TIS THE SEASON... To binge watch

Happy holidays internet!  Welcome to the time of year where it's cold, you just want to stay inside.  You probably have a lot of time off from work and you will definitely be needing a break from the fam.  AKA the perfect time of year to cram in TV that it took other people years to watch.  Two years ago, I spent this magical time of year holed up in my apartment binging season after season of Doctor Who until I emerged that spring a brilliant sonic screwdriver wielding bow-tie wearing Whovian butterfly.  I never looked back.  But, dear reader, what SHOULD you be binge watching?  Maybe you gave up on a great show too soon, maybe you have been told a million times you should watch something but never did or maybe your watching the American version when you are wrong and should be watching the English.  Well no matter, here are my top 5 binge watch picks for this holiday/winter season from #5 you could probably skip this but it's worth trying to #1 if you aren't watching this you will die without knowing true entertainment.  Here we go.

5. Daredevil

Okay, so this comes AFTER the holidays, but what better way to bunker down during cold January days than to watch a blind vigilante kick some ass?  The best thing is that it's on Netflix, prime binge territory, especially since every episode is being released simultaneously.  I got a chance to see some clips at Comic Con and can I just say, the action sequences were MIND BLOWING.  I love Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, he is a great actor (even if he broke my heart on Boardwalk Empire (whats in the boooxxxx)) and with Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin... I mean COME ON.  I'm in.

4.  Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Now look, I know a lot of you out there gave up this show pretty early on, and I FEEL you, but I promise it gets better!  The show followed a rocky "there's a bad guy- find the bad guy- beat the bad guy" format, but after the release of Captain American: Winter Soldier the show got mind blowingly good.  I want to keep the spoiler free, but the repercussions for what happens in Winter Soldier change everything and the good guy vs. bad guy structure gets blown to smithereens.  So, I suggest watching Winter Soldier, then skipping the the S.H.I.E.L.D episode that follows then catch up to the season two mid-season finale.  Then you'll be good to go for the rest of season two!

3. Sherlock

Unless you have been living under a rock, it is almost impossible not to run into somebody fan-gasming over this show.  Why?  Because it's fucking awesome.  Cumberbatch and Freeman have been absolutely made for the Sherlock/Watson combo and the showrunning team of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (who does double duty playing the umbrella wielding Mycroft brother of Sherlock) write the perfect balance of mystery, comedy and mind blowing tragedy.  And the BEST part of binging Sherlock is that there are only 9 episodes.  That's right, 3 seasons, 9 episodes.  Each episode is an hour and a half but trust me, it doesn't feel like that.  The problem?  When you finish be prepaired for the MASSIVE hole in your life as often years go by between seasons... see you in 2015 you sexy detective, I'll be waiting.

2.  Doctor Who

Okay, this is a bit of a meaty binge.  The show has been running for over 50 years now, but the beauty of it is that you only have to start at the reboot.  Once this show gets its claws dug in you'll go back and do the research, trust me.  Now, if you have a hard to easing into the show (it can be a bit much) I suggest a watching order for you to get into it nice and slow.

• Blink- Season 3, Episode 11.   This is a very Doctor light episode, there is very little time travel, but you really get the gist of whats going on (and how dark the show can get).
• Vincent and the Doctor- Season 5, Episode 10.  This is a fan favorite episode, showing the depth of emotion the Doctor has.  Yes, there a few bits you may not understand do to the through-line of the show, but it's a pretty stand alone episode.  And it'll probably make you cry.
• The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances- Season 1, Episodes 9 & 10.  These two are probably two of my all time favorites.  A great combination of pure terror and Christmas joy make these two episodes stand out as almost a great little movie if watched in succession. 

If your not hooked after those four episodes, I don't think Doctor Who is your show.  If you get hooked, can't wait to see your beautiful Whovian butterfly wings in the spring.

