Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So there's an article linked on the front page about the creators of Sherlock trying again to stress that their Sherlock and Watson are not a couple. They stressed that their Sherlock isn't gay or straight. (Personally, I think almost all incarnations of Holmes are probably asexual.) They're totally cool with fans writing whatever they want in fanfiction, which is pretty awesome, but they just want to make it clear that in canon, it is not their intention whatsoever to have the characters hook up with each other. That is pretty much how I tend to feel when it comes to my own fic verses: I don't care if slash fans want to imagine things going the way they want to, just as long as they realize it wasn't my intention to write the characters as couples. A lot of my stuff probably looks like a slash lover's paradise, LOL. But that stems from the fact that ultimately, aside from any sexual things going on, slash lovers and platonic enthusiasts often want pretty much the same kinds of squeeable things.

Anyway, I was just amused to see that article there. It reminded me of a lot of my YGO adventures and encounters with slash fans. And it also kind of made me think of my Ginger and Lou fics, which probably look more slashy than anything else I've written yet are actually probably the least slashy in actuality. LOL. There's the same set-up there as there seems to be on Sherlock, with Ginger completely asexual and aromantic and Lou straight. The whole point behind the Ginger and Lou stories is to explore the idea of platonic soulmates and what if two people can have a completely platonic relationship that is every bit as fulfilling and enduring as a true romantic relationship and never, ever goes on to anything besides platonic. And I'm feeling squeeful just thinking about it, heh. I have the same kinds of warm fuzzies and thrills and excitement over a good platonic relationship as slash fans (or any romance fans, really) have over romantic relationships.

Speaking of romantic relationships, though, I finally decided on my own what I might do about that 31_days themeset. I may try writing it for Snakes and the Chita character he was involved with in my backstory. Now, normally I do not create OCs to hook them up with canon characters. I think the only times I ever do that is if the relationship has ended for one reason or other and therefore there is no OC hanging around and horning in on canon character time in the present-day. The idea for these two was based largely on the song Fliptop Twister by Rockapella, just reversing the end idea that it was the guy who was unfaithful and making it the girl instead, since Snakes is usually a protagonist character in my stories and I didn't want him being the unfaithful one. It also wouldn't have agreed with how his character developed, since I have it that he longed for someone to genuinely love him. Anyway, I've always meant to tell their story more fully, and maybe the themeset would make it an easier thing to write. I'll have to see what happens.

Also, there's apparently another new Six Million Dollar Man comic arc being put out by Dynamite. I'm wondering whether to even bother with it. I didn't really like their previous one because it was so dark in many ways and not what I wanted to see from a Six Mil story. It sounds like this one continues in the same vein. And it's a plotline that I don't even like, where Steve ends up finding out information that makes him distrust the OSI agency and he runs off to try to find more answers. Meanwhile, the OSI thinks Steve is a traitor and is out to get him. One of them wants to shoot him on sight to keep the secrets of bionic technology safe. I assume that is either an OC for the story or Oliver Spencer; I can't imagine it would be Oscar. But Oliver was in a coma at the end of the last arc, and in it because he did something heroic, so I would be kind of irritated if they made him an out-and-out antagonist in this arc.

It actually sounds rather OOC for Steve. If he got super mad at the OSI (again), he would likely go to Oscar and Rudy, bully them by throwing them around and threatening to do worse, and demand to know the truth. That's pretty much what happened in The Return of the Bionic Woman episodes. I'd hate to think that he now doesn't trust them after so many years together. But he has some bizarre voice in his head that could be partially responsible for his weird behavior in this new arc, and if that's the case, that could be an interesting angle to explore. But overall I'm not very impressed by the sound of things. And I'm wondering if they'll try to hook this arc up with the events of the first reunion movie, which had it that Steve quit the OSI and Oscar has to go to him for help again several years later. Honestly, it would seem really stupid and lame to me for Dynamite to go to all the trouble of bringing the series back in comic form only to have Steve permanently leave the OSI in its second arc, so I really hope they aren't going to try to connect their comics with the reunion movies. I hope that the voice Steve is hearing will be a large part of what's wrong here and things will end with Steve back at the OSI. But considering the information that upset Steve so much (that apparently they tried to give other people bionics in the past and it went wrong and they died), I don't know if there will be any way around this hurdle for him.

