Star Trek (2009)

I spent a lot of the movie waiting for them to make-out. No lie. :)

SPOILERS!

So it was a kick-ass movie. Great action sequences, great character moments (Sulu and his extendable fencing sword? LOVED IT.), great pacing. But then the moment you stop being in awe of the effects and the sheer great story-telling of the movie, you stop to think about IMPLICATIONS.

Without Vulcan, what does that mean? I realize a lot of fans are super-excited about this development (Freedom to do whatever! No one's safe! It's a series of alternate-reality movies!), I can't come to grips with it. I don't think you can make a movie this explosive and relegate it to an "alternate universe." At the same time, accepting this into canon is dangerous. No Amanda scenes in TOS or the movies. No scenes on Vulcan EVER, and even if there are scenes, it's not the same Vulcan. Who has died? All of those humans, Vulcans, and Klingons massacred. (Tuvok?!) Which characters that we love from the 24th century won't even be born?

And don't tell me they're going to repopulate Vulcan. These people reproduce once every seven years. With 10,000 people to start? I'm not good at math, but your rate of reproduction is CRAP.

I like the idea of an exciting, new Trek. The new-and-improved Battlestar was awesome. I'm a Chloiser on Smallville (Chloe = Lois Lane). I realize a lot can be gained by Spock being one of the last survivors of his race, especially as a mixed-breed who is more willing to accept his human side. But I feel that you can't play loose and fast with a canon that spans five TV shows and ten movies. I would have accepted George Kirk and Kelvin. Even Spock/Uhura had elements that captivated me (although it was poorly explained and relegated Uhura to a sex object more than I liked).

But destorying Vulcan leaves the entire 24th century in peril. And, unfortunately, I doubt we'll get a canon verification of what the hell is going on in the 24th century any time soon as they make new Star Trek: 90210 in the Abramsverse and let the adventures of Picard, Sisko, and Janeway fall into DVD obscurity. I need an official announcement that there will be a reset of this movie, that this movie is an alternate universe, or that the 24th century was (surprising) unscathed. Until then, I can't help but see a screwed-up 24th century where Picard is never born and the Enterprise D is being run by Wesley Crusher and Tuvok NEVER EXISTED and Janeway is out one best friend and possibly never went into the Badlands after the Maquis because he wasn't an undercover agent! (I love Tuvok. Could you tell?)

Also, if Romulus is destroyed in the future (will it be, now that the supernova is known about?), is the Alpha Quadrant at peace? The Klingons are allies, the Romulans destroyed, the Borg impotent, the Dominon gone...WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

And where the hell are the time police from the 29th century? They need to get on their shit.

(Side Note: Did anyone want this movie to finally resolve Enterprise's temporal cold war? Yeah, me too. :( )

So the movie was great. Killing red shirts, Kobayashi Maru, Scotty giving it all he's got. Really pretty. But I can't stop having FEELINGS about the IMPLICATIONS.

I need a drink.

Dollhouse Fan Fiction: Conditions

TITLE: Conditions
AUTHOR: Pilla Jeffrey
CATEGORY: Angst, Drama, Episode Tag
PAIRING: Paul/November
SPOILERS: Everything up to and especially “Omega”
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: super!angst
SUMMARY: Paul Ballard has some conditions in regards to his employment at the Dollhouse. "Omega" Episode Tag. Paul/November.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: anywhere else, ask.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dollhouse.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I actually am not that big of a Paul/November shipper, but I was completely teary at the end of “Omega.” Their love is so tragic that I couldn’t help but spin it into fan fic. I feel like Paul’s release of November is so complicated: he’s trying to cleanse himself of using her, avoiding seeing her at work, figuring out if his belief in the remaining soul could extend to their relationship. It was such a touching scene. Just beautifully done.

Waa-Mu 2009: A Dedication

So I haven't updated in forever because I'm a terrible person.

Or it could be because I have two majors, a minor, and was up until a few hours ago assistant stage managing the best college show in the United States.

I'm figuring that most people don't know what Waa-Mu is. Basically, it's this huge student-written musical revue that Northwestern University actually puts up on in their largest theatre on campus (which is unheard of outside of here). It's this really big thing that gets a lot of crap for being all glitter, all sparkles, all jazz hands, but every year it is hands-down the most rewarding show I work on.

I can't say that much about it without getting trite, but I just wanted to give it a shout-out. It's one of the reasons I love going to Northwestern and why I wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world.

There's nothing up online from this year's show (I'll link it once it's up), but here are some treats from last year's endeavor, Skylines:

Winds of Change:



Chicago Cubs

The Shipping News: Nate and Vanessa

Oh, show. Why are you equally amazing and frustrating?

I agree that the plot of the "The Grandfather" was mostly flawed (really, Serena? you haven’t talked to Dan in a week? Don’t you have school with him? Why is Dan even hanging out with Nate and Vanessa? And Chuck, remember when you used to try to rape people and now you’re too in love to have Blair “that way”? PLEASE.), but I have to say that everything V said and did (minus the “I guess we’re broken up”—jeez, the people on this show need to actually BREAK UP, not suggest it through ambiguous stares) made sense.

