Red Dwarf Vampire Diaries

Wednesday is just one of those days where I get extremely distracted... But hey, I watched The Vampire Diaries tonight. ((SMILE)) I also have a review for you, but it's not for either of yesterday's shows. It's a spoiler-free review for Red Dwarf. But to start off with, a SPOILER-FILLED initial reactions section for tonight's TVD.

The Vampire Diaries - "A View to Kill" - Initial Reactions

• Yeah, really, Klaus.
• Good question.
• That's a super annoying color.
• Can I just say how annoyed I am with that "kill the sire, kill the line" thing.
• Mystic Falls is turning into Sunnydale.
• Go Bonnie.
• Okay, but bad.
• "Villian bonding time"... nice.
• Oh, just answer it!
• And now we have to explain the plan to everyone.
• Rebekah's not that bad!
• That's a good plan.
• Why are we surprised by that?
• Lies.
• Oh gah! Klaus gets to have fun being a jerk.
• Something you won't ever understand because you're a psychotic ass.
• FINALLY!!!! Call him out on his bullshit.
• And Cole gets suckered into Elena's... Elena-ness.
• Lol, Mary Sue Vampires.
• Good reasoning.
• Why is she back?
• Well that was... uninteresting.
• Elena is being annoying noble.
• Lol, horror movies.
• I have seen two of those three movies.
• That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.
• Jeremy's too on edge.
• Shane has hypnotized you, child!
• What was that?
• Lol. Also Angel's trademarks.
• Seriously, didn't we just have this talk about your BS, Klaus?
• He's been in a cell for a while! He doesn't know anything!
• Of course. Vervain in the water.
• I totally knew she had it on her.
• That's not going to stop a vampire, Elena. Duh.
• Kol looks a lot like Jeremy.
• Well crap.
• Sliding around on the floor is fun.
• And she can't hear him? She's closer!
• Oh it's a Koala?
• Ouch.
• Nice.
• Bye bye Kol.
• Dun Dun DUN!
• Yeah, because your terms are all that matters, asshat.
• Imprisoning spell? Nice.
• She does not believe you.
• Good question.
• Drama, drama, drama.
• And there that goes.

Red Dwarf - Series 1-9 - Review

I cannot express just how much I love this series. Yes, it can be incredibly immature. Yes, the sets do get somewhat stale. Yes, it was made in the '80s and '90s. Yes, it is a hilarious show. It's also quite British, which is a good thing in my book.

I'm not usually into comedy shows or more hardcore Sci-fi. Red Dwarf skillfully mixes those two things together and creates this... masterpiece of crazy. What made Red Dwarf for me was, like other things, the characters. Each character is developed well. It's possibly to completely understand where each character is coming from. It's also pretty great to see how they grow throughout the run of the show.

Red Dwarf also has amazing continuity. They set up their universe in a particular way and keep up with it through the entire run of the show. On the odd times they mess up or change the way things work, it's well-explained.

I think if you're a somewhat casual TV viewer and like your drama mixed with comedy, like me, you'll really love Red Dwarf. I will say, though, that the first series is a bit hit and miss. But then, a lot of first series/seasons of anything are. I also really found myself missing the laugh track in the ninth series. Otherwise, though, Red Dwarf is stellar.

And here's the part where I tell you it's available on Netflix. The 10th series isn't up, but the first 9 are. Oh, and when I say "series" as it pertains to this show, it's because Red Dwarf is British and they use "series" rather than "season."

Housekeeping

I will probably watch Arrow and Supernatural tomorrow, but I'm not making any promises.

Love ya, Jessie.

Twilight Sparkle, The Newest Princess

SPOILERS

So... I'm not breaking this post up into sections. I'm just gonna go ahead and give you my reactions to the news that Twilight Sparkle is becoming and Alicorn Princess. Permanently.

Frankly, I think turning her into an Alicorn is ridiculous. There's no reason, as of right now, that a Unicorn would be changing into an Alicorn. This does not make sense.

I read an article (THIS ONE) that sort of explains the reasoning... which I agree with to a point. The point I have a problem with i sort of ranted about above... The point I agree with is that apparently in Equestria, being a Princess is something that's earned. The message the show is trying to get across is that you can live up to the ideals even if you can't actually be a princess. Makes sense to me.

However, that doesn't really explain things like Princess Cadance. How did she earn her place as a Princess? As a teenager, she was an Alicorn, which is apparently a mark of being a Princess. It also doesn't explain Prince Blueblood. Are Princes not the same rank as Princesses just male? This seriously confuses me.

Anyway... I'm not completely passing judgement until after I've seen the episode. I also want to say that I will not be leaving the My Little Pony fandom over this. I like ponies, I like the show, I don't see any reason to just up and leave the fandom even if the show does something I don't like. I say this because of some comments I've seen on DeviantArt... and no other reason, really.

Love ya, Jessie.

A Rant Just For Sidekicks

I'm incredibly sorry, but ABC has decided to delay the next episode of Once Upon a Time until FEBRUARY! GAH! But more on that later...

If you did not see Saturday's episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic or do not wish to have anything to do with my Brony-ness, please feel free to skip down to the section after this next one. There will be SPOILERS and discussions of ponies.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - "Just For Sidekicks" - Review

In this episode we get Spike... exercising his Dragon Greed with a bit of complete randomness. I'm not a fan of this episode. Spike is not Best Dragon. Spike needs to stick to being a secretary because he pretty much fails at pet-sitting. Yes, he learned a little something, but I can see that not sticking.

