The Idle Days of Summer

So, I'm lazy. Like, really lazy. Soooo lazy that I can't even bring myself to write about fantastic TV. But now I've deliberately stranded myself in a cafe for a few hours so I'll actually get some work done.

And what do you know, I'm procrastinating by admiring Blogger's nice new format for writing posts. Really, it's rather snazzy. Very sleek and pretty and shiny and.....Focus Sarah! *slaps self* Focus!

So here's all you need to know about 5 shows that are currently rocking my summer vacation. And yes, two of these shows don't really count as Sci or Fy, but they're on TV in the summer and they're great. And if there's anything I've learned in the last month, it's that summer TV sucks. Also, this, is the most amazing recipe ever:  http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/03/peanut_butter_and_jelly_bars.

Yep that's my summer so far. Very very yummy.

[Sanctuary is first and the longest cause, well, I'm biased. It's my favorite. And Doctor Who is at the end because of the absolutely massive amount of spoilers.] : )


1) Sanctuary

They really can't do any wrong. Heading into a 2 part season finale that is sure to end on a fantastic cliffhanger Sanctuary-style, they're building momentum without painfully drawing out one long convoluted arc. Awakening was a knockout of a Tesla episode, with some fantastic chemistry and wittiness between Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Tesla (Jonathan Young). There's a distinct possibility I watched it two or three more times within the week after it premiered. I know Tapping has been pressuring the Sanctuary writers to give Magnus a romance next season without making it a flashback - maybe she's thinking what half the female fanbase is?

[And on a similar not, I'm really creeped out by Magnus/Druitt fans. Really really creeped out. Who looks at the world's first serial killer (who spends much more time on screen as Angelus than Angel) and goes "Awww, I really hope they can move past it and get back together. They're so cute together." I find Magnus/Henry fans less disturbing and she practically raised Henry since he was a kid. Not that I don't find that also incredibly disturbing, I'm just doing comparison here.]

Which brings us to Normandy and Carentan, a fantastic duo of delightful drama. Normandy gave us a great flashback to the Five in action as well as some delightfully subtle goodies. Tesla talks about Druitt, Druitt and Watson talk about Magnus, we see Druitt conflicted over how to fight what even he considers to be evil, and we even meet some distant relatives - Will's grandfather (though having Robin Dunne play him was a little cheesy) and possibly, Anna Griffin [above] (never confirmed, but that was Clara's mother's name, and there's a line where Nigel says "I'm going to marry that girl"). [Edit: Correction, Griffin's daughter was named Anna, Clara was his granddaughter, and the girl in Normandy was named Jeanette] Also, small detail, the cave set was clearly re-purposed from Awakening. Anyways, on top of all that, there's plenty that wasn't said - why Griffin hasn't aged and Watson and Magnus' relationship.


To be honest, that comment from Druitt about Watson and Magnus was a curve ball (and note, never confirmed to be true). Having rewatched episodes with The Five several times (not for this specific purpose, but because they're generally awesome), I actually came to the conclusion that Watson was probably gay. It's never stated, and almost definitely isn't cannon [yet]. I just got that impression from his interactions with Magnus and even a small part from his interactions with Druitt, who was his best friend before the Ripper case. Especially their argument before they try to teleport out of the bunker - "Hurt her? Or you?" Yes, Magnus does call him "darling" when they come to his rescue, but the rest of their interaction throughout the episode is no different from what we've previously seen. I wouldn't expect it to be anything but subtle since homosexuality wasn't accepted at the time of The Five's main work (see Oscar Wilde). It was just the impression I got. I'd be interested to know if anyone else might have picked up on something similar (or if you think I'm crazy!)


And Carentan was excellent, setting up some enigmatic villians and an oddly silent group working "above Magnus' pay-grade" (as if such a thing exists). Plus, I loved the subplot about Will falling for the girl and trying to cope with the idea that he is likely trapped away from Abby for the rest of his life. The bubble clearly puts stress on him (they were in there for 2/3s of a year), but the stress on Magnus showed her to be surprisingly vulnerable about outliving the people around her. And next week looks to be an Inception-level thrill ride.

