iZombie episode 9: Patriot Brains

This week's episode picks up right where last week's left us hanging - in the elevator. There were a lot of feelz in this one, and I gotta say - I hate just being left hanging when I know something isn't as simple as it seems. There was a lot more work done on the relationship between Liv and Lowell, and I was just starting to feel like maybe it had a chance - and then BAM. Maybe not.

The whole vibe for the episode this week was depressing, but in a good way. That touched me. I mean, the usual energy between her and Clive was there. It was a little weird between Liv and Ravi, but it was downright sad between her and Lowell. Major makes a mistake that nearly costs him his life, and still might - but he's closer to the truth than he realizes. The problem is, I don't think he can handle the truth! Meanwhile, Ravi is so far not a zombie after being bitten by the zombie rat - yet.

There wasn't a whole lot of focus put on the actual crime this week - a dead soldier, and a murderous computer geek. There was a lot of focus on Liv's new sniper skills. Passengers on the good ship Livwell are probably wondering what now, especially since something rather permanent seems to have happened with a fan favorite. But I've learned that things aren't always what they seem with this show, so I'm holding out for the hero to come riding back in on his steed later on - perhaps in season two.

Is Lowell gone for good? Will he rise again from the dead? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us what you think in the comments!

iZombie Episode 6: Virtual Reality Bites

Hey everybody - sorry I'm late, but life the universe and everything happened, and I wasn't able to watch this on the night of the actual broadcast. I did pick up a few spoilers along the way before I did get to watch it, and they only made me want to see it even more. Now that I've finally watched it, I can say this: Holy shit! Oh - and, uh... ew?

With each episode, we are getting less of the vision-y type stuff and more deductive logic being used to solve the cases. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, though. I mean, a big part of the series premise is the whole "eat a brain, see what happened" thing. The characters are becoming much more cohesive as a team, and that's definitely a good thing. Each of the characters' skills contributes to a well-balanced group.

I'd really love to see Payton play a bigger part. I love Aly Michalka in this role. Sure, her character isn't absolutely necessary to the crime-solving part, but an attorney tends to look at the evidence in ways that a cop or medical examiner might not. That could provide some interesting flavor to the whole "whodunnit" angle. Besides - I'm getting attached to all of these characters, and it's not difficult for me to see them as real people that I would want to hang out with - hell, who am I kidding? I'm actually starting to wish I could be part of that team because they just have too damn much fun!

I can't help but wonder if Major is just bluffing about being able to move on. I think he still has it for Liv and he's just trying not to pressure her. Liv is clearly trying to move on with Lowell, but will she be able to? I hope we're not going to see her running back and forth from Major to someone else and then back again. Some things make for good drama, yes. But I don't think that would be one of those things.

I'd also like to see Major play a bigger role with the team, as well - and not just as the rejected love interest. As a social worker, there is so much potential to expand on the character. He could also transition into being a victim/witness advocate, or he could become a private investigator specializing in missing persons/cold cases. Hell, send his ass to the Police Academy and have him be Clive's new partner. Robert Buckley wears this role well, and the character seems well-suited to become more than just a recurring one.

Each episode has been better than the last, and there's so much potential for this to have a nice long run - as long as the character development keeps going the way it has been, the possibilities for good storytelling are endless, and y'all know how I love a good story!

What do you think will happen - will Evan actually get a job at the Meat Cute? Do you ship Ravioli, Livwell, or Limaj? How about the possibilities for Bliv? Any thoughts on the bromance ship Rajor? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us how you ship in the comments!

iZombie Episode 5: Flight of the Living Dead

This week's episode gave us a couple of interesting reveals, one which could lead to something interesting or sad - I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. Liv MET someone... It also seems like a case was left hanging - literally. The victim this week was a skydiver who happened to be a friend of Liv's. Several people were investigated for that case, but ultimately the suspect got away so the case remains open. Meanwhile, Major is still looking for his missing shelter kids, and nothing is resolved this week. Oh - NEWSFLASH! Lieutenant Abe takes his coffee with hot sauce! DAMMIT! Best. Ep. EVAR! Well... so far, anyway. I said that about the last episode too, and it just keeps getting better!

The new plot developments are starting to give me that familiar buzz at the base of my skull, and I cannot wait to see what's in store for next week!

