rosa_cotton | Entries tagged with tv series

Your main fandom of the year? NCIS: New Orleans, Grimm Reflections webseries, The Cate Morland Chronicles webseries, Northbound webseries, The Little Mermaid.
Your favorite film watched this year? The Jungle Book (2016)
Your favorite book read this year? So many!!
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year? Album: The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A New Musical; Love & Friendship; The Jungle Book (2016). Song: “Made of Stone” (HoND), “Every Time I Turn Around” (I’ll Be Home for Christmas), “Once Upon a December” (Anastasia), “Then You Look at Me,” “Luck Be a Lady” (Frank Sinatra).
Your favorite TV show of the year? Fixer Upper, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: LA.
Your favorite community of the year? Can't say I really had one.
Your best new fandom discovery of the year? NCIS: New Orleans, The Jungle Book, Tuck Everlasting.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year? Why hasn’t Disney’s The Little Mermaid been made into a live action film yet?!
Your TV boyfriend of the year? No one.
Your TV girlfriend of the year? *blinks* Er, same as above.
Your biggest squee moment of the year? Canry finally getting together at the end of The Cate Morland Chronicles webseries! (Despite knowing the story, for a time I seriously thought the ending was going to be different!) Those kisses…”Cate Morland, you deserve a happy ending”…those kisses…!
The most missed of your old fandoms? Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan...
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to? ...Maybe Star Wars?
Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year? Beauty and the Beast. Plus fingers crossed for a Persalle kiss!!

As 2014 draws to a close, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! *throws confetti* Have fun, and be safe tonight!

End of the Year Meme

Your main fandom of the year? The Hobbit/LOTR, Peter Pan, Jane Austen
Your favorite film watched this year? At the movies: Maleficent. (Will see the last Hobbit in the new year!) Home: Aladdin and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey EE.
Your favorite book read this year? The Public Library: A Photographic Essay by Robert Dawson, Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson , Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year? Album: Classical Praise, Cinderella: Frozen in Time, Disney’s Aladdin. Song: "Once Upon a Dream” (Lana Del Rey), “For the First Time in Forever (Reprise),” “I Can Hear the Bells.”
Your favorite TV show of the year? NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: LA, NCIS, MythBusters.
Your favorite community of the year? LBDCareCenter.
Your best new fandom discovery of the year? Web series New Adventures of Peter + Wendy, From Mansfield with Love, Welcome to Sanditon, and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year? Missed new season of Inspector Lewis! *sob*
Your TV boyfriend of the year? No one.
Your TV girlfriend of the year? *blinks* Er, same as above.
Your biggest squee moment of the year? Two moments: Jane/Bing Lee’s kiss (finally) at the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. And Ed and Frankie under the mistletoe – mansfeels galore – on From Mansfield with Love.
The most missed of your old fandoms? Chronicles of Narnia.
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to? Green Gables Fables.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year? The next book in Wide-Awake Princess series, Pixar’s Inside Out, and The Misselthwaite Archives (web series adaptation of The Secret Garden).

*Flipped
*The Hollowed Crown
*NCIS (all seasons)
*Maleficent ***1/2
*Waking Sleeping Beauty

The most recent two NCIS episodes introduced the team of the potential NCIS: New Orleans spinoff. If it gets to green light to go ahead, I think I will be checking it out. The setting and dynamics of the characters (Lego fans, who would have guessed!) differentiate enough from NCIS and NCIS: LA. Both the storytelling and mystery were interesting and well done in my opinion. I'm curious to see how Brody continues to find her place on the team; I can see her having a brother-sister relationship with Lasalle. My absolute favorite of the new faces was Dr. Wade. ("Sort of the anti-Ducky to Ducky," my dad described her. I think he's right, and I like them both!) She's...I am already becoming a fan.

