Great Expectations

I've just finished watching episode one of the new BBC adaptation of Great Expectations.

It's faithful to the novel and wonderful. I've never really got on with reading Charles Dickens but one thing is for certain it works fantastically on the TV.  Casting is pitched perfectly, Gillian Anderson, I thought was still too young and glamorous for Miss Havisham but it works, she steals all her scenes.

I'm looking forward to watching more.

I had a busy Christmas day, my chap and I were cooking a Christmas day feast for eleven and so missed out on watching the Doctor Who Christmas Day special.  I watched it this afternoon and it reduced me to tears. Well done Steven Moffatt, that doesn't happen all that often.

Other things I'm looking forward to is the return of Sherlock, I shall be squeeing like the insane woman I am come New Years Day.

My Writing Course

Well the course is about half way through and I feel like I'm improving my written beyond measure, my confidence is improving and I'm enjoying spending time working on the various projects. Even if I am being sniffy about some of the exercises in this module, they all seem really dippy.  But I'm putting that aside because I'm sure its for a reason.

I'm starting to think about my 2nd Etma mainly because I'll be writing it after christmas and by thinking about it now I can have plans germinate and root for a few weeks before committing things to paper.  I am thinking about making my second piece a genre piece.  This won't be a surprise to my readers, its what I consume most of so it seems logical.  Thing is, because I'm a reader of genre and a watcher of genre it makes me rather scared to write genre and this is why. I've read Lord of The Rings several times and I've read all the Discworld novels and the idea of writing fantasy fiction frightens me to death because I don't think I could come up anything that wouldn't be a rehash of something that has gone before.  Likewise with urban fantasy its too easy to follow some old tropes because there are so many.  I'm arogant enough to want to be original, so what I've decided on in my earliest thoughts is to write an alternate dystopian present.  Not difficult in the current climate, I'm just going to make it worse. But even that isn't going to be original. 

However, it will be my take and that's where I feel I can write something that makes a connection or that makes the reader uneasy then that will work for me.

And to add to the irony  below are the lyrics from Move On from Sunday in the Park With George by Stephen Sondheim as these lyrics are totally applicable to my life.

Are you working on something new?

No

That is not like you, George

I've nothing to say

You have many things

Well, nothing that's not been said

Said by you, though. George

I do not know where to go

And nor did I

I want to make things that count,
Things that will be new...

I did what I had to do...

What am I to do?

Move on...

Stop worrying where you're going-
Move on
If you can know where you're going
You've gone
Just keep moving on

I chose, and my world was shaken-
So what?
The choice may have been mistaken,
The choosing was not
You have to move on

Look at what you want,
Not at where you are,
Not at what you'll be-
Look at all the things you've done for me

Opened up my eyes,
Taught me how to see,
Notice every tree-

Notice every tree...

Understand the light-

...Understand the light...

Concentrate on now-
I want to move on
I want to explore the light
I want to know how to get through,
Through to something new,
Something of my own-

Move on
Move on

Stop worrying it your vision
Is new
Let others make that decision-
They usually do
You keep moving on

Something in the light,
Something in the sky,
In the grass,
Up behind the trees...
Things I hadn't looked at
Till now
Flower in your hat.
And your smile
And the color of your hair.

Look at what you've done,
Then at what you want,
Not at where you are,
What you'll be
Look at all the things
You gave to me
Let me give to you
Something in return
I would be so pleased...

And the way you catch the light
And the care
And the feeling
And the life
Moving on

We've always belonged
Together!

We will always belong
Together!

Just keep moving on
Anything you do
Let it come from you
Then it will be new
Give us more to see...

It's back...

Forbrydelsen II is being shown on BBC Four and I was so excited I donned my favourite woolly jumper, dimmed all the lights in the house and my boyfriend and I were both deliberately monosyllabic and surly with each other.

That is how much I love this show.

Strange behaviour you might think, especially for a cop show, especially for a Danish cop show, but then if you watched the first series, you'll know that Forbrydelsen is a lot more than that. It's intelligent; insanely well written and unabashedly dark and it doesn't strive for closure.  In short I love it.  The first series which I watched when BBC 4 repeated it in nightly chunks over the summer and it had me and the boyfriend hooked completely.

New series though, how could they top the last one?  To be honest I'm not sure that they can but the first episode was good.  Lund is now a customs officer, and Brix invites her to look at a case. Which she doesn't want to do, but then slowly slowly, she calls by and looks at the case.

We were a bit too tired to watch the second episode so I discuss things in detail but I'm left wondering what's going to happen next, will I get over the loss of characters who were central in making the first series so good. Troels Hartman, Meyer and Theis and Pernelle…  I missed them all especially Troels.

But Forbrydelsen is back. Tak.

 

Hateful Heart

The fourth in the Vampire Gene series by Sam Stone.  What I have enjoyed about the series is the mix of historic fiction with the contemporary and the supernatural element along with the time travelling elements and magick. It sounds like a mixed bag but the ideas really work for me and I have found each of the novels a really good read.

