rionaleonhart | Entries tagged with ashes to ashes

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! You are all so lovely. ♥! I've now been plunged back into the tremendously stressful world of housemate-hunting, but the day itself really was wonderful.

Still in the process of posting my old fanfiction to

riona_archivic; I'm around the end of 2005 now, and have stumbled across the first instance of my becoming far too involved in something that had literally no fandom, something I was to do many times in the future.

In late 2005, in a fit of madness, I wrote about forty (admittedly very short) works of fanfiction for a modern adaptation of Macbeth, set in a restaurant. This adaptation was produced by the BBC as part of their ShakespeaRe-Told series; it starred James McAvoy and Keeley Hawes (I was amazed to discover this on looking back at it, as at the time I'd never heard of her), and the prophecy came from supernatural binmen. Few people watched it, even fewer talked about it, and certainly nobody was writing ridiculous amounts of Macbeth/Banquo fanfiction. Except me.

Out of nostalgic curiosity, I just checked YouTube to find out whether the scene that made me feel the need to write ridiculous amounts of Macbeth/Banquo fanfiction had been uploaded.

Here it is. It's at 8m35s; the link should lead directly to that time on the video.

It is even gayer than I remembered, and I remembered that scene being really, really gay. Torchwood has nothing on this. (Banquo, I should note, in case earlier parts of this entry have caused any confusion, is not played by Keeley Hawes.)

The realisation that Keeley Hawes was in this adaptation is making some part of my mind wonder whether an Ashes to Ashes/Macbeth crossover could work. The answer: almost certainly not. Definitely not with Alex Drake in the role of Lady Macbeth, as killing Duncan wouldn't even have occurred to her. MACBETH: THE TALE OF A MAN WHO WAS TOLD HE WOULD BE KING AND THEN DIDN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING.

Perhaps Gene and the team try to solve the mysterious murders of Duncan and Banquo? NO NO NO THIS IS STILL A TERRIBLE IDEA.

Speaking of stupid Shakespearean crossovers, though, I'd love to see a production of Othello in which Iago is played by the parrot of the same name from Disney's Aladdin.

There is an article on the 10th-16th July edition of the Radio Times on creating a sketch show, written by Robert Webb. Here are a couple of quotes I enjoyed:

- That Mitchell and Webb Look is inconceivable without producer Gareth Edwards and in this non-sexual respect, he is one of the show's three dads. Or maybe its midwife. Actually no, because if he's the midwife then David Mitchell and I are giving birth to some kind of conjoined comedy infant and you really don't want that difficult-to-picture but still-basically-alarming image in your head. He's the producer, let's leave it at that. Yes, there is a certain amount of brow-mopping and "telling us to push" involved, but I really would like to abandon this metaphor right now. Obviously he's very experienced and knows about hot towels, but that's it.

- Let me be clear: David and I are good friends. But for two people who aren't in love, aren't even faintly attracted to each other, we really do have to spend a phenomenal amount of time in each other's company. Sometimes I think it would be easier if he looked just a bit more like Johnny Depp or Cameron Diaz, but no, that would be too much trouble. (I'm very amused by the fact that Mitchell and Webb always seem to preface talking about the amount of time they spend together with 'BY THE WAY WE'RE NOT IN LOVE'.)

The article opens, incidentally, with a picture in which David Mitchell is gazing longingly at Keeley Hawes, who, along with Robert Webb, is hovering above a studio floor, suspended on wires. There is nothing I do not love about this. I've wanted David Mitchell/Keeley Hawes fanfiction for a couple of months now, and suddenly real life obliges!

Hang on. This is exactly what happened with Brooker/Mitchell: I started posting about it, and two months later Brooker sent Mitchell the 'we could've, like, started kissing' tweet. I made an entry about 'shipping Mitchell/Hawes at the Would I Lie To You? recording, and two months later it turns out that Hawes is to be playing Mitchell's dream woman in That Mitchell and Webb Look.

This is genuinely quite worrying. I hope I don't become drunk on power and begin using my reality-warping Livejournal for evil.

Owing to a mishearing from my housemate when I was talking about The Mentalist, we appear to have accidentally created the concept of The Dentalist.

