Archive for Fantasy TV Shows and Movies
Once Upon a Time Episode 11: The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
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Although there were some great little moments in this episode, one being when the genie that is actually Sidney becomes the genie in the mirror, the episode as a whole was kind of disappointing. In the end not a whole lot had changed, Emma is still powerless when it comes to Regina and it appears that Sidney is still working for the Wicked Queen.
I have to admit that for the first half of the show I thought we were finally able to see what turned the Queen into the bitch that she is, but then that wonderful little act of the lonely and forgotten second wife to the king turned out to be just that, an act. So Regina stays true to her character of being evil for evil’s sake, which isn’t half as interesting as giving her a reason to be evil. Perhaps the writers are stringing us along for that too.
The mysterious stranger may yet prove to be the writer of the book – it would make sense then that he can enter and leave the town at will. So far, there have been no flashbacks to give us hints to his origins in Fairytale land, so I am left thinking they must have made him a writer for some good reason. Does he write the rest of the book and release them from their spell?
The romance between Mary Margaret and David is heating up nicely – I would not have minded seeing more about that. But the picnic does suggest that David has finally decided to leave his wife that he still doesn’t seem all that madly in love with, for his own true love. Of course, if his wife was running pregnancy tests last week, they must be feeling amorous from time to time or she would have no reason to be doing the testing. So let’s hope that this prince has a bit of backbone and will do more than skulk around the woods setting up hidden, if at least romantic, picnics for the two lovebirds.
And once again our old friend Mr. Gold seems to be finding new ways to let Emma know that he holds more cards to this game then she cares to use. His advice for the two to leave the woods instead of making fools of themselves, his comments after the town hall meeting, all of his actions lately point to his being more than ready to do what he can to aid Emma in denouncing Regina. The question is, why?
Let’s hope that next week we get some movement on the main thrust of the story – to regain the memories of the cursed in the town. Henry and Emma seem further apart then ever and Emma’s erstwhile partner is of course not to be trusted. So Emma has her worked cut out for her still if she is to remain “the hope” of the town.
Best Fantasy Series: Dr. Who: The Tom Baker Years
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Back in the day, let’s just say after the coming of the hippies and before disco, I used to go to Science Fiction conventions with my friends. We would spend the weekends checking out the local writers and artists, bidding on fan art and listening at panels where all our favorite authors were. There was always a room in the back of the con for movies, usually running all night. If you didn’t have the money for a hotel room, you could even sleep in the back of the room. That was where I saw my first Dr. Who show.
Since it could take pages to explain the show, if you have never see it and need the full explanation feel free to read through the Dr. Who Wiki which is really a good resource. As the longest running science fiction show ever, it has a long and complicated history.
The show never had high production values and the stories could be kinda silly at times, but the sense of wonder and fun in them made them stand out from all the other shows. Basically the main character is an alien called a Time Lord who travels in a space ship that looks from the outside like a 1963 blue British police box. Because every so many years the main actor would move on, it was decided that the doctor could regenerate into a new body if something happened to his old one, thus explaining the new actor. Thus, many fans who love the show will discuss who their “favorite doctor” is. For me it will always be Tom Baker, because he was The Doctor when I first saw it.
For fun I decided to watch some of the old episodes that had Baker in them, and remembered just why I loved this show and Baker in particular so much. Baker brought such a sense of fun and almost deviltry to the character that you found yourself really paying attention to what he was up to. Seeing him race down old corridors scarf flying and hand holding that floppy old hat onto that mop of curls was like seeing an old friend. He may be a Time Lord, with cool little gadgets he seems to always pull out of his pocket at just the right time, but he is also a being who loves to have fun. In the middle of a pickle, that sly smile would show up and you would feel like he was letting you in on a joke he was playing on the bad guys. It never failed to charm me. It still does.
The early episodes with Baker had the irrepressible Elisabeth Sladden as his companion Sarah and they still had the bumbling Harry along for the ride. Poor Harry was forever pushing the wrong button or pulling the wrong lever! In Season 12, the first Baker episode I have access to, the Tardis finds itself on a ship holding the last survivors of the human race. They have been in a deep sleep for longer than they were supposed to be, and of course the Tardis is off course in both space and time and accidentally lands in the sleeper ship in time to rescue them. Baker is once again tripping through weird landscapes, scarf trailing behind and the ever-practical Sarah reminding him of his responsibilities. I love that you can actually watch these instantly these days from Amazon by getting the instant video version or order the CD to The Ark in Space to own it and re-watch any time you want. This really is the kind of series you tend to see again and again, often with friends.
