My 2012 Television Line Up

theaquallama

My Netflix queue is extensive enough to make even the most hardy blush and yet, I still have t.v. shows that I must watch when they return this fall. I saw Penelope at Reading Fever produce a list of new and old t.v. shows that she must watch this fall and I figured I'd share my own. So here's the daunting list my poor DVR is having to face.

Favorites:

The Vampire Diaries

CW | Thursdays 8/7c | Begins Oct. 11

 The Vampire Diaries is a show a discovered when it was finished with its second season. I've been hooked every since. I love that it always keeps me guessing and never missing an opportunity to shake things up. I'm always left gasping and praying it's next week by the end of each episode and with the humdinger they threw our way at the end of last season, I'll definitely be glued to my couch all this year.

Supernatural

CW | Wednesdays 9/8c | Begins Oct. 3

Supernatural is another must-see for me. I'm so addicted to watching Sam and Dean fight it out against Supernatural forces and often times each other, that I go through withdrawals without their witty back and forth. And come on, Castiel is one heck of an awesome angel!

Suburgatory

ABC | Wednesday 9:30 | Begins Oct. 17

For me, the lead character Tess is exactly like Emma Stone in Easy A and since I love Emma Stone and Easy A, it's pretty much a given that I'll love this show. It's funny, sarcastic and touching watching Tess and her dad George try to muddle through Suburgatory together!

Once

ABC | Sundays 8/7c | Begins Sept. 30

I'd argue that the tagline got it all wrong. Magic already came via the first season of Once. I was really hoping to love it and by the third episode I was totally hooked. One of my favorite things about last season was trying to guess if the curse was real. I'll be interested to see where the show goes now that we know it is.

Face Off

SyFy |  Tuesdays 9/8c | Began Aug. 21

I'm not normally into shows where people compete. I watch Top Model and Design Star when I'm board and re-runs are on but Face Off is the exception for me. I love seeing what magical make-ups the contestants come up with each week and the themes for each show.

Grimm

NBC | Mondays 10/9c | Began Aug.13

I love this show but I can stand to miss an episode here or there and then watch a few in a row. They always catch my attention when they are on but I want more Monroe and I definitely want to see Nick's fiance Juliet get in on the Grimm truth.

Awkward.

MTV | Thursdays 10:30/9:30c | Began June 28

So is Jenna going to end up with Matty or Jake? Like Suburgatory, I can't get enough of Jenna's dry humor. This show always has me laughing and I really like all of the characters on it.

New Shows:

Revolution

NBC | Mondays 10/9c | Begins Sept. 17

I heard about this show during the Comic Con coverage and it sounded awesome. I love that the main character is a girl and since I'm a huge fan of Billy Burke and he plays a kickass character, I think it's going to be awesome. Plus, I love the concept of electricity going out.

Elementary

CBS | Thursdays 10/9c | Begins Sept. 27

I love Sherlock (the book and the BBC version) so I figure I should give this one a try. I think it's also really interesting that they made Watson a girl in this one and I'll be interested to know how that changes the dynamic between these two characters.

Doctor Who

BBC | Saturday 9/8c | Sept. 1

Doctor Who isn't really a new show but since I've never watched it on air, I'm considering it new to me. My hubby and I watched the entire series in a few weeks and now we are all caught up and can't wait for Season 7.

Arrow

CW | Wednesdays 8/7c | Begins Oct. 10

Super hero story can be done on television because Smallville was such a hit. I just hope they can bring a little of the might to Arrow. If anyone can do it though, it's going to be the CW. They always have a good track record in my book.

Beauty and the Beast

CW | Thursdays 9/8c | Begins Oct. 11

I love Beauty and the Beast and I enjoy re-tellings so I think I'll like the spin on this one. I'm interested to see where it is going to go and how the season is going to play out.

I'm also thinking about 666 Avenue but it all might be too much. To add to that, I know The Carrie Diaries and Cult are must sees as well. Luckily, the don't air until mid-season!

So what is your t.v. schedule looking like this fall? Hopefully it isn't as daunting as mine is.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: From T.V. to Comics

My blog has sort of been taken over lately by t.v. shows I'm loving right now because I've been spending a lot of time watching and not as much reading. I think this is fine because I love doing both things! I just finished the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which is most excellent. I fell in love with pretty much all the characters and you can bet I'll be doing more posts on it. But today I want to talk about my thoughts before I take the leap from watching Buffy, Xander and Williow on my t.v. to reading about more of their adventures in comic book form.

