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elapsesLately I have been thinking a lot about the cultural impact of The O.C., and how it fits into the way Hollywood copies everything that is a little bit successful. Every new sitcom is Friends meets The Office meets Family Guy, and every new drama is Dynasty meets CSI meets The Sopranos. NOT REALLY, but you are catching my drift. It is a pattern we are all aware of, thanks to remakes and spinoffs and respins (that's my made up word for Psych-Mentalist and X-Files-Fringe type situations). Money money money.
But the O.C.'s remaining cultural influence isn't about that. And it isn't about the fact that we can totally blame Josh Schwartz for Spencer and Heidi, although, in fact, we can. No. It is about Alexandra Patsavas, and the way the O.C. changed the way TV uses music. The fact that suddenly every TV show wanted to be the O.C., that cool show with all the indie music that sells their own mix CDs! The fact that everyone started hiring Alex P. so that they too, reach that same glory. The fact that montages are something that occurs in pretty much every episode of television, rather than a sometimes thing (compare Friends' use of music to How I Met Your Mother's use of music).
So that was going to be this post. And I would still be interested in going into that in the comments! But you see,
Unfortunately discussion of this STRANGE and MYSTERIOUS title requires an introduction of thoughts. Because you see, I am super weird about Bones/XF comparisons. I just... don't like them. It harkens to the way I feel about the X-Files and specifically Mulder and Scully, who are (perhaps you have noticed despite how subtle I have always been about this) my actual one true pairing. To the degree where when somebody puts them at #6 when they make one of those OTP charts, I get irrationally judgmental. I mean, what a WEIRDO, right? Might as well not put them on your list AT ALL. In fact maybe that would be better, since you clearly do not get it.
Ahem.
The point is that Mulder and Scully are a strange and complex beast. There is no one interpretation. They have given many people many many FEELINGS and they will give them to many more, but not one of them completely understands them. We theorize and we wonder, but we will never reach the apex of comprehension.
Mulder and Scully's magical and legendary UST is also apparently popular in Hollywood, because many TV shows since have tried to imitate it (it's like I was discussing above: Hollywood cannot resist repeating a proven formula, mostly because of the cash). SVU! Fringe! Castle! Bones! In fact: most cop shows. It is how they operate these days. Also: surprise! The X-Files was not the first one to do the lady cop + dude cop = UST.
Which isn't to say that the Bones doesn't draw from the X-Files. It does. Perhaps more than the others (disregarding Fringe) because you have rational scientist lady/emotionally intelligent dude. And: surprise, people get very wrong and also irritating in the process of trying to compare them. Blaaaaaaaarg, YOU GUYS. SERIOUSLY I AM SO SICK OF IT ALL. This is basic Bones-Wire scale, WE ARE ABOVE THIS. Actually no, WE NEED A NEW SET OF CHARTS FOR THIS. SIT DOWN INTERNET, LET ME EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL:
PLEASE IGNORE THE GLARING TYPO.
IN CONCLUSION: why are we focusing on the similarities and not the VERITABLE CANYON OF DIFFERENCE? I have always been more than happy with Bones' little nod in the Pilot. That is enough acknowledgement. It's like a friendly little "thanks for the help, bro" from back when the show had not quite found itself yet and most people were just watching because Angel was on a cop show. And then it became Bones. And now here we are, with an episode entitled "The X in the File". I just hope it is going to be in the vein of the "we're Mulder and Scully" and not in the vein of this:
UGH, HART HANSON. UGH. YOU ARE BEING JUST AS BAD AS THE FANGIRLS.
But Bones has not yet let me down. SO. Here is to an iiiiiiiiiiiiiiinteresting upcoming episode.
I am a little afraid this is going to come of semi-passive aggressive. IT IS NOT ABOUT ANY OF YOU, all of you approach this question the right way. It is the internet at large that is being dumb. Isn't it always.
But the O.C.'s remaining cultural influence isn't about that. And it isn't about the fact that we can totally blame Josh Schwartz for Spencer and Heidi, although, in fact, we can. No. It is about Alexandra Patsavas, and the way the O.C. changed the way TV uses music. The fact that suddenly every TV show wanted to be the O.C., that cool show with all the indie music that sells their own mix CDs! The fact that everyone started hiring Alex P. so that they too, reach that same glory. The fact that montages are something that occurs in pretty much every episode of television, rather than a sometimes thing (compare Friends' use of music to How I Met Your Mother's use of music).
