Worst Television Of 2012

I would like to first apologize for this being so late, I've had a slue of delays and I didn't wanna abandon the project unfinished, all seems sorted now, so I can finally finish this, yay me!

2012 In Review:

The Best And Worst
.... And Afew Things Inbetween

Part 4: Worst Of Television

Ok so we've finally come to the final leg of this, the worst of television from the year that was 2012 in television, sorry this took so long, just alot of stuff went on in between time and i had to go dig up stuff to make sure shows and movies i wanted were from 2012, and not like, the year before or this year, or some other crap. but anyway, here we go, right into the last straightaway with the pedal down, oh and be prepared this one is gonna get pretty sarcastic.

Alright, lets get to this... a'room'a zoom zoom!

Worst Television Series Of 2012

 American Horror Story: Asylum

Now, before you rip me to bits like rabid fanboys, let me explain my thoughts on this, I would like to first start out by stating i was one of the biggest voices cheering for the first season of this critically and audience loved series, it was brilliant and envelope pushing beyond what non-pay television here n the USA had seen in a long time. And with that said, like most, I happily and excitedly waited for its second year, and its new story to begin, with high hopes and excited mind, i wanted to see this amazing hive-mind of writers, who were able to sweep almost every award show that gave out awards for television the year before, take on the dark and twisted world that was 1960s mental asylums, with all the crooked doctors and nurses who didn't care, and all the crazy religious fanatics who believed they could cure mental illness through religion. The whole idea just seemed tailor made to let them run with. The problem was though, they let them run abit to wild with things, and what started out as an interesting story about a group of mentally ill people, a possible nazi war criminal hiding as a staff doctor, and a reporter trying to expose the mistreatment at the asylum, slowly became a bloated, overly complicated, and under producing story that just seemed to cram as many different sci fi/horror plots into one story, in a sense, stuffing the story until it burst at the seems, it was just to much for one season, it wasn't for lack of trying, it just seemed to get away from the writers and, well, by the time they realized it, it was to late, it had all gone horribly wrong and the crazy train was so far off the rails not even Ozzy Ozborn could have gotten it back to where its supposed to be. Lets hope next year's story "American Horror Story: Coven" makes up for this mess, else this might be the next Heroes, by which i mean a show with a brilliant first season and then it takes the slow slip and slide ride to horrible tv junction.

Worst Drama Of 2012

 The Mob Doctor

I don't really think this one was much of a surprise for anyone, I ripped this steaming pile apart when I saw the pilot, touting it as the next Lone Star, meaning a series that on the surface looks awesome, but on a second look, you notice that its so flawed its painful, and has atleast one character that their whole reason for being in the show is to remind you of the premiss every single time they open their mouth. Its just painful to watch and so very hard to stomach honestly. I understand that complex shows sometimes need a character to remind you of whats what and who's who, and all of that, but honestly, this just had the plot beat into you every chance, ok we get it, she's a doctor that has to work for the mob though she doesn't want too, ok we get it, thank you, continue with your story, assuming you have a story, if not, just shut your fucking mouth and not let things get to far. Stuff like this just proves that for the few good episodes they had, that we need to kind of come back to the old days of anthology type tv shows, maybe as a means of creating a pilot for a spin off series and testing it before it goes to production? Seriously, we need to get back to stuff like that, because if they were to run this as part, it'd maybe be a 5 part series, then it would be done. The story just wasn't there to keep this thing interesting, or worst getting invested in.

Worst Comedy Of 2012

The Mindy Project

I know there might be some flack for this one, but, I just don't get it. I didn't find Mindy Kaling funny on The Office, and I don't find her funny in this, where she's doing some weird mix of her character from the office and every female lead in every romantic comedy ever made. Seriously, i just don't get it. People are all "oh this show is funny" and i'm all "no, its not, one or two funny lines per half hour does not make a show funny, it makes it lazy." but to each their own i guess. Kaling plays a rather dumb and annoyingly spacey doctor in her late 20s, in what seriously sounds like it was a rejected pitch to a Renee Zellwiger project that help her cling to the last bits of her non-Bridget Jones related fame, plus her cast is just plain annoying, they're all snotty uppity dickheads who think they're all that there is in life or have their heads up their asses, its just plain annoying, and when they try to change things up, by either doing something actually funny, or attempting to show off that Mindy Kaling is moderately attractive, it just ends up failing epically in what looks like it should have been an outtake every single time. Seriously, I just don't get it, maybe there is something funny there, but i'm not seeing it.

Worst Animated Series Of 2012

Allen Gregory

Hollywood, are you listening? Good, get this through your heads, JONAH HILL IS NOT FUNNY, oh sure, he can play a second or third stringer in a funny movie, or even a moderately funny film, but on his own, he's the worst, he makes David Spade and Norm McDonald seem funny. Yes, I just said that. Seriously this series was just horrible, and all involved should be burned at the stake... thats all.

Worst Sci Fi Series Of 2012

Merlin

Oh, how i have been waiting for this trainwreck to slide just far enough over the line from "So bad its funny" and tumble into "just totally utter shit" as it falls off the cliff into the shit abyss of disrepair and depression. And in its final season, it finally happened. Now before i get to far into it, i'd like to state this show has always been a tad shit. but it wasn't the kind of shit that was just painful to watch, it was campy and goofball written to seem like serious sci fi, it never had a chance, it was historically inaccurate to the point it was painful, and it was almost comical how they made King Arthur, one of the most important fictional characters of all time, and made him nothing more then a really really stupid self absorbed spoiled rich kid that has utterly no clue whats going on around him. Both of these things became painfully evident in the final season, as well as the show's lack of creativity to create proper villains, it was constantly Merlin, Arthur and Co. against Morgana Pendragon, Arthur's banished sister, whom they never mention is his sister after the third season. It just got so painful in the end, like how the show basically forgets its ban on magic in Camalot, which is the whole reason why Merlin is nothing more then a manservant in this version of the tale, or the fact that for a guy who's ment to hate magic, Arthur sure as hell goes running to his people that he knows know how to use it, and yet, is willing to have outsiders of his inner circle that use it put to death. Its just full of giant plotholes... seriously, this show started out as camp filler till Doctor Who aired, and just became total and utter crap by its end. I wouldn't even bother watching it till the end, because the ending is just utter shit as well. Seriously, just go watch something else instead.

Worst New Show Of 2012

Outcasts

Oh boy, oh boy! If you ever wanted a guide on how to NOT write a sci fi mystery set on another world, this would be it, this trainwreck had just enough shit factor to force out The Fades as the worst possible new series from 2012, and as you all know, with my love of sci fi, its painful to give a bad review to anything of that genre, well not Merlin, because it really really sucked dead donkey balls, but everything else, whole other story. As for the plot of Outcasts, its a vaguely told mixture of a space opera, a western, a murder mystery, political drama, and just enough of a hot welsh girl named Fleur welshing about to keep you from falling asleep each episode, ok well almost, you'll still nod off at some points. As for the story, its sort of hack and slashed together from various other sci fi series and films, humans out among the stars in a post earth world, living on a harsh planet that might have a lifeforce of its own and just might not want us living on it, clones that were banished to the outlands during a paranoia agent spreading rampant among a population, said clones become sort of like native americans, or any other people that are one with the land. the whole time they're trying to find supplies and waiting for more settlers, with harsh weather and political and social mysteries afoot. Oh and apparently, humans had been on the planet they're on before millions of years ago or something... honestly I stopped caring about this awhile ago...

