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.)

Top 9 Problems With Season 9 of Supernatural

 Season Nine… Just… Season Nine. This season just irritates me on so many levels. To disappointing wastes of story, to character issues, to just episodes in general. So, I decided to just list my top nine problems with season nine. These are going to go from minor, more personal problems, to things that fail even on an objective level (or in some cases, are just in poor taste).

 Of course, this being a list about the whole season, expect spoilers, both for the season itself and some seasons before. Here we go!

9. The Lack Of "Fun Episodes" (Decent Ones)

 One of the highlights of the show is how they can go from serious, angsty, depressing episodes to wacky, creative "breather" episodes. The most notable ones being the Trickster episodes (mostly "Tall Tales", "Mystery Spot", and "Changing Channels"),

Most Famous/Quoted line from "Mystery Spot".

 and "The French Mistake" (an episode where the boys are teleported to "the real world", where their lives are a fictional TV show.)

A surreal moment for the fans...

But there are still other ones that are really funny and full of wacky hijinks,  such as "Hunter Heroici" (where they deal with cartoonish situations popping up all over the town of the week), "Clap Your Hands If You Believe" (where they think they're dealing with alien abduction, but it turns out it's fairies),

Actual Dialogue Coming Out The Mouth Of A Gruff Voiced Thirty-Something Year Old Man.

and "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie" (where children's fears (unicorns (yes, I know. And it even shoots rainbows out its butt! :D), octopuses (octopi?), sharks in ball pits, and of course clowns terrorize a town).

 However, Season 9 doesn't have any stand out, "ha ha" episodes. Sure, it has funny moments (such as 90% of the dialogue out of Crowley's mouth). But there's no real shining comedy episode. There were ones I think were MEANT to be the big comedy episodes, "Dog Dean Afternoon" and "#THINMAN", but they both fell flat. "Dog Dean Afternoon", while having a funny premise (Dean links minds with a dog so they can communicate with him and he starts acting doglike, hijinks ensue). But it was kinda unremarkable and (to me) was tainted by Ezekiel/Gadreel showing up for the fifth episode in a row when it really wasn't necessary (other than to plant the seed of suspicion in Sam) (and I was already sick of him at that point. WE GOT IT AT THAT POINT, WRITERS! SAM HAD AN ANGEL IN HIM! QUIT BEATING US OVER THE HEAD WITH IT! WE ARE CAPABLE OF MEMORY!)

(on a side note: I would have included Gadreel on the list for his role in the first few episodes and his sudden but inevitable betrayal, but I voiced most of my complaints about the former months ago in my "Angelus Ex Machina" rant, and the character DOES slightly redeem himself in the end, so...)

 As for "#THINMAN", it was a really funny episode, and had everything going for it: The Ghostfacers returned, we had generic, off-brand Slenderman, and there was a lot of Internet humor. Heck, I remember seeing the first two things would be there and thought "okay, if this episode doesn't deliver..."  Yeah, halfway through, there's a huge tonal shift, with the Ghostfacers breaking up because of lies (in a less than subtle parallel to The Winchesters' own relationship at the time). While, granted, "Mystery Spot" and "Changing Channels" both had tonal shifts, too, the humor had been strong and notable enough before it that it didn't kill the humor. This one? not so much.

 I think this season really could have benefitted from a good, old fashioned crazy comedy episode. (Especially if they got Crowley in it. I don't think we've ever seen him in one of those episodes. I want to see that.) It would have maybe made some parts of this season easier to swallow.
 

8. The Gabriel Fake-Out

 Hoo boy! So, in the episode "Meta Fiction", fan-favorite character Gabriel (AKA The Trickster) makes a sudden return after being believed to be dead (his dead body and wing outline shown and all). At first, this is great. He's just as hilarious as ever (his banter with Castiel being the highlight) and even seems to retain his character development from "Hammer Of The Gods" by telling Cas he's more or less going to stop running from Heaven and accept his duty as the sole remaining Archangel and run Heaven now. Then trying to give his "little brother" encouragement to rise up and take on Metatron himself when it seems Gabriel's backed into a corner by Metatron's goons.

 Then it turns out was all a dream.

 Well, to be specific, it was an illusion set up by Metatron to get Cas to lead his own flock of angels in his "elaborate plan" to rule Heaven, and... *sigh* I'll get to the Umbridge of Angels later. The point is, Gabriel wasn't there. WAY TO SAY "F YOU" TO THE AUDIENCE, GUYS! *slow clap*

 Well, they do make it ambiguous as to what Gabriel's real fate is, when Cas asks him if he's really still alive or not and Gabriel just gives him a look. And there is supposedly a tweet from a writer where they say Gabriel is still alive. But honestly, the damage is already done. They yanked the fandom's chain. And if that tweet was real, if I have to look at that stuff to get that sort of information, that's unfair to the people without the access. Heck, (Hannibal season 2 spoilers) even Bryan Fuller won't confirm if Chilton's alive, he just lets the fandom wait for the answer. And he didn't say "Freddie Lounds is alive, guys!" after loudly implying her death (even if it would've gotten him out of some of the hot water he was in for that episode...)

 Anyway, I just felt like that was pretty rotten of them to give the fandom what they wanted then take it away just as quickly.

 Now, the other problem that cropped up in "Meta Fiction"...
 

7. Metatron becoming a Mary Sue

 Yes. So, in "Meta Fiction", Metatron reveals that, since he has the Angel Tablet, he basically has power near God's. And he proceeds to show off his OP powers to The Winchesters by BLOWING OUT A HOLY FIRE RING THEY TRAPPED HIM IN and then, just to flip them off more, removes the warding and trapping sigils from The Impala's trunk and free Gadreel.