My first thought is overwhelming relief. I spent a little under 144 hours watching these characters grow up right in front of my eyes. I've seen Buffy die (twice), save the world a lot, seen Willow deal with losing both Oz and Tara as she makes her way in witchcraft, and seen Xander date his way through most of the girls on the show. So when the show was over and the last line of dialog spoken (by Dawn actually) I knew I had to figure out where these characters are going. This lead me to the comics which I'd always known were out there but never thought I'd read.

So for the past few nights, I've been living on Wikipedia, trying to figure out which order to read them and if I'm interested only in some or all. I've decided to start with the continuation of the series with the Season 8 comics but I've also decided that I want to read them all so I'll be going back into earlier seasons and snatching that Spike bind-up.

With this decision, I've also had one big worry. Will the comics live up to the brilliance of the t.v. show? As a self-proclaimed Whedon-addict, I've always said that I love the writing in his scripts. But will I really feel that way when I don't get to hear Sarah Michelle Gellar "-y-ify" regular words like "jello-y" or when I don't get to see Alyson Hannigan's face turn blank before she says something optimistic or hear Spike's British accent. Will it matter?

The truth is, I'm not really sure. I'm not sure if a bunch of words and drawings can take the place of people that feel real to me. I'm used to their mannerisms and what if those can't be captured in the pages of a comic book? I know they did a good job with drawing the characters to look like the actors who portrayed them on screen but what if I can't recognize the character in one panel? Watching it on t.v., I got to see a close up of the character's face when they were talking and got used to their voices. No longer will this be the case. Now I'm going to have to do the acting in my head. I become the actor. And I'm not a good one or I'd be doing that for a living.

Plus, comics are not somewhere I've tread before so I have no idea about the terminology, how to navigate that section and how to even read them. It's like learning how to read all over again and it's scary. I'm just really hoping that all this work of organizing where everything fits in the world, figuring out what all the different companies producing them means and re-working my brain to understand them makes sense.

There is only one way to find out. So I'll dig into this Buffy comic and see if my fears will come true or if I've found something else to love. And then I'll let you all know how I feel about it in a review. Let me grab that stake in get stabbing. Wish me luck!

Have you read the comics or have you been thinking about getting into them? Let me know what you think!

Nerdy T-Shirts Part 2

This is the second showcase of some of the nerdy shirts I've found on a website called RedBubble. Last time I showed you Doctor Who and Dr. Horrible. Today I'm going to show you more nerdy goodness. All of the links will lead back to the website if you decide you want to purchase them. I know that this gal will be getting a few soon. My birthday is right around the corner and if I'm not spending my money on books, it might as well go to nerdiness!

Here are some things I found for all you Supernatural fans:

Castiel Quotes

Winchester Bros Racing

Supernatural Quotes

This Road So Far...

Keep Calm and Call the Winchesters

Crowley's Inn

Castianity

Winchester & Sons

Supernatural

Winchester Bros World Tour

Ghostfacers

Sam Quotes

Dean Quotes

Prayer to Castiel

Idjits

Just for funsies... Team Derp

Staying on the slaying binge, here are a few Buffy the Vampire Slayer shirts followed by a slew of Joss Whedon ones (since I'm in love with him):

It Must Be the Bunnies

Buffy the Riveter

Our Lady of Sunnydale

Sunnydale Cleaners

Joss Whedon

Whedon Assemble

So there are some of the nerdy shirts I found for this batch. I've got even more coming up soon with The Princess Bride, Big Bang Theory and other things. Make sure to stick around for those!

Let me know which ones you love!

Doctor Who Merchandise

My hubby and I have been watching a couple episodes of Doctor Who every night and have been walking around saying "exterminate" to each other non-stop. I decided I need to show my love for the Doctor (said in a British accent, of course) by checking out some of the merchandise offered. I've found some really cool t-shirts and toys that you've got to check out if you are a fan. Who knows, we might even be getting the same things!

Check out some of the awesomeness I've found that every Doctor Who fan should own!

Here are some fun toys and gadgets:

The 10th Doctor's Screwdriver ($20.50)- How awesome is this? It's a UV pen and has a UV light too! Super cool!

Dalek Alarm Clock ($39.99)- Can you imagine waking up to "exterminate" every morning? The alarm clock noise is awful anyway so why not wake up to something funny? Plus, it projects the time on the wall. I need this. Definitely a must for us!

