♣ SUPERNATURAL: Why I could never love another TV Series more than this

Since the owner of this blog generously invited me to join her blog, I've been several times considering writing something about this TV show, Supernatural. But sadly, whenever it came to Supernatural, I rethought. Even though Supernatural is not a mainstream-success show, it still owns one of the biggest Internet fan-base all across the world. If you bother to search through the Web, you can find tons of article about it. Most of them are written by hard-core fans who pay attention to every little details of the show. The rest are written by experienced writers and/or TV critics who are really good at what they do. The articles vary from episode reviews, season reviews, top fives, best moments, or a bunch of deeper look at characters. So what's left for me? Basically, nothing.

Then why this time bother to write about it? The first reason, of course, my true love for the show. The second reason, well, because I’m currently on the mood of celebrating it’s Season 7 Finale exactly just last week! I mean, looking at it, it’s been a very wonderful, if not magical, 7 seasons journey with the show. I even had this teary moment for a while there watching the finale… So what is it that makes me love the show so wholeheartedly? That’s what I want to share with you.

Never heard of Supernatural before? Come onnn… You gotta be kidding me. It’s an American TV show about two monster-hunting brothers who first reunited on the search of finding their father who suddenly went missing. Sam, the younger brother, had previously stated that he’s done “hunting” for good, left his father and brother, Dean, to go to college and to live a “normal life”. But when his fiancée, Jessica, got killed in the same supernatural way as his mother, he decided to go hit the road with Dean to find their father as well as to avenge Jessica’s death. Speaking of it, now things have escalated from there… way way way more complicated. But again I’m not here to talk about WHAT; I’m here to talk about WHY. Why Supernatural?

#1. Classic horror story is classic. This is basically what got me into Supernatural in the first place. The initial premise is very interesting, at least for me as a fan of horror genre; a TV show that will bring a different ghost story every week. There have been various urban legends that you’re already familiar with (Woman in White, Hook Man, Bloody Mary, poltergeist), famous monsters (Shape Shifter, Werewolf, Vampire) and other supernatural creatures from various cultures and regions, including demons and Pagan gods, and still many many others that you never even heard about.

#2. The joke that never gets old. This is what makes Supernatural is not just another horror show. It has a really good humor within it. Sometimes I can laugh louder while watching Supernatural than watching a comedy show (and no, it’s not an exaggeration). The dialog is smart and witty. There are so many references to pop cultures (movies, TV programs) here and there. And not to forget about the “one-liners”. I never watched a TV show that has so many memorable one-liners and funny quotes like Supernatural has.

#3. Drama, drama, drama. Yet when people first watch a show like Supernatural, they don’t expect to see much drama in it. But Supernatural here, it provides you big time, and they are great ones. Mostly family drama between the two brothers and their own personal crisis; sweet and very touching. A little romance here and there in a healthy quantity, not too much. The drama is centered on the topic of being good, evil, and being everything in between.

#4. Killing monsters like a badass. Normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not Sam and Dean, they search out things that want to kill them. They fight ghosts and monsters and demons like they are nothing to be scared of; with shotguns, or knife, or anything sharp and big that can easily chop your head off, combined with a little action. It leaves impression that all those supernatural creatures are not that scary because we can actually kill them (though I don’t have a plan to encounter any in real world).

#5. A solid supernatural universe with its underlying mythology. This is what I love about Supernatural. It has its own universe, predefined lore and mythology, which is exactly what I’m looking for when I watch a UK/US TV series. I mean, I’m not going to watch an American TV series where the setting is just plainly on real world, centering about just daily drama. I would’ve just watched sinetron if I wanted that. No. I want to experience something different. And Supernatural gives me that, in a wonderful way. They basically have conducted a complete encyclopedia of various supernatural creatures and how to kill them, along the way. [BONUS:] And this is what you should know about vampire: A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them and neither will a stake to the heart, but dead man’s blood works like a poison to them (and they don’t sparkle!).