1.  Orphan Black

If you are not watching this show, close this window, google it and BINGE!  NOW!  BINGE NOW!  If you have NO idea what I am talking about, be ready to get your mind BLOWN.  The show which third season starts sometime this spring, is about a group of women who are self-aware clones.  Tatiana Maslany flawlessly plays 8 clones (so far) in such a way that you forget its the same person playing each role.  Sarah Manning is sort of the main character of this multi-character drama, with her sassy gay brother at her side, she learns to grapple with her guinea-pig status being one of the worlds first successful human clones.  Oh and did I mention that all of season one somebody is spending a lot of time and effort killing them off?  Yeah it's pretty epic.  If you are a science geek, sci-fy/fantasy nerd or just plain old enjoy great acting, please please I beg of you watch this show.  Here, let me just play you a little clip of this awesome (spoiler free promise)

I hope you enjoy this holiday/winter season!  As you can tell my strongest binge suggestion is Orphan Black, if your a fan PLEASE comment begging people to watch... Maybe Tatiana will FINALLY get the Emmy she deserves!!

0-8-4

Welcome to my mind!  I still haven't decided how to blog about this show, because I get too excited!  So, here are my live bulleted notes about the show as I watched.  Last week it seemed a lot of people who read this blog were not vibing the show as much as I was.  I think the biggest problem is the characters thus far, you'll see what I mean when you read on.  Other than that I can't help fangirling over this show.  I'm really, really enjoying what I'm seeing.  FYI spoilers ahead.

• Marvel opening: yep, still excited about it.

• "Its gonna be blue skies from here on out."  BOOM plane ripped open.  I love me a good flash forward opening, I'm a sucker for that kind of writing.
• Skye signing on as a consultant is rustling Ward's feathers, but according to Coulson it's a calculated risk, but then again, "Technically Stark's a consultant."
• Fitz/Simmons, still super adorable, these could become my favorite characters easily.  I love.  Simmons the peppy adorable Brit, Fitz the kind of grumpy Scottish nerd.
• 0-8-4:  "It means... we don't know what that means."  An object of unknown origin, how fun!  What was the last 0-8-4?  Oh no big deal, it was just Thor's hammer... though I would think it would have been the tesseract... right?

• Again we are talking about what happened with Loki.  Coulson compares it to taking a bullet bbbbuuuuttttt I would disagree.  I think it's pretty clear that he is more than likely L.M.D.  Tahiti is the memory they gave him to fill the gap in time between his death and manufacturing. 

• Skye keeps wanting to tell everybody everything, but Coulson tries to make it clear that secrets are important.... then again the insanity in NY was no big secret.
• Is this going to be a lead up to Thor?  Is the 0-8-4 GOING TO LEAD UP TO THOR?!  It is the next movie coming out after all.  I'm just saying.
• What the hell is with May's past and why the hell did Ward call her "The Calvary."  SNEAK ATTACK!!!  I 100% did not see that coming!  A well timed, well filmed action sequence, BRAVO. I thought this was just going to be a boring, bonding, chat scene, but boy was I wrong.
• I watched this episode DVRed but of course I checked out the Thor sneak peak.  Hello my sexy Loki, your movie looks fantastic... I've missed you.  Oh, hello Kat Dennings, I forgot you were only in these movies to add humor.

Kat Dennings is funnier than me?

• Couslon speaks Spanish as well as Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  NY-ers, you know what I'm talking about.

• Looks like Coulson and this Camilla Reyes chick obviously know each other, greeting with a not so chaste kiss.  Oh you know they banged. 
• OK, I can't help but compare to parts of this show to Buffy, Fitz/Simmons taking on a bit of a cute Willow/Xander duo.
• BOOM!  Another explosion!  REBELS!!!  This show keeps taking me but surprise!!  Whenever you least expect it....  ACTION! 
• Did anybody else love that spinning/shooting scene with Coulson and Reyes?'

• the 0-8-4 is full of gamma radiation and is made of the same tech as the tesseract and was developed around WWII.  So that's Capt. America, Hulk, Thor and Iron Man all referenced in one moment.  I just can not get enough of the allusions to the other comics/movies
• The 0-8-4 has a Tesseract Fuel cell or as Coulson puts it, "The device filled by evil."
• Agent Ward is a bit annoying, but I think I will eventually get used to him.  He is the overly stereotypical military man who butts heads with the geeks and everybody who doesn't follow the rules.  Actually, I'm not in love with Skye either.  This tension in the group is a bit too much like The Avengers.
• Is it me, or has May only said like 5 words in these 2 episodes?  Can she talk?
• Soooo the 0-8-4 is a lazer weapon.  Great.
• Skye and Ward try to make friends with alcohol.  They bond a little too easily, even though Ward keeps insisting he is a one man wrecking machine and so not a team player.  This was probably my least favorite scene tonight.

