then the houses came and ate up everyone like they were fishes

[frith_in_thorns]

Things which have happened today:

I got turned down from TeachFirst, which rather sucks, and justifies my guess that the interviews at the assesment centre didn't go that great. Ah well. I'm surprisingly not upset, actually - there are enough routes into teaching that I'm sure I'll be fine. And it's an incredibly high-pressured course, so maybe it's for the best.

This morning I accidently went to a lecture I shouldn't have gone to, because it was a genetics module I'm not taking. I have no idea why I wrote it down on my timetable. But when I realised I thought it would be rude if I just walked out, so I listened and made notes anyway. IDEK.

Oh, and I wrote a thing - well, actually I wrote and posted it in the break between that lecture and the ones I was actually supposed to go to! I woke up this morning and there was a prompt on whitecollarhc for "Peter and Neal are trapped in a dessert" and my brain started throwing bad puns at me. So, here is my attempt to cram as many of those terrible puns as possible into about 300 words. Again, IDEK. It's just been that sort of day. XD

Also, while I'm here: is there actually a consensus on how Diana's surname is spelled? Because I've seen about three different spellings being used, each by multiple authors. (This is not as bad as a brief period in the CSI:NY fandom where the actual show couldn't decide whether a recurring character was called Jennifer or Jessica for quite a long time, and her name kept changing between episodes. That was fun.)

Comments

[sholio]

Oh man, if you get a chance, see if you can find a link to the original pilot script, the one that was used to sell the network on the show, which isn't what they filmed. I know it's online somewhere because I found it once, but I can't remember where. It's so different -- same basic plot, but wow, so many changes! It's set in California, for one thing; Peter's last name is different (I don't remember what it was), and his wife's name was, I think, Donna. West Coast!Mozzie comes across completely differently than East Coast!Mozzie; he's sort of a burnt-out beatnik type. It's really fascinating to read, like seeing alternate universe versions of them. :D

ETA: I think I just crossposted this comment with tj_teejay's; never mind. :D

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

The script I linked doesn't sound like the one you're describing. If you ever find it, I'd be interested in reading that one!

[frith_in_thorns]

Now I'm pretty confused, the one you linked really is the one sholio described! XD

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe it is. I mean, yeah, Peter is called Stokes and not Burke. Maybe I just missed the part where it wasn't supposed to be set in New York when I read the script. It's been a while since I looked at it, but I don't remember it being so much different from what we actually saw on TV. Ignore my earlier comment, then. :-)

[frith_in_thorns]

Yeah, it's totally in California, Neal spends all his time hanging out by the swimming pool on June's estate! And Peter's wife Debbie is an accountant, which amuses me greatly. Actually, one of the main things I noticed from the script is that they cut out loads of exposition, which I think was definitely a good decision - much more time for character moments :)

[frith_in_thorns]

Wow, yeah, that was really different. I have to say, I'm glad they changed the bits they did, although I guess some of that is hindsight bias! Especially glad they moved it to NY, actually, it feels much more like the place for it, and for Neal.
(And it means there aren't endless montages of women in bikinis, as described in the script. That seems to be a common theme with every US show I've watched set in warm states, and it's really tired.)

Although I did laugh at Debbie Stokes being an accountant, considering what they later wrote as background for Peter!

[sholio]

Debbie, yes, her name was Debbie! It's just so weird -- it's them and yet, not really them yet. It's a little weird thinking about the fact that this dialogue was all written when they didn't have actors yet. You can see how the actors took the roles and made them their own.

And yeah, I think the New York setting (especially NY in wintertime, as it was in the first season) makes a much better, stronger show. In fact, the setting is so much a part of the show that its absence is every bit as disconcerting as the absence of the actors' voices in the characters.

[frith_in_thorns]

Yes, definitely. At this point I really can't imagine it being set anywhere else - and I really like that they manage to film in so many different places in NY too. (I'm randomly reminded of a clip I saw of Matt and Tim supposedly introducing the show, and instead arguing about whether they were in downtown or midtown :P)

[sholio]

They're so impossibly cute in interviews. :D They really have a great back-and-forth, and seem to genuinely like each other. Tim in particular seems to be an absolute goofball, which is always SO disconcerting to see, because Peter is so straight-laced!