chrryblssmninja

TV roundup!

for the week of October 9 - 15

EXCELLENT
The Fades 1.4
It surprised me that I needed hours to emotionally recover from an episode of a show that started so recently with such an awkward pilot. This episode grounded the relationships within the show and introduced an understandable but truly terrifying villain. One or two moments seemed predictable or dragged out, but the episode found a fine balance between (or more accurately, blend of) action and emotional scenes.

PRETTY GOOD
Boardwalk Empire 2.3, "A Dangerous Maid"
Not perfect, but good showcase for many of the distinctive characters of the series.

Downton Abbey 2.4
The beginning seemed iffy, with not much quality covering the melodramatic backbone of the show, but it delivered by the end. The editing was slightly off, but the cinematography displayed a graceful fascination with reflections. I don't think I ship Sybil/Branson any more, unless something is remedied in the remainder of this series.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 2.3, “Lesson Zero”
It was fun seeing Twilight Sparkle grow maniacal in her desperation.

Fringe 4.4, “Subject 9”
Good dramatic episode that returned to the core of the show. Also great to see how the Cortexiphan kids plotline panned out in this new universe. However, the direction of this episode made the numerous "pause, sit down, and talk" scenes too evident. It didn't find a truly engaging pace, despite the commendable work done with the mytharc.

Community 3.4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”
I was just about to drop the show when I was stuck with the TV and decided to giveit one last chance. Seemed like another gimmick episode, but thankfully returned to bringing out character qualities instead of escalating antics. I think the bar episode of last season was better at doing something similar character-wise, but this episode has an emotional high in its favor.

EH
An Idiot Abroad 2.4, "Whale Watching"
Solid but not hilarious. Ricky drew out that prostate exam thing too many times.

It's Always Sunny in Philadephia - 7.5 - "Frank's Brother"
Not bad, but didn't bring out many laughs. Nice to see Lance Reddick, though. I think this was written just to give the main cast (sans DeVito) a break.

- - -

If I'm able to dress up for Halloween this year, I thought of some costume choices that fit one of my current fandoms:



Rarity would be the easiest - if I could fnd a long enough purple wig to curl. Then I can wear my long white skirt with a white shirt, with maybe a scarf or some other pink accent. Perhaps I'll customize a headband with her diamond cutie marks.

If I can't find a suitably long purple wig, though, I could mix short wigs for Sweetie Belle and still wear a white outift. Or just put a giant pink bow on a pink wig for Apple Bloom. I have a mint dress, but I don't think it's close enough to her color. I had a closer green dress, but I'm not sure if it's still in storage or was given to charity. I'm not sure if I have other clothes to match her color.

I also thought of dressing up as Applejack, but I didn't feel like dealing with all of the "what a nice cowgirl costume" comments. Even if nobody understands the others, at least there's less chance of being confused for something else.

TV ROUNDUP

week of September 25 - October 1

loose ranking.

SOLID EPISODE
Downton Abbey 2.2
Showed various aspects and changes for all the characters and storylines. Also, Mary got her sharp tongue back!
An Idiot Abroad 2.2
“There’s no rules here. It’s Russia.”
Lost a little momentum by the end, but provided plenty of big laughs.
Fringe 4.2
Dialogue too plain, but story itself was great.

GOOD, WITH RESERVATIONS
The Fades 1.2
Promising blend of supernatural apocalypse with high school dramedy. Doesn't quite gel in all parts but I like the actors and characters. A few lines are great, but more often they strafe close to brilliance but don't hit the target. The main ship is cute and Daniel Kaluuya's character is my favorite - although his geek references are sometimes drawn from too shallow a pool.
Where is Natalie Dormer's character?
Boardwalk Empire 2.1
“Pardon me, dear, I need to wash up. Public spaces.”
Nice character sketches and starts right on the action, but much of the new main plot is based on a ridiculous event involving the Ku Klux Klan wielding machine guns. Things like Al Capone vs. the Third Person and random wrestling were just weird.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 7.3
Stronger and more consistently hilarious episode, though the energy fizzled by the end. It's always fun when the gang wants to put on a show.

OKAY
Doctor Who 6.13
This sixth series was odd. I like that it had some great details, and brought many new fans to the show, but it felt too muddled to me and lacked the cohesion and energy of Series 5. ( other thoughts on the episode )

BORDERLINE
Community 3.2
Only funny things were slips and side-gags: straw in soda, Earth-2, Switzerland and Georgia. I'm losing interest in the characters, and yet again Britta is punished (although at least this time it was more about her pride than last episode, where she was just trying to help Abed). It could be interesting to see more Britta-Chang vibes - though not an actual ship, no.

