45352, and Collision Part 2

I have hit 45352. I am in the home stretch and I'm really starting to think I can do this, especially because I realized that December doesn't start until Tuesday, not Monday as I previously thought. So what if my sleep pattern may be permanently screwed up and several of my personal relationships in decay? I'm feeling good.
For a non-sugary reward, I finally watched the second part of Collsion saved on my DVR. Lucy Griffiths was the highlight of the program in my opinion, though Douglas Henshall was quite good as well. He portrayed the different emotional layers of his character very well, but Lucy's character was the one I found the most sympathetic. She was focused on quite a bit and had a quiet, but empowering end to her story.
The story itself was a bit of a mess, many, many layers and jumps forward and backward that the subtitles barely help keep straight. Although some of the stories were intersting it felt like way too much going on. (Just like the first season of the strangely addictive Glee.)The ending was also very peculiar in a post modern sort of way. All of a sudden the narrative (not voiced mind you) asks what would have happen if the accident had never occured, and all the victims are seen continuing on their journey, riding in a sort of passive, Elysian Fields way while piano music- by Chopin I believe?- plays whistfully in the background. I'd give it a B.

Reviews: Part 1 Collision, "Raditudes"

Collision:
Ok, not as great as I hoped. I was a little upset by that fact that within the first five minutes we know which characters are going to die in the accident. That ruined some of the suspense for me and made me feel like I shouldn't become emotionally invested in these particular characters. The structure was a little confusing as well, without the sub-titles I would have been totally lost. I know there are two more parts to go, but I'm still waiting for the "so what?", the theme, why the story of all these people in this collision are important and how they connect to each other beyond the simple visceral experience. Also, this may just be me being an ignorant American and I know it was impportant to the plot but, is it commonplace for ambulances to take less injured patients to diners? That struck me as strange.
On the positive: Fantastic cast! Alum of Pride and Prejudice, Robin Hood, Doctor Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Being Human, The Twelth Night, Sparkhouse, and many other great programs. Some of the stories are interesting and intruiging. Did one man purposely become onvolved in the accident? Why was one of the survivors found possibly murdered shortly after leaving the hospital? Why was there a man hidden in the furniture delivery van? Some of those questions will inspire me to tune in to the next part. As well as Lucy Griffiths- even though I think she looks better as a brunette- she is refreshing in a contemporary role and a sympathetic character.
I was irresponible today and bought Weezer's new album, "Raditude". I just put it on my computer and haven't finished listening, but will post my initial impressions. Alot of people have had negative comments about this album, but in a way it reminds me alot of their "Blue" album. There's something kind of early rock/punk about their radio single "If You're Wondering if I Want You To (I Want You To) that is reminiscent of songs like "Buddy Holly". The poetic angsty-ness of "Put Me Back Together" pairs with songs like "The World Has Turned (And Left Me Here)". There is also a sense of shamelessly reveling in witty geekiness which I find irrestible. I did have to ask "What? Is that Lil' Wayne?" During "Can't Stop Partying". That was a slightly confusing song. Four more to listen to, I'll post further thoughts later. So far it's not my favorite album, but doesn't warrant alot of the bashing it's been given.
Oh one thing that upset me a little: you can only get the bonus track of Weezer doing two covers in one of Kids and Poker Face if you buy the album on iTunes. Grr. I refuse, it's not fair. Why are you so cruel iTunes? Always keeping things for yourself.

Entertainment of the Weekend

Oh Robin Hood, how you consume a pathetic and socially unacceptable percentage of my thoughts. This week's episode was a major moment with Robin and Guy; it gave fantastic insights on the boys that became the men and how the "bad blood" between them goes back to their fathers. Who cares if it doesn't completely mesh with the backstory that has been implied for the past two seasons? Well... some people care, but besides throwing off the timeline and amount of history between characters a bit, it actually makes alot of things make even more sense in my opinion. I still, stubbornly insist that they should not have killed off Marian and that S3 could have been much more interesting with her. Maybe once the American premiere of S3 concludes in a few weeks I'll post my rewrite of the S2 finale and new outline of S3. Although I must give credit where it is due, the writers did very much redeem themselves in the end of this season. But not 100%
Tonight is the premiere of Collision which has Lucy Griffiths- Lady Marian herself appearing in it. Many BBCA viewers will find familiar actors in this series. I'm excited, Place of Execution has me feeling positive about Mas Contemporary. I'll post my notes later this week.
For books: I have been reading Girl, Interrupted. It's amazing, I'm obsessed. I've never seen the movie, but need to read the book for a class I'm taking. Though I'm not sure what this says about me, I find it fascinating to read about experiences with mental illness. I read The Bell Jar in high school- changed my life. The book is not a cohesive A-B-C plotline, but a collection of memories of the author's experience in the mental hospital. It's as if she wrote each chapter, each episode in the book as it came to mind, not in any order but the one her mind drew up. I can't wait to watch the movie and see how they arrange the plot.
One other bit of exciting, geeky news: BBCA has announced they are showing the final three Dr. Who specials starring David Tennant in December! Can't wait.

So I Watched It...

