Sunday, July 29, 2012

TV Review: TRUE BLOOD

I can only hope that True Blood can arrest the fall from grace that took place in the complete clusterfuck  that was the last episode entitled "In The Beginning". There were so many things wrong I don't even know where to start, this whole Authority thing had some promise when it was announced but the execution was all wrong, anyone who didn't smell something fishy with Salome within 5 minutes of her appearance was either not paying attention or not breathing.


Somehow perhaps through a rare alignment of the stars Tara's storyline is one of the least sucky of the bunch, unfortunately the same can't be said of Lafayette - possibly the most dynamic characters in Bon Temps always saddled with the most horrendous of nonsensical storylines.

I have to say the karaoke did make me chuckle up until the born from blood nonsense, so maybe that is some sort of brief highlight. Yes I know I haven't talked about Sookie, Alcide or Sam, that is because they are not worth mentioning and god knows what is going on with Jason, I thought they were making him into a real character.

The start of True Blood this season was so promising but I have begun to notice that this tends to happen almost every season, two episodes or so of EPIC then everything slowly falls apart. COME ON TRUE BLOOD DON'T LET ME DOWN AGAIN.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

TV with Shaft


In which surprisingly there is talk of TV based shenanigans. 


EUREKA
It has come to an end. Such a great show, I can just about remember way back to when it started, this new show announced to a fair bit of hype. Back then it was “A Town Called Eureka” and it was notable because it got a start on Sky here in the UK either at the same time or very close to it premiering in the US. A big step up from having to wait a year or more to get a show to cross the atlantic.

The show itself was something new obviously comedy but with a lot more science fiction than was popular at the time. The show took awhile to find its legs but all good shows do especially those with the often expanding ensemble tasks.

The only issues I had was the huge shifts that used to happen at the end of seasons. Like Jack being a Jack from the future and going back to save time. There was A LOT of time travelling in Eureka which made a complex and sometimes confusing plot even more so.

So if you were a fan like me be thankful for a well written show and hope against hope that networks won’t give up on creative shows and leave us swimming in a sea of scripted reality shows.



Well I’m still watching and it is still the weirdest, funniest supernatural show out there. All the crazy dreams and the personal drama that manages to take place even with all the fur, claws and scales. The thing that works so well about this show is that it is really about a couple of losers who somehow get way above their High School social caste. One guy gets his dream girl while the other pines for hers, the werewolf stuff is just great extra flavour.

The only issue I really have is how ridiculously bland they are making Derek’s pack I can’t even remember their names and furthermore I’m too lazy to IMDB it, other than the fact that I can’t take my eyes of Gage’s character they are not memorable in the least and lack depth. Look at the depth of Stiles for instance that dude is DEEP, we need to see a little more about those three hopefully with the show returning there will be a chance for that although I kind of think one or two of them might be dead before next season.

I can’t tell you how awesome it is to know that next time Teen Wolf is going full length season. I don’t know how things will change but I am fairly happy with how the writers are doing things so with more time I am fairly sure they won’t mess things up.

Have you started watching Teen Wolf yet? Definitely consider this a time to get caught up.

So those are two shows that I thought were worth mentioning, if you guys and girls out there in blog land have some shows you think I should check out or talk about then leave it in the comments.


Saturday, July 14, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting


The Pledge is the first in the new book series by Kimberley Derting who is well known for her Body Finder series. The paperback was published by Allison & Busby on 15th November 2011. I won this book from a competition as part of the Morganville Vampire ReadingChallenge.

PLOT
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

WHAT I THOUGHT
I really didn’t know what to expect from The Pledge, although apparently Kimberly Derting is quite well known for her Body Finder books. It was a very quick read one of the fastest reads I have ever done. The story is very different from what might be described as the usual ideas of a dystopian setting but that makes it more interesting.

The setting is seemingly America in the future where the government and ruling classes have been changed so now that all the major powers around the world are ruled by Monarchies with Queens at the head. Add in a little magic and there seems to be a lot of room for growth in this series.

I can’t really review this book without talking about ‘Languages’. In the world of The Pledge languages serve as sign of your class, they can be thought of as levels of hierarchy as people cannot understand or speak the language above their level. Furthermore it is a tool of rigid control as to even look at someone speaking a language superior to yours would mean certain harsh punishment. It is a very interesting premise and not something I have seen before and it keeps things interesting.

Charlie the protagonist seems to be able to understand all the languages she hears and her sister who should have already started speaking is seemingly mute and these are secrets that must be kept hidden.

I can definitely recommend this book as a quick read and an interesting beginning to a series. A lively and engaging setting with characters that have a real sense of authenticity I am definitely interested to see how things will work out.                                                                                                                 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

COOLEST THING I FOUND ON THE INTERNET

In the last few weeks or so.

Would have to be this picture of Felicia Day as a sexy Librarian. Pretty awesome find if I do say so myself. For me it is not just her flame haired awesomeness that pulls me it is the fact that she is a very talented and funny lady.

I first noticed Felicia Day when I started watching The Guild (I’m a World of Warcraft player) I know she appeared in Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s end run but by then it had lost its special place in my heart so I didn’t recognise when I caught the first episode of The Guild.



I only caught the first season of the Guild I think the Microsoft sponsorship might have something to do with it but then I have a bad track record with web series generally. Recently though you can see Felicia doing her geeky, socially awkward non-threatening gorgeous female best on Eureka.

I also really like her work on The Flog a YouTube feature which is part of the Geek and Sundry Brand.


BUT WAIT I FOUND YET ANOTHER COOLEST THING ON THE INTERNET
(I too was surprised)

So I was just looking over my Twitter feed (@shaftsword) if you were wondering, and I feel that  I can say I have never seen anything quite like it. Thanks goes out to Janina Gavankar @janina of True Blood famem who shared this awesome little video. Do you like Rage Against The Machine? Do you like University marching bands? Then this works.



And just in case you forgot who Janina Gavankar is let me remind you with this visual aid.
Good lord!