What Separates the Real Fans from the Fakes

But whether they are cat or woman, one thing remains the same.

Let reading cats lie.

For more on Harry Potter, go to The Ultimate Torture

For more on Cats, go to Cat Lovers All Know This

For more book-filled posts, go to Six Degrees of Separation

I Don’t Care What You Think, She’s My Girl: A Trip to the Dentist, Veronica Mars (2005)

Most Romantic Moment #2

Romantic Moment #2

So we haven’t reached the point in my fangirl posts on which I am going to discuss my love of the TV show, Veronica Mars or else you would know how much I love this show.

So the moment I chose, and feel is the most romantic in the whole series, comes from the last episode in the first season. So if you haven’t watched the show and am planning to:

**Spoiler Alert**

So Veronica Mars used to be a popular student, part of the in-crowd, but that all changed when her boyfriend, Duncan Kane, dumped her;

and then his sister, and Veronica’s best friend, Lily Kane died.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

Everything further changed when her father, Sheriff Keith Mars started investigating the Kane family, and found himself not only ousted out of office but public enemy number one.

Instead of leaving the town of Neptune, CA; Keith to open a P.I. office, which is aided by Veronica. The mom had some issues with the changes (and her life threatened) and left, making it just Keith and Veronica.

Besides assisting her dad on his cases, and looking into who killed Lily, Veronica has her own bustling business at school; picking up various cases from students. Veonica is friends with the PCH biker gang, and a couple of the other “unpopular” kids; but her old friends in the 09er “in crowd” dislike her, particularly Logan Echolls (Lily’s boyfriend).

Ever since Lily’s death, Logan has been acting mean, cruel, and being a big ol’ bully.

However, at this point in the series, Veronica has been helping Logan look for his mom, as he believes that she didn’t commit suicide but faked her own death to flee her marriage. When they discover the truth that she really is dead and it was Logan’s sister who was using her credit cards, it sparked feelings between Logan & Veronica; along with bringing back the pre-grief stricken Logan.

Things come to a head when Logan saves her from gunpoint, them making out, and later dating. However, they’ve been keeping their dating a secret as Duncan has gone M.I.A., and they want to tell him first instead of him just finding out; along with not sure how to break it the two crowds each hang out in.

This could get ugly

Most Romantic Moment: My Status has Nothing on You

So this romantic moment comes in the middle of this particular episode, A Trip to the Dentist. Logan and Veronica have been dating secretly; and while Logan hasn’t been snarky or mean to Veronica, he still hasn’t done anything overt yet to show that he has changed and truly cares about her.

At least not yet

And he has done a few things for her; such as pick her car up from the shop, promising to stay out of any future Mexico drinking & cheerleading trips, and even planning a romantic boat ride. But Veronica is still not fully ready to trust him, especially since the last boy she was completely crazy about (not Deputy Leo but Troy) turned out to be a class A jerk.

So the romantic moment? Well I’m getting there. It comes when Logan and Veronica head back to Logan’s house, only to discover that Logan’s dad has decided to throw him a surprise birthday party…and invited the who school.

So Veronica is trying to figure out a way to explain why they are together, come up with some snappy remark but with everyone talking smack about her, it is kind of putting her off ideas.

But Logan does something that completely surprises her and everyone else in the room. He announces to the group that Veronica is his girlfriend and if anyone has a problem with it they can leave and no longer be his friend.

Logan Echolls: That’s kind of a general invitation. If you don’t like my girlfriend-then just start heading toward the rectangle with a knob.

This is a huge moment for Logan and Veronica. For Logan we’ve seen him from horrible jerk, bereaved, drifting, thorny, wounded-to brave, heroic, and back to the man he used to be. But even more so, we see that Logan has decided that the things he cared about before; popularity and status, aren’t nearly as important as the girl he loves.

For Veronica, it shows that Logan really cares for her, and isn’t playing her like her last boyfriend Troy, as he is willing to risk all for her.

Veronica + Logan Forever!

To start Romance is in the Air: Part IV from the beginning, go to I Can’t Pretend, I Have to Be: Casual Sex? (1988)

To Kill a Fangirl

AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How do you kill a fangirl? Well there are quite a few ways: Let’s see…1) Kill off their favorite characters/have them leave the series

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

2) Have the wrong people end up together.

3) Stop writing/take show off the air, especially if it ends without a finale

4)When the character changes, does things they never would do

5) When they start repeating the same things over and over

6) Season Finale/Last book that just ends, without tying everything up

I could go on, but that’s not what this post is really about. Instead it is one of my fandom posts, about the fandoms I am in.

So here we go!

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers

POWER RANGERS!!!! HECK YEAH!

Growing up the Power Rangers were awesome! Regular kids chosen to fight aliens and protect the earth, transforming into the Power Rangers and riding in robots called Zords.

My friends and I used to act out the adventures in the TV show, along with creating our own. My favorite was Kimberly, the pink ranger.

And I loved Tommy the Green Ranger/Gold Ranger. He first starts off as bad, recruited to destroy the Rangers, but then redeems himself. He ends up losing his powers, and the Green Ranger is gone, coming back as the extremely awesome Gold Ranger. Not only was Tommy the best fighter, with the coolest weapons (eventually becoming the leader) but he was also super hot. I had such a crush on him.

They made a movie, The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie, were they had to fight a creature so terrible, Ivan Ooze, he takes down Zordon. I just loved that movie so much as a kid. I used to watch it over and over again.

I had the whole film memorized and we used to act it out all the time. In fact I remember getting in trouble once with a parent for dismantling the brooms so that one of us could have the noise sticks that Dulcea uses.

I watched Power Rangers up until Power Rangers: Mystic Force. When Kimberly and Jason left and they brought in Cat, it went down hill for me. The other seasons were alright, but the only one that was any good being Dino Thunder because they brought Tommy back.

I heard they are doing a movie reuniting most of the original cast and I hope they do!

The Partridge Family

So if you just read these fandom posts, you probably think I am some immortal being a teen in the ’70s as well as the ’90s; from all these ’70s shows I used to watch. Nope, I’m not a time traveler or vampire, I loved TV LAND, yep I used to watch it back when they showed old TV shows.

