"We interrupt this metaphor..."
Oct. 26th, 2003 04:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ealgyldenI'm splitting my JoA comments into two parts this time, since I want to ramble about the Helen plot a bit, and it seems a little odd to do that at the same time I'm doing my standard Adam'n'Grace cheering. So this is the non-Helen half.
So who is Joan chatting about magazines with in the first scene? One of her friends from their old town? Because somehow that doesn't strike me as Grace-like behavior, and the Heathers are long gone. But! Adam is apparently a regular enough caller (about homework, I suppose) than Joan isn't at all surprised to hear from him. And while she tells him to call back later, she does it without it sounding like a diss. So even if she doesn't return his crush, at least they're becoming pretty good friends. She could do far, far worse.
Oh, Helen. Dr. Phil? But you're so smart! (I hate Dr. Phil.) Poor Helen looks so wounded to hear that Joan thinks talking with her mom is "euchh," but I'm sure it's not a new phenomenon for them. Joan's sixteen, after all, and she has teen brothers. Part of the "fun" of the teen years is that the connection you've had with your parents since childhood breaks down, and you have to relearn who you all are and how to communicate. Helen knows that, I'm sure; I just don't think she was ready to hear it phrased quite like "euchh." Still, Helen and Joan learning how to talk to each other (and how to see each other for who they really are) is a big theme for this episode and for the show, so "euchh" it is.
I'm very amused by Joan's Dr. Who scarf. I also like any scene between her and Luke, because they get some of the most fun, truest-sounding dialogue on the show (comparing it to my relationship with my sister at that age, anyway). "So ask Isaac Newton to the prom." "I would, if he were a girl. And alive." Hee! The two of them tussling over Luke's stuffed bunny, found abandoned in the garage, was also very, very cute, as was the fact that he spent the next five minutes cuddling and petting it. You're never too old for that one stuffed toy, the one that knows all your secrets.
It's interesting that Will first greets Lieut. Dave with a friendly "Hello, Michael," considering that we've never heard him use Lieut. Dave's first name before. Figures, he gets friendly and it all falls apart. And in the scene where he fires Dave (sob!), Dave calls him "Will", rather than "Chief", at least twice. Was he trying to draw on the friendship they might have built, had he not screwed up? And how does he know Will's presumably pre-Arcadian department history so well? Somehow I doubt Will shared his "back in my days on the squad when I screwed up badly" stories over a beer one night, and I don't think the higher-ups would have shared the details of such a dubious action with an underling, considering that Will was brought in to clean up the department.
It's a pity that Lieut. Dave made the decision to falsify the report, because, overly cautious about politics or not, he was Will's one reliable liaison to the men. Plus, he was generally a good cop and Will liked him. It's not any easier for Will and Helen to make friends in their new home than it is for their kids (we've seen Helen complain about this a couple of times already), and while he and Lieut. Dave weren't exactly friends, they were usually friendly. Dave'll be missed. And not just because he was pretty, since I doubt Will notices that as much as I do. Still, considering the nature of his offense and the circumstances under which Will was hired, there was no getting around that Dave was done working for him. It was so obvious that he and Will were talking on two different levels when they were discussing how unfortunate it was that the breathalyzer results made the case file, and I knew what was coming, but still. It's not a happy turn of events.
Rebecca Askew, the pretty journalist, is listed as "recurring cast" on Joanofarcadia.com (unlike Clay Fisher, who I'll get to in a second), and I'm glad of it. Getting Kevin out of the house, into the world and out of his funk of self-pity should be a good thing. It was overly tv-land that she handed him a job without any knowledge of his qualifications (but hey, if someone does that for me, I'll never mention it again), and there are a lot of ways this character can go wrong, but so far I like her. She's right that he's not accepting his new identity; we've seen that right along, in his angry, self-deprecating, constant use of terms like "gimp" and "cripple," in his basketball dream sequence and in his destruction of the scrapbook, a visual reminder of his athletic achievements (he'll never be that guy again, no matter how much he dreams, so he strikes out too hard in his pain). Helen calls him on it as much as she can, but the "mom factor" holds her back- he can always tell himself, "She's my mom, she has to say blahblah, she doesn’t really see me." Rebecca has the advantage of being an outsider, with no personal investment in his drama/melodrama and with her own goals and burdens. She doesn't have any obligation to care, unlike his family. If she can use that to shake him up, then so much the better.
