Walking Dead "Days Gone Bye" Review

Today is Halloween and what better thing to review than a show about zombies?

Thoughts: The Walking Dead is a critically acclaimed and immensely popular zombie survival series on AMC. Virtually everyone has heard about it and millions of people watch it, making it the highest rated series on cable TV. Can a series with that much hype actually live up to the expectations?
While "Days Gone Bye," the first episode of the series, is not the most impressive thing I have ever seen on television, it was certainly a solid start and setup episode that got me intrigued enough to watch three more episodes before the day was done. Since many of the readers have yet watch the series, I will provide ample warning before any spoilers, although there is not a lot to spoiler about the first episode.
The episode starts by introducing the star of the series, Sheriff  Rick Grimes, and his backstory and how he ended up of his situation. As usual with most stories taking place in a world different than our own, there is a character that is new to this situation and he is used as a narrative device so that the audience will know what is happening. Rick is a likable and noble character in a world without laws. The only other character to note is Morgan Jones, however he has yet to reappear in the series and may be just a one time appearance like the comic. The pacing the episode is a tad slow, on the other hand the pacing is necessary since the show has a lot to setup for future episodes.
*Spoiler*
Even though the ending with Jones trying to kill his zombified wife was good, that scene tried a little too hard to "tug at heartstrings" and ended up a little overly dramatic, however the rest of the episode was done very well.
My favorite part of the entire episode though was when Rick traveled to Atlanta and ran into the huge wave of zombies.
*End Spoiler*

Another surprising part about the episode is that it was less gory than I was led to believe, although the series is certainly not recommended for the squeamish. There is obviously a lot of violence and gore in general because this is a show about zombies of course, but I really do not care either way about violence and gore. However, I do stress that the show is not recommended for younger audiences.

Something interesting to note, is that the series is filmed in my home state of Georgia, and while I have never seen the crew actually film, they have filmed in many places that I recognize and I have been, which is cool. Also few movies or TV series actually take place in Georgia and the setting, thus far, is represented fairly accurately.


Genre: Zombie, Survival, Drama, Horror,
Premiere Date: October 31, 2010
Running Time: 67 minutes
TV rating: TV14-TVMA

Action: Even though there was not a ton of zombie killing in "Days Gone Bye," there was enough to keep me entertained and the filming of it was done well.

Acting: Andrew Lincoln as Rick gave a fine performance in a very likeable role. Lennie James as Morgan Jones was excellent as well. Other than those two actors, there were not many others to note.

Production Value/Special Effects: The Walking Dead has a very cinematic feel to the episode and the effects for the zombies were mostly believable. Every Walker (zombie) had a unique look and personality. The only weak aspect from a technical perspective are a few backgrounds that are obviously computer generated.

Soundtrack: While the song at the end was slightly annoying and the rest of the actual soundtrack was forgettable, the main theme is great and perfectly compliments the series.


Overall: 8.2/10- Even though the pilot episode is not the best thing I have ever seen, "Days Gone Bye" introduces the main character and sets up an intriguing zombie apocalypse world.

Closing comments: Having now seen all of season one and part of season two, I have to say that I am hooked and will most certainly continue watching the Walking Dead because it is great thus far.

Note: I have several things to say about the series as a whole, however those thoughts will be reserved to my review of season one.

Recommended for: Zombie fans, Drama fans, Horror fans,

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Agents of SHIELD: Girl in the Flower Dress Review

Thoughts: Yes, I know I say this every week, but Agents of SHIELD yet again improves upon the previous episodes with the "Girl in the Flower Dress" being the best episode the series has to offer. The episode was darker, intriguing, and had excellent action scenes, if only the pilot episode started with a tone like the one in this episode, less people would have been discouraged from watching the series.
*Spoilers*
As for "Girl in the Flower Dress," yeah, it was awesome again. Skye is proving to be one of the best original characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an intriguing back-story and with newly discovered motivations being that information about her parents was redacted by SHIELD.
One of my favorite parts about the entire episode is how the series avoided the common cliché about the inside person never getting caught until the last episode making all of the others characters look like idiots. However, SHIELD took an entirely different approach when Skye was caught helping her, now former, boyfriend escape SHIELD since Coulson was smart enough to have Agent May follow Skye. Plus it added a fantastic humorous moment to the series when May was standing at the door when Skye was leaving.
Aside from Skye's betrayal and subsequently being caught, the part about the character newly introduced, and subsequently killed off, Chan Ho Yin, aka Scorch, was a great addition to the series. Having some of the episode take place in China was great, although I doubt any of it was actually filmed there, and considering Whedon's affinity for the Chinese language (watch Firefly), it is not surprising. Louis Ozawa Changchien as Scorch did an excellent job in his limited role. The darkness of the character itself was great. When he continued to use his power after he was no longer impervious to flames was a great effect and turned the show towards a darker tone. However, two things that really made the episode for me was the brutal incinerate of Centipede scientist Debbie and Coulson and May killing Scorch. The effects used to burn Debbie alive were rather impressive considering that it is on TV budget and I really liked how the show did not shy away from the violence. Also Coulson ordering Scorch to be put down was almost surprising, but in a good way, because that shows again that Coulson's intentions are always for the greater good unlike some other supposedly "dark" hero. Another great Coulson moment is when he is genuinely pissed off at Skye, and Gregg's serious performance was perfect in that scene. Plus, there was no humor in the scene, which made it much more effective.

