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vaznettiSo, is there new Alias tonight? I'm so distracted that I now relay on my flist for TV listings--it's only down to some kind soul mentioning it that I managed to see Veronica Mars last night.
I was reading through some of my episode-review posts from last year while thinking about a fandom/fanfic year in review post (which I won't be doing). I did a fairly good job keeping my optimism and good humor, in retrospect, but Season 3 did wear on me: I'm not as excited about the premiere as I was last year, and I don't feel the same buzz from my flist that I did last year, either.
The final episode did set up a few potentially interesting plot lines, especially in the parallel between Jack and Sydney's relationship and that of Sloane and Nadia. I would very much like to see that play out in a complex fashion, or at least, I would like to see the show leave some room for imagination. I think that the show has often done very well when focusing on Sydney's relationships to her father and her mother, and less well in its treatment of her romantic relationships; getting back to the issue of the father-daughter push and pull of trust and distrust would, I think, lead to a stronger season.
Looking over the few pieces I did manage to write last year I was struck by how many of them dealt with Lauren Reed. In a sense, of course, her character was a symbol of everything that went wrong with that season--the flight to the over-simplification of Sydney's relationships and of the characters themselves. But she was also an interesting character to play with, as a kind of anti-Sydney (and anti-Irina); in retrospect, she made a surprising amount of sense, given the crazy mid-season rethink of her character. So far, the character of Nadia has managed to avoid the firestorm of fan disapproval with which new female characters are so often greeted, perhaps because it was all worn out on Lauren: this may allow the writers to make her interesting and complicated, rather than making her a dark-side copy of Sydney.
In view of Lena Olin's lack of interest in returning to the show, I hope that Sloane will continue to play a central role opposite Jack Bristow, and not just because OMGtheirloveissopure, although it is. (oh, come on--whatever their relationship may be, it involves some amazing chemistry.) Personally, I'd like to see Sloane experiencing a conflict between his desire to be a good father and his desire to be a good Rambaldi devotee. He's such an excellent character, though, I just want him on my screen as much as possible.
I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of Weiss, as well, although I think that the window of opportunity there may have passed; and you all know what I think about Vaughn. Attempts to make him interesting have not yet succeeded, although who know, I might eventually become interested in a dark-Vaughn storyline. Maybe.
I'm not entirely sure who else is coming back--I know that David Anders won't be full-time, but am not too disturbed about this. A little consistency of character would be nice, but I didn't have the problems with Sark's characterization last season that some others did; his behavior made enough sense to me to be able to handwave a lot. It would also be nice if he weren't the Worst Spy Ever, of course.
I may have more to say, but now I need to get back to my day job.
I was reading through some of my episode-review posts from last year while thinking about a fandom/fanfic year in review post (which I won't be doing). I did a fairly good job keeping my optimism and good humor, in retrospect, but Season 3 did wear on me: I'm not as excited about the premiere as I was last year, and I don't feel the same buzz from my flist that I did last year, either.
The final episode did set up a few potentially interesting plot lines, especially in the parallel between Jack and Sydney's relationship and that of Sloane and Nadia. I would very much like to see that play out in a complex fashion, or at least, I would like to see the show leave some room for imagination. I think that the show has often done very well when focusing on Sydney's relationships to her father and her mother, and less well in its treatment of her romantic relationships; getting back to the issue of the father-daughter push and pull of trust and distrust would, I think, lead to a stronger season.
Looking over the few pieces I did manage to write last year I was struck by how many of them dealt with Lauren Reed. In a sense, of course, her character was a symbol of everything that went wrong with that season--the flight to the over-simplification of Sydney's relationships and of the characters themselves. But she was also an interesting character to play with, as a kind of anti-Sydney (and anti-Irina); in retrospect, she made a surprising amount of sense, given the crazy mid-season rethink of her character. So far, the character of Nadia has managed to avoid the firestorm of fan disapproval with which new female characters are so often greeted, perhaps because it was all worn out on Lauren: this may allow the writers to make her interesting and complicated, rather than making her a dark-side copy of Sydney.