I know I know this is from last week and I couldn't  find this weeks.  So sue me.

• "A hundred people with 1% of the solution, that will get it done."  What a great line!
• Reyes teases Coulson for his love of the past and his need to cling to things.  I was right, Coulson and Reyes did the do, but Coulson finds Reyes' directness suspicious.  At that point you know something is going down... how Ward figures it out is beyond me.
• OH NO! FITZ!
• After the commercial break Coulson has had a proper beat down, while the team is tied together in the cargo hold.  Of course, Fitz adorably blames himself because he "should have learned kung fu."
• Some of the truth about Agent May being "The Calvary" comes though, but what that exactly means... well, we don't know yet.
• Just like in The Avengers, the agents team up in the time of dire need, just like when Coulson died in the film.
• Turns out Reyes wants to use the 0-8-4 to take down the rebels.  A bit of a pedestrian baddie, but they need an excuse for action.
• May breaks her own wrist to get free, mother fuck-it she is bad ass.
• Reyes- You're having a midlife crisis.  Coulson- More afterlife.  Oooooh, how much does he know?
• Called it, "You gave them something better.  A common enemy."  Just like the Avengers.
• "You guys talk a lot."  -May.  Nailed it.

• I couldn't have been more wrong about how the action led up to the opening explosion.  Using the 0-8-4 against them was BRILLIANT.  I would never have never guess S.H.I.E.L.D blew up heir own plane.  I love when my expectations are subverted
• Didn't write much here, too involved in he action of a crashing plane fight sequence.  Sorry.

• No way a life raft would have stabilized pressure in the plane.  Just saying.
• The Slingshot.  Great name for a classified location.
• the 0-8-4 gets sent to the sun.  So much for this being an exciting lead up to Thor.  LeSigh.
• Skyes' connection to The Rising Tide is obviously a dangerous one.  Whatever she is up to, she is about to be a turn coat and it may be the most interesting thing about her character.
• AHHHHHHH NICK FURY! AHHHH!!! AHHH!!!! I LOVE THIS! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!  I can't, I can't, smiling this much hurts!!!

• "Yeah we're gonna have to kill the fish tank."  Best ending line ever.

Can't wait for the next episode, I am all in.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: I Can't Even!

OH!  OH!  I am just!  I... I... no. Words.  Silence.  I can't even.  I promise you, no other priemere this season will fill me with as much joy, as much pure undiluted happiness as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  There was a possibility of being disappointed, there always is... but this... this was beautiful.  This is what TV is for people.  Now, if your familier with my blog, I sometimes do a pro/con style where I jot down notes during during a show and bullet them out in a pro/con fashion.  But since this was SO AWESOME, I am giving you a Pro/Not-Really-a-Con list.  If you haven't watched READ NO FURTHER.  Not only does my list contain spoilers, but also you would have no idea what I'm talking about as this contains quotes and blurbs on memorable moments.  Enjoy!

PROS

• THE MARVEL MOVIE OPENING TITLE SCREEN.  You know it's good when you get excited over the title screen.

• The immediate tie-in to The Avengers movie was awesome, your automatically back in the mindset of the Marvel universe.
• I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Marvel action figures of the Avengers in the opening scene.  In this universe, these are real people, not comic book characters.  Isn't that cool to think about?  When a kid buys a Tony Stark action figure it's because there is a Tony Stark and he helped save the world.  I cannot describe to you how mind blowing this is to me.  Thank God I'm not high because this entire blog post would be about the awesomeness of these real hero action figures.
• BOOM!  Start off with an explosion.  That is how you mother-effing start a show
• I've missed Joss Wheadon's writing on TV.  Not only is it brilliantly hilarious, but always poignant, beautiful and makes you think.

