The Walking Dead mid season return - Did it win me back?

The Walking Dead lost me about 2 years ago. I still watched it because it is my sworn duty but I have to admit I fast-forwarded through most of the last few seasons. Why? Because I thought it was boring and had a case of the "Game of Thrones" disease. What is the Game of Thrones disease you ask? It is an ailment that plagues shows that should and could be extraordinary, but instead, are crowd pleasers without focus. Perhaps I am narrow minded, and if this blog ever proved anything, it's that I surely am, but I do not appreciate shows that follow a myriad of characters in twenty different locations. In my opinion, good shows have a character core and a home. That's it. I feel like The Walking Dead has been losing its focus in the past years and that's why I was fast-forwarding through the many side plot arcs. In the end, whole episodes totally seemed beside the point to me. My fault. I made a point of keeping away from the fast forward button for this mid season return. I lied, I fast forwarded the credits.

I think I made a point several posts ago that kids were the worst in apocalyptic situations and I think writers and directors alike love to taunt us with this. They find a sort of vicious pleasure in torturing us with stupid bloody kids all the time. They even ended a mid season finale with a kid being a mother fucking dumbass. That's how much they love it. This episode was basically an ode to the stupidness of children. Is it me or are kids the worst thing in this show? It's not just Sam and his moron brother, it's also Enid and Carl (back in the day). They're all such a liability, they always need a pep talk or they need to be protected or they become psychopaths. I guess this is super accurate to what teenagers and kids are in real life but I have to believe that in this screwed up world, there is at least one badass kid out there who can cope with this shit. A kid who said, fuck being a moody bastard, I am stepping up, taking karate lessons and I am going to survive this shit. I can't wait to meet this kid! When you see Rick and the group with the most children, you know. You know it is just a disaster waiting to happen. And it is! Sam, the most annoying kid on the planet is remembering what Carole said to him when she was trying to scare him. Of course. I am wondering at this point if it wouldn't be smarter to knock these kids out and carry them like little piggies. Sam clearly argued that he could keep going but of course he couldn't, he's a pussy. Talking about kids, when the priest puts Judith under his tarp, the most random thought crossed my mind - can you imagine having to do this with a cat or kitten under your poncho? This would be a nightmare, much like doing this with a baby. I would be dead in the apocalypse, dead trying to save all the animals and miserably failing.

So what happened with the adults in this episode? Well, they showed they rock! This episode was adults vs kids and we all know who won. They started this episode with Daryl kicking ass right left and center. There was so much tension and there were so many twists in the first scene, it was very well done. In that very short amount of time I was frustrated, amused, excited, scared and shocked. That was a great opening scene. I also very much enjoyed that bit of spirituality talk in the church where Glenn says "they're still here, because you're still here". I feel like apart from Daryl, Glenn is the character that grew the most in this show. At least in the right direction. He's such an awesome role model, I love him. I really hope he'll stick around for a little longer otherwise I will be super upset. Just like I was during that "Sam screws up - 10th Edition" scene. To me it's like watching a sports game and seeing my team lose. I just can't take it. It makes me so angry. That's why I have made the conscious decision of never being a fan of any team again. I guess that's why I have given up on The Walking Dead too. It's just too frustrating and I hate when things go sideways for characters that I like. I am a coward.

I loved that scene for so many other reasons too though. It was somewhat funny, if you have no empathy for kids whatsoever, like me. I also loved how it was very quick and surgical and you have to watch these people who are still standing and shocked and freaked out remain stoic and understanding that in this world, you cannot show emotion anymore. Survival depends on it and this scene is a great concrete representation of what this means. The pacing was great in this episode, obviously it is a mid season premiere so there's a lot of things going on and no time to slow down. However, something happened towards the end of this episode that made me go "YES! This is what I have been waiting for!". Everybody knows I am a fan of superhero movies, of people kicking ass and being powerful. I feel like The Walking Dead has been lacking this for a very long time. The group we are following are just letting the world happen to them and they're not really taking charge. In this episode, they did, in a massive and very uplifting way. Obviously, they were led there by badass motherfucking Rick. This is what I need from The Walking Dead, more badassery. More uplifting, powerful moments. "No one gets to clock out today". Hell yeah!

This is 4/5 cats because kids ruin everything.

Scare PewDiePie - Are people going to pay for this?

Have you watched the new PewDiePie show? It's on Youtube Red, as I am sure you are aware, and unless you have already subscribed to the service because you either are a super fan of one of the creators or a weirdo, then you might have just seen the free episode Level 7. What did you think of it?

Basically, the show is all about putting Pewds in "scary" situations and record him. That's about it. I would have totally been down for that! I love Pewds reactions to ANYTHING so I would have watched that for sure. However, as I started watching, two things appeared very clear to me:
1. Pewds was super out of his element and kind of awkward.
2. The show was really cheesy and non organic.

In Level 7, PewDiePie has to walk through a mental hospital floor. That seems to be a pretty great start. Again, what I found interesting is Pewds personality didn't shine as much as in his own Youtube videos. He was sort of reserved and weird, I wanted to give him a big hug. Then, a doctor appeared and you figure out that Pewds is not the only person featured in this show and most importantly, the show is scripted and Pewds doesn't seem to work well with that. I understand that this is mirroring a video game level so some sort of interaction with other characters does make sense and is necessary. I think the issue I had with it is just the way Pewds interacted with that world. I am so used to seeing him at ease and just doing his thing that it was sort of cringe worthy to see him so out of his element which awkwardly put him between a spontaneous situation and a scripted experience. I wouldn't pay just to see this show, I would much rather watch his current free videos on Youtube. What did you guys think? Did you think it was a great show? Did you see anything worth paying for on Youtube Red? Do you think that PewDiePie could have done a better job at this without a crew and writers and money?
Because Pewds will always be a cutie, I give his new show a 3 out of 5 cats! Love you Pewds. Hugs/Bro Fist!

