Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

TV break: The Rocky Horror Glee Show

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Because it’s one of “those weeks,” this is recycled and adapted from a post I made at TWoP.

As you know from a previous blog entry, I was one of “those people” in 1978-79. I saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Biograph in Chicago fiftysomething times. I sometimes dressed up, I always had rice and toast to throw, and I helped my friends with their costumes because my one domestic skill is sewing. It’s thirty plus years later and I can probably still quote this movie word for word and song for song. So, do you think I loved or hated the Rocky Horror Glee Show episode?

To me, the whole point of RHPS is not about recreating it perfectly, it’s about making it your own. And in that sense, the episode worked for me. Glee made it their own. Maybe not the same way you would, or I would, or some other TV show would. But that’s a good thing to me.

Mr. Schue’s line about Rocky Horror being for outcasts bothered me a little bit (as did many things about Mr. Schue in this episode) because back then I never thought of myself as an outcast or a misfit, although I probably was. To me and my friends, it was just a place we could go and get creative, act a little crazy, have some fun, and of course, do the Time Warp again.

One thing that was just getting started around the time I started moving on from RHPS was the trend towards “official” performing troupes at the various midnight show theatres, rather than more informal groups of the obsessed acting out the show. I didn’t care for that trend because it turned something that was more inclusive to just another place where cliques and the food chain took over.

Again, this was more about me than about Glee, so I’ll get back to the show with one more observation. I’ve said in the past that Glee is evil and this episode added another reason: it made me almost like John Stamos. I have never been a fan. Way back when, I watched All My Children, not General Hospital. I’m too old to have cared about Full House and I absolutely hated him as Tony Gates on E.R. even more than I usually hate the inevitable “paramedic who thinks he is too good to be a medic and must become a doctor” character. I found myself almost liking him as Carl in this episode, up to and including his version of “Hot Patootie”. Damn you once again, Glee!

(NaBloPoMo | October ’10: 27 of 31)

Tuesday TV break: Glee, Sons of Anarchy

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Continuing on as one of the very few members of the crossover audience for Glee and Sons of Anarchy, here is my previously-promised SoA rant followed by some thoughts on tonight’s episodes.

I’ll rant first so I can hide anything spoilerish under the “continued” jump.

I think it’s great that Sons of Anarchy has become popular with a diverse general audience and isn’t just a biker cult thing. Many of my co-workers and my husband’s co-workers watch the show, and only a few of them are bikers or motorcyclists (there is a difference). We look forward to discussing the show on Wednesdays (or Thursdays if someone is DVRing).

But I have a problem with one sector of the fan base: the posers. And to them, I say: it’s okay to not be a biker and still like SoA. It is not okay to pretend you are a real biker and try to live SoA. It’s offensive, though still mildly amusing, when you try to impress and it’s obvious your knowledge comes from your one neighbor who was in the local H.O.G. chapter for a year and actually rode a motorcycle on a long trip once, and from watching Gangland on The History Channel. It’s not amusing at all when you wear the ripoff merchandise that resembles a three-piece patch and act like you think you are in a real club or something.

I’m also not too thrilled with actual bikers who nitpick the show to death rather than enjoy it for what it is: a biker soap opera with one of the best casts and possibly the strongest writing on television right now. I know it’s easy to be critical when it’s a lifestyle, subject area, or location you are very familiar with. But too many of us have lost the ability to suspend disbelief and just enjoy.

Rant over… for now.
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Quick TV break

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  • I’m still deciding whether or not I like the new Hawaii 5-0. I’ll keep watching to support anything filmed in my hometown while I decide, though. I’m interested to see how they keep it local enough for, well, the locals… and of course the expats… without having to overexplain for the rest of the audience, and without making it seem forced.
  • On Rottweiler Nation, I saw an announcement that a Rottweiler plays the role of the main character’s dog on the new NBC show Chase. Since it’s on at the same time as Hawaii 5-0, the dogs and I will have to check out an episode online or on On Demand.
  • I joke about being the entire crossover audience between Glee and Sons of Anarchy. Please tell me there are others of you out there!
  • Speaking of Glee, this week’s episode killed it, unlike last week’s Brittany/Britney trainwreck. One thing in common that several of my favorite shows share is the ability to go from over-the-top absurd to gut-wrenching emotion without missing a beat, and this episode did just that. I was cringing in advance at the idea of a Glee episode featuring religion. But as someone who has both lost and found my own faith a few times over many years, I could actually relate to most of the portrayals of the different characters’ expressions (or rejections) of religion, faith, and spirituality.
  • Speaking of Sons of Anarchy… well, that might involve a rant. Not about the show which is still one of my favorites and in my opinion has some of the best writing out there, but about some of its fans. So I think I’ll save that for another day.

(NaBloPoMo | October ’10: 6 of 31)

Colors that no one knows the name of

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I missed Mad Men last night, so I’ve been avoiding spoilers all day. It was easier than I thought; all I had to do was stick to the Comic Con posts in my feedreader (for those who were wondering if there is any audience overlap between Glee and Sons of Anarchy, that would be… me).

Now, following the Monday night replay, I’m caught up. Instead of writing about what I thought of it (short version: I liked it but sometimes this show sure takes a while to get going), or getting back out there on the ‘net to see what everyone else thought of it, I’m staying stuck in the ’60s and watching Easy Rider. To give you an idea of what I might actually remember about the ’60s, in Mad Men time and place, I’d be a little bit younger than Don’s son, and I was eleven years old when Easy Rider came out.

This song will definitely have a place somewhere in the soundtrack of my life:

And then she’ll know the things I learned that really have no value
In the end she will surely know I wasn’t born to follow

The Byrds, Wasn’t Born to Follow (Carole King/Gerry Goffin)

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 26 of 31)