Worst "One And Done" Series Of 2012

AKA "So Glad It Didn't Last Long"

The Fades

On paper, The Fades sounded like a great idea, the story of angels dealing with rogue ghosts here on earth using super powers and whatever, again, it sounded good ON PAPER, in creation and execution however, not so much, not so much indeed. You start out meeting Paul, an awkward depressed child who really only has one friend, and through a series of events, you discover that Paul, literally comes back from the dead, and is infact, an angel, though in this series angels are protrayed like Shinigami or Soul Reapers or a Redeemer of sorts, dealing with what they call "Fades", which are ghosts that have been on earth for long periods of time, simply because they don't know what their unfinished business is. Along Paul's journey, which he takes with his annoying best friend who talks in pop culture references, mostly star wars ones apparently, and his eventual girlfriend Jay, Paul discovers he's not alone with these powers, he eventually meets Neil, who explains that Paul, like him, is what is called an "angelic", and that its their job to deal with the fades. Neil is a horrible waste of life really, a scotish drunk who spends his time either forcing and manipulating others to do things his way, or if he's not doing that, he's beating up, pullling a gun on, or kidnapping and torturing those he calls his friends. Seriously, Neil is a prick. Anyway, the story parts that aren't about Neil's douchebaggery, are about how the Fades have discovered if they eat the flesh of z recently dead being, they once again are given flesh. Its a really complicated and really stupid story honestly, is so full of holes it sad, its almost like they decided telling the story of Neil's dickery was more important then the concept of the story, seriously it was shit. I was seriously expecting more a guy that wrote the bulk of such great shows like Skins, Shameless, Cast Offs, and both This Is England '86 and '88.

The Sophomore Flop

Smash

I know, alot of you right now are saying to yourselves "But BC, you love Glee, how can you hate the show thats basically Glee for the more adult viewers? Its just not possible!" well sadly, those people saying such things, either didn't watch the trainwreck that was the second season of Smash, or they just enjoy when something brilliant, becomes something utterly pointless, boring and just drifting by on its one time success. See, Smash, season 1, was excellent, it was brilliant and wonderful and it had only enough Angelica Houstin that you didn't spend time wondering what the hell happened to her between The Aadams Family movies and here, but season 2, when it wasn't trying to literally unwork everything done in season 1, or trying to force two new and utterly bland characters with their vague and confusing half assed musicial on you, all the show did was spin its wheels and have everyone cat fight. Seriously, this show was such a great, fresh, new idea for NBC, but now, they ruined it, as they do with most things that become hits for them, its truly a shame, because they really had the start of something here, but now we'll never know just how far they'd have gone with it, will we?

Ok well thats it for my best/worst of last year, sorry again for this one being so late, but, real life duties called and i couldn't put them aside, i've got a backlog of stuff to get put up soon, so expect more posts from me in the near future... so, until then, blessid be.

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BC

Best Television Of 2012

2012 In Review:

The Best And Worst

.... And Afew Things Inbetween

Part 3: Best Of Television

So because I am a completest at heart, and also a glutton for punishment, i decided to continue my review of last year's best and worst with the best and worst of Television, simply because, well, why not? 2012 was a pretty odd year over all really, alot of good, alot of bad, alot of WTF and alot of stuff that on paper shouldn't have worked but really did, and became very enjoyable. So lets have us some fun once again, and drive right into what was the best, the worst, and the WTF of last year in tv, just, remember, diving in isn't like diving into Scrooge McDuck's money bin, because believe it or not, diving into a several mile high bin of gold coins and moneys, is gonna be sold and painful to land on, it won't be like diving into a pool or something....

Anyway, with that said, lets get right to it... climb aboard the great space coaster, and away we go!

Best Television Series Of 2012

Fringe

Five years ago, the brilliant J.J Abrams and the writing staff behind Micheal Bay's Transformers films and the current Transformers series Transformers Prime, embarked on a journey, taking from the foundation built by shows like The X-Files and mixing the impossible of classic sci fi, and the excitement of cloak and dagger style mystery, basing it in Boston Massachusetts,  a hub of supernatural for hundreds of years, they called their series Fringe, and oh, how it was a thing of beauty, right up to its very sad end. Fringe started out as just a regular sci fi mystery series, but soon it evolved, it evolved into the story of Walter Bishop, a sort of Dr. Frankenstein who was framed for something he did not do and has spent the better part of 20 years in a mental ward south of Boston, he is released by Agent Olivia Dunham, who had to first track down Walter's estranged son Peter, because Walter could only be released into a family member's custody. Walter is released into a world where all of the super science, or "fringe science" he, like his father before him, had spent his whole life working on, has been sold off and weaponized to the highest bidder. Setting up shop in Walter's old lab at Harvard University the three of them, along with a FBI codebreaker named Astrid form a small group referred to as "Fringe Division" designed to counter and fix anything related to Walter's work thats gotten out into the world. From there the show would just go into mindblowing places, duel universes, time travel, so very many different ways that most sci fi shows only dream of. Sadly though Fringe ended its 5 year run this year after what could be the best 13 episode story arch in all of sci fi tv history, and for that, I have given Fringe my show of the year award for 2012.

Best Drama Of 2012

Banshee

I know alot of you out there are abit amazed that I am going with a rookie for best drama, but, as you know, when something is worthy, i like to give it the respect it deserves, even if thats not the popular opinion, I know most critics went with the easy choices like Downton Abby or Homeland or Breaking Bad, or anything of that ilk, but I've always thought outside the box, unless I was playing a Metal Gear Solid game, then i'm all about being inside the cardboard box of destiny, but thats a whole other matter. Anyway, though it was mostly overlooked by many, i happened to have loved the series Banshee. Part In Plain Sight, part Outrageous Fortune, part whatever that boring Kevin Costner movie where he kills that dude in a rowboat and takes his identity, Banshee is a smart, brilliant, dark, and delightfully twisted story set in a fictional town in Pennsylvania Amish country called Banshee, where our lead, an unnamed former thief comes to find his expartner and lover after 15 years in jail, so he can get his cut of their last big job. He finds her married with two children and having gone amish on him, as fate would have it, the new town sheriff is killed before he can make it to town, so our excon takes up his name and job as a means of not only being close to his partner, but to hide from the man they both ripped off years ago.  Seriously this is a great show, if you haven't seen it yet, you really should give it a look, but start from the start, otherwise you'll be confused.

