shadowenangel, posts by tag: torchwood - LiveJournal

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2. This is an April Fool's joke, but I feel like it's a pretty appropriate commentary on Turn off the Dark.

3. For those so interested, the first trailer for Torchwood: Miracle Day is up. It's not much, but I'm definitely looking forward to the return of Jack and Gwen.

Links! Mostly so that I can close tabs. My web browser's starting to look like some kind of demented filing cabinet.

1. First of all, I'm going to get this out of the way. In case you haven't heard, Diana Gabaldon (author of the Outlander series) made known her feelings about fan fiction, and some of the things she says are... unflattering and, in my opinion, rather unbecoming of a popular author. I'll have a more comprehensive response to this later (after I finish my last assignment for the semester), but, for now, read and fume.

2. Immediately after reading that, I read Henry Jenkins' latest blog entry about a fan-produced commercial paying tribute to one of the characters on Smallville. And not just one fan with way too much time on their hands. This was a massive, international group effort that, Jenkins suggests, demonstrates the untapped potential of fan action.

3. On the Torchwood: USA front, even though Fox turned the series down, the BBC is still shopping for an American network. As far as show content, the article doesn't say much we didn't already know, but the author makes some interesting remarks about UK and US networks possibly sharing production costs on future programming, which, I think, would be pretty damn cool.

4. In lighter news (If I was doing a news broadcast, this would be my fluff piece), remember the ever-hilarious gag reel from Serenity? Well, this video has all the familiar goofs plus added hijinks, including a closer look at why every mistake is Summer Glau's fault.

5. Also Whedon-related, though considerably less laugh-inducing, Bright Lights Film Journal posts "A Thousand Blooms: Inside Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, an interesting, insightful essay on the uses of the female body in Dollhouse. The essay's not very well structured and, consequently, a little hard to follow, and I think the author, in focusing exclusively on femininity, misses the chance to make some important points about the show's use and construction of gender in general. Still, she raises some terrific questions about feminism and female empowerment, and I really like her observations about archetypes and the pastiche of personality (which, though she probably doesn't know it, ties directly into post-modern subjectivity theory).

5a. Incidentally, I'm planning on writing about gender in Dollhouse for Ladies Big Bang. So, if anyone else has seen the show and has any comments, I'd really like to hear them.

6. In RL news, I'm going to be writing a thesis, after all. Still going to Australia, just not doing the project I'd planned on. What's my thesis topic, you ask? Well, you know that Supernatural/misogyny/female audience project I've been squeeing about all semester? Yeah. That. I'm so excited about this that I'm kind of embarrassed for myself (and I totally just got my geeky joy all over my grad advisor. I think he was a little horrified).

Are you ready for this? Seriously? Okay:

Fox Readying U.S. Version of Torchwood

I want to be excited about this, I really do, but all I can think about are the ways that this is going to go horribly horribly wrong. My own distaste for the US/UK remakes aside, it's Torchwood and Fox, and those are just two things that should never go together. For one thing, I honestly don't believe that Torchwood in its natural state is palatable to a prime-time American audience, which means the US version is likely to be severely watered down, effectively removing everything that makes Torchwood interesting in the first place. Not to mention the fact that it's freakin' Fox, the network infamous for running great shows into the ground, if not casting them off completely. The article attempts to allay trepidation by assuring fans that the original production team will be running the US show, but y'know what? The production team for Dollhouse was great, too.

I don't mean to be cynical, and I hope I'm wrong, but I'm having a hard time trusting American television right now. If they try to make a US version of Doctor Who, though, I quit.

Let's talk about commercials.

If you've been paying attention, you know this means "Let's talk about gender and advertising", so feel free to skip to the bottom.

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In other news, I need an apron, because cooking is messy and I wear nice clothes. I need someone to talk me out of buying one from CafePress, or at least help me decide which one to get. 'Cause see, there's Tiny Castiel, which is just too cute for words, but then there's The Angels have the Phonebox, because LOVE, and we can't forget about the Torchwood logo, which now that I think about it is kind of funny if you consider the food on the show, and there's the Map of Gallifrey, which is super pretty and awesome. Opinions?

ETA: I R DUM. Can somebody tell me how to embed video? It's not working so good.

A Different Way to Look at Disney Princesses. I'm sure everyone's sick of the back-and-forth about Disney's issues with race, class, feminism, etc, but I think this macro takes a different perspective on the argument about the portrayal of women and the absence of strong female characters. While I would argue that some of these summations oversimplify the narrative, the creator does have a point. I'm interested to hear anyone else's reactions, especially if you disagree.

In case you missed copperbadge(?)'s post, Death By Torchwood: Captain Jack, Ianto Jones, and the Rise of the Queer Superhero is an interesting article about queer identity in modern popular culture that offers some great insights into the Torchwood characters and into the negotiations of sexuality in our society.

And, on a lighter note, Vampires don't seem to be getting along.

Is anybody else watching Torchwood: Children of Earth, because I'm seriously going to need to flail.

I have to agree with imnotsatan's contention that this is, in fact, the best interview ever. If only because it's Joss Whedon talking to, wait for it, CrochetMe.com. Seriously.

In other completely awesome news, the new FMA series will begin airing in Japan in April, and the official website is live with a teaser trailer that, once again tells us nothing about the plot. (Although, based on the images, I'm thinking its set during the series? Which... well, we'll see.)

And, as far as this goes, all I can really say is that they asked too many sex questions.

Which Torchwood Character Are You? Your Result: Captain Jack Harkness   You most resemble the team's outrageous, mysterious leader. Cheeky, sexy, and charming, people are drawn to your charisma, but at the same time you tend to keep your relationships superficial. You aren't afraid of your emotions and tend to just let them out, but you are afraid of truly connecting with those around you.
Ianto Jones
Toshiko Sato
Owen Harper
Gwen Cooper
Which Torchwood Character Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Why Fringe is Torchwood, reason no.3:

Underdeveloped, unappreciated service-type character who stays in the Hub lab and provides *ahem* "general support"

If Astrid appears on screen with an evil robot of any kind, I'm calling shennanigans.

TW ref FTW! Does anyone know if Knight Rider is consistently this dork-laden? Because, if so, I may have a new show (because I totally need one).