Surprisingly DC Television Seems To Be Doing Women Justice

So I watch comic book movies and television because watching movies and television is like second nature to me and comic book adaptations seem to be all there is right now. We have the powerhouse that is Marvel that takes over your local Vues, Odeons and Cineworlds for what feels like all year. The films are filled with so much testosterone that I wouldn't be surprised if I discovered I had another leg when leaving the cinema. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is the only significant female character in the universe that doesn't serve as a love interest, and she could easily head up her own solo movie but that is not likely to happen anytime soon. Or ever. Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) should be just as important in the franchise because she is essentially Nick Fury's second in command yet we rarely see her in the two films she has been featured in, if you blink you really do miss her. It pains me because Joss Whedon is heading it up the universe in name but sometimes it doesn't really feel like it, I'd expect a few more kick ass women from him. Who knows, maybe the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) might change matters in The Age Of Ultron but I think it takes more than a couple of scenes in one movie.

We also have Marvels Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. but I gave up on that after a couple of episodes, one of the main reasons being the female lead was so damn annoying. Yes, it may have changed a lot since episode two and I would like to try it out again at some point but it will probably be in the distant future. Marvels women may be sucking but a lot of the DC television adaptations seem to be doing them a lot more justice. Let's forget about Constantine because I've already aired my views on their women and I don't really want to get into that again because it will only annoy me even further. Other than Constantine we currently have Arrow, The Flash and Gotham currently on air which all feature and array of women that make me proud of my gender.

My Watch List: Case Histories

Ever since my hard drive broke down a couple of weeks ago I've been attempting to get through as much of my watch list as I can because I fear one day I'll lose it without backing it up. I got through Prey in one night and fell in love so I decided to give Case Histories its chance to enthral me. Case Histories is a detective drama starring Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie and aired 2 series from 2011-2013 which were based on the novels written by Kate Atkinson. I haven't found any evidence of it coming back for a 3rd series so I'll have to judge it as a complete piece of work which is unfortunate because the show feels incomplete.

The first series features 3 two-part episodes and because Brodie is a cracking detective he manages to work multiple investigations at the same time. The second series changes the format and goes the Sherlock and Wallander route with 3 feature length episodes. Case Histories is the typical standard detective show apart form the fact that Jackson Brodie is a former police officer so he isn't bound by the forces' rules when trying to solve a case. He is able to gather information through means that the police wouldn't partake in, but also gets some help from them through the character of DI Louise Munroe (Amanda Abbington). He is empathetic towards a families plight when they have a member missing or murdered so he frequently takes up cold cases that the police won't touch because they would be unable to solve it. In true super detective form he manages to get answers for all of his clients, even if he doesn't report the outcome to the police. Brodie seems to be more about giving closure to people rather than getting justice for them which is probably why he left the police, he doesn't see things in black and white, he sees them in shades of grey and does what he feels is best, not what he is contracted to do.

Peaky Blinders Series 2 Is Over, What Did You Think?

*Spoilers from series 2 below*

It feels like just a week ago when I did my write up of the Peaky Blinders series 2 premiere but now it's all over again for another year. To be honest it'll probably be longer than a year. The months leading up to the premiere we were given teasers to whet our appetites and when the show came back it did so with a bang, but did it manage to hold it together over the following episodes? Well, yes and no. The show was really ambitious this year and all the story lines would have been brilliant if they were isolated. If. Unfortunately for us and Peaky Blinders they only have 6 episodes to tell their story and they tried to cram so much in it it was hard to keep up and they didn't really get to explore them thoroughly either.

We did get to see more of the rivalry between Campbell and Tommy, but Tommy felt more neutered at times because he was being used by Campbell and the Irish/UK government (if I'm being honest I still don't know whats up with this) and he didn't have a choice in the matter. It seemed like he had given up and was doing what he was told, with minimal resistance. In the last episode we see him getting his affairs in order and embracing his fate although Grace, the love of his life, has arrived and informed him that she wants to be with him. Him not even attempting to fight at the end made him seem weak and it's not the Tommy that I like. I like the calculating Tommy that always finds a way out of everything.

Watching Constantine Makes Me Hate The Word "Bloody"

I don't quite understand why Americans think that every other word out of a Brit's mouth is "bloody". While watching the first two episodes of NBC's Constantine I felt like I had heard the word about a thousand times and my godness it made me hate it. Yes we do use the word "bloody" but it's not the only word in our vocabulary, I mean the English language came from England so I think it goes without saying that there are other words! I'd rather say "fucking" than "bloody" any day of the week and because of Constantine I probably won't be saying "bloody" for a while so I apologise in advance to everyone in my life for my cursing so much but you should really blame NBC, not me. Of course there is more to Constantine than the titular character saying "bloody", the show is based on DC's 'Hellblazer' comic book and don't worry I'm not going to pretend I know anything about it because I think real comic book fans will see through that instantly. In all honesty all I know about the comic book is that a Constantine movie that came out many moons ago starring Keanu Reeves but I don't actually remember all that much about it and I've been informed that I should keep it that way.

So I can't compare it to the comic books and I really don't think I should attempt to because I'd embarrass myself, but I can judge it as a piece of television and I suppose I can compare it to Supernatural. If you've seen any of my posts on here you'll know that I'm quite the Supernatural fan and I have attempted to find shows similar to it over the years just to have the Supernatural rush more than once a week. I wanted something that was original, would truly engage me and have me dwelling on an episode over the course of a week (the dwelling usually lasts more than a week). I wanted another show that would make me both laugh and cry probably multiple times within an episode. I wanted a show that would make me genuinely love the characters as Supernatural did. I know that you probably think I'm a bit pathetic right about now but I don't care, Supernatural has had my attention for a decade and no socialising with the outside world can beat that.

What Is Intruders About?

I'm still not sure, I've watched the first episode and I don't think that I understand fully whats going on. It's a real shame because when I watched the trailer I was instantly captivated, it didn't give a way too but thats the point of the trailer, it's supposed to tease you. I can't be the only one that fell in love with it can I? Sure I didn't know exactly what was going on other than the fact that in the world of the Intruders some people don't die, but I knew that John Simm and John Frain were in it and it was brought to us by one of the minds behind The X Files. That's more than enough to get me interested in a show that is about to premiere, so of course I set aside an hour to watch it. Now I'm not quite sure whether that was time well spent or not.

I like it when a television show makes me think, I don't think audiences should be spoon fed whats happening in the show. That being said the first episode of ANY show should be laying the groundwork for the events to come, the audience is supposed to be introduced to the characters and the main storyline. Thats the way that a show captures the audiences attention and gets them to return week after week. Intruders seems to be a lot more complicated that your average shows so it really needed to get the first episode just right, but it didn't. Like I said I'm still not quite sure about what's going on in the show.

