Ugh I wrote a novel on television, good.

[annakovsky]

OKAY SO I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY POST ONCE IN AWHILE YOU GUYS. Let's talk about teevee.

So, 30 Rock. The episode last week annoyed me a lot, for the following reasons:

1) It seemed like it was clearly responding to some sort of internet criticism of the show and/or events regarding women and comedy, but I do not know what criticism exactly (something about Jezebel? something about some girl on SNL? or so I understand from vague posts on the internet about it that I did not care about enough to follow up on), which made me feel like I didn't have the context to understand the episode. It was basically exactly like when someone on your flist posts about wank in a fandom that you're not in, where you're like, wow, something is going on, but I have no idea what it is! Which, to be honest, I actually love when it happens on my flist, because if I'm super bored then I get to go read up on some delightful wank that's not upsetting because I'm completely uninvolved, and if I'm not super bored, at least gives me the warm and fuzzy feeling that someone is upset about something on the internet and the fandom world turns on as it always has and ever shall. HOWEVER, I DO NOT WANT THIS FEELING WHEN I AM WATCHING TELEVISION, I just want to laugh at some jokes, whereas this made me feel like the jokes were uncomfortably pointed at someone, but I didn't know who and I didn't know if they deserved it and then I just felt weird.

2) Responding to criticism on the internet with an episode of your NETWORK TELEVISION SHOW is so unclassy and so Aaron Sorkin. (Hey, remember that time Sorkin was an asshole and got banned from TWoP and then he wrote an episode about Josh Lyman being persecuted by bitches on the internet and it was the biggest eyeroll ever? YEAH THAT WAS DUMB. However, remember that other time that The Good Wife wrote an episode where a person who was clearly a thinly veiled Sorkin was questioned by, hilariously, Josh Charles of all people, about how he wrote The Social Network to get back at bitches on the internet who were mean about his drug addiction and it was THE MOST DELIGHTFUL KARMA EVER? Good times, TV, good times. Haha, however that is a whole other ball of wax.) Also the difference in audience and influence between, say, Jezebel and 30 Rock is such that it's like Tina Fey got punched lightly on the arm and she thought an appropriate counterstrike was machine gun fire. THIS IS NOT A PROPORTIONATE RESPONSE, even if you do sort of end up coming down on the side of the criticism, I guess, ish.

3) Responding to meta with fiction is just completely ridiculous anyway. If someone on the internet says your show is bad about women (which, to be frank, it is), the appropriate reaction is to consider this, and if they are wrong, to forget it, and if they are right, to take steps to make your show less bad about women. If you want to discuss it, write an article for the New Yorker or something. However, the appropriate reaction is NOT to write a fictional episode about how people say you're not feminist, that's so mean, except they're sort of right, ahhh! And then continue to have your show the same as it has always been. META =/= SMART. META =/= INTERESTING. (Uh, yeah, whatever Dan Harmon, I AM also looking in your direction. Stop it. I like that fourth wall where it is, thank you.) FICTION IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO HAVE A DEBATE ABOUT THIS, especially when again, you're the one with all the power and audience.

4) This is especially the case because the thing that bothers me the most about 30 Rock and women is 1) how Liz Lemon has zero female friends, 2) how the show is constantly bagging on Liz Lemon. I feel like in the first couple seasons, the show was great because it had this character I could identify with in certain ways, and then it's spent the time after that being all, GOD, LIZ IS A FAILURE WITH MEN AND THEREFORE IN LIFE, WHAT A SPITEFUL BITTER OLD SPINSTER WHO WILL NEVER GET MARRIED OR HAVE BABIES WHICH MEANS HER LIFE HAS NO PURPOSE OR VALUE. So then to have an episode that basically rags on Liz Lemon for not being very feminist doesn't make me feel like the show has seen the error of its ways, it feels like, oh good, now they've found YET ANOTHER WAY to judge Liz Lemon, while not fixing the things that make me hate the way the show treats women.

Ugh, anyway obvs YMMV and also tl;dr, but I haaaaated that whole plotline so much. And re: 30 Rock and feminism, I really like this article about Liz Lemon vs. Leslie Knope, which basically sums up my feelings about the two of them and 30 Rock's problematic elements. And also how awesome Leslie Knope is, which segues nicely into...

