The Living and the Endangered

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen tonight's episode of Grimm or last night's episode of Warehouse 13, you should leave the blog and come back later. The following review and Initial Reactions will contain spoilers. If you're interested, there's a small section of the newest "skirmish" in Neopets Obelisk War after the Initial Reactions section, as well as the Housekeeping section.

Warehouse 13 - "The Living and the Dead" - Review

I honestly don't know what to think about this episode. I was incredibly excited Warehouse 13 was back, but "The Living and the Dead" was kind of lack luster. Artie gets a "get out of dead free card," we meet another one of history's artifact users, and supposedly get a new villain introduced. At least, I hope she's going to be a villain. She certainly looks the part.

First I want to talk about Artie's mind and subsequent trauma. It was said in the episode that it makes sense for Artie's mind to be Warehouse 13, but even with that said, it was really obvious that's what it would be. The Warehouse 13 set is already there so what else would they use to do Artie's mental landscape? I found it interesting that Artie decided to communicate with Claudia and Jinks through the mental avatars of Vanessa, MacPherson, and finally Mrs. Frederic. It made sense considering Artie himself was hiding away with his memory of Leena. I'm not entirely sold, though, on the reasons the MacPherson avatar gave for showing up as one of the protectors. I'll take it at face value, though, because, well, there's nothing else to really take it as.

Artie hiding himself away with a memory loop of Leena was quite depressing, actually. I get exactly why he did it and then won't talk to anyone but Mrs. Frederic about it after he's shoved out of his mind. The trauma of what he remembers doing and what he interpreted from Leena when he killed her was just too great to lay on the people he didn't want saving him.

The rest of the story hinges on two things: the lock-picking artifact and Professor Sutton. I thought the lock-picking artifact was a handy deus machina device. I thought Professor Sutton was expertly portrayed by the ever wonderful James Marsters. His fake bumbling and pompous attitude were just brilliant. As he is immortal and it's revealed at the end of the episode that he didn't die from obviously not-fatal wounds, we should be seeing him again. I honestly can't wait.

My favorite scene from "The Living and the Dead" was in the crypt while the "poisonous darts" were flying around. Pete, Myka, and Sutton dodging them was just hilarious. I do wonder, though, what significance the diamond has to Sutton and Charlotte.

I sincerely hope next week's episode is better than this one. I expected to be utterly wowed and just wasn't.

Grimm - "Endangered" - Initial Reactions

• Oh yay, recaps.
• Constantinople? What is this nonsense?
• Cow tipping?
• Nope, udderless dead cow.
• Make that cows.
• Glowing blue thing.
• Okay... that was weirder than usual.
• So Monroe's trying to farm his parents or Nick off on Rosalee?
• It's nice seeing those two together doing normal couple-y stuff.
• Awkward.
• lol
• They're so friggin cute!
• Must. Stare. At. Key.
• Monroe knows everything about everything Wesen.
• Just happened to have a useful relative.
• For sure? You know period?
• This is gonna be cute.
• Juliette looks awesome.
• Awww...
• Yup, that was cute.
• Back to the blue guy.
• He's got a pregnant wife?
• OMG, it's that chick!
• And of course there'd be a UFO nut involved.
• So now we're being all tense with each other. Great.
• Of course there was.
• Two of those have to do with everlasting life: Alchemy & Everlasting Life
• I think Renard trusts Nick more than Nick trusts Renard.
• I love Wu.
• So... what did he take? The chick was obviously eating something.
• Hey, that looks like a reused farm location.
• Enter the UFO nut.
• Lol, Wu.
• Yup, best way to get your hands on a vehicle. Scare the bejeezus out of the driver, hope they don't run into any trees.
• And that's supposed to be what?
• I've got a feeling the UFO nut's gonna find the weird glowy Wesen.
• In other words, Wesen.
• Hooray contractions.
• Convenient abandoned cabin...
• Monroe's face.
• I like Juliette's coat.
• Except Monroe isn't actually that good at keeping secrets.
• Especially that secret.
• Well that's certainly an interesting way to put it.
• That's actually a good question. What is it with cows and aliens?
• UFO guy isn't what he seems, then. Huh.
• And he's a Wesen. Interesting.
• She has to eat their ovaries? Why?
• Rosalee's reminiscence was pretty awesome.
• So now we gotta find her.
• And be awkward about Monroe and Rosalee's relationship there.
• Bird boy's watchin'.
• And loading a gun. This is not going to end well.
• Ew... that effect was gross.
• The "Scooby Gang" to the rescue!
• Lol, Nick.
• Portable dissection table.
• Monroe has a wicked nose... not that anyone wants to point this out.
• Oh, NOW we talk about Monroe's nose.
• That was a crap shot.
• That's a slightly creepy partial vogue.
• Like, could technically be a lot of time... gotta love those TV short labors.
• Rosalee just happens to know how to deliver a baby.
• That is a really clean baby.
• And of course the jerk "UFOlogist" shows up.
• And Nick scares him for just long enough.
• Boom. Dead.
• Happy ending, for them at least.
• Okay... that's just a lot of weird.

Neopets Obelisk War Update

I know I said this thing was over, but it's really not. Three of the remaining factions have been chosen to "fight to claim the oracle's blessing for themselves" according to today's "Latest News." The three factions battling are:

1. The Seekers
2. The Thieves Guild
3. Order of the Red Erisim

Once again, I will be supporting the Order of the Red Erisim. I will not, however, be turning the blog red again.

I'll keep you updated on happenings with the new "skirmish." You currently have 29 hours to choose your faction. That's the rest of today and all of tomorrow.

Housekeeping

Uhmmm... yeah... this is basically going to be me begging you for comments. I very rarely get them and I think it would be fun to actually interact with those of you who actually read this thing. Let me know what you thought about the shows I review, my reviews, or, ya know, just say hi.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Living and the Dead Evil Queen

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen last night's Once Upon a Time or tonight's Warehouse 13, please leave the blog and return later. The following Review and Initial Reactions contain spoilers.

Once Upon a Time - "The Evil Queen" - Review

Am I the only one completely confused by Regina's character? First it's: I am the most evil person to ever live in both the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke. Then: I'm going to reform for Henry's sake, because I want him to love me. Then Cora gets to town and it's all: I hate you, I'm going to turn you in. But wait, you can help me get Henry back exactly how he doesn't want me. I'll go ahead and be evil again because two seconds of talking about Henry with you makes me want to make you proud again. And then she just goes back to being evil. Now though, she's decided to ignore everything Henry says to her in order to screw everyone else over. Hey, Regina, Henry's not going to love you if you kill everyone. He's even told you as much. Frigging pay attention and get some psychiatric help.

When then brings me to the Enchanted Forest flashbacks. Here, Regina is characterized as extremely dense. Rumple, and later Snow, tells her that wholesale slaughter isn't going to win her the love of the people, which is what she apparently wants. Then, she doesn't listen to a word Rumple says about the rules of him disguising her. Regina saw for herself how people would be seeing her, but apparently she forgot that really quickly. I'll overlook the parts where she make "magic gestures" because that sort of thing is second nature to her, but that's the only reason I'm looking that over.

So... as of right now, I'm back in the camp of not taking Regina at all seriously as a villain. the way she thinks just doesn't make sense to me at all.

The interesting bits of "The Evil Queen" were invariably less annoying than Regina's inconsistent characterization. Turns out Rumple orchestrated King George's need for money. That makes me wonder about the assassin who killed Prince James and why George is still on good terms with Regina after the fact. She was the one who cut off trade with him.

I thought Maleficent's "zombie" form was incredibly creepy and well done. I had wondered how they were going to bring her back, since Emma killed her at the end of last season. It was interesting and not a cop-out.

I thought Greg and Tamara's tech turning off Regina's powers was interesting. People have been speculating about the "science" killing magic since Storybrooke became accessible to the outside world. Not sure I like it so much, but it's perfectly reasonable. I also thought it was nice that Greg didn't tell Regina what his and Tamara's plans were. He apparently took that bit in The Incredibles about monologue-ing to heart.

Lastly, I thought the Emma and Henry bits were nice for once. I think I've made it clear that I'm not at all a fan of Henry. I thought he worked well in this episode, but my internal jury's still out on whether or not I'm going to actually like him. I thought it was kind of a stretch for Emma to think Tamara was hiding stuff under a hotel room floorboard. That sort of hiding place makes more sense in someone's home. Besides, Granny's is 28 years old at this point. It's bound to have a few creaky floorboards.

