I’m Baaack! Unfortunately?

I say “unfortunately” because I much prefer not being obsessed with a television show.  During its hiatus, I’d lost my obsession with Outlander.  That always makes me happy because it makes life much more normal.  But the show returned this past week, and after just one episode, I find I’m immersing myself in the videos, chats, and podcasts I’d come to know last year.

The Frasers arrive in France.

You may realize I haven’t been excited enough about this season’s television shows to write about them.  I still watch the same shows,  The Flash, iZombie, Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, and Supernatural , but I’ve taken to deleting episodes immediately after I’ve watched them.  The one exception is Supernatural, of which I still have nine episodes on my DVR to rewatch.  (And yet I haven’t rewatched them.)

I know I’m in trouble with Outlander because yesterday I charged up my wireless headphone and earbuds in order to listen to various podcasts with freedom of movement.  But I knew I was really in trouble when my Outlander thoughts kept me from falling asleep.

I’d just seen an interview with Sam Heughan being asked if he could take away one prop from season 2, which would it be.  He replied, “The bump.”  (If you don’t know what he’s taking about, watch the Starz offical season 2 trailer.) That got me thinking about which props I’d want to have; and I started going through each episodes, one by one, trying to decide which prop I’d take.  I’ve made a list, but you’ll have to wait until next time.

Also next time?  What I liked and didn’t like about Outlander‘s season 2 premiere.  And then, maybe, those Supernatural episodes waiting to be rewatched.

Well Thanks, Arrow: The Climb

Take a viewer who started watching Arrow when it premiered, then stopped because all the flashbacks were a drag, then came back a couple times, only to be confused by all the new characters, so stopped again, was then drawn back in with the Flash/Arrow crossovers, and spent several days on an  Arrow-thon watching previous-seasons episodes.  What does said viewer get for all this newly-found fanning?  (Besides having to watch “The Climb” in SD because the cable company can’t keep a good HD CW signal to save its life?)

Only the most horrible, shocking ending EVER.  Yep, even worse than Supernatural‘s season 3 finale.  You remember, this one:

Explanations… or Excuses?

It appears that several folks have stopped by in the past couple days to see what’s new, only to find no new content, even though Doctor Who has wrapped up its 8th season and Supernatural celebrated its 200th episode.  Sadly, life and health (not serious) got in the way.

I missed all of Tuesday’s shows, being down for the count with a migraine.  Tuesday!  The best night of television!  I missed The Flash, Supernatural, Agents of SHIELD, and my latest delight, the un-scifi Masterchef Junior.  (It’s so fun to see Gordon Ramsey being kind and not yelling.)  I haven’t caught up with all the missed shows yet, but will try to get some thoughts posted over the weekend.

You may stop reading now if you don’t care about personal trivia.  I won’t be offended.  🙂

A Summer Sci Fi Summary

Aha!  I bet you thought I’d forgotten about this site.  Fooled ya!

It’s been a restful summer, sci fi-wise.  There are a few sci fi shows currently airing, but they’ve not grabbed me.  Then there was the demise of Believe, the show that could have and should have been so much more.  I started draft after draft discussing its final episodes, but it seems rather silly to say anything now.

So let’s move on.

First up:  Defiance

Have these two hooked up yet?

This summer has brought us the second season of Defiance.  My best friend and her husband love Defiance.  But they also loved Battlestar Galactica, a show I never cared for.  I watched a few episodes of Defiance last year but quickly lost interest.  I like Julie Benz; it’s great to see her in a strong female role.  I like Graham Greene, but his character wasn’t (isn’t?) very likeable.  The show killer for me, however, is Jaime Murray.  I first saw her (and her breasts) on Dexter, where she played a despicable, often naked character.  It formed a hatred of her that seems to have left a permanent mark.  Not even her turn as H.G. Wells in Warehouse 13 softened my feelings.

Next up:  Dominion

Christmas Hiatus

I will be taking the next couple weeks off from posting.  Although I’d planned to use this time to get caught on my episode backlog, circumstances have changed.

Gigi, the world’s sweetest cat and my little angel, died a couple days ago.  Right now my television viewing habits are confined to comedies and “feel good” Christmas shows.  I’ll be writing more about her at The New Stream of Conscience, but even that will be hit or miss over the next few days.

Thank you to all of you who are following and enjoying the site and reviews.  At this time of year and this point in my life, I truly appreciate all of you.

Gigi with her head tucked into her body, one of my favorite sleeping positions.

Sleepy Hollow: Pilot (101)

Let me just say, I liked it.  A lot!

Oh, that’s not good.

I generally don’t put a lot of stock in pilots.  There’s so much exposition to be done, it’s often not representative of the series.  In the case of Sleepy Hollow, you can throw that premise out the window.  Which is quite an accomplishment for such a high-concept show.

The story of Ichabod Crane in 1781 America could have gone on forever, yet it was over in a minute and a half.  (I timed it.)  And that included showing us how the horseman became headless and letting us know he was something other than human.  In fact, the Revolutionary War and Ichabod’s resurrection in the 21st century were over before the credits rolled.