I'm extremely glad that animals in the Friendship Is Magic universe are semi-sentient, otherwise Spike and the Crusaders would have been found out as soon as they arrived in The Crystal Empire. Those animals would have made bee-lines for their owners and made a gigantic fuss in that train car. Spike definitely would have deserved to have been found out, though how no one noticed he was being ridiculous about those gems, I just don't know.

But anyway... I'm being incredibly down on this episode. Here are some good things about this episode:

• Rainbow Dash and Tank were super cute.
• The Cutie Mark Crusaders were awesome, as usual.
• Angel was not being a spoiled rabbit.
• Pewee got a cameo.
• Crystal Empire Continuity!

The Rant About TV Scheduling

Okay so... I go to turn on Once Upon a Time last night and find out that they've decided to rerun episodes from earlier in the season. Why? No actual reason that I can see. This greatly annoys me. I would understand it if they had a sporting event or awards show, but no. They had neither of these things. Just: Oh, your show is back for two episodes and then gone again for a couple weeks, but here, have some reruns. WHY?

Mind you, I get really annoyed when my shows are delayed by sporting events or awards shows, but I really do understand that. I even understand, though not really, breaking shows for the holidays. Apparently no one watches TV over the holidays... Wrong, but just me saying it isn't going to change anything. Seriously, would it kill them to just air a show until the season is over rather than toying with us like that?

Okay... think I'm done with that rant now...

Housekeeping

Uh... not sure what I'm going to do about blogging tomorrow, seeing as there's nothing on I care to review until Wednesday. Yeah so... see ya!

Love ya, Jessie.

Catch Me If You Can

Today I spent... doing research for articles. Which was boring. And then I babysat my nephew and watched lots of Red Dwarf. I'm in a very good mood right now. ^_^

I have for you that review I promised. If you did not see Thursday's episode of The Vampire Diaries you ought to leave now and come back later. There are SPOILERS.

The Vampire Diaries - "Catch Me If You Can" - Review

"Catch Me If You Can" brought back the drama side of things. Joy. I do so love drama...

I can honestly say that Klaus is STILL getting on my nerves. It's not so much the innocent people he killed in this episode, it's his clear manipulation of everyone around him who actually has morals. He also doesn't seem to understand that maybe people would be more likely to do things for him if he treated them with a little respect and maybe made friends with them. Okay, maybe that last part is a bit of a pipe dream, but seriously, he needs to get an actual conscience.

I thought the Elena/Stefan stuff was well-dealt with here. Rebekah being back definitely made a difference. Now Stefan can stop sulking. I just have this little thing about that last scene with Stefan and Elena: he's just up and decided stuff for her again. Yes, I get the reasoning, but really, Stefan? If he thinks he's going to get her back if/after she's cured, I think he's sorely mistaken.

The Bonnie stuff... I've never really been a gigantic fan of Bonnie. I don't know what it is, but she just irks me. That said, I'm really annoyed with Shane and sad for Bonnie. It's super obvious he's using post-hypnotic suggestion to control her. He said the exact same thing both times she got angry. I don't know how she's not cottoned on to that.

Now on to the Cole/Jeremy/Damon stuff. I thought it was interesting. I think Cole might have a point about Silas. I think Elena put some of her expectations of Stefan onto Damon, as evidenced by her telling him he can fight the compulsion. I did enjoy how he warned Jeremy about the compulsion after he figured it out. That was nice. I think it shows that Cole was wrong about Damon not caring about Jeremy... or caring about him because of Elena. While that might be part of it, I think he really does care. Speaking of Cole and Jeremy, I like Elena's plan. Sounds good to me.

I had fun watching this episode. I missed Caroline a bit, though. I do wonder which team she's going to end up as a part of... I'd also like to know which team you're on: Team Rebekah, Team Klaus, or Team Shane. Let me know in the comments below, pretty please. Personally, I'm on Team Rebekah, 'cuz she's my favorite.

Housekeeping

I also watched My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic today. May or may not review that episode later, I just don't know.

Love ya, Jessie

Trust But LARP

Bad, bad, bad, bad title. But hey, I have fun with the mix-ups.

So anyway... yesterday, I spent a large chunk of my time babysitting my month-old nephew. By the time my parents were home to watch him instead, I was soooooo tired. So instead of watching The Vampire Diaries, I took the recycles out to the curb and then vegged on my bed for the rest of the night. So there you go, the universe got in the way of me reviewing stuff and watching stuff. Thanks, universe.

Today, however, I reviewed both Arrow and Supernatural and watched The Vampire Diaries. That means if you haven't seen this week's episodes of Arrow or Supernatural, you should go away and come back later. There will be SPOILERS.

Arrow - "Trust But Verify" - Review

Fun. That's the summation of this episode. It was just a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed seeing Diggle actually go up against Olly. I enjoyed Ben Browder getting to play a bad guy. I enjoyed Thea sneaking around by herself based on a hunch. I liked how creepy John Barrowman came off. I enjoyed flashback Olly's decisions, even if they did lead to his capture.

Speaking of which, I really, really liked how that was pulled off. Edward Fyer's essentially allowing Olly to get away with his ruse until it suits him to reveal he knows it's a ruse was fantastic. Not sure how Yao Fei being in league with Fyers is going to work out, but it's interesting.

Thea's sneaking around and subsequent conclusions about what she saw was just so Thea. I'm not sure, though, how little touches by Mr. Merlyn to Mrs. Queen immediately constitutes an affair, but I can sort of see how that worked in Thea's mind. I do find it interesting that Mr. Merlyn obviously had something to do with the death of Olly and Thea's dad, especially with the information that he and Mrs. Queen were sneaking around before the boat sank.