Of course, one of the prime stories in the tales of Dr. Who is The Genesis of the Daleks, those evil giant salt shakers (okay maybe they just look like that to me!) that were the good doctor’s Prime Nemesis. The CD has some cool added bonuses for true fans like “The Dalek Tapes” which is a documentary on the creatures along with a special “Making of a Classic” which shows the development of this cornerstone storyline for the show. How can you miss when you take one of the classic villains in science fiction and decide to create a show that explains just who and what they are?
Sarah wasn’t the only companion you saw for the doctor when Baker was playing the main character. He had many other memorable companions for his adventures, including Lalla Ward’s portrayal of Romana and the rather controversial teenager Adric played by Matthew Waterhouse. These were at the end of Baker’s run and one of the better stories that actually gave us the transition from when Romana was at his side to the 
introduction of Adric was the trio of stories Full Circle, State of Decay and Warrior’s Gate that comprise what is usually known as the E-Space Trilogy. It all takes place in an alternate world, and the writers had a fine time playing with the fans knowledge of the legend of Dr. Who at this point. It is definitely one of my favorite ones, and a set of stories where Baker shines. And who can forget K-9, that amazing robot dog that steals your heart and many of the scenes!
There are, of course, dozens more I could talk about. Tom Baker is probably more well known in the US because his episodes were the ones first brought over by PBS from the BBC. But all the many versions of the good doctor are wonderful. Hmmm- I just may have to pull out my Pertwee and Davidson episodes to see if they are as good as I remember. Of the new batch, David Tennant has become my favorite and he is well worth watching again. Like Baker, he brings that sense of someone having fun with this character. You begin to feel that a Time Lord is just a big kid, playing in a sandbox called Earth.
The Secret Circle Episode 12 – Witness
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This week’s episode was quite the doozy with time travelling, secrets revealed and we now know why Ethan drinks so much. Turns out he has a guilty conscience and he should! Of course, it starts off because the ever so hunky Jake is back – and here to save Cassie’s life. We should all be so lucky! Could it be he just doesn’t like how cozy Cassie is getting with Adam?
Not surprising that Adam doesn’t believe a word Jake says. Jake claims he can help Cassie find out what happened that fateful night 16 years ago when all the parents got made into crispy critters. But if Cassie wants to find out just what went down, Jake is the one with the answers. So you know she is gonna follow him down and find out what it will take to go down into his memories of that day.
Of course, it doesn’t go that smoothly. After a bit of the old mumble – jumble Cassie and Jake are back walking on that very familiar boat. Boy – don’t they ever clean anything up in this town? It was 16 years ago and the boat looks pretty much the same, except cleaner without all the broken stuff, as the one Cassie and Jake walked on earlier. But here they are – cue the creepy music! And just as things are getting interesting, Jake can’t go on because he is getting a major headache every time he walks towards where it’s all happening. Poor Jake- but Cassie ain’t letting that stop her – and she witnesses Jake’s parents getting killed and most of all she sees Ethan on the boat, and with one of the hunters! Gosh – could this mean he has been lying all these years about not being on the boat that night? And we thought Ethan was just a harmless drunk.
So Cassie gets to watch Darth – oops I mean the old man get tied to a pole and setup to be burned at the stake/pole. Only- wait a minute! He seems to have hung onto a cool pendant that instead burns everyone else up. Cassie watches the whole thing – and knows that her Dad got out of this alive! What can this mean?
Meanwhile – Faye is determined to sweet talk Lee into helping her get her mojo back. Turns out the man deals some kind of drugs that does something like that. At least, according to the resident grease-ball who feels suspiciously like Teen Spirit Kobain in disguise. Callum is a class A creep, but Faye just sees him as one more pathway to magic – and in the end takes the “taste” from him. We just know this is bad news – the gal cannot handle her magic. Remember the last time?
