Let's party again!

[wiseheart]

Well, folks, it's *that* time of the year again: I'll be 53 next Friday. So, it's time for the annual game of "let's the threads collapse". Come in, make yourselves comfortable, have a good time and bring your friends. Last years we had some 400+ comments, now we're in for the new record. ;)

This entry will be bounced up each day until October 9, so that all those who want can participate.

Update: On October 4, we had 195 comments on 2 pages. Well done. We still have got 5 more days, so let's see what we can do in that time. I have to say, the conversations in the individual threads were absolutely delightful. *is happy*

Update #2: On October 6, we had 270 comments - sadly, still on only 2 pages. Only 3 more day left to reach the ultimate goal, which would be 444 comments on 4 pages. But the discussions are great, so at the very least, we have the quality, if not the quantity yet. And that's more important, I'd say.

Update #3: On October 8, we had 388 comments, on 3 pages! Yay! I'm not very optimistic about Page 4, but I think the 444 comments might come together by the end of the day itself.

Pre-birthday gifts:
Got a wonderful bakery book from Mum, titled "Muffins and..." well, I seriously doubt that the English language has a word for the rest. Germans might know what Pogatschen are. They are small, salty or cheesy cookies, made usually of yeast dough... a Hungarian speciality. We already have quite a few recepies, but there are some in that book I never heard of. It will be a delight to try them out.

Also, I got the box-set of 2nd Season Torchwood from the most generous the_wild_iris! Thanks, my friend, you really, really made my day after two rather stressful weeks. I can finally watch the only episode I missed while we were in Belgium - the one in which Owen becomes a zombie. Heh!

Pre-birthday preparations:
I baked some strawberry flavoured muffins tonigh - not from the new book, from the carton box, I'm afraid, but for the colleagues they will do tomorrow.

Mum's bravely going down to the hairdresser's tomorrow, because, as she told me, "I can't look like this on your birthday!" Well, after not seeing a hairdresser for months, there's some truth in it.

The day after tomorrow, we're going to the "Blind Crow" for lunch. Unlike in English-speaking countries, lunch is actually the main meal of the day over here, so it will be great. The "Blind Crow" is a very nice little restaurant, and we can reach it on foot, which is the main issue, as Mum can't climb into any busses yet.


Final update:
Well, folks, the party will still be going on until midnight, CET, but I'm already declaring it a great success. We've made it onto Page 4, we've broken through the 500 (!!!)-comment-barrier, and I'm very happy.

Thanks everyone for participating, especially altariel, rcfinch, solanpolarn, the_wild_iris, theromangeneral and lhun_dweller, who've been working diligently and tirelessly to help me break the record. Should I've forgotten anyone, I humbly apologize.

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I am curious to see how many level one comments you need to start a new page... Being an experimental scientist I feel this needs testing, hence the new level one comment.

I use my Hawkes icon for this post to signify geekiness. :-)

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Yes! \o/ I got the first comment on the second page! *dances with joy*

By my count that means you need 26 level one comments to tip the comments over onto a new page, i.e. 25 level one comments per page.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So, you're into "Without A Trace", too? Mum would love you.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Danny Taylor does the vulnerable tough guy so well; how could I possibly resist? I haven't seen past the first four seasons, though, partly because I lost track of when it was broadcast on television here -- if it even was -- and partly because the Danny/Elena story line got on my nerves. There may be a trend here: while I don't mind romance, I don't like it taking over my case driven shows!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I do find office romances boring. Like you, I watch these shows for the cases, not for the characters pining after each other.

I especially hated the Sam/anyone subplots. First she ruins the marriage of her boss, then she seduces that moon-faced guy, whatshisname, Martin? All the time being a really unlikeable bitch. Sorry, but the woman makes me really edgy.

I haven't followed the show religiously, either, but Mum can't be parted from the telly when it's on. She's really into Anthony LaPaglia's character.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I was never a big fan of Sam either. She was too self-pitying and manipulating for my liking. I did like Vivian though; take-charge, competent women should be shown more often in series like these!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I *loved* Vivian! Not only was she a competent woman job-wise, she even maanged *not* to screw up her family, either. I was so angry when she had to give up her brand new leading position, just so that LaPaglia could return!

I think that was the episode that made me stop watching the show regularly.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Yes, I never could warm to Jack after that. He was such a right-bastard! and Vivian would have been a much better leader of that team. When they brought in Anna(?) as a new love interest for him I just simply couldn't have cared less.

