Got myself a Slings & Arrows icon

[icepixie]

I rewatched season one of S&A tonight. And it was eye-opening.

Obviously, my subtextdar is faulty, because it took me all three seasons and a rewatch of the first to realize exactly what Oliver's "issues" with Geoffrey are. Yes, I am that dense. Really. Good god, it took me until the end of season two to realize that Cyril and Frank were together, although at least I did realize they were gay in the first episode.

I know, I know. I'm like this real life, too. Always the grape that fell off the grapevine, and hopeless at body language and innuendo.

Rewatching is interesting for other reasons as well. I have new appreciation for Kate&Jack, after seeing the eh-ness of Sarah&Patrick and whatshername and whatshisface in the second and third seasons.

I realized that Anna really grows throughout the series. Or maybe it's just that we see more facets of her personality each season. Either way, she's a very different person in the third season than she was in the first. And I also really like her relationship with Geoffrey, few times as we see scenes with them together. There isn't a whole lot of mutual respect going on between people in this show, but Anna and Geoffrey seem to genuinely respect and admire the other's artistic genuis or beaurocratic competence.

I noticed the music a lot more this time around. In a good way, not in a distracting way. The series really is well-scored; the "something bad or absurd is happening" theme is funny, the "the magic of the play in action/Geoffrey's directoral skills are making an impression on someone" theme is both pretty and adds to the intensity of the moment, and the other music doesn't make a nuisance of itself, but just...adds.

You know, I don't think I've pushed this show hard enough on my poor flist. Y'all! I know at least half, and probably closer to three-quarters, of you would love it if you saw it; seasons one and two are out on DVD now, and season three is airing in various places now. Basically, if you are/were an English major, a Shakespeare fan, a theatre geek, or just an admirer of really well-written TV (with a good does of schadenfreude), you should get your hands on this series.

Comments

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

Obviously, my subtextdar is faulty, because it took me all three seasons and a rewatch of the first to realize exactly what Oliver's "issues" with Geoffrey are.

Oh. Um. I missed that too. Der. Well, I got vague hints, but never realized it was "the issue." We can be dense together!

Good god, it took me until the end of season two to realize that Cyril and Frank were together, although at least I did realize they were gay in the first episode.

Okay, even I picked up on the Cyril and Frank thing. We can no longer be dense buddies, sorry. (Heh, "sooooorry"! EH?? I could totally be Canadian.)

I do love Anna. Especially when she tells people they're idiots. She should do that more often.

I've got all of S3 (I think - haven't tested the downloaded stuff yet), but I got distracted today and haven't watched it. Tomorrow! You win at crack-fairy-ness. Gold star for you!

(Also, I watched that Shakespeare ep of Moonlighting - did I tell you yet? - and it was cracktastic. But was that the original Shakespearean ending? Seemed a bit progressive for Wild Bill.)

[icepixie]

Now with a closed < /i > tag!

Oh. Um. I missed that too. Der. Well, I got vague hints, but never realized it was "the issue."

I figured that the fic writers who kept having Oliver moon over Geoffrey were just reading way more into the text than I was. Apparently not.

We can be dense together!

Yay! *makes fudge in honor of denseness*

Okay, even I picked up on the Cyril and Frank thing. We can no longer be dense buddies, sorry.

Meeeeeh. For some reason, my brain just decided, "Aw, look at the two gay oldsters! They're best friends!" And then around 2x05, I realized there was more to it than that.

(Heh, "sooooorry"! EH?? I could totally be Canadian.)

Oh, absolutely.

I do love Anna. Especially when she tells people they're idiots. She should do that more often.

Anna is the smartest, most with-it character ont he show. She should be in charge. She kind of already is in charge, really.

I've got all of S3 (I think - haven't tested the downloaded stuff yet), but I got distracted today and haven't watched it. Tomorrow!

Ajdkl;sd. Bring kleenex for the last episode. You will want it. Oh, and the copy of 3x05 I grabbed is really, really blippy, so be prepared for that.

You win at crack-fairy-ness. Gold star for you!

*wears gold star proudly*

(Also, I watched that Shakespeare ep of Moonlighting - did I tell you yet? - and it was cracktastic.

No, you didn't tell me. Isn't it the most amusingly cracktastic thing ever?

But was that the original Shakespearean ending? Seemed a bit progressive for Wild Bill.)

Uh, no. The original ending is...problematic, and open to interpretation. In Act Four, Kate actually ends up agreeing, out of desperation, that the sun is the moon and vice versa, along with other crazy things Petruchio makes her do. (See, she's starving. Literally, P won't let her eat. Or sleep. He's actually been torturing her for a whole act. It's more than a bit creepy.) At the wedding in Act Five, Petruchio makes a bet with Lucentio over which of their wives will appear first when called. Bianca has apparently discovered feminism, and sends word that she has better things to do. Kate actually shows up, ends up dragging the other women with her, and makes a big speech about how women should obey their husbands in all things. Then she puts her hand under Petruchio's foot as a sign of obedience. And...that's it. It's not clear if she's pretending so that Petruchio will get his dowry (which he keeps in the original version) or so she won't get hassled anymore about being tamed or whatever other motive, and sometimes it's played with big winks to the audience and such.

It's weird that the ending is so misogynistic, because in the Atomic Shakespeare scene where Maddie and David are "courting," a lot of the dialogue is taken straight from the play, and Kate and Petruchio are obviously on fairly equal footing then. It's further complicated by the fact that the story in Padua is actually a play-within-a-play, which is shown to a beggar named Christopher Sly, who is pretending, badly, to be a king. There's an intro about how the world is currently topsy-turvy (re: Sly), and so they'll do a topsy-turvy play--there's a lot of stuff in the original where Lucentio plays Cambio who plays Grumio etc., classic Shakespearian mistaken identity stuff--and the little tag with them at the end reiterates this. So maybe it's meant to be a satire? God only knows what the actual intent was.

I much prefer Moonlighting's ending. *g*

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

God only knows what the actual intent was.

So.... wait, *why* is this your favorite Shakespeare again? : )

[icepixie]

...I really like the early Kate/Petruchio scenes? I think there's some kind of conspiracy going on between them at the end to win dowry money from her father? I can't reconcile the starvation into my prettypretty version of the play, though, so that is a problem. Usually I try to conveniently forget about it. *g*

But the courting scenes are really funny. I may have a sentimental attachment to it because it was the first Shakespeare comedy I actually understood.

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

I may have to read it at some point. Bah, stupid Shakespeare Bible was too heavy to qualify as Important Things To Take To Chicago. Next time I'm in Knoxville...

[icepixie]

You know, the entire text does exist in multiple places online...

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

That's a thought. Still, I'm old-fashioned, and pages feel better. Maybe if I get a big hankering...

[icepixie]

I do enjoy pages. And footnotes. And introductions.

[rowdycamels.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, footnotes....