blairprovence | Recent Entries

Tonight FOX aired the last two new House and Bones for a VERY long while. I haven't really blogged about the strike, but I'd like to think I'm having the reaction the writers want, which is to be extremely pissed off that my shows won't be on come February if this isn't settled very soon.

It doesn't look like it will be. We are going to be positively drowning in reality TV, which I CANNOT BRING MYSELF TO WATCH! (Seriously, I actually cover my eyes and ears - totally visceral reaction. Can't STAND it!)

Come on studios, part with a few of your gazillions. After the pace of change in the last decade, how can you possibly argue that the net etc. isn't the future. Quit being cheapo idiots.

I do think that if the strike does continue through to January, the medium known as daytime soaps will be gone. I don't watch any of them right now, but that would be sad.

And now, onto tonight's House and Bones...

( Spoilers )

Current Mood: cranky
Current Music: Scrubs reruns (argh)

The Texas A&M Aggies have hired a new head football coach, Mike Sherman of the Houston Texans. See Article. He comes to us fresh from 8 years in the NFL, six as head coach of the Green Bay Packers - Cheeseheads!!! He also spent two stints as an Aggie assistant in the 90s, back when we were good at defense. (I might have met him - he was there when I was, and I worked camera for the coach's show, but I only remember RC Slocum and Bob Davie.) In general I'm not in favor of Pro Coaches as College Coaches or vice versa, because it's not the exact same job, really, but I'm going to be provisionally happy about this. He's an offense guy, and clearly we need one. He's also taking 200,000 less than Fran, ostensibly to free up money for good assistants.

I do like that it didn't drag on forever.

Still cannot decide about the upgrade for Torchwood, and am torn about asking for Doctor Who DVDs for Christmas, as they are so relatively expensive. How can a show like House, with 24 eps a year, have a DVD that costs only half as much as Doctor Who, with 13 eps a year?

Wonder if they'll discount DVDs on a truncated year of House, if the strike doesn't settle?

Wonder if they'll use a rerun after the Superbowl? (I vote for "Three Stories")

Wonder, wonder, wonder.....

I need a sandwich.

Current Mood: content
Current Music: espn

A&M football Aggies beat tu 38-30, to win for the second year in a row. They let the Longhorns come back somewhat in the 4th, but really dominated the whole game. Always good to see the Ags win the rivalry game.

A&M basketball (men's) Aggies won the NIT preseason tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York - they're 6-0 this year. I'm thinking Mark Turgeon was a good choice to take over for Billy Gillispie, and am hoping that the next football coach turns out as well.

That's right, Fran resigned about an hour after the game was over. He won't be coaching in the bowl, assuming we get into one.

I'm of two minds about this.

I never really warmed up to him, because I really liked RC Slocum, and disliked how he was let go for his first even season after years and years of winning seasons. And I hated how Fran drop-kicked his Alabama players, not even saying goodbye after persuading many of them to stay at Bama through probation seasons that limited their NFL chances. So he was never my favorite.

But I was angry on his behalf when the newsies asked him if this was his last game on the A&M sidelines right after the win (he was pretty exasperated, too). And I think the statement and agreeing to go out for presumably less money were classy moves. I just think we might be in for a couple of years of being truly terrible, which seems to happen when programs start thinking they deserve more than they do. (See OU after Gary Gibbs, Notre Dame after Bob Davie, etc.)

We'll have to see. I wonder how soon it'll be before we get a new coach, and I really wonder who it will be. A good head coach from a smaller program? A highly regarded assistant from a large program? Hmmm.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: couch
Current Music: ESPN

Part the First: BBCA has announced that the second season of Torchwood will be broadcasting in January almost concurrent with the BBC. Which is awesome. Except we don't get BBCA on our cable package. (Shh, I saw most of season one on YouTube ages ago.) Must ponder the upgrade.

And now...SPOILERS for tonight's

( House and Bones )

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Dick Vitale (and it's painful)

BlairSis and I went over to BestFriendFromChildhood's house to watch FOX Tuesday while BlairMom hosted Bunco at home. We told BlairMom we would not aid and abet her descent into gambling, but did make some nice snacks. She won $3.

