this is a post

A post where I post things. It's been since January since I last made a post of my own. So here's some of the things I've missed posting about or just have on my mind:

True Blood Season 5

• Yes, this is still a thing that I watch. 
• Yes, it's still as trashy and ridiculous and as not good as ever.
• Yes, I still kind of enjoy it for its trashy ridiculousness and cheesy badness.
• I think this season was better than season 4? Most of the seasons kind of run together for me at this point, but the main storyline with the Authority was pretty interesting and I even kind of liked the faerie stuff for once.
• I've come to the realization that Jason Stackhouse is the only character on this show that is always enjoyable and wonderful even if his storyline is horrible. Not that Jason's storyline was horrible this season (I can't even really tell you what his storyline was, tbh. Something about visions of his dead parents), but there are some characters who crumble under the weight of shitty writing (Tara and Sam come to mind). But not Jason. If he was just in every scene ever that would be fine with me. Seriously, gosh I love Jason.
• Speaking of Jason, the resolution of the Hoyt/Jessica/Jason storyline was the absolute best part of the season and one of the very few times I can remember True Blood ever making me cry! I've been really pissed at this show for what it did to Hoyt and Hoyt/Jessica, but the resolution was so beautiful and heartbreaking and if Hoyt/Jessica wasn't going to be endgame, than this is the perfect way to end it. Way to surprise me, True Blood!
• This is the most I think I've ever liked Sookie. Mostly because she didn't have a lot to do. Except get drunk and complain about her life. Which was kind of hilarious.
• Vampire!Tara was better than I expected, but Pam is starting to annoy me.
• THAT ENDING WAS SO RIDICULOUS WTF BEEL?! W T F.

The Legend of Korra

• Why do I do everything out of order all of the time?!
• I still haven't finished watching Avatar, but I watched this show because I was bored one Saturday morning.
• I liked it a lot! The animation style is gorgeous and the characters were really fun! Also, the action scenes were kind of incredible.
• I can't compare it to Avatar too much since I've only seen the 1st season of that show, but I liked how the characters in Korra are more grown-up. As such, the storylines seemed more sophisticated, especially with all of the politics revolving around the benders vs. non-benders.
• The look and feel of Republic City reminded me a lot of Fullmetal Alchemist.
• I have to say though, the finale was kind of disappointing. Hated how easily things got resolved for Korra.
• Bolin is definitely the best character.

 Game of Thrones Season 2

• Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
• I can't believe I didn't post about this season at all this year! Besides Breaking Bad, it was probably my favorite tv thing I experienced.
• I'm not going to say this season was better than season 1.  I think season 1 had the benefit of a more linear story to tell, so the episodes fit and ~flowed better than this season. But at the same time, I think season 2 was a lot more confident in its storytelling and was able to delve into the characters in more interesting ways.
• Season 2 definitely had more divergence from the book than season 1, but it was still quite faithful. There are a few changes here and there where I was wondering what they were thinking, but for the most part, I think they did a good job at the adaptation.
• And Clash of Kings is kind of a transition book anyways, so if some of the storylines were boring or didn't go anywhere, well...they were probably boring and didn't go anywhere in the book too (See: Daenerys Targaryen).
• Fucking hell, but I hated Theon so much in the book when I read it, but good lord, did they do a fantastic job on his storyline this season. You understood him so much more in the show and I genuinely felt badly for him on numerous occasions. Kudos to Alfie Allen and the writing for giving Theon so many more layers than I ever thought. Just thinking about his conversation with Maester Luwin in the last episode makes me want to cry.
• Speaking of Maester Luwin, his death and Ser Rodrik's probably affected me more than any death on the show thus far. Why are these minor characters making me love them so much?! I pretty much openly wept at Rodrik's execution (I'll never forget you Beard Burns!) and forlornly shouted 'noooooooooo' at the screen while Luwin was dying. Although maybe I was so affected because I can't handle seeing my little Bran-Flakes and Rickon-King upset (holy crap y'all, Rickon has lines! And that little actor is actually acting! And doing a really good job! Future King of Westeros!).
• All of the new actors were phenomenal. How amazing were Davos, Melisandre, and Stannis?! Every time Davos was onscreen, I think I screamed from joy.
• Every time Jorah has said 'Khaleesi' on the show.
• No lie, ever since the show was first announced, the thing I've most been looking forward to seeing onscreen is Jaime's storyline with Brienne from Book 3. And it's here! It's already here!!! And it's so perfect I could cry! In fact, I believe I did cry whilst watching the first scene they had together. He was being so mean to her!! It was so beautiful! :')
• LOOK AT ALL THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON 3 CASTING! The Reeds, you guys! THE MOTHERFUCKIN REEDS! And Blackfish!!!!!!!

