Invitation: The Year That Was

I must put on my thinking cap!

Hello earthlings, I am inviting fans of pop culture to submit a quote (or a tweet) that sums up your thoughts on 2011 as a fan of your favorite TV shows, movies, books and technology. Your submission will be included in my The Year That Was feature, which will be live towards the end of December.

You are welcome to send them to me via Twitter (public or DM). Spread the news!

Go nuts!

Random Thursday Edition -- Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. Just stay away from the Turducken! At least don't piss it off!

I am kinda glad that we have a week off, because I have visitors this week. It would've been impossible to watch Supernatural and do my review. And with the silly season is just around the corner.. like 31 days to go... there are just shit load to do.

So, what can we expect from next week's episode of Supernatural? Bobby must live! He must live! He is the Uncle who lives! After looking at the photos, it kinda feel that Bobby is doing a In My Time of Dying or Inception.. may be he is in limbo?

I am dying for some Dean!

Rufus.. YES!

There's only one thing we say to Death – “Not today”.

Review: Supernatural 7.09 How to Win Friends & Influence Monsters

Written by Ben Edlund and directed by Guy Bee, How to Win Friends & Influence Monsters was a really really solid episode. If you want to test a man's character, put them in a confined situation, take all his resources away. Team Free Will has been taken out of their comfort zone by the Leviathans. They really don't know the Leviathans enough to put a battle plan together. When it comes to destroying the Leviathans, they are only scratching the surface; when it comes to the bigger plan, Dick is playing smart and we've only just discovered what their agenda is. If there is a time when we think world should've ended with the apocalypse, this is the time!

Before the Leviathans, at least we have Bobby's house as the headquarter, at least we have a base. But this is crap. Team Free Will don't have a base, their friends are either dead or not so close to them, they are truly on their own. Talking about 'we are so screwed..' This is on a completely different scale.

There are plenty of trademark Ben Edlund smartass one-liners and references. This episode alone deserves a 'How To Write Like Ben Edlund'. I actually think that all scenes are very well thoughtout in the dialogues department (not that I expect anything less from Ben). The dialogues are so good, I have to watch each scene for 3 times to really enjoy them.

The episode is jam-packed with humors and gore and has some of the best SFX I've seen from the series. For a second, I thought we are having a zombie episode, I love zombies! While there are some classic-filler-y Supernatural gory moments, we are back to the theme of season seven very quickly.

Dick! What can I say? James Patrick Stuart hits this one out of the park! This villain is growing on me. I mean, he is a villain you love to hate and hate to love. He is up there with Zachariah and Lex Luthor. He is not smart.. he is very smart. Is it just me or do you love The Rise of Dick CNN-like highlight reel? It's a clever idea from the creative team. If I were Dean and Sam, I'd love to explore the idea of going public as a counterattack. Think about it. I think the whole monster thing should go public, make the papers! Everyone should know about monsters. Everyone should know they have a Jack Bauer…. oh wait.. I mean the Winchesters. Everyone should know they are protected by the best hunters in the world.

Turducken-Slammer-drunk Dean doesn't care that he doesn't care. We have some of the best wisdoms from Bobby in this episode. I hope Dean takes those in and really think about what Bobby said. Like I mentioned many times before, Dean has a hero syndrome, every now and then, he needs someone like Bobby (or Ellen) to kick his ass and put him back on track. Man! I hope Bobby is ok…! My heart literally stopped. We've lost Cas, I don't want to lose Bobby! We still need enough characters to make season eight!

I am officially off meat for awhile.. at least until Xmas. I am not getting drunk from a Turducken Slammer. I am not going to piss off my sandwich.

We are on a one-week hellatus. An all-new episode of Supernatural is back on 2nd December with 7.10 Death's Door, here is the official synopsis.

BOBBY REVISITS HIS PAST – As Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) race the clock on a high-stakes mission, Bobby (Jim Beaver) seeks the help of an unlikely old friend to solve one of the most personal cases of his life. Robert Singer directed this episode written by Sera Gamble.



Bobby can't be dead, right?!

After 7.10 we will officially go into the winter hellatus. Supernatural will return on January 6th 2012. It's not a long hellatus, I can even watch 7.11 during my Xmas/ NY break.. that's so awesome!!!

My Supernatural season one rewatch is on track. I am onto the last disk. While I revisit Supernatural, I have also started with A Game of Thrones. I am watching and reading the story simultaneously. I am really impressed. Like… I think I've found a new show worthy of download and possibly blogging. I'll keep you posted.

Gerry Weaver, You're Awesome

Gerry Weaver writes for BlogCritics. Finally, a pro is writing like a pro. And not like.. (no name mentioned)... This is fair, professional, constructive and positive. Finally someone GETS it!

