tennisgurl

So Tony the Cop from Shameless huh? I see it. I was pretty iffy at first, but these Frozen spoilers have me rather intrigued...damn it.

I think you might have discovered this seasons new plot! Regina and company travel the multiverse, building an empire to be ruled by benevolent dictator Saint Regina of Woobiedom. And all will happily join the cult of Regina. Resistance is futile!

Yeah, for my own personal mental health, my head cannon is that she said it in the heat of the moment. With him possibly getting sucked into a portal, all the emotions and old baggage, it just came out. Any other point in time? During a non near death experience? She might forgive him, but she certainly doesn't love him. That's my story and I'm sticking to it damn it!

I could watch a whole show about Ray being an idiot, screwing around all over the drug scene, while Caesar rolls his eyes and sighs. This show has the best odd couple pairings. Linder! I missed you and your amazing beard! I already like Eleanor more than last years Big Bad (if she is being set up as this years big villain). She is a seriously scary lady. I guess you would have to be to be a woman who has risen so high in a cartel. She does seem to have some issues with men though. Maybe she was one of the girls who disappeared at some point? The scene where the cross dresser was killed was surprisingly affecting.

If there was an entire episode where every character who ever had beef with Regina and/or Rumple got together, and just had a giant gripe session, that would probably be the greatest episode ever made. But since that probably wont happen, fanfiction writers, start your engines! As for Pan, I fully expect him to randomly pop up again. If fans start complaining about future plot development/bad guys, they could totally bring him back to keep the fans happy.

Agent Dark, that's a really interesting idea! I thought that it was an intriguing choice to have Caleb reading that particular book (unless they just wanted to show us that Caleb has great taste in reading material!), and I had wondered about the meaning. It seems like the director wouldn't have focused so much on it for no reason. Especially because it was followed by that Alli/Caleb scene, and later talking about his Ravenswood experiences. How much do those horror elements affect this show? I mean, now that that's all out there, will it factor into anything?

Ok so, I know I have heard about this a whole lot, but what exactly did Adam and Eddie say about Graham not being raped by Regina? I have tried to find the interview when they discussed it, and its hard to sift through all the interviews/podcasts, and quite honestly, I just cant stand to listen to some of the dumb stuff they say for too long. I know that they think they left it ambiguous in the enchanted forest (but...come ON guys!) but how did they explain away the fact that she had sex with him in Storybrooke while he was under the curse? I just don't get how they can explain that away!

I just love the fact that Spencer clearly has just zero time for Ezra. She clearly thinks he's a creep, but she needs something from him, so shell go get it, but she doesn't have to like it. And no one stands in the way when detective Spencer is on the case! That being said, I liked the scenes with Ezra and Spencer tonight. Any time the show acknowledges the fact that Ezra/Aria is sketchy as hell, I get an extra spring in my step. I can never fully tell if all the writers are on board with Ezra/Aria as an actual, romantic couple, or if they think its as creepy as I do. Hopefully the former. Spencer and drunk Hanna should spend some time together. They can go full on "Don't have time for this bull crap, lets just tell some truths right now" all over everyone. And I have to say, I really like Hanna's style the last few weeks. I also loved that scene with Emily and her mom. She basically said everything to Emily that I have been screaming at the TV for weeks. She just said it a lot nicer.

*Shrieks with glee* I'm so excited! Now I can watch the last few episodes, and know that there are more on the way :)

Yeah, I am not really a huge Anime person, but Cowboy Bebop is awesome. Its a fun sci- fi story, but also has lots of really in depth character work and dialogue. Plus the soundtrack!

Why am I JUST NOW discovering this show?!?! I just randomly stumbled across an episode on TV one day (It was the bottomless pit episode) and I just about laughed my head off. I have been rushing through the season, but now I only have a few episodes left! What will I do now?!?! I need my daily Waddles fix!

Heheheh Its almost like there is a really interesting story in here somewhere with Robin and Belle. Like, why do people fall for partners that are clearly bad news? Do they think they can "fix" them? Do they like the danger? Are they self destructive? This is territory that other, better shows have mined a lot of interesting stuff out of. Unfortunately, the show hasn't really given them that much thought, or about the implications of these "redemptive" relationships. Plus, even if they tried to dig more into these issues, I really don't think they would be handled very well. "Hi my name is Belle. My choice in relationships is extremely questionable" "Hi Belle..."

To me, Parks and Rec is an example of how to couple off your characters the right way. No obvious end games, no pointless love triangles, just people getting together, and then living their lives, with more opportunities for jokes and storylines. If the only thing that can be an obstacle for a couple is bringing in some third party, who is more plot device than character (they did this on The OC so many freaking times) or taking original characters and messing with them to creat more love triangle drama (the whole Wesley/Gunn/Fred mess on Angel), it shows a real lack of creativity on the writers part. I know some fans have complained about so many characters on Parks and Rec getting married, having kids, etc., but it always seemed very natural to me. I never saw it as a very "shippy" sort of show, in that the couples became more important than the stories. They just allowed for more stories to be told. And yes, I find Ben and Leslie to be freaking adorable. Also total agreement on writers caving into internet pressure when it comes to certain couples. I have always felt that, in the age of the internet and the increasing visibly of fandom, its important for writers to be aware of what fans are saying, but not be ruled by them. Its one thing to listen to actual constructive criticism, and hear what's working and what isn't, including couples and characters. Its another to assume that all people want is shippy stuff, and to leave behind the story, or platonic relationships. I feel like that's seriously hurt Glee (back when it was sort of tolerable), and is currently happening on Arrow ( I wouldn't say that the show has been hurt TOO terribly much, but I worry that its the direction its moving in, with the writers paying too much attention to the shippers, and less attention to the story). At the end of the day, I want to see how the writers tell the story, not how Tumblr would tell it.

