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Doing laundry finally. No one was down there - so it's easy. Always easier when no one is downstairs.

The internet was annoying me again today. Probably best not to vent about it? Venting about the internet on the internet never ends well?

A weird side-effect of both the Buffy Revival being cancelled and my Buffy re-watch - is the oddest desire to write fanfic? Except fanfic that takes place 25 years after the series ended. Not sure there's anywhere to really share it? The Buffy fandom is pretty much dead on DW and Ao3. But that's okay, I can just write it in my head.

I've finally broken the reading slump - and found a book I want to sink into and devour whole. It's taken...quite a few books? I think it's more of a mood thing than a book thing? I'm in the mood for a certain story trope and writing style - specifically one that sparks my own creative/story telling juices. The book that's currently engrossing me is Inheritance by Illona Andrews - the writers wrote it as a serial on their blog during the pandemic, and have now self-published it.
It's engrossing. Does remind of a video game at various points.

Here's the synopsis - it's convoluted, but I like convoluted world building and plots that are close to impossible to summarize.
( Read more... )

Illona Andrews is possibly among the very few writers in which I've gobbled up everything they've written. There's a handful of others. Jane Austen, I did for the most part. James Joyce. William Gibson. Anne McCaffrey - I read just about everything she wrote. Courtney Milan - up to a point. I usually just read one series of the writers and nothing else. Neil Gaiman - I read way too much of - mainly because people kept rec'ing him to me, and I kept thinking - I should like this. Why don't I like this more than I do? I finally realized: It's because his characters lack emotional resonance and feel a bit like ciphers, and all the work is put into the world-building.

Illona Andrews does a good job with four or five story tropes that I love:
* Enemies to Partners to Lovers trope
* Problem solving and working collaboratively to do it, figuring things out logically
* Blending myth and science
* Questioning authority and social systems
* Survival in the midst of impossible circumstances

It's hard to articulate what I like sometimes. I'm not sure I did it well there.

This may come as shock to folks - considering I spend all my time reading and writing - for a living and for pleasure or so it seems? But neither come easily. Never have. Never will. ( Read more... )

Off to bed. Friday finally. I don't know about anyone else? But it's been a long and cold week. I'm ready for spring. Good think it allegedly starts tomorrow - at least per the calendar. Weather wise? It's up in the air at the moment.

shadowkat

So...two groups are fighting at the moment in the media.

My insane Union vs. Crazy Org and well the Feds in the middle of it. The Feds took the unions side, which is interesting although doesn't mean all that much, since the Feds on the Board of Review were pre-existing the current administration (of which we shall not name - spits).

That's just anxiety inducing.
( Read more... )

The other group is far more entertaining and much less anxiety inducing, mainly because I don't have a stake in any of it, and am mostly ambivalent.

Buffy vs. Hulu, (with well, a Zen Like Chloe Zhao somewhere in the middle?)

SMG (Buffy) announces Hulu axed the Buffy reboot with no warning, and it was because of one exec who hates Buffy and never liked the original show.

(So of course the journalists do some digging to find out who the executive in question is, because really, who in their right mind hates Buffy? - Some random executive isn't exactly helpful?)

Deadline outted the Executive...because of course... (honestly the journalists in our media have way too much time on their hands? There's either too many of them or...they just can't figure out what to do with the abundance of news already out there? Granted this is less anxiety inducing than the rest of it.)

Here's Deadline Article. [ Which is a must read for anyone interested in why it is so hard to get a television show produced and aired. And why this is a difficult business. Writing is easy - television is hard.]

"Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass. Written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, whose previous credits include Poker Face and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the pilot would have turned the attention to a new young slayer, commonly referred to as Nova. She was played by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and The Lowdown star Ryan Kiera Armstrong. It's said that the premise, initially seen as promising, gradually fell apart.
( Rest of the article )

And Here's Hollywood Reporter's Article on it via People Magazine -

( article below the cut regarding Gellar's take in an interview with People and Hollywood Reporter )

"A statement obtained by People noted that because Disney owns the Buffy IP, the project cannot be shopped elsewhere."