"Girl in the Flower Dress" marked two other characters from the comics being introduced, albeit incredibly obscure ones at that. There is a comic book version of Scorch, although he is a mutant and only lasted a couple of issues as a very minor character (picture below). However, he did posses basically the same powers. Raina on the other hand is a bit of an enigma since her character is also mutant but the character looks more like a reptile and is from the Savage Land (picture below). The character bears little resemblance to her comic book counterpart, however that may be subject to change when we discover if Raina has actual powers from the altered Extremis.

Above are both version of Scorch and there are obviously large differences, including the character's real name. However, their powers are basically the same, the only difference being that the comic version is a mutant, which has been confirmed to not exist in this universe.

While I doubt naming the character Raina is a coincidence, but I find naming her after the character above is a bit odd, especially since she has very little significance, other than being featured in the Age of Ultron story in the comics, which the next Avengers film is named after.

Action: Again, the action has improved over previous episodes, featuring some great kills by Scorch.

Production Value/Special Effects: For the record, the fire effects looked a lot better than the Hunger Games, just saying. Considering how difficult making believable flame effects in CGI is, the series did an admirable job. Sure, the effects were not mind blowing but they get the job done.

Comedy: While more serious that earlier episodes, the episode had several humorous moments.

Overall: 9.5/10- "Girl in the Flower Dress" is the best episode Agents of SHIELD has had yet balancing a new character, Skye's betrayal and Coulson's solution to the problem perfectly. Hopefully the series will continue to improve!

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Agents of SHIELD Full Episode 5

How do they do it? Agents of SHIELD is continuing to become an even better show every week! It is almost insane but true. Also they seemed to have finally found their tone, which is considerably darker than the pilot episode. Why did they not start like? More people would have watched it. On other Marvel news, the new Captain American: The Winter Soldier trailer is set to release tomorrow, which I will try and post about.

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Agents of SHIELD: Eye Spy Review

Thoughts: Agents of SHIELD continues to improve with yet another top notch quality episode.

*Spoilers*
"Eye Spy" opens with a surprisingly dark and eerie tone that shows that the series can be dark when it needs to be. Plus, the severed hand was a surprising but nice touch (no I am that sick and twisted).
The episode further explores Coulson's background with the main antagonist being his former protégé Akela. Coulson appears to have mellowed out in his later years since Akela appeared to be surprised by how different he is than before, which I will discuss later. Skye remains one of my favorite aspects of the series with her humorous moments and I like that she did not become a trained killer overnight, which is a common cliché. She is clearly learning, albeit slowly, which is more realistic considering that she is a hacker, not a field agent. Agent Grant is another great part of the show and seeing him fill in for Akela was fun and particularly hilarious in one scene. However, I noticed several times where Grant looked at his hands, which would have blown his cover.
My only problem with the series as a whole is that we really need an entire episode to explore the characters of Fitz and Simmons because they are the characters that have lacked in the character development area. Hopefully that problem will be fixed in the near future.
When the team discussed the possibility of someone having telepathy and saying that it is impossible was basically saying that this universe is 100% separate from the X-Men universe and that mutants do not exist to any extent. However, I find stating that telepathy is “unreasonable” is odd considering all of the other crazy things that have happened, although I suppose science or being an alien from another realm is the way to obtain superpowers in this Marvel Universe. As for Akela's cybernetic eye, it was a cool idea. The team being able to develop glasses that mimic the power will come in handy later on, hopefully the writers will not forget that this episode has ever happened.
The biggest revelation of the episode was Akela's comment asking what has happened to Coulson. Obviously, she used her eye to see through Coulson, which would suggest that Coulson is either a Life-Model-Decoy (basically a robot) or that he has also been cybernetically altered, which brings up another question: what will happen when one the team uses the glasses and happens to look in Coulson's direction? Will they see that something is not normal? Also the introduction of cybernetic enhancements will probably play a large role in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The ending scene was quite humorous with Fitz attempting to cheat at cards against Grant. A Grant/Skye relationship has been apparent from episode one and I think the two do have chemistry.


Action: The battle between May and Akela was great, even if it was brief. Also Grant infiltration of the complex had some great action moments.

*End Spoilers*

Production Value/Special Effects: While the episode did not have as many special effects as previous episodes, which is probably a good thing, the production value is continually getting better with each episode.

Comedy: As stated above, there are several memorable and humorous scenes in the episode.

Overall: 9.3/10- "Eye Spy" again improved upon the pervious episodes with better chemistry between the actors as well as a hint about what really happened to Coulson.

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Agents of SHIELD Full Episode 4

 

Yet another episode of quality entertainment from Agents of SHIELD. I really think this is the first time that the cast really clicked because the chemistry was so great in this episode. They really seem like a family similar to Firefly. As always, check back Monday for my full review of the episode. Please enjoy and vote on my Reader's Choice post.

 

 

 

 

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Top 35 TV Shows: Part 2: 35-31.

Here is the second part of my Top 35 TV Shows post series. If you watch any of the shows on this list, please comment and let me know. Maybe I will discover that there are some fans of a certain series and I might write full posts about the shows Also note that the list only includes scripted series that originated on TV. Please enjoy and tell me what you think of the list thus far. 

   

At Number 35: Elementary

CBS's recent American adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes has the fans outraged and general audiences captivated, ranking in the top 10 most watched shows of the year. Despite its flaws, Elementary bought something fresh to the crime genre, giving us mostly solid mysteries every week with surprisingly likeable characters. What surprised me most was Lucy Liu as Watson, despite my original skepticism, she turned out to be one of the best aspects of the series. The first season had its ups and downs, but season two is rather impressive and I hope it will continue its quality of storytelling.

