(no subject)

[cafenowhere]

I have not been posting nearly as much as I had hoped when resurrecting my account. I now think that maybe I should use this blog to record my tv and movie thoughts, and maybe that will prompt me to write more frequently.

Currently J and I are watching several series: Invasion, season 2, on Apple+; The Blacklist, season 9, Netflix; Our Flag Means Death, season 2, Max; What We Do in the Shadows, season 2, Hulu; and American Horror Story: Delicate, Hulu.

It's a lot to keep track of, and I don't think too hard about most of them, but I do have thoughts about "American Horror Story: Delicate." I'll try to keep them non-spoilery. 

First of all, it's intriguing to me that this season of the show is based on a novel, Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine/Rollins. I believe this is the first time the show has this kind of source material. I haven't read the novel, so I spend time each episode wondering how much is taken from the book and how much is AHS's spin. For instance, the historical flashbacks seem typically AHS, but maybe the book relies on them, too. I have watched 5 episodes so far, and the plotline is much more linear than other seasons. Also, there's a main character, Anna Victoria Alcott, whereas most seasons of AHS usually have an ensemble cast and mixed storylines. This season has smaller roles for the repeating cast members. 

The premise for the series is that Anna Alcott, played by Emma Roberts, is a "middle-aged" (for Hollywood) actress who is trying to conceive a baby through IVF. Since she's carrying the show, there's time to pick at her character. She's...nice. Perhaps too nice for someone determined to make it in Hollywood. Supposedly she wants an Oscar as much as a baby, but I don't see it. In fact, we never see Alcott actually working. She started out on a CW show, but that's so old, the merchandise for it has been discontinued. The movie she stars in is complete when the series begins, so we never see her perform or rehearse (though we're only on episode 5; there's time for that to change, but I'm not sure it'd be effective anymore). She scores the cover of Vogue, but we don't see the photo shoot. We only know it's happened because she's asked to autograph it.  She goes into her publicist's office occasionally, but we don't see her reading scripts or approving photos. We see much more of her IVF journey: harvesting, fertility drugs, implantation, check-ups, etc. Any tension between her career and family goals feels pretty artificial. But perhaps that's one of themes of the story AHS is telling: the quest for motherhood can become all-consuming; under the rigors of IVF, it's inevitable to feel like simply a vessel, especially in a misogynist society that already relegates women to certain, limited roles.

My TBR read pile is massive and, so far, "AHS: Delicate" isn't compelling enough that I want to add Delicate Condition to it. I'll keep watching the show but mostly because it's spooky season and I'm looking to be scared.

Comments

[gwynnega]

I recently read Delicate Condition (because pregnancy thrillers are relevant to my literary interests these days) and liked it. In the book, the protagonist doesn't seem particularly into her career either--she's pretty laser-focused on her baby quest. There are historical flashbacks in the novel, too (though I'd kind of forgotten about them). I hadn't realized it had been adapted for TV already!

[cafenowhere]

Oh, I'm glad I mentioned it then. Maybe the show is following the novel more closely than I thought! The book only came out in August, I think, and the show premiered in September. They must've hoped the timing would create some synergy.

[gwynnega]

I ended up watching the first couple of episodes this weekend, and so far I strongly prefer the novel. The TV show changed quite a lot of things, mostly not for the better (except for making Dr. Hill a man so he can be played by Denis O'Hare, who I love). They combined two characters to make Siobhan, but neither of the novel characters talks the obnoxious way she does on the show. Also, the novel protagonist isn't prone to violent overreaction the way the TV protagonist is. There are other changes that don't make sense to me plot-wise (in terms of what ends up happening in the novel), so I'm wondering if there are larger divergences to come. (Hilariously, Matt Czuchry was one of my models for Thomas!)