Claire Hennessy
Writer, tea-drinker
Category Archives: TV addictions
Feb 17 2012

Some things (with links)

by clairehennessy

–> Recent interview with Sophie Kinsella, whose new book I’ve Got Your Number is just out. In which the interviewer is a tad condescending and Kinsella is mightily zen. (There’s a follow-up piece as well.)

–> On a related note, a piece about reader-shaming and genre fiction.

–> Over at DIY MFA, there’s a great post about what you promise the reader in the opening pages of a story or novel.

–> On the non-writerly, personal side of things, there is a super piece here about bad relationships. Aimed at teenagers, but worth reading at any age.

–> And on a happier TV junkie note, some fabulous bits of Cougar Town Season 3. (I may have mentioned my love of this show previously. It is very very funny, and has a super cast. YAY for season 3!)

Categories: Random thoughts, That writing thing, TV addictions | No Comments »

Jan 30 2012

Getting in touch with your inner teen (part 2)

by clairehennessy

Have been meaning to follow up Getting in touch with your inner teen for a while now.

This time: TV shows. Ah, yes – a legitimate excuse to watch television. Because it’s research.

I have two personal favourite recommendations, TV-wise. One is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, especially seasons one to three (though there is some good stuff later on). Teenage angst, but with monsters. Having a whole secret identity that teachers and parents don’t understand or respect, or a boyfriend who goes evil after you sleep with him… oh, it is so good. With super, if quirky, dialogue.

The other is Dawson’s Creek. As with Buffy, there is terrific dialogue. In this case, it’s terrific, over-thinking, over-analysing-everything dialogue. But there’s also that hovering between grown-up and kid, the sulk-fest one moment and adolescent sex-obsession the next. And there is Pacey Witter.

Both of these are from the late 90s/early 00s, during which time there were also things like Roswell (teen angst! With aliens!), Felicity (she cut her haaaaaaaair!), Popular (demented yet brilliant), Freaks and Geeks (tragically short-lived). I am fond of this post-My So-Called Life era of TV, I must say. The noughties went on to bring us Gilmore Girls (possibly more family drama than teen show, but shh. Rory! Paris! Lane!) and Veronica Mars (girl detective! Darkness! Epic amounts of angst and betrayal!), and then the glamour-heavy worlds of The O.C. and Gossip Girl. And of course the high-school-drama-meets-musical fest that is Glee.

The trouble with watching teen-centric TV as research is that you need to know how interpret it. Characters in books, like characters in TV shows, have lives that tend to be slightly more dramatic and polished and scripted than real-life people. But TV shows also tend towards characters acting and seeming much older than they are (in large part because the actors playing them tend to be older), in a way that happens much more in TV than in books. And everyone is good-looking, really really ridiculously good-looking – even the ‘plain’ kids are stunning. And almost always thin or muscular, depending on gender. And have many, many different outfits and spacious living quarters, even if these things are only shown and not discussed.

On the plus side, though, teen-centric TV does a lot of the same thing that teen-centric books do. It takes various situations teen characters might find themselves in, ranging from probable to implausible, and mines them for all the drama (and romance, and comedy) they’re worth. And if it does it right, it persuades viewers to care deeply about what happens with the teen characters and the choices they make, to take them seriously or to empathise somehow. Teen-centric things aren’t the only things that ask us to do this, of course, but books and TV aimed at adults often has teen characters acting in a way that invites exasperation or amusement rather than identification. The ‘oh to be young and know everything!’ sort of vibe.

So, legitimate research? Absolutely. And not just a reason to gaze adoringly at Joshua Jackson or David Boreanaz in their 20something primes. Nope. Certainly not.

Categories: That writing thing, TV addictions | 4 Comments »

Jan 13 2012

Oh fictional characters, you are delightful (April Kepner, Grey’s Anatomy)

by clairehennessy

So, season 8 of Grey’s Anatomy (up to 8.09, anyway). I am still liking Meredith (yes, I like Meredith. Stop looking at me like that) and Arizona (so cute! So awesome!) and Owen (especially his struggles-with-being-chief). I am liking Richard in his new role an awful lot, and continue to think Callie is fabulous. I am not too impressed with Bailey and hoping someone tells her off soon and the show actually presents this as acceptable rather than crazy (I mean, between the not-so-amazing treatment of the men in her life plus the complete disrespect towards Owen as Chief… seriously).