Elementary (Sherlock Holmes) Season 1 Review.

 

 

At Number 34: The Andy Griffith Show

Its The Andy Griffith Show, what more needs to be said? Almost everyone has seen it at some point, it is classic television. Sure, the seasons after Don Knotts left never came close to matching the early ones, but the show was hilarious when he was on it. 

 

 

At Number 33: Falling Skies

Despite its writing inconsistency, Falling Skies is undoubtedly has the highest production value and special effects of any sci-fi show on television. Seriously, some of the effects are better than some movies, particularly season three's effects. At times the series can feel as though it is moving at a glacial pace, especially the first season, but it is worth it in the end. Aside from the impressive effects, the show is a well made alien invasion drama and one of the better examples of the alien invasion genre. 

  

 

At Number 32: Justice League Unlimited/Justice League

Both Justice League and the expansion of the series, Justice League Unlimited, take place in the same universe as Bruce Timm's Batman: the Animated Series. Justice League Unlimited is currently the only adaptation to actually bring the JL to life and the way WB is going with the film adaptation, it will be only one for a long time. Since I have not seen it in a while, it ranks a little low, but if I re-watch it would probably rank higher. Plus the opening theme is severely underrated, it is absolutely awesome! 

 

 

At Number 31: Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes

 

At first Avengers looked like any other animated comic book series, but it soon became surprisingly mature and focused on excellent character development. Earth's Mightiest Heroes adapted many of the classic comic book storylines with surprising accurately and with a few more seasons the series could have lead to the Civil War storyline the way the story was going. Unfortunately the heavily serialized nature of its great story and Disney's acquisition of Marvel was the show's downfall when it was cancelled after only two seasons.

 

Have you seen any of these shows? Do you like any of them? Please comment below.

 

 

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Agents of SHIELD: The Asset Review

Thoughts: Agents of SHIELD does it again with an even better episode than before. Despite the criticism, I have to say that Agents of SHIELD continues to impress as we gain further insight into the characters' backstories. Also The Asset is the first episode of the series to be based on actual comic book source material, which I will go into more detail about later in the review.
*Spoilers*
The episode opens with some mildly impressive special effects with the cars flipping and the transfer truck being lifted in the air. Scientist Dr. Franklin Hall is captured by unknown enemy force using Gravitonium. In the comics Doctor Hall was a scientist that worked with Gravitonium and in an accident he gained the power to control gravity itself and fought the Avengers and SHIELD. While his origin a sizeable departure from the comics, the story was adapted well enough and considering that Graviton is a B-List villain, Agents of SHIELD is the best place for the character. Seeing him reach out of the Gravitonium orb was cool, albeit not unexpected since I knew about the comics. Also, you may have seen the character in the animated Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes in one of the early episodes.
Clark Greg had even more fantastic scenes in this episode, although he did not mention "Tahiti. It's a magical place" this time. His decision to kill Doctor Hall when there were no other alternatives was a great, and surprising, twist that shows that Coulson will do what needs to be done when necessary.
More information into Agent Grant and Skye's backgrounds were given this episode, and as usual for Whedon characters, they have troubled and conflicted pasts. Grant was bullied by his older brother and Skye was an orphan. Chloe Bennet and Brett Dalton are starting to have great chemistry together. Also I am in the somewhat minority in that I really like Skye as a character. She is actually one of my favorite parts about the series.

Graviton/Dr. Hall and Ian Hart

Action: Again Agents of SHIELD delivers action better than anything else on network television with well filmed hand-to-hand fights and a few shootouts.

Acting: Everyone is great as usual, except Bennet and Dalton where better than before. Ian Hart as Dr. Hall was alright, not bad, but not the best; he played his role well enough.


Production Value/Special Effects: While the opening scene with the cars flipping and the truck being lifted where obviously CGI, the effects where impressive considering the TV budget. Also the room with the changing gravity was a cool effect.

*End Spoilers*

Comedy: Another hilarious episode with several memorable parts. Skye's humorous witticisms where great, especially the part about the gun and her attempting to say something profound but completely botching it. Fitz had a very funny moment as well.

Overall: 9.2/10- Agents of SHIELD continues its upward progression with another fantastic episode showing the series' slightly darker side.

Closing comments: Hopefully the next several episodes will continue to be even better.

The full episode is below if you have not seen it.

 

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Top 35 TV Shows: Part 1

Although television is not a main of focus of this blog, I do watch a lot TV, mostly a mix of fictional, reality and educational TV. This list focuses on my Top 30 favorite fictional/scripted TV series I have ever seen. Television has several advantages and disadvantages compared to movies. TV offers much more time to develop the characters and TV shows can have long story arcs. The disadvantages are the TV shows have a limited budget and they rarely have consistently excellent writing, therefore even the best shows often have weak episodes. Unlike movies, it is much more difficult to start a TV series that everyone loves and thinks you should watch like Breaking Bad or Mad Men, especially since I do not have Netflix or HBO. Therefore there are a lot of popular TV shows that I have yet to watch because I did not start watching them at the series' inception and I almost never start a series any point other than the beginning. In addition, most of the shows that interest me usually end up being cancelled after one or two seasons, which is kind of odd, so a few out of the 30 shows on list are currently airing, albeit some of them are miniseries. In general my favorite type of shows are science fiction, comic book based, classic sitcoms, animated, and based on history, aka, anything geeky. Also, even though some may consider certain animated shows "kid's stuff," they obviously have not seen said show because they are often better than live-action.

