More Random!

Hey! I discovered yet another new TV show in all my studying! And guess what?! The vampire is hot! Go figure, right? I think it's a rule #1 of getting to be a vampire: "Are you extremely sexy and sort of tortured? We'll begin processing your application." I like Being Human though. I, admittedly, don't watch a lot of SyFy. I'm not big into the science fiction stuff. But I do like fantasy (apparently, I've been told by bigger nerds than I, there is a huge distinction between scifi and fantasy. Vamps: fantasy. Time travel: scifi. Time traveling vamps? I dunno...but I bet I could write it and make it really good. And no, I have not seen BSG, leave me alone.) This doesn't play on the same dating teenager thing I discussed previously but seems to be tackling the more moralistic issues you face when, ya know, your nature is to kill things to survive and because you like it. Which is what I like about Interview with a Vampire. Any of you who have read that know it deals far more with Louis's existential vampire crisis than sexy vamps doing sexy vampire things. So: thumbs up, SyFy, for Being Human.



Aside: yes, I realize the amount of words I have spent on vampires lately is bordering on ridiculous but seriously, there ain't nothing else going on. I'm not even watching the Super Bowl at an organized affair this year because Catholic guilt coupled with a panic attack sets in when I'm further than 5 feet away from my bar review books. You want I should talk about hot guys again? Then take what ya can get, mkay?

Here's my one problem with it and this is going to apply to Fairly Legal as well: If locale is not integral to your story telling, but you INSIST on putting it in a major city that even the most casual observer is tangentially cognizant of what it looks like: pay the extra bucks to ACTUALLY film there. (That was a douche sentence. I apologize. Kinda. It'll look good on the bar.) If locale is NOT important to the story and you can't afford to spend the extra bucks and are going to film in Vancouver or Toronto, where everything is filmed these days, then a) set your story north of the border or b) set it anonymous any town USA, no one really cares.

Because showing me the outside of a building in Toronto but then name dropping the Mission for coffee while not IN the Mission just insults me as a viewer. And so does your wardrobe department not spending a few extra bucks to buy SFPD patches to put on the uniforms of the actors you want working as cops in SFPD even though you're still in Toronto. Okay, Fairly Legal?

Same goes for Being Human. You're not in Boston. The Canadian accents of all the minor characters give that away. The bad Boston PD uniforms also let me know that, just like the bad SFPD. Being in Boston, again, irrelevant to story. If you had set it in Sunnydale, I would have found it more believable than looking at the screen and thinking, "Um, I've been to Boston. That looks nothing like Boston."

So stop trying to fake your way into being in cities you are not. Just. Stop.

Oh! Another Fairly Legal quibble (and unless bored I think I give up on this show): Kate keeps saying, "I used to be a lawyer!" I mentioned this earlier but didn't articulate well why this is annoying and I finally figured it out. She doesn't practice law. She's still a lawyer. Make sense? Law degree, bar pass = lawyer. Working for clients to solve legal issues = practice of law. Doing something else while owning the knowledge of a lawyer = non-practicing lawyer. It's driving me nuts. I don't know why, but it is.

In other TV is nothing like the real world (duh) news: I also watched Harry's Law. Which I like a bit more than I'm willing to admit. But! The law on there is just straight crap. This week Harry had the sympathetic old lady armed robber who did it because she couldn't afford to eat. (Very Jean Valjean of her.) So Harry makes the impassioned closing speech to the jury (because everything goes to jury trial on TV. More fallacy.) and gasp! They find her not guilty. Which is TOTAL bullshit. Lady has STIPULATED that she committed the crime they are accusing her of. "Yep, I did it!" on the stand. Don't get much clearer than that. Just because the jury liked the little old lady doesn't mean they get to not convict. And even if they do decide to find her not guilty, the judge gets to go, "Um, yeah, you can't do that, it's kind of against our system of justice so I'm just gonna pretend you didn't say that and put the verdict aside." But of course TV judge didn't do that and little old lady got to go home. This show is also "set" in Cleveland but sure looks like the Universal tour I took years ago. STOP DOING THAT! I implore you! (This can be my biggest TV pet peeve. Andy's is "athletes" in TV shows who are all 5'3" and would never play on the basketball team in high school [looking at you, Wallace Fennel]. What's yours?)

Just by way of reference: Damages has epically good law. I haven't seen this season because I don't have DirectTV but Glenn Close's character does some maneuvering shit that you're like, "Whoa. I wouldn't have even THOUGHT to do that." (Sue for defamation to open discovery to find out what she really wants to know.) It's not always ethical but, eh, it's fun and smart.

Eli Stone, short lived, off the air, unfulfilling ending also had really good law. One episode had a 12b6 motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (yeah, I just typed that from memory, fuck you civ pro) and I was like HA! They'll neva grant that, but nice try.

And by way of knowing that study makes you crazy, I'm doing Real Property today. Linds loves real property and hates contracts. I <3333333 contracts and hate real property. But this line from my notes made me laugh because it's not even English to most normal people: 1 JT k to convey %, then TIC. But I'm telling you, that is a sentence.

Rap music = good
RAP = I want to kill myself. And if I did and left a will it might not be valid if I have vested any interest in a life not in being 21 years after my death as violating RAP. (DEAD HAND!)

Insanity is fun.