Have you heard the news today that Facebook may eventually own the word ‘face’ when it’s used online in chat rooms or forums? Wow. I’m wondering exactly what that means. Sounds like they will have some sway over how the word ‘face’ will be used. Yep, that’s exactly what that means. And I’m sure they will charge for its use in some instances. Are they crazy to push for this word? They are already intensely disliked by many, and now we can’t even use this word without them involved? They need a good ass chewing. Where’s Mike Masnick when I need him?
This begs for the invention of a word to replace ‘face’ or perhaps an emoticon. Something needs to thwart FB. Yep, we need another word for ‘face,’ or the emoticon might be even better. Then someone could trademark it and become mega rich. LOL!
I wonder if FB will get ‘book’ next.
Off to load up Paint app (yes, my graphics editor is crude).
In the meantime, perhaps we will meet ‘headfront’ to ‘headfront’ one day. Yeah, it’s lame, but it’s all I’ve got right now.
And ask myself what am I doing?! I’ve now written almost 300 posts and published over 170. And most of that is about someone I don’t know and never will. Yes, I feel like a fool sometimes, but what alleviates my conscience is that I’m having such a good time writing. Oh, I know this blog is more than half bullshit, but it’s kept my hand in the writing, and I really do spend time writing other things, which has me asking another question even more frequently: why, why, why was I not writing sooner? Some of the answer is in my diary entries, but I’m not going to tell you everything because I do have to protect the guilty, and, I’m afraid the other stuff would bore the socks off of you.
Or maybe that’s me projecting on you how I feel. I can get bored very quickly, and it’s shocking that I’m still with this blog. I figured this was going to be a one note song — this talking about Richard Armitage all the time, but I never knew something seemingly one-dimensional could be this much fun. NO! I don’t mean Richard Armitage. Apparently he’s not one-dimensional or he wouldn’t have attracted so many interesting fans. Did I just compliment myself as well as all of you? Yeah, I think I did. Whatever, this is fun and you all are fun, and I thank you for giving me so much pleasure. Oh, and thanks to RA too. :D
I need a picture badly.
I honestly don’t know where this picture came from, but it’s too good not to use. I realize it came from the Children in Need clips; just not sure who made it. Whatever, looking at that makes it clear why I keep blogging. Of course, it’s not just how he looks, but that doesn’t hurt. Phew, that stance definitely demands a cold bucket of water on our collective heads. And if People Magazine doesn’t get with it in the next year or two, I may never read that rag again.
Spoilers for Spooks Series 9 and maybe Spooks 2 and 3.
I’m mostly over my disappointment of Spooks Series 9, but I would not have had such high hopes if it weren’t for Richard Armitage. When I know he’s in a cast, his investment in characters raises the bar for me. This was certainly the case with this show the last few series. But earlier I had let my expectations of Spooks slide after the first couple of episodes of Series 3, aka the final resolution of Tom Quinn. A commenter on my last post describes the effect well:
what…I have seen of the last 9 seasons, shows me they REALLY struggle with character development. The personal story arc leave much to be desired. For those that love Spooks, the weak character story arcs are fine. They do JUST enough to support the action, and that is enough for them. For me… it leaves me unsettled.
It seems unsettled might be the point. That is indeed how I’ve felt through most of Spooks, and being unsettled addicted me to it. I was continually in search of something to satisfy. Yeah, I was totally manipulated by the producers of this show for awhile, but I was growing weary of it until Richard Armitage was announced as a cast member in Series 7.
With the advent of Lucas North, I was relieved and my expectations were raised again and then some, and by the end of Series 7, I had a lot of hope for a great story. Richard joining the cast appeared an opportunity for Spooks to go way beyond what they had done before since they now had someone who could really pull off conflicted characters in a way Matthew Macfadyen has never even come close to doing in any of his pieces. No offense to Matthew. I appreciate his acting, but he’s no Richard Armitage.
And now we all know it wasn’t meant to be. The show is what it is, and the character of Lucas North is a miss for Richard, which is in no way a slap to RA. He did what he could with what he had. I think many of us are agreed on that. I just hope he was taking notes — not just on the artistic aspects of this show but on the business end, and more specifically on the bullshit that goes on behind the scenes. How can I know that? Are people and money involved?
