Doctor Who Series 8 Finale

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the Doctor Who Series 8 finale, as well as spoilers from Steven Moffat and possible fan theories. You’ve been warned.

Doctor Who "Death in Heaven" Promo. (Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez, Jenna Coleman. BBC)

The finale of Season 8 left many open-ended questions and was quite heart breaking.

First, Danny’s (Samuel Anderson) death from the last episode continued to be painful. Especially as he was had to confront Clara as a Cyberman and later decide whether to save the boy he killed or go back to Clara (Jenna Coleman). The death of Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) was, to me, even more devastating than Danny. Osgood’s character was one of the only things I liked about the 50^th Anniversary special. I had convinced myself that she was going to be the next companion to travel with the Doctor and I was so excited to get to know her better. But that will never be.

Now, we are going to be getting into the more spoiler-y topics so turn back if you haven’t seen the last episode.

I think my favorite part of this episode was Missy and the Doctor’s relationship and dynamic. Of course, any Doctor and Master episode I love. I was a little nervous because I had loved the relationship between John Simm’s Master and David Tennant’s Doctor.  But I thought Michelle Gomez did fabulously as the first Master Time-Lady and her banter and craziness with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor was funny and witty and generally amazing. I’ve always loved the Master (not as a person because s/he’s terrible, but as a character) and Gomez’s version was so clever and intriguing. I hope she comes back in the future before the Master has another regeneration.

On that note, while the episode left Missy’s survival open ended after being shot by a Cyberman (which I’ll talk more about later) Moffat has since confirmed that Master does live on, although he hasn’t said if Gomez will reprise in the role. I hope she does. I loved her in these two episodes and I thought her Master foiled Capaldi's Doctor perfectly. 

Missy and the Doctor in "Dark Water" Promo. BBC

Now, let’s talk about that cyberman now, that is almost certainly the Brigadier, Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, from Classic Who.  The Brigadier is one of my favorite Classic Who characters and one of the most beloved in the fandom. It was kind of great but kind of worrying that he may be alive but in Cyberman form. I loved that he saved Kate Steward, his daughter, when she went out of the plane. I wish him catching her would have been showed in the episode. I also loved that the Doctor saluted him. As the Doctor said earlier in the episode, he wouldn’t salute anyone but the Brigadier. But it is little worrying to me if he is in Cyberman form . As we have seen through Danny and other episodes of Doctor Who like “Nightmare in Silver” for a human to be alive and conscious inside of a Cyberman is painful and torturous. I would hate to think the Brigadier would be suffering through that. His fate was also left open ended, but I highly doubt the Cyberman Brigadier will return.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is the ending for Clara and the Doctor. It was so hard to see them both lie to one another, thinking they were helping the other. To recap, Clara told the Doctor that Danny was back so he wouldn’t worry about her on her own. The Doctor told Clara he had found Gallifrey so that she wouldn’t worry about him and could just be happy with Danny. Neither of which were true. Their hug at the end was heartbreaking and very revealing about both of them. The Doctor saying “never trust a hug. It’s just a way to hide your face” was so true for both of them that it was so depressing and devastating to watch them both try to be brave for one another.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is a wide spread theory that I completely believe, but it hasn’t been confirmed by anyone associated with the show. If you don’t want to read about it, stop here. Basically, a lot of people including myself are convinced that Clara is pregnant. When Clara met the Doctor at the coffee shop it seemed like there was more she was planning on telling him than just that Danny didn’t return. Also, there was a note earlier on in the episode in Clara’s apartment that read “3 months”.

Finally, if Clara was pregnant, it would explain the appearance of Orson Pink in the episode “Listen”. Because as of now, Danny has no children to continue his line, so Orson would have never existed. If Orson never exsisted, the Doctor and Clara’s timelines from “Listen” would drastically change the course of their lives, because they never would have gone to the end of the universe and Clara never would have met the young Doctor. This would change everything, so somehow Danny has to have a child. Even without Orson, Clara being pregnant is a logical step since Clara is alone on Earth and the Doctor is travelling alone again. I think this will be addressed in the Christmas special, but I doubt Clara will ever travel full time with the Doctor again.

I thought this was a great ending to Peter Capaldi’s debut season as the Doctor. I’m excited to see what the Christmas special brings this year. 

Supernatural 200th Episode Post 2

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the tenth episode of Supernatural. You have been warned.

This is the second post about the 200^th episode of Supernatural. For my first post, which was a general overview of the episode and some of the best moments, click here. In this post I’m going to talk about the Samulet, hipping and subtext references, Carry on Wayward Son, and Chuck.

The Samulet played a big part of this episode, as I think it should have. To fans, Dean (Jensen Ackles) throwing away the Samulet in season 5 was devastating. I personally have always refused to believe it just was thrown into the garbage.  Since the Samulet is such a big deal to the fandom as a symbol of Sam and Dean’s relationship, I think it was so fantastic they had the Samulet be such a powerful symbol in the episode. At the end, it was so heartwarming to see them driving into the sunset and dean putting the little wooden Samulet around the rear view mirror, and smiling at Sam. That was the best moment they boys have had in Baby in a while.

