Saturday, December 31, 2011
Year in Review -- Part Two
This year was full of rumbles that shook the world. There was the Arab spring, the Occupy movement, the revolts all over from London to Greece. DADT was repelled finally and the uniforms didn't become pink and the barracks weren't redecorated with some chintz and a few nice throw pillows. The clown car that is the Republican party has become a complete real life dumb and dumber with sequels. Plus Wisconsin is doing a pretty good job with the recall Scott Wanker effort, hopefully they will prevail. We have the original dumb and dumber (Bachmann and Perry), corrupt and corrupter (Cain and Gingrich) and "Whose that?" starring Huntsman and Paul. Anybody but Romney each has a go before the Rombot 2012 gets the nomination in the end. There was so much more but I get tired of politics after a while. It either makes me angry or depresses me. We will see what next years brings. I will finish up with a few more thoughts tomorrow. Take care tonight and be safe.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Year in Review 2011 Part One
I guess this is the start of the countdown to the end of the world as we know it. I give the 2012 date a little more credence than a crazy religious nut and they made a movie about it so it is bound to happen, John Cusack wouldn't lie to me. So this being the last full year of lazy and complacent normalcy, it behooves me to look back upon it.
Once again 2011 was filled with some fabulous TV. Here are a few of my top picks.
American Horror Story:
What can I say about this hot mess. This is like the episodic series equivalent of Monty Python's Whizzo Chocolate Company's Crunchy Frog sweetmeat. The crazy was everywhere rendering you powerless in the face of it, and it was a joy to behold. I did not miss an episode and most of them had me gasping for breath. I find it hard to believe that this came from the mind of the man who created Glee but that show is a horror story of a different nature. Although this atones a bit, I will never quite forgive him for unleashing the obnoxious Lea Michele and her nasally singing on the world. Jessica Lange was phenomenal, the ending was sad and strangely uplifting, loved Zach Quinto in his first post coming out performance and we all know that everything is better with a gimp. All aspects of this show was so wrong it became one big right.
Doctor Who:
I still mourn the loss of David Tennant but I have grown to like Matt Smith (although at times I feel he is trying way too hard). But it was the 2011 season that saw the introduction of the Silence, one of the scariest Who villains ever to be introduced, even eclipsing the Weeping Angels. It was the Who equivalent of the first time we saw the Borg in the Star Trek verse. This creature is like a menacing Observer that you forget the second you look away. Like many things about this show, the concept is fascinating. I hope like the Cybermen and the Daleks, this will be a villain that will return regularly as they are far scarier and less camp.
Revenge:
What a delightful guilty pleasure this is. I love a good soap and this one has it all. Secrets, lies, deceptions, sex, intrigue, the rich, the fabulous, and amazing wardrobes. The story of a woman, Emily Thorne (or is she?) returning to where her life was ruined to exact, you guessed it, REVENGE (loud crack of thunder rents the silence). The various schemes and machinations that Emily sets up to do this are just cool. This show isn't deep, it won't change the world but it will give you an incredibly entertaining hour of viewing.
The Walking Dead:
Being a huge fan of the zombie genre from movies and books to games, of course I love this show. I found season 2 to not be as engaging as the first, but that could be due to the firing of Frank Darabont or stretching the concept from 6 tight episodes to a more leisurely 13. This season so far has lurched along with all the grace of one of the walkers, with far more talk than action and way tooooo much Lori. On the other hand, watching Daryl grow and change as a character, and now one of my favorites, has been awesome. I love every scene he is in. Glen was pitifully underused but at least he got some action (in more ways than one if you know what I mean hubba hubba), far more then Token, oh sorry, I mean T-Dog. There were some great moments, the zombie in the well and the shooting of Otis are two that spring to mind. But the round house kick to the head was the reveal in the last 5 minutes of the mid-season finale. By this time I was sick to death of the search for Sophia and wished that they'd just find her already dead or alive. I was unprepared for when they finally did. What a powerful conclusion and a way to guarantee I'll be back. We all hope that good will prevail, that Daryl's sweet promise to Carol, to see her daughter back safe in her arms, that he could be the hero would win out in the end. Instead, the nihilism embodied in Shane's view of the world prevailed. This was a game changer and should sweep the show to the conclusion on a high note.
