Venice, 2x01
Recap by Rysler
The first in my series of angst-free, complaint-free Venice reviews. Which is not to say I didn't have complaints, I did. I just directed them at jaina47's IM window, so that this could remain pure. Feel free to tell me what you thought openly in comments and I'll join a wider discussion. The post is just...a thing I'm trying. And there are pictures! Poor webseries. I THINK YOU'RE AWESOME. Massive post ahead.
Dim lights
What I like best about Venice is that all the actors get to do awesome stuff. I'd like to think that's what the actors like best, too. Scene for scene, Nadia, Jessica, Crystal, Gina, Hillary, are doing more interesting things than on their respective shows. Even if OLTL is rocking these days, there's just more space on Venice. More breathing.
Harrison White totally just made the show for me. Loved that.
My heart totally sped up at the Guya/Liz Keifer scene. Holy shit that's going to be awesome if a tiny little gaze can do that.
Looks like the Ani/Lara theory I concocted with jaina47 may pay off. That's bad news for Ani. Good news for Gina (who could use some fucking good news, Jesus Christ.) I complained last year that Jessica and Nadia didn't have any chemistry. I was coming off an Otalia high and they were, uh, new to each other. They seem to have made that up. The On the Set photos have shown them as adorably friendly and I'm glad to see that carry into the series, too. Their kiss was about the sweetest thing I've seen in ages. Lovely and understated.
Why is Jessica Leccia more alive and comfortable and vibrant in Venice than anything else?
THAT'S RHETORICAL.
Anyway hooray to Lara for having a girlfriend she can put in her pocket. And for saying "Fuck" twelve hundred times.
I liked that the show picked up exactly where it left off. Take note, Rizzoli and Isles.
She's in this show because she can make that face.
I don't usually say this but I LOVE what she is wearing. I know it's a weird shot but it was either this or her crouching over the body. Like:
Notice his outstretched hand. Someone created this image. THANK YOU.
Is the pineapple a Psych shootout?
Unintentionally funny screenshot award goes to Jessica Leccia.
This is literally the only screenshot I could find where both their outfits are showing. And they're awesome. God, why can't they dress like this on soaps? Also, these are clothes that look good on camera. I didn't necessarily love the same dress this shot. I mean, it's fine. But COMPETENCE.
There's a reason Crystal and Hillary are friends. Just saying.
Included for awesome.
inaditch's new OTP. This is just another room in Crystal's house, isn't it? Also there is booze in EVERY SCENE.
It's going to be okay my friend.
My number two fear was that losing last year's director would mean a dramatic shift in film/photography style. But this episode was very beautiful and very watchable. So I was wrong about that.
My number one fear was that if Crystal Chappell wrote, produced, and acted in her own series, she would go wild. Gina, already hard drinking, poker-playing, and ridiculously obnoxious, would just intensify. I'm not tuning in for the Mary Sue Show, I like Venice. But she has proven me wrong. She's taken a lot on her shoulders. And she's owning it completely. The first scene with the Colonel was just so precise and clear. Space. Breathing.
And the last scene I could just watch over and over. If just anyone could act like that, and have the stones to allow themselves to be filmed while doing it, Crystal Chappell wouldn't be Crystal Chappell.
But she is.
:D :D :D
Now for some live blogging.
[3:55:07 PM] inaditch: I have to make tea before I watch this
[3:55:09 PM] inaditch: eee venice
[3:55:14 PM] inaditch: have you watched it already?
[3:55:20 PM] rysler: Yes!
[3:56:23 PM] inaditch: so I can blather?!
[3:56:29 PM] rysler: Blather at will, sir.
[3:56:33 PM] inaditch: yay!
[3:57:00 PM] inaditch: wait what was up with the hand-cuffed body I totally forgot about that
[3:57:04 PM] inaditch: did they show who it was?