To qualify for the list the must have originally aired on television and the list does include miniseries, however due to a miniseries' short length, those shows will, in general, rank lower than longer running series. On a side note, even though web series are not included on this list, The Guild, RWBY, and Video Game High School would definitely make the list. If there are any fans of those series reading this, please let me know. Below are two honorable mentions before I get the list started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Star Trek

Because I have not seen much of the Star Trek series since I was a kid, it is difficult to judge where on the list they would rank, therefore I have included them here as an honorable mention. From what I remember, Next Generation was the best and I have seen the most of Voyager and Enterprise, and I am not a fan of the old Trek series. For more of my thoughts on the Star Trek franchise, Click here to read my overview.

 

 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sure, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has only just begun, but the show is already a lot of fun. Even though the series has received a mixed response by both fans and critics alike, I love it so far and Iy am sure that the series will make my full list by the end of the first season. By the way, that picture is my desktop background.

 

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Agents of SHIELD: 0-8-4 Review

Thoughts: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does it again with another fun episode that fixes a few problems I had with the first episode as well as providing some great character development and team building. After the rather polarizing response to last week's pilot, with some viewers and critics, like myself, loving the episode and others being disappointed, Agents of SHIELD has created a large rift between the haters and the fans. As for episode two, despite the smaller scale than last week, it was a lot of fun and arguably better than the pilot. My biggest problem with last week's episode was the cheap looking lighting, which made everything have a low budget TV feel more so than it would have otherwise, however "0-8-4" corrected that for the most part with better darker lighting. Clark Gregg was hilarious and likeable as always as Coulson and the team finally started to work together and build as a team, which was good to see.
*Spoilers Ahead*
The episode opens with the "0-8-4" alert that was mentioned in the last episode, so the team travels to South American. While the Aztec (or was it Mayan) temple looked cheap, the rest of the sets where much better. Getting to hear about some of Coulson's backstory was great as well with him talking to his old flame hinting that Coulson was a "James Bond" of sorts in his younger years. My biggest problem with this episode is that Coulson made a stupid mistake by allowing the members of the army roam free on the SHIELD jet with their guns. Other than that, the episode had great. I liked the camera work in some scenes with the team bickering and the camera spinning around them in typical Whedon fashion. In some ways the episode actually reminded me of Firefly in the way the characters interacted, which was great to see. Melinda May had one of the best lines of the show after the rest of the team would not stop talking, "You talk too much" which was hilarious! Although "0-8-4" is not as loaded with references as the previous episode, there some great ones to Captain American, HYDRA, and the Tesseract, which are cool since the show is continuing to show its importance to the Marvel Universe. There was one minor reference to Serenity when Agent Grant used a Tesseract staff thing that he hit the ground with to knockout the bad guys, which looked a lot like the one Simon used in the opening of Serenity. While I am glad that things are not necessarily as they seem with Skype being revealed to be a double-agent, the fact she is already questioning her loyalty kind of defeats the purpose of it. However, the absolute best part of the entire has to be the freaking Nick Fury cameo! I cannot believe Samuel L. Jackson made an appearance on the show because he is such a high profile actor, but I am glad he did. Him shouting to Coulson that he is “downgrading your a** to a Winnebago” if he screws up the jet again was priceless!
*End Spoilers*

Action: "0-8-4" was more action-packed than the first episode, which was fun. Although I wish more of the actually being hit by bullets was shown, the chase and other hand-to-hand fights where choreographed very well.

 

Acting: Everyone seemed to work better this episode and the actors for Fitz and Simmons where more memorable as separate people than last week. Of course Clark Gregg was great as always.


Production Value/Special Effects: While the temple looked a little corny, the effects where more subdued than last week, which is probably a good thing.

Soundtrack: Again, the score was fantastic, I cannot wait to get my hands on the OST. If anyone knows how I find it, please let me know.

Comedy: Overall, the episode was not as humorous as the first, however there where plenty of laugh-out-loud moments throughout.

Overall: 8.8/10- "0-8-4" is a solid episode in the new series and a good follow-up to the first episode, and I would even go as far to say that "0-8-4" was even better than the first episode.

Closing comments: *Spoiler* I still cannot get out how awesome it was to see Sam L. in the episode, he cameo was reason enough alone to watch it! *End Spoiler*

 

 

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot Review

Thoughts: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a to live up to. It marks a landmark in television and movie collaboration being Marvel's first TV tie-in into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe that needs to retain the quality of the films that preceded it. It also marks Joss Whedon's return to television. Does the show live up to the extraordinary expectations? Oh yeah, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delivers everything that was promised and then some. Whedon's humor is present throughout the pilot, as well as an absurd amount of nerdy jokes and references that can make even the most reserved fans giddy. Because a few readers may not have seen the episode yet, my review will have spoiler warning if anything beyond very basic plot points are revealed. However, if you have not seen it, scroll down to the bottom of the page where I have the full episode posted, unfortunately it only works for North American viewers, unless you have a IP changer to make it appear as though you live here. Also, try this link and see if it will work. I am not sure since this is from ABC.