And let’s not forget our gal Dawn who is finding new ways to create havoc. She tells Ethan that Charles tried to strangle her, because she knows he hates Charles. She tells him that Charles needs to have someone take that nasty crystal off his hands, that the power is making him do bad things. Sure enough, Ethan tricks Charles into coming down to the bar, and manages to steal the crystal from him – looking pretty nasty in the process when he decides to make Charles choke water. I love the look Dawn gives Ethan when he tells her she can’t have the crystal, that he is keeping it safe for now. Maybe there is more to Ethan than we thought!
Meanwhile, Cassie wants to be sure her Dad is really alive and somehow she and Jake end up in the graveyard that night, digging up the grave! The guy digs a hole in no time flat and doesn’t even look winded. Dude! But of course, they open the grave and instead of Dad, they find the remains of a dog. So – no one noticed it was a dog and not a man? This is one of those times where the show kinda leaves me befuddled. But it was a great little closing scene – with the doggie bones all lined up nicely in the coffin.
Let’s hope we find out more next week – like why Ethan lied and how he is gonna keep the crystal out of Dawn’s grubby little paws. And if Cassie now knows how they tried to kill her Dad – how does that help her? And now that she has found her Dad’s powerful pendant, what will she do with it? Can it help her to find him? Well, I don’t know if I have all the answers- but here is a sneak peek at next week’s episode-
Awesome! See you all here next week!
Once Upon a Time Episode 10 – 7:15am
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I loved that we finally got to truly see the story of the love affair between the Prince and Snow White. The movement between FairyLand and the town was much smoother this time; they seem to finally be getting those sequences done in a way that makes them much easier to follow.
This time around, we see things like Snow White and Red Riding Hood are friends and Miss Hood is not some little girl either. Just what did Snow do to help her out, though? Could it be that it wasn’t a local “huntsman” that rescued her from the Big Bad Wolf but Snow instead? They do have a way of tweaking the old fairy tales in this show that keeps you guessing.
The interplay between Snow and Mary Margaret – how they both want to find a way to just forget the man they love so it will stop hurting, was great this episode. First Snow goes to Rumpelstiltskin to find a remedy (how did Red know about him?) and then Mary Margaret walks around town wishing she could get over David. Plus the whole scene with David and his wife about trying to make it work was very believable. She just wants him back. Too bad that she isn’t the one he loves – although he doesn’t quite say that to her. Of course, you know that bad things are going to come from Mary Margaret and David doing the lip-lock in front of Regina.
But the best part was when Snow was in the prison and Grumpy starts talking to her. You just want to shout for joy, because you know that somehow he, and the rest of the crew, are going to be the ones responsible for her finding her true love again. The scene where they walk down the road and each of them looks like one of the Disney dwarfs was just too precious!
All in all I think this episode finally started moving everything forward again. The mysterious stranger turns out to be a writer; could he be someone with the last name of Grimm? Even so- he wouldn’t be a fairyland person then, so why can he come into town? I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Once Upon a Time Episode 9 – True North
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It was fun to have the storyline back in FairyTale land a bit more this week, and the Hansel and Gretel story was actually really well told. But then, this show seems to have the best handle on the FairyTale Land stuff, with the plain old real world, or as real as it gets here always seeming to take second fiddle.
But the story started out pretty good with the scene in the candy store, gave everyone a pretty good hint that the brother and sister must be Hansel and Gretel. Having Emma pick them up, and then find out that they are living alone since their Mother died was a great connection to her childhood as an orphan. I had actually forgotten about this ability of hers to tell when someone is lying. That should come in handy for a Sheriff, don’t you think?
Of course, being an orphan herself she doesn’t want them to be placed in foster homes – and wanted to find the father. We get another little glimpse of how Mr. Gold seems to be working both sides, when the camera reveals that the pawnshop ticket for the compass didn’t actually have the Dad’s name, he just knew who to send her to. Makes you kinda wonder just what Gold is up to.
The whole scene with Dad – how he didn’t know they were his kids and didn’t think he would make much of a Dad anyways was very true feeling. And since her ends up taking the kids in the end, we get to see him become a good guy, just like the woodcutter in FairyTale.
Speaking of which, back in FairyTale, our little Hansel and Gretel get the short end of the stick, even if their Dad did give them a compass to find their way back home again. No breadcrumbs for these two! Loved the way Gretel used the compass as a slingshot type weapon against the Bad Old Queen. Hats off to the show crew for the creation of the Gingerbread House for the Blind Witch (who was awesome). Just looking at that house made me hungry! No wonder Hansel couldn’t control himself and just had to eat something.