#6. Super creative writing crew. Being a show with supernatural theme, the writing crew seem don’t want to waste the advantages; Nothing is natural, everything here is SUPER natural. They have covered every possibility, every wacky idea that can only come true in their weirdest wildest dreams. The brothers have fought fairies (yes, fairies!), they have time-traveled to the past and to the future, they have also been in various alternate universes. One of them is when Dean got attacked by some supernatural creature and woke up in an alternate reality where they never go hunting at all; his mother is alive, Sam goes to college and is engaged to Jessica (a little bit emotional, this one). Or my personal favorite, when Dean and Sam ended up in an alternate universe where they are Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki who both star in a TV show called Supernatural! (for those who don’t know, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are the actors who play Dean and Sam). Like I said, everything is supernaturally possible.

The later is also called a “meta episode”. On TV, “meta” means the show is commenting itself as a story, or, making reference to itself. Supernatural here, it has gone meta several times; making fun of itself, making fun of other TV shows, even making fun of its own fandom. The first most notable meta episode is when Sam and Dean discovered a series of books that tells story about their life down to every little detail, which they later found out that the author of the books was a prophet (again, the show is open to all possibilities).

#7. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. The actors who play Dean and Sam. Just gotta love these guys. Their chemistry as brothers is just wonderfully believable. Their brotherly bond has been like the heart of the show.  Their characters have grown on me since day one. Besides, they are amazing actor both in dramatic and comedic scenes. I don’t even have to mention that they both have an exceptionally good looks, do I?

Lately, people say Supernatural is not scary anymore. That it has gone from horror to fantasy (since the introduction of angels to their mythology in Season 4). Or that it’s already going downhill in quality. Speaking of its main plot, I personally agree that Season 6 was messy, while Season 7 was a bit of a disappointment. But because it is Supernatural, there are still a bunch of stand-alone episodes that are too good to be missed. There’s still also hope with the upcoming Season 8, wishing the show can get back to its glory day.

But then again, even when Supernatural is not on its best form, it’s still for me the best TV show on earth…

♣ Spider-Man 2012 Reboot

Fact that most people have already known: Tobey Maguire is no longer Peter Parker.

but…

Fact that common people may haven’t been aware of: There is no Spider-Man 4.

I was watching The Avengers few weeks ago, then they presented the trailer of the new Spider-Man film, “The Amazing Spider-Man”, that is already scheduled to come on theater on the early of July this year. Everybody around me was so excited with the new film. They were already eager to know the continuation from last Spider-Man movie (it really is been so long, isn’t it?), how Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship is now after they reconciled in the end of Spider-Man 3. Some gasped, “Oh that’s the new Peter Parker!”, even (on seeing Emma Stone) “That’s the new Mary Jane?” “How come Mary Jane is not a redhead?” …well, people, it’s because she’s not Mary Jane.

Here is the deal: There is no Spider-Man 4. It’s not even a sequel for the previous film. 

So if next July you come to theater expecting to see the same Peter Parker story as the previous three films, where it picks up where “Spider-Man 3” ended; Harry’s dead, Peter already relieved with the lost of his uncle Ben, Spider-Man had beaten Venom, etc etc etc, I’m sorry pal, you will NOT see it (you will not even see the cool organic web-shooter, it’s all artificial and mechanical now!). Peter Parker is going back to high-school, ladies and gentlemen… 

A little history

In January 2010, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios confirmed that they decided to reboot the Spider-Man franchise after the previous franchise director, Sam Raimi, pulled out of Spider-Man 4. Spider-Man 4 was supposed to be in theaters in May 2011, but had been derailed by script revisions. Raimi refused to rush production in favor of Sony's deadline; He felt he couldn’t make its summer 2011 release date as well as to keep the film’s creative integrity. 

“Working on the ‘Spider-Man’ movies was the experience of a lifetime for me,” Raimi said in a statement.  “While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction and I know they will do a terrific job.”

This means that Raimi and the cast including star Tobey Maguire are out. There will be no Spider-Man 4. Instead, the studio will focus on a summer 2012 reboot from a script by Jamie Vanderbilt, who wrote “Zodiac” (2007) and “The Rundown” (2003), with a new director, Marc Webb, who directed “(500) Days of Summer”, along with a new cast with Emma Stone playing Gwen Stacy and Andrew Garfield playing Peter Parker, and will feature a return to Peter Parker's high school days.

A little definition

So what does exactly “rebooting” mean? In serial fiction, to reboot means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series, to restart an entertainment universe that has already been previously established, and begin with a new story line and/or timeline that disregards the original writer’s previously established history, thus making all established fictive history to be irrelevant to the new storyline.

