Sweet Gallifrey!! The Doctor is (Almost) Back!!

It's almost here!!

The 8th season of Doctor Who will air August 23 with a feature-length episode called "Deep Breath"! And there's even a tiny teaser trailer!

We are a family of huge Doctor Who fans (except for the Empty Child episode from season 1. That creeped us ALL out! To the point of nightmares even...).

So, needless to say,  we are so very excited to see Peter Capaldi take on the role of the 12th Doctor. We love all the doctors for different reasons, and though we will miss Matt Smith's 11th Doctor (as we missed Christopher Eccleston's 9th and David Tennant's 10th before him), we can't wait to see what he brings to the show.

And of course, we can't wait to see Clara again. She's adorable, that impossible girl!

Who else is as excited as us?

TV Review: Breaking Bad

I know a lot of people who have been hesitant to start Breaking Bad, just because of the subject matter. A brilliant chemistry teacher, who resorts to making meth in order to support his family after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. It's heavy stuff, and not something people generally think they're going to enjoy watching.

But let me say, after finishing this series last night (finally!!)  this show is one of the best, if not THE best, shows made, possible ever.

Bryan Cranston, as Walter White, is one of the best actors, possibly ever.

 

 

His transformation from sweet, quiet, sort-of-pushover Walter in the beginning, to what he becomes toward the end is just amazing, and terrifying, and brilliant.

Then there's Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman. Spot on as the junkie with a heart. He's a good guy deep down, but his stupid decisions get in the way, almost up until the very end.

 

 

In fact, all the actors in this show are spot-on, amazing, and nothing but believable. Super-sleazy lawyer, Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, is a perfect skeez-ball.  You will kind of start to hate Skyler, Walter's wife, played by Anna Gunn. Same with her sister Marie (Betsy Brandt), but for other reasons. Walt Jr., aka Flynn, played by RJ Mitte, has some of the best one liners, usually about food. (Raisin Bran Crunch... it says crunch right on the box. I thought we were going to Cold Stone Creamery?) And then there's Walter's brother in law, Hank, who happens to be part of the Albuquerque D.E.A. Dean Norris plays him as such an arrogant, yet family loving man, you just don't know if you should hate him or admire him.

This show is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is INTENSE to say the least. I'm seriously on the edge of my seat almost every episode, and there are some seriously cringe-worthy moments.

It's beautifully shot, using the natural dessert settings of New Mexico. The show has even spawned Breaking Bad tours throughout Albuquerque.

And you'll never look at a pair of tighty-whiteys the same way again. Or old orange-striped Winnebagos, for that matter.

I would only recommend Breaking Bad to very mature high schoolers, or 17 years and up, since there is a lot of graphic violence, sexual situations, and, of course, drugs and drug use.

All five seasons are available now on Netflix.

TV Review: Sherlock

 

 

 

Modern retellings based on the classic Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starring a cute British guy with fun name, and a Hobbit? Yes Please!!

 

I. Am. Sherlocked.

 

Seriously, one of the best shows (if not the best show, since Breaking Bad is over, in my opinion) that is on TV right now, it's the perfect blend of mystery, comedy, drama, and even a little romance thrown in for good measure. Sherlock gets everything right.

 

Co-created and written mostly by the incomparable Steven Moffat (of Doctor Who fame), everything from the acting, to the music, to the intrigue, is pretty much perfect television.

 



Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes

 Benedict Cumberbatch (I just love saying his name. Especially when you say it like Sean Connery. Benedict. Cumberbatch. See, it's the best, huh?) plays the brilliant, yet socially inept, Sherlock Holmes. And he is perfection. This has been the year of Benedict Cumberbatch, as he was in at least four Oscar nominated films, plus some that weren't nominated, and he was excellent in everything. Seriously, the guy does not disappoint.

 

 

Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson

Then there's Martin Freeman. I just love him as Sherlock's trusty sidekick Dr. John Watson, who tries his darnedest (and mostly fails) to keep Sherlock in line. And he was so fantastic at the end of season two I just wanted to hug this hobbitses.

My one peeve about this lovely little show is that the seasons are too dang short. Seriously! Each season is only three episodes. Granted, the episodes are about an hour and twenty minutes each, almost like movies, but still. I need more!

The first two season (or series, as the Brits say) are available on Netflix now, and the third should be there shortly, I presume, though it is for sure available on DVD now.

There are some adult elements to this show (especially when Irene Adler appears, as a sort of madame/dominatrix), so I recommend it for mature middle-school age and up.

Come to the Geek Side! We Have Cookies!

Growing up, my nickname from my best friends' older sisters was Geek Megan. It was never my favorite, mostly because growing up in the 90's, being a geek was never a good thing.

 

Now that I'm a grown up, or, you know, trying to be, I have embraced the geek way of life. Being geeky isn't a bad thing. Everyone has something they're a geek about, whether it's shopping, make-up, reality TV, or the "classic" geek things like sci-fi and fantasy and comic books. My geekiness happens to come in the forms of books, TV, and movies... and the occasional celebri-stalking on Twitter.

I love all things Disney.

I love all things Steampunk.

I love British television.

I LOVE movies.

I LOVE to read.

I'm slightly obsessed with the Oscars. I find David Tennant more than slightly attractive. I kind of want to be friends with Joss Whedon.

And don't even get me started on Harry Potter.

I'm proud to be a geek mom. I hope my kidlets can learn to embrace the things they love that they are geeky about. With parents like my husband and I (He's also a fellow geek. Probably more so than me... the guy runs D&D games for cryin' out loud!) it's bound to happen.

And it shall be glorious!