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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 22: Pumpkin Patch (originally published on August 9, 2021)

AN: At long last, the homestretch of Part 3, which I have already dubbed the Tearjerking Three last time. And for our first entry into this trilogy, we finally get an update on the relationship between Peridot and Lapis, which I found to be done so dirty in Future as a Lapidot shipper. I mean, they didn't even interact with each other even when they were in the same episode together! Plus, Pumpkin just disappeared into thin air once the movie came along, leaving the only hint of where she is now are those similar gourd puppies from The Future. But enough griping, let's get my personal answer on what really happened, and maybe a big surprise that I no doubt have already spoiled on DeviantArt anyways.

Synopsis: Steven, Peridot and Lapis reminisce on the anniversary of Pumpkin's death.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Pumpkin

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Ocean Jasper

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Jeff Bergman as Farmer

Featuring Billie Eilish as Turquoise

"Maybe I'll find myself smiling on that distant shore," Steven sang to himself while gazing at his watch as the oven timer counted down in front of him. "Maybe I'm not alone."

The timer beeped, notifying Steven that whatever he had in the oven was ready. After putting on some oven mitts and opening the oven, Steven pulled a pumpkin pie out and set it on the counter to cool. "This one is for you two, guys." He said before gazing at a nearby calendar that read June 7th. "I remember it like it was yesterday." Steven then began to reminisce on the aftermath of his visit to Homeworld.

A few weeks the Crystal Gems have successfully convinced the Diamonds to help them in healing the corrupted Gems on Earth, these Gems now needed somewhere to live. As far as Steven knew, there was no way they could expand the Temple to make room for all of them, and he's sure none of the newly healed Gems wanted to return to Homeworld, so the Crystal Gems decided that their only choice now was to build them their own little town. They had some basic ideas down, but all they needed now was a name.

"How about Peritropolis?!" Peridot suggested as she wrote down her choice of name on the whiteboard, with little sketches of her face surrounding the name for emphasis. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"How about something that won't stroke your ego?" Steven frowned at the idea.

"What about Barnstantinople?" Lapis proposed. "We are building it around where the barn used to be after all."

"Speaking of which, how's clean-up on that going?" Amethyst asked, looking out the window to gaze at the wreckage that was once Lapis and Peridot's barn house home. "I think some bits of it might be useful somehow."

"I say we put that on hold." Lapis stated. "That old barn caused just as much harm to Peridot and me as much as it did good."

"You serious about this?" Peridot asked her blue roommate. "I mean, we had so many good memories in there."

"Yeah, and a lot of those memories were you just bending over backwards trying to keep me happy." Lapis added. "I know you're still sad about me jumping ship and coming back with only a "Hey", but I still got things to work out, y'know."

"OK." Peridot said just as their pet Pumpkin opened the door. "Oh, hey Pumpkin!"

In contrast to Peridot being excited to see Pumpkin, the little canine fruit let out an exhausted bark before sitting down to nap, revealing wrinkles around her eyeholes.

"Hey, is your little buddy there doin' alright?" Bismuth asked. "I barely know a thing about the lifespan of organic creatures, but even I know she ain't doing so hot."

"Oh, I'm sure she's just tired!" Peridot assured Bismuth. "Just needs to rest, that's all!"

"Don't be so sure Peridot." Garnet advised the little Gem. "Pumpkin was brought to life with magic, which means she's probably lived longer than a pumpkin normally does."

"Just let her be happy Garnet." Pearl whispered into Garnet's ear. "She's already been through so much recently, and I don't think she can take anymore."

"You sure she's OK Dottie?" Steven asked Peridot regarding Pumpkin. "Nothing lasts forever, you know."

"Oh, she just needs some extra time in the Sun!" Peridot laughed. But despite her insistence, that wasn't how the story really went.

"Okay, a little to the left!" Peridot commanded Squaridot as the eye Gem Peridot levitated a lifeguard chair around while Bismuth, Ocean Jasper & Teal Zircon dug up the ground to build a swimming pool. "No, your other left!" she corrected herself. "Wait wait, your other OTHER left!"

"There's no such thing as an other other left!" Squaridot yelled and grumpily set the chair down next to where she was standing. "How's this?"

"Perfect." Peridot gave her fellow technician a thumbs up before turning around to see the Lapis twins walk towards the construction site. "Oh, I see our lifeguards wanna start early!"

"Why was it necessary for us to dress in these?" Laz wondered while modeling the red one-piece she was wearing. "I don't think red is my color."

"I don't know about you Laz, but I make this look good!" Zuli declared while flaunting her body in a matching outfit. "We look just like the hotties on Coast Patrol or Destiny from CPH season 3! By the way, where's Lapis? She's head lifeguard, so shouldn't she be out here with us?"

"She still has the suit, but she's not coming out because today is a special day." Peridot stated. "It's the anniversary of a certain something."

"Hey, I think I can see Steven's car!" Ocean Jasper cried out as she peeked out of the hole to find Steven disembarking from his Dondai Supremo and walking over with the pumpkin pie in hand. "And he's got a pie, maybe as thanks for our hard work."

"Naw, I don't think it's for us Ocean." Bismuth said just as Steven walked over to Peridot. "I think we should leave them alone for a bit and get back to work."

"Aw, but I wanted a pie!" Teal Zircon complained.

"I see you got the pie." Peridot said to Steven while gazing at the pie in his hands. "In case you're wondering, we worked on a new meep morp last night dedicated to her."

"Okay, why don't you show me?" Steven offered.

"I'd be happy to." Peridot smiled before turning back to everyone at the in-progress pool. "Keep up the good work everyone, I'll just be taking the rest off!"

"Yeah, take some time for yourself, Peri." Bismuth replied while Squaridot used her burgeoning ferrokinesis to lift the blacksmith out of the pool. "Just don't get too teary-eyed and fill up the pool early."

"Yeah, we're planning on filling the pool for our opening ceremony!" Teal called while struggling to get out.

"And I'm just gonna catch some rays." Laz declared as she sat down on a lawn chair, pulled some sunglasses over her eyes, and began sunbathing. However, her moment of peace was cut off by Zuli loudly blowing into her whistle and laughing.

"So, who's the pie really for Bis?" Ocean Jasper asked as she climbed out the pool before helping Teal and the two sat down next to Bismuth.

"You two got a moment?" Bismuth asked, and the Jasper and Zircon nodded in affirmation. "Well, the pie is actually for a friend of theirs."

Steven and Peridot kept walking away from the pool and eventually found themselves in front of the Little Homeworld house that Lapis & Peridot shared. It looked like a smaller version of the barn the two Gems once lived in, but instead of being decorated with a mishmash of items around the barnyard, it now looked like Peridot did most of the construction with bits of metal and advanced technology sprinkled onto a simple-looking two-story cabin.

"Hey Lapis, we're here." Steven called out to Lapis as he and Peridot entered the cabin to find Lapis napping on the couch with a manga on her lap and a red one-piece hanging on a clothes hanger nearby. "Lapis, wake up."

"Agh, don't go with her Pierre!" Lapis yelled as she woke up from her nap and rubbed her eyes to find Peridot & Steven before her. "Sorry you guys, I was trying on my lifeguard uniform, but then I got bored and decided to relax a little."

"You still remember what day it is?" Peridot asked while Steven presented his pumpkin pie.

"Yeah, I still do." Lapis declared sadly. "Want to see the meep morp we've been working on, Steven?"

"Sure." Steven replied before the two Gems took him upstairs to their shared bedroom & workshop, where a very large sculpture of Pumpkin stood, a big smile permanently etched onto the front beneath a pair of innocent eyes. "Almost like the real thing. Except bigger."

"Showing this to you makes me miss her even more." Peridot began to hold back tears. "I still remember how I coped with it too."

The groundbreaking ceremony of what would soon become Little Homeworld went quite swimmingly for the Crystal Gems, thanks to the support of their Beach City friends and the Diamonds. But amidst the rejoicing of a new beginning for Gems on Earth, there was some bad news that flew right under everyone's noses.

After Peridot marked the giant pit where the barn once was with Little Homeworld's flag, Pumpkin came strolling up to her green owner looking far wearier and more decayed than she did previously, a sight which worried them greatly. As soon as the ceremonies ended, Pumpkin was rushed back to the beach house.

"Please Steven, you gotta do something!" Peridot begged Steven while Pumpkin laid before the trio with a heavy sigh emitting from her mouth. "Pumpkin doesn't have much time left, surely you must have the solution like you always do!"

"I'm really sorry Peridot." Steven said regretfully. "As much as I would love to help you and Lapis out, Pumpkin wasn't long for this Earth anyways. Death is a perfectly natural part of life. It can be real sad and scary to watch someone you treasured so dearly go, but ultimately, their time will come all the same."

"So, she was going to die regardless?" Lapis said apprehensively while stroking the living gourd's rotting body. "I don't really see how this is possible since you did bring her to life with your powers, but I can deal with it."

"Well, I'm not!" Peridot objected tearfully. "It's not fair! I've already been through so much, why does the universe have to keep nailing the hammer into the coffin?!"

"Peridot, I know you're upset, but you gotta listen." Steven tried comforting his little green pal. "Death is completely natural, even if it's scary. I mean, my dad might die someday, and so might Connie. I'm not sure if I can die like a human though."

"Well, your race is different." Peridot declared. "None of you will ever know what it's like to live forever!" With that, she stormed out of the beach house to vent, leaving her two friends to worry for Peridot.

"I don't think I want to know where this is going." Lapis muttered.

"If it's anything like what happened to Peridot after you left Earth, I don't think she'll take it very well." Steven agreed.

Using a trashcan lid, Peridot flew far away from the general area of Beach City and into the countryside, where farmlands were very prosperous. Farmlands like the ones she and Lapis tended to together in the past, and the ones where Pumpkin was born. The very sight of all these fresh crops made her more miserable. What gave them the right to grow so healthy while Pumpkin looked so withered?

"Rackum frackum produce, I'll show you what for!" Peridot mumbled as she touched down in front of a pumpkin patch and swiftly got to work on destroying them. "You walked so Pumpkin could die!" she yelled as her green body became covered in orange pumpkin insides. "Why can't anything go my way for once?!"

"Hey, get offa my crops ya gremlin!" a farmer yelled at Peridot while stomping over to her with a pitchfork in hand. "You got any idea what it's like to work so hard on a great harvest, only for it to be ruined by a bunch of punks?!"

"No, but I'm sure you don't know what it's like to love someone only to lose them!" Peridot argued with the farmer, a retort that stunned him a little before he tried to look more sympathetic.

"Coping, eh?" the farmer said. "Look, you have every right to get mad, but that don't mean you can just stomp all over someone else's hard work! You gotta find better ways to vent, ya know!"

"Look, sir, I literally just ran away from home, I don't have time right now." Peridot coldly rejected the farmer's advice.

"Well, looks like you left me no choice." The farmer shook his head before reaching behind his back and pulling out a scary mask to frighten Peridot with. "BOOGEDY BOOGEDY BOOGEDY!"

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Peridot screamed loudly before flying away from the farm on her lid.

As soon as Peridot returned to Beach City, she soared right towards Steven's house, where she found him making a grilled cheese sandwich, and began pounding on his window.

"Steven! Steven!" Peridot yelled from outside, getting the half-Gem's attention. "Let me in, I wanna talk!"

"You know you can just come in yourself." Steven suggested before opening the door for his green friend. "How have things been going?"

"I got an idea for you." Peridot stated. "How about in exchange for helping me with Pumpkin, I'll do something for you in return. Just name your price, I'll do anything!"

"Peridot, are you trying to bribe me into saving Pumpkin?" Steven asked. "Didn't I tell you earlier that death is a natural part of life?"

"But you managed to save Lars from death with your crying!" Peridot objected. "Why can't you do the same to Pumpkin?! Why does she have to die while so many other pumpkins have to live?!"

"Pumpkins?" Steven asked. "What other pumpkins?"

"I vented my frustrations by whaling on some farmer's pumpkin harvest." Peridot confessed innocently. "He didn't take too kindly to that."

"I think I know where this is going." Steven realized. "Five Stages of Grief, right? First was anger, now you're bargaining. Which means depression might not be too far behind." Just then, as if on cue, Steven's phone started ringing with a message from Lapis that he readily picked up. "Hello?"

