December 21 is the end of the Mayan Calender. If we are sitting in the writer's room of Supernatural, The X Files, The Walking Dead, Revolution, Falling Skies, Lost...you name it -- there is a LOT of things we can flash out that will look awesome on television. We are obsessed with the end of world scenarios in popular culture -- demons walk the earth, angels get involved, zombies eat brains, militia takes over, aliens colonize earth, cataclysmic events. Very cliche but we love the angst, the darkness and special effects that blow our minds. Our heroes will come to the rescue! Dean and Sam Winchester can pretty much handle all kinds of monsters, demons and zombies. We'll leave the aliens to Mulder and Scully, and Tom Mason. We'll leave the militia to Miles and Charlie. For everything else, there is Mastercard.
While I am not too excited about this year's Christmas for some reasons, I am sure December 22 will see the dawn. My family has already wrapped all my Christmas presents and organised the Christmas menus. Those things cannot go to waste. Some of my friends start spamming my inbox with articles about the trending topic -- The Apocalypse. Unless it's a Supernatural or Revolution spoiler, I don't want to know! But they are interesting read! Here is one.
Business Insider has identified 14 places to hide out during the apocalypse. Great! It seems to me that some places are only for the rich and famous. But wait, the only Australia city that was mentioned was Perth. Oh Perth, you put the Dullsville in Dullsville, Dullsville! Two other locations caught my eyes. The first one is the concrete apartment buildings in Warsaw, which are like the ultimate safe houses. The second one is Mount Weather, Virginia, it is home to FEMA's National Emergency Coordinating Center. This is where they moved Dick Cheney to after 9/11. Wait.. they didn't use the Stargate?
We are fascinated with the Apocalypse, for some of us it is our obsession with vampires and zombies. Principal Figgins thinks vampires are real. Our PM, Julia Gillard warned us about zombies. In an recent CNN article, it mentioned the work of a researcher, Jerry Piven. He said "an apocalypse almost embeds a tale of fantasy into reality and provides safe theater for exploring death." Robb Willer, an associate professor of sociology at University of California, Berkeley said "...the apocalypse can be a spectator sport and a reality show for some people." Perhaps, we hate our lives so much that we sit on our asses all day and secretly hope the world will end soon, so we don't have to go to work, pay our bills or tell our partners we want a break up because they like Michael Bublé.
But the reality is, the end of the humanity is not fictional. Global warming; an all out nuclear war between nations; the break out of an incurable disease; the low supply of resources and food; the universe can just switch itself off; and according to this website, "...a plague that wipes out 70% of humanity might actually ensure the survival of our species in the longer-term." The 'Doomsday Seed Vault' is a real place in the mountains of Svalbard and selling bunkers for people to survive the Apocalypse is not unheard of. There are things we can do individually to help prolong the life of Earth. And seriously, if our planet is suddenly hit by another planet, there is nothing we can do about it. It's not like we can evacuate everyone via space ships or a Stargate.
Natural disasters, however, happen all the time and they are happening more frequently than I've ever noticed. My household has one philosophy -- our pantry is always full, as in 'enough-for-zombie-attack-full'. And my brother actually has a bug out bag. Shit happens. Look at SuperSandy! Aussie summer can be dangerous with all the bush fire and stuff. So, it's not a bad idea to be prepared!
I think whatever happens under whatever the circumstance, it reveals who we really are. We live in a very paranoid world, when shit happens, will we become heroes or will we become weak and selfish than we already are? Who are you likely to become if you are a character on Lost or Revolution?
And if the world does end on the December 21, what will happen to all of us? If you think demons will walk the earth, zombies will eat brains, militia will take over and aliens will colonize Earth, you can channel your inner Kripke and post your thoughts on Fanfiction.
It seems that I've watched a lot of TV this week (more like last week) and I am also doing a Supernatural season two and Lost (from the beginning) rewatch.
Revolution -- Nobody's Fault But Mine
This mid-season finale is really epic. You can go read Nicole's review on this for more details. Nobody's Fault But Mine is a great way to wrap up a few storylines. It has the Kripke trademark and I think his team is mastering the arts of story-telling. Most important, this tells me the series is well planned. To me, this mid-season finale is the end of one chapter. While there are heaps to reveal, others things that should be wrapped up were wrapped up. Everyone who should be rescued, got rescued -- Danny and Rachel. Nobody died and nobody got left behind. Charlie is growing up as a strong young woman and learning to stand up for her family. And she finally found Danny. Thank you! Rachel helped Bass to switch the power back on. To what extend? Time will tell. The helicopter scene at the end was like watching a 'supposedly not operational Death Star' functional. The show down between two best friends -- Bass and Miles were definitely the highlight of this episode and the first half the season. We still don't now what made the best buddies to turn against each other, but the guys were bitter and angry. Bass is playing sympathy for the devil, but I am sure there is more to his past. David Lyons definitely has one of the best man cries on television, like Matthew Fox on Lost or Jensen Ackles on Supernatural. Lyons' tears have so much anger, you cannot help to feel his pain when Miles told him he meant nothing to him, he was not family...Ouch! This mid-season finale did not disappoint. I really enjoyed it! Bring it Georgia Federation! Whatever you're gonna do!
Revolution is now on a super long hiatus! It returns on Monday, March 25, 2013.