I thought Mr. Merlyn's creep factor was really upped in this episode, which is good seeing as he's posed to essentially be the "Big Bad." I enjoyed seeing that he's not just creepy with Mrs. Queen. His treatment of Tommy and his wife's death made me shudder. I think Tommy was right to call his dad out on his bullshit. I also thought Laurel was pretty awesome standing up for Tommy against his dad, too.

Okay, now for my brief discussion about the Blackhawks. They were underdeveloped and not entirely relatable despite Diggle being involved with them. I think their taking of a hostage was stupid... like, the execution of taking the hostage. If you're taking a hostage, don't bring them along in the car with you. Yes, I understand they were short-staffed or whatever, but there's gotta be a closet somewhere you could lock her in instead! The entire "bring the hostage along" was soooo a setup for her running and Diggle getting Gaynor alone. It was obvious and annoying.

But anyway... I liked the rest of the episode. It was quite fun to see the family dynamic and Olly actually working on stuff. I really hope they do something interesting with Thea being in jail cuz if she's just mysteriously out next episode I'm gonna be disappointed.

Supernatural - "LARP and the Real Girl" - Review

Yay, a back to crazy business episode! This was precisely what I wanted. A Monster of the Week episode. And yes, I know I rag a bit on some other shows for their Monster of the Week stuff, but Supernatural can actually pull it off every week. Yes, the over-arcing story is important, but these are the episodes I really like.

And speaking of things I really like: Felicia Day was in this episode! I really loved the character of Charlie last time she showed up and I'm really happy with how they had her this time. Also, another venture in the world of LARPing was interesting.

I think my favorite parts of this episode were when it was brought up that Sam and Dean are essentially LARPing as FBI Agents. Funny that it's the actual LARPers who point it out, too. "Respectable Citizens" can't tell the difference but you starts questioning geeks and they call you out. Oh, and also Dean being Charlie's handmaiden. I had to pause my video I was laughing so hard at that.

I think saying much else about the episode would be getting into serious spoiler territory... which I'm trying to cut back on... but I will say that the end scene had me in stitches. Dean is just too funny.

Housekeeping

Tomorrow, universe willing, I'll have a review for this week's The Vampire Diaries up. Have I ever mentioned how awkward that title is sometimes? I'm off to... do something, not sure what yet.

Love ya, Jessie.

Trust But Verify - Initial Reactions

Ya know how I said I'd have initial reactions up for both Arrow and Supernatural tonight? Well, that was before I remembered that I don't do Supernatural Initial Reactions... so instead, here's what ya get:

Arrow - "Trust But Verify" - Initial Reactions

• Well that's an interesting way to rob a truck...
• Thea's got actual chops in the sensing things category.
• Arrow Cave. Cute, Diggle.
• So they've turned the Blackhawks into a security firm... nice.
• FYI, I know nothing about the Blackhawks.
• That was a very pristine map for being folded up in a pcoket of one of the bad guys...
• Good boy, Olly. Food does not come before rescuing people.
• BARROWMAN!!! *shakes fist*
• Ouch, Diggle...
• More impressive smoke from that computer...
• BROWDER!!!
• Yeah really.
• Poor Thea.
• So it took how long to get from wherever they were to the company? Wha huh?
• Sneaky Thea is sneaky.
• I do love it when Browder gets to give soulful advice.
• Here, have the cake...
• Obviously shaken up, obviously not there to talk about the car.
• Not suspiciously weird. Gross. I love Thea.
• Let's just turn this back around on Dad...
• That was the "For now" look.
• Yeah... that was so obviously not gonna work.
• That was more than a little bit.
• Geek girl has a cru-ush!
• Angry Tommy is angry.
• No, no he won't.
• Wow... that was an interesting turn around.
• No, that wasn't creepy at all.
• Crap.
• That was an awesome shot. Like, visually, that jump was awesome.
• Gotta love it when your house is big enough to hold a Rave.
• Gots to love your drug-dealing friends, Thea.
• This is not going to end well...
• Uh oh spaghetti-os...
• Of course he's in on it. Why would he not be?
• Why are you so shocked, Dig?
• And of course, we gotta bring in the sister-in-law because we're bad guys and that's how we roll.
• Lol, that's true.
• Okay, but seriously, why'd you even bring the girl along? That was just a set-up for this lovely scene...
• Thea's gonna crash. And totally did.
• This is what happens when you lie to your children.
• Yeah, cuz we totally forgot that was him...
• Right now, the sound of Olly inhaling is really distracting.
• Dun Dun Dun!

Housekeeping

Universe willing, tomorrow I'll have reviews for Arrow and Supernatural as well as The Vampire Diaries Initial Reactions. If the universe is not willing, we can go ahead and just blame the universe.

Love ya, Jessie.

Lost Girl

Okay so... I've managed to watch all of the first two seasons of Lost Girl in less than a month. Yes, I know, I have no life. However, this means that I'm fully qualified to give you a review of these first two seasons. As per usual, there will be SPOILERS, especially since I'm talking about two seasons here. If that's not okay with you... just go watch it and then come back.

Lost Girl - Seasons 1 and 2 - Review

For those who don't know, Lost Girl is a supernatural-based series about a succubus and her super-strange life. The succubus is Bo, damaged by her unexplained powers and life as a runaway. She meets up and comes to live with human Kenzi. The girls start a PI thing together in order to make money. Which is... almost predictable. Isn't it always the main character coming into a convenient new job or starting their own PI thing? Of course, with the PI thing comes a contact with the police. In this case, we actually got two: Dyson and Hale. Werewolf and Siren respectively. And of course everyone needs a place to meet up and so we get The Dal Riata and its barkeeper, Trick. Other side characters include the Ash, leader of the Light Fae; Lauren, human doctor owned by the Ash; Ciara, Dyson's love interest in the second season; Nadia, Lauren's girlfriend; Lachlan, the second Ash; Evony/The Morrigan, leader of the Dark Fae; Ryan, a Dark Fae Loki; and finally Vex, super-powerful Dark Fae mesmer.

