Spoilers?

For Otherworld Saturday, I want to discuss spoilers - good, bad, let's see...

Really?!?! with Seth and Amy (actually with Jana)
Today, I was watching the latest installment of "The Lizzie Bennett Diaries" and noticed that there was a lot of discussion about spoilers in the comments. I resisted in commenting because my comment would have been along the lines of a Really?!?! type of comment. I mean seriously, the plot is based off of Pride and Prejudice - who in this world does not know what that book is about? Who is watching the freakin' "Lizzie Bennett Diaries" and reached video 52 without figuring out the plot? Really?!?! What's wrong with you? Why would you have not looked this up by now? Even if you haven't read the book, watched an adaption, or talked to, I don't know, another human being about it, come on - you think it's ok to whine about freakin' spoilers!! Many comments took this approach - my opinion was well represented. Seriously - that's just insane. But you know, not all spoiler ridden types of media are novels that have been available for many years. Some things are better unspoiled.

To spoil or not to spoil...
Whenever I see a spoiler leaked, I have the temptation to look at it. Sometimes I resist - I don't want to spoil my enjoyment of experiencing the new information in that moment. But sometimes, I give in and find out everything I can - there's something to feeling like I'm an insider and I know the secrets no one wanted leaked. You feel knowledgeable. I especially think that "spoilers" are fine if given in the context of the show/movie you  want to see - I mean the trailer for the movie or the next episode is supposed to make you want to see it! I think legally provided spoilers are fine - I don't like the illegal ones - like when someone leaked some of the pages/content from a Harry Potter book early - not cool dude, not cool. 

The Investment Factor
I know that my need to be spoiled is in direct correlation with how much I've invested into the media that is being spoiled - will I watch the movie/TV show the next day? Will it be a year? Will it keep me from hating/liking something? I think I was better off knowing that the name on the tombstone in Goblet of Fire was wrong (and then noticing they fixed it). I liked knowing some of the characters from Legend of Korra before I finished The Last Airbender. I loved seeing the pictures and scenes of characters from some of my favorite books when they were being made into movies (Hunger Games, Harry Potter). It also depends what kind of spoiler we're talking about here - will it give away something that I'll know soon into the story or is it something that I'll sit and wait on till the end? Sometimes I'm ok knowing the end - I like to see how the characters end up there, but a lot of times - it is a let down. 

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't have a hard or fast rule on spoilers - I don't let them spoil me in the long run. They won't keep me from loving or hating anything. 

DFTBA!
Jana

The Tiger Saga- Book Series Review

For Otherworld Saturday (Otherworld to us means anything other than Whedon and Harry Potter, fyi), I’d like to review the YA book series The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck.  I was directed to this series by a couple of my 8^th graders last year, and it’s right in my wheelhouse.  I love these fantasy stories- but only when the authors pull it off.  I also appreciate originality, which is a rare find in today’s Young Adult genre.  There are four books in this series and I just finished the fourth and final book yesterday.  The books include Tiger’s Curse, Tiger’s Quest, Tiger’s Voyage, and Tiger’s Destiny.  The final book was released a couple of weeks ago. 

Basic Summary- (Light spoilers, nothing you couldn't get from the backs of the books, other than book one.) 

This is a contemporary story about a girl, Kelsey, who inadvertently stumbles upon a cursed tiger.  She is older than most heroines in the genre at 20, so I automatically appreciate this.  Our leading lady isn’t giving up school or abandoning her future for a guy at any point in this series. Kelsey is ready for adventure.   Kelsey, “through a series of strange circumstances” (thanks WDW Beauty & the Beast show for that shortcut statement), finds herself the savior of not one, but two ancient Indian princes who’ve been cursed to live their lives as immortal tigers.  They can spend a small part of their day as a human, which connected me with the Polar Bear King story.  For some reason I’ve always loved that story. (Check out my reviews of East and  Ice, two stories retelling the Polar Bear King legend.) The Tiger books are stories big on adventure, as Kelsey and her tigers must complete a series of tasks to try to defeat a powerful villain and break the curse.

A modern style retelling of
The Polar Bear King

A very classic, fairy tale
version of The Polar Bear King

My Review-

I enjoyed these books.  They are not my favorite that I’ve ever read, but they make an interesting read.  I don’t hate Kelsey, and I enjoy that for the most part she’s the savior, not the damsel in distress.  I thought book one, Tiger’s Curse, was great.  I do believe it’s the high point of the series.  The set up was fantastic, and the characters were vivid.  I got a little lost in the second and third books.  That generally means I started skimming.  I have a tendency to do that in books where the plots are less than captivating.  I did not really care about the tasks set up in these books, since I knew the general outcome.  They had to be mostly successful in order to make it to the next task, so there was minimal anticipation.  These books were also featuring my main problem with this series, which I’ll get into in my rant in a moment.

