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

Favorite Characters in the Whedonverse: Dr. Horrible

Continuing with my Whedonverse Thursday theme, I am going to do a character profile of another wonderful character from the Whedonverse: Dr. Horrible, himself!

When the writer's strike happened in 2008 there was a lot put on hold - it was depressing to a certain degree and we'll forever feel the repercussions of the writer's strike - whenever I go to watch the 4th season of Lost, I think about that strike! All the seasons were shorter and TV was soooo boring! Of course, the writer's strike did have one wonderfully positive outcome: freelance projects, mainly - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog from the wonderfully amusing mind of Joss Whedon (and his brother and co. who came up with the catchy, awesome songs).

The main character, Dr. Horrible, is played perfectly by Neil Patrick Harris, who as we all  know, has no problem blogging his everyday occurrences :). I know part of my love for this character is due to NPH (whom I love to no end), but there is more to the character than simply a wonderful actor.

Dr. Horrible, while horrible, is actually a sensitive guy with big goals. However bad he wants to be - he just can't quite meet the standard of Bad Horse. He wants to rule the world, but honestly, he just wants the pretty girl in the laundromat to give him the time of day. He's just so relate able - which is hilarious because he's a super villian that wants to be in the Evil League of Evil. But you know, we've all had lofty goals we desperately want to reach - and sometimes, on your way, you liquidate the gold you stole from the bank - it happens.

Dr. Horrible has layers (like an onion or parfait) - he's not just evil. I love to learn more about the villains of a piece, especially if they aren't just shallow. I love that you root for him - evil deed or buying yogurt. You identify completely with him and want him to succeed in his quest. I love the bad guy as the hero - it always makes you question your moral compass just a little bit.

Really, it's his love for Penny that is his redeeming quality - how can a character that is so horrible love so greatly? But it totally and completely works - he loves Penny, but he desperately needs to prove himself.

He is such a delightfully flawed character; it is almost like he decided to be evil before he decided who he wanted to really be. He almost doesn't have a choice and to a certain extent doesn't want one. I love that he's this timid, shy guy in real life - his super villain alter-ego is really his shield - he can hide his real self behind it. And when you are hiding your real self, you start to lose that self more and more. I don't think he even knows who "Billy" really is anymore. At the end of the story, he completely gives Billy up and invests completely in Dr. Horrible - I think that's what he was missing all along; why his plans didn't work, why he couldn't break down that barrier - he was still holding on to that real part of himself. He had to let go of the best parts of himself to meet his goal - simply because he never saw himself for who he truly was.

A lesson from Dr. Horrible. Who knew?

Joss Whedon. That's who. Damn, he's a freakin' genius.

DFTBA!
Jana

Buffy in Review- The Witch

I brought home a stack of work.  I’m not going to do it, because I’d rather be watching Buffy.

I'd rather be watching Buffy.

We’re on The Witch, the third episode of Season 1.  Granted this is not really a pivotal episode, but for some reason it seems to be referenced a lot.  Is it Buffy in a cheerleading uniform?  Meeting Amy, the character who pops back into our lives every few years?  I am hoping to figure it out on this rewatch. (This is written as a rewatch after having viewed the entire series, so if you aren't through the series and are sensitive to decade old spoilers, beware.)

We begin with a lecture from Giles about Buffy “enslaving [herself] to this cult” of cheerleading.  Personally, I struggle seeing Buffy as a cheerleader.  It’s so yay sports, which isn’t something she seems to care about, be aware of, or anything at all.  Since when did the Scoobies care about school spirit?  I guess that may not be the standard motivation for being on the cheer squad, but it just doesn’t seem like an activity she would care about.  Is that just me? I know the very idea of Buffy is based around the cheerleader type becoming savior of the world.  I don’t know, I could be all wrong on this.  Just thoughts.  

