thebitterguy

The musical was very much more enjoyable. The pace of the book was leisurely, and it seemed to take much less advantage of the familiar Oz setting.

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kinra.livejournal.com

So I'm not gonna rush to read the book, which is good since I seem to have a bunch of crap happening in January-May anyway. I will be a singing pirate for like four months. The Ninja-to will have to remain on the shelf.

But yeah -- those songs in the musical were some good stuff. And such sinister tie-ins, sometimes even subtle... good stuff.

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I'd love to hear your assessment of Wicked. I was /thrilled/ when I heard someone was writing Oz from the WWotW's perspective, but it was not at all what I was hoping for. It wasn't bad, it just was /totally/ not how I would have done it.

So, someday I'm going to write my own version. :)

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I guess I'm just not the right audience for the type of literary endeavour that it was. For a book that's supposed to tell the story of one character, it does a good job not telling too much about the character.

I'm one of the proles who enjoyed the musical version's retelling more than the book's.

Plus, pacing was just off for me. I just found the last half of the book, with her and her lover's widow, children & inlaws just dragged and didn't add significant amounts to it.

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I would agree. It got way too socio-political for me, and didn't deal enough (in my opinion) with Eph herself. I didn't feel like I really "got" her, in the way that I got Dorothy in the original version, and I spent way too much time trying to figure out what real-world political and social agendas the writer was trying to draw comparisons to.

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I think Wicked missed the target on what it was attempting to do, and is certainly a flawed book. But it was one I did enjoy and do want to find a copy of Son of a Witch. Basically, I just didn't worry about the socio-political agenda of the author, and just read the book as a silly escapist fantasy.

Of course, I wouldn't mind seeing the musical either, one day.

So, might one ask what you'd do when you write your version, what you would do?

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So, might one ask what you'd do when you write your version, what you would do?

I don't think I understand the question... Could you re-phrase it?

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You said in another comment to El Bitter Golem:

It wasn't bad, it just was /totally/ not how I would have done it.

So, someday I'm going to write my own version. :)

I'm curious to what you would do differently.

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Ah!
My intention would be be to write a much more intimiate tale. More about Eph herself and less about the social-political struggles of the land and how she was or wasn't involved in them.
First off, I'll write it in the first person. I think that will help.
I kind of felt like I was watching someone move a model of her through a story, rather than feeling like I was really involved in her life, if that makes sense.
Secondly, my writing style is much less "matter of fact" than the author of Wicked's is. Maybe it's just me, but I think it suits her tale, at least as I see her.

We'll have to see. No story comes out exactly as one visualizes it. The birthing process shapes it, so I couldn't say how it would emerge, only how I think it would be. :)

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No story comes out exactly as one visualizes it.

Oh, trust me, I know. ;)

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Scrolled your LJ and added you. Hope you don't mind.

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Not at all. :) I'll give your journal a looksee and if you seem rockalicious, then I'll add ya back. ;)

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The political content was actually a lot less subtle for me in the musical version, but I think that's probably because every politically themed product produced post 9/11 will feel that way.

I think I needed another readthrough for the book to tell more info about the nuances, but I couldn't tell, for example, what Dr. Dillamond's research was supposed to prove, or why they sought to suppress it.

Animal suppression and all that made sense, but seemed to be organized in a slightly illogical fashion (it seemed that Animals were being kept in pens in the middle of cities?). The revolutionary/anarchist organization that Elphaba was involved with was also too vague for me.

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troy-duffy.livejournal.com

Got Superman Returns & MUA for the box, JLU season 1

Is the SR game better than the movie? Yes I finally saw Superman Returns over the holidays and yeah, while I can defend X3 with a strong will and clear conscience, I can't say the same for SR. It had so much potential. As everyone says, the airplane scene was amazing. But the rest of the movie felt like set-up for a movie we never get to see. And the "climax" was laughable. And that was Luthor's plan? He's a calculating genius people. That plan was just plain stupid.
I thought Routh did a good job (and man it sure felt like Routh was trying to play Christopher Reeves playing Supes/Clark, which is a good thing IMO, and he did a good job at it) and I love Spacey though I wish he's dialed it down a bit and played him a bit more sinister, and the rest of the cast were passable to forgetable.

So, anyway, seriously, how is the game? I enjoy using Supes' heatvision or hitting people with cars on Justice League Heroes for the PS2 so I can imagine SR is a lot of fun.

And MUA? That Marvel Universe Alliance? Ooooh, I'm jealous! That is definitely my next pick up for my PS2. Not that I have enough time to play JLH as it is.

And I absolutely loved Seasons 1 & 2 of JLU. The ongoing story arcs, the foreshadowing and build up made it seem like one big movie. And the 4-part climax was awesome. One of the best Flash moments ever.

Sounds like a good haul right there :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year man

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SR is okay so far, but I'm stuck at a fairl early part, which is annoying. If I can pass that ASAP it should be good.

MUA I've already beaten, but i want to try going through it with other character combos (the FF or the Avengers). JLU is, actually, still en route, since my brothers waitited until the last minute to order it from Amazon.

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