Hateful Heart picks up a short time after the events of Demon Dance with some news and a new arrival at Rhuddlan Castle. This initial incident triggers a series of events and adventures through time with appearances from the Templars and possibly the Illuminati and a really interesting take on a biblical story.

I like the way that throughout the series Sam Stone mixes religion, mythology, magicks and, science to create a universe that is complex and requires a bit of brain power to keep things straight.  The pace is fast and a lot of incidents occur, coloured with some very vivid descriptions which don't shy away from violence when necessary.

I will say I'd worked out some of the plot points well before the reveals but all that did was make me feel smug that I'd worked it out.

A really enjoyable ride and I've heard from Sam herself that she'll be starting work on the fifth novel in the series Silent Sand in January.

Mad Men Season 3 so far..

After inhaling season one and two of this glorious series a few things  have got in the way of my watching season three, but last night there was a conflux of events, I wasn't needed at rehearsal and I had a pile of ironing to do so I broke out series three of mad men on blu ray no less.

The opening sequence of the first episode with Don in the kitchen watching his memories unfold around him was just totally exquisite and it set the bar pretty high for the rest of the episode.

As with previous seasons of Mad Men stuff happens but it happens at a glacial pace, nuance is everything.

In the first four episodes there were several stand out moments for me.

1. Pete and Trudy dancing.

2. Joan Holloway playing an accordion and singing.

3. Joan giving Peggy advice on advertising for a roomie.

4. The moment where Betty let's a complete stranger feel her bump

5. Gene letting Sally drive, plus the whole Sally/Gene grandpa/granddaughter relationship.

I can't wait to see what happens next in this series it is so beguiling.

First World Problems

Me and my chap, have a fairly busy week with rehearsals and because of that we record a lot of television on the Sky+ (other DVRs are available) so much so we've lost some of the things we've not got around to watching. This weekend a concerted effort was made to do some catching up. So we caught up on Dexter season 5 with a few gaps in but they were early enough in the season for it not to matter.

I've also finished the 3rd season of Nurse Jackie which is an incredible watch and so funny, I've really enjoyed seeing where she's ending up. I also really love the peripheral characters like Thor, Mrs Akolitus and Zoey

In addition I finished off watching Spartacus Gods of the Arena which was really good.

That leaves Six feet under - we are 15 weeks behind schedule that is shown on sky atlantic so I think that's out next focus. 

The DVR box now has 25% free and we're going to try and keep up a bit more.

Currently recording: The Ringer, the walking dead, misfits, treme and the big bang theory. Only connect and Merlin. 

We're operating a strict watch then delete procedure.

Also we've received the wire season 2 disc one and the Closer season 1 disc two from Love film… we've got a lot to be getting on with.

We finished watching the first season of the Wire last weekend.  Its something I really enjoyed, it's such a deep show and like Battlestar Galactica before it for the first time we need to only watch two episodes in a sitting else we break our brain.  The plotting is so rich and intricate that it makes it difficult to cope with too much of it in one go.

More about me

I thought I'd give you a little catch up. This year has been a big year for me to take on new things, I went on a personal development course in the spring which put into a motion a desire within me to do something creative and see where it got me.  Well in true fashion I signed up for an Open University course called Start Writing Fiction

I'm now in my second week of block one and I am loving it.  The course is posing me a number of challenges to write in ways I haven't thought of before and giving me an insight into what established authors do.

It's early days and I've worked through the first block and I'm waiting to publish some of the thoughts on the block website so my fellow tutor group members can read what I've put and see if they like what I've done or not.

I'm looking forward to writing the assignments, which must mean I'm a bit of a sick puppy.

I'll let you know how I'm getting on.

In other news I've been laughing myself to death over this video.  Sheer genius.

A gig like this...

If you listen to radio 2 and bbc six music you might be aware that they were giving tickets away to Elbow's Homecoming gig at Manchester Cathedral last thursday.  I had seen the link on Twitter and because I don't live that far away from Manchester, I decided to apply for two tickets to see them.

Well I received an email confirming that I'd been selected so my chap and I duly headed out to Manchester last Thursday to go and see the gig.  Free gigs are great things, I've been quite lucky in the past and have won tickets on a few occasions most memorably the Scissor Sisters in Trafalgar Square.  The T&Cs for this one were quite scary and warned you not to be disappointed if you didn't get in. So it was some trepidation that we queued to get in. My fears were somewhat unfounded though as we made it in and experienced the space.

There was a lot of dry ice and the BBC had made the stained glass windows look amazing by shining some bright lights through them.  The cathedral itself was smaller than I expected but warmer.  The band played for a good 85 minutes and were incredible.  I always like Elbow stuff when I hear it, I don't necessarily own much, between us we have seldom seen kid and build a rocket boys and their set covered some of their older back catalogue.

Guy Garvey comes across a bit like a kindly geography teacher, dressed in a shirt and pullover. His voice is something else and his presence on stage is one of a kindly giant. He seems like the sort of person you would like to share a pint with and have a natter.  And yes this comes through his singing and the banter between numbers.  One thing we noticed in out position near the front but extreme stage left was that there was a bod from the BBC holding up a sign saying hurry up please.  Playing live to the nation, even artists are subject to deadlines.