Also at this moment Xander creates some serious awkwardness with his bracelet.  How can Buffy not react to the weirdness of giving her a bracelet that says “Yours Always,”?  That is not an appropriate friend present and should not be accepted.  After viewing the Human Torch (cheerleader suffering from spontaneous combustion), we move into the more familiar setting of the library.  Okay, this is my favorite Giles moment.  His smile about having a “cornucopia” of amazing evil shows his joy in learning of something new.  A true educator.  Willow coins the phrase “The Slayerettes” in this scene, then Xander states his life philosophy, “I laugh in the face of danger, then I hide until it goes away.”   This was always one of my favorite Xander quotes.  Honestly, the line itself isn't true.  More than once in the series Xander fights back, but it’s just such a great line.

The trophy case makes its first appearance in this episode. (And one of its last; it doesn’t pop up much.) This is where we establish Amy’s weirdness factor.  She’s obviously obsessed with her mother.  We know where this is going, but it’s still creepy,  even in hindsight.

Back to the Slayerettes- we pretty much establish this is the episode all about defining Xander’s friendzone status.  According to Willow, he’s a chewed up pen you’re just used to having.  He doesn't react well to this metaphor and offers to drive a railroad spike through his head.  I cannot help but wonder if this line was at all the inspiration for Spike’s name, or at least thought about after naming Spike.  Thanks for the flash-forward moment, Xander!  It’s almost fun watching him try to ask Buffy out and get shot down, or just completely ignored.  They act like kids for such a small portion of the series that it’s fun to watch the honest awkwardness. 

Cordelia gets cursed; mostly for being Cordelia,
a little bit because she was a cheerleader

As we view a cursed Cordelia wreck a car, we learn she’s failed her driver’s license twice.  This is pretty sad, considering Cordelia is pretty much the designated chauffeur for the next couple of years.  You think someone would be more successful than her at the whole driving thing.  Is it supposed to act as a status symbol that Cordelia had a car?  Most high school students can afford something to drive to school.  Regardless of their success in driving,  Willow is successful at something here- she has no issues dealing with the eye of newt to concoct the “witch detecting” spell.  Foreshadowing future skills, Ms. Rosenburg?

I love the twist in this episode. When primes suspect Amy goes home and is obviously in control, not the suffering pressured victim, you know there is something different going on here.  Even in an early, non-pivotal episode, it’s got to be something just a bit different.  Oh, and then there’s the black cat on Buffy’s shirt.  Witchy!  Intrigue at her sleeping ensemble is followed by head shaking at her enthusiastic cheerleading self.  Obviously there is some other kind of problem (evil Amy spell) going on here, but regardless, I prefer sarcastic, bigger picture Buffy.  I’m okay with her cheer phase not lasting all that long.

We end up back with Giles in the library, and he appears to have recognized the spell cast on Buffy fairly easily.  He would, wouldn't he.  I believe The Ripper would recognize a vengeance spell when he saw it.   I do love Giles through all of this.  He showed that he’d leave the library and get his hands dirty when he needed to in order to protect Buffy and get the job done.  Even just a couple of episodes into the series, we believe that he cares about her.   Watching it, I barely detect a difference in his concern and controlled protectiveness in this, merely the third episode, than in the latest episodes when Buffy had practically become a daughter to him.  It shows us that caring for Buffy is just going to become a part of him, from beginning to end.  Thank you Anthony Stewart Head for being such a great actor.  By the way, he is awfully competent here.  I like it.  He does mention it’s his first spell casting, which is going to prove to be a lie.

Sidebar- We see a lot of the inside school gym in this episode.  Do we see it again?  I remember prom, but I’m struggling to come up with another scene in the gym.  Oh, and I remember gym class in Phases (the werewolf episode).  I remember way more locker room than gym.  I'll be keeping an eye out as we proceed.  

Amy's recovered from her curse of
wanting to be a cheerleader.

My favorite Buffy is always quippy, strong Buffy, and she doesn’t let me down in this climactic scene.  She “feels better” after her little death curse is lifted, and she takes care of the situation.  I definitely prefer Buffy to be of the attitude Amy, the real Amy, has at the end of the episode.  She “will really miss the intellectual thrill of spelling words with [her] arms,” and I appreciate her sarcastic look at cheering.  Forgive me any avid cheerleaders out there, it’s just not my thing.  Most cheerleaders that I've actually known or had in school have been very nice people.  Most of them are not the type to become avid Joss Whedon fans, however.  I'm sure there are exceptions.

