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Confessions of a TV addict

I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately. Maybe too much. In any case, I thought I’d write down some thoughts about the shows I watch. I only have basic cable, so there isn’t any fancy cable stuff here. I’m just going to focus on the hour-long dramas, since those are the shows I tend to follow more closely.

Monday

  • Terra Nova
    James and I saw the pilot at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, and we were interested to see more. The show has an epic feel to it (hello, dinosaurs), which isn’t surprising since it has the biggest budget ever.
  • Castle
    Castle is great. I love most crime dramas, but Castle stands out as a fun show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Also: Nathan Fillion. Enough said.

Tuesday

  • Glee
    I think I’ve got Glee fatigue. The first season was fun. Now it just seems too repetitive.
  • Ringer
    This is one of those shows that’s a bit frustrating to watch because the main character keeps making bad decisions that put her in uncomfortable situations. I probably would’ve stopped watching it by now if Sarah Michelle Gellar wasn’t in it.
  • Body of Proof
    A medical/crime show, now in its second season. Jeri Ryan co-stars in it.

Wednesday

  • The X Factor
    This show combines the best elements of American Idol (eg. Simon Cowell) and The Voice (eg. judges coaching contestants and competing with each other). However, it runs so long (2-3 hours, week after week).
  • Revenge
    My current guilty pleasure. I like to compare this show with Ringer because they both have a main character who is not the person everyone thinks they are. However, Ringer’s main character is a mess and doesn’t know what she’s doing, while Revenge’s main character is totally calm and calculated.

Thursday

  • Person of Interest
    Michael Emerson (aka Lost‘s Ben Linus) is the brains and Jim Caviezel (aka The Passion of the Christ‘s Jesus) is the brawn, as they fight crime. It’s like watching an action movie every episode.
  • Grey’s Anatomy
    Grey’s always has great writing. The Deredith fighting sometimes gets annoying, but whatever.
  • Private Practice
    Why am I still watching this? The show was fine until all the crazy things started happening to the doctors instead of the patients. There is also way too much incest at this workplace. If Addison wasn’t there, I would have dropped it ages ago, since I can’t stand the rest of the characters. Addison is supposed to be the one who’s messed up, but she looks perfect compared to the others. I hope the addition of Benjamin Bratt shakes things up.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday

  • Chuck
    I’ve been watching Chuck since it started four years ago, and it’s going to end in January. It’s had its ups and downs, but it really is a fun, geeky show.
  • Once Upon a Time
    I love fairy tales and fantasy, so this show is right up my alley.

Favourite new show: Revenge

Other shows that I randomly catch are most of the crime dramas: Law & Orders, CSIs, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Bones, Numbers… the list goes on.

Phew! That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? I’ve been thinking about watching Grimm, but I don’t know if I can handle more shows right now. I can barely keep up with the ones I’m currently watching.

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Fan Expo 2009

I went to Fan Expo 2009 in Toronto two months ago, since I happened to be in town. The last time I went was in 2005, so it was exciting to go back again.

This convention marked my first time cosplaying! I didn’t make my costume, though; it was bought. I wore the Uhura red dress from the new Star Trek movie. People asked to take a photo of me a few times, so that was interesting.

I went with James and Jasmine. We totally went hardcore this year, attending tons of Q&A sessions.

Day 1

Our first Q&A session was for James Kyson Lee. Lee gave us some info about the new season of Heroes. I also learned that he didn’t speak Japanese before doing the show.

Walter Koenig‘s Q&A was really fun! He told some great stories involving his awesome impressions of Takei and Shatner.

We attended a “special presentation” of Disney’s Tron: Legacy. Unfortunately, we didn’t really see much that was new. They showed the teaser trailer that’s been online for a while, a few concept images, and a short real world scene.

Day 2

We got up early to line up for Leonard Nimoy‘s Q&A session. We saw Henry and got in line with him. Henry and his friend taught us how to play the Guillotine card game, which we played until they let us into the conference room. We were super excited when we got 6th row seats! Nimoy’s  session was pretty good, but unfortunately not much was said about Star Trek, and nothing at all about his Trek co-stars. (I love hearing the anecdotal behind-the-scenes stuff, like in Koenig’s session.)

Linda Hamilton was so sweet and funny in her Q&A. She was just really cute and genuine.