***

What did Craig Erwich green light - or what programs did he champion?

Erwich Interview with Hollywood Reporter on Future shows

Erwich shows

"Craig Erwich will now oversee 20th Television and 20th Television Animation, with Karey Burke and Marci Proietto reporting to him. Craig will continue to lead ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals."

https://deadline.com/2026/03/debra-oconnell-disney-craig-erwich-20th-television-1236757197/

In retribution? Someone leaked the alleged draft of the filmed pilot (I removed the link because I decided I agree with SMG not whomever leaked it.) (ETA: SMG has since requested folks not read it or share it, since it's just a draft and very rough, and pilots aren't the television show - pointing to the original pilot episode of the original Buffy series as evidence of this. In that - there was a different Willow, and Gellar had dark hair.)

Note - the leaked script was written in 2024, and has since been rewritten and tweaked. Also, I know Marsters (per interviews) was contacted in late 2025 - they'd shown interest in his return. And rumor has it that - they made the new script more adult, it was a 90 minute pilot, and more like a streaming show with a bigger budget, and everyone had liked it per the above.

So? We don't know what they would have come up with. Only the people involved know for certain.

***

I've not read the leaked script. There's no evidence it's actual? And we all know by now how much scripts change from paper to screen while shooting, often to the point in which very little on the draft makes it to screen.

I can't say I'm surprised it got axed. ( Read more... )

The online fandom, being contentious and fractious as ever - is fighting over it on various social media platforms - FB, Reddit, and X. I've seen the Reddit and FB fights, also one on X. There's several factions?
( Buffy fans are fighting over the Hulu/Buffy war )
This all rather entertaining, but not all that surprising? Fandom. Sigh. Fandom.

It is a nice distraction though from other...less entertaining and more worrisome problems, of which we shall not speak.

The leaked script sparks fanfiction ideas in my head. I'm tempted to write fanfic based on that synopsis. It's interesting. I can see all sorts of interesting things they could have done with the show and the general concept.

Stupid network/studio/streaming service executives with no imagination.

This is why I'm glad I'm not a television writer or television actor or working in television. As nutty and frustrating as my work in transportation and construction is? It's relatively sane and stable in comparison. The frustration alone would kill me - if I worked in television. Damn, that's a hard business.

So, just in case someone out there wants to get a book, novel, idea, what have you - produced and developed as a television series? Read the Buffy vs. Hulu fight, and find another career to invest yourself in. Trust me, the pain and suffering isn't worth it.

For every show, Whedon got produced - he had twenty others that never made it, and then he got cancelled - by the actors from his first successful (and possibly only really successful) television series.

fresne

Welp, I have finished my final Tuesday as a regularly employed person.

Tomorrow is the last full day I expect to put in, and given HR have scheduled a meeting at 3:00pm, I'm wondering if I'll need to even come in on Thursday. I mean, I'd like to not schlep in to hand over a computer/badge and go home. Course I also think they scheduled it for 3 because I've invited them (and other co-workers) to Winesday (Wednesday with wine/or whatever) provided by me.

As I expected it's been this simultaneous incredibly long-now rushing to a conclusion.

Course, I'm looking a bit wide eyed at the situation in Iran, but I did build into my plan for Trump to trumpery the economy. So, deep breaths and chilling the champagne.

shadowkat

1. Came home, did the exercises. ( general state of health )

2. Oh as an aside on PT and knee/hip/leg issues? The ballerina in the Sinner's number at the Oscars - who did a split with one leg up in the air and other bent beneath her? She had hip replacement surgery about three months prior.

