I am extremely tired today, so most of what you're getting this week is a review for a TV show that I had to write for a newsletter at work.
Last night (Thurs) saw the premiere of the new E4 TV show, Misfits. This dark comedy-drama is set in London, and follows the exploits of a group of young people who survive a freak lightning strike, only to find they've developed unusual (read: paranormal) talents. OK, so far, so Marvel. However, since this is a British urban show, our super-group isn't composed of the usual squeaky-clean youngsters (plus one villain) that you usually see in shows like this; rather, the lead characters are all tough-talking juvenile delinquents who were serving community service when the lightning hit.
In addition to the five teenagers (actually six, but one of them kicked the bucket during the first twenty minutes), their probation officer is similarly afflicted. Unfortunately, instead of developing a super-power, the lightning strike either imbues him with, or unleashes in him, a psychotic rage as well as super-strength. After the five leave for the night, the sixth member of the community-service squad is still sitting in the toilets, smoking (having completely missed the lightning strike) when ominous footsteps are heard outside the cubicle door, alongside a grotesque grunting, and as he puts his ear to the door an axe comes through it. Oops. Later in the programme, his body is discovered by the group, although from that moment on it's fairly obvious to viewers that he's been disposed of.
Meanwhile, some of the teens are discovering their powers. The ponytailed girl - I haven't yet learned their names - finds that she's able to hear what people are thinking, which causes her to break up with her boyfriend. The next day, while they're all changing into their work clothes at the community centre, the quiet boy finds that he's somehow turned invisible. There's very little time for them to discuss these strange goings-on, though, because after running off on her own, telepath-girl is attacked by the PO.
She manages to run away from him, and heads back inside the centre to frantically try to convince the others of what's happened, both with the telepathy and the psychotic probation officer. The others are derisive, even after the invisible-kid (who is currently visible) speaks of his own experiences. One of the others - a sprinter who had Olympic hopes, until he was caught with cocaine - heads towards the door, and as telepath-girl tries to head him off, the PO - who, by this point, has become little more than a humanoid beast, complete with crazy eyes and rabid mouth foam - breaks through the door and hits telepath-girl with a metal bar he pulled off the gate outside, killing her instantly. Suddenly, time stops for all but the sprinter, and seconds later we find that time has been turned back to a point before the door was opened. Obviously shaken, the sprinter corroborates the story, and tells the others about how time has been turned back. Some moments later, the probation officer manages to break into the centre, and telepath-girl is forced to kill him to defend them all. The body of the sixth member of the squad is also discovered in one of the lockers.
Naturally, as per the usual teenage paranoia, the five agree that nobody will believe them if they tell the truth, so they decide to sneak the bodies out of the centre and bury them down by the river. (This is achieved by cleaning the bodies up as well as possible, then putting them in wheelchairs and pretending to anyone who sees that part of their community service involves taking special-needs people for walks, in case anyone's wondering how they managed it.) The plan to hide the bodies appears to work, and the rest of the workers at the community centre (none of whom were there for the first and second days; I'm assuming that it was a weekend and the centre was closed for everything but the community-service group) are left wondering where the two missing people have got to. After some brief initial questions about whether they noticed anything out of the ordinary, the episode ends with the five teens standing on the roof, grimly telling each other that they think they may have gotten away with it.
There's nothing particularly ground-breaking about this show - it's The Breakfast Club meets Fantastic Four meets Skins meets I Know What You Did Last Summer - but somehow it manages to feel both fresh and exciting. The gritty setting, the interesting camerawork and the use of virtually unknown actors gives a feeling of reality to it, despite the paranormal subject matter. Unlike with many of the American superhero shows, there is a definite feeling that this could be YOUR life that you're watching. However, the complexity of the characters is what elevates the show from being watchable to being quite enthralling. The creators of the show have managed to fit a huge amount of personal moments into an hour, and yet there's the sense that all you've seen about them is just the tip of the iceberg. It's especially interesting to note that all of the teens seem to have developed abilities that centre around something that's a particular issue in their lives. Telepath girl obviously has low self-esteem, and now she can hear everything bad that people are thinking about her. Invisible-boy is the introverted loner of the group, and all of a sudden nobody can see him at all, and he's more alone than he's ever been before. The sprinter has fitted his entire life around being the fastest, beating the clock, only to find that time no longer obeys the usual rules. The fourth member of the group, a pretty curly-haired girl, has made her looks and attractiveness to men the main focus of her life, and now all of it is meaningless, because her power means men touch her and instantly want to rip her clothes off, whether she bothers with makeup and sexy clothes or not. It's only the power of the fifth member (an Irish boy) that has yet to be disclosed. However, the personality traits that I've most noticed in him are a need to be flippant and make a joke out of everything, and a need to be in control and to manipulate every situation, so perhaps he'll find that he has visions of things that he can't control and can't make a joke of.
