TV, books, shows
May. 14th, 2016 09:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearOver the last few months, I've been watching an old TV show from the late 1990s called Felicity. It was created by J J Abrams - his first TV show - and it follows a young girl through her college career at New York University. In terms of being rooted almost entirely in reality, and dealing mainly with relationships and the emotional crises of college life, the show is very mundane - but I loved it. I would probably compare it most closely to The Gilmore Girls, though it's more about a group of college friends than it is a mother and daughter relationship (the parents of various of the characters do feature from time to time). There are some quite dramatic things that happen along the way, but mostly it's just quite normal, and very engaging for it. There's a good cast, an interesting range of characters, and it trundles along for its 84 episodes very entertainingly. The only real issue I had with it was the very end. It reached a point in Season Four, where everything was neatly tied off, and it seemed to come to a natural conclusion - and then it carried on for another five episodes of weird and unnecessary time travel/fever dream! Throughout the four seasons, the main character struggles with the choice between two different guys (I know, I know - the dreaded teenage love triangle - but I actually mostly didn't mind it here), and I think her ultimate choice may not have been entirely popular with the fans. So, based on what happens in the final five episodes, I think their purpose was to demonstrate that it was the right decision, both to the characters and to the viewers. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this show, and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of The Gilmore Girls.
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett is the assigned book for my new book club this month and I finished reading it this week. It tells the story of two young people who meet at university in the late 1950s - following them through their lives in three different possible timelines, which diverge and converge in various ways through the years. It's not the sort of book I would normally read, but I loved it. It's major appeal (a bit like Felicity above) is that it feels very real. The characters are well-rounded and have a great deal of depth, and the way their different life stories unfold is very credible and compelling. The thing I liked most about it, though, was its portrayal of the different way in which we react to, interact with, and feel about certain people, depending on how familiar we are with them. In one timeline, the couple get together in 1958 but split up very quickly and then always hold each other up in their minds as a perfect love that was never given the chance to flourish - which, of course, hugely affects the other relationships they have in their lives. In another timeline, they stay together and get married, and then suffer the trials and tribulations of any long-term relationship, as familiarity leads to problems and frustrations, and they yearn for the excitement of something new. The other thing I particularly liked was that none of the timelines was portrayed as the 'right' one or the 'wrong' one - each had good and bad aspects, and were just lives being lived out over time. Very well written.
On Thursday, I finally got to experience the Christmas present my brother bought me this year - Nerd-lesque at the London Burlesque Festival! The show was a lot less polished than the Burlesque Idol shows I've been to, which seems odd because the former involves professional performers, while the latter is amateur. It was really good fun overall, though, and Simon and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. The 'nerd' theme wasn't entirely cohesive, but did result in some very entertaining takes on the usual burlesque routine. The acts were as follows:
Where's Wally
Breaking Bad
She-Hulk
Jesus vs Superman
Sonic the Hedgehog
My Little Pony
Rollergirl
A weird postal service-related one
Star Trek
Sailor Moon
The hostess, Miss Cherry Bomb, was very personable and entertaining, and a very good singer, and we have a good view from our priority seats! A very good night out.
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett is the assigned book for my new book club this month and I finished reading it this week. It tells the story of two young people who meet at university in the late 1950s - following them through their lives in three different possible timelines, which diverge and converge in various ways through the years. It's not the sort of book I would normally read, but I loved it. It's major appeal (a bit like Felicity above) is that it feels very real. The characters are well-rounded and have a great deal of depth, and the way their different life stories unfold is very credible and compelling. The thing I liked most about it, though, was its portrayal of the different way in which we react to, interact with, and feel about certain people, depending on how familiar we are with them. In one timeline, the couple get together in 1958 but split up very quickly and then always hold each other up in their minds as a perfect love that was never given the chance to flourish - which, of course, hugely affects the other relationships they have in their lives. In another timeline, they stay together and get married, and then suffer the trials and tribulations of any long-term relationship, as familiarity leads to problems and frustrations, and they yearn for the excitement of something new. The other thing I particularly liked was that none of the timelines was portrayed as the 'right' one or the 'wrong' one - each had good and bad aspects, and were just lives being lived out over time. Very well written.
On Thursday, I finally got to experience the Christmas present my brother bought me this year - Nerd-lesque at the London Burlesque Festival! The show was a lot less polished than the Burlesque Idol shows I've been to, which seems odd because the former involves professional performers, while the latter is amateur. It was really good fun overall, though, and Simon and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. The 'nerd' theme wasn't entirely cohesive, but did result in some very entertaining takes on the usual burlesque routine. The acts were as follows:
Where's Wally
Breaking Bad
She-Hulk
Jesus vs Superman
Sonic the Hedgehog
My Little Pony
Rollergirl
A weird postal service-related one
Star Trek
Sailor Moon
The hostess, Miss Cherry Bomb, was very personable and entertaining, and a very good singer, and we have a good view from our priority seats! A very good night out.
