aelfgyfu_mead (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aelfgyfu_mead) wrote2009-05-12 09:38 pm
aelfgyfu_mead) wrote2009-05-12 09:38 pm
Entry tags:
Krod Mandoon and general offensiveness
I started to post this review with my book reviews, and then I removed it. I am more than a little embarrassed to have enjoyed parts of something so offensive to so many people--and I'm also a bit worried. Thus I've put it under friends' lock. Please be warned that I'm talking about a show that is offensive; by all means argue with me in the comments, but I hope I don't cause any real hurt myself.
ETA: I've unlocked this entry. I think I can survive the mortification of being known to have enjoyed Krod Mandoon, especially since I've started confessing to it elsewhere. [end edit]
Frankly, I think Lois McMaster Bujold should have kept her darned mouth shut, and I've now read enough to decide that: yes, some people criticizing her may be wrong on some specifics (I have seen a few quotations from her bent out of shape and interpreted in ways I never would), but she has said more than enough truly dreadful things for reasons I can't fathom. As I've said before, however, I don't read authors because they're nice or good people. I'm disappointed in LMB, but for me her novels still have a lot of value. I will remember what she said outside them when I'm reading in them; I do the same with Chaucer and Malory. I will perhaps be more alert to failings in her novels. I won't stop reading them. I also doubt that another RaceFail will do much good; see SeeLight about how sometimes it's better just to drop it. RaceFail brought some good, but I'm afraid the hurt far outweighed it, and the long stream of posts and replies did more to prolong the hurt than the good.
Now onto the main topic: I did say that I would review Krod Mandoon, and I'm curious if anyone else reacted the way I did: feeling guilty for finding it funny, and yet watching it all the same.
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
I'm not sure if anyone really cares about this, but I have dim memories of telling someone![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hestia8, maybe?) that I would review it. I have never felt so guilty and just plain dumb for enjoying a show. I'm afraid that even saying that I enjoyed it will raise expectations that will surely be dashed. It did help that I came in with really low expectations. I first heard about it because James Murray (Stephen Hart on Primeval) was billed as one of the stars, and when I saw that John Rhys-Davies was in it, I had to give it a try.
Full disclosure, folks: the early press releases seemed to give major billing to Rhys-Davies and Murray. Lies, lies! Rhys-Davies in particular does not get enough screen time to make this worth watching just for one actor. Murray gets a bit more. Murray doesn't even appear until the third half-hour (it's six episodes, but Comedy Channel originally showed it as one one-hour episode followed by four half-hour ones; they rebroadcast it as half-hour episodes, making the episode numbering confusing at best). When he does appear, it's at the end of the episode, and he gets hardly any lines at all! We turned it off and I said, "They must be paying the guest star by the word." The following week, he got more lines, and Rhys-Davies first appeared, with virtually nothing to say! Then I said, "They must be paying the biggest guest star of the week by the word!"
Full disclosure, part deux: This miniseries is truly offensive. I could handle it better if it were equal opportunity, as Brilliant Husband said it was, but honestly, heterosexual white men don't get stereotyped the same way as other groups, who are represented by one stereotyped character each. In Aneka, they manage to be offensive not only to women but to pagans. I think the word "pagan" has no actual meaning for the writers; they stick it in sometimes at random ("pagan goat pants"? What the frell?). Aneka sleeps with everybody, perhaps more because she's a pagan (don't ask about the Raccoon ritual) than simply because she's a woman, but the other female characters (all minor) aren't any better. This show demonstrates some serious misogyny. I should have turned it off.
It also has some gay stereotypes; I saw one online article titled "Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Gay Stereotype" (but I didn't read it and can't vouch for its content, so I'm not linking). The black character is ineffectual and sometimes downright dumb; this characterization is mitigated by the fact that basically all the characters are stupid (Aneka must be the brightest of the lot, but she's no brain surgeon), and most are pretty freaking ineffectual.
So why did I watch the whole thing? Darned if I know. I have no good excuse. It made me laugh. There was a lot of gross humor, mostly sexual, and I honestly would have liked it better without that. It was highly derivative ("homage," some might call it). The lead, Sean Maguire, I somehow found very appealing (I'd heard the name but not seen him before, so it wasn't as though I was attached to him). Krod just wasn't all that bright, but he meant well, even when he went about things quite badly. I found him likeable in spite of myself, and Maguire, carried off jokes that by rights never should have worked. Dongalor (Matt Lucas), the villain, managed even worse jokes than Maguire did. His lackey Barnabas was also worth watching (in a cringe-inducing way).
