This seems to be the days of Alfred Hitchcock with his imprint and likeness being reintroduced to pop culture recently with movies and television series abound. We had The Girl, the HBO movie; Hitchcock, the Anthony Hopkins film; and now we have some more awesome news on the new A&E series, Bates Motel.
Now, we haven’t heard too much other than the first details of the Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates as a kid series with Vera Farmiga playing his less decrepit looking mother in her youth, but we at have this first picture to show. Which is awesome because I love the house looming large in the background and it creates such a buzz for me in wanting to watch this series. But that’s not all folks! We also got some teaser trailers for you that show absolutely nothing yet definitely set the tone of (hopefully) what is to come. Shall we take a gander?
So yeah, all you really need is the Inception “BRRHAAAAAMMM” horns and you can make anything epic. Again, it sets a great tone for the series as we try to figure out what about the house makes the people go a little bit….Psycho? Too much? But seriously, looking into the relationship between how the son developed into the adult Norman Bates and the impact of his mother on his future is something we all need to see. With the teasers showing that perhaps the Bates Motel is something not to be trifled with, or at least the family, we might know exactly how dedicated this family is to each other.
Anyways, leave some comments on the bottom or on our Facebook so we can see how excited about this you are or how lame you are if you don’t like Hitchcock. It better be the former because that’s just un-American otherwise. Bates Motel is due in 2013 on A&E.
After letting this last episode of The Walking Dead absorb into my brain, I must say that it is one of the best of the series. “When the Dead Come Knocking” was spectacular for several reasons, not the least of which being that Rick hot his groove back! I was nervous when he was losing his marbles that he would just remain the group basket case, and they’d need a new leader. Not only did Rick get his shit together, but he also talked to Carl about what happened with Lori. Now, I don’t know about you all, but most of the families I know hate confrontation and love to brush issues under the rug, no matter how serious. This was a proud moment as a Rick Grimes fan. He’s taking care of business again! He also let Carl name the wee baby Grimes, Judith.
Episode 6 ended with Michonne arriving at the prison, and that was the part I was most excited about. I love how she is always protecting herself, to the point where she will put herself in more danger! She had a bad feeling about Woodbury, so she left, putting herself in even more danger to be killed by walkers. She is one seriously badass character.
Michonne passed out from blood loss and Rick and the boys brought her inside of the prison. Hershel fixed up her wound and she was thankful. She was talking to Rick and was extremely defensive, as always. But this is not a trait specific to Michonne, she just approaches it differently. She protects herself by sometimes not saying anything at all, and mean-mugging everyone. Rick treats everyone with the same skepticism and has sometimes had to kill human beings for putting him or his loved ones in danger. I would say that Michonne and Rick are really a lot alike as both will do whatever becomes necessary to protect themselves.
Glenn getting the living hell beaten out of him by Merle was the most horrifying thing in this episode. Although, he did manage to display how much of a total badass he is.
Maggie was, of course, forced to strip the top half of her clothes off and was almost sexually assaulted. That was hard to watch. After all of that, she spilled to the Governor where their group was hiding out, because Glenn’s life was being threatened.
Proving she can play ‘awkward topless’ more than one way, here is Maggie in the cinematic classic VAN WILDER 2…
I have been at the edge of my seat since Sunday, awaiting the mid-season finale “Made to Suffer”. Join me on Sunday, as I pick apart the highly anticipated episode and make my undoubtedly incorrect predictions for the remainder of season 3.
Last episode I couldn’t stand Laurel and Thea was growing on me. Well that has all changed. Another difference between episode 6 and 7? The amount of John Diggle screen time. There was not near enough of it this week in ‘Muse of Fire’! I felt deprived. If a John Diggle drought wasn’t enough, there was no island which meant no Yao Fei! Oh Arrow what are you trying to do to me?!
This episode, I didn’t really like it and I can’t really put my finger on why. It’s odd because I really like certain individual parts but not the episode as a whole. Sadly, I think a contributing factor might be Geoff Johns’ writing. There is no debate that Johns is a great comic book writer. His Teen Titans is among my favorites of my entire collection. I just don’t know how well that style of writing is translating to television. The episodes of Smallville that he wrote (starting in season 8) were obvious within a couple of minutes. The dialogue just doesn’t flow like two people talking to each other as opposed to a person reading word bubbles. That and the scene cuts in this episode were quite abrupt but that could be due to already feeling off kilter with the dialogue.
The episode started off nicely with the banter between Oliver and Thea and I literally laughed out loud when Oliver told her that he sometimes had trouble remembering who is his mother. I may be the oldest sibling but there is definitely another one of us that is the “mom” so I feel you Ollie. I have to ask though, surely I’m not the only one that thought of the T-Mobile commercials with the motorcycle chick? Because that is all I could see when Helena, oh I’m sorry, the “mystery shooter” showed up.
