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The L Word - My guilty pleasure

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:40:32 -0500

I caught up on The L Word last night via On Demand (all two episodes of this new season), and through all the annoyed sighing and eye-rolling, I had to ask myself, "Why do I watch this show?" I know it's quite popular and has had a ridiculous amount of celeb and musician cameos, but really, it's a bad show.

First of all, most of the characters are personified stereotypes.

The Womanizing Commitment-ophobe: Shane
The Overachieving Control Freak: Bette
The Artistic Free Spirit: Jody
The Narcissist/ Mega-Bitch: Jenny
The Tough Girl: Tasha
The Quirky, Funny Girl: Alice
The Poor Little Rich Girl/ Spoiled Brat: Helena
Etc. etc.

Secondly, the writing is so predictable and unimaginative. No one seems to take any actions outside the confines of her stereotype. Is Shane going to move in with Paige? Nope, but she will cheat on her. Has Bette been able to let Jody be as free as she thinks she ought to be? Not yet. Even while sitting in jail, Helena is waiting for Mother to bail her out. And it's wearing a little thin how only a select few straight people are enlightened enough to realize that lesbians are just regular people, too. Everyone else, it seems, is a judgmental asshole.

I think the real deal with The L Word is that it's just an over-sexed, lesbian version of every awful soap opera on daytime TV. So my original question remains, and I'm no closer to an answer, but I am pretty sure that I'm going to keep watching the show. Oh well.

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Dexter Season Finale - The British Invasion

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:31:49 -0500

I <3 Dexter

Finally! I've been waiting to post about this episode all week! (The finale was leaked and I watched it as soon as I could. Patience isn't one of my virtues.)

So what did you guys think? Honestly, I thought it was good, but not great. Everything wrapped itself up just a little too tidily for my taste. Doakes got blown up by Lila (that bitch) and the cops found the body of that drug dealer in there with him. Dex was off the hook in the first 10 minutes! What the hell?!

And what was all that teasing us about Lila's shady past if they weren't going to elaborate on that a little? OK, so she's in the country illegally and using a false name. Why? I was hoping to find that out. Nope. I think finding out about Lila's evil past would have made her death that much better. But don't get me wrong, it was lovely to see her die; I just wanted a little ... more.

Also, I said before that I didn't want the season to end on a cliffhanger, but c'mon! There was nothing left to entice me into watching Season 3. At the end of Season 1 there was the new development of Doakes tailing Dexter, and of Rita finding Paul's shoe in the yard. They were just small things, but they were small things that kept me wondering.

I don't know. I still loved the show, and the season was really great, but I was just a little disappointed in the finale. I expected to be shocked, and I wasn't, really. I'm still looking forward to next season, though, and will be for the next 9 months.

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Just can't wait?

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:28:41 -0500

Neither could I!

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Episode 10: There's Something About Harry

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:51:46 -0500

I <3 Dexter

* * WARNING * * Spoilers about the latest Dexter episode follow, and they are not masked.

This episode was kind of strange. It seemed that nothing really happened, but it served to shine a new light on Harry's character.

I say nothing happened because we still have Doakes held hostage in a cage, and we don't know yet what's going to happen to him. Deb and Lundy had a bit of a tiff, but worked it out. Dex and Rita are still slowly working it out. Lila is a psycho, and we see that she is going to accuse Angel of rape. This might have been more shocking, but for those of us who routinely read Halo's spoilers, we knew this was coming, too. This episode had little to do with the present.

However, this episode seemed to be the culmination of a running theme of this season. That would be the breaking down of Harry's honorable, 'Super-Cop' character. It began with exposing his affair with Dexter's mother, and has now come to his own suicide. Through flashback scenes, this episode seemed to reveal Harry's training of Dexter for what it was. Not an honorable, albeit illegal, system of justice, but the irrational obsession of an unstable and extraordinarily selfish man.

When Harry first noticed that Dexter was displaying bizarre and disturbing behavior, he decided to begin training him as a killer. Is that what a clear-thinking, stable parent would do? Certainly not! Instead of getting Dex the help he must have known he would need, he encouraged his urge to kill, and discouraged him from ever exposing his real self - even to get help. By teaching Dexter that his 'real self' was a thing to be hidden, he taught him that he was a monster, and ironically, created in his own son, the kind of monster he sought to bring to justice.

While 'There's Something About Harry' was relatively light on action, it was seriously heavy on character building. It was good. I love the writers of this show.