P.S. The episode before those two, "A Rock and a Hard Place," is one of my favorites so far this season. Tony was such a hoot. Then the end with Palmer, and I can't remember the last time my smile turned upside down so fast. *sob*

Just enjoyed catching up on the first four episodes of this season's NCIS with my dad. Forgot how good the show is, combining its humor and suspense. But...Ziva is gone! Noooo!!! And poor Tony!!!! :(

*Can't believe I've worked at camp for 10 years. It does not seem that long, nor did I ever imagine I'd be allowed to do so. It has been a gift.

*Was introduced to Spotify this summer. Pretty cool.

*Was also introduced to "Duck Dynasty." Now that is an odd, funny show.

*Recently saw "The Incredibles" for the first time in years. I'd forgotten how awesome a movie it is: plot, characters, music, animation, issues/lessons. One of Pixar's best. Have been searching for fanfiction.

*Have gotten into the cooking show "Chopped" for some reason.

*"Carousel" was on TV recently. Forgot how long the dance sequences were. Still love the music and acting.

*Am definitely turning into a figure skating fan. Can't wait for the season to start, and see all the new programs. While waiting, I've been eating up the very informative The Skating Lesson podcasts.

*A lot of my summer reading centered on Jane Austen. I didn't read any of her books, but books about her. "Jane Austen for Dummies" was a favorite; I really liked learning the context in which her writing took place. I learned a lot about the times, events, customs and issues, which I think will shed more light on her writings when I reread her books. I am currently working through the Jane Austen Mystery series which are proving to be quite the delight.

*Way back in the 1990s, Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill starred in an ice show, "Cinderella...Frozen in Time." I have it on a very old VHS and used to watch a lot when I was little. To my surprise I discovered the music for the show was available on CD and was able to get a copy. The music is so lovely. It was one of my favorite things about the show.

*Dear little Ori! He can be so sweet and polite. I think I will have change my ranking of the dwarves!

*Fanfiction recs:
No Living Man (LotR)
Jack Jack vs Edna Mode (Incredibles)
Green Tea Monsters (Incredibles)
Oblivion

TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
High School Musical (oddly enough)

TV
The Cosby Show
Air Crash Investigation/Mayday

SHIPS
Gale/Katniss
Frank/Nancy
Celeborn/Galadriel
Krabat/Kantorka

SONGS/MUSIC
A Thousand Miles
One Day More
I Dreamed a Dream
When There Was Me and You
Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
"Amoroso" from Cinderella (Prokofiev)
Cool (West Side Story)
Dancing in the Dark (Band Wagon)

FANFICS
The Glass Riddle (Fairy tales + Agatha Christie = Cinderella mystery)
Bess Marvin's Guide to Not Dating Criminals (Detectives and their fatal romances)
The Two Sisters (Jadis in the beginning)

VIDEOS

*I stumbled over the new Les Miserables trailer recently and was hooked by the beautiful music and lyrics. I finally got my hands on the international cast recording of the musical (lovely, lovely), and have the book for my summer reading. I may be on the verge of a new fandom. :)

*I think I have Olympic-anticipation syndrome. I've been watching videos of previous Olympics on youtube of gymnastics, swimming, and diving, and previous World Championships. Can't wait for the Summer Olympics!

*Just discovered the new Inspector Lewis series will be on Masterpiece in July! Don't have to wait six months...

*Have found some excellent fanfiction lately and just wanted to share them...
The Little Woman's Shadow (Little Dorrit)
A Skin Made of Sorrow (Catskin/Donkeyskin/Allerleirauh/All-Kinds-of-Fur)
The Almosts (Hunger Games)
Cinderella (Toy Story)
A Mermaid's Tale (Peter Pan)
But I'd Still Choose You (Once Upon a Time)

YES!!!

