The Angels Take Manhattan - Initial Reactions

I just have to tell you right now that I'm crying. I just finished watching the episode and I'm in tears, I'm sniffling, and I'm now typing this. I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to be able to review "The Angels Take Manhattan" any time soon. I'm just too emotional at the moment. Can't wait till Christmas, though. Here, dear readers, are my initial reactions for Doctor Who, Season 7, Episode 5: "The Angels Take Manhattan."

Initial Reactions

• Wet statues, apparently.
• Dude, it's that guy!
• Mommy statue's an Angel...
• Yep, that's a lot of statues.
• Scary face, Mr. Angel.
• Yup, that's what I thought.
• Don't Blink, Mr. Garner.
• Dude, WTF? That thing's huge. And the statue of Liberty... fuck.
• Nice glasses, Amy.
• I fancy people in books, Rory.
• Nice thought, but horrible, Doctor.
• Scary cherub is scary. Why does it sound like a chipmunk?
• Amy's playing Pooh Sticks!
• That was kind of obvious.
• Of course she's Melody! Duh.
• Oooo.
• This is why Donna couldn't read the books in The Library.
• People working for the Angels, interesting.
• Just some chipmunk-sounding cherubs.
• He's gonna do it anyway.
• Since he's married now.
• Closer and closer...
• It's really very not good when he's angry.
• Oooh, Rory...
• Mmmm... fixed point nonsense again, methinks.
• lol, they're both angry at you now.
• He's already seen yours.
• Mommy Angel is watching you...
• You're fucked, dude.
• It's a trap.
• It's a very sad trap...
• Big ass scary's behind you.
• Don't you dare, Rory Williams, don't you dare!
• He's got a point, Amy.
• Tears, both me and Amy.
• No more New York stories, then.
• Of course, you have to look at the gravestone...
• More tears.
• Did she just call him a psychopath?
• Glasses for The Doctor.
• I'm all choked up.
• Fuck, that was heart-rending.

A Few More Things

1.  At least we know they were together.
2. And for all your people who didn't think Amy really loved Rory: You've officially been schooled.

Love ya, Jessie.

Elementary - Pilot - Review

Okay so... I was just going to leave you with my initial reactions for Elementary because I honestly thought I had nothing to really say about it other than my reactions. However, during my shower, I couldn't stop thinking about Elementary and the things I thought about it. So... here's a review. Spoiler Warning.

Elementary - "Pilot"

Let's start this off by giving you a little of my background with Sherlock Holmes. When I was in elementary school, my mother brought home some small, square, very abridged books for me to read. Some of them were Sherlock Holmes books. I know I read Hound of the Baskervilles and The Speckled Band, but I'm not sure if I read much else. I didn't really get into Holmes and I'm still not enamored enough to read the unabridged versions. Fast forward to years later and I saw Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. I loved it. Haven't gotten a chance to see the second one yet, but I will. Few years or months later, I watched Sherlock because I heard it was good and Steven Moffat was writing/producing the show. Loved that, too. Fast forward to tonight and Elementary... I very, very, very much disliked it. I'm not sure what exactly made me dislike Elementary, but a combination of things I'm about to discuss popped up when I thought about it.

Firstly, the music. OH GOD it was dreadful. There were times when it wasn't there and then suddenly LOUD STRING... blips... I'm not sure what to call those... but they were seriously jarring.

Secondly, Watson. I was as skeptical about a female Watson as I'm sure a lot of people were, but I had in mind to be open minded about it. Turns out, I didn't connect with her at all. She was essentially a stony face for Holmes to talk at. The only time she showed any personality was then he was pressuring her to agree with him about the strangling thing. Also, the fact that she apparently found something Holmes WOULD NOT HAVE OVERLOOKED BUT APPARENTLY DID FOR NO REASON at the end... seriously?

Thirdly, Holmes. Now, I've heard people compare Sherlock Holmes to The Doctor and I'm inclined to agree. Which means I'm really regretting that this thought even popped into my head but... I like my Sherlock Holmes to be sexless. Like, the entire thing with him having sex is just... no. And yes, the Downey Jr. version had a thing with Irene Adler, but... I dunno, they pulled it off right. Here, in Elementary, it came off... wrong. I was shocked at the hooker or whatever and accepted the explanation he gave for why. That was fine, I moved past it. And then... with the "Oh, your past in London had a woman involved" and "You can make connections with people you just choose not to" thing. No. Just, no. Stop it. Wrong. Sherlock Holmes is meant to be so into his work that he just doesn't notice or care about women around him and people besides that. This Holmes says he lies to Watson "in order to spare her feelings." Bull shit. My Holmes just rattles off his findings without thinking or caring about other people's comfort level. The only time he doesn't is when he's being manipulative, which he wasn't. I like my Holmes with a kind of obliviousness or not-caring about what other people think about him, thanks very much. I don't need this emotional Holmes at all.

Fourthly, the little things. At the end, with the baseball. Just... what? Why? No. The writing a book in his head about bees. Again, why? Yes, we get he's a super genius or whatever, but he doesn't need to show it off in flashes of... random. My uncle said he felt like he was watching "Monk with a British guy." I'm inclined to agree, except that Monk actually had more personality than this Holmes did.

So... that's what I thought of Elementary with some analysis. Hope I didn't come off as too rant-y there. I will not be watching Elementary again if I can help it.

Love ya, Jessie.

