Archive for the ‘Television’ Category
I’ll admit – I have a very weak stomach and cannot tolerate watching zombie shows and movies. From their slow, slithering ways to their rotting flesh, zombies are a bit more than I can handle. Add to this their mindless, instinct-driven desire to consume copious amounts of human flesh, and I basically run when anything zombie is on television. I cannot even bring myself to watch The Walking Dead, (from what I hear) a fantastic show depicted the troubled times of the last humans trying to survive a zombie apocalypse.
But today I started thinking about it. What if that actually happened? Instead of going through how terrible things would be if that occurred, I decided to actually take a moment and think of the highlights of an event such as this.
1. Disintegration of government on multiple levels – If you’re not a fan of the bureaucracy of government these days (and who is), maybe a zombie apocalypse isn’t such a bad thing after all. I just spent two hours today at the Division of Motor Vehicles getting my truck inspected. After interacting with the employees there, I can tell you that if there were ever to be a zombie apocalypse, it would most definitely start in government somewhere.
2. Bad Neighbors? Eat them! Imagine this – your neighbor is always in your business. He causes trouble, trespasses on your property and tries to
pick fights with you on a weekly basis. Bam! The zombie apocalypse begins. If you turn, the last thought you’ll have about your neighbor is how good he’ll taste while you’re chewing his flesh. Not a bad motivator right there.
3. No more debt – I love this one. Think about it – while zombies are marching along the face of the earth devouring any and all living flesh in sight, I doubt Capital One will be trying to get you to make your credit card payment that month. It’s the end of any and all debt.
4. Free food! With all those helpless humans running around screaming, you’ll never have to worry about buying food again. Just grab one and start chewing! However, if you decide to try to stay human, good luck trying to find a grocery store that’ll have fresh food, or a place to prepare and cook the food without endless zombies running toward you once the smell tips them off. Yeah… zombie’s definitely the way to go with this one.
5. Stabilization of the world’s population – I love this one! So many people are genuinely concerned about the fate of the earth with her population booming more than ever before. While it’s true that most if not all of the humans would eventually become zombies and thus, still take up place on the earth, procreation would come to an end. At some point no new humans would be born. And since they wouldn’t be using fossil fuels, they’d be contributing to reducing our carbon footprint!
While I once thought a zombie apocalypse would be horrible, I can see that it actually wouldn’t be so terrible at all! Feel like adding to the list? Do so below!
Posted in 
Bon Temps is one of those towns where you a) should feel grateful you don’t live there and b) wonder why anyone else does. We’re nearing the end of this season of True Blood. In just a few weeks’ time, we’ll have an idea of how the vampires are going to stop Antonia, what repercussions Jessica and Jason will suffer for their “extracurricular activity” in the back of Jason’s pick up, whether or not Sookie’s dreams will come true, and more. In the meantime though, let’s focus on what you might’ve missed if you failed to watch it last night.
Sookie survives being shot in the stomach with a wooden bullet (predictable, I know). Bill’s blood did the trick, and while Alcide and Bill are both hovering over her she demands to know where Eric is. Alcide has had enough, and he walks out. Bill promises to go find him.
Then Sookie has a most interesting dream… she begins to fantasize about both Eric and Bill, telling each that she loves them and wants to have them together. Aside from being a totally hot, sexy scene, there’s a bit of a revealing here – Sookie is in love with the two leading vampires in her life. Decisions, decisions…
The witches regroup at Moongoddess Emporium. Antonia informs all who are present that she has special plans for the vampires during their “Festival of Tolerance,” but Tara and the rest of the girls want out. Roy decides to stay – of course he does – what guy doesn’t want to see vampire guts explode all over the place? The others try to leave but Antonia holds them hostage along with her new “pet,” Eric.
Meanwhile Jessica tries to find sympathy in Nan… yeah, that sounds like a bad idea to me, too. Uncaring and not wanting to hear any of it, she tells Jessica that listening to her whining has cured her of the urge to ever become a Maker. Niiiiiice. Bill arrives and brings her up-to-date on the whole situation with Eric and the witches. He tries to convince her to cancel the “Festival of Peace” but Nan refuses.
So imagine this – you’re Hoyt, and your super hot vampire girlfriend just dumped you. So you decide that by making yourself feel better you’re going to get a box, fill it up with her stuff and mark it, “For you, Monster.” Then maybe you’ll get drunk and pass out. OK – seems reasonable. But I would think you’d never expect to see a possessed Lafayette storm through your door with a gun and a baby (Arlene’s in fact) in hand, demanding you leave your own house! Poor, poor Hoyt.