Riona's Housemate: He reads people's mouths.

In the first series, the concept is somewhat limited by the fact that the dentalist can solve crimes only if the perpetrator visits his dental practice immediately afterwards. In the second series, the writers become a little more creative and the dentalist begins finding increasingly elaborate ways of getting a look at the suspects' teeth.

It is going to be amazing.

EDIT: Oh, yes, did anyone watch University Challenge last night? Polak, the girl on the St Andrews team, is a very good friend of mine and an absolute sweetheart. That must have been such a frustrating defeat!

This series of Doctor Who has been frustrating me, because I think Matt Smith is fantastic as the Doctor - far better than David Tennant, possibly better than Christopher Eccleston, although I'd have to rewatch Nine's series to be certain - but I haven't been enjoying the writing as much as I did in the RTD era. My enthusiasm, high at the beginning of the series, ebbed away over the next few weeks, until watching Doctor Who was just something I did, rather than something I particularly looked forward to.

And then came 'Vincent and the Doctor', and I settled unenthusiastically in front of the television, and, to my surprise, I adored it.

And then 'The Lodger', which was good fun, and then 'The Pandorica Opens', which I thought was fantastic, and yes, Doctor Who, yes, keep this up!

( Scattered thoughts on the present series of Doctor Who (the fifth), both positive and negative. Spoilers up to 'The Pandorica Opens'. )

A few nights ago, I dreamt an episode of Ashes to Ashes with FLYING MOTORBIKES and RIVER SONG PILOTING ONE OF THE FLYING MOTORBIKES and RORY WILLIAMS ALSO BEING THERE IN SOME CAPACITY and ALEX REMINISCING ABOUT HER FIRST GIRLFRIEND and GENE FINDING THE INFORMATION THAT ALEX HAD A GIRLFRIEND EXTREMELY DISTRACTING. It was grand. Possibly not very true to eighties technology levels, but grand nonetheless.

I've been listening a lot to the music of Ōkami lately. It's got an absolutely outstanding soundtrack. Videogame music can be so beautiful; I wish it were more widely recognised.

Here are a couple of my favourite pieces:

Ryoshima Plains, which is a lovely soaring piece and makes me want to race across fields. I frequently find myself striking silly poses or conducting an imaginary orchestra whilst listening to it.
Giving Kushinada a Ride, which is excellent music to listen to if you are RACING AGAINST TIME TO STOP AN ANCIENT EVIL.

Oh, Ōkami. Possibly my favourite videogame ever. (But Issun's attitude to women is so frustrating. Graphics, gameplay, music, all spot-on, all beautiful, and then they had to make Issun completely incapable of respecting anything with breasts. You were so close to being a perfect game, Ōkami.

I'd still recommend the game to anyone with a PS2 (or a Wii, but if you have both I hear the PS2 version is better). The entire game is animated in the style of a brushpainting; you can even see the texture of the imaginary paper through the animation. It is indescribably gorgeous, and so much fun, and overall probably the best game I've ever played. But do be warned that it has some unpleasant gender issues.)

Speaking of characters who have trouble respecting women, although at least in this case it's treated as unacceptable: Ashes to Ashes! It's odd that I've talked so little about Ashes to Ashes in this journal, because I genuinely believe it's one of the best things I have ever seen on television. It had a shaky start, back at the very beginning, but that's almost added to the experience, in a way; I've progressed from disliking Alex in the first few episodes to being invested in her story by the end of the first series to adoring her by the ultimate finale. I think I might actually prefer it to Life on Mars, although I'd have to rewatch both shows before I could really come to a conclusion.

( A few thoughts on the Ashes to Ashes finale. )

You know what Ōkami should do? It should replace Issun with a tiny Gene Hunt. Tiny Alex Drake and/or Sam Tyler can come along as well, to help keep him in line.

This is possibly the most illogical crossover idea I've ever had.

On Tuesday, there was a You Have Been Watching recording that I could not attend. I sort of hate everyone who could be there, because the panel were Andy Nyman, Victoria Coren and David Mitchell. BROOKER, COREN AND MITCHELL IN THE SAME ROOM. I WOULD HAVE FAINTED.