This show stared Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge, widowed mother of five. When her kids want to try a record deal, she goes along and before you know it, they are a hit. They get a manager, a bus, and go touring all over the country.

This show also starred David Cassidy, Jones’ stepson, as the eldest child and heartthrob.

I used to watch it every day and knew all the songs by The Partridge Family by heart. In fact this show had such a huge impact on me, that when I saw David Cassidy was going to be in a new musical series, Ruby & The Rockits. It was horrible writing, but I suffered through for my childhood nostalgia.

 The Rocky Series

Aw Rocky. How I love you, and all your films. Well, except Creed as I have yet to see it. I started watching these films one 4th of July weekend when AMC had a marathon. I watched one, then another and another and another.

And I loved them. Sylvester Stallone did a great job with this series.

Rocky (1976)

So let my start by wishing this film a very happy anniversary as it will be turning 40 on November 21st.

So the film Rocky was Slyvester Stallone’s first film. He was struggling as an actor, homeless, only having $106, and had even sold his dog. When the company was interested he wouldn’t give the script up until they agreed to have him as the star. They declined, but when they couldn’t get the script, they finally agreed.

It was shot in 28 days and had an extremely little budget. Stars had to share rooms, they filmed the street scenes guerilla style and with no permits or extras. Most of the wardrobe was furnished by the actors, and ones purchased were wrong. The lack of money for extras, caused them to rewrite some scenes and make due.

But not only was it nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Sound, & Best Original Song; and won Best Picture, Best Director, & Best Film Editing: but it was the highest grossing film of the year. Not bad Stallone, not bad.

So Rocky is the story of Robert “Rocky” Balboa, a man who dreams of becoming a boxer star, going the distance, but has yet to get his chance. He works as an enforcer for a loan shark, but is too nice a guy to actually “enforce”. Everything changes when boxing star Apollo Creed decides that he wants to box an ordinary joe, giving a nobody the chance to be a somebody, and choosing Rocky. While Rocky works out for the chance of a lifetime, he dates his best friend’s sister, Adrian, becoming one of the sweetest couples in film history.

This story is not only amazing uplifting, as everyone can connect to a man trying to achieve his dreams, it has some truly poetic and realistic scenes. Besides the ice-skating with Adrian, and running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum (so great it gets parodied again and again), but the fact that Stallone choose to have Rocky loose the fight; showing his achievements in trying to be the true victory is truly poignant and fantastic.

This also had the incredible song, Gonna Fly Now written by Bill Conti as it’s theme. How can you not be inspired when listening to that?

Rocky II

After the first film, Apollo is angry at the way that Rocky held his own against him in the match. Apollo demands a rematch, as he wants to peove that he is the true champ, Rocky just a fluke. Meanwhile, since the fight Rocky has been boosted in popularity. He doesn’t want to fight Apollo again, but due to his goading and Rocky’s lack of money, he agrees. Can he truly go the distance? Can he be a contender?

Rocky III

This is the first of the film series to have a Survivor song in it, this one of course having the amazing Eye of the Tiger.

So it has been three years since Rocky II. Since then Rocky has had successful fights and an increase in wealth for him and his family. As they are unveiling a statue of him, he gets called out by Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. When Rocky questions Mickey, he discovers that Clubber Lang’s accusations were correct. His fights were handpicked to protect him. Rocky doesn’t want to fight Lang, but when he pushes Mickey and causes him to have a heart attack, dying, Rocky knows he has no other chance then to avenge Mickey’s death. He asks Apollo Creed to train him, and the two team up to get that “eye of the tiger” back.

Rocky IV

Ivan Drago (Dolph Lungren) is a 6’5 Russian Boxer brought to America to promote the U.S.S.R.’s superiority. They throw out a challenge that he can beat anyone, and Apollo agrees to an exhibition match. Apollo arrives with a huge show stopping number done by James Brown. Drago doesn’t take this match as “just an exhibition” and kills Creed. With his best friend dead, Rocky decides he must avenge his death, traveling to Russia to fight Drago there.

Rocky V

After the fight with Drago, Rocky decides to retire from boxing. He had some permanent damage from the fight, and to add to the bad news he lost all his money due to a bad accountant. Rocky turns to training boxers, taking in a young guy off the street, Tommy Gunn. He helps him, and as Gunn starts moving up the ranks he catches the eye of another manager and leaves Rocky behind. Rocky is upset at the betryal, but Adraian tells him that Gunn is not worth it, as he doesn’t have any real heart. Gunn decides the only way to prove his true mettle is to take down Rocky. He tries to get him to fight, but Rocky won’t. When Gunn takes a sock at Paulie, Rocky changes his mind and starts training to cut him down.

Rocky Balboa (Rocky VI)

The sixth film takes place 20 years after the fifth film. One of the reasons Stallone decided to make this film, was that many people were dissatisfied with the ending of Rocky V, as it didn’t have a true wrap up to the series. In this Rocky is a widower, with an Italian resturant. He is in deep grief over the death of Adrian and has a struggling relationship with his son who wishes to be not known as Rocky’s son or have any connection to boxing. He reunites with grown up “Little Marie” from Rocky (1976).  Meanwhile ESPN has done a Deadliest Warrior type show in which they analyze boxers from past, running the stats, victories, and teaming them up with present boxers. When Rocky wins against Mason “The Line” Dixon, Dixon gets enraged and Rocky decides to take up boxing again. This prompts the fight of fights as the two head off.

A lot of people didn’t like this film, but I thought it was a cute shout out to the fans. I loved the way they decided to conclude it. If Rocky had lost the fight, it would have been horrible as no one wants to see an older man get beat up. And if Rocky had won, it would have been unbelievable. Having a tie was not only a call back to the first film’s idea that victory was in trying to achieve your dreams, but also a way to appease all.

As I wrote before I have yet to watch Creed, but I will hit on that when I watch it.

Scooby-Doo

I LOVED SCOOBY-DOO

I used to watch Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The New Scooby-Doo Movies (in which Scooby-Doo meets the Harlarm Globetrotters, Cher, Sonny Bono, Batman, Robin, Josie & the Pussycats, etc.), The New Scooby-Doo, & What’s New Scooby-Doo.