The Affair: A Family And Romantic Drama That's Actually Quite Interesting

You see me bitch and moan about family and romantic drama a lot, probably in every post but I don't completely hate it. I only hate it when it's cheesy, repetitive and contains hammy acting which a lot of is does, but when it's done well it's pretty swell (I'm trying to make using this word a thing, just go with it) to watch. The Affair from Showtime is one of those dramas that is swell to watch and insanely addictive, because even though the show is called The Affair theres a hell of a lot more to it.

The Affair centres on an affair (obviously) between Alison Lockhart (Ruth Wilson) and Noah Solloway (Dominic West). Both parties in the affair have a happy facade on for the outside world but on the inside they are quite frustrated with their lives and struggling to move on. Alison is married to Cole Lockhart (Joshua Jackson), together they had a son that passed away some time before the events of the series and they are both attempting to get their marriage back to the way it was but without success. Cole seems to have successfully moved on from the tragedy and is unable to understand why Alison hasn't which leads to some friction between the two, that probably aids in her choice to embark on an affair. Noah is the complete opposite to Alison in many ways, he has a loving wife and four healthy children. He also has a stable job and has had some limited success as an author in the past although he is having trouble writing a follow up. Unfortunately for him he is living under the shadow of his father in law who has had numerous best sellers and is constantly giving him unsolicited advice. Being trapped in a house with him for the summer is probably one of the reasons he turns to Alison, to lash out at the family that makes him feel inferior. 

So How Is The Flash Going?

The Flash's pilot leaked many moons ago and of course I jumped on it and fell in love, but I was in a television drought then so it may have been my mind playing tricks on me. We're four episodes into The Flash now and how is it going? I can honestly say I stand by pretty much all of my initial observations. Looking back I still feel that the pilot was brilliant and the fact that was The CW's most watched premiere EVER certainly supports it. The show has only gone from strength to strength since then rather than regress which I felt that Arrow slightly did after its first episode.

One of the main things I loved when watching the pilot all those months ago was the casting, and watching the show continue, seeing the actors interact with one another and their character backgrounds unfolding just proves that I'm right constantly. I'm not trying to sound big headed but it's true. At least in The Flash's case anyway. I was probably wrong about everything else. Anyway, we're only four episodes in even with a big cast we've still managed to get to know most of the characters fairly well. Barry is still getting used to being a hero whilst learning his capabilities can be limited at times and that he's not invincible, especially when he comes across Leonard Snart/Captain Cold. It's refreshing that the only person that he really has to keep his secret from is Iris, it's not like Smallville where Clark is attempting to hide it from everyone and it gets absolutely ridiculous and you realise that the people that live in Smallville are complete idiots. 

Anyone Else Let Down By The BBC's Lifetime Of Original British Drama Ad?

I'm hardly ever excited enough for a show that I actually plan to sit down and actually watch it live but I was absolutely pumped when I saw the trailer for The Missing last week to that's exactly what a planned to do. If having The Missing on tonight wasn't good enough I spotted this tweet on my feed earlier today:

Tonight we are launching a brand new trailer, led by Benedict Cumberbatch, showcasing the best of BBC Drama. pic.twitter.com/mazaz3pksI
— BBC One (@BBCOne) October 28, 2014

If you hadn't noticed I'm a B-Cumbz fan as well as a fan of the BBC drama so I was ecstatic when seeing that. Instead of one hour of enjoyment I get one hour and two minutes! Unfortunately for me seeing the trailer almost dulled the experience of watching The Missing. I guess my expectations were too high because I've always felt that the BBCs trailers were amazing. Just take a look at their trailer below.

My Watch List: Prey

I do try my best to keep up with television and films but it's damn near impossible unless I learn how to control time and space to watch them. For everything I manage to watch there's about 10 others I miss which I stick on a watch list and promise myself I'll watch them all before my demise. Over the past couple of years I have been adding to the list constantly but have never actually sat down and watched what's on it until now. I picked the shortest show I could find which was Prey and it saddens me that I didn't watch it when it aired. Prey ran for 3 episodes last year and starred John Simm as DC Marcus Farrow who is arrested for murdering his estranged wife and young son, and the series explores his attempts to clear his name. In doing so he unfolds a web of conspiracy involving gangsters and police officers, and he has to come to terms with the fact that some of the people that he works with and trusts are working against him. I only intended to watch the first episode before I went to bed but that wasn't enough, I burned through the whole series without even realising, and at the same time I was texting friends and urging them to watch it. If done well seeing the plight of a grieving and wrongly accused man should be both riveting and heartbreaking to watch, and Prey most certainly delivers.

I never watched Life On Mars (also on my watch list) so I've only known John Simm from films and a few other television dramas that he's acted in so I thought highly of him anyway, but seeing his performance in Prey was absolutely marvellous. There is only 3 episodes and Marcus goes through so much emotionally, he has to deal with his grief, anger, betrayal and a whole host of other things in such a short space of time that Simm could be forgiven if he lost it slightly but he never does. Simm managed to portray the character to perfection and emote so well that the audience sees all the emotions that he is going through throughout the series, while watching the show I felt the pain and betrayal that Marcus felt. The show is very fast paced and a lot of things happen within a single episode so it would be easy to lose track of what is going on but you never forget the reasoning behind it, it's all in Simm's face every time he lights up the screen as Marcus. If awards were actually about people's work rather than hype and campaigning then Simm's portrayal would be award worthy, I say he should be given an Oscar even though Prey isn't a film. He's that good.

A Cinemax Special: The Knick

Everyday for the past couple of months I've seen a poster for The Knick on my way to work. I see a scrubbed up Clive Owen as he's about to perform a surgery with the name Steven Soderbergh hovering over him to tempt me even more. I was intrigued instantly but didn't have the time to watch it when I first saw the poster but I looked it up a little while ago and saw that it was produced by Cinemax. Call me ignorant and naive (a lot of people do) but I thought Cinemax specialised in porn or documentaries about porn or soft porn, basically things that were porn related. I could sort of understand Soderbergh's involvement in the show and Cinemax because even though he panders to the masses with Oceans movies but he is quite experimental and likes to push boundaries but I didn't understand Clive Owen's involvement in a show which I assumed would be like True Blood but set in a twentieth century hospital. This weekend I decided to watch the first episode and again learnt that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I really should stop it, I miss out on a lot.

The Knick is set in the early twentieth century in New York and follows the lives of the staff that work there, the main character being Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen). I tend to love period pieces, and no I don't been the heritage dramas starring Keira Knightly that the UK spits out every year to garner awards and money, but real period pieces. Shows and films that don't centre on aristocrats as they decide who to marry or getting over a stutter, but ones that feature gritty realism which is what the audience gets with The Knick. It is a hospital that is set in a part of New York that isn't affluent so their patients are mainly people that are of lower class and living in poverty. They are the patients that would allow untested methods to survive so the audience gets to see how modern medicine has come to be what it is. In the first episode alone we see Dr. Thackery perform two procedure that would be deemed unorthodox at the time, and hopefully we'll see many more in the episodes to come and people learning from it. We've had hospital dramas like ER and Greys Anatomy but we haven't had anything like this, we haven't seen the experimental side of medicine and it's advancement over the years so it should be interesting to watch.