Avery Brooks‘ Q&A was rather… strange. He kept saying vague statements that never really answered people’s questions. (Definitely no anecdotal stuff here!) Also, the guy who asked the first question was ridiculous. His question was insanely long and no one could hear it (except maybe Brooks and the people in the rows in front of him). The session ended with Brooks singing a spiritual song.

Bruce Campbell‘s Q&A was a riot to watch. He totally is that funny, cocky character he always plays. He had by far the hugest crowd and the best Q&A (imho!).

I also got Robert Duncan McNeill‘s autograph and a picture taken with him. We spoke to him briefly, and he was really nice. I told him that I love Chuck (which he executive produces), and I hope it stays on the air.

Robert Duncan McNeill and me
Robert Duncan McNeill and me

Day 3

Robert Duncan McNeill‘s Q&A session was great. He talked a bit about Voyager and Chuck. It was nice to hear that he and the other Voyager guys are still good friends. He also noticed a couple dressed up as Chuck and Sarah standing at the back of the room, which was cool since I’ve never seen anyone dressed up as them. (However, I did see a guy dressed up as a Buy More Nerd Herd guy on Day 1.)

Billy Dee Williams was interesting. He had some interesting comments about Return of the Jedi (I will never think of the Sarlacc pit in the same way again), and he managed to scare the pants off the entire audience.

We had a somewhat disheartening experience getting Leonard Nimoy‘s autograph. His autograph cost about 2-3 times more than the autographs of other celebrities, and he just signed without asking who to make it out to. I suppose that’s to be expected since he’s such a huge star and doesn’t have time. After getting Nimoy’s autograph, I asked him if I could have a picture taken with him, but he completely ignored me and moved on to the next person in line. It was a gamble, since I knew that there was a specific “photo op” session where you had to pay to get a photo taken with him, but the photo op was at the same time as Robert Duncan McNeill’s Q&A, so we couldn’t go. Either way, he could have said something instead of ignoring me! Maybe I should stick with the lesser-known stars, since they’re more friendly (and affordable)!

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All in all, it was a great weekend. Not much sleep, not much food… but SO MUCH fun!! :)

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Transformers 2

Lazy Sunday
Woke up in the late afternoon
Called Benya just to see what he’s doin’
Hello?
What up, Ben?
Yo Jamie, what’s crackin’?
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
MEGAN FOX!!
Man, it’s happenin’!

We saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in IMAX last weekend. James and Ben seemed to love it. I thought it had a better story than the first movie (although a lot of glaring plot holes, too), but I enjoyed it less than the first movie because of all the toilet humour. Dumb toilet humour really turns me off, and they went crazy with it in this movie.

Waiting eagerly for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…

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Star Trek: The Wrath of Dani

I honestly thought I’d be the easiest fan to please. How wrong I was. I feel like my universe (ie. Gene Roddenberry’s universe) has been ripped apart, torn to shreds, and crapped upon. It’s been over 3 weeks since I’ve seen Star Trek, and I’m still mad.

[MAJOR SPOILERS and long rant ahead. You have been warned.]

I’m not one of those Trekkies that care about the technical details being off. I don’t care about the size of the Enterprise (although apparently, it’s huge compared to the original one). I don’t care about the size of the warp nacelles, how far apart they are, or what colour they are. I don’t care what colour Kirk’s eyes are.

I DO care about my Star Trek universe, the one I grew up on. It was an optimistic vision of the future that I could look forward to in every episode of every show (except maybe Enterprise, I missed that series). This movie basically says to me: “Your universe sucked. We’re throwing it out the window and making our own cooler, flashier one.  Oh, and by flashier, I mean lens flares. LOTS OF THEM.” Okay, I don’t actually care about all the lens flares, but there really was a ridiculous amount of them.

The whole concept of “your universe sucked” was reiterated in their whole “This isn’t your father’s Star Trek” campaign. Excuse me, mister, but “my father’s Star Trek” was nothing short of awesome. It was a show ahead of its time. It foresaw a future in which all humans (and even some aliens!), regardless of race and gender, were united and equal.