My favorite of course was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. I used to watch the show all the time and had four birthday parties be Scooby-Doo themed. I had a huge collection of Scooby-Doo toys, from my own mystery machine and multiple Scooby-Doos; to a clock, clothes, books, and almost anything else you can think of.

I also was a fan of the Scooby-Doo films. I loved Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, etc.

I saw the two Scooby-Doo theatrical films and thought they were okay. The first had an alright storyline, but I didn’t like the thought of “real monsters” and felt they didn’t capture the heart of the show. Besides Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones and Sarah Michelle Geller as Daphne, I was sorely disappointed.

So let’s talk about the characters:

Fred Jones

Fred Jones was the leader of the teen group. He was always eager to get involved in a mystery and was a keen observer. His take charge attitude always made him be the one to figure out a plan to catch the cause of the crime, although Scooby or Shaggy’s antics would usually mess them up. He was the “straight man of the group” the one who complimented the crazy antics of Scooby and Shaggy, along with being the rock of the group.

Daphne Blake

Daphne Blake is often thought of as the beautiful socialite who was only interested in looks and getting kidnapped. That is not true! While Daphne tends to be the one that got captured, if anyone gets kidnapped, it didn’t happen in every episode. She was also ntelligent, proving her worth in solving the crimes, alongside Fred and Velma.

*Fun Fact*-The Mystery Machine was actually Daphne’s 16th Birthday present. Why Fred is the one driving, I don’t know.

Velma Dinkley

Velma is the brain of the group, being the researcher and the one to find the final clue that ties everything together. Unlike Daphne, she is a more comedic character; having puns and great sarcastic wit. She also was always losing her glasses, struggling to see; they usually found by whatever creature they are hunting or her searching for them causing that creature to trip over her.

Norville “Shaggy” Rogers

Now contrary to popular belief, Shaggy is not a drug addict. The creators of the show were trying to hit every group when they made the show; Fred the jock, Daphne the princess, Velma the brain, etc. As Shaggy can’t be the criminal, because they are solving crimes, they wanted him to be the type of new culture coming out that “surfer-“hey man”-hippieish-type-dude”. Shaggy is a sweet guy that is interested in food and music. He is a scaredy-cat, never wanting to get involved with monsters or criminals, but always there in the final stretch. He and Scooby played the comedic roles, always accidentally getting involved with something, accidentally bringing new evidence to light, or accidentally catching the criminals.

Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo was adopted by Shaggy and is “his” dog, but in reality Scooby doesn’t even consider himself a dog as he is so advanced. Scooby can talk, think, and loves to eat. He often steals somebody’s meal, typically Shaggy. Scooby is a total coward, but in the end will come through for his friends, as long as he is given a Scooby snack. He assists Shaggy with the comedy, helping them accidentally foil any plans made by the criminals. He and Shaggy are the only characters to appear in every TV show & film.

For more on Scooby-Doo, go to A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

For the previous post, go to Portrait of a Fangirl

And Stay tuned for part 19

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Objectify Me!

 

I was…er…um…what was I going to talk about again? This image of Jensen Ackles/Dean Winchester has caused that train of thought to go right out the door. I mean how can you think of anything else but his gorgeousness?

Mmm, mmm, mmm. It’s hard not to look upon him and objectify him. For those of you who are not Supernatural fans, this is Dean Winchester. Dean is the hot, caring, charming, older brother played by the hot, caring, charming, actor Jensen Ackles. Sorry, but as all of you know, a fangirl can never qualm the urge to objectify and adore one of her favorite characters. 😉

For more Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles, go to Hmm…Never Sure

For more Supernatural, go to Paging Dr. Sexy

For more on being a fangirl, go to Old Fandoms and New Fancies

Old Fandoms and New Fancies

Yes the fangirl posts are back with another installment of some of my favorite things. Hope you all enjoy!

The Brady Bunch

Ah, The Brady Bunch. I grew up watching this show all the time. It was cute, silly, cheesy, and all around good family fun.

The story is of a Mike Brady, an architect and widower, who has three sons; Greg, Peter, and Bobby. He meets Carol, a widow, who has three daughters around the ages of his sons; Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. The two get married, uniting the family, and the show follows them as the kids grow up, getting involved in the usual teenager story lines.

My favorite characters were Greg and Peter. They were just adorable.

I know that today a lot of people make fun of the kitsch in the show, along with the fact that they all get along waaay too fast. But it was really cute and fun.

Daredevil

I was first introduced to Daredevil through the ’90s Spider-man TV show I used to watch. In one of the episodes Peter Parker is working for Wilson Fisk, who unbeknownst to him is the crime lord the Kingpin. He is framed for the crime of selling government secrets, and finds himself being helped out by Matt Murdock, lawyer by day, the vigilante Daredevil by night. Eventually Spider-man and Daredevil work together to take down the Kingpin. From this episode I became interested in Daredevil and I wanted to see the Daredevil film and read the comics.

Now what makes Daredevil so exciting and different? He’s blind. Matthew Murdock was a young Irishman growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. He chose to save a blind man crossing the street from being hit by a car, and in turn was hit by radioactive substances (they fell off a moving truck) losing his sight. The radioactive materials gifted him with super powers.

“My hearing is so acute, that I can tell if someone is in a room with me just by hearing the heartbeat! And I never forget an odor once I smell it…Even my fingers have become incredibly sensitive! I can tell how many bullets are in a gun just by the weight of the barrel. While my sense of taste has become so developed that I can tell exactly how many grains of salt are on a piece of of pretzel…But my most important new ability is in the form of a built-in radar that I seem to have developed! It enables me to walk anywhere safely, without bumping into anything!” [Daredevil #1, April 1964, pg. 11-12]

After he graduates from high school, he goes to college to study law. There he meets Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, who becomes his best friend. At this point his dad, a boxer, is murdered for choosing to not fix a fight. Matt deals with his grief, and he and Foggy start their own practice, Foggy’s father bankrolling them. They hire a young, beautiful, blonde, Karen Page, to be their secretary. Now I enjoyed Foggy as he was funny. But Karen

She was always pitying Matt, and that became super annoying. “Oh he’s so handsome if only he wasn’t blind.” “He’s so smart, but oh too bad he’s blind Matt. Ugh.

