What We're Watching

Will all the TV shows, mini-series, and movies available, we are watching Dark Shadows. It's funny to admit that. I started a Dark Shadows rewatch about two-and-a-half years ago, watching in spurts. When we got to the Leviathan storyline, Jeff started to watch every episode with me. 

We didn't particularly like the Leviathan story, but were determined to get through it because the Parallel Time storyline was coming up. Years ago, Jeff and I watched a few episodes of Parallel Time, but the show suddenly stopped. Apparently, the provider didn't have rights to the following seasons. 

Recently, we've watched Parallel Time 1970 and The Destruction of Collinwood 1995. We're almost through 1840. After this, there's only one more storyline: Parallel Time 1841.

At this point, I guess we're just want to finish the series. I've been watching along with this website.by Danny Horn. Danny does a commentary on each episode beginning with Episode 210, when Barnabas Collins first appears. He lists the blunders of each episode, facts about the actors, and inspirations behind the storylines. Occasionally, he'll discuss other pop culture topics such as Dark Shadows films and comic books, Dr. Who, and comic books. 

Book 32: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

This book is a vast improvement over Dead as a Doornail. After much thought, I rate it higher than Dead to the World. 

In this installment, Sookie heads to New Orleans to go through things left to her by her murdered vampire cousin Hadley. She's also on hand to help Louisiana Vampire Queen Sophie-Anne Leclerq whose recent marriage to the Vampire King of Arkansas is far from a love match.

I enjoyed the ectoplasmic reconstruction spell that Amelia Broadway and other witches use to discover how and why a were had been turned into a vampire at Hadley's apartment. That's the kind of spell that would come in handy. 

Sookie learns some heartbreaking news about her first lover vampire Bill Compton while dating Quinn a weretiger. Sookie and Quinn are attacked twice by weres hired by the Pelt family who (rightfully) blame Sookie for the disappearance of Debbie Pelt.  

At this point, I've read five of the Sookie Stackhouse or Southern Vampire Mysteries. I would like to read the third book because it introduced Russell Edgington, memorably played in the True Blood series by Denis O'Hare. Other than that, I'm not sure if I'll continue.

The original idea of vampires coming out of the coffin because of invention of TruBlood, a synthetic plasma, is brilliant. Not all vampires want to come out and live with humans as equal so that brings a lot of conflict. The werewolves are interesting, but not compelling. Some of the other supernaturals such as werepanthers and weretigers are just too much for me. I guess my suspension of disbelief reached its limit.

Edited to add: Another thing I like about these books is that even in a series about supernaturals, Sookie deals with practical problems as well. She's low on money, until she gets payment for letting amnesiac Eric stay with her in Dead to the World. She's relieved that she and her grandmother had managed to keep up insurance payments when her house is set on fire. Sookie also considers the benefits of marriage to werepanther Calvin Norris. After all, he has a good job with health insurance.

Book 31: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

Someone is targeting shifters including Sam--Sookie's boss and friend, Calvin Norris--a werepanther, and a young woman. Sookie is also shot based on her relationships with various shifters. After the mystery of the shooter is solved, Sookie remains in danger from someone with a vendetta against Eric. She is saved by the patrons at Merlotte's Bar and Grill.

This book is just blah. The shifter killer is a random new character. The plot against Sookie/Eric is clunky and not all that interesting.

Book 30: Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

I previously read the first two of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. This book is the fourth of 13 novels. The main plot concerns a coven of witches who are trying to extort money and take over local vampire businesses. One witch has cast a spell on Eric giving him amnesia; he remains in hiding at Sookie's house. 

Vampires, werewolves, and wiccans team up to fight the witches. Apparently werewolves made their first appearance in the third book in the series (which I haven't read.) Sookie's participation in the battle against the witches give her standing as a friend of the pack in the werewolf community.

A subplot involves the disappearance of Sookie's brother Jason and introduces a community of werepanthers.

I enjoyed the book although the TV series amped up the threat of the witches. The main witch Marnie was possessed by the spirit of a witch tortured by a vampire centuries ago. One of Marnie's spells raised vampires during the day. I loved the scene of Maxine Fortenberry's neighbor exiting her home and bursting into flames.

