"Sweep! Sweeeeeeeep!"

[icepixie]

I may have a tiny little crush on Paul Gross. He is quite pretty, after all (there is no way he's in his mid-40s, surely), and he appears to play a lot of softspoken, sensitive, very-intelligent-but-very-oblivious-and-maybe-a-bit-crazy characters I like, and play them well. Hence, today I watched Men with Brooms.

It was predictable and a bit cheesy in places, but, dude. It's about curling, which is possibly the goofiest sport ever invented. It probably could've been ten times more predictable and cheesy and still been funny. I know there are people who take it seriously, but I can't see two people furiously sweeping a patch of ice in front of a slooowly sliding ball of rock without cracking up, I just can't.

Paul Gross's character is very much like Geoffrey Tennant, so all you Slings & Arrows fans rowdycamels, you may want to check it out. He even went crazy and left his fiancee at the altar, and, apparently, can at least hear a dead father-figure, if not respond to him. And as far as I can tell, PG has it stipulated in his contract that everything he does involves a shot of his naked rear end. So, lots of similarities. Obviously.

And Beth, Sharon's kinda-but-not-really girlfriend from Wonderfalls, shows up in this! She's blonde this time. I think she looks better as a blonde, actually, although she's quite pretty no matter what.

Anyway. Obviously, I now need to see Due South.

Comments

[alto2.livejournal.com]

can at least hear a dead father-figure

Wait, you point this out and you've never seen due South? Hee! You really must. (Pretty sure there are no rear-end shots in dS, though I've not got the whole way through the DVDs yet so I can't say for sure!)

Also, I really want to know what was in the water in 1959. Paul Gross, Hugh Laurie, Bradley Whitford, and Paul McGann, all born that year. ::boggles::

[nickless.livejournal.com]

Men With Brooms is all sorts of happy goodness! Cuuuurling!

[icepixie]

Wait, you point this out and you've never seen due South? Hee! You really must.

Ah, but I had heard about the ghost of Fraser's father. And I have seen Slings & Arrows, which has PG's character talking to the ghost of his theatre mentor. (BTW, have you seen that? If not, YOU NEED TO, OMG, IT IS AWESOME.)

(Pretty sure there are no rear-end shots in dS, though I've not got the whole way through the DVDs yet so I can't say for sure!)

I could swear I remembered someone mentioning one, but maybe I'm wrong. Sadly for me, neither Netflix nor my library has copies of the DVDs. Looks like I need to make a request in a certain place...

Also, I really want to know what was in the water in 1959. Paul Gross, Hugh Laurie, Bradley Whitford, and Paul McGann, all born that year. ::boggles::

Bradley Who? ...Yes, there were lots of pretty people born that year. ;)

[icepixie]

How did I know you would've seen this film? ;)

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I've seen the first ep of Slings and Arrows. readercat got it from Netflix over the summer and we watched that one together. I think she may have gone on and watched the rest without me. I can't remember.

How weird that Netflix doesn't have the discs?! They're easily purchased at Best Buy or even Amazon or Deep Discount, and they're incredibly inexpensive. That's probably because there are no special features and I hear the Canadian discs are better, but these are perfectly watchable and, as I say, cheap. I mean, the first season cost me maybe $20.

You seriously don't know who Bradley Whitford (http://westwing.bewarne.com/josh.html) is? Wow. Late of The West Wing, currently on Studio 60. Cute as hell.

[vallentine.livejournal.com]

I love Paul Gross and have ever since 'Due South' was first on the air. I'll have to check out 'Men With Brooms' it sounds amusing.

[icepixie]

I've seen the first ep of Slings and Arrows.

This show is really, really good crack. The first episode is a bit slow, but wow, all the other seventeen episodes are insanely good.

Netflix has a two-part episode of dS called "Call of the Wild," but that is it. I saw that they're incredibly cheap to buy, but I'm always wary of buying something totally unseen. But if I see an episode or three and decide I like it, I would be willing to buy some or maybe all of the seasons. I wish it were still airing on TV or something...