Karen stop talking

Anyways, when the law doesn’t do enough, especially in the case with his father, he dons a bright yellow suit and goes by the name Daredevil, The Man Without Fear. He also has some cool weaponry. He has a cane that can break down into two pieces, sort of like nunchucks or bobby sticks.

Now they later updated his story, changing him to losing his father when he was a boy, and being trained by a blind man with similar abilities called “Stick.” He also gets a better, dark red costume, and cooler tools. His main villain also become the crime lord, the Kingpin, a villain shared by Spider-man, after all they both are in New York. Daredevil also became a darker superhero. Matt Murdock is the white knight, helper, and the one that stands up for justice. Daredevil is a creature of the night, giving those their sentence. Unlike other superheroes he goes the closest to crossing over the moral line. In order to balance the two, Daredevil relies heavily on his faith, as the morals taught by it are the only things that keep him truly from going over to the dark side.

Now in the 2003 Daredevil the film came out and I must admit that though I absolutely love Ben Affleck, the Daredevil film was not as good as it could have been.

BUT, it was not as horrible as people make it out to be either. I thought Ben Affleck was amazing as Matt Murdock, his costume was perfect, and I thought his cane with the hidden pieces was just amazing. However, Colin Farrell’s Bullseye sucked, the Kingpin just was missing something, and come on; Electra starting a fight with a blind man? Seriously? Come, on. This was also in the early 2000s, and studios hadn’t quite figured out how to make an awesome superhero film.

Now I heard things about the Daredevil TV show, but I don’t have Netflix so I was kind of I guess I’ll see it when it gets downloaded onto Youtube or something. However, last month I went to visit my friend, and she was like “hey you should totally watch Daredevil.”

 

So we started watching, then we had to see the next episode, and the next and…

We watched Daredevil half of it that night, and the rest the next day; throwing all other plans we had made out the window. And let me say it is one of the best shows ever! Everything is absolutely perfect. Starting with the opening credits:

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then there was Charlie Cox (hot guy from Stardust) being the perfect blend of white knight for justice and the hanging judge. He captured every essence of Daredevil, from his pursuit of justice, vengeenance, self-doubt, constant questioning, etc. Just perfect!

Foggy Nelson’s character was changed from the original comics so that he too grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, the son of a butcher. He too was perfect as he was hilarious, sweet, adorable, and just all around a great friend. (BTW he is played by the best friend in She’s All That. Yeah I noticed you right away.) Out of all the characters he’s the one that doesn’t treat Matt as if he’s handicapped, but as a regular person; but at the same time does as much as he can to help him with anything.

And Karen was very much improved. Here she is sensible, sweet, not annoying, and stopped pitying Matt all the time. She still had her moments, but they were very few.

But most of all Wilson Fisk was perfect. At first I was like I don’t know…he doesn’t seem commanding enough, but in each episode you peel back another layer and the white suited, Wilson Fisk, Kingpin, Crime Lord is revealed. I can’t wait until he actually starts wearing one!!!! While in the original comics, Vanessa doesn’t know anything about Fisk’s crime lord status and when she and their son figure it out, it causes a LOT of issues. At one point, his son tries to destroy him and take over. But I actually like how Vanessa knows everything, it’s very romantic.

This show is just all around perfect. And if Netflix comes out with season 2, I might just have to buy a membership.

For more on Daredevil, go to Pot o’ Gold: 17 Irish Heroes

Foreigner

I love music and I love the ’80s. One of my favorite bands from this time period that I totally fangirled over for a long time.

It’s an American/English band (as half the members are English while the other half is American). They have the most amazing beats and amazing songs. The guitar solos in this are just dreamy!

I used to listen to these songs over and over again, 🙂

Some of my absolute favorite songs are Cold As Ice, Double Vision, Feels Like the First Time, Hot Blooded, I Want to Know What Love is, Juke Box Hero, and Waiting for a Girl Like You. Great hits!

For more ’80s music, go to Rock You Like a Hurricane 

North & South

My friend came to visit me a few months back and she was all “you have to check out this show North & South. It is AMAZING!” I asked her if it was the one about the Civil War, but she told me no. It was about England, and starred the very hunky Richard Armitage.

I was like why not, and then we watched the show.

It was so awesome I couldn’t stop watching it.

At least this was a miniseries so the obsession wasn’t too much. And yes, obsession.

So the show takes place during the English Industrial revolution, the late 18th century. Reverend Richard Hale has decided to leave the church of England, as they were asking him to commit to things he didn’t want to follow. After he leaves the church, he is forced to leave his parish in the country South, and go somewhere else. With help of an old Oxford friend, Mr. Bell, gets him a place in Milton, located in the industrial North. He brings with him his wife, and daughter Margaret.

The Margaret and her mother don’t like the move, but put up with it as they have no other choice. Her father becomes a private tutor, with only one client, Mr. Thornton.

Mr. Thornton was born poor and worked his way up, now owning his own cotton mill and becoming one of the richest men in the area. He however, still has some insecurity around himself, and therefore not only wishes to support Mr. Hale, but increase his education. Mr. Thornton is undeniably sexy and broody. You know, just as I like them.

 He and Margaret get off on the wrong foot, as the first time she sees him, she finds him pummeling a man for smoking.

You see Mr. Thornton cares very much for his factory and his workers. He has the newest inventions, including a wheel to ensure that the cotton fluff that floats about doesn’t get in the workers and give them “cotton lung”, an incredibly deadly disease. This particular worker has been warned multiple times to stop smoking, as the slightest spark could ignite the place in flames.

So you can see how he would be very angry.

Now Margaret doesn’t like the North and doesn’t understand it. This is a point of contention between her and Mr. Thornton, Mr. Thornton’s mother, and his sister Fanny. They think she thinks she’s better than everyone, but in reality she just was raised differently. In fact she is constantly going out among the workers and doing charity work. The type of things she would do in the South as a vicar’s daughter. She ends up befriending Bess, a worker in Mr. Thornton’s mill, and suffering from cotton lung that she got at a different mill.

