The Man in the High Castle: TV series Vs. Novel

I have recently taken up reading again and one of the novels that I tackled was The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, originally published in 1962. I was unaware of the the writer but unbeknownst to me I was well aware of his work because adaptations of his bibliography boast the likes of Blade Runner, Minority Report, The Adjustment Bureau as well as many others. The were a couple of reasons that I chose this novel, one of which was the fact that I wanted to spend £20 on Amazon to get free delivery, the other being the Amazon Instant Video adaptation of the book which I devoured over the course of a couple of weeks.

I fell in love with the series during the first episode, the alternate universe truly captured me. The Man in the High Castle TV series followed what life would be like if the USA had lost against the Nazi's and Japanese, leading them to divide the country and ruling over their respective territories. The US is now a society where fascism is rife and conformity is the key to the citizens survival, denouncing their faiths, loved ones and in some cases their whole personalities. The setting is intriguing and daring because of peoples sensitivity towards the wars. What makes this a riveting tale is the uprising against the totalitarian governments, with members getting inspired by videos which are depicting an alternate lifestyle where the US won the wars. The members of the resistance strive to collect as many of these videos as they can on behalf of a man known only as "The Man in the High Castle" in the belief that these videos mean something and could somehow change the world.

Kill List: The Horror Movie That Scared Me

*Slight spoilers from Kill List*

I have discussed this numerous times on The Dorks Deduction Podcast but I don't scare as easy as sane human beings. I was desensitised to gore and violence at quite a young age, having older siblings I often watched whatever they watched instead of the usual Disney animated films which would have been more appropriate. In theory the lack of fear would seem to be a good thing but it's truly not, I see what people go through when watching a film they deem scary. The shock, the awe and the excitement in their faces wasn't something I remembered experiencing, instead all I did was think about how it wasn't scary in the slightest. Then Kill List happened.

I recently professed my burgeoning obsession with the work of Ben Wheatley which started off with my viewing of his 2011 film Kill List. I knew almost nothing about it before watching it other than it's name and from that I assumed that it would be a thriller because what else would it be? I'm happy to say I was incorrect. Kill List on the surface seem like another British gangster flick, following two contract killers on assignment. If it had followed that format it would have been far less interesting and my jaw wouldn't have dropped so low that I had to have it wired shut, it was that shocking.

Spoiler Or Not A Spoiler, That Is The Question

I recently wrote about The Night Manager that aired in the UK earlier this year and it's starting up on the other side of the pond so I decided to investigate what the Americans think of it. When I say investigate what I mean is that I was procrastinating at work and wandered onto IMDB. I didn't end up getting much information about their thoughts and feelings towards the series but what I did witness was a lot of people complaining about the amount of spoilers on the boards. I've had this discussion with friends extensively in the past and actually wrote about it a little in regards to Game Of Thrones, but can you really call information about something that has aired/been released a spoiler?

In the past regions have had to wait months/years for foreign television shows/films and we've come a long way since then, sometimes we only have to wait a day after the country of origin airs it. It may not seem like a long time but that's still an extra day for the episode to be spoiled with memes, message boards, friends Facebook posts etc. but do you have a right to get mad because it's spoiled the episode for you? In short, no. When an episode/film/book has aired or has been released all the information is out there and no longer a spoiler. It may not feel fair that you don't have access as early as others to eliminate the reveals you wanted to wait for but sometimes it can be avoided so the threat of spoilage can be diminished.

Any Human Heart Makes Me Realise I Have One

*I'll try not to spoil anything because I actually want you to go and read it*

Short stories, poems, novels, the back of a cereal box. It didn't matter what it was, I used to devour them over and over again. I even used to spend my Saturdays at the library, not for the internet but for the numerous books they had at hand. I don't quite know what happened, some say I got lazy, some say it was the fact that we no longer needed dial up so I had the freedom of going onto the internet whenever I liked. I think it's because the literature that seemed the most popular seemed completely awful. No, it didn't just seem completely awful, it was completely awful. Up until a couple of years ago the last books I had read for pleasure were the Harry Potter series and even though they had a fantastic story line even I can admit they weren't the best written books.