I also love the people who could be there, though, because they wrote wonderful reports: derryderrydown, causethesounds.

Apparently (this isn't spoilery for the episode, as the context, alas, means it won't be broadcast), Brooker at one point, whilst relaying instructions from the voice in his ear to Mitchell, said, 'You want me to take off his what? Kiss him tenderly?'

BROOKER. BROOKER. YOU ARE MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO BE SANE ABOUT THIS PAIRING. I HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GAY FOR DAVID MITCHELL AND YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME.

Anyway, last night I was able to attend another recording of Would I Lie To You?. I was rather hoping that the universe would make up for my absence at You Have Been Watching by having the guests be Charlie Brooker, Victoria Coren, Derren Brown and a clone of David Mitchell, but alas it was not to be. It was excellent fun, though!

The guests were Stephen Mangan, Kevin Bridges, Professor Brian Cox and Keeley Hawes (♥!). Fans present were

anewcitylife,

causethesounds,

chocolatepeach,

swing_set,

amandapear and

sawnoffcourtney.

Here is my report.

( Would I Lie To You? recording, 21st April 2010. )

Finally, an exchange that took place prior to the actual recording, because it amused me. During a conversation about Mitchell and Brooker:

anewcitylife: Fuck it, they just need to get married.

causethesounds: And then they can adopt me!

anewcitylife: Yeah, but that'd be creepy, 'cause you'd keep trying to walk in on them.

And she would!

( Thoughts on the first episode of the third series of Ashes to Ashes. )

This paragraph has nothing to do with the rest of this entry, but I would like to see an Avatar-esque elemental bending battle portrayed in live action using the terrible sixties special effects of Star Trek: The Original Series. It would be spectacular.

I was just on TV Tropes, and found, to my distress, that both Cameron and Thirteen of House were listed as The Wesley (LINK GOES TO TV TROPES, DO NOT CLICK IF YOU VALUE YOUR TIME), a character who is loved by the author but despised by the fanbase.

Therefore, I thought I would make a nice poll in which we all express love for unpopular characters.

(Whilst Alex Drake was unpopular at the beginning of Ashes to Ashes (I have to confess that I disliked her at first and have since changed my stance), I don't know what the general opinion of her is now. I included her in the poll anyway, because love is good. Also, this is just based on what I've seen on the Internet, so I may have mistakenly included a character with whom the fandom in general has no problems at all. Again, that's no reason not to express your liking for them!)

Who chose what is visible only to me, so you don't have to worry about being judged for not ticking a box. (I'll admit that I'm not a fan of River Song, but I included her anyway because it's not only the characters I like who deserve affection.) Also, remember that a character receiving fewer votes than another is not necessarily an indication that that character is more disliked, as people answering will be familiar with different fandoms.

[Poll #1434859]

I almost included a 'now ramble about your favourite of these characters!' textbox, but then I remembered that, as results aren't viewable, only I would be able to see the ramblings, and that's no fun. Feel free to ramble in the comments, though! (You should also feel free to ramble about your love for unpopular characters I have failed to include in this poll.)

HERE IS THE PROBLEM:

a) I have revision to do.
b) I cannot focus at all.

Therefore, I decided to make an entry, so I could motivate myself to revise by turning it into a way of passing the time whilst waiting for comments. And what better subject for an entry than 'Confusing Images I Have Found On My Photobucket Account'?

Perhaps these will make more sense to you than they do to me.

( Confusing Images I Have Found On My Photobucket Account. )

If you have any confusing images on your computer or wherever you keep your images online, please feel free to share the bewilderment!

I haven't really been talking about this series of Ashes to Ashes so far, but I am enjoying it very much. And I have things to say about this episode! Time to say them!

