Misc. Monday: TV Finales

Today, I thought I'd return to my Misc. Mondays roots a bit and share my final thoughts on my favorite TV shows for the season.

Supernatural: This is still probably my favorite show on television. I think it's past it's true golden era (seasons 4 &5), but I still enjoy the hell out of it.

Things I Loved In Season 7:

• The dynamic between the boys remains strong. Even when Sam was off his rocker, dealing with Satan induced insanity, there was still a lot of great dialogue to be had.
• A few really great individual episodes. My favorite of the season was Death's Door, when Bobby wonders around in his own head after being shot, trying to climb back to consciousness long enough to deliver a message to the boys. Seriously, Bobby, I love you. You're like the alcoholic uncle I never had. And you will be missed.
• Castiel. Simply love his character in general. I loved his appearances in the final two episodes, in which he became a peace loving tree-huger. Cas, if you're out there and you're reading this: I will help you save the monkeys. 

Bullshit Moments:

•  As an overarching villain, the Leviathans just didn't interest me. There was just so much heavy handed "Americans are fat, and it's killing them!" subtext in this story. Instead of dying from heart disease, we're all going to be eaten. Fine. Whatever.
• They freaking perma-killed one of my favorite characters! Sad panda!

• After seven seasons, I think they're starting to severely stretch their limits when it comes to dramatic season end cliffhangers. I could almost hear the writers' thoughts: "Well, we've already sent them both to hell, put them in comas, stolen their souls, unleashed Satan and other untold evils...but we haven't sent either of them to purgatory yet! Score!" I should probably withhold judgement on this until I've seen what they do with it next season, but all I can say is--really guys? 

Once Upon a Time: This is the finale that surprised me the most, and I'm wondering if it won't spell creative death for the show. I hope not, because I really enjoyed this first season.

Things I Loved:

• Emma is a kick-ass heroine. She's likable, but not perfect. You can sympathize with her, although she's led an unusual life. Her growing relationship with Henry was the most engaging aspect of the non-fairytale half of the show.
•  The fairytale portions of the story were pretty much always entertaining. I enjoyed seeing familiar stories with unfamiliar twists. 
• So many individually wonderful episodes. It's honestly difficult to pick a favorite. I'd have to say Skin Deep is the one that pops to mind first. In this episode, we learn some of Rumpelstiltskin's backstory, including an occasion when he fell in love. Beauty and the beast, and a sympathetic villain? Yes, please!
• Engaging characters. I loved Red Riding Hood, I loved August, I loved the nun/fairies, all of it. I love that even the freaking mirror is a character.

Bullshit Moments:

• I don't think I'm ever going to think of Regina as sympathetic. Giving her a cheesie and predictable young adult love story didn't help. Sorry.
• Mary Margaret and David. Interesting how I enjoyed, even adored, the Snow white/Prince Charming part of the story, yet heavily despised them in their real world versions. I especially disliked the soap opera-esc cheating/revenge/miss person plot. Ugh...really?
• Didn't really care for the ending. If this had been the series finale, and it was all over, sure. But I feel like they've written themselves into a place were the story is going to have to increase in ridiculousness or be retconned in order to stay interesting. I hope I'm wrong.

Grimm: The show I care the lease about while still caring. I think it's because I love fantasy but don't really love cop shows, so I don't know how to feel about something that merges the two. 

Things I Loved:

• I find Nick to be at least marginally likeable. He's kind of an average Joe, other than the fact that he's a Grimm, so it's hard to get really attached. But it's hard to hate him, too.
• Loved Monroe and everything about him. Such a quirky, fun character.
• Favorite episode was Last Grimm Standing, because it involved cage fighting among supernaturals. Don't ask me why I find that exciting. 

 Bullshit Moments:

• Hello, overarching plot? Remember me, the viewer? You want to explain what you're doing? Seriously, they've been working so hard to make the mythology dense and interesting--good for them. But sometimes, you are going to need to stop and explain what the pieces are, if not how they fit together. Plus, sometimes, less is more
• Dear Nick: Keeping supernatural secrets from your loved ones never works out well in the end. Call Mary Winchester from Supernatural, ask her about it...oh wait, you can't. BECAUSE SHE DIED. I was continuously baffled as to why Nick would stay with Juliette, let shit happen to and around her, and not tell her anything until the last possible second. Bad boyfriend. Bad!