Parks and Rec

THIS SHOW IS MADE OF MAGIC. I LEGIT DO NOT KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO GET THROUGH THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WITHOUT IT TO LOOK FORWARD TO. (Thank God it is Fandom March Madness these two weeks, maybe that is how.) I don't have anything too intelligent to say except that I am shipping Leslie/Ben so goddamn hard (and how much do I love that Leslie's romantic interests always like her BECAUSE of her awesomeness and competence and assertiveness instead of in spite of it? And how the show admires her for all those things?), and I am also shipping Leslie/Ron still sometimes (how married were they on their road trip?) and obvs April/Ron (HE CAN'T LOSE APRIL. HE CAN'T LOSE APRIL.) and I'm glad April/Andy was back to being the cutest this week and it was back to April having feelings against her will and trying to hide it adorably, because that's what I like about that ship and I was completely uninterested when it was just Andy trying to win her back, because of course Andy has feelings, WHO CARES. Also thank God Ann and Leslie actually interacted again. That's my one complaint, that in 21 minutes a week they can't have everyone interact that I want to, LET'S MAKE THIS SHOW AN HOUR OKAY GUYS. OKAY.

Okay, enough of that. Oh, except to say that I've had an exciting exploration of Adam Scott's back catalogue due to this show, and Seven and a Match was shockingly enjoyable, and in it he makes out with Webster from Band of Brothers, SO CHECK THAT OUT, while The Killer Next Door (aka Ronnie) was so gross and disturbing it made me actively feel disgusting for days and after I watched it I wanted to go bury the DVD in the backyard so it wouldn't be in my house anymore because PUTTING IT IN THE FREEZER WAS NOT EVEN SUFFICIENT. Ugh.

Also I can tell you everything about every guest spot Nick Offerman has ever had.

Also Poehler's back catalogue has made me start shipping her/Seth Meyers pretty hard, so if anybody knows anything about fic for THAT, send it my way.

Oh, speaking of which, you guys, nbc_rpf!! If you build it, they will come, right? I WANT FIC FOR EVERYTHING, someone start writing some, please and thank you. Please write fic where every Weekend Update pairing ever does it, and where Aubrey Plaza, Mindy Kaling, and Ellie Kemper are all in a girl band. That's all I want. It's all I've ever wanted.

Fringe

So I just started marathoning this show on a whim because throughadoor told me it'd make me nostalgic for Vancouver-era X-Files, WHICH IT TOTALLY DOES. Haha, I'm watching it like a freak, though, because I watched the first four eps of season 1, then jumped to, like, episode 14 or 16 of that season because someone on the internet said that's where it gets good, and then have watched through 3x07 or so. I totally love all the parallel universe stuff LIKE CRAZY, though I have heard from multiple people on my flist that it abruptly gets terrible pretty soon so I'm not giving it my heart or anything. Also I tend to watch it while I'm doing other things so I haven't been giving it my whole attention, so I may have missed stuff, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

Anyway, but here is my question re: Fringe -- maybe it's just me, but I kind of can't get past the whole thing where Walter EXPERIMENTED ON CHILDREN AND DOES NOT SEEM VERY REMORSEFUL? I feel like the show thinks it's not that big a deal, so I'm supposed to find him charming when he wants to make salt water taffy or whatever, but... I am really not cool with it. The funny thing is that the show makes SUCH A BIG DEAL over him kidnapping Peter and how regretful he is and how Peter can't forgive him, etc, etc, but I feel like that is not NEARLY as bad as the experiments he did on Olivia so wtf. Like, at least he had a motivation for the kidnapping and he didn't know that it was going to ruin the other universe, unlike the experimenting on children thing for which his only motivation was ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS, LET'S SACRIFICE THESE KIDS TO SCIENCE. Anyway, in season 3 Walter seems much more to regret his mad scientist past than he did in the first couple seasons, so it doesn't bother me as much, but sometimes I feel like a crazy person for feeling like that is KIND OF AN ISSUE. Uh, is anyone else with me, I guess is what I'm asking?

MOVING ON. Nation, the greatest time of year is upon us: FANDOM MARCH MADNESS. GO VOTE. The exciting thing for me this year is that fandom is VOTING FOR LADIES without us even campaigning for year of the woman like last year! HAS FANDOM BEEN REFORMED? DO WE REGRET OUR MISOGYNIST PAST OF DEAN WINCHESTER, GREGORY HOUSE, SPIKE, AND BARNEY STINSON? I mean, whatever, Barney and Sheldon are still winning, which is a bummer, but Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope and Olivia Dunham and tons of other ladies are winning in landslides! Well done, people! Also I feel like this year is better about characters of color than usual, though that's a general impression since I didn't go through and actually look at stats on that.

