Noel Fielding does "Wuthering Heights" - Let's Dance for Comic Relief 20...

I saw this on Saturday night's telly. I made some cery squeeful noises and I think it deserves to be be shared far and wide.

Feel the Noel Fielding Love.

Oh and if you enjoyed this please consider donating some money to comic relief here

TV update

I'm behind in TV far far behind.

I've got episodes of Boardwalk empire, Treme, Blue Bloods, Six Feet under, Single Father, The Accused, Outcasts piling up around me. Its not that I'm not watching things, we're really yomping through things that we get from love film but I'm finding it hard to balance the time in order to keep up with things that are being broadcast.

Deep breath.

I need a to-do list and a list of what's on the Sky plus box I need to watch…

And because it's been a while since I wrote anything about a show I'm watching let me give my reaction to Outcasts.  I'm more or less caught up with this one.  I've seen the first four episodes and I'm yet to connect with it. 

My completely biased opinions are thus:

I really enjoyed the first episode, plenty of Jamie, who was a bit nuts and a little bit scary but utterly compelling and despite everything I liked his character, rather a lot. And what do they do with him?

Well that would be a spoiler but it isn't good and I'm sure the people on Carpathia heard my wail of NOOOOOOOOOOO.  I understand that from an actor's point of view Jamie Bamber didn't want to end up getting typecast as just a sci fi guy and turning up in another post apocalyptical drama.  Because let's be honest Outcasts is never going to live up to the awesomeness that is BSG.

The characters who are left are not likeable. Hermione Norris' character makes me want to maim rigid skinny blond women, the president is dubious beyond belief. There are the internal cops - Cass who is kind of dumb and the feisty woman who maybe a woman, but she's not all that.  Ivanova from Bab 5 and Starbuck and Admiral Caine, hell even Kat would kick her skinny behind. Then there's Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty whose like Gaius Baltar in negative, where Baltar is English sounding and corrupt. Julius Berger is American and corrupt. He's even cultivating his own quasi religious cult following. Plus to rub salt into the wounds he looks like Jamie Bamber enough for me to get excited and then get depressed again because it isn't him.

I can't see that the characters are rounded enough, and its not that they aren't all shades of grey they are all dubious, they seem fixed in their little boxes and I can't see any development happening.  The drama just isn't good enough, the plot isn't strong enough.

Conversely, I re-watched the first episode of Six Feet Under recently and it still feels as amazing as it did when I saw it for the first time. Ok I can't compare directly, it being a straighter drama. But the character plotting in that show was just dizzyingly good. It sucked me right back in completely.

The other thing I want to talk about is Being Human which does Vampires Werewolves and Ghosts with a decidedly British feel. Now onto it's third series and just over halfway through it’s a wonderful show which raises questions  about what it means to be human especially when you are other. It's at times stark with blackness and other times hilarious often seconds apart.

I need more time.

Books: Heat Stroke - Rachel Caine

Second in the weather warden series sees Joanne embark on a new adventure in a slightly different incarnation.  Don't want to say exactly what as I feel it constitutes a spoiler for the first book and I don't want to do that.

Something strange I've noticed are that the chapters are huge. Seriously over 100 pages which makes it difficult for this reader to end a chapter in one sitting and it makes me uneasy I like to finish a chapter.

I'm liking the character of David, he's fairly awesome in a fantasy guy kind of way.

My iks with the novel are few and far between because the plot is kind of relentless and I feel once I get into a book I have to finish it once I reach a certain point in reading momentum.

This book could be considered triggering for some people but it is mostly alluded to rather than made explicit.

Books: Ill Wind - Rachel Caine

This series of books came highly reccommended by my book doner twitter's @boneist.

Ill Wind is the first in the Weather Warden series.  What makes this series of novels unique is that weather wardens are kind of elemental magicians. They manage their magic with help from their Djinns.  Its an intriguing and unique set up, no vampires or werewolves.

Its first person narrative, its pacy and its sexy.

I found it scarily easy to read and very definitely addictive.

Well I heard some news today which made me a very happy fangirl

Jamie Bamber's been cast in new Ronald D Moore show called 17th Precinct.

