Top 9 Things That Were Actually Okay In Supernatural Season 9

 Some time ago I ranted into the wee hours of the night about everything I thought was bad about season nine of Supernatural. But in the spirit of fairness (and because I try to be an optimist) I thought about what things that happened in season 9 that actually, well, worked in my opinion. So, here it is: the top nine things that were okay in season nine.

Second Verse, same as the first.

 

9. Cas understanding pop culture actually working

 Hold up, people who will no doubt call this blasphemy! I, too, was doubtful and annoyed when Meta Sue uploaded Cas's brain with every story ever so he'd get his references. (Seriously, even I try to not overdo it with references I know people won't get, or force them to get them.) But, the few times we've seen him use this new ability, it's worked. They haven't overdone or beaten us over the head with Cas getting story references now.

 Plus, it leads to this wonderful exchange where he and Gadreel are trying to sneak their way back to Heaven. Cas's suggestion? "Wookie!"

"Where did you find the handcuffs, Castiel?" "It's best not to ask questions, Gadreel..."

Gadreel's confusion at the reference just sells it. Cas gets to see what it was like for Dean when he didn't get his references.

 I know it's still soon to say they got this right (they still have season 10 to run the joke into the ground and ruin it), but for now, they got it pretty good. Gold star sticker! ...Bronze.

8. Richard Speight Jr/Gabriel's appearance and dialogue in "Meta Fiction"

 I know, I know. I put the Gabriel fakeout on my worst list, BUT. But. Before that horrible thing happened, it was really awesome to see Gabriel again. His dialogue was some of the best, helped out immensely by Richard Speight Jr.'s delivery. Seriously, he got some of the funniest lines of the season, some can be seen here and here.

 Seriously, they way he bounced off Castiel and just stole the entire episode was awesome. It made me miss the character even more, and hope he'll pop up next season or real, in all his trickster archangel glory. (And if he does, that he'll interact with Crowley. The sheer sass of that meeting would be glorious.)

7. Decent treatment of Charlie, Garth, The Trans, and Jodie

 Between fake-outs, destroying characters, and killing them, it's almost easy to forget that they treated some reoccurring characters pretty decently in their appearances, and didn't kill them off (well, in Charlie's case, not very long).

 Charlie, while having a fake-out death in her one episode of the season, "Slumber Party", still got some really decent treatment. Heck, in the end, after killing The Wicked Witch, she ends up going to Oz to have the adventure she always dreamed of with Dorothy. (And who knows, maybe they hooked up afterwards. It could happen.) Yeah, there's a good chance we may never see Charlie again, at least anytime soon (Felicia Day is starring her own TV series soon, so her availability may go down). But if we do end up never seeing her again, it's still a great send-off. And compared to Tessa's unceremonious departure, one of the better ones. Period.

 Garth was another one who was treated well in his episode, "Sharp Tooth". I was terrified when I saw the promos for that episode, with Garth admitting he was a werewolf now. If anything, reoccurring character on Supernatural + Becoming something supernatural seemed to spell death for the beloved guy who I swear is probably Supernatural's Jesus (I WILL STAND BY THIS HEADCANON UNTIL I DIE!). Then they revealed he had a wife and was generally really happy with his new life with werewolves. Naturally, I was already prepared to mourn and flip tables. But no, they let Garth live, and let him be happy. Which is really awesome.

 Now, it might be weird to include The Trans under "decent treatment", since, you know, Kevin died and Mama Tran, while not being dead like Crowley said, was still locked up in a storage unit for the better part of a year and most likely tortured, so... But, still, Mama Tran's not dead, so her awesomeness can still show up in the future. And Kevin's spirit got to go be with his mom until they figure out how to fix Heaven and such (or revive him? Maybe?), so they get to be reunited! And Kevin doesn't have to listen to another Winchester self-pity party. ;P

 And as for Jodie, not only does she not die (making her now among the quickly dwindling number of Kripke Era characters who've survived the Post-Kripke series, AND surviving reoccurring female characters for that matter), but she gets to be shown as a competent hunter. And in "Alex Annie Alexis Ann", she gets to bond with and possibly take in a young girl at the end. Plus, Jodie is just awesome. That is all.

6. Castiel Post-"Holy Terror"/"First Born"/Cas and Sam Actually Interacting One-On-One More

 This one, I decided to mesh the two things together, since they were in a similar vein.

 Castiel, after the tragic waste that was his human arc, was pretty awesome this season. Not only did he get a moment of awesome in "Holy Terror" when he stole another angel's grace to get some of his mojo back, but he stayed awesome after that. Like I said in the Bad Things List, while he didn't get to show him getting his development of "caring more for humans" and such, he does keep up said development. He even gets a lot of the angels to follow him simply because he doesn't want to fight anymore. He probably could've gotten it all done peacefully if it weren't for Meta Sue.

 And he does so many awesome things and moves along half the plot so much more than The Boys do, in my opinion. He's the one to kill Bartholomew and get most of the angels in-line. AND he's the one who ultimately stops Metatron in an admittedly satisfying (but sadly Meta Sue-gankingless) way. He breaks the angel tablet and hoists him by his own petard, ending the conflict without violence and getting Metatron locked up. (On a side note, I like to think of "Cas Vs. Meta-Sue" on a meta level being a well-written character triumphing over a poorly-written one.)

 But the other thing I liked with Cas was that he ACTUALLY INTERACTS WITH SAM ONE-ON-ONE THIS SEASON. One of the things I really wanted to see was Sam and Cas getting to interact more. They rarely ever seem to interact with each other by themselves: either Cas is having "profound bondtime" with Dean or when they do interact, Dean or some other character is there. The few times I do recall them talking one on one is in season 6, when he tells him "you can stay soulless if you do something terrible like kill Bobby", or when he pretty much tells him "hey, your soul was in The Cage with Lucifer for months while your soulless body ran around being terrible! Oops, I shouldn't have said that. K bye!" And he kinda had ulterior motives with those actions.

  But here, they do get to talk and interact one-on-one more, mainly in "First Born" and... "Stairway To Heaven"... *sighs* ... And it's great. I like seeing them interact more. Don't get me wrong, I love brotherly banter and hunter/angel bromance as much as the next fan, but its nice to see this, too. And given what the storyline's supposedly supposed to be next season, I'm sure we'll get more of it in the future.

5. Gavin MacLeod
 Speaking of future, here's a character who gets sent to the future! Well, the future for him, anyway. It's just present day for us... I am the best at transitions...

 Anyway, in "King Of The Damned", Abaddon decides to take advantage of Crowley's status as an Emotionally Compromised King Of Hell. She figures by taking his son (from his human life), Gavin, from his time period (1723) to theirs as leverage, the more emotional Crowley will decide to go along with her in killing The Winchesters.

 Oh my gosh, I love this character and all he presents.

 First, there's his whole "fish out of water" status in the present day. It's just hilarious.

Gavin: [upon realizing he's in a skyscraper] We're among the heavens! Oh, you must be angels!

 Crowley and Abaddon: Seriously?

And I love his interactions and banter with Crowley, as well. It's one of the highlights of the episode, seeing the two bond. Needless to say, they hate each other a bit less, now.

