Friday, April 19, 2013

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special

Warning: Spoilers ahead, obviously.

Ever since BBC officially announced David Tennant and Billie Piper's involvement in the 50th anniversary special, my interest in Doctor Who has shifted from the current season to the special. It's hard to care about the current episodes when we're promised Tennant back in the suit and maybe in the TARDIS! Which is a shame, because Clara's story should be quite interesting.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

This is gonna be fun

I was listening to Emma Caulfield's episode of the Nerdist podcast from 2011 earlier today, and she mentioned that she loves football. She also brought up Friday Night Lights, saying that it's "not about football," as I've heard multiple times from other sources. That, along with, for some reason, the latest Nerdist podcast episode with Dominic Monaghan -- in which Dom talks about soccer, American sports, and the misunderstandings of soccer in America -- prompted me to search for the show on Netflix. And it's available!


I had no idea what to expect when I hit play on the Pilot episode. I've heard so many praises about the show, but I somehow managed to avoid any plot points. It's the pilot episode so they had to introduce all the characters, and I was a bit overwhelmed by all these names and faces thrown at me at the beginning of the episode. About halfway through the episode, I felt like I was getting the hang of it. I hadn't learned the characters' names yet, but I kinda understood who these people were supposed to be.

I knew that it's a drama show, and the fact that everything seemed be going nicely meant that something bad was going to happen in the episode. There were a few scenarios I could see playing out:
  1. The Panthers are going to lose the game, putting Coach Taylor under pressure from the whole town. I thought that this was the most likely scenario; it's a little bit of drama, but not too much. Just enough for a pilot episode. But, I also thought that it would have been too obvious.
  2. Coach Taylor would bench star quarterback Jason Street, or a few other star players, as a tactical surprise to the other team, and the whole town. I thought this had a slim possibility, as I couldn't see the advantage of doing this, since they seem to be the superior team throughout.
  3. Quarterback Street would get a career ending injury. Street was portrayed as the nice kid who's got it all, which is why I thought this scenario would be both the most likely and the cruelest.

Of course, scenario three was the one. Their backup quarterback, Matt Saracen, was the character that clearly was built up to be the zero-to-hero character, which he ended up being. We didn't know how good he was because he was always overshadowed by Street. He was shy, quiet, and nice; the type of person who would be one of the main characters in a show. I don't think they've established that Street's injury is career ending; they suggested spinal cord injury, but I don't think it was confirmed. But I got the feeling that Saracen would be the new star, meaning that Street would be out of the team.

In any case, the third act of the episode had me in tears, which is very rare for a pilot episode, therefore I am incredibly excited to continue watching this show.

And hey, maybe I'd learn more about football through this show, and end up as a fan of the sport.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Cracked

I'm still on my David Sutcliffe run, I guess. He's currently starring in the Canadian cop show Cracked. Sutcliffe plays Aidan Black, a police officer transferred from Emergency Task Force to the newly created Psych Crimes unit after a public breakdown caused by PTSD.


I am watching the show just because of Sutcliffe –– I'm enjoying the fitted shirts he's been wearing –– but I believe that the show can be interesting and unique, not just another cop show, if they delved more into his struggles and his recovery, which in my opinion has only been an undertone of the series so far.

I'm not a fan of Aidan's partner, Dr. Daniella Ridley (Stefanie von Pfetten). I enjoy the last couple of episodes more because Aidan is partnered up with the other psychiatrist in the unit, Leo Blackett (Dayo Ade), instead. I feel like Ridley always pushes for the psychological reasons when solving a case, which I guess is her job, but she's just too pushy about them sometimes. For example, in the last episode, she kept on bringing up the suspect's possible PTSD. I know that she was right at the end, but I just didn't like how she insisted on it.

I really want them to get rid of Ridley. They can play it off as Aidan being unable to trust her again after the backstabbing, and they chose Aidan instead of Ridley. It's unlikely, because she's the one who helped designed the unit in the first place. However, I can stand her being around as long as they don't turn her into Aidan's love interest. That would be too much of a cliché. I was worried when she started talking about her and Aidan's closeness in one of the episodes; I hope they just leave it at that.

There's one episode left of the first season, and they have been renewed for a second season. The show started slow but it grew on me. I do like the cases they're involved in, and if they deal with Aidan's PTSD the right way, this could be a great show.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

This is pretty bizarre

I'm a little upset about how the last season of Gilmore Girls turned out to be, and I'm not quite ready to let go of Christopher Hayden just yet, so I'm currently watching the episodes of Private Practice that David Sutcliffe is on. I mostly just watch the scenes that Sutcliffe is a part of and skip through the rest. But, in a strange coincidence, I've seen 3 Whedonverse alums guest starring on the show. First it was Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods) playing a woman with a dying 7 year old son, 6 months pregnant with a daughter who is the only hope to save her brother. Then, there was Fran Kranz (Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods) as a young man who finds out that the woman he loves is his half-sister because their mothers chose the same sperm donor. I'm currently watching episode 2x06, "Serving Two Masters," where Alexis Denisof (Angel, Dollhouse, The Avengers) plays a man with two wives, unknowing of each other's existence, both pregnant (side note: I adore Denisof's accent). All three were in Dollhouse that aired after their Private Practice roles. And, all three are starring in the upcoming Whedon movie Much Ado About Nothing (which I'm very excited about).

