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???