Don't worry! This is a spoiler free post as the show has not aired. But it is the most important thing that will be happening today. Even if the Huskies manage to beat the Beavers. We are a mere 3 hours away. I should be getting ready to head out because I have a ticket to see it in the theater with some friends. However the sore throat and headache that I have been pretending does not exist will not go away. And I am making the painful decision to be responsible. Thankfully there is a little Doctor Who series 7 marathon to support my choice. And hopefully with enough juice and water I can beat this stupid thing away. Thanksgiving is almost here, I have to be in tip top shape.
So while I'm waiting for the 50th Anniversary to start (3:02:20 according to the BBC America countdown ticker that is in the corner of the TV screen, let's discuss what else is happening.
I watched Castle last night (finally), so I'm all caught up. I know what you mean about needing an overarching story. I mean, they needed to work out the personal drama (and wrap up last season's proposal cliffhanger and Beckett's new job), so I get that. But I'm excited to see this happening. And I really think they have needed something like 3XK returning, as opposed to it coming back to Beckett's mom's murder again. Outside of the death of her mom, they have lacked something that sticks around and pops up often enough that people remember it (Krystal asked me for a refresher on 3XK after I watched and I couldn't give a ton of information). I explained it was like Palant on Bones (not sure I'm spelling that right). And I'm glad to see this on Castle as it's kind of a staple of a long-running crime show. [I guess you could insert here an argument that following a formula relates my prior post about a lack of originality, but it's a crime show, it's not about original formulas, it's about good characters so that you don't care that it's following the same formula as all the other crime shows before it.] Bones has had a couple, Palant and that creepy lady who was played by the actress from the Wire who buried people alive or something. Anyhow, it was creepy and on-going. The Law & Order with Vincent D'Onofrio (Criminal Intent?) had Nicole Wallace (played perfectly by Olivia D'Abo) and it was only a few episodes, but it was memorable, and I only watched a few reruns. You gotta have a nemesis, and the creepy 3XK is the perfect match for Beckett & Castle. Her brilliance and his outside of the box thinking present the ideal challenge for the meticulous sociopath.
You should definitely start Newsroom, that should be a top priority. It is so good. Haters be damned, it is idealist Sorkin at his best (okay, maybe 2nd best, early West Wing is impossible to beat, although that might have been when he had the cocaine problem, so I don't know that it's appropriate to say he was at his best then?). When you get through that, I want to make a case for giving Arrow another chance. I feel like so many shows fall off in their second season (both Revenge and Once Upon a Time went through season 2 like they had no idea where they wanted to go, with too many storylines and a general lack of focus, but thankfully both are back on track with clear focus in season 3), but Arrow has come into its own. The first season was entertaining, and I grew to really like the characters, but it wasn't solid, and a lot of the time I was just watching for Oliver to take his shirt off. This season there are quality twists and turns in every episode, but it still manages to not be too busy. There is a lot going on with returning villains and a secret bad guy that he doesn't even know about yet (not to mention the huge shock at the end of the last episode), but it's never too much. Also, I don't know exactly how Summer Glau is going to fit into this all in the long run, but I just love anytime she's on a show because she is awesome.
Random tangent: I've been thinking a lot about this healthcare.gov snafu and how it seems completely ridiculous that we are incapable of accomplishing this technological task while elsewhere in the government the NSA is hacking into pretty much everything. Now, my technological skills are nothing spectacular, but I do understand that creating that kind of website and sneaking into all aspects of our lives requires slightly different capabilities, so I'm not suggesting that the NSA guys make that ACA website (although come on, they could totally do it), but I think it just highlights some of our misplaced priorities. Spying on citizens and allies? Top notch effort. Making sure that our new system that is trying to give everyone access to affordable health care is easy to sign up for? Eh, we can phone that in. That said, people who are getting up in arms over this (Congress) can just calm down. These things take time. We are talking about millions of people. Also, I think I'll just type NSA in here one last time, perhaps it's like Beetlejuice and if you say it 3 times, they show up. Only in this case, they just start reading the blog. Welcome, NSA guys to our pop culture heavy blog.
Finally, I wanted to show you yet another buzzfeed list. http://www.buzzfeed.com/
The countdown continues, we're now at 2:34:11. And Strax & Jenny & Madam Vastra are on this epsiode. I love them. I wonder if they'll make an appearance in the special.
