Fangirl Friday- Fated to Love You

Fated to Love You

It’s been a while since I really got into a K-drama.  Over the last year I’ve started six or more dramas, which seemed to flounder half way and lost my attention before I could reach the end.  So far MBC’s Fated To Love You has been an exception.  An ADORABLE exception.  My goodness, there is so much that is cute and right about this series, that I don’t know where to start.

Fated to Love you is a remake of the Popular Taiwanese series of the same name (though as in most series, the translation differs).  The series follows the wickedly slick Lee Gun, the chaebol heir and eldest son of the household and the sweet yet incredibly shy Kim Mi-Young.  The males of Lee Gun’s family seem to suffer from some unfortunate disease that ends in the death of each male in their 30s.  Fearing that she will be left without an heir, the chairwoman(Gun’s grandmother) asks Lee Gun to marry and have a child before the family is left with his younger half brother as the only heir(oh yeah, lets not allow slimy half-bro and step-mom to have any more power than they already possess).

Luckily, Lee Gun has plans to marry his girlfriend of six years, a ballet dancer named Kang Se-ra.  On her way back to Korea after losing out on the chance of performing in New York, she encounters Daniel Pitt whom, as we all know, is going to be wound in this story somehow.  It’s no chance meeting.  There’s no such thing in K-dramas, right?!  Daniel is a famous artist, though it seems nobody on the plane seems to recognize our famous oppa.

Kim Mi-Young, our delicate and too helpful office girl, is known around her office as “post-it.”  A negative name, to denote that she’s necessary but not considered important.  Co-workers are constantly asking her for favors, which she willingly accepts as she hates turning down those that ask of her help.  She has a slight crush on her office-mate  Lawyer Min, whom seems rather taken by her and is always helping her when he can.  Potential romance?  Well, not exactly.

It just so happens that Lee Gun is planning an over-the-top engagement to Se-Ra in Macau.  When I say over the top, there’s banners that display photos of the couple posted around the place.  Yeah, he’s throwing it all in for this woman.  After a hilarious meeting between Lee Gun and Mi-Young (Mi-Young attempts to save a toddler from danger and shenanigans ensue), they haven’t started on the right foot.   After heading back to work, Mi-Young’s office is raffling tickets for a vacation to Macau.  SURPRISE!  Mi-Young, whom never has luck at these sort of things, manages to win the tickets!  And of course, she needs a date.  Hmm, I wonder whom will be going with her?  Seemingly innocent Lawyer Min that loves to be her knight in shining armor?

Neither Lee Gun nor Mi-Young are aware that one or the other are on the island and Mi-Young overhears Lee Gun practicing his proposal to Se-Ra (whom decides to jet back to New York last minute after getting a call that she’s been accepted to the ballet and decides to tell Lee Gun over the phone and a bit too late).  Mi-Young begins to cough and grabs a bottle of water out of the fountain beside her, and hides while drinking down the water (which happens to be drugged.  I always enjoy grabbing randomly floating bottles of water in fountains and taking a swig.  OI!).  Drugged drink provided by President Park and Mr. Choi, whom are there to confront Gun about purchasing the soap factory on Yeoul island.  I suppose they hoped to catch him in a scandal, having hired a woman to sleep with Gun and take photos the following day.  They manage to convince Gun to drink from a bottle of water, which SURPRISE!  Is drugged like the first bottle.

They help Gun back to his room and after passing out on the bed, they undress him to setup the scene.  It just so happens that our mysterious woman in black, whom is suppose to lay with Gun, never makes it into the room.  Note to self- bumping doors can lead to accidentally flipping of numbers and scandalous things.  Mi-Young, still in a daze from the drugs, arrives to room 2006 and opens the door.  Only, it’s not room 2006.  Thanks president Park and Mr. Choi, you’re really helping a girl out with your not quite working-as-planned shenanigans.