I'm really big into character, hence the listing, so if a show can't make me relate to the characters, I'm out. As you might have guessed, though, I really love Lost Girl and therefore must have been hooked by the characters. I think my favorite character of the bunch is Kenzi. She's the point of view character for the audience and really kind of insane. Episodes without Kenzi in them are few and far between, which is good because she's also the comic relief. And believe me, this show needs the comic relief.

A good chunk of first season was "Monster of the Week" with the main point of the season being learning about the characters and the Fae community. Bo and Kenzi come into that world cold, having no idea what's what and how stuff works. They're constantly just as amazed by the "creatures" they meet as we, the viewer, should be. That said, the "Monster of the Week" schtick had me aching for an overall story... which we got toward the end of the season. There was also a lot of "Who's Bo gonna be with this week?" going on... which I found annoying. The girl needed to pick Dyson or Lauren or at least be consistent with who she's attracted to. Gah!

The second season had an actual "Big Bad" in the Garuda... who I thought looked more dragon-like than eagle-like despite the constant references to chicken. Bo had less sleeping around to do, which was good, and more ass kicking to get it, also good. She and Ryan teamed up and were awesome for the amount of time they had together. Then, we got Bo and Lauren stuff, which I'm incredibly happy about. I just really hope she doesn't go back to flipping between Dyson and Lauren again. I'd go more into the plot except... well... it mostly focused on Lachlan being a giant douche for most of the season and then it turning out he was "testing" Bo... which was crappy. But he turned out... interesting if not completely white-hat at the end.

Lost Girl has more going for it than what I've just outlined here... which admittedly isn't much to go on. The CGI is pretty good and fairly consistent. The action is the usual "we're supernatural creatures so we have to fight hand-to-hand or with blade" kind of awesome. The world is well-fleshed out and makes sense for how the Fae are.

I really love Lost Girl and hope you'll give it a chance. As of right now, the third season is airing in the States on SyFy and the first two seasons are available on Netflix. I'm assuming they're also out on DVD by now so... yeah. Go watch it, it's cool.

Housekeeping

Before anyone asks, I have no idea whether or not I'm going to catch up with Lost Girl for this season. I haven't decided yet. I also just started watching Red Dwarf again so... yeah... my time's being pretty well-filled with what I've got already.

Tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to watch Arrow and Supernatural and will hopefully have up some Initial Reactions for those. Again, not making any promises. What happened last time had definitely made me promise-shy.

Love ya, Jessie

In the Name of Fluttering On

Okay so... last night, my family decided we all needed to play Scene It Jr. instead of football. This was all well and good except that I missed watching Once Upon a Time last night. Fear not, for I watched it this afternoon. You're only missing out on my thoughts while watching. I also have a review of this week's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, because I really like ponies and because I can. So, if you have not seen last night's episode of Once Upon a Time or Saturday's episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, you should be very aware of SPOILERS from this point on.

Once Upon a Time - "In the Name of the Brother" - Review

I had a lot of fun watching this episode. I also had a lot of GAH!s during it.

On the topic of Rumple and Belle, I enjoyed the handling of that. However, I don't think Belle freaking out like she did was necessary. I mean, Gold healed her. Not like he did anything bad to her. I'm sad the "True Love's Kiss" didn't work, though that would have been too easy. I'm also sad about the cup being shattered. That scene was heartbreaking.

Speaking of heartbreaking, Regina and Cora. I think it's completely out of character for Regina just to change her mind like she did. If she's really trying so hard to be worthy of Henry, why would she succumb to Cora's manipulation like that? She just said she was taking Cora and turning her over to Snow, Charming, and Emma, and then she doesn't for no real reason. I wanted to slap her.

I quite liked that Ruby was the one to get through to Frankenstein. The way that part was done was quite sweet, I thought. Not sure I like how the Frankenstein story was handled, but I knew it wasn't going to be like the book from the last Frankenstein episode so I'm gonna just let that go. I did like Rumple in that part, though. He looked very... gold in that outfit with the coloring done and all. On that same note, the way they integrated colored Rumple into grey-scale Frankenstein world was fantastic.

I really think the car-crash guy should be denounced as a crazy person by his wife or whoever. That kind of talk usually gets people locked up for their own good, doesn't it? Regardless, I can't wait to see what happens with that next week.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - "Keep Calm and Flutter On" - Review

It's been a while since I've done a pony-centric review, but I keep thinking about this episode and how fantastic it was... so here's this thing.

First, I would really like to know what Celestia needs Discord's powers for. That was really vague and doesn't really make sense at this point. She just shows up and is like "Oh, reform him for me. He should use his powers for good. Oh, and as a reward, you get to keep the Elements of Harmony with you so you can stop him if he gets out of control again..." Seriously, lady? WTF?

I really appreciate the continuity-filled reactions of the Mane Six to Discord. Yes, compared to Fluttershy, the came off as complete jerks. No, I don't think they should have come off as anything other than complete jerks compared to Fluttershy. In the words of Rainbow Dash "This is Discord we're talking about!" He did almost manage to defeat them the last time and was obviously not repentant at all about it. I'd act like a jerk too.