"Just weeks before the Oscars, Copeland had undergone hip replacement surgery to address various injuries from her decorated ballet career, including bone spurs and cartilage loss. Despite this, she was determined to be a part of the Sinners performance, which allowed her to step back on pointe and join the celebration of the film's success, including Michael B. Jordan's Oscar win for Best Actor."

In December 2025, Copeland underwent hip replacement surgery.
On March 16, 2026, Copeland appeared on stage during the Oscars performance of "I Lied To You" from Sinners."

https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/los-angeles/news/2026/03/17/misty-copeland-joins-sinners-oscars-performance-after-hip-surgery/

3. Commute is irritating me - ( Read more... )

4. Work is also irritating me. ( Read more... )

5. Is this journaling or venting, I can't tell? Well at least it's mostly under a cut?

6. Stumbled upon the Florence + The Machine Song that references Buffy S6, finally. [Take that Christopher Golden (who told Charisma Carpenter in her podcast that he disliked S6 and thought the characters were Out of Character or OTT (?) - which probably explains why I found his Buffy novels unreadable and never bothered with them (I tried them in the book stores and gave up)) and all the other naysayers. (What can I say? Except that the Buffy fandom is a contentious and fractious one. Most are, actually. People rarely agree on anything - even the things they love - so this is hardly surprising? ) ]

The song is entitled "This Old Religion" - and I'd not really listened to it before today. I actually love it - it's a good song.
( This Old Religion )

Here's the lyric:
( Read more... )

6. Regarding Buffy - apparently they not only filmed the pilot, they even reworked the script when Hulu wasn't satisfied with it, and made the show more adult and more centered on the character of Buffy.

I'm fascinated with this - because it shows how impossible it is to get good television shows on the air. Crap is easy. But a good television show is really hard to put out there - you have to get around the network. And sci-fantasy is really hard because it is so expensive to produce. Why? They are looking for a sure-thing, so go by market analysis and logarithms and statistical data. Demographics. They used to do focus groups - and select a group to view something.

The way Hulu handled the Buffy revival and dealt with the creators involved - reminds me of my own experiences with the publishing industry ( Read more... )

And Gellar's comment about the executive at Hulu who disliked Buffy and bragged about never watching it - makes me want to drop my Hulu subscription. (I won't - I watch too much on it at the moment.)( Read more... ) The problem with our society is too many of the wrong people have all the power. That said? I like the New Mayor of NYC so far - he's coming across as a genuinely kind human being and proactive in his efforts to help all New Yorkers.

Chloe Zhao is less angry than Gellar - but Zhao has had different experiences having her hopes dashed and struggling with the corporate animal. (Zhao has had more luck than Gellar overall.) ( Read more... )

I know most of the folks who stumble across this - couldn't care less about the Buffy revival or Buffy. Depressing that. I miss the Buffy fandom. But alas, it scampered elsewhere. Mostly on Tumblr, Ticktock, Bluesky, Twitter, and Facebook. And that's not the fandom that I miss. I miss the one that analyzed the show, discussed things to death, and on occasion, not often, wrote fanfic.

7. I've joined then left a private group site on FB. "What to Do in NY" - I finally jumped out of. I decided its a tourist group site that exists solely to annoy the heck out of New Yorker's. (It's painful at times living in a highly frequented Tourist destination.) People would post, and all of the NY Residents on the site, myself included, would be compelled to state - no, no, you idiot, don't do that. Or yes, that's fine, stop worrying. Or for heaven's sake - if you are that concerned, just stay home, NY will eat you alive.

( examples of what not to ask - well if you don't want to annoy New Yorkers )
So, I finally gave up and left.

Current Mood: annoyed

conuly

Them: Go look at any official communication from a company. Have you ever received a ConEd bill that says, “Ya should of paid ya bill on time, now we gonna haveta cut off ya powa”? Of course not. Why? Because that is not standard English, and it would reflect poorly on the company.