Okay: enough is enough. Anyone reading this far probably doesn't really want to hear about Dongalor or even Krod (whose name makes me think Crab Rangoon). You're either still reading because you like John Rhys-Davies (who doesn't?) or James Murray.
James Murray already displayed comic talent on Primeval (see my Primeval entries, though BH and I have debated whether the writers actually meant all the humor). He lightened his hair and has a full beard for the role, and, dang it, I'm going to have to haul out the Primeval dvds so I can work on my AU Primeval stories without having the wrong image in my head (and a far too cheerful voice for Stephen). I might have liked to see more of him and less of Bruce. Actually, in another sense, I saw more of him than any other character, and in that sense I could have stood to see less of him, but . . . you'll either see, or you won't (I expect screencaps to flood the Internet before the series premieres outside the US). The writers get a few points for working in a Primeval joke (which they then repeated two or three times for those who missed it the first time). Listen for it. James Murray, though, might want to find a new agent, if this is the best he can do.
John Rhys-Davies was nearly wasted here as Grimshank the wizard. We didn't get to hear his wonderful voice enough! He spent most of the time dressed as a bad knockoff of Dumbledore--but when he wasn't dressed that way, I was wishing he was, because he was the character of whom we see the second most. Yep. Not what I would have figured. "Did he read the script before he took this job?" I blurted when I saw . . . well, again, you'll either see, or you won't. (I do not actually expect screencaps of these scenes to flood the Internet.) I suppose I should perhaps be grateful he didn't get more lines, because then he'd probably have gotten some dren. On a percentage basis, he had by far the best dialogue: a very high good-line-to-bad-line ratio! We're still snickering over Grimshank. It does seem quite clear to me that John Rhys-Davies is one of those talented actors--we can all name a few--who needs to be more choosy about his projects. He has done so many dubious projects that I can't simply blame his agent. He does seem to be having great fun here, however.
So now I've said it. I enjoyed Krod Mandoon more than I was offended and grossed out by it (although individual scenes often went the other way). I can't really understand why I enjoyed it (and yes, I even watched some of the deleted scenes--here, but be warned: video starts up right away, and SO not safe for work or small ears!). Did anyone else watch?
ETA: I've unlocked this entry. I think I can survive the mortification of being known to have enjoyed Krod Mandoon, especially since I've started confessing to it elsewhere. [end edit]
Frankly, I think Lois McMaster Bujold should have kept her darned mouth shut, and I've now read enough to decide that: yes, some people criticizing her may be wrong on some specifics (I have seen a few quotations from her bent out of shape and interpreted in ways I never would), but she has said more than enough truly dreadful things for reasons I can't fathom. As I've said before, however, I don't read authors because they're nice or good people. I'm disappointed in LMB, but for me her novels still have a lot of value. I will remember what she said outside them when I'm reading in them; I do the same with Chaucer and Malory. I will perhaps be more alert to failings in her novels. I won't stop reading them. I also doubt that another RaceFail will do much good; see SeeLight about how sometimes it's better just to drop it. RaceFail brought some good, but I'm afraid the hurt far outweighed it, and the long stream of posts and replies did more to prolong the hurt than the good.
Now onto the main topic: I did say that I would review Krod Mandoon, and I'm curious if anyone else reacted the way I did: feeling guilty for finding it funny, and yet watching it all the same.
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
I'm not sure if anyone really cares about this, but I have dim memories of telling someone
hestia8, maybe?) that I would review it. I have never felt so guilty and just plain dumb for enjoying a show. I'm afraid that even saying that I enjoyed it will raise expectations that will surely be dashed. It did help that I came in with really low expectations. I first heard about it because James Murray (Stephen Hart on Primeval) was billed as one of the stars, and when I saw that John Rhys-Davies was in it, I had to give it a try.Full disclosure, folks: the early press releases seemed to give major billing to Rhys-Davies and Murray. Lies, lies! Rhys-Davies in particular does not get enough screen time to make this worth watching just for one actor. Murray gets a bit more. Murray doesn't even appear until the third half-hour (it's six episodes, but Comedy Channel originally showed it as one one-hour episode followed by four half-hour ones; they rebroadcast it as half-hour episodes, making the episode numbering confusing at best). When he does appear, it's at the end of the episode, and he gets hardly any lines at all! We turned it off and I said, "They must be paying the guest star by the word." The following week, he got more lines, and Rhys-Davies first appeared, with virtually nothing to say! Then I said, "They must be paying the biggest guest star of the week by the word!"