So what do two heavily-drugged people do when laying in the same bed?  The results are pretty hilarious and just proves why drinking from random bottles is a bad idea!  It turns out that Mr. Choi is Mi-Young’s brother-in-law and there are some pretty funny scenes between he and president Park.  The trip which seems to be a total disaster, just seems to get worse.  Mi-Young learns of Lawyer Min’s true intentions of coming with her and his thoughts of her (that most likely mirror what most of her co-workers think).  Lee Gun comes to the rescue, having overheard Lawyer Min’s confession as he was returning Mi-Young’s shoes, which she had left behind.  The next few scenes were just so adorable I kept giggling.  He turns our little post-it girl into a queen, to boost her confidence, which she seems to lack in general.  Gun, you are da man.

After a sweet send-off, the two expect to never hear from each other and vow to forget what happened.  Ha, like that was going to happen!  Their one night together ends in Mi-Young’s pregnancy and what follows is a roller coaster of a comedy.  Gun isn’t the most gentile man, at least not in the beginning and has his selfish moments.  As he gradually warms up to Mi-Young, you can’t help but love him.  Hell, you can’t help but love him when he’s. . .well. . .being Gun.  His laugh is so infectious, I can’t help but grin when I hear it.

Fated to Love you is one of the few series that I’ve watched and couldn’t think of a single episode I’ve disliked thus far.  Kudos to the writers for continuing to keep the cuteness to this series from episode to episode.  I can only hope they keep that same momentum and quality, even with the coming episodes that, if you know anything of the previous series, becomes heart-wrenching.  Gun and Mi-Young have some of the cutest chemistry that I’ve seen in a series in a loooooong time.  Goodness, when this series comes to a close, I will probably bawl like a baby.  Scenes like Gun telling Mi-Young to give him the rice face that looks like her instead of his own, just made me giggle.  “It’s scary to eat my own face.”  Yeah, like eating the rice decorated like her own face isn’t weird either.  You silly boy.

I also can’t help but love the chemistry between Gun and Mi-Young’s mom.  Encouraging him to call her mom, since he lost his mother at such a young age, had me tearing up.  It was a beautiful gesture and it made me happy to see Gun so elated to be able to say the word “mom” again.  The idea of even having someone close to a mom just seem to make him overjoyed.  It’s easy to see that he genuinely enjoys mother-in-law and the karaoke scene was priceless.  Gah, SERIOUSLY TOO MUCH CUTE IN ONE EPISODE!

If you haven’t seen Fated to Love You, I encourage you to check it out!  You can see it via Viki, Drama Fever, and many other sites/apps.  Also, you know you want to see Gun suds up his hair.

Yeah, you advertise that shampoo, Gun! Damn, I’d buy that shampoo.

Fangirl Friday- Remember the old days of finding Anime?

Being an Anime fangirl hasn’t always been easy.  In the 90s we had limited media available to us to watch imports and as kids, your only means of Anime were the few series airing on television or videos your parents may have shelled out the cash for.  My first view of Anime wasn’t Speed Racer as I had always believed.  In fact, my first Anime was not even a series, but Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.  A somewhat depressing version, but I recall thinking just how beautiful the animation was.  I viewed the VHS almost daily until its untimely departure in my VHS player.  RIP Little Mermaid.

Remember when your love of Anime was something that you and so many of your friends had in common?  You would go on an epic quest to find internet pics, clips, music, and anything you could on this phenomenon that took the world by storm and left parents wondering why their kids suddenly spoke fragments of Japanese.  Whenever Sci-fi channel (now Syfy) aired Anime, you faithfully stayed up into the early hours of morning to catch whatever Anime movie that aired.  When Cartoon Network had a new series, you were always in front of the tv after school, waiting to watch and welcome the show as your new favorite Anime.

