love/hate media bicycles

[glass_icarus]

1. Tonight's Nikita: most interesting plotline thus far? It's up there in my book, but then again that's not exactly saying much (and also, I'm rather easy to please when there is Maggie Q with a gun to distract me. In case you hadn't noticed. >.>). Spy vs. spy interactions! Non-Division scheming! Okay, it's still trending a bit heavy on the whitebread sources of manpain for my preferences, and I am still giving the writers the side-eye on Jaden (DON'T THINK I HAVEN'T NOTICED THE UTTER LACK OF HER IN THE LAST FEW EPS. BECAUSE I HAVE. BRING HER BACK AND GIVE HER SOME GODDAMN ASS TO KICK ALREADY, JFC.), but still. That was slightly more solid entertainment than I was expecting!

2. NBC's canceling Undercovers?!?! It's not like I wasn't half-expecting/half-dreading this since I first heard it was going to air but FUCK YOUUUUUUUU NBC, SO MUCH NO. This may be a fluffy capery show, okay, but I notice White Collar and Leverage are both still alive and kicking. Obviously fluffy capery shows with TWO POC LEADS and ZERO WHITE MANPAIN have to get the boot before the first season's even finished airing, eh? Make all the excuses you want; they all sound like "know your place" to me. >:||||||

3. effex has made JANELLE MONAE ICONS OF WIN! &hearts &hearts All that joyful gorgeousness is guaranteed to make you feel better; go have a look.

Comments

[jibrailis]

What? They're cancelling Undercovers? This makes me sad. ;____;

Looking forward to seeing the new episode of Nikita though. Maggie Q, hearts in my eyes!

[glass_icarus]

I for one would LOVE to hear the reasoning behind it. >:E How many episodes does it take for any new show to find its footing? How was Undercovers any fucking different??

Maggie Q is TOTES my TV girlfriend at the moment :>

[reddwarfer]

Undercovers was cute.

[glass_icarus]

Ughhhh, yes, it depresses me whenever I'm not actively angryface.

[ex_froggie555]

@Undercovers--Ugh. I knew it was going to happen. Fucking...ugh.

@Janelle Monae icons- ASJDFASKJDFL I took like 5 of them. Seriously every time I think about her I just get this SURGE OF JOY. Because people like her give me hope that if I ever decide to raise a daughter in this world, she will have role models that succeed on their talent and not on how much skin they're flashing.

[glass_icarus]

Yeah- I expected this, but I still hoped for better, you know? AUGH.

Janelle's faaaaaaace, zomg, it makes me SO HAPPY. And that body language! Those pictures of her dancing, they're like physical shouts of joy, I can't even. :3 :3 :3

[oyceter]

Undercovers being cancelled WHYYYY?! I haven't even caught up with all the episodes, but it's so far light and funny and has a black woman actually being depicted as smart and sexy and romantically involved and hot black guy being all competent! SIGH.

[glass_icarus]

AUGH I KNOWWWWWW WHAT EVEN IS THIS. GUGU'S FACE!!!! AND BORIS!!!!! >:O

[leupagus]

Argh, Undercovers nooo! But on the other hand, I stopped watching the show because of the three white guys -- Hoyt and Leo? And Major Dad? I think? They were just SO ANNOYING and EVERY SCENE THEY WERE IN WAS SO LONG. I kept fast forwarding any time I saw their stupid faces, but that was like 90% of each episode.

NBC GET RID OF THE WHINY DUDES, YOUR SHOW WILL BE TOTALLY BOSS AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO CANCEL.

[glass_icarus]

Hoyt and Leo cracked me up, ngl- though admittedly I have a couple of eps to catch up on, so. Basically I was busy mooning over SAM! and STEVE! BEING AWESOME AT ALL TIMES!, so it didn't really bother me to have the goofy sidekick/ex thing going.

[aoftheis]

DAAAMN Nikita was good tonight.

To tell you the truth, it's probably my favourite thing on TV right now, since Caprica got cancelled. I haven't been so happy with a show in a long time. And I mean, I know it's CW, I know it's got teenagers and aspects that make you step back and go, "What, seriously," but it's ... not trying to be something that it's not, if that makes any sense? Like, it's figured out what it is, what it's good at, and it goes with that.

Also, Maggie Q and Lyndsy Fonesca are FANTASTIC. They really hold the show together. I don't know if I've ever had a show to watch where the relationship between two women is the emotional core of the show (other than, like, Gilmore Girls, but different genre conventions entirely), and I like it. \o/

Verdict on Michael: whenever he glares at Percy it looks like he's smouldering seductively. Which I don't think is what he's trying to do. Kind of hilarious.