Jessica Jones Season 1 - Anything to say?

I waited a while to watch Jessica Jones but I decided to start about 3 weeks ago with a pace of about 1 episode a day (with a break in the middle as I was moving houses).
I did watch Daredevil and didn't like it at all so I was fairly reluctant to watch this new Marvel/Netflix collaboration. Again, old age, prejudices, habits, all that. It thought it was going to be Daredevil with a girl.

However, we had to find something to watch during dinner as we finished the 6 seasons of Lost and none of the current shows were back on TV yet. Don't go thinking that we don't have anything to say to each other and that's the reason why we watch TV during dinner, it's just that we both love TV Shows but also want to keep the rest of the night to play video games. We talk about our day while it is happening through gmail so we pretty much have said everything we needed comes dinner! No judging!!

Anywho. We decided to give Jessica Jones a go. If that failed, we would have settled on rewatching X-Files from the beginning. Well, it turns out that this new Marvel "superhero" is pretty damn cool. The first episode totally hooked me. I find it to be extremely rare nowadays to find a TV show that has the ability to grab my attention and interest from its first episode. I feel like I have to watch at least 3 episodes to be really committed. With Jessica Jones, I wanted to watch the second episode right away and only had positive things to say about its pilot. And that is a feat in itself.
A colleague of mine said that he watched the whole season and hated it. First, why would you watch 13 episodes of something if you have a shit time with it? His argument was that the story was far fetched and unfocused. He also argued that the main character, Jessica Jones, wasn't a hero at all and that she wasn't the type of character he wanted to follow for a season. I have a problem with everything he said!

First, I found the story and plot arc to be perfectly steady and exponential throughout the season. Even though the core of the season's plot is not introduced right away, there's enough meat to the story and the characters to set up an interesting premise. Throughout the season, the main plot is always part of the episode in some way and there's no "baddie of the week", which I loved. Everything is tied together very neatly and if you actually look back at the first few episodes, random plot points or dialogue actually make a lot of sense and tie in with the overall season arc. The side plots were also thrilling. I never once minded knowing more about supporting characters. It is fairly tricky to make side plots work. There's always some that you will just not care about. That didn't happen for me in Jessica Jones. Also, every story that you thought was a side note actually links back to the main plot and the main villain. By the way, the latter was absolutely amazing.

As a European who live 5 years in England, David Tennant will always be Dr Who, no matter what he does. However, he was a very believable and appealing villain. He made this psychotic murderous mind controller compelling and likable. Of course, he is a crazy killer and he's totally evil, but he has a way about him that makes you love him and empathize whenever he's sad or angry. To me, that is the mark of a complex and worthwhile villain. This is the type of villain that makes you reconsider your allegiance to the "hero". It's all the more true when the hero is very flawed and the lines blur between good and evil. I am going to end on the hero, Jessica Jones. She's the hero because she's obviously the title character and she is the focus of the story. However, just like my colleague mentioned, she's not your typical heroin. She drinks all the time, she's very selfish and narrow minded and she is emotionally wounded and weak. However, I don't think this makes her less of a hero. To me, she's more of a hero because of these traits. She's on a journey and she is trying. The latter is what makes a hero. Also, she's totally badass and overcomes her fears and reminds me of Buffy so I love her! Period.

I can't wait for a second season and I hope they'll make many more after that. Have you guys made it past the first episodes? What did you think of the season? Let me know! I personally give it 5/5 cats.

The Magicians - SyFy is so magic you guys!

It's been a very long time since I started a new TV show and even longer since I reviewed one! I decided to get back in it with a bloody great one...The Magicians!
If you haven't heard of it or seen it, it's a new SyFy fantasy that I only knew about because of the billboard I see everyday when I go to work. The poster looked pretty damn cool and I love fantasy so why the hell not give it a try.

Going into it I knew it wouldn't have the highest production value, it is SyFy after all. However, it's not the production value that jumped at me for being below par. The effects and cinematography were actually pretty decent. I found the color grading slightly too much as they wanted to achieve that undersaturated look of brooding teen fantasy. But I can totally live with that. I was very much intrigued when the lead was introduced to us. He's charismatic and different from the usual male characters you get in fantasy fiction. The first few scenes involving him and his girl friend weren't half as bad, they even were compelling. However, the acting and the bloody sanity of it all took a huge turn once the magic really kicked in.

I loved the fact that the latter was actually cool. I always find myself disappointed whenever magic is introduced as a power. For me, magic either means spells that can protect your entire house from Vampires (Buffy) or fireballs and electric cages (all RPGs ever). When I first saw Harry Potter for example, one of the thing I hated was the lack of coolness in this actual awesome power. They just wiggled wands as they recited super long nonsense just to light a bloody candle. We all know that real magic doesn't require a staff or wand!!! (I am going to get hate for this!). Anywho. I liked that the supernatural in this show was a little more super than usual when dealing with magic. However, the reaction to it by our main characters was just unbelievable in its strictest sense. We basically get a one liner on why these two 20 something are predestined to be magicians and, people, it's because they did magic tricks in high school. That's it. Fast forward 3 minutes and here they are, propelled in this hidden enchanted school without questioning 1. What the fuck is going on 2. Why there are there 3. How is magic real 4. What the fuck is going on. Also, the tone of it all is way too serious. In the first 24 minutes, there was 1 joke, that's it. It didn't even land right. When dealing with fantasy and powers, the number 1 and most important rule is to take it lightly or to aim it a children.