Warehouse 13 - "The Living and the Dead" - Initial Reactions

• Flashback?
• Yay awkward helicopter rides.
• Well that was unconvincing fake news.
• James Marsters?! Yay!
• Of course religion would be the origin.
• That was a horrible pun.
• Lol, Freudian clock.
• That's awesome. Of course it'd be the Warehouse.
• Dude, splitting up is never good.
• That's kind of a weird accent.
• I do believe I like him.
• Ick, snakes.
• Lol, Pete.
• God, I missed this show.
• Jinks-y's good at pep talks.
• I'm really not sure how I feel about the news bits. Leaning toward not liking them.
• Love you, Pete. This is why we think before we speak.
• Smart professor is smart.
• That was cool.
• James Marsters gets to play the best characters.
• Claudia is awesome.
• Nice misdirection there, Pete.
• Poor Artie.
• Yeah, really not liking the fake news.
• That's actually pretty cool.
• Lol, Pete liked Twilight.
• Pete, your accent sucks.
• But why put it on the sarcophagus and not the corpse?
• W00T booby trapped tombs.
• Well ow, but it doesn't look very deep... and then poison.
• That sucks, I liked him.
• Even if that's a good thing, it still looks creepy.
• I'm gonna miss Leena.
• Claud's making me cry.
• Of course it is. That's a lot of trauma he has to deal with.
• So... who's Charlotte now? And of course he's not dead!

Love ya, Jessie.

Hide the Centre of the TARDIS

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen the last two episodes of Doctor Who, please leave the blog and come back later. The following reviews will contain spoilers. Also, there is some swearing in the "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" review. I couldn't help it, honest.

Doctor Who - "Hide" - Review

After watching "Cold War" I was really excited to see how creeped out I would be by "Hide." However, "Hide" seriously failed to deliver on the scares. It also failed to deliver in most of the other aspects as well, in my opinion. I wasn't engaged with the story at all.

A couple things really stuck out to me as things I didn't like. First, the "Empathic Psychic." Empaths and psychics are two very different things, in my geeky little head. An empath senses and, in some cases, can manipulate the feelings of those around them. The term "psychic" is more of a blanket term for anyone with abilities seated in the mind. This includes, but is by no means limited to, empaths, telepaths, and precogs. It seemed to me like Emma Grayling was both an empath and a telepath. I guess what bugs me in this sense is just the funky terminology. I am a pedantic nerd, so sue me.

The second thing that really bugged me were the monsters. They were really effective up until the end, though it was never really explained what their purpose was. One of them got trapped in the pocket universe and they transformed the "ghost story" into a "love story" but other than that, they didn't do anything. Also, when we finally got a look at what was apparently the male monster, it looked horrible. Like, how does that even work? It looked like someone had messed with a human face in photo-editing software and come up with a twisted-looking thing. Or, ya know, one of those "parasitic twins" or something.

And then there were the specifics surrounding the TARDIS jumping into the pocket universe. Apparently, in 4 minutes (more likely seconds, I'm horrible at those details), the Eye of Harmony would be drained of power. That's what stopped the Doctor from using the TARDIS in the first place. However, the TARDIS then flies herself through the pocket universe not once, but twice. What? How does that even...? I just don't get it.

Finally, we'll get to some things I did like about the episode. I enjoyed Clara talking to the TARDIS. I'm a big fan of her recognizing that the TARDIS is a living thing, rather than just a machine. Also, the TARDIS using Clara's image as the hologram was fantastic. I laughed at that.

Overall, "Hide" failed to do any of the things I expected it to and then pretty much died in my head.

Doctor Who - "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" - Review

Unlike "Hide," "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" was excellent and truly terrifying. I do have a few niggles with it, but that's mostly in terms of characters... which I'll get to later.

Like other Whovians, I was really excited for this episode. Seeing more of the TARDIS is always fun. Based on previous TARDIS bits we've seen and those shown tonight, my favorite rooms as The Wardrobe and The Library. The Wardrobe room we got to see in "The Christmas Invasion." I just wanna go play in there. The Library, on the other hand, I just want to completely lose myself in. Also, I'd like to know how the liquid Gallifreyan Encyclopedias work. It was pretty awesome hearing small bits from that bottle Clara spilled. Also, I found it interesting that The History of the Time War is kind of just sitting there, highlighted. Seems slightly weird considering how much The Doctor wants to forget about it.

Anyway... the rest of the episode... right...

I thought the concept of time leaking out all over the place was cool. I didn't call the molten "creatures" as future echoes. I had no idea what they were until The Doctor essentially told Clara. They were terrifying enough on their own, especially after we saw the brothers turn into them. However, I'm not sure what had the future echoes attacking the present. I'm also really not sure you'd be doing any kind of moving after that happened to you.

I thought the brothers were... creepy. They were creepy pretty much from the get go. As I said in my Initial Reactions, if Firefly taught me anything, it's to beware of salvage ships. For those who didn't know, and so I can not refer to them as numbers, their names were: Gregor, Bram, and Tricky. Gregor, though less stupid than Bram, was pretty much killed off asap, which was good for keeping up with The Doctor, Clara, Bram, and Tricky. Bram was a completely selfish asshole of an idiot. First, let's not listen to The Doctor and do stupid things. Then, let's find out what you and Gregor did to Tricky. Who the fuck does that?! No, seriously, what kind of person/people do that to someone, especially their own brother? Especially their "kid brother." Bram and Gregor were seriously cruel people. Tricky, I liked. He was obviously in tune with the TARDIS, even before he got inside her. That sounds wrong... but you know what I mean. Though... didn't Tricky need to eat? Ya know, since everything but his eyes and voice box was still human... just a random thought.

I quite liked how the TARDIS was characterized here. First, she ejects The Doctor... apparently. How else would he have gotten out? She gets royally pissed at Bram after he takes her circuit. I loved how she out-smarted him. Then, she saves Clara, despite not liking her. And then it's revealed she's acting at least somewhat like a wounded animal. The final reveal of her "wrapped her hands around the force" was just amazing. Not to mention the CG that must have gone into that bit... wow. If I wasn't so attached to the TARDIS before, I definitely would have been with this episode.

And finally... the reset button. It was cute. It was very "wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey." Though now it raises a few questions. The Doctor's conversation with Clara about Oswin and the previous Clara now never happened. So... when it that gonna take place again? Or is it? Does Clara still know the Doctor's name? And then the Van Baalen brothers... are Gregor and Bram ever going to tell Tricky he's not an android? Okay, that last one I don't really care about, but it's there.

I can't wait for next week's episode!

Housekeeping

Why yes, I did post the Reviews after the Initial Reactions for this evening.

Also... I'm really hoping certain things in my life don't happen so I can watch Warehouse 13 tomorrow night. Yup, I'm reminding you it's back tomorrow. I, for one, can't wait. It's been entirely too long.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Evil Queen - Initial Reactions

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen tonight's episode of Once Upon a Time, please leave the blog and come back later. Spoilers in Initial Reactions are to be expected, that's why I don't live-tweet them.

Once Upon a Time - "The Evil Queen" - Initial Reactions

• They somehow managed to get him into the clock tower without anyone seeing?
• OMG, so do lots of other people.
• I don't technically think that's a good reason for someone to be able to find someone else. And how well does "Greg" think Hook knows Regina?
• All gathered in front of Granny's house, looks like.
• They're all more loyal than you are.
• Well duh.
• Slaughtering an entire village is quite evil, Regina.
• Wow, Regina's really twisted.
• Well that explains that little thing.
• You haven't even tried for more than 24 hours.
• This is where Henry is a smart kid.
• That's not how it works, Regina.
• Killing people is always villainous.
• Hooray magical manipulations... she says sarcastically.
• Rumple did warn you, Regina.
• How did you forget you're in disguise?
• Yeah... all this flip-flopping of Regina's personality is weird and annoying.
• Except Henry's never going to buy that.
• Except you do have to worry cuz she's evil.
• And now everyone doubts Emma's powers.
• That's a very good point.
• Sometimes Henry is really creepy.
• That elevator is still kind of awesome.
• Snow to the rescue.
• Yes, let's dramatically show ourselves in the middle of town for no apparent reason.
• Hook is quite wise. I like it.
• But isn't Maleficent dead? I thought Emma killed her.
• Well that's creepy.
• That is seriously disturbing.
• Hello Snow's coffin.
• Reset button...
• Wilma? Lol.
• Good point, Emma.
• Lies. But Henry's not freaking out about it.
• Emma's kind of funny teaching Henry how to signal her.
• Old place, creaky floor, less than obvious hiding place.
• They're not gonna find anything.
• Duh.
• This would probably be more tense if we didn't know Regina's not going to kill Snow.
• A sea of slaughtered people.
• Yes, let's forget the rules of the transformation.
• Hook-y's not stupid.
• No magic for you, dearie.
• Leaning that far over the counter is uncomfortable. Just sayin'.
• The beans are going to be destroyed.
• Regina. Duh.
• You did it to yourself, Regina.
• Nice manipulation though, Rumple.
• Of course, it would be science.
• Wow, a smart villain for once.