Plus, I think she's pretty. Remember, I'm shallow. But if we're going to be losing Lieut. Dave, there's a new empty spot in the Pretty Lineup. We can't let Amber and Christopher do it all, right? And Will looked so cute and flustered when she called him "Gary Cooper." Aw.
So Arcadia is big enough to thirty story buildings and a newspaper with a fashion section? You know, I need to stop thinking about the size of this "town," because it makes no sense and I doubt it ever will. Okay, the size of Arcadia will get locked away in the same part of my brain as the weather in Stars Hollow and the college in Sunnydale as "things that make you say 'huh?'"
Speaking of the fashion section, I bet that British "pissy queen" writer is originally from Topeka. What was with that awful pink shirt he was wearing when Kevin did his little smackdown? Euchh.
More Elaine Hendrix, please! Her chem teacher (I can never remember her name) is a nut! A really fun nut, who gets hyperactively happy about nucleic acids! I'm not so sure that she should be explaining DNA and RNA to an AP Chem class, but then I took AP Bio, so what do I know. Anyway, she should get more than five lines every third episode.
More Grace would be great too, although not if it means toning down her bitter disdain for the idiocy that is high school. She had one of my favorite bits of the episode: "Clay Fisher just flirted with you. Adam Rove is all about you. Tension ensued. Were you born without a radar?" How Joan could not see that... well, anyway, yay Grace. Grace, rebel that she is, was less edgy about Clay Fisher's disregard for boundaries (ex- she doesn't mind the fake fire drills) than Adam, though I doubt she'd have any difficulty telling him to go away if she felt the need (unlike Joan, who longs for a "normal" life and so enjoys Clay's attentions until he shows his jerkishness).
Adam's expression when Clay flirted with "Jane" (and got a response!) hurt to see. Oh Adam. I don't blame him in the slightest for being ticked that that jerk stole his CD and justified it as some talent-scouting move. Too bad Adam couldn't have Grace beat Clay up. Grrr! I also think Adam's comment to Joan after revealing Clay's very wrong wrongness (are you picking up my opinion about him yet?), that he was sorry to be the one to tell her, was true, at least in part. While I'm sure he was glad to get the evil big sucky rival out of the way (as Joan picked up on and threw at him), I don't think that he enjoyed hurting her. God knows I would have twisted that knife at that age; teenagers, especially teenagers disappointed in love, can be demonic. But I didn't get that feeling from Adam, and I don't think it's (entirely) because I'm such a fangirl for the character. I think he's just more sensitive to, and more careful about, the pain of others than the average teenager. Is that a symptom or a result of his yet-unnamed burdens? Or is it just one more reason why he's so quickly joined my pantheon of "deeply wonderful high school guy characters," alongside such luminaries as Xander Harris and Lloyd Dobler? Well, that too. *g*
Before I saw this ep, I couldn't quite see the Girardis having enough stuff for a garage sale, considering that that would mean they'd packed up all of their extra junk and moved it with them (and yeah, that's how I pack, but I'm pretty sure most people don't). But after having seen Luke and Will pack-ratting away ("she's selling my youth!"), I think that quibble's been taken care of. Decisively.
So, Clay Fisher. I really didn't like him. It was nice to see Joan being flirted with, since she’s so pretty and cool, but dang, was he creepy and lame. "Four out of five doctors..."? Whatever. He also had a serious problem respecting others' boundaries and keeping his hands off of other people's stuff, a problem well-known enough for Helen to "joke" to Will that he "needs to keep an eye on this one" at the garage sale. Clay doesn't like being told "no," either. He's known Joan for mere hours before he tries emotionally blackmailing her with his "like not hang out with you, Fisher" schtick. Look, guy, she said she was busy, so accept it! Even if I hadn't already really disliked him, his calling Joan "J.G." and telling her she has potential but is "kind of a drip" would have been unforgivable sins. Boo! Get off my show, you... Parker Abrams, you!