Catch up with the recap after the jump, and let us know what you think in the comments!

iZombie Season 1 Episode 3 - The Exterminator Recap

Things get real on iZombie this week! Liv uncovers new evidence in a case that Peyton was prosecuting that connects to a case that Clive is working on, and what she finds puts Peyton's career in jeapeordy. It also puts Ravi in danger - but she just doesn't care, thanks to the brain of a guy who did some bad stuff.

This is developing into something so much better than I had dared to hope for! There were a couple of "Jeez WTF!" moments for me, and a few "AHA! Now it makes sense!" things. And there was a really fun zombie bash scene that had me going "YESSS!" It's a good thing I was watching this by myself, or I would have really annoyed someone.

There are some scenes and dialogue that aren't what I would consider suitable for younger viewers, but they definitely add to the context of the story and action. The voice-over narratives are becoming more relevant and less redundant, which is a good thing. There are fewer narrative break-ins, and the ones that do occur now bring more context and detail to the scene and storyline.

Like I said in my recap of the pilot episode, I wasn't a very big fan of Veronica Mars - but I am absolutely going to give it another go, after seeing the way iZombie is shaping up. I have the feeling I won't be disappointed.

Our recap starts after the jump!

iZombie episode 2 Recap: "Brother, Can You Spare A Brain?"

Last week's episode brought the funny and a little bit of ass-kicking. This week's episode worked, but was not as exciting and a little too much of Captain Obvious for me. An artist dies, and the cop figures out who did it right away. Buuuut they have to follow due process anyway and investigate. Along the way, Liv comes face-to-face with her nightmare vision from last week's episode, and she also goes somewhere she shouldn't have - and, of course, it ended in tears.

There is one thing that bugs me - the voice-over narratives. In last week's episode, it seemed like half the story line was recited in a narrative. This week, there isn't as much of it, but it's still annoying as hell. It doesn't do anything really to tie anything together; it just seems to serve as a segue point or unnecessary epilogue. It's not very useful otherwise. The information divulged in the voice-overs are easily deduced from the scenes preceding, under, or just after it. I hope that it is going away, and not becoming a regular thing.

There are also some things that I am really, really liking a lot. The Chief Medical Examiner Ravi Chakrabarti seems to take extreme pleasure in the fact that there are actual zombies in existence. Rahul Kohli brings a great sense of morbid humor and joy to the role. I wish that he had a bigger part. I also enjoy the dialogue a lot! It's a bit too much in some spots, but can be very witty and appropriate in others.

There does also appear to be a secondary story developing fairly quickly. There really isn't a whole lot of time being spent yet on the characters' back-stories yet. Last week, it was pretty much "Here's our zombie girl. This is how she got that way. And here's the good cop, here's the bad cop who also happens to be the bad guy, and here's the zombie girl's NPC's. Have at it." This week, it's "Here's the crime victim, here are the potential suspects, and here's the jerkwad from from episode 1 building his own story. Let's see what happens."

So... shall we? Hit the jump for the recap, and let us know what you think in the comments!

iZombie Raises our TV Hopes from the Dead

I'm not a big fan of Veronica Mars. I watched the first few minutes of it once and was like, "bored now..." But it took off, and that's what I'm hoping will happen with iZombie - it hits all the right notes with current pop culture trends: 80's nostalgia, zombies, drama, zombies, whodunnits... did I mention zombies? 

All the elements are there:

• The plucky zombie protagonist coming to terms with her situation and making the most of it
• Her boss - the Chief Medical Examiner, the enabler who covers for her as she helps herself to dead brains that she takes (after the examinations and notes are made, of course - she may be dead but dammit she still has her ethics)
• The detective who benefits from her work as a medical examiner in the morgue
• The dysfunctional family and social situation - her family and friends don't know she's a zombie, and can't understand why she left her fiance

Check out the recap after the jump and tell us what you think in the comments! 

Sleepy Hollow: Spellcaster Recap

Last week - Ichabod, Jenny and Abbie rescued Hawley from a demon, who happened to be the woman who raised him. Captain Irving was exonerated in court, and went home to his family after Katrina confirmed that it appeared Henry no longer had a hold on his soul. Hawley left to hunt down his demon foster mother.

This week, we do some house hunting, and take on an evil adversary from Katrina's past. Crane makes progress with adapting to 21st century life. We also get an interesting plot twist.