Best Comedy Of 2012

Mrs. Brown's Boys

I actually had trouble originally coming up with a winner for this one, in a year when alot of comedies came and went and were forgotten as fast as they'd appeared, and when afew that just aren't funny seem to have proven staying power (I am looking at you The Mindy Project..), it seems that people only were caring for existing shows that made them laugh rather then looking for new places to give their gafaws and chuckles. And though the older shows seem to be staying pretty much as fun as they've been, I wanted something different, something unique, and after basically being beat over the head with a frying pan to try the irish sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys, I decided to give in and give a try. I've learned from this, not to wait so long when beaten over the skull with a pan to see a series, for you see, this show, which is basically part Tyler Perry as Media in all of those horrible movies everyone hates but he somehow makes money off of still, and part classic american sitcom Mama's Family, and set in a place thats living room looks alot like the season one set of The Cosby Show, is undoubtly one of the funniest things I've seen in recent years. What you'd think is a show just about a foul mouthed old irish women played by a man, is really a series about not only her, but her rather messed up children and friends, all of which at times get their lines in, but in the fashion of Mama's Family, its always Mrs. Brown that gets the killer ender lines. This series is one of those thing I wish we here in the states didn't have to seek out online to see, because its truly a comedic gem, and one worth sharing with the entire world. So if you know where to find this hilarious future cult classic, by all means give it a go, you'll love it.

Best Animated Series Of 2012

Ultimate Spiderman

Now i know alot of Spiderman purists hate this show, they've down right called it the worst spiderman cartoon ever made, worse then Spiderman Unlimited, which, if you've seen that steaming pile of 1990s, is really a massive insult. And though they're welcome to their opinions, lord knows I have mine, but, in a world where the spiderman comic book as spent the last few years just piling WTF ontop of WTF and adding even more WTF just so they don't run out of it. Seriously from Spiderman trading his marriage to Mary Jane and destroying 40 years of marvel history, just to bring Aunt May back to life AGAIN, all the way up to finding out recently that Doctor Octopus bodyswapped with Spiderman at some point when he found he was dying of cancer, and thus, Peter Parker died in Octavious' body, and his "ghost and memories" inspire Doc Ock to be the "superior spiderman" (seriously, that actually happened recently). Anyway, my point is, in a world where the comic book is all over the place, and arguably in its worst state sense the whole Clone Saga of the 1990s, that there is still something out there that gives you the true feel and joy that is Spiderman. This show, creating its own pocket universe where teenage Peter Parker is recruited into SHIELD by Nick Fury and not only given insane amounts of SHIELD tech to help him in his fight on crime, but he's put in charge of a group of orphaned teenage superheroes (Teenage versions of Nova, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and White Tiger), claiming that these things will "take him from the amazing spiderman to the ultimate spiderman". And though the show takes alot of liberties with characters and its take on classic Spiderman mythos, it at its core, is what Spiderman is all about, watching a young hero no different then most of those reading the comics, fighting super villains and though his home life is angsty, he still manages the funny and awesome that makes Spiderman who he is. Its part sitcom, part superhero adventure, and has a healthy dose of nostalga easter eggs as well (There are two hilarious spoofs of the opening to Spiderman and his Amazing Friends that will make you laugh outloud). All this, and much more are why you should give this show a look if you're a nerd friendly cartoon viewer... need more? well, look at the above picture of Spidey in a jetpack... there ya go.

Best Sci Fi Series Of 2012

The Almighty Johnsons

i wrote about this show recently, and got alot of good feedback from new viewers to the series, which is always good, it also works out pretty well that its one my favorite shows of the last few years, and is also one of the most unique and creative ideas in the last few years as well. Set in modern day New Zealand, The Almighty Johnsons tells the story of reincarnation, prophecy and love eternal, the short less complicated version is, it centers around the modern day reincarnations of norse gods. The original norse gods fled the viking lands in the 1850s and landed in new zealand, where they settled into normal lives and began to create families, as each god or goddess died, they were reborn again in the body of a child of a god and a goddess, though you don't know which god they are, until they turn 21 and gain your god name and some of your powers. Among the reborn gods, there is a belief that once Odin is reborn, and he finds his reborn wife Frigg, they will fall in love again, marry and once they do, all the gods and goddesses will be returned to their full powers and status as gods living in Asgard. The series starts as we meet Axel Johnson and his family on his 21st birthday, where its revealed that he is infact the rebirth of Odin, which puts him and his brothers on a hunt for "the frigg" in hopes of making the legend reality, along the way they encounter other gods both good and bad and inbetween, Maori gods, and christian godhunters who believe only their god can exist, and any others are an abomination. The series does a great job picking the right personalities for the right gods, Hel is a bat shit crazy goth girl, Loki is a slimy pile of shit lawyer, Thor is a completely insane goat farmer who spends his days pegging rabbits with his hammer from miles away, seriously its a great concept and a great cast, and though i might make it sound abit choppy, trust me, its a wonderful series and just a joy to watch, seriously if you wanna give it a look, please do so, you will enjoy it.

Best New Show Of 2012

Revolution

Now, I know long time reader Mojo is gonna give me alot of crap about this one, but, to that i always counterpoint with the fact his opinions don't count because he is reads DC Comics that aren't Batman related and somehow thinks Mark Harmon doesn't eat babies covered in barbecue sauce, but thats a matter for another time. Anyway, I just can't get enough of this show, maybe its because I'm a massive J.J Abrams fanboy, or I just love the fact post apocalyptic stories are finally getting some sci fi respect, and that they're making them look believable now, not like, set just in a bunker or underground city or in space or whatever, I mean if you've watched Revolution, you can clearly see the detail, Wrigley Field in Chicago, looks like Wrigley Field would look in the story's timeline, so does everything else! For those of you who haven't watched the program, here is the basic outline of the plot, with out afew key twists that will ruin the whole thing if i tell you.. 15 years ago, with out any warning, an EMP like wave swept across the United States, and they believe the entire world, knocking out everything that needs electricity to run, so cars, lights, computers, power plants, jets, helicopters, ect, basically everything that we know as common place. Flashforward 15 years, to where our story begins, in a world where we're settled into a mid-1800s at most lifestyle, plants have overgrown cities, all of that, but humanity has survived, and thrived, even if the US is now broken up into territories held by different militant groups, who control their lands and live on the edge of war with each other, well except California, everyone just leaves Governor Afleck and his crazies alone. The story starts in suburban Michigan where we meet Charlie, and her family, as officers from the ruling body of their area, The Monroe Republic, come looking for her father, claiming he is needed to help them with something, Charlie is out hunting at the time and comes home to find her father is shot and her brother has been kidnapped, thinking he can help them as well. Charlie then sets out with her stepmother Maggie Foster, and a family friend Aaron Pittman, go off to find Charlie's uncle Miles, a war hero who can help them get her brother back. By telling you anything after that would be dropping major spoilers, and I really don't wanna do that, the show is just so awesome, seriously, give it a try if you haven't already, its just awesome.