HOWEVER, you should totally go vote for Robin Scherbatsky and Penny to try to take down Barney and Sheldon. (WHY DO THOSE WRETCHES HAVE TO WIN EVERY SINGLE YEAR??) ALSO, Kelly Kapoor is making a shocking run to win The Office over wretched Halpert!! PLEASE GO VOTE FOR KELLY YOU GUYS. IF KELLY KAPOOR WINS AS OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE IT WILL MAKE MY LIFE.

Also people are starting to say Leslie Knope for the whole thing, which I don't have high hopes of but would be my ULTIMATE FANTASY so if you feel like chipping in on that, pleaaaaaase do.

Comments

[cleversimon.livejournal.com]

That episode of 30 Rock made me intensely uncomfortable, especially the domestic-violence ex machina that wrapped it up. So gross. So not okay.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

God, right? I felt so squirmy and wanted to die. The end was so wtf and gross I just... did not even know how to deal with it. What is wrong with you these days, Tina Fey?

[buffyx.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure the 30 Rock storyline was referring to an article Jezebels wrote called Why Does The Daily Show Hate Women? (or something similarly titled), which talked about TDS's lack of female correspondents and had interviews with some former female correspondents. I remember Jon Stewart was pretty upset/angry over it, and the female staff at TDS wrote an open letter to Jezebel calling them ridiculous or something.

Thanks for the link to that article! I've felt since season two of P&R that Leslie Knope is one of the most feminist-ideal-embodying characters currently on television, and it makes me shake my head when people automatically point to Liz Lemon as filling that role because her characterization has become so increasingly problematic from a feminist standpoint while Leslie just gets more and more awesome.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Ugh, was it responding to that TDS thing? Because it super annoyed me when Jon Stewart, like, lost his shit over that, especially since, dude, your show is TERRIBLE ABOUT HAVING REGULAR WOMEN CORRESPONDENTS. I mean, there was that period of TDS where they had all white dudes, so at least they're better on race than they used to be, but STEP IT UP WRT THE LADIES. I don't even care if it's, like, a good working environment for ladies on the crew, that is not really the issue. Ugh, though, why the eff would Tina Fey need to get involved in that discussion?

Seriously, right? Not that Leslie Knope is totally perfect, but she is SUCH a great female character and the show is so great at, like, passing the Bechdel test and having lots of interesting ladies and not being awful about them like 30 Rock. WAY TO GO, POEHLS.

[cheapmetaphor.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I was bitching to M about 30 Rock a couple of days ago and all I could come up with was that it was dumb and I was really annoyed and I didn't know why. So thanks for articulating all of that :)

PARKS AND REC. I jumped in a few weeks ago and have watched The Flu about 700 times since then. STOP POOPING.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, God, I'm glad it annoyed you t0o. That night that was totally my reaction too, but then I COULD NOT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT, that's how annoyed I was. Haha leading to me writing way too much about it, but ew, 30 Rock. Ew.

HASN'T PARKS AND REC BEEN GREAT LATELY? The Flu is my favorite episode of all time, everyone is so hilarious! The cab meter was in Egyptian hieroglyphics, do you know the exchange rate?

[irishmizzy.livejournal.com]

In fandom's defense: wank about the angel dude from Supernatural making a scavenger hunt for fans is DELIGHTFUL while famous people using their TV show to respond to things said about them on the internet is ridiculous. It's like taking out a billboard because someone was mean to someone Facebook thinks you might know. CALM DOWN, YO. Also that whole episode was shitty, everyone acted so gross during it I could barely watch.

Everything about Fringe that isn't parallel universes or Special Agent Joe Toye or Joshua Jackson wandering around in a peacoat is so boring to me. YEAH, I SAID IT.

vote for Robin Scherbatsky and Penny to try to take down Barney and Sheldon.