You seriously don't know who Bradley Whitford is?

Never seen him before. I never watched TWW (although I get the impression I might like it; it's just that I didn't know anything about it until it was nearing the end, and I didn't want to attempt to jump in in the middle or to catch up at that point in time), and I don't watch Studio 60.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely give the 2-part dS a go, and then decide if you want to own the others. I get the reluctance completely. ;)

Definitely give TWW a go as well. The first two seasons are the best, though I liked 3 and 4, too. (We won't discuss 5-7!) Josh is adorable :) I don't watch S60, either--I gave it two eps, it did nothing for me, and I decided that was it. Shame.

[icepixie]

Man, I wish I'd known about Due South when it was still airing. And yes, I think you'd get a kick out of Men with Brooms. :)

[icepixie]

Only problem with the episode Netflix has is that it's the series finale. *facepalm* Watching that first seems rather counterproductive.

But good for me, I did find a place where I can get, well, any episode I want, but I'm going to try out the pilot and one or two early episodes, and then buy season one if I like it. Do you have any recommendations for episodes? Any season would work, really, unless it's a really complicated serialized sort of thing.

I think TWW will have to wait until I get over the latest glut of TV I seem to have gotten myself into. I just realized that season two of Carnivale came out on DVD and Netflix has it. I'm also looking to try Six Feet Under and Deadwood, not to mention dS, and now that Battlestar Galactica has started airing new episodes, I'm about to get snowed under rather badly. *g*

[tarzanic.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeeee, Men with Brooms! I love that movie! I make my friends watch it and tell them it's got naked Canadian boys and beavers. :D

When you watch due South, send brainwaves my way. I've seen several episodes, but not nearly all of them. I don't think I saw any after the Rays thing.

[rensong.livejournal.com]

I own the whole series and alas, there is no bare bum shot, though there are quite a few boxer-and-undershirt shots. I still adore the show in every possible way, though. ::wanders off to play Ride Forever and Robert Mackenzie at high volumes::

::actually has several Diefenbaker icons, but all of them are inactive since her banishment to unpaid status and refusal to use Plus::

[rensong.livejournal.com]

My favorites of season 1 are They Eat Horses, Don't They? and A Hawk and a Handsaw, plus, like, every single other episode.

Also, with the wary about buying sight unseen thing, if it helps any, Cristin bought it sight unseen because everyone (including me) on her friends list was gushing about it, and she fell in love after the first episode. ;) However, I totally understand the waiting thing. I'd offer to attempt to rip a copy of the Pilot for you if not for the fact that all my Due South DVDs are at home. :(

[icepixie]

I make my friends watch it and tell them it's got naked Canadian boys and beavers. :D

I think they could've done more with the beavers. Like have a beaver invade the ice rink or something. ;)

When you watch due South, send brainwaves my way. I've seen several episodes, but not nearly all of them. I don't think I saw any after the Rays thing.

Hee. Will do.

[icepixie]

Thanks for the recs. I found a place that has all the episodes, but they're split up into multiple, hard-to-get parts, so I definitely can't watch too many without going crazy.

My quibble about buying the DVDs themselves is that if I love it, I'll want all four seasons, which will quickly cost me $80, and ack. (I don't buy many movies or TV shows, because I rarely rewatch things enough to make it worth it. Northern Exposure and Wonderfalls have been the only things I've bought, actually, although I've rented a lot of stuff.) Damn you, Netflix! Have TV I want!

[alto2.livejournal.com]

Hey, as long as the Bartlet Administration is on your list and you get to it eventually, all is well :)

Honestly, I've not watched all that many of the DVD eps I have due to sheer lack of time. I mean, I'd watch the 2-hour pilot first because it sets the whole thing up, but otherwise...just go for it. I don't recall it being complicatedly serialized though I think there are a few minor elements that recur here and there.