Clay's good points? He made Adam look that much cooler in comparison (I know, I didn't think it was possible either), and he gave Amber Tamblyn some wonderful moments to show Joan's teenager-iness. Her giddy reaction to their brief kiss was adorable, and she nailed Joan's sulk after the garage sale. Sitting at the table so she could actively ignore Helen, refusing to talk to either parent, storming off in a huff complete with rolled eyes and tossed hair... yep, I remember that.
"Massive doses of thorazine" watch- yelling out to God on a city bus. Please be careful, Joan.
Lastly, this week's God. You know, God says that Joan doesn't have to follow His/Her directions, and I believe that. But if she doesn't, God promptly turns into a seven-year-old. "Have a garage sale." "No." "Have a garage sale." "No." "Have a garage sale." "No!" "Have a garage sale." "Fine!" BigHair!God even resorted to Mom Guilt! You don't want a garage sale? Fine. I only want what's best for you, but what would I know, I'm just God. Don't worry about me, I'll just go over here in the dark and you can forget all about me. No wonder Joan gave in. VendingMachine!God, who called Joan "little lady," wasn't much better. He let her talk herself out, and then just repeated his non-question. So yeah, she has a choice not to obey, but she'll just get pestered into it in the end.
BusinessMan!God was amusing, because he's the second instance we've had of God being "just a stranger on a bus" (the first being, of course, Teen!God). I liked his point about the difficulty of exorcising real pain, as opposed to dealing with a mood. I also liked the gravity in his voice when he said, "It was evil. And I don't throw that word around." I'm somewhat curious as to why God decided that now was the time for Helen to share her past with Joan, but I suppose that's yet to be revealed. As is so often the case with this show, really.
So I still want to talk about Helen and the rape plotline. Tomorrow, I guess. Unless I'm suddenly struck by the urge to type in an hour or two.
So who is Joan chatting about magazines with in the first scene? One of her friends from their old town? Because somehow that doesn't strike me as Grace-like behavior, and the Heathers are long gone. But! Adam is apparently a regular enough caller (about homework, I suppose) than Joan isn't at all surprised to hear from him. And while she tells him to call back later, she does it without it sounding like a diss. So even if she doesn't return his crush, at least they're becoming pretty good friends. She could do far, far worse.
Oh, Helen. Dr. Phil? But you're so smart! (I hate Dr. Phil.) Poor Helen looks so wounded to hear that Joan thinks talking with her mom is "euchh," but I'm sure it's not a new phenomenon for them. Joan's sixteen, after all, and she has teen brothers. Part of the "fun" of the teen years is that the connection you've had with your parents since childhood breaks down, and you have to relearn who you all are and how to communicate. Helen knows that, I'm sure; I just don't think she was ready to hear it phrased quite like "euchh." Still, Helen and Joan learning how to talk to each other (and how to see each other for who they really are) is a big theme for this episode and for the show, so "euchh" it is.
I'm very amused by Joan's Dr. Who scarf. I also like any scene between her and Luke, because they get some of the most fun, truest-sounding dialogue on the show (comparing it to my relationship with my sister at that age, anyway). "So ask Isaac Newton to the prom." "I would, if he were a girl. And alive." Hee! The two of them tussling over Luke's stuffed bunny, found abandoned in the garage, was also very, very cute, as was the fact that he spent the next five minutes cuddling and petting it. You're never too old for that one stuffed toy, the one that knows all your secrets.
It's interesting that Will first greets Lieut. Dave with a friendly "Hello, Michael," considering that we've never heard him use Lieut. Dave's first name before. Figures, he gets friendly and it all falls apart. And in the scene where he fires Dave (sob!), Dave calls him "Will", rather than "Chief", at least twice. Was he trying to draw on the friendship they might have built, had he not screwed up? And how does he know Will's presumably pre-Arcadian department history so well? Somehow I doubt Will shared his "back in my days on the squad when I screwed up badly" stories over a beer one night, and I don't think the higher-ups would have shared the details of such a dubious action with an underling, considering that Will was brought in to clean up the department.