For now I think I'll keep monitoring what's happening in the issues as much as I can, but not make a move to buy any yet. I still need #5 of the previous arc, too.

So yesterday the boy Ponies arrived! Squeeee. They're lovely. I kept being particularly drawn to the 4-Speed I decided to get. He was flawed, all were they all, but he kept sounding the least so to me. I still feel that way now that he's here, or even moreso. He does have that age spot very visibly on his leg, but I tied a strip of cloth around it like a bandage. He's standing on a stack of DVDs with Salty until/unless I can figure out a better place for them. Wind Whistler has now moved to a stack of books to continue her leap into flight. And she's in closer range for stroking now; she's one of the So-Soft Ponies, covered in a velvety-like flocking. I need to move her somewhere else, really, but usually once I plop a Pony down somewhere, they stay there.

Salty has a few highlighter marks, but they're actually not too visible unless up close. And he has no age spots, which was the big draw for me with him. Well, that, and the price. His hair is drier than I had thought and it looks like somebody trimmed it slightly. (Probably the same moron who used the highlighter.) But maybe that's all the better when he represents a scruffy old sea captain. I wish I could get his hair to curl at the tips, though, since Scofield's hair curls adorably like that. His hair most definitely isn't dry. ;)

I have a habit of taking in flawed Ponies, since they're cheaper, although there are some flaws I prefer not to deal with, like tail rust or mysterious brown or yellow stains. (Blech.) But age spots are okay sometimes, if it's hard to find the Pony without any. Flocking can be thin at points. I don't deliberately buy Ponies with hair trims, but I have a few with them anyway. Frizzy hair is okay, sometimes. I have a Pony with a small opening in the tip of her horn and another that looks like her feet were slightly scratched or even bitten (!!!!). The former flaw was known, the latter was not. One hazard of buying online is that sometimes the sellers don't see all the flaws and I can't always see them from the pictures. But I don't have much choice, since I can't find any clean ones locally (except, of course, the ones from the newest lines in stores). I might try Savers sometime; I hear that people often have good luck finding Ponies there.

And I finally have a couple of Amazon gift cards again and am debating what to get. Since I don't get to splurge very often, I spend hours and sometimes even days figuring out just what I want the most.

My original plan was to buy Mannix season 3, as the price had finally come down. Only now it's back up again, and worse than it had previously been when it was high. Aurrrgh. I could give up and get it anyway, but I really hadn't wanted to pay that much for it, even though it's a good price for a season set.

Then I thought maybe I should finally buy The Virginian season 2 set, which I've been wanting for ages because of one of the Joseph episodes on it. I saw it a year ago and it thrilled me to no end. Cozi doesn't air The Virginian anymore right now, so I have no way to own the episodes without buying the sets. I've been monitoring the DVDs for a whole year and the prices have not fluctuated more than a couple of dollars here or there.

The summaries for the season 2 episodes sound really intense and exciting. I wonder, though, if Trampas is season 1 levels of annoying. He seriously bugs me in season 1, but I love him later on when he matures a lot more. Season 1 also has more silly humor than later seasons and I wonder if season 2 continues the humorous nonsense. It would get on my nerves if so. A lot of the episodes definitely sound serious, though, and I would hope there wouldn't be misplaced humor in them. I felt that the humor in some of the season 1 episodes, like the one with the disturbed sister always trying to kill the other one, was really out of place and didn't fit with the otherwise grim tone the episodes set.