 Plus he makes Cas get pop culture references. The cad.

 Yeah, Metatron basically becomes a Mary Sue. (And from now on, I'm gonna call him "Meta Sue".)

 And it's not just the whole "way overpowered" thing. It seems like every little thing Meta Sue does completely works for him. His plan to paint Castiel in a bad light and make him loose his flock? Works. Get Gadreel to betray Dean and company even though Dean has been downright generous to the angel he barely knows? Works. Pretend to be a miracle-working hobo and thousands of homeless people (and maybe others) to be his own little overtrusting army of homeless people to protect him, beat up an angel who tries to expose him, and idolize him? Works. Fight Dean when he's all hopped up on The First Blade? Heck, he freakin' kills him. Yeah.

 And this is not at all helped by the fact Metatron was far from a popular character from the start of the season, probably being one of the few villains fans actually hate. Yes, people actually love Lucifer more than Metatron. (Hence my "Umbridge" remark.)

 Now, on TV Tropes's YMMV page for Supernatural, they say Crowley is a "Villain Sue". Well, I would agrue against that by saying Crowley does not always win. There are just as many times that the boys and company have got one over on him as he has them. Metatron, on the other hand? He's only beaten at the end of the season (in an admittedly satisfying and almost funny on a meta level way I'll talk about in another post). And even then he doesn't get ganked like most of the fandom undoubtedly thinks he deserves.

 It's funny, in "Meta Fiction" Meta Sue goes on about how he's "the hero" of the story and "what makes a story work'. Too bad he didn't know not to make his self-insert an overpowered Mary Sue.
 

6. Pacing

  The pacing is awful this season. It feels like no progress to start solving the problems gets done most of the season. Only towards the end. They either seem to forget "Oh yeah! we got fallen angels, Metatron, and Abaddon running around! Gotta do that!" After establishing the problem in the first three episodes until "Holy Terror". It's like, "Guys, can... Can we forget the boys becoming "born again virgins" on a case only for Dean to loose it instantly because lolz? You kinda got BIGGER PROBLEMS HERE!"

 I mean, say what you will about season 7, at least we had at some development to the conflict with the Leviathans (how to kill and fight them) before what I presume was the season break. Season nine? Nope! Little to nothing until "Holy Terror"!

 Then it seems like we have some progression in "Road Trip" and "First Born". But then we go forever before much of the plot happens, besides "yeah, Mark of Cain (and possibly no love from Sammy) make Dean go crazy". And what does happen feels more like repeating what we know they should be doing. "Metatron's a dick (pardon my language), we gotta stop him!" "Abaddon's evil as all get out, we gotta stop her!" Heck, to me, it feels like Castiel and Crowley move the plot along more when they appear than our heroes do.

 And of course this is in no way helped by the blatent (failed) pilot for a spin-off, "Bloodlines", that happens THREE EPISODES BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON. If this had been earlier in the season, I'd be fine with this, but seriously! The season was almost over and things were down to the wire. Is that really the time to send everything screeching to a halt to try and test out your attempt at expanding the universe? But yeah, they leave everything to happen in the last three episodes.

 If they'd have tried harder to keep up the plot more often, I'd be more forgiving, but it was really bad this season. Too much filler, not enough plot.
 

5. Too Many Subplots and Plot Holes/Continuity Errors 

 

You and me both, Gabe.

 Speaking of which, there was a bit too many plot threads this season. To count, we had:

• The Angels having fallen to Earth
• Metatron
• Gadreel's stuff
• Abaddon trying to take over Hell
• The Civil War between Bartholomew and Malachi
• Cas running around on his own (then his Civil War with Metatron's forces)
• The Mark of Cain
• The Winchesters Fight For The Gazillionth Time

 That, coupled with the poor pacing, really hurt the season on an objective level. The Bartholomew and Malachi plot even proved to have little purpose, other than to push Cas to rise up and fight and give him some of his powers back. (You know they were useless otherwise when we need to be told Malachi was killed off-screen by Metatron to tie up the loose ends).

 To me, Supernatural works when it keeps its conflicts simple. Let's look at my three favorites: Season 2's conflict was stopping Yellow Eyes and finding out what was up with Sam and the Special Children. Season 5 was stopping The Apocalypse. And Season 8 was mainly sealing the Gates of Hell with the subplot of stopping Naomi and her brainwashing. That also helps make the "filler" episodes a bit more tolerable.

 Also, the story was riddled with plot holes and continuity errors, both for itself and the season. To name a few:

• So if souls couldn't get into Heaven according to Kevin in "Captives", how is it Charlie clearly describes what matches the established canon for Heaven after she "dies" in "Slumber Party" way before that?
• They establish that supposedly Heaven's doors are sealed to angels permanently to presumably everyone but Meta Sue with The Angel Tablet's translation, yet there's a portal later? (though admittedly, that one could be chalked up to Crowley or Metatron being a jerk or Meta Sue's typos people pointed out before the episode (see, he IS a Mary Sue writer!)...)
• If the Angel Tablet can practically make and angel God according to Meta Sue, why didn't Cas exhibit that (or maybe, I don't know, USE IT TO STOP NAOMI, GATHER THE ANGELS TO WORK OUT THEIR ISSUES AND SAVE EVERYONE HALF THE CONFLICT THIS SEASON) when he was carrying the darn MacGuffin in his stomach a season ago?
• WHY DO THE FREAKING SHIFTERS IN THE "BLOODLINES" EPISODE/PILOT (which I may review on its own someday) NOT HAVE TO PEEL THEIR SKIN OFF TO CHANGE APPEARANCE AND INSTEAD CLEANLY CHANGE ON A WHIM WHEN THEY NEVER ESTABLISHED THAT!?