Richard,
I believe you took notes on the bullshit and that you’re still taking notes. It’s figuring out the bullshit that’s a big part of getting something done. But I’m sure I’m not telling you something you don’t already know, or maybe I’ve strayed into what Servetus calls “B” or maybe “A” in Armitage Epistemology. I stray so boldly because my bullshit detector is sensitive enough to realize when someone else has a bullshit detector. And well, actually, I have the track record to prove that, but that’s another story.
For now the beauty of someone like me writing this stuff is that you don’t have to say it. You don’t have to call bullshit yourself. Let your fans say it for you so that you can maintain good ties with some of those same people who were involved in the crap that was Spooks this series. I realize you can’t burn bridges, so let us rail against this for you. Hey, I’m a business person, so I know how important it is not to ever burn a bridge. It may be an escape route someday or a great road to somewhere else. It’s funny how some of the crappiest experiences can put us in touch with people who become great assets. I’m sure you’ve learned that lesson by now. Good!
All of that and the fact you’re not spending much of your money means to me that you will eventually have your own production, and as much as I love your acting, I can’t wait to see what you’ve got. If it’s about Richard III, that’s great. If not, that’s great too. I don’t really care.
In the meantime, I’m glad to see you’re going to be in the movies and now free of serialization. You are better suited to vehicles that have a beginning, a middle and an end. I can hardly wait!
Take care, and speaking for many other fans, please know that we’re all so proud of you,
One of your crazy fans (crazy like a fox)
A picture of Richard listening to obvious bullshit:
I cannot tell you how good it feels to write these fake fan letters. Yes, I’ve said that before, but it bears repeating. I get to relieve my angst and peddle my bullshit, and no one is hurt. At least I don’t think anyone is hurt — except maybe the writers of Spooks in this case.
Note to the writers: sorry guys, but this one really wasn’t a good a series, and I think you know that. But I’ll keep watching ’cause I’m still addicted.
And before I go, another picture of Richard listening to bullshit. I had to post this one because it’s so cute, and I love it when he has an amused look on his face:
If you haven’t seen the interview this is from, you can go here and here thanks to Heather.
Screencaps courtesy of my stash.
edit: I would have a tag called “bullshit,” but then I would be tagging most of this blog.
I’m not kidding when I say spoilers. Please take me at my word.
My thoughts as of Wednesday, 11/03:
With respect to Lucas North’s story, the plot of Series 9 has been completely predictable. Almost nothing has been surprising, and unless I’m stupid, that’s the crux of this story — the unexpected unraveling of the web of who he is. Each week I work myself up for a thrilling show, but sadly, I’ve been underwhelmed by the revelations about Lucas. Not one cell in my body was shocked by Lucas/John being a sort of bad guy, and I’m surprised at anyone who was not expecting this. I keep waiting for something really interesting, and yet if it comes, it’s not going to be a big surprise because I’m expecting it! And why is that? Because of the blasted spoilers. We already knew he wasn’t going to be who we thought he was. If that knowledge hadn’t been telegraphed, and then repetitively tapped out for us like a drumbeat by the BBC, I might be jumping at every new revelation and barely able to wait for the finale. As it is, I’m just waiting to see if the ending stops short of being lame. Wow. Is that what Spooks has come to?
Perhaps significant spoilers have always been a big part of Spooks. I don’t know because I watched the first seven series without reading or seeing any promotional coverage. Oh, some things were predictable, but then I cared enough about the characters that it didn’t bother me. But this series has been a lumbering elephant to get to the point already made — Lucas isn’t who he says he is. Yeah, yeah, now what?
Then added to all of that is minutiae that seem designed to do nothing more than make this story look complex, and yet much as I try to make it so, the information looks like simple plot devices to create tension that the surprise of Lucas not being Lucas would have done without all this mess. I can almost hear the writers in a room saying, “Perhaps we can construct this to confuse them?” And yet they confused themselves I think since the character development is all over the place with the plot going in several different directions and yet it really means nothing? Which would be great if the revealed truth were more interesting than what the scattered pieces possibly portend. For instance the whole thing about Blake. Where did that go? What does that mean? Was that supposed to go somewhere? Or was it just something they came up with on the fly and didn’t know how to really pursue? My gut says it was the latter. Yet the possibilities about Blake were so fascinating that I actually broke down and read the biography by Peter Ackroyd. If I had nothing else to do, then that might be fine, but I had to work that into the other 430 things I do on a given day. No, I had no gun to my head to do that, but in hindsight I could have been doing something else, and maybe next time I will be. It just seems the pistol hung on the wall by the writers, or in this case the painting, is going to mean very little or nothing and the big reveal doesn’t mean much either. But I hope I’m wrong and there really is something which the writers take down and use to blow me away.
