Categories
Fantasy Television

Grimm

You can now get the entire series in one collection: Grimm: The Complete Collection DVD or Grimm: The Complete Series Blu-ray.

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What is it about Grimm that makes it special for me? I love the way this show combines the crime and mystery genre with fantasy and creates a world that’s interesting to both mystery fans and fans of fairy tales and the supernatural. That would be me.

Subpages: Grimm Articles, News, & Content

Grimm

About the Grimm TV Show

What are Grimms?

Grimms are people who are able to see mythological creatures for who they really are and Grimms are tasked with the job of finding and stopping the bad ones. Detective Nick Burkhardt is descended from a long line of Grimms, and his aunt has returned because she knows she’s dying and that Nick is about to be introduced to his heritage. This is where Grimm opens in the first episode. In later episodes, he continues to make discoveries about his heritage and the creatures he keeps running into.

This is a show I expected to like, but after reading an advance review, I worried I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’m glad I watched anyway, because unlike the reviewer who wasn’t impressed by Grimm, I’m quite happy with the show and didn’t find the first episode to be anything but great to watch. In fact, Grimm was one of my favorite new shows of 2011.

Grimm has a place in my list of all-time favorite TV series.

Notable Characters

  • Nick Burkhardt
  • Juliette Silverton
  • Hank
  • Monroe
  • Rosalee
  • Captain Sean Renard
  • Wu
  • Adelind Schade
Categories
Fantasy Television

The Almighty Johnsons

The Almighty Johnsons

One of my favorite new shows is The Almighty Johnsons. The series is TV-MA so don’t go into it thinking it’s family friendly fare (although to be honest, I wouldn’t have a problem with my teens watching—it’s certainly better than them watching people dying at every turn a la The Walking Dead). Then again, the series is airing on Syfy too, I believe, and that version might be (probably is) edited so you can catch it there if you want.

What I like most about the show is the humor. I’ve watched the first three episodes and figure I’ll end up binge watching the rest because it’s just that irresistible. :D It’s laugh out loud funny in places and I love it.

Set in New Zealand, The Almighty Johnsons is a series about norse gods with very limited powers living among humans and Axl’s (Odin’s) quest to reunite with the goddess Frigg so they can regain their full powers and … well … not die. ;)

Can’t wait to see where this show goes.

Update! I finished out season one and I loved it. This is a great show. Seriously. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Links:

Watch The Almighty Johnsons Season 1 on Amazon Instant Video (US/Canada)

Buy The Almighty Johnsons Season 1 on DVD or Blu-Ray (US/Canada)

The official The Almighty Johnsons website, which indicates there are already 3 seasons (series in Kiwi terms) of the show

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
Fantasy Reviews Television

Hemlock Grove, a Netflix Original Series Let-down

The Monster Is Within

In the shadows of a rusted Pennsylvania steel town, the mangled body of a teenage girl is discovered. As they hunt for a monster among them, rumors mount and many of the eccentric residents become suspects, from the newly arrived gypsy family to the wealthy Godfrey clan. In the twisted world of Hemlock Grove, everyone hides a dark secret. From director Eli Roth (“Hostel”) comes a chilling supernatural series based on Brian McGreevy’s novel.

Series is at Netflix.

Although I watched every last episode of the season 1 available on Netflix, I had mixed feelings about the series, not the least of which involved some serious reservations about the ending.

The moment went kind of like this: you mean I watched all that for all this?

I gave the series three stars because even though I didn’t love it, if a season 2 makes it to Netflix, I’ll watch at least the first couple of episodes to see where they’re going next.

Still, by the end, I felt like I was watching horror moreso than paranormal or fantasy, which was more what I expected when I started watching.

I wonder what the book was like? I saw a movie tie-in edition with a new cover on Amazon tonight.

At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and the darkness in us all, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.

But does Hemlock Grove have “the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right?” I wouldn’t say that…. Not if the book doesn’t add something that an almost 10 hour series didn’t have.

Not at all.