Marry Me: The Sitcom Of The Year

 I have been searching for an enjoyable new sitcom to watch over the past few weeks and up until this afternoon I had come up empty. First there was A to Z which in the pilot felt like it wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to be and I wasn't willing to put in the time to see how it ended up because I could spend that time watching the comedy classic The Big Bang Theory (I'm joking, don't judge me for that statement). Then there was Selfie that seems promising but I don't think missing an episode or 3 would really matter, I haven't gotten engrossed in the show or characters as much as I would have liked. I decided to dip my toe into sitcom land one more time this year and watched Marry Me earlier today and after one episode I can tell it was the show I was waiting for.

Marry Me comes from the mind of David Caspe who created the much underrated Happy Endings. Whenever I tell a friend that I was a fan of Happy Endings they seem to laugh and want to rescind the TV geek girl card that I gave to myself. Happy Endings may not have had the most brilliant start (or the most brilliant name) but it did manage to develop into a show that is truly funny, with well rounded and loveable characters, and isn't that what we need in a sitcom? Unfortunately the damage was done after the first season and it was unable to gain the audience that it had lost so it was cancelled after the third season, and it still pains me. But I guess Marry Me came out of the shows cancellation so it's not all bad. Marry Me follows Annie and Jake who get engaged after a six year relationship even though the botched proposals are deemed by them as signs that are pointing towards their relationship being doomed, eventually they get it together and presumably we'll watch them on the way to the isle. I take issue with the name of the show again, I mean for some reason sitcoms just tend to be badly titled! What happens when they do get married, the show won't be about their proposal anymore will it? Unless their friends get engaged which is possible, or they could changed the name I guess. I vote for a Cougar Town style intro when it gets to that point, put in the intro that the show is badly named and then I'll take back my initial reservations.

Does The Walking Dead Still Have Its Bite?

I remember waking up early on November 1st 2010 to watch the first episode of The Walking Dead. It was a show that I had been teased with for months that was based on an epic graphic novel (so I've heard, I've only read snippets of it) and featured a lot of blood, gore and zombies, that are referred to as walkers. I still don't understand why they aren't called zombies, unless in the fictional zombie infested worlds they've never had zombie fiction, and if they haven't I pity them as they didn't get the likes of The Walking Dead in The Walking Dead. I'll stop with that now as it feels like im getting a bit Inception-y. Within the first five minutes of the show I was enthralled and tuned in week after week without fail, waking up at the crack of dawn to watch it before anyone could spoil it for me. The Walking Dead is the reason people think I am obsessed with zombies and I tend to get zombie related gifts like Gnombie, who is my zombie gnome. Of course I love these gifts so keep them coming (I'm talking to you Matthew) but it's not the zombies I'm fascinated with, it's the show. I like to feel I have an appropriate level of obsession for zombies, as I do aliens. It's not over the top! The obsession only pops up when The Walking Dead is airing and thats no coincidence!

How Good Was The Supernatural Season 10 Premiere?

If you haven't read past posts on this blog then you won't know that I am an avid watcher of Supernatural. I've been watching it for almost half my life and will be watching it until the day that J2 and Misha decide they've had enough. We all know that theres no way that The CW will be cancelling that show now it's made it ten years and still getting incredible ratings. I may be a fan of the show but I am not a blind one, I can admit when it hasn't been that great and it doesn't make me love the show any less it just makes me honest. The main story arc of seasons 1-5 was brilliant (apart from The CW heavy season 3) as Kripke had thought it out and structured it rather write the storyline week by week. It was very fluid and although there were some things that didn't quite pan out as a whole it was a good storyline. Following Kripke's departure there would obviously be a few teething issues, unfortunately those issues lasted throughout Gambles seasons 6 and 7 which I now refer to as the readjustment period. I feel that it has gotten back on track the past couple of seasons but will never be as good as it was in its peak but the one thing that Supernatural has never held back on is its season premieres. Until now.

Is Forever Another Sherlock?

I've vocalised before about how disappointed I've been with this years television season and one of the shows that I detested before even attempting to watch it was Forever. In Forever we have another Sherlock Holmes type character in Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd aka Mr Fantastic), only in this iteration the character is unable to die. Well a more accurate description is that he is unable to stay dead as he dies from injuries much like us mere mortals but he ends up being reborn. In water. Naked. I wasn't looking forward to this purely because we already have two Sherlock Holmes series running with CBS' Elementary and the BBC's Sherlock as well as the Robert Downey Jr. movie franchise so do we really need another one airing when we already have three that we're following? My answer was no, of course. Henry never being able to stay dead seems like a thing that would be appealing to me but knowing that straight away took all the suspense out of the show for me and was another reason for me to avoid the show. So I judged a book by it's cover and didn't care to find out whether I was correct or not, but then a friend of mine started discussing it and said he really enjoyed it. At that point I decided to put aside my bias opinion and watch the pilot episode which I'm glad I did as four episodes later I realised I was hooked.

Watching the episodes made me realise that I was pretty much completely wrong in my initial assumptions of the show. The character of Henry Morgan is a Sherlock type character but it seems to make a lot more sense in this show why he is so brilliant, being able to piece together events and personalities of people easily as he has been around for two centuries and spent a large amount of time observing people. In other Sherlock adaptations the character just seems brilliant and there wasn't really much explanation for it which the audience just accepted it. Henry being anti social also makes a lot more sense in the show as he will outlive whomever he forges a relationship with so he feels it's best to avoid it so there is less pain for him in the long run which makes him a lot more human than Sherlock who just thinks he's above everyone else so doesn't dabble with them.

Did Peaky Blinders Come Back With A Bang?

*Spoilers for series 2, episode 1 ahead*

Literally yes, within the first ten minutes there was an explosion that blew up the Shelby's pub. Of course it figuratively came back with a bang as well, that is the only way the Peaky Blinders seem to know how to live. Series two of the show is set some time after the events of series one with Tommy still not quite over the departure of Grace, and the cliffhanger that we were left with at the end of the last series was resolved fairly quickly. I guess I was half wrong about Tommy and aunt Polly's funeral clothing in the clip, it wasn't Grace's funeral that they had come back from. I'm glad that Peaky Blinders wasted no time in resolving the shooting rather than waiting to let us know if Grace lived or not and it was great seeing her get to shot C.I. Campbell after the aggravation he caused her and Shelby. I'm starting to see the law man as more dangerous with less morals than Tommy, the man he is, or at least was, chasing.