(Though I could've swore his ghost looked older in "Weekend At Bobby's".... Eh, I'll let it slide. Besides, it could just be timey-wimey stuff)

 Plus, there's hisstatus at the end of the episode. Crowley decides when all is said and done, and Abaddon dead (alas), to keep Gavin around rather than send him back in time to die. Hopefully this means he'll appear again. And maybe we'll see what happens to the timeline when Gavin's largely gone. Is that why Bobby was stuck in hell in "Taxi Driver"? Is Gavin being free what causes Dean's death or any of the boys' issues? Will he be Crowley's undoing? C'mon!

 So, yeah, I like Gavin. Though I must admit, Crowley should know better than to mess with the timeline, given certain things...

C'mon, Canton's like one of my favorite companions, I can't NOT make a reference.

4. The Mark of Cain Story Arc
  Let's face it, a lot of story arcs weren't handled well this season, and were generally lackluster. But I thought The Mark of Cain arc went well. And mostly, I like what it gave us. It presented a lot of world-building: it gave this universe's version of Cain and Abel (though, I admit, Cain's motivations here for killing Abel  made me roll my eyes a bit, and wonder if next Judas would be revealed to have taken the pieces of silver for an orphan puppy's operation.), more information on The Knights of Hell, and introduced, you guessed it, The Mark of Cain and what it does to its bearer.

 I liked it, most of the episodes in this arc were solid. And because at the end of the season, it left us with the awesome story possibility. At the end, The Mark turns Dean into a demon. The story potential here is awesome (if they don't end it unceremoniously soon like I hear they might). The only other downside is that Abaddon dies in this arc. I liked her as a villain and honestly wouldn't have been disappointed if she'd won (unless Crowley died to do so). (And yet Metatron's story "isn't done yet". *flips table*). But overall, it was solid, and the best arc of the season.

3. "Mother's Little Helper"
 Hey, here's an episode I adore for reasons you may not expect! Okay, so this was the episode Misha Collins (Castiel) directed. And while it was well-directed (but I'm admittedly not skilled enough to fully critique such things), that's not why I love this episode. Heck, despite the world-building through flashback and clever call backs, it's not those that sell this episode for me. No.

 It's that Sam gets to be awesome here.

 Yes, an episode featuring Crowley, and Sam's the one who steals the show. You see, half the episode is Sam going solo on a hunt, while he and the audience learn more about Henry Winchester and Abaddon's vessel, Josie. But boy, does he get to show off his great traits:

• He sticks up for and protects a woman in the diner from a soulless man
• He's freaking clever against a demon, using a pre-recorded exorcism on his phone to distract her
• He ultimately manages to hunt and kill the demon all on his own

 With the Post-Kripke Eras, it's pretty easy to forget that Sam is not only a capable hunter on his own, but a freakin' bad mutha-jumpa. It feels like he spends most of the recent seasons as the troubled ill-boy little brother Dean has to self-destructively protect. It's nice to see Sam be capable again. And I'm hoping season 10 keeps this up.


2. "Blade Runners"

 This is probably my favorite episode of the season. For multiple reasons. Much like I plan to review "I'm No Angel" and "Bloodlines", I want to review this on its own. It's funny, it builds on the world, it's enjoyable, it's Crowley-centric, it's Mooseley fuel, I just really like it, and I'll preobably review it someday... Along with recap the other seasons... And review Sherlock season 3... And the rest of the X-Men movies I have... :/

 And what I felt was the best thing about season 9, to the surprise of no one, is...

1. Crowley

 Gee, the character I wrote a whole post about liking the most is the best thing? Who'd have thunk? Well, it's true. Crowley was the best thing this season. His storylines were great. His lines were the best (convincing me the writers give most of the good dialogue to Crowley). He stole the show almost every episode he starred in. Whenever Crowley showed up this season, I felt joy. He even got the best monologue of the season, topping his "I deserve to be loved" one from season 8 (starts at about 0:36):

 

 Also, Mark Sheppard does some great acting this season, too, given Crowley's situation. Besides his perfect delivery of his one-liners, Sheppard gets to show Crowley as vulnerable. And he does it really well. I know a good chunk of the fans were clamoring for Jensen Ackles to get a Emmy nomination, but HOLY CRAP MARK DESERVES ONE, TOO! His character was the one I was rooting for. I mean, Cas was gone a lot, Sam was either possessed or ticked at Dean most of the season, and Dean made a lo of questionable decisions. Plus, his best line:

 It sums up everything. I'm glad his promoted to regular for season ten, and I hope this means he won't be dying anytime soon.

---

 Well, I've said my peace. What did you think of season 9, if you watched it. What did you like? Dislike? Do you agree with me or want to launch a war with me on our opinions? Let me know! Meanwhile, time to move on.

(...And yes I'll still watch season 10. I'm still going down with the ship, m'lads.)

What Makes Hannibal So Great?

 Hey, long time no write! Sorry, had a lot of distractions.

 You know, with the second season of Hannibal going on, I've been reminded how much I love this show. It's on-par with Sherlock, if not better.

 I already sort of reviewed the show (after seeing two episodes) last year, but I want to talk about all the things this show does right. What makes this show so... erm... delicious!

 Oh, and their might be:

PRODUCTION & ATMOSPHERE

 This show has to have some of the most high-quality cinematography I've seen on network TV. It rivals Sherlock in terms of how it's shot. The people behind the show clearly put a lot of effort into making this show come to life. The show is loaded with symbolism, and it has lots of trippy imagery that really makes the show stand out from its competition.

 One notable trait of this show is the "death tableaus". Most of the time, when a murder's discovered, the body is always presented in a macabre sort of display. From totem poles made of bodies, to human cellos, to a body arranged into a saber-toothed tiger. They're are gruesome, but as you continue to watch, much like Will Graham, it gets easier to look. Plus, there's almost a twisted, dark beauty to the arrangements. They get away with a lot on the show. Really pushing the boundaries of network TV.

 That's another thing: the atmosphere. The show has this really fitting atmosphere. It's kind of this unsettling feeling, but it's not alienating. The world is dangerous, but inviting. A bit like the title character.

Oh, that reminds me:

ACTING AND CHARACTERS

 The show has a bunch of really good actors. The main focus here has to go to the two lead actors: Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelson.

 Dancy plays the tortured but gifted FBI consultant Will Graham. Will, as I mentioned in my brief review, is gifted with empathy. But as the show goes on, we learn how unstable he is. The first season is devoted to his downward spiral, due both to a medical condition and Hannibal's manipulations (which are further exposed through flashbacks in season 2). And Hugh Dancy plays it well. When he portrayed Will breaking down sobbing, begging Hannibal not to be lying, it honestly broke my heart. There's a reason one of the fandom's catchphrases is "somebody help Will Graham."

 And in season two, he does an equally good job playing the dark side of Will. You can believe he's been pushed to do the questionable things he does (manipulate, murder, lie) in order to expose Hannibal.

