frelling_tralk

Favourite episodes included Baby naturally. I’d already heard about how great Baby was, and I’m pleased to say that it more than lived up to expectations there with being an excellent showcase for the brotherly relationship between Sam and Dean, and so cleverly edited. I confess that I had already seen the ‘night moves’ singing clip a few times before heh, but it was all still so adorable <3

And then what to say about Red Meat, other than it was absolutely perfect and felt just like a fanfic brought to life XD I loved the little Romeo and Juliet touch of Dean killing himself just as Sam wakes up from his supposed death! Top-notch direction on every level. I also really liked the female guest cast in this, the actress who plays Billie the reaper has such a great onscreen presence, and I also thought the actress playing Michelle did a fantastic job in her scenes with Dean

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Thin Lizzie as well after I haven’t heard much nearly as much about that episode. I thought that it was such a fun old-school episode with Sam and Dean looking into the hauntings in a tourist trap hotel, and it had soo many hilarious moments with Dean’s reaction to their hotel room and Sam checking out the lavender toilet water lol, or teasing Sam about his fetish for serial killers. There was also a great cast star this week, the guy who had his soul sucked out gave an especially sympathetic performance, and ooh I recognised the little boy from It and Stranger Things in a fairly minor role as the son of the parents who got killed. Guess this episode was right before he became famous?

There were SOO many great moments between Sam and Dean this year as well, it really felt like the closest they’d been in years. Just a few great moments were seeing Sam and Dean enjoying Jodie’s food in Don’t You Forget About Me awww, and lmao at their awkwardness when the sex topic gets raised! And Dean’s excitement at finally winning at Rock Paper Scissors in Love Hurts was the cutest scene ever :D And a Sam and Dean hug in the finale!!! :D

Beyond The Mat was probably my least favourite MotW of the season. I guess that Dean being such a fanboy was cute, and it was a nice touch to mention that they used to go to wrestling matches with John, but mostly it was just a big meh to me. I don’t care about wrestling at all, and also the degrading ~puppy play~ with Lucifer and Crowley was quite cringey to watch.

Another small nitpick was that the flashbacks with younger Sam in Just My Imagination didn’t really work for me, the original young Sam from earlier seasons is so ingrained in my mind that it’s just weird to introduce another young actor to play Sam at a similar age, even though he looks nothing like the one they used in the last flashbacks?? The young Dean was very good, but the Sam they used completely took me out of it, and then I didn’t really think they developed it enough why Sully would encourage an 11 year old Sam to run away with him, or be supposedly so heartbroken at this ‘brutal’ end to their friendship. Idk there were some cute ideas, and certainly some very funny scenes in present time (loved Sam, Dean, and Sully’s faces at the blood everywhere which nobody else could see lol), but ultimately it didn’t really come together for me when the episode was going for pathos

Annnnd then there’s the mythos. ( Read more... )

Netflix's Latest Numbers Show It Has One Demographic in Mind


I’ve definitely been starting to get the feeling lately that Netflix are becoming a more traditional network with chasing youth. Clearly they want the younger viewers who have more time on their hands to binge watch in a weekend and make something part of pop culture immediately, as opposed to say Marvel shows where adults might have more on and not have the time to watch all 13 episodes in a single weekend. Reportedly that was an issue with Netflix when it come to the length of Marvel shows in fact, that they wanted them cut down from 13 episodes to 10 episodes, so clearly they are starting to really value how fast shows are getting watched

Suddenly caring so much about the initial ratings feels a little like a betrayal of Netflix’s original intention to me though? I always understood it to be set up to provide as much content as possible in order to keep subscribers interested, and then first weeks viewing figures or the youth demo doesn’t really matter, we are free to watch in our own time. Only now they seem to be returning more to how the original networks did it when they boast about how many viewers watched certain shows in the opening week, and I feel a little bit concerned about how that might affect content that is aimed at older people :( I always hated that system in America where older viewers and overall viewers don’t count at all, it’s only the youth demo that counts, and it feels like things are going backwards if Netflix do start chasing the youth vote at the expense of other shows. Especially when Netflix don’t even have advertisers to worry about, so one age group really shouldn’t be valued any more than another

And side note, but it is INCREDIBLY annoying when I sort my Netflix watch lost in the order I want to watch next, and then the damn thing keeps rearranging itself next time I open the app, does anyone know of any way to prevent this?



Also LiveJournal send something about a #10yearschallenge to my inbox, anyone else get this? (ETA Well just browsed through the tag, and it seems to be exclusively all Russian users other than me!) Apparently ten years ago I was watching season 3 of Supernatural for the first time

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/658904.html

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/659270.html

https://frelling-tralk.livejournal.com/659990.html


I never really go back and read old entries any more, it’s strange to read some of those entries and comments and remember that that was all ten years ago now. And a little sad to see some old faces commenting that I have completely lost touch with since...