I found the gig to be uplifting and mostly full of admiration.  Highlights for me were Seldom Seen Kid and the sing along preceding, I also may have audibly squeed at On a Day like this.

I'm really grateful to the BBC for putting shows like this on and offering tickets to people who just apply.

And just a little thing to show off, at one point my chap found himself standing next to Jo Whiley, Mark Radcliffe and Mark Riley.  I do believe he squeed.

Welcome to the new crowd of readers I've picked up from the OU creative writing level one course.  This seems like a good a time as any to reiterate what this blog is for and who I am.

Well let's start with the easy bit.

I'm Jane this is my blog. I am 32 I live with my boyfriend just outside of Wrexham. I'm a geek and a fangirl and I'm proud.

This blog is a positive place, it's where I'll write about what I'm enjoying on TV, what has tempted me to the cinema and what love film has served up.  I'll also talk about what I'm reading though I have a good reads account which is where most of my writing about reading occurs. Here is also where I write about how I experience and express what fandoms means to me.

Please feel free to comment, it makes me feel loved and that I'm not shouting into the void.

What I've been watching lately: 

Firstly last week BBC Four showed Holy Flying Circus which was a drama based on the furore surrounding the Python team at the time of the release of the life of Brian.  It was a perfect piece about the group because it did it in the style of  Monty Python, with fantasy sequences, weird animations and good old fashioned silliness. For instance the actor playing Terry Jones also played Michael Palin's wife and the actor playing Michael Palin also played his mother.

Darren Boyd was incredible as a very Basil Fawlty version of John Cleese, the pitch of his voice, the way he moved, it was a beautifully observed and fantastically funny.

The show was very knowing and very self referential and post modern in the way the story was told I loved it, I laughed out loud a lot and when I watched the actual interview and 'debate' afterward it was interesting to see just how closely the scene in the drama had kept to the show that had aired.  Some things I felt sure must have been put in for comedy effect were there in the original and I was amazed.   

I will have to watch this again, get it on iplayer while you can.

I've also been keeping up with Warehouse 13 the finale to the third season was on recently, and I'll be watching it tonight, it promises to be a game changer. This really is the little show that could and over its three seasons it has become more exciting and more intricate. They have great guest star slots including Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher also the ubiquitous Mark Sheppard and Saul Tigh.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this season gets finished and where they will head next.

We've also started watching the Closer from the beginning which is really easy TV to watch and a southern accent, I'm kinda there y'all.

And Spartacus Gods of the Arena, which is the prequel to blood and sand is just great, a time before Spartacus, with Crixes on the rise and the status of the ludus being one that was very much in the lower echelons, it will be interesting to see the rise in status, that we know will come.

 

In defence of Fangirls

All over the internet I see snide comments regarding fangirls and they are always excessively negative. That fangirls only like insert random writer/character/actor because they find them sexually attractive.  I've seen this opinion expressed over women who like Neil Gaiman or China Miéville but not just limited to authors.  And you know what? As someone who identifies as a fangirl I've got a two word response to that; the second of which is 'off'.

I read a lot of books and I watch a lot of shows and I feel passion or a large percentage of what I consume.  The passion that I feel for a piece of work can develop for many reasons its not limited to getting warm fuzzy feelings in my loins because someone is pretty. Not surprisingly I get pretty angry when male fans presume that's my sole reason for liking something. I'll write about why I think male fans need to do this at the end, but before that I want to explore why I fangirl things.

When I get excited about a book by a specific author it isn't because I fancy the author. I'm excited because it's new and I am desperate to know what is going to happen to the characters I'm invested in. I'm invested in the narrative and the characters not the author. Same with TV I'm invested in what's going to happen how the characters will deal with something. I might regularly tweet that I love Steven Moffat, but that's not because I think he's a sex god, its because I think he's a genius with plots and when he's pulled off a episode like Let's Kill Hitler I am genuinely thrilled.  

The other accusation which is basically the same is that fangirls only watch X Y Z because they fancy the actors.  Excuse me while I headdesk. Yes many actors are attractive and yes I've got a long list of actors I think are rather dishy, but by and large they still aren't the sole reason I'd watch a show (they might be the reason I stick with a show long after it's past it's best though). It's still all about the characters and how they react to a given situation.

I've asked my friends and the consenus was that they might watch shows for certain actors but to really stick with it the narrative has got to be good and the characters have got to draw you in.

So why do male fans feel the need to put down fangirls?  Is it because in the past scifi fanboys were seen as nerds and geeks and derided because of that fact? In some areas sci fi is still seen as the preserve of geeks and is still looked down on because it's a genre. Feel free to argue with me about this, but I think that with the advent of fangirls male fans feel that the way that women interact with a show and the way that men interact with a show are different and they feel that the way fangirls interact with a fandom is somehow less valid than their male ways.  I am aware that I'm making sweeping generalisations here and not every male fan feels this way but I believe that the ones moved to make disparaging comments are the ones who do.

