ImagineDragoons

Not a single soul:

RENT reinvented much of Broadway—Jon Larson’s insistence on $20 “lottery” seats for the two front rows allowed broke college kids, low-income families, and budgeted-to-death folks to enjoy real live theatre for the first time (a concept other shows, including Hamilton, have adopted). This is also how the really classist “theatre dress” concept started to break down—you could toss out one kid in jeans and a tee shirt, but what did you do when half the theatre was kids in jeans and tee shirts? RENT also drew attention to the then-contemporary and very large intersectional problem of poverty-meets-AIDS, and actually won awards for its sympathetic and complex portrayal of HIV/AIDS-positive folks.

We also saw a move away from the Hammerstein/Sondheim/Webber model following RENT; while all of these composers have their merits, RENT showed that a relative unknown, not from a rich or classically-trained background, could produce an amazing show not bound by classical music styles and leitmotifs. How much did this change things? Enough that Avenue Q and Wicked might have existed without RENT, but Hadestown, Great Comet Of 1812, and, yes, Hamilton, probably wouldn’t have, at least not in such a way that we could all enjoy them. Imagine a world where Broadway was nothing but Disney, jukebox musicals, 1960s revivals, and Phantom of the Opera. Depressing, no?

What RENT did for broke-ass students, Hamilton did for actors of color: it challenged the concept, down to its very bones, that “urban” music styles can’t be theatrical and generative (consider Hamilton’s rap battles in Congress and the showtunes/R&B mashup that is Schuyler Sisters, for example—will anybody argue that these aren’t great theatrical moments that also show off genres usually associated with people of color?), and that people of color aren’t “expressive enough” or “don’t show well enough on stage” to be cast in major, non-tokenized roles.

Further, it provided a rich wealth of quotes that ensure it a place in long-term theatrical canon; my favorite is “and when my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story?”, but there are easily half a dozen more WHAM lines like that I can think of. That means that for a long, long, LONG time, the show that will define the latter half of the 2010s (if not the whole decade) in terms of Broadway theatre is a show in which every role except King George went to an actor of color, many if not most of them Black—and not an Uncle Tom, magical negro, or Mammy among them. All just….PEOPLE, playing roles of dignity and humanity.

#TURNhaikus on twitter

Ok, so I stole this idea from The Mindy Project fandom. I wrote the first of  the #TURNhaikus and while it’s not great at all…it’s a start. I know the writers in our fandom alyssavonkirkbride and luckysilverbell could do better for sure.

But everyone: get on twitter and add your own #TURNhaikus. Make them serious, funny, whatever…just make them! 

Reblog to spread the word…and then go make some #TURNhaikus.

amctv chaunceylabelle faster-than-asparagus-is-cooked fuckyeahturn fuckyeahjjfeild fyeahsethnumrich jj-feild jjfeildd jackswynand jjfeilds lobsterwarrior letsbewanderers ladyhistory mr-culpeper major-ben-tallmadge mornnen majorjohnandre neitherfields spycurious sothisisthehobbit turn-tv

From the first commercial for ABC’s new show “Forever” I was struck by the incredible similarities between this show and Fox’s short lived “New Amsterdam.” I watched the pilot for “Forever” today. Let’s examine the similarities…

- main character is a man whose lived for hundreds of years due to an inability to die.

- main character has endured many “deaths” in every way imaginable yet still survives.

- show is set in NYC and the main character has watched it change over the centuries and now works for/with the NYPD (NA - homicide detective) (F - medical examiner)

- Both received their immortality as a result of standing up for an oppressed/victimized person (NA - standing between an attacker and a young native american girl) (F - standing between an enslaved man and his captors on a slave ship to America)

- Both characters have an old man as a friend/confidant who actually ends up to be his son who has outgrown him. (I saw this coming from the second this character was introduced)

- Both have a wealth of knowledge about death from their extended lives and inability to die which they use to be experts at their jobs.

- Both had that one true love who they outlived and never got over. (mother of their son.)

- Both become involved with a woman through their work who they fall madly in love with and who teaches them to “truly live again.”

- Both pilots revolved around a criminal and a NYC subway train, which sets off the chain of events that lead to the story unfolding in the show.

