fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2817 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2817 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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04. [SPOILERS for True Blood]

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05. [SPOILERS for World's Greatest Dad]
[WARNING for suicide]

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06. [SPOILERS for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D]
[WARNING for suicide]

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07. [WARNING for suicide]
http://i.imgur.com/ArPB3nh.png
[link for possibly character death/abuse/etc happening in the image (?)]

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08. [WARNING for self harm]

[Les Miserables]

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09. [WARNING for bullying, suicide]

[The Nanny]

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10. [WARNING for harassment, bullying, etc]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #402.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

all have been recommended to me as up my alley and I have 3/4 on DVD either as a gift or I got on sale, but I haven't worked up the motivation to watch.

Farscape: Watch for the witty dialog and some of the best alien designs you've seen on television. Seriously, we aren't talking Star Trek style slap on a funny nose and call it an alien. But amazing mechanical full blow aliens created by Jim Henson's creature shop.

Alphas: It's so good. Aaaaagh it's so good. The characters are good, the way they use their powers are good, the overall plot is really well executed - not revolutionary or anything, but extremely solid. One of the things that I like about it is that - so all of the people have their powers, and those powers always have drawbacks - you have the ability to do these superhuman things but that has some kind of costs because the human body isn't supposed to do this stuff. But those flaws also play out in the characters of the people on the team, and there's a lot of thought given to how it affects their personalities, and so all of them are really well drawn as characters and consistent and interesting. Guh it's so good.

Or just watch it for Gary (one of the most awesome, funniest disabled characters I've ever seen on TV, seriously he's the best). Or David Straitharn being a complete badass. Gah I love it.

I have Alphas on my watch list - how does it compare to Heroes? (which, tbh, we gave up on after Season 1).

I really can't say, unfortunately, as I've watched very little of Heroes. I think its arc plot holds up better compared to what I've heard of Heroes, but I really don't know.

DA

Speaking as someone who loved the first season of Heroes to death, I would say that Alphas is less exciting and the overall plot is less interesting, in large part because almost all of the main characters know and work with each other from the very start so you don't get the intertwining storylines, but the characters are more fleshed-out and "real," mostly because there are fewer of them and they do all work together so there's more time to develop everyone.

That sounds appealing; I'm more into chewy, juicy, complicated characters than plots. ~ Thank you!

I have to start off with a warning that Alphas got cancelled on a cliffhanger, so if lack of resolution is gonna bother you then stay far away. For its good points, though, it's a show where you can tell that a whole lot of thought has gone into the "superpowers" and how they would actually affect the people who have them. For example, one of the main characters has intensely heightened senses. She's a clean freak and a germophobe because she can see and smell every little particle of dirt, and she has a hard time with physical intimacy because even a light flirtatious touch can be enough to overwhelm her. Another character in the pilot can predict the outcome of almost anything, and because he doesn't grasp that not everyone can do this he thinks that every minor mishap that befalls him is something that someone did deliberately. To be honest I wasn't really interested in the plot of the show, but the way the characters were built fascinated me.

And then there's Leverage. I have nothing at all bad to say about Leverage. In five years, I think they did three episodes I didn't like. Every one of the characters is a fully-realized person, and they all have realistic growth over the course of the series as they become my favorite television found family. The show is at the top of my list for competence porn; every episode is about people who are really good at what they do showing off how good they are. The writers know how to create villains who are both believable and utterly hateable, so the takedowns are always satisfying and you feel good about seeing the victims get resolution. On top of that, it is an intensely funny show that takes itself just seriously enough.

DA

Another character in the pilot can predict the outcome of almost anything, and because he doesn't grasp that not everyone can do this he thinks that every minor mishap that befalls him is something that someone did deliberately.

I only saw a few episodes of Alphas but I did see that one, and I remember loving that storyline and that character. His interactions with Dr Rosen, and the reactions of the rest of the team to what happened because of him, seriously fascinated me. The way his mind worked because of his power, the 'out of context problem' idea and how it radicalises people, Rosen realising that maybe he hasn't been paying enough attention to what happens to Alphas after his part is done. Is the rest of the show like that? I might go back and have another look if that's the case.

Extremely yes.

... I think your description of Leverage just sold me on trying it! Hhappily all 5 seasons are on Netflix!

(We used to love The Pretender -- before ti collapsed under its own mythology -- so this sounds like the same sort of "non-violent payback" that Pretender did so well.)

The competence porn is amazing. And it never gets obnoxiously perfect to the point where it gets boring, like, everyone is extremely good at what they do, but they aren't flawless, they screw up plenty, they have to resort to plans B, C, D, they rely on luck sometimes, and there's equal or better challengers out there. But at the end, the characters always prevail, and the fun is in seeing how they do it.

Leverage is the only show I've ever seen on American TV where the message of every single episode is "Fuck The Man."

You will never see this many smug rich bastards taken down this hard. Fuckin' Lt. Columbo didn't take down this many smug rich bastards, and he specialized.

Leverage is about the only show I've ever seen that makes it through all five seasons without getting tangled up either romantic or grimdark drama. There is romance, but it's understated, never prioritized over the (very episodic) heist plot lines; the friendship, trust, and cohesion of the overall group is more important than who's banging who. Most episodes are fast-paced, feel-good adventures without being corny or ignoring complicated moral issues, with the characters thinking/fighting/tricking their way out of impossible situations and administering justice along the way; it's very satisfying in its way. It has its share of darkness, losses, and bittersweet resolutions, but it never stays down. The humor is really great, the heists are convincingly complicated, the action is slick and constant, and you can tell the cast was having so much fun playing their roles. Oh, and, the female characters are allowed to be just as complex, funny, weird, and nerdy as the guys - they're not just there to be The Girls.

Best of all, all of these things are consistent over all the seasons. If you like Season 1, you will be a fan until the last episode of Season 5. The characters grow and change, but the nature of the show itself sticks to its guns. It's about the only show I can say never disappointed me in any major way. So, you know. If you want some cheerful funny action-y shit, Leverage is where it's at.

[ SECRET POST #2817 ]

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