Lord of the Rings, giving me my well
deserved, detailed conclusion.
Thank you.

I did get back into the series with the fourth book, because I was intrigued by the many possibilities that could conclude the adventure.  As anyone who knows me will tell you, I judge a book (and many other things) by its ending. I want a decisive ending with lots of details.  Endings should be proportionate to the story. If you spend 90 minutes on a story, give me a 3-5 minute ending.  If you spent hours and hours on a story, I want a drawn out ending (think Lord of the Rings here).  To conclude on that point, I was extremely satisfied by the ending of the book.

The writing is good.  Not spectacularly amazing, but good.  I am done looking at terrible writing in YA novels.  I have high expectations, and this one was fairly successful.  At no point was there anything stated in the book that was distractingly bad or completely ridiculous.  I believe that there was a great deal of research done on religion and mythology throughout the story, and I appreciate that.  With casual references to Shakespeare and William Blake littering the pages, I can’t help but appreciate the homage to classic literature.  It automatically makes you appreciate the author’s good taste, and it gives me hope that teens reading it are just maybe becoming familiar with something I love.

My Rant-

My true issue with these books is prominent in the second and third book, while dragging into the fourth. Fortunately the fourth book has other interesting things happening, so it wasn’t as annoying.  Why must Kelsey love two men?  Why is this an okay thing?  A teenage girl would never tolerate a book series where the boy was blatantly in love with two likeable girls. That would label him a player, or at the least not boyfriend material.  That has all the makings of a tragedy, and that is not what this book is aiming for.  For unknown reasons, it is perfectly acceptable to readers that this girl loves both of these boys, and the boys must both patiently adore her while she wavers back and forth, otherwise they’ll be labeled the bad guy.  She literally imagines herself with one while she’s with another.  It’s sad, and I hate that such an otherwise enjoyable book condones such behavior.  It’s basically teaching that emotionally cheating on the person you are with is fine.  No worries.  I completely blame Twilight for this.  This ridiculous “one girl, two guys” theme has flooded our culture and I am over it.  I know that occasionally that may be the plot, but I’m finding it over and over and over and over… and never with genders reversed.  Does this not bother anyone else?

Click here to read a blog from Literary Obsession that has a similar rant and warning list of YA novels featuring these "Love Triangles of Doom," as she puts it. 

True Blood 

Vampire Diaries

Final Words-

This series was NOT a series that I couldn’t put down.  More than once I walked away and didn’t come back for a day or two.  What is rare is that I came back at all.  Usually if I put a book down for more than an hour I’m unlikely to be coming back. The characters were well written and the premise itself was fun and exciting.  If I can look past the clichéd romantic plot, I call this a pretty good series.  By the way, it isn’t just for girls.  I’ve had twice as many 8^th grade boys check this book out as girls.  I think it’s because of excellent cover art, which appears to be designed by Katrina Damkoehler. 

If you enjoy a good paranormal adventure/romance story, this is a much better pick than most things on the YA shelf today.

Stay Shiny!
Kristin

My Pacey Complex

Who doesn't want a boy to look at you like that?

For Otherworld Saturday, I want to post about my love for the "Pacey" character. Let me clarify... Pacey (from Dawson's Creek) is the epitome of everything I love in a male character that is supposed to be my age. So naturally, I find "Paceys" everywhere in literature, movies, TV, etc. This is something I realized over time. I would find myself adoring a character and realized - It's because he's a Pacey. Of course. Now - I just figure out which one is supposed to be the Pacey and begin loving him immediately.

So, first - the characteristics:

Chandler's wit and weird childhood totally
make him a Pacey.

1. Misunderstood - he's really smart, but doesn't want to apply himself; he feels left out of the group and makes up for it by acting out. Poor misunderstood Pacey :(

2. The Best Friend - he's never the main character. A show about a Pacey doesn't last; he's the best friend of the main character - the one who comes up with the scheme, but never actually gets the credit. He's in the shadows and will occasionally resent it.

3. Witty - he's the funny one; sometimes sarcastic, sometimes stupid-funny, but always the character with the quip.

Jim just made a possible mistake on The Office.
I hope he makes it a success! 

4. Acts strong, but is very sensitive - He puts up a front, but will break. He just wants to be loved people! And when he loves you - wow, he's the best boy there could ever be.