 Honorable Mentions: I tried to watch The Secret Circle, but gave up maybe five episodes in. I'm a little surprised that they cancelled it, but not sad. Terra Nova train wrecked, which I thought was a little disappointing. There aren't enough good science fiction shows for me. I also briefly watched Awake, which was a show that wanted to be so much more than a show ever can be. I felt that story would have been better as a movie, and wasn't surprised that it got cancelled.

So that's that, folks. What about you? Did you watch any of these shows, and if so, did you like them? Agree with me? Disagree with me? Through carrots at me? Share your comments. Happy Monday!

Miscellaneous Mondays: On Buyings Ghosts

Yep, it's that time again: Miscellaneous Monday, the post chalk full of topics you may or may not care about!


The Secret Circle

Well, after watching episode 5 (Slither), I've decided I'm done with this show for now. When a primary character dies, or even "dies" as is typical in paranormal shows, and all you feel is apathy, it's time to throw in the towel. Why did this show fail for me? The first and most pressing issue is that I really don't care for the characters. Cassie still feels bland, even after going through so much stuff that should have helped her develop. So, until I have more free time to waste or I get word that the show is improving, I'm done.

Supernatural

Ah, I love the witch ones. Witches have been a "staple monster" in the show since their first appearance in season three. I find them pretty scary and fascinating in that they kill from a distance, leaving magical booby traps in your home and cursing you from the comfort of their cozy suburban mini-mansions. This particular episode featured a husband and wife, both witches, hell-bent on taking each other down with magic. I found this one pretty amusing.



Sweeney Todd

My fiance and I went to the local production of Sweeney Todd. I love the movie version, but that can obviously never compare to the fun of seeing a live production, even a low budget one. The actor playing Todd pulled it off really well, with the perfect look and voice for the part. Our Mrs. Lovett was decent as well. The actor cast in the role of the Judge was less than impressive, but no one was going to live up to Alan Rickman standards anyway. The bottom line is, if you haven't seen the movie version, I highly recommend it. That recommendation is doubled if you have the opportunity to see it live. It's good, dramatic, and horrific fun.

The Monster High Crew Welcomes Spectra and Clawdeen

First, I added two new dolls to my collection: Clawdeen and Spectra. I'm super excited to have a werewolf doll of any sort. The only major crisis was that her ears make her a bit too tall to stand on the shelf where the others live, so she has to stand. Josh found Spectra for me, and I was incredibly excited because she's pretty hard to come by. So now I have a Frankenstein, a sea monster, a zombie, a werewolf, and a ghost doll. It's geektastic.

I also got Ghoulia a new outfit. In the webisodes, Ghoulia is a comic book geek. The extra outfit comes with a t-shirt, action figure, and tiny comic book.

Weekly  Poll: What helps you choose a book?

According to the poll, the most important factors are author and series. That's certainly true for me. If an author is new to me, I look him/her up and figure out what single title or series most interest me. I'm far more inclined to read series with several books already out. I also rely pretty heavily on reviews, when I can find ones that seem reliable. So to everyone out there who strives to write good thorough reviews, keep it up!

"New Weekly Poll: What's Your Favorite Fairytale? "can be found on the right side of your screen. Please take a second to participate!

Miscellaneous Mondays: Dinosaurs and Zombies

Terra Nova

I watched the first three episodes of this online. I was curious because the premise is so cheese-filled and outlandish, it rivals even to most contrived dystopian YA novel. For those of you that missed the commercials, it's about people from the year 2149, when the Earth has become overcrowded and polluted, that travel through a rift in time to the age of the dinosaurs in order to start a new colony. Ridiculous? Yes. Delightfully cheesey? Absolutely.

I ended up really enjoying this first episode. We meet Jim and his wife Elisabeth. They have 3 children, and in 2149 families are supposed to be restricted to two. One thing the show did really well was that it established, in very little time, how harsh the conditions of the 2149 world are. You see the family get really excited about and orange that Jim found. And then you see population control come and raid their house, where they find the third child and send Jim to jail as a result. Jumping ahead in the plot, once the family travels through the time rift the show takes a turn from gritty dytopian to bright fantasy world. The thing is, though, even here I can't fault them. The show is very imaginative in it's vision of humans coping in a world dominated by dinosaurs. The show stumbles on it's own "science" a bit, explaining (in awkward dialogue) that this is in fact a separate time stream from the own they were living in, so no worries about those pesky paradoxes.