So that was going to be this post. And I would still be interested in going into that in the comments! But you see,
Unfortunately discussion of this STRANGE and MYSTERIOUS title requires an introduction of thoughts. Because you see, I am super weird about Bones/XF comparisons. I just... don't like them. It harkens to the way I feel about the X-Files and specifically Mulder and Scully, who are (perhaps you have noticed despite how subtle I have always been about this) my actual one true pairing. To the degree where when somebody puts them at #6 when they make one of those OTP charts, I get irrationally judgmental. I mean, what a WEIRDO, right? Might as well not put them on your list AT ALL. In fact maybe that would be better, since you clearly do not get it.
Ahem.
The point is that Mulder and Scully are a strange and complex beast. There is no one interpretation. They have given many people many many FEELINGS and they will give them to many more, but not one of them completely understands them. We theorize and we wonder, but we will never reach the apex of comprehension.
Mulder and Scully's magical and legendary UST is also apparently popular in Hollywood, because many TV shows since have tried to imitate it (it's like I was discussing above: Hollywood cannot resist repeating a proven formula, mostly because of the cash). SVU! Fringe! Castle! Bones! In fact: most cop shows. It is how they operate these days. Also: surprise! The X-Files was not the first one to do the lady cop + dude cop = UST.
Which isn't to say that the Bones doesn't draw from the X-Files. It does. Perhaps more than the others (disregarding Fringe) because you have rational scientist lady/emotionally intelligent dude. And: surprise, people get very wrong and also irritating in the process of trying to compare them. Blaaaaaaaarg, YOU GUYS. SERIOUSLY I AM SO SICK OF IT ALL. This is basic Bones-Wire scale, WE ARE ABOVE THIS. Actually no, WE NEED A NEW SET OF CHARTS FOR THIS. SIT DOWN INTERNET, LET ME EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL:
PLEASE IGNORE THE GLARING TYPO.
IN CONCLUSION: why are we focusing on the similarities and not the VERITABLE CANYON OF DIFFERENCE? I have always been more than happy with Bones' little nod in the Pilot. That is enough acknowledgement. It's like a friendly little "thanks for the help, bro" from back when the show had not quite found itself yet and most people were just watching because Angel was on a cop show. And then it became Bones. And now here we are, with an episode entitled "The X in the File". I just hope it is going to be in the vein of the "we're Mulder and Scully" and not in the vein of this:
UGH, HART HANSON. UGH. YOU ARE BEING JUST AS BAD AS THE FANGIRLS.
But Bones has not yet let me down. SO. Here is to an iiiiiiiiiiiiiiinteresting upcoming episode.
I am a little afraid this is going to come of semi-passive aggressive. IT IS NOT ABOUT ANY OF YOU, all of you approach this question the right way. It is the internet at large that is being dumb. Isn't it always.
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 01:03 am (UTC)ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IF SOME RANDOM REPLIES TO THIS COMMENT TO TELL ME WHAT THE EP IS ACTUALLY ABOUT, I WILL FIND THEM AND DESTROY THEIR LIVES. DEAR EVERYONE WHO READS ALEX'S LJ: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Also, I approve so hard of your graphs, especially the pie chart
of your favorite barswith the huge chunk for FOUND FAMILIES TIME.no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 01:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:10 am (UTC)Clearly, I am a model of good taste and sensibility. And I JUST KEEP GETTING MORE AND MORE DISCRIMINATORY IN MY TASTE. Not.
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:17 am (UTC)I agree that the O.C.'s music is one of its biggest contributions to the cultural landscape but I think even more than that (or perhaps just tied) it made nerds on TV cool and appealing. I see Seth as the symbolic father of the popularity of Jim Halpert, Big Bang Theory, all those Threadless-like I <3 Nerd shirts/memorabilia, and, of course, Chuck, among other examples I am surely forgetting.