Andy’s too hopped up on V to be able to do anything except make the matter worse, and Jason can’t seem to get the job done. So Arlene calls Jesus and asks him to help. He arrives and enters the house. After awhile Mavis warms up to him and reveals exactly what happened to her at the hands of her former lover. She hasn’t left because there’s something she needs to do – she needs to hold her baby one last time. Based on what Mavis told them, the boys start digging in the backyard and find her remains along with her baby’s. They hand the swaddled, skeletal remains of her child to her, and she embraces him, singing a lullaby. Just then, her spirit leaves Lafayette and disappears. Wild!
Then Hoyt asks Jason to bring Jess’ belongings to her, since he’s his best friend and all. While Jason does decline the offer to come into Bill’s house, that doesn’t stop him and Jessica from having sex in the bed of his pickup truck. Jason! Weren’t you just serially raped a few episodes ago? Geesh!
Debbie knows that Alcide’s hanging out with Sookie and, falling into a depression, she goes back to using V. She then approaches Sookie and tells her she genuinely wants to help her (I don’t care what you say, even with Sookie reading her thoughts I STILL don’t trust her).
Anyway, they head off to the Emporium. Debbie distracts Antonia while Sookie finds Eric. She tries to get him to leave but to no avail; the spell is too strong. Tara holds a gun to Sookie as an act and warns her telepathically that they’re being held against their will. Sookie and Debbie escape and find their way to Shreveport to alert Bill that the plan is for Eric to kill him. Just as she arrives, Eric is vamp-speeding toward Bill as Sookie screams to him, “RUN!”
Tommy transforms into Sam to handle an issue between him and the pack leader of the werewolves. When he cracks some jokes about having his way with Luna, the boys beat him within an inch of his life. While on the ground he transforms back into Tommy; Alcide steps in and protects him while carrying him away to safety.
Credit: Hubble Telescope
I dig Doctor Who.
For the better of the last six months I believe I have watched an episode every day or at least popped up some version of the theme on YouTube. Just this past birthday I asked my family for Doctor Who memorabilia (considering I turned 37, I still feel like a kid). So how in the world did a show about an eccentric man with a British accent who travels around the universe and in and out of time capture my fantasy?
Simply, he falls into an archetype that has been cut from the same cloth as Sherlock Holmes, or even Ferris Bueller. These are the type of guys who can walk into a room, look around, smile and say, “I got this under control!”
Each of the 11 people who officially played the role of the Doctor have a habit of showing him facing an enemy and essentially ask, “Is this the best you’ve got?” Don’t get me wrong; he shows vulnerability, heartbreak, happiness, excitement and the like, but each of the 11 men have a habit of playing it in different aspects. One of the actors will emphasize a certain personality trait more than another will.
Trying to explain what I like about Doctor Who is difficult. I mean, as silly as it sounds, what appeals to me is that he is put in these Luke Skywalker-like adventures and he wears a tie and coat. I mean, you are more apt to see him dressed like someone who is going to tea or a night at the opera circa 1850 London more than you expect him to be dressed in fatigues and be armed with cannons and weapons the same way the Punisher is. Instead, he is armed with a sonic screw driver that can do almost anything.
So if you are a novice to “Doctor Who” and want to know where the best place to begin is, I would encourage you to check out Season 5 episode 11 titled ”The Lodger”. In the story the Doctor gets trapped outside of his TARDIS (his spaceship) while his companion Amy is stuck inside. The Doctor then takes up residence in the first floor of a house while he attempts to investigate the upstairs neighbor who seems to be killing passersby.
To keep a low profile the Doctor does his best to fit in the life of his flat mate Craig. Craig is an average fellow who works for a telecom company, enjoys soccer, and sharing a night of “pizza, booze, tellie” with Sophie, a woman he seems unable to confess his true feelings for.
With just the slightest bit of “What About Bob,” this episode captures the genius and epitomizes what Doctor Who is and even explains what is happening throughout the rest of the series.
Check out this clip where the Doctor has just met Craig and made him lunch as a way to let him entice him to let the Doctor stay:
I had my buddy Sabrina, a non-fan of Doctor Who, watch this episode and she said, “Prior to watching that episode I was not a fan, but I was able to understand the backstory and I enjoyed it very much because it was funny and exciting at the same time.”