 Speaking of America's Favorite Psycho Psychiatrist, Mads Mikkelson plays him well, too. He makes the iconic role his own, and lives up to his well-known predecessor, Anthony Hopkins. He is able to be a despicable, intimidating human being, but at the same time cool, collected, and likeable. His Hannibal is like a Venus Flytrap: you're drawn in (like the characters), but he's deadly, and doesn't hesitate to remind us. But with how he portrays him, the audience is still able to come back to him, if that makes sense. Heck, the first time I think the fandom turned on him was after Will's aforementioned breakdown, and even then the fans eventually sort of got over it and accepted his being a terrible person.

  Some notable notable actors and their roles on the show include: Gillian Anderson as Hannibal's mysterious psychiatrist, Bedelia DuMaurier. Raul Esparza as Dr. Frederick Chilton (who plays him as both an absolute scumbag in season one, but also enjoyably pathetic in season two). Lara Jean Chorostecki as Freddie Lounds, the online reporter I personally love to hate. Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford. Hettienne Park as the beloved Beverly Katz, as well as the other two forensics guys Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller (played by Scott Thompson and Aarom Abrams. And finally, Michael Pitt as Mason Verger. Dear God, Michael Pitt as Mason Verger.

WRITING

 Finally, there's the writing. Bryan Fuller, the man in charge. Has a clear vision of what he wants to do (having planned 7 seasons of the show). The writing is superb. I can not think of a single episode that didn't entertain me in some way. The story flows at a good pace, not dragging on, but not rushing either. And there never seems to be a useless episode either. Some people have mentioned the story takes some deviations from the books (which I have never read at the time of this editorial thing), but I'm fine with it. From what I do know, he does pay several homages to the original, as well. And I don't see anything wrong with his own interpretation. They are very clear on that. It's not like he's taking the story as is and butchering it, like several adaptions tend to do.

 But the best part is that the show is very unpredictable. Just when you think you understand where it's going: BAM! Something happens that changes everything. A character you thought was safe gets killed, one you thought you could trust turns out to not be so trustworthy, and one you thought was dead was alive all along. And you can never be certain what's going on, who's manipulating who. The only certainty is that Hannibal is a cannibal and The Chesapeake Ripper. And I love it.

 The show has also drawn actual reaction from me, too. From pleading for a character to turn around and leave before they get caught, to gasping at a character getting suddenly shot. The show gets more of a direct reaction out of me than "I liked this/didn't like this/was outraged by the writers doing this" than most of the shows I watch.

 Plus, the show knows how to leave off on a cliffhanger better than other longer-running shows I watch. The first season ends with Will locked up in BSHCI after Hannibal frames him, and the second... GAH! I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL IT UNTIL I REVIEW SEASON 2! It's so good! It leave you begging for another helping just to figure out what's going to happen. I remember reading a joke saying that the reason they renew the show is that the higher-ups watch the finales and want to know what happens, too.

---

 So that's my two cents on why Hannibal is such a good show. It's one of my favorite shows on TV right now. I highly recommend it, though the squeamish should tread carefully. It's truly a modern masterpiece, deserving of all the awards.

Thanksgiving Thank You Notes 2013

 Happy Thanksgiving, time for the annual thank you notes!

 Thank You, Supernatural,

  For both improving and ruining my life.

 Sincerely,

 Loveable Freak

 Thank You, Sherlock and Doctor Who,

 See Supernatural's note.

 Sincerely,

 Loveable Freak

 Thank You, Christopher Eccleston,

 For being, like, 85% of the reason I wanted to see Thor: The Dark World.

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Misha Collins,

 For being a fantastic human being.

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

 Thank You, Mark Sheppard,

 For being in all the cool shows! ^_^ (Psst! Find a way to get on Sherlock...)

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Osric Chau,

 For being one of my favorite actors on Twitter...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Hannibal,

 For being one of the best new shows this year.

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Clark Gregg,

For being an awesome human being as well...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, England,

For your two best exports: good television and perfect, handsome actors I can't have...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Andrew Scott,

For being brave.

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Matt Smith,

For your time as The Eleventh Doctor. We'll miss you, Raggedy Man...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, Night Vale,

For showing that, yes, characters are allowed to be happy...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Thank You, To My Friends And Family,

For their endless love and support. I wouldn't trade you for anything...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

...And...

Thank You, All My Followers: Old And New,

For giving me an audience, and sticking with me through my sporadicness...

Sincerely,

Loveable Freak

Happy Thanksgiving...

Loveable Freak Reviews Welcome To Night Vale

  The written word is up to interpretation. Art is subjective. Welcome to my Night Vale review...


  Hey, readers. I figured I'd review something a little different then my usual fare of TV shows the Internet has a fixation on and various movies, usually involving explosions. I decided to review a podcast that is gaining some well-deserved notability. It's titled Welcome To Night Vale, and I feel like maybe I should review it. Though, be warned, it is going to contain...

 Welcome To Night Vale is done in the format of a local radio show. The main character, Cecil, informs the listener about the goings-on in the strange desert town of Night Vale. From the dog park, where no living being is ever allowed to enter, the small subterranean kingdom found beneath lane five of the bowling alley, to the librarians (here horrible abominations) capturing children in the summer reading program. He also talks about the colorful characters who inhabit the town: a white man in a plastic feather headdress who claims to be an Apache tracker, who Cecil always reminds us is racist; Old Woman Josie, who is accompanied by angels (whom City Council insists do not exist); a man in a tan jacket and a suitcase of flies, who's face no one can remember; and of course, Carlos: the scientist newcomer to the community, whom Cecil falls for immediately.

 The podcast is quite surreal, to say the least. The humor comes from the strange eccentricness of the town, and the bizzare goings-on that to them, seem almost normal. But it is enjoyably so, and it does develop plots, both the ones in the latest installment and ongoing ones. It is so much fun to hear follow-ups to stories you may have forgotten about. It's even better as we hear it through our host, who of course delivers it in professional news radio fashion... Most of the time (for example, taking time to lament over Carlos getting a haircut, berating the local barber for betraying the community.). It is rather formulaic, given the format, but it is not a bad thing. You get used to it and enjoy when parts come up. Such as the strange words from the "sponsors", that rarely have anything to do with the company; the weather, which is just a random song by a different undiscovered artist each episode, and the proverbs after the credits.

 And now, one of the biggest elements...

 The best thing in this podcast has to be the relationship between Cecil and Carlos. As the show goes on, Cecil and Carlos get together. And they are adorable. I swear, they are the happiest, most stable couple in fiction right now, possibly ever. Cecil realizes the Carlos he's pined over isn't perfect, but he accepts that and still loves him regardless. They don't have any drama whatsoever, and that is perfectly fine. The writers let them be happy. We're so used to shows and movies adding drama for the sake of drama. Tearing couples apart or tossing in cheap "will they or won't they?" elements. It's nice to see writers allowing characters to have a little bliss for a change. I know a lot of shows that could learn from that. The best part has to be that they are a gay, presumably interracial (we're never told exactly if Cecil is white or not (a source of debate in the fandom), but we're all sure Carlos is latino), couple, and they are both adorable and more stable then most straight fictional couples. I'm just saying... The writers are doing something different from the norm, and I appreciate it. If only all writers can suck it up and "take risks".