- main character is played by a good looking European man with a unique name (New Amsterdam - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) (Forever - Ioan Gruffudd)

(Disclaimer: They’re all wonderful in their own way.)

BBC Mini Series from 1995:

Pros:

The most realistic of the options at hand

Gives you nearly six hours to give the story the time it deserves

Has the time to give you all of the characters without feeling rushed

The characters are adorable (or annoying depending on needs Mr. Collins), but they aren’t godlike. It’s great to see real people on screen

You actually get to see Lydia and Mr. Wickham hiding from their family which I don’t see in any other adaptation?

More time is dedicated to Mr. Darcy’s point of view

Mrs. Bennet is perfect

Collin Firth (according to fandom)

Cons:

I personally have an issue with some the music even though its still admittedly good

It does take about six hours to get through, though you can take a break between each episode

If you’re looking for fluff, this is the least fluffy version of the lot

Probably has the most muted colors of the three, but it’s also from 1995 so…

Pride and Prejudice 2005 (with Keira Knightley)

Pros:

Talk about a bi dream world

This is definitely the fluffy one

Probably the easiest one to sit down and watch all at once as it is a movie

Elizabeth walking across a field to meet Darcy where he proposes is such a dream sequence

It flows rather nicely as a story and certainly does the story justice for the time its given

Keira Knightley is a wonderful actress in my opinion

Cons

The music is rather repetitive, you could replace the soundtrack with one song and be close to the current one

Probably goes the least in depth of the three

Kitty and Mary don’t get as much focus as they deserve

You don’t get quite the sense that a bunch of time is passing

Feels much less real than the other two

Lizzie Bennet Diaries (Youtube)

Pros:

Definitely the easiest to watch if you only have a  few minutes here and there

This is a thoroughly modern version, so keep that in mine

Stays loyal to the story while making it modern. There’s no question that this is Pride and Prejudice

Charlotte is fucking adorable

Lydia has an amazing character arc that fits in a more modern sense and is PERFECT

Georgiana is the cutest thing I have ever seen

Lizzie encompasses the young adult in this day and age

I think they all have Twitters which is really neat?

Fitzwilliam is a joy

Cons:

There are several characters you never get to meet like her mother and father, only second hand

It is very Lizzie centric (which I like), and that’s obvious, but it means that you get more of her than you will than in any other adaptation and less of everyone else

Kitty does not exist

Mary does exist, but as a cousin rather than a sister (because most people don’t have 5 kids in this day and age)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pros:

Every verbal fencing match becomes an actual fencing match - Elizabeth’s tete-a-tete with Lady Catherine, her argument with Darcy over Wickham (they legit destroy her cousin’s house, and it is a delight).

Lily James (Elizabeth Bennett) is an absolute badass.

Wickham is a madman at the head of a literal zombie army. Spoilers: His “big plot” inexplicably involves pig brains and church???

Jane’s “sudden fever” becomes a lot more tense and dramatic when she may have contracted the zombie virus.

There’s some very cool horse-riding.

Can we talk about the sword fighting one more time? When a standard version of Pride and Prejudice is played right, you can cut the barely repressed sexual tension with an appropriately-fancy butter knife. In this version, Darcy and Elizabeth’s almost-kisses are repeatedly interrupted by zombie attacks that require them to engage in sweaty, intense martial arts dueling matches. If you don’t know why this is better, you and I shouldn’t discuss the same movies.

Mr. Collins is played by Matt Smith (otherwise known as the 11th Doctor) and that’s about as hilarious as you’d expect it to be.

Zombies.

Cons:

Zombies (hey, some people just aren’t fans; I get it; whatever).

The plot follows the book with a…reasonable degree of accuracy for about the first half; then devolves into something loosely resembling the fever dream of an acid-tripping madman. This may be a metaphor for the gradual loss of self caused by the onset of zombieism, but I’m pretty sure it’s just bad storytelling.

No, seriously - the plot makes NO sense. Logic and continuity do not enter into a single character’s calculations.

