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Feb. 25th, 2023 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Finally got around to watching the first episode of The Last of Us with frequent interruptions. It's not as scary as I thought it would be - mainly because they don't focus much on the infection or pandemic, and the story is told in the perspective of the people who don't know anything about it - and are trying to survive.
It's nothing we all haven't seen before - quite a few times, already. Sigh. Be nice if folks came up with something new, wouldn't it? Not that there's anything wrong with doing a popular trope again. I just wish they were a bit more innovative with it.
Should back up, shouldn't I? And explain what it is about for those hiding under a pop culture rock and haven't a clue. (Some people pay attention to politics, I pay attention to pop culture, less anxiety inducing not to mention less depressing.)
The set-up? A fungus infection zombifies most of the population, the survivors are rounded up into quarantine zones, that are strictly monitored with 24/7 martial law. Anyone who defies the zones or the laws is summarily hung or shot, and their bodies burned in a pit. Anyone infected by the virus? Summarily shot and burned. It's basically a dystopian society, since there's no cure and the infection is fungal and seeks to infect more people and take over.
They set it up rather well. The most frightening bit is actually the beginning - where a virologist explains that a fungus pandemic would destroy the human race - we'd lose that fight. Since fungus is a parasite that takes over the brain and zombifies the victim, keeping the rotting corpse alive. (Nice scientific explanation that took less than fifteen minutes.) Then we get the outbreak - which I saw coming a mile away, mainly because I've watched one too many of these things. There's a certain black humor about it - and we see it through the eyes of a character that I knew was clearly dead meat. (Again I know the trope.)
It does do a few things differently than others have done - 1) it doesn't do a flashback, instead it starts with the outbreak, then skips ahead 23 years. 2) It doesn't take us through the outbreak - we only get the first day of it. Unlike the Passage, The Walking Dead, The Stand, Station Eleven, etc - we don't go through the long pandemic phase. We just get a snippet of it. Enough to establish the lead point of view character (Joel portrayed by Pedro Pascale) motivation/trauma, and that's it. (I was relieved - I hate that part, and had been avoiding the series thinking it was going to drag me through the whole pandemic phase - but it doesn't. So if you were avoiding it for the same reason - no worries there. It is only the first twenty-thirty minutes of the first episode. 3) It has a governmental structure to it. It's not pure anarchy. There's actual quarantine zones, and military involvement. (It kind of reminds me of World War Z in that respect.)
There's less zombies than in the Walking Dead, 28 Days Later (which I couldn't watch - it's by far the scariest of the bunch), Shaun of the Dead, etc. There were really only about ten in the beginning, and we didn't really see them that close. They are more in line with 28 Days Later and World War Z's zombies than the Walking Dead's though. They run, crawl rapidly, and move lightening fast. Whomever came up with this - clearly preferred the monsters in I Am Legend, 28 Days Later, and World War Z.
Also the Passage (which is vampires not zombies). Disease monster series either go with zombies or vampires.
So far it's following the trope fairly closely. World weary, violent, and cynical man guides young (girl or boy) through dystopian world, fighting off monsters in their wake. (This trope is very popular in video games, also in books, and television series. Also, it didn't start in science fiction - it dates back to the Westerns. True Grit, quite a few Clint Eastwood and John Wayne films, and a few Western television series and books.) It's basically an older cynical man (sometimes but rarely a woman) and a kid traveling across the broad expanse of Americana, struggling to survive. And usually they are trying to reach some sort of paradise or specific destination - and when they finally reach it? It either doesn't exist, or it does and they are safe - depends on how nihilistic the writers are. (I've seen it done both ways.) They do it in the comic book world too - most of the Wolverine comics did this, multiple times.
And in most of the tropes - there's a female partner with the world weary man to begin with. (She never survives. If it's a world weary woman, the male or female partner never survives. It's not a romantic trope. So, I don't have high hopes for Anna Torva's character. The actress from Fringe has popped up in this - I rather like the actress, so was happy to see her. She has aged though, small wonder, Fringe was a long time ago.)
The critics are saying this is innovative and subversive? Either they've not watched that many dystopian series, or they forgot them? I mean, Station Eleven was more subversive and innovative - it's the only pandemic series I've seen that actually subverted much of the trope and went in the opposite direction. If you want to see a series that subverts this trope and does something completely different and is tightly written - watch Station Eleven (it's also on HBO, granted it doesn't have as much action and there are no zombies, but that's partly why it's so delightfully different.)