Spinning Tardis ($39.99)- Perfect for any fan to sit next to their desk. I love that is spins and floats in midair. I think this is a really fun desk accessory. My hubby collects fun little things for his desk and this is perfect!

Tardis Plushie ($20.99)- It lights up and has phrases if you squeeze it. How could a girl not want to cuddle up with her very own Tardis? I need one!

11 Doctors Figurine Set (129.99)- This is another perfect pack of items for desk sitting. My hubby loves to collect action figures around his desk and this set of Doctors are perfect. Imagine them standing next to the spinning Tardis!

Tardis USB Hub ($26.34)- This provides 4 extra USB ports and anytime one is plugged in it makes sounds and flashes lights. A must have for computer geeks!

Tardis Salt and Pepper Shakers ($14.99)- How cute is this? I'd love to have Tardis salt and pepper shakers!

Red Dalek Ornament ($18.03)- This is painted glass and will look great on any fan's Christmas tree. They have a Tardis one too. So in love!

So there are my list of must haves! Would you own any of these?

Stay tuned for some awesome t-shirts tomorrow. Though they aren't all going to be Doctor Who related, there will be plenty of nerdiness!

The Doctor (Who?) is in this House

I've been just a wee bit distracted these past few days and it has happened completely by accident. So basically I was wandering around Netflix, looking for something to watch when I just happened to give Dr. Who a try. I mean, I've heard of it before and know it has a cult following and I knew the basics--time-traveling alien with a blue police box called the TAR-something. Heck, I even had a t-shirt that featured the good Doctor on it though I didn't know it was the Eleventh Doctor until very recently.

But I digress.

I started out slowly, an episode or two every few weeks but these last couple of days, I've become sort of hooked. Now it's like an obsession. It's killing me to go to work and have to stop watching and I can't wait to get home and continue.

On my down time, i.e. when I am working, I've read up on the show. I wanted to understand what these numbered doctors mean so I went to Wikipedia and starting reading. For those of you who don't know, this show was started 1963 and went through 26 seasons plus a whole slew of specials. Then it was canceled and didn't reappear until a made-for-tv movie in 1996 that was supposed to revive the series though this didn't happen. Finally, the series was revived in 2005 and is still going strong today. What these numbered doctors are is a clever way to keep the show going but to "pass on" the role of the Doctor to different people.

Basically, in the show they have given the Doctor the ability to regenerate himself when he is dying so that he will have an entirely new body (thus giving someone else a chance to play the Doctor). I think this is beyond genius because they have created a potential never ending show since they will never lose their main character. So that is where the numbered doctors come from. The Doctor has had 11 reincarnations so they label the Doctor by his reincarnation. So the 2005 show started with the Ninth Doctor and it is currently broadcasting the Eleventh Doctor.

I think this might be the most genius thing I've ever heard of. It allows the show to go into whatever direction it wants to go in and can change actors (or give them the ability to leave) at the drop of a hat. I'm also obsessed with this idea that the Doctors pick up "companions", that is to say people/aliens/robots to travel with them for company.

I'm currently in Season 2 which has just introduced the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant whom I think I am really going to like. It's funny because my first memorable encounter with this actor was him playing Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter so it's hard for me to look at him as the good guy. However, his sexual tension with Rose is absolutely delicious and as I continue watching, I'm finding it hard not to love him. This is particularly impressive since the Ninth Doctor forced me to like him even though I didn't find him all that handsome (which for me made me like him all the more).

I like that he his witty and talks very fast, especially when working something out, but it also gives him just a bit of untrustworthiness because he could very well be insulting you in the middle of it and you might never know. I also like that he doesn't realize he's being rude and has to often ask.  He sort of like a fast talking New Yorker who is actually British.

Basically, I'm hooked. I really like watching this show that combines good old fashioned horror with strong sci-fi elements, time traveling, a dash of romance and lots of fast paced dialogue ala Joss Whedon. So that's my update. I plan on blogging about how Doctor Who is like my other favorite childhood tale Peter Pan in a few days so keep your eyes peeled if you are a fan of the show or are thinking about getting into it. I'm also going to post some fun merchandise I love soon too!

So what about you guys? Seen it? Plan to? Love or hate (but if you don't care for it, keep the comments respectful--not that you guys won't since you are all wonderful)?