And I am adoring April Kepner. So here are my five favourite April moments/plots:

  1. The shooting episode OF DOOM in which there is apparently no hospital security whatsoever, and in which April’s snarky best friend has been already shot dead by the killer. April tells him everything about herself – makes him see her as a person. And he tells her to run.
  2. Her crush on Derek Shepherd. She gets mocked for it, but given that he’s presented as this Amazing Guy and Neurosurgeon, it makes sense. And is sweet.
  3. Her interactions with Dr Stark (aka Peter McNicol, who will forever be John Cage on Ally McBeal in my head). Tension, respect, sexual tension, friendship. Just a world of loveliness. I would have loved seeing more of this.

  4. Her friendship with Jackson. Something I would love to see more of – particularly as they’re the only two Mercy West kids left – but it has its moments. Like after she and Alex have almost slept together (which I am sort-of rooting for, if it happens without yelling), and then he’s rotten to her, and Jackson has this protective-older-brother thing going on when she needs him. But he still won’t let her boss him around when she becomes Chief Resident.
  5. Her being Chief Resident. This pleases me immensely. I love her checklist, and why she knows it’s important. I love her struggles to make people listen to her, and how she’s not a natural leader in some ways and yet has many of the organisational skills she needs for the job. And I nearly applauded when she just told Alex, Lexie and Jackson what to do after they’d been ignoring her all day: “Any of you argue with me and I’ll take you off the OR board. Indefinitely. I, on the other hand, just got fired from Bailey’s trial, so I’m going to spend the night drinking and flirting with boys.”

Categories: TV addictions | 4 Comments »

Jan 6 2012

Things of squee

by clairehennessy

Televisual things I have been squeeing about lately:

- Queer As Folk, which I have been rewatching. The US version, not the UK (which, you know, I watched. And it’s okay, except I can’t take Stuart seriously as a Sex God because he’s that breed of Irishman that’s ten-a-penny. Whereas Brian Kinney is made of yum…). I’m loving it – it’s very soapy and ridiculous in parts, but also delightful and mightily pretty. (Ben is also delicious. And intellectual. Swoon.)

- Cougar Town, which I’ve just seen Season 2 of. Okay. So. Rubbish title (which they know, and mock), but from the guy who did Scrubs, and featuring appearances from several familiar faces. Basically, imagine Scrubs if they weren’t doctors, but instead… living in a cul-de-sac in Florida. And kinda dumb. But lovable. And drinking a lot of wine. (Oh, Big Carl!) Favourite characters include, well, all of them, but I have a soft spot for Travis (aka Brandon from Easy A) and Laurie (aka Audrey from Dawson’s Creek). And of course Ellie (aka Jordan from Scrubs). I tip my hat to her.

- House. Because. Um. Hugh Laurie. Those eyes. The snark. The sense of despair at the universe and lack of faith in humanity… yeah. Good times.

Categories: TV addictions | 3 Comments »

Nov 1 2011

Links of interest from that world wide web yoke

by clairehennessy

–> Anna Carey writes about why adults are watching kids’ comedy series, and why they are brilliant. My beloved Horrible Histories is mentioned. This pleases me immensely.

–> Gemma Malley, author of The Declaration trilogy, has a new YA dystopian trilogy kicking off in March 2012.

–> In other dystopian-YA news, follow Caragh O’Brien on her blog tour for her new book, Prized. (Loved it.)

–> Need something to counteract the bile of that dreadfully homophobic Indo article last weekend? Have a read of what Jennifer O’Connell or Ross Golden-Bannon have to say about homophobia in Ireland and beyond.

–> Megan Crane, author of smart chick-lit and swoony romance novels, writes about finding her voice for both these things.

–> YA author Aimée Carter talks about what it takes to write – courage.