 Overall, it is a fun podcast to listen to on a bi-monthly basis (they release new episodes on the first and fifteenth of every month). It's all free to download on iTunes, and I suggest if you like it to check out their website here, and possibly donate and support the show if you can. In fact, here's the first episode, uploaded by someone to YouTube (with fanart and pictures added). Consider it this review's "weather":

 Readers, there's not much more I can say about this podcast. It balances its elements well. The characters are memorable and likeable. The main relationship is one of the best I've ever encountered. and deserves the attention it's gotten, and if you haven't discovered this little gem, you should try it. I swear, when you listen, you, like Cecil, will fall in love instantly.

  Good night, Internet, good night.

***

Well, if I've been somewhat mimicking the show's style, I might as well end with today's proverb: we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Seriously, have you seen fear itself? It's terrifying and it's why I won't be able to sleep at night...

Happy 50th, Doctor Who. Here's To You

  Well, today is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. I would have planned something bigger, like a list of my favorite companions, a new top 9 episodes list, or a big squeefest over The Ninth Doctor and why he deserves more love from the mainstream and ohmygoshEcclestonpleasecomebackanepisodeIlovedNinesomuch. But no. I'll leave it short and simple.

  I only started to watch the show about two years ago, and I've only fully watched New Who, but I still love this show. There's sort of an optimism to it. That there will be somewhere there to stop the big scary things we encounter. That a strange but wonderful character will wisk you away on an adventure. Someone showing you both the beauty and the terror of the universe and running alongside you. They'll take you from the humdrum and the terrible places you don't want to be, and find you special. There's also the fantastic about it, seeing the strange new worlds and strange new monsters. Seeing the new while also encountering the old. It's fun escapism.

  The Doctor is a great character, a constant, but yet ever-changing. He has the distinct honor of being reinterpreted multiple times, all within the same story.

  People probably wonder how it turned out to last so long, and I think to anyone who watches it, it's obvious. It's a gem in the geek community, and if enough watch it, the world. What is it with the British and giving us timeless classics?

  Maybe the show will continue another 50, maybe not. But one thing's for certain: like all good things, it will live on.

  So, I think I'll leave this amazing video I found, with one of the best speeches from the show. Happy 50th, Doctor Who. We raise our sonic screwdrivers to you...

Supernatural Season 2 Recap- The D-Men

 Okay, time to recap season 2! (I know this is late, season nine has already started (and is pretty good, so far.) But I want to finish these. So...

 

(Again, this is from memory like last time. If I get something wrong/forget stuff, forgive me...)

THE OVERALL STORY:

 So, when we last left The Winchester Clan, they all got hit by a truck... We pick up in the hospital. Sam is fine, and John is fine. Dean, however, is in a coma. Dean tries to stay in the realm of the living, despite a Reaper, Tessa, trying to convince him that death is fine. However, Papa Winchester has other plans. He summons Yellow Eyes, and trades both The Colt and his soul for Dean's life. He dies while Sam gets coffee, resulting in the most perfect cup drop ever. (it never tipped over!) So the boys are on their own again.

  Soon, the boys find The Roadhouse, a bar for Hunters. It's run by Ellen Harville and her daughter, Jo.  Jo wants to be a hunter like her father, and eventually takes off. They also meet Ash, a crazy awesome hunter/hacker. The boys continue hunting Yellow Eyes, facing whatever comes their way and dealing with their dad being gone. Along the way, they get in a lot more trouble with the law (leading to them getting their own sort of Javert to their Valjean, Agent Henricksen.) and face off with another, more psychotic hunter named Gordon. Sam has a brief romance with a girl named Madison, but ends in tradegy since she is a werewolf. Long story short, it ends a paranormal romance version of Old Yeller. I repeat: Every woman Sam loves dies. 

 Also, in one episode, we meet a Trickster in what is one of the funniest episodes. Sure, it's in what's essentially a breather episode for the audience, but he does prove to have more purpose as the show progresses...

  Eventually, the boys do look into and meet some more "Special Children". First there's Andy, who can make people do whatever he wants (and had a twin named Ansem, who was evil (though any Kingdom Hearts fans in my audience are not surprised)). There's also another clairvoyant named Ava, who mysteriously dissapears. At the end of the season, Sam is taken, along with the other Special Children, to a mysterious place. They're basically tossed into a Hunger Games/Battle Royale-type situation: kill each other to survive. Ava, it turns out, had been part of multiple rounds, and kills Andy. (which was a shame, seeing as I liked Ava up until then and Andy was my favorite non-Sam Special Child.) Then she's killed by Jake, a super-strong Special Child.

  Bobby and Dean track Sam down (and learn that The Roadhouse was burned down, killing numerous hunters. Especially Ash. *sniff*). But he gets killed by Jake, and ends up dying in Dean's arms.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

 Dean, being co-dependent and putting his brother first, decides to defy the laws of mortality. He summons a Crossroad Demon and begs her to bring Sam back in exchange for his soul. She accepts, but instead of the standard "10 years until we sic the hellhounds on you", she only gives Dean a year. With Sammy alive again and Ellen turning out to be alive, The Winchesters and Co. discover that Yellow Eyes needed a Special Child to get into a Devil's Trap made of railroads, and use The Colt to unlock a gate to Hell and release more demons. They get there, but are too late to stop the Gate from opening.

  Sam kills Jake rather cold-bloodedly, and Dean gets The Colt to kill Yellow Eyes. Their dad even comes out of Hell to hold him still for Dean to shoot him. Yellow Eyes dies, the boys get a quiet moment with their dad, and their dad ascends to Heaven. Aww...

  But there ain't no rest for The Winchesters. There's still the matter of a hundred new demons flooding America, and Dean only having a year to live. So they head for their next adventure. The show almost could've stopped there (they thought it almost would), but luckily the show kept going. Unluckily, the third season wasn't quite so good. It had a big problem.

  I really liked this season. It did quite a bit of world-building, which I like. The world of the show just fascinates me. And the story was rather good. The show really improved from season one.

  Next time, I'll recap season 3. And Bela. Eeugh...
 

Supernatural Season 1 Recap- Two Boys And An Impala

Uh Okay, so I've got an idea: you know how last year I reviewed every episode of season one of Elementary? And how I swore I wouldn't do the same for the second? Well, I got an idea for something to do instead. If/when I finish season 8 in time, I might review a show I know I actually like: I'm hoping to review season 9 of Supernatural!

  Of course, this'll be different than reviewing Elementary, especially since I wouldn't start reviewing from the beginning of show, but rather late in the game. So, I've decided I would kinda recap the seasons leading up to season 9. That way, people who follow the blog who might be interested in the reviews but not so much the show can understand. (And if all else fails, I can always review Agents of SHIELD...)

  Okay, so, season one! Needless to say:

 

If you want to watch it, be warned... (also, this whole thing's from memory, if I get something wrong/forget stuff, forgive me)

 

THE ONGOING STORY:
 

 Alright, I touched a bit on the backstory in my last Supernatural review thing. So I'll try to make this bit quick. When Sam was a baby and Dean was four, their mother was killed by a yellow-eyed demon and burnt on the ceiling, effectively burning the house, too. This sets their father, John Winchester, on his quest for vengeance. He becomes a demon hunter, and along the way raises the boys  to be hunters as well. But we're told Sam didn't want to be a hunter, so when he's of college age, he leaves his family and goes to school. When we see Sam again, things are pretty good for him. He's got an interview for a good law school and he's got a girlfriend he plans to marry: Jessica. So, of course, that all gets screwed up. Dean comes back into Sam's life, telling him he has to work a job but that their dad is gone. Sam reluctantly goes to help, so long as he's back in time for the interview. The boys defeat the monster of the week and Sam goes home. But of course, his beloved Jessica is killed the same way his mother was killed (thus proving early on that every woman Sam loves dies). So Sam goes along with Dean to find their dad and what killed their mom and Jessica.