Also they are telling me that it is the best adaptation of a video game. Okay, don't get me wrong - the episode is good. And it is definitely better than say Tomb Raider. But I liked Arcane - Legend of Heroes better - and it was adapted from a video game that is far harder to adapt than this one is.
Granted, it's an animated film - but I thought it was more innovative and interesting.
It's a good episode, it held my interest, but the hype is a bit over-the-top. Silly marketing people. It's not that good. I'd not call something that you needed to see. Station Eleven was more haunting. I've seen this done before, multiple times, elsewhere, and just as well done, if not better. That said, I do like it better than the Walking Dead and World War Z. But that's not saying much.
I'll probably watch a few more episodes. Since I like the actors, and so far the characters they portray, and I don't find it scary. I found the Walking Dead scary at times, this, not so much.
2. Took myself off on an Artist Date. Decided to take a long walk, and ended up walking around Greenwood Cemetery again - for the first time since roughly 2021. I don't think I did it in 2022. The cemetery apparently closes around 4:30-5pm, so I got out of there by 3:30. It was about two and a half hours or 3.5 miles. Cold. Somewhere in the 30s with fleeting sunshine, and a blustery wind.
Lovely idea - Greenwood is among the few places in NYC where you can be blissfully alone outside with no people, cars, bikes, dogs, etc for long periods of time. It's just the birds, the trees, the grass, the graves, and the occasional jet plan flying over head. Blessed silence. My apartment is the only other place that can be that blessedly quiet.
Here's a picture of it...or what it looked like on a somewhat bleak mid-winter day, cool, but dry, with fleeting sunshine, along with fleeting blue sky hidden beneath waves of gray.
Afterwards, I began to dream of having a part time job teaching people how to read and write a comic book. They'd either pick one to analyze and write a paper on, or to use as a springing off point to write their own or a continuation of. It's a fantasy, but also an idea that had not occurred to me before. I'm beginning to wonder if I might try my hand at part time teaching after I retire? I like instructing folks at work. Showing them how to do something. Helping them. I also like having them instruct me. The learning process has always intrigued me. I don't know...it's probably not all that workable. I shared it with mother - who hrrrumphed.
Anyhow, on the way back from Greenwood, I saw a startling sight...
The first glimmer of Spring! And on a cold brisk mid-winter day to boot.
(I honestly have no idea where the expression "to boot" comes from.)
This brave little flower sprung up on a very cold day. A burst of yellow sunshine. It made me happy. It's the little things, you know?
3. Struggling with this new sensor (Freestyle Libre 3 - about $39 with insurance). It has my glucose levels all over the place. It's been at 251, 64, 124, 149, 94. [Before you ask? No, I don't have finger sticks to test it - and no, the stupid doctor wouldn't proscribe them and you can't get them over the counter.] I'm waiting for it to sort itself out. Which I think it finally has. Oh, well, seeing the endocrinologist on Tuesday, so we'll see what he has to say about it. With my luck, I'll have to make another appointment - another reason for getting FMLA approved. So I can take these appointments without having to use up vacation days, personal days, finagling sick time, and comp time - because stupid organization has gotten ridiculously rigid over doctor's appointments.
Oh, this was the discussion I had at the doctor's appointment regarding the sensor:
Me: I need more sensors, this is the last one and the pharmacy won't refill it unless you order more.
Physician's Assistant: Doctor G doesn't proscribe those.
Me: Since when? She proscribed the other ones.
Physician's Assistant: No she didn't.
Me: Yes, she did. I haven't been to any other doctor - so it's kind of impossible for me to have one otherwise.
Physician's Assistant: Oh right. There it is, sorry.
[I roll my eyes.]
Before you suggest like my idiotic co-workers that I get a new doctor, this is the best one I've had in twenty years. I've fired ten doctors. This one at least is trying to do something and taking me seriously. The other ten didn't. NYC has a lot of horrible doctors. My sister-in-law, a born and bred New Yorker - passionately agrees with me, she has the same problem. My brother not so much.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to go to church, and the artist way group after at 12:45. Church is from 11-12. I hate activities after church - I always have to figure out what to do with the forty-five minutes in between and how to get lunch. Also, I get stuck at church for almost the entire day.
But I'm trying to get out of this rut that I've been in for a while, and establish a healthy work/life balance. I did not have one the last few years and it wore on me.
It's nothing we all haven't seen before - quite a few times, already. Sigh. Be nice if folks came up with something new, wouldn't it? Not that there's anything wrong with doing a popular trope again. I just wish they were a bit more innovative with it.
