Deadwood Episode 34 “A Constant Throb”

Aug 142006
 

Deadwood: AlEvery episode this season seems to amaze me more and more. It’s wonderful when a show can do that. Although saddening that this is the last season of Deadwood. Boo hiss to the HBO fools for that!

So much happened in this episode that I don’t even know where to begin.

This episode started with a bang and kept right on running on speed throughout. It begins with Hearst having one of his men shoot at Alma, the idea being to incite Ellsworth or Bullock to violence. Yep, Hearst is looking for a fight.

Al seems to be back in full form so yay for that! He jumped over the side rail to get to Alma to escort her away, all while dolling out orders to his crew. It was amazing to see him quick to the game of strategically moving around players. This character knows how to handle a crisis quite well.

I liked seeing the townspeople bond together against Hearst here too. And the scene with Alma crossing the street to the bank was beautiful. As my brother fittingly termed it in an email to me: “Like lions circling Mrs. Ellsworth Gazelle.”

Langrishe continues to fascinate me because there is a story there peeking out from his history that I haven’t quite grasped. Plus Al and Langrishe actually do go into business together in real life so it’s interesting to see the dynamics there.

As much as I hate the character, Jarry, since he just skeeves me out, it is interesting to see what he’s up to. He may be playing Hearst and only time will tell on that one. He was skimming off the top and got caught as we learned in his meeting with Adams. And he’s bargaining with Hearst to have men brought in to vote in the elections. Only here’s the thing, you have to be in camp for 2 weeks to be able to vote. Jarry knows that. He was there when the law was made. Hearst doesn’t know that though at least as far as I can tell.

And I loved how the episode ended with Bullock practically breaking the table and looking all wild-eyed. If the man starts rubbing his nose, it means he’s about to lose it FAST. He wasn’t quite there yet last night. But the dude is splitting at the seems with rage. Heh.

All of this and more just make this season so beyond amazing for me! YAY!

And yes, I can go on and on about it, but I’ll spare you my continued ramblings for now. :P

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

Aug 142006
 

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren WilligSimply put, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is a delightful read. I found the character’s amusing and very loveable.

Eloise Kelly is a student, doing research for her PhD. She is on the hunt to reveal the identity of the famous spy, the Pink Carnation. She’s been having the worst luck at it when she finally gains access to the Purple Gentian’s estate and discovers a batch of old letters and is told she will find her answer within them.

As she reads them, we are taken into Amy Balcourt’s world, where she is on the hunt to find the Purple Gentian so that she may join his league. It’s the interactions between her and Richard Selwick (the Purple Gentian) that make me smile. Her way of helping often leads to messy matters.

Amy is a bit of a ding as far as characters go. But she’s got such determination and spunk. If plan A doesn’t work there is always plan B and C or maybe D and E…

Richard amuses me as well. Around Amy he becomes like a twelve year old boy again and completely unsure of what to do with this girl who’s standing in front of him.

This story is filled with adventure, intrigue, and all that good stuff in between!

A great fun read that made me laugh a lot. :)

Eureka Webisode: Hide and Seek

Aug 112006
 

Eureka: BeastScifi.com is featuring a Eureka websiode called Hide and Seek. It’s like having a bonus episode of the show, but they are only giving it to us snippets at a time.

The prologue starts out with amateur video footage of peeping toms out in the woods that come across a beast in the woods. Webisode 1 shows Zoe posting the video up on her web page, which also happens to be a MySpace page:

Her father leans over her shoulder as she posts it and makes fun of the idea of a beast lurking about. Then Allison arrives to inform him that something broke out of Global Dynamics—one of Starks pet projects. Next we see Taggart out hunting for it in the woods. And we’re off.

I won’t detail more of the story here. If that was enough to intrigue you, then check it out. Each webisode has got a great campy feel to it.

Life on Mars on BBC America

Aug 102006
 

Life on MarsLife on Mars is a quirky show that has me intrigued.

Sam Tyler is a detective in 2006. He is hunting down a serial killer and just learned that the killer has abducted his girlfriend. To make matters worse, he then gets into a car accident and wakes up in 1973. We are left wondering if he is in a coma or really transported back in time.

See? Quirky premise and fascinating too. What do you do when you are sent back to a time where technology is antiquated to you and you only want to get home to stop a murder from happening? Yes, it’s the kinda stuff that can make one go crazy.

I’m fascinated by watching him cope with being a cop when things were done so very differently. I also like the blips when he is overtaken with hearing things that could very well be proof that he is not in 1973, but in 2006 and stuck in a coma. Only time will tell where it goes.

Sounds like an interesting adventure and I’ll definitely be going along for the ride!

Eureka’s Henry Deacon

Aug 092006
 

Eureka’s Henry DeaconYes, the show Eureka has become an addiction for me. A great tag line: “Small town. Big secret.” A sheriff with a house that gives him sass. Super geniuses  everywhere you turn. Last night they even questioned alien invasions. Yep, great stuff! (My initial write up about the show is here.)

My favorite character is Henry Deacon, who is played by Joe Morton. Look familiar? Yeah, he was in a few Smallville episodes and an X-files episode, “Redrum.”

It’s funny because I don’t usually acknowledge the existence of those so called seasons 8 & 9 of X-files since they wrecked my beloved show. Bah to them! But I do remember the episode he was in and thinking highly of his performance. And that’s saying a lot because I only saw the episode once and my memory is not always the best.