I love watching television and films and this whole blog is proof of that, but I also loved having stories play out in my head. I enjoyed inferring meanings from writing and building up my own version of the characters from the information given. I missed just sitting back in a quiet room reading a book for a few hours, I got more satisfaction out of it than staring at a glaring screen under my duvet. Fortunately I have an Amazon account, unfortunately I don't know when to stop buying so I now have a lot more books than I had six months ago and I'm almost finished with them. Up until a few months ago I would have said my favourite book was The Great Gatsby and why wouldn't it be? It's set in my favourite era and although the novel is short and the story line isn't too complex there is so much to it. It has some of the most beautiful writing I've ever seen in a novel and so vivid, I still haven't watched the film because it feels like I have already watched it all.

I never thought The Great Gatsby would be displaced in my heart but then Any Human Heart by William Boyd came along. Any Human Heart is a compilation of fictional journals and an early quote from it has stuck with me:

Supernatural Is Back On Top

*Spoilers for season 11 below* 

I am aware that there has been a decline as there is with any show that has been on as long as Supernatural has but I didn't notice the effect it had on me until the last episode. For years I was watching episodes of Supernatural whenever I could get my hands on them, sometimes waking up at the crack of dawn to put myself in a state of awe before going to school/college/university/work. Yes, I've been watching that long. I've had a longer and more loving relationship with Supernatural than I've had with living beings and I didn't regret it. In the last couple of years I seem to be watching the show at a delay which I didn't have a problem with, I wasn't getting angsty waiting for my fix, I was just carrying on with life and watching the next episode when I could.

Then the last episode happened. "Don't call me Shurley" marked the return of Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict). Also known as Carver Edlund. Also known as God. The person I will refer to as Chuck Shurley initially entered the show in the season four episode "The Monster at the End of This Book" as a writer chronicling Sam and Deans lives in a cult book series titled 'Supernatural'. He is then revealed to not only be a writer but also a prophet of the Lord sent to aid Sam and Dean on their quest to stop the impending apocalypse. Rob Benedict was brilliant at portraying the troubled man with dreams of Sam and Dean that haunt him both day and night, but he's also an incredibly humorous character. It is later revealed that he is God and has seemingly abandoned the universe he built, either hoping they will learn to fend for themselves or not caring either way.

Peaky Blinders Almost Lost Me

*Spoilers for series three of Peaky Blinders*

I've been a huge fan of Peaky Blinders ever since it's initial outing in 2013 for a multitude of reasons. It's period setting in the 1910s and 1920s of Birmingham following a gangster family through the excitement of their daily perils, as well as their need for wanting better for themselves was one of the reasons it captivated me. The show is incredibly well written and looks incredible which is likely the reason that it's managed to attract a steller cast in Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Sam Neill, not to mention their recurring cast which includes Tom Hardy who is a joy to watch, even if we're watching him watch pain dry. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two series of the BBC show but during the first episode of the third run I almost lost interest. Almost.

One of the central storylines in the series is the relationship between Tommy Shelby (Murphy) and Grace Burgess (Annabelle Wallis). In the first series Grace was an undercover agent tasked with infiltrating the organisation and against all odds (even though it was still quite predictable) she managed to pierce Tommy's guarded heart and they fell in love. The relationship was rocky at best because of their differing morals but eventually, with the aid of an unplanned pregnancy, the two found their way back together with most of the events of the first episode of series three taking place at their wedding.

Will 24: Legacy Live Up To Its Predecessor?

I'm a huge fan of 24 and have been since it started. I remember staying up late on a Sunday night to watch it on BBC2 and being exhausted the next day, but not caring because I'd had 40 minutes with an amazing show. I recall the heartache I felt with the news that it was moving to Sky One, a channel we didn't have and one that my parents weren't planning on paying for. Eventually we managed to procure the series before getting with the times and abandoning free-view for Sky. That roller coaster was nothing compared to the show actually being cancelled. Done. Vamut.

Then something beautiful happened, something that used to be a rare occurrence. It came back. 24: Live Another Day arrived on our screens in 2014, four years after the show was originally cancelled. As with the original run I was enthralled and others seemed to be too, it did well in the ratings as well as critically. The limited run ran for only 12 episodes rather than the usual 24 episode format, condensing all the drama and removing the filler that we'd usually get (e.g. Kim and the Coyotes). The series finished off open ended so there was room for another series a few years down the line which is what was I was expecting (or hoping with all my heart), so the news of 24: Legacy was initially an unwelcome one.