Writing, nice poly moments

[pameladean]

Five hundred words. That's almost like progress. In a very real sense, the way it came about was that while I was out getting more canned cat food to give Raphael's cat Minou his Tapazole in, Eric called, and finding me out, talked to David. The first I knew of this was when I got back with my cat food and stopped in the basement to say hello. David gave me a hug and remarked, "Eric says you should work on your book."

When they gang up on you there isn't much you can do. That and some cathartic conversation with Eric, who is now safely home, did indeed produce five hundred words.

It's shaping up to be a busy weekend. David and Lydy and Eric and I are going to see "The Grand Duke" courtesy of the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company. First dinner, then the opera; then I go home with Eric, just as if things were all normal and accustomed rather than all over the map and up in the air. We might even get to go out for breakfast. And we have a birthday celebration to go to in the evening.

Raphael and I watched the last episode of "Farscape." A kind of spoiler follows. Duck now. It ends, "To be Continued." We exclaimed a great deal.

I'm reading a book that Daedala lent me some time ago now -- or maybe she gave it to me; I get confused easily. Cupid's Mistake. I don't see why it should work, it has an absurd premise, but it's charmingly done and anyway my favorite character has red hair, so how can I cavil?

It's gray and damp and rather sharp out, but there is enormous promise in all the outlines of things, trees, mud, grass, sky. As long as you live here, and avoid hearing the news.

Pamela

Comments

Karen Harbaugh

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

That's very funny. For no reason in particular, I mentioned The Vampire Viscount (by the same author) today. To someone who was not Daedala, even. ;)

Re: Karen Harbaugh

[daedala.livejournal.com]

You are the Harbaugh vector, though. You told me and then I got them.

[laurel]

Farscape apparently usually ends each season with a whopper of a cliffhanger. When they wrote and filmed the "last episode," they thought it was merely a season finale and that they had a contract for one more season at the Sci-Fi channel.

They hadn't counted on Sci-Fi cancelling them early. Jerks.

I think I feared this all along and that's part of why I never watched Farscape. I figured I'd catch up with in once it was over. Especially with shows I think I may grow to love, I like wading into them when there are already a bunch of episodes available so I can watch episodes each day if I like it, not wait weeks for new episodes.

And lately I'm more fearful about shows getting cut short before their time or before they can properly end things.

I'll still probably watch the series someday, since so many people whose opinions I trust love it.

[pameladean]

I thought they had cobbled together an ending out of already-filmed material, but perhaps I was misinformed. I guess I can also see that "to be continued" as a kind of nose-thumbing at the powers that be.

As an ending, it's pretty bad. A person could do worse than just stopping with the end of the previous episode. On the other hand, by then one is fond of the characters and wants to see just a bit more.

I think the show is well worth your while. It's got a delightful consciousness of itself as an sf show, and the human protagonist's speech is thick with cultural references. I am to this day amused by how many of those I know specifically because I wanted to understand what Crichton was on about on "Farscape," rather than through direct experience of the original stuff he's talking about. And when I do get a reference, I am so wired, it transforms the story.

I love "Star Trek" to this day, but "Farscape" makes it look like a bunch of crayon drawings. It has depth, breadth, wit, irony, comedy and tragedy in the same breath, genuine alienness. And sometimes, truthfully, it falls flat on its well-designed Jim Henson face. As a rule, though, it gets up again.

Pamela

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Laurel's right. The SciFi channel came in and told them after filming wrapped on the last day of filming for season 4 that there wouldn't be a season 5. And about forty seconds later David Kemper and Ben Browser and, um, the guy who's the other visionary behind Farscape got online and told the fans, which spawned this huge Save Farscape movement.

So I suspect that 'To Be Continued' is ... a lot of things. One, I'm sure it's the way that season 4 was /supposed/ to end, because they thought that they'd have another season to finish the story in. Two, I think it /was/ a kind of 'screw you' to the SciFi channel, a way of saying, "Look, you yanked us, but we're not going to pretend we were done with this story." (I also think the SciFi channel follow-up tag with the "We'd like to thank the cast and crew and fans of Farscape for 4 great years" was a desperate attempt on the channel's part to make themselves look like they weren't the bad guys. Hah.) (What, me, bitter? Nah.) Three, I think ending it with 'To Be Continued' is kind of a thank you from the producers and creators to the fans, who have been really gung-ho the last six months, trying to get their show back on the air. I think it's a way of saying "thanks for not giving up on us." I'd like it to mean that they haven't given up, either. :)

And since I'm waxing eloquent in your comments anyway, I think it's really interesting that they opted to actually end it the way season 4 must've been intended to end, rather than cutting it, oh, forty seconds earlier. ("The curtains close on a kiss, God knows, we can tell the end is near...") I'm sure there's a great John Crichton quote about hope that would make a nice ending for these comments, but I can't think of one, so I'll just say maybe they opted to end that way because John never gives up hope.

:)

Cupid's Mistake

[daedala.livejournal.com]

It was a gift; I can tell because I still have a copy. :) Yes, it's completely bizarre that it works, but it does. I can loan you the two sequels if you decide you're interested.

When are you going to see The Grand Duke?

Re: Cupid's Mistake

[pameladean]

I am, but let me get some of this backlog cleared first. Including, um, you know, this novella.

We're going this evening.

Pamela

Re: Cupid's Mistake

[daedala.livejournal.com]

You know, you really can't go round reading random novellas. Novellae? Whatever; it just encourages them.

We'll be there tonight, too (Current Something or Other and I, I mean.) Probably see you there.

Re: Cupid's Mistake

[pameladean]

Fiction at that length needs all the encouragement it can get. The market sure doesn't supply very much.

I expect we will see you; it's not a very large venue. We're in row B, but intermission is a more likely time. I don't think I've met CSO at all.

Pamela