Me: I take it you've never called ConEd on the phone in NYC? Because, whew, that'd disabuse you of this fiction pretty quick. Them and National Grid, wow. And I'm not even talking about their representatives, I'm talking about their recordings! Never heard such a thick NYC accent in my life, and I grew up here!

conuly

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Things!
Look upon my Works, ye Mighty, and Repair!"
Everything inside remains. Round the tools
Of that colossal Bench, all arranged
The shiny level and sander are neatly put away.

This is the best comment in that thread, nothing will top it.

"The best have strong convictions, while the worst / Are full of resignation and are sad.
[...]
And if a lion slouches toward Bethlehem, / That's 'cause it's native to the Levant."

Gosh, I wish.

*********************************

( Read more... )

shadowkat

Gellar speaks out about the cancellation, citing it came as a complete surprise

""Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming," the actress, who was set to reprise her role as Buffy Summers in the new iteration, tells People, adding that there's one specific person she blames for the "Buffy: New Sunnydale" pilot not being ordered to series.

"We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn't for him," Gellar explains, not revealing the name of the executive in question. "That's very hard when you're taking a property that is as beloved as 'Buffy,' not just to the world, but to me and [pilot director Chloé Zhao]. So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn't watch it."

Read More: https://www.tvline.com/2125094/buffy-reboot-canceled-reason-explained-sarah-michelle-gellar/

Sigh.

And.. Chloe Zhao:

Zhao spoke with Variety on the Oscars red carpet Sunday night, saying she was “not surprised” by Hulu’s decision.

"I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah [Michelle Gellar], with all the cast and crew doing this. And we, first and foremost, see ourselves as the guardians of the original show,” Zhao told the outlet. “Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans. So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.”

Many fans are hoping the revival series will get picked up at another streamer, with a source telling Variety there is a “lot of love” for the character and “Basically, the door is still open.”

https://thenationaldesk.com/news/entertainment/the-buffy-reboot-has-been-canceled-what-happened

**

I confess? I'm disappointed. There's only a handful of old television series that I'd like to see more of or reboots of, and none of them except for Firefly is actually getting it. Meanwhile we have shows that have been rebooted one too many times. I'd provide a list? But you all would probably kill me..;-) Let's just say I don't watch those shows, and leave it at that?

The shows - I'd like to see rebooted or more of?

* Buffy
* Angel
* Firefly
* WonderFalls
* Veronica Mars
* Now and Again
* Remington Steel
* Farscape
* BattleStar Galatica or Caprica
* Merlin
* Pushing Daisies
* SMASH
* Gilmore Girls
* Fame (if they did it right)
* Bunheads
* L'Etoile
* The Avengers

conuly

And isn’t everything risk?

The beloved lives
Then dies,
Then (if we’re lucky)
Rises again
Into a poem or song

Or into the world
In some other form
Impossible to predict.

Simplest story, oldest tale:

Sparrows sing it
From every hedge;

And swallows, also,
From their nests on the ledge.

**********

Link

conuly

Watch on YouTube

conuly

that the Roman calendar was batshit.

Today is the Ides, okay, and yesterday was pridie Ides, so far so good, and the day before that was three days before the Ides, because the Romans a. counted backwards and b. did this weird inclusive counting, so Friday, Saturday, Ides = three days.

(Which is also how Good Friday is three days before the Resurrection, when it blatantly isn't.)

***************************

( Read more... )

conuly

Not to worry, I'll return it. We have plenty enough as it is.

************************

( Read more... )

cactuswatcher

Via

shadowkat

10. It’s International Wig Day – have you ever worn a wig or a hairpiece?

No, and I'm pretty bald on top.

11. How organized are you with household paperwork (or is everything just in one big pile)?

Reasonably in that I can find things, as for this tax season. Important stuff goes in a filing cabinet. Less important stuff gets shredded.

12. When was the last time you vacuumed the floor?

My cat has an open sore on the top of his paw, I'm not going to mess with the floor till it gets better. I will have to do some spot cleaning of the rug before I can vacuum.