Unfortunately, just as Margaret and her family have come to the area, there is a lot of unrest. The workers want more money and are threatening to unionize. The thing I love about this show is that it had the views of both sides. You have the workers who need more money to get by and support their large families, but at the same time; you see that Mr. Thornton doesn’t have more money to give them. He may be wealthy, but his money is wrapped up in cotton prices and completely dependent on how well it does, and lack of storms in shipping. Plus he bought new, pricey, technology to help the workers and doesn’t have enough profits to pay everyone what they wish. It’s a complicated issue.

So as all this is happening, Mr. Thornton finds himself drawn to Margaret. She is intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful, beautiful, and doesn’t care about class systems. Margaret also finds herself falling for him, but hasn’t realized it yet.

Things with the workers grow to a head, where they start striking in front of the mill. Margaret, unaware of what is happening, heads over to the Thorntons to ask for a water bed for her sick mother, and gets caught in the mill during the strike. As Mr. Thornton approaches the mob to talk to them, they grow ugly and Margaret runs out to protect him. She ends up getting hit in the head with a rock. Mr. Thornton carries her to safety and decides that her actions are proof that she loves him too.

How romantic

After Margaret is well, Mr. Thornton asks her to marry him. She refuses as 1) she hasn’t realized she is in love with him, and 2) thinks he thinks he is better than her.

When she said no, ah it broke my heart.

Mr. Thornton is amazing!!! How could you refuse him?

Now I know there has been a big controversy over who is better, Mr. Darcy or Mr. Thornton. Well, I have to say Mr. Thornton.

Wait, hear me out. The reason why Mr. Thornton is more appealing than Mr. Darcy is that he has a fuller character. Pride & Prejudice is told by Elizabeth Bennet, so we only see what she sees. Mr. Darcy at first appears to be a jerk, as you can read more about in my post First Impressions, and then later as she gets to know him better, she falls for his strong moral character. But even though we see development of his character, we never see how he was as a child, we never see how he views that first meeting with Elizabeth, we never see his side of things as much as we do with Elizabeth. We do see it from time to time, but on a whole the story is told by Elizabeth. Now in North & South, the mini-series, as I have yet to read the book, he story is split equally between Margaret Hale and Mr. Thornton. We get a deeper understanding of who he is, his backstory, his impressions, etc. Therefore he feels more real. Besides that he has realistic flaws that make you love him more. He doesn’t always think things through which can cause him to get into trouble, he misunderstands things, he has his own opinions and thoughts and expresses them whether others like it or not, he has insecurities about himself, he has issues with his father and sister, etc. While Darcy seems so perfect, Mr Thornton is perfectly imperfect, and therefore extremely appealing.

So Elizabeth’s mother is getting sicker and sicker, so she writes to her brother in Spain to visit. Her brother was in the Navy and refused a horrible order on moral reasons. Their lawyer is trying to help him, but he had to leave the empire or else he would be imprisoned. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s friend Bess dies from her cotton lung, and Mr. Thornton stops seeing Mr. Hale for lessons. Elizabeth escapes the unhappiness by going to The Great Exhibition with her London relatives and friends. There she runs into Mr. Thornton, who is giving a talk on the new cotton mill technology. There they talk, and mend feelings a bit.

When Elizabeth returns home, her mother is doing extremely poorly. Her brother arrives in time to see her, but the whole house is under lockdown so no one finds out. Mr. Thornton comes to visit, but is refused entrance. He misunderstands what is going on and thinks that it is because of Elizabeth’s refusal of marriage.

Margaret’s brother has to leave soon, and she goes to the train station with him. Mr. Thornton sees them together and thinks that it is her lover.

Mr. Thornton starts concentrating more on his business as Margaret is a lost cause.

The strike deeply hurt him and he needs to do something to bring up improvements. Mr. Higgins, Bess’ father and the union movement leader, is given employment by Mr. Thornton. The two come up with an idea for a worker’s cafeteria where they can serve nutritious and cheap soup. But unfortunately, Mr. Thornton has to close up his shop.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, Mr. Hale dies and Elizabeth is going to go to London to stay with relatives. Mr. Thornton doesn’t want her to go, and in this scene we have the most poignant one ever. He would totally ask Margaret to marry him again but just needs a sign, any sign. He watches her walk away and keeps hoping that she will look back, showing that she doesn’t want to leave him, but loves him.

But she doesn’t look back until she is too far away.

After she has left, Mr. Higgins reveals that the man Margaret was with was actually her brother, giving Mr. Thornton the whole story. He decides to go after her, and first runs off to her place of birth to better understand who she is.

Meanwhile, Margaret is very unhappy having visited the South and knows she no longer belongs there, and finds herself unhappy in London as well. She misses the North, more than she cares to admit. Mr. Bell, her godfather, comes to visit and tells her is sick and dying. He decides to go to Argentina for the climate, and leaves her all his money.

Margaret returns to Milton, searching for Mr. Thornton as she plans to loan him all her money to start the mill up again. Mr. Thornton has just arrived from the South, and stares lovingly into Margaret. She tries to explain her ideas, but gets so flustered as Mr. Thornton once again tells her he loves her.

I love it.

The Nostalgia Critic

Nostalgia Critic has his own video series on Youtube. My friend Wade was the one to introduce me to him years ago, but I wasn’t interested. Last year however, I watched one episode and then burned through every single one.

So the Nostalgia Critic reviews movies and items from his childhood, ’80-’90s, although when he came back he started to review everything he likes from last week to childhood. He is perfectly creative and a ton of fun. I highly recommend checking him out.

For more on The Nostalgia Critic, go to Fanning All Over the Place

So that’s it for this installment. There will be plenty more next week.

For the previous post, go to Back to the Fandoms

Stay tuned for part 13

For more on F. Scott Fitzgerald, go to Any Way You Want It

For more favorite songs, go to All By Myself

Paging Dr. Sexy

So last week I was at a wedding, when I noticed this guy sitting on the side of the groom. He looked exactly like Dr. Sexy (except with a bit shorter hair)!

Now who is Dr. Sexy? Well he is a character from Supernatural. The episode from season five, and is called “Changing Channels”. In this episode Dean and Sam find themselves pulled into TV shows that parody CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, Three’s Company, Knight Rider, etc. The first show they find themselves pulled into was Dr. Sexy, M.D. A show that Dean is a major fan of.