–> For anyone who’s read Veronica Roth’s Divergent, her post about what changed from the first to final draft is very interesting, particularly for people who wonder what kind of changes ‘revising’ or ‘editing’ entails.

–> YA author Geraldine Meade talks about writing YA fiction over at writing.ie.

–> The web comic Hyperbole and a Half talks about depression. Quote:

“…trying to use willpower to overcome the apathetic sort of sadness that accompanies depression is like a person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their hands grow back. A fundamental component of the plan is missing and it isn’t going to work.”

Categories: Random thoughts, That writing thing, TV addictions | 6 Comments »

Jul 31 2011

Current pop culture obsession… (it’s educational!)

by clairehennessy

Two things I adore: history and comedy. So the Horrible Histories love has been going on for the last few months, earning either looks of bewilderment or knowing nods.

There’s Historical Wife Swap, This Is Your Reign, lots of songs, and a talking rat.

But mostly? Mostly there is Mathew Baynton.

Yum. That is all. Yum.

Categories: Random thoughts, TV addictions | 5 Comments »

Jun 1 2011

Things I have loved on TV recently…

by clairehennessy

I adore musicals. And television. And Glee. Now, I admit that Glee can be fairly hit-or-miss. There are the episodes which make sense, which pick up on plot points that they’ve been playing with for a while, that reveal something surprising, that do something fantastic. And then there are those that have lots of songs for any old reason, barely nod to continuity, and do gimmicky things with guest stars.

The season 2 finale has many things wrong with it. Oh, so many. But it also has Kurt and Rachel on the Wicked stage doing ‘For Good’.

Five reasons why this made me squeak in delight and then gaze at the screen in a sort of rapt wonder:

1. WICKED!
2. With the SET!
3. With Kurt and Rachel, so it’s like a sequel to their ‘Defying Gravity’ duet of Season 1.
4. Lea Michele singing Elphaba’s part, completely in the style of Idina Menzel (aka original Elphaba, aka Rachel’s-birth-mom).
5. ‘For Good’ is possibly one of the greatest songs in a musical ever. Oh. Swoon.

But I am also loving, as ever, The Big Bang Theory. Season 4 has just been terrific – so many great episodes, and a bigger focus on the female characters. Every time Penny, Bernadette and Amy get together, it is guaranteed to be delightful.

Oh, Amy Farrah Fowler. Five reasons why she is one of the most fabulous female characters on TV ever:

1. She sometimes gets drunk. And it is the best thing in the universe.
2. “I don’t object to the concept of a deity, but I’m baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance.”
3. She calls Sheldon a “sexy toddler”. It, um, makes sense in context. Sort of.
4. She is totally and hopelessly out of touch with reality, as evidenced by… pretty much everything that emerges from her mouth. And yet…
5. … there is just enough quasi-human-ness in there to make her an empathetic character. Occasionally.

Laughter, musicals, and nerdiness. That seems to sum up the current televisual love.

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May 13 2011

A Very Special Musical Episode

by clairehennessy

Today: a tribute to musical episodes of TV shows.

I love TV. Love, love, love it. As I may have mentioned here once or twice. I love the scope for character and plot development, the threads that play out over months and years, twenty or forty or sixty or a hundred hours instead of the two you get in a movie.

And I love musicals. Ergo. Musical episodes of TV shows – they bring the happy. They bring the Glee, in fact, but that’s a separate issue. But they can also be done horribly badly. One of the reasons Glee works is that every episode is the Very Special Musical Episode – the viewers know, and are tuning in, to see musical performances interwoven into the episode. When it’s something out of the ordinary, you need a reason.

Grey’s Anatomy used an out-of-body experience recently, and – oh, I had fears. I had fears when I heard that they were doing a musical episode, because it’s not a musical episode kind of show. And then having it be songs already used in the show – when Callie (Sara Ramirez) started singing, I wasn’t convinced. Even though she has a stunning voice.