My only real problem with this episode was Discord's fairly quick turnaround. Yes, I know they had to do it because of time constraints but... gah! It just did not sit right with me. Also, making Discord say "Friendship is magic"? Why? What was the point? It was incredibly corny.

Anyway... I thought this episode was fantastic. It showed that yes, there is continuity beyond random stuff *cough* and Trixie. *cough* It also showed that Fluttershy can get frustrated and angry with people who push her buttons. The character building here was awesome as were all of Discord's antics. Can't wait for new pony on Saturday!

Housekeeping

Uhmm... not much here, really. Though I do want to tell you that if you're looking to play Scene It Jr. you should have a good knowledge of the '90s. Like, it was '90s nostalgia fest. The first My Play we got was a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer clip... though the question that came with it was stupid and incredibly obvious assuming you knew it was Buffy... which the entire living room did so... yeah... Does that count as a game review? I dunno... not labeling it as such...

Love ya, Jessie.

A Burned After School Special

Hey look, it's another mixed-up title. That must mean we're in for some reviews. If you have not seen this week's episodes of Arrow and The Vampire Diaries, there will be SPOILERS in the reviews. If you're skipping the reviews, be sure to check out the Housekeeping section below them. If you're reading the reviews, enjoy.

Arrow - "Burned" - Review

First and foremost, I enjoyed this episode. Olly gets to experience the post-traumatic stress from his beating by "the other archer." On that topic, it was great seeing Diggle grill him for something other than not caring. It was also great seeing just how much Olly's family means to him.

I'm not sure whether or not Mrs. Queen's reaction to Walter's "disappearance" was what should have been expected, at least from a viewer standpoint. She knows who has him and why he's been disappeared and yet she acts like he's died. That just didn't sit well with me. However, I did like that Thea was the one to break her out of her sulking. I thought that was done very well. It makes sense that Thea would lash out like she did. After all, she'd just gotten her mother to actually act like her mother again.

As for Firefly, I wasn't impressed by him at all. This is one of the villains I'm not very familiar with so I can't say anything about how he is in the comics. I did think he was a good villain to juxtapose Olly with for this episode. At the same time, though, he seemed very bland and seemed to go down too easy... especially considering he was vengeful enough to kill the other members of his unit.

Laurel in this episode was true to form. I like that she's taking more of an interest in corresponding with "The Guy In The Hood" than she should be. She's spunky and willing to go out on a limb to get some justice done. That's a very good thing, especially considering her comic book counterpart.

Overall, "Burned" was a fantastically solid episode. Can't wait for next week.

The Vampire Diaries - "After School Special" - Review

This episode saw the return of Miss Rebekah Mikaelson in an incredibly wonderful fashion. I'm glad she decided just to cut to the heart of the issues instead of beating around the bush like everyone else. I liked her revenge on Stefan both because it dealt with the whole love triangle thing and was more cerebral than most other revenge plots in this show. I also really liked that April was just okay with everything because I don't think I could have dealt with more "I need time to think about this" nonsense.

I enjoyed how Mrs. Lockwood's death was dealt with, though I think I missed something somewhere. I have no idea what happened in between Elena and Stefan stopping Tyler from killing them and Caroline finding a human-form Tyler in the gym. Caroline looked like she had blood on her arms... but apparently she was just running around... or something. I dunno, that was weird.

I cackled madly when I realized Damon had been left to babysit the boys. That was just too funny. They seriously did need babysitting, though. Like, Jeremy, how long have to been aware of vampires and their inability to come inside your house without an invite? If there's a person just standing in the doorway when they otherwise wouldn't be, don't invite them in. How stupid can you get? And before you jump on me about it, Matt did the same thing... though his didn't take cuz he doesn't own the house. But still! I wanted to beat some sense into them.

I'm also still really annoyed by Klaus. What's even the point of him anymore? All he does is show up, swagger around a bit, piss people off, and be a stubborn jerk. Seriously? What the hell? Another person I'm still annoyed at: Shane. How much lying to Bonnie are you doing? She can tell it's Black Magic. Stop trying to convince her it's not. Gah!

Anyway... can't wait for next week. Should be interesting. Hopefully we'll get to see Jeremy take out that bar of vamps instead of just the aftermath. I also wanna see Elena's reaction to that, just to see if she's changed any in the last... however long it's been.

Housekeeping

As regular readers of my blog may have noticed, it's Sunday, Once Upon a Time is on tonight, and I'm posting too early for this to be a Once Upon a Time thing. This is very obviously true. However, I am still planning to do my Initial Reactions post tonight. I'm not planning on having that post be any more than just the initial reactions so... just fyi, I guess.

Love ya, Jessie.

Torn and Frayed, a Supernatural Review

As it turns out, getting stuff done with a baby in the house is harder than expected... and I'm not even the one who's supposed to be watching him most of the time! However, I did get an episode of Supernatural watched. The resulting review is brief but does contain SPOILERS. So if you haven't seen this week's Supernatural go away and come back later. Thanks. ^_^

Supernatural - "Torn and Frayed" - Review

Mostly, this was Sam and Dean dealing with their separate stuff separately. I was bored and moving stuff from my camera to my computer to Facebook while they talked things out. However, I think the stuff with Cas is interesting. Naomi's controlling him for some reason. Guess someone's gotta be pulling some strings, huh? Not like that's new news. It's also interesting how the demons can get to the angels' programming with those halo things and some thumb screws... and apparently Naomi did something similar to Cas. How fun.

About the tablet thing. Of course there's an angel tablet. Can't have one without the other. It's called balance.

Hopefully, we can get back to some run-of-the-mill stuff now we've dumped Sam and Dean's baggage off. I want to find out what exactly Naomi's up to. I want to fight some random demons and not have drama attached to them. That'd be nice.