 There's more, including one that I'll address later in the list, but those are the ones that come to mind most.

4. The Waste Of "Human!Castiel"

 At the start of the season (and end of season 8), it's established that now that Cas lost his grace thanks to Meta Sue,  he is now 100% human. I (and most of the fandom) were pretty psyched about this. The fandom because of the domestic opportunities (which, yeah, were appealing). And I for the chance to see Cas grow as a character. I wanted to see him adjust to human life, realize more about it, and use it to both develop and maybe strengthen his relationship with the boys, now that he can empathize with their human plights. It would've be cool to see Cas around more often, too, given that, as a human, he was no longer a game breaker and could help the boys out with "saving people, hunting things, the family business". And, of course, the humor of Cas trying to learn "how to human" and the brothers trying to help the adorkable fallen mess.

 Instead, Cas got thrown out the plot (again) unceremoniously, only popping up once more in human form before showing up again in "Holy Terror", where he steals an angel's grace and gets some mojo back, ultimately disappearing after "First Born" again until his off and on appearances until the end with his subplot, but by then he was pretty much a (nerfed) angel again.

 The cherry on top of this failberry pie came in "First Born", actually. In that episode, he and Sam work to extract the residual grace in him left by Gadreel to try and track down the turncoat. However, (in one of the narmiest (but in a sweet way) scenes ever), Cas decides not to extract further when he sees the process is not only killing Sam, and Sam is intent to continue. When Sam asks why, Cas says how his time as a human "changed him", how he "sees the value of human life" and how fragile they are and he can empathize and blah blah blah. While this is all well and good, the writers forgot one key rule of storytelling.

SHOW. DON'T. TELL.

 Seriously. This scene would've been much more profound if we'd have seen this change over time. Instead of his two episodes "Heaven Can't Wait" and "I'm No Angel" then the writers assuring us, "yeah, he's changed." No. That's not how you do character development. While he keeps the development, they gave it to him in a bad way. And, of course, wasted a great chance for something new and exciting in the story for more of the same.
 

3. Overuse of show's clichés

  And more of the same is a problem. This season relied on the show's old clichés, essentially beating some dead horses one to many times for my tastes. "One of the brothers hides something from the other". "The brothers split up/fight." "Angels are terrible." "Dean is super-protective of Sam", "Cas is banished from the plot."

 On the subject of the brothers fighting, that especially irked me. I feel they dragged the already tired plot we'd seen many times before on the show, but usually contained to a few episodes before they reconcile. No, when they fight over Dean saving Sam against his wishes, it lasts the rest of the season, with Sam going so far as to say Dean is no longer his brother, say he'd let Dean die if he were in that position, and treat their relationship as just professional. It bugged me because, while in my opinion Sam did have some right to be angry at Dean for taking his agency (yeah, Team Free Will everybody!) (though he was a bit harsh), we KNEW they would make up. And you could SEE Sam still loved Dean, despite his words. But this lasted until the last episode. I spent most of the time wanting the boys to get over themselves and hug it out.

 I feel I should also mention "Bloodlines", since it, too, used show clichés, which is probably part of the reason it was so ill-received. The "the woman I love was killed and it forced me to be a hunter". "I don't want to be part of the family business, but I'm stuck like the mafia!" "My dad disappeared!" Blah blah blah...
 

2. "I'm No Angel"

 Okay, to be honest, these last two are interchangeable, I just sorted them by what drew more immediate anger out of me. This one, while initially infuriating (and by far a worse episode than the number one pick), is sort of a slow burn. It's like "The Blind Banker" episode of Sherlock: the more I think about it, the more it annoys/irritates me. (Heck, one of the things with number one makes this episode worse!) I feel like I need to review this episode on its own, just to fully discuss it, but besides the whole "Cas is kicked out by Dean and left to fend for himself" thing, this episode is rife with unfortunate implications and double standards. Mainly about men and sex. There's also a bit of out of characterness for Cas, and arguably a slap to the face for anyone who shipped Megstiel if you think about it too much. (And you know who loves to think too much!)

 Yeah, you know how I said "Bugs" was bad writing? Well, it still kinda is (Indian burial ground? It's the 21st century. And seriously, just Google when the sun rises in Oklahoma, writers...), but otherwise, it was just a bland episode. "I'm No Angel" is a heck of a lot worse. Trust me on this.

 Now, my number one issue:
 

1. "Stairway To Heaven"

 Now, before I begin, I'll admit this episode is a pretty decent episode aside from my main problem with it. Like "A Scandal In Belgravia" from Sherlock. However, "Stairway"'s issue is MUCH worse than "Belgravia"'s.

 It completely retcons Reapers into a faction of angels with no explanation.

 Seriously, there's no throwaway line of "Reapers are actually one of us" line from Cas or his flock. There's no reveal like there was for The Trickster being Gabriel in "Changing Channels". They just say "to the depths with continuity! It can stand in an endless line for eternity! Let's just act like this has always been!"

 To make matters worse, it's Dean who says this. Dean, who's had the most interaction with Reapers, especially Tessa (who he was addressing). It's just really bad, and I feel it's an unnecessary retcon, and (and I know I'll sound like a stereotypical strawman fangirl) spits a bit on the mythos established by The Kripke Era. Along with other complete contidictions to the mythos around Reapers. (This especially bugs me, since Reapers are among my favorite non-angel, non-demon creatures in Supernatural, along with shifters.)