USA Network and Fox even aired some Anime series, though in most cases the series didn’t last long.  Escaflowne had a very small run and when I say small, we didn’t even get half of the series.  It was an edited mess, but was my first glimpse of the series that will always have a place in my heart.  They also had Sailor Moon, another edited mess.  If you couldn’t figure out the moral of the story by the end of the episode, don’t worry. . .DiC decided they’ll give you a short clip of images from the episode and spell it out for you.  I remember all this talk of a live action series then and how people speculated who would play which role.  I’m kind of glad it never happened.  A North American Sailor Moon just felt like a potential disaster.  I was imagining Clueless in sailor fuku.  USA Network had Street Fighter and can I just say how much I loved watching this?  I was a fan of the games (even the live action movie. . .don’t you judge me!) and so I watched these episodes faithfully until they were pulled from the air.  Before long, unless Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network picked up something, there was little Anime left on the air.

For a long time obtaining Anime was not easy.  DVDs weren’t common yet and VHS sets could cost you an arm and a leg (or a kidney!).  Laser Discs were around, but how many people used them?  If you asked somebody the best place to find episodes, they would suggest a peer-to-peer site.  Oh yeah, on dial-up that was a brilliant idea!  No one would think of the repercussions of downloading would do later on and your phone line was busy all night as you downloaded episodes.  Any new Anime that popped up was a real treat, considering the age of Youtube, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix (just barely starting out and DVD ) were not upon us yet. Broadband internet was around, but expensive compared to more reasonable price of dial-up.

A few days ago I received another 30-day free trial from Crunchyroll, which I decided to accept as I haven’t watched any Anime in a few months. At one point all I ever seemed to watch was Anime.  As I surfed through the hundreds of shows listed, I thought to myself “my teenage self would have had a heart attack looking through this catalog.”  There are so many series that I end up searching through the list and at some point I give up and find something else to do.  I know–I have a problem.  Choosing K-Dramas seems easier compared to finding a good Anime.  So many have similar plots or have names so ridiculous that I end up skipping over them.

I thought to myself just how lucky Anime fans are now, with such an enormous selection of videos available to them not just online, but on DVD/Blu-ray.  My local Best Buy use to have a section dedicated to Anime alone that spanned the same length of the Xbox 360 games.  It was pretty amazing, but still pretty expensive unless you bought something older.  I remember picking up Ergo Proxy one Christmas and boy was I excited.  Now the Anime section is only 1/4 of that and the prices seem to be dropping.  Yet I still people flock to that little shelf and search with smiles for new shows to devour.

I’ve been an Anime fangirl most of my life, even though I didn’t realize it until middle school. There is just something about Anime that I find so appealing.  Not that I do not love animated shows/movies made outside of Japan, but there’s just an element to Anime that draws me in.  Perhaps it’s the detail put into the animation or the story lines.  Other animated series and films tend to be rather silly.  Even at a young age, I enjoyed more mature and in-depth stories, but I still enjoyed my afternoons of Tiny Toons and Gargoyles.  Of course, not all Anime have the most intricately-written plots.  Sometimes you get a lot of series that are just a lot of fanservice.

That’s a pretty hefty plot.

 

Time to go find a series and binge watch it!

Dear Nickelodeon, you just antagonized a fanbase

Many of you have probably heard the big news regarding Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra.  If you haven’t, here’s the deal.  This Friday’s episode of Korra will air as scheduled and the remaining episodes pulled off air until further notice.  These episodes will be distributed digitally, meaning air time is suspended until Nickelodeon decides what the hell it’s doing.  What’s the deal?  So far we’re not sure, but there are plenty of rumors swirling around.  From low ratings to Nickelodeon just wanting to out the popular series, we are not yet informed of what caused this somewhat unexpected development.  Head over to the Korra or Nickelodeon’s Facebook page and just check out the angry posts coming from enraged Korra fans.  The web is buzzing, Nick.  You’re in big trouble.  Now go stand in the corner and think about what you’ve done.