A reboot is not a prequel where it differs in that a prequel is generally consistent with the previously established continuity (known as “canon”) of the series. With a reboot, the older continuity is discarded and replaced with a brand-new canon. A reboot is also not a remake because remake is often produced by a different author from that of the original series, and can be seen as re-telling of the same story and essentially, again, still maintaining the same canon. 

Before Spider-Man, some other famous film franchises have been rebooted during the first decade of the new millennium. Some of the biggest reboots are the long-successful “James Bond” franchise with its newest releases “Casino Royale” in 2006 and “Quantum of Solace” in 2008, and then “Batman”, with “Batman Begins” in 2005 and “The Dark Knight” in 2008, which was not only the highest grossing superhero movie ever made, but also one of the highest grossing movies of all time. There have also been smaller-success films like “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) which rebooted with Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, that ignored its predecessor “The Hulk” released in 2003 starring Eric Bana. 

So, yes, there have been a lot of reboots lately. And so far, reboots have been successful.

A little opinion

I really don’t care when they rebooted “James Bond” or… “Batman”, but “Spider-Man”? Oh no, now this is becoming a little personal, since “Spider-Man” is my life-time favorite superhero movie! I practically grew up watching Sam Raimi’s franchise! Here are my issues with “Spider-Man” reboot.

The first “Spider-Man” movie came out only in 2002 (the last came in 2007) then they already reboot in 2012? Too soon, anyone? Seriously, are they really expecting us to forget the impression of the previous movies so quickly and easily? The first “Batman” came out in 1989, while the first “James Bond” came out in 1962. See my point? Well you probably will say they’ve done that with “The Hulk”. But “The Hulk” is a stand-alone movie! It’s not a well-established movie series with a huge success (and I mean HUGE, and let’s forget “Spider-Man 3” which is considered a disappointment) like “Spider-Man” is. 

Secondly, when we see a movie, sometimes it’s not because the movie is so great, but simply because that movie can connect you to the past. In this case that movie is a link. A link to the past that you have experienced before. I always like Eric Bana as Bruce Banner better, eventhough Edward Norton has done an excellent job. The same way I always like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond better (don’t judge me, I was born in early 90’s so Brosnan is practically the first Bond I can relate to). Why? Because, well, they came first, and are something I grew up with. 

I know a lot of fans for Spider-Man comics never really like Maguire’s version of Peter Parker (thus, Andrew Garfield is somewhat a better choice), and that this new Spider-Man movie is also somewhat closer to the comics, so I realize there are others who will totally disagree with me on this. But, I don’t read the comics. So what I always know is that Peter Parker is Tobey Maguire, whose first crush is always Mary Jane –the girl next door, turning into Spider-Man because he was accidentally bit by a runaway radioactive spider during an excursion to a laboratory. That canon has already been a part of me.

Surely I will still be awaiting the all-new Spider-Man movie this year, but like I read this expression somewhere; Watching it will be like attending a funeral of a good old friend who died too soon. 

Also, if in another life you want to do a Spider-Man reboot, please at least wait until I get old.

From various sources, including here and here.

♣ Peter Benchley’s Amazon, an underappreciated gem

So the other other other other night, I was bored. What happened when I’m bored is usually a finding of a buried treasure or a… long-lost memory, like this one. I couldn’t be more than 11 years old, was on the fifth grade, when “Peter Benchley’s Amazon” came out on a local TV channel. What I can still remember about this TV series is that it was quite cool, addictive, I never missed a single episode, I was even kind of obsessed with “Amazon” back in that moment. Are you or aren’t you with me? First thing first, let’s refresh our memory… or in case it’s the first time you hear about this TV underappreciated gem, let’s find out more.

 What is it?

“Amazon”, or “Peter Benchley’s Amazon”, was a syndicated television show created by Peter Benchley, an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation (several more of his works were also adapted for cinema, including The Deep and The Island). The drama series focused on the six survivors of a crashed airline flight in the Brazilian Amazon jungle. The 22 episodes of the series were in first-run syndication between 1999 and 2000.

A commercial aircraft crashes in the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, leaving only a handful of survivors. Their hopes of being rescued aren't very good, as the Amazon proves to be even more hostile than the terrifying plane crash which brought them there. Encountering a mysterious legendary white tribe, a Ghost Tribe descended from 17th century explorers, and threatened by natives, swarms of poisonous plants, venomous snakes, armies of flesh-eating ants, tarantulas and piranhas, they push themselves to extremes in their attempts to escape… or simply to survive.