"Steven, is Peridot there?" Lapis asked from the other end of the line. "Ever since she fled the house, I took Pumpkin back to our place, and now she wants to see us both before, you know."

"See what I mean?" Steven declared to Peridot, who was now on the verge of breaking down because now, she finally realized it was too late. "Do you want to see her?"

"Yes please." Peridot began to sob and hugged Steven tight. "Promise me that you won't ever leave too, Steven."

"I promise." Steven stated, hugging Peridot back.

Meanwhile, at the massive construction site that would soon become Little Homeworld, Lapis gently watched over the slowly dying Pumpkin, whose normally bright orange skin now had splotches of grayish-black, as she let out a weak yip. "Don't die yet, sweetie." Lapis assured Pumpkin. "Peridot will be here soon, I know it."

And right on cue, Peridot and Steven soared right towards Lapis on the trash can lid to see Pumpkin off one last time. Peridot raced as fast as she could towards the groundwork for her and Lapis's new home and tightly nuzzled her pet gourd, unaware that it wasn't in the mood for such a tight hug.

"Peridot, let her go! She's in pain!" Lapis yelled while prying the sentient pumpkin from Peridot's embrace, much to the green Gem's agony.

"No, please!" Peridot cried. "Just let me hold her!"

"I'm sorry Peri, but I don't think she can take much more!" Lapis argued while on the brink of crying just as much. "Pumpkin's already dying. She's so scared right now, so let's just-"

"Don't try to argue Lapis." Steven solemnly interrupted Lapis. "Peridot's already having a breakdown as is."

"I'm sorry about that." Lapis quickly apologized before she turned to Pumpkin. "Pumpkin, if you can still hear me, I want you to know that you and Peridot were the only things keeping me sane here, even when I ran off to the moon." She said to the dying fruit. "I can't thank you enough for brightening my day with your cute little smile, your barking, and all the days we spent playing together. Even if we find a replacement, none can ever replace you, little guy."

"You want a turn, Peri?" Steven said to Peridot.

"Fine, but I won't like it." Peridot sniffed loudly as she walked up to Pumpkin. "You were like an offspring to us, Pumpkin." She said quietly. "When I first saw your little carved face, those adorable stubby legs, it filled my heart with so much joy. Figuratively, of course, since we naturally don't have hearts. But every step we took together, every struggle, kept me grounded here on this crazy planet. Oh stars, now I won't know what to do now."

"Mah, mah," Pumpkin barked weakly with her last breath. "Mommy."

"I promise you," Peridot declared while her gem touched Pumpkin's forehead. "I'll never forget."

And with that, Pumpkin gently shut her eyes, allowing herself to pass on with her mothers and her creator by her side.

The funeral that followed was a private affair, with only the other Crystal Gems, Connie and Greg in attendance, and Pumpkin buried outside Peridot & Lapis's house. However, it was after the funeral when trouble began brewing. Just like when she had first begun living with the Gems, Peridot began hiding away in the bathroom for the next week to grieve the demise of Pumpkin and seemed resilient in refusing to come out, no matter how much they tried.

"C'mon P-Dot, open up!" Amethyst called while pounding on the door. "If you're planning on flushing yourself down the toilet again, let me tell you again, I tried that once and it didn't work."

"I think I know what to do." Greg proposed his idea and held up a boombox that began playing a song he knew she would recognize. "I look up to the sky, that's full of stars-"

"I'm trying to mourn here, leave me alone." Peridot despondently declared.

"I say we should respect her wishes." Garnet stated before she turned her gaze to Lapis. "Unless…."

"You think I should go in there?" Lapis asked.

"You are quite possibly Peridot's closest friend." Pearl agreed with Garnet.

"Closest friend?" Bismuth raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, we all know there may be something more than that!"

"Well, okay then." Lapis finally accepted with a shrug and slowly pushed the door open. "Wish me luck." She then said before entering the bathroom and closing it behind her. "You still in here?"

"So, they sent you in now." Peridot observed hoarsely. "I may have lost all hope, but I can still hear you know."

"They do say we're the closest." Lapis said before she sat down on the edge of the tub where Peridot had hidden herself away beneath a cocoon of Steven's bedsheets. "Come on now, get up and sit next to me."

"Okay, if it's you, I'll talk." Peridot succumbed to Lapis's offer and rose from her comfy shell to talk with her barn mate. "I'm sorry for worrying you all this past week, it's just that Pumpkin was basically our baby! Watching her die was like watching a child die!"

"Except the child wasn't human, it was a magical living pumpkin." Lapis remarked, which caused Peridot to glare at her. "No offense."

"But still, outside of our relationship, why did you volunteer?" Peridot wondered.

"Well, because I wanted to return the favor." Lapis answered. "Remember what happened after that boat trip I took with Steven and his dad?"

As soon as Lapis dropped Steven and Greg off at the docks following the boat trip gone wrong, she needed someone to lean on in her time of need. It didn't matter who, it could be any of the other Crystal Gems, or one of Steven's human friends. But right now, there was only one person, or rather Gem, that she could turn to.

Lapis could now see the barn in the distance, and as reluctant as she was to admit it, Peridot was the only one who could understand her regarding a certain Quartz. "Peridot, are you there?" she called for her green housemate. "I'm back!"

"Lapis, so glad you could make it!" Peridot exclaimed while racing out of the barn. "I discovered that I can move spoons with my mind, I made some decent progress on my Camp Pining Hearts essay; though I'm still stuck on the poutine theory, and-" However, she realized a bit too late what Lapis was feeling. "Is something the matter?"

"Steven and I found Jasper during the trip." Lapis said morosely. "She wanted to fuse with me again because she says I changed her. And to be honest, I think it was kind of my fault. Unfusing with Jasper drove her mad and I even said I missed taking all my frustrations out on her!"

"Lapis, are you serious?" Peridot gasped in alarm.

"Yes, I'm serious." Lapis declared as her eyes darkened and she turned away from Peridot. "Go ahead, run off and live with the Gems again so you don't have to be another one of my victims. If Jasper says I'm a monster, then I guess I really am one, especially after the way I treated you when we first moved in together."

"Okay Lapis, I don't want your garbage right now!" Peridot yelled, briefly breaking Lapis out of her funk with the almost exact words she described the tape recorder she broke. "I can see you're very stressed out. You want to scream so bad, to hit something, to let your anger out! But whatever you do, don't lose it on other people."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Lapis asked.

"I'm mostly just repeating stuff I read online," Peridot admitted. "I think what you need is a way to vent healthily, maybe on a perfectly defenseless object."

"Like what?" Lapis raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"One second!" Peridot exclaimed while walking into the barn and coming back out with an alien plush wearing a top hat and bowtie that she gazed at with a solemn expression. "I'm so sorry my sweet." She said softly to the stuffed toy before presenting it to Lapis. "Go ahead, hit it as hard as you can. Or maybe something else violent, whatever."

"Okay." Lapis sighed as she began feeling around the toy for something to do before grabbing at the bowtie and ripping it off the alien's neck, causing some stuffing to spill out of the hole she created. "Whoa."

"So, how did that make you feel?" Peridot asked as the alien dropped from her grip.

"Good." Lapis muttered in awe of what she just did. "I feel so much lighter now, like a real adrenaline burst."

"See, as I told you." Peridot smiled happily. "You just needed healthier ways to relieve stress."

"You're right." Lapis agreed when she got an idea. "Now, how about I try something a little heavier?" She then glanced over to a nearby pickup truck and used the water from Peridot's makeshift pool to lift it into the air. "How about this?"

"Yeah, I think that could work." Peridot nervously replied before Lapis suddenly tossed the truck into the air. "NO WAIT, THAT'S A LITTLE TOO-" she screamed and covered herself to avoid getting hit, but the truck instead crashed into the wall over the barn entrance, creating a massive hole that the vehicle filled. "Hm, guess I was wrong."

"Well, if we're gonna be living here together, why don't we make ourselves at home?" Lapis laughed and put a hand on Peridot's shoulder.

"Yeah, I think this is a good start." Peridot agreed while wrapping her arm around the taller Gem's waist and the two began brainstorming ideas for remodeling the barn.

"Yeah, I really was there for you back then." Peridot realized with a grin. "And from then on out, we were so close."

"You bet." Lapis replied and cupped Peridot's face in her hands. "Let me be a shoulder for you to cry on this time. I love you Peridot."

"I love you too Lapis." Peridot responded happily before the two began to kiss, and their gems started glowing as they began to fuse into a tall, slender Gem with turquoise hair, dark cyan hair in the shape of a maple leaf, Peridot's glasses, Lapis's top with a bright yellow star on it, a skirt with a bronze ribbon around her waist and dark teal sandals with bronze accents.

The new, accidental fusion of Peridot and Lapis looked around the bathroom and gazed down at her four hands. Feeling around her body, she felts the gems of her components on her forehead and back before coming to a shocking realization and let out a loud, confused scream. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Is something wrong?!" Steven exclaimed as he barged into the bathroom to discover the fusion before him and started screaming as well, but this time in joy. "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the new fusion continued screaming and covered her face in alarm at Steven as the two continued shrieking at each other.

"But was that fusion really an accident or maybe something more?" Peridot asked while she, Steven, and Lapis walked outside to her and Lapis's garden in their backyard.

"Maybe a mix of both?" Lapis answered with a shrug. "I mean, we did kiss each other after saying "I love you" to each other, but the fusion part came out of nowhere."

"Still, we were all so happy to see you two fuse at last." Steven said. "Words could not describe how long I've been waiting for that moment."

"I couldn't shapeshift, so I just assumed I couldn't fuse as well." Peridot observed before they happened upon a makeshift tombstone that read 'In memory of Pumpkin. A good girl to the end.' "You know, all this talk reminds me of a song I've been writing for the past few days. It may seem a little short and I pulled from other sources, but it's the best I got."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Lapis suggested eagerly. "Sing for us."

"Yeah, we never heard you do a solo before either." Steven agreed with the ocean Gem.

"Okay, if you insist." Peridot declared before she cued a nearby Robonoid tending to the garden to start playing jazzy music, and she started to sing. "My sweet little pumpkin o' mine, a living gourd with a smile so fine. You made us smile with your bark, your stem's like emerald, and filled with seeds of gold. You were our most beloved work of art."

Almost as if Pumpkin was coming back to listen to Peridot's eulogy, many similar living produce like additional pumpkins, some gourds, and squashes, began coming out to watch. "You saw fields of corn, sandy beaches too. In summers so warm, it was just us and you." Peridot continued singing. "And I think to myself, what a wonderful pet."

Soon, Lapis began to join in on the song as well. "Though your time was short, like all things are." She joined Peridot in singing with her own solo. "We'll always think of you, when we look at your star."

"Our sweet little pumpkin of ours," the pair finished the song and embraced each other. "You were a wonderful pet."

With that, the two Gems fused into Turquoise, this time on purpose while surrounded by living Cucurbita, and smiled.

"Thank you for coming today, Steven." Turquoise said to Steven. "It really means a lot to us."

"Nothing to it girls." Steven smiled while rubbing his finger on his upper lip.

In Memory of Thea "Muriel Bagge" White

June 16, 1940 – July 30, 2021

"What courage you have."

So ends the first installment of the Tearjerking Three. In comparison to what will come next, I'm pretty sure this will be tears of happiness at these two dorky barnmates basically becoming an item at last and even fusing too (also, I totally took Turquoise's design from @artifiziell, she makes some amazing stuff, go check her out). But next time, we move on from someone being dead for real to someone being dead to Steven. Can you guess which one? Oh who am I kidding, if you watch me on DeviantArt, I basically spoiled everything after this.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #peridot #lapis lazuli #pumpkin #garnet #amethyst #pearl #bismuth #teal zircon

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crowdvscritic · 3 years

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round up // JULY 21

‘Tis the season to beat the heat at the always-cold theatres and next to fans set at turbo speed. While my movie watching slowed a bit with the launch of the Summer Olympics on July 23rd, I’ve still got plenty of popcorn-ready and artsy recommendations for you. A few themes in the new-to-me pop culture I’m recommending this month:

Casts oozing with embarrassing levels of talent (sometimes overqualified for the movies they’re in)

Pop culture that is responding or reinterpreting past pop culture

Stories that get weEeEeird

Keep on-a-scrollin’ to see which is which!