In view of Lena Olin's lack of interest in returning to the show, I hope that Sloane will continue to play a central role opposite Jack Bristow, and not just because OMGtheirloveissopure, although it is. (oh, come on--whatever their relationship may be, it involves some amazing chemistry.) Personally, I'd like to see Sloane experiencing a conflict between his desire to be a good father and his desire to be a good Rambaldi devotee. He's such an excellent character, though, I just want him on my screen as much as possible.
I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of Weiss, as well, although I think that the window of opportunity there may have passed; and you all know what I think about Vaughn. Attempts to make him interesting have not yet succeeded, although who know, I might eventually become interested in a dark-Vaughn storyline. Maybe.
I'm not entirely sure who else is coming back--I know that David Anders won't be full-time, but am not too disturbed about this. A little consistency of character would be nice, but I didn't have the problems with Sark's characterization last season that some others did; his behavior made enough sense to me to be able to handwave a lot. It would also be nice if he weren't the Worst Spy Ever, of course.
I may have more to say, but now I need to get back to my day job.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 10:42 am (UTC)Well, I'm pretty sure Sydney still holds that title. Heh.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 11:35 am (UTC)Oh yes. I hope for this as a major season 4 theme as well. After all, if you squint you can see season 2 doing parallels and contrasts between Jack/Irina and Sloane/Emily.
In view of Lena Olin's lack of interest in returning to the show, I hope that Sloane will continue to play a central role opposite Jack Bristow, and not just because OMGtheirloveissopure, although it is. (oh, come on--whatever their relationship may be, it involves some amazing chemistry.)
Doesn't it just. No matter whether they're saving each other's lives, threatening each other or just talking, they're so very watchable. And I am a sucker for characters with backstory, of which Jack and Sloane have galore.
Personally, I'd like to see Sloane experiencing a conflict between his desire to be a good father and his desire to be a good Rambaldi devotee. He's such an excellent character, though, I just want him on my screen as much as possible.
Oh yes. He always tried to have his cake and eat it in this regard - when he had to make a choice between Emily and ambition in season 1, he faked her death so he could have both, and in those late season 3 eps, he went for both Nadia and Rambaldi. So a conflict is due sooner or later.
Sark: what I want to know is why he never gets as much as threatened with the death sentence while in CIA custody, while both Irina in season 2 and Sloane in season 3 would have gotten executed if not for Sydney blackmailing Jack into not letting it happen.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 12:23 pm (UTC)As for Sark--I have no idea. I suppose one could imagine that they were planning to execute him, but the Covenant came along with a better offer. But it might be that the cases of both Sloane and Irina were hurried up by individuals in the CIA who really wanted them dead, whereas no one felt all that strongly about Sark at the end of S2. As for what they plan to do with him now that he's in custody again, I have no idea. It struck me a strange plot development at the time.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 12:34 pm (UTC)Ah, but now J.J. Abrams has Drew Goddard and Jeff Bell on board to help, both of whom amply proved they can do ambiguity in Joss Whedon's shows. Well, in a few hours you'll know more, and I won't, since I'm in Europe, waiting for the download.*g*
One of the TV Guide-style short descriptions for the first seven episodes said that how Sydney views Sloane and Nadia will be crucial, which sounds promising. As long as they don't turn Sloane into a raving evil madman, I'm okay with him both as antagonist and/or as occasional helper. I want my big flashback episode about him and Jack back in the day, though. Possibly with the information of just how the whole defection/SD-6 founding/double-agent thing went, time-line wise: did Sloane defect from the CIA to co-found a rogue organisation and asked Jack right away to join, and Jack said yes and reported him to the CIA, or did the CIA find out first and told Jack to join his old buddy as a double agent?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-05 12:44 pm (UTC)Ain't that the truth--
for pretty much EVERY FIELD AGENT on the show with the exception of Jack, Sloane, and Irina.
(Like my new icon? *g*)