Another big theme throughout the episode was shipping and “subtext”.  As a devout Destiel shipper, all of these references and linees made the episode so amazing for me. So many times the writers and actors have  been very dismissive of the fandom’s community and beliefs about shipping. To have an episode that does show shipping in a more positive view was so great. In particular I loved when Sam (Jared Padalecki) was listing off different ship names like Sastiel, DeanCas, Sabriel, and trying to figure out the pronunciation of Destiel. I thought this was a great and funny touch.

Jared and Jensen with Supernatural Play Cast. "Fan Fiction" CW

All the talk about subtext was also great because it showed that people can see and expand on subtext in the show, which often is has been discouraged before. One of my favorite Destiel moments in the episode was right before the play went on and Dean (the real one) was telling the actors to put as much “Sub into that text as possible” and looking directly at the girl who played Castiel the whole time. That was really funny and cute.

The scene that I cried during was when Sam and Dean were watching the plays cast sing “Carry on Wayward Son”. To the fandom this song has always had a special significance because of its mirroring of Sam and Dean’s life. “Carry on Wayward Son” is the closest thing Supernatural has to a theme song and the fandom has gladly adopted it as our anthem. But this is the first time Sam and Dean see the reflection of their own lives in the song and hear the meaning it has in their lives. As they watch the actors playing their parents and family, listening to this song, they both looked close to tears. This was the most heartbreaking part of the episode, but it gave it a depth that I wasn’t expecting.

The last thing I’m going to talk about is Chuck. I really don’t know what impact Chuck’s return is going to have on the show, if any. I also don’t know if it was Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict) who returned or if it was God. It’s recently became canon that Chuck was God when he disappeared in the episode, “Swan Song” in season 5 (both Eric Kripke and Rob Benedict have said Chuck was God.) However, Chuck obviously wasn’t always God or the Samulet would have burned Dean when they met him and the several times when they were together before the Samulet was trashed.  Most people take that to mean that sometime between “Dark Side of the Moon” and “Swan Song” Chuck became the vessel for God. Neither have been seen or heard from since “Swan Song”. 

Chuck Shurley (Rob Benedict) Supernatural. CW

This could be a one-off thing where Chuck/God disappears again and Sam and Dean never even know he was at the play, but they could be bringing back either Chuck as a prophet or Chuck as a god for future use in the series. I personally like to think that they are preparing for Prophet Chuck to return since Kevin is dead and Metatron flipped the prophet switch to keep more people from becoming prophets. Sam, Dean, and Cas need someone to read the tablets, and to bring back Chuck for the job would be great. Only time will tell, but it is interesting that Chuck made a cameo just a few weeks after Richard Speight Jr (plays Gabriel/the Trickster) announced he would be returning to Supernatural.

I absolutely loved this episode and I am so excited to see what the future of Supernatural brings.

Supernatural 200th episode Post 1

This review contains HUGE spoilers for the tenth episode of Supernatural. You have been warned.

Last Tuesday, the 200^th episode of Supernatural entitled “Fan Fiction” aired. The episode was dedicated to the fans and billed as a ‘love letter’ to the loyal and passionate followers of the show. 

Supernatural Cast and Writiers. 200th Episode Party. CW

The show centered on disappearances at a high school play. The catch, the play was inspired by Carver Edlund/Chuck’s (Rob Benedict) books, Supernatural, which were based of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) lives.

Supernatural is in my top five all-time favorite shows (Which is as close to a single favorite show as I can get). This entire episode was gold. I laughed almost constantly through it, cried at “Carry on Wayward Son” and literally screamed at the big reveal at the end. Pretty much during this review, I’m going to talk about my favorite moments of the episode. Even to get to this list, which is longer than I originally planned it to be, I cut out a lot of amazing things. This entire episode was amazing, and definitely geared towards those heavily involved in the fandom.

The title sequence from this episode couldn’t have been better. “Supernatural  Pilot by Eric Kripke”  type as if it was on a computer was how everything started in the first place, and I think it was so cool to see that two hundred episodes later. I also loved how they put every “Supernatural” title sequence from the show’s ten seasons back to back. It was a great visual for the changes and different themes of the show.

I also loved the little catch phrases that were sprinkled in throughout the episode. While most of these phrases weren’t ones that were recurring throughout the series, they were sayings the fans latched onto. One of the best was at the beginning when Dean (Jensen Ackles) says “We got work to do” While the camera was shooting up as if from the trunk. It was almost an identical shot from the Pilot episode. I also loved the girls playing Castiel and Bobby saying their catch phrases (Hey, Assbutt for Cas and Idjits for Bobby) when Sam and Dean walk into the theater. I also loved when the theater actors used the “Ghostfacers” motto and group huddle before going on stage. This was especially great considering the Ghostfacers (Ed and Harry) are the longest living characters on the show. There were so many other great moments with old phrases from the show but to list them all would make this post really long.

