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1. Okay, very quickly - [livejournal.com profile] polyship sign-ups are open till - gasp! - tomorrow so head over there now if you're interested in an exchange of fanworks with polyamory characters. They accept art, fanfic, vidding, icons, wallpapers, fanmixes. Unfortunately it's not the place for original fiction. All fandoms and ratings welcome.

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All fandoms, all polyships and all fanwork types welcome! [Info & Rules] [Sign-up] [Promo Banners]

2. I want to talk about ABC's TV show Huge which aired this summer. I only found out about it two days ago. Never mind the fail. First two shout-outs: thank you Jamie for your introductory post about this series which put it on my radar and also, FRITH IF YOU READ THIS WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SHOW? (I stalked my flist's profiles to see if anyone had caught it before and saw you had). You may comment here if you wish or send me a PM with your thoughts.

This is an open invitation - if any of you want to talk about the show with me but not in a public comment, feel free to PM me.

On to the show now - what is Huge?


 
 
 
 
Huge is a drama about 'teens sent to a summer weight-loss camp called Camp Victory.' Now I don't know about you but when I saw the poster, featuring Nikki Blonsky (who plays one of the main characters, Will and by the way I find Nikki gorgeous but that's shallow of me :p) in which she looks awkward and uncomfortable and when I saw the premise, I wondered what the hell inspired anyone to create a show that was obviously going to beat up fictional characters for being fat instead of fucking learning from the fat acceptance movement once and for all.

I was wrong. The pilot is ridiculous and buys into every cliché imaginable - the kids are made to give up their food and food is pinpointed as the enemy, which had me shake my head in horror. But then the show turned out to be a little more. The creators' idea was not to set the show in a fat camp (I'm using fat throughout this post as a reclaiming of the adjective - fad doesn't mean bad and fat doesn't mean unhealthy. Fat means fat) just for the sake of having these characters be ashamed of themselves, it's set in a fat camp so from the word go weight is no longer something different and it's about the rest of it. The entire cast of teenagers is fat, which makes Huge a seriously refreshing show that's doing a lot for representation of fat people on TV in fiction. There are no tokens in this show.

I was really impressed with Huge. I saw all 10 episodes of the first season and really cared about each character and each storyline. It revolves a lot around romance and you know how bored I am when watching romance but I wasn't here. It was just so well-done.

REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH HUGE

1. Even if the show itself seems to condone the whole 'lose weight and be a better person' mindset, Will, who's a rebellious sarcastic teen, is THE voice of fat acceptance activists. I LOVE her character. She refuses to buy into this bullshit. She refuses to believe that fat is bad and that you can't be healthy at any size. If you need a little inspiration in your life, watch Will, that's all I'm going to say.

2. Becca. Becca is a geek. I love Becca so much. She loves books and LARPing (Live-action role-playing, in which she plays a warrior princess). She loves runes. She's an amazing friend. I completely fell for her character.
 
Becca

3. Alistair - OH MY GOD ALISTAIR. I can't begin to explain the beauty that is Alistair. Alistair is queer. He's a genuinely nice character who lives in his own world and is pretty much oblivious to anything that's not genuinely nice like him. You just have to see it. He doesn't label, he takes people for what they are and takes himself for what he is. I found this character very touching.
Actually, talking about sexuality - the only out asexual character is one of the characters who's not fat. Apart from the fact that asexuality actually exists in this show (this is so rare), YAY @ the idea that fat people have no sexuaity whatsoever being flushed down the toilet.

4. This is co-written by Winnie Holzman, who created the wonderful, jaw-droppingly awesome My So-Called Life, the most realistic show about adolescence ever. She's written this show with her daughter. I really love Winnie, she has a sensibility I found nowhere else on television. Everything she touches is real and genuine and graceful. Her characters are eccentric, never stereotypes and Huge is no exception. It's eccentric, it's quirky, which makes it disarmingly charming.

5. This show is making a statement. I didn't think any screenwriter out there would ever create something like Huge, because you kind of lose faith after a while. It's like when they announce 'a lesbian show' or 'a bisexual book' (lol that never happened, bisexuals are so invisible in fiction, but this is another debate). You're hungry for it, you can't wait, and then you can't help but turn each page or watch each new episode with apprehension because obviously they're going to get it wrong at some point and any way we're just better off with fanfic. Give this show a chance. It's a subtle thing that deserves attention and recognition for what it's doing.