The Librarians and The Horns of a Season Out of Order

I'm back again with a little bit of a rant and whine, and a happy part about the Horns of the Dilemma episode. Yes, I know, the whole season is done now, but I never got to recap this one and I needed to get this off my chest. It was the only episode of the entire serie that disappointed me. But now that I know why it was so disappointing to me, I'm not so butt-hurt. Bear with me, and let me explain...

After the rollicking two hour premiere, I was hoping for another fun ride. What I got... was something that made me feel like I was towed behind a Tonka truck and dropped off at the PlaySkool Barnyard.

In "The Horns of a Dilemma," the Librarians are off on what seems to be their first mission as a confirmed group. This time, it's the legend of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. They are investigating murders that have been unsolved, and find that they all have ties to a big agricultural firm that houses a labyrinth in the basement - minotaur included. Jenkins whammys up a wormhole (this is where they get the "back door") for them, and this is a good thing. Nothing explodes, though. No papers flying through the air, no books all over the floor... Jenkin's head stays on his neck and shoulders. I was a little bummed about no big messy whirlwind, but oh well.

Certain things were starting to make sense to me, to a point. My biggest gripe with this episode was with the writing. The dialogue and cast's performances seemed so... retro. Like, they were actually kids who got yanked from 1985 and stuffed into grown-up bodies in 2014. In my recap of the premiere episodes, I previously said that the roles were pretty perfectly cast. I still stand by that, more so now that we understand what happened with the episodic sequence of the series. For those who don't know or haven't read that bit of news yet, I'll explain in a bit - but for now, hear me out if you would...

In my first recaps of the pilot episodes, I said that I thought Rebecca Romijn as Eve Baird didn't seem to fit the group - that she was like the mom trying to be cool. Well, in this episode she's the only one who does fit. But now I see that it's because she's supposed to be the mom type character - it appears to be written that way. The way she talks to them, one minute as if they are her kids then the next as if they are soldiers. Cassandra reminded her that they are not soldiers.

The other characters appear to be written younger than they were cast. Lindy Booth and Christian Kane seem to be reading dialogue for characters that are at least 15 years younger than the actors are. That may not be a big deal in Hollywood in general with regard to filming, but for this I think it is. Even John Larroquette's dialog sounded like it was written for a millenial, although his delivery is natural and it only made me twitch for a minute.

As much as I love Christian Kane for the part of Jake Stone, in this episode the character seems to be written like a youngish late teens, maybe early 20's type roughneck kid, Christian Kane is a bit more mature than that dialogue was. His performance is great, but his delivery seemed more "older dude" than it was written. I think if the writers could have written it a little more "grown up" in this episode, then I think it might have played better. (I hope that the Kane Nation and all the Kaniacs can forgive me for my very humble opinion!)

The character of Cassandra also seemed to be written as young adult-ish. Lindy Booth gave a great performance as well - but her delivery of the dialogue was too college-age for what seemed to be high school age dialogue. She has moments when her character delivers some appropriate adult sounding dialogue with big words and a "grown-up" tone of voice, which brings things back into focus for a second. Then it's gone. She goes back to delivering lines that could have been written on a high school campus in the mid-80's. Her wardrobe definitely looked like something you would see on a high-school campus. Again - if the part were written older, it would have played perfectly for Lindy Booth. Or if it were say... Emily Osment that was cast for the episode, it could have worked.

At 20 years old, John Kim was probably the most age-appropriate to the dialogue. But strangely enough, even his delivery of the dialogue seems a bit "old guy talking." He speaks really fast, so some of his lines get lost in his accent - which is beautiful, I just wish he'd slow the hell down and enunciate so I could understand it better! My DVR remote and thumbs thanks him for the workout, by the way - it asks you to meet up with my thumbs at the game console next time.

I think that one of the hardest things for me to get past was the speech mannerisms - that jerky, spastic, incomplete sentence thing. There was a lot of wincing and unfinished statements ("I can't... I just... You don't... It's not... lets not even.. ok?") that sound like some of the conversations I had with people when I was in high school - back in the day... the teenage angsty '80s. Right before grunge and Anne Rice vampires kicked in. So while I watched this, I kept thinking "Wow, I feel old. I remember saying that myself in high school..." I kept wanting to reach down their throats and pull up the rest of their words!