13. It’s International School Meals Day. Did you ever have school meals, and what dish still sticks in your memory if you did?

I had school cafeteria meals for many years. From grade school, I remember sheet cake and little slabs of ice cream from the local dairy. On the bad side we'd get the world's worst meat loaf occasionally. In high school, I skipped the full lunches. Some kids swore by the pizza there, but I thought it was not great. I mostly lived on hamburgers or little sub sandwiches with orange drink, that I purchased every day. As an undergraduate the food was mostly just okay but they had shrimp nights occasionally. If you had late class they might run out on shrimp nights and you'd get liver and onions, which I detest. The funny part was that if a serving of Jello had lettuce under it, it was salad and you could have as much as you wanted. Without the lettuce it was a dessert and you could only have one serving. In grad school the food was great, but I only got up for breakfast when they had donuts.

14. International ‘Ask Me A Question Day’. Go ahead – ask me a question!

(Assuming I've not already answered everything you could possibly want to know...)

15. What’s the weather like today?
Low in the high 50's. High in the mid 80's. It's supposed to hit 100 degrees this week. A little early in the year for that even for here in the desert.

shadowkat

Accomplished next to nothing this weekend. Slept horribly last night - so ended up falling asleep while attempting to watch the Oscar nominated Brazilian film "the Secret Agent" but it's mostly people talking to each other and investigating things...and in Portuguese with subtitles. I kept falling to sleep, then jarring awake and thinking this movie hasn't advanced at all - it looks the same. But I did kind of sleep off and on for about two hours today. Also been wrestling with hot flashes today. Menopause is fun, and strange, and confusing.

Tried "Sung Song Blue" - on Peacock - and will definitely go back to it.
It's good, but I wanted to watch the Oscars tonight...god knows why? I don't know why? Tradition? Curiosity? I am admittedly curious about the musical performances. Conan's comedy routine however is making me cringe? And I wish there was less of it. But the audience seems to be enjoying it.
( Watching the Oscars )

Say what you will about the Oscars - they do have the best commercials.

***

Mememage

10. It’s International Wig Day – have you ever worn a wig or a hairpiece?

No. Or not that I recall. My mother had one once - they were in fashion in the early 70s and late 60s.

11. How organised are you with household paperwork (or is everything just in one big pile)?

Mixed bag? I throw it in binders, in a file cabinet, and in bags. If it's junk - bag, if bills - shredding bag, if have to keep filing pouch or cabinet.

12. When was the last time you vacuumed the floor?

Last weekend? It's just me. I don't have any mud, and leave shoes at the door or foot of living room. And don't really have any rugs.

13. It’s International School Meals Day. Did you ever have school meals, and what dish still sticks in your memory if you did?

Not really? I usually brought my lunch, and in college - I remember the ice cream bar and hot chocolate machine, and mocha shakes.

14. International ‘Ask Me A Question Day’. Go ahead – ask me a question!

(Assuming I've not already answered everything you could possibly want to know...)

15. What’s the weather like today?

Gloomy. Overcast. And in the 30s and 40s F. I didn't see the point in venturing out in it.

shadowkat

They've leaked the portions of the Buffy Pilot to the fandom now..

Detailed Synopsis of Act One

( per Reddit )

And...

( the last page of the pilot script )

Speculation from the poster: "From Deadline: "There had been talk about reworking the pilot as recently as earlier this week. In the end, Hulu opted not to proceed with it but remains high on the Buffy IP and plans to regroup and mull a possible new incarnation of the beloved franchise."
Someone online posted a page from the supposed pilot script. Their theory was maybe Hulu didn't go forward with the pilot is because SMG only appears at the end, and maybe they want Buffy to be a more central character rather than the new slayer."

I think Hulu wanted Buffy to be more central to the series, and bring in more of the original cast, and Gellar didn't want that - nor did the creators, and they had creative differences?