July Crowd-Pleasers

1. Double Feature – ‘90s Rom-Coms feat. Lots of Lies: Mystery Date (1991) + The Pallbearer (1996)

In Mystery Date (Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 6/10), Ethan Hawke and Teri Polo get set up on a blind date that gets so bizarre and crime-y I’m not sure how this didn’t come out in the ‘80s. In The Pallbearer (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10), David Schwimmer and Gwyneth Paltrow try to combine The Graduate with Four Weddings and a Funeral in a story about lost twentysomethings. If you don’t like rom-coms in which circumstances depend on lots of lies and misunderstandings, these won’t be your jam, but if you’re like me and don’t mind these somewhat-cliché devices, you’ll be hooked by likeable casts and plenty of rom and com.

2. The Tomorrow War (2021)

I thought of no fewer movies than this list while watching: Alien, Aliens, Angel Has Fallen, Cloverfield, Interstellar, Kong: Skull Island, Prometheus, A Quiet Place: Part II, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith, The Silence of the Lambs, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and World War Z. And you know what? I like all those movies! (Okay, maybe I just have a healthy respect/fear of The Silence of the Lambs.) The Tomorrow War may not be original, but it borrows some of the best tropes and beats from the sci-fi and action genres, so much so I wish I could’ve seen Chris Pratt and Co. fight those gross monsters on a big screen. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6/10

3. Dream a Little Dream (1989)

My July pick for the Dumb Rom-Com I Nevertheless Enjoyed! I CANNOT explain the mechanics of this body switch comedy to you—nor can the back of the DVD case above—but, boy, what an ‘80s MOOD. I did not know I needed to see a choreographed dance routine starring Jason Robards and Corey Feldman, but I DID. All I know is some movies are made for me and that I’m now a card-carrying member of the Two Coreys fan club. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

4. Black Widow (2021)

The braids! The Pugh! Black Widow worked for me both as an exciting action adventure and as a respite from the Marvel adventures dependent on a long memory of the franchise. (Well, mostly—keep reading for a second MCU rec much more dependent on the gobs of previous releases.) Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

5. Liar Liar (1997)

Guys, Jim Carrey is hilarious. That’s it—that’s the review. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

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6. Sob Rock by John Mayer (2021)

It’s very possible I’ve already listened to this record more than all other John Mayer records. It doesn’t surpass the capital-G Greatness of Continuum, but it’s a little bit of old school Mayer, a little bit ‘80s soft rock/pop, and I’ve had it on repeat most of the two weeks since it’s been out. Featuring the boppiest bop that ever bopped, at least one lyrical gem in every track, and an ad campaign focused on Walkmans, this record skirts the line between Crowd faves and Critic-worthy musicianship.

7. Double Feature – ‘00s Ben Affleck Political Thrillers: The Sum of All Fears (2002) + State of Play (2009)

In The Sum of All Fears (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), Ben Affleck is Jack Ryan caught up in yet another international incident. In State of Play (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10), he’s a hotshot Congressman caught up in a scandal. Both are full of plot twists and unexpected turns, and in both, Affleck is accompanied by actors you’re always happy to see, like Jason Bateman, James Cromwell, Russell Crowe, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, Morgan Freeman, Philip Baker Hall, David Harbour, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Wright—yes, I swear all of those people are in just those two movies.

8. Loki (2021-)

Unlike Black Widow, you can’t go into Loki with no MCU experience. The show finds clever ways to nudge us with reminders (and did better at it than Falcon and the Winter Soldier), but be forewarned that at some point, you’re just going to have to let go and accept wherever this timeline-hopper is taking you. An ever-charismatic cast keeps us grounded (Owen Wilson, Jonathan Majors, and an alligator almost steal the show from Tom Hiddleston in some eps), but while Falcon lasted an episode or two too long, Loki could’ve used a few more to flesh out its complicated plot and develop its characters. Thankfully, the jokes matter almost as much as the sci-fi, so you can still have fun even if you have no idea what’s going on.

9. Double Feature – Bruce Willis: Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995) + The Whole Nine Yards (2000)

Before Bruce Willis began starring in many random direct-to-DVD movies I only ever hear about in my Redbox emails, he was a Movie Star smirking his way up the box office charts. In the third Die Hard (Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson to decipher the riddles of a terrorist madman (Jeremy Irons), and it’s a thrill ride. In The Whole Nine Yards (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), he’s hitman that screws up dentist Matthew Perry’s boring life in Canada, and—aside from one frustrating scene of let’s-objectify-women-style nudity—it’s hilarious.

10. This Is the End (2013)

On paper, this is not a movie for me. An irreverent stoner comedy about a bunch of bros partying it up before the end of the world? None of things are for Taylors. But with a little help of a TV edit to pare down the raunchy and crude bits, I laughed my way through and spent the next several days thinking through its exploration of what makes a good person. While little of the plot is accurate to Christian Gospel and theology, some of its big ideas are consistent enough with the themes of the book of Revelation I found myself thinking about it again in church this morning. (Would love to know if Seth Rogen ever expected that.) Plus, I love a good self-aware celebrity spoof—can’t tell you how many times I’ve just laughed remembering the line, “It’s me, Jonah Hill, from Moneyball”—and an homage to horror classics. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

July Critic Picks

1. Summer of Soul (…or, When the Television Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

Even director Questlove didn’t know about the Harlem Cultural Festival, but now he’s compiled the footage so we can all enjoy one of the coolest music fest lineups ever, including The 5th Dimension, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, and Stevie Wonder, who made my friend’s baby dance more than once in the womb. See it on the big screen for top-notch audio. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Robin Williams takes on the bureaucracy, disillusionment, and malaise of the Vietnam War with comedy. Williams was a one-of-a-kind talent, and here it’s on display at a level on par with Aladdin. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Against the Rules Season 2 (2020-21)

Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball, adapted into a film starring Jonah Hill), is interested in how we talk about fairness. This season he looks at how coaches impact fairness in areas like college admissions, credit cards, and youth sports.

4. Bugsy Malone (1976)

A gangster musical starring only children? It’s a little like someone just picked ideas out of a hat, but somehow it works. You can hear why in the Bugsy Malone episode Kyla and I released this month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, plus how this weird artifact of a film connects with Gilmore Girls.

5. The Queen (2006)

Before The Crown, Peter Morgan wrote The Queen, focusing on Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) in the days following the death of Princess Diana. It’s a complex and compassionate drama, both for the Queen and for Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen, who has snuck up on me to become a favorite character actor). Maybe I’ve got a problem, but I’ll never tire of the analysis of this famous family. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

6. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

This month at ZekeFilm, we took a closer look at Revisionist Westerns we’ve missed. I fell hard for Roy Bean, and I think you will, too, if for no other reason than you might like a story starring Jacqueline Bisset, Ava Gardner, John Huston, Paul Newman, and Anthony Perkins. Oh, and a bear! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 10/10

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7. New Trailer Round Up

Naked Singularity (Aug. 6) – John Boyega in a crime thriller!

Queenpins (Aug. 10) – A crime comedy about extreme coupon-ing!

Dune (Oct. 1) – I’ve been cooler on the anticipation for this film, but this new look has me cautiously intrigued thanks to the Bardem + Bautista + Brolin + Chalamet + Ferguson + Isaac + Momoa + Zendaya of it all.

The Last Duel (Oct. 15) – Affleck! Damon! Driver!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Nov. 11) - I’m not sure why we need this, but I’m down for the Paul Rudd + Finn Wolfhard combo

King Richard (Nov. 19) - Will Smith as Venus and Serena’s father!

Encanto (Nov. 24) – Disney and Lin-Manuel Miranda making more magic together!

House of Gucci (Nov. 24) - Gaga! Pacino! Driver!

Also in July…

Kyla and I took a look at the classic supernatural soap Dark Shadows and why Sookie might be obsessed with it on Gilmore Girls.

I revisited a so-bad-it’s-good masterpiece that’s a surrealist dream even Fellini couldn’t have cooked up. Yes, for ZekeFilm I wrote about the Vanilla Ice movie, Cool as Ice, which is now a part of my Blu-ray collection.

Photo credits: Against the Rules. All others IMDb.com.

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sleepykittypaws · 5 years

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Animated Special Advent Calendar

Updated: December 23, 2019

Every year since my oldest first became interested in TV watching, we’ve watched classic Christmas specials annually. What started as a happy accident with an enamored three-year-old wanting a nightly dose of cartoon Christmas goodness, became a family tradition, and we now try and watch a different special every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, with family members rotating picks, youngest to oldest.

After mentioning this several times online, a few folks expressed interest in what we watch, so I’ll try to keep this page updated with daily entries, though I admit we’re not tyrants about doing this (it’s supposed to be fun!), so if we miss a night, we just try to watch two (or more) another time to catch up. The daily picks mean our line-up changes every season (variety is good!), though there are definitely a handful of annual must-watch specials on every family member’s mental lists, and we always finish on Christmas Eve with the 1966 classic, Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

We’ve got a huge collection of DVDs and digital specials we own, but I’ll try and note where our picks are available to watch, if possible. And, if you’re looking for ideas to fill up your own Christmas Special advent calendar, you can check out my Top 25 Animated Holiday Special list, or the results of our Holiday Special Showdown, where 64 animated classics went head-to-head for viewer’s votes in 2017.

Nov. 28: We kicked things off on Thanksgiving with Phineas and Ferb’s Christmas Vacation, a music-filled Disney Channel original now available on Disney+ (Season 2, episode 21). It’s an annual must-see for us.

Nov. 29: Night two was British imports Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire and Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe. The first of these Aardman Animation originals is better than the sequel, but both still air annually on CBS. There’s also a third, UK-only entry, Close Encounters of the Herd Kind, that never made it to the US. Fun Fact: 100% of all 3 specials’ profits go to charity, as they were produced by Comic Relief.

Nov. 30: A Chipmunk Christmas. Though it had several DVD releases, they’re all of out print currently and this 1981 classic, a staple of my childhood, has become distressingly hard to find, even though we, personally, have multiple DVD copies.

Dec. 1: Our first special of December was The Happy Elf. This 2005 Harry Connick-voiced special got little love on its release, but is a family favorite. Rare to find on TV, it’s still widely available via digital or DVD, and worth checking out.

Dec. 2: With Frozen fever rampant, we revisited a lesser known entry in the franchise, 2016′s LEGO Frozen Northern Lights. This clever send-up isn’t specifically Christmas, but it’s snowy and so much fun. And it’s now available, though oddly broken into segments, on Disney+. (The Disney Channel is also showing it in one 30 min package all this month.)

Dec. 3: On this busy school night we needed something short, so I picked Pluto’s Christmas Tree, now on Disney+. Kids had never seen this 1952 animated short, and we all really enjoyed it.

Dec. 4: One of those days we wandered off the beaten path and tried the Opus-led A Wish for Wings that Work from 1991, based on the book and comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. A bit long for littles, but the ending landed, and it was a nice change of pace. Not streaming, but available very cheaply on DVD.

Dec. 5: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire was my son’s pick. This pilot episode for the 30-year-old series works as the stand alone holiday special it was first conceived as, and can be found on Disney+.

Dec. 6: Ducktales: Last Christmas! This fun, 2018 special can be found on Disney+ (season 2, episode 6 of the rebooted series). We watched it several times last year, and it’s just good as I remember. Timey-wimey fun.

Dec. 7: This 2006 direct-to-DVD release isn’t the classic Looney Tunes of the 1930s-40s, but Looney Tunes: Bah, Humduck (available digitally or DVD) is still a fun Christmas Carol take with Daffy as Scrooge and a fairly faithful adaptation of Dickens’ tale.

Dec. 8: Time for a classic: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, playing this year on Freeform, as well as CBS, and also available in an infinite variety of DVD collections and via iTunes.

Dec. 9: Did you know that Hallmark Channel used to make original animated specials? They did, and they were good, too! 2011′s Hoops and Yoyo Ruin Christmas was our pick last night and it’s smart, and cute, and fun. I miss that Hallmark Channel. Released on DVD, it’s out of print, but copies can still be found, and Amazon offers it for digital purchase.

Dec. 10: As a kid the anticipation of this special’s debut was almost too much to bear for my then, 7-year-old self. 1982′s The Smurf’s Christmas Special was my pick last night, and I vividly recalled how it was a such huge event for me at the time that I danced around the basement during the commercials, too full of excitement to sit. It isn’t streaming, but can be found on the still-available 2011 DVD The Smurf’s Holiday Celebration.

