Television

Once Upon a Time, Again

~ Casey ~ Leave a comment

“They force fed me something called ‘bologna.'”

That’s a line from yet another episode of Once Upon a Time, uttered by one Captain Hook upon his release from real-world jail. He states that he’s spent time in the “brig” before, but none so horrifying as our standard jail. Bologna can be pretty terrible, especially if you don’t know what you’re dealing with.
Yep, I’m still watching this delightful, visual crack-fest. I love it so much. It’s over-the-top, and the special effects are occasionally bad (as in, you can see bits of the green screen that was obviously used to create a LOT of the background sets), and the showrunners don’t give a flying fuck about accents. Belle, for example, is played by Emilie de Ravin, who’s Australian. A pre-iZombie Rose McIver plays Tinkerbell. Both of these lovely actresses use their native accents on the show. It’s a little off-putting, to say the least. I can almost buy the fairy having an accent, but Belle? Is the only one of her family who speaks the way that she does. It’s weird.

What I really love is the fact that the show takes every single public domain work of fairy and folklore that it can find, tosses it in a blender, and then pours out this delightful smoothie of weirdness. The main characters are dealing with the flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the West as I write this. I watched Snow White and Prince Charming fight Medusa a few episodes ago. Robin Hood and Sir Lancelot have made appearances. Doctor Freaking Frankenstein is in this show (and his episode is shot in black and white, which makes for a particularly fun experience).

Cut for more rambling.

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The Cold Medicine Diaries: Once Upon a Time

~ Casey ~ 2 Comments

I have been felled by  some sort of cold. I feel as if this is becoming a monthly phenomenon, and frankly, I’m bored with it. I always get especially whimsical in the brain pan when this happens. I attribute it to a mixture of lack of sleep and the cocktail of cold medication that I gobble down each day to attempt to keep the symptoms at bay. Things get…interesting.

It was under this particular set of circumstances that I decided it was time to watch Once Upon a Time. I’d never watched the show, but one of my fellow contributors over at Speculative Chic wrote a post about season 7. In the process of editing and formatting the post, I watched a few minutes of the first episode of S7 out of curiosity. I also did a bit of research, and even though I’ve been spoiled on a few things, I’m still on board to watch.

I have so many thoughts. And not all of them were inspired by the frightening quantity of chemicals that are coursing through my veins right now. Continue reading →

Revisiting Neptune: An Extremely Short Review of Veronica Mars, Seasons 1-3

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In the past few weeks, I performed a magnificently lazy feat: I re-binged all three currently existing seasons of Veronica Mars. I came to the Veronica party a little late. I caught a few episodes when season three was airing, and it was enough to make me want to go back to the beginning. I acquired the series on DVD, watched it eagerly, and then entered a new chamber of Television Purgatory. I already had a room, you see, because of Firefly, so I’m well acquainted with the place. The Veronica Mars movie and subsequent novels were nice additions to the series, and I’ll be revisiting those soon. But this is about the original show.

If you’re a fan of the show, you probably already know that Hulu’s reviving the series in a somewhat limited fashion. This being 2019, of course, “limited” is a relative term. If the show does well, I can see Hulu trying to work out a deal for further episodes. And I really, really want to see it succeed on the financial scale that will convince Hulu to keep the train rolling, if they can work out a deal with Thomas, Bell, and everyone else involved.

Spoilers are coming.  Continue reading →

[Television] The Other Mother

~ Casey ~ Leave a comment

So I’ve been rewatching The Gilmore Girls lately. I mean, I have to have something to do while my spouse plays endless hours of Fortnite, and I can only be a genius writer for so many hours in the day before I need to turn my brain off and stare at the television for a while.

Anyway. MUCH is made of Lorelai and Rory’s relationship. It’s the fun one! They eat whatever they want. They *DO* whatever they want, whenever they want. It’s a non-stop fun-fest with these Gilmore ladies. Unpopular opinion: I prefer Lane and Mrs. Kim’s relationship.

Why? Well, I’m up to the episode where Lane thinks that her band is going to break up. They’re all mired in the endless tedium of everyday life. They’ve barely practiced lately. It seems as if Hep Alien is, indeed, finished.

Until Lane goes to her mother.

Now, there are multiple representations of motherhood in this show. It’s very well documented. However, I’ve really appreciated Lane and Mrs. Kim’s relationship this time around. When I was younger and watching this show the first time around, I found the entire thing to be comical, and it’s clearly played for laughs. What I didn’t fully grasp was Mrs. Kim’s deep love for her daughter. When Lane goes home and sits down to discuss the band’s seemingly imminent demise, I caught a gleam Emily Kuroda‘s eyes that I’d never noticed before. It hit me then that, while Mrs. Kim may not approve of the life that her daughter has chosen, it is very clear that she loves and is proud of her trailblazer daughter. This is hammered home when Mrs. Kim announces that Lane is not the daughter that she raised, and that Kims don’t quit.

And then? When Mrs. Kim bursts into the band’s apartment with her master plan for Hep Alien to go on tour for two months? I almost cried with happiness. Plus the part where she cites Prince’s successes made me giggle more than a little. It speaks to a side of Mrs. Kim that we never see. Maybe Lane wasn’t the only Kim woman with a hidden music collection in that house.

Riverdale Reactions: Chapter 15, “Nighthawks”

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Welcome back! I hope you’ve had a chance to catch up on Season two of Riverdale by this point! If not, you still have a little time before episode three airs tonight. As a reminder, this is not meant to be a review or a recap, just my own opinions on the show as I see it. There will be spoilers.

(Note: I’m on vacation, so I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to put this together, so thoughts will be brief.)

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Riverdale Reactions: Chapter 14, “A Kiss Before Dying”

~ Casey ~ Leave a comment

Hi kids!

So, a week or two ago, I wrote an extremely nerdy piece arguing that Riverdale’s first season was, beneath the soap opera drama, a proper Gothic horror. You can read it here, if you are so inclined. There was a LOT more that I didn’t get a chance to write about. I’d really love to pick it all apart even further, but this is not the time.

No, this is the time to celebrate the show’s return. I shall be making a valiant attempt to post my thoughts on this season’s episodes each week, because I love this show beyond all reason. These posts aren’t meant to be proper reviews or recaps, just my own opinions.

Today, we focus on Chapter 14, “A Kiss Before Dying.” There WILL be spoilers, so if you don’t want things ruined for you, turn back now. If you haven’t had a chance to watch, head on over to the CW’s website or check out their app to get caught up before Chapter 15 airs tonight.

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