 They could have had Tessa and the Reapers working with Cas some other way! They didn't need to make them angels. They could've just said "we had Reapers working for Bartholomew's flock, and when Cas killed them they joined us, too." Or "The Reapers have allied with us to stop Metatron, who they hate because he's keeping souls from Heaven, disrupting the natural order!" ANYTHING! But no. Retcon.

 And to top it off, they completely destroy Tessa's character. They have her brainwashed by Meta Sue to be his suicide bomber/"Castiel's reputation tarnisher". Then they have Dean kill her with The First Blade/her kill herself with the First Blade. Way to stay classy, respect a long-lasting character (and a female one, no less), and stuff another woman in the fridge, people! Have a cookie! Wait, I'm out of them. I gave them all to writers who earned them.

---

 Look, sorry I'm so filled with bile with this (I'm also kinda tired). This season just infuriates me more than any other season of the show. But were there an good things in this terrible season?

Well, that's another post...

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...

More Parody Riechenbach Theories

  Well, a couple months ago, I wrote a post with some crack-y theories as to how Cumberlock survived falling from a building in "The Riechenbach Fall" episode of Sherlock. Well, I got more ideas! So here they are, back by no one's demand!

  - Molly had a Phoenix Down
  - Molly captured a Reaper. (Somewhere across town, either Anderson, Donavan, or Sebastian the guy from the stock market fell down dead...)
  - The Oswin Oswald Effect, or alternatively...
  - The Rory Williams Effect
  - He had a Ganger
  - The Bad Wolf brought him back
  - Deal with the Devil. 'Nuff said.
  - His body died, but his spirit travelled outside of time and he was eventually reborn as Sherlock The White
  - He was Moriarty's horcrux, and when he died, he had the chance to come back, and did so.
  - A wizard did it
  -Molly was a former Weapon X scientist, and loaded Sherlock up with a healing factor

  ... And finally...

  -He just has the same immortality comic book characters have. They're dead a while, then they come back by some weird contrivance.
 

The Freak's Top 9 (New) Doctor Who Episodes (So Far)

  Howdy, y'all! With all my Sherlockian fangirling/critiquing/rambling/etc.-ing, I realized I've neglected Doctor Who. And I've kinda wanted to do a list of my favorite episodes so far. Besides, this month's the new Christmas Special with the new companion and all, so it's great timing.

  The personal rules for my list are this:

1. I obviously can't count episodes  I haven't seen yet, so all the "Classic Who" is excluded (though I do plan to someday watch them. But Netflix is keepin' me down, man! They only have a few of the "Classic" series). This will be all "New Who" (Everything from the revival in 2005 to now): from "Rose" to "The Angels Take Manhattan". Thus, the "New" and the "So Far" in the title.
2. I'm counting all two-parters as one episode. For obvious reasons. So you won't see something like, say, "Aliens in London" on here and "World War Three" not. (Not that I'm even putting that two-parter on here. Heck no! I'm just using an example.)

  Okay, with that out of the way, let's start my current list of the Top 9 Doctor Who Episodes. Why top nine? Because Nine is fantastic... Well, Geronimo!

(Beware: Possible Spoilers, read with caution)

9. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (Series/Season 7)

So, a thousand-year old time-traveling alien, a 20th century hunter, an Egyptian queen, a Scotswoman, a roman, and his dad all walk into a spaceship...

 This was just a fun episode. I mean, it's The Doctor, The Ponds, Queen Nefertiti, a 20th Century big game hunter, and Rory's dad having an adventure on a spaceship filled with DINOSAURS! How is that not awesome? How? I really enjoyed watching this one. For example, I loved seeing Amy being a sort of pseudo-Doctor when the group gets split up. That alone raised her up a few clicks on my list ranking the companions. (Sorry, Rose, Amy's just better...)

  Plus, for me, it was an Anglophile Nerd Menagerie of Squee! First of all, there's Rupert Graves, AKA Sherlock's Lestrade, playing the hunter, Riddell. Who is a character I like and want to see again. Then, there's Mark Williams, who I know from Harry Potter as Mr. Weasley, playing Rory's Dad, Brian. Again, a very likable character. (Though now I have this whole headcanon about Rory secretly being Charlie Weasley.) Oh, and there's David Bradley, another actor who's been in Harry Potter (he was Mr. Flitch), as the villain, Solomon. Solomon was a jerk and deserved his fate. (*sniff* I will never forget you, Tricy...)

  Anyway, not much left to say but the obvious joke: I AM SICK OF ALL THESE MOTHERJUMPIN' DINOSAURS ON MY MOTHERJUMPIN' SPACESHIP!

 8. New Earth (Series/Season 2)

"Rose, I have a feeling things are going to go wrong..."

  This on was just plain fun and funny. It reminds me of the good old fun days of Ten's (David Tennant's) tenure as The Doctor, before "The Waters of Mars" special made me disappointed in him. Anyway, The Doctor and Rose go on their first official adventure together to the future, and the planet New Earth. Specifically, New (New New New New New New New New New New New New New New) New York. The Doctor was called to the hospital to meet someone. And we run into a blast from the first season's past, Cassandra!

  The big thing I liked were the bodyswap shenanigans. I'm always a sucker for an episode where characters trade bodies, especially since we get to see the actors get to be "other" characters for a day. And this one was no exception. My favorite scene is when Cassandra takes over The Doctor's body, and Tennant is just hamming it up:

 A fun episode for a Doctor I used to admire, "New Earth" is out of this world.

7. Angels Take Manhattan (Series/Season 7)

Seriously, no one was watching The Statue of Liberty in the City That Never Sleeps? YOU HAD ONE JOB, NEW YORK! ONE JOB!