SERIOUSLY I AM SO SICK OF BARNEY AND SHELDON IN GENERAL. ALSO I SHIP AMY/SETH LIKE BURNING BUT NO ONE WROTE IT FOR YULETIDE THIS YEAR, SADTIMES.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Lololol THE ANGEL DUDE MADE A SCAVENGER HUNT??? Haha, that's amazing, I'm sorry to have missed that wank. But seriously, that 30 Rock ep was so epically bad it made me actively angry. Though I did kind of enjoy Jack Donaghy getting bested by a little girl, but otherwise, UNCOOL.

Ahahaha, oh Fringe. IT'S SO TRUE, I'm so emotionally uninvested in, like, everything. I mostly just like seeing zeppelins over the twin towers. EXCEPT JOE TOYE AND JOSHUA JACKSON ARE AWESOME, AND ALSO OLIVIA WHEN THE SHOW ISN'T TREATING HER BADLY.

I honestly cannot even believe people are still voting for Barney and Sheldon. WHERE IS THE BACKLASH??? WHERE IS IT???? And augh, why would no one write Amy/Seth???? THEY PLAY MARRIED COUPLES AN AWFUL LOT. Also my shipping of all Weekend Update teams is really out of control, but for serious.

(Also, like, Amy and Seth started SNL the year after Amy and Will got together, which clearly just goes to show that Seth has been pining after Amy all this time, y/y? NO WONDER HE WON'T SETTLE DOWN WITH ANYONE ELSE.)

[deaver.livejournal.com]

THIS SHOW IS MADE OF MAGIC. I LEGIT DO NOT KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO GET THROUGH THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WITHOUT IT TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

OMG, I know! How did this goofy show end up being one of the best things on tv?!

maybe it's just me, but I kind of can't get past the whole thing where Walter EXPERIMENTED ON CHILDREN AND DOES NOT SEEM VERY REMORSEFUL?

I feel like the show, particularly in the last three episodes or so, has really started to work on this - they are actively making Walternate seem sympathetic (he REFUSED to do experiments on kids!) and making us remember that Walter is not such a good guy. I think Walter was right to have made the decision to have parts of his brain removed so that he isn't so easily capable of doing these horrible things. I, for one, like that the show is working to make both universes equally valuable (and honestly, I kinda like the alternate universe a wee bit more than "ours".)

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Seriously, Parks just CLICKED at a certain point and started firing on all cylinders and now it is 100% my happy place. Came out of nowhere!

That's good to hear that the show's working on the Walter thing in those episodes! I haven't gotten up to there yet (though lol, do not care about spoilers, so) -- and yeah, I like that they're working on both universes. Walternate refused to do experiments on children??? WELL WELL. Anyway, yeah, I feel like the show's been better about the whole issue in the third season altogether, but in season 2 the whole time I kept feeling like, HE DID EXPERIMENTS ON KIDS, DOES NO ONE CARE, AM I TAKING CRAZY PILLS? Haha.

[tellcincinnati.livejournal.com]

I also had NO IDEA what was up with that episode. Um, not that I've even watched it yet, but I saw a lot of very vague tumblr posts about it that explained absolutely nothing. I'm behind on the show so I wanted to catch up and watch in order, but I may just have to bite the bullet and watch because I'm so curious.

I'm rarely an issues person in comedy, which is maybe a bad thing to admit on the big bad internet, but it's true. I don't find too many things off limits if they come from a place of understood humour, and I'm also not too fussed about, say, critiques of social issue on a show like Friends, as a totally random example. However, with that means I hate when comedians take themselves too seriously. If you're going to make jokes about ANYTHING, chances are you're going to offend someone. If your job is literally to do that and make people laugh, and not be concerned about about those potential offences, I really don't think you have too much room to get pissy when people do bring it up. Not everyone is going to find your brand of humour acceptable, and to take a criticism of your VERY PUBLIC PROPERTY, that you put out for the very purpose of being viewed and talked about, and act like it's some snotty schoolyard insult is so silly to me. On top of that, 30 Rock is obviously not Friends. If your entire message has always been jokes about specific social issues, then you are inviting yourself into dialogue about them. Just because you are throwing out your views veiled by jokes, they are still your views, and you need to own up to the fact that people will eventually look past the chuckle and go "wait, what?" Erm, /misguided rant and all that.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

The episode was SERIOUSLY ALL OVER THE PLACE, I barely know what was going on and I watched it and also became angry enough at it to write this giant entry, haha.

