Victoriawood Reports

Elementry

2012-09-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Season 1 Episode 1 **

Tomorrow night the premier episode for CBS' new series Elementary airs, but the trailers have already garnered a fair amount of criticism. The biggest thing against the show is the character names.

I haven't seen one criticism for the fact that we don't need another detective / crime-drama series. I haven't seen much made about the story or script, other than places where this series is Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

We already have two versions of this in popular media, the Robert Downey Jr. film franchise and the Steven Moffat produced / Benedict Cumberbatch lead miniseries on BBC. Both are true enough to Sir Conan Doyle’s original version that a divergent version, coming to modern day New York and replacing Watson with a female, is unwanted by the biggest fans. The series already has a 60% disapproval rating on YouTube, and that's before it hits the air.

Having seen the full episode I can say it reads very much like any other crime drama. What will set this series apart from Gil Grissom, Columbo or Monk? Will it be the Lucy Liu played female co-worker? Nope, Monk and Grissom both had that. Will it be the quirkiness of the lead character played by Jonny Lee Miller? Nope, Columbo and Monk not to mention Law & Order's Robert Goren, were far quirkier. We'll have to watch the show to see, but if they don't establish it in the first few episodes, this may just be the series that Golden Boy replaces in the post-Christmas part of the season.

The Power of Three

2012-09-22T22:43:00.001-07:00

The Doctor Who episode The Power of Three (or The Invasion of the Very Small Cubes) was a great tale mixed with the pending departure of the Ponds. Mark Williams 266(Harry Potter) was back as Rory's dad, and made a great addition to the team, even if he did get captured by the Shakri.

At one point I was noticing that it was taking a while to get in to the meat of the story in this episode, but I think that was the idea. It was a year that they had to wait to figure out what the cubes where, and as to many shows do, you can't rush by a year in 15 minutes.

The Ponds discuss the need to make a choice between real life and their ten years of Doctor-life. Every turn they're shown that while they enjoy Doctor Life, if they`re ever going to live this life they need to do so, and not cling to him, like an addict to their dealer.

The introduction of Jemma Redgrave 0 as Kate Stewart of U.N.I.T. was interesting, as Torchwood seems to be gone, now UNIT can re-emerge as the Doctor's de-facto taskforce, I'm sure Producer Steven Moffat has big plans for her and an interesting storyline over the next two years, that she'll be a part of.

Dialogue for this episode:

Rory: There couldn't be life forms in every cube, could there?
Doctor: I don't know, and I really don't like not knowing.

Doctor: Since when does science run the military?
Kate Stewart: Since me.

Kate Stewart: Science leads, he always told me. He said he learned that…from an old friend.
Doctor: We don’t let him down.

Rory: What do you think we do when we are not with you?
Doctor: I imagine mostly kissing.

The Hobit-Trailer 2

2012-09-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the second trailer for the most Unexpected Journey that Peter Jackson 313 will take us on? Amazing!

Visuals, sets, costumes, make-up, cgi, everything is right at the top of his game. I expect Globe and Oscar nominations in nearly every category, how can they not?

Apparently a second piece of Peter Jackson related news hit the net today to, this Doctor Who related.

BoingBoing reported that Matt Smith was interviewed by New Zealand's The Waikato Times in which he stated that he'd love to visit New Zealand to shoot an episode of the show, and while they're all there, how great would it be if Peter Jackson was in the director's chair?

"I think it would be an absolutely wonderful place to film Doctor Who,'... Let's get Peter Jackson to direct, and go and make it in New Zealand. I would love to, I will campaign endlessly to come over and film there."

When asked by The Waikato Times for comment, Jackson said:

"I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and I think Matt's fantastic. Just name a time and place, and I'll be there!"

A Town Called Mercy

2012-09-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

**

The idea of The Doctor in an American western town is appealing and I was excited to see A Town Called Mercy, as the episode advertised having a Cyborg Gun-slinger, but then I watched it.

The opening narration by Joanne McQuinn 2 as Sadie, "Growing up, my favourite story was about a man who lived forever, but his eyes were heavy with the weight of all that he'd seen. A man who fell from the stars." Did set the tone of the episode and the mood of the Doctor, but I had to watch it a second time before I saw that.

What was interesting was that the characters where never what they seemed to be. The "good" Kahler Jex that had saved the people of Mercy form cholera, was an evil Nazi-esque character. While the "mean" cyborg, called The Gunslinger, was only interested in retribution for the people that Jex had killed and experimented on. He was doing everything he could to spare the innocent.