And my gut feelings about the love interest were right. It was unnecessary — at least so far. It looks like more of the minutiae, and it’s pretty much boring and sometimes downright irritating. Maya has zero personality. She’s almost atonal when she speaks and certainly not inspiring of Lucas (yeah, he’s going to remain Lucas in my mind) doing a 180. Frankly, if she had been blown to hell last episode, then we might see some justification for Lucas going off the deep end. As it is, the more I see of her, the less inspiring she’s becoming. Apart from Lucas looking at his laptop and that first kiss, this relationship is becoming more nothing as it progresses, and damn! we didn’t even get the kitchen table scene. That was a spoiler I could have lived with!
So far, my secret desire has become Lucas really being a bad guy. I mean yank the mask off of him to expose something really ugly at the end. If he’s bad, then chuck the half-hearted attempts at the conflicted officer for someone who really is evil through and through and just boggles our mind. Say something smacking of Keyser Söze? That might actually be interesting and might be easier to pull off for the writers than a conflicted character, and unless the writers are under a rock somewhere, the use of Bateman as the last name was not random. Manchurian Candidate did flit through my mind and apparently crossed the minds of some others in cyberworld, but maybe we should be thinking American Psycho instead. Oh, it’s not believable with the development of Lucas’ character in the other two series and even with some of the episodes in this series? When did that start mattering again?
Further thoughts as of Monday morning, 11/08:
Oh shit! I’ve seen the rooftop spoiler. Stumbled onto it, and yes, I watched it. I was mad at myself when I realized what I was watching. But what difference does it make now? It’s exactly what I thought was going to happen. I cringed. The caged animal routine? Is that all the writers had? This is so obvious it’s pitiful. Well, that and maybe Lucas will fall backwards off the roof or shoot himself, and we won’t know if he’s really dead until next season ’cause Harry’s not going anywhere, my friends. I hope this clip is misleading! But as I watched, I thought that these people at the BBC really don’t want any surprises do they? Haven’t had any so far. I so hope I’m wrong. If I’m not, then what the heck are these spoilers about? I really don’t get why they would sabotage their own show.
Question for the writers: if the character development has to be somewhat obliterated each series, can we at least have a thrilling plot? Maybe you need to shoot the people in the PR department.
Post script: I was not going to post this out of fear of offending some fans, but the spoiler pushed me over the edge. I’ve been so good about staying away from spoilers, but I watched that one, and I’m mad as hell at myself. It severely eroded my hopes of a great twist. I was so hoping to get on this ride or at least get doped up somehow to enjoy it.
I’m still a rabid Richard Armitage fan, but this shows sucks, my friends. Of course that’s my not so humble opinion. :D But give me a chance to redeem myself with a piece on why I don’t think this show worked for RA. LOL!
And I’m serious when I say I want to be wrong. I would be happy to fall over in a faint at a killer ending.
It’s occurred to me that my thrill factor has been pretty low with regard to Spooks Series 9. Lately my attention has been diverted by other things in my life. Maybe that’s an excuse for why I’m just not as into Series 9 as I was all the other series of Spooks. I’m not sure. But in fairness to Richard Armitage and to the other wonderful cast members of Spooks, I’m going to watch Episodes 1-7 again before next Monday’s finale. Then perhaps I will be infected with what many of you are infected with — enthralling anticipation of Episode 8. And I so want to be infected with that. I really do want to be on the ride.
In the meantime, I hope some of you can bear with me and my less than gushy response to Lucas North. I will say this, I’m not alone in what I’m thinking amongst the fandom. Several fans have told me privately they’re not that into Lucas and would rather see him in stills than animated. Wow. I’m not quite that down on him, but it made me feel less of a “traitor” to hear that. LOL!
But I have to agree with them that he looks mighty fine in stills, and I noticed that Servetus and I made some of the same screencaps. At the risk of merely objectifying Richard Armitage, I could not pass up the chance to capture that jawline. Phew!