As far as conclusions, this episode's is a long standing favorite of mine.  I would never remember Catherine being trapped in the cheer-leading trophy if Oz didn't mention it’s eyes were following him later in the series.  As small as that connection is, it’s one of my favorites.  Joss, and all the other amazing Buffy writers, never forgets the details.  It’s one thing that makes the series so special. 

It follows you with its eyes!

Stay Shiny!

Kristin

My Favorite Youtube Video Channels

So... today I decided to do a post about my favorite youtube videos! Since The Guild Season 6 premiered the other day, it seemed appropriate. 

I know I've already mentioned some webseries that I checked out, but I don't think I've been able to mention some of the important videos I watch otherwise. 

Must See's Every Week: I generally check into my youtube subscriptions on Wednesdays and Saturdays (that way something new is always around!)

- Vlogbrothers - John and Hank update like clockwork and at less than 4 minutes a video, I can always find time to watch the latest addition. The John videos are ALWAYS necessary to watch, but I find Hank to be more of a hit or miss kind of video. I love their takes on current events, fandom insights, etc. They always have something interesting to talk about. The Nerd Quote Video!

- JennaMarbles - I should probably hang my head in shame that this is so high on the list. She's hilarious though. She can get a little too crude for me sometimes and the voice she does with her dogs - ugh, but sometimes her reflections on life are just way too comically true. I will admit, I check on Wednesdays because that's when she updates. She's awesome.

- Lizzie Bennett Diaries - probably should have made the web series post to be honest, but I've been into the Lizzie Bennett Diaries for a while, so I didn't consider it a new find. These come out every three days and are following (what else?) Pride and Prejudice and are doing an awesome job. I love the modern interpretation, the characters are awesome and spot on, and it's produced by Hank Green. Yay Lizzie! It is fun to watch it from the beginning - but this is going to be a long production, start watching soon, we're already past 50 videos and maybe half way through the book. Lizzie Bennett Playlist

When I Have Time: These are the videos that used to be watched religiously every week and I still love them, but they have been regulated to the back burner because of time issues. Whenever I watch one of these I remember the pure awesomeness and have to question why I don't watch it every week. 

- Crash Course - John Green's world history youtube channel; I have to admit - I'm not even sure if he's still updating weekly on this - it has been so long since I've checked in. I used to watch this every week without fail. He's awesome, the history is interesting, and, I mean, seriously, who doesn't love a good crack about the Mongols? But at 10-12 minutes a pop, I just can't commit. I need to try again. Crash Course: The Renaissance

- The Flog - Again, I used to watch this every week. I love every aspect of this show: I love her fave fives or top three, or whatever it is now, the skill set is always hilarious, and her letters at the end are amazing. Why am I not watching this all the time? No idea - just doesn't happen. Watch the flog - remind me why it is so freakin' amazing. The Flog

When I Want to Waste an Amazing Amount of Time: These are my go to's when I have hours to kill (or not, I just think I do) and I want to watch something on the computer for some reason. 

- Starkid - LOVE does not begin to describe my feelings for Starkid. They rock. I love the Harry Potter musicals, I love Little White Lie, I love Me and My Dick (yes, it really is about what it says), I love Starship, and I love Holy Musical Batman. I also think anything any of them do is amazing - I could watch Potion Master's Corner all day. When I want to waste serious amounts of time, I go to Starkid. Starkid's Amazing Videos

- The Guild - NEW SEASON!! Just started this week - super awesome. The availability of The Guild makes it doubly appealing. I can watch it on Netflix, they recently combined all the short videos into one long video and added annotations!! Seriously, that made me go back and watch the series from the beginning. 