Mad Men Season 5

• I'm gonna be honest, I don't really remember a lot of individual things about this season.
• I do remember being kind of disappointed by it though?
• Maybe disappointed isn't the right word. I think I might just be losing my interest in it a bit.
• Because most critics are calling this the Best. Season. Ever. And I don't see it? 
• It was very good, don't get me wrong. Still one of the best things on tv, but eh...I think I miss Betty too much. And there was just too much Megan!
• I miss not feeling guilty about loving Pete. 
• I was reading through some of my old Mad Men posts and I was struck by just how much joy Pete brought to me. Even when he was acting slimy, I still found everything about him so utterly enjoyable. 
• It was HARD being a Pete fan this year. I still love him, but man, I was pretty disappointed with all of his choices.
• I realize that this is a very specific issue that probably only I have.
• The best (and probably worst) thing to come out of this season of Mad Men:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXoILGnHnvM.
• Actually, years from now I'm pretty sure that's the only thing I'm going to remember about this season of Mad Men.

Downton Abbey

• Here's a preview for season 3
• Season 2 of Downton Abbey was.....ridiculous!
• Sometimes in a good way, often times in a bad way.
• Mary/Matthew was still wonderful though.

Breaking Bad Season 5.1

• Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
• 'Whee' is probably not the right reaction to this show, but ahh I can't help it, I love it so much!
• This was the first season of the show I got to watch 'live' and it was awesome yet painful having to wait weeks between episodes.
• I loved the first half of Season 5. Absolutely loved it.
• I do think it started off a bit slow. But I think that's par for the course with this show.
• I think those early episodes work though because they felt like they were all leading up to that moment where Todd shoots that poor kid. Everything seemed to fall apart after that happened.
• And what a moment that was! I was so preoccupied with the train heist (which was awesome, btw) that I had completely forgotten about the kid on the motorbike from the opening scene. And then...
• The last 3 episodes of the season were amazeballs. It was kind of similar to season 4 for me, where the first part of the season was good, but kind of slow, but as soon as we got to the last 5 or so episodes it became truly amazing.
• This season further cemented my hatred of Walter White. I've hated him for a while, but seeing him in full Heisenberg mode made me loathe him. He's still a fascinating character and I love watching him on the show, but I really know that I can never root for him again (even though I pretty much knew that since the end of season 2).
• And a lot of that had to do with him killing Mike. Who was a character I always really enjoyed. Mostly because he was always so grumpy! But I felt like we got a lot of good Mike stuff this season and I really liked the relationship he had been building up with Jesse since season 4. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen, but I was still shocked at the reactionary way Walt killed him. Mike did end up getting a great last line though.
• If there's one thing I do think this season was missing was more Jesse-focus. Of course I'm always going to want more Jesse since he's my favorite. But I feel like in every season we are right there in Jesse's head along with Walt's and this time, we didn't get that as much. Or maybe I didn't like the direction Jesse was going in - obediently following all of Walt's plans to further the business. I think that's why I really loved the last 3 episodes because we got a little more from Jesse and what he was going through. We saw the toll the murder of the little boy was taking on him, and his ultimate decision to quit the business made me so proud of him! All of his scenes with Walt in the last 3 episodes were brilliant (and occasionally hilarious like that scene with the Whites at dinner), especially their fight in "Say My Name". Jesse is the one character I most want to be happy at the end of this crazy mess, but his life has been just one big tragedy and I'm afraid it's going to end that way.
• I love the notion that Hank is really the hero of the show, so the last scene of the mid-season finale was awesome! I think I was expecting Hank to find out in a "bigger" way, but that's why it was so great. It was very unexpected. I can't wait to see what will come of it!
• To end I'll start at the beginning. With a Walt with hair celebrating his 52nd birthday and buying a gun to do, well, we don't know exactly! But I love this glimpse into the future and I love that Breaking Bad is still taking risks in its 5th season. 
• Basically I just really love this show!