I mean c’mon that should elicit a response from most women. Notice I didn’t say “all.” I realize there are a few women who would not find him attractive. They have to be in the minority, and they might be dead. LOL!
I wonder how many women would not be moved by this coming at them:
I finally posted my diary entry on ‘Between the Sheets’ (BTS) and granted, it was mostly a rant. I have many more thoughts about a lot of things including more on BTS. Heck, I have so many thoughts about so many things I probably couldn’t help but start a blog. I just wish I had the guts to publish more, and thankfully, all of my thoughts are not of Richard Armitage. Fascinating as he is, that would be dull indeed. But I must admit that I went through a period in my viewing of RA’s acting where I wondered more about him as a person and what motivated him. I am a human being who is intensely curious about many things not the least of which are people, so I couldn’t help but go there, and I still go there from time to time. Some of my diary entries tend to explore that a little more than others, and those entries are probably too candid for publication. I will attempt to edit them so they’re respectful but not so respectful they’re boring.
However I edit them, I do not want to lose my honest voice, but I would be lying if I said it’s not a temptation to do just that out of fear my thoughts might generate ill will. This is probably based on the experience that people do not like you if you disagree with them or say something even a little bit critical. I, on the other hand, almost love it when people disagree with me or criticize. It can make things very interesting, and it’s certainly when I learn the most. Perhaps this is a pitfall of being reared in a very antagonistic household where I could never make a statement without being compelled to defend it. The usual reaction to a declaration was, “I understand you think that, but why?” It was always why and a tendency to try to poke holes in what I was saying, so now I’m cursed to continue asking questions, but hopefully I don’t descend into ad hominem. Whatever the case, when someone questions my stance or flat out disagrees, I feel more at home. LOL!
And I have long since realized Richard Armitage was not conditioned to be a fighter as I’ve been. He’s more of a “lover,” or at least gives that appearance, and many of his fans appear to be like him, which puts me at odds with quite a few of them, and yep, I knew that when I started the blog. Apparently, I wasn’t daunted, and even though I tend toward antagonistic and snarky, I hope I have some courtesy.
I need a picture after that long-winded preface to coming entries:
If you want to see this picture in all its glory, click on it, and then zoom in. I feel like a little more objectification than usual. Maybe reviewing BTS brought that on. I encourage you to zoom in on this picture just to look at his mouth. I’ve made a big deal out of his jawline, but I’m not sure I could really tell you what I think of his mouth. Not ready to be quite that candid. LOL!
Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com, and I can’t thank them enough for doing all that they do.
See Diary Part 21 here, or to access all entries, hit “The Diary” tab above.
[note: if you are easily offended, don’t read this piece]
Entry — Yet Still Fall, 2008
I finally started watching ‘Between the Sheets’ last night.
A couple of days later:
Part of me wants to finish this show and the other part wants to delete the files.
A little while later:
I really didn’t need to subject myself to that. What in God’s name was I thinking? I’m really naive or stupid. Did I think this was going to be just some analysis of sex with all the suggestive comments I’ve read about it? Man, I am dumb. No, I’m not dumb; I just really like watching Richard Armitage, and that rendered me temporarily stupid.
And the manipulation of Richard Armitage’s parts was literally in my face! One minute I’m looking at this:
and hearing his character, Paul say, “Do you want to go somewhere and talk?” The next thing…WTF?!! Uh, no, no, that’s not what I mean. I know what it is. That’s exactly what it looks like. Richard Armitage should get a f*cking award for that — literally. ROFLOL!!!
Then later he and Alona, his partner, are at it again, and if there can be an award for sexual groaning, Richard should get it. Meg Ryan’s got nothing on him. Oh, the vocal range. Ohmygosh! he’s good at this too! I think I’m traumatized. LOL! Me, who has always loved earthy humor and who has adored SO sexually and otherwise and thoroughly enjoyed making children with him and all the the other times we didn’t make any children, is feeling a little violated. I don’t know whether to laugh or scowl. But I am mad at myself for overruling my gut. My infernal curiosity got the best of me. I just had to watch one more thing with Richard Armitage, and it turned out to be what felt very much like gratuitous sex and definitely too much information. It would be about anyone!
How did I get here from John Thornton?