I'm really enjoying Bones this season. I've decided to stop visiting the TWOP Bones thread, because it has a lot of people who are very nostalgic for Season 1 and don't like the Booth Brennan interaction these days, and I don't want them to convince me I'm not enjoying it either. (Sometimes I am easily swayed). I don't know what I think about Sweets, because I loved Stephen Fry, but I do find everyone's dissing alpha male Booth ("You're that guy!") hilarious. I knew a lot of "That Guy"s. It's nice to think some of them improved as they aged.

Good mystery, fun flashbacks to the 80s, period inaccurate Rubik's Cube. I give it a B+.

House was fun also.

PLUSES

Lots of great House/Wilson interaction. They were very guyish this episode, and it was hilarious to see. Also, Wilson told the TV crew House was Wiccan!

Great Cuddy/House interaction. She was the boss this episode, and it was great to see. The last scene watching the video was priceless.

The MASK illness was interesting - good acting from the two roles, and it had an interesting effect on Plastic Surgeon Guy. If he stays I will be curious to see what kind of relationship develops between him and Wilson, the two adultery repeaters.

CIA doctor was fired! For being stupid! As an unemployed (temporary) person, my sympathy should probably have been with her - but she quit her GOVERNMENT JOB without having a guaranteed other job in writing from the guy who continually sexually harrassed her for a day! She WAS stupid.

MINUSES

What the heck was wrong with Cameron?

Why wasn't Chase more involved, it was a perfect opportunity as he was one of the doctors doing the surgery?

Current Mood: happy

My new addiction to Torchwood has affected my obsessive re-viewing of House this season, but I think it might mean my knee-jerk reviews are more honest somehow. Even if I can't now quote the show verbatim.

PLUSES

Another interesting parallel running plot.

Foreman vs. new ducklings was interesting (even if Foreman vs. Cameron was not.)

The CIA jokes were funny.

MINUSES

I'm all for House Doctors being better than your run-of-the-mill doctors - it's sort of the premise of the show. But the previous season made sure to show that what was exceptionable about House was his skill at observation, his encyclopedic knowledge, and his ability to think outside the box. This season it seems more like that he's right because the plot calls for it (fill in details later.) He's not earning it.

Did not like CIA doctor. Don't want her joining the team. She brings out obnoxiousNOTentertaining House, and is clearly an idiot if she quit her job for an off-the-cuff sexual harrassing remark.

Deux ex machina Doctor Without Borders. Couldn't this get him thrown out of the medical profession? How will that help the Third World exactly?

Was not feeling the Hugh Laurie love as strongly tonight. Maybe I like him in his usual environment, with Wilson and Cuddy. Or maybe he was just too offensive and not funny enough.

I've been patient. Where the hell is Chase?

Current Mood: blah

I've decided to post my thoughts before reading about what other people think, in order to keep from being argued out of my initial opinions. I find that, though I pride myself on logic and critical thinking, I sometimes don't notice the glaring plotholes that exist on TV. And if they slide them past me, good on them!

I'm not sure what I thought about the illness tonight - they've used Mirror Syndrome before, but this was more like Psychic Syndrome, and I think this might have been farther from a real illness than they usually get. I'll have to read Polite Dissent to find out for sure. I mean, I get the guy imprinting on people, but he didn't even have to talk to them first, and unless their clothes or something were unusually expressive, I don't see how that would work.

Foreman's return wasn't as annoying as I had anticipated, but it was still annoying, chiefly because I think that the first three seasons bear out the assumption that, statistically, Chase is a much better diagnostician than either Cameron or Foreman. Cuddy's need to keep praising Foreman and offering him money and power over House just don't make that much sense. I guess I just prefer Chase to Foreman, and if Foreman is the one working in diagnostics, we're going to see him a lot more often.

PLUSES

Some fun Wilson.

The betting pool being run by (and won by) Chase, though I would have like to see the rapproachment between Chase and House. Why are we spending all our time on Foreman?

