Killing the Fishtank- S.H.I.E.L.D. "0-8-4"

Episode 2 was a grand improvement, with the help of Angel alum writer/producer Jeffery Bell. Yay!

It's nice to know the writers were aware that the first episode was a bit of a clusterfuck and addressed it head-on immediately. And finishing it with a weird hissy-fit from Director Fury was kind of awesome.

Also, two thoughts on Coulson:

1) I think he's actually a robot.
2) I sort of feel like he's being written as a non-villain version of the Mayor from BtVS.

Final note: this is basically the only new show I'm bothering to follow at this point this year. TV time is very rare for me at the moment.

On the Subject of One Alexander LaVelle Harris

I recently watched Graduation Day Part 2, the season 3 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has probably been about three years since I last watched it- and before then I probably hadn't watched it since 2004.

For the years 1998 through 2002, BtVS was a giant obsession of mine. By the time the show had ended in 2003, I had experienced way too many emotions towards the show. I bought the commercial VHS tape 6 episode set series for the first three seasons, the dvds for the first three seasons, and a ridiculous amount of tie-in books that I could devour 3 a day without even trying.

That is to say: I liked/loved the show. But by 2004, I had kind of over-dosed on it.

Now, ten years after the show ended, I've changed a decent amount. I no longer believe that Joss Whedon can do no wrong- but I do still like him a lot and am thrilled that he's now a bigshot. So, I guess I'm looking at these episodes with different eyes.

And I still love Graduation Day... but I also see a few more flaws that I remembered. I always thought of the show as flawed and that being part of the charm- making the beauty more beautiful in direct contrast.

So, now, I have to say it: Xander's a dick.

I never really felt that before. Sure, I thought it was pretty terrible when he didn't tell Buffy that Willow was trying to restore Angel's soul in Becoming Part 2- but his motive was understandable. I never really understood all the fanfics that felt the need to re-hash that moment and "punish" Xander for his actions in that episode.

And, for the most part, I can understand his stupid comments to Angel most of the time in season three. It's part lingering jealous, part anger about what Angel became, and also just that feeling of having to witness your best friend be in a terrible relationship that can't end well.

But they really should've nipped his snide comments in the butt when it comes to Cordelia after Lovers Walk. Or had Buffy slap him. The girl almost died because of his stupid hormones and jealousy issues. She was skewered through her abdomen because she fell through a flight of stairs after trying to run away in shock after discovering her boyfriend kissing another girl. Yeah, maybe he did redeem himself a bit by paying for Cordelia's prom dress, but I can't sit through them sniping at each other over Wesley and think that Xander has any right to talk to her like that.

However, I am still on the side of feeling that Xander's character was slowly and painfully assassinated over the stretch of seasons 4 through 7, and the first of the characters to be whittled down to a 2-D parody of himself. My stomach still turns to think of the terrible wedding episode. Part of the issue was that Xander was at times basically the "token boy" where most other shows would have a "token girl" in a male dominated cast who was just there to be girl-y. His second biggest character trait (after wise-cracking) was "male"- for all the wonderful fleshed out characters on the show, Xander never really got the same treatment. Xander-centric episodes involved him getting possessed or having a "wacky" encounter with the supernatural. The season five episode, The Replacement, being the one big exception. But, also, it took FIVE SEASONS to get that episode- and then it seemed like the writers didn't really know what to do with him later on other than relationship stuff.

And, by season seven, he was mostly reduced to being kind of a pervert- something that was more excusable when he was a high school kid. But on a 20-something? Gross.

My point stands, however: Xander was kind of a dick. It's amazing he didn't get hurt more than he did.

Not Quite Right

For almost a year now, I've been dealing with severe pain from my temporomandibular joint- aka TMJ aka my jaw. In a matter of days, I went from having a searing pain in my face to being incapable of opening my mouth further than 11 millimeters between my top and bottom teeth. My face swelled to the point where my vision was getting obscured and I could not turn my neck. Everything between my temple and my shoulders hurt.

It's getting better with the help of a dental splint (24/7 plastic retainer, essentially), time released muscle relaxants, rheumatoid arthritis medication, and now a nerve pain medication. But, also, after 10 months you just sort of get used to it a bit.

In the past month, my TMJ specialist referred me to a pain specialist for the neurological and pain aspects that go beyond his realm- like burning pain and pain in my neck and clavicle area. 

So, I went to the pain specialist and, for some reason, he decided to focused on my actual shoulder. Something that never bothered me too much outside of the whole radiating pain from my jaw and neck.

He sent me for an MRI of my shoulder and I grumbled about how pointless it was- yet another MRI that will show nothing significant. I could cover my living room in films from MRIs, X-rays, CAT scans, and ultrasounds that have shown nothing conclusive inside my body.

Of course, he managed to find something. I have what's called a SLAP tear in my shoulder and some swelling in the ligiments. Essentially, what baseball pitchers get when they blow out their arms.

I've never pitched in my life. I have no idea where this tear came from. I have a great range of motion in my shoulder, just my left arm is weak- as it has been ever since I experienced nerve damage in my wrist and thumb in it 13 years ago.

And I have no real pain that I feel coming from my shoulder... well, at least I didn't until last night.

I might've managed to step out of my car without putting it in park last night. Possibly. And I realized what I did and lunged back into the car to put it in park with just inches before it hit another (parked) car. In the process, my left shoulder managed to get mildly banged up by the car door (as did my right hip on the side of the car and my left ankle on the bottom of the car). So, tomorrow I have a consult with an orthopedic surgeon and will most likely have a bruise on my shoulder that previously didn't hurt.

I have a feeling this is going to complicate things.