Love ya, Jessie.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - Initial Reactions

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen tonight's episode of Doctor Who, please leave the blog and come back later. Spoilers in Initial Reactions are completely normal and expected.

Doctor Who - "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" - Initial Reactions

• Giant space-shipp-y train?
• Sleeping dudes, guy with mechanical eyes.
• She's not an appliance!
• Totally cuz you're a girl, his face says.
• If Firely's taught me anything, it's that salvage ships are not good things.
• Clara broke the TARDIS.
• Burn-y bomb thing.
• Those are some very big robotic arms.
• Good luck with that.
• You suck, dude.
• Meaning that guy really sucks.
• Why do some of his words have mechanical stuff on them and some don't?
• Skeptical annoying guys are skeptical.
• That looked liked it must have hurt. The burns really must. How is she touching them? Or moving her hand at all? Ow!
• Something creepy in the TARDIS.
• Jerk face.
• She has one of those?
• But the mad man is too awesome not to follow into the box.
• The bassinet!
• Is that Amy's toy TARDIS?
• I'm reminded to the Room of Requirement.
• Split up so you can be a giant jerk about stuff.
• What is that?
• Big telescope, swimming pool.
• Apothecary?
• Ah, Library. Nice.
• Sound clips from earlier in the show's run! Awesome!
• That's a weird thing to have a sensor programmed with.
• Funky mechanical tree.
• He's being an ass and not listening.
• Except it's happening, idiot.
• He's just got that lying around?
• "So that's who" who? What?! Not fair!
• Gallifreyan encyclopedias are liquid? Huh?
• WTF is that thing?
• Ha ha, the TARDIS is cleverer than you.
• "I'm not listening to you," is what that guy's thinking.
• Ouch.
• That one's dead.
• That's seriously creepy.
• What have you been keeping on board, Doctor?
• Trick-sy TARDIS.
• I like that Clara talks to the TARDIS.
• You're creeping Clara out.
• How many of those are there?
• They look molten.
• Okay, that was interesting.
• Yeah, really, Doctor. WTF were those things?
• Except it is actually overloading.
• Down the rabbit hole.
• Why has idiot still got that circuit?
• That's weird.
• Well that's really very not good, but it doesn't explain the molten things.
• More secrets, Doctor? Possibly bad ones?
• So very not good.
• And punch through walls.
• Is he not an android? Just a cyborg?
• That's a weird combo. And a joke?! What? How does that even?
• Clara is awesome.
• Moving apparently actually means: "Stand still so I can explain the Eye of Harmony."
• Dun dun dun.
• Time to explain Oswin and Clara.
• Bye bye, Doctor one.
• Bye bye brothers.
• That's a horrifying way to die.
• I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be moving around all molten like that.
• Explaining Oswin and Clara now.
• That's weird.
• Trust him all of the times.
• That looks really very not good.
• Is that how the TARDIS blew up in "The Big Bang"?
• Hero time with Clara's hand.
• She knows his name?!
• Ouch.
• Big Friendly Button of Reset.
• So they're just being left to themselves?
• He's always weird, Clara. Keep up.

Volcanalis - Review

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen last night's episode of Grimm, please leave the blog and come back later. The following review contains episode spoilers.

Grimm - "Volcanalis" - Review

Grimm is back! It's also moving to Tuesdays. Thanks, NBC. And yes, I'm being sarcastic about that. I dislike when networks change around the schedules, especially mid-season. It confuses people. On the other hand, I might end up getting to do Initial Reactions for Grimm again, seeing as I shouldn't be babysitting while it's on.

Anyway, episode review. On it.

I really enjoyed this episode. I was absolutely giddy while watching it. "Volcanalis" was so full of wonderful tidbits, character development, and world building. Best of all, it didn't give me episode whiplash, like other shows I could mention.

I thought getting Hank out of the episode and on vacation was a good choice, but also an amusing way to slightly de-clutter the cast. I thought the way Bud and Monroe were trying to cheer Nick up was cute. The pair of them together was amusing, as was their choice of watching soccer.

The scenes where Adalind goes to the gypsys were... weird. I think it's sad how she's going to sell her child in order to get her powers back. I also thought it was interesting that Adalind initially let her gypsy friend do the negotiating... if only for a few moments.

I found the way Juliette has to get her memory back intriguing. It allowed for some more backstory on her and Nick's relationship as well as discovering things other people don't really want her to know. The entire unpacking scene had me laughing and repeating "He has an Elvis-head lamp" over and over. I think Juliette's tears at Nick's proposal is a very, very good sign.

The best parts of the episode were the Volcanalis bits. I thought the Volcanalis itself was kind of interesting, though it reminded me a lot of the Beast from Angel. I like how another Volcanalis was responsible for Vesuvius erupting. I liked how Nick and Monroe teamed up with Renard to fight the Volcanalis. The scene while they were getting ready to blast it with liquid nitrogen was super amusing. I also had a thing last night where I was deliriously happy that "they have someone who can read Latin." I don't know why, but that amused me to no end.

I can't wait to see what happens on Tuesday. Looks like Juliette's finally going to re-find-out about Wesen and Grimms. And no, that's not a spoiler, it was in the trailer for next week.

Housekeeping

Due to certain circumstances in timing of babysitting, the news, and tonight's episode of Doctor Who, I may or may not be posting Secondary Reactions for that at some point tonight. Never fear, though, I will have a review for "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" up tomorrow. A review for "Hide" may or may not be forthcoming, depending on my mood.

Love ya, Jessie.

Review - "The Originals"

SPOILER WARNING

If you did not see last night's episode of The Vampire Diaries, please leave the blog and return later. The following review contains some small spoilers.

The Vampire Diaries - "The Originals" - Review

This week, we took a break from the main "let's fuck up Elena's life and then feel guilty about it and try to fix it" storyline to follow Klaus and Hayley to Louisiana. Despite a pair of vampire brothers annoying the hell out of me, I still could not bring myself to care about the storyline in this episode. I watched it, somewhat enjoyed bits of it, but was mainly calling Klaus a brat the entire time. Aside from that, here are my "thought about it thoughts" on "The Originals."

• Klaus was a giant brat.
• Hayley was a) boring and b) stupid.
• I would much rather have seen more with the witches then the stuff we got with Klaus.
• Elijah is a ridiculous person.
• I'm with Rebekah and Katherine. Leave Klaus' scrawny, annoying, brat ass alone to deal with his shit.
• If we never see heads or tails of this storyline again, I won't care.
• I can't wait to see what Elena does with her "game."
• This wasn't a story about "The Originals." It was about Klaus being a brat and being called on it for once.
• The writers actually wrote an episode that didn't give me whiplash for once.

Housekeeping

Just a heads-up, but I might not get Initial Reactions out for Grimm this evening. My mother having a babysitting job and essentially saddling me with the baby Fridays nights has essentially put a plethora of dents in that plan. If there are Initial Reactions up... they'll be up in their own post, obviously. This is the last I'll be saying about that particular group of Initial Reactions.

Also, there wasn't a new episode of Grimm last week, apparently. My bad.

I just used the word "plethora." Suck it, AP English teachers. (Only people in AP English during high school will understand that.)

Love ya, Jessie.

Initial Reactions - The Originals

SPOILER WARNING

The following Initial Reactions contain spoilers for tonight's episode of The Vampire Diaries.

The Vampire Diaries - "The Originals" - Initial Reactions

• Obviously.
• You two are kind of annoying.
• Why are you back in town?
• So... she found another way to kill him?
• Can I just say how much I'm not interested in this storyline?
• Sneaky witches.
• Time for some obviously creepy hijinks.
• There are reasons you don't trust random witches.
• Hello annoying Klaus type.
• I agree with Rebekah.
• There are reasons older vamps are dangerous.
• Quite a temper and a very childish brain. You'd think, being as old as he is, that distract-ability and impatience would have been gone by now.
• A giant gang of vamps... meh.
• That Klaus is horrified by this is... odd.
• I don't like this guy. Go figure he's usually a friend of Klaus'.
• That was melodramatic for your tastes? That? Really?
• Sophie's about to get dead.
• Now Klaus is being the hero. Lovely...
• Whoops. Nope. Elijah. That makes more sense.
• Yup, really not liking that guy.
• How did this stuff not come up when Damon and Stefan were in New Orleans last time.
• Dun dun dun.
• So we're sidelining the actual storyline for this mess?
• Not so impossible if half of him is alive.
• Dun dun dun.
• Yup yup yup.
• Fuck the rules, says Klaus' face.
• Fuck you, you annoying little brat, Klaus.
• How does it have a heartbeat already? Or is that just the music?
• Good question. You're such an annoying brat, Klaus.
• Klaus isn't gonna go for that, cuz he's a gigantic brat with no self-control.
• Listen to Elijah, Klaus.
• You don't have to make people afraid.
• Yup, saw that coming.
• I'm with Rebekah on this.
• He's been in a mood since he got there, idiot.
• And now for a lackluster fight scene.
• Until Klaus gets angry about it.
• Or just no fight scene.
• Now he's intrigued by the bartender.
• He's Klaus. Nice heavy-handing there, writers.
• So being a giant brat is how you coped?
• Because being anything less is just not acceptable.
• Saw that coming, too. Of course he's gonna stay. Duh. So telegraphed it's not even funny.
• Time for the plan to be set in motion.
• So of course we're going to call Caroline.
• Good, let Rebekah make her own choices for once.
• Elijah's got too many issues to just drop his family.
• Duh, Elena.
• I'm rooting for Elena.

