All right, so I fail at updating LJ! Damn you, Twitter. I went to a U2 concert in Tampa with firstlightofeos and nancydowns a couple of weeks ago, and it was brilliant. I went to New York right after that, where I bought far more DVDs and assorted geekeries than I ought to and ate really, really good Chinese takeout. I totally fell in love with the city. ♥ And I bought a new MacBook Pro! It is gorgeous. I've just finished setting her up to my satisfaction today. Her name is River. (After River Tam, obviously, not River Song. And damn you for even considering that possibility, oxys_kai_moros.)

TV-related rambling ahead! But first, tell me something.

Poll #1476009 What have you been watching, flist?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 37

Fantasy/sci-fi:

Drama:

Procedurals:

Comedy:

Which of these soon-to-be returning shows do you plan to continue/start watching?

Rec a TV show!

( vague spoilers for Glee, Dollhouse and Merlin )

Three TV shows I'm watching and enjoying—with download links, because everyone knows I'm a pimp at heart:

Castle: Nathan Fillion playing the part of a Fillion-y mystery writer who helps solve crimes; what's not to love? I'm enjoying season 2 even more than I did season 1, and I'm happily waiting for my copy of Richard Castle's Heat Wave to arrive. Here's a YouTube promo featuring Fillion being awesome and geeky. Download the Castle pilot in .avi format here.

FlashForward: the premise is interesting—the entire world blanked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, causing massive casualties, and during that time everyone caught a glimpse of what their lives would be like six months from now. The main character saw himself investigating the blackouts, so he begins investigating; it's all very wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. Also: there's John Cho! And Jack Davenport! YouTube promo link. Download the FlashForward pilot in .avi format here. (Hulu link.)

White Collar: I was excited to see Chuck's Matthew Bomer (Bryce Larkin) in a new show; it just premiered two days ago, and it didn't disappoint. [Incidentally, if you aren't watching Chuck, why the hell aren't you watching Chuck?] Bomer plays a con artist who helps investigate white collar crimes to keep himself out of jail, à la Catch Me If You Can. It's entertaining! Check out the YouTube promo, and download the first episode here in .avi format (or watch on Hulu).

I'm also watching, with varying degrees of dedication, enthusiasm and caught-up-ness: Dexter, Fringe, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Lie to Me, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, Stargate: Universe, Supernatural and The Mentalist. I have a terrible case of television ADD—I rarely remember/want to watch shows' new episodes every week—so everything always piles up. *pointed look at Heroes, Criminal Minds and Fringe* *headdesk*

I'm a big fan of character-driven fiction. It's not that I think plot is unimportant, but it's secondary—a plot has to be truly dazzling to make me ignore severely underdeveloped characters. (Lord of the Rings anyone?)

So yeah, character-centric > plot-centric. This applies to movies, TV series, books, fanfiction, you name it. I'd take Closer over Catch Me If You Can (and Havemercy over City of Bones, and Dexter over Alias, and Drop Dead Gorgeous over Draco Sinister) any day. Shit, I just fandom-dated myself really badly by mentioning that fic, didn't I.

By 'character-centric,' I don't mean plotless—it's mostly that the plot exists to push along the character development, and not the other way around.

( Issues of the Week, BSG, genfic and Dollhouse )

Just to clarify, I don't consider 'plot-driven' an insult or anything. Nevertheless, I do believe bad writers don't try to write character-centric stories nearly as often as they do plot-driven ones (maybe it's easier to settle for the latter, because plot-driven fiction is the norm, and to part with that you need a firmer crafting hand, to have at least some idea of what you're doing? I'm not sure).

...And then Stephenie Meyer comes along with a primarily character-driven universe that has little to no plot or character development for at least 70% of any given book in the series, and I...I don't even know what to do with that.

Anyhow! I've rambled on for long enough. Do any of you guys have a preference? Is this a distinction that matters to you—in published fiction, fanfiction, or TV?

(Unrelated: Geek pride ftw!)

Like bazcat89, I'm doing this TV shows meme so I can ramble about stuff. Also, it's 7 AM and I'm procrastinating on going to bed. *grins*

( TV meme )

Yay for rambling! Answering these questions made me feel like I watch too much TV—I don't, really. Honestly! *laughs* It's just that TV series are sort of a bonding experience in my circle of friends: we rarely watch things on our own, and the series we have in common are always a popular conversation starter. So I tend to give most of what they watch a try. (Except for Gossip Girl. Because just...no.)

inksplotched came to my house this week! She's been travelling around the country, and was in Rio for a couple of days. It was brilliant *grins*

...Aah. I'm having Pride and Prejudice cravings. Damn you, firstlightofeos!

( Spoilers for the House season finale )

Yep, House, you did a great job. Can't wait for season 5.

It's Labour Day weekend and quite a few people are coming to Vertigo. I'm very happy about this, and for some reason feel more sociable than I had in a long time. The apartment's insanely stocked up with all sorts of beverages and junk food; it's very nostalgic, and reminiscent of when my life used to be like this every day. Good times.

There are always background issues, of course, and every other day I seem to come across an insane yet completely true bit of gossip or secret that totally shocks me. Nevertheless, everything seems...almost right in the world. I don't know, I just feel—aah. Content. Or something.

... I swear that's not even the residual blood in my alcohol system talking.

( Small TV-related rambling; tiny spoilers for House, Doctor Who, Grey's, Scrubs, Brothers and Sisters )

And while I'm on the subject of Doctor Who and stuff, I have to mention that David Tennant's role as the lead character in Casanova is insanely endearing. One can hardly credit me for coverting poor firstlightofeos and _thirty2flavors to Who when Tennant clearly does the job on his own with remarkable ease.

I took a silly quiz I saw in inksplotched's LJ, and look!

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
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I'm so shocked.

Also, almost done judging my Hourglass categories. Yay for not having procrastinated too much!