SFFTV: The 9 Lives (Episode 5) of Teen Wolf (Episode 7)
A week late and a few dollars short, here is the review for last week’s episodes of Teen Wolf and The 9 Lives of Chloe King. Both were a pretty big improvement over the previous week, but Teen Wolf still suffers from weak acting out of its main character, and 9 Lives still suffers from including were-cats. Spoilers Ahead!
SFFTV: The Alphas (Pilot) of Warehouse 13 (Episode 3.1) in Eureka (Episode 411)
Yes, I realize I’m a week behind in giving you some spoilery reviews, so perhaps they’re not so spoilery anymore! Regardless, last Monday was the highlight of my Summer and tonight will be even more exciting in a super geeky way – Felicia Day makes her first appearance on Eureka!! Yay! I know you’re all super excited about that. Quick thoughts – Eureka made a strong showing for its first episode of their half season, Warehouse 13 is definitely improved for having brought in a new character, and Alphas is giving me renewed hope in the Superhero genre. Spoilers Ahead!
SFFTV: True Blood (Episodes 4.2 & 4.3)
Wow I’ve had a crazy busy couple of weeks, but I’m back in the game and ready to zombify myself in front of the boob tube! And what better way to enjoy the boob tube then by watching a show with actual boobs? Yes, I realize these shows objectify women, but they also objectify men so it’s equal opportunity! Lots and lots is going on in Bon Temps and Shreveport, which is still the biggest problem True Blood has. So much is going on that I’m starting to forget who has which story line and which one I even care about! Tighten it up, HBO, or you’re going to start losing viewers like flies… (or humans at a Vampire party). Spoilers Ahead!
A Book by its Cover: Bioshock: Rapture, by John Shirley
This amazing new addition to the Bioshock world is set in an ultra modern city in which people live in enclaves based on moments in history. Our hero, Lewis Snodgrass, lives in an enclave that is obsessed with the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The peculiar ladies and gentlemen that live in this enclave are convinced that the sleek outside world is merely a facade to hide the moral and cultural decay of 2267. Mr. Snodgrass is prone to agree until the body of a nursemaid is found in an airlock having died of exposure to the toxic atmosphere that plunges New York into a perpetually crystalline twilight. Mr. Snodgrass’s investigation leads him to a seedy underground world of nanodrug use, a beguiling housewife, and an eccentric sculptor. John Shirley has successfully combined hard science fiction with Steampunk noir. The world created in Bioshock: Rapture is both sleakly futuristic and depressingly gritty. The delusions of the World’s Fair Enclave are a perfect metaphor for the topsy turvy future society. If I have any complaint it is that the main characters are somewhat dull and tend to blur into the landscape, but perhaps this too is part of Shirley’s scathing critique of a society in which people cling strongly to delusions, despite all evidence to the contrary. Occasionally the plot seems haphazard and poorly thought out, but the beautiful world building makes this easy to forgive. All in all, Bioshock: Rapture is an excellent book that is well worth a good read. Available July 19, 2011. (A Book by its Cover is our new weekly column in which we review a book based solely on the cover, without any other knowledge of what it is about. Any similarities in our review to the book are purely coincidental and proof that we are awesome)
SFFTV: The 9 Lives (episodes 3 & 4) of Teen Wolf (episodes 5 & 6)
You’ll have to excuse me, I’m having a skeptical day. Both episodes of both of these shows are getting a little obvious. It makes me wonder if ABC Family and MTV are under the assumption that all its viewers are ignoramuses (ok, yah, I probably should have realized this sooner.. I mean… look at their other programming). This is a distinct possibility, but it’s a bit condescending. I generally don’t like being brow beaten by clever story lines, because it means that they’re not all that clever to start with, but then again, maybe it’s because these are fantasy shows designed for people who don’t like fantasy. I’ll have to consider this possibility before I watch next week. Spoilers Ahead!
SFFTV: True Blood Season 4 Premier: "She's Not There"
Last Season of True Blood was, for the most part, much better than the second season, but it still lacked whatever quality made the first season such a standout. Hopefully Season 4 will return to that original core – a character study that just happened to have supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, the premier doesn’t really give me much hope for that. So here are my quick impressions of the new season of True Blood, because, to be honest, the first episode felt as if it only meant to give you quick impressions anyway. Spoilers Ahead!
