This is Apparently Becoming a Tradition

So, last year I posted the fake people that I have found ... palatable. (it's a long story and a private joke, but yeah.)

So to celebrate Singleness Awareness Day and distract myself from perpetual aloneness (it's really not as pathetic as I'm making it sound) I will make a list in no particular order of tv or movie guys that have made me smile this year.

One of my friends at school kept talking about Downton Abbey so I finally started it. OH. MY. WERD. Totally obsessed with it now. Totally. For many reasons, but Matthew Crawley doesn't hurt :)

I mean, come on! Look at that face :)

I would love to put Castle up here again, but I decided not to duplicate from last year, so I'll add one of the other Castle characters that I love: Ryan. And actually, I just can't talk about Ryan without adding Esposito. These two are so adorable.

Here's a case where character development is everything, because at first I detested Tyler. I wanted to throw him out the window. Then I started to love him and totally ship Tyler/Caroline. And now I'm not sure what I think anymore, but he's certainly not hard on the eyes.

I started watching Robin Hood on Netflix and I have to admit that I totally found Sir Guy WAY more interesting than Robin Hood.

I love Dr. Who, but I'm so far behind :( I still haven't completely bought into Matt Smith, but I adore Rory - honestly, I don't think he's that cute, but his utter devotion to Amy is so freakin' adorable I can't help but love him!

Dad and I have been slowly working our way through the X-Files. So, yes. Fox Mulder

Though I have to wonder what mother names her baby Fox.
I mean. Can you see her in the grocery store?
FOX! You get back here right now!

And I've finally jumped on the Supernatural bandwagon. Dean and Sam? Yes.

This is pretty much how it went:
1st episode: Oh hai Sam. I like you.
2nd episode: Hey Dean. Okay you're not so bad, but Sam is better
3rd epsidoe: Dean you are so adorable with Amy Acker's son and oh hai there!

Okay, I swear that's all the superficiality for today. Have a great Valentine's Day no matter who you're spending it with!

Whatcha Watchin' Fall '11

Once again I have proven myself to be a ridiculous tv addict. For serious. I love SO many of the new shows, am super excited about return of old favorites. AND my school schedule actually seems designed to fit around the shows I want to watch! I am sick! Sick I tell you!

And I love it!
So, for fun, here are the shows I'm watching and what I think about them :)

Watching the previews, I wasn't sure whether I was going to like this or not. I couldn't tell whether it was going to be great or super corny. Great. Definitely. Okay, so maybe a tiny bit of corniness, but I am loving it. Totally different than most of the other stuff I watch, so it's a nice adventurous sci-fi think. And the dinosaurs are pretty cool :)

I was NOT going to watch this. I thought it would be cute, but I just had too much on my plate, so I told myself I wasn't going to watch it. But it falls right between Terra Nova and Castle, so I flipped over to it this Monday. Oh my goodness. SO adorable. And hilarious. And full of ... heart :P

Some people are getting frustrated with Castle, but I love it as much as ever. Love, love, love, love. Maybe it's just Nathan Filion. Maybe it's the annoying new captain. Maybe it's the way they're bringing Ryan and Esposito more to the forefront this season. Yeah, they haven't gotten Beckett and Castle together yet, but to me it feels right, not annoying. Beckett had so many issues dredged up at the end of the last season. That's not going to go away overnight and Castle is completely tied up in all of it. Anyway. It's a great, humorous crime show and I loves it.

I almost didn't watch this again. Last season annoyed me. I kept hoping it was going to get better, but it never did in my opinion. Got home from school in time for the premier, so I turned it on. Seriously. The first 3 episodes of this season were better than the entire last season combined. It seems to have found its way again and it's not just S1 all over again. There is character growth! We get to learn more about minor characters! TONS of musical numbers! whee!

Another show that drifted toward the end of last season. This season is cracking me up so much. Hope is older, Virginia and Burt are pretty much the most hilarious people ever. <3

A lot of people are complaining about the corniness. Maybe a little, but I am really intrigued by how all of this is going to play out. I'm not sure how it can last more than one season, but it's kept my interest every episode and left me dying to watch the next one, so they're doing something right. Plus it's nice to see SMG in something new.

I'm not sure what I think about this season. Honestly, the Caroline and Jeremy storylines are the only ones that are really keeping me interested right now. The whole Stefan thing just isn't doing it for me.  I am curious where they're going to take everything.

I don't think I can possibly express how very, very excited I am to have Michael Emerson back on my tv every week. This show is so interesting and intriguing and almost like a crime show, but not. Jim Caviezel does a great job and did I mention MICHAEL EMERSON?! This show has so many possibilities and I hope it lasts for a long time.