The pilot episode sets up the new team of already likeable characters including fan-favorite, Agent Phil Coulson, who is even more likeable and humorous than before. Just the fact that Clark Gregg will be receiving significantly more screen-time than before is great, but the rest of the show delivers as well. Even though the series has only introduced the audience to a few of the supporting characters, we were given plenty of information to get the basics of who each of them are. Obviously, as the series progresses, more will be revealed about the characters. Although the production value is obviously lower than the movies, the tone was spot on with the movies. Except for the slightly TV look, the Agents of SHIELD captures what made the Avengers amazing, albeit on a small scale. Despite my absurdly high expectations, the episode satisfied me on every level as a fan. However, casual viewers should enjoy the series as well.

*Spoilers*
After the show opens showing how the world has changed since the Battle of New York in the Avengers, it introduces us to new "problem of the week" character, Mike Peterson, a guy that apparently has the powers of super-strength and durability. Peterson is an original character for the series and is not one from the comics, however he does share some similarities with the characters that where given powers by the villain known as The Power Broker.
The lone wolf character of the SHIELD team, Agent Grant Ward, is introduced in a fun action scene that shows off Whedon's tremendous ability to blend multiple tones into a seamless product. Ward actually reminds of the character Jayne Cobb from Firefly in that he is a tough guy that prefers forceful methods, which hilariously clashes with Coulson's more reserved ideals.
Cobie Smulders reprises her role as Maria Hill in a cameo role. Since Smulders' show, "How I Met Your Mother" is in its final season, maybe she will have a more recurring in the series. Also Firefly vet, Ron Glass, makes a brief and welcome appearance as a doctor.
A short dialogue sequence apparently reveals how Coulson survived being "killed" by the "Asgardian Mussolini." However, after Coulson leaves, Hill and Dr. Streiten say something about how Coulson must never discover how he actually survived, so his survival is still a mystery.
Coulson's car, Lola, is revealed to be a flying car at the end of the episode, which is actually just like the flying cars that SHIELD used in the 60s and 70s comics and it was awesome!
There are so many hilarious and memorable scenes and quotes through the episode, which is a trademark of Whedon it would seem. The episode was loaded with references to the other films like the reference to Romanoff's (Black Window) scores in espionage. What surprised me is how many tie-in there are to the movies. The main plot point of the episode included aspects of the Super Soldier Serum, Gamma-rays, Chitauri tech, and Extremis from Iron Man 3. Among the other nerdy things referenced are, Cosplay, Harry Potter, and Terminator, which where very humorous. However, my favorite just might be Skye's quote about great power: "With great power... comes a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with." When she first started saying the line I was almost shocked that they could the famous line from Spider-Man, but her funny twist made me laugh hysterically.
The only negatives I noticed was Peterson's line, "No, its an origin story," which could have been delivered better by the actor, although breaking the fourth was funny.
*End Spoiler*

While I will go into further detail in a future posts about each character, I say that they where all fun and had chemistry. In short, Skye was funny and likeable, Grant played Coulson's opposite well, Melinda May has a cool mystery about her character, and Fitz and Simmons are fun characters that act like twins with all their techno jargon.

For my Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reviews, I am changing my usual review format slightly. Instead of giving actual values to the individual aspects of the series, I will just discuss that aspect.

Action: There was one fun fight scene early in the episode with Grant, and compared to most TV fight scenes, it was very well done. The other brief action scenes where well done, however I doubt this is the best action we are going to see.

Production Value/Special Effects: The special effects are the only drawback to the entire episode. The opening scene looked a little cheap, particularly the superpowered guy climbing the way. Later in the episode however, the effects where much improved, even though they no where close to movie quality, which is to be expected. Also the sets look about on par with that of the other SHIELD things we have seen in the past.

Soundtrack: Although an official soundtrack has yet to be released, I really enjoyed the themes used during the show. They reminded me a little of the Avengers' soundtrack and I want to be able to buy the full soundtrack.

Humor: Joss Whedon is the king of perfectly placed humor and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is no exception; the humor is its strongest asset. There are so many quotable lines in one episode, it is ridiculous!

Note: Since this is the pilot for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and there are no other episodes to compare it to, my rating is compared to other TV pilots, to which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has no equal.

Overall: 10/10- Despite lower production value than the movies, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has the making of everything needed for an awesome Joss Whedon TV series. It was hilarious, filled with likeable characters, and had a healthy dose of geeky awesomeness, what more could you ask for in a pilot? Without a doubt, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best pilot episode of a series I have seen in a long time, maybe ever.

Closing comments: If you have seen the Avengers, have any slight interest in Joss Whedon's work or want watch something immensely entertaining, do yourself a favor and watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Recommended for: Avengers fans, Whedon fans, Everyone, Comic book fans, TV fans, Fan of entertainment,

 

If the video below does not work, try the link here, which will take you to ABC.com.

Here is the full episode if you have yet to see it (refresh the page if it is not working). 

 

 

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Firefly Review Part 5: Episode Breakdown.

This is a breakdown of Firefly's episodes and ranking my Top 5 episodes at the end of the post. Since basically all of the episodes are fantastic, there is no real reason to give a number rating, but just a mini non-spoiler review of each and my impressions of Firefly as the series continued. This is mostly spoiler-free and I ample warnings before the spoilers.

 

 

 

Serenity (parts 1 & 2): The episode that started it all and was infamously aired out of order by the idiots at Fox! The first half of the episode was a little slow, albeit for good reason. It setup the characters gave the series a solid starting point to start from. While it was enjoyable, particularly the second half, the series did not immediately grab my interest. However, new comers be assured that the show continues to progress and become better later in the series.

