scarynikki12

I hope that the show goes against its own retcon and reveals that Ivy Pepper's real name is Pamela Isley. There are many ways they can do a name change so it doesn't have to be lame but I really want them to fix this mistake. I know it's a little thing in the grand scheme of the show but I'm worried it will end up being foreshadowing. There was absolutely no legitimate reason to change her name in the first place. Changing her name implies that someone among the higher ups (DC, Fox-my #1 suspect, executive producers) felt that the audience wouldn't make the connection to the villain she grows up to be AND didn't trust the show enough to establish said connection as the episodes unfold. If they don't undo their mistake I can only hope the show itself more than makes up for it because I do not want this to be the first of many unnecessary changes to the characters from the Batverse. Now, if I have a choice between Poison Ivy getting an unnecessary name change and the Joker showing up before the final minutes of the series, I'll gladly take Ivy but I hope I won't have to make said choice.

I think it will as the eclipse has other consequences beyond the astronaut subplot.

That's why I always make a point to say only positive things if I get the opportunity to meet actors, writers, producers, etc. in person. Like Marc G at the con. I met him twice and each time made a point to tell him how much I love Sara as a way to drive home how I feel she's a better fit as the Canary. I could have said negative things about Laurel but I think he'll remember the positive more (and I like to think he relayed my enthusiasm to Caity so she knows there was at least one uber fan at the con) and the negative will just make him defensive and dismissive. And I wouldn't blame him. I also made a point to not say anything about any other character and keep my compliments centered on Sara. Everything I told him was true but I was careful about what I said all the same. I never want to give them any reason to discount what I'm saying (beyond the fangirling) and it's all about the right way to approach these people. If Katie had been at the signing I would have said hello and asked about her day (like I did the con before the pilot came out), making a point to be polite while I waited my turn for the other actors. Sinking to the level of Tumblr is never a good idea (though it'd be hilarious to see these people in person as I'm convinced they're nothing but cowards who would barely be able to speak if they had the opportunity to meet any of the actors they love/hate).

That's up to you. I personally loved them. They aren't without their faults but I absolutely enjoyed reading them. Like you said, it's great having a story where vampires get to be monsters and there's zero focus on any emo bullshit (from them the humans deal with plenty of emotions which is natural in the wake of this epidemic). These vampires have ties to their human lives but they have no humanity. It starts leaving them the second they get stung. That's what really appealed to me as I read them. There's no last minute cure discovered by Our Intrepid Heroes, it's just a race to avoid getting stung and becoming one. The smartest move Hogan and del Toro made was making them ugly. Keep them physically attractive and we'd end up with readers and viewers rooting for the Master on the grounds that he's so dreamy (like they do with the male vampires on True Blood, Vampire Diaries and, of course, Twilight). It's a lot harder to ignore the monster when it's right there on his face. I will say that you should maybe avoid reading them if you're big on things not being changed from one medium to another. To give an example, when they were adapted to comic form, a small subplot surrounding an astronaut was cut. That was fine as the only connection to the story was a feeling of foreboding when looking down at New York when the eclipse occurs, but it was a nice little piece I enjoyed and would have liked to see in the comics. The show may still include that subplot in an episode since the eclipse hasn't occurred yet, but I doubt it. The omission doesn't bother me beyond my own preference but it would to someone who is a major stickler for stuff like that so consider if you decide to read the books.

Those of us who have read the books need a place to openly discuss them and those willing to be spoiled need a better place to ask their questions.

Bolivar indeed had transitioned to the point where he stopped caring that his genitals had atrophied. As we saw from the opener, he still needs to lose his nose and ears so he hasn't finished yet.