- Karaoke Soundtracks - seriously, my favorite things ever. I love the ones with lyrics - who needs a karaoke machine when youtube exists. I think my favorite time doing this was with the chorus kids; this is literally how they practice for auditions. Brilliant! 

Recent Interests I Think are Kinda Fun: New stuff that could last...

- Itswaypastmybedtime - She seriously has a song about being a Disney Princess. Enough said. Disney Princess Song

- Alex Day and Charlieissocoollike - Funny boys that make fun of Twilight and 50 Shades and love Doctor Who are worth putting on any list. Charlie's Doctor Who Video

Things I'll Occasionally Check on: They don't always put out something awesome, but it is always worth checking...

 - HISHE - How It Should Have Ended has Super Cafe with Superman and Batman. It is pure awesome. The other videos are pretty funny too - Harry Potter and Hunger Games are both favs. SuperCafe: Batphone

- The Nerdist - I prefer the show on BBCAmerica, but occasionally they'll post something amazing that is worth a look. Watch the appeal to nonwhovians by Chris Hardwick. Oh my gosh - love it!Watch Me! New to Who

- Potter Puppet Pals - The Ticking Noise is still the best thing they've put out, but the others are funny too. The one with Draco and the things he likes is pretty much pure hilarity.

DFTBA!
Jana

My Deductions on a few Mysteries

Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen
Give a Mystery!

CBS remake of
Sherlock Holmes

It is the season of crime solving.  Of course, it's always the season of crime solving.  I can't remember a time when detective shows didn't fill a television line up.  Even as a child I remember watching my grandmother soaking up her weekly Murder She Wrote and Matlock.  (Is it really bad that I have the seriously old and seriously bad Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen song "Give us a Mystery" running through my head.  I only remember the title line, but it still keeps coming up.)

This week I enjoyed the third episode of Bones, the second episode of Castle, and the premiere of Elementary, the new Sherlock Holmes inspired series. Here are some thoughts and reviews. (Spoiler abound throughout, so back off now if you don't want to see them!)

Esposito & Ryan make up. Yay!

Castle
I'll start with a quick mention of Castle, since I talked pretty extensively about going into the new season last week. (Click here to check out last week's review.)  As I predicted, Castle was back to it's usual back and forth between Beckett and Castle while solving the case of the week.  I found the case interesting enough to keep my attention, and I was satisfied watching Esposito and Ryan make up.  Their relationship troubles has been bothering me.  I was happy to have the deep  stuff pushed to the side and have an episode keep it light.

Sweets getting kissed by his associate and assailant,
new FBI Agent Olivia Sparling

Bones
This Bones episode was my favorite so far this season, mostly for the same reasons as I enjoyed Castle.  It kept it light. Even the second episode had a tense tone as the couple stumbled around trying to figure out how to fit back into one another's lives.   For better or worse, it managed to keep it light by keeping Brennan & Booth out of the limelight.  Sweets is paired up with a new lady FBI agent. (Whom he totally likes and I'm confused by- are we supposed to want him to cheat on Daisy? I don't like cheaters... he needs to cut Daisy loose ASAP.)  Sweets and the new girl, Agent Olivia Sparling, do most of the mystery solving.    Booth and Brennan are barely active.  They are cute in the final scene.  I hope next week we let them do a bit more crime solving, but I'll take Booth in a t-shirt smiling and deciding Brennan can spend her paycheck on his, I'm sorry the baby's, new grill.

Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law
Blockbuster Film Sherlock & Watson

                                 Elementary
Now onto Elementary.  I will admit to being an avid Sherlock fan, and I was not ready to like this show.  Watson is not a girl, he's Martin Freeman.  I enjoy the latest Sherlock movies, but they aren't really Sherlock, they're hyped up Robert Downey, Jr. with an accent.  Enjoyable, but I don't really group them as Sherlock remakes. Another aspect is that  this new series isn't planning traditional Doyle based mysteries, at least not as of yet.  

Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman
BBC's Sherlock

First thoughts- I didn't make the connection from the still images I'd seen that our new Sherlock, Jonny Lee Miller, was Edmund in the 1999 version of Mansfield Park then moved on to Austen's Mr. Knightley in 2009.  I liked him ok in that, but this modern man is different.  He's a very British actor to me (despite having led the American series Eli Stone) in an iconic British role, but that's just not good enough for Americans.  We must move it to New York.  What's with that?  I mean, this is a week for Britains in NY (Doctor Who), but still.   According to IMDb, Miller's first role in 1982 was in Doctor Who, so points for him.  Also in my thoughts, I think lady Watson, Lucy Liu, as a sober companion is an annoying premise.  Watson should tag along because Sherlock is fascinating to him/her from the get go, not because he/she gets paid.  I do like that she wants to be called his companion. 

After completing the episode I felt something was missing.  I can take someone other than Cumberbatch as Sherlock, but I was missing that manic energy and arrogance.  This Sherlock, while showing moments of excitement, was a bit passive for me.  I didn't smile just watching him flummox people, and that's part of what makes Sherlock who he is.  The mystery itself didn't really intrigue me.   I still hated the British detective on American soil.  If you want a modern, American remake, then make him American.  Otherwise, leave him in Britain   It was just annoying throughout. This is a show that could make decent filler while you waited on Castle next week, and granted it's possible things might change, but I am less than intrigued. 

Best quote of this show, delivered by Watson.
"Just because you don't understand something
doesn't make it less awesome." 

There was one major redeeming quality- in the final scene Watson is watching baseball with Sherlock (against his will), and when he gets grumpy she gives him this amazing line that I loved.  "Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it not awesome."  Sherlock then proceeded to prove that he did understand, but this doesn't make the quote less fabulous.

Mini-rant: Don't count on me regularly watching Elementary.  I watch things online and on Hulu Plus, and CBS shows are mostly only viewable on the CBS website.   There were twice as many commercials as on Hulu, and twice it froze, so I had to reload.  After reloading I had to rewatch ads.  Since most people DVR things and don't even watch commercials, stations shouldn't alienate those of us who are watching them. 


Stay Shiny!
Kristin

Doctor 7.5 Review- A Night of Terror and Tears.

A Smiling Angel
(who knew they could get creepier?)

A night of terror and tears, otherwise known as The Angels Take Manhattan.

This episode was intense.  It began intensely suspenseful, had intensely awesome and hilarious moments, and of course intense sadness.  Spoilers abound, just so you know.

The story begins in Manhattan, naturally, with... you guessed it, yet another voice over.  And this voice over is yet again by an inconsequential character.  The scene itself was important for setting up the Angels' hotel, but the voice over could have been dropped.  If it seemed vital, they could have lost earlier voice overs so I wasn't rolling my eyes. Couldn't they have just had someone encounter the creepy collector guy and get sent to the hotel? Or incorporate the guys that capture Rory later?  



All of the Angels are seriously creepy in this episode.  They must have gone out searching for creepy looking statues. The laughing babies were horrifying (except for the fact that they sounded just like the Boos from Mario Bros - J).  The Statue of Liberty as a Weeping Angel is likely a direct result of online commentary. With it used only lightly, it is mostly okay. I do think it highly unlikely that everyone in NYC was not looking at the Statue of Liberty so that it could move... that doesn't quite add up! It is nice that the Angels have taken over, not that they've always been there. 

Rory with creepy Baby Angels

After the credits we jump to modern New York and see the scene that's had pics splattered online for months.  As soon as Rory leaves the group for coffee you know he's going to go missing, and the laughing babies just confirm it.  It was very creepy, and leads into the real start of the story. 

Beautiful moment of
The Doctor & River

My favorite thing in this episode is River. We're supposed to love her- lots of sad things are happening in this hour and the interaction of River and the Doctor is supposed to be our reward for making it through the episode.  From the first moment we see River and realize that the Doctor has been reading about her (yowzah!), it puts a smile on your face. River is my favorite thing in Doctor Who right now, so I was just THRILLED to see her, and she lived up to all of my expectations.  I can't wait to rewatch every scene she's in. When she flat out says, "Just wait till my husband gets home," I love it. And the Doctor primping! Ahhh!! I could fill a blog with quotes by her and the Doctor, but I am going to stay on task and move on.  It is important to note that she isn't in jail anymore- she was pardoned since the man that she killed doesn't seem to have existed. It made me want to review River's history again - was she pardoned during Silence in the Library? 