Goodbye to True Blood

Two weeks ago Jeff and I watched the series finale of True Blood. I still feel ambivalent about it.

We watched True Blood from the beginning. I've always been partial to vampires; they are more sophisticated, charming and more in control than other supernaturals. I was intrigued by the idea of True Blood as a synthetic blood substitute and vampires coming out of the coffin.

In the week before the seventh season premiere, some of the HBO channels showed marathons of the previous six seasons. I caught a few episodes here and there. Watching reinforced my opinion that Season One was the best with the introduction of the characters and the murder mystery.

All of the other seasons seemed to go on too long, or as a friend put it--the shows went off track. In Season Two, I loved the Fellowship of the Sun and  the Godric storylines. But as much as I admire Michelle Forbes, the maenad storyline just went on much too long.

Russell Edginton was the highlight of Season Three, especially his memorable turn on a TV news broadcast. I even liked his werewolf followers I also liked learning more about Eric's background. But I hated Tara's tortured storyline and Sam's family storyline.

Season Four continued the horrible storyline of Jason and the werepanthers. The main plot involved Marnie and the witches' attempt to destroy the vampires. This storyline had the potential to be great. Again it went on too long or went off track. Marnie's possession of Lafayette to kill Jesus was painfully gratuitous.

Season Five was the season of the Vampire Authority--an interesting concept, plus Russell returned, and Steve Newlin is now a vampire. Tara was also turned in Episode One--her journey was intriguing--I've always been a Tara fan. I liked Russell and Steve's romance, and Sam's and Luna's shapeshifting rescue of Emma. The idea of vampires rebelling against mainstreaming was strong, but the Lillith thing was just too much. Terry's story was painful, and I am a Terry fan.

Season Six brought Louisianna's reaction to the extremes of the Authority, with vampire camps. Sarah Newlin returned as one of the camps' main backers. I loved this storyline--it was an organic response to the vampires' actions in Season Five. But...the Bill as God story was confusing. The Warlow story-ugh--the only good thing about it was Rutger Hauer as  a guest star. But that could have been done without the crappy Warlow storyline.

Onto Season Seven. Despite my criticisms of prior seasons, I wanted to see what happens. People in charge of the vampire camps created Hep V, which mutated to create scary, ravenous disease-stricken vamps. Seemingly thousands of them are descending on Bon Temps in the Season Six finale.

Season Seven was the worst. Tara died and her ghostly re-appearances only served to prop her mother Lettie Mae. Now, we're not supposed to care what an abusive mother Lettie Mae was because her husband was bad. Understanding is one thing; whitewashing is another, I hated Violet and her whole Jason is mine storyline. At least she was destroyed.

I hated that Sookie barely grieved her best friend (Tara) and the man she "loved" (Alcide.) While I liked that Jessica and Hoyt got back together, their getting--back--together was too rushed and abrupt.

Now there's Bill's storyline. His seemingly endless flashbacks were snoozeworthy. I hated his manipulation of Sookie to kill him. I was surprised that the show killed him; I didn't expect that.

The final scenes clash in tone. Eric and Pam's infomercial was campy. But as awful as Sarah is, I wasn't crazy about seeing her in chains to be sold off for sips of her blood. The dinner scene at Sookie's was too smaltzy for True Blood. Everyone is paired off--and most of the couples have kids. Sookie herself is pregnant, but the showrunners kept her baby daddy's face hidden, as if they couldn't be bothered to finish her story. Hey, Bill wanted her to have children (that's presumably the reason behind the boring flashbacks) so all is right with the world.

No, it was annoying and a bit insulting to the main character of the show.

I'll miss True Blood but mostly for its good ideas; their execution never seemed to match their quality.

Netflix Movie Night: The Kiss of the Vampire

When we were reviewing Netflix for Halloween movies, I added the Hammer film, Kiss of the Vampire to our queue. I used to go to the Saturday matinees every week and often saw horror movies; this was one of those movies. I've seen it since then, but not in many years.

The movie holds up for the most part. It is mysterious and atmospheric, with a haunting score. The sets are stunning--from the spooky woods to the almost-deserted Grand Hotel--to the eerie but beautiful castle. The opening cemetery scene is memorable, as well as the masked ball.