Various social media sites are abuzz with the news that Korra will now go digital and question the fate of season 4 of the series.  Nick originally ordered four series, but with Korra now off the air, will we see a season four?  According to co-creator and executive producer Michael Dante DiMartino, we still have season 4!

https://www.facebook.com/MichaelDanteDiMartino/posts/673287482740240

Even if Korra were to find its way back to television, I want to express my great disappointment in Nickelodeon and their blatant disregard for their fans, the series, and the cast/crew of Korra.  Their handling of book three has been piss poor and rushed.  I’m sure many fans can agree that they expected news about book three at this years SDCC, but instead the series was pushed to a June release.  I’m not normally one to complain in regards to a series I adore being released early, but I knew with such a rushed premier date, we were all in for trouble.

The trouble started when episodes were “accidentally” released on Mundo Nick in June.  With the accidental release,  fan-made trailers were soon all over the internet.  The episodes found their way online thanks to some very eager fans and pictures flooded social media.  The official trailer for Korra was released not long after and a premier date of June 27th.  Not just a one episode premier!  Not two!  We had three all-new episodes!  And that was just the beginning.

Nickelodeon has shifted Korra’s scheduling dates in a fashion that to any that are observant, know the show is drifting towards deadly waters.  Each week I wondered to myself if we would be seeing a new episode of Korra or if Nickelodeon would make us wait another week.  Online episodes were not yet available till much later.  I wondered if this was a tactic to see how the show would do ratings wise, when only available as a telecast, but considering the shuffle Korra has experienced, this would have been a terrible experiment.  Almost as if making up for this constant shift in scheduling, we received two episodes a week, though I suspect there are other reasons for this.  This only shortens the amount of time Korra has on air and push us closer to the conclusion of book three.  Besides the shifting schedule, there also seemed to be a lack of advertisement for Korra in general.

Good job, Nick.

The decline in ratings would seem more worrisome if those earlier points were not highlighted.  A series like Korra cannot be tossed around from date to date without seeing a gradual loss in viewership.  A Friday night time slot just seems rather odd for an animated series that is surrounded by live action comedy programming.  An earlier slot or perhaps a Saturday slot would seem a better choice, but alas, we’ve been stuck with a wonky Friday night time slot.  A move to all digital seems like a rather bad move, in a world where not everyone has unlimited bandwidth and a means to watch streaming media on their television.  Just because some favor streaming, that doesn’t mean all do.  Families without a way of streaming content to their televisions will have to squeeze around the computer screen to get the latest dose of Korra.  Or take to the small screen of mobile devices to get a Korra fix.

Let me just express one thing.  I have always loved Nickelodeon.  I am a child of the 80s/90s.  When my family first got cable in the early 90s, my brother and I were excited over the prospect of getting a network that all of our friends and classmates just gushed over.  Slime?  Are you afraid of the Dark?  Rugrats?  We couldn’t wait to see this amazing and goofy family channel.  I recall going to the store and getting Nickelodeon Magazine, just to see all the fun news and pictures about current and upcoming shows.  Slime recipes and slime-themed food and drinks galore!  Nick was so much fun when I was a kid!

Our television was almost exclusively on Nick during my childhood years.  Besides the few series I mentioned previously, we enjoyed other series such as CatDog, Invader Zim, Angry Beavers, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Aaahh!!!  Real Monsters, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Figure it Out, Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren and Stimpy Show, The Wild Thornberrys, Salute Your Shorts, The Amanda Show, All That, Kenan and Kel, and sooooo much more.  Slowly the variety of decent shows began to shrink and it took Avatar: The Last Airbender to draw us back.

I’m not one of those fans that touts “Airbender was better!” or “Korra is the best of the Avatar series!” because I don’t feel that way towards either series.  They are of the same world, in different time settings, with a few familiar faces and new characters.  You are seeing the history of Avatar play out and whether you enjoy what you’re seeing or not, that is how their world is.  I view other fiction in that way–sometimes there are events that you dislike, but it’s a part of their history.  This is their creator’s world and they decide the outcomes, whether we like it or not.  I am sure there has been a loss in viewership due to fans drifting from the show, whether it’s because of the pace of the story-lines, the direction the series is going, or they have just lost interest in general. However, I do not believe this has been the major determining factor in such a loss of viewers.  I’m sure Nick might play it off as such.