Well anyway, back to discussing series two, as I said earlier it wasn't Grace's funeral that Tommy and Polly came back from as I had assumed, it was the funeral of Freddie Thorne. I'm actually more disappointed about that than if it was Grace who had died! I honestly believe that Freddie had a lot to give, he wasn't a part of the Peaky Blinders but could form and alliance with them or go against them if he wished. Tommy wouldn't have killed him, especially after he married Ada, so he was pretty much free to do whatever he liked and he was unpredictable which is always fun to watch. I'm not sure if it was for creative reasons or whether the actor, Iddo Goldberg, wanted to move on but I think it's a bad move either way. Freddie could've been used a lot more throughout the series and I think that giving him an off screen and natural death was a bad move and he deserved more. Why not start the show with blowing him up? It would probably have the same repercussions, if not better as the whole family would be out for vengeance for Ada. What's Ada going to be doing on the show now aside from being the weak female who gets kidnapped and used as leverage?

Yay! Selfie Isn't About Selfies!

You have no idea how annoying it was for me when my phone didn't try to correct the word "selfie". I'm a bit of an old woman mentally and often physically as well so the idea of watching a comedy called Selfie made me feel slightly sick. I've only just got into Instagram and twitterverse under much duress from friends *cough* Lana *cough* and although some people are fine on the site others just seem very obnoxious. Just because you have the mouthpiece to broadcast every part of your life doesn't mean you have to use it, I guarantee that most people that see it don't even care that much. They only follow you because you followed back or they liked one thing that you posted a couple of years ago and were hoping for more like it but you were preoccupied with your ever inflating ego. If you hadn't guessed I'm not exactly social media savvy (I also lack follows which is probably one of the reasons I find it so annoying). If it wasn't for John Cho being one of the leads in the show there is no way I would've ever paid attention to a comedy called Selfie.

I'll step away from the name of the show for a bit and actually discuss the content because you can't really judge a book by its cover. If you judged Spockfull by its cover then you'd think that we were just a Star Trek fan page, and possibly dabbled in slash fiction, which of course we don't. Selfie is a modern day adaptation of Pygmalion or My Fair Lady for musical fans, though I doubt anyone that partakes in the taking of selfies has ever actually heard of them so I'll give you a brief summary. Pygmalion/My Fair Lady centre on a low class flower girl named Eliza Doolittle and the efforts made by high class professor Henry Higgins as he tries to class her up via her speech and dress (probably many other things as well that I don't remember) and make her presentable to his peers. In Selfie we have the character of Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) who is self obsessed and her sense of importance is inflated by her followers on twitter, instagram, facebook, tumblr and flickr (ok, I pulled the last couple out of my ass by she probably has them too). After getting sick she realises that none of these followers are actually her friends, she doesn't really have anyone to turn to so she attempts to better herself with the help of Henry Higgs (John Cho).

A to Z: 2014s Answer To How I Met Your Mother? Or 500 Days Of Summer?

Since the atrocious end of How I Met Your Mother (I mention the show a lot so I'll abbreviate it throughout the rest of the post) I guess the networks have been scrambling for a replacement romantic comedy. After the end of HIMYM I really wish they hadn't bothered, it'll take me a few years to get over that ending, I can't even watch the old episodes now! Apart from 'The Best Burger In New York', for some reason I love that episode and have watched it about ten times. After the announcement of A To Z I realised that the networks don't really care about me and what I want, they just want to get in on the action and advertising money. Think back to the end of Lost when they were struggling for a replacement and came up with the V reboot and Flashforward, didn't exactly work out did it? I highly doubt it will for A to Z.

A to Z stars Cristin Milioti, the most underused yet most watchable part of the awful last season of HIMYM, as cynical about love Zelda. It's not surprising that she found a role so quickly after winning over fans in her criminally limited screen time on HIMYM (I think I'll be annoyed for quite some time about that). Ben Feldman stars opposite her as the hopeless romantic Andrew and I can't really say much about him because I've only seen him in Drop Dead Diva and the trailer for that horror movie that YouTube keeps forcing me to watch. The two actors interacted with each other well during the pilot and their chemistry didn't seem forced so I do think that audiences may learn to to enjoy watching their relationship grow. This would seem like a positive but the audience are told straight away that they will not end up together, which kind of puts a damper on the show which is a romantic comedy. I thought the point of a romantic comedy was that it was lighthearted and the characters end up together?

If You're In The US And Under 17 You Can't Watch A Film About Gay Activists. Seriously.

I'd like to start off this post by asking you to watch the trailer for Pride below.

What do you see? I see a lighthearted comedy thats based on Lesbian and Gay activists as they attempt to help a mining community. Its seems like it has likeable characters and will be a barrel of laughs and probably educate me as I had no idea that the LGBT society and the miners formed an alliance during the miners strike and I can't wait to watch the film. The film has been well received at the box office in the UK and generally gotten positive reviews yet the US censors believe that the film isn't appropriate for people under 17 and has rated it R.

Gracepoint Vs. Broadchuch

Broadchurch is a British television show that aired in 2013 and revolved around the murder of a young boy and the efforts to find his murderer. It was set in a small town called Broadchurch and the eight episodes followed the detectives, Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Coleman) as they chased down leads and also explored the community, their pasts and how they've dealt with the recent events. The show was phenomenal, and garnered much critical acclaim and sky high ratings so naturally there is now a US remake airing on Fox named Gracepoint. 

Broadchuch was such a success and when it was announced that there was to be a remake I am pretty sure there was a widespread sigh around Britain. This always happens, when we have a good show American networks attempt to cash in by remaking it and I'd say nine times out of ten it fails. Remember the Only Fools and Horses remake? I've never really liked remakes, I do understand why they do it like when there has been a long passage of time and people want to update it with new technology and SFX that they have at their disposal but Broadchurch only aired last year and series two is in production so there's not really any update needed. The most annoying remakes I find is the ones of of foreign films and television shows. Seriously? You can't read subtitles? Again, they often fail to live up to the brilliance of the original! Broadchuch was in English and yes there are varying accents but I don't understand why American audiences wouldn't be able to decipher it. There are different types of American accents but you don't see British networks remaking it so we understand it, if I'm honest I find it quite ignorant really. As you can tell I wasn't best please about the reamke but I decided to watch it and give it a fair shot anyway.

Why Was I Too Snooty For The Fades?

This post has been edited and republished as there were errors on the original posts. By errors I mean Blogger decided to delete the first half so it didn't make sense. Bastards.

As I grow older and more wiser I realise that I'm a bit of an idiot and this became even more apparent when I watched The Fades. The Fades was a television show that aired on BBC3 way back in 2011 and featured some familiar faces including Natalie Dormer, Joe Dempsie and Ian De Caestecker and followed Paul (De Caestecker) who was haunted by dreams of an impending apocalypse and also saw fades, which are essentially ghosts. Due to his abilities he was labelled as an Angelic, but his powers exceeded the ones of the other Angelic's around him and he was tasked with stopping the looming apocalypse that he had been dreaming of. So basically it was a show that was tailor made for me yet I didn't watch it. I sat through the whole of ITV's Demons which was abysmal but I missed this beauty.