Later:
Maybe I’m just being a prude. But I haven’t ever been a prude. That’s just not me. Plus, I’ve seen nudity in movies many times, and it didn’t freak me out. No, I was desensitized to nudity long ago, which I’m not sure is good. But it’s hardly surprising since I saw both of my parents naked on several occasions when I was growing up, and I never thought much of it. But then, they didn’t appear to be having sex. LOL! ‘Between the Sheets’ was pretty graphic sex short of seeing genitalia, which is the only thing that keeps it from being porn.
Then there was the plain talking about sex, but that couldn’t have bothered me. ___________ [my sibling] and I grew up in a household where almost nothing was off-limits for discussion. My parents did stop short of talking about their intimate relationship, but that’s it. Talk of sex in general? Ohmygosh, I heard lots of talk about that. I get tickled when people mention their parents giving them “the talk.” The talk?! LOL! I got countless talks, and they were honest with a vengeance. In fact, there was such an honesty to my parents that it bordered on inappropriate at times. I’m sure that I, in turn, didn’t display the kind of decorum most others are accustom to; it’s hard to know when you grow up with such free talk.
I remember the first time I could hear my parents as other people must have heard them. SO came to dinner, and afterward we were sitting around the table talking. Dad and SO were talking and Mom was telling me about some article she’d read. If I’ve heard her begin with, “I was reading an article the other day,” I’ve heard her begin with it a thousand times. Most of the time it’s really interesting since her reading material covers such a variety of topics. This particular evening she launched into a clinical discussion. She’s always made a steady diet of JAMA, NEJM, a few other clinical periodicals, and of course the PDR. I think I was 15 before I realized people didn’t normally possess a PDR, and this was long before they were easily available to the general public. But Mom was always driven to find out about anything that went into our mouths, so she was never without it. That evening she began to hit me with her latest discovery. It was something about f*latio facilitating infections. It took me a few moments to snap to on the word, and then I didn’t move and wasn’t sure where to look. SO and I were pure as the driven snow at this point, so I was mortified by her free way with words and her pursuit of er, knowledge.
Now that I’m reading what I’ve just written, Mom seems buffoonish. I wish I knew how to really capture her and Dad. It’s so frustrating to want to say something, and it just comes out all wrong. SO has begged me to write a book about them. He thinks they’re too fantastic not to be captured on the page. I don’t think I can do it. Just don’t have what it takes.
Thankfully, SO wasn’t listening to Mom that evening, but really, even if he had been, he would have had a great comeback. He’s nothing if not great at comebacks. Still amazes me. Why I want to underestimate him I don’t know. Plus, he’s always admired my parents’ honesty. He would have simply laughed and praised them in his mind for their frankness. Hell, it would have been a relief since his parents were the type that make you wonder how they ever had kids. I guess I was his Gaylord Focker and he was my Pam. No, no, Mom wasn’t Rozalin Focker, she’s always been Auntie Mame and I’m Patrick. Except for my dad, that story could have been mine. To this day when someone asks me what Mom’s like, I ask if they’ve seen Rosalind Russell in Mame.
I don’t know whether to be thankful for her, or…Oh hell, yes, I’m thankful, and whom would I trade her for?
The next day:
Now I’m hacked at the producers of this piece. I hate being manipulated when it’s not fun. I can’t even talk about this to anyone because I would have to explain too much or lie, and I refuse to lie, so I’m not talking. All those other times I felt dumb watching something more than once?! That was so benign. I guess I could say something to SO, and he would listen, but eventually there would be another comical name for Richard Armitage. And I can’t get on the Army board. I’m pretty sure of the reception my reaction would get. It would be dismissed as the reaction of someone who just isn’t intellectual enough to look beyond the sex scenes to the larger context albeit they would do it subtly so as not to put down the provincial rube, and they would be so right. I am provincial and a rube.
But is this just about intellect or a bourgeois mentality? No, I’m a human being who is profoundly moved by sex, and that’s healthy, and it’s not all driven by my intellect or conventional mores although that’s part of it. Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be profoundly moved by sex? I’m sure I would rue the day I wasn’t moved by it or the day I could sit and watch something as graphic as ‘Between the Sheets’ and view it only clinically or merely use it to get off on. Hehehe look at Richard Armitage’s “peaches.” Oh brother. But then, some of the cute remarks about his peaches may be from people who are flabbergasted like me and trying to make sense of it.
