in which I buy dolls, and admit my shameful new addiction (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman- I kid you not)

[newmoonstar]

Well, trying to get housecleaning restarted was a massive fail, as was any attempt at sewing with the house in such disorder, so I turned to the only thing a procrastinating doll collector can do in times of ennui: EBAY! I finally got a Victorian Holiday Barbie and Kelly at a most decent price, and it arrived in the mail toady, and it's SOOO gorgeous. The dolls are cute as buttons and the Barbie's dress is actual velvet and I'm too happy for words. Yay!!

And in slightly less good news, I think I've become addicted to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Now, I never watched in when it was new, and never thought I would ever be pulled in by a cheesy western drama filled with heartwarming family values. BUT - it started re-running on cable about the same time I was going through Bramwell withdrawal, and I was so desperate that the adventures of ANY 19th century lady doctor was better than none at all. I only watched it intermittantly, without any real interest for a while, but then they started putting on all these all-day marathons, and now I actually know the characters names and kind of care what happens in each episode. It's still the cheesiest thing you've ever seen, and more heartwarming than a basket of puppies, but it really makes me nostalgic for the mid-1990's mentality, where women were allowed to actually do stuff, and bigotry and greed are generally understood to be bad things. A show like that would never get on the air on a major network now, so in a way, it's actually kind of subversive. And Jane Seymour is pretty awesome. Dr. Quinn is always right, and her shining goodness never fails to convert even the most skeptical townsfolk or trounce the baddest baddie, and no other actress could pull that off and still come off as totally likeable. So off I go to watch the new episode tonight. As long as I don't get really obsessed and end up buying the DVDs, it's totally okay...;D

Comments

[epea-pteroenta.livejournal.com]

Out of interest, why wouldn't it be on air nowadays? I've never seen it but I would have thought that a period drama with heartwarming family values would be well-liked on TV?

[newmoonstar]

Well, American television has become much less family friendly in recent years. The more violent, rude, and politcally incorrect a show is, the more it seems to become a huge hit with the critics, and unfortunately the audiences too. I actually saw promo for Mad Men that said "it's sexist!" as if that were a positive point to recommend the show. I personally love period dramas full of heartwarming family values myself, but you have to go to British TV to get that nowadays. We're still very much in the grips of a conservative backlash in the media here, and anything that could be remotely construed as feminist is out, and we don't have a strong tradition of period TV shows here anyway, so something like Dr. Quinn is the last thing an American TV producer would ever get behind these days. Which is really too bad, since there aren't many shows like Dr. Quinn that whole families can watch together any more. Thank goodness for things like Lark Rise to Candleford and Doctor Who airing here, or I wouldn't have anything new to watch on TV!