All in all, it was a fascinating hour, and I'm definitely looking forward to next week's episode.
Reviewed by Sati Marie Frost
The past week was actually pretty OK. No nightmares, although last night I did dream that my mother married Gok Wan, in a sort of marriage-of-convenience thing. Let me tell you, however much you're going WTF? right now, it can't possibly compare to the things I was saying when I woke up this morning. Some of the things that I dream about are just so completely random that I have NO idea of where they come from.
Class was fun last night, although Magdalena mentioned something about an upcoming karaoke lesson...I really hope she's joking. While it would be very fun to watch everyone else sing, hell will freeze over before they get me performing in front of people.
I did some Christmas shopping today, and I'm somewhere between terrified and happy. I spent a fearful amount of money - more than a quarter of what's left of my monthly paycheck (after rent / bills / gym etc) and I only got paid yesterday - but I also got a lot of presents: something for Lauren, something for Chris, something for my Mom, something for Tony, something for Jamie, something for Craig, something for Lucy, something for Stacy, and a couple of other things besides. Plus I wrote down a whole heap of ideas from things that I saw, as well as seeing two things that *I* actually wanted. (iPod speakers and Tommy Girl perfume that was half-price in Boots.) Making up a Christmas list for myself is always a nightmare: most of the things that I want are out-of-print books and hard-to-find CDs, and everybody - even the people with internet at home - seems to be too lazy to search for them. So I usually buy the books with any Christmas money I get, and get a lot of cosmetics, since they're easy gifts. Not that I'm complaining; I like cosmetics, and I buy them for a lot of other people too.
I still have a ton of things left to buy, though. Christmas always bankrupts me. And I know lots of you will be saying that I shouldn't buy so much, it's the thought that matters, but...eh. I just don't feel right unless I go a bit overboard. It's the only time of year I get to be a little bit wild and uncontrolled.
I keep seeing things in the shops that I would love to get for Apollo. I saw a shirt today, beautifully cut, in an incredibly soft fabric that somehow managed to hold its shape even while it draped the body, and that peacock-blue colour that looks so incredible with his golden hair and skin. I actually would have bought it for myself, to wear to sleep for good dreams, had it not been for the price tag. And I see dozens of books that I know he would love. Actually, most of them were books that I would love, too - we have many of the same tastes when it comes to reading. I need to stop thinking about him, though - as much as I dream about him, and as much as his mentality affects the way I think and act, he is not an actual tangible part of my life. It's fine to keep him as a fantasy - thinking about him keeps me calm when I'm angry, and cheers me up when I'm gloomy, and helps me exercise even when I'm tired, and I always think that a daydream is better than a drug anyday - but I need to stop thinking of him as though he's a friend. Because he isn't. Not really.
I think I may FINALLY be starting to take off some of the weight that I gained this year. For the last couple of days I've been looking in the mirror and been somewhat pleased with my appearance. It's useless to get on the scales - as I get into shape, my weight goes UP to start with, because I gain muscle as I lose fat - but I think that my clothes are looking a little better. Sometimes it's hard to assess my weight and my looks objectively, because when I'm not happy I look terrible, regardless of my weight, and when I'm contented I have a glow about me that attracts people to me, whether I'm particularly heavy at the time or not. I seemed to glow today; at least two dozen people turned around to watch me and smile at me when I walked past, and I don't think ALL of that was due to pre-Christmas cheer. It's nice to have those days, although sometimes I find myself getting a little nervous, when people take it further than looking and smiling. My iPod and headphones are a blessing at times like these, because I can smile at the same time as making it very clear, I'm not available for flirting.
