:x

having watched Alias during its initial television run, it really tickles me how when you spot terry o'quinn and david anders you squee because you know them from their other excellent projects. for me, i squeed when i saw them in those other projects because i had first seen them on alias! i think with gina torres though i probably didn't watch firefly until long enough after alias ended that when i went back to re-watch alias years later i was like OH MY GOD she was in this show i've loved for so many years and i didn't even remember! i am a terrible alias fan. *SHAME* needless to say, i like zoe a bit more than anna, but, i mean, she is just out there trying to do her spy job. we don't know her life!

p.s. i have been a long time peruser of your site, mark, and if i don't find myself reading every review of every series you watch or read these days, i do still check in to see what's going on. #1 i would just like to say how much joy it brings my heart that you are still going strong here. steady on! i admire your consistency and your passion. #2 i always check ahead on your master calendar to see what you're reading and watching next and i was SO STOKED about your starting Alias that i actually set a calendar reminder. which i promptly missed, but again, thanks to my regular check-ups i have just been catching up on your alias posts and i am just more joyful than ever to relive a show that was very formative for me growing up, with you. =) cheers!

"...tyrant to a T." Mark, did you even see what you did there? lol

"I'm not going to go into reasons why..." except the reasons WHY are actually incredibly important. people want to watch male sports because that's what they are told on a daily basis is the pinnacle of sport; it's a basic principle of representation in media. what the Tucker study results support is the theory that if the media were to afford women's sports the same coverage as men's sports, interest would increase (and by extension quality), because interest in women's sports has just as much to do with athletic capability as men's sports (where previously, interest was presumed to be because "girls are hot", thus causing the media to promote female sports in an overtly sexualized way, thus prohibiting the growth of female sport due to the misleading perception that female athletes are of value only because of their existence as sexual entities). is that athletic capability going to be different at all from men's? maybe, but it doesn't make it LESS, and the assumption that it IS less is what makes people like you think that promoting the women's game is going to somehow bring down the men's game. in actuality, the movement to promote women's sport has very little to do with men's sport, EXCEPT that the gates to promoting women's sports (and by extension its success) are kept by those who have been led to believe all their lives that men's sports are more worthy of attention & admiration than women's - that's why the "WHY" is important.

I just read my first comic book! - Y: The Last Man written by Brian K Vaughn, illustrated by Pia Guerra (a woman).

Who run the world? GIRLS! Literally... this series is about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Naturally, ever other characters besides the titular Last Man is female and in terms of diversity they run the gamut. They are complex and nuanced and unpredictable at times. It's not only a fascinating apocalyptic/dystopian story, but just by the circumstances of the new world it really makes you reconsider your own sense of gender, sexuality, love, relationships, etc. I identify as heterosexual (at least today I do) and while I've always been open-minded about sexuality it really put those concepts into action. What IF all the men disappeared and the entire group of people I consider myself exclusively attracted to were gone?? Would I give up on life, clinging to old gender stereotypes, effectively making the rest of my life miserable, OR would I realize that love and sexuality are fluid and adaptive and it's about human connection and happiness, not whether you have a penis or vagina. Its also kind of interesting to imagine a world in which being a woman in a position of power is unexceptional. Makes gender roles and stereotypes seem so ridiculous!

can we just appreciate for a hot second the fact that Olive was essentially living out her fantasies via her letters to her friends in prison? does that not just tickle you?

#1 - "Mother" is a M.I.L.F.
#2 - "never look a gift whore in the mouth"
#3 - the scene where they are all trying to squeeze through the door. well executed ya'll!

that is all.

um, also, Eric Stonestreet. like you, a little bummed at the portrayal of an overweight character, but for what it was, Eric Stonestreet did good. and now look at him! modern family party!

this was the first show i got attached to after Alias. totally different genres of course, but i have always been a sucker for romance, so mid-high-school dealing with Sydney/Vaughn and then subsequently Chuck/Ned... needless to say these two couples were probably the first two ships i ever sailed. but i digress. being a young girl looking for romance, albeit in non-real ways, this stuff between Chuck & Ned just tore me up inside!! ARGH!

" ~ mind blowing concept ~ " you said, it, partner. even though the whole concept of the show revolves around Ned's ability, he's actually probably "wrong" more of the time than anyone else. and not because it's handy characterization for him to be proven wrong, but because it's good character development for everybody else. there don't really seem to be any characters in this show that exist for a specific purpose, ya know? like the stereotypical wife, or sister, or best friend, or girlfriend, or guyfriend, or boss, or WHATEVER, whose main purpose is to illuminate certain qualities in the protagonist. it's like EVERY (recurring) player in pushing daisies is a protagonist, and thus their interactions are multidimensional, as they would be in real life.

MARK WATCHES PUSHING DAISIES IS THE GREATEST EXCUSE EVER TO RE-WATCH PUSHING DAISIES AND I'M SO GLAD I DID.

oh hey ricki lindhome =)