Then Owen (Kevin McKidd) started singing. And oh dear lord swoon. It grew on me. I still think Addison (Kate Walsh) was underused. I think they used their strongest singers well though. It does not surprise me at all that Lexie (Chyler Leigh) can sing, and we’d heard Bailey (Chandra Wilson) on the show before. But Sara Ramirez and Kevin McKidd. Whoa.

It’s not your typical musical episode – it’s dark and twisty. It’s an episode of sadness and angst and worries. (And Arizona having sadness and angst and worries, which is just extra-sad.) But it works.

I think the best musical episodes are the ones that take the best from the TV show and the best of what a musical can do, and merge the two. Another favourite is the Scrubs musical episode – which has a sort-of medical explanation for the singing, in that a patient (Stephanie D’Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame – part of the writing team were also involved in the music for this, which explains a lot) is hearing everything sung and it’s actually a symptom. It’s zany and wacky with some poignant moments – pretty much your standard Scrubs episode, so, except with singing.

And the standard amount of JD/Turk subtext. Or, um, text.

Other TV shows have tried. Ally McBeal, for example, even though it didn’t necessarily need it – it’s a show that’s so closely tied to music anyway, and has plenty of opportunities for getting characters singing. (Oh, Robert Downey Jr, your duet with Sting remains a favourite.) The Simpsons have had a variety of musical numbers. (Cartoons tend to be able to pull off musicals more so than live-action shows.) It’s tough – you do need to justify it in some way, and to ensure that it works as an episode as well as a musical extravaganza, moving storylines along, making things change.

I think we all know where this is going. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ‘Once More With Feeling’ – one of my favourite episodes of anything, ever. From the moment Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) opened her mouth, I was there, ready to buy it, ready to love it.

Like the Grey’s episode it does suffer from some cast members being weaker singers than others (oh, Alyson Hannigan) and doesn’t always hide them away (I’m not mad about Xander [Nicholas Brendon]). But most of the cast do an extraordinary job – I especially love Tara (Amber Benson) and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Spike (James Marsters), which actually is pretty much most of the rest of the cast.

There’s a reason for the music – it’s a demon! And one can actually dance oneself to death – the singing and dancing is out of control and needs to be stopped and might be bunnies. They can’t help themselves – they just have to sing. And like any good musical it ends with a kiss – which, this being Buffy, is messy and complicated and vampiric. Oh. It is excellent.

I love musicals but like films they’re only a couple of hours long – plenty of time for great music, but not so much for ongoing character development. With TV shows we get to see what happens next – and we know these characters already, so what they sing doesn’t need to set them up for us but can move straight into their current predicament.

It can go horribly wrong. But sometimes, it can go so beautifully right.

Categories: TV addictions | 8 Comments »

Dec 5 2010

Glee & Christmas songs!

by clairehennessy

It’s December! And Dublin is gorgeously Christmassy with the snow and the Christmas lights and all the rest – even if it’s slightly nightmarish trying to travel anywhere. So…. yes, Christmas songs!

I continue to love and adore Glee, so these two Christmas songs are rather happiness-inducing. (Sidenote: Kurt and Blaine, oh so cute. And yet it would be kinda nice to keeping see that played as a friendship rather than anything else.)

Christmas FM is back, mostly playing good Christmas music, and then occasionally playing ‘Christmas Shoes’, which is the worst song in the history of the universe. Have some non-appalling Christmas songs instead:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVEdE0O5tA&fs=1&hl=en_US]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhjTHlui2ws&fs=1&hl=en_US]

“Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.”
- Anonymous

Categories: Random thoughts, TV addictions | 5 Comments »

Nov 28 2010

Oh, telly

by clairehennessy

Probably one of my favourite non-fiction books read this year was Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad Is Good For You, where he defends so-called trashy pop culture and traces its developing complexity. (He also links this to the Flynn effect, which I am not 100% convinced about, but it’s an interesting argument.) It says, rather sensibly, that there is good TV (and there are good movies, good video games, etc) – that the form itself is not automatically the issue.

There are many writers who will proudly attest to not watching TV, who – when responding to ‘how do you find the time to write?’-type questions – will say, give up television. Stop wasting your time watching the idiot box.

