From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V6 #27 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Monday, January 30 2006 Volume 06 : Number 027 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] Con 06 Juicy Lucy Lawless Part four [cr - orcon ] [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News ["Daniel T. Miller" Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Con 06 Juicy Lucy Lawless Part four On Saturday 28 January 2006 18:41, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 1/27/2006 12:42:37 AM Pacific Standard Time, > > cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > > There are very few episodes (Fishsticks is one) that have > > nothing in them worth watching. Well, actually, Aphrodite and Discord > > and their alter egos are worth a look even in that ep... > > > > Awful though MWF is (IMO), they tried something and it just didn't work. > > It > > probably looked good in the script. It probably wasn't apparent just > > how awful it was (again, IMO of course) until they'd made it. So while > > nothing > > > > will ever induce me to call it a good ep, I don't think TPTB can be > > blamed for trying something different.... > > Gods. Can't believe I'm defending Fishsticks yet again. It succeeded for > me for one of the main reasons it probably didn't for others -- it was a > XWP ep. While some thought it just horrible in terms of writing, most of > the criticisms I heard involved either the treatment of women or that it > was just so out of place in all respects as a XWP ep. Interestingly, I > could appreciate the satire precisely because of how women were treated in > the series, and the only reason it made sense to me was because it used XWP > cast and themes. > Admittedly, I can't for the life of me figure out why I think it's > hilarious. I certainly didn't think it worse than the Three Stooges stuff > or bathroom humor that went on in some of the other comedies. I've never > been a fan of teeny bopper fare or soap operas. The domestic theme > wouldn't normally appeal to me, nor the overall silliness and "cat" fights. > Maybe it was getting to see another side of the actors, enjoying how much > fun they seemed to be having. Maybe it was the clever way they wove in > references to the "normal" eps. I can't rightly say. All I know is that > it "worked" for me -- one of the least likely people to say that. > > -- Ife Well, what really puts me off straight away is those 'kids'. I always found rubber monsters carry a high risk of being cringe-inducing, unless they were extremely well done. Less than that and they induce a tendency to laugh at the guy in the rubber suit. The very best monsters are the aliens in the Alien movies. They are convincing. They are extremely scary (and that includes their larvae, the face-huggers and chest-bursters). I found Grendl & son, in the Ring trilogy, to be entirely adequate in that respect. Quite believable. Dinsdale, Hope's offspring, just gets by in that respect. The ultimate worst (at least for several seasons) was HTLJ's 'mother of all monsters' - a sort of tree with tentacles, with a squeaky voice, and about as scary as a guy with a sheet over his head. However, Gabs' offspring in MWF eclipse even that for awfulness. My first thought on seeing them was, just who (or what) had Gabs been mating with? What had she been taking at the time to do that to their DNA? Steroids? Industrial solvents? Massive overdoses of thalidomide? Finding them funny seems to me exactly like like laughing at cripples. I'm absolutely certain that TPTB didn't intend it that way, but that's the feeling that immediately strikes me. And that, on top of the other defects (like, the sheer impossibility of the whole scenario, plot-wise) kills it for me. Contrast with You Are There - YAT has just one 'impossible' premise - Nigel the reporter. Everything else fits into the overall plot, so I can overlook that one. Some things work, some things don't, and it's doubtless not always possible for TPTB to tell until it's on the screen. Talking of which, and digressing for a moment, the first appearance of Ares in the HTLJ ep 'Ares'. This wasn't Kevin Smith. They had the concept that Ares should be a giant, ten feet tall, with nothing visible of his face but a couple of glowing eyes. (He was played by a stuntie on stilts). As Kevin Sorbo said, it looked good on the storyboard, but they soon decided it wasn't going to work. For starters, the stuntie was so weighed down with costume he could hardly move, he couldn't see so Kevin, 'fighting' him, had to not only avoid injuring the stuntie but also had to avoid the stuntie unintentionally hitting him.... and, my observation, they set the guy's glowing eyes far too close together so he looked like a huge pile of rags with a tiny cross-eyed head on top. Almost rubber-monster class. Digressing further, I wonder how much of the further development of Ares was due to his love/hate affair with Xena? Certainly on Herc, Ares (Kevin Smith) was much more malevolent and less witty than he was on XWP. I rather think that, without Xena, Kev Smith would still have injected some sardonic wit into the HTLJ Ares - but probably his XWP role encouraged that. Digressing even further... oops that's for another post. cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 04:07:48 +1300 From: cr Subject: [chakram-refugees] Baywatch BC? I'm working through Season 1 of Herc and I can't help being reminded of the term 'Baywatch BC' (aka Babewatch BC, aka Boobwatch BC) which some wit applied to the series. (Or was it aimed at Xena? IMO, Herc was far more in line for it, both in terms of costuming and the general atmosphere of the show - Xena was darker and I don't think Baywatch was ever dark, was it? - I never watched so I wouldn't know). Maybe it was justified by some of the, err, costuming choices (shades of the famous BGSB?) but it's a great pity because it obscures the fact that many of the female supporting roles were quite satisfying and strong characters. For example, in Eye of the Beholder, it's the village girl Scilla (played by Kim Michalis) who befriends the monster cyclops who's been terrorising the village and brings about a truce. (The sub-plot with Herc being pursued by the fifty daughters of King Zolas who only have one thing on their collective mind is just a distraction....) 