Thus revealed, the creature buried its nose in the tire-tilled soil...
April 25, 2012
Two shows I really like and why

If you're one of the three subscribers to Scary-Crayon's tumblr, you've seen this already -- but I thought I'd post these thoughts here as well since they're also kinda in line with a personal blog entry (in that they're thoughts about things that I like). A cartoonist I know asked about shows people enjoy and why, and encouraged people to explain their reasons in detailed fashion. In response, I wrote about "Doctor Who" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and why I like them so bloody much!

Why I like "Doctor Who":

The show's brilliant premise (it's about a dude who travels in a craft that can go anywhere in space and time) gives it basically unlimited potential and versatility. It's also fascinating how the show's various eras tend to reflect the times in which they were made, though sadly it's currently in the "derivative scifi action show" phase that I'm not especially enjoying. Still, I keep watching because I'm very invested in the universe, and because the premise means that standout episodes or a complete 180 in terms of the show's quality is entirely possible.

(And I didn't mention it in the SC tumblr, but also because Daleks are awesome and those companions are mostly right foxy and THE CLASSIC TV DOCTORS RULE. Except Six. He was pretty terrible.)

Why I like "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles":

Terminator 1 and T2 are films I enjoy very much (I didn't see I as a kid, but loved T2 -- and my old Kenner Arnold fig was one of my favorite childhood playthings), but T3 and Salvation (which admittedly came out while TSCC was already running, but still) were comparatively weak and didn't do much for me. So I love that TSCC essentially acknowledged where the story went wrong -- and that Sarah Connor was one of the most, if not THE most, compelling characters in the franchise -- and revisited the story before it started sucking. (I also love how they did it: they had the characters literally time-jump over the events of the third film.) It's a very good show, too, and ponders many of the tangential questions one might have asked and ideas one might have had while viewing the films or thinking about the premise in general. Among other things, terminators are shown to have (slightly) different personalities and missions beyond simple assassinations; the show suggests that characters can travel back from different future timelines; and even, owing to the terminators' role as thinking machines with the ability to solve problems and make decisions, the suggestion that some terminators might voluntarily choose to side with humanity, or at least to oppose Skynet. Even terminators who remain committed to Skynet are shown to oppose it at times, if doing so will increase their chances of completing their mission. It's very interesting.

And it doesn't hurt that Lena Headey is gorgeous.

-posted by Wes | 5:05 am | Comments (4)
March 27, 2012
*Perpetually* Crushing: Lena Headey (I)

Numbered the first, because I have enough Lena Headey screencaps to post them daily for at least a year! But even that would not be long enough, because I love Lena forever and a day. <3

(These images of The Lovely Lena Headey come from "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Seasons 1 & 2.)

-posted by Wes | 4:44 am | Comments (3)
November 25, 2011
Pony Tails!
Category: Toys … TV, Film, & DVDs

Pony Tails!

I've been watching a lot of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" lately. I don't think I like it nearly as much as a lot of the nerd set -- you won't catch me declaring myself a "brony" or joining MLP fan communities -- but it is a cute show and the characters are endearing enough that I've picked up a couple of the toys and plan to grab a few more. I've also bought a couple cheaper not-MLP toys, as seen above! Lanard's Pony Tails Collection offerings may not have the MLP name, but -- unlike some other Lanard me-too lines (compare Lanard's The Corps figures to Hasbro's G.I. Joes) -- they're largely on par with the Hasbro toys in terms of quality. Brand names and character backgrounds notwithstanding, an adorable soft plastic pony with rooted hair and a swivel neck is an adorable soft plastic pony with rooted hair and a swivel neck.

-posted by Wes | 5:05 am | Comments (4)
August 31, 2011
Buying DVDs (for the love of certain actresses)

I'd been meaning to write a post about all of the DVDs I've purchased lately -- but while I was all excited about a presumed return to my compulsive DVD buying days of old, it ended up being a one-time spree of sorts due to my discovery of a freshly stocked $1.97 DVD bin at F.Y.E. So now that I've gotten around to writing about it, my DVD buying habits have pretty much returned to normal. Granted, that's still a good amount of DVDs (maybe 2-3 every other week?), but it's not new. (Or re-newed, properly.)

What is kinda new, though, is my buying DVDs solely because the films in question have particular actresses in them. I don't generally tend to get attached to performers -- I'll like them in one thing, but in very few cases does that mean I'll go out of my way to view them in something else. This is even more likely to obtain with respect to actors appearing in films, since I don't often see movies in theaters and buy DVDs more for their premises (and their bargain bin prices) than for their casts. Or at least that's how it was until recently. (more...)

-posted by Wes | 4:22 am | Comments (4)
June 16, 2011
Mystery Lalla dialogue scenario?

Occasionally I'll get part of a line of dialogue -- and sometimes just the rhythm or feel of a line of dialogue -- stuck in my head, and it'll bug the crap out of me until I can figure out 1.) the full line, 2.) who said it, and 3.) what it's from. And as I try and try and try to determine these things, I get even more frustrated because I know that if I could discern any one of them, I could derive the others from it and put my mind at ease.

Sometime early yesterday -- it might even have begun Monday evening -- I found my thoughts thus assaulted. This time, I didn't have even part of the line (which does make things easier; then I can google it and hopefully find the full line and circumstances on an episode transcript or list of quotes), just an idea of the rhythm behind it. For some reason, I also had the distinct impression of Lalla Ward saying the words rather coldly to a man who was genuinely trying to help her, but whom she did not trust and who was taken aback when he heard them. I could fit words to it -- and some of them fit very well -- but I was convinced that those words were wrong... mostly because the words that best fit the cadence in my head were a known line from Apocalypse in X-Men Evolution. ("Since when has mankind ever known what it needs." Incidentally, this was itself a mystery line of dialogue that got stuck in my head at one point.) Apocalypse is not in any way reminiscent of Lalla, and the scenario was all wrong. (more...)

-posted by Wes | 6:32 am | Comments (3)