Elementary

Dear CBS,

I really want a chance to get to know your show "Elementary", but you've removed the pilot episode.  I know, I'm late to the show (pun intended), but don't you want my viewership too?  You don't even work with Hulu to get viewers hooked...I mean, come on - more and more people are forgoing cable - how will you reach them and entice them to buy the tv series later down the road? Oh, but of course I could buy them on Amazon. :-P  I don't know your show well enough to warrant me shelling out money for it.
---

The few episodes I've seen of Elementary have gotten me interested in this take of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson, but as indicated above I'm irritated that I can't fill in the episode gaps.  She's a surgeon that messed up, badly, on a patient and has essentially become a rehab-buddy.  Sherlock has gotten out of a rehab facility, used to work for Scotland Yard, and now works with the NYPD.  Dr. Watson was hired by Sherlock's father to be with him nearly 24/7 to prevent any relapses.  I saw 'Rat Race' over the holidays - interesting dynamic between Holmes and Watson...no romantic clutter (thank you).  This version of Holmes seems a little more human - he sends a bottle of the best wine to a man who had saved money to propose to his girlfriend in an upscale restaurant (granted he did it with someone else's money, but still).

If I can ever figure out a legal way to watch this show without emptying my pockets I'll do it.  For now I'll scrape together what little scraps CBS gives on their website, being peeved about it all the while. :)

Criminal Minds Binder

Of all the photos posted in the "Binder Full of Women" meme my favorite is this:

AJ Cook's facial expression seals the deal. :)

The Doctor's Wife

I often go on a hunt for Doctor Who inspired art on Etsy and this past week from Gimmeswords I got a treasure:

Inspired by Season 6, Episode 4 called "The Doctor's Wife", this print of an original artwork by Dottie Torres makes me happy and sad all at once.  This scene, with the Doctor and his Tardis face to face for the last few moments, is swirl of emotions - tragically sad because it has to end yet wonderfully happy because it actually happened - and I love how it is captured here.  The Doctor and his box, the one who has seen it all and who is always with him.

 "I'll always be here.  But this is when we talked."

Adipose

If the Adiposian first family asked, I'm pretty sure I'd help them make a few kids so long as they agreed not to kill me. :-D

Birthday present from my sister.

Seriously, how cute!

BSG Bug

I've been a geek for as long as I can remember.  My parents tell me that when I was 5 I stayed up watching Doctor Who on channel 2 well past my bed time.  Despite this extreme nerdiness I put off watching shows like Battlestar Galactica.  With the advent of Netflix I have so many geeky shows at my fingertips and I've fallen victim to the Battlestar Galactica bug.

I'm trying to pace myself.  All four seasons are available to me and I've plowed my way through two of them already.  So say we all.

Allison Janney

(I'm ignoring the political situation in my state and looking at something happier).

One of my favorite actresses is Allison Janney.  I first took notice of her work when she was playing C.J. Cregg in The West Wing:

She was a very strong character in the White House, a good role model.






She also takes quirky roles in other movies and I just love her for it.


 Like highly religious Prudy Pingleton in Hairspray:

And the student counselor/pornographic romance novel writer in 10 Things I Hate About You:

Juno's step mom:

The starfish Peach in Finding Nemo:

Not all are goofy, like her role as Charlotte Phelan in The Help:

Any role I've seen her in I love her. :)

SMASH!

I seem to have gotten addicted to NBC's 'SMASH'

Basic premise: the veteran broadway actress vs the novice vying for the chance to play Marilyn Monroe in a new musical.

Ivy, the veteran (Megan Hilty)

Karen, the novice (Katharine McPhee)

Derek, the Director (Jack Davenport)

Tom and Julia, the writers (Christian Borle and Debra Messing)

There are more characters, obviously, but these are the ones I care about the most.

I've watched the entire season on Hulu several times - partially because the songs have gotten stuck in my head.

Especially "History is Made at Night"

and "Our Day Will Come"

and "Let Me Be Your Star"

and "Don't Forget Me"

:)  This will probably run it's course eventually, but until then, HULU leave it available! 

Worn Down Castle

I'm sorry Nathan Fillion - I really am - I tried to stay with you.  There are still some funny moments, heartfelt moments, goofy, etc, but I'm just worn out.  The Castle-Beckett relationship is becoming a Booth-Bones scenario.

I will come back from time to time, but I'm not intrigued by the storyline anymore.