The other problem with buying it is that it's the only thing I could get. That's why I haven't bought any even though I want them; I prefer to spread my money as much as possible and get two or three things.

Another possibility is getting season 5 of The Six Million Dollar Man and Riverboat. Six Million is at last a decent buying price, considering that season doesn't have Richard in every episode, as all previous seasons did.

As awesome as it is to have great guest-spots with darlings, it's even more awesome to have an entire series with a darling in a leading role. I'd get that with both Six Million and Riverboat.

I do have most of the good season 5 episodes recorded, though, albeit I'm sure Cozi chopped stuff out. And with Riverboat, the problem is that it certainly isn't on the same production level as The Virginian. It's not a bad series and I love the Grey Holden character, but it's definitely not like watching the amazing, well-thought-out movie-length episodes of The Virginian. Also, I don't like season 2 of Riverboat and I just can't stand Noah Beery's character. I love Noah, but not that character. He just seems so obsessed with money all the time and very rarely acts like a genuine friend to Grey. He's always trying to get full control of the boat and leave Grey out in the cold. I liked Burt Reynolds' character far more. Even though Darren and Burt famously had trouble working together, it doesn't come through in the episodes. They were both complete professionals, and it's clear that Ben Frazer cares about Grey Holden very much, in spite of any disagreements they might have. I love the episode where Grey is shot in the water and Ben is so worried he tries to jump in after him and has to be held back by at least two people because it's too dangerous. That's not something one would do if they just tolerated working with someone. It's an impulse reaction over someone cared about very much.

Luckily, season 2 was only half the length of season 1. Most of the dud-sounding episodes are in season 2. The season 1 episodes mostly sound really exciting.

But so yeah. There's pros and cons for all things and I am finding it impossible to decide.

I wish I could get The Virginian and Riverboat both, but I can't spare all the money that would take. I could do it if I had another gift card, but I don't and likely won't get another for several weeks, at least. So I must try to figure out another solution.

So I was re-reading the two separate The Batman Strikes! comics and the graphic novel compilation I have. As I mentioned before, I thought the third Riddler comic was very badly done and OOC for him. There were always oddities in their Riddler stories, however, and I found myself wanting to believe the comics were a separate continuity and did not take place in the same verse as the show.

Some of the specific oddities: The Batman Strikes! Riddler is always blowing things up. Compare this to The Batman TV show Riddler, who threatens to blow things up, but actually only has lime Jell-O in the canisters. LOL. He isn't trying to hurt random innocent people; he just wants a distraction to keep Batman away from where he's stealing technology information.

Also, while I loved the first of the three Riddler comics, one thing I always found a little strange was that in the climax, he's built himself what looks like a throne. Now, he's a very arrogant fellow, it's true, but that seems a little extreme even for him. In the TV show, he never does anything to give the impression that he actually thinks of himself as royalty/a king/etc.

To me it feels like the comics have a sense of who this Riddler is, yet they miss the mark and never quite grasp it all the way.

Yesterday I found proof that the comics are indeed their own verse. In the TV show, Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle at a dinner party in the episode From Ragdolls to Riches. They become more or less friendly and continue associating. But Bruce starts to become suspicious of her and is surprised when she cashes a large check he gives her and donates it to a pet fund. She wasn't fond of Bruce's dog art. Oddly, neither he nor Alfred ever considered that maybe she liked another animal instead of dogs. **rolls eyes.**

In the comics, he meets her for the first time at an animal shelter event, where she adopts every kitty there. He wonders if she's going to give some away, since that's a lot of cats, and she says she could never give one of her darlings away.

I suppose it could be argued that since in the comics they just had the one meeting, maybe Bruce had forgotten it by the time they met in the TV show episode. However, it would seem he would remember eventually, especially considering she adopted all those kitties. That's not something one could easily forget! And if he remembered about the kitties, he wouldn't be surprised at her donating the check to the pet fund.