Disagreement welcome if you have comments about the book or series. :)

Categories
Fantasy Television

Merlin Returns with The Darkest Hour Part 1

Merlin returned to Syfy with the The Darkest Hour Part 1 which aired on Friday night. Part 2 airs this coming Friday and promises more awesomeness from a TV I’ve missed.

merlin-darkest-hour

The family was thrilled to see Merlin and Arthur again too, although I did have to explain early on that a year had passed in TV time between the last episode of season 3 and the first episode of season 4. Gwen and Gaius discuss Uther’s condition early on in The Darkest Hour and use the opportunity to fill us in on where things stand, but for young ones I don’t think the passage of time was as easy to pick up on because that conversation was really the only time it was mentioned.

Morgana is back with a vengeance in this season opening episode. She splits open the veil between the living and dead and unleashes a terror on Camelot that puts everyone at risk. She’s also made aware of a threat to her future, but I won’t spoil it with detail. Suffice to say, Morgana is as much a threat as ever to Camelot and her resolve to flat out destroy them all only seems to be growing.

I look forward to next week’s episode, The Darkest Hour Part 2.

The Darkest Hour Part 2 airs Friday, January 13.

Categories
Fantasy Television

Grimm’s Future Not So Grim

grimm According to TV By the Numbers’ recent article on the topic of cancellation and renewal predictions, Grimm’s fate is looking good. That’s good news for this fan, because Grimm just happens to be one of my favorites to come out of the 2011 season of new shows.

Grimm is a paranormal fantasy series about a homicide police detective who finds out he’s a Grimm, descended from a long line of Grimms able to pick out a variety of mythological creatures and tell them apart from regular humans. The show makes for an interesting combination of police procedural and fantasy series, setting it apart from the equally fantastic Once Upon a Time, also a fairy-tale based fantasy TV series from 2011.

Will There Be a Second Season of Grimm?

NBC hasn’t had many hits lately, or at least nothing I’m still watching except for Chuck, which is in its final season. I tried Prime Suspect, because I am a fan of crime and mystery TV (probably one reason I like Grimm so much) but the show was dark, depressing, and generally unlikeable and has already been canceled. Why does this matter? Because Grimm is one of the few new shows doing well on NBC. That’s excellent news for the future of the show and greatly increases the chance of renewal for a second season of Grimm! :)

Categories
Fantasy Television

Merlin Season 3 DVD

The Merlin Season 3 DVD is finally available! It will be released on January 17, in a 5 disc set that contains the complete third season of episodes of this fantastical medieval TV series.

As an avid fan of Merlin, I encourage anyone who enjoys magic and fantasy TV shows to give Merlin a try. Adventure episodes are laced with humor and romance and delve into issues of trust and betrayal. I enjoy watching each episode, and season 3 has some really great episodes to further the story of Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Uther.

The Merlin Season 3 DVD Set

Syfy is about to begin airing season 4 of Merlin, where the adventure will continue with even more episodes.

About Season 3 of Merlin

Season 3 deepens the story, with several darker episodes, but there’s still that light-hearted, hope-filled feeling you get when you watch the show. Although I have an idea where things are going with Arthur, Merlin, and the rest, I can’t seem to quit hoping for a different turn of events!

This is the Region 1 set, for the U.S. and Canada.

Colin Morgan is Merlin, Bradley James is Arthur, Anthony Head is Uther (Arthur’s father, the King), Katie McGrath is Morgana, and Richard Wilson is Gauis.

Categories
Fantasy Television

Merlin Returns to Syfy with New Episodes Friday January 6

The Darkest Hour opens the new season of Merlin on Syfy on Friday, January 6.

In The Darkest Hour, Arthur and his loyal knights, including Lancelot, are forced to protect the kingdom when Morgana summons the mighty Callieach.

Merlin Season 3 DVDI’m looking forward to the return of a fantasy TV series I thoroughly enjoy. Slightly hokey, but completely charming, Merlin is a take on the coming of age of Arthur through the eyes of Merlin, a sorcerer in hiding in a land where magic is forbidden and using magic brings with it a death sentence.

