Friday, January 27, 2006

"You don't volunteer for slugfests with vampires. It shortens your life expectancy."

I have just read, on Wikipedia of all places, that they (yes, They) have optioned Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books and are considering making a television mini-series out of them.

BLASPHAMY!!!

I adore this series. Anita is a no-nonsense, ass-kicking woman whom I would either really like or really hate if she were real. She has the same wonderful Catholic guilt complex that all of us recovering Catholics have. She's funny, occasionally self-deluding, and has a code of honor that she will stick to no matter what, even though it might not be exactally what people think it should be. I cannot see any actress actually being able to pull off this part. There is not a single known actor or actress that I can imagine playing any of the three main characters, and not only that but the budget of the film/series would have to be astronomical to be ablet to support the bevy of zombies, vampires, wereanimals, and magic that the series requires. There is a reason most sci-fi and the like works better in books.

I don't want to see them turn this wonderful series, that I love, into really crap films (like, sad as I am to say, the Harry Potter films. The only way you can be happy with them is that you haven't read the books, and also don't know what a good film is when you see one). Hopefully, that won't happen.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

"I want to fly/ shipwrecked and comatose/ drinking fresh/ mango juice..."

Last Wednesday, I was presented with a huge dilemna. Watch the back-to-back last two episodes in season one of Lost(mmmmm, Sawyer...), which I have been addicted to since it started airing over here, or watch a promising new BBC show called Hyperdrive. I decided to go with Lost, even though I knew that they would be showing it again on Sunday (because they need to really get their money out of it) and didn't think that they'd be showing Hyperdrive again.

Well, come this evening, I found that I was luckly and obviously the BBC thinks that Hyperdrive is going to be a great hit as it was playing again today. Except...well...it's a bit crap. It's a show about a British space ship, set in the future, and the crew that is on the ship. Forgive me, but wasn't there a series called Red Dwarf some years back that sounded similar? Hyperdrive is different because a) All the crew seem to be alive, and b) They actually meet up with aliens. Otherwise, their ship looks surprisingly similar, they're not nearly as funny, and I'm not as taken with the characters. I feel quite let down, because I really wanted it to be good! I'm planning to keep watching though, as there's always the chance that it will get better, as I don't think it can get any worse. Hmmm...looking at that statement, I think that maybe I've been here a bit to long...

Saturday, January 14, 2006

"There's no place I can be/ Since I found Serenity..."

I watched the first disc of Joss Whedons's brilliant Firefly last night, and cannot express in words what a fantastic world has been created. Much like the world of Battlestar Galactica, Whedon's universe is gritty, realistic, and dirty. People don't look like they've stepped out of a futuristic fashion shoot, in other words. The world is completely believeable, the characters are fantastic, and I wish I lived there because it would be much more exciting!

However, in the tradition of most excellent sci-fi shows, it was cancelled. I understand that the channel that airs the show is only concerned about making money, but I think that most television executives don't really understand how science fiction shows work. Something like Firefly, like Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf and Space, Above and Beyond before it, is going to quickly grab a fanatically loyal but quite small fan base. These people are going to threaten, bully, trick, and cajole their friends into watching the series. And they will be addicted. The same thing will happen with more people, and by the time the show is half-way through its second series or by the beginning of the third, they're going to have a huge group of drooling fans anticipating every second of every show they air. The problem is, in this world of instant gratification, they don't want to invest that money. So it gets canceled. And then people like this guy try to get a petition going so that someone, anyone, airs it again.

Friday, January 13, 2006

"Hey where did we go/ days when the rains came/ down in the hollow/ playing a new game..."

I would just like to say that Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison kicks some serious ass. It's one of those songs that, no matter how crap you feel, how bad your day has been, or if your roof is leaking because it's pissing down rain and you can't get your apartment guys to come round (guess which is me! ^_^), it makes you grin and want to dance.

As for my New Year's Resolution(s), it seems to be going fairly well so far. I have managed to not buy a chocolate bar for five days in a row now, and haven't been snacking on junk. As soon as I start work, I'm joining the gym, so that's another step. I will look fabulous for R's wedding!