So that's what I'm hooked on right now. Any shows you're loving this fall?

Ahem. Palatable.

I know it's supposed to be Writerly Monday, but I have been swamped this week.

Besides, today is S.A.D. aka Singleness Awareness Day aka Valentine's Day.

So I've decided to opt for something different and FUN and totally shallow*. But I will tie it in to writing somehow...

I love a good character, but I especially love a good male tv character. I'm not one to moon over/crush on actors or other famous people. But I totally crush on characters, because for me, the biggest thing that makes a guy ... palatable or not is his attitude and behavior. Totally. And watching them helps me to write them.

So here is my second list of

FAKE PEOPLE I FIND PALATABLE


In no particular order and usually based on tv shows/movies that I have recently been obsessed with.

*Hey, I only do one totally shallow post a year, so come back later for the intellectual stuff.


Nick from "When in Rome" which is one of my favorite movies from last year. I actually went to see it in the theatre, which I RARELY do with romcoms, and I fell in love with it. So. Cute.

 The Tenth Doctor... David Tennant=genius

Chandler Bing. Classic. And surprisingly difficult to find a good picture of. Where is the Chandler love?! And how absolutely thrilled am I to see Matthew Perry return to tv? Mr. Sunshine's debut totally cracked me up.

Xander Harris. Especially after this magnificent speech in S7. Caution, mild spoilers in the video. But I watched it like 3 seasons ago and it made me even more invested in the characters, so...

Damon Salvatore. Perfect proof that it's the character that gets me, not necessarily the actor or the appearance. Hated Boone on Lost. Okay, maybe disliked is a better term. But Damon? Seriously. Best reason to watch Vampire Diaries. And after reading Kiersten White's recap I will forever talk about "Damon Eye Thing."





















Topher Brink from Dollhouse. I watched this show streaming on NetFlix (my BFF) both seasons in about 2 weeks. Joss Whedon is my hero. I loved Topher from the beginning even though you really shouldn't. And then... well. Spoilers people. Seriously. Go watch this show. It will blow your mind. And you get to see this adorable face...

Richard Castle. All right. I know I said no particular order, but I had to leave this for last because, as much as I adore Castle, I have to admit that Nathan Filion is kind of the only actor I totally could crush on. I have loved everything I've seen him in. Everything. And I've heard personal stories from people who have attested to the all around goodness of the actual person. Win. Just total win.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Watch Out

Castle continues to be my favorite new show. The new season just keeps getting better and better. Every episode adds more layers and more complications onto these characters and I love them even more.

The last two episodes in particular were fantastic. Last week with "A Rose for Everafter" they really gave us a good look at the real Richard Castle we all know is in that shallow sugar coating. We get glimpses of it in his interaction with his daughter and with his mom and during the season finale we saw it in connection to Beckett, but this time we got a chance to see that there is a solid man in there that wants something real and genuine. I already love the character (and of course Nathan Fillion is adorable!) but this just added to him.

This week with "Sucker Punch", not only do we get more of Castle's development, but we finally get another piece of Beckett's story. And how happy was I to see Robert Picardo reprise his guest appearance!? Stana's acting in this episode was superb. The tension, horror, resolve, and loss she showed in her expressions had me in tears. There were a lot of close ups of her face, and in particular her eyes and for good reason. They were telling the story of everything going on inside of her cool exterior. Seeing her walk away and admit that she couldn't handle it was so honest, but coming back to finish it out was completely believable as well. Then ending with her admission to Castle that she'd gotten used to him "yanking her pigtails" was utterly charming.

This show makes me happy every time I watch an episode and I am so glad it's continuing on. Here's hoping we have many seasons to go.

In other TV news, I have now become addicted to Scrubs. My sister and I caught a couple of episodes of reruns about six months ago and laughed ourselves silly. My Lost acolyte has every season, so whilst I lend him Lost, he lends me Scrubs. Can I please just say how much I love Dr. Cox!

At the end of last season I started watching the episodes online and I was so sad to think that the show was over just as I discovered it, but of course, it's back this season with additional cast and a new twist. I am loving it. Lucy makes a great "main" character, filling in for JD with just enough similarities to make her recognizable but different enough to make it fresh and new. The supporting cast continue to surprise me and it's fantastic to get to see more Dr. Cox, Dr. Turk and drop ins from JD, Elliot, Jordan and Kelso (to name a few).

It's perfect for giving me my laugh quotient for the day and I am so glad I didn't have to bid farewell to these characters just yet.

