Actually, I was going for professor...
May. 14th, 2010 02:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
firthgalI feel like I've been away from LJ forever, but in actuality it's only been 2 or 3 days. Hm. But anyway, I have a backlog of comments and PMs to answer, which I will! Eventually! Now that I've finished watching I ♥ Betty la Fea (and yes, I feel just as empty now as when I finished the original version. *sigh*)
But anyway, before I get to Ugly Betty talk, here are my Thursday Night TV reactions:
1. Community - HELL YES. JEFF/ANNIE 4EVR!!!1!1!1!! ♥ ♥ ♥ No, but seriously, they were on fire tonight. I LOVE THEM SO VERY MUCH! And Troy with his natural plumbing talents! And Senor Chang with his keytar aspirations! And Abed with his accidentally offensive movie quotes! And Pierce! Oh, this show, I love it. Especially when Jeff and Annie make googly eyes at each other and then blush.
2. Parks and Rec - Loved it, as usual. Ron was my favorite, as usual. April and Andy were adorable yet dense, as usual. *sigh* Rob Lowe dazzled me with his pearly white smile, as usual (he's like a Ken doll!). I am enjoying Leslie's new man, even though I still 100% believe that Ron and Leslie were made for each other. Ann made me giggle! She so rarely gets to be the goofy one. So, basically, I enjoyed this ep, and I am especially loving the April/Andy angst that manages to be rather subtle but still pretty obvious (and kind of heartbreaking).
3. The Office - Andy! ANDY!!!!!!!! Oh, you guys, my Andy is so back. ♥ Er... that's pretty much all I have to say about the ep. It made me laugh! A lot! So, that was good.
4. 30 Rock - Meh. I am enjoying this show a lot less without my Jack/Liz enthusiasm. However, I still found the ep funny, just, you know, it bugs me so much when Jack and Liz are trying so hard to find "the one" when all evidence points to the fact that they are each other's "one," especially since that passage that Liz was reading at the wedding shouted "THAT'S JACK AND LIZ" at me, and then Liz proceeds to stall the wedding simply because Jack asked her to in text form. She didn't even think about it, she just did it! And if that's not love, then I don't know what is. Not only that, but she just freaking lit up when she realized he was there. THEY COMPLETE EACH OTHER, SHOW. WHY CAN'T YOU FIGURE THIS OUT ALREADY? Liz can't find the right dude because none of them are Jack. You know it, I know it, Hong Kong knows it, so, COME THE FREAK ON. I... I really didn't mean to rant. I enjoyed the episode! I did! Especially Dennis! And Wesley! But you know how I feel about my Jack/Liz. I miss the show focusing on their awesomeness.
Okay, so, as I mentioned earlier, I've finished the Filipino version of Ugly Betty. It was INSANE, but I enjoyed it immensely. What I loved about this version so much is that the romance between Betty and Armando was genuine throughout the whole show. They started as boss and employee, and Armando actually resented Betty at first since his father made him hire her (probably an homage to the American version, as was Betty walking into the plate glass window), and a lot of the first few eps happened a lot like the original, except this Betty wasn't so naive, and while she was a little scared in the beginning, she started to stand up for herself and make Armando realize what a jerk he was, and their dynamic really reminded me of the American version, especially once they started getting closer. They really did become good friends, but Armando was kind of clueless (again, he really reminded me of the American version of the character once he got out of his jerky stage). And the more time Armando spent with Betty, the more he realized that they click with each other on every level. When she wasn't with him, he felt incomplete, and that was before his feelings even started getting romantic. I loved how, when he was on vacation with Marcela and feeling trapped, he opened his computer and watched the video Betty had given him, and he gets this warm look on his face and then just bursts out laughing during the part where she's laughing, and for this one moment he feels free, but then thoughts of Marcela come into his mind and he starts crying. GUH! And I like how it took certain moments from the original and completely changed their context, like the handkerchief moment, or Betty's botched makeover (which was intentionally bad in this version because she thought that Armando's feelings weren't real). Basically, what I loved the most about this version is that it took the same story but looked at it from a legitimate point of view rather than having the romance be deceptive, so instead of Betty and Armando's problems arising out of betrayal, the problems they faced were about people looking down on them for their romance/people thinking they were mismatched/people thinking that Betty was the waitress or the maid instead of Armando's girlfriend. And ooooooooh were they adorable together. The courtship was well-paced and beautiful and the show knew when to focus solely on them. But then the bad stuff started happening, and then Armando did a really, really stupid thing that brokemy Betty's heart, and it was a long, long road to recovery, some of which I enjoyed immensely, but also some of which I thought went on for too long (which was mainly the bit where they were separated for so many episodes, but I actually think the separation was a lot shorter than the Colombian and Russian versions).