Fantastic to see Ben Browder 65(Farscape, Stargate SG-1) back in a sci-fi series, even for 1 episode. Ben was the main reason, besides Muppets, for me to watch Farscape. Here as Isaac, the Marshal of Mercy, a man willing to give folks a second chance, he played the character perfectly. As the buffer between those that are scared and what the thing that is right, he defused the tension between Amy, with gun, and the Doctor, with gun, just by shouting, "Everyone who isn't an American. Drop your gun?" When he jumped in front of Jex and got shot by the Gunslinger, he showed his commitment to his beliefs and showed The Doctor where the right path was. Which he followed in talking down the poor attempt for a lynch mob.

Ending the episode by letting Jex kill him self, seemed cheep. It missed the mark for me and a lot of other commenters I've seen on the net. Should our Doctor have killed him or let the Cyborg kill him? No. Should the Ponds and Doctor have hauled his ass off to the planet that he came from and imprisoned him? Maybe, but sometimes it is good to have a show go in a direction we're not comfortable with, so that we can ask these questions.

Then we have the issue of The Doctor, our kind, benevolent, pacifist, heroic Doctor. We see what travelling alone does to him, how he loses his compass, he goes off the rails. This is show runner Steven Moffat showing us that The Doctor need them as much, if not more than they need him. It really is a symbiotic relationship. The Doctor feeds on the love, enthusiasm and exuberance of the youth of Earth and they provide him with morality and drive. What the companions get is love and a father figure, who isn't their father, but that they love more than any little girl could ever love their Dad. River goes so far as to marry him.

Dialogue for this episode had a few gems:

Rory: The sign does says Keep Out.
Doctor: I see Keep Out signs as suggestions, more than actual orders. Kind of like Dry Clean only.

Doctor: Frightened people. Give me Daleks any day.

Preacher: He’s called Joshua. It’s from the Bible, it means ‘the deliverer’.
Doctor: No he isn't.

Preacher: What?
Doctor: I speak Horse. He's called Susan and he wants you to respect his life choices.

Doctor: Anachronistic electricity, Keep Out signs, aggressive stares – has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?

Doctor: How old are you?
Dockery: Nearly nineteen.
Doctor: That's eighteen then.

Sadie: By the time the Gunslinger arrived, the people of Mercy were used to the strange and impossible. Where he came from didn't matter. As a man once said, "America is a land of second chances".
Do I believe the story? I don't know. My great-grandmother must have been a little girl when he arrived, but next time your in Mercy, ask someone why they don't have a Marshal or Sheriff or Policeman there.
"We got our own arrangement" they'll say. The they'll smile like they go a secret. Like they got there own special Angel watching out for them. Their very own Angel, who fell from the stars.

I must say that Toby Whithouse did a great job of writing in a lot of the typical western trappings, including the ever-persistent Undertaker played by Garrick Hagon 308(Star Wars Biggs/ Doctor Who Season 9).

Hansel and Gretel--Trailer

2012-09-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters takes place 15 years after the siblings' incident at the gingerbread house. The two are now specialized bounty hunters looking to put down the cackling black-hat set.

Coming January 11, 2013 from Paramount Pictures and director Tommy Wirkola 0. Staring Jeremy Renner 311, Gemma Arterton 126 and Famke Janssen 199.

Arrow - Trailer

2012-09-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

The CW released a newish trailer for the up-coming series Arrow. Based on the DC comic book Green Arrow the series follows Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who has been stranded on an island for five years, as he returns to his beloved home-town, only to discover that a criminal element has infected the metropolis of Starling City. Donning a hood and a bow and arrow, billionaire playboy Queen, goes after the criminal element Batman style, in green.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

2012-09-09T15:53:00.001-07:00

****

Doctor Who episode Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was so good last night. There were a lot of great quotable lines, including the title. Loved seeing Mark Williams 265(Harry Potter) as Rory's dad, Rupert Graves 24(Sherlock) as John Riddell and Queen Nefertiti as a companion to the Doctor.

This is a love it or hate it episode, as I've seen a lot of complaints on the net that it didn't have enough story for some. To me it was a great, fun episode.

Anyone else notice the differences to the opening sequence?

As I said earlier the quotes were great:----
Amy: They're with you? Are they the new us? Is that why we haven't seen you?
Doctor: No the're just people, they're not Ponds. I thought we might need a gang. Not really had a gang before, its new.

Brian: Sorry, sorry. Are you saying, dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?
Doctor: Brian please, that would be ridiculous. They're probably just passengers. Did I mention missiles?

Doctor: Teleport! Ah, I hate Teleports!