A few of the shows with this crime show formula have caught my attention, but none of them have been able to hold onto it for more than a few seasons, in some cases a few episodes.

Maybe it needs to be more complex than this formula to keep my attention for an extended period of time.

Stasis and NCIS

The job search crawls slowly on leaving me feeling like I'm in a perpetual unemployment hell - stasis.  In times of stasis I usually have a couple tv shows that are comforting, shows that keep me from going nutty.  Currently its NCIS.  I admit it - I love NCIS.

A friend once commented derisively on the show, wanting to know why anyone would care about the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.  I like a lot of different crime shows and Netflix recommended this one to me - I watched the pilot and I guess I was a goner after that.  It's less the organization and more the characters that draw me to the show.

I love Mark Harmon's portrayal of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.  He is a hard-ass leader who inspires the stedfast loyalty of all his agents and several coworkers.



Essentially he is the upright hero that gets to the truth by whatever means necessary, breaking rules left and right while installing rules of his own on his team.



I also love Pauley Perrette's portrayal of Abby, the big-hearted goth forensic lab analyst.

She is eccentric, fun, and lovable.  She consumes enough Caf-pow to power the department, sleeps in a coffin, and has a farting hippo that keeps her company in the lab.  Her father-daughter relationship with Gibbs is one of my favorite character interactions in the show.

So while I'm waiting I'll consume copious amounts of NCIS and keep applying and applying and applying.

Run Away with the Doctor

My favorite secret of this week:

On the back it says "I really want to run with him and see the universe."

Because who wouldn't want to run away with the Doctor - especially a David Tennant Doctor - and see the universe?

Sara Pezzini

I'm in serious need of strong female characters so I'm going to do a short series on some of my favorites.

     The first one is Detective Sara Pezzini from the live action 'Witchblade'.  I distinguish between live action and animated because this was originally a graphic novel series and then an animated series.  Of the three I much prefer the live action.  The main reason being that Sara isn't portrayed as a blatant sex object here.  In the comic (I found a cache of free online versions to read through) she is scantily clad and bursting out of what little she has on at the time.

In the live action version Sara Pezzini is portrayed more realistically.  She's a hard-ass cop, excellent boxer, good shot, motorcycle driver, and good looking.  Her mother died when she was young and her father was murdered when she was in her teens or early twenties.  When the series begins her best friend was just found murdered in a high end hotel room.  Sara is sure she knows who did it, a mobster who has it out for her, but has of yet been unable to find evidence to that end.  In pursuit of one of his associates Sara comes into contact with the Witchblade.

When introduced to the Witchblade she stays outwardly strong even though she is having to deal with visions, changes in her perception of time, and vivid dreams.  When going after the mobster, Gallo, a second time she and her partner are ambushed.  Gallo shoots her partner.  With the Witchblade she takes out several of his men.

A lot of people want to control her throughout the series.  Irons, a billionaire who owns a large portion of New York City, wants control of the Witchblade.  The Witchblade can only be wielded by a woman, so he knows he has to control her.  In the first few comics Sara seems a bit damsel in distress around Irons but in the live action show she figures him out pretty quickly.  Gallo wants Pezzini dead and a few of her fellow cops want her off the force.

Though she has lost so much she remains strong.  One aspect of her character that I particularly like is that she doesn't let other people control her and she catches on quickly when they try.  Any advice or ideas she gets she works through, tests its applicability, before integrating it.

English

I was informed by a friend that I have a 'thing' for older British men.

I will admit that I absolutely love Colin Firth (né 1960).
There are a slew of his movies that I have yet to see, including 'The King's Speech'.  Last Friday I watched 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' (Scarlett Johansson was gorgeous as well) and 'Valmont' (an earlier version of 'Cruel Intentions') for the first time.  I also rewatched 'Easy Virtue' (especially for the tango between Firth and Jessica Biel) and parts of 'Love Actually'.



It seems, however, that I have a great love of Scottish actors as well.


 I fell in love with David Tennant (né 1971) as the tenth Doctor Who.  When I have a bit more time I plan to follow his other works, especially 'Hamlet' and the upcoming 'Much Ado About Nothing' with Catherine Tate.