It is nice to see some characters on television series not screwing up their family life, isn't it? It is one of the many things I love about DS9 -- the on-going ordinary home life of the O'Briens and how they deal with having children and careers and still stay together.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I also liked Sisko and his son, even though the writers didn't always know what to do with Jake. At least they didn't turn him into an annoying brat genius a la Wesley Crusher.

Must leave you for today, alas! Tomorrow I'll start early and finish late, and the whole week promises to go on that way. *sighs*

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Yes, the interactions between the Siskos is also very nice and feels real. I liked how Jake actually grew up in the series and developed into something beyond a boy; Nog even more so! I did recently watch the episode where Jake and Nog share quarters for the first time and I thought that was well done: just because you are good friends doesn't mean you are going to be good flat mates.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Very true. Especially if their customs are very different.

I liked Nog a lot, too. That he set a goal, worked hard to reach it, was shocked out of his mind to realize what reaching his goal has bought him and managing to get through his crisis... although the holographic element was a bit silly, but still.

And I liked it a lot that Jake never wanted to go to Starfleet, and that Sisko never forced him (or tried to force him) to follow his footsteps.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

It was really good to see somebody not wanting to join Starfleet and to have Sisko be OK with that and letting his son make his own choices. I really didn't like the whole Wesley going to the Academy and then finding something 'better' story line on TNG. Jake's story makes so much more sense and there must be lots of people in the federation that don't join Starfleet!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Wesley Crusher was the most miserable Marty Stu of the history of Star Trek. Did you know that Bob Justman originally wanted a girl, because everybody and their dog had male kids in their shows? But Roddenberry wanted Wes to be the boy he couldn't be - it's not surprising that the kid has his middle name - and put his foot down to have the boy genius.

I so hated when Wesley saved the day despite dozens of science labs with trained scientists not being able to do so, and ended up to fly the ship - Starfleet's frigging flagship!!! - too!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

By all means! Important questions like this need a lot of experimental testing!

More power to geeks! *points at icon*

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Perhaps a few posts of theoretical predictions wouldn't go amiss either!

I haven't seen more than the first season of Atlantis -- issues with not finding it broad-cast on terrestrial television -- but I have read some fan fiction which lead me to believe this is an appropriate MacKay-related icon. I didn't really like MacKay on SG-1 but I did warm to him in Atlantis. Maybe I should look into getting my hands on that show -- once I have finished watching DS9. I am about half-way through series five. When I have posted this I am going to re-watch the last episode I saw last night "Doctor Bashir, I presume?". Having not been able to avoid spoilers I knew that was coming but it was still rather devastatingly well done and I think it is worth an instant repeat.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

DS9 is clearly made of the win - although they could never for a moment sell me the Kira/Odo romance. In my eyes it just didn't work. They had a great friendship, but zero chemistry. And after "Children of Time", I just couldn't believe that Kira would get over it so easily. It was completely OOC for her... even though she was the most inconsequently written character of the show. And I found Nana Visitor a bit too... well, her acting style didn't seem natural to me, most of the time. But it's perhaps only me.

Atlantis, hmmm... while I loved SG-1, I had a hard time to get into Atlantis, at first. I really hate Sheppard and Dr. Weir(d), and since they are the lead characters, it makes kinda hard to become a fan. But then I met the awesomeness that is Dr. Zelenka, and Kavanagh is the underdog everyone hates but I love because he says all the things to Sheppard and Weir(d) that I'd like to say, so I became a devoted fan. I like Dr. Beckett and a few recurring characters from the first season, too, and stick to them when I write SGA fanfic.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I fell in love with Dr Zelenka in the episodes with the letters home when he described how the city rose from the water. It was so beautifully done and he showed such geekish pleasure in describing it. The way he lies about what he has said at the end is a nice touch as well and I like the poke at English speaking people for not knowing any other language! The fact that I don't understand a word he says in that scene doesn't really matter -- I love that he felt this was the message he wanted to send home.

I do rather like Major Kira, as a character though she annoys me at times, especially in her treatment of (my beloved) Dr. Bashir. There is a fair bit of recognition of trouble with tempers for me, though, and I enjoyed seeing someone struggle with that and get better at it. I would love to be as competent and self-assured as Jadzia Dax, but I know I am far more like Major Kira or even Dr. Bashir, though not so brilliant or athletic...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Zelenka is the best of Atlantis, really! Not only because he's the first ever Middle European character in a sci-fi show (all not-western characters we had before him were Russians), but because of his wonderfully quirky personality.

