TeeVee for Beginners, Friday Period Two

[chosehumanity]

They were not in a classroom today. In fact, they were in the gym. And there weren't any couches, just very cold, very plastic chairs. The A/C was running on high. There was a flatscreen at the front of the class, which Mitchell was standing in front of - many feet away from the chairs.

He had some wads of cotton plugged up his nose. With his complexion, he figured he could get away with saying he was simply a bit ill. It wasn't that whatever was happening affected him, but it meant that the air was full of pheromones - of desire, want, blood rushing heavily through veins and--

It disgusted him. He didn't want to hurt any of them. He would've stayed at home, if he hadn't been afraid it'd cost him his job. "Today, we'll be discussing recent television," he started, "It's faster-paced, cut more rapidly, making its departure from the theatre." He wasn't planning to be speaking long today. His classes always seemed to be affected by this sort of business. "Some say it's because our cultural attention span has gotten so short. Some say it's simply because we can absorb more information than we did previously. I'm not a scientist, I can't tell you which one it is, but I can tell you that modern standards of comedy seem to have fallen quite a bit."

"The television medium is much more scattered now. There's far more channels than in the past, when at best you'd get five or six. Now, you can watch a hundred different things or more, geared towards your tastes, wishes, and expectations. Cooking channels, comedy channels, news channels. Anything you might want to learn, anything you might want to follow, anything you might want to have fun with? It's there on the TV. Just a click of the remote away."

He went into a bit of a routine about sci-fi and fantasy channels and fiction, but it was a bit sketchy, along the lines of, 'sci-fi is about the future, fantasy has dragons, all of these types have their standards'. "Then there's the sitcom," he finished, at last, "Developed back in the 50s, perfected in the 80s. Situational comedy. A cast of characters operating from the same 'situation', like a drama with jokes. It's often about the dialogue."

He pointed at the TV with the remote. "Today, we'll be watching different channels. You'll discuss what defines each and every one of them. What are the most obvious visual markers? Who does the channel seem to be geared at? Would you watch it on your own?"

Comments

Sign In

[chosehumanity]

Dressed appropriately!

Re: Sign In

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex Karev

Re: Sign In

[future_sandworm]

Leto Atreides

Listen to the Lecture

[chosehumanity]

Or not. Just don't move from your chairs to make out with anyone.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex found himself wondering, briefly, if the teacher had a cold or just a nose bleed. And then he remembered he didn't care that much and just tried to stay warm.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[future_sandworm]

Clearly Mitchell was affected too by this drug. His reaction seemed a little odd, but not something Leto would question. Perhaps those cotton wads in the nose really helped? Not that he was going to ask. He was going to sit on his chair and not talk to anybody, no matter how distracting they were.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[bad-nose-job.livejournal.com]

Poor man. A nose bleed must be a terrible thing. Penelope sat still and proper, but she couldn't keep her gaze entirely focused on her professor. No, she stole glances at the other students, not lingering on anyone specific.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[bitten_notshy]

Jack was glad he'd worn a jacket to class today. He took meticulous notes, that was just habit, but his attention kept wandering over to Tony, with a stray drift of concern for the teacher's nosebleed. The man looked unwell.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[wantstodirect]

Tony was sucking absently on the end of his pen as he listened to the lecture. He kept looking over at Jack.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah was watching Mitchell, worried for him, and then started thinking along the lines of helping him, then put her head down on her knees to keep from walking over to talk to him about how he was feeling.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine wasn't moving any chairs anywhere, but heck if she was sitting in one. She plopped down on the floor next to hers and leaned against it as she listened.

That such a position offered an excellent view down the incredibly skimpy tank top she was wearing because so. damn. hot. didn't even occur to her. She was wearing a shirt over it, after all, so it was totally appropriate classwear. Even if the shirt didn't button and smelled like Merlin.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Which meant Dinah could sit in that chair, and point at Francine. Just point. Mostly at the shirt that was not Francine's. Eyebrows up. Face telegraphing the statement: Ohmygod you're wearing a trophy shirt! TROPHY SHIRT!

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[heromaniac]

Momoko couldn't stop staring at Mr Mitchel's nose. It looked like he was trying to not have a nosebleed, but since no one else seemed upset by the sight, it probably didn't mean the same thing in Fandom that it did back home... right?

Watch the Channels

[chosehumanity]

Or just note how Mitchell has managed to keep from picking anything remotely related to sex. He's trying.

Make your observations! Discuss them! Or just try not to look away.

Watch the Channels - Food Network

[chosehumanity]

Food Network is broadcasting a show on making salad. Cold, cold salad.

Watch the Channels - Travel Channel

[chosehumanity]

The Travel Channel is broadcasting a show about eating bug stirfry in Australia. ...Okay, even Mitchell isn't watching. Except with some kind of disturbed fascination.

Watch the Channels - Comedy Central

[chosehumanity]

Which is broadcasting the most mind-numbing, unsexy, awkward-humor episode of The Office The Cubicle that Mitchell could possibly dig up.

Yes, the British variety.

Watch the Channels - CNN

[chosehumanity]

CNN is broadcasting about crashed airplanes and swine flu. Exciting!

Talk to the TAs

[chosehumanity]

Once they ping in. Mitchell's thinking about getting them ice cubes.

Re: Talk to the TAs

[wantstobehuman.livejournal.com]

George's nose, in fact, was sniffly, just a little bit; the sheer amount of pollen pheromones in the air (not that he knew that's what they were) seemed to be irritating his sinuses, at least as his sense of smell got more sensitive with proximity to the full moon.

He was around nonetheless, and through the sniffles he was still affected by the island's mood.

Talk to Mitchell

[chosehumanity]

He's studiously at the other end of the class, and not exactly receptive to people coming at him, but he's there.

Re: Talk to Mitchell

[future_sandworm]

Unfortunately Leto had a DVD to return. He approached Mitchell, although certainly not getting too close. "I watched this, as you suggested," he said.

At least the cotton buds up the nose weren't that attractive, but then... NO. No.

Re: Talk to Mitchell

[bitten_notshy]

The teacher looked unwell and was obviously trying to avoid the students.

Jack's sex pollen-assisted hormones didn't especially care, strangely enough. They decided that, with the way this week had been going, trying to chat up Professor Mitchell would be a brilliant capper.

... all right. Jack would have been entirely capable of deciding something like that without extra sex pollen assistance. Anyhow, he had a question! An entirely logical, important, class-based question.

"Professor Mitchell?" he began, and his manners were, for the moment at least, entirely appropriate. "May I ask you about something they mentioned on the news channel?"

OOC

[chosehumanity]

So, a little note for y'all - Mitchell has issues keeping desire for sex away from desire for... other things. Overly amorous behaviour in class towards someone else or towards him will most definitely wind up in people getting sent out of class, so please keep that in mind, and ping me here if you need me.

Re: OOC

[bitten_notshy]

I have a hormonal teen fangbanger who has the guy he slept with last night in class with him anyhow.

I can't decide if throwing him at Mitchell is the best idea or the worst idea.