Along a similar vein I also love John Barrowman (né 1967).  He was born in Scotland and moved to the U.S. when he was eight.  I discovered him in 'Torchwood' (a new season is coming soon!) but then discovered that he can sing.  Boy can he ever sing.  I also love his personality- energetic, loving, and outgoing.  I wish I could be friends with him. :)

And then there is Tony Curran (né 1969) whom I'd seen in 'Underworld: Evolution' and then he appeared as Vincent van Gogh in Season 5 of Doctor Who.  I have since seen him in several tv shows in smaller roles (ex/ 'The Mentalist') The other night when I finally watched 'Ondine' I found him again.








I don't know if it's a 'thing' per-se, I just love watching them act.  :)

I really must get working so that I'm ready for tomorrow.

Week End

It's already Friday. As usual I feel like I've gotten little done over the week.  My list of accomplishments is dwarfed by the ever growing To-Do list.  I did however manage to take time out of my busy days to watch the season finales of Castle and Bones and I was thrilled by one and somewhat happy with the other.

'The Knockout' aired on Monday and I actually watched it on TV rather than wait for it on Hulu.  I'm glad I did (the only drawback being extended commercial sets).  The first thing I noticed was the darkness (in terms of light) on the set.  It set the stage for the dark plot points to come.

I hadn't expected until that episode that Captain Montgomery might have something to do with the dark and dirty deeds of cops past, but the fact that he did was a good twist in the Beckett story.  I admired his strength and his dedication.  I also admired the loyalty of his precinct.  Ryan and Esposito actually come to blows over the truth that blindsided them both.  We've never seen real conflict between these characters before and I think it lent authenticity to their friendship and partnership.  When Montgomery tells Kate what he is about to do Castle has to drag her away from the scene.  It really is a heartbreaking moment.

The ending where Kate gets shot leaves me with mixed feelings.  We know there is another season coming so she can't be dead.  One viewer suggested that the screen should have gone dark before the gun went off.  This may have been more of a teaser.   I'm not sure how they should have changed it, but I'm interested to see the turmoil that will be in the first episode of season 4.

Another part of this episode that I appreciated was that the Castle-Beckett relationship wasn't the focal point.  It played into the plot, there was an admission of love, but this episode revolved around Kate and her mother's murder.

I wasn't as happy with Bone's 'The Game Changer'.  I enjoyed the Montenegro-Hodgins baby storyline (Michael Staccato Vincent Hodgins).  I wasn't that big of a fan of the undercover operation.  This is something that the Bones writers have done before.  Booth and Brennan have gone undercover as newly weds in Las Vegas and circus performers in the South to catch killers.  This time Booth was a bowler and Brennan his fiancee.  They, as usual when they go undercover, looked ridiculous.  I'm sure this is for comedic effect, but to me it was just more of the same irritations.  I also watched this one on TV rather than Hulu, but I was flipping between channels because there are some things about this show that I can't stand anymore.

The Game Changer was mostly about babies in reality.  The crime solving seemed like a side story.  At the very end Brennan tells Booth that she is pregnant and that it's his.  Yay, happiness all around, no real cliffhanger for the summer.

Comparing the two there is no contest- Castle was fantastic.  It had plot twists, suspense, death, a little but not too much romance, actual character development, and a cliffhanger ending.  I actually would have liked the Bones finale to have been last week's episode.  The intensity of Vincent's death and capture of the sniper would have been more appropriate season finale.

Alright, enough procrastination for this afternoon.  Time to go make some graphs.

Finals

Now that finals week is over for my students I'm finally done teaching for the semester.  Woot!

Now comes the other finals...as in season finales of the shows I watch: (**Some Spoilers!**)

Bones Season 6 finale, 'The Game Changer' airs Thursday May 19th.


I have to admit that I stopped watching Bones for awhile because the whole Booth-Brennan will-they-won't-they was getting old (don't get me wrong, it's still getting old), but I rejoined around episode 7 of this season (seriously - dead person in a huge chocolate bar? Who can resist that?).

I just finished the Bones episode from last night on Hulu, "The Hole in the Heart".  After the tears for Mr. Nigel-Murray and the captured bad guy I have to wonder - what the hell are they going to put in the season finale?  Usually I would expect the culmination of the season to be the capture of the baddie...so what are they going to do now?  My guess is the Hodgins-Montenegro baby will be born and there will be some Booth-Brennan storyline.  Maybe the baddie will escape.  Who knows.  I know I'll be tuning in next Friday to watch the finale on Hulu.

Castle Season 3 finale, 'The Knockout' airs Monday May 16th.

