Sundry Sunday :: an “I went there for you” 6 list

“I went there for you” lists are lists of actors who I appreciate so much based on one or more performances that I will literally go out of my way to view one or more other performances of theirs.  This is sometimes rewarding; this is sometimes disastrous.  But hey.

6. Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion.  Geeky god-king of the Whedonverse.  Someone I have never not enjoyed.  I appreciated Nathan for Firefly and for Dr. Horrible, and because of my appreciation for him, followed him to Super and Castle, the latter of which is seen above and which I admit that I am woefully, heinously behind in (approximately season two, because I just keep getting distracted with other projects).  I realized that I had already seen him in Slither, which was directed by James Gunn just like Super was; I had watched that just because I enjoy campy-ass, morbid horror semi-comedies, but that works as well.  He is just delightful.

5, 4. Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison

As I have before mentioned, I was basically a Spring Awakening groupie.  I still love it with all my heart.  I naturally found Lea through that, and thought she sang pretty and such.  I saw the original cast of The Light in the Piazza, too, and I absolutely was in love with Matthew Morrison in it, singing so beautifully in Italian all over the place.  So naturally, when I heard all that while ago that they were going to be in a singing television program together, I went “YAY!!” and prepared to fangirl.  Glee, seen above, is one of those “I went there for you” moments that I am now… mildly regretting, though, for the reasons I’ve mentioned before; also, it sucks that I don’t really like… well, a lot of the characters, but I really don’t like Rachel that much, and I really don’t like Will that much, and while Lea gets to sing all the time, Matt doesn’t get to show off what he can actually do.  I miss when he sang in Italian and sustained notes and it was lovely.

3. Dichen Lachman

I love her more every time I see her face.  I fell for Dichen because of Dollhouse, obviously (just like I fell for… most of the cast that I hadn’t already fallen for already).  But I’ve followed her now to two different places: Torchwood: Miracle Day and now the US Being Human, seen above.  I’d never watched Torchwood before, I’d never watched Being Human before, but that’s just how it is.  I didn’t really love Torchwood (I hear that I would enjoy the original more, so I’m not ruling it out in the future), and I admit that I watch her Being Human episodes on my laptop and just do other things in other tabs until I hear/see her scenes come on, but I do love her.  Even when it’s something I do not otherwise care about whatsoever.

2. Patrick Fugit

Surprise!  This is a predictable list, yes.  After falling in love with him in Almost Famous, I proceeded to follow Patrick Fugit to Saved, to Bickford Schmeckler’s Cool Ideas (which is an example of psychic going there for someone, too, since my much-loved Fran Kranz is there t00), to The Amateurs, to Wristcutters: A Love Story, seen above, to We Bought a Zoo, to Cinema Verite… yeah.  Everywhere.  But the thing is, I’m usually not disappointed.  A lot of those aren’t my favorite movies like Almost Famous is, but I don’t dislike any of them.  And I always love him.

1. Summer Glau

But my darling Summer… takes me to places I regret going sometimes.  Firefly was what made me love her, too, and I didn’t follow her to Dollhouse because I was already there, but I obviously regret nothing about that experience; it’s… well, a lot of the rest.  It’s following her to The Cape, seen above; I think I used that picture back in the day when I tried to put the most positive spin I could on my Cape-watching experience, because really, aside from the one girl who was on Deadwood who I decided was my Nolanized Harley Quinn, the above scene is kind of one of the only things I remember about that show.  I tried so hard to enjoy myself with it, but I couldn’t even finish it, and that’s saying something considering my compulsion to finish everything I begin.  It’s following her to Deadly Honeymoon, which I tumbled about that once and… well, yes.  I didn’t mind following her to Alphas, that I liked fairly well; I still haven’t actually watched that show aside from her episode, though I know I should (more with the time constraints).  But it’s not as unfailingly successful, following her places.  Which is a shame, because she tries to make the best of everything no matter where she ends up, and that’s admirable.

–your fangirl heroine.

Television Tuesday :: I am a mess of confused feelings.

Namely, about FX’s American Horror Story, produced by the same people behind Glee and also the plastic surgery drama Nip-Tuck, which I have never watched.  I will admit that my initial desire to watch stemmed from a desire to see what Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk could come up with when they weren’t patronizing twelve-year-olds combined with a morbid fondness for, well, horror stories.