Yeah, I feel like comedians getting butthurt about people saying their shows are kind of offensive in whatever way is just like, dude. Calm yourselves. I think the issue here is that Tina Fey probably views herself as doing feminist comedy, so when people point out that her feminism is not without issues she gets upset? But, uh, then deal with yourself, because you're super successful and so your butthurt is not compelling to me? GO CRY YOURSELF TO SLEEP ON YOUR BIG BED OF MONEY.

[peopleareshapes.livejournal.com]

YES, THIS POST. Easily the best breakdown I've read on why 30 Rock was super gross last week.

If someone on the internet says your show is bad about women (which, to be frank, it is), the appropriate reaction is to consider this, and if they are wrong, to forget it, and if they are right, to take steps to make your show less bad about women.

APPLAUSE.

Why have I not seen that episode of The Good Wife yet. That sounds like the BEST EPISODE OF ALL TIME. (lololol @ TSN not winning best picture. Small miracles.)

FSCM!!!!! LET'S DO THIS!!!!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Ugh, it made me feel so gross and upset. NOT ON, FEY.

Omg, you have to watch that ep of the Good Wife, I WAS SO GLEEFUL I ENDED UP EXPLAINING TO MY MOM ALL THE WAYS SORKIN SUCKS AND HOW THE SHOW WAS POINTING IT OUT VERY SPECIFICALLY.

(I WAS SO MAD THAT SORKIN WON THE OSCAR BUT SO PSYCHED TSN GOT SHUT OUT OF ALL THE BIG AWARDS! Beforehand I was totally like, if The King's Speech doesn't win best picture I WILL BURN UTICA TO THE GROUND, so thank God Utica was saved. EAT IT, TSN.)

[calendae.livejournal.com]

I have not warmed up to Ben, I am afraid. I like him, but I miss Leslie/Ann time! Is that weird? I do, however, still feel such an intense love for the show that my mild aversion to Ben would, if this were any other show, be glowing love. So there's that.

Leslie Knope FTW!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I love Ben so much! I SUPPOSE you are allowed to have your own opinion, though, haha. But I totally do miss Leslie/Ann time, it was ridiculous how many episodes went by without them even speaking. THIS IS WHAT'S DUMB ABOUT ROMANTIC PLOTLINES SOMETIMES, IN TV AND LIFE, haha.

Leslie Knope owns my heart! I HOPE SHE TAKES DEAN WINCHESTER DOWN!

[cashewdani.livejournal.com]

So, I'm really happy that my on demand carrier didn't put the episode of 30 Rock up until I had entirely forgotten one had even aired. Thanks, Comcast!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Heeee, you are VERY LUCKY, that episode was nothing but a poorly constructed, incomprehensible pile of fail. D:

[flaming-muse.livejournal.com]

OMG Ron cannot lose April! Nooooooooo! The world will end!

I am amazed how strongly I love Leslie and Ben together.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

He actually MEDDLED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S RELATIONSHIP SO AS NOT TO LOSE HER! It makes me so happy!

Seriously, my Leslie/Ben feelings are through the roooooof, they have such a charming relationship.

[sainfoin-fields.livejournal.com]

(Hey, remember that time Sorkin was an asshole and got banned from TWoP and then he wrote an episode about Josh Lyman being persecuted by bitches on the internet and it was the biggest eyeroll ever? YEAH THAT WAS DUMB. However, remember that other time that The Good Wife wrote an episode where a person who was clearly a thinly veiled Sorkin was questioned by, hilariously, Josh Charles of all people, about how he wrote The Social Network to get back at bitches on the internet who were mean about his drug addiction and it was THE MOST DELIGHTFUL KARMA EVER? Good times, TV, good times. Haha, however that is a whole other ball of wax.)

HAAAAAAAA RIGHT? I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES. On TGW, I mean. Not 30 Rock because just from the episode title I... kind of decided to skip it entirely, fucking gross. BTW, if you decide you care to find out about the wank background, it probably began with "13 Ways of Looking at Liz Lemon" @ tigerbeatdown.com.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

THAT THING IN THE GOOD WIFE MADE MY LIFEEEEEEEEEEEE, I was so delighted!!! I feel like someone put Josh Charles in there on purpose for sure too, and it just made it so trippy and hilarious and amaaaaazing.

Ugh, yeah, not a fan of the 30 Rock thing. I actually read that tigerbeatdown post when it went up -- I really like that essay, and I wish the show actually addressed the criticisms in... adjusting the show instead of, like, metaing about it. Siiiigh.

