Review: The Phantom of the Opera

It was time to read The Phantom of the Opera from start to finish, which doesn't sound like a big deal except that I was honestly unable to remember if I'd ever read it before. This is strange considering I've been a fan of the story for so long, and the events of the first chapter (which has little resemblance to the musical) certainly rang some bells. So did other bits and pieces throughout the novel, so I can't confidently say this was my first read-through.

It's also difficult for me to recall just when I became deeply interested in the story: certainly by high school, when a friend lent me her cassettes and libretto from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (which among other things, led to our cat being named Phantom), but perhaps even a little before this, when my uncle sent us several computer games from Australia, one of which was called Return of the Phantom, set at the Paris Opera House and involving a time-slip adventure/mystery.

But I'll have more to say on that in my end-of-month log. This post is about announcing that I can now definitively say I've read Leroux's original novel. And it was a surprising experience in many ways.

More than anything else, I was hoping to garner more insight into the characters; delving into their backgrounds, personalities and inner thoughts - though in truth it's actually the musical that does a much better job of characterizing Raoul and Christine.

Yeah, I'm astonished too.

Review: Avengers Endgame

Isn't it funny that Avengers: Endgame came out in April and three months later absolutely no one is talking about it?

Okay, that's probably because we were almost immediately hit by the Game of Thrones truck, are now in the afterglow of Stranger Things, and have our eyes on the fast-approaching The Rise of Skywalker... but still, I think it's telling that the hype for the culmination of nearly ten years worth of cinematic storytelling died out pretty quickly.

Because as a movie, Avengers: Endgame is much like all the MCU movies. A solid piece of entertainment that provides all the typical beats: lots of gags, some poignancy, fun character moments, bombastic set-pieces, a dash of romance and a villain (okay, Marvel has always been pretty weak with those last two).

As I've said in the past, I'm a casual fan of Marvel, and (unlike Game of Thrones, which snuck up on me without my realizing it) I can say that sincerely this time. General opinion is that The Winter Soldier is the best of the lot and The Dark World the worst, though to me they're of equal quality when it comes to entertainment value.

Which means it was a blessed relief to go into the movie theater and just... watch a movie. No elaborate head-canons to be crushed, no obnoxious shippers/stans screaming in agony, no dramatic disappointment in the way characters were portrayed, no devastated tears when things didn't turn out the way I had overinvested in...

There are some elements of contention: that the time-travel made no sense, that Steve ignored his own advice and lived out his life in the past, and of course Black Widow's fate - but ultimately I'm not that invested in the MCU and so could enjoy the ride without cross-examining everything.

I don't care, and MAN that feels good!

Reading/Watching Log #42

My quest to "finish what you started" continues, with new seasons of Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl under my belt, as well as American Gods, Killing Eve and the final season of Into the Badlands.

Bookwise, I've finally completed Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass saga, the fourth and final book in the DC Icons series, and the second instalment in Michael Di Martino's Rebel Genius trilogy. And I haven't even begun to put a dent in the rest of my TBR pile.

This blog has been a bit slow lately, not because I'm not writing but because I'm writing so many things at once that my time has been spread thin between them. And with Stranger Things just around the corner, things will probably get worse before they get better...

Woman of the Month: Joan Watson

Joan Watson from Elementary

I was on one of my internet walkabouts (which basically involves me scrolling through random pages, reading about obscure fandom lore) when I came across a post on the demise of Superwholock. It makes for a fascinating read, and brought back memories of 2012 when an American based Sherlock Holmes procedural was announced starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

To say that the reaction was over-the-top is an understatement. The creators and cast of the BBC's Sherlock treated it like a personal affront, and the fandom was in full-blown hysterics. You'd think the CBS had announced the culling of two hundred puppies the way they carried on, and there was a lot of embarrassing behaviour from all involved. 

If you follow the above link, there are some that believe this had an effect on Superwholock's abrupt disappearance, given the ugly underlying racism and misogyny that was inherent in the criticism. Because of course, Lucy Liu was cast as a gender-flipped Watson, and the fandom that coined the "screw writing strong women; write interesting women, write well-rounded women, write complicated women" meme just couldn't get their heads around it. 

But now, eight years later, it's clear that Elementary got the last laugh. Sherlock crossed the finish line as a crippled shadow of its former self, while Elementary actually delivered on its narrative promise and has since enjoyed seven full seasons of Holmes and Watson adventures. 

Lucy’s take on Joan Watson is that of a disgraced surgeon turned sober companion turned private detective. In many ways, the initial thrust of the show’s story was based entirely around her – Sherlock was HER client, it was HER decision to stay with him after their tenure came to an end, and it’s clear that despite all that she’s learnt from him, SHE’S the one who is of maximum importance to him. You don’t need me to tell you that in a world obsessed with white dude bromances, watching a show in which a man holds a woman of colour in the highest esteem and to the exclusion of all else is truly unique and revolutionary.

But thankfully the show never becomes just about Sherlock’s reliance on Watson. She’s a fully formed character in her own right, who struggles with doing the right thing, doesn’t put up with crap from anyone, embraces her newfound love of solving mysteries, forges relationships with other people in her new profession, utilizes her surgical skills when necessary, and (my personal favourite) is hilariously nonchalant about Moriarty’s obsession with her.

And that fashion sense! I’d leap at the chance to raid this woman’s wardrobe.

All that hand-wringing and boo-hooing about a woman (and a woman of colour, at that) taking over a role that would have otherwise been filled by yet another white guy was both hilariously stupid and gratifyingly unfounded. Schadenfreude may not be the most noble of human emotions, but you can’t say it didn’t feel good when Elementary ended up being a hit.