ETA:

( list of all episodes watched between July 1 - October 1 )

Happy Birthday, misachan!


I was too occupied to do this on the 1st:

( TV episodes watched from April through June. )

I also posted a short new book review for Yet Another Magazine: The 50 Greatest Cartoons

25 episodes I enjoyed the most in 2010

Only episodes I watched from beginning to end. So, for example, since I missed the first 20 minutes of the Lost finale, it could not be even considered for this list.
This also counts all the episodes I watched this year, not just ones aired in 2010.

It started to be in order at the beginning of the year, but then I got tired. I was also going to write an explanation for my choices…but I’m doing this during Arsenal’s halftime, because after the game ends, I really need to finish a report and do other things.


Conan Tonight Show farewell
Doctor Who - Vincent and the Doctor
Being Human episode 2.6
Misfits - Episode 1.4
Lost - 6.9 - “Ab Aeterno” - YEAH I LIKED IT OKAY
Community -1.10 - Environmental Science
Lost 6.1 - 6.2 - “LAX”
Community - 1.15 - “Romantic Expressionism”
Boardwalk Empire - 1.5 - “Nights in Ballygran”
Sherlock - 1.3 - “The Greatest Game”
Chuck - 3.10 - “Chuck vs. the Tic Tac”
Sherlock - 1.1 - “A Study in Pink”
Lost - 6.7 - “Dr. Linus” - not best written but events
Community - 1.19 - “Beginning Pottery”
The Pacific- Part 9 - “Okinawa” (Buildup - Sledge is best character)
The Pacific - Part 3 - “Melbourne”
I, Claudius - episode 10 “Who, me?” - Caligula’s reign of terror
Community - 2.6 - “Epidemiology”
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - “Mac’s Mom Burned the House Down”
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - “The Gang Gets a Boat”
Boardwalk Empire 1.9 - “Belle Femme”
Community - “Mixology Certification”
Misfits - 2.4
Doctor Who Christmas special
The LXD - “Elliott’s Shoes”


My favorite show this year: Sherlock.

first: A Song of Ice and Fire corner
Jane Espenson (Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica) and series creator George R.R. Martin will write one episode each of the 10-part Game of Thrones HBO series.
I'm on the third book right now, which is much more consistent than the second book (that one had a brilliant and thrilling climax though).
also, via misachan: Inspired by a character showdown contest, George R.R. Martin has written Jaime Lannister vs. Cthulhu.
Slight spoilers for the third book, but otherwise fantastic.


two links via subtle__sarcasm:
101 Lost t-shirts.
I want the Black Rock, word cloud, any Numbers, and "I survived..."
Misha Collins makes truffles for fans. "Dear Sir or Madman," :)


via gossy16: Vote and help playgrounds get built!
Anyhow, to my point. I hate to spam you guys, but our kids at the St. Louis Language Immersion School (a.k.a. SLLIS) really, severely need a new playground. And there's these guys here who want to give us $5,000 for that if we wind up snagging a top 3 spot in their poll, how cool is that?
Currently we're in 4th place. However, my learnings on the internets have led me to conclude, if there's one thing livejournalfolk can do, it's vote to win. So it only seems logical that I turn to you lot for help: you can vote once a day every day (please make a note?) and pass it on.



After watching Community (AHA BOATS AND PARKING LOTS AND TONY HALE AND BANNING MOVIE REENACTMENTS AND STEALING CLOTHES AT THE YMCA AND INNER NARRATION AND LEE MAJORS WHAT), I was helping my brother with a project. At one point, I started humming random things, like a cat food commercial song. I then did the theme to Rocky and Bullwinkle, and continued on to say, "Hey there, Rocky!"
The only thing:
I said it in Rocky's voice.
I continued on, knowing that my brother and mother (in the same room, no not the same person) are used to my weirdness and probably tune me out.
So I continued on, this time saying, "Hi Bullwinkle!" "Hey there, Rocky!" in the correct voices.

And then my brother called me out on it.
He said something like, "Ha ha you got the voices wrong."
I was so surprised that he caught my mistake (and also amused at my mistake) that I started laughing so hard I cried.

Oh, and I also made biscuits.

That came sometime afterward. My biscuits are not made of tears.

So Community and 30 Rock had new episodes tonight with guest stars. Jack Black's appearance on Community only pays off at the end, but while 30 Rock was also uneven, James Franco fit in perfectly. "...one of the fights will be in a Jamba Juice." Also good to see all of the writing staff in little moments.

favorite line from Community: "He lived in a land without sun!"
oh, and it was nice seeing the actors playing Chang and the dean in the Turbo Tax commercial. I think they do stuff like that to confuse DVR fast-forwarders.

favorite line from 30 Rock: "their Stars, both Wars and Trek."