Teen Wolf aka Teen Writers Can Do Better Than This

I'm currently in the middle of re-watching Teen Wolf. Not because the show is so deep and complex that it requires a re-watch, but because, I'm embarrassed to say, I wasn't paying so much attention the first time around.

I am now, and I have to say that I'm somewhat disappointed. I'm enjoying the show very much- on one level it's a guilty pleasure, but on another level the characters are not only enjoyable, they also develop as people (which, to me, is the most important aspect of television writing). As much as the characters' development gets my writer's senses tingling, however, the basic plot of each episode also has to make sense.

Unfortunately, it doesn't always. 

In the third episode of Season 1, "Pack Mentality," Allison is in her room with Lydia getting ready for a double date. Lydia dismisses each article of clothing Allison presents and then picks out a sparkly black top for her. Allison's father comes into her room and tells her that she's not going out tonight because there's a curfew, given the recent attack on a bus driver. When her father leaves, Allison then sneaks out of her window in the same clothes, and Lydia opts to take the stairs. 

Now, a few things: If there's a town curfew, why hasn't it been announced in school? Why doesn't anyone seem to know about it? Later on in the bowling alley, there are plenty of people who are there bowling- did no one tell the owner of the alley that they had to close before curfew? Allison and Lydia have seemingly been trying to pick out a blouse for her for a while- but when they do pick one out, it's discarded and Allison sneaks out of the house for the date wearing her regular school clothes? Then Lydia decides to take the stairs to leave the house- wouldn't Allison's father question her? Why is she even at the Argents' house in the first place if there's a curfew?

It's in the details, Teen Wolf writers. The details.

Emmy's 2013

Jordan asked: Can you please explain to me why Sam Waterston from The Newsroom isn't up for best supporting actor in a drama series for the Emmy's?

Jordan, I'll explain it to you as soon as someone explains to me why Monica Potter and Peter Krause didn't get nominations for Parenthood. Why no one on the CW ever gets a nomination, even though there is fantastic acting on that network. Why didn't Hugh Dancy get one for Hannibal, or Jennifer Carpenter for Dexter? Happy Endings and New Girl were the funniest shows on television this year- why didn't they get nominations? I think this season was Shameless's weakest season, but Emmy Rossum rocked it. Her acting was beyond incredible- why didn't she get a nomination?

I'll tell you why.

The Emmy's is a very exclusive little club that rarely, if ever, lets anyone in. It's a cycle- the same thing every year, until a new show comes out. And when a new show does come out that they deign to put on the nominations list, it will be on the list for the next five years at least, I promise you. I don't know if it's rigged, or if they're snobs. But I will tell you that this year, I'll be boycotting. 

And when you smiled, the whole world stopped and stared for a while

This isn't my typical kind of post. I'm hesitating even as I write this, because I can already see people rolling their eyes as they read it. Crying over a "celebrity death." It's ridiculous, right? You don't even know him. You've never met him. That person he played on TV is not him. So why do you even care.

To those people, I summarily say the following: Fuck off. To the people who feel the same was as I do, I apologize for the crude language, and I grieve with you. 

Because here's the thing. He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him. He'd admitted to having a substance abuse problem since he was a young teen, and had voluntarily gotten help for it (again this year, in April). He had a family, and a girlfriend, and friends/coworkers who loved him and supported him through his struggles. He had a fan base, a huge fan base- millions of people, including myself- who looked up to him. All these people, all of us, are now stunned in grief after finding out that their idol, their son, their lover, their friend, had died, alone, in a hotel room on Saturday night. 

I hope that everyone can eventually find some measure of comfort. 

Rest in peace, Cory. 

P.S. "Look, he obviously had his own demons. I know it's hard, but try and remember that he died alone, but through Glee, he was able to show millions of people that they weren't alone. Glee is going to be remembered for quite a while as a show that promoted acceptance and tolerance despite differences, and he was instrumental in that." -Oz Shapiro

"Equality"

I've become increasingly annoyed at friends- both on Tumblr and in the real world- who say that Supernatural is a sexist or misogynist show. "All the women die" or "All the women are weak."

These two statements are gross misrepresentations of the show. Firstly: yes, not only do most of the recurring or guest female characters die, but all the men do too. What a horror. Oh, wait. Isn't the genre of this show horror? Secondly, the women are not weak. Look at Jo and Ellen Harvelle! They're only two examples of incredibly strong women on the show. Half of the females who "need to be saved" end up helping the Winchesters save themselves. So please don't tell me that the women are weak.

Besides, even if the women were weak, and even if only women were being killed off, who cares? Just because we live in a society that has progressed towards equality, and continues to do so every day, does not mean that there can no longer be books or television shows that focus on men. You don't watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and go, "Oh my god this show! Look at all the weak men who just fall all over Buffy- it must be misandry." You don't watch Charmed and ask why there's no Charmed brother, do you? No, you accept that it's a show about women, and that just like there can be shows about women, there can also be a show about men without it being misogynist or unequal.

Awkward!