The Doctor is devastated by reading the final chapter titles of River's book, and his reaction is so honest.  You see how connected he really is to Amy; we've always known that Amy is important and precious to him, but here we see - he almost doesn't know how to control that emotion. He refuses to accept the reality of the situation and moves on.  He refuses to break River's wrist just because the book says so. Which bugs me a little - didn't he break a couple things while landing the TARDIS - that counts as breaking, right? Have we heard before about reading it making it fact?  Is that new?  I mean, we hear all the time that time can be rewritten.  So you can see it, but you can't read it?  It just seems like there's something wrong with this rule. I feel like if I reflect on this, or even the paradox created by Rory & Amy's jump, I'll become frustrated by the wibbly-wobblyness of it all.  For now, I choose to move on.


When the family reunites in the the Angels' hotel, it's to see a moving death of Rory Williams.  Amy is touching here as well.  Their love is so powerful and so obvious in every second of this episode. At times it has been hard to see the depth of their love for each other; they get so into the Doctor's issues, but recently you've seen how much they are in love with one another. Real life gave them that - they had these shared experiences that no one else could relate to and they realized that they needed each other.  It's impossible to imagine them without one another.  I spent the episode trying to decide if they were going to kill one of them, and they were showing them so in love just to rip out our hearts.  When they make it to the roof and Rory is ready to jump, I am just amazed at the talent of these actors.  They make the characters so real to me, and I am so appreciative of how much of themselves they must put into their parts.  Both Rory and Amy are beautiful in these moments on the roof, before jumping off.  Of course, a highlight moment is when Amy asked Rory if he thought after jumping he would just come back to life. His answer, "When do I not?" was brilliant.

The Doctor on his own

The whole group survives (I held my breath until River appeared on the other side of the Tardis) the jump and the death of the Angels.  As a viewer, we know there are only moments left and something bad is going to happen. We're right.  Rory's last moment is both sudden and heart breaking.  Amy's simple choice is of course her only option.  She says good-bye to River and the Doctor, and it's just inevitable.  She turns away and is gone.  


River and The Doctor return to the Tardis, and River seems eerily calm.  The Doctor acknowledges she's just said good-bye to her parents, and she seems somewhat unconcerned. What's up with that?  She then walks off to write her book, that Amy is going to publish. Does Amy publish her book in the past then? Does River go back and see them? Has she already gone back and seen them? Does she already know that they were back in time at the beginning of the episode? Being so calm, has she always known? So many River related questions!! I'm shocked. 

Amelia Pond, the Girl Who Waited

I loved the ending. Amy sends the Doctor back to the night she waited, and it was great.  It was comforting to remember that somewhere in time Amy is just beginning her adventures with the Doctor. I think every companion should have gotten such an awesome tribute - it was pretty freakin' awesome. It made me totally respect and love Amy more than I have over the past two and half seasons. 

Happy moments with The Doctor, Amy, & Rory

As far as the future (in the viewer's timeline), it's been stressed throughout the season that the Doctor doesn't need to be travelling alone. I'm looking forward to seeing Oswin at Christmas, hopefully joining the Doctor for a while.  I can't wait to see what happens with that.  If he saves Oswin, does he start to exist again?  It should be interesting.  As far as River, I imagine it will be ages, if ever, before we see such fun interaction again. I doubt there will be many times that we see them when they are both aware of the fact that they're married and should be flirting.   I'm pretty sure that we only got those happy moments to make up for the extreme sadness we endured.  It may take a while, but hopefully we'll eventually get all our questions answered!

DFTBA and Stay Shiny!
Jana and Kristin

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