Yep! And it was totally worth it (third row center!). I have about five thousand pictures of Tatiana's smiling face. Yeah, the policy for autographs in the Sails Pavilion (where Mark G, Manu, Clare Kramer, Lee Meriweather, Richard Hatch, Rafael Sbarge, and Nicholas Brendan all did their signings) is that they only have to sign the souvenir book for free and then it's discretion. Some would sign non-publicity photos/items for free and others charged. Some charged for photos with the signer while others didn't care. Richard Hatch is there every year and is so chill it's awesome. He'll chat as long as the attendee wants, doesn't charge to get a photo taken with him, and offers up suggestions to aspiring writers and actors who ask about the business. Granted, there were fewer people in general for Richard compared to some of the others but it still left a very good impression. Once we get to the Exhibit Hall, the rules change depending on the booth. The movie studios provide a poster that the actors sign and want you through that line in less than thirty seconds (to the point that they can be offensive-like last year when I sprained my ankle, I was between two wheelchairs and was clearly limping yet they kept telling us we were moving too slow ::face palm::). The DC booth, on the other hand, allows attendees to bring as many as five items for their writers and artists to sign and provide free comics for those who didn't bring anything (like me, I've met Jim Lee and Geoff Johns and forgot my books both times). I attended the Rob Thomas signing late Saturday at his book publisher's booth and he happily signed my I, Zombie bag and my Veronica Mars book and didn't charge for photos. It really depends on where the session is and who is running it, and the "smaller" signings can be the best ones (provided they show up on time and we did get in line well before the scheduled start time so we were standing there three hours and there were a LOT of people). Barrowman was with the booth that always charges for photos/autographs (easy money as they know people will pay), though I don't know if they ever sign additional items as a bonus.

I'm sitting in Salt Lake City waiting for my next flight so I have some time to give the rest of my Arrow related con experience. In addition to the cast signing I was able to get Manu Bennett's autograph. That one annoyed me as he didn't show up for two and a half hours and then offered no apology (a simple"sorry I'm late but let's have some fun!" would have sufficed). We all agreed that he must have driven down from LA, or flew into San Diego, that morning. All other possible explanations (partied too hard, forgot to set an alarm got waylaid by excited fans outside the convention center) just didn't make sense as they could have been solved by his team. Once he was there he was very nice, chatting with everyone and posing for pictures. He wouldn't sign our Arrow bags without fifty dollars but we didn't expect him to. I also had the opportunity to see Mark G again as he was doing a smaller signing for a book he wrote. I reiterated my love for Sara, laying it on thick, saying that they went above and beyond my expectations for Black Canary. Like Saturday, he thanked me and said they loved Sara and Caity as well and was glad both were well received. All I can do is hope that many others do the same when given the opportunity. His publicist was really sweet too. She perked right up when I was telling him how much I adore Sara and thanked me for stopping by. I had another opportunity to meet Barrowman one on one but it cost fifty dollars so I skipped it. Maybe next year I'll get a good picture.

It's strange. I remember always liking Nicholson's Joker from when I watched Batman as a kid but I saw the movie the other day and found myself really disliking the character. It came across as The Joker just using crime as an excuse to play Prince songs and made me wonder if all could have been avoided if he'd gotten a job with MTV. Nicholson himself was fine but the writing resulted in the Joker not being as sinister as I remember. Even the animated Joker does a better job on that front. I guess I liked it as a kid because goofy, underwritten, characters appealed more to me then.

One last thing about not showing up at the last minute to panels. Real life does get in the way but anything like illness or family emergency would result in that person or persons from attending the next day as well and we know Katie and Emily are both in San Diego right now. That's why I think that filming schedules are a poor excuse a lot (not all) of the time. Plus the announcement coming last minute when we've known the panel's date and time for weeks (and the show even longer). It was handled so badly that it leads to speculation as to why. Moving on the signing was fun. I couldn't get a good shot of Barrowman to save my life but I got the others and told him how excited I was to meet him. No Katie, Caity or Emily, but we knew that already. I thanked Marc G for bringing Sara back and said how much I love her. He said he did too and I believe him (I just think he loves Laurel more which is why I'm still concerned about the Canary story). Blackthorne said it was unlikely Det Lance will go under cover with his real accent but seemed enthused at the idea.