Progress on the House and Cuddy front - at least it's clear now that there is no way she will ever fire him. It doesn't make her a bad administrator, it just makes her a bad boss for him. I can believe she's ultra competent over all the other doctors.

MINUSES

Still too many Numbers - just let Doctors Without Borders go, House, he's boring. I don't like that 13's big secret is that she's scared. Boring.

The sabotaging of the Clinic pulled me right out of the story. I'm not expecting deep HMO talk or conversations about billable hours, but no way would House get away with this.

BONES was great, with everyone dressed up for Halloween. I think I enjoyed it more than House tonight.

Current Mood: creative

( Part 3 )

Current Mood: contemplative

( Part 2 )

Current Mood: contemplative

Again posting some of my early stuff.

Title:  Alternity
Author:  Blair Provence
Date:  Summer, 1999
Rating:  R
Character(s)/Pairing(s):  Buffy/Giles
Warnings:  To third season, I suppose, up to the finale. An alternate future.
Disclaimer:  Everything Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Warner Brothers.
Summary:  The Ascension has passed, but not the danger. Buffy and Giles face a dire threat from an unexpected quarter, and the choices they must make are heartrending.

( Part 1 )

Current Mood: contemplative

Title:  How to Make Friends
Author:  Blair Provence
Prompt:  56. Wilson tries to make other male friends besides House
Rating:  PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s):  Wilson
Warnings:  None
Disclaimer:  All things House belong to NBC Universal, Bad Hat Harry, David Shore et al.
Summary:  The Incident of The Electrical Outlet has Wilson making changes, but it's not easy

( How to Make Friends )

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Dr. Who

Question: Do you think reading other people's opinions can retroactively affect your enjoyment of a TV show?

I've been resolutely NO SPOILER about House ever since I decided knowing about Foreman's S2 illness ahead of time made it less interesting for me. So I knew that prior knowledge could ruin an ep for me. But it seems like all the discussions after the show (at TWOP and on LJs) tend more toward emphasizing what people DON'T like about House. I don't want to be argued out of being happy with episodes.

My initial reaction to Ep. 4.4? Not enough Wilson, not enough Chase, Chase should be getting the deal that Foreman's getting (and Foreman's still an ass), but overall? Good Episode.

PLUSES

Goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway - very good job by Hugh Laurie. He has interesting chemistry with the new Fellows (best of all with Ridiculously Old Fraud, but I could see where his story possibilities would be less interesting - I do hope we see him at poker with House and Wilson at some point).

I did inadvertently get spoiled about which actors were hired on, and I think that is coloring my reactions somewhat. But if I were less into fandom, I could be having some good arguments about it.

Interesting case, with a good conceit. I think graverobbing is, like, a felony, though.

MINUSES

Too much Foreman, not enough Chase, enough with the HouseCam flirting already.

Current Mood: pleased

Belated post about the most recent episode of House (baseball this week).

PLUSES

Very effective (and affecting) patient of the week. Good service dog subplot - they are very remarkable, I read a blog about someone with a service dog and they're just amazing. I did the usual human thing where you worry about the dog when human lives are in danger. This was very cynically illustrated in the movie Independence Day. But the main human patient was good.

Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard - awesome as always. "I love you." Sincere or not, very nice.

Chase's scenes were fun.

MINUSES

Suicidal Clinic Patient - not interesting, or maybe well-developed? I guess it was his effect on House I didn't buy, because as many people have pointed out, the brink of Death's Door should be very familiar to House by now.

So, if they were trying to make a case for House committing suicide (or at least being suicidal), they could have done that, but they didn't seem to be. Which made his "knife in light socket" unprofessional and pointless.

Not sure why "13" was the only one getting static for the miss - looks like Kumar and the boys could also take some responsibility. But honestly, the thing that got to me was - the guy couldn't use his hands, right? So what was with just setting the water down, anyway? Was he going to levitate it to his mouth? And how would he even lift the pills?