Sam and Dean’s facial expressions throughout the episode were amazing. Jensen and Jared did amazing showing  the confusion and uncomfortableness Dean and Sam had at watching their own lives. One of my favorite moments was Dean’s brief Office moment when he looked directly into the camera, looking so over the whole situation. I also loved the moment when Adam’s character came on stage and Sam and Dean asked who he was. This was a great way to show the memory lapse of forgetting to leave Adam in hell for all those years. Once again, their facial expressions when they were reminded about Adam was perfect. Finally, I really loved the symbolism at the end of Sam and Dean driving in to the Sunset.

Dean and Sam in Supernatural Promo "Fan Fiction". CW

Okay, spoiler time. So once again, this is the big spoiler, so if you haven’t watched, don’t continue.

The best possible ending to this episode happened when Chuck/(God?) returned and had watched the play. This could have been a one-time thing, but there could be a continuation of the character more in the rest of the series. Only time will tell, but I’ll talk about that more in my next post.

I really loved this episode, and there is only one thing I wish had been different. And that is simply that I wish Misha Collins (plays Castiel) had at least made a cameo or something. This episode really was a love letter to the fans, but Misha is one of the staples of the show and the fandom. I wish he had been in it as well. (Also Mark Sheppard who plays Crowley because he's a big part of the show too.)

For Part 2 of the Supernatural 200^th episode review, click here. In this post I will go more into more detail about  the Samulet, the shipping and subtext references, Carry on Wayward Son, and Chuck.

A to Z

In the last two years, both of my favorite comedy shows ended. The Office finished its last season in May 2013 and How I met Your Mother (HIMYM) ended last April.  The only other comedy I’ve watched is New Girl and I’ve not been watching that regularly since season 1.

So, I decided to try out the new NBC romantic comedy, A to Z.

A to Z Pilot Promo. From NBC

While it is a cute show, it isn’t particularly special either. The cast and characters are both good. The characters have the usual romantic comedy personalities. There’s the workaholic girl who doesn’t believe  in love and marriage anymore. The romantic and sensitive guy who falls in love with every girl he meets. Then tack on the two best friends, one who is the sometimes-jerky comic relief and the other who has the cool British accent and has a new boyfriend every episode.

I do like the idea of the story documenting the entire relationship, which is made very clear at the beginning when the narrator tells how long Zelda (Cristin Milioti) and Andrew (Ben Feldman) will date.

While it is a cute show, and I think Milioti and Feldman have good on-screen chemistry, I am having some difficulty seeing Milioti in another romantic comedy so soon after the HIMYM finale.  

In HIMYM, Milioti played the ever-illusive ‘Mother’, Tracy.  I’ve heard many people say that the characters of Tracy and Zelda are very similar as well as the premise of both the romantic comedies. I agree that the roles and shows are so similar I sometimes feel like I’m just watching Tracy’s half of the HIMYM story.

A little over a week ago, I saw that A to Z will be ending after this season. Therefore, there will be a total of thirteen episodes of the show, unless they drastically improve their numbers, as in at least double.

I do wish that the show would have went on for a full season through May, but it doesn’t appear that will be happening. While I enjoy watching it, it won't be a show I will miss much once it ends.

Basically, if you want something to watch that’s cute and lighthearted, give A to Z a try. Just don’t get too attached to it as there are only a handful of episodes left. 

Gracepoint Mini-Series

The following review contains spoilers for the mini-series, Gracepoint, episodes 1-6.

Gracepoint Promo from Fox

The mini-series, Gracepoint, has four episodes left. The series, staring David Tennant and Anna Gunn, is a remake of the BBC series, Broadchurch (Also starring David Tennant, along with Olivia Colman). I have not yet watched Broadchurch but definitely plan on starting it soon.

Gracepoint is about a small U.S. coastal town. The quiet town as rocked by the murder of a 12-year-old boy. The lead investigator, Detective Emmett Carver (Tennant) is an outsider in the town, seeking redemption after leading failing to solve a child’s murder years earlier. Besides  Carver’s investigation the story follows  the relationship with his estranged daughter and his failing health. His partner, Detective Ellie Miller (Gunn) was born and raised in Gracepoint and close family friends with the victim’s family. Her son was friends with the murder victim.

While the show follows both Miller and Carver’s lives and investigation, as well as snippets from other residents, the show is heavily filter through Carver’s suspicious view of every town member. This is balanced out well by Ellie’s often blind trust and optimism towards the people she grew up with.

The story itself is interesting as it continues to unfold. While it’s a bit cliché, the show does well with the “little town where everyone has a secret”.  It seems every episode the suspect pool for the murder shifts and very few people are not under suspicion.

Fox has a constantly running Gracepoint poll where you can vote on who you think the murder is and see what percentage of voters suspect each Gracepoint resident. I haven’t been on there much, but I’ve checked it a few times after key episodes and it’s interesting to see how suspicion moves from the viewers as more characters secrets are revealed or hinted at.

I’ve enjoyed watching the show a lot. It’s interesting watching Carver in particular as he sees the bad in everyone and Ellie tries to keep him from stirring the entire town with conjecture. I like the complicated characters and the complicated relationships between everyone in the town, including outside reporters and Carver. It makes for interesting confrontations and group dynamics.