Elementary - Initial Reactions

So, I've just watched the premiere of Elementary and... here are my reactions:

Elementary Initial Reactions

• So not sure this is working in New York.
• TVs? Really?
• Uhm... okay...
• He has sex? Seriously? What?
• Cumberbatch is a better Holmes than this guy.
• The entire Holmes & Watson meeting thing was done better in Sherlock. And yes, I will be comparing them, it's inevitable.
• Really not engaging with this Holmes.
• I dislike this music.
• Ew, drippy stuff...
• Heart to hearts are not a good Holmes thing... I don't like it.
• Emotional Watson is emotional.
• I agree with Watson. This Holmes is full of it.
• That's a big ring box.
• Why the hell would Holmes "spare someone's feelings"?
• Lying, lying, liar. Manipulation, more like. Or should be. If it's not...
• Now that... seriously? Holmes isn't supposed to react so emotionally. What. The. Hell.
• I'm seriously regretting watching Elementary at this point.
• Patrick Jane from The Mentalist is more Holmes-y than this guy. - comment inspired by a commercial
• He's thinking too much about others.
• Oh yes, let's set Holmes up with a past involving a woman, that's such a good plan. - sarcasm
• Really, really don't like this music. It's horrible and jarring.
• WASTON figured it out? Really? Really?
• Yeah... no on the baseball. Just... no.
• Overall... no. Don't think I'll be watching this again.

The Power of Three - Initial Reactions

Okay. So. Today.

Today I had a nice time playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean. Hours playing it. And then I went downtown with my aunt and cousins. We managed to snag Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 on DVD at the library. We had frozen yogurt at this place called Green Leaf. Best frozen yogurt I've ever had. I had one called Ice Cream Cake that was based off the Oreo 100th Birthday Oreo filling. It tasted EXACTLY like those cookies.

Next we looked at towels at Dillards and then had dinner at Chili's. I then read to my cousins and sent them to bed before watching Doctor Who: "The Power of Three." Which means, dear readers, you are about to get my initial reactions. There will be spoilers... I think. I haven't read them since I wrote them so... be aware you shouldn't read the next section unless you've watched "The Power of Three."

"The Power of Three" Initial Reactions

• Let's just toss stuff!
• Interesting teleporting little box...
• Kind of like the Escher-ness of the title font this week.
• Why are you sitting on a play set, Doctor?
• I love Rory's dad.
• Amy writes! Awesome.
• Why to people never just knock?
• Ah yes, it has to be a marketing thing. What else would it be?
• Nice mug, Rory.
• Oh God, this song again! It needs to go away. I don't like it.
• It's the gas mask kids all over again!
• Period dress! Amy looks gorgeous.
• Zygons!
• Amy married Henry VIII?
• Doctor playing Wii. My life is complete.
• That's a gun.
• Creepy little girl again...
• lol, Chicken Dance cube!
• She's the Brig's daughter! Awesome! I like her.
• Distractable Brian Williams.
• Nanobots? Like the last time there was nothing in. You know, like with Jack and the Chula warship.
• And I was right... except not...
• Yup, roll eyes, he's being ridiculous again. That's such a Donna thing to do.
• What's with aliens and one third?
• Oh, Doctor, I love you.
• Palaptine?
• Judgement day is coming by little black boxes. I'm okay with that.
• An encouraging parent for once!

Housekeeping

I am not sure when I'll actually be reviewing this episode, if at all the way my brain's been working... If I don't get around to it, this post is going to be linked to on the "Reviewed" page up there in the header.

That's it from me for today.

Love ya, Jessie.

Sunday Adventure

So, it's Sunday, which usually means you get at least my initial reactions to the newest Doctor Who episode. Not so this week (or last week)! Today you get a little summary of what I did today.

Today, my aunt and I hung out doing different stuff on our laptops while listening/watching really boring stuff on local, non-cable TV. We headed to the Iowa City Public Library (my favorite place ever) and checked out Cabin in the Woods (review soon, hopefully). And then we went and got our nails done. I got this really pretty dark Robin's Egg blue color... it's blue-green really.

After getting out of the nail place, we went to pick up my cousins from their swimming lesson. After that, grocery shopping! And then home for some R&R.

For dinner, we had some yummy steak my uncle made and chocolate fondue for dessert. And now I'm blogging.

Sorry for the very short length on this one, but I honestly haven't done much of what I normally do so... here you go. ^_^

Love ya, Jessie.

Raiding Netflix

Yesterday, I spent time in Downtown Iowa City with my cousins. My camera decided it didn't like me and so I had to trash a good chunk of my pictures, which pissed me off when I got to uploading them to my computer. The majority of my day, however, was spent watching Netflix. Beware spoilers for season 3 of The Vampire Diaries.

The Vampire Diaries Season 3

     I'd gotten into The Vampire Diaries in the middle of season 2, however I didn't really get a chance to watch due to scheduling and whatnot. It was understandably exciting for me to find the first two seasons sitting on Netflix. I watched those, was caught up by the time season three rolled around, but I missed a week and never caught up. This week, however, Netflix finally put season three up.

     Anyway... I really enjoyed the second half of season 3. I did, however, keep getting annoying with Klaus being around. I found him ridiculously annoying and messed up. His issues are even worse than the problems I have with vampire politics. I found I was quite attached to Alaric, his death made me cry. I did not like how they brought him back, though. That was just... wrong on so many levels. The witches who stood for "good" apparently aren't as black and white as they want to believe...
     The plans at the end of the season were too many all at once. It was hard to keep track of who was doing what and why. I'm glad Elena wasn't a Bella-alike but disliked that everyone apart from Stefan seemed to think she needed to be treated like glass. It's obvious the girl wants to stay and help, let her do it, it'll turn out better.
     Anyway... if you're not watching The Vampire Diaries or are thinking about watching, I strongly encourage you to do so. Don't worry about not reading the books. In fact, avoid them like the plague. The TV show and the books have next to nothing in common and the books are so poorly written I could not get through the first one.

Ringer

     Ringer, for those who don't know, was a new show last season starring Buffy: The Vampire Slayer herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. She plays twins who... have drama in their own lives and, because of circumstances in the show, each others. I'm going to leave it at that because the story is just too complicated to go into or follow unless you're watching the show. Although I can't really talk about it, Ringer is fantastic. I'm not normally into Ringer-style shows, but this one has me hooked. The characters are well written, well fleshed-out, and well-acted. I'm extremely happy to have Sarah Michelle Gellar back on the small screen, she's awesome as both Bridget and Siobhan.