But who was the guy I saw at the wedding? He turned out to be the boyfriend of the daughter of the groom, and a chef instead of a doctor. I tried to get a picture of him, but no luck.

But still, I was able to see Dr. Sexy!

For more on Supernatural, go to The Best Medicine

For more on Dean Winchester, go to I Before E, Especially After P

Please Excuse My Dear Fan Lady

Yep another Fangirl post, chock full of all the things I love. Be sure to check out a few of these as they are awesome and you are sure to enjoy them almost as much as me.

Eureka

Eureka is a show that is The Twilight Zone merged with Twin Peaks. Now I know most of you are probably scratching your heads at those references, but I will be talking about them later in a future post.

I remember when SciFi, or SyFy as it is now called, first brought this show on TV. I thought it was an interesting idea and happy that they set it in Northern California as people always forget that there is a lot more in California than just San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. I wasn’t into it, but my sister would watch it. It wasn’t until Amazon put it up on Prime that I started watching it and getting into the series.

So U.S. Marshal, Jack Carter, is bringing his daughter home to Los Angeles from who knows where she had run away to. It is late and raining and the two get lost, crashing the car. They walk into the nearby town of Eureka, Oregon (I don’t know why they didn’t just use Eureka, California). With their car messed up, they have to stay in the town a few days and discover that it isn’t any regular area. It is a town full of scientists, giving them a place where they can work and create in privacy. Nearby is the company Global Dynamics that employees most of the scientists, contracting to the military. While they are there, one of the townspeople are creating a time machine that causes a huge rift in time and almost destroys the town. Jack Carter is able to come up with a plan to help over come it, and due to his efforts is promoted from U.S. Marshal to Sheriff of Eureka.

What I like about Eureka is that the Sheriff is very smart but also very much a regular guy. This makes him extremely relatable and also allows him to solve the hard cases, with help, in that he has a different way of viewing things than anyone else. Each episode revolves around a crisis involving an invention, along with giving us clues to a mystery that runs the whole season. It is a very fun and good show and I highly recommend it to anyone into science and mysteries.

Make It or Break It

I started watching this show because I loved the film Stick It and had wished, too late, to be a gymnast. If I could go back in time I think I would try it, whether or not I would compete and try for the Olympics. Anyways, this show is about four girls trying to achieve the dream of Olympic gold, while at the same time dealing with family, friends, and regular teenage girl stuff.

First we have Kaylie Cruz (Josie Loren), who is rich as both her parents used to be famous and are rich. She is secretly dating fellow gymnast Carter, which has to be a secret as dating is not allowed in the gym or by her parents. Carter ends up sleeping with Kaylie’s best friend Lauren, as Kaylie wouldn’t sleep with him. Most of the first season is Carter trying to keep it a secret, Lauren trying to win him, and Kaylie being oblivious. When she finds out she is pissed, but eventually forgives Lauren. Kaylie goes on to win the National Chap and has a better chance at getting the gold. Afterwards, Kaylie feels a lot of pressure as everyone had expected Payson to win, and feel as if Kaylie didn’t deserve her title as Payson was out with a back injury. She constantly feels as if she has to defend herself and her talents. The gym brings on Austin Tucker (Zane Holtz), who I really liked, but Kaylie dislikes. Kaylie also becomes anorexic as the pressures from the gym, her father and mother, her parent’s divorce, and a need to be in control. Now a lot of people made fun of this as abcfamily was trying too hard or something, but I thought this was done very realistically and well in regarding what it is like to be anorexic and how other issues can compound into it. Austin sees what is going on and helps her come to terms with it and seek help. While Kaylie is recuperating, she starts singing and hanging out with Damon. She eventually is ready for worlds, bringing in the gold. The third season sees Kaylie on the team in London, getting ready for the gold and Austin’s girlfriend.

Payson Keeler (Ayla Kell) is from a middle class family that is always struggling to get the money to support their daughter’s dream. Payson is extremely focused on her goals, being the best of all the girls on the team. In the first season Lauren‘s father blackmails their coach, getting rid of him. Sasha Belov is brought in, and Payson is ecstatic as he is one of her idols. When they hear of a party in the area, Payson does not want to go, but ends up coming too as she wants to make sure the other girls stay out of trouble. She has some back problems, but conceals it from everyone. She ends up damaging herself and loses her chance at worlds and messes up her back completely. In the second season she starts a relationship with Nicky Russo, played by Cody Longo. This didn’t go far as he ended up leaving the series. I was sad about this as I LOVED him. I was also sad as every guy Payson started to get with, ended up disappearing shortly after they proclaimed their feelings. Payson was the best as she worked through her trauma and disappointment to try other things, and was brave enough to try an experimental project, restoring her. When she comes back, her body isn’t exactly the same and she finds herself not being able to do the same things, changing to be one on grace. She gets involved with Max, Austin’s friend, and they start dating, but then he left to be the lead guy on Revenge. She goes on making it to London, and meeting a guy there.

Lauren Tanner (Cassie Scerbo) is the rich, spoiled, princess as she is the apple of her dad’s eye and used to getting anything she wants. She wants Carter, and his constant denying her for Kaylie makes her incredibly angry and want him more. Kaylie finds out and is angry, but the two work through their issues and become friends again. A new guy, Max, comes into the gym and is into Payson, but Lauren wants him and bad. She constantly tries to seduce him, not always getting the responses she desires. On one of their dates she gets in a car accident, she’s okay but Max is out of the competition. She eventually focuses on her gymnastics and sees herself setting off for London.

Emily Kmetko (Chelsea Hobbes) is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She has a single mother who does nails, and later works as a waitress at a strip club to make ends meet. She also has a younger brother in a wheelchair. She has been trying for years to get into a gym, and eventually scores a scholarship. She faces the most issues out of the girls as she has money she is trying to earn to stay afloat, trying to take care of her brother, and trying to befriend girls who have been friends for years and hate her. Eventually, they all become friends, but it takes quite a while. She meets this guy, Razor at work and kind of likes him; but when he goes out of town, his best friend Damon fills in for him. Damon was the best character, and when the series got weird and too silly, he was the anchor I loved, the reason I watched.