Should back up, shouldn't I? And explain what it is about for those hiding under a pop culture rock and haven't a clue. (Some people pay attention to politics, I pay attention to pop culture, less anxiety inducing not to mention less depressing.)
The set-up? A fungus infection zombifies most of the population, the survivors are rounded up into quarantine zones, that are strictly monitored with 24/7 martial law. Anyone who defies the zones or the laws is summarily hung or shot, and their bodies burned in a pit. Anyone infected by the virus? Summarily shot and burned. It's basically a dystopian society, since there's no cure and the infection is fungal and seeks to infect more people and take over.
They set it up rather well. The most frightening bit is actually the beginning - where a virologist explains that a fungus pandemic would destroy the human race - we'd lose that fight. Since fungus is a parasite that takes over the brain and zombifies the victim, keeping the rotting corpse alive. (Nice scientific explanation that took less than fifteen minutes.) Then we get the outbreak - which I saw coming a mile away, mainly because I've watched one too many of these things. There's a certain black humor about it - and we see it through the eyes of a character that I knew was clearly dead meat. (Again I know the trope.)
It does do a few things differently than others have done - 1) it doesn't do a flashback, instead it starts with the outbreak, then skips ahead 23 years. 2) It doesn't take us through the outbreak - we only get the first day of it. Unlike the Passage, The Walking Dead, The Stand, Station Eleven, etc - we don't go through the long pandemic phase. We just get a snippet of it. Enough to establish the lead point of view character (Joel portrayed by Pedro Pascale) motivation/trauma, and that's it. (I was relieved - I hate that part, and had been avoiding the series thinking it was going to drag me through the whole pandemic phase - but it doesn't. So if you were avoiding it for the same reason - no worries there. It is only the first twenty-thirty minutes of the first episode. 3) It has a governmental structure to it. It's not pure anarchy. There's actual quarantine zones, and military involvement. (It kind of reminds me of World War Z in that respect.)
There's less zombies than in the Walking Dead, 28 Days Later (which I couldn't watch - it's by far the scariest of the bunch), Shaun of the Dead, etc. There were really only about ten in the beginning, and we didn't really see them that close. They are more in line with 28 Days Later and World War Z's zombies than the Walking Dead's though. They run, crawl rapidly, and move lightening fast. Whomever came up with this - clearly preferred the monsters in I Am Legend, 28 Days Later, and World War Z.
Also the Passage (which is vampires not zombies). Disease monster series either go with zombies or vampires.
So far it's following the trope fairly closely. World weary, violent, and cynical man guides young (girl or boy) through dystopian world, fighting off monsters in their wake. (This trope is very popular in video games, also in books, and television series. Also, it didn't start in science fiction - it dates back to the Westerns. True Grit, quite a few Clint Eastwood and John Wayne films, and a few Western television series and books.) It's basically an older cynical man (sometimes but rarely a woman) and a kid traveling across the broad expanse of Americana, struggling to survive. And usually they are trying to reach some sort of paradise or specific destination - and when they finally reach it? It either doesn't exist, or it does and they are safe - depends on how nihilistic the writers are. (I've seen it done both ways.) They do it in the comic book world too - most of the Wolverine comics did this, multiple times.
And in most of the tropes - there's a female partner with the world weary man to begin with. (She never survives. If it's a world weary woman, the male or female partner never survives. It's not a romantic trope. So, I don't have high hopes for Anna Torva's character. The actress from Fringe has popped up in this - I rather like the actress, so was happy to see her. She has aged though, small wonder, Fringe was a long time ago.)
The critics are saying this is innovative and subversive? Either they've not watched that many dystopian series, or they forgot them? I mean, Station Eleven was more subversive and innovative - it's the only pandemic series I've seen that actually subverted much of the trope and went in the opposite direction. If you want to see a series that subverts this trope and does something completely different and is tightly written - watch Station Eleven (it's also on HBO, granted it doesn't have as much action and there are no zombies, but that's partly why it's so delightfully different.)
Also they are telling me that it is the best adaptation of a video game. Okay, don't get me wrong - the episode is good. And it is definitely better than say Tomb Raider. But I liked Arcane - Legend of Heroes better - and it was adapted from a video game that is far harder to adapt than this one is.
Granted, it's an animated film - but I thought it was more innovative and interesting.
