75 Years of Batman

Happy Batman Day!! Today marks 75 years of the Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. Comic and book stores nationwide are hosting special events, parties, games, and giveaways for this momentous occasion. Some celebrations are even lasting through the weekend. As they should:

 Even Batman's fortune cookie fortune is heroic

"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now...Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight."



I don't know a hero more deserving of his own day. So many styles have shaped his suits and many fortunate actors have donned the mask and cape that are synonymous with justice. I've had a great day and I hope you have too. Did you do anything to celebrate? 

Now, "riddle me this, riddle me that. Who's afraid of the big, black bat?" ;-)

True Blood Episode 7.5: It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

This week on True Blood, Sookie finally mourned the loss of Alcide...sort of. It all goes back to the fact that Sookie never loved Alcide as much as he loved her, that it's difficult to empathize with Sookie's stifled emotion.

After sleeping for a day, Sookie wakes up to Jackson Hevereaux at the Stackhouse home helping gather up Alcide's belongings. Lafayette and James are throwing a party to celebrate life and Sookie reluctantly agrees to host. The party basically goes off without a hitch and has high points like Andy and Jessica reconciling, Andy's proposal to Holly, and powerful toasts honoring the memory of Alcide and Tara. However, the party has its share, to be expected, of shenanigans arise. Jessica finds James and LaFayette getting their doggie style on in the car James and Jessica bought together; Jason rescinds James' invitation to the Stackhouse residence. LaFayette lets Jessica know that while the situation is messed up, she needs to love James or let him go so that he can have happiness of his own. In a moment of vulnerability Jessica has sex with Jason. If Violet wasn't crazy before, hearing Jason and Jessica having sex is bound to make her go batsh*t. That scorn looks like it will be making its way to Adilyn, and Jessica and Violet will be going toe to toe.

Lettie Mae stabs Willa in the dining room in a continued effort to contact Tara through the power of vampire blood. (A storyline, might I add, that is quite tiring.) Nicole isn't used to the Bon Temps lifestyle and loses it. Crazy crap has been happening in Bon Temps for years and her mind is blown while everyone else continues partying. I have a feeling the prospect of possibly bringing a were-baby into this world is going to start to weigh on her. Sam better watch out.

On the other side of the border Eric and Pam are on the hunt for Sarah Newlin who is on the hunt for Laura Bush. "I'm not a monster. I'm a Buddhist," Sarah tells her mother at a Republican party. Unfortunately, Sarah is also a target on the Yakuza hitlist. The Yakuza bust in on the party killing all attendees, including Sarah's parents. Eric gets his bloody revenge on the Yakuza assassin who killed one of his many loves and momentarily gets his hands on Sarah.

In a startling turn of events, after numerous flashbacks to Bill's former life with his family, it appears that Bill, too, has Hep-V. I can't help but wonder if the power of fairy blood would help cure vampires of Hep-V. However, that would open up another can of worms as those with fairy blood would become delicious targets of vampires across the nation.

There are only 5 episodes left before True Blood meets its true end. At this rate, I just expect more main character deaths and only a couple happy endings. As for heroine-ish character Sookie, I've got my money on her ending up solo, but content.

What did you think of tonight's episode of True Blood? How do you think these last 5 episodes will play out?

Teen Wolf: Full Moon Rising

Photo credit: Zap2It.com

If you haven't been watching Teen Wolf on MTV then you're missing out on life and need to watch it...right now. At least that's what my brother told me last fall before we binged on seasons 1-3A on Thanksgiving weekend. Food coma? Forget 'bout it. I was too engrossed in this fun, refreshing, supernatural show to sleep. Season 1 took a little while to gel for me. As you can expect, a shy high school lacrosse player getting turned into a werewolf while trying to juggle a part-time job, a budding teen romance, and full moon shifts is definitely awkward. However, the seasons progressed seamlessly with strong character development, structured storylines, and action. Although the writers were attempting to introduce a diverse pack scenario, fitting the past characters together felt a little like trying to fit triangles into round peg holes. Derek brooded under his eyebrows, the twins were never fully trusting or trusted, Allison had a reoccurring identity crisis, and not a day passed when Scott wasn't Alpha-shouting "ISAAC!!"