Pac-Man Home Invasion Fever

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen last night's episodes of Arrow or Supernatural, please leave the blog and return after you've watched them. I'm terrible at reviewing things without spoiling them.

Arrow - "Home Invasion" - Review

This episode had a lot of interesting elements to it. They meshed very well and were pulled off quite nicely without making the episode seem cluttered. If only The Vampire Diaries could pull this off more often.

In the beginning of the episode, I thought Tommy came off as a jerk. Olly has every right to randomly show up at Laurel's place of work; they are still friends, after all. However, my feelings about Tommy were completely reversed at the end of the episode. His self-sacrifice in giving up Laurel was heart-wrenching, especially being an audience member. We know how much he cares for Laurel and seeing him breaking both their hearts was just... I cried. No joke. That said, I'm glad the writers decided not to drag that out forever.

I thought the little bits of the backstory were slightly fun. The Olly and Shado kissing bit was so telegraphed it hurt. I have no problem with them having a bit of a fling, but Slade's right in reminding them how much time they don't have. The end of the flashbacks this episode was seriously lacking tension. We know Olly doesn't get off the island for a long time so him getting captured and Yao-Fei telling him that his time on the island was short lacked punch. I find myself wishing they either did specific flashback episodes or an entire season just for telling the flashback story.

Those of you who actually read my Initial Reactions might have noticed I mentioned J. August Richards a couple of times. He played the assassin throughout the episode. I know him primarily from Angel, where he played Charles Gunn. I thought Richards was wonderfully creepy. The perfect amount of politeness, crazy, and menacing all rolled into one package. I'm kind of sad his character's been killed off, actually. I would have liked to see that crazy developed a bit more.

I think Roy and Thea looking for "The Hood" is gonna be interesting. It'll be even more interesting if Roy finds out and Thea doesn't, which I think is the most probable outcome. Though it would be nice if Thea were brought into the loop... a bit. I think she's more fun as a side-character than a main one.

That's what I thought of "Home Invasion." Let me know what you think in the comments.

Supernatural - "Pac-Man Fever" - Review

I will be the first to say that I wasn't expecting Charlie back. It was a pleasant surprise and I'm glad she's sort of becoming part of "the gang" as it were. I also thought getting more on her backstory was interesting. I liked that the writers were able to parallel Charlie's mom and Sam. I also thought it was fun just having Charlie around. She makes everything seem less dire than the boys usually make it seem.

I thought the sub-species of Djinn were somewhat interesting, though the concept of a sub-species at all caught my attention much more. I adore the mythology of Supernatural so much and this was just icing on the mythologic cake.

My favorite part of the episode was when Sam, Dean, and Charlie were sitting around the table researching the Djinn. Sam and Charlie wanting each other's "tech" (for lack of better terms) was amusing. "I hate that thing. I want it." I think Charlie would make an awesome "Woman of Letters" *cough* Watcher *cough.*

Uhmm... not much else to say about this episode... except that Sam looked really sick throughout the entire thing, which was awesome from a production standpoint. Let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments.

Housekeeping

You might have noticed a lack of Initial Reactions for tonight's The Vampire Diaries episode. That will be happening and it will be getting it's own post. I thought putting these reviews in their own separate post would be best considering my splitting headache at the moment.

Love ya, Jessie.

Arrow - Home Invasion

SPOILER WARNING

The following initial reactions contain spoilers for tonight's episode of Arrow.

Arrow - "Home Invasion" - Initial Reactions

• Oh hey, Diggle's training again.
• Mass panic.
• Yay for Felicity's "cyber terrorism."
• Everyone is suspicious of Olly's relationship with Laurel.
• Of course you were.
• Have I mentioned that I like her?
• So... why can't she just hunt down Deadshot? Yeah, Diggle wants him dead, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be in the ground.
• Edward Rasmus... sounds familiar to me. Gonna have to look that up.
• OMG it's GUNN! Being and assassin. Awesome. And by awesome I mean horrible, but awesome.
• That's J. August Richards, for those who don't know.
• Wow, Laurell.
• They're friends, Tommy. His calling is slightly ridiculous, though would have been quicker.
• Aiming arrows is not that hard. I've done it before.
• Hello sexual tension.
• What are you doing, Roy?
• Huh, weird.
• Tommy bonding with the kid over parents being murdered. Fun fun.
• Okay, not what I was expecting...
• Good thing Olly's coming over.
• Laurel with a rifle. Awesome.
• Hi Olly.
• He wouldn't let anything happen to either of you.
• Huh, that's a nice thing for Tommy to say.
• Lol, Laurel not being in the loop.
• Tommy is not happy about that at all.
• Lol, Roy.
• Good job being a sitting duck, Roy.
• Just a little ironic.
• And the choice is... *drum roll*
• Deashot maybe?
• Does Lila know Diggle's there?
• Okay, Rasmus.
• Dude, he's a sniper. Why would he not be in position already?
• This is where Diggle gets super angry at Olly.
• Felicity does wound clean-up now?
• Well duh.
• Except that's not always the case, Dig.
• Oh look, oft forgotten backstory.
• Hello making out in the forest during training. Good job.
• Tommy makes things awkward.
• Awww... tear-y Tommy isn't so much fun.
• That's kind of a brilliant way to kill someone.
•  Lol, Wonder Twins.
• Well that's a nice lesson there, Detective.
• The best things happen on dark and stormy nights... and by best I mean deadly and awesome at the same time.
• Jealous Tommy is jealous.
• Well that's nice.
• Okay, J. August is seriously creepy when he wants to be.
• Bye bye electricity.
• I love watching Olly fight.
• Now who gets to take the credit for that kill?
• A dead man. Go figure.
• Good boy, Tommy.
• DUH!
• Of course she would. Poor Tommy.
• So Tommy's just up and leaving?!
• And throwing himself under the bus to break up with her.
• He's totally lying. Of course he is.
• I really, really like Roy.
• Yay Thea! You're awesome.
• Diggle's leaving?! That's so not cool!
• He's totally not alone, though.
• Called it!
• Except it's not, so there goes the tension.

 Housekeeping

Hey look, I kept up for once! And now I'm watching Supernatural, which looks like it's gonna be really interesting, so I'm gonna just focus on that.

Love ya, Jessie.

Lacey Pan

Spoiler Warning

If you have not seen the most recent episode of Once Upon a Time or Disney's Peter Pan, please leave the blog and come back later. The following review contains spoilers.

Once Upon a Time - "Lacey" - Review

I really enjoyed this episode. Like, really, really enjoyed it. There wasn't a moment wasted.

First, the Enchanted Forest flashbacks were quite fun. They gave more substance, in my opinion, to the Belle/Rumple relationship. I thought it was interesting how Belle stood up to Rumple pretty much from the beginning of her servitude. I thought it was nice how she essentially cajoled him into being good, despite her not knowing about his past. I found it a little weird that Belle spent the entire episode in that gold dress. I liked the reveal of the library. It was rather nice how it wasn't a direct rip-off of the Beauty and the Beast movie.

I thought the limited role of Robin Hood was nice. I don't think it would have been a good idea to make him a big character. We've already got quite a lot of those. I thought the Sheriff of Notingham was properly weasley. He just seemed super pathetic.

I thought Regina was back on form here. She was wonderfully manipulative and just plain evil. I also quite liked her reaction to finding out that Neil was Henry's father. I thought the way she found out about the magic bean crop was cool. I'm wondering what she's going to do now that she knows about it.

I thought Rumple attempting to be a sweet old guy to Lacey was cute. He was so awkward, especially talking David into giving him dating advice. As for the revelation at the end, Lacey is apparently a piece of work. I find it interesting that she's the complete opposite of Belle. Everyone else seemed to be closer in personality to their Enchanted Forest selves.

Peter Pan - Review

Thanks to my babysitting, I re-watched the Disney version of Peter Pan. I enjoyed it just as much this time as I have in the past, though this time with some deep-ish thoughts about it.