Back in town though, Emma and Henry seem to have plenty of time for those little heart to heart talks, like the one where she lies about his Dad to him. Says he was a hero, and then confesses to Mary that she lied. You know that one is gonna come back to bite her. But in the end, though she is supposed to take the two kids to Boston, somehow the car stalls on her and Michael (the Dad) comes to their rescue. Of course, he rescues more than just their car – he agrees to take the kids. Big tear jerker scene there, but it was a good one.
But who is the hot looking guy on the motorcycle that arrives in town at the end? He has to be a creature of FairyTale, or as Henry points out, he couldn’t get in. Could he be the Big Bad Wolf? What are your thoughts on which fairtytale person he is? Hmmmm….
The Secret Circle Episode 11 – Fire/Ice
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So is this an episode of The Secret Circle or Dance Time? It seems that there is a lot of dancing happenin in this episode, and I don’t mean just at the high school! But there is plenty of other fun things to watch as Cassie spends more time with her new BFF Diana doing fun stuff like setting your dress on fire. Well, okay that was accidental and I thought very real to decide to use this amazing power to do something as mundane as change the color of your dress. If that wasn’t a teenage girl moment, I don’t know what was!
Glad to see Jake wondering through this episode, heck I am happy to see him at any time filling up the screen. But he does seem to wonder past Cassie’s place at odd times, such as when Faye is breaking into Cassie’s to steal something so she can get that black magic boogie-woogie going. And he does appear in Cassie’s dreams, but then he appears in mine too, so what does that mean?
Poor Adam, meanwhile can’t seem to get even a bit of friendly affection from Cassie, even though he is more than willing to do stuff like head down to municipal hall to help her to get the dirt on her Dad. It is too spooky that the clubhouse is Dad’s old residence! I am sure Adam would rather be drinking beer with the boys! Especially since Cassie doesn’t even thank him by saying she will go to the dance with him. That is totally petty high school girl actions, Cassie!
And speaking of hunky guys, Lee seems to still be around and willing to hang with Fae and help her out. A fraud he may be, but he is our fraud, so I guess we will keep him! He does seem to know an awful lot that Faye needs to know, like knowing that the key to her regaining her mojo is through Cassie’s Book of Shadows. How does he know this stuff? And what is this need to unzip Faye’s dress to rub some weird necklace all over her to activate her magic? I gotta remember that one!
Meanwhile, back at the dance sparks are flying and Adam is putting the pout on and Ethan is even there – looking quite dashing for the town drunk I might add. I love the sweet emotional talk Cassie and Ethan have about her Dad, more chances to show off those hidden drunken emotions for Ethan!
Well of course all hell has to break loose once Faye has her way. Witches are writhing on the floor, Faye is feeling caught up in the moment and before you know it, giant icycles are dropping onto the dance floor! Man – things get crazy here really fast!
But in the end there is plenty of smooching as Adam finally gets his wish with Cassie. But of course, that can only last so long before Jake shows up. And how can Adam hope to compete with the sizzling hotness of Jake? Sigh.
George R.R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter Begins
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We’ve been faithful and we have waited, sometimes patiently. For those of us who have awaited the successive unfolding of each book, the news that George R.R. Martin has made the decision to give us all an early birthday present in the form of his latest installment for the Song of Ice and Fire series is beyond wonderful. We are ecstatic, we are in heaven with the new taste of the next book and we are happy that he can control it because it is available on his website, even as you are reading this now.
Yes, Martin can sometimes take quite some time between books, but heck he is one busy guy! Between books he is always on the go, working on the production of RPGs based on his worlds, putting together anthologies that win big awards and so much more. So it is no wonder that once you get hooked on a series the likes of Song of Ice and Fire, it is almost impossible to be patient for each new book to come out.
If you haven’t actually tried the series, you might want to check it out. It is already seen as a classic fantasy series, and with the television show that is based on the first book doing gangbusters, you just might want to read through the books as well. They are filled with amazing characters, wonderful magic and so much more. You can find out about each book in the series as well as be able to order them directly through this website (we thank you) by simply clicking on our Game of Thrones books link right here. Enjoy!
