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Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:22 pm
by KateR
With all the convention stuff going on, I've had my hands full, but I did manage to get episode 10 uploaded early last week, and finally got episode 11 up - better late than never!

Now to look into Nick's reviews...

Kate

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 4:45 pm
by KateR
themacgyverproject wrote:Here's episode 10 - Fall of a Legend.
http://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/ ... egend.html
I had forgotten some parts of this one over the past 20 years. (It happens!) But I actually liked it better this time than I did originally, I think, mostly for the humor which wanders precariously close to slapstick but still manages not to cross the border completely.
Lots of fun moments to choose from -- I'll go with the opening where Legend is literally caught with his pants down in the barn.
I liked the very dry humor in it. The town idolizes Legend, but that doesn't stop them from being all enthusiastic at the thought of a hanging. The escape from the law carries on from one costume to another, and yet EVERYONE still recognizes him from his eyes. The woman giving birth is more excited by the fact that Legend is in her room than by the thought of having a baby. And Pratt no longer even tries to maintain the distinction between himself and his bigger-than-life alter ego. What's the use? No matter how flawed he remains (getting caught with his pants down, barely managing to stay on a horse, fainting during the birth...) the public only sees what they want to see. An interesting comment on the world of fandom.

There were a lot of funny and witty lines in this one, but for me, the best visual gag was the sudden cut to his break from jail, with the silver tray as a visor and a blowtorch made from a silver tea service.
Wow, the mayor is going hard after Legend in the courtroom, and without much in the way of conclusive evidence. Seems like this would do some damage to their relationship going forward.
Not too bright of the sheriff to step outside his office while letting Bartok and Skeeter alone in the jail cell with Legend, especially considering Bartok's inventiveness and friendship with Legend.
"This is the west. We're doing the best we can." :lol: Somehow every character manages to have a quirk or a flaw and still be likeable. I think it's actually part of the humor that Pratt doesn't hold it against the sheriff or the mayor for failing to see just how ludicrous the whole situation is. And Pratt himself seems less outraged by the accusation of murder than he does by the implication that he would have written something with a split infinitive. :lol:
Solid episode and one with lots of good humor including the opening where Legend gets chased out of the barn, the scene where Legend is asked to deliver a baby, and the denouement where the woman who Legend went to jail over ends up running off with the lawyer. There's some good action and the plot moves quickly, and as usual the cinematography is strong (in particular the scene where the horses are going crazy is well filmed). I'm putting this at #2 on my list.
Like I said, I think I liked it better this time than I did (or than I remembered I did) the first time. It goes pretty high on my list, too - maybe #3 - but then, I'm not really keeping an official list. :)

Kate

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:12 pm
by KateR
themacgyverproject wrote:Here's episode 11 -- Clueless in San Francisco
http://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/ ... cisco.html
I like the scene where Legend is snooping around in the bedroom looking at pictures and is surprised by the grandmother lurking in the background.
I don't know if there is a scene that jumps out at me as a highlight. I really liked Ernest's relationship with his mother - as much as he grumbled about her, she was a really neat lady and they didn't shy away from expressing their affection for each other. I also loved his relationship with Zorelda, who might consider marrying him if he didn't take up entirely too much room. :lol: Visually, I liked the pursuit on the tandem bicycle, although it went on a bit longer than necessary.
And the motives behind Melissa's actions seem flimsy at best. At one point it's revealed that her husband Liam died and left her as the sole heir to the family fortune. Legends adds, "But not if Paytents is a blood relative." If I understand correctly, Paytents and Melissa have the same grandmother which would make them cousins, so then why would Paytents stand to inherit anything from the death of her cousin's husband?
I'll grant you, the plot (or at least the number of characters in play) was convoluted, and I actually had to back up and replay part of it to try to figure out the family tree. My understanding was that Grandmother Walsh had two children - Liam, who came out by boat and married Melissa - and Paddy, who came out by wagon with his wife Mary and daughter Patience and was killed. So in that scenario, Paytents is the bloodline granddaughter and Melissa is only the daughter-in-law, a relative by marriage. (Did I get that right?) Of course, I don't know the legalities of a will - if Melissa had been legally named the heir, I'm not sure that a blood relative showing up afterward would change that - or was there no will? In any case, I leave that to the ruthless lawyer that Mrs. Pratt hired to protect the interests of Paytents and her baby.

Interesting that Paytents came to San Francisco only to "know" her family, without any interest in an inheritance. At least Grandmother Walsh was someone worth knowing. :)

It's also surprising that Melissa even figured out so quickly who Paytents was and what it meant for her financially, and she had time to hire someone to take care of the problem almost from the moment she arrived in town. After all, everyone had assumed that little Patience had died 20 years ago. She shows up now, an adult, with a different name, and Melissa knows immediately who she is? Those San Francisco reporters sure did a great job of getting the story out!
Not sure they wore button down shirts like this in the 1880's. My wife suggests that perhaps the wardrobe department was facing cuts.
Or RDA has his own taste in clothes. ;)
I wasn't a huge fan of this episode and found it slow and relatively uninteresting, though it was nice to meet Legend's mom. I'm putting it at #8 out of #11.
I liked the scenes with Pratt's mom, and some of the backstory. The plot was confusing and seemed to be trying to make a point about race relations in the midst of a mystery/adventure. I wondered a bit about why the seance had such a prominent part of the episode, but I think that might have been another nod to history. Wasn't this the time when seances and the occult were becoming fashionable?

I would probably put this one somewhere near the middle of the bunch.

Unfortunately, the final episode (which I'd better get started on!) was one of my least favorites, so in my mind, I try to let the series drift away after San Francisco.

Kate

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:19 pm
by bftlovesRDA
Thank you, Kate and themacgyverproject for your ongoing blog about Legend. I am following it, but no comments needed because you are both handling that very well. I would like to say that I enjoyed Clueless in Seattle greatly because of Ernest's mother. She made me laugh.....with the seance which I thought was funny.....maybe I have a weird sense of humor.

Anyway, thanks again for the ongoing commentary on Legend. I will be getting back to watching Legend after I finish going through all of Stargate SG1 from start to finish.

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:03 am
by Captainvale
:( :o
Oh, I missed the reading of the lexicon with each episode, I like the idea although I cannot offer knowledge of inside stuff... but will try to catch up. I enjoy the episodes waay more with the understanding group gives, and what Kate writes. sounds fun, thanks :!:

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 1:49 pm
by themacgyverproject
Just posted a Q and A with asst. director Jay Rabins:
http://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/ ... ation.html

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 3:17 pm
by frenchwriter
themacgyverproject wrote:Just posted a Q and A with asst. director Jay Rabins:
http://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/ ... ation.html
Thank NIck for sharing this interview...
It has been a long time ago, and he didn't remember all things, but it's a pleasure to read it... :D

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:10 am
by themacgyverproject

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:58 pm
by KateR
themacgyverproject wrote:The final episode of Legend!
http://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/ ... loset.html
You were waiting for the anniversary to post that, weren't you? :)

Did you notice that Legend first aired 21 years ago today?

I got sidetracked these past couple weeks, so I won't make it in time for the anniversary, but I'll be back with the last episode soon!

Kate

Re: Legend Blog

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 3:43 pm
by PamK1950
♥ ♥ ♥ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LEGEND ♥ ♥ ♥

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