I would normally wait until the season is over to go on about it in a nonspecific fashion, but I feel like so much could change that it would be a completely different piece, and I want to get my thoughts out now (before tomorrow’s episode, which makes this post very of its moment, but that’s fine).  So, in the trusty bullet pointed list, here goes (spoilers for the first three episodes do ensue).

• Again, why can married couples on television not be faithful to each other?  Ben (Dylan McDermott) and Vivien (Connie Britton) move all the way across the country in attempts to deal with his infidelity, and then mistress Hayden (Kate Mara, who my father has somewhat ruined for me by proclaiming that she should really just go ahead and play some type of werecat [he said “cat person,” but that’s what he meant] on True Blood or something; I can’t look at her without thinking about whiskers and claws) pops up out of nowhere.
• Only to be popped back down again by crazy Larry (Denis O’Hare, delightfully messed up as per usual).  I can’t say I saw it coming, but I wasn’t exactly surprised, either.
• See, this is the thing about this show so far.  I have no idea what’s going on most of the time, but by that same token nothing is going to shock me.  I’m just assuming that anything is possible.  And yet, even with my not knowing what’s going on, I’m… strangely entranced.
• This could just be because it’s shot pretty.  Or because there’s flashbacks.
• Or because they’re mixing a pretty good soundtrack.  I’m assuming that “Special Death” by my babygirl Mirah (and my favorite song of hers, no less) is daughter Violet’s (Taissa Farmiga) unofficial theme song or something, as they’ve played it no less than three times already, not to mention on some of the ads.  Rock on, that.
• Speaking of Violet, she confuses me too.  On one hand, she’s got a right to be a little angsty, what with her Tokenly Dysfunctional Parents, but on the other hand, what?  I wish I had a better sense of who she is and not just who she’s being to be rebellious.  I appreciate in a way that they’ve chosen to take her down the “wearing messes of clothes that look like they got grabbed at random from an upscale vintage shop’s bargain bin” route and not the “wearing too much black and having piercings” route, though I wish I knew why.
• And I wish I knew why Vivien screwed the guy in the gimp suit (Riley Schimdt).  I understand her thinking that Ben was just playing a joke at first, but, you know.  Once the sex act began, I feel like she’d have noticed that wasn’t her husband.  It’s not like they’ve never had sex or anything.  I even have a hard time buying bed tricks in Shakespeare, for goodness’ sake, but nowadays?  Really?  And is the baby Ben’s or gimp suit’s?  These are things I need to know.
• So… everyone who dies in the house can’t leave it ever?  Or just the people buried in the backyard?  Or what?  And why did Moira’s (Alexandra Breckenridge, who I just looked up and am not sure whether to be impressed by the resume of, or giggle, or both [True Blood and Buffy both, but also She’s the Man] / Frances Conroy) ghost age but only sometimes?  I really need them to get expository regarding their ghost canon more.  I mean, for all I know, freakin’ everyone but the Harmons are ghosts.  Like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised.
• But, actors!  I think True Blood is developing a mini-mafia, and they’re appearing here somewhat, O’Hare and Breckenridge (she played Katerina, the girl whose glasses made me like her until she was actually a spy/f-buddy for Bill) and Adina Porter (Tara’s mom) popping up as one of Dr. Ben’s patients.  Also there’s some minor Whedonverse cred, again Breckenridge (she was in “Lessons” in season seven, playing the girl who adventured in the basement of the school with Dawn) and Azura Skye (who was that girl Cassie who predicted her own death, also season seven) and Bianca Lawson (who was Kendra, and how is she still playing high schoolers?) and Andy Umberger (who was D’Hoffryn on Buffy and the creepy doctor in one of the four episodes of Angel I’ve coherently seen and also an Alliance guy on Firefly) and I’m sure many others to come.  And there’s other people, like Evan Peters who plays Violet’s creepy friend dude, he was in Kick-Ass, and one of Azura Skye’s cult buddies was played by Mageina Tovah who’s the neighbor in Spider-man 2 and 3 and more importantly one of the geeky kids in Bickford Schmeckler’s Cool Ideas, and of course Christine Estabrook who was the original Adult Woman in Spring Awakening (and in some other stuff too).
• Are you sensing my ambivalence yet?  I am ambivalent.  I have no idea what to make of this show yet.  I’m intrigued by it, and the cinematography rocks, and all that, but I have no idea what the point is.  It’s a mystery!  But I like knowing just enough to not be sitting there going “whaaaat.”  But, as I feel compelled to discover the answer do that question, I will continue to watch, of course.

–your fangirl heroine.