Yep, he was awesome. He was always there for her, he helped her practice, he got her family to Nationals, he brought Radiohead, when she wanted to wait to have sex he was all for it, when she decided she wanted to be with him and ended up pregnant (the actress was pregnant in real life) he went after to her to help raise the baby. He was awesome and hot…and I love him. 🙂

Michael Crichton

For me the love of this author began with one book Jurassic Park. You see I have always loved the series, it is one of my all-time favorites, (and you can read a review here). After one of my constant viewings, my mother mentioned it was based on the novel. I decided to start reading his book, buying every one I would find in a book sale. I still have one to go, The Andromeda Strain, but besides that I have read everything he has ever written. I love all his writings as the characters are great, the plot always suspenseful, and I love the melding of science-fiction and technology with horror, history, etc. Almost every book has been turned into a film, but sadly I have yet to view how they all were done. Each one is amazing and I recommend them all.

Jurassic Park- In this book, a genetic company has decided to try to bring back dinosaurs. By using frog DNA to fill in the gaps, they have created new versions of the creatures. John Hammond, the head of the company, has asked a group of people to visit and review his island. Ready to review is paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant; paleobotanist, Dr. Ellie Slatter; Ian Malcolm; and Hammond’s two grandchildren. Of course, “life can find a way”, and these creatures do what they want to; causing havoc on the island. This has quite a few differences then the film, with the dinosaurs escaping the island; a pterodactyl fight, more deaths of the group, and no relationship between Dr. Grant and Dr. Slatter. However, I think both are done very well and could watch the movie or read the book again and again.

The Lost World- Now when I first watched the movie, I thought it was okay and denoted it as my least fav in the series. However, after I read the book,  I had to agree that the movie was better. This book was okay, it moves much slower than the original and doesn’t have as many lovable characters. In this book, Hammond reveals that there is a second island of creatures that survived from the previous book. He sends in Malcolm with a crew of people, and two stowaway kids. This isn’t a horrible book, but just pales in comparison to the original.

Timeline- This is one of my mother’s absolute favorite books, and she would constantly talk about how great it was. I decided that this would be the next book that I would read of Crichton, and it was AMAZING! I love this book so much. We have group of graduate students and archeologists, all working in Medieval history. One is focused on architecture, one on technology, one on fighting, etc. They find an amazing discovery, and are immediately swept off to a secret organization that has produced a technology allowing traveling through time, right back to medieval times. The group goes to find a friend sent before, and find that living history is fun, but also incredibly dangerous. The film was also really good, starring Paul Walker and Gerard Butler, the only thing I disliked about it was that in the book each person encountered what they were studying, helping them further their research. In the movie they cut that out, sadly.

Airframe- Just an ordinary day and an ordinary flight from Hong Kong to Denver. That all changes when it crashes with a hundred injured and three killed. What happened to the flight? It’s up to investigators to discover who was at fault; the plane, the airport, or the pilot?

A Case of Need- This was Crichton’s first novel and utilizes his medical training. The book is set in a Boston Medical Center, where a patient receiving surgery is killed. Is it just an accident or murder?

Congo- Deep in the Congo, near the ancient city of Zinj, eight American geologists are brutally and mysteriously murdered. Karen Ross, the project supervisor back in America, watches video feed of the massacre. In San Francisco, primatologist Peter Elliot has been able to teach a gorilla named Amy over 600 signs, finger painting, etc. Lately, Amy has been acting strangely and painting horrible things, that Peter thinks maybe it is time to take her home. A map from the 17th century supposedly leading to Zinj matches up with Amy’s finger paintings exactly. When all three parties intersect, a strange expedition sets out to discover what holds Zinj. This was made into a less than stellar film, of which I will review in Horrorfest IV.

Disclosure- This is an interesting book, although it doesn’t seem like it in the beginning. Thomas Sander has had a bad day. He is passed over for a promotion by an old flame, and his new tech is having some glitches. When his boss asks him over for drinks, she immediately comes on to him. He refuses, and leaves. The next day she is charging him with sexual harassment and Sanders is fired. Luckily for Sanders, he accidentally recorded what happened and tries to turn the case around and sue his boss. But Sanders start wondering, why would his boss do that? Was she so upset that he turned her down? Or is there more to this case then meets the eye?

Eaters of the Dead- This is a retelling of Beowulf told from the point of an Arab courtier, who finds himself unwilling dragged along a quest to destroy the monster, Grendal. This too was turned into a film I have yet to watch, but starring Antonio Banderas.

Five Patients- This is a non-fiction volume that tells of Crichton’s experiences as an intern at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

The Great Train Robbery- This is another novel that I love. Based on the historical event, Crichton once again is able to meld the account with amazing characters. In this, the charming and persuasive Edward Pierce easily moves through society in Victorian London, all the while plotting the crime of the century…The Great Train Robbery.

Prey- This one of my all-time favorite books. The way Crichton writes it, it is so haunting and amazing. I don’t want to give too much away as you REALLY should read it.

Jack Forman lost his job and took on being the one taking care of his daughter and the home. His wife works at Xymos Corporation and has been acting weird. Other things start to seem strange, but Jack thinks it is nothing but his imagination. When his wife hires him on, he discovers that the mirco-bots that Xymos produces are not as benign as he was told. In fact, there is much more horrifying things happening than Forman could ever imagine.

Rising Sun-During the grand opening celebration of the new American headquarters of a Japanese company, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found. The investigation begins, and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue and a violent business battle that takes no prisoners. This two was turned into a film I have yet to view.

Sphere- This book always makes me think of the film Forbidden Planet. In this a spaceship on the floor of the ocean is discovered. Scientists prepare an expedition and head down to the ship, discovering a ship over 300 years old and holding a power much stronger than any could imagine. This power gives them increased abilities and paranoia. One scientists starts using his power to attack the ship and people, but which one? I really, really loved the book and couldn’t stop reading it the first time I had it. They turned this also into a film, of which I have had problems getting my hands on it. When I do see it, you can bet it will be a part of a future Horrorfest.