Even with the extremely poorly thought out "Royals" plotlines and weird world building, I still enjoy the hell out of Grimm. I like the characters, I like the interaction they have with each other. And when they go back to the "fairy tales in the modern world" thing, like the Hansel and Gretel episode, or when they do interesting mythological stuff, like the La Lorena episode, its a pretty great show. Really, its just the mythology heavy episodes that bring it down. Even this season, I liked some of the stand alone episodes (the mermaid girls, the one with the manticores), so I still say its worth checking out. Its just been disappointing how the world building ended up being handled.

Poor Spencer. Her family is falling apart, while remaining sketchy as hell, she has to deal with Alison being back, a new murder mystery, and she's the only one making any real progress in figuring this stuff out! She seriously needs to take a nice, long vacation (not in a psych ward, preferably). I actually cheered out loud when she told Aria that she was being ridiculous getting with Ezra again. Aria is driving me nuts with this Ezra crap. The only time I have ever given a crap about him was when we thought he was an evil mastermind! Now he's just a pathetic stalker who keeps obsessing over teenagers, and its really dragging Aria down. Emily isn't doing too much better with her never ending devotion to Ali, but I feel a lot more sympathy for Emily, for whatever reason. I guess I understand her feelings for Ali a lot more. A first crush is a big thing to get over, and Emily's track record with relationships has not been great, so I understand her being so quick to forgive Ali. Plus, while Ali is certainly manipulative, and I can never figure out how much she actually cares abut Emily, at least her lies ( to Emily at least) haven't run quite as deeply as Ezras, or been as stalkerish. Or maybe its just because Ali was never Emily's freaking teacher, and is in the same age group. Seriously, at this point, I will forgive a lot for a trait as simple as "is age appropriate." Oh, and as soon as Ali put on that scarf, I was all "and countdown to scarf strangulation in three...two...". Its the stylish way to prepare for murder!

To me, Spartacus pretty much own this topic. It just looked so utterly awful in the early promotional stuff, that I never even gave it a shot until recently. Turns out, its actually amazing, and probably one of the most tightly written, creative, well acted shows I have seen in ages. Like, right up there with all the multi award winning "prestige" dramas. Also, I thought that Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler was going to be a waste of screen time in Penny Dreadful, as, what I assumed, was the American audience surrogate character. However, I ended up being genuinely impressed with his performance, and by the end of the season, Ethan was probably my favorite character (maybe tied with the always awesome Vanessa) and I'm really excited to see where his story goes from here. Go figure.

Thanks to Keeping Up Appearances, whenever my Mom and I are driving together, if we see any walkers or joggers, one of us has to say "Mind the pedestrians!" as loudly as possible. And, it may be a coincidence, but ever since I binge watched Spartacus and Shameless back to back, my language has become slightly more colorful...

Listen, Emmys...I think we should talk. Every year, I tell myself that I wont care. I tell myself that you don't matter, that you just reward the same people every year, and that will never ever change, and that it really doesn't matter at all who wins or gets nominated. I tell myself that I know I`ll be disappointed. But, every year, there is some tiny little piece of me, that thinks maybe, JUST MAYBE, the moon will be full, the planets will align, and you and I might just be on the same page. But this year...was not that year. I cant says its ALL bad. You acknowledged recent shows like True Detective and Orange is the New Black, shows that I really like. Game of Thrones, Mad Men, no complaints here. But, then you go and do things that are just plain...baffling. And I mean, I am literally trying to work out how you made some of the choices you did, because I just do not understand. Emmys, I need you to do me a favor, and walk me through your process. Like, I want to sit down with you, and watch The Americans, and you can explain to me why Downton Abbey is the superior program. You can explain how what Matthew Rhys does in an episode like Martial Eagle is more impressive than what Jeff Daniels does every week on The Newsroom. And then, you can sell me on how Michelle Dockery had the superior season to Keri Russell. Then, while we are on that topic, we can pop in ANY episode of Orphan Black, and you can tell me how Tatiana Maslany is not giving one of the best performances on TV. Tell me how she just didn't make that cut. Use a freaking Powerpoint Presentation. And then, maybe we can take a look at Trophy Wife, or Broad City, or Shameless, and you can tell me how much better Modern Family is, how the writing, performances, and directing clearly made it the superior show. Watch an episode of Mike and Molly, and explain to me how Melissa McCarthy is nominated, but Emmy Rossum isn't. In fact, I want to watch an episode of Shameless with you, and I want you to deny the fact that William H. Macy and Joan Cusack are nominated because they are big name stars. Tell me how they are the best performers in the entire bunch, that they deserved recognition, and not Emmy Rossum, and the other members of the younger cast. Just explain that decision to me. Slowly. I could go on for awhile, Emmys, but listen. I am really just trying to understand you. I am trying to assume that you are at least attempting to do your jobs. I just need to understand what you were thinking, or I am just going to have to assume you weren't. We don't want to have to have this talk again next year, where I will yet again fail to talk myself into not caring about you. Help me, help you.

Come on HBO, we need more info stat!

And really, that's always been one of my biggest issues with the show. Episodes like Tiny or In the Name of the Brother don't advance the plot very much( in fact, very little in either of those episodes really gets brought up after that), but they have lots of good character stuff, interesting world building, and play with the traditional stories they were based on. You know, what this show SHOULD be doing, instead of bending over backwards to make us feel sorry for its villains, and rushing through the plot like a bat out of hell, and throwing new lands/villains at us, like they're shacking keys in front of an infant. They have a really interesting universe built, a great cast of characters with rich backstories, and the plot of fictional characters entering the "real" world, something that is full of possibilities. They just need to focus on THAT stuff, the stuff that they actually do right when they try. .