Finally(!!!) viewed the latest series of Inspector Lewis while on break. (Had been meaning to catch up with him and Hathaway since the new series aired on PBS back in October or November.) Was up until after 1 in the morning watching, and what a pleasure it was! Despite looking a tad older, and contemplating retirement, Lewis and Hathaway were in brilliant form. I grinned like mad during the first episode when Hathaway tracked Lewis down at the grocer’s due to a case, and Lewis sensed he wasn’t there for shopping. Yes! The great duo was back…how much they had been missed. Great dynamic between them, surrounded by a great supporting cast in their fellow colleges and suspects. Oxford again was a breathtaking backdrop to the various investigations. And having each episode being 90 minutes was wonderful, allowing time for development in the plot and characters. Hathaway almost stole the series in my opinion, with his playing matchmaker in one instance and, when Lewis was considering retiring, claiming he would go too – “Who else understands me?” Aw! Hope we’ll get one more season.

After three or four semesters of hearing about the “It Book” in my library classes – which included the professor showing the trailer for the movie in class – I broke down to see what all the fuss was about with Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. It has been a week since I finished it, it continues to whirl in my brain, and I am still unsure exactly what I think of it. This reading was not really my cup of tea, me not being a fan of books with lots of violence. And while the violence in the Hunger Games was not all-up-in-your-face-specific-to-the-last-detail, it was very disturbing, especially with the fighters being 12 to 18-year-olds. …Very hard to get through. I did like Katniss, how she fought the Capitol so hard in little ways, showing she was a pawn who did not agree with them. Peeta never caught my interest; nor was I fan of the “fake” romance between him and Katniss. (By the end of the trilogy I’m guessing it is no longer fake and poor Gale (who I liked most of the characters) is left all alone and brokenhearted, right?) Overall an interesting story.

Current Mood: tired

*Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

*Finally brought my movie and reading lists up to date after four months.

*Caught up on the last three episodes of Once Upon a Time. I am becoming quite a fan this show. The story is drawing me in more, I'm becoming attached to a lot of the characters, and the stakes getting higher and higher. Is it time for episode eight yet??

SyFy which in recent years has been responsible for radical adaptions of The Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (still want to see that one), now tackle Peter Pan. Only it is a sequel to the well-known story.

Interesting... Did Mr. Tulkinghorn from Bleak House sneak in there?

This ALMOST meets my biggest New Year fan anticipation/hope.

Snow White has suddenly exploded in popularity and I think I'm digging it -- it being one of my favorite fairy tales.

*Once Upon a Time -- I'm becoming a huge fan of this show. The storytelling has been very good. And there has been Snow White and Prince James... They are so adorable and have such a great chemistry. *la sigh*

*Mirror, Mirror -- Another different, and humorous take on the story. This actually looks interesting.

*Snow White and the Huntsman -- Definitely going for the dark and Grimm angle. Sitting on the fence with this one at the moment. I don't like horror and some of the moments in the trailer strike me as that. Wish there was more of Snow White; Kristen seemed more like an ordinary princess instead of the "fairest in the land."

Yay for fairy tales!!

I've viewed a lot of films lately and decided to share my thoughts on some of them. :)

Čarodějův učeň (Krabat) – I first heard about this 1977 Czech fairy tale film in a book, The Enchanted Screen, and eventually found it on youtube. It is an original tale about a poor boy that becomes a prisoner of the evil magician and works at his mill. The artwork/style is stunning and unique, and the music lovely. The film is quite wonderful, with understated storytelling – no subplots or big bangs so speak found in most movies – little actual dialogue, and no explicit violence that for me made Krabat all the more touching and memorable. This is now one of my favorite fairy tale films

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Way back when the ’05 Pride and Prejudice first came out, I thought as a period drama standing on it’s own two feet it was great, but was lacking as an adaptation of the book. That is pretty much how I feel about VODT. The first ten-ish minutes of the film were excellent with the reentrance of Lucy and Edmund, and the introduction of Eustace Scrubb, and then Narnia. Eustace was one of the highlights of the film for me. He was Eustace. And his friendship with Reepicheep was quite touching. It was interesting how Lucy’s jealousy of Susan and her longing to be beautiful was handled, focusing on a different aspect of it than in the book. I was so glad Aslan’s comment about being in the Pevensies’s world was included! That whole last minutes of the film was wonderful, my favorite part along with the beginning. Oh! And David Arnold’s score was magnificent.