But, there are a few buts. Why was Gerald so oblivious to the creepiness of the Ravnas? Why did the Ravnas try to convince Gerald that he didn't have a wife? How could they pull that off? Why didn't they convert him at the same time as they converted Marianne? Why were the vampires so whiny?

Still, I was glad to see the film again.

True Blood Season Six

Last night after a birthday dinner with my mother, I felt a bit lost; we didn't have a HBO show to watch at 9 on Sunday night. The season's finale of True Blood was last week.

I enjoyed the season; I enjoy every season, but I feel that something is missing.

The whole Bill story confused me. I still don't know what he was.

I didn't like the Warlow subplot; he seemed to swing from nice guy to big bad to wimp to medium bad. Tying him to a post for several episodes was a snooze. And why did Sookie so easily forget he killed her parents and terrorized her? And why didn't she wonder what happened to Niall? One throwaway line on a phone message to a missing Jason didn't cut it.

Speaking of Niall--Rutger Hauer is one of Jeff's favorite actors. It was great to see him on True Blood, especially as a Stackhouse. Unfortunately, he disappeared for so many episodes, that his final appearance seemed a deus ex machina. But at least he came back from the void.

In my last True Blood post,  I said that I didn't like the Sam and Emma plotline. They resolved that fairly quickly, but it seemed pointless. I hated that Sam has become pointless as a character. Why did Alcide, formerly the most rational werewolf, suddenly become an ass?

What happened to Tara and Lafayette? They had very few lines/scenes and they are my favorites. 

I've loved Andy since Season Two ("I know that pig.") Chris Bauer shined this year dealing with his surprise children and the death of three of them. I loved his protective mode with Adilyn, his apparent reconciliation with Holly and his final scene with Jessica.

I loved the return of Sarah Newlin. I liked the governor as a enemy. I was intrigued by the vamp camp as a reaction to the excesses of the Vampire Authority in Season Five.

I'm not sure what to think of the six month later scenes, the human/uninfected vampire alliance and a roaming pack of hepatitis V-infected vamps.

I just have to wait and see.

Netflix Movie Night and TV Time

I haven't been feeling well the last few days, so I've been watching a lot of TV. I watched a recording of  Parachute Jumper and wrote about it yesterday. We also watched a Dark Shadows episode and the "Out of Gas" episode of Firefly.

First, Dark Shadows: this was the first soap opera that I followed. I caught a few minutes of it as I turned into Where the Action Is  (to see Paul Revere and the Raiders) and got hooked. I didn't see the show from the beginning, but I watched before Barnabas made his first appearance. That makes me an early adopter. The pre-Barnabas years are available on Netflix disks; we saw a few but mostly we watch the instant queue selections. In the episode we watched last night, Dr. Julia Hoffman wants to try to cure Barnabas of his vampirism.

The Firefly episode "Out of Gas" may be my favorite of the series. Zoe saves the day at the beginning and at the end of the episode. We see how the crew members first came to Serenity, revealing more of them than we've seen before. It's a great episode; here is Rhiannon's take.

Today I watched Ex-Lady, starring Bette Davis. Robert Osborne said it wasn't as bad as Bette remembered. I disagree. It's pretty bad. Once again, Bette doesn't have much to do--acting wise--her talent is wasted. It's not enough for me that Bette says she doesn't want babies or that she sleeps with her lover in the same bed. The movie is bad.

The White Queen: I watched the first episode twice, missing the opening scene both times. I read the book after picking it up a a library sale. I'm not a big fan of Philippa Gregory, but was curious. The White Queen is Elizabeth Woodville, the grandmother of Henry the VIII. The War of the Roses is the background for Henry VIII's obsession with an heir. Elizabeth's and Edward's romance is hard to believe. Things got more interesting when Elizabeth went to court. 

The Last Laugh:  I assume I selected this silent movie on a recommendation from riku, It depicts a man who has lost his job as a hotel doorman. It's a good portrait of how one's work becomes one's identity. The ending is unrealistic--apparently the result of studio demands for a happy ending. It's still a movie worth seeing.