Housekeeping

I am seriously planning on watching Arrow and TVD tomorrow or tonight. It's on my "To Do" List. Promise. The problem's gonna be actually getting it done... So much other stuff to do... gah! Anyway... I will hopefully be back with something more than this brief little review... tomorrow-ish.

Love ya, Jessie.

Clue Review

Okay so... I just now (12:40 AM) found out that CW shows are apparently back this week... gah! On the bright side, I'm planning on watching them and reviewing... sometime this weekend, probably. No promises.

Instead of watching The Vampire Diaries tonight, I spent time with my bestie. We went shopping, babysat my nephew, and watched random stuff on Netflix. One of the things we watched was Clue. As I love love love Clue, I figured I'd review it for you.

Clue - Review

Clue isn't your average mystery movie or game adaptation. It's hilarious and a great way to spend a couple hours. It's one of my favorite movies... though it's often left off my lists because I forget about it. That said, I always enjoy rediscovering it. I think tonight was my fifth or sixth time watching it and it's still funny even though I know how it ends. (Psst. There are three endings.)

Clue features the talents of Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, and Colleen Camp. They are all used to their comedic best, I think anyway, in the roles of Butler, Maid, and the Clue characters. Not a single person is underused or overstated.

I think my favorite thing about this movie is that it's really hard to tell who did what without the explanation at the end. Well, that and the comedy. I'm not normally a fan of comedy, but this was done well. Clue is set in 1954, though I think Miss Scarlet's hair alone screams 80s, somewhere in New England. The entire movie takes place in the mansion where the murders take place. No, that's not a spoiler, Clue is a murder mystery game after all. The setting and the characters make this movie fairly timeless, though random jokes about Communism will remind you that yes, this is set in the 1950s.

I think to tell you anymore would be spoiling the movie. I highly encourage you to go watch Clue and see for yourself what a comedic masterpiece it is. Currently available on Netflix... which is not sponsoring this blog. I just like Netflix, okay?

Housekeeping

Wait... we have a housekeeping section? But... I don't need this section this week since I believe I covered everything in the intro... *shrug* A well... have some Luna:

Love ya, Jessie.

Homesick Review

*Edit 1-21-13: I got the episode title wrong while I was writing this post. It's actually called "The Outsider."

So... I got a little caught up with stuff like shopping and sleep the last couple days... which meant that I sucked at getting back into the regular blog posts... thing. Sorry about that. But anyway, today I'd like to review the Once Upon a Time episode: "Homesick." That means there are SPOILERS, as always. If you haven't seen the episode and don't want to know what happens, I'd leave the blog now and come back later.

Once Upon a Time - "Homesick" - Review

I really enjoyed this episode... except for the end. I'm a big fan of "evil" characters getting some redemption and someone to love them so that makes me a big fan of Rumple and Belle as a couple. This episode had a lot of that in it. It also had a lot of Belle being independent, which I liked, and not smart in parts, which I didn't like. Seriously, child, you do not go onto an invisible pirate ship by yourself especially after having almost been killed or whatever by the guy who owns it. And why did Gold have a loaded gun randomly lying around in his shop? It wasn't even in a safe or anything... just... there.

Belle's history with Mulan was interesting. I quite liked that a) Belle decided to deceive the assholes in the hunting party, b) her outfit, and c) that she essentially saved everyone by virtue of not killing first. I did not like that Mulan just decided to give Belle her sword. That didn't make sense. Like, you're a soldier, why would you give your weapon to someone who obviously doesn't know how to use it and send them off essentially to their deaths. Yes, I know Mulan had that whole speech about people underestimating women, but giving up her sword was going too far.

Right now, I think Archie is Cora. The reasons I believe this are: Cora has the ability to shapeshift and it was far too easy to rescue Archie from the ship. That just rang tons of alarm bells.

Also, I think Belle just letting Rumple go off in search of Balefire was ridiculous. I'd have at least asked him why he doesn't make more potion. Like, he did make it right? And if he really loves her, why is he willingly leaving her alone in the same town as Hook? Seriously, Rumple? What the hell is wrong with you?

The end of the episode was... interesting. I think it's going to be a little annoying to see Rumple start from scratch with Belle... who is not Belle now and injured to boot. It also looks to be interesting with the guy in the car... especially with the preview for next week. Also, I'd really like to kill Hook now, though his reasoning for shooting Belle is sound.

Housekeeping

I want to know what you guys think about the episode! There is a comments section down below this post and it'd be great to actually hear from whoever's reading my ramblings.

Not sure when my next post will be... hopefully I'll find something to write about before Sunday, when I will definitely post my Initial Reactions to the next episode of Once Upon a Time.

Love ya, Jessie.

Homesick - Initial Reactions

The following are my Initial Reactions/Commentary thing for tonight's Once Upon a Time episode. If you have not seen this episode, go away now, there are SPOILERS.