Therefore, I can only conclude that the comics meeting came before the TV show episode aired and each is meant to be their own verse. It makes me feel a lot happier to have come to that conclusion.

I wish the comics had been a little better with their Riddler characterization; I love new adventures featuring the versions of characters that I love. But it seems like in general, whenever I venture into a media type other than the TV shows, I'm disappointed by the characterization or other things in them.

I was excited when I heard about the Diagnosis Murder series of novels that would be written some years back. However, they were written by one of my least favorite writers from the show, Lee Goldberg. I know he's usually praised, but I think a lot of it is misguided hype. I find it disgusting how his scripts and also the novels tend to feature death in the most bizarre and gruesome ways, like one episode where a man is crushed by a bed of spikes plunging through him. Horrifying! Also, he tends to rely a lot on stupid scatological humor more than other writers. And I don't always like his characterization. I wasn't entirely fond of his version of Jack Stewart, and in his Monk novels, I think he misses the mark on Monk's characterization and also on Sharona's. One novel even features Monk chasing after another character over continents because he can't stand them going away. That is not Monk. He might feel like doing it, but he doesn't do it. If he was going to, he would have done it when Sharona left.

And then there's the My Little Pony comics. Someone said that they felt the characterization in the comics is basically the stereotypes of what the characters represent, without really getting into all the facets of the individual characters. To some extent, I agree. I don't like the characterization in the comics, especially of Rainbow Dash, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders drive me bonkers. They're being held prisoner and all they do is sit and talk about how maybe they'll get their Cutie Marks for being kidnapped, and other silly things like that. They drive Chrysalis crazy, so if that was their purpose, it was genius. But instead it seemed like they really were being brainless dolts, talking about their Cutie Marks instead of devising a plan to escape, like I'm sure they would have on the show. And other comic arcs just really make me raise an eyebrow, like the pirate one with Fluttershy. She seemed OOC there, from what I've heard about her trying to keep a fish when it didn't want to stay, and there are others who feel the same.

I think just about the only thing I like in the comics is that they made Trixie a deeper character. In the show and the movies, she's pretty much the most shallow character there. But in the comics, she recognizes she did wrong and is honestly trying to better herself.

And then there's the recent Six Million Dollar Man comics, which are much more gruesome than the show and take things into really bizarre territory, like a scientist getting cut by an alien substance and mutating into an alien creature. And the substance has infected others and the entire base is now under siege by this nonsense. It sounds like something from Superman or Marvel Comics, not The Six Million Dollar Man. And in the main plot, a rampaging robot tore off all the prosthetic/bionic limbs from Barney Hiller, a twoshot character from the show played by Monte Markham. It's treated very seriously and isn't gory, but it's sickening and horrifying and is much darker than the show.

And then there's a whole other category of "this isn't as good" when it comes to The Saint. I still feel like the TV show is better, but I don't think I'd ever dare say that to a nest of Saint fans. Most of them prefer the books and the character in those. Of course, unlike with the other things I've been talking about here, the books came first, so there wouldn't have been a TV show without them. I appreciate the books to that extent. But I really don't like how much more permissive The Saint is in the books and how he'll even let murderers go free if he thinks they were justified in killing. Sometimes, in some books, I believe he even kills himself, and not just in self-defense. I think it's only if the person is particularly evil, like a mad scientist or something, but still.

This week, MeTV has up two episodes based on short stories in the one short story collection I have: The Gentle Ladies and The Ever-Loving Spouse. I don't really like The Gentle Ladies in either incarnation, but I certainly prefer the TV version overall. The blackmailing bad guy is killed by accident when he falls down the stairs, instead of one of the ladies killing him on purpose. In the episode, Simon helps them make it look like the guy was trying to rob the place to avoid scandal about the creep's blackmailing ways. In the book, Simon buries the body in the yard.

