Six episodes. SIX. Goddammit AMC, why do you do this to me? Those clever sons of bitches. To ensure they do not invest too much into a show most of their shows (maybe all?) have short first seasons. I hate it. I hate it so much because I love their shows. So now, after six heart-racing episodes of Into the Badlands, I sit here re-watching them all because, goddammit, I love this show. So in honor of these six episodes, I’ve got six questions for the (hopefully) upcoming Season 2 of Into the Badlands. Spoilers Ahead. Continue reading →

AMC has released another original show and I couldn’t be more excited. Put together by the producers of Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained (and if you’re into it, the creator of Smallville) Into the Badlands is set in a dystopian world that is ruled by Barons. Think of them as southern plantation owners. They have banned the use of firearms and rule with armies of skilled fighters called Clippers. For safety and protection, non-Baron/non-Clipper members of the population (or Cogs) must submit themselves to a life of servitude. Nomads run around wreaking havoc through stealing, smuggling, etc.. And I warn you, this is not for the weak-stomached. There are some seriously brutal fight scenes to be enjoyed here and if you have problems with arms, legs, spines, and any other appendage (or even your whole body) bending the wrong way – stay away from this one.

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A little delayed but I wanted to take a quick (fair warning, it should be looooooong look with quick touches on each show) look at the halfway point of this season’s TV run. This year, there have been a lot of interesting new options for my television dance card and in case some of you were thinking about adding some new shows to your watchlist, I thought I’d take the opportunity to give you some highlights, lowlights, and general information about each show at the halfway point. Additionally I’ll share my list of things I like and don’t like about this Fall’s run of television for shits and giggles. Disclaimer: I am by no means a critic. As I have shared in the past, I am easily entertained and appreciate most movies and TV shows. I do recognize crap but sometimes, crap is fun. Also, spoilers ahead. Continue reading →

The CW’s superhero drama, Arrow, starring Stephen Amell as the titular character, has an ever expanding universe of characters. The creators and writers are very adept at introducing and developing adapted characters from the comics in a very unique and well paced manner. Since season 1, we have seen Team Arrow grow from Ollie/The Arrow working by himself to half a dozen characters/heroes that help him in his quest either by his side or working from his lair. Throughout the course of 2 seasons, it’s been surprising how quickly they develop characters and ultimately, how many characters have learned Olliver Queen’s secret identity. With so many new characters constantly being introduced, other characters have to take a back seat sometimes, and with many knowing his identity, it only makes sense that a couple of them either die or be killed off at some point or another, as happened with a member of team Arrow in the Season 3 premiere. At the end of the episode, a fan favorite character was shot with 3 arrows on a rooftop by a mysterious archer and fell to their death. I’m sure it will take quite a while to reveal the identity of this assassin, but it’s always fun to speculate. Below, I’ll run through each possible character and why I believe they could have or could not have done the deed and why it does or doesn’t make sense, as well as a couple of more out there theories that I’m actually hope end up being true. SPOILERS AHEAD (FOR THE FIRST 3 EPISODES OF ARROW) Continue reading →

Because they loved it so much last time, Andrew and Jason will be sharing one of their email conversations. This time they’ll be discussing the recent Simpsons takeover at the Hollywood Bowl. Let’s pass it to Andrew and get this puppy started.

Andrew: This has got to be the dumbest idea we’ve had. We just finished our stupid TMNT Rankings are we’re going to start another one of these stupid email threads? We need new ideas. But for now… Continue reading →

When How I Met Your Mother debuted back in the fall of 2005 it stood out for a few reasons. One of the major distinctions of the show was it’s most unique and utilized tool, the flashback and flash forward. It wasn’t a revolutionary idea by any means, but when you pair that with the fact that HIMYM was a multi-cam show that did not shoot in front of a live audience, it made the show a bit more unique. On the surface, that was the most distinct feature of the show, but not the most important. From the beginning, creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays have written a show that, as silly and off the wall as it got at points, was always grounded in real ideas and life lessons. Of course there were over the top moments and relationships and ideals that were completely romanticized such as Ted’s grand romantic gestures in any of his relationships, or Robin’s Canadian back story or any of Barney’s tall tales, but as an audience member we’re willing to go along with all of it because the story is being narrated from the future and the assumption is, over time stories are embellished. Each story though, had a sense of realism and emotion to it behind all the gags, flashbacks and ridiculously funny antics.  Some stories within HIMYM did it better than others, but most episodes or story arcs or seasons were able to bring their antics back down to earth and remind people that, at the heart of the story were people with real emotions who were just trying to navigate their way through life and find happiness and love. Though the finale had a lot of twists and turns and changed the character paths of growth and development for a few characters, (ultimately resulting in alienating a lot of fans and receiving a lot of backlash), it stayed true to it’s core by depicting real people with real life problems still navigating their way through life, trying to find love and let go of the past.

SPOILERS AHEAD

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