It's a pity that Lieut. Dave made the decision to falsify the report, because, overly cautious about politics or not, he was Will's one reliable liaison to the men. Plus, he was generally a good cop and Will liked him. It's not any easier for Will and Helen to make friends in their new home than it is for their kids (we've seen Helen complain about this a couple of times already), and while he and Lieut. Dave weren't exactly friends, they were usually friendly. Dave'll be missed. And not just because he was pretty, since I doubt Will notices that as much as I do. Still, considering the nature of his offense and the circumstances under which Will was hired, there was no getting around that Dave was done working for him. It was so obvious that he and Will were talking on two different levels when they were discussing how unfortunate it was that the breathalyzer results made the case file, and I knew what was coming, but still. It's not a happy turn of events.
Rebecca Askew, the pretty journalist, is listed as "recurring cast" on Joanofarcadia.com (unlike Clay Fisher, who I'll get to in a second), and I'm glad of it. Getting Kevin out of the house, into the world and out of his funk of self-pity should be a good thing. It was overly tv-land that she handed him a job without any knowledge of his qualifications (but hey, if someone does that for me, I'll never mention it again), and there are a lot of ways this character can go wrong, but so far I like her. She's right that he's not accepting his new identity; we've seen that right along, in his angry, self-deprecating, constant use of terms like "gimp" and "cripple," in his basketball dream sequence and in his destruction of the scrapbook, a visual reminder of his athletic achievements (he'll never be that guy again, no matter how much he dreams, so he strikes out too hard in his pain). Helen calls him on it as much as she can, but the "mom factor" holds her back- he can always tell himself, "She's my mom, she has to say blahblah, she doesn’t really see me." Rebecca has the advantage of being an outsider, with no personal investment in his drama/melodrama and with her own goals and burdens. She doesn't have any obligation to care, unlike his family. If she can use that to shake him up, then so much the better.
Plus, I think she's pretty. Remember, I'm shallow. But if we're going to be losing Lieut. Dave, there's a new empty spot in the Pretty Lineup. We can't let Amber and Christopher do it all, right? And Will looked so cute and flustered when she called him "Gary Cooper." Aw.
So Arcadia is big enough to thirty story buildings and a newspaper with a fashion section? You know, I need to stop thinking about the size of this "town," because it makes no sense and I doubt it ever will. Okay, the size of Arcadia will get locked away in the same part of my brain as the weather in Stars Hollow and the college in Sunnydale as "things that make you say 'huh?'"
Speaking of the fashion section, I bet that British "pissy queen" writer is originally from Topeka. What was with that awful pink shirt he was wearing when Kevin did his little smackdown? Euchh.
More Elaine Hendrix, please! Her chem teacher (I can never remember her name) is a nut! A really fun nut, who gets hyperactively happy about nucleic acids! I'm not so sure that she should be explaining DNA and RNA to an AP Chem class, but then I took AP Bio, so what do I know. Anyway, she should get more than five lines every third episode.
More Grace would be great too, although not if it means toning down her bitter disdain for the idiocy that is high school. She had one of my favorite bits of the episode: "Clay Fisher just flirted with you. Adam Rove is all about you. Tension ensued. Were you born without a radar?" How Joan could not see that... well, anyway, yay Grace. Grace, rebel that she is, was less edgy about Clay Fisher's disregard for boundaries (ex- she doesn't mind the fake fire drills) than Adam, though I doubt she'd have any difficulty telling him to go away if she felt the need (unlike Joan, who longs for a "normal" life and so enjoys Clay's attentions until he shows his jerkishness).