The Ever-Loving Spouse follows the plot of the short story a little more than The Gentle Ladies does, but it expands on it favorably and I quite like the TV version. The book version annoyed me not just for Simon's reaction to the revelation of the murderer, but because Simon seemed to just be sitting by and letting things unfold around him. He wasn't really actively involved, except for finding the first body and then confronting the two-time murderer later. And he just lets the guy go free because he feels that blackmailers are so repulsive and that killing two of them isn't a great loss to the world. What he doesn't seem to consider is that perhaps the murderer will someday be afraid Simon will talk and so he'll come after Simon to kill him too! I wouldn't put it past the guy, since he killed twice and since he didn't really seem to trust Simon.

The TV version has the same murderer, but Simon figures things out before the second death and calls the person to try to warn her. Then he comes to stop the murder and is able to, and is going to see that both people go to prison for their respective crimes: blackmail and murder. He expresses a bit of sympathy for the murderer due to his desperation and seeming madness from what the blackmailers are doing to him, but he isn't going to let the guy go scot-free.

I know the idea in the books is that Simon feels that legal justice isn't always good enough for some criminals and so he takes the law into his own hands a lot more. But I guess I'm just a prude; I prefer the more cleaned-up version of the character in the TV show.

So last week on Monday MeTV started their new Fall schedule. First day went fine. Second day, Tuesday, our local affiliate had a really dumb screw-up that caused them to air everything an hour earlier than it was supposed to. We tried to watch CHiPs, but because of the screw-up, we got the TV on at what was then the wrong time.

I was really mad, not just that such a dumb thing had happened, but also that it had happened right after the new schedule went into effect. I'm sure there were lots of people trying to get the new shows and were disappointed.

I complained. On MeTV's Facebook, on their website, on the local affiliate's website, and on their after-hours answering machine. I was civil, especially on the phone, but I made it clear that I was not happy one bit.

The next day the problem was fixed. And I noticed to my chagrin that the local affiliate had actually called back on my cellphone. I didn't catch the call and I don't have voicemail set up, so there was no message, but I immediately worried whether I'd sounded nasty on the message I left on the answering machine. I hope not. I honestly hadn't expected them to call back. Naturally the mess was a stupid accident, but it was aggravating that they weren't paying close enough attention to prevent it from happening. It's not like no one was there and that's how it went wrong; Labor Day was the day when the schedule went correctly. The next day, when people came back to work, is when it messed up.

Also, Naked City is one of the most depressing things I have ever seen. It was created or written or something by the same guy who did Route 66, but it doesn't seem to have that series' charm and hope.

I waited for ages for MeTV to show the Simon episode of Naked City, which was one of the half-hour ones. It was a piece of badly-written junk. There was barely any time to properly advance the plot and it ended in about the lamest way possible, with Simon and the other guy shooting each other dead. I am so glad I didn't try buying the series to get that episode.

I hoped that maybe the series improved when it went to an hour-long format. I found one of Joseph's three episodes, Memory of a Red Trolley Car or something like that, and watched some of it. Unfortunately, even though it was admittedly better written and developed things more, it still ended in a really discouraging way. This poor guy played by Barry Morse was exposed to some chemical and spent the episode roaming around in a daze. When they finally caught up to him and had him in the hospital, he told his wife something about their kids and she looked stricken. "We don't have any kids," she said. "He never wanted any." And it just ended like that.

The other two of Joseph's episodes are going to air this week, as Naked City is now airing six times a week. Joseph didn't have a big part in the Trolley episode and I'm wondering if he has any better screentime in the other two. They both sound like they're probably the same discouraging way as the others I've seen, so I'm wondering if they're even worth watching or recording at all.

Sometimes I don't mind a tragic episode of something here or there; it's certainly realistic. But I get really annoyed if it seems like that's all a series has. I can do without that. There's so many shows and stories that just have what seems to me to be unnecessary tragedies. Even if I get the point of why they're there, their existence can seriously bug me sometimes. I like to watch things largely to escape from reality, not be presented with it even more. And that's not to say that I think all fiction should be sunshine and rainbows; that would be annoying too. I guess I just want a better balance.