Adult actors playing teen/young adult roles, with adult delivery of teen-type dialogue and wearing clothing and hairstyles that are way too young for them just didn't work all that well here, and the seemingly inconsistent character development had started to annoy me a little bit. With the premiere episodes, I saw the potential for a really awesome series - one that we could have watched the actors grow up with in their character roles over time. With "Horns," that potential seemed to be wasted.

With the scripting of generational dialogue and wardrobe that dated the cast, I had started to worry that this might not last more than a season. I had been so excited when I first heard that they were doing this series! I started thinking that maybe I got ahead of myself with that. Yet, I still had I had hope that the powers-that-be behind the show would give us their best and do something with all that potential.

I'm really glad I stuck around for the whole season, because this series absolutely delivered. When I read some of the interviews from Dean Devlin and some of the tweets from the Kane Nation and the Kaniacs, I found a bit of news that made things a lot clearer to me. Here comes the happy part...

As I understand it, the network (TNT) decided to air the episodes out of order. (Why do networks always bloody do this? -Ed) So with that in mind, all of the above makes sense to me now! This episode was meant for a different point in the character development! The writing team and producers do such a fantastic job with a establishing a linear timeline for the characters' development that airing the episodes out of order kind of did the series - and the team who work so hard to bring us our Librarians - a disservice. I am absolutely thrilled to find that it wasn't just a weird thing with the writers, and knowing that the episode was indeed intended to occur at a different point in the character development actually makes my butt-hurt go away.

Sorry that was such a long way to go for the happy, but it was burning in my brain pan. Now - if TNT will just give us back our Librarians for at least another season, and air it in the order it was meant to be aired, I'm sure that all will be right in this world - and any other worlds that we may find outside the "back door."

Raven is an avid cosplayer and TV fan.

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Second hour of the season finale - The Librarians and the Loom of Fate

The season finale's last hour episode was a wonderfully exhausting ride. I spent the whole hour yelling at the T.V. as I watched it - "Whu-WHAAAAT?!?!" "Oh holy hell!" "Are you freakin' KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!" I also shouted many obscenities followed by various deities' names. I laughed, I got angry, I cried and I melted. I wanted to slap some characters, and I wanted to hug others. I wanted to be right in the middle of the fights with them. I wanted to die for them. But most of all - I came out of this with an insanely intense desire. 

I really, REALLY want to be a Librarian. Specifically, I want to BE Jacob Stone, Cassandra Cillian and Ezekiel Jones all rolled into one. I want a friend and a mom and a sister like Eve Baird and Lamia. i want an uncle, dad and brother like Jenkins and Flynn. I wish my grandparents were Charlene and Judson. And I want someone like DuLaque in my life to make sure things stay interesting.

 I wish that all those characters were real people in my life. I got so attached to each and every one of them - so much so that I got incredibly depressed when the credits rolled and I realized that there is a chance that the series may not get renewed for another season. I desperately hope that's not the case. This season overall has been a wonderfully wild ride - and it made me FEEL stuff. I haven't been touched so deeply by stories and characters in a very long time.

Personal note from a fangurl: Props and thanks to the whole team of producers, directors and writers, and to the whole cast of this wonderfully crazy, creative and imaginative show!

And now - the last of the recaps for the season... 

Season Finale - First hour: The Librarians and the City of Light recap

This episode turns out to be heavier than what I expected. The early dialogue is the usual, smart-assed, funny-filled fare, but it becomes rather serious towards the end of the episode. The kids are showings signs of growing up - and growing closer as a family. I was totally caught off-guard by the emotions that Zeke and Jake expressed, and it was awesome. The casts' dialogue delivery is beginning to feel very natural, and I'm actually starting to feel that these people really do exist in the real world, and they are very much becoming people that I would want in my life.

And now, here's the recap:

The Librarians and the Rule of Three Recap!

This episode opens in a high school student's bedroom. He's getting ready for a science fair presentation. While he puts on his tie, he reviews the periodic table and rehearses his presentation. As he finishes tying his his tie, his body starts to petrify and something strange flows through the veins of his outstretched arm. The paralysis completes as a single tear runs down his cheek.

The Librarians and the Fables of Doom recap!

It was brought to my attention by one of our readers (OK - my daughter) that I have been messing up the numbering of the episodes. I am one behind on my numbering, because I took the two-hour premiere as a single episode. It's considered two episodes. So I apologize for that, and it will be corrected going forward. Today, I have some thoughts that I'd like to share about the characters.