I first took notice of the show few months ago when I was wikipedia-ing (it should really be a verb) a lot later than I should have been and stuck it on my very long watch list. I never actually thought I'd get around to watching it because I felt that there were more worthy things to watch on it but last week I decided to bump it up as there's only six episodes and I doubted I would actually watch it all. I figured it'd be more of a teen drama with some supernatural elements, and more about the main character getting laid and saving the world would be a side story. Boy was I wrong. The only thing about this show that even slightly points towards teen drama is the fact that some of the characters are teens but that's it really. Sure theres a bit of romance but it dealt with a lot of adult themes like loss, grief and sacrifice. I love my supernatural dramas and I think that British television tends to mess up that genre a fair bit, The Fades is probably the most enjoyable supernatural drama I've seen on British television in the last couple of decades and you can trust me because I have done my research.

The Headless Horseman Returns. Again.

I did want to title this 'The Headless Horseman Rises Again' but it felt like it was too soon after my Gotham post so I decided to go for returns. It doesn't feel as good, I should really think ahead when titling posts. Anyway, It's a dark day when it's towards the end of September new shows have premiered but I can't be bothered to write about them. Heck I can barely be bothered to sit through them. It makes me put more faith in the shows that I already watch just because I have no alternative. I can't drop shows because I have nothing the replace them with! Pretty much all of the new show this years seem terrible! It's because of this I put off watching the series two premiere of Sleepy Hollow, I didn't want the disappointment. So did I really need to worry?

*Spoilers ahead*

Well yes and no. We'd finished off the first series with Abbie stuck in purgatory and Crane being buried alive by his son, so naturally I was on the edge of my seat and desperate to know how on Earth they got out of that mess. I knew that Crane would find a way out, probably quite swiftly but what I really wanted to know was how Abbie was going to leave purgatory. I'm an expert in the subject because of my years of studying Supernatural so I know that it's not an easy place to bust out of. Well initially the audience are led to believe that the first episode back is set a year later. So basically we missed Abbie breaking out of Purgatory. At this point I regretted falling in love with Sleepy Hollow a year ago. They took the easy way out and went for a time jump? Seriously? Will we be getting hints about what happened throughout the series? I wasn't prepared for that.

Peaky Blinders Series Two Sneak Peak: Who Did This To Us?

We're only a few days away from the return of Peaky Blinders and the BBC have decided to tease the fans a little bit more by releasing a new sneak peak, check it out below:

Following the teaser that we got a few weeks ago we can tell that the Shelby dodgy dealings have escalated from the antics we saw in season one from Billy Kimber. So perhaps this is who Tom Hardy will be playing, the person that bombed out the Peaky Blinders pub. You don't cast a person like Hardy and not put him in a pivotal role so it's only natural that he will be Tommy's new nemesis. If this is how he's being introduced into the show then I can already tell that his character will be fun. It already seems as though series two is going to be bigger and better than the first, with their world of crime being expanded and dealing with the fallout of Campbell and Grace at the end of the first series. Seeing Tommy going up against Chester Campbell and whoever Hardy is playing is seems like it'll be riveting and I do hope my expectations will be met (I'm sure they will be). 

We haven't heard too much about Grace after the end of the last series so perhaps that's confirmation that she is no longer with us. It was pretty obvious but I did take a liking to her so I was in denial, but I can only deny it for so long. Because of what Tommy and Polly are wearing in the clip I get the feeling that they'd just come back from a funeral, possibly Graces? But why would Polly go to her funeral? Just to support Tommy? Well I guess we'll find out on October 2nd! Bring. It. On.

Live Long and Blog!

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Gotham: The Rise Of James Gordon

Another week, another comic book adaption. Except that Gotham isn't really, instead of documenting the exploits of the caped crusader that we've all grown to love through Nolans Dark Knight trilogy (and the Burton films for the people that are over the ages of 20) Gotham tells the story of a young James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) as he attempts to clean up the city, starting with the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Most of you will recognise McKenzie as Ryan Atwood of The OC fame but he managed to flex his acting muscles a fair bit on Southland and it's great that he gets to take centre stage on a show that people will actually watch. While watching the show I didn't get distracted by Ryan Atwood playing with guns, I was enthralled by the righteous James Gordon trying to clean up the city. Within five minutes of Gotham McKenzie made me forget his unfortunate beginnings (come on, The OC wasn't even that good) and I was enamoured by James Gordon, I fell in love with him within minutes and I eagerly await what comes next for him.

I'm pretty sure that this is the only Batman adaptation that side-lines Batman but the show doesn't feel worse off for it, it actually feels like a more fresh take on the series. We have seen the character of Batman being done to death and I'd say that supporting players and villains within the series are quite intriguing so it's quite surprising that it's taken till now to have a show that explores them. I mentioned before that the show follows the future Commissioner Gordon but in the pilot we are also introduced to young incarnations of Oswald Cobblepott/Penguin, Edward Nygma/The Riddler and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The introduction of these characters so early on is a tell tale sign that the show won't go exactly the way of the comic books as the lore has already been broken by Selina Kyle witnessing the murders of Martha and Thomas Wayne. I'm sure that DC fan boys will be up in arms about this but to me it shows that the show runners have balls, and the characters are interesting so it'll be nice to see what they do with them.

My Netflix Weekend: Amber

I explained earlier about how Netflix had killed my social life by giving me brilliant things to watch, and after engulfing Southcliffe and having some lunch I switched my attention to Amber, a series that Netflix recommended to me. I'm starting to believe Netflix knows me better than I know myself. Amber is an Irish mini-series that follows the story of a 14 year old Amber Bailey who goes missing and the efforts made by her family and others to try and find her, and like Southcliffe the audience witnesses their attempts to rebuild their lives. After watching Amber I realised that Netflix has not only helped me discover new shows, but it has also helped me discover that I'm really into doom and gloom. In my defence was raised in Britain which is home to the Kitchen Sink dramas! Nothing good ever happens here unless its a sitcom, and even they can get dark occasionally. Back to the point of the post, check out the trailer for Amber below:

Southcliffe focuses on a man on a mass murder spree and the effects of the people around him so it would be easy to think that it would differ greatly from Amber, but it is actually quite similar (probably why the geniuses at Netflix recommended it to me). In Southcliffe Morton's murder spree is what triggers the events of the series but it is mainly about the people that are left behind, how they deal with the tragedy. The same could be said for Amber, it's advertised as a crime drama and we do get some insights into the police work and clues to what may have happened to Amber but in my opinion the show is more about the people that she's left behind. We get to watch those closest to her, mainly her parents Sarah (Eva Birthistle) and Ben (David Murray) as they embark on their respective searches for her, and how they deal with it when the trail goes cold. Not only do we see how the lives of her loved ones are effected by her disappearance but complete strangers are as well which we see in episode three with Charlie (Dan Li) who's life is damaged when all he wanted to do was help her (I won't go into it too much, I'd quite like you to watch rather than give you the highlights).