So, Gerry, thank you. I love you man! This is a must read for fans and critics. And I am glad Gerry addressed many issues the Impala's Trunk have touched on.

"Supernatural’s seventh season is now well underway, and it’s provoked different reactions amongst its fans. AOL’s TV critic, Mo Ryan, wrote an essay of her concerns with the writing of this season. I have a very different feel for this season and what the show has offered me over the years. So, I decided to add to the conversation about the current quality of Supernatural’s writing...." Read the full article here.

Review: Supernatural 7.08 Season 7, Time For A Wedding

Dean, I am in love.. and it's not fakeRuby.

I have mixed reaction to this week's episode Season 7, Time For A Wedding. While there are a few good things in the episode, there are some not-so-good stuff here too.

The episode was written Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin, I wish they didn't write it. This is a wasted opportunity for what could've been a really really awesome meta episode. Supernatural is usually very awesome when it comes to meta, episodes such as Monster At The End Of The Book, Changing Channels, The French Mistake and Ghostfacers (yes, the Facers) are one of my favourite episodes. Season 7, Time For A Wedding makes The Real Ghostbusters a piece of gold.

While I am fine with Becky to be the centre of the episode, I just think the writing wasn't there to do justice. I know not many fans like Becky but I don't mind her if the material was written right. As annoying as she is, I don't mind her in Sympathy for the Devil and The Real Ghostbusters because I think her support role served a purpose. But in Season 7, Time For A Wedding, the material didn't work for me this time and the whole Becky-Tweeting thing didn't work at all. It's like Dabb and Loflin tried to copy what other writers have done in the past and mashed things together in an odd way.

And why Dean needed help from another hunter when Bobby couldn't help? Dean is more than capable to work on a case like this. So that was a bit random to me.

Like I said over and over again, even in a bad episode of Supernatural there are always things I like. What works for me is Garth and the demon bad PR stuff. Garth is a good character to develop, there are some cool moments and lines from him. I'd like to see him again. DJ Qualls did a really good job, the last time I saw him on TV was on The Big Bang Theory where he played Sheldon's fake cousin. He was SO funny, I was so looking forward to his contribution to Supernatural. The character was a bit underdeveloped, but that's ok. I hope to see him again.

The demon deal story line is actually clever. But again, it comes back to the construct of the episode. The demon made really good deals and then staged an accident so that he could collect souls earlier. It's bad PR, as Crowley put it. Only if Dabb and Loflin could keep everything consistence across the entire episode, it would've been awesome! I mean, they wrote some really good lines for Crowley! 

"This isn't Wall Street, this is Hell. We have a little something called integrity." Crowley made quote of the week!

I love Crowley didn't try to partner with the boys this time (like he normally would) but he told them he cleared his troops so that Dean and Sam can concentrate on fighting the Leviathans. Oh Crowley, I love you! Crowley's appearance at the end of the episode made the episode. I can forgive and forget all the awkward stuff.

Jensen Ackles' comedic skill saved a lot of scenes in this episode. The guy is so expressionistic and I love him! I mean, to be honest, Jared is not as good as Jensen when it comes to comedic moments. I love how the brothers were back to good times so quickly before the end credit rolled out. That was a bit too quick, but hey, I'll take it if they don't talk about Amy Pond.

Overall, Season 7, Time For A Wedding was a bit disappointing because we know it could've been a very awesome meta episode. I am not a huge fan of most of the episodes written by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin but they have done some good stuff before and there is no reasons why they can't do it again, right? I just want them to be awesome! I know they can do so much better than this. They can be the next Kripke, Edlund or Carver, they just need to lift their game.

And bring back the Impala!!!! Stop Dean from driving whatever piece of crap he is driving!! We want the Impala!!

Next week's episode looks really awesome. Episode 7.09 How to Win Friends And Influence Monsters. Great title! The episode is written and directed by my dream team -- Guy Bee and Ben Edlund. Quality guaranteed!

Random Wednesday Edition - Supernatural News; Season One Rewatch

Nicholas Lea (aka Krycek from The X Files) is going to guest star on Supernatural. I am loving the guest stars this seasons. I just want them to cast me now.. oh wait.. what?

Anyhoo.. I am very excited to read about Revolution by J.J Abram and Eric Kripke. I am very happy to hear what J.J has to say about the series and Kripke. This is the show I most look forward to and I think it looks promising! It's a must watch show for all Supernatural and Lost fans. Read J.J's interview here.

