TV and Comics

Sorry for anyone watching, I'm not going to do a vlog this week because I'm too busy moving, sorta. I did watch a lot of TV and read a lot of comics though, so I'll just give my opinions on how the different series I've been watching have been progressing.

 To start off I have been watching Season 2 of The Walking Dead religiously, as many TV enthusiasts have. I will try not to give any spoilers, but I'll warn you anyways because it's a little difficult to express my opinions on the matter without revealing something. All of us who have read both the comics and watched the TV series are very well aware that the TV show is not following the comics. The basic themes of the comics are represented well in the television series, or at least will be in the future. These themes are an exploration of sexuality and community within a post-apocalyptic context, who the real antagonists are, and basic means of survival. A lot of people who are watching the show keep saying how these characters aren't doing the basic survival means because they keep letting their emotions get in the way. In particular said it's going into soap opera territory and there aren't enough zombies. While I agree there should be more zombies and conflicts, I disagree that the reaction of the characters to the situation isn't realistic. I think it is very believable and in fact gives each of the characters a large amount of depth and individuality. If you've seen the current episode you will all agree with me that the final scene of the episode is setting up one of the more interesting conflicts between the main characters. And that Rick is becoming an uber badass.

The other shows I started watching were Grimm and Once Upon a Time. Grimm is boring, has bad effects, and suffers from what I call 'Vancouver Pretty'. Take that as you will for now, I'll do a big discussion on it later. And I know parts if not all of Once Upon a Time is filmed in BC, but in every way it's better. It has amazing effects, costumes, props, sets, EVERYTHING. It's worth watching just because of the production design alone. But, like most things, what makes it very worth watching is the Robert Carlisle performance as Rumplestiltskin. I like the other characters, but I love not only how the character is basically the devil characters, making loaded deals with everyone for what the want, but always giving them giant ultimatums. Keeping track of everything that he does is a major point to the story. And how he interacts with the other antagonist, the Evil Queen. The basic plot is that all of the fairybook characters we know of from the old stories and Disney movies are all under a curse where they're stuck in the aptly named Storybrooke Maine. Which is actually BC, but as per the usual the shows can't take place in Canada, but, again, that's a discussion for another time. So, if you haven't, watch Once Upon a Time, it's a lot of fun.

I did say I was going to talk about comics as well. The three that I follow right when they're first released are Berserk, Vinland Saga, and The Walking Dead. I used to be a huge Otaku so I still check the manga sites for the more badass manga, and that's where Berserk and Vinland Saga come from. But in their defense they're based on European history and fantasy (in Berserk's case) and they're impeccably drawn. Some of the panels in Berserk are so breathtaking they could be taken straight from the graphic novel as is and work as a framed piece, without being colored. And that explains why it takes forever for the new chapters to come out. Grumble. Well, Vinland Saga takes pretty long too. The Walking Dead, on the other hand, is American and comes out every month. I am eagerly awaiting the new issue which will come out any day now. All are worth reading and are all quite long, with Vinland Saga being the shortest at 80 issues, which is not short by any means, so they definitely have staying power.

And, last but not least, I am so excited for the new season of Game of Thrones! I watched all of the pre-production videos and I am in love with it already! Well, I knew I would be, but you really can tell that HBO is putting all of its effort into it and it will continue to be a masterpiece. This and The Walking Dead are my prime examples of how television nowadays have more clout and more creativity than movies do. The Emmys should have more hype than they do, but at least there are still the Golden Globes. In either case, both are leaps and bounds better than the Oscars.

Stay tuned, written reviews will be up soon!