She even looks like Jessica DeGouw! Sadly, I think the T-Mobile chick might have done a better job as Huntress. Ms. DeGouw just was not all that I had hoped for in that role. For one, I’m wondering if she has ever filmed a fight sequence before. Ever. In her life. This week’s episode was a strong argument against that possibility. I am the last person that should be depended on for an informed opinion when it comes to on-screen fighting, but even my untrained self could tell that it was just bad. That and what was up with her voice? I guess she was trying to get that breathy/husky/Eartha Kitt quality that previous actresses have done, but she did not do it very well. More than anything though, I wish they’d decided to make her initial story arc longer than the two episodes because it felt really rushed. One minute Oliver was running after her motorcycle, the next they were going to dinner, then they were fighting, getting caught, crying and then kissing.
I wish they’d let that one slow burn for a little bit longer, let it develop more organically instead of forcing it. Of course we all know that Huntress/Helena is just a bump in the road that is Oliver and Laurel but still, they could have gotten quite a bit more mileage out of this one. I’m hoping that the second of the Huntress episodes is a bit better. Not to mention, I’m of course glad that they brought Huntress in because she has the potential to be a great character (she obviously needs some work in this incarnation) but perhaps they should have waited until they were further into the season so Oliver could have actually had a leg to stand on when he attempted to make the argument that there is a difference between he and Huntress? His “justice” resume is rather sparse as he’s new to the game. I don’t think he’s really in a position to be lecturing others on the subject just yet. If there had been any John Diggle in this episode (I’m still not over it) he’d surely taken Oliver to task over that one. I see him as a “wtf are you trying to pull?” voice of reason in Oliver’s life.
Speaking of Laurel, I think I just don’t like her when she’s the lawyer sent from the gods. This week? I actually found myself cheering her and Tommy on. They were actually cute and somewhat not annoying. Of course Oliver would tell Tommy he was okay with it. That’s like when I tell my sister “sure you can use my chapstick” when I’m really thinking “bitch if you take that chapstick and put it in your purse, I will cut you“. Even though Ollie was out and about with Helena, he’ll come back to Laurel. Only a matter of time. Which brings me to the best part of the episode! John Barrowman, oh how I adore thee.
His conversation with Moira was quite telling and completely vague all at the same time. Apparently he and Moira and Robert used to be thick as thieves (and possibly quite literally thieves) just like Tommy, Oliver, and Laurel are probably going to be here soon. Arrow seems to be quite fond of the foreshadowing and callback and I think this was a clear case of foreshadowing. I think we can all agree the highlight of this episode was when Tommy went to go complain to his dad about taking his money away.
Now I’m sure there are plenty of people who watch this show who have no idea who John Barrowman is outside of this role, I feel sorry for them, but I’m sure they exist. For the rest of us though, the man has one of the most recognizable voices in the world so that “rip the fencing mask off” reveal wasn’t quite as dramatic as they probably hoped. No, I was in full “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!” mode when I heard him start talking. Seriously though- WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? So perhaps Tommy Merlyn isn’t going to end up being “the” Merlyn? Perhaps Pappa Merlyn/Well Dressed Man is actually Merlyn? It isn’t hard to make the leap that Well Dressed Man is an experienced archer as well as fencer. Maybe he gave his son and his son’s best friend some lessons when they were younger? Oh yea, that could work.
Second best part of the episode? Walter comes back. Not only that but he came back because he missed his wife, not because his wife had a concussion after being shot at. I’m a big ol’ sap and got a little teary on that one. In just a few short episodes I’ve grown quite endeared to Moira and Walter, hope those crazy kids can work things out.
Just imagine that this is Moira and Walter together upon his return because there is no internet proof this happened. I’m apparently the only one who cares.
There was only a few shout outs to the comics universe in this episode. One being the name of Helena’s fiance, Staton. Joe Staton created the Huntress character. That and Helena wears a cross in this episode while the comic book character Huntress has a cross on her outfit. If there were more, I missed them but would love if someone else caught them to let me know!
The episode had some bright spots but as a whole, it was not that great. I’m hoping they are able to tighten up the writing for future episodes because it’s going to be a laborious sixteen remaining episodes if they don’t. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a new show, it is still trying to stretch its legs and see which way it wants to walk.
We’ll see more of that path next week with “Vengeance”, make sure you tune in and then come back here and we’ll talk it over. Until then Arrow fans!
We’ll go 3.5/5, with extra points from John Barrowman.
The holiday season is upon us friends. Gathering around a table full of food, sitting on couches listening to your father and brother scream at the refs in a football game because obviously that is going to help, watching your niece and nephew eat their weight in Christmas cookies, and spending that quality time with your grandmother as she tells you to never have children because they are such a bad idea.
Surprise, surprise. American Horror Story is killing it once again, and fans are screaming for more. Well, we’re all in luck. Only half way through their second season, and it has been confirmed that AHS will return for a third. So where will the series go from here, and who will return?