One thing I'm certain of is that being a fan should be about celebrating that fandom and everyone should be able to express their love for a show or a character in a variety of different ways. I might not appreciate or agree with the way you celebrate that show or book but by golly it is certainly not my place to judge or to harsh your squee.  I guess negative opinions get thrown around for a variety of reasons, we all like to feel that our way is the best way of being a fan; but putting down someone else's work so you feel better about yourself is a poor choice.

All photos in this post are me expressing my fangirly squee.

Top 3 Shows that went on too long

Well after last week's shows which were cancelled too soon, I've had a request to do the shows that went on too long.

Now I'm going to qualify my choices here at this point. I'm not in the business of intentionally harshing anyone else's squee and if there's a show I took an instant dislike to or just didn't get on with I ignore it's existence. My choices are shows that I loved but along the way they lost what made them special.

1. Heroes.

Season one was an amazing piece of television.  THere were many threads of seeming disparate narrative which over the weeks wore a tapestry which had a fab finale.  It had a comic book ethos and was beautifully shot.  Save the Cheerleader, save the world. Yatta! and Sylar all became iconic hallmarks of the series.  Season two suffered because of the writers strike, but despite the shortened season I had loved Adam's story and was disappointed that his arc had been curtailed.  Season three lost it's way and season four jumped the shark repeatedly.  My problem with the show was that the rules for the universe that the show operated in were not consistent.  The writers were changing their mind's about character's motivation on a weekly basis and it kind got to the stage where it just didn't make any kind of sense at all.



2. Torchwood

I'm sure you're already sick of my writings about Torchwood and I'm loathed to repeat myself so here's the potted version.  Believe me getting me on this rant live is a whole other ball game. I've written multiple times at length about Miracle day but here's the bottom line, Torchwood  was always a bit of silly fun. Pterydactyls, sex aliens, bloody great demons destroying half of Cardiff. Torchwood was also creepy, there was Coutrycide, the circus freaks and then there was a smattering of wibbly wobbly timey wimey.  Everyone had sex with each other and it was a hoot.  Then there was always the threat of Death, Suzy, Tosh, and Owen all lost their lives in the first two series. 

Then Children of Earth happened and as a viewer it was like: oh wow, Torchwood has grown up and isn't it ace. I'm one of the few that thought Ianto had a fantastic poetic death. And I loved Peter Capaldi's performance.

Miracle Day for want of a more elegant phrase has shat over that legacy, it hasn't managed to capture the fun of the early series nor the beautifully crafted tension of Children of Earth.  Miracle Day meanders amlessly for many episodes with no aliens, or threat beyond the human.  THere are two weeks left, I'll admit that week eight was an improvement (thank you lords of Kobol for John Do Lancie) but in a ten week run leaving the plot development to week eight is a very risky strategy.

3. Red Dwarf

Shock inclusion? I do still love the early series of this show. I think more than fondly or series 1-6 but let's face it things started going wrong with series seven onwards.  I used to blame the 'new Kotchanski' but as I've gotten older I've drawn a new conclusion.  It wasn't Chloe Annett's fault, in fact Claire Grogan could have joined the team and it still wouldn't have worked.  Adding a female to the cast completely altered the chemistry of the show. The point was that all the male cast had nothing in common and didn't really like each other, they generated friction and tension and that generated the comedy.  Kotchanski fundamentally changed how the characters interacted with each other and not for the best.

Series 8 was back on the ship and introduced,or rather reintroduced the crew which again lost the point somewhat.  And Back to Earth didn't really do it for me either.

TV round up

I have to squee at you dear reader, please take a seat. I have to squee because I've got a new show which ticks my boxes and that doesn't happen as often as it should do.

Forbrydelsen.

Or The Killing if you prefer. How did I miss this first time round? Dear old BBC Four didn't really trail it and I'd heard the hype but didn't want to come into something half way through and was going to rent it from love film but Auntie saw fit to give this show a repeat showing. 20 tense episodes over four weeks.  I currently am one episode behind as its hard to make time enough to sit down and watch on a daily basis but its so good my chap and I caught up at the weekend and we can happily watch two episodes when we get behind.

So what's so good about this show? I know a lot of people get put off something if they have to watch it with subtitles, but not this puppy. Denmark seems familiar but different; we've had a lot of rain recently and the colouring of the show matches it perfectly. A lot of US shows are very colourful and sunny, this is bleak looking but there's beauty in the bleakness.

The protagonist is Sarah Lund, she wears chunky jumpers and in that respect alone, she's a woman after my own heart.  She's dedicated to her job so much so, she can't leave even though she has a young teenaged son and a Swedish boyfriend who looks like Richard Gere.  She's also very good at her job, she has principles and she isn't an alcoholic and she doesn't have any of the more usual foibles which detectives all seem to have in modern mysteries.  Her grumpy replacement Meyer is irked by Lund's continued presence and her boss doesn't want her to leave.  Meyer and Lund don't really get on, he's somewhat slap dash but his heart is in the right place even when he goes for the easy option.

Add to the mix the family of the murdered girl the Birk Larsen's their reaction to their daughter's death played beautifully and truthfully. 