True Blood: Season Six Begins

Episode One: Who Are You Really?

I enjoy True Blood; it's must-see TV for us. But I watched the season premiere twice and am ambivalent about it.

I'm intrigued by the human backlash against the vampires.
The governor looks like a good character (but why was the factory scene so long?)
I want to see Sookie meet Andy's girls.

On the other hand...

I like the idea of the werewolves better than the execution. They seem to be too easily addicted to V; how can they be formidable foes?  I hated Alicide biting into a hunk of JD's arm in human form. Nasty.  

Tara and Pam--I prefer to see them as friends rather than lovers.

Sam and Emma--I won't particularly miss Luna but have no interest in seeing Sam raise Emma. We already have a human and faery children, do we need a shifter and a werewolf child?  Maybe it's a way to get Sam and Alcide working together. I liked when they allied themselves against Marcus. In a preview scene,  Alcide speculates that humans will come after the other supes. Maybe that's what will get shifters and werewolves together.

I don't know what to  think about Bill? Is he a supervamp or something beyond that?  

Is there some kind of family theme this season? Bill and Jessica, new dads Andy and Sam and their kids, the wolf pack.

What about the Stackhouses? Is Rutger Hauer a long lost relative?

I hope to see more of the characters back in Bon Temps, going through the daily routines complicated by various supes--more like the first season which remains my favorite. 

I'll be watching next week.

Film Round-Up

I haven't written about films for a while. Here are our latest Netlflix selections:

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: We enjoyed this film--good fish-out-of-water story and a great cast. Director John Madden also directed Shakespeare in Love, which is one of our favorites. After seeing Madden's name in the end credits, I could see the similarities between the two films.

Vamps: At first I thought it was cute, then weird, then cute again. A unique take on a vampire tale that was fun and charming due to an upbeat script and its leads, Alicia Silverstone and Kristen Ritter. It also has Richard Lewis as a romantic lead; that's unexpected.

Prometheus: This was billed as a prequel to Alien. It was intriguing, the kind of film I could watch a few more times to try to make sense of it all. It also contains the most harrowing abortion sequence I've ever seen. Just imagine self-aborting when the fetus is fighting you--scary as hell.

Looper: I have a weakness for time travel movies, even if they're dumb. This one is better than I expected based on the TV trailers. It's even got telekinesis.  I like a future that isn't immutable, that we can change for the better.

What I'm Watching

We're ending fall 2012 with some classic film and television. (Sarcasm Alert.)

Up now: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
One of the toughest things in watching vampire movies is figuring out the mythology. How do you kill vampires? Stake in the heart is the traditional way. Sometimes exposing a vampire to sunlight burns him gradually, sometimes the sun explodes her. What's the status of silver? That's the traditional way to kill werewolves. Sometimes it kills or at least incapacitates vampires. Sometimes vampires turn into bats, sometimes other animals. Sometimes, it varies.

How can you tell for sure when you start a movie?

Abe shot his first vampire in the eye and then threw his gun into the river. I started to comment on vampire rules to Jeff and then learned that this film follows the traditional rule that bullets can't kill vamps (i.e. Abe was attacked by said vampire.)  Abe learned to use a silver-coated ax (hey, he's the rail-splitter, remember.)

I love the idea that southern slave-owners are the vampires/and vampire allies--a simple way to discredit the romantic idea of the old south--cavaliers and their fair ladies if I recall the beginning of Gone With The Wind correctly. Nothing romantic about the Old South. Enslavement of any group is equivalent to the enslavement of all humans. I didn't expect a meaningful parallel for such a silly idea of a movie.

Onto the action-filled finale, I said to Jeff, "I hate to say this in a movie about Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter, but this is getting silly."

At least Mary Todd Lincoln got a cool and appropriate revenge on the vampire who killed her son.

Next up: The series finale for Jersey Shore--yes, I'm watching to the bitter end. It starts with a bonfire/picnic on the beach. First commercial break: Damn, apparently there's a new movie--Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. That's one I hadn't heard of.

Back to Jersey Shore: A mystery frosting on a cake from a dumped girlfriend? Classy.