The Merlin Season 3 DVD will be available January 17 so fans can add it to their collection of Merlin memorabilia.

Looking at the episode list for the new season gives me a lot of pleasure because it’s apparent there are some good episodes coming up. I’ve included the titles below, but not the descriptions, so no one reading this is spoiled for the upcoming season of Merlin.

Merlin Episodes Coming in Season 4

  • The Darkest Hour Parts 1 & 2
  • The Wicked Day
  • Aithusa
  • His Father’s Son
  • A Servant of Two Masters
  • The Secret Sharer
  • Lamia
  • Lancelot du Lac
  • A Herald of the New Age
  • The Hunter’s Heart
  • The Sword in the Stone Parts 1 & 2

Merlin stars Colin Morgan as Merlin, Bradley James as Arthur, Angel Coulby as Guinevere, Katie McGrath as Morgana,  and Anthony Head as King Uther Pendragon.

Categories
Fantasy Television

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter from Once Upon a Time

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is one Once Upon a Time episode that you really can’t afford to miss.

Two major events happened.

These events deserve a spoiler notice so you don’t have the episode ruined for you if you don’t like knowing what happened in an episode before you’ve had a chance to watch it.

Needless to say, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a special episode for these two very important and as yet unnamed reasons.

Spoilers below so don’t read on if you don’t want to know what happened in this episode of Once Upon a Time.

Seriously.

This is major spoilage.

Okay, you asked for it.

  1. Graham was revealed as The Huntsman when his memories of his past life came back.
  2. Graham died.

Of course Graham died. As soon as I realized his memories were returning and not likely to disappear because of some convenient something or other, I knew Graham was a goner. I had to convince the kiddies of that before it happened so that they could brace themselves.

I hate that this happened, because I actually really enjoyed the chemistry between him and Emma. But… the dramatic impact of his death was significant and well played. This episode will stand out as one of the truly excellent episodes of the season.

Both my son and daughter are very into this show though, and since it also makes the adult in me happy too, I have to say Once Upon a Time is one of my favorite TV shows to come along in a very long time. It fits into that place in my life occupied by shows like Eureka and Warehouse 13. Young enough to be safe for family viewing, fun enough to actually keep my family watching!

R.I.P. Sheriff. You will be missed.

Categories
Books Fantasy Television Tie-in Merchandise

Warehouse 13: A Touch of Fever

Warehouse 13 - A Touch of FeverI think it’s apparent I’m a fan of TV series tie-in novels for television shows I like. Today, I came across the first tie-in novel for Warehouse 13, a show I’ve been watching since it premiered on Syfy a few years ago. The book was published in June 2011 and I’m not sure how I missed seeing it then (oh, yeah, I do, but I’ll save you the drama… It’s not nearly as interesting as Warehouse 13 :)

If you’re a Warehouse 13 fan who also enjoys reading, you’ll want to buy A Touch of Fever.

Warehouse 13: A Touch of Fever is a story from Greg Cox based on the Syfy series Warehouse 13. In it, an epidemic of mysterious illnesses and reports of a psychic healer have Warehouse/Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering leading a dangerous investigation that gets Pete infected with a deadly disease. Myka, Artie, and Claudia have to find a pair of cursed gloves, stop a madman from unleashing a plague, and save Pete!

This is an official tie-in novel written by Greg Cox (New York Times bestselling author) and published by Pocket Books for Syfy’s Warehouse 13 television series.

Warehouse 13 houses historical and ancient artifacts that have supernatural/paranormal properties. Warehouse 13 is a top-secret facility in South Dakota where the most innocent seeming artifact can be deadly.

The book is available as a mass market paperback or as an ebook compatible with a variety of ebook readers.

Book Details

  • Warehouse 13 Media Tie-in
  • Characters: Pete Lattimer, Myka Bering, Artie, Claudia, others
  • Pocket Books, June 2011
  • Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
  • ISBN-10: 0743491734
  • ISBN-13: 9780743491730
Sci-fi fantasies