There are many ways people waste time. Compulsive cleanliness. Fretting about how much they have to do, often out loud. Reading bad books. TV-watching does not automatically equal time-wasting.

I had this sense that I’d use this post to talk about the TV I’ve been loving lately – the sheer gleefulness of Glee and the fact that even though the Rocky Horror songs were appallingly bowdlerized, the way it was handled within the show was quite nifty; the zaniness of How I Met Your Mother Season 6 (and the fact it took me far too long to recognise Zoey as Cameron from House – also Kirk’s mom in the rebooted Trek, and a one-time girlfriend of Pacey in Dawson’s Creek); the sheer delight of the Big Bang Theory episode which had not only Wil Wheaton but a girly sleepover – but recently a few people have talked about TV as this thing that you switch off, that you don’t engage with, that you don’t use your imagination for. As though this was absolute fact. And. Sheesh.

Reading is not automatically an imaginative enlightening experience. It is quite possible to read a book and not enter into the imaginative world the author’s presenting to you. (Most novels that are read for English degrees are read this way, I imagine.) It is quite possible to skim, to miss parts, to get to the end of the book having a sense of what words were on the page but not much more than that.

And TV is not automatically this deadening, turn-off-your-brain experience. Ever speculated about what’s going to happen next? Noted patterns, motifs? Articulated why Season 2 isn’t as good as Season 1, or vice-versa? Ever noticed the way a storyline was handled, or a new character introduced? Ever tried to figure out who was going to get kicked off the reality show of your choice? Oh, look, engaging with the material. Would you look at that.

The text has a lot to do with it. But even a Good Book doesn’t automatically improve the reader. And TV – it’s how you respond to it, as well as what’s it’s giving you.

So give up TV in order to write more? I’m not so sure. Maybe just treat it as you do books, or other things in your life – look at what you’re getting out of the experience, whether you’re using or losing time, and then figure out something that works for you. And good TV – the stuff that takes you away, that makes you smile or laugh or cry or ache along with the characters? I kinda feel like that’s worth making time for.

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Jan 20 2010

Oh, 2010. Aka a TV meme post.

by clairehennessy

Brain is a tad fried, so instead of some musings on what 2010 should be, and aspirations and goals for the future, there will be instead a TV meme, via Mr Peeeeeeet.

Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice:
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Also Star Trek: TNG, probably Voyager, Friends, Black Books, Angel, almost certainly Buffy the Vampire Slayer… the list could go on, I’m sure.

Name a (current) show you can’t miss:
Grey’s Anatomy.

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show:
Oooh, don’t know. Have a feeling Brothers & Sisters seemed more worth getting into because of Calista Flockhart, who is still forever Ally McBeal, or Rachel Griffiths, who will always be crazy-Brenda. Possibly William Shatner. Just because.

Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show:
(William Shatner?) I don’t know. Can’t think of any that have actively put me off watching something.

Name a show you can, and do, quote from.
The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, currently. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, always. Black Books, for conversations about children’s picture books and wine.

Name a show you like that no one else enjoys:
Apparently some of the world find Gilmore Girls annoying, but they are clearly very wrong, right? And I prefer the US Queer as Folk to the UK version, which apparently is not the done thing, only it’s oh-so-much prettier.

Name a TV show which you’ve been known to sing the theme song:
Some of them you can’t sing along to! Some of them are only instrumentals! Look, I’m not picky. I’ve sung along to the Enterprise theme song. My standards are oh-so-low. Also, Sweet Valley High and California Dreams.

Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch:
Current? The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother or possibly Glee.

Name a TV series you own:
As the Pete has noted, one does not own TV series as such, but rather owns copies of things. I am going to go for Blackadder.

What is your favourite episode of your favourite series?
This is a difficult question. Um. How can I pick a favourite series? How?
Also, upon thinking about it, it’s difficult to select individual episodes of some TV shows – it’s more the season as a whole that works, or the series as a whole that works.

