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We discuss James Gunn’s superb Guardians of the Galaxy, Luc Besson’s derivative Lucy, Doctor Who and Hercules.

True Blood

Yes, the adventures of vampire Bill and his female love interest Sookie Stackhouse have gone bye bye for good. The story of us somewhat slutty southern girl who can read your thoughts and the story of a somewhat freaky vampire stalker boyfriend has come to an end. And the finale sucked like a big stake through the heart.
After the first two or three very good seasons the show went downhill narratively. It did have a few good story lines here the last couple of years, the last two seasons especially I thought were pretty darn good. However they went and fucked everything up with the last two episodes.
Nothing happened and what happened was of so little consequence I can’t even really remember what apparently happened. The creators and writers apparently decided that we needed to spend a whole bunch of time with one or two characters and not any of the characters that were any fun.
I get the show is about Sookie and after that the show’s about Bill, but they are the least interesting characters in the entire show. And frankly by the time the show was ending I didn’t care if they ended up together or not or how or why they didn’t.
I’d rather have seen Jason’s relationship grow with his new love interest who you was trying to not have sex with. I’d rather they give Hoyt and Jessica more time for their story to develop instead of rushing it like they did. I’d rather see Sam and Nicole, and the choice that Sam was apparently trying to make that we just glossed over. And where the fuck was Lafayette the last two episodes?
How about barely mentioning Pam and Eric who had bright shining moments when they did appear before kind of being left in the shadows with what was a major part of the show’s final story arc?
Way to screw the pooch in your last few weeks there, True Blood. If that’s the best you can do for a finale, maybe it was time to hang up the hat after all.

Doctor Who

You know my biggest memory of Doctor Who? Low budget reruns that came on PBS after I watched Red Dwarf. I don’t know why but I just never watched it. I didn’t really feel like it at the time especially after I was tired from watching Red Dwarf and it was late at night. But Doctor Who has been a fan mainstay for a long time.
Recent years have seemed to give it kind of a jolt. It seems everybody loves Doctor Who now, and as a nerd I kind of feel as though I’ve been left behind and I’m missing out on something. When you go to a Comic Con and half the cosplay is from a show that you haven’t ever watched something’s wrong.
A few months ago a friend of mine introduced me to an episode of Doctor Who that really didn’t need any explanation or for me to be informed on any of the mythology to enjoy it. So I watched the slightly creepy episode about a couple of scary looking angels who could attack you if you close your eyes. It was a good episode but for some reason I just didn’t get into the show and episodes languished on my DVR afterwards.
But the same weekend True Blood was ending with a shitty finale there was a new season of Doctor Who with a new doctor. I figured it would be a good time to jump in, so I watched Peter Capaldi as he made his premiere as the new doctor.
And you know what? I want to watch another episode. I kind of feel like the new Doctor – feeling out who he is after he was regenerated. I think it’s a journey I can go on with him and as he learns about who is supposed to be I can do some more research on what the show is.

I will say it was still kind of hard to get into which could be a result of really high expectations. But from the moment the Doctor and his companion were trapped in the restaurant I was pretty much hooked, at least for that episode. Now there was a great scene.

And you know the show did do a lot of what I like to be done in my TV shows. I might not know what’s going on but I can pretty much guarantee the lady at the end of the show is going to be starting some shit, and I do like shadowy villains that obviously have a tie to the past of our hero.

RIP…for now

You know I mentioned putting a whole bunch of Doctor Who episodes on my DVR, and those episodes got deleted it because I didn’t get a chance to watch them. Unfortunately, with time constraints being what they are, alot of genre shows can suffer from this.

More often than not there are some great looking shows that I record and never get to watch. Then they end up being deleted with the promise that I will someday pick them up on DVD and binge watch.

There are two recent standouts of this phenomenon. First being a show called Dominion on SyFy Channel. It looked like a show about something like good angels vs bad angels (bangels?) or some stuff, but the reason I really wanted to watch it was because of Anthony Stewart Head. I recorded it, but it just got to the point there were so many episodes it felt daunting to try and catch up.
Another show that met the chopping block was The Strain from Guillermo del Toro. I love anything that del Toro does but I just didn’t get into it. I tried watching the first episode and it just didn’t work out. For whatever reason the interest to keep going wasn’t there.
There are other shows that I have done this to, and I’m sure these won’t be the last. It’s bound to happen, can’t be helped. Nobody has time to watch everything they’d like to. Hell, there are shows I started to keep up on and just lost track of (I’m looking at you Sleepy Hollow). The consolation is that, as I said before, there’s always the option of DVD or Netflix or Hulu and binge watching the hell out of that stuff when I have those rare day off things.

