Office by Alex Penny
This is a blog about stuff that interests me and stuff I feel like sharing and talking about. I tend to talk about TV a lot.
Off-screen storytelling.
Example: In Buffy when Andrew references releasing flying monkeys at the school play — an event we never saw on screen. But somehow, knowing that it happened makes me super happy.
“Run Juliet!”
My love of The Long Arc storytelling form is weirdly strong.
I find the “Previously on [THE SHOW OF YOUR CHOICE]” bits oddly comforting. And seeing how characters arc over several years. And remembering how much I’VE changed since I started watching a series.
In conclusion, TV is the best.
So… Just thought I’d share.
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Matt LeBlanc (via louisdreyfus)
This, in a nutshell, is EXACTLY why I love and want to make TV.
(via wobbledygook)
Olivia+gun
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IN MY PREVIOUS POST! She ALWAYS holds her gun EXACTLY correctly, unless there is an explicit reason for her not to.
That is quality acting on her part and quality writing that enables her and her stunt choreographer to make AMAZING choices like this.
I’m not a gun expert. I think there is a gun problem and support and advocate for gun control. But I also grew up in a state where guns are a definitely a thing. If they are well-regulated, used appropriately and in controlled environments, then there shouldn’t be a problem with them.
Actors, writers, directors make/play out scenes with inaccurate gun usage all the time. Mostly because it “looks cooler” the way they do it. But I, honestly, find it super disturbing. I don’t think it looks cool. And I either find it obvious that they have characters hold guns in ways that who of their boobs/pecks/arms and get a little grossed out that they chose to sexualize that act of violence in such a manner.
OR it just seems like bad acting. Like, I get that your character is cocky and plays by his/her own rules, but like… Don’t you think your character would want to abide BY THE LAWS OF PHYSICS when firing a gun, no matter how cocky he/she is!? Because, assuming the character firing the guns is the protagonist and is NOT the villain who is stopped at the last minute before firing the gun - these guys usually fire their weapons. And their shots usually wind up killing the intended target.
There will always be characters firing guns on TV and in film. I don’t LOVE this fact. But action movies and cop dramas and the like feature people TRAINED to hold guns. You know what the police force and FBI train you to do? They don’t train you for all the “super cool” and unnecessarily difficult ways to hold a gun. They don’t have the time or money to spend on something so pointless. They train you to fire your gun as safely and as accurately as possible.
THIS
IS
NOT
HOW
YOU
HOLD
YOUR
GUNS
So, unless you are Olympic Gold Medalist in Marksmanship Olivia Dunham…
…then please stop. (^^She can hold a gun however she wants as she was trained to do so).
Because, one time, FOX made Anna Torv do THIS:
…and it looked SO DUMB. I get that this was the promo shot and not actually IN the show, but Olivia would NEVER hold a gun like that (thank goodness!). So stupid!
(Seriously, though. Her face as BOTH Olivia’s in this… it’s like… “This is weird. Why am I holding two guns at once? Why am I holding them like this? If I’m about to fire my gun, why didn’t I just holster my other one? WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY HANDS?”)
A character who puts the pressure of the world on herself in order to save lives is not that reckless. It makes the character look… wrong. Especially when you see the way Torv acts as (original) Olivia when she holds her guns. There is a level of comfort on her face, because - no matter how dire her situation - she is in CONTROL of her weapon. Which, by the way, is what it is. It’s not some toy you can just gesture with. In this promo pic, that comfortable expression isn’t there. It bothers me.
(via thesecretfringedivision)
Super important, guys. Super important.
Aside from plenty of other things that I love about sitcoms, I love how they have occasional one-hour specials.
Those are really cool concepts when you think about them. It’s like the show says, “We understand that we are a situation comedy series, but the needs of hour story and the way that our characters have evolved require us to fundamentally change the format of our series for a week. We’re going to be a one-hour drama this week, but don’t worry - we won’t be too dramatic. We’ll still be funny, promise. We trust that you understand how this fits into the overall series, still feel that the characters are authentic, and find the storytelling believable.”
Dramas never do that. Drama’s can’t say “Hey guys, this week we’re going to have a half hour comedy special, because - you know - these characters have had it rough for a while. Time for a little comic relief.” And as much fun and giggles as I have picturing the concept of a half-hour Mad Men special, it just wouldn’t work in real life.
I honestly can’t think of another medium that does this. Like, books of poetry don’t just say “and for the next 20 pages, I’m going to tell a short story.” That’s a pretty cool trick, sitcoms.
This is the best day of the year!
This is my favorite day of the year!
I love this day!
There’s nothing like it! ILOVEIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here! Have All my happy GIFS!
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Chris Traeger, Parks and Recreation (via nbcparksandrec)People who complain that the characters/stories in the final season of a TV series aren’t “the same anymore.”
Of course they’re not the same! That’s what makes a show good: the fact that storytelling becomes more complex as we get to know the characters and, in turn, those characters arc and evolve and make increasingly complex choices. By the end of any good series, we should have some sense that the story/characters that were given to us in the pilot have changed so much that the series has reached a logical conclusion - basically, if we kept following these characters around it would be another series entirely.
Obviously, taking this too far to the point where the choices that the characters make and the stories that the writers tell are so inconsistent with the characters’ personalities or the basic tenets of the series leads to a series jumping the shark. Which is bad.
But mostly, series becoming different than what you started with is a good thing. Look at FRIENDS, for instance. That show was about a group of 20-somethings whose friendship provides a life-raft during their individual searches for purpose, stability, and life in a big city. By the end of the series, they’d all found the love/family/purpose they were seeking. Following that group anymore would have made it a different series.
So, people complaining about how different your show is than when you started it: calm down and enjoy the final arc.
So, I go to pick up lunch for my boss. We’ll call him… John. There are three fun details that make this awesome.
1. I have no money for food so I just brought a Luna bar. He found this unacceptable. So he gave me cash to cover “his” order (i.e. Enough money to cover his food plus “accidentally” including a few extra dollars to help me cover my lunch without making me feel like a charity case. Cuz he’s nice like that.)
2. He suggested tacos. We all know how I feel about tacos.
3. When I go to pick up the order, I see that he’s made the order under the name “John and Eden BFFs”
I like today. Today is good.