Dec. 11 and 12: Busy evenings the past few, so missed the 11th, but still managed to watch Merry Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda Holiday last night—and I almost managed to stay awake, too. (Both are on Netflix.)

Dec. 13: Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special, this charming, under-rated 2016 Disney Channel original is, oddly, NOT available on Disney+, though it can be purchased digitally or watched this month via Disney Channel On Demand. A family favorite since its debut.

Dec. 14: Last night, instead of a traditional animated offering, we had our annual viewing of (mostly) animated British Christmas adverts, which are a very big deal in the UK and, frankly, often more awesome than any 30 minute special. I’ve tweeted a lot about my love for these often tear-jerking mini-movies, but here are what I think are my top 5…5) From Sainsbury’s, 2018′s The Big Night builds to an awesome ending. 4) Sainsbury’s The Greatest Gift (2016) has an original song that’s become a Christmas favorite in our house. 3) John Lewis is the master purveyor of this emotionally manipulative—in the best way—three-minute extravaganzas. Lots to choose from, but 2014′s Monty the Penguin is probably my fave. 2) In 2015, Sainsbury’s delivered the perfect mix of comedy and heart with Mog’s Christmas Calamity. 1) And my fave—a bit of cheat since it’s Canadian—is Cineplex’s Lily and the Snowman. Seen it probably 100 times now, and cried every one. There’s plenty more to explore, from the UK and beyond, and falling down a rabbit hole of these ads on YouTube is an utterly delightful way to spend an evening. To get you started, here’s a compilation of what one YouTube reviewer calls the top 10 Christmas ads of 2019.

Dec. 15: Returned to a classic with 1969′s Frosty the Snowman, which still airs annually on CBS. Happy Birthday!

Dec. 16: Finally watched NBC’s new How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming, available on Hulu.

Dec. 17: My pick, and I chose a Rankin-Bass we hadn’t seen in a while, 1970′s Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. Unfortunately, forgot how long and slow this one was. My kids were kind of bored.

Dec. 18: Shrek the Halls, which really is laugh-out-loud family fun. For some reason, this is the only Dreamworks special not on Netflix, but does still air annually on ABC.

Dec. 19: I have no clue how Olive the Other Reindeer, this super-charming, Drew Barrymore-voiced special about a dog who mishears a radio bulletin and thinks Santa needs her, didn’t become a classic. It’s not streaming, but is available very inexpensively on DVD and well worth a watch.

Dec. 20: How Murray Saved Christmas, another overlooked gem, this 2014 rhyming special first appeared on NBC, and is airing this season as part of AMC’s Best Christmas Ever. (It’s also available on DVD and digital.)

Dec. 21: As we realize we’re quickly running out of days till Christmas, time to make sure we pack in some classics, like, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Dec. 22: Santa, Baby! This 2001special featuring Eartha Kitt is the last of the Rankin-Bass originals and it’s…fine. Lots of music and a magical partridge. Not something you see everyday. (Was available on DVD, now out of print, and can sometimes be found on YouTube.)

Dec. 23: Saving the best for (almost) last, the whole family got up this morning and watched Prep & Landing, and its sequel, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs Nice, in our jammies, to kick off Christmas vacation.

Dec. 24: Christmas Eve is always the 1966 version of Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas to remind us all that Christmas doesn't come from a store. Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more.

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cordycep-creations · 5 years

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Still no readers, still more posts because I’m hyped as hell.

Alright. I’m freakin out, we got more SU Future stuff. I’m gonna look at all the episode descriptions and say what I think about each of these ten tidbits. I have not watched any youtubey things about this yet so this is unbiased first thoughts.

1) “Little Homeschool” Welcome to Little Homeschool, a place on earth where Gems from all over the universe can come learn how to live together peacefully! But there’s one Gem who refuses to attend. Alright this one interested me from the start, as I was homeschooled up until 6th grade. I assume that this is going to be focused on adapting to life on earth, except later it’s implied that Steven is participating so I’m not quite sure. I also believe that this is most likely what the tour in the trailer is about. Pink Gem is definitely gonna be a major character here. As for the one gem who refuses, I’m kinda conflicted. Obviously my first thought was Jasper but that seems a little... Unfitting with what we’ve seen in the trailer. More likely someone we know who was directly invite and doesn’t want to partake. Amethyst? Lapis? Maybe Nephrite? Gonna have to wait and see.

2) “Guidance” Amethyst has been helping Little Homeschool Gems find jobs on the boardwalk, but Steven isn’t sure about her approach. Oh, Amethyst. I can see this going a variety of ways but I think somewhere along the line it involves her being overly pushy with the gems, or more likely the people they’re supposed to be working with. Honestly I’m not sure why this is my first conclusion. Amethyst is usually pretty chill, but it just seems to be what comes to mind here?

3) “Rose Buds” Steven gets a surprise visit from some old friends, and an even more surprising introduction to some new ones. Oh hell yes. We all know what this is. Welcome back Famethyst, welcome to the show bubbled rose quartz gems! It’s gonna be really interesting to see how they react to the pink diamond situation, and they’re going to have some massive culture shock finding out everything that’s changed. Of course I’m interested in seeing how Steven handles all this, but I think I’m even more interested to see how the Rose Quartz gems react to this new world. They missed out on a whole era of gem history. It’s like that trope where someone comes out of cryo hundreds of years in the future only this time it’s over 6,000 years an it’s a huge group.

4) “Volleyball” Steven is determined to help Pink Diamond’s original Pearl heal the scar on her face. This one seems interesting but there’s not too much to go off of. I think this is definitely gonna be another one we got glimpses of in the trailer, with PP reminiscing about Rose. Maybe this will be where we get the part of pearl rushing into protect her? I’m almost positive she’s protecting her from Steven in that scene but I ain’t gonna go into that here. My biggest confusion about this episode is what the hell it has to do with volleyball.

5) “Bluebird” Steven questions the motives of a mysterious fusion that suddenly shows up at his house. Heeeeere’s Pieterzite! Pitersite? Pizeterite? However it’s spelled, an be that their name or not, that’s undoubtedly who this is. Where does she come from? Where does she go? Jasper rebellion? Working on her own? Or genuinely here to help? I’ve been rooting for the rebellion theory for quite some time. It really would be a perfect loop around but I’m not sure if that’s going to be the case anymore. There’s no mention of Jasper in this episode descriptor (Or anywhere else) and those two Lapis gems seem to be part of a later episode... I expect our tux-wearing demon princess is going to be working on her own, but I don’t think her intentions are anything good.

6) “A Very Special Episode” Rainbow Quartz 2.0 promised to hang out with Onion the same day Sunstone scheduled a home safety Geminar! How can Steven be in two places, and two fusions, at once? Not gonna lie, I’m kinda meh about this one. Looks like the first filler episode of the new spinoff/season. I’m moderately interested to see what circumstances lead to Steven fusing with Pearl and Garnet again. Maybe this was a regular thing over the 2 year timeskip, I’m not sure. Regardless, colorful britts and 80s flashbacks is something I can get behind, but not something I’m gonna overhype about.

7) “Snow Day” Steven and the Crystal Gems get some time to catch up when they’re all snowed in together. Another filler episode. Also, It’s winter now! I can’t remember what time of year Steven’s birthday is in. I wanna say late fall or early spring? I’d imagine the reason they need to catch up would be due to the homeschool stuff, but there could be other factors. Should be an interesting one, and could give us a brief excursion from the Steven-only perspective of the show.

8) “Why So Blue?” Steven has heard rumors of a pair of Gems that are still destroying worlds. If he can’t stop them, maybe Lapis can. This is what I was talking about earlier. It really seems like the repeats of history won’t make an appearance this time around. By no means does this dampen the episode or the show for me. It’s gonna be great, and I’m especially interested to see how Lapis interacts with her homeworld counterparts after being away for so long. Also if there’s an episode focused on Lapis we can almost guarantee Peridot is gonna be there, and who doesn’t love seeing those two interact? Honestly I think this is one of the ones I’m looking forwards to the most. Lapis is a very well-written character, and I would love to see more of her origins told this way.

9) "Little Graduation" Steven and the Gems celebrate Little Homeschool’s first graduating class. I think this one’s gonna be moderately interesting to see, though I still don’t know what Little Homeschool entails. A friend of mine mentioned that Future seems to have more “Slice of life” content and I think that this is a good example of that. I do partially expect and/or hope for something major to happen during this. Be it something good like a new fusion, or something ba like jasper coming out of nowhere and using the fact that there are so many people in one place to her advantage. I do hope we get cool outfits though. Let the hats fly!

10) “Prickly Pair” After leaving Little Homeschool, Steven has found a new hobby, plants. Sigh. We all know how this is gonna end. Did someone say “The boardwalk being wrecked by a giant sentient cactus?” Because I was thinking about watermelons. Kidding. I’m not sure how much plot relevance this is going to have, though it could touch onto the theme of an enemy Steven can’t just talk down. It does seem like an odd note to end the announcements on though. I would’ve stopped at Little Graduation, though ten is a nice number.

And that’s that! I hope whoever sees this enjoys, and I would love to hear your ideas on the situation as well. Have a good evening/morning/day, and I’ll see you whenever I post on here next. I promise there will be some non-steven universe stuff on here. In fact I’m working on writing something up that I’m going to post when I’m done, but I wanted to strike here while the iron was hot. Redundant endings are redundant, goodbye!

#Steven Universe #Steven Universe Future #Fandom Panic #Analysis #How many tags am I supposed to put on these things anyways

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girl4music · 6 years

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Madman/Viavision AU DVDs

Cheapest you will find this box set anywhere online. This is where I bought it.

BUY: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Xena-Complete-Series-Ultimate-Collection-DVD-New-Sealed-OFFICIAL-AU-RELEASE/332766132434?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l9372

This is a breakdown of all the special features and additional footage that comes with this box set. There is a lot so I thought I’d make a post about it. The discs come in 9 parts which represent the 9 cases. 2 of the audio/video commentaries from season 2, ‘A Day In The Life’ & ‘Destiny’, are not in my box set. This may be because the audio/video commentaries and cast/crew interviews are taken from the old Anchor Bay releases. However, you might get them because not all the Anchor Bay releases missed them out. Please check with the seller before buying the box set!

Part 1 - Season 1 - Disc 1

- Still gallery

Part 2 - Season 1 - Disc 7

- “What You Didn’t Know About Xena” - 60 minute featurette from the directors of season 1

Part 2 - Season 2 - Disc 1

- Still gallery

- Weblink

Part 2 - Season 2 - Disc 2

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor - ‘Return Of Callisto’ audio/video commentary

Part 3 - Season 3 - Disc 1

- Rob Tapert & Liz Friedman - ‘The Furies’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The Furies’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Been There, Done That’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘The Dirty Half Dozen’ cast/crew interviews

- Still gallery

- Weblink

- Credits

Part 3 - Season 3 - Disc 2

- ‘The Deliverer’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Gabrielle’s Hope’ cast/crew interviews

- Rob Tapert & Lucy Lawless - ‘The Debt (Part 1)’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The Debt (Part 1)’ cast/crew interviews

Part 3 - Season 3 - Disc 3

- ‘The Debt (Part 2)’ cast/crew interviews

- Ted Raimi - ‘The King Of Assassins’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The King Of Assassins’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Warrior...Priestess...Tramp’ cast/crew interviews

Part 3 - Season 3 - Disc 4

- ‘The Quill Is Mightier’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Maternal Instincts’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘The Bitter Suite’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The Bitter Suite’ cast/crew interviews

Part 3 - Season 3 - Disc 5

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘One Against An Army’ audio/video commentary

- ‘One Against An Army’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Forgiven’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘King Con’ cast/crew interviews

Part 4 - Season 3 - Disc 6

- Steven L. Sears - ‘When In Rome...’ audio/video commentary

- ‘When In Rome...’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Forget Me Not’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Fins, Femmes & Gems’ cast/crew interviews

Part 4 - Season 3 - Disc 7

- ‘Tsunami’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Vanishing Act’ cast/crew interviews

- Hudson Leick - ‘Sacrifice (Part 1)’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Sacrifice (Part 1) cast/crew interviews

