News from the Week!

HI EVERYONE!

I've been wanting to write blog posts all week every time some new morsel of info came my way, but I've just been so tired of being on the computer that by the time I try to I can't think.

I'm not going to touch the national news stuff though I feel like I'm living through historic times in a way...and I don't know how things will end. And that's all I'm going to say!

BUT!

First the Emmy nominations are a joke. Obviously I can't watch every show on TV, but when the same people are nominated over and over and super smart shows get overlooked something is wrong. I like being on this side of awards where I can just complain about them, lol. But seriously, though, I hope the academy is ashamed for overlooking Tatiana Maslany since there was such an outcry on her behalf. But I also hope Keri Russell gets their attention for next year because seriously. When I think about how this one actress has managed to create two characters during her career that are incredibly different but that I sympathize/empathize with deeply I just...I guess I'm just sad the whole world doesn't love Elizabeth and her portrayer like I do, lol. Anyway, enough complaining!

So after that annoyance...

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 4 TRAILER CAME OUT!!! I am so excited!!! It looks GOOD everyone (though I have a lot of guesses about what happens based on the footage) it's 4+ minutes long so don't watch if you prefer to remain completely unspoiled. Also don't read the rest of this section.

Michonne on a horse! She looks stunning! Apparently, she's going to have an arc about being obsessed with hunting down the Governor or something. Not sure how I feel about that, but 100% sure about how I feel about Michonne which is to say I love her.

New threat! Zombies overwhelming them! Yay, exciting times. Also, I'm so excited for Carl's arc!! He's no longer the annoying kid on TV.

Lol EW had TWD covers and I got Daryl. I'm kind of sad, obviously I wanted Rick. Oh well!

I haven't read much about Veronica Mars at Comic-Con but I did read there are going to be books. Also, not sure how I feel about that. I never did read Rob Thomas's other YA book.

And the trailer for season 2 of Bron/Broen is out and reveals nothing. I got excited anyway. I probably will have to wait another year or so sigh.

Did anyone watch Sharknado? I have to admit the most hilarious thing about this has been Ian Ziering making the morning show circuit talking about the movie, lol. He feels it has jumpstarted his career. I don't know, something about it reminds me of Mark O'Connell's Epic Fail.

Also, a tidbit I've been wanting to mention...I've done my fair share of complaining over the lack of films about women, but I recently watched The Call with Halle Barry and while it's not a masterpiece or anything, it's a good example of a thriller movie with female leads. I mean the two most important characters are female and it's about a woman saving a girl (and Halle's character's supervisor is also a woman!) and it's fast paced enough. I mean it's not dreadful, in my opinion. So if you like that kind of movie you should give it a watch!

Books!
J.K. Rowling published under a pseudonym! This was really exciting, actually, felt a bit like Christmas. I find the entire thing fascinating because it's like a lesson in how 1) You could receive an ARC and it could be JKR publishing under a pseudonym and 2) You can't trust anyone! Like seriously, secrets always get out! I do sympathize with the woman who blurted out the secret on Twitter, though, lol can you imagine having this piece of info and the whole world NOT knowing! (though I sort of think this person in comments that suggest the lawyer and his wife's best friend were having an affair is right!)

It's also interesting to me that she chose The Casual Vacancy as her first post Harry Potter book, that she believed in her message so much and knew it was like...her one chance to really get it out? And while I know a lot of people just had a lot of fault with the book, I personally thought it was very interesting and I do find it sort of admirable. Also, this solved the whole mystery about her writing a mystery novel. Anyway, I'm currently reading it!

Oh one other thing, I've actually seen a fair number of complaints about the fictional biography of Robert Galbraith which I can't take seriously. But i'm curious if anyone else has major issues with it.

I read Matthew Quick's new YA this week (Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock) and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I need to go read the other two ASAP, tbh. I think I really like his world view or something, these books just resonate. And feel appropriate for our times without being preachy. Anyway, recommended when it comes out in August!

Other than that reading has been so slow, but I have so many books I want to read, send help. Also, I'm woefully behind on reviews.

Here's what I hope to write about sometime (like you care, but it helps me!)