As to where to find it, I confirmed it is on Netflix at the moment and it is easy to find the episode anywhere online (though I am not condoning an illegal download of it).
However, the Doctor will dig you doing it.
I was warned not to write this. Someone close to me said that picking a captain other than James T. Kirk as my favorite was sacrilegious. After all, he’s the first – the original – and all other captains are just shadows of his greatness, no?
While I do highly admire Kirk and his leadership skills, he’s not my favorite. Granted, he’s not down on the list by any means; he’s actually a very close second. But there’s another captain whom I think was incredible as leader of the Enterprise.
His name is Jonathan Archer. That’s right – the captain from Star Trek: Enterprise is at the top of my list.
Now before anyone decides to go on the attack because I didn’t chose the ever popular James Kirk, again keep in mind that, in my opinion, both are highly skilled leaders of the Enterprise. However I believe it’s Jonathan Archer that possessed the greatest mastery of skills as captain.
First Contact:
While it’s true that Kirk was the original captain in terms of Star Trek’s television history, in actuality Enterprise was the prequel. So Archer was actually the first captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise (if we want to get really technical here). He was the first to explore deep space via an experimental prototype – the Enterprise NX-01. His ship was a bit smaller than Kirk’s, hence he had only about 80 crew members to aid him. But he made up for that with an earnest desire to explore and meet new civilizations and attempt to defend those who were at the mercy of stronger, more aggressive races. He literally was the initial representative in first contact situations. There were no predecessors – he was it, and he made the best of every situation he encoutered.
Necessary Force:
Archer demonstrated that he’s more than able to use force when necessary. From the torturing of an Ossarian pirate named Orgoth to get the information he needed, to the withholding of a cure for a dying race to allow evolution to run its course – Archer has proven time and time again that he could handle stressful and morally complicated situations. There was no precedent for him to follow, no pre-established rules and regulations. Everything was a first experience and things were rough for both him and his crew. Yet he always seemed to make it through by doing his best to choose right from wrong.
In his own words, “Someday… my people are going to come up with some sort of a doctrine, something that tells us what we can and can’t do out here, should and shouldn’t do. But until somebody tells me that they’ve drafted that directive… I’m going to have to remind myself every day… that we didn’t come out here to play God.”
Diplomacy:
Having fallen in love with space after being given a copy of “The Cosmos A-Z” for his birthday as a child, Archer always knew he was destined for space travel. Even so, he never could’ve prepared himself for having aliens as part of his crew. His relationship with T’Pol was rocky to say the least, and he and the doctor Phlox had their difficulties at times. It’d be safe to say that his relationships with both aliens and humans were strained at times, but Archer always exercised as much diplomacy as possible – except for when he told T’Pol upon first meeting her, “Volatile? You have no idea how much I’m restraining myself from knocking you on your ass.”
While all of the captains were fully competent to lead the Enterprise, Archer was the most capable. His experiences were the foreground which subsequent Starfleet commanders followed. Being the first doesn’t mean you do it without mistakes; it means that others get to learn from yours. It’s clear that while Archer’s career wasn’t mistake-proof by any means, it gave others a model in which to follow.
So, it’s Thursday – is it too late to share my True Blood recap? I mean, it IS before the next one… and maybe, just maybe there’s someone out there who really doesn’t know yet what might’ve happened last Sunday. So, for that one person I’ll continue. As always, expect spoilers and such.
Sookie, Eric and Bill:
Sookie and Eric are about to get it on in her (his?) house, when Bill comes barging in. Vampires are thrown around, and finally Eric gets the upper hand since he’s older and stronger. He grabs Bill by the throat and that’s when Sookie tells him that he’s the vampire king. Eric immediately drops Bill and kneels before him, but Bill, feeling cranky, decides to bring Eric into custody.
Bill imprisons Eric in the same holding cell as Pam, who’s steadily rotting away. She tries to give him the ultimate pep talk to remind of who he formally was, but he resists. Telling her that vampire is gone, she crumples into a heap of bloody tears.
Meanwhile Sookie is trying her hardest to reason with Bill by to no avail. He won’t hear what she has to say, and refuses to release Eric. Subsequently, he orders that Sookie be removed from his property and tells his guards that if she sets foot on the premises she’s to be shot on sight.