The characters in The Magicians were just not self aware enough, especially the two leads, to make this believable and entertaining. And the thing is, they had very decent actors all around to deliver good dialogue, the problem is that none of these talented people got a good line out of their script. One scene, to me, totally defined this pilot and it was the "Flashdance" scene. The lead, Quentin, gets in front of a panel of judges to basically be accepted into this school he never heard of 2 seconds ago. He has to perform a magic trick with a deck of cards and gets yelled at, very terrifyingly, by the Dean. The dude gets in his face and yells at him and scares the shit of Quentin so hard that he does awesome magic. First, I do not think it's legal to bully someone into applying for your school and second, it's not legal either to threaten a kid into performing any sort of entertainment...Whilst we are on the subject of the supporting cast, the two senior students Quentin makes instant friends with are so cliche. Also, why would they be friends with this awkward new kid? And very mean to the pretty blonde talented one? That doesn't make a drop of sense for anybody who actually went to any school.

Suffice it to say that they really rushed through this pilot to try and cram as much information as humanly possible in it. The exposition and character developments could have been fleshed out a lot more to make this an interesting first dive into what could have been a decent attempt at a story about magic and people who can harness it. Perhaps they took more time with the next episodes, I sure hope they did, for their sake, because at this point, I really don't care if this show is renewed or not!

1 cat out of 5 for the good use of magic!

Lost Finale: Netflix Brought it Up

Extant Season 2 premiere - Changes for the better?

I remembered nothing from last season. Well I had a vague idea of what the series was about but I couldn't tell you what happened in the last episode of the first season. I remember Molly has a cute alien kid and a creepy machine that looks like a kid. How long before the latter develops super human strength and goes on a rampage? I don't know. Maybe they will pit one against the other, see what's worse for humanity: alien invasion OR cyberpunk reality? Thank god for "previously on", it put me right back on track. It reminded me how much I love this show. I mean, back in the 90's, we had X-files, we had Roswell. We had The Next Generation. Aliens and space were all the rage. Nowadays, vampires and super heroes have taken center stage. They have tried to revive the genre with survival sci-fi like Falling Skies or Defiance.  They also tried Star Crossed, basically an alien version of Twilight. That didn't go so well. None were actually going back to that golden age of the unknown. They took sci-fi, aliens and the future for granted. Extant has been different. The production value of this show is just off the charts, for starter. Obviously, it stars one of the best actress out there and she makes every episode looks like a multi million dollar movie. Extant is set in the future but it is very recognizable and it could easily be our future. The technology is believable, people are still relatable and you discover the science fiction of it all along with the characters. There is mystery and intrigue. I am hoping the these qualities will remain even though the show seems to be heading in a different direction.

Anyway, I completely forgot that Ethan sacrificed himself to stop the alien kid's "friends and family" to come to Earth. But I think I recall Ethan actually uploading himself everywhere or something Skynety like that. Maybe I shouldn't have watched Terminator before Extant, it totally distorted my view of robots. We start this second season of one of last year's television standout by jumping back to a time when Molly was a star, a hero, and when Ethan was brought back as easily as  he was gone. When you see Molly using virtual reality and saying to Ethan that she misses him, you logically believe that Ethan is ancient history. But he's not. Talking about this "resting" place Molly is in, I have to say, I love the sim she uses where you basically are in a porn next to 10 other people who are probably in a porn too. That's cool.

Before they jump us in the crux of things and explain to us why Molly is in a "home", they reacquaint us with the alien kid. I seriously thought he was going to eat the baby (which would have been fair as he was well annoying) but instead, he makes some magical twinkly animals and we all go "awwwww". He's a sweet alien with awesome babysitting skills. I did find it weird to be looking at Molly in the present time, then jump 6 months back only to jump forward 4 weeks about 2 minutes later. However, I now understand the concept after seeing the whole episode.

There are a lot of things happening in this episode and the first bomb to drop is that John is a cheater. It's interesting that she suspects him of having an affair with Julie only now. She could have sensed something right after coming home but I suppose she was too involved in her own storyline to realize he was acting weird as well. Right when you feel like the conversation is going somewhere, another bomb drops. The government breaks down the door and for some reason, seizes Ethan. This has something to do with security and the army, as usual. There is a common theme exploited here, one that reminds us that a robot can be more compassionate and more humane than human beings. This is very typical of sci-fi, and in all fairness, typical of every story. Should it be robots, aliens, minorities, superheroes, animals, monsters. We love to remind ourselves that evil people will sideline anything or anyone different, even though that difference doesn't affect the subject's capacity for emotion. This is a recurring theme in every story but I thought it was hammered in pretty hard in the first half of this episode. But the latter really doesn't matter, because the third bomb drops: Julie is a bitchass traitor. I was in the middle of processing this information and the fact that her stare was really becoming psychotic when the most Game of Throne scene happened. John gets killed! by his car! It is clearly a murder plot and a cover up, but who gave the order? Has Julie's phone call anything to do with it? When John gets hit by the train and the "6 months later" appears on screen, that's when I understood the relevance of the time jumps in the beginning of the episode.

Just before John dies, he had a conversation with Julie that went like this: "Is this how they convinced you? protecting the country?". I wanted to say: "No, she's just a crazy vindictive bitch!". There was an interesting conspiracy in the 1st season but what they served us in the very first episode of this season is on a whole new level! Finally, we are caught up with the events leading to Molly's state. We find her in a mental institute, which is totally understandable. When her husband died, she got drunk, burnt down her house and, wait for it, attacked Julie with a shovel. That made me laugh a lot, I would have done the exact same thing. This episode reminded me how much I love Halle's character. She has conviction and she's smart. I also feel for her, so bad, I hate it when the viewer knows something along with the character and everybody else thinks the character is crazy, so by association, you feel crazy too. That's really frustrating. That's one of the things I hate in crime dramas or mysteries. It always makes me feel so uncomfortable. Does anybody have that feeling too?