 

The Train Job: Fun episode, it had a great classic western vibe to the whole thing. The action was good and the special effects where surprising impressive considering it was made top 10 years ago for TV. While I was not entirely hooked, I knew I was going to watch the series all the way regardless.

Bushwhacked: The introduction of Reavers that hinted at something grander and Shepherd Book had some good moments. Not much to say, one of the less memorable episodes.

Shindig: Now Shindig was when the started to get be hooked. Mal was hilarious in this one, and it was nice to see Kaylee gets some screen time. There was some action, Malcolm had good character development and I enjoyed the tension between Inara and Malcolm. At this point I was mostly hooked on the series.

Safe: River and Simon really came into their own in Safe. They solidified themselves as one of the best sibling teams in fiction. River is loony and loveable as ever in Safe as well. Also it had one of the many great quotes in the Gif below:

Our Mrs. Reynolds: After this episode I was 100% hooked, absolutely love this episode. Our Mrs. Reynolds is positively hilarious! It is one of those episodes that warrants multiple viewings. Saffron is one of the best characters. *Spoiler* When it turns out she is tricking everyone, it was unexpected and then she turned into an one of the best femme fatale villains. *End Spoiler* Who can forget all the quotes from this episode! Nearly every scene has a memorable line and we now know what happens to people who talk in the theater as well, just ask Book. Anything something in another culture or someone's opinion does not make sense, I now say: "Some people juggle geese."

Jaynestown: Another amazing episode and one of my favorites. Jaynestwon had everything, humor, action, character development, and so much more. While the episode is fantastic, there is not a whole lot that I can say other it was again, ridiculously quotable.

Out of Gas: Out of Gas is the episode that most people consider the best and while it was just as excellent as most other episodes, it did not seem that much better than most episodes. It would certainly rank in the upper half of my favorite episodes, but not quite Top 5. Seeing the background of the character was great and completely necessary and, it had some great suspense. If it is your favorite episode, please explain why did it your favorite episode and why everyone loves it so much.

Ariel: Fantastic episode, pure genius. Suspenseful, great action, and a perfectly placed dark moment near the end. Basically perfect, another re-watchable episode with movie quality production.

War Stories: Not exactly my favorite episode, it had its moments and Wash was given some great moments, but one of the weaker episodes in general. But it did have one particularly awesome quote:

Trash: Probably my second favorite episode of the series. *Spoiler* The return of Saffron or as Mal called her at one point, "YoSaffBridge." Saffron is such a great antagonist, even when she seems so innocent. Tons of humor and a perfect twist at the end with Inara helping the crew keep their loot. *End Spoiler*

The Message: Not the best nor the worst episode by any means, just an excellent addition to the series. There is not much to say without spoiling it, so I will say no more.

Heart of Gold: One of my least favorite episodes, however it did have some of the best action of the series and, it had a classic western feel to it. I felt Malcolm was acting out of character a few times and thought it could have been done better.

Objects in Space: Best episode ever. Even though it is saddening that this was the final episode, Objects in Space is pure brilliance, perfect humor, acting, and dialogue. River was at her best in the episode and the villain introduced, Jubal Early, was awesome. You really hate him, yet he is entertaining to watch. There scene is one scene (gif below), that is so freaking hilarious that is kills me every time I watch it, but do not read the gif if you have not seen the series.

Top 5 Episodes:

5: Aerial

4: Jaynestown

3: Ours Mrs. Reynolds

2: Trash

1: Objects in Space

 

What are your favorite episodes? Please comment below.

 

 

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Serenity Review (Firefly Review Part 4).

To continue my Firefly post series, here is the review for Serenity, the film that mostly concluded the series.
Thoughts: Serenity, Joss Whedon's first theatrically released movie and the film continuation of his Firefly TV series. Serenity takes place sometime after the series tying up a few plot threads that the series left hanging. After a scene introducing Serenity's villain, it switched over to one continuous shot of the crew and gave fans the sense that yes, Firefly is back and you are home again. Does Serenity disappoint compared to Firefly? Nope, it is entirely awesome and everything a fan could ever want and then some. While it is possible to see the film without watching the series, it is imperative that you watch the series first. Unlike something like Star Trek, where there are literally hundreds of episodes to watch, Firefly only had 14, all of which are amazing and a must see. Watching the series adds so much emotional payoff that would otherwise be lost. On the subject of TV to film, Serenity actually warrants the big-screen adaptation because it does not have the episodic feel that TV to film often have. Even though it continues the story with all the characters you love, it answers questions and gives fans the big action scenes that only a film (or absurdly over-budget TV) could possibly deliver. To make the film, Whedon had to work with a smaller budget than most sci-fi action films, and with the exception of one dodgy CGI element, he made it work brilliantly.

There were only two minor things that I wish Serenity had, that Firefly did so well. One being the warm and comfortable feel of the ship and surrounding. Since it is a film, it looked more shiny and Hollywood like. The other thing is that the theme song was never used! Not even in the closing credits was the Ballad of Serenity used, that song is amazing, why wasn't used? Despite these minor things, they do not negatively impact the rating.

Directed by: Joss Whedon
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Western, Action Adventure,
Release Date: September 30, 2005
Running Time: 119 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13


The Good: Everything, Legitimately movie quality, Loveable characters, Awesome action scenes, Heart wrenching moments, Everything great about the TV show, Shocking moments, Answers questions, Fantastic soundtrack, Great villain, Top notch performances, More Firefly!, Joss Whedon's awesome direction and script, Endlessly quotable, Shiny,

The Bad:


Plot Summary: Since it would spoil the series, I will not post a plot summary or a trailer, just watch the gorram show and movie.