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Episode Nine -- Resistance Is Futile

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:52:29 -0500

Dexter

Am I alone here? I thought 'Resistance Is Futile' was great!

Framed!

Yeah, we all knew it was coming. Doakes is now the main suspect in the BHB killings because he left the country and they found the slides in his car. I was actually surprised that Dexter didn't actively try to frame him, and that this inevitable little solution kind of just fell into his lap.

However, even though it was fairly predictable, I'm no less enamored with the show, and will be waiting with bated for each of the final three episodes. Besides, it was the same deal last season. Who didn't see Rudy coming as Dex's brother or some kind of relative, at least?

Caught!

One thing I definitely did not see coming was Dex was getting caught in the act by Doakes! It seems that the new question of the season isn't whether or not Dex will get caught or how he will evade getting caught, it's what he'll do with Doakes now that he's got him imprisoned. It seems to me that the only way to avoid getting caught now is to kill him. That, of course, goes against The Harry Code since Doakes is not a killer, but it does coincide with the first rule which is "Don't Get Caught." Oooh! I love the conflict.

Full Disclosure

I still love Deb and Lundy together, but I didn't love seeing Keith Carradine's bare ass. Yikes.

Anyway, I don't quite know what's going to change now that everyone knows they're together. It seemed everyone had their suspicions before; now they've just been confirmed. So what?

Angel & Lila

I don't think this is going to necessarily be bad news for Dexter, but it will be terrible for Angel! I'm still unsure about Lila's motivation for going after Angel - other than the obvious making Dex jealous. How is she going to up the ante when she sees that Dexter isn't one bit jealous? I'm worried that she'll do something to harm Angel in some way. Poor Angel! He's so sweet and likable and has had such a hard time romantically. I felt horrible for him last season as his marriage was ending, and would now like nothing better than to see him with a woman who makes him happy. Lila is going to bring him trouble, but hopefully not too much trouble.

Dex <3's Rita

Of course he does! And I'm glad to see him coming back to his senses. He belongs with Rita and the kids, and I think being with Lila and all his "recovery" made him realize that even though he thought he was only with Rita for convenience and to maintain his mask of normalcy, he really does love her. They're going to work it out, and I'm glad to see it.

That's all for now! I can't believe there are only three more episodes left this season! I wonder how they're going to wrap up all the loose ends in such few episodes. I'm also wondering if they will end this season with a cliffhanger. I thought they might last season, but it was quite tidily wrapped up. I can't decide if I like the idea of a cliffhanger season finale or not. While it would keep me begging for more, it's a long damn time between seasons. And that's just cruel.

Also, hopefully that writer's strike will be all worked out before it effects Season 3. I don't watch many shows, but if it ends up effecting my favorite one, I'll be pissed. Big time.

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Dexter QotD: Morning Comes

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:02:45 -0500

Dexter

Who is the biggest threat to Dexter?

I definitely think Lila is the biggest threat to Dexter right now. Simply because she's so unpredictable. Hopefully we'll see her wrapped in plastic and duct tape before the season is over.

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Morning Comes - Best Episode of the Season!

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:56:42 -0500

I <3 Dexter

Wow. 'Morning Comes' was absolutely the BEST episode of this season. I don't think I breathed for the last 10 minutes or so. So good!

OK, I'm going to try the whole highlight-to-read business for my thoughts on the episode, but I'm not so good with the coding, so we'll see how that all works out. =]

I like Rita again.

Now that Rita isn't shoving "The Program" down Dexter's throat, I like her again. I was glad when she told Dexter not to come back to the house. It was the right thing to do, and he needed to know that since he chose to sleep with Lila, he wasn't going to be a part of her or the kids' lives. It seemed to drive home all he gave up. Good stuff.

Doakes

It is not looking good for Doakes. The closer he gets to Dexter's secret, the more I feel he's going to be framed as the BHB. He's smart enough to figure the case out, but he's not so good at maintaining his cool. His recent rash behavior is going to make the Feds (or the other cops) look suspiciously in his direction. Especially since they now KNOW the killer is one of them. His "special" military background and the fact that his father was a butcher is going to make him look guilty, too.

Lila

is a twat. I hate her. Bad. She's nuts, and is going to cause even more trouble for Dex as he's trying to get himself out this mess that he's in. I hope he does "show her the monster" and chops her crazy ass to bits. That would, of course, be going against The Code, and even though he seemed to give up on it a bit, I think he's realizing now that his code is what kept him alive all these years he's been killing people. However, if he finds out that Lila is an arsonist and has killed people (even inadvertently), that might be a good reason to do away with her. I hope, I hope.

