About Us: Josie Kafka

Here is the next installment in our About Us Interview series.

Josie Kafka reviews Fringe, Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, retro Community (with Mark), and Threshold. In August she'll finish up Twin Peaks, too.

What area of the world do you live in, and what do you do? (Because we all know you don't make any money doing this.)

We don’t make any money doing this?!

If we just handed you a million dollars (you never know), what would you spend it on?

In this order: Student loans. House (with land and no mortgage). A book-shopping spree. A clothes-shopping spree. One of those ornate cat jungle gyms. A flat-screen TV. Some to my mom so she can pay off her mortgage and finally retire.

My little brother and I agreed years ago that if one of us one the lottery, we would give 10% to the other. Joe, you’ve got $100,000 coming your way!

Another 10% to charity. Heifer.org, maybe. $100,000 will buy a lot of llamas.

Whatever is left goes into savings. Because I am that boring, and have just spent my imaginary million trying to claw my way into the middle class.

What random skill would our readers be surprised to know you have?

Apparently, I’m good at spending money I don’t have.

I’m not sure if this counts as a skill, but I can drive for a really, really long time without falling asleep. I think my record is 24 hours (Texas was involved). If it weren’t for the cats, I’d consider a career as a long-haul trucker.

(It took me eight weeks to think of that skill. This is a very depressing self-interview.)

Are you a dog person or a cat person, or is there another animal involved?

Cat person. (Although I don’t look like a cat person. I look Time Lord.) Humans are okay, too, but only sometimes and only if they don’t scratch the couch.

What show would recommend everyone finally get around to watching this summer?

Threshold isn’t great, but it’s fun to recognize all of your favorite SF character actors. If you watch Twin Peaks, you will turn your geek credibility up to eleven. Ditto the original Prisoner. And Eureka is a charming undiscovered SF gem with heart and comedy in equal measure. In unrelated news, we are reviewing Threshold, Twin Peaks, The Prisoner, and Eureka this summer.

Awake was cool, too.

I also recently re-watched Lost, which I talked about here. I recommend a re-watch or a first-watch.

Of all the shows we don't cover, list your: (1) guilty pleasure, (2) favorite reality show, and (3) favorite from childhood.

1. I refuse to feel guilty about what I find pleasurable. The concept of a “guilty pleasure” is linked to the Protestant work ethic, which is a terrible, miserable way to live for those of us who don’t expect a heavenly reward for a lifetime of depriving ourselves and feeling smug about it. I prefer to feel smug about not feeling smug. Hey, is that a skill?

2. Storage Wars.

3. This is a tough question. Although I was too old to take it seriously, Saved by the Bell was a great after-school bonding activity with my little brother for quite a few years. (He wanted to be Zach when he got into high school.) Even further back, I was obsessed with She-Ra and Fraggle Rock. My So-Called Life deserves a shout-out, too, because otherwise this list is embarrassing.

There was also a show about a boy who lived in a house with a eucalyptus tree outside. A koala lived in the tree, and he and the boy went on adventures. No one I know has ever heard of this show, and I can’t remember the name. I will give some of my million dollars to anyone who can tell me what it’s called. Or who can give me a job in Australia, because that sounds wonderful.

Fill in the blanks: If ___ weren't already reviewing ___, I'd want to do it.

Panda, Once Upon a Time
Drnanamom, The Walking Dead
Billie, Justified

Which character do you identify with the most?

This is a difficult question, and I’m tempted to repeat my answer from our last Q&A: Wesley Wyndam-Price, because I tend toward cynical self-defeatism, rely more on my own intellect (what there is of it) than on the kindness of others, and am a tragic romantic at heart. Plus, I look sexy after I haven’t shaved for a few days.

But I was recently described by one colleague as “vivacious,” which horrifies me, and by another as “too eager to please,” which breaks my feminist heart into tiny pieces of painful glass. (I didn’t say anything, of course, because I didn’t want to displease the person who told me that.) So I’m currently caught in a muddle: identity vs. presentation. Therefore, I’m going with Rosalind from As You Like It.


What is your favorite television show of all time? (Okay, top five will do if you can't narrow it down to one.)

This list reflects shows that I can watch again and again without ever getting bored. Because that’s a good enough definition of “favorite,” right?

1. Angel
2. Buffy
3. Okay, I guess that list was shorter than I expected it to be.


You are hosting a dinner party for eight twelve TV characters and/or actors. Who would you invite?

Raylan Givens (Justified), Lorne (Angel), Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones), Captain Mal Reynolds (Firefly), Ben Linus (Lost), Ianto Jones (Torchwood), Special Agent Dale Cooper and Major Garland Briggs (Twin Peaks), Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars), Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries), Fox Mulder (X-Files), and Felicia Day (everything else).

I like ‘em sassy and well dressed.



Next week: Mark!