Eerie, Indiana

     I... didn't like it. I only watched through half of the first episode, but... Eerie, Indiana is so camp it's ridiculous. I'd originally been telling myself to at least watch through the episode, thinking it would maybe get better... It didn't. That said, I think I might have liked this show had I seen it when I was younger. Which is good, because Eerie, Indiana was kids programming. Now that I've seen the likes of Buffy, Angel, Warehouse 13, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, etc. ... I just couldn't get into it.

All links in the post lead to Wikipedia pages. That's it from me for today.

Love ya, Jessie.

Belated

I'm back from my semi-hiatus!

What Caused the Semi-Hiatus

• Trip from Houston to Iowa
• Total exhaustion
• Lack of motivation
• Not watching "A Town Called Mercy" until Monday
• Having my brain hijacked by vampires

Today's Topic: The Trip

     So, as you've probably guessed by the lack of "Trip from Iowa to Houston" in the list up there, I'm still in Iowa. I will be in Iowa for two weeks, most of this week taken up by babysitting my cousins. I probably won't be doing many interesting things for at least this week, but perhaps I'll find an interesting movie on Netflix to review... I don't have access to SyFy for these next two weeks, so I won't get around to watching or reviewing Warehouse 13 or Alphas until I get back to Houston -- unless I decide to go back and review old episodes... which I might, I don't know yet. That said, I'll be getting on to describing my actual trip.

     I pretty much stayed up all night Friday night because by the time I was done packing, there didn't seem much point in sleeping when I had to get to the airport by 6 AM. I stopped at Starbucks on my way to the gate and ordered an Iced Green Tea Latte... what they gave me was an Iced Green Tea. Apparently I didn't say "latte" loud enough or something. Whatever, I didn't feel like dealing with it and the tea was good so... yeah... I fell asleep on the two hour trip to Chicago, where I had a layover for an hour.

     The plane to Moline was there on time, but had mechanial issues. We got to walk from the C-terminal to the B-terminal... and then we found out we got told before the crew did so we had to wait for them. I totally could have taken my time and took some pictures along the way. There's a dinosaur skeleton in the B-terminal and some awesome looking lights on the tunnel ceiling I would have loved to take pictures of...

     Anyway, we got to Moline a little late and I was greeted by my aunt and "Cousin 1." We then hopped in the car and went to a Toys R Us/Babies R Us to print out my little sister's baby registry... and my cousin and I gaped at all the My Little Pony toys (I'm proud of myself for not getting any). Last stop: my aunt's house.

     My aunt had a party for a friend going on that night, which I spent drawing, icing my ankle, and watching random bits of TV. So... total exhaustion.

Housekeeping

If you would like to see the few pictures I took on my way up to Iowa, you can find them on Facebook, which I'm sticking in the header right after I post this... Also, posts this week and next are most likely going to be sporadic, so be prepared for that.

That's it from me today, I think.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Perils of Cats

Those of you who either follow this blog or happened to read yesterday's post will know that I've had a bit of a cat problem in the last two days. Well, the problem continues to be a problem because I have no idea how to clean a suitcase and I need to use it tomorrow. My suitcase still smells like cat piss.

I've been spraying the offending item down with Febreeze (the pet strength and extra strength) every few hours, letting it dry inbetween. I would use Baking Soda, but we've managed to run out of it. One of my little sisters (who owns said cat) told me baby-wipes wouldn't work to clean out the suitcase. I currently planning on wrapping everything I'm packing in plastic bags. Hopefully, that will help keep them from smelling... I doubt it, though.

So... essentially what you should take away from this blog post is this: Keep your suitcases somewhere the cat can't pee on/in them.

And yes, this is going to be an extremely short post, but... better this than no post at all or something that goes in circles.

Love ya, Jessie.

A Rant About Amy Pond

So... I was going to pack for my trip today; but as soon as I opened my suitcase, the smell of cat urine assaulted my face. Turns out, my sister's cat had decided to pee in it while I wasn't using it. Here's me, incredibly pissed off about that. I figured telling you guys about it would be a nice way to vent since my sister is at the movies. I have to wait to pack until the Febreeze dries and gets rid of cat smell...

Also, since I'm not doing anything else at the moment, I may as well rant a little about something I posted about on my other blog a while ago: Older Who Fans vs. Younger Who Fans. As I'm not sure I've moved that post here or just deleted it, I'll give you an overview:

• Whovian - Someone who is a fan of Doctor Who.
• Older Whovian - Someone who grew up watching the show between when it aired in 1963 and 1980. They also watch the new incarnation of the show and often start podcasts about it.
• Younger Whovian - Someone who just started watching Doctor Who between 2005 and the present. May or may not have an idea Doctor Who started in 1963 and may or may not have watched any of the older incarnation of the show.

Older Whovians, I've found, NITPICK the show to DEATH. They will sometimes come off sounding like they hate the show because of their nitpicking and then say things like "Well, I still love Doctor Who, else I wouldn't be watching it or podcasting about it." They've also been known to talk about fans who essentially sunk the show in 1980-something by NITPICKING and coming off like they hated it. Okay, granted, I enjoy listening to them talk about Doctor Who and sometimes agree with them, but... sometimes they just piss me off.

Take today, for instance. I was happily listening to The Doctor Who Podcast where James and Leeson were talking about "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship." James, first of all, came off sounding like he didn't really enjoy the episode and said differently after they'd got done talking about it. And secondly, James said something that a) made my jaw drop and b) I don't agree with AT ALL. He said that Amy Pond (current Companion to the Doctor) hasn't been portrayed as all that bright. SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY? No, no, no, I did NOT just hear that. Cue jaw dropping and staring over at my iPod with an open mouth.

