Category Archives: Film and TV Reviews
G is for… Ghost Whisperer / Game of Thrones #AtoZChallenge
G is for… Ghost Whisperer / Game of Thrones
I loved Ghost Whisperer (2005 − 2010 – yes another one that’s over).
This series was about Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who has the ability to speak to ghosts. The whispering aspect is not about her vocal tone when she does this (although if other people are around sometimes she has to) but about the fact that her task is normally to help them cross over. So she helps solve murders, speaks to relatives and is a counsellor to the undead. She also cries a lot, whether happy or sad.
Another series that it would be tricky to limit the episodes I love, and as I’m writing this post late, I am going to talk about one double episode that made me sad cry like Melinda (Actually I wept buckets and didn’t look very attractive).
The final two episodes of Season 1 – Free Fall and The One revolve around a plane crash in her home town. Melinda has a lot of bodies to cross over and an evil spirit to contend with and I was oblivious!! (Trying not to be spoilery).
This is one of those series that generally episodes are self contained so you can feel like you get a whole story even if you are dipping in mid-series. But like any long lasting series worth its salt, it also builds on the stories of our main characters and often has an overarching series storyline. So I’m basically saying – if you like supernatural things watch them all.
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Game of Thrones (2011 – current – yay) is an epic fantasy series based on the novels by George R. R. Martin (which are waiting on my Kindle to be read). I’ve just watched the first two episodes of season 3 tonight in fact (hence the lateness of this post).
Instead of talking episodes or scenes I’m going to talk about which characters I like best (to the extent that I often find myself wanting other scenes to be over, even though I’m enjoying them, so I can see these people).
Tyrion Lannister (The Imp) – seems to get the best lines and is one of the more likeable of this thread of the story – he slapped the evil Joffrey Baratheon for one thing (who is a nasty nasty piece of work).
Arya Stark – ends up doing a ‘Mulan’ to escape, cuts off her hair and pretends to be a boy. She is brave and cunning.
And my favourites throughout the whole of season one were Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo. I loved how their relationship developed (was a little surprised to find out she is 13 in the book!!). The nicknames they have for each other are very romantic – Dany is called ‘moon of my life’ and Drogo ‘my sun and stars’. At the moment I’m rooting for Khaleesi Dany and her dragons to rule.
Video of the development of their romance via YouTube
Are you Ghost Whisperer or Game of Thrones fans?
What would you most like to see happen to Joffrey?
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F is for… Firefly #AtoZChallenge
F is for… Firefly
Oh, what a surprise… another Joss Whedon show. Unless I’m mistaken this is the last in this list though – Mr Whedon – do you not like the middle or the end of the alphabet?
I have to admit to coming to Firefly late in the day – think it might have been less than 3 years ago even though it started in 2002 (actually must have been because I was able to follow some of the actors on Twitter straight after watching and I’ve not been on Twitter more than that amount of time).
That evil priest dude who poked Xander’s eye out in Buffy was suddenly nice!! (And then he turned into Castle and stayed nice – yay).
Nathan Fillion, as evil priest dude is otherwise known plays Mal – the Captain of a Space transport ship Serenity. His crew are Zoe and her husband/pilot Wash – Jayne (not a girl but a gun loving grump) and mechanic Kaylee (a girl). They are joined by ‘on-the-run’ brother and sister, medical officer Simon and River (who is a bit doolally). Also on board are courtesan Inara and preacher Shepherd.
The show had a western feel with train robberies and shindigs.
As this only got one season and a mere 14 episodes (rude – I’ve just read on imdb that Joss had intended it to run for seven seasons!!) (and I need to watch it again because I’ve only seen it once) – I am not going to single out any episodes but instead highlight some standout ‘bits’.
- The bit where Kaylee puts on a dress and gets to be a girl.
- The bit where a song gets sung about Jayne (lyrics in all their glory here)
- The bit where this is said about Jayne’s statue (linked to the song and copied from imdb)
Wash: [about Jayne’s statue] I think they really captured his essence.
Kaylee: He looks angry.
Wash: Yeah, that’s kinda what I mean.
- All the bits with Inara – she is a pretty complex character.
Finally though, someone saw sense and breathed a final hurrah back to the series by making it into a movie (I wish they would do that with every series they cut off mid story). I loved the big budget ‘Serenity’ and we finally get to properly see why River is on the run.
And a quick nod to Falling Skies
I’ve only seen season 1 so far so no season 2 spoilers please. Looks like a season 3 might be forthcoming too. I do like a bit of Noah Wyle.
How are we all doing with this blogging everyday lark?
I was very naughty today and didn’t start writing until 22.17!! Some days I’ve written and scheduled for the next day but have slacked the last few days. Think I’ll have to use my leave next week to make sure some are scheduled in advance because when I go back to work it will be harder.
Are you a Firefly/Serenity fan?
Which series would you like a movie of to wrap things up? Personally very happy that Veronica Mars is happening – not in this genre I know but still a good show cancelled too soon.
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E is for… Eureka #AtoZChallenge
E is for… Eureka
Known in the UK as A Town Called Eureka this started in 2006 and has five seasons (and I believe it has been cancelled now). I am currently still watching this show and am at the beginning of the fourth season (watched from the pilot though I originally saw the first two seasons years ago). Annoyingly my sky box seemed to glitch and I have missed one of the episodes which always frustrates me.
A brief outline of the show is that US Marshal Jack Carter comes to Eureka with his daughter Zoe to investigate a death. He ends up staying on and becoming Sheriff (obviously, there would be no show otherwise) and has to deal with all the sci-fi mishaps created by this town full of genius (and often mad) scientists.
Just a couple of stand out episodes today (I don’t think I’ve watched it enough times to pick out tons though I’ve enjoyed each one).
H.O.U.S.E Rules – Season 1 Episode 11
When Jack considers leaving his house S.A.R.A.H (thanks to imdb for telling me this stands for Self Activated Residential Automated Habitat) decides otherwise. Not letting you go Jack. This show definitely has a knack of warning us about an over-reliance on technology (*cough* should listen *cough*).
Phoenix Rising – Season 2 Episode 1
I like this because it has an Occupational Therapist mentioned in it. It’s a pity they get spontaneously human combusted before the credits though!
A picture from my tumblr blog of the little OT pile of ash
And a quick nod to Eerie Indiana
This only got one season between 1991 and 1992.
I strongly remember an episode where a set of twins were kept in Tupperware – this was actually the first episode called Foreverwhere. A lot of the episodes were equally as random, often fun but definitely eerie.
Are you a fan of either of these shows?
What potential scientific discovery would you like to see? What one scares you most?
kirstyes 