[glass_icarus]

OMG, YES, THIS. :> Whatever else happens, in the end it's Nikita and Alex, always, which is just as it should be! &hearts &hearts &hearts

And, ahahahaha, I will NEVER stop loling at Shane West and his epic chemistry-fail. Let's just say that for a character who's supposedly ~romantic~ over Nikita, Michael has a hell of a lot more going on with Percy and Birkhoff! (I admit it, Birkhoff's snarkery does me in. xD He is the one guy on the entire show that I go "aww" over, go figure! CW, you clearly have to reconsider your love-interest casting.)

[aoftheis]

Oh, Shane West. I just -- how did they cast him. It is a complete mystery to me. I mean, he isn't even fulfilling the very shallow role of male eye-candy. (Also, ahaha, it's too bad Percy isn't attractive or charismatic in the least, or this show might've really taken off with the slashers.)

For some reason, I also find myself really liking Thom lately. I don't know why -- his stubborn good-boy innocence?

[glass_icarus]

HAHAHAHAHA, too true!

I think Thom is beginning to grow on me kind of like a fungus, but only in some of those moments where he's gaga over Alex? The thing is, I can't take too much of his emoface or I simply stop caring, and I can't take macho bullshit posturing, so it's kind of a fine balance- but he hits it for me! Sometimes. *g*

[aoftheis]

Ahaha, yes. The weird thing is, I don't like macho bullshit posturing either. So I am confused to as why my brain likes Thom so much. *hands*

On another note, I am also gaga over Alex. I mean, I have loved Nikita from the start, but I love Alex way more than I expected to -- ever since 1.05 she's just been increasingly badass.

[glass_icarus]

Maybe it's empathizing with the gaga-ness? ;) I do that sometimes.

& seriously, Alex started out as a fun Robin figure! Which I guess she still is, but now it's all BAM, BAM, BAM, LOOK AT THIS BADASS PROTEGE STEPPING UP. \o/

[suaine]

No more Undercovers? This is not an acceptable reality. I didn't realize it was getting bad ratings - there didn't appear to be any ominous rumblings beforehand. Besides, shows with bad ratings have gotten chances before but I guess those were full of white cock.

Is there anything fans can do at this point?

[glass_icarus]

I KNOW!!!! D:

Hmm, I'm not sure, actually. I suppose we could write to NBC? If it's organized and there are enough people willing to do it... hm. Worth asking at undercovers, at any rate- will go do that shortly.

[kis]

Aha! Firefly had two POC leads too. Three, if you include MB (who said at a con I attended that she'd been rejected for a part because 'they didn't want to go ethnic'. WTF?) No wonder that had to go!

[glass_icarus]

The fact that this is TV-industry Logic... ugh. My bitter, let me show you it!

[bridgetmkennitt]

Re: 2. I knoooow! I kept thinking about White Collar when I thought about Undercovers. A fun, lighthearted show was what I wanted out of Undercovers and I got that. I got excited when NBC ordered more episodes, but then they go ahead and cancel it anyway? wtf.

[glass_icarus]

SERIOUSLY. I think I'll see if anyone at undercovers has ideas about things we can do, but augh.

[bridgetmkennitt]

I remember seeing some discussion about how the fan campaigns that worked were the ones that dealt with money, like Chuck fans buying Subway ads or sandwiches or something (I can't quite remember) instead of writing letters. But yeah, this is a show from JJ who has had very recent success with his shows before and what else does NBC has? Why cancel it so soon?

[glass_icarus]

... point, heh. But seriously, right, a JJ Abrams show?! I don't think the guy's perfect, but he knows how to write a goddamn popular show, okay.

[branewurms]

Damnit, I didn't even know this show existed! And it looks cool. ;;

[glass_icarus]

IT IS ADORABLE AND LOVELY AND HILARIOUS AND HAS BORIS AND GUGU!!!! NBC, WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR LOGIC.

[effex]

They're canceling Undercovers? WTF, NBC, what is this, look at your choices. I am so close to just giving up on TV altogether.

[glass_icarus]

ARGH. I'll ask at undercovers to see if anyone has ideas about Things We Can Do- I know this show was never going to explode in fandom, but maybe there are enough of us to at least be heard?