SGA spoilers below, so you might want to stop reading here!

After the idiots killed off Carson Beckett, for a while I was genuinely worried about Zelenka's survival. Some PTB seem to think that good drama=killing off the character people actually like. *looks pointedly in the direction of Torchwood* Fortunately, the SGA powers seemed to realize that happy fans=bigger bucks and not only did they leave Zelenka alive, they also brought back Carson... well, sort of.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

It is nice to see non-American characters on sci-fi shows at all, but I do take your point about Middle Europeans being especially under-represented. I would like to see a Scandinavian sci-fi character, but I suppose we will just have to make do with our actual astronaut Christer Fugelsang for the time being. At least he is a proper geek! :-)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

If you consider it, no other show has even come close to the original Star Trek's multinational command staff: an American captain, an alien first officer, a Scottish chief engineer, a Japanese chief pilot, an African communications officer, a Russian chief navigator - the only other American senior officer was good old Bones!

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

The Star Trek shows do tend to do fairly well with their (supposed) multinationality. TNG had a French captain, an American first-officer, an android for a science officer, an alien for a security chief (both Tasha Yar and Worf) and I think LaForge is supposed to be from the African continent and Crusher didn't grow up on Earth. In DS9 only Sisko is supposedly American; on Voyager both Janeway and Paris are Americans I think, which isn't too bad I suppose. Of course in reality the vast majority of the actors are very much American in all of these series...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, considering that the shows were *made* in the States, it's not really surprising, eh?

At least they shoot some of them in Canada, so they simply *have* to hire a certain percentage of Canadian actors. Otherwise we wouldn't have the most amazing Dr. McKay and the Awesome Dr. Zelenka (TM). That David Nykl was born in Prague was the fact that made Zelenka a Czech character to begin with - originally, TPTB wanted a Russian one.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

No, it isn't surprising that most of the actors are Americans but it is nice when they get some in that aren't as well. Canadians are good! in most cases at least. I have a feeling William Shatner is actually Canadian as well, even if my Canadian friends vehemently deny this.

I suppose it makes sense to have a lot of Russians in sci-fi shows; they were the first humans in space after all and are still heavily involved. There is also the fact that Russia is a much more populous country than most of the rest of Europe so just from a statistics perspective it is reasonable to have more of them. It gets annoying when Russians are the only non-English speaking people represented though. I also think it is high time for more Indian and Chinese people in sci-fi! And women. We need more diversity in general, is my point I suppose.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Agreed. But not "women" written like Janeway, pretty please?

When I first heard that Voyager would have a female captain, I was so happy! I was determined to love her, no matter what. Sadly, the inconsistent way she was written - plus Kate Mulgrew's wooden acting - made it impossible for me.

The same problem did I have with Dr. Elizabeth Weir from SGA. I loved the character to pieces in 7th Season SG-1, where she was strong-willed, competent and yet charming, played by the wonderful Jessica Steen. Then, at the beginning of Season 8, they gave the role to another actress - the one wo played her in SGA, too - and she promptly got hit by the Stupid Generator. Arrrrrgh!!!

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

I suppose I should be more specific: while we need more diversity this should not take the form of stupidity! Voyager having a female captain was something that excited me as well, but the execution of it was not good. I hated the ending of that series, with Janeway sneaking around trying to change the past but I suppose that was just another inconsistency in a long row of inconsistencies they forced her through. There was such great promise in her character as well: it warmed my heart so very much when Janeway commented that as a child she could not understand why anyone would want to poke around in the dirt (gardening with her parents) when they could be inside studying quantum mechanics. I suppose it resonated especially well with me because I was studying quantum mechanics myself around that time, but it was great to see a female character be a dedicated scientist from an early age and grow up to be successful.

I haven't seen a lot of SG-1, Swedish television was/is not very good at broadcasting sci-fi, so I can't comment on the different actresses playing Weir. I liked the idea of having a civilian in charge of the Atlantis expedition, but I couldn't say if I like Weir or not. She hasn't actually made much of an impression on me at all in what I have seen of Atlantis (season one). That doesn't sound like a good thing, does it?