Oops, it's already 2012

But let's talk about our favorite TV things of 2011, shall we? Not too much text in this one, just lists and some crappy photoshopping. All in no particular order:

5 Favorite TV shows of 2011:

1. Game of Thrones (Favorite episode: 1.09 "Baelor"*)
2. Doctor Who (favorite episode: 6.10 "The Girl Who Waited")
3. Breaking Bad (favorite episode: 4.13 "Face Off")
4. Parks & Recreation (favorite episode: 3.13 "The Fight")
5. Community (favorite episode: 3.04 "Remedial Chaos Theory")

*Favorite episodes are just those aired THIS year

5 Favorite TV Characters of 2011:

1. Britta Perry "Community"
2. Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad"
3. The Doctor "Doctor Who"
4. Rory Williams "Doctor Who"
5. Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire"

5 TV Boyfriends of 2011:

1. Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill (Doctor and Rory "Doctor Who") - yes, I cheated
2. Richard Madden (Robb Stark "Game of Thrones")
3. Donald Glover (Troy Barnes "Community")
4. Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire")
5. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad")

5 TV Girlfriends of 2011:

1. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen "Game of Thrones")
2. Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry "Community")
3. Karen Gillan (Amy Pond "Doctor Who")
4. Zooey Deschanel (Jess Day "New Girl")
5. Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope "Parks & Recreation")

5 Favorite TV ships of 2011:

1. Amy/Rory "Doctor Who"
2. Troy/Abed "Community"
3. Leslie/Ben "Parks & Recreation"
4. Jimmy/Richard "Boardwalk Empire"
5. Sam/Jon "Game of Thrones"

Yeah! Now it's Zozizzle and Good Grief's your turn! What were some of your favorite TV things of 2011?

Doctor Who Episode 6.5 (and other stuff): love you THIS big

Docwho 6.5_the rebel flesh by Ashitaka's Angels

Doctor Who! Game of Thrones! American Idol! These are the things you will hear about if you listen to this podcast. Yes, we are late to the discussion about the latest Who, "The Rebel Flesh". Yes, we ramble on & on about our Theon-issues ("Thissues" as I like to call them) in our GOT section. And yes, we had to cut out 20 minutes of singing just for our discussion of American Idol to make any sense. But hey, we're posting this podcast anyways. Aren't you lucky. Enjoy?

Game of Thrones Episode Reaction 1.5 "The Wolf and the Lion"

This was definitely my favorite episode of the season as of right now. I adored the first 2 episodes, but I'll admit that episodes 3 and 4 were slightly less enjoyable. They were still great episodes of television and I liked them a lot, but I thought the pacing was a bit off and that the exposition was a little clunky, like they couldn't figure out how to seamlessly fit in the history of the series into the show. Through no fault of the writers, those episodes also featured a lot of "set-up" beats from the story. Episode 5 however is really when things start to pick up. What I liked about this episode is that it balanced the exciting, action-y plot of the book with introspective character moments written just for the screen. And they did it all without Dany or Jon! Something I didn't even realize until the episode had long ended. And while I love those 2 storylines on the show (especially all the Jon and Sam stuff from last episode), I didn't actually miss them; so engaged was I in this episode.