My main problem with VODT is the premise of the voyage. When Eustace, Lucy, and Ed meet up with Caspian, he is indeed seeking the lost seven lords. But that takes a back seat when they learn about the evil mist and that it can be defeated by bringing the seven lords’ swords to Aslan’s table. I personally thought it wouldn’t be a problem to have the driving force of the book – quest for the lost lords – be the same for the movie. Yet once again, it seems the whole point of being in Narnia has to do with saving it. …From evil that is not really an evil to Narnia, just has the potential to be someday. Evil green mist! I still don’t get it. And Edmund…he pained me. It seemed sort of like he was Peter in PC, with how different he was, and not exactly for the best. *shakes head sadly*

Tangled – Such a great film. Moving and funny. Awesome story, characters, animation, and music. It was like going back to the Disney classics. Gothel I think is right up there with Ursula as my favorite villain. She was not complex, a fully drawn character. And Donna Murphy’s voice! I could listen to “Mother Knows Best Reprise” for hours. Wow. I loved how Eugene was sort of a nod to the actor Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood. There were definitely similarities between the two. A new Disney favorite.

Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (1984) – The Body in the Library was my introduction to the great Miss Marple, and made me an Agatha Christie fan. This film adaptation features Joan Hickson as Miss Marple who solves the baffling case of an unknown murdered girl discovered in the library of the Bantrys. At over two and a half hours, the mystery was flushed out well with its twists and turns building suspense and wit, and the characters were all nicely developed. Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple was splendid, who at first glance seems a bit withdrawn but has a sharp mind and brilliant wit. The supporting cast likewise turned in fine performances. The script is good, and is quite faithful to Christie’s novel. Despite knowing how it all went down, I was drawn into the suspense, and enjoyed seeing it all unfold.

Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) – Maybe if I had not watched this and the 1984 versions of The Body in the Library back-to-back I might have liked this a little bit more than I did. It is much shorter than the 1984 version, causing the mystery to be crammed and rushed, with characters never really established. While the sets and costumes were quite lovely, there was too modern a feel to the whole thing. The script was lacking despite some occasional humor. Most of the cast’s performances were strangely over the top. Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple was too cheeky and smug for my taste. This adaptation was pretty faithful to the book until the very end when suddenly the identity of the murderer was changed, and a lesbian affair was thrown in. WHY?? Also, having Miss Marple spell the whole thing out to the police before the murderer was apprehended sucked out all the suspense in the end. I think I’m going to stick to the older Miss Marple adaptations. This newer version did not cut it.

...at 2010 regarding

( Books )

( Tv/Films )

( Fanfiction )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Non C'est Rien

So I've just discovered the great Inspector Lewis. I read reviews and recaps of the series on Masterpiece at austenprose.com, finding them interesting despite never having watched any of the series...until now. “Dark Matter” with its combination of a intrigue-sounding murder and Holst’s “The Planets” (one of my favorite compositions of classical music) finally lured me into checking out the Inspector, and I was not disappointed. A very good episode which kept me guessing until the end, with a wonderful cast — loved Robert Hardy (Sir John from the Emma Thompson S&S) and Sophie Ward. And I heart the duo Lewis and Hathaway make. Now I must make time to watch the rest of previous episodes. Wahoo!

*I have about a dozen ideas for fanfics and none of them want to be written at the moment. *hits head against wall* I hate it when this happens...

*It feels like spring has finally arrived. The days are becoming warmer, and we had our first spring thunderstorm.

*Murder, She Wrote is one of the best mystery series I've seen in a while. A lot of the mysteries are very intriguing. And Angela Lansbury is brilliant as Jessica Fletcher. If only the series didn't have so much language and infidelity.

*Song of the moment: "The Safest Place" by LeAnn Rimes.