It's a good episode, it held my interest, but the hype is a bit over-the-top. Silly marketing people. It's not that good. I'd not call something that you needed to see. Station Eleven was more haunting. I've seen this done before, multiple times, elsewhere, and just as well done, if not better. That said, I do like it better than the Walking Dead and World War Z. But that's not saying much.
I'll probably watch a few more episodes. Since I like the actors, and so far the characters they portray, and I don't find it scary. I found the Walking Dead scary at times, this, not so much.
2. Took myself off on an Artist Date. Decided to take a long walk, and ended up walking around Greenwood Cemetery again - for the first time since roughly 2021. I don't think I did it in 2022. The cemetery apparently closes around 4:30-5pm, so I got out of there by 3:30. It was about two and a half hours or 3.5 miles. Cold. Somewhere in the 30s with fleeting sunshine, and a blustery wind.
Lovely idea - Greenwood is among the few places in NYC where you can be blissfully alone outside with no people, cars, bikes, dogs, etc for long periods of time. It's just the birds, the trees, the grass, the graves, and the occasional jet plan flying over head. Blessed silence. My apartment is the only other place that can be that blessedly quiet.
Here's a picture of it...or what it looked like on a somewhat bleak mid-winter day, cool, but dry, with fleeting sunshine, along with fleeting blue sky hidden beneath waves of gray.
Afterwards, I began to dream of having a part time job teaching people how to read and write a comic book. They'd either pick one to analyze and write a paper on, or to use as a springing off point to write their own or a continuation of. It's a fantasy, but also an idea that had not occurred to me before. I'm beginning to wonder if I might try my hand at part time teaching after I retire? I like instructing folks at work. Showing them how to do something. Helping them. I also like having them instruct me. The learning process has always intrigued me. I don't know...it's probably not all that workable. I shared it with mother - who hrrrumphed.
Anyhow, on the way back from Greenwood, I saw a startling sight...
The first glimmer of Spring! And on a cold brisk mid-winter day to boot.
(I honestly have no idea where the expression "to boot" comes from.)
This brave little flower sprung up on a very cold day. A burst of yellow sunshine. It made me happy. It's the little things, you know?
3. Struggling with this new sensor (Freestyle Libre 3 - about $39 with insurance). It has my glucose levels all over the place. It's been at 251, 64, 124, 149, 94. [Before you ask? No, I don't have finger sticks to test it - and no, the stupid doctor wouldn't proscribe them and you can't get them over the counter.] I'm waiting for it to sort itself out. Which I think it finally has. Oh, well, seeing the endocrinologist on Tuesday, so we'll see what he has to say about it. With my luck, I'll have to make another appointment - another reason for getting FMLA approved. So I can take these appointments without having to use up vacation days, personal days, finagling sick time, and comp time - because stupid organization has gotten ridiculously rigid over doctor's appointments.
Oh, this was the discussion I had at the doctor's appointment regarding the sensor:
Me: I need more sensors, this is the last one and the pharmacy won't refill it unless you order more.
Physician's Assistant: Doctor G doesn't proscribe those.
Me: Since when? She proscribed the other ones.
Physician's Assistant: No she didn't.
Me: Yes, she did. I haven't been to any other doctor - so it's kind of impossible for me to have one otherwise.
Physician's Assistant: Oh right. There it is, sorry.
[I roll my eyes.]
Before you suggest like my idiotic co-workers that I get a new doctor, this is the best one I've had in twenty years. I've fired ten doctors. This one at least is trying to do something and taking me seriously. The other ten didn't. NYC has a lot of horrible doctors. My sister-in-law, a born and bred New Yorker - passionately agrees with me, she has the same problem. My brother not so much.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to go to church, and the artist way group after at 12:45. Church is from 11-12. I hate activities after church - I always have to figure out what to do with the forty-five minutes in between and how to get lunch. Also, I get stuck at church for almost the entire day.
But I'm trying to get out of this rut that I've been in for a while, and establish a healthy work/life balance. I did not have one the last few years and it wore on me.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-26 02:28 pm (UTC)I'm not gonna watch TLOU (not my thing), but Station Eleven is kinda tempting. I really liked the book, which makes me a bit leery of a show adaptation. (At this rate I'm probably never going to subscribe to HBO - there's never enough things that make me say "Yes, I MUST try this out for a month.")
no subject
Date: 2023-02-26 02:32 pm (UTC)TLOU is okay, but I think over-hyped. I can tell it was originally a video game (and I don't play video games). It's not scary though.
And thank you.