Nickelodeon, if you would advertise your series with the same care you give your other lackluster shows and gave it a steady time slot, you might see an increase in ratings.  Korra is a powerhouse of a series if you give it the chance you did during season one.  You’ve taken something truly enjoyable and mistreated it in such a fashion that it has infuriated its fans.  Despite the years of dedication I’ve had to your network, I feel I’ll soon be parting ways with you.  When I see the sort of lineup your network has and how you’ve so carelessly treated Korra, I feel it may be best for me to just cut you off completely.  If Korra is left alone and given a better chance, I’d come back, but only for Korra.  Why watch a network when one of its best shows is treated as if it doesn’t deserve to be there?  In fact, it doesn’t deserve to be there.  It deserves a lot better than you, Nickelodeon.

I’ll be listening to the coming news at SDCC and hoping for a good outcome for Korra.  Even if the outcome is favorable and Nickelodeon finds a way to redeem itself, I’ll only support one series and one series only.  Perhaps you should bend your ears towards your fans, Nickelodeon.  I can only imagine what the coming conversations will be like at your booth at SDCC.  You know, where you fans approach you in person and will be able to air their grievances.  Terrible timing on your part?  I don’t see many pleasant conversations coming.  Don’t worry Korra fans.  We still have Korra, even if our means of viewing is limited.  We still have Korra and season four is in the works.  Let us hope for excellent news and an update on the upcoming Korra game, which looks to be really amazing!

 

Be sure to watch Korra this Friday night at 8pm ET!  Tell your family, friends, goldfish, imaginary friends, and the monster hiding in your closet!  

#savekorra

Modernizing Fiction and Emotional Disconnects with Readers

Please note– I know it’s been a god-awful amount of time since my last post.  This has been a topic I’ve wanted to discuss for months and finally have the time to dedicate to writing blog posts again.  It feels like a bit of a rant–I suppose it is.

Lately I’ve found myself very critical of the modern ficition being pumped out into the literary world.  After a few too many books, I began to question if some authors are secretly endorsing products mentioned in their novels.  Ok not really, but have you ever noticed the overwhelming amount of branding there are in some novels?  I can assure you that if you were to flip open any young adult novel at a Barnes and Noble, the main character will at least mention a few labels.  Whether it’s the Levi Jeans they’re wearing or the iPhone in their back pocket, there’s going to be a mention of some major label in there.  I know we want the readers to connect with the protagonist and supporting characters, but really?  Can we not just connect to these characters on a purely human/emotional level?  Do we really need product placement?

I’ve never read a scene and thought to myself “oh yeah I can relate to her disappointment that she received a Hummer rather than a  Porsche.”  It’s the same sort of disconnect you have watching soap operas.  There is no correlation between these characters and your own personal dilemmas.  Their struggles are entirely different than the average viewers.  I’m not the owner of a multi-million dollar fashion house, nor do any of my family have such connections.  I also seem to recall that I haven’t married the same man 14 times and been married to at least six other men.  Sure I’ve suffered heart break, but not in the way these characters have.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m okay with product labeling to a certain degree.  I think in some ways, it is better to just describe items in a creative way, rather than mention labels.  Describe them in fine detail, to allow the reader a sense of how they look visually.  Just telling me it’s a Vera Wang does give me the faintest clue what I should be envisioning and only gives me an idea of the extravagant costs. If that is the purpose of mentioning the brand, that is fine.   Use labels to express a point–not just throw out names because “people will know these labels!”  An author once said something along the lines of “every word should serve a purpose.”  It’s a good practice.