Brian: What sort of man doesn't carry a trowel. Put it on your Christmas-list.
Rory: Dad, I'm 31 I don't have a Christmas list any more.
Doctor: I do!

Nefertit: And you Amy, are you also a Queen?
Amy: Yes, yes I am.

Brian: Is that a Kestrel?
Doctor: I do hope so.

Doctor: Thanks for spelling it out.
Doctor: Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful.

Doctor: You don't have any vegetable matter in your trousers, do you Brian?
Brian: Only my Balls?
Doctor: I'm sorry?
Brian: Golf balls. Grassy residue.

-----------------------------------

Lots more comedy gold, I'll just leave the comments open for you to post some of your favourites.

When Rory asks the Doctor about the ships defence systems and the Doctor kisses him, Rory's reaction is priceless and I'm sure that scene will be fuel for plenty of /fiction.

The best part of the episode for me wasn't really any of the comedy, but the scene with Brian sitting on the lip of the Tardis, feet dangling in space, as he eats a sandwich watching the Earth below. Touching and beautiful.

Cosplay for 04/29/12

2012-04-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay By: Anya Panda
Cosplay of: Mega Man's Roll
Photo By: Sheilo
Location: Sakura Con, Seattle, USA

SAK 13

Cosplay By: Federmon / Schpog
Cosplay of: DC Comics' Impulse (Bart Allen) / Supergirl (Kon-Elle)
Photo By: Glasmond
Location: Munich, Germany

GR 10

Cosplay of: League of Ledgend's Caitlyn
Photo By: Ymmot 392
Location: Sakura

Sak 16

Cosplay of: My Little Pony's Rarity
Photo By: Ymmot 392
Location: Sakura

Sak 16

Cospay for 04/22/12

2012-04-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay By: Skirtz
Cosplay of: Nintendo's Princess Peach in Steampunk
Photo By: Ashley Anderson Photography
Location: Sakura Con 2012

SAK 15

Cosplay By: Christalyn Darkstar
Cosplay of: Peacock Princess
Photo By: Mary Elam
Costume By: Lillyxandra

Cosplay By: Kana
Cosplay of: Ragnarok Online's Alice
Photo By: Leashed Freak

Cosplay By: Kana
Cosplay of: Vocaloid 's Miku
Photo By: Niru

Cosplay By: TheChainmailChick
Cosplay of: Star Wars' Twi'lek
Photo By: Anna Fischer
Location: Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando , USA

FL 11

Cosplay for 04/15/12

2012-04-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay By: Tobias McCurry
Cosplay of: Steampunk
Photo By: Devona Felgar
Location: Sakura Con, Seattle, Washington, USA

SAK

Cosplay By: Shotalicious
Cosplay of: My Little Pony's Princess
Photo By: Zoey
Location: Sakura Con, Seattle, Washington, USA

SAK 12

Cosplay By: NemoValkyrja
Cosplay of: Outlaw Star's Melfina
Photo By: Eurobeat King
Location: Anime Expo

AEx 11

Cosplay By: Michiko Kojima & Saru-chan
Cosplay of: Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt's Officers Anarchy Panty & Stocking
Photo By: Photosynthetique
Location: Anime Detour 2012

AD 12/14

Cosplay for 04/08/12

2012-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay By: Sasouri & Rayi-kun
Cosplay of: Black Swan's Odile & Odette
Photo By: theDevil
Location: Leipzig Bookfair, Germany

GR 12/11

Cosplay By: Endless Sama
Cosplay of: .Hack's Black Rose
Photo By: Emerald Coast Cosplay

Location: Momocon 2012, Georgia, USA

GA 10

Cosplay By: Callesto

Cosplay of: Brave's Merida
Photo By: Joits
Location: Anime LA, California, USA

ALA 12

Cosplay by: Shimada Yoko, Janean Hickson, Alex Rodriguez, Allison Peare,

Logan Dumonceaux and Cam Buckingham

Cosplaying as: Anne Rice's Armand, Daniel, Louie, Claudia, Lestat and Marius in the background
Photo By: Don McCakill
Location: Tsukino Con 2012, Victoria, Canada

TSU 12/5/10/11/8

Cosplay for 04/01/12

2012-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay by: Lightning Str0m and TranquilChaos
Cosplay of: The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark
Photo By: Don McCakill
Location: Tsukino Con 2012, Victoria,Canada

TSU 9

Cosplay of: Tin Tin and Snowy
Photo By: David Ngo
Location: Wondercon 2012, Anaheim, California

WND

Cosplay of: Mass Effect 2's Samara
Photo By: David Ngo
Location: Wondercon 2012, Anaheim, California