I'm putting on my tinfoil hat for why Katie specifically wasn't at the panel despite tweeting enthusiasm for being at the con. I think it's because of her PR team's no video recording policy for her panels. We've been discussing this for a few months now and one of the things we've talked about is waiting until this specific con to see if she's really as rude and condescending as the print reviews make her out to be. We wanted to pay attention to vocal inflections and facial expressions to see if it was all overblown. This is one of the few cons (if not the only) where her no video recording policy would not be allowed as all panels across the board are allowed to be filmed (absent trailer footage). Yet she wasn't at the panel for her own show. I think it's because they know how poorly she's coming across to the non-Laurel fans and didn't want to risk having a visual recording should she answer a fan question the way she has been. I also doubt Emily really had a last minute filming delay or general filming issues. It's a valid reason to be late or to cancel. However, they know just how beloved Felicity is and that the majority of those who made it to the panel would want to see her (she got a huge cheer last year, bigger than Amell as I recall) so I don't buy for one second that they'd risk upsetting fans with her absence with scheduling conflicts. That's why I think this all comes back to Laurel. They are so determined to make her happen, despite failing to do so for almost fifty episodes, that they pull Katie from arguably her biggest PR opportunity AND pull the actress whose popularity eclipsed her from the start. Now they're saying that both will be at the DC event tomorrow but, as far as I know, they won't be speaking to fans the way they would in the panel itself. They've known the con dates for a year, they knew that a renewal would result in their return, and they knew their own filming schedule enough in advance to make sure that the show runners and star were available yet they leave out the most popular actress and the one playing their favorite character? No way is filming the real reason. Besides, you'd think they'd want Katie next to them so that they could go on and on about her "Emmy worthy performance" in person. No I think Katie wasn't there today because of the significant criticisms of the character and the poor reviews of her previous con appearances and that Emily wasn't there so that it would seem like they had a legitimate reason for Katie's absence. I'm now very happy I didn't go to the panel (Orphan Black for the win!). Not only would I not have seen Emily but my question would have been useless since it was designed for all the actors, especially Katie. Oh, well I am now the proud owner of about five thousand pictures of Tatiana Maslany's pretty face.

You can tell because people try to linger with their favorites and the people walking super slow by the booth will cheer for their favorites as well. I'm rarely at the front of such lines so I've seen a lot of attempts at lingering. The one Warner Bros guy who is in charge of the booth will lecture you if you try to pull that but people always do everything they can to prolong the experience, even if only for a few seconds.

No that's how it is but you can always tell who gets the most enthusiastic response which is why I theorized that they may have kept Katie and Emily from it so as not to draw attention to the difference in reaction.

The autograph session is on Saturday so I'm going to Orphan Black Friday and trying for the session. I'll find someone to ask my question for me.

Most likely that they don't want to draw attention to the Canary/lead character issues surrounding Laurel while also making clear that Thea will play a big part to start the season. It could mean that they know how poorly Laurel and Katie are received and don't want to risk a less than enthusiastic reception at the signing (which would be really obvious next to the guaranteed love that the others-Amell, Barrowman, Ramsey, and Blackthorne in particular-will get).

Got the Arrow bag! I had to do some trading (started with I, Zombie which traded for Vampire Diaries which traded for Arrow) but it's aaaaaaaaall mine! It had Amell's pretty face complete with eye mask. No cape this year but it's all good. Eta: I just checked and Katie isn't scheduled for the autograph session. Neither are Emily or Caity, granted, but I think that's telling. Willa is scheduled along with Amell, Ramsey, Haynes, Blackthorne and Barrowman so read into that however you want.

Not to my recollection. However,

I'd really like to see a mainstream network actually look at this as a good thing. I want them to take their limitations and use them to their full advantage. They can't curse or show too much skin? No big deal, get creative with the language and the cinematography. They have to be careful about certain storylines due to the FCC douches? No big deal, bring on the symbolism! In other words, look at what they can't do and turn it around to see what they can. Unfortunately, few shows seem to try and make their limitations work in their favor, resulting in the blah stuff we have on the networks.

No kidding. How hard would it have been to just say they were on the lookout for talented actors and actresses with physical resemblances to the real people?