Adam's expression when Clay flirted with "Jane" (and got a response!) hurt to see. Oh Adam. I don't blame him in the slightest for being ticked that that jerk stole his CD and justified it as some talent-scouting move. Too bad Adam couldn't have Grace beat Clay up. Grrr! I also think Adam's comment to Joan after revealing Clay's very wrong wrongness (are you picking up my opinion about him yet?), that he was sorry to be the one to tell her, was true, at least in part. While I'm sure he was glad to get the evil big sucky rival out of the way (as Joan picked up on and threw at him), I don't think that he enjoyed hurting her. God knows I would have twisted that knife at that age; teenagers, especially teenagers disappointed in love, can be demonic. But I didn't get that feeling from Adam, and I don't think it's (entirely) because I'm such a fangirl for the character. I think he's just more sensitive to, and more careful about, the pain of others than the average teenager. Is that a symptom or a result of his yet-unnamed burdens? Or is it just one more reason why he's so quickly joined my pantheon of "deeply wonderful high school guy characters," alongside such luminaries as Xander Harris and Lloyd Dobler? Well, that too. *g*
Before I saw this ep, I couldn't quite see the Girardis having enough stuff for a garage sale, considering that that would mean they'd packed up all of their extra junk and moved it with them (and yeah, that's how I pack, but I'm pretty sure most people don't). But after having seen Luke and Will pack-ratting away ("she's selling my youth!"), I think that quibble's been taken care of. Decisively.
So, Clay Fisher. I really didn't like him. It was nice to see Joan being flirted with, since she’s so pretty and cool, but dang, was he creepy and lame. "Four out of five doctors..."? Whatever. He also had a serious problem respecting others' boundaries and keeping his hands off of other people's stuff, a problem well-known enough for Helen to "joke" to Will that he "needs to keep an eye on this one" at the garage sale. Clay doesn't like being told "no," either. He's known Joan for mere hours before he tries emotionally blackmailing her with his "like not hang out with you, Fisher" schtick. Look, guy, she said she was busy, so accept it! Even if I hadn't already really disliked him, his calling Joan "J.G." and telling her she has potential but is "kind of a drip" would have been unforgivable sins. Boo! Get off my show, you... Parker Abrams, you!
Clay's good points? He made Adam look that much cooler in comparison (I know, I didn't think it was possible either), and he gave Amber Tamblyn some wonderful moments to show Joan's teenager-iness. Her giddy reaction to their brief kiss was adorable, and she nailed Joan's sulk after the garage sale. Sitting at the table so she could actively ignore Helen, refusing to talk to either parent, storming off in a huff complete with rolled eyes and tossed hair... yep, I remember that.
"Massive doses of thorazine" watch- yelling out to God on a city bus. Please be careful, Joan.
Lastly, this week's God. You know, God says that Joan doesn't have to follow His/Her directions, and I believe that. But if she doesn't, God promptly turns into a seven-year-old. "Have a garage sale." "No." "Have a garage sale." "No." "Have a garage sale." "No!" "Have a garage sale." "Fine!" BigHair!God even resorted to Mom Guilt! You don't want a garage sale? Fine. I only want what's best for you, but what would I know, I'm just God. Don't worry about me, I'll just go over here in the dark and you can forget all about me. No wonder Joan gave in. VendingMachine!God, who called Joan "little lady," wasn't much better. He let her talk herself out, and then just repeated his non-question. So yeah, she has a choice not to obey, but she'll just get pestered into it in the end.
BusinessMan!God was amusing, because he's the second instance we've had of God being "just a stranger on a bus" (the first being, of course, Teen!God). I liked his point about the difficulty of exorcising real pain, as opposed to dealing with a mood. I also liked the gravity in his voice when he said, "It was evil. And I don't throw that word around." I'm somewhat curious as to why God decided that now was the time for Helen to share her past with Joan, but I suppose that's yet to be revealed. As is so often the case with this show, really.
So I still want to talk about Helen and the rape plotline. Tomorrow, I guess. Unless I'm suddenly struck by the urge to type in an hour or two.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-27 04:20 am (UTC)This is so true! I am in awe of Luke's geekitude. He should get more screen time. Their interactions are the most fun.