My Netflix Weekend: Southcliffe

Netflix has a lot to answer for, ever since I've had access to it my social life has gone down the drain which is a travesty because it wasn't exactly active in the first place so now it's completely vanished. Honestly, I think I've forgotten what the outside looks like, and I can't quite remember what the polluted air smells like. Secondly, my lack of sleep. Seriously, after a few hours Netflix should just shut itself off and not take into account objections of the users, just for the health of the people that sit on the computer for twelve hours straight. It's like a love hate relationship for me, I hate it for depleting my free time but I love it for what it gives me in the time it takes. I like to think I'm on the game when it comes to television but Netflix has made me realise I'm not, so I've spent many hours watching things that I didn't during their initial run. This past weekend one of them was Southcliffe.

Southcliffe is a four episode mini-series set in a small town called Southcliffe where one of it's residents, Stephen Morton (played superbly by Sean Harris), goes on a shooting spree. The show focuses on how the people of the town are effected by the events of his actions, the loss of their loved ones and the attempts to rebuild their lives. Due to the shows non-linear manner it also gives the audience an insight into the reasoning behind Morton's actions and the deterioration of his mind set due to the isolation and ridicule he gets from other Southcliffe residents. Take a look at a short trailer below:

So How Was What Remains?

So I've had an eventful weekend, I've pretty much been watching mini-series after mini-series. I'd like to say that it was time well spent, until I watched the last 20 minutes of What Remains. What Remains is show about a possible murder that aired on the BBC last year, and follows the lead detective Len Harper (played by Shameless' David Threlfall) as he tries to find out about the death of Melissa Young. Could it be a murder? And more importantly, why did no one notice she was dead?

          

The show strays a little from the regular 'whodunnit' storyline we get from detective dramas as the audience is unaware of how she died, it could of been an accident, nobody is certain, apart from Len's gut anyway. I feel that although the death of Melissa is the driving force of the show, it is about so much more. We get to explore the uneasy relationships with the characters living in the apartment building, including Kieron and his unruly son (I say unruly, I find him downright creepy), the abusive relationship between Peggy and Elaine (played by Indira Varma, I've honestly hated every character she's ever played) and let's not forget the trusted Joe who has a secret woman living with him. Initially the only somewhat normal characters within the show were Vidya and Michael (Russell Tovey, I wish he wasn't gay) and even they get sucked into the exploits of the neighbours.

So I Finally Watched The Stag (aka The Bachelor Weekend)

We haven't exactly been deprived of stag/bachelor party movies since The Hangover was released and exceeded everyones expectations and it seemed as though we'd a new genre of stag/hen movies. Of course we've had The Hangover sequels, one of which was essentially a carbon copy of the originally, A Few Best Men and even female led films such as Bridesmaids and The Bachelorette. That's all well and good and happens all the time in the industry (we all saw the influx of vampire films/television after Twilight), the only problem is that in my opinion not many of the ones released have actually been very good. I had hope for The Bachelorette but all those characters were so darn unlikeable and I was hoping A Few Best Men would be a really good British Comedy but it just fell flat. In fact the only one that didn't fall flat and outdid my estimations was Bridesmaids. 

Bridesmaids was advertised as a female version of The Hangover which is my opinion was the worst thing about the film as a whole. Sure The Hangover was funny but thats all it was, there was no in depth storyline, it was just about men that got slaughtered, then Ken Jeong showed up and hilarity ensued. Bridesmaids was adored by audiences and critics alike because it went beyond the drunken antics of a soon to be bride and her bridesmaid and instead expanded the story and looked into their lives more than The Hangover did. It was funny, had a solid storyline and a stellar cast and deserved better than to be called the female version of The Hangover. Now, I didn't start writing to insult The Hangover, I just simply wanted to discuss The Stag (aka The Bachelor Weekend in the US). You can take a look at the trailer below:

Supernatural Season 10 - Deanmon Rises

In just under a month season 10 of Supernatural will be beginning on The CW, and this is the teaser that we've been giving. I love Dean Winchester and I have done since day one but in all honestly, Demon Dean or Deanmon looks like he'll be a hoot.

                   

Theres been so much angst over the past few years that its quite nice to see someone having fun, even if it is Deanmon (I could get quite used to saying that) that's having the fun while Sammy tries to get his brother back. Since season 4 we've explored friendships between Winchesters and Castiel, and since last season we've had more time with Mark P. Shepherd's Crowley so it'll be nice to see some more of that going forward. Of course it'll be nothing like their friendship with Castiel, I'm assuming that there will be plenty of control issues and double crossing. Crowley couldn't control the Winchesters when they were human, does he really think he'll be able to control a Winchester Knight Of Hell? It'll be riveting to watch.

I can't forget Sam and Castiel whom we get snippets of in this trailer. They'll be wanting their Dean back and it seems like Castiel will have given up while Sam keeps looking, we know how stubborn Winchesters are. Watching Deanmon seems like it'll be fun but and I hope it does last for a while and isn't over with within a couple of episodes, but I do hope to get Dean back for Sam and Castiels sake. I hope to Chuck Shurley Supernatural that the writers don't make me love Deanmon as much as I love Dean. I'd like to say that it's impossible for that to happen but they are the people that made me love Dean in the first place. Either way, BRING ON SEASON 10!

Live Long and Blog!

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White Collar: Neal And Peters Bromance

A while back I wrote about my top 5 fictional BFF's and after binge watching White Collar I realise I left Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke off of the list, a list that they should probably be at the top of.

*Spoilers for season five below*

For those of you who haven't watched White Collar before I'll just give you a brief summary, Peter (left) is a FBI agent who has caught Neal (right) who is a thief/ forger twice. They come to an arrangement where Neal works for the FBI as a criminal informant whilst wearing an anklet and Peter is his handler. Hilarity ensues. The show is going to begin its sixth and final season in November and I figured it was the perfect time to reflect on Neal and Peter's relationship and how it has evolved over the course of the past five years.

What Is Binge Watching?

So I read recently that watching three episodes of a television show is classed as binge watching, and because I'm all tech-savvy now I decided to tweet about it! I even learnt how to embed! EMBED! Granted, it's not actually that difficult but please allow me to have the small victories.

Apparently binge watching is watching 3 episodes of a TV show in a day. I could do that in an hour.

— The Tharminator (@Tharmim) September 1, 2014

That isn't me being sarcastic, I could genuinely do that. I have genuinely done that. A sitcoms running time is around 20 minutes long, so I've gotten through three of them in an hour no problem so I don't see watching three episodes of a television show as binge watching. Binge watching usually ends up with us looking a bit like this:

Apart from the fact that we probably don't look that great to begin with, so in actual fact we'll end up looking worse. Over the course of this past Sunday and Monday I watched seventeen episodes of House Of Cards. Seventeen. That my friends is binge watching. I essentially watched over a years worth of television (I think the time frame the show covered was over a year anyway) in about thirty six hours. I watched what should have been weeks/months worth of tales of political corruption, sordid affairs, drug/alcohol abuse and murder within the space of two days! I did take a bit of a break though to watch some Harry Potter but I jumped straight into House Of Cards again as soon as I was done with that. The only reason I haven't finished it all off is because if I start again I won't stop and I can't function without sleep like I used to.