WND 9

Cosplay of: Steampunk Flash
Photo By: David Ngo
Location: Wondercon 2012, Anaheim, California

WDN

Cosplay for 03/25/12

2012-03-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay By: Lim Scarlet
Cosplay of: Marvel's Iron Man mark IV
Photo By: maneki-husky
Location: Senayan City, Jakarta, Indonesia

Cosplay By: Karenscarlet
Cosplay of: Hary Potter's Hermione Granger
Photo By: Fortuna
Location: Russia

RU 10

Cosplay By: Rukiii

Cosplay of: Underworld's Selene

Photo By: civic97

Make up: Kökényesi Vera

Cosplay By: Vickybunnyangel
Cosplay of: Vocaloid's Miku Hatsune
Photo By: Jack Liu
Location: Russia

RU 12

Cosplay for 03/18/12

2012-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cosplay by: Vannessa and Samantha McDonald
Cosplay of: Marvel's Black Widow and DC's Harley Quinn
Photo By: Jason Tice
Location: Tsukino Con 2012, Victoria, Canada

TSU 9/16

Cosplay by: Zaya Spif
Cosplay of: Resident Evil's Jill Valentine
Photo By: ZiggyB
Location: Anime Expo 2010, L.A., USA

AEX 13

Cosplay by: Yaya Han
Cosplay of: Granado Espada's Wizard
Photo By: Ash B
Location: Katsucon 18, D.C., USA

Kats 13

Cosplay by: Push Sama
Cosplay of: White Rock Shooter
Photo By: Anna Frolova
Location: Russia

RU 13

Two Steampunk movies coming

2010-07-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Paramount and J.J. Abrams have picked up Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, a graphic novel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett.

The story follows the first robot of the late 19th century, who fought alongside Teddy Roosevelt and journeyed to Antarctica and was involved in the silent movie business before disappearing on the battlefields of World War I.

The material is riffe with Steampunk themes and looks like it could translate well to the big screen via J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions.

________________________________________________

MTV is spilling the beans on David Fincher's take on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. Apparently work continues on the project that Disney previously called "dead in the water." When asked what the appeal of the project was Fincher said, "The idea of doing a gigantic steampunk science fiction movie from 1873, kinda cool."

That's what we like to hear.

New Music for Alice

2010-01-31T19:59:00.001-08:00

Weekly Whisper #3

2010-01-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

This week we take a look at the February release of Percy Jackson and the Olymians: The Lightning Thief.

So, because YouTube has made a content claim against my video, because it contains footage from 20th Century Fox. I can't embed it her on VictoriaWood. So I will no longer be doing a weekly video promoting our favorite films.

Weekly Whisper #2

2010-01-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

This week we take a look at Legion, hitting theater Jan 22. And our first look at the Comic-Book based, Kick-Ass.

Film	January 1, 2010 Weekend Boxoffice	Genre Rank	Box office Rank	Wks
Avatar	$68.5M	1	1	3
Sherlock Holmes	$36.6M	2	2	2
The Princess & the Frog	$9.8M	3	7	5
Twilight Saga: New Moon	$3.4M	4	11	6
2012	$1.1M	5	14	7
Christmas Carol	$0.6M	6	18	8

Weekly Whisper #1-2010

2010-01-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Whisper is back! I had been considering bringing it back for a while but, work was busy, so I held off for the new year. hearing my friend Ian's audio blog was also encouraging.

Why isn't the Top Films list larger? Well, these are the only genre movies in the box office top 10. The new format is going to stay somewhat like what you see, unless you have suggestions for something else. Start off with Top Films, the box office top genre films and then look at a Trailer, ending with a recap of what's coming to theatres soon.

Film	Weekend Boxoffice	Genre Rank	Box office Rank	Wks
Avatar	$75.6M	1	1	2
Sherlock Holmes	$65.4M	2	2	1
The Princess & the Frog	$9.0M	3	7	4
Twilight Saga: New Moon	$3.0M	4	11	5
2012	$0.9M	5	15	6
Dr. Parnassus	$0.3M	6	23	1

This Week in Geek Dec 19

2009-12-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

Ian Flutts is back with his Audio Blog, This Week in Geek (TWIG), and a review of Avatar. He got a chance to see it opening night, where I ran into him. Glad to see his year-and-a-half hiatus is over.

Trailer: Percy Jacson International

2009-11-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Alice in Wonderland Poster

2009-11-22T07:52:00.001-08:00

Trailer: Transylmania

2009-10-11T15:22:00.001-07:00

Trailer: Vampire's Assistant

2009-09-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Trailer: Percy Jacson

2009-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00