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!!

Forget James Bond, Hellloooo Sherlock Holmes

This image is missing a few people, don't don't you worry you're pretty little heads my dear darling readers, I'll get there.

Back in 2006 the iconic British Spy James Bond came back, and this time he was Blonde, James Blonde, and just a sexy as ever.  I myself have never been a Bond girl, literally and figuratively.  He's kind of boring, just a bunch of shooting and drinking, with the occasional tumble in the sheets.  Let's be honest, M is really the sexy brains of the operation.  But Sherlock Holmes was already stirring in the background, quietly waiting in the wings under the alias of Gregory House, sparking something I hardly think anybody expected.

That's right!  I credit the whole Sherlock resurgence with Hugh Laurie as the infamous House MD.  With Gregory House as Sherlock Holmes, James Wilson as John Watson and Lisa Cuddy in an Irene Adler/Mrs. Hudson-esque role.  We even had a bit of a Moriorty in House's season long nemesis Tritter.   America, and very quickly most of the world, fell in love with the pill popping, sarcastic, never clean shaven, constantly rude genius, falling equally in love with the man who stayed by his side despite it all, Wilson, played beautifully by Robert Sean Leonard.  I'm not sure that even the people at Fox realized how huge the show would be, but season after season viewers loyally watched, even if the show went a bit downhill around season 5 when the it took a dark turn.  But why... WHY do we love this terrible terrible man?  Yes he saves lives, but often at the expense of not only his own team, but the patients themselves!  Is it just because we are waiting for the moments that he shows glimpses of humanity through he gruff exterior?  But with House a spark went off, a spark that led to a very new adaption of the actual Sherlock Holmes.

While House MD continued on, the people at Warner Brothers got their hands on a screenplay and ran with it.  House was working out rather well, and Holmes hadn't been put on film with any sort of seriousness since maybe the 50s so, why not?  Using the brilliant directorial talents of Guy Ritchie and a perfect storm of actors, new life was breathed into Arthur Conan Doyle's dusty character.  Robert Downey Jr was perfect for the role, being somewhat similar to Sherlock himself.  He is a genius on film, maybe not in the same way as Holmes but still, and Downey has been known for his snarky attitude, past bad behavior and lets not forget drug addiction.  Let's be honest  it really works.  So with his equally sexy counterpart Jude Law as Watson, well ladies and gentlemen we have a movie!  And this is not the boring Holmes of yesteryear!  No!  This is action packed steampunk Sherlock Holmes!  And the sequel did not disappoint, bring the steampunk themes out full force with Gatling guns blowing trees apart!  Fantastic!  But again!  Shelock Holmes is kind of a huge dick.  A huge dick with the mind of a computer, but he's spends a good part of the films poisoning Watson's dog, trying to ruin Watsons marriage and blowing apart their home.  And yet we still love him!

Hello Sexy.  Steven Moffet you wonderful creature you.  Teaming up and nerd-ing out with the equally genius Mark Gatiss to give us a whole new and very modern Shelock.  The love that Moffet and Gatiss have for Doyle's work is evident in every frame of this show, from the sets to the actors they choose.  The update is nearly flawless, Martin Freeman playing possibly my favorite Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch bringing his brilliant talent to the role (fyi if you haven't seen him play Stephen Hawking, please do because it's one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on TV, next to Claire Danes as Temple Grandin).  Cumberbatch by far plays the most removed Holmes, his genius out doing all of the other Holmes' I've described so far, but he also seems the most heartless.  This Holmes has no idea how to be human, even being described as a virgin as sex isn't necessary for his mind to solve puzzles.  We yearn for the moments when he breaks and becomes nearly human for the love of John, Mrs. Hudson and of course the love of his life Irene Adler.  Cumberbatch and Freeman play brilliantly off each other, Freeman constantly reminding Cumberbatch what social protocols are, pleading with Holmes not to leave severed body parts in the fridge or not to openly point out other's failings or not do a happy dance every time somebody ends up dead.  And here we are again, falling in love with a man who often more cruel than he is kind, but we worship him.

