For Hoover
You know what this means.
You know what this means.
…after a sick day on Monday and getting caught up yesterday. It happens. I apologize.
In any case, in my laziness, I’ve decided to point you to Tom & Lorenzo’s pretty spot-on review of episode two of V.
VS1E02: There is No Normal Anymore
I do have to agree with their assessment that the second episode really does a good job of shaping the feel of the season. I think that perhaps it’s a bit more sorted than they are giving the writers/actors credit for, but let’s get right to it: the star of the episode was absolutely the iPhone. And Anna’s rad virtual closet. Those two were played perfectly.
Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus
…I’d be even more likely to believe that it was true. 😛
So I caught Tuesday’s episode of the new ABC remake of V, the 1983-ish series (depending on where this falls in the original story, which Wikipedia isn’t really making too clear.) I missed it on TV and attempted to watch it on ABC’s website last night, but was stunned to find that their strategy in the age of Hulu and Surf the Channel is to make you wait five days after the broadcast for the streaming version. Screwing that, I found the episode in its entirety from CTV and set to work trying to like this version.
Set in a city populated entirely by models which turns out to be New York, V follows the lives of several somewhat relatable characters: a mother and son who have drifted out of touch following a divorce, a disenchanted, young Catholic priest, a businessman with a shady past and his soon-to-be fiancée and an anchorman with hopes of being more than a newsreader. Nothing particularly groundbreaking here and any tensions being faced by each character has been so thoroughly dumbed down as to be nearly laughable. I mean, when the Visitors arrive, Father Jack is nearly crushed while saving a man from a giant falling crucifix in his church! Thanks for making that metaphor painfully obvious, ABC!
Anyway, so the Visitors pull up in their spaceships (zing! we think!) and immediately awe all of the world with the short-haired beauty of Anna (the always lovely but now lovelier, Morena Baccarin.) This part was rather cool and a very modern take on a first encounter, especially with the entourage and press release-y-ness of it all. Frankly, the Visitors get snaps for being sharply dressed and on-point, on message – and, as it turns out – on time. I can get behind this kind of alien takeover.
Then, blah, blah. The V aren’t what they seem. A resistance is brewing. The only black guy is a V! Alan Tudyk goes from most likable to dead, just like always. All with too-quick pacing that might be attributable to this being a 45 minute pilot that could have benefited from an extra 45 minutes? There’s probably a reason why this was a miniseries in 1983, friends. I will have to see if the pacing continues at such a frenzied, soap opera gallop, but I’m not thrilled with it right now.
And that’s my overall verdict on V: why so fast? Why so frantic? I know production was troubled by thoughts of early cancellation, but this isn’t helping. You got off to a good start with 10s of millions of viewers, so perhaps we can slow it down and make it more complex with the extra time? Science fiction continues to be a hard sell in network primetime, but it doesn’t have to be this clipped to be successful.
My real question with V is, and always will be, why it strays so far into the realm of Reptilian lore in the first place. I’m always suspicious of anything that comments on the fictional motivations of the global elite by calling attention to the rumors about the actual global elite. Is someone trying to tell us something that we should know? Especially with the Obama connections so plainly laid out?
Thanks, SiriusXM First Wave (Channel 22!)
I parked my car this morning on Mt. Vernon Ave., as I have been doing on and off for at least the last year, maybe year and a half. Every day I see at least four other cars that belong to coworkers from the college or students parked in the same area, from about the stop sign at the intersection with Campus Ave. back five car lengths towards Kent St. Never do we get a ticket here.
Except for today.
Thus, the helpful diagram that I pieced together after calling the parking attendant to question what the issue was that required a $25 fine.
Confused? So am I, really, but I’ll try to break it down for you.
Evidently all of Mt. Vernon Ave. is a solely residential street. Since most of the residents on Mt. Vernon Ave. are retired or old and wealthy, they don’t need to actually leave their homes to go to work ever. So unlike most places where residential streets are empty except for people that work nearby during the work day, Mt. Vernon is always full of cars. Theoretically. In practice, I’ve never had any problem finding at least one space towards the campus end.
Which is where things got weird. The parking attendant informed me that everyone who parks on Mt. Vernon without a pass (where do you think we are, Chestertown?) should get a ticket but because she’s being kind, she has established a “Zone of Leniency” that includes a box with a corner missing.
I was parked in the missing corner. (In attendant-speak, I guess this would be the “Zone of Pain.”)
The corner is missing because the guy that lives at the house with the unused driveway I was parked next to pays for a parking pass. To park on the street. Instead of in his driveway.
I ran out of room in my diagram and just drew me blocking the driveway in the hypothetical situation. Actually, I was not. So, even if he had chosen to park in front of his unused drive, he still could have gotten out. Further, his stupid freaking car was parked behind mine and I see my coworkers park exactly where I was without a ticket day in and day out.
Long story short, I got the attendant to void my ticket and waive my fine, but this is ridiculous. This is not an urban area. There is plenty of parking. There’s no need to walk more than a block even if you have to park away from your house. And all of these Mt. Vernon Ave. people have driveways. So why are we being so fucking arbitrary about the streets in the daytime hours? And charging $25 for a first offense?
Get a grip, Chestertown.
Or, at the very least, perhaps you can put up some signs or paint some lines to explain the Zone of Leniency to those that don’t live in your attendant’s head?