In the last few seasons, I can remember two old men, Desmond and a boat (I guess he no longer exists after the sexual harassment thing?), some vague Egyptian references to seem more profound, and the French woman (dead?).

I watch and follow Lost. I do not like the show. I watch the show in 7-12 minutes per episode and sometimes even that much time feels like torture. I keep watching because I am desperately hoping it will come full circle and end on a good note. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I feel like the writers are pandering to the masses who have never watched sci-fi, and are all OMG!TimeTravel!!!!! To those people, I just want to say, “People, this show is NOT smart. It’s not revolutionary. You are so distracted by the WOWness that you are letting the fact that it’s no long good slide.”

The first season of Lost was all about the characters; who they were, who they are, and what could become of them. Each of the core cast had compelling storylines in each arena. Now that the core cast has been thrown to the side to make way for Dharma Initiatives, Others, Boaties, business men, Dharmas from the past, new people on the plane, etc., who gives a crap about them? Their stories aren’t as important as Jacob and/or The Temple. Oooo–oooh. It’s like the writers couldn’t take the characters any further so they invented all these other stories to cover up that fact.

Anyway, I’m sure the producers and writers don’t care what we say about the show as long as we keep saying something. Congratulations on making a convoluted mess out of what was once a proud, strong, well-written show.

Mood: Discontent

How much things change!

We’re not having a party this year because Hobbit wants to save up her money to visit Disney World. She’s tired of having Pirates of the Caribbean parties here when she can go to Orlando and see the actual ride.

You can still send catnip or treats, though.

Mood: Thoughtful

Precentral.net has everyone thinking about their top 5 patches or apps, so I thought I’d try to figure out the ones I just can’t live without. I’m leaving out the whole area of theming, as it would be impossible to rank themes (except for my own…heh).

Top Patches:
4×4 Icons v2 or v3
Unthrottle Download Manager
Video Downloader
Mulit-Mod
Default to Month View in Calendar

Top Apps:
Preware (for installing/updating themes and homebrew apps)
Spaz (my favorite Twitter app)
Feeds (Best and fastest integration with Google Reader)
Dr. Podder (Downloads/streams/bookmarks podcasts)
Precorder (Video/audio recorder with excellent quality)

Mood: Busy

There are many differences that I’m sure are chronicled all over the net, so there isn’t much need for me to do the same here. I think that even in their differences, the two mediums compliment each other nicely. I do, and will always, defer to the canon of the source material, but having faces to go with names has been very nice. I find that my focus is no longer the shipping of Richard/Kahlan (though I still do), but rather the appreciation of the time and the desire to learn more of the lands and legends. Many of the weekly stories are clearly derived from events in the books, though the importance of the elements isn’t always apparent on the show. I’m surprised that the Mud People weren’t included in the television series at all, but that would be a season all to itself. I’m still looking forward to meeting new characters though, especially since I have the added interest of comparing their adventures. Overall, the characters are pretty true to their written creations, but I think the two characters that characters that I never pause to associate with their TV counterparts are Richard and Cara. I am starting the fifth book soon, so things could, of course, change, but I am really hopeful that Cara makes it to the end, and I’m pretty sure that Richard will. *wink*

In the end, I would say that I recommend the books for any fans of the television series (so long as you have pretty strong stomachs re: themes and gore). Here’s to finishing the series before getting spoiled any further!

Mood: Determined

I like it. I like it A LOT. I never saw Gladiator or Rome, nor do I care one bit about them; therefore, I don’t care at all if they are ripped off. I did see 300 and liked it enough that if it IS ripped off, then YAY! I like that I get to play “When Fandoms Collide” thanks to Craig Parker of LOTR and LOTS (he is extraordinarily great in this, btw). The gore never bothered me; I’m glad it’s “over-stylized” for that very reason. This new guy playing Spartacus? Yes. Thank you. Oh, and I’ll be watching every episode.

And that’s what I know about Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Mood: Restless

The looming threat could play out really terrifically, and I hope it does. I was never completely convinced that Herrick was a big enough bad, even with his lofty vamp goals. No, religious nuts with technology seem much more threatening, if you ask me.

Regardless, Being Human is back, and I am very, very glad that it is. Is anyone else watching first run??