TV
The Walking Dead S 1-3 rewatch
The Bridge
Alison Hendrix on Orphan Black
Suits Seasons 1&2

Books
The Village by Nikita Lalwani
Apologies to My Censor by Mitch Moxley
The Never List by Koethi Zan
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Just Some Things

I'm going a little crazy with all the books I want to read right now that I haven't had a chance to read. I feel like a lot of really great books have just been released are about to be released and I need more time for reading! Plus there's been a lot of overlap in what I've been thinking about in life and what I'm reading in fiction and seeing on TV and I want to write about it, but I've just been way too tired for that lately.

And now we're at the halfway mark through the year! Which is crazy! Where did the time go? I think this has been the year of crime fiction for me, I've really enjoyed so much that I've read.

The Bridge Premieres in a Week!

The Bridge premieres on FX in a week and I want everyone to watch it! I think the show has potential to be really good--the source material, the Danish/Swedish show is excellent. It's a serial killer show about social issues that really ends up being deeply personal. I mean that's perfect story telling in my opinion. I'm so hopeful! Anyway, re: The Bridge here is some stuff going on.

Ryan Bingham wrote the theme song and it was released last week and I immediately bought it because I love the theme song for the original show and the way they used it in the show was very...clever? Like the moodier part of the song went with the theme and then every episode ended with the orchestral swell of the song and it was just brilliant. But this theme song is very different, trying to evoke the sorrow of border life, rather than a Nordic Noir feel. And that's good because it should be a very different show. I like it...it sounds sad and melancholy.

FX commissioned a mural in LA as well by El Mac which will be unveiled on Sunday.

Did I mention the show premiers a week from today?? The YouTube channel has a lot of videos you can watch to get a sense of this show.

Borgen!
Borgen's third season will begin airing on Link TV on October 4th!!!! THIS IS SO EXCITING.

Also, This
I love beyond the telling of it, this post Sarah Rees Brennan wrote about invisibility and the internet. There are so many great parts to it! Like,

"But trying to make yourself invisible doesn’t work. You can make yourself smaller, but while you may be less noticeable, you’re also… well, smaller, trying less, avoiding more, doing less."

Or:

"Internet villains and internet heroes are pretty easy to create. If someone’s decided to think negatively of someone, everything feeds into that. If someone’s decided to think positively of someone, they’ll often think much too positively of them." (yessssss. yes yes yes)

But really I just love her point that you are neither the horrible things someone makes you out to be or the super wonderful things...that it's complicated to be on the internet because it's complicated to be a person in general.

Have a happy Fourth Americans and everyone else? Have a great week!

TV: The Bridge (Bron/Broen)

After falling in love with Borgen I decided to take the advice of others who loved it and watch more series that fall under the umbrella of Nordic Noir, in particular series from the Danish TV company DR. I know a lot of people really liked The Bridge and so it was my first choice. (since The Killing US was a remake of Forbrydelsen it's harder for me to muster the enthusiasm for it though I will be watching it soon)

Like with Borgen I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I am so burned out on anything resembling a procedural and The Bridge is a murder investigation. It's not a week by week case at all, but I usually think I don't like mysteries. But as often happens when I read a good mystery, I'm reminded that they are about so much more than the crime itself and The Bridge felt like that...like reading a truly great crime fiction book. I almost hate the way procedurals have ruined me for mysteries--they feel like quick superficial snapshots of what truly great crime drama can be. So if you're wondering...yes I loved it. I loved it. It was worth the hefty price I paid (in gift cards!) for region 2 dvds and I'm pretty sure these Danish TV shows are ruining me for all other television. (I know that not all of their TV is this good, like I'm seeing the very best, but stillll)

The Bridge opens with a body found on the border of Sweden and Denmark. Details that are quickly revealed ensure that this will be an investigation that must be shared between the two countries and the two detectives assigned are Martin Rohde and Saga Norén. Martin is sort of a dead beat dad that's just had a vasectomy (and so is in some pain) while Saga is a socially awkward rule abiding detective. Most reviews of the show say she lands on the Autism spectrum, though the show never outright says so. The idea of socially awkward, yet brilliant is not exactly new, I was a fan of Bones, too. But Saga Norén is a character in her own league, I fell fast and hard for her. Her attempts to navigate the social landscape of her workplace and to forge a working and pleasant relationship with Martin endear her to the viewer tremendously, and the writers were not afraid to use a light touch with her either. I had several laugh out loud moments --moments that were necessary in the otherwise bleak atmosphere of the show. It's important to note, though, that I never feel like the show looks down at Saga for being this way (like I so often thought Bones did with Temperance Brennan). She is written and acted with empathy and realism. So basically all the things I love best about this show are Saga Norén. I did not love Martin in the same way since his moral failings are indefensible to me, but I loved their relationship. And that's what the show is ultimately about, it's about these two detectives and how they work together and build a bridge. And that sounds painfully cheesy to me, but it's really not--trust me. Jace Lacob probably said it better than I can, Just as Saga tries to forge an emotional connection with her partner, Martin Rohde (Kim Bodnia), the show itself parses connections between a personal guilt and societal complicity, between the past and the present, the bridges between countries, cultures, and individuals.