[effex]

That's a good idea - maybe we can lobby for another network to pick it up? Or for NBC to at least finish the season? Or to stop being stupid? IDK [crosses fingers]

[zanzando]

UNDERCOVEEEEEEEEERS. ;_;

[glass_icarus]

THIS IS TOTALLY MY FACE RIGHT NOW (WHENEVER IT IS NOT ANGRY BITCHFACE AT NBC).

[zanzando]

Huh, I need an actual sadface icon. Almost all my icons that show facial expressions are either happy, skeptical, or bitchface.

[glass_icarus]

Hee! I do need an Actual Bitchface icon, hmm... this one still cracks me up, but it doesn't quite cut it.

[zanzando]

I have

[zanzando]

a selection.

[sarashina]

As soon as you mentioned White Collar, I realized: Undercovers should have been on USA! D: Networks like that are more welcoming of lighter fare, and much more forgiving of a smaller-but-devoted following. And meanwhile, networks like NBC are looking for the Next Big Thing, and are quick to ax anything that they feel falls short.

And yeah, I'm sure a couple bigwigs did decide that the show wasn't "accessible" because of the two POC leads.* UGH. ;;

*Then again, the same problem might have applied on USA, but they wouldn't be able to hide behind excuses very well for the reasons listed above.

[glass_icarus]

... omg. ;;;;; You may have a point re: networks. USA probably would have been a better fit, but I mean. I hate to say this, but it is kind of a big point to consider, as clearly good acting and the actual premise of the show are not- all other things aside, it's JJ Abrams. He's not perfect, but clearly he knows how to write a show that sells!

[sarashina]

Seriously! He's probably one of the most reliable showrunners in television: it's not like he's got several successful series in different genres under his belt or something.

OH WAIT.

HE DOES.

[crossedwires]

USA tends to strike me as a very white network (aside from Gus on Psych)? But, yeah, that or TNT might have been a better fit than NBC for the light-hearted factor.

[crossedwires]

I can't believe NBC renewed Outsourced and cancelled Undercovers. (I mean, I can believe it, I just don't want to.) :((((

[glockgal]

THIS EXACTLY. I CAN'T STOP CAPS LOCK IT MAKES ME SO MAD THAT NOT ONLY DID THE CANCEL THE GOOD SHOW, THEY RE-UPPED THE RACIST ONE. FFFUUUUUUU

[glass_icarus]

IKR! S:DLKFSJD:LKFJ it just makes me want to smash things.

[lorax]

SERIOUSLY?

My faith in humanity just took another hit.

[lorax]

Awww. Goddamnit. I LIKED Undercovers. And the comparison to White Collar is pretty apt. It's fluffy and capery too. I love them both, but it's sad that I pretty much KNEW it was going to happen just because it was on a network with POC leads, so if it didn't perform with OMG STELLAR numbers right out of the box, it wasn't going to get much leeway.

Bah. I think it would have fared better on TNT or USA or something.

[glass_icarus]

UGH. :( Yeah, I think it would have been a big hit on TNT and USA (which are generally go-to channels for fluffy things, amirite?!), but NBC's "logic"! I just don't understand it.

[timeasmymeasure]

Gorgeous Janelle Monae icons are gorgeous. Thanks for the link =D

I am really trying not to predict the worst about Undercovers but I can't help but think about how it could be used against other proposed shows. Will there ever be an all POC lead with this much happiness and non-stereotyping again? My gut tells me that we'll have to wait a few decades for that to happen again.

Damn.

Ummm...Nikita. I tune in for Maggie Q.
I should just be glad that Nikita's characterization has some dimension. They'll (evil powers that be) probably say that Jaden was pulled because she just wasn't "working" but that was a matter of bad writing. A character with massive potential, ruined. And now, apparently missing. Are we to assume she was canceled? I guess. But they could have at least acknowledged that they did have her canceled instead of pulling her out like she never existed, the assholes. And enough with the manpain already. I'm in this show for the kickass women with guns and skills and all they keep serving me is potential love interests and Percy. Urgh.

Mhhmm...as you can see, I have thoughts about Nikita.

ETA: Lurking through your comments, and I'd totally encourage you to make a post to undercovers if you want :) Mod approved!

[glass_icarus]

Yeah, Undercovers just- I mean. Spy shenanigans!! CATERING SERVICE!!! It could have opened so many opportunities just by existing/continuing to exist, and NBC goes and slams the door?! AUGH.

I watch Nikita pretty much primarily for Maggie Q, but yes to all the issues you mentioned. Also (I've said this before and I'll say it again) Shane West != sexy beast; Shane West = EPIC LULZ. He can't even pull off manpain, ffs!