Needless to say, I also love watching David Tennant act and use an American accent. Anna Gunn is also great in the show, she grounds the other characters and works great as an anchor for the viewers as Tennant’s character is often quick moving and quick changing. Tennant and Gunn work very well together and translate their character’s complicated relationship well.

One of the main criticisms to Gracepoint I’ve read online is many people saying the show is practically identical to Broadchurch except with more whales (whale watching is a big thing in Gracepoint) and different names. I can’t speak to this, as I haven’t yet seen Broadchurch, but  I will be watching Broadchurch after this.

Gracepoint airs on Fox on Thursdays at 8 p.m. central time.

Doctor Who: Flatline

This review contains spoilers for the Doctor Who episode in season 8, “Flatline.”

I absolutely loved this episode. I thought it was clever and the both the Doctor and Clara had character development but stayed true to their past characterizations. The episode was funny but also intense at times and the supporting characters and actors were all great and diverse.

My favorite part of this episode is it featured Clara (Jenna Coleman) sort of as a female Doctor. During the transition between the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), there was a lot of debate on whether a woman could play the Doctor. While many welcomed the idea, many others said that the Doctor was a role that could only be played by a man. I think this episode showed that is not the case.

Clara was fantastic running around with the sonic screwdriver and psychic paper while the Twelfth Doctor was stuck inside a shrunk Tardis. She was able to play the role as quirky and fun, as the Doctor does, but also make tough decisions in intense moments.

BBC, Flatline Promotion Picture. Source

I do wish that it had been Clara to force the aliens off of Earth instead of the Doctor, but I did think the Twelfth Doctor’s speech was a great call back to David Tennant’s first episode as the Tenth Doctor in “A Christmas Invasion.”  Both speeches featured a passionate declaration of Earth being defended and protected by the Doctor… all versions of him.

The last conversation of the episode between Clara and the Doctor was very interesting and a little unusual, although unlike in “Kill the Moon” I think it fit with the overall characterization. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to decipher what the Doctor meant when he told Clara “You were an exceptional Doctor… But goodness had nothing to do with it.”

I think this quote shows how the Doctor is still questioning whether he’s a good man, as has been a recurring theme throughout  this season. I also think that he was able to watch more objectively this episode from the Tardis as Clara made the tough decisions that are usually his responsibility, some of which caused deaths of innocent people.  I’m sure this theme is going to come back in the finale episodes of this season.

Overall, I loved this episode. It was a great sci-fi story that was unique and interesting. 

Doctor Who: Kill the Moon

This review contains minor spoilers for the Doctor Who season 8 episode, “Kill the Moon.”

The Doctor Who episode “Kill the Moon” was a cool concept and I liked the episode overall. The visuals were great. But there were a few things that really irritated and worried me about the episode.

This episode, I thought the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) was very out of character all the way around. From the beginning, the Doctor told Courtney (Ellis George), a student of Clara’s at Coal Hill Elementary that she wasn’t special. This bothered me a lot. One of the common factors of all the Doctor’s has been their love and fascination for humanity. The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) often declared his love for humanity and the individuals he met.

The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) once said, “In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important” (Episode: A Christmas Carol). In “Kill the Moon”, the Doctor was unwilling to tell a young, troubled girl that she was special. This bothered me a lot, as it also did Clara (Jenna Coleman) throughout the episode.

BBC. Kill the Moon Promo Picture. Source

Another thing that bugged me about this episode was the Doctor’s complete lack of guidance and support for Clara and the other humans as they tried to make the decision to destroy the moon and or risk the creature inside destroying the Earth. In the episode, the Doctor leaves completely. He disappears for most of the episode after telling Clara to handle the situation.

The Doctor made a point that this was a turning point in the future of humanity, therefore, he said he shouldn’t be involved in the decision. The Eleventh Doctor dealt with a similar crucial point for humanity in the episode “Cold Blood”. In this episode where he, Amy, and a couple of other humans meet the reptile people living below the Earth. Once again, the Doctor steps back and tries to let the humans handle the decision making for their own future. But he also stays close by and helps them with this important choice.

The Doctor’s complete lack of help seemed out of character. I’ve seen many people online saying that Clara’s anger at the Doctor at the end of this episode was childish and misdirected. But I think she was completely right with her frustration at being left alone to make a seemingly impossible decision.

I’m not even going to go into the blatant parallels between the Clara’s decision in this episode and the pro-life, pro-choice debate. But if you would like to know more about that Claudia Boleyn talks about in her review of the episode. To watch that video click here.   

I’m still not sure whether I like this episode, because as I said in the beginning, I really liked the idea, the writing was great, and I thought Clara had a lot of great character development. All of the actors did a great job with the intense theme of the episode. But the Doctor’s characterization seemed off from his usual principles and ideals and that worried me quite a lot. 

Castle: Season 7 Premiere

The following contains spoilers for the season 7 premiere of Castle, 

Castle Title Screenshot. ABC. Source: Wikipedia

I’ve only been watching Castle sporadically for two years. Last season is when I began watching the show regularly. Nevertheless, I love Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett’s (Stana Katic) relationship and was excited for their wedding in the season 6 finale.