Now, Amy is one of those Companions who is a lot self-centered. I get that. She's also quite polarizing, I've found. Either you like her, or you don't. I get that, too. However, she's never been portrayed as being dumb, stupid, or... anything else like that. She's a strong, confident, capable, SMART, somewhat self-centered woman. I've never gotten the impression that she wasn't supposed to be smart. Amy was the one who stopped The Doctor killing a Space Whale because she figured out what was up with it. Amy survived to save herself in "The Girl Who Waited." Amy saved The Doctor in "The Big Bang" by remembering him. Amy paid attention to what The Doctor does and replicated that in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship." Amy is plenty SMART.

*Seething and Heavy breathing and calming down* Okay, rant over. I was just... shocked. I've never been more shocked at something a Doctor Who podcaster has said... Frankly, I'm disappointed... and that's all I have to say on the subject.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to drop me a comment either below or on Twitter.

Love ya, Jessie.

A Bunch of Reviews

(WARNING: This Post Contains Spoilers for Warehouse 13 and Alphas)

Hello there, my darling readers! I'm very, very sorry about not blogging last night. I was just soooo exhausted by the time I got time to actually blog, it just wasn't happening.

I spent almost all day yesterday hanging out with my best friend, H-chan, watching stuff. We watched El Cazador de la Bruja and Once Upon a Time. We've always watched random Anime and I made it my mission to hook H-chan on Once Upon a Time. I succeeded.

El Cazador de la Bruja

El Cazador is a pretty awesome Anime and a lot of fun to watch with a friend as there's lots to make fun of. The main characters are Nadie the Bounty Hunter and Ellis the Bounty. It's not immediately clear as to what's up with Ellis and why there are people spying on the pair, but it's slowly revealed and explained. The plot is essentially: There's somewhere Ellis needs to go and Nadie has promised to take care of her so Nadie takes her there. Along the way, there are some recurring characters who are both funny and creepy; most notably L.A. He's so, so creepy and he's obsessed with Ellis. We haven't finished the series yet, but I can't wait to find out what exactly is going on and what Ellis is being drawn to. I highly recommend El Cazador de la Bruja to anyone who's a fan of Noir, Madlax, and .hack//SIGN.

Once Upon a Time

Watching Once Upon a Time with H-chan is actually my second time watching through the series and it makes watching a bit... interesting, as knowing what happens skews the way you watch stuff. I really, really love this series and I can't wait till the second season starts. The plotting is just the right amount of intricate. The costumes are gorgeous. And I love the retelling of "classic" fairy tales and other such stories. The elements of the story come together in a way that ensnares the mind and makes you just want more. If you've always had a bit of a problem with the whole "Happily Ever After" ending and bland characters of Disney movies, I recommend you give Once Upon a Time a watch. The stories are fleshed out a bit more and the characters actually have personality. As I'm writing this, the second season is coming up in just a couple of weeks and I'm adding it to the list of shows I'll review and react to.

Warehouse 13: "Endless Wonder"

I loved this episode.  Just flat-out loved it. I wasn't too keen on Deb for most of the episode, but her turn-around at the end made me like her a little. Brother Adrian is turning out to be much more creepy that I thought he was going to be. I really don't like that someone who's apparently working for good is quite willing to kill innocent people just to prove a point. I wish Artie would just tell him what went down and maybe he'd understand... frankly, I think he deserves the "grave danger" he told Artie about at the end of last season. Claudia and Steve were wonderful, as always. I was stared at my TV for an entire commercial when I thought they'd been killed. I don't know why I thought they'd actually die, but... ya know... Steve already did. I really wanted to slap Pete for half the episode. Like, seriously, dude, keep it in your pants! Myka was brilliant, as always. Didn't have much to do this episode that wasn't completely normal so... yeah. I'm also extremely glad that the Warehouse was not revealed to the senator and business guy. I've never liked the mixing of business/government people and the people who actually know what they're doing. It always ends badly for someone. I gasped and grinned and did a little chair dance when HG appear at the end of the episode. She totally made my day.

Alphas: "Gods and Monsters"

Mmm... not too totally sure about this episode... I understand that Jason was lonely and all, but he really didn't need to do a flip-flop on his decision. Like, the SWAT guys really weren't that creepy and they just stood there so... meh. I was very glad to see Kat back. She's quickly become one of my favorite characters. Stanton Parish... he's like that one guy from Heroes mixed with that other guy from Heroes... the second and third season "baddies." Unaging, manipulative, and supremacist-y pretty much sums up Parish. I don't like him and I don't like how he decided to just control Jason all of a sudden. Yes, the kid's power is valuable, but you're really willing to let people die because you don't trust your allies? Seriously? Yeah... two days later and I'm still not entirely sure where I stand with this one...

Housekeeping

Look, I can do short and spoiler-free reviews! Or at least I can try. This is essentially what I was planning for last night, but didn't get around to. Links to pertinent Wikipedia articles appear where, well, pertinent. Hoping to get something a bit less review like up tomorrow, but I'm not making any garantees.

I'd love to hear what you think about the shows & episodes so don't forget to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter. Link in the sidebar.

Love ya, Jessie.

Completely Initial Reactions

Anyone else annoyed that Grimm's not on tonight? I'm very sad about it. People keep messing with my schedules!

Anyway... I have for you some initial reactions, otherwise known as: My Twitter is hooked up to my Facebook and people get annoyed when I post spoilers so I don't live-tweet, but I live-type. So here are my initial reactions to tonight's Alphas and Warehouse 13.