That said, I've been feeling a little more flirty recently, and have actually been on a couple of dates. Nothing serious, just casual things with a few kisses at the end of the evening, but it's been fun. Somehow, this last year, I forgot how to have fun. At least social fun. I still enjoy reading and playing computer games and sewing and watching a couple of programmes on TV, but I haven't done much socially this year - I think Lori and Chris and Oli are the only people I've gone out with at all, and I've only gone out with Oli for an hour or so a couple of times after visiting my Dad in hospital, back in the early summer. Oh, hang on, I picked berries with Sasha one day in July. Still, four or five evenings out all year is not much. The tendency towards reclusiveness is so strong in me that I have to constantly battle against it, and it's such a tiring battle that a lot of the time I stop fighting it and just let myself get sequestered with my books and my work and my once-a-week classes and my home-family. (That's how I think of Mom and Lori and Chris and Ry - my home-family.) I force myself to leave the house on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to work and go to class, but the rest of the time I do very little outside the house other than grocery shopping and chores for (or with) Mom. But I'm trying to push myself - I really am - and I'm (slowly) starting to remember that I'm not an old person, I'm a young, moderately good-looking woman who needs friends and dates and activity.
It's not easy, but what ever is?
Thanksgiving next week, and I'm (sort of) looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing Tony's family, anyway. Not so sure about the cooking side of things, but if I get plenty of rest beforehand, it should be OK. One thing that I AM looking forward to is making cornbread - Mom and Debbie and Craig all loved it when I made it for Fourth of July, and I think Chrissie and Tony liked it well enough too. It's always nice to get praise for something. :)
I think I've probably gone on enough here. I'll let you guys get back to what you were doing. Me, I'm going to download a couple of Janet Jackson songs from iTunes ("Again" and "Every Time") and see if I can afford to buy the books that Mom wants for Christmas, and then I'm going home - my back and feet are sore, and my bank balance even more so, and I'm looking forward to a hot bath and dinner and an early night. I changed my sheets last night, so bed should feel wonderful tonight.
Hope y'all are enjoying the season, and have done at least some of your Christmas shopping by now!
Hugs. xx
Last night (Thurs) saw the premiere of the new E4 TV show, Misfits. This dark comedy-drama is set in London, and follows the exploits of a group of young people who survive a freak lightning strike, only to find they've developed unusual (read: paranormal) talents. OK, so far, so Marvel. However, since this is a British urban show, our super-group isn't composed of the usual squeaky-clean youngsters (plus one villain) that you usually see in shows like this; rather, the lead characters are all tough-talking juvenile delinquents who were serving community service when the lightning hit.
In addition to the five teenagers (actually six, but one of them kicked the bucket during the first twenty minutes), their probation officer is similarly afflicted. Unfortunately, instead of developing a super-power, the lightning strike either imbues him with, or unleashes in him, a psychotic rage as well as super-strength. After the five leave for the night, the sixth member of the community-service squad is still sitting in the toilets, smoking (having completely missed the lightning strike) when ominous footsteps are heard outside the cubicle door, alongside a grotesque grunting, and as he puts his ear to the door an axe comes through it. Oops. Later in the programme, his body is discovered by the group, although from that moment on it's fairly obvious to viewers that he's been disposed of.
Meanwhile, some of the teens are discovering their powers. The ponytailed girl - I haven't yet learned their names - finds that she's able to hear what people are thinking, which causes her to break up with her boyfriend. The next day, while they're all changing into their work clothes at the community centre, the quiet boy finds that he's somehow turned invisible. There's very little time for them to discuss these strange goings-on, though, because after running off on her own, telepath-girl is attacked by the PO.
She manages to run away from him, and heads back inside the centre to frantically try to convince the others of what's happened, both with the telepathy and the psychotic probation officer. The others are derisive, even after the invisible-kid (who is currently visible) speaks of his own experiences. One of the others - a sprinter who had Olympic hopes, until he was caught with cocaine - heads towards the door, and as telepath-girl tries to head him off, the PO - who, by this point, has become little more than a humanoid beast, complete with crazy eyes and rabid mouth foam - breaks through the door and hits telepath-girl with a metal bar he pulled off the gate outside, killing her instantly. Suddenly, time stops for all but the sprinter, and seconds later we find that time has been turned back to a point before the door was opened. Obviously shaken, the sprinter corroborates the story, and tells the others about how time has been turned back. Some moments later, the probation officer manages to break into the centre, and telepath-girl is forced to kill him to defend them all. The body of the sixth member of the squad is also discovered in one of the lockers.