I watched the final part of Place of Execution and I was not dissapointed. The moral ambiguity is captured so well; a particular line stands out to me (not quoted exactly) "In this case truth and justice are not the same". It was definately worth the watching- if you missed it check out the videos on pbs.org.
As I wrote that I swallowed my gum. Fantastic.
NaNoWriMo is seriously kicking my butt. Current word count is only around 11,000. Very shabby considering it's the 13th. I knew how hard this would be with my current schedule this month, but I was optomistic- that was my first mistake. Next week my theatrical obligations will end and then I will have to seriously buckle down on this. I already have an idea for the script writing challenge in April, I'm very excited about that.
Oh, and I have a new project for the holiday season (mid-December to mid-January I'm thinking): Reading George Eliot's Middlemarch. It is a beastly long book, but I've been meaning to read something of Eliot's for ages and haven't done it. A friend of mine is also planning on climbing that mountain and we have decided to have weekly sessions (on Skype if not in person) to check up on each other's progress. I'll journal about it on here as well to make me feel more obligated to continue with it.
I still want to do a series about film adaptations as well... that might be too much for one month, we'll just see how it goes.

Place of Execution

Alright... so after writing about 2000 words for the innagural day of NaNoWriMo, I decided I would check out Materpiece Contemporary's latest offering and I'm very glad I did. This was only part one, so I look forward to the coming conclusion of the story. At first it seems a fairly straight forward story of an impassioned detective catching the murderer of a young girl. However, the story quickly develops with more layers of intrigue and ambiguity.
In modern day London, Catherine Heathcote, a divorced reporter with a troubled daughter, tries to make a documentary about the case of Alison Carter's murder. In her interview with George Bennett, the lead detective, she uncovers some unusual facts about the crime and the evidence used try Alison's stepfather (played by the adorable Greg Wise). The story is told largely through extended flashback scenes and has many great performances.
Check it out!

Current word count: 3018 ... about 6% there I believe?

NaNoWriMo Love Affair

National Novel Writing Month, I'm obsessed. Now that I am officially a member of this insane gang worldwide, I have been browsing the forums, participating in the lively discussions. Even though the writing does not commense until Sunday, the boards are lively with questions about the realism of subjects, plot holes, plot devices, and how to survive the thirty day write-a-thon.
Here are some fantastic thread titles on the realism boards (all written by other participants, not my own devising, therefore quoted):
"nailing Jello to the wall"
"Kissing someone with a mustache"
"Evil Hoboes During the Great Depression"
"how to get the blood out (of a person)"
"Manly Coffee Drinks"
"Short males of the world! How does it feel?"
"Teach me about String Theory!"
"Ever been shot?"
"Zombies eat brains, but why?"

I could go for days, that is just a handful of peculiar, fascinating and hilarious discussions on the Character and Plot Realism boards. Honestly, I would join just for the lively ecclectic discussion. There are boards for the various genres, to discuss particular devises and difficulties, and you can get writing buddies! So you don't feel all alone with your angst.
I even made "cover art" this afternoon for my hypothetical book. That is the banner at the top of this post as it appears on my "Novel Info" page. The title came across a little lighter than I hoped, it's called "Jaded" at this point. (Click image to enlarge)
This is terribly unhealthy, but hey it's only until December 1st... and then there's the script writing challenge in April.... I need to stop.
Not going to watch Place of Execution on Masterpiece Contemporary this Sunday because I'm a bad person. Mas. Contemporary always leaves me a little cold and I'd rather be novelling.
Hurry up November and get here! (Once you're here however, feel free to linger slowly while I bring up my word count)
I will watch Robin Hood on Saturday. I feel it's my civic duty.

Endgame

I watched Endgame tonight. I am not a political person, so I really appreciated the wonderful intro by David Tennant. It was not just wonderful because DT looked very nice and was speaking in his home accent. The intro was minimal, no frills, it gave a backdrop of context for the piece.
It was a difficult story to translate to film, a lot of "table talk" scenes, but there were some very solid performances from the cast. The camera points of view added visual interest to the piece, giving impressions of justified paranoia, that the characters (especially Michael Young played by Johnny Lee Miller)were being watched- which they were. At one moment, the camera shifted focus from Mandela to the bars of his cell, highlighting his incarceration. Perhaps because of my lack of connection to the situation or the documentary feel of many scenes, but I did have trouble feeling engaged and involved in the story and the characters. That always happens to me when watching Masterpiece Contemporary. Last year The Last Enemy left me feeling much the same. I don't know if it's me or the filming styles or the script, but I can't get emotionally involved with their series'. *Sigh*

Beforehand I was watching Nature, it was their program about the wild Stallions, beautiful creatures. There were previews for some upcoming programs after the show, their new Frontline "Close to Home" about the recession is cleverly filmed in a hair salon. Everyone opens up about their problems when their hair is being washed. Maybe because it's comforting, because our parents always washed and combed our hair as children.
I love PBS. Just wanted to share that.

Masterpiece Contemporary

photo credit: nerdfighters.ning.com

Guess who the new host of Masterpiece Contemporary is? Okay, I sort of spoiled it with the photo, but yes, it is the incomparable David Tennant.
Their season starting this Sunday is as follows (courtesy of pbs.org):
Endgame- October 25th Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Johnny Lee Miller (also in the new Emma coming to Masterpiece Classic this season!)
Place of Execution- November 1-8 Starring Juliet Stevenson and Greg Wise
Collision-November 15-22 With Lucy Griffiths from BBC's Robin Hood

Speaking of David Tennant... did anyone hear that the RSC is making a film of their recent production of Hamlet starring DT? I wept with joy personally.
Oh, and Collision stars the eighth Doctor, Paul McGann. Isn't that cute? Getting the Whos together. Warm fuzzy feelings.
Oh- and Philip Davis who was in "The Fires of Pompeii" with Doctor eleven, DT. It' like a class reunion.