Vampire Diaries- To Watch or Not to Watch?

Vampire Diaries
Seasons 1-3  now available on Netflix

So, today in my world of Fandom I am considering whether or not I'm going to be watching Vampire Diaries this season.   The last season just became available on Netflix, so it's time to make a decision.  I am a season behind, and I have acted with my usual spoiler caution when it comes to this show.  While I may have become aware of a few unavoidable plot points, I've avoided scenes, video recaps, Youtube clips, or detailed episode summaries.  This indicates I'm not ready to give it up.


Why I'm Behind
I got behind because I didn't watch all of Season 2 last year, and I was behind when Season 3 began.  I couldn't catch up easily on Netflix, and the CW had taken the latest new stuff off the web before I caught up on the old stuff.  It was a no win.  I didn't watch any of Season 3, because I hate seeing bits and pieces ahead of time if I'm going to watch it later.  Now we're about to begin Season 4, and yay Netflix, you've placed the last season online in time for me to catch up!  It may happen...


When I Saw the Cast on Their Mall Tour
I saw the cast at a panel during their mall tour a couple of years back.  I hadn't really been to any celebrity panel-like events before, so I had no frame of reference at the time.  I waited for hours with friends, and ended up directly front and center, surrounded by 15-18 year old girls.  When the cast came out, they looked exactly like they do on television. They were gorgeous, and seemed to have had their clothes, hair, and make-up done by the series stylists.  The problem that occurred was that I spent the entire time wishing we were talking to someone more important on the show- the producer, the script writers, or the author of the books.  The questions asked of the actors were simplistic and the actors catered to them, seeming to almost be in character while they answered questions about what it was like to act with one another and did they like Atlanta.  Of course  "Who would you pick, Stefan or Damon?" seemed to be the repeating question to the point of annoyance. They looked great and were respectably entertaining, but I wasn't impressed.  It's probable that they were catering the teenage crowd- you certainly felt like you were talking to the characters most of the time.

Thoughts on the DragonCon Vampire Diaries Panel?
I'd love to hear them!

The Cast at Dragon*Con 2012
The cast was at Dragon*Con while I was there recently, and I had people ask me if they were worth seeing.  I told them that despite being unimpressed in the past, I wasn't sure.  Were they just catering to the younger audience when I saw them?  I'd like to think they would be more relaxed and more themselves at a convention populated with people mostly their own age.  Also, I hope the questions would be of higher quality.  Anyway, I would love to hear someone's opinion who has seen a different kind of panel from this cast.  What did you think? 



The premiere is scheduled for Thurs. October 11th at 8:00 on the CW.

Stay Shiny!
Kristin

J is counting down the days... till next labor day weekend!

This year, for the first time (and certainly not the last), K and I attended Dragon Con. Now that Doctor Who was a major fandom for us both, we figured we couldn't hold out any longer. I wanted to go the previous year, but looking back I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did this year. I would suggest to all potential Dragon Con goers - make sure you have a couple of different tracks you would be interested in because you won't want to just be in one track all day.

I wanted to reflect upon my favorite experiences at the con for a few minutes. 

1. My absolute favorite part of Dragon Con was the organization. I know that sounds extremely dorky, but I'm a sucker for a good schedule and an excellent layout and location. Everything was so stinkin' easy to figure out. Food was easy, transportation was easy, the locations were easy - I honestly wasn't confused once. That's saying something for a con of Dragon Con's size. 

2. Moving on to the actual things that happened... the crowd pleaser moments - from Lavar Burton leading the sing along of the Reading Rainbow song, to Slyvester McCoy coming into the audience during Q&A wearing hobbit shoes, to the Dr. Horrible Sing-a-long blog actors being spot on - everyone wanted to make the crowd have an amazing time. You truly felt like you were part of a once in a life time experience during certain parts of the sessions. I love that nerds will totally play to the fans - mostly because they're fans too! I've put Felicia Day's reflections of Dragon Con to the right because I feel like she expresses what I mean! I loved the Guild Q&A as well. 

