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desktop meme and UV the US remake
Mar. 4th, 2004 01:35 pmGacked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thete1
( desktop meme )
I watched the pilot fo the US version of Ultraviolet last night. For those of you who don't know what Ultraviolet is, you should be thwacked around the head. Especially if you are British and/or in BtVS fandom. Ultraviolet was a damn cool pre-Buffy 1990s Channel 4 vampire series, only did one season, which translates as six episodes in UK speak. (yes, that is the usual length of a series here. Sometimes we're lucky and it stretches to 12, or sometimes 22. But six is the 'normal' length. Makes for much tighter scripting.) It set a lot of moods, the concept of non-gothiness in vamps, the scientific approach... oh so many things. And it was so damn cool and creepy and menacing, with amazing performances, about a cop who gets drawn into an agency whose sole purpose is trying to stem the spread of vamps. Organised vamps. It starts with his best mate stranding fiance at altar because he's been involved with vamps too long and that's the time when they decide he should be vamped.
Anyway. The US pilot was a US-ified version of the first ep, with a bit from the second ep chucked in there. Assoulstar can testify, I was moaning 'paiiiiiiin' from about five minutes in. Right. Starts with night before at bachelor party, segues into next morning and best friend not turning up at the wedding. First, the characters? Bland. Less emotional depth than Harmony. And less menacing and creepy than Harmony. Way too much time given over to fiance yelling at the main character. Idris Elba turns up, (the ex military scary boy from the UK version, playing the same basic character) I go 'finally! Depth! Menacing just by presence! See, boys, this is what you're aiming for!' Unfortunately? He was the only bright spot in it. The doc turns up. She's .... kinda cutesy when she's meant to be repressed ice queen. Meh. Wrong casting. Also, the fiance is annoying me even more.
Flick back to seeing the best mate. In *daylight*. Am stunned to find out he hasn't even been vamped yet and is instead playing thrall. Arrrrgh! What was the point of not marrying then? Oh, and subplot of biker getting run over by vamps and then vamped in the hospital cos his spine's been fucked. In the original, they had a wonderfully horrific shot of the girl who had this done to her - her back, with the spine moving around. Fucking disgusting. Oh, and then main character goes to find out why he's not in hospital, chases him down the subway, can't find him due to mirrors, goes down another stairway, then sees Idris Elba mow him down in public. Er. No. Whole point was secrecy, boys, not where the rush hour tube can see you.
Further down the line : best friend *still* hasn't been vamped yet and is still playing thrall. And we get 'Vamps wuv each other! Eternal wuv!' :spews: Eternal power, you nonces! Main character goes to see vamp lot (he found the doc was connected by the fact that she was doing severely dodgy uv tests on spine-patient, which you don't do in hospital...) yells at them, they go into vampires, more yelling from fiance, chases best friend down (who's *finally* been vamped), more twu vamp eternal wuv I won't leave you bollocks, comes across the strike team, then doesn't kill his best mate. Eejit. Doesn't make the decision (or rather, get strong-armed into it) of joining the vamp hunters yet. Best friend apparently still wuvs fiance so much, goes to visit her, hugs, then it closes on him hugging her. WTF????@???
All I can say? No fucking wonder it was never picked up. I had to watch 'Smile Time' just to stop me bleaching my brain.
Need to dye hair today. And do laundry. And apply for jobs.
thete1( desktop meme )
I watched the pilot fo the US version of Ultraviolet last night. For those of you who don't know what Ultraviolet is, you should be thwacked around the head. Especially if you are British and/or in BtVS fandom. Ultraviolet was a damn cool pre-Buffy 1990s Channel 4 vampire series, only did one season, which translates as six episodes in UK speak. (yes, that is the usual length of a series here. Sometimes we're lucky and it stretches to 12, or sometimes 22. But six is the 'normal' length. Makes for much tighter scripting.) It set a lot of moods, the concept of non-gothiness in vamps, the scientific approach... oh so many things. And it was so damn cool and creepy and menacing, with amazing performances, about a cop who gets drawn into an agency whose sole purpose is trying to stem the spread of vamps. Organised vamps. It starts with his best mate stranding fiance at altar because he's been involved with vamps too long and that's the time when they decide he should be vamped.
Anyway. The US pilot was a US-ified version of the first ep, with a bit from the second ep chucked in there. As
soulstar can testify, I was moaning 'paiiiiiiin' from about five minutes in. Right. Starts with night before at bachelor party, segues into next morning and best friend not turning up at the wedding. First, the characters? Bland. Less emotional depth than Harmony. And less menacing and creepy than Harmony. Way too much time given over to fiance yelling at the main character. Idris Elba turns up, (the ex military scary boy from the UK version, playing the same basic character) I go 'finally! Depth! Menacing just by presence! See, boys, this is what you're aiming for!' Unfortunately? He was the only bright spot in it. The doc turns up. She's .... kinda cutesy when she's meant to be repressed ice queen. Meh. Wrong casting. Also, the fiance is annoying me even more.Flick back to seeing the best mate. In *daylight*. Am stunned to find out he hasn't even been vamped yet and is instead playing thrall. Arrrrgh! What was the point of not marrying then? Oh, and subplot of biker getting run over by vamps and then vamped in the hospital cos his spine's been fucked. In the original, they had a wonderfully horrific shot of the girl who had this done to her - her back, with the spine moving around. Fucking disgusting. Oh, and then main character goes to find out why he's not in hospital, chases him down the subway, can't find him due to mirrors, goes down another stairway, then sees Idris Elba mow him down in public. Er. No. Whole point was secrecy, boys, not where the rush hour tube can see you.
Further down the line : best friend *still* hasn't been vamped yet and is still playing thrall. And we get 'Vamps wuv each other! Eternal wuv!' :spews: Eternal power, you nonces! Main character goes to see vamp lot (he found the doc was connected by the fact that she was doing severely dodgy uv tests on spine-patient, which you don't do in hospital...) yells at them, they go into vampires, more yelling from fiance, chases best friend down (who's *finally* been vamped), more twu vamp eternal wuv I won't leave you bollocks, comes across the strike team, then doesn't kill his best mate. Eejit. Doesn't make the decision (or rather, get strong-armed into it) of joining the vamp hunters yet. Best friend apparently still wuvs fiance so much, goes to visit her, hugs, then it closes on him hugging her. WTF????@???
All I can say? No fucking wonder it was never picked up. I had to watch 'Smile Time' just to stop me bleaching my brain.
Need to dye hair today. And do laundry. And apply for jobs.