*Thanks to youtube my favorite dancers of the moment are: Veronika Part, Marcelo Gomes, Yulia Makhalina, Viktoria Tereshkina, Yevgenia Obraztsova, and Yekaterina Osmolkina.

*And last but not least, Pride and Prejudice will become a Broadway musical!!!! There's a nice little site about it here. It includes a wonderful video with pictures from a special performance set to a song from the musical: "Had I Been in Love," a duet between Jane Austen and Elizabeth Bennet. P&P is not my favorite novel of JA's, but this news has me excited!

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Poor Unfortunate Souls - Finnish

Another year is almost gone. It feels like it has gone by so quickly... 2008 has been wonderful, hard, sad, and full of surprises. I am thankful for the things God has taught me this year (through good times and hard times); my family and friends, and the new ones I've made; the library; being able to return to camp last summer; and being able see another year end. I've been blessed so much.

I didn't read or watch TV as much as I have in the past. Have to see what happens in the new year.

( Movies/TV of 2008 )

( Books of 2008 )

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Got the second part of the HB/ND TV series of season two from the library, and me and my brother (and mom!!!) were off again. Just a few random comments...

"Nancy Drew's Love Match" -- A bit confusing (especially when you almost didn't even see the other who-done-it), but I actually liked this one a lot. Nancy grew on me more; the wide-eyed reaction seemed to have been toned down a bit. The subplot with her pretending to be the date of one of the players even though they had never officially met was cute. The poor guy took all those slaps in stride. Wow, the new George is still not the George from the books. She did more investigating but was whiny and scared. Just wasn't George. Bender...great casting of a totally dislike able character.

"Mystery of the Silent Scream" -- Another good episode. Really liked the interaction between Joe and Frank in this one -- all of the HB episodes, really -- and how they bounced off each other. Both my brother and I thought Joe and Alicia made a cute couple. I really felt for him when she disappeared. It was amusing noting one of the buildings in the ghost town looked like it had been built after the 1920s. And it was obvious that gambler had a bad taste in wigs.

"Will the Real Santa Claus...?" -- The most bizarre episode this season so far in MHO. (A good number of the episodes' mysteries seemed to deal with the irrational, unnatural and illogical.) The real Santa... Why didn't he just fly back home instead of going through all that danger? And the other mystery, there was no way the viewer could figure that one out having never seen the culprit before Nancy's confrontation. Shock #1: Ned's recast! I had no idea who that fine-looking gentleman was until Mr. Drew identified him. And he no longer works for Mr. Drew, he's now with the NYPD. Shock #2: Ned and Nancy have never met before. ?????? Give the Nancy/Ned pairing a whole new start? What the heck? Ned's improved in looks, but personality-wise, seeming to order how the investigation should be conducted, what Nancy should think/do, etc., he doesn't cut it.

"The Lady on Thursday at Ten" -- There was a feeling of Bourne alternative in this one. Another confusing episode. Things did or did not happen... Questionable identities... It was wacky. Rocky's friend at the gym I really liked. He was a good guy. My brother and I could not believe how Rocky and Nancy were like joined at the hip, how scared she was about him. They seemingly had discussed nothing but the strange things that had happened, didn't have each other's names done, and... Just didn't get how much Nancy was taken with him.

(A side note: This episode sealed the deal for me: the filmmakers really did not understand, care, and/or respect Nancy Drew compared to the Hardy Boys episodes. While I thought the mysteries improved from season one, recasting George and Ned (and eventually Nancy) did not help matters. The personalities of the characters were nothing like in the books -- while Frank and Joe were different yet at the same time similar to themselves in the books. Nancy is almost like Joe, going crazy about the opposite sex. Very sad. The episodes and, most importantly, the characters should have been better. If only...)

"Oh Say Can You Sing" -- I confess I'm not a huge fan of Joe's singing. Though the running gag of Frank always going off to do something involving a case instead of hearing Joe sing was amusing. I never came close to solving the mystery, I could only say, "Oh." Like the previous episode, there was conflicting versions of incidents and shady characters.