What I Read This Year - Post 4

Wow. This is my final post. I think I'll do this monthly or quarterly instead of yearly, because this was kind of ridiculous, but I had so much fun with it. Alrighty here we go.....

71. Finding Lost: Season 1 and 2 by Nikki Stafford (A fantastic, can't live without it guide to Lost. I read this along with our rewatch over the hiatus and it was amazing and informative and hilarious. Love it.)

72. The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz (The fourth book in this series. Pretty good. It had been too long since I had read the first ones and it took me a bit to figure out what was going on, but I enjoyed it.)

73. In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke (It seems like this book should be depressing when you read the premise, but it totally wasn't. A very sweet story. I really enjoyed it.)

74. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus (I am a HUGE Winnie-the-Pooh fan - the original stories with the Shepard illustrations. I thought this looked fun. I was very disappointed with it. I felt that it lacked the charm and the accessibility of the originals. It seemed like the author was just trying too hard and it came off awkward to me.)

75. Heat Wave by Richard Castle (Castle is one of my all time favorite shows airing and this was like reading an episode of the show - but one written by Castle. Absolutely hysterical. I about died laughing when I saw that the "Castle" character in the book was named "Rook". If you don't get it look at the two quoted words and think geek. Yeah, I am one.)

76. Perfect Mistake by Kate Brian (Another novel in the Privileged series. Absolutely love her characterizations. I am dying for the next book in this series.)

77. Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith (I admit I read these because of the tv show. I enjoyed them. Very different than the show, but good.)

78. Finding Lost: Season 3 by Nikki Stafford (Have I mentioned that these are the best guides you could ever hope to have when watching Lost? No? Well, these are the best guides you could ever hope to have when watching Lost! Go buy them!)

79. Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast (The most recent book in their House of Night series. Very interesting.)

80. Evernight by Claudia Gray (Totally not what I expected in a good way. I keep forgetting to pick up the sequel, but I am dying to know what happens next!)

81. Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Awakening by L.J. Smith (Enjoyed this continuation of the series, but I'm really wondering how close to the book plot the tv show is going to be, because it's totally not at all like this right now.)

82. Finding Lost: Season 4 by Nikki Stafford (If you own season 4 of Lost, then you need to own this book too. So great! and no, Nikki pays me nothing to say any of this, but you should totally check out her blog! We have WAY too much fun over there!)

83. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (I had never read this before. I didn't have what you might call a "normal" high school experience. So now I'm going back and reading a lot of the stuff people usually read in high school. Besides, this was referenced on Lost and has like a million parallels! It was so much fun to look at that. Crazy, crazy book though. And sad.)

84. Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens That Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook by Sarah Schmelling (I knew she had to be an English major, because only one of us would come up with such a hysterically crazy idea as this. She took plots and characters and created Facebook feeds. So Funny. LOL moments like - Jane Eyre joined the group "governesses that love their masters" - Maria VonTrapp likes this - not word for word, but you get the idea. Great fun.)

85. Bone by Jeff Smith (This was the one volume compilation of the ten Bone books. I absolutely adored this book. It was so fantastic! I'm just starting to get into graphic novels and this one was a winner for me.)


So that does it. Wow! 85 books! I can hardly believe it. A lot of good authors and stories, a few duds, but a pretty good average. Thanks for putting up with my extreme English major geekiness and maybe you walked away with a few book ideas. Leave me any of your recommendations. I'm always looking for something good to read! :)

Castle 2.02 "The Double Down"

This show just keeps getting better. I love it.

Favorite lines:

Castle: "I'm just saying whoever killed her also murdered the English language."

Castle: "What a coincidence"

Beckett: "Hundred bucks on our side."


Favorite moments:

Everyone straining to look at the board because they're all in on the bet while Beckett is trying to figure out what's going on.

Beckett finally opening up about some of her feelings over her mother's death.... and how Castle managed to not say a word though you could tell it took an effort

Castle thinking that his mother was really attacking Alexis and dropping his keys all over. HA!


I know I had more, but I didn't keep notes so I can't remember them. Next episode.

Castle is Back!!!!!!!!!

Yeah! I just bought the first season on DVD so I can share it with my family and now the new season has begun! SO glad this show didn't get dumped after 1 season. I was scared since there was so little buzz about it. Hopefully it gets picked up more this season - Monk is almost over and this could fill that murder/comedy slot.

Last season ended with an emotional cliffhanger rather than a physical one and it was much more fitting to the first season.

Now on to season 2: Deep in Death. - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Favorite Quotes::
"I could buy you a pony!"