It's interesting that Will first greets Lieut. Dave with a friendly "Hello, Michael," considering that we've never heard him use Lieut. Dave's first name before.
You know, you notice a lot of details that I just don't pick up on. Go you! But,yeah, that's what they were probably going for: bring them together, tear them apart.
And how does he know Will's presumably pre-Arcadian department history so well?
Policemen's communication chain is very well established. It's like high school gossip. I'm sure somebody knew somebody at Will's old PD and he called and they talked and now everybody in the new PD knows, too.
Dave'll be missed. And not just because he was pretty, since I doubt Will notices that as much as I do.
Hehe. But, yes, even if it was unethical, he will be missed.
Plus, I think she's pretty. Remember, I'm shallow. But if we're going to be losing Lieut. Dave, there's a new empty spot in the Pretty Lineup. We can't let Amber and Christopher do it all, right?
Dude, completely valid reasons. There is now a pretty vacuum. Somebody had to fill it. It's just a bonus that her character's interesting. I wouldn't get too excited over her recurring cast label, though. Remember, Erik Palladino had the smae one. ::sniff::
Adam's expression when Clay flirted with "Jane" (and got a response!) hurt to see. Oh Adam.
Don't you just want to take him home with you and make all the bad things go away? Poor, poor Adam. Every time Joan does something insensitive I just want to smack her because no one can be that oblivious.
I think he's just more sensitive to, and more careful about, the pain of others than the average teenager.
Exactly. Which is why when it's juxtaposed against Joan's utter lack of regard for other people's feelings, she ends up looking like a shrew. Seriously, they should just make an Adam show (Highlander, anyone?)
Clay doesn't like being told "no," either. He's known Joan for mere hours before he tries emotionally blackmailing her with his "like not hang out with you, Fisher" schtick.
Yeah, what self-respecting guy does that after just meeting someone? Yet another reason that Joan should have been immediately tipped off and it brings up yet more questions about her complete lack of people skills. Although, I suppose I shouldn't be bitching because if she were all sensitive and perfect I'd be screaming 'Mary Sue!' to anyone who'd listen. But still. She tends to see people as she wants to see them and not as they really are and I think this is what's going to continue to get her in trouble down the line (as it already has gotten her into trouble in the past).
But if she doesn't, God promptly turns into a seven-year-old.
LOL!! That's so true! But she is, after all, a teenager and the pestering mother routine probably is the only thing that would penetrate all the egomania anyway.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 05:42 am (UTC)Ah, good point, I forgot about gossip. That works better than Will telling Dave himself, which is possible, I guess, but doesn't seem all that likely. It wouldn't be much of a bonding activity, really.
Don't you just want to take him home with you and make all the bad things go away? Poor, poor Adam. Every time Joan does something insensitive I just want to smack her because no one can be that oblivious.
I don't know how she could have missed it. Yeah, teenagers are self-centered, but he practically has a sign around his neck saying "I'm all about Jane!" Just, his face when she was flirting with Clay... ow. Poor, poor Adam.
Seriously, they should just make an Adam show (Highlander, anyone?)
Hee! They should! Maybe it's the name... ;)
She tends to see people as she wants to see them and not as they really are and I think this is what's going to continue to get her in trouble down the line (as it already has gotten her into trouble in the past).
She does, and it's worrisome, considering her potential problems if anyone finds out about the whole "talks to God" thing. All she needs to do is see the wrong person as trustworthy, and it all goes to hell. So to speak. Heh. So yeah, I like that she has flaws, but that particular flaw makes me nervous.
I tried to give Joan some leeway with the Clay thing at first, because she's young, and from her reactions not that used to being flirted with (strange, but maybe the guys are scared of Will), but he was so obviously not worth her time. I actually groaned out loud at that horrible "four out of five doctors agree" line. Awful, just awful.
But she is, after all, a teenager and the pestering mother routine probably is the only thing that would penetrate all the egomania anyway.
Oh yeah, it would totally have worked on me at that age. Still would, actually. Moms have special powers. It's wiggy.