As Time Goes By was one of my favourite episodes of the season, I really enjoyed the time-travel aspect and the new mythology that was introduced with the Men Of Letters, and aww at how gleeful Dean was at finally having a home base. Hunteri Heroici was another episode that I really loved, I just loved the absurd humour of the cartoon world, as well as Castiel's attempts to be a hunter lol

Oh and I don't know if this moment was actually supposed to be funny, but I absolutely cracked up at Dean's annoyed whisper in Blood Brothers, 'That is NOT what I wanted to talk about' when Sam points out that he doesn't have any friends, all of his friends are dead *g*


I had a lot of issues with how Benny got treated in Torn And Frayed, Sam's self-righteousness over Benny felt really hypocritical for a start when he's always been the one to advocate giving the 'monsters' a chance in the past if there's any suggestion that they're not hurting anyone, and yet time and time again he refused to believe anything but the worst of Benny. It just felt like he refused to give Benny the benefit of the doubt because of jealousy over Dean's relationship with Benny. I ended up feeling really bad for Benny, he had no one in his life except for Dean, and he was pretty clearly desperate and in need of a friend when he got ditched :(


I must admit that Amelia never really worked for me, ( Read more... )

"The WB 20th anniversary: Ranking all 32 of the network's dramas from worst to best "

I thoroughly approve of Buffy, Dawson's Creek, and Gilmore Girls being the top three <3 And hmm Felicity is #4, I never actually watched that show, but I've been wondering lately if it might be worth checking out as a lot of people seem to like it? There have been soooo many high-school based shows, it might be a nice change of pace to watch one focused on the college years for a change :P (Oh and Angel is #5, Smallville is #6, Roswell is #10, and Supernatural is #11)

SPN was pretty decent this week, it was nice to have a good old-fashioned MOTW episode with lots of brotherly talks. ( SPN 1004 )

And hee, next weeks episode certainly seems different!





I enjoyed The Flash a lot more this week too. ( The Flash 104 )

LOVING Dean as a demon this week, when he comes over all chilling and badass I was close to having palpitations!!

( Supernatural )



I'm still really enjoying The Flash, it has such a sense of lightness and fun about it compared to other superhero shows like Smallville with all of their angsting (And I've decided to drop Gotham, I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't get into it).

( The Flash )


And some Veronica Mars news! :D

Exclusive: Whatever Happened to Duncan Kane? Veronica Mars Star Teddy Dunn Speaks Out

The real reason Duncan was so catatonic early in Season 1:Almost as soon as Veronica Mars premiered, it became clear that fans didn't like Duncan, who was originally slated to be Veronica's OTP. He came off as vacant, distant and just sort of... there. Duncan later became much more dynamic, but this isn't because Dunn's talent improved exponentially overnight. It's because Dunn was originally under the impression Duncan had a mental illness.

"I was told early on that Duncan was bipolar, so when I got the role I got some books, starting researching it and looking into it," Dunn says. Since psychosomatic drugs used to treat bipolar disorder often leave the user emotionally distant, Dunn made the conscious choice to play Duncan that way. However, once it became clear that viewers were having a hard time connecting to Duncan, "I was told to leave all that behind and go back to being the gregarious big man on campus," Dunn says. "I had a hard time reconciling the two and I think I struggled with the precedent we had set with the character in the first few episodes versus what they wanted to get out of the character later down the line

(It's funny he says that because at the time I did assume that's what he was aiming for after it was revealed that Duncan was on medication, that he was deliberately toning down his performance for that reason. I actually found Duncan a lot more intriguing in early season 1 when they were playing the mystery of what he knew about Lily's death, it was in early season 2 that I started to think that okay he's just a bad actor lol, because even when Duncan was dating Veronica again and should have been happier, he still came off as really subdued and blank idk. I never felt like his performance changed significantly, although apparently the actor feels that he did switch it around?

He also talks about the criticism from TWoP, the decision to write him him out, his decision to leave acting, and finally

"They would have to first want me to," Dunn says. "I'm not sure there's room for him anymore is what I'm trying to say. But like I said, I really like Rob and Kristen and everybody who I worked with on the show so I'm not going to say no I'm not open to it. But also, I'm a lawyer now. I'm not an actor anymore. It's not to say I never want to act again. I do. I'm just not sure I want to revisit that character, to be honest with you."

( I decided on a rewatch/reminder of SPN season 7 before starting 8 and 9 )




I've also d/l Gotham and Agents Of Shield premieres to try out, but I've been working so much overtime this week that I just haven't had the time to sit down and watch them yet :(

Nooooooo! Ben Edlund (and Robbie Thompson) is my favourite SPN writer, why couldn't it have been Adam Glass instead :/ The writers of Mannequin 3: The Reckoning is NOT a fair trade



And The 8 Worst Characters On Television

What makes a character the “worst” isn’t necessarily their amoral actions or behavior (some of our favorite characters walk a very thin line between good and evil). They could be the most self-righteous and moral character ever, but still annoy the ever-living shit out of us. Worst characters are those whose screentime we want depleted immediately because they’re just so unlikable, despite the writers best attempts at getting us to root for them.