Part 4 - Season 3 - Disc 8

- Season 3 revisited - 30 minute featurette with cast/crew

- Season 3 bloopers

- ‘Sacrifice (Part 2)’ (alternative/extended scenes)

- ‘Sacrifice (Part 1 & 2)’ - A retrospective

- Hudson Leick - 'Sacrifice (Part 2)’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Sacrifice (Part 2)’ cast/crew interviews

Part 4 - Season 4 - Disc 1

- ‘Adventures In The Sin Trade (Part 1)’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Adventures In The Sin Trade (Part 2)’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘A Family Affair’ cast/crew interviews

- Still gallery

- Weblink

- Credits

Part 4 - Season 4 - Disc 2

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘In Sickness & In Hell’ audio/video commentary

- ‘A Good Day’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘A Tale Of Two Muses’ cast/crew interviews

Part 4 - Season 4 - Disc 3

- ‘Locked Up & Tied Down’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Crusader’ cast/crew interviews

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 4

- ‘If The Shoe Fits...’ cast/crew interviews (this is actually just Lucy and Renee)

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 5

- Rob Tapert & Chris Manheim - ‘Paradise Found’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Paradise Found’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Between The Lines’ cast/crew interviews

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 6

- ‘The Way’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘The Convert’ cast/crew interviews

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 7

- ‘Endgame’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘The Ides Of March’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The Ides Of March’ cast/crew interviews

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 8

- Season 4 bloopers

- Bringing Monsters To Life At K.N.B. EFX Group (Part 1) featurette

- “Cabin Fever” (with Bruce Campbell & Ted Raimi)

- Renee O’Connor - ‘Déjà Vu All Over Again’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Déjà Vu All Over Again’ cast/crew interviews

Part 5 - Season 4 - Disc 9

- “Adventures In The Sin Trade” - An Exploration

- “Between The Lines” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- “A Good Day” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- “Locked Up & Tied Down” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 1

- R.J. Stewart & Eric Gruendemann - ‘Fallen Angel’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Fallen Angel’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Chakram’ cast/crew interviews

- Still gallery

- Weblink

- Credits

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 2

- ‘Animal Attraction’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Them Bones, Them Bones’ cast/crew interviews

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 3

- ‘Back In The Bottle’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘Seeds Of Faith’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Seeds Of Faith’ cast/crew interviews

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 4

- ‘Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘God Fearing Child’ cast/crew interviews

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 5

- ‘Eternal Bonds’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Married With Fishsticks’ cast/crew interviews

Part 6 - Season 5 - Disc 6

- ‘Lifeblood’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Rob Tapert & Michael Hurst - ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ cast/crew interviews

Part 7 - Season 5 - Disc 7

- ‘Livia’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Eve’ cast/crew interviews

Part 7 - Season 5 - Disc 8

- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor & Rob Tapert - ‘Motherhood’ audio/video commentary

- ‘Motherhood’ cast/crew interviews

- Gabrielle’s wardrobe test

- Bringing Monsters To Life At K.N.B. EFX Group (Part 2) featurette

Part 7 - Season 5 - Disc 9

- Season 5 - Exclusive interviews with cast/crew

- On set: The 100th episode

- “Motherhood” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- “Animal Attraction” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

Part 7 - Season 6 - Disc 1

- ‘Coming Home’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Heart Of Darkness’ cast/crew interviews

- Still gallery

- Weblink

- Credits

Part 7 - Season 6 - Disc 2

- ‘Who’s Gurkhan?’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Legacy’ cast/crew interviews

Part 7 - Season 6 - Disc 3

- ‘The Rheingold’ cast/crew interviews

- Joel Metzger - ‘The Ring’ audio/video commentary

- ‘The Ring’ cast/crew interviews

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 4

- ‘Old Ares Had A Farm’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Dangerous Prey’ cast/crew interviews

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 5

- ‘You Are There’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Path Of Vengeance’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Rob Tapert & Michael Hurst - ‘To Helicon & Back’ audio/video commentary

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 6

- ‘Last Of The Centaurs’ cast/crew interviews

- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor & Rob Tapert - ‘When Fates Collide’ audio/video commentary

- ‘When Fates Collide’ cast/crew interviews

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 7

- ‘Many Happy Returns’ cast/crew interviews

- ‘Soul Possession’ cast/crew interviews

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 8

- Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor & Rob Tapert - ‘A Friend In Need (Part 2)’ audio/video commentary

- ‘A Friend In Need’ - Director’s Cut (this is also included in the bonus footage)

- Bringing Monsters To Life At K.N.B. EFX Group (Part 3) featurette

- “To Helicon & Back” dailies (behind-the-scenes raw footage)

Part 8 - Season 6 - Disc 9

- Season 6 - Exclusive interviews with cast/crew

- “Dangerous Prey” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- “To Helicon & Back” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- “Legacy” - Director’s Cut (alternative/extended scenes)

- Final episode b-roll footage

- Xena convention 2004

- Xena season 1 original series promo

- “In The Beginning” - Original interviews from season 1

- Season 1 & 2 bloopers

Part 9 - Bonus Disc 1

- Lucy Lawless & Renee O’Connor - ‘Sins Of The Past’ (only audio commentary)

- Fan reenactments (narrated by Robert Trebor) (Salmoneus)

- Comic relief (with Robert Trebor) (Salmoneus)

Part 9 - Bonus Disc 2

- ‘A Friend In Need’ - Director’s Cut (includes audio commentary with Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor & Rob Tapert as an optional watch feature)

- Behind-the-scenes raw footage of “A Friend In Need”

- Still gallery

- Screen saver (if you can access CD/DVD-ROM drive on your PC)

Part 9 - Bonus Disc 3

- Xena’s Hong Kong Origin’s (with Rob Tapert, Liz Friedman, Doug Lefler & David Pollison)

- Mythology vs. Xena (with Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite), Sheila Briggs & Amy Richlin)

- Seeing Double - All about the stunt doubles (Xena’s stunt double; Zoë Bell)

- “Extras” - A Documentary

- “B” is for Bruce

I’m done! Well... not quite yet. @markthexenaaddicted asked me to explain what the ratio looks like on the episodes. It’s a concern because the original ratio for the Anchor Bay DVDs is 4:3. In these DVDs, it’s 16:9 widescreen full height anamorphic. I’m assuming to achieve that, they would have had to knock off some of the image. But the episodes look fine. Season 1 & 2 look a bit grainy but that’s expected considering they were broadcast in 1995-1996.

I’m afraid I can’t do any screenshots because the 16:9 ratio only shows up on my TV and it doesn’t have a screenshotting feature. You’ll just have to trust me.

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theregoesjodariel · 5 years

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Supergem: Writer’s Notes, Chapters 1-10

Hey gang! It’s a long time coming, but I finally got off my ass and finished the full notes for chapters 1-10 of Supergem, my big huge SU fic. I’m just about to finally get to work on the next batch of chapters, so I figured now would be a great time to look back on what I’ve done so far and provide some hopefully interesting commentary. Read on for that stuff!

Chapters 1-5

Right off the bat, chapter 1's title is a reference to the now-famous single-page retelling of Superman's origin story from All-Star Superman #1. There, "kindly couple" was used to summarize Clark Kent's crashlanding on Earth and discovery by the Kents.

Chapter 2 features what I feel would be the natural result of trying to fire bullets at a Gem: absolutely nothing. While Gems are obviously made of hard light and have been shown to be capable of being hurt by conventional means-- see Peridot getting Wile E. Coyote'd by the corrupted Gem in Beta-- I like to imagine that bullets are simply so small and so high-velocity that they'd pass through Gem bodies harmlessly. The science is probably wrong, but let me have my Rule of Cool.

Aside from sporting the amalgamated personalities of Lapis and Peridot, the two superheroes Turquoise takes the most inspiration from are Superman and Spider-Man. She shows at least some compassion for all people, even bad guys, like Superman, and she throws plenty of quips, especially when getting it handed to her, like Spidey.

As stated in the notes, I do not have a set design in mind for Turquoise, but I DID end up canonizing elements of a couple of designs I really like within the story. She sports the unique five-pointed hairstyle and orange suspenders of ahhween's design, as well as the cool cyan color scheme and water cape of cheerkitty1410's. Those two are just fantastic.

Axinite is a Gem OC of mine, a gladiatrix who fights in arenas on Homeworld, which function as the world's equivalent of recreational sports. A lot of the lore I have for her is regurgitated in the narration.

There are, of course, a couple of lines from "Stronger Than You" in chapter 4. There's the title, plus Turquoise correcting Val that the fight is one-on-two.

When I created the character, I actually completely failed to notice Val's considerable resemblance to Jasper, both in appearance (big, bulky and orange) and personality (haughty, judgmental). Naturally, when it hit me, I wrote in a nod to it in chapter 4.

Chapter 4 sees Turquoise and Val's fight spill into a mall, the very same one from Pearls' Night Out, currently my only other multi-chapter work. Rhiannon and Diane, both OCs from there, also make cameos (Rhiannon is the employee who points Turquoise in Val's direction, Diane is the journalist who interviews her on the street).

Pearl and Jasper handle city planning like military tacticians, because, well, they are military tacticians. They're also very overdramatic about it, natch.

Amazonite is a close friend of mine's gemsona, a former Crystal Gem who retired to become a seamstress after the corrupted Gems were all cured.

A couple of things involving Jasper take inspiration from the excellent Back to Beta. Pearl acts as Jasper's parole officer of sorts, rewarding her with Pearl Points for doing a good job and Jasper has an attachment to Earth music for its ability to say what cannot be said through simple speech, just like in there. Go read Back to Beta if you haven't, it's outstanding (it's also Jaspearl-- look at me go).

In one of many instances of Jodi Doing Too Much Research Into Things That Don't Matter, I actually broke out my copy of SU: Art & Origins to study its map of Beach City to determine just how nitpicky Pearl and Jasper were being.

Why do the Nephrites want to talk to Pearl? Maybe we'll find out....

Garnet "borrowed" Andy's plane to go to Empire City. That's a step up from "finding" a phone, don't you think?

I like to imagine that Bismuth has been rooting for Lapis and Peri to get together since the moment she met them. Her gaydar is just that good.

Believe it or not, I genuinely considered having Turquoise adopt a secret identity at one point during planning. I call myself out on it through Steven in chapter 5.

I knew I just couldn't do this story without Jasper since she is, in a way, the villain (or at least a villain) in Turquoise's origin story. As an abuse survivor, showing the ramifications of her and Lapis' time as Malachite as best I could was tantamount to the main storyline.

Chapters 6-10

The foreshadowing in chapter 6's identity should make Ms. Knight's identity a no-brainer for seasoned SU fans. No one spoil it if you figure it out, though!

Ronaldo is absolutely, positively, 100%, one of the guys who doesn't shower before the convention. That's so him it hurts.

The generally meta premise of chapters 6-9 were the result of me drafting them right after I got home from my city's local big convention, which I had a wonderful time at. I did my first ever cosplay (I was Pearl!) there and managed to hold decent conversations with Zach Callison, Deedee Magno Hall, Michaela Dietz, and Estelle. The layout of DelmarvaCon is even copied from the layout of that convention center.

In one of many moments of narrative intersecting with reality, I did some sleuthing and found that Paulette was, in her very brief on-screen appearance, voiced by Deedee Magno Hall, Pearl's voice actress. As said above, I met Deedee at the con I went to. You know how everyone on and off set never stops talking about how nice she is? They're not exaggerating, she's a fantastic person. Kim Tan is fully based on her, taking her name from a couple of Hall's other roles (Kim in Miss Saigon and a bit character named Lori Tan from an episode of Third Watch) and Lapis and Peridot's encounter with her is based on my own; while she didn't usher us ahead of the line to meet her, she did take pictures of my friend and I's cosplays for free when she was supposed to be charging for them. Seriously, nicest celebrity I've ever met.

Chapter 7 has Peridot riff that she can "observe 800 moving objects and compute their direction of travel," a phrase long used to describe Prowl in the Transformers franchise. It has no character significance here, I was on a Transformers kick at the time of writing.

The uncomfortable pulling sensation mentioned in chapter 7 is called an "itch," a callback to The Itch, the oneshot serving as prelude to this fic. There, "the itch" is used to refer to the deeply unsettling feeling a Gem gets when fitted with limb enhancers-- think the feeling you have or would have felt from a dentist fitting you with those awful rubber bands to help with the braces process, it's that kind of feeling. The feeling being given off by Ronaldo's control device is similar, "adding" to a Gem when nothing need be added.