The best way to describe this episode is bittersweet. The final episode with The Ponds, this was the episode every fan I knew was trying to emotionally prepare for. What happens is Rory falls victim to the Weeping Angels while he, Amy, and The Doctor visit New York, and is sent back to the 1930's. Amy and The Doctor go back to save him, natch, and meet up with River. And there's a book detailing the events of the story before they happen in-episode.

 Again, it was bittersweet, this episode. First of all, we learn that River is now a professor (anyone who's seen "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" knows why this is sad.), and, of course, The Ponds leave. But I think it's sort of sweet how they left, since at least they were together. And, personally, I think they had the least "terrible" of most of the Official Companion Farewells. Think about it: Rose was left in an alternate universe against her will, Jack got ditched without any explanation from The Doctor until they met again, Martha was driven away by Ten's Rose Angst, Mickey... well, he left voluntarily, but that doesn't count, Adam was kicked out and left a freak of modern science (but he was a jerk, so can't say he didn't deserve it. He's kind of an un-Companion anyway...), and DON'T get me started on how Donna went. The Ponds, however, they at least got to stay together.

  "The Angels Take Manhattan", the episode that made the fans weep like The Angels.

6. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (Series/Season 6)

One of these things is not like the others...

 Wow, I have a lot of Eleven episodes here. Anyway, in this episode, Amy, Rory, and River witness the apparent future death of The Doctor. Then The non-future, non-dead Doctor takes them back to 1969 America, around the time of the Moon launch. Its there they meet The mysterious Silence. But they can't remember them once they've seen them.

 I feel this is another good opener episode for the show under Moffat's control. (You'll see another example later). The Silence are a legitimately creepy concept. It's awesome.

 Speaking of awesome, River Song is freaking awesome in this one. Especially the "Day of the Moon" part. I decided here that she was one of the best companions ever. Also, I really dug Canton Everett Delaware III, the temporary companion this episode. This guy was awesome, too. Again, there's another companion I would love to see pop up in another episode soon. After all, he said in the beginning after the Doctor "died" that it was the last time he'd see them (as in The Ponds), not necessarily The Doctor...

 In short, this was awesome.

5. The Doctor's Wife (Series/Season 6)

The Doctor and his oldest and most constant Companion...

   Oh, boy, I liked this one. The Doctor, Rory, and Amy go to another dimension, when suddenly, the TARDIS goes dead. That's when we meet a woman who claims to be The TARDIS...

  This episode had great writing. I absolutely loved The TARDIS, who was so delightfully quirky. And I loved her interactions with The Doctor. But most of all, I loved that this episode was written by none other than Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite writers and creative idols. I'm really excited that he's coming back to write another episode for season 7. I'm hoping he'll become like Moffat was in the Russel T Davies Era: writing really good episodes once a season, and hopefully becoming head writer next? Please? I'd love to see him with his own Doctor...

  Well, nothing else to say but, it's Gaiman, he's never let me down before...

4. Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways (Series/Season 1)

The Last Stand of The Ninth Doctor

 Finally, my favorite Doctor appears on here! Anyway, this was the finale to the first season, and the final episode with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. In it, he, Jack, and Rose end up on a series of deadly game shows on Satellite 5, and need to escape. And a familiar enemy returns.

 Okay, first of all, this episode had Captain Jack Harkness, my favorite companion, of course that makes this episode 20% cooler. I loved him here. And his part where he says good-bye to Rose and The Doctor, thinking he's going to die, was sweet. Man, I wish he'd gotten a few more episodes.

 Plus, he got to kiss The Doctor. Good for him!

 Also, I thought it was a fantastic send off to Nine, and Eccleston's acting was superb. It's sad he didn't stay longer, especially since by that time he'd thoroughly grown on me. *sigh* If only I knew for sure why he left, the Internet's no help. In fact, the second time I watched "The Parting of Ways", probably about the "absolutely fantastic" speech, I almost cried! And I can probably count on one hand the times a movie or show has done that to me as far as I can recall. That is impressive. Well done, Davies and Eccleston. Well done.

 "Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways": A parting that was sweet sorrow.

3. The Eleventh Hour (Series/Season 5)

Well, you seem like a perfectly fine person to go on an adventure with...


  Here's one I've mentioned before! The newly-regenerated Eleventh Doctor arrives at the home of young Amelia Pond, who's having trouble with a mysterious crack in her wall. After the Doctor helps, he decides to make her his companion, but first he needs to leave and go do something. He arrives a wee bit late... A wee twelve years too late... And that's the least of his problems...

 It was the first episode with Matt Smith as The Doctor, and Moffat as head writer. I thought it was great kickoff. It was funny, it was cool, and it won me over to Eleven. Moffat's writing was great as usual, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong! The series was in great hands!

  Which was also, admittedly a problem for the episode, in retrospect. It was almost too good. Since all the episodes after this one that season seemed to fall flat to me that season.

 Well, almost all of them...

2. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (Series/Season 5)



"Come at me, bros! .... Okay, I'm never saying that again, either..."

After what seemed like a fairly so-so season, we get a great season finale. The Doctor and Amy are called back to 102 AD by River Song. There, they find The Pandorica, said to be holding the most fearsome being in the universe. Also, the universe is being destroyed, all of the Doctor's enemies have gathered, and Rory is a Roman now. Romans are cool. Things are about to get real...

It was well-written. And, after seeing the mediocre season and "A Scandal in Belgravia", this episode sort of restored my faith in Moffat as a writer. Plus, even though I knew there were two seasons after this and everyone'd be fine, I still got invested and had to wonder: "How're they going to get out of this?"

 River and Rory were brilliant and awesome this episode. I fell in love with both their characters this episode.

  And my number one episode... Should come as no surprise to some of my readers, but anyway, here it is...

1. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (Series/Season 1)

:') I miss you...

 

  I love this episode so much! The Doctor and Rose go back to WWII-Era London following a mysterious object. There, they meet the charming rogue Captain Jack Harness, and face a "child" who's infecting everyone with a strange affliction.

 

 There are so many reasons that I love this one. First of all, Captain Jack Harkness. I loved this guy right off the bat. He is still my favorite companion. Second, Moffat's writing. It's a very well-written episode. It's fun, it's dramatic, and it's heartwarming. I remember checking to see how long I had so I could see part two. Something that didn't happen with the first two-parter this season.

 

  A big was one Eccleston's acting. He was fantastic. The "everybody lives" scene was just so amazing. I loved seeing him so happy at the end. It cemented him as my favorite Doctor.

 

  Most of all, it was what officially made me a fan of the show. Up until this episode, I thought Doctor Who was alright, but I wasn't in love with it. Then this came along. I saw how awesome the show could be. I realized I liked this episode. It made me a Whovian. So, of course I'd put it as my favorite episode.

 

---

 

  So, those are my favorite episodes as of 2012. I hope you enjoyed, and hey, what are some of your favorites?

Goof-Ups I've had

 As much as I hate to admit it, I am not perfect. Especially when it comes to typing sometimes. Trust me, Spellcheck is my best friend sometimes. So, I felt like sharing three typos I've had: one general, one that I've corrected, and one mildly hilarious one from a post I did.

 -Ah, Mark Gatiss. He's rather awesome. I mean, he writes for (and has appeared quite a few times in) Doctor Who. He's (so far) the most consistent writer on Sherlock, writing two episodes I enjoyed (Steve Thompson having written the "weakest" episode of Series One, "The Blind Banker", then a good one in Series 2, "The Riechenbach Fall" (RIECHEN- nope, not gonna do the gag). And Moffat wrote the fantastic episode "A Study in Pink", then wrote the episode with a rather irksome Adler interpretation known as "A Scandal in Belgravia.") And to top it off, he plays Mycroft on that show as well. And I'm eager to see how he writes "The Empty House". I'm sure it'll be fantastic.

 But why on Earth do I have so much trouble with his last name? I mean, it's not that hard!
      

 First, I was somehow under the impression it was "Gatniss". I dunno, there was all that Hunger Games stuff, so my mind must've went: "Gatiss is similar to Katniss, so Gatiss=Gatniss". So for a while, I spelt it like some some of portmanteau crack couple name for him and Katniss. Then, I realized my mistake, and corrected it as best I could. (I'm sure in some of my older posts (around March-ish) still have this mistake if I haven't tried to fix them already).

  But the worst part is that I used this misspelling on Pintrest. And a lot of people don't edit what the stuff they're repinning says. So, long story short, there are a lot of repinned Gatiss pics that call him "Gatniss" now. (If anyone has repinned one of those and had it pointed out, I apologize, it's probably my fault.) Maybe if I'm lucky it'll turn into a meme. Then, yay for me... Heh, heh...

  Also, I know I've called him "Gattiss" at least once. Ironically, I was fixing the "Gatniss" that time I remember... Oops!

  So, I apologize for the misspellings, Mark Gatniss Gattiss ...Erm... the guy who plays Mycroft! :P

   -Ever since he first appeared in "The Empty Child", I have been a fan of Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who. He's my favorite companion of Eccleston's run, was one of my incentives to get through Series 3, and one of my overall favorite companions (along with Donna Noble and Rory Williams "Pond").

  But, at first, I forgot he had an "n" in his name, thinking it was "Harkess" (which, is still a cool name, by the way). This one was fixed sooner than the Gatiss fiasco, and I doubt that you'll find the error on this blog. (It was more of an error when I wrote little humor comics with him out of boredom.)

  ...Now that I think about it, I must've just stole the "n" from his name and gave it to Gatiss... Hmm...

 -And now, an error that never came up on any final drafts of my posts, but was just too bizarrely hilarious not to mention. In fact, it's what inspired this post in the first place!

 The error comes from my post about who my pick was to play Sebastian Moran on Sherlock. In that post, I have a picture of Eccleston with the caption "Could you be our Moran, sir?"

  However, I had accidentally put down "Could you be our Moron?" at first. After giggling at my mistake, I quickly fixed it before publishing. But still, I couldn't resist sharing.

  Haha. Oh, Eccleston. You know I don't think you're a moron. I think you're brilliant and fantastic! :)

---

  So, that's my little bit of self-deprecation. I now return you to your regularly scheduled life...

  ...Unless you've seen any other mistakes I've made but have been too polite to share...

*UPDATE* Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My screen name, Loveable Freak, is a spelling error. I didn't realize there wasn't an extra "e". Oh well, I like it better this way...

(Late) One-Year Anniversery

 Two posts today? Yes, yes there are...

  Ugh, in all my procrastination, I COMPLETELY forgot that August 5th was my blog's one year anniversary!

  Yes, I've been blogging for about a year now, and I've really enjoyed it! I've enjoyed sharing my thoughts (and more) with you, and hope to continue doing so. And, to honor this anniversary, I feel like sharing some facts about my blog.


-I've gotten about 4,214 views of my blog since I started. The most views I've gotten in a month was in May 2012 (580)

-The top five most-viewed blog posts I've had so far:

1. "Sora and Riku Get New Duds and More in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance" (278)
2. "Proof of Darren Criss's Awesomeness" (107)
3. "Infamous Movie Reviews: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (93)
4. "Avengers In Target" (77)
5. "Hypothetical Casting: Sebastian Moran for Sherlock Series 3" (55)

-Apparently, most people find this blog on Google searching with "sora dream drop distance outfit"

-While most (more than half) of my views are from the US, the three top out-of-country are:

1. Russia (That reminds me, I should check out the Russian Sherlock Holmes...)
2. Germany (Hi, possible distant relatives!)
3. The UK (In my heart, I am one of you, oh magical land where magical things originate...)

