I have to begin with a disclaimer.
By 8:30, I had begun reading League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and by 9:20, I was asleep.
The sleep had nothing to do with the graphic novel. The 100th episode of Ghost Hunters, on the other hand, probably led to the headache which prompted me to escape into oblivion.
Watching the first ten minutes was painful—perhaps even more so than watching Steve in high school trying to impress the head cheerleader (after she had turned him down for prom because “she was baking cookies”).
The notion of interviewing the cast and asking them softball questions is standard, overused fair. Every sitcom in the last 25 years has celebrated its success with a similar panel discussion. The problem with the premise is we don’t like the celebrities we like the characters. (Of course, they are oblivious to this-they think we love them for who they are—actors hiding behind the masks of interesting people.) This was awkwardly different. These are characters who are celebrities.
At first it seems, fresh, new, and engaging. We like these guys. These geeks. But the problem is we have liked and listened to them for 90 odd episodes. They are fun to hang with in the hunt. Sitting around a steamer trunk, their conversation falters. "What three things would you take to Alcatraz?” “A cat, a DVD, and a hamburger.” Uh, yeah.
We don’t want to sit down and chat with them—anymore than we want to take our Halo clan to work with us. Ever have to bring a conversation around after one of your Live buds has just finished explaining his last online battle? It’s painful. Your heart had to go out to Josh. But at least he was honest. SyFy foots his travel bill.
Yes, it was embarrassing. It is always painful to watch a friend make the stab at being a part of the inner circle. (Can't Buy Me Love, guys, is just a feel good movie. It is fiction.) I couldn’t take it. I was not there for them. I turned off the light, curled up, and listened as my wife channel surf to the Oxygen channel. She was smug; I could tell by the way she clicked the changer.
Bayard Sartoris
2 comments:
I simply set the DVR to record the show later in the night, skipped over everything and went right to the reveal.
Even that wasn't that exciting.
I think I may have watched 1/2 of one episode once.
However, I've ready The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen many times. It is a lot of fun. I'd read the first two and leave the third one until the fourth series is completed. But that's just my .02.
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