The casts are including:

C. Thomas Howell as Dr. Alex Kennedy, the aggressive but learning, intensely survivalist doctor

Carol Alt as Karen Oldham, the stewardess

Fabiana Udenio as Pia Claire, the spoiled but tender opera diva

Chris Martin as Jimmy Stack, a mechanic, wins a prize on a gameshow and uses the money to buy the plane ticket to Rio

Rob Stewart as Andrew Talbott, a high-school biology teacher, dying of leukemia that mysteriously went into remission once he’s in the jungle

Tyler Hynes as Will Bauer, a 10 year-old boy caught between three worlds, he takes adolescent angst to the highest degree

What’s so special?

1. If you like shows and movies about survivors and castaways, you will also like this. In fact, “Amazon” is one of a few shows of its kind that is not about some mysterious island but about Amazon rain forest.

For me, though, it goes the other way; I like this show first and because of that, later I got more interested with movies about survivors. Sadly for me, I never found myself got hooked to other survivor-themed shows/movies more than the way “Peter Benchley’s Amazon” got me hooked. It was just so wonderful, the tone was set so perfect and believable, the execution was nicely done. As one of the character, dr. Kennedy, remarks “We’re dead to them now. No survivors”. Can you imagine that? Being the only survivors of a terrible plane crash but presumably dead and sooner or later will be forgotten by the world they belong? That fact alone can lead to numerous interesting drama among the survivors themselves. Let alone the fact that they still have to cope with an extremely hostile environment, hostile tribes.

2. “Peter Benchley’s Amazon” or, as the fans of this show call it, PBA, is that kind of series which each episode leaves you wanting to know what will happen next, you find yourself anxiously awaiting each new episode. It’s that kind of show that will make you scream “WTF it’s over??!” every time the end credit starts rolling.

3. The casts, apparently, they are not only pretty to look at on screen, but also good at what they do. The actors have done a superb job of making their characters grow on you with each passing episode. The six survivors each have their unique persona, and as a group they have such great chemistry on screen.

4. The sets are beautiful, the locale is exotic. It is refreshing to watch a TV series with a totally unique concept. It's a change from the usual sit-com apartment or coffee shop. The natives have such great costumes, they speak the language so convincingly and they really do help add some spice to the vast diversity of the show. The effect is, well, okay. But the first episode showing the horrific plane crash is neat. Quite a heavy disaster and good special effects, considering it is only a TV series.

5. There’s always remarkable moment in each episode. The scene when the young boy, Will, climbs up a tree to reach the top of it, hoping in reaching signal coverage for the cellphone he holds, instead, he becomes the first among other survivors to realize how bad the situation they’re in; There’s only trees at least until hundred miles from where they are! It is the scene in the end of pilot episode, and was the scene that finally made me go “Wow, this series is gonna be so much fun”… and it is!

Precursor to “Lost”?

We can't help but notice that the more recent hit show “Lost” seems to be borrowing a lot of elements from PBA. Eventhough the idea of crashing in Amazon rain forest is more interesting than on some mysterious island, “Lost” was a more riveting show with undeniable higher rating. It had more characters, a range of people both likeable and unsympathetic, it had better effects, in many respects better script writing, gigantic plots with lots of action. Whereas Amazon actually moved a plot along and still had a pretty cool range of characters despite such a small cast, PBA was actually quite promising, it could have had the success of “Lost”.

The whole underlying premise is a direct rip off, some say. The isolated jungle versus an unreachable island. A small group of survivors against a local tribe that has its own group of antagonists plus threats come later from the outside world. (The Chosen in PBA versus The Others in “Lost”). There are other similarities that seem likely not an accident.

1. The kid in “Lost”, Walt, is kidnapped by The Others because he is considered special. Will is also kidnapped by Korakal's tribe because he is special; The Chosen.

2. Sidney, a character in PBA, who has been killed, shows up and mentions to Jimmy Stack that they are all dead actually and lights up his cigarette and vanishes. The survivors are all dead. Isn't that how “Lost” actually ended?

3. dr. Alex Kennedy in PBA versus dr. Jack Shephard in “Lost”

4. In Karen Oldham's dream, Andrew mentions that he has to return to the jungle and they all find themselves back there after her clairvoyant dream. “Lost” characters have to return to the island too after reaching civilization.