Of course that went up in flames, which carried us over to this season premiere. I honestly don’t know what happened in this episode. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, there would be another big flip or reveal that would change the course of the episode.

The episode, which covered nearly three months, felt like unneeded added drama to the situation. Between Castle’s memory loss and Beckett not knowing why Castle disappeared for months was a huge set back in their relationship. I think they will eventually pull through once the truth about Castle’s last two months has been revealed.

But until then, as Castle said they can’t just pick up where they left off. The couple is now on different planes, as the last scene showed. To Castle it seemed like the day before they had been happy and together about to get married. But Beckett has dealt with months of fear, confusion, and betrayal that will take time to fix.

For long term fans, the wedding between Beckett and Castle had been built up since they met in season 1. Even as a more recent viewer, I felt a bit like we were being cheated out of the happy ending these two characters had fought for. The added drama seemed unnecessary and the lack of explanation was maddening. At the end, no one knew what was happening, and many fans were left unsatisfied with this turn of events.

Obviously, Castle’s memory loss and past couple months will most likely be the main reoccurring theme throughout the next season. At least for me, I hope to get answers sooner rather than later. The quicker this is resolved and Castle and Beckett’s relationship gets back on track, the better. 

Once Upon a Time: Frozen

This may contain spoilers for the the season 4 premiere of Once Upon a Time.

I have watched Once Upon A Time (OUAT) on and off since the first season. I tended to drop in and out of love with the show as storylines shift. I was not a fan of the Neverland storyline last season, but the Wicked storyline was okay. 

Once Upon A Time Cast Promo Poster. Airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC

Like many people, I loved Disney’s animated movie Frozen. Therefore, I went into OUAT’s season 4 premiere partly skeptical and partly excited. At the end of the episode, I still had the same feelings.

First, I would like to say, I thought the actresses and actor of Elsa (Georgina Haig), Anna (Elizabeth Lail), and Kristoff (Scott Michael Foster) were perfect for the parts.

I also loved seeing the returning characters. The traditionally “evil” characters have always been my favorites on the show. Therefore, I was excited by how much the premiere focused on Regina/the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Throughout the episode, she yo-yoed back and forth between good and evil. I think her newest journey to reclaim the happiness that Emma (Jennifer Morrison) inadvertently stole from her, and her internal struggle between good and evil will be a staple of this season. 

I also liked watching Mr. Gold/Rumple (Robert Carlyle) experience a similar back and forth with the desire to control the dagger and the power it holds. Regina and Gold have been two of my favorites characters since the beginning of the show, so I’m excited to see what is next for them this season.

After the first episode, I am still a bit skeptical about the combination of Frozen and OUAT. I think it is still too soon since Frozen came out. It’s been a little less than a year since the movie debuted in theatres. Most of the stories integrated into OUAT have been around for more than a decade. For me, part of the charm of the show is the reworking of fairytales I grew up with. I’m not saying that I won’t like the shows inclusion of Frozen, it’s still a bit too early to tell, but I feel as though it’s too soon. I was also not impressed with the rock trolls in this episode. While OUAT has always had cheesy moments, the trolls went too far for me.

I do think that once Elsa starts interacting with the residents of Storybrooke the storyline will improve. This episode, she was mostly just running around town hiding, but I think when everyone meets it will make an interesting dynamic, especially for Regina and Elsa. They are both women who were once considered monsters, but have since redeemed themselves to varying extents.

 It will also be interesting to see how the town takes to Elsa, whose magical powers seem to be nearly equal to Regina’s. (And yes, I know Emma has magic too, but look at what her magic did to the snowman compared to Regina’s. There’s no competition between Regina and Emma in terms of magic… at least not yet.)

As an ending note, I loved the scenes between Gold and Belle, especially the Beauty and the Beast ballroom scene. I also loved Killian’s scenes with Emma. Those are my two favorite ships in the show.

Overall, I’m excited to see what they do with the characters and storyline but also a bit apprehensive. Really though, it doesn’t matter what they do, I’m too invested in the OUAT universe and characters to stop watching, but I hope that this season enthralls me more than last.

Selfie Premiere

I've watched the pilot episode of Selfie twice, mostly because I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I thing that the next couple of episodes will really make or break the show.

Selfie promo with Karen Gillan and John Cho (Tuesdays at 8PM on ABC)

The basic idea behind Selfie is that Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) is a self-obsessed, attention seeking, Internet addict who has substituted Internet fame for real friends and a happy life. Upon realizing she has no friends, Eliza turns to her coworker Henry (John Cho) to ‘rebrand’ her and change her image.

Honestly, I didn't have high expectations for Selfie. However, I decided to give it a shot because  I love Karen Gillan (Amy Pond from Doctor who). I wasn't too impressed with most of the show. Overall, the episode seemed disjointed. Scenes and characters changed abruptly and the characters’ motivations seemed to turn on a dime. Karen Gillan’s character, Eliza Dooley, was so far removed from reality, many of the situations seemed absurd.