Emmy winner Jessica Lange is sure to return. In season one, she played the psycho neighbor who ultimately becomes the care taker of Satan’s spawn. Most recently, she has been a tormented nun and has turned in an Emmy worthy performance. I am sure fans are stricken with curiosity over what Murphy and Falchuk have planned for her in season three. What about other fan favorites such as Zachary Quinto?
When asked if he would return for season 3 in an interview with Collider, his answer was a bit more ambiguous.
[quote]I just read today that the show got picked up for a third installment, so that’s very exciting. I’m so glad it’s doing well. People are responding to it, and FX has been so supportive and innovative with the stuff that they’re doing, so it’s great to be a part of it. I haven’t had any conversations with Ryan [Murphy] about what he’s thinking for the third season, so I have no idea. I love my job and I love the people that I do it with, and I always want that to be the case. I know he has plans. If they involve me, I’m sure I’ll get a call, at some point. But, I don’t know anything about it. I’m just focused on getting through the rest of this season and moving on to the next phase of stuff that I have lined up.[/quote]
Quinto was given the opportunity to join season one because shooting for Star Trek got pushed back. With his growing popularity, what will take precedence if Murphy does make the call to bring him on board for season three? Only time will tell. Ultimately, we will all find out when the 13 episode third season begins next fall.
With a slew of interesting actors and constantly evolving plot points, I am sure things will work out just fine. I do not see the series growing stale any time soon. At this point, we can all just sit back and speculate where the anthology will go next. I would love to see something in the wild west or turn of the 19th century. There is a lot of folklore and mystery that could be involved with that particular timeframe. With the changing timeframes, and locations from season to season, AHS is becoming a far more demented variation of my personal favorite, The Twilight Zone.
About a year ago, news came out that I completely missed. If you missed it as well, let me catch you up. Syfy ordered a script from Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg that was about DC Universe superhero, Booster Gold. That was the extent of the news. Nothing much was heard more of the project (as far as the internet is telling me because again, I missed all of this at the time) but Berlanti and Kreisberg had gone on to head up Arrow on the CW, which has been quite successful so far.
Then summer rolls around and IGN meets up with Kreisberg at Comic-Con and they ask him about the progress on Booster Gold:
If I were to get nothing else out of that conversation, it would be that Andrew Kreisberg and I should be friends. His favorites are Green Arrow and Booster Gold? Ah, a man after my own heart. The more exciting news though was that Booster Gold is still a thing. The summer continues, moves into early fall and Arrow premieres to great ratings. It’s easy to see why people would either start wondering about Booster Gold’s future or just forget about it altogether.
Thankfully IGN caught back up with Kreisberg recently and posted their interview with him today. He discusses the upcoming episodes of Arrow with Helena Bertinelli, aka The Huntress mainly, but at the end they asked Kreisberg about Booster Gold.
I got a little waylaid by Arrow. Booster Gold is going in the next couple weeks before Christmas. We’ll see what happens from there. It’s such a different project even though they’re both DC Comics properties. Booster is much more candy and popcorn, being about time travel and changing the future and being a superhero who can fly. But they’re both super-fun projects. As a lifelong DC Comics fan, I am beyond blessed to be working on these projects with all these amazing characters.
I for one, am happy he mentioned that Arrow and Booster Gold are very different. As much as I like the “Dark Knight” angle that Arrow has taken, a similar path would not work for a character like Booster Gold. He’s much flashier and in the spotlight than Oliver Queen. Especially if they are starting the show with Booster Gold as a new superhero. Granted if they were to jump into his story line right now it’d be different as he has grown as a character, but he still would not be the “in the shadows with a bow and arrow” type that Arrow is.
They haven’t released any details of the show beyond these few blurbs, but one has to imagine that it would include Blue Beetle which will make me just giddy. The relationship between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle is one of my favorites in all of the DC Universe.
Of course no mention of Booster Gold would be complete without Skeets. Let’s all gather together and say a prayer that they make Skeets an actual robot that could have done security patrols around a museum unlike the incredibly lame earpiece AI that the Smallville interpretation of Booster Gold wore.
I think if you are a DC fan, you should be excited by this. Marvel has their big movies and everything but DC has ruled the TV realm in recent years. No matter what you think of Booster Gold (and sadly there are people who do not like him, even some here though they shall remain nameless for fear of Booster Gold fans revolting against them), you can’t deny that he has the possibility of bringing in new fans to DC Comics. More people reading and supporting the comics industry, no matter who they are reading, is always a good thing. Of course there is great potential for disaster as well, but perhaps we should all just let it come to fruition and then we can complain about how awful it is.
Now that I’m aware that this is even a thing, I’ll be waiting with bated breath for more news. Of course if we find any, we’ll share it with you so stay tuned!
Grizzly Bomb 