Supernatural is nominated for two awards at the People's Choice Awards. I'll get over the sci-fi thing like I do every year. Vote people! Vote until fingers fall off! Supernatural is nominated for Favorite Network TV Drama and Favorite Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Show. This year, not only you can vote via the website, you can also vote via Twitter with specific hashtags and via the official voting app on smartphones. For more information, visit PeoplesChoice

Before I leave you, I have started Supernatural season one rewatch. Kara, Amy and yours truly are up to no good once again -- Season one awards, here we come!! Watch this space!  

Retro!

Review: Supernatural 7.07 The Mentalist

Good times!

One thing for sure, I am glad Simon Baker wasn't in the episode.

You know, I never mention this and I probably never realised this until now -- I love when random characters 'get' the supernatural stuff and accept assistance from the Winchesters. People shouldn't know what's out there, but when they do know monsters and ghosts are out there, and they get help from Dean and Sam, a simple thank you is nice to see -- Jody Mills, the police in Slash Fiction, Detective Ballard from The Usual Suspects, the mother in Home, the Nigella Lawson lookalike in this episode.. to name a few characters who thank the Winchesters for saving their lives. Not that Dean and Sam ever asked for a reward or anything, it's just nice to see them getting a proper thank you, which could be two of the most difficult words to say. It's nice to see people showing gratitude and respect what they do, which is saving people hunting things.. 

The Mentalist is very season one to me. The opening scene is a fun one.. the anticipation, the gore and the humour were all there making this scene a classic Supernatural scene. The backdrop, Lily Dale, the most psychic town in America, was kinda fun too. The mention of Ellen was awesome! I like how in a few words from beyond the grave could make Dean go "OK, that's it! Enough of this crap, I am going to talk to Sammy."

Speaking of enough of this crap.. I am so glad SO GLAD it's all done and dusted. Sammy, stop being a bitch! Yes! Thank you writers!! Dean wasn't feeling guilty about killing Amy, who killed four people. It felt right because it was the right thing to do. But hiding that secret from Sammy was killing Dean as witnessed from the previous episodes. Let's be fair, both Dean and Sam have been through a lot of crap ever since they were little. It's easy for the Leviathans to say, "How come these guys can still stand each other?" The Winchesters never give up on each other, the family is dysfunctional but they don't leave each other behind. They stick to each other, watch each other's back. The kind of things they are willing to do for each other is extreme and sometimes creepy (like making a deal with the devil, who does that, right?) but that's the core of the show. It's a journey, there are good days, and there are bad days.

I think the original brotherly love is slowing making a return and this time, it's staying for good. I miss that! And you know what else I miss? The Impala! Baby! Dean can't drive that piece of whatever.. he needs his baby! Bring back the Impala!!! Bring back the Impala!!!! Overall, I like this episode a lot. The whole Dean-and-Sam-sorting-out-their-shit made the episode. And again, thank you Ben Acker and Ben Blacker for wrapping things up. Ben Acker, by the way, is the dude from the Nerdist Podcast, which I love! Check out the podcast when you get a chance, Ben Edlund was on one of the episodes.

Before I leave you for the night, I just wanted to get something off my chest. It's often easier to hate than to love. But I wonder if it's easier to write something you dislike than writing something you love? I think not. I love what I write and I write what I love. Sometimes I don't write perfectly, but I still write because I want to and I hope people don't hate and burn what I write.

Take my favourite TV show as an example, if I don't like what I watch and still write about it, surely that would kill me in the writing process, right? Why bother with something you dislike? It's not like you have to write about the politicians you dislike, carbon tax, unions taking strike, traffic goes into chaos when weather gets crappy. There is no need to bring something down when there is no need for it. Perhaps you should spend time on writing something you feel more passionate about. It's like a marriage, it's not about who's right and wrong anymore, but a divorce could be the best thing ever happened to a couple. 

You may argue why hardcore Supernatural fans can always find something they like in any episode. Are we blind? Are we just watching the show for hot guys? It's not a bad thing to find something good in things. I don't want to be someone who always has something bad to say about everything.

OK.. so.. who is ready for a wedding???

Review: Supernatural 7.06 Slash Fiction

This review is to be read with Air Supply's All Out of Love.

What a perfect title for the episode! I was half expecting this episode to go nuts with the honey bunny scene. They kind of did, but in a Supernatural-network TV style -- you see it but you don't see it. The Winchester clones was a clever idea by the writer Robbie Thompson, who is a relatively new writer. This was his first Supernatural episode and I hope he will write more. I don't know what is it, but I think his stuff has the Jeremy Carver vibe. Robbie also wrote for Jericho, Human Target and The Cape.