Both characters, Eliza and Henry, were so extreme that I they didn't seem real. Eliza had no grasp on any face-to-face contact. Throughout the episode Henry would have to instruct her in ordinary small talk, such as asking someone how they were doing. Henry, on the other hand was outwardly judgmental  and rude towards Eliza and made sure to show her that he was better than her

.

Despite all of that, there were some funny moments in the episode. There were many clever pop-cultural references. These references were funny but they may date the episode in the future and distance long term audiences. There were also many singular moments which were relatable, such as Eliza coping with her feelings of isolation and Henry admitting that he isn't as perfect as he wants everyone to think.

While most of the episode didn't impress me, the last two minutes were sweet. Henry and Eliza sitting on the porch, both talking about their shortfalls was a relatable and thoughtful moment while still being funny. More scenes like this could make the show good. I do think I’ll watch the next couple of episodes and see how Selfie begins to evolve. I’m not sure if the show will last long, especially with the amount of sit-com/rom-coms debuting this Fall. But, Selfie has potential with its great cast and modern concept. I hope in the following episodes the show will grow from the pilot.

What did the end of "Listen" mean?

For part one of my “Listen” analysis click here. This post contains spoilers for the Doctor Who episode “Listen” written by Steven Moffat.

Doctor Who Logo Wikimedia

The first time I saw “Listen”, I didn’t know what to think. After seeing it three times now, I’m still not quite sure how it all worked out. I have read dozens of blogs and reviews about the episode, and each has their own ideas about the meaning of the episode.

This episode’s biggest question was something I have never had to ask myself at the end of any other Doctor Who episode. Was there actually a monster?  I still am not completely sure of the answer, but I’m leaning towards, no. But I’m first going to talk about what still makes me think maybe there was.

The main evidence that makes me think there is a monster, was the thing under the blanket on little Rupert Pink’s bed. For each event attributed to the ‘monster’ there was also given a mundane and rational explanation by the characters. In all of the other examples of the ‘monster’ it’s very possible that the rational explanation the Doctor and Clara gave was actually what the noise or weird event was.

However, the possibilities for the thing under Rupert’s blanket were explained as either the monster, or another child playing a prank. The thing under the blanket moved and behaved unlike any child I have ever seen. It was an extreme form of weird, stalkery, and creepy behavior even with adults in the room. A child wouldn’t have acted as the thing under the blanket did. But, that is the only scene with the ‘monster’ that I actually believe to be something unnatural.

As soon as Clara grabbed the young Doctor’s ankle in the barn, I began believing that Moffat made the episode to not actually have a monster. This was reinforced when Clara went back to the TARDIS and told the Doctor there was never anything there in the dark, and to forget about this quest. However, this brings up more questions about the dream that supposedly everyone has.

Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor. Source.

If Clara was the cause of the Doctor’s nightmare of something being under his bed, why did everyone else in the episode and throughout history have the same nightmare? Obviously Clara wasn’t under everyone’s beds. Some hypothesize that the Doctor somehow spread this fear throughout his travels, as he did to Clara. Other people think that there actually was a monster, and that Clara grabbing the Doctor’s foot just served to make him aware of what was unseeable and unknowable. 

Excluding the blanket scene, I think the point was that you can fear something so much, that even if it’s not there you continually search for it. The Doctor foreshadowed this when he was in Rupert’s bedroom. As the Doctor was flipping through the pages of a book, he kept saying he couldn’t find Wally (or Waldo in America). Rupert told him that it wasn’t a Where’s Wally book and that Wally wasn’t in it. The Doctor tossed the book behind him and said, “Well that’s years of my life I’ll never get back”.

I think this was a precursor of the ending. Through this scene I think Moffat tried to show that you can believe something is there and try to find it, but that doesn’t mean it’s real. I think the Doctor feared these invisible monsters living in the dark so much that he looked for them obsessively, making everyone one else believe too, but in the end there wasn’t anything to find. 

What planet did Clara visit in "Listen"?

This post contains spoilers for the Doctor Who episode “Listen” (8.04) written by Steven Moffat.

Doctor Who Logo Wikimedia

I think “Listen” was the best episode of this season so far. It has caused more discussion and opposing views online than any episode since the 50^th anniversary. The questions the episode proposed, as well as the ending is still flipping around in my head a week later, no answers in sight.

In this post, I’m going to talk about a the possibilities and assumptions of the last planet Clara went during the episode. As I said, this episode raised many questions, so I am going to write separate posts exploring the two main questions I had from “Listen”.

The first question I had with the episode was the barn scene and its implications in the event of the 50^th Anniversary episode, “Day of the Doctor”.  While not said directly, Moffat strongly implied that Clara met the child Doctor on Gallifrey. This causes many continuity errors. First, when the doctor hid Gallifrey in the 50^th, as well as in seasons prior, it was said that Gallifrey was time locked to keep the Daleks and Timelords from escaping and continuing their war. This time lock made it impossible for the Doctor to return home.  If that is the case, either Moffat changed the rules again, or the planet on which Clara found the young Doctor crying was not Gallifrey.