Once Upon a Time - "Homesick" - Initial Reactions

• Smee's gonna loose his memory... or just be all test-subject-y.
• Okay, that creature's either gonna be awesome of seriously suck.
• Poor Pongo.
• Crying almost as soon as the episode starts, nice.
• Awww... but you're totally gonna leave Belle behind, aren't you?
• So why can't you make more?
• And this is the part where Belle gets kidnapped.
• Into the steam-punk elevator/fortress...
• Belle looks goot in that outfit.
• Men.
• Verdict on the creature: it's okay.
• Geez, Mulan. Cold shoulder much?
• You go, girl. Totally your business, Belle.
• So Cora could ransack it... or Smee could.
• Gotta love this continual, "I wear pants in the relationship" thing.
• Good job not lying to her, at least.
• Assholes. But go Mulan.
• How'd she make her eyes glow like that?
• Mysterious knot...
• Smart birds are smart.
• This is not going to end well, Belle.
• That was quick...
• Time to spy on Henry for a change...
• You could totally all get a bigger house.
• Don't put the gun down!
• Cuz see, stuff like the bad guy getting it happens.
• Here, take this weapon you have no idea how to use. That's a good idea.
• Nice!
• Confrontation Time.
• Right... lead it to the water tower through the village...
• Aww... it's all slimy and dog-like.
• It was Cinderlla's Prince! Awesome.
• Whoops, Phillip. Darn, what happened to Cinderella's Prince?
• Also, giving Hook the satisfaction is a bad plan.
• She's still angry with you, dude.
• Yeah, cuz that's a brilliant idea. Go back and be crazy with all the battles and stuff.
• What if the Archie right here is Cora and Hook still has the real Archie.
• And this is where Belle gets kidnapped.
• Could've made more of that potion...
• OH CRAP.
• Hello helpful person.

Love ya, Jessie.

Floatation Device

I had a very productive day today, I'm so proud of myself. ^_^ I did three fanfiction covers, wrote three articles, folded all the guest towels and put them away, and completely fried my brain. Never fear! I do have a little something not-boring for you today. It's a review of the newly finished section of Adrift In a Room of Mirrors by Princess Alexandria! Which will come right after I post some pictures for you...

Fanfiction Covers

HTML Tables

So there's those... I did the first two yesterday and the other three today. Photo manipulation is a lot more complicated than I remember... You can find these fanfictions, and my others, by clicking the "My Fanfiction" button up in the navigation bar.

Adrift - Floatation Device by Princess Alexandria

Okay so... this story was/is originally from Princess Alexandria's Adrift In a Room of Mirrors. It's set in an alternate Twilight Saga universe and stars Alexandria's OC Christy Taylor. Also taking starring roles in this fanfiction are Bella Swan and Tanya Denali of Stephanie Meyer's The Twilight Saga. If I were you, I'd take a look at Alexandria's other fanfiction, particulary Not Myself, before reading this fanfic. It'll give you a good idea of her characters and how she tends to write. Ya know, assuming you haven't already, since I've recommended that before.

Anyway... I have to start out by saying that I'm not a giant fan of Twilight fanfiction to begin with. Firstly, because the characters just seem too bland to do anything with or don't have enough personality to really create fanfiction out of. Secondly, no one seems to be doing anything really interesting with them. Thirdly, most Twilight fanfiction is horrible. Fourthly, Stephanie did a pretty good job wrapping things up at the end of Breaking Dawn; at least, I think so. That said, I quite liked this particular Twilight fanfic. Part of it has to do with Christy and how attached to her I am and part of it has to do with how Alexandria handled the other characters.

The story starts at some point during New Moon after Bella was left by the Cullens. Christy shows up due to the events in the prologue and takes Bella under her wing. She essentially trains Bella to be a vampire while helping her grow a spine. Along the way, Christy manages to create her own little Vampire/Shapeshifter coven and then merge it with the Denali Coven. Of course, there is some romance and some tasteful and well deserved Edward bashing. Thought I wouldn't call is bashing exactly... it fits with the way Alexandria has written this story and, as I said, is very well deserved. Toward the end, I thought the story dragged a bit... but considering how things were going at that point, I think the dragging was justified.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Floatation Device. I think that anyone who enjoys Christy and, on some level, the side characters of The Twilight Saga will enjoy it too. If you're a fan mostly of the main cast of The Twilight Saga, I'm not sure you'll like this, but you should at least give it a try. Luckily, the story is finished now so you don't have to wait for weeks between updates.

Housekeeping

The links to both Floatation Device and Princess Alexandria's fanfiction.net page comprise the heading of that section. There are also a few links scattered through the first paragraph of that section to relevant pages.

Love ya, Jessie.

Those Reviews I Might Possibly Have Promised

Okay so... ya know how I said at the end of last year that I was probably gonna watch The Vampire Diaries episodes I hadn't watched... I did that! Thought you were gonna be disappointed, huh? Well, no. You don't get to be disappointed.

That said, I have for you a pair of reviews for the last two episodes of The Vampire Diaries. If you have not seen these episodes, you ought to go elsewhere... like to watch them. Or something. There will be SPOILERS. You've been warned.

The Vampire Diaries - "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street" - Review

Oh look, Damon's emotions are leaking. He seems to have a special Siring gift. Not really a good thing, but there you go. He is just entirely too good at making chicks fall for him. Also, Stefan needs to get off his back. It's not his fault he's so awesome.

Lexi! I like Lexi. I'm sad she's dead. I'm glad she was able to talk some sense into Damon. That was awesome.

Tyler's become Big Alpha On Campus. Totally saw that coming. I do find it super annoying, however, when people kidnap other people in an attempt to make a power play. No dear, that just proves you can't take the ruling party to begin with. Stop it.

Anyway... I remember liking this episode. It was fun. Kind of depressing in parts, but fun.

The Vampire Diaries - "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" - Review

This was the sorriest excuse for a Christmas episode ever. Like, this was worse than Doctor Who's "Voyage of the Damned" and that had a much higher body count. The only redeeming part of this episode was the Jeremy/Bonnie goodness... which was a small part. That says something about the episode.

Speaking of Jeremy and Bonnie, Professor Guy was in this episode being all weird again. As we found out in the last episode, the death of 12 people carries a lot of mystical punch. Seeing as Professor Guy wanted the death of the 12 Hybrids, I'm wondering how he's gonna channel that energy... ya know, cuz that was all weirdly unexplained and stuff.

