about the incest thing. I've tried reading gen fic a couple times and found I'm not really into that either, but the right story could change my mind. Thank you!!

Yes, she's the one. And

oselle herself wrote this wonderful, wonderful Thursday Night (http://oselle.livejournal.com/282858.html) :)

kroki_refur is another great gen writer, though she writes Wincest as well.

Thank you for these! I can't seem to get into them tonight but then I'm in a pretty bad mood. But I'm happy to have the links here so I can try them again later, maybe after I watch the next episode. ♥

I meant to say oselle but I guess I spelled her name wrong.

I feel quite out of the loop, as I've never even heard of Torchwood! What is it, in a nutshell? And I get the CW but have never seen Supernatural on it... one of these days I'll have to watch that show.

Oh, I know, I feel like everyone on my f-list is talking about Torchwood lately. I'd heard about it and asked Dana last year but I didn't start watching until about two weeks ago.

It's about a team of special ops type people who investigate weird paranormal things especially those involving aliens. They're trying to conquer alien technology to use in coming invasions and major confrontations with aliens in the 21st century. They're morally ambiguous but sympathetic and there's a lot of sex, a lot of things you'd be surprised to see on an American TV show. It takes place in Wales and most of the characters have really interesting Welsh accents.

And Supernatural, eh, it's not for everybody, but if you watched it at least you'd know what people are talking about when they go on about Sam and Dean all the time. :D

Torchwood sounds really interesting. I probably don't pick up the channel it's on, though.

I do get Supernatural---in fact, I saw that it was on the other night and wanted to see it at least once, but didn't get home in time. Ah, yes, my entire flist is FULL of Sam and Dean. I know they're brothers ... that's about all!

Thank you for the info!

Torchwood is a spin-off of Doctor Who and they're both on BBC America, which my parents didn't get until recently, so most of what I've watched of both shows has been on DVD, but I've seen a few eps off TV recently.

Sam and Dean are brothers who travel around the country hunting demons and other monsters. They are very different and they fight but they depend on each other and love each other very much. The actor who plays Dean is fantastic and they're both really hot. (You might not think so just from looking at pictures, but they totally are.)

I've seen the pics of Sam and Dean... one I do find exceedingly good-looking, but the other didn't appeal to me greatly. I have no idea which is which, though! The one I thought was hot had the short hair.

That one is Dean. He's the one who has trouble expressing his feeling and he's all kinds of fun to watch.

I'll try to catch it if I can... or maybe rent a season on Netflix if I can. I love shows such as that, so I'm sure I'd really enjoy it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Torchwood and Supernatural

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject