This post's purpose is to collect my common tags in one place, so readers (and I!) can easily access entries on several subjects.

I'm feeling very autumn today. I'm not sure what that means, exactly, except I want to listen to a bunch of poignant songs and wander the city while the rain gathers on my trench coat and leaves swirl in the wind.

Watched two episodes of Leverage last night while I put away laundry and packed up a box of books. I have one disc left of the first season. Will probably move on to either the tv adaptations of Nero Wolfe or Sarah Jane Adventures next. My Thanksgiving trip to New York City usually results in watching more television than I watch the whole rest of the year. It's fun, but I'm always a little goggle-eyed afterwards.

Still haven't written this week. I don't feel ready to move on with the next section yet. If nothing shakes loose by Saturday, I will write anyway, of course.

My Man from U.N.C.L.E. boxed set shipped!!! Squeee!

I forgot to mention yesterday that I love the character flaws Charlie Crews has, because they make so much sense.

For example, holding a grudge against his ex-wife Jennifer and her new husband--she thought he lied to her about murder, she divorced him while he was in prison, and he never had a chance to defend himself. Meanwhile, she married someone else and had kids and is happy.

The grudge makes sense. Crews' way of showing that anger is the fun part. He holds the anger inside and lets it out only in rigidly controlled dribs and drabs, through petty acts of vengeance, like leaving a horse on their lawn or repeatedly stopping them for minor traffic violations (particularly the new husband, who so far as we know had nothing to do with his wife's former relationship). Once, the anger, or possibly the grief at what he's lost, erupts enough that he kisses her. I need to watch that scene again to ponder everything going on there.

It's also clear Jennifer has some anger and regret, mostly demonstrated in the interview clips that intersperse with the plot. She doesn't express these things to Charlie; she doesn't seem to feel she has the right, and even if she did, he might not believe it, as he was the injured party. She moved on. Charlie wasn't able to; however much he changed in twelve years of prison, he was also in a sort of stasis there (unaware of cell phones shrinking and gaining cameras, Instant Messaging, etc.). To him, I suspect the pain is all still fresh, a wound he can feel only now that the worst wound, being falsely accused, has been covered. By the last episode, he appears to be trying to move on, but I doubt that he'll be totally successful any time soon.

I finally got to see Life by the simple expedient of buying the DVD set and enticing feklar to watch it with me. I've wanted to see it since I knew it had 1) Damian Lewis and 2) Damian Lewis playing a cop (Charlie Crews) who'd spent twelve years in prison for murders he didn't commit. Mmmm, angst.

I got all that and more; Sarah Shahi as the angsty partner (Dani Reese) who constantly plays straight woman to Crews' wacky Zen-ish koans and love for fruit, and Alan Arkin as Crews' prison buddy (Ted Earley) who was convicted of insider trading and now handles Crews' enormous financial settlement for his false accusation. (I still have no clue how someone in prison for insider training would end up in the same maximum security facility as an accused multiple-murderer, but I am overlooking that, the same tv-goggles way I overlook how Dr. Gregory House is still employed as a doctor.)

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Reese's angst in season two, and hoping that the tension between her and Crews continues atop what's become a bond of trust between partners. She had a lot of issues in season one that are just crying out for screen time.

As for Ted, he and Charlie are so married--at least in many of their conversations--and I hope he gets just as much or more screen time in the new season, not just as comic relief, but as a character in his own right. Did he learn anything from prison? How has he changed since his wheeling and dealing days?

A side note on financial settlements: barbarienne pointed out that Crews would only be due a financial settlement if evidence had been tampered with, not if he was simply wrongfully accused on the evidence presented. This is very interesting, given that the show's second season is supposed to delve further into a conspiracy that led to Crews being framed.

I watch for the characterization and the acting, which is all wonderful. At the moment, I'm still a bit dazzled by the way Lewis can demonstrate a man holding on to himself by his fingernails at the same time as he's spouting philosophy and picking up women on buses. It's clear that his sometimes fortune-cookie-like moments are really intended to distract himself from an emotional maelstrom. When he does achieve moments of Zen, it never lasts. It's a constant fight. And that's what makes it fun to watch.

Dr. Who 4.13, "Journey's End":

Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.12, "The Stolen Earth":

This one is most notable for the biggest stunt casting event ever and its massive cliffhanger. Wow.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.11, "Turn Left":

Donna was splendid in this one. I love her grandfather, too, he is awesome.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.10, "Midnight":

A bottle story!

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.9, "The Forest of the Dead":

Ah, it all comes together, click click clickety click.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.8, "Silence in the Library":

ZOMG that was one of the best episodes ever. And creeptastic! Wah!

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.7, "The Unicorn and the Wasp"

Felicity Kendall yay! I didn't feel the episode flowed very well, but it was reasonably fun for a standalone. Also, great 1920s outfits.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.6, "The Doctor's Daughter"

Yay Georgia Moffett! I was especially excited to see her in this episode, because the first time I went to a convention with a Dr. Who guest, it was Peter Davison. The convention was in Georgia, and in one of the brief conversations I had with him, he mentioned that it was his daughter's name. I think she was maybe 12 at the time, in that ballpark anyway.

Once again, I found the aliens a bit counter-intuitive as far as evolution goes, unless they were hoping to live underwater on their new planet.

( Spoilers. )

4.4, "The Sontaran Stratagem":

Oh, look, another short, dark-haired, crazed boy genius, who reminded me far too much of the evil trio on Buffy. The Sontarans are pretty scary in their enthusiastic warmongering. The colonel was pretty good, once he got over his awe for the Doctor and did his job. At least this time the Beeb wasn't too cheap to have more than one Sontaran.

( Spoilers. )

4.5, Part two, "The Poison Sky":

Good old-fashioned invasion story, except the invaders mostly stay on their ship.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who 4.3, "Planet of the Ood."

It had Tim McInnery guesting! Whom Black Adder fans should remember played Lord Percy.

( Spoilers. )

Dr. Who, "The Fires of Pompeii": very old school, I liked it! I love that Donna is so snarky and speaks and thinks for herself, very much what I love about Martha, except they left out that annoying crush business.

True, some of the conflict was a recap of "The Runaway Bride," but I think they did it because they were not assuming all their viewers had seen that episode and what it established about Donna and about the Doctor. And the actors did a great job with it.

( Spoilers. )

Watched Dr. Who 4.1 last night before I went to bed. Cute, action filled, not a lot of substance.

I've been told episode two is much better, but I didn't expect all that much from the season opener, anyway. It served its purpose: oriented viewers to the series if they'd never seen it before, and introduced Donna and what will obviously be an ongoing plot thread through the season.

I liked Donna's grandfather a lot.

oyceter requested that I write about anime and manga, and my experiences thereof. I've never been a deeply committed fan of anime, but there are shows I've had flirtations with, or even brief affairs. Because so many of my friends love anime, I also keep up with what's available a bit more than the average person, even if I don't watch it a lot. It's amazing what you can learn from a few episodes here and there, and long dinners spent discussing one show or another.

I'm not sure why I don't love more anime more than I do. I mean, cracktastic plots! It should be tailor-made! And I love the art style, in general. A theory I came up with is that I just prefer live-action, because when I'm watching television, I focus a lot on the actor's faces and body language and voices. In anime, the voice is all I get of that. Perhaps I feel a little more disconnected from animation because of that. It's a completely different art form. It's moving art, with plot, not people moving through a plot.

( And on to ancient history. )

Well. 2.4 was a bit thin. Apparently, it takes a whole episode to set up "cold hard men can get emotional about things that aren't relationships." Nice to see more of Rhys, and to finally resolve that issue.

( Spoilers and cranky comments. )

2.2, "Sleeper": Somebody has been watching Battlestar Galactica and got inspired by the Cylons who don't know they're Cylons.

( Spoilers. )

2.3, "To the Last Man": Helen Raynor seems to like period pieces, which I am all for, especially WWI. Predictable, yes, but the emotional arc was intense. At least it was for me. And she refrained from gratuitous poppies, hurrah! Even though I wasn't sure at first that the soldier's name was actually Tommy (it was a generalized name applied to all British soldiers). This episode reminded me of my favorite episode of Sapphire and Steel.

( Spoilers. )

Ianto's getting the lion's share of the best lines.