[rensong.livejournal.com]

Chinatown is another good one, too. There are accidental fireworks at the end!

Also, I totally know how you feel about the not willing to spend money on DVDs thing. The *only* series set of DVDs I own *is* Due South, and I argued with myself for months before I finally gave in and bought them, using the excuse that "I may as well buy them now while I still have the money to afford them before tuition sucks up every penny I earn". ;) And I bought all three seasons (well, four depending on whether you lived in Canada or the US). The US version of the DVDs cost about 70 $ plus shipping for all three seasons. Canadian, though they are supposedly of higher quality (US versions were burned off of tapes rather than DVDs, or something) cost a pretty penny more for about 200 total for all the seasons. Not sure if they have extras or not, though.

Anyhoo, I have the US versions, and aside from the occasional split second of slightly garbled image (think what you get sometimes with Digital Cable or Satellite dish during sun flares or something), they they are perfectly watchable. So, if we ever do manage to sway you, those are the ones I'd go for. ;)

and I'll shut up about Due South now.

[icepixie]

Hey, as long as the Bartlet Administration is on your list and you get to it eventually, all is well :)

:D

Watched the dS pilot today. Heh. I'm not completely sold on buying the DVDs yet, but I'm a big chunk of the way there.

[icepixie]

Well, I watched the pilot, and now that I want to see more, I'm going for "A Hawk and a Handsaw." A Shakespeare reference in the title can only be a good thing, right?

BTW, got any recs for episodes featuring Diefenbaker? "Diefenbaker's Day Off" sounds like a good prospect.

If I buy DVDs, I'll definitely be going for the cheapo US versions. I was thinking about looking for used versions, but I have horrible premonitions of scratched up disks on no refunds, so maybe not.

[twinb76.livejournal.com]

yay! another convert! hee! and you MUST see Due South! (and curling can be very intense to watch! seriously! and it's HARD! (not that I've done it, but my parents have)). lol!

[icepixie]

Hee. I watched the dS pilot today. It's certainly an amusing show.

and curling can be very intense to watch! seriously!

It did look like it could be that way if you knew how it was played, scored, etc. But for the completely ignorant such as myself, all I'm seeing is two guys sweeping the ice in front of a traveling rock, and it's hilarious.

Watch me really get into curling when the 2010 Olympics are aired. ;)

[rensong.livejournal.com]

Any Shakespear ref is a good one! Fraser quotes it to some of the other people in the asylum. No, really. ;)

Diefenbaker's Day Off is a good one for Deif-related episodes, though he doesn't get *quite* as much screen time because Ray and Fraser are also investigating on their own, as cops are apt to do every once in awhile.

One of the ones that I remeber being almost entirely Dief-centric, though, is The Wild Bunch, late in first season. I won't tell you what all happens since I don't want to spoil, but I will admit that I almost cried for Diefenbaker once or twice. And I went "Awwww!" quite a lot. ;)

Due South is one of those rare television shows in which the animals are as big a member of the cast as the humans are. Pretty much any episode you watch with feature Dief in some small-or-large way, and he and Fraser
"talk" almost as much as Fraser and Ray do. I'm not entirely sure why the dog never got his name in the opening credits, though. He had to get at least as many lines (or, well... Growls?) as Darwin did on Sea Quest. :D

Good luck finding decent DVDs if you get addicted! You could always try looking for stuff like "Never been opened" or "only watched once". That happens occasionally.

~ Maren
who really misses her diefenbaker icon
(http://photobucket.com/)

[icepixie]

Watched it! Heh, I could see glimmerings of the Geoffrey Tennant character from Slings & Arrows when Fraser was in the asylum, quoting from Hamlet. Hee.

I've been spoiled a bit for The Wild Bunch. I know Dief fathers some puppies. But after Mountie on the Bounty, it's next on my list.

Yay doggy!