If I were to publish a book now and list off a couple of major brands, who is to say those brands will exist in fifty or one hundred years?  Anyone reading the book that far in the future may have no idea what this label is–for all they know it’s fiction.  No matter the decade a book is written, I want people to connect to it.  Not by superficial brands that hold no real significance.   Not because smart phones are all the rage.  What has happened to characters and people relating by life?  Emotional conflicts?  Understanding and relating to their struggles?  What is your view on product labeling in fiction?  Do you find it acceptable or is it a nuisance?  How often do you use branding in your own work?

SDCC- What news excited this fan girl the most?

As many folks out there on the interwebs, I didn’t have the money to go to a con like SDCC.  It’s a dream that I hope to someday fulfill, but for now I must rely on the wonders of the internet to provide me with coverage. There was plenty of it.  My Youtube subscriptions were spammed with hundreds of videos, with most of them relaying the same information.  That was fun to sort through.  So what were my highlights for SDCC?  The things that got me pumped up?  OMGHEREIWILLTELLYOU!

The Legend of Korra

Promotional poster for Book 2 of The Legend of Korra.

I loved Airbender and when I heard they were planning a sequel, I started my internet detective work.  Learning that the avatar to succeed Aang was a girl, I was a little nervous at first.  I didn’t want a bitchy Avatar. . .or sappy one.  She’s strong and has a little of an ego, but I’m starting to suspect that is a trait in most of the avatars (even Aang would get a little of an ego from time to time).  She’s lovable and thankfully, nothing like I was imagining.

We spend book one with Korra as she struggles to learn air bending, experiences her first love, and put a stop to Amon and the Equalists.  The last episode of book one “Endgame” is by far my favorite.  The final scene between Amon and Tarrlok was sad and even I found myself pitying Amon.  It was a very satisfying episode and leaves me with high expectations for book 2.  From what I’ve seen of the trailer and miscellaneous photos across the interwebs, I don’t think book 2 will let us down.

Fans that attended the panel were treated to the first episode of Korra (I’m not jealous or bitter. . .much. . .really) and from the crowd’s reaction, it did not disappoint.  I am eager for book 2 to start, which they announced as coming sometime in September.  As usual, no set date.  That’s becoming a trend in every media.  The style used for the spirit world is very different from the show’s usual style, but looks amazing none the less.  It’s simple yet beautiful, but from what we were told by the panel it wasn’t necessarily easy to create.  How do you go about creating a world from 2-D artwork that has never been made into a vast world?  Props to them for doing such an acceptional job.

Warcraft

Warcraft logo from the game series

Oh Warcraft movie.  Just how long will you tease us with your rumors?  Will you ever grace our curious eyes with your presence?  Or are we to assume that you will never be created and leave a void in our hearts where your hopefully-awesome movie would have been?  Well, it seems the question of whether the film is DoA or in the works is over!  We have a teaser trailer for the movie!  Bad news?  Unless you were at the Legendary Pictures/Warner Brother’s panel at SDCC, you won’t be able to see the trailer.  If you’re curious what took place, there are a few blogs around with descriptions.  Thank you bloggers!  The curiosity would have killed me.

Duncan Jones, the man helming the project, says the trailer served as more of a mood piece, as production won’t begin until early 2014 and a release sometime in 2015.  Still, it came as a shock to everyone that any mention of the film was coming to SDCC.  We’re all use to rumors and disappointing news, which made the trailer a treat.  Whether the trailer will ever make it online I am not sure (as of yet it has no official outlet to be released), but it would be nice to see it someday.  Perhaps when Blizz-Con rolls around we’ll get a peek at it.  Rejoice Warcraft fans, your film was not abandoned!  Now to hope it won’t suck!

Doctor Who

Doctor Who Logo

Ok, a little honesty here.  I wasn’t looking forward to this panel at first.  Why you ask?  Well, to be perfectly honest I’ve been bummed since hearing of Matt Smith’s departure from his role as The Doctor.  He has played the part magnificently and I’m not ready to see him go.  Watching the panel was another painful reminder that he will soon leave us.  I know we will have an exceptional actor take his place, but it doesn’t help ease the hurt.