I didn’t think I’d care about the movie being non-canon, but it was EXPLICITLY non-canon. They exploited a loophole to create a non-canon universe and still claim it’s canon. NO, IT’S NOT. It’s another timeline/universe/reality/notstartrek. As a friend put it, “they cheated”. If they had made a movie about the Mirror Universe, it would not be the Star Trek universe (and the movie would be titled something like Mirror Star Trek, instead of claiming to be something it’s not). Yes, the Mirror Universe is part of Star Trek canon, but it’s still another universe.

There is really just one thing that bothers me with this new universe. Fine, kill Kirk’s father. Fine, kill Spock’s mother. Kill off all the parents! The Spock/Uhura thing was REALLY WEIRD, but whatever, not the end of the world.

You know what WAS the end of the world (literally)? Vulcan.

So much for “Live long and prosper”! I couldn’t believe they let that happen. And NO ONE CARED. To me, Vulcan is such an important part of the Star Trek universe. Who initiated first contact with humans when they reached warp capability? The Vulcans. Who founded the Federation with the humans (along with some other races, but they’re not as interesting)? The Vulcans. Where does the VULCAN nerve pinch come from? Where does the VULCAN hand salute come from? Live long and prosper?!!

“It’s a necessary evil for Star Trek to survive.” Don’t give me that crap. Is it really necessary to sacrifice Vulcan? Does it make the movie better? Was anything accomplished with its destruction? For all I know, Saavik and Tuvok died on that planet. They didn’t even show any real impact of the destruction. I didn’t agree with the argument for the ending of the movie Watchmen, but at least the destruction that occurred there led to something.

I just can’t believe they would wipe out this essential part of Star Trek. And no one in the movie cared or did anything about it! Oh yay, they got 5 old guys to preserve their culture. Who cares about the 6 billion lives lost, right? Oh, and they saved Earth from destruction, so who cares about Vulcan? Only humans are important, right?!!!

Star Trek is all about equality; it is not the Star Trek way to only care about humans. I’m reminded of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home or Star Trek: First Contact, where Kirk and Picard travelled back in time in order to save Earth. Was anything of the sort done for Vulcan? In Voyager, Janeway stranded her crew in the Delta Quadrant in order to save the Ocampans, an alien race she just met.

Well, I guess none of that matters, since this is a different universe. At the end of the movie, when Nero’s ship gets sucked into the singularity, I was really hoping that the Enterprise would also get sucked in and somehow save Vulcan. Or, if anything, young Spock should’ve sacrificed himself to save his people. You know, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… or the one. But of course, this is a different universe, so this Spock is not as cool as Leonard Nimoy.

I have no beef with the actors. They did what the script asked of them. Chris Pine was admirable as Kirk. A friend asked me how he compared to William Shatner. My response: He was really good, but he’s no Shatner! Simon Pegg’s Scotty was fun to watch (maybe it was just me, but his accent sounded more British than Scottish). Karl Urban’s McCoy was just awesome. He WAS Bones. Nero wasn’t as interesting a villain as I would have liked. He was basically a (not that great) copy of Khan, if you ask me.

I did enjoy most of the movie, especially the Trekkie moments, but Vulcan really ruined it for me. I’m surprised that the movie is doing so well, among Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. It’s been out for 3 weeks, and it’s still rated 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. If I were to rate it generally as a movie, I’d say it was okay, not quite  “sumthin’ special”. As a Star Trek movie? Well, you know how I feel.

It sucks that no one else seems to care about Vulcan (in the movie and in real life). I feel like I’m alone in my state of mourning.

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The new Star Trek trailer

After seeing the newest Star Trek trailer, the doubts I had in my post about the previous Star Trek trailer have been pretty much erased. This new trailer conveys more of Star Trek and how the story will centre around Kirk’s journey to the captain’s chair. The scene where he takes his seat is epic!

I think seeing JJ Abrams talk at WonderCon has also reassured me that the new movie stays true to the essence of Star Trek. As a Trekkie, it took me a while to come to grips with it, but here’s the deal… This is a new movie, with different actors, and it’s not being made in the 1960s. Things WILL be different, and –*gasp!*– not adhere to canon. And I’m fine with that. It’s either that, or let Star Trek disappear into obscurity. I prefer the former. Star Trek is gaining a lot of hype now, even among non-fans.

At this point, I’m just so excited to see a new Star Trek ANYTHING. It really doesn’t matter what happens in the movie. I’m going to love every second of it.