This episode is what I've been talking about in recent weeks -- dialogues and meat in the script! Robbie Thompson did a fantastic job! The dialogues he'd written really got meat in them and he brought something new to the episode. I love the Leviathan's reply to Bobby, "Not quite the finish as holy water, but not as bitter as rock salt." Classy! For a Leviathan! Another thing I love about the script is the season one call back -- the Lady in White, Dead in the Water etc.. the earlier cases. I love that!

What I love about this episode is that Jensen Ackles and Jarpad get to play the Dean and Sam clones. Fans love some bad boy Dean and Sam! We've seen the bad boy Dean in episodes such as Skin, Dream a Little Dream of Me, Two and a Half Men; we've seen the bad boy Sam in Born Under a Bad Sign and When the Levee Breaks. This is the first time we them in their bad boy clones interacting in dialogues and doing full on bad things together. The conversation in the diner before they wasted everyone was very good. I love that Robbie Thompson paid attention to Sam's hair and the Impala!! Even the Impala has to be in lockdown!! Details!! DETAILS!!

I also welcome Kevin McNally to the show. It's weird to see Mr Gibbs in a non Pirates role, but I love it! I thought he brought some heavyweight acting to this episode. The dialogues that were written for him got a lot of meat and it suits him.

Is it just me or do you also love the Bobby and Jody stuff? It's about time Bobby gets some! It's so cute! And thank you Jody for mopping the floor! I am a little in love with the Montana house. It's starting to feel like a new headquarter! Supernatural sticks to the basic when it comes to their evil hunting weapons and methods, we are familiar with iron, silver, rock salt and holy water, and now.. sodium borate. I bet the Ghostfacers don't know about this one! Next time when facing a new kind of monsters, always start with the household cleaning products. You'd never know, may be Baygone can kill a Rugaru. 

Of course, I love all the Pulp Fiction references. Can you imagine if they turn the whole episode into Pulp Fiction! That'd be amazing! And I love Dean singing All Out of Love! INSTANT CLASSIC DEAN MOMENT!!

Let's quickly touch Crowley. It's not unusual to see Crowley to go to the Leviathans with a business proposition. But it's unusual to see Crowley not closing a business deal. He always get what he wants, the King of Hell even got a deal with Castiel! The Leviathan in the limo acted like a corporate PR douche -- we don't need to work with you, we are that good! That's gotta hurt Crowley's feeling! Or better, angry! I think he will go to the Winchesters with the back-to-the-good-old-days speech. And by then, I hope to see the return of Castiel!! Love the organic muffins by the way, nice touch Crowley!

Now that we know the sodium borate is the holy water to the Leviathans, it's a good thing. What's next for Dean and Sam? Are they ready to bring the fight to them and end them? They will need help. They don't want to waste time on the Stunt Leviathan A, B and C, they want to big boss! I think this is where Crowley can help, and I think this is where Castiel can return. I think the dude in the limo is not the big boss, he is like Zach. Someone is higher than him... and I hope the big boss is still inside Jimmy/ Castiel, I think this is how the big boss can be killed. We are approaching the mid-season finale, the story is travelling nicely. I can't wait to see more.

Why haven't I mentioned about Amy Pond? What's there to talk about? The secret is out. She is still dead. Sam is walking away (which by the way, Dean never walked away like that with all things Sam's done in the past)... You know the brothers will be back together! Look at next week's episode, they are working on a case together in episode 7.07 The Mentalist (no Simon Baker please, can't stand the guy!)

Joss Whedon Goes Shakespeare with Much Ado About Nothing

At last year's SDCC, Joss referred to his Avengers cast as "his dream team". As perfect as the Avengers cast is, long time die hard fans know THE Joss Whedon dream team is not the Joss Whedon dream team until you hear names such as Nathan Fillion and Amy Acker.

So, the news is out! Joss completed a 12 day shoot of Much Ado About Nothing, a film based on a Shakespeare play. Joss shot the film in his house in Santa Monica, California with cast so big, I cannot contain my excitement!

Amy Acker — Beatrice
Alexis Denisof — Benedick
Nathan Fillion — Dogberry
Clark Gregg — Leonato
Reed Diamond — Don Pedro
Fran Kranz — Claudio
Sean Maher — Don John
Spencer Treat Clark — Borachio
Riki Lindhome — Conrade
Ashley Johnson — Margaret
Emma Bates — Ursula
Tom Lenk — Verges
Nick Kocher — First Watchman
Brian McElhaney — Second Watchman
Joshua Zar — Leonato’s aide
Paul M. Meston — Friar Francis
Romy Rosemont — The Sexton
And introducing Jillian Morgese as Hero

According to the press release, "Much Ado About Nothing is the first feature Bellwether, a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole for the production of small, independent narratives for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story." I love the idea!!


