Ms. Amused

Joss Whedon shuts down Dollhouse

*gasp gasp gasp* NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Oh wait… not permanently like you’d think from “shuts down”. Whew…

I know this will be spun as a bad omen for the show but I’ve faith in Joss, he’s not steered us wrong yet.

I still want Firefly. I know it won’t happen, people are scattered to the winds and some characters are now dead (I could live with Shepherd being dead but not Wash).

Helen Mirren has revealed that she researched her role in upcoming movie Love Ranch by spending time in a brothel.

The 62-year-old Oscar winner admitted that visiting Nevada’s Mustang Ranch was vital in helping her prepare for the film role, in which she portrays Grace Botempo, the madam of the state’s first legal brothel.

The Sunday Mail quotes her as saying: “I loved the girls and the madam was wonderful - she became our advisor. She was invaluable - a wonderful woman.”

Mirren added that she is in favour of legalised prostitution: “I am a complete believer in legal brothels. The girls are protected and free and it takes out that horrible situation of pimps and drugs.

“Also the men who go there know the girls are medically checked and it is very carefully controlled - everyone is in a safe environment.”

Mirren’s husband Taylor Hackford directed Love Ranch, which also stars Joe Pesci, Gina Gershon and Bai Ling.

-Source

If you are flummoxed at how Helen could support legalized prostitution, I highly recommend reading Whores & Other Feminists which is what settled it for me (YES).

My first introduction to Helen was Teaching Mrs Tingle and she stole the movie IMO. I was lost after Calendar Girls. And I LOVE that she signed on for National Treasure 2 because watching her character kick butt was one of the best things about that movie.

I still have yet to see The Queen but I’m sure I’m in for a treat. In the meantime, I will be sitting here enthralled at the thought of her playing a madam! Also, who else isn’t surprised to see Gina Gershon (Showgirls) & Bai Ling (Wild Wild West) rounding out the cast in this?

Hey Ally! Looks like I’ve become a fan. Proof in the pudding was seeing this today on ONTD and squeeing to myself to read about the set and all.

Over Friday/Saturday I blasted through all of Season 3 which was just released on DVD. Not long ago I watched all of S1 and then S2 (with a couple weeks separation in between the seasons). The show’s really grown on me.

At first, I rolled my eyes a little because it felt like they were pulling out every overtold urban legend in the book. But they got me with the personal tale of the brothers and their family and the yellow eyed demon. Plus I’d recently fallen in love with Jeffrey Dean Morgan because of “Denny” on Grey’s Anatomy only weeks before so everytime he showed on screen as their dad was bonus.

I don’t know if it’s that my jadedness faded away or the writing really hit a groove but the “every urban legend” thing really gelled with the overall Winchester story and I don’t even notice it anymore. Even tropes like the “groundhog day” (endless repeats of a day) that I HATE work! There’s a “Groundhog Day” type episode in the 3rd Season where Sam is forced to relive Dean’s death over and over and over again. It actually goes through the most repeats of a day that I’ve seen in any tv episode yet both in what scenes you see and also what is “told” by the character. Yet, the writers managed to keep the story interesting enough and the actors of course pulled it off famously.

Given Jared & Jensen’s predilection for pranks and clowning around, I can only imagine what it was like to film THAT episode with each day ending in Dean’s death.

First season was good but the 2nd season started to falter some. Third season came back with a vengeance and I think for me, even topped the first season. Wonder if it’s just better storytelling or did the anticipation of the 3rd season coming soon prime me? I also wonder if the shorter season due to the writer’s strike actually helped as there was less deviation from the overall story. In fact now that I think about it, I seem to remember that it got a little slow towards the middle which was going into the strike. When they came back, the writers would have had to shove the rest of the story into fewer episodes. A lot less filler = better overall albeit shorter season?

I’d been configuring the DVR before I got to watching the third season and had decided to just skip Supernatural due because at the time I believed that Supernatural was fading and wasn’t going to be worth putting on the DVR. Could always catch it later on DVD. But now I’m gonna forgo Dancing With the Stars instead. I had a good time watching it when Marlee was on it but now I definitely want to find out what happens to the Winchester boys now.

One thing though, throughout the third season I kept expecting to see their dad show up but he never did. I don’t remember all of the 2nd season finale but did Daddy Winchester escape from hell and move on to the good beyond for good? Or is it that JDM was unavailable to come back? After all, he’s been busy lately with PS I Love you, Watchmen and more! Hoping some diehard Supernatural fan can answer that question (looking at you Ally!)