Best "One And Done" Series Of 2012

Last Resort

Now, long time readers will know what my term "One and Done" means, but for those of you that are new, or for people that don't retain memory all that well, let me explain this term, "one and done" is a term I came up with years ago in reference to the series Prison Break, where I stated "it had a great first season, it would just been amazing television if it was just left as that, one and done, it would have been amazing.", sense then, its become a term for shows that were canceled before they should have been, as well as a term for shows that though canceled after one year, told an amazingly good story in that one year, that works as a great stand alone series. Last Resort falls into the side of this with the shows that stand alone as a single, powerful, and downright epic story. Last Resort is a political thriller mystery that dares to tell a story that doesn't put the government of the united states of america in the greatest of lights, it tells the story of the nuclear submarine USS Colorado, a top of the line submarine that is testing out a top secret underwater cloaking system in the indian ocean off the coast of Pakistan, when they get a distress call to pick up some Navy Seals who are in need of a emergency pick up, The Colorado responds they are near by and will pick them up, once they've picked up and radioed they have the Seals onboard, they get a mysterious order sent through the old mostly forgotten cold war emergency back up station on Antarctica giving them an order to fire two of their nuclear missile load at Pakistan. The ship's captain, Marcus Chaplin believes this odd, and calls the pentagon for confirmation, believing sense he's friends with the secretary of defense, he should be able to confirm the order, simply so he doesn't fire for no reason, not wishing to cause an international incident. He is promptly ordered to fire the missiles without question, with threat of court-martial, he refuses to do so until he Secretary of Defense himself gives him the order,  in the mean time, another ship, the USS Illinois, actually fires two missiles into Pakistan, and then tries to sink The Colorado, which gets away and takes control of a small island with a NATO missile tracking station on it, by the name of Sainte Marina, where Chaplin broadcasts to the world that he, his troops, his ship, and its nuclear missiles, are alive and well, declairing they have taken control of the island and stating anyone that attempts to attack them, shall meet with their full force, and demanding they will only come home to the united states once their names have been cleared or they've been given the chance to put their case to the people in a civilian court of law. From there the series involves political and military take over attempts, rogue foreign agents, black ops teams, hostile governments looking to take the Colorado for themselves, and a local despot who believes himself a god when he knows all it will take is one order and he, and all he has repressed the island's people for, will be gone. Seriously check this one out once the series is released, and if you can, get the blu rays, because the scenery and the sub shots are just amazing in HD.

Show That Shouldn't Have Failed But Did

Terra Nova

Now when we first saw the previews of Terra Nova at ComiCon 2010, with the belief we were to get the series in January 2011, the world collectively shit a brick, this was one of the best ideas in television in a long time, its premiss, was so awesome we all wondered how we hadn't touched on it before. Set in the far flung future, where we've basically destroyed the earth, you need special air tanks to breath outside of your homes, and you can only have a limited amount of children under penalty of jail time and death of the child, the world is nothing more then a dead husk and humanity is running out of time. Scientists develop a means of what they believe is traveling backwards in time, a means they hope will save the planet somehow, but they discover, when they hear back from their rest probe, they not only traveled to the past, but to a different timeline, and from there, their plan start to send back people and in a sense, rebuild humanity using the untouched, unspoiled world of 85 million years in the past, but this time, get things right, and not destroy the planet, to make it all better, to give the world a free start, oh as long as they can deal with the dinosaurs. Yes, didn't i tell you that part? There are dinosaurs that roam wild all around them. Now i admit, the series started out great once it finally came to air, rave reviews, the nerds rejoiced, and we were all happy, we had everything we could need in a sci fi series; time travel, alternate realities, futuristic dead earth, the guy that played the general in Avatar, a chick that looked like former wrestler turned actress turned porn star Chyna but not being her, rebels, awesome transportation, and dinosaurs.. except as the series went on, we got less and less of alot of these things, by which i mean we got alot less dinosaurs, which is ofcourse what we were all watching for, the crazy violent angry dinosaurs we were promised by means of the pilot and the promo material. Sadly, the budget cutting of that nature is what killed the show, which is really sad, it was pretty good while it lasted.

Show I Thought Would Second Year Flop But Didn't

Once Upon A Time

I had abit of a hard time coming up with an honor to give this curious little ABC series, I wanted to give it an honor for not only cultivating an incredibly rabid fanbase, seriously "Oncers" make House Fans seem like jerks that spend all day on WebMD, oh wait, they are, anyway my point is the fanbase they've cultivated is insane hardcore, and thanks to that, and incredibly good writing, that both fits realistic and fairy tale logic, has proven they still have their magic in the second year, and with ratings at a massive high, they'll be easily sliding into a third and possibly more. I honestly must admit, I was worried about this series though, when I read that in its second year, not only where they using characters from fairy tales and folklore, but they wre even adding Disney characters into the series, I was cringing at the idea, but then I saw not only how they were doing this, but why, and I was very relieved, and very surprised that Disney would let anyone write Mulan and Sleeping Beauty as as either bisexual or lesbian. I guess Disney is loosening up in their old age eh? The other thing that saved this awesome little series about fairy tale characters brought to our reality by a curse, is the constant scene stealing by irish character actor Robert Carlyle as nightmare fuel Rumpelstiltskin and his real world alter ego, Mr. Gold, the rich pawn broker who owns most of the town the series of set in. I was so scared for this series last year, but I have to admit, it not only continued to climb after its amazing first year, but it hit the ground running in year two and kept going faster then a horse called Shadowfax ever could. (haha see what i did there? I'm so clever.....) Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, if you haven't seen this wonderful series yet, get right with that, sure its two years in, but those two seasons of catch up with fly by, for reals.

Well thats it for the best, next comes the worst, and then we're back to reviews and a commentary piece i was asked to write up.... So till next time... onto the next!!


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BC

The Almighty Johnsons

The Almighty Johnsons:

The Story Of Norse Gods

Friggin About In New Zealand

These days, everyone in television is trying to do some form of sci fi, oh sure most do the whole vampire/werewolf/zombie route thats so fashionable right now, but every now and then, every now and then a completely new and different idea comes around that shines like an idea so brilliant it just has to work, and more so it just has to work out so well you kind of envy the bastard who actually created it. One of such ideas is the new zealand television series The Almighty Johnsons, the story of norse gods reborn on earth and living among us regular human beings, living among us being reborn over and over in the body of those with the blood of a god with in them, until a prophecy that they all believe in, shall come to pass. 

The Almighty Johnsons tells the story of the Johnson family; Mike, Ty, Anders, Axl, four brothers who live in New Zealand where they, like many other families, keep a secret that is revealed to each of them as they turn 21 years of age, that secret is, they're all reborn norse gods. The story starts on the night before the 21st birthday of the youngest boy Axl, who is completely unaware of his family secret when we start, all he knows is, his brothers and his cousin Olaf are taking him into the woods on his 21st birthday to do some sort of "family tradition", though no one tells him what it is. After bringing him to the deepest part of the local woods, and standing inside a circle made of special stones, Axl is told to hold an old sword above his head and wait for what happens. After afew minutes a powerful lightening strike hits Axl, knocking him flat on his back, as well as knocking his cousin Olaf far away from the circle, Axl has no idea whats just happened to him and as his brothers look for whats happen to Olaf, they decide to tell him the family secret, that they are all the reborn forms of various norse gods, as they look for Olaf they each explain who they are and what their powers they can use are; Mike is the reborn form of Ullr, the god of games and the hunt, Mike can track anyone or anything as long as he can get its scent, and he can never lose a game where is in direct competition with a person or machine. Anders is Bragi; the god of poetry, who can use his words to get anyone to do anything that he wishes, no matter if they don't want to or not. Ty is Höðr; the god of all things cold and dark, his touch can freeze you he can also change the temperature, as well as freeze things. When Axl asks what god he is, and what he can do, they tell him they need to ask Olaf, because he is the family oracle, and is also their grandfather not their cousin, when asked how that is possible, they explain Olaf is Baldr, the god of rebirth and age, and that his power is he doesn't age. The boys find Olaf who is literally smoking in a hole in the ground from being tossed outside the circle, they ask him who Axl is, he simply looks at him and says "Odin" and then passes out. The boys freaking out at this, carry Olaf back to their cars and they all head back to Mike's house, to figure out what this means.