Darcy doesn’t have quite the same appeal as, say, Darcy from the 2005 Keira Knightley version. He’s sexy as hell when he’s swordfighting, but he’s missing some of the shrewd wit and aloof charm that Darcy should have.

There are a couple of sudden, shockingly gory jump scares (some people think that’s fun, though, so hey, this might be a pro for you!).

Bride and Prejudice (2004)

Pros:

The musical numbers are A+++

They make a fucking reference to Jackson Pollock?

Will Darcy is fucking adorable, and so is Lalita Bakshi (Lizzie)

I like this difference in modern Pride and Prejudice. It feels like the different take is needed for Pride and Prejudice to made a truly modern story

Lalita has a a GREAT sense of when to tell someone off and I would love to talk with her

Some of the quotes are exactly the same and definitely maintains the integrity of the story while making it their own

Mr. Balraj’s (Bingley’s) hair looks so soft

The discussion of green cards and what moving to America means to people

Lakhi (Lydia) though? Like okay then. (not sure if this is a pro or a con)

Get you a man that looks at you like Darcy looks at Lalita and the Grand Canyon

OH FUCK THE WICKHAM TWIST

I didn’t expect a fight scene but okay then

Cons:

Mr. Kholi Saab (Mr. Collins) is just as cringe worthy as I feel he should be which makes it painful to watch

Also, his idea of the role of a woman makes me want to hurl

And Wickham is the perfect slimeball/frat boy

(These characterizations of accurate and important but also, ew)

Definitely should have been longer than an hour and fifty minutes

I spent half the movie figuring out why  I recognized Mr. Wickham. Don’t repeat my mistake. He’s Elijah from the Vampire Diaries

This Darcy is better at flirting/talking/joking than he should be

Georgie has all the subtly of a teenager as she should but oh lord is it so obvious

You can see the moment she falls in love. Usually its more subtle. It’s not bad, but it is different

THEY TOOK OUT FITZWILLIAM WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS I LOVE FITZWILLIAM THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO GET MOVIES THE PROPER TIME

What do you mean I don’t get to see all of the proposals?

As I wrote this while watching it, I did my best to keep it in the same vein as the others which I wrote at least a few hours after watching. And since @dareyoutoread-blog did the Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies so well, I won’t be repeating it on my own.

Pros

A teacher that does dog shows… That’s a new hot take. So is an investment banker.

They keep the name Darcy, obviously, but thank goodness.

She cares about her students like any teacher

OH MY GOD THEIR SECOND MEETING IS REALLY FUNNY

Darcy is a walking call out post and I appreciate it (but also, ridiculous)

A+ Best friend

Jane also has more of a spine and I appreciate that (and she just murdered a bit)

Remembering to bring her mail was honestly such a real thing

(A+ difference on how to deal with no Wickam)

GO OFF I GUESS ELIZABETH SHIT (But Darcy’s “Just because those aren’t on my list of problems doesn’t mean my list is empty” is the best response I’ve heard to “My problems are worse”)

They have good banter

It is a very good modern version

ART DATES ARE GOOD

They still get a dance at a ball which is great

Darcy and so is Elizabeth is very accurate to the original character

Makes up well for the fact that Mr. Wickham doesn’t exist and neither does Kitty in the end

Cons

Definitely had a love at first sight moment? Too obvious for a pride and prejudice story, in my opinion

Why is his sister a dope? I love Georgie. (Nvm)

The reason she loses her job is bullshit.

Moves very quickly (It is a hallmark movie, but still)

Not sure if it’s a con, but this is a very different pace compared to the others

His aunt is a proper bitch

It moves very quickly, but it’s not bad. Just short

The use of second hand embarrassment is unnecessary and makes me cringe (back to hallmark movie tropes, several times actually)

THAT IS NOT A SUBTLE WAY TO GIVE A GIRL YOUR NUMBER YOU FUCK

Bingley is cute but underdeveloped as a character

The sisters really don’t exist much outside of Jane, and Mr. Bennet not at all

The villains aren’t quite as cohesive as I like and play off the catty women trope too much (which is a major con on my part)

Also, first kiss is not well timed

Leaves out some of the big parts, but it is less than an hour and a half, so I’m not surprised