Minor trivia: Everyone’s talking about how the Twilight fans are pretty fucking crazy but Supernatural’s not without its own. From girls stalking the set to a fan launching themselves off a riser to tackle Jensen… I’m appalled. I’ve been the hardcore fan before (former hardcore nutball Xenite here among others) but never did I do insane shit like that. Nor did I hear about others in the fandom doing it either. No wonder, it’s been said that Jensen & Jared use bodyguards for fan appearances now.

So my favorite icon making duo posted a set of Hocus Pocus icons last night and I was scanning through them and giggling at the comedy ones.

One face was familiar, very cherubic with big pouty lips but it wasn’t til I got to the bottom that I went… OMIGOD THAT’s ______!!!

Last night, I spent a little time rebuilding the series recordings in the new DVR. The old one had developed a bias against Bruce Campbell and kept eating all the Burn Notices… so it had to go.

It’s annoying because it’s hard to find a website that tells you about ALL the new & returning shows, as in what’s on FX, USA, TNT, etc and not just the “public broadcast” ones.

I’ll be adding Grey’s Anatomy & probably Private Practices to the regular watch list. New shows? Not sure. Dollhouse isn’t til January so definitely not an issue now. Alan Tudyk is in the new show from the Will & Grace people but I don’t know the name or when it starts.

I added a bunch of stuff figuring that if I find myself not interested in watching what’s been recorded, I can just delete the eps and recordings. Did that last time around and it worked fine.

Thinking back, I remembered having to keep up with the stuff being recorded because otherwise it’d fill up really fast and I’d start losing things. Which meant I didn’t really watch movies or older TV stuff on dvd for a while. Which sucks cause I’ve a lot I want to see.

But at least now I’m full scale into my revived yarn hobbies so couch potato time will also be productive time

No I haven’t watched the premiere of Prison Break yet but I did watch the series premiere of “Raising The Bar” which is a legal show focused on the public defenders. Oh my word does Mark Paul look like a ringer for Heath Ledger! With the long dark hair and earnest emoting of his character, I kept being reminded of a medley of Heath’s characters. I’m so used to Mark Paul as a bottle blond and features too big for his face (of his teen years on Saved By The Bell) that I just don’t really recognize him as an adult.

I couldn’t tell you their names but it was nice to see the blond gal that played the ADA to MP’s defender. She’s played the much put upon girl in at least one of those stupid “comedies” of late. I think she’s one to watch. As is the black guy that was on Angel.

The pilot episode itself, was interesting but nothing that really grabbed me and kept me riveted. I thought the judge was a little over the top cause if real life is anything like that then heaven help us all!

I’m more excited about Eli Stone coming back though. That show really hit a nice mix so even with its stumbles, I still wanted to know what came next!

Dancing With The Stars might make it on the roster and if I wasn’t imagining it and it really is being made, then Rock of Love 3… how can I not watch another season of catty girls and Bret Michaels looking ridiculous? Throughout season 2, I was convinced that he was really dating Heather. Her multiple appearances plus hissy fits towards Daisy (the closest thing to a real rival on either show - Bret needs to get over it and realize that Heather & Daisy are the kind of girls he’ll be happiest with) seemed to support that. Oh and Lacey’s on some new game show with a bunch of the ROL girls so ….., reality tv is sucking me in and I hate it!

I don’t know when season 3 of American Gladiators will come but I love that show so much! The revival is almost as good as the original and with some of the new gladiator lineups (HELLO HURRICANE ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME) & events (Earthquake!!) making up for where it falters.

Three things and it’d be perfect:

1) Bring back the original bungee event, Swingshot. I much prefer this one to the new version whose name I refuse to remember.

2) Get rid of SkyTrak, the original version was better but even then not nearly as fun to watch as other events. There’s a reason why you edited all SkyTrak events to be the “view online for more action” events for the 2nd season.

3) GET RID OF HULK HOGAN. You want hulk? Bring out Lou Ferrigno or someone cooler. Hogan’s made such an ass of himself in his public private life that it just makes me sick to see him at all.

Ok enough about the shows I love from a genre I hate.

What I’m looking forward to: (in no particular order)

House, Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, NCIS, Law & Order SVU, Pushing Daisies (sophmore!), Eli Stone (sophmore!) and I’m sure I’ll thump myself for forgetting Shows X Y and Z.

ER is NOT on the list because I really get the feeling that a lot of people jumped ship instead of sticking around for the final season. I will watch it though and I hope I’ll still enjoy watching it but the hope is thin.

I’m also debating about whether to even bother recording Boston Legal. Because as much as I love Crane & Shore, what I saw of Season 4 left me seriously underwhelmed though I was pleased to see Saffron Burrows added to the cast. Saffron was the only new thing to the show that didn’t leave me going “WHY?” and Crane/Shore just got too far out there. I ended up deleting half of it unwatched.