Also Alex Patsavas is so weak now, in my opinion. Or at least extremely hit or miss. You are probably not planning to see New Moon but if you want a pitch perfect example of how NOT to do a soundtrack, see every single music cue of that tasty turd pile.
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-12-06 02:03 am (UTC)Hahahaha ANNA, you and Bones are so funny to me, because there is clearly emotional investment there. Where did you leave off when you were actually watching it? BECAUSE SEASON 1 IS PRETTY SKIP-AND-COME-BACK-TO-LATERABLE except for like, four episodes. They hadn't really found themselves yet.
And I forgot about that but yessss. That is my thing about the O.C.-- I feel like it gets remembered wrong, as that silly but fun teen drama that sizzled out too early, when really it is still making cultural waves.
Also okay, I don't think Alex Patsavas is the reason the O.C. was so great at music. I have this theory about it being her and Josh thing, because if you listen to his commentaries he is very obviously invested in the process of choosing the music, and almost always stops to tell you about the songs, it seems like a really synergystic process between the two of them. And then I feel like the other people who hire her don't care as much, so she is left to her own devices, only her own devices are not the brilliant thing. Because really, as much as she was part of the O.C.'s masterful music (because it's not even just the choices, it's the magic and subtle way they integrated it) she was only part of it. Idk, Chuck and Gossip Girl have more hit moments than her other shows do. Although they both have more misses than the O.C..
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:42 am (UTC)Mysterious brain disease obviously confirmed by this comment. I'll go find a magical shaman to eat me and puke me back up, then I'll be able to say coherent things again. (Yeah, I make random season 8 references, what of it?)
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Date: 2009-12-06 02:16 am (UTC)Anyway, I might've caught your brain disease, because I can't find a way to work midget butt genies into this comment. Dammit.
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Date: 2009-12-06 01:42 am (UTC)And I don't think Alexandra will ever get a soundtrack good as The O.C. again. and omg you need to update us on the Rooney/Tally Hall concert. I still remember the ep so clearly! Hey man, do you know who sings this song? ROOOONEY WOHOO! ...We should keep it that way. Oh Luke. Oh Seth.
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Date: 2009-12-06 02:23 am (UTC)I agree, because (as I was just saying in another comment) I think part of the reason the O.C. was so good, soundtrack-wise was not Alex: it was Josh and Alex. Although it's still different on Chuck and Gossip Girl (I know you've seen GG, but I can't rememberrrrrr if you watch Chuck? Or have at some point? Because I am curious about how you feel about the soundtrack choices there.)
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Date: 2009-12-06 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 06:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-12-06 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 02:57 am (UTC)AND... I LOVE THAT YOU INCLUDED GORDON GORDON.
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Date: 2009-12-06 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 03:24 am (UTC)totally agree about that OC bit. Such Great Heights on the OC did more than Garden State did. ferealz
btw - i'm on twitter too! Can i add you?
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Date: 2009-12-06 09:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 03:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 03:49 am (UTC)AND ALEX, I THINK THIS IS THE BEST POST YOU HAVE EVER MADE. I mean. XF was like CC going "I don't care what the fans want, I'm doing my own thing here! Mulder and Scully will never be together! I'm confused by my own storyline! But it's all good!" and HH is like "Booth and Brennan will totally be hooking up eventually! MY SHOW IS FANFICTION, I LOVE IT". (I find it interesting that they both have names that result in double letter abbreviations as well. CC and HH. It's awesome.)
Um um, I don't even know what I'm saying, except Booth/Brennan is no Mulder/Scully. Apart from having nothing in common (I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE COMPARISONS!!! DO PEOPLE ONLY SEE SCIENTIST/FBI MAN? Scully and Brennan are like night and day to me,) Booth/Brennan are so OVERT with their relationship. They get the closing scene every episode to flirt with each other and say meaningful things! And Mulder/Scully were so subtle; the slightest gesture could mean so much. They developed so slowly and delicately. Plus I think the fact that they ended up together when they were never supposed to makes them even more special. IDK, NOTHING WILL EVER COMPARE TO MULDER/SCULLY FOR ME. I love that Bones knows exactly what it is and caters to its fans and gives me exactly what I want from a show every week, but Mulder/Scully will always be my OTP. (And how much do I agree about the OTP charts! When they're anything but number one, I just ... don't get it. They're not a "oh they're pretty cute" ship. THEY ARE THE SHIP.)