While at Mike's house, as they try and wake Olaf up, they explain more of what they are to Axl; that hundreds of years ago, the norse gods grew tired of the constant demands of humans asking of them and doing things in their name, and that they built a ship and sailed as far away from Asgard and the Norselands as possible, where they could be free to live and be happy, that place ended up being New Zealand, and though they didn't know why, they knew buy Olaf's reaction that Axl is very important, not only to them, but to the rest of their kind as well. Axl ofcourse is confused and doesn't believe any of this, and insists his brothers are messing with him and that its all a trick, even them using their powers were somehow a big trick they're playing on him for his 21st birthday. Later that evening during Axl's birthday party Olaf wakes up and they explain to him what he said, he then tells them of the prophecy surrounding whenever Odin is reborn on earth; he explains that its a rarity and that whenever he is, there is a chance for all of the gods to regain their powers and return to Asgard properly. That all the gods and goddesses that are connected to each other are drawn to each other, and will live out their destinies together, in Odin's case, once he finds his wife, the goddess Frigg, they will break the cycle and return the gods to their rightful place with their full powers and proper rights that go with them, but he also explained that the last time Odin was on earth, he was killed before he could find Frigg, and when he died, not only was his entire family wiped out, but thousands of people along with him, in an earthquake that was listed as New Zealand's worst ever. From this point, they decide, they have no real choice, they have to find Frigg and finish the prophecy.

The series from here follows them as they go about their "Frigg Hunt" as they call it, along the way they encounter hardships and trials and setbacks and false positives, they also encounter other gods and goddesses, who each have their own agendas and wants, some wishing to help in their search and some out to make sure it never happens for their own selfish wants. The series is two seasons in now, and with out going to far into detail (outside of the pilot which I've given the the plot too), it gets more complicated and interesting as it goes, the gods and goddesses become more and more entangled in each others lives and sides become blurred and you never really know who's on who's side, which makes it so much more interesting. What truly stands out though is that the gods and goddesses, they make sense in the real world, like it would make sense that Loki would be a high priced lawyer, or that Thor would be a bat shit crazy goat farmer who hates the life he is living on earth, knowing what he has waiting for him in Asgard, and that the sex related goddesses would be rather slutty, and the god of cold and darkness would work on refrigerator, and that the god of poetry could use his silver tongue to get any woman that he wants, it all makes perfect sense with out having to bend the concept of a real world vs. a sci fi world, and i think thats what gives it its edge, the whole sci fi but you don't know it kind of thing, as well as the fact the hunt for Frigg isn't the only focus, yes its always there and each episode involves it, but you aren't beaten over the head with it like you are with most shows about a quest of some kind, its always drilled into you by each character atleast 3 times an episode, but not here, its there, and you know its there, and it gets mentioned, but its not forced down your throat, which is really the best way to be i think.

So if you wanna try a show thats completely out of the ordinary, and gives you a great new look into the realm of sci fi, or if you're just a fan of mythology and would love to see it played out in a totally new and unique way, give The Almighty Johnson's a try, its really rather good.

here is the season one trailer....




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BC

SLiDE

SLiDE: 

"The key to happyness is, to do exactly what you want with out worrying what happens"
- Homer Simpson, Sage of the modern age.

At first look, SLiDE (yes, spelled that way) would seem to be just another of those "teenagers behaving badly" dramas, probably falling somewhere between Degrassi: The Next Generation and Skins, and though I can see how many would bring themselves to that idea, I seem to find something more too it, maybe its a secret love for shows of this nature, or maybe I just watched 10 Things I Hate About You and The Breakfast Club to much as a teenager, I don't really know. Either way, I find myself strangely addicted to this series and the inner workings of a group of friends that you really wouldn't think would be friends if not for how they all came together, which, unlike most shows of this nature, actually makes sense and could actually happen, after all, the clique that writes things into sports fields with fire together, stay together. Atleast thats how it happened for me and my friends in high school anyway.

All joking aside, SLiDE is the story of five unlikely friends; Ed Newman, Tammy Lane, Scarlett Carlyle, Eva Lee and Luke Gallagher, they were all sort of tossed together by the means of what happened on Ed's 17th birthday, a night that sort of became a local legend around their high school in Brisbane Australia, and creating a bond between the five of them, given how they all came together that night, as you would expect from that night on they became friends, all with their deep inner dynamic and tensions, as you would expect to be the bread and butter of a show like this. However unlike most shows that randomly toss cast members together for whatever reason, you can see from the start there are alot of things bubbling under the surface with all of them from the very beginning, which really makes me pretty happy really, I hate when a show like this doesn't have its plans already made out before hand and they just wing it, thats how you end up with shitty american teen dramas that no one but emokids want to watch... ok well emokids and women in their 40s that are alone and need something to chickwank too.

The promotional material says the show is ment to focus around Ed and his trying to get Scarlett, a rich girl who's just moved to the city and is the daughter of his boss, to fall in love with him, or atleast sleep with him, but i find thats rather far off the mark. Its more the story of a journey of 5 kids (dubbed "the Slide 5" in media) who honestly have no real idea who they are or what they want to be in life, and follows them as they attempt to discover who they all are inside while still being able to live the carefree life of a teenager. Ofcourse they deal with the normal things one faces as a teenager, though drinking and drugs are pretty casually done, they don't focus on them all that much, which is good, you actually see more of the after effects then the actual effects, except for when its key to the story of the character who is under the influence of either or both, and ofcourse, as there is with teenagers, insane amounts of sexual tension with in the cast, oddly though, there is none among the cast and any of the expanded cast, infact outside of parents, who are ment to either be cool, annoying, or assholes, whenever the cast are in a scene with one of the other kids they deal with in school, infact whenever you see any of them with Phillipa you have the feeling they just wanna punch her in the face, with out spoilering it, you find out why as the show goes on.

Its hard to actually write a real review of a show like this, its not like most shows of its nature where you deal with a larger secondary cast that appears and interacts with the mains and have little stories of their own, but with SLiDE you don't really have that, you have the five kids, their parents and siblings when needed, and minimal interaction outside of the group, atleast on camera, they imply they've all got friends, but you never really see them interact for more then afew lines at most with anyone thats not important to the story of that episode or the over all story in general. Now to many this might seem annoying cuz you're gonna get nothing but important story the whole way through, but infact, I rather like this about it. Because it makes you actually feel for the characters, lets you get in their heads, and not just see them as the images of various teenage archetypes, you don't just look at Eva and think "oh she's the misunderstood graffiti artist" but never see her work or understand her need for it, in this, there is actually a whole episode dedicated to understanding it, you don't know know that Tammy's all by the book and down to earth, you see why she is, and what happens when she lets loose and doesn't go by the letter to everything, and how Scarlett has does horrible things to get her father's attention because its the only way he really shows her any attention, and Luke has alot of issues at home that he keeps to himself and isn't really sure how to deal with real attraction instead of just sleeping with girls for the sake of having sex. Or how honestly, Ed would be attracted to anything female, even concrete. All these little things that make them unique and different, you feel happy when they are happy, and sad when they're sad, and when they get punched in the gut, you get punched in the gut, thats a sign of a great show, and more so great writing, because anyone can write a teen aimed drama series, but not everyone can make one that can draw in people over the age of 18 and aren't developmentally stunted in some form or another.