I have faithfully stuck with Castle even though it sometimes seems as bad as Bones in the will-they-won't-they schtick.  I came to this show for Nathan Fillion and now I'm staying because of Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic (how could you say no to the combined good looks?)

Seriously smokin'.

From what I can glean from the promos for this season's finale the storyline will revolve around, yes, the will-they-won't-they, but also trying to solve Kate's mother's murder.  They are also hinting at the death of one of the characters.  I vote for no one in Castle's family, not Kate or her friends...wait, that excludes most of the cast.  Damn, well, if they do bump someone off I hope they do it tastefully and logically within the storyline.




I'm off to B&N to buy a book I don't need, but want to read.  I've got to stop going on GoodReads.com because they're constantly telling me about books I will want to read.

Passing of Sarah

Elisabeth Sladen passed away yesterday at the age of 63 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

I had no idea that she was ill and was hoping that she would reappear a few more times in the Doctor Who series.  She was a thread tying the old series to the new and her character has been continually delightful.  I haven't watched the Sarah Jane Adventures, but I might have to now to see more of her.

Rest in peace, you will be missed.

Sarah Jane Smith

     The old series of Doctor Who, what episodes I have access to here in the U.S., are classic entertainment.  Yes, the special affects were, well, "special" and the plot lines were sometimes a bit slower than we're used to today, but they're still entertaining.  Part of their charm is in how horrible some of the monster/alien costumes are (the aliens in the 'Ark in Space' are green cloth covered bubble wrapped people who inched along the floor like worms - it was hysterical!).  I started with the fourth doctor, Tom Baker, because he was the face I associated with Doctor Who from age 5.  I've backed up now, to the third doctor, Jon Pertwee.  Last night I watched 'Carnival of Monsters', and the evening before "The Time Warrior".  I watched them in the wrong order, but it gave me a greater appreciation for Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen).

Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) with the third Doctor (Jon Pertwee)

     The companion prior to Sarah Jane Smith, Jo, was rescued constantly.  She often gave up when a situation seemed dire and with near constance acted like a dumb blonde.  There were a few moments of bravery in 'Carnival of Monsters', but mostly she was a bit of a drag.  The writer, Robert Holmes, would have continued to write in characters like Jo who screamed bloody murder and waited for the Doctor to swoop in and save them, but the prevalence of Feminism wouldn't let him get away with it any longer.  This was the birth of the character Sarah Jane Smith.  Sarah was an investigative reporter who constantly asked questions and got herself into trouble.  In 'The Time Warrior' she takes her aunt's place in a secret government facility where scientists have been disappearing.  The Doctor figures out where the scientists are being taken and uses the Tardis to follow their trail.  Sarah stows away on the Tardis.  When they land in the middle ages Sarah is taken hostage by Irongron and his band of ruffians/thieves (all the troops are at battle leaving much of the land up for grabs for groups like this).  Unlike other companions Sarah isn't cowed by her attackers.  Even when confronted with Irongron she talks back, asks questions, and refuses to be taken advantage of.  She manages to get away, taking another prisoner with her who takes her to the neighboring castle.  There she concocts a plan to kidnap the Doctor who she believes is behind the missing scientists.  Her plan is successful and after she figures out that the Doctor isn't the enemy they join forces.  She is instrumental in the success of the following plans.

Scene from 'The Time Warrior'

     In essence Sarah Jane Smith handles whatever situation she is put into with courage.  Her character actually has a hand in moving the plot line along rather than holding it back.  Elisabeth Sladen worked well with both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.  

Elisabeth Sladen with the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker 

     She is also the only classic companion so far to have her own spin off television show (The Sarah Jane Adventures) and return in classic episodes and in the new Doctor Who series.  

K9, Elisabeth Sladen, and the tenth Doctor, David Tennant

     The writers must have decided that after Sarah Jane Smith there would be a compromise on the next companion.  Leela (Louise Jameson) was a warrior.  Her character was a brave, strong fighter, but her outfit was barely there.  So the women got a strong female character and the men got gaping cleavage and long legs to stare at.

Leela (Louise Jameson)

     The new Doctor Who series writers have worked hard at making any traveling companions strong characters in their own right.  Sarah Jane Smith was the first companion in this trend.  Through her time on Doctor Who there were still traces of the frail female (she was hypnotized by the Doctor and baddies left and right), but essentially she was a fresh take on the assistant character.