sincere: DGM: Lenalee's back to the viewer ([quote-xigbar] SO not rambling)
Kay ([personal profile] sincere) wrote2006-08-30 11:59 am

Things that was/are/would be cool

Joan of Arcadia. Man, that was a great show. I'm still angry that it was cancelled right in its prime -- the second season, the last season, when they clearly still had plot and planning going on, ready for more, until CBS yanked the rug out from under them because Joan's audience tended to be 20+. Has CBS had a single good show since?

Joan was love. Adam and Helen were idiot love. The quiet, unspoken hints that Joan's actions could spiritually lead to Kevin's learning to walk again was love. Everything the various incarnations of God said was wonderful, brilliant, sometimes inspiring or moving, and also love. ("Don't you miss me, Joan?" "*lying* No." "...don't you miss yourself?") And it was non-denominational, non-discriminational love. I'm going to buy the DVD sets with my birthday money and then dream for more.

Lost. I also need season two of this, released on Friday as I recall. Season 3 OMGWTFBBQ WHEN I NEED TO KNOW WHAT DESMOND'S GIRLFRIEND IS GOING TO DO. Project Runway. It's on tonight. I'll probably watch it with Clarisse and comment on it with [livejournal.com profile] refracting~

It's not exactly motivational, but it's fun, and everything is exponentially more awesome when watched with other people. ♥

Xenogears: the remake. C'mon, Square-Enix! Aren't you done beating the dead FFVII horse yet? There's been a movie, an OAV, like four spin-off games, Kingdom Hearts cameos, and FFX plugins. Drag something fresher out of the grave. Like Xenogears, FFVII's oft-ignored twin. This was a fantastic game that got shafted big-time -- the second half of the game was so bad that it was impossible not to notice them running out of time and money.

Do it again. Do it better. Release the game for the PS2, the PS3, the PSP, something. Redo everything. Make it as pretty as Xenosaga, its spiritual descendant, and flesh out the second "disc." Or hell -- make a movie. An anime. Something. Just... fix it. It is a gaping wound in your history.

[identity profile] phinnia.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Have you seen Wonderfalls? It was kind of like Joan but different and just as good, and there was only one season made. :P
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't seen it, but from what I heard I'm sure I'd like it. I should download it or something -- (I love owning DVD sets but I just can't afford them, aha).

I heard that they were both essentially cancelled for the same reason: they attracted a mixed, and leaning older, audience than that primo 18ish age group that everyone drools all over and yet treats like idiots. News flash -- people over 18 want good TV too.

[identity profile] phinnia.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
You should totally download it, yes. :-)
I don't know why advertisers are so nuts about that particular age group. Is it a disposable income thing, maybe? Who knows.

[identity profile] angrybabble.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
but they CAN'T do XG again because the whole team left and went to Namco? XD;; I mean... if that's what you want, just buy Xenosaga! ^^; My friend who's a giant fan of XG/XS is really liking XSIII...
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I bought Xenosaga I. Couldn't play it. Didn't care for the characters, didn't care for the pacing, the plot, story hour. Sold it back.

I haven't bothered with XSII or III, but I have watched as Shion loses more and more of her clothes. :\ I've heard a lot of good things from people since XSI was widely agreed to suck as a game and be tolerable as a movie, but I just can't get back into it.

Instead I'm living in a dream world where the franchise is still related to something I liked. *dies* And in this dream world they fix Xenogears!
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry, total work-related spazfit. I know that Namco is making them now. XD

Pretend it's an industry rant? Or my tears that Xenogears falls into the cracks of game-corporate warfare?

[identity profile] v-voltaire.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm going to have to disagree on the first point. JoA had a justified, merciful killing. I loved the first season, but the second season was just one continuous downward spiral. Everyone was just depressed and unfortunate and mean. I eventually stopped watching because I realized that I didn't want that extra hour of misery in my life every week. My family loved the first season, but when we heard about its cancellation our collective response was "It's about time."
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Really! That's sad. I noticed that tendency in the second half of the second season, but I think we attributed it to building up character tension and to the [extremely depressing] climax. We were still excited about the next season.

But I do agree. I don't remember the details anymore -- I don't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday -- but I DO remember a lot of frustration with the characters. Particularly Helen and JoanandAdam. (And there just comes a point, Joan, where you have to put two and two together and realize that attempting to second-guess what God wants you to do and extrapolate is NOT WORKING and maybe you should just LISTEN to him and stop trying to backseat drive for omniscience.)

But it was really good up until then. :\ And I thought that the end of the second season had signalled a breaking point in those tensions and things would get more unified on the protagonist front now that an "antagonist" had been introduced, but... I guess we'll never know?

I still think it's sad!

[identity profile] gatafairy.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Have they come out with season two of Joan on DVD? I've only ever come across season one, and our somewhat local Borders refuses to sell it for less than $60. And, well, I'm poor. But I really really want it because hot damn what a great show. Stupid CBS.

[identity profile] v-voltaire.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I get what you're saying. It makes good dramatic sense for things to build up and build up until there's some sort of climax or breaking point. I'm just getting the impression the build up went on for too long. I mean, Joan gets sick, and her family get sued, and Joan's friend dies, and Adam cheats on Joan, and...then I stopped watching. Given another season they might have turned it about or focused on a different theme, but most of the second season was just not fun for me to watch.

On a completely different note, I once used Adam's actor as a PB for an RP I was in. He had the right sort of "Why does the world keep doing bad things to me?" look.

[identity profile] v-voltaire.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
According to Amazon, JoA season 2 is coming out on Nov 28. (Also, you can get season 1 for about $45 from them.)

[identity profile] gatafairy.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Sweet, thank you. ^^;

By the by, I read your comments above, and... I was never really into the Adam/Joan thing. XD; And yes, Adam's actor (name? what name? ...names, psh) does have that look. */pulling things from other trains of thought, woe*
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, it was a very long string of miserable. It didn't help that I wanted to stab Iris from the first episode she appeared in -- she's like a sympathy brick to the face, blatant and painful. The whole second half of the season was essentially Joan screwing up and everything getting wretched, and I don't necessarily think that made it bad or couldn't have been salvaged, but it was a different experience from the first season.

Adam's actor is so good at that look. XD
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[identity profile] kay-willow.livejournal.com 2006-08-30 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
I miss watching Joan. :\

[identity profile] sinistersundown.livejournal.com 2006-08-31 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
I used to be a HUGE Xenogears fan (Id Id Id), but never got into XS for many of the same reasons as you.

I don't know if there are still rumours of a Xenogears remake - there was supposed to be one once the Xenosaga series hit number five. But since it's ended at three, I... don't know what will happen o_o

[identity profile] jougetsu.livejournal.com 2006-09-06 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, my family is also planning on picking up the Lost Season 2 dvd set to catch up on the episodes we missed. The season finale was amazing, I really hope the third season doesn't disappoint. Am still bitter that JJ Abrams just stopped trying with Alias to the point where cancelling it seemed like good idea.