First off, I noticed that after Wendy gets to Neverland, she has trouble flying. She can still do it, but she has a lot of trouble taking off and even opts not to fly at the Mermaid Lagoon. I'm left wondering why exactly that is. I think it might have to do with her age, more than anything else. Despite that she wants to continue being a child, she has some rather serious and practical thoughts going on in that pretty head. And actually, after they arrive in the Indian Encampment, she doesn't fly at all by herself.

I thought Peter Pan was an interesting dichotomy of fun-loving child and capable fighter. He's frighteningly immature at times, such as the Mermaid Lagoon part, almost allowing the mermaids to drown Wendy. He only stops that when he sees Wendy about to start throwing things at the mermaids. He also gets ridiculously angry at both Tink and Wendy when they do something he doesn't quite like. I'm not sure exactly where his fighting skills come from, but he holds his own against Captain Hook more than once. It's actually kind of scary, those fighting skills.

Captain Hook is one of my favorite villains. He's unabashedly evil, even if he is quite cowardly in some respects. I thought it was interesting that he risked the loyalty of his crew in order to hunt down Peter Pan. This is remarked upon almost out of hand by one of the crew members when they talk to Smee at the beginning. He's incredibly blood-thirsty, too. He has no problem essentially torturing/killing Tiger Lilly in order to get his information. I do have to point out, though, having also watched a bunch of Jake and the Neverland Pirates yesterday, that Hook's been turned into a giant parody of himself in the series. He's portrayed as stupid and narcissistic. I didn't really realize there was a difference, though, until I watched Peter Pan.

Also, this will come as no surprise to anyone, but Tinkerbell was a giant bitch for most of the movie. She was ridiculously jealous of Wendy. I'm not gonna read anymore into it, though, mainly because I don't want my brain going into that particular gutter.

So, those are my big thoughts on the Peter Pan movie. In the future, I'll probably watch Peter Pan without these thoughts in mind, mainly because it's just a lot of fun. Like, the message is there, but it can pretty much be ignored until the end of the movie.

Obelisk War Update

The prize shop is finally open! The winner has been announced! (It's The Sway.) There was a ghostly Oracle inside the Obelisk. Yay!

Housekeeping

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was too exhausted by the time I was actually able to use my computer.

I've started watching Fringe on Netflix. I'm really enjoying the first season so far.

Still haven't watched Grimm, mostly because I haven't had time to sit at my computer and watch it. OnDemand is not being nice to me in that regard.

Tomorrow, I may or may not get Initial Reactions out for Arrow. I'm really hoping I'll get them up, just as a personal thing.

Love ya, Jessie.

My Thoughts on Lost

Minor Spoiler Warning

The following review/thoughts are for the entire six season run of Lost. There are some minor spoilers, but not anything gigantic, I don't think. Just be aware that they exist.

My Thoughts on Lost 

For the last month or so, I've been watching Lost as often as I can. This last week, I finished the series. I gotta say, it's not as mind-blowing as I've heard it was. Now, that statement might be one of the most controversial things I could say about Lost... except I'm probably going to end up saying more. Now though, I'd like to elaborate on why I think I didn't find Lost that mind-blowing.

I've got several theories banging around in my head regarding that. They are as follows:

1. I never hopped on the reality show bandwagon.
2. I've always been more attracted to and watched more arc-based television.
3. I didn't watch Lost while it was airing.
4. I've been watching Lost back-to-back.

For the sake of simplicity and inter-linked-ness, I'm gonna talk about all the points together. At the time Lost was airing, and even today, our television screens are bombarded my reality shows. As far as I've seen, reality shows aren't all that exciting or mentally engaging. Yeah, the single episodes are kind of exciting, but only in that you're supposed to take reality shows one episode at a time with no real inter-linked parts in between. With Lost, you pretty much had to tune in every week to find out the entire story. This is normal for most of the TV shows I watch/have watched.

One of the big things I heard/am hearing about Lost is that it's all "mysterious" and stuff. It's really not, especially if you're used to arc-based storytelling. A little bit of the plot is revealed each episode with character stuff or one-off plots filling out the individual episodes. This happens in Lost, Doctor Who, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Angel, etc. etc. Heck, even books are written that way, assuming you translate a chapter into an episode. So yeah, the mystery of Lost was somewhat lost on me. I just assumed everything mysterious would be explained by the end of the storyline.

I talked over some of my feelings about Lost with my dad. When I told him I didn't find it as awesome as everyone else did, he pointed out that I was watching it out of sync with everyone else. This is true. I don't have "Lost Fever" around me as I watch the show. I'm not involved in all the speculation that went on from week to week. I'm watching the show back-to-back, virtually no waiting between episodes, by myself with no one to talk things out with. So there's that bit of excitement thrown out the window.

All of that stuff said, I still thought Lost was an engaging show. It kept me watching 'til the end, at least. I liked the characters. I was somewhat intrigued by the storyline and certain elements of the show. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as awesome as I'd been expecting. Probably a hype problem in there somewhere, too.

So, now my thoughts on characters. I thought Kate was fun, but really wishy-washy. She never seemed to decide, or in fact settle, on Jack or Sawyer at all. In fact, she was constantly, up until the last episode, flipping back and forth between them. Heck, she actually had more chemistry with Claire than either Jack or Sawyer. Kate's ridiculousness got boring after the first season so I pretty much tuned that mess out. I thought Sawyer was brilliant, especially in the last couple seasons. Jack... was your typical reluctant hero. Yeah, he'll get the job done, but he'll complain about it the entire way. Claire was pretty awesome. I loved Charlie. Sayid was the kind of guy I like to see in these shows. Knows where he stands morally, but isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. I thought Sun and Jin were nice together and held their own apart. Hugo was... well, Hugo. Almost too-trusting at times, flipped between pessimistic and optimistic, read people well, and had an interest ability. Ben was annoying at first and then I kind of liked him. Locke... I didn't like him for most of the series. Still have a kind of apathy toward him. I really liked Juliet. I thought she and Sawyer were an awesome couple. I cried over their bit at the end.

And now... some unanswered questions I have. What exactly is the island? I kind of want to say it's a sort of purgatory or a bubble universe or something. That's never fully answered. Next, the giant statue of Sobek. Sobek is the Egyptian god of crocodiles and also the creator of the world. He apparently crawled out of chaos to do so. The island is plenty chaotic so... what's with the statue? Lastly, how exactly is the island so linked with electromagnetic power? Like, how does that even work? Electromagnetism was apparently holding the island together... or whatever. That confused the heck out of me.

So... yeah... that's what I thought of Lost. I'm planning to try to listen to a Lost podcast, see if I can gain any additional insight from other people.

Housekeeping

For those of you who read my blog regularly and are wondering where my Grimm review, Once Upon a Time initial reactions, and Doctor Who review are... they're coming. I still haven't got around to watching Grimm and I missed Once Upon a Time this evening. I also want to watch "Hide" a few more times before I give a review of that. I may or may not have time in the next couple days due to babysitting. However, they will be here eventually.

Let me know what you guys thought about Lost or my thoughts on Lost in the comments.

Love ya, Jessie.

Hide Pictures of You

I'm in kind of a weird mood this evening, given I just finished watching Lost. I may or may not have a review for the show when I've got a spare moment. Tonight, I have a review for this week's TVD and Initial Reactions for tonight's Doctor Who. This has been your SPOILER WARNING.

The Vampire Diaries - "Pictures of You." - Review

For the most part, this episode was interesting. However, it was ridiculously choppy, not lingering on a single moment. I felt like I was having some kind of whiplash.

Let's go ahead and start with... my annoyance at Caroline. She needs to make up her mind about Klaus and stick with it. Running to him at a moment's notice after yelling at him about being an asshole for a couple weeks in a row now. Needing a dress should not be ample reason for going to see him again. Yes, she looked awesome, but she's driving me nuts with the flip-flopping.

Damon and Stefan really ought to just leave Elena alone. I admire their tenacity, but it's getting annoying. Letting Elena deal with her shit on her own time would be a good idea. At the moment, they seem to be gearing up for an Elena-kills-everyone-in-Mystic-Falls murder spree. Either that or we get annoying Elena back.

I will refrain from expressing my super-annoyance at Klaus, as I do that every week. However, Rebekah and Elijah's little agreement was interesting. I thought everyone was being super harsh about Rebekah's desire to become human. Yeah, she can be a little flighty, but she hasn't given up on the cure since she learned about it. She hasn't been an utterly terrible person, in fact, mostly she's been pretty on-point as far as "humanity" goes. Besides, people without vampiric powers do pretty evil stuff all on their own.

I thought Bonnie was pretty awesome this episode, and yet terribly stupid. Of course Jeremy's not going to come back from the dead like Silas made it appear. She should know that. She really should. That she didn't kind of made me want to slap her, but... ya know, I totally wouldn't for fear of dying via witchcraft.