Gods and Monsters - Alphas

• Yay for high school dances…
• The boyfriend is a douchebag. Typical.
• Obvious mind control is obvious. Creepy mind control is creepy.
• I really, really like Kat.
• He’s kinda like Tag from the New Mutants comics, with added mind control.
• Even Dr. Rosen in creeped out
• Well hello, Parish.
• Why you gotta start threatening people? Threats made people uncomfy.
• Nooooo, it’s just the one person who’s gonna die.
• Creepy staring is creepy.
• Good boy, you’re totally wrong and now you gotta deal with it. Except now you’re being stupid.
• Hicks saves the day again…
• They are gonna follow that van FOREVER.
• Lol, Kat.
• Distraction, distraction. Very classic.
• Didn’t expect the stabbing, though.
• Nope, never seen that before. – Sarcastic Tone
• His mind is the high school gym... interesting.
• Mind meld!
• Parish jumped out a window…
• When did they get to be okay? I feel like I missed something.
• That would have been a better reveal if they hadn’t shown us she was spying.

Endless Wonder - Warehouse 13

• Pete would knock over everything.
• That just sounded painful.
• Claudia and Steve are amusing and make me giggle.
• Don’t give it back to him, idiot.
• What is up with Myka’s top?
• So, Artie goes from being slightly afraid of Claudia to being really worried about her. Hmmm…
• And of course he slept with her.
• That’s not investigating, Pete. That’s being a ridiculous guy.
• Could you sound anymore announcer-y, Pete?
• I really don’t like this woman…
• No, Pete, it WAS the worst one night stand ever.
• Please let him me way-layed by someone. Companies getting involved in this stuff is just stupid.
• That effect is awesome.
• Pete’s in trouble.
• You’re so awkward, Pete.
• There’s a bomb… so not good.
• Ooooh shit. Bad commercial break! Bad!
• Wow, seriously? That’s ridiculous.
• Maybe she’s not too bad…
• HG!

Love ya, Jessie.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - Review

You ever have those nights where you lay down to sleep but your brain just will not shut up? Yeah... that was pretty much how I was last night. I decided, instead of continuing to try and sleep, I'd write you a list of what my brain was up to. (Wonderful plan, I know.)

• Call Me Maybe stuck in my head
• Oswin says "Remember" at the end of Asylum of the Daleks, not "Remember Me."
• Maybe I should go get my iPod and listen to a Podcast.
• I'm too lazy to get my ass out of bed.
• The Doctor Lies. And there was lots of lying in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
• Did Teddy actually manage to kill Penny?

Yeah... that was my head last night. However right now, I'd like to give you my initial reactions and review of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship! THERE ARE SPOILERS.

Initial Reactions

• He’s just getting into all sorts of trouble with “You’ve just saved my life” – women
• So… does Nefertiti count as a Companion now?
• Let’s collect people to hang out with… again.
• Let’s kidnap another parent!
• Doctor, you’re ridiculous…
• Rory left to explain again…
• “Never Really Had A Gang Before. It’s New.” – Doctor BS
• Still don’t like the opening… The rock-like font is nice, though.
• Yes, a knife is going to hurt an Ankylosaur... which managed to NOT hit the TARDIS.
• And he WOULD have a Christmas List.
• Nefertiti is NOT impressed.
• Liar, liar, Amy Pond.
• Like they killed the teleport immediately.
• Robots!
• Silurians!!!!!! That was unexpected…
• Robots with personality…
• Dawww… the Doctor’s so cute with the Triceratops. ^_^ Poor Rory’s Dad…
• He’s not that kind of Doctor… geez people, get with it! Get Rory in there, he’s a nurse.
• The Triceratops fetches better than my dog.
• Poor Rory, getting kissed.
• And this is the part where he’s brilliant…
• Rory and Bryan, awesomeness.
• Those tranqs don’t work very well…
• I would definitely classify that one as a murder, Doctor.

 Review

     Hmm... where to start, where to start... Bryan Williams. How cute is he? For someone who was kidnapped by the Doctor, I think he coped well. Shock at sometimes, acceptance of others, possibly ignoring uncomfortable stuff, Wilf-like glee at piloting a spaceship... He amused me and made me forget he was played by the guy who played Arthur Weasley.

    Next, random crowded TARDIS/TARDIS crew! Quite liked the sexist Game Hunter and how "Neffi" handled herself. Amy was back to being brilliant Companion, especially when on her own with Nefertiti and Hunter-Guy. Rory was absolutely the right mix between bad-ass and bumbling. He helped sell me on the Williams-family thing. The robots amused me a little. They were like snarky Marvin the Paranoid Androids... almost. And... the Bounty Hunter... Another actor from the Harry Potter franchise, I was predisposed to hate him because he played Filch. However, he was just kind of... meh. Glad he's dead, hope we don't meet him again.

     Speaking of which, The Doctor... TOTALLY MURDERED SOMEONE! Like, that was deliberate and on-screen "I'm just gonna let you die now. Bye." Seriously? Seriously? Mmm... yeah, I see how you are, Doctor, and I'm not sure I like it. Still love you, though.

     I thought the special effects were awesome. The dinosaurs were especially brilliant. I was sucking in breath when the Raptors showed up in the end. Altogether, awesome episode. I was incredibly happy and excited at the end although I'm not sure how much I buy Nefertiti going off with Mr. Game Hunter...

That's it from me for today. Love ya, Jessie.

Today's ACTUAL Blog Post

So... I've re-done the website/blog and moved blog posts from the old website to here... I'm sticking with this website now. It's not as awesome as I would like, but it's awesome enough, if that makes any sense... Anyway... today's blog post will be a couple of reviews: The Gargoyles section of Adrift in a Room of Mirrors and Super 8.