Deb

Oh man! How much do I love Deb this season?! She's awesome! I was sad at the beginning of the season because she was so out of it because of Rudy. It wasn't without good reason, but I didn't like to see her that way. But now she's back to herself, and I can't help but crack up every time she talks to or about Lila. Best line of the episode:

"She's a gross, English, titty vampire."

Hilarious!

Lundy

I love Lundy. Keith Carradine plays him brilliantly. He's so good at his job, though, that I'm worried about how Dexter is going to be able to pull the wool over his eyes.

And let's face it, we know Dex is going to get away with this since there is going to be a third season.

Deb & Lundy

Initially, I wasn't a big fan of this inevitable hook-up. I liked that Deb saw Lundy as a father-figure of sorts, and didn't think the relationship needed to move into the romantic arena. I thought it was perfectly fine for her to address her inferiority issues (to Dexter) with Lundy's help. But after seeing them in the kitchen together, and seeing how effortless and genuine their chemistry was, I couldn't help but find them absolutely adorable. I'm sold on Deb and Lundy! =]

That's all. I can't wait for next Sunday!

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Dexter Trailers

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:35:07 -0500

I always miss the trailers for the next week's episode of Dexter since they don't play them after the 9pm showing anymore. But I found this guy's site, and they're there for the viewing.

Next week looks GOOD!

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It's Alive!/Waiting to Exhale

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:24:19 -0400

Bowl Till You Bleed

** Be advised that I intend to write about the episodes' content, so if you don't want to know, don't read any further.**

Ok. That ought to be fair enough warning, don't you think?

Without further ado...

Discovery of the Dumping Ground: I think the scene where the treasure hunters find the mass grave is a really eerie one, and that it was shot brilliantly. Having rotten body parts come out of the first bag was startling and gross (and awesome), but then when the camera panned out, and you could see all those garbage bags spread out, it was really chilling to know that there were bodies or parts of bodies in all of them. Joe and I both agreed that we would have barfed in out scuba masks had we been the ones to find those bags.
Also, now that they're pulling all the bodies out of the water, it's going to become obvious right away that all the victims have a small cut on his or her right cheek. This could be very interesting because this is something the Miami Police Department has seen before, but essentially wrote off. Remember when Deb wrote up that serial killer profile from one of Dexter's victims last season? She noted the cut on the cheek, and said that it was likely a ritualistic wound.

And speaking of Deb: While I realize that in real life a person would undoubtedly need years of therapy to fully recover from such a traumatic event as being kidnapped and nearly murdered by your fiancé who was leading a double-life and was really a serial killer, and not just any serial killer, but the one whom you were trying to catch. But, c'mon! This is TV we're talking about, and I don't have all frickin' season to watch Deb be a damn train wreck. She needs to get it together already.

Sergeant Doakes: I may be alone on this one, but I like Doakes. He cracks me up. I'm worried, though, that because he's so intuitive and correct about Dexter's character that something bad is going to happen to him. I hope not, though. I'd miss him.

The new Lt. (I forgot her name): She's just nuts. I think all her wacky-ass misuse of department funds to tap her fiance´s phone (or whatever she was doing) is going to get found out. Maybe Maria will get her position back.

Rita: I really liked Rita last season and was happy to see her asserting herself and knocking out her douche-bag husband with a baseball bat. However, I am not happy to see Rita pushing Dexter into a "program."

12-Step: WTF?! This really upsets me and has left quite the sour taste in my mouth. Really, I'm less concerned with Rita becoming kind of annoying this season, and more concerned with my show possibly being inundated with 12-step jargon. I'm nervous about the upcoming episodes. If I hear: "90 meetings in 90 days" or "It only works if you work it" or any references to Dr. Bob, Bill W. or The Big Book, I will have to find something large and heavy to throw at the TV. Don't do this to me, Showtime! I'm begging you! Please spare my show from being flooded with NarcAnon bullshit. I just won't be able to take it.

That's all for now.

Discuss.

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I should have paced myself.

nobody@vox.com(Babette) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:04:14 -0400

But I didn't, and now I'm dying here waiting for the third episode of Dexter to slip out into the Wide, Wide World. I'm so pleased with how this new season seems to be going. Or seems that it will go, since we're all still technically waiting for the season to start on the 30th.

Oh, and by the way, Showtime spiffed up their Dexter page. It looks cool, and there's all new stuff.

If you're into that kind of thing.

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