5. Always falls for the girl he really shouldn't get - he aims above his status; he will get the girl sometimes because he is so witty and sensitive and misunderstood, but there will always be drama.

Oh Ron... 

6. Loyal - almost to a fault. If he does betray his bestie, he will spent the rest of the movie, book, series, etc trying to make up for this ultimate sin.

Cappy as Prince Charming! 

7. Makes mistakes - a lot; fails class, says the wrong thing, gets in trouble, tries to help and ends up making things worse, and will without a doubt, screw it up with the girl.

8. Surprises everyone - he might fall off the grid for a little while, but will come back and be the success. It's the growing up that makes a Pacey a man! (Then the show can be about him! lol) 

Just writing about him, makes me love him all the more!

Obviously Pacey is a Pacey, but we've also got: Xander (BtVS), Ron (HP), Wash (Firefly), Edmund (Chronicles of Narnia), Cappy (Greek), Nick (New Girl), Puck (Glee), Ben (Parks and Rec), Jim (The Office), George (Alanna books), Peeta (Hunger Games), Gilbert (Anne of Green Gables), Steve (Sex and the City), Chandler (Friends). 

The list can go on and on. The Pacey character is everywhere and he will always be my favorite! :)

DFTBA!
Jana

5 Reasons Everyone Should Love Avatar: The Last Airbender

For Otherworld Saturday, I thought I would make a list of 5 reasons everyone should love a show. I think 5 reasons for a show could be something we make a regular post about... we'll see. Anyway, I chose Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Now, Kristin (again) gets the credit for alerting me to the pure awesomeness of this show. In my defense - I grew up with two nerdy little brothers who watched too much Pokemon and I thought Avatar gave off a Pokemon vibe. I was wrong (kinda... I mean they do travel around and solve problems in different towns while learning to use their "powers") - the overall quality of Avatar is so much better.

So here we go... 

5 Reasons Everyone Should Love 

Avatar: The Last Airbender

1. The "Bending" - I have never been the person that thinks martial arts are super cool, but the bending on Avatar is pretty sweet. Being able to manipulate the elements is a neat concept; what I love most though is that they have to train in bending to be good at it. You have the ability, but it's what you do with that ability and how you craft that ability that make you the bender you can be. I also love the conflict that bending provides in the show. We see characters that can't bend that might question their contribution to the group. We see characters who think their bending is all powerful and it consumes them. Such a cool aspect to a kid's show. It's no wonder bending itself is such an important part of The Legend of Korra - it is such a great avenue for conflict. 

Favorite episode: "The Firebending Masters"

2. The sibling dynamic: Socca and Katara/ Zoku and Azula - K and I were talking about sibling relationships on shows (mostly the lack thereof) and how much we love seeing that dynamic. Both of us grew up with a brother close in age, so that relationship between brother/sister is so realistic and hilarious to watch. I love that throughout the show, there are many times when Katara completely infuriates Socca or Zoku is the only one that can put Azula in her place (or vice versa) - that sibling relationship is the only kind of relationship that can work like that. Siblings have that I have to love you, but I don't have to like you thing. 

Favorite episodes:  
"The Headband" - Socca and Katara pretend to be Aang's parents - they play off of each other perfectly; only siblings would be able to do that.  
"The Beach" - Zoku and Azula go with their friends to the beach - the fact that they share the memories of that place and what it means/doesn't mean to each of them - very impactful (and hilarious - my favorite scene of Zoku and Mai is in this episode). 

3. Toph - I don't have to say much here actually; she's a master at Earthbending, creates her own style of bending (Metalbending), and is hilarous 95% of the time. Oh, and she's Blind and can kick everyone else's ass whenever she happens to feel like it. What's not to adore?

Favorite episode: "The Blind Bandit"  - we meet Toph for the first time.

4. The idea of the Avatar - I know, not a very original concept. One girl born in the generation, the dark lord will mark him as his own... I know, I know, the chosen one and all that. Jana obviously likes chosen ones. But you have to admit, Aang, Harry, and Buffy are pretty awesome. Like Buffy, Aang is connected to the past chosen ones - something I find intriguing whenever a flashback happens. And like Harry, Aang is often conflicted about the fame of his status - is it something to be proud of or ashamed of? I think what makes the Avatar unique is the "Avatar State" and Aang's lack of control over it (until later episodes anyway). This ability he has to become someone almost outside of himself, that admittedly is pretty freakin' amazing, but that in a way is very frightening; Aang dealing with the Avatar state is powerful stuff. 