And oh hey, Tyler's back for five minutes. How wonderfully... not wonderful. I didn't really see much point there.

But yeah... this episode would have been a lot more interesting if more bits had been lingered on. It jumped around entirely too much for me to enjoy it completely. I'm saddened by Stefan and Damon's actions in Elena's direction. I sincerely hope Elena gets out and does something that really makes them leave her alone.

Doctor Who - "Hide" - Initial Reactions

• Twas a dark and stormy night...
• Pretty sure that's no ghost.
• Creepy knocking will turn out to be The Doctor.
• Another Ghostbusters reference... joy.
• Lol, Doctor What.
• He's such a nerd. He's brilliant.
• Wow, Clara.
• But why is is empathic psychic? Why not just empath?
• So what well?
• Good girl, Clara. I wouldn't go with him, either, especially while he's making faces.
• These commercials are totally going to screw up the pacing.
• Fast talking and whispering do not go well together.
• Creepy things in the dark...
• Wow, that set actually looked like the candles were lighting it.
• Well this is a wonderfully wise conversation.
• Matt's intrigued face makes me smile.
• Really cold spot.
• Seriously? You just leave her after she says that? Your alien-ness is showing, Doctor.
• You went and made her mad with your chalk circle.
• Hello mirror.
• Shattering mirror.
• Well that was interesting.
• Lady of my own mind, Ms. Clara.
• That was an ugly painting.
• "It sticks out like a big chin." that's quite odd.
• Why would she be fun?
• Well that's a new one... "...sliver of ice in his heart."
• "The TARDIS is like a cat." - Oh god.
• You've had several.
• TARDIS, you are amazing.
• He's still got that thing?
• I thought the glass broke on that?
• Well this is fun. Lots of random time tavel.
• Why are you sad about that?
• Okay, that makes sense now.
• That's an interesting way to put that.
• Wait, what?
• That was a really stereotypical thunder crash.
• Yay pocket universes.
• That is a very good question.
• Very different things.
• Quantum foam?
• I'm gonna have to watch this again later to catch what he's actually saying.
• So the mirror is a portal? Makes sense.
• Yay wormholes.
• The point of tether is that you keep them on so you can be pulled back, not for immediately taking them off. Yay weird sentences.
• There are reasons you don't get rid of your tether.
• Which is why you don't take off the tether-vest thingy.
• And of course get around it by having an "echo house in and echo universe."
• The glimpses of the creature remind me of the thing from The Lazarus Experiment.
• And of course The Doctor is stuck.
• Cloister Bells = super super bad things going on.
• Well that was weird.
• And Hilla's just... there for the post part?
• So basically... the TARDIS is willing to essentially kill herself with Clara inside to get The Doctor while The Doctor's being rescued by someone else?
• And now it's reminding me of that weird demon thing from Angel.
• Rescued on the back of the TARDIS. That's very Jack Harkness of you, Doctor.
• Yup, no mystery there.
• Uninvited into group hugs. And then awkward family moments.
• Yes, yes you are. Of course you're slow.
• Of course there's two of them.
• Gotta rescue the crap-looking monster, too.
• That was... weird...

Housekeeping

Okay so... that was weird... and yeah... I'm in a weird mood, please excuse the weirdness of my words and sentences.

Love ya, Jessie.

Summon the Keeper

Okay so, I know I said last night that I'd have Initial Reactions for The Vampire Diaries up this evening. However, my family and I are going to dinner at a friend's house so I will most likely not get to watch The Vampire Diaries tonight. I am disappointed because I'm really anxious to see how things are going to unfold with Elena and her "emotionless state." Guess I'll just have to make time in my schedule to watch it tomorrow. *sigh*

So instead of Initial Reactions, I've decided to review one of my all-time favorite books that I just finished re-reading. I will try to keep the review as spoiler free as possible, but be aware that I'm not very good about that.

Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff - Review

I mentioned earlier that this is one of my all-time favorite books so we'll go out on a limb and say that I loved it. I also love rereading it, which I don't get to do often. There are just so many wonderful nuggets in it for a fantasy/mythology nerd like myself.

Summon the Keeper introduces Claire Hansen, Keeper, and her talking cat, Austin. It holds true that if there is a snarky talking cat, you're usually off to a good start. Claire sort of inherits a guest house where there's a hole to Hell in the basement and a "Sleeping Beauty-ed" Keeper in one of the rooms. The maintenance man/cook of the guest House is Dean. He's also the running love interest and all-around-hero-type. A couple chapters in, we're also introduced to Jacques, the ghost. Each of these characters is well developed and brought to life brilliantly. Their interactions comprise most of the action in the book, but it never gets stale.

For most of the book, the story revolves around Claire running the guest house. This would be boring if all the guests were normal. The guests most assuredly aren't normal in any sense of the word. We get werewolves, a vampire, old gods/goddesses, and a psychic medium, along with a bevy of supernatural visitors on Halloween. Not to mention, the next door neighbor, Mrs. Abrams, popping in all willy-nilly.

In addition to the guests, Claire must battle the forces of Hell, who/which is hilarious. Hell is one of the best parts of Summon the Keeper. It has running dialogues with itself and the occasional talks with Claire and Austin. I would go into that more, but I think Hell is best discovered on your own.

The world Claire, Austin, Dean, and Jacques inhabit is slowly built up throughout the book. It sort of reminds me of Buffy, but only in the supernatural existing alongside the "real" world quite well. Well, that and the humor. The Keepers' function is to fix whatever holes happen to be torn in the fabric of reality. There are Cousins, who are essentially lower-tier Keepers... sort of. Claire explains it better in the book. As for the rest, go read the book. Not spoiling any of the fun surprises is rather hard at this point. I will say this, though: You don't have to be gigantically versed in mythology to enjoy Summon the Keeper. It helps a bit, but it's not required.

I think if you're a fan of mythology, fantasy, and humor, you'll love this book as much as I do. Of course, as I love Summon the Keeper to bits, I'm rather biased.

Housekeeping

Yeah... most likely not watching TVD tonight. I should get a review up Friday or at least some time this weekend. If you'd like to know how my weekend's going to shape up in terms of watching and reviewing stuff, you should go check out yesterday's post where I go in-depth on the matter.

Also, clicking Tanya Huff's name up in the section title will take you to her Wikipedia page.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Week In Which Everything Is Back

Okay, so technically it's two weeks. But that sounded wrong so I decided not to put that as the title.

Starting tomorrow evening, everything should be back on its regularly scheduled course.

• The Vampire Diaries is back tomorrow.
• Grimm is back on Friday.
• Doctor Who is continuing Saturday.
• Once Upon a Time is back on Sunday
• Arrow and Supernatural are back Wednesday.
• Warehouse 13 is back the following Monday. FINALLY.

I'm going to be house-sitting starting Friday night, so I might not get Initial Reactions out for Grimm. Depending on the availability of BBC America where I'm house-sitting, I might have to find an "alternative" method to getting my Doctor Who. And, of course, depending on when I get home on Sunday, I might not get Initial Reactions out for Once Upon a Time. So this weekend's gonna be a little topsy-turvy.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get myself on a proper schedule starting next week, though. Hopefully.

The Part In Which I Gush Over Gaia's Monthly Collectibles

As you may or may not be aware, though I'm not sure how you missed it, I am an active member of Gaiaonline's community. For those who don't know, Gaiaonline is an anime-based chat site in which you earn "gold" by chatting with other players in order to trick out your avatar is stylish clothing/hair/eyes/pets/background/etc./etc.

Every month, there are a pair of collectible items that are released. These items started out as a thank you to people who donated to keep the site running. They are only available during their particular month, unless you happen to snag them in the Marketplace. They are often themed to the month or are completely random.

Some of the items that have continued to show up as Monthly Collectibles have been Pixie/Sprite items. Previous releases have been Pixie (pale blue), Scarlet Sprite (red), and Silver Sprite (silver). This month, we got the Pixie Queen. She's gold themed and includes a wig, wings, gold pixie pet, I AM pixie, crown/wimple, dress, and a cape/arms poses. I adore this item... which is obvious because I've just explained all that to basically get to this point. Having Pixie Queen has enabled me to wear all the Pixie/Sprite items together, too. I hadn't been able to mesh them properly beforehand. I seriously can't wait for the next Pixie/Sprite MC Gaia puts out. This one is just phenomenal.

Housekeeping

Tomorrow will hopefully by my Initial Reactions for The Vampire Diaries. I'm waiting with baited breath, now that Elena's given the boys her ultimatum.

Love ya, Jessie.

The Rings of the Cold War Taxi Driver of Akhaten

It's another mixed up title made out of other titles. That must mean there are reviews ahead. That must also mean that there's a spoiler warning a comin' too...