I love Awkward. I think it's one of the funniest teenage comedies out there right now. Which is surprising, considering MTV's track record of airing absolute mind-numbingly moronic crap on their channel. But they really did hit the jackpot with the tales of Jenna Hamilton and her awesomely weird friends and family. 

However. 

It's 2013, and we still see so much sexism on television- most of it aimed at women. Joss Whedon has done a lot to combat that, as have many other writers, but it still exists on a large scale. What doesn't exist on as large a scale is sexism aimed at men. Which is why the eighth episode of the currently airing season of Awkward. had me gaping at my computer screen in consternation. 

Forced by her English teacher to read one of her pieces at an open mic night, Jenna begs Matty not to come because she doesn't want him to see her make a fool of herself. When she adds that, "We don't need to do everything together," Matty gets defensive. "Are you implying that I need to do everything together?" he asks, and in the next breath says that he and Jake already had plans. 

The two boys end up spending an evening together, hanging out and barbecuing. And also committing acts of complete idiocy. Apparently two male friends who are in relationships can't spend more than one minute away from their phones in case they get a text or a call from their girlfriend. They also can't spend an evening doing anything intelligent or productive. No, of course not. Boys who are left to their own devices will end up doing ridiculously stupid things, like eating a dirty steak or an entire onion, drinking half a bottle of hot sauce, shoving dry powdered cinnamon in their mouths, and painting their nails and shaving their legs (because that's something a man could never normally do, oh no, no homo.)

I was laughing at the beginning of the dares, but I was cringing and covering my eyes by the end. Is this what the writers of Awkward. think? That, left to their own devices, females will attend an intelligent night of literary fun and males will make complete asses of themselves? 

I love this show, but this episode left me with a horrible aftertaste. And no, it wasn't dirty steak.

"I don't want to go."

It's been no secret that for the past few months, I've become more and more disenchanted with Doctor Who. It's even come to the point where I criticize and rail at Steven Moffat in anger publicly. Although I do not, and would not ever, spout hate, complaining about Moffat is something I promised myself I would never do after the threats and hate that were sent his way last year. It's also now come to the point where I can't stand the fandom- a fandom that is made up of newbies (many of whom have only seen the Matt Smith years), a fandom that is made up of Americans who enjoy bad writing and twists at every turn, a fandom that every New Whovian I know has left. 

I could probably be called a hypocrite, considering that I've never watched a single episode of Classic Who. I'm okay with that, although I disagree. I've read up on Classic Who, and I know that it was a completely different show than the reboot that Russell T. Davies brought to life in 2005. And please don't give me the nonsense that idiots have spouted to me before about Moffat's Who also being a reboot- just because Moffat does not understand the concept of continuity does not mean that the first Matt Smith season is a reboot. In the Whoniverse, a new Doctor and a new season does not equal a reboot. 

I think everyone can agree that this past season of Doctor Who was terrible, and it got even worse when Clara was introduced. She is substance-less, a character who, by the very definition of her mystery, means nothing to us because we have no idea who she is. At least we knew who Amy and Rory were (and at least Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill had chemistry with Matt Smith). Jenna Louise Coleman seems like a very sweet woman in her videos with Matt, but her acting is so boring it makes me want to gouge my eyes out for entertainment (I'm looking at you, fellow Following fans). Unfortunately, the numbers agree with me: since the 2012 Christmas episode "The Snowmen," Doctor Who viewership has fallen by almost 2.5 million viewers. 

I watch a lot of TV, but there are only a few actual fandoms that I belong to- I'm a Whedonite (basically anything Joss Whedon does, including his tweets about being sick), a Whovian (Doctor Who), and a Hunter (Supernatural). As you can tell, I belong to fandoms of smart, quick, witty shows with mythology and depth. So when I say that I am leaving the Whovian fandom, I don't say it easily. It fills me with sadness, because this used to be a good show with a solid fandom. I have made friends- good friends, the best of friends, both in real life and online- because of this show and the intellectual, literary discussions we've had about it. 

The reason I'm so upset about giving up Doctor Who is because the show is so smart, and so are its fans. This isn't Pretty Little Liars or Revenge- both shows that I've stopped watching this season. I stopped watching Pretty Little Liars because its stupidity eventually unsuspended my disbelief when Aria didn't call the police after Malcolm was kidnapped, instead choosing to try and find him herself. When that happened, I shut the video player and instantly deleted the whole show from my computer. I gave up Revenge because I may have skipped 4th grade, I may have graduated as valedictorian from high school, and I may have graduated from university with honors, but even I couldn't keep up with the convoluted plot without writing notes, and that was just not something I was willing to do for a guilty-pleasure, soapy show.

Who knows? Maybe I'll start watching Classic Who if I actually am forced to stop watching New Who after Eleven regenerates (which is what I'm predicting- Moffat's horrible showrunning is currently worth it because of Matt's acting, but after Matt leaves, I'm pretty sure it won't be worth it anymore). I do know that I will always be a Whovian, and Ten will always be my Doctor. And one day, when Steven Moffat leaves and a better showrunner takes his place, I hope to come back to the Doctor Who fandom.