Mood: Moody

Although I love the sleek design of my Gallery theme, I think the necessity of finding two images per post was keeping me from posting as much as I’d like.

I’ve pared it down a bit, but kept a few features I liked best. We’ll see how long it lasts.

I intend to return to the wonderful world of fandom posting soon, but I just wanted to note a few things as we begin the new year.

I start a new job next week. This is HUGE for me, as I am leaving a position that is comfortable both professionally and personally. I can only hope the excitement of the new position will help overshadow any shortcomings that may come socially.

Speaking of socially…WOW! Since we’ve been out three weeks due to scheduled Winter Break and then plenty of snow days, I think it’s not too geeky to say when it snows it pours! There’s finally a little action from the eHarmony end, an open offer on the local end, and I’ve just had a fantastic (friends only) weekend with the promise of more to come (I have Doctor Who Third Doctor DVDs as ransom….mwa ha ha ha). I’d have to say that right now life is good.

Next post–FANDOM LOVE. I promise.

Mood: Giddy

Each year, I do this, so why not this year?

Keurig Deluxe Single-Cup Coffee Maker
Lots of coffee
Antique Santa coffee mug
Snowflake earrings
12′ HDMI cable
2 Sweaters
2 Turtlenecks
DVD player (Divx/USB) for bedroom
Carpet Cleaner Machine
Wireless travel mouse for laptop
$400 cash
El Mariachi gift certificate
Palm Pre Touchstone kit
Car outlet adapter
Plush blanket/throw
Socks
Vader ornament
Ornate jar
Bunch of candy
Assorted shower gels and lotions
Smooth Away…ha!
Massage chair pad (Thanks, Scott!!)
AND IN FANDOM GIFTS:
The three remaining LOTR goblets that make a complete set! (Thanks, Jamie!!)
LOTR Calendar (Thanks, self!!)

Mood: Thankful

My favorite show (just barely edging out Fringe) is Legend of the Seeker. I haven’t been on and on about it, but here’s an idea of how much I love it:

I added an app to my Palm Pre to enable to allow me to download fanvids from YOUTUBE.

That’s right, guys, YOUTUBE.

Legend of the Seeker: restoring my faith in romance since 2008 via Richard/Kahlan shippiness.

Mood: Hyper

Happy Birthday to one of my absolute favorite people ever– Todd! It’s been a long time since our Buffy days, but you have remained awesome. Hope your birthday is terrific.

To Todd and everyone else, Happy Thanksgiving!

Mood: Giggly

I don’t post about Fringe as much as I do my other fandoms. The post:squee ratio is way off, though. I love Fringe. We’re into Season 2 and I see no red flags that make me want to jump ship. If anything, I think I can weather the Charlie storm and come out a little stronger for it. My admiration for Olivia is still high, and I’m as intrigued by Peter as I’ve ever been. Walter, while brilliantly portrayed by John Noble, continues to know more than most people can even dream, but I’m starting to hurt for him a little too much. Now that we know the gravity of his secret, it’s hard to watch him deal with the love and guilt he has for Peter. It’s great stuff, though.

I absolutely hate that we have to take a few weeks off for baseball. Seriously, don’t they sell special satellite packages for people who really want to watch sports these days?

I made a TON of observations this week and I can’t wait to hear the far more brilliant members of The Fringe Podcast give their takes on the ep. They’ve just announced that Jasika Nicole (Astrid) will be on this week’s podcast! Sunday can’t come soon enough (and I have NEVER said that!).

Mood: Ditzy

I can barely stand to think about changing my OTPs. The “T” kind of dictates it, actually. TRUE. Arthur and Gwen are my one TRUE pairing. I’ve never been tempted to sympathize with the Gwen/Lancelot camp. Ever.

But HOLY F’N HELL. Santiago Cabrera as Lancelot blows all of that out the window. There is no excuse for a man to look so hot and be so sensitive. NONE. It’s messing with my understanding of the world. Only once before has the casting of an actor been so monumental to me that I had an actual reality shift (anyone who knows me knows this is about Sean Bean as Boromir, in case you were wondering), and I’m on the verge of praying to a god of something (spoilers, maybe?) that Lancelot becomes a regular on Merlin. Guh!