Now as I said before, its hard to review a show like this, and really, on the surface its ment to be the aussie version of the UK hit turned USA flop Skins, but as I said it goes so much farther, and alot funnier, i mean alot funnier, the insults and one liners traded between the cast and the hilariously stupid shit they get themselves into will actually have you laughing outloud in some spots. And I do feel like I'm phoning this in because i can't really mention much of the plot of the series, mostly because there really isn't much to it, its just the day to day lives of 5 teenagers in BrizVegas trying to live as much as they can, while under the surface everything else is bubbling, their fears, their loves, their desires, their needs, all of it, and also, that some of the show's most endearing moments happen when they all let go of the angst and worry of teendom and actually act like little children, there is a delightful scene in the pilot at the end where they're dancing in sprinklers after writing a message to the teacher in charge of their saturday detention in fire on their sports field thats just brilliant, and the scenes with them and Tammy's little brother Charlie in the second episode are just endearingly awesome. So if you are a fan of shows like Skins or those teenage dramas they have here in America, or you are looking for a new spin on the genre, then give SLiDE a chance.

Or if you're still curious, here is a promo from before the show aired


I should also note that its a pain in the ass to find imagery from this show, so if the images i posted, which were awesome high rez images off the official webpage and twitter page, are gone, sadly, they were all i could find..

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BC

What I'm Currently Watching 11/22/11

What I'm Currently Watching...

Ok so, its been over a year sense I've done this last, and I figured with all the new stuff on the air, I feel I need to just get around to doing this again, plus, its either this or watching Jerry Springer's gameshow Baggage on Gameshow Network at the moment, so really, it can't hurt to get a list out, plus its been forever sense I've done a list, as Mojo likes to point out. Anyway, enough rambling, here we go... Oh and I should point out, I'm listing stuff separately, current airing, on break and ended..

Currently Airing Programing:

Drama:

Sons of Anarchy (US)
Bones (US)
Packed To The Rafters (AU)
House (US)
Burn Notice (US)
Wild Boys (AU)
Hell On Wheels (US)
Boardwalk Empire (US)
The Slap (AU)
Pan Am (US)
Love/Hate (Ireland)
Downtown Abby (UK)
Top Boy (UK)


Comedy:

The Simpsons (US)
Glee (US)
Being Erica (CA)
Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia (US)
Family Guy (US)
The Cleveland Show (US)
American Dad (US)
Heart of Dixie (US)
Auckland Daze (NZ)
the New Girl (US)
Raising Hope (US)
Suburgatory (US)
Threesome (UK)
InSecurity (CA)
Housos (AU)
Rev (UK)
Outnumbered (UK)
Him and Her (UK)
Meet Your Neighbors (Ireland)
This is Jinsy (UK)


Sci Fi:

Sanctuary (US)
Fringe (US)
Saor Sinn ó Olc (Ireland)
Thundercats (US/JAP)
Misfits (UK)
Terra Nova (US)
Grimm (US)
Once Upon A Time (US)
the Walking Dead (US)
American Horror Story (US)
Young Justice (US)
Death Valley (US)
Lost Girl (CA)
Todd And The Book Of Pure Evil (CA)


Reality:

Ghost Hunters (US)
Pawn Stars (US)
The X-Factor (US ver.)
Kitchen Nightmares (US ver.)

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Shows On Break I'm Rewatching:

The Fades (UK)
Doctor Who (UK)
Torchwood (UK/US)
Underbelly (AU)
Underbelly NZ (NZ)
XIII (CA)
Haven (US)
Being Human (UK and US)
Bedlam (UK)
Fallen Skies (US)
Warehouse 13 (US)
Eureka (US)
Alphas (US)
Primeval (UK)
True Blood (US)
Beaver Falls (UK)
Slide (AU)
Raw (Ireland)
Skins (UK)
Justified (US)
Nothing Trivial (NZ)
This Is Not My Life (NZ)
The Yard (CA)
Awkward (US)
TwentySomething (AU)
Top Gear (UK and US)
The Almighty Johnsons (NZ)
Trivia (Ireland)
Weeds (US)
Wilfred (US)

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Ended Programing I'm Rewatching:

Afterlife (UK)
Trailer Park Boys (CA)
Reaper (US)
Burying Brian (NZ)
Boys From The Black Stuff (UK)
Land Of The Giants (UK)
The 4400 (US)
Demons (UK)
Kath and Kim (AU)
The Muppet Show (US/UK)
The Witcher (Poland)
Survivors [both 1977 and 2008] (UK)
The Champions (UK)
Honey West (US)
The Middleman (US)
Twin Peaks (US)
Sinchroncity (UK)
UFO (UK)
Hex (UK)
The Champions (UK)
Thunderbirds (UK)
Captain Scarlett And The Mysterons From Mars (UK)
Satisfaction (AU)
Outrageous Fortune (NZ)
The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour (CA)
Suburban Shootout (UK)
10 Things I Hate About You (US)
Rabbit Fall (CA)
Wilfred (AU)
Durham County (CA)
Huge (US)
Legend (Ireland)
Pulling Moves (Ireland)
The Alice (AU)
Secret Diary Of A Call Girl (UK)
Marchland (UK)

Top Gear (AU/RUS)

ok well I'm watching alot of older shows right now... this list could take awhile

Anyway, thats it for now, hope some of you have found some shows you didn't know i watched, or are curious about, so feel free to ask away...


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BC

Suburban Shootout

Suburban Shootout:

Its Like If The Godfather And Desperate Housewives

Had A Child, And That Child Took Alot Of Acid

Its always been assumed that every country in the world brings something different to comedy, its own distinct style and way of doing things; Americans have lowbrow cheap comedy down to a science, in Australia deadpan and sarcastic barbs are a way of life, Canada has a way of finding the outright hilarious in every day life, Japan and most of the Asian countries have wacky and absurd everywhere you go, The Latin countries have guys in bumblebee suits getting pies tossed in their faces while secretly pining for the love of men named Stu who can't let Disco go, and ofcourse the United Kingdom has the thinking man's comedy, the comedy thats played off as serious and the quick and dry wit thats as sharp as a sword made of 440 Ginsu steel. And its in the grand tradition of The United Kingdom's ability to make a comedy out of just about anything at all, no matter how insane of an idea, and make it seem like the greatest idea of all time, I give you a somewhat forgotten gem of british comedy, the hilariously dark Suburban Shootout.