Episodes 2 and 3 confirmed to me that there are a lot of interesting stories that could be written in this universe. I find the character's likable, the setting and plots interesting, and the overall tone to be good dramatic sci-fi fun. I'm caught up now, so I may be able to watch the shows at the time they air (if I remember) from here on out.

The Secret Circle, Episode 4


This was actually a surprisingly good episode. Cassie wants to use the magic in her family's spell book to help a woman who appears catatonic, in order to get some answers about the fire that killed everyone's parents. I liked seeing Cassie actually take some kind of action, even if the decisions she made were rash. And as I've said before, I like the fantasy element of this show, so having an episode that's more focused on that than anything else was a big plus.

Clothing My Wedding Party...

...has certainly been an adventure. I picked out my dress in July, and it was the third one I tried on. I went in pretty much knowing what I wanted, found the perfect dress, and that was that. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be about three times as hard to find bridesmaid dresses that I really liked.  It was really important to me that my minions friends have something that they like and feel pretty in. I was well prepared to be flexible, and I told them they could pick whatever they liked as long as they were all the same color. They really wanted to match though, so the search was on to find something that would flatter three very different body types. We finally found this one, and I have to say I'm quite pleased with it. The waist is designed to create a nice hourglass shape. There's some subtle beading on the bodice and underskirt that compliments my dress (which has quite a lot of bead-work).

I still have to find something for my junior bridesmaid, who will be 9 at the time of the wedding. I have no idea what a 9 year old would feel comfortable in, so that will be interesting. Plus we have to figure out what the guys are wearing, but boys have it easier, right?

Weekly Poll Results: Your Favorite Classic Monster

Zombies prevailed over all contenders with 21% of the votes! I was pretty surprised by this, because I was so sure it would be vampires or werewolves. But not even close! Ghosts came in second place by only one vote! Apparently you guys like dead things.

I think my favorite zombie book would have to be one of the early Anita Blake books, most likely The Laughing Corpse. I don't really have a favorite zombie movie. Possibly Shaun of the Dead, but I've only seen it once. Anybody have good recommendations for zombie books or movies? Share!

Finally, don't forget to participate in the new weekly poll: What influences your reading choices? Happy Reading!

Following Friday (8)

  

Q.If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why? 

 

1. I want Sam and Dean from Supernatural to meet the "vampires" from Twilight and go on a mass killing spree. Sorry Twilight fans.

 

2. I'd put teenage Savannah from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Other World books in The Secret Circle. She's a more interesting character than any of the six teens in that show, and she could probably help them get their issues in order faster than they can by themselves.

 

3. Finally, just for fun, I want to transplant Harry Potter into True Blood for a season. It could be the evil wizard season! I think it would be hilarious to stick a relatively wholesome (but still pretty tough) character into the violent oversexed world of Sookie Stackhouse.

 

I could invent more, but I'll just leave it at three. 

 

New followers (and old ones too) please take a moment to participate in our weekly poll--Your Favorite Classic Monster! Thanks in advance!

Miscellaneous Mondays: Brains and Brainlessness

Welcome to Miscellaneous Monday, the post about everything and noting in particular.

Secret Circle, Episode 3


As usual, I'm a week behind in this show because I'm forced to watch it online due to my work schedule. Episode 3 was titled "Loner", in reference to our protagonist. Cassie is a loner in the way that TV likes to portray loners. By which I mean she's alone voluntarily--there's nothing obviously wrong with her. She's pretty, smart(ish), and more importantly, people seem to like her, despite the fact that she's deliberately  stand-offish and a bit socially awkward. They like her on sight, without knowing anything about her. This bothers me a great deal, actually. The same thing happens with Bella in Twilight--she's the new girl in school, she's bland and awkward, and yet everyone can't wait to make friends with her. Anyone who remembers anything about high school knows that this isn't how things work. If you happen to be self-isolating or even a little shy, people mostly leave you alone. You might make a friend or two, but it is highly unlikely that the most popular kids in town are going to be clambering for your company.

I've come to the conclusion that this show is really two shows--a good fantasy show and a crappy (but marketable) teen drama, squished together like play-dough. Episode 3 was less bland than Episode 2, but it still gets caught up in silly and predictable relationship drama. I'm much more interested in the magic and murder than whether Diana and Adam's relationship will survive (HINT: it won't).