Heard some arguments that service dogs also would not eat pills off of the floor, which I do believe, they're so extensively trained. But I don't buy the guy killing his dog, either. He didn't seem like the type to think death was better than unhandicapped life, for dogs or people - he only gave up when the life became worse than death. So I don't see him as complicit, which makes the whole scenario implausible.

Thought Foreman's plot was lame - what I saw of it, I fastforwarded him. If this takes him down a peg I might get back to liking him, but his humorless superiority over House has gotten REALLY old.

Current Mood: blah

One of my entires for WilsonFest 2007 - because there can never be enough Wilson.

Title:  Nine Side Effects Wilson Hasn't Got (and one he does)
Author:  Blair Provence
Prompt:  43. Anti-depressants often have a negative effect on the sex drive. How does Wilson deal with this? Does he mourn the loss of his libido? Does he celebrate it?
Rating:  PG
Character(s)/Pairing(s):  Wilson, House
Warnings:  None
Disclaimer:  All things House belong to NBC Universal, Bad Hat Harry, David Shore et al.
Summary:  The title says it all, really

( Nine Side Effects Wilson Hasn't Got (and one he does) )

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: Earth
Current Music: college football

In 1m 55s

Click here to Play

The best use for the childhood song - Fifty Nifty United States! Finally broke the two minute barrier. How long does it take you to name all fifty states?

Current Mood: accomplished

Soooo it begins - the duckling auditions. I've never been a fan of reality shows, and only watched Survivor when forced, but there's something a little more palatable about it when it's actors instead of real people. But then, the actors are enjoying their own version of survivor, so it's still a little bit uncomfortable. But Hugh Laurie is doing a bang-up job, as usual.

PLUSES

Liked Old Guy
Liked Kumar
Liked seeing Chase back, and it affecting House so much

MINUSES

Cuddy was too ineffective. Although I like seeing her, it would be better for her to just not have scenes as opposed to having repeated scenes where House cuts her off at the knees. It is getting very hard to take her seriously as The Boss.

Too little Wilson. Too much psychoanalyzing Wilson.
13 - too similar to Cameron - and oddly, Ali.
I didn't like bossy chick, either, which means I'm not voting for any girl ducklings, which makes me feel bad. So 13 can stay, but she has to crush on Wilson. Or appreciate Chase more than Cameron.

It seems to me like the producers are trying to come up with a show formula that gives Hugh Laurie more time off, in hopes of persuading him to sign on for more years. I'm all for that. But the new format seems to guarantee less Wilson, and I'm NOT for that!

I give it a B.

Current Mood: content

Sooo, House premiered last night. I've apparently gotten BlairSis addicted to Bones, but she doesn't seem that enamored of House. I thought this first episode would be a good introductory - first eps of the season usually are, to lure in the new viewers (although there can't be that many who haven't seen House before by this time, right?).

I liked it a lot. Wilson's always been my fave, and without the ducklings, Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Laurie got plenty of shared screentime. Unfortunately, I was somewhat spoiled for the details (summer is looooooong) - so I think I didn't find it as funny as I would have otherwise. Holding House's guitar hostage - priceless. TIVO-deleting in turn - totally in character. I'm looking forward to the new ducklings, although please don't let the women all be 'nice' and 'overly compassionate'. We don't need another Cameron.

Current Mood: chipper

Having grown up in Oklahoma during the 80's, I had been programmed with a large share of Miami hate, on behalf of OU. And then I stopped liking OU at all and I'd let it go, mostly, because for some reason no team I liked seem to play them after that. I believe this has something to do with the dissolution of the Big 8. (?) Anyway, I did have a bit of residual enjoyment when OU shellacked them by, like, 40 points earlier in the season. It boded well for A&M, I thought.

It didn't. REALLY.

I did get to meet some people from the OK A&M club, though, and there was only one obnoxious OU fan in the bar to rub our noses in it. Methinks Fran might not be long for head coach. I've never liked the way he came to us, treating his Alabama players so meanly, but that's coaches these days, it seems. (Billy Gillispie) Maybe it's time for Fran to go. I wonder how long he has left on his contract? And I wonder if we'd have to stomach a few bad years after?