Adrift in a Room of Mirrors: Mercenary Motives (Gargoyles) - Princess Alexandria

     I honestly don't know who I spend more time giggling at: Christy of Demona. I also honestly can't express my delight that Christy had not only retained her power, but also is able to shift into a Gargoyle form with them. It reminds me of Raven from 500 Miles and some random picture of Mystique I saw once from the comics. I'm very glad Christy's shape-shifting powers are being put to good use as well, especially if Demona has anything to say about it. I also never realized how much I dislike Goliath. He's going right next to Cyclops on my "domineering and stupid leaders I want to just die" list. (No, you can't find that on the "Lists" page.) I'm really, really enjoying where the Gargoyle's storyline is going and I can't wait 'til the next installment. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Super 8

     First off, I loved this movie. The characters were well-developed, the settings were believable, and the story was captivating. However, this is another one of those movies that a) makes me hate the military and b) makes me worry about the day we do encounter an intelligent alien race.

     The military in Super 8 did that thing Hollywood Military is wont to do when encountering aliens: lock it up and study its technology. Seriously, guys? This is not the right thing to do. Ever. Just because you don't understand it and it's not human, strictly speaking, doesn't give you the right to lock it up and torture it. And once you've figured out a way to communicate, don't ignore and get rid of the guy who's figured it out.

     It's actions like this that make me really concerned about the human race in general. One of the things that's beamed out into space is movies. Aliens, assuming they exist, aren't necessarily going to understand that it's fiction. They're going to see the way our fictional counterparts treat things they don't understand (and let's face it, the way we tend to treat things we don't understand) and they're going to hate us before they even meet us. Just, ya know, needed to get that out. I know it's fiction and all but... this stuff has to be coming from somewhere, even if it's subconscious, because it's used over and over in pretty much every medium known to man.

     Rants over and despite the anger factor, I really did enjoy Super 8. The character interactions were very true to life, I thought. The kids weren't annoying or bad the way child actors can be sometimes. Elle Fanning in particular was amazing. I highly recommend you go rent, buy, watch on Netflix, whatever, Super 8. You won't regret it.

Housekeeping

As usual, links to fanfictions, author pages, and wikipedia pages are in the section headings. I think I've finally figured out how to make the headings look like they make sense with the site... Don't forget to go check out the rest of the new site. 

Love ya, Jessie.

Werewolves Abound - repost

Originally Posted: October 8, 2011

Today... I pretty much wanted to die. I say this because my head feels like it's going to explode. And most of the pressure is on the bridge of my nose -- exactly where my glasses sit. Yay. But anyway... werewolves.

I watched An American Werewolf In London with my mom today. It was... interesting. Here are my initial reactions:

• The preppy dead couple were creepy. Not because they were covered in blood, but because they were so... happy about their deadness. It was weird.
• I'm totally more of a vampire person.
• The end was funny. Let's show the body of the dead guy and then cut to black with a peppy song. Much better than some ending where the nurse can't get over what happened.
• Was there an actual point to the murderous mutant commandoes from David's dream?

So yeah... I was kinda bored watching the movie and I'm glad I'm sick because I wouldn't have sat through this classic if I had been able to hold my head up sufficiently.

Because this movie had a fairly well realized werewolf for the time, I thought I'd list some of my favorites:

• The Twilight Saga - They're not actual werewolves, but they're awesome in their wolfishness.
• Van Helsing - You know, the one with Hugh Jackman. These wolves are properly furry, even if they're rubbish on four legs.
• An American Werewolf In London - Probably won't watch this again, but at least the wolf didn't look like a naked mole rat.

And my least favorites:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Remus Lupin's transformed state looks like a long-limbed naked mole rat. It's apparently quite easy to tell a werewolf from a real wolf in that universe.
• Underworld - Again with the naked mole-rat syndrome. I understand they wanted something they could have a person run around in. However, the wolves they've got running around the apartment complex do NOT match what they've later got - clearly a man in a rubber suit that looks like a black naked mole rat.
• Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - They look like people in Gorilla suits for the most part. I think there's one of them who's actually wolf-like in the face, but the rest of them are absolute pants.

Love ya, Jessie.

Harry Potter and The Marauder's Era Fanfiction - repost

Originally Posted: October 4, 2011

As of right now, I cannot state enough how much I LOVE picascribit's fanfiction. Over the past two days I have read five of her fanfics, which I will now review for you. Now, these are all Marauders Era Harry Potter fanfiction. They are also all Slash -- that means there are characters in relationships who weren't in the actual canon of the series... and those characters are gay within the fiction. Well... I guess technically two of them are what picascribit describes as "preslash" but there you are. So if Sirius Black and Remus Lupin being in a relationship makes you queasy, I wouldn't read further.

I. A Conspiracy of Cartographers, Prologue & Year One (ACoC1 for short)
     I've already reviewed the first two chapters of this in a previous blog post: HERE. Those two chapters make up the prologue part of the story. The next eighteen chapters fill in the first year The Marauders have at Hogwarts. ACoC1 was incredibly well written and sucked me in just as well as if JK Rowling herself had done it. The Marauders themselves -- James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew -- were all completely in character so far as the story goes. Also, Lily Evans (later to be Potter) was completely believable as Lily. Severus Snape, though, seemed a bit... violent... for being the age that he is. The wonderful rivalry between Snape and the Marauders was excellently portrayed. The characters of Gideon and Fabian Prewett very much resembled their nephews in pretty mcuh every aspect except their more serious, realistic sides.
     The story of how The Marauders met and became fast friends was wonderfully crafted. Remus very much resembled Hermione Granger for most of it, but he was all himself despite the resemblence. I couldn't wait to read more about this set of Marauders and so I was very glad picascribit had gotten a good chunk of the second year underway.