A show you mean to watch, but you just haven’t gotten around to yet:
Apparently The Wire is, y’know, The Best Thing Ever. I still haven’t seen The Sopranos either. But really the candidates are Dollhouse and 30 Rock.

Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad?
Enterprise. Oh yes. (And even then I had to watch the last episode. Just to see.) Also 7th Heaven. (You can tell it’s late at night when I am admitting that I ever watched 7th Heaven. I mean, what on earth did I expect?) But generally I’m very tolerant of alleged seasonal rot. I tend to watch things to the end. Oh, I did give up on ER though. But Carter had left!

Name a show you aren’t interested in watching, not in the least:
Quite possibly The Wire and The Sopranos. Also any of the CSIs.

Name a show that’s made you cry multiple times:
Dawson’s Creek. *shame*

Oldest TV show you like?
Probably original Star Trek. And even then I’m not sure I ‘like’ it so much as ‘am amused by it’.

Newest TV show you like?
Glee. Pretty much the only thing of recent origin that I am aware of.

What do you eat when you watch TV?
Food. Tea. And as ’tis the season, Cadbury’s Creme Eggs.

How often do you watch TV?
Mostly boxsets or recordings than actually watching series as they air, so depends on the time of year. A lot over holidays and time off, less so at other times.

Do you have a favorite talk show?
QI doesn’t count as a talk show, does it?

What’s the last TV show you watched?
Tonight’s episode of Desperate Housewives on RTE2, and don’t you just want to slap Susan across the face? (That’s not spoilery, that could be any episode, really.)

What’s your favourite/preferred genre of TV?
Teen drama or medical show or sitcom or crazy lawyer show…. oh, don’t make me pick. Probably the breed of show which features professionals in their workplace, with a balance of comedy and drama, and where half the time they act like teenagers and/or wackiness abounds. So, y’know, Grey’s Anatomy or Boston Legal or Brothers & Sisters or Scrubs or…

What’s your least favourite genre of TV?
Reality TV.

What was the first TV show you were obsessed with?
Ooh, don’t know. Dawson’s Creek or Friends or Ally McBeal, probably. Or else something on TCC (back in the day).

What TV show do you wish you never watched?
Um. But. It’s not like you’re wasting years and years of your life – if you don’t like a TV show, there’s no one holding a gun to your head telling you that you must keep viewing Or Else. And even if it all goes a bit wonky at some stage, then so what? It doesn’t mean you didn’t enjoy most of the show. Silly question.
(Plus I’ve never seen Lost…)

What’s the weirdest show you enjoyed?
Define weird.

What TV show scared you the most?
I try to avoid the scary. Am a wimp.

What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched?
Black Books or The Big Bang Theory or Frasier.

Which do you think is the best TV series ever made?
So difficult. Probably either Six Feet Under or The West Wing.

Categories: TV addictions | 7 Comments »

Oct 13 2009

Another week

by clairehennessy

So there was Cork, where there were library visits and talks. I like doing them, especially when they go really well – I had a couple of really-and-truly lovely groups and they were an absolute joy, time flew by – but they are slightly tiring sometimes. Then teaching all day Saturday, and off to a lovely girls’ night in at a friend’s, and then watching the last third of Grey’s Anatomy Season 5, which I’d missed most of last year, on DVD.

Which was possibly far too much melodrama for one day, but oh gosh. That season finale! I adore the new characters brought in during S5 though – and Wikipedia has just told me that Kevin McKidd was in Father Ted and now I really want to rewatch that episode because I can’t imagine him not being Owen Hunt with all his angst and pain and fascinatingness. And Arizona! Oh, Arizona who roller-skates and is cute and perky and fabulous at her job and kisses Callie. I am not sure which of them I love more. And Meredith being slightly more well-adjusted than usual (but I do adore Meredith, more than is reasonable according to many people) and Derek being a brat. (So very much not a McDreamy fan.) Good times.

And now it is Monday and it’s another week and saying “it’s been a long week” seems slightly ridiculous and absurd when it’s only just begun. So I’ll stop yammering now, methinks…

Categories: Life-type stuff, TV addictions | 4 Comments »

 
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