As if there wasn't enough information and twists thrown at us during this first episode, they had to go and add bloody John Winchester to the mix. It made me forget all about the conspiracy and the murder plot and the frustration. I was in heaven, and yes I am objectifying him but damn is that man sexy. I really hope Molly gets to have sex with him, it will make things better. While we're in that dark room with Winchester, for a minute, the atmosphere made me think of Blade Runner. I liked that grittier, less polished side of Extant. I am glad Molly finally found a new ally that seems trustworthy and loyal. The enemy is definitely not clear yet but two things are for sue: Julie is out of her mind and has taken over project crazy pants let's-make-terminators, and the alien kid is now an alien man who has it easy with the ladies. In the end, the premiere of Extant was mind blowing, dropping bombs at every turn and setting the scene for what can only be a thrilling season. Hopefully, the pace will slow down a bit so we can appreciate the storyline and the mystery, and not get used to sensationalism. When a show sticks to the latter, normal episodes seem boring and I do not want that to happen to this great sci-fi piece. I read that the showrunners are dropping entire subplots and are going for a more action-driven vibe. Let's hope they do not over do it.

Falling Skies Final Season premiere - Summer is truly here

Sci-fi and fantasy are my favorite genres so I have always had a soft spot for Falling Skies. It is a little bit on the low budget side, the effects are kept to a minimum but the story is compelling and the characters are as relatable as they are extraordinary. For the past 4 years I have been looking forward to the summer TV because of Falling Skies, and in another style, So You Think You Can Dance. So far, the latter has done nothing but disappoint me so the summer TV rests on Falling Skies' shoulders (and Extant).


We kick off the final season with another one of those dream sequences tailored for Tom Mason. I feel like we have been starting the past 3 seasons that way, or at least we have had so many dream/mind game sequences that it's not surprising anymore, or even intriguing. And again, the main character finds himself stranded and separated from his family and allies, trying to find his way back to them. I feel like I have seen this many times before too and I was a little bit disappointed with the first few minutes of this premiere. However, I am very glad we are starting things right after the season 4 finale as I could not handle another time jump crap like 2 years ago. Tom is obviously trying to find his way back to the camp and he hears his dead wife saying "find your warrior". I don't really get this as Tom has always been a warrior and a fighter in the past seasons. It's not like he's been lying around doing nothing. He has been brave and pretty bad ass. Anyway, in all of about 30 seconds, he gets back to the hold, just like that. Planet Earth must have shrank pretty significantly if you can fly a ship to the moon, fall off the sky, land in the water in the middle of nowhere and still be about 2 miles away from your departure point. That's some pretty mad crashing skills right there. Pope is even pointing this shit out and although his main point was that Mason won't die, it still highlighted the whole situation as unbelievable. That's a little bit too easy in my opinion too, but let's move on. A little further in the episode, they try to explain how Tom got back when he is reunited with his family. It seems that this latest vision and how Mason got back home is actually the mystery of the season.

We are reunited with Maggie and Ben, which are my favorite characters, and being a girl, I love a good, "against the odds" love story. Maggie is a great female character that kicks butts and Ben had "powers" from the beginning, plus he's cute. I always wanted these two to be together and I am glad they're continuing the love triangle story line into this fifth season. As usual, this episode features a strategy meeting and a mission, which, unsurprisingly, is a trap. I do not understand Mason's vision just yet and I am kind of pissed he killed the overlord as he perhaps had some insight to share. Obviously, some important questions remained unanswered: Who has led Tom to the high school? Anybody else thinks Lexi is still alive? and more importantly, what kind of ending was that? A bug bite? That's how you are ending an episode? I was half expecting this whole 40 minutes to be a dream when I saw the bug. I am glad that was not the case, I would have been mad.

This first episode definitely was intriguing by the end of it, even though the beginning was a little choppy and overdone. I am glad they are taking the fight to the Espheni and I am glad to see more of the Ben/Maggie/Hal intrigue. All in all, it wasn't a bad start to this finale season.

Game of Thrones is back - and it is the same

Game of Thrones is obviously one of the most popular piece of television today. I do not like it. I tend to have a controversial opinion about many things, but I love The Walking Dead and I am pretty sure millions of other people do too. I am not hating on Game of Thrones just to spark a good debate. I have reasons.

The Fifth season kicked off last night and it seems like some people loved it, others were disappointed. Compared to other episodes of this cluttered show, I found this one pretty bearable. Thinking about it now, I don't even remember where the episode started, strengthening my belief that Game of Thrones is just too overwhelming to be considered quality television. It is appealing, for sure. Who doesn't love fantasy, dragons, political intrigue, sword fights and beautiful kings and queens. It seems like it was written for me. I love this stuff. However, when a puzzle doesn't fit together to make a magnificent picture fast enough, no matter the appeal of the individual pieces, I just lose interest and clear the table Cullen style.

So the first episode of Season 5 started with who knows who and who knows where but there are several things I remember clearly: Daenerys is surprised that after leaving her sweet dragons in chain they're not grateful to see her. Jon Snow is totally going to have fire sex with the weird witch person. Some noble's kid can't fight for shit. Cersei has always been a selfish narcissistic psychopath and she is mad at both Tyrion and Jaime. Speaking of Tyrion, he's on some sort of balcony speaking with the big bold guy I never bothered to learn the name. I mean, some of it was entertaining enough but as always, these 2 minutes story lines just make me dizzy.

I do not want to spend 45 seconds with Littlefinger and Sensa when the only piece of information I get out of it is boring and irrelevant. To me, Game of Thrones still feels like there is going to be 100 seasons and the writers can take all the time in the world to "develop" 30 different characters boning in 30 different locations and going in totally opposite directions. Show me what matters. Show me who matters. A viewer's time is precious and I still do not understand how people choose to watch this chaotic and ever changing piece of content which doesn't allow for neither character nor story development.

The Vampire Diaries - now we're talking

I am pretty good at saying things are rubbish but I believe I am equally fair when something is good. I was very upset with the last few Vampire Diaries episodes I watched and I have been pretty vocal about it. Now, we have tonight's episode and I need to give credit where credit is due.