They are probably trying to inspire the fandom to get the pilot aired and convince Hulu to change its mind by leaking it? Except the fandom is kind of fractious - and wants different things. It's not like the Firefly fandom which just wanted more of the show.

shadowkat

Well, I've got news on Firefly - they weren't rumors after all. Nathan Fillon is attempting to bring Firefly back as an animated series.

Fillion posts on social media that Firefly is happening, they just need a home

Firefly Cast is Reuniting to Bring Firefly Back as an Animated Series

"The animated series stems from Fillion's production banner Collision33, in partnership with 20th Television Animation. Marc Guggenheim (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) are attached as showrunners, and a script has been completed. Joss Whedon will not be involved in the animated project. The animated series is expected to be set between the original 2002 television run and the 2005 feature film, Serenity. Early concept art from animation studio ShadowMachine was also shown."

https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/
( Read more... )

So, Fillion is doing what I thought Gellar should have done. Which is bring back the show as an animated series with the original cast voicing the characters. Fillion wisely realizes that the audience was invested in the original cast and characters not the world. We'll see if he finds a home for it - being animated, there's a better chance, animation is cheaper.

Meanwhile the Buffy fandom is attempting to change Hulu's mind about the Buffy reboot with an Online Petition. (It's possible the Hulu was fine about the Buffy revival but wanted to change a bunch of things including the showrunners and Zhao. So, having not seen the pilot that Hulu passed on? Or knowing why they passed? I'm reluctant to sign a petition to get them to show it to us and continue with it? Also, I get the feeling everyone has moved on?)

Personally? I think Firefly has the best chance of the two? Firefly is planning on providing animated episodes of the series between the abrupt ending and the film Serenity, with the entire original cast (except for the deceased Ron Glass who will most likely be recast). And has show-runners who are familiar with the world, familiar with Whedon's writing style and the genre. If you are going to revive an old television series with the original cast? Animation is the best way to go, in my opinion. YMMV.

conuly

Seriously, asleep more than I've been awake. And I never did manage to work out the logistics to get to the memorial, which halfway sucks but halfway is "Welp, social anxiety" so....

*********************************

( Read more... )

shadowkat

Hello, it's been a nice and quiet Saturday. Temperatures in the mid to high forties and low fifties. Jacket and sweatshirt weather. Wore sweats for most of the day. Niece sent me a University of Montana sweatshirt for my birthday. I had bought myself the HOKA training/walking shoes (although not from the link provided) rec'd by the PT. Which I wore yesterday and took a twenty minute walk around the block and to MetFresh today. (I know I should probably order groceries? But I find I buy less and I'm more frugal if I go to the grocery store - plus exercise, since I don't own or drive a car and walk everywhere, well outside of using the subway.)

Also clear blue sky with a scant trace of cloud cover. But alas no flowers or greenery anywhere, unlike I'd found, albeit briefly, in Battery Park earlier in the week. (Green grass, and one bush. Spring! I thought. But alas, no, still winter.) So, aching for flowers and greenery - I purchased more cut flowers from the grocery store. Red Roses, and a bunch of purple and reddish purple flowers that I do not know the names of - one's a purple globe, the others look like various versions of purple and red baby's breath. I'd buy an actual plant - but I have a dreadful black thumb and kill them. The green thumb skipped me and landed on my brother. I have a black thumb. I can kill a cactus. And fake plants - I associate with dust.

**

I did a few walks earlier in the week - when it was still warm outside, before we slid kicking and screaming back into winter. The first was up the pier to check out the cherry blossom festival (or the fake cherry blossom festival) on Pier 15. (It only it actually looked like that? It doesn't. Ah, the wonders of photo-shop and AI.) The second was around Battery City Park - the grass was actually green with flowers, purple flowers sprouting from a patch in the middle of it - helped no doubt by the fact that it was sealed off from people and dogs - and only geese, birds, insects and squirrels could frolic in the enclosure. People and dogs can do a lot of damage. Want to grow grass? Keep dogs and people away from it.