...But enough of that. I promise to have even more posts.

Some ones to expect are:

• More of those Sherlock reviews
• The inevitable Elementary review
• A review of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
• Just more Sherlock stuff in general
• My thoughts on what I've heard about The Sea of Monsters movie
• More mildly nerdy ramblings
• ...And just, more!

  So, thank you to all my followers and everyone who reads/has read this blog! You guys are awesome. :)

The Liebster Award

  I would like to thank buddy2blogger for the award. It is very much appreciated!
 The rules are I have to post eleven things about myself, answer buddy2blogger's questions, post my own eleven questions, and finally provide links to my nominees. Well, Allons-y!
Eleven Things About Myself

1. I am quite fond of things that originated from England, such as Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. I would love to visit that country someday.
2. I have a fondness for hats, and hope to get a great collection of interesting ones. (My favorite one I own is this black derby I've had for three years)
3. Sometimes I worry that I use the world "I" in conversation too much.
4. I believe that people should always keep a little, healthy bit of immaturity about them.
5. I believe I may have a little bit of OCD. Of course, it's only a self-diagnosis, but I think I have some of the symptoms. 
6. My dream in life is to write and draw my own comic book.
7. I dislike swearing and cussing. I can handle a little bit, but once it gets past a certain point...
8. My three favorite video games are the Kingdom Hearts series, Guitar Hero games, and The Sims 3
9. My favorite genres are Science Fiction, Action/Adventure, Fantasy, and Comedy.
10. I love music. I listen to an eclectic mix of music, but I typically like Alternative Rock (though I am growing to appreciate and listen to instrumental soundtracks, and I've rediscovered ska).
11. Speaking is not my forte. In fact, I have a speech impediment of sorts, and often rush my words.

buddy2blogger's Questions

1. What has been the greatest moment in your life so far? It's hard to say. Nothing too big's happened, and I've had a lot of great moments. For now, I'm going with when TV Tropes mentioned one of my comments on their page for (the blog) The Half-World. Specifically, saying it was a Crown Moment of Funny. Because 1) I would love to have a page on TV Tropes for something I've made one day, and 2) Because I'm the only other person (for now) besides Skepkitty (the girl in-charge of the blog) to get one, so it made me feel good that some "Troper" thought I was as funny as Skep at least once. It was a pretty nice compliment.
2. Who (other than your parents) have been a source of inspiration to you? Multiple people are inspirations to me. I'm inspired by Stan Lee and the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, because both created characters (Lee creating a good majority of Marvel Comics's characters, Conan Doyle creating Sherlock Holmes) that have stood the test of time and are still beloved (something I wish to achieve). Neil Gaiman inspires me because he writes so many things, and different ones, too (comics/graphic novels, books, short stories, and screenplays), another thing I wish to do. And Andy Warhol inspires me a bit, too, because he also did more than just paint. And he really didn't care what others thought of him.
3. Are you an extrovert who loves partying and hanging out or more of an introverted person? I am most certainly an introverted person.
4.  Who is your favorite movie director and what is the latest movie of his/hers you have seen? Another tough one. I'd say Joss Whedon because he directed one of my favorite movies this year, The Avengers... but then again I haven't really watched anything else of his yet. On the other hand, Guy Ritchie directed the recent Sherlock Holmes movies (two of my favorites)... but, again, I haven't seen anything else of his, either. So, long story short, it's either Whedon (The Avengers) or Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows).
5. What news channel/newspaper do you watch/read to get the latest news? Sadly, I don't really watch the news that much or read the paper. But I do check the news feeds on my computer and occasionally listen to whatever channel's on if there's news. But I guess I've been listening to NBC quite a bit recently...
6. Name some of your favorite hobbies I love listening to music, writing, drawing, and surfing the Internet.
7.  Has becoming a blogger had any impact on your life so far? If yes, in what way(s)? Not in any MAJOR way, but it has introduced me to some people (albeit indirectly) I enjoy, and it lets me get some of my thoughts out on things I know people I've friended on Facebook could care less about.
8. Who is your favorite author(s)? J.K. Rowling, Heather Brewer, Rick Riodan, Neil Gaiman, James Patterson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jack Heath.
9.  If there was one thing you want to change about yourself, what would that be? My ability to stay focused on my goals. I'll MAKE plans, but I procrastinate/forget them (it's part of the reason I haven't posted this sooner). I don't want to get so easily distract... oh, lookie, a picture of the Sherlock characters as My Little Pony ponies! I'm gonna find more! :P
10. Which actor would you cast to play Sherlock Holmes and why? Hmm... Christopher Eccleston. I think he's a very good actor, and he played my favorite incarnation of The Doctor. Plus, he's going to be the villain in Thor: The Dark World, so playing Sherlock would be one of many things that would just max out how cool he is to me. 
11. Do you believe in the existence of aliens and UFOs? Yes. I think it's possible. It's a big universe; we can't just be the only planet that has life.

     My Questions

1. If you could meet any two people (one living, one dead), who would you choose and why?
2. What is one piece of technology you positively CAN'T be without?
3. What is your favorite piece of clothing?
4. What is your favorite TV show? Why?
5. If you could have any profession (besides whatever one you may have now), what would it be?
6. Do you have bizarre dreams, or are they pretty mundane/"normal"?
7. Which fictional character would you most like to be dragged along with on an adventure?
8. What book (or show/comic/etc.) would you like to see made into a movie, and who would you want to direct it and star as the main character?
9. If you could have one (fictional) object, what would it be and why?
10. What was your favorite movie you've watched recently?
11. Who is your favorite (fictional) villain and why?

