istne_pieklo, posts by tag: issues - LiveJournal

I'm so tired of stories that keep making excuses for a character just because he's the main character. Yes, The Vampire Diaries, I'm looking at you, mostly because it's the latest example, but pretty much any show does that. The main character is immune because he's the lead. Being Human sort of fell into that when they had Tom and Alex conveniently forget all of Hal's transgressions in the finale, but that could arguably be explained by the fact that it was a dream (at least if you take the DVD scene as canon, which of course I do. TVD keeps doing that pretty much with everyone, most of all Damon. ( Collapse )

It’s always hard to lose faith in someone. The way I see it, it’s twice harder when you’re losing faith in a fictional character because they are supposed to be infallible. Not in the sense of being perfect or logical (that would be boring, wouldn’t it?), but because with enough dedication you can excuse their mistakes with poor writing, you can come up with a plethora of headcanons and fanon motivations to explain why they are suddenly acting in such a disappointing fashion. Once you’re comfortable with your newfound explanation, things get better.

Except it doesn’t always work. Sometimes you look back and realize that your favourite character has always been just that much of a dick. Or they’ve always had these precise personality traits that piss you off so much. You wonder how you failed to notice it before; but now that you have, you might try to analyze them and move on.

All of this drama is due to me realizing what exactly I hate about Hal in series 5 and also realizing that it has always been there. I’m doing my best to make myself clear but I did love him once, so bear with me.



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I honestly don't care how many people are going to call me sexist, but I'm kind of tired of the glorification of women on Tumblr. In fiction, I mean. Mind you, I'm not talking about RL. It's just when I see all those gifsets like "Most badass female characters", I can't help wondering where all the "Most badass guys" are. Lately, a woman is a standard by which you measure your shows. The writing can be awful, the acting can be so-so, but if you've got a woman, preferably both kickass and vulnerable at once, preferably of colour, as your lead, then it's a "great" show. I get the importance of representation; I hate seeing women fridged or having dumb parts reduced to being a love interest only; but don't automatically assume that a "strong" woman in the lead makes it a good show. Good writing is what makes a show good, no matter who your character is.
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You know those jokes and parody gags about Jacob from Twilight being paid for every time he takes off his shirt on screen? Apparently Michael Socha is being paid for every time he says "bloody hell". Can't really blame 'em, I like this phrase a lot and these people clearly have no concept of "overused". That said, here's the weekly portion of Michael adoration combined with excessive eye-rolling re: everything else in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Previously: 1x01, Pilot



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I'm not really in the mood for an in-depth analysis of the latest SPN episode (considering I wasn't even going to watch the show, but then I got bored), but there are some lines one shouldn't cross, and Dean hasn't just crossed it, he's leapt over it and charged on, so I can't keep quiet.



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Here is part 2 of the list of things that irk me in writing. Part 1 can be found here. As always, the list is subjective, my opinion is my own, etc. Well, maybe not completely my own since the list was brought to you by the combined efforts of moi and shirogiku. XD



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Ever found a story, be it a book, a movie or a TV-series, that was good in just about every way except that one element that just happened to be one of your berserk buttons? Or perhaps that element doesn't cause enough rage to stop you from watching but you still grit your teeth every time it's in the forefront. Perfect stories are so few and far and between, so if we stopped watching/reading everything that annoys us at least in some measure, we wouldn't have any food for thought at all.
This list is once again a big IMHO and was brought to you by the combined efforts of yours truly and the wonderful shirogiku.



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I had my doubts whether I should write anything about this because technically it's not a TV-series and I don't do book reviews here (or anywhere, to be honest). Then again, I didn't read The Diary of a Nobody as a book. I listened to the two-part BBC radio adaptation during a three-hour bus trip a week and a half ago. Since it does feature Andrew in some form, I thought: why not? See, this is a fandom journal. I don't make people into fandoms. But fangirling Andrew is such a creative form of masochism that hey, he is his own fandom. So I thought I should say something about his voice role and, what the hell, his voice in general.



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In my book, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and Angel too) is a damn well near a perfect show. That is not to say I deny that they both have flaws (the treatment of Cordelia in Angel season 4 is the biggest one), but Joss creates such a perfect blend of amazing characterization, poignant and witty writing and great style that these flaws are hard to ignore. Still, there are occasionally some eyebrow-raising moments for me, and the more I rewatch the show, the more I want to talk about them.
This time my issue is with the Spike/Buffy scene at her house in the season 5 finale, "The Gift".

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Series 5, with its clunky writing, does have moments that make me go 'oooh' instead of 'oh my God, why!?' Unfortunately, the bulk of these moments seems to be leading nowhere, so I thought I'd complain about that. Unsurprisingly (for those who know my history with series 5), a lot of that has to do with Rook.



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