If you’re not up to date on your 50th Anniversary news, there are some old faces popping up.  Have you wished David Tennant would return as the Doctor?  Bring back that spiky hair of his and all his Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey business?  Well, you’re partially getting your wish.  Reprising his role as the tenth Doctor, Tennant along with Billie Piper will be appearing in the 50th alongside Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman.  How the two Doctors can meet and interact without causing a time paradox is beyond me.  A lot of the news was pretty much the same as I’ve seen on various sites and Facebook pages, but we did learn that the Daleks will be making an appearance in the special (Big surprise?).

As far as other old Doctors reprising their roles, there has been no word and most have denied any involvement in the project.  Disappointing, but I suppose the BBC thinks we’ve had our fill of past Doctors from the episode “The Name of the Doctor.”  It seems silly considering the inclusion of all the past Doctors would have been more fitting for the anniversary.  There is much speculation about John Hurt’s character.  I won’t go into my own theories, but from the their interaction in the final moments of the episode, the Doctor knew of him and his past, so it’s safe to assume he is not the next incarnation of the Doctor.

Despite the absence of our lovable past Doctors, I’m sure the 50th will be spectacular.  Our final journey with Matt as our adventurous and brilliant Doctor will be the Christmas episode.  I suppose Santa is leaving us a new Doctor under the tree. . .or in the Tardis.  Just as I accepted Matt in the role after Tennant’s departure, I will surely accept whoever comes next and hope they fill the shoes to the best of their ability.  Even though this past season wasn’t nearly as exciting as I had hoped, I still watched faithfully and enjoyed each episode.

If there’s one thing I miss about past series of Doctor Who, it is much of the mystery that was intertwined into the storylines.  It was fun to try and take a guess as to who certain characters were and what part they played in the overall main storyline.  I felt much of that was missed in series seven.  Clara’s identity was about the only mystery we were given and the reveal wasn’t nearly as shocking as I expected, but still cool.  “Nightmare in Silver” had a more David Tennant Doctor’s vibe to me, so I considered it one of my favorites of series 7.  It felt fun and goofy with that sudden change in mood that always comes in a Who episode.  The Doctor’s struggle with the cybernetic implant was marvelous and a highlight of Matt’s acting ability.  I will miss you as the Doctor, Matt.  I hope your career will remain strong!

The Kingkiller Chronicles

I think every fan of books, comics, and games wish that someday their favorite fandom is adapted into a series or movie.  Rarely they are translated well and disappoint their eager fans.  These potentially-great movies/series are often marred by the overzealous creative spin of Hollywood.  Cheap special effects doesn’t help either.  That said, it seems another great book series is set to take it’s turn on screen (in this case, the small screen).  While technically not revealed at SDCC (I could be incorrect, feel free to correct me and I will correct accordingly), Deadline revealed this news at the time of SDCC.  So I felt it was worth a mention, especially if you’re a Kingkiller fan like myself.   While excited, I can’t help but feel a little hesitant towards this project.

If they can pull this off as well as something like Game of Thrones, I will very pleased.  As long as they stick by the books, this could make fans very happy.  I hope any promise that is made to stick as close to the books as possible will not be broken.  Don’t pull a Sam Raimi on us, please(if you don’t get it, you obviously never saw Legend of the Seeker)!  I know there are some out there already making their cast wish list.  I have no one in particular actors that I can picture as our beloved characters.  Only hope that they pick actors that can be transformed into our characters with the help of their talent and good makeup artists.  Special effects are easy enough nowadays.  Anybody can hop into a 3-D program and make something decent.  Don’t go crazy with the budget on FX, guys.  We know you can make good stuff without blowing a huge portion of your budget.  Not that there is much FX to be had for quite a while in the first book.  Make it good, guys.  Make it good.