Supernatural: Brains!


For whatever reason, I always enjoy the flashback heavy episodes, and this was a good example of that. The Winchester brothers were brought up in the most insane and dysfunctional manner possible. Catching glimpses of that is always fascinating. Furthermore, this episode was yet another example of Sam's fondness for making friends (special friends) with monsters. You'd think that if you're going to hunt monsters, "Don't Have Sex With It" would be rule number one. But I guess if everyone followed that, we'd have a lot fewer paranormal romances.


The Book Buying Dilemma


I dearly love book stores, but they seem to be disappearing. For a very long time our city had two Borders: one large one, and a smaller Borders Express. We also have a B&N,  and one or two small independently owned places that cater mainly to used books and trade. The large Borders used to be my favorite by far. It offered great selection, was well organized, offered reasonable discounts, and the employees were fairly laid back but helpful. But, of course, both Borders shut down. I was left with severely reduced buying options.

Our Borders Express was taken over by Books-a-Million. At first this seemed like a glimmer of hope, giving me back at least one place to browse and buy. Unfortunately, the store sucks. Right away I had trouble finding the things on my list. Not because they didn't have those things, but because they put them in the oddest places. Several series were split up, with some of the books in "SciFi" and some in "Fiction". Or in some cases, the same author might be put in both "Romance" and "SciFi". It was explained to me that they put books in sections based on whatever arbitrary label they carry on the spine. The employees don't know and don't care how the books should really be classified, and they aren't even concerned with being consistent. Furthermore, my GOD are these people sales focused. Their entire mission is to selling you things, from their membership card to magazine subscriptions, most of which you probably don't want or need.

The end result of all of this is that I'm now without a bookstore that I really like. Our Barnes and Noble has terrible selection. The used book stores rarely seem to get new product. This leaves department stores and the internet. I love ebooks, and I do appreciate the ease of shopping online. But it isn't the same. Physical book stores allow you to browse in a way that no site, however impressive, can ever offer.

My solution? My loving fiance got me a new library card. It still isn't quite as nice as browsing new books to buy, but it's the best I can do for the time being.

Weekly Poll: Helpful Reviews

Thanks go out to those of you who participated in this weeks poll!

I chose this particular question because, after years of reading and writing reviews I've realized that there are about a million different ways to go about organizing a review. No one way is right or wrong, but there are definitely some styles that I personally find more helpful than others. For example, I'm very fond of the list format (31% of you agreed). People who are able to intelligently break their thoughts and criticisms into bullet points are awesome. I find this type of review easy to read and, when it's done well, very persuasive. Unfortunately, I can't seem to write "List Style" reviews very well--my brain doesn't work that way.

Interestingly, the poll showed that short, concise reviews are strongly preferred over long reviews. I don't really have a strong preference in this regard, but the results do make sense to me. People don't have time to read super long reviews. Plus, long reviews can often get repetitive. I often have to remind myself to limit the length of my reviews. It's hard to be concise when a book get's you really excited or angry.

Finally, objective reviews and emotional reviews both got pretty low votes. Personally I find overly analytical reviews to be dull and unhelpful, unless of course it's for a text book or nonfiction. On the other hand, I've read some reviews that are so emotional and subjective that they don't manage to convey anything meaningful. Angry reviews can be funny though.

Don't forget to participate in my new poll: Your Favorite Classic Monsters. Happy Reading!

Miscellaneous Monday: Gnomes and Other Magic Acquaintances

Welcome again to Miscellaneous Mondays, the post where I share my non-book related thoughts and activities.

Meet Krebs

Krebs is my very own foot gnome (named after the Krebs cycle, because I'm a geek). He's been with me for several years now, and is my favorite tattoo.

I don't think I've had a chance to mention my love of tattoos on this blog yet. I really, really love getting tattooed. Fortunately I have good restraint (and limited financial means) so I'm not covered in them. At present I have four small tattoos, one of which matches my mother's. Have I ever mentioned how awesome my mom is?

Anyway, I have these girlie little tattoos, and I get asked about them a lot. First, everyone always wants to know if they're real. I guess because I don't seem like the type to have real tattoos? Then everyone always asks "Did that hurt?" Which strikes me as silly; it's done with a needle, of course it hurts a little. Truth be told, Krebs is the only one that really caused significant pain. Turns out there are a ton of nerve endings in your feet, especially near your toes.