Back from a short break, I feel like The Vampire Diaries has (finally) found its footing this season. It might only be for a short while, it might only be for this episode Ian directed, but it was a thrilling 45 minutes. It was fun, it was funny, it was witty. Was it the lack of coven/twin bullshit? The more focused story? Was it the minimal Elena screen time? The lack of teen hero cheesiness? I believe it was all of the above. They re-focused the plot and wrote a brilliant arc for Caroline. To the writers' credit, they have wrote no humanity Caroline perfectly. She's witty and snappy and if Caroline was my favorite character before, she is now ranking up there with the likes of Katherine Pierce and Elijah Mickaelson. Caroline is a character I care about and I am glad we got to see more of her. Also, props to Candice Accola who is extremely believable and on point, making the cutest villain. The end was also excellent and the twist was clever. I am looking forward to seeing where this is going but looking at what they have done in the past, I fear this rocking story won't last for very long. After all, this is a vampire show, it was bloody time they acted like vampires again. Here is hoping.

The Last Man on Earth or the apocalypse on shrooms

We have just about everything on TV nowadays. Vampires, Super Heroes, Cops galore. But these past few years, we have seen an increase in survival and post apocalyptic stories: The Walking Dead, The 100, Revolution, Under The Dome, Falling Skies and I am probably missing 10 others. It was time to create a funny version of this. Not a spoof but a comedic take on what it would mean to survive some sort of apocalypse on Earth. Enters Will Forte, who cheerfully dumps this hilarious piece of television on 20th's desk and Dana and Gary wept with joy. The show is already a critical hit and I don't think I have seen or heard one bad review of The Last Man on Earth. And I can't do it either.
This show is not only funny, it is clever and it is endearing. Three things that make you come back every week to see more.


The first half of the first episode was extremely tough on me as I felt so awkward and sad and anxious looking at an empty Earth and putting myself in Phil's shoes. I liked the character's monologues and random tantrums, and I liked seeing him go about his routine but at one point, I felt depressed and I wanted it to stop, for his sake and mine! Watching him pour cheese in wine or destroy fish tanks with bowling bowls really made feel ill at ease for some reason. Well, in my book, it just means they made the show the right way. I was glad to see the introduction of, Spoiler Alert, a female character who happens to be Kristen Schaal. Dare I say that she is perfect in that role and so annoying in the right ways that it made the show ten times better. Obviously, Will Forte's character has beautifully written monologues and his performance stands on its own but the quality of the writing and the acting can only ever be complete and judged with two ore more people in a scene. It very much felt like real life if you ask me. How good can it be if you do not have people to interact with? The show put the same principle in place and, at the right moment, when Phil and the viewer have had enough, introduced the lovely Carol. From there, I was laughing at just about every line and every looks and every gesture. These two characters are extremely well written and work perfectly together. The highlight for me was definitely Phil giving Carol a tour of his house. From these first episodes, I will add the following in my vocabulary: Masturbatory Magazines and Margarita Pool.

Better Call Saul - "Catering for Breaking Bad fans" is AMC new tagline

I obviously watched Better Call Saul last night. I suppose every Breaking Bad fan watched the premiere of the anticipated return of Saul Goodman. They even made history with the ratings which probably means some people who were not familiar with Breaking Bad tuned in as well.

I don't think there was a better character to use for a spin off than this "colorful" lawyer. Obviously, he was an iconic member of the Breaking Bad family but he was also the funniest and most interesting character to share Walt's secret. He had everything to build a great spin off with. What's his story? And that's what we get in Better Call Saul. 

The show starts off in Nebraska, where Saul is now working in a Cinnabon, just like he predicted at the end of Breaking Bad. Remember this line? "If I'm lucky, three months from now, best case scenario, I'm managing a Cinnabon in Omaha". And boy was he lucky! The question I am asking myself is whether this show can actually be picked up and enjoyed by non-Breaking Bad fans. Let's face it, when you see him in that cap and moustache in a Cinnabon at the beginning of the episode, it made your eyes water a little bit. Don't lie. It was so amazing to lead with that. But it obviously only had meaning if you watched Breaking Bad. There were a lot of references to it in this episode and a lot of meanings carried through for all of us but it must have been lost to everybody else. I cannot objectively judge this episode only for what it is, as a separate entity to Breaking Bad because right now, it is not. 

I don't know if I would have found this first episode appealing if I didn't know Saul before yesterday. I feel like these references will slowly disappear, they cannot keep up with so many, but still, I feel like this show is very much catered for one specific audience. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I mean, seeing Mike again was the highlight of this premiere for me. I screamed "Tucoooooo" at my TV and at my boyfriend at the end of the episode too. I loved every bit of it. As far as the quality of it goes, I thought the acting was, as usual, pretty exceptional. Bob Odenkirk is amazing and I would be happy if the show relied entirely on his genius this first season. The camera work was beautiful, especially for the first scene in Saul's condo. The writing was, and I am sure of it, always will be the highest quality possible. I already love this show but I know I do because I feel like I am watching the sequel to Breaking Bad. Unlike movie sequels however, I am pretty sure I won't be disappointed in this one.

The Walking Dead returns - with a deep message

The Walking Dead is back! TWDisback! Or however you want to say it, the most popular show on TV is returning from its mid-season break and everybody is pretty damn psyched because this season is by far the best of them all. There was death and drama and suspense and action. But everybody is super sad now. Well, Beth is gone and I was pretty surprise when it happened during the mid-season finale. Beth was sweet and didn't deserve to die. But that's also why she did. She was kind of the easiest non-secondary we-dont-give-a-shit-about-your-face character to kill off.