On the surface, and by surface I mean the beginning of the first episode, Suburban Shootout seems like the story of a middle aged couple; Joyce and Jeremy Hazeldine, and later in season one, their son Ben who returns from mission work in Africa, who move from the busy fast paced insanity of downtown London to a small out of the way hamlet called Little Stempington where they settle into their new roles, Joyce as a housewife and Jeremy as the head of the local police force. But life in this small out of the way town where there seems to be no crime, no youthful unrest, nothing happens in Little Stempington, there is never so much as a speeding car in this little town, infact Jeremy is told by his secondary officer, that no one's had to use the police siren in over two years, and the closest thing to a police matter they've had to deal with was the accident that killed Jeremy's predecessor, and that was quickly discovered to be mechanical failure. But as you can guess, nothing is ever what it seems in small out of the way towns where nothing happens, however its not Jeremy that discovers this, his wife Joyce, who is, by no fault of her own, forced into discovering the secret of what keeps Little Stempington running so smoothly, the answer? As anyone would have guessed by now, two rival gangs of housewives, who are, for lack of a better explanation, in the middle of a very violent turf war. Yes, you read that correctly.

Joyce unintentionally gets tossed right in the middle of this war, by means of members of both groups visiting and attempting to befriend her, and is reluctantly forced into the middle of this, for lack of a better term, gang war, by a woman named Camilla Diamond, who tricks Joyce into getting her fingerprints on a detonator used to blow up a local wicker store, and thus using this to blackmail Joyce into working for her. As the show goes on we meet Barbra Du Prez and learn the story of how things came to be as they are in Little Stempington, how it all started afew years prior with Camilla Diamond and Barbra, and how they were the best of friends, and one day happened across burglar in Camilla's home, and instead of running scared or calling the police, they bravely took the man on together, accidentally killing him in the process, and how as they bury the body far outside of town, they make a vow to never allow the criminal element to grow and fester with in their little town ever again. Barbra also tells of how things game to be as they are now, after recruiting their friends into their small organization, eventually a rift formed among the group and Camilla and two others; Hilary Davenport and Gillian Gordon-Moore, split off and became the very criminal element that they had originally fought to keep out of their small town, the other group consisting of Barbra as well as two others; Pam Draper and Margret Littlefair, who still believe in the ideals Camilla and Barbra swore too uphold, while still battling the now seemingly massive criminal element controlled by Camilla.

As the series goes, you learn just how deep this whole gang war goes, and just how many people are involved, and it makes you start to wonder just how many small towns something like this could happen in, or if there are any that its happening in right now. Its abit of a mindfuck in that respect, but as far as mindfucks go, this one's actually pretty damn fun. As it goes on, you see that Barbra and her group, though admittedly claiming to be the good guys, are just as insane as Camilla and her group, at one point Barbra is seen planting land mines where a planned low income housing estate was set to be built, claiming "low income housing is how it starts..", implying that poor people who live in estates are some how the criminal element, and later on going about trying to rid the town of teenagers wearing hoodies because they're a symbol of criminal activity, things like that, the whole time you're left wondering if there really is a good and bad side to this whole thing, or if one side just just slightly less evil then the other, but like any good gangster film, thats what you're supposed to think.

The plot and characters are pretty well flushed out and believable able overall, and though you don't really get much of a look into the lives of anyone other then Camilla, Barbra and Joyce, you don't really find yourself lacking though, they use the concept of just enough to make you laugh, but not enough to over stay their welcome, which is what an extended cast should be, and its main cast work so well together and toss such incredibly sharp barbs at each other constantly that its hilarious, you could almost have a drinking game with the insults, which ofcourse to most is the meat of the show. So if you're interested in an offbeat, dark comedy thats probably the most brilliant all be it obscure series in recent years, then give it a try. Shame though I couldn't find the pilot for the HBO created american remake, but then, that might actually take away some of the magic you know? So give this a shot if you really are up for something completely out there and different, and alot more funny then you'd ever expect.


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BC

Good Bye Sarah Jane Smith

Saying Good Bye To A Sci Fi Legend:

Elisabeth Slader Of Doctor Who Fame

Passes Away Of Cancer at Age 63.

I've never hidden the fact that I grew up a fan of the british sci fi series Doctor Who, i've always been rather vocal about my fanship, my likes, my dislikes, all of that fun stuff. I can remember sitting on the floor of the living room on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching the reruns of the classic series on both PBS stations in the area, Boston's fabled WGBH channel 2 and New Hampshire's WENH (More commonly called NHPTV), both aired two episodes per day on the weekends, back to back, at different times, and always different ones, so I got a rather good amount of Who in my life growing up, which really isn't all that surprising, given how many people I know that claim my personality is an almost exact copy of The Doctor himself.

Anyway I'm writing about this because of some rather sad news that came down the news line today, the passing of Elisabeth Sladen, known to the world better as Sarah Jane Smith, one of the most beloved characters in the series, and the one to appear the most next to fan favorite Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), who, sadly, also passed away not long ago as well. Sarah Jane also was the first character to break off and expand the Who Universe, being the star of the failed spin off K-9 and Company, where she and K-9 would have went around their small town in the countryside of England solving mysteries, possibly with a van. She was also one of the few members of the cast of the original show to make it into the relaunched series in 2005, appearing in a handful of episodes as well as her own spin off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which this time around lasted four years before Elisabeth's death effectively canceled the program, how this will addressed, if at all, no one really is sure.

Though to say she'll be missed is an understatement as many who fans will tell you, most of us had our first exposure to Doctor Who during the three and a half years of Elisabeth's first run on the show, working with the two that most old fans argue over being the best to play the role of The Doctor, first working with John Pertwee and his successor, Tom Baker, the man most credit with taking Doctor Who from being a british sci fi series into the international cult series that its become, most people will tell you their first memories of Who involved Sarah Jane and K-9 to some degree, fortifying herself into Nerd Lore forever, where she shall forever stay. Because thats the joy of nerd lore, you're never forgotten.

So like many, I will be mourning the loss of one of the best loved sci fi characters of all time... Rest in peace Elisabeth, you've long sense earned it.

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BC

Our First Look At The US Remake Of Shameless

So bouncing about the net today, I happened across a link to Showtime's Youtube page, they normally use it for boring things like letting that woman that created Weeds talk about each episode, which would be fine if she didn't look like Julia Louie Dreyfus and Bruce Velanche's love child, but today, they decided to give us all a treat, the very first preview of the much debated american remake of the monster british hit series Shameless.

For those of you that don't know what Shameless is, shame on you for being under that rock you live under! And also shame on you for probably also watching Jay Leno. But anyway, Shameless is the story of the Galligar family, headed by Frank Gallagher, possibly one of the best written characters in British television, its the story of him, his children and the people around them as they live their lives in a fictional estate outside of Manchester (england, england, across the atlantic sea), in its seven or so series on the air, its evolved from a simple dark comedy about life for the lower class, into a wildly funny, sometimes dark and dramatic commentary on life, the large expanded cast are just as important and interesting as the main characters, its kind of like if The Simpsons was live action and weren't scared to take on dramatic situations to balance out the goofball and make it seem realistic. If you haven't seen it, you really should its so very good. Also, if you go through my archive and look through my "Telelvision Shows Everyone Should See" lists, its on there.

So I'm sure you can all understand that when you have a show of this caliber, acclaim, respect and cult status, when word comes around that its going to be remade for another country, instead of just importing it, there will be a giant uproar demanding it be kept as it should be, or not made at all. After all, fans are rabid beyond belief. Seriously, every fanbase is rabid beyond logic no matter what, don't believe me? Go find a fan forum for The Magic Roundabout and look how rabid they get... go on, I dare you. Or if you're to scared to do that, go piss off the 6 people that liked the British version of The Office and see what happens, and don't let them tell you "Hot Love On The Hot Love Highway" makes the show redeemable, thats commie talk.

