Categories
Fantasy Television

Teen Wolf: I Saw It Coming and I Still Flinched

Who didn’t see the end of Teen Wolf’s “Silverfinger” coming? Who watched it and still screamed out at the TV like the girl that she is?

That’d be me.

I’m spoiling the episode below so if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read on.

Here’s a description of the episode “Silverfinger” just so you have a little eye-room before I spill the goods.

Scott’s friends pledge to protect him against him against an increasingly hostile enemy while Argent, Isaac and Allison search for answers through an old adversary from the Japanese Yakuza. At the same time, Stiles enlists Melissa’s help in figuring out exactly what’s going on with him.

Stiles in the HospitalIn an awesome display of incredible acting, Dylan O’Brien completely sold me on Stiles’ possession by a cold-eyed demon/spirit. Honestly, I knew he was a good actor, but the scene really blew me away. It’s no wonder his career seems to be heating up. The guy can act.

What a great boon to Teen Wolf.

I loved the episode for several reasons, but this last scene—this was the kicker. I’m salivating for the next episode, so I know someone did their job.

Teen Wolf is still a fantastic series. I hope this thing goes on for years.

Links:

https://www.mtv.com/shows/teen-wolf

Categories
Television

Eureka! Only One Episode Behind on Grimm

…and I’m saving it for Christmas Eve. I love Christmas themed shows, especially around the holidays.

My favorite Christmas themed series show EVER? Eureka’s special cartoon Christmas episode: Do You See What I See?! If you’ve never watched this episode, you should definitely take the time. It is still my favorite and I have a feeling it will stay my favorite for many years to come.

If you have Prime at Amazon, you can watch it now. If you don’t, both a standard definition and HD version is available for purchase.

Seriously, the episode’s a classic already.

Sheriff Carter (Colin Ferguson) and Allison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) are secretly planning the perfect holiday surprise for their kids. But a mysterious kaleidoscopic wave of color crashes over Eureka, leaving the entire town and its inhabitants animated. The episode features a stellar line up of guest stars lending their voices to a variety of characters, including Emmy Award-winner Jim Parsons, Edward James Olmos, Chris Parnell and Matt Frewer.

My original review of the episode (from my old eureka fan site)

Do You See What I See? has the entire town of Eureka (with a few exceptions) becoming animated. With the help of a Super Photon Generator and a little something extra, Carter, Allison, & the gang end up living out their own cartoon in one of the most inspired, funny, and memorable Christmas episodes I’ve seen from any television series, ever.

Several different styles of animation made an appearance in the episode (see the images to the right), and although I can tell them apart when I see them, I have no expertise when it comes to animation and cartoons so I don’t know enough to identify the techniques or styles. I do know there was traditional drawn animation and stop-motion clay animation in the episode.

Whoever came up with this idea was truly inspired. Although I do generally enjoy holiday specials from the TV shows I watch, I can’t say that I always rewatch in future years. In this case, I see lots of future repeats for myself and my family.

And some screenshots from the show.

Eureka Cartoon 1 Eureka Cartoon 2 Eureka Cartoon 3 Eureka Cartoon 4 Eureka Cartoon 5

Categories
Television Tie-in Merchandise

More Grimm Goodies

I have to say, I like the playing cards best, although the lunch box is just awesome. And the bust of Nick wins for top oddity in the bunch. I haven’t figured out what the Grimm Warlock series is just yet, but I sure do know what I could use those shot glasses for!

[They’re all gone now. Gotta be quick with the merchandise if you’re a fan/collector, because once a show is no longer airing it goes fast!]

Categories
Books Television Tie-in Merchandise

All Those Grimm Comics…

As someone who knows diddly about comics, I’m just going to throw it out there that I have no idea what “Photo Subscription Variant” means. But these are some awesome covers. I kind of like the photo covers, but I actually like the drawings best.


Grimm #2

Grimm #2 (Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #3 (Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #4

Grimm #4 (Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #5

Grimm #5 (Exclusive Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #6

Grimm #6 (Exc Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #7

Grimm #7 (Exc Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #8

Grimm #8 (Photo Subscription Variant)

Grimm #9

Grimm #9 (Photo Subscription Variant)

So does this mean they really are comics and not graphic novels? Yeah, I still don’t know the difference.