The long opening narration in chapters 8 and 9 were inspired by the writing style of comic book writer Scott Snyder, who has a tendency to start, end, or intersperse his comics with long, expositional comparative musings on seemingly simple or mundane things (seriously, count the number of times one of his Batman comics opens with narration explaining the philosophical meaning behind the rocks used to make buildings in Gotham City).

The cost of Connie's sword is, as stated in the story proper, a rough estimate borne from around half an hour of research. While there are other pink stones that could've been used, I picked pezzotaite because of its extreme rarity, just to drive home how absurdly all-out Bismuth went on it.

Give Jasper a metal-style song in Season 6, Crewniverse!

I like to think Jasper and Greg would be good friends. Think about it: you've just found out your former moral enemies were not only led by, but had close relationships with, the person you spent your whole life idolizing. Who do you talk to about it? Why not the person who knew her more intimately than anyone else?

At the end of the Turquoise and Steven segment in chapter 10, the two sit down to watch Crying Breakfast Friends' extra-length season finale, in which a number of characters get new outfits. Now what could that be referencing?

The narration of Jasper's thoughts makes reference to the exiled Hessonite, antagonist of Steven Universe: Save the Light and a criminally underrated character.

I'd like to preface this point with a content warning for abuse, as I'll be discussing that a bit here.

So, as I mentioned briefly in the 1-5 notes, I'm an abuse survivor; I broke up with my abuser, who I had been with for just about 3 months, in February of this year. An acquaintance of mine has since drafted a document exhaustively detailing all of the bad shit they did for which receipts could be found, and my abuser has reacted with avoidance, victim blaming, and a refusal to apologize. I wasn't yet aware of just how in denial of her own mistakes they were when I wrote chapter 10, so I tried to write Pearl and Jasper's conversation as how I wished the conversation my abuser had with themselves would go, in a perfect world.

To get reflective for a moment, writing that has taught me, in a way I hadn't seen before, how Steven Universe's real, heartfelt redemption arcs, as fantastically-written and just generally good as they are, don't always apply in real-world scenarios. My shitty ex is not Jasper and they never will be.

#imadethis #intel files #su #lapidot

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michalwu · 6 years

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Best of 2018 in TV

Another year passed and again I watched a lot of good quality tv. I think that although again it was very hard to choose my top 10 this year was a little bit less intense than previous. Still I had to do a short list of places 20-11 because I couldn’t resist not to mention a few more productions. That said remember I’m not a critic. I watch thinks I like not because I have to and this list is totally subjective though I tried to be fair. I watched over 50 series from 2018 and that’s the results:

20-11 (in random order)

The Affair (season 4), Atlanta (season 2), Homecoming, ACS: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Killing Eve, One Day at the Time (season 2), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Maniac (season 2), Legion (season 2), AHS: Apocalypse.

10. Anne with and E (season 2)

I never was a huge fan of the book as a kid but I read it as mandatory lecture in primary school. But I am a huge fan of this series. Beautiful placement of the plot plus very talented young cast with leading Amybeth. The best part of the story for me always was the dynamics of Anna's relationship with her adopted parents.

9. Patrick Melrose

What an absolutely outstanding trio of actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Plus another young talent this year Seabstian Maltz who as a young Patrick is giving one of the most dramatic performence of the year. Creators did justice to the novel.

8. The Deuce (season 2)

This was one of the most enjoyable series this year. I love the period it shows and since the first season I started to develop a sympathy for all those characters especially for Candy. Too bad the series seems to be forgotten this year by critics. In my opion it came back in a lot better shape than last year. It’s funnier, it’s faster and the whole fuss around making porno adaptation of Red Riding Hood is just captivating.

7. Sharp Objects

Another great limited series and another proof of my love to the craftsmanship of brilliant Jean-Marc Vallée. The story from book was kinda predictable and tacky. But thanks to the director who is an expert of showing emotions and dilemmas from the past plus the cast of three great actresses made it into phenomenal work. I am really looking forward to see more projects from cooperation of Mr. Vallee and HBO because so far it brings only true treasures.

6. Barry

I was always a fan of Bill Harder on SNL and his (usually) small roles in comedies. So then I found out that he’s making his own show I kept my fingers crossed for the success. And the results are better than expected. Barry is a great combination of drama and comedy. It sound like things we see lately very often but Barry is the best mix of two this year (not to mention animated series). Why? Because drama is real (he’s a seriall killer with many very hard moral choices to make) and the comedy provided (mostly) by Henry Winkler is just a poor gold. Well done.

5. The Haunting of Hill House

I’m not a big horror enthusiast but I do have a soft spot for those stories in classical form. And what’s more classic than beautiful, old, and huge haunted house. I fell in love with this series and it’s so much better than the previous movies. This one is actually very far from the original story written by Shirley Jackson but it capture the atmosphere the best. Separation of episode focusing on different from five siblings was a great idea. From non-believer to the most affected of the kids the story became more and more intense and scary. I honestly was scared almost the whole time. Still I tried to play with creators and watch for all the hidden ghosts in the background. The secret of Bent Neck Lady was haunting me for a while and even after finishing the series it all stayed with me in my mind. This was my favorite new series of the year. I’d love to see it again in other form, maybe as anthology like AHS. With this cast yes please!

4. GLOW (season 2)

It’s so nice today that we can get such a smahing tv show this such a huge female cast. I love this series and those Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling since season 1. I always enjoy it when show or movie takes me to another peroid of time and GLOW blend us into into that reality of 80 like nothing else. We had so many exctiting things this season with Debbie becoming single mother after divorce, Sam Silvia trying himself as a father and the whole team becoiming more and more like a crazy family (recording of intro in the mall was amazing). In real life I’m not really intrested in wrestling (like at all) and though it probably differs a lot than reality I loved those duels bethween characters. Episode Mother of All Matches is one of the best in 2018.

3. BoJack Horseman (season 5)

Oh how I love this show and this character. And before anyone judge me I don’t love BoJack for being a walking disaster and misery. I love this character and many other on the show for the incredibly smart writing. He is a alcoholic, narcissus and washed-out tv star and that who he is. Just like Priness Caroline is an ambitious woman who will give up many things for career even if she know it won’t give her happines in the end. But that’s the greatest thing about this show and creators that they won’t change those characters and put them in unexpected positions just to get the wow factor from the viewers. They still find a way to present those persons in fresh and captivating way but making it “in” the nature of the character. And that’s the fift season so congrats! And still we can count on them to give us some real gems like episode Free Churro which is a masterpiece of writing. The thing is this season of BoJack doesn’t stand out in specific way from other but it gives us the thing it always did and never disappoints - crazy rollercoaster ride.

2. Mozart in the Jungle (season 4)

When I said at the beginning that this list is totally subjective I meant it inter alia because of this series. Mozart IS my favorite tv series. I don’t know if the best but it always gave me the most joy when watching it adn that’s a pretty good determinant. Unfortunately I will have to start saying it WAS my favorite because Amazon cancelled series after this season. I’m still mad and disappointed because GoT is about to end so all platforms grab the money to invest in “next huge thing” (in case of Amazon it’s new Lord of the Ring..yeah we need it). But don’t get me wrong. I didn’t put Mozart this high because I’m mad and or to mark someone’s mistake. I just really loved this season. Placing the plot in Japan was bull’s-eye move. Rodrigo De Souza (favorite tv character next to Leslie Knope) as a boyfriend of Hailey was hilarious, a much as observing her way to become succesfull and independent artist. The scene when she debuts as conductor with piece “Hi” is maybe my favorite moment in whole season. Even stronger is her performence at the finale. Although I rooted for Hailey and Rodrigo as a couple I’m glad that creators didn’t go into cliche with their relationship. Another strong scene is the on at traditional tea ceremony. Of course as always the whole season was very firm from the music side (this series helped me to discover a little piece of classical music and I’m grateful for that). I will really miss this series. I think it could easily do another season especially now when creators decided to end this season in such an interesting place. Too bad...

1. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 2)

There’s nothing to explain... but I will ;) I compared all the series with each other and in my opinion there was nothing better that Mrs. Maisel this year. I enjoyed it last year but I didn’t even expected how much delight will it be to have it back. Visually it is the most beautiful thing in tv right now. And the writing as always is case of Amy Sherman-Palladino is just excellent. Those characters are so fast and wit it’s just a pleasure to observe them interact and discuss with much to many words and refrences than any normal person would use. And those actors really take it like a champs. All episodes in Paris was nice but it was nothing compre to Catskill where it felt like watching dirty dancing but with much better and more interesting story. I love the way Palladino direct her characters. How they develop especially Midge, her friendship with Susie and her realisation that stand-up comedy is not only the thing she want to do but it is something she will do for the rest of her life. Every time she stands in front of audience, camera or father himself she proves to be nailer and we as audience live for those moments! I really enjoyed see her parents in Paris as we could discover totally different side of them both and also new romance of Midge. But my favorite sequence of the season was Midge watching Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby is so on point with this role) in last episode and realising it all (inconspicuous scene but made me waste a few tears). At the end I will add that I love the attitude towards the children presented in this series...irrational like many other things.

*******

Suming up in my list dominant are HBO and Netflix productions but in the end two first places go to Amazon.

Comapring with previous year there is no sign of Legion in top 10. Well season 2 was good, sometimes even great but not enough to get into the top. Beside there’s less new series on the list (seven in 2017, four this year) but we had some amazing comebacks.

I don’t have huge disappointments this year, maybe just a few. 1) Romanoffs were boring as hell and I really counted on Weiner. 2) Cancelling of many good series like Mozart in the Jungle or Daredevil. 3) Riverdale became so absurd that it beats and law of logic. I mean why it gotta be so intense?

#top10 #2018 #year summary #tv series #hbo #netflix #Amazon #marvelous mrs maisel #mozart in the jungle #Bojack Horseman #glow #the haunting of hill house #barry #sharp objects #the deuce #patrick melrose #anne with an e #best of 2018

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meganelizabether · 7 years

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My top 10 TV shows of 2017, 9-4

9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

This show has managed to stay flat-out funny, genuinely heartwarming, and important without being heavy-handed. Tackling police work with optimism, integrity and humor can’t be easy, but somehow, the writers manage it every season. Plus, Santiago and Peralta’s relationship is one of the most realistic and happy (i.e. best-written relationship ever eeee fangirling a little here) on television, past and present. While they didn’t make sense as a couple in season one, the writers’ smartly let Jake grow up, and showed how he enriched Amy’s life with his childish joy and unwavering love. Now, they just make sense, and it’s a beautifully simple and magically complex thing to behold (like all good relationships).

8. Glow

I’ve always had a deep loathing for professional wrestling, based entirely on early childhood exposure to its spray-tanned, greasy, ludicrous brand of hyper-masculinity. The people who watched it didn’t seem to think it was funny, which I found very confusing, and the bombastic violence never seemed remotely entertaining. Luckily, “Glow” matches its source material by allowing its characters to be big, bold and ridiculous in and out of the ring, while slowly and delightfully subverting types over the course of the season. The parts are juicy, the characters are messy, and the women are unabashedly themselves. It’s one of the purest things I watched all year, and I can’t wait to see where the next season ends up.

Also 8. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

One of (few) good things about 2017 was the diversity on television. Shows like Black-ish, Fresh off the Boat, The Mindy Project, Empire, Jane the Virgin and Insecure all got renewed, and as the year draws to a close, I can truthfully saw we’re living in a great age of television. Not only do we have a stunning variety of amazing shows, we have writers of color creating for actors of color, on shows produced by people of color. We have a spectrum of sexuality across all TV genres, written as main characters and not tokens or random friends who appear only on very special episodes. The diversity isn’t just on the surface anymore, and it shows. Some of the most original, important and entertaining stories on TV would never have existed if not for the diverse creators who finally got their feet in the door.