[3:58:38 PM] inaditch: is it the lady who was living with him before? noo she was awesome
[3:59:11 PM] inaditch: OH MY GOD THIS IS SO CHEESY I LOVE IT
[3:59:22 PM] inaditch: oh crystal, quiver your lip at me
[3:59:34 PM] inaditch: HE FELL OVER
[3:59:39 PM] rysler: HE SURE DID.
[3:59:54 PM] inaditch: URRBODY'S DYING
[4:00:31 PM] rysler: what?
[4:00:36 PM] inaditch: oh, he wasn't dead
[4:00:40 PM] inaditch: you'd better not be calling Ani, Gina!
[4:00:50 PM] inaditch: CAN'T YOU CALL HER WITH GOOD NEWS ONCE IN A WHILE?
[4:01:57 PM] inaditch: oh jessica
[4:02:02 PM] inaditch: I'd forgotten how pretty she is
[4:03:44 PM] inaditch: her face is disapproving of your drinking, tanned lady!
[4:03:50 PM] inaditch: or of your swearing
[4:03:51 PM] inaditch: or yelling
[4:03:52 PM] inaditch: or something
[4:04:02 PM] inaditch: or maybe her face is turned on, I can't tell
[4:05:53 PM] inaditch: I'm trying to explain Venice to a friend
[4:06:27 PM] rysler: Heee. How are you explaining it?
[4:06:33 PM] inaditch: I'm not doing well!
[4:06:39 PM] rysler: It's hard.
[4:06:41 PM] inaditch: she doesn't know what Guiding Light is
[4:07:00 PM] inaditch: which I didn't before you SEDUCED MY INNOCENT EYES
[4:07:24 PM] inaditch: wasn't she writing children's books just now?
[4:08:13 PM] inaditch: they're dancing
[4:08:18 PM] rysler: Yes, she writes children's books.
[4:08:18 PM] inaditch: Christy, THEY'RE DANCING
[4:08:20 PM] inaditch: WHY ARE THEY DANCING
[4:08:24 PM] rysler: IT'S CUTE.
[4:08:50 PM] inaditch: tanned Swedish lady, you're weird.
[4:09:18 PM] inaditch: part 2
[4:09:32 PM] inaditch: SHE'S ALIVE!
[4:09:38 PM] inaditch: oh right, because the dead person was a hooker
[4:10:03 PM] rysler: I love watching TV with you.
[4:10:22 PM] inaditch: I was so worried I didn't even notice it wasn't her
[4:10:29 PM] inaditch: mysterious noises
[4:10:58 PM] inaditch: who's that?!?!
[4:15:35 PM] inaditch: they're kissing now
[4:16:26 PM] inaditch: do they have a gay man-demographic to please or something?
[4:16:41 PM] rysler: You know, I didn't consider that, but maybe.
[4:17:34 PM] inaditch: I SHIP THIS I don't even know who the British lady is BUT I SHIP IT
[4:17:44 PM] rysler: Black lady/British lady?
[4:18:22 PM] inaditch: didn't we discuss a bad English accent from last season?
[4:18:29 PM] inaditch: who was that? it wasn't this one, was it?
[4:18:38 PM] rysler: Yes, that was Tracy, the person they're talking about but who isn't there.
[4:20:02 PM] inaditch: yeah, send the black guy to clean up the crime scene
[4:20:10 PM] inaditch: he won't be in any trouble if someone finds him
[4:20:19 PM] inaditch: ISN'T HE A FLAMBOYANT BAR OWNER OR SOMETHING
[4:20:28 PM] rysler: YES
[4:20:37 PM] inaditch: WHERE DID HIS CRIME-SCENE CLEAN UP SKILLS COME FROM
[4:20:45 PM] rysler: GAY MEN ARE CLEAN
[4:20:50 PM] inaditch: and why is he breathing like Darth Vader?
[4:20:55 PM] inaditch: oh, it's a gay stereotype!
[4:20:57 PM] inaditch: I get it
[4:31:56 PM] inaditch: and what happened to watching Venice?
[4:32:02 PM] inaditch: DON'T CRY
[4:32:10 PM] inaditch: DON'T CRY OLIVIA GINA CRYSTAL