5. Hurley wins a lottery and buys a plane ticket in “Lost”. Jimmy Stack wins a prize on the Price is Right and buys a plane ticket.

We don't say that everything in the shows is the same, but some events in the metaplot are indeed similar. I’m saying, I think everyone who enjoyed “Lost” should watch this show too.

Where can I watch it?

That’s a tough question. I doubt if any TV channel will air it again in the future. Alliance Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD on February 22, 2011 but sadly, in Canada only. But lucky for you who speak English naturally, someone is generous enough to share the joy of this show on YouTube! (no sub available as far as I know, that is why I said lucky for you who speak English).

Anyway, something you have to know, the show was cut too short; Critics seemed to dislike it and it was cancelled after one season (though that was allegedly due less to ratings and more to the fact that one of the American production companies decided to get out of fiction programs entirely, leaving the series without some of its financing). It could also be because the series was not well-publicized (It wasn't that the viewers turned it off, but most didn't even seem to know it was on!). So it’s no surprise the show has cliffhanger ending.

Regardless, the series overall is worth watching and was arguably the best Canadian-made series of its day.

From various sources, including the official Facebook open group and IMDb.

♣ "Clickable" Frozen Teardrop.

It's 5:54 in the morning when I forced myself to write this post.

I've spotted on my blogger Traffic Sources that some of you were here because of Gundam Wing's Frozen Teardrop. I really am sorry. I know you want to get some Frozen Teardrop informations but as I've been written here, all I know is very limited. Frozen Teardrop:

• been published since 2010, (but)
• in a magazine, Gundam ACE, (but)
• in Japanese, (and)
• from I found about Frozen Teardrop approximately this January, I only find Silent Prelude translation on Zeonicscans.
• there's no more translation because Zeonicscans doesn't translate it anymore, FT "completely fucked my childhood" - read here.
• so I said to myself, "let it be!"

BUT!

There's Stargazerlily who has translated and published it through her LiveJournal (just found her LiveJournal this early week and it made my day :) ) So if you a Gundam Wings fans and have heard about Frozen Teardrop and want to read it to decide if it's good or not by yourself like me as many fans say that Frozen Teardrop is not necessary to be made, click this LINK! And indeed, thanks to Stargazerlily for the translation :* Anyway, Stargazerlily, hopefully you're be able to do more translation during your trip to USA so that we who always visit you LiveJournal faithfully can read the continous story of Nocturne of Sorrow V. Thanks.

Oh! If you feel that I shouldn't post this, let me know.

♣ POTTERMORE The Road So Far: Book 1

For y’all hardcore fans of the Harry Potter series, I’m sure you may have signed yourself up into this. For those who haven’t, I’m sure you at least may have heard of this since last year. Me, not so much. In fact, I just figured out about Pottermore after one of my Facebook friends posted on his timeline that he just got sorted into Gryffindor. That’s half a month ago (yes, I’m so out of date). As always, I got interested in anything about Hogwarts house sorting so I went check that out. Turned out, Pottermore was far more than just Hogwarts house sorting.

Pottermore is a website by J. K. Rowling, developed by TH_NK and partnered by Sony. The website, according to Rowling, will serve as a permanent online home for the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Registration for the limited beta release began on 31 July 2011 (the birthday of both Rowling and her character Harry Potter) for the first one million fans, as beta testers, to complete “The Magical Quill” challenge and register. Pottermore finally opened to public on 14 April 2012. Thus far the interactive experience is only available for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, with the other books to come on undisclosed dates.

Now take a deep breath because I’m going to share you a long story about my experience on Pottermore so far. You may find some fundamental tips for beginners along the way, so stay tune (and beware of SPOILER). For those of you who are not even into it, I guess it’s about time you consider to stop reading my post :DD

♣ #ThatAwkwardMoment

.. is when I realized I sent a wrong text message into my friend's number whose number I know have been being so hard to be called and sometimes it's "unactivated" or "died" or "out of service area" or whatever it is since about two years ago. I sent [the wrong text] and it's delivered. DE-LI-VERED! Can you believe that? I'm so mad right now. I'm not going to tell you why because the person who owns that number is a %#$E%&%##^$#&!

End of post. 

Image via weheartit.