And yes, that is a preamble-apology of sorts for including a very, very white show like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on a fairly short list. Sure, the main characters are Jewish, but so far, the show hasn’t developed a sense of otherness, or tackled any anti-Semitism surely hanging around in 1950s New York (I haven’t finished the season yet, so maybe it’s there?). The moment where Midge (literally) upstages an African American band feels extremely privileged and a bit cringe-worthy as well. Historically, the Palladinos have been pretty tone-deaf tackling, or completely ignoring, issues like race, LGBTQ issues and politics, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

HOWEVER, the show is damn funny; the acting is great, the writing is crisp, the feminism is present and bourgeoning, and I’ll admit it... I’m a sucker for a period piece. It’s like Mad Men, but hilarious (and I do also have to admit that I miss Mad Men, for all its flaws). And we have not yet arrived at a time when I can say, stop with the funny women on TV already. There’s just too many of them. Why not some serious shows about serious women?

7. Dear White People

The movie this Netflix series’ is based on was funny and enjoyable, but it also felt pretty self-contained, so I wasn’t initially sure how this would play out over an entire season. However, Simien and his writing team totally blew me out of the water by taking the relatively broad character sketches from the movie and turning them into people who made me laugh, cry and cheer, episode after episode. Honestly, I can’t remember a show that made me feel so emotionally invested in 11 episodes. Despite losing the star power of Tessa Thompson, recasting Sam White turned out to be a boon for the show. Thompson’s iteration was heavily influenced by her trademark snarky, take-no-prisoners persona, but Logan Browning’s version highlights and deepens Sam’s inherent vulnerability and uncertainty. This adds nuance to her prickly, trigger-happy social activism, and underscores just how much this is an image of White’s own creation. Antoinnette Robinson as Coco was another standout for me--her performance was mesmerizing, beautiful and completely heart-rending. The moments she and Browning share crackle with energy, and it’s hard not to mourn the current state of their friendship. I’m rooting for them, guys, cuz I need more amazing female TV biffles in my life right now.

Other things I loved:

Marque Richardson as Reggie. He’s hot, he’s angry, and he’s got layers. Richardson does Emmy-worthy work during his run-in with campus police, and in portraying the devastating emotional fallout of the violent encounter. The back half of the season allows Reggie to move from player in a requisite love triangle to fully-formed character in his own right, and I’m looking forward to seeing more Reggie-centric episodes in the future.

John Patrick Amedori as Gabe. Ah yes, the token white boy... this could easily have been the most basic, nothing characterization, but no, not in the hands of these writers, and not with Amedori’s acting chops. Gabe is cheesy, a bit fumbling, and sometimes out of his depth, but he’s also big-hearted, brave and empathetic. It’s incredibly important that we understand and buy Sam’s attraction and deep connection, and also that his character stand up to her subconscious self-loathing, which the show deftly accomplishes.

“Dear White People” is a show that wears its heart on its sleeve, and that’s a great thing in this era of cynicism and bleakness (I’m not just talking about prestige TV). If you haven’t watched it yet, add it to your queue ASAP.

6. Master of None

This was a solid return for one of our chosen Millennial ambassadors--hilarious, awkward, expansively optimistic, and full of Ansari’s signature TRUTH. Artistically ambitious (the loving ode to Italian cinema in “The Thief”), unabashedly socially aware (Religion, First Date), and full of moments of tender vulnerability (Thanksgiving), the show proves time and again it’s as good as the hype. My only complaint: I’m not on board with Dev and Francesca. She’s cute, he’s cute, they have some cute moments... but I’m not really buying it. Maybe it’s risky to apply too much of the real world to this fictionalized version of Ansari’s life, but I can’t help but wonder if the ambiguity comes from his own failed relationships. Considering how much Ansar’s love life has played into his creative endeavors so far, it’s not that much of a stretch. Hopefully, he’ll continue to channel his life into stories that feel real, not imagined and artificial, even if that means no true love for Dev for a few more seasons.

5. The Good Place

This show never should have made it to network TV, but I’m thrilled it did. It’s a deliciously weird little anomaly, and I want MORE RIGHT NOW. I love Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars 4ever), which initially convinced me to give this pastel, candy-coated comedy a shot, but every actor is a total gem. The timing is impeccable, the pacing is ambitious, and the philosophy is... well, it’s interesting, integral, AND funny. How many shows can tackle the fundamental questions of human existence without breaking a sweat, while playing them for big, completely earned laughs? Not many, that’s for damn sure.

4. The Handmaid’s Tale

So yeah, I have concerns about the longevity of this show. As in, I’m not sure there should have been a second season. The last half of season one felt simultaneously too rushed and too drawn out, giving me pause about the writers’ ability to string Atwood’s material across 13 more episodes.

That said, the series deserves this spot on the merit of the first few episodes alone. TV this energetic, vital and fully-formed out of the gate is always worth celebrating, and Atwood’s decades-old vision of the future proved prescient and dangerously real. The show inextricably benefitted from 2017′s political zeitgeist, where white women felt the anxiety and panic most women of color have felt for... well, I guess for always.

This show is arresting and impossible to ignore. The actors, stripped of makeup, naturally lit, and filling the frames with pure, distilled emotions, suck you in and force you to feel what they feel. Sometimes (often), this is incredibly difficult, but others, it leads to feelings of euphoria and triumph. At it’s best, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a perfect distillation of humanity, both its ugliness and its beauty. Here’s hoping the showrunners can pull off another season with equal grace and artistry.

Annnd I’ll be back before New Year’s with my top three shows of 2017 :-)

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flynnspeaks · 7 years

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Flynn Marathons Doctor Who, Part Fuck Roman Numerals We’re Switching to Arabic 9

(for anyone needing caught up–I’m doing a watch of Doctor Who from the very beginning of the show, bingewatching it by episode instead of by serial (which I find to be closer to the original spirit of the episodes, albeit still nothing like it at all), and then doing a writeup roughly every three serials or so)

Finishing up Season 3:

The Gunfighters: Thank the fucking lord for this episode. A much-needed reprieve from the Wiles era, and a downright hilarious romp at that. Hartnell is on fire, Lane shines when Dodo is actually given shit to do (What a shock!), Purves is having the time of his life, it’s all fantastic fun. It’s so nice to see the cast get a legitimately enjoyable episode like this where they’re all clearly having a great time.

As ever Cotten is fantastic at comedy, and the setpieces shine here--the first episode cliffhanger where Steven is singing “The Last Chance Saloon” at gunpoint is hilarious, as is Dodo’s whole bit with threatening Holliday to take her back to Tombstone. Hartnell’s scenes against Holliday are also great--he really is a fantastic comedy actor, and it’s a shame he hasn’t been given more of that recently. Also--”The Last Chance Saloon” is great, no matter what people tell you. I think it’s only obnoxious if you’re bingeing the episodes one right after another so you hear it a bajillion times. Over the course of four weeks, nah, it’s totally great.

No, this whole episode is comic brilliance, and one of the highlights of the entire Hartnell era. Hard to believe it was so hated for so long.

(Also--the individual episode titles are fantastic. Given that they disappear next story, I love that the individual titles went out with such great ones like “Don’t Shoot the Pianist” and “A Holiday for the Doctor”)

So! A note before we move on to the next story. We’re approaching the biggest space of stories I haven’t seen or listened to before in the show. From here on out until “The War Games”, I have only ever seen “The Tenth Planet”, “Tomb of the Cybermen”, “The Enemy of the World”, and “The Mind Robber”, as well as bits and pieces of the Whitaker Dalek stories, “The Invasion” and “The Krotons”. The rest of these stories remain completely unseen by me, some being stories I don’t even know anything about. After this point I’ve seen the entire show except for “Nightmare on Eden”, “Meglos”, “Timelash”, and “Survival”, so this is essentially the only major chunk of stories I’ve yet to experience--which I think is rather exciting. So, moving on to that:

The Savages: Okay, remember when I called “The Space Museum” the unheralded gem of the Hartnell era? I take it back--not because it’s not great or anything, but this right here is the unheralded gem. I literally knew nothing about this going in, and since it’s a completely-missing Season 3 story I don’t think people have a lot of opinions on it, but I was blown away by how gripping I found it. Granted it’s got some issues--the first episode is awfully slow, and I cannot for the life of me tell if they put Jaeger in brownface, and it’d be a terrible decision if they had.

Other than that, though, this is great stuff. The conceit of the planet tracking the Doctor and knowing he would arrive is great, as is of course the central premise of the Doctor turning against the ‘civilized’ people and protecting the savages (a much-needed antidote to the awfulness of “The Ark”). Steven’s departure is also really lovely, and worked into his character quite well (so nice to get an actually good companion departure once in a while). Steven is I think often under-appreciated as a companion, largely because of how malleable he became throughout the season, but Purves has been consistently excellent and I think as important for the ‘young male companion’ archetype as Vicki was for the ‘young female companion’. This is a lovely story for him to go out on, and just all around pretty great--I think Phil Sandifer is right on the money when he calls this functionally the last true ‘Hartnell’ story, and it’s a good note to go out on.

(side note: “not even Dodo would be as stupid as that”. man who knew Steven could be this....savage)

The War Machines: Such a departure from pretty much everything before--only “Dalek Invasion of Earth” and “Planet of Giants” bear any sort of similarity--but in a very good way. Polly and Ben are right upfront great characters, though Ben is frankly an asshole in the first two episodes and it’s hard to figure out why (I guess there’s meant to be an arc where he dislikes Polly and then she saves his life so he likes her? I dunno, it’s pretty hazy). The overall plot is fun, and interesting because even though this is so similar to later Doctor Who, it’s still so different from the archetype that it doesn’t feel generic or well-worn. I think it’s fascinating both in the context of the show and in hindsight.

Dodo’s departure is obviously crap, and a real sour point on the episode (I mean, she doesn’t even show up for her goodbye? What the heck, Lloyd/Davis?), but other than that this is solid fun. Thank goodness for the start of the Lloyd era, because the last three serials made for a much more enjoyable experience than most of the rest of Season 3.

Onto Season 4, and the end of the Hartnell era!

#doctor who #classic who #first doctor #William Hartnell #flynn marathons doctor who

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thenightling · 7 years

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What is the best vampire movie you have ever seen? I am in desperate need of some good ones to quench my thirst. Lol I apologize for that joke XD

Hehe. I love the pun. I like cheesy things.

1. Dracula (1979 version). This version of Dracula is one of the few romantic incarnations of Dracula that still seems to enjoy what he is and isn’t suicidal. I chose to believe he faked his death at the end. Also the Mina character (renamed Lucy) is delightfully aggressive and Laurence Olivier plays a fantastic Abraham Van Helsing.

2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Though this version is more faithful to The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen than it follows Bram Stoker’s novel it’s the only version to leave Quincey Morris in tact and still the most faithful film adaptation to date despite the added love story between Mina and Dracula. And that odd origin story they gave for Dracula’s vampirism.

3. Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula. This film can be found on Youtube for free. It stars Rudolf Martin, who also played Dracula in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode Buffy vs. Dracula. It’s surprisingly respectful to the history while also implying Vlad the Impaler became the famous vampire after death and actually works as a very good prequel to most recent (within the last thirty years) adaptations of Dracula.

4. Fright Night (original 1985 version). If you love eighties music, traditional vampires, and loving homages to classic Hammer Horror and Dark Shadows I strongly recommend this movie. You don’t see too many serious modern vampires able to turn into a bat, wolf, or mist anymore and it’s just a fun movie. Also Roddy Mcdowell played Peter Vincent (a sweet homage to both Peter Cushing and Vincent Price) masterfully. You see excellent and well portrayed character growth and I highly recommend it and even it’s 1988 sequel, Fright Night: Part 2. I miss the traditional vampire powers to summon storms and change form into a bat, wolf, or mist and age and de-age at will and most of those lost powers make an appearance in this movie but not in the 2011 remake which lacks heart and passion on the part of the film makers behind it.

5. Lost Boys. Much like Fright Night this is a fun eighties movie. Like Fright Night it has an excellent soundtrack and humor with the horror. The sequel’s not very good but the third one is decent. Not as good as the first but decent.

6. Interview with the vampire. Despite what Anne Rice hopes I doubt she will ever be able to make a better film adaptation of the original source material than this movie and it’s a shame that a version of The Vampire Lestat was never made by the same people. If you can find it the San Francisco (NOT the New York) adaptation of the Lestat musical actually works pretty well as a direct sequel. The San Francisco version of the Lestat musical was never officially released to video but there is a good quality bootleg out there.

7. Let the Right One In. An eerie and beautiful platonic love story between a boy and a vampire. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name. Also it’s far better than it’s awful American remake.