Vanessa was actually an incredibly supportive girlfriend in this episode. Unlike Dan and Serena who are constantly ripped apart by class issues, Vanessa is able to take it in stride. She wants Nate to be happy. That means encouraging him to be with his family instead of her on their pierogi date, or, heck, convincing him to forgive his grandfather in the first place. At the beginning of the episode, she reminds Nate how important his family is to him. It’s a small but very clear glimpse into Nate and Vanessa’s relationship, especially compared to his with Blair: Nate feels comfortable opening up to Vanessa in a way that we don’t see with any other character, except perhaps Chuck. (But not really because when was the last time we had a Chuck/Nate scene?)

And when it comes to the internship, obviously she has selfish motives when it comes to her not wanting him to take it. But she’s also afraid that he’ll become something he’s not. In an episode about reminiscencing about what should have been, Vanessa is trying to tell him that he can pick his own path. With Nate and Vanessa, it’s all about opening the road that the other person wouldn’t travel in order to make him/her consider his/her options: Nate convinces V to take the SATs even though her family doesn’t go to college and V convinces Nate that there are more things in life than becoming a Vanderbilt. I truly believe that if Vanessa felt that Nate really wanted the internship (let’s face it: Nate did a pretty piss-poor job of convincing her by NOT TELLING HER), she would support him whole-heartedly.

The show has established that Nate and Vanessa are able to work through their issues if they get enough time and distance; also, if Nate picked Vanessa over Duchess Cougar and Raccoon-Eyed Jenny, I’ve gotta think that what he feels for her is incredibly strong. If the show wasn’t so keen on pushing Blair/Nate for the extra drama, I would have no doubt that after this episode, Vanessa would go to Nate and apologize for the way she acted, the same way she did in the previous episode. She’s passionate and she says the wrong thing sometimes without thinking, but unlike Dan, she knows when she did something wrong.

I mean, let’s be frank. Vanessa and Nate are the most functional couple the show has shown us. No secret children (Rufus/Lily), cheating (Everyone), or chastising (Dan/Serena). They have the SEX! the show requires (the only good part of the secret society storyline was Nate and Vanessa’s later role play), but also the heart and the common sense. (Ignore the Jenny stuff, which was ridiculous from the start.) All Nate wants is to be loved, and Vanessa gives that to him with a proper amount of sass, which Nate gives back in return. She’s a thinking girlfriend who knows what she wants from the relationship and thinks about what’s best for herself AND Nate (how novel, compared to Nate’s other conquests). She doesn’t want Nathaniel Archibald, Vanderbilt but Nate Archibald, ESPN lover. And Nate doesn’t need a society girl for a good wife or an activist to show his political interests. All he needs is someone willing to listen to him and help him out through quite frankenly some of the crappiest crap that any of the characters have to deal with, the majority of which is not his fault. Vanessa gives good Nate a kind ear and, when needed, a supportive intervention.

What frustrates me is that the entirety of Gossip Girl shows that the showrunners do not think ahead when they plot the show. I feel that a lot of this Chuck/Blair/Nate/Vanessa drama would have been so much better with the appropriate build (uh, maybe by dropping that horrible secret society storyline that Chuck had?). Le sigh.

TO CONCLUDE. Nate/Vanessa = <3. Showrunners = Suck. Hopefully, Nate and Vanessa will get back together at some point. Otherwise, we’re pretty much assured Dan/Vanessa and then I truly won’t care if we ever go to Brooklyn.

(P.S. Fic Rec: This Won’t Be a Sad Song, the best Nate/Vanessa fic I have read thus far.)

Ode to...Dean Winters

Oh, Dean Winters. How are you so equally amazing at comedy and drama? Why did you make me laugh out loud one day and then the next clutch my heart in such despair?

For those of you who are unfamiliar (or think you're unfamiliar) with Dean's charms, he is currently recurring on 30 Rock as Dennis "The Beeper King" and *weep* formerly recurring on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as Charley. Admittedly, he went through an awkward phase when he was on the first season of Law and Order: SVU and slept with Olivia, but now he is freaking fabulous.

I admit, I'm obviously late to the game on Dean Winters love after his stints on Oz (maybe one day my combined love of Dean Winters and Christopher Meloni will result in me watching it, but after my rude awakening with Queer as Folk, I doubt it) and Rescue Me (FX is the one network whose shows I never seem to be able to get into), but after tonight's Sarah Connor--which was devastating, btw--he has my heart.

Oh, why must everyone John Connor loves leave him? And by leave him, I mean die?

Merlin Drabble: Morgana's Vision

After years of nightmares, Morgana awoke aglow. She could still see the smile in Arthur’s eyes, the crown on her dark curls. Although she never saw her face, she could feel the love between the two. She saw the future and it was good. So when her powers grew too strong to hide from Uther, she accepted Merlin’s offer to take her away to the Druids. She knew fate would bring her back to Camelot and Arthur. The first night away, she dreamed the same dream. But when her head turned to kiss Arthur, it wasn’t her.

It was Gwen.

FML.

My computer has a virus.

I have two eight-page papers to write for my finals this week.

FML.

(This also means my updating will most likely not be daily, or if it is, not of its usual quality.)