Calling All Marshmallows For Play It Again, Dick!

It's been seven long years since the end of Veronica Mars, seven years of campaigning for a revival, a movie spin-off, a kick-starter campaign and finally earlier this year devoted Marshmallows got what they were waiting for. A Veronica Mars movie with one final mystery to wrap up the franchise. But if you watch the movie you'll realise it wasn't one last mystery, the movie did leave room for the franchise to go on. They may have wrapped up Carrie Bishops murder but we still have questions about the future of Weevil and what the hell is going on with Celeste Kane? Who knows if the questions will be answered, the film didn't exactly break box office records as it was a limited release but Marshmallows are a pretty persuasive bunch so maybe we'll get another movie in about seven years. One thing is certain though, the Dick Casablancas will be living on in Play It Again, Dick.

The Evolution Of Covert Affairs

I wrote earlier about Falling Skies and about how it didn't grow and evolve. Many shows fail to do this, Covert Affairs is not one of them. I recently went back and watched the first couple of episodes of it and although I still enjoyed it it feels like a completely different show to the one that exists now, it's managed to leave behind the light and fluffy feel of the earlier seasons and become a more serious, serialised drama.

Theres nothing wrong with how it was originally, it was a decent piece of television. We followed the protagonist, Annie Walker, as she attempted to balance her new position at the CIA with her personal life with her family life. She was also investigating the disappearance of her lost love, Ben Mercer, who turns out to be a former CIA agent. Sure it had an on-going storyline but in all honesty it didn't really matter whether I'd missed an episode or not. It was episodic as many shows tend to be early on in their run, but it went on for a lot longer than it should have. It only really lost it around season 3 I think, when it became a highly serialised show with so many twists and turns that you couldn't even miss five minutes, let alone a few episodes. 

Will The Sky Finally Just Fall On Falling Skies!

I've discussed before about how I tend to watch a series till the end no matter how bad it gets, but i've finally found an exception. Falling Skies. Three and a half seasons and i'm finally giving up. In the middle of a season. That's not unheard of for me when a show is in its first season but this is in the middle of the fourth and I can't take it anymore. Somehow Prison Break had me till the end but I can't stick with this anymore.

The show revolves around a group of survivors living in the post apocalyptic Earth where Aliens have invaded and they are fighting for their survival. It got my interest immediately and I watched it as soon as it premiered because I love apocalypses and Aliens above all else. Yes, I lead a sad life. The show started off intriguing, following the Mason family and their group which is named the Second Mass. Aliens were capturing and enslaving human children that had survived the initial invasion, one of those children being a Mason. Of course the family gets their child back, and frees plenty of others which is fine, I can deal with that. I like an ambiguous and depressing ending, but I know that i'm one of a few that do so the show isn't going to cater to me, it's going to give the masses what they want. I'm used to that and I would've been fine with that if the show had ended after that plot. It didn't.

Will Dominion Dominate Fanboys Hearts?

Lately I haven't really been watching anything new, lack of time has meant that I am barely keeping up with what I used to watch avidly. But the time has come, I'm actually paying attention to the most popular shows that are on streaming websites that I've visited in the past (all legal websites, and all for research of course). One that kept popping up quite frequently was Dominion, and all I actually knew about the show was that it was developed by SyFy and was a spin-off/continuation of the film Legion, which in all honestly I know nothing about and don't particularly have much interest in it. For some reason I decided to watch the pilot in a fit of boredom. Sure I have a whole list of things that I'd like to watch which has been building for years, yet I pick an untested SyFy show which I haven't actually done any research on. Was I going to be wasting an hour of my time? Possibly, I've never really like SyFy original dramas, they always feel cheap, cheesy (just look at the poster below, ergh) and unoriginal but I plowed through the episode.

I didn't exactly have high expectations for the show, so it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. I'm not saying that the show is excellent, not at all, just saying it beat my expectations. As I mentioned before I hadn't watched Legion so it could've been really easy of me to not understand and stop watching the show after 10 minutes. However the writers of Dominion aren't complete fools and figured that not everyone would have watched the film (I'm pretty sure almost no one watched the film), so they did give the viewers a recap of the film at the beginning of the pilot. It explains how God has left the building and now the Angels are at war, some (namely Gabriel) trying to eradicate the Earth of vile creatures we call Humans while Michael (good angel that is helping the humans, played wonderfully by Tom Wisdom). I can't be the only one who thought Supernatural right? Maybe I am. I do tend to think Supernatural constantly. Well anyway, thanks to the recap I managed to watch the episode without having gaps in my knowledge, I didn't feel like I had to go back and watch the movie which is good for the TV show as it shows that it can stand alone.

RIP Robin Williams

I've been on this Earth for 22 years. I've seen many performers come an go, but half an hour ago I logged onto facebook just before falling asleep and saw it. Robin Williams has passed. You know that moment when Michael Jackson died and the World just stopped, cried and mourned over the great loss? I never went through it, I was never really a fan of his and he was before my time. Like I said I've seen many performers come and go but I don't think any one has ever hit me this hard. Robin Williams was ingrained in my childhood. There isn't a person out the who hasn't seen Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumangi, even Flubber and of course Good Morning, Vietnam (granted, I was a bit older when watching Vietnam). Whenever any of these is on television I still sit down and watch it (even Flubber), it doesn't matter how old I am now, I'm not ashamed. It's Robin Williams! He was pretty much a babysitter to me growing up, just pop in a VHS tape (yes, it was that long ago) and I'd settle down for a couple of hours. I'm pretty we still have a self recorded tape of Mrs. Doubtfire and the youngest person in the house is 15.

It's not just the children of the 1990s he managed to garner adoration from, even this past decade he has managed to invigorate children's imagination with Robots, Night at The Museum and Happy Feet, so you can see that he is timeless. I've sat and watched this films with my younger cousins and seen the joy in their eyes, the same joy that was in my eyes when I had my Robin Williams experience as a child. To be honest I probably still have the look in my eyes when watching him, but nobody notices because EVERYBODY has that look in their eyes. I can honestly say that he made my childhood what it was, and if I ever have children I am absolutely sure that he will be their babysitter as well and I will most certainly be looking out for the delight in their faces that he brings.

He wasn't just a star of family films that I devoutly watched, he was an incredibly versatile actor. Sure he was a comic, and the majority of his film and television work garnered there but I don't think I have ever met anyone that didn't think he was a brilliant dramatic actor. His work in Dead Poets Society, Awakenings and One Hour Photo speaks for itself, and I'm sure that there is a host of others that I'm probably forgetting, but you can remind me later. Through his dramatic work I feel like I genuinely have grown up with him. I watch the family films and they remind me of my childhood and the more dramatic work he's done has encapsulated my adult viewing experience. I tend to say that I have grown up with and entertainer quite frequently but right now all those statements feel false. Robin Williams is who I grew up with, all the others came and went. He's pretty much been a permanent fixture in my life, even more so this past year with his weekly appearances in my household with the delightful The Crazy Ones.