There's also a political Layer Troels Hartmann campaigning to become mayor, he has his advisor and lover Rie and Morten his campaign manager.  His party are backstabbing and his opponents seem to be capable of stooping to ever more scary depths.

The story is utterly compelling, littered with red herrings and twists, just when you think you've got a handle on things and a working theory, new information comes to light and your prime suspect is now innocent.

I'm loving the tenseness of the show its operating on so many levels and seemingly effortless while it does so.

I can't wait to see how it does.

I'm also rejoicing because Doctor Who is back.

Let's Kill Hitler was a romp wasn't it? Many questions answered, and a fair few more asked. Thank you Steven Moffat, this was excellent when a Good Man Goes to War felt to me to be all set up with not enough satisfaction.  I love that the title was a joke and Rory Williams is a complete BAMF.

I can't really discuss much about the show without spoilers but I will say, "you are authorised;  your existence will continue" made us guffaw along with "you may experienc a tingling feeling then death."

The Borgia is my current catnip.  Its sumptuously shot and Jeremy Irons is second only to Alan Rickman in voice and making me go kind of gooey.  He is quite simply acting the socks off anyone else in shot with an extreme close up and an eyebrow quirk.  The show itself is ridiculous in the way that the Tudors is and in that respect most enjoyable but I'm not expecting nor even wanting historical accuracy. And what's more I don't care I'm having fun watching it and that's all that matters.

I'm also watching the third season of Warehouse 13 which is now being shown in the UK on SyFy.  The show goes from strength to strength, I love the quirkiness of it and the steam punk elements which make this show great for family viewing.  The cast is a great ensemble and its always reasonable viewing.  Its never going to change the world but who said every tv show had to?

Changes to this blog

I'm a bad blogger, I don't have a regular schedule and I'm a bit random, though random about TV film theatre and books.

So I've been thinking, and I'm wanting to organise myself a little bit better.

The plan is this: to write three regular blog posts per week, one for the TV I've been watching, one top ten/top five/pic spam and one lucky dip.

If you want to prompt me with a theme for a list please comment.

So with out further ado I give you My Top Five Shows that were cancelled too soon.

1.  Dollhouse.

I was one of the few.  I loved this show and thought it was pretty damned epic. The premise sounded hokey I'll give you that and the first five episodes of season one were not very good and we know that was all down to the network interfering in Joss Whedon's show.  When the plot arc took off the show really did come into its own. So many layers of deception and it just kept on getting twistier. (What you say twistier isn't a word, well  damned well should be.) I was amazed when it got a second season and what a second season it was. The red herrings, the feints, the grand reveals, Epitaph 1 and 2. I'll concede that Eliza Dushku isn't that strong an actress but as with all Whedon shows it wasn't about Echo, it became about the Ensemble.  The subject matter wasn't an easy sell either but it was a great show and I for one really miss it.

2.  Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I'll let you into a little secret, I actually prefer Studio 60 to the West Wing.  Now, before you call me out and want me shot, let me explain my theory why.  I came to Studio 60 first, I'd missed out on the West Wing and the goodies it had to offer and my introduction to Aaron Sorkin was this gem which ran for 22 episodes.  The writing for the pilot is completely exquisite and some might argue that the show lost pace half way through its run, I still loved every second. I have a deep abiding love of Matthew Perry and the relationship between Matt Albie and Danny Tripp is one of the most absorbing friendships I've ever seen portrayed on screen.

3.  Firefly

Its a must on any list for a show that was cancelled too soon. Another one of Joss Whedon's greats. Completely underrated when it first aired and pulled too frakking early.  Now another little confession and a controversial one. I prefer Dollhouse to Firefly. There I said it and I believe it so deal with it.  I like Firefly and yes it was cut down in it's prime but it didn't hit some of the buttons for me that Dollhouse did. I don't know maybe I'm just born that way or something I don't know.

4.  Caprica

I really got into this series I watched the first ten episodes fanatically, I was so excited there was going to be ERic Stoltz there was going to 'Grandpa' Joe Adama as a younger man, young William. So many possibilities and I loved the forties Noir feel of the show and then came the hiatus.

And we waited and we waited and the show got buried.  I still haven't finished watching this show, but I will, one spare weekend I'll over dose on the lot. It had some great promise and Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama. Who could ask for more?

5. Pushing Daisies

Oh this show was so saccharine it hurts your teeth but its a bittersweet too. Another show that managed two seasons before getting chopped off despite having some great little plot arcs, it was romantic and sweet and funny and very very knowing.  

Where else could you fine Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene in the same show? Remember this was pre Glee!

Olive Sings Hopelessly Devoted to You

Torchwood Miracle Day

I've been quiet the last couple of weeks because I was hoping that Torchwood would improve and its with a heavy heart that I have to report that its completely lost the plot.

I'm not someone who is adverse to change, I like it and equally I find shows that retread the same set of tropes endlessly somewhat a chore to watch.

I've been reading a number of opinions out there on what's going on with Torchwood and the consensus is that it has lost it's charm somewhere along the flight across the atlantic.

Some people have suggested that Miracle Day started life as a 5 parter like Children of Earth it's true that the pace of the show feels like there's rather a lot of padding going on.