State of Fear- In this book Crichton spins a tale of political conspiracy. As eco-terrorists and global warming are the biggest issues ands causing all kinds of destruction, one investigator starts wondering if whether this is just a smokescreen for something far more sinister.

The Terminal Man- Harry Benson suffers from horrible seizures that cause violent outbursts. He is experimented on and has electrodes placed deep in his brain’s pleasure centers, effectively short-circuiting Harry’s seizures with pulses of bliss. The surgery is successful, but while Benson is in recovery, he escapes and his violent impulses have grown; leaving a horror in his wake.

Travels- An account of Michael Crichton’s travels abroad and all over the world.

Next- This is his last complete novel and is an amazing story. In a world where we focus on our genes, what diseases we might carry, taking apart our genome; Crichton speaks on how such technology can get out of hand. A man going in for tests ends up having his blood and genes patented and in a sense sells his children into slavery of a company. A man who wins custody from his wife on the basis of her high possibility of becoming afflicted with deadly diseases; and an ape human born of gene splicing.

Pirate Latitudes- This was Crichton’s last book, but was unfinished. It was a “complete” manuscript, but was missing the special Crichton charm that each story has. Jamaica in 1665 is the home of people willing to go after gold and riches of the Spanish and Portuguese. If caught they are pirates, if they make it out with the wealth then England gets a cut and everyone is happy. Captain Edward Hunter is one such type and decides to go after the dangerous island of El Trinidad. A crazy scheme that will have enormous bounty if it succeeds, or incredible death if it fails; leads Captain Hunter and his team on a a swashbuckling adventure.

For more on Michael Crichton, go to Just Follow the Screams: The Lost World (1997)

The Mentalist

So I started watching this show on accident. The episode “Red Handed” came on after something else I was watching. In the episode “Red Handed” the CBI (California Bureau of Investigations) team discovers a right hand straddling the California and Nevada state lines. After measuring it, they discover that it is inside the California boundary, and therefore the CBI’s responsibility. After that I was hooked. I caught up on the previous episodes and became a big fan.

So the series is about Patrick Jane, played by the incredibly handsome Simon Baker, who is a “psychic” consultant to the CBI.

Patrick Jane has such style. He only drinks tea, he has an Aston Martin, and always dresses amazingly sharp. Anyways, Patrick Jane isn’t really a psychic. He is extremely intelligent and observant, a sort of kind, sweet, and charming Sherlock Holmes. He never went to school, but was raised by his swindler father who touted him a psychic in his carnival show. He married a woman from a similar background and the tweo had a daughter, Charlotte. He went on to make millions off his “psychic ability”. It gained the attention of Red John, a serial killer, who murders his wife and child. This brings Jane to consulting with CBI as he does it from his guilt and in order to get a view of the official files. Red John becomes Jane’s Moriarity as in each season Jane continuously searches for him.

The team is lead by Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), who is a no-nonsense cop. She is the perfect foil for Jane as Lisbon is tough and serious; while Jane is comedic and more fanciful. They have a platonic relationship, but like Bones and other cop shows there is something simmering under the surface.

Then we have Kimball Cho, who second to Jane is my favorite character. Cho is always reserved and speaks in a monotone.

But he is very intense as well. He is honest, straightfoward, observant, and altogeether awesome. We later find out that there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. He used to be a baseball player, gang member, and Special Forces.

Then we have Wayne Rigsby who is absolutely adorable, sweet, and charming. He was raised by a dad in motorcycle gangs and coming in and out of prison. He’s more relaxed than Cho, but more serious than Jane. He is also in love with fellow team member Grace Van Pelt. Grace Van Pelt is tough, but sweeter than Lisbon. She has a famous father, and tries to live up to his name. She is always focused on the job, but Rigsby constant infatuation starts her thinking of maybe more with him.

I used to watch this every Thursday without fail, but school got in the way and I am way behind in desperate need of catching up. The show just ended this last February, which saddens me as it was an awesome piece of TV.

Midsomer Murders

So I love the library.

When I was in college I would spend hours in the library; working, reading, watching movies or TV shows. The library had a great selection of movies and TV shows that I really utilized. But that library wasn’t enough for me. I also went to the city library for books and films. Every time I went there I would see the DVDs for the show Midsomer Murders and wanted to check them out, but never felt I had the time. This summer as I would write my blog posts on my computer, I would also watch movies and TV shows on my phone. Or at least try to as I had a little screen. One day Midsomer Murders popped up in related videos and I was estatic watching them. Now youtube doesn’t have every episode and I watched them out of order, but I really, really enjoyed the show. When I got another free month on Netflix I started rewatching the episodes and loved it all over again!

This series is based off a book series and set in England. How their Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) teams works is that they have a county in which they travel all over investigating, sort of like the Sheriff’s department. Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is head of the Midsomer unit and is extremely intelligent and excellent at his job. Unfortunately for his wife, a murder tends to occur whenever she wants to do something, causing Barnaby to miss it. He also has a daughter,  Gillie, who is in college and studying to be an actress. He starts out with his assistant being Sgt. Gavin Troy, who I didn’t like as he wasn’t that bright, and same for his second assistant Sgt. Dan Scott. I really liked his third assistant Ben Jones, because he was very smart and actually helped solve the mysteries. The series is ongoing, but I don’t really like the newer episodes as Tom Barnaby retired and his nephew, John Barnaby, took over. He was good, but Tom was way better. Tom had a way of gathering information that made you not realize how intelligent he was until the end when he is the only one who has put the whole picture together. The mysteries were amazing, and often times really puzzling. The only thing that I kept questioning was, how do these small country towns survive with so many deaths? I highly recommend this for any mystery fan.

Murder She Wrote

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show. I grew up watching it and wish they had still played it on TV as I got older as I truly love this show.

Angela Lansbury plays J.B. Fletcher, former high school teacher and now famous mystery author. Every episode Jessica (the J in J.B.) will be minding her own business working on something or visiting a friend and get caught up in a mystery. Usually she can either get someone to share info with her, or is able to have some kind of insight that solves the case. If you love mysteries, then this is a show for you!

For more Murder She Wrote, go to At the End of the Rainbow: 17 More Irish Heros

For the previous fangirl post, go to A FANtastic Voyage

Stay tuned for part 11