You may watch the 10 episodes of the first season HERE (I'm linking you to streaming links) or straight on Hulu or ABC Family for those of you living in the US.


It's a tiny fandom but we have a comm - join us over at - [livejournal.com profile] huge_deal.

Now - the show has just been cancelled, which was the whole point of Jamie's post. She linked to two things - this and this. I'd be very very sorry to see this show go. I can't believe they're letting it go, actually. Please save it if you like it. I can't do much as it's not even being aired here.
While you're at it, you can read this very good interview with Savannah Dooley, who created the show.

If you want a primer on fat acceptance, feel free to read this post over at [livejournal.com profile] ontd_feminism , which is one of my favourite communities.
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Is anyone watching Lip Service? I need to talk about this show so bad. One episode and I'm already addicted. It's really really hot and more realistic than the average, I think. Did I mention hot? I care about them, can't help it.
 
I like this quote by Ruta, who plays one of the leads:

'I think the big difference between The L Word and Lip Service is that The L Word kind of tackles major lesbian issues, whereas this show is about three lesbians living in Glasgow and just their general lives. And obviously, it's not quite as glitzy as LA – they don't have the money. '

 
 
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Hope you're all doing well and that at least some of you checked out Boardwalk Empire, the new HBO show. We're two episodes in and so far so good, though I'm still waiting to be blown away, it remains entertaining television.

I have quite a few things I'm excited about, both on TV and on the silver screen. It's mostly a list for myself but it'd be lovely to have some company to squee with!

CINEMA

Made in Dagenham - 60s female workers strike in the UK for equal pay. Stars wonderful cast, including Sally Hawkins and Rosamund Pike, both of whom I adore. Very nice interview with the director and Rosamund here.

Never Let Me Go - seems I've been waiting for this one for over a decade but really only since it's been in production. I stalk Carey Mulligan's IMDB page so I've been wanting to see this since about 2008. I can already tell it's a film I'll want in DVD. I've seen many clips and interviews and it looks brilliant.

Tamara Drewe - I wasn't very keen on seeing this one but the reviews have been great so I want to give it a try. I do like Gemma Arterton a lot. She's done a nice interview recently which made me love her even more. It's here (yeah I know, Daily Fail but it's a source anyway?). ('I read so many scripts and they're all the same. Either the character is just someone to be in the background or they're there to help the man, to be the love interest')

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
- pretty much for Carey though Shia's so good-looking it'll be a huge bonus.

TV SHOWS

The Crimson Petal and the White - focused on Victorian-era prostitute Sugar & cast of eccentric characters. Romola Garai and Gillian Anderson are in this, squee.

Downton Abbey - first episode was so good, it's in seven episodes every Sunday evening on ITV1. Good drama. Edwardian England. Commentary on class, funny lines, good script, gorgeous cinematography. Gay subplot with deeply flawed characters, Maggie Smith. 'nuff said. I ALREADY WANT FIC FOR THIS ONE SOMEONE WRITE THOMAS/DUKE THAT SPECIAL SUMMER PLEASE PLEASE I'LL PAY FOR IT. 'A swallow doesn't make a summer'? COME ON I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE PICKING UP SEXUAL INNUENDO HERE.

Upstairs Downstairs - soon on BBC One, not sure what this one's about, probably same as above (you know, heirs, money, marriage, bits of Unresolved Sexual Tension, pretty clothes and shots) but it has Eileen Atkins so DO WANT.

Lip Service - drama portraying the life of 20 something lesbians in Glasgow. I'll just wait and see for this one, you don't know until you try I guess. I hope it'll be more like Queer as Folk and less like The L Word.

South Riding - I just ADORE Anna Maxwell Martin whom I haven't seen since Bleak House and she was positively brilliant in that (won a BAFTA for her performance, so well deserved). No idea what it's about.

Christopher and His Kind - 'Christopher Isherwood (played by Matt Smith), escapes repressive English society and his suffocating relationship with his mother, Kathleen (played by Lindsay Duncan), for the decadent – and politically unstable – world of Thirties Berlin.' Looks potentially not boring.

Women in Love - I think this one's got Rosamund Pike again, which is enough for me. And apparently it's about 'sexual awakening at the beginning of the 20th century', which sounds good, whatever that means.

Lots of potential new fandoms, I can't wait!
 

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