Once Upon A Time -- The Crocodile and The Doctor
I know! I am a few episodes behind! There are so many shows to watch, some of them will have to wait until they get fast-tracked to Australia. Channel Seven is treating OUAT pretty good this season, we get two episodes per week -- Tuesday and Thursday. I watched The Crocodile and The Doctor, which were aired last week in Australia.
The Crocodile took us back to the weak and helpless Rumpelstiltskin in the past, which I love to watch! And I really love to see the contrast of a character's past and present all in one episode. My bro finds it confusing, but I survived Lost, so OUAT is a piece of cake! The contrast helps me to understand the story and the complicity of the character. I think this is a great way to tell a story. A show has got to give viewers layers, otherwise it will be as boring as James Bond.
I was really looking forward to see Killian Jones (aka Captain Hook). I have heard nothing but great things about him. What I love about OUAT is that you get to see the backstory and transformation of the iconic fairy tale characters. I particular enjoyed Pinocchio and Mad Hatter, who are two of my favorite characters and now Captain Hook is growing on me.
The Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin, continues to be one of the best written and performed character on the show. Rumpelstiltskin is a very mysterious character, but now we know he and Captain Hook had a history, it makes it more interesting. Don't you love it when you see two villains face off against each other? It's not the traditional good versus evil show down. It's like watching Alien versus Predictor. One question remains, where the HELL is Baelfire?
The story of The Doctor focused on Victor Frankenstein -- he is obsessed with science, not magic. The Doctor was directed by Paul A Edwards, who also directed last week's Hunteri Heroici of Supernatural, I thought I mentioned that! What I love about this episode is the visual presentation of Dr Frankenstein's lab, this kind of black and white, almost metallic look was awesome! It kinda reminds me of Dr Horrible too! Did I see it coming -- Dr Whale being Dr Frankenstein? No. But now that I know he is Dr Frankenstein, it makes his Dr Whales more interesting, because to be honest, Dr Whales was as boring as my cupcakes! I love that he is in the story but he is probably the only one who believes in science more than magic. Where is the bride?
One more thing, I thought Regina's not-so-evil-self in Storybrooke is weird. She is somewhat powerless and her power is limited. What will happen when her mother arrive? Regina is our Evil Queen. Be evil! I do feel sorry for Regina, her backstory is really interesting. Every girl can cry for a guy, Regina is no exception.
As for Emma and Snow, I miss them! We don't see them on every episode and when we do, there ain't enough! Also does Emma still call Snow as Mary Margaret? Will we hear her saying 'Mum' soon?
Season two of Once Upon A Time returns on January 6, 2013 on ABC.
Smash -- Boomshell
I should know by now what to expect when it comes to Smash. This show could have been a smash hit. I get the theater business drama, backstepping, the girl next-door blah blah, the music and the story, the material was good, but it wasn't as well written as I expected. It's like my banana cake, I know I miss a step, I know I forget to add oil. I know there is something wrong with it, but it still looks ok and tastes ok. Just ok.
But I keep coming back for more! I secretly hope Smash to be a great show. It is just not! While there are heaps of WTF moments, but I still watch it! I still compare it with Glee. Now that Glee is following Rachel and Kurt to New York, every fiber in my body tells me "this is how Smash should be". I know they are different shows and of course the writers have different way of exploring the uniqueness of the shows. Anyway...
Boomshell is a better episode of Smash. It was a good season finale. Everything was wrapped up and Karen was the chosen one to play Marilyn. I don't really care about a lot of them including Dev and Ellis. Whatever. I've learnt how to accept Smash, just watch it and don't yell at it. Don't expect anything! I particular didn't like the montage of the musical Boomshell, and we only got one full song in the end. The look on the faces of Julia, Tom and Eileen look relieved rather than proud. May be they are proud. But I see that as a relief to see the show begins and ends with no major problem on stage and off stage. As an audience, I feel relief too. Thank GOD this season is over! We can now move on to Jennifer Hudson! I saw the promo for season two the other day. Promo is always good even for The CW's Beauty And The Beast, but I think and I hope Jennifer Hudson's voice will at least move me the way Rachel does for Glee.
Smash season two returns on February 12, 2013 on NBC. Not sure how many episodes it will get. I guess depends how good or bad it is. Season one didn't exactly live up to the expectation.
The Walking Dead
I've started watching The Walking Dead! Yay! The first episode really grabbed me! I love a good nonsense zombie drama. It's not just zombies eating people or people kissing zombies -- who does that except Robert Carlye, right? It's one of those shows I need a break from it every two to three episode because it's so depressing! And because of the hot and sticky condition, I don't recommend watching it during a very hot Aussie summer day (or night). The show is into its third season, I am very behind. No spoilers please. Just let me enjoy it!
It certainly has the I Am Legend vibe. But like IAL, I don't find one-man-show boring, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is a very good actor, I've loved him since Love Actually! The story gets more interesting as more characters are introduced.
As 2013 approaches, apart from Supernatural and others, I am super excited about A Game of Thrones. I am half way through A Dance With Dragons, and I am starting to care about what Melisandra has to say. She is either very good at what she does or sucks at her craft. Either way, I think Jon Snow is the real deal in every sense of the word!
On that note, see ya!
