Category Archives: tv

tagged by Amanda

Hmm….ok, I’ve been tagged, so here we go.

1. How much space is left on your TIVO or Comcast box?

I do not have one of those fancy new-fangled TIVOS or PVRs, so I guess an infinite amount of space is left on the TIVO I do not own.

2. Have you ever bought a DVD of a tv series and if so which one?

I have far too many TV series on DVD. I would own more if some of the box sets weren’t so expensive. I’ve got all seasons but the final one of Buffy, first season of Angel, the first season of Twin Peaks, seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Alias, and a couple random Farscape DVDs (I wish the box sets didn’t cost so much), and Firefly. That’s about it for the TV series I own.

3. What was the last tv show you watched before reading this message ?

I’ve been on vacation so I haven’t been watching TV so much. Probably one of those home improvement shows on BBC America. The last movie I watched was….Constantine (hee hee).

4. List five shows you won’t miss:

Alias and Lost are my don’t miss shows. Everything else, I don’t mind missing so much.

5. Three peeps to pass this on to?

I haven’t had enough coffee this morning to help me in thinking of three people to pass the meme to, so if you read this and want to answer these questions, consider yourself tagged. Otherwise, the insanity stops here!!!

The Librarian

Chris Q reviews The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. I’m ashamed to admit, I watched a little bit of this movie. I wasn’t expecting to be surprised at how cheesy it was, because given the title I was already expecting a certain level of cheese. But it was even more cheesy! I weep for Kyle McLaughlin and Bob Newhart…

Updated to add more reviews/commentary:

Confessions of a Mad Librarian
Rochelle @ LISNews
Librarian in Black
digitallibrarian (thanks, Dorothea)

cheap dvds!

Sometimes I check the Cheap Stingy Bastard blog, and I’m glad I read it yesterday because he posted about Fox TV Boxsets being on sale at Amazon for $15 If you don’t have them already you could get the first seasons of Buffy and Angel for $30. I must have good karma or something, because I spent part of the long weekend going through my videotapes and throwing out a bunch of old Buffy and Angel tapes because I figure I’ll eventually get the dvds. So I got the first season of Angel! Yay for random internet sales!

One weird thing when I was buying my dvd — I got a 45 cent discount off my purchases for using A9. That seemed a little odd, I wonder if someone who used that search engine more would get a bigger discount at Amazon?

wonky day

I had a very strange day today. I was so groggy this morning, I forgot to sign the UPS slip to enable the delivery guy to leave my package with the 3rd season of Alias at my door. Oh, the trauma! What will I do? I’m seriously uninvested in the new fall tv season. I think of the new shows, I’m going to be watching the Benefactor and the new J.J. Abrams show, Lost. And I’m waiting for the Earthsea show and the return of Farscape on the SciFi network!

Then I got to work and I was insanely busy. It was weird, because I didn’t really have anything much on my calendar, but things were nutty at the reference desk and various failings of technology kept me running around. These frantic moments were interspersed with random minutes devoted to arts and crafts, as I worked on a banned book exhibit. I cut out gold letters. That’s right, gold! I’m proud to say that this year, I’m bringing the bling to banned books week!

live action manga & anime adaptations

I watched the first episode of Mars, a live action adaptation of the manga by Fuyumi Soryo . The tv show is currently airing in Taiwan, I think. It just goes to show, if something has geeky appeal, you can find it on the web! (via TokyoJupiter)

Mars was the first multi-volume ‘teen romance’ shoujo manga that I read from start to finish (thank you, interlibrary loan!). I just got hooked reading the trials and tribulations of Kira (a withdrawn, sensitive artist with a tragic past who fears men) and Rei (an outgoing, delinquent motorcycle racer with a tragic past who is a bit of a playboy). Both the manga and the tv show are pure melodrama. The TV show features much tormented crying, traumatic flashbacks, mournful piano music, and heartfelt love songs, with some humor thrown in so things don’t get too heavy.

The live action version is excellent and manages to pack a lot into one hour, Ling (aka Rei) and Qui Lo (aka Kira) meet first meet at a park. She is sitting on a bench sketching when he asks her for directions to a nearby hospital. His friend and mentor in motorcycle racing is recovering from an injury. Qui Lo isn’t able to speak to him, so she tears a page out of her sketchbook, quickly draws him a map, and runs away. Ling discovers a drawing on the back of the map, and when he finds himself in class with Qui Lo when college starts he is extremely persistent in his attempts to get to know her.

They gradually begin to form a friendship despite the problems (tragic pasts!!!!) that continue to haunt them. The tv show does a good job portraying two people who are totally different in personality who are drawn together and compliment each other in a union of opposites. The costume and production design always places an elemet of red near Ling– a shirt, backpack, carpet in his apartment, set backgrounds– which is very fitting considering what he symbolizes in the show. Qui Lo is always dressed in more muted neutral and pastel colors, which suits her retiring personality.

The story shifts its setting from high school to college, and some of the plotlines that were introduced over time in the manga are alluded to immediately, in the form of flashbacks (the tragic pasts!!!!). Still, many of the scenes are very faithful adaptations of episodes that took place in the Mars vol 1. The tv show and the manga are pure melodrama, but in a good way!

Other live action versions of anime/manga that I can think of at the moment:

Lone Wolf and Cub, Guyver
You’ve got Pretty Gaurdian Sailor Moon (which features Sailor Moon destroying rubber monsters by pirouetting), Great Teacher Onizuka, Peach Girl TV show from Taiwan, the future live action version of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Crying Freeman the movie, You’re Under Arrest, and City Hunter.

Avengers!

I was shocked and amazed when I turned on BBC America to see Diana Rigg being menaced by a laser and Patrick Macnee wacking villians over the head with his umbrella. I love the Avengers! Followed by The Saint and The Prisoner!!!! How long has this been going on? Thank god for cable! Sweet, glorious, magnificant cable!

women with superpowers and lame boyfriends

There’s a frightenly detailed review of the Jem DVD Boxset up at Sequential Tart, complete with photos of Jem dolls. I think no matter what the show, there’s a fandom for it.

Another show with a frenzied fandom is Sailor Moon, and there’s yet another frighteningly detailed review of the live action Sailor Moon TV show “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” up at Animefringe.

Now that I think about it, there are some similarities between Jem and Sailor Moon. Both have magical jewelry. Both hang out with gangs of girlfriends. Both have transformation sequences when they change into their alter egos. Both have lame boyfriends (Rio aka “Purple Mullet” and Tuxedo Mask aka “dude with a rose always clenched in his teeth”). Hmmmm.