No, you can't. In a hug, heads are next to each other. And anyway, the concepts are opposed to each other. Doing something to or in front of someones face means doing something openly and with the full intent of the other person knowing it, while stabbing someone in the back is something concealed and the other person doesn't realize he's being attacked until the deed is done.
I know what he meant. The sentence is still retarded because you can't stab someone in the back to his or her face. Physically impossible. A better line would have been "Next time you want to betray me, do it to my face".
However, I find the absurdity of the statement when taken at face value, in spite of it being clear what he meant, makes that line funny. I prefer the use of "stab me in the back" to "betray me" in this case.
I know what he meant. The sentence is still retarded because you can't stab someone in the back to his or her face. Physically impossible. A better line would have been "Next time you want to betray me, do it to my face".
hahaha, reminds me of someone turned off from buffy because of the line "I like pancakes because they are stackable".
I can't think of a reason why the writer would want to inject "funny" in that scene at all though. It should be an entirely serious scene because Mal is hammering home one of the key points of his character.
I can't think of a reason why the writer would want to inject "funny" in that scene at all though. It should be an entirely serious scene because Mal is hammering home one of the key points of his character.
eh, I guess I don't live in a world were people are eloquent all the time.
Look, all I'm saying is that it is an awkward, clumsy line that took me right out of the scene. You guys are telling me that the line was intentional, which first of all I can't believe, and second of all that would make it even worse. Of course people don't have to be eloquent at all times, but this is a scene where them not being it just screws the whole thing up. My problem isn't that the characters aren't eloquent all the time. My problem is that one character isn't eloquent in a scene where not being eloquent ruined it for me.
I know what he meant. The sentence is still retarded because you can't stab someone in the back to his or her face. Physically impossible. A better line would have been "Next time you want to betray me, do it to my face".
Part of the character from the very beginning is that he's not exactly a wordsmith, and doesn't always put his thoughts into the clearest words. It's like a word salad, with a vinaigrette of confusion and croutons of poor education. It's part of the contrast of the character against Simon and River, the Genius, well educated, Galaxy Core types, against Mal's outer rim, "Rustic" farmhand upbringing.
Look, all I'm saying is that it is an awkward, clumsy line that took me right out of the scene. You guys are telling me that the line was intentional
Well, I'd say the line was written that way intentionally. However, as a character, Mal clearly didn't intend to say it that way, but that clumsiness is part of his character.
Also, Firefly has plenty of humour in ostensibly serious scenes.
Scrolling down this thread was making me go more and more insane. Thankfully, Trodgor stemmed the tide in the same what I would have. Is your brain-humor-thingy-detector defective? Of course it's an absurd thing to say. That is, in fact, the joke.
This is why I only watch Firefly and not Buffy/Angel (Not seeing anyone here clamor for Dollhouse. XP) If he didn't like the line, he didn't like it. I don't think there's really anything wrong with that.
Actually Dollhouse is pretty good once you get past the first few eps. Dollhouse suffered from the same problem Firefly had, they rewrote his first eps.
My concern is not that he didn't like it, but that he doesn't seem to understand that it's a joke/why it's a joke.
Actually Dollhouse is pretty good once you get past the first few eps. Dollhouse suffered from the same problem Firefly had, they rewrote his first eps.
That was far from being the "only" problem with Dollhouse. The biggest and most glaring problem was terrible acting, even from some of the better actors. To be fair to the actors, some of the dialogue was so bad that no one could have delivered it convincingly. Additionally, many of the characters (even those that weren't dolls) were fairly flat.
My concern is not that he didn't like it, but that he doesn't seem to understand that it's a joke/why it's a joke.
And what I'm saying is that if it was an intentional joke, it was in a completely inappropriate scene for it... That scene didn't need a joke while hammering home the point. The joke at the end with "can I come in?" would have been plenty. But that "joke" simply didn't fit the character and definitely didn't fit the scene it was in. If it was accidental, it's bad. If it was intentional, it's even worse in my opinion. Feel free to disagree. I simply presumed it to be accidental because it was just bad dialog and so unfitting for the scene. The sentence didn't make me laugh or think "hey, that's funny", it made me go "that's an idiotic thing to say" and took me right out of the scene. Whether it was intentional or accidental, it was still a failure of the writing team and sullied my viewing experience. I believe it is therefore a valid complaint.