Naturally, as per the usual teenage paranoia, the five agree that nobody will believe them if they tell the truth, so they decide to sneak the bodies out of the centre and bury them down by the river. (This is achieved by cleaning the bodies up as well as possible, then putting them in wheelchairs and pretending to anyone who sees that part of their community service involves taking special-needs people for walks, in case anyone's wondering how they managed it.) The plan to hide the bodies appears to work, and the rest of the workers at the community centre (none of whom were there for the first and second days; I'm assuming that it was a weekend and the centre was closed for everything but the community-service group) are left wondering where the two missing people have got to. After some brief initial questions about whether they noticed anything out of the ordinary, the episode ends with the five teens standing on the roof, grimly telling each other that they think they may have gotten away with it.
There's nothing particularly ground-breaking about this show - it's The Breakfast Club meets Fantastic Four meets Skins meets I Know What You Did Last Summer - but somehow it manages to feel both fresh and exciting. The gritty setting, the interesting camerawork and the use of virtually unknown actors gives a feeling of reality to it, despite the paranormal subject matter. Unlike with many of the American superhero shows, there is a definite feeling that this could be YOUR life that you're watching. However, the complexity of the characters is what elevates the show from being watchable to being quite enthralling. The creators of the show have managed to fit a huge amount of personal moments into an hour, and yet there's the sense that all you've seen about them is just the tip of the iceberg. It's especially interesting to note that all of the teens seem to have developed abilities that centre around something that's a particular issue in their lives. Telepath girl obviously has low self-esteem, and now she can hear everything bad that people are thinking about her. Invisible-boy is the introverted loner of the group, and all of a sudden nobody can see him at all, and he's more alone than he's ever been before. The sprinter has fitted his entire life around being the fastest, beating the clock, only to find that time no longer obeys the usual rules. The fourth member of the group, a pretty curly-haired girl, has made her looks and attractiveness to men the main focus of her life, and now all of it is meaningless, because her power means men touch her and instantly want to rip her clothes off, whether she bothers with makeup and sexy clothes or not. It's only the power of the fifth member (an Irish boy) that has yet to be disclosed. However, the personality traits that I've most noticed in him are a need to be flippant and make a joke out of everything, and a need to be in control and to manipulate every situation, so perhaps he'll find that he has visions of things that he can't control and can't make a joke of.
All in all, it was a fascinating hour, and I'm definitely looking forward to next week's episode.
Reviewed by Sati Marie Frost
The past week was actually pretty OK. No nightmares, although last night I did dream that my mother married Gok Wan, in a sort of marriage-of-convenience thing. Let me tell you, however much you're going WTF? right now, it can't possibly compare to the things I was saying when I woke up this morning. Some of the things that I dream about are just so completely random that I have NO idea of where they come from.
Class was fun last night, although Magdalena mentioned something about an upcoming karaoke lesson...I really hope she's joking. While it would be very fun to watch everyone else sing, hell will freeze over before they get me performing in front of people.
I did some Christmas shopping today, and I'm somewhere between terrified and happy. I spent a fearful amount of money - more than a quarter of what's left of my monthly paycheck (after rent / bills / gym etc) and I only got paid yesterday - but I also got a lot of presents: something for Lauren, something for Chris, something for my Mom, something for Tony, something for Jamie, something for Craig, something for Lucy, something for Stacy, and a couple of other things besides. Plus I wrote down a whole heap of ideas from things that I saw, as well as seeing two things that *I* actually wanted. (iPod speakers and Tommy Girl perfume that was half-price in Boots.) Making up a Christmas list for myself is always a nightmare: most of the things that I want are out-of-print books and hard-to-find CDs, and everybody - even the people with internet at home - seems to be too lazy to search for them. So I usually buy the books with any Christmas money I get, and get a lot of cosmetics, since they're easy gifts. Not that I'm complaining; I like cosmetics, and I buy them for a lot of other people too.