I loved that they showed the first 2 minutes of this episode prior to the premiere but to be fair, it was sort of a teaser trailer if you look at the way it was edited and everything. So the first few minutes of this episode served as a polished and aesthetically intriguing reminder of the horror they have been going through and the loss and the hardships of survival. The title of this episode is amazingly well suited for what you are about to watch. After the credits, you see part of the gang driving to somewhere supposedly safe and we get some character development along the way. Tyreese keeps sharing his deep voice wisdom, all through the first part of the episode. Thanks Yoda Tyreese! For the good it did him to be all wise and shit, am I right?

When they arrive close to their destination, Rick decides they will go through the woods "just in case". Rick has truly become a rock and this force of nature you can rely on. He's the closest thing to a superhero this show will ever get. He's a leader, he makes the tough decisions and he's awesome for it. Obviously, everybody is on their guard and as a viewer, you know better than to hope for some "normal" people to answer the door. So you are as wary as they are. You just know there is a nasty surprise waiting for them. And no, it is not a safe haven. You feel bad for poor Noah, but you haven't known him long enough to feel heart broken. Noah takes Tyreese and the viewer on a tour of his house and damn, it's grim! There are walkers and there are scares but they are not so scary as they are sad and uncomfortable. And ew, that Tyreese scene, talk about having death starring you right in the eyeballs. That was unpleasant. The end was very thrilling too and pretty macabre walker wise.

Unfortunately, the town's demise also means the end of the very short lived dream for Rick and the group. Nobody truly believed anyway. Not the viewer, not the group, definitely not Rick. So hope is running super thin and now that they're all back together with no DC mission the question is, "what the hell do we do?" Michonne wants to stay put or at least, she wants a plan. I would want a plan in their situation too! So Washington is back on the map baby.

I found the cinematography and editing pretty genius in this episode, it was visually stunning but the pace was slow. Of course, there needs to be a beat, the characters need to reflect on what has been going on and take a breath. That's credible and welcomed. But it didn't come close to the quality of the season premiere in my opinion. I was blown away by Carole and didn't expect it at all whereas this episode didn't have any wow factor. Tyreese bitten? I saw that coming a mile away. But what this episode lacked in wow, it made up in feels. I enjoyed Tyreese vision, the writing was incredible, "Domino Shit", that's what I am calling this monologue. "You don't want to be part of it, but being part of it, is being now", that shit is deep. Is it better to die and to be in peace rather than live in this violent hopeless world? Is it worth fighting anymore? It's not a question of survival or morality anymore, it's a question of will. And Tyrese lost it.

The Governor was back (for 1 minute) motherfuckers! I am just all sorts of excited when I see this man. They should really pull a CW and bring him back to life. This episode reminded me that I was also going to miss Beth's voice, she was awesome. Beautifully written and edited episode, if slow, it was a good come back TWD.

Supernatural "About a Boy" - should have been called "back on track"

I thought I wouldn't talk about each episode of a show and just concentrate on season/mid season premieres and finales but I felt like this episode deserved a little something.

The episode started off pretty slow and I thought that there would be too much time spent on the mark of Cain and Dean being all mopey but it turned out they decided to leave this out of the way for a while to grant us a great Supernatural episode. There is a lot they did right in "About a Boy" and most importantly, this is the no-fuss Supernatural that we all love. It didn't take itself seriously, it was funny as hell and it was very entertaining. Do we care a lot about the tie in with the coven and the witches business? not really. It's a nice add-on and it's lovely to see the story go somewhere interesting but I would have enjoyed this episode as much if it was just a sweet stand alone treat. We are used to having funny episode, especially with Dean providing the laughs in Yellow Fever, The Mystery Spot, Changing Channels or The French Mistake. I was very surprised that this episode didn't feature much of Jensen Ackles and yet, the comedic timing was perfect. I find myself remember the episode and actually seeing Jensen on screen, not Dylan Everett. This youngster was fabulous, in my humble opinion. I thought he had the same gestures, mimics, way of talking than Dean. It was great acting all around. Props to him.


Props also to the writers who managed to keep Dean alive through his dialogue lines. You know a character is iconic and has personality when you can put his lines into someone else's mouth and they still sound right. I adored the writing in this episode and all the pop culture references they included, like Bieber, One Direction and Taylor Swift. I loved seeing Sam react to those the way the viewer also did, that was very satisfying.

All in all, this was great Supernatural quality, it was funny, witty and thrilling. They added a bit more insight into the overarching plot but they stayed focused on the boys and that was welcomed. You go on for 10 more years like that lovelies, I won't have anything bad to say.

The Vampire Diaries Mid Season Return - Is there anything to salvage?

The Vampire Diaries came back to our screens two days ago with the episode I Woke Up With A Monster. Good old Vampire Diaries. I haven't wrote about this show yet so I have to get this off my chest: Changing the rules and the lore is WRONG. You can't just change things as you please to suit your needs. It's just not right, especially with a fantasy show where the lore is everything. As an adept of good lore and extraordinary worlds, Vampire Diaries fails at every turn. Even though this is a teen vampire show, from which I don't expect much quality, I was completely down for it until it all became too much to swallow. When everybody can just resurrect and come back whenever they like, there is definitely something weird going on. It just all stopped making sense and they added way too many loopholes. Let me tell you Vampire Diaries, I feel betrayed!

At least in the first few seasons, they were consistent and stuck to the lore and had people actually die when they should die. Also, Season 6 had to introduce this weird coven storyline which is extremely dull compared to previous seasons'. Is it me or are the twins very irrelevant and superfluous? I do not find their story interesting in the slightest. Anyway, now to the episode at hand.

Of course, when Elena wanted to talk to Damon, she got abducted, very easily at that. But she gets to hang out with Kai and this guy is the most exciting thing to spawn out of the producers' minds since Klaus and Elijah. He's different, he's a breath of fresh air with a great personality. I adore his sarcasm and his dark humor; the Vampire Diaries needs that type of character to give it a little "humph". The scene at the grill was again a good display of his wit and it was entertaining. But after this compelling dialogue, or dare I say monologue, we are back to that coven nonsense and I am very sorry but I don't care about the fate of any of these people. I am kind of hoping Kai kills the three of them and we'd be done with it. I liked seeing Caroline preppy and happy as we used to see her. I didn't like the whiny and desperate version of her. I thought she spent too long mopping about Stefan in the last episodes. I got back what I like about her character in this episode.