It get's better Michael Rymer will direct so its a very BSG thing going on.

A supernatural police procedural apparently which basically gives me the horn in no uncertain terms. Add in Stockard Channing and I'm so excited.

Have some links:
http://www.tvline.com/2011/02/jamie-bamber-reunites-ron-moore-nbc-17th-precinct/
http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/15/jamie-bamber-to-star-in-ron-moores-magical-crime-drama-17th-precinct/

To celebrate here's a picture of JB in a towel.

Books: Succubus Nights and Succubus Dreams

Succubus Nights

Having had an attack of the meh's about the first novel, the second took me by surprise with just how good it was.  Far more entertaining and it seemed to hang together better.  It started to address some of the flaws that the first book had and it was good.   Georgina Kincaid was less irritating and supah speshal and was far more likable.

The pacing was good and I really enjoyed.

Succubus Dreams

With good vibes from the second book I really looked forward to the third one, and was disappointed. 
Maybe it's like Star Trek films and only the even number books are entertaining.

What got me, was the lead character's attitude and the drama she generates.  Obviously the protagonist has to generate drama but meh it didn't do it for me.  I found her annoying and in a number of ways incredibly selfish.

Also the relationship with Seth. IDEK I can only assume that Richelle Mead thought that the readers would think it sweet that Seth Calls her Thetis and in a way it is a creature from mythology who was a shape shifter and so is she. But I've been on the recieving end of someone bestowing a new name upon me and it wasn't done to be sweet, it was done to manipulate and control.

I don't think the relationship was written particularly well.



So for reading the first three books in the series I'm unlikely to read any more.

Book: Succubus Blues By Richelle Mead

In some ways I hate starting a new series of novels, I get submerged into the rules of that universe and I get miffed when I then have to change the rules. Silly I know but there you are. It’s me being lazy.

So I was coming at Succubus Blues from a disadvantage. The good news is that by the end of the novel I’d been more won round the bad news was it took me a while.

The premise is that Georgina Kincaid is a Succubus; she is not the demon you would expect, she’s actually kind of good and a lot tired of seducing good men to get her fix. There is her crux, by setting her sights on morally dubious men she doesn’t get her fix or not to the same extent. Enter Seth, her favourite author and all round good egg. He’s a really nice stable guy and she likes him but there’s the whole OMG-I-CAN’T-SLEEP-WITH-HIM-LEST-I-KILL-HIM! Thing. There are also other interests, Roman for instance.

Coupled with her predicament there is also the mystery, someone is killing immortals but who.

I don’t do spoilers, so I’ll stop talking about the plot and get on with things. If I’m honest the set up is more than a little cheesy. Georgina is a little bit of a Mary-Sue. The thing that I think makes me roll my eyes is the whole supahspeshal thing. Sure she’s a succubus and with her current morality it makes it hard for her.

But she’s surrounded by men, all of whom fancy her a bit, even her vampire friends, which is a by product of being a succubus, there are very few women in the book, none of them are characterised fully apart from Georgina.

Don’t let it put you off, it’s a perfectly adequate novel which was enjoyable to read, its just I do get somewhat irked at things like this.

A Pact with the darkside

I think I might have sold my soul to the devil. And the Devil is Rupert Murdoch. Sky Atlantic is going to be my drug of choice in the evenings from now on I can feel it.

D'arvit.

Last night it opened with Boardwalk empire and the slow burning saga started. A lot going on, almost too much to take in really. Enoch Thompson is established as the centre of the piece and then there were a whole bunch of subplots being woven around him. Mrs Shroedder with her abusive husband. The guy who looks like a young Leonardo Di Caprio. Then there are loads of historical references with other proto gangsters turning up.

The slow pace allowed for a decent set up. But I feel a little like there was almost too much story and it also felt over long with countless adverts.

After that was Blue Bloods which is a cop drama starring Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg in a kind of dynasty about new york cops. It was a pretty good pilot with an interesting twist in the first episode and many questions set up.

The shows that Sky Atlantic are showing are just awesome and I can't help but get excited...