I realize that this post is pointless. I just thought it was mildly interesting.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

I hate that they're making him the bad guy

As I have previously mentioned, I am team Christopher. I am currently halfway through season 5 of the show, and I'm hating it. And not just because Lorelai is with Luke.

My heart insists that the end of "I Can't Get Started," the season 2 finale, did not happen. Sherri did not get pregnant, Chris and Lorelai got together, and they lived happily ever after. I honestly believe that they would have made it if that was the case. They were at the right place and at the right time to be together. They understood each other very well, and it just feels like they're right for each other; they have that special connection, more than just Rory's existence, that can't be replicated with other people. (I'm a shipper; sue me). Christopher can keep up with Lorelai, while Luke only lets her be. I always thought that Luke and Lorelai were meant to be friends. He had been pining for her for years, and I just never believe that that's a good start for a relationship. Or maybe I just think David Sutcliffe is way hotter so I just want to see him on the show a lot more than he actually was.

In any case, I hate what the writers have done with him in season 5. It seemed that his relationship with the Gilmore girls was going back to normal, and then they had to bring him in as the devil who wants to break up Luke and Lorelai. Yes, I think Luke and Lorelai should break up and she should end up with Christopher, but I always hate it if a guy tries to end the girl's current relationship. It's just wrong. And now he's the bad guy and I just hate it.

I already had to go through the entirety of season 4 without Christopher, and now I have to wait until about halfway through season 6 for his next appearance. I'm full of anger and disappointment at this moment so there's a good chance I'd be fast forwarding through most of the next ~20 episodes until the happy Lorelai-Christopher reunion.

I hate that I get emotionally invested in these fake people.

The Rings of Akhaten

Not a big fan of tonight's episode. Mostly because the sonic screwdriver became such a convenient weapon. There's no explanation; just take sonic screwdriver, point, push button, and everything is fine. Also, I find the plot to be too similar to the Shakespeare episode back in season 3. This episode uses songs as spells, like the "The Shakespeare Code" used words. During the climax of the episode, the Doctor tries to save the day, screws up, companion says something "meaningful" and the Doctor somehow finds a way. Especially with the big monologue the Doctor does at the end. These are all becoming a cliche. Sure what he says was sad and all, but I'm just not a big fan of big monologues; I just find them too anticlimactic. It felt like I was watching it just to find out more about Clara.

My parents let (made) me watch this as a kid?!

This is one of those things that I remember from childhood, which just scared the shit out of me. And, I know that it would still scare the shit out of me today. And it certainly did.


It's the 20th anniversary of Jurassic Park so they're rereleasing it to theaters in 3D and IMAX 3D for a week only. I know I've watched the movie at least 3 times, but I don't remember any of the plot, so I knew that watching it again would be as exciting as watching it the first time. Or maybe even more exciting since the first time I watched I was way too young (I remember it involved hiding behind my father).

This movie really does hold up well. The animatronics are amazing; the CGI are amazing; the movie is just simply amazing. It still terrifies 23 year old me. I honestly don't remember how young I was the first time I watched it, but I can't imagine how scared I was back then. Actually, I might have been more scared this time around because there were a few scenes when I expected to be scared or shocked, which just made me more scared than I would have been. I'm not making sense, am I? In anticipation of the velociraptor scenes, I was definitely scaring myself. I am now curious about the sequels but too scared to watch them. Maybe tomorrow...when it's light out...

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Team LC!

Once again, I become attached to a couple that is doomed from the start. Although, to be honest, this one has a better chance of survival than my other favorites. I know it's not gonna work out; I know they're not gonna end up together; yet, for some unknown reason, I still get emotionally attached to Lorelai and Christopher. I've watched the show before so I know that they don't end up together. But I watch the show now wishing that they would. It's stupid and I know it would only lead to disappointment when Lorelai finally end up with Luke, but I can't help myself.

This is very similar to my obsession with Josh and Amy (The West Wing). I knew that Josh would end up with Donna, and that Josh and Amy would never work things out between them; but I still dreamed. Just like Josh and Amy, I think Christopher is a better match for Lorelai, and he definitely can go toe to toe with her verbally. I love the always flirtatious banter and the chemistry between them. And, just like Josh and Amy, there's a lack of good, completed Lorelai and Christopher fanfictions out there. It all leads to further disappointments. I'm actually currently pausing watching the show to hunt for fanfictions.



A mildly interesting coincidence: Lauren Graham's character in both Gilmore Girls and Parenthood dated her teenage daughter's high school English teacher.