Honestly, since we've revived this blog it's actually felt like a chore to actually write and if you've read the last few things I've posted you could probably tell. Writing about Williams' brilliance wasn't a chore at all. Robin Williams is a legend and he was taken from us much too soon. I don't particularly want to discuss the circumstances of his demise or his personal demons (I probably won't ever want to discuss it), but through the tears in my eyes (which are ridiculously sore right now) I will say that I do hope that he's found peace and I can say with certainty that he will be missed and his legacy will live on through generations.

Peaky Blinders Series 2 Teaser

Boy do the BBC know how to tease fans, first the teaser trailer for The Fall and now one for The Peaky Blinders!

                 

So, this seems to reveal a hell of a lot less than The Fall trailer. One thing we do get is a voiceover from Tommy saying "time to make some real money", so hells yeah, we'll fall deeper into the criminal life! Perhaps that's who Tom Hardy will be playing this series, a foe of Tommy's who he tries to con. Maybe he'll be this series 'Billy Kimber? Well one thing we do know is that the second series will be airing in the Autumn so theres still time for a few more trailers. I will wait patiently. Maybe.

Live Long and Blog!

Related Posts

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Comic Con 2014: Supernatural

Ok, so I was supposed to finish up writing about Comic Con panels a while ago now but I got busy. By that I mean I attempted socialising. Anyway, entertainment websites that actually get paid to write are still publishing "exclusives" from Comic Con even though it ended last week, so hey ho, I can still write about it.

*spoilers below for season 9 finale*

I've watched the panel a couple of times this week and watched all the ones from the previous years repeatedly but sitting down and trying to write about what we can expect made me realise we never really get spoilers, they usually just come along to have fun. So this is going to be a short post. We have been let in on what we can expect after that "OH MY GOD" last 2 seconds of the season 9 finale, mainly Dean trying to come to turns with becoming a demon, and Jensen mentions how it is completely different from other demons that have featured in the show as they were possessing meat suits whereas Dean's soul is now twisted which is how he becomes a demon. It should be fairly interesting to watch and at last Jensen does get to tackle a new(ish) character, it was always Jared that played multiple people/demons/angels.

Comic Con 2014: Penny Dreadful

Ahhh, the Penny Dreadful panel. I've been waiting to write about the show for a while but I guess I waited too long as the first season is over, but the panel gives me a reason to finally discuss it. I'd firstly like to congratulate Aisha Tyler, so far her and Stephen Colbert (The Hobbit panel) have been the best moderators I've seen this year. She seemed like a genuine fan and asked all the questions that I probably would've asked, I'm surprised that the audience Q&A actually came up with any questions. Although they were the same question over and over again... Why is sex a foreign concept for them? John Logan (The creator) handled it way better than I would've expected, if it was me answering I probably would've just said that it's Showtime, if theres no sex then theres no commission.

Pretty much the first thing that is discussed on the panel is what Tyler refers to as the "holy shit moment" in the finale, meaning Ethan being a werewolf (had to narrow that down as there were so many). Logan assures fans that it will not be forgotten as we will be delving into his backstory more in the second season. Ethan is sort of unaware of what he is, all he knows is that he blacks out and bad things tend to happen so season two sees him trying to come to terms with who he is and what he's done. Perhaps thats why he seems like such a kind person when he isn't wolfed out (that's a phrase right)? He's trying to make up for the bad things he's done during the black outs.

Comic Con 2014: Hannibal

Anyone who watches Hannibal will tell you that the finale of season 2 was ridiculous, I mean it was an absolute bloodbath. I don't recall ever watching an episode of a television show that left so many main characters lives in the balance, and the show is called Hannibal so nobody but Hannibal actually needs to survive, who the hell knows who made it out of that house? Lucky for us Hannibal went to Comic Con this year, and although Bryan Fuller and the others didn't reveal too much we did manage to get a few things out of him. 

*Spoilers for season 3 ahead*

Season 3 will be set one year after the events of season 2, Fuller saying that they purposefully wanted to be vague about who survived. The first episode of season to will mainly feature Hannibal and Bedelia (played by Gillian Anderson, looks like her role is expanded this season) and won't be FBI heavy. Fuller describes the episode as a new pilot featuring those two characters. I foresee a long wait till we find out who definitively survived the Hannibal bloodbath. An interesting question that an audience member asked was "what type of cuisine will season 3 feature" and Fullers response to her was Italian, hinting perhaps at Hannibal fleeing to Florence? Maybe thats what the first half of season 3 will be about? Perhaps we don't get an answer to the finale till towards the end of the season? My god.

One person we do know that survives is Dr. Chilton, which is weird because we actually got to see him shot in the face. He was one that I figured was most definitely dead, but as Fuller and the gang says, if you haven't been eaten you can always come back. Sure the near death of the whole cast was a shock in the season finale but we pretty much know something back is going to happen during the flashforward in the first episode of season 2. The real shock is the survival of Abigail Hobbs, but I guess we didn't see her get eaten. Completely. Apparently we have more Abigail to look forward to in season 3, with Fuller wanting to do and episode about what she was up to during season 2 and I most certainly hope he gets around to it. Another dead returning character is Abel Gideon, but as he was completely limbless the last time we saw him it'll be in flashback form.

Because the game has changed completely following the last episode of course the relationships have drastically changed. We won't get that closeness between Hannibal and Will and as a replacement Fuller has let the cat out of the bag about new characters that will be introduced including Francis Dolarhyde and Murasaki. One of the reasons the audience keep coming back (and write fan fiction, make fan art) is the relationship between the leads so only time will tell if they accept the distance between the two and embrace the new characters. If I know audiences then I don't think they will but I hope the writers don't chicken out and force Hannibal and Will together again for some convoluted reasons, stick to your guns! I look forward to the new characters introduced. Dolarhyde will be making an appearance in the upcoming season, and the writers plan for his story arc to carry on over to season 5. Of course that means Silence Of The Lambs is  coming along right? Well only if MGM allow it, which I kind of doubt will happen as the panel discussed to studios annoyance with them for making the show in the first place. Hopefully they are successful at begging for the rights or are able to come up with something equally as good.

In my opinion it seems like season 3 will be evolving from what it was before, and some people may not like that as its moving away from what we know and are used to but it could be pretty great. If it all stayed the same it would be a complete bore so I'm glad that the writers and producers have the balls to shake it up a bit. Oh, and I don't actually think anyone is dead, I would put money on it. It'll still be agony waiting for it to come back though and confirm my suspicions, so bring on 2015!

Live Long and Blog!

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