"Le Grande Rewatch: Ultimate GWG"

I've just finished Day 2 of my Ultimate GWG Trilogy rewatch; partly to celebrate the arrival of my El Cazador box sets, and mainly because it's the lead up to "Noir Year's Eve". I've resigned myself to watching my favorites once per year, because I definitely overloaded on Noir and MADLAX like I feared. I think this arrangement works pretty well, though.

Last night ("Taco Taco Tuesday-su") I blasted through most of Cazzy, only skipping some of the more egregiously weak bits. It's not all that awesome a show, but there are quite a few charming and appealing moments to make up for it. The wish for a "true" successor for the GWG "trilogy" moniker casts a dark shadow over it, and despite the excitement back when I first reported and speculated on it, I'm a bit jaded with the outcome. That carries over into Phantom, which I'll hopefully opine on later (maybe for "Phantom Phriday", if I don't burn out before then...)

Watching the last 5 discs of MADLAX just now, I'm reminded of the technical and structural superiority of this show, and the aspects that first drew me to Bee Train in my post-Noir discovery phase at the beginning of this blog. Watching MADLAX week-by-week, with its convoluted mystery and interwoven story threads; well, it makes El Cazador look like the "moe" show of the week, in comparison. It's not, though... There's a thoughtfullness and care to most of the episodes that the typical schlock can only aspire too. A feeling and a happiness -- whimsy, even -- that works on a few levels all by itself. But compared to MADLAX, well hell, how can you compare anything to MADLAX??

Tommorow night will be Noir, and I fear it. For years, I've feared my reaction to rewatching my true love of a show. To sustain love, I need to feel love back in return, and, well duh -- it's a TV show. I can only project love upon it.

But it's a delight and it will always be. It's a time that's long overdue to treat myself to all that drew me to it in the first place, much like MADLAX did. There's still trepidation, and I'm sure tomorrow will bring reluctance, but I'm very, very much committed to seeing this through. I've been looking forward to it for months. This is Noir's day.