Full disclosure, part deux: This miniseries is truly offensive. I could handle it better if it were equal opportunity, as Brilliant Husband said it was, but honestly, heterosexual white men don't get stereotyped the same way as other groups, who are represented by one stereotyped character each. In Aneka, they manage to be offensive not only to women but to pagans. I think the word "pagan" has no actual meaning for the writers; they stick it in sometimes at random ("pagan goat pants"? What the frell?). Aneka sleeps with everybody, perhaps more because she's a pagan (don't ask about the Raccoon ritual) than simply because she's a woman, but the other female characters (all minor) aren't any better. This show demonstrates some serious misogyny. I should have turned it off.
It also has some gay stereotypes; I saw one online article titled "Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Gay Stereotype" (but I didn't read it and can't vouch for its content, so I'm not linking). The black character is ineffectual and sometimes downright dumb; this characterization is mitigated by the fact that basically all the characters are stupid (Aneka must be the brightest of the lot, but she's no brain surgeon), and most are pretty freaking ineffectual.
So why did I watch the whole thing? Darned if I know. I have no good excuse. It made me laugh. There was a lot of gross humor, mostly sexual, and I honestly would have liked it better without that. It was highly derivative ("homage," some might call it). The lead, Sean Maguire, I somehow found very appealing (I'd heard the name but not seen him before, so it wasn't as though I was attached to him). Krod just wasn't all that bright, but he meant well, even when he went about things quite badly. I found him likeable in spite of myself, and Maguire, carried off jokes that by rights never should have worked. Dongalor (Matt Lucas), the villain, managed even worse jokes than Maguire did. His lackey Barnabas was also worth watching (in a cringe-inducing way).
Okay: enough is enough. Anyone reading this far probably doesn't really want to hear about Dongalor or even Krod (whose name makes me think Crab Rangoon). You're either still reading because you like John Rhys-Davies (who doesn't?) or James Murray.
James Murray already displayed comic talent on Primeval (see my Primeval entries, though BH and I have debated whether the writers actually meant all the humor). He lightened his hair and has a full beard for the role, and, dang it, I'm going to have to haul out the Primeval dvds so I can work on my AU Primeval stories without having the wrong image in my head (and a far too cheerful voice for Stephen). I might have liked to see more of him and less of Bruce. Actually, in another sense, I saw more of him than any other character, and in that sense I could have stood to see less of him, but . . . you'll either see, or you won't (I expect screencaps to flood the Internet before the series premieres outside the US). The writers get a few points for working in a Primeval joke (which they then repeated two or three times for those who missed it the first time). Listen for it. James Murray, though, might want to find a new agent, if this is the best he can do.
John Rhys-Davies was nearly wasted here as Grimshank the wizard. We didn't get to hear his wonderful voice enough! He spent most of the time dressed as a bad knockoff of Dumbledore--but when he wasn't dressed that way, I was wishing he was, because he was the character of whom we see the second most. Yep. Not what I would have figured. "Did he read the script before he took this job?" I blurted when I saw . . . well, again, you'll either see, or you won't. (I do not actually expect screencaps of these scenes to flood the Internet.) I suppose I should perhaps be grateful he didn't get more lines, because then he'd probably have gotten some dren. On a percentage basis, he had by far the best dialogue: a very high good-line-to-bad-line ratio! We're still snickering over Grimshank. It does seem quite clear to me that John Rhys-Davies is one of those talented actors--we can all name a few--who needs to be more choosy about his projects. He has done so many dubious projects that I can't simply blame his agent. He does seem to be having great fun here, however.
So now I've said it. I enjoyed Krod Mandoon more than I was offended and grossed out by it (although individual scenes often went the other way). I can't really understand why I enjoyed it (and yes, I even watched some of the deleted scenes--here, but be warned: video starts up right away, and SO not safe for work or small ears!). Did anyone else watch?