Fast forward to season 4 and I am in LOVE with this colorful, fearsome, gender balanced pack! 

1. Scott is coming into his own as Alpha pack master with a roar that shakes the earth.
2. Stiles is the witty brains of the operation.
3. Lydia is an intelligent, feisty Banshee.
4. Derek broods with a little less brow.
5. Kira is a spunky, Katana wielding Kitsune.
6. Malia is a sassy, but slightly socially awkward, were-coyote with a quick tongue, much like her V-neck loving werewolf father Peter.

Season 4 started off with an action packed trip to Mexico and glowing nunchucks! Teen Wolf is currently exploring mysterious pasts while introducing new, creepy villains. I'm on the edge of my seat Monday nights and I can't wait to see what happens next. It is literally only the call of the wolf that gives me the energy to stay up past 10 pm. :-)

True Blood 7.3 "Fire in the Hole" Vent Post

SPOILERS: If you have not yet seen True Blood episode 7.3, turn away now, but return after watching so we can chat about the details in the comment section below...

There have been a lot of weak storylines in the past three episodes that just feel like fillers, such as the return of Sarah Newlin. At this point in the series finale season, fillers are just unnecessary and are contributing to the rushed feeling of storylines and character development. A sick Eric was once again rude to Pam, while in full out emo mode, and viewers were suddenly supposed to feel some type of emotion over the loss of his past shag buddy, Sylvie. It was really just a way to introduce a new villain-ish entity.

After shooting Jessica in the shoulder during a stand-off in the road, Maxine Fortenberry has her heart ripped out by Violet. All the other filthy humans fled like roaches, but would unfortunately return at the end of the episode for what would send me into table flipping mode. 

Apparently True Blood's final season promo "Goodbyes Suck" was actually a foreshadow for the sucky ways in which major characters, we have grown with for years, would meet their final deaths. The season premiere, 7.1, brought the death of Tara, off screen, leaving nothing but a bloody pool of her remains. Those close to her didn't really mourn her true death, and the reason seemed to be because she had already "died" once before.

Tonight saw the death of fan favorite, Alcide, which viewers paying attention could probably see coming from the start of the episode through a series of events that played out like this:

1. Sookie leaves Alcide behind at the house without a word of her plan to go with Bill and get taken by Zompires to the other hostages.
2. Alcide goes to Compton Manor in search of Sookie and then follows her trail.
3. While sitting in the woods as bait, Sookie proceeds to tell her "gal pal" Bill that she does not love Alcide as much as she knows he loves her and she could live with him loving her less. You know, in order to eliminate some of her guilt.
4. Alcide and Sam come to both Sookie and Bill's rescue as Alcide ganks a Zompire.
5. Alcide immediately shows concern for Sookie's well-being, instructing her not to open her eyes or mouth to Zompire blood without first bathing in the pond.
6. While naked in his human form, Alcide is shot in the head and heart by the filthy humans hiding in the bushes.
7. Sookie doesn't cry over Alcide's body half as hard as she did when Bill came to her rescue against Rene and got fourth degree vampire sunburn. 
8. All in all, in an effort to save Sookie from another one of her misguided attempts to "keep anyone else from dying" Alcide pays the price and gets killed.

Now, due to past seasons' lackluster writing, Alcide and I haven't always seen eye to eye. However, it's apparent that, just as Sookie said, he is a good, grounded man. A whole lot better than the other men she has let into her heart and bed because, let's be honest, Eric was only going to look out for himself, Bill used Sookie for everything but her fine china, and Ben tried to kill her. I don't know what to say about the direction these writers have been going. If anything, this final season was the time to truly utilize Charlene Harris source material to tie up loose ends and significant storylines. Think X-Men: Days of Future Past. Sometimes fans will overlook plot-holes if it means giving them the ending that will make them happy, rights wrongs, and shows respect to the characters and series that started off extremely strong. I can't say I'm excited about these next few episodes, especially considering that it feels as though more characters will die, but after seven years, I am interested in seeing how the show will end.

Fellow fans, what was your reaction to the loss of Alcide (Joe Manganiello) on True Blood? What did you think of this episode? How do you think the show will end?