And The Man From U.N.C.L.E. started tonight, with season 1. I was slightly worried whether they'd go straight to the color episodes, but no, it looks like they're going to show it all. I hope the episodes will be uncut, especially since they're the only copies of seasons 1 and 3 I'm likely to have. (I own 4 on DVD.)

I don't know that I'll record much of season 2; there's a few I want, but mostly I found season 2 unmemorable and a drag. I am amused that I feel like that and adore season 3, instead of the other way around.

I am also amused how someone once told me that all the seasons after 1 focus more on Illya. Actually, that's not even true. The other seasons focus more on Napoleon and Illya as a team and try to have equal screentime for them both. There's really very little, if any, focus on Illya as the main man instead of Napoleon, which is the impression this person gave me. There's only even one episode in the entire series that doesn't have Napoleon in it at all, and that's in season 4.

I guess compared to season 1's focus on Napoleon doing missions by himself (note I'm trying to avoid the pun of him doing missions solo **headdesk**), it would look like reduced screentime in the other seasons, but honestly, it's not anywhere as much as I was told. Interesting how two people can look at the same thing and see entirely different things. This person doesn't like Illya, so I suppose any more screentime for him, even if it's equally balanced with Napoleon's, looks like way too much screentime in their eyes!

Also interesting is that normally I would just go for Illya, since he's the serious, aloof one. But I honestly can't choose between him and Napoleon. Illya is gloriously aloof, a softie at heart, and not that interested in romance, but Napoleon always makes me laugh. Some of his comments are just priceless.

I can't even fully say why some characters strike me and others don't. Normally the aloof ones are always my main mans. And then other times, I'll like the funny ones. They have to be a certain, intelligent kind of funny, like how I adore Micky in season 1 of The Monkees but can't stand him at times in season 2.

One type I very rarely go for is the streetwise type, which is probably one reason why, even though I like them and want them present, characters like Joey in YGO or Ponch on CHiPs are not my favorites.

Then it seems like the Jack Webb shows always have one single guy and one married guy. And one of them is generally a little weird. I think I like Jim Reed (the married one) better on Adam-12. (Neither he nor Pete fit into the "weird" category, though. But Jim is usually trying to convince Pete to get married, same as on Dragnet.) Then on Dragnet, I like the serious, single Sergeant Friday better than his strange partners (even though I'm very fond of Harry Morgan in general). But on Emergency!, John Gage (the single one and the oddball) is my favorite instead of the more quiet Roy. Johnny seriously amuses me and I'm just so fond of him in spite of his oddities (and occasionally because of them). I totally related to him in the episode where he kept getting woke up while trying to sleep and then he ended up not being able to sleep because he was worried he'd get woke up again. (And Ponch, although not from a Jack Webb show, definitely qualifies under the "weird" category too. LOL.)

Then when it comes to shows like Mannix or The Six Million Dollar Man, even though I love the main characters too, I go for their bosses even more. (And their bosses usually fit the standard pattern of what I typically like in characters.) I relate to them and their concerns and don't feel it's fair when people say those characters aren't as good because they don't just jump in and do what's "right" without question, like how Steve often disobeys his boss and does what he thinks is right. But his boss Oscar, for example, is in charge of a government agency. He has to think of the big picture, even if that's going to clash with what his agent Steve Austin wants to do. He has to worry about red tape and bureaucrats and be concerned about keeping his job. After all, he won't be able to do any good at all if he gets fired. But he tries to always support Steve and Jaime, and if his job ends up clashing with their safety, he puts his job on the line for them. Both he and Steve do what they feel is right; they just have different ideas sometimes on how to go about it. But I think they agree on methods many times when it matters the most.

