And now, more fannishment ...

[apocalypsos]

Verdict: Boy, that was just really ludicrously awful, wasn't it?

Let's see ... I don't like the characters (I don't even like Miguel Ferrer and I adore Miguel Ferrer, and while I didn't get to see the entire original pilot where the little sister was deaf and Mae Whitman, I liked what I saw of her a lot more than I do now that she's a bratty computer hacker -- ooo, edgy! -- and a low-rate Rachel Bilson), the episode didn't flow at all as if the scenes were hastily chopped together, and the dialogue made me want to gag. "I'll bury one guy after the next"? Urgh.

And let's not even talk about the little girl saying pretty much directly into the camera, "I just thought it was cool a girl could do that," which offended some part of me so deeply I would have thrown my laptop across the room if it hadn't been, you know, my BABY. I imagine it's supposed to be some sort of thinly veiled feminist statement, but it fails so miserably I can't even comprehend. I mean, really, didn't we all think only boys could run sixty miles per hour?! (That's not what she meant, of course, but considering that was the first reaction that popped into my head, that's not good.)

And there are so very many things about the relationship between Jaime and Will that are skin-crawlingly skeevy I don't even want to think about it.

I just ... ugh. I would think I couldn't possibly hate this show any more than I already do but then I remember the PTB hired Isaiah Washington as if it were some great fucking casting coup and then I realize, no, actually, it COULD get worse.

Verdict: AWESOME. Oh, man, that's a great followup to suffering through The Bionic Woman. Charlie's great, the partner's great (the Woman in White! *squeaks*), and I maybe spazzed out at Alan Arkin (EDIT: ARGH. Meant to type Adam Arkin, typed Alan. I know the difference, I swear. That's what they get for having similar names. Hmph.) being the financial advisor/best buddy, especially during that last scene. "You want to drive the tractor." "You know, I think I kinda do." *snickers*

It inspires great fannish glee in me so I am most definitely torrenting it again next week.

Comments

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

You do realize that you're posting in the lj of a dropout factory worker, right?

True, but I'm not the least bit prepared to be implanted with bionics, either.

For me personally, the changes in Jaime's personal circumstances -- profession, family, etc. -- fail at their intended purposes. I'm guessing I was supposed to get behind Jaime for being an average random person, but I can't. Her greatest enemy is better trained, a professional soldier and possesses more bionics. As a normal person, she's at a ludicrous disadvantage and they haven't inspired me to want to root for her at all.

The original Jaime Sommers, as an athlete, at least had the physical know-how to understand better how her new body works. They can tell me all they want that this new Jaime is, while a dropout bartender, still smarter than everybody in the room, but they've yet to use her actions to convince me of that.

And the situation with her sister doesn't much make me want to side with her, either. At least when the sister was deaf I understood why they had such an uncomfortable relationship. Now she's just some twinkie-cute hacker with a criminal record and if Jaime's too freakin' stupid to figure out Becca's hiding a laptop out the window on the fire escape -- that'd be one of the first places I'd look, Jesus, didn't Jaime ever hide contraband in her room when she was a teenager? -- I don't even want to think about her trying to handle a major international sting operation or whatever.

Plus, the throwaway line about Jaime knowing kung fu because Will put a chip in her brain just ... NO. Show me she's smart and teach it to her.

[budclare.livejournal.com]

Plus, the throwaway line about Jaime knowing kung fu because Will put a chip in her brain just ... NO.

I'm not saying there weren't lame and/or stupid choices made. I just think it's too damn early for people to be claiming that the show commits some kind of crime against feminism. If things don't improve after a couple more episodes, then fine, they're morons. And if some people don't want to stick around long enough to find out for sure, that's fine too. Being uninterested in watching more of the show is one thing; assuming the worst about the show's creators based on one episode is another thing entirely.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I don't know about anybody else, but the only bad thing I'm assuming about the writers is that they're really bad at their jobs, which is less an assumption and more a fact with pretty good basis. I mean, I've already said that I think they meant for this to be a feminist show, which at least means they had good intentions, but by my own judgment I think that based on the pilot they've failed so miserably on that count that they've offended me past the point of wanting to watch anymore. Not only do I have no interest in seeing this character anymore, the way the episode was written makes their views on women look really bad.

On the other hand, the statements the PTB have made about their hiring of Isaiah Washington don't exactly make them look like the most enlightened people on the planet, and those are their own words, not the actions and statements of the fictional characters they write.

[budclare.livejournal.com]

I mean, I've already said that I think they meant for this to be a feminist show, which at least means they had good intentions, but by my own judgment I think that based on the pilot they've failed so miserably on that count that they've offended me past the point of wanting to watch anymore.

But that's assuming that the pilot itself was meant to be feminist, rather than the series overall. She started out fairly lame, but at the end showed some signs of growing a backbone. "Watch a feminist kick ass" and "Watch a doormat become a feminist (and kick ass)" are two totally different shows, but they are both certainly feminist. Whether the shows passes for feminist or not will be determined by her character arc, not just the pilot. They do seem as if they intend to do an empowerment (god, I hate that word) sort of arc, in which case everything is shiny. Except for the part where they could have gotten off to a better start, even taking into consideration that she was (I'm guessing) meant to start out fairly doormatish.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yes, but this is where the bad writing is the problem -- because I don't care enough about these characters to find out if there's some big feminist arc or not. They're not interesting, there's never a loose funny moment, they tell rather than show. I don't care if they're doing an empowerment arc if it's going to be written badly. From what I've seen in the pilot, I don't expect it to be written well, and I'm not about to sit through a bad feminist arc just because it's a feminist arc. If I want to see a great doormat-to-kickass feminist transformation, I'll go watch the first two Terminator movies.

[sixersfan.livejournal.com]

They do seem as if they intend to do an empowerment...sort of arc
I agree that seemed to be their intent, but I think their execution undermined it.