Three scenes in particular come to mind in showing how great the show is doing at adding even more background not in the book. The most powerful of which being the scene between Robert and Cersei. This scene was so good I immediately claimed this episode was the Best! Ever! after it was over. Their conversation about Lyanna kind of blew my mind, and with just a few lines Cersei became more fleshed out and actually more sympathetic to me than she ever was in the book. Their relationship is so sad and they are both just so messed up, and you can see the threads unraveling before your eyes. So many things in the series hinge on the decisions of those 2 characters and this scene went leaps and bounds in telling us why they do what they do. And I have to point out that both of those actors are friggin amazing. I've been especially impressed with Mark Addy. He was FANTASTIC this episode.

I also love that we would never have gotten a scene like the one between Varys and Littlefinger in the book. That's why this show is such a godsend!  It's something I've always wanted but never knew I did. And I still hate Littlefinger, but Aidan Gillen is doing a fantastic job at being just ambiguous enough to not know whether to trust. And I will always love Varys and his mind games (in fact, I have a ridiculous soft spot for Varys that cannot be explained). And those two characters battling it out like that? Beautiful! Also? Filled with sexual tension! It was palpable in Varys' eyes.

The Loras/Renly scene was one I had heard about but was a little aprehensive as to how they were going to play it, but man, I LOVED that scene. It's another one we could only get in the show as Renly/Loras is really only ever hinted at in the books (and something I never picked up on until AFTER I finished reading and saw some people talking about it and went, "ooooooh").  So much good stuff coming out of their conversation. I'm not sure whether this scene was as affective to non-readers, but besides setting up their secret relationship, we got an introduction on the Tyrells and their power, information about the dynamic between the Baratheon brothers (Stannis mention!), and what kind of person Renly is as well as planting the seeds for his storyline in the second season. These characters become even more important later and this scene is there as a reminder. I also will not deny the eye-candy. No, I will not (besides that though, I'm really enjoying both of those actors in their roles. Loras is almost exactly how I imagined him).

As far as the rest of the episode goes, the action scenes were suitably tense and violent as all get out. Like, really violent. Does every neck need to be slashed in a way that a fountain of blood flies out in a 10 foot radius? And I really didn't need to see that horse get killed that way D: I was also just starting to fall in love with Jory again and now he's dead! And it's made even sadder when you think back to the conversation he had with Jaime in the last episode :(
I don't need to mention Jaime in every review I do, but I am still loving Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's performance so much. His face in the entire last scene of the episode was just !!!!!!! so much love (even while he's doing a bad, bad thing). But all of the actors on this show are doing really phenomenal work. In fact, this show is just kind of phenomenal.

Bullet points so I'll stop the rambling:

• Arya's repeated, exasperated "I'm a girl!" is fantastic.
• Continuing to absolutely LOVE the actor who plays the Hound. MOAR HOUND!
• Lancel makes me laugh every time he's onscreen. Stupid Lancel.
• UNNECESSARY THEON NAKEDNESS IS UNNECESSARY! No...no no no no.
• And are they overexplaining the Greyjoy thing? I know Theon becomes more important later, but we went 3 episodes where he was just the random guy who hung out with Robb, and now all of a sudden it's like Greyjoy history lesson every episode! Effin Greyjoys.
• Yeah, so, they totally didn't shy away from the total batshit craziness of Lysa and the Eyrie. The breastfeeding was always so disturbing to me in the books, but I didn't think they would actually SHOW IT in the show. But no, it was just...right there. (Catelyn's look of "oh shi-" during that whole scene was amazing).
• I did however, love the way they did the sky cells.
• I also have a strange soft spot for Bronn in the books. And I am loving him right now in the show.
• I laughed at first at the scene with Bran reciting the places with their sigils and words because I thought it was just another way for the show to slip in some lore and exposition. However, that scene ended up being quite sad and heartbreaking for young Bran. I just want to hug him! Cutest child actor ever!
• MOAR ROBB!

Shit it going to continue to go down more and more with each passing episode. I know what's going to happen, but I seriously can't wait :D

Game of Thrones 1.3 "Lord Snow" Recap: The Haiku Edition!