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen the most recent episodes of Supernatural and Doctor Who, please leave the blog and come back later. The following reviews contain spoilers for "The Rings of Akhaten," "Cold War," and "Taxi Driver."

Doctor Who - "The Rings of Akhaten" - Review

While I was watching the episode, I liked it. I was rather shocked by the planet becoming the Great Pumpkin's evil twin, but I liked the rest. I thought it was a nice change to have just a small portion of the universe in trouble instead of the entire universe. I thought the main thrust of the story, Merry Gejelh (that is some funky spelling there), was cute and another nice change from adults running around with their hands in the air. The story was not as dark as some of the previous ones, which also made a nice change.

I also quite liked the backstory we got on Clara's parents. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Also painted a picture of The Doctor as a stalker, but there you go.

I would say more, but I don't really want to pick apart this episode. I liked it. I probably won't be watching it again soon, though. It was nice, simple, romp.

Doctor Who - "Cold War" - Review

I loved this episode. Loved it, loved it, loved it. The story was well put-together, the scares were fun, and the character development was wonderful. I thought Clara's reactions to things were very realistic, even if she was a tad over-eager in parts. My favorite bit was when she discovered the TARDIS Translation Matrix... which they actually called the correct thing this time. I'm pretty sure it was called a Translation Circuit last time... or else I'm getting it mixed up with the Chameleon Circuit...

Anyway... I really enjoyed getting to properly see an Ice Warrior for the first time. I'd seen bits of some of the Classic Who episodes they appeared in, but I'm not sure I fully appreciated them then. I thought Skaldak was pretty brilliant. I thought it was clever how he used his armor as a misdirection, though I'm unsure why it opened when Clara touched it... also, Skaldak was kind of impatient when he sent out his distress beacon. I know there wouldn't have been much of a story if he hadn't been impatient, but still.

I was fairly sure some of the older Whovians were going to get upset about a) Skaldak coming out of his armor and b) seeing an Ice Warrior without the armor. I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to my podcasts and found they were actually quite positive about it. I'm very happy about that.

I've already see "Cold War" twice and I might revisit it again in the near future. Meantime, I can't wait for this weekend and the next episode.

Supernatrual - "Taxi Driver" - Review

Funny story, when Dean said he buried Benny, I heard "married." Man, that was a weird couple of seconds while I was reeling in shock. Luckily, the next thing out of Dean's mouth was "but I didn't burn his bones." Gah! My brain is weird.

Anyway, nothing new was really set up or revealed here. We got some more of Kevin freaking out. He's now apparently cracked, as evidenced by the lack of glass on the floor. We got to see Benny again and witness his parting... twice. We got Bobby back for a bit, which was sort of fun. I enjoyed that he clocked Sam first thing, even if he did think Sam was a demon.

Of course last on my list is talking about Crowley and Naomi. Crowley's his usual awesomely evil self. His motives are at least crystal clear. Naomi, on the other hand, is a bureaucrat who doesn't like to be called a bureaucrat. I still don't like her at all. I'm glad Dean didn't fall for her BS and he doesn't even know about her "Danger Room" of Dean corpses. Also, doing one good thing for someone doesn't automatically mean you can be trusted. If anything, it means you can't, especially if you've been shifty for all the time they've known you.

I especially enjoyed the scene with Crowley and Naomi together. There's gotta be some interesting history there. Mark Shepard and Amanda Tapping have such great chemistry on screen, it makes me want to ship Crowley and Naomi... ya know, if I were to ship anyone.

Overall, I liked the episode. It's nice to have actual plot rather than filler for once.

Housekeeping

Apparently, Neopets previewed something from the Obelisk opening that said "SOON" on it. Not sure what's going on there, but I'll keep you posted.

Tomorrow... I don't know. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Love ya, Jessie.

Shopping Day Quickie

Yes, yes, I said on Saturday that there would possibly be shopping on Sunday. I was wrong. I was also extremely tired from watching my nephew so... I didn't post the reviews I sort of promised. I'm also not posting those tonight. Sorry.

Tonight there actually is shopping, but I though while people were getting ready to go I'd dash off this quick thing.

So, uh... yeah... I've been listening to podcasts pretty non-stop and working on an art project. That bit's not been non-stop, but I've been working on it for over a week so far and it's about half-way done... I think. I'll post that once I do get it done.

I've gotta run. Hope you have a great Monday evening recovering from the annoyance of Monday. Also, my heart goes out to all those harmed and affected by the Boston Marathon bomb thing.

Love ya, Jessie.

Doctor Who - Cold War - Secondary Reactions

Okay so... I was babysitting my nephew again this evening. He was being very fussy and upset through the last half hour of Doctor Who. Luckily for me, BBC America shows the episode twice. As I'm typing this, I'm waiting for the second airing so I can give you my reactions as I watch.

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen tonight's episode of Doctor Who, please leave the blog and come back later. The following Secondary Reactions contain spoilers.

Doctor Who - "Cold War" - Secondary Reactions

• Awesome CG ice shot
• The captain has a very large hat
• This was a little freaky the first time around, until that guy started singing and then it was weird.
• I don't like that guy. He's the usual military idiot who's too messed up about his own crap to do the smart thing.
• And this kid's an idiot who really ought to listen to the people in charge of him.
• Still in love with the opening.
• Oh dude, the music has a bit of funky old flair in it. I like it.
• Flashbacks to "The Waters of Mars."
• Fail, Doctor. Stop promising people warm places and then putting them somewhere cold.
• You're an idiot, First Mate Guy.
• Why does he have a Barbie?! That is not explained.
• Bye bye, TARDIS.
• I do quite love how the Ice Warrior sounds like the Basalisk from Harry Potter.
• The funky light made the Ice Warrior look sparkly there for a moment.
• Here's where I thought The Doctor might have met Skaldak in his third or fourth incarnation. Don't know if that happened or not, I haven't actually seen those episodes.
• His chin does not match the CG chin he has later.
• Clara looks good in that jacket.
• Except there had to be time to explain them to people.
• How are they enemy agents?
• Lol, and she's quick to realize there's weirdness with the language.
• I like how they didn't give the actors Russian accents.
• Dude, the captain didn't prod him with the cattle prod! Some guy who probably wasn't there to hear the "don't attack him" bit prodded him.
• So it's Clara. This bit's funny.
• "Oh yes, you can totally do that -- but no, no you can't. Not happening." - The Doctor's face.
• She needed to find somewhere else to put the light.
• Out goes the power...
• That line's slightly funny, and yet brilliant.
• Smart Clara is smart.
• Ice Warrior armor opens like a Dalek.
• I grinned at that, first time around.
•  Futile door banging.
• Really fast Ice Warrior.
• That was kind of a sweet moment.
• Dun dun dun.
• Don't ever say that. Ever.
• Lots of drippyness in this episode. It's amazing the sub hasn't filled up with water by now.
• This is where the idiot gets it. Good riddance.
• Creepy hands! They're like raptor hands.
• That one dude kind of looks a little like David Tennant.
• You're not a warrior, you're an idiot.
• Yeah, because the alien's totally interested in winning a human war...
• The conversation about time being in flux. Came much quicker with Clara than anyone else, I think.
• Yay, Sonic! Why the Barbie!
• Red Shirts.
• I like the old guy.
• Clara, Clara, Clara.
• Sing with the old guy.
• Back to the red shirts.
• Of course she's not going to argue, she's not one of your other companions.
• Hooray for slide-y floors.
• No crap, really?
• This part is amusing. All he wants to know is about Ultravox.
• This is where Skaldak looks like a toad.
• Grab some patience, Skaldak.
• Of course the armor is robotic, at least in part.
• Okay, those tendril things are weird.
• Mars Martial Law. Why do people always attempt to impose their laws on others?
• Red Light time.
• Skaldak looks like a horny toad.
• Tractor Beam!
• See, a little patience, Skaldak.
• He totally doesn't want to.
• Yay!
• Awkward Doctor is awkward.
• I'm so glad they didn't kiss just then. The older Who fans would have bitched about it FOREVER.
• He's allowed.
• The H.A.N.S. lol.
• Of course it's at the South Pole. That's just like her.
• Love The Doctor's reaction to people laughing at him.

Housekeeping

I am planning to do reviews for last week's episode and this week's episode of Doctor Who tomorrow. At least, that's what I'm planning to do. There's shopping to be done so... I don't know.

Love ya, Jessie.

Pottermore's PoA ch 8-15

Obligatory Spoiler Warning

For those who: a) have not read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and do not wish to be spoiled and/or b) have not clicked through chapters 8-15 of Prisoner of Azkaban on Pottermore and do no wish to be spoiled.

Yes, I feel silly issuing spoilers about a book that's both widely read and has been out for years. But you never know so... you've been warned.