I still have a ton of things left to buy, though. Christmas always bankrupts me. And I know lots of you will be saying that I shouldn't buy so much, it's the thought that matters, but...eh. I just don't feel right unless I go a bit overboard. It's the only time of year I get to be a little bit wild and uncontrolled.
I keep seeing things in the shops that I would love to get for Apollo. I saw a shirt today, beautifully cut, in an incredibly soft fabric that somehow managed to hold its shape even while it draped the body, and that peacock-blue colour that looks so incredible with his golden hair and skin. I actually would have bought it for myself, to wear to sleep for good dreams, had it not been for the price tag. And I see dozens of books that I know he would love. Actually, most of them were books that I would love, too - we have many of the same tastes when it comes to reading. I need to stop thinking about him, though - as much as I dream about him, and as much as his mentality affects the way I think and act, he is not an actual tangible part of my life. It's fine to keep him as a fantasy - thinking about him keeps me calm when I'm angry, and cheers me up when I'm gloomy, and helps me exercise even when I'm tired, and I always think that a daydream is better than a drug anyday - but I need to stop thinking of him as though he's a friend. Because he isn't. Not really.
I think I may FINALLY be starting to take off some of the weight that I gained this year. For the last couple of days I've been looking in the mirror and been somewhat pleased with my appearance. It's useless to get on the scales - as I get into shape, my weight goes UP to start with, because I gain muscle as I lose fat - but I think that my clothes are looking a little better. Sometimes it's hard to assess my weight and my looks objectively, because when I'm not happy I look terrible, regardless of my weight, and when I'm contented I have a glow about me that attracts people to me, whether I'm particularly heavy at the time or not. I seemed to glow today; at least two dozen people turned around to watch me and smile at me when I walked past, and I don't think ALL of that was due to pre-Christmas cheer. It's nice to have those days, although sometimes I find myself getting a little nervous, when people take it further than looking and smiling. My iPod and headphones are a blessing at times like these, because I can smile at the same time as making it very clear, I'm not available for flirting.
That said, I've been feeling a little more flirty recently, and have actually been on a couple of dates. Nothing serious, just casual things with a few kisses at the end of the evening, but it's been fun. Somehow, this last year, I forgot how to have fun. At least social fun. I still enjoy reading and playing computer games and sewing and watching a couple of programmes on TV, but I haven't done much socially this year - I think Lori and Chris and Oli are the only people I've gone out with at all, and I've only gone out with Oli for an hour or so a couple of times after visiting my Dad in hospital, back in the early summer. Oh, hang on, I picked berries with Sasha one day in July. Still, four or five evenings out all year is not much. The tendency towards reclusiveness is so strong in me that I have to constantly battle against it, and it's such a tiring battle that a lot of the time I stop fighting it and just let myself get sequestered with my books and my work and my once-a-week classes and my home-family. (That's how I think of Mom and Lori and Chris and Ry - my home-family.) I force myself to leave the house on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to work and go to class, but the rest of the time I do very little outside the house other than grocery shopping and chores for (or with) Mom. But I'm trying to push myself - I really am - and I'm (slowly) starting to remember that I'm not an old person, I'm a young, moderately good-looking woman who needs friends and dates and activity.
It's not easy, but what ever is?
Thanksgiving next week, and I'm (sort of) looking forward to it. Looking forward to seeing Tony's family, anyway. Not so sure about the cooking side of things, but if I get plenty of rest beforehand, it should be OK. One thing that I AM looking forward to is making cornbread - Mom and Debbie and Craig all loved it when I made it for Fourth of July, and I think Chrissie and Tony liked it well enough too. It's always nice to get praise for something. :)
I think I've probably gone on enough here. I'll let you guys get back to what you were doing. Me, I'm going to download a couple of Janet Jackson songs from iTunes ("Again" and "Every Time") and see if I can afford to buy the books that Mom wants for Christmas, and then I'm going home - my back and feet are sore, and my bank balance even more so, and I'm looking forward to a hot bath and dinner and an early night. I changed my sheets last night, so bed should feel wonderful tonight.
Hope y'all are enjoying the season, and have done at least some of your Christmas shopping by now!
Hugs. xx
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