And now here he is in the wonderful show, Eureka.

His character, Henry, is the town mechanic, although he’s a true jack-of-all-trades and in any instance he’s needed to be something other than a mechanic, he simply switches the tag on his uniform. Voila, he’s the coroner, or whatever else they need at the moment. Yep, he seems to know everything. And with all that knowledge floating around in that noggin’ of his, he doesn’t come across as a pompous ass, which makes him all the more loveable of a character to me.

So huzzah to the character Henry and to Joe Morton for playing him so well!

Oh and check out the Made in Eureka website. Cryo kennels? Yeah, some amusing stuff they’ve got there.

And don’t forget to enter the Made in Eureka Sweepstakes!

Nightmares & Dreamscapes Miniseries Week 4

Aug 092006
 

Nightmares & DreamscapesWeek four’s selections of short stories from Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes were a lot of fun.

Autopsy Room Four

This is one I remember reading and yeah, I can see the changes from the story to what was made for TV. Either that or my memory is just that foggy. I’m not sure that there was enough of a story to make the length of time needed for the show…it was short if I remember right.

A man, played by Richard Thomas, is bitten by a snake and forced to lay witness to his own autopsy. Will they realize he’s alive in time?

It’s the classic autopsy style tale and they played it out nicely. Watching the crazy doctor declare him dead and those who are about to perform the autopsy being so distracted were both amusing points to watch. However, the girlfriend sitting there waiting for the autopsy to be done seemed a bit much and unnecessary.

You Know They’ve Got a Hell of a Band

This is the one Steven Weber is in. I was wondering when I’d get to this one. Of course they made it the last one. :P He plays that stereotypical husband who never asks for directions. The character and his wife, played by Kim Delaney, are lost in the woods, pretty much out in the boon docks.

Where they end up is a little town called Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon. It’s got a creepy small town feel, filled with disturbing characters, and naturally you can’t leave. Yep, makings of the right stuff.

Eureka Featurette

Aug 092006
 

A little clip about the show, Eureka.

Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Aug 082006
 

Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy HickmanI show the old cover here because I like it better than the one they have out now. Larry Elmore’s artwork after all. :)

Dragons of Spring Dawning (Dragonlance Chronicles Book 3) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is the final book in the trilogy. It is a great conclusion marking this as one incredible series.

Here we have the battle against the Queen of Dragons continuing. Plus, we have some serious betrayals happening, although they seemed obvious and well, we knew they were coming. They weren’t exactly subtle about it coming from the other two books…

What I liked about this book was seeing Laurana rise up and come into her own and learn a very harsh lesson about trusting when you shouldn’t. Tas too is forced to face some serious tragedies that just broke my heart. I hated to see him in so much pain.

What I didn’t like in this book is that it really only seemed that Laurana was the only companion truly effected by the loss in the previous book. Plus, this book solidified for me just how much I don’t like the character, Tanis. He’s selfish, so absorbed in his own issues that that he fails to notice such obvious problems, like Flint’s illness, around him. And the character does love himself enough for the rest of us. Sheesh. :P

But it is a grand adventure and it’s story kept me loving my four favorites all the more, Laurana, Tas, Sturm, and the old mage. So yay for that! A fun read indeed!

Nightmares & Dreamscapes Miniseries Week 3

Aug 072006
 

Nightmares & DreamscapesWeek three’s selections of short stories from Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes:

The Road Virus Heads North

A famous horror writer learns that the doctor found something during his visit. He has to have more tests run. I’m not really sure the relevance of that tidbit except maybe to humanize the character, because the story doesn’t return to that. We only know that the character has mortality on his mind.

On the trip home, he stops at a yard sale and buys a disturbing painting that just won’t seem to go away. Not only that, it murders along the way.

I actually found this one boring to watch. The character aunt Trudy interested me because I could swear I saw something flicker funny in her eyes, making me think she wasn’t quite human. But I must have been seeing things…The only other moment that interested me was when the lead character tripped over a pile of Stephen King books and fell down the stairs.

The Fifth Quarter

A man is released from prison and discovers that his dying friend was involved in a robbery. The money is hidden and to find it he must retrieve all four pieces of the map. Only then can he unite them to see the full map.

The part I liked was at the end when the location of the treasure was discovered. I found it’s whereabouts highly amusing. The rest of the episode wasn’t all that interesting either. Yep, you guessed it, I watched it on fast forward. Such a bad habit, I know. :P

Nightmares & Dreamscapes Miniseries Week 2

Aug 032006
 

Nightmares & DreamscapesWeek two’s selections of short stories from Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes were much more entertaining than week one’s were!

Umney’s Last Case

I just adore William H. Macy and gives a wonderful performance playing both Umney and Landry in this story of a writer trading places with his character. It’s funny that the write up for this on TNT’s website speaks more about the part where the switch goes wrong. That only comes up at the tail end, giving it a remarkable conclusion at that. Instead the story seems to spend more time introducing us to the characters and weaving us into their lives. And with that I loved watching Macy flip between the roles. Fun indeed.

The End of the Whole Mess

It’s funny because the nature of mankind has been on my mind a lot lately. I’m often ashamed to be part of it with it’s chronic violence and hatred for each other. “The End of the Whole Mess” is a story that focuses on that.

Ron Livingston and Henry Thomas gave outstanding performances in this story, where are told the story of a genius’s experiment to change mankind having gone wrong. It’s touching and very well done. It left me captivated. So far this is the best episode of this series.

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