"The House on Possessed Hill" -- Creepiest episode. Could have been turned into a horror film of some sort. The front interior of the house reminded me of the house in the season one episode about the UFOs. The wind never died down there. Of course neither of the boys had a flashlight on them when they investigated the house. Brilliant move.

"Sole Surviver" -- Not quite as much action=packed as the others, I really liked this one. There was more depth to Joe and Frank than usual. Very good acting by both Shuan and Parker. The "chase scene" among all those mannequins was great. The reunion between Joe, Frank, and Mr. Hardy was a bit too understated, in MO. After all they had gone through and felt, I wish the moment had been more emotional.

"Voodoo Doll" -- Janet Louise Johnson's Nancy Drew seemed way too young. I'm not really sure how I feel about her acting. Even though this was a crossover episode, she was barely in it; we hardly saw what was going on her end of things, and she never actually worked with Frank and Joe, always saying she couldn't tell them what she was doing. The chemistry between Nancy and Frank was very different from the earlier crossovers, but I still enjoyed the moments between them: their meeting in New Orleans, Nancy bailing the boys out (how sweet is that?), explaining she can't share with them to keep them (aka Frank) out of trouble, she brushing his cheek at the jail, and all the hand holding while running through the warehouse. Once again, I enjoyed how Frank and Joe bounced off each other. Joe had a good number of Joe-ish comments here, too. The end of the episode was very unsatisfying. It needed more closure.

I wonder if there ever could be a satisfying, well made, TV series of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew...

P.S. I heart the theme music during the opening and closing credits. :D

Current Mood: contemplative

*POP! Appears like a genie* I am back, again! I need to try to not just post once a month. Real life...

*I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. Mine was very nice. It was fun catching up with family and playing games. And now Christmas is just around the corner!

*Happy (very) Belated Birthday,

indes_elfwin! *hugs* Hope you enjoyed your special day. :D

*My to-read list now reaches the floor thanks to a two-day trip of visiting ten libraries and borrowing several dozen books. ;D

*Last week I saw the first two discs of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries season 2. There were five Hardy Boys episodes and two crossover episodes featuring all three detectives.

First, the crossover episodes, about Dracula and the Hollywood Phantom, I really enjoyed. Frank/Nancy... Both so stubborn. At times she worried about him. He wanting her to stay out of danger. The kiss. SQUEE!!!!

Second, ARGH! I got so so frustrated with Frank in most of the episodes. He nearly fell for one in every episode. I wanted to slap him upside the head when he shared that unexpected-but-would-have-spent-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you-if-possible kiss with that random, unimportant chick (a stranger!) in the Hollywood Phantom. He must be taking over Joe's job in the romance department. I was quite disappointed with him. He wasn't this bad in season 1. At times I wished even Callie would have popped up to bring Frank back to his senses. My brother called him a man "unwilling to make a commitment." He sure is different from the faithful Frank of the books. Grrr.

*Hopefully I'll be able to borrow Wall*E from the library soon. From what I've seen of the trailers, the movie looks a lot more appealing than Cars and Ratatouille. And Wall*E is the cutest little robot!

*To wrap up, two videos of the day:

The Sweetest Sounds -- Aladdin, Anastasia, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast

Peter Pan a ballet!

Current Mood: cheerful

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World of imagination, magic, and excitement

Entries tagged with tv series

end of the year meme

end of one chapter, start of another

summer to-see list

ncis: new orleans here we come?

ah ncis!

this and that

of the moment...

whozits, whatzits, and thingamabobs

He's baaaack!!!!!!

Faces – old (Lewis) and new (Katniss)

bites and pieces

Neverland (and Dickens?)

white as snow, red as blood, black as ebony

movie-go-round

A final look back...

thy name is lewis

Drop-in post

Goodbye 2008, hello 2009

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Season 2 Part II

Seasons' greetings