(no subject)

[katallison]

Watched Tru Calling last night, mostly for the CKR guest appearance (which was extremely brief and not particularly compelling, though I'll always give CKR-being-menacing a whirl). The rest of the show was pretty much a yawner, though Dushku was making earnest effort. I think XF and dS between them have burnt out my tolerance for shows whose main character seems largely motivated by the untimely demise of beloved family member. All the superspeeding-Tru footage made me giggle a bit, imagining a Smallville crossover where Clark and Tru race madly around and around the city, saving people and smashing into each other occasionally. The Angel-esque blipverts, and the SV-esque halftime recap, are trendy annoyances that I urgently pray do not become industry standard.

But anyway, it seemed to me one of those shows where stock characters are grafted onto a fairly pedestrian SF/fantasy plot setup, rather than one where interesting characters and relationships are likely to grow and develop, so I'm probably not tuning in again.

In other news, the Cthulhu Solstice Album looks like a good bet for anyone starting their holiday shopping early. Now, for a limited time, get both the songbook and the sing-along CD! [link via MetaFilter]

Comments

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

The recap was very unwelcome, I agree.

Tru could save many many people by buying herself a car and parking it. She could trot through her daily life, and then on the rewind days she'd have all the extra time derived from being able to zoom around in a motor vehicle.

Not that I didn't appreciate the many running scenes, but still.

Loved the scary Callum action, even if it was brief. He looked weird suited up and without glasses.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I think she's supposed to be in New York. Trying to manage parking a car would probably mean she was still circling blocks after the bodies arrived at the morgue.

She might think about investing in a Metrocard, though.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

Good point... although there are so many Vancouver landmarks in it, it's easy to just assume she's here in a weird alternate universe where B.C. is in the U.S.

[ratcreature]

The Angel-esque blipverts, and the SV-esque halftime recap

What do you mean with that? What is a blipvert?

[katallison.livejournal.com]

I can't recall where the term originated--Television Without Pity, maybe?--but it refers to those BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM very rapid-fire tighly-cut clip collages that are sometimes used as transition between scenes in Angel. On that show, they're often quite well-done; the ones on Tru Calling just gave me a headache, especially the big let's-just-quickly-blenderize-random-clips-from-the-entire-episode one at the end.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I was gonna make a separate comment, but thought I should just let you know that, TWOP aside, they're called interstitials, if you wanted to know the techy term! I thought that these were way overdone and went on a bit too long. I don't mind those super fast flash-edited insterstitials, I've always liked them on Angel, but I wanted to give whoever did these a Zanax and tell them to go sit quietly in a corner.

Wish I could disagree with you about the show overall, but alas, I felt the same way. I was hopeful for a new fannish show. I've never been that big on ED, but thought it looked fun. It was... crowded, with too many plots in her life. And while I always like seeing the twelve Canadian actors (I mean, I had no idea it was filmed in Vancouver till I watched, and then it was like Robert Wisden, tick, Callum, tick... Callisto's actor, tick...) the running around annoyed me so much I wanted to stop watching! I'll give it a few weeks though. Sometimes they settle down after the pilot.

[rliz.livejournal.com]

Interstitials! That's wonderful! I'm glad I saw your comment.

Blipverts

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's a term coined by Max Headroom (http://www.techtv.com/maxheadroom/story/0,24330,3381363,00.html) writers. The first ep was about high-speed commercials (blipverts) with an unfortunate side effect: people who watched too much would explode.

I loved Max Headroom. :)

And I agree, the blipvert effect gets annoying after a while.

[ajinamoto.livejournal.com]

Love the security of the woman's building, though. Tru can't get in the front door so she climbs a fire escape and gets in the apartment that way. ::rolls eyes::

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was pretty disappointing all right. Although I hadn't heard that CKR was in it, and pretty much did a triple-take when I saw him, so that was a nifty surprise.

Is it just me who was annoyed by the premise that she's only going to save the lives of those who would otherwise die "before their time"? I guess that means everyone she saves will be young and pretty, because the old and sick aren't worth saving.

This makes me unreasonably cranky. Or would, if I intended to keep watching.