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Date: 2009-12-06 07:49 pm (UTC)But okay see that was my point: idk, people act like the scientist lady/fbi man is the BOTTOM LINE, the very basic base of each ship! But it's not! The basic point of Booth/Brennan is the very blatantcy (whatever, that should be a word) and the basic point of Mulder/Scully is the reaching... the many many things you draw from one half-touch or look. SO NOT ONLY ARE THEY NOT THE SAME, they are opposites! Coming from completely different ends of the spectrum. Seriously Emma I hate everything and everyone. JUST, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE X-FILES AND BONES IN THE SAME SENTENCE EVER AGAIN. Although that'll be hard, considering this upcoming episode.
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From:this may be my longest comment ever?
Date: 2009-12-06 04:28 am (UTC)I don't even know what to talk about! There's The O.C. and how it changed the way TV uses music (and completely for the better). Speaking of, did you see this (http://asinkingboat.livejournal.com/732.html)? It made me ALL NOSTALGIC and in the best way possible. IDK, I've been playing along with the Advent Challenge (and also writing fic about Jimmy, which I do not really UNDERSTAND AT ALL because I want to devote my muse to TWW fic writing right now, but this is where it seems to be what it wants to write right now). I have been so nostalgic for The OC recently, and it hasn't helped that one of my BFFs is watching the show for the first time and keeps asking me questions about it. For Christmas, I'm just burning her CDs of my favorite music that was used on the show.
Then there's the BB/MS debate. I see the ... generic ways in which they are similar. BUT THEY ARE SO VERY BASIC AND NOT REALLY VERY MEANINGFUL. There are moments/poses where it's like HOLY CRAP, HH, ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE THEM DO THE SAME HUG? Because stop, they are not the same couples. No couple can do the UST thing the way that MS did it. Granted, I never had to suffer like others because by the time I started watching TXF, it was on 2:00-4:00 AM TNT reruns (LOLZ MY LIFE) after it finished airing. And, btw, Arcadia was the first episode I really watched which in itself was on the more blatant side. BUT, I pretty shortly managed to get ahold of S1 dvds and watch in order.
Some things about Bones: (1) CAN WE GET MORE CAM, PLZ?, (2) ARE THEY EVER GOING TO DEAL WITH ANGELA/WENDELL, and (3) WTF WAS UP WITH SWEETS IN LAST WEEK'S EP?
PS: You win for making me take out this icon again. Heh.
PS II: At some point, I have some more Homefront thoughts. I finished S1 and have started S2 and ahhhhhhh. GINGER. FOUR SINS. How ridiculously adorable is Kyle Chandler? I have, like, two pages worth of general flail and I didn't want to make an entire post about it because you are the ONLY PERSON who understands my level of obsession. I want to find fanstuff for this show and I do not know why it isn't on DVD. BLEH.
PS III: Shut up, Hart Hanson. I like Castle. It's not like Bones just like Bones isn't like X-Files. SO THERE.
Re: this may be my longest comment ever?
Date: 2009-12-06 04:59 am (UTC)I SECOND THIS REALLY STRONGLY, HOLY CRAP, I NEED A LOT MORE THAN HER JUST REACTING TO LAB SHENANIGANS.
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Date: 2009-12-06 05:36 pm (UTC)As for HH's comment about Castle, I think that was from the night it was premiering, so no one knew what it was actually going to be like. If someone was just explaining the premise to you (crime author working with the police, man/woman partners, etc) it does sound a lot like Bones. In execution though, it's nothing like it. (And I love Castle so stfu HH).
I don't know anything about the plot of The X in the File, but I think there is a guest star situation that might have contributed to them naming it that?
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Date: 2009-12-06 11:49 pm (UTC)YEAH EXACTLY. Idk, they're just... so different. THE END.
It wasn't, it was from October 22nd. Soooooo.
Oh. Iiiiiiinteresting. I thought that was maybe a possibility but it was one in a sea of possible thoughts. Don't tell me who though!
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Date: 2009-12-07 08:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-07 11:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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