I'm actually kind of sad the Hybrid Pack is dead. Made Tyler's totally Alpha thing from the last episode basically useless, but they were kind of growing on me from that stand point. Also, I'm still in the camp of Klaus needs to die. Like now. It would make me happy and then we wouldn't have to deal with his temper tantrums anymore...

But hey, looks like Rebekah's gonna be back. Yay! Seriously hoping April de-daggers her. That'll be great. I quite like Rebekah. I actually care about her and her drama. Mostly because most of her drama isn't her fault and she attempts to fix the stuff she caused. Unlike her brother... but I'm gonna just stop here, kay? Otherwise I'll rant.

Housekeeping

Uhm... might do a fanfiction review tomorrow. Been a long time since I've done one of those... or it might be a book review... I just don't know at this point.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Cricket Game - Review

Here's your giant SPOILER WARNING. If you have not seen Once Upon a Time: "The Cricket Game" you should click off this review right now. Ya know, unless you'd like to be spoiled...

Once Upon a Time - "The Cricket Game" - Review

As a return from a winter hiatus, I can't say this episode blew me away. There was too much flip-flopping of characters for me to be anywhere near re-invested in them. Mind you, I missed the first ten minutes and haven't gone back to watch but... eh. Really didn't enjoy this episode as much as I thought I would.

At the moment, I'd really, really like to just slap Snow, Charming, and Emma upside the head. First it's: Oh, Ruby saw Regina go into Archie's office so it must have been Regina who did it. Let's yell at her when she's CLEARLY shocked and distressed by Archie's death. Then it's: We're finding too much evidence so let's go to Gold and see if he did it or has a solution. Also, Emma didn't really do most of the magic that dream-catcher required. Gold did. Oh, and let's watch what was CLEARLY only part of the memory from the DOG and jump back on the "Regina did it" bandwagon. And then, let's go make her totally seem like a bad guy by essentially jumping her in front of her house and threatening her with losing Henry. OF COURSE she'd gonna come out looking like the bad guy. She's upset and you're being a bunch of idiots. GAH!

The back-story stuff was nice, though, I have to admit. I like that Rumple essentially goaded Snow and Regina into playing along to his tune. That was quite nice. I probably would have been more invested in the execution scene and the Regina killing Snow scene if it wasn't completely a back-story thing and kinda obvious neither of those things were going to happen. And yes, at that point in the story, Charming was totally in the right about Regina. Can't fault him on that. I liked that the reason Regina didn't specifically go after Snow and Charming was explained. I figured she was the more direct type so all the beating 'round the bush stuff didn't make a lot of sense for her.

And now I've gotta jump back to Storybrooke and talk about Cora and Hook. I really, really just want to kill Cora. That is not the way you treat your daughter, lady. I still don't think Regina's gonna come running back into your arms. In fact, I think she's going to hate you even more. However, I do applaud your not killing of Archie. That was a nice surprise at the end. And yes, I realize that for almost this entire paragraph, I've been talking to the character. So sue me, I talk to imaginary people sometimes.

Anyway... next week looks intriguing, if the trailer's anything to judge by. At the same time, I want some twists cuz... Gold can't just leave Belle behind. That'd just be... sad. Very sad. Can't wait to see what happens, though.

Housekeeping

Okay, uh... I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow. Might review the last two episode of The Vampire Diaries... might do a series review for... something I finished already... might just flake and not do anything at all. Who knows. Watch this space, as they say.

Love ya, Jessie.

It's 2013!

Happy Belated New Year everybody! I'm back! Or at least, I'm as back as I can be with only one currently running show back on the air... I'll figure out something to do in the mean time...

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate). Mine was... stressful. Too many people making me crazy in my house, but yeah... Good times were generally had by all, though. And of course, there were presents! I got a bunch of nerdy t-shirts, a new suitcase, new camera, a bunch of books, and a couple of DVDs. The best part, though, was The Great Marshmallow War of 2012! My mom got a bunch of marshmallow shooters... which were essentially multicolored, transparent PVC pipes the perfect size for mini-marshmallows to be put into and come shooting out of. We had a blast and the dogs had a sugary snack. Also, today we were taking down the tree and finding marshmallows in the tree and stuck to ornaments... and in a few bags we'd stowed stuff in. It was crazy!

And now... a SPOILER WARNING. If you have not seen tonight's episode of Once Upon a Time, go away. Initial Reactions are back! There will be SPOILERS!

Once Upon a Time - "The Cricket Game" - Initial Reactions

• Missed the first ten minutes due to de-Christmas-ing the house
• Ouch, Regina.
• Dun Dun Dun.
• Charming's lips are really pink and distracting.
• Pongo know that's NOT Regina.
• What's the point of ditching the disguise not even a block from the crime scene?
• New jacket, Emma? I don't like it.
• Execution by archery? Okay then...
• He's got a point at this point.
• Now that's cool. - Dreamcatcher
• Well this is an interesting turn of events.
• Another Regina dress I totally want.
• How does no one notice them?
• Cora's kidnapped Belle?
• Oh! She didn't kill Archie or kidnap Belle. Interesting...

Housekeeping

Okay so... I have no idea what I'm going to be doing this week. There will most likely be a review of "The Cricket Game" up tomorrow at some point. I hope to get back to a regular schedule soon, though. But for now... I'm just gonna post as I have things to post. I'll let you know when or if that's gonna change.

Love ya, Jessie.

PS: I'm back to being an egg. Isn't that nice?