Comments on PaulCornell.com: The 12 Blogs of Christmas: Five. TV Review 2011

I also thought the first episode of American Horro...

2011-12-26T05:52:05.511Z

I also thought the first episode of American Horror Story was of very high quality, but, and I hate to admit it, it was too strong a brew for where I was emotionally at that time! (Wuss.)

Excellent read, Paul. I'm a big fan of nearly ...

2011-12-24T23:04:31.052Z

Excellent read, Paul. I'm a big fan of nearly everything you've covered (the exception being Haven and W13 – there's only so much TV you can watch!). I agree with your comments on Rev especially. I think it's a cracking show because it is neither cosy nor sneering at what could be seen as an easy target. In the same manner that the writers of Big Bang aren't necessarily sneering at geekdom, but using it as a foundation in which to tell engaging and funny stories.

Interestingly, considering my comments above, I was the sneery one about Glee when I first caught wind of it. And I would have remained hypocritically aloof if I hadn’t happened to catch an episode my daughter was watching to see that it’s not only good drama, but the songs are really well choreographed and performed by the cast. When they sang 'We Are Young' the other week it took days to get that song out of my head! I've started watching American Horror Story on the strength that it was by the same creators and have not been disappointed (I was also curious how they could stretch out what is essentially a two-hour horror movie into an ongoing 13 hour season, and they seem to be succeeding so far).

Well, of course the rule of all TV is that when yo...

2011-12-22T07:02:28.037Z

Well, of course the rule of all TV is that when you recommend a show to someone, the first episode they see will be crap.

I keep hearing about amazing TV shows about 5 epis...

2011-12-21T12:00:18.787Z

I keep hearing about amazing TV shows about 5 episodes in, which drives me batty. I watched the first 15 mins of the Fades and gave up on it, utterly unimpressed, only to hear lots of people swaying it got really good. I also regret not watching Boardwalk Empire from the beginning.

I hope the coat finds its way back to you.

That's the sort of reminiscence I was hoping t...

2011-12-20T08:05:50.948Z

That's the sort of reminiscence I was hoping these blogs would conjure up.

Mary Robinette Kowal's plans for Christmas sou...

2011-12-19T23:07:01.574Z

Mary Robinette Kowal's plans for Christmas sound exactly like the Christmases I had growing up - except ours were centered around the old family house (built in the 1850s on a street named after our family) in Cookeville, TN... sadly, those days of the massive extended family gatherings for Christmas have passed, as family members have either died, moved, or become estranged - and the house was eventually sold in the early 2000s... but man, even though it's been decades since we had a proper Cookeville Christmas, my mental picture of what Christmas *should* be still revolves around those years when I was a kid, looking forward to that trip across the state to Cookeville...

Word: thank you, I liked Martha's jacket too. ...

2011-12-19T08:04:26.430Z

Word: thank you, I liked Martha's jacket too. I wore the coat again with pride last night. Anne: the interesting hobbies show up often. The depiction of Raj is sometimes problematic (every tenth episode he'll just say something normal 'in a funny way'), but I'd hesitate to call it racist on a regular basis. That is, when we meet his parents or his sister, they're socially together to the point of the others being intimidated by them. Raj is very much his own geek, and not a representative of India. I think the essential love for every character, this being a sitcom, comes through after a few episodes. But I'd love to hear what an Indian person made of it.

I tried watching The Big Bang Theory because I kno...

2011-12-19T05:04:55.433Z

I tried watching The Big Bang Theory because I know a number of people who like it, but I couldn't get through one episode. Not only the depiction of the geeks but also the racism bothered me. (In the episode I was watching, anyway, the one fellow from India was overly clueless; everyone I've known from India who came over here was very sharp.)
I was a physics major and later an engineering major, and took a fair bit of math and computer programming. I've also worked in a small business doing physics research. I've known my share of socially inept geeks, but most of the geeks I've known have also had interesting hobbies that never seem to make it into shows like that.
Given your review, I may try another episode, but I'm thinking it just isn't for me.

I think it's entirely justifiable to be disple...

2011-12-18T18:05:36.785Z

I think it's entirely justifiable to be displeased over the loss of a beloved coat. As both the Tenth Doctor and Captain Jack could tell you, the right coat can be instrumental to one's self-image. (Or the right jacket, as I'm now thinking about Martha's red leather jacket; love that thing.)

How nice for you, as the Queen might say, LizW. I ...

2011-12-18T11:05:20.243Z

How nice for you, as the Queen might say, LizW. I hope you get to say that to her. And Nick, what I meant was, I don't see an angry teenager yelling 'you just don't understand me, Dad, I'm going to my room to listen to Combine Harvester!' I love the Wurzels. But I'm 44.

Why is conquering the US so all important, though?...

2011-12-18T09:44:55.788Z

Why is conquering the US so all important, though? The Wurzels remain popular in the West of England to this day, precisely because they are so unapologetically a local band for local people (there's nothing for you here).

on a regular basis the show will unearth some u...

2011-12-18T07:53:56.957Z
on a regular basis the show will unearth some universal detail that I haven't heard remarked on before, for instance Marshall's admission that, being happily married, his sexual fantasies tend to start with his wife having left him, or, erm, having died. 'You write me out?!' exclaims Lily, tellingly.

Well, universal for those who aren't poly, maybe ;-) I think I can honestly say that none of my sexual fantasies have ever started by writing out one of my own partners, because why would I need to? They don't mind who else I sleep with, within reason. On the other hand, some of those fantasies have started by writing out the Significant Other of some non-poly person I had a crush on, so I do recognise the general pattern. Love the show, too.

Thanks, all. Nick: that's still giving themsel...

2011-12-18T07:25:18.226Z
Thanks, all. Nick: that's still giving themselves a sell by date, unless they're betting they'll get the tech together by then. They may just be a rather fatalistic bunch. Ani: well, I think W13 is a way different show now than it was when it started. Rob: excellent! Small world. And yes, it's kind of snuck up on us how good it is.

Bloody hell - I went to university with Charlie Ba...

2011-12-17T18:24:43.310Z
Bloody hell - I went to university with Charlie Baxter!! Yes, he's absolutely brilliant. Doubt he'd be able to pick me out of a crowd, but I was on the student radio station, and he played at a few of our events. Interviewed him a couple of times. Grand lad, superb music, ecstatic to see him getting recognition. From one of my favourite writers, no less!

I actually reviewed him in the student paper a couple of years ago and think I described him as "a man jamming with some angry robots" or something like that - your write up is a lot better.

Also, your analysis of How I Met Your Mother has given me a lot more appreciation of precisely how savvy the storytelling is. Dear me, it's superb, isn't it?

Really interesting TV review, thank-you. I've ...

2011-12-17T18:00:32.198Z
Really interesting TV review, thank-you. I've loved Dr Who, Game of Thrones, Merlin, Rev, Being Human and Torchwood. I've tried to watch Warehouse 13 and Fades and have struggled but think i need to stick with them. ani

Terra Nova has cleverly avoided the Chicxulub issu...

2011-12-17T17:51:01.388Z
Terra Nova has cleverly avoided the Chicxulub issue by setting itself 20 million years earlier...

Your way to analyze this season of Fringe it's...

2011-12-17T17:37:55.803Z
Your way to analyze this season of Fringe it's great