My Nominees

1. The Half-World
2. FanFiction Theater
3. HIT THE BERSERK BUTTON!
4. secrets
5. The One and Only Banana Girl's Thoughts
6. Forgotten Paper Airplanes
7.  izzy likes sandwiches...and skittles
8. District 14 Chronicles
9. Sometimes It Comes Down To This
10. Geek Girl //365
11. Say What I Feel

Why I May Not Be Enjoying Eleven's Run So Far on Doctor Who

  Hey, guys. I'm still... misplaced at the moment. But, I managed to hijack borrow a computer to type this post I had sitting around. So, I copied from the "Notes" app of my iPod onto Blogger from my device, and revised it here. But enough behind-the-scenes...

I really like Doctor Who. I loved Nine (Christopher Eccleston's Doctor). I enjoyed Ten (David Tennant's Doctor), at least until "Waters of Mars" (Series 3 was a tad boring, too, at least until Captain Jack and The Master came in/returned).

  However, I'm not enjoying Eleven's (Matt Smith's) run as much. I recently finished "Cold Blood", but I'm just not as excited as I thought I would be to see the next episodes.

  I'm not sure why, so let's try and pinpoint the reason.

 1. Strong Opening

  I loved Eleven's first full episode, "The Eleventh Hour". It was a fun episode full of great moments. A great introduction. But everything else has felt, well, not as amazing as that first episode. The episode I was closest to liking so far was "Vampires of Venice".  It's almost as if the first was too good, in my opinion. So it set the bar too high for me.

 2. High Expectations

   I'm rather fond of Steven Moffat as a TV writer. After all, he wrote my all-time favorite Doctor Who episode(s): "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" (AKA the episodes where I fell in love with Nine). And my favorite episode in series one of Sherlock, "A Study in Pink".  So, when I learned he was head writer for series 5-beyond of Doctor Who, I was pretty excited to get to series 5.

  But so far, none of his episodes (save "Eleventh Hour") have been fantastic. I know, Moffat's not a perfect writer and can't please everyone.  For example, the episode he wrote for Sherlock series two, "A Scandal in Belgravia", was probably my least favorite of that series (mostly because I wasn't 100% sold on his version of Irene Adler. But my least favorite episode of all is "The Blind Banker", just for the record).

I've just come to expect more from him, that's all.

 3. Eleven Isn't What I Expected

   I was expecting Eleven to be more, well, wacky. I was expecting more: "Bowties are cool!" and "Geronimo!" out of him. I guess I thought he'd be more of an adult child, if you know what I mean. More like the beginning of "Eleventh Hour". He's not as funny as I thought he was going to be.

   I was also expecting to looooove Eleven. After all, his first episode went well. Same with Ten. I liked his first episode(s). But in the end, Nine was still my favorite. It's like one of those times where you hear about someone and people say you're going to love this guy, so you think they're going to be awesome, and you build them up in your mind as being fantastic. Then you finally meet them in real life, and they just sort of fall flat of what you were hoping they'd be like. (Not to say you can't hear about people and they turn out to be as awesome as they hoped, I'm just saying sometimes this could happen.)

 Ironically, I thought I wouldn't like Nine, he didn't give me much of a good impression initially. Then I warmed up to him, juuuust in time for him to regenerate. *sigh* The TARDIS isn't always bigger in another Doctor's run...

 Funny, the Doctor I thought would be my favorite is not, and the one I thought I'd like the least is the one I love the most. Strange, how life works.

4. Spoilers

    Pintrest is a wonderful thing. It's introduced me (in a way) to people with the same interests as me, it's what got me to check out Sherlock and Doctor Who in the first place, and has piqued my interest in other things, like Supernatural. (Great, just what you guys need, for me to become a "SuperWhoLockian", or I guess it'd be "SuperAvengerWhoLockian", if that's considered official...)

  Unfortunately, as most people are further ahead in the show than I, a lot of the stuff pinned has spoilers for the show. Specifically, where I am right now.

   I can't just not follow or look at the pins, because there's no spoiler warnings (unless it's a video). And there's stuff on the Doctor Who boards about the other Doctors, and I don't want to miss out on them (especially stuff showing my man...erm...Time Lord Nine love). It is a quandary. (Oh, it's nice that this is probably the worst source of angst for me...)

   Besides, I'm curious in nature. It's my downfall in places like TV Tropes with those hidden, blocked-out spoilers.   Anyway, in short, I know who River is. I know who Amy chooses. I know about Rory's... Erm... "reputation".  Some of the ooh and ah is gone. Granted, spoilers aren't always bad (I knew about REICHENBACH! *scare chord* *thunder clap*, but I still nearly cried when I saw the end), but maybe the many Eleven spoilers have taken my enjoyment away.

   So, what's to blame for my dissatisfaction? Is it the bar set by the first episode? Hey, it kept me watching, didn't it? My standards for Moffat? Nobody's perfect. My expectations for Eleven? Eh, gave me something to look forward to, and incentive to power though "rough patches" ... Spoilers? No, the people can't always be careful to make sure everyone isn't spoiled. And guess after a certain period of time, it's shouldn't be so bad to spoil something that's been out there for a while. I just don't know. 

  But who knows? Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. I'm only almost done with series five. It could get better.

  Whovians of the Internet (especially the ones who've had similar thoughts to mine)! Tell me, does it get better? Please let me know!