Step in CBS.  It worked for the BBC, lets do this.  Thus, Elementary was born, and if you can't have Benedict Cumberbatch, the next best actor you can grab is the ever brilliant Johnny Lee Miller.  As I have mentioned in other blog posts, Cumberbatch and Miller switched off roles as Frankenstein and his monster.  I've only seen bits and pieces, but Miller is fabulous, moving his body gorgeously as the monster, but he was so different from Cumberbatch's monster... that's what made the switch off brilliant.  Both actors played the same part so differently the show stayed fresh every night.  The same can be said for Elementary.  Miller may be playing the same character, but it's so unique you can't point you're finger and the TV and yell "He's not Ben!"  Elementary is another modern telling of the Doyle story.  In this version, Sherlock is a recovering addict and Liu plays his addiction councilor as the first female version of Watson.  Shelock is living in NY and helping the police while dealing with demons from his past.  Miller's Sherlock is a little more human emotionally than others, but is still ever the total tool, being rude to everybody in his path.  This show is relativity new, but already gaining notoriety... but again, why, why?

In the last 10 years we have seen more of Sherlock Holmes than any other re-inventable character, including James Bond.  But what is it about this character that we all love so much?  So much so that I haven't be able to take a single Shelock Holmes novel out of the library without being on a ridiculous wait list.  After finishing the book I just started I plan on breaking down and buying one.  But what exactly is it about the character that we love so much?  By all accounts he should be repulsive, but no, the more he pushing the more we want him.  Is it his relationship with Watson that we adore?  How Watson is able to bring real emotion to the seemingly uncaring man?  Or is it his genius, his ability to see more than we could ever dream of.  For Christ sake I don't even notice if my own shoe is untied half the time.  Maybe we watch just to see those moments of humanity and love that so contrast the Holmes we know.  Maybe it's just that they get such hot actors to play the same man.  That could be it.  No matter what, I have yet to find a Sherlock/John that I don't love, so keep it coming Hollywood/BBC, I want more!

Elementary my dear...

I am addicted to TV.  The first step is admitting it.  I am a media addict.  Even when I'm working full time I never miss a beat thanks to the technological blessing of the DVR.  Thursday nights are my CBS nights,  The Big Bang Theory (shout out to my dog Sheldon) followed by Person of Interest ending with the new series Elementary.  Big Bang is great but not much to talk about and while I try to love Person of Interest it never captures me for the whole hour, I tend to fade in an out just enough to know what is going on.  But Elementary, my dear, is really peaking my interest this season, let me tell you why....

Judging by my last post it should be pretty obvious I am not only a fan of Sherlock but a monster fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, not so much that I would call myself a "cumberbitch" but a fan none the less.  Now, I've actually been a fan of Johnny Lee Miller's since he starred in the sadly doomed Eli Stone (stupid writers strike, you also owe me for Pushing Daisies), so when I found out he would be playing Sherlock Holmes I was excited.  America had just lost House, which was basically Sherlock Holmes played by the ever brilliant British actor Hugh Laurie, why not replace it with another brilliant British actor actually playing Sherlock Holmes?  Great, good, fine.

I actually had a chance to be an extra in Elementary's pilot and nearly burst with excitement when Jonny Lee Miller walked onto set.  Than I saw Lucy Liu and was a bit leery.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Lucy Liu, hello she is a badass (and fyi she was really nice to us exhausted extras who had literally been up all night).  If you haven't seen her in Kill Bill watch it right now.  I just didn't see the point in changing Watson's sex, was it their way of modernizing the show?  Whatever, I guess I'd have to watch, so I did.

About 5 episodes in I was impressed with the show, LOVED Miller but couldn't quite put my finger on what was irking me.  Then I discovered Sherlock.  Mind.  Blown.  Not only because of Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman is a freaking genius.  He is the perfect foil to Sherlock and brings his own life to the show, there is such passion in him, he needs Sherlock and Sherlock needs him.  Liu's Watson, not so much.  Yes, they keep pushing this story that she secretly hates her job and secretly loves Sherlock's but she hasn't sold it yet.  Her character seems apathetic about everything and it seems like Miller is working overtime for the both of them, I can see in his eyes when he looks at her how much he needs her, but I don't get the same from her.  Freeman and Cumberbatch love each other, the fight and make up, they laugh and they cry.  Liu just looks sort of frustrated as Miller laughs and cries and works and begs for forgiveness and pines for a lost love and admits to mistakes you know it kills him to admit.  In fact, I enjoy Miller's relationship with Jon Michael Hill's Detective Bell so, SO much better.

But they show is still in it's infancy and I'm hoping Lui has some sort of mental breakdown or something.  BUT!  Coming attractions have hinted to Moriarty joining the party... AND WAS THAT VINNIE JONES I SPOTTED?!  That's right folks!  Bullet Tooth Tony is playing M.  Words cannot express my excitement.  I may need to get out more.

Comments please :).