While we all know Moffat’s reputation for manipulating the rules, I tend to lean towards it being a different planet for a couple of reason. First the sky. While the sky wasn’t visible when Clara was in the barn, the episode contained a flashback (flash-forward since they’re in the past?) to John Hurt’s War Doctor walking to the same barn in the 50^th. While the sky was more colorful than Earths, it contained a lot of blue. As the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) said in “Gridlock” (3.03), the sky of Gallifrey was bright orange and red. This makes me think the young Doctor was somewhere else.

Planet of Gallifrey screenshot. BBC. Wikipedia

The second reason I think it was a different planet, was because the War Doctor went to the barn to detonate the Moment. The ‘moment’ would destroy all of Gallifrey, including the Timelords and Daleks on the planet, ending the Time War. To destroy a planet, I think you would not want to be on that planet. Being on Gallifrey with the ‘moment’ becomes even more of an issue when the Doctor hides Gallifrey instead of detonating. He couldn’t have hidden Gallifrey from himself if he was on it.

I hope that Moffat will clear this up later. While he had many inconsistencies in the previous seasons, I hope to find out what planet it was, whether Gallifrey or maybe a Timelord colony. In the next post, I’m going to talk about the different possible interpretations of the episode. This is a unique episode in that everyone seems to have a different idea about what the ending really meant. 

For part two of my Listen analysis, click here. 

New Girl Premiere

I began watching New Girl the second episode of season one. I loved the first two seasons. However, I was not impressed with last season at all. While all through the first two seasons, I was hoping for Jess and Nick to get together, the third season, which focused on the two dating, was a huge let down.

To me, the season seemed to be the characters screaming at one another with the occasional laughing moment tossed in. Needless to say, that is not what I want from a comedy show.

I came into the fourth season premiere, which aired Tuesday, September 16^th, with very low expectations after my disappointment from last season. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Zooey Deschanel’s quirky and awkward character Jess Day was back to her usual fun loving self, four months after she and Nick broke up in season three. Most of the episode occurred during a wedding, in which all of the friends were trying to find someone to go home with, and failing in their usual spectacular fashion.

Zooey Deschanel (Jess Day), Jake Johnson (Nick Miller), Max Greenfield (Schmidt)
New Girl Panel picture by Genevieve. Flikr

The episode focused on all five of the main character’s combined friendship, which is something last season lacked on. The dialogue was nearly back to its usual witty, if sometimes awkward and juvenile self, which first made me fall in love with the characters. Plus there was the added bonus of Schmidt making a Game of Thrones reference at the beginning. The episode also guest starred Jessica Biel as the funny and overbearing competitor to Jess while they both tried to court the best man.

I think this episode was very relatable. The beginning and the end focused on the group seeing other people their age getting married, buying houses, and so on while none of them know where their lives are going. However, the episode ended on a high note with all of them together, goofing off in the apartment. Scenes like the ending of this episode is why I watched New Girl in the first place.

This season is off to a much better start than the last, but I’m still a bit skeptical. Within the next few episodes, I’ll be deciding if New Girl is a show I want to stick with or not. But I am feeling more hopeful after this funny sweet premiere. 

Into the Dalek: Is the Doctor a good man?

For my review of "Into the Dalek," click here.This post contains minor spoilers, and is intended for those who have watched the episode.

Doctor Who Logo Wikimedia

"Into the Dalek" was framed around the question of "Is the Doctor a good man?" Not that this question is anything new. Since the Doctor Who reboot in 2005, this question has been asked over and over again, but never fully answered.  Although in this episode, the question was asked much more directly than ever before. One of the first things the Doctor asks Clara when she enters the TARDIS is if she thinks he is a good man. To which she stutters around before saying she doesn’t know.

The episode ends with Clara saying that she still doesn’t know if the Doctor is a good man, but he tries to be and that’s what is important. While I somewhat agree with Clara’s answer, I would like to explore the Doctor’s morality a bit more.

The Doctor has never shied away from destruction if it was for the greater good. However, different Doctors have taken this to different lengths. In “The Parting of Ways,” Chris Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor faces the decision of killing all the Daleks, but destroying half the earth, or letting the Daleks live. The Dalek emperor asks the Doctor if he will be a coward or a killer. To this the Doctor responds, “Coward any day.” And decides to die fighting the Daleks.

By Benjamin Ellis. The Ninth Doctor, Chris Eccleston. Wikimedia

This trend continues with David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.  The Tenth Doctor makes a name for himself as “The Man who Never Would” in the episode, “The Doctor’s Daughter.” In this episode, he shows mercy to the man who committed genocide and ‘killed’ his ‘daughter’ Jenny.

This begins to change later in the Tenth Doctor’s run. For example, in “Waters of Mars” Tennant’s Doctor creates the idea of ‘Timelord Victorious’ which encompasses the idea that since the Doctor is the last Timelord, he can do whatever he wants without consequence. This idea seemed to be used throughout Matt Smith’s time as the Eleventh Doctor.  

The Tenth Doctor, David Tennant. Wikimedia

I think “Waters of Mars” was a real shift for the overall character of the Doctor, and one of the first times his overall morality was questioned. He may have had dark moments before, but he always tried to do the right thing.  It is obvious throughout the show that the Doctor doesn’t think he is a good man. The Eleventh Doctor often said things like, “Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.”  He never seemed to question if he was a good man, he just decided he wasn’t.