3. The super nice people - everyone was awesome. I don't think I meet one person I didn't like (aside from the drunks letting people cut in line that one time). Everyone is there to have a good time and make friends. Go middle of the line friends from the Face Off line!! They totally get me. lol I mean where else are you going to connect with a bunch of other 28 year olds that want to listen to someone talk about a show that was on the air in the early 90s? 

4. Costumes!! They were beyond fabulous - I loved dressing up myself and yet felt ashamed that no craftsmanship of my own went into my look. Some of those costumes were painstakingly amazing!

Panels and speakers were of course wonderful, but really just the experience of being in a place where your nerdy t-shirt makes sense and where everyone is a fanboy or fangirl about something - it just makes you feel at home. That might seem odd to some people, but it's like you are finally allowed to be that nerdy kid and it is actually cool. No judgement from anyone about what you love - none! It is awesome.

Really excited for next year - in fact, I booked a room in a con hotel already. I'm obviously not the only one that feels this way - the hotels are practically sold out. 

Last bit here - K reflected on the Doctor Who episodes and I have to agree with her on pretty much everything. I really do believe that Moffat is setting us up with the lack of River references. And Matt Smith has completely grown into his role as the Doctor - he was so confident in himself in the last two episodes; I wasn't thinking about how Tennant would do it at all. We'll see how the Ponds go - I'm expecting a tear jerker - no matter how much I'm looking forward to Oswin! 

DFTBA!

Jana

J's possible new fandoms

Finding new things to watch doesn't usually last very long with me - I either find something and watch it as quickly as possible or I try something and decide I don't care enough to watch it anymore. I don't let it sit there tempting me - I have to know what happens!

Anyway, I have discovered some shows at the moment that I think will last for a little bit:

My new favorite characters?
We'll see...

Like Kristin stated, we recently watched the premiere miniseries of Battlestar Galactica. I wasn't sure it would be my thing, but seeing as sci-fi has become a bigger part of my viewing list, I decided it was worth a try. I have to say, I really enjoyed it - it actually reminded me a little bit of Star Wars. It was very intense and if the battle scenes had lasted any longer I don't think I would want to continue watching; I loved finding out the relationships between all the characters, they were very realistic and complicated and left me wanting to know more. I think this will be a show I continue to watch, but I am hoping that it will be a little lighter as I continue. 

At Dragon*Con I was able to attend a panel on web series and have used many of their suggestions to discover some awesome content. Web series are very different - they don't censure themselves (so the language and sexual commentary are usually not very subtle), they are much shorter (fulfilling my need to watch all of something quickly), and have a very different budget than TV shows. I think I have a different level of acceptance when I watch web shows - I might watch things that I wouldn't usually watch on TV. I tend to lean towards funny when I want something quick, so I watched Awkward Black Girl, so very amusing and unique and about exactly what the title implies, The Legend of Neil about a guy who accidentally ends up in the game The Legend of Zelda and must complete his quest, and Husbands, two gay men get drunk married in Vegas (keep watching through Season 2 - I liked it more than Season 1). I also discovered The Booth at the End, but have not continued watching it because it is apparently difficult for me to get into a longer web series. The Booth at the End is pretty awesome though; it was a very interesting concept, but it looks like it could take a while to reach a satisfying conclusion to any story line. Of course, I'm not going to mention any post on web series without linking to one of my personal favorites (really, the web series that made me want to watch web series (es? how do I make that plural- seri?)): The Guild - hilarious show about gamers that decide to become friends in real life (while you're there, check out Geek and Sundry - love them!) that I am now currently rewatching. 

I'll end by stating I'm excited about getting into some of the new shows that will be on TV this season - particularly Revolution. I'm hoping that I'll get hooked (like I did with Lost), but last time I thought that might happen (with Once Upon a Time), I seriously lost interest. I think I do much better with once a week light TV. Except if it's Doctor Who - I will always watch Doctor Who no matter what format it happens to be in! 

So many wonderful nerdy things have been happening in the last few weeks - we need to play catch up. So... Kris I'll leave it up to you - Dragon*Con review or Doctor Who Season 7 review.

DFTBA!

Jana