The Returned

Shows that are coming back, or premiering that I’d like to see? Top of the list of my favorites coming back is Arrow. Again, DC done right. Arrow accomplishes everything they haven’t been able to do in the movie theater. Don’t try and pull this into that universe, or try to make that universe part of this mythology, because they mess up Arrow and I’ll be pissed.
Sister show to Arrow that’s coming up, and has great word of mouth is The Flash. I remember the old CBS show, and the Scarlet Speedster has always been a favorite character. Can’t wait to see this, especially since they look like they’re doing a lot of the fun out there stuff Arrow rightfully keeps away from.
Over on ABC, yes that ABC, I’m waiting for the return of Resurrection. It’s based on a show called The Returned from I don’t remember where right now, but it’s fantastic. The show centers around those who have died who suddenly come back just as they were. Or, mostly as they were.
Speaking of people coming back from death, do I even have to mention The Walking Dead? No? Good. If you don’t watch this show, shame on you. Consistently good tale about the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse where the biggest threat isn’t always the mindless beings trying to eat us.
Back to ABC… really?? ABC’s doing some good in the genre category. Anyway, it’s a second chance for romance with Agents of SHIELD. I’m really hoping they start getting into a better groove, and with how season one ended up, there are a lot of promises for greatness. Not to mention the characters and guest stars they’re bringing on board.
Other things I’m looking forward to? Checking NBC’s Constantine, hopefully getting back into Sleepy Hollow, Gotham (Fox is starting to be nice to nerds, it seems), Once Upon a Time, and, and…that’s all I have for now. I’m sure I’m missing something, but this already seems like more than I can handle with a human schedule. Here’s to filling up the DVR, getting yelled at for taking up all the memory, and then cutting out shows I may never see for ABC Family fodder.