 

  Most of season one is pretty much the boys hunting the monster of the week while trying to find their daddy. It's pretty simple and episodic compared to some of the later seasons. Along the way, it's revealed that Sam has been having psychic visions (including one he had before of Jessica's death), mostly to do with the yellow-eyed demon. Also, there are other people like Sam: a telekinetic young man that eventually kills himself and a baby girl who seems to read minds (that we NEVER hear about again, as far as I know). Also, we meet one of the longest reoccurring female characters(and probably the longest non-Winchester reoccurring character), Meg. She's the demon daughter of Yellow Eyes.

 

  Anyway, eventually the boys find Papa Winchester (again... Yeah, they found him once when they first found out Meg was a demon, but they had to split up). And they find the biggest (and one of the coolest) MacGuffins in the series: The Colt! The Colt, in a nutshell, can kill anything. (Yes, it is awesome...) Papa Winchester intends to use one of the four remaining bullets on Yellow Eyes. However, they split up: John to offer a fake Colt to Meg to stop her and the other demons from killing his acquaintances. Meanwhile, the boys try to stop Yellow Eyes from potentially killing the psychic baby's parents after Sam has a vision. Sam misses when he shoots and Papa Winchester gets captured when they call his bluff.

  So the boys go to an old family friend (who quickly becomes a regularly reoccurring character) named Bobby. They catch Meg in a Devil's Trap, get their father's location out of him, and exorcise the demon out of her host body (killing the real Meg, who was only being kept alive by the demon at that point). After they get Papa Winchester back (Dean blowing another bullet to save Sam from Yellow Eyes's son), it turns out Yellow Eyes has possessed their father. He tries to kill Dean, and Sam is conflicted to use The Colt (despite their dad's pleadings when he takes control a moment). If he shoots Yellow Eyes!Papa Winchester, he also kills their dad. So, Sam shoots Yellow Eyes in the leg, sending the demon out, but not killing him. As Sam rushes his family to the hospital, Papa Winchester is mad that there's one bullet left and Yellow Eyes is still out there.

  Then a truck driven by a demon hits the car. And that's how season one ends. Gee...

I

wonder

if

the boys

will

make

it...

  :/ The joys of starting late...

  Some Notable Episodes (To Me, in no particular order):

• "Pilot" - First episode, enough said...
• "Skin" - This one kind of kicks off a subplot of The Winchesters not being seen so keenly in the eyes of the law, thanks to a shapeshifter who takes Dean's form. Also, there's a scene where Shifter!Dean rips his own skin off to change form, and it's disgusting...
• "Home" -Establishes Sam's psychicness, and has two very creepy scenes for me: One where a guy's hands puréed by the garbage disposal, and another where a small child gets shut in the fridge. I'm not a mother, but it sparks my maternal/big sister instincts. I find myself BEGGING the mom to turn around look in the freaking fridge. (Also, we meet Missouri Mosely. She never appears again, and it's kinda a shame...)
• "Bugs"- It has no use in the plot, or anything story-wise. It's just plain awful... First of all, I found the reason for the deaths being "Sacred Indian Ground?" Seriously? In the 21st century? Cliché. And THEN there's the time blunder of the sun rising SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT! No time cut, the sun just mysteriously rises. I can tell you from experience the sun does NOT rise that early in Oklahoma. I've been there. Again, this is one of those episodes I hold as a bad standard for TV writing...
• "Nightmare"- Meet another special child. Makes be flitch at the gore every time.
• "Scarecrow" -Meet Meg, also the episode with the record for shortest "split up" of the Winchesters.
• "Something Wicked"- Baby Winchester flashbacks. That is all...
• "Dead Man's Blood"/"Salvation"/Devil's Trap" - The Colt's established and the "two-part" finale...

    Overall, it's a pretty decent start for the show. It's not the greatest season, but it sets up everything and is pretty uncomplicated and straightforward. Season Two's where stuff gets interesting, though...

Loveable Freak Reviews A Fanfic- The Full House By Emcee (of Archive Of Our Own)

Alright, I KNOW I said I was gonna do an MST-style review of a less-than-stellar fic. I say a lot of things. It is coming up, but the thing is, I've just read a GOOD fanfic, and I want to review that now! I need to share my thoughts on it! Ladies and gents, the Sherlock fanfic, "The Full House".



 Here's the story: after The Fall, Sherlock goes to stay with Molly while he tries to dismantle Moriarty's Criminal Network. He even employs a familiar face to help. But plenty of complications arise, especially our favorite consulting detective's feelings towards a certain pathologist. Relationship upgrades, sinister plots, and really good writing ensue.



  As you no doubt guessed, this is a Sherlolly fic. I'll admit, as much as I'm cool with and like Sherlock not being romantically involved with people, I'm a sucker for Sherlolly. And this is very well-written, and in-character for Sherlock on his side: he views the relationship as an experiment, but his feelings do grow. And he does worry for his ability when he thinks his feelings grow too much. And it continues on the character's in-show development: Molly growing more of a backbone with Sherlock, and Sherlock becoming a real boy and dealing with his emotions (which I am admittedly a complete and total sucker sucker for).

*ahem* When done RIGHT! >:(

Plus, John's reactions to Sherlock and Molly are gold.


  And it's not just the romance. There is adventure in this, too. There's the ongoing plot of taking on the still-alive Moriarty, taking down Moran, and Moriarty's Network. Plus, the author, Emcee, throws in a very interesting twist on one of my favorite Canon stories: "The Copper Beeches". There's more to the fic than just, "Sherlock and Molly become an item. That's it. Nothing else."



The pacing is also good. The romance doesn't happen all at once, the adventure doesn't just completely disappear, it's still brought up. It's pretty well-balanced. Even when there's a "brief break-up", it's handled for a good amount of time, in-character, and it's not just forgotten when they inevitably get back together.

 

I also have to praise the fanfic for something. She(?) (I'm guessing the author's a she) ACTUALLY made me like Irene Adler here. As I've said, the characters are in-character. Irene's no different. But, with how she handled the character, here, I actually enjoyed when she popped up. Yes, a FANFIC WRITER did a better job with the Sherlock version of Irene than Moffat! I guess it goes to show one of my philosophies is true: it doesn't matter if an idea is good or bad, it often depends on how you handle them.

 

Also, it's hilarious and made me feel emotions! Emcee writes some pretty hilarious scenes and exchanges between the characters, especially between Sherlock and John. And I did feel stuff as I read. There was the obligatory squeeing and "aw"-ing over my kinda irrational, fueled only by emotions/cuteness/sympathy OTP, of course (What can I say? Fic!Sherlock (Ficlock (?) ) could be so adorkable here! I'M A SUCKER FOR ADORKABLE!). And I admit to getting a bit mad at Ficlock during the "brief break-up" thing. I understood why he did it, but I still got mad! Brava(o), author. Brava(o)...