Plot: 10/10- Perfect and flawless plot, there is nothing I would change. It answered questions and gave closure to the story, yet left it open enough for sequels, which seem unlikely at this time. I would have maybe given Kaylee and Book slightly more screen-time, but that is very minor compliant because the main plot is more important. There were moments in Serenity that utterly shocked me, which I will talk about in the spoiler section at the bottom. The dialogue is impeccable, no one writes and directs better dialogue than Joss Whedon; his script is perfect. Also the opening scene uses some impressive camera work since it had to be film in one or two continuous takes going throughout the ship.

Action: 9.6/10- There were some seriously awesome fight scenes in Serenity. The stunt work is fantastic, especially considering that the actors did most of their own stunts. A few of the scenes could have been edited ever so slightly better, but only an action critic like myself would actually notice that anything was lacking. Even with the smaller budget, the space battle was awesome, one of the better ones put to film.


Acting: 10/10- Just like the series, the actors captured their characters. Among Serenity's crew, they were not acting, they were the actual crew. Their performances were entirely believable. For more opinions on the cast and crew the links for Part 1 and Part 2 of my character analysis. Chiwetel Ejiofor as the antagonist "The Operative," was excellent in his role and his character had some unique character traits that I have not seen all that often.


Special effects: 8.3/10- Due to the film's tight budget, some of the CGI was a little lacking in one scene. Despite this, later in the film, the CGI was excellent, especially in the epic space battle. As for the sets, they were fantastic, very believable just like the series.


Soundtrack: 9.8/10- While it lacked the "Ballard of Serenity" song and a few of the western themes that made the TV series' soundtrack so great, it had a score entirely its own. There were many oriental influences mixed with some classic western and sci-fi. Very unique and original, something hard to find in most films.

Comedy: 9.9/10- Even though Serenity does not quite have the warm feeling of the series, due to the more serious tone of film, it was still hilarious! So many quotable lines of humorous, perfectly delivered dialogue. The wit in the film's humor is spot on every time.

Would I Watch This Again: Already watched it twice in one week, it is that awesome.

Overall: 9.9/10- Basically perfection for fans of Firefly! Serenity is almost everything, except for a continuation of series, that fans could ask for, one of my new favorite films and one of the best I have ever seen.

Closing comments: Watch Firefly, watch Serenity, simple as that, now go do it. Like, right now!

Recommended for: Everyone who has seen Firefly,

*Major Spoilers Ahead Skip to the bottom and comment if you have not seen the film*
Last warning..... OK, why did Wash and Book have to die! Two of the most shocking and painful deaths to watch ever. Joss Whedon is one sick man killing off characters that everyone loves. Some say that Wash's death was unnecessary, and while I almost wish it never happened because he needs to be on the show if it is ever revived, it was entirely worth it for the emotional shock value. When a film kills off a character that you connect with and like, it is so hard to watch.
*End Spoilers*

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Death Note Review.

Thoughts: Death Note is a critically acclaimed psychological fantasy thriller anime. In general, Japanese anime is not my favorite. Other than the Iron Man anime I have yet to actually finish any anime series or film, until Death Note. Even though I did expect Death Note to be good, it took me by surprise because the series was amazing! One of the best televisions series I have ever seen.
The premise is that a brilliant high school senior Light Yagami finds a "Death Note" dropped by a Shinigami (basically a Japanese Grim Reaper). The Death Note has the power to kill anyone whose name is written in the note, however writer of the Death Note must know the person's real and face to actually kill someone. After Light discovers the power of the note he uses to "create his perfect world" by killing every criminal that is broadcast on TV and basically anyone who breaks the law. To catch "Kira," name given by the public to the mysterious killer of criminals, world's greatest detective "L" takes on the task of trying to catch Kira and then possibly the greatest battle of wits ensues. L vs. Light/Kira is one of the best rivals I have ever seen; it is the ultimate game of cat and mouse as each one tries to discover the others secrets. As to not spoil any plot points, which is imperative to enjoying the series, I will not say more about the storyline other than it is amazing and original. A big thanks goes to Stilwater at In the Shade of My Wide-Brimmed Hat for recommending Death Note in her Anime post. After starting the series last Sunday or Monday I watched it obsessively until Thursday when I finished the entire. The show had me hooked after only two episodes and I could not wait to see what happened in the next episode. Fortunately the entire series has been uploaded to YouTube and I will post it below so that you can watch it.


The Good: Shocking plot twists throughout, Extremely suspense, Unique characters, Near perfect first 24 episodes, Excellent voice cast, Well developed characters, Thought provoking, Morally ambiguous, Superb animation, Epic soundtrack, Mostly satisfying conclusion, Intelligent writing, Always keeps you guessing, One of the greatest rivalries ever,

The Bad: Last few episodes were lacking,



Plot: 9.9/10- Although Death Note is a relatively short series only consisting of 37 episodes, the first 25 are masterpieces of suspense and intrigue. Most episodes are engaging at a psychological level because the viewer is trying to figure things out as the series goes along with all its shocking plot twists and turns. The concept, albeit it slightly ridiculous to some, was incredibly original and well paced. Death Note relies heavily on suspense and man is it suspenseful! There where moments when my heart was literally pounding due to the level tension waiting for what would happen next. Throughout the series there are times where the audience hears the thoughts of both Light and L trying to out match other, and it worked brilliantly to convey the battle wits between the characters. Both Light's and L's characters are well developed and surprisingly likeable. It is almost difficult to determine which of the two is the real protagonist, although Light is the true star of the series. Also the story contains themes of "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" because with the Death Note's power Light develops a "god complex" thinking himself as above humanity and therefore fit to rule mankind as he sees fit. Unfortunately, Death Note does not keep this stoke of brilliance throughout the entire series, after episode 26 the show starts to take a drop in quality. However, it is still an excellent show and I found it enjoyable since I was already invested in the characters.