Sarah's encounter with the cookie elf has slowed down her progress considerably, but she does manage to cast a milk spell after rolling a 16 and escapes. However next in her path is a frog who strongly resembles Kermit, but asks for a kiss to turn into a real boy, and thus is unlikely really Kermit.
So while I'm waiting for the 50th Anniversary to start (3:02:20 according to the BBC America countdown ticker that is in the corner of the TV screen, let's discuss what else is happening.
I watched Castle last night (finally), so I'm all caught up. I know what you mean about needing an overarching story. I mean, they needed to work out the personal drama (and wrap up last season's proposal cliffhanger and Beckett's new job), so I get that. But I'm excited to see this happening. And I really think they have needed something like 3XK returning, as opposed to it coming back to Beckett's mom's murder again. Outside of the death of her mom, they have lacked something that sticks around and pops up often enough that people remember it (Krystal asked me for a refresher on 3XK after I watched and I couldn't give a ton of information). I explained it was like Palant on Bones (not sure I'm spelling that right). And I'm glad to see this on Castle as it's kind of a staple of a long-running crime show. [I guess you could insert here an argument that following a formula relates my prior post about a lack of originality, but it's a crime show, it's not about original formulas, it's about good characters so that you don't care that it's following the same formula as all the other crime shows before it.] Bones has had a couple, Palant and that creepy lady who was played by the actress from the Wire who buried people alive or something. Anyhow, it was creepy and on-going. The Law & Order with Vincent D'Onofrio (Criminal Intent?) had Nicole Wallace (played perfectly by Olivia D'Abo) and it was only a few episodes, but it was memorable, and I only watched a few reruns. You gotta have a nemesis, and the creepy 3XK is the perfect match for Beckett & Castle. Her brilliance and his outside of the box thinking present the ideal challenge for the meticulous sociopath.
You should definitely start Newsroom, that should be a top priority. It is so good. Haters be damned, it is idealist Sorkin at his best (okay, maybe 2nd best, early West Wing is impossible to beat, although that might have been when he had the cocaine problem, so I don't know that it's appropriate to say he was at his best then?). When you get through that, I want to make a case for giving Arrow another chance. I feel like so many shows fall off in their second season (both Revenge and Once Upon a Time went through season 2 like they had no idea where they wanted to go, with too many storylines and a general lack of focus, but thankfully both are back on track with clear focus in season 3), but Arrow has come into its own. The first season was entertaining, and I grew to really like the characters, but it wasn't solid, and a lot of the time I was just watching for Oliver to take his shirt off. This season there are quality twists and turns in every episode, but it still manages to not be too busy. There is a lot going on with returning villains and a secret bad guy that he doesn't even know about yet (not to mention the huge shock at the end of the last episode), but it's never too much. Also, I don't know exactly how Summer Glau is going to fit into this all in the long run, but I just love anytime she's on a show because she is awesome.
Random tangent: I've been thinking a lot about this healthcare.gov snafu and how it seems completely ridiculous that we are incapable of accomplishing this technological task while elsewhere in the government the NSA is hacking into pretty much everything. Now, my technological skills are nothing spectacular, but I do understand that creating that kind of website and sneaking into all aspects of our lives requires slightly different capabilities, so I'm not suggesting that the NSA guys make that ACA website (although come on, they could totally do it), but I think it just highlights some of our misplaced priorities. Spying on citizens and allies? Top notch effort. Making sure that our new system that is trying to give everyone access to affordable health care is easy to sign up for? Eh, we can phone that in. That said, people who are getting up in arms over this (Congress) can just calm down. These things take time. We are talking about millions of people. Also, I think I'll just type NSA in here one last time, perhaps it's like Beetlejuice and if you say it 3 times, they show up. Only in this case, they just start reading the blog. Welcome, NSA guys to our pop culture heavy blog.
Finally, I wanted to show you yet another buzzfeed list. http://www.buzzfeed.com/
The countdown continues, we're now at 2:34:11. And Strax & Jenny & Madam Vastra are on this epsiode. I love them. I wonder if they'll make an appearance in the special.
Sarah's encounter with the cookie elf has slowed down her progress considerably, but she does manage to cast a milk spell after rolling a 16 and escapes. However next in her path is a frog who strongly resembles Kermit, but asks for a kiss to turn into a real boy, and thus is unlikely really Kermit.
No comments:
Post a Comment