II. A Conspiracy of Cartographers, Year Two (ACoC2 for short)
     ACoC2 was just as engaging as the first installment. It's not finished yet, but I can't wait for the next chapters to come out. Each and everyone of the Marauders is slowly coming into being their older counterparts in a very satisfying way.
     The story itself spends a good five chapters with the Marauders at home. Well, Sirius' home and James' home. We get an insight into how horrible Sirius' home life was and how he reacts to James' parents at first. It's lovely. They are then joined by Peter and Remus and have a little adventure in the Muggle world. I had several laugh out loud moments during this scene, which is why I mention it specifically. Sirius is just too cute having his first experience in 70s Muggle London.
     One thing I do have to say was a downside to this part of the story is the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher. I didn't expect to love them all in the least (thank you JK for Umbridge), however Professor Gandolfsson grates on my nerves. And again, Gideon and Fabian sound exactly, verbatum actually, like their nephews on the subject of having a former Auror for a Defence teacher.
     Can't wait to see this one finished.

III. The Tropical Adventures of Moony and Padfoot
     This one's a sequel to the next two fics I'm going to review, but you can read it without reading them first (I did). Basically, all you need to know about this one is that there are hijynxs, lots of them. Also, somewhat graphic sex in a couple places... so feel free to ignore that part, if you wish. The rest is very enjoyable. I'm not sure if Remus and Sirius are exactly in character, but I don't mind silliness on the part of the battered Sirius after his stint is Azkaban.

IV. Survior's Guilt: Padfoot's Tale
     Ever wanted to know what Sirius was up to during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when he wasn't breaking into Gryffindor Tower? Well, be prepared with tissues... and for a lot of angst. Also, flashbacks to The Marauder's school days you may recognize from ACoC and some you won't. There's also a warning of some gay sex, but not so much as detracts from the story.

V. Survior's Guilt: Moony's Tale
     The companion piece of the previous fiction, only from Remus' point of view instead. This one has some word for word inserts from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, interspersed with Remus' thoughts on those matters. Moony's Tale has some crossover with Padfoot's Tale, so it's rather rewarding to read both. Any warnings for this fic are the same as Padfoot's Tale. Seriously, stock up on tissues.

Love ya, Jessie

PS: Did you ever notice that they spelled "Moony" wrong on The Marauder's Map during the Prisoner of Azkaban movie? Don't know why I didn't notice it until this time around...

It's a Fanfiction Review! - repost

Originally Posted: October 12, 2011

So, I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction the last couple of days. Most of it has been Slash and either Harry/Draco or Remus/Sirius. Of all the stories I've read, I have two to reccomend/review.

Chameleon Changes - FeatherdxWings
     This one's a Remus/Sirius in which the afforementioned characters swap bodies instead of turning into Animagi... although... Remus doesn't... 'cause he's a werewolf... but yeah... So far, there are only three chapters but those chapters were awesome enough to rate me adding the story to my story alerts. Chameleon Changes takes place in an alternate universe to most of the Marauders Era fanfiction as evidenced by the Marauders not being Animagi in their sixth year and the full moon dates being off. The writing is quite good, the characters are mostly in character, and... I just enjoyed the pants off it. I look forward to seeing how Chameleon Changes continues/ends.

A Conspiracy of Cartographers, Prologue & Year One - picascribit
     I've only just gotten to the beginning of chapter three for this one, but it's so well written I can't wait to see where it goes. Basically, this story is the story of the Marauders, centering on Remus and Sirius so far. The first two chapters are told from six-year-old Remus and Sirius' points of view and they are super cute, in an in-character sort of way. I guess the most interesting thing, to me at least, about this story, is that I'm actually interested in reading this. I tried reading another story about the Marauders going through school starting in their first year and I gave up about a chapter in so... yeah...

Anyway, you can find these fanfictions on Fanfiction.net by searching either the titles or authors... or you could be lazy and just click the links I've provided above (designated by the differently colored section titles - I didn't just do that for fun).

Love ya, Jessie.

Spoilers for the Wedding of River Song - repost

Originally Posted: October 1, 2011

I just got done watching The Wedding of River Song, so the reactions recorded here are initial reactions and there will be spoilers.

I pegged it. As soon as The Doctor started talking to the Teselecta I was like: Yup, that's how he gets out of it. And the question? OBVIOUS. Of course it wasn't going to be anything difficult. In plain sight. Doctor Who?

I loved the alternate/aborted timeline. That was fun. Also, Amy killing Madame Kovarian was just... yay! And Rory being invisible to Amy... that was amusing. "What's Captain Williams' first name?" "Captain." Lol.

And that's pretty much all I have for that at the moment. I've been doing yard work all day and I'm distracted by Sara Bareilles' Love Song playing in the background. I've been playing this song for days... it's awesome.

Love ya!

PS: It's October so you get a new signature goodbye smiley.

The Amazing Adventures of... Holmes and some Vampires? - repost

Originally Posted: September 29, 2011

Today I watched the final/third episode of Sherlock -- yes, I'm way behind, but . Long story short, I loved it. I also spent a good ten seconds... or however long the fight scene in the observatory place was... going "Who's the voice belong to? I know this voice from Doctor Who. Who is that? Oh! Peter Davison!" I then promptly got laughed at by my best friend (H-chan).However, I got my revenge for this when she suddenly went "Oh! That's the gay guy!" A good halfway through the Moriarty scene.

I also watched today's episode of The Vampire Diaries. Here's my reaction: Honestly, Stefan? Angel did the whole "brooding over the shit I've done" MUCH better than you. Also, didn't take him that long to get over a couple months worth of evil Angelus did. Although... now that I think of it, Stefan doesn't have an alternate personality to blame shit on. But still... It's kind of Angel/Buffy all over again. The whole Caroline thing... Good to know they don't automatically die from sun exposure. This may be old news to other VD fans, but I managed to miss a good couple of seasons so again.

That's pretty much it for me today, gonna see about watching The Big Bang Theory tomorrow and maybe being able to review that... maybe.

Lova ya, Jessie.

Terra Nova: Genesis - repost

Originally Posted: September 28, 2011

So, I know this is old news, but the first episode of Terra Nova aired on Monday. I thought it was awesome. I like the dinosaurs, they're very much in the same vein of Walking With Dinosaurs and Primeval. I enjoyed the time-travel aspect of the show, but I'm wondering how long they're going to sustain the high-technology thing. I really don't think it's that big a deal, but just because they have the tech, doesn't mean they should continue to use it. Wasn't the development of that technology what led to their society being crap in the first place?