Anyway, the murder on the bridge is only the start, they are dealing with a serial killer with an agenda. He comes to be known as the Truth Terrorist...a man who is enacting violent crimes to deliver a social message. And he does some pretty violent and gruesome stuff. The show can get pretty violent and graphic at times, but I don't feel like it's consistently so. (however on the off chance anyone seeks this out on my recommendation I'm just warning there is a little explicit sex and some violent stuff)

The show is in both Swedish and Danish and watching Martin and Saga navigate their working relationship, their different approaches to policework and private life is the most fascinating and interesting part of the show. The mystery is there as well and you are given, I think, the most essential pieces you need to know what will happen. I mean, to be honest, the way the finale ties everything together made me realize just how carefully plotted and written the show was, how important all the beats in characterization are. Like as I was watching, I remember feeling like..."whut" to some stuff, but once I'd seen the entire show I realized how essential they were. Ugh, this is just really really good stuff. And the final two episodes are full of plenty of suspense and surprises with the logical through line to the emotional arcs of the characters.

Some of my favorite moments are the show are smaller moments, like when Saga first suggests the killer is Danish and Martin takes offense. She totally doesn't get it, because to her it is simply the most likely scenario. She is not bothered by any sense of nationalism, so when they switch gears and think perhaps he is Swedish instead and Martin points out she first thought he was Danish, but oh she's wrong!, she's like..."yeah" Saga may not be savvy in social situations but she's aware of her own limitations, deciding she's not cut out for leadership, not because anyone told her that, but simply because she knows. She also thinks she wouldn't be any good at being a girlfriend and watching her pick up a man for sex alone and his reaction to her is one of the fun amusing side stories. Her brusque attitude and social ineptitude don't mean she doesn't care though, Saga cares a great deal what her boss thinks and what Martin thinks.

I also love the title sequence to the show, I didn't think I would at first, but it really evokes that feeling of twilight/dusk. I don't know why but that time always feels different from any other part of the day to me. And the theme song "Hollow Talk" is now on repeat for me, I've grown to really love it. It casts the exact right mood.

Upcoming Adaptations

If this sounds like an amazing story, you're right it is. And FX recently announced they are developing a pilot based on it that would take place in US and Mexico. And unlike with Borgen where I was all "ugh DNW" I'm intrigued by and cautiously optimistic for an American adaptation. I actually think FX is the perfect place for The Bridge. I also think the cultural differences in law enforcement and almost...strained relationship between the US and Mexico could lead to some really good material. I think in order for it to be successful, though, they need to really and truly adapt it for an American/Mexican audience while still keeping some of the original spirit of the show.

For example, all sorts of big political issues come up in the course of the investigation and I think they'd need to avoid becoming really preachy about them. In fact, it would be essential. The things the Truth Terrorist cares about create enough of an opportunity for reflection without the show trying to use them as well. I'm kind of really concerned about this because I feel like it's something I never see done particularly well on American TV.

I also hope they'll do the dual language thing with both English and Spanish. But most of all, I hope they'll place characterization above all else because ultimately that's what makes The Bridge so successful. One thing I'm sort of hopeful about is the difference in viewing experience. I watched this show over the course of a week so I never had to really stop and think about things, it was all fed straight to me. But watching week to week would give me more time to mull over the ideas and the mystery (which they would maybe change up?) and I think that would be really awesome.

And apparently there's also a British/French version in the works! I think this story in particular is so appealing because no two countries have the same relations and so the possibilities seem limitless. I'm hopeful for both of these adaptations. But mostly I'm looking forward to the second series of the original, not set to air in Denmark/Sweden until fall 2013, sob.