Mood: Enthralled

Going into the premiere of Stargate Universe, I held three truths: I love the Stargate franchise, David Blue (Ugly Betty’s Cliff) is awesome, and Robert Carlyle seems like a dick.

Well, after this week, one of my truths is clinging to life while the other two are overstated. With the exception of a few cameos (*Hi, Sam! Hi, Jack, Daniel, Walter!*) and a gate, this is not Stargate. SG-1 and SGA had fun and never really took themselves too seriously. Stargate Universe has no heart, no joy, no interesting characters (yet), and the ones I *thought* would be favorites, quite frankly, suck.

Eli Wallace is played by the aforementioned David Blue. I made the mistake of following David on twitter for a couple of days around the premiere. His constant posting and ranting turned me off so much that now I don’t even think I’ll like Eli that much (not that I cared for the character AT ALL in the two-hour premiere). The other big surprise was how much I wanted Robert Carlyle, as Dr. Rush, to kick everyone’s shins and show them all what’s up. Easily my favorite character of the show, largely because he’s the only one with more than 1/2 of a dimension, but still, a favorite. I’m still not sure what Lou Diamond Phillips’ role is, but I’d like to see more of him, too.

The overacting of two cast members was so atrocious that I can see them being the reason I tune out if they don’t get it together. Jamil Walker Smith is Master Sgt. Ronald Greer and acts like he’s never been on camera before. His pacing and volume elicited laughs and groans during the premiere, and I hope he was only overacting because he was directed to, and not that this is how it’s going to be all the time. Elyse Levesque as Chloe Armstrong was ridiculous as well. First off, she needs bangs. I said it because it needed to be said. Now, she gets a pass because I believe my true annoyance with her truly was script-based. That crying scene went on way too long; literally, MINUTES too long. We get it, she’s sad. We understand. It’s not some foreign concept to be sad if your parent dies. Sad. OK. We didn’t need to see the snotting and the nasal flaring. Sick. She reminds me of ANTM Cycle 5 Winner, Nicole, but with no charm.

Overall, I’m going to watch at least a few more episodes because the two-hour premiere and next week’s episode are actually considered a multi-part arc, but if we don’t get some fun or interest in the characters, I’m out.

Mood: Disappointed

People, please. This is not a spoiler. One of the best known love stories of all time is that of Arthur and Guinevere. For a show, which features each of them, to have them kiss is, again, not a spoiler, nor is it out of place.

Merlin fandom is so fun, and I hope the shipper wars don’t tear the fandom apart. It’s no secret that in this telling of the legend, I think myself a Lancelot/Gwen fan, but the actors playing Arthur and Gwen looked their very best in “The One and Future Queen” and I can see this working out now. They each gave their best performance of the series, and I was very relieved to see how it played out.

So, yeah, just to recap: Not a spoiler.

Mood: Ditzy

Quite the media blitz leading up to the premiere of Flash Forward, eh? We were tempted by old faces, new ideas, and the possibility that larger answers could be found in Earth’s shared trauma.

Flash Forward had everything going for it, in my book. What the premiere delivered, however, has me tuning out for good. After an impressive disaster scene (which I had grossly underestimated in my narrow view of what Earth would resemble after everyone blacked out for 2:17), everything went downhill. The pacing seemed off, not frantic enough perhaps. We got a few glimpses of key players’ flashes, but even those were boring. As a matter of fact, I found the whole thing to be the most boring show in recent memory.

This kind of show works if the audience wants to stay onboard to learn the fates of the cast, but there is not one person I care about enough to see what their future holds. “Tormented, dedicated, alcoholic, law enforcer”, “Strong, beautiful, doctor, adulteress”, “Scared child”, “No-vision having sidekick”, etc. all adds up to BORING. Who cares what happened? Who cares who or what caused it? Who cares if the future is changed for any or all of the key players? These are questions that we should be asking after a strong premiere episode. All I asked myself was, “How fast can I delete this from DVR?”

The sad thing is, this show will probably get to finish its run, while the vastly superior Defying Gravity struggles to get the remaining episodes aired. Sometimes I hate network television.

Mood: Irritated