The characters were interesting. Although, why do the lead males in these shows always have to have been cops? Really? Also, Josh reminds me of both Robert Pattinson and Paul Wesley. Not a cross between them, mind, he just... kinda looks like them. Something about the pale skin and prominent, dark eyebrows and dark hair. I was left with an overwhelming feeling that this is apparently the new heart-throb type. I'm not sure I like it.

I missed the part where Maddy met Max (I'm not sure that's his name) because my Mom was flipping channels, so I'm not quite sure what their connection initially is. And yes, Maddy thinks he's attractive, but what's his purpose?

The whole thing with Skye and Taylor was interesting. It should have been brought up before it actually was, though.

And that's pretty much my thoughts on Terra Nova. I'll keep watching, but I may or may not review all the episodes.

Love ya, Jessie.

Closing Time - There are Spoilers - repost

Originally Posted: September 24, 2011

There are Spoilers beyond this point

Initial Reactions @ 5:19 PM
    The Cybermat was cute, but ultimately pointless. I was surprised & delighted by the Amy & Rory cameo. I'm not sure how I feel about the episode as a whole. Was that Cybership the one with Adric in it? The baby & The Doctor was funny -- should totally be a spin-off. -- I jest.

More Reactions @ 5:44 PM
    My mood completely dropped after watching Closing Time. It was like: Excitement! Meh. Depressed. Just like that.

Final Reactions @ the time of typing/writing this
     I'm not sure if my mood drop off was because of the episode. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about the entire episode. It seemed very much like filler.

Love ya, Jessie.

Delving Into Fanfiction - repost

Originally Posted: September 18, 2011

So I've randomly had the hankering lately for fanfiction. I'd pretty much stopped reading fanfiction within the last few years with the exception of some Buffy stuff. I've also pretty much stopped writing my own fanfiction due to a combination of writers block and general lack of interest. Anyway...

I decided to dive back into reading fanfiction at least. I've been searching through the Harry Potter section of Fanfiction.net for some good Drarry (Draco/Harry pairing) stories. So far I've come across one I really like. It's called "The Simplicity of Us" by DevientGrey.

"The Simplicity of Us" involves a sort of time-travel. I'd elaborate, but that would give away the general plot and so forth of the story. It's also filled with fluff, which isn't really my normal fare, but there are obviously exceptions. I wouldn't reccommend this story for kids, in fact, it's rated M so... yeah. Most of it's pretty okay, but if homosexual-ness offends you, I'd not read this at all.

But yeah, that's all I've got for today. Love ya, Jessie.

The God Complex - SPOILERS ABOUND - repost

Originally Posted: September 17, 2011

I have this feeling that the a good portion of the Doctor Who community is going to have a problem with this episode. This is because someone else has stepped in and crushed another aspect of The Doctor they hold dear. It's something the current production team has slowly been leading up to and has even said outright. The Doctor isn't the hero we want him to and perceive him to be. As he says to Amy: "I'm just a mad man with a box." But hey, I like my heroes to be more human.

Other then that, I really like this episode. I like how The Doctor gets it wrong. I like all of Rory's comments about Amy hitting him -- it reminded me of how I'm always slapping my dad for saying stupid things. I like Rita and I'm sorry she died. I was remined of a Buffy episode when the room full of dummies showed up on screen -- despite Sid, I'm still creeped out by dummies.

This episode wasn't a big run-around just because it could be. It was slower paced, which I liked. It needed that to finally come up to the conclusion it did. I liked that the hotel was just a big computer program. But what happened to the dead bodies? They had them all lined up so they didn't disappear like the others. So what happened to them? And oh, the Nimon reference. That made me laugh and point at the screen going "I know what that is, that's funny!" Also, the pictures on the wall. They showed up front the Sontaran and the Judoon, but there was a Siluran on the wall... and I think I saw that monster from "Love and Monsters." At least, the shape of the head was right... I think. Anyway, those are my views on "The God Complex."

Love ya, Jessie.

X-Men: First Class, Again... I Think... - repost

Originally Posted: September 12, 2011

I went and bought the X-Men: First Class DVD today. And then I watched it. This was my second time seeing it, and I still love it. All of it. I don't think any future viewings are going to be chopped up into my favorite scenes. Each scene is engaging in it's own right, as well as adding to the overall movie. The other X-Men movies... not so much. I tend to skip through the movies to the fun scenes.

Other than that, my day has been pretty much playing games on Neopets. They've got this thing called "Scores Galore" going on all weekend. This means that instead of being able to get Neopoints for three scores, you get Neopoints for five. I've been using the extra neopoints generated to buy items for my stamp album and my plushie collection.

Love ya, Jessie.

Torchwood: Miracle Day -- The Last Episode - repost

Originally Posted: September 11, 2011

Because I JUST finished the last episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day and because I just can't keep from telling you my comments, you get a second blog post on them. Aren't you lucky?

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

During watching reactions:

• Jack and his non-answers. But applause on the comment to Oswald
• Yay Andy! ^_^
• Yes, Andy, let's retread this...again.
• No one ever knows. Lol
• Geez, what is it with me crying over things today?
• And of course he doesn't die. And Rex!
• Except not Rex ... or not...
• Jilly didn't run fast enough.
• Poor Ester.
• Wait... Jilly survived?
• Charlotte doesn't get away!
• Rex has become a fixed point... like Jack. This... is not surprising.

And what I mean by that last comment is: If the blood was what made the Miracle Happen, then of course the properties would be transferable if you transferred the blood. Which they did. And that's what I originally thought... so that little "surprise" at the end wasn't really a surprise.

Love ya, Jessie.