Then Elena had to come back on screen, urgh. Is it me or has her acting ability declined over the years? She is definitely not the most convincing actor when she has to play "hurt" or "suffering". Oh and come on, that glimmer of hope in her eyes when Kai tells her about his brother, like, get a fucking clue! You get from angry-as-hell and telling-him-that-he's-an-evil-bastard and that he-doesn't-care-about-anybody to, "oh maybe there is some good in you" in two seconds. Bullshit. Even Elena isn't that gullible right? But apparently she is or the people who wrote this episode thought she was as, at the end of the episode, she spits out, at the worst possible time, the worst line in the world "I've never felt more alive". No. No. No. I have written about the cheesiness and dullness of The Flash's writing. Holy cow, The Vampire Diaries trumped that with just one little line. Can you be more cliche? Nope. Also, who washes a shirt that has been completely torn apart by A. a stake and B. the hand of someone looking in your guts through your shirt! Give me a break. Everything is done to shove dialogue and scenes down the throat of the viewers, no matter if the surrounding elements make sense or not. And they don't. 

The Flash Mid Season Return - wait, what?

Revenge of the Rogues was the title of the episode that marked the return of The Flash. You can only create a shitty episode with a title like that!
So I think I watched Prison Break last night. They gave us the actors, and, at the end of the episode they gave us what was effectively a prison break, plus the twist of the century: the sister is the one breaking them out! Anyway, that was kind of weird but I thought I could roll with it. I can't. I am so sorry Wentworth but you should have your agent get you roles you actually would be credible in. He was not credible in Resident Evil. He still isn't in the Flash. My guess is that he should give up any sort of action/crime oriented material and do romantic comedies. Also, the guy can't act.




To be fair, the script didn't give him great material to work with. The one liners were soooo cheesy and predictable and dull. They should hire Joss Whedon to give them some pointers because this show is getting ridiculous. I am not sure if the script was bad or if the director did an awful job but the only enjoyable moment of this episode was probably the fight sequence at the end, at least they didn't talk.

I am always rooting for super hero and comic based television but I have to say that the Flash is getting way too cheesy and obvious. This is entirely due to the dialogue and script but I am afraid to say the acting is pretty awful too. Am I missing something about her character or has Danielle Panabaker skipped drama school?

When the cross over between the Flash and Arrow aired, I was so excited and it turned out to be an extremely good episode. The comedy was there thanks to Felicity and Oliver and the tone was a bit more balanced too. Grant Gustin also did a better job opposite these darker and drier characters. I read that they are planning more crossovers and for Felicity to go back to Central City so I might end up just watching these episodes. Some people might say that it's not cheesier than, let's say, a Smallville. That's fair, but I watched the 1st season of Smallville when I was 13 so I guess I am now looking for a little bit more substance in my shows. Also the dude is Superman. Comparing the Flash to CW's Arrow, ABC's Agents of Shield and Agent Carter or Fox' Gotham, I feel like The Flash is losing the battle for my attention.

Arrow Mid Season Return - A tiny bit dubious

I was looking forward to Arrow's return. I was wondering how they would bring Oliver back and how they would continue the fight in Starling City, the show must go on after all.

In this episode, instead of having two stories intertwine, we had three: the Starling City story, Oliver being dead in the Frostback Mountains story and the usual flash back we are used to by now. I really didn't think I would see present time/dead Oliver in this episode and I really didn't expect to see Oliver alive at the end either. I found that it was all terribly quick. They surely could have spent a bit more time on the following questions: "did he win or is he dead?" from everybody in Starling and most importantly "how the hell do I retrieve this huge body from a rock I can only access by falling off a mountain" from Maseo. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of that or none at all. Maseo just retrieves the body and off he goes. It all seemed very easy and anti climatic to me. 

The same was true of the events in Starling City. I thought that the beginning of the episode was quite exciting and I loved to see the gang trying to get by without their leader. It was awfully similar to the Buffy episode called "Anne" (Season 3 Episode 1) where Buffy is in Los Angeles, trying to figure out who she is, and the Scooby gang is left alone in Sunnydale to manage the vampire population on their own. Even more so when Felicity says that they got two out of the three criminals, it reminded me a lot of Xander's line: "we're losing half the vamps". So I liked the beginning of Left Behind. However, I found Diggle and Roy very quick to agree that Oliver was dead and they didn't seem too heart broken about it. When Buffy was gone, Willow and Xander were miserable and Giles was flying everywhere trying to find her. I really thought Diggle would try harder to find out where Oliver was - Malcom had the information - and find out what happened to him. 

When they get the news that yes, indeed, Oliver is dead, again, I didn't feel like their world fell apart. Except for Felicity who was slightly sad, I was very surprised by everybody else's reaction. At the end of the episode you find out that Oliver has been brought back to life and that's that. No more suspense. I can understand that it would be quite difficult to go on for several episodes without the eponymous hero of your show but looking at today's television quality, I expected to be teased longer about Oliver's fate. I knew he would come back, obviously, but I wanted to feel a little bit more of a void before being reunited with him. Of course, at the end of Anne, Buffy came back and Season 3 was on its way. When she died at the end of Season 5, she was back at the end of Season 6's first episode. But I missed her much more than I missed Oliver because I saw her friends and everybody else struggling and trying to find a way to get her back. I didn't get that in Arrow. 