I just really don’t want to watch people having sex and don’t need to watch them having sex to get turned on. But I could never say that on a forum because the minute someone says something like that hardly anyone believes them, or that’s how people seem to let on in a group. Everyone must be cool, and especially concerning sex. That’s how people come across, but get them talking in a private room, and it’s usually a different story. Anyway, I’m glad I had a visceral reaction. It was healthy, and I would worry about myself if I hadn’t.
Surely the people who put this show together knew it would have this reaction from some, or maybe they’re so desensitized they don’t know. I wonder. I hate sometimes that I wonder about so friggin’ many things. I do not need to spend time thinking about this. What’s funny is that I’ll bet the makers of this show would love to know they riled someone like me. Kay Mellor and company hit the jackpot with my reaction. Of course my curiosity demanded I had to find out about her. Shit. I hate that I do things like that because what difference does it make what I know about Kay Mellor? Useless, useless knowledge, and I’m overflowing with it! And now I’m a little weirded out by the fact her daughter played Georgia, WTF? And her little granddaughter played Fiona. Then her other daughter helped produce it. Just a family affair. Wonder if Richard Armitage is a cousin.
I don’t know what to think of him. I’m feeling a mixture of disappointment and pity. His sexual scenes were much more graphic than any of the others. Why were his parts so in our faces? Yeah, I know the answer. Talk about being objectified. Wonder what it was like being a fly on the wall during that filming. Wait! I was a fly on the wall. LOL!
Not sure I can watch him in anything else or certainly not before I forget what he looks like scr*wing. This may really be the thing that cures me of my fascination. At least I had the common sense to watch it on my computer. If I had been watching that on tv and my kids came into the room, I don’t know what I would have done. That right there tells me I shouldn’t have been watching this show. SO and I have always been so open with them. We talk about everything with them short of our intimate relationship, which is none of their business. But everything else is up for discussion. To sneak around and watch this show?! It sounds like something I’d rather not name.
A few days later:
I’m sure not Richard Armitage’s mother and sure as hell not old enough to be his mother, but I find myself thinking about her and continually trying to rationalize his part in this show. Good grief I am actually thinking about some actor’s mother! I read a few of his supposed comments about the show, and now I can’t help but wonder about her. Supposedly he didn’t know what he was getting into. LOL! Bullshit. I also read that his mother watched it. What?! How would I feel if I saw my son like that? (eyes crossed) Mrs. Armitage, wherever you are, I feel for you.
I need someone to slap me for caring about this.
Present day:
This was a tough entry to edit, and I have so many more thoughts about this show. But I’ve got to stop. More later.
I had a post ready to go about RA possibly being Namor in Captain America. But it seems after watching the recent footage of the filming of a gunfight in New York (aka Manchester), a man looking and running very much like RA appears to be a baddie, which means it can’t be Namor. I’m reasonably sure of this since reading up on the characters. Also, it doesn’t appear that he can be Namor if he’s just in a shootout (see clip below). I could be completely wrong about this, but after reading a few comic book sites, that’s what I understand.
However, it’s possible that RA is a Nazi henchman named Heinz Kruger. Deadgummit! That means he won’t be in the movie very long if he’s Kruger, and it also means I can’t go to town on the character. If I were more convinced he would play Namor, I would be prepared to go on and on about this character who comes from a fictitious race of people, is the first known comic book anti-hero and bi-polar to boot. Oh, great fodder for this blog! But it’s not to be. (I’m shaking my head as I write this. I hope RA knows he has some really rabid loyal fans out there who will even talk about comic book characters when they CAN’T STAND that stuff. Before now I’ve often imagined guys who were into comic books as the same ones who sat in rooms alone and did things to themselves that I can’t mention on this blog and still keep it “safe for work.”) Making light of a Nazi is not nearly so much fun. But if I had my clever hat on today, maybe I could have come up with a little ditty like “Springtime for Hitler” to describe Kruger. (Thoughts of an Argentine Tango dance in my head. Yeah, I know it doesn’t fit; I would have worked it in somehow.) But I’m not so clever today. Heck, I’m doing well to post this.