Categories
Books Television Tie-in Merchandise

Grimm: The Ultimate Companion Coming in … March 2014? You’re Kidding, Right?

Who doesn’t want an ultimate companion for a beloved show? But, uh, there’s a problem with this one, for Grimm. The book doesn’t come out until March 2014. Seems kind of … delayed. Or slow. Or maybe short-sighted is a better word. Or maybe there’s something in the book that can’t be there until the show has aired most of season 3. Or maybe they know something we don’t and the series is almost over and this will be the final word on all the Grimm goodness to be found on ABC this season.

Or maybe I’m stretching, like a short person for the toilet paper in Walmart (could it really get any higher up on the shelves?). It just seems to me that the best time to release something like this is when the series is just getting started with a new season. I mean, I believe there’ll be another season to come after this one, but the reality is, it isn’t guaranteed, at least as far as I know it’s not. Then again, maybe I don’t know a lot. Except that I’m short, and that Walmart hates short people. Thank God for Amazon.

So, here it is anyway. Just remember, you can pre-order if you want, but that’s going to be one long wait…

The book claims to be a 176 page paperback and it certainly does have a pretty cover. I might buy it just for that. Not that the picture is anything special (seriously, it’s the same one used on the comic book unless it gets changed), but just the way it’s put together with the title and the flourishes. Like I said, it’s pretty.

A full behind-the-scenes guide to the show, from costumes to special effects to make up and more, with exclusive production designs and images direct from the ABC studios!

Acclaimed show runners David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf reveal all about the development and ongoing creation of the show.

Read interviews with the entire cast of the show, including David Giuntoli (lead character Nick), Silas Weir Mitchell (Monroe), Bitsie Tulloch (Juliette Silverton) and more!

Links:

Available from the publisher at Penguin Random House

Categories
Books

Ha! Now I Must Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

How can I watch and enjoy the new Sleepy Hollow series as much as I do without knowing at least a little bit about the source material? I’m sure, at some point, I’ve watched a movie or cartoon or something, that tells the original tale, but I don’t remember when that might have been. So, a visit to Project Gutenberg later, I now have a copy of both the story in both ebook and audiobook format so I can get to it asap. :)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is a true classic and I can’t believe I haven’t bothered to read it before now.*

Amazon has a bunch of 99 cent versions but how much you want to bet most of those are just a repackaged version of what’s available at Project Gutenberg made by some enterprising individuals…? I’d bet a lot. I could be wrong, though, and I admit to that in advance.

Either way, I’m looking forward to giving this a read.

*Lies. I can totally believe it because there are very few classics I actually like. 

Categories
Books Television Tie-in Merchandise

Aunt Marie’s Book of Lore; More Grimm Goodness On the Way

On November 8, Aunt Marie’s Book of Lore is going to be available. You can get it now of course, but if you do, you won’t actually get it; it’ll be a pre-order.

Grimm: Aunt Marie's Book of Lore

Billed as “the real book of monsters,” it seems to me to be a clever little tie-in with the series that the more die-hard fans will get a kick out of. I love the idea of it, and I hope it lives up to the description that I’ve quoted below.

THE REAL BOOK OF MONSTERS, WEAPONS AND POTIONS AS SEEN IN THE SHOW!

This in-universe book explores the monsters, weapons and potions in Grimm with detailed pictures and descriptions. The book is Aunt Marie’s recording of the supernatural creatures she and her fellow Grimms have to defeat!

Inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales, Grimm is a cop-drama with a twist! A detective discovers he has the ability to see supernatural beings, including a reformed ‘Big Bad Wolf’ and the witch-like Hexebiester, along with many others.

And holy crap. Somebody thinks they’re going to like it…

Aunt Marie's Book of Lore Amazon rank (Nov 3, 2013)
Screencap: November 3, 2013

So there you go. Just one more thing to spend money on if you like Grimm.

Titan Books; November 8, 2013; 128 Page 11×8 Inch Paperback

You can find this book at most online book stores.

Categories
Books Television Tie-in Merchandise

Comic or Graphic Novel? You Tell Me. Grimm, Volume 1

Honest to God, I don’t really know the difference between comics and graphic novels, since neither are something I usually read. However, this is Grimm, and God knows I’ve about become obsessed with this show. Whatever it is, it has 112 pages.

