this and that (unusuals, the wire, eReaders)

[astridv]

There are like a DOZEN shows out there that look like they match my interests. Hundreds of episodes unwatched. Why did I have to fall for the one that was cancelled three years ago after only ten episodes?
Whyyyyyy?

note: shows to check out next now that Leverage is finished: Farscape, Elementary, Hustle. And Chuck season 5 (I'm actually still unspoiled for the finale so I should maybe watch that one first...)

But right now I'm rewatching The Wire and The Unusuals because feelings. Was planning on only watching season three of The Wire, but so much of it is setup for season four! (On a side note, now that I read that crossover between the two shows for Yuletide Madness, I'd kind of love to read a long one, with case plot...)
Btw, anyone know of good meta that also references real events and people in Baltimore? I'm wondering if anything like Colvin's secret Hamsterdam project actually happened.

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I'm now proud owner of a Kindle. I got the cheapest one that does little more than display text, but it should be sufficient. (Except it would be handy if it could delete files, but I think I have to do that via computer, which is inconvenient.) I already downloaded and read a bunch of stories from AO3 and so far I'm very happy with it. I think I'll still print out my favorites for re-reading but I love how quick I can grab and save stuff.

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We have snow! Everything looks bright even with the sun not shining, and I finally got to dust off my skis. Guy at the xerox place said it was the first time he'd seen someone come by on skis. :)

Comments

[lettered]

THE WIRE. Oy. And you know the fourth season is the best, anyway! I was trying to convince my cousin to watch it, and she was like, "eh, cops." Of course I tried to tell her differently, but it's like trying to tell lj people to come to dw: they've heard it so many times they stop listening. BUT then she found out about Hamsterdam and she was like WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME. This is because she works in public health/epidemiology fields and she's very interested in that sort of experiment, except I believe she does not know of any similar examples. I'll ask her. Also, I wrote a book on The Wire! It's here. I don't actually rec it that highly though--written on a deadline; I was asked to write it. It was weird.

I agree with above commenters: Farscape is pretty cool. I did stop watching eventually because some characters I liked went away and new ones came of whom I was not that fond. But I agree with the above: season 1 is great once you get past some of the initial stuff. And Aeryn Sun! Gah!

Also, hi! I had taken you off the reading list ages ago because we were into different things, but when I saw you out and about Avengers fandom I looked at your art and realized how much I'd missed it. I took you off in a craze of keeping the list down to people who were in the same fandoms and now that feels like such a rash decision. I love your art and I love your recs and you have a first-rate brain, so hi :o)

[astridv]

and she was like, "eh, cops." Of course I tried to tell her differently, but it's like trying to tell lj people to come to dw: they've heard it so many times they stop listening.

Yeah, it's so much more than a cop show. It's a complex social analysis, and what gets to me the most is how it makes you understand the connections, on a gut level. While telling a story that just grips and entertains you.

Season four is the best indeed!

This show really benefits from being watched in one go. I assume it aired an episode a week; I would've found it hard to keep track of the plot that way. Even so I sometimes check the wiki after finishing an episode, to make sure I didn't miss something. There's alway so much going on simultaneously.

re book, is it based on the online article that was linked around a couple years ago? I think I only skimmed it back then, I think, because I hadn't seen all of the show.

Also, hi! I had taken you off the reading list ages ago because we were into different things, but when I saw you out and about Avengers fandom I looked at your art and realized how much I'd missed it. I took you off in a craze of keeping the list down to people who were in the same fandoms and now that feels like such a rash decision. I love your art and I love your recs and you have a first-rate brain, so hi :o)

*waves* Yeah, I was quite thrilled when I saw we once again share a fandom. :o)(I'm currently saving new chapters of your time loop fic so I can read the entire story in one sitting; much looking forward to that.)

[lettered]

how it makes you understand the connections,

Yeah. My school was similar to the one portrayed in S4, but . . . I kinda have a bubble and so does my family, so I feel like I still didn't really understand why things were the way they were until I watched this show. Which doesn't say much good about me, I guess, but it's hard when you're only looking at one level of someone's life. I love The Wire because it is ALL the levels.

This show really benefits from being watched in one go.

This is interesting! I found the first season really depressing and hard to watch, so I really stretched it out. By the second season I was into it a little more, but I still watched it maybe thrice a week? It was until S4 that I realized it was . . . pretty much the best tv show ever made and I should probably swallow it whole :o)

is it based on the online article that was linked around a couple years ago?

Yep. I wrote that article; my housemate illustrated; we both wrote the book.

your time loop fic

Thank you! I'm really struggling with the story; it's certainly not the best ever. I hope at least that I can finish it :o)

[astridv]

This is interesting! I found the first season really depressing and hard to watch, so I really stretched it out. By the second season I was into it a little more, but I still watched it maybe thrice a week? It was until S4 that I realized it was . . . pretty much the best tv show ever made and I should probably swallow it whole :o)

Ah, interesting. I got into the show through season 4 - which I'd caught one or two eps of on Sky, and then when someone offered it for download I snagged it. That season is the most accessible, I think, maybe because of the kid characters? So by the time I moved on to watch properly from the beginning I already cared about the show.

The only season I couldn't connect with quite that easily is S2 - it actually took me three attempts to get into it. It's still well written once it gets going, I just don't care for the S2 characters. (Rarely have I disliked a character as much as Zyggy. His dad was interesting though.)