Tuesday, September 23, 2014

I feel like my Star Wars fan status should be revoked.

At least, it should have been revoked for the last five years or so. Granted, I was busy with life, going through college and getting married and moving and such. But I've lately been inundated with Star Wars news because of the movie being in production, and I realized there's a lot of Star Wars stuff that I have missed. Star Wars has long been my favourite movie saga, though the prequels do leave a lot to be desired. I loved them as a kid/teen and I'm not going to throw that love entirely out the window, but I digress.

I used to be an avid reader of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) novels. My father handed me a copy of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn when I was eleven and I didn't look back. The Thrawn trilogy remains at the top of my book list, and I discovered a character who would quickly become my favourite character in any book/movie/game universe ever. Her name? Mara Jade. She never appears in the films, but she is honestly the best. I have cosplayed as her more times than I can count. And the last Star Wars book that I read was the one in which she was brutally killed. That was shortly after I started college, and I was so devastated that I basically quit Star Wars for a time. I just couldn't continue the Legacy of the Force series. I was literally heartbroken, and possibly more heartbroken than I've been in my life. Probably not but whatever.  I was so angry with the author, Karen Traviss, even though I know it wasn't really her decision completely. And I think Timothy Zahn was angry at his character being killed, so that makes me feel a tiny bit better. The fact remains that couldn't handle her death and it's taken me a long time to get back into the EU and various aspects of Star Wars.

But I'm back in now. I've played a few games, I've read a few novels, Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn being the one I'm currently reading, and I've been getting into the online world of fellow Star Wars fans. My favourite thing right now is a new podcast called Jedi Alliance. It began in August, and I'm in love with it. It has its really weird moments, but it's a solid 45 minutes of Star Wars nerdiness. I can't argue with it. They've got everything from random trivia to fan stuff to obscure parts of the universe to news on Episode VII. Ken Napzok and Maude Garret are hilarious, and the obvious dedication they have to such an incredible saga is fantastic. You can find it on iTunes and on YouTube.

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This was a hard post to write. Roll your eyes all you want, but I had to write it. This is my personal blog, and these are my thoughts. Star Wars has been central in my fangirl life and I'm finally admitting that I can move on. Though I'm still not *that* excited about Episode VII.






Monday, September 22, 2014

Fall television roundup

I watch more television now than I ever did, which is both annoying and fun. It's annoying only because I feel like I could be doing something better with my time. But it's also fun because there are so many good shows out there to pick from. I've learned that it's possible for a tv show to be as well written and full of depth as a book. (I know, that's not a difficult thing to learn...) So now with fall tv premieres happening, I suppose I'll blog about the various shows I intend to watch, and ones I've already been watching, in no particular order.

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Network channel shows

Gotham (begins at 9/8c tonight on FOX)
I am so excited for this show. There's been too much hype, though. I'm so afraid it won't live up to my expectations. This is less about Batman than it is about a certain young James Gordon, which is honestly why I'm so excited.

The Big Bang Theory (9/8c tonight on CBS)
Sadly, this is on at the same time as Gotham, but I'll just have to watch it on-demand at a later time. But the antics and interactions of this gang never fail to amuse me.

New Girl (began last week; 9/8c Tuesdays on FOX)
Honestly, this is not the kind of show I normally watch. I started watching because of Zooey Deschanel and became hooked. She's so hilariously awkward, and her guy roommates are no better. Unfortunately, so much of the show revolves around sex, and basically how they aren't getting any...which seems to be getting worse, so I'm not sure if I will continue to watch it. :/

Bones (NEW NIGHT, begins this week; 8/7c Thursdays on FOX)
Good heavens, I love this show. FBI forensic drama with an emphasis on the drama. My sister and I have been watching this show from the start and I'm so invested in Booth and Brennan (and everyone else in the lab, for that matter) that when the tenth season begins, you can bet I'll be watching.

The Flash (begins October 7th; 8/7c Tuesdays on CW)
I know I should catch up on Arrow (that's what Netflix is for!) before I start this, but I love The Flash. This should be fun to watch.

Red Band Society (began September 17th; 9/8c Wednesdays on FOX)
This show about a group of teens with terminal illnesses living in a hospital had me hooked within the first few minutes. Again, not normally my kind of show, but my hubby and I ended up watching it and we both enjoyed in immensely. Let's hope it can keep up the magic.

Supernatural (begins October 7th; Tuesdays 9/8c on CW)
I shouldn't even include this in this list because I'm only in season three on Netflix, but...I'm slightly obsessed with it. I'm way too invested in the Winchesters and their hellish fate. My youngest sister directed me to it (I know, I know, I should have been watching this a long time ago already) and it's so easy to see why it's about to begin its tenth season.



There are other shows that I want to watch, like Sleepy Hollow, Once Upon a Time (I missed season three and need to catch up), Arrow, Grimm (which I've watched a bit on Netflix), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (I'm ashamed that I haven't watched this yet), and at some point even Castle. I'm so far behind on that one, though. And someone please explain to me why we can't have Downton Abbey at the same time as the UK??????? Sigh.

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Cable shows

Doctor Who (began August 23rd; Saturdays 9/8c on BBC AMERICA)
Okay, I don't even need to include this because it's fairly obvious that I watch this already. It's my favourite show, hands down. And Peter Capaldi as the Doctor has completely blown me away. The only reason I haven't written any episode reviews is because my youngest sister hasn't gotten to watch the season yet and I refuse to spoil it for her!

Okay, I guess there's just not much on cable I'm interested in watching. We watch Top Gear religiously, but I don't know when the new season of that is going to air yet. I missed season two of Orphan Black, which I need to catch up on. I don't watch Game of Thrones and I've not yet seen any of The Walking Dead, which I will rectify at some point.

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I'm not a fan of any of the Netflix-only shows, and I don't have Hulu Plus, so I can't pull anything from those sources. I'm certain there will be a few more PBS series that I want to watch, because Masterpiece Theatre is always good.

There's honestly too much crap on tv these days, but I'm hoping that a few new choices turn out to be decent enough. At any rate, if they actually have a plot and at least a few deep characters, I will be happy. Meanwhile, I'll continue on with Supernatural on Netflix.

Do you have a show you're looking forward to this fall? Any you're certain you would hate on my list?