 

One more thing to sweeten the pot about this fic. The author CLEARLY knows the original Canon. There are so many Canon references I caught. When someone works in nods to the whole "James/John Name Continuity Error" and Irene's surname at the end of "A Scandal In Bohemia", you KNOW they read the Canon. That also makes it worth the read.

 

Final Thoughts:


-Too many favorite parts in this fic to list...


-So, in this fic, Anthea's a lesbian. That... Makes sense, actually. It works. HEADCANON ACCEPTED!


-I should also note the author worked in a scene where Sally Donavan was not treated as a terrible person. THANK YOU, EMCEE! Can... Can we have her write for the show? She can take Thompson's job! :P


- Ooh! Another gush! "The Full House" features artwork from one of my favorite fan artists, lexiken! Her deviantArt can be found here. 
 

  Overall, I love the fic. It's well-written, and is possibly it IS my new favorite fanfic. I highly recommend it. If you ship/like Sherlolly, you'll love it. And even if you don't, I'm sure you'll enjoy it for the writing, in-characterness, and the canon references. I will warn you, it IS 50 chapters long, so it will take a while to read. But it is worth it. The fanfic can be found here. 

  There is a sequel (and a couple side stories). I'm only now starting to read the sequel, "The Party of Four" (which I think will be as good as the first). The side-stories are optional to read. I don't recommend the "aphrodisiac" one, though. It's events are referenced in the original, and I was cool with it just referenced in the main story... The others are fine! ^_^


Okay, I swear I'll finish the MST thing (it's proving problematic. I'm getting so nitpicky), but I have two kinda "editorials" I want to do first...

2 Year Anniversary!

  Yes, I've made it to two years of running this little blog of mine! Break out the Dancing Downeylock and Hawkeye Gifs!

    So I thought I'd do a little something something. But the big thing I thought of doing I think I'll save for the 200th post. Instead, I think I'll do a little retrospective/news/stats/and a thank you. Okay? Okay!

 I think this year I really settled into what I would do with the blog. I found out I like doing reviews, mainly. I still do other stuff (news and the occasional opinion things I usually regret posting hours later), but reviews have kinda become my main thing. And people seem to like them, so that's always good.

  -I hit over 12,000 views as of this post! Yay! :D
-I got more followers! :D

 -Not much has changed as far as my most popular posts, but apparently my Elementary reviews have gotten more views than my BBC Sherlock reviews... Why? (Though I did notice my "Great Game" review got a bizarrely high (for me) viewcount after a day...)

 -January 2013 is when I've gotten my most views. (it was over a thousand!)

-Apparently, I still attract a lot of Russian readers... The thought of me being to Russians as David Hasslehoff is to Germans is a hilarious (albeit exaggerated) thought...

  Anyway, some announcements (subject to change):

  -I have an Elementary-related post planned for right after this post. (whether season 2 gets reviewed will be included in this)...

  -My 200th Post is coming up, so there's that...

  -Definitely more reviews (Season Three of Sherlock is coming up!)

  -Also, I kinda had an experiment I wanted to try. I've wanted to do fanfic MSTs (heck, I've done two). So I think I'll do my own little spin on it and do MST-style reviews of some fanfics that happen to be "riffable", giving criticism where due (mostly constructive). Think Atop The Fourth Wall meets The Half World (link leads to his MST list)...) I found this one giggle-inducing Sherlock fanfic that I just felt had to be read to be believed...

  So, that's about it... Except...

  Thank you to everyone who reads/has read this blog. It means a lot to me that you're interested in my opinions. And thanks for sticking with me, even when I go on long hiatuses like I have been...

  See ya next post...

Dear Other Fandoms, HELP A FANDOM OUT! Sincerely, A Fannibal (Or, "How One Show Can Greatly Benefit From The Help Of The Other Show's Fandoms, And Vice Versa"...)

  Okay, so I know Marvel May hasn't been working out as well as I hoped. (I didn't know I'd be this busy, and that last Elementary review kinda burned me out, leaving me unwilling to get to the next two X-Men... :( I'll try and do better these next few days...) Anyway, I kinda wanted to talk more about a show that's become very dear to me. And by talk, I mean plead for help...

  You see, I've become hooked on Hannibal. It's great. It brings me joy to watch. And, on Twitter (no, not telling y'all what my Twitter name is...) I've been hanging out with the fanbase, and we are all incredibly nice people, considering we watch a show named after cannibal serial killer. But we're also really worried, too. You see, we haven't gotten word on whether or not our beloved Thursday Night Obsession is going to make it to next season. We're supposed to get word by June 1st, but that only gives us one more week to do anything. We've had pretty successful Twitter campaigns, but we can't be sure.

  So, I'm going to make a plea. I've been trying to covert people on my Pintrest, but I think I can use my blog for this, too. Please watch this show! It's bloody brilliant!

  I've even prepared a plea/case for at least four of the fandoms to convince them why they should give Hannibal a chance...

"SuperWhoLockibal"? Eh? Eh?

ELEMENTARY

  Okay, I know you guys know I'm not exactly the biggest fan of this show. It's just not for me. But, think about it: your show wrapped up for the season last week. You have a huge gap in your Thursday plans and DVRs. Why not fill it with another show. It's just reruns now of Elementary, you won't miss anything. Besides, if you couldn't check out Hannibal because it was on at the same time, now you can. Your show is safe, it's getting another season. So why not help a show that's on the bubble?

  Plus, Will Graham is a bit like Sherlock, in that he's gifted at what he does. Plus, he's troubled but kinda cute. Kinda like Millerlock is troubled. And, Will's played by Hugh Dancy, who's British, but is really good at covering his accent. I couldn't even tell.

  I'm just saying, you need something to fill the void.

SHERLOCK

  Ah, my people! Long have we suffered in this hiatus! Our sanity has been worn to it's very fibers, and worn thinner still! But, hark, I have found something that has filled the whole in my heart, Hannibal! It has proven to be a show on par with Sherlock in quality. It's like America's equivalent to Sherlock in that regard. It's clever, it's great to look at. And it has murders! Lots and LOTS of murders!

  As I told the Elementary Fandom, Will Graham is cute, gifted, but troubled, girls! And again, played by a British actor... Just saying. Also, he has lots of dogs.

  And, if you're missing Moriarty, Hannibal is deliciously creepy. Mads Mikkelston does great at his job. His Hannibal a lot more subtle than Scottiarty, but he's also strangely likeable. Heck, he might be the sanest person on the show! No lie! And, yes, he's strangely kind attractive, too. I'll admit. Plus, he dresses sharply. STUPID HANDSOME CANNIBAL!

...What am I doing with my life?

DOCTOR WHO

  Again, our show won't be back until November 23rd, the 50th Anniversary. What else do we have to do? Our buddies Sherlock and Supernatural don't have anything else out for now. Merlin ended last year. And I think Hannibal deserves a try, Whovians. I don't know how else to bait you that I haven't already used, yet. Handsome guys, cleverness, Oh wait! But it also has creepiness! Lots and lots of creepiness! You thought Moffat gave you nightmares? Wait until you see what Brian Fuller and his crew cook up (pun partially intended)... I elaborate in my plea to Supernatural...