1. Why couldn’t the artist draw Amy?

SG: I thought all the guys were really well done.  Sometimes Rory wasn’t great, but the doctor usually was. Amy was almost never even recognizable
B: I agree with you in that the story was kind of goofy, but the characters all sounded like themselves
It makes me think back to that weird Dr Who/Sherlock fanvid, you know the one with the creepy dead eyes?
SG: No, I don’t know much about fanvids except the few you’ve made me watch recently
B: You would think that that would be a mashup that would work really well but it just…didn’t. And when you sit there and think about “What would mix really well with the Dr. Whoverse?” ST: TNG is not what immediately comes to mind.
SG: It worked though!  I think it could have been better, i think their scope was too big for the length they used
B: I agree, it worked pretty well. It wasn’t amazing, but I thought it was entertaining
SG: I did giggle a few times
B: I especially loved the “flashback”
SG: I laughed when Data pulled Riker out of the water, because I could just imagine him doing that, all stiff and straight-armed
B: Everything about it. The art was very clean and retro, Kirk was obviously still a total hobag…maybe the 4th Doctor laid it on a little thick with the “Jelly Babies?”
SG: In fact, I think he did…Oh man, the fight scene was absolutely insane
B: You mean the fight scene where Kirk karate chops a Cyberman?
SG: Yes!
B: LOVE
SG: I mean, it was spot on, but so crazy
B: Seriously lost it
SG: There’s one part where the Doctor is just sort of levitating on his back, and was probably supposed to be knocked backwards, but there’s no one there to knock him back
B: I think I missed that! Or forgot it, either are likely. Surprisingly a lot of Guinan
SG: And they show the Cybermen being strong enough to just crush Kirk’s phaser with a single hand, and yet here he is, whacking away
B: haha That’s Kirk for ya though
SG: I know, so full of himself. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!”  as he goes flying through the air for a side kick which, somehow, sends the Cyberman flying…it’s so true to TOS
B: Can I say I honestly never though the Cybermen would be the ones that got the upper hand
SG: No, they never seemed very creative to me. In their thinking I mean
B: And I don’t know…they always come across as sort of bumbling. they get these ornate plans that always go badly
SG: The Borg plays out across several series of Star Trek, and a few movies, and is a serious threat. And the Cybermen were always like, “Well, the Doctor single-handedly shut down an entire operation again”
B: Exactly! The Borg always come across as totally efficient. I did like that the Conduit Borg guy tried to assimilate the Tardis…Nice try!
SG: Yeah, that was pretty sweet. And then Data became the Tardis!  I would have loved to hear more about that. And I liked when the Cybermen catch Data and say, “oh.. I guess you’re good”
B: “This one needs no upgrades!” Good old Data. I loved how delighted the Doctor was by Data
SG: Yes! He would be too, Data is the best
B:  Refresh my memory…was Wesley Crusher absent?
SG: Yes, he’s at Starfleet Academy when this takes place.  In fact, based on the star dates, the very next episode after this took place was when the Enterprise had to go to the academy because one of Wesley’s classmates was killed during a flight exercise
B: oh, I’m so glad you’re keeping track of the Timeline
SG: Just a couple of episodes later is “I, Hugh”, which is when they capture the teenage Borg and try to desimilate him; and they had this big plan to upload a virus into him and send him back to destroy the Borg, but they all have this crisis of conscience and decide not to do it. So at the end of this, the Borg is thinking about time travel
B: I was going to mention that. I knew it wasn’t the greatest idea ever, restoring the collective
SG: And then later, during the movie First Contact, they actually used time travel to try to prevent humans from making first contact with the vulcans
B: I remember that, I love that movie.
SG: They tried to prevent Zefran Cochrane, the American who invented warp travel, from making his first flight
And Borg technology crashes on Earth somewhere, which is actually referenced in the Enterprise series. And Cochrane, who should have died way before Kirk’s crew existed, shows up in TOS because he decided to die in space and some alien they call the Companion grabs him and reverses his aging and keeps him the same age for 150 years just so it wouldn’t be lonely. So all three Captains of the Enterprise actually end up meeting this guy
B: Well THAT’S interesting! Could almost be the Doctor
SG: all thanks to the Cybermen telling the Borg about time travel
B: *head explodes* So this would be before the events of First Contact
SG: yes
B: Got It….Oh right, because LaForge didn’t have his visor in First Contact
SG: First Contact is star date 50893.5 and this was 45635.2
And the Locutus storyline with the Battle of Wolf 359 (which the Doctor pulls a Bad Wolf reference) was Star Date 43989.1-44001.4, So this is between those two
B: Yeah I caught the Bad Wolf reference
SG: Wolf 359 is where Captain Sisko’s wife dies
B: I did enjoy that bit of continuity to The Doctor tells Amy & Rory to stay behind and they say “no” and he’s like “great!”
SG:Haha, I actually laughed when they said they’d be ensuring the safety of the Enterprise away team Riker is like “I can’t promise you protection” and Amy is all “it’s cool, I’ll keep you safe”
B: haha. I liked that Picard seemed to get attached to Amy right away
SG: Who doesn’t?  She’s pretty great
B: A lot of people don’t like Amy. I always did. It’s Rose that gets stuck in my teeth.
SG: Fun fact: The Deltans of Delta IV, the first planet that’s attacked by the Borg in the comic, appear in Star Trek movies 1, 3 and 4. They’re always depicted as being bald, and they’re so highly sexual (to the point that they make everyone around them get hot and bothered just by walking into the room), that they have to take an oath of celibacy to enter Starfeelt.
B: Oh I remember them
SG: They don’t really show up after that though, so now we can blame the Cybermen for that too
B: Had you seen the guys on the Mineral planet before?
SG: I feel like I have, but I forgot to look them up. I think it was the Animated Series
B: Did you get the “Art Gallery” at the end of Volume 2? It was delightful
SG: They’re not showing up on the Star Trek wikia, and I’m pretty certain they would if they were in something else
B: There is something so viscerally appealing about seeing Picard stepping out of the Tardis
SG: I did! I had an art gallery at the end of both volumes
B: Several of those I would frame
SG: The one with Kirk and the Cyberman is pretty great
B: YES! Oh…did you giggle when you saw the picture of Riker playing Jazz Trombone?
SG: Always
B: Because I know did. Hee…I love him, such a cheeseball
SG: I don’t think I’ve ever not laughed when he does that in an episode. Which just reminded me, did you ever see the Twitter account for the 8th season of TNG?
B: I don’t believe I have
SG: @TNG_S8  Feb 14 – A nymphomaniac worm controls Riker’s mind and body to seduce the Enterprise’s female crew. Nobody notices, it eventually dies of old age.
B:  Did you see the comic about why O’Brien has the worst job on the Enterprise?
SG: I did!  I posted it to Facebook and then put it in my RSS feed.  @TNG_S8  21 Jan 2013 – Worf unwillingly participates in his niece’s coming-of-age human hunt. Riker has misplaced his chest comb and it’s getting bad.
B: HA!
SG: @TNG_S8  8 Nov 2012 – An alien boy pretends Data is his science fair project to hide him from military forces. Riker’s sonic shower is set to “silky jazz.”
B:  I recommend listening to Will Wheaton’s episode of the Nerdist podcast, he’s got some funny Frakes/Stewart anecdotes. SILKY JAZZ LOL
SG: @TNG_S8  28 Aug 2012 – A company needs help when their knockoff Datas start exploding. The warp core dries up because someone (Barclay) left the cap off overnight.
B:  haha Barclay!
SG: Sidenote: Barclay and Moseley BFF
B: LOL I never would have put that together had you not said
SG: I only just realized when I read that tweet, now I can’t stop laughing
B: I loved this one: Wes gets his amber collecting club trapped in amber. Picard’s end-of-episode speech segues into a meandering rant on turbolift etiquette. That’s so Wes!

Molly and Jay return to talk about the second installment of the Hunger Games franchise, the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, and why Adam Levine’s weird baby teeth make him the most unlikely choice to be Sexiest Man Alive.

All I can look at is Peeta in spandex. Help me.