I'm betting that the wig will go in a head shaving scene to demonstrate the world falling apart of something. Or, he just grows his hair enough that the wig is ditched and the show never acknowledges it.

That and he embraced the theater. This is where him being British is a tremendous asset. If he were American, he'd likely be pressured by agents and managers to only do movies and any move to theater or tv would be seen as a failure. But British actors routinely move from movies, to tv, to theater and back without any hits to their careers. It's considered normal for their acting culture (and quite a few British movie stars even prefer the theater and would gladly give up movies if they had a choice). Daniel's done a little tv but has also been able to take on challenging roles on stage and nailed them, which is probably the biggest reason he still has a career at this point and isn't showing up on some Where Are They Now special.

Guys I work in a retail pharmacy and I can promise you that most will have the Zostavax shot available. It depends on the state and insurance whether or not you can get it without a prescription but, even if it isn't covered by your plan, look into getting it. We had an outbreak at my store a year and change ago (not us, pharmacy employees lucked out) and it was rough on our coworkers. They were out for weeks. It can be expensive so shop around if it isn't covered by insurance. Jenny doesn't know what she's talking about yet again.

BookSnape is very much not a Woobie. His horrible personality and actions aren't rewarded by anyone in the story or excused because of ManPain. The Snape that was played by Alan Rickman is definitely a Woobie, though, but in the eyes of the viewers. They're the ones who see him as a tortured soul, who was misunderstood, whose True Love was stolen from him by the Evil James Potter and they imagine him stealing her right back when they all meet up in the afterlife. Thankfully, Rowling does not share this view. This is a situation where the character in question is both.

Going back to Black Widow and whether or not she'll ever get her own movie, I think that Marvel will only do it if they're backed into a corner with no way out. Black Widow is a female character and that's the only reason she hasn't been given her own movie at this point. She was very well received in The Avengers, to the point that I think her movie would already be set to film/finished filming had the character been male. But, she's female, and Marvel's going to throw out every excuse they can think of before being forced to actually make the movie. Look at the ones we've already thought of: ScarJo's pregnancy, the studio waiting to see how Lucy does next month (I hope it makes oodles of money because it looks awesome and I want Marvel backed into that corner), the myth that women aren't part of the target audience for comic movies, the myth that men aren't interested in female superheroes, and, yes, even the money angle that the cracked.com article mentioned. If Marvel hadn't made any Hulk movies before The Avengers was released, leaving him to be a reference in the Iron Man, Captain America, and/or Thor movies, then I think they'd have jumped at the chance to capitalize on the positive reception that Mark Ruffalo received. Instead, they talk a good game about giving Black Widow her own movie (and I like Hawkeye but I agree that she deserves to stand on her own feet so I'd give him a cameo at best) yet seem to be taking every excuse they can think of to keep it from happening. I wish Marvel would be the anti-DC here. DC's been dragging its feet on a Wonder Woman movie for even longer, and think that throwing a bone to her fans by putting her in as a supporting character in the Superman sequel is enough. It isn't. Just like it isn't enough to have Black Widow as a supporting player in the Avengers movies, not matter how awesome they make her (and they've done such a great job with the character already so there shouldn't be any creative concerns). This character deserves her own movie and it's a glaring hole in the otherwise well done Marvel landscape. I just hope that they get backed into that corner and soon.

I thought it was a nice touch that Aria went and hid when the detective showed up. After all, she's one of exactly two people who would object to a teenager being alone with her older teacher in his apartment (her partner being the other). No one else on in town would care cause they're all busy trying to get with teenagers themselves. I did laugh at the show's little slip when Spencer was reminding Aria of Ezra's stalker actions. She specifically mentioned that it had been YEARS that he'd been stalking them in the name of "research". Sorry, show, that just confirmed that Aria was indeed a young teenager when Ezra, who has also been confirmed as solidly in his twenties (and therefore not 19 or something like some of their fans have tried to claim). It also confirmed that Ali was an even younger teenager when she dated him, since she preceded Aria. Try as you might, show, you can't get around the fact that Ezra's a pederast. The most boring one who ever lived, yes, but a pederast all the same.