I also saw a green bush. And I thought - ah spring. Then it was in the thirties and forties the next day, and felt like 29 degrees, and I thought, no, still winter. Dang it.

The bush has green buds on it - but you have to enlarge the picture to see it. Also we now have an open pier that you can walk along to see the Statue of Liberty. When the Tall Boats Conference happens in July - that entire walkway should be open - so people can walk along and look at boats in the New York harbor.

The second walk was admittedly more productive than the first. I got stopped along the way by a Statue of Liberty Ticket Ferry scammer who was attempting to tell me that I was going the wrong way to the Statue of Liberty Ferry. I ignored him.

**

Mother interrupted this entry with a phone call - to regale me with news from my brother. I rarely talk to him myself - and honestly, don't need to, she tells me everything he's doing, his daughter is doing, and his wife doing - his friends are doing - and various and sundry family members whether I want this information or not. (Well in snatches, she doesn't remember half of it - and it's the stuff that I'm usually curious about that she doesn't remember, while the stuff I was happier not knowing - she does).
( discussions with mother )

***

Television

* Scarpetta This is the series starring Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Simon Baker, and Bobbie Carnvale (along with his son) adapted from the Patricia Cornwall - Kay Scarpetta mysteries - which I read in the 1990s and early 00s, and now have only vague memories of. I honestly don't remember them at all, just the characters names, and vaguely their relationships with each other? I don't remember the FBI agent, or the sister, just the cop Marino and Kay. That means, I can be fairly open-minded about the series, and won't be comparing it to the books at all. And I didn't. I honestly can't remember much if anything at all about the books - and I read most of them.

Patricia Cornwall served as a consultant on the series, and it has a woman showrunner and director.

I want to like it? But there's something off about it? It's really kind of busy and noisy? I think I want to calm it down a little or cut some of it out? ( Read more... )

It's gotten mixed reviews? The professional critics seem to like it, but the audience really doesn't.

* Grantchester - this is on Netflix and PBS Passport. I like it better than Scarpetta. It's a historical mystery series featuring a young jazz loving Vicar who solves murder mysteries in his parish with a local homicide detective during the 1950s. The Vicar is a former solider who served in the WWII and is struggling to get past it.

* The Pitt - still enjoying this, although it seems a bit subdued from last year, not sure why. I think the characters are a little less on edge - or the characters that are on edge, aren't the principal characters so it's less apparent? Not sure. It's not a bad thing, just a tonal shift.

* Count of Monte Cristo - almost done. It's subdued as well, and very understated. I'm hesistant to rec too heavily? I'm enjoying it - because I kind of want understated and restrained and subdued at the moment. I'm appreciating it. I don't why. Maybe I'm tired of the noise that seems to surround me constantly? All the ads, all the marketing, all the noise...I want subdued?

This may explain why Scarpetta isn't working for me, but the Pitt, Grantchester, and Monte Cristo are? I'm apparently in the mood for a more realistic touch and a less frenetic high gloss one?

Off to bed.

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Happy Saturday!

I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!

If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.

shadowkat

Sarah Michelle Gellar just reported on her Instagram site about four minutes ago that Hulu has unfortunately chosen not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale but "if the apocalypse comes, you can still beep me".

"Announcement: Sarah Michelle Gellar shared in a recent video that the project was not proceeding on Instagram.

The Project: The revival was to be titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, with Gellar returning alongside new cast members.

Development Issues: Prior to this, reports suggested that differences over the number of episodes (18 vs. 8) and a need to focus on a new cast were causing delay."