By: Gage Skidmore. The Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. Wikimedia

So far, Capaldi’s Doctor seems more preoccupied about his morality. While the Doctor has had moral lapses in the past, I think that Capaldi’s Doctor truly wants to be good and correct mistakes he has made. To me, the self-awareness shows that he usually is good. He is very conscious of his bad decisions and wants to fix the mistakes he has made. Similarly to what Clara said, the important thing is that Doctor wants to be a good man.

While it’s still too early in Capaldi’s run to really know what sort of Doctor he will be, I find the fact that he is considering this question very encouraging. While I know he will have hard decisions to make in future episodes, I hope that we soon can say for certain , that yes, the Doctor is a good man. 

Doctor Who: Deep Breath

To read my Amazon review of "Deep Breath" (8.01) click here.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Doctor Who episode, “Deep Breath”.

Doctor Who Logo Wikimedia

Instead of a straight-up review, let’s talk about past Doctor Who episodes that were similar or linked to the season 8 premiere, “Deep Breath”.  There were three episodes in particular from David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, which related to Peter Capaldi’s debut episode as the Twelfth Doctor. Those episodes were “Girl in the Fireplace” (2.04), “Blink” (3.10), and “Fires of Pompeii” (4.02).

The Doctor mentioned the similarities to “Girl in the Fireplace” during the episode. The Doctor realizes the spaceship in “Deep Breath” was the sister ship to the Madame Du Pompadour, which was featured in “Girl in the Fireplace”. Both episodes featured robots that killed humans for body parts to repair their ships. Throughout “Deep Breath,” the Doctor kept saying that he had seen this before. It wasn’t until the end of the episode when the Doctor saw the ship's name the Marie Antoinette that he pieced together the two occurrences. This bothered me because in “Girl in the Fireplace,” the Doctor never found out the name of the ship, or why the robots wanted Madame du Pompadour. Once the TARDIS leaves, with the Doctor, Rose and Mickey, the shot zooms out to show the name of the ship.

While “Blink” wasn't mentioned in the episode and the villains weren’t the same creatures, the overall concept of the episode was similar. In “Blink,” the motto was ‘Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.’  The episode featured the weeping angels for the main antagonist. In “Deep Breath,” the motto seemed to be ‘Don’t breath. Breath and you’re dead.’ The robots which were trying to kill the Doctor and his companions would only know someone was there if they were breathing. While I overall liked “Deep Breath,” the similarities with “Blink” made the episode feel a little like a repeat.

Weeping Angel by by williamsbd Wikimedia

Finally, the references to “Fires of Pompeii” focused around Capaldi’s face, as he played a character that the Tenth Doctor saves in that episode. There were a few times in “Deep Breath” that Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor mentioned his face. The most notable was when he was in an alley with a homeless man, looking into a mirror. Capaldi kept saying things like “I’ve seen this face before” and “I am trying to remind myself of something” but he never connected Caecilius, man he saved in Pompeii all those centuries ago, with the face. Since so much of the information given about Capaldi’s Doctor says he will be darker than the previous incarnations, I hope that they explain the similar face to the Doctor reminding himself to help people and to be compassionate, as he was when he saved Caecilius and his family.

Peter Capaldi by Stuart Crawford Wikimedia

As I said, I enjoyed this episode very much and I'm am so glad that Doctor Who is back for a new season. I’m excited to see what Peter Capaldi does with the role. So far, I think he’s a great Doctor. My post for the second episode, “Into the Dalek” will be up soon.

If I had a clever sign off line, I’d insert that here. Thanks for dropping by!

Welcome to the Blog

Hi, everyone.  As you can tell by the title of this blog, I’m a college student. You may have a picture of a ‘college student’ in your head, which includes a string of parties and football games broken up by the occasional class or study session. This has not been my college experience.

When my friends and I hang out, our hobby of choice is watching TV shows and movies. When alone, I watch other TV shows and read. So, while this blog will specifically focus on TV shows, there may be the occasional book or movie review tossed in for good measure.

At this time, premiere season is fast approaching for most prime time TV networks. I’m planning on watching more premieres than is healthy for my academic success, but as the season continues the amount of shows will lessen to focus on only a few.

A big staple of this blog is going to be SuperWhoLock (Supernatural, Doctor Who, and BBC’s Sherlock, the Holy Trinity of current TV geekdom). These three shows will receive regular posts when they are airing. 

"Sherlock Title Card" screen shot by BBC. Source: Wikipedia Commons

Other shows that will receive semi-regular posts are NCIS, Once Upon A Time, Castle, and The 100.

There are also some new shows I will be watching and reviewing the premieres to deciding whether to continue watching the rest of the season.

All my posts will be labeled, so to find posts for a specific show, look on the sidebar. If there are any shows you would like me to check out, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

First few posts will focus on Doctor Who, as that is the only show I watch currently airing new episodes.  

"Versions of the Doctor" by BBC Promotional Collage. Wikimedia Commons

If I had a creative sign off line, I’d insert that here. See you guys next time!