SUPERNATURAL

  You, too, my friend, have to wait for your next season, and Hannibal is great. You want nightmare fuel? We GOT nightmare fuel! The death tableaus are so creepy and gory. They aren't so horrifying that it's indecent, but they are still pretty creepy for primetime. How do people made into slowly dying comatose mushroom farms, bodies made into angels, human cellos, and totem poles of bodies sound? That make up for scary monsters? Speaking of which, next week's episode? The killer hides under the beds of his victims and drags them under. *nods* That sounds like sweet dream fuel, eh? It'll keep your need for horror whetted.

***

 And, I can't believe I'm going to make a plead to this side of any fandom, but...

  Fans of slash pairings! Those who ship stuff like Johnlock, Merthur, Destiel, etc. May I present you to Hannigram?

  (Okay, before I go further, I want to make it clear that I don't ship it. I'm not a big "ship guy/guy pairings" girl. I may jokingly ship something/joke about a guy/guy pairing. And, if I'm being honest, there are some of those pairings I like as guilty pleasures, at least. But I don't ship Hannigram. I can kinda see where they're coming from, but I don't. But, I'm not all "RAWR! YOU SHIPPERS MAKE ME SICK!" about it. I'm at the point in my life as a fangirl where I'm like, "*shrugs* Shippers gonna ship." It's inevitable. I have a whole post planned on shipping...)

  Yes, we have Hannigram. The fandom ships a cannibal serial killer with a empathic mental case. One's a sharp dresser and I guess qualifies as a bad boy, the other is a handsome woobie you want to hug and make everything okay for. (I can't believe I'm writing this...) They have some moments. And did I mention they both have a surrogate daughter of sorts, Abigail Hobbs? Heck, this week, Hannibal outright said, "we are her fathers now"! (I'm breaking down laughing. I'm really doing this? I'm going this far?) That alone is fanfic fuel, shippers!

  Okay, I gotta stop... I can't keep that up anymore...

***

  But see? I love this show! I just want it to do well! I don't want it to be one of those shows ended in it's prime, when it had so much more to offer. While shows that have gone on too long and don't deserve it anymore get to go on, like say Two and a Half Men (oh, sweet lord, let it die, CBS! It's not good anymore!) Please, please, PLEASE watch it! For the love of quality TV!

  This is my design plea...

Loveable Freak Reviews Elementary: Episode 21- "A Landmark Story"

  Yeah... Sorry this was so late, guys. You see, Thursday, I was having trouble with my signal as far as CBS was concerned, so I missed a lot of what was happening early on, and I was having a bad day already, so by the time I got it back I just ragequit and watched what was left of Hannibal instead. And Friday was chaos, sooo....

  ...Buuuuut I found it online for free (a lot of the stuff I watch now I can't watch for free, so I forgot about the Internet being an option), so I'm gonna postpone my "Marvel May" Review project and watch and review while I got some peace before more chaos ensues in my life. (One word: visitors. I'm gonna be so off this week...)

  So, let's get to "A Landmark Story", and see if it lives up to its title...

  Okay, I can't help it, I feel I need to talk about spoilers for this episode. River gif, you know what to do...

  Moran calls Millerlock into prison to tip him off to the latest crime involving Moriarty. Then he kills a guard. (Oh, I've missed you, you psychopathic Natural Born Killer...)

This sets our duo on the trail of a serial killer named Daniel Gottlieb, who is talented at killing people in ways that seem like an accident. Recently, he's been killing people involved with a vote on a Speakeasy/Prohibition museum's status as a landmark...

   He's captured by our duo, and leads Millerlock not to the Napoleon of Crime, but to another of Moriarty's employees, John Douglas. (Who is promptly killed.) The episode ends with Millerlock closer to Moriarty, and me feeling sad for reasons I'll get to later...

  Alright, I really liked this episode! I mean, come on, it had Moran, for starters! And it brought back the Moriarty plot, which I've missed with the mostly episodic, filler-y episodes we've had since "M". And the story was pretty good, too. And, while we never see the real Moriarty, we at least get to hear him. And he sounds awesome, but right now I'm mad at/kinda hating him at the same time, after... I'll... get to that later...

  I really dug our serial killer, Daniel Gottlieb. (You can tell, seeing as he's one of the few antagonists I've bothered to remember the name of...) He was clever, as were his murders. I enjoyed them a little too much in that regard. He's been added to my list of favorite antagonists for the show, around the "Snow Angels" thieves.

  John Douglas was killed shortly after he was introduced and revealed to NOT be Moriarty (a "Feaux-iarty"), so I have few thoughts on him.

  Now, the big thing I was mentioned. The sad thing that left me mad at Moriarty.

  Okay, so at the end of the episode, Millerlock gets a coded text from Moriarty on Gottlieb's phone, and since Gottlieb couldn't translate the code, he takes it to Moran. Moran claims he doesn't know the code, but when Sherlock decodes it, he realizes it's a message for Moran, saying if he doesn't kill himself, he (Moriarty) will kill Moran's sister. (Aww, killers DO have loved ones...) We're treated to the lovely image of Moran bashing his head into the mirror of his cell.

  My literal reaction (besides whispering/shouting "NO!") in my notes was this:

 "Nooooo! Moran! Don't die! I love you! You're one of the few things I've to look forward to with this show! Moriarty might kill your sister, anyway! You can't trust him! YOU CAN'T TRUST HIM!!"

  Anyway, Millerlock calls Gregson to get him to stop the act, but Gregson informs him Moran's probably not going to make it through the night...

DOHERTY!!!!

   :( I'm not happy about this development... Goodnight, Sebastian Moran; and flights of Arsenals sing thee to thy rest. We hardly knew thee...

  Unless he lives somehow...

Final Thoughts:

-CBS Internet Viewer's annoying with excessive ads. Better to watch on TV in that regard. So, watch instant whenever with millions of ads, or watch when it airs and get ads out of the way on breaks? Well played, CBS... T_T

- Favorite scenes were the dissection scene (though seeing the insides was gross), the straightjacket scene, the interigation scene, the Taser scene, Moran's early sc... Okay, pretty much everything I liked. Watch it.

-Oh, and I loved Millerlock saying Joan was the reason he wasn't going be like he was in "M" with Moriarty and Co. this time.

-You know, Gregson, Millerlock could've potentially used the Legos for torturing Douglas by making him step on them... ;P

-Elementary kills everyone I love that's from canon... They're worse than Moffat. ... ...

Wait a minute...

  RUN, JOANNIE! RUN BEFORE THEY GET YOU, TOO!! >_<

 

- Never heard the end credits song until today. I like it...

 

  Overall, another one of the elusive "good throughout" episodes. I really liked it! Now, three more episodes to go, and two nights of this show left! It can't be that hard to keep goodness up now, can it? We got more Moriarty plot and Irene coming up! YAY OPTIMISM!

 

  (Next post: hopefully I kick off my Marvel May Reviews...)

One Good Turn Deserves Another...

  Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I was busy procrastinating, doing stuff, and enjoying the fact I was off the hook for another Elementary episode for two weeks (next Thursday's back to the old grind. Harrumph. But it looks like it's going to be a Joan-centric episode, so maybe it'll be good...)

  But anyway, I wanted to do this for a while, but again, procrastinated. One of my newer followers, Vidushi Kumar, recommended and posted a link to my Sherlock Holmes/Harry Potter fanfic on her blog. I thought it was nice of her, so I wanted to do something nice back and post a link to her blog.

  Here it is: http://everything-atonce.blogspot.com/

  She writes and writes about a wide variety of things. Books, what's going on with her, you name it. But she mainly writes stories on her blog. She has a unique style, and I think her blog's worth a  look at. :)

  Okay, I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging experience...

Happy (Late) Birthday To Christopher Eccleston

(Dang it, why do I always find out birthdays AFTER they happen?)

Anyway, yesterday was the 49th birthday of an actor I like: Christopher Eccelston. I've brought him up a lot. He played The Ninth Doctor on Doctor Who, and was my first and favorite Doctor.

 I can't wait to see him in Thor: The Dark World as Malekith. I really need to see more stuff with him in it, I feel bad I haven't. Like, I really want to see this biopic he was in about John Lennon called Lennon Naked, as Lennon. (It also has Andrew Scott in it as Paul McCartney, so that's a bonus...) Anyway, I think he's a good actor and I want to see more stuff with him. (Like, say, Sherlock with him as Moran? Please? I heard you want to experiment with original villains, Moffat and Gatiss, but you can still do that and have Moran! Please?)

Anyway, happy (belated) birthday, Eccleston! You fanTAStic actor.

Underused Characters: Daimen from House of Night

*This Post Contains A lot of fuzzy remembering of the events of the series House of Night by PC and Kristin Cast, snark about them, and also some of the book's

I'm sorry I'm dragging you into something "House of Night"-related, River...

 Reader, Ye Be Warned*

  I dislike the House of Night books.

I mean, I liked them at first. The first book, Marked, was pretty good. Not perfect, but decent. But as the series went on, I slowly realized they could have should have stopped at one and moved on. After Awakened, Moriarty's voice popped in my head and said:

"You can’t be allowed to continue. You just can’t. I would try to convince you, but everything I have to say has already crossed your mind."

  Which was weird, since I hadn't watched Sherlock yet...

Anyway, I might re-read/finish them to do reviews on them someday, maybe in 2014 when the first movie comes out (oh sweet lord almighty WHY WOULD THEY MAKE THEM MOVIES?), or if I absolutely have nothing to read and get desperate (that's why I finished The Twilight Saga!), but I just... no. I don't want to read them anymore without another motive.

  One big problem I have with these books is how a lot of the characters feel underdeveloped. Mainly, the main character Zoey's friends (excluding Stevie Rae and Aphrodite, since they're apparently the only ones who matter and are allowed to develop or do anything). Yeah, pretty much the only reason they exist is:

1. To do rituals when the plot demands it
2. To prove that Zoey has other vampyre/fledgeling friends to back her up besides Stevie Rae.
3. And possibly to show, "Hey, one of her friends is black and another one is gay! Look how wonderful, unracist, open-minded, and accepting she is! LOVE HER, DANG IT!"

  What I'm trying to say is, they're more like props than characters. Which is a shame because one of the characters I felt had a lot more potential, was/could've been interesting, and I would rather read about than the protagonist! That character is Daimen.

  Before I go into the character, lets go over the book series in a nutshell. The story revolves around seventeen-year-old Zoey Redbird. Zoey is a vampyre (yes, that is how it's spelled here) fledging (a not-quite-a-vampyre-yet) at a special school for fledgelings while the go through the change into adult vampyres and hope they don't die from their bodies rejecting the change. Then it's discovered Zoey's the mega-super-awesome-specially-special one with power over all five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and spirit), the representative of the vampyre's goddess, Nyx, and has magic-y vampyre tattoos she gets like every book before she's even a real vampyre (all vampyres here get these tattoos that represent them on their face once they're a full-grown vamp. Like cutie marks on MLP: FiM!). And everyone just adores her! In short, she's kinda a total Mary Sue... I mean she's the chosen one! Yeah... (I got a 54 for her on The Mary Sue Litmus Test. But then, again, I haven't read these books in almost a year (hallelujah), so I'm a bit rusty...)

  But who cares about her? I sure as heck don't. I'm here to talk about Daimen!

  Daimen was introduced in the first book, Marked, as one of the friends and classmates of Zoey's roomie Stevie Rae (and then Zoey herself). They quickly let us know that he is gay, and offers to give them male insight on things without hitting on them. (Because everyone knows straight boys can't be friends with girls without hitting on them. Pssh, that's nonsense! ...Sorry 'bout that...) And also, we're informed that he's different from the other gay HoN students (whom we never see), in that he's not the effeminate-type. He's also shown to be rather well-read, and uses more advanced vocabulary. And to top it off, I think that he was also shown to be a good fencer!

  As the books went on, Daimen gained the power of  (or "an affinity for") wind, and I believe that it's mentioned male vampyre usually don't get powers (at least, not powers of the elements). And he gets an incredibly stereotyped boyfriend named Jack. And said incredibly stereotyped beau was killed for sacrifice in the last book I read because he was so purely pure.

  Anyway, I thought Daimen seemed like a fairly interesting character. I mean, an intelligent, fencing, wind-powered gay vampire? That just sounds awesome! I even hoped when Stevie Rae "died"/ went to the dark side, that he could get more focus. (In fact, it's even been said that he's Zoey's closest friend out of her initial group after Stevie Rae.) Sadly, that never happened. What I want to ask is, why?

  Why did a character with the potential to be interesting get so underused?

  I think part of it is the writers. Like I said, quite a few characters end up being little more than props. Daimen's barely got any sort of plots in the books since I read. The most he got was when Jack died, but even that was mostly glossed over and we barely even saw. What the heck, writers? Why do you skip over most emotional stuff? And he seems like he had the groundwork for some good stories. Especially in the hands of better writers who are better at the development of characters (JK Rowling or Moffat and Gatiss for example, anyone?)

  For example, it's mentioned that he has parents who dissaprove of his sexuality. And that he kept disposable cell phones out of fear in case something went bad. Is this ever touched on again? NO! Just like almost every other thing that doesn't concern Zoey or Stevie Rae!

  To be honest, I would rather have a story about him. Not Zoey. Zoey's annoying (yes, we KNOW you don't like to swear and all, Zoey. And neither do I. But seriously, even I say "crap". "Bullpoopie" just gets annoying...) and I'm sick of her polygamous ways. Daimen could be a much better protagonist. A book about a genius gay teenage vampyre who controls air and can fence? I would totally buy that book and read that! I would FUND the publishing of that book. How many gay vampire characters are out there, honestly? There is an untapped market, here! We'd make millions! Sure, we may or may not get some controversy, but who cares? We did something new!

 Anyway, that's my two bits on Daimen. A character idea that was cursed to be stuck in a terrible series.

  ...Now if you'll excuse me, I got an idea for a post that elaborates my list of complaints about this freakin' series.