[mozarts-friend.livejournal.com]

I inexplicably stopped watching 30 Rock sometime last season, but your whole description of that episode..ugh. WHAT GIVES, TINA? Also, that article about how great Leslie Knope is is my FAVORITE. I want to print it out and put it on my fridge. (Hahaha, true story: I got my older sister to give Parks and Rec a chance by emailing her that article and now she loves it.)

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I watch 30 Rock SUPER casually -- most of the time I just watch it 'cause it's on, which is sad because it used to be the show that made me laugh the most, but oh well. THAT EPISODE WAS UNPLEASANT, THOUGH.

Oh man, you seriously got your sister to watch from that article? THAT IS AMAZING. For real, I love it so much, though, it makes such a good case for Leslie Knope.

[mardia.livejournal.com]

I watched the first half of that 30 Rock episode, and um. DNW. Just, do not want. It just basically seemed really incoherent, and aside from the problematic bits, I kind of feel like if you're talking actual social/media issues in a work and I have to basically contort my line of thinking into a Mobius strip to find a way in which you aren't being offensive, then you've basically failed.

And ahahaha, that episode of the Good Wife filled me with so much glee, I can't even tell you. Some critics thought it went too far with the Sorkin-bashing, which, WHATEVER. That shit was delightful to me, because Sorkin has had that coming for YEARS, especially after I had to sit through The Social Network and have everyone in media calling it The Greatest Movie Of The Year That Won't Win An Oscar. (The King's Speech may have been predictable, but the acting was fantastic and it didn't make me want to stab people in the face after watching it.)

But Parks and Rec, please don't ever stop being this delightful. The whole storyline of how Ben's falling for Leslie, and through her, the town is just like...thank God I already know that Ben and Chris are sticking around, because I would be actively upset if I thought we were not going to keep them around. And Andy/April was working for me again this week! Thank God, I don't like it when I'm all "eh" about their storyline or being annoyed with April.

Fringe--oh man. I love the show, but I find that it's best to take it with a grain of salt, otherwise I'll be having a stroke about how there are no ethical scientists on that show at ALL, let alone any understanding of informed consent to medical procedures/experiments. (People, I was a humanities major and if I'm getting worked up about this, then God only knows how real scientists feel.) Anyway, at this point, I'm basically watching it for the wacky plot twists and Joshua Jackson being a hotass with his stubble and coats, along with Olivia being a badass. In the show's defense, they do seem to be delving a little more into how Original Recipe Walter was not exactly the World's Greatest Dude. As for the emphasis on his kidnapping of Peter, I think the show stresses it so hard because that's what fucked EVERYTHING up, not because they think it's morally worse than experimenting on children.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

I kind of feel like if you're talking actual social/media issues in a work and I have to basically contort my line of thinking into a Mobius strip to find a way in which you aren't being offensive, then you've basically failed.

HAHA I KNOW, RIGHT? I was so uncomfortable! Even with the ending, that sort of mitigated the baby-hooker thing (BUT ONLY SORT OF) it came off as very, like, slut-shame-y or something? I JUST FELT WEIRD.

I was seriously so psyched about that episode of The Good Wife, the whole time I was just like, I CANNOT BELIEVE ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL IS HAPPENING TO ME. Haha and whatever on going too far, if anyone deserves it, it's Sorkin, it's not like he has EVER ONE TIME had any qualms about writing thinly-veiled versions of people he hates into his shows, or using his shows as meta vehicles for his misguided opinions. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW, SORKIN. If it had been anybody else they were going off on, I'd probably have felt like it was inappropriate, but with him, IT IS SUPER APPROPRIATE.

Omg, I know, I'm so happy that I already know that Adam Scott has signed on to be a regular! (Though bad news, I think Rob Lowe is still just a guest star? BUT I COULD BE WRONG ON THAT.) I just want them to make out and get married and have babies and be wonderful and Leslie to be president and Ben to be First Lady, is that so much to ask? And I'm so happy to be back on the Andy/April train too, they were awesome in that episode and I was bummed when I wasn't feeling it.