Anyway, before I say anything else, here is the trailer...



Now, lets get the obvious out of the way, there is almost no way to compare it fairly to the original material, yes, its set in Chicago's Cabrini Green amidst all the urban renewal, which is as close as you're gonna get to a British estate here in the states, we don't have low rent homes, we have housing projects that are all apartments, so they've done the best that can there, its not a huge issue, but I know its one the fans will bitch about, simply because fans bitch about everything. Secondly, William H. Macy is probably the perfect choice for the american version of Frank, if you aren't aware of just how awesome William H. Macy is, go watch Pleasentville, and then go watch Mystery Men to punish yourself for not ever seeing Pleasentville and also for doubting how great an actor William H. Macy is. He'll do an incredible job as Frank, though I have to admit, I miss the original character's thick accent, with it being Chicago I was kind of hoping for either a thick Chicago accent or an Irish one given the city's large Irish population, but no problems really. The rest of the cast seems pretty well suited, I was kind of pissed off Ellen Paige passed on being Fiona, I felt she would have made a better one, but we shall see. I am abit leery as to why late on in the first series that horribly bland girl that plays the horribly bland Bella in the horribly offensive to the world Twilight films will be showing up, but I guess as long as the rest of the cast keeps their caliber of acting up, I won't really care all that much.

So on a whole, I'm alot less iffy on this version of the series, I'm optimistic, I'm not willing to deem it the next All In The Family or anything, but I'm feeling less sickly about it then I was before.

So, fans, thoughts?

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BC

Lost Girl

Lost Girl:

"Welcome to the top of the food chain doll..."

I remember not long ago reading about a low key project that Showcase up in Canada was working on, something that'd take the supernatural genre that seems to the all the rage on television that last few years, and turn it sideways and shake it like a british nanny shaking a new england infant. Something that'd branch out from the traditional vampires, zombies, werewolves, that are so prevalent these days in supernatural themed properties, it would branch out in new directions and new ideas ad be made of complete and utter win. And after alot of whispers and speculation, that much talked about series is here, and thanks to the wonders of the internet, I'm able to watch it with out waiting for some watered down edited to hell "basic cable friendly" or worse, an american remake. The how I'm speaking of is called "Lost Girl" and is the story of a lone succubus named Bo who has no idea what she is, or why she is, or why for the last 10 years when she discovered she had a tendency to wake up next to dead bodies, as she tries to stay out of the way of the two groups of supernatural beings that live and thrive in Toronto.

The story starts in a bar, where a beautiful young bartender is being hit on by a guy who is drinking alone at the bar, but has two drinks infront of him, she refuses his offer of the drink he's not drinking, and he quickly moves on to a young blonde girl that walks in after this happens. After seeing that he offers her the same drink, she soon realizes what this guy is trying to do, and after seeing the blonde leave rather spooked out, and the guy following her, the bartender realizes that this could be trouble, and realizes she can save this girl from what could be coming soon for her. In the elevator the guy keeps getting way to close to the girl that left the bar, who starts to feel as if she'd been drugged, the guy admits he "put something in it that'll make her more friendly", and before he can make a move on her, the elevator opens on the next floor and the bartender walks in, she checks on the girl and then explains that she knows what the guy was doing, she then kisses him, and by doing so, drains the life from his body, the drugged girl videophones her doing this, because well thats what young people do, they record everything. She watches the bartender drain this guy's life and literally leave him with a smile on his face, as she gets to the parking garage to leave, the drugged girl yells out to her, she then comes back and picks her up, intending to drop her off at her home, however she discovers the drugged girl is a pickpocket and that none of the wallets on her is hers, so the bartender takes her to her home to sleep off what the guy gave her.

the next morning when the girl wakes up, she starts to remember and freaks out, after the bartender calms her down, she introduces herself as Bo, and sarcastically comments she saved her from a rapist, the girl introduces herself as Kenzie and thanks her, then she starts to remember what happened, that she'd been drugged, and then says "so I didn't see you totally eat a dude's face off last night" and as she reaches into her pocket and views the video she took, she again freaks out, Bo realizing she didn't notice the video gets all mad, Kenzi asks what she is, Bo tells her she doesn't know, and the two end up having milkshakes to talk about what did and didn't happen, as a sort of payment for the deleting of the video Kenzi took. From there, the body of the rapist is discovered and this puts Bo on the radar of the local supernatural underground, who were until this point unaware that she was even alive, let alone he was in their city. A leader orders that Bo be brought in for a conversation, believing she is either a rogue creature or a new threat of some sort. As Bo and Kenzi leave the cafe they had their talk at, and Kenzi tries to convince Bo to use her powers in some superhero way, and that she could be her sidekick, Bo is kidnapped and taken to the head of the supernatural underground, where she is examined and once they understand she doesn't know what she is, or who any of those people are, its explained to her what she is, and that there are many other supernatural beings out in the city and around the world, refered to as "faye" and told there are an infinite number of different types out there, and they are devided into two clans, the light and the dark, and that one must declare which they are, and all this other underground politics stuff, I make it sound boring but its really not, the whole sequence is pretty interesting.

From there she's "tested" in combat against two other faye, one a giant lizard tongued super strong one, and whats called a "paineater" who attacks on a mental level by creating a world inside your mind where he uses trickery to get you to kill yourself for him. After Bo beats them both and is asked to declare what side she's on, she yells "either, I choose the humans, I just want a normal life.." and is brought back to where she was taken. The elders discuss her and decide to let her be as she is for now, for some reaason she was kept hidden from them, and they'd like to know why, the pilot ends with Bo and Kenzi walking off deciding what they're going to do with their new friendship and partnership.

The series, though its possible it could fall into the same pitfalls that plague all the other shows in the supernatural genre, the whole romancing the concept thing, like making vampires dark and sexy loners that only wish to find love and happiness, and that they own werewolves and all that other tired tripe that so often clogs up the supernatural genre, though I do understand given the nature of what Bo is, there is a good chance they will have some degree of that sort of stuff, I guess in this day and age its only natural. I like the idea that there are many different types of creatures out there, and that they're all different, that its not all vampires sticking with vampires and the like, thats so done with and over thanks to horrible shit like Twilight and the last underworld movie. I kind of like the fact that its two groups made up of all different types, that leads to more creativity and different situations, though it could actually end up becoming a plot device too, and I guess that couldn't be that bad in the long run as long as its done right. And well, its canadian cable television, there is a good chance it will be done right or not at all.

So the big question, is it worth watching? Well so far, from what I've seen one episode in, yes, very much so, its well written, well acted, extremely well cast, all the things I look for in a series, and you don't really see any hint that the actors don't believe in what they're saying, which means they picked the right people for the roles, often in supernatural/sci fi series you'll find that, when you listen to their words and how they deliver lines, it always takes me out of the show, but not here, and thats refreshing for me. So if you have a chance, definitely give Lost Girl a look, you just might like it.

Its not a trailer for the show, but here is a promo...




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BC