[At least one spoiler follows]

Warehouse 13: The Living and the Dead (411)

Gak!  I’m trying to write three reviews at once:  Warehouse 13 ‘s first two episodes of the half-season, and Grimm‘s most recent.  It’s not going to get any better since tonight is Supernatural‘s last episode before the season finale; and you know how much I love my  Supernatural.   As for W13 and Grimm, might as well go in chronological order by air date.

Heh.  I thought “The Living and the Dead” was Warehouse 13‘s season premiere.  Rather, it’s the second half-season premiere.  I know this only because it’s listed as episode #411.

Steve, Myka, Mrs. Fredrick, Claudia, Pete and two extras rescue Artie.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the first half-season’s cliffhanger ending.  Just to recap, EvilArtie released the dreaded deadly sweating sickness virus, and Claudia stabbed EvilArtie with some special dagger.

Artie is still alive but in a coma.  In fact, he wants to stay inside his brain, because in there, Leena is still alive (and baking cookies).

With the help of some artifact, Claudia and Steve enter Artie’s brain, which is the warehouse.  In there, they meet several of Artie’s old comrades and enemies, including comrade-and-sometimes-girlfriend Dr. Vanessa Calder (Lindsay Wagner) and archenemy James MacPherson (Roger Rees).  I always look forward to the episodes with Roger Rees.  Gosh, I wish they hadn’t bronzed him way back in season…. whenever.  Claudia eventually finds Artie and forces him out of his dream  world and back into reality.  Artie isn’t happy about it.

Myka and Sutton: So cute!

Pete and Myka save the world from the dreaded deadly sweating sickness in Paris, with the help of one Professor Sutton, who also happens to be…immortal?  ageless?  Something like that.  I imagine we’ll be seeing more of James Marsters  (Professor Sutton) since he stole Marie Antoinette’s diamond; and although he died in front of Pete and Myka, when we revisit the crypt where he died, his body isn’t there.  I’m fine with that.  I’m not crazy about his ex-girlfriend/wife (or whatever she is), but we’ll wait and see how that plays out.

[Photos credit Syfy.com]

Grimm: Nameless (216)

Wu is on the case. With Nick.

Once again, Grimm pushed the envelop of gruesomeness this week, what with cutting people in half and all.  To make up for it, Sgt. Wu was heavily featured.  For that alone, “Nameless” gets an extra star.  Speaking of Wu, does he have a first name?  I’ve searched NBC, IMDB, and the Grimm Wiki, but so far have found nothing.  It may have been mentioned in an episode last year which featured Wu as a victim of… something that made him eat his couch?  We visited his apartment, but obviously, I don’t remember the episode or the details, except that Wu was hanging out in his underwear.  And eating the couch.

But I digress.

“Nameless” opens with a launch party for a computer game that features ground-breaking technology that will revolutionize the gaming world.  The team leader, Jenna, and one of her teammates, Brody, sneak off for a little nooky.  [I think back to Brody from Supernatural‘s “Hollywood Babylon.”  He kind of looks the same, what with a curly mop of hair.  But that Brody didn’t meet with a horrible fate.  Or did he?]  Jenna hears someone in the nooky room and leaves.  Brody thinks it’s another team member and confronts him.  He gets sliced in half by a set of acid dripping claws.  Yep, it’s pretty gross.  But still not on the level of the barbed red eye-worms of last week.

Stupid DVR!

Oh yeah.  Dean could have totally rocked Lord of the Rings.

For the first time since I started watching this show (“Something Wicked,”  episode 18 of season 1, way back in 2006), I missed part of the episode.  😦  Worse, “LARP and the Real Girl” was one I  really wanted to see.  But, for some reason, my DVR wouldn’t record two shows at once, and I didn’t discover it until about 9:30.  Instead, I got Modern Family, a show I’m only somewhat interested in.  The Supernatural recording didn’t kick in until 9:34 pm.  Fortunately, On Demand now carries Supernatural, and I’ll be able to catch up shortly.

Outcome:  Modern Family is out of the DVR schedule.
Upside:  At least I got to see Dean in his role-playing gear.

Tonight’s another I DVR test.  Last Resort (final episode) and Project Runway‘s “Meet the season 11  contestants” are both on at 8:00.  I think PR will be the loser here.

[Photo by Liane Hentscher, © 2012 The CW]

Merlin: Arthur’s Bane, Part 2 (502)

Well, that’s better.  Somewhat.  For the record, I got Arthur’s Bane wrong, but at least I was in good company.  Merlin thought it was Mordred, too.

At the end of Part 1, Arthur and Merlin were taken prisoner by the bounty hunter Ragnor, along with Mordred.  They’re now making their way to Ismere, Morgana’s stronghold.  [I don’t know where they filmed these scenes, but it’s obviously very cold. Colin Morgan’s face is very red.]  Of course, Arthur and Merlin escape; and Arthur kills all in pursuit except Mordred, to Merlin’s chagrin.

Aithusa, the white dragon, visits Morgana in the night.

No Kilgharrah this week, but we do have little Aithusa, the dragon Merlin watched hatch—and named—last season.  She was last seen rescuing Morgana at the end of the season 4.  Now she’s apparently Morgana’s pet.  And she’s injured.  Nooo!  What happened?