Current Mood: depressed

The Good: Texas A&M won 54-14. Of course, it was over U of L Monroe, which I have not, technically, heard of, but the Ags got over 200 yards of passing yardage against them. Bodes well for Miami this Thursday night.

Also Good: Fun trip to STL. Got to go to the balloon glow in Forest Park Friday night with BF and kids. The Energizer bunny is HUUUUUUGE. Made me understand a little what Steve F. might have been thinking with his around-the-world jaunt. I wonder if they will find him. And if they don't, if somebody will have to wait 7 years to get all of his millions. (Should not learn law from soaps.)

The Bad: Cubs took the Cards for 3 out of 4 games. We're 6 or 7 back now, so there's pretty much no chance. We sat behind a row of Cubs fans and 2 rows behind two OU fans. Talk about seating issues.   But as always it was fun to go, and almost sold out. I read that last week there was a Marlins game where only 400 people showed up. OKC would do WAAAY better than that.

The Unspeakably Awful: I was prepared for James Gandolfini to win the Emmy. Wasn't happy about it - I find his show boring and am completely over the Mobsters as Heroes thing (thanks, General Hospital). I also feel sometimes like Hollywood likes to reward actors for finding success when they look like normal people, like that somehow makes them better actors. (If someone thin and handsome acted JUST AS WELL as Gandolfini in that role, would they have been as acclaimed? Discuss)

BlairSis likes Gandolfini though, and she's a good judge without my biases. So I was sort of resigned. But then...

JAMES FREAKIN' SPADER?????    SERIOUSLY???!?!?!?!?!?

Hugh Laurie was robbed.

Thank god the new season starts in 10 days.

Current Mood: confused

Clearly I have posting issues - but I definitely think of posts all the time, and apparently just have difficulty actually writing them down. Will work on that.

The Aggies won over Fresno State Saturday, giving me quite a nice heart attack in the process. They were ahead 19-0 at halftime, but apparently felt that wasn't interesting enough, so they put off the win until triple overtime.  BlairMom had to watch it and report to me in the back bedroom, where I had the radio turned up to loud static. Because if I had watched, you see, then they would have lost. My power is vast.

The Cardinals are many games down now - they've been losing ever since the Rick Ankiel HGH news broke. I don't know what to think about that - on the one hand, ENOUGH already, people. Just eat your spinach, okay? Stop with the popping and injecting, etc, etc.   On the other had, at least with Rick, the time frame involved is when HGH was NOT BANNED by MLB.  You could, and I would, argue that it should have been, that they were incredibly hidebound and slow about performance-enhancing drugs, but that's THEIR fault. They should go after people taking banned substances NOW, but stop grandfathering justice to hide their own faults.

And I hope that Congress stays out of it this time - why don't they try, I don't know, governing the country or something instead.

Anyway, it seems to have taken the wind out of the Cardinals. Am traveling to STL to watch them against the Cubbies this Saturday. If winning out becomes mathematically impossible, I'm rooting for the Brewers.

Current Mood: confused
Current Location: green chair
Current Music: wanda jackson

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blairprovence

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The City Watch

His face said, "It's been a long day and now there's you..."

Recent Entries

House Ep 4.9 and Bones Christmas Ep

This 'n' That

Aggie News

House Ep 4.8 (and Bones, and Torchwood)

House Ep 4.7 (and also Bones)

House Ep 4.6

House Ep 4.5

FIC Alternity (3/3) (BUFFY)

FIC Alternity (2/3) (BUFFY)

FIC Alternity (1/3) (BUFFY)

FIC How to Make Friends (HOUSE)

House Ep 4.4

House Ep 4.3

FIC Nine Side Effects Wilson Hasn't Got (and one he does) (HOUSE)

( Nine Side Effects Wilson Hasn't Got (and one he does) )

Geography Fun

House Ep 4.2

House Ep 4.1

Aack, Miami

The weekend

Okay, I'm not good at this yet.