ETA for links, which weren't available until now - clearly people were waiting for Gellar to announce it before doing it themselves?

https://pagesix.com/2026/03/14/entertainment/buffy-series-revival-new-sunnydale-not-moving-forward-at-hulu-sarah-michelle-gellar-reveals/

https://deadline.com/2026/03/buffy-reboot-dead-sarah-michelle-gellar-hulu-chloe-zhao-1236753736/

( my two cents for what it's worth... )

In other news? There's rumors they may be reviving Firefly - with the entire cast on board - or it's just a reunion at a convention. That's actually more likely - since Firefly got cancelled too soon, and the cast and crew and writers wanted to continue with it, and were all on board and happy with each other.

shadowkat

Sigh. I had a story, the first paragraph, and now it's gone. It was in my head walking to the subway. And I thought I could grab it again...when I got on my computer tonight. But alas, it's gone. It'll come back again if need be. I may have to purchase the Tiles Survival Video Game to reprise it.

I learned a valuable lesson this week? When correcting someone or editing, be careful of tone. This is easier said than done? I am doing a lot of editing now - and it requires a lot of patience. Often I am correcting the same mistakes over and over and over again. And the mistakes from my perspective appear to be obvious? Like how can they not know this? And I often have to re-write my comments, and rewrite my emails multiple times, to ensure that my tone is okay.

On the internet it's remarkably easy to screw up with tone, resulting in miscommunications and fights and hurt feelings.

I've been corrected this week - by people who were careful with their tone, and by people who either don't understand tone or aren't careful. Precision in words doesn't always matter as much as how you choose to phrase them. After all, if your phrasing and tone is off - then your reader isn't understanding your words and they fall on death ears. Your intentions will be misunderstood.

I define tone by how I write the sentence. Not just the words that I chose, but the actual phrasing. I think of writing as a means of communicating thoughts, expression, emotion, facts, and information among other things (that I can't think of at the moment), and tone conveys the writers intent to the reader. Also emotion can affect tone - if you are writing from a place of frustration, irritation, impatience, or rage - it will be reflected in your tone. Because you aren't speaking orally - the emotion or intent often has to be conveyed through phrasing.

I've learned that tone in writing matters. So many miscommunications happen because of tone. I've lost count of the number of posts and comments that I've either walked away from or deleted because of the tone. Or the number of correspondents that I've parted ways with because of tone. When my tone is condescending or patronizing - I shut down the listener or reader - they stop hearing me. They stop reading. Instead of engaging their mind, I've engaged their emotions.

Writing carefully takes practice. It's an art. And it is hard to do on social media. I struggle with it. Some are better at it than others. It of course helps if you don't write in anger or frustration.

So many on the internet write carelessly, with little to no regard to the reader. You should care about the reader. We aren't posting our words to the abyss. And as a reader, you should care about the writer.

We should ask ourselves prior to responding directly to any post on the internet - whether it wise? Is it useful? Is it kind? Can we write our response in a way that the reader will respond favorably, and not get upset? Would we respond favorably to that response or comment or would we respond in anger? Do not post anything that makes you think you are clever or smarter or better than another. Or makes you feel superior to the person who posted? Leave your ego at the curb.

This is also hard to do in internet correspondence. I think sometimes it is really hard for people to hear each other? They are so caught up in their own heads they can't hear the other person?

I saw this great little bit on FB recently, where the commentator stated that "when someone is sharing their story with you - listen to it, without thinking about your own. Our tendency is to want to share our own similar story with the other person, as opposed to just hearing and responding to theirs. An example is - if I were to show you around my home or office, and your immediate response is - let me show you mine now."

I'm trying to get better at all of these things. But alas I am a work in progress as are we all. I'm also trying to forgive and be patient with those at work, on DW, in personal life, facebook, fandom, social media platforms, what have you - whose tone is often condescending and hurtful - and try to remember I don't know what their day was like? I don't know what they are feeling right now? Maybe a loved one died? Maybe work pissed them off? Maybe they want to lash out at the world?

It is hard sometimes, I think, to remember this? That in the end, we are all just doing time on planet earth the best that we are able. And sometimes we need to vent into the void without anyone kicking us for it?

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