9. The vampire Lovers. Despite deviations from the novel and two character name changes this is still a far better adaptation of Carmilla than many other film versions and it does capture the atmosphere and ambiance of the original novel, something few adaptations seem to manage.

10. Demon Under Glass. This one is extremely low budget. It’s so low budget it might as well have been filmed in someone’s basement however it has a very clever premise and a tie-in novel (with twice the plot) by the woman who wrote the script. It deals with what happens when a kindly doctor is roped into working with the government in regard to studying a captured vampire.

11. Scars of Dracula. This was Christopher Lee’s favorite Hammer Dracula movie to work on and you can tell.

12. Nightbreed. Not specifically dealing with vampires the main character does rise from the dead as a vampire who craves blood. Seek the director’s cut or “Cabal Cut” if possible. It’s based on the novel Cabal by Clive Barker. And it has a haunting score by Danny Elfman.

13. Monster Squad. This is a mulltimonster movie but Dracula is the ring leader and it’s fun. Another 80s gem.

Bonus mentions: F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Though I hate that people now think the word means a bald and bucked toothed vampire when it just means vampire. Vampire The masquerade helped popularize that idea and this movie popularized the idea of vampires burning in the sun, which didn’t exist until the movie. However, as terrifying as Count Orlock might be, I like Murnau’s Faust better than his Nosferatu. His adaptation of Goethe’s Faust is very underated and I highly recommend it even if it’s not a vampire movie.

And of course the 1931 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi and the Spanish film also made at the same time using the same sets. Who can forget those? And Dracula’s Daughter. Son of Dracula. House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. (those require watching the other Universal Monster movies first).

The Subspecies movies. Cult classics and very under-rated. Radu (named after the real life Dracula’s brother) is not a sexy vampire but an intriguing one.

The Hunger starring David Bowie, based on the novel by Whitley Streiber.

Hammer’s Dracula movies: Dracula (1958) AKA Horror of Dracula. Brides of Dracula. Dracula: Prince of Darkness. Dracula has risen from the grave. Taste the blood of Dracula. Scars of Dracula. Dracula 1972 AD. Satanic Rites of Dracula (AKA Dracula and his vampire Bride).

Innocent Blood. This one deals with vampire mobsters after a female vampire bungles a feeding and has to team up with a cop.

For vampire comedies I recommend Love at First Bite, What we do in the Shadows and Dracula: Dead and Loving it.

TV shows: Castlevania (new animated series), Dracula: the Series (not the awful NBC series, but the 1990s kid friendly one, it’s weirdly respectful to the novel despite giving Dracula blond hair). Forever Knight. And Buffy The Vamprire Slayer. True Blood’s first few seasons were good but around the Lilith / Billith storyline it went down hill and never recovered. The “Hep V” storyline was God-awful. Midnight Texas is pretty good but not strictly vampire related. And for anime Hellsing and Hellsing: OVA.

For “So bad it’s good” I recommend Dracula 2 (sequel to Dracula 2000) and Dario Argento’s Dracula or as my friends and I have nicknamed it “Mantis Drac.” It’s like the Plan 9 from Outer Space of Dracula movies. And the badly dubbed anime Dracula: Sovereign of the damned (which can be found on Youtube). It’s meant to be an adaptation of Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula but they couldn’t get the rights to Blade and had to work around him. They also tried to condense years worth of comics into an hour and twenty minute animated movie.

For comic books I recommend Tomb of Dracula from Marvel. Morbius The Living Vampire, also from Marvel. Legion Of Monsters (2010 version). And Dracula: The Company of Monsters (independent and very good graphic novel series).

For plays I recommend the musical Dracula by composer Frank Wildhorn. It’s pretty much a musical adaptation of the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie.

For novels I recommend the sorely under-rated Dracula books by Fred Saberhagen. There are ten in all and three short stories. The first book is The Dracula Tape. The audio books are available on Amazon and Audible (but sadly not the printed versions except used or digital) and the audio books are brilliantly read by Roblin Bloodworth (I kid you not. That’s really the reader’s name.). I strongly feel Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula novels deserve more positive attention than what they get.

And of course other books: Dracula, Carmilla, Let the Right One In. The first three Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (and possibly Tale of the Body Thief for comic relief), All the obvious staples. But also try Quincey Morris: Vampire by P. N. Elrod.

For short stories try Box Number 50 by Fred Saberhagen which can be found in the Saberhagen vampire Tales and the Dracula in London short story collection edited by P. N. Elrod.

I’ll probably think of some better ones later. My mood about these things changes on a whim.

#Vampire #Vampires #Dracula

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rosedavid · 8 years

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My Top 15 TV Shows

Hello! I decided to make this list in case anyone needed a new TV show to watch! My recs are going to go from favorite to least favorite (although some are so close that they are basically tied) Just so you all remember, also, these are just my opinions of the shows and you may not agree with me, and I’m sorry if I rec a show that you absolutely hate, because that was not my intention!

1. Lost

So yes, my all time favorite show is not Teen Wolf. Lost is just such an amazing tv series, and I wish they were still making seasons! It is a completed show with I think 5 seasons? This TV series is about a plane that crashes on a strange island. It’s full of mystery with some comedy and action and it is just really good. It follows the stories of all the different people who were on the plane, and this show is so mysterious that by the end you may still have questions.

If you like shows such as: Twin Peaks, Dexter, The X-Files, Stranger Things etc. this show might be something you’d enjoy!

2. Teen Wolf

So even though in my opinion Teen Wolf has gone downhill, I honestly believe this show, particularly the earlier seasons, is really great. It’s romantic, it’s funny, and it has werewolves in it. It also may be a little cheesy, especially in the first season, but I don’t mind personally.

If you like shows such as: Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Shannara Chronicles, True Blood, etc. this might be a show for you!

3. Sherlock

So this one is pretty much tied with Teen Wolf (honestly it should probably be above it but oh well) So the thing I love about this show is the comedy and mystery! There are twists and turns and it’s entertaining and interesting and all the actors do an amazing job! The fandom can be toxic, though, just a fair warning. But honestly it really is a great show that I can not praise enough because I spent hours binge watching this and squealing about it and it is so deep and has plot twists and it’s just amazing! Yeah.

If you likes shows such as: Breaking Bad, Fargo, Elementary, Person of Interest, Black Mirror, Mr. Robot, etc, this show could be something you’d enjoy!

4. Fargo

So this is a thriller show that is very dark and has very mature, disturbing parts sometimes. But, it also has some comedy and honestly it is just an amazing preformance and story. Obviously, this is similar to the movie Fargo, but it continues on with another season, and a 3rd season is supposed to come out sometime this year! All of the actors are just so talented. The main character in season one is actually Martin Freeman, and in season 2 one of the main characters is Kirsten Dunst. Also, this show has seemingly different seasons that all connect. It is just so amazing like honestly I could probably put this one 1st or 2nd but it is kind of disturbing.

If you like shows such as: Sherlock, Lost, Breaking Bad, Narcos, Mr. Robot, True Detective, etc. then try out this show!

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events

If you haven’t heard of it, this series is a Netflix series based off of books. Many people may recall the movie, and I can say that the tv series is very different in many ways that make me prefer it much more to the movie. Firstly, Neil Patrick Harris does an amazing job portraying Count Olaf (the main bad guy). This TV series is meant to be kind of cheesy with a dark, creepy undertone. Also, it is full of mysteries! I really love how they’ve changed it and the casting in my opinion is much better! So far, the 1st season is the only one out, but I have no doubt that there will be more.

If you like shows such as: Dexter, The X-Files, Psych, Veronica Mars, etc. you should watch this show!

6. The Flash

So this show is obviously about the superhero the Flash. The things I really enjoy about this is the action and the plots for each season. The first season especially is my favorite. Seriously though this show is super entertaining and interesting and has a great diverse cast!

If you like shows such as: Arrow, Heroes, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, etc. you should watch this show!

7. The Office

If you’ve never seen the office, this is a comedy show with romance too! It is extremely funny, thus having it be my top comedy show! It has 9 seasons, so you’ll have tons of episodes to watch, and it’s all on Netflix and finished filming! Seriously if you have not watched this show and you love comedies, WATCH IT!

If you like shows such as: Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, etc. watch this show!

8. Parks and Rec

It’s so hard to choose between the Office and Parks and Rec. They are both super hilarious! Parks and Rec is also about the workplace, the people at Parks and Recreation. It has amazing characters and development and jokes and I love it! Plus, it is all finished and has a ton of seasons to enjoy! (7)!

If you like shows such as: The Office, Big Bang Theory, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Last Man on Earth, etc. then this show is for you!

9. Stranger Things

So, if you haven’t already heard about this show, this is basically the popular Netflix original that a lot of people are talking about! It reminds me of the movie E.T., just more modernized. It follows the story of a boy who goes missing, but it’s more than meets the eye. It is a supernatural/thriller show and honestly I thought it would be cheesy, but it’s not! It’s actually really interesting and spooky and mysterious and cute and I like it quite a bit! They only have 1 season so far, but they are releasing a new season this year!

If you like shows such as: Lost, X-Files, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, etc. you should try out this show!

10. Blindspot

If you haven’t heard of it, this is a newish show about this woman who is found and has no memory and tattoos all over her body. The FBI works to figure out who put them there and why. First of all, the plot is interesting, there is a ton of action and a little mystery and drama and romance. It really is entertaining and I just really enjoy the overall thrill of this show!

If you likes shows such as : CSI, Lost, The Blacklist, Criminal Minds, The Flash, How to Get Away With Murder, etc., then you definitely need to try out this show!!!

11. The Last Man on Earth

Honestly I’m surprised this one is not higher up on my list!!! It is so hilarious and I think it just gets better with each season, in my personal opinion. It’s the story of the (seemingly) last man on earth after being wiped out from a virus! It is just so funny and has some thriller/mystery elements, actually!! It gets serious sometimes and it is just so perfect.

If you likes shows such as: Parks and Rec, The Office, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Brooklyn 99, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, etc. you should totally try watching this show!

12. Wayward Pines

This show is about a strange town with secrets. It’s a mystery/thriller/supernatural show, and it’s really good, but also kinda strange. In my opinion, I enjoyed the 2nd season more than the 1st, but a lot of people disagree, so you’d have to watch it to decide for yourself! They currently only have 2 seasons, but I think they’re making a third? Anyways but if you like tons of mystery and thrills and stuff you’d probably like this show!

If you like shows such as: Twin Peaks, Stranger Things, Under the Dome, Bones, etc., you might want to give this show a try!

13. 11.22.63

So this is a mini series (I think 6 or 8 episodes total?) and it’s based off of the novel 11.22.63 by Stephen King. Basically, it’s about a guy who goes back in time to try to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. So it is kinda historical but I mean it’s still time travel soooo. I would call it a myster/thriller mostly, with some history of course. (If you haven’t been able to tell yet, myster/thriller is my FAVORITE genre)

If you like shows such as: Under the Dome, Westworld, Sense 8, etc., you should check this show out!

14. Steven Universe

Okay first of all yes I know this is a cartoon but IT IS SO MASTERFULLY MADE LIKE OH MY GOD. It deals with stereotypes and has lesbian relationships and it is adorable and interesting and the plot is actually so intriguing as it gets more into the show. Watching the first episodes, or maybe even the first half of the first season, it seems really cheesy and annoying but honestly it gets so deep and amazing. It’s about a boy named Steven who is half human and ‘half gem’ and he lives with this rebel group of gems called the crystal gems and it’s all about their trials and it probably sounds stupid to you if you’ve never seen it but I swear to you, in my opinion, it is one of the best cartoons I’ve ever watched.

If you like shows such as: Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, etc., then watch this show!!!

15. Humans

So this last one was really tough because honestly there are a lot of other TV Shows that I like but this show is really interesting. It is about these robots who are like servants to the humans, but there are some ‘rebels’ or whatever you would call them who have human emotions and it’s about trying to find one of the synths who has been taken by a family and I mean I enjoyed it personally but it is about robots so you have to be into that kind of show.

If you likes shows such as: Wayward Pines, Stranger Things, Westworld, Black Mirror, etc. you should try out this show!

#tv shows #tv recommendations #tv show recommendations #recs #fargo #teen wolf #the flash #humans #steven universe #11.22.63.#stranger things #wayward pines #blindspot #the last man on earth #parks and rec

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