So yeah. It's pretty much a show-by-show basis and I'm never sure which way I'll go until I'm into the show and watching it. It puzzles me a bit, and yet I think it's probably a good thing that I don't just strictly stick to one type of character for interest. Aloof, serious ones will always be my favorites in general, but it's kind of fun when I have some favorites that break a mold a bit.

So I bought some stuff on Amazon, including three of the new Six Million Dollar Man comics. But whoever packed the stuff must not know how to pack comics. There were no cardboard slips for protection and the comics were not even at least lying flat. The box was too small and they couldn't. So they curled up at the top and got bent.

They also sent my paperback book creased and the box wasn't tall enough for everything and the flaps bulged above the top item, one of two DVDs.

I complained. Amazon has a thing where you can review the packing, and I didn't hold back. I even outright said it was an incompetent packing job, which it really was. But then, because I really am a lot like Fluttershy, I immediately started worrying that I'd been too harsh on them and I shouldn't have said that. **mushroom sigh.** I wasn't rude and I didn't scream at them or anything, I was just very blunt and honest. And I'm sure I should have said exactly what I did. But it doesn't keep me from worrying that maybe I shouldn't have said it that way.

Now I'm wondering again how to get more of the Six Million Dollar Man comics. I thought I'd just found a way to get them without paying an arm and a leg for shipping, but I'm sure not keen on using Amazon for comics again. The local comic store is no help, as usual. They immediately sell out, don't plan to get more unless it's a special order, and it takes THREE WEEKS for a special order to come in. Um, no thank you. Why can't that store ever be useful? You know, one time I even tried to special order something in, and then they called back and told my mom they couldn't get it! Lovely. Apparently the only way I can get the comics from that store is if I actually subscribe (which basically entails them holding each issue for me as it comes out), but I didn't want to do that either, because we don't often get up there and I worry about the comics piling up and me having to drop a bundle to pick up a whole bunch at once, which I just wouldn't have the money for.

And completely switching gears, I was re-reading some of my completed Rockford Files fic and then fell asleep and had an odd dream. My mind created a new episode, which I announced in the dream I'd seen before. Chris was in it and so was a little guy playing a friend of his, but I can't think who that actor was supposed to be. I don't think it was Joe E. Tata or Jimmy Murphy. All I really remember is that he was short and slight and was wearing a plaid newsboy hat with a dark overcoat and vest. Chris had a dark brown overcoat. And their characters had names in the dream-isode that I can't remember upon waking. I almost want to say one of them was called Chip (Chris's, I think), but I can't swear by that.

The important thing about the dream was that they seemed to be part of some sort of rebel group or resistance movement. Chris's character was more experienced; he looked about like he really does in the two existing Rockford episodes he's in (puuurrr). His friend was younger and more inexperienced. And the bad guys eventually caught up to him when he was running from them and shot him repeatedly at the side of his and Chris's car. Gah.

Chris and Rockford came running up, and I can't recall if the bad guys were still there and got caught or if they were gone. Chris cried out his friend's name and bent down to look him over. Of course, the poor man was dead, and Chris was devastated. He slowly stood up, shaken and sobered, and said he was going back to London (presumably for another assignment). I knew that he and his friend had shared a house (much the same as Ginger and Lou do in my fics) and it would be so lonely and sad for him.

There also seemed to be a bit before the death where the friend encountered an old flame of his and they were making plans to get together again. The girl did not reappear in the dream after the death.

I said in the dream that I would have to write a fix-fic, because the friend being dead was unacceptable. Now that I'm awake, part of me actually wants to write a fix-fic despite the fact that these characters don't even exist!

I wonder if I could use them in my novel. I need more human characters. They could be G-Men or else actually be part of the resistance movement that's in the novel.

So yesterday I was looking for Six Million Dollar Man figures. I want the Steve Austin they're supposed to be coming out with that's properly proportioned, unlike the current ones where the heads are too big. But the release date keeps getting pushed back. Right now it's August. Ugh.