It is then Bill decides that his time to eliminate Eric is now. He contacts his higher ups and gets permission to end his life via the true death. But here’s the thing – he drags Eric out into the courtyard, he’s getting ready to stake him, and what he finds is something most interesting – this is not the Eric he remembers. Not only that, but this Eric is kinder, gentler, and even human in some respects. Eric requests that Pam be released since she cannot do any harm in the condition she’s in, and asks that Sookie be taken care of. After hearing all of this, Bill cannot bring himself to do it and cuts our favorite Viking vampire loose (more on this later).
Marnie:
She’s still being held captive by Bill, and is locked up in one of his cells. While there she begins cutting her wrists in the hopes to make contact with Antonia. When she does, she’s shocked by what she sees. Not only does she witness the torture and rape of Antonia at the hands of vampires who infiltrated the Catholic Church, but she sees that a certain spell can control the undead and drive them into the sunlight. When Marnie awakens from this state, she becomes possessed by Antonia.
With a devilish look on her face, she stares right into the surveillance camera and directly into the eyes of the vampire who raped her so many years ago. Now working under Bill, he immediately turns off the monitor and goes down to pay Marnie a visit. He recognizes Antonia in her immediately, but this time he doesn’t have any power over her. Marnie/Antonia waves her hand and causes him to fall onto his knees. It’s clear there’s going to be some sort of pay back….
Tara and Naomi:
Naomi drives all the way to Bon Temps and has a face-to-face confrontation with Tara about her lies. After all is said and done, she makes an attempt to leave but one thing leads to another and the girls are close once again.
They go out to eat at Merlotte’s. Afterward as they walk to their car Pam ambushes them out of nowhere! What will happen to this cuter-than-kittens couple? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out.
Tommy and Sam:
I didn’t think it was possible for Tommy to be anymore of a f**k up than he already was, but he consistently proves me wrong. Because he killed his parents, he now can shift into people. So what does he do? He changes into his brother and screws up Sam’s life in the course of 8 hours. He fires Sookie on the spot when she tells “Sam” she cannot come to work that day. And then later, “Sam” sleeps with Luna only to throw her out of his home in a rather get-the-hell-out-of here kind of way. After he does his damage, he pukes all over the place and passes out while turning back into the sad sack that’s Tommy.
Sam walks in, sees his brother drooling and unconscious in a puddle of his own vomit with no idea of the havoc that Tommy wreaked on his life.
Lafayette and Jesus:
These two messed up royally when they decided to visit Jesus’ grandfather. He tells them that they have to bring him a sacrifice in order for a protection spell to work. So what is the animal that wanders in their direction? A rattlesnake. They bring it to the old man and he lets the snake bite his grandson. Then he tells Lafayette to protect him at all costs. He and his pregnant wife leave the room – the doors are bolted. Suddenly we see a spirit enter Lafayette. It’s Uncle Luke! Who? I know, I have no clue who he is either. But Jesus recognizes him, and I guess that’s all that matters. He’s cured and now we wait to see what happens next week.
Jessica and Jason:
Jason and Sookie are hanging out by the house, when he wanders into the woods after sending his sister inside for more beer. She grabs the shot gun and chases after her brother; he’s wandering in circles in a state of panic. Convinced he’ll be a were-panther any moment, he’s starting to hyperventilate. Jessica picks up on this (due to her giving him her blood) and rushes to his side. She gets him to calm down and sits with him. It’s apparent the two have feelings for each other and they start to show. But very quickly, Jason thanks Jess for her help and both agree not to say anything to Hoyt about the weirdness of their encounter.
Still searching in the woods for her brother, Sookie comes across Alcide and Debbie. After a bit of questioning, she’s able to determine that were-anythings aren’t made – the trait is hereditary. She breathes a sigh of relief for Jason and continues her search.
All seems quite until she senses something behind her. She spins around, gun up and ready to shoot. Who does she see? But Eric of course! He tells her how Bill let him go; the next scene they’re naked and doing it on the forest floor.
Overall, it was a great episode. It’s a huge relief that Jason’s still human. I absolutely LOVE this new Eric; he’s phenomenal. Having never read the books, I have no idea how long he’ll stay like this but I hope it’s awhile. Tommy is just a major piece of you-know-what. Marnie’s about to bring Bon Temps to its knees. And I wonder what Pam’s going to do to Naomi and Tara?
Be sure to tune in to HBO each Sunday at 9 pm EST to see True Blood for yourself!