See? Here are some screenshots of the interior. Beware, these screenshots could contain spoilers, so keep that in mind!

grimm-vol1-1
grimm-vol1-2
grimm-vol1-3

Comic or graphic novel? Is there really a difference? I’m all for someone enlightening me on this issue.

Grimm Volume 1

Grimm, Volume 1

Never-before-told stories, set in the world of the acclaimed NBC series, Grimm, by the show creators themselves! Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt, joined by his mother Kelly, Hank, and Monroe, uncover family secrets long buried during their adventure in Europe. Hunted by Verrat soldiers, their quest to destroy the Coins of Zakynthos reveals dark secrets and promises death for a member of the cast!

From the sample pages on Amazon, it sounds like there’s going to be a lot of Nick’s kicking-ass mom in this book, and of course, a revisit of the Coins of Zakynthos myth from season 1 and season 2.

Available on November 19.

Categories
Television

Isn’t It Odd How We Come to Watch Certain Shows?

I had never heard of Sleepy Hollow, mainly because my life has been full of other things this last year and I haven’t had time to keep looking for new shows to take up my valuable—but in short supply—time, when I came across a reference to it somewhere online. I don’t even remember where, but I was intrigued enough to do a Google search and discover the show was a new series that had only aired 2 episodes at the time.

Sleepy Hollow

Woo hoo, I thought. Something shiny and pretty … then I watched the trailer and wow, I loved it. I bought the 1st episode on the spot. Then I remembered that some channels like to put their episodes online early enough to make it worth watching right on the website, so I took a look and found that FOX is one of those channels. Both episodes were already available.

At FOX: http://www.fox.com/sleepy-hollow/full-episodes

I tried watching episode 2, Blood Moon, at FOX, just to see if it would be acceptable quality and it was okay. Or maybe “meh” is a better term for it, but it was good enough. But when I went to watch the 3rd episode a week later, something was wrong with the site. I waited a day, because I wasn’t in a hurry, but even though it came back up and the video played, I decided I liked the show enough to pick it up at Amazon. :)

It’s a lovely show. Creepy and exciting, and the cast and characters are a talented bunch.

There’s even a little website for the secret map: http://welcometosleepyhollow.com/.

Here’s what the show is about, in as few words as possible. (Quotes from FOX.)

…mystery-adventure drama…

In this modern-day twist on Washington Irving’s classic…

Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time…

…Lt. Abbie Mills … the two embark on a mission to stop the evil that has awoken along with Ichabod and that now is seeping into this once-sleepy town.

…Lives are in the balance, including that of Ichabod’s late wife, Katrina, who is trapped in a mysterious netherworld…

Shorter is better, sometimes. :)

Categories
Books Television

The Grimm Books Are Now a Series

The upcoming Grimm books…

On November 5th, the first of the Grimm books will be available. I have no idea how these stories will fall in with the canon of the series, but it should be a lot of fun to find out.

Grimm: The Icy Touch Grimm: The Chopping Block

So yeah, as I suspected, but not as I’d hoped, the cover image of The Icy Touch hasn’t changed much. They managed to get the title on there now, but I had to post a largish image just so it could be seen.

But, while grabbing  the image, I noticed there’s a second book on the way.

Like the former cover for The Icy Touch, the cover image for The Chopping Block seems to be a place holder. I guess when it’s finally published, they’ll add the title in the spot where “Book 2” now resides.

The Icy Touch (Grimm, Book #1)

Back in the 19th century a Wesen and a Grimm fight to the death. The Grimm wins, but the Wesen’s son escapes and vows revenge. In the present day, Captain Renard sends Nick and Hank to investigate an international crime cartel named Le Touche Givre (The Icy Touch). They discover this deadly gang is run by Wesen, and is involved in various illegal activities, including forced prostitution and drug pushing. As they close in on the gang, Nick begins to realize that their charismatic and dangerous leader is just as intent on tracking him down…

From the publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/226806/grimm-the-icy-touch-by-john-shirley/

The Chopping Block (Grimm, Book #2)

A cache of bones is found in a shallow grave in local woods… Meanwhile missing persons cases in Portland seem to be on the increase. As more bones are discovered, Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt and his partner Hank Griffin investigate – but there seems to be no connection between the victims… A brand-new original story set in the Grimm universe.

From the publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/226807/grimm-the-chopping-block-by-john-passarella/