Netflix Catch-Up: Arrow Season 1

Courtesy of CW

Arrow is a new and interesting take on the Oliver Queen - Green Arrow story.  For this iteration Queen was stranded on an island for five years after the yacht he was on with his father and others went down.  His time on the island changed him; from the vapid, partying playboy he was into a dark, vengeance seeking night stalker.

The show, in and of itself, has intriguing stories that happen along the way.  Seeing Queen leaping around, shooting arrows by the dozens with precision and accuracy is neat - those moments are like the comics come alive (without the boxing glove arrow - I know, it was my favorite too dammit!).  But the majority of the show leaves much to be desired.

My biggest issue with the show is really two issues - first: the cast; it's way too daytime soap drama acting with the pouty faces and furrowed brows.  Then there's sub-plots.  The overall story makes sense: Ollie's dad was in with some bad people who were doing to do bad things to the city - he leaves Ollie a list of names to guide him on his quest to right past wrongs.  The sub-plots with all the "romance" and "character growth" is bad, just...bad.

Courtesy of CW

I realize that it's hard to write a show that's one-hundred percent about the hero character doing hero stuff (I remember Lois and Clark) but being a CW show, Arrow goes too far in the opposite direction.  Additionally, it's like the writers oftentimes were trying to inject some "comic style writing" into the show with cheesy one-liners and bad puns but they just fall flat and make the show look like it's written for children.

Those things being said - the show is entertaining and one thing the writers are really good at is leaving you at an episode ending cliff-hanger.  The end of season one's final episode is the culmination of it all.

This isn't a show I would seek out and watch religiously on a weekly basis but as a Netflix binge-watching show it suits a lot of needs.  It's worth checking out; if only to watch Emily Bett Rickards in hot nerd glasses talking all techy.

When season two is posted I'm sure I'll watch; hopefully the acting improves with time...but I don't have the highest of hopes. For now, watch a trailer for Season One here and see for yourself:

Game of Thrones: Catch Up!

Whenever I do something I rarely assume it is completely unique to me. Case in point: since I do not chose to pay for the cable package required to afford me access to HBO I had not previously seen Game of Thrones.

Many years ago when it first came to paperback I purchased the book. I remembered enjoying it but it didn't cry out to me that I had to stick with the series, and thus; I was familiar but not super interested in the show. But by the time season three was happening enough people I know, most of whom are not at all the type that would read a "fantasy" book or be interested in such types of stories, were raving about it all over social media. Thanks to the beauty of DVD Box Sets, I was able to catch up quite quickly and Season 3 was quite amazing.

Season 4 is upon us and if you don't want to go back and watch all 30 hours of the first three seasons, allow me to catch you back up.

First - the houses:

Stark -

Wardens of the North, Lords of Winterfell - mostly dead.  Eddard, the liege lord of Winterfell died at the hands of Ser Ilyn Payne under the orders of the bastard King Joffrey.  Arrya, whom escaped Kings Landing with the help of a member of the Night's Watch, was then captured by Lannister forces and eventually escaped, only to wind up the prisoner/compatriot of The Hound.  Sansa, betrothed to Joffrey, mistreated for the deeds of her Father and Brother, escapes by circumstance of Joffrey casting her aside for another only to wind up the wife of Tyrion Lannister.  Rob, the King in the North, called in the bannerman of the North and marched on Kings Landing, originally to rescue his father from the cells beneath the Red Keep and eventually to enact justice for the murder of Eddard; died at the hands of Frey men, under the direction of Tywin Lannister.  Catelyn; died alongside her son, not knowing that Arrya was within 100 yards of her - she hadn't seen her in years.  Jon Snow - member of the Nights Watch, joined the caravan that went North of the wall - killed his compatriot and joined the Wildlings and their King Beyond the Wall - this was merely a cover.  He betrayed his new brethren and returned to Castle Black.

Lannister -

Lords of Casterly Rock.  Tywin, having saved the Red Keep and all of Kings Landing from the siege of Stannis Baratheon, was named Hand of the King by Joffrey. Cersei, plotted to murder the king, plotted to murder Eddard Stark, sought power for herself as the Queen Regent, only to realize too late that Joffrey was a mad dog not possible to control.  Her fate now teeters towards marrying Loras Tyrell.  Jaime, Kingslayer - the truth of which becomes more and more apparent over the third season wherein he loses his right hand to a bannerman of Lord Bolton; returned to Kings Landing less of a man, but no less a Lannister.  Tyrion has had a number of adventures and was rewarded for his defense of Kings Landing during the siege that he was nearly murdered for it.  Disdained by his father and sister, Sansa is his "prize" for his deeds; but his heart belongs to another - Shae.

Targaryen -

Still in Essos, Daenerys was sold/married to Dothraki horselord Khal Drogo who eventually died at the hands of a witchdoctor.  Left with nothing she believed her own fevered dreams and brought her three Dragon Eggs (a wedding gift) into the funeral pyre of her late husband.  She arose with live dragons; and magic was reborn into the world.  Since that time she has fostered their growth and sought her own army to cross the Narrow Sea and claim her rightful seat; the Iron Throne.  Her dragons have grown large and strong and after "purchasing" an army of Unsullied (slaves) she sets to march on all the slave traders of Essos.  Her story has the most upside and I am hopeful she plays a larger role in season 4.