Yes, you read that right. For this recap of Game of Thrones, we're returning to that centuries-old poetic form: the haiku. Why, you ask? Maybe it's because we relish the simple challenge of whittling down our oftentimes flaily reactions to only 17 syllables. Maybe it's because we're ardently striving to become published haiku authors of great renown. Or, maybe it's because after live-blogging the episode on Sunday night, we read through the chat transcript, looked at each other (figuratively) and said:"Ooh. It's way too spoilery."

Lea and I have both  read Game of Thrones already, and during the live-blog, we couldn't help but delve into events that won't occur until much later. While we do engage in a lot of antics on the blog, writing major spoilers is not one of them. Thus, we decided a brief haiku recap for this character-heavy episode of Game of Thrones was the perfect solution. The results of our efforts are below. Please enjoy:

Jaime

Kingslayer, you are.

Evil? Or misunderstood?

Things you do for love.

The Mighty BeardBurns.

You Win or You Shave

Oh mighty BeardBurns!

Your beard and sideburns are one!

Starburns' ancestor.

The Not-So-Mighty Starburns.

Viserys: King of the punks

'Don't wake the dragon'?!

I laugh as you get neck-whipped.

No more horse for you!!!

Syrio Forel

Spritely sword fighter;

Arya's Mr. Miyagi;

wax-on, wax-off, you BAMF.

Ser Jorah Mormont

Knight to Khaleesi,

fluent in Dothraki; 

skilled in taking down fools.

L-R: Varys the Eunuch and Littlefinger; a.k.a Shadier and Shadiest

House Others

Deceiving people 

since gods-know-how-long;

Their motto: We're the Good Guys *wink*

A No-Brainer

HOW IS BABBY FORMED

HOW DANY GET PRAGNENT

Oh. Khal Drogo did it. 

[Images from: HBO; IMDB]

Totally flaily and incoherent review of Game of Thrones!!!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!! I really can't believe it's here. I feel like I've been waiting forever and now it's here!!!!!!!

A;LSDFJLASDGHLAKSDJ;LAFJ;LAKSDJF;LASKDJF;LASDFJA;SLDFJ

Ok, so...Ok, I got the first book about 4 years ago when I was a junior in college and while it took me about 2 years to get through all 4 of them (school is busy, yo, and those books are looooong), I completely fell in love. It was unlike any fantasy story I had ever read; gritty and dark and uncompromising and brilliant, and the characters! I could go on and on about how much I love (and hate) these characters.

I still can't believe that right after I finished the 4th book they announced that a pilot was going to be made. AND NOW THE SHOW IS HERE!

And I've only seen the first episode, but al;sdkjfals;djf I LOVED it! LOVED IT. I really don't know if I have anything to complain about. I know I'm going to be biased b/c a lot of my al;sdfj;lasdjf is based on the fact that i'm seeing these characters ~come to life for the first time, but i think the tv show did a really good job of staying faithful to the book while still explaining things for the n00bs. IDK i just thought the look of it was perfect and it moved at a good pace and I JUST REALLY LIKED IT.

Some more thoughts:

• THE FIRST SCENE IS SO CREEPY. SO CREEPY. I've seen it a few times b/c of the 15 minute preview a few weeks ago, but the white walkers still creep me out so much every time. IT WAS PERFECT.

• THE WAAAAAAAAAAALL. BEST THING EVER.

• THE STARK CHILDREN OMG. The first scene w/ them all together looking so happy made me so saaaad ;____; lol. I just absolutely loved how they introduced all of the Stark family throughout the episode. You got a good indication of their characters even w/out that many lines. I WAS JUST REALLY HAPPY WITH SANSA AND ARYA AND BRAN. lol I'm one of the few people in the world who ADORES Sansa with my whole being and I have since the beginning. And I liked the little bit we got with her b/c she IS supposed to be kind of annoying at the beginning. And Sophie Turner is absolutely gorgeous <3 And could they have gotten a cuter child to play Bran?!  OMG BRAN FLAKES :( I LOVE THAT LITTLE CHILD ACTOR. And Arya in her little helmet, ICANNOT.