As far as the characters are concerned, Rex can go die-in-a-fire. Esther who was a little bit like Tosh 2.0 is so consistent at doing stupid things I'm about ready to pop a vein when I see her on the screen.  Gwen and I have always had a difficult relationship, I didn't really like her, although she utterly redeemed herself for me in Children of Earth by being AWESOME.  Miracle Day, she veers between almost likeable and bat poop crazy. I love Eve Myles and it is fantastic that we see a normal woman sized woman on the screen but by the cringe Gwen makes me want to stab my own eyes out.

And where the hell is Jack?  For many people Jack is Torchwood and in Miracle Day he's around briefly and he's all out of character and not the Captain Jack we adore and love to see taking names and kicking ass.

It’s a mess, a big mess. I'm persisting with the show because its one I used to hold so dear and it makes me sad to see the show that I used to enjoy so much become so much of a chore.

True there were moments where I laughed out loud, but they weren't comedy moments, they were meant to be moments of drama which came across as the bat poop crazy variety.

Also we've had lots of coverage of Oswald Danes and Kitty only for them to be completely ingnored in episode six.  Where were they?  Come to mention it, what happened with the creepy mask wearing cult, the souless? THey disappeared pretty quickly and without explanation, also the Dead is Dead Brigade were offed pretty quickly. I'm not a script writer but all the loose ends that are discarded are pretty frustrating for a viewer. There is a frustrating lack of answers and I'd have thought that over half way through the series answers would at least begin to be forthcoming. You know something, anything.


One thing I've been talking to people about is how this show isn't Torchwood anymore, for episode seven I'm going to try watching it as though its called something else, maybe I'll be able to enjoy it then?


So I'm sticking with it out of sheer bloodimindedness.


Wish me luck.

Futile Flame and Demon Dance by Sam Stone

Where the first novel focuses on Gabrielle the second novel concentrates on Lucrezia (yes Borgia) and her story. I have to say Sam Stone doesn't shy away from tough storylines and the second chapter might be rather tough for some readers.

The pace of the novel is quick and I've had to do a few things one handed the last couple of days just so I could see what happens next.

The last third of the novel really takes an unexpected turn and I'm not 100% convinced by it, it's quite a departure to what has gone before, what I will say is that it didn't make me any less determined to read the third in the series.

Demon Dance is the third in the Vampire Gene series of novels and by far the most complicated in terms of its narrative. Futile Flame left us dangling with Lilly disappearing and then phoning up from Sweden and Demon Dance picks the tale up from that point and runs with it.

Again I don't want to give much of the plot away but the major theme in this of time travel and paradox and places which were visited within Futile Flame are returned to and explored from a different point of view.  Lilly is very different to the version we meet in killing kiss. The change is necessary and  does make sense once you start reading.

I have to confess some elements of the book didn't move me, some of the mystical stuff was a bit bangly hobbity for my tastes and the Allucians don't really work for me but having said all that it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

I like that the author is prepared to make her narratives unreliable and things that one character has told us might not be the truth. I like being hoodwinked by an author it means I have to make decisions as a reader and that's always fun.

I do like the author's use of language, the imagery that she uses to describe scenes is evocative and I particularly enjoyed the description of the relationship between Lilly and Rhuddlan castle.  The description of her magical elements, ley lines and gene magic are both utterly compelling and so vivid.

One thing that I thought sorted itself a tad too easily was the triangular relationship between Lilly, Gabrielle and Caesare. I would have expected there to be some awkwardness even if that was dealt with in the next book.

Overall a very enjoyable and entertaining read, less disturbing than the previous one, I'm looking forward to the next one which I believe is out soon.

Thundercats Ho!

One of my favourite cartoons on tv when I was growing up was Thundercats. To my unsophisticated six year old self it was truly ace, a corking theme tune, memorable characters and good stories, I can't say for sure whether the stories were as ace as I remembered them, I've not seen them since the late 80s but they did stick with me and yes, from time to time I do say Snarf snarf in the voice, just because I can.  I had a crush on Cheetarah, and I adored Wiley Kit and Kat. We almost certainly played thundercats in the school playground.

I found out from various sources over the weekend that Thundercats was being remade. My initial reaction best summed up as (OMGWTFBBQ?) and then when the opportunity presented itself to stream said episode (rather later than it should have been last night) I clicked the link and watched. To be fair I only intended on watching the first five minutes, but you know what? I really enjoyed it and instead of just watching one episode I ended up watching the whole two-parter.

Now the remake is not exactly the same as the old Thundercats, the characters have been redesigned. They are all in a manga/amime style which I love and they seem to have been reimagined but in the good BSG way rather than the bad (insert your own example of a bad remake here) and what they've come up with is a really engaging cartoon, that held my interest for forty five minutes because it was a good story even if a lot of the animation looked a bit cheap.

Now, it could be down to my curiosity to see how the characters had changed, in the redesign, Snarf, is still Snarf but doesn't speak (which is good but I miss the snarf snarfs.) Cheetarah, still hot fwiw and wiley kit and Kat still rock.  I don't want to get into too much about the plot of which there is lots, even if they do pay homage to the Trojan horse.