( Thoughts on the fourth episode of the second series of Ashes to Ashes. )

Is anyone else watching Boy Meets Girl? It is an ITV four-part comedy drama, airing at nine o'clock on Fridays; two parts have been shown so far. I cannot believe I've seen nothing about it on my flist, because the basic premise is that a man and a woman are hit by lightning and swap bodies. They swap bodies, you guys. The actress is very convincing as a man, and someone is clearly having enormous amounts of fun with the romance. Male/male kisses in which one of the men is mentally a woman! A male/female sex scene in which the woman is mentally a man, and it is weird and a bit uncomfortable and also really hot! (It's not an explicit sex scene; the 'really hot' comes largely from the bizarre circumstances.) THIS IS US. THIS IS WHAT WE WRITE. IT IS THERE ON THE SCREEN. I CANNOT BELIEVE NOBODY IS WATCHING IT.

I should probably mention that I did wake up last night in horrible pain, convinced that I was actually a man and that the agony was due to my new female body reacting badly to the bodyswap (I wish I were joking), so I can't promise that watching Boy Meets Girl will not have unwelcome effects. (I suspect Boy Meets Girl may have been responsible only for the sleep-addled gender confusion, rather than the pain itself, but can I be sure?)

Here are some characters that should swap bodies:

- Gene Hunt and Alex Drake. It would be excellent. Alex would be forced to tell Gene off constantly for fondling his new breasts.

- Merlin and Arthur. SUDDENLY ARTHUR HAS MAGICAL POWERS AND NO IDEA OF HOW TO CONTROL THEM. Merlin, for his part, finds himself completely unable to play the role of the dutiful son and terrified that Arthur is going to get himself executed.

- Katara and Toph could be an interesting bodyswap. Toph would have working eyes, but she wouldn't have Earthbending, and she'd know which she prefers. "You can't even see what's behind you! How do you people cope?"

- Ooh! George and Mitchell! Suddenly, George can hear heartbeats and Mitchell undergoes a hideously painful transformation at the full moon. That could be really interesting, actually. Each would have to help the other deal with his condition.

- I like to think that Balthier and Fran steal a magical artefact that causes them to swap bodies every other week. Fran hates being without her sharp Viera senses. Balthier finds it all rather amusing.

I watched the third episode of Being Human today, and I still love George/Annie/Mitchell so much. So much! Their polyamorous supernatural love is so true. Also, I would like to give Annie many hugs.

I really have come to like Ashes to Ashes rather a lot over the past few weeks. It's certainly more unashamedly fun than Life on Mars, and Alex's initially-grating insanity has gradually become really rather endearing. I AM SORRY FOR DISLIKING YOU AT FIRST, ALEX. I WANT ONLY GOOD THINGS FOR YOU NOW. No, hang on, possibly Gene doesn't actually count as a good thing. MOSTLY GOOD THINGS. MOSTLY GOOD THINGS, ALEX.

Speaking of giant mechanical spiders, did I mention that 'A Very Supernatural Christmas' means that I now feel as if my heart is going to burst out of my chest with love whenever I see Dean wearing his amulet? As he wears it all the time - seriously, this isn't even an exaggeration, which is half the reason for my uncontrollable love - this means that I am fairly likely to actually fall unconscious from too much Winchester-adoration before long.

Two days ago, my brother threw salt in my face and shouted 'Back, you demon!' I wish my siblings shared my fandoms more often! (Hang on, that makes it sound as if I like having salt thrown in my face. I, er, am not a particular fan of being - oh, dear, there's an opportunity for a truly horrendous pun here and I'm not sure I can resist - as-sa(u)lt-ed (I'm so sorry). I just love it when people around me are fannish.)

I feel that an entry about Ashes to Ashes and Supernatural should really end with an attempt to cross them over in some way (THESE ARE THE RULES OF RIONA'S LIVEJOURNAL), but in all honesty I'm not sure sending the Winchesters back to 1981 would make any difference whatsoever. I suppose Sam would be quite annoyed not to have his laptop, and some (certainly not much) of Dean's music wouldn't be around, but that's about it.

Somewhere along the line, Ashes to Ashes appears to have become something that I actually watch and enjoy, rather than something that I watch only because I feel on some level that I ought to. Alex is annoying me far less than she used to, and I am gradually recovering from the tragic lack of Sam and Annie. In fact, I may even be developing a certain fondness for Alex/Gene. Don't tell anyone.