When the action starts, check out the man in the light gray suit who runs and jumps into car on the far right of the screen:
If you’re wondering if this is RA, then check out this screencap posted by kadamanja on yesterday’s blog piece:
For those who are new to Spooks (MI-5) in America or if you have been living under a rock somewhere in the UK, the BBC has finally told us it is going to air in September (sometime the week of the 18th) as opposed to October or November as it has the last two years. I can barely wait. Not because Lucas North is my favorite character. He’s not, but I just love watching RA in action, and I usually love to read/hear his interviews.
The latest one on the BBC site is very interesting as it seems to say something by what it doesn’t say. When RA has been interviewed about an upcoming series, he oftentimes gives something away in how he talks about his character. This particular interview makes me think Lucas survives. There is absolutely no language implying he will be no more. If anything, there is language to the effect that he will survive as head of section D. The talk of him being under the microscope is mere plot summary. What’s interesting is when he speaks of Lucas’ bittersweet receipt of the job and of having to acquire Beth. There is everything in this language to suggest it will be difficult but nothing to suggest he will not succeed. Then there is the telling comment about Lucas’ past and new revelations taking him to the “very edge” but nothing in those comments to suggest he might go over it.
I have a confession. I’ve found myself wanting RA not to be quite so talkative about the characters and plots in these interviews and sometimes find myself wanting to say, “Richard, shut up. I love you, but shut up.” And of course I can’t help but think of him having talked in past interviews about spoilers being the bane of his existence, so then I want to ask: what are you doing? I realize these interviews are done in advance of the series wrapping, and with a show like Spooks, the actors can give something away without realizing it, so I’m not really down on RA.
Am I the only one who feels this way? Maybe I should read the Spooks Forum to find out what others think; however, for a while now I haven’t been inclined to read such places for fear the exposure will have a chance of making my voice stale. That is nothing against the forum. It is me. I’m weak and need to stay away so I can form my own conclusions, put my own spin on things. But sometimes I need a little confirmation of what I’m thinking. Hence this post. And certainly it’s fine to disagree with me.
Honestly, I hope that once again RA’s character has a fantastic death or end where we are still talking about it years later ala Tom Quinn. So I would love to be wrong in what I’m thinking about his survival. Unfortunately, I’m almost never surprised by endings and don’t need any help understanding what’s coming. I hate that about myself, and I probably am being a little harsh on RA in resignation that once again the end will be a foregone conclusion. But oh, how great if Richard really has thrown us a red herring.
For the regular readers of this blog:
I’m struggling with my diary entry on BTS. That entry is very personal, and no, it’s not what you may be thinking. I write about my family a lot in my journal entries, but it’s one thing for me to write about them and obviously another to publish. I want to leave in enough that it has some energy but don’t want to compromise anyone, and again, it’s not what you may be thinking. Hope you understand and will bear with me, and I hope the wait is worth it.
Screencap courtesy of the BBC website. That’s not exactly a capture, but it does appear to be RA in character for Lucas.
So I had to take another breather from all that’s RA. Actually, I couldn’t completely take a breather. I’ve just been reading and not talking so much about RA. Poor guy what would he do if I didn’t bring my nonsense to cyberspace? Probably be a lot better off, but I wouldn’t have nearly so much fun.
I’m going to tag this post a tangent, but I can’t bring myself to put tangent in the title, ’cause the word implies chaos, and I’m not feeling the least bit chaotic right now. Usually, I can’t sit still. Toes are tapping, fingers thrumming, or teeth clicking all the time. It’s a little bit of the curse from ADHD, but I refuse to take medication, and NO, I’m not saying others shouldn’t take medication.
Thankfully, I have relaxed for a few days, which is something I don’t do very often. It’s been pretty quiet around my house, and that’s probably because my kids are all gone somewhere, SO is very busy with other things, and NO ONE has come to my front door in almost a week. I guess everyone in town who might come to my door is on vacation. Yea! for vacations. :D Despite how it sounds in this post, I really do love people. They fascinate me and always have, and probably always will. But sometimes I need a break from all that goodness.
So I’ve been listening to some “new” music a friend sent me. I cannot believe I never bought these songs on CD, but I have them now! And they’re still good and oh so easy to chill to:
This next one is one of my favorite songs of all time. I have it on vinyl but why I never bought it on CD I don’t know.
Maybe in a day or two (or maybe in a few hours) I’ll be back waxing on and on and on about Richard Armitage. This is probably just the calm before the storm.
RAFrenzy 