Day in the Life of an Idiot

Shawn and I are in between Netflix shipments, and so we were looking around for something to watch for Friday night movie night. We remembered we still had a stack of discs of Season 4 of BSG that naomikritzer's friend TiVOed for us... well, what, years ago now? Anyway, we dug out our episode guide and figured out where last we'd left our intrepid heroes. We ended up watching "Guess What's Coming to Dinner", "Sine Qua Non," and "The Hub".

As you know, I'd been a pretty huge BSG fan since the re-imagined version came out (actually, to be honest, I'm old enough to be a fan of the original series too.) But I've always found the series to be kind of spotty. There were times I swore it off for good, but then, like a puppy, I'd come lopping back when the new season started: "Squirrel!" I finally gave up when Starbuck returned from the dead and started seeing visions about the way to Earth.

I never liked the new Starbuck. She's too... wounded(?) for me. I like crazy on some women, but Starbuck? Not so much.

Plus (and this was the real killer) Shawn got off it. Shawn can watch shows and movies I'm not so keen on, because I'm often off writing on a novel in the other room in the evenings. Me? It's kind of got to be a "family" event for me to sit down and watch something. I *could* watch while Mason is off at school, but that just seems like the height of decedance. I mean, what's next? Day time soaps and bon-bons? No, I need to write or something productive during daylight hours. That's just the deal.

But someone at Shawn's work is just about as far behind as she is, and they started talking about it. Even so, Shawn wasn't quite up for a new episode... until we ran out of Netflix. (part of why we've run out is that Mason has adopted the "Loony Tunes" disc. So we're only sending back two of our three alloted films... and the last two were complete duds. We should learn: films in French are baffling. Even with subtitles. Period.)

It's surprisingly easy to pick up in the middle. I'm not sure that's a compliment, though. As Shawn said at one point during the multiple betrayals and double-crosses, "Haven't we seen this already?" However, for me, it was nice to see Roslin and Adama finally admit they're into each other. How many seasons did THAT take? As Adama says, "About time."

My problem with this series can be summed up pretty simply. I'm not a plot monkey; I'm a character junkie. This is why I never game mastered any of the D&D campaigns I was involved in. This is why there are plot holes in my novels you could drive a truck through. Those details don't concern me unless they affect characters. BSG is character lite. The characters are important, but they're secondary to the plot in most episodies. But I don't really care much about the mystery of the Cylon God (although I did enjoy the scene in "The Hub" when Baltar tries to discuss God with the Centurian) or if they ever fraking get to Earth. I mean, all that stuff can be interesting, which is why I keep coming back, but what I REALLY care about is how it affects the characters. Thus, "The Hub" was my favorite of the three.

Roslin attempts to be less of a cold automaton and more human. In a drug induced haze, Baltar finally confesses to his grandest sin against humanity. Adama gives up his throne for the one he loves. Three wakes up and mocks both Cylon and human for being a bunch of back-stabbing hyopcrites.

Nice. A good turn, indeed.

Friday afternoon, I also narfed down three more graphic novels in the HIKARU NO-GO series (Hotta/Obata). I can *not* explain my attraction to this particular manga. A bunch of Japanese kids try to become professional GO players. There's a ghost and several rivalries, but, wow, talk about "plot lite." Yet I'm totally riveted. In fact, I almost ran back to the library when I finished the last one to get the next bunch. Go figure.

Speaking of the library, Mason was cute yesterday. He has this weird love/hate relationship with the R. L. Stein GOOSEBUMPS series. They're still pretty scary to him, but he loves to look at the covers, read the back copy, and see how long he can read the book before it scares the pants off him. Well, at the library they were de-accesssioning a bunch of "Goosebumps." 5 for a dollar, in fact. By chance I had one dollar bill in my wallet. Mason was giddy at the prospect of buying some from the library and taking them home. I let him do the whole transaction. The librarian, too, I think, got a kick out of how EXCITED he was. Then, with them tucked under his arm, he danced all the way home. Quite literally.