I felt it was a good, there was humour and there were epic battles. Yes there is still Slythe and Mum-Rah so its not all that different and I think I'll be tracking down more of this cartoon just because it was actually that enjoyable.

Unexpected blasts from the pasts updated for the new millennium ftw.

Torchwood Miracle day ep 3

It seems that I do have an opinion every week on the show I wasn't sure that I would have so here we go.

Firstly minor squee here, Jane Espenson one of my favourite writers (wrote most famously for Buffy and has written some Battlestar Galactica co-created Warehouse 13) put pen to paper for this episode and I really wanted to embrace it and love it because this woman wrote some of my favourite telly moments and you know what?

I'm feeling back to square one in not feeling this new Torchwood.

First off, BBC you've cut some of the naughty scenes, really in this day and age do you have to?

Right back to the plot, still loving Jilly the evil PR woman she is deliciously devious and we've learned that she's working for the EVIL big pharma company Phicor. Also she's managed to win over the horrendous Oswald Danes.

The 'team' Jack is having a bit of a mid life crisis it seems, coming to terms with being mortal is a big thing, and he tackled it the way that most people tackle things that they find hard to handle and sought solace at the bottle of a glass and with a cute (male) bar tender. Gwen is Gwen and I don't think that her character has changed at all, her world has got bigger but she's the rock of this series.  When Jack calls her, clearly not coping in the middle of the night Gwen has managed to speak to Rhys and Annwyn which obviously shows where her priority lies.

I like Esther, I do even though I feel that they are just pushing her into the role that was vacated by Tosh and characteristically they are similar. I still feel like Rex is meant to be Owen Harper mark II and no sorry he does not work in the sarky role because he doesn't appear to be able to be sarcastic. Though props to the makeup team, his chest wound was quite disturbing.  I find the doctor too a little bit of a non entity and again it feels like the tropes of series one Torchwood with what happens when Tosh found out that Owen was having an affair with Gwen.

I liked the bit in the warehouse "its bigger on the inside" oh lol. Also the contact lenses that we first saw in Children of Earth. I also liked the soulless, those masks are disconcertingly creepy.

So what about the plot? Well it seems that EVOL!BIG!PHARMACOMPANY is EVOL! They have been stockpiling drugs for a long time which implies that they knew that this was coming. Dun dun dun. With the Oswald thing, who is using who? I'm not sure yet.

So we've got a bunch of questions to which more will be added next week, at least according to the trailer we will, I'm wondering if I'll reach saturation point for the Questions.  An answer or two would be nice.  

Oh by the way, if you are missing Owen Harper all the more by Rex being a Fail!Owen!Replacement! you can catch Burn Gorman, being awesome in the Hour.

This blog post was brought to you by the music of Bear McCreary and Jon Bon Jovi and The Next ten minutes from The last 5 Years.

What I've been watching

A number of things actually, my chap and I have worked our way steadily through Treme which is a superbly crafted piece of television. The pacing of the show is glacial but it certainly rewards those of us who stuck with it.  Some TV can be mainlined you need to watch many episodes to get your fill, Treme doesn't work like that.  I found that one episode is enough, it is almost as though the show is so dense and rich that you have to give your brain time to digest what it has seen. I've not seen a show that's made me want to stop and think so much since the first time of watching Battlestar Galactica, though Game of Thrones has its moments.

We're following it up by embarking on The Wire.  This is my second attempt at watching the wire, I tried to follow it on the BBC when they showed it late night every night on BBC2, this did not end well. This time I'm going to do it right and not be tired when I'm watching, I'm also going to be unplugged as I know its a show that will demand my concentration.

In the meantime we're watching Episodes which we are loving and is something that we've been able to mainline. I never thought I would say this but I'm loving Matt Le Blanc, he's playing a version of himself which seems to us to be completely plausible.  It also stars Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg and it is a very funny show.  I'm a bit of a sucker for shows which are meta like this one.

I've also  literally inhaled the whole of season 2 of Nurse Jackie, its one of those shows that has got me on the edge of my seat, I love how the viewer roots for Jackie, even when she's one of those dubious protagonists that seem to be incredibly fashionable right now.  That isn't meant to be disparaging, Nurse Jackie is original and very funny and the drama derives from the situations that Jackie get's into with a great supporting cast.

I'll have to book another day off so that I can do the same with series 3.

Over the weekend we had a house guest and she's reignited my love affair with Sherlock and Studio 60 on the sunset strip.  Rewatching Sherlock is a joy because it is so sexy and put together so perfectly. The art direction and the casting and the writing especially on A Study in Pink and The Great Game is just perfection. Studio 60 also has one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen, I love the writing and the banter in that show and I still feel raw that the show got cancelled after only one season.

Torchwood Miracle Day Ep 2

On the whole I disliked episode one, it had moments but ultimately I felt that the show wasn't mine any more and I wasn't sure that it worked.

That said I wasn't prepared to give up on it straight away. Episode 2 felt much stronger. That's not to say things are back completely on track but I'd say it was several steps in the right direction.