"Be my usual charming self"
"What about plan b?"

"Somebody hated his guts." (after discovering that the organs had been harvested from the body)

Nathan Fillion is brilliant in this episode, straying from the constant wise guy attitude from season 1, he shows his concern for what he's done to Beckett while still throwing out those hysterical one liners that help make the show what it is. As much fun as season 1 was, this episode set the stage for an even better second season. Fillion adds depth to Castle's character that will help to enhance, not only the show, but also the interaction between him and Beckett.

I also love (as always) the interaction between him and his daughter. The relationship is sweet and almost, but not quite, turned on its head. She is a grounded, steady girl who helps bring stability into his life and helps him to be a little more grounded than he would without her anchor in his life. And of course, she always manages to say the right thing to show him what he's missed. The nice thing is that she usually isn't talking about his situation, but Castle is open enough to see the truth in what she says and to realize how it impacts him and then do something about it. Castle may be a tad dense (what man isn't, especially when it comes to women? :P) but he certainly isn't slow or stupid.

two thumbs up and I can't wait for the next episode!

Castle: A Death in the Family

First off, major SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! For Robert Picardo. I have absolutely loved him since he was the Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager and anytime he shows up in one of the shows I watch I am uber excited, even if he is the villain, which he wasn't this time.

Anyway!

The song at the beginning of the episode was such a strange juxtaposition for the horror that was in that car. It was supremely creepy.

Speaking of music. I really like the music on this show. The theme music and the music used throughout. It is very unique and distinctive, something that is often hard to come by in this day of millions of these cop shows.

There were a lot of highlights for me on this episode. I loved (as always) the sideline story with his daughter. The speech Castle gave to Beckett was great too, and how absolutely confident his mother was that he had to tell Beckett the truth.
His serious face when he came into the hospital room was well acted. He was dreading it, but knew he had to.

The thing I'm most happy about is that they left it wide open, so I'm hoping that that means there is another season to come. Watching it later in the week stinks, but at least I've been able to keep up with it and this show will definitely be a DVD buy for me.

Oh, and a great shout out to a fantastic writer, Chelsea Cain, with Castle reading her book Sweetheart while waiting for Alexis to get home. I discovered Cain by chance when we got an ARC of Sweetheart at the bookstore where I work. IMO the first one, Heartsick, was better, but I am eagerly awaiting the release of the third one, which comes out later this year. I love when my worlds cross :)

Castle: Little Girl Lost

I posted a little while ago that I've fallen in love with this show. Nothing has changed. Every episode makes me like it more.

The greatest twist this episode was discovering that Kate has actually been a Castle fan for years and years. The bantering between Kate and Castle is fantastic, but discovering this adds a whole new level to it.

Castle is obviously a tiny bit smitten with Kate and we get that feel of tension that she might like him a little more than she lets on. I applaud the writers for adding this bit of backstory. As enjoyable as it is, the friction between them could begin to get a little stale. By bringing this facet of Beckett's character into sight it adds a dimension that makes me want to go back and watch earlier episodes with this in mind.

Like when Kate goes to his book reading and signing. She's got to be loving the fact that she gets to hear him read his new book and, if she's like any other book lover I know, dying to get her hands on a copy, but she has to play it cool.

Add to that the fact that he's actually basing a new character on her...Up until now it's seemed like she is mainly putting up with him. Knowing that she is a HUGE Castle fan means that she is a better actress than Castle would ever suspect.

What interesting plotlines this opens up. I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Castle a best seller in my book

As soon as I saw the premise for the new ABC show, Castle, I knew I was going to like it. I mean, it's a crime show with a writer! How fantastic is that?! It combines two of my favorite things. Then I saw that it was on Monday nights and I was very sad because I have to work every Monday night.

However, thanks to the magic of the internet and the blessing of ABC airing shows on their site, I was able to catch up on it. I missed the pilot episode, but have watched every one since then.

I love this show. First off, Nathan Fillion is absolutely adorable as the never-quite-grown-up author, Richard Castle. The chemistry between him and the rest of the cast completely makes the show for me. Stana Katic as Kate Beckett provides the perfect balance and watching them play off each other is hysterical.
Even cuter is his interaction with his teenage daughter. The scenes with the two of them playing laser tag, fencing or just talking always come off wonderfully.
Then of course there is Castle's mother. She adds just the right touch of zaniness to complete the picture.
Even the secondary police officers are fantastic.

This show is full of humor, but has the right touch of poignancy to keep it grounded.

Off to a promising start, this show is well on its way to becoming one of my new favorites.