The story:

Westeros is a complex country with seven kingdoms and twice as many power mongers working to control all that they can.  Looming on the edge of all stories has been the ancient threat of the White Walkers - demonic creatures from North of the Wall - an adaptation of history tells me that the First Men and the Andals fought the White Walkers, pushing them back each time to their thousand year slumber.  Now, the bickering and divided men of Westeros much once again unite as the White Walkers have returned...

Check out the Season 4 Trailer HERE

Enjoy Season 4!!!


all sigil images taken from HBO

Late to the Party: A Review of Fringe

I just finished the final episode of Fox's Sci-Fi thriller: Fringe. And if I had to sum it up in two words I would use: Rushed & Anti-climactic.

I realize I came late to the party on this show, as I am prone to do in this day in age as a man without DVR, Netflix is my best friend.  Doing so allowed me to watch Five Seasons in a matter of weeks (late at night a couple episodes at a time).  

Fringe sucked me in, as I'm sure it did many sci-Fi addict, with its cool X-Files type weirdness and Government conspiracy intrigue. But I knew the show was in trouble at the beginning of Season Two. I nearly gave up and quit watching because the storytelling and acting degraded so much from Season One.

To use a drug metaphor, incorrectly probably since I'm not a drug user and never have been, Season One was like that first hit and Season Two was the second hit you take just as you're coming down and it's not nearly as good.

It was clear that there was an over-arching story involved, something that everything was building towards, but it was so overt that the random, aside episodes, seemed tedious and almost haphazardly shoved into the rotation. 

For example: some HUGE piece of information would come out in an episode and the next ep would seem to infer that whatever had happened wasn't important because no one was talking about it.

Season Four practically required a masters degree in physics to follow since it was bouncing around from timeline to timeline and inter-dimensional exchanges of characters, etc.

I feel like in the vacuum left by LOST networks tried to grab hold of that audience who were sucked into a sci-fi show without even realizing it. Fringe was no different and Season Five finally unveiled the big plot: the Onservers had come to conquer us.

The problem with that story route is that its too predictable for American Tv. There was NO POSSIBLE WAY the good guys weren't going to win. Sure, some people died along the way and it was sad, but you knew they were going to pull it out.

X-files never really fulfilled its promise of Aliens. Not till the movie. LOST ended in a way people didn't understand (unless you'd been paying attention) and Fringe tried hard to be great and fell just a bit short.

I don't slight them for trying and I suspect uninspiring ratings continually threatened the stability of the shows story integrity: never knowing if you'll ever get to finish your overall plot is a scary thing, just ask Firefly fans.

Fringe stands alone, separate from shows like X-Files because it dared to reach beyond what people could perceive as possible and I applaud it for that.

If you've not seen the show, it's worth a watch. But know that you'll have to stomach some annoying episodes along the way. But if you watched Battlestar Galactica all the way through, you're already used to that.

Dirty little secrets...

So I was...suckered? Convinced? Intrigued? Something like that, into watching Glee.

Damn you Netflix and the convenience of Instant Viewing! *shakes fist*...ok not really mad at them...kinda sorta totally love Instant Viewing.

But I digress...Glee.

So it was decided over the past weekend that we'd watch Glee, because my lady hadn't seen it but was intrigued. My response, of course, was to quote Community, "I hate Glee...I don't see the appeal at all." - Jeff Winger. But, it turns out, it's more like "my so called life" with singing than anyone on the show would admit.

It has the same melodrama and teen pregnancy and awful high school jocks and all the rest of it that nearly every show that has come before it (including the likes of Parker Lewis Can't Lose) has had. With the added benefit of singing.

The real tragedy of watching Glee is not in the enjoyment, which is kinda...inevitable, if only for the superfluous frolicking of several hot "wannabe teens" (meaning they're playing teenagers but are actually in their mid-20's). But no, it's not that, it's this: watching it made me actually conjure the thought, "I wonder what High School Musical is like..." Please, god, no.


I quickly removed that thought from my mind, cruciatus curse style, and have not since been inspired to do anything quite as stupid.

The truly flawed part of the show is that they have to create drama. And I'm not talking about the natural drama that occurs when the boys and girls in the group jump from person to person as their hormones fly out of control. No. I'm talking about drama of, "we have to place at Regional's or the club is finished!" oh, no!

I'm going to spoil the ending for you...they don't place at Regional's. A panel of "celebrity" judges votes against them in the most insane way possible. But, wait...the club doesn't get canceled!

Now, the why's and how comes of this are far too in-depth for me to go into here. But sufficed to say that I saw it coming without even trying to figure it out.

It's a cute show. Are they really singing? probably not always. Do I know even half the songs? Nope. But can I enjoy it as an entertaining conjecture of reality versus surreality? Sure.

So if you have Netflix, check out the Pilot. Give it at least that chance, if you like it...thank me later. If you hate it, feel free to blame me.

That's all for now,

Tb (Jq)