ABQ LOG: media

[jesse_the_k]

I’ve been logging my days. Here’re our nights!

Between four and six pm, we come home, snack, and think about dinner. When we’re done with that, it’s time to watch TV!

We sped through the second season of Killjoys.
It’s got a Firefly vibe but better. As the show runner Michelle Lovrata said:

I know a lot of really wonderful people with fucked up abusive pasts (it’s no accident they keep showing up as the heroes in my work) and I find one common trait is their inability to give themselves enough credit for how far they’ve come.

Her characters are complicated. They sometimes betray themselves and their found family. It’s got a very long arc and will be getting its seasons 4 and 5 to wrap things up. I enjoy the martial-arts fighting (there could be fewer knives and blood, though). Also queer sex with actual bodies and kisses! Of course there’s a community for me to explore as well: killjoys. The third season is available, but we decided to stretch our delight over time and will watch it on our return.

Thanks to decemberthirty’s recommendation, we started watching The Crown.
It’s fascinating, in a train-wreck sort of way. Clair Foy, who plays the current British monarch Queen Elizabeth, is completely believable in that role. The settings are sumptuous, the historical detail convinces me (can't speak to its accuracy). I was particularly touched by her realization that being palatial-schooled prepared her only for social graces. I recognize many archetypes from my ruling-class childhood; their over-the-top selfishness and casual attitude towards power are quite realistic.

Comments

[wendelah1]

We just picked up season one of The Crown from the library. I'll try to remember to check back when we've made some progress.

[jesse_the_k]

It definitely proceeds at a stately pace. Some reviews from The Guardian helped me to understand that
1. a lot of it is accurate
2. the first season is slow because history was slow
3. the second season is the "one with all the shagging"
4. Phillip does get to be slightly less of an asshole.

So now I'm eagerly anticipating S2. In S3 & S4, they've switched out the actors to older people, which makes so much sense I can hardly believe it's happening.

[wohali]

I, too, enjoy Killjoys. Looking forward to them closing off the story arc.

Pree's bar and the entire Westerley set is mere minutes from my domicile. I've recognized other locations in the show, too.

Pree's bar?

[jesse_the_k]

Tell me more! Is it actually a bar, or a set?

(Wait, are you in Vancouver? I thought that contractually all Canadian SF had to be shot in Vancouver?)

/needs Dutch icon

Re: Pree's bar?

[wohali]

Nope! Lots of Canadian sci-fi is filmed here in the Greater Toronto Area, including Killjoys, A Handmaid's Tale and Dark Matter.

It's all filmed in an abandoned soap factory that is destined to become a new office park. They'll get the last 2 seasons filmed before the existing building is torn down or re-purposed, the plans for the area are taking ages to solidify.

Presumably Pree's bar is a set they put into that old building.

Re: Pree's bar?

[jesse_the_k]

Thanks for the details.

[jadelennox]

Yes! I keep describing Killjoys as "like Firefly, but actually good," which doesn't endear me to Firefly fans.

[wohali]

I feel the same way. I couldn't watch Firefly (though the movie was pretty good.)