And now I present my WTF moment of SDCC

Firefly MMO

I’m sure you’re saying to yourself “oh no she didn’t!  Firefly is amazing you crazy woman!    WE SHALL BURN YOU!”  I know I know!  Firefly is amazing, I’ve watched the series and love it.  Here is the reason this made my WTF announcement of SDCC- why did we need an MMO?  You’re yelling at your monitor “but the Firefly universe is vast, crazy, and fun!  We want to explore it!  Don’t you?!” Honestly?  I have very little interest in a Firefly MMO.  While the idea of an MMO based off of the long-missed sci-fi show seems like a great and fun idea, I cannot see myself playing it.  There are so many games out there on the market of the MMO variety, that I can’t see myself getting into it.  Maybe I’ll try it out someday?  There’s a chance, but for now I have little interest in trying out this game.  Bring another movie or even the series back (a girl can wish, can’t she?) and then you’ll have me fan-girling out.

Honorable Mentions

There are some honorable mentions I’ll throw out there, but won’t go into great detail.  OUAT’s spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland made an appearance at SDCC.  I am a fan of OUAT, so I’m looking forward to this new series.  It puts a nice spin on the classic Lewis Caroll stories.  That is one thing I’ve enjoyed about OUAT.  We aren’t given the same stories we read as a kid.  It’s nice to have some surprise and not know whats coming.  The most noteworthy news to come is that Naveen Andrews, whom fans of Lost will know as the actor that played Sayid, will be playing Jafar in the spin-off series.

Batman and Superman in a movie together?  Oh hell yes!  I have yet to see Man of Steel, but I’ve always been a fan of Superman and Batman, so I’m hoping this movie will knock my socks off.  Superhero films tend to be a favorite among movie goers (and in general most do well. . .I didn’t say all).  I can’t wait to see all that caped-fighting action.

Warehouse 13/Defiance are the only things that keep me glued to Syfy.  So naturally I had to watch the panels.  Syfy has become sort of a running joke among science fiction fans.  Some of their original movies are so terrible that you ask yourself if they were meant to be satire and not taken seriously.  I sincerely hope not.  Fan favorites like Stargate and Eureka went the way of the dinosaurs, even though they had a wide fan base and unfortunately Warehouse 13 is following in their footsteps.  I’m very disheartened that Syfy is once again cancelling a show that I adore.  At least they’ll be able to give us more quality programming like Ghost Hunters and Sharknado.  Seriously Syfy, a channel that use to pride itself on showing science fiction programming shows Ghost Hunters?  It seems like you’re adding more paranormal shit every few months.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: The Dark World are coming.  DO YOU HEAR THAT PEOPLE?!  More kick ass fighting and dazzling special effects.  I know there was some mixed feelings about both movie franchises.  Go on any movie review site and you’ll have reviews ranging from “it was the most awesome movie of the summer!” to “it was all action and sucked buckets.”  Guys, it’s a superhero movie.  A movie that mashes up some of our favorite superheros (and the next movie promises a lot more of our favorites!).  It’s like Transformers.  You don’t watch it for the in-depth story.  You watch it to see them kick ass and blow shit up.  Also, awesome moments like this.

My last mention will be Gravity.  Yeah, Gravity.  I was not initially interested in this movie.  One afternoon my brother and I were checking out some trailers on Xbox Video and watched the trailer for this film.  I didn’t really have an interest in it, but after seeing some footage from Comic Con and an interview with Sandra Bullock and Alfonso Cuarón, I suddenly want to see this.  The prospect of being lost out in space with no way to communicate with Earth?  Floating freely with the Earth beneath you and only gravity keeping you from falling through the atmosphere?  I already have goosebumps.  Plus, George Clooney is in it.  That means I HAVE to watch it!

So in all, there was a lot of fun news from SDCC.  Some of it was great news that fans were expecting and some of it caught many off guard, but in a mostly positive way.  Some news was just kind of meh.  In all, I don’t think SDCC disappointed at all and I’m looking forward to what’s coming up in the next couple of years.