It's still not one of my favourite programmes, but it's something I can actually look forward to now. I am interested in seeing how it ends. This pleases me. (It bothers me a bit that the writers are trying so hard to make Shaz awesome, though. Do you know what I mean? Am I imagining things? Because I am contrary, I cannot love Shaz until the writers stop throwing a bunch of awesome at her and saying 'LOVE THIS CHARACTER; SHE WAS CONSTRUCTED ENTIRELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING AWESOME AND ADORABLE'.)

I think I like the fact that it has more of an emphasis on the crazy mind stuff (shut up, you know what I mean) going on than Life on Mars did. And, all right, maybe I 'ship Alex/Gene a lot. Shut up. At the beginning, my attitude was 'DON'T YOU DARE GET TOGETHER WITH GENE, ALEX'; now I seem to be going 'ASJHFJHGDHJGH SNOG ALREADY SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS'. This was unexpected, but, um, all right?

(I think I may find Gene less attractive in Ashes to Ashes than I did in Life on Mars, though. Alas! On the other hand, Chris and Ray are brilliant in it. Ray definitely gets the 'Most Improved Since Life on Mars' award.)

'Playthings' was a rather spectacularly gay episode, wasn't it? I swear, there was one point at which I honestly thought there was going to be a kiss, before remembering that a) gay incestuous kissing is fairly rare on legal DVDs, and b) I would have seen one million icons of any Sam/Dean kissing scenes by now. (...actually, come to think of it, I think I have seen Sam/Dean kissing icons. But those are probably manips. Probably.)

That episode had about four scenes I was compelled to go back to and rewatch multiple times (the 'HEY, PLEASE LET US IN TO SEE YOUR DOLLS' scene was a thing of such joy). I think that my love for the brothers, impossible though it may seem, has actually multiplied.

Seriously, I can't even remember the last time I became this emotionally involved with a work of fiction (or, more accurately, with a particular dynamic within a work of fiction). I make 'eeee!' sounds and grin a ridiculous amount when the two of them are teasing each other. I spend scenes that show the quiet and fierce and absolute love between the boys (Sam finding Dean again in 'Hunted', oh, oh) with my hands to my mouth, muttering 'I love them, I love them so much, I don't even know, they're amazing', because I am a gigantic fangirl who is hopelessly, hopelessly in love with the relationship between two fictional constructs. Just looking at 'Croatoan' screencaps makes me emit tiny pained noises. I love the Winchesters an infinite amount.

In entirely unrelated news, Ashes to Ashes is steadily becoming more and more like Torchwood. I propose that the two of them merge into some sort of hideous televisual chimera. It could be called Torch Wood to Ashes! It's almost like the show-namers were planning it.

My discovery of a certain level of admiration for the largely-despised Bela has led me to thinking about frequently-disliked female characters. I am interested in seeing the general opinion of these characters on my flist, and so: poll time!

(The results are set as viewable to none, meaning that you can see how the votes are distributed but not who cast them. I can see how you voted, but I promise not to judge you if you hate the lot of them. As I can see yours, it's only fair that I tell you mine: 'dislike' for Alex, 'like' for Cameron, Bela and Rose, and 'indifferent' for everyone else.)

[Poll #1147974]

I would be very interested in hearing about your opinions of these characters and the reasons for them (fandom or canon-related) in the comments. Remember to respect each other! (This has never been a problem in my journal before, so it's probably an unnecessary reminder, but still.)

Oh, dear, I should have known that watching Supernatural would be a mistake. I am simply incapable of coping with anything remotely horror-related. Silent Hill completely ruined my life, and now, thanks to my new abusive fandom love, last night went something like this:

Riona: La la la, time for lovely sleep.
Riona's Mind: KILLER SPIDERS COMING OUT OF THE SHOWER
Riona: GAH

Oh, Winchesters. I love you too much to stop watching, but sometimes I wish you were in a different genre.