That was far from being the "only" problem with Dollhouse. The biggest and most glaring problem was terrible acting, even from some of the better actors. To be fair to the actors, some of the dialogue was so bad that no one could have delivered it convincingly. Additionally, many of the characters (even those that weren't dolls) were fairly flat.
Hey I'm just saying the show was highly enjoyable and didn't deserve the panning it received. I watched the whole show after it aired and found it to be a interesting story. I don't care that much about whether it was "well" acted as much as whether it had a good story and some interesting characters. Which it did.
I just watched Serenity and it was a great movie. The bigger budget helped a little with cinematography and the CG and the movie finished out the series very well. I just found one particular death scene very surprising but the shock for which it was put into it was very effective. I did find it somewhat unnecessary, but it helped illustrate the severity of the situation and the ferocity of the Reavers, which in my opinion got not really enough mention in later episodes of the series to the point that I almost had to go "Oh yeah, Reavers!".
And before I forget, this one actually had a scene which was very serious, but had an actually funny moment that worked very well into it, and it happened to be a dialog between those very same characters. "You wanna run this ship?" "Yes!" ... "Well, you can't". That is a funny moment in a serious scene. That is Mal fucking up and saying something he shouldn't have said. That moment works. The one I complained about did not. That's all I'm saying.
So, I've known about Castle for a while, from here and elsewhere. Obviously knowing Nathan Fillion was in it made me interested, but I don't have any TV, so I never got around to watching it. But then when my sister was home over winter break, she brought home the second season of it and we watched several episodes. I was hooked pretty quickly. The show is formulaic as all get out, but the characters more than make up for that, which no other show of its ilk has ever done for me.
Anyway, I'm watching the first season to catch up to what I've already seen. I would also like to be able to just swing right into season three, which is on Hulu, but it requires Hulu+ which I'm still unsure about whether I want or not. I don't know if I would use it enough to justify that.
Comments
However, I find the absurdity of the statement when taken at face value, in spite of it being clear what he meant, makes that line funny. I prefer the use of "stab me in the back" to "betray me" in this case.
Also, Firefly has plenty of humour in ostensibly serious scenes.
Scrolling down this thread was making me go more and more insane. Thankfully, Trodgor stemmed the tide in the same what I would have. Is your brain-humor-thingy-detector defective? Of course it's an absurd thing to say. That is, in fact, the joke.
That scene didn't need a joke while hammering home the point. The joke at the end with "can I come in?" would have been plenty. But that "joke" simply didn't fit the character and definitely didn't fit the scene it was in. If it was accidental, it's bad. If it was intentional, it's even worse in my opinion. Feel free to disagree. I simply presumed it to be accidental because it was just bad dialog and so unfitting for the scene. The sentence didn't make me laugh or think "hey, that's funny", it made me go "that's an idiotic thing to say" and took me right out of the scene. Whether it was intentional or accidental, it was still a failure of the writing team and sullied my viewing experience. I believe it is therefore a valid complaint.
And before I forget, this one actually had a scene which was very serious, but had an actually funny moment that worked very well into it, and it happened to be a dialog between those very same characters. "You wanna run this ship?" "Yes!" ... "Well, you can't". That is a funny moment in a serious scene. That is Mal fucking up and saying something he shouldn't have said. That moment works. The one I complained about did not. That's all I'm saying.
But glad you liked the series and the movie. It's probably my favorite tv show EVER.
OMG!
Fuck.
Anyway, I'm watching the first season to catch up to what I've already seen. I would also like to be able to just swing right into season three, which is on Hulu, but it requires Hulu+ which I'm still unsure about whether I want or not. I don't know if I would use it enough to justify that.