Catching Up - True Blood

Wow, it's been forever since my last post, you guys! I blame the cold I had last week. It was pretty bad. Plus my parents came to visit for a few days. I think they were the ones who gave me the cold. DAMN THEM!

Just kidding.

I have, however, been keeping up with True Blood, so I figure I should talk about it now, since that's kinda what I do here.

I'll start with episode two: Keep This Party Going. As usual, you are to be forewarned. There be spoilers ahead!

This episode started out a little slow, in my opinion, but it definitely gained momentum as the hour progressed. Luckily there were some straight-up, laugh-out-loud moments, like Eric shopping at Forever 21 (oooh, scary!) and that "I went on a date with Jesus" song the cult members were rocking out to. Oh, and who can possibly forget this line: "What the hell was the deal with you snapping the American flag in half, like you's some kinda Muslim Buffy with a dick? That's all kinds of messed up!"

Hahahaha. Oh yes. Yes it is.

I'm actually starting to like Jason's character a little more this season. Yeah, he's dumb as a doornail, but he does the whole "conflicted morality" thing pretty well. Am I the only one who thinks that actor would make a hell of a George W. Bush if they ever made another biopic? He could play the hell out of that role, with the perpetually confused expression and going along with what everyone else tells him to do. You can't quite hate him, because he's just so idiotic.

One thing that dismays me about both the last two episodes is that Sam's HAWT belt-buckle is conspicuously missing! Bro has untucked his shirt, and it's no where to be seen! This is a travesty, my friends! Sam's belt buckle is my favorite thing about this show!

(Looky what I found with google image search! Sam would totally wear this!)

After being teased with the possibility of Lafayette becoming a vampire at the end of episode two, we find out in Scratch My Back that he was simply fed on and dumped back into the dungeon. Luckily Sucky Stackedhouse gets mauled in the woods by some weird animal, and Bill is forced to take her to Fangtasia to be cured by some crazy lady that Eric knows, and she finds out about him being held against his will down there. After arguing for a while (I wasn't really paying attention to this part, I admit. I get bored when Sucky gets all rightious) Eric agrees to let Lafayette go in exchange for Sucky's keen investigation skillz.

Meanwhile, Sam is pissed because his new waitstaff isn't working out, Tara is still being hella boring with her newfound hedonism and feelings of self worth, (although it looks like she might be done with that shit soon) and Lil' Miss Vampire Jessica has starting dating a human. Aww. It's all very cute, until Papa Bill comes home and throws her across the room for making out with the guy. Pssh. He is such an ass.

Anyway, I'm hooked.

True Blood Season Two Premier: My Thoughts

Well, True Blood is back... and I still can't stand Vampire Bill. However, the show is filled with too much over-the-top craziness to NOT watch.

The opening credits! How I missed them. Not only does the song rock, but the clips manage to illustrate everything about humanity that drives me insane, which is fitting. Let's face it - most of the characters on this show (with the exception of Tara, Sam, and Lafayette) are total douchebags. And yet, I can't get enough of it! WHY!?? Oh yeah, it's entertaining.

Let's start with Sookie (Sucky) and Bill. Here's a reenactment of their big scene from last night's episode:

Sucky: Oh Bill... I am angry that you betrayed me by killing my uncle, who molested me when I was a child. You've lied about some really big shit recently-- including killing a seventeen year-old and turning her into a vampire. Why can't you trust me? Does it have something to do with the fact that I'm a judgmental bitch?"

Bill: Oh Sucky! I will not apologize for who I am!"

Sucky: Ok! I forgive you! Forget the big dramatic scene that just happened. Let's just have sex now. Also, you can drink my blood, because being constantly anemic makes my brain work even better."

(Naughtiness ensues, because it's HBO, and they can do that.)

Thankfully, the total amount of Bill screen time wasn't so much, which gave the viewers time to catch up on the other characters.

Jason Stackhouse is still a dumb ass, and Dectective Andy is still belligerent. Sam's belt buckles are still strangely hot, and Tara-- oh, Tara. She's starting to be a little less awesome this season-- what with joining a cult and all. But I still like her. I just don't understand what is going on with the crazy lady who has become her new keeper. Every now and then it looks like she's having a seizure.

I guess we'll find out.

The best thing about last night's episode? LAFAYETTE isn't dead! Yay! He's just being held in some kind of dungeon by Eric The Vampire (who was tinting his Katie Couric hairdo.)

Overall, it was a very entertaining episode.

Calling All Language Geeks

I just want to give a shout out to an awesome blog I've recently discovered - Separated By A Common Language. I have a few British friends, so it's kind of fun to look at all the differences between British English and American English.

For example, while I might say "I feel like crap today," they would probably say "I feel crap today," or so on. Apparently, we Americans love "like," and not just in the My So-Called Life kinda way (eg "Why are you like this? Like how you are!" - Angela Chase)

Why is this locker, like, so cold and uncomfortable?

There's also an interesting post on sarcasm and irony. The British are more likely to use sarcasm in a gentle way - as a kind of teasing, or "taking the piss" out of something (a phrase that would be looked at with raised eyebrows here in the states. I only know it from hearing it from friends and while watching British comedies.) Sarcasm, here, is more likely to be regarded as a bit hostile.

If you are planning on traveling to England, or living there for a time (for school, etc.) then you might find this blog to be very informative and fun.