Regarding Ashes to Ashes: I can't believe that Drake hasn't been fired yet. She is a terrible employee. I mean, she annoyed me less this week than she did in the first and second episodes, but she is still an appallingly bad DI and doesn't even seem to realise it. Although I don't suppose anyone in their department is really the paragon of excellent policing.

lozenger8 says that she can't really see the point of Ashes to Ashes, and I think that's probably the problem I have with it. It's exactly what I feared it would be: it's Life on Mars all over again, but with heterosexual 'tension'. And I put 'tension' in scare quotes because Gene and Alex do not have an ounce of the chemistry that Sam and Gene had. Sam and Gene beat each other up and then have a smoke and discuss morality. Gene and Alex is just Gene perving over his DI; they can't have a proper fight if Gene won't hit back, and they can never be equals in the way in which Sam and Gene are because, let's be honest, Gene, much though I love him, is never going to respect a woman in the way he respects Sam.

Oh, Alex Drake. I wanted to like you; I really did.

( Thoughts on 'Ashes to Ashes' and whether I treat female characters unfairly. Not really spoilery. Not terribly positive either, I'm afraid. (But not as negative as my 'Ashes to Ashes' tag implies. Blame 'Torchwood' and the fact that 'Life on Mars' can be so amusingly rearranged.) )

In conclusion, I need to make more entries of appreciation for the many awesome females in my fandoms, and Ashes to Ashes needs to move away from Life on Mars if it doesn't want to keep being overshadowed by it. Had I never watched the original series, I might have thought that was brilliant. (Well, actually, had I never watched the original series I would probably just have been really confused. STILL. BECOME A SERIES IN YOUR OWN RIGHT, ASHES TO ASHES. WE DO NOT NEED LIFE ON MARS II: ONCE MORE, WITH HETEROSEXUALITY.)

I very nearly made a Post of Loneliness and Woe today, but fortunately you have all been spared that because I just caught sight of something on my friendspage and now this entry is going to be about WHOA, WHOA, ASHES TO ASHES IS STARTING TOMORROW? WHAT?

(...ahahaha, from 'woe' to 'whoa'! I'm sorry; I'll let myself out. This is what happens when you've just spent two hours reading a book on linguistics. IT'S NOT EVEN A PROPER PUN.)

But seriously: Ashes to Ashes? Tomorrow? I had no idea it was so close! Possibly this is partly because I had no idea they'd even cast Drake until about two weeks ago, but I think Ashes to Ashes has always seemed a bit unreal to me. At no point before now has my mind gone 'hey, Riona, you know that that Life on Mars spinoff is actually being made, right? It's not just some sort of hypothetical thing. It's not a fanfic. It's not a joke. It is an actual television series.'

And suddenly a real programme called Ashes to Ashes has barged out of nowhere and gone HEY, RIONA, I AM GENE HUNT FROM THE EIGHTIES AND SOME WOMAN CALLED SEXY ALEX DRAKE.

I still don't even know whether I'm going to watch it.

...you're not fooled, are you? Of course I'm going to watch it. But I have to admit that I'm not optimistic. I'm going to try to give Sexy Alex Drake a chance, I really am, but I have a horrible feeling that Ashes to Ashes is just going to be constantly blaring 'LOOK! IT'S SAM/GENE ALL OVER AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME IT IS VALID BECAUSE ONE OF THEM IS A GIRL.' I really, really don't want that.

Bring it on, Ashes to Ashes. I hope you prove me wrong.

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Entries tagged with ashes to ashes

But You Love Me.

This Is Where The Fun Really Stops.

I'm Never Saying That Again.

I Wonder How Much Of The Fic Takes Its Titles From David Bowie. (A2A, Not Ōkami.)

Whoops, Forgot The Title.

And Gene Hunt Is Still Weirdly Attractive.

After This, Let's Scan Some Other Totally Random Body Parts.

I RAISED YOU FROM PERDITION.

A Note On Police Brutality...

The Male Pregnancy Series Is Only A Matter Of Time.

Oh, It Hasn't Happened Yet.

Also, Alex/Sam. Yes? No?

Time Shifts Were A Weekly Occurrence, So Nobody Was Surprised.

Feel Free To Talk About Disliked Females In Your Other Fandoms, Too.

Gene As A Demon Hunter: Terrible Or Brilliant?

Was That Supposed To Be Cool?

I've Heard A Rumour From Ground Control...

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