2) Covert Affairs

Back with a punch. To be honest, I'm not fond of Ben Mercer, never have been, and I dislike Annie's willingness to fall back into his arms. That being said, I am very happy with how Season 2 is starting. Annie is not all happy and wonderful - she's clearly more unstable due to the whole Ben affair and is paranoid instead of intuitive. The "golden girl" of the CIA (who would get boring after a while) is mixing things up by being demoted to silver. The plot line with the tennis player wasn't solid, but the subplots were. Arthur Campbell (Peter Gallagher) has been upgraded to series regular, which will be interesting, and Liza Hearn is still being a pain in the ass. And Auggie! I adore Christopher Gorham as Auggie - I hope we get lots and lots of him this season as well.

3) Game of Thrones

Heading into the finale with more rock solid performances. I love reading comments on the web by people who watch the show but haven't read the books - they're all guessing that Season 2 will be set in the future with the kids all grown up. Yeah right. They're in store for some teeth gnashing and cursing with the finale, and I am so pumped. We've got two major deaths coming up, and a lot of turmoil. And probably an Emmy for Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, left), who can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned, as well as a possible nod to Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen, right). He amazingly managed to keep my attention on him during a brothel "audition" that was practically soft-core porn: I somehow managed to focus on listening to his backstory while two of the girls were going at it on the couch in front of him. His character is a total rat, but I'm growing to love hating him more in the show than I ever did in the books. Also, I cannot keep the Lannisters straight for the life of me. There are just way too many of them. I'm just generally hating anyone with blonde hair.

4) White Collar

White Collar is done with the conspiracy theories for now, which is great, cause it got a little heavy handed towards the middle of Season 2. Now we've got a hoard of treasure stolen by Mozzie, shared with Neal, and hidden from Peter and Elle. This is going to be delicious! Solving crimes while constantly wary of each other is a great way to unbalance their rather solid partnership, especially since Neal's probationary period is for 4 years. By the time they reach Season 4, they're going to have to make a huge shift to justify continuing the show, and they're bringing up the messy questions of whether Caffrey (Matt Bomer, left, looking all charming and gorgeous as usual) will return to his old life now instead of dramatically forcing it in a year.




5) Doctor Who

I had such a hard time following "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People" because I was multitasking while watching. This made it impossible to keep track of who was Flesh and who wasn't. For a while, I actually thought Rory had been replaced, but then...

*SPOILERS - DON'T READ BELOW HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE YET*

*NO SERIOUSLY, IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND. DON'T RUIN IT FOR YOURSELF*

*LAST CHANCE*

*NOT MY FAULT AT THIS POINT*

AMY is the one who's Flesh! That explains the whole confused pregnancy reading and the visions, and I never saw it coming. Then...

*MORE SPOILERS. DON'T YOU DARE CONTINUE*

*I'M SO SERIOUS HERE. YOU'LL REGRET IT*

 the baby, MELODY POND, was Flesh! And that was tragic and sad and I nearly cried at the look on Amy's face. And then....

* SERIOUSLY, STOP READING RIGHT NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS YET*

River Song = Melody Pond. Tons of fans called it, and I thought it would be awful and cheesy if it was true, but the scene where the Doctor figured it out was surprisingly rather beautiful and funny considering the gravity of the moment. Plus, she's also part Time Lord, which means possible regeneration. In which case, now Silence in the Library is rather odd (the first episode with River Song where David Tennant's Doctor meets her for the first time and she dies) because she should regenerate before dying [unless it's an instantaneous death - which might be the reason she wouldn't let the Doctor do it].

And if you just read this without seeing the episode, you're a dick. Really, why did you spoil that for yourself? Not cool dude.

Anyway, I feel like I've accomplished a lot now. I'll probably finally get that post up about Spain and Spanish men soon, but for now I'm going to explore a cool antique book store around the corner. I'll let you know if I find a book that teaches me how to be a wizard while hiding itself from everyone else around me with magic!

~ Sarah