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LOUISE CUSACK

~ Crazy, sexy, love…

LOUISE CUSACK

Tag Archives: terminator

The adoration of Gilmore Girls and other unlikely franchise fetishes

09 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by louisecusack in Inspiration, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

adoration, genysis, gilmore girls, irrational addiction, romance, terminator

So I’m channel surfing and happen to click onto an episode of Gilmore Girls. Without conscious volition, I squeal, “Oh my God, Gilmore Girls!” I put the remote to one side, away from my viewing partner, away from any chance that the channel might be changed. Because for the next twenty minutes, or however long the episode lasts, I’m watching it.

It’s like finding the last few squares of a family block of Cadbury and deciding their mine. Completely selfish, but I’m not sharing. And when the teev hits Gilmore Girls I’m not sharing the remote either.

When asked to explain why, I’m at a loss. It’s a crap episode. Not much is happening, and some of the acting is off. But I love the characters. Time spent with them is such a joy, I don’t care if they’re off their game. It’s Lorelai flirting with Luke. It’s Rory arguing with Kirk. It’s Richard and Emily scheming to manipulate. I just want to hang with them. To be honest, I don’t care what they do. I just want to spend time in their world.

When the episode is over and I come back to the real world, I feel embarrassed. It doesn’t make sense to be obsessed about a show that I haven’t even seen all the episodes of. But that was deliberate. Like not seeing Michelangelo’s David in Florence, I want a reason to come back (not that I need one for Gilmore Girls) but it feels good to know that I can be surprised by episodes I haven’t seen. I haven’t allowed myself to glut on it. I’ve had some restraint, and as a result of that, I don’t know everything about the show. There are still things to learn in my lifetime – yet another reason to stay on the planet!

The Terminator franchise is another irrational addiction of mine. Sure, that epic romance between Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor – I came across time for you Sarah – is worth watching again and again, but the subsequent movies with all their shoot-em-up gore and mind-numbing chases? Last week a trailer came on tv for the new movie Terminator Genysis and I just about wet my pants.

Seriously. My movie buddy said, “You’re a Cinderella girl. Why on earth would you want to see a blood-thirsty movie like that?”

I had no ready answer, but can only assume that the first Terminator movie imprinted me. I’m locked into the franchise now, perhaps in the vain hope that I’ll see Kyle and Sarah together again (and in Genysis I will). There’s something about truly great characters that inspire you, and make you watch the most dreadful things in hope that they’ll be better than they are: In 2002 I saw Star Wars II Attack of the Clones three days in a row, telling myself each time that it wasn’t that bad, but I was wrong. It was appalling. I adored Han and Leia and Luke so much, I simply couldn’t believe that Padme and Anakin could have such a lame romance.

Anakin-Padme-KissBut I digress.

The topic of this blog is the adoration of unlikely franchises. So fess up. What do you love and why? What do you tolerate when you know damn well it’s an hour (or two) you’ll never get back? Is their some vain hope for a lost romance (there has to be some reason we kept watching Moonlighting back in the eighties). Or were you hooked on House, waiting for the patient he couldn’t cure.

Don’t leave me hanging here in Lame-O Land all alone. Surely I can’t be the only one…

Why do we read Romance?

01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by louisecusack in Reading, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

books, fantastical, fantasy, Han and Leia, hermoine, john carter, katniss, kyle reese, love story, movies, peeta, readers, reading, romance, ron, Sarah Connor, sci fi, terminator

I’m happy to admit I’m a sucker for romance, and in the same way that chocolate should be a part of every meal (it is one of the important food groups after all) I’d love to see romance having a place in every story.

Because whether I’m deep into reading sci fi, fantasy or a zombie apocalypse, I still want a hint of a sniff of a love story. Star Wars – where would it be without Han and Leia, not to mention Buttercup and Westley, John Carter and Dejah Thoris, Katniss and Peeta, hell, even Ron and Hermione. I love the fantastical elements of speculative fiction worlds, but unless there’s a romance in there, the story isn’t enough for me. I adore the attraction, the pursuit (no matter how clumsy or unlikely to succeed) the tender awkward moments, then there’s the surety and confidence that characters experience when they know their love is returned.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIMEhan&LeiaJohn-Carter_01Avatar-Blue-Kisses-0012791-the-hunger-games-katniss-and-peeta1Stardust

But why is romance such an important element for so many women? Not to mention the men who have a soft spot for love stories and who don’t mind a bit of schmaltz mixed in with their blood and guts. Terminator is full of hide-behind-the-hands violence, but when Kyle Reese says to Sarah Connor “I came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have,” I just melt.

BTW, if you’re a sucker for the Kyle/Sarah love story, here’s a tissue-worthy recap:

So why do we love a good love story?

The easy answer would be that we’re love starved, but statistically that doesn’t hold up. In fact, romance writers as a group have one of the highest levels of happy relationships, which may have something to do with writing love scenes on a regular basis. Many’s the time I’ve heard of a romance writer phoning their partner for a little “romance” after having written a scene that’s gotten them all hot and bothered. And surely that makes for happier marriages. But does the same thing happen for readers? Do women call their husbands after devouring a bit of Fifty Shades and tell them to come home for lunch?

Sex aside (I know, you got a visual there, but I was saying aside not astride) what is it about romance that makes a story feel complete? Do we have any philosophers out there? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

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