HEEEEEE, ikr on Fringe, I am constantly getting het up about how the science is wrong and unethical and I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SCIENCE. EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT SCIENCE IS FROM TV, PRETTY MUCH. But I totally enjoy the other things you mentioned, and I looooooove the alternate universe world building. And yeah, I'm glad that even in the episodes I've watched they're making it more clear that they find Walter ethically ambiguous because for awhile there it was like, NO BUT SERIOUSLY, HE BASICALLY DID NAZI EXPERIMENTS, WHY IS THIS OKAY???? Haha, to bring Nazis into it extremely unclassily, but in this case the comparison is disturbingly similar.

[witling.livejournal.com]

Um, on the strength of this post alone I just YT'd that scene with Adam Scott and that guy, and it was pretty awesome. Seriously. I enjoy.

Hi hi!!!

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

OH MAN, RIGHT???? Haha, I had to find out about that scene from the BAND OF BROTHERS COMMUNITY, and there was surprise Adam Scott and I have never been so delighted in anything in my life and also outraged that no one Adam Scott related had told me. Though actually Adam Scott plays gay kind of frequently, he totally made out with David Fisher on Six Feet Under! YOU SHOULD WATCH THOSE SCENES IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, THEY ARE *AHEM* VERY NICE. Haha I have no idea if they're on youtube, though.

Hello!!!!!! I MISS YOU!

[witling.livejournal.com]

Oh, and forgot to say--daaaaaaamn, it sounds like 30 Rock is going to love us and leave us like everything else. We're in S3 now, I think. Still pretty golden. So sad to know it's going to shoot itself in the foot.

[annakovsky.livejournal.com]

Oh man, well, I should say that 30 Rock is not terrible all the time, mostly now I watch it and enjoy it while it's on and don't think about it much when it's not -- it was only this episode that pissed me off. I do feel like the first two or three seasons were the ~*~golden age~*~ of its peak hilarity, but on the other hand, you know how you watch something in real time and when you're first discovering it it seems amazing, and then you get used to it and it seems less amazing, but you don't know if it's because the novelty's just worn off or if the quality is worse? Haha so I'm in that boat, basically, I feel like I don't have an objective opinion on it. SO, for whatever that's worth.

I'm psyched you guys are watching it, though! Isn't Liz Lemon delightful? I like my lady characters who eat cheeses late into the night and wear work sneakers, haha.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

RE FRINGE

IT DOES NOT GET BAD. IT'S STILL GOOD.

The Walter thing is difficult. He has dead bits of brain now! So is he able to process what he's done? But..keep watching.

ALSO I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU, KOVSKY.

[waitingforjimmy.livejournal.com]

Her article in The New Yorker was oddly enough well written and thoughtful for the most part but it did come off a bit whiny (i.e complaining that men in Hollywood only want to fuck young women, well we know this but how does that stop you from doing good or even marginal comedy?) ANYWAY. Alec Baldwin is the best part of 30 Rock.

[sophia-helix.livejournal.com]

I feel like 30 Rock has that general liberal comic sensibility that shooting down "political correctness" is good because it shows bipartisanship and, incidentally, makes you look cool and tough, like owning a gun. So, it's funny for racist stereotypes to be true, and it's "feminist" to show that women can be whatever they want to be, including baby hookers. I know it's a sitcom so it's not like they have time to unpack the second layer of that, which is that someone only wants to BE a baby hooker because of the subtle and not-so-subtle encouragement and rewards she will get from society, but in that case, just leave the first part alone, christ.

Fringe recently did something so dumb I stopped watching, which I haven't done since S3 of JJ's first show, Alias. So, there's that. I enjoyed our breathless catchup but now it's hateball unless someone tells me they got less dumb. Walter's my second-favorite character but they only pay attention to bits of characterization (or invent them) as it's necessary to the plot, which is another thing that drove me close to quitting the show until the recent thing. Peter's resume of skills is HI-LARIOUS at this point because they just make up background shit for him whenever they need someone to do something, and Walter is sometimes a kindly eccentric and sometimes a stone-cold sociopath, it's not really clear. Ugh.

I guess I am glad I finally listened to people and caught up on P&R so I can make Ron jokes all the time and have a second-favorite, sometimes first-favorite show currently airing. I guess.

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

I don't know if anyone has told you about this yet or not, but they actually somewhat address the whole Walter-experimenting-on-children thing in a subtle, kind of awesome way. I do not want to spoil you on it unless you request I do, though.

[moireach.livejournal.com]

Wellll I just watched the 30 Rock and then came and read your whole post and all the comments and linked articles to make myself feel better. Thank you for providing this service, I would like to subscribe to future installments!