The only character I'm familiar with from that list is Chuck Bass, and he should be #1 in my eyes. Who else would you nominate for your worst character? At the ONTD discussion post Xander Harris got quite a few nominations lol



ETA Gah has anyone got a recommendation for a good spyware removal program? My comp suddenly seems to be riddled with pop-ups and weird links,and everything is running so slowly

1. Deangirl or Samgirl?

I'm not heavily one way or the other, although I guess I'm a little bit more drawn to Sam on the show and a lot more drawn to Dean in fanfic. If that even makes sense....

2. Casgirl, yes or no?

Well I do like his character, and I think he brought a lot to seasons 4 and 6 especially, but I'm not really fangirly over him either and had no issue with him being written out as a regular if the writers felt that served the storyline, so I suppose no?

3. Favorite season?

Season 4, although I do also love love love season 2

4. Favorite episode(s) from your favorite season?

So hard to narrow it down, but it's probably between Lazarus Rising and In The Beginning

5. Season you're most likely to re-watch?

Season 4 I guess

6. Season you hate the most?

Season 5. I know it was partly budget problems to be fair, but it really disappointed me how they followed up on the apocalpse. Season 4 had such a great build-up to the breaking of the final seal, and then it just felt like the pacing and structure was all over the place for most of season 5 with waaaay too much filler. In my head I had been picturing an entire season of episodes like The End to portray a post-apocalyptic world, so getting episodes like Swap Meat to fill up the season was disappointing

7. Favorite episode of the current season?

Slash Fiction! (Meet The New Boss was also awesome though and my favourite season premiere since season 4)

8. Least favorite episode from the current season?

Season 7, Time For A Wedding. Let's all just pretend that episode never happened, okay?

9. Favorite angel (besides Cas)?

Zachariah!

10. Least favorite angel?

Gabriel, I never got the huge appeal he seems to have to fandom to be quite honest

11. Favorite demon?

I can't really think of any off-hand... I guess the YED was one of the most memorable to me?

12. Least favorite demon?

Current Meg gets on my nerves a bit lately, her voice bothers me

13. Favorite one-episode character?

Ooh Kathleen from The Benders, she was awesome

14. Sam's hair looked best in which season?

Season 4 and 6

15. If the show would have ended the way Kripke wanted it to, with Sam and Dean battling each other and jumping into the hole together (and God might show mercy on them, idk), would you have preferred that?

Eh it's hard to say, I would have HATED if it had just been Sam in the hole, but Dean and Sam going out together could have been okay I guess

16. Best casted character throughout the whole show?

Erm the casting of younger John and Mary was pretty good?

17. Do you think Chuck is God?

I don't think so...

18. Favourite death

Jo and Ellen in Abandom All Hope :sniffs: Oh and Sam's death in ALBL of course

19. Scariest episode?

Everybody Loves A Clown

20. Best and worst young versions of characters?

Colin Ford as younger Sam of course. And I guess Dean for worst because they could never get it quite right, and neither younger Dean impressed me much acting-wise. And I especially hated when they got an actor in his 20's to play teenage Dean alongside a 12/13 year old Sam wtf.

21. Favorite female character?

Bela definitely, I loved her. I'm still sad they didn't spend more time on her backstory

22. Best and worst season intro and finale?

The Magnificent Seven was easily my least favourite intro, Lazarus Rising was my favourite

For season finale I don't know! Erm I guess The Man Who Knew Too Much is my least favourite if I had to pick one, and my favourite is probably All Hell Breaks Loose, Part II

Firstly and most importantly HUGE CONGRATULATIONS go to the team at Supernatural for winning Best Tv Drama and Best Sci Fi show at the People's Choice Awards yesterday :D




But I was very disappointed not to see Jared and Jensen on the red carpet, and to not see their faces as SPN was announced as the winner (I always love to see the faces of the underdog winning things like these!) And their bodyguard has since said on twitter that the reason for SPN not being represented is that they didn't get an invite, in spite of being nomiated for two pretty big awards. And the show didn't even bother to air the Best Drama results, and the video thanking the fans, as part of the live show. This article sums up a lot of my thoughts on that:

This may have been the first time in PCA history that the network drama accolade wasn't presented live on air -- do we really believe it's a coincidence that a genre show got snubbed?

"genre fans are the reason that "Chuck" has survived for five seasons, that "Firefly" got a chance at a big-screen send-off as "Serenity," and that little-shows-that-could like "Supernatural" and "Community" can enjoy a brief, but satisfying moment in the spotlight on the cover of a publication like TV Guide. We may not have much power, but we still turn out in full force -- with all the bravery of a Stark and all the cunning of a Lannister -- whenever there's a chance to share our passion for a show that brings us joy.

Shame on the People's Choice Awards for deciding that our choice wasn't good enough."