You'd think I'd have a penguin tattoo by now, but sadly, I don't. I'm pretty sure that will be my next one, if I can ever settle on a design.

Episode 2 of The Secret Circle...

Was bland. Seriously, nothing of particular interest happened in this episode. It rehashed the same issues and situations from episode one. It was all filler and repetition. Very poor writing. I understand that not every episode of a show can be filled with big revelations and intrigue, but I do expect a little more effort than this. I'm hoping that, because this episode ended with the introduction of the new status quo for the circle, that the next few episodes will have better, more self-contained plots.

Supernatural, Season 7, Episode 2

This one was super angsty. We have the apparent death of a much beloved character, all kinds of psychological torment for everyone, plus possible references to self-mutilation. Oh boy. Now, one of the things that makes this show work for me is that it can have story arcs that are very serious and emotional, but also occasionally have some humor and silliness. I'm really, really hoping for a little silly to balance out the angst sometime soon.



 Frankie and Lagoona


It's official, I'm collecting Monster High dolls.

I just found Frankie Stein on sale at target. Josh and I had an extensive discussion on whether she is the daughter of Frankenstein or Frankenstein's monster.

Lagoona Blue was an early birthday present from my mother. I like her particularly because she is wearing a lab coat.

To finish off this week's miscellaneous Monday, have a video.

Miscellaneous Monday: Teens, Monsters, and Teen Monsters

Miscellaneous Monday is my new weekly post in which I will talk about things that I'm doing or am interested in that are not related to books, or in many cases, are only vaguely related to books. I'm going to keep it as a journal throughout the week and post on Monday mornings. I'll try to stay organized, but it may get a bit "rambley", so feel free to read, reply, or ignore at your heart's content.

Welcome Home, Ghoulia

First up, I want to mention Ghoulia Yelps--the Monster High doll I received as a present from my fiance. I'm not sure how long Monster High has been around, but I just noticed them a few months ago and instantly thought they were adorable. And your never too old for toys, right? Ghoulia is a zombie, and is currently my one and only doll. I display her proudly.

I've been to MonsterHigh.com, which has games and character bios and that sort of think. I recommend watching the webseries, if you're at all inclined to watch cartoons. There are a lot of episodes, but they're only about 2 minutes long each. A few of them are actually quite clever.

There are also Monster High novels. I'm considering ordering the first one just to give it a try. From the description I think they're meant for preteens/young teens, so it would be outside my usual genre.

The Secret Circle

Out of curiosity, I watched the pilot of The Secret Circle. This new show is based on the book series by L.J. Smith. I have no intention of reading the books at this time. I read her Vampire Diaries books before the show first aired, and to be honest, did not care for her writing style. I also never got around to watching the show, though I intend to.

Anyway, for a pilot, I thought this was a pretty good episode. We meet Cassie, our main character, who is honestly a bit bland. We establish that magic is real (and can be kind of pretty--aw, floating water drops). We meet the other two corners of the love triangle (or possibly square, not sure yet)--Diana and Adam. And there's a whole host of shady characters and villains. This includes Faye who, so help me God, I wanted to drop a rock on. The actress's performance is so over the top, I kept thinking it would be more efficient to have her wear an "I'm An Evil Bitch" T-shirt. But it's the first episode, so I'll cut them all some slack for being new to the parts. It's probably too early to say whether the show is going to be hit or miss for me, but I will say that I'm inclined to like it.

Most girls go through a witch phase. For me, it was Charmed, and to some extent Harry Potter. I know there are lots of books and movies about witches that are geared toward teens. Point is--there is always a market for this kind of show.

Supernatural Season Seven

I'm a huge fan of the Supernatural TV show. Never heard of it? Here, have a link! Seriously, I don't watch much TV--there are maybe two or three shows that I actively follow. This is one of them. It's urban fantasy at it's core, with the entire show based on the idea that urban legends and myths are real--and generally unfriendly.

Incidentally, there are Supernatural novels, but I gently caution against reading them--unless you're a huge fan of the show and a very patient reader.

Anyway, Friday's season seven premier was interesting in that it put our heroes in kind of a helpless position where the "monster" is a close friend who they really don't want to have to kill. After six seasons, we're starting to see some repetition in theme and character development. So it wasn't the best episode, and it wasn't the worst.