Action: N/A- Other than a ton of death, there is not much action.


Acting: 9.9/10- Superb English dub all around for the series and all the lines translated well and never felt miss placed, except for a few text errors later in the series. Brad Swaile gives an excellent performance as Light/Kira, he voices the role perfectly. Alessandro Juliani as L was even better as a eccentric detective, being the real standout of the show. While some anime fans prefer the original Japanese dub, I highly recommend watching the English dub because the voice acting is fantastic.

Art Style: 10/10- Normally anime's style is off putting to me, however Death Note's animation was amazing. It seems that in most anime when characters are talking, only the mouths of the characters actually move, which I find odd, however Death Note's style seemed more fluid than others. Despite this, in typical anime fashion, there were a few scenes that over-the-top dramatic to the point where it was almost laughable, however those scenes worked surprising well.

Soundtrack: 10/10- The music ranged from epic orchestral music to detective investigating type themes, all of which is perfect for the series. The epic music makes seemingly mundane things feel epic. The opening theme in earlier episodes is quite good, even though I have no idea what it is saying, however the later episode's "Death Metal" opening is annoying. All it is garbled screaming! Fortunately, it is never used in the show.

Comedy: 6.8/10- While far from comedy, Matsudo, Misa, and L can quite humorous at times.


Overall: 9.8/10- Death Note is one of the most original and suspenseful televisions show I have ever seen, and the first anime series that I actually enjoyed throughout. It is smart and always keeps you guessing with many plot twists and turns.

Closing Comments: From someone who does not normally enjoy anime, I have to say that I recommend Death Note to anyone old enough that wants to watch some awesome and smart television. Even if you are not an anime fan or you have never been seen anime before, Death Note is a perfect place to start.

Recommended for: Psychological Thriller fans, Fantasy fans, Crime genre fans, Suspense fans, Supernatural genre fans, Thriller fans, Anime fans, Animation fans, Fans of good television,

Next on my anime endeavor will be the popular Cowboy Bebop. If you also watch anime please recommend me some series to watch, preferably sci-fi or something along the lines of Death Note.

Below is the entire series uploaded to YouTube, except for episode 5, which you can watch part 1 here and part 2 here. Warning, the show is occasionally violent, although I never found any more violent than a PG-13 movie.



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Firefly Review Part 3: the Characters.

This is the second part of the Firefly characters analysis and the third part of my overall Firefly review, enjoy.

 

 

 

Dr. Simon Tam

Dr. Simon and his sister River are often the cause of trouble within the crew. Since that reason is a spoiler, I will say no more. However, Simon and River's brother/sister relationship is great to see, since siblings are so underuse. He is very protective and selflessly protects his little sister.

 

 

River Tam

River is a truly fascinating and complex character. Her background is mysterious and often the focal point of several episodes. At first she is just an odd, shy girl, but later she turns into a fantastic character. In the film, Serenity, and episode "Objects in Space" she becomes infinitely more awesome, and again, possibly my favorite character.

 

 

Shepherd Book 

Shepherd Derrial Book, is a Shepherd, a type of Christian pastor, however he seems to know a little too much criminal actives that a one would think a preacher should. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled so his backstory was never revealed, but he will always be one of my favorite characters. It was great to see a Christian on a show where one would not normally expect one. Shepherd is the moral compass of the crew and, like me, he enjoys a quiet theatrical experience.

 

 

Inara Serra

Inara is a companion (high class and educated prostitute), which gives the ship legitimacy on land core worlds. With the decline of morals I suppose it makes sense in a wild west type future. As for her character, Inara is perfectly written as are all the characters. Her romantic tension with Mal was spot-on, their scenes and banter, and nice character moments were fantastic. 

 

 That was Serenity's crew, now for my two favorite side characters.

 

Saffron

Among the side characters in the series, Saffron is my favorite. Her debut episode, "Our Mrs. Reynolds" has some of the funniest moments in the series. Spoiler* After discovering Saffron's identity was just a ruse to steal the ship, she turned into one of best femme fatales ever. She is manipulative and cunning. Her reappearance in "Trash" was great to see because is such a fun character to watch. *End Spoiler*  

Jubal Early

Eearly is said to be partially inspired by the universe's best bounty hunter, Boba Fett and there are certainly a few similarities. Early is one of those very entertaining, yet completely despicable villains, where he so a lot of fun to watch but you hate him for what he does to your favorite characters. Even though he was in one episode, his was so memorable, even more so than many movie villains.

 

Who are your favorite characters? If you have not seen Firefly, does this make you interested to see it? Please comment below and always remember: "Some people juggle geese."

 

Note: When I first watched Firefly the second half of the first episode "Serenity" failed to record, however it will be airing again soon. Therefore my plan is to hold part 4 about reviewing each episode of the series and skip to my review for Serenity the movie and then post my episode review of Firefly.

 

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