• From an exlosion to an espionage scene!  WELL!  Lieutenant Ward gets one hell of an introduction in the field.  An can I just say, that is one super awesome serving dish he has.  Not only does it scan finder prints AND is an x-ray machine and you can use it as a weapon.  Also makes chili and fries.
• YESSSSSSSSS COLBY SMULDERS!  YES!!! I WAS SO AFRAID SHE WASN'T GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW!!!  I AM SO HAPPY!  I LOVE HER SO MUCH!  BBBAAAAHHHH I CAN'T EVEN!
• One of the best lines of the night: "It means somebody really wanted our initials to spell shield."
• Agent Colsen- best intro on a tv show ever "Sorry that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myslf."  Classic Joss Whedon delivered flawlessly.
• Thank God Coulson isn't dead!  When he was killed during the Avengers I pulled a Colby Smulders "COULSON!"  But no, he isn't dead... even if he was shanked by "Asgaurdian Mussolini."

• "I think it's a little poop, with knives sticking out of it." -Coulson.  Oh Wheadon we've all missed you!
• Oh man.  Oooooh man. "He really doesn't know, does he?"  WHAT DOESN'T COULSON KNOW!?!?!?!?!  OH GOD HE REALLY DIED DIDN'T HE! DIDN'T HE!?!?!  Oh gosh, is he, like, a clone or something?! OH MAAANNNNNN
• I am eating up all of the references to the franchise.
• There are so many great one lines, a half hour in I've decided to stop writing them all because they are all too too good.  Joss, you are my hero.  For real.
• Fitz/Simmons are adorable.

• Oh yes, I am even mentioning the commercials.  Forget Thor, GOD LOKI IS THE HOTTEST THING EVER.  I could watch him smile all day long.

Yummy.

• YES!  Referencing so much!  Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. is where S.H.I.E.L.D.  tested the Tesseract!  EEEEEEEEEE!
• Centipese?!  What is that?!  Are we setting up something?  Next avengers movie?  Can't WAIT!
• "Sweaty Cosplay girls" at Stark Tower!  Oh yeah, I'd do it.
• The truth serum scene with Agent Ward was brilliant!  I love anything that subverts expectations...Especially when a big tough muscly guy says "gramsey"
• "This is a disaster"  "No, it's an origin story"  Brilliant writing.
• Falling in love with Fitz: check

• OH MY!  The Super-Soldier formula that made Captain America is being used in a bad way!  I love that they are using each Avenger backstory and tying everything together.  Not to mention that just like in Iron Man 3, the people being experimented on not only get super strength but become unstable and can blow.  All of these connections are so exciting to me.
• Agent May kicks so ASS for somebody who doesn't want to do field work.

• Mike Peterson's speech about what are we compared to the superheroes and Gods is brilliant.  We read comic books and watch movies because we think of superheroes as amazing.  We call them heroes for a reason.  We look up to them, we want to be them.  But at the end of the day we know they aren't real.  But can you imagine living in a world where superheroes and big green monsters and GODS exist!  Not to mention attacking aliens.  Can you imagine how small you would feel in that world.  They bring it up in Torchwood actually.  They talk about how people start killing themselves when they realize how small they are in the universe, how much they really don't matter.
• OMG I almost died when I thought they shot Mike and SO relieved when it was just the "night night" gun.
• An O84.... WHAT AN O84?!
• BAH!  Lola is a hovercar!
• YEY!  The GRRRR ARGHHH ending title monster is back on TV!!

Not-Really-a-Con

• ::sigh:: I hate that even though X-Men and the Avengers live in the same universe, the franchises are owned by different companies.  So, we don't get mutants, we get "gifted".  I mean, to be fair, Mike was not in fact a mutant, but still.
• "With great responsibility comes... a ton of weird crap."  Again, Spiderman, same universe, different parent company.
• Coulson's gotten a bit more intense, which makes me believe that something is wrong with him... like he really did die.

I went in with high hopes and I was not disappointed.  Hello fandom, we're going to make a great fucking team.