'Ares' has a strong female character all right, Atalanta the blacksmith, played by heptathlete and bodybuilder Cory Everson. There's quite a good fight between Herc and Atalanta staged by the actors themselves, no doubles. It's a pity in a way that Atalanta's costume, what there is of it, is quite so - distracting. Or rather, what there _isn't_ of it. (Kev Sorbo: "I can't believe we got away with that"). Put it this way, if Hudson thought Callisto's cossie was a bit revealing, she never saw Atalanta... Not that I mind the sight of a well-built female figure, but I find it does make it harder to follow the plot - I guess I'm just easily distracted ;) 'As Darkness Falls' of course had Lucy Lawless as Lyla, the girlfriend of an embittered centaur, who helps to trap Herc. Lucy (in a perfectly ordinary dress, I might add) has never looked so gorgeous as she did in this episode. Lucy isn't a fighting girl in this one, she relies entirely on her feminine wiles. (It was this role that nearly stopped Lucy getting cast as Xena, since the studio didn't want to 'use' her again so soon). 'Pride Comes Before a Brawl' - one of my favourites, entirely because of Lisa Chappell. Okay, they had Karen Witter, a Playboy Miss January (or something), as Nemesis, in a gold costume that wasn't nearly as distracting as Atalanta's, but unfortunately they topped it off with a silly hat. (A quick Google shows that Karen Witter looks far more intelligent _without_ the hat....) Anyway, she didn't look nearly sinister enough to be Nemesis. (Teresa Hill, the next Nemesis, had a far less absurd cossie, IIRC). Back to Lisa Chappell... as Lydia, a resourceful girl who sets out alone ('nobody else would come with me') to find Hercules and beg him to rid their village of the satyrs that have been terrorising the countryside. The satyrs chase her, she clocks one of them with a tree branch but they catch her and dump her in a pit, followed shortly by Iolaus. Anyway, Iolaus saves her life once or twice, she helps and saves Iolaus's at least once (I said she was resourceful), and she has this trademark quizzical half-grin.... she has real character. And the dialogue between her and Iolaus is great. The other thing I particularly noticed about this ep was, they have some stock 'scenery' shots of South Island - rushing rivers, waterfalls, in green forest - which they cut in just after the titles, and LoDuca's score was perfectly matching the scenery. Xena watchers will have noticed the same thing on occasion, but some of these early Herc eps did it best. March to Freedom - Lucy Liu (what is it with 'L's in this season?) as Oi-Lan, an eastern princess kidnapped by slavers. She shows a nice line in karate. Her boyfriend Cyrus (Nathaniel Lees - remember Nicklio?) is convinced Herc has kidnapped her and sets out to take revenge on Herc... Next there was The Warrior Princess with yet another strong female character... Probably why I quite like the series. Herc himself is a little bit too 'good' to be interesting (though not irritatingly so), but every now and then they have some interesting supporting character - often female - and some good recurring characters such as Aphrodite (first seen on Herc), Nebula, Morrigan, Serena... cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 14:32:28 -0800 (PST) From: "Daniel T. Miller" Subject: [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News Well, I'm forced out of lurkdom, because I kept waiting for someone to mention this writing credit, but no one has. . . Liz Friedman wrote the "House" episode "Hunting." It was brodcast about . . umm. .2 months ago? About four or five episodes back. Boy, I can't believe I was the only one to notice that. I finally checked IDMB.com to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. :~) Or, am I the only one here that watches "House" ? One of the handful of current TV shows that I watch fanatically. Hugh Laurie (as alwasy) is amazing. Though I would like to see an episode with either Rowan Atkinson or Stephen Fry, cast as a patient more annoying than House. :~) Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 19:42:28 -0500 From: "bookdaft" Subject: RE: [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News I think I saw that one. I was watching House, but have recently stopped for Scrubs. I figure I can catch House on repeats. But if I recall, I noted that she had written an episode for House. It seems to me that the one where House was chasing down the rat in Stacy's house, but my memory could be playing tricks on me. bd - -----Original Message----- From: owner-chakram-refugees@smoe.org [mailto:owner-chakram-refugees@smoe.org]On Behalf Of Daniel T. Miller Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 5:32 PM To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Subject: [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News Well, I'm forced out of lurkdom, because I kept waiting for someone to mention this writing credit, but no one has. . . Liz Friedman wrote the "House" episode "Hunting." It was brodcast about . . umm. .2 months ago? About four or five episodes back. Boy, I can't believe I was the only one to notice that. I finally checked IDMB.com to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. :~) Or, am I the only one here that watches "House" ? One of the handful of current TV shows that I watch fanatically. Hugh Laurie (as alwasy) is amazing. Though I would like to see an episode with either Rowan Atkinson or Stephen Fry, cast as a patient more annoying than House. :~) Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= _____________________________________________________ This message scanned for viruses by CoreComm ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:04:01 -0600 From: "Laconia" Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News I really like "House" also. How did the "Hunting" episode start out? (I don't want any spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet.) ****** - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel T. Miller" To: Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 4:32 PM Subject: [chakram-refugees] Old Liz Friedman News > Well, I'm forced out of lurkdom, because I kept > waiting for someone to mention this writing credit, > but no one has. . . > > Liz Friedman wrote the "House" episode "Hunting." It > was brodcast about . . umm. .2 months ago? About four > or five episodes back. > > Boy, I can't believe I was the only one to notice > that. I finally checked IDMB.com to make sure that I > wasn't imagining things. > :~) > > Or, am I the only one here that watches "House" ? > > One of the handful of current TV shows that I watch > fanatically. > Hugh Laurie (as alwasy) is amazing. > Though I would like to see an episode with either > Rowan Atkinson or Stephen Fry, cast as a patient more > annoying than House. > :~) > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ========================================================= > This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. > To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with > "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. > Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. > ========================================================= ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V6 #27 *************************************