So, while I really, really enjoyed the romance, to the point where I maybe even loved them more than the original Betty/Armando (maybe), the show went wrong in a lot of places. Namely, all the scheming. My god, I always thought that the American version had too much scheming going on, but it was nothing compared to this one. Nothing. I got so sick of Daniela's schemes that I just wanted to reach into my computer and strangle her. Especially since she kept blaming all of her family's problems on Betty, which was so insanely ridiculous. And Armando's father was such a jackass, I freaking hated him, but then he became sympathetic, but then he turned into a jackass again, and the dude just had the poorest judgment in the world for trusting Daniela even after she destroyed the company, and he has the nerve to treat Betty like dirt after she restored the company to its full glory, and just... ugh. Tragedy upon tragedy fell on Betty's family (and her romance with Armando) because of Daniela's scheming and Roberto's stupidity, and in the end they all get forgiven like nothing happened. UGH. So, yeah, the show stretched itself too thin with the soap opera theatrics, but at least they kept the romance perfect. What I loved about the original was that even though it was a soap opera, it really didn't feel like a soap opera since the problems the characters faced were realistic, and the show made every single character so very human. This version failed in that, but I don't think it ever set out to do that. Anyway, it kept the romance very real and sweet and heartbreaking and adorable, and it kept the Pengson family moments very real (most of which made me cry like crazy), so, I enjoyed this version very, very much, even though quality-wise it really pales in comparison to the original.
And now I'm sad since I'm out of versions to watch. I still want to see the German version. WHY IS IT NOT ON YOUTUBE, DAMN IT?
But anyway, before I get to Ugly Betty talk, here are my Thursday Night TV reactions:
1. Community - HELL YES. JEFF/ANNIE 4EVR!!!1!1!1!! ♥ ♥ ♥ No, but seriously, they were on fire tonight. I LOVE THEM SO VERY MUCH! And Troy with his natural plumbing talents! And Senor Chang with his keytar aspirations! And Abed with his accidentally offensive movie quotes! And Pierce! Oh, this show, I love it. Especially when Jeff and Annie make googly eyes at each other and then blush.
2. Parks and Rec - Loved it, as usual. Ron was my favorite, as usual. April and Andy were adorable yet dense, as usual. *sigh* Rob Lowe dazzled me with his pearly white smile, as usual (he's like a Ken doll!). I am enjoying Leslie's new man, even though I still 100% believe that Ron and Leslie were made for each other. Ann made me giggle! She so rarely gets to be the goofy one. So, basically, I enjoyed this ep, and I am especially loving the April/Andy angst that manages to be rather subtle but still pretty obvious (and kind of heartbreaking).
3. The Office - Andy! ANDY!!!!!!!! Oh, you guys, my Andy is so back. ♥ Er... that's pretty much all I have to say about the ep. It made me laugh! A lot! So, that was good.