Not all was great. I watched Dexter through but it was the worst season of this show to date and having Deb realize she was a love with Dexter all along?!? Oh gag me and how hard that must have been for Jennifer Carpenter after MCH cheated on her and now they are divorced. I guess she should have listened to the advice Cosmo gave to Bridget Jones about never dipping your nib in the office ink. But, like the Walking Dead, the final few minutes were amazing. True Blood also seems to be losing its bloom and becomes a parody of itself more times than not these days. All in all there was more to enjoy than not. Tomorrow I will talk about events in 2011.
Once again 2011 was filled with some fabulous TV. Here are a few of my top picks.
What can I say about this hot mess. This is like the episodic series equivalent of Monty Python's Whizzo Chocolate Company's Crunchy Frog sweetmeat. The crazy was everywhere rendering you powerless in the face of it, and it was a joy to behold. I did not miss an episode and most of them had me gasping for breath. I find it hard to believe that this came from the mind of the man who created Glee but that show is a horror story of a different nature. Although this atones a bit, I will never quite forgive him for unleashing the obnoxious Lea Michele and her nasally singing on the world. Jessica Lange was phenomenal, the ending was sad and strangely uplifting, loved Zach Quinto in his first post coming out performance and we all know that everything is better with a gimp. All aspects of this show was so wrong it became one big right.
I still mourn the loss of David Tennant but I have grown to like Matt Smith (although at times I feel he is trying way too hard). But it was the 2011 season that saw the introduction of the Silence, one of the scariest Who villains ever to be introduced, even eclipsing the Weeping Angels. It was the Who equivalent of the first time we saw the Borg in the Star Trek verse. This creature is like a menacing Observer that you forget the second you look away. Like many things about this show, the concept is fascinating. I hope like the Cybermen and the Daleks, this will be a villain that will return regularly as they are far scarier and less camp.
What a delightful guilty pleasure this is. I love a good soap and this one has it all. Secrets, lies, deceptions, sex, intrigue, the rich, the fabulous, and amazing wardrobes. The story of a woman, Emily Thorne (or is she?) returning to where her life was ruined to exact, you guessed it, REVENGE (loud crack of thunder rents the silence). The various schemes and machinations that Emily sets up to do this are just cool. This show isn't deep, it won't change the world but it will give you an incredibly entertaining hour of viewing.
Being a huge fan of the zombie genre from movies and books to games, of course I love this show. I found season 2 to not be as engaging as the first, but that could be due to the firing of Frank Darabont or stretching the concept from 6 tight episodes to a more leisurely 13. This season so far has lurched along with all the grace of one of the walkers, with far more talk than action and way tooooo much Lori. On the other hand, watching Daryl grow and change as a character, and now one of my favorites, has been awesome. I love every scene he is in. Glen was pitifully underused but at least he got some action (in more ways than one if you know what I mean hubba hubba), far more then Token, oh sorry, I mean T-Dog. There were some great moments, the zombie in the well and the shooting of Otis are two that spring to mind. But the round house kick to the head was the reveal in the last 5 minutes of the mid-season finale. By this time I was sick to death of the search for Sophia and wished that they'd just find her already dead or alive. I was unprepared for when they finally did. What a powerful conclusion and a way to guarantee I'll be back. We all hope that good will prevail, that Daryl's sweet promise to Carol, to see her daughter back safe in her arms, that he could be the hero would win out in the end. Instead, the nihilism embodied in Shane's view of the world prevailed. This was a game changer and should sweep the show to the conclusion on a high note.
Not all was great. I watched Dexter through but it was the worst season of this show to date and having Deb realize she was a love with Dexter all along?!? Oh gag me and how hard that must have been for Jennifer Carpenter after MCH cheated on her and now they are divorced. I guess she should have listened to the advice Cosmo gave to Bridget Jones about never dipping your nib in the office ink. But, like the Walking Dead, the final few minutes were amazing. True Blood also seems to be losing its bloom and becomes a parody of itself more times than not these days. All in all there was more to enjoy than not. Tomorrow I will talk about events in 2011.
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