Oswald Danes is creepy as hell. Everytime I see Bill Pullman on the screen I have to reach for my cushion to hide behind he creeps me out completely. You can see his character suffering from being constantly poisoned and his logic is beyond reason yet you get why he reaches some of his conclusions.

It was ace to see Dichen Lachman as an evil CIA agent and her faceoff with Gwen is awesome. I loved the not gay air steward.

I like that Jack has got to get used to a new set of circumstances and that Gwen is very much the dynamic protector.

I'm still not keen on Rex at all but Esther is kind of sweet. They feel like Tosh and Owen mk II respectively but I'm not convinced.

Lauren Ambrose as Jilly is great, she seems to be everywhere and she seems to be in on things.

For that matter, I was left speculating as to how much does Oswald know, I think its more than we currently think we do, also Jilly, she has to know more.

So overall a big improvement, but still nowhere near as good as Torchwood at its very best.

Torchwood Miracle Day

As usual I am not setting out to spoiler anyone, these are just my thoughts about the first episode of Miracle Day.

I have to confess that when I heard Torchwood was going big budget and to the USA I was sceptical, mainly because I thought although many Americans get and like what Torchwood is about they are going to bring a completely different tone to the show. Even when I heard that one of my favourite writers Jane Epsenson was involved I still had my reservations.

So last night I sat down to watch I was hoping for something better but realistically expecting something at about the level of what happened.

First off I really didn't like Rex, I didn't like him in the first scene and then I certainly despised him afterwards.  There was nothing likable about the character at all.He was arogant, he was a pretty piss poor CIA agent even if I do say so myself even after going through what his character went through.

Also shoes people! The American girl in the insane heels, you cannot run in those seriously, its not going to happen. IT threw me out of the story a little but because no one can run in those shoes. They might look nice but in that context....

Scenes that worked for me, the scenes that took place in Wales. Scenes between Jack and Gwen and any time PC Andy turned up, although make that Sergeant Andy now. Rhys was a little bit annoying. Though Gwen still has the ability to give me rage, there was so much different with the show I kind of forgave the overacting because at least it was familiar. Also Bill Pullman's character Oswald was wonderfully evil and I almost couldn't bare to watch him on screen because he made my skin crawl.

What went wrong, Rex is completely horrible, it felt too American. Too much focus on ACTION! at the expense of what are the more normal Torchwood tropes. I liked Torchwood when it was a bit silly, when there were sex aliens and ressurection gloves and hot gay 1940s servicemen. I know the game changed when we had children of Earth which was a brilliant piece of grown up sci fi. It worked I even felt that Ianto's death was a perfect piece of drama, but so far Miracle day hasn't hit my squee spot and it despite the money that's obviously been thrown at it, this feels like a game change too far.

I'll tune in next week, and probably the week after that but I hope that this episode was just a blip.

And I'll leave you with one final image which did make me laugh rather a lot.

Well that and the line, "Yes mam, I'm feeding her lard."

~Updates

Well let me see...

I've been a bit absent of late, blame it on the tonsilitis and the fact that work has been insane. If you've been reading then you'll know I've done a couple of book reviews recently but if you're more interested in what I've been reading the whole list from the last 18 months is here.  There is even a tab for you to give me some suggestions on what I should be reading in the future.

Creatively I've bitten a bullet and I've signed up to do a short course in October on creative writing.

The upside to the tonsilitis was that I caught up on a few bits and pieces. Firstly I mainlined season one of Nurse Jackie, it is one excellent show and I have enjoyed watching it muchly. I like that it is short and I love the level of insight into Jackie's character. I also adore the supporting cast with much love going to Merrit Weaver as Zoey and Stephen Wallem as Thor.

I've also been watching the BBC adaptations of the Jackson Brodie series of novels: Case Histories, When Will There be Good News and One Good Turn. All brilliantly adapted and starring Jason (Lucius Malfoy) Isaacs.  It has been Sunday night telly, but its been good sunday night telly.

We're catching up with Treme which is a great piece of television but not the easiest watch in the world.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand has also been part of the mix, have to admit a few weeks ago one of the episodes went too far for me. It went too far and I was actually tempted to drop it but after giving it a rest and letting it settle I've gone back and actually since that one off the scale gruesome episode, the rest have been much better experiences.

Haven is another series we're trying and yay. Love. It has elements of some shows I loved in the past. American Gothic and the X files and its a weird and fun little show.

I was less impressed with Bored to death, the central character is, if I'm honest a bit of a douche. The concept is good and it was beginning to improve so I'll probably stick with it.

I am mourning in my heart for the end of the first season of A Game of Thrones, I love this show so much I broke my book buying ban in a huge and not cheap way. I kind of want spring 2012 to be sooner please so that there will be more.  The show is too good. If you haven't seen it I urge you to give it a go, it is a very rewarding watch.

There is a little squee in my heart True Blood has returned and so has Dexter one of these shows I've waited paitently to be be on FX the other I haven't.

I'll try and do more regular posts. And to vary them a little bit more than I have been.