Favorite episode: "The Southern Air Temple" - flashbacks and the first time we see the Avatar state, very interesting and emotional episode. 

5.  The cheese factor - Come on, who doesn't love when Katara says "everything changed when the fire nation attacked" (although after watching on netflix ALL day, it does get a little old). You have to love a show that can be cheesy, but then can pick on itself. Other cheesy awesomeness includes: The Boulder (The Boulder is no longer conflicted about fighting a blind little girl) and the Cabbage Guy (My cabbages!!). 

Favorite episode: "The Ember Island Players" - hilarious; best example of any show picking on its own characters there has ever been. 

So... there you go. One last awesome thing that just didn't quite make it on the list: Appa. He rules, just saying. Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender - it is full of awesome. Just, don't watch the movie version. Please. Just don't. I mean, I don't think the cabbage guy made it in the movie at all (one of MANY issues). 

DFTBA!

Jana

A Different Kind of Super

So I’ve been watching Supernatural all night.  I skipped quite of few of Season 3 and at the moment I’m on Episode 7 of Season 4, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.”  I’m so loving it.  Supernatural is not going to become the center of my universe.  It doesn’t make me reflect a regularly about life, and humanity, and what it means to be living (like Doctor Who or Buffy), but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make you feel!

I totally love these boys.  Sam and Dean always put each other first.  They don’t have any superpowers (well, minimal) or alien technology, but they have dedicated their lives to making the world a safer place. They’ve suffered for it.  It’s not a show with a big ensemble cast because they don’t get to make those connections.  And they just seem so real!  They seem like guys I knew in school if they grew up to become hunters.  When the two of them are just hanging out, they sound like my brother and his friends.  I just don't think there are that many shows on TV that I enjoy that don't feature extended love stories and strong female characters.  It makes Supernatural stand out to me. 

Also, I finally met Castiel.  I haven’t really seen enough to love him yet, but I like him so far.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching him put Dean in his place early on in the season. It being Otherworld Saturday, I just had to share  how much I am loving Supernatural right now. 


UPDATE AFTER EPISODE 10-  Okay, for all I go on about this being a step below some of the other things I obsess over, I totally cried with Dean at the end of this episode.  How can you see them cry and it not drag the tears out of you?

Clark Kent is my Kryptonite

So, it's Otherworld Saturday, and looking through my bank of fandoms, I think I’ll start with my oldest, since it’s about to have a fresh reboot. 

Henry Cavill- The new Clark Kent

I have loved Henry Cavill since I watched a sneak preview of The Tudors premiere.  I remember saying out loud, “Who’s the hot one?” after his first scene.  On The Tudors, that’s saying something.  He was just so good looking as Duke Brandon.  He was a pretty good actor, too.  I loved him throughout all the years of the Showtime series.  A few years into the series I remember seeing a Vogue magazine with a three page spread on the actor saying he was about to be the next big thing, and I knew then that they must have good taste.

It’s fairly well known that my classic love is Clark Kent.  I grew up in love with Christopher Reeve, and in elementary school I was seriously planning to marry Dean Cain.  Imagine my overwhelming joy when it was announced that the last son of Krypton would be portrayed by newcomer Henry Cavill in the Man of Steel film.  It was like someone was inside my head!

Now, I am reserving judgment on his perfection in the part.  He is a British actor playing Superman, the upholder of Truth, Justice, and the American way.  He doesn’t have a lot of screen experience, and… who am I kidding?  Those eyes, that smile- I am totally sold.  Provided he isn’t HORRIBLE I will totally adore him. 

The film itself is directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) and written by Christopher Nolan of Batman fame.  I hope that they each know what they are doing with their hands on the Superman franchise.  The Batman reboot was amazing.  Superman is very different, though.  Superman is a light in the darkness, not a shadowy avenger in the night.  It’s not dark and twisty all the time, and it’s not supposed to be.  It can have serious moments, of course, but the light has to balance.  I watched The Man of Steel trailer, and I don't know.  It could be all wrong, or it could be the best thing I've ever seen. I'm very much reserving my opinion while hoping for the best. 

And so much of a Superman movie/series success in my mind depends on Lois Lane.  Lois is a huge part of Clark’s story, and I have to have as much faith in her as I do in Superman.  I need to believe in her as a real, strong, and independent character who inspires and supports Superman.  I could talk on this subject for a while, and I’m sure I will at some point.  For now, I’ll leave it and just say that I am hopeful that Amy Adams will rock a sassy and spirited Lois Lane to Henry Cavill’s mild mannered reporter.

Amy Adams- The new Lois

Stay Shiny!

Kristin