• UNF JON. UNF ROBB. Thank you episode for giving us a shirtless scene. I know Robb won't have much to do for a while, but UNNNNFFFFFF LET ME STARE, THAT IS FINE. I thought Kit Harington as Jon was great in the scene with Benjen (BENJEN!!) and later w/ Tyrion outside the feast. I look forward to much more emo and brooding in the future :D

• The only scenes that I was kind of 'eh' about were the ones w/ the Dothraki, but I remember feeling the same way in the books. However, on rewatch I liked them a lot more. Emilia Clarke is lovely though even though she doesn't have much to do. The best part of the storyline was Viserys, who I still hate so much but Harry Lloyd is so awesome and amusing to watch lolol.

• I can't believe I went this long w/out mentioning JAIME! A;LSDFJ I feel kind of awkward admitting that Jaime is one of my favorite characters b/c he's just so horrible in the first book lol. But there is something kind of likable about him in the show, something i didn't even really feel whilst reading the first book (no, my Jaime love comes much later in the books). Besides the fact that he is HOT AS HELL, he's kind of charming as well. I STILL HATE ALL THE THINGS YOU CHOOSE TO DO THOUGH, JAIME.

• I was the most worried about Cersei b/c i wasn't sure Lena Headey was going to match up w/ my impressions of the character, but she was great! She's a bit more "reserved" than I imagined her in the books, but still just as bitchy. I loved how much subtle disdain she had while talking to Cat and Sansa at the feast.

• I love that we only got little glimpses of Tyrion but already he is awesome and i want more!

• I want to punch Joffrey in the face already.

• WHAT WERE THOSE CREDITS?! that was pretty damn awesome. and i already have the theme music in my head :D

• PUPPIES!!!! Needs more puppies! 

The problem for me now is that I WANT ALL THE EPISODES NOW!!!!! I feel like this is torture having to wait a week between episodes! And it's made almost worse b/c I KNOW what's going to happen, I'm just anticipating how they're going to do it. So overall, a great first episode of what I know will be an amazing series. I can't wait for many more to come!

Can you even handle your lives?

!!!

Winter Is Coming

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm on a posting spree!

Finish the book, Lea

This blog may or may not be about me. I think you should go there and check it out! :)

Very excite

Just thought I'd give you a little update on the A Game of Thrones pilot! Things are coming along very very nicely. Production is set to start this month and almost all of the major roles have been cast. Last time I posted about this project only Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean had been cast, but there's some really great people added since:

Jennifer Ehle as Catelyn
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime
Tamzin Merchant as Daenarys
Lena Headey as Cersei

You can see a complete cast list with pictures here. The kids playing Sansa, Arya, and Robb also look fantastic. Actually, I think everyone looks fantastic. I think the cast is shaping up to be better than I ever could have thought. I never imagined Lena Headey as Cersei, but now that she's been cast? It's perfect. And the more I see of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, the more I approve of him as Jaime. Which is extremely important of course, because he's my favorite character :)

I think if done right, this show is going to be HUGE. It fits the bill as HBO's next Rome, but has the potential to reach even more people than Rome ever did. It will attract people who love great drama and political intrigue, but it will also grab people who enjoy fantasy and sword fighting, etc. It technically hasn't been picked up to series yet (HBO has to see the pilot first), but I have faith, because so far it sounds like everyone involved is doing a really great job with it.

For all your up-to-date news about the television production, go to Winter is Coming.

I know I'm the only one who cares about this, but...

Sean Bean was cast as Ned Stark in the "Game of Thrones" pilot!

YES! I mentioned it once before on this blog, but I LOVE these books so much and am ecstatic that they're making it into a TV show. And Sean Bean?! As Ned?! Holy effin crap this is going to be amazing. Not to mention Tyrion is going to be played by Peter Dinklage! *squee* I'm so excited. I'm even excited about Mark Addy for Robert, because I loved him in A Knight's Tale and I think this is absolutely brilliant casting. The unknown who's playing Jon also looks fantastic!

OMG I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS SHOW EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASFJ;ADLSSALASL;DKFJDJKF!!!!!!!!!!1111