This is how this is going to work. First, will be my overall review of these chapters in regards to Pottermore. Next will be my thoughts on the individual chapters and moments. Then... Housekeeping, most likely.

Chapters 8-15 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Pottermore Review

Overall, I'm slightly more impressed with this batch of chapters on Pottermore than I have been in the past. Prisoner of Azkaban is both my favorite Harry Potter book and movie. I am a gigantic fan of the Marauders and so I was pleased we got some more information about them. It was a small bit, but it was there. That said, I'm still incredibly disappointed with what I'm getting out of Pottermore. I am not one of those people who sits around waiting for potions to brew or clicking on letters to work on my "wand work." I am a casual fan of Pottermore who is much more into Harry Potter than I often let on. I'd rather have more to do in the "moments" than, essentially, nothing. That said, I'm glad we are getting what we're getting, I just wish there was more.

Chapter Thoughts

Chapter 8 - Flight of the Fat Lady

Not sure what I expected here, but what I got was boring as all get out. The first moment was boring for the most part. I got a small amount of childish enjoyment leading a swarm of bats around the screen with my mouse.

The second moment was only slightly more interesting because we got more information about magical portraits. The information basically clears up why some portraits, such as those of headmasters and headmistresses, have more personality than those of other portraits, such as Sir Cadogan and The Fat Lady. Also, that bit with Peeves making a farting noise when you mouse over him was not necessary, in my opinion.

Chapter 9 - Grim Defeat

I loved this moment. Loved it a lot. I don't think Rowling's writing fully impressed upon me how terrifying it would be to have a swarm of hundreds of Dementors beneath you. This moment pretty much solidified in my head just how terrifying it would be. You get to hear the storm and the sounds the Dementors make. They kind of sound like zombies, if I'm honest, but the visual of them is just... wow.

This moment also brought in an excerpt from the audiobook. I'm not sure if a) the narrator is dependent on your location or b) it's a good thing. I've seen people in the comments of Pottermore talking about Jim Dale and some talking about Stephen Fry so... I'm a bit confused on that. As for it being a good idea or not... I was surprised when I heard Jim Dale's voice start up and initially impressed. Now that I've gone back through though, I was slightly annoyed at it. I don't need the narration playing every time I open the moment.

Chapter 10 - The Marauder's Map

I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty excited for this bit of Pottermore. The entirety of moments in this chapter are boring as all get out, to say the least. The part that interested me the most was getting more information about The Marauder's Map and The Marauders themselves. We got a little bit about how the Map came into being and about how Filch ended up with it before the Weasley twins got a hold of it. The Marauder's fangirl in me was grinning as I read about The Marauders making the map always insult Snape. I also found it interesting that Rowling wasn't really pleased with the Map as a plot device. I guess she has a bit of a point, though I never really thought about it.

The rest of the moments in this chapter were better done in the movie. I sort of expected a moment titled "The Three Broomsticks" to actually let you poke around inside The Three Broomsticks, but no. Instead you get to attempt to click stuff out in the animated snow.

Chapter 11 - The Firebolt

Yeah... this moment was boring. It included another audiobook excerpt and some info on Gobstones. I never really thought twice about Gobstones and apparently, neither did most wizards and witches.

Chapter 12 - The Patronus

The most disappointing chapter of them all. Not only did we not get to see a Patronus, but there wasn't a quiz or anything so we could find out what our Patronus would be. While I wasn't exactly expecting that last bit, I did at least expect something more than some very obvious remarks about chocolate helping you to feel better after a Dementor comes near you. I do think it would be neat at some point to find out what my Patronus would be, just like getting a wand and being sorted.

Chapter 13- Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw

The only vaguely interesting thing about this chapter was the bit about goblins having a hand in the creation of the Firebolt. There was an attempt at humor at the bottom of that bit of info, but it didn't really work out.

Chapter 14- Snape's Grudge

Again, another mostly disappointing chapter. There's nothing to talk about really. I did chuckle, though, at getting to ransack Professor Snape's office for potion supplies I'll never use. I thought the bit of animation with the Floo Powder was kind of cool, though now Professor Lupin's stuck in the fireplace... was the thought that popped into my head this time around.

Chapter 15 - The Quidditch Final

Nothing even vaguely interesting here, unless you like crowds yelling stuff.

Housekeeping

Okay, that was more fun than I thought it would be. I don't really have anyone around to talk Potter with so... yeah. Oh, and feel free to friend me on Pottermore, though I probably won't be on until the next batch of chapters comes out. My username is GoldOak9.

Tomorrow... I have no idea what I'm going to blog about. Maybe I'll finally watch the most recent episode of Supernatural...

Love ya, Jessie.

The Pinkie Pie Review

So... there's nothing but Doctor Who on this week. Like, everything is on a break/showing reruns. I've expressed my annoyance with this ridiculousness in the past so I'm not going to dwell on it now. What I am going to do is a departure from my usual TV/Movie/Book/Fanfiction reviews. This will be my first toy review; possibly, my only toy review.

Preliminary Warning

This post is image-heavy.

Please excuse any funky lighting or blur on the photos. I took them in my room, which is lit by two lamps... which is horrible lighting for taking pictures. I have fans going, so things blew around a very small bit. I am also not a tripod nor do I have one so... slightly shaky person + camera = blur. I picked the pics with the least amount of blur, but I'm not perfect.

Pinkie Pie Review

This past weekend, I went up to Dallas to a) hang out with my littlest sister and b) get a Build-A-Bear Pinkie Pie. Build-A-Bear just recently came out with an officially licensed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They are gorgeous. They are cheaper than getting a custom plush. They are perfect in almost every way. I got a Pinkie Pie because... well... I'm not overly fond of Dashie and they have yet to come out with a Rarity or Luna. (Sad Brony Is Sad)

I'm gonna go ahead and get the flaws out of the way so I can gush about the greatness.

1. Rainbow Dash's wings are made of that funky, crinkly, iridescent fabric. (Actually, I don't know if the fabric is crinkly, I didn't touch it. It looks crinkly.) Do Not Want. The wings should be the same fabric as the rest of the body. They're not magical or anything. Assuming Hasbro decides to do the rest of the Main Six (and possible other ponies), the unicorn horns will probably also be made of that fabric. But I'm just speculating.
2. The Cutie Marks are printed on only one side. This is a constant bug-bear of mine with all My Little Pony toys. Come on Hasbro, the Cutie Marks are on both sides in the show, why aren't they that way on the toys?!
3. The hair is the same brush-able stuff from the plastic toys. It's kind of crap on plushies due to how it feels. Also, Build-A-Bear plushies are not, strictly speaking, washable. I can't style the hair the way I would normally because I don't want to get the plushie wet.

Now that that's out of the way... Here's my Pinkie Pie:

Isn't she just adorable?! I originally did her hair like this because I was carting her down from Dallas, but I'm gonna leave it like that so it doesn't become the tangled mess it was when I got her. She's super-soft and totally huggable. And yes, she's standing by herself. Build-A-Bear lets you pick the squeezable-ness of your plush so you can make them all floppy if you want. Oh, she also didn't come with any hair-things. The flowers (to-be-pictured-later) come with her bridesmaid dress and the bows are pretty much free at Build-A-Bear.

Here's the detail of her Cutie Mark and Eyes. They're partially embroidered and partially appliqued. I'm really impressed with them. A lot of high-end custom plushes will have both details embroidered.

The Bridesmaid Dress

This is my Pinkie Pie in her bridesmaid dress. When I saw the dresses on the Build-A-Bear website, I thought the dresses were supposed to be from the Gala... which was obviously wrong. The set comes with the dress, necklace, and flower-thingy. I got her the shoes separately cuz I thought they matched well and looked cute.

The outfit details are another area of these that really impressed me. The attention to detail is just phenomenal. I've only got two little niggles: The dress should have covered the torso as well as the flanks and the flower-thingy really should have been a headband. But really, those niggles are seriously minor. I mean, just look at the detail on the necklace!

Overall, I'm just very, very impressed with the Build-A-Bear ponies. They're much better than the last few batches of plushes, in my opinion. If you don't believe me, have a look:

Build-A-Bear Staff

I just wanted to say, the staff at the Build-A-Bear in the Firewheel Mall were awesome. The day my sisters and I went in, the place was really busy, but not overly packed. We had a couple conversations with the ladies working that day about ponies and Doctor Who (because I was wearing my Doctor Whooves T-shirt). They were really nice, happy, and helpful. I have never had a better Build-A-Bear experience. Thanks ladies!

Housekeeping

Tomorrow, I'm partially planning on doing a little review thing of the new chapters of Pottermore that were released today. I've already been through them and... well... I'll go ahead and just leave that till tomorrow.

Love ya, Jessie.

PS: The last plush pic is property of Hasbro. I didn't have one on hand so I kinda stole that.