For someone like Joss to make a movie with a cast this big without any leak to the media, is amazing! He really has a group of very loyal friends -- people who love what they do, love the art, love and respect Joss!

To read all about Much Ado About Nothing, check out the Official Website and Wired.

I don't know about you, but this is the next most exciting thing next to the release of the Avengers!

Joss, thank you for being so awesome!!

Review: Supernatural 7.05 Shut Up! Dr Phil

We know Kung-Fu!

It's not like I don't like the filler-the-monster-of-the-week episodes, it's just that I love the mytho heavy episodes in the past (and always) more. For some reasons, this is the first time in awhile that I welcome a good and fun filler episode such as Shut Up! Dr Phil. I don't know why, I guess I was just so bothered by last week's episode, I really don't like the whole putting Dean on trial thing, I don't like the idea of making Dean feels guilty. I know it only makes him more human, and I get it, but again it's the writing and the material I don't like. I officially hate Defending Your Life. May be that's why I welcome a fun filler like Shut Up! Dr Phil. Have you guys seen the funny version of Dean and Sam in the motel room? I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the actual footage. That was awesome!

There are a couple of Awesomesauces I would like to discuss this week. First of all, how often do we hear a dude screaming in the opening of a Supernatural episode? That was as awesome as Dean screaming at a cat in Yellow Fever. The dude was not good, he was very good. One thing Supernatural does really well was the scare tactics. The anticipation of Wendy getting electrocuted was well paced, it came down to the writing and the editing I guess. That was awesome!

Although Jim Beaver wasn't in the episode, but Bobby's grumpy-old-man-badass attitude was so well told through Dean's phone dialogue with him. You can just imagine the look on Bobby's face when Dean was speaking to him over the phone.

Speaking of a missing regular, I love the idea of having Cas appeared in Dean's dream. Poor guy, he must be stress! Dean feels crap about everything -- from friends' deaths to not being able to save everyone -- there is always something eating in him, that's him. When something bad happened, he feels responsible, it's always his bad. If Amy Pond kills again, it's on him. If Sam goes dark side, it's on him. The Hero syndrome -- every hero has it, Jack Bauer, Jack Shephard -- that's who they are, they are not the sharing type. It's hard to be a hero's friend or family. 

I don't know why, but you can tell when the writers had fun writing the episode. The thought process like adding a bit of gore here and there was very well done in Shut Up! Dr Phil. "There were tiny beating hearts in my cupcakes" was awesome! I gotta say, writers Brad Buckner and Eugene Ross-Leming really nailed it this time! The last time they wrote for Supernatural.. well…. 99% of us didn't like racist monster truck.

There were other random dialogues in this episode, which I love! We know everything about the victim! Dewey Stevens, Rotarian, Methodist, tenor, blue ribbon pecan pie champ, asthmatic…It's a small community in Prosperity.

I don't know about you but I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face when I know I am talking to Agent Sambora, whose sides are poking out. 

I love the idea of having Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters in the witch version of War of the Roses (it could've been Mr and Mrs Smith). James and Charisma were so cool! They were both very comfortable in their roles and they nailed it. There were sparks between the Starks. It was awesome! I cannot think of another actor and actress who could play Don and Maggie. James Marsters had the George Clooney vibe and Charisma's hair.. OMG.. I love her hair and her party dress. I sense a return! I don't think it's a random idea from the writers to reveal Don's power to us -- he could petrify a Leviathan. Supernatural doesn't throw an idea out there and not follow through (except Grandpa.. but let's just pretend that didn't happen at all) Surely the Starks need to come back to help the boys, right?

It's not very often we see the Winchesters not finishing a job by killing the monsters. Especially in the monster-of-the-week type of episodes, they killed off most monsters 90% of the time. Occasionally Dean and Sam let them go, for example the vampire Lenore and this time they spare the lives of the Starks. May be the witches are too powerful and may be it's a 'better-get-out-of-there-thanks-for-saving-our-lives' type of situation.

Btw, let the poor man have his pie!!

Anyway, overall, Shut Up! Dr Phil was a great filler episode with a little bit of the Leviathans element. The Cheeseman is stunned but will return. Stay turned for next week's episode Slash Fiction… I love you Honey Bunny!






The CW also released another teaser about what's coming! Mr Gibbs anyone? Check out that promo at SpoilerTV.

If you missed Supernatural on MTV'10 on Top, here is it!!! Take the mystery spot tour with Jensen and Jarpad. Apology for the lame introduction!