Season Eight's Tales Of The Vampires - An Interesting Glimpse Into The Buffyverse's "New World Order"

I have to say, I really enjoyed this issue. I thought the story pacing was just right, and I loved the artwork and colors used. Plus, the cover by Jo Chen? Just gorgeous.

I thought that that Tales did a great job of portraying the newly-altered universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; better, perhaps, than Harmonic Convergence, by Jane Espenson (though I love me some Jane, don't get me wrong!) While I enjoyed Harmonic Convergence, it felt rather rushed, and I did not come away with any clear sense of how the world of vampires and slayers had changed - though obviously something had changed drastically! To quickly recap HC - basically, the issue changed the nature of the slayerverse in that it brought vampires out into the public sphere. I know a lot of people who took issue with this, but I actually think it's a good idea. I never really bought into the fact that no one knew vampires existed except for Buffy and her gang. But while I like the idea of vampires in the public consciousness, the execution of this theme in Espenson's issue felt a bit cartoonish - which is not bad, per se...sometimes cartoonish works, but it didn't really work for me in terms of establishing a radically new theme/world. On it's own, I don't think this new issue would either, but as a follow up it made the newly changed slayerverse come to life a bit.

This issue does not include Buffy, or any of our main characters. And while there is nothing particularly compelling about Jacob - I think that maybe that's the point. He's just your typical emo kid, living in a small town and wanting to feel something - anything - that will make his life seem more meaningful. So of course, he hangs out with vampires. The metaphor for hanging with the "bad crowd" is a bit heavy-handed, but it plays out well here. Eventually Jacob is turned into a vampire himself, and ultimately he turns his friend Alex - who we find out is a slayer.

The interesting thing is that Alex didn't want to become a slayer. Or a vampire. She has no choice in any of these areas - though Jacob's last words in the issue are about his own power of choice in turning her. It's a grim, disturbing ending - implying that Alex's choice means nothing. But is Jacob's crime against her the only real evil here? What about the slayer spell that took her from the normal life that she wanted? Where was her right to consent in that? It's a lot of food for thought, and while it's fun to look at the spell Willow cast (a spell to make every potential slayer an actual slayer) as a kind of mass-women-empowerment-thingy, ultimately there are some problematic aspects to the whole scenario - the most obvious being, of course, choice.

Buffy Season Eight - Catching Up

Before I begin this rant, I just want to say that, overall, I've really enjoyed the Buffy Season Eight comic series; issue #24, however, was a huge let down for me. As a result, I lagged a bit before taking the journey to my local comic book store to buy issue #25 (I'm glad, however, that I did.)

I had been eagerly looking forward to Safe, as it features two of my favorite Buffyverse characters - the much underused Faith and Giles. No Future For You was my favorite arc of the series thus far, followed closely by Wolves at the Gate. I thought that Brian K. Vaughn wrote an excellent Faith - getting into her head just enough to show the remnants of self-doubt and reproach that lingered from her days as a troubled rogue slayer, while still showing the tenacity and zest for life that kept this character alive and fighting for redemption.

I don't see that Faith anywhere in this issue. Her dialogue is ridiculously simplistic, not to mention a little bit too dry and sardonic. I know she's been hanging out with Giles a lot lately, but I really can't imagine her saying things like "Yay, let's bond," or "This really obvious trap feels like an obvious trap." It just doesn't feel like Faith. I could not hear her voice as I read.

And don't get me started on Giles! I could not find him anywhere here. Sorry Jim Krueger.

So yeah, I was a bit hesitant to buy Living Doll. I know that Safe was just a one-shot, but the fact that I could not relate to two of my favorite characters really upset me. I think I may have even thrown the issue across the room at one point, and it took me a couple of days before I could pick it up again and finish it.

But I love Joss, and I love Buffy, so I decided to buy issue #25. I know that I am late to the party, but here are my thoughts anyway.

Living Doll is a big improvement over Safe - especially when it comes to dialogue. Doug Petrie writes a great Xander, complete with hilariously blundering metaphors and quips: "Teenagers. Like to run free. Four legged ones probably twice as much." "Bugger. Hey, check me out. Now I can hate myself in British." Buffy's dialogue, however, was not as punchy - though I did think the Veronica Mars shout-out was fun.

It was a fun read, and I like the fairy tale aspect that's been weaving its way in and out of the entire comic series. But one thing the issue does is make clear that Dawn is, essentially, useless to this story as a character, and has been from the beginning (to be fair, I will admit that I am not a fan of Dawn - so I can see how a Dawn fan might enjoy this aspect of the series more than I.)

Why else would they need to keep turning her into living metaphors? When she was a giant, it was because Buffy was paying no attention to her. She literally had to be huge in order to be noticed in a room (well, field, maybe) full of newly activated slayers. Now Buffy is looking for her, but she is tiny - a doll. She is something that needs protection. But these aspects of her are never worked into the story via actual character development, merely as a result of a spell that Kenny the Thricewise cast on her.

Which, by the way... I don't really think that cheating on someone during your freshman year of college warrants being the victim of a spell like this one. The fact that she forgave him so easily at the end was a bit unbelievable, in my opinion. What she did may be wrong - but what he did was much worse.

Besides this, I enjoyed Living Doll, and look forward to reading the next issue!