"The Librarians" has fast become one of my favorite TV shows - one that I choose to set the DVR for, as opposed to waiting for it to post online. I love how the team is becoming more cohesive and their roles are becoming more clearly defined. Their family dynamic is becoming more evident as well. Here are my observations:

Flynn Carsen is still the same Flynn that we saw in the movies, His rapid-fire speech and sudden starts and stops provide the shot of comedic effect, but his presence is a chaotic distraction from the stability that Eve is trying to provide for the team. He's like an absent father who comes back once in a while to make sure they still know he's alive and trying to be in charge. I'm thinking that this role is transitional, as are the roles of Judson and Charlene. As the series goes on we will see less and less of them.

Eve Baird is becoming a "mama bear" type, a true Guardian and protector. After all, who better to protect the kids than a mom? Moms will fight fiercely to keep the kids safe, and try to make sure that they don't have a bad day... even if it embarrasses them. Yet she does avoid becoming a helicopter mom. She remembers that the kids do have their own skills and talents, and they'll be alright.

Jake Stone is becoming the quintessential big brother, especially where Cassandra is concerned. He can get her to focus when she starts overloading, and keeps her balanced. He doesn't trust her anymore, but he does provide the kind of support she needs. He always seems to be keeping an eye on her, in spite of - or perhaps because of  his distrust. He's also a good back-up for Eve in situations where a second gun (or sword, or fist) is required. That fits in with the concept of a household with an absent father, with the oldest son taking on the role of "man of the house."

Cassandra Cillian is the little sister who keeps getting shoved to the back of the line until her skills are needed. She wants to be recognized for what she can do and hasn't figured out yet how to effectively assert herself, so she patiently waits until called upon. But don't piss her off. As we saw in the last episode, the potential for her to be really bad-ass lurks deep in her dark side. I'm hoping a way will be found to rid her of the brain tumor without taking away her skills, because her character really is a valuable part of the group.

Ezekiel Jones is definitely showing that he's more than just a snot-nosed little brother. He still wants to be the rock star, but he's learning the value of being a part of a team - and a family group. He has the street smarts to get out of sticky situations, but lacks the discipline and experience to do it in a way that doesn't have an "oops, didn't think really think that through" attached to it.

Jenkins is definitely the uncle who acts as a mentor - he's picked his favorite kid, and that would be Zeke. The growing respect between them is becoming more evident the more they learn about each other. Jenkins has both the discipline and the experience to guide Zeke through things in such a way that Zeke can learn from it and follow through, without the "oops" factor. I hope that we see more of their teamwork - and possibly some shenanigans from them too. Jenkins seems so serious sometimes, but I am sure he is hiding a wicked sense of humor in his coat pocket.

What do you think? Do my observations make sense, or am I missing something? I'd love to hear about it in the comment box below!

The Librarians and the Apple of Discord Recap, Guest Starring Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

I enjoyed this week's episode "The Librarians and the Apple of Discord" so much that it was hard to write this without rambling - so bear with me, there's a lot to cover. The energy is still really fun, and the regular cast is delivering great performances. I especially liked Lindy Booth's performance this week - a little bit of the crazy lady showed up, and it was great! Spoilers ahead, of course.

The Librarians Episode 3 Recap: Santa Campbell!

Last week's episode "...And the Horns of a Dilemma," was based on the Minotaur and Labyrinth mythos. I wasn't impressed with it - the dialogue was boring, and the situations were predictable. I started to lose hope for the series, and wondered if my fun ride was over already. Happily, it is not!

In this week's episode, "... And Santa's Midnight Run," the dialogue is much better than it was last week, and the writing overall is better. The cast is really starting to gel - their performance as a group actually feels more like a family than a bunch of strangers thrown together. Their roles are becoming much more established - the weird uncle (Jenkins), the mom (Eve), the big brother (Jake), the little sister (Cassandra), and the kid brother that you just want to slap sometimes (Ezekiel).

I really enjoyed this one - I had to pause the DVR towards the end to catch my breath during one particularly moving sequence, because I realized that I was actually feeling something. I was pleasantly surprised when I figured out that I was actually worried about the situations in the sequence, and then relieved when it all resolved.