What is it that I originally liked about this show? (Is that a trick question?) It's hard to remember now. I started watching because I'm familiar with Seaside Heights ( at least the pre-Sandy Seaside.) There were a few funny lines such as "Party's here," and "I do great things--I'm a bartender."

I can't explain why I kept watching, but here I am. Goodbye Jersey Shore (although daily re-runs may continue for some time.)

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

Our latest Netflix arrival: Dark Shadows 2012.

The film starts with a brief story of how Barnabas became a vampire. It differs from the original version (Jeff and I don't like the changes) but Angelique is still the cause of Barnabas' curse.

The atmospheric mood works in the opening scenes: the house is suitably creepy--down a wooded trail to a cold and sterile mansion, complete with the appearance of ghost Josette.

Then Barnabas (and camp) appear. He thinks the McDonald's golden arches are the sign of Mephistopheles. He shows Elizabeth a secret room which is filled with her macrame. A second secret room opens with an array of wolves howling in sequence; it's filled with jewels and riches.

An interesting twist is that Angelique is the head of Angelbay Seafood--the competitor that has been crushing the family fishing business. Another is that Victoria Winters is actually Maggie Evans and had been locked away in an asylum as a child. Ghost Josette showed her the governess ad for Collinwood and she heads to Maine.

I enjoyed the 70's music (the film takes place in 1972)--including Alice Cooper, T Rex, the Carpenters, the Moody Blues, Elton John and Curtis Mayfield.

A party scene includes stars from the original series: Jonathan Frid (Barnabas), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Josette), David Selby (Quentin--not in the movie) and Lara Parker (Angelique.)  I'm sorry to admit I didn't even notice them (until I read IMDB's trivia page. )

Ultimately, the film is disappointing. It's schizophrenic--going from spooky to camp to over the top: a fight scene with Barnabas reminded me of Death Becomes Her; I love that film but the effects didn't work here.

I'm glad we saw this film but glad we didn't rush out to the theater to do so. Frankly, it's been years since we've done that and I had my doubts when I first saw the trailer. But, I'd still call it a must-see for Dark Shadows fans--mostly for what it could have been.

True Blood: Season Five Finale

I've watched True Blood the finale twice and still don't know what to make of it.

Let's start at the beginning. Russell has drained the elder faery and seems on the verge of destroying all the rest, until the cavalry arrives in the person of Eric. It seems out of the blue, a deus ex machina, but later it's said that Sookie summoned him. It  just seemed so easy. I've read theories on TWoP that Russell had to be high for Eric to stake him, but I wish that had been mentioned somewhere on the show.

I'm confused about Jason's vampire-hatred. Yes, he's heard that vampires killed his parents, but he has also allied himself with vampires in the past. Has he forgotten his relationship with Jessica? Has he been poisoned by the faery blast meant for Russell?

Sam was clearly my favorite of the episode. He willingly sacrificed himself to Bill to attempt to (unsuccessfully) reason with him. Later he flew into Roslyn's mouth where he shifted. My reaction: awesome (literally.) Before he did that, Luna shifted from Steve Newlin back to herself. This may be the exposure of shifters to the world.

Tara and Pam? Too much too soon. Remember how they hated each other? In True Blood time that was just a few weeks ago. I saw how they were getting closer and appreciating each other, but I only saw Jessica's question to indicate that they could be a couple.

Overall, the idea of the Authority worked better than the actual execution. The build-up was too slow and the payoff too rushed. I was thrilled to see Russell again but thought his death wasn't what it could have been. I wasn't crazy about seeing Reverend Steve again but his new vampire grew on me.

The birth of "Billith" (credit to a TWoP poster) and the search for Warlo give me something that I want to watch next season.

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

IMDB has the first trailer: http://www.imdb.com/list/RDuccS_NvmY/#play-all

I'm not sure what to think--is it a comedy?

Dark Shadows was my first soap opera. While I thought Barnabas adjusted beautifully and unrealistically to the 20th century, that was a minor point. I fan wanked that Willie covered some things off screen.  I watched Dark Shadows to be scared--at least as scared as I could be with bad special effects in the late afternoon.

I hope Burton kept some some scares and thrills.