4. 30 Rock - Meh. I am enjoying this show a lot less without my Jack/Liz enthusiasm. However, I still found the ep funny, just, you know, it bugs me so much when Jack and Liz are trying so hard to find "the one" when all evidence points to the fact that they are each other's "one," especially since that passage that Liz was reading at the wedding shouted "THAT'S JACK AND LIZ" at me, and then Liz proceeds to stall the wedding simply because Jack asked her to in text form. She didn't even think about it, she just did it! And if that's not love, then I don't know what is. Not only that, but she just freaking lit up when she realized he was there. THEY COMPLETE EACH OTHER, SHOW. WHY CAN'T YOU FIGURE THIS OUT ALREADY? Liz can't find the right dude because none of them are Jack. You know it, I know it, Hong Kong knows it, so, COME THE FREAK ON. I... I really didn't mean to rant. I enjoyed the episode! I did! Especially Dennis! And Wesley! But you know how I feel about my Jack/Liz. I miss the show focusing on their awesomeness.
Okay, so, as I mentioned earlier, I've finished the Filipino version of Ugly Betty. It was INSANE, but I enjoyed it immensely. What I loved about this version so much is that the romance between Betty and Armando was genuine throughout the whole show. They started as boss and employee, and Armando actually resented Betty at first since his father made him hire her (probably an homage to the American version, as was Betty walking into the plate glass window), and a lot of the first few eps happened a lot like the original, except this Betty wasn't so naive, and while she was a little scared in the beginning, she started to stand up for herself and make Armando realize what a jerk he was, and their dynamic really reminded me of the American version, especially once they started getting closer. They really did become good friends, but Armando was kind of clueless (again, he really reminded me of the American version of the character once he got out of his jerky stage). And the more time Armando spent with Betty, the more he realized that they click with each other on every level. When she wasn't with him, he felt incomplete, and that was before his feelings even started getting romantic. I loved how, when he was on vacation with Marcela and feeling trapped, he opened his computer and watched the video Betty had given him, and he gets this warm look on his face and then just bursts out laughing during the part where she's laughing, and for this one moment he feels free, but then thoughts of Marcela come into his mind and he starts crying. GUH! And I like how it took certain moments from the original and completely changed their context, like the handkerchief moment, or Betty's botched makeover (which was intentionally bad in this version because she thought that Armando's feelings weren't real). Basically, what I loved the most about this version is that it took the same story but looked at it from a legitimate point of view rather than having the romance be deceptive, so instead of Betty and Armando's problems arising out of betrayal, the problems they faced were about people looking down on them for their romance/people thinking they were mismatched/people thinking that Betty was the waitress or the maid instead of Armando's girlfriend. And ooooooooh were they adorable together. The courtship was well-paced and beautiful and the show knew when to focus solely on them. But then the bad stuff started happening, and then Armando did a really, really stupid thing that broke
So, while I really, really enjoyed the romance, to the point where I maybe even loved them more than the original Betty/Armando (maybe), the show went wrong in a lot of places. Namely, all the scheming. My god, I always thought that the American version had too much scheming going on, but it was nothing compared to this one. Nothing. I got so sick of Daniela's schemes that I just wanted to reach into my computer and strangle her. Especially since she kept blaming all of her family's problems on Betty, which was so insanely ridiculous. And Armando's father was such a jackass, I freaking hated him, but then he became sympathetic, but then he turned into a jackass again, and the dude just had the poorest judgment in the world for trusting Daniela even after she destroyed the company, and he has the nerve to treat Betty like dirt after she restored the company to its full glory, and just... ugh. Tragedy upon tragedy fell on Betty's family (and her romance with Armando) because of Daniela's scheming and Roberto's stupidity, and in the end they all get forgiven like nothing happened. UGH. So, yeah, the show stretched itself too thin with the soap opera theatrics, but at least they kept the romance perfect. What I loved about the original was that even though it was a soap opera, it really didn't feel like a soap opera since the problems the characters faced were realistic, and the show made every single character so very human. This version failed in that, but I don't think it ever set out to do that. Anyway, it kept the romance very real and sweet and heartbreaking and adorable, and it kept the Pengson family moments very real (most of which made me cry like crazy), so, I enjoyed this version very, very much, even though quality-wise it really pales in comparison to the original.
And now I'm sad since I'm out of versions to watch. I still want to see the German version. WHY IS IT NOT ON YOUTUBE, DAMN IT?