But while I was looking, quite by accident I stumbled on a real, official Jim West figure! There is no Arte counterpart, but since I'm one of the few who likes Jim better, I'm okay with that. It would have been nice if they'd done Arte too, though; I love them as friends and as a team.

This Jim figure looks pretty good and is still available for reasonable prices in-box. I definitely think I must invest.

Also, iconning is a delicate art. It can be so difficult to get just the right picture and crop for an icon. The characters have to be standing close enough together that it really works. I like this one I did of Joe and Lew, but I'm hoping to find an even better one when I screencap other discs.

I did the first part of the Bonanza-related fic for theme #12, as planned. I am so proud of it! I rarely do such intense and deep character monologues anymore, as I usually rely more on character dialogue and action to tell the stories. I don't always like that, as I love monologuing, but it doesn't always seem to fit. For this story, however, it's perfect. The next scene is due for Tuesday, I think.

http://31-days.livejournal.com/2875469.html

I've been keeping a nice, relaxed pace this month, alternating between updating The Denying Detective and The Night of the Moving Wound. And I was just thinking I need to update my FF7 Western fic, too. Those in addition to blog posts and work-related writing. It's nice having a better balance.

It's confusing, rotating crushes on three wonderful men all at the same time. I can watch something with Richard in the morning, write something with a Wesley character later, and see William playing Hamilton at night. Alternately squeeing over each one. Very strange.

I finally saw some of The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man. I watched the Kill Oscar trilogy, where Richard's Oscar character is abducted by a madman. And he had previously issued orders to kill him if he were captured, because he's afraid of what he might divulge to the bad guys under their modern torture methods. I was hoping to be blown away. I almost was. The first two parts were really intense and good and I love them. But I think the third part kind of fell short. They were trying to pack too much in, and they didn't leave any room for a wonderful reunion scene in an epilogue. And after all the build-up, and Oscar's friends trying so hard to save him before the order to kill him was carried out, it just really felt like a let-down. I've located the fanbase now and am asking about episodes with squeeful interaction between Oscar and the other characters. I'm also hoping someone's written some fanfiction to fill in the gaps in Kill Oscar.

I was absolutely blown away by the episode of The Big Valley entitled Last Train to the Fair, however! Oh my goodness. It was one of the most heart-wrenching, heart-breaking, beautiful things I've seen in a long time. And it was incredible all the way through; there was definitely no let-down there. If you can see it (I think it's on Hulu), I thoroughly recommend it! It's just so amazingly moving even if you don't really watch The Big Valley. I don't, but I was just so entranced and impressed and touched. Everyone's acting was just wonderful. There's a lot of poignant sibling hurt/comfort, angst, and squee, as well as intensity and heartache going on with the doctor trying to treat the ill sibling on the train. People are out trying to kill him, and the reason why is so unexpected and gah. And the climax! Oh my goodness. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that, but oh! It's so worth watching!

And I wonder why it is that it seems like at the Scottish Festival, I get terribly attracted to booths that aren't directly Scottish-related. Ha, the irony of it. I found a booth on Friday that carried those ornate masquerade eye masks, the kind they used in Victorian times. I was enthralled! It reminded me of The Wild Wild West, and I stayed and looked at almost every mask on display. I would have liked to have gotten one, but even the lowest-priced ones were too much for me right then. I've been doing a juggling act with my money all this week, trying to determine my buying priorities.

I had to wait until I saw some of those TV series to decide what to do. (Gah, I wish I had sent for that disc before the Get Smart disc instead of after.) I had been considering trying to get one of the Bionic Woman seasons. Now, unless I hear something wonderful from the fanbase (such as that I really must get hold of one particular, entire season), my plan is to get a T-Shirt I found with Richard, a Celtic Woman CD, and wait for the Trixie and Lyra My Little Pony figures to be released. It shouldn't be long now.