I also found that the introduction of a new villain, Brick, was a bit superfluous and that the black Canary, who was said to take over the city with Arsenal and Atom while Oliver was AWOL, had a tiny and irrelevant part in this episode. As a whole, I think that they could have dealt with Oliver's death a bit better, at least giving the fans a bit more longing for the character that, we did see it tonight, makes the entire show.

Gotham Mid Season Return - Alastair is in the house!

I mean come on, the dude is legendary! His voice is the best, second perhaps to Cumberbatch, I love him so much. In Gotham too, he had that scary calm whispering voice that I adore. But he's dead. So bye bye Alastair, it was nice to see you!

Apart from the Electrocutioner making a, I have to be honest, forgettable appearance, the Gotham mid season return didn't impress me a whole lot. I was expecting a bit more decisive plot turns and more Arkham intrigue but it was just not there. The first episode of this second half of the season was fairly enjoyable. Any fan of the video games or the comics will have enjoyed another tour inside the infamous asylum but it was brief to say the least. The first two episodes just very much served one purpose: Get Jim back to the precinct. That was all. The whole Electrocutioner story was very predictable and anybody who tells me that they thought Jim wouldn't find the guy in 24 hours is a bloody liar. Also, who cares about dopey eyed Barbara? The time we spent with her in these two episodes were a waste of time and I would much rather have spent it with the Penguin who is and remains the best thing about this show.

I have come to care less and less about what happens to Gordon and the police department and more and more about Maroni, Falcone and Fish. That's where the story is interesting, the characters complex and the twists surprising. Gotham obviously doesn't have the level of twists and shockers an Agents of SHIELD or a Breaking Bad has. But look at the end of Monday night's episode. Go Falcone! We all know that Jim Gordon is a straight up kind of guy and not complicated in the least. I guess he's just not my type of character then and that might be why I do not love cop shows. The leads always seem so dull to me. A superhero on the other side, or a villain, have much more to offer than a simple principled cop.

I was quite happy we didn't see Bruce this time around. Or Cat for that matter. I feel like these two characters were just shoved in there to appeal to the most ignorant TV viewers out there. They don't add much to the story and are very much just here as a reminder that this is the Batman world and you should be watching if you loved the Batman films. Obviously, I am looking forward to seeing what is going to happen to Fish and Butch. Even though they have been conspiring against my two favorite characters, they are great villains. Fish for her hair and her angry eyes and Butch for his positive attitude. That is a happy man right there.

I was happy to see the Penguin win this one but you know that he's going to go down before he rises to the highs we know he can get to. I am not looking forward to seeing that. The Penguin is genius. He's such an underdog you can't help but be on his side, whatever evil he does. He makes me think of Walter White somehow. They are both outsiders, stepped on at every turn and both are genius in their own way. They also have a super huge ego. I hope the Penguin doesn't get to the point where I want to see him thrown into a cave full of venomous snakes though. Well, that would be good writing but if I do not like the Penguin anymore, who will my interest shift to? It shifted to Hank and Jesse in Breaking Bad, I doubt it will shift to boring Gordon though. Who knows?

Supernatural mid season return thoughts - Evil Dean FTW

Who is not a fan of Supernatural? I believe this show has the most prominent fan base ever and you can see memes of Dean just about everywhere on the internet. But how did the Season 10 mid season come back fared last night? I dare say pretty well. Who doesn't like an evil Dean? Everybody loves an evil Dean. I think over the years, the most satisfying story lines we got where when one of the boys turned evil. I mean, Sam drinking demon blood has to be my favorite moment of the show. Now Dean is going full on psychopath because of the mark of Cain
and I love it. He's just more badass than usual, what's wrong with that? They obviously need to get rid of that mark however, so the sweet kitten Dean can make a come back and not go on a rampage every time someone cuts in line in front of him. And that's where Metatron enters the playing field. This little piece of shit. This guy's face is just unbearable it's ridiculous. Great casting if you ask me and as usual, the dude is unhelpful and vicious.

The most interesting part of this episode however, was happening below ground for me: in hell. Everybody has come to adore Crowley who is your typical anti-hero. He's so adorable and funny, even if he kills people - which we haven't seen him do in a while - you can't help but root for the guy. He's part of the boys club now - Not moose, Moose, Cas and the demon on the brothers' shoulders. We all love him. There is an interesting intrigue going on in Hell with Crowley's witchy Scottish mother. First, what an accent. I just wish I could hear her talk forever. Second, she's pretty good at whatever scheme she has put together. We're still not sure what exactly she wants, but if the clues from last night gave us anything is that she wants to be Queen of hell in place of her baby boy. That would suck! You wish that Crowley would see through her and just kick her huge head out but he doesn't. Yet. It is somewhat understandable when you have seen Crowley be a pretty shady King so far and it would be more than natural if he had a few rebellious subject in his ranks. He always had doubts about the stability of his reign and the loyalty of his subject. His mom is just playing on that and it is working.

We all hope Crowley gets the better of her, with her Scottish accent, her tiny body and her big head. Anyway, this is a good side story that also involves the first blade so we're all in. Obviously, this is the first episode of the second half of the season so I expected it to be plot heavy. I doubt they will continue like this in the next episodes. As we know and have come to expect, Supernatural focuses on the main plot from episode 1 to 2, 10 to 12 and 21 to 23. The previous "monster of the week" episodes have been pretty great so far this season so I am not bothered about that at all. We all saw that Supernatural had been renewed for an eleventh season too. It has surprised me to hear this since the end of Season 6 to be honest but I love the creative licences they took these past seasons and I hope they keep doing that in the next ones. We love a Supernatural that doesn't take itself too seriously and I have faith it will stay that way. However, I am wondering where the plot is going to go after this Demon Dean/Mark of Cain business. Is it going to